Day 214- Happy Halloween

The cutest trick-or-treaters!!

Day 214- Happy Halloween

Day 213- Carving Pumpkins

Tonight for the first time in a long time I carved one of my pumpkins. I mostly did it because I wanted the seeds in it to bake.  The pumpkin actually looks cooler in real life than in the photo because I put a glow stick around the rim so the pumpkin just glows.


Day 213- Happy Halloween

My pumpkin and the seeds.

Day 212- One At A Time

Today after work I went to the local dollar store to get glow sticks and Halloween themed cookie cutters for a few craft projects I want to do on the actual day of Halloween. I was able to get the glow sticks, but there was no longer any Halloween cookie cutters because ALL THE CHRISTMAS STUFF WAS OUT!! My first thought was, "Really!?" It isn't even the actual day of Halloween yet and minus a single row, there was no longer Halloween related items.

I guess I was shocked because not only was there was a limited amount of Halloween stuff, it was like they completely forgot about Thanksgiving. There is one more holiday between now and the  Christmas season. It just served as a reminder that as a whole we really have a hard time of just enjoying the moment. We seem to always been looking toward and planning for the future. Now don't get me wrong, I know it is important to have plans, visions, and goals for the future. We can't get to those moments though if we don't have some sort of focus in our present.

So instead of starting to worry about how you're going to spend the upcoming holiday season, if you'll have enough money to buy that special person an AMAZING gift, or anything else just try and get through Halloween first. Enjoy the excitement, magic, and fun that often comes along with this month's holiday. Otherwise you might miss something even more important than what's waiting for you in the future.


Day 212- Happy Halloween

Every wonder the meaning behind Halloween or how it started, read below.

Halloween or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwin, -oʊˈin, ˌhɒl-/; a contraction of "All Hallows'Evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve,^[6] is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast ofAll Hallows' Day. It initiates the triduum of Hallowmas, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic Samhain. Other academics maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.^[12]

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (or the related "guising" or "trunk-or-treating"), attending costume parties, decorating, carvingpumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Day 211- I Need To Spend More Time

Part of being healthy means you need to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy. Throughout life there are different times we need to work on certain areas of our health more than others. For me, I feel like I have been so consumed lately with working on my mental and emotional health that I have been ignoring my physical and spiritual health. It is time to give them some attention.

I think for the most part I am doing okay physically. Knock on wood, I haven't been sick for awhile. I can't, though, remember the last time I have worked out. At the beginning of the year I was working out all the time and even set a goal to run the city's 5K. Well, that is this weekend and I am nowhere near in the shape needed to do it. I know there are two reasons why I have been ignoring this and they are nothing but excuses.

One is that I really don't have a gym buddy right now. My sister-in-law helps to train the valley's youth cross country team, so in the fall she puts her gym workouts on hold until the season is over. For whatever reason, unless I have someone to go with, I don't want to go. Two is that after coming home from being at work all day and taking care of the things I need to, the last thing I want to do is go workout. I let my tiredness overrule the fact that I know I should go.

I have also been lacking in my spiritual health. I use to be going church every Sunday, but I have been choosing to sleep in the last few weeks rather than going. I also use to start each morning reading a few Bible verses and saying a prayer to start my day. I can't even tell you the last time I did that. It was taking an active interest and devoting time that helped me to accept and understand the situation I was in. It gave me something positive to focus on and partake in every single day. Without doing this I feel like something is missing.

So, it is time to make me healthy all around.


Day 211- Happy Halloween

I saw a lot of friend's costumes who went out to Halloween parties this past weekend. My favorite I saw was a couple who were a French kiss. Now this picture is not them, but they were dressed exactly like this.

Day 210- Proven Again

This weekend has proven to me once again that when I am tired or not feeling well physically, my anxiety heightens. The last 3 days my back has been sore and I have not been sleeping too great. I have been having really weird dreams which have caused me to not wake up feeling rested or refreshed. Yesterday my neck and upper back were VERY sore and I felt pretty exhausted. Today I too have been a little sore and tired. As a result, I've been a bit edgy the last 3 days.

The thing is in the past I would freak out when I wasn't feeling well physically. Since a lot of my anxiety manifested physically (feeling edgy, nausea, and hot flashes), I wasn't able to make the distinction between if I really was sick or just anxious. I hated it. I could not stand the feeling of anxiety. I would feel anxious because I didn't feel well and I wasn't feeling well because I was anxious.

There is a difference now though. Now I understand and recognize the difference of not feeling well because I'm sick or I'm sick because I'm anxious. I know that as a result of actually feeling not the best some feelings of edginess and uneasiness may come. I am being mindful of what is going on in my body and how it is reacting. I tell myself that I'm tired or I'm not feeling okay, which means I may feel a little anxious. It is realizing that and accepting it that causes it to not escalate further. It allows me to still function, which is something I use to not be able to say.


Day 210- Happy Halloween

I wish someone around our neighborhood would have something cool like this.

Day 209- Painting Pumpkins

This afternoon my two youngest nieces and I painted our pumpkins. I still have one left that I plan on carving on Wednesday night. But today it was nice to be creative and relax!!


Day 209- Happy Halloween

The finished result on my two pumpkins.

Day 208- Halloween Filled Day Tomorrow

I'm excited to have a day off tomorrow. I get to finally work on my pumpkins I've been wanting to work on all week. I have a total of 5 mini pumpkins, paint, swirly eyeballs, and leaves. Then tomorrow night my family and I are going to the church Halloween event to celebrate my niece's birthday, who turned 11 years-old today. Should be a fun Halloween filled day tomorrow.

Day 208- Happy Halloween

Some of the leaves I picked up on my walk with Tyson tonight for my pumpkins tomorrow.