Drawlloween 14 : I AM THE PUMPKIN KING

Scarecrow Row

If I am one thing, I am and will forever be a child at heart.
❤
I’m a sucker for all things cute and traditional. I love baking cookies and watching Rudolph at Christmas, Green Foods on St. Patrick’s Day and Pumpkin carving, Dressing up and Horror Movies around Halloween.

One Halloween tradition I am very much looking forward to reestablishing once I have children is building scarecrows. That’s one of those traditions you really need a kid.

Some of my favorite scarecrows are from pop culture…surprise.surprise.

Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz,
(Did you ever think of the Scarecrow and Dorothy as a romantic couple? Apparently you’re not alone. As part of the original story, Hunk (aka the human version of Scarecrow) was going to leave the farm for agricultural college. But before he leaves Dorothy promises to write to him, which some believe hints at a slight romantic vibe.)

The Scarecrow from the Batman Comics,
(The Scarecrow made his comic book debut during the Fall of 1941 in World’s Finest Comics #3. During his early days in comics it was revealed that Crane was bullied throughout his childhood and often compared to Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.)

and my personal favorite,

the brief moment in the beginning of The Nightmare Before Christmas
when Jack was a Scarecrow.
(Jack Skellington is known as The Pumpkin King. The bearer of this title is the scariest creature to exist. Jack makes a special cameo in Tim Burton’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as the Pumpkin King.)

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?
Specifically, Halloween 😉

Click here for more Jack!

Thank you for Reading!
❤

Drawlloween 2016

We’ve finally reached one of my absolute favorite times of year and quite possibly my favorite month…
OCTOBER

I’m a sucker for all things Halloween.

Changing of the Seasons, Costumes, Horror Movie, Sweets

I recently found this group online
Drawlloween
“31 Days of Daunting Drawings celebrating Halloween and all of it’s weird wonderfulness!”

I really enjoyed the A to Z Challenge back in April and I’ve missed the thrill of pushing myself to create a piece of art everyday.

and

just because I like to make just about everything harder for myself,
I’ve decided to write a Post to go along with each Drawing.

I hope you’ll be excited for what October will bring us.
🙂
Thank you for Reading!
❤
Wish me Luck…
I’m gonna need it!
😛

I : Ichabod Crane “Next morning, Ichabod’s hat was found, and close beside it, a shattered pumpkin, but there was no trace of the schoolmaster.”

I know we still have about 202 days until Halloween, but if they can do Christmas in July, why can’t we have Halloween in April?
Ichabod Crane
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was released in 1949. It was a packaged film, consisting of two segment films. Mr. Toad was based on 1908, children’s book, The Wind and The Willows by Kenneth Grahame and Ichabod was based on the 1820 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The two films were packaged together since both lead characters got themselves into sticky situations. These were the last films made during the war years when the Disney studio was short on man-power. Disney released four packaged films between 1942-1949, one of which being The Three Caballeros. Disney’s next feature length animated film was the 1950 film, Cinderella.
Ichabod is the star of The Adventures of Ichabod Crane, but is he our hero? Ichabod is a schoolteacher who becomes infatuated with Miss Katrina Van Tassel, for her grace and charm…but as stated in the short, “who can resist your fathers farm.” It becomes quite obvious that Ichabod is extremely interested in her financial status. Katrina is the only child and sole heir to her father’s gold mine of a farm. It’s strongly implied that Ichabod is only after Katrina for her money and good looks. Even the narrator states, “Now, rumors persisted that Ichabod was still alive, married to a wealthy widow in a distant county.” A strong theme throughout Disney films are villains who are consumed with power and motivated by greed, villains such as Scar, Ursula and Jafar.
The Adventures of Ichabod Crane has a few ties with the 1992 classic, Beauty and the Beast. First, people have noted that Ichabod is similar to Belle in that they are both readers who people consider strange or odd, yet they still have people vying for their affections. Also, Gaston is strongly inspired by Brom Bones. However, while Gaston is clearly the villain, Brom is considered a good guy in The Adventures of Ichabod. Everyone can probably agree, however, that The Headless Horseman is the actual villain. (Though it’s debatable whether Brom was disguised as the Horseman which is heavily implied in the short story. I for one believe that the Horseman is real.)
In the original short story, Ichabod Crane is described as “tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs […] His head was small […] and a long snipe nose”. His appearance is similar to that of a crane. While we’re talking about character descriptions, some fans have noted that Katrina looks very similar to Cinderella. While others compare her, and especially her personality to Charlotte La Bouff from The Princess and the Frog (2009). Since both women are blondes who prefer pink, are wealthy only children and have many admirers.
Thank you for Reading!
Don’t forget to head over to my Instagram…
And to have a Happy Halloween-uh, I mean a very Happy Monday.
❤

“He used to say that artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up.”

The Biggest News of the Week…
My cousin, Linda’s twins arrived early and they are just so tiny and beautiful.
I can’t imagine how they’re going to juggle the responsibility of twins.
But knowing my cousin, I know she will be a strong, kind and wonderful mother.
And her husband will not just be a good father, but a great dad.
I am so happy and excited for the four of them.
what a wonderful adventure awaits them.

6.November.15
I tried to donate blood…don’t ask.
but we ended up having a great night amiss that little hiccup.

05.November.15

Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Guy Fawkes and his companions
Did the scheme contrive,
To blow the King and Parliament
All up alive.
Threescore barrels, laid below,
To prove old England’s overthrow.
But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
A stick and a stake
For King James’s sake!
If you won’t give me one,
I’ll take two,
The better for me,
And the worse for you.
A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
A pint of beer to wash it down,
And a jolly good fire to burn him.
Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!
happy guy fawkes day
04-Nov-15
my new cousins were born!
All Soul’s Day
A day in which we can remember our loved ones who have passed.
It’s a day the one’s who have been left behind can pray for their souls to enter into heaven.
I don’t know if I really believe this part, it does make sense that some souls are not perfect enough to get into heaven.
But that’s when I start to think that we just over think this and sometimes when it comes to our loved ones, one just needs to keep the faith and believe that they’re in Heaven.
Stan and I watched a rather unsettling documentary this evening. I heard about it from an article on top 15 documentaries to watch. The article told me that it was best to go into it with knowing as little back story as possible. So, that’s what I did and I’ll be extending the same courtesy onto you. The documentary is entitled: Dear Zachary and it is a very well done and moving documentary. Let me just warn you that it can be difficult to watch and I suggest that you don’t view it alone.
Whether you’re interested or not, I urge you to take a visit to the website.

01…November…15
I’ve decided to take on the National Novel Writing Month Challenge.
I am only announcing this as another incentive and way to push myself to complete this challenge.
I’m a Pantser, which means I’m jumping in cold without an outline or lots of notes.
I just went with an idea that I’ve been thinking about for a long time and like most people, I’d like to hope, I need something pushing me to finish a project.
So, wish me luck 🙂 … I’m gonna need it!

Back up to Halloween
31.October.15

For our first official Halloween as a family, the three of us went as the DC Trinity.

Though I would like to think of Annie as being Wonder Girl instead, if we’re being picky now 😛

all in all, it was a great Halloween

So, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to root-root-root for my home team.
This weekend is a rather intense Football Sunday for us…
Thank you so much for reading!
PS

Here’s a little present Annie sent to Gracie.
a friendship necklace of sorts.

PPS
in other news…
For you Archie fans out there, I found this article on CBR.
I’m a pretty big fan of Archie Comics, just as my mother was before me and my Grandmother before her. And for just about as long as I can remember, I’ve read that they’ve been trying to adapt the gang into a film. I, for one, am quite happy that they have not done so yet. I don’t know about you, but certain things just shouldn’t be adapted. Remember that show from the ’60s?

It’s not very fair of me to say that this was a bad show. I just didn’t agree with the voice actors who were chosen.
I never pictures Betty, Veronica or Archie sounding like that.

So, read over the article and let me know what you think.
Are you down for an Edgy Archie series?
This could be terrible but it could be also be pretty cool.
For example?
The Carrie Diaries, Hannibal and Gotham.
Just to name a few, these TV series were all “prequels” to some pretty iconic  characters.

at first I was not fans of any of these prequels, but once you think about them as their own property, they held up on their own.
The Carrie Diaries is a pretty cute show when you push out all the continuity errors.
So, although I don’t necessarily agree with a low self-esteem, Betty and emo Jughead…hey, it might be fun.
Also, if you like adaptations, definitely check out:

Also, just so we all stay healthy.

🙂 thank you 🙂

“The only reason she baby sits is to have a place for…” : Dinner and a Movie : Halloween Edition

On October 30th, the official night of Mischief, Stan, Annie and I hosted a Dinner and a Movie.
Complete with make shift costumes.
The original 1978 Halloween is a classic tale of one psycho, two babysitters and a whole lot of murder.
It’s the film that ushered in a new era of Horror aka the Slasher Movie.
And Michael Myers also blazed the path for
Jason, Freddy, Lead Cenobite aka Pinhead and Chucky.
(Honorable Mention: Leather Face since he came onto the scene four years before Halloween.)

A special nod goes to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), partly because many people believe this film to be the first slasher film, but mostly because John Carpenter had a lot of respect for Psycho and slipped little nods into Halloween, such as naming Dr. Samuel Loomis after Sam Loomis.
And of course:
For this dinner, I didn’t stick straight to all of the from scratch recipes.
I made some minor adjustments.
First on the menu was Parmesan Pepper Popcorn in honor of Annie Brackett; Laurie’s not so nice friend, who makes popcorn for little Lindsay Wallace while The Shape is spying. When it was our turn to make popcorn, we ran into a tiny problem. I have a ton of microwavable popcorn but unfortunately I had forgotten we have no microwave. But, I did some quick googling and you can indeed pop microwavable popcorn in a pan with just oil.
After the popping, add Grated Parmesan Cheese, Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper.
Next we have Poutine, or what we used to call “Disco Fries” back home aka French Fries covered in Gravy. The Poutine is in honor of the Canadian born, William Shatner, whose mask was recreated to make the iconic Michael Myers Mask. For our fries, I had the extremely difficult task of baking a bag of Frozen French Fries and heating up a can of Beef Gravy…I know…and then topping it off with Mozzarella Cheese.
Next on the menu, we had our main course, the perfect dish for babysitters, Pizza Margherita. We used Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes, two types of Mozzarella Cheese and a ready-made Pizza Crust, which I highly recommend for novice pizza makers, like myself.
We paired all courses with canned beer, (“preferably the American and cheap kind, which High Schoolers would totally score.”) The comics are in honor of Tommy Doyle, the boy Laurie is babysitting.
Throughout all the food and flicks we enjoyed a little good ol’ fashioned pumpkin carving.
And finally, we ended the night with Whoopie Pies, in honor of all the young couples using their last moments on earth to make…uh, whoopie. Instead of the Pumpkin flavored ones that were suggested, I went with this recipe.
It’s a little messy,

but totally worth it!

 Bonus Bites

On October 31st, we co-hosted a party at Manny’s House.
Here are some of the goodies I created:
Rice Krispie Treat with Orange MarshmallowsCaramel Apple Jell-O Shots (that tasted much better than they look!)
I added more vodka than the recipe asked for, so it took a little longer to chill.
and
the crowd pleaser
a delicious punch recipe my Aunt gave me.Thank you for reading
and I hope you all had a very
Happy Halloween!

“It’s because you’re eating too much candy, You Oinker!”

30. October .15

Well, today is Mischief Night, but it wasn’t until I was in college that it dawned on me this “holiday” has no meaning for the rest of the country. My husband, has only heard about it from me. So, I googled it and apparently, pretty much two states, celebrate this prankful event.
Now, I use the term celebrate loosely, because I never went out to prank people.
But a lot of my friends did. But it was all in good fun, toilet paper, shaving cream and soap were weapons of choice.
For the wilder, “bad boys,” eggs were used.
Who else has heard of mischief night?

But let’s back up the week a little…

26.October.15

Keeping up with Back to the Future Day a little longer, October 26, 1985 is the day Marty went back to November 5th 1955. There’s one more thing I want to share in honor of BTTF. I found this great article a few days ago. It goes into depth about just how brilliant BTTF is and why it deserves to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. This article does a great job of bringing all the elements and points together in a very concise and intriguing way.

If you’re interested in more Back to the Future, there’s a new documentary on Netflix called Back in Time.

I ran into my first tarantula on Sunday. The three of us were walking down the mountain when we saw it…I must admit that I was not as scared as I assumed I would be. Well…it was dead, but still it was rather big! I mean it was not huge but body and legs, it could probably fit into the palm of my hand. I did get scared, because I almost stepped right on to it. But seriously, I was not as terrified as I had expected. I’ve been beyond scared of what it would be like to actually come face to face with a tarantula out in the wild, but  after I was a safe distance away from its corpse, dare I say it was actually kind of cute? (Oh goodness, lets not jinx us now…)

I have some exciting news, I finally got a new phone! I’ve been hardballing this for about a year, but long story short, after 11 years, I have finally parted ways with t-mobile, much to the delight of Stan and my parents. I also figured out my login for Skype, so for the past few days, I have been feeling pretty high-tech

Manny brought Zek over for another play date and the pups had an impromptu Jersey Monday. Annie didn’t much care for the Jersey at first, but then she grew to love it.

After lunch, I got caught in the middle of a dangerous game, which really would have ended badly for one of us…

which tired the pups out…

Wednesday was a big day.
I got up early and walked to the post office, hair salon, PX and furniture store…let us not speak of the hair salon.
I was on such a high from finishing all my errands that I tried to go to the Chapel but it was locked.

So, I kept walking. But then I remembered somewhere else I need to visit, so I finally got to ACS : Army Community Services. The man who welcomed me could not have been nicer. They have this three-phase class series for new Army Wives, that should help get me adjusted to Army Life. I’m currently waiting for a call back from the director about the date of Phase One. I’ll keep you posted.
This week, I also did a little decorating to help get us in the mood.

I also took this quiz on Facebook that made me feel quite flattered
but also gave me a chuckle it’s a bit unbelievable since you can’t see my face 😛
But, I’ll still take it! (Let me know who you get)

Annie and I took a long walk to the vet today.
She was a very good girl and met lots of new friends.The Veterinarian also informed us that we need to get Annie Purina puppy chow specifically for Large dogs.
She said that normal Puppy Chow is meant for smaller dogs because they were tested on a group of Beagles .
Large dogs, especially Goldens are prone to hip dysplasia and giving them puppy chow for smaller dogs could increase their chances. This is because puppy chow can do harm to dogs, for example: if a mature dog eats puppy chow parts of their body will keep growing. “Puppy Chow is meant for Puppies.”
Tonight is Manny and Zek are coming over to help us kick off Halloween!

So, if you’ll excuse me, I better get started on Part I of our Halloween extravaganza!
If I don’t see you tomorrow, I hope you have a great Halloween!

National Tell A Story Day

27 – October – 15
I missed the United States’ National Tell a Story Day by six months,
so, please enjoy this Flash Fiction in honor of Scotland and England’s National Tell a Story Day.

Victorian Day

“You’re so stupid. She’s already a block away. What’s wrong with you?”

I’m doing my best. I lean on my walker and stare at the ground. It’s so humid out. Sweat slowly rolls down my back.

A group of women pass us. He scolds me. I hate when he yells at me in front of people. I just want to go home.

“Get hers.” He spits, shoving me forward.

I look ahead at the group of women, there’s an old woman about my age, two middle aged women and two young girls in their twenties.

“GO.” He yells through gritted teeth.

I push forward, my forehead drips while the sweat down my back reaches my panties. I just want to get this done. Let this be quick. I wipe my face and look around at the vendors. What a waste. How is this Victorian? Because they have a pocket of Victorian homes in town and some old rags, they think it justifies a special weekend. But he wanted us to come today. He needs me and I have to help him.

I can hear them clearly now. What can I say? I don’t dare turn around, I can’t meet his gaze until I’m successful. I have to get this right, I have to make him happy. I must.

I’m almost inside their group. I study them closely. I don’t even bother with the women, he doesn’t want them. But the girls. One is in shorts and a tank top, the other is in a white lacey dress. He’ll like the one in shorts better. But the one in the dress looks more Victorian, she looks the part. I’ll say I need her picture for the event. Girls like having their pictures taken. They need it. Especially young, simple girls.

I want to go home.

“Excuse me.” I hear my voice crack. “Excuse me!”

The women turn in my direction. The old one and the middle aged one in hippie pants automatically put on fake smiles. They must think I’m pathetic. The other woman looks at me in annoyance, like the girl in shorts.

I fumble with my walker a little, they shouldn’t see me as a threat. “I hope I’m not bothering you.” They’re all facing me now. The one in the dress is wearing a big floppy hat and sunglasses. I can’t tell what she’s thinking. I stutter a little and the sweat is starting to turn uncomfortable. “But you see…your dress is similar. I mean it’s Victorian in a more modern way.” The little twit looks down at herself and smiles politely. The others look intrigued as well. I’ve got ‘em.

“We like when young people take an interest in this event. And I was wondering…could I take your picture? For the newsletter?”

She looks shyly to the others, unsure of what to say. I eye the one in the shorts from the corner of my eye. She’s very healthy looking, her shirts not too low but there’s plenty to see. He’d be happier with her.

“Um…alright.”

I turn my attention back to the girl in the dress and smile as I quickly grab for my camera.

“Should I take this off?” says the girl as she begins to hand one of the women her purse, hat and sunglasses.

“Good for you for knowing that…” I mumble. The sun is beating down as the girl stands in the middle of the sidewalk. I look towards the shade.

I push forward through the women. “Maybe we should—“

“No. She needs to be in the shade. Don’t be stupid.” His voice piercing the moment.

He shoves next to me. Just let me do it. Let this be over with.

I look at the girl. Waiting for her picture to be taken. We’re so close. Let me do it.

“Get in the shade.” He orders.

The girl looks unsure now and walks closer to the trees.

“No. NO! In the street get in the street.” He spits through me.

The girl looks and begins to walk into the street. The truck is coming. This is it. I clutch my camera tighter.

“Wait.”

NOOOO…. I turn. The women are closer now. “I’m sorry, but this is getting weird.” The woman wearing the hippie pants says. Just like that, our chance is gone. I look down and push forward. It’s time to get out of here.

“You’re so stupid.” He states before darting off once again.

I hope that short tale of spookiness tickled your fancy.

Thank you so much for reading!

“On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was” (and an Ode to American Horror Story)

Helloooo October!
how happy I am to see your endearingly, spooky face 🙂

October is one of the best months,
the start of the holiday season,
the beginning of decoration fever,
and my favorite,
Halloween

A full excuse for
Costumes,
Candy,Horror Movies ❤
and
how can I forget
– Season 5 –
-07 October 2015 –

I am beyond excited for Wednesday.
In fact, I have been so excited for AHS
I actually convinced myself that last Wednesday was the 7th.
You can imagine my horror when I realized it was still September.

If your haven’t seen American Horror Story then I highly suggest you check it out.
If you love horror, an intriguing story, and love America that is.
The first three seasons are currently on Netflix,
and the fourth will be released on October 6th.
If you’re interested, here’s my take on Seasons 1-4:
{Feel Free to Skip Ahead}

Season One, the start of it all and many consider, the best. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first episode. My good friend and I watched the premiere and there was something just too, maybe the word is, harsh, about it? And still to this day, the first episode of Season One is unpleasant to get through, but don’t give up. It Does Get Better. I got my Grandma and even my Mom into AHS. (The latter not being a much of a Horror fan at all) There’s just a really great group of characters and solid story that makes the gore worth watching. 

Season Two, aka my personal favorite, is not for the faint of heart. It’s a pretty intense psychologically and the  horror this season can be a bit too realistic for most tastes. My Mom is the most religious person I know, so having Religion be a major theme was pretty tough for her to swallow. And again, the first two episodes were the toughest to watch, there’s a pretty sacrilegious scene.  (I almost lost them both but my Grandma held tough and ended up thoroughly enjoying it.) It also brought me one of my favorite characters in the entire series.

Season Three, or to some the beginning of the decline of AHS (though others say the decline starts once Season 2 began) Coven is definitely a different flavor from the past two seasons. I personally feel that you just need to be in the right mood. I enjoyed the light heartedness and subtle humor. Though don’t mistake that as Season 3 is not a horrifying. In fact, each season in AHS, I find a particular scene so disturbing that it stays with me until the next episode. This scene just so happened to occur in episode one of season 3.  Which goes back to my comment on the first episode being tough to watch. This was also the season where the women ruled and two classic actresses joined the cast. Also they really played around with the story telling and film techniques.

Season Four, was my least favorite, though I still enjoyed it. This was the first season I watched live with my Grandma and Mother, so we got to dissect it on a weekly basis. The story was a bit too emotional for my taste, as in, the characters journeys  were jut very dark. I’m not saying its bad, I just don’t like the emotional roller coaster of darkness. I also didn’t love Jessica Lange’s final American Horror Story role. As a whole, I felt like the season was rushed and a tad disjointed. But overall the season was still an enjoyable watch,

and the fourth will be arriving just a day before the premiere of Season 5,
so no worries, you have about 24 hours to catch up.

No seriously, it’s an anthology series, so there’s no need to be caught up by 10PM Wednesday.

Jessica Lange

Evan Peters

Sarah Paulson

I am extremely sad to see the intensely talented Jessica Lange leave us.
Seeing her transformation was one of my favorite parts of AHS.
Though there have been some really great additions,

My personal favorite being

But I digress…
I am a fan of Lady Gaga but I must admit, I am a tad nervous.
Which I think mostly is due to Jessica Lange’s absence.
But I really hope L.G. really knocks it out of the park!

What do you think?
What are your thoughts on the past four seasons?
Are you excited for the return of the official start of Halloween?

Aside from the joys…or uh, terrors of AHS,
Here are some other October delights, I’m looking forward to:

I’m really looking forward to trying out some new recipes.

and of course,
which leads to another personal favorite,
I’m also going to think of ways to show my support for a much worthy cause. I have lost loved ones to Cancer but not to Breast Cancer, thankfully. Though Breast Cancer did take the life of my friend’s mother, who was probably the kindest and most thoughtful person who ever walked the Earth. If you have any ideas, please shoot me an email.

 Also, did you know October 4th is National Taco Day?

well, I better get back to unpacking. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Hope you enjoyed my little fluff post ode to October and AHS.

Thank you for Reading!

🙂 Enjoy the Month of October 🙂