Happy Halloween?

One thing that I DON'T like about living downtown is the lack of Trick or Treaters on Halloween night. I'd go through bags of candy when I lived in the suburbs. Now I get excited if I get ANY goblins at my door, downtown. Last year I didn't get any. The year before that, just a few, and I think it was only because Eric and I sat on the porch, making it VERY obvious we were giving out candy. I'm happy to say I've had a handful this year... but all in one cluster of kids. Bummer.

Granted, it is very cold this year. I know one of my neighbors across the street actually has his kid 'helping' hand out candy. They likely went to one of the many 'safe' events earlier in the week or last weekend. The other thing is that there's a lot of younger kids that may not even go out in this neighborhood - just too young. And maybe we just don't have enough participation in this neighborhood since there's not a lot of kids - which means we won't draw from other neighborhoods, either. Whatever the reason, it makes me miss the kids in the suburbs... except for maybe the teenagers that didn't try very hard on a costume.

It bums me out so much that I don't even decorate like I did at my old house. I'd always throw something fun outside, usually involving lights or sound...or both. But here, we're too far from the road for passer-bys to appreciate it and, well, I don't get a lot (if any) Trick-or-Treaters to make it fun.

*sigh*

Hopefully it'll get better as the kids get older. Eric and I have started to see this neighborhood become very family friendly and very kid friendly. So *fingers crossed* hopefully next year we'll see more kids and it'll just grow from there.

In the meantime, hope everyone else out there is having a fun and Happy Halloween!

Frankenstorm

Once again, we have another storm being over-hyped by the media. Seriously over-hyped!

Hurricane Sandy, which is turned into a Category 1 storm after going over the Bahamas and will barely be a Category 1 when making landfall, has been hyped like it will be New Jersey's Katrina. While she is of massive size, she's still just a Category 1... which just means a lot of rain and more wind than you're used to. But I think the northeast can handle it - they do, after all, get these crazy storms called blizzards on occasion in the winter.

Don't get me wrong - I know these storms can be devastating. But nowadays, more often than not, the media over-hypes whatever the storm is. Has anyone every told these media types the story about the boy who cried wolf?

I get that the warm hurricane winds will be combining with the coldfront coming down from the north to cause this 'perfect storm' that is going to wreak havoc on the northeast... but seriously... hype. Pure over-hype. If treated like and reported for what it's really going to do, you wouldn't have the panicked people you have right now, completely freaking out before the storm has even hit.

*sigh*

At the end of it all, everything will be fine. Maybe a little flooding, some wind damage, some people without power (only because of the ancient infrastructure in place)... but really, just another big rain storm blowing through. Sure, there will be damage left behind... but relatively normal, in terms of any type of storm damage. With that said, though, anyone impacted by this storm, be safe. And that just means don't do anything stupid that will end up on TV.

My Last Political Vent... This Year... Maybe...

Okay, so I voted. I am lucky enough to live in a state that has early voting (yay for that!). Yesterday morning, Eric and I walked over to the courthouse, waited in a really short line, and voted. Glad that's over with... now can the politcal ads go away??

I know they can't. So many millions of people have not voted yet, and won't until next week. Less than 10 days, now, and all the craziness and mud slinging will be over. And what will have to show for it? A still very divided country. And why are they divided? Because this stupid, outdated, two-party system we call democracy divides a majority of the county. Bottom line - it's broke. And no one can seem to step up and actually fix it because that would mean going against the system, which means going against the money. Cause isn't that what is seems to be boiling down to - he who has the most money wins?

That doesn't seem right, does it? Yet, daily, instead of seeing the comparison of the different candidtae views on actual issues, we see who has raised more money to date. And that matters why? Bacuase more money equals more negative ads against the other candidate. Oh, and only in the so-called swing states for federal offices. We'll just write off a majority of the states as not needing to know anything. But that won't stop them from bombarding you with ads at the local/state level.

Wow. Sure makes you feel like your vote counts, doesn't it?

I think politcal ads needs to be against eleaction rules. Or at least all content must first be approved by some non-biased governing board and not allow anything about the other candidate - only speak to what your the candiate can and will (try to) do. This even goes for all those ads put out by lobbiest. Negative ads should be banned.

I'm going to do my best to tune out all the ads over the next week since I know they will actually be ramping up this week. But I already voted. They don't change my vote.

A New Hobby

It seems I have found a new hobby! As strange at it may sound to people that know me, I have found that I love canning!

Why do they call it canning, though? You seal the stuff up in jars, not cans...

Seriously, though... Eric and I talked about how with our garden out back, we need to try to preserve some of the great stuff we get every year. So after talking about this a lot, I finally decided to dabble a bit, starting with the loads of raspberries we had from our bush. Apparently, raspberries thrive in our soil. So I made some jam.

It was so easy! Why do more people not do this??? Granted, I haven't tried anything overly difficult yet - I made some salsa today, which was still pretty darn easy. But I want to do more! At least a little more practice jams to get it perfect (consistency it not yet my strong point).

My mom said it's in my blood - her mom canned and she thought she remembered my dad's mom canning, too. Back then, it was more of a process, too - you had to wax seal things shut, which with today 'technically advanced lids', you don't have to, anymore (unless you just really want to).

So while I promise not to become 'that friend' that passes out homemade jam to everyone she knows, I can't say you're never get any of it. But I do assume it'll be a seasonal hobby - just when the fresh produce is there for me. Unless I get really crazy about it... then maybe I have an addiction, though, not a hobby...

Colorado Weekend

It had been awhile since I had a 'real' trip... one out the the midwest. While a trip to Chicago is nice, it's still the midwest. So where better to go then to Colorado to visit some friends.

We flew out Friday morning - it's been awhile since I flew and it actually felt odd to be at the airport. To think, just a few years ago, I was there nearly every week - at least every other week! I miss traveling for work. But I digress. This was a 'fun trip' and I was really looking forward to it.

With the time change, we were in Denver early afternoon. After a little chaos with getting the rental (we had a 'bad' car at first, meaning, running poorly), we were off to meet up with The Phillips' family. It was such a beautiful drive - not sure how I so quickly forget how beautiful Colorado is. It's always a pleasure to come back to!

Our first night was a low key night, just hanging at the house and going out for an early dinner (relatively). Eric even wound down by playing on the Wii with Jackson - it's an amazing feat to get Eric to wind down!

Saturday morning we woke u to a chilly, drizzly day. We debated about what to do and when to do it. We knew we wanted to hike, but did we try to wait out the drizzle, or head out and hope for the best? When should we do lunch? We finally decided to suck it up and head out - it appeared to be ending. But then as we get on the road, more drizzle comes, so we decided to see if lunch will get us through to the blue skies we were promised by the weatherman. But no... lunch didn't do it. So we headed out anyway, geared up with umbrellas, hats, and gloves. Destination - Castlewood Canyon State Park.

It was about a 20 minute drive or so, and the rain seemed to increase rather than end. We started at the main entrance, only to get rained on even more at the first 'scenic viewpoint' nearest to the entrance. So we got back in the car and looked at the map we were given at the ranger checkpoint. We discovered that most of what we wanted to scene was probably easier to get to from the other entrances, and though maybe the drive to get to it, again, would help us get through some of this overcast, drizzly day. So around the perimeter of the park we drove!

It did let up somewhat, and we got out the hike the trails. The big attraction of this park, aside from the scenic canyon (hence the name), was a blown out dam that was built across Cherry Creek in the late 1800's. It blew out in the 1930's and caused one of the worst floods in Denver's history. What civil engineer wouldn't want to see such a thing??

By the time we made it to the dam, the kids were starting the wear down, as were the adults, so it worked out well that we didn't plan on going further and just headed back to the car. And wouldn't you know, the rain started to complete let up on the hike back. We even saw blue skies as we drove away. But we still had fun, mud puddles and all. And even in the drizzly rain, there were some really pretty views to be had.

After be worn out by the hike, we decided to do the low key thing again and sent the boys out to pick up some dinner for the night. It was nice to just hang out and catch up. It was nice to just slow down for once! Even if it was caused by wearing ourselves out... at least it was doing something fun and not due to stress or work otherwise.

Sunday rolled in with blue skies and gorgeous weather. It figured. But with a late (relatively) flight out, we had time to enjoy it and decided on another small hike, a little closer to the homestead. And one we could take the overly large puppy on, too. I think Kirby enjoyed getting out of the house. As we all did as we took a gradual hike up a foothill, seeing lots of prairie dogs a lot the way. And once we were at the top, we could even see the snow topped mountains in the distance. Yet, here we stood in short sleeves. It was an ideal hike to end our trip with.

And just like that, our trip was done and were heading back to Indy. But what a perfect weekend. Both Eric and I were able to unwind and just relax. It always helps the soul to get away - sometime a weekend out of town is just what the body needs to be rejuvenated.

Project IMA - INspire

I had quite a fun girls night out this evening. It was planned out, but I did not know what to expect!

So in general, it was a fashion show with the styles based on one of the Indianapolis Museum of Art's exhibit, An American Legacy: Norell Blass, Halston, and Sprouse (fashion designers from the 50's, 60's, & 70's). Alone, they were fashion icons in their era. But they still followed the trends of the moments.

So overall, I was quite impressed - there were some really cool outfits, some of which I wouldn't hesitate to wear! There were still some crazy things on the runway, but for the most part, relatively tame (no meat dresses, to speak of). The designers were from all over the US, even NYC and LA, which are known for fashion. It wasn't too long - just enough to keep everyone's attention span long enough. So for my first true fashion show, I say bravo!

After the show, we all went downtown to Bru Burger for a quick bite. The fashion show kind ran right at the middle of dinnertime, so we were hungry, even if it was getting late! But it turned out to be a good place to end of the night.

So as I said, quite a fun girls night out!

A Fundraiser and a Friend

Eric is on a board for a non-profit community development organization, and being non-profit, they of course must have fundraisers. Well, last night was one such event. It was nothing crazy - a basic dinner fundraiser with raffles and such, but it turned out to be quite a nice even and I really enjoyed myself!

There were a few quirky things that weren't explained very well - you could tell this was one of the first times for such an event, but they hid it fairly well. One thing that was a little off that could've been explained better - your table had to collectively come up with a bid (donation) for your dessert (there was a table full of items) and the highest bid chose dessert first, AND got to go to the buffet line first. They didn't explain if it had to be cash, check, or if credit card could be used... as a table, we just came up with a cash bid. But when they announced the winner, it was clear that credit cards were involved. But no biggy - it turned out to be a neat idea, none the less.

The best part was that the event only lasted as long as an event like this should last - just over 2 hours. It probably would've been less without some of the early 'bidding' confusion, but no one felt trapped or that it drug out too long. Which was good, cause I had one more place to go last night.

One of my best friends, Chris, was in town - he moved to Texas a few years ago and I hardly get to see or talk to him anymore! But last night was the only 'free time' he had during this weekend trip, and I wasn't going to let another 6 months (or more!) go by without a little catch-up time with him. So Eric and I headed to the north side for a drink (or two) and some good quality time with Chris. I can honestly say, it was just great to see him after not seeing him for so long. I just love how you can pick up with a good friend, no matter how long it's been, and feel like it was just yesterday since you got to see each other. That is exactly what it felt like, too... now if I can only lessen the amount of time before I see him again.

In the News

Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another person, physically or mentally. Bullying is characterized by an individual behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person.

There are a few keywords in there... but the first one that strikes me as rather important is repeated. There's a story in the news about a news anchor receiving a single email from a viewer concerned about her image on TV (being that she was overweight). One email... and she responded with an anti-bullying segment. From what I've heard of the email, it sounded like criticism, yes, but not bullying. There was no name calling, and this wasn't one email in a string of emails... it was a single email voicing concern about her weight and what it portrayed to her audience.

Now I'm not 'pro-bullying', by any means. I was bullied in school - I think most kids were, at some point, in the mental way, at least. Some, then, became bullies because of the bullying. Others, like myself, shrugged it off and went on with our lives. But it seems like the definition of what was considered bullying was much narrower back then...

Which leads me to the next issue... why do we shelter our children so much?? When are we going to stop living in denial (and putting our kids in that same state of mind) about 'real life' and just reality in general?? The world is not perfect. We will not always get our way. There will be bad days in all of our lives. Not everyone is a nice person, nor can you expect every person to be nice. There is NOT a logical excuse for everything that is bad - sometime 'bad' just comes the poor decisions made by someone. And not everyone can be the winner (or the person in charge). And just because someone says something negative to you does not make it bullying!

Wake up, people! Political correctness and all this other BS is making us soft! Suddenly, we can't take a joke, nor can we tell one for fear of 'offending' someone. Your child can't play in a park without you hovering over them, or you're thought to be a bad parent. Any progress we've made in equality of race and gender is slowly being diminished as we get to a point where if you look at someone of another race or gender, you're 'looking at them the wrong way' and have authorities called on you. Okay... that may be extreme, but it seems to be going that way...

I don't know who started the PC craze and who felt it was their authority to determine than anything negative is bad/mean and shouldn't be said or done. But to those people, I say this - you really f'd up this country! Every country has their issues, but we're the only one that seems to have an 'excuse' for every 'issue' we have, and it's never our own fault. Because we've become soft. We don't know how to own up and take responsibilities for what happens to us. We don't teach the next generation how to be strong and work hard to get what you want. Instead, we teach them that it's all happiness and goodness in the world, and you get what you want, because everyone deserves to win. WTF?? It's no wonder we're practically owned by China.