Watch out criminals...I'm on the case

So I reported for juror orientation yesterday afternoon. I am "on call" the whole month of November. I have to call in every day after 4 and see if I have to serve the next day. The plus side to this is since it is Nov I get 4 holidays (Veterans Day, Election Day, and Thurs and Fri for Thanksgiving). The downside is it is going to make it VERY hard to schedule transporters to come pick up cars. I am going to have to tell them well I may or may not be here tomorrow as I might have to serve jury duty. Oh well maybe my company will finally see the benefits of having some part time office help.

A History of Halloween

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, even as a kid. For me though it was not about the candy, but getting to dress up and be something else. I do not remember ever buying a costume. When I was youger my mom would help me make a costume and when I got older I came up with my ideas myself. This year I am the Wiked Witch of the West per my sons request. He loves when I do her voice. "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!"



Growing up in the south, in the bible belt, there were always people who did not celebrate Halloween because it was "satanic." Or those who would only let their kids wear "happy" costumes. As I got older I did a lot of reading about the origins of Halloween and I though I would share some of what I learned. I know there will always be the people who think like that, but I would like to think that I did something to attempt to change their minds.



Halloween does have its origins in pagan beliefs. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the UK, and northern France, celebrated their New Year on Nov 1. This day marked the end of the harvest and the coming of winter. Winter for them was a very dark cold period, and was a pretty scary part of the year for them, as it was most often associated with death. The Celts believed that on Oct 31 the boundaries between the spirit world and the world of the living became thin. Oct 31 was known to them as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sah ween). The Celts believd that the spirits could cross over into the world of the living and wreak havoc on crops and cause all kinds of other mischief. They also believed that the presence of those spirtis made it easier for their priests, the Druids, to make predictions about the future.

To celebrate this event the Celts would create bonfires and perform animal sacrifices tp their gods while dressed in costumes which were usually animal skins and heads. Hence the tradition of dressing up on Halloween.

By the early 40 A.D.'s, the Romans had conquered most of the Celtic territories. The Romans had 2 holidays that were celebrated around the same time as Samhain. Ferelia which was a day that the Romans celebrated the dead and the second was a day to celebrate Pomona, goddess of the trees and fruit. Pomonas symbol was an apple and it is generally thought that is where the tradition of "bobbing for apples" comes from.

With the spread of Christianity, came a move to try and replace the pagan holidays with chuch sanctioned ones. Hence All Saints Day which is Nov 1. The holiday was also known as All Hallows or All Hallowmas. The night before which was Samhain became All Hallows Eve which became Hallow Evening which later became Halloween.

The name might have changed but much of the same traditions were kept. The tradition of dressing up in costume and going from house to house seeking treats can be traced back to the Celts. The Celts would put out offerings of food and drink to appease the spirits, fairies and demons that were wandering the earth on Samhain. Over the years people started to dress like the spirits that were said to be wandering the earth and would do tricks to gain food and drink. This was called mumming and is where we get trick or treating today from.




We also get the jack o lantern from the ancient Irish myth of Stingy Jack. Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him and being true to his name did not want to pay for the drink. He convinced the devil to trun himself into a coin that Jack could use to pay for the drinks in return for Jacks soul. When the devil had done so JAck placed the coin into his pocket with a silver cross which prevented the devil from retaking his true form. Jack eventually freed the devil after making him promise to leave him alone for a year. After the years time was up the devil again came for JAck and JAck tricked him into climbing into a tree to pick an apple. While the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross onto the trunk, again trapping the devil. He made the devil promise to leave him alone for 10 years before he would let him down. Not long after Jack died and being the type of person he was God did not want to let him into heaven so he sent him down to the devil. The devil would have nothing to do with Jack after all the times he had tricked him and told him to go back where he came from. JAck asked for a light to light his way home with and the devil gave him a piece of coal from the fires of hell. Jack carved out a turnip and stuck the coal inside to use as a light and he has been roaming the earth ever since. The Irish began to refer to the ghostly figure as Jack of the Lantern which became Jack O Lantern. The people of Ireland soon began to use turnips, potatoes and other vegetables to make their own to frighten away the spirits. When people immigrated to the Americas they brought their traditions with them and discovered that pumpkins, which were native to America, were perfect to make their Jack O Lanterns with.

This is just a brief look at the history/traditions of Halloween. There are a lot more out there and this is nowhere near being the complete history. It is just a little bit of knowledge I thought I would share.

KY must like to pick on the newcomers

I have lived in AL my whole life up until I moved here in April. I got my KY drivers license in June I believe it was. By August I had gotten my summons to appear for Jury Duty.

I have no luck what so ever. I have to report this afternoon for orientation. With my luck I will probably get Grand Jury.

A Little Halloween Fun

Pumpkin Simulator

You can draw your own face ona pumpkin and then light it up to see what it looks like.

Spider Cookies a Success

There was a recipe for some really cute spider cookies in an All You magazine I picked up this month. I tried it out last night and they turned out quite cute, if I do say so myself. Plus I had most of the ingredients on hand so it only cost me a few dollars to pick up what I needed. Here is the recipe:

Chocolate-Cookie Spiders

Prep: 15 min.

Bake: 12 min. per batch

Yield: 18 cookies

Cost per serving: 42 cents

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

6 Tbsp. unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate sprinkles

72 mini M&Ms

144 mini pretzel sticks, about 4 inches long, each snapped in half

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

2. Cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in flour mixture until well combined.

3. Roll a tablespoonful of dough between palms of your hands and then roll ball in sprinkles. Repeat with remaining dough and sprinkles. Place 6 large balls on each baking sheet, evenly spacing them and pressing lightly to slightly flatten. Place two red hots or mini M&Ms on one end of each ball to resemble eyes. Insert 4 pretzel stick halves on each side of each ball to resemble legs.

4. Bake one sheet of cookies until dry on top, 12 minutes. Let cool completely on sheet on wire rack. Repeat with remaining sheet.

PER SERVING (1 cookie): 159 Cal., 8g Fat (5g Sat), 29mg Chol., 1g Fiber, 2g Pro., 21g Carb., 142mg Sod.


Or you can go here for some other ideas for spooky treats!

Randomness

I love this site!


www.icanhascheezburger.com

Try It Tuesday: Witches Brew

For today's Try it Tuesday I am going to share a new wine I tried a few weeks ago called Witches Brew.



This is a spiced red wine by Leelanau Cellars that goes by the name Leelanau Cellars Spiced Wine for most of the year. However, during the Halloween season, it is Witches Brew.

I saw an advertisement in the Meijer circular a few weeks ago and decided to try it as it reminded me of my friends back in AL. We jokingly called ourselves the Witches of Sloss after the place where we all met. One of them introduced me to mead and would serve it mulled with yummy spices in it.

Witches Brew is perfect for the chilly nights of autumn. Open a bottle and por into a pan and heat on low heat just until it is warm. It has a nice amount of spice without being too strong. You can also warm it in a Crock Pot on low heat with a few cinnamon sticks thrown in and the smell will fill your home.

And for the best part....it is on sale at Meijers 2 for $11. I have stocked up on it as I am giving it as Christmas gifts to my witches back in AL and for my husband and I to enjoy. (Yep you know it is good when your husband ASKS you to fix it)

Monday's Free Redbox Code

Good for one free rental due back by midnight on Tuesday

93NCA5

New Bath and Body Works Coupon

Got this in my email. Free 2 oz Signature Collection Lotion with any purchse.

Free Splenda sample for Facebook members

If you are a facebook member you can get a sample of the new Splenda Mist. You have to go to your actual profile page and there is a link in the right sidebar for a free FULL SIZE sample.

My weekend of awesome deals!

I hit the mall Saturday morning with the purpose of using the Bath and Body Works coupons I posted about here and also checking out the sale at JCPenney.

I desperately need some winter clothes and new blue jeans. Mine must have shrunk in the wash....right?



While I was there I decided to go by Lush in Macy's and check out their products. Another blogger that I read recommended one of their cleansers The sales girl was VERY helpful and gave me a sample of the cleanser plus a moisturizer sample to try. I love both of them so far and will probably start using them both. I also bought a chunk of one of their yummy smelling soaps.

I left there and headed to Bath and Body Works, stopping on the way to sample some wine from Elk Creek's kiosk. At Bath and Body Works I got 6 antibacterial soaps, a bubble bath in my favorite scent (sensual Amber), and the wallflowers starter kit for $18.90 total. This was divided into 2 purchases and I got a coupon book with $35 worth of coupons including another coupon for a free item with a $10 purchase with each purchase I made. Guess I have to go back next weekend and use those. That deal was great for me because the antibacterial soaps were on sale for $3 and I LOVE using them at home, plus I can use them for Christmas gifts.



Next I headed to JCPenney, stopping to get a $25 flu shot on my way. I ended up getting 3 pairs of Arizona Jeans, an Arizona sweater, and a Saint Johns Bay microfiber jacket for a total of $94. I had a gift card with a few dollars still on it so I ended up paying $89 and some change OOP. My total savings on that purchase was $85, so I basically got everything for half price.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Update on The Bath and Body Works Post

I went to the mall this weekend to use the coupons I posted about. I ended up scoring 6 antibacterial soaps (for the house and for Christmas gifts, bubble bath for me, and the Wallflowers set (Christmas gift) for $18.90.

They also gave me a coupon book with $35 worth of savings with each purchase. Each book has another buy $10 get an item free coupon. So I am planning on heading to the mall again this next weekend for more Christmas gifts.

Daniels Dragon Costume

My son decided while watching Eragon that he wanted to be a dragon for Halloween. A green one of course, "that's my favorite color."



I was a little apprehensive about how it would turn out since I have not used my creative genes in a few years. Sad I know. I am attempting to remedy that.



All in all I have to say it turned out fairly well. I still have a tail to create and his gloves to fix, but he was VERY happy with his costume.

Bath and Body Works Deals

Bath and Body Works has some great deals going on right now. Perfect for stocking up on stuff for Christmas.

Get a Free Signature Collection Product ($12 Value) with any $10 purchase here
Valid until Nov 2

Works great with their Stockpile Sale on Antibacterial Soaps which are 5/$15 and you would get the 6th one free.

You can also get a free Wallflowers or Scentport Pluggable Diffuser Starter Set with this coupon
Valid until Nov 23

You can use that with ANY purchase. There is no minimum purchase required. I am going to use it with a sample size item. I can use the sample for a stocking stuffer and give the Wallflowers or Scentport as a gift!

Friday Fun: Cat Bowling

Here is a fun game to waste away the hours at work until the weekend.....


http://www.brandextract.com/catbowling/

Paper shouts giveaway by Thrifty and Chic Mom

She currently has a $50 giftcard giveaway for this company. Go here to check it out.

Here is a sample for all you bloggers out there

Nutritonal Tree will send you a free sample (right now it is 1 oz tube of Revitacil Wrinkle and Eye Cream) if you mention them in a blog and send them the link to it. Go here

They also do a free sample starting every morning at 10 am est but there is a limited number and they usually go quickly.


http://www.nutritionaltree.com

A midweek laugh

The Stomach Virus of Doom

Has attacked my house. My son was sick all last week and Saturday night my husband came down with it. (Why is it that he is a bigger baby about it than my 3 year old?) I am walking around in a constant cloud of Lysol at home praying that I do not get it. Yes I can miss work but I REALLY hate those kind of viruses.

Try it Tuesday

Try it Tuesday




Hanes did a giveaway, about a month ago if I remember correctly (Don't hold me to that, I sometimes have problems rememebring yesterday) for a free pair of their new wedgie free underwear. I got mine in the mail this past week and decided to give it a try this weekend.

I got the bikini underwear and they were a lovely shade of pale green. I was kind of skeptical about the whole no wedgie bit, but surprisingly, they were very comfortable and NO WEDGIES!!!

They come in all different styles and prices. Go here for a complete list of styles and prices online.
I know I would definitely buy more!