Getting Into the Halloween Spirit

Pumpkin Teeth!

That's right - some nice fangs that will easily add a bit of fright to your Jack O'Lantern. It's pretty difficult to carve spiky teeth in the pumpkin - the sharper and thinner the teeth, the more likely they are to break.

To use Pumpkin Teeth all you have to do is carve a wide smile into the pumpkin and insert the plastic "teeth," which are white and glow in the dark. They come in three sizes and can be re-used year after year. Best of all, a pack will only run you $2.50. What's not to love?

If fangs aren't your thing, you can opt for the buckteeth - in my opinion, those buckteeth are screaming for braces.

I discovered these yesterday and have already placed my order. It's the easiest way I can think of to add some fun to Halloween this year.

With the Rising Cost of Groceries, It's Cheaper to Eat Fast Food

I could save money if I fed my family nothing but fast food. How pathetic is that?

Over the past two or three months, it seems that the price of just about everything at the grocery store has risen. Things that have been the same price for years - scallions, for example - now cost more. Even the little bunches of flowers that I sometimes splurge on are pricier. And don't even get me started on the rest of the produce and dairy and meat products.

I'm not a buy-the-kit-and-make-it kind of cook. Experts say that to have a healthier diet you should shop the perimeter of the store for produce, meat and dairy, and skip the salt-laden, sugary, preservative-filled packaged food items in the center aisles. On average our family of three spends about $140 - $160 per week at the grocery store. Our groceries aren't organic or free-range, either. But when you can buy a value meal for less than $4 at times, fast food looks pretty affordable. If pressed to eat fast food, I'll often go for a kid's meal, which is even cheaper.

So, eating fast food looks good from an economic perspective, but it's terribly unhealthy. Morgan Spurlock discovered first-hand in his 2004 documentary Supersize Me, which chronicled his fast food-only diet for one month, that the impact on your health can be devastating. After 30 days - or 90 consecutive meals - of McDonald's food, here's what happened:

* Spurlock gained nearly 25 pounds (it took him more than a year to lose the weight)

* his cholesterol rose 65 points

* significantly increased his risk of heart disease

* experienced negative effects on his liver, blood pressure and libido

I suppose it's only cheaper to eat fast food if you have excellent, generous medical insurance because in the long run, you'll be paying doctors and hospitals that treat the myriad medical conditions caused by eating such lousy food.

We'll stick to buying and eating more healthily. By purchasing produce that's in season, bulk purchases of staples and meat, and searching for budget-conscious recipes, I can save money. I do it now, but I can do more - and it will keep me out of the drive-thrus.

Photo by André Menegatti

The Countdown to College Has Begun

Exactly three weeks from today, my son - my firstborn - will move into his dorm and officially become a college student. Life as we know it will never be the same.

Break out the Kleenex.

It will be tough to cut the apron strings. Don't get me wrong - his senior year of high school and this summer have been a challenge. Getting him to do anything was extremely difficult, from applying to colleges to cleaning his room to getting a hair cut. I won't miss this stuff one bit. But I can't imagine our home without him. It's going to be an adjustment.

I'm facing the reality that I must, once again, redefine who I am. First and foremost I'm a mother, so the thought of an empty nest is hard to comprehend. Fortunately, my daughter is 16 and I have two more years to adjust to the concept.

But in a few weeks, if you hear crying and sniffling, it's just me and countless other parents sending our children off to college, just as so many parents before us have done. I'll be fine - and if you have a tissue to share, I'll gladly take it.

Photo by David Lat

Why Can't We All Be Green?

I have a secret to share. It's a bit embarrassing, but I must get this off my chest.

My husband isn't very "green." He doesn't recycle like the rest of our family - sometimes he'll throw cans or plastic bottles in the trash rather than walking 10 steps to put it in the recycle basket.

More than that, instead of taking a sports bottled of water to work he insists on a plastic bottle of water. I understand that it might look more sophisticated to take the plastic bottle, but isn't embracing the reusable bottle a finer choice, an "I'm for the better good" selection that overcomes the "I'm bringing a bag lunch from home" stigma?

Don't get me wrong - my husband is a wonderful man. We just have different priorities for recycling and conserving. So thanks for letting me share.

Photo by Svilen Milev
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=- 307482866218

Papa, Grandma and the Gulf Oil Spill

A huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatens states stretching from Louisiana to Florida, and perhaps others, with the potential to destroy wildlife, livelihoods, ecosystems and so much more.

I'm a native Floridian, born in Fort Walton Beach in the Panhandle. The memories of my grandparents who lived in Pensacola are among those I hold dearest: Playing red light/green light and "Mother May I?" on the front porch; eating Grandma's homemade biscuits or fried mullet that my grandfather caught the night before; skipping down to the old-even-then wooden corner store to buy bubble gum for a penny (or Lucky Strikes for my Grandma - those were different days).

Papa was a fisherman, who for many years was captain of a party boat (taking many people out to deep sea fish). Later he was an independent mullet fisherman, a hard-labor nighttime job of setting and pulling in nets and selling his catch to seafood resellers. It was back-breaking work that didn't generate a lot of income, but theirs was a happy life that I remember fondly.

So I think about the oil spill and the people, like my grandparents, who it will impact. What Katrina didn't obliterate along the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts - and points east, like Pensacola - this environmental disaster is sure to take down. My heart and prayers go out to each and every one of the people whose lives are forever changed.

Photo by John Boyer

So Many Lessons to Learn About Paying for College: One College's Financial Aid Web Pages are a Great Resource

Paying for college - Holy cow! I had heard a little about it but wasn't until I actually started the process a year ago, as part of my high school senior's college search, that I realized ALL that was involved (and just how crazy some of it seems).

Understanding FAFSA, EFC, merit-based aid vs. need-based aid, etc. is critical when it comes to navigating financial aid. Bethany University in California has a website that features, among other things, Financial Aid 101. There are many resources out there and this is one of my favorites. Definitions are clear and plenty of examples make the explanations more concrete.

I'll address some of the crazy parts of the financial aid process another time. For now, let me offer you a large bottle of caplets for the headache you're going to have, tissues to dry the tears you'll shed and all the good luck in the world.

Admiration for the Smart, Witty People Who Make Me Laugh

I saw something on TV a few nights ago that was so funny, I snorted when I laughed. Mind you, I'm not proud of the snorting - not very ladylike and all that, after all - but the bit by Stephen Colbert was clever, edgy and hilarious.

So funny, in fact, that I want to share it with you. This clip from the Colbert Report - "Affirmative Inaction" - won't take long to view and, hopefully, will tickle your funny bone, too. Just don't blame me if you start snorting.