Halloween Memories... Blog Swap

Hey there, readers! Dani from She laughs too easily & cries too hard... here for the 20-something bloggers Blog Swap.

Lest we get off on a misleading foot I feel like I should tell y'all, I am not a Gemini. I'm a Leo. Roar! Take that for what it's worth. Either way, I'm not here to talk about astrology (probably because I would be drastically outwitted). I'm here to talk about halloween memories from when I was a tiny person.

When we first agreed on this theme, I have to admit I was a tad stumped. I was never into the whole goosey night business so I couldn't write about that. Because I don't have any siblings I always just went out trick-or-treating with Daddy until I was old enough to go with friends. Looking back all I could remember were awful costumes. Wow...really awful costumes...what the hell was I thinking...THATS IT!

So, without further ado I present you with the top 3 unfortunate Halloween costumes I had in elementary school:

3) Fat Troll Doll: Now granted, I was supposed to just be a Troll Doll (because it was the early 90s and that was neat) but I got the flu the week before Halloween. My mother decided that since I was only mostly better a few alterations to my costume were in order. Instead of the flesh colored dance tights I had planned on wearing she picked up a white sweat suit and dyed it in tea so it was mildly skin colored. Actually they were kinda albino looking. No seven year old wants to walk around looking like a fat, naked albino with pink hair. Trust me.

2) Fragile Picnic: I think we got the original idea out of American Girl magazine. It involved dowels, a lot of red and white checked cloth and gluing plastic fruit and plates to myself. Problem was, mom didn't want to glue because it was permanent so she taped them on. Can I get a guess how long plastic fruit stays taped to an eight year old hyped up on sugar. Answer: Approximately 5 seconds.

1) Dice: Another fantastic American Girl idea. This one stayed together but it had some functional issues. You take a big box paint it white and apply construction paper dots. Just wear black underneath and you are set. Until you need to sit down...or walk through a narrow doorway...or pee. Yeah, folks, when a Halloween costume prevents you from peeing, that should be a sign that it is a poor life choice. Lesson learned.

...so what am i going to be this year? Oh I promise you, it's gonna be real classy...just as Zapruder.

Now go on over to my place and read what a real Gemini has to say about Halloween!

Blog Swap

20SB blogswap comin atcha courtesy of Megan and Blaez! Our theme today: Love overcoming Trajedies and Heartbreak, ENJOY!!! Check out my post over at her blog

My Grandmother is barely 5 feet tall. Her shoes used to fit me when I was 10 years old - Now they're half the size of my size 10 shoes! But as my Grandfather says: "Little women, mean like hell."

That tough old bird has been through hell and back. Four years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it gracefully - thank goodness. But she's had her share of health complications since.

Most recently, she suffered a stroke. When I found out, I immediately gassed up my little Subaru and sped down the thruway - the 4 hour drive took about 3 hours. When I arrived, I found my Grandmother laying under a thin sheet in the low-lit yet harsh hospital lights.

When I first walked in to the room, she didn't recognize me. I think I caught her off-guard (no one told her I was coming). "Ohh honey girl!" she said, after a double take. "You must've come straight away!"

Thankfully the stroke didn't affect her brain that badly. It was a mild, though her doctor maintains there's no such thing. I sat with my grandmother for a while and chatted, filling her in on my recent break-up and travels - she always hates focusing on herself in times like this. She complained about her feet being cold and I found those synthetic blue hospital socks and slipped them on her teeny feet - the use of her arms was very limited.

I headed to my grandparents house and caught my Grandfather right before he was heading to bed. The man is in his 80s and still gets up at 4am to deliver papers every morning. He works his fingers to the bone to provide a house and home for my Grandmother and family. He loves my Grandmother more than anything in the world. His eyes still light up when she enters a room. Of course, they have their share of bickering and nagging- we joke that my Grandfather has voluntarily gone deaf so he doesn't need to listen to her anymore - but at the end of the day, you can see the tender moments of absolute adoration in their eyes.

One thing I can say, as a child of divorce, marriage scares me. But when I see my grandparents and how much loves my Grandmother the only thing that scares me is never finding that love. And I know that like Ying and Yang, one of my Grandparents wouldn't survive without the other.

The point of this story isn't an illness or a tragedy. It's not an injustice or crime. The point is love. That's the point of everything. Those who say that it's not have never experienced the power of love. I experience it everyday. I love my friends and family with all my heart and that love is enough for me. One day, I hope to find that "can't-eat-can't-sleep-shoot-for-the-stars" kind of love. But until then, I'm going to enjoy loving myself and those closest to me.

Meghan Butler is a freelance writer, full-time marketer, social media fan, fashion follower, avid traveler & sports fan.mind with an endless capacity for useless information. you can find her on her blog (www.megsmumbo.blogspot.com) or on Twitter (www.twitter.com/meghanbutler) and of course, on 20sb (http://www.20sb.net/profile/MeghanButler)

let the blogtimes roll!!

Today I am posting over at Whys Perspective and he is posting here. We are taking part of the 20SB blogswap :)

I must say when they hooked us up they couldn't have picked 2 different types of blogs to mix together. With his being about work and careers, etc and mine being about the life I live on a daily basis. But I think that being a career woman myself and him being a funny guy we came together pretty well!

Now... on to TJ!

Well, I'll be damned. I didn't expect to be here. No, not worrying about zombies. We all know the zombie-pocalypse is inevitable, so a bit of worry is natural and to be expected.

Actually, I'm startled because I've found my way onto someone else's personal blog courtesy of a blog swap. I thought it would be easy when I signed up, and then I found out I had managed to barge my way into someone else's life. After all, what the hell do you care about me? You've never met me, and so far as I can tell, I'm not particularly interesting to people or dogs that know I don't have food.

Sure, I write two blogs and contribute to a third, but it's not really a sharing my life kind of thing, so I'm not used to trying to make myself interesting. One blog is for work. One blog is for advocating for liberty. And the third is just a nice little corner of the internet where I'm allowed to be an asshole because it's impossible to reach through the monitor and punch me. But I struggle when thinking about what to share about my day-to-day life.

I realize, though, that there have to be a few interesting things about me that I normally wouldn't ever get to post, so maybe I can use this opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and share a few interesting facts about myself. And now, ladies and gentlemen, for your consideration, enjoyment, and (likely) derision, here are a few things about me that I've never told the blogosphere before:

1. I have a sombrero in the back of my car. You just never know when you'll run into a fiesta, and you need to be ready for that. I keep telling myself that I will pick up a fifth of tequila to store in it. Then I'll be 100% A+ Fiesta Ready.

2. I'm alternating between writing this post and drafting some psychological reports and I'm a little terrified that a sentence from one or the other is going to jump windows and halfway through the report I'm drafting a sentence is going to crop up about fiestas or halfway through this post a sentence about the validity of a test profile is going to appear.

3. I'm not sure if I'm proud or ashamed of that last sentence. It's long, and I'm trying to decide whether it's a run-on.

4. Validity scales indicate that Mr. Smith approached the testing in a... just kidding. ;)

5. Last week at my security job, I busted a 72-year-old woman for shoplifting, and she had a bird with her. She then let the bird out, and I had to tell her to put away her bird. That's when things got surreal. She said, "Would you like to let it climb on your finger?" I said, "No, ma'am, I would not like to play with your bird." She came back with, "Yeah, you'd probably try to kill it." I can honestly tell you that on my very, very long list of things I never expected to happen to me, a 72-year-old thief accusing me of having some sort of malign intent as regards her bird was listed as being much less likely than me scoring with super-babe Megan Fox. And I think that means I'm now guaranteed to score with Megan Fox. Sweeeet.

6. I have decided that the sentence on number two is cool by me. It's not quite Tom Wolfe, but it's by no means an abomination.

7. Since Jenny is from Chi-town, I guess it bears mention that I happened to be there last week with some friends. Why? To see the Colorado Rockies play the Chicago Cubs. On the way to Midway for our departing flight, we had a bum accost us, and then some random gangsta decided that he wanted to try to start a fight with us. I believe I will be flying into O'Hare in the future.

8. On that same trip, we discussed setting a friend up with a woman. For their date, his job was to pretend that he was a Ninja Turtle without ever saying as much. This is easier than it sounds. We thought that he could call himself, "Leo," say his favorite color is blue, tell her that he works in the family business, loves pizza, has a rivalry with a shredder, etc. Then, at the very end of the date, he would jump from the table, yell "Turtle Power!" and run out the door, leaving the confused woman to ask "Why me?" The one of us who knew her said, "You know, she's actually a very nice person. Maybe we shouldn't crush her." We all laughed.

9. It is taking all the will power I have not to end this post with some sort of pithy tenth item created with the specific purpose of forcing this list to have ten items.

10. Will power FAIL.