Sarah's Gastronomic Adventures: Bangkok Meets Bear

I LOVE THAI FOOD!  I mean, how could you not?  The vibrant spices, the complex flavors, the creamy sweetness of coconut milk.  Every time I eat a Thai Curry, I dream that I'm in Bangkok or along the water in Phuket (both locations I've yet to travel to, but are HIGH on my list).

What I don't love about Thai food is how calor-ific it is.  Lucky for me (and now you too) I found this awesome recipe in one of my Weight Watcher's cookbooks.  It's quick, and surprisingly easy.  You too can make amazing Thai Curry at home!

Chicken and Coconut Curry

Click on recipe to enlarge.

When I ate it for dinner, I served it with wild rice. For lunch, I just ate the curry as is.  The curry paste I used was a bit spicy (weird that something was too spicy...I like it HOT!) so I also ate this dish with a little non-fat plain yogurt.  SO YUMMY!

I would without a doubt make this recipe again. Because I bulked up the curry a bit by adding extra carrots and cauliflower, I had plenty of leftovers.  Enough leftovers actually for two days of lunch for me, and dinner for two for my mom and one of her friends while they went camping.  

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we all did!!!

  

A Birthday Worth Celebrating

Put one candle on a cupcake....

...my little blog is ONE YEAR OLD!

I have been working on Bear-ing It All for a whole year now now, and couldn't be happier with the growth and response it has received. Blogging has been a true learning experience. I feel that I've grown, and so has my writing. And that's thrilling to me. (CLICK HERE to read my first post)

What started as something only my family and friends read has grown to a world-wide audience. While my "hit numbers" are not worth bragging about (yet) I am thankful to each and every one of my readers. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!!!

I'm excited about what the next year has in store. Be on the look out for give-aways and a plethora of new content (my writing schedule is filling up quickly).

Lastly...if you like it...INTERACT.
Post a comment. Share with a friend. Like me on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter. You get the idea. ;-)

Tons of love from Bear-ing It All, all around the world!

A SCENT-sational Summer

I find sensory association fascinating...the way one smell can evoke a feeling or memory immediately.

As I was walking to my car after work today, I got a whiff of Honeysuckle.  Stopping dead in my tracks, I scanned the area for the white and golden trumpeted flowers.  Sure enough there they were.

Honeysuckles always remind me of my childhood and summer.  Every house I've ever lived in as a kid had honeysuckles.  My mom taught me how to bite off the end of the flower and suck the sweet drop of nectar out of it.  I find the smell of the blossoms intoxicating and comforting all at the same time.

There are other scents that I associate with summer.  Each time I smell these different things it takes me back to a feeling, memory, or thought from my past.

Here are some SUMMER SCENTS that I LOVE



Honeysuckles



The way the air smells like sagebrush and freshness after a Nevada rain.



Campfires



Lavender



Vine Ripened Tomatoes (yes, they have a smell)



Fresh cut grass.

So get out there y'all.  Enjoy your summer.  Get smelling! 

What are some of your favorite scents?

 



She Said YES!

Let me start off by saying that I have always been a proud Big Sister.

I love my brother more then words can say.  He and I have always been super close, and while we had our bickering as children, I would say that we have a pretty solid relationship.  Yes, we need to stay in better communication and talk more.  But when we do reconnect, it's like we haven't missed a beat. And even though he lives in Southern California, the hundreds of miles that separate us feels like just a stone's throw.

Dan is exactly two and a half years younger then me. Although he's super sarcastic, he's also the smartest most intelligent, humble person I know.  He's so articulate, level headed, and responsible.  While I have always been the free spirit, my brother has always been the one to achieve any goal he sets (and with flying colors).  He may be my little brother, but I have to admit that I constantly look up to him!

In addition to being the more "responsible" sibling, Dan has also been the one who is great with relationships. While I am the queen of "flitter-flattering" around the "dating/love world" he thrives in a serious relationship.

During his freshman year of college my brother met a beautiful blond name Lauren.  I won't get into the story of how they met exactly as it's not what's important.  What is important? That interaction in the dorms of UCLA brought two hearts together.  I remember hearing about Lauren over the next few months.  I loved that she had martial arts black belts (so does my brother) and loved the idea of a woman who could keep my brother in-line.  I loved her love for adventure.  And I loved that she hated onions too!

Dan and Lo have been dating since college and they are what you say in Hebrew, "B'Shert".  The literal translation of this is "meant to be" or "destined to be together".  I 100% believe that these two amazing people are destined to spend their lives together!

Over the years, I have fallen in love with Lauren as much as my brother has.  Ok, well prob not AS MUCH as my brother has, but I'm in a close 2nd running.  She is a beautiful woman both inside and out.  I am thankful that she and I have formed our own relationship and communicating with her directly is not only never awkward, it's always a true pleasure.  Hearing from Lo always brings a smile to my face.  Seeing her warms my heart.  And having her in my life makes me a better person. 

This past December, my brother and Lauren went on yet another European vacation (lucky!), this time to Eastern Europe.  While on their trip, on a cold and snowy night, my brother proposed to Lauren.  And of course, she said YES!!!  My brother called me the next morning (midnight Reno-time) to share the good news.  I think I cried on the phone.  I know I'm getting all chocked up now writing about it.

We all knew (or at least my family and I knew) that my brother was thinking of asking for Lauren's hand in marriage.  He came to Reno in October to discuss rings with my mom, and I was honored to be able to sit in on the convo.  My brother worked hard designing the ring of Lo's dreams, being super secretive the whole time. It felt like my brother was in the middle of some covert operation, that I was let in on.  And any mention of "the mission" would lead to a painful death.

The ring!

So needless to say, I have been waiting A WHILE to share this news.  Now that the ring is on Lauren's finger, and both of their facebook statuses have been changed to "engaged" I think it's safe for me to share my excitement. 

Wedding talk is already in the air, and I can't wait for everything this next year has in store.  But more then all the pomp and circumstance involved with the nuptials, I'm excited for the future. 

Through this union, I will be gaining a sister.  I have always wanted a sister, and have been secretly envious of all my friends who have that bond.  So within the next year or so, I will get the sister I've always wanted.  And not only that, I get the addition of more family!  You see, in addition to wanting a sister, I also wanted to come from a big family, as mine is pretty small. The addition of Lauren's family has my grinning from ear-to-ear.  I had the pleasure of meeting them this past Thanksgiving, and let me just tell you they are fantastic.  Her mom is so loving, her dad is hilarious with his accents, and her brother is like the little brother I always wanted (since Dan has always acted more mature then me). 

This next year is going to be an exciting one, and I can't wait to see how 2011 unfolds.  I have a feeling it's going to be a time of change, celebration, milestones, and new beginnings.

And with that said....

Congrats and a million Mazels to Daniel and Lauren!!!

If I Had a MILLION (or more) Dollars...

The holiday's are supposed to be a time about giving.  A time to be thankful for what we have.  A time to spend time with our family and those we love. 

I think the key word in what I said above is SUPPOSED TO.  As I have gotten older, it seems to me that the holidays have really become a time for mass consumption and overspending.  This year, millions of people nation-wide flocked to stores on Black Friday to find whatever deals they could.  A riot took place in upstate New York as crazed shoppers rushed into a Target.

Is this really what the holiday season is about?

Being Jewish, I (obviously) don't celebrate Christmas.  I don't wake up on Christmas morning to dozens of presents to open.  And to be honest, I haven't "cashed in" on the eight days of presents and loot, that people think goes hand-in-hand with Chanukah, since I was a child. 

As the nation is dealing with one of the hardest-hit economies in decades, you would think people would be more conscious of their spending habits.  I have honestly found just the opposite. 

Look at all of this ridiculous stuff people, who have money to blow, are buying!!!!

24k Gold Pills

Ever wanted to shit gold?

The tag line on these outrageous pills are: "Indulge your 'inner' self with these 24k gold leaf capsules. 

Digest to increase self worth."

Created by artists and visionaries Tobias Wong and Ju$t Another Rich Kid, these pills are for people who have so much money and are looking for a good way to waste it. 

For a mere $799 you too can own these gold dipped pills that are filled with gold flakes. 

At first I thought there may be some health value to these.  Maybe some healing powers of gold? After reading some reviews, I discovered there is no redeemable value to these except for bragging rights for ingesting a shit-load of gold.  And when I say shit-load, I mean shit-load. 

People who did take these pills reported  no side effects except for sparkly poop.

Thanks but no thanks, I will pass on this one.  But if you ARE interested in buying these gold pills,

CLICK HERE to PURCHASE.

Diamond Encrusted iPhone

Bling Bling...you have an incoming call!

Now, I'm DEF a girl who LOVES her bling.  They do say diamonds are a girls best friend after all.  This phone however, takes bling to a whole new level.  You can make your calls and text your friends in style with this modified iPhone.

It features (get this) 500 flawless diamonds!  It includes a SEVEN-CARAT pink diamond inserted into the navigation button that is set in platinum and rose gold.  And if pink diamonds aren't your thing you can also get a clear seven-carat diamond instead.

The cost of this beauty? ONLY $8,000,000!!!

The MOST EXPENSIVE Tequila in the WORLD

Only thing missing is the diamond encrusted worm.

A Mexican distillery recently created what they're hoping will be the world's most expensive bottle of tequila.  This ridiculous bottle is covered in FIVE POUNDS of platinum and is encrusted with FOUR THOUSAND diamonds (over 300 carats of bling).  The bottle is named "Diamond's Law" by the distillery, and is estimated to cost (wait for it) $3.5 MILLION dollars!  The liquid inside is a mixture of three different tequilas that have been aged up to seven years.  This one bottle took over 20 people to make.

Although it would look pretty on a shelf, I could think of a million other (BETTER) ways to spend that money if I had it.  How about a house? A car?  A plane?  And if I did need some diamonds in my life, I prefer to have a copy of that engagement ring that Kate Middleton has on her finger....

A Bear with Golden Hair

A teddy bear that makes all the others look like play-things....

At first glance, this looks like an ordinary teddy bear.  Made by a toy company called Steiff, which claims to have made the world's first teddy bear EVER, they commissioned this golden bear to celebrate their 125th Anniversary. 

This unique bear is actually quit a collectors item.  Its fur is made of REAL GOLD and its eyes are made of sapphires and diamonds.  Although you can find versions of this bear made out of cotton, this bear has a mouth made of solid gold, fur made from gold thread, and eyes with pupils of sapphire and irises made from 20 tiny diamonds. Only 125 of this limited edition "Jubilee Bear" have been produced.

And the cost on this adorable bear...$71,500.

So as we are just a handful of days away from Christmas, I wonder what everyone is hoping to "get" this year.  To change things up a bit, I made some of my friends presents.  It's a craft one of my friends had posted on her Facebook that I thought was really fun.  I will post the project on my blog after the holidays so I don't blow the surprise for my girlies who are receiving this. 

As 2010 comes to a close, I have realized getting two weeks off is present enough for me.  Have I mentioned how much I enjoy working for the school district?

Oh...and to any of you out there who are feeling a bit generous this year, I will be happy to receive any of the above lavish items.  Well, except for the gold pills...sparkly poop will be wasted on me. 

If I Only Had More Time....

After a LONG hiatus from my writing, I am making my return.

This past month or so has been beyond crazy and busy.  I find myself wondering at the end of each day, where all my time went.  I feel like my head won't stop spinning.  I'm finding that I am barely able to tread water enough to keep my head from sinking. Should I add another analogy here?  Or did I make my point?



I am the busiest (and honestly the happiest) I've been in a long time.  I am however finding it difficult to get everything I want to done in a day (or even a week) and struggle with maintaining my obligations, relationships, friendships, and social calendar.  

I feel as if I'm being pulled in a million different directions.  I can't seem to make everyone happy.  Hell, it sometimes seems as if I'm disappointing people daily. 

I've come to the realization though, that I will never make everyone happy at the same time.  As long as I'm doing the best I can do each day, and I'm happy, that's all that matters at the moment.  If my friends, family, coworkers, and other people that I come in contact with don't understand this, then c'est la vie.  This is MY life...and I will live it the way I see fit.


Time Management is DIFFICULT when you need MORE TIME!



So with all of that said, I have created a list of the things I have neglected and wish I had more time to do:

Sarah's "If I Only Had More Time" List



 Get back to blogging everyday.

Stay in better communication with my family.

See my family (esp the ones who live in town) more often.

Tackle my mountain of books that I have accumulated over the last year or so...I MISS PLEASURE READING!

Study more!  Need. To. Get. Myself. GRADUATED!

Spread my time more evenly between my friends...I miss spending time with my Besties.

 Pre-plan my meals and cook dinner every night (or at least most nights).

Get to the gym at least 5 times a week.

Keep my room clean, and my laundry folded/hung up.

 Love my kitty more...I think she's upset that I don't have as much time to give her.

Get AHEAD with my work so I'm not always rushing to keep up or playing catch-up.

Try something new...LIKE ROLLER DERBY!

Clean my garage.

Winterize my poor little backyard.

Purge my closets and donate some clothes (or more realistically BAGS of clothes) to charity.

Now that this list is created, will I be able to tackle some of the items on it?

They say that if you put an idea to paper there is a better chance it will get done.

I guess only time will tell....

 

INSPIRED!!!

I am writing today from the Reno-Tahoe Airport as I wait for my morning flight.  I am heading to Vegas (yes, once again) but this time for work.  I'm also happy I'm flying this time around.  As much as I truly enjoy the trek through the state of Nevada, I also like the prospect of being at my destination in less than two hours versus a tedious 7+.

As I enter my busy week, I'm glad that I was able to enjoy a fairly low-key and relaxed weekend.  The highlight was on Saturday evening when I drove up to Virginia City.  One of my closest friends was hosting an art exhibit with her father at the St. Mary's Art and Cultural Center.  I wasn't sure really what the whole event was about, but I was ready for a mini-excursion and to support my friend.

 

The sun setting behind V.C.

The evening was filled with wonderful surprises.  The St. Mary's Cultural Center was actually housed in the old St. Mary's hospital in Virginia City.  It was a wonderful old building that has been refurbished and restored into a great venue.  I'm a sucker for old buildings and I loved spending the evening in such a historic building. 

It reminded me a bit of being in Reno's Lake Mansion (if you've never been, go check it out). The Lake Mansion is an old historical building located off of Arlington and houses a non-profit called VSA (Very Special Arts). Just another example of how an old building has been given new life!

The next surprise was the exhibit itself.  My friend had told me that she and her dad would be displaying their art. What I didn't realize until I got there was that it was ONLY their work shown. The main floor of the old hospital was adorned with paintings, sculptures, drawings, photos, and mixed-media artwork all done by my friend and her father.  The theme of the exhibit was "Our World of Color" and it was truly phenomenal!

The placard with the exhibits name

My friend's paintings on the left, her father's big one on the right.

There was a few things that really struck me as I toured the exhibit.  The first was how cool it was that my friend and her dad had collaborated to create such a wonderful event. Even though they had done their work individually, there was so much cohesiveness between their masterpieces. 

This made me long for something I can do with my dad.  While my mom is one of my best friends, I still see my dad as, well, dad.  He's an amazing man, who works hard, and is not only respected in his profession...he's considered a guru and is more-or-less worshipped (although he's so humble, he would never admit this). He and I have begun to start working on our relationship, and have started to find activities we can do together beyond just grabbing a bite to eat.  After seeing this partnership between father-daughter (expressed through art) it made me realize how much I would love to collaborate with my dad on something.  Not sure what that would be, but I know "it" would bring us closer and help us understand each other better.

Some of my friend's paintings and photographs

Another thing I realized while viewing the exhibit was how impressed I am that recently many of my friends have chosen to express themselves in a variety of different mediums. While this friend decided to pick up her paints and pastels, I have other friends who are expressing themselves through their writing, photography, etc.

I feel blessed that I have so many creative people in my life! It's fun to admire and appreciate their work.  And honestly, it motivates me to continue to CREATE.  My form of expression at this point in time is this little blog of mine.  I am loving the therapeutic aspect of expressing myself through my words.  I write for myself, but enjoy that I have a small (but growing) audience.  But seeing all this creativity flowing from my friends, inspires me to do more!

My favorite pieces of the exhibit!

I guess time is of the essence though.  With my busy daily schedule, all I really have time for is the hour or two each day that I commit to writing. And as for this moment, my time is up.  My plane has arrived and it's time for me to board.  Sin City...here I come!

Today is 10/10/10. But what does it mean?

Today is October 10, 2010....or 10/10/10!

When all three numbers in the date are the same I interpret it as a lucky day.  Studies show that marriages increase on days like this.  On September 9, 2009 (9/9/09) hundreds of thousands of people got married worldwide.  In China, more than 10,000 couples registered their marriages in Beijing and 6,000 more couples tied the knot in Shanghai. The Stratosphere, in Las Vegas offered a quickie wedding package. It was angling to marry off 99 couples at 9:09 p.m. for -- what else -- $99.09.

A mass marriage celebration in China

So this got me wondering is there any significance behind today's date?

As far as the biblical interpretation, focus could be put on the 10 commandments and the 10 plagues.  Both of these could point to rules or judgments.

In astrology, the number 10  represents completion - it signifies the end of one cycle and the readiness to begin something new. I found this interesting.  Especially in lieu of my personal quest to expand my horizons, try something new, and get outside of my comfort zones (FIND OUT WHAT SCARES ME).  I also thought this was interesting considering I'm in the middle of my Return of Saturn (READ ABOUT SATURN'S RETURN HERE). In the Tarot, the tenth card is the Wheel of Fortune: the knowledge that life brings unexpected occurrences over which we have no control. And supposedly the number 10 is connected with Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac, and represents mastery and achievement.
October 10, 2010 does fall within the opening days of the Venus retrograde, and retrogrades are known to be symbolic!  Often issues of the past return for completion, and this becomes a great opportunity to grow and be in control of our own destiny! With Venus in retrograde one can expect that this time will be focused on relationships, perhaps on a personal level, but it could mean a global level as well.

So "the stars" tell me that today could mean mastery, achievement and controlling my destiny. And with the retrograde of Venus I can expect to focus on my relationships?  Ironically enough this all couldn't be more true for me at this time.  I don't know about accomplishing all of this in ONE DAY but these "factors" are are certainly things I'm dealing with in my daily life. Between my new job and being in the home-stretch of finishing my degree I am without a doubt starting to feel a sense of mastery, achievement, and controlling my destiny.  And the focus on relationships?  CHECK.  Totally doing that! Although this is for sure a different blog topic, I am in the midst of re-evaluating and re-focusing on many of my relationships in my life (friends, romance, family, and professional). 

What can I do to make today a day of fortune and grace, rather than unfinished business staring me in the face? An article on CNBC has a few suggestions.  Here were a few of my favorites.  I left a few of them off because they were totally MATH related and not only did they not interest me, it was like reading a foreign language (TO READ FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE) :

10. Kiss your iPhone. 10/10/10 is a binary number (all ones and zeroes) and without binary code, none of your digital dreams would come true.

9. Count your digital blessings. A website has dubbed 10/10/10 "Digital Day," a day for you to share your pre-digital, “Back in my day” stories via blog post, tweet, photo or YouTube video. CHECK OUT THE PAGE HERE

6. Get married. If you tie the knot on 10/10/10, that’ll knock one battle off your “Future Fights” list — because you’ll always remember your anniversary.

5. Throw a global warming party. The site www.350.org is urging people to attend or throw environmental-awareness parties on 10/10/10. If green felt old and busted before, doing it on 10/10/10 gives it a fresh spin.

4. Submit a Top 10 List to Letterman. Dude, you’re so much funnier than those lists! It’s about time you were recognized for your comedic abilities.

2. Throw out 10 things. Seriously, what are you waiting for — to wind up on one of those clutter shows where they have to intervene before you’re buried alive? Say it with me, "I will NOT need this someday ..." Ah, ah, ah! Say it with me ...

1. Make a list of 10 things to do — and do ONE. Lists are helpful but they can also be overwhelming if they’re too long. Make your list, but just do one. Spend the rest of the day doing a victory lap.

So...what should I do to make the most of my 10/10/10?  Kiss my iPhone?  DONE!  Don't think getting married is in my plans.  But evaluating my relationships?  OK! I like the idea of a global warming party, but that's just not going to happen today.  I also like the idea of a Letterman Top 10 List (maybe I'll work on that one later).  I REALLY LIKE #2 and #1 though.  Throw out 10 things....I'm totally going to do this.  And I'm not talking stuff like garbage.  I'm thinking of removing 10 items from my closet and throwing them away (GASP...is it possible?).  And the to-do list?  LOVE THIS!  Although I'm going to be ambitious and try to tackle all ten items. 

Now that I have my day planned out.  How are you going to spend your 10/10/10? 

Spooky Isn't It?

Well...the countdown has begun.  We are officially 24 days away from my favorite holiday, Halloween!  And with this turn in weather (how did we go from sunny, hot, and in the 90s last week to chilly and rainy this week?) it has put me in the Halloweeny mood.

I have always loved Halloween. As a kid I loved going to the pumpkin patch and picking out my pumpkin.  I would always look for some specific "pumpkin trait" each year (one with a long stem, a white one, a tall and skinny one, etc).  I loved carving my pumpkin even more.  While some people hate getting all goopey from the pumpkin's "guts" I loved the feel, the smell, and the satisfaction of getting the insides clean.  I loved seeing my finished creation lit up by a candle.

Decorating for Halloween thrilled me.  We would go all out at my house with our decorations: lights, garland, spooky faces for the trees, shadow creatures to hang in the windows, doormats and other electronics that would make noises, shake, or light up.  I'm convinced that we were so thorough with our decorating to compensate for the fact that we don't decorate for Christmas.  Yes, there are Chanukah decorations but nothing like what's offered at Halloween.  Halloween was our chance to light up our house and go crazy with the decorating.

As a kid I also loved to dress up.  When I was young, my mom would make my costumes.  I remember her making the most amazing Glenda the Good Witch costume that was pink, poofy, and sparkly.  In middle school a group of my friends and I went as a box of crayons.  We each chose a color and interpreted a crayon in different ways.  I remember loving my blue crayon costume because my mom had made it out of sweatshirt material.  Halloween's are infamous for being chilly (and sometimes rainy) here, so having such a cozy, comfortable outfit made trick-or-treating a pleasure.

Oh! And trick-or-treating.  We all used pillow cases as our bags so we could collect more goodies.  We would always walk or neighborhood first.  I loved the people at the end of the street who would give out King Sized candy bars.  And I waited all year to get a cinnamony candied apple from the old woman down the street.  She made them every year, and passed them out to adults and kids alike.  You would never see something like this happen now. Everyone is so fearful of the potential razorblades inside the apple or antifreeze in the candy mix.  Makes me miss the "simpler" times.  After hitting up everyone in my neighborhood we would pile into the family Suburban (we were a Suburban/SUV family not a minivan one) and my dad would drive us to other neighborhoods in town where the reputation for large candy payouts were high!

Trick or Treat!!!!

Once at home, my brother and I would empty our bags on the living room floor and would begin to separate our loot.  Favorite candy in one pile, second favorites in another, and stuff my brother liked (and could be traded) in another.  There was always a little pile of candy for my mom and dad (and if Grandma Pearl was in town, Almond Joys were put aside for her).  The last pile was the discard one. You know, the stuff that people should have saved their money on.  Who in their right mind give kids RAISINS on Halloween? 

As I've gotten older, the fun of Halloween hasn't left me.  I have had a countdown going for my favorite holiday for months now.  I still love everything about Halloween, it's just the way that I celebrate that has become a bit different.

Decorating my house has become something I look forward to.  I'm actually surprised that I've already made it seven days into October and haven't pulled out my boxes of decorations.  Usually I have to restrain myself to hold out until the 1st. Looks like I have a weekend to look forward to, of hanging up MY garland, spooky tree sculptures, pumpkins, candles, skeletons, and  plethora of Halloween themed lights. 

I usually don't carve pumpkins anymore, basically because I have no one to do it with.  I know I can do it on my own, but it's so much more fun with a group of people.  I'm thinking of hosting a pumpkin decorating contest at my work.  I think my middle schoolers will enjoy it, as will the teachers I work with.  The school I work at is geared towards the teens excelling and thinking towards higher education and universities.  I see a university mascot pumpkin decorating contest in the very near future!!! 

Hands down, I would DEF have to say that dressing up is still my favorite part of Halloween.  I love that for one night you can be someone completely different.  I like being a character, and enjoy ones from fairytales the best.  In the past I've been: Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Dorothy, a pirate, a dinner girl, a flapper, Marilyn Monroe, and the list goes on. I usually start looking for my costumes MONTHS in advance.  It's not untypical of me to have my costume delivered the first week of October.  I'm usually the one who is organized and has everything pre-planned.  On the other hand, my Bestie doesn't usually go looking for her costume until a few days before Halloween.  I honestly love going from one packed costume store to the next.  It just makes me more excited for my favorite holiday. 

I'm not sure what's wrong with me this year though.  Not only have I not decorated my house yet, I haven't found a costume!  OY VEY!!!  Don't get me wrong, I started looking in August.  But nothing is really shouting at me this year.  I'm not sure what/who I want to be.  I found a few costumes that I kind of like: Queen of Hearts, Superwoman, Robin Hood (a female version).  But I want to LOVE my costume.  Ugh!!!  Hopefully inspiration will strike me SOON because I'm running out of time to get a costume ordered, delivered, and if need be; exchanged...all before the Halloween festivities begin.

And OH the festivities!!!! For obvious reasons I don't go trick-or-treating anymore.  I do look forward to the day I can dress my children up and take them from house to house asking for candy.  I like being home on the 31st so I can see all the cute kids in adorable costumes come to my door.  But when I celebrate now, I celebrate with Jello Shots and cocktails instead of caramel apples and candy (although I have been know to take caramel apple SHOTS before). 

Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, which means that we will do our big celebrating on the 30th...a SATURDAY NIGHT! Plans this year are to go back up to Tahoe for South Lake's big Halloween bash.  We had so much fun last year, we're going back for more.  And the party may start earlier this year.  As a Nevadan, I get Friday the 29th off for (yes...oh yes...wait for it) NEVADA DAY!!!  All of you from other states can just shed a tear right now.  While you work, I will be enjoying my day off celebrating the day that Nevada became a state. Yes, I know the Silver State's Anniversary is on the 31st but the state holiday is celebrated by taking the Friday before off.  Gone are the days of having Halloween off, but I will take a three day weekend ANY DAY!

And now for a confession: writing this blog has just re-inspired me.  Maybe I just needed a little spark to light that Halloween candle that's inside of me.  Wowza...only a mere 24 days til Halloween? Now if I can only make it through my day so I can start decorating once I get home.  I don't think I can wait until the weekend....

Facebook is my CRACK

Ok, I'm the first to admit it.  I'm addicted to Facebook.  It's like crack to me.  I check it when I wake up, I check it before I go to bed.  I check it every time it bing-bongs at me and alerts me that someone has: posted on my wall, liked my status, tagged me in a picture, commented on one of my pictures, etc.  And really who am I kidding? By having my other addiction (my iPhone) it allows me to have a Facebook App where I click the button more times daily then I can count. 

I'm the queen of taking pictures (and then posting them within 24-hours on Facebook).  My friends call me the "historian" of the group because whenever a moment needs to be captured, there I am with my camera.  But just as often as they ask me to take a picture, they also come with the warning of, "You better not post the picture on Facebook Sarah" or "You can post it, just don't tag me" or even "Can you create a blocked/locked album so I can see the pix but no one else can?"  I always oblige.

People ask me why I like Facebook so much.  I guess I don't have a specific answer.  I use my status updates more as a journal of my life, for myself.  I rarely post to get a reaction or a response from others (but if people comment, even better).  I like feeling connected to people, even if we're in different parts of the world.  I enjoy seeing people's photos, and love seeing my friend's children grow-up. I guess it appeases the "Jewish Mother" in me and my need to be a yenta (Yiddish for a busy-body). 

I have joked with a few of my friends from High School that there really is no need for our 10-year reunion next year (YIKES!!!). We all know what each other are up to via our Facebook pages and updates.  So with that said, I know I'm not the only one out there who has a Facebook addiction.

While making my daily rounds of my favorite news websites today, an article about Facebook caught my eye.  The article was titled 6 Things You Should Never Reveal on Facebook. They suggested that you NEVER REVEAL:

• Your Birthdate and Place
• You've basically just given identity thieves a key to stealing your financial life. A study done by Carnegie Mellon showed that a date and place of birth could be used to predict most — and sometimes all — of the numbers in your Social Security number.
• Your Vacation Plans
• By posting flights, arrivals and departures, locations and pictures it's pretty much giving criminals an open invite by telling them specifically when you'll be gone.
• Your Home Address
• Well this just seems OBVIOUS!  But suprisingly some 40%  of FB users listed their home address on their sites; 65% didn't even attempt to block out strangers with privacy settings. And 60% said they weren't confident that their "friends" were really just people they know.
• Any Confessionals
•  Employers commonly peruse social networking sites to determine who to hire — and, sometimes, who to fire. One study done last year estimated that 8% of companies fired someone for "misuse" of social media.
• Password Clues
• If you've got online accounts, you've probably answered a dozen different security questions (your Mom's maiden name; the street you lived on as a child; or the name of your favorite song). Got that same stuff on the information page of your Facebook profile? You're giving crooks an easy way to guess your passwords.
• Any Risky Behavior You May Partake In
• Insurers are increasingly turning to the web to figure out whether their applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk, according to Insure.com.  So you may like to go heli-skiing, or you may like to race your motorcycle at high speeds. You just may want to consider twice before posting it on your Facebook.  

TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE ABOUT THE

"6 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER REVEAL ON FACEBOOK" CLICK HERE 

 Some of the articles advice seems pretty obvious to me.  And I follow the majority of those guidelines to a "t". I guess I need to be a little bit more observant about posting my whereabouts when I'm out of town though.  One of my best pieces of advice for Facebook users is check your privacy settings on a regular basis.  Facebook makes changes to those settings, and doesn't necessarily inform their users.  If you haven't checked recently, there's a very good chance that your information is set to "Everyone" meaning anyone can see your posts, your pictures, and whatever your friends post. Last week, one of my friends was changing his 13 year-old son's settings (someone had found out his son's password and had "friended" all sorts of random people).  He didn't know how to do it and called me for help. Another piece of advice I offered was that even though the privacy setting of "Friends of Friends" sounds secure, in fact everyone can be a friend-of-a-friend.  Better just keep it as "Friends Only".

So with that said, I wish you all happy Facebooking. I know that I'm about to feed my addiction, log on, and post this very blog,  After all, it's been a solid three hours since I've logged on last and I'm going through withdrawals.