Fa-BOO-lous Ideas

In just a few days it will be HALLOWEEN:)…one of my favorite holidays!  It was really lots of fun when my children, and later grandchildren, were small…the costumes, hayrides, pumpkin carvings, fall festivals, and of course…TRICK OR TREAT!!!

I have PINTEREST boards for all the main holidays, and I thought I would share some of my favorite HALLOWEEN pins.  Maybe you can use some of the ideas; maybe some will bring back sweet & fun memories; maybe you’ll just enjoy looking at them.  And a big, big THANK YOU to all those creative people out there that are willing to share their fabulous ideas with not-so-creative people…like ME!!!

This would be a great idea to use up some of those BUTTONS in Grandmama’s button box.

tumbler.com

These WITCH's HAT cookies are so cute and oh so simple to make.  I had the mother of one of my students make these (and so many other things) one year and the kids loved them.  This site has lots of other fun Halloween food ideas too.

Is this not one of the cutest COSTUMES you’ve ever seen???  The link no longer works but it doesn’t look too hard to put together.  Finding a plastic pot that big might be a problem, but Amazon might have one.  (Amazon has everything…right???)

Everybody loves carving those jack-o-lanterns, putting a light inside, and displaying on the front porch or steps…..until they ROT☹  But here are some ways that might keep a smile on Jack’s face until Halloween is over.  What you can use...petroleum jelly, bleach, or pumpkin preservation spray...did you know there was such a thing???  I didn't!      (Disclaimer:  I’ve never tried them so can’t vouch for the success of them!) 

Guess what else you can use….

I’ve always wondered what those could be used for…and now we know!!!

These would be easy to make for teachers, classmates, or special friends that come for Trick or Treat.  A second site has a different tag (with directions) and you can print it out for free.  I do love people who share…I also love S'mores:)  

Just had to include these cute little ghosts.  I made dozens of them over the years, but I used Kleenex instead of cloth (I’m cheap frugal like that.)

Here’s another cute idea for classmates.  This particular tag is no longer available but similar ones can be bought on Etsy.  Of course, if you are a little computer savvy, you could make them yourself.

And this would be an adorable treat for toddlers or preschoolers.

(Of course, some of those little guys & gals may protest that it isn't CANDY!)

I love this for a teacher, hostess or coworker.  I couldn’t find a direct link but thanks to Bianca.

If you have any empty toilet paper rolls lying around, you can always turn them into GHOST PINATAS.  How fun that would be for a kid (or a wish-I-was-still-a-kid adult!)

You can find sooooooooooo many other Halloween ideas on Pinterest.  Let’s face it…if it isn’t on Pinterest you probably don’t need to know about it!!!!  

Hope you might can use some of these ideas or add them to your own Pinterest board.  What????  You don’t have any Pinterest boards?  Oh my…we need to talk.  I can literally lose myself in Pinterest for hours.  Give me a rainy day, my comfy pjs, a steaming mug of coffee or hot cocoa, and my laptop tuned into Pinterest…well, that’s just about a P-E-R-F-E-C-T day😊

Happy Halloween, my FA-BOO-LOUS Blogger friends!

A WORD ABOUT WORDS

I fell in love with words and reading in Miss Champion’s first grade.  She taught us the sounds of all the letters and how to put them together to spell a word and how to use those sounds to read new words.  It was the most fun I had ever had in my short six years of life😊 and it opened up a whole new world for me.

Today I am an avid reader and a lover of words.  I love coming across a new word and then finding out what it means.  Mr. Webster and I have become quite good friends over the years! 

I thought for this post I would share with you some of the LOVELY WORDS that I have collected over the years.  Some you have probably heard before, some may be new for you; but I think you will agree they roll off the tongue delightfully😊

SERENDIPITY:

I remember learning this word in my 12th grade Literature class.  We had this little yellow book filled with words for which we had to look up the definitions and then make a sentence with them.  I still have that book!!!!

BUMBERSHOOT:

Would you believe...it's an umbrella?

The origin of this word is unknown but seems to be American and in use since the 1800s.  It sounds rather BRITISH to me; I can just hear Mary Poppins now..."I say, ole' chap...I can't find my bloody BUMBERSHOOT!"

 DEMIJOHN:

 "a jug; large bottle with a bulging body and a narrow neck "

This word originated in France in the 1700s.  (Doesn't it sound more fun than "jug"?)

SHENANIGATOR:

I really, really like this one!  It means "a person who instigates shenanigans".  Sounds like a fun person to me!!!  Guess I like it because I'm Irish and we leprechauns do like our shenanigans:)

WANDERLUST : 

Some of you may claim this one.  Maybe it came about because someone had a lust for wandering.  (Don't you just wonder where these words come from?)

CODDIWAMPLE:

 This is one of my latest discoveries and it's soooo much fun to say.  It means "to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination".  I think I would like to partake of some coddiwample...just start out with my suitcase and no particular destination in mind and see where the winds take me.

TELIOSE:

This is another new one that I learned about recently while working on a Sunday School lesson I was to teach.  It comes from the Bible's original Greek and means "spiritual maturity".  I may do a post soon on this since the lesson went really well, and I learned a lot from my study and research.

WOOLGATHERING:

Raise your hand if you have been guilty of this...yes, I see all those hands...including my own:)  This is "indulgence in aimless thought or dreamy imagining".  It's something we probably shouldn't do in a class or church, but sometimes it can be relaxing and just plain fun.  

DEJA VU:

I know you are all familiar with this one, but I just had to include it because it's always been a favorite..."the illusion of having previously experienced something actually being encountered for the first time".  I'd love to hear about your experience with that...definitely a great conversation piece.

INSOUCIANT:

This one just rolls off the tongue so smoothly.  This is an adjective that does NOT describe me, but I'm hoping it will by at least the 22nd Century!!!

MERAKI:

"to do something with soul, creativity, or love; when you leave a piece of yourself in your work"   This one is a brand new one for me; I just learned it today.  And yet, I know it was a part of me for 40 1/2 years.  I was a teacher all those many years.  I loved it, and I loved all the students that I taught.  I can honestly say that I believe know that I left a piece of myself in each and every day that I was privileged to be called an educator.

I have many other WORDS in my collection, but I don't want this to get too WORDY...(pun intended)!!!!  So...do you have any favorite WORDS?  I'd love to hear about them, and maybe even see how smoothly they can roll off my tongue.

WORD  BLANKET

I cover myself with a blanket of words.

I quilted each consonant into this cloth.

Each vowel is keeping me warm.

Words to remember...read, write.

I'm pulling my word blanket up to my chin.

I'm sleeping with words.

Good night.

                                    ---by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

          

Lessons from a Donkey

I wish I knew who to give credit to for this, but since I don’t let me just say that whoever came up with this is a pretty smart cookie😊

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.  The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.  Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

The farmer invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.  They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.  At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.  Then to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.  A few shovel loads later the farmer looked down into the well and was astonished at what he saw.

As every shovel hit his back, the donkey did something amazing.  He would shake the dirt off and take a step up.  As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.  Pretty soon everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

The moral…life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.  The trick to getting out of a hole is to shake it off and take a step up.  Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.  We can get out of the deepest holes just by not stopping, never giving up!  Shake it off and take a step up!

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 This was a pretty smart donkey, right?  Cartoons, stories, etc. can often make out the donkey to be rather “dumb”, but they are actually highly intelligent.  There is a lot we can learn from a donkey….

* Donkeys have an incredible memory - they can recognize areas and other donkeys they were with up to 25 years ago.  (Can you do that???)

*A donkey will not do something it considers to be unsafe.  (Listen up, all you daredevils!)

* Donkeys have a reputation for stubbornness but this is due to their highly developed sense of self preservation. It is difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it sees as contrary to its own best interest or safety.     (Another valuable lesson!)

* Training a donkey relies upon showing him or her, by words and action, that they can trust you to protect them from harm. They learn what it is we want them to do if we take time to show them.  (Shouldn't we think of this with our children & grandchildren?)

* A donkey is stronger than a horse of the same size.   (Always remember: dynamite comes in small packages; you may think you are small & insignificant but you can accomplish great things!)

(Thanks to this website http://www.mikesdonkeys.co.uk/facts.html for these interesting facts)

Life is full of surprising and interesting things IF we just take the time to learn about them😊

Each new day is an opportunity to learn, experience,

cherish, love, & celebrate.