Hey everyone!! I'm sorry it's been so long since I have last posted (or visited). It has been hectic here at the bewitchingyou camp! I thought I would stop by and let you all know what's been going on.
I have been training with the local roller derby team for hmm... a couple of weeks now. I am still very much a beginner skater, but it's so much fun and I love it.

What's new with you guys?!

Happy Birthday to me! :)

Today I turn 2-4... I feel so oollldddd..... any way, hope everyone else has been great. I have been terrible about getting on here these past couple of weeks. I promise I will start catching up with you all.

Tag! I'm it!

Sorry for my absence, I have been recently gifted (as in an, "okay I'll give you the damn thing so you don't bug me about it later kinda gift" -- my favorite) with a Kindle from the hubby (I LOVE it)! So I've been reading almost every waking moment. As I returned, I found myself tagged by Ked from Something Wicked this Way Comes. So I am eager to begin, but first, as always, here's the rules (darn it, but  blogs cannot function without rules apparently):


1. Post these rules. -- Done
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself. -- Do I gotta?! Apparently so...
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post. -- Aww shucks ;]
4. Create 3 new questions for the people you tag to answer. --[[racking my brain]]
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you have tagged them. -- I love blog stalking, I mean reading
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 3 people! --Done and done

Okay, so 11 interesting facts about myself that won't severely embarrass me... hmm... OK I'll start with this:

1. I am superstitious. I hate when people split a pole, walk under ladders, sweep my feet (which is rude anyways). And if I spill salt, I will secretly throw some over my shoulder. Yeah, I'm the crazy lady in the next booth knocking on wood (my preferred method is 4 knocks of 3 reps - not sure why), but please forgive  and ignore me. Oh & I love black cats.. I guess I just pick and choose what I want to follow... sound familiar?! Haha.. I kid.. I kid

2. As mush as I love Halloween and scaring others.. I am terrified of the dark. Yes, I am a coward. I guess there are too many "real" things that go bump in the night.

3. I am absolutely addicted to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. I have a platonic girl crush on Sookie... and I just adore the character Eric. If I was a little bit more demented, I could actually believe they exist.I guess the world wouldn't be any worse off if vamps did exist.

4. I have the smallest toenails in the world. Bet.

5. I love food oddities. Toasted pineapple and mayo sandwiches.. banana and Miracle Whip sandwiches (Yes there is a difference between mayo and MW.. I am a bigger fan of MW).. I could go on & on

6. I am 1/4 Korean... I know that sounds weird to put it that way, it sounds even more weird saying, "My mom is 1/2. My Korean grandmother died before I was born. So needless to say, I was brought up on a lot of Korean food, but not culture. But for some reason, I don't like it when people think my heritage is Vietnamese. Oddly enough my grandfather fought in the Vietnam War...

7. As much as I can express myself on here, I have a hard time in person. I really am just a shy, quiet person... why doesn't anyone believe me?!

8. I still have a homemade card from my brother Brandon that he made me when I was in grade school (4th grade maybe?). It's really cute.. he tried to make it into a pop-up card, but wasn't successful.

9. I am extremely defensive when it comes to my family. I don't care what you're opinions about them are (even if they're true), but you best be respectful to them.My family is all that I have. We all fall short of grace and aren't perfect... that includes myself, them and of course you.

10.Embarrassingly enough, if I'm watching Harry Potter, I can almost always recite the next line of the movie (In the first one especially). Yes, I'm a Hogwarts nerd. I also get into these... well... ruts, I guess you can call them. For instance, if I'm in the mood to watch HP#1, then I will rewatch it every day (at least once or twice, and usually back-to-back) for a month or more. It's insane

11. No matter how many times I try, I cannot grasp how British titles work.. Countess, Duke.. yada yada. Why can't we just call them all Billionaire Bill?

And Ked asked me to answer these three questions:
 
#1 Besides Halloween and Christmas, what other holiday(s) do you celebrate/enjoy/decorate for?
Hmm.. I guess it depends on what I have planned. I love to throw parties, but I have come to realize that the work (and money) I put into a party is not always appreciated. So I guess to [finally] answer the question, I only decorate for Halloween & Christmas. I guess 2010 was an exception because I decorated for Valentines Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although, I think it would be a blast to do something fun for each holiday---I have just been too lazy.

#2 What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you?
Well there are a few things... some I prefer to keep deep within. I guess I would have to answer this as my near death experience. I was swimming in a community pool with my brother and cousins. I want to say I was between 8-10 years old. We were supposed to be under constant supervision from a baby sitter who was very unreliable. I got to the deep end and simply got tired. I was not a fair swimmer then (not now either). I thrashed about, panicking, hoping someone would see me. I remember reaching out for the back of some older man, but I could never reach him. I finally gave up-- I was so tired. I began to sink. And suddenly, it was so peaceful, I wasn't scared anymore... I didn't know what was happening, but I excepted it - not so much as embraced "it" because I didn't understand fully what was occurring. And the next second, I was pulled out. I don't remember how I got out or what even happened next. I just remember our babysitter begging me not to tell. I did.


#3 How do you deal with the negative people in your life?
I guess it just depends on who that person is, what the circumstances are and what my feelings are towards that person. Sometimes I like to imagine that their heads are pimples and I'm a dermatologist. Sometimes if the situation calls for it, I confront that person (not in a I'm-going-to-beat-you way... just a hey, dude what's up with you kind of way). I try to think of what that person could be going through.. sometimes that helps. Hell, it's not my business to ask why so and so is being a douche. I found the best way to let go of the negative energy is to vent... so as you see from my previous entry, I do. And I talk to the hubby - he at least pretends to listen. :]

So to continue...

Lady M from http://ladymhauntedparlor.blogspot.com/

Vivienne from http://viviennemoss.blogspot.com/

& The Spooky Vegan from ... yep, you guessed it, the http://spookyvegan.blogspot.com/



TAG, You're it!!!

and my three questions are:

1. What fictional character do you pull the most inspiration from and why?


2. If you could transform into any kind of animal for one night, what would it be and what would be on your agenda?


3. What is a lesson (or saying) that has always held true to you?

New Year's Resolution Time...

So year after year, we all make a list of things we want to change in our lives. Depending on will power, interest and organization (whatever it may be), we either fall off the wagon, or change our lifestyle. I'm going to give it another go this year and here is my list of New Year's resolutions:

1. To be more self-sufficient and more earth-friendly.

I really want to change my habits and be more conscious about how my actions are impacting the Earth. I've never really thought about the effect of my personal habits and how they are affecting our home... until now...

"As a matter of fact, the average American generates about 4.6 pounds of solid trash a day!  That means each average American produces about 9.2 pounds of trash in only two days.  In a year’s time, that equals 1,460 pounds of trash per person.  If you consider the population of the United States, you will see that as a country, they get rid of about 210 million tons of junk every year!"[[http://library.thinkquest.org/]]

It's kind of like that saying, "Don't eat where you shit." We are shitting everywhere (pardon my language). When is it going to stop and when are we going to hold ourselves responsible? I, myself have been making too many excuses and not acting on my beliefs.

So there are two parts to resolution #1:
A) To be more self-sufficient

B) To be more eart-friendly

To accomplish resolution"A", I am going to recycle. I've started before the New Year so here is a picture of my set-up:

For the local folks, here is some more information about our recycling center. Surrounding areas of Tyler, must take their reycle bins to the self-service plant in Tyler due to no other options.

The Tyler Recycling Collection Center is a self-service drop-off center.

Address: 418 N. Bois D' Arc

Phone: (903)531-1388

Hours of Operation

Wednesday & Thursday: 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Friday: 7:15 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Saturday: 8 a.m. to noon

The center is closed on Monday and Tuesday to process the recyclables.

The following items are accepted:

1. Clear, Green and Brown Glass Bottles and Jars (must be rinsed with lids removed and separated by color -- NO WINDOW PANES OR MIRRORS);
2. Aluminum Cans (no aluminum pie plates or tin cans);
3. #1 PET plastic -- rinsed -- examples: soda and water bottles;

4. #2 HDPE plastic ALL COLORS -- rinsed -- examples: milk jugs and detergent bottles;
5. Cardboard; Newspapers; Magazines; Ads/Junk Mail; Mixed office paper; Electronics (NO APPLIANCES OR TELEVISIONS); Cell Phones and Cell Phone Chargers.

Other recyclables:
--Plastic bags may be recycled by returning them to any Wal-Mart or Brookshire’s.

--Compact Fluorescent Bulbs can be recycled at any Home Depot.

--RECHARGEABLE batteries can be recycled at Batteries Plus and Interstate Batteries in Tyler.

Recycling Organic waste:

http://www.solucionespracticas.org.pe/fichastecnicas/pdf/recycling_organic_waste.pdf

*To identify plastic acceptable containers, look at the bottom of the container. A recycling triangle can be seen with three chasing arrows and a number in the center. The initials PET, PETE or HDPE may or may not be visible.

To achieve resolution "B", I am going to grow my own vegetable garden. I was succesful this year with my apartment patio garden of tomatoes and peppers. Now that I have my own yard, I am going to add several more plants (carrots, greens, etc).

 

Resolution #2

I hate to be a cliche, but I'm adding losing weight to my resolution list. I have been yo-yo dieting since I was.. well too young to want to admit. I would really like to lose weight (in a healthy way) and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

And fellow Texans, we are a proud bunch. BUT, maybe it's time for a change for us... we are the 12th most obese state!

"The most recent state-by-state data on obesity rates for youth 10 to 17 are from 2007 and also were included in last year's report. According to the data, 20.4 percent of children and adolescents in Texas are considered obese." [http://healthyamericans.org]

Resolution #3:



I'm going to try some recipes from
this book I purchased



To swap one meal a week with a vegetarian dish. I know that this doesn't sound difficult, but I know it will be hard to maintain... because I don't cook. I am hoping that with a gradial change, I can eat less meats. 

 

 Well, wish me luck in 2012 and don't be

afraid to share your resolutions.

Snail Mail Surprise

 So I come home from work today and I had a surprise package... and it came just in time. I have been anxious to open presents.. yeah, yeah I am one of "those". I love getting presents as you can all see from my previous blog entry (I also love to give, but that's beside the point for this post).
So imagine how excited I was...

I opened the box and saw this. It was a cute little card.
And underneath that tissue paper....was.....
THIS!!!!!!!!

I won this awesome little dead doll from
Daph's awesome giveaway!!! She is
temporarily slumming it on my mantle until I can
find a more permanent home for her.

Boy, I love getting early presents 8]

Bewitchingyou's Bests [[for the Year]]

So if anyone reads People.com, you know that at the end of every year, they have a page that is dedicated to the "Best of 2011". It may be about style, funny quotes, whatever floats their boat. I have decided to do the same thing, but in blog form.

Note: Just to keep each category from being too long (no one wants to read one blog entry that takes an hr to read), I am only going to choose the top five.

My Top 5 Obsessions:

• Twilight (the release of Breaking Dawn)
• True Blood
• Blogging
• Crafting (esp. this Halloween)
• Reading

My Top 5 TV Shows:

• True Blood
• Dexter
• Law and Order: SVU
• Once Upon a Time
• Pan Am

My Top Five Favorite Quotes:

• "Light up the darkness" - Bob Marley
• "I try to believe in as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Alice Kingsley
• "Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." - Gil Stern
• "The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it." - Charles Swindoll
• "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” -
  Mahatma Gandhi

My Top Five Favorite Blogs:

(in no particular order - this was HARD as I read so many!)

 

• Something WicKED this way comes - wicKED's blog is so funny! He definitely has a way with words! And I just love Archie & Lilly.
• Art Bliss - She is truly a talented artist! I love seeing her creations!
• Lady M's Haunted Parlor - She is so creative and kind.
• Little Gothic Horrors - Not only is Emma talented (just look at her dolls!). I love her gothic style.
• Annie Walls - I am crazy about the funny/sarcastic blog entries. Always makes me smile.

My Top Five Favorite Blog Posts:

(in no particular order)

• Art Bliss' Witch Boots
• WicKED's Happy Creepmas Eve
• Art Bliss' Altered Book(s)
• Maple Grove Cemetery's Tillson Street Revealed
• Out of the Shadows' Dumb Supper

 My Top Five Favorite Websites:

• The Haunted Cauldron
• Cake Wrecks
• Facebook
• Halloween Forum
• Google

My Top Five Memorable Moments of 2011:

(in no particular order)

• AC and I buying our first house
• My mother-in-law's 50th surprise party
• Our first Halloween as haunters
• The birth of my "niece" Lauren
• Any moment spent with my grandparents

My Top Five Favorite Activities:

• Reading
• Marathon sessions of True Blood
• Geocaching
• Blogging
• Gardening

I also want to wish everyone a great holiday (Christmas & New Year's). I have really enjoyed following along, reading about your lives and ideas/opinions. It's great to make new friends that are just as crazy (or crazier) than I am.

Until Christmas...

xoxo Nicole

My Christmas Presents...

To and from.. Myself. Merry Christmas to me! :)

I just had to have new slippers... and these called out to me. It didn't hurt that my favorite Asian (besides Julie Chen) designed these...

Simply Vera Vera Wang Military Lace-Up Bootie Slippers



"Nicole, Nicole.. you know you want to take me home..."

And I did.

Vegan-Approved Soaps

http://www.earththerapeutics.com/

 

Great smell, inexpensive

and no animal testing

Interesting How-To Book

The Backyard Homestead : Produce All the Food You Need on Just a Quarter Acre!

Helpful to have
 (it goes along with one of my New Year's resolutions)

 

Today was a great day of catching up... I got to see my family from Florida and I spent some time with my Mom. I also tried my very first Long Island tea... I love them. I do not however love the aftermath of being drunk... lesson learned? Doubt it.

Ahh... Thanksgiving. A time to not only reflect on one's blessings, but also a time to enjoy great food. I hope you all have a fang-tastic holiday and that you are not only able to spend time with your loved ones, but appreciate them as well.

I am honestly thankful to you all. I have found that the Blogger world is very inviting and fascinating. I love how people from all over the world can connect and share friendship,thoughts, ideas, projects (whatever it may be) although we never meet face-to-face. I enjoy reading about you all and I thank you for taking time out to read about me. It certainly is a morale boost to know that I am not "talking" to myself.

Again, I hope you all have a blessed holiday... time to go check on my peach cobbler and pumpkin muffins.

Until Creepmas,

xoxo

BeWitchy

P.S. Don't forget your stretchy pants :)

Fellow Minions

I am going to be absent a bit from posting (not reading yours) in order to get my 3 Creepmas posts to 13.

Here's a sneak peek has to what is coming up:

• Book review and Giveaway
• Crafts/Decor
• Food

Michael's Steals

I have been terrible about procrastinating lately. I have needed to go to the grocery store since Thursday. My final breaking point occurred this morning. I had just awoken and felt a terrible hunger (unusual for me to wake up hungry) and I WANTED & HAD to have eggs.

 

I went to the kitchen and was hungry enough to wash one of my dirty pans, dry it, Pam it and turn on the stove. Man I couldn't wait... I opened the fridge.. and guess what?! NO friggin' eggs.

Ah anyway, I decided to procrastinate one more time by stopping by Michael's. I didn't expect for them to have any Halloween items left (nothing worth buying anyhow). Surprise surprise; lucky me! ALL of their Halloween merchandise was 90, let me say again, 90% off. Whooo hoooo! & I scored some really neat things for only $11.00.



Two eyeball balls (already confiscated & not pictured)
Halloween googly-eyes, grow a skeleton, damask picture frame,
Halloween scrapbook paper & die cuts, Candelabra ornament thing,
and of course a wreath... what could I be up to eh?

 Getting great deals... what could make Frank and I happier?

Attitude + Birthday cockroaches



Although this doesn't pertain to Halloween or the upcoming holidays, I wanted to share this with you all. This quote has given me a positive attitude during hard times. I keep this on my refrigerator so anytime I feel down, I can pick myself up.

Attitude

By: Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is out attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of out attitudes."



I made some cupcakes for a co-worker's surprise birthday lunch... I HAD to put some plastic cockroaches in the icing as a "surprise". Does this make me demented? I think she will like it though...

"Bread Dead"

So my mind has been all over the place today... I guess it's due to Mondayitis or the fact that I am "bread dead". Bread dead is when you are so tired that you confuse the words brain and bread and it's totally accepted by your peers as a legitimate statement. 

So here are some random bits floating in my head today:



Punkin Chunkin... I wish I could attend :/

Spellbinder 1988 Review

Video is suggestive, but nothing you wouldn't see

 on today's  programming.

I give it:

Tim Daly and Kelly Preston costar in this magical drama about

a young lawyer who falls in love with a woman named Miranda.

But Miranda has a secret…

I don’t want to give too many spoilers so I am going to keep it to a

minimum. But I will say this movie is great. I love the plot and the

characters. The movie ends in a direction very unexpected and

doesn’t end with a “happily ever after” good-feeling. Normally

I love happy endings, but love doesn’t always end up with a

walk down the aisle.

Anyway, watch it and let me know what you think.

Spose's "I'm Awesome" - it cheered me up today on the way home.

And the video is hilarious... Love the Snuggie part.

The fact that it is now COMPLETELY dark outside by 6 p.m.

And last, but not least: Zombie elves



Apparently Asmara has joined me:

Her new perch

Asmara - "Beautiful butterflies"
Apparently she is taking this to heart...

Don't Forget...

Although it's certainly time for me to join the kiddos, I think I am going to go watch this:

Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy

Orion & Asmara





Eat, Drink & Be Scary

So I have been brainstorming away for Creepmas.Thank you guys again for giving me something to stay busy! Here are some of my ideas -- let me know what you think and if you have any tips ;]

1. Always the essential Christmas wreath -- but add bones, webs, etc.
2. A black tree with webs
3. Black Nightmare Before Christmas stockings with some treats & a trick (it builds character...ha!)
4. Black and orange candy canes
5. Pumpkin bread with blood ooze (is this even possible & would it taste like shiz?)
6. Zombie elves, reindeer, etc.
7. Santa hat skulls
8. Purple & Black Christmas lights (outside)

Well I'm going to keep brainstorming... hopefully I can pull some things together.

I really LOVE playing the game "Bad Santa".
Here's how to play if you've never had the opportunity to play & steal someone else's present :]

• All guests are asked to bring a gift. Every guest that brings a present gets a number. Number 1 gets to choose any gift and open it in front of everyone for all to see. Now #2 gets to either take the gift that #1 got or choose another from the pile. And it continues until everyone has a present. If someone takes another's gift the empty-handed person can either get one from the pile or take somebody else's gift. The rules are that once it is stolen from you, you cannot steal it back from that person. So no continuous back and forths. It's a really fun game and I really enjoy playing it at Christmas time.

Also, I have received my first blog award -- the  Liebster ("Dearest" in German) Blog award.

This honor was bestowed upon me by wicKED 

By accepting this award, I must follow the rules.

Which are:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.
2. Pass the award onto 5 blogs that have less than 200 followers.

Thank you wicKED for this award! Everyone needs to check out his page. It is honestly one of the best blogs out there & I check it everyday. (Yes I totally stalk his blog, but don't judge. You will too...)

And the AHH-mazing blogs I chose are:

• Maple Grove Cemetery
• A Spoonful of Halloween
• Voodoo Ghoul
• Out of the Shadows
• Deadwood Cemetery

So whatcha gonna talk about now?!

Although All Hallows Eve has passed, I fully intend on trying to bewitch you all. I will post about crafts, cooking (my husband would laugh if he read this), parties... you name it. I will always try to find a bit of Halloween in everything. & I also love to read your blogs!

 

The next event that AC & I are hosting is A Nightmare on Christmas... Can't wait :]

So stay tuned...

Last post of October

Hello boils & ghouls,
This will be my last post until after Halloween... tomorrow is my first wedding anniversary. :] Can't believe time has flown by so quickly! We will be extremely busy making treats, making our house even more haunted and just relaxing. I will definitely post pictures when it's all said and done. But in the meantime, here are some pictures from our wedding.

Blue haired vamp singing an original song for us :]

I love my cake.. and my husband

What could be this Southern Belle's fortune?

Line up for the costume contest

Want some fries with that shake?

The mismatched couple.. one old, one dead :]

The biker gang

Uncle Franky

I hope you all have a boo-rific weekend & I look forward to stalking your blogs (hopefully with pictures ;) lol)