Weighty Wednesday -- Halloween Candy Madness

Halloween is a tough time of year . . . especially for those of us who are losing weight, or simply trying to maintain.


It's easy to break into candy that you normally would never buy to make sure "it tastes okay to give out to the Trick-or-Treaters".

It's also very easy to steal from one's child. . . yeah, I've been known to do that.

Whereas when I was growing up, I learned to keep track of every single piece of candy because I have older brothers and sisters.
Whereas my daughter doesn't really care.

Oh, she has her favorites and keeps track of them, but I can swipe a Skittles or a chocolate bar and she wouldn't even know it.

Sour patch kids and frozen Reeses, well, don't even think about eating them!

She usually nibbles on her candy for a few days and then I put the remainder of it in a bag and put it on the shelf to be forgotten. We usually throw out the rest of the candy around Christmas . . . when a new haul of candy becomes available.

This (exhibit A on the right), however, is the bane of my Halloween.

Once a package is opened, expect it to be demolished within a day, two at the most. The easy response would be, "just don't buy it". Well, yeah, in a perfect world that would be a good response.

But, I'm not perfect.

The only good thing about this is that I manage to get sugar headaches from the excessive sweet, and I eat so much of it in a narrow window of time that I want to throw up, which makes it easier for me to resist other candy.

Well, that's my theory anyway.

Enjoy Halloween. Don't go crazy eating too much sugar. And if you need to make some cupcakes for an office Halloween party, here are a few decorating suggestions:

These are a few of the cupcakes I've made in the past.

Happy Halloween!

Oh, when your daughter wants to be a 'cute candy corn'. She wants to look like this:


Not this:

Just sayin'

Autumnal Changes

After a hideously hot summer times two, we have finally managed to cool down a little.

Now we've actually set a record for the earliest freezing temperature, October 6. The previous record was Oct. 20. Our normal freeze usually happens after Halloween.

I don't know how this bodes for the winter, but if it was anything like last winter, it'll be a non-event. The previous winter was a whole 'nuther experience though, with schools shutting down because the cold and windchill, along with other occurrences of over a foot of snow dumping on us and shutting down most businesses for days and schools for a week. Normally, I wouldn't be pissy about the kids missing school, but they had just returned the previous week after two weeks off for Christmas! Aaarrrrgggghhhh!

Anyway, back to this year. Yesterday I tweeted about a few things. You are more than welcome to follow me on Twitter, I'm magolla1. I usually post things about my walks or stuff like that.

• Two chill nights have started the autumnal process. Bright yellows, reds, purples and oranges are dotting the trees along my path. #walking
• A weak, watery sun tries to shine through a shroud of grey clouds . . . it fails. #walking
• Eight Scissortail Flycatchers sitting on a barbed wire fence chittering, chattering, and chortling as I walk past. #walking
• Late walkies, but warmer than this AM. 59 min.
  And last, but certainly not least
• Cleaning house. Then decided to get Halloween stuff out. Throwing lots away. Keeping mummy and headless bride just for the memories!

The trees are changing, which is really a surprise with the horrible drought we had this summer and last summer. In September, we got a lot of rain, not enough to take us out of the 'drought' terminology, but enough to make the trees think it was spring.

 

Yes, the silly Bradford Pears started blooming again. I hate the smell of those 'death' trees!

 

The cliff swallows are long gone, but the scissortails and bluebirds are back in force! They are so much fun to watch and listen to on my walks.

 

The sky is heavier with the sun trying to break through, but mostly failing. I don't think I have SADD, but I do like my sunshine!

 

This morning is warmer than expected and a fog has settled in. I'll wait until drivers can see me before I walk. There's a small section of my walk that I have to walk on the shoulder of a busy road, not my favorite place, but it's the only way to get to my path.

 

We pulled out a ton of Halloween stuff from our crawl space this year. It's time to thin it out and replace the old cardboard boxes with clear plastic ones, like we use for the Christmas stuff. We're mainly throwing away stuff that has seen better days or I stopped putting out. Every now and again it's time to purge, plus it's was the day before trash day.

 

Well, time to wake the rest of the family up for their long days of work and school.

 

Later, Peeps!