Here are our pumpkins we carved last night.



This year we were pretty lazy in regards to Halloween. We didn't pull out the "fancy" pumpkin carving stencils or anything else. Usually DD and DH decorate the yard with fake webs, some tombstones, strobe light etc.. It just didn't come together this year - other time commitments and lack of motivation.

As far as spending I'm sure we are on the low end of the American average again this year.

$15 - Three pumpkins
$12 - Candy
$34 - Costumes for both DD and DS

DS had a party at his preschool this morning with games and crafts. The school asks that costumes be plants, animals or insects. No monsters, superheroes, princesses, etc.. It does make the celebration feel so much less commercialized and materialistic, which I appreciate.



I saw some wonderful animal costumes - lions, tigers, a hippo, some mice, a sheep...
A darling little redheaded girl as a ladybug.
A boy dressed as an oak tree with fall leaves and acorns.

There is a costume "lending library" where you can donate costumes to it or borrow from it. I love that idea. Too bad there wasn't a boy appropriate costume in the box when I checked last week.

I am sure we will donate DS's elephant costume to the school.
Pretty sure it will be too small for next year - darn it.

Tonight we are having dinner with friends early in the evening then T or T their neighborhood. Our contribution to dinner is roasted baby carrots and fresh, organic grapes. Super easy for me - Yay!

May everyone get Treats instead of Tricks tonight!
BOO-HAA-HAA-HAA!!

First off, I love to stay at home - I am a homebody for the most part. Very happy to just putter around the house.
I also love to travel and "get away". See new things.
Recently DH and I have been talking about a family trip. We have not gone anywhere as a family for longer than a weekend in four years come December.

Some quick searching and we almost booked a trip to Cabo. Seven nights at an all inclusive resort through Costco travel was $908 for the four of us. With airfare (only three hour flight from SFO!) the package was close to $2500 total. Still a deal.

This same package if booked during Christmas break would be $6000!

We didn't book it because:
One, we would all need passports. $500+ to get four of those.
Two, we don't have vacation funds to cover a $3k trip. Not even close.

Another time maybe?

We are still researching options. It will be a road trip. In the same vein as Monkey Mama - Vegas is tempting for cheap hotel rooms and free things to see.

We will go in December. After Thanksgiving vacation has ended and before Christmas vacation starts.
We have always chosen to travel this way. Mostly to avoid crowds. The added benefit is saving money during off-peak dates.

Have you been looking at taking a frugal vacation?

We have been enjoying a mild October so far.
It has been cold at night - mid 30s to low 40s, but the days have been sunny and warm. It is 75F right now.

This might be the last mild weekend for awhile so the kids and I headed out to the beach. Once again I was feeling pretty lucky we live so close to the Pacific Ocean. It takes us about 35 minutes to drive out and the road is a nice trip. Pastoral - cows, sheep, horses.

On our last trip we purchased a twelve month county park pass, so the only cost today was a bit of fuel for the Pathfinder.


Cleo at the beach this morning.
She is a big girl now!

Our 12 year-old DD has her own free checking and linked savings account now. She feels very grown up and is taking it very seriously. She is a mature, responsible girl and I figure it is never too early to understand banking. It also makes sense for her to have an account to deposit into and "manage" now that she is getting at least one check every month from the survey company.

She is making both DH and I very proud because she has been saving half of any money she gets for many months now.
Her savings account has a larger balance than her checking account.

I was 16 when I opened my first checking account.
How old were you?

Not much going here. Just plugging along on regular things.

I have been giving even more serious thought to my little business I want to set up. The idea has been nagging at me for about seven years. Recently, it has been forefront in my mind. Any free time I have I am daydreaming and/or researching online.

After reading about business planning I have decided it wouldn't hurt to get a website up even before there is any actual "product". I can start to establish a "web presence" now. Maybe a blog to document my progress of making this little daydream into reality. It would be helpful to get some interest and feedback online.

But who to use?

I don't need much. I have been looking at godaddy, iPage, web.com and similar.

Any advice?