Procrastonaut

New Halloween Blog

2015-08-07T16:47:00.004-07:00

Wow, it's been almost a year since I posted anything. Good thing my blog theme is procrastination. I'm writing to tell you I actually have a new blog dedicated solely to Halloween. Don't worry, Procrastonaut isn't going anywhere. I just thought it would be a good idea to create a blog dedicated to all things Halloween, since that's mostly what I blog about anyway.

You can find it here: http://52woh.tumblr.com/

Yes, I'm switching to Tumblr because that's where all the cool kids are. I've spent the last year trying to figure out how to use it because apparently I am 90 years old. Seriously, why is Tumblr so confusing to me? I should probably recruit my 6-year-old niece to help me figure it out. I tell you all this because it's kinda plain-looking at the moment. I'm hoping to get up to speed after I read Tumblr for Dummies. Which I checked out at the library. Because I am 90 years old.

Hope you join me for this new blogging adventure!

Los Angeles Haunted Hayride

2014-10-25T08:52:00.001-07:00

Welp, looks like the fall weather has arrived in L.A.

It's almost cold enough to wear a light sweater at night. :-p

Believe me, the perfect weather is one of the things I love most about this city, but I wouldn't mind some spooky clouds or something in October. Come on, Mother Nature! Where's your Halloween spirit?

I am slack-a-lacking in blog posts! Here's a quick picture recap of the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride I went to last weekend:

Loved all the spooky food names

Creepy skinless bride

They cram you in a cage before you get on the hayride.

The cage!

Let the hayride begin!

Unfortunately, they don't allow photography during the actual ride so you will just have to see it for yourself! For those of you who are mega scaredy cats like me, it really wasn't that bad. It's scary because you're never sure when someone is gonna pop out and startle you, but it's not like I had nightmares about it.

More tips:

Buy tickets online.
Get the All Attractions pass because after the hayride is over you'll be like, "Now what?" Might as well go through the maze and other scare zones.
If you do the maze, stand as far away as possible from that screen they have in the beginning just before you enter. Trust me on this.
Get there EARLY. We got there 30 minutes before the hayride started, which gave us plenty of time to park and what not. The wait time in line was minimal. If you get there later you'll be waiting in long lines.
Bring cash. Everything they sell is cash only.
Go in a group. It's more fun!

I gotta go prep for the KCRW Masquerade Ball tonight. Eek! First time I'll be wearing my full costume! I'm kinda nervous for some reason. Hope it goes well. I'll try and keep up with my blog posting this week because there is lots of Halloweening going on.

Oh also, if you use the Waze app, check out their Ichabod Crane voice option. Very Halloween-y! (Settings > Sound > Navigation Guidance)

Candy Corn Cordials

2014-10-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember my Halloween cocktail disaster of 2013:

I found a new Halloween cocktail this year from the Food Network Kitchen. Candy Corn Cordials. Looks adorable, right?

Photo by Levi Brown/Food Network Kitchen

Here's the recipe:

I made some slight modifications. I couldn't find orange liqueur at the store so I used orange juice. And I'm too lazy to separate an egg so I just bought egg whites in a carton.

My ingredients

The recipe says to infuse the vodka and candy corn for at least three hours, so I left it in there for a good 10 hours. The result?

The vodka becomes very orange. It surprisingly didn't change the taste of the vodka all that much. There was just a hint of sweetness. The candy corn starts to disintegrate, which is why straining it is helpful.

Gross

Here was my first try:

Not as frothy as the picture from the recipe. But there was some froth in the shaker so I took a spoon and placed the frothy part into the martini glass. I also thought it would look cool just to have the yellow parts of the candy corn for garnish, but it ended up looking like real kernels of corn. So I tossed some full candy corn into the next one.

Voila!

Not bad, eh? Looks damn near like the original. A Pinterest win! Here's a side by side comparison:

I was honestly prepared for this to taste really gross, but it was pretty good! Tasted like a creamsicle, but not too sweet. The only bad part is the frothiness on top is obviously from the egg whites, so you kinda get a whiff of egg when you take a sip. If I do this again I'm just gonna use whipped cream or something instead.

All in all, I was very pleased with myself! A Halloween cocktail success!

Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns Recap

2014-10-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

I went to Rise of the Jack O'Lanterns on Sunday and it was the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season. I suggest you buy tickets now because they seem to be selling out pretty fast.

Over 5,000 hand-carved pumpkins are on display at Descanso Gardens and they are insanely impressive. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to walk the path, depending on how long you want to linger at each themed display.

My advice? Just enjoy the moment because your pictures will probably look like crap. It's hard to take pictures in the dark. Even if they turn out it just doesn't do it justice. Savor the pumpkins in all their jack o'lantern glory!

Here are the few pics I took:

My friends at the beer garden


These are made out of pumpkins, people!!!


Let's pose with this pumpkin and barrel of hay!

The gift shop

WARNING: There's a gift shop and it's adorable. Like ridiculously adorable. It's FILLED with Halloween decor and goodies and I almost spent a million dollars, but I refrained and only bought this Halloween pasta:

How cute is this? It's pasta in the shape of pumpkins! I bought some vodka sauce to go with it because it's orange. Yummm!

I am also slowly but surely making my way through the Countdown to Halloween blog list. I'm only at "H" but I have a goal to check out every blog on this list. Love my fellow Halloween bloggers!

Halloween Costume Teaser Pics

2014-10-04T10:16:00.002-07:00

I announced my Halloween costume back in July, but want to do a quick recap for the other Countdown to Halloween bloggers. I'm REALLY excited about my costume, but the only drawback is it's tough to explain. If you're not familiar with Mystery Science Theater 3000 you're gonna be like, "What the hell are you talking about?" If you are familiar with MST3K, you're still gonna be a little confused when I try describing it, but I promise you will love it when you see it! I'm not ready to show off the whole costume yet, but I will give you some teaser costume prepping pics...

Image stolen from the internets

My costume is the MST3K silhouette. I've seen versions of this online and I'm adding my own personal twist. My friend Carolina made the Gizmonic Institute jumpsuit that Joel wears. I've got one more fitting with her, and I gotta add the Gizmonic patch, but it's basically done!

Altering the first draft (no that's not the fabric we're using)

Carolina hard at work while Humboldt supervises

The patch I ordered from Etsy. The internet has everything!

The silhouette proved to be difficult, as I feared. I made a version out of cardboard that looked like crap. The actual outline looked pretty damn good, but the cardboard was not holding up. It was all wrinkly and Crow's head was falling off. No bueno. No way would it survive a Halloween party. Plus it just looked sad. I would need to use some other type of material. Then I had a vision and sent this email off to my dad in late August...

From there we had a flurry of emails back and forth planning out my vision, which involved wood and jig saws (not a hand saw) and hinges and two different types of paint and straps and nuts and bolts and craziness! Again, I'm not ready to reveal the final product, but here are a few teaser pics.

The workshop aka Mom and Dad's garage. Can you spot my little furry helper?

You know your costume is complicated when it involves your dad and a jig saw.

We are super stoked for the finished product! And I look like the Unabomber.

Special thanks to candy corn for being delicious

Squeeealll! I'm getting so excited. I'll reveal the final product later in the month. I can't freakin' wait! God, I wish I spent as much time and energy planning my life as I do my Halloween costume.

This House Is Amazing

2014-10-02T22:06:00.000-07:00

If I ever own a house, I hope I can be half as cool as these people:

That's not even a real house. It's just a facade outside of a real house. Take a closer look.

You can see the top of their one-story house through the front entrance. Amazing, right? I was hanging out with a friend over Labor Day weekend and she said I must see this cool haunted house in her Glendale neighborhood. I didn't realize it was gonna be this awesome! Apparently this couple builds a Halloween display every year, and from what I can tell, it just gets better every time. Check out their Hollywood Haunter website for more awesome pics.

For real, I want to be best friends with these people. Their yard displays are insane.

Countdown to Halloween 2014

2014-10-01T07:16:00.002-07:00

Happy October 1st! The Halloween season is upon us! Welcome, fellow Cryptkeepers! It's that time of year when us Halloween lovers spend the month of October blogging about Halloween. Okay, so most of us are probably doing that all year long, but October is when it's official. Check out Countdown to Halloween to see the complete list of amazing Halloween bloggers!

Just to give you a recap on the past few months, I've mostly been yammering on about Ghostbusters, Scare L.A., other goings-on around Los Angeles and, of course, costume planning. You guys, my Halloween costume is almost complete. I can't even believe it. I've never had a costume finished this early. I have been insanely organized this Halloween season. More costume pics and posts to come!

I'll keep this post short and sweet, and leave you with my Halloween season to-do list. Yes, I made a list this year, some of which I've already accomplished. Apologies for the shitty MS Paint job.

Image courtesy of Kittisak at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I can't wait to read all of your blogs this month! Halloween, yeah!!!!!

Labor Day Weekend Halloweening

2014-09-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

Well, Ghostbusters was a bust. All my friends bailed/couldn't make it/didn't want to go. Lame. I ended up going to the theater by myself like a true GB fan.

All by myseeeellllffff!

It kinda felt like this...

I'm hoping my dedication will score me some points with the Great Pumpkin. Also, you know what I noticed about Ghostbusters? There are so many daytime hauntings. Seriously, about 75% of that movie takes place during the day. Who knew ghosts loved the daytime so much?

I happened to be house sitting in Burbank that weekend, so of course I had to stop by...

Halloween Town!

I freakin' love this place, and it's been way too long since I stopped by. If you ever want some Halloween inspiration, swing by Halloween Town. No, it's not like those pop-up Halloween stores that show up in October. It's open year round and it's amazing. It feels like you're inside a haunted mansion. Go now!

Bought me some pumpkin stickers and I'm clearly excited about it.

After dragging my friend Kelly to Halloween Town, she took me to see this awesome haunted house in her neighborhood. I was not prepared for the amount of awesomeness these people put into decorating their house. I'm not allowed to post pics till after Sept 15th due to some contest they are in, but trust me, it's rad.

I have a billion more things to write about--costume updates, Halloween to do lists, presents in the mail! But I'm fading and will have to write more later. Nighty night.

Scare L.A. and Other Goings-On

2014-08-30T12:33:00.003-07:00

Scare L.A. was three weeks ago and I'm just now getting around to writing about it. Whoops! I'm procrastinating writing posts for my procrastination blog. That can't be good.

Scare L.A. was great, as expected. A way bigger crowd than last year. I cheaped out and bought the basic one-day cheapo pass. I still had a good time, but I definitely plan on buying the fancy pass next year so I can take classes and what not. I still left feeling PUMPED for Halloween.

The following panels were pretty rad:

When Hinges Creek: Celebrating 45 Years of the Haunted Mansion. This had a lot of old tales and behind-the-scenes stuff about Disneyland's Haunted Mansion as told by the folks who originally designed the ride system. Halloweeny history!

Making Monsters. The hair and makeup folks from all the big parks in SoCal took the stage to talk about the logistics of creating hordes of monsters for their Halloween nights, including Knott's Scary Farm, Queen Mary's Dark Harbor, Six Flag's Magic Mountain Fright Fest and Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights. I am truly impressed with the effort and creativity that goes into this, especially for the groups that have tiny budgets.

Exploring the Ruins of Los Angeles. This was by far my favorite panel of the day. A team of urban explorers from Atlas Obscura talked about all kinds of off-the-beaten-path locations in L.A. You must check out the Los Angeles branch to see what other adventures they have planned. I was rapidly jotting notes of all the cool places they were talking about, but it will be easier if you just check out their site. I'm lazy.

And of course, we had plenty of photo ops:

Monsters!


My Halloween friends


My Halloween parents

More Halloweening around with friends and fam

Making Monsters panel

It was also the weekend of the Super Moon!

Other Halloween Goings-On

RISE of the Jack o' Lanterns - I just bought a Living Social deal for this and I'm really excited. Over 5,000 jack o' lanterns on display on a scenic trail at Descanso Gardens. Sounds like one of those Christmas Tree Lane neighborhoods but better! Various dates available in October. Check it out! They have a version in New York, too.

Ghostbusters 30th Anniversary - Ghostbusters is being re-released this weekend on the big screen for its 30th anniversary, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how this is not sold out!!!! I bought tickets weeks ago when I found out. How are people not stoked out of their minds to see Ghostbusters in the theater again???? GHOSTBUSTERS ON THE BIG SCREEN. My tickets are for tonight and needless to say, I am excited.

Courtesy of the Ghostbusters Facebook page

"We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!" -- Peter Venkman

And So It Begins...

2014-08-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

And so it begins...

Costume prep

This weekend Carolina and I got an early start on our costumes.

A fantastic mess

Those are the only pictures I'm revealing at the moment, mostly because I'm not loving the first draft of my costume. Just gotta keep reminding myself I still have plenty of time. I don't want it to look like a kid's school project gone wrong! I'm also working on a secret element to my costume that I won't show you till Halloween. It has potential to be pretty badass though!

I will say I'm proud that we're getting such an early start. I think normally we wait till September and then we're scrambling all of October to get them finished. The scramble can be kind of exciting, but I always feel like I don't have enough time to do all the Halloweeny stuff I want to do (spooky movie night, haunted houses, gorge myself on candy corn, etc etc).

Also, I am this close to officially turning this into a year-round Halloween blog since that's what most of my posts are about, but if I do that I want to use a completely different format. Is anyone out there familiar with using tumblr or some other cooler blogging platform? Blogger isn't doing it for me anymore.

The Halloween Costume Reveal...

2014-07-20T20:29:00.001-07:00

I think I'm ready to reveal my Halloween costume for 2014! I have to say, I'm kinda nervous to announce it. I don't like to publicly put it out there unless I plan to fully commit to the costume. I have a certain vision for this costume, and it's going to be a challenge. I'm worried it might not turn out right. I know, I know. There's plenty of time, I can always change my mind, nobody cares, blah blah blah. The Halloween part of my brain just makes me downright nutty. I had this email exchange with my coworker the other day:

HIM: What's the verdict on your Halloween costume this year?

ME: Oh man, I'm getting really excited. But I have some hesitations. But I think I'm going with this idea that's been brewing in my brain. But I'm afraid to say it out loud! But I probably will soon...I aM a CraZy PeRsoN.

HIM: Yes, yes your are. But we love you for it.

Okay, are you ready for the big reveal? Drum roll, please...badabadabadabadabada...

I'm going as the Mystery Science Theater 3000 silhouette!!!

Okay, hear me out. I know it sounds weird. I was inspired by some costumes I saw online where people cut out the MST3K silhouette from black poster board and wore it on their backs like a backpack. Yes, this means I'll be wearing another costume where the back is the coolest part, but I have a few other ideas up my sleeve. I'll also be wearing the Gizmonic Institute jumpsuit, which the lovely and talented designer Carolina will be making because she is as crazy about Halloween costuming as I am!

Eek!!! Okay, I'm getting really excited for Halloween now. Like REALLY excited. I've already had two friends tell me they've chosen their costumes. I love, love, love hearing that! I know I've talked about how I became such a fan of Halloween, but lately I've been trying to come up with a good way to describe just how happy it makes me. The only thing I can compare it to is having a crush on someone. You know when you wake up on a day that you know you'll be seeing your crush and you can't help but feel insanely happy? That's what it's like. So basically I have a crush on Halloween.

Welcome to Crazy Town. Population: me.

Halfway to Halloween

2014-05-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

Check out Spirit Halloween's big online sale!

The other day I logged onto Facebook, and Spirit Halloween alerted me that we are HALFWAY TO HALLOWEEN! My happiness levels rose exponentially. Less than six months away! Yes!!! I can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me. My favorite time of year is May through October--the best six months ever! Summertime and Halloween! Okay, I'll quit it with all the exclamation marks. My point is I got Halloween on the brain and I can't stop thinking about it.

Halloween is on a freakin' Friday this year, too. So much to plan. I've got a few costume ideas floating around in my mind, but there is one in particular I'm getting excited about. Too early to commit, of course. I prefer waiting till midsummer to do that. This will definitely be a challenge to put together, which I'm excited about, but it also makes me nervous. It has potential to look like a failed grade school art project if I'm not careful. Gotta give myself time to practice a few different approaches. Are you getting curious???

I actually had a Halloween costume nightmare last night. I dreamed that I was at a Halloween party and I was about to put on my costume when I realized I hated it. I had asked my friend Carolina to make me a Peter Pan costume. She did a great job, but I took one final look at it and thought, 'Why the f--- did I decide to be Peter Pan for Halloween?' It was so unoriginal and so not me. On top of that I forgot to get a wig and shoes. I didn't even want to show my face at the party. It was a true Halloween disaster. Thank God it was just a dream.

Wow, I sound like a crazy person.

Procrastination Success

2014-05-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

I have been very successful with procrastinating lately. I haven't written a blog post in over two months! I guess I'm due. I'm taking requests for blog topics. Leave me a note or an email and tell me something to write about. In the meantime, here's a picture of me getting hit by Ecto 1. Don't ask.

February Meditation Challenge - Final Day!

2014-02-28T15:30:00.001-08:00

Image courtesy of tiverylucky / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Welp, I did it. I meditated every day. I also finally attended a meditation session outside of my own bedroom. My friend and I went to the Kadampa Meditation Center on Wednesday, which I will admit, was more Buddhist-y than I expected, but I still enjoyed it. I was super nervous for some reason, and I was definitely more distracted than normal (which is funny, considering the talk afterward was about distractions). As soon as I closed my eyes my skin was itchy and something was in my eye and I needed to scoot back in my seat and I wanted to cross my legs and my throat was dry etc etc. I just didn't want to be the dick who made a bunch of noise and caused a bunch of distractions for other people. But eventually I got focused, and it was very relaxing. I still plan on checking out more meditation places like InsightLA and UCLA's mindfulness program.

My final thoughts: I like meditation. It took a while to get going. I don't always feel benefits immediately. However, as I've mentioned before, consistent meditation has brought a sense of acceptance into my life (of myself and the world around me). And it helps keep me in the present moment. All in all, I think it's a good habit, and I plan to keep doing it.

That is all.

Happy Meditating!

February Meditation Challenge - Day 21

2014-02-21T11:43:00.002-08:00

My dog, meditating next to me

Wow! Three weeks! I've managed to meditate every morning so far. One more week to go. I have to say, I think I will keep up the habit even after the month is over. I'm starting to like the effects it's having on me. I've noticed myself spending more time in the present moment. For example, I went to see a movie the other day with a friend and I found my thoughts wandering all over the place, thinking about the future or things I needed to get at the grocery store, etc. I reminded myself to come back to the present moment and enjoy my time in the theater, watching a movie, eating popcorn, spending time with a friend. It was much more pleasant than thinking about random future events.

I also find myself choosing acceptance more often, instead of ruminating on feelings or events I don't like. The people who create these guided meditations are constantly talking about coming back to the present moment, while still accepting our thoughts and feelings. I think it just seeps into my brain after listening to it every morning, so now it's becoming more of a habit. It's like healthy brainwashing. Yay for building helpful habits!

Other stuff:

These are my new favorite meditations at the moment: Tara Brach's Audio Guided Meditations.
This is a great article about posture during meditation from Mindful magazine.
Lots of great links from Mindful.org on mindfulness and meditation basics.
I loved this article by Dan Harris and his take on meditation. He's a news anchor who had a televised panic attack, which eventually led him to try meditation. I know meditation can come across as being hippy dippy fluffy nonsense, but Harris really cuts through the crap and shows how helpful it can be. I love his catchphrase, "It makes me 10% happier." Such an accurate description of the benefits of meditating! He wrote a book with the same name and I'm interested in reading it.

Happy Meditating!

February Meditation Challenge - Day 12

2014-02-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of Marin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'm almost halfway through this challenge, so I suppose I'm due for an update. Although I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say. I'm still meditating every morning when I get up. Here are some scattered thoughts on the topic:

I definitely have to sit up straight with my legs crossed for meditation. It's the only way I'll pay attention. Once or twice I've tried to "cheat" and just listen to a meditation while I'm lying in bed. Never works. I always just fall back asleep.

I'm still meditating for about 10 - 12 minutes. Anything longer just seems like a drag, but my goal is to add a few minutes. I want to try 15 minutes every morning.

I think there might be a market for Menstrual Meditations. You know, meditations for that week when everyone is pissing you off for no reason. This is my latest money-making idea.

I like the idea of not labeling my thoughts and feelings, but just accepting them as they come. This is discussed a lot in meditation, and I think it can be applied to real life. Like if I'm angry about something, I'm not usually just angry. I'm angry, then I feel guilty for feeling angry, or annoyed that I'm angry or I think I shouldn't be angry, or I'm angry that I feel guilty for feeling angry, and it just spirals on and on. Better to just accept the anger. It's easier to move on that way. Labeling the anger as good or bad or wrong or right just seems to make it last longer.

There have been a number of weird, sad events that happened to people around me this week and it has put me in a really strange, somber mood. I'm interested to see how meditation will play into this.

I still haven't checked out a meditation class yet! Putting it on my to-do list for the weekend.

I guess I had more to say than I thought. I'll leave you with this hilarious Honey Badger meditation I found. I love that it's a full 30 minutes.

February Meditation Challenge - Day 5

2014-02-05T12:02:00.002-08:00

Image courtesy of Craftyjoe / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'm finally getting into a groove now. I found some free online meditations and podcasts from the UCLA Mindfulness Research Center (MARC) that I really like, specifically the Loving Kindness Meditation.

Here's what I've been doing:

Every night before bed I choose a meditation to follow in the morning. When I wake up, I walk my dog then come back and sit on the bed (not lie down) and listen to the guided meditation. I meditate for about 10 - 12 minutes. Then I go on with my day. Keep in mind I am NOT a morning person, but I've been really good about doing this every morning so far.

What I Like
I like starting off the day by redirecting my thoughts to the present moment. I say "redirecting" because as soon as I wake up, I immediately start thinking things like, "I'm tired. I want to go back to bed. I don't feel like going to work. I don't have anything to eat for breakfast. I should have packed my gym bag last night. I wonder if I'm too dependent on coffee. I need to pay some bills..." They aren't the most negative thoughts in the world, but they certainly aren't very uplifting. Meditating seems to help me get to a more positive place in my brain. Seems like a good way to start the day.

What I Don't Like
I seriously cannot follow a meditation where all I do is pay attention to my breath. It is boring as hell. It think it's helpful to start off that way. Or sprinkle it throughout the meditation. But I much prefer a guided meditation that asks you to think about certain things. For example, the Loving Kindness Meditation I mentioned asks you to think of a loved one or pet and focus on the joy that person or pet brings you. I love that.

I'll check in again in a few days. Hope your practice is going well!

February Meditation Challenge - Day 1

2014-02-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Day one of the meditation challenge and I'm already feeling annoyed, which I think is a good thing. It's probably better than feeling complacent and means there's room for improvement. I totally misunderstood the meditation challenge and thought there would be meditations posted on the website. Turns out you need to buy one of Sharon Salzberg's books and follow along that way. I actually did buy her Real Happiness book a little while ago, but it's the Kindle version so it doesn't come with the meditation CD (I guess that's why it was only $2.99). I enjoy the book and think she has a lot of good things to say about meditation and mindfulness, but it's hard to just read the meditations.

Soooo...new plan. I will figure out my own meditation to do each day. I ended up putting on another meditation CD this morning only to find that my computer speakers are f'd up. When did that happen?! Then I was even more annoyed. I ended up using my phone to look up a guided meditation mp3 and listened to that instead, but didn't really enjoy it. There was also a meditation class I planned on going to this evening, but I chickened out. Day one is off to a bad start, folks. But that's okay. We've got a whole month to figure this out.

I think I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed with all the options there are for meditation. You can do it with a group or find a class or listen to a guided meditation or just sit alone and pay attention to your breath or do a walking meditation or...aaagghh! So many choices. Like most things in life, I just want someone to tell me what to do.

I took a step back this evening and asked myself what it is I'm hoping to get out of meditating. I guess I'm looking to find a sense of calmness that I can carry with me. I want to reduce tension, anger, and irritation. I want to learn to appreciate life instead of complain about it. Obviously there will be times in life when I feel sad and angry, but I want to learn to accept those situations and move on rather than dwell on them. I also want to learn to ditch completely unnecessary negative thoughts. I consider myself a relatively positive person, but man, sometimes I catch myself thinking really negative shit.

So I will dedicate the rest of the month to figuring out which type of meditation is right for me. Or if it's right for me. Honestly, at this point, I'm more of a fan of yoga. I did yoga on Friday and was reminded of how wonderful it makes me feel. It relaxes my mind and body. It also forces me to be mindful because it's hard to let my thoughts wander when I need to focus on holding a pose.

Come on, meditation. Show me what you got.

February Meditation Challenge

2014-01-20T20:43:00.001-08:00

Image courtesy of markuso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I'm going to do a meditation challenge in February. Wanna join me?

Last year I was inspired to learn more about acceptance and mindfulness. What do I mean by acceptance and mindfulness? The ability to accept life as it is. To let go of grudges. Accept myself and others as they are. Be in the present moment instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. I dabbled in meditation (i.e. I sometimes listened to guided meditations on my phone before I went to bed), but I'd really like to step it up this year. I think meditating regularly will help me immensely.

After having multiple conversations with other friends who are trying to incorporate meditation into their lives, I thought to myself, 'Maybe I should do some sort of meditation challenge where I commit to meditating every day for a month and see how I feel.' That very same day I saw a tweet about Sharon Salzberg's 28-Day Meditation Challenge in February. Bingo! Just what I was looking for. It looks like you can practice the meditations provided online and then share your experiences with others on the site. I plan on also attending various meditation groups throughout the month just to get some different perspectives.

Anyhoo, I'm posting this online to keep myself accountable. Once February rolls around I'll write a few posts on how things are going. If you want to join me, I'd love to hear about your experiences with meditation.

A Little Halloween Joy

2014-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Contrary to popular belief, I don't think about Halloween year round. Even though I refer to November 1st as the saddest day of the year, my brain actually needs a respite from all that Halloweening. Usually a good two or three months will go by before something comes along to get me excited for Halloween again.

That time is now!

I was milling around on Pinterest the other day (procrastinating, as usual) when I saw something that inspired a costume idea. Then I got SUPER excited about this potential Halloween costume idea. Like ridiculously excited. It's still too early to commit to a costume now, so I won't reveal this idea just yet, but it did get me incredibly pumped for Halloween. AND Halloween is on a Friday this year, which makes it doubly awesome! I'm telling you, when Halloween is on a Friday or Saturday the general public gets way more excited about it, and that just adds to the Halloween spirit. And we need that collective Halloween spirit to help make the Great Pumpkin's sleigh fly. Or something.

If that wasn't exciting enough, I got an email from Scare L.A. announcing this year's dates for the Halloween convention (August 9th and 10th). I may even volunteer this year. So stoked already!

THEN yesterday morning when I walked my dog, I discovered my neighborhood covered in a thick layer of fog. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture now. It was so spooky and wonderful. Very Halloween-y. While the polar vortex has the rest of the country covered in snow, California has remained very sunny, so yesterday's misty morning was an unexpected surprise.

Now I'm just going through all my Halloween Pinterest boards and working out my 2014 Halloween budget. Nothing like a little Halloween joy to break up the January blues. Do you like my new countdown clock?! 290 days!!

Halloween Recap

2013-11-24T20:28:00.000-08:00

Since the theme of my blog is procrastination, it's totally fine that I'm doing my Halloween recap at the end of November, right? Right? Ugh, you guys, I am the worst! Apologies to my fellow Cryptkeepers. Once summer rolls around, Halloween is all I can talk/write about for months. Then October comes and I'm so wrapped up in costume-making and Halloween-ing that I lose track of time and don't write anything about it. Gah!

My Vicki costume turned out amazing! I'm super ridiculously thankful to my friend Carolina for making my dress. It was perfection. And I'm also super proud of my own robot-making skills. The panel was a hit! Blinking lights and everything!

Are you interested in having a custom-made costume next year? Contact Costumes by Carolina for more info. Now taking orders for Halloween 2014! The business is in the early stages, so we can still swing you a sweet deal. Custom-made costumes are the best!

Here are more fun Halloween pics:

Making robot parts

CostumesByCarolina.com

I love robot parts!

The final product

The blinking LED lights added extra awesomeness

More costumes by Carolina (she's the ghost)

A happy Halloween girl! And a severed head.

All in all, I had a very happy Halloween. Costumes, candy, parties, Halloween cheer--I had it all. I'm already brainstorming costumes for next year...

Thanksgiving Needs a Makeover

2013-11-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

Photo taken from the internets

November is the time of year where people tend to fall into two camps: the super-psyched Christmas folks who start decorating the day after Halloween, and the people who HATE the first group. I find myself right in the middle since I pretty much don't care either way. I enjoy Christmas, but I don't usually get into it till December. But I also don't give a crap that stores start selling Christmas goods in October. Who cares? Stores sell Christmas stuff early because people buy Christmas stuff early. And you know who's purchasing stuff early? Your oddball friends and family who love to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving has arrived. Is it weird? Probably. Do I care? No.

However, I know people get really heated about Christmas creeping up in November, so I have a plan to resolve the issue. I've had three different people say this to me already: It's too early for Christmas. People just skip over Thanksgiving! It seems people don't like the early Christmas decor because they feel that Thanksgiving is being overlooked.

Here's the deal, folks. It's Thanksgiving's own fault for being so lame. There I said it. Thanksgiving is a lame holiday. There are no songs or movies or fun activities to help celebrate. There's certainly nothing for children to get excited about. People want Thanksgiving to be something you celebrate all month long, but it's just not that type of holiday. I mean really, what does it have going for itself except a big meal and some time off work? It's no fun for the kids (No candy? No costumes? No presents?) and it's stressful for the adults (I have to cook a turkey for how many people?), and it just doesn't compare to the other big holidays. There aren't even any good decorations. You've probably had harvest decor up since September, so come November, you're sick of all the fall crap, which just leaves you with your kid's turkey hand print artwork. I'm sorry to say it, but Thanksgiving is BORING, and this is why it gets overlooked.

If you really want to tackle the issue, it's not about making the Christmas season start later. It's about re-branding Thanksgiving into a holiday people will want to celebrate all month. Let's face it, Thanksgiving needs a makeover. So let's do it! Let's make it cool! Maybe commercialize it more. I've already taken it upon myself to start the brainstorming session by stealing ideas from other holidays. Here's what I've come up with:

Ideas for Making Thanksgiving Not Lame

Slutty pilgrim costumes, perhaps? That's way more interesting than boring turtlenecks and scarves. I mean, look what sluts did to the Halloween costume industry. They revolutionized it! NOTE: It looks like Sexy Thanksgiving Costumes for Couples already exist, but I was thinking of something a little less insensitive to Native Americans. (Pocahottie? Chief Wansum Tail? Seriously?)

Maybe we create a mythical creature like the Easter Bunny. I vote for a Turkey Prince who grants wishes to young boys and girls. If they're thankful all month, the Turkey Prince will arrive on Thanksgiving Eve and leave candied yams in their shoes.

We need some Thanksgiving movies. Time to step it up, Hollywood. Sure there are a handful of movies that take place around Thanksgiving, but there really are no classics, with the exception of maybe A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but that's really pushing it. At the very least there should be one of those predictable rom-coms starring every actor on the planet and appropriately titled, Thanksgiving Day.

Let's get theme parks involved. They're half the problem. They go all out with haunted houses at Halloween and then skip right to Christmas. Tisk tisk. Maybe this is where the slutty pilgrims could come in. Or turkeys could jump out at you during the rides! I'm open to suggestions.

As mentioned above, we are sorely lacking in Thanksgiving music. We need some sort of celebrity Thanksgiving album. Not a joke album, but a real celeb singing songs about turkeys and thankfulness. Come on, Bublé. Get on this.

We could add a more spooky element to the holiday. Maybe we tell children they have to say what they're thankful for each night before they go to bed or else the pilgrim ghosts of Thanksgivings past will come and steal their toys.

There needs to be more activities in general. Possibly drinking games? We could spin this into a St. Patty's Day type holiday where people dress in the same color and drink till they puke.

Last but not least, we could send daily Thanksgiving cards to people we are thankful for. Not emails or Facebook updates, but real cards. Teeny tiny ones like Valentine's cards. Just a little note each day to tell people you are thankful for them. (This is a legitimately adorable idea, and I wish I had thought of it at the beginning of the month)

That's all I got so far. Not a bad start. Although I do wish I had visuals for these ideas. I am sorely lacking in Photoshop skills, so you'll have to use your imagination instead. Maybe by next year we'll be on our way to a more popular Thanksgiving holiday. In the meantime, have a Merry Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,
Procrastonaut and the Turkey Prince

Ps. I owe you all a Halloween recap! Talk about a procrastinator. Coming right up...

My Halloween Playlist

2013-10-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

I freakin' love my Spotify Halloween playlist. I hope this gets you into the Halloween spirit if you're not already there. I usually only play the first three songs if I'm hosting some sort of Halloween pre-party and want to set a spooky mood. All the rest are songs I listen to at work almost every day in October (and sometimes September). Enjoy!

NOTE: There's a hidden scroll bar on the left. Took me a second to find it.

What's on your Halloween playlist? I'm always looking for new songs to add.

Twerk It Up

2013-10-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

Wow. Spirit Halloween is on it! I can't believe they already have a "Twerk Suit" and "Twerkin Teddy" costume.

Image from Spirit Halloween

Spoiler alert: It's out of stock.

Image from Spirit Halloween

I'm truly jealous of the people who get to name these costumes. That has to be so much fun. I can only imagine what those pitch meetings look like.

"Beef Twerky is a great name, but we're really leaning toward Twerk Suit. What do you think, boss?"

Speaking of Spirit Halloween, if you follow them on Twitter you can usually find some good discounts. Holla!

Apple Picking and Spooky Pumpkin Patches

2013-10-05T22:48:00.000-07:00

Today some friends and I drove up to Oak Glen for a delightful day of picking apples. We spent most of our time at Riley's Apple Farm, and I must say it was the perfect fall activity (even if it did feel like summer). We picked apples in the sunshine, giggled, bought fresh apple cider--all the things one would expect to do at an apple orchard in October.

Los Rios Rancho

Apple delights

However, this blog is about Halloween spooky awesomeness, so let's get to it. They had a fantastic eerie pumpkin patch!

Complete with a scarecrow and scary corn fields.

Turns out that's the back of the scarecrow. Here's the front:

I tried to explore the corn fields, but got sucked in by some dark, terrible magic.

When it spit me back out, I felt different.

Only the owl knows...

Happy Halloweening!