I have taken some time off for rest and relaxation.  Hope everyone has a Happy New Year.

If you want to track Santa Claus on his flight arounf the world then check out NORAD Santa.  If you would prefer you could also call the 1-877-HI-NORAD.  The ohone line will be active  beginning at 4:00 am Mountain Time on December 24 running through 3:00 AM Mountain Time on December 25.  The phone line will only work if you are in the US or Canada.  Not even Santa can escape from the eyes of Big Brother. 

Happy Thanksgiving.  I can’t remember who sent me this picture but it is very appropriate during this time of the year when many people are travelling.  Even Darth Vader- Dark Lord of the Sith has to wait in the TSA screening line. with his shoes off.

Many people ask me for drink recipes when it comes time to celebrate the holidays.  I can think of only one drink for Thanksgiving.  Wild Turkey.  I like to drink it on the rocks.  Take a sip and make some gobbling noises.  Vegetarians might turn their nose up at your cooked bird but I can assure you no turkey’s were harmed in the distilling of Wild Turkey.  Making this an inclusive beverage perfect for the holdiay.

I am a few days late Fear Fest ‘08 is currrently going on over at the AMC cable channel. It is running through Halloween so there are a few more days to catch lots of great horror movies. They are edited for television but are good if you don’t have anything else to watch or if you need to get into the Halloween mood.

Halloween has changed a lot since I was a kid.  I would get dressed up and walk around the neighborhood trick or treating.  When I was younger I would go with my parents and as I got older I was allowed to go with my friends.  I always stayed in our neighborhood or if I was at a friends house their neighborhood.  These days kids I have never seen before come to my house begging for candy.  I drive by the bus stop every day and I know they aren’t from my community.  Then if you are giving out something good the kids come back two or three times.  Last year a kid came back five minutes after he left with his mask turned inside out.  The first time he was Superman.  The second time he was inside out mask Superman.  I asked him if he had been here before and he said no.  I shut the door.  He could have at least said he was Bizarro Superman or “I’m inside out mask Superman, now give me some candy.”  I would have given him a Tootsie Roll for being clever.  Then there are the parents that drive the kids from house to house.  What ever happend to walking?  Is it any wonder that there is a childhood obesity problem when your kid is to lazy to walk from house to house?  If it wasn’t so expensive I would hand out bug filled candy to those trick or treaters.  While novel no kid is going to return for seconds on a worm lollipop.  The problem is the candies are expensive.  I might go the Charlie Brown route and just hand out rocks to strange and greedy kids.  Rocks are cheap. 

New Holland Brewing has a seasonal brew for Halloween called Ichabod.  The story of the Headless Horseman is one of my favorites so naturally I like the name of this beer.  I have never seen it in my area but now that I know they make it I will keep my eyes open for it. 

You can choose all sorts of candy to give out at Halloween.  The choices are endless.  This year I have been looking for that unique candy.  The candy that no other house is giving out.  I think I may have found it. This year I want to give out Sour Flush Candy Toilets. What kid wouldn’t like taking a small lollipop shaped as a plunger and dipping it into a plastic toilet full of flavored sugar? I know I would have loved it.

Instructables.com is a great website if you are planning a Halloween Party.  They have a ton of great ideas and if you like to do it yourself they give step by step instructions on how to recreate the items they show.  They have instructions on everything from bubbling cauldron’s and lightning globes to Green Lantern rings and pumpkin skulls.  You still have plenty of time to complete a DIY Halloween project. 

Jones Soda has released their annual Halloween flavors at Target.  This year we are treated with:

• Candy Corn
• Dread Apple
• Blood Orange
• Buried Pomegranate
• Spookiwi

The only one I have tasted is Candy Corn and I am not a fan of that flavor.  I think all the other flavors are new this year so I will have to go out and try them.