I had to run out to Publix earlier this evening, and it was full of tiny trick or treaters! There was a Publix employee on each aisle all decked out in costume with a bucket of candy, and the little kids could go up and down the aisles and trick or treat. There was a tiny cave man, Minnie Mouse, a Monkey, SpiderMan, Superman…..they were all very cute..some of them were so small they were unsure of what to do!
We actually had 2 trick or treaters this evening, 3 if your count Heidi, my neighbors daschund! Two little girls from the building across the way came dressed in Princess garb, and then then my neighbor came with her Doxie in a pink princess dress!

In my mind, I have been planning a European vacation for years. Very soon, I will make it come true. Sooner than you think. I have been saving money, researching package deals, and talking to people who have been there in order to make an educated decision on what the best package is for us. I have a huge pile of frequent flyer miles that I have been saving for this, not sure if they are good on cheap flights to Zante, but I will soon find out….and one day, you will look around and ask for me….and I’ll be over the pond!

I DVR’ed The Great Pumpkin last night, and Snoopy & I will watch it this evening. Candy is purchased and ready, in the unlikely event that I actually get a trick or treater…..if not, it all goes to the office!

Well, the toenail has fallen.
The Captain of the toenails.
Big toe, left foot……if left an ugly gaping hole worthy of Halloween.
I hope a new one grows in!

There was an article on the front page of my local paper yesterday about a local middle class family that had gotten into such financial difficulty they were a step away from homelessness. I found this article very interesting for many reasons, the least of which being, that could be any one of us. If you do not have an emergency fund, you are 1 paycheck away from being homeless.

The Father had a good job making $17 an hour as a mechanic, which more than covered their expenses. They have 2 kids, the Mom was a CNA, and starting a small business (consigment shop) - with the hopes of bringing in $200 a day in sales…..but, a few years back during the housing boom, they decided they wanted a bigger house. So, they sold their 900 SF house for $205K , and took out another loan for a 3 bedroom 1400 SF ranch with a pool for $249K.

Problem #1 - They took the proceeds from the sale of house 1 and paid off a bankruptcy debt, bought new bedroom furniture, and inventory for Mom’s new store. The article also states that “Christmas was the best ever that 1st year in the house” - you can read into that any way you wish - my translation was they pissed away a LOT of money on gifts!

THEY SAVED NOTHING.

Problem #2 - Dad lost his mechanic job when business slowed, and took a $1400 a month job - not even enough to cover the mortgage - which they have not paid since April. They are $11,000 behind on thier mortgage.

HAD THEY AN EMERGENCY FUND, THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUCH A HUGE ISSUE.

Problem #3 - The consignment store floundered, and they are barely covering utilities.

Problem #4 - Dad was injured in a car accident at job 2 (truck driver) , and was reduced to “light duty” - the employer has no “light duty” positions , so Dad is out on Workers Comp, but has yet to receive a check.

They are so behind on everything, they are not even concerned about bad credit, only covering basic needs. They have applied for public assistance for food, had their water turned off, electric was turned off due to being $800 behind, but it is back on now thanks to local aid and a few generous souls. They are using pool water to flush the toilet, and showering at friends & family.

They are afraid to leave the house, that it may be locked up in foreclosure when they return.

They owe a family member for the down payment of the new home?! Huh?

I have so many problems with this, I can’t even list them! You SOLD a house for PROFIT and used NONE of it towards the new house?

They had a yard sale to try and raise money to cover basic bills, and she listed the fancy $4500K furniture they bought with proceeds from home #1 on Craigslist…..and the house is up for sale - for $200K, even at that price, in todays market - we all know what that means.

The article makes a tiny mention in the description of Mom, that she is holding a COACH bag….if it is a real Coach, selling that bag would have taken care of their water bill arrears…..why is she holding it and not SELLING it??

SELL EVERYTHING BUT THE KIDS!
Coach Bag - gone.
2001 Toyota Sienna - gone, and buy an older paid for car.

If anyone read this article in yesterday’s paper, and did not feel an immediate need to start living within their means and put emergency money in the bank - they are fooling themselves. Learn from another’s mistake, and start an emergency fund NOW. It matters not how large it is, as long as you have something to fall back on.

That’s right faithful readers and cereal lovers….it’s the Halloween edition of Cereal Sunday..it’s my favorite holiday combined with one of my favorite foods……so get the kids and gather around your computer for another classic cereal moment in my life!

Of course, for Halloween, I chose the Monster Cereals, aka, Boo Berry, Count Chocula, and Franken Berry! The monster cereals were introduced by General Mills in the early 70’s with Count Chocula and Franken Berry..and later there was Boo Berry. Their commercials always involved the Monsters fighting over who’s cereal was the best. Good Stuff.
Today, these cereals are rarely seen on the store shelves in my part of the country, unless it is around Halloween, and then all 3 come out of the warehouses! Sometimes I can find Count Chocula and Franken Berry at the Super Wal Mart at other times of the year….but, much like the ghost that he is - Boo Berry is rarely seen!

Count Chocula is just as it sounds, chocolate cereal with chocolate marshmallows….while I always thought the Count himself was pretty cool looking, I’m not a huge fan of the chocolate cereals, so he was never on my shopping list. When these cereals first came out back in the 70’s, the cereal pieces were much larger than the tiny freeze dried marshmallows…but, as with everything in my childhood, the formula changed as did the shapes and sizes..and the marshmallows are now in ghost or monster shapes, and almost as big as the cereal pieces.

My dear friend Franken Berry was always my favorite of the monster cereals…even before I tasted of his strawberry, sugar coated goodness! I always thought he was cute….go ahead and add him to “my list”! LOL! Now, when these cereals came out, I was living with Father and Stepmother, and if you recall, they would not allow any sugar coated or fad cereals into the house! So, my first date with Franken Berry came on a summer visit with my Grandparents. My Maternal Grandparents retired and moved to the East Coast of Florida when I was a pre teen…so, during the summer I was put on a bus to spend a week fo two with them. I LOVED those trips. Fishing, picnics, Yahtzee & poker games until MIDNIGHT! Being in their retired years, their cereal inventory included anything with the word BRAN of WHEAT in the name! So, my beloved Grandpa S. would take me to the Winn Dixie with him, and allow me to pick out whatever cereal I wanted. Out of the entire cereal aisle, I could have ANYTHING I wanted…..ALL TO MYSELF. Cereal Heaven. And, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, snack..anytime! Aren’t Grandparent’s the greatest?! I recall the year I chose Franken Berry. The best strawberry cereal ever, with it’s tiny strawberry flavored marshmallows, and the pink milk it left behind….pure berry bliss! I would sit in front of their TV watching cartoons and eating bowls of it until Grandma told me I was going to turn pink from it! My Grandmother always sent me home on the bus with a bag lunch, and that year I also had my beloved box of Franken Berry (what was left of it)…and I ate it right out of the box on the bus ride home! I have tried to capture that memory with a new box of Franken Berry, but , as with everything from my childhood, it’s not the same. The cereal does not have that beautiful white coat of sugar on it like it did back in the early 80’s…..and the marshmallows are bigger. I may buy one this week anyway, just because I can…and recall fond memories of my dear Grandparent’s as I eat it.

Last Up, Boo Berry. He came out later than the first two, and I’m not quite sure he ever really got the sort of cult following the Count and Franken Berry have. Boo is a pretty cool cartoon character, and I have tried his cereal….it was too much for me…too sweet, too blueberry-ish…..needs to be mixed with something to cut back on all that blue. I do have a dear friend in her mid 30’s who swears by it though…! She loves some Boo Berry!

There were a few others that General Mills tried to introduce into the Monster Club - Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy - but they were short lived so I am not going to cover them.

Everyone has their favorite monster cereal, what’s yours?

I leave you my friends, on this Cereal Sunday 3 days before Halloween, with a classic Monster Cereal commercial from my childhood. Enjoy, and Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was a very full day, I was up at 05:15 and out the door by 05:45 to head to Orlando for the PanCan 5k. Both Sisters, 3 Nieces , and youngest Nephew were with us. The event was good, it was their first, so it was small, they started a little late and were a bit disorganized - but, overall it went well. They had 6 survivors there, and 1 was a 6 1/2 year survivor - which is HUGE for Pancreatic Cancer! The event raised $4477 as of yesterday, and that was great!

After lunch with friends over there, we finally headed home. I picked up another Niece, to bring back to my house and hang out & eat dinner until it was time to go to Scream Acres. We headed out there about 7pm, and it was crowded! This is an annual free commu