Pre Halloween Havoc

Well....I'm back....momentarily anyway! And I can officially report signs of Halloween in my corner of the globe. I do apologize for the long stints between posts, but you'll remember that life was officially giving me a little 'butt-whoopin' when last I posted! And unfortunately that coincided with my 'chitlins' return to school this week, and the collapse of my old computer. That collapse FORCED me to start using my big bad new computer that I had custom built for me months ago to aide me in my work. I should have been using it from the start, but old habits die hard, and with the new computer would come a HUGE transfer job of files,programs and email addresses, a new operating system, hardware updates and an updated Photoshop version that was a whopping 3 levels newer than my version. (Proof that I am a creature of habit and really resist changing things that appear to work, even though they may very well make my life exponentially better.) So while 'Ole' Nelly' was in the shop getting a new motherboard put in her, I was being forced to get acquainted with Hercules. Yes, this bad boy computer is named Hercules because he is one powerful machine. So I have been up for days and nights on end trying to learn all sorts of new things in order to transition myself to a better life via a much better computer. This has not been easy or fun mind you. Hercules is a very complex kind of guy, and therefore he requires a lot of work getting to know him. But we are slowly warming up to one another. It really is a lot of work to get things running on a 64 bit system when you are not really a computer guru....but once things finally started falling into place, I realized how extremely fast and efficient Hercules is compared to 'Ole' Nelly....bless her heart!As for her....well she has been doctored up once more and has come home to live out the rest of her days. I promptly began getting all my important documents off of her and moving them over. And once I've finished saving everything that I should have saved months ago, (BEFORE she died and I had to pay for a new motherboard just to get my stuff off of her) I will keep her shut off and only turn her on again for nostalgic reasons. But needless to say....the timing of going through this GARGANTUAN computer overhaul was suckish to say the least because of the kids starting a new school at the same time. Lots of the files from the school were stuck on the old computer and things have kind of been in chaos. Plus we've had meetings and VB games at this school every day/night now for the last two weeks. Hopefully, we are starting to settle things down some because I have lots of work I need to catch up on, and Halloween is coming around fast.
Speaking of....I found the much anticipated BH&G Halloween magazine on the news stand last night....I was SO excited! And I know that many of you have been reporting on the stores in your areas who have begun putting out their Halloween merchandise. I have 4 HomeGoods stores in my area that I travel around to, and they are all stocked with the Halloween goodies. Although my personal opinion is that I am not quite as impressed with their selection this year so far. I've found very few things that I couldn't live without. But as the years go by, I've also found that I am becoming a very picky Halloween snob shopper! Michael's has their stuff out, as well as Pier 1, Old Time Pottery and Hobby Lobby! Owls seem to be big this season, just as the Halloween Trend Reports I blogged on stated they would be. That suits me just fine, as I adore Owls. But again.....I am a very picky Owl shopper as well. I've posted some items from Hobby Lobby for you to see. If you are into Owls...then that's a good place to go! And lastly, our Halloween stores are slowly stocking their shelves to open in September. So it looks like Halloween is on it's way.....Hooray!