I've written about Thanksgiving three times before ("Thanksgiving", "Thanksgiving Part II", and "Thanksgiving Part III"), but this year is going to be drastically different for most people. The CDC is advising against traditional indoor get-togethers with extended family. And for much of the USA, it'll be too cold to host "a small outdoor dinner with family and friends who live in your community"! There's a site that offers tips to reduce the risk, but bear in mind that even following all the hygiene, masking, and distancing isn't a 100% guarantee! Basically, the only "safe" option is to make dinner for just the people in your household. But many holiday recipes are designed for a crowd. What to do? Read on....
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I WAS going to start with an hilarious quote about how sure I am everyone thought I was dead. But I don't want to get sued! lol.
Seriously, I apologize profusely for the length of time since my last post. This has been a terrible year for me (not counting what's going on in the world). Between my own health problems, two of my animals having health problems (one being PTS, the other dying at home), some family things I won't divulge, and plenty of other nasties, I've had at LEAST one personal tragedy of some sort every month but September (*knock wood*). FINALLY getting to this review post . As with my "Some products I'd like to review" and "More (unsolicited) reviews, and a request for my readers" posts, these reviews were written over time, and so might be a bit disjointed. I wanted to note my impressions while they were still fresh in my mind, even if it meant the post's continuity is a bit wonky. And these are MY opinions, though I'm sharing them in an effort to help you save money (after all, spending money on something you'll waste is far from frugal!). Anyway, on to the reviews: So, I know I ended my last post (Living in a World Gone Germophobe + St. Pats & Ostara) by saying that my next post would be the (unsolicited) product reviews. But that was before things got crazier. My last trip to the store, I noticed nearly all the meat was gone (but meat substitutes hardly touched). All the eggs were gone. All dairy milk except the most expensive of the organics was gone, though at the time almost all the non-dairy milk was still around. Soup aisles, snack aisles, produce, all are pretty sparse.
And I'm not sure about where you are, but my state just closed all the liquor stores and bars! Never fear, I'm here to help. I've always been accused of being extreme when it comes to germs. Some people would make fun of my "take off your shoes and wash your hands, disinfect phones and things brought in from outside" mentality. Now everyone's turned into me! lol. Funny enough, I seem to be one of the calmest people I know. Perhaps it's all those years of battling anxiety, panic, and agoraphobic tendencies...I've pictured "the worst" so many times.
The downside to this is that disinfectant, bleach, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and (oddly) toilet paper/tissues/paper towels are flying off the shelves. Even basics like sugar are selling out. I sure hope my readers all have enough to last a few weeks, until the panic dies down. If you're like me, you couldn't afford to stock up. So what to do? Well, I have some tips for you. I am still working on that (unsolicited) review of some products, sorry. Meanwhile, I wanted to make a quick post.
Coming up this month is both Valentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day (the 14th) and Mardi Gras (the 25th). Here are my blog posts for both holidays (sorry I haven't had time to create a new one for each): They are Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras & Valentine's/Singles Awareness Day 2018, Valentine's Day/Singles Awareness Day 2019, and Mardi Gras. Also don't forget to check out my "Holiday Horror Movies Throughout The Year" entry for some fun ideas on what to watch (Since I shared it, "Into The Dark" has released another Valentine's Day movie/episode, entitled "My Valentine"). Until next time.... Today (25th January, 2020) is the Chinese New Year. It's the Year of the Rat (White Metal Rat, to be precise). As a rat-lover, I couldn't possibly let this slip by! lol. I wanted to get this post up yesterday, but things happened. I planned to put it up earlier today, but again. . .
First off, what IS the Year of the Rat? Well, "The Year of the Rat is first in the 12-year cycle of animal years of the Chinese zodiac. Rat years are …1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020… If you were born in one of the years, then you are a Rat." (source) Of course, I celebrate all holidays I can with food and horror. So, let's start with some food.... Here's an article entitled "10 vegetarian dishes for Chinese New Year". Fair warning, the "Imitation Shark's Fin Soup" calls for pork or chicken, chicken soup, and oyster sauce. You could use veggie broth and either a Veg*n "chicken" or cubed tofu. And there is Vegetarian oyster sauce. OR you could try THIS Vegetarian recipe (if you have all the ingredients). Here is another, called "Top Chinese Vegetarian Holiday Recipes". The recipes I checked seem to be Veg-friendly, but the photos show meat. Weird, right? So, if you're offended by that, skip it! "50+ CHINESE INSPIRED VEGAN RECIPES FOR CHINESE NEW YEAR" has some interesting-looking recipes! And so does this Vegetarian section on "The Woks of Life"! So, if you haven't already eaten, skip the takeout and make something delicious. I HAD planned to share links for decorations, but ran out of time. So, here are some rat-related horror movies (sadly, I can't find any horror movies about the Chinese New Year): "Willard" (the 1971 original and the 2003 remake) and the sequel to the original, "Ben" (1972). "The Food of the Gods" (1976) and it's sequel "Gnaw: Food of the Gods II" (1989). There's also "Deadly Eyes" (1982), "Of Unknown Origin" (1983), "Rats: Night of Terror" (1984), "Graveyard Shift" (1990), "Burial of the Rats" (1995), "Rats" (2003), "Rodentz" (2003), "Rat Scratch Fever" (2011), plus a segment in the 1983 anthology movie "Nightmares". There may be others, but I'm not aware of them. Sorry. Let me leave you with this link, so you can look up your own sign and view your horoscope for the Year of the Rat! Until next time, Happy Chinese New Year! I'm so sorry it's been so long. Between my own health issues, the holiday crazies, and the declining health of a couple of my animal babies, I haven't felt up to piecing my notes together into a post that makes sense. I'm finally getting around to one of the reviews mentioned in "Coming soon to a blog near you!". Since they never sent one of the surveys, I'm going to give my thoughts here. This was written in short segments, which I've pieced together since, so please ignore any disjointedness.
Social Nature is a program that will send you a sample (or sometimes a full product coupon) to try, you simply fill out a short survey. A while back, they added a "Boost" feature that allows you to show interest in products (many of which seem to still be in development) and let the company know what store(s) you'd like to see their products in. I boosted a few of them, including Vous Vitamin. . . . I know it's been a while since I posted, and I AM sorry. I have several ideas in the works. I wanted to let you know about some upcoming (unsolicited) reviews I plan on doing.
First of all, I plan to share my thoughts on two different flavours of Loma Linda's Tuno...the Spring Water and the Lemon Pepper. I actually started the review after buying a big can on Amazon, but never finished, and have since found smaller cans in my local store. Probably reviewed along with that will be the Mild Italian "sausage" from Pure Farmland. I want to point out that it's not without controversy. Although their Pure Farmland "meats" ARE Veg-friendly, they're a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods (which PETA calls ". . . the largest pig-killing company in the world"). So some Veg-folk refuse to eat it (keep in mind that MANY of the Veg*n "meats" on the market are partially or wholly owned by corporations that also process meat). Good thing I don't listen to PETA, eh? lol. Seriously, I discovered this news AFTER I'd already bought a pack (on sale, of course). Also, thanks to the new "boost" feature on Social Nature, I was invited to try one month of personalized supplements from Vous Vitamins completely free! I'll be sharing my thoughts on them, once I've received my supply and tried them for at least 3 weeks. So, be on the lookout! In the meanwhile, with Thanksgiving coming up (here in the USA), perhaps it's time to check out my three related blog posts? "Thanksgiving", "Thanksgiving Part II", and "Thanksgiving Part III". And don't forget to read the Thanksgiving section of my "Holiday Horror Movies Throughout The Year" post! Until next time.... So, this post doesn't really fit in with my blog's "theme", and that's okay! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while. Don't like it? Just wait for my next post. Otherwise, enjoy!
Here is a list of various horror* movies related to holidays throughout the year. Although not EVERY holiday has a horror movie, you'd be surprised at how many of them do! I'm sure this list is far from complete (feel free to comment with ones I've missed), and every year brings new movies. I "celebrate" special occasions with horror, and now you can too! *Note: I'm focused on horror mostly. Some will be more "horror-comedy". And I'm including some that aren't horror for Halloween (because Halloween is "horror adjacent" in my mind. lol). Although I could pick any point in the year as a starting point, I'm going with the big one..... As always, sorry it's been so long (wow, since JUNE?). I AM working on a couple post ideas, but so much is going on. And, let's face it, I suck at this. lol. I want to post this really quickly though. Enter to win a $100 gift card to Spirit Halloween HERE, but hurry! It ends at 11:59:59 tonight. Also, here's a coupon for 20% off any one item at Spirit Halloween (good through the month of September): Enjoy, and until next time....
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