Now that Halloween is over, I've now got the Thanksgiving theme going on the journal. And in keeping with that theme, I found Thanksgiving episodes of various TV shows that are airing on Turkey day. So set your VCRs/DVRs!

TBS

• 8:30 AM – Saved By the Bell the College Years: A Thanksgiving Story
  
• 1:30 PM – Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Talking Turkey
  
• 3:30 PM – Yes, Dear: Guess Who’s Not Coming to Dinner
  
• 4:00 PM – The King of Queens: Dark Meet
  
• 4:30 PM – The King of Queens: Thanks Man
  
• 6:30 PM – Friends: The One Where Ross Got High
  
• 8:00 PM – Friends: The One Where Chandler Doesn’t Like Dogs
  
• 8:30 PM – Friends: The One with Rachael’s Other Sister
  
• 9:00 PM – Friends: The One with the Late Thanksgiving
  
• 9:30 PM – Friends: The One with Ross’s Sandwich
  

When I was younger, every Halloween HBO would air this special. And every year, faithfully, I tuned in. It was my absolute favorite, and still is even now, for sentimental reasons.

The Worst Witch



Buy it now! (I may have to take my own advice on this one.)

It's a classic. Need I say more?

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Here's the great thing about youtube. Yesterday a friend mentioned some movies she has on VHS. She taped them off the TV, and she doesn't want to get rid of them because of the old, holiday commercials on them. And that got me reminiscing about some of my favorite holiday commercials. Here are just a few. (I have to see if I can dig up more.)

Hershey Kisses

McDonald's

Folgers

I'm going to be the most popular girl, so top that! (Enough said.)

Teen Witch


Buy it now!

This movie is a classic, and I am SEVERELY disappointed it's not on anyone's schedule this Halloween! How could this movie POSSIBLY be overlooked?? However, I have not overlooked it, and here is one of my favorite scenes from this '80s classic.

Ghostbusters


Buy it now!

According to Parenting magazine, there are five more.


Top 5 things to love about fall

1. Cooler nights five you a reason to cuddle more.
   
2. Chunky sweaters not only keep you warm but come in quite handy when you're trying to hide the, um, extras.
   
3. It's time for the best family chore on the planet: raking, then falling into the leaves.
   
4. The back-to-school willies are gone.
   
5. Two words: Halloween candy.
   

How many times have you heard that expression: "sad, but true." People use it all the time. But I don't think it was ever more appropriate than when referring to Sarah Palin. Case in point: Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart

The summer before my senior year of college I worked on campus and lived in the dorms. It was a little lonely, since all of my friends were at their homes for the summer. During that time off from school, I wrote stories, did a lot of walking, and watched reruns of the first season of "Charmed." I was immediately hooked. A TV show about three sister who just happened to be witches. I loved it. And finally, in the third season, the show had a Halloween episode. :-)

Charmed



Buy it now!

My friend was right; Principal Anderson should monitor the debates tonight.

Principal Anderson vs. Sarah Palin

Let's face facts: this upcoming election is scary. Our choices are scary. The state of America is scary. But, while trying look on the bright side -- "Is there a bright side?" you might be asking -- I found these:

Top 10 Surprising Faces about Sarah Palin

and

Top 10 Questions People Are Asking John McCain

It should not be surprising that some of my favorites episodes of my favorite TV shows are holiday-related. Late in middle school and early in high school, the "it" show was "Beverly Hills, 90210." (If only high school was really that cool, right? lol) And I remember that Halloween episode all too well...

Beverly Hills, 90210


Buy it now!

Have you seen "Legally Blonde?" I'm sure you have. In the movie, Elle refers to the magazine Cosmopolitan as "the bible." That's how I feel each month when my copy of Martha Stewart Living arrives in my mailbox. I read it religiously, and while I'm not quite up to her standards, I feel it's good to have something to aspire to.

I was BEYOND delighted earlier this week when the October issue arrived in my mailbox. Nobody does Autumn/Halloween/Thanksgiving like Martha! I was equally excited to see a weekly countdown to Halloween of her own on her website. Each week, a new craft.

Martha, you rock!

Week 3: Outdoor Decorations

Leading up to Halloween, ABC Family has "13 Nights of Halloween." The channel airs movies that are supposedly Halloween-related. Some are, some aren't, some are made specifically for the channel.

So I've decided in honor of one of my favorite holidays, I will do my own countdown to Halloween. Each week I'll post a scene from a movie or TV show that's either Halloween-related, or just makes me think of one of the best holidays going. This week...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


And for those of you who don't already own it: Buy it now!

It's no secret I love this time of year. Autumn. I love everything about it.

Baking pumpkin bread, chocolate chip pumpkin bars, and apple crisp. Making pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and having homemade applesauce with dinner. Going for a walk and spying that first shock of bright red as the leaves begin to change. The scent of the changing leaves and the crunch they make under my feet when I take my son for a walk.

All of these things stir up wonderful memories of my childhood. Walking home from the bus stop. Jumping in piles of leaves after an afternoon of raking. Going to the high school football games. But when I moved to the Poconos in 2005, I really embraced autumn. I squeezed tight with both arms, and haven't loosened my grip one bit. And part of that revitalized love has been pumpkin-scented lotions body sprays, and soaps. So I was most delighted after my most recent excursion to the mall and discovered Bath & Body Works has a pumpkin line out this fall.

There is one downside, though. When I first developed this love, this . . . addiction (because, let's face it, that's exactly what it is), there was a particular pumpkin scent I fell in love with. And Bath and Body works carried it for two years. And since then they have carelessly casted it aside, as if it was a piece of trash. Disgusting. Especially since every pumpkin scent they've put out since doesn't hold a candle to the original. Why did they mess with a good thing? (And if I started a letter-writing campaign, do you think they would bring it back next year?)

Back in 1998 at either 9 or 9:30 PM, there was this little half-hour show on MTV called "Total Request." They played the top 5 most requested videos of the day. And back then it was typically these five videos in almost any order: "You're Still the One," Shania Twain; "My All," Mariah Carey; "I Want You Back," 'N Sync; "Weird," Hanson. And the fifth video was up for grabs.

Over the years "Total Request" has changed many times. It became "Total Request Live." They upped the number of videos from five to ten. Then stopped playing the whole video. But despite these changes, and the fact that I haven't seen the show in about eight years, I was a little sad to read the following.

( ‘Total Request Live’ ending its run on MTV )

So I finally started reading Breaking Dawn, even thought I've had it for about a month now. Bella and Edward are married, and she finally got to have sex, just like she wanted.

( But there's something I don't understand... )

I think I'm becoming a jaded voter.

A few years ago, during one of his acts, Lewis Black said of the 2004 election: "When you walked into that voting booth you had a choice between two bowls of shit, and the only difference was the smell."

I was so excited when I turned 18. I couldn't wait to vote, and have voted in all elections: state, presidential, local. But at times, particularly for the higher levels of government, I feel like I'm just choosing "the lesser of the two evils."

I live in PA, one of the big thee states, and we're getting hit with a barrage of TV ads. (Thankfully we are getting a reprieve today.) And I just don't feel that any of them "speak" to me. I'm tired of all the slamming of the opposing candidate. I want to know where YOU stand on the issues. What are YOUR plans. I don't know. Maybe I'll feel better after the debates, but right now I feel a little jaded.

Anyone else?