Remember last week how I said I was recognized because of my blog at Marshall’s? Well, it happened again yesterday! I was recognized in the supermarket parking lot as I was throwing my cloth grocery bag into my trunk. A woman asked me from her car with the window rolled down, “Are you Averie? Averie from the blog?“ I said yes. And she said, Oh I love your blog! I said to her that it’s too funny because I just got recognized last week from my blog and she said she read that post. We chatted for a quick second but I had to boogie out of there because we were late to meet Scott for a little Halloween Pumpkin Patch activity we were doing with Skylar. Anyway, it was great meeting you, Hayley, and thanks for saying hi! Sorry that once again, I looked pretty tacky and gross. I was getting ready to play in some hay with Skylar and the pumpkins. I have a ton of pictures and little desire to narrate them. This isn’t rocket science, it’s a pumpkin patch. And I am going to remain as wordless as possible. Enjoy! Petting Zoo area She loved this particular goat so much. It was so mellow and just hung out and let her pet it and feed it. It gave her little “kisses’ when it ate the alfalfa and hay from her hand. She was trying to lift weights, i.e lift pumpkins. Wonder where she got that idea. A decent sized slide. Climbed up and slid down about a half dozen times. Had a blast on it! Then we walked over to this slide. It was huge. The picture does not do it justice. I have no idea, maybe a 40 foot slide? Big. Big slide. Little Skylar. Very steep slide! The momentum picked up and the landing/ending part was a little fast and rough and a few tears ensued. But she was a trooper! Tears dried when we got on the train. I rode it with her. Dizzy much? “Choo-Choo!” as she was pulling her arm down like a conductor. Gourds. That was the new word du jour. Bumpy little buggers. I’ve never met a carney game I didn’t love. Please note Orange: Wins XLRG Prize Lookie, there. Ball in Orange. Lookie, there. XLRG Prize. Nothing like helping to make the pumpkin patch a smashing success with the stuffed white bear prize! Oh, this was big time. She loved it. We had a fabulous time. This is the stuff memories are made of. This is what being a parent is all about. I cry as I type this because I never knew I could love another person so much. Nothing else really matters. Just her. Just days like today that I can share with her. The last time we went to a petting zoo it was over Easter in Phoenix. The trip to the petting zoo then solidified in me why I am a vegan. Seeing animals up close and personal reinforces why I don’t eat them. This post is not about veganism, it’s not about pushing my choices on others, it’s just a statement of my own beliefs and to each and every person his and her own. We all make choices in life about what we wear to what color paint we choose in the living room to what we eat or don’t eat or how much we do or don’t exercise. All I care about is what I do. Anyway, I know I have new readers and you tell me that you find links to my old posts helpful and that was a big one for me, so just mentioning it. Click Here for the Easter Petting Zoo & Veganism Transformation Post And Click Here for the Follow-Up & Ensuing Thoughts From yesterday’s post about my Brazilian Blowout update and buying things you know are overpriced but you feel like you really do need them anyway, yeah, sounds like we all feel that retail pain every now and then. I enjoyed hearing everyone’s little items you feel like you’re getting ripped off on overpaying for, but deal with it anyway. Many of you told me you splurge on your hair, happily so. And thanks to everyone who told me you liked my smooth Brazilian Blowout hair. I have been saving so much time since I have had it. I am all about that. And the sections of the stores that you all gravitate toward, kitchen stuff and accessories were the winners. Me too! Tip of the Day: My Open Sky Store 25% Off Promotion for Items in my Open Sky Store! Maybe you’d like 25% off your Sun Warrior? A couple readers who’ve bought Sun Warrior told me they actually used the code and got 30% off. Bonus! I think there’s only one coupon left! GET IT! Dessert: No-Bake Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie In honor of our trip to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday, hope you enjoy this recipe. It’s what I made last year for Thanksgiving. Scott was impressed! And considering I had never made a pumpkin pie, I impressed myself that I veganized and GF’ed it. Questions 1. What’s your favorite holiday memory? I have so many holiday and seasonal memories from my childhood. Trips to Disney over Christmas as a kid, family trips to fall apple festivals and hay rides, dressing up in my Halloween costumes, coming downstairs on Easter morning and seeing chocolate eggs all over the house. Oh, so many, I can’t pick. 2. As an adult, do you enjoy going to pumpkin patches? I admit that without Skylar, I would not have spent my afternoon in a pumpkin patch or riding slides, but having a child is in so many ways like re-living your childhood. Reliving youth on one hand, but viewed, sensed, and perceived with an adult’s knowledge and maturity. Truly, so special! 3. Do you like carnival type games of chance and “skill”? I have to say, I love them. I love walking up to huge basketball nets and of course it’s assumed I am just a nonathletic bimbo. Which is actually better. That way they sometimes give me extra balls or chances. And then Whoosh! Sink it. Win it. Fooled them! Ring tosses, knocking over cans with baseballs, making horses race by rolling a ball up a shoot, I love them all! I used to love to go to Dave & Buster’s with Scott and play games! In between drinks of course…haha! 4. Have you ever won any great prizes or had someone win you any prizes? I used to see girls walking around the MN State Fair as a kid with huge stuffed animals and prizes that it appeared their boyfriends won for them. No one ever won me anything. I had to win them myself! Maybe when I was little like Skylar’s age my parents won things for me, but I don’t recall. Definitely as I was older no one won things for me. See you all tomorrow! Have a super Hump Day!
