It's one of my favorite times of the year.  The fall weather, the leaves changing colors, the cooler temperatures, the ghouls and goblins and of course the pumpkin carving.  That time of the year when you can dress up however you want and no one will look at you weird.  Doesn't matter if you want to be your favorite super hero for the day or a princess it's perfectly normal and actually kinda cool.  Growing up I always chose a costume with a mask and by the time I made it to the end of the sidewalk it was quite hot and uncomfortable, but to remove it would mean you wouldn't get the full effect that was my costume, so the mask remained.

I never quite understood the chant of 'trick or treat smell my feet, give me something good to eat' because the only thing we were after was candy, lots of candy and more candy please, and thank you.  The amount of candy we would collect was unbelievable.  It was almost too much to enjoy.  My parents would inspect the candy and make sure it was safe to eat, no open wrappers or anything that looked suspicious.  Afterwards my mom would let me have a few pieces, and then she put the candy away which of course brought on the crocodile tears and confusion as to why I couldn't just keep it under my pillow in case of emergencies.  Seemed like a version of torture at the time but I now know they were just keeping us safe.

So many memories of that fall day and the excitement it brought to dress up for a few hours and just be a kid.  I can't think of this day without instantly smiling.  

With all the challenges of 2020 parents have come up with creative and different ways to celebrate the event while remaining safe.  From pumpkin carving at home, celebrating in your own neighborhood, having a virtual party, to planning an all day dress up complete with Halloween music and themed movies to keep that spark going for your children there are so many ways to make it completely safe and fun.

​Whatever you choose to do, have fun with it, be safe and just be a kid again!  I promise it's perfectly normal and it will actually make you feel good.

Happy Halloween 🎃

~AJ 

I'm absolutely certain without the help of GPS I would never make it to the majority of my destinations.  I remember the days of printing out directions and glancing down at each turn.  That level of driving and reading combination took a lot of skill, and even more courage.  Imagine relying on a piece of paper to get you somewhere safely without managing to go off the side of the road and get into an accident.  While that was truly a time that should be logged in history, I am thankful that I no longer have to do that and equally thankful for the evolution of time along with the updates to technology.

When you see commercials of people preparing to travel by car everyone is smiling from ear to ear, singing a catchy tune while bobbing their heads left and right.  I'm not saying this does not happen, but I am pretty sure it doesn't last the duration for cross-country road trips.  Someone will surely have to stop to use the bathroom when no one else has to while another person is hungry and asking 'Are we there yet?'  Whatever the destination, the car has a tank full of gas, you have mentally prepped yourself for this grueling drive and it's time for an adventure you will surely never forget!
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It was a Saturday afternoon and when I initially woke my plans were to find something amazing on Netflix to binge and simply relax.  As I started cleaning I realized I had never hung a picture behind my headboard.  If you knew how OCD I could be at times you would know that every single morning it bothered me that there was this empty space looking all naked and lonely.  Trust that it wasn't from lack of searching, but the problem was I had never found the perfect picture to hang, so I decided to wait until I saw what I was looking for.  Well, no time like the present to skip on over to my favorite accessory store and just take a peek.  After all it's free to look and I probably won't find anything anyway.  This is my internal way of attempting to convince myself that I did not need to go shopping, but who needs that type of negativity in their life???  Off I go!

Twenty minutes later, 4 candles, a box of tea, and one amazing picture in my shopping cart, I was smiling from ear to ear because I knew that I had found the perfect picture after all of this time.  It's the little things right?  So they say.  I have stepped into the chapter of my life where things have to be balanced with purpose.  Where is that gonna go?  Don't I already own 5 of those?  Will it fit in my car is truly the only question that requires an answer, because I will find a way to make it work even if I am doing a tiny bit of hoarding in the process.  

A complete honor to hear from Clancy Tucker who wears many hats as a Storyteller, Author, Publisher, Photographer, Human Rights Activist, Social Justice Campaigner and poet.  Wow!  Such a pleasure to chat with him about my love for writing and how it all got started.  Take a peek and see what I have to say!  

​G'day folks,

Today, I'm happy to introduce a blogger from Georgia, U.S.A. 

Welcome, AJ ...

•      TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BLOG’S JOURNEY. 

I had a conversation with a great friend and told her I always wanted to write on a different level and share that with others.  I started thinking of ways to make that happen and decided to start my blog site in 2018.  It was important for my site to be genuine and reflect my true personality, from the colors of the pages, down to the way my website flows.  It's been almost two years and my blog is finally finding her voice and I couldn't be happier with the progress and what's to come.


•      WHAT IS THE AIM OF YOUR BLOG?

When you visit my page I hope that you receive a good vibe and feel my energy.  What you see is what you get, and it's all me.
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