Month: October 2018

 

Fall is the time of the year I live for. The crisp cold air, colorful leaves, pumpkins, and apple cider have become favorites of mine. Another perk of the season is a little on the spooky side… Halloween! The costumes, haunted houses, Hocus Pocus, carving pumpkins, and candy make the scary part of Halloween worth it. This October has gone by so quickly, I have been so busy I forgot to partake in some of my favorite seasonal traditions. One of them of course is carving pumpkins. I have done this every year since I was little. I remember looking for the perfect design or just carving simple triangular eyes. I have a trick for everyone in a hurry like me this Halloween. An easy and fast way to carve a perfect pumpkin is using cookie cutters. All you need is cookie cutters, a hammer, and of course a pumpkin. I would opt for Halloween inspired cookie cutters, but use whatever shape you’d like! First gut the pumpkin like you would usually do. A tip I suggest is cutting a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin instead of the top. Doing this gives room for a bigger hole, and once it’s carved you can easily set it over the candle. Take your cookie cutter of choice and lightly start hammering it into the pumpkin. There you go, a quick perfect cut out. I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween this year, and happy carving!

 

 

Growing up in Indiana, like everyone else, I was raised eating meat. It seemed like we had to have meat for every meal or it was missing substance. I liked the taste of it most of the time so I never minded. As I became older, I developed a love for animals. Like diets, I have had many failed attempts at going pescatarian or vegetarian. It has been something I have wanted to do for a while now due to my morals. I could never fully commit because I have no self-control, and other people would deter me from the idea. It took about a year for me to cut out red meat, and ever since February of 2018 I have happily gone without it. The final straw was when I decided look up how we get our meat. I watched a few slaughterhouse videos of the beef and pork industry. The fear in the animals expressions and their attempts to escape death broke my heart. It wasn’t an easy switch but it was necessary for my clean conscience. Since February I have ate everything my family has, but without meat. Once I got use to my new diet I don’t miss, or crave pork or beef. It is easy to substitute out meat for other ingredients in recipes. I had to make a breakfast dish for my blogging class. so I decided to go for something savory and made an egg and hash brown casserole. The recipe called for bacon so I substituted it for sautéed mushrooms and onions, and it ended up just as good. I do still eat chicken and fish, but I am working my way up to becoming a full vegetarian. I am proud of myself for sticking to my beliefs and not letting temptation control me. Don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life, or make you feel foolish for the way you choose to live it.  I know me choosing to not consume these animals won’t stop them from dying, but at least their blood won’t be on my hands. I urge you to think about what you put in your mouth more carefully, think about the life these animals had, or could have had if you hadn’t taken it away.

 

 

I know when neon lights shine, grease covers my fingers, and the county is all together in the Auburn Square, our fall fair is here. Ever since I was young I have loved the fair. The rides, games, animals, and food were so exciting to me. My friend Madison and I would ride on 1000 and 1 notches all night. Year after year I would spend a piggy bank worth of quarters to win one cheap stuffed animal. The mouse and fish game were staples for us. I would always leave the fair feeling a little sick from the food and ride combo, while also having prizes and goldfish in tow. I now have a harder time enjoying some of the activities I used to. When I was younger I was oblivious to the subtle animal abuse that happens at the county fair. It is hard for me because the games that I now do not agree with are also very nostalgic. I have always loved winning goldfish at the fair. I even won two new ones this year, so now I have five. You never know if they’re going to live for a week or 3 years. Animal abuse falls on the people who win them instead of the workers this time. Many people win goldfish without actually wanting them, or having the necessary items to provide for them. I have seen people shake, swing, or even set down bags of fish and not come back. A game very similar to this has the same concept but you can win hermit crabs. Unlike goldfish hermit crabs are a lot harder to take care of. They require a heat source, a 10 gallon tank, fresh and salt water, substrate, humidity, and new shells to grow into. Not every kid or even adult have knowledge of this nor do all fair workers. Once they are won it is likely that the hermit crabs won’t live the best life, because they aren’t provided with essentials they need. The last game is the mouse game. Many people overlook this game as animal abuse because mice are usually seen as a nuisance. No matter how they are perceived mice have feelings just like you and I. It is so wrong to subject this creature into hours upon hours of being in a box, thrown onto a spinning wheel, without receiving the proper care it needs. Who knows how the mouse lives when the fair doesn’t take place, but my guess is not great. It is a very sad life that no one should endure, not even a mouse. I think everyone should care a little more about what these animals need, and not what you want. Make a difference and don’t support these abusive games.