The television set wigged out on me Saturday night, and as we all know, when that happens, the entire family expects a disco ball to fall from the kitchen ceiling, while double-decker fudge brownies, in the shape of elves, jump from the oven. These elves should be festooned with noisemakers, dance around, and throw up… Continue reading Elf Free, Gluten Free Pistachio-Cranberry White Chocolate Bark

Shimmy into some super stretchy exercise tights and strap a pair of antlers onto your head. It’s time for the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Holiday Themed Workout.  The moves are based on things you might actually do during the holiday season.  That way, you’ll be in the greatest of shape when you have to do… Continue reading Holiday Themed Workout: Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Style

It may be missing its legs, and the Association of Advocates for Consumer Safety would ban it from all toy store aisles, but “Thanks-A-Lot,” the crazy stuffed turkey is an incredible feat of crafting that took me a nail-biting two hours to make.  But I pulled it off.  Barely.  As usual, I had grandiose plans… Continue reading Craft Alert: Make “Thanks-A-Lot,” the Stuffed Turkey

Dodging boxes of bean dip, Twinkies, sandwich meats, and snack chips—while pushing a wobbly grocery cart around—would drive practically anyone to drink. I’ve experienced horrendous shopping days when the frozen foods section looked like Marie Callender, Sara Lee, and the Jolly Green Giant threw up undigested boxes of dinners and desserts—and I had to nimbly… Continue reading Spiked Apple Cider

Some people get their whoopie pies in a hot mess tangle when they find out that there’s pudding inside of a baked good. I’m one of those people.  I come down with a hot mess case of “whoopie pie in a bind.”  You see, I love the idea of discovering there are actually two desserts… Continue reading Pumpkin Cake Surprise

Piles of cruddy, mud-caked shoes have recently hung a white sock on the entryway closet door to let us know that they are suffocating—and they are about to give up. We already knew this, but we thought we had the problem solved by closing the door and playing loud seasonal music.  (Shoes that are suffocating… Continue reading Shoe Rack Attack

Evil spirit possession, in a macaroni salad, is rare, but it can happen. It happened to me just now, and here’s how I think it all went down:  I made an innocent-enough looking macaroni salad and placed it in the refrigerator.  It was happily skipping along, talking to the sliced deli meats and eggs, when… Continue reading Evil Macaroni Salad

Throwing yourself in the torrential rains of Seattle’s haunted history tours and traipsing through paranormal puddles, will set you back at least $100 if you are a family of three. (It probably costs more than that, though.)  That’s not necessary. Not necessary at all. Instead, you could split some pizza pies at the Alibi Room,… Continue reading DIY Ghost Stories Year Number Three: Post Alley Improv Mayhem

When the air turns chilly and the first fall leaf glides gently to the ground, my thoughts turn to things that might frighten me, such as a haunted house—or my first trip to Costco.  Last year, I did the haunted house, so this year, it’s Costco. I. Am. Going. Oh, but I’ve heard stories. And… Continue reading Scary Fun: My First Trip to Costco

My DIY arms and legs begin to twitch and my mouth curls into an evil smile when I spot the “make-a- monster” factory inside Funko.  Funko, in downtown Everett, Washington, is a magical shop just dripping with castles and cartoon characters.  Eager “fan”atics line up to buy pop culture plastic toys with oversized heads. I… Continue reading Making a Monster