Clowns, SpiderMan, Ninjas, Ballerinas, Fairy Princesses, Ghosts - all appear at my house with startling regularity every Halloween. Snickers, Kit-Kats, Milky Ways, Hershey Bars, Sugar Babies - all disappear from my house also with surprising speed every Halloween. (Ahem. Sorry about that - apparently this trying to lose weight thing is affecting me more than I thought!)

So, Halloween is on the horizon. It’s one of my favorite holidays - the excuse to walk my kids around the neighborhood with good friends, sneaking a candy bar or three out of my kids plastic pumpkins while drinking a hot coffee - well, there’s really not much to adore. Except for trying to find new costumes each year.

My kids have been scouring the catalogs for weeks now, planning the most elaborate outfits involving crowns, light sabers, glitter, sequins and cardboard boxes. All they can see is excitement, festivities, fun and partying, and all I can see is work. How much time and how much work those costumes will be for me. I mean, I hate to be a spoilsport and I don’t want to ruin anyone’s fun, but at the same point in time if I have to create a bunch of homemade costumes that will ruin MY fun - and I’m in the mood for fun not work.

In the past, my kids have been dogs, lions, pirates, ballerinas, Sesame Street characters, prom queens, iPods, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Padme Amidala, fall fairies, and a bag of jelly beans. We reuse some costumes each year but most need to be passed on since apparently its against the law for one of my children to wear last year’s outfit.  Last year I posted a bunch here on Zwaggle and of course, am planning on doing the same this year.  I mean, really - have you seen the costumes that are available right now? There are some really cute ones, and the thought that I could list one of ours and without spending anything, move it on to another family, while obtaining a “new to us” costume that would make my own kids happy - well, that’s just gold right there. So save the money you’d spend on a brand new costume. Trade your Zoints for one here and then use the money you saved to take yourself to dinner. You’ve earned it. I’m sure of it.

I do love to see the costumes kids come up with though, except for some of the costumes I’ve seen for preteen girls - I wouldn’t even wear some of them myself, much less send my 11 year old to walk the streets in them.  Anyway, don’t get me started.

I remember one year, when my son picked a costume - and I don’t remember exactly WHAT costume it was - but the mask was the entire costume. As in, the costume made no sense without the mask - and he refused to wear it. Without the mask, he was wearing a simple robe, and no one knew who he was, but he didn’t care. Or the year that my daughter was a fairy, but she refused to wear the wings, the tiara or the bodysuit - basically, all she wore was a t shirt and some pink tights. It bugged me like nobody’s business, but kids are funny like that - they can create a costume out of a robe and some spray painted ice cream cones with a snake on top.

What about you?  Tell us about some of your favorite costumes (good or bad) from year’s past or even a funny Halloween story.  We all have them.  And we all love to laugh.

Practice makes perfect, and there’s a lot of things that I should practice, because I am far from perfect.

I need to practice running, because I am not even close to being a perfect runner.  (Actually, I’m not even close to running at all… it’s more like a limping/jogging/gallop thing… no, it’s not pretty.)

I need to practice time management, because it’s currently 3:15 pm on Monday and I have NO IDEA where the time went.

And I need to practice cooking, because, well, I’m not exactly a great cook.

(I’ve been known to set off the fire alarm while scrambling an egg and boiling water.)

(Separate incidents.)

I love food, and I’d love to learn more about cooking.  I’d love to put a bunch of ingredients in a pot and have something delicious in an hour.  I’d love to enjoy the process of making a great meal that I’m proud of.  And I’m not talking about some amazing Thanksgiving-esque feast (yet).  I’m talking about something simple to put down on the table after a long day.  Because, really, I think that I can handle that, especially with a little practice.

One of my favorite things about the weather getting colder is the food.  You know, the type of stuff that makes you feel warm and happy after a long day of heavy coats and scarves, running errands and shoveling snow.  I’d love to be able to make some wonderful meals that don’t come out of a freezer or a can (tomato soup, anyone?).

So I’m asking you, Zwaggle members, to post your favorite recipes here.  Not just for me, but for the whole Zwaggle community.  Do you have a recipe that you love to cook in the winter?  Or how about one that your kids beg you to make when it starts to snow?  Have you written a blog post with your favorite crock-pot recipe in it?  Or do you have a favorite website where you’ve found a really fabulous meal idea?

Share them here, in the comments section.  Give us the recipe, or leave a link where we can all find it.  In return, the Zwaggle team will do something that we’re pretty perfect at: we’ll give you 15 bonus Zoints!  Wouldn’t you like 15 extra Zoints to use on a new Halloween costume for the kids, or maybe to save for the holidays?

I’ll start us off with a great chili recipe that my mom wrote.  (I’m still a little scared to try it because she makes it so perfectly, and that’s a lot to live up to.)  I hope you enjoy!

1 tbsp oil
2 lbs beef and 2 lbs pork (or any other meat you prefer)*
1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup diced green pepper
2-3 large garlic cloves, minced
3 16oz cans of diced tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup of dark chili powder
salt
2 16oz cans of red kidney beans
2 16oz cans of pinto beans

* You can easily make this recipe vegetarian by getting rid of the meat and adding more vegetables and beans!

In a large pot, heat the oil and cook the meat, onions, green pepper and garlic until the onion is tender, stirring often.  Add the tomatoes (with the liquid), chili powder and salt.  Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for about an hour.  Stir in the beans and as much liquid as you feel is needed to make a nice thick sauce.  Heat through, and then serve with lots of crackers, sour cream, chopped scallions and shredded cheese.  Perfect for a cold day!

Now share some of your recipes so we can all have a warm and yummy season!

This is from our friends at myUsearch, and thought it was such an amazing opportunity, we had to repost.

Yup, now mommies too can win some cash through a myUsearch.com scholarship. You could win a $1000 for answering our essay question by essay or video. Deadline for submissions is December 31, 2009. Below are the requirements for entering.

Photo by OctopusHat.

Scholarship Requirements:
All applicants must:

1. Be a mother.
2. Have a yearly combined household income of less than $100,000.
3. Plan to pursue an undergraduate degree at an accredited U.S. college or university. No graduate school applicants will be accepted.
4. Have NOT yet enrolled in a U.S. college or university and once enrolled, plan to start their first semester on or before October of 2010.
5. Have never attended the college or university in which the scholarship will be applied. This scholarship is for first year and transfer students only.

Essay/Video Question:
This scholarship will be awarded to the student who can best answer with an essay less than 750 words or a video no longer than 5 minutes:
“What is your biggest challenge as a mother trying to get a degree? What can colleges and universities do to help you overcome this challenge and encourage other mothers to further their education?”

We look forward to seeing your essays and videos. Good luck to all participants!