It's that time again... design of the month.  This month I am bringing you Tulsa Tees.  Which for the most part is just what the name implies, 

Howdy and welcome to our little outfit in Tulsa, Oklahoma! Here you'll find a unique, growing collection of humorous, political, geek, and environment designs from our resident brain trust, as well as original Okie centennial and Tulsa designs -- printed on shirts, bumper stickers, mousepads, mugs, and other quality products and gift items. Y’all be sure to bookmark us and visit often!

At Tulsa Tees you can find original gifts for friends and family that live in Oklahoma and/or Tulsa to be more specific.  From Tulsa Tees,

For the native-born, the transplants, and any who appreciate the people, food, and weather of the Sooner State -- let all y'all's friends know that Oklahoma is OK! Centennial and Tulsa designs here, too.

Even though you can find great designs for the Okies in your life; my design pick is from their Christmas section.  There's no time like now to start shopping for Christmas!  My favorite design from their Christmas section is 'Gold. Myrrh. Frank sent this.'  I love the play on words and the humor!

I hope you get a chance to stop by 'Tulsa Tees' and see what great designs they have for all those on your Christmas list this year. 

This blog is part of a crossover blog.  Other Participants in this crossover blog are:

http://ateasetees.wordpress.com/

http://getyergoat-goatgifts.blogspot.com

http://www.nanwrightart.com

http://randomshirts.blogspot.com/

http://skeetzteez.blogspot.com/

http://idesignbrian.wordpress.com/

http://www.shopkeeperdesigns.com

http://autismshowucare.blogspot.com

http://www.gocamelphotos.blogspot.com/

http://einselgaenger.blogspot.com/

http://beflip.blogspot.com/

If you are looking for pumpkin carving templates I've gathered up some of the best sites online.  I'm not the pumpkin carver in my house - that duty goes to my husband.  Carving pumpkins is a great way to decorate for Halloween and if you're not good at free hand carving maybe these pumpkin stencils can help.  If you want to be more creative than the old triangles for eyes and nose route, check out these sites:

DLDK's - A large array of pumpkin carving patterns with instructions.  A few of my favorites are the ghost and haunted house templates.

The Pumpkin Wizard - They offer nearly 800 patterns with 470 pumpkin carving templates free.  They're worth checking out!

Pumpkin Masters - They only offer four free downloadable pumpkin patterns but they are awesome.  You'll also find some Halloween recipes and facts.

Paper Pumpkins - This site is more targeted towards kids.  It has some great kid friendly stencils as well as Halloween images to print and color, games and printable masks.

Stoneykins - The pumpkin carving patterns here are phenomenal!  They only offer 100 free stencils, however, they are spectacular.  You'll also find a nice tutorial.

I hope you find these pumpkin carving designs as much fun as I do.  Have fun carving your pumpkin this Halloween.  Have a safe and spooktacular Halloween!

It is that time of the month again... my design of the month!  This month my pick comes from an amazing original CafePress shop:  Autism Show U Care:  T-Shirts and Gifts supporting Autism awareness.  A description of their site:

Thanks to Cafépress.com we sell and design Autism Awareness Shirts and Gifts to help create awareness and educate our communities. We have colorful and unique hats; Christmas Ornaments for 2008 Bumper Stickers, Magnets & Tote Bags, license tags and Sweatshirts to help send a message to promote Autism Awareness. People have Autism, they are not Autistic. Please help us make a difference. We also carry great T-shirts and Gifts for our Occupational Therapist & Speech Therapist.

Our Son is a part of the Ian Project(Interactive Autism Network). Please help us find cure....

From the Autism Show U Care bio,

After our son's diagnosis of Autism with severe Apraxia, we were paralyzed with fear. Than we realized "we," needed to create and build his success. So as we turned over rock after rock, his foundation to win this war began. As we educated our family and friends and associates we encountered , they began to stand behind him and let him know they were there to help and to be on his team..... THE WINNING TEAM!

I had a tough time picking just one design from Autism Show U Care.  This shop is filled with designs like:  Proud Parents, Find the Cause, Find the Cure and Autism- I Love You(sign language), just to name a few. 

The design I decided on is:  Talking is overrated,

Autism & Apraxia (non verbal) support during Halloween. Kids just want the candy and if they can't ask for it what a great design to be wearing. They can just point to the shirt and open their bag.

With Halloween knocking on our door this is a great design of the month (especially for October)!  What a great way to show your support.  If you know someone who has been diagnosed with Autism, or if you just want to join the cause, go to Autism Show U Care and get your Talking is overrated T-Shirt today!  While you're there check their other great designs.

This blog is part of a crossover blog.  Other Participants in this crossover blog are:

• ateasetees.wordpress.com/
• mindinfestation.blogspot.com
• getyergoat-goatgifts.blogspot.com
• shagtees.blogspot.com
• www.nanwrightart.com
• randomshirts.blogspot.com/
• skeetzteez.blogspot.com/
• idesignbrian.wordpress.com/
• www.shopkeeperdesigns.com
• http://einselgaenger.blogspot.com/
• http://www.cafepress.com/thecopyeditor

One of my favorite things about the month of October is Halloween.  To be more specific... the horror/scary movies that come on during the month of October.  Ever since I was a young girl I have been a fan of horror movies... the scarier the better. 

I don't know if you're old enough to remember when Chiller (Theatre) came on Saturday nights at 11:30 p.m; well sometimes my mom would allow  me to stay up late with my uncle (he stayed with us for a while) who was eight years older than me, and watch the first movie that would come on Chiller.  It was usually a double-feature; I could have watched both but my Uncle had specific rules to turn the TV off after the first movie went off. 

Also, who could forget Movie Macabre which featured campy B horror host Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark. They also showed campy B movie double-features.  I was/am a horror movie junkie!

So this time of year gets me to thinking about all the horror movies I love watching; which in turn, got me thinking about which movie monster, madman and/or mutant was the scariest.  Here is my list of the top 10 scariest movie monsters:

Freddy - In the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Freddy Krueger kept many a teenager frightened to go to sleep.  The undead Krueger inhabits the world of dreams and attacks his victims while they’re sleeping. His weapon of choice: A leather glove, from which sprouted four 6-inch knives.  Of all the 80's horror movie monsters that were supernatural, undead or non-human, Krueger was the scariest.

Jack Torrance - The first Stephen King book I ever read was The Shining; I have been a King fan ever since.  One of King's scariest characters is Jack Torrance. As you watch The Shining you get to watch Jack's lapse into insanity slowly unfold.  How horrifying to watch a father try to kill his own child.  The scene where Jack uses the axe to break through a door and the creepy and famous line "Here's Johnny" was creepily and most excellently played by Jack Nicholson.

Norman Bates - Any man who is such a mommy's boy is scary, in my opinion.  Seriously, Norman Bates is scary because once again he is a flesh and blood human. Also the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho kept women from taking showers for years.

Leatherface - What makes Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre so scary, is that he is based on a true story.  To think that there was a man wearing a mask made of human skin, wielding a chainsaw and killing people that his family of cannibals directed him, really creeps me out.

Annie Wilkes - How can Kathy Bates be scary?  It's Bates character Annie Wilkes that's scary. In Stephen Kings Misery, Annie Wilkes is romance novelist Paul Sheldon's number one fan, unfortunately for him.  She is an obsessed fan that will do anything to keep him.  The scene with the sledge hammer still makes me wince.

Jaws - The reason Jaws is so scary for me is that it is a shark.  Something real and tangible.  I remember when I first saw Jaws, which happened to be on TV while I was babysitting a 3 year old that was napping.  I think I was thirteen and to this day I'm scared to get too far out in the ocean. When Jaws first came out their were many people who felt the same way.

Damien - How much scarier can you get than the child of Satan?  I think it is scary when the monster is a child.  How creepy to see a little boy or girl who should be innocent, look at you with lifeless or steely eyes.  In The Omen, Damien can send chills down your spine with the look in his eyes as he kills off those around him that could interfere in his reign over man-kind.

Pennywise - This one is almost a gimme, seeing that clowns can be downright scary in their own right.  However, Stephen King's malevolent, shape-shifting, child-killing monster in It is the scariest clown of all.  Pennywise is the ultimate child's nightmare!  I read the book before seeing the movie and if I had not already been scared of clowns before, I was after reading the book and definitely after seeing the movie.

Regan MacNeil - The twelve year old Regan from The Exorcist is scary because she is a child that is possessed by Satan.  There is something horrifying about a child being evil and Linda Blair played Regan in a way that reportedly caused heart failure to some of the moviegoers at the time, it was that frightening. I mean seeing a kid spewing pea soup, rotating her head 360 degrees and abusing a crucifix is pretty darn scary!

And the number 1 scariest monster/madman of all time (to me) is....

Hannibal Lechter - Lechter is horrifying because he IS human.  The scariest monsters to me are those that are of human flesh and blood.  Because they could be "real".  Not to mention Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal the Cannibal in Silence of the Lambs was so eerily frightening.  And of course there is the thought that he would like to eat my liver with a side of fava beans and a nice Chianti.

So these are my top ten scariest monsters.  Who or what do you think is the scariest movie monster?  We hope to hear from you!

Debra Messing returns to the USA Network as Molly Kagan in the new original series, The Starter Wife, tonight, October 10, 2008.  After last summer's successful miniseries, Messing is back in the role of discarded Hollywood housewife Molly Kagan.

I have to admit I found The Starter Wife a guilty pleasure.  I so enjoyed the miniseries and at the time I said I hoped they turned it into a series.  So I'm excited to tune into the USA Network to watch tonight.  I hope they stay true to the miniseries and don't mess up a good thing. 

If you are not familiar with The Starter Wife, here is an overview of the miniseries that aired last summer from  USANetwork.com,

If having it all in Hollywood means being married to an ambitious movie studio exec, having an adorable daughter, owning a flawlessly decorated McMansion in Brentwood, belonging to the most exclusive clubs and always getting the best table in the hottest restaurants, then Molly Kagan has it all.

Until she gets the one phone call that changes everything.

With that call, not only does Molly's husband Kenny inform her of his intentions to divorce just shy of their ten year anniversary (coincidentally before their pre-nup expires), but also he revokes her status as "Wife Of," instantly transforming her into a "Starter Wife",a decided step down, if not out, in the Hollywood pecking order.

Go to USANetwork.com to read the rest of the overview.  Here is an overview of this seasons show,

While the miniseries centered on the summer of Molly's divorce that forced her to start over, in these all-new episodes, Molly has moved into a home of her own with her seven-year-old daughter Jaden and is ready to navigate her new life as a single mom and define herself on her own terms. While facing the very real challenges of trying to begin a new career at forty-something, Molly is now also juggling the ongoing emotional and financial complications of her divorce from Kenny (David Alan Basche), who could use a remedial course in parenting; new love interests, despite recently having sworn off men; and raising a grounded daughter in a town that doesn't exactly have its priorities straight. With the help of her loyal friends Joan (Emmy winner Judy Davis) and Rodney (Chris Diamantopoulos), who are trying to figure it all out for themselves too, as well as her new Starting Gate School ally, Liz (Danielle Nicolet), Molly will discover how to forge a new life even when her past is always present.

I love Debra Messing in The Starter Wife, and I've been a fan of Messing since Will and Grace.  I also enjoy Judy Davis as Molly's friend Joan.  In fact, as much as I love the character Molly, I personally think Judy Davis makes the show.  Davis plays Joan brilliantly!  She won an Emmy for the role so I'm not the only one who thinks so.

At the USA Network web site you can play games like Whack an Ex, Go Go Yoga and much more.  There are videos, communities and sweepstakes to enter; you can find tons of fun things related to The Starter Wife to keep you entertained for hours.

I hope you get the chance to watch The Starter Wife tonight on the USA channel at 9:00 p.m. EST.  If you watch The Starter Wife, let us know what you think of it.

On The Oprah Show today, Stephanie Nelson, the Coupon Mom gave some tips on how to grocery shop using coupons.  She is the MOM behind couponmom.com, a site where you can get free coupons as well as download the  free eBook, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half. 

In today's economic climate we can use any and every tool we can to cut corners.  Coupons are an excellent way to save money.  And with eCoupons there is no clipping required.

You can also find restaurant coupons as well as free offers.  I highly recommend you check out couponmom.com for all your grocery coupons.

So come on and be a thrifty mom; be a coupon mom.  It's free and you can start saving money on your grocery bills today!

Screen legend and philanthropist, Paul Newman, who donated millions to charity, died today, September 27, 2008, from his battle with lung cancer.  Newman's career spanned over five decades. 

"Paul Newman's craft was acting. His passion was racing. His love was his family and friends. And his heart and soul were dedicated to helping make the world a better place for all," Foundation Vice-Chairman Robert Forrester said.  What a beautiful and poetic sentiment to be said about a man. 

One of my favorite movies of Newman's was Cool Hand Luke.  Check out the YouTube video from one of my favorite scenes in Cool Hand Luke.

Newman's role as Butch in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, opposite Robert Redford, skyrocketed his career and made him a household name.  With his good looks, cool manner and stunning blue eyes he was destined to appear on screen.

Newman was nominated for ten Oscars and won in 1987 for his role as "Fast Eddie" in The Color of Money.  His last film was the 2002 Road to Perdition where he played John Rooney.  And my five year old may not know who Paul Newman is... but he would recognize his as Doc Hudson from the 2006 animated movie Cars.

Go to imdb.com to see his filmography.

He loved racing cars and he became a race car enthusiast. Over the years he won four Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) championships, won the GTS class in the 1995 24 hour race at Daytona, and sponsored race teams.

In January 2005 Newman, then 79, escaped from his burning race car after it spun on track at the Daytona Beach circuit. He was not injured in the accident.

Newman was married to Joanne Woodward for 50 years.  He was also survived by five daughters and several grandchildren.  His son Scott Newman, died of an accidental drug overdose in 1978.

Mr. Newman will be greatly missed.  He left a legacy of charitable giving, from his Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, a camp for seriously ill children and his proceeds from Newman's Own.  I believe it is this that he would much rather be remembered by.

RIP - Paul Newman.  Our thoughts are with your family.

Well today is the first day of Fall and I can't believe another summer has come and gone.  I use to love summers but as I get older I really hate the heat.  My favorite season is Fall and Spring, but sadly here in East Tennessee it seems that the Falls and Springs are getting shorter and shorter. 

For anyone lucky enough to live near the Smokey Mountains the Fall has to be your favorite season, in my humble opinion.  All the changing leaves are a spectacular site to behold; and one that I highly recommend everyone experience at least once in their lifetime.

My life has gone through a lot of changes this summer, with my son starting school being the biggest.  And I am excited about this Fall and all it has to offer me. 

Here is one of my favorite songs to say goodbye to Summer; Don Henley's The Boys of Summer.

I would love to know what your favorite season is and why.  I hope to hear from you!  Until then have a wonderful Fall!

We are surrounded by images of beautiful, thin women in magazines, movies and TV.  Our young girls live in a society that tells them in order for them to be attractive they must be skinny.  We are smart...we as women realize that the images on the pages of magazines are airbrushed.    Dove has even been using 'real women' in their campaign ads. 

So we know better, yet women will trash talk other women, just like the recent controversy over the Jennifer Love Hewitt photos.  She is not fat by any means, but women, not men, were all a buzz about her weight and cellulite.

Why do we do this?  I wish I knew.  But we women are our worst critics.  Women are beautiful...we come in all shapes and sizes, and as long as we are healthy, why do we have to put each other down? 

Well I discovered this wonderful web site, TheShapeOfAMother.com that features stories and pictures of women who are pregnant or have had children. 

The photos are of their nude bodies, in all their glory and/or imperfections.  It is pictures of real women; of mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.  Note, however, that there is nudity contained within and this website is not considered safe for work.

The Shape of a Mother web site is a safe place for women to lift each other up, to motivate and inspire each other.  And maybe someday we can change the way the media depicts us as women.  Not every women is a size 2, and that is okay.

If you are a 'real woman' and want to be inspired by other 'real women' check out www.theshapeofamother.com.

Did you know there was a website where you can find useless facts?  Well there is!  I already consider myself the Queen of useless information...so am pleased to know that there is a web site of useless facts, where upon I can retain even more useless information.

At useless-facts.net they break down the useless facts into categories and broken down even further with subcategories:

• People - Presidents, Babies & Birth, Movies & Movie Stars and The Body, to name a few.
• Places - China, Colleges and Geography and more.
• Living Things - Animals,Insects and Spiders and Fish
• Society - Laws, Crime and Drugs
• Academic - Energy, Literature and Medicine
• Other Facts - Death and Magic and the Occult are a sampling of the subcategories.

Did you know:

• That the oldest piano still in existence was built in 1720?
• Christopher Columbus had blond hair?
• Theodore Roosevelt's wife and mother died on the same day?
• In ancient China people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt?
• A rat can go without water longer than a camel can?
• And speaking of camels, it is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona?

Did you know:

• In 1915 the average annual family income in the United States was $687 a year?
• Before King George IV OF England ordered a set of boots made to fit each of his feet, shoes were designed to be worn on either foot?
• Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a 6,000 word epic poem when he was twelve years old?

I love this web site!  Now my arsenal of useless information will grow as I soak up like a sponge the new useless facts that I didn't already know. 

Go check out UselessFacts.net.  I promise you will learn something...what is useless to some may not be useless to all!