Football Epilogue

I'm laughing on the inside here. I love to laugh; even when it hurts and I can't breathe. For me, the funniest moments are akin to three-quarters of the jokes on "Family Guy" . A visualization to go with something mildly absurd. This has resulted in untimely giggles and stupid grins in the middle of classes and meetings. Such visualizations mesh well with stand-up comedy and times out with friends. It's not really a secret that laughter is "the best medicine". There are studies linking it to improving mental health among, reducing stress response , lowering blood pressure , providing pain relief  and helping the immune system . I have found that turning on some stand-up comedy on a drive home from a long day can really help my evening go smoothly. However, as with my opening sentence there are literally times when the laughing becomes a little debilitating. Hard laughing does result in my wheezing at times. I also have had instances of lig...

This post is a little overdue as the pumpkin carving was two weeks ago. However, sometimes I need to write something for my own reference. In this case I took a swag at baking pumpkin seeds and they came out rather good. They had just enough spice to notice and I was mildly impressed, so here goes the recipe. The obvious stuff: de-goop and rinse seeds post-pumpkin removal Brine: Put seeds in a bowl of water overnight with a tablespoon of salt and a heaping teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Stir and let sit overnight. Bake: Preheat oven to 275°F. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray and spread seeds over the sheet with minimal water (use a slotted spoon) taking some of the red pepper with onto the sheet. Bake for about an hour until the seeds start to brown. Consume: allow to cool and eat, enjoy, etc. Simple I know, but I would forget if I didn't write it down. Oh, and in case you're curious, here are the pumpkin carving results for this year: My daughter...