Trick or Treat Night on Cumberland Road!

Happy Halloween!

Are you doing anything to celebrate today? I'm going to work, but I'm dressing up as a kitty cat!

Thanks for the watch, Kristina!

Thursday was Trick or Treat in my neighborhood. Pennsylvania is weird, and different townships have Trick or Treat on different nights. It's usually either the last Thursday in October or on actual Halloween.

I stocked up on candy way ahead of time, so we were ready!

It didn't take me long to realize that three different bowls was too much choice for the little ones, so we put it all in one bowl and mixed it up. That worked better.

Before we went outside, Paul suggested we do a lemon drop. Okay! I only had half a shot.

(Lemon drops are vodka with lemon juice, and then right after you drink it, you take a lick of sugar.)

We sat our lawn chairs in the carport and brought out Paul's speaker to play spooky music. Sitting outside was easier than having kids knock on the door and dealing with the cats. But I did let them watch the festivities...

I noticed a couple things about the Trick or Treaters. We allowed them to choose their candy, but only let them take one. I would say 60% automatically just took one, 20% asked how many they could take, and 30% chose two before we could correct them.

Of the kids who were old enough to be able to say Trick or Treat, only about half of them said it! I was surprised. Most kids looked really shy. Of the kids who weren't old enough to say it, usually their parents said it for them.

There were quite a lot of teenagers, but they were dressed up and said Trick or Treat, so I didn't mind. There was a couple people together who looked like they were 25 years old though! Of course I gave them candy, but really?

Later on in the evening we poured a glass of wine. This is Paul's favorite kind.

Paul had fun chatting with our next door neighbor, who was handing out FULL SIZE CANDY BARS because he works for Hershey. Some father, who I didn't know, told us we had to up our game. I said to him, "Well he works for Hershey and I'm just a school teacher." I wanted to say PLEASE DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE FREE CANDY WE ARE PASSING OUT.

One of our neighbors, who is a runner, came over to chat with us. He has been injured for awhile but is now getting back out there to walk/run. He likes to do it super early in the morning. I asked him if he is ever scared running in our neighborhood in the dark. He said yes, sometimes there are skunks!

Omggggg I am like, skunks!? I'm worried about being raped! I guess that's just one of those things men don't have to worry about. I am always on the lookout on my runs and don't have my podcast up too loud so I can be aware of my surroundings.

All in all, it was a great night. We even had a lot of candy leftover, so now when we have a craving for something sweet, we can peruse around in the pantry and see what's left!

What are your plans for today?
Any funny trick or treat stories?

Weekend Wrap Up!

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend.

Here's what we were up to...

Luckily, I got about 7 hours of sleep Thursday night. My morning 6 miler went well, but it was FREEZING.

The kids were chatty at school and I had a short fuse. It wasn't the greatest day, but I did get a lot of work done.

For lunch I had quinoa surprise that I made a week or two ago. It is so good. I just make quinoa in the normal way with water. Then I cook up mushrooms, onions, and peppers in a skillet. I add those to the quinoa as well as peas, cooked/cut up carrots, corn, and chick peas. SO YUMMY. I eat it with chicken at work. (I think I forgot chickpeas in this batch.)

After work, I changed right into my jammies (what else is new!?) and just chillaxed. I was bored but I didn't want to go anywhere. Don't you hate when that happens!?

We played cards, then made a yummy down home meal. Turkey burgers, sweet tater fries, and pasta salad FROM A BOX. I cut up cucumbers and tomatoes for in it, so does that make it partially count as homemade?

I went to bed early and fiddled around on my phone. Then I got a notification that Mueller had filed his first charges in the Russian probe. TIME TO GET OUT OF BED AND WATCH ANDERSON COOPER.

I ended up going to bed before 11...

... and getting up around 7:30! Not too shabby!

I relaxed, drank coffee, and did some blogging. Then I headed to Millersburg to my parent's house. My dad and I were going on a trail run.

We ran down to the river, over the swinging bridge, then out the old railroad bed to the Ned Smith Center. We ran some loops on the trail, then came back into town the way we came. The weather was perfect. It was crisp, the leaves were changing color, and it smelled like fall!

Then we went home and had lunch with my mom. I couldn't stay long because Paul and I had plans. So I drove home to shower and get ready to go to The Valley and Hunters Valley with Paul.

We love their wines and they are a lot cheaper than at Adam's County. We ended up doing a small tasting and then shared a bottle while we played cards.

We also bought a bunch of bottles to take home! We love their Heart of the Valley and Susquehanna River Red.

The place closed at 6, which was a little surprising! We ended up having to eat the food we got from the food truck in the car! It was okay. We listened to a podcast about training cats and looked at the beautiful view!

When I got home, I was super excited to watch the last episode of The Disappearance of Maura Murray! I was disappointed they consulted a psychic on this episode. There are LOTS of things I don't believe in... like ghosts, good luck/bad luck, and PSYCHICS. Maggie and Art lost a little bit of credibility with me on that one. The ending of the series was a little lackluster but at least the police now are reopening the case and examining it from the beginning. Maybe some new leads will come up.

I woke up at 7:20 because a little cuddle buddy came up to sleep with me! What a great way to start the morning.

Then I sat down at my computer to blog my face off. I do this a lot on Sunday mornings! All I need is coffee and my computer.

Paul went to Philly with his friends so I had the whole day to myself! What to do, what to do? Well, first, I lifted. It was rainy and dreary outside, so it was a good day to stay inside.

Then I ran some errands, which included some thrift shops. I found two great sweaters at Good Will for $4.75 each. I love the details on the shoulders of the black sweater. The over sized grey one is for work. That sweater + leggings + boots will be the most comfy winter work outfit ever.

I found a Charles Wysocki puzzle (my favorite!) at Community Aid for 99 cents!

A student saw me coming out of the dressing room at Community Aid. "MS. MICHAEL!!!!" she screamed. Um, hi.

I was looking for wine racks, so I went places like TJ Maxx and Wal Mart. I found a lot of great candles and a Halloween costume for work.

Yes, I know the one on the left is a Village Candle. I didn't get duped again. Those are actually pretty fragrant!

Wal Mart and TJ Maxx were dangerous...

After Wal Mart, I headed over to Marshall's, but it had moved! It said it was in Hampden Commons. Where the heck was that? Well, I found it. It's where the K Mart on The Pike used to be. And connected to Marshall's is a HOME GOODS! Home Goods has nice things, but it's all crap I don't need...

What I did end up finding at Home Goods were two identical wine racks. They were exactly what I wanted, so I bought them. 

The one works out fine, unfortunately, the other one is bent at the bottom so when you put the wine on it, it leans to the left instead of staying stable. I am bummed! They were $7.99 each. Is $8 worth going all the way back to home goods and waiting in line to return it? Also, I already threw the receipt and tags away and put it out in the trash can outside. I'd have to go look around there...

Does anyone have any idea how I could successfully FIX this one?

See how the bottom is not flat on the table?

Last, I will show you the best part of my Sunday. This sweet bologna and cheese sandwich I got at Sheetz! I freaking love bologna!!!

Tell me something fun you did this weekend!

Do you like bologna?

How can I fix the wine rack?

Unsolved Mysteries I Want Answers To!

Today, I am sharing my thoughts on what I think happened or who I think is guilty in some fascinating murders/disappearances.

This post is not intended to give you a synopsis of each case. That's way too much to delve into! If you need to research the cases to understand my conclusions more, you know where Reddit is! 

Sometimes I provide links for you to check out... and I do recommend checking out these mysteries. They are fascinating!

Here are my thoughts on what I think happened or who I think is guilty in some unsolved murders/disappearances...

JonBenet

I believe JonBenet's nearly 10 year old brother Burke accidentally killed her with a blow to the head. I think her father most likely strangled her afterwards to cover up the accidental death. (I think her parents thought she was dead before she was strangled and that is why they just didn't call an ambulance. The strangulation was staging.)

The main reason I believe Burke is the culprit is because it is clear that both parents know what happened that night and there is no way one of them would cover up for the other. Parents, imagine... would you cover it up if your spouse killed your child!? NO! But what if your other child killed your child by accident? Okay, you still probably wouldn't cover it up because you are a sane person. But you'd be more likely to cover it up to protect a child, right?

Don't even get me started on the intruder theory. There was no intruder.

I recommend watching the CBS documentary on this case from last fall. You can watch both episodes on Amazon in HD for $6.99.



Maura Murray

I feel likethere are really only four possibilities of what happened to Maura, and here they are in order from least likely to most likely...

4. Maura ran away from the accident and committed suicide in the woods.

3. Maura ran away from the accident and started a new life. She is alive but doesn't want anyone to know where she is.

2. Police cover up. This all has to do with Witness A and SUV 001. Now I don't necessarily think the police killed Maura and covered it up, but maybe something was botched. Why did Witness A see SUV 001 but the police are denying it. What are they hiding hiding? (Note: I know Maggie and Art, the investigators on the Oxygen show say that Cecil Smith was in the SUV so that is why Witness A saw it, but they don't give us proof. It's pretty much a "we saw top secret files and can't tell you what's in them, but believe us" type of situation, and Maggie acts really holier than thou about it because she doesn't understand why people are still skeptical. That's because they are just saying believe us without any evidence. They have seen the evidence, but they won't show us. Fine. It could need to stay secret for the investigation. But that's why people still wonder!)

1. A random dirt bag picked her up and killed her. I know so many people say that the chance of a serial killer running into Maura is very small. And I agree. But most people's chances of running into a serial killer is small... but it still happens! And Maura was alone on a dark road, possibly intoxicated... That significantly ups her chances of meeting foul play!

I had drawn these conclusions before watching Oxygen's six part investigative special on the Maura Murray case. 

If you're interested in some good podcasts recapping this case (It's fascinating!) try True Crime Garage or Generation Why. There is a Missing Maura Murray podcast but it gets soooo boring because eventually they have nothing to rehash. So you can try that one but I feel like you will eventually get annoyed.

Of course, there is a TON on Reddit about the case. So you could fall into a big rabbit hole there!

Watch Maura's Vanished episode here.

Watch Maura's Disappeared episode here.

Oxygen's episodes are on Youtube. Start with Episode 1.



Steven Avery

He's guilty. I didn't watch Making a Murderer, but I read a lot and listened to a lot of podcasts. It sounds like the Netflix special was very well made yet VERY one sided. Do I believe the police investigation was perfect? No. But they did not frame Avery! Now, whether he deserves a new trial based on the investigation is a different story all together. But as far as whether or not Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach, I believe 100% that the answer is yes.

I feel like the more interesting conversation isn't whether or not he's guilty, but how we hold police, investigators, and prosecutors accountable. If I was being tried for a crime, I would want everything done correctly so it was a fair trial.

Generation Why did a two part on this case so I recommend those podcasts! The first podcast they lay out why he is guilty and the second one they address listener's comments, questions, etc. 


Casey Anthony

This is a case I was completely wrong about. I think the day Caylee died, Casey and Caylee left the house, George left for work, Casey and Caylee went back to the house, and then while Casey was distracted on the phone, Caylee drowned in the pool.

If you are interested in my full reasoning behind this one, check out these very lengthy articles on Reddit. Although the author reeeeeeallyyyyyyyyyyy rubs me the wrong way, the cell phone evidence is compelling.

Yes, Casey is really messed up. The entire family is. Jose Baez is also a piece of shit. I don't like anything about this case, but please just read the articles and you will understand where I am coming from! (I don't agree with every point in the articles, but the articles did convince me about how/when she died.


Serial

So many people are lying in this case!!!! And I will be honest... it makes my brain hurt. This is the case in which I am the most unsure of my conclusion.

Now, as many of you know, listening to the Serial podcast should not be the extent of your research for this case. There is a lot more out there, easily at your fingertips.

But if I had to go with my gut, I'd say Adnan is guilty. Tell me why I am wrong! I welcome it! And I will probably change my mind ten more times...

It sort of boils down to, if Adnan didn't do it, then who the hell did!? Now, I don't think we should be convicting people on that alone. And I'm not saying he shouldn't have been convicted or that he had a fair trail, I am just thinking, if I really had to decide, he's probably guilty.

But again, please tell me why I am incorrect because I would prefer to feel strongly one way or the other about this one and I just don't. I would love to have evidence in front of me that makes me believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is innocent. Or guilty.

The following are mysteries in which I have NO FREAKING IDEA what happened and I REALLY WANT TO KNOW!

1. Missy Bevers. I wrote about this case and I'm dying to know who killed Missy. The only think I can say I believe for certain is that she was targeted. This was not a random killing. It was not the father or FIL, as they were in different states, but possibly... POSSIBLY a hit organized by them.

2. Tracy Kroh. This is a local mystery for me! In 1989, Tracy Kroh was last seen on the square in Millersburg. She was 17 years old and from Halifax. Since her disappearance, the only thing that has been discovered is her drivers license and NHS card along the Wiconisco Creek in Elizabethville. Some local properties were searched but nothing came up that was ever made public. At least one Grand Jury was convened, which makes me think there is a suspect, but that they can't prove it. If you want to go into a rabbit hole, check out this thread about the case on Topix!

3. Kyron Horman. Kyron's step mom is shady as fuck and lies, but when did she have time to kill him? When did she have time to get rid of his body? Is she that smart to get away with this crime? If so, she is stone cold evil. I'm dying to know what others think of this case.

4. Madeline McCann. I feel like there are only two scenarios. Her parents accidentally killed her and covered it up, or a stranger abducted her. I just can't decide! The cadaver dog evidence is compelling, but there are always experts that debunk that stuff.

5. Brandon Lawson. OMG THANK YOU MERANDA FOR REMINDING ME OF THIS ONE!!! The disappearance of Brandon Lawson is terrifying and mind boggling. I have no clue what happened. Read my post about this case. It has lots of resources for further reading, and you can listen to his 911 call!

If you have differing opinions on these cases, please share and tell me why! I am not interested in holding on to my opinion if there are facts you can present to show me I am wrong. I'm after the TRUTH and welcome new information!

Do you have thoughts on any of these cases?