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New Halloween costumes for adults in 2011
If you're greeting customers at the checkout, roaming the aisles of a department store or just want to have a colorful day at the office, you'll probably dress up for Halloween. Needless to say, a Halloween party is the most important dress-up event of the year. Costume vendors are ready to provide an outfit that suits your mood, whether you want to be scary, funny, or look like you're from outer space. Licensed costumes are versions of a character, brand, TV show or movie. With most, you will see similarities to what the actors used in the movie. Although the costumes may not be an exact match, they are inspired by the movie and draw attention. By searching for costumes on the Internet, you can find virtually any costume from a movie or television show. Costume designers are offering characters from movies such as Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hellraiser, Clash of the Titans, Iron Man 2 and Avatar. Women might be partial to a pirate outfit with a short skirt. Halloweenexpress.com has Angry Birds outfits. You could also dress up as your favorite candy bar and other things you enjoy in your life. At frightcatalog.com guys have the choice of looking like Zorro or a vodka bottle. Girls might choose the Midnight Princess outfit. Some vendors offer coordinated costumes for a group of people. If you are going to a party with your kids, every member of the family could wear a crayon suit. For you and a couple of pals, including a girl, you could all have costumes and be characters from Batman or the latest pirate movie. |
Decorating for fall... fun to build a scarecrow: It's too late to celebrate Build a Scarecrow Day. That was July 5th, but it was for gardeners and farmers. That was also Workaholic's Day, so building a scarecrow gave those folks a break. Your fall scarecrow will be more festive. You can dress it in whatever outfit you like from formal on down, because it doesn't have to scare birds away. It can stand, sit, or lean, and it will be part of your Halloween and Thanksgiving decor. Decide if your work of art will be stuck into the ground or tied to a fence, drainpipe or whatever. If it goes into the ground, the main pole will be longer. * Cut a 10-foot stake or piece of bamboo into two pieces, one 6-foot piece (shorter if it won't go into the ground) and the other 3 or 4 feet long. * Place the smaller section across the 6-foot piece about 1 foot down from the top. Secure with wire or twine. * Put a shirt on the crosspiece and button it. Stuff it loosely with hay, dry leaves or rags. * Secure the stuffed gloves to the ends of the arms with a rubber band. Some people tie another small section onto the long stake to make a waist for the pants. Others just tuck in the stuffed shirt and secure the pants to the main stake with rope or twine. * Pull one leg of a pair of trousers onto the stake. The other leg hangs freely. (You could bend it at the "knee" to rest on a bale of hay or planter.) Stuff the pants with the same material as the shirt. * Make a head for your scarecrow by stuffing a pillowcase and using marker pens to make the face or gluing on buttons for the eyes. Make the mouth from yarn. * Tie the opening onto the stake with a rope. Add a hat for more interest. |
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Welcome to our Monthly Newsletter
Fall is definitely in the air and the holiday season is right around the corner.This time of year it is good to remember certain safety tips for your kids during Halloween such as: (1) know the route your kids are taking, (2) help them pick out a costume that is safe. Consider fire retardant material, big eye holes for masks and make sure the length of the costume is not too long. (3) serve your kids a meal before they go trick or treating. That way they won't be tempted to eat all the candy before coming home (4) make sure your kids know how to cross a highway. Teach your older kids to hold hands with younger family members when crossing a street.
Make Halloween a fun, safe and happy time for your kids and they'll carry on the tradition that you taught them to their own families some day!
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Online Banking
With Volunteer State Bank you can use your mouse to manage your finances. No more rushing to the bank before it closes. Holidays are no longer a problem.
Volunteer State Bank knows how busy most of our lifestyles have become, so we have designed VSB Online Banking to help simplify your life. Take a tour of our "Demo" online at www.volstatebank.com to see how easy it is to bank online.
With VSB Online Banking services there is no additional software to install. There is no confusing "Setup" program to run. It doesn't take up any space on your hard drive and all you need is an internet connection.
VSB Online Banking Features:
* View account balances
* View account history
* Transfer money between savings and checking
* Export history to personal finance software such as Quicken or MS Money
* Request stop payment
* Order checks
* View loan balances or make payments
Contact us for more information: 615-325-9257
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Conjure Up Clever Decorating on a Shoestring Budget
You can make memories as well as decorations this Halloween season, without breaking your budget. Halloween comes in right behind Christmas as the most popular holiday for yard decorations. A recent survey found that over 73 percent of Americans celebrate, spending a whopping $1.6 billion on decorations, $2.12 billion on costumes, $35 million on greeting cards and nearly $2 billion on Halloween candy. The average adult spends $44 on candy alone. To create your spooktacular display, first choose a theme. Ghost party, graveyard, haunted house are some easy, eerie themes. Ghost parties are particularly charming and inexpensive. You can create ghosts with simple sheets for the bodies and stuffing for the heads. Mount them on garden tools at different heights: tallest on the shovel; shortest on the garden fork. Then think of a story line to enlarge on: ghosts at tea, ghosts at a grave, ghosts carving pumpkins. Graveyard headstones can be more difficult to make, but search your house for items that might make a headstone. How about a Christmas wreath box turned upside down or lay out sheets or plastic in the shape of rectangles on the ground, then use old wood to make spooky crosses. Add carved pumpkins for light and extra spookiness. Don't forget to check out the internet for fantastic (and free) pumpkin carving patterns. For a hauntingly fantastic front porch, use your garden fall foliage intermixed with pumpkins, gourds, fall flowers and a few spooky props, such as a scarecrow, spider webs, and bats. Bats are easy if you look up patterns on the web. A scissors and some heavy paper is all you need. Use cotton batting, stuffing from an old pet bed or pillow to stretch for cobwebs. Construct a few weathered signs from old wood in your garage with Warning! or Wanted, Dead or Alive! or Open at Midnight! with the words written in "dripping" black or red paint. Use those rusted chains from your garage to drape over porch railings, and create a faceless monster to sit on the porch swing. |
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Summary of Columbus' Journal -
Columbus Day Marks the Discovery of the New World
Leaving the Spanish port of Palos in August of 1492, Christopher Columbus and his ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, sailed some 69 days in search of a land called the Indies.
By October 10, his fearful crew was near mutiny for the second time. He promised that if land was not sighted in two days, they would turn back.
In the evening of the following day, the crew of the Pinta signaled that it had spotted land. Admiral Columbus saw a light on the horizon but couldn't say for certain that it was on land.
The crew sang "Salve Regina," as was their custom each evening. It begins: Hail holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Columbus then promised rewards for the first person to see land in the distance. Everyone watched for it.
At 2 a.m. on October 12, land was confirmed at a distance of two leagues. Columbus ordered the three ships to stop. At daylight, they proceeded to an island, which he named San Salvador. They saw very green trees, good water and fruits of many kinds.
Columbus called his captains and crew members to the shore to witness that he now took possession of the island for the King and for the Queen of Spain.
The natives came to the beach and Columbus gave them red hats and beads. The natives gave gifts of parrots, cotton and other goods.
Columbus noted in his Journal that the natives, who wore no clothes, were handsome people.
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A Good Question: Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage?
Homeowners may dream of the day they can pay off the mortgage. Financial advisors across the country say they are hearing questions all the time about the wisdom of retiring the mortgage early. The pros * The obvious reason to do it: Paying off the home loan could save tens of thousands of dollars in interest during the time you would make payments. * The second reason is the peace of mind you have from owning your home free and clear. * Most experts recommend owning your home free and clear before you retire. * If you still have a higher interest mortgage, paying down your principle will make refinancing easier. The cons * Some financial needs should come first: Max out your 401(k) contributions. Pay off credit cards. Create a 6-month emergency cash fund. * Mortgages are cheap money. When you pay down your mortgage or pay more every month, you are probably hoping for those big dollar savings on interest. But remember these are future dollars and they will be worth less 20 years from now. Keep your higher value dollar today and pay the bank its lower value dollar in the future. * If you plan to move to another city or trade up or down, it's not wise to pay off the mortgage. You would tie up your money in a home you might not be able to sell very soon when you want to buy another one. * The mortgage interest tax deduction doesn't help everyone. If you are in a high tax bracket, it's more valuable. If you are retiring or in a lower tax bracket, it's not worth as much. * Check to see if the investment you could make with the payoff money would earn more interest than what you are presently paying on your home loan.Their conclusion The Money experts say that if paying off the mortgage would give you great satisfaction and a sense of security, go ahead and do it. |
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