Spooks and spirits, ghosts and ghouls, leering pumpkins and enough candy flowing around to fill a dump truck. If you’re seeing any of these things in your neighborhood, it can only mean it’s time for everyone’s favorite scary holiday. Want to find out some unusual facts about this holiday that’s become the biggest commercial sales event this side of Christmas? Read on to find out.

• You just go to the door and ask for treats, right? Well, it didn’t used to be that easy. Back in the Middle Ages, it was customary to sing and dance for your Halloween goodies.
   
• Your haunted house might have some super-sized competition. Listed by Guinness World Records as the world’s longest haunted house, the Haunted Cave in Lewisburg, Ohio is 3,564 feet of spooky fun.
   
• It’s no secret people like candy corn. In fact, nearly 35 million pounds of it are produced each year.
   
• Writing Halloween poetry can be tricky sometimes, since there aren’t any words in the dictionary that directly rhyme with orange, the color of pumpkins.
   
• The first city in the U.S. to celebrate Halloween was Anoka, Minnesota in 1921.
   
• Halloween is about love. Really? Yep, traditions like apple bobbing were an important part of matchmaking in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, and women would often eat sweets before going to bed so they could dream of their future husband.
   
• Illinois, California, New York, and Ohio produce more than 100 million pounds of pumpkins each year.

So there you go. Have a safe and happy Halloween.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” 
                  ~ Anonymous

Chances are you may have heard a variation of this quote at some point. It speaks to the power we have to reinvent ourselves on a daily basis. In effect, it’s a 24-hour ‘reset’ button we can use to get things back on track. Here’s how to put that reset to use:

• The first thing to do is start with a vision of the future you want. Although you don’t know exactly how you’ll get there, you’ll need to have an idea of what the destination looks like. It’s not unlike writing down your goals or creating a five-year plan.
   
• Examine your relationships with other people. Like it or not, the company you keep is a reflection of you, and they will play a large role in how you see yourself. If you surround yourself with upbeat people, it will rub off on you.
   
• Break the bad habits you’ve acquired. Chances are they play a role in bringing you to the point where you’re looking to reinvent yourself.
   
• Update your environment by surrounding yourself with positive imagery. Brighten up a dreary work space. Change a cluttered workspace into a clean and efficient one, and you’ll notice a cleaner, more efficient you.

It might all sound daunting, but not if you break it into smaller, more manageable pieces. Select smaller goals and work on them, all the while moving towards completing the overall task.

Change isn’t always easy, but it’s definitely possible. Today is the first day of the rest of your life, so make it a great one.

If you take a look outside in the fall, you can’t help but be dazzled by the gorgeous array of colors on display. If you’re an artist, you may even want to capture some of that beauty on canvas. Why not take it a step further and use the genuine colors themselves? That’s right. We’re talking about leaf art.

The beauty of this type of art is that you don’t even have to be an actual artist. Nature already has everything you need to create stunning masterpieces of your very own. Here are just a few of the many ways leaves can be used to make gorgeous art:

If you’re looking for decorating ideas for your next fall party, why not turn the colors of fall into equally colorful confetti?

Canvases can be expensive, so save some money by using leaves. A little paint and you’re all set to create.

 If you prefer to work with the natural beauty of leaves, you can preserve them using this handy wax technique from Martha Stewart.

With a color photocopier and some imagination, you can also turn some of those beautiful leaves into great looking wall art.

You don’t have to stop with traditional art either. You can use leaves to make all sorts of things from picture frames to headbands to holiday decorations. There are limitless possibilities.

There is no sense in letting nature’s bounty go to waste, so get out there and start creating. For more inspiration, check out these great projects on Pinterest.

Has your day got you tied up in knots? Do you feel a frustrated scream building up inside you to the point you’re ready to burst? Does every little thing in your environment set your teeth on edge? If so, it’s a good indication you might be under a bit of stress.

The good news is that you’re not alone, and there are tons of great ways to help relieve stress. In fact, one of the best ways might also be the easiest. Take a good old-fashioned walk.

Spending time in the great outdoors is not only a way to blow off a little steam, but it’s proven to help reduce stress. A study by the University of Edinburgh found that people's stress levels are directly related to the amount of green space around them. A brisk walk can also boost feel-good endorphins in your body that help ward off stress and can alleviate mild depression.

Taking a walk also gets you away from the factors that are causing your stress. Whether it’s a noisy house or a busy office, stepping away gives your mind a chance to wander. You may be able to see the situation in a new light.

You can even take it a step further and choose a fun walking companion. It can not only give you the chance to have a little fun and share and joke or two, but it gives you a chance to talk out your problems.

So if you’ve already squeezed your stress ball into unrecognizable goo, take a walk and enjoy the world around you.

You’ve seen plenty of TV shows and movies where the main character experiences some sort of tragedy. Maybe they watch stoically as their home planet is destroyed, or shout curses to the sky as they face the loss of a close friend.

In our real lives, the reasons we grieve may not be as dramatic. It may be something as mundane as being fired from a job, seeing a pet pass away or moving. The reasons behind the grief don’t change how we feel.

Based on the work of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, psychologists generally recognize 5 Stages of Grief. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Though they often show themselves more subtly, the stages will generally look something like this:

Denial: That can’t be happening to me.

Anger: It’s an outrage that this is happening to me!

Bargaining: If you happen to get me of out this, I swear I’ll change my ways.

Depression: There’s nothing I can do to stop this from happening to me.

Acceptance: It happened, but it’s time to move on with my life.

Understanding the way we grieve can help you start to come to terms with it, but it’s only the beginning. Don’t hesitate to confide in a friend, family member or someone else you trust and if necessary take advantage of the services of a trained grief counselor. Grief may be short or long, profound or quiet, but it’s something we don’t have to face alone. For more information, you can visit Grief.com.

Have you been in the grocery store lately and stood in line behind someone who still has their trusty shopping list? It seems strangely old-fashioned these days, especially now that we have cell phones and gobs of information at our fingertips.

After we’ve checked out, we often notice that person in front of us had a lot more in their cart and seemed to pay less than we did. How did they manage it with a 1950’s-style list when we have more computing power in our back pocket than they had in the entire 20th century?

Making a list means making a plan. Taking time to sit down and make a list means you’re more likely to think through your potential purchases and focus on what you really need.

Making a list makes you take inventory. Got tuna? Eggs? Are you sure? If you’re creating a list, it’s far more likely you’ll check what you already have. You might be surprised what you have in the back corners of your pantry.

Making a list helps you resist impulse buying. These types of buys are the biggest reason our grocery bills get so bloated. Writing down that list means you’ve already thought through what you need, so it’s that much easier to ignore the siren call of that end cap display.

Lists aren’t just for grocery stores either. They can make life easier and cheaper for you no matter where you shop. So take a list with you next time and watch the savings add up.