HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

This isn't the best picture of the jack-o-lanterns my dad and I carved today, but it's the best I have right now. I just wanted to put something related to Halloween on here.

AND I wanted to say that I'm finally officially declaring Halloween as my favorite holiday. As a Christian, I feel a little guilty not saying that Christmas is. But I'm not sorry about it. Because I've gone over the reasons for Halloween in my head, and they're good ones.

• It's the closest holiday to my birthday.
• It's the closest holiday to Daylight Saving Time, which should probably be a holiday itself.
• After a long, long period in the calendar year of no national holidays, Halloween ushers in the winter holidays.
• Nowadays, it's pretty much a holiday devoted to the young and young at heart, which I think is great.
• It gives people a reason to dress up like their heroes, use their imaginations and creativity, and ask for candy.
• That last point is a good transition into this one. That is, Halloween gives people a reason to chow down on candy. You can pretty much eat tons of candy on Halloween, and no one will say, "Do you really think you should have that?" And even a week after Halloween, you can still munch on candy. All you have to say to yourself and others is, "Oh these things? They're Halloween leftovers!"
• Eventually (and inevitably), we all get a little sick of non-stop candy, and this is the perfect feeling to have going into Thanksgiving, when food is about as healthy as it gets.

Am I leaving anything out? If so, please write a comment.

Thing I'm thankful for: carving out those pumpkins today with dad. Okay, he did the cutting, but I did the cleaning -- pulling out seeds and pumpkin yuck is kinda fun for me. Anyway, it was fun. Thanks for the fun Sunday, dad!