Entry#6: Black Friday Shopping

 The holiday madness has begun. There is 18 days left until Thanksgiving and 18 days for Black Friday (Thursday) sales. Every year my husband and I say we will not be caught up in all the fuss with the new sales, but we cannot help it. Especially when our kids already gave us their Christmas list and every year, we tell the kids that we leave Thanksgiving festivities early because we go to the north pole. We actually go shopping while they stay with grandparents playing board games. However, this year with a sixteen-year-old and an eleven-year-old we will need to be more cleaver.

Usually the sales consist of Thursday and Friday sales, some stores call these sales “Doorbusters”.  This year most stores including Target, Walmart, and Best Buy will start their sales at 5pm Thanksgiving Day. I know! Talk about interrupting family time. However, I plan on completing most of my Christmas shopping so my kids will be fine without us for a couple of hours.

Some adds are already posted online, click on the following link to check them out: https://blackfriday.com/ads/black-friday

If you are planning on part taking in this eventful activity, I suggest having a game plan. Below is game plan my husband and follow every year for the past 13 years.

• First step is look through the store ads and select the items you would like to purchase.
• Sometimes you might have multiple store ads you want to purchase items from.
• Second step is to gather your crew or squad (what kids are calling it nowadays) and decide which stores you will need to go to first based on items, time sales start, and locations on GPS. 
• Your team can consist of siblings, in-laws, cousins, friends, older niece and nephews.
• Third step is to decide roles for everyone on the team (I know we do not play 😊).
• One team will oversee video games, another electronics, another toys, and another some sorts of clothing for the kids. Someone on the team may want a big screen TV (there is always someone every year) that person will be responsible for getting their own TV. 
• Fourth step is to regroup to review everyone understands their own responsibilities.
• Fifth step is on that night if another sale does not start until 12am or 5am on Friday, come back home to recharge and nap if needed.

If  you do not plan on going shopping and decide to wait until Friday morning, remember to look through the return carts because chances are someone decided not to purchase something while in line. I see it all the time, and with that we wish you "Happy Shopping"! 

Entry#5: Ducey's Educating Arizona Goal

Governor Dough Ducey’s new goal initiative "Achieve60AZ" is proposed to encourage working aged adults in Arizona to attend college, by increasing the amount of college graduates from 42% to 60% by 2023. Governor Ducey plans on achieving this goal by working with employers to identify skills needed for job duties, encouraging high school graduates to continue education because a high school diploma for most companies will no longer suffice, and by staggering achievement gaps in low income families. 

As a current aged working Arizonan and head of house hold working towards achieving a college degree, "Arizona60AZ” is an initiative needed to encourage other employees to follow a successful career path. As a middle class employee, I am concerned that the funds for this program where not disclosed and according to this initiative the goal is to address achievement gabs that exist with low income families. How will this initiative apply to other working Arizona's trying to further their education? Governor Ducey failed to disclose this information and its concerning that taxes will raise in Arizona for the middle class to support the funds for this new goal.

As a student I feel that having the support from the governor is a tremendous opportunity to be successful in college, especially with the already approved $38 million for universities.  

Achieve60AZ: By the numbers

60 percent

The effort's goal: That 60 percent of Arizonans would have a college degree or certificate by 2030.

42 percent

Percent of Arizonans now with a college degree or certificate.

30

Number of states that have set similar college-degree goals.

2 out of 3

Number of Arizona jobs by 2020 that are expected to require education beyond high school.

Entry#4- What's up in November

Phew! October came and went and now we are in November. Where has the time gone? I had so much going on in the month of October that before I realized we were carving pumpkins. Which means it is time to start thinking about Thanksgiving and shopping. 

The kids are already getting their Christmas lists together because we have already received about two or three toy booklets in the mail. One from Amazon, one from Best Buy, and another from Costco. Yes, you guessed it! Advertisements for annual black Friday sales have already began. Which means, get ready to empty your pockets and piggy banks, just kidding. We will talk more about this in later blogs.

Every year it seems as though stores are starting their sales earlier and hosting Thanksgiving dinner can get a little overwhelming. However, the Holidays do not have to be stressful or expensive, if everyone in the family pitches in. Just remember there are many tips on the internet on how to successfully host Thanksgiving dinner, get organized, and how to have fun while hosting.

Whether its your first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner or now part of your yearly family tradition, it is always a great idea to start planning for the evening in the beginning of the month. Just like my children starting their Christmas list a month early, starting with a check list of items needed for the holiday and buying some non-perishable foods can help alleviate some stress.

Check out this Life in the Kitchen blog found called "12 Essentials to Know When Hosting Thanksgiving For the First Time." https://www.thekitchn.com/12-essentials-to-know-before-hosting-thanksgiving-for-the-first-time-reader-intelligence-report-212661

Entry#3: News networks

News broadcast tend to focus its viewers attention on one particular subject and distract viewers from other suppressing news. Last week fox news focused on the fires in California. Do not misunderstand my blog, I am not saying that informing the public on this tragic event in California is not important, but does the media need to focus almost all morning news on this one subject, when there are many other tragedies, horrific events around the world, and changes in Washington occurring within congress the road to presidential impeachment. 

According to a recent article published in opinions by Andy Puzder from fox news, experts keep getting the end of "Trump recession" wrong and instead the economic expansion will continue to grow well over years to come. The report also states that over the past two months jobs have increased with about 128,000 jobs confirmed by Bureau of Labor in October. Shortly after Puzder indicates on his report that democrats are still pursing impeachment, even though President Trump has done nothing wrong. For the everyday reader this article may seem as though it is focused on the economic changes and unemployment rates, but it actually focuses on proving that Trump has made all these changes to the economy and Democrats are focused on pursuing impeachment. I would not consider this article to be a credible source do to the fact that it is obvious this author is bias and in favor of President Trump.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/andy-puzder-left-gets-trump-economy-wrong-again-and-the-reason-is  

Entry#2. Halloween! Magical Time of Year

The Month of October can be as magical as Christmas time! Okay, maybe not as magical but it does not mean spending time with your kids or significant other is not as much fun.

I love that our kids enjoy watching our favorite movies from when we were kids in the late 80's and 90's. From "Ghostbusters" to "Hocus Pocus", our family movie time in the month of October is filled with spooky and great movies for the whole family. There are so many great movies for every age, here is a great Youtube video that provides top 10 Halloween movies and brief summary of each movie. https://youtu.be/uG2v7T_hZl0   

For those that rather go out and enjoy these festivities with their loved ones. There are a lot of local farmers that have corn mazes, pumpkin patches, and hayrides available for the whole month even through November. There are also some local hunted corn mazes, for those that have not been traumatized by "Jeepers Creepers". Be sure to look for local news, go to local news website, and or Facebook pages for details of local farms.

Entry#1. Halloween Blogs

First time I heard of blogging when introduced in English 102,  I could not help but think they are time consuming 😉 and did not understand the point of needing a blog for class. However, after reviewing different types of blogs I like the idea of conveniently sharing thoughts and ideas on so many topics. Also like the ability to incorporate content within the blogs to personalize and make it more relatable. With the holidays and festivities around the corner, blogs are great opportunity to share ideas, examples, and recommendations.

Talking about festivities, before Halloween Season 🎃 ends be sure to check out Josh Ocampo's "Watch These Horror Movies if you Hate Gore", this blog includes a brief summary of the movies and why they would be a perfect flick to watch during these spooky nights. His list of horror movies include classics such as "Night of the Living dead" from 1968, to the adorable fuzzy "Gremlins" and some of these movies can be enjoyed with a partner, alone or even with your family. Click on link to view: https://lifehacker.com/watch-these-horror-movies-if-you-hate-gore-1839354134

DO NOT forget to review some tips and ticks to help you make this Halloween a spooky one! Emily Price gives useful ideas in "Use Alexa to Up Your Halloween Game with Spooky Tunes, Screams, and More". However, I was hoping that she was able to incorporate more out-of-the box ideas when using Alexa. She does give an idea of using Spotify or Pandora to play spooky music is a great idea because it will play variety of songs. You can check out her blog on the following link: https://lifehacker.com/use-alexa-to-up-your-halloween-game-with-spooky-tunes-1839382246

These Tips and Tricks will scare your socks off! (See what I did there? "Scare your socks... Never mind😅) Joel Kahn not only demonstrates how to revive shriveled pumpkins, how to keep pests away, but also some other great ideas on "How to Preserve a Jack-O'-Lantern". Some of these helpful tips might actually be useful for other household ideas. Check out the link below: https://lifehacker.com/how-to-preserve-a-jack-o-lantern-1839323709

About me :)

Hola! My name is Lubia Arriaza, I was born in beautiful country called Guatemala. I came to this country when I was eight years old. That is when I met my parents for the first time. They had left me with my grandmother since I was one year of age and I was coming to a different country with complete strangers! I know talk about major therapy sessions, right?! 

I am 32 years old and I am a mother of three amazing children ages four, eleven, and sixteen. Yes! I know, I have a sixteen year old. She will attend GCC next year as a dual student.  

My hobbies include watching movies with my family and sleeping. Yes! sleeping is a hobby :) I think as a mother your hobbies became your kids interest and hobbies. However, I have learned to incorporate my interests with theirs. 

My focus of this blog is to include as much of my personality as possible and allowed within the writing assignments.