I’m a little sad. Halloween is drawing to a close, and the number of ghosts and goblins to visit us was definitely down this year.

I think it was in part due to it being a Sunday, a day for church as well as the last night before another week of school. Plus, several locations did “trunk-or-treat” this year… something that is brilliant for parents, but stinks for those of us who wait all year to give out candy. We absolutely LOVE to do it, and this year we were left a little disappointed.

Oh don’t get me wrong, we had some great costumes come along! Adorable princesses and witches. Stormtroopers and soldiers. Almost all of them saying “Thank you” before walking away. I hope trick-or-treating never fully comes to an end. I don’t know that Halloween is necessarily my “favorite” holiday, but I do so look forward to it every year. Its just FUN!

Now we go into November. A busy month, again, for me. And it’ll probably pass even faster than October did!

I noticed this was my 51st week to do Weekly Winners, and my 51st week on Self Portrait Saturdays. 10 days to my birthday, and I plan to start another Project 365 on the day again. I took a year off and missed it. So time to start another one.

NaNoWriMo and my chapter of “And What Happens Then…” is coming up quick. Hubby’s birthday, Mom’s birthday, and Thanksgiving approaches as well. Turkey and dressing and family and football… oh my!

Ahhh… bring it on. There’s no stopping it anyway. Might as well embrace it and go with the flow…

Happy Halloween!!!

Little Red Riding Hood & The Big Bad Wolf

I wish I could remember more about costumes I wore as a child. I remember a clown one year. And another year, wearing pajamas with curlers and cold cream all over my face. There were various plastic masks. However, I really can’t remember now a timeline and full list of Halloween costumes.

Junior and high school were, of course, the years that, “I’m too old to dress up.” was said. In high school, I do remember one year donning a witch’s hat for a FHA party… and I also remember being given funny looks for it. In college, I vaguely remember giving our candy at my brother’s house wearing a top hat. Past that, though, I think I was just too busy.

But, fast forward to moving to Nashville:

My husband and I have both found Halloween to be one of our favorite holidays. Why? To be honest, for me, it goes right along with my last blog post: it’s a night to be a kid again and have some fun. Dress up in costumes and get together with friends. Poke fun at ourselves. Be something we’re not.

My first year here, I just wore my old flag uniform. Yes, it still fit… actually better than it did in high school! Everyone said I was a cheerleader. By the end of the night, I quit correcting them. The best part was getting hit on by high school age guys at a party. I couldn’t pay someone to hit on me in high school!

The next year I just put together an all-black outfit and went with something of a goth look. The next year a witch. Last year I bought a black wig to wear with my prom dress from senior year of high school. We’ve ended up being called “Mr. & Mrs. Creepy” from that.

Halloween costumes are so dang expensive, that we always try to make the most out of spending the least. This year, we did buy costumes, but went as cheap as we could find. Even so, I’m excited to dress up tonight and gather with friends. We’re going to be Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. I still need to go pick up a basket to carry as part of my costume.

It’s funny, though. In high school, we try to act so grown up. Now as a “grown up,” I just want to tell high school kids to stop trying to hard. Grow up and go with the flow… you’ll enjoy life a lot more if you do.

I just found a new twitter feed to follow. One that has had me laughing my butt off for the last ten minutes. FakeAPStylebook If you were a journalist, are a journalist or know anything about journalism, go follow it for some much needed laughter at yourself. And the AP. Which is perfectly acceptable.

Anyway, a post this afternoon sparked a memory for me:

My husband and I spent our first Halloween together in an apartment.  We had no idea if we’d get any trick-or-treaters, but just in case, on Halloween, we made a run to the store for candy.

We picked up a fairly large bag of mixed flavors of candy, and then we wandered around the store browsing. My husband remembered he needed new razor blades, so he grabbed those as well.

It wasn’t until we stood in line at the check-out that we realized we had bought that bad-guy combo: razor blades and candy. We literally half-wondered if anyone would raise an eyebrow at us as we checked out. Instead, no one was even remotely phased by it! My husband even pointed it out to the checker, and still she gave us a blank stare that said, “So?”

As we left, I still waited for security and cops to descend upon us. I waited for the questioning of why we would want to harm little children dressed up as goblins, princesses and purple dinosaurs.

But instead, there was nothing. I was half relieved, half alarmed. We could have been criminals in the making! Razor blades and Halloween candy! These are two things you shouldn’t be purchasing in tandem! Quick someone come and question me about my motives!

We climbed in our vehicle without anyone even giving us a second glance. We drove off with our bad combination in hand.

We didn’t have a single trick-or-treater that year. We gave a neighbor’s kids a bag of candy, and we left some pumpkins with candy in them outside a few other apartment doors. Our candy didn’t go to waste, and my husband was able to shave just fine. But still, every Halloween we laugh about our first shopping excursion and our accidental combination purchase. An amusing memory from our first year together.

As an aside, parents definitely have to be careful every Halloween, and I know I will be when its my turn to take my kids trick-or-treating. The thought of razor blades in candy makes me shudder, and I wonder why someone would do something so awful to someone so innocent. :(