my favorite halloween costume

a few years ago, when i was working at the grocery store and dating a certain man who lived on the ocean, i went to work as a bearded lady. 

it was a silly costume; not even a full beard but more of pretty goatee with braids, some fake tattoos, and a tiara.  i won a $15 gift card for 2nd place, and was feeling pretty good about myself.

what makes that costume so special though, is this: while the guy i was dating thought the costume was so-so, and didn't get why i thought it was so rad, the man i would end up marrying and his kids came into work that day and were the only people who laughed with me and told me how great my outfit was.  i remember seeing them walk in the front doors, turn toward the deli, and instantly light up with grins.  it sounds so insane, but they looked so happy to see me, so pleased, and i felt so glad that they got the joke. 

D and i would go out on our first date over a year after that day, but that still remains my favorite halloween costume.  the moral of my story is, even if you don't realize it, you might just run into your family in the strangest place, and have a funny story for later.

happy happy halloween!

i think just about any, and everyone, who went to a party this weekend in honor of the holiday felt like today was sort of an afterthought, but i got to give out candy to one lone trick-or-treater and so now i'm full of the holiday spirit! i guess i missed the other four or five kids that came by before i got home, but it made me happy to know my little pumpkin lured at least some kids to come on by for candy. i bought good candy too; not that cheap stuff you get when you trick-or-treat at the mall or the school. it was all m&m's, kit-kat's, snicker's and reese's peanut butter cups (as well as a few almond joys because i love those things).

speaking of candy, i totally carbo-laoded this halloween night! for dinner i had beer, goldfish crackers, and some candy. that's sort of balanced, right? sugar for the ups, alcohol for the downs, and candy for the sweet-sweet-goodness. that's totally balanced, and i dare you to argue otherwise.

i got a picture of tiernan looking crazy-cute in his bird costume, and i'm waiting on one of maggie in her bear costume. i do miss the kids on halloween, because as fun as it is for me, it's more fun with them. there't nothing like being reminded of the thrill of getting a whole candy bar in your sack, and thinking about how much fun it was to get dressed up (especially considering that 75% of the women's costumes i saw this year all the words "sexy," "naughty" or "skanky" involved in them, but that's a whole feminist rant i'll save for later). although being a grown-up means i get to have drinks on halloween and watch creepy television shows and movies tonights, and that's kind of nice too. reason number 45 while halloween is great for everyone: candy and beer!

happy halloween!

grim

this took a whole hour to carve this morning. before you get too excited, i used a stencil, and no, i'ts not my own design. honestly, i'm not great at thinking up things to carve on pumkins. this year i let someone else do the creative part, and i just did the carving. the results were totally worth it, though.

my roommate's say we don't get any trick or treaters, but maybe with a nice pumpkin out front and some decorations we will. there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood, i'm hoping to lure some over for treats. speaking of, i should go out and buy some, just in case. and maybe i'll pick up another pumpkin for carving. you know, just for good measure.

it's my birthday!

i slept most of yesterday away, what with being sort of a hungover mime. i managed to order a pizza, watch shaun of the dead, and read a little before going back to bed, but now it's 1 in the morning and i am awake. i really should have made myself stay up! i have a feeling later today i'm going to regret all the sleep.

the party i went to last night was ridiculously fun. it was huge! the drinks were free! they had even rented a bus to take people home at the end of the night so no one would have to get a taxi! there was a huge tent set up with a dj and a dance floor outside, lots of munchies, and everyone there was seriously dressed up. it was a great party. boy roommate's costume, as dog the bounty hunter, was a huge hit, and i got to wear my stripey tights, which made me happy. pictures over here, with more coming soon when i get a hold of my roommate's camera!

i should have at least tidied up my room yesterday. now i'm going to feel like doing it today, and the whole point of today was supposed to be birthday-and-fun related. i'm sure i can resist the siren pull of cleaning, but it might mean getting the hell out of the house to avoid it.

i have cupcakes in the oven even as i type this

i hope the alarm on the stove is loud enough to reach downstairs.

sewing with tulle is a bitch. sewing with netting, also a bitch. waiting until the last moment to finish my halloween costume? the biggest bitch of all! but in a fun way. you'll know all about my costume-y goodness tomorrow, when i wear the damn thing out and take a million photos of it. now that it's done, the outfit part is kind of boring, but the make-up part is going to be fun. i'm probably more excited about boy roommate's costume, which i finished tonight. he's going to be dog the bounty hunter! i found an awesome mullet wig, and made some of those leather and feather hair thingies for it. he's a big guy with a blonde beard to start with, all he needs are the shades, a black shirt, and he's already done. boys are so lucky.

i got my first birthday present yesterday and i opened it right away. i know, it's not my birthday, but in my own defense it was already half open when i got it. the post office in my neighborhood sucks ass! i opened it the rest of the way and found the new book by amy sedaris, i like you; hospitality under the influence. i would tell you it's great, but it's better than great. it's amazing, and funny and smart and i could hardly put it down once i had it in my hot little hands. what i love best about amy sedaris is that she's unashamed of her love of cooking and entertaining, and doing "happy homemaker" stuff; she's still exactly her own woman, who just happens to love cupcakes more than i do.

this afternoon i went to the post office to pick up the package my mom sent me for my birthday. i tried to not open it, but then i did. one of the women i work with actually said, "but it's not your birthday!" to which i replied, "i know, but i'm a grown-up and i want to open it now." what's the point in being this old if i have to wait? inside the box were treats to eat, a ridiculously cute bracelet that's an inside joke between mom and me, and two (two!) pairs of hand-knit socks. the socks are amazing, they fit my fat little feet perfect; one pair is a lovely purple, and one is a dark turquoise. plus, some squid-related goodies. you have to love that my mom encourages my love of squid. technically the package was also from my pop, but it had "mom" written all ove it. i have to say, the one thing that has never gotten old during this year in colorado is the great packages from my people. i don't know that anything else in the whole world makes me that happy.

"shiftless" should be my middle name

i didn't sleep until some time after 3 a.m. last night. then i slept in until noon, which sort of shot today in the foot. go me! i did get all of three things done; i bought a new small photo album for photos of baby, i put my paycheck in the mail, and i spent entirely too much money at old navy. i went in looking for more receiving blankets, instead found some cute pants for work, the cutest striped sweater i've never knit, a shiny girly shirt, and two shirts that do this things to my boobs where they look fabulous. a girl does not argue with that kind of shirt. i might have to go back and buy a few more, they're like magic boob shirts.

then i watched may on ifc, where i decided i love jeremy sisto. his face is strange and lovely all at once, and that's what i look for in just about anyone. everyone i know who's seen that movie has recommended it to me, but it's lower on my netflix list right now, since all my free time is taken up with battlestar galactica, buffy the vampire slayer, and arrested development. i missed the first fifteen minutes, but it's true, i loved it. it was weird and creepy and i liked may's outfits.

now i'm arguing with myself about going to bed at a reasonable time, because i'm not tired right now. i have to open tomorrow, which means 8:30 a.m., a time i'm not a huge fan of, but i can do it! i wish sleep carried over from day to day, because if that was the case, i got more than enough sleep yesterday to carry me through tomorrow. too bad sleep doesn't work that way. i'd sock some away in my sleep bank to use this weekend, too.

oh wait! i almost forgot to tell you that i painted that pumpkin for some work thing, and i started buying parts of my halloween costume tonight. i'm not going to tell you what i'm going to be, but i'm pretty excited. boy roommate knows of a party and i'm really looking forward to donning a costume and maybe kissing on some boy also wearing a costume. halloween is good for random make-outs, and i should know because before i put the moratorium on birthday fun, i used to hit every halloween party i knew of and milk both the holiday and my recent birthday.