Halloween hauntings

I felt somewhat conspicuous last night walking into our ward party dressed in my trusty Cruella DeVille costume. Our missionaries--from Samoa and Mongolia--seemed to get a kick out of my get-up and asked to have their picture taken with me. (Yes, the wig is extremely itchy!)

Upon Emily's suggestion, I tried to convince Mark to go as either Horace or Jasper (Cruella's dimwitted henchmen) but he didn't go for the idea, claiming no one would recognize who he was. I told him that no one recognizes him anyway.

I was pleased that, in addition to using my nearly ten-year-old Cruella costume, I was able to recycle several others as well. Sarah wore a cute witch outfit I made for Emily when she was in about 6th or 7th grade.

This picture was taken at her school class party on Friday:

And this photo was taken with her friends just before they left for an evening of trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Her other friends went for the scary makeup look. I'm glad that Sarah still likes to be the "pretty" witch.

A really cute little boy in my ward, Hyrum, wore the Batman costume I made for John when he was three years old. I can't believe John was ever that small! (Sorry for the blurry photo--I just wish you could see Hyrum with the Batman satin hood/mask on!)

Another friend in my ward borrowed one of the Elvis costumes I made for a Roadshow many years ago for her sixth-grade son Ramsey. He was a hit in white satin and gold sequins; sadly, I have no photo.

Thankfully I had costumes I could recycle for Halloween this year, as there is no way I could have sewn anything given the sweatshop production line I've got going in the basement. I've now finished 2 1/2 dance tops for Sarah's clogging team.


Only 18 1/2 to go. . . .

fruits of our labors

Guess which one is John's?

not what I expected

I had so many things on my Saturday To-Do List: laundry, ironing, alterations, organizing my scrapbook area, bathing Moosey, attending an open house--just to name a few. Sadly, it's after 9 p.m. and I am able to cross very little off of my lengthy list.

My day didn't get off to a great start, owing in great measure to the three small naps I had to call my night's rest. (Remember the slumber party? The furthest point on Judea's Plains wouldn't have been far enough away for me to have escaped last night.) By the time I managed to Smile-and-Nod the last girl out the door, it was already almost noon. Side note: after completing her weekly chores (with nary a complaint, btw) Sarah had a 5 hour nap--wish I could have done the same!

So in an effort to look at my glass as half-full instead of half-empty-and-how-will-I-ever-catch-up, here's a recap of my Saturday's highlights:

• Told Sarah and her friends at 5 a.m. this morning (and at 1, 2, and 3 a.m.) that No, they couldn't jump on the trampoline, and No, the movie "Scream" would not be appropriate for them to watch (one girl had seen it and said that "It's really not scary or bloody--it's just a guy in a creepy mask sneaking up and killing a bunch of people."


• Finished four of six minor alterations for a sister missionary who leaves for the MTC on Tuesday.


• Went to Penneys with my mom to redeem $10-off coupons; bought John some much-needed everyday shirts. Mom started her Christmas shopping.


• Went with John to an open house for Emily's friend Quanta who leaves for South Africa in less than two weeks. Got to see a few of Emily's friends and enjoyed talking with them.

• Came home to continue endless pile of laundry but, after urgent call from my mom stating that her large, 53-year-old chest freezer had quit working, left home for another couple of hours to buy dry ice at King Soopers and a new chest freezer at Lowe's.
• Put $20 of gas in my car for only $2.23 per gallon. Woo hoo!


• One redeeming point of the day: received fun care package from Charlotte and Emily (isn't it supposed to be the other way around?) filled with Halloween goodness for all! Thanks, girls--well-timed to sooth my frazzled soul.

Ah--the Sabbath awaits. Here's hoping for a much-needed day of rest.

sillent night . . . at least for the moment

Mark has been giving me grief (and perhaps rightly so) because I've already started listening to Christmas music. In my defense, I've only played it in my car, at work when I'm alone, and just once in the kitchen. Really.

Tonight, however, I'm wishing I had the spooky sounds CD from the Target dollar section that Emily told me about. Sarah is having a slumber party at our house with three of her friends. At present I'm enjoying a blissfully silent night, as they're all out trick-or-treating (their first time alone--sans parents) and we've only had three--make that four--groups come to our door.

In an effort to get the girls to eat something "healthy" (a.k.a. non-sugar) before leaving, I made what I thought would be very cute Mummy Dogs that I saw in a magazine. Hmm. I'm reminded of some Martha Stewart bug cupcakes that Jessie made for Bella's birthday one year. Somehow they didn't quite look as good as they did in the picture. Their faces were a bit bulbous, and the cheese bubbled out, resulting in a sort of tumorous effect. They're scary, all right!

At least the paperware was really cute! Target, of course.

I was happy with the way Sarah's costume turned out, but am partially blaming it for my lack of blogging this week. She was a fairytale princess in deep midnight blue satin. My friend Linda gave me the fabric several years ago, so I only had to buy trim and a 99 cent pattern! Sarah also got to wear it to a ward Halloween party last night at church.


So for now, I'm enjoying the silent night. Once they return to sort their loot, play games, watch movies, and giggle into the night, I will likely wish I was away in a manger somewhere, or far, far, away on Judea's Plains. And by tomorrow morning, after I've fed them all breakfast and their parents come to pick them up, you'll be hearing Joy to the World! (Maybe then I'll have time to catch up on a few other posts that have been floating around in my head.)