HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Although I celebrated Halloween early, today IS the day and I cannot let it pass without wishing you all a Happy Halloween!!!

I thought this pic captured the spirit of Halloween pretty well, so here it is for your viewing pleasure:

I wish I had some of our old family Halloween pics. My mom was pretty good at getting in the spirit of things and making our costumes. I think home-made costumes are the best if you actually put effort into and try to a good job. Between my sister, my brother and I, I must admit, we had some kick ass costumes. I remember the discussion early on in the month as to what I would be and when it was decided, mom tackled the task with energy and creativity. I don't really ever remember her complaining about it. In fact it seemed as though she enjoyed it. In past years I've been:

- Pippy Longstocking - The braids went straight out. Special thanks to mom for the straightened coathanger shoved through my braids and over the top of my head to make the braids stand out. You can bet my head hurt at the end of the day.

- Punky Brewster - Really not that hard to do. Just threw my punkiest clothes together. However, mom did organize it all and did the makeup.

- A Clown - You'd think this would be a simple thing. But no, mom got creative. She took a pair of my dad's old pants and put wiring around it so they would stick out around me. They were kept up with suspenders and we painted an old shirt of my dad's as well. She did an awesome job on the makeup too. We did purchase the curly wig!

- The Bride of Frankenstein / Lily from the Munsters - Mom spray painted my hair black and did the white streaks up nice. People were a little confused for my dual costume (hows that for some spanglish!?).

- 60's Chick - My mom had this kick ass psychadelic dress. I did hair and make-up appropriately to match. It was a hit with the teachers at school.

- 70's Love Child - My mom also had some kick ass pants with this cute top to match. I actually wore these pants out clubbing (not for Halloween) on several occassions and always got lots of compliments on them. I unfortunately had to retire them. They were falling apart. :( RIP COOL PANTS!

- Ninja - I bought a traditional Ninja costume from the Martial Arts supply store. It was the bomb. My boyfriend and I were Ninja's together. We couldn't stop acting like Ninja's either. Dancing consisted of kicks and punches and jumps. LOL. I wish I had that shit on tape.

- Whatsherface from Flashdance - This is when value village and those stupid leg warmers my sister had really come in handy.

My sister's hit costumes were:

- Flapper Girl - Ok so she rented this one but it was pretty cool.

- Angel - Mom did the entire thing. She did look like one....ha.

- Witch - She made her very own paper mache witches hat and mom threw the rest together. I think it was probably her favorite thing to be.

- Little Girl - She went to school all cutsie with pigtails and her teddy bear and sucked on her thumb the whole day.

- Snow Shoveler - When it was my sisters turn to take me out trick-or-treating, she would always, say to me, "Ask them for extra for your big sister". I hated this but did it because if I didn't she would threaten me and make my life miserable. So I remember one time I asked and the people didn't just say, "Ok ...duh here". This woman asked her to come to the door and so I made her come to the door and when the lady asked her what she was, she said she was a snow shoveler. She had a big long dark coat on and gloves. In case you didn't know this already, that was what she wore every day. Since she wasn't carrying her shovel with her, the people gave her a hard time and didn't give her any candy and I thumbed my nose up at her. Served her right.

My brother's best costumes were:

- Mummy - My mom ripped up old sheets and wrapped him up in them. As the night went on he started to unravel. LOL.

- Bum - My brother put much effort into this one. He was convinced he could be the best bum ever. I think he even poured alochol on his clothes so he would stink like one.

- Julius Cesar - My parents owned an Italian restaurant back in the day and mom and dad dressed up in Roman garb. They mingled with the clientelle and it was a big hit. There is a photo of my dad holding his thumb out with it pointed down as if to say, "Kill him" and my brother has a pic exactly like it. Like father like son.

- Frankenstein Mask worn a million times - Whenever my brother took me out he did not just let me go get the candy by myself or ask me to ask for more candy for him. No, my brother worked hard and made me work hard too. My brother made me run as fast as I could to every damn house and he came right along with me. All he had on was that stupid Frankenstein mask but I tell you, everyone loved him! There were times when our bags were so full that we had to go home and drop off our stash and run out and get more. I remember those times fondly. Altho, I'm not sure how enjoyable it was as I was out of breathe the entire time. When we finally did get home, the negotiations began and you can bet that I always got ripped off. Lets not forget the firecracker selling and lighting off that took place along the way. My brother is a business man but may also be a pyromanic as the lighting of firecrackers and fireworks went into New Years.

Well, I think I've bored you enough but if you aren't going to do something for Halloween, at least go get yourself some candy and watch a spooky movie!

Ahhhh. The good 'ol days!

P.S. Mom, if you can, you should try and scan some pics of our Halloween costumes so I can post them!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN