The Gauntlet Continues... Into The Holiday Abyss

Guajalote! (pronounced Wa-ha-low-tay.)

Well hello November. Cooler weather? Check. Thoughts of turkey dinner, and pumpkin pie? Check. Christmas shopping, and my Hubby's birthday? Sorta check, and kinda check. October was busy, but it flew by in a blur of parties, illnesses, and Halloween candy. Now I have November to tackle. I will actually have around 2 weeks of down time this month, so I will try to fill it with crafting and present shopping for next month. Where we thought we may be going out of the state for a visit to family, ticket prices thwarted that idea. Honestly, shouldn't it be a crime to charge $1,300 for two people to fly on a super cramped plane with no meal. I would much rather our loved ones use the cash they were going to spend on our tickets for more important things like extra presents for my nephew and some industrial sized heaters for this winter season. I have a feeling they will need them! (if recent weather patterns are anything to go by) We will have to arrange something less expensive. I hate to disappoint my nephew for the second time this year, but I just don't think it is monetarily feasible. Who knows, maybe a Fristmas miracle will happen, and the hubby and I will be packing long johns for a trip soon. I wonder how cold it is up there during New Years?

Colder than a polar bears toe nails.

My husband and I have begun the breakdown process for Halloween in the house. I am debating on how soon I want to pull down the Christmas stuff. I think while we are in the attic we should pull down the tree and other items I use. I am going to be using a new color scheme on the tree, so I won't be needing the old ornaments. I like variety, and after 4 years of the same coppers golds and silvers, I am ready for something new. When I collect enough sets, I will just rotate them out. Our first tree started out red and silver, and then purple and silver. This year I have a more whimsical approach in mind.

This is my inspiration.

I do this for just us in the house, because we don't normally have a party for the Holly Jolly season. We leave that to my parents and my sister, who have Christmas Eve and Christmas day taken care of. I will have plenty of people over helping me in the kitchen for the usual seasonal baking extravaganza (hint-hint! I pay in cookies and other goodies) I am pretty sure that us making tamales is not on the schedule either. It was fun, but omg was it exhausting, and messy. Maybe this year I'll have my lady friends over for a cookie exchange and wrapping party... Dang it! Here I go having great ideas! I guess I am going to add another event to my list, because that sounds like fun. I am going to stop while I am ahead. Forward March!!! Left, right, left, right, left, right, left…

A Visit From The Flu Fairy

Who is that lurking behind the bushes?? Me!!

Happy Almost Halloween! I know that Tim Curry has had some pretty scary roles in his career, but step aside Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and hello Pennywise! I have never read It, nor have I seen the movie. But when I did a search for scary clowns, this picture seemed to be the most popular. I know why. The first time I laid eyes on it, I did two things. I recognized Mr.Curry, and shivered from the scary look on his face.

This is me, all happy and drinking a beer last Friday

This past weekend, my sister and I made a mad dash to Fredericksburg, TX for a bit of sister only bonding time, and shopping. The first night there was perfect. We had so much fun!  After a very large beer, we went for dinner, and went back to our adorable cottage for general talking, laughing, and movie watching. We had big plans for Saturday. Until... I became ill. The stomach flu my brother in law brought home, had finally reached me. All night long I was up sick, and every time I got up from the bed, my sister woke up, because she is a true light sleeper. By 9am, we knew our day was screwed, but I was going to attempt to do what we could. The Food and Wine Fest was off the table, so we went to Luckenbach, TX for some souvenirs. Afterwords, we headed back to Main Street in Fredericksburg, which is where all the action is, and decided to do some shopping. It was evident that we were miserable, and we weren't going to enjoy the rest of the trip. So we made a mad dash to get a few things for our nearest and dearests, and headed home to Corpus. What a downer. I am pretty sure, since it is my Brother in law's fault every one in our house got ill, so that he owes my sister and I at least a one night stay in a lovely little cottage in Fredericksburg.

This is basically what happened. Thanks Jon.

Well In 5 more days, we will be celebrating the scariest holiday of all! (next to Black Friday that is) Time for pumpkin carving and more spooky ghost stories! I hope you all have a special and spooktacular Haunted Holiday. If you know where I live, stop by for refreshments while you are out with the kiddos, and come see the Mad Lab!!

What Not To Do When You Invite Kids To A Party

The Party? It was successful. Cake! Food! Decorations! Punch! Yea, it  all worked out very well. Almost everyone dressed up, and not much food was left. Note to self: don't make so much non-alcoholic punch. (Only the kids drink that...) I was happy with the way everything turned out. I kept going till I couldn't move another inch, and thankfully was near our bed when that happened, because I literally passed out from exhaustion. It has been 2 whole days since the party, and I am still tired. I have never had a hangover from too much work. I think I would have felt better if it had been a hangover from alcohol. That way I could have at least made sense of it. Oh well, a long weekend in Fredericksburg weekend after next will help!

The Mad Lab

So the next big event is Halloween, and it looks like we are going to have quite a crowd helping us pass out candy. We can thank my husbands Mad Lab for that. It is so awesome this year! The extra touches really make the difference. We have plenty of pictures to share of the party, but this one seems to be my favorite for now. I don't think anyone got pictures of the food, but I was elated that everything went to plot! The biggest complements I received was from the Tasty Bat Wings. Most were put off by the black color, but the honey teriyaki flavor seemed to be a winner. As usual, the brain mold was eaten by a few brave souls. It is peach flavored, but looks almost too real. Gotta love it! The sleeper hit of the buffet table was the spider pizzas my Co-Birthday girl made. Recipe: http://www.heb.com/recipes/Pizza-Pillar/4534013 She just made them into spiders, and they went quick!

Score!!

It wasn't the stress of cooking that got to me this time. It was the details. For instance, I had kids coming to my party. But I didn't have anything for them. So I ran out and got stuff to make treat bags. But I also didn't have activities for the kids. Just candy. Kids + Candy = Hyper kids. Hyper kids + Boredom = Destroyed house. My super smart 6 year old nephew saved the day with asking me to turn on the Wii. Magically all 5 kids, no matter the age, played Mario Kart the rest of the night. Thank goodness! Next year, I have a better plan. Step 1: Have activity for kids to do. Step 2: Turn on game system so adults can enjoy adult time. Step 3: Give the kids candy bags on the way OUT!!

Party Favors For 2012

I had so much fun at the party. It was a blast, and I appreciate everyone coming and making it that way. But I had a serious party hang over, and it wasn't from drinking!! Sunday, I woke up and felt like I had done 1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila, FLOOR! When in reality, I had 2 drinks all evening. It took me 3 days to get over my exhaustion hangover. It is a sure sign I am getting older. Thankfully, I had few things to do other than enjoy one of my presents (Sims 3 for PC). I have spent the past few days in a cloud of tired. Just today I am feeling back to my perky old self. I guess I am finally showing my age. Gee, thanks 31!

This is what I think of aging. Take that, fact of life!

It's Getting Weally Weally Spooky In Here

I wish all my great ideas were cheaper. The creative flow apparently doesn't come with a price limit. Sigh. Just when a great idea strikes me, I realize having a fountain installed in the backyard would be a bit pricey, not to mention time consuming. The alternative would be to get a plaster statue and set it in a bucket with a airator pump. It would work, but it won't have the same effect I suppose. I guess I will have to wait another year.

Yay!

Sad. Just sad.

Bit by bit the house and the garage are coming together for the birthday / Halloween festivities. The menu needs to be finalized and my co-birthday girl needs an intro to our Karg party preparation process. Beebs and I both have projects that we are working on. Of course because you can't have the 20+ people that will be attending this shin-dig all crowded in the awesome garage, and the rest of the house be it's normal scary self! Starting today, no more mopping or doing the dishes. In a couple weeks, we should be looking mighty scary 'round here! As easy as that sounds the house would smell rather rank in a few days. I don't think I could handle that.

Just say no to stinky houses!

The family, as usual, will be chipping in and helping with all the details. Sister is making the cake, and Daddy is making a prop coffin. In the end everyone in our family will have leant a hand in some way, shape, or form. I always appreciate helping hands, and there is still so very much to do, and fewer days to do it in. Before we know it, the party will be upon us, and I and my never ending lists will be shweaty and exsausted. Is it almost time for the mini vacation?? Yes! In less than a month, my sister and I will be spending a long weekend doing girl stuff like shopping and drinking beer. Well okay, redneck girl stuff anyway. We are also pondering the possibility of skipping Thanksgiving with our mish-mosh clans and visiting our family in Rhode Island. It is in the possbilities column of our agendas, so lets keep our fingers crossed that I can actually get the Beebs to leave the state for the first time in 10 years. Well, the Mad Dr. Beebs is cracking the whip, and demanding that I add more spider web to the display. Back to the grind...