So far it's been a pain in the you-know-what. First, I was missing a Halloween box that was filled with the stuff I needed to decorate the table with. I never did find the Halloween tablecloth, so I had to use a blah-boring one.
Then the entire time I'm outside, setting everything up as quickly as I could, I can hear the girls inside barking. Together, they were reaching unknown decibels which have never been known to man's ears before.
So here are the really lousy photos I managed to snap earlier in a rush. It should look really nice come sunset though.
Don't feel too sorry for Izzy in the above pic. It was a miracle I got a photo of her in her witch hat. She's making up for the humiliation by barking at trick-or-treaters and at myself every single time I go outside. She really is cute for a reason.
I didn't even try getting Wendy Kitty to wear the hat. I know the risk involved, and Mama didn't raise no idiot.
First off, I'd like to say that my thoughts go to all the people on the East Coast affected by Hurricane Sandy. Living on the Gulf Coast, we've had our share of tropical storms and hurricanes and I know from experience that the mayhem is not over after the hurricane leaves town. Thank God, we've never lost a home due to a hurricane but they can do some damage and the aftermaths I find to be more traumatic than the storm itself.
The hurricane which taught me that was Hurricane Ike a few years back. We were in the last 15% to get their electricity back. It took 2 weeks. Well, 15 days to be exact. It was no picnic, and even our animals were having a hard time of it. (Hurricane aftermaths around here are miserable because it's so hot and humid. It wouldn't have been so bad if the temps were cool).
All this coverage on Hurricane Sandy has made me look back on our own storms, particularly of Ike. Hurricane Ike did horrible damage in the Galveston areas. We were really lucky compared to them, as the hurricane itself didn't do much damage at our house. When we were without electricity for those 2 weeks (almost had to cancel our Disney trip), we heard on the radio just how bad it was there but it wasn't until I saw THESE photos of the devastation that I understood. The craziest photos I saw were later, of an alligator on the road and then a Texas longhorn wandering a debris-littered stretch of beach. People so often forget about the animals during these hurricanes.
There are a lot of amazing videos of Ike on YouTube, but here are just a few. (It's no secret that I'm a weather nut, so showing only these videos was a little difficult to manage. I'm pathetic that way).
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I hope to not experience another one anytime soon. As I said, around here it's the aftermath - having no air conditioning for weeks on end - that isn't fun. I know this sounds dramatic, but it really did feel like the world had forgotten us and that it would be several months before the electricity was turned back on. The information you hear on the radio, and then from word-of-mouth never matches up. What was so frustrating for us was that half of our neighborhood got their electricity back within a few days, while the other half - including us - had to wait 2 weeks.
So.... I know it's Halloween and it's supposed to be a fun day that brings back the nostalgia of being a kid again... and while you should still have a great holiday this evening, just please remember those on the East Coast who have lost everything.
I have to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my aunt!
That's right, being born on Halloween. How fun is that?! There are a lot of October birthdays in our family, many which share their birthdays. (For instance, my brother shares a birthday with his cousin. Of course, this sharing of birthdays in this family is common not only in October).
Did you hear the HUGE announcement last night? Thanks to $4.05 billion dollars (that makes my head spin) Disney now owns Lucasfilm, including Industrial Light and Magic, Skywalker Sound and Lucas Arts. They even own the Indiana Jones Franchise.
On the one hand, I'm shocked Lucas did this.
If you know his personality, hearing this news gives you a serious moment. Yet on the other hand, I'm not surprised seeing how Lucas's favorite place is Disney World and that over the years he and Disney have had a positive working relationship with The Hollywood Studios theme park.
But wait, there's more news to share. And to me it's GREAT! Yesterday morning, we lived in a world where there was no hope ever of there being any new Star Wars films, but now they've announced there will be a new Star Wars film released in 2014!!!! They plan on making Episodes 7, 8 and 9.
And SW naysayers, please don't whine to me about how much you hated the prequels. While they certainly weren't perfect, you have to remember that they are first and foremost meant to be campy children's/family movies, and a lot of people out there accept that and still enjoy them. I was... AM...still extremely PO-ed that Lucas took liberties in changing when Padme's death occurred. I still think this is inexcusable, but in the end no one can argue with the hard fact that this man has changed how movies are created. He's the mastermind behind all that technological advancement that we see in movies today. The man is a true innovator, just like Walt Disney, so I think him "selling out" as some folks are saying was actually a great idea.
And I've discovered that people - especially die hard Star Wars fans - are very unforgiving and critical of Lucas. I can understand being upset over certain things in the prequels, and of Lucas refusing to put the original trilogy on dvd before he made all those updates. (I'm in the same camp, by the way. In a lot of ways I actually prefer the original/unchanged trilogy.. especially the end of ROTJ. I hated how they changed the music and replaced Older Anakin with Young Anakin).
Thanks to Lucas selling his rights to Disney, however, maybe now we actually have some hope of those originals being released. I certainly hope they will. I can't imagine them being so ridiculous as to not, as clearly there's A LOT of money for them to make in doing so. The classic, diehard fans have been extremely vocal about this and I agree with them 1,000%!
And ahem.... remember how I mentioned people sharing birthdays in this family? Well, I don't share mine with anyone but I DO share it with the plaided one himself, George Lucas.
That's always been the only good thing about my birthday.
I'm going to have to take A LOT of photos of our decorations tonight. Halloween is a big deal around our house. People tell us that they come to our house every year just to see the decorations and take pictures in our yard.
They do the same at Christmas, but decorating for Halloween is the most fun!
We did get rid of a lot of our Halloween stuff last year, but I still think it's going to look great. There are a few things we wanted to add at the last minute - we seem to do this every year - but unfortunately the people that are supposed to be delivering our new mattress and box springs today are running late. We caught them in a lie about their delivery start time. They were SUPPOSED to be here from 8 - Noon.
I really despise when people think only their time is valuable and not their customer's. And this isn't free delivery either. They're being paid for a service which they aren't upholding on their end.
So folks... beware of having anything from SAMS Warehouse delivered. The head hancho my mother spoke to was very nice, and Mom said she could tell the guy was really upset, but their delivery people need a firm kick in the pants. Thanks to this particular experience - and one in the past which we've ignored - we're through with them. Even when the mattress was ordered at the store, the manager working the cashier first asked us to STAND IN LINE A SECOND TIME for him to ring up the order.
This was one l-o-n-g line, too. Thankfully, his brain registered that he was about to lose a sale because he rang it up himself anyway.
Boy have I rambled today, but in my defense I'm not feeling well and I'm stuck at the house waiting for the delivery guys to show not show up... when there are errands to run. So other than needing to run errands and not being able to, there's not much to do since last night was when I did the last of the re-organizing in my bedroom, the guest bedroom and my bathroom cabinets.
Although I am seriously thinking of putting up the Christmas Village early. We have people spending the night the day before Thanksgiving, and it takes such a long time to put up all our decorations. I can't have them here and NOT have our Christmas tree and village up. And our tree takes so long to decorate. We have so many ornaments, so our tree is always a popular spectacle around here. It's worth it in the end, but putting it up is such a chore. I think climbing Mount Everest without oxygen would be easier.
UPDATE:
After waiting longer than the 4 hour window, putting off errands, and having to keep the animals in one of the rooms with us so that they'll already be together once that doorbell rang and the breaking-the-sound-barrier-barking-fest began.... the delivery guys FINALLY arrived close to 2:30 in the afternoon. They take the box springs and mattress up the stairs (no set up involved with their fee), and they leave only for us to discover that they DELIVERED THE WRONG MATTRESS!
Ugh!!!! How could the people that load the truck do that? It isn't like SAMS has a lot of mattress brands to choose from. To my knowledge, they only have something like 2 or 3. Can they read English? Apparently, these people are exactly like our mailman that's always delivering the wrong mail. They're probably related.
It really is Halloween, because steam is coming out my ears and I can feel horns growing on my head.
And now for more Halloween goodies! I never did use all my Halloween-themed headers, so I guess I'm trying to make it up to myself through videos.
I hear that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is sold out for tonight. I wish I was there right now! Would you know I dreamed about Disney the other day? It was so simple, too. I was with my mother and brother, and at Aloha Isle I was trying the Pineapple Float instead of the Pineapple Dole Whip.
See? The rumors are right. Those drinks/ice cream alone are part of the whole Disney Experience. They really are that delicious!
And now I'm thinking of their cheese fries, too. Make it stop!
"Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch. He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world."
- Linus Van Pelt
Ya gotta love that Linus and his unwavering faith in The Great Pumpkin... and then Sally's faith in Linus. After all, she thinks he's the cutest thing and has the nicest sense of humor.
Of all the Peanuts characters, Linus is my favorite. (Next in line would be Sally and Peppermint Patty. And who doesn't love Snoopy?)
Since I posted a lot of Halloween photos the other day, from past Halloween's, I thought that would take care of my Halloween fix.
It didn't, so I am really excited about putting together our decorations for this year. Can you believe Halloween is THIS week? Halloween is also my aunt's birthday.
Anyway... ahem, I feel like I have to apologize beforehand because I'm sensing a theme here on my blog..... but I felt it appropriate to post various Disney Halloween videos. Yes, I said it for the millionth time. Disney. Disney, Disney, Disney.
That is to say, VINTAGE DISNEY... which everyone knows is the best kind. (Since today's Disney is heavily influenced by tweens with their Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers... or whoever it is that's popular these days).
Remember to pause the ipod in the sidebar!
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And what would Halloween be without The Great Pumpkin as well? I think Donald and Mickey can make room for more Linus and Co. in this entry. Besides, Halloween without The Great Pumpkin is like Christmas without The Grinch... Oreo Cookies without that tall glass of ice cold milk.... Timon without Pumbaa... Hakuna without the Matata.
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually wish I had a job for Wednesday/Halloween. Certain schools allow the staff and students to dress up in costumes, which is always fun. (Masks aren't allowed, of course). I can't get a job for that day though because that's the morning the new mattress for our guest bedroom is being delivered.
I'm really glad we're turning that room back into a bedroom. I'll have to post pictures of the changes around here soon, but not everything is 100% done yet. And I haven't even taken photos of the necklaces and card I made for Mom's birthday.
Only my FAVORITE Halloween flick EVER!
And of course I love this classic, too. Arsenic and Old Lace, with Cary Grant.
Well, I think I'm gonna either open more windows now or turn the AC back on. Our 3 full days of Fall weather is already leaving us. By Friday it's supposed to be nearing 90 degrees again. It was so nice chucking the sandals for a few days and wearing a light sweater. Goodness, it was wonderful!!! I even listened to my Christmas cd during those days. (You never know when it'll be cool again, so you have to cram a little Christmas into those days when it's below 70). I came close to thinking about putting up the Christmas tree or village, but I didn't since I had a lot of re-organizing and throwing away of stuff to do. That closet in the guest bedroom was overflowing with boxes of old stuff.
The weather today was absolutely gorgeous! Finally, finally, FINALLY it felt like a fall day. Before picking up some yummy Long John Silvers, we went to the antique gallery. I still can't believe it, but my mother got a fantastic deal on a dresser while there. It's very beautiful and Shabby Chic. It's going to go in the craft room, which we're also going to turn back into a guest bedroom. Mom bought a few more things, too, but I was disappointed to discover that they stopped selling their used books.
Honestly, to say I was disappointed is the understatement of the year. To discover that my beloved books - which is the first and pretty much only section I ever visited at the antique gallery - were no longer there felt like a punch in the gut. For quite a while I must have been walking around that place like a chicken with it's head cut off, since I was walking the entire gallery in hopes that they just moved the books section elsewhere. I just couldn't come to terms that my beloved library/happy place was gone.
By the way, this has been a running joke in my family lately. EVERY little thing I've shown a large interest in... whether it be coffee, crafts, food, etc... the store stops carrying it. This is not my imagination either. Ask anyone. It's just really strange and extremely aggravating.
Anyway... While there, right at the entrance I found something I'm going to buy if I ever win the lottery. It's a huge statue of a lion. I LOVE lions!
Would you believe it cost almost $8,000?! This lion is so ginormous that you could actually pretend to ride the darn thing.
In other news... the redecorating of my bedroom is pretty much done. All left to do is a little touch-up paint, to put up some molding or border, and eventually find a new rug. I think that for the time being I'm going to keep the curtains I currently have, and I'm not going to bother buying any new wall art.
Artwork: Jill Barklem / Brambly Hedge
Is the picture below not one of the most ADORABLE things you've ever seen? It's a picture my cousin took of her new baby boy. Her hubby carved the pumpkin himself.
They took a lot of different photos, and they're all just too precious! My cousin submitted one of the photos to a local tv station, and they aired it. Neat, huh?
