A Nash Halloween Bash

Images from last night's

Halloween Party,

hosted by our friend's,

The Incredibles.

So many creative costumes,

here are some favorites.

Alice and the Mad Hatter.

The Border Patrol Agent.

She captured this Mexican selling his wares.

Vikings.

A Hippie.

The "Chick" Magnet and His "Hot Chick."

The Cardinal and his She-Devil.

Minnie

KISS

Mr. & Mrs. Dracula,

and their little lady bug.

This Sparton Cheerleader,

not pictured,

Mr. Sparton Cheerleader.

Pastor Castor and his Naughty Nun.

and

The Biker Couple.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A New Addition

Take a look at this little beauty I recently purchased.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her

and with a little encouragement from The Canadian, I brought her home.

Sure, she's cute,

but when I saw THIS gorgeous transformation at Just a Girl

I was inspired.

Now, she looks like this.

It's amazing what some primer, paint and a little patience will do.

She's found her spot by the pool table and popcorn machine

and has been gussied up for Halloween.

The chic decor is from the dollar store and Goodwill.

I love these glasses.

They're very Spookyhollowish,

don't you think?

Everybody has to have a Jar 'O Skulls hanging around.

Worms,

gotta have worms.

My personal favorite,

Booger Juice.

Mmmmm, now you're talkin'.

It's not just for Halloween anymore.

Tasty eyeballs.

Pop one of these in your mouth

and say "ah."

BAM!

Dollar store.

I've got big plans for her for the holidays

but when those pass,

I'm going to send my kids in a sugar frenzy.

Picture gumballs,

licorice,

and lollipops in glass jars.

Glass sundae cups too.

Plain ole fun stuff.

Lucky for me,

2 out of 3 of my kids are not candy eaters.

Here's one last look.

Another view.

I don't want any comments

coming my way about this broom,

or else I'll cast an evil spell.

I know you were thinking about it.

A Sharp(ie) Lampshade

Do you have an old lampshade that needs some sprucing up?

Maybe your lampshade has some splotches,

some little finger prints?

Unidentifiable grime?

Am I getting too personal here?

Too intrusive?

I just want to tell you that you are not alone,

I share your pain,

your embarrassment.

We can work through this together.

Let me show you my lampshade.

Lamp is fine.

Lampshade has seen better days.

But, with some counseling

and a Sharpie,

I worked it out.

You can too.

Grab your Sharpie,

transform yourself and your lampshade today.

I grabbed the bird image from the Internet,

but if you are artistically inclined,

by all means go free hand, baby.

I printed out the image,

enlarged it on my copier,

taped it behind the lampshade,

turned the light on

and traced the image.

Once I had the image traced,

I removed the shade from the lamp and filled the rest in with my Sharpie.

It was as easy as that.

I have some other lampshades hanging around the house that are not being used and was thinking about doing this:

Wouldn't that be cute for the fall season?

Or these for Halloween?

The possibilities are endless.

Maybe this for your teen,

Upgrade that lampshade.

You can do it.

There are a whole slew of colors to choose from.

Don't even get me started on that.

Possible ideas:

Happy Birthday Month.

I (heart) Popcorn.

Boo!

EEK!

Latinas are Beautiful.

Welcome,

Ladies of L.R.C.

Go forth and be creative!

A Note to Self

Dearest Self,

When you've had a long day,

your tired

and yet,

you still have one more thing to do.

And that one more thing to do is

to take your youngest

to hockey practice.

Please commit

the following hockey game images

to memory.

The hockey player.

Even this picture of,

the ripple effect.

Keep in mind,

this spectacular puck handling,

which leads to the wind up,

the shot,

and the score.

Celebratory routine.

100% guaranteed.

Self,

Keep these images in mind.

Clear out the grumbling thoughts of

"why,

why did we start this all over again",

out of your mind and keep on.

All other grumbling thoughts?

Those can continue until further notice.

Signed,

Your conscience

(yes, you do have one.)

A Halloween Treat

Carley picked this out the other day at

Michaels Craft Store.

You use candy melts to cover Oreo Cookies.

I melted the candies and she did everything else.

So easy.

She loved them and they came out great.

White spiders.

Orange spiders.

Orange skulls.

Her and her brother are digging them.

Of course they are,

they're loaded with sugar.

Don't let the sugar thing get to you.

I say,

go ahead and make them.

You can put them in a little treat bag

and give them to a certain teacher for some major sucking up.

Not that I advocate that type of behavior.

(maybe)

Or,

Present them to someone really special,

like my daughter did to me,

her mother,

the current reigning,

Ms. October.

Stimulating the Mexican Economy

On a recent trip to Mexico with some of the gals from my LRC Martini club,

we ate,

we danced,

we became gymnasts, and we played Left, Right, Center.

That was the first night.

Oh, and squeeze in there,

visits from Security.

On day two of our little adventure, we made our way to the pool.

(In single line formation, of course.)

Then,

(quoting our leader, Sheila,)

we did our part to

"stimulate the Mexican economy."

Tammy,

made a beeline for the

Peso Day Spa.

Where every customer has

a say so.

Yep, there, I said it.

Can you come up with something better?

I didn't think so.

She had to get the kinks out from those

power jumps the night before.

Suzanne bartered with the locals...

and walked away with "Conchita"

the tortuga.

I came away with a toe ring.

Jorge's reputation was on the line,

so he resized it.

Just right.

Customer service is #1,

with this guy.

Sheila tried on some sombreros...

but found what she was looking for,

when the "designer" sunglass vendor came along.

Where, once again,

customer service is #1.

Sheila was joined by the master of bartering,

Michelle.

"How much?"

"How much for two?"

"Oh no."

"Too much."

I did say master.

There was a lot of activity on the beach that day.

Popsicles...

Horseback rides...

and this man with a wheelbarrow.

He sells mangoes by the seashore.

See Sheila.

See Shawn.

(Forgive me, it's late, I'm alone, tired.)

He carves them up, nice and pretty and they are de-lish.

You cannot go to Mexico without purchasing a straw bag.

Everyone knows that.

Don't even think about coming home without a bag.

It's like a nut without a bolt.

A beginning without an ending.

Shannon,

the Comeback Canadian by way of Cleveland,

spied herself some bags.

Some very pretty bags.

Decisions.

Decisions.

She grabbed a couple and walked around to get a feel for them,

as every savvy shopper should.

"How do I look ladies?"

"Which one?"

"This one?"

"Are you sure?"

(Just buy the bag already.)

Yes.

"Thank you bery much."

Another happy customer.

She is, really.

I received this little plaque for my birthday,

which says,

I'd like to add to that if I may.

Whoever said,

"Money can't buy happiness

doesn't know where to shop

and hasn't been to Mexico."

Amen.