It's Halloween, Matey!

The annual costume frivolities come to an end, once again. Harper was a pirate this year. Let's see if I can recall her brief costuming history: last year Eloise and previously a veterinarian, her own white teddy bear named Tess, a mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, and a 2-year-old beauty queen. I offer for your viewing pleasure a drawing Harper made in September of her costume plans, juxtaposed with the real thing, a photo taken earlier this evening before she tossed the belt, dropped the scarf, and broke the earring:



And one more shot, in which I'm not sure if she is a 7-year-old pirate or a 17-year-old fashion model...
The pirate and I headed on over to her friend Anthony's house for tricks and treats. Anthony's grandpa and dad took the kids out while the moms and grandmother enjoyed hot cider. It was so refreshing to hear kids exclaim "Cool" when presented with a tray of raisins and small toys instead of candy, which is the tradition with Anthony's folks. Harper, on the other hand, is a candy maven. You should see the obscene pile of it currently on our living room floor. Her dad offered her $10 for half of it, but no go. MUST HAVE CANDY!

All this sends me on a walk down memory lane, when Harper and I first began our tradition of trick-or-treating with friends in other neighborhoods, leaving Jay behind to man the candy stand. It was 2004, and he had just started blogging. Pop on over to his site, click on the 2004 entries, and scroll down a bit to the three Halloween posts - which appear in chronological reverse, so be sure to start at the "Halloween - 6:06 PM" entry and then read up through "Halloween Concluded." It's good for a chuckle.

Slopping Up the Bathroom

I refer you, simply, to my husband's post of 5 minutes ago.

Heaven and Hell

So Jay comes downstairs last night to report his conversation with Harper about heaven and the devil. She wants to know if there will be eating in heaven. Jay explains that the Bible talks about feasts and he supposes that in heaven we will get the best food ever. She says she figures her Grampa Bill is probably up there right now eating "ice cream combos." I don't know what that is, but Dad, hope you're enjoying them.

Then she asks Jay what the devil looks like. Jay says it's not like the Halloween costumes. He explains how Satan was a beautiful angel who decided to abandon God, and he tricks us into thinking he's ugly. Harper's response? She's apparently had this theory going for some time... that the devil actually looks like Mr. Noodle. Yup. Elmo's pantomiming pal, Mr. Noodle. Go figure.

Nothin' to Write About...?

I'm feeling jealous that so many of my blogging pals seem to have so much more than me to blog about. Charlotte always makes me laugh, and Rick gets me all political, and Todd's life musings are gold. So I guess I'll just react and ramble for a bit tonight.

No cooking blogs for now. I'm into quick and easy these days. Particularly frozen food from Trader Joe's. No one can provide a defrostable feast like Joe.

Politics... My husband and mother sure hate Barack Obama. So once a week I reconsider my vote but always end up back in his court. I don't think he's condescending (like Mom says). I think he's articulate and concerned and sincerely Christian. Maybe I'm getting duped - wouldn't be the first time. I also think his strategy of running "against Bush" was wise and totally fair play (that's Jay's gripe). We're in a 2-party system, much to my chagrin by the way, and the Democrat is trying to counter the last 8 years of Republican imperfections. Even so, I thought McCain's retort on that point (in the debate last week) was fair and funny. I like McCain, but I think his famous maverick-osity plays better as a senator. I see Obama as a hopeful, presidential figure. 'Nuff said about that. I could argue all my reasons, but we'd be bored to tears.

My students are awesome. They are learning. My sophomores are low level readers and terrible testers, and I'm trying to teach them some basic skills this year. They are actually appreciating it. We're speaking honestly about study habits, Bloom's Taxonomy, learning styles, etc, and laughing a lot along the way. I love my job. And they're blogging! Fun!

Harper has decided officially that she's an early riser. She got up at 5:30 this morning. Got dressed and put Scooby Doo in the DVD. Then she set out my breakfast: a bowl with a spoon in it, box of Cap'n Crunch beside the bowl, milk sitting out of the fridge for 2 hours waiting for me to pour it, and a piece of burnt-black toast with a scoop of cream cheese on top. Sweetest thing I've ever seen. She informed me that she ate a bag of cookies for breakfast. Our new rule, however, is that she cannot get up before at least one parent is awake.

What I'm reading: Book 3 in the Twilight series. I've gotta tell you that Edward gets on my nerves. An overprotective tease. But I was in the bookstore the other day and saw some of the new paperbacks with movie images on the cover, and that movie-version Edward is one hot little number. I might have to change my mind about him.

6 Quirky Things

Tagged by Rick... 6 Quirky things about me:

1) I like to run the bathwater extra slow - barely a trickle sometimes - so I can sit in my robe and read while the tub fills. I love the sound of running water. then I transfer to inside the tub and read some more, but there's always the pesky side effect of a moistened book. Outside the tub works better.
2) I started using ear plugs when I got married (you know, snoring... the #1 downside of sharing a bed). Now, I'm so addicted to the universe of soundlessness that I prefer earplugs even when I'm alone.
3) It occurs to me at this moment that I might have a bizarre sound/anti-sound fetish.
4) I sometimes fix apostrophe errors on public signage. "Sticklers unite!" (Quotation is from Eats, Shoots and Leaves, a hilarious must-read for apostrophe sticklers.)
5) I absolutely love to get up, eat breakfast, and then go back to bed. It feels so decadent. Tummy full, bladder empty, teeth brushed, and the sheets have had just enough time to get cool again. Aaahhhh....
And, finally... (after Rick noted that I had originally posted only 5 quirks... trying to get away with being relatively normal perhaps)
6) I am anal about arranging things in my living room. When I was single, I had 6 matching coasters which for some reason I preferred to align parallel to the edge of the coffee table. Not stacked up like normal people, but right in a line, like abstract art. Every time Jay would come over, he'd nudge one out of place. If I noticed the aberration, I was compelled to fix it. Of course, I didn't even know this was ocurring until after we were married and he revealed his little ploy. Freud would have a heydey.

Quotes

Harper announced her support for Senator McCain today. I asked her for her reasons, and boy she had 'em:
1) I sort of want to be different from you
2) McCain has been in the army, and that gives him experience.
3) His wife's name is Cindy, and I like the sound of that name.

I passed a church marquis yesterday which read:
The best vitamin for a Christian is to B1.

(That was almost too painful to type.)