Displaced Beachbums

Hope everyone enjoyed Halloween.

I especially liked it being on a Friday night. FG was able to have a friend sleep over after roaming the streets. Since FM made it home in time, he took FG and friends around the neighborhood for a sugar overload.

I stayed back and froze on the porch. I would have preferred to let the kids ring the doorbell ~ they need to work a little for the candy ~ but if the door bell kept ringing every few minutes, the dogs would get a little nervous. So out on the porch I sat. Wish I had some glühwine to keep me warm.

Last year, we had a lot of left over candy so, this year, I bought the same amount of mini-sized candy but gave out 2-3 at a time. Oops, not enough!! FG and her friend came home about the time I was getting to the end of the candy so I asked them for any of the candy they didn’t like and wouldn’t eat anyway.

Can I call it being green and recycling? 😉

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Because I bought a way too big Dalmatian Dog Costume when FG was two years old, she was a Dalmatian for three years in a row. It was the perfect outfit since it was warm enough to wear by itself and she looked adorable in it. We still kid her every year that we’re going to get the outfit out of storage so she can wear it again. 😉

It’s still my favorite Halloween outfit she’s ever worn. Do you have an all-time favorite costume either you or your kids have worn?

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Hard to believe FG’s school is having the first snow day of the school year. Last year, the first snowfall with accumulation wasn’t until 24 November. It snowed about 8 inches last night with more snow still falling today.

With FM out of town, my plan was not to bother with the driveway and just stay in watching movies but a neighbor was a good Samaritan and went to all the houses with “husbands out of town” and plowed the driveways. He’s due for some really good karma…

Speaking of wonderful neighbors, it’s nice to know my neighbor, Angie, so well that my calling her up and asking if she had two cups of Vodka didn’t shock or offend her. It’s not everyone you can call up and ask such a question. 😉

The reason for the Vodka request was we were making Black Cat Cosmos (the slushy ones in the bucket) for the costume coffee and I was a little shy of the amount needed. My co-host and I made stew in individual pumpkins and I did a remake of the delicious sweet potato cannelloni. For dessert, it was pumpkin cheesecake. I can honestly say no one left hungry!

Most of the outfits were medical, the women either wanted to be nurses, doctors, veterinarians, but we did have a “Miss America” outfit and she won the “prettiest” costume award. The scariest went to the wanna-be neurosurgeon. It would be frightful if the woman were any where near a scalpel.

Because I worked so hard getting ready for the party and didn’t have time to dress, I threw on a chef’s hat and “pretended” that’s what I wanted to be when I grew up. Isn’t that terrible. I feel bad being deceptive. I would make a lousy politician ~ too honest.

The snow should be gone in time for Halloween so it’s time to carve the pumpkins ~ certainly not something I expected to be doing on a snow day.

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Saturday was the state cheer competition and, although FG’s cheer team did a great routine, they did not advance to the Regional Competition. It was bittersweet for me ~ I wasn’t looking forward to more cheer practice (it’s everynight for two hours) nor the trip to Trenton for the regionals but I would have been happy to go had they advanced. She’s already talking about being on the team next year…

The trip to Albany was an easy 3.5 hour drive which is good to know should we want to go to a concert or show.  The trees through the countryside was glorious and actually made me want to stop and just enjoy the scenery. Fall is definitely the most beautiful time of the year here.

Speaking of fall, it’s been wonderful but I heard the weatherman say the “S” word today. Hopefully, the snow flurries will be in the higher elevations only. It certainly feels cold enough today for snow so I’m cozed up next to the fireplace and a mug of hot chocolate. I’m reading “Atlas Shrugged” so that’ll keep me occupied for awhile.

Next week, I’m hosting a costume party dinner for our unit “coffee” and the theme is “Come as what you wanted to be when you grew up” ~ what would you wear?

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It was a long day which started at 5:30 this morning but everything was worth it when the announcer yelled “First Place to ~ the Ft. Drum Mountaineers.” There was a stillness, a bit of shock, before the entire gym erupted in a huge roar. Don’t get me wrong, the girls were great and deserved first place BUT the Ft. Drum cheerleaders have not taken 1st place (nor 2nd or 3rd place) ever, so it was a shock to all to hear that Ft. Drum would advance to the state competition. The other teams were especially excited for these underdogs ~ I saw a lot of the other coaches run over to congratulate our coaches.

I have to admit, this cheerleading has taken a lot of time and effort on FG’s part and mine as well. She has to be at practice 4 nights a week for 2 hours each night. Thankfully, we have 3 other cheerleaders who live on our street so the parents carpool ~ I only have to drive once a week.

Unfortunately, FM’s parents were on a Fall Foilage bus tour and were only 40 minutes away last night but, because of a cheerleading get together, we couldn’t make it out to see them. FM is out of town so he missed his parents AND FG’s competition. Really bad timing.

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