The Eve of All Hallow's Eve !!!!

Hey there !

Well I have survived this day, one more to Go - the big one. I just got home a little while ago from having Jasmin do my hair. My hair kicks butt. It's a deep red with Black highlights. Roy say that he thinks it makes me look younger, but I think he's just trying to get in my pants. Sigh, he'll have to wait - I've got stuff to do for the next couple of days. (so does he, he,he)

This morning,( remember, when I was up early?) I was watching the news on TV. One of the local channels has a thing called "Spook Central" on their web page. It's a listing with a map of ll the Halloween events here in Kansas City. They list Haunted houses, parties, special events, pumpkin patches, and . . . must see decorations! I checked it out this evening and the only Must see decoration location listed is in KC, MO. So . . . I submitted our house and some photos for a contest. I wish I had known about this sooner, but I don't watch the news much. Anyway, all submissions have to be approved before they get posted, so I'm hoping that it gets listed before tomorrow Night. Next year, we will be trying to raise donations for local animal shelters, so I am definitely getting listed early. I've got all kinds of big plans for next year.

Okay, I've still got things to do before bed, so I better get moving. BY the Way, Happy Halloween to all my friends in Australia, and the U.K, and everyone on the other side of the world!!! Happy Haunting !!!!!!

Love ya,
Susan

Morning?

Hey there,

Good Morning!! Yup, that's right, I got up early today. No, that does not mean Noon! I went to bed last night at a reasonable hour, (11:30PM) and woke up (with the assistance of the alarm clock) at 7:30AM. I've got about a million things to accomplish today and tomorrow, so I figured I'd better post something before things get too crazy around here. (or at least, crazier) I've got a list of last minute details that need to be done, and an even longer list of BEYOND last minute things that have to be handled tomorrow.

So, I'm sitting here, checking my list twice, and my husband calls me with an urgent demand. He rattles off an 800 number, and tells me that, "as of today, cell numbers are being released for solicitation and I HAVE to call and have our cell phone numbers placed on a 'do not call' list. - NOW!'"

I say, "Uh . . . excuse me honey, but, what planet do you live on? That shit happened a LONG time ago. Have you ever gotten a solicitation call on your cell phone? No? Well then, I guess you can assume that I am on top of things. I'm really busy, gotta go, bye."

It' just so strange, the things that he thinks are urgently important sometimes. Actually, I haven't called and had our numbers put on a 'do not call list'. I have a very simple and effective method for dealing with phone solicitors. It's called, 'Click.' Or as my children like to call it, 'pressing the FU button.' I just can't imagine anyone being such a wuss that they are afraid to hang up on a total stranger who calls on YOUR cell phone! But then, when it comes to phones, my husband drives me crazy. Ever since the invention of Caller ID, he won't pick up the phone without first knowing who it is. And since my husband turned 40, he can't read the caller ID for shit. He picks up the phone, holds it at arms length, and turns it to the right, and to the left, and to the right again. Then after it has rung the maximum of four rings, and the voice mail has picked up, he answers it to find that there is no one there !!!!!! When I ask him who it was, he says, "I don't know." My feelings: who CARES who it is ! Just make the damn thing stop ringing !!! If it's someone that I don't want to talk to, I'll hang up on them. How hard is that ?! It's MY phone, they are invading MY home by calling, I don't HAVE to be polite.

Okay, I've got to get off my ass and do stuff. I will hopefully be back on friday night, or Saturday morning with a ton of cool photos to post of Halloween and our home haunt.

Gotta go,

Love y'all,

Susan

Halloween Movie List

Hi, It's me again.

I'm carefully pecking at the keyboard because I just did my nails and I don't want to screw them up. It's been ages since the last time I painted my nails ! I used to be so particular about them, but now . . .pffffft! I wouldn't even have done them this evening, if it weren't for Halloween. I am going to dress up like an early 1900's (very gothic) doctor's wife/assistant - who just happens to be dead. So, of course, my nails are black. I just wish that I hadn't broken them all off working on the asylum. I've always had very long, healthy nails, but that's another vanity that I just don't have much time for lately. Oh well.

I'm sitting here tonight watching "An American Werewolf in London." One of my all time favorite spooky movies. I watch a lot of horror films, all kinds, but some of my favorites are not what you would think. Nightmare on Elm street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th, were all fine - the FIRST time. I hate horror movie sequels, but somehow, I always get sucked into watching them. The ones I like best, well, most people probably wouldn't even call them horror movies. I like legends that send a chill down your spine, ones filled with fantasy and imagination, but still, somehow believable. (in as much as any movie can be.) Also, a little romance and humor is good even in a spooky movie. If I don't care about the characters, what do I care if they end up dead? Depravity, blood, guts and gore is only good for an initial shock effect, and after a while, it's boring. I'm not real impressed by all of it. It doesn't make a movie memorable. Some of my favorite Halloween movies are:
An American Werewolf in London,
Practical Magic,
The shinning,
Lost boys,
Interview with the Vampire,
The Exorcism of Emily Rose,
The Legend of sleepy Hollow (with Johnny Depp,)
Van Helsing,
Dracula (the one with Frank Langela,)
Frankenstein (with Robert De Niro as the monster)
Hell boy was okay,
Frighteners (with Michael J. Fox,)
Constantine (with Keneau Reeves,)
And I know it's silly, but I LOVE the Disney movie, Hocus Pocus. The one with Sarah Jessica Parker and Bette Middler? It's a movie that truly captures the spirit of what Halloween was like for me as a kid. When I think of Halloween, THAT'S what I imagine.

Oh Lord, I have to go now, It's 12:30 AM, and Pete is stirring up trouble with Princess. They're just like kids - and so predictable. If I don't go deal with him, he's going to end up getting his ass kicked by a girl -again. He MUST like it, he never seems to learn.

Good night,
Love,
Susan

Just waiting around

I have been informed that I haven't been blogging lately by my daughter. This is true. Mostly because, things have been a little dull around here. I've been dealing with a sick baby. My youngest daughter, Heather, has been dealing with an upper respiratory infection. I took her to the doctor today, and he started her on some antibiotics and cough syrup with codeine. (knocks her on her butt!!)

I'm really just kind of waiting around for Friday. (Halloween) I've finished up everything except the last minute details. Unfortunately, there are going to be more last minute things than I had planned. Friday is going to be hectic. Roy was off quite a bit last week for his back, and only ended up with 21 hours, so things like buying candy for the little goblins, won't happen until the day of Halloween. I've never waited that long, it will be interesting to see if there are more sales, or if there is just a lot of picked over, high priced, crap. I know that with everything that needs to be done, I won't have a lot of time to shop around.

I've also got to go get my hair done sometime this week. I haven't been to see Jasmin to get my hair done for a couple of months, and I REALLY need it! I told her that I wanted something "dramatic" for Halloween . She said that she had just the thing - I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with.

Right now, I'm a little worried about Nick and Jennifer. They went to Taco Bell and they've been gone quite a while. Taco Bell has a promotion that if someone steals a base during the world series (baseball) Then all you have to do, is walk in, mention the stolen base, and you get a free taco. Lots of people are hitting every Taco bell in town. Nick and Jennifer went to get a free taco, They said they would go to a different Taco Bell and bring one back for Heather and I; but at the last minute, they started talking about trying to pull some scam so that they don't have to drive "all over town". Sheesh, there are two Taco Bells on the same street here in Olathe!! How lazy. Hope they don't get into trouble . . . Well, they just got home, and I'll have to hear this story. Besides, I have to get off my butt and get dinner started.

Later folks,
Love,
Susan

I am SO evil.

Hey,

It's almost 4:00AM and I'm sitting here having a giggling fit. I've been taking advantage of the quiet this evening, and I've been working on one of my last Halloween props. It's a patient for the asylum. She's . . .uh . . . NOT hugely attractive. She's kind of elderly looking with a white curly wig and, of course, she's dead. I finished painting her head after Roy went to bed. Jake, and one of his best buddies, Patrick, and I, decided to name her Edna. Anyway, everyone has gone to bed and I was thinking of doing the same. As I was cleaning up, I was looking at Edna, and it suddenly occurred to me how hilarious it would be if I put Edna's head into bed with my husband, with her head on my pillow, facing his direction. I could make a little noise that might cause him to stir, and see if my husband screams like a little girl. Best of all, he has spent most of his day with Nick, watching crazy, twisted Rob Zombie Movies.

You know, about 17 years ago, I remember him playing a similar trick on Jasmin. She woke one Halloween morning to find a Bloody cow's leg bone in bed next to her. I wasn't home, But I can imagine the screams. Turn about would be fair play, don't you think? Oh my gosh, it would be so funny to see his reaction! However, there are a couple things that keep me from following through with my plan. 1.) My husband isn't 13 years old, and he just might have a heart attack. 2.) Everyone is asleep, and I don't have a video camera with night vision. Damn ! So . . . all I can do is sit here letting my imagination run wild, and giggle my ass off.

Oh well. I'm going to finish cleaning up and put myself to bed. Hopefully, I won't wake my hubby with my giggles.

Good night.

Love,

Susan

My daughter, the Hippie chick.

Thank God it's finally Friday. It's been a long, cold, and rainy week. My poor dogs are losing their tiny minds being stuck inside all day. All the dreariness is starting to drive me a bit buggy too. I just hope that it warms up a little next week, as promised; At least for a few more days, I hate the way that Autumn slips by so quickly, and winter drags on forever. I'm really not looking forward to walking the dogs in the snow and bitter cold. Unfortunately, there's nothing that my dogs love more than a fresh snowfall.

The cooler weather has brought the field mice back into our house. Angel managed to catch one last night. Now she's obsessed with finding the rest of them. She spends her evenings staring at the baseboards in the kitchen, just waiting for one of them to show so much as a whisker. I guess I'll have to get some traps, or she'll be totally insane by spring. Poor Angel, she was born to be a farm dog. She loves to work; tracking and hunting, herding and pulling a cart. Heather and I were talking about it this evening. We both agree that we need to find ourselves a big old farm house to move to - for Angel's sake, of course.


While Jake was at the school dance, Heather and I went to the thrift store to find a few things for our Halloween costumes. Heather is going to be a '60's hippie. She's so excited, she loves the whole idea of tie dye t-shirts and long flowing headbands. As soon as we got home, she ran to her room to try everything on. She is perfect for the part, it suits her. She still wants to get a pair of round wire rim glasses with colored lenses. (sort of an Ozzy Osbourne look.) She also wants to get a pair of platform boots. I keep telling her that platform boots were the '70's, not the'60's. I told her she needs go-go boots or sandals ! Besides, she'd probably kill herself running around at night in big 'ol platform boots. As I remember, it took a bit of practice to wear those things ! Between disco and platform shoes, orthopedic surgeons made a fortune off broken ankles in the '70's.

Well, it's getting late and I need to get myself off to bed. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Love,
Susan

Thinkin' out loud

Crazy day. Actually, yesterday has just sort of melded into today, and I just keep going. Since I finally got all the kids back to school and everyone else to work, I cleaned like a dervish yesterday, ALL day.

Then, at 9:30 PM, I found out that the night time temperatures were going to plummet, and that this weekend, our first hard frost is expected. So, tired or not, I got my men to help me move all my plants inside. My kitchen looked like a tropical rain forest. Every surface was covered by wet, drippy plants. All the counters, the kitchen island, even my eight foot kitchen table and twelve foot church bench ! My plan was to just leave them and deal with it all in the morning. But as I started looking at this weird, and overwhelming sight, I noticed how many plants had just gone wild over the past month, and desperately needed to be trimmed back. I should never have picked up the shears. Once I started clipping, in a matter of minutes, I had an absolute mountain of clippings that had to be put into water. By the time it was all said and done, it was almost 2:30 AM. So I figured, what the hell, might as well start finding places to put some of these plants . . . Before I knew it, Roy's alarm was going off at 4AM (for a 5 AM service call at Wendy's.) Nick was up at 4:30, the kids at 6:30 and 7:00 AM. I didn't get a chance to lay down and sleep until 8:30 AM.

I was back up at Noon, and busy cleaning up all the leaves, and plant debris. I could barely tell that I had spent all day yesterday cleaning house.

Nick had two court dates today, one in Lenexa, and one in Prairie Village. He got 6 months, unsupervised, probation in Lenexa, for driving with an open container; and a continuance (until Dec. 11th) on his Diversion revocation (for DUI.) Maybe I'm an idiot, but Nick's recent behavior has me feeling . . . hopeful ? I know that Nick is capable of maintaining sobriety for longer periods than three weeks, but the real surprise is that he has managed to stay sober NOW. Normally, the stress of upcoming court dates, and financial frustration, almost guarantee a drinking binge. I know that he's been worried about the possible consequences of court, and his new job only pays twice a month, so money has been a huge issue lately, but he's been handling it all pretty well. He's actually making a conscious effort to manage his stress, so that he can remain sober. I don't know if it has any thing to do with the ultimatums that he was given three weeks ago, or if he's just tired of the whole thing, but I believe he is sincerely working at staying sober - long term.

Last week, Roy told me that he thought that this was "it" for Nick. He said that something about Nick's words and actions made him believe that he was "done" with the whole addiction thing. At the time, I wasn't so sure. I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. As far as Roy's assessment, I actually felt suspicious that he was setting me up, trying to throw me off, redirect me, so that he could pull one of his famous not-so-pleasant surprises. I know, that sounds really paranoid, but after dealing with so much insanity and twisted thinking, it starts to affect MY thinking. It's like, I think I have to stay one step ahead of them. Not that it does any good to see it coming, probably because it makes it easier to feel smug and self righteous when I say " I told you so." How messed up is that?

Anyway, I digress. Today, I was just really impressed with the way Nick dealt with everything. He knew, both times that he went to court today, that going to jail was a real possibility. He certainly isn't acclimated to the idea of doing jail time. If anything, he' even more stressed by the idea than ever. I think that he has just finally reached the point where he is really determined to do things right. Maybe he's a little cocky about it . . . I over heard him talking to his lawyer today. He said, " I can go to RADAC and get a drug and alcohol evaluation, it doesn't matter what they recommend, I've already decided to stay clean and sober." I'm not sure that he has the "How" part completely figured out, but I think he has made a commitment to staying clean and sober. I think. I guess everything is subject to change. All I know is that this evening, as he was sitting and talking with Jennifer, there was just something in the way he looked and behaved that seemed more . . . mature?

It's funny, I've heard so many other mothers say, "oh gosh, they grow up so fast, wouldn't it be nice if they could just stay young forever?" I guess for some people, growing up is easy ? But when a person has to fight and struggle as hard as Nick has, every step towards growing up seems so much more precious, so amazing and wonderful.

A couple of weeks ago, I was working in the garage and just B.S.ing with Nick. Jake showed up with a couple of his friends from school. (two boys and a very pretty girl) They were just goofing around, skateboarding, helping a bit with the haunted house, but mostly just making asses of themselves. After they left, Nick started talking about how "cool" his little brother is; how much he wished that he could have been more like Jake; funny, confident, and popular. He said that growing up, Nick never felt like he fit in anywhere - that he still feels like he doesn't fit in. ( Nick really envies Jake) I have always felt that Nick was an exceptional person, with so many wonderful qualities. But as I thought about the things he was saying, I suddenly realised how he felt, and I felt so sad for him. I really wish that things could have been different for Nick. I often wonder what his life would be like today. I'm sure that he does too. I just hope that he has finally decided to let go of all the "what ifs" and move forward from here.

Well, I think that's enough rambling for now. I need to get my butt out of this chair and do something. I'm so glad that this day is over, that this week, is almost over. I've got a lot of little things to do tomorrow to finish up for Halloween. I should probably make a list so that I don't forget anything.

Good night.
Love,
Susan