Good Eats...Spooky Style

This is my mom's annual Halloween family dinnershe hosts the Sunday before Halloween.
Isn't it magnificent?
Everything she does for it is downright spookily beautiful; from the tablecloth to the serving pieces to the witches cauldron ice bucket.
She is the hostess with the mostess And we are fortunate to be the beneficiaries.
Now see the picture of me?
See the sly smile on my face?
Why you ask?
Tonight was pumpkin carving night. My favorite tradition of the year.
But I will post about it tomorrow because it will be my
100th post!!!!
I am so excited that it turned out to be the pumpkins.
Isn't it great when life works out that way?

A Brief Intermission

No this is not a Halloween decoration.
Yes it is a nativity.
No I haven't lost my mind....yet.
This is just a brief intermission from my Halloween countdown
for my missionary mom network friends.
And they ARE my friends.
Although I wouldn't recognize them if I passed them on the streets,
We are friends in spirit.
Comrades in arms as it were..
Since we are the support system...the base station
For one of the greatest armies on the earth today.
Our stripling warrior sons.
Serving in Central America.
They wanted to see my nativity from Guatemala
And so here it is.
This one is colorful and makes me happy everytime I pass it and YES I have kept it up all year with my son's drumline picture behind it.
Just a little corner of my living room that reminds me about the piece of my heart that was carried to a beautiful and foreign land.
This particular set was hand painted each figure in a different regional outfit representing a different area of Guatemala.
Enjoy....
but it is back to the countdown for Halloween....
BOO!

Yummy Graveyard

So how cute is this??
My Mom found this in a magazine and had an itch to try her hand at it.
I guess the graveyard thing runs in the family.
She made the sheet cake and frosting
And I helped her with the decorations on top.
Not that she needed any help....
(We call her Martha Stewart Junior)
But all of the guys and Peanut went to the football game and it was just us two.
We had a fun evening talking, laughing and decorating.
I even showed her how to Skype.
And we produced this beauty of a cake.
What a great evening.
Who says I can't have my tombstone cake and eat it too.

Here lies......Mrs. Blaimeyer

My mother used to tell me a story about when she was a little girl. One of the things that they would do for entertainment was go to the local cemetery and try to scare up a ghost or two. They found the fanciest and largest head stone who just happened to be Mrs. Blaimeyer.
They would hold hands and circle the headstone and chant.

"Mrs. Blaimeyer....

Mrs. Blaimeyer.......

Come out Mrs. Blaimeyer."

(Remember that there was not TV or computers or video games.)
That story intrigued me as you can imagine and I never forgot it. When I went to that same graveyard to pay my respects to my Grandma, I made sure to look for Mrs. Blaimeyers headstone.
It did not disappoint.

My own grandparents grave did however. It was one that was just level with the ground. A small modest one with her name and birth and death date. I think that it was not even a choice for the family as they were buried in a section where it was more important to be able to run a mower over it. This did not seem right. My grandmother was one of my favorite people of all time. I would have liked to have seen something a little more grand. Something that would represent the spitfire pistol of a woman that she was. I would have like to have chosen something that let you know a little bit about the woman who was buried there. How much fun she was. How much she took a bite out of life when she was here. Maybe even a clever epitaph that would make someone smile...just like she used to make me smile.

I have instructed my family to not spend much on my casket. I really don't care how I am buried...but oh how I would like a nice headstone. Something unique or grand. Something that makes them want to circle and say my name out loud. It doesn't have to be a glowing tribute and I really do not want it to be sad. In fact if it made someone stop and look and read and smile....
now that would show Mrs. Blaimeyer.

P.S. Tomorrow some epitaphs and the "rich section" of Glenwood where the famous heart surgeon Denton Cooley will be buried. Not kidding he already has a very nice spot and the monument is already in place.

Howard Hughes...As Promised

I know you have been waiting for this all night.
Drum roll please............
Howard Hughes grave. I know what you are thinking...
As rich as he was....... this is it? Yup.
Obviously he was going for the understated.
But just so I don't disappoint
There are others in the cemetery who don't buy into the policy that less is more.
Stay tuned for a monument to die for.
Seriously.
(oh and some great ghost story photos)
P.S. The famous Howard is the one at the top of the photo. The one at the bottom is his father Howard Senior. I couldn't get closer since there was an iron fence blocking my access. His family plot is messy but in the Hughes defense we had just experienced Hurricane Ike so cut the family some slack. 

 

A Grave Appreciation

Here is a October-like confession,
I love to visit graveyards.
TMI?
Well it's true.
It has always been true.
I was a fearful fearful little child,
Always imagining that there was something under my bed,
Just waiting for me to set my feet down
or get too close to the edge....where it could
Grab my ankles and pull me under.
((Loud Shriek))
(How do you spell a yell?)
And yet,
And here is the weird part.
I wasn't afraid of cemeteries.
I can never remember being afraid of them.
On the contrary I would look for them
On long boring car rides.
We always drove way too fast by them for my liking.
So hence,
(don't you think we should bring back the word, "hence". I like the sound of it)
When I became the driver or at very least the copilot,
I would slow down or better yet, stop.
I have seen many cemeteries across the United States. Mostly with my patient kids in tow
So in the spirit of the season,
And with the greatest respect,
For the next few days,
I would like to share my thoughts, and cool photos
And maybe throw in a ghost story or two.
This is Glenwood Cemetery in downtown Houston.
It is where some famous Texans are buried,
Howard Hughes for one.
Admit it....
You want to see what his grave looks like?.....
Tune in tomorrow for those pics......

Pumpkin Fever!

We are serious about our pumpkin carving. I think I already told you that this is my favorite holiday.
Seriously. Carving Pumpkins is my favorite family tradition.
And I'm serious.
Every child is expected to produce an amazing pumpkin as soon as they are able to hold a knife
in their chubby little hands without being a danger to themselves or others.
And it's a serious competition. These are the results from the last eight years
and seriously
I think they speak for themselves.
When it comes to pumpkins...
We're loud and proud and
of course,
Serious!
BOO!

One Amazing Son

I only have one son.
But what that lacks in quantity is made up for in quality.
This was suppose to be the picture for the post that I had planned for his birthday in July.
I was a delinquent blogger this summer.
Then it was going to be the picture for the post that was all written in my head for his one year mark.
I was a baaaaad blogger. I have put myself in the bad blogger corner and repented of my lazy ways.
Because this son of mine And this picture is worth the effort.
This is an excerpt from his letter last week....
"The work of the Lord is going well here in Guatemala. There are a lot of gangsters and wickedness, but there is also an army of missionaries, fighting the evil in this world. I feel more than ever that I am making a difference in the world. I like that feeling."
Son, being your mother....I like that feeling. Happy Belated Birthday and Congratulations on a year well done. I miss you more than there are adequate words to express.
But you are making a difference in the world.
I like that feeling.
Nerent!

Mixed Emotions! Whoppee Sob Sob!

These are the pictures
Hot off the press...
or fresh from the darkroom I should say.
This was the very last homecoming for me.
Well technically it was my baby Peanut's last high school homecoming.
But let's get back to me.
Last "has to be perfect, but needs to be modest, but refuse to wear a shrug or a little jacket or sweater, but must have sleeves, are you sure I can't wear this one with thick spaghetti straps, oh you are right I don't want to feel guilty" dress.
Last pair of "will these make me taller than my date but gotta be hot" shoes.
Last styling of "how will I wear my hair, don't make it frizzy, why do I have curly hair, does it look ok" hairstyle
Last applying of "make it look natural, but make it look special, don't over do it, no not that color, make up.
Last shooting of "where can we go where the pictures will look good but not feel goofy, where everyone can meet and make sure you get some good one's for facebook" photos.
Last time waving and exclaiming have a good time....but BE SAFE! (ok well that really won't be the last time on that one.)
Last time going inside and collapsing on the couch amidst the "getting ready" clutter and looking at my husband and saying, "I hope she has a good time".
Am I going to miss it?
Um no, at least not for tonight.
Of course I could change my mind tomorrow.
It is a mother's prerogative.

23 Years Ago Today.....Oh baby!

Twenty three years ago from this very hour I felt my first labor pains.
Twenty three years ago exactly.
It was the middle of the night and it woke me up.
I didn't want to wake my husband because I wasn't sure.
And he had to get up early for work.
What did labor pains really feel like anyway?
I for one did not know
yet....
I laid awake for awhile just waiting
and feeling.
Anticipating.
This might just be the day I would meet my daughter.
I had thought a lot about what she would be like.
She would have dark hair and eyes like her father.
She would be tiny and quiet.
Demure.
Maybe even a little shy like her father.
I would cherish her.
The pains began to increase.
A little bit of panic set in.
Maybe I couldn't do this. This was already painful. Up until this moment I had never really felt great pain. Maybe I wasn't ready. I tried to lie there as long as I could but my fears got the best of me and I whispered to Mr. T, "I think this might be it."
It was.
It was my daughter.
No brown hair...blonde
No brown eyes....green
Not tiny...almost 8 pounds
Not quiet....screaming full tilt from the very first breath
Not shy or demure.....demanding, bold, powerful.
Nothing like who I imagined.
More than I could ever hope for.
I have cherished her.......
and always will
Happy Birthday 23rd my moonbeam...I love you.

Boo to you and Boo to you too!

It all started innocently enough.
It was our second year of marriage.
We were poor.
Dirt poor.
Actually we could not have afforded dirt even if we had needed it. We were living in a cockroach infested part of Houston in the "Gulfton Ghetto" I am not kidding when I say that is what it was referred to. I even heard it once on the news. The first month we lived there someone was murdered across the quad of our apartments. The neighbors downstairs and around the corner smoked and I believe sold pot from their front door. Our next door neighbor might very well have been a "lady of the evening" with the constant stream of men visitors and noises which came through our paper thin walls. A game we would play upon entering the kitchen and turning on the lights was to see how many roaches we could stomp on as they skittered away to their hiding places. Sirens were the background music for most of our evenings.
We had to live there.
Did I mention we were poor?
Anyway my sweet husband came home one night with a big grin on his face and his hands behind his back.
He had a present for me.
It was a little plush spider with soft furry legs and an elastic web string which hung from the ceiling.
I was so excited!
I was so worried! (how much did it cost? I probably even asked him that..I don't remember)
I was so touched!
His name was Webster.
It was the beginning of my Halloween obsession. I cannot pass by Halloween decorations without stopping. I cannot see a pumpkin without wanting it. I cannot bear to pass by a witch and not snatch it up.
I realized the depth of my problem when after decorating my house the missionaries from our church stopped by to see if I would possibly have a discussion in my home. They only had to stand at my front door filled with witch signs, brooms and pumpkins and peer in to the collection of witches on my entry to decide that maybe my house was not the ambience that had been looking for.
I tried to defend myself by telling them the that I had a lot more Christmas nativities than witches and that if they would only come back in a few months....
I kinda stretched the truth
Only if you count all of the people and animals in the creche visiting the baby Jesus would I have more nativities than witches and monsters.
But in my defense
I grew up reading Stephen King and my favorite movie was Poltergeist.
And fall is my favorite season.....
And you all know my love of all things CANDY...
And.....
Blame it on Mr. T.
He started it.

A New Blogging Game: What's the Most Amusing/Scary Thing In This Picture?

 

What could be more fun than the newest sensation in Blogging games....
That's right!
It's called, "What's The Most Amusing/Scary Thing About This Picture"
Hmmmmm
Do you need some time to think?
Go Ahead.... I'll wait
More time?
Sorry time's up! I don't have all day
Here we go....
Is it the weird freakish overdone face painting? (Well sir what would you like me to paint? I'd like something that looks like the devil but with a handlebar mustache and a scraggily goatee...oh and could you incorporate a vampire theme with blood dripping down my neck. One more thing...a really cool scar just for visual pop. The kids are going to love this. Maam what would you like? How about just a vine growing out of my cleavage. I like the understated)
Is it the fuzzy velour shirt my Dad is wearing?
Is it the fact that the trim on his shirt and his aviator glasses match in color...and that they are baby blue?
Is it the roadrunner on my Mom's shirt? (She felt too poor to have an Izod shirt with it's obligatory alligator....she could only afford a roadrunner.)
Is it the glasses that are HUGE?
WRONG WRONG WRONG my friends,
It is the avocado and gold ugly wallpaper with matching gold refrigerator!
Congratulations to all of our viewers who got it right today.
And thanks for playing.
Much love,
Peace out!
I'm back......I think......?