Ok, to start, there was Halloween. Oh, how I love this holiday. I will never grow out of all the fun, scary, & disgusting things this special day brings. This year, Z decided to be Wolverine, but opted to leave the claw home when trick-or-treating:
I especially liked the lip sneer on this one.
It was so strange to see how old he looked doing it this year.
Loot.
Pre-trick or treating though, we had to carve our masterpieces:
Moldy guts. Leave it to me to pick a rotten pumpkin.
My template.
He held these up and said, "look Mommy, I'm Elvis."
The dog watched from the sofa.
Aaron's Longhorn, my star face, and Z's alien.
And pre-carving, I had to do my annual goodie bags for Z's classmates:
Always a winner.
One of the more decent candies for kids.
Every kid loves stickers.
Stamped cards with more stickers.
Close-ups of the bags.
All done.
(stock photo)
Wanted to make these, but ran out of time.
Donut holes dipped in white chocolate, with a
chocolate chip stuck in head first. Love!
Maybe next year.
Second best part of Halloween?
Snagging the 75% off after-sales!
Here's Iron Man, playing on the computer.
I had the pleasure of enjoying many of my favorite foods over the past two weeks. As you all know, me + food = BFF, so I love to photograph my goodies as well:
French onion soup.
(That I didn't make.)
Big, crusty bread.
(That I also did not make.)
A mini strawberry tart.
(That I wish I could make this good.)
We took one of our Sunday road trips, but not too far this time. Went to a place in Andice, Texas that we had driven by before, and were intrigued.
So good, but couldn't finish it.
Z's grilled cheese, which he couldn't finish either.
The probable culprit of why we couldn't finish our stuff.
Pepsi, in a bottle?! Haven't had one since I was
a kid, and it was every bit as good as I remembered.
This cool old guy drove up while we were eating.
Love it.
A gross sidebar:
A *guy* at a stoplight next to us, on the way to Andice.
Please observe his nails, especially his pinky.
A guy, I said.
I know I'm stereotyping & I'm old-school, but cokehead often?
The next morning, after Halloween, we went to the Austin chapter of the Komen Race For The Cure. They moved the event this year from downtown Austin to north Austin, which proved to be annoying & chaotic, but I won't focus on the negatives. Being a part of this walk/run always moves me, and this year was no different. I was thrilled that Aaron & Z came with me, as well, for the first time. It gave me a good chance to talk to Z about why all these people were there, what breast cancer is, and how important it is to support the people you love. The best part of all? I wasn't walking "in memory" of anyone, as so many people were.
Look in the distance of the picture, & you'll see just how
many people there were in attendance.
Not a good photo, sorry.
More of the crowd.
Reading people's backs could get you choked up.
This man & pregnant woman were walking for a
few family members, but also for their unborn daughter.
This lady had a list of people to mourn, as well as a
list to celebrate. Thankfully, she had so many on the
celebration list!
Sigh.
My guys.
So much support from the sidelines,
it gave the event a very cool vibe.
This one hit home.
She was almost exactly the same age as me, and died just a mere 30 days before this race. She didn't get to have Halloween, greasy jalapeno burgers, or Pepsi in a bottle, because cancer won. I know you're finally pain-free, Rana, and I'm glad for you. As the shirts that your friends & family made said at the bottom (but was cut off in my pic), you are a rockstar.
On a lighter note, I celebrated my five year anniversary at my job. There were only three of us to be awarded this year, and they gave us all plaques:
The classiest part? It's not even real glass. I picked it up, thinking it looked really heavy, & nearly flung it across the room. A plexiglass honor for coming back day after day, for five years straight? *gasp!* You shouldn't have!
And lastly, we had (another) fun episode of "stuff on my cat", finally caught on film:
He was already laying on the remote.
We just added the Lego railroad piece & chip clip.
Then my cell phone.
Then Aaron's book.
Then Aaron's dessert plate.
And his glass from milk.
Then a travel brochure.
Then my book.
Notice how he never stopped taking a bath.
Three things I'm grateful for today:
1. A clear mammogram this year.
2. An almost-cold Halloween.
3. Lotion, as my skin begins to crack this time of year.
A happy flower I drew for Z.
He said it's one of my best ones ever,
and called me "art smart". Sweet kid.
Peace & pastries to everyone!