10 on Tuesday

I am bringing 10oT back with a new flair. I found this book in Barnes and Noble at lunch called "My Life in Lists." I was flipping through the pages and thought it was really cool - but didn't want to spend $16.95 on it. Then I saw that they have a website where you can create your own Listography. It generates lists in all kinds of categories (some are way personal and introspective and others are just plain fun) and I could easily waste more time there than I do on facebook. So I am going to start doing lists on Tuesday for a while until I get bored with it or consumed by it - whichever comes first.

So - in honor of the month of October - my first list is going to be 10 Things I Dressed Up As For Halloween (in no particular order)

1. A gypsy - took my Magic 8 ball as an accessory - I think my brother was GI Joe that year - definitely elementary school era. I remember it rained that year on Halloween so we went trick-or-treating at the mall.

2. Beauty and the Beast with my brother - but I was the beast (wore football pads and my dad's blazer) and he looked stunning in a lovely yellow gown. We won the costume contest at youth group that year.

3. Miss Halloween - I made myself a sash with glitter puff paint that said Miss Halloween - I had a cool halloween tshirt that my mom's crafty friend, Joy, had made for me. A little scary make up, sponge curler curled hair and a tiara and some dead flowers in a bouquet.

4. B-squad cheerleader (B-squad cheerleaders were always freshmen at my high school and they typically got booed. When I was a freshman cheerleader, the seniors held up newspapers in front of their faces while we danced at a pep rally to indicate their disinterest in us. Then they balled up the newspaper and threw it at us. SO - when I was a JV cheerleader my sophomore year, I wore my b-squad uniform to school for halloween and taped crumpled newspaper to myself.)

5. A hippie - I had an awesome tye-died leather vest with fringe that MY DAD made for himself when he was a hippie - did this when I was a high school teacher in my 20s.

6. Sprout - from Jolly Green Giant - my best friend Lauren and I made these costumes for a party at the Compound we were going to in college - people kept guessing what we were - but nobody got it right. My favorite was the person who thought we were Adam and Eve. (She will kill me for this picture - but I'm hoping she will just laugh)

7. Gem - remember Gem and the Holograms? Sort of like Barbie on steroids? (The dolls were much "thicker" than Barbie and made Ken feel inadequate on dates.) Definitely elementary school.

8. Life After Death - this one was high school - My best friends Whitney and Shannon and I dressed up together as Life, Death, and Life After Death. No real costumes - just a lot of face paint - one was ALL WHITE face paint, one was ALL BLACK, and then my face was split Black and White.

9. Cat woman or something feline. I had a pink/purple cape that I made myself (because who doesn't need their own cape) and I wore a black leotard with tights and cat whiskers and ears.

10. Large pregnant woman with really bad hair - So this wasn't really planned. The wig belonged to my brother in law, Denny. But it was there - and it was really close to Halloween (if not, really Halloween - I think they were in town for Cole's birth) and I threw the wig on and VOILA - there's a costume - because let's be serious - there's not much more you can do when you're in that state.


Looking back - none of these costumes were store bought. I am sure there were some store bought ones at times in my life - but I don't remember any of them. My mom always helped us come up with fun ideas and then helped bring them to fruition. Most of the time it was stuff we already had laying around the house. Maybe they were broke and couldn't afford costumes year after year - but they never let on. I always felt like I had the best costume ever! And now I feel guilty for Katie's store bought ones...