Thursday 27 November 2008

One Stop Story

I hate to admit it, but James has found something that will probably keep me busy for the rest of my life. Stumbleupon.com. Not sure if any of you have checked it out yet, but it's already given me a bunch of things to look at.

One that I found that I just needed to share is: http://www.onesentence.org/

It's pretty simple, in one sentence, tell a story. Easy right?

I had to include my story, which for your pleasure I will share.

"Even though it happened over 20 years ago, I still feel bad about not stopping my classmate from shoving that orange crayon up his nose."

Tuesday 25 November 2008

House = no go... oh well...

So we went and looked at the house - and no - we are not buying. We realized that no matter how awesome it was - because it was awesome inside, there were such huge issues that we couldn't overlook.

Issue one: THE DRIVEWAY
It was shared between the house and the one next door. We could be able to deal, but the space was tight. You couldnt get two cars down the driveway, but maybe a motorcycle :) As we don't have a motorcycle, we checked out the garage. There was space inside so that took care of that fear.

Issue two: THE ROOF
The roof was put on at least 16 years ago. Who knows what state it's in and most likely will need to be replaced first thing in the nice weather. That's a long way up and $5000 we wouldn't have in a house at the top of our price range.

Issue three: THE FENCE
It's old, it needs replaced if not this year, next year. Manageable really but when added to everything else - not such a good thing.

Issue four: THE STRUCTURE
The house, having been built in 1916, is old. And therefore is prone to a few shifts and things. But one of the main support beams of the house was cracked. There was water that leaked into the house due to issues with the slope of the land at the side of the property and the driveway. There were soft spots on the main floor that you could feel as you walked around - in that the floor wasn't supported completely. We plan on having kids in a few years and if we got that house, we'd have a very tough time putting a rec room in the basement. It is questionable that the current owners put up a support wall smack dab in the middle of the room. Is it possible when they made the main floor open concept they didn't support the house well? I don't want to be the one to find out

I could have overlooked nearly everything, but the structure scared me. We had two things about the house going in that we worried about - the driveway not working with two cars at the back and the basement being able to turn into a rec room. For James that was key as he wants to be able to grow with the house.

It was good that we had both sets of parents with us because it made it easier to talk about all the things we questioned and realize exactly what we were getting in to. They were supportive either way, but wanted us to understand what we were getting in to.

Our agent, as I knew she would be, was/is awesome. She went through comparable listings that had sold in the area. Was completely understanding when we talked about our current mortgage preapproval situation and is more than willing to go with us anytime to go look at other listings.

So the hunt continues...

sick to my stomach

We are leaving in a very short period of time to go check out a house. This house could be the house we buy, this could be the first house that proves to be pretty in a picture but has a whole pile of issues underneath.

We already have some red flags, but the pros completely seem to outweighing the cons.

I'm just feeling so nervous about it because I've never really liked anything like this. One that I couldn't walk away from. I literally walked into the bedroom and sighed. It was cozy and cute and had this amazing open ceiling and lots of light. It was awesome.

But today is a new day and I might get there and completely change my mind. I might go in and realize that this house just won't work.

Of course with this house my mind goes back to the other house that we really liked. It's still on the market and in fact, just dropped in price. The house is only 10 square feet different than this, and the basement is already done. The yard is bigger and it's also updated for the furnace, roof, windows. Will it be worth the not so pretty exterior to go back to that house and make it ours?

Right now I'm loving this house we are going to see - and even knowing that the driveway is shared, and the roof will need replacing within a couple years - I feel we can work past that.

Houses aren't cheap though and we really want to make sure that we can afford the one we have.

Who knows what's going to happen. Send me all your positive mojo and hopefully what is meant to happen will happen.

Sunday 23 November 2008

Open Houses - Week number 6

So this week was positive and negative one but things seem to be looking up! I got hired on permenantly at work since the girl I was covering on mat leave decided to not return to work. That meant that we can really start seriously looking. A few new listings that looked promising in our price range also came up too so we had some new open houses to check out.

I decided to double check with our mortgage broker this week regarding our mortgage. It's been awhile and since I'm permanent I figured we should get things sorted out for real and ask more questions. Unfortunately, something came up on my credit report and it pissed me off to no end. I changed my credit card to a lower interest card to save money. The company I have my card with NEVER told the credit bureau of the change, and it showed up that I had TWO credit cards with huge amounts on them. I was livid! This could hold us back from our dreams. I contacted them and told them they have to fix this because it's going to look awful on me if we find a house we want within the next week before they can fix everything. Needless to say I called them, ripped a good one and they are getting it sorted and faxing a letter to my mortgage broker by Tuesday/Wednesday.

The other bad thing was that my mortgage broker is going on vacation this week and wont' be back until December 1st. I had a bad feeling about that - but meh. What can you do? Everyone is entitled to vacation - and who would think we'd find a house?

Saturday's open houses were no go's. The first one had a really great porch was one and a half stories on a good street. Long driveway, big property and original hard wood floors and trim. This is where the problems began and we left without even checking out the basement. They even had put wallpaper over tile! Unbelievable! The other bathroom had a lovely pink hue. And not in a way you could fix either - the sink and the toilet were pepto bismal pink! Yeah it was ruled out completely when we were told that they already had TWO offers. Who says that and then still has an open house?

We went to a second open house yesterday on a whim. I knew we could afford it and hadn't really looked at a backsplit yet. Um yeah. We don't like them. And especially when it was the original owners and they were packrats and the house smells and is ugly. Yep - it's out.

But today - we may have found the one. We've already contacted our agent and talked to our parents and are going to try and get in on Tuesday night to see it. 3 beds, two baths, two storey, red brick, in Galt near our old house. It's pretty darn awesome. Keeping my fingers crossed that the parents give the stamp of approval and we can get this house for the right price.

Fingers crossed for the following: mortgage broker has someone else in the office that can help us out, the house doesn't sell before we have a chance to look at it again, our parents agree that it's a good investment and that there are no major structural problems, that CMHC approves us for a mortgage even with the stupidity from my credit card company.


Tuesday 18 November 2008

Fantastic Fortunes

So somehow, on a day when things seem to be going great, blogger decides to tell me that I'm a spammer! Me?! A spammer! What is that all about?

James did tell me that many real estate type things are deemed spam. It is possible by updating all of you on my open house adventures, that I've created a monster in the form of spam blog.

What they don't realize is that I have a counter on my blog, and the three or four visitors I get a day really don't count as me spamming anyone. I can assure you that this blog is mine and my thoughts alone.

In other news, it became official today that the girl I'm replacing on maternity leave is not coming back. I thought she would. The company is great, benefits are awesome, pay is okay, but it's what you expect. I was really surprised when I found out but at the same time - feeling awesome.

I only worked with her for three weeks but I thought she was a really nice person. I don't want anyone to think that I was stealing her job. I even applied for other jobs. Of course none of them interested me that much. But I felt really good about my prospects. Last year, when I found my position eliminated, I was worried. I felt stressed and I felt dark. this year was different. I was optimistic. My future was wide open and it felt really good.

Now I feel even better. I can settle down and finally look at really getting my own house with my own bathtub!

My sister has been talking about this one agent for a couple months. But we had another one. Only thing was - that agent was very hands off and very forgetful. It was a husband and wife team - and the husband didn't even recognize us two days after seeing us for the first time. That doesn't allow me to trust. The wife, she didn't email me back for a MONTH when I asked to be set up on the email listings. Very disappointing as we had high hopes.

This week, with the change from temp to perm - I decided to do something about it. I contacted the agent my sister recommended and within an hour I had a response. We went back and forth and she's already sent me 20 more listings than the first agent has. James and I have talked a lot over the past few weeks and it just seemed like the right time. I'm already happy with the service we've received. She seems organized, focused and listens well to what we have to say.

Could mean my house dreams are coming true!

Sunday 16 November 2008

Open Houses - Week number 5

With a bit of an afternoon free, James and I decided to check out some more open houses today. I was sporting a bit of a headache from some wine I drank last night, so I wasn't too into anything too strenuous today. When we set off it had just started snowing like crazy and it made for a bit of a messy drive. Oh well - we were troopers and by the time we left the first house, the sun was shining and the world was moving smoothly yet again.

As we had some empties to return to the beer store, we stopped there first and were heading down Dundas to other parts of town. My good eyes found a sign by an agent that I knew had a very interesting property in the tiny area of Galt we'd consider. We ended up having to completely back track to get there but it was so worth it.

The area is a very established one - with big old houses, mature trees and a very good mojo. My mother grew up in this area, and my grandmother lived there with my aunt and uncle until about 14 years go. I love the area, know that houses don't come up very often, especially not in our price range. I know that there are currently two houses, with one having just dropped massively in price since the owners found another property. Both houses look almost identical - red brick, two story, good sized property on the same side of two different streets that run parallel to each other.

Unfortunately, only one was having an open house. Walking up and inside it felt like it was a really nice house and we weren't disappointed. The decorating was exactly how we would do it. The colours were fantastic and it had a nice island in the kitchen. It was a really nice house with a really nice yard and even a heated workshop out the back with electrical and everything. It had two good sized bedrooms with closets and a smaller room that was set up as a nursery. Unlike most older homes, this house had closets. The bathroom was fantastic with lots of space, and yes, a clawfoot tub. My favourite room was a sitting room out the back that had windows - lots of them that gave you a few of a small deck and the back yard.

The house wasn't perfect and there are some things that would really need to be looked at and considered if we were really going to look seriously at it. The first and most major knock against it is the house was heated by radiant heating. James is really against radiant heating. He wants to be able to put a/c into a house. Although, older houses don't usually get nearly as hot as newer houses do. The walls are thicker and this house would be no exception I'm sure.

Another knock was the floor. Only part of the main living area, the part they used as a dining area, is original hardwood. Otherwise, there are three different colours of hardwood laid down. They don't melt that well together but it does allow you to have the clearly defined spaces. Also - I really love the darkest of the woods that is in the back sitting area. It's connected to the kitchen that has really funky black and white tile - so this one I don't consider a problem. In fact, the different floor doesn't matter that much to me, but James noticed.

All I kept thinking as we walked from room to room on the top two levels was that I really liked this house. It was decorated exactly as I would want it to be and I could just move in and our furniture would fit very well. The basement however disappointed me. The ceiling was slightly higher than the one we saw and really liked a few weeks before. But there were pipes that hung below that and James would need to duck. There was a small room - meaning big enough for a chair and a tv - so that would work for solitary time alone. But the floor was hardwood (again another colour than the one upstairs.) It was a nice colour and felt cozy. The laundry room down there wasn't the best but there was storage that could be used and that would be a nice touch.

After spending a bit more time talking to the agent I realized what it was that hadn't completely grabbed me about the house. It didn't feel like our house. There was something that happened when we walked into the house a few weeks ago - it felt like home. It felt like we could live there and I saw us there at holidays and for parties. I saw dinner on the back deck. However walking into this open house in a house that would be perfect for us, I just didn't get the same feeling. I felt like we were visiting someone elses house and admiring for what it was - there house. I wasn't able to dream us living there.

So we left and headed to the next house. This I knew would have a bit of a wow factor. It's over our budget, but realistically, there weren't that many houses on open house today. Also, after talking to many agents over the past several months, we know that the market has turned, agents don't know where to price houses, and it's a buyers market. The market is saturated with houses, and not that many buyers. So off we went.

Walking up to the house you definitely have some great curb appeal. There is a gorgeous stone walkway, awesome garage with full loft. There is a great porch and it has a wow factor. The house is on a corner lot, and the yard is L-shaped but fenced in. The front entry way was a big WOW. 12 foot ceilings all on the first floor, at least 10 foot ceilings on the second. Wrap around stair case. It was a really cool house. Huge - over 1700 square feet! But oddly laid out. The kitchen was huge and had an eat in area. But very country looking. Upstairs used to be three bedrooms - but the only bathroom was on the main floor. Smartly, the current home owners had opted to put in a bathroom in one of the bedrooms.

The house had a strong old world charm, but the layout meant work to get it to a workable house. We could see the potential, but don't think we are in the right point in our lives to do it.

Due to my head hurting, we opted to finish our day at the two houses. No winners today, but we'll keep looking and find the right one. Now that I have a full time permanent job (unless I screw it up) we can look more seriously. I'm hopeful we'll find something awesome for our early spring move in date.

Saturday 15 November 2008

Contendedly Content

Got some great news on Friday that I need to keep hush hush for a few days at work - but was told I can tell my friends. Thus you guys!!!!

I got offered to keep my job that I currently have, but with a few more responsibilities - which they feel that I've earned!

How this has happened, after all the sadness a few weeks ago, is that the girl that I'm covering for on mat leave has gotten offered a much sweeter job working for four hours a day instead of 8 - which means she gets to stay with her son more so she jumped at it. So she's not coming back.

It totally sucks though, because until she officially tells everyone, I'm not allowed to say anything to people at work. And - our Christmas party is tonight. There are only 4 people in my building that officially know, and I cannot tell a soul.

But - there was this job that I had applied for internally. I was on the fence if I wanted it because it would mean more grey hair. They had set up an interview with me for Tuesday at 3:30 and due to this happening, I had to let them know that I'd have to bow out. I would hate for them to really want me for it, and I turn it down knowing that I have this other job. I'd rather they very seriously look at the other two girls and make a decision that way. Both of the other two girls are awesome and capable. I think either one is a good choice. The position itself was in management and I feel like I was so thrown into a lions den doing it at my last job, that I'd rather work and build up to a great position as I did at the one company I worked for.

The excitement on my bosses face as she told me about it was unreal. She felt bad about being so happy, but she's seen how hard I've contributed to the team this past year, and how hard I've worked to expand the position. They were wanting to make some changes to the way things are done, and she told her boss that it could happen if I were there but wasn't sure how it would go if the other girl was. Now she doesn't even have to worry about retraining her completely because she has me.

Now my boss - she's even on a tighter security to not say anything until at least Sunday. She fears her husband might let it slip.

So please, if you read this, please try to not say anything on my facebook wall. I have a few friends from work on there and I fear they will say something and blab it around.

But I must say - I'm so happy. I've really enjoyed working with the company and I truly feel that I'm where I belong. And finding a place where you belong - is absolutely FABULOUS!

Thursday 13 November 2008

Make me a Celebrity

Okay I've let you all into a little bit of my world time by time, but what many of you know, or don't know is that I have dreams of becoming a celebrity.

Maybe not in the real world - but online for sure. It's not that I expect this blog to do it either. I want to become a celebrity in this little facebook application, aptly called - Make Me a Celebrity, or if you would prefer - MMAC.

A few friends and I started playing a few months back and I must say that I've instantly fallen in love with the game and how simple and addictive it can be. They draw you in on a promise of being able to "buy" things and do "gigs" to make more money and become more of a celebrity. They throw in a few little mini games that also help you make money. They even allow you to build an entourage of other players that are involved in the game - and the bigger the entourage and the hotter they are - the better for you to make "money" and get a better celebrity status. The game allows you to trash talk other celebrities, thus taking their money and gaining a better (or worse) celebrity reputation. You can add 5 celebrities to your entourage too - but you want the hottest and the best as every time they are in the headlines, you get points and money.You can chat with other celebrities when you "go out" to a series of exclusive clubs that only allow membership to a few select people.

The game itself is awesome - you start to feel powerful and strong. As you make your way up the celebrity world first doing odd jobs and working your way up to what I am currently - A Runway Model you start to feel better about yourself. It's also a great way to "spend money" without actually having to go and spend it.

Some of my favourite purchases include:
- 11 houses/condos from around the world - including Paris, New York, London, Hollywood and Aspen
- 8 purebred dogs and 4 cats
- Every type and size of Porsche or BMW you can buy as well as a few other fun ones such as an Aston Martin and a Mini Cooper
- 20 fabulous vacations to such awesome places as Dubai, a private island in the Bahamas, a castle in England, Rome, Fiji, Russia and of course, an African Safari
- And who can forget - my fabulous collection of Diamonds - I currently own 49 different pieces, ranging in price from a $200 watch to the $1 Million dollar Hope Diamond

These are just the items I own now. With a penchant for wanting more property, I am currently saving for a glorious 18 bedroom castle in Germany. It will only cost a $7,302,460. Not that much right? While others are saving to own hockey teams, I want to own land. And lots of it. I could buy more right now if I wanted. But the thought of getting the bigger bucks, and the "hotter" celebrity status keep me going.

It's addictive, but boy is it fun!

Even the mini games are great. My personal favourites have always been and probably always will be: Crazy Taxi, Staries, Word Scramble and now Sudoku. Crazy Taxi brings you on a journey down a highway where going fast is the object. You are racing to make it to the next flag and must overcome many obstacles along the way. How you do this is by jumping over cars. Sounds easy right? Not quite so once you reach level 10. I'm not the best of my friends but I do try.

Staries is completely the game I could play forever. You slide the stars to make connections of three or more in a line and as you play the combinations get harder, stars get locked in place and you must figure out ways to unlock them while getting enough lines. The time goes faster as you go and more stars are locked the slower you are. It's a real brain workout.

Word Scramble is great for my Scrabble minded brain. Take letters and arrange them into as many words as you can. There is a timer, but it's kind of pointless really and you can easily and quickly rack up points by playing this game. It's very similar to Word Whomp or other games of that sort. Good quick word fun.

And lastly Sudoku. I'm a Sudoku freak since before I even knew the name. My grandmother used to get the Fill-it-in Books and taught me how it works. I've loved filling out the puzzles using words so it was only natural that when they started adding numbers that I got hooked on that too. The time is a huge factor, but the game will give you hints. Just don't take too many or you end up with no celebrity points in the end.

Sure there are other games, as I've only mentioned four. But you can imagine how quickly this game can become your favourite one on the web. Let me know if you want to play, because I would LOVE to add you to my entourage to make me - and you - hotter!

Saturday 8 November 2008

Happy Smiley Babies

I used some of my talents today to do a photoshoot for a friend. I promised that I would do her photos as a baby gift and we are just getting around to it - even though she's sitting on her own and even standing while holding furniture.

She was awesome, very pleasant, didn't cry - but it reminded me so much of how awesome this stage can be and how you have to work quickly. Babies in her stage are very busy, and very willing to put anything and everything into their mouth. If you can't work quick and can't pull new tricks out of your bag, you'll lose the child forever. It's a tough but fun stage and when you capture those awesome moments, it means so much more.

We had four basic outfits today, with one being the diaper shots. We had fun playing them up and tried to set a mood for all of them. It made me really miss the studio, where the camera is stationary, and all I have is a small little trigger to snap - and it snaps quickly and easily so you can really capture the moment. We had fun playing with flash or without flash and it was hard finding the best setting. I found I liked the look of the natural light, but tried to stay out of blocking it as much as possible. I realize that if I were to do this full time I'd need to have a better lighting set up and more backdrops. I really hope they like the end result and that the expressions and mood shows in each of the shots.

She was a pleasure and I had a lot of fun "shooting" her.

Thursday 6 November 2008

Showing strength

So I got the job - but...I turned it down. They wanted to offer me minimum wage. That would be fine - but I think I'm worth more than that. So hopefully something else comes along.

I talked with my boss today and it really made me feel valuable. There is an opening in our company for a Management position, which I am qualified for. I'm just not sure I want the headaches. I made up my resume anyhow - and we'll see how I feel tomorrow. My mind has been swimming ever since I heard it was coming up. To apply or not to...

I love the company I work for. The benefits are awesome and the people, for the most part, are really great. I'd love to work there and make it a home. But do I want insanely long days? Do I want to be a babysitter and get more grey hair again? It's not that I don't think I could do it, I just think I'd push myself too hard. If you know me, you know that I strive to do the best I can in whatever I do. I'm also not so fantastic at delegating jobs. Maybe that's why I shouldn't be management...

I told my boss about how I was thinking of applying and she thinks I should try. She figures I'll get an interview. Then again, they probably give that to everyone internally that applies unless it's completely out of left field! I also admitted to my boss an evil plot that I have. It basically involves getting rid of a girl in marketing and taking her position. When the posting came up I was only a couple months into my contract and things were really hairy in my department. A girl went on mat leave, the girl replacing her ended up pregnant and leaving for her mat leave - and then they got another girl to cover that was also pregnant. That girl ended up having her baby MONTHS early and we were so screwed. If I left my boss then it would be completely devastating to the department. I wanted the position, but thought it would look much worse for me to apply at such a difficult time.

I'm hoping that she can't handle it and quits - but I know it's more likely that they'd have to get rid of her in a different way. When I told my boss, she said that if the position came up, the marketing manager would hire me in a heartbeat. They wanted me for the position to begin with, but knew the circumstances.

Even still, I'm looking for other opportunities, and even applied to three different full time spots that came up today in other companies.

So fingers crossed, something happens and I become full time in an awesome position - so that me and my hubby can get us a house!

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Spooktacular Sum Up

First, I just want to say how sad it was to not see everyone out on Saturday night - but for those of us that were there we had a really great time. I thought I'd sum things up for everyone who couldn't make it.

There were some added twists to this year's party - with an outdoor element in the way of a haunted back yard complete with tombstones, a severed arm and leg and a creepy baby in a coffin. We also had a trivia competition and a pumpkin carving challenge.

The pumpkins were all really creative and helped showcase some of the best carving talent I've seen in a really long time. Andy the Swiss Pumpkin ended up winning and he loved his special bobble head. He kept bobbling his head all night to show me how much loved his prize. Thanks to Dennis and Adam and Laura for bringing Swissy and not giving him a chance to rest after his LONG trip across the ocean.

Jeff (Champ) showed his true trivia prowess and worked to make sure his team (of him and me-Corina) won the challenge with only one wrong answer out of 10. Of course everyone thought it was fixed that I won, but having never won anything at any of my parties, I was very happy with my special bendy Gumby. Huge thanks to our corporate sponsor Dan for organizing the quiz and bringing the prizes for the costume contest.

The prizes were awesome for this years event and thanks to all the awesome costumes, it was a tight race. Dan was able to secure electric razors for the male and female costume winner. Seeing the huge smile on the male winner - Nick was priceless. It was the best prize yet and Nick's costume as the Riddler was just genius. Not everyone can get away with a once piece tight costume.

For the first time ever there was a tie for the girls side. Sandra with her naughty nurse costume faced off against Laura in her Harley Quinn costume. Both looked awesome and mortified when they found out they tied. To make things easier, we allowed them to select surrogate dancers to face off on their behalf. Carmen and Dennis stepped up to the plate and both chose their song to compete. Unfortunately, James tried to throw in a twist with the Arnold Schwarzenegger work out version of It's Raining Men. Of course this lead to sudden death dance off where they worked together to get through a Backstreet Boys tune. Couldn't help laughing when the Swiss Pumpkin took off to show off his moves. As he told a few of us "This is a great song." Apparently, the Swiss love the boy bands.

Dennis danced Laura into the big prize. The rest of the night involved random raves, lots of candy including pop rocks, a large amount of punch and even pie. It was a great time had by all and James and I were so happy to see everyone come out for most likely the last Hill-Harri(u)s major shindig out in Clyde.

I guess the only questions that remain are:
Just who left the black vest behind?
Just what costume will be good enough to take the prize next year?
What will James and I do to top this years awesome party?
and do pop rocks and beer really go together as Kristina says they do?

Monday 3 November 2008

Strengths and weaknesses?

I have an interview tomorrow and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I've been racking my brain trying to come up with what I would say to the two key questions

#1 - what are your strengths
#2 - what are your weaknesses

I'm also trying to figure out how to handle the fact that I'm on a contract at the moment. I want a full time position, and would love to work for the company, but I really enjoy where I am. I'm doing something that I enjoy, even though it does leave me a little bored sometimes. The company I work for is awesome too and has some amazing benefits. But the contract I'm on is pretty much up unless the girl I replaced doesn't come back. she's due back on the 15th of December, so what do I do in the meantime?

All I know is this, I need to look out for number one - and number one is me and my future.

With that said, I'm excited about the prospect. This could be a really good move for me and the job is right up my alley. It really suits my interests so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Means I might be doing weekends and evenings again, but I'm cool. The place seems like a great chance. Cross your fingers for me too!!!!

Saturday 1 November 2008

So excited!

I'm so freaking excited for tonight I can't even begin to tell you.

Every year, except one, my husband and I have held a Halloween party. Every year I try and outdo myself and this year is no exception. I've heard good things from all my parties thus far and I don't want to disappoint anyone this year. The only thing that might is that there will not be a bloody hand in the punch. It just didn't happen that we got the gloves to freeze it early enough. OH well. Life will go on and we will party hard!

My costume came to me after going to a few different locations to look at wigs. Initially I dreamed of being a super hero. I had some fantastic silver material that I was going to fashion into a cape but when I went out looking for the consumate super hero skirt - I found this awesome dress instead. I opted to turn myself into a doll once and have dreams of pasty faces and red lips. It's going to be cute but comfy too and I hope it goes over well.

Every year I tend to make my costume out of stuff that I have lying around. Thus the goth dominatrix club kid that I was one year. Yeah - the stupidest costume that didn't make sense to anyone, but I bought myself a whip so that was fun. Sadly though, the whip disappeared before the end of the night... I have to wonder which of my kinky friends took it home! LOL!

The past two years I had a hint of sex appeal as my husband asked me to show a little bit more skin. All my girlfriends have been able to get away with sexy concoctions but with me being a little bigger than the average bear, I haven't been able to pull it off. The first sexy costume I went with is the one that many men have enjoyed the vision of - Betty Rubble. My mother-in-law and I worked together to sew a lovely blue smock, I flipped out my bob and put a big blue bow on top. Voila! Betty Rubble. It was so simple. All I needed to buy was the fabric and some false eyelashes. I felt really sexy, and very exposed. Helped that we had the party at our place or I would've froze getting there!

Last year we moved so our friends hosted the party at their place. I went slightly sexy but also gruesome as a pirate. I had picked up some orange and black knee high socks from Salem, Mass on my honeymoon. I paired them with black boots, a black skirt, and a satiny top. The good thing was that I felt sexy, but didn't have too much skin showing.

This year I wanted cute. I'm going to feel comfortable moving around and everything and it seems like such a simple concept. Thank goodness they had this very special dress at VV Boutique. You know, Value Village! The place where many a Halloween costume has been born.

I had the pleasure of going several times this season to help others find something awesome, including my niece Tori and nephew Zak. Zak decided after much deliberation that he wanted to be a pirate. Victoria was going to be a clown princess. It was going to be awesome too as she got a bright pink wig to match her pink dress. Unfortunately when yesterday rolled around, she decided not to be a clown princess anymore! She wanted to be a frog. Luckily they had a frog costume or she'd be in trouble! Due to some circumstances beyond my sister's control, she was unable to make it home to see the kids off and hand out candy. I decided to go and help her out and took some awesome pictures before they hit the road.

We had a visit last night from a beautiful butterfly too. Mackenzie stopped by to show me her costume with her parents Kristina and Curtis. We went together trick or treating to a few different houses in which the people were more than happy to give Mackenzie handfuls of candy. She went to four houses and ended up with 17 pieces of good candy including full chocolate bars! I cannot imagine how much loot the kids that did the whole neighbourhood got! the joys of living out in the country means that you get full chocolate bars and full bags of chips. Completely spoiled out here in the country!

That was just a good start to tonight. We have included extra events including a pumpkin carving competition and a special trivia competition. It will be very interesting to see how everyone makes out - especially in the costume competition. The costumes are always awesome and it's so good to see everyone's creativity. Tonight will be no exception I'm sure as people have been talking about their costumes and ideas for two months now. I'm sure that this will all lead to a dance off. I can't wait to see how everything pans out!

Anyhow, must get back to the massive cleaning that needs to be done before such parties! Have a good night y'all!


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