Halloween, 2005

[Danette]

Hi Jessie,
I think you look just great,And we missed you at chat Sat. Nite. I hope you had a good time.

Hugs,
Danette

[Jadeanne]

Jessie,

That's a nice costume, especially considering that you had to abandon your first 2 choices.

Sharon,

I don't know how much your costume was, but being mistaken for a GG - priceless! I hope the photo gallery is up soon so we can see the pictures.


Today, my wife did borrow one of my leopard print tops to wear to church. She passed up her choice of 2 of my leopard print skirts for a tan skirt of her own. She did wear a leopard print scrunchie in her hair like last year.

I think I'm set for tomorrow, depending on available time and energy levels. I'm going to come home from work, turn on the porch light, and hand out goodies, small vending size bags of chips and pretzels.

My costumes, in order of decreasing time and effort:

Cinderella's stepsister - floor length purple satin bridesmaid gown ($15) with long net petticoat ($5 each from a different thrift store), silver heels, blonde updo wig, silver plastic tiara (from a dollar store), and a purple glitter and feather mask;

Hippie chick - old $2 long black witch wig, red bandana headband, black longsleeve bohemian top with white embroidery, long tiered broomstick skirt, brown knee high low heel boots;

male hippie - the wig, bandana headband and bohemian top, male denim jeans and my everyday sneakers

What are your plans?

Jadeanne

[Jessie]

SharonRose, The best way is to open a free account at http://photobucket.com/login.php and upload an image there. Then past a copy the code post and that image will show up here. I hope that makes some sense if not I will try and explain it more.

Other notes about the Halloween party I went to. I had about 5 or 6 woman come up to me and ask if I was actually a woman or Guy. Made me feel proud it was the guys who seamed to see it right away however. It also took me a while, about an hour, to get into the party and start dancing.

[Jadeanne]

Hi all,

I got home later than I would have liked on Monday and just handed out treats as my male self.

My wife and I gave out about 65 vending size bags of chips and pretzels. The chips that went first were Cheetos and cool ranch Doritos. The pretzels didn't really go until after the last of the chips were gone.

The leftovers were 2 bags each of Cheetos and Fritos, several bags of sourdough pretzel bites, and honey mustard pretzel bites (my favorite - I hoarded all 5 bags).

There weren't as many older teenagers as in the past years, and they were mostly chaperones for younger siblings.

Almost all were in groups with older siblings or parents keeping some semblence of order.

I thought they were pretty well behaved.

There were a few cute costumes, including a jr high age cheerleader who may have been on her school's squad, and a witch with lots of purple sequins on her outfit.

Jadeanne

[Jaye]

Well, I made it out, just barely. I worked third shift Sunday night, and circumstances kept me from leaving my job until nearly 9am Monday morning. Then I had errands to run, including a trip to a salon to get my eyebrows cleaned up. I finally got to bed around noon, planning to sleep just a few hours and get up before sundown. I woke up around 7:30.

Thus began a mad rush to get ready. Shower, shave, shave some more. I was going to try tape to make cleavage, then remembered I had a Natural Bra. Voila! I got dressed, then realized my choice of outfit made me look fat. Exchanged my skirt/top combo for a dress, then realized that wouldn't work with my choice of bra. I must have fiddled around with my clothes for 45 minutes before reverting to the original skirt with a different top.

Next came makeup. I managed this faster than I ever did back when I was dressing up all the time. It probably wasn't my best makeup job ever, but I was pleased with the results. Without meaning to, I achieved a decent "less is more" minimalist approach. I think I could definitely benefit from a makeover, but I did OK.

Lastly was the wig. This I bought last year from Abra Costumes on Central: the Cleopatra wig, for $15. Not the cheapest I've ever worn, but not the best, either. I managed to make it look less Egyptian. I like to think it looks a little like Selma Blair, but that's just me

Another few minutes to transfer things into a different wallet, then move this and some essentials into my purse, grab a jacket, and I was ready to go.

I almost didn't go out. There I was, completely dressed and ready to go for the first time in years, and I didn't know if I could do it. Then I just got myself together. I took a deep breath, and another. I looked in the mirror one more time to make sure everything was good, then I grabbed my keys and left.

It was an old experience made new again by sensations: the noise of my heels on pavement, the chill of the air on my bare legs, the feeling of extra jewelry.

Once I was out, I dropped by my job. At first, none of my coworkers recognized me. One of my male coworkers nearly fell down, looking at me. After the initial shock, it was just like any other off-hours visit. I got someone to take pictures, so hopefully I'll have something for the gallery in a couple days. Then I can work on making an avatar that doesn't look like Alyson Hannigan.

I didn't get out early enough to really go anywhere else, so I ended up making a shopping trip to WalMart, then went through the drive-thru at Wendy's and went home. Still, I managed to have a good time.

[SharonRose]

Jaye,

I enjoyed reading about your Halloween experiences. Especially the part about dropping in on your co-workers.

Sharon Rose