Tag Archives: pinterest

Happy Halloween… November?

So… I had the best intentions of creating a Halloween-inspired post last week, but life sorta got in the way.

And then I told myself I’d put a post up this past weekend… but Pinterest sorta got in my way. Talk about a serious time-suck.

I signed up for that baby in August and somehow avoided wasting my very rare (and precious) free-time to “pinning” over these past few months. Well, that is… until this past weekend. I don’t know how it happened. But it did. And now I’ve pinned quite a number of things to inspiration boards. There are just too many creative ideas floating around on that website for my own good. Oh well. At least I feel, crafty? inspired? refreshed? Why yes, all of the above. And perhaps a little bit obsessed. But you know what? That’s okay. I have a feeling the website will come in handy at some point in the future.

Anyway, as you can see, I’ve been keeping myself plenty busy. And it’s a good thing, considering it’s my taper-time. Did I mention the Savannah RNR Marathon is in FOUR days? Because it is. And I am just itching  to get out there and run. Tapering = one heck of a mental game.

So… what have I been occupying my time with? Well, let’s see…

-Work (duh).

-Midterms. Enough said.

-Finishing said midterms and subsequently hitting the “off” button on my brain for a few days. What? You’d do it too. Trust me. Typing on a computer is not exactly my idea of “fun” after busting out  analytical papers on how to increase financial transparency within Local Public Health Agencies in hopes of improving sustainability…  and creating program-plans to decrease the incidence of cardiovascular disease among white males, 40-60 years of age with an annual salary less than $50,000/year. And because I let my brain rest for a few days (thank you, Pinterest), I am completely refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of my coursework through the end of the semester.

-Receiving word last week that I have been awarded more scholarship money for the academic year. My reaction: Homigod say WHAT?!? I seriously was not expecting this at all. Words cannot express how grateful/blessed/elated I feel.  And to top that off? I just heard back that I received a 98% on one of my midterms. Something tells me it’s time for a serious celebration.

What else…?

Oh yes!

-Celebrating the 3-year anniversary of when Ryan and I met (Oct. 23rd, if you’re curious…) by spoiling ourselves with a professional couples-massage (so.damn.relaxing), dinners out, late-night TCBY runs (we’re kinda addicted), and Redbox movie-nights. I highly recommend the movie “Hanna” if you haven’t seen it. Don’t worry, I hadn’t ever heard of it either. But it’s action packed and kept me on my toes. Bridesmaids on the other hand? Totally over-rated. Sure, it was funny. But I was expecting so much more from all of the hype surrounding it.

-Enjoying girly-nights in w/ the Happster because Ryan once again traveled a bunch for work this past month and found himself jet-setting all over the country.

Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration…as Ryan only went to Chicago (twice) and Orlando (once). But still. I missed him. And Happy (obviously) missed him, too. All of that travel within the span of 3 weeks sure does add up to feel like a lot. Perspective, people.

And that brings us to now.

Thankfully, Ryan is officially back in the great state of North Carolina for the time being, and he got home just in time to celebrate Halloween! In fact, I had quite the scare surprise for him when he got back from his most recent trip to Chicago.

On the evening he returned, I was scheduled to get my hair cut. I went to the same girl as last time (seriously love Crystal!) and had the same thing done (dyed, cut)…except, it didn’t turn out the same way. Here is a reminder of how I looked post-haircut last time.

This time around, when Crystal used the hair-dryer diffuser-extension-thing… she was not pleased with the end product. I was one big ‘ole frizzball of a mess (ohmylord I seriously  wish I had brought my camera with me to capture that scene…). I wasn’t really phased by the result, though. I knew my “normal” bouncy, curly self would return once I washed it again back at home and let my hair air dry.

(Sidenote: If there’s one thing I’ve learned about curly hair over the years – it’s that you let it do it’s own damn thing.  I don’t even own a brush or a comb. Ryan finds this amazing).

Nevertheless, Crystal was not having my frizzball ‘fro, and point-blank refused to let me walk out of the salon looking like I had just been electrocuted by her hairdryer.

So what does a hairstylist in distress do? Apparently, forego said client’s normal hair texture and blow the hades out of said hair until a desired texture is achieved.

Annnnd… that’s what she did.

Crystal sat me back down, washed my hair for a second time, and blow-dried (blew-dried? whatever… this is not a graduate school paper, I know you get my point) my hair straight. STRAIGHT, people. I kid you not: I left that place with straight hair. Kinda perfect timing for Halloween… eh?

Anyway, when I got home from the salon… Ryan was already home. He was outside in the front yard walking Happy when I pulled up in my car. He smiled,waved and leaned down to pick up Happy as I got out of my car…and when he returned back upright, he nearly toppled over again by what he saw (read: me. With straight hair).

All he could say was “Your hair…it’s… straight? How did the… wha, whwhat in the?… it’s straight?” I died. Seriously, it was the funniest reaction ever. And the look on his face? Priceless. (SERIOUSLY.. why didn’t I have my camera on me?!?). But really,  I don’t blame him for his reaction. In fact, my straight haired self seemed so different from the usual curls, that I used it as part of a Halloween costume. Check it out for yourself.

But first…I present to you: normal person pictures.

Anyway, like I said, I incorporated the straight hair into a (really really cliché) Halloween costume.

Yeah. I know. How original.

BUT! I couldn’t resist. I was inspired by Happy’s costume. And because she tagged along with me and Ryan to Zack’s Halloween party… it just made sense.

And thus, I present to you… the Halloween Costume I threw together after work in about 5 minutes flat:

Sure enough, my mighty beast soon turned into a scaredy-cat once we got to Zack’s house. Apparently Happy is terrified of obnoxious festive Trick-or-Treaters.

In time though, she relaxed. This was our first time bringing her to Zack’s new house, and let’s just say, Ryan and I cannot wait until the day we have our own home. Hello, over-the-top festive décor, renovation projects, and huge fenced-in back yards (for Happy to roam, of course).

The guys did a pretty good job scaring the rowdy elementary/middle schoolers, and went “easy” on the little ones.

Obviously, it was a team effort.

And of course, the fellas took the liberty in judging when to go “all-out” with their scare tactics (ie. creeping up to the kids, hiding behind shrubs, using “the rake”). And when a truckload full of kiddos stopped in front of Zack’s house, the guys went all out and even had the moms waiting for the return of their kids in the flatbed of the truck letting out screams. Probably the highlight of my night.

I’m so glad I got to celebrate Halloween this year (last year I was stuck at home writing a paper for grad school). But… I am sad that Halloween happens only once a year. I love any excuse for a costume party. I just need to work on the whole costume thing.

Oh well, now that Halloween has passed… my sights are on even bigger and better things. It’s  *officially* the Holiday season! Hell.to.the.yessss.

These next few months are going to be so jam-packed with fun, family, (work), and play.

First up? The Savannah RNR Marathon! T-minus 4 days, baby.

Did you have a festive Halloween? What’s your best costume to date? Have you ever thrown together a last-minute costume? What’s your favorite Holiday?