My favorite time of year...

I love fall.  I love the cooling temps and the beautiful foliage.  Most of all, I love Halloween.  It's my favorite holiday.  And that's saying something since I like to go all out for all holidays.

I love trick-or-treaters.  I love scary decorations.  I love candy.  I love parties.  I love everything about it.

Saturday night, Philip and I had a Halloween party.  Our house looked absolutely fantastic.  I wish I would have taken pictures of everything.  I'm still in awe of how awesome everything looked.  

Philip and I as the Joker and Harley Quinn.  Unfortunately, by this point in the night, I'd already lost my mask.  :(

Then, tonight, Philip had to work.  I was sick.  I can't tell you the last time that I was sick.  It's been forever ago.  I can't believe that this cold chose to pop up on my favorite day of the year.  

However, the neighbor kids gave up their night of trick-or-treating to help me set up the yard.  Then they helped me pass out candy and scared the older kids (my yard is the "scary yard" in the neighborhood).

The Harvester of Souls (Video)

A witch, a cauldron full of candy, and Little Luci (video).

Zombie Bait (video)

Giggles the Clown (video)

Philip and I made this ourselves after seeing this one and this one at Spirit. 

Creepy Crawly Zombie Girl (video)

Rosemary (video)

 

The kids drew chalk outlines around themselves in the driveway and then smeared fake blood all over them.  :)

Also an addition from the kiddos. 

Creepy girl hid underneath my car and crawled out at people while moaning.  We had the fog machine set up so she wasn't very visible until people were right next to her.  :)

Another shot of the prop Philip and I made.  :)

Haunted Hedges

Part of our cemetary.  I had another fog machine set up here to make it creepier.  :)

 So, despite being sick, I think I will still retain my title as "Halloween lady."  Thanks to the kiddos (and their mom) for the help in actually making this Halloween another success.  :)  

I'm guessing that my house will be egged when I wake up tomorrow since I sent several kids away.  Only kids in costumes get candy at my house!  However, over $60 worth of candy went out to the kids who showed up at my door in costume.  And we only believe in getting the good stuff!  Happy Halloween, everybody.  :)

Sad news...

My neighbor passed away on Tuesday afternoon. Her husband is moving to Florida today. It's where his kids live and they're making him move. She didn't have a funeral. She was cremated. They have to pick up her cremains and then they're leaving for Florida.

She and her husband had a really sweet plan for their deaths. Suzie was the first to die, so Jay will hold on to her cremains until he dies. Then, when he dies, their kids will mix their cremains together and bury them together.

They were such a wonderful couple. They had been married for over 48 years, but they were still in love.

She was only 67 years old. And she was still really active. She didn't seem old at all. It just doesn't seem real. She was fighting like crazy for her life. She shouldn't have really lived as long as she did (after she had the heart attack when she first went into the hospital). She was a really strong supporter of Barrack Obama. She's been talking about him to us the whole time we've lived there. She thought that he was going to do great things for our country. Her daughter turned on the inauguration for her to listen to on Tuesday. She got to hear him be sworn in and listen to the speech that he gave. She died shortly after that. So, at least she got to hear what she had been waiting and hoping for before she died.

I'm really not dealing well with the situation. I don't think Joe is either. We loved our neighbors, and now they're gone. Jay is talking about coming back soon. He doesn't want to live with his kids in Florida. He wants to live in the home that he made with Suzie. I want him to come back, but only if it's going to be what is best for him.

It's funny to me that they were married for 48 years and still had such a wonderful relationship. My grandparents were married for roughly that long and they were miserable. They didn't like each other. My grandma didn't even cry at my grandpa's funeral. She was in the early stages of Alzheimers, but I don't think that that was the only reason. It gives me hope to see a couple that is still so happy and in love after almost 50 years together. And it breaks my heart to see them torn apart by death much too soon.

Good news, bad news...

Good News:

So, the Carolina Panthers didn't completely play into my plan. They didn't win on Saturday night so that they could go to the game before the superbowl and then choke. However, they did completely choke. They lost by 20 points. It was awesome! I'll take it. Maybe now they'll learn the lesson that they should never ever interrupt Heroes. Otherwise, I will sick Karma on their asses. :)

Bad News:

My neighbor is in the hospital. She is actually in a coma right now. She went in with pneumonia and the stress of the hospital caused her to have a heart attack. They induced a coma to try to help her (less stress for her). Her heart is only functioning at 10% of what it is supposed to be and her organs are shutting down. Her chances of survival are very slim. She is only 67 years old. She has cirrhosis of her liver from years of prescription pills for her migraines. She is an incredibly spunky older woman.

Her husband is lost right now. He is in denial about how bad it is. Joe and I have been checking in on him and visiting with him every night. I brought him dinner one night. He kept telling us it was bad, but that she would get better. His daughter came into town yesterday (he had been telling her the same thing). She is the one that told us how bad it really was.

They've been married for almost 50 years. I'm sure he would be completely lost without her. It's heartbreaking to watch. I really like Suzie. I was excited to find neighbors who were really cool (not just for their age -- they are awesome people). I hadn't thought about having to deal with sickness or death with them because they certainly don't seem old.

The doctors have talked to Jay and his daughter about her living will. With her chances of pulling through so slim, they've had to think about pulling the plug if it comes to that.

It's very depressing. I'm trying to stay hopeful. If you're a person who prays, pray for Suzie and her family. If not, think good thoughts for them. :) Thanks.

I'm a homeowner! :)

Joe closed on the house yesterday. We now are homeowners. :) It's so exciting!!

We went to the house last night. We were going to bond with it, but we bonded with our neighbors instead. ha! They are really nice, open-minded, senior citizens. They love to talk, and they're intelligent. Plus, they're animal people. They have 2 dogs. They said that they had an arrangement with the previous owners where if one couple went out of town, the other couple would take care of the dogs. He told us that he'd love to have the same arrangement with us. We agreed! We talked to them for several hours. Until I was finally so low on sugar that I was getting sick. So, we had to leave and get some food.

Tonight, Joe and I will be going to Lowe's to pick up supplies. Then we will be going to the house and I will be working my butt off. :) I have to get that bathroom painted this weekend. it should be interesting. I've never painted ceramic tile before. From what I've read, it shouldn't be too bad. It's going to be quite a bit of work, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end. Joe and I were originally going to paint the tile "grapolicious." However, Joe isn't so sure about the color anymore. So, tonight when we're at Lowe's, we're going to finalize a color and then Joe will be stuck with whatever we decide. Because I am NOT going to paint the tile more than once!

Today, Buddy the tile guy is ripping out the tile in the downstairs bathroom so that we can completely redo that bathroom (I'm just painting the tile for the upstairs bathroom and then re-caulking around the tub). Monday, the baseboard heating and the carpet in the living room are being taken out. And then on Wednesday, my mama will be arriving to help me do a lot of painting, and taking out wallpaper, and putting up drywall, and tearing out a wall. :) It's going to be great fun!