Halloween goodness

Sequence of events: craft session, Taco Bell, party, McDonald's. I would say that was a pretty successful Halloween.
The party was packed, literally packed. I think people appreciated my tribute to social media-the Facebook costume was a solid choice.
There were some other clever outfits: SpongeBob, Mrs. PacMan, a Whoopie cushion, a Twister board, a turtle, the three amigos, a NASCAR fan, a gypsy, Darth Vader, and the Statue of Liberty.
Having everyone "write on my wall" was like having a giant Halloween yearbook.
It was a little difficult to dance with my cardboard costume. Actually, it was difficult just to walk.

'Tis the season

It took McHale's buffalo chicken wings, getting lost in Monroe, N.C., and a marathon of Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel to turn me from a Halloween scrooge to a dedicated trick-or-treater trapped in a 20-year-old body.

As a kid, I didn't get much into the traditional costumes: wicked witch, gruffy goblin, Micheal mask. My childhood consisted of "fall festivals" not Halloween parties; bobbing for apples not digging for worms in a pie of "brains."

When I was seven my dad took me to a local haunted house, against mom's wishes. And once I was 17 I was sure to see all the Saw and The Hills Have Eyes movies. But overall, Oct. 31 was not important and I tended to overlook all festivities related to "Satin's holiday" (as mom would say).

As a result, a world full of Friday the 13th movies, bloody face paint and haunted houses passed me by. I guess I didn't know what I was missing.

But obviously, college students love Halloween. And Arbor Day, and Valentine's Day and any other day lending itself to an excuse to party.

My freshman year I was able to get by by attending a run-of-the-mill, no-costume- required party. And last Halloween I was sick.

Now, as a junior, I'm obligated. Obligated to put forth effort, dress up and be happy about it. It wasn't until yesterday (two nights before Halloween) that I decided, "yes I will come up with a costume and go out."

My roommates and I hit up every Goodwill and consignment shop we knew in a 30 mile radius today with no success of finding a costume whatsoever. I bought a mask I know I won't wear just because it was $1.

We were looking for items we could use to create a homemade costume. We originally had the idea to go as Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool but couldn't find any overalls.

Thus, we all went our separate ways. Finally, after looking for a Goodwill in Charlotte and getting lost-way out of Uptown-we gave up, drove back to Rock Hill and stopped for wings at McHale's.

Once back at the apartment Elise drug the cardboard boxes she had from her room into the living area. Jen emptied sharpies, cloth fragments and paint from her craft box. And I typed "homemade costumes" into Google's search engine.

A few hours later my costume is complete. I must admit, celebrating Halloween is quite fun.

Check back later this weekend for the revelation of my costume and pictures of the festivities.

Lady Gaga says it best: "Can't read my...poker face"

My roommate informed me that there are "faces" everywhere.
Looking for something to avoid homework and pass the time until Grey's Anatomy came on, we decide to look around our apartment for "faces."
Here's the best of what we found.

Voice Message One From My Mom

Received on Oct. 20.

About five minutes after I spoke with my mom (and told her I was about to get in the shower), she called me back. To say...(watch the video).



In case you can't understand the audio:
"Anna, Norah Jones is singing on Channel 13 if you get a chance to watch her. Bye."

This is a personal favorite thing of my mom to do.
She will call to announce to me that something (usually not of any relevant interest to me) is playing on TV (at this point she lists a channel that is a different network from that which I receive in Rock Hill).

It's such a good-hearted thing to do. Before I went to Australia mom would call whenever something related to kangaroos or The Great Barrier Reef was airing.

"Anna this is mom. Channel 45, travel channel. They're talking about the poisonous animals in Australia. You have to watch out for jellyfish. And sharks. Did you know about this? Call back me back."

Messages from my mom

Julia Douglas is a funny lady.

She's the type of person that you'd laugh at what she says, knowing she has no idea she's being funny.

Sometimes my mom even takes my laughing at her the wrong way. She always tells me to "stop making fun" or "to stop bullying her." Which in itself is funny.

She says funny things like "Heidios" when she's trying to say good-bye in Spanish (Adios).

She does funny things. When she's finished talking with someone on the phone and then wants to spill some gossip to my sister or me or my dad, she'll continuously press the "end" button and listen for a dial tone. Heaven forbid the person who was on the line before hear what she's about to say about them.

She adds the word "the" unnecessarily. "Don't put that on THE Facebook." "Don't send that on THE e-mail.

One of my favorite ways to mimic her is to impersonate how she puts "s" on words that don't need it. "Will you go to Bi-Lo's?" "Do ya'll want to eat at The Outback's?" (that was a double whammy, adding "the" and "s")

It's probably just a southern thang but it's just down-right hilarious when mom says and does these things.

So it's no surprise that the voice messages she leaves on my cell phone often leaving me laughing for several minutes. So I've decided to share them for everyone to smile about.

You cannot, however, laugh at the expense of my mom (only I can do that). The purpose of these sound clips is to appreciate how much my mom cares about me and to show how truly funny she is. So only laugh in a respectful way. Trust me she is near a saint.

Because I have "newsy" blog posts on here as well, I will provide a headline reading "Number One Message From My Mom" to signify which type of post it will be.

Enjoy. And don't tell her. I'm not even sure she knows what blogging is.