Halloween, the actual evening

Well, it had an ominous beginning: Liv fell on the way to the first house and was off her feed for the next hour, which included all the house-to-house. But THEN we got to the party. The party was where Liv had a most righteous evening and fine time was had by all.

In the photos you'll see the cake I made for the party and covered with fondant. (El F says it tastes like...um...some bodily location the flavor with which one would not ordinarily be familiar.) However, it was very popular with the kiddos because it was a jack'o'lantern. Yep, that's me-- a crowd-pleaser.

Anyway, despite my exhaustion and being completely SICK of Halloween by the time the actual holiday came around (see my FB page), it was terrific.

Kickin' it K'wood style

And following the kindergarten bash, there was trick or treating in downtown Kirkwood. All the shop owners sat outside their stores while trick or treaters came by for treats.

Afterward, a local band for children, the Babaloos, played in the plaza. Big fun!

Kickin' it kindergarten-style

Yesterday was the kindergarten Halloween bash:

Pumps of my dreams

When L-Mac and I went shopping (instead of to see Clinton), we spotted this GORGEOUS pair of pumps at Nordstrom. These with a little black dress for the weddings? (Okay, okay, maybe I have to buy them in black....maybe.)
Aren't they beautiful?















Although I have to say, El F spotted an even sexier pair in the shoe department today when I was showing him these-- the boy apparently knows what he likes on me. The back was closed and the heel higher. The website just didn't have a photo. In any event, I'm viewing the upcoming nuptials with joy for many reasons, several of them sartorial.

Oh and hosted a lovely impromptu dinner tonight-- Mel and her little girl came over for dinner: pizza and lots of wine. (Lemonaid for the girls)

Big fun.

K'wood Saturday

A walk on Grant's Trail and a trip to the Farmers' Market. (Note: I am taking my turn carrying the scooter Liv swore she wanted to ride on the trail. *sigh*)

Inventory

So. I took inventory this morning. Most women do this once in a while: I tried on a bunch of my old formalwear.

One out of two New Year's Eve little back dresses fit. The one that doesn't, I am probably not allowed to wear. It's short, short, short black velvet, low back, with a halter top. Very elegant, believe it or not. But probably not allowed on anyone in their 40s, no matter what.

The other one is another really classic little black dress-- sleeveless, form-fitting (but not too form-fitting) with a little tiny black ribbon under the bust. Not too short, but definitely short. Think I could get away with this one, although another few pounds gone would be better first.

One out of two (for lack of a better term) ball gowns fits. Strangely, both are silver. One is strapless-- that doesn't fit. (But why would I buy a strapless? Crazy.) And the other -- sleeveless with a scoop neck-- does. Funny thing? I bought the second one for a formal wedding less than 10 years ago and now I think it's too dowdy to wear. Strange.

Anyway, the moral of the story is, despite the low pay, teaching at the Y has some really GREAT benefits. The bad thing? I need to store or get rid of a LOT of clothes.

What a long strange week it's been (with apologies to the Grateful Dead)

It's been a long, strange week. My daughter is growing in understanding every day while I watch, stunned. It's cliche, I know. But I had no idea it would happen this fast.

And she's a Daisy scout now. And she has a best friend. And a little guy with a crush on her, and she on him.

Also, I'm physically exhausted. My dear Liv has taken to waking me at 2 am to crawl into bed. I enjoy holding her very much. It's a great feeling right up until the alarm rings at 0600 and it's time to start another day running.

I've taught a ton of classes, did a ton of training (for work) and actually hurt my own abdominals while teaching abs class today. That almost never happens. I guess my students will not be thinking fondly of me tomorrow when they wake up.

There's a movement afoot to make me move from water to land classes (sounds like evolution, yes?)-- just weight routines, not aerobics. Probably too late for this session, but the idea is appealing. With my teaching schedule and other comitments, I don't get much time in the weight room anymore. This might fix that.

In other news, I heard from someone I used to know well a long time ago-- just popped up out of the blue, thanks to electronic networking. There's nothing like it to make you remember who you were so long ago. I was young and so much hadn't happened to me yet. It's lovely to think back to those happy, halcyon times.

There was a whole group of us-- completely inseparable. We roamed like a pack. I'll never forget my roommate's look of terror the first time he got a tattoo (Trader Bob's in the City). Poor SOB. We all laughed so hard and he got so mad. Beer can towers in my apartment. Playing three man. Seeing our favorite bands. Pale Divine's farewell concert. We never got to a bar before 11 pm at the earliest. Nothing good happened before then, anyway. We played cards and talked trash (and I changed clothes about a million times) until it was time to head out. The boys placed over/under bets on my wardrobe changes for the evening, I believe.

And then there were a thousand misdeeds that we somehow got away with. It seemed all so daring and romantic back then. We were young, good-looking (well they sure and the hell were spectacularly so; maybe I was) and absolutely fearless.

Okay, if I burst into any song from "The Way We Were," somebody slap me. But they were very good times and, now that I've heard from the one most dear to me, I think I can be forgiven a little nostalgia and a little regret for letting that all float away somehow.

Good memories. A little sad.