Colorado contrasts

On Tuesday, I was wearing capri pants and sandals. On Wednesday, everything I wore was snowproof and/or insulated.

On Tuesday, I read a book on the back deck while watching the leaves peacefully fall off the trees. On Wednesday I sat by a fire in the living room, watching snow-covered limbs violently crack and fall off the trees.

What a difference a day makes.

Zombie Makeup Test

My brother and I have been excitedly getting ready for an annual event in Fort Collins: The ZOMBIE CRAWL.

Over 1,000 people have signed up this year. We all plan to dress up like zombies, head to Old Town, and walk to a bunch of different stores, bars, and restaurants that are giving away zombie-themed food, drinks, and so forth. The event itself should be a lot of fun, but honestly I've been enjoying the preparations so much that even if the Crawl itself is a bust, I'll still be happy.

Dovey and I have been experimenting the last few days, trying to perfect the perfect zombie look. Here are a few techniques we worked on tonight:

Can you believe this is made with Elmers glue and tissue paper?

It reminds me of being a kid again, sequestered in the basement, watching horror movies and trying to re-create the effects with a F/X kit of my own. I used to love movies like Dawn of the Dead, and dreamed of someday working on a movie set myself. I lost that dream over the years. Playing with latex, nose putty, fake blood is something I haven't done since I was a teenager. But, I'm having such a good time with the makeup that Dove and I are even talking about doing it again after Halloween. Just for kicks.

I'll be sure to take a few pictures of the finished costumes before we head out the door for the Zombie Crawl. Should be a ghoulishly good time!



Fall has fallen

For the first time, we live in a house that's got tons of trees in the backyard. The last week or so, we've been totally bombarded with a really awe-inspiring amount of fallen leaves. They're everywhere. They cover the back deck like a carpet. We can barely even see the grass. It's a real onslaught. And since I love fall, I actually enjoy the mass amounts of leaves on the ground. I like the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind, the crunch of the leaves underfoot, the colors of the leaves on the ground... It's really beautiful.

Today, Frankie and I went in the backyard to enjoy a little of that autumn magic. We raked up a gaint pile of leaves and....

Yay, fall!!

My little Ninja

Frankie's been to karate twice and Girl Scouts once. Both activities, at least for now, seem to be a hit. Frankie's especially taken with the karate lessons. I actually enjoy going with her, too, since at the end of every lesson the instructor busts out some sort of barely-age-appropriate killing device. On Frankie's first lesson, they busted out the swords. On her second lesson, they asked her to spar with another kid in the MMA padded fighting cage. Then they busted out the ninja throwing stars.

That's right. The THROWING STARS.

I don't know if you've ever had the chance to watch a six year old girl huck throwing stars at a target shaped like a ninja. If not, I'd highly recommend it. It inspires an equal degree of awe and terror. That instructor is one brave hombre.

Frankie's Social Calendar

I'm always amazed when I talk to other moms in the neighborhood who have their kids enrolled in after-school activities every day of the week. Piano lessons, ballet, soccer, art, volunteer work...you name it. These kids have a packed social calendar. I'm starting to think that it's time that we did a bit more of that for Frankie, too. So, next week, Frankie's going to be starting two new activities:

Girl Scouts

and...

Karate!

The overall goal is to help Frankie get more socialized and get practice making friends. Also, I really want her to be able to SWEEP THE LEG on command.

Halloween Fun

Shadow monster

Frankie told me that a monster was making a scary shadow on the wall. I laughed it off as an overactive imagination until I saw this...