Special guest post by author of Bonded by Blood and Embraced by Blood, Laurie London. Plus, Good Choice Reading is giving away a copy of both books. Hooray!
Make sure to check out all the other participating blogs:
Once Upon A Twilight, Dark Readers, Books With Bite, Skyla11377, AliseOnLife (Read My Mind), and An Avid Readers Musings .
Halloween ten years ago marked the beginning of the end for me as Martha Stewart.
Each year, when my kids were little (they’re now teenagers), we threw a Not-So-Scary Halloween party and lots of planning went into it.
I spent hours making invitations, using my mad scrapbooking skills. Sewing costumes (including my own—the ladybug outfit was my favorite) took the better part of the month as did decorating the house.
The day before the party, I spent all my time baking, planning the scavenger hunt, stuffing the party bags and preparing the food. Bat cupcakes made from scratch, not a mix, that I decorated using my mad cake-decorating skills and homemade frosting. Witches’ Brew. Monster fingers. Veggies and homemade ranch dressing.
I utilized all my inner Martha Stewart-ness.
An hour before the party that ended it all, I asked my daughter to put on her costume. She was going as Madeline: blue dress with a large collar and red ribbon bow, Mary Janes, white socks and a hat. She was adorable.
For five minutes.
She decided she didn’t want to dress up and took off the costume I’d slaved over. (My mom referred to her as a little storm cloud for very good reason.) Short of ordering her to put it back on (which I considered), there was nothing I could say or do to change her mind.
The Witches’ Brew was boring—the kids wanted pop.
The Monster Fingers (pigs in a blanket) were okay, but I think the dads ate most of them.
No one touched the veggies except for a few of the moms. After all, who wants something healthy when there’s so much candy around?
The frosting on the cupcakes was licked off, leaving behind the moist, rich cake I’d made from scratch.
Judging from how much fun the kids had, the party was a success. But I was really disappointed. All my hard work was unnecessary and unappreciated.
We did a few more Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties but my inner Martha was gone. I bought the invitations, purchased simple, no frills costumes, and picked up the cupcakes at the grocery store.
Turns out, the kids had just as much fun and I had a lot more time on my hands.
Happy Halloween!
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GIVEAWAY:
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Hey Laurie!
ReplyDeleteI can relate. As much as I have to go all out for everything, sometimes it is best to take the short cuts and enjoy more of what I generally miss. It is just so dang hard when I think of other things I could have done. I absolutely loved your story in A Vampire for Christmas (anthology) and can't wait until I get a chance to read the other Sweetblood Novels. I look forward to it! :)
Kendra