One Sword to Rule Them All...

Okay, if you think this is a post about my obsession with "The Lord of the Rings," forget it! I don't care to see those movies again as long as I live, but you can love them all you want (or the books for that matter). :P

The above picture was actually taken today at my workplace from the main IT guy who is fantastic with a camera. For those of us who dressed up, Ryan wanted to get a serious picture of each of us in B&W and then typed in random text, emailing the result for us to enjoy---and they were so awesome! For whatever reason, though, I feel super silly having a serious face in pictures---it's probably because I feel like a goofball in costume.

Originally when people at work asked me if I was going to dress up for Halloween, I said no because I simply don't dress up anymore. I can't remember the last time I had an actual costume for Halloween. It was one of my favorite holidays as a kid, more so than Thanksgiving, because I got to dress up into something I'm not, and then go around the neighborhood getting free candy, then coming home to gorge myself the next few days (trading out the nasty Tootsie Rolls to my sisters and neighbor of course--ick) on my spoil. Along with the ritual was to play Nintendo with my sisters. So as was tradition for each holiday as we grew older, whether it be Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, etc., we would eat the junk that was around the house, which was only natural that year, and play tons of Nintendo all day. That was how we had fun. And I have to say, it's still fun. :) But Halloween, since I no longer went trick-or-treating, had lost its charm...

But I'm totally getting off track. Anyway, a couple fun gals at work gave me a hard time about being a party-pooper when I said that I wasn't going to dress up, so the desire for a costume slowly grew on me over the next few days before the big day. I told Niklas about this, and somehow I started to think of costumes that would be an excuse for me to bring his medieval sword to work with me, since ever since my supervisor found out about it he always had to mention it in jest in conversation.

To my surprise, the evening before Halloween Eve, Niklas starts throwing out ideas about what I could be that could use a sword as an accessory. He thought of making fake armor, but that was pricey. So then a common medieval ranger came into view, and that became the choice costume.

The next day, on the 30th, while I accounted away at work, Niklas was scouring the abandoned lands of DI in Rexburg and Idaho Falls. He found a green dress that had the perfect top for a tunic. Next he found shoes, and then a pair of pants of the most hideous color, but perfect for the outfit, as well as a button-up undershirt. I was impressed, and so flattered that he would spend all this time and effort last-minute for a costume for me! What a guy. :)

Here was the final result, taken this morning before I left for work:


I'm not a fan of this picture, but it shows the costume pretty well. The cloak we found at Wal-Mart, and the green around the boats was cut out from the skirt part of the green dress found at DI. And of course, the infamous sword, which you can see in the first pic posted, of course.



Off to work I went, super tired like usual and having to go to the new sports bar in my get-up to help with the inventory count. I ended up popsicle-ized in a freezer for 1.5+ hours while another helpful co-worker tried to count things like prime rib, beer, wine, bread, etc. I was so glad to finally leave around almost noon and head back to the office. Oh, and did I forget to mention that we had a potluck today at work? So I signed up to bring pepper pork for sandwiches and Niklas ended up making it with crockpot magic the day before. I just had to warm it back up. Gold star for Niklas again!

Once I got back to the office, it was time for the costume contest. As I entered the sales room full of people, including Homer Simpson, a geisha, a jester (not sure what it's really called...), etc., my co-worker Darcie exclaimed that she was so proud of me for dressing up. :P And then I found out that we were supposed to do some kind of act for the judges, and it was my turn. Totally not what I was hoping for. So after hearing someone tell me to walk the runway, I did just that---I goofily pulled the sword from my sheath and started to strut with blade in hand down a make-believe "runway", making girly poses with the sword. After a few mild whoops and hollers, I was done, and glad of it, only to hear one of the judges say, "I wasn't looking---you'll have to go again." WHAT...? Once was bad enough! {:'( By that time I had lost my flourish and fake confidence, so I just did some lame sword poses and called it good. In short, totally didn't win; but it was fun to see what others did on the spot, and to know that I wasn't the only self-conscious one.

Life became quiet again in my little office as I tried to focus on work, and next thing I know the secretary comes in (totally dressed to the nines in a punk rocker outfit with blood-red and black eye shadow with a Guitar Hero guitar to top it off---she truly looked the part---freaky!) and says, "Someone here who wants to see you." I'm thinking, who would want to see me?? As I wait with a smile on my face, I suddenly see this tall cloaked figure through my hallway window---but not his head. Fear grips my heart, and...!


YES, Creepy Dude sweeps into my office, his skeleton eyes flashing red (literally) and coming at me in a frightening manner while other co-workers Ryan, Robb, and secretary Ashley look on gleefully. This horrifying grim reaper kept looking down at me, pawing at my face and hair and growling if I said anything at all to it! Talk about creepy!! And if you notice in the picture, I had left the sword resting against my cabinet, so I was helpless to fight back. I played it up, of course, but I was so relieved when that guy left. After freaking me out for a minute or two, he swept just as swiftly out of my office as he had come in, and headed into the sales room. A couple minutes later a young woman comes into my office and says how much she hates that costume and was hiding from him. I guess he is a friend of some people at work, and he comes every year to freak the office out. He also loves to scare trick-or-treaters on Halloween. How sad! After talking to Ashley a bit later about Creepy Dude, she said that she thought of telling me beforehand that he was coming; but then she thought, "Eh, nobody told ME when he was coming when I was new." I made sure to let her know how thoughtful that was of her---how sensitive. :P

If only I had taken a stance against Creepy Dude...


Ha, yeah right. If only.

After Creepy Dude left the premise completely I decided that I was Halloweened out. That's when Ryan took the B&W photos and then I was super tired after the day's festivities and junk food. (Yes, believe that I hunted down the chocolate in the potluck room and ate too much.) But I had to stick around for the cute little trick-or-treaters that would be coming through the office, the children of those who work there. So I got to give candy to a tiny ladybug, a couple of green fairies, Optimus Prime, Power Rangers, and even a little peacock among others. I love little kids in costume, so I'm definitely glad that I stuck around for that.

In the end, this Halloween turned out to one of the better ones, thanks to the workplace. After getting home I turned into a pumpkin and smashed myself upon the couch next to my pumpkin husband, and we enjoyed watching the ever-so classic movie "Short Circuit."

I had to make some dessert tonight for tomorrow's Visiting Teaching Conference that I have to attend tomorrow morning from 11 to 1. Also, lookey, I baked some orange crescents for the ward Halloween Party a week ago---here's a picture and a link to the recipe if you would like to try them sometime.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Orange-Crescents

Anyway, I'd better get off for now before I keep writing. Happy Halloween!!