We have been so productive during this extended weekend! Perhaps someday it won’t feel like we live in a shanty. At the very least, it should be pretty clean for next weekend’s Vintage Snack Attack party that we’re having. 

Sometime during our quest to unlock total organization in our house, Henry found a stack of letters that I had my friends write to an unborn Chooch at my baby shower. I completely forgot these existed and boy are there some gems up in there. Several are from complete lunatics who thankfully packed up their Crazy and took it elsewhere, so Henry and I got some big LOLs and mild skin crawls out of those. (Remind me, Blog, to someday tell you of the Gallaghers! And Krazy Kathy! And Regan & Lance, the Civil War reenacters!)

Anyway, by the time Chooch arrived at Janna’s, his face was beet red from his patented brand of asphyxiating laughter. “Your friends have really shitty handwriting,” was basically what he took away from this exercise.  

Saturday morning, we got up early and went to Pat Catan’s because they were having some extended Black Friday sale and believe me we’re not the types to give a shit about this, but Henry stopped there on actual Black Friday too and was so proud of himself because he bought $140 worth of frames for $60 (what a deft act of consumerism!) and I only care because this benefitted me since I practically run a foster home for posters and screen prints but now most of them are framed and on walls! 

Henry needed more craft shit though so we stopped there around 8:30 and it was blessedly empty of overzealous deal-seekers. I hate craft stores but I always need the wares they’re selling. One of my many plights in life. 

I don’t know what my point was. 

After that, we met our friend Angie at Blue Flame for breakfast where she ACCUSED ME OF LIKING NICKELBACK. But then she invited us back to her house and gave us a tray of homemade cookie dough truffles, so all is well. 

She recently bought a house and was asking me for decorating ideas and I was just like why is she asking me if all people, because I walk into a room and think OMG my fake chapel for music worship can go in here! And Henry can install a slide into the ceiling for fast access from the master bathroom! 

Chooch was so proud of himself for capturing a rare Henry-smile. 
  

Then we came home and hung more pictures! And by we I mean Henry! Chooch said that sometimes he lays in bed and looks at all the art on his wall. I was like GOOD BECAUSE THATS THE POINT IDIOT.    

He’s still not pleased about his portrait HAHAHAHAH. 

 Henry rearranged the dining room wall too which is FINE but I won’t be happy with it until he paints it some gaudy color. I haven’t settled on one yet. 

I was cleaning out a junk drawer and found this gem which I honestly had no idea I still had:

I will own up to once casually liking ICP, but NEVER NICKELBACK!

In other weekend haps, we decorated Trudy last night and she looks motherfucking elegant. More on that later. The Walking Dead is on now, so….

P.S. I need to take a blog post titling class, clearly. 

We’re doing our yearly “shit, this house is a sty, let’s move things around and mask the mess with glitter and paint” song & dance. We have this one bookshelf downstairs that used to be a shelf for books but has somehow become the catch all for our card supplies*, of which we have a lot. Card stock, envelopes, tape, mailing crap…it all lies willy nilly on this shelf and it LOOKS HIDEOUS.

(*non compos cards  for your serial killer greeting card needs, y’all)

So I thought while Henry was at work today that I would do something nice and start taking everything off the shelf all on my own. I had everything in piles; card shit, my precious stuff, and stuff that looked like garbage but was probably shit that Henry needed because all his crap is boring and looks like garbage. 

While I was at it, I started pulling shit off a shelf we have upstairs too. It felt great to chuck things into the trash! And I even found an old Fall Out Boy ticket stub from 2004! And the grilled cheese drawling my friend Sarah made me years ago which I am still going to get tattooed someday. And also a calculus test that I got a 100% on and now Chooch is in awe of me because he apparently missed the thousands of memos I leave around the house that talk about HOW SMART I IS. 

 Anyway, Henry came home from work and I was all, “Surprise!” while coughing on dust bunnies. 

He was surprisingly PISSED?! Apparently he wanted to do this himself and look at the mess I made, blah blah blah and he actually RAISED HIS VOICE AT ME?!

Oh bitch you did not. 

“SORRY THAT I WAS JUST TRYING TO BE HELOFUL BUT I CLEARLY ONLY MAKE A MESS!!”

So I did what I always do and ran upstairs to pout, kicking something over in a fit of rage on the way to my room. 

Henry came up a few minutes later and calmly said, “I’m sorry I yelled at you….but you have to pick up that stuff you kicked out there” and then he started laughing so I kicked him in the stomach and we’re even now. 

Also, I didn’t pick up what I kicked over. He did, haha. And now he’s hanging up pictures at 11pm because I told him I didn’t feel like waiting till tomorrow for it to be done.

Ooh! Ooh! Speaking of tomorrow, we’re decorating Trudy tomorrow night with Corey and Janna! Chooch was like, “Tell Corey and Janna that I will play Xmas songs on my keyboard” and sadly, he was serious. I hate Xmas songs. 

  
“Can we drink lots of wine?” Corey texted me. I read it to Henry and he muttered, “I don’t care what you do.”

Speaking of Trudy, today I yelled at Chooch because he left the front door open and Trudy didn’t have pants on! Rude. 

   
Last weekend, Henry painted one of the walls in our bedroom pink at my request. It’s kind of a nook-ish area of the room where I have a desk that never gets used for anything more than a clothes catch-all. 

I’m always bitching about how I never have anywhere around the house to paint my fake-art. Usually, I paint while standing at the kitchen sink and it kills my back. I can’t believe it took me 10 years to realize that this corner of my room was the perfect spot. Plus, Henry installed a swag lamp right above the desk and the lighting situation is on point. 

Now that the paint is finally dry, Henry said we could start hanging up the pictures that I picked out because God forbid I make this an easy project for him by stopping at one painted wall. 

I was really excited because at the Dance Gavin Dance show, I bought this sweet screenprint and knew immediately it had to be the focal point:

  
I let him take a break from measuring the wall and taking up templates and we ordered Thanksgiving pizza because we’re super traditional like that. 

I dressed Trudy in the meantime. 

  
Chooch hates her and tells her she’s stupid every time he walks past. Once we strangle her with Christmas lights, I think he’ll come around. 

Finally, it was time for henry to start desecrating another wall in a house we don’t own! And of course the wall is rock solid because they house is old and stupid, so he broke a drill bit, whatever that means, and had the audacity to say oh well, guess he’ll have to finish tomorrow. But too bad I made him go to Walmart. On thanksgiving. He wasn’t very happy but said that since he was the only one there buying a drill bit and not 870 Christmas gifts, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. 

 
While he was gone though, Chooch came upstairs wearing a bandanna and a broken pair of Henry’s glasses. He said he was Hoover-era Henry (a/k/a back when I used LiveJournal and referred to Henry as Hoover because he sucked the fun out of everything, and he wore a bandanna every day) and started saying shit like, “No I’m not taking you to see Emarosa in Georgia! You just saw them TWO WEEKS AGO!”

   
By the time Henry came home, Chooch had advanced to “Lumbersexual”-era Henry and Henry was just like “OMG why.”

    
I’m pretty sentimental and obsessed with surrounding myself with framed memories so I feel really calm and content in this area now, which is good because everywhere else in this house is HIGH ALERT: CLUTTER and it makes me feel nervous and frantic. 

    
 Man, I really hope that this helps me be more productive because I have become a real slacker lately. We’re putting shelves on the small wall to the left and that’s where I’m going to keep jars of pens and brushes AND MORE SUCCULENTS, obviously. 
 And that’s been my Thanksgiving 2015: lots of bossing Henry around, pouting when things were taking too long, and listening to Dance Gavin Dance on repeat. Hope yours is everything you wanted it to be!

Henry and I were on our way home from Cleveland last night when I started laughing.

“Remember right in the beginning of our relatuonship, when we took our first road trip? And it was all the way to Wisconsin to see Cold?”

Henry said yes, in a tone strangulated with caution and trepidation, like he was waiting for me to say that [name any of my favorite bands] is going to be playing a festival there and omg we need to go. 

But that wasn’t it. I was just laughing at how different our relationship is now, 14 years later, but also how some things just don’t change. “Did you ever think to yourself back then that this was just something you had to endure temporarily? That I would ‘outgrow’ the obsession with going to shows?”

Henry just looked at me and smirked like that was a stupid question. 

14 years later, he’s still sacrificing sleep and hearing quality just so I can have a few hours of therapy inside some grungey club, swooning over the bands who heal my heart. 

I guess that’s love 

So here I am, on Thanksgiving Eve, being thankful once again for Henry, someone who never made me stop being me, and never tried to change me or force me to grow up. Someone who gave me a chance to start over with my own brand new family and was confident that I wouldn’t fuck it up. 

And I’m thankful that Chooch just rolls with our…untraditional way of life and doesn’t seem to be too emotionally maimed from it. Yet, anyway. I love our idiotic little family. 

I am NOT thankful for Henry’s lawn mower-levels of snoring though. But last night was amazing so I’ll try not to curtail his snoring by punching him in the back, like I usually do. 

****

And real quick, I’m also thankful for these things off the top of my head, some simple, some great: 

• Black Friday ads almost being over
• Having the privilege of making art for people
• Not having a job I hate
• Bleu cheese coleslaw & Froot Loops on vegan hot dogs
• Succulents filling the empty pet void in my heart
• My friends who stick by me even when I get super annoying/bitchy/emo
• Gospel aerobics

We didn’t make plans for tomorrow and I’m cool with that. I just want to hang out and boss Henry around. We’re doing house things, which obviously means I’m sketching things on the backs of bills and then Henry is sighing and turning those sketches into tangible projects. Yay holidays! 

  
12:12pm: Henry and I just left the house for Cleveland. Tonight is the Dance Gavin Dance 10th Anniversary tour and I can guarantee I will be, at the very least, dry-heaving at some point. I want to say that this will be a Liveblog event (lol) but I upgraded my phone and now my WordPress app is revolting. I’ll at least try to get shots of all of the flamboyant frowns that are sure to hijack Henry’s face throughout the day!

12:57pm: I made myself eggs this morning which is never wise. If I were to get sick, would it have happened by now? I feel like I’m starting to get sick now but I can’t determine if it’s nerves or salmonella. 

1:00pm: JUST MADE CONTACT WITH THE FIRST TRUCKER OF THE TRIP! He gave me a salutory headnod and Henry frowned. I feel better now. But maybe a candy bar might help too. Meanwhile, we just went through the toll booth thing and the toll booth guy asked Henry how he was doing. “You didn’t ask him how he was doing, rude” I said as we drove off. “He’s sitting in a toll booth making money, he’s fine,” Henry mumbled. 

1:06pm: Not gonna lie though, I can still taste those eggs. 

1:30pm: when you order an iced latte and they give it to you hot and you don’t have the patience to wait for a new one or to paint your nails anymore for that matter. 

Suck a dick, Panera. 

2:36pm: Saw a sign on the highway that said “No HM” and Professional Driver Henry didn’t know what it meant!! Google tells me it means “hazardous materials” so hopefully if you were the type to cart around HM, you’d be able to decode such signs. 

3:00pm: My favorite store in Cleveland is CLOSED ON TUESDAYS, whyyyyy?!  

3:28pm: Just had one of the most satisfying pees of my life in the Burger King bathroom. 30 minutes to kill before the place we’re eating dinner at opens so Henry has been cruising around Detroit Ave since EVERY vintage shop is closed today. Why you hate me, CLE?

3:58pm: We’re about to meet our friend Jason for food at Happy Dog. “Don’t worry I’ll try not to call you BAE in front of your buddy,” I laughed. “How about try not calling me it AT ALL,” Henry barked. 

4:05pm: I’M GOING FOR IT. 

5:13pm: YOU GUYS, BEST DECISION. MOTHERFUCK WAS THAT A GREAT IDEA. Look at this sexy beast:  

And man was it great to see our buddy Jason and talk all things music! His reaction when I told him I went to see Boz Scaggs was priceless.   

5:54pm: Officially in line outside of House of Blues after Henry road raged and then his resistance to commit vehicular homocide was rewarded with a parking space right across the street. Also? So fucking old and everyone stared at us when we slipped into line. Don’t fucking care.

6:15pm: just met th Cleveland Stick Man. He was giving away warm hugs but no one would take one. He let me hold his walking stick that he just finished today – it has Saint Nick on it! He reminded me of Henry’s mom, if she were a homeless black man. 

6:45pm; Inside HOB now and far away from the couple behind me who made out the whole time and giggled like junior high bitches. I’m armed with a can of cider and ready to have my emotions steamrolled. Meanwhile, some mom-broad just told Henry that she wasn’t trying to play footsies with him, just trying to get her feet situated. He seemed disappointed. 

7:31: I waited years to see Strawberry Girls but it was worth it. Zachary Garron basically had sex with his guitar on stage. WE WERE ALL THERE FOR THE MONEY SHOT. Henry’s review: *half shrug* they weren’t bad.   

8:09pm: Dayshell is over now. They were ok. I tried to explain to Henry that the singer Shayley used to do clean vocals in Of Mice & Men and now there is bad blood between the two bands, bad enough to that Dayshell gave up their spot on the 2014 Warped Tour because OM&M was also on it. Anyway, henry said he didn’t sound familiar to him at all.  The best part was when Rick Astley was playing before they came out and then when it stopped, everyone made various sounds of disappointment. Also, their drummer looks like a young Bieber.    Henry’s review: *shrugs & shakes his head*

    
A Lot Like Birds is setting up now and I’m fucking swooning. KURT!!!!!! What do all the kids say these days? NOTICE ME!!!

8:57pm: ALLB just wrecked me. I might need to pause the Liveblog event & restart on the way home because it’s only about to get worse. Jonny Craig’s dumb band is up next and I purposely haven’t seen him since May 2014 because he sucks.  So, this is going to be interesting. Henry’s review: *smirks*

  
11:15pm: I feel like I was just hit by a semi. We just left HOB. It was amazing. DGD is the best. I got to see Kurt on stage with them again! I think I need time to process this. But I will say that I was a complete brat during Slaves’ set and sat on a stool with my back toward them and played on my phone and then talked really loudly to no one in particular about how they’re all douchebags. Henry was like “Is Jonny wearing a skirt? And leggings? And ELF SHOES?!” And I was like that’s what happens when Amanda isn’t around to style him anymore. Luckily, they were having issues and had to cut their set short and I openly rejoiced and then I mightily flipped them off because FUCK YOU, MISOGYNISTIC HERBS. #NotLit

11:35pm: I’d like to add that Henry did fuck all during the whole show, but during DGD, he actually slow-clapped after every song. Amaze. 

11:55 Just devoured a post-show muffin from Sheetz & never did figure out the flavor and then afterward I tried to hand off the muffin’s paper-skirt to Henry but he told me to  “just hold onto it” what a motherfucker. 

12:19am: when asked if he had fun, I initially thought Henry said “yeah” but turns out he said “eh” which is still better than “nah.”

12:59am: pay that toll, muthafucka!  

1:06am: Listening to Balance & Composure and thinking of that fucking hotdog which I have obviously dubbed The Bae. I caught some hate for it on various social media platforms but I won’t back down.  I stand by my decision to order a fake hotdog with bleu cheese coleslaw and Froot Loops. It worked, OK? I can’t wait to have another. In the interim, I’ll probably just start sprinkling Froot Loops on everything else I eat.  

In case anyone cares, Henry’s hotdog had Everything cream cheese, hot sauce, and a fried egg on it. #basic

1:35am: We just hit downtown Pittsburgh so I’m going to take that as my queue to peace out because as soon as I get in the house, this head o’ mine is hitting the nearest pillow. 

Somehow, five years has passed since this weekend trip to Lancaster and I’m finding it hard to believe that:

• I have inexplicably been back to Lancaster so many times that you’d think we either had
  • a timeshare
  • a sickness only shoofly pie can cure
• I somehow lost interest in photobombing weeners into pictures of Henry.
  • Believe me, it’s definitely not because I matured at all

I’m finding it NOT hard to believe that I:

• sent someone a post card from the POV of Henry’s eyebrows
  • It was probably for Alyson

Anyway, enjoy some pictures of Henry being degraded by iPhone-sketched genitalia.

***

I’m home from our weekend trip to Commercialized Amish Exploitation, f/k/a Amish Country, or Lancaster, PA. It was a bummer, but we still had fun because we were with Tommy and Jessy so shenanigans still played out regardless. I was mostly sad for Jessy because she’s really into shopping for country things but nearly every shop was an overblown tourist trap claiming to be authentic but I had suspicions. We did go to some Amish farm though and bought cheese and root beer from a cute little tow-headed Amish boy struggling with his English. I wanted to swap him out with Chooch, who was being a big fucking asshole that afternoon.

I have lots more to write about the weekend, but I would like to for now just post the pictures I took of Henry in compromising situations. I spent a lot of time laughing at these. Only Jessy thought they were funny. Henry just frowned a lot and Tommy’s was like, “WTF is wrong with you?” while making covert signs of the crosses and thanking God I’m not his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Chooch was like, “How many times are you going to make weener pictures, Mommy?” in an exasperated tone. He is only four, remember. Someday he’ll think this is funny. Unless he decides to just fail me altogether.

This was the one that started it all. I already posted it on Saturday but WHO CARES. Henry, yukking it up in the front seat with his boyfriend Tommy, ooooooh Tommy. I looked at it and the first thing I thought was, “I need to find a big Swedish dick, sopping with sweat, to enter that gaping maw RIGHTNOW.” Good thing I kept Chooch’s Doodle Buddy app on my phone (I was going to delete it last week!). This made Jessy and me giggle in the backseat for a little while.

Later that night, just Henry, Chooch and I went to DUTCH WONDERLAND OMG. Chooch and I were walking out of the Wonder House (I’m building one in my backyard, just as soon as I learn how to use a hammer. And build things.) and Henry was standing there with Duke the Dino pressed up against his side. Henry looked all awkward, like, “I swear I was just standing here and then this thing started side-humping me for no reason at all! Baby, you know I only like yellow mascots!” I was sad because by the time I got my phone out to take this picture, Duke had set his sights on erotically asphyxiating some 10-year-old boy. Turns out it was kismet, as far as weener pictures go.

Henry Goes COCKoo for Intercourse. We won’t be much schlonger now, enjoy the dicktivities!

On the way home, we stopped in Hershey, PA and ate at the Capitol Diner. Is it sad that the picture I took there was completely premeditated? I had been thinking of it since I woke up that morning and then nearly forgot about it by the time dinner rolled by!

Mmmm, ejaculicious!

I wish making Henry’s life hell was my job. It’s the only thing I’m good at.

1.  
I keep calling Henry “My Little Saul Berenson” and he is not thrilled about it. [SHOUT OUT TO MY HOMELAND-WATCHING FRIEND(S).]

2.  

I finally got Henry to hang up the swag lamp that we bought on a really volatile day last July. We’re in the process of turning this one side of our bedroom into a painting nook so that I can stop standing at the kitchen sink when I paint because that’s where my “art studio” currently is. Fake artists have fake studios. It’s cool, though. My back enjoys being stooped. 

And when I say we’re “in the process” I mean that I told Henry that’s what I want to do and can we please paint the wall and hang up pictures of all of my favorite bands? You know, for inspiration? OMG GREAT THANKS!

(He is still barking a hearty NO to my GOLD CEILING requests. He can just go fuck right off.)

3.  

Our Xmas tree is coming along nicely! I have tentatively named her Trudy. A few more coats and then she can be dressed in tinsel and lights. It might seem ridiculous, but having her in the house makes me feel like A PIECE OF ME HAS BEEN PUT IN PLACE. I have wanted this for nearly 20 years!

I’m glad that Henry goes along with all of my ideas and demands. EXCEPT FOR THE GOLD CEILING. God, he’s the worst. 

I spent the evening at the Altar Bar last night. It was surreal, guilt-laden, and also a bit therapeutic in light of the recent Paris attacks. There isn’t anything I can say that will make any difference or impact, or even motivate anyone to be kind to each other. I have no better way to articulate my thoughts or make any better sense of this tragedy than the person before me or after me. I can post all of the pictures of the Eiffel Tower, but it doesn’t matter—connecting with others is what matters. The world is a scary place and I wanted to hug everyone around me last night, even the two Mona Lisa Sapersteins to the right of me, who, on a normal night, would have sincerely pissed me off.

Even them.

Music is the one thing that always helps me decompress and forget for a few moments about all that is wrong in this world. The fact that one of the attacks happened while people were only trying to do that same exact thing is horrifying, depressing, and gut-wrenchingly sad.

It was a somber night. I was there alone and while I really wanted to just be home with Henry and Chooch, standing in a roomful of strangers brought together by a love for music was like slapping a bunch of bandaids on the ol’ bleeding heart. The music was beautiful, tears were shed, there was a token drunk guy acting wildly inappropriate during Copeland. And somehow, in the midst of all of the chaos, there was a bright spot, a quick moment of hope and joy, when a man got on stage during Eisley’s set and proposed to his girlfriend. Sharing that moment with a roomful of cheering and crying strangers brought about a sense of humanity that really needed to be felt right then and there.

In lieu of hashtags and posting Paris vaca throwback pics, I just want to share music with everyone today. I know, I do that basically everyday; but really, it’s the only way I know how to connect and find comfort. If only things could be so simple. 

 Maybe I might hug someone today, too. Probably just Henry, though—let’s not go crazy. 

I don’t pray, but I do cry a lot. And I’m not just crying for Paris, I’m crying for the whole goddamn world. Because it never really ends, does it? 

Today we hung out with Blake so I could photograph a sequel to the pumpkin head photos that he posed for in 2009. I wanted to use the inside of a church as the location but Henry was like NOT IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD so then Blake suggested that we walk down a bike trail nearby in Hays, which took us past the spot where Barb’s beloved eagle nest is located. IN YER FACE BARB!

Anyway, it was a nice leisurely stroll and Chooch and Blake were excited because they saw a bitch fall off her bike BUT I MISSED IT, UGH. 

“And she even had training wheels!” Chooch wheezed with laughter, at which point Blake said he didn’t realize it was a kid and now he was having laughter remorse; I would not have tried to return my laughter though HAD I SEEN IT. 

Hope everyone had a non-volatile Sunday with little-to-no bicycle spills. 

 Flailing. 

Typical. 

Afterward, we went to Steak n Shake, where Blake fake-bullied Chooch and then Chooch fake-cried (he is scarily good at that) pretty much the whole time and I think the only reason we didn’t get kicked out is because the employees were being just as rowdy and obnoxious and they were apparently bullying our waitress?! I didn’t know this until after we left and Henry mentioned that there was a group of them talking shit on her, wtf? 

Now I kind of want to go back and defend her honor, even though she served me a grilled cheese with a BEEF PATTY on it. 

My favorite part was when Blake tried to force Chooch to eat a crayon while people at other tables were probably recording the scene to later parent-shame us on social media. 

And also when Blake spilled Chooch’s lemonade during one of their violent fits on each other. 

And let’s not forget when Blake smashed the cardboard kids meal bus that he and Chooch built together, causing Chooch to dramatically and believably fake-cry, making Blake look like a grade A brute. 

 
The only thing that was missing was one of them hauling back an arm to punch the other, but accidentally missing and punching a loaded tray out of a waitress’s hands. 

  
Here are some old pictures. First batch is from 9/2012. I guess Chooch was like 6 here? Sadly, this abandoned street caught on fire and supposedly nothing is left now which sucks because it was always my back-up plan for when other locations failed. Here’s to you, Abandoned Street In Clairton. Thanks for the memories. 

And these ones are from 7/2014.    
    
  Supposed to be taking pictures of Chooch & Blake tomorrow and I’m really sad that this place isn’t an option. :(

In addition to plopping tears all over the place, eating cookies, and having my dancing skills mocked, there was also lots of group picture-taking and haunted basement exploring! Chris stepped away from her own celebrations to PERSONALLY escort Chooch and me down into the basement. Oh yeah, that’s us, being escorted to a place by the BRIDE.

“They literally don’t care what you do around here,” she said, nodding toward the front desk. We poked around a little but come on—it’s me and Chooch. We came back later with Lauren, Tony, Nate and some dude. Nate and some dude were too scared to venture very far, but the rest of us kept exploring further into the depths of the George Washington Hotel and it was AWESOME.

There was a sunken event room down there and I was obsessed with it. It had a medieval vibe. 

But parts of the basement definitely should have been cordoned off from the public, like this FLOODED STORAGE ROOM, WHAT:

Chooch: I’m over here with Lauren. I’m fine! I don’t have a crush on her now or anything!

Serial killer work bench.

Honestly, I was half-afraid that we were going to become reluctant witnesses to a murder down there.

But then it was time to go back upstairs for more pictures! You can tell I’ve been drinking when I’m actively participating in having my image captured.

The bartender took this of us when we were waiting for Chooch to retrieve Lauren and Tony for a Table 15 photo. April and I both agree that we have no recollection what we were doing in this shot, other than obviously performing the Waiting for Chooch to Retrieve Lauren and Tony jig.

And then she took this wonderfully blurry group shot of us, but that’s OK. IT’S STILL A CUTE PICTURE.

Fun fact: two days before the wedding, I said to Henry, “So…are you cutting your hair for the wedding or….?”

Henry, without looking up from his phone (honestly, nothing he looks at on his phone is interesting!) said, “I don’t know…why?”

“Oh no reason, I just don’t want to look like I brought Billy Bob with me as my date,” I answered with passive-aggressive cheer.

Without saying a word, Henry stormed out of the house and came back with his woodhick follicles shorn into a respectable, modern style.

Meanwhile, Henry dozed off at the table while we were excavating George Washington’s bowels. Chris took this from her cousins’s phone and I am forever grateful!

(“I WASN’T SLEEPING!” Henry whined.)

And then this happened (I need to buy a real copy!):  

*****

Sometime around 11, the DJ announced that the reception was ending but that the party was going to move to the hotel bar. We couldn’t stay (THANKS CHOOCH) so we went over to say our goodbyes, which is when Chooch accidentally pulled Monica to the ground, which in some customs is considered GOOD LUCK for the marriage. 

Just saying. 

The guy who did my apple tattoo posted about Drawlloween on Instagram, which is basically a month of drawing prompts. Chooch enjoys drawing and when I showed this to him, he was pretty gung-ho about it.

I anticipated him to give up half way through, because that’s the True Oh Honestly Way.

But he made it all the way to the second to the last day before losing steam! He finally finished his last drawing today and it was the best one IF YOU ASK ME.

Anyway, here they are, because I told him I would and I only lie sometimes.
  

Somewhere around here I convinced him to use unlined paper, for god’s sake.
  

His amulet was inspired by The Monster Squad, obviously. And he combined grave and demon into one picture because “other people are doing that too!

” God, sorry for asking.

He was going to draw our neighbor Jackie for “witch” but forgot what she looked like. (He had a fight with her a few months ago and after she told him he’s a trouble maker, he blurted out that she’s a witch and we all had a good laugh about that later because who knew he could be so PG.)

His spider was REALLLLLY uninspired, but the dragon makes up for it, if you ask me.

Tell Chooch what you think!

I’m sure if you have children, you share my pain and frustration when it comes to Halloween. I’m thankful that Chooch goes to a school that at least acknowledges that Halloween exists, but then they go and take all the fun out of it because there are so many rules and restrictions when it comes to what they’re allowed to wear and bring in for snacks. 

Anyway, Chooch’s main costume for trick or treating breaks the “NO WEAPONS” rule because it involves half a homemade arrow god forbid. So at the last minute, I decided that we might as well make use of his pink hair and build a cheap l, bare bones costume around it because  the school’s sad excuse for a Halloween party is not worth much more effort than this. 

Stupid cotton candy. 

Henry came home from work early enough to walk to the school and watch the parade with me, so he was there to witness the moment when Chooch broke my HEART by waking out with the cotton all unfluffed AND NO SIGN. 

“He looks like a half-assed clown going to a birthday party! This is STUPID. I HATE TODAY,” I cried to Henry who gave me his canned response of “Take it easy.”

And that little jerk knew he fucked up because he gave me that shit-eating grin/shrug combo and I mouthed “YOU ARE DEAD TO ME” at which point he turned back to his dumb friends and giggled his way on down the parade route while my feelings hung out to dry on a clothesline fashioned from my fragile ego. 

I stormed off with Henry casually following me like this wasn’t the worst thing in the world and he wasn’t bothered by it AT ALL. 

I’ll spare you the details, but there was also a complete tantrum thrown in the middle of an alley on the way to Cannon Coffee and then I was like IM JUST GOING HOME and got even more mad when Henry didn’t try to stop me but then we ended up going to Cannon Coffee anyway because I knew there was no coffee at home and I NEEDED IT. 

I was mostly ok after that. Although Henry just now begged me to please try to calm down for the rest of the day because apparently I’m being a bitch.

I hate Halloween. 

J/K! I still love Halloween. 

  
There is just not enough time for me to get as much done as I would like, but I am slowly plowing through my list of custom paintings. SO WHY NOT START MORE PROJECTS. It’s not like we have Halloween costumes to make or anything.  

I have a bunch of shrink plastic left over from my last failed foray into jewelry-making, so why not waste more time! I’ve been wanting to turn some of my recent people-paintings into pendants and whatever, so I gave it a trial run last night. 

Sophia Petrillo ring and my majorly chipped nails. 
  

Sexy HEY-SOOS pendant.   

These are pretty rough prototypes just to see how they hold up. So far so good, so now I’ll make some fancier ones, maybe! Probably not! I don’t do “fancy” very well. 

In the next segment of this late night Tuesday blog post, let’s look at some recent paintings I made, because this is kind of a business and I should probably try to  promote it every once in awhile. Sorry to be so annoying & in yo’ face. 

Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens.   Frank-n-Furter for Chris, a super belated birthday gift because I’m a great friend. 

But at least my wedding gift for her and Monica was on time. 

And then this one was for my work friend Jill’s sister, who is a master biker. I like when I get to paint happy scenery. 

I just finished another custom order tonight but it’s for a birthday/Xmas gift so I can’t post it yet. And today someone bought my Lizzie Borden and Log Lady paintings! I can go to more haunted houses now!

I have another day off on Friday and I really need to make new serial killer holiday cards so FINGERS CROSSED that I can get motivated. I could never be a fake artist full time. I know you’ve been wishing on falling stars for a Ted Bundy Hanukkah card. 

As always, if you’re looking for an original gift or something to cover a hole in the wall, please visit my Etsy shop: somnambulant. 

Yesterday was Chris and Monica’s wedding and it was lovely. I almost never use that word in a non-sarcastic sense, but my sentiments are real. There will be a proper post about that, believe me, but for now, here’s a picture of what my kid wore, which I made him re-wear today when I realized I didn’t get any decent photos of him wearing clothes that weren’t dirty or full of holes. 

He somehow managed to keep his shirt tucked in all night, too!

(His bow tie is actually from Spirit Halloween; he wanted it because it’s Minecraft-esque.)

We’re currently rounding out another beautiful fall weekend with a trip to the WV state pen in Moundsville for their haunted house with my sister Amy and her daughter Brooke. October weekends forever!