With a hip hip and a clippity-clop...

Well, I guess I’ll start off by saying happy November. I am extremely proud of myself in the fact that I have already taken down my Halloween decorations and replaced them with my Thanksgiving ones. Granted, the amount of Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations I own in no way rivals the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations I possess that are not so easily put up or taken down, but still…an accomplishment is an accomplishment.

Now, for the re-telling of our Halloween fun (up until I got food poisoning late Saturday night…but I will spare you the details other than to say that the times I truly know my husband loves me are when I’m sick). I am nothing if not a fan of traditions, so my celebrations throughout the year are largely tradition-based. Hence the following.

My friends and I watch The Watcher in the Woods every year. I don’t even remember for sure how, when or why this tradition started, but suffice it to say that it has been going on for almost 10 years. If you have not seen this movie, wow. FOR SHAME. Early-80s Disney horror at its finest. We’ve gotten to the point where we can quote our favorite parts word-for-word and are even able to bring them up in non-Halloween settings. (Also, the alternate endings for this movie are CLASSIC. Seriously. Look them up on YouTube.) We have progressed over the years to include potluck meals to go along with such fine cinema, because grownups have potlucks, dang it! And usually we treat ourselves to dessert in the form of pumpkin empanadas from the very classy Taco Time. We did not grow up on the West side for nothing, people.

We spent Friday night with Darth Vader, Spiderman and Yoda (AKA my cute, cute nephews) at the annual Stapley/Shegrud Halloween party with my dad’s side of the family, at which we went through a “scary” spook alley, watched the animated version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and had a rollicking eat-the-donut-off-of-the-string competition. We have been enjoying all of these activities every year since I was a little girl, courtesy of my Grandma and Grandpa Stapley (who have both passed away). This was the third viewing of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow this October for me and John, but oh how I love it. We all sing along with Bing Crosby as he tells the tale of Ichabod Crane (kind of odd, but nice just the same). It's kind of funny listening to how upbeat and lighthearted the title song is...and then you hear the line "With a hip-hip and a clippity-clop, he's out lookin' for a top to chop." Yeah. Little morbid. But SO fun. That is the magic of Disney, I guess.

Truthfully, I spent most of the night trying to convince myself that it would not be OK to steal this little one and take him home with me...