Always Check Your Armpits

It isn't often I get dressed up. In fact, any day I wear something other than a t-shirt I'm dressed up. It had to be a special day for me to pull out a sleeveless number and the pearls, but for my cousin's wedding, it was such the occasion. After sporting a sweater all day and through much of the evening, it was time to get down, and the sweater had to come off. I would say it was a good two hours without my sweater before I found myself alone in the bathroom and compelled to check my armpits. Thank God I did! That cute little black sweater had left some major European style build up right in my underarms. How many songs did I dance to with my arms flailing up in the air? Oh boy, who got up close and personal with those fuzzy ladies? How humiliating! No one owned up to spotting my 'fashion statement', but none-the-less, in future sleeveless situations I will strive to check my pits. Let's hope it isn't a lesson lost over the winter.

Ohio has done it again. In my youth I was a regular viewer of Family Ties, and I believe Alex P. Keaton would have taken issue with Ohio's long-standing tradition, Beggars' Night. I certainly would have remembered this from my Thursday night Must See TV, had it come to light. Could it be even Hollywood is unaware of Beggars' Night? Word on the street is that Beggars' Night is hundreds of years old, dating back to when beggars would literally roam from home to home begging for scraps of food. Today it has taken shape as Ohio's designated evening of trick-or-treating. Let me make this clear: your October water bill will be printed with a date the city has selected for its night of trick-or-treating; always a night other than Halloween. I have no idea why these people do this. Some claim it is so adults can party on Halloween and the streets will be safer for children. Our neighbors looked at us as if we had three nipples when we confessed we had never heard of it. We've been all over the country and no where does anyone else take such liberties with Halloween. Whatever the reason, and no matter how unfortunate I think this is, as long as we are in Ohio our children will be celebrating their night of begging on Beggars' Night. Leave it to a state that worships the Buckeye.

We were a bit caught off guard by our Halloween Eve's trick-or-treating, in part because of the crazy month we had preceding. The girls and I left Ohio in early October for a stay at home in Minnesota. It was not one of my favorite "vacations" perhaps because it was nothing close to a vacation. We did have a good time getting together for playdates, visiting with family, making an endless heap of apple pies, and topped off our stay with Luke & Molly's wedding--by far the highlight of the trip, despite the hairy armpit incident. Without even going to the Cities, it goes without saying, there was much we never got to do and many we didn't get to see. I did, however and unfortunately, take in a few hockey games in my few weeks in the Upper Midwest. I say unfortunately because I hate to give Iowa heat again, but on a road trip to North Iowa I found myself completely violated in an experience I hope to never again endure. While watching the new Owatonna Express Jr. A hockey team take it on the road, we subjected ourselves to a shed on the fairgrounds in Mason City for the hockey adventure of my life. Sadly, I remember little about the hockey. It was like sitting in a tin can with a group of uncivilized mountain dwellers (yes, there were people missing teeth, none of whom were on the ice). And while others had it worse, at least I didn't get a beer bottle thrown at me, I've honestly never seen anything like this in my life. I'll save you the head-splitting details, but let's just say it makes going to a Wild game seem like a trip to the symphony. I'm sticking with the symphony.

As if our trip home wasn't crazy enough, we arrived back in Ohio the day before Abby & Lauren were blessed with a visit from their grandparents from Washington. It was a lot to deal with at once, unpacking and preparing for company after not having been home for nearly a month, but we truly enjoyed their visit. Geoff & Dan were able to get out and golf every day they were here, and the girls ate up their special time with their grandma. They played, painted, shopped, went trick-or-treating, and played some more. It took some time for Abby & Lauren to come down off of their "family high", but they seem to be doing just fine and are back into their day-to-day routine of playing, fighting and watching Nemo.

In many ways we were delighted to see election day arrive. While we weren't pleased with the outcomes in all the races, I really enjoyed using all of the political speak to teach Abby & Lauren about politics. It got to be quite entertaining watching the girls duel it out over who should to be president. I'm sure they truly could care less about who won the election, my biggest concern is that they understand John McCain & President-Elect Obama are not a two-for-the-price-of-one the same way Abby & Lauren are.