Saturday, October 31, 2009

Light Blogging Ahead!

I just want to let everyone know that posting on this blog will be light for the next month or so as I will be very busy with school work. I do plan on posting a couple of few articles in the upcoming weeks, but I don't believe I will be able to do much. I still plan to host the December edition of the Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy, but I haven't set up the dates yet. Stay tuned ...

Saturday Night Fun - My Most Memorable Halloween Memories

For this Saturday Night Fun, Randy has challenged other genealogy bloggers to write about their most memorable Halloween memories, and I've decided to post mine. In fact, I have so many memories that it is difficult for me to decide which were the most memorable, so I'll probably post several of my most memorable ones.

I can remember several of the costumes that I wore for Halloween as a kid over the years. In Kindergarten, I dressed up as a cross between a princess and Cinderella, and I wore a costume that my mom made for me. (She did a wonderful job.) In the first grade, I dressed up as Belle (from Beauty and the Beast), and in the second grade, I dressed up as Jasmine from Aladdin. Halloween was more memorable in third grade primarily because of the family reunion my family attended shortly before Halloween. For that Halloween, I dressed up as a cross between a cowgirl and Annie Oakley. In the fourth grade, I dressed up a Southern Belle because I wanted to dress up in a historical style costume and because I liked the design of the dress. (I've always like fancy dresses and I've always loved seeing the dresses in historical movies. As you can see, I've had an interest in history since I was a child.) As for my costume in fifth grade, I believe I wore my mom's prom dress (I was pretending to be an early movie star), but I'm not completely sure. In the sixth grade, I dressed up as a bride, and in seventh grade, I dressed up as a sailor. In eighth grade, I dressed up as a cross between a ghost and a vampire. (There was no gore, though). In addition to the black costume I wore, I also wore a silver wig, and painted my face white. By the time I entered high school, though, I wasn't able to do as much trick-or-treating as I had been able to do in the past. (I've only dressed up a few times for Halloween since the ninth grade as a result of having a heavier schoolwork load.)

One of my most memorable Halloween memories that I have comes from my first year of high school. It was memorable not only because it was one of the last few times that I have gone trick-or-treating but also because I went trick-or-treating with my brother and his friends. I wore a traditional German dress, that my family had bought earlier that year when we visited Germany, and my brother was dressed up as the Grim Reaper. We went around to numerous houses, and my brother and I were back at home after trick-or-treating for a couple of hours. As soon as we arrived back at home, another one of my brother's friends stopped by the house, and wanted to go trick-or-treating. Our parents gave us permission, and my brother's friend called his parents to get permission to go with my brother and I. He got permission to go, and we were allowed to be out until 8 pm, for my brother's friend, and 8:30 pm, for my brother and I.

Since we had already gone to the houses nearest to our homes, we decided to go trick-or-treating in areas of the neighborhood where we had not yet gone. To get to one of the block's we had to walk down a dimly-lit area past a bunch of bushes. Looking back now, I should have realized what could happen, since I was oldest, but I didn't think about what it. As we walked through this area, a couple of me dressed in camouflage came out of the bushes, and scared all three of us. After recovering from the shock, I thought one of the men looked familiar, and I asked if he happened to be in a class. The guy denied it, and I decided that my brother, his friend, and I continue to trick-or-treat. (I think the guy was telling the truth, but who knows?) So, we continued on, finished trick-or-treating, and returned home by our curfews.

Since that time, I've only gone trick-or-treating a couple more times, so I think that happens to be the most memorable Halloween experience I've had. I hope you've enjoyed reading my Halloween memories. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

I just want to wish everyone a happy and safe Halloween! Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A Reminder: Carnival Submissions Due in a Week-and-a-Half!

I just want to remind everyone that submissions for the upcoming Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy will be due on November 8th. Al will be hosting this edition, and you can read more about the topic here. Enjoy!