HAPPY HALLOWEEN, MY CREEPIES!

It has been far too long since I have updated you, my friends in far-away lands, about Southern Living.

As you can see I am now officially an Alabama resident. There is no turning back now. They better just get over themselves and hire me already!

Yes, I am still struggling with the job hunt. The Alabama Board of Education has FINALLY given me the "go ahead" to shop my resume around to schools--months after I applied for Alabama state certification. Of course, since they took so long to process my application, the only remaining openings are in elementary schools--yuck. So, my choices are: wait around for someone to retire, quit, go on maternity leave, and/or die.....or just suck it up and take something in an elementary school. I am looking for ANYTHING now because I can't really afford to be picky anymore.

My advice to you: never move anywhere until you have a job lined up.
Of course you already knew that--didn't you?


The legendary Ms. Roman came to visit for a day! MOST pleasant surprise. Her sister lives about an hour away, so she dropped in, met the folks, and treated me to lunch. Super fun times were had. I still owe her a postcard....


People from Alabama are odd--in a good way. They have this whole "Boo-ing" tradition here (which I actually suspect my sister may have started because not too many folks around here have heard of it). It goes something like this: You leave a bag of treats on someone's doorstep and sneak off. Then that person hangs a ghost in their window to indicate that they were "Boo-ed" and then they have to do the same thing to someone who doesn't have a ghost in their window. I didn't fully understand the concept of Boo-ing, so I tried to "Boo" Boy Wonder by decorating his door with the help of my niece, her friends, and Stephanie. We brought faulty tape and hideous decor--as you can see.






(note the awesome Milky Way shirt)

We did this on our way to BayFest--which is the cheapest (as in thrifty) and most organized music festival I have ever been to. For $35 dollars you can get in for the entire weekend to see dozens of bands (some of which were decent big name bands). Tons of good, greasy food: every type of french fry, corn dog, and funnel cake you could possibly imagine!

We saw JOAN JETT there! She was brilliant. I want to be her when I grow up.
I certainly want to look like her when I grow up.


The Halloween Party was spooktacular. You have no idea how serious these people (AL Stephanie, Tamara, and Lorrie) are about Halloween. They impressed ME. Actually I felt ashamed by my pathetic lack of life-sized bloodied brides, grooms, butlers, dead babies, etc. as I helped them decorate a whole house with theirs! Pictures will come soon (from Stephanie)--and I hope they somewhat capture the terrifying decor and mad, crazy times of that night. I highly recommend that everyone fly down for next year's event.

And now for a special shout out to Katie and Ben who drove all the way from MEMPHIS to be there: YOU ROCK! And to Wendy and Sparky for dropping in way past their bedtime--and driving way out of their way: it really made my night to have you there! "Come here li'l bee!"

Below is my niece, Natalie, modeling what was Boy Wonder's costume for the party. Hey, he lost a bet. Yep, I beat him at pool so he had to be a pink unicorn.
Never bet your Halloween costume, guys. He was precious by the way.







Next time I will tell you about the Mullet Man....it's not what you think!

Have a SPOOKY day!

What a load of Scrap!

Happy BEST MONTH EVER!



Went to Harper Lee's hometown yesterday and took no pictures and bought no cheese. Er? Who am I? Will do better next time, I promise.

Today I used the John Deere to mow my parents' lawn again. SOOOOOO scary. Took me two hours and I did not get to the whole lawn! If I ever grow up and have a house I will pave the lawn--or make the whole thing a pool--just to avoid having to mow. Sheesh. Okay, so, yeah, it was a little fun riding that thing.

The Alabama Board of Education interviewed me today, but there are no jobs left in Special Education anymore. Great. So, now I can take any old teaching job--but miss out on the SpEd signing bonus--or WAIT SOME MORE. I am opting to wait and do subbing/tutoring in the meantime because the signing bonus will be worth it.

Here are some photos of recent adventures...




Sister Nancy, Kym, Me. Getting crafty--woo! Wait....wrong blog??? So, I went to a crazy crafting party at Sister Nancy's Friday night. Eeeeek. We made scary (not spooky--SCARY) ornaments.



Afterward Emma and I left stalker notes on Boy Wonder's door and tried to hide, but he caught us. We are so smooth. Emma and I then had a slumber party, ate too much junk food, and watched 16 Candles (she is 16 now, see?). That girl has WAY too much energy.




Emma wants to be a super model...




Yep, I am feeling a bit nostalgic. Here is my old classroom's Quote Wall. Some of the finest thoughts ever put to paper, by some of the most loved and missed students in the world.

Spooky fun to all!

I want to use my machete to cut through red tape....

I want to assure all of you that I am alive and more than well. Alabama, as a whole, has been very good to/for me. I love the people, I love the crickets and the stars (the real kind--not the Hollywood kind), I love the trees and the open stretches of road, I love the slower pace of life down here. I really do.





This is a pic of me with my new super short hair of DOOM. It looks decent here--this is not typical of the sad li'l mom cut.





Here is a small taste of why I had to move. Not the cake--the NAMES on the cake...
I would have missed ANOTHER set of September family birthdays had I not come!




Old, old, old school cemetery in Mobile.
Spooky fun indeed.



This is Boy Wonder captivating a bunch of teenage girls at Emily's Sweet 16. He took them SNIPE hunting! Suckas.



I just got back from an interesting trip to Orlando this past weekend. The aforementioned snipe hunter was in a triathlon and somehow convinced me to ride 8 hours with him to go cheer him on. It was worth it, though, because we stayed in a house with a dog and a pool. Oh, and 'cause he's a fun guy. It was a really good time.


I still do not have a job. I prefer to leisurely work out each morning, lounge around all day, take random trips to Orlando, and pretty much shirk all responsibility....Stop cursing me--that was a joke! I mean, I DO all those things, but whilst making/fielding job-related phone calls/emails all day, I swear!

I really am working hard at the job hunt, but the red tape at the Alabama Board of Education makes me want to cut someone. I am now looking for jobs in other fields in the meantime--that is how bad it is. Sad, but true. I can't wait forever for them to wise up and hire me. And neither can my bank account.

AL-Steph and I are planning the Halloween party. My first in Alabama and her first with me! It is October 20th, and all are welcome to attend....I don't want to hear any whining about the distance either: get yer butts down here! You know you can't celebrate Halloween without me!


AS WE ALL KNOW I MOVED TO MOBILE FOR THE LOVE OF THE NIECES AND NEPHEWS!
(not that Wendy made me add that or anything).



I mean, could any sane person stay away from these cuties?
(note: cuties below)






























Anyway, I am happy and optimistic. Stay in touch, my pretties!

Lauren is making me do this....

Soooo.....where to begin the begin? As most of you already know: I moved.

I moved much too far away from our favorite vegan bistro, but blessedly far from the 405. I moved to the land down under. No, not Australia--L.A.! No, not that LA--I moved to Lower Alabama.

Mobile, Alabama.

Now why would a nice young lady like myself up and leave all that she knows and loves for the land of flying tree roaches and unholy humidity? That's right: the ever-lovin' nieces and nephews and stupid Catholic guilt. So, here I am: jobless, penniless, terrified of trees and their inhabitants, and nearly bald (not from stress--from a bad haircut).

I gots-a-lots to tell ya about my adventures in these countrified parts...and I will as soon as I find me some DSL!

Passionate hugs and tentative kisses,
Scraps