Top 5 Tuesday: Halloween Costumes

Some years I had a great costume, and other years were real busts.  This year *might* be the first year I don't dress up, although Halloween hasn't come and gone yet, so who knows.  This specific Top 5 Tuesday is difficult...I had some cute costumes.  (I will add pictures if I can find them).

(Side note:  Elliott will be a little monster for Halloween!  Meg bought him the costume and it is so cute!)

5. Alice (From Alice in Wonderland): My parents bought me the dress from the Disney store as a nice outfit, but I wore it as a costume first.  I guess I was about 4 years old, or 3 just about to turn 4.  It was so cute.

4. Hawkeye Pierce (From MASH): I was really into the show MASH when I was in 7th and 8th grades.  I was originally just going to go as an Army nurse, but with my mom's help, the costume evolved into very specifically Hawkeye.  I wore olive drab clothing, a Hawaiian shirt, a blue bathrobe, a bucket hat (which they always wore when they went golfing), and painted on stubble.  One person guessed correctly the entire evening, but a lot of people guessed I was someone from MASH.  One person was very clever and guessed I was Klinger in reverse.

3. Princess and the "Pee": I dressed as a princess (gown from Ross, tiara) and carried around a fake specimen container with "pee" (actually, lemon candy).  Props for this go to Sara and Megan for our Urinetown gifts.

A year later, that dress barely fit.

A 2. Twin from The Shining: The Masque costume room is a treasure trove for Halloween costumes.  Pam and I discovered three matching dresses, and we decided this would be a good costume.  We were fairly creepy looking.  The following year, Liz C. and I used the costumes for the Masque Haunted House (Pam had to be a zombie because she was a campus tour guide).  

I didn't have to buy a thing for this costume.

1. Juno (From Juno): Jason and I went as Juno and Paulie, complete with fake stomach, Sunny D, and orange-flavored Tic-Tacs.  I always said if I was pregnant over Halloween, I would wear the costume again.  I was pregnant last Halloween, but I didn't know it yet and I certainly wasn't showing.

2007: Jason, Sara, and I reverse roles.

2010: A sexy cosmo.  My shoes had little lime wedges too!

- I'm peachy.

Top 5 Tuesday: Defining Songs

This is a countdown I can get into.  Like Sara, mine isn't in any order...they are all pretty equal.  This was also pretty difficult.  Music is a powerful trigger for me and my memories, so this list could have been really long.  I went with what songs came to mind first.

(Who knows what these videos are...)

5. "Say Yes" - Elliott Smith (Either/Or)
This song takes me back to freshman year of college and the way I changed in that year.  It reminds me of the time that it took from me hating being at college to me adoring being at La Salle.

4. "Feed the Birds" - Richard and Robert Sherman (Mary Poppins)
I have always felt that this is one of the most beautiful songs ever written.  Even as a little kid, I understood the wonder and meaning of this song.  Mary Poppins is my favorite Disney movie, and one of my favorite movies period, so it alone has had a big impact on my life.  When I was in high school and was cast in My Fair Lady, I spent more time listening to Julie Andrews sing than the silly movie version.  I used this soundtrack to break up the monotony of my "vocal training."

3. "We Didn't Start the Fire" - Billy Joel (Storm Front)
I have loved Billy Joel since I was about 4 years old, and this is one of the first songs I remember listening to with my parents.  I *thought* I knew all the words.  Since becoming an adult and learning what each of the lyrics is actually referring to, I have figured out the actual words.  "Eisenhower backscene" is now more correctly understood as "Eisenhower, vaccine" referring to the polio vaccine.  It's just the cheesiest song, but I love it (and it's historical teaching value).

2. "I Was Meant for the Stage" - The Decemberists (Her Majesty, The Decemberists)
This song perfectly describes what I feel when I perform.  Plain and simple.  It was also the final song in my college theatre group's senior slide show the year I graduated, so it also brings me back to watching that with Sara and Michele in the theatre.

1. "You Can't Stop the Beat" - Hairspray
Oh, A-15.  This song was our calling card.  We played it at every party, danced on the couches in our house, and got us ready to just be crazy the rest of the night.  We also played it at my wedding to help get people out on the dance floor, with the group of us as an example.  Anytime I hear this, I just have to stop and dance.

- I'm peachy.