Thursday, October 31, 2013

The problem with wearing a mask on Halloween…

It happens to me every year.

Every year, I wait until the last minute, and then at about 8 PM on October 30th, I decide I want to dress up for Halloween.

And with that decision, I head to my mom’s basement and rummage through her “Halloween Bag”.  It’s mostly filled with really old little kid costumes that hold the musty stench of years in a garbage bag in the basement – clown wigs and witch hats and capes and devil horns – but I always end up coming up with something.

And this year, this is it.  I call it “50 Shades of Orange”:

Halloween 2013

(Please note: That orange-and-black-Cat-in-the-Hat-Halloween-style chapeau?  I think I’ve worn it every year for the past 15 years.  And it always makes me think of the year I wore it to Gavan’s for the big Halloween bash, and I think every person in the bar wore it at some point during the night.  That hat holds memories, my friends! And possibly some germs, too. ;) )

Anyways.  Not bad, for a last-minute costume, right?  And there are perks with this costume.  For one thing, it took all of 5 minutes to pull it together (including the time spent rummaging through Mom’s “Halloween Bag”).  I spent more time painting my nails alternating black & orange than anything else.  Another great part is that the rest of the outfit basically consists of black tights and a warm sweater, so I get to be super-comfy all day sitting at my desk.

Halloween 2013 3 I swear, in real life that “coral” coloured sweater looks more like orange…

Oh, but there are woes.  As anyone who has ever worn a mask before will relate to.  Such as…

  • Trying to drink coffee/water… There is no mouth hole in this mask.  I have to keep lifting it up to take a drink.
  • I keep reaching up to scratch my nose, and instead I scratch hard plastic.
  • Remember that sore throat I told you about yesterday?  Well, today it’s turned into a cough.  Every time I feel a cough coming on, I panic.  I feel like if I don’t lift the mask up in time, I’ll blow it right off my face.
  • I have nose holes, so breathing shouldn’t be a big problem.  But somehow, it is.
  • It’s kind of hot and sweaty in here.
  • When I talk, I think I sound perfectly normal, but they tell me I sound more like Charlie Brown’s teacher.

charlie-brown-teacher

  • I have to lift the mask to talk on the phone, because otherwise the person on the other end wouldn’t be able to understand me.
  • I keep smiling for pictures.  There is no point.
  • My breathing sounds amplified, and I keep thinking everyone can hear it and that they’re annoyed by my loud mouth breathing.
  • The coffee breath inside this thing?  It’s naaaaaaaasty.
  • It might be a little too scary for little people – although, I tried to scare Faith this morning, and she handled it like a champ! ;)

I arrived at work this morning to find out that I wasn’t the only one who dressed up for the occasion.  I thought Lindsay’s costume was pretty clever…and pretty cute, too!

Halloween 2013 2 Our little Mountainview baby!

I hope you are all having a fantastic Halloween!  It’s looking pretty rainy and dreary around these parts, which might put a little damper on the fun for kids tonight – but I know a little rain never held me back as a kid!

Looking forward to seeing all the trick-or-treaters tonight! :)

Have a SPOOKTACULAR day!!

Happy_Halloween_28938

8 comments:

Stacy said...

See you tonight...and my envelope if you remember, no worries if not - I will get it from you at some point!!

VandyJ said...

Happy Halloween! I'm dressing as a mom tonight--a warm one as it's going to be cold here. But kids are resilient and the lure of candy is far too much to resist.

Stacie said...

I kind of would just call you and ask you to say "Luke, I'm your father." just for kicks....

Jillian said...

I'm just getting settled into my new apartment though i guess i can say i was a cowgirl this year haha last weekend was a blast and my initial idea for a costume is in transport and won't be here til tomorrow so i am not going to be dressing up this year but i don't think anything can beat honey boo boo that costume was epic

Anonymous said...

Happy Halloween! Great costume, yours and your co-worker. I was hoping my daughter would get that shirt but I don't think she did. It's wet n' cold here too just as every year in Michigan. Have fun!

Nicole said...

I saw your mask on facebook this morning. Spooky! Yeah, I'm not sure I could wear a mask all day but this morning on facebook I swore that you painted your face vs the mask :)

Mrs. Match said...

Yes, Halloween masks are way too hot! I get claustrophobic in them too. But definitely not bad for a last minute costume. Love the skull sweater. Happy Halloween!!

Anonymous said...

Jiiilllll where are you? I have an award for you over at my place. C'mon over and pick it up! :D