Catch-up

Oh Mylanta, it has been a while!  I've had so many ideas for blogs in the past couple of months, but simply no time to sit and compose them!  My life as a student here at AMDA has become busy to the exclusion of almost everything else.  It is as though the fat has been trimmed from my lifestyle, so to speak, and I am now a lean, mean, musical theater machine.  Or at least I am well on my way to becoming one.  I was so exhausted and overworked during the first four weeks of the semester that I couldn't think of anything but flopping into bed at night when I finally got home, but I have thankfully adjusted to the fast pace, and this is becoming a new version of normal for me.  I even finally have a moment to sit down and write this blog post.
Because it has been so long, I think I'll continue with a few half-baked ideas that would have become full posts if I had had the time, so you can get an idea of what's been on my mind during my absence from the blogosphere. 

Item 1: Rest and Relaxation
The crucial turning point at the four-week mark this semester came out of a monumental shift in attitude.  Up until then, I had the idea that I am entitled to a certain amount of free time every week, and if I didn't get it I would be upset about how busy my life was and take free time for myself in a variety of ways such as procrastinating or all-out not doing my homework.  I was justified, I thought, for taking the free time I needed to keep my peace of mind.  It certainly didn't help that I didn't give a rat's ass about the grand majority of work that I did in college. 
Now, however, there is nothing I don't care about that I can cut from the agenda when the going gets rough, so I had no choice but to do it all, which did indeed make me very unhappy for several weeks until this breakthrough:  I am not entitled to any free time.  Of course I need rest and relaxation just as much as every other human being, but psychologically I cannot be always looking forward to and living for the next period of rest, be it an evening with my favorite TV shows, a night out on the town, or a weekend off for Thanksgiving.  There may be no breaks one week and loads of them the next, but I need to be able to keep going without pouting about how little free time I have.

Item 2: New Mass Translations
As my Catholic readers know, this past Sunday began the use of the third edition of the Roman Missal, with translations closer to the original Latin.  I know that there have been mixed reactions to this, but I am super super pumped!  I am all for the beautifying of the language surrounding the Eucharist, the most beautiful thing in the whole world!  And I love the idea of returning even closer to the roots of the Mass, the original Latin, which saints prayed for centuries.

Item 3:  CHRISTMAAAASSSSS!
Is coming!!!!!!!!  There are less than three weeks left!  AH!  Thanksgiving, as usual, has been only a teasing, tantalizing taste of the family, food, and fun that is to come... and I am excruciatingly excited about it all!  And meanwhile I get to revel in Christmastime in New York City. Who could ask for anything more?

Ok, there are more things, but I really have to get going.  I have songs and dances to rehearse for midterms this week and next!

First Snowfall!

For some reason, the first snowfall of the winter has always been a source of excitement for me.  Even my current, I-don't-like-talking-about-my-feelings, I-gag-when-I-hear-sappy-stuff me couldn't help feeling a surge of childish glee when I looked out my window and saw that it was snowing!!  Yes, although I've been going through a bit of an identity crisis lately, there are a few things that have stuck with me through it all:

1.  I love Him.  Especially in the Eucharist.  Continuing along this vein may lead to extremely sappy material, so I will now move on. ;)

2.  I am so frickin excited for Christmas!  I haven't felt this kind of anticipation for years.  It's not as simple as looking forward to the time off of school or the presents.  It's more an intense enjoyment of the very Christmasy things that I have the great pleasure of experiencing at this time every year.  Listening to Christmas carols, seeing lights and decor everywhere, making and eating Christmas cookies, being with my whole family all at once... all of it is such a delight...

3.  I love music and being a music major more than ever!  I feel that some wonderful and beautiful mystery is being revealed to me day by day as I struggle through my classes and homework.  So worth the time and effort, unlike other attempted branches of study...

So, imagine my excitement about tonight being the first of Heinz Chapel Choir's Christmas concerts!  Combining my two favorite things, Christmas and music... it looks to be a wonderful start to the holiday season. :D

Feasts of the Two Hearts

A year ago at this time, I was in Miami with the Servants of the Pierced Hearts, struggling to stay awake during a 12-hour vigil in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Today is His feast day, you know, and tomorrow is Hers. I can't believe it's only been a year, and yet what a year it has been!!

Back then, I was a naive little girl who thought she had all the answers and was seriously considering a religious vocation. Now, I'm a somewhat jaded little girl who realizes that she has no answers and is trying desperately hard not to be in love. Perhaps I am a little wiser, but only because I can acknowledge how foolish I really am.

Back then, I had just decided to move home for my sophomore year because I couldn't afford to live in the dorms anymore. We thought it would be good "formation" for me to continue living with my family, to live for others and not think only of myself. I thought I would grow so deeply in virtue. Maybe I have. I can't tell. All I know is that there were far too many instances of sheer bitchiness on my part for me to feel really good about how this year went. Anyway, now I am planning to move into a beauteous "citadel," complete with maidens and bay window overlooking the street below and garden in the backyard. Sigh. I can't wait.

Back then, I was incredibly anxious about my vocation. I wanted to know which path my life would take. The dilemma consumed my prayer life and many of my thoughts. Now, I seriously don't care which way the road turns. Both vocations are gorgeously beautiful and seeped in graces, so I'm good either way. Plus, here's another little secret: I don't want to get married anytime soon, to God or any mere mortal man. This was a startling revelation to me; I always thought I'd be a young bride growing up. But really, either vocation would get in the way of my plans for stardom. Plus, the idea of a commitment of that magnitude makes me sick. Maybe someday I'll desire those things, but for now I'll just throw myself into my career. It shouldn't be too hard for me considering that I love it so so much. Yay for pink roses and focusing on the present!! :D

Sorry the tone of this post is a little bit depressy and a lot cynical. I have such disdain for my younger self. I hate how ignorant she is. I'm going to hate my current self in a few years. That's just always how it's been with me. I look back at my younger self and crinkle my nose in disgust. But I have great sympathy for her. It's like, "You are so stupid, you poor, poor dear." I just want to go back and say, "Look, you ninny. Everything's going to be ok. So stop embarrassing me and get over yourself." What gets me through is knowing that the current version of myself is the best version yet. And it's only getting better from here. I hope.

Snow Day!!

I am currently lying in bed with my eyes half open and my laptop sitting on my stomach propped up on my bent knees. I was about to write a paper for my critical reading class about a passage from Frankenstein that is due at 10:00 today. I didn't write it last night because I was watching the Super Bowl and gorging myself on pizza and mint ice-cream pie (with chocolate crumb crust, tiny Andes mints and chocolate syrup drizzled on top! Deliiiiish!!)
So I was planning on getting up this morning to write the required page or two (I woke up at 5 this morning, fell back asleep, and woke again at 7, and my first class is at 10), but I thought I would check my email first, as usual. If I had been more awake, perhaps my reaction to the following would have been greater:
"According to http://www.pitt.edu/ , the University is closed tomorrow (Monday, February 8) and all classes are cancelled. Accordingly: Examination #1 is moved to Wednesday, February 10,"
but as it was, all I could do was murmur, "Praise God" with a sleepy smile.
My exam is moved to Wednesday. I don't have to commute to Oakland this morning, so I now have 2.5 hours to write the paper instead of >1. I'm going to have time to do my missed readings from last week, choose the novels for my history paper, clean up the clothes I've strewn about my room, and best of all, possibly go sledding in my backyard!!! Praise be, this day just got a whoooole lot better. Somebody up there loves me. He really does.

Things of Beauty

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
- Mary Poppins

How true, how true indeed. Lately I realized that I have been surrounding myself with beautiful things for quite some time now, and they continue to bring me joy every time I use them or see them. Here are a few that I've been enjoying very much this holiday:

Making Gingerbread

This year I have developed a great appreciation for the taste of fresh gingerbread and so decided to make a batch of my own. The molasses and spices laid out on the table with the cookbook and citrus and my sister's homemade bread made for quite a picturesque little scene. I really should have taken a picture of the finished cookies; they were beyond adorable. My aunt even kept two to use as decoration in her house!
I do so enjoy cooking in our kitchen. There's nothing like dancing around to some good music while whisking together something tasty.



My Amaryllis

While I was out Christmas shopping one day, I came across a boxed bulb with a beautiful picture on the front and the words "Indoor Amaryllis" across the top. It was a complete kit including a pot, some peat mixture, and the bulb itself. I didn't buy it right away, but I thought about it so much that a few days later I came back and picked it up. I planted it as soon as I got home, and every few days I check its progress. It is absolutely thrilling for me to watch the sprout grow little by little, even in the dead of wintertime. In time, it should end up looking something like the picture to the right. It is a "Cinderella" amaryllis. As soon as it blooms I'm going to take it upstairs (right now it's on the porch where there's more sun) and put it on the shelf by my desk, where it can cheer me through my long winter course load.
Apparently it's possible to replant these bulbs every winter with the right care, and I am getting so much joy out of this little plant that I'm sure I will try it come fall.
In fact, I am so pleased with amaryllises (is that a word?) in general that I have a blown up picture of two gorgeous red blossoms as my background on my mini laptop.


Fabric and Feathers

I am generally a fan of unconventional jewelry. Bits of fabric, buttons, feathers, and lace all seem to me to be such delicate and classy touches. Actually I've had an absolute obsession with lace lately. I want to sew it onto everything! But that is beside the point.
I have been longing for a pair of peacock feather earrings for goodness knows how long, and finally, my wish came true this Christmas. Never mind that "Santa" got them at a Halloween store in the 70s section. I think they're beautiful! :) I am quite at a loss as to where to wear them, though. Perhaps for the first day of school on Wednesday...
Also worth mentioning is that my dear friend has opened an etsy shop called "Peculiar Jewelry" where he makes exquisite pieces out of fine fabric scraps, feathers, and beads. I browsed through it yesterday and wished I could have bought everything in it! Hopefully he'll be posting more items soon! Here is the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Flanowa and here are a couple of my favorite pieces from the shop!


Do check it out!!


Well, that just about wraps it up. First multimedia post ever! How exciting. Except that pictures are a pain in the rump to upload. Oh well. I think they brighten the post considerably.

My 2010 Reading List

I suddenly find myself drowning in new books that are calling for my attention! Here are the ones that I hope to read in the near future:

Italian Folktales selected and retold by Italo Calvino
This was God's birthday present to me! I entered Half Price Books on a whim that day and exited with an exquisite book of fairytales, bound in earth-colored canvas with a gold peacock stamped on the front! And only $8! There are no less than 200 tales in the 763-page volume, and so far I have only read 102 of them.

William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, Wells and Taylor Second Edition
Alright, so I know I won't be able to read all of these anytime soon... but a good priest friend of mine is an avid Shakespeare fan and last year he gave me the audio recordings for all of Shakespeare's major works. Unfortunately I lost the recordings in the Great Computer Crash of Fall Semester 2009, so I can't listen and read along as he suggested. I hope to find the recordings somewhere, perhaps in some library's collection, so I can get to it. People who read Shakespeare are so well-rounded, don't you think?

The Autobiography of St. Margaret Mary: Translation of the Authentic French Text by the Sisters of the Visitation
This saint is my middle-name saint, and I love her very dearly. Her devotion to the Sacred Heart is quite humbling and inspiring. Although I've read other versions of her life story, I've never read the official text. Apparently when cloistered nuns die it is customary to release a brief story of her life to other orders and sometimes to the outside world. That is how 'Story of a Soul' by St. Therese (my confirmation name saint!) got out in the first place and I'm assuming that this book is the same. My parents gave this to me for Christmas along with the next book on the list...

Thoughts and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary for Every Day of the Year
This is, as the title suggests, a day-by-day book that offers some little morsel of St. Margaret Mary's writings every day. Today's: "You know that there is no middle course, and that it is a question of being saved or lost for all eternity. It depends on us: either we may choose to love God eternally with the Saints in Heaven after we have done violence to self here below by mortifying and crucifying ourselves as they did, or else renounce their happiness by giving to nature all for which it craves." Is she not wonderful??

for women only: what you need to know about the inner lives of men by Shaunti Feldhahn
This book explores and/or overturns some of women's "surface understandings" about men such as "men need respect," "men are visual," and "men are unromantic clods," among others. It's actually my sister's book (someone gave it to her for Christmas) but she enjoyed it and is lending it to me. She said it would be a quick read, but it's not holding my attention very well. I guess I just don't care about men enough. Ha! Favorite quote so far: "Notice that one of the main biblical passages on marriage - in Ephesians 5 - never tells the wife to love her husband, and it never tells the husband to respect his wife (presumably because we each already tend to give what we want to receive). Instead, over and over, it urges the husband to love his wife and urges the wife to respect her husband and his leadership. Women tend to want to control things, which, unfortunately, men tend to interpret as disrespect and distrust (which, if we're honest with ourselves, it sometimes is). Marriage is about putting the other person's needs above your own (he's required to do that, too, remember), and it does tremendous things for your man to know that you are choosing to trust and honor him."

The Canary Handbook by Matthew M. Vriends, Ph.D. and Tanya M. Heming-Vriends
Yes, I am giving some thought to becoming a canary fancier (a flowery way of saying canary owner) so I picked up this book real cheap off of Amazon.com to get some background info. (Internet research only goes so far I've learned.) I've kept budgies for many years, so perhaps I'll be expanding my aviary again. Canary song is quite beautiful!

Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly
My aunt heard someone speak at her church and they handed out these books. She was inspired and picked up one for all of us. I'm a little skeptical, because last time I tried to read Matthew Kelly I didn't finish the book (something about being called to joy, I think?) but I'm willing to give it a whirl, I guess.

Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach
One of my goals for 2010 is to organize my finances (draw up a budget, perhaps do some investing) so this book, a gift from my engineer sister, came at an opportune time. I'm not very far along, but so far I like the tone and I am eager to soak up the information contained therein. It's not so much that I want to "finish rich" (although that would be nice) but rather that I have heretofore relied entirely on my accountant father to manage my money because I've always been completely clueless about all things fiscal. This book should be a good antidote to my ignorance. I am using my great-grandmother's lace handkerchief (crocheted by hand!) as a bookmark; I come from a long line of strong women, and I wish to join their ranks asap!

Preparation for Total Consecration according to Saint Louis Marie de Montfort
Yes, I am making my consecration at last!! I was going to start in November to be ready by the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but on the very day that I was supposed to begin I fell ill with the flu. So now I begin again to be ready by the feast of the Presentation of our Lord. I have made my consecration vow many times with my family, for we do the devotion every Lent, but I've never done one on my own and I think it is about time. I could ask for no better mistress than the dear Mother of God, Mary Most Holy. Today's meditation is from Matthew chapter 7. A snippet: "Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him."

The World's First Love by Fulton J. Sheen
I ordered this book from amazon.com a while ago and it finally came! It's a blue hardcover with gorgeously aged pages that don't quite match up at the edges. I just love that. It's copyrighted 1952, but this is a special 1953 reprint edition. Fancyyy!
I read a few paragraphs from this book one day in the library of our Newman Center and I was totally hooked. It's all about Mary, the Mother of God and the world's most perfect woman. The dedication alone is enough to make me sigh with love and devotion for her:
"Dedicated to the Woman I Love, the Woman Whom even God dreamed of before the world was made; the Woman of Whom I was born at cost of pain and labor at a Cross; the Woman Who, though no priest, could yet on Calvary's Hill breath, 'This is my Body; This is my blood; - for none save her gave Him human life. The Woman Who guides my pen, which falters so with words in telling of the Word. The Woman Who, in a world of Reds, shows forth the blue of hope. Accept these dried grapes of thoughts from this poor author, who has no wine; and with Cana's magic and thy Son's Power work a miracle and save a soul - forgetting not my own."
She is so beautiful! And I hope to discover more of her beauty through the reading of this book.

Well, that about sums it up. And these should keep me busy for quite a while; I don't read as often as I used to, very rarely now, in fact. But sometimes the easiest way for me to fall asleep is still to open up a book and read until my eyelids are heavy. So there's always that, I suppose. Or perhaps I can read a bit during my commute, much as I hate carrying extra books around during the day.

I Thought This Was a Safe House!!!

For many people, the thought of being caught under the mistletoe is a pleasant one. They picture surprise first kisses, snuggly eskimo kisses, or a romantic goodnight kiss with the one they love.
For me, however, the thought of being caught under the mistletoe fill me with terror. I believe this fear originates from one Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house when I was probably about 7 years old. My grandma had hung mistletoe in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, and after one of my crazy boy cousins chased me around trying to kiss my cheek, I spent the rest of the day scootching through that doorway with my back against the wall so I would never officially be under the mistletoe.
For years, I have felt a certain amount of security that my mother would never do anything so silly as hang mistletoe in our doorways, so I was able to walk through our house freely without concern about sneak-attack kisses. But today, alas, what should I see hanging cheerfully above the doorway from the kitchen to the porch but a ball of mistletoe? I am safe no longer.
Merry Christmas? HA! Merry Avoid-a-Kiss-mas is more like it.
And by whom, you might ask, am I so afraid of being kissed? You never know, I say. You just never know.

Holy Week

Ah, this most blessed week of the year. So far it has been loaded with suffering. It's only to be expected. Embrace the cross, y'all. Just do it. It makes the resurrection that much sweeter.

Home Again, Home Again

This is bizarre, but I really really don't want to go home. It's bizarre because I've spent the past few weeks counting the days until I could call Dad and say "Come pick me up! I'm packed and ready to go!" and then sit back to enjoy a whole month of no school. I've been melancholy and mopey after having to come back here after all those weekend visits in November, and I was hit by a wave of homesickness when I saw my family for the Christmas Concert and couldn't go home with them. I just assumed that the cure for all this would be, well, I dunno, going home, but apparently not, because right now I'm feeling like exactly the opposite may be true. Now that classes are over and I have nothing to worry about, I wish I could just stay here and veg, but I can't. I have to go home and get a job for the holidays and help get the house ready for Christmas.
I am missing my little room quite a bit already, and I haven't even left yet! I'm just trying to clean up a bit and I keep noticing things that I am going to miss so much once I'm back in Bethel Park. I miss the lamp by my bed that I don't have to cross the room to turn off. I miss my pencil cup that always has a fresh pencil in it for my anal little self to enjoy. I miss my beautiful computer that is all mine, with no siblings bugging me to get online so they can play games or shop for who knows what. I miss Pandora, which fills my whole room with music and plays only the stuff that I like. I miss the sink and mirror that are all mine in the morning, with my makeup box and my whole wardrobe close by for optimal primping. I miss my bed with my favorite blanket and those two pillows that make sleep so delightful. This is my space and I am very, very reluctant to give it up. That is, of course, why I am blogging instead of cleaning and packing right now.

Now, that being said, there are some perks to being home.
For example, the shower is about 3 times as large, the food is free here and always available plus I am allowed to make it myself, there are cars here that I am sometimes allowed to drive, etc.
Possibly the greatest thing about being home, though, is the people here. I got to wrap my arms around some people that I love very much for the first time in a loooong time. You really can't beat that feeling. Plus it's hard to miss my dorm when I'm at home; I don't know why.

All said, I'm happy in both places and significantly less lonely here at home, so I guess both places have their perks.

Now, since I'm home and there are lots more people using the computer here and I'm not constantly logged on, it's much more incovenient for me to blog and much more convenient for me to journal. Also I have people to talk to here. So, don't be surprised if my blogs are few until I return to school from Christmas break.

Holiday Blessings to all!!

Musings

"I've jingle bells
from carousels
and I've got a friend
who'll lend me a sleigh.
All that I need is a blanket of white;
Baby and I will go riding tonight,
cuddling, huddling,
keeping the frost awaaaaay..."

The snow and the approaching holiday seasons are making me feel mushy again, so excuse me while I set aside my usually bubbly and somewhat objective approach to life and wax sentimental for awhile...

I've never had a Christmastime love. Actually, I've never been in love at all; I've merely pinned my loneliness on this person or that. You know that Rudy Valentino quote: "Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas upon which the women paint their dreams." Well now you do. A lot of people do this with movie stars or performers; they fall for a projection of someone, an image that is based mostly on personal speculation rather than actual fact or knowledge. You know, those girls that say they are "in love" with this celebrity or that, people that they've never even seen in person, let alone talked to. The girls who buy shirts that say "Mrs. Brad Pitt" or whatever. The ones who legitimately think that they're going to marry Chris Brown someday. (sorry if you are one of these girls haha)

Yep, people pin their loneliness, their wishes for the future on celebrities all the time. I don't. I think it's silly. I pin my loneliness on people that I know, which is, unfortunately, infinitely worse. When you know the person on whom you "paint your dreams," there is so much more potential for hurt feelings, unreasonable expectations. The situation can get wildly out of hand when your perceptions and reality collide.

I don't want to marry someone that I've just created to be perfect in my mind without the facts or knowledge to back it up. I want to fall in love with the man of my dreams, the person who truly IS all of the things that I try to project on all these poor unsuspecting guys. Not a perfect guy (geez, that would suck), just someone who has everything I need. There's a difference. And I know there's someone out there who was created for me and I for him. Yes, I believe in soulmates. And I can't wait to meet mine.

When (if!) I fall in love, I want it to be more than just escaping loneliness. I don't want to just be "in a relationship" but to be a woman transformed by love. I don't want to just fill a space in my heart; I want to fill the space and then add more to it! I want my heart to grow.
I don't want to have to think about why I love this person; I just want to know. I want the answer to "Will you marry me?" to be "Duh!" (though of course I wouldn't say that! hahahahaha)

This is going to sound a little crazy, but I can't wait until my first Christmas as a married woman. I can just see us (me and whoever the heck I'm supposed to marry, it's not like I have anyone in mind) sipping red wine as we gaze upon a Christmas tree that we decorated together, laughing and enjoying each others' company. (note to future self: you better not get stressed out and have a nervous breakdown for your first married christmas!! You've been looking forward to it since you were nineteen!! Relax and enjoy, please, so there will be some poetic justice in my life, ok? thank you.) I realize, of course, that I am in no way ready to be married right now and that I have nothing to gain by idealizing married life.

In fact, the truth is that even when I'm married I'll still be lonely. There's a space in each heart that can only be filled by God. Even the beautiful gift of having someone to share the journey to heaven with could never compare to the bliss of being held close to the Lord as he gently shows you the way to His kingdom with His lovely mother there to help. I never feel lonely when I'm there in the chapel with Him for adoration. I can only hope and pray that the man I marry will be so like Christ and that his love for me will be so like His that I will be blessed with a foretaste of heaven in my marriage, and that I may provide the same kind of love for him.

Alright, well, I think I've mused enough for today... actually I think I've mused enough for a month, so I'll try to spare you the excessive musings for awhile. I really must be going; I'm visiting home this weekend, and my dad will be here any minute to pick me up!

Loneliness

Nothing makes you feel lonely like a party does, I've decided.
I just got back to Pitt after a weekend full of family and friends, and for the first time since coming to college, I feel homesick. It's not so much that I want to be at home as I don't want to be at college anymore. The novelty has worn off and I'm ready to be done.
I know. This is awful; I'm only a first-semester freshman! I can't feel this jaded yet! But there it is: I'm sick of school and I can't wait to be done.
When I was younger and my sisters went away to college, I would always miss them more when I knew that they were coming home soon. Christmas time was the worst, because all the family traditions of choosing the tree and decorating the house had to be continued and carried out without them. I missed them like crazy then.
I didn't know that it worked both ways, that when I knew I was going home I would miss home more. I'm going to visit the high school crowd this weekend for the fall play, and the missing them is almost unbearable.
Boo, I need to snap out of this. Write it off as a moment of weakness along the bumpy road that is life, I guess. hahaha :)

Halloween

So as you probably know, Friday night was Halloween! This was my first year of not trick-or-treating; where can you trick-or-treat in Oakland?? Ah, you cannot. So I went to a costume party instead. It was wild and crazy fun, by the way. Better than trick-or-treating, actually.
BUT.
On Saturday morning (actually afternoon might be more accurate in describing the hour at which I finally climbed out of bed) I sat down at my computer to check my email and realized that the only candy I had to show for my night of crazy fun was a Dumdum pop that the security guard had given me as I checked into my dorm for the night. Pitiful!
That is why, later that day, I found myself at the Rite Aid a couple blocks away, in the candy aisle to be more specific. (hahaha that almost rhymed... but don't get too excited because I'm not a poet in the slightest) My purpose for being there was to purchase Halloween candy that was greatly reduced in price, I'm talking $1 for a package. I bought a bag of Butterfingers (my favorite!) a pack of Snickers, a pack of 3 Musketeers, a pack of Reeses cups, a pack of KitKats, and a bag of fruit flavored Tootsie Rolls.
Thus, this Halloween I experienced the best of both worlds: all the fun of dressing up that goes with a costume party (which was free because I'm a girl) and all the candy that goes with a night spent traipsing around the neighborhood (for the reasonable price of $7.18).
What a delightful weekend! :)