Halloween time!

Being short on cash and motivation this year I almost didn't do anything for Halloween. Fortunately (I think) for everyone my wife and I decided last minute to put together costumes and carve a pumpkin. For the costumes we didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. Not like my $100 ensemble to go as Plaxico Burress last year. This means we made costumes out of clothes we had. Or in other words my wife dressed me up in her clothes. Viewer discretion is advised.

In this one my wife was teaching my how to sit and pose properly. I don't think I passed:

A standing shot trying to look like a hot drag queen I guess:

And a hideous flexing shot:

Scary, I know. I now know what women put up with. Mascara is obnoxious and messes with your eyes, bras are tight and uncomfortable, you have to wear so many layers, and whoever knows the secret to keeping long hair out of the eyes, mouth and your food please share that with me.

As for the pumpkin it isn't quite as gender bending. Instead of the traditional two eyes, nose and mouth we went a little crazy. We wanted to do one of those fancy pants scraped? style pumpkins that show shading and different levels of light. We also wanted mass appeal since I am entering in the contest at work so we did one of Mario in a Tanooki suit. I think it turned out great for our first time ever. We designed the pattern, carved, scraped, textured and lit the thing. It took 4-5 hours but it was fun. At least until the end when our hands were sore and stained orange. I would also like to take a moment and thank Martha Stewart for making such wonderful pumpkin carving kits. Way better than the $1 Walmart ones.

In progress:

Lights on:

And the final product:

Happy Halloween everyone. Don't dream of female Joe too much.