I wrote this a couple years ago, and since it's (almost) Halloween I thought I'd share it with you today. Boo!

Do you like scary movies? I love scary movies! Except for when I’m watching them, scared out of my mind, then I wonder why I love scary movies so much.

I think it’s the adrenaline rush that I get from being scared? Or maybe it’s the cuddle-factor? I love to cuddle up with my husband while watching a movie.

Years ago we rented Scream, and within 10 minutes I was curled up on the sofa with him, and the two dogs. After the movie we had to walk the dogs. In the dark. On a summer night. He tried to get me to walk them, I tried to get him to walk them. Finally, we walked them together. Every little noise made us jump. It was breezy, so even the rustling of the leaves was enough to get our hearts racing. Every shadow became a dark cloaked figure. We learned our lesson, no more watching scary movies at night, in the dark.

When we rented The Others, we watched it during the day.

All the lights were on.

All the blinds were open.

And I think we played music in the background.

It was still pretty scary. I didn’t see that ending coming. Did you?

There have been plenty of scary movies since then, the last was The Grudge. We saw this in the movie theater. Hello!? What in the heck are you thinking??? This was clearly a dumb idea. Have you seen this movie? There is a scene where Sarah Michelle Gellar is in the shower, and a hand comes out of the back of her head, which she touches while washing her hair. THAT was creepy! Can you even imagine??? Here you are, alone in the shower, relaxing, washing your hair, probably even singing a little tune, right? And all of a sudden there is a hand behind you! That would totally freak me out.

And it did.

One day I was in the shower, alone, relaxing, washing my hair, not singing a tune because I can’t carry one. I was standing under the showerhead, facing the back of the tub, with the water spraying down onto the crown of my head. My hands are washing the suds out of my hair, when all of a sudden I feel something behind me. I barely grazed it, but I touched it enough to know that it wasn’t my other hand, nor the wall, and the showerhead was above me about 6″. I jumped out of my skin, and might have even let out a shriek! As I snapped my head around, looking for the guilty Grudge hand I saw not a hand, but the other showerhead!

Oy! The other showerhead. Yep. I picked the damn thing out, and paid extra to have it installed when the bathroom was remodeled. It’s adjustable, sliding up and down on a vertical bar so that shorter people (like kids) can use the shower. Or I can shower without getting my hair wet. And it comes off the bar all together so you can rinse the shampoo off a kids head who wants to take a bath instead.

Whoever used showerhead #2 last (that would be me) didn’t swing it in towards the wall, so it was sticking out and the rest is history. Creepy. Scary. My-heart-skipped-a-beat. History.

What about you? Anything creepy, scary, your-heart-skipped-a-beat, ever happen to you?

Don't forget about the photo hunt!

This is our first official photo hunt! Do you know the location where this photo was taken? It's somewhere in Menomonee Falls, a little of the beaten path. Either leave a comment (note: I'll hold the comments in moderation as to not spoil the fun), send me an email, or just play along at home. I'll reveal the location on Friday. 

10/29/07, 1:26 p.m., WOW, I'm so impressed that the location has been found! Congratulations to Mister Commenter!

I'm going to continue to hold the comments so others can play along through Friday. Good job!

The Trick or Treat for my subdivision is being held tomorrow night between 5 p.m. and  7:30 p.m. The only thing I need to do to participate is turn on my outdoor lights. It seems to be a simple task. It's not.

All of my outdoor lights are the kind that automatically turn on when it gets dark, and off when it's light. They are also hardwired and I don't even have a switch to turn them off and on.

It gets even more complicated because my house is the very first one in the subdivision, my driveway is the only one on that particular stretch of road, and you can't see my front door, or porch, from first street corner where the other homes are located deeper into the subdivision. It's a tough call for a kid. Should they walk all the way over to my driveway to see if I'm indeed handing out candy, or assume I'm not and hurry on to the next house.

Last year was the first Halloween that we were in our house, and it took me a good hour of not having many kids ring my bell before I realized that I needed to do something to attact their attention. First I hung a pumpkin basket at the end of my driveway, on my mailbox, which did bring a few trick or treaters my way. Then I opened my garage door so they'd know we were indeed home.

One of the parents asked me, why don't you turn on your lights? To which I explained, as I was applying electrical tape to what I thought were the sensors on my lights, that I couldn't because they turn on automatically as it gets dark. (The tape did not work, by the way.)

So I went for my last option. My house came fully equiped with Christmas lights strung all along the soffits, and they are controlled with a timer in the garage. All I had to do was turn on the timer .... and like magic, wah-lah, my house was lit up like a carnival ride at the State Fair.

Tomorrow night my house will be lit up with Christmas lights yet again: Christmas Lights = Halloween Candy.

Tonight my husband and I are switching from Mid-America Bank to Landmark Credit Union. Why? I've been unhappy with Mid-America ever since they switched from St. Francis Bank, and the only thing that has kept me from switching before this is all the automatic payments that I'll now have to change.

I didn't set out to switch our accounts, but I think he secretly set a plan in place where I would come up with the idea, and then because it's my idea, do it.

Here's what happened: He and our daughter have been saving all their change in this huge piggy bank we bought in Cape Cod when we first got married. They 'feed the pig' and every once in a while they'll weigh the pig and see how much it's gained since the last weigh-in. It's like the opposite of Weight Watchers, the heavier the pig, the better. About a month ago they took the pig up to Landmark Credit Union and opened a savings account. We are saving for a vacation, and coin by coin, we'll get there. It's realistic. I once sold items on ebay for three months and had enough for a 10 day trip to the Disney World ... including the meal plan, which by the way, is a good deal.

I digress..... In order to put my name on the savings account he needed to escort me to the credit union where I'd then have to sit in front of a very pleasant banker who had account literature on her desk. I think he called ahead and asked her to take her time in preparing the signature card: Fake like you are working on the paperwork until she takes a brochure. After she opens the Current Rates brochure then you can ask her to sign the signature card. So I waited, and chatted, and waited, and chatted, and waited, and then reached for the brochure.

I think witnessed a fist pump and a victorious 'yes!' from my husband as I noticed the interest rate on the Premium Checking account.

After verfiying that the numbers were not a misprint, I looked over at my grinning husband who said, "Clark Howard always says to go to a Credit Union".

"What about customer service? Is there an 800 number that I have to call where I'll get some worldwide call center where I'm just a number and no one cares?" I asked.

"Unfortunately," the banker told me with a note of sarcasm, "You'll get our New Berlin office."

"We'll be back on Thursday."

 What about you? What would motivate you to change banks?

To read more of my writing until my next post, please visit Thoughts Outside My Head.

Hello NOW Community!

I feel like a backstage assistant who has just been pushed into the spotlight by the stage manager. While I've been a regular blogger now for about two and half years, this is the first time I'm blogging with my real name in the byline, and photograph nonetheless. I've blogged under an alias for my entire blogging *cough* career, but today is the day that I'm, well, for lack of a better phrase .... coming out.

Yes. The cloak of secrecy has finally been removed. So what happens now? (cue the dramatic music) Will I be recognized? Will I be stopped in the middle of Pick N Save to talk about my latest post? Will my mailbox be filled with fan mail? Will I get free dinner at my favorite pizza place, Pizzeria Piccola?

I'll tell you what I think will happen now that my name is out there, people will want to know how in the heck they should pronounce it.

So now that's I've burst onto the NOW Community scene, you probably want to know a little bit about me. Here's the list version:

10 Things about Me….
1. I wrote a novel in 2005 (more on that later).
2. I’m working on my MBA.
3. I have a Dyson vaccuum cleaner and I use it a lot.
4. I’m the only one in my house who puts dishes in the dishwasher. (This is because I’m the only one who is licensed to load it).
5. I could be Stephanie Plum if I tried.
6. I drive a hybrid car.
7. I love going to the movies.
8. I have a love/hate relationship with my hair.
9. My all-time favorite question is the M&M one.
10. I ask a lot of questions.
10-1/2. I am a wine lush. There is no cure, just lots of fantastic wine!

The long version about me:

I’ve been married for 11 years, have a six year old daughter, two dogs, two cats, and a big fat mortgage. I live in the suburbs (Menomonee Falls), work in the family tool and die business, have my bachelors degree in criminal justice, and am almost half way through my master’s degree in business administration. Did I ever think I’d be a part owner in the family business? Nope.

I love going to the movies, reading a good book, taking long bike rides, running, and going to the YMCA to work out (although I will admit that sometimes I like to just sit in the hot tub too). I enjoy Sunday mornings because I can read the newspaper in my pj’s and drink my coffee. I’m addicted to tennis and watch all the tennis matches, especially the four grand slams.

I could live on grilled cheese sandwiches, caesar salads (hold the caesar dressing please), cheese pizza with black olives, yogurt, chocolate chip ice cream, and red wine. Oh and water. I drink a lot of water.

What should you expect to find when you read my blog? Whatever is going on in my life at that time is what I write about, usually it's about my family or something that I did, or tried to do, mostly written off the top of my head. There's a good dose of sarcasm, be warned. There will be movie reviews -- we are coming up on Oscar season and I am a movie buff. I'll provide wine recommendations -- I'm in a wine club with a group of local ladies who get together once a month to drink great (and sometimes not-so-great wine). 

Wednesday is usually Wordless Wednesday, so I'll leave you with a photo that my husband took this past spring. Can anyone guess the location?