Halloween, the day after (2013)

Where did the time go?  Halloween 2013 was the busiest season ever.  Between PTA duties and conferences and parties and playdates and home remodeling and doctor visits and soccer tournaments and dance rehearsals, I could barely catch my breath, let alone blog about it.   So I've combined all my October blog posts into one giant, supersized, mega recap post!   Here's what went on in the Bongga family last month:



Technically, our trip to the Disneyland Resort happened in the last weekend of September, but it kicked off our Halloween season, so it definitely deserves to be included in this recap.  We loved seeing Disneyland all decked out for the fall, and we got to attend Mickey's Halloween Party for the very first time!  It was an awesome experience that I can't wait to repeat.

I was excited and honored to be a panelist at the BlogHer PRO keynote discussion this year!  We spoke about how bloggers can work together and forge meaningful partnerships.  I must confess to more than a few pre-panel panic attacks, and I was so nervous at the beginning (I've been on panels before, but hey, this is BlogHer, the big time!)  but my fellow panelists were amazing, and after a while I really began to enjoy myself.  The panel was a great success (we ran out of time because so many people were asking questions), and I think I managed to pull my weight and contribute in a meaningful way (my fellow panelists and I were quoted lots of times on twitter!). From the perspective of both a speaker and an attendee, I thought BlogHer PRO was a great conference and would highly recommend it to any blogger who wants to take their blogging beyond journal updates and photos of their kids.

A good friend threw a birthday bash and asked all her guests to perform a talent.  I stressed out for weeks about what I was going to do and literally suffered a few sleepless nights over the thought of performing in front of people I barely know.  Coming from someone who used to perform on tv, that might sound weird, but no one wants to see a middle-aged woman do pirouettes at a party.  I had a moment of desperation, I decided to decorate a cupcake on the fly.  I brought a plain cupcake and several bags of icing with different colors and tips.  I decorated the cupcake while singing Happy Birthday, and fortunately everyone had imbibed enough alcohol by the time I performed, because I wasn't boo'ed off the stage.  Seriously though, it turned out to be fine.  Everyone was supportive and enthusiastic, and I realized that I had raised my blood pressure all that time for nothing.

I really enjoyed our school's auction party this year  The party had a Mardi Gras theme, so everything seemed extra-festive, with glittery chandeliers hanging from the ceiling (we actually bid on one of them, so now The Pea has a new blinged-out light fixture for her bedroom!), voodoo dolls and candles flickering in the corner, and a hallway full of kids' photos that I helped decorate.  Everyone binged on jambalaya, hurricanes and wine, so the bidding just went higher and higher, and we raised more money than ever.  I can't take credit for any of the auction's success, but it's nice to be PTA president in the same  year that the PTA's biggest fundraiser turned out to be wildly successful :)

Marissa Mayer's home is always pretty spectacular, and this year she upped the ante.  Some months ago she bought her neighboring property and expanded her back yard, so this year she had space for not just one gigantic carved pumpkin, but three.  Every year she always hands out theater-sized boxes of candy; this year, kids also got to choose their very own Beanie Baby Boo stuffies.  Needless to say, the crowds were larger than ever.

For Halloween Night, The Pea went off with her friends and refused my offer to chaperone their group, so Alfie and I went trick or treating with the boys.  We joined a new set of friends this year.  The boys had such a great time running from house to house!  We ended up at one family's home where the grownups nibbled on wine and cheese while the kids sorted and traded (and no doubt ate) their candy.  3Po has already traded most of his candy for each of his friends' Beanie Babies!

Here's hoping that November will be a tad less frantic, but just as much fun!