I’ve spent every extra ounce of energy today on the Halloween Party. We throw only one party a year and it’s the best damn Halloween Party you’ve ever been to in your life. This year, though, I’ve been sick, so getting things ready has been harder in that respect.

It has been easier in some respects. I’ve planned all year. I got the horror movies months in advance. They’ll be no last minute runs to Blockbuster, hoping they will have something classic to play in the background. I got Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Birds, and The Masque of the Red Death to play silently on the television.

I’ve automated so many of the processes. Last year’s slide show of Costumes of Halloween Past is still saved on the hard drive. All I had to do was add last year’s to the mix and now it’s ready to go.

Last year’s invitation, CD sleeves, CD labels and Prize Tags were carefully saved. This year, all I needed to do was change the dates and the theme picture and they were ready to go.

Mike took care of me this year. He hooked me up. He put a super fast DVDR/CDR burner in my computer, so when it came time to burn the CDs (I give them away as party favors), it took one evening instead of four days.

All of the Halloween decorations are still in storage, so I have a lot of decorating to do to get our house up to party level. I also have a lot of cleaning to do to get it up to company level.

Of course, the food is left up to fate (potluck). I’ll bring a vegetable tray and Mike is planning on preparing a licorice tray. Other than that, the food is a mystery to me and that’s a good thing. I release the worry of food to the Party Gods. Even when they play a practical joke on me, it’s still funny.

The attendees are a sort of mystery to my also. Some have definitely responded with positive or negative responses, but there are always the multitude that don’t respond and show up, adding spice and interest to the evening. I’m excited to see who shows up. The people who are coming to the party are the ones that I’m pushing myself for. I’m so excited to see their costumes and their potluck dishes and their happy party faces.

Now, I just need to hang the birds from my halo for my costume. You’ll never guess in a million years what I’m going to be!