Halloween Costumes

Growing up, my mother crafted some of the finest Halloween costumes I’ve ever seen. Even today I’m incredibly impressed every time I look at old pictures. She definitely spoiled me. I never had a store-bought costume. Whether it be an astronaut, police officer or iPod, my mom would lovingly build a stellar costume for me each year.

It was only natural that once I was on my own, I just couldn’t be satisfied with a store-bought costume. Over my college and post-college days I’ve fashioned my Halloween costume myself. I just can’t bring myself to buy a ready-made costume. Over the years I’ve managed to pull together some cool ones like Indiana Jones, a hobo, Steve Jobs and one of my all-time favorites, Quailman.

This year Abby and I decided it was time we do a couple costume. We’d toyed with the idea before but it never came together. This year we finally committed to it and are in the process of creating our own cave-people costumes. I’m very excited (and a little scared) to see how they turn out. I’ll be posting pictures of the final outcome when they are finished. Until then, enjoy these photos of my former costumes…

Christopher as Steve Jobs for Halloween 2011.

I had wanted to be Steve Jobs for many, many years. It should have been easy but finding a black turtle neck is harder than you’d think. I finally tracked one down and saved it for months waiting for Halloween. Funny enough, my first iPhone arrive a week before Halloween.

Christopher as Quailman and Abby as Daria for Halloween 2010.

In 2010, Abby and I both came up with 90s cartoon costumes. I was Quailman (aka Doug Funny’s alter ego) and she was Daria.

Christopher as a hobo and Abby as the Jolly Green Girl for Halloween 2009..

Abby is a Jolly Green Girl (play on the giant of course) and I’m a drunken hobo. I had a blast staying in character all night.

Christopher as Indiana Jones for Halloween 2006.

Indiana Jones, complete with whip. This was also a really fun one.

Christopher as an iPod for Halloween 2003.

This classic is from all the way back in high school. I had recently gotten my first iPod (a 3rd generation) and my mom helped me craft a really cool costume.

That’s all I have for now, someday I’ll have to scan all of my childhood costumes. They were really great. Thanks, Mom!

Home Brew

Months and months ago I snagged a Mr. Beer home brewing kit at a great price on one of those “daily deals” sites. I received the kit a while ago but for one reason or another (like a wedding) I never got around to giving it a shot. Luckily it was not forgotten and with a bit of extra time about a month ago, my wife and I decided it was time to home brew a batch of west coast pale ale.

Christopher mixing up home brew beer

After a bit of patience and lots of stirring our beer was ready to ferment. It was a “hurry up and wait” situation. It’d be 7–14 days (we opted for the 14 to be sure) before we’d get to tap the keg and fill some bottles.

Mr. Beer home brew keg

For the next two weeks this little keg sat in our living room, just taunting us. Who knew the hardest part of making your own beer was just waiting for it to be ready?

Filling bottles of home brew from Mr. Beer keg

Bottling day had finally arrived. I read through the instructions again and started filling up my bottles. Then it was time for, yup, you guessed it, wait some more!

Home brew bottles conditioning in a closet

These guys got to hang out in our dry, dark linen closet for another two weeks. So much waiting!

A glass of home brewed west coast pale ale next to a bottle

After an extra two-day stay in our refrigerator, we finally cracked open a beer. It felt quite rewarding to finally take a sip of something we created at home. It wasn’t half bad either. I’m happy with the way my first attempt turned out and I’m looking forward to trying it again soon.

Next time I’m hoping to give it my own special touch and change the recipes a bit. I might even upgrade to a more “professional” brew kit. It turned out to be a lot of fun and could easily become a new hobby.