And guess who’s a finalist in Susie Bright’s Sarah Palin Halloween Costume Contest? That’s right – me again. (The winner is amazing – I won’t spoil it. Just follow the link, if you haven’t already, and check it out.)

And if you haven’t voted already, please go out and do that tomorrow. Even if you got a flier on your windshield that said you should wait ’til Wednesday. (I only wish I was kidding.)

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This afternoon, I got an email from Susie. I’m a finalist. I’m floored. But what did I do? Well, I didn’t even blink. I just pulled up my PitBull Panties and emailed her right back, with a quick rundown on how I became Caribou Barbie, and what it took to get me there.

“Yay!” I said. “I’m so excited!

“I’m a last-minute kind of person, so it was Friday morning that I said to my husband, ‘If I’d thought of it earlier, I could have been Caribou Barbie.’ Then, riding my bike to Albertson’s to pick up some Halloween candy (like I said, I’m a last-minute person), I realized that all I needed for the costume was a shiny blonde wig, and a way to attach some antlers to the silver plastic tiara I already owned. So, I left Albertson’s and headed north on Lincoln Blvd., to the Spirit store, where I found a ‘Trixie’ wig that looked perfect. At home, I found my suede-and-faux fur boots, my faux-fur collared jacket and a dress (I’d intended on a short green dress, but wound up in a long black dress with one side of the skirt pinned up to show the boots).

“The antlers were a bit of a challenge. My first idea was to use a pair that my husband worked into a headdress a couple of years ago. He put screws through a heavy leather belt and into the base of the antlers, then padded it with an old bandanna. Those antlers are big and heavy, though, and I remember the weight gave him a headache. We do have a smaller set of antlers, which I also considered, but then he told me I could try making some with rolled-up newspaper and masking tape. I didn’t have much luck with that (he’s much craftier than I am, and he wasn’t home), but in trying to find some online instructions that might help, I found this adorable necklace holder. Two wire coat hangers, some blue masking tape, silver spray paint and glitter and I had a set of shiny antlers, which I attached to the tiara with pink zip ties. I also used pink zip ties to attach the tiara to the wig.

“I loved putting the whole thing together, and I was ridiculously proud of myself that I’d managed to do it all at the very last minute. (I don’t think I could have done it if I didn’t work from home!) My husband quite liked the blonde wig, which surprised me. (Though he hasn’t yet asked me to wear it to bed.) No one at the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval seemed to “get” the costume (someone did say “Hi, Reindeer!” to me, and someone did ask me what I was “trying to be.” She looked confused when I told her.) It’s not the first time I’ve developed a costume I had to explain, though, so I didn’t mind.

“I won’t be wearing it Tuesday* – I’m volunteering on the Election Protection hotline (www.866ourvote.org or 1-866-Our-Vote), and it’s very important that we appear non-partisan, but I think I will wear a version of it for the next Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade – though I might skip the furry coat, and add fairy wings.”

*Susie does intend to wear her Sarah Palin costume to the polls on Tuesday.

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Fangland

I had several ideas – and since the rules allowed three entries per contestant, I did have some vague idea that I was going to write three stories – but, as usual, I put things off until the last minute. That’s okay, though, because…

Um…

I won.

When I saw the announcement yesterday, I had to read it several times to understand what it said. “Oh, cool!” I thought. “Candy Witch won! I loved that story. And Open Sesame, that one was fun, too. And Untitled (based on Frankenstein)? I don’t remember that one… Oh, shit. That one’s mine. Wait, I won?” I read it again. My heart started thumping. My hands started to shake. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t (because I would have frightened the cat – not to mention the carpenter who’s currently stripping 50 years or more of paint off our lovely redwood door jambs), so I squeaked. Very quietly. And wondered if I was going to throw up.

I won.

And I still can’t quite believe it.

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