Have a Hoppy Halloween without the home brew
I heard a lot of "guy walks into a bar…" jokes last weekend. It's not because I was hanging around amateur comedians - I was at the Hoppy Halloween home brew convention in my home state of North Dakota.
My family decided to meet in Fargo for the convention because dad entered one of his choice stouts and because we hadn't all been together for a while.
We noticed that most entrants didn't bring their entire families to the event, but we had fun sampling some home brew and eating free cheese, meats and crackers.
As we walked into the convention center, a man in a kilt reviewed one of the beer entries from a stage. Obviously, my prediction that we'd see interesting characters was accurate, and no, he wasn't from North Dakota.
Dad didn't win anything for his entry, but he got some good door prizes, like a hat that says, "I'm 'hop' blooded" and three packages of brewing yeast.
We were there for only about an hour, because the female faction of the family had shopping to do, but my dad and husband had fun without us and got home brewing tips from another character wearing a straw hat and bibbed overalls. I think he was from Minnesota.
While I'm giving wardrobe reviews and talking Halloween - whether it's a "hoppy" one or a happy one - it's probably my least favorite holiday. No offense to all the festive people out there.
I just can't think of a fun way to celebrate the holiday as an adult.
Halloween actually wasn't that fun as a kid, either. Growing up, I didn't have elaborate costumes and didn't really enjoy making my own like some creative people do. I ended up switching between punk rocker and hobo for about 10 years.
This year, I don't have a reason to dress up, but I finally have a decent costume idea. I think that with a platinum wig and a black poodle on my arm, I'd have fun being Anna Nicole Smith for the night.
I could stop enunciating my words, move really slowly and say "Sugarpie, you stink," a lot. (Anna Nicole is the overweight, former super model who’s battling for the millions her dead husband supposedly wanted her to have. You can watch her Sunday nights on E!)
Even with that costume idea, I'm positive I'll be home tonight, greeting those who do dress up and warding off vandals. Don't worry, North Dakota natives don't hand out home brew when someone says "trick or treat."