Recap of Variety Halloween Party

I have been busy this week so it has taken forever to get this post ready!!! 

 

This year I again got to be a part of the Covestro / Variety Charity Halloween Party! It is such a blessing to participate and spend time with the amazing kids and families that attend!!!  It was such a great time! I can not say enough about what this charity does for special needs children and their families! They provide bikes to children that otherwise would not be able to ride one and voices to those that otherwise would not have one! This party is their opportunity to trick or treat with other kids and not have to feel challenged or judged!!!

 

Click below to see previous years excitement...

2013
2014
2015
2016
2018

 

 

As you know, I enter the pumpkin contest every year. Last year I cecorated a pumpkin to look like a sweet little unicorn and I won first place!! YEAH!!!

 

So, this year I just went for what won last year...bling, color and sequins. Sadly, it did not work as well this year and I did not even place but it was SO fun!! Here is my pumpkin after I painted it red!

 

Then I drew on my cat face...

 

 

 

Added sealing lacquer paint and lots of glitter!! 

And finally sequin horns and a black furry boa...say hi to my cat devil pumpkin! HA HA!

 

 

The day of the party, the cafeteria looked amazing! I usually help decorate but with my travel for work I was unable to assist with any setup so it was all a wonderful surprise to me last Saturday!!! The theme was Disney this year! 

 

 

Soooo cool!!!!! 

Here are the adorable centerpieces. Covestro makes polyurethane so they produce little beads of many different colors that can be blended together. They used the beads inside the centerpieces along with lights to make Minnie Mouse heads!!! So cute and creative!

And Mickey Mouse - se, no bow!?!?! So super cute!

I just thought these were so cute and creative! 

This is the STEM location when they do little fun experiments with the kiddos! An Covestro employee built this entire wall, the toybox and blocks, etc. and painted it all. He is amazing! Shout out to Steven!!

Above is the right side of the wall and pictured below is the left. Is this not amazing??! Like a real life castle for the kiddos!!!!  Se that clock on the far far left? Well, Steven actually painted an Easter Egg into the display (Easter Egg meaning secret that you have to figure out). He made Big Ben (the clock from London) on the far left of the display with Peter Pan and he set the clock to 7. Get it?!?! Big Ben here in Pittsburgh is Ben Roethlisberger #7 on the Steelers!! Cute, hugh???

 

 

Here is table one of the pumpkins...see my devil face there?!?! HA!

And table two of the pumpkin competition. Every one of the Disney movie paintings was done by an art student at University of Pittsburgh. Every year; an art teacher assigns his class to make artwork for the party. So cool, right?!?!

Here is another of the artwork created...

 

And another….

 

These last three pictures are all from the picture room where the families get to get their pictures together... 

The art students do such a great job!!!!!!

 

 

I did not get nearly the pictures  usually do since I was busy making balloon animals and hats the entire time for both parties!! Here are our pre-filled ones we were prepping before the party! We were definitely the busiest table there!! Such fun! The kids loved the hats and animals!!! My favorite was Felicity who loved my cat I made for her even though it was a dog...she had it meowing the entire party!!! These children and their families truly are amazing!!!

Lastly, remember that dog that I made that was a cat....well, in between the two sessions we googled how to make a cat and learned how to make these! So, the second session when they wanted a cat ...they actually got a cat! HA HA!

Great to have a profession to fall back on when my job ends! HA HA!

 

Have a fantastic day everyone! HUGS!

 

What is your hidden skill?? Tie cherry stem with tongue? Balloon animals? Burp on command? Etc? Come on...you know you have one!

 

 

Disney Wednesday Medley

Today I am joining Terri for her Wednesday Medley!!!

 

A Disney Kind of Wednesday Medley...

1.    On December 5, 1901, Walt Disney was born.  Have you been to Disneyland or Disney World?  Can you share a favorite Disney memory?  I was there when I was about six and I remember nothing! LOL! All I have is the pictures my parents took and there are not a ton of those either! HA!

2.     The first roller coaster attraction at Walt Disney World was Space Mountain.  Do you/did you like roller coasters?  I love roller coasters!!! My very favorite is right here in Pittsburgh called the Phantom's Revenge! It is an amazing 1 minute and 57 seconds of thrills!!!   Phantom's Revenge hits speeds up to 82 mph and has a drop of 228 feet!!!! Here is a view from the top of that drop...

 

 

3.     The very first fairy tale that Walt Disney made a cartoon about was Little Red Riding Hood.  Did you enjoy fairy tales when you were a youngster or did they scare you?  They did not scare me.  Did you have a favorite?  I don't know that I had a favorite then but later in life I really enjoyed the show Grimm which was based on the Grimm fairy tales!

4.     In Lady & the Tramp, Tramp’s real name was Butch!  Do you have nicknames for your fur-babies and/or for your children?  I have four cats....Nermal is Nermy; Trouble is Trubby-bubby; Faith is Peanut (she is a little peanut) and Grace is Chunkster! LOL!

5.     I can’t let this day go by without respecting George H.W. Bush, as he lays in state in the Rotunda of our Capital today.  He was our 41^st President and only the second father to have a son follow him as President of the United States.  President Bush loved his colorful socks.  I bought Joe a pair of George H.W. Bush socks for Christmas one year.  I know Myra has a pair… any other bloggers checking in today who have a pair of the Presidential socks in a drawer at home?   Not I; but I am very jealous of those that do! I had never heard of this!  How do you feel about colorful socks?  I love colorful socks expecially in the winter! No one sees them under boots so you can be really creative and crazy! In case you did not see it yet; Google when dark for this national day of mourning.

 

 

6.  Please tell us something random about your week! Only ten more days until Aruba!!! YIPPEE!!!

I am off to read everyone else's answers now and find out that I am the only himan that has not been to Disney as an adult!!!! HA HA!

Aladdin!

What a great night I had last night! I needed a great night out and last night really came through!  I spent the evening with a great friend of mine that I had not seen for probably at least a year! In the past we have gone to conferences together and hung out a lot more but with my travel the past two years, we have not been able to hang out nearly as much!

We met up in Pittsburgh for dinner and a show. I have season tickets for the PNC Broadway in Pittsburgh series and last night was the show that closed out the season this year...Aladdin.

We met up at the Starbucks and decided to have dinner at Peter Allen's Italian in, what we in Pittsburgh, call the Cultural District. They are known for their fried zucchini so we could not resist getting that! After browsing the menu, we decided to get a few appetizers to share.  We had the fried zucchini, stuffed mushrooms and shrimp cocktail. We were both really hungry and it was all so delicious that this was the only picture I got - ugh! One of everything left just in time for the photo - LOL!  Bad, Bad Blogger!

After our dinner we walked around town a little bit since we were stuffed and it was such a beautiful night and then off to the show we went!  Aladdin was amazing!

Here is our obligatory photo before the show with the playbill!!! I am on your left and Laura on your right.

Disney does the greatest job with sets and costumes! It was a fantastic show! The dancing and costume changes never stopped!!! I loved all the bling!!! The costumed were covered from head to top in shiny gems and glistening sequins! It was a beautiful show and the cast was fantastic!!! The singing and dancing was non-stop! The cast had to be exhausted!! They all had abs and by the end we could see why!!! HA HA!

It was a great night spent with a great friend!! I hope you all have an amazing Wednesday!!

 Anyone else ever see Aladdin on Broadway? Do yo have a "local" Broadway in your town?  Do you love Disney or not so much? Fried zucchini, yes or no?!?!