Go ahead, let me have it. I know I've been horrible about blogging lately. But the edits for Suddenly Sorceress are kicking my ass. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And in a fun twist, that book is set during Halloween.

And speaking of Halloween... It's just a half hour til dark and I’m sitting in front of the television watching a marathon of my all-time favorite Halloween movies, starting with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

This is the first time all day I really felt as if it was Halloween…and now it’s almost over. How is this even possible?

I got up this morning and completely forgot what day it was. I was out running errands and ran into no less than three strangely dressed people before I realized they weren’t crazy…just in costume. I’m still asking myself how I managed to make it through the entire day without my usual holiday cheer. Everyone knows I love Halloween. For years, the neighborhood children have referred to my house as the “scary” house thanks to my creative Halloween displays. But this year, I live on a farm and the turkeys have zero respect for scary decorations. The minute they pooped on my pumpkin, my heart wasn’t in it. My life-size skeleton is all alone on the front porch. I didn’t even put the heads on stakes in the yard.

To make matters worse, like last year, we won’t get a single trick or treater tonight. Not one. Not even my own children, all of which have flown the nest. But did that stop me from buying candy? Oh, hell no. I live in fear of the angry mob of children with stakes and torches storming my sidewalk if I didn’t buy candy. (You just never know when they'll show up shouting, "Trick or Treat!")

Of course, then I had to buy candy to replace the candy I ate. (The same candy I bought to replace the candy I ate before that.) I’ve eaten so much candy in the past two weeks, if my blood was tested it would probably be pure chocolate.

But surely a lack of trick or treaters couldn’t be the reason for my uncharacteristic gloom on my favorite holiday…could it?

Well, once again, I have no kids at home. You’d think I’d be used to it after the past few kidless years, but I just never am. And as much as the dogs would love to eat candy, they’re not much for the costumes. Believe me…I tried.

And my husband? Getting him into a costume would be harder than dressing Indiana Jones, the Mastiff in a cowardly lion suit and taking him around the neighborhood to knock on doors. (This was my Halloween fantasy from last year that failed miserably.)

So what does a girl do when her favorite holiday falls flatter than a souffle in a thunderstorm?

She grabs a few last pieces of chocolate and a glass of red wine and parks herself in front of the TV to watch Halloween of the past. It wasn’t what I had in mind, but it beats crying in my candy bowl. And what the Hell…this just means my boycott of the Christmas stores is over.

Until the next time…I’ll be shopping for Christmas!