Out of the Mouths of Babes.

We piled up all the costumes on the counter and the cashier tallied up our purchases. All said and done, the "damage" came out to $134.50. After returning the silly string, the invisible ink, the ballet slippers, and the magic wand back to the shelves, we were still WAY above our budget. (And by budget, I mean $20 bucks.)

I felt so bad about the whole thing. Iggy was already conjuring up the magic spells he could perform as "The Amazing Izzy," his magician character. My budget had, in effect, put a damper on Halloween. However, I needed to be practical and stick to my guns. It's either we have some lavish costumes, a bucket of candy, and a possible shot at winning the prizes, or we have food to eat, and a place to sleep and stay dry. We had no guarantees of winning that prize - none at all.

And then Gazzy spoke the most genius words he's ever said. "Too bad we couldn't just show up as ourselves, but costumes are mandatory." BINGO! OURSELVES! Duh! We have wings. And the genuine article, at that! If anyone had a costume better than some honest-to-goodness wings, I would throw a coup.

Being ourselves, we were guaranteed to win that prize money for sure. The trick, though, is adding a few touches to make everyone think they were not-so-real. Afterall, we don't want to blow our cover.

Sticking to the budget, we bought some glitter, fabric remnants, and some some party paint to complete the costumes.

This contest is in the bag. And, nobody has to dress up as a pumpkin now.

-Max

I'm not being a pumpkin.

Angel's Ballerina


Gazzy? (Well, somebody had to be it.)

Trick or Treat?

Nudge dragged us to a party/costume store to look for costumes for a Halloween party this weekend. She's a smart girl, cause there's bound to be lots of free candy there and assorted other goodies. I'm a smarter girl, cause I found out there's a prize for the most creative costume. $500 bucks! Cash! (Cha-ching!)

Fang, the comedian that he is, suggested I take a page from the movie rumors and dress up as Avril. My response? "Sure thing, Weird Al." Somehow, I don't think those ideas will take home a prize - in this lifetime.

Angel wants to be a ballerina. I think there's just too much pink involved in that get-up for me to even be associated with it, so I'm trying to steer her towards an idea that isn't so...pastel. Although, I guess she could dress up like a giant Pepto Bismol bottle? That would be pink and tolerable. (That was a joke.)

So many decisions, so little time. I'm gonna try and draw up some ideas and share them here on the blog.

Costume ideas, anyone?

-Max

Gazzy's cupcake recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups butter
2 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
7 egg yolks
4 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
________________________________

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour pans.

Sift flour before measuring.
Beat egg yolks.
In a large bowl, cream butter or margarine and sugar.
Blend in eggs.
Accidentally drop eggs on floor.
Smack self on forehead.
Fold sifted mixture with milk into creamed mixture.
Stir in vanilla.
Scratch head.
Realize Gazzy has drank all of the vanilla extract.
Skip vanilla and hope for the best.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Owwwwww! REMEMBER POT HOLDERS!
Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
Frost and decorate!
Cheat and eat frosting out of can.

Cupcakes for everyone:

Boo!

I'm so psyched for Halloween. I don't know what I'm gonna be yet, but there's gonna be a Halloween party going on at the school up the block this weekend, so now I have an excuse to go and get a costume!! Or at least look for ideas and make something myself. ;-)

I'm making everyone go trick or treating and to this party with me. It's all planned. (I just need to tell them.) Come on, who can say NO to FREE CANDY?? Hellllo!!


~Nudge

"The Birthday."

After the episode at the restaurant, we decided that one of us should have a birthday. We've never had one before, so why not start now?

In the most diplomatic way we could muster, we put all of our names into Fang's hat and drew the winner. Gazzy won "The Birthday."

We opted against the traditional cake and went for a Guinness Book of World Records amount of cupcakes. Personally, I would have settled for mondo-sized perfect chocolate chip cookie with a candle in it, but that's just me. And, hey, it's not like any of it would go to waste with a bunch of uber-hungry kids like us around!

We sang an original birthday song as Gazzy blew out all 56 and a half candles. (One broke.):

Happy Birthday to you
You're one of our crew
You stink up my air
But even that is cool too

- By Iggy

He may not be the next Kanye West, but it was a darn good present. I sorta dig this birthday thing afterall. Whoever thought it up, I salute you!

-Max

You're Invited?

Fang has returned, and the Flock being together again is definitely a thing worth celebrating. So, I decided to treat everyone to dinner.

After learning my lesson at The Green Tavern, I read everyone the riot act before we even took one step inside of the restaurant. I made sure to pick one of those family-oriented ones with the bright colors, and what I always thought looked like someone's garage sale nailed to the wall for decoration. It would be busy enough with all the noise and all those people running around that a couple WELL BEHAVED kids with (hidden) wings could enjoy a meal or three.

Note to self: Resist temptation. Leave condiments, especially dishes of olive oil, on the TABLE and not on the SERVER.

As we were chowing down on our food, I caught a glimpse of a flickering light out of the corner of my eye. I could also smell something burning. My suspcions starting to rise, we were ready to get the heck out of there at a moment's notice.

A clump of people surrounded a table and started making shouting. Clapping? ...And then singing! It was somebody's birthday. Whew.

Which made me think, what's the deal with birthdays, anyway? And, moreover, do any of us even HAVE one? Hmm.

-Max

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm?"

I keep finding all these news bites about animal rights in the paper lately. Whether it's about the pets that were rescued during Hurricane Katrina, or the latest fur coat to be forcibly painted red after a fashion show, it seems like it's a pretty prevalent concern in society. I know this is starting to sound like the opening paragraph to a research paper or whatever, but hear me out for a second.

Animals are supposed to be cuddly and cute, not used and abused for gain. I think people would agree with that, on the whole. That universal understanding strikes a certain chord with me and the flock.

We are 98% human, 2% avian. Some bird's DNA was messed around with to create us and, undoubtedly, went through some awful stuff to make that happen. What the heck happened to the poor birds those sicko whitecoats experimented on? I don't think I want to know.

Getting to the point...

Why are minx raised, according to people in the fur business? To make a coat or some mothball-smelling scarf for some old lady to tote around Ritzy Urban Street, USA. And, for WHAT? ...To make a profit. They make money off it.

What was the motivation for making us? It certaintly couldn't be idle curiosity or boredom. Financial gain? If that's the case, I don't know who's getting any of that money! I'm the kid using a computer in a public library, eating dirty water dogs from street vendors, living in odd places throughout New York City. The day I have a house worthy of being featured on MTV Cribs, you'll know it! Until then, I'm doing a lot of head-scratching, cause none of this stuff makes sense to me.


-Max

Homecoming.

I swallowed my pride, and made my way back north. I opted to not fly this time. (Remember, I was also the same genius who decided to fly during hurricane season.)

Yeah, I have a tendency to shut myself off sometimes, but that's just who I am. Maybe I'll get it all straightened out one day. Or not. Who knows. Until then, I am glad to be back. (And dry.)

I guess I have a lot of catching up to do. I also have a strange feeling that I was followed on my way back.


-Fang.

The Truth - Life Lesson 3

Nudge would have had another copy of the documents tucked away - safe, sound and legible. Max would have made fun of me for being a moron and ruining them, and come up with a "Plan B." Instead, I sat there and kicked myself for being so damn stupid, and tried to devise a way to visit all 34 Virginia towns beginning with the letter A.

After combing "A" town numbers 7 and 8, this state is not for LOVERS. This state is for IDIOTS...named Fang. I thought I could do all this on my own? That's not confident, that's cocky.

Lesson #3: You are only as strong as your team...

The Truth - Life Lesson 2

Because I was on my own, I didn't want to stop to rest. By Delaware, I thought I was going to fall out of the sky. If any Erasers had followed me from NYC, by the time they got ahold of my drenched, over-tired, sleeping body, I'd be dead meat. I pressed on and I kept flying.

Exhausted and totally delirious, I flew over Washington, D.C. and into neighboring Virginia. I landed under a bridge, and reached into my pocket to find the Institute print outs. They, too, were TOTALLY SOAKED. All the ink had run down them, and I could only make out the first letter of a town in Virginia, "A." Not good.

So, there I was, tired, hungry, miserable, water-logged, directionless, and alone.


Lesson #2: Put important paperwork into Ziplock bags or something...

The Truth - Life Lesson 1

I didn't even grab my stuff. I was that confident I could pull off this solo act to find my parents. I just took off, without warning or explanation. I remembered seeing the name of a town in Virginia amongst the Institute stuff. I thought it would lead me somewhere, or at least give me some clues. So, I decided to fly there.

By the time I got to the end of New Jersey, I was completely soaked. I had flown all night and into the morning in the rain.

First, it began to downpour, and then would fade to a drizzle and start back up again. It was almost like the rain was stalking me from state to state. Let me tell you, the huge gusts of wind weren't helping any, either. It took me hours longer than it should.




Lesson #1: Check the Weather Channel before I make a cross-country trip again...

Another one...

-----
To: Maximum Ride
Date: Oct 10, 2005 5:12 PM
Subject: (None)

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Tmrorow

-----
"Tmrorow?" The heck? How about tomorrow?

I'm trying to be a detective here. Maybe this person can actually spell and they were just rushed?

I asked Nudge for her opinion, and she thinks it was written at a computer store. They have most of the computers hooked up to the internet there. Anyone could quickly wander in there, shoot out an e-mail for free, and be on their way. Hmm.

I have no clue. This could be good, or this could be bad. We can only be prepared for both. Tomorrow, we shall find out.


-Max

Angel & Max's iMix

With that ridiculously small new iPod out on the market, Angel asked me to help her make an iMix on iTunes, "so she could be like Fang."

Check out our iMix.

Where she thinks she's gonna get the money to BUY one of those contraptions, I don't know. I guess she could will the Apple people to fork one over to her? Ha. That's funny.

Um, I hope she doesn't read this entry and get any ideas.


-Max

Huh?

I got an e-mail today, but I have no idea who it's from and the reply address doesn't work:

-----
To: Maximum Ride
Date: Oct 3, 2005 4:13 PM

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Coming back.

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That's all it says.

Fang? I hope so.

If not, we may be in for a big surprise. ...And I generally like to tidy up the house before guests stop by. Har, har.


-Max