is anyone out there???

To be or not to be.

Or more specifically, who to be. It's time again for the youth scavenger hunt at the mall. Every year I convince 5-10 adults from church to dress up and "hide" in the mall. The youth have to answer clues and try to find as many of these adults as possible before time is up. It's been a fun activity.

The hardest part for me is trying to come up with some kind of costume clever enough to trick but not stand out, so my kids will have a challenging time finding me.

The first year I dressed up as a hooker. My friend let me borrow an awesome long blond wig and the rest of the costume sort of evolved from there. In the picture, I'm just getting ready to go next door to ask my neighbor if she had a more appropriate (or would that be inappropriate) shirt I could borrow to complete my ensemble.

When I explained what I was doing and what I needed, she was insulted. "You mean you think I would have a hooker shirt?!?" Gee, when she put it that way, I could see why she was offended. I assured her that I only meant she had better clothes than I did and she was more likely to have something "fun" I could wear. She laughed and immediately helped me, also insisting that I fix my skirt to make it shorter.

I don't have a picture of my complete ensemble---an "after" shot, with added accessories and new shirt---but you can get the general idea. Too bad you can't see my knee-high black boots...

When my son saw me, I went over to give him a hug. He pushed me away and my husband had to explain that it was me. With a horrified expression he squeaked out, "Mom?"

The next year, I dressed up as a jogger with a black wig.

Last year I decided to go as a very pregnant lady with a red wig.

So you can see my dilemma. I have to come up with something GOOD. I've gotten several great ideas, so I just need to see which one I can pull off.