Carving Pumpkins

Carving pumpkins is one of the craziest times for our family. It's more about the process and the fun involved than it is about the finished pumpkins. Here are some pictures from this year's adventures.





Pumpkins creators from top left to bottom right of picture: Jacob, Matthew, Troy, McKenzie. (I didn't carve a pumpkin this year because the smell made me sick.)

Halloween Preview

The Animaniacs!

Yakko

Dot

Wakko

My kids are going to be the Warner Brothers (and the Warner Sister!) for Halloween. For those of you who may not know the Animaniacs, may I suggest checking them out here.

Stephanie J is a Fabulous Friend

Stephanie J and I met our sophomore year at Hillcrest High School. My life has been richly blessed by having her as my friend ever since. How, you may ask? She's always there for me through the thick or thin, prosperity or poor, health or illness.

Stephanie's got a bunch of hard things going on in her life right now, but despite it all brought me a salad from Olive Garden last night. She knew I have been craving one because of reading something about it in my blog post yesterday. You know, she's an amazing example of what real friendship is all about. She isn't just my friend when it's convenient, popular, or going to get her something she wants. Stephanie's never been about that. She's true, she's real, and she's irreplaceable.
I hope that all my friends and family out there in blogland have their own friend like Stephanie J. I seriously want to be like her when I grow up!

Dad the Painter

I am the luckiest woman alive. If you don't believe me, you need to hang out with my husband to find out that I'm right. Dad is not only "Mr. Fix Everything", handsome, funny, sweet, thoughtful, and multi-talented, but he's got a creative side, too. He paints! This is his masterpiece that he painted one Sunday after noon, and is now hanging in my living room. Just don't hate me for having the most amazing husband on the planet!

Eight Greats

I think I was tagged by Megan.... so here we go!

Eight T.V. shows I love to watch:
1- Law and Order (any of them)
2- The Office
3- Dancing with the Stars
4- Sponge Bob Square Pants
5- Myth Busters
6- 30 Rock
7- Dirty Jobs
8- Almost anything on the History Channel

Eight Favorite Places to Eat:
1- Olive Garden
2- Barbacoa
3- Bajio
4- Applebees
5- Wingers
6- my parents/in-laws houses
7- Subway
8- The Melting Pot

Eight Things that happened yesterday:
1- I awoke feeling a lot better
2- Dot had a "light bulb" moment in math
3- I finished the bulk of my kids' Halloween costumes
4- Yakko had rehearsals
5- Wakko did a whole lot of math
6- I fixed meatloaf, baked potatoes and corn for dinner
7- Dad bought his "new to me" vehicle (more to come later...)
8- Kate and I hung out in the family room and watched "30 Rock"

Eight Things I look forward to:
1- Having my dishwasher work
2- Getting energy back
3- My next trip to Disneyland (some day...)
4- "Into the Woods" on Monday
5- Seeing Nate, Melissa, and their darling beautiful kids
6- To Wong Foo night
7- The next time I get to eat at the Olive Garden-- I want their salad!
8- Halloween

Eight Things I love about Fall:
1- Halloween costumes
2- Pumpkin recipes
3- Snuggling in blankets
4- Hot Chocolate
5- General Conference
6- Comfort foods
7- Crisp air
8- Family and Friends gathering

Eight Things on my wish list:
1- Disneyland vacation
2- A raise for Dad
3- Feel like myself again (kiss the nausea good-bye!)
4- Size 8
5- My dishwasher working!!!!
6- Health and happiness to my friends and family
7- Visiting Nate's family here or in "The Cleve"
8- Bubba will decide that his barking is unnecessary, and voluntarily stop doing it

Eight people I tag:
Nicci, Dot, Eve, Bonnie, Tracy B, Tami B, Laren, and Melissa

Snow?

Alright, I'm weird. I am not a huge winter lover, but when we had our "freak" snow storm, I was giddy with excitement. I know, it's crazy.

I love the pictures that Dad took of the snow; I hope that you'll enjoy them as well!

Flash Back to the 60's

Friday night, Troy and I had the great privilege of going out with two of our most favorite couples ever: Emily and Scott, and Wendy and Cortney. We went to the Olive Garden where I indulged in this:
Stuffed Chicken Marsala. We don't even want to know how many calories or grams of fat are in this baby. We don't even want to know.

After the fabulous stuffing of ourselves (how do I love Olive Garden's salad? Let me count the ways...), we hopped on over to the Rose Wagner Center to watch Imagine Choral Concert. It was such a great show!

Sterling Poulson was the conductor; since we were the second row from the stage, we had a chance to watch him in action. He was fantastic! One of the major highlights of the evening was when he talked to Dad a little bit. I loved it.

The music was all from the 60's, and so much fun! It was especially great watching the drummer: J. Michael Cottam. He was AWESOME!

Lunch Ladies

Today I had lunch at Cafe Rio with some of my junior high/high school friends. It was so fun to see them: especially since I hadn't seen 3 of the 4 of them since right after Dot was born. (Doh! for not bringing my camera!)

Thanks, Tiffany, Bonnie, and Tiffany for hanging out for a while today! You looked gorgeous, and it was so wonderful to catch up a little bit. We missed you, Tiffany B., Eve, Shannon, and Holly. It would have been great to have you there! A HUGE thanks to Nicci for setting the whole thing up and, just like you have our whole lives, for being the glue that holds our friendships together.

Background: *warning! This may be boring to some of you, so don't worry if you skip this part. My feelings won't be hurt.

Nicci and I met when we were three years old. Her mom was my mom's visiting teacher for church. We were pretty much attached at the hip until my family moved away at 11 1/2 years old. (My parents and her parents teased us that we were adopted into each others families. Once we had a sleepover a week in a row. I could have an entire blog devoted to "Nicci and Stephanie Memories"-- yeah, they're that good! )Even after the move, Nicci and I remained close for years. As I got obsessed with dance and theater as a teen, Nicci was always there to support me and be my friend. I really cannot recall a fight or argument we've ever had. She's a rare gem, and I love her like a sister.

I met Bonnie, her sister Tiffany, and Tiffany R. (by the way, Tiffany B., Holly, Shannon, and an occasional other friend or so were in our little clumpage, too...) through Nicci. We got to be friends during some of the wackiest and hardest time in my teen years. Favorite memory of this bunch? Our totally un-supervised sleepover at Tiffany R.'s house. Bring on the Whoppers, Twizzlers, and Footloose tape!

Thanks again, ladies! It was such fun!

Wishing On a Star

I was just going through pictures to find the right one for Yakko's head shot for the program, and came across a bunch of pics from Disneyland. I really want to go back. Today.

Here a few examples of things about our trip I miss:The joy of being in "the happiest place on earth"!
The delicious food from the restaurants on Main Street and the area just outside the gates.Eating the most expensive meal of our lives... and having the experience be worth every cent!

Dad hanging out with Goofy.

Yakko's Cast

No, we're not talking about a broken anything... Yakko's been cast in the Monday/Wednesday/Friday/Saturday matinees cast for "A Christmas Carol". We're really excited about this opportunity for him, and he's just thrilled to be a part of this. Kate is single cast, so whenever you go, you have the opportunity to see her perform! For tickets and more information, click here.

Yo Quiero Taco Bell

Thank you, Katey! Thank you for getting the kids ready for the day, for making them wash the dishes, and making sure they were quiet so that I could sleep. Thank you for bringing home Taco Bell, buying ice cream, and all the hugs. I will forever be thankful for the friend you are, the help you unselfishly give, and the judgment you never cast. Thank you for loving me and my family like your own: you will forever have a place with us!

Vote!

Thanks, Katey and Patti!

Accomplished?

Today I've:
exercised
remembered to take my vitamins
got school going full force
put make up on
brushed my teeth and hair
washed dishes (the old fashioned way)
blogged
read my friends' blogs

It may not be a ton, but for 10:19 a.m. and my insanity lately, it's a lot!

Singing the Dishwasher Blues

My dishwasher isn't working. Again. It's four months old. Nice.

On a happier note, Troy's still hot, Kate's still amazing, Kenzie's getting ready to start ballet again, Matthew's excited for rehearsals on Saturday, and Jacob makes me laugh every day.

Ah, life's like a roll of toilet paper: sometimes it's soft and sweet, other times it stinks and is full of yucky stuff. Sometimes at the same time.

Me random? You bet ya!