Singing...

I had the opportunity to substitute for Manda in her sister-in-laws ward Christmas program. I had to sing a solo of the Hymn I Believe in Christ, support group there, only in Spanish! Yes, it was a Spanish ward and it was very nerve wracking. My spanish hymn book is a tiny little thing and it was very hard to see the tiny words while I was up on stage in front of an entire ward. The whole time I kept wondering what they were thinking..."Um, why is she up there? She's not even Hispanic." Luckily I had my best latinLamoni. And we got free food which was excellent. Unfortunately, I didn't eat much of it because I kept having vision of me singing and then a grain of rice choking me to death. It was good food though. We also met a very nice family that were investigating the church. Their daughter was very cute. It was a good evening and I'm glad that I got to help a cousin out:)

Christmas is coming....

and I may have officially come up with the lamest Christmas presents ever this year. I'm poor so I figured I would make the bulk of my presents for my family members. We will see how they turn out. But I need every body's favorite colors, so if I haven't already asked you would you please let me know? thanks. Hopefully, you won't disown me for such lame gifts. :/

Sydney's Birthday!

I know it's been a while since this event but here are some pictures of Sydney's awesome birthday party. She had a petting zoo and and a piñata and a BBQ and everyone had a good time.

Syd was so cute and so excited for her cake and presents. I love Aubrey's crusty face like, where are my presents?
She had a little encouragement from her aunt (ahem) to use the pink frosting as lipstick.

Aubrey of course did it too and then they made kissy faces at each other. Needless to say that certain aunt of theirs got in some trouble.

The ever present big horn sheep that attract all kinds of tourists.

Aubrey learning to play street hockey.

Sydney got a new baby doll and loved it. Unfortunately, so did Aubrey and there were a few spats over it.

I don't understand Tyler's need to make this face every time I put him in front of a camera. I guess I like it though:)

Aubrey working hard to hit that piñata. She was reluctant to give up the bat to Tyler but once she did Tyler managed to sever the poor unicorn's head clean from its body. He still had to beat the headless body to get at the juicy innards of candy (are piñatas gross or is it just me?)

Don't worry though, Maddie rescued that animal and taped it up. I believe it is now her pet. It was a good birthday with great food and great company:)



Ruffians.

You don't know what you've got...

There's nothing like walking 3 miles to work at 6am in 13 degrees Fahrenheit to make you appreciate having a car. I locked my keys in my car...again. Are we shocked? All I know is, I love my car:)

New Moon Midnight Showing!

Yes, I admit it. I wen to the midnight showing of New Moon. And you know what? I liked it! Expecting it to be a much like Twilight in mockability we were pleasantly surprised with the second movie. And not to mention all the hot half-naked werewolves running around:D

Abby and I met her friends CC and Paige and Abby's sister-in-law Sarah at the theatre around 8pm and we waited for a VERY long time ('till midnight). But we had a lot of fun doing it. We ate our weight in chocolate and Triscuits, read magazines, and decorated "team" shirts. I was team Jacob along with CC, but everyone else was team Edward....traitors.

Abby working hard on her shirt.

The finished product.

CC displays the New Moon "hearts desire" chocolate candies (and her AWESOME Jacob shirt).

Abby does her best K Stew face. I thought she did pretty well.

Page dreams of Robert Pattinson.

You would have to sit in line for 4 hours to understand this madness.

Waiting in line and Abby in her shirt (and baby Helen). I know Abby has more pictures on her camera so I'll have to rope her in to posting them.

I know I shouldn't laugh...

but I saw something pretty funny yesterday as I was driving to my apartment. There is a Burger King just up the street from where I live and as I was stopping at a light I looked over to see a Burger King worker standing on a ladder with a long pole putting up the letters on the advertising board. He was going slowly, carefully reaching up with the pole and the letter was almost in place...when it fell from the pole and dropped to the ground. I watched the poor man in my rear view mirror as he had to climb awkwardly down the ladder with the 10 ft pole and retrieve the lost letter. It was like one of those classic physical comedy moments from a movie. I must have a sick sense of humor but I smiled in pity all the way home.

The results are in....

....and the first banner won! Thanks for all who participated in the poll!

Sailing with Uncle Dave!

September 26 was a day of adventure! My cousin Stephen invited me to go sailing with them and I readily accepted the invite. I arrived at Uncle Dave & Aunt Karen's at 8am ready for some exciting sailing fun.

The boat Uncle Dave took us out on.

It was strange weather - nice and warm but hazy so it provided some interesting shots of the other boats out. I believe there was a race that day.

A somewhat embarrassing shot of me at the helm, and talking apparently.

Ah, to sail.

Stephen and his friend Lauren. She was a lot of fun to talk to.

It was a grand time had by all I think and afterwards I had a craving to watch Captain Ron. Thanks Duncan Fam!

Hee-Haws

What is Fall without a corn maze and a pumpkin patch? Well, this was actually my first corn maze but we had a good time. The Saturday before Halloween Ashley, Sam, Abby, Anthony, Lamoni, and I met at Wendy's for lunch then drove to Hee Haw's. We were a little nervous because it was pouring down rain for a while but it got better when we arrived. Then we went to Sam and Ashley's for chimichangas, pumpkin carving, and the classic "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra."

I like to think that Martin has warmed up to me a bit by now. But for a while whenever I talked to him he gave me this face.

Us by the giant pumpkins. We thought about sticking around until the evening because there was going to be a "Pumpkin Drop." Apparently they hoist one of those pumpkins up with a crane and drop it on a car. Pretty sweet.

This was a giant pumpkin by the entrance.


Abby saw these and jumped right on. However this one was broken. Hence Abby's "what?" face.


We broke the rules and went off the path into the corn stalks to hide out.

Sam and Martin.

The giant hog monster! This thing was huge. I probably stood to the second rail from the top of the fence there. It had some name like Harvey, or Leroy or something. It was just chilling and chomping on a pumpkin.

The beautiful scenery. It had been raining but then it just became gray and chilly. All in all it was a good time:)

I Have a Question.

I need you help! I decided to put a new banner up on the title of my blog and I can't decide which picture to use. Please decide which one you like best and select your choice on the poll to the right. Thanks!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

I Get Bored Sometimes....

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Family history research - Roots

Week in Photos is Finally Here!

The week in photos is finally here! I know all you followers have been anxiously waiting.

Wednesday 10/28 - A few weeks ago we passed by a house with a sign that said "Free Kittens." I suggested we just pull over and take a look. The rest is history. I named her Maya but some people think she should be renamed Chupacabra or Xibalba.

Thursday 10/29 - The bestest birthday present ever! Grandma S took us out for dinner at Spaghetti Factory and Mom and Maddie came up for the night as a complete surprise!

Friday 11/30 - Nothing too exciting this day except my friend Diana at work made pumpkin shaped cookies and gave them to us. She is so awesome:)

Saturday 10/31 - As part of our Halloween celebration Lamoni and I carved our pumpkin. Pumpkins are one of my favorite parts of Fall. Then we dressed in our costumes and went on campus to dance and watch a scary movie.

Sunday 11/1 - No picture. I fail.

Monday 11/2 - Feliz Dia de los Muertos! To celebrate Day of the Dead we bought Pan de Muerto.

Tuesday 11/3 - Abby and I had some fun shooting pool at the local bowling alley. Then to honor a time old tradition we got fake tattoos afterwards. Then I went to the Limons and Moises had made a delicious cake and a balloon sign to celebrate my late birthday and the birthday of a friend.

Week in Photos Update

Ok, I know I said that I would do a week in photos. I have done it but I currently have no way to get my photos on the computer. I will be able to put them on this weekend so no worries! I know you are all anxiously waiting for the genius photographing of my thrilling life. Just be patient...it will come.

Some Old Pictures from May 2009

I found some pictures that for some reason never got posted. This is springtime in Mount Pleasant!

A Happy Birthday

I am often surprised (although I am not sure why it is so surprising) at how many good people surround me. Many times I feel as though I am not deserving of such good family and friends. Yesterday was a good example of how wonderful they are, even when I don't deserve it.

October 29, 2009 - I wake up feeling ill and with swollen and painful eyes. I realize that I left my contacts in (for the second night in a row). I have a headache and dread the coming day of staring at a computer and wonder how I am going to drive to work with my eyes like this. I call and leave a message for my boss saying that I will come in later. A few hours later I get a call saying that it's super busy at work and they need me to come in so I throw on some clothes and speed to work. It is like most days at work - speaking on the phone all day long has its advantages and disadvantages, like any job. Mistakes are made, people get angry, I do my homework, etc. FinallyI head over to my cousin's because we are going out to eat with Grandma S. for my birthday. When lo and behold, the best birthday surprise happened!

That's right, my mom and Madison had driven all the way up here just to see me for my birthday! I was so excited to see them. We all went out to Old Spaghetti Factory and ate chocolate satin creme pie and spumoni ice cream after our delicious pasta meals. I got some awesome presents and then we headed to Ikea for some Ikea birthday goodness. That included sitting on armchairs, running around the showroom, helping poor Maddie off the floor after her many unfortunate falls on the slippery floor, and getting some fabulous Swedish chocolate.

Later I headed over to my boyfriend's house to say hello. He wasn't there but was supposed to get there soon so his brother and I carved a cleaned out a pumpkin and ate pumpkin seeds while we waited (one of my favorite snacks, and activities!) While we cleaned and snacked we were talking about ghosts and aliens and other such supernatural things when I suddenly heard music coming from somewhere, like a radio had just switched on. I nearly had a heart attack thinking that some supernatural being had come upon us when his brother said, "It's tradition! Get out there!" I opened the door and there was my boyfriend, three singers, and a guitar, serenading me out in front of the house. It was very cute.

All in all, it was a fantastic birthday. Thanks to everyone for turning a crappy morning into a wonderful afternoon and evening!!

This Week in Photos...part one.

As I was driving to work this morning I was thinking about what things I could post on my blog. I decided that I'm going to take a page from one of my favorite magazines and do a Week in Photos. However, it will probably not be as cool since I am not a professional photographer, I don't have access to the whole world in one week, and they will be pictures of my life instead of current global events. The other problem is that I rarely have access to a computer where I can get my pictures off my camera but I am taking this as a personal challenge. So...we'll see how it goes.

So far I have watched...

1. The Mothman Prophecies (thanks Matthew for that suggestion)
2. BBC's Dracula
3. What Lies Beneath (a modern Hitchkock and scary as all get out)
4. The Rope (thanks Kelly!)
5. Spirited Away
6. Cape Fear (the old one, pretty creepy)
7. Wait Until Dark
8. Mickey's Halloween Treat
9. Mean Girls (a different kind of scary movie)
10. The Haunting (original...much scarier)
11. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavre (a Halloween classic)
12. Dragonfly

I also have but have not watched...
- Vertigo
- Hocus Pocus


Thanks everybody for your wonderful suggestions!

The Luckiest by Ben Folds

I heard this song for the first time from a good friend recently. To hear it, go to the bottom of the page and it's the first song on the playlist.

October!

I know October is already half over but I just have to say that this is my favorite month of the year. I love Fall, I love Halloween, and let's be honest, I love my birthday too. I love pumpkins and I love dressing up in costumes, and I love the cool crisp (not yet too cold) air. I love to eat squash, and apples, and roasted pumpkin seeds, and I love watching Halloween movies. Thus said, I have been trying to compile a list of good Halloween/October/Fall movies to watch. Here it is so far:

1. Hocus Pocus
2. The Labyrinth
3. The Haunting (old one)
4. Arsenic and Old Lace
   
5. What Lies Beneath
6. Spirited Away
7. Coraline
8. Dragonfly
9. The Prestige
10. The Illusionist

I can't think of any more right now but I would love to hear any suggestions! I enjoy more suspense type movies than horror but feel free to leave your favorites!

South Korea!

Sometimes life gives you an opportunity to do something completely out of the ordinary. Such an opportunity came to me and I rashly decided to take it. So, here I am in South Korea for two weeks! I have been taking many pictures but unfortunately I have no means of uploading them, so there will be more to come. However, let me just say that Seoul is in many ways a very unique and completely foreign experience for me. But at the same time, people are pretty much the same wherever you go. I have experienced Korean grapes, the smell of dried squid, the daunting Seoul Metro system, a palace, the world's tallest department store, a few very large Asian markets, and more walking than a vacation at Disneyland. It's been a great trip so far!