Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody! On Wednesday, Adam and I particpated in my number one favorite Halloween Activity...we carved pumpkins. He presented the idea of carving pumpkins and making apple crisp, the two go well together I think. So while our crisp was baking, we carved. I think our pumpkins rock.


I did the owl. I love my half green pumpkin! Adam's is the Barack-o-lattern. Poor Obama's nose is getting a little wilty but it's still quite cool. Both pumpkins look a fair bit better in person.

Here they are all a glow. The owl has little stars all around which show up quite well when not in a photo. I think Barack looks a little like Martin Luther King, Jr. in pumpkin form. I think our pumpkins turned out quite well.

Random Babble

I can't make my posts show up with paragraph breaks and I find it irritating...success! Thanks Aliese.

I got a hair cut...it's shorter than I'm used to but I think I like it...more on that another time.

I got out of class early, came home, and ate the best muffin of my life!

I think I’ve let my favorite time of year slip past me…drat! No tree shaking and twirling while the leaves fall on my head…no canyon drives…failure…oh well…autumn will probably occur again. Does the picture make you want to read some Robert Frost…oh wonderful nature! I think I’ll hug a tree later…not one with birds though.

Sunday was the primary program…funny stuff…I sat behind the piano so I could be naughty…I’m a bad example. Carpe diem!

I am going to Body World with Adam, his Dad, and the woman named Gloria who is married to Adam’s dad. When I first learned of Body World coming to town, those most closely associated with me thought I’d be all over it. People kept telling me about it and asking if I was going or interested in going. Honestly, I wasn’t. Why pay money I don’t have (seriously…can’t even afford to park at the meter at SLCC…whole other story) to see something I’ve already seen. The cadaver labs at the U have amazing dissections and I got to touch/hold pretty much everything (don’t think “gross, you’ve touched dead bodies” it’s not gross and you touch dead bodies too…they just aren’t quite dead yet…dying though…cheery thought!). Granted, the bodies are just laying on their backs on giant lunch trays (no lunch I’d participate in…they just look like giant lunch trays) and not posed as skiers or gymnasts or…anyway…I’ll post the results later…it should be cool though.

When I was perusing for a nice expired parking meter picture to use I stumbled upon this one which seems to be a nice segway between these two subjects.

Now for the meters at SLCC, which I wouldn’t have posted about but will…sorry. I am primarily a (not proud) student at the U but I am taking OChem at SLCC because I hate chemistry and I suck at it, and, let’s face it SLCC is easier than high school so I may as well help my chances at succeeding in such a miserable subject (sorry to any aspiring chemists…it’s a dumb subject and I hate it…carbon can kiss my tuckus…SP?) which I am honestly not willing to devote too much of my life to. Anyway, instead of being smart and just buying the $15 parking pass…which lasts the whole year…I choose to park at the meter. Truth be told, I once bought the parking pass and the sticker is in a car that is long gone…RIP Maggot…and I just can’t bring myself to buy another…perhaps not logical but that’s the way it is. Parking at the meter is really kind of fun because my lab is scheduled for 4 hours but we never really know how long we’ll be there. Today, for example, we were only there for about 2. I am not one to pay for a service not rendered and so I try to estimate the time I will be in class and will only pay that much. This is where it gets good. I’ll be in my lab and the clock is inching toward the time when I know my meter will expire but my class isn’t near completion (common occurrence). Rather than claiming the need for a potty break and running out and feeding the meter…I just let it expire. Then, when I get to my car and find it ticket free, I rejoice. Why would I deprive myself of such a rush. I recently ran out of non-copper coins though…useless ol’ pennies…so now I pretty much scrounge (i.e. look in couch cushions and jacket pockets and in the laundry room) for whatever change I can get my hands on. Whatever I can find dictates how much time I pay for…today was twenty minutes…I suppose I could have tried harder, maybe gone to a bank to get some more change…meh. Also, I once parked in faculty parking just to see if my substitute teacher parking pass (from the whole two times I did that) would work…and I think it may have.

Man I’m ridiculous. This post was meant to be much shorter…I sure do ramble a lot.

Skiing Mishap

Becky asked for the story behind this great picture...so here it is....





While the title "skiing mishap" gives away how the incident occurred, it doesn't tell the story (which, in my opinion, is worth hearing). I consider myself to be a decent skier. I mean, I don't do jumps or flips in the terrain parks and, quite frankly, take forever getting down a difficult hill of moguls but I can certainly hold my own on a groomed double black. Having said that, the "incident" in question didn't happen on a double black diamond...or even a single black diamond. I wasn't attempting something new or cool. No, I was on a fairly flat strectch of a double blue run. My ski pass was hanging around my neck on it's little necklace thing. It had escasped from the confines of my coat and was flapping up and hitting me in the face. I dealt with the annoyance until the afore mentioned "flat stretch" when I decided it's be okay to adjust the pass/jacket fiasco. The next thing I recall is lying on my back, my neck and skull base in an incredible amount of pain. Now, as I am usually (this time excluded) a sufficent skier, I often go last in our group (so if the li'l sis or younger cousins fall, I can help). Because I was last, nobody knew about my little fall. Luckily, my fella takes good care of me and noticed my absence. He then proceeded to hike back up the hill in his skis (which I think sucks...not that he did it, that was sweet...I mean, hiking in skis sucks). My mom and uncle later joined him (I don't recall if anyone else was there). My uncle said he looked up just in time to see me land on my head (whole body in the air) and then kick myself in the head with my ski (perhaps in the opposite order)...unfortunately he didn't see how I managed such a task. Well, I was a bit dizzy and it hurt to move so I chose not to. Apparently, some silly Samaritan ratted me out to the ski patrol because minutes later a lady and her little cripple-sled were at my side. She was asking me questions and kept trying to get me to accept her help (which certainly wasn't going to happen...I'm stubborn when coherent and VERY stubborn when not). She gave me a series of things to remember, something like "Red, Circle, 7." Later she asked if I remembered what she told me and I said something like, "Yeah, you told me you were going to just leave me alone." I then repeated the series of things correctly, signed my life away (a necessary step when refusing the sled ride apparently), and she finally left me alone. Once I finally got up on my own (after swearing I was fine to ski the rest of the run), I realized how badly my head and neck hurt and that bearing the weight of my noggin shot sparks of pain through my body. I skied to the bottom of the run (crying here and there). Turns out that was the end of that ski trip. I wasn't going to worry much about it but my vision was blurred, it sucked to move, and I immediately fell asleep in the car. Eventually, I gave in and went to the hospital. As expected, I was basically fine. I had just strained a bunch of my cervical muscles and had a mild concussion. I was to wear the above pictured delightful brace for 2 weeks. I taught primary the next day for the first time. My class was horrified. I sat with the Sunbeams for a spell as their teachers were both gone and all but one wouldn't come near me. The one that wasn't afraid of me, sat on my lap and kept touching my neck through the little whole in the brace. Hilarious! And there you have it...a day in the life of the accident proned...or clutzy...or perhaps a bit dumb sometimes.

I got this tag from Carlye. So, what you do is choose your 4th picture folder on your computer and choose the 4th picture in it and blog it. My 4th folder down is "2004" and the 4th folder within that folder is "Youth Conference 2004." This is the 4th picture:



These were the laurels in my ward...at least the ones attending youth conference. Starting in the top left and rotating clockwise: Mallorie, Me, Megan (she went to the hospital only a couple days later...poor Megan), Holli, Kaylie, Hailey, and Terah. This was quite a fun trip that I actually had sort of forgotten about. Good ol' memories.

Hey, Mikey! He likes it!

Adam is finally home from Michigan...now I can lighten up on my loathing of the dog&mitt state. I gave him quilt and he's a fan (Success!). I think I expected a much more lively response from him but he seemed happier to see me than the quilt, I suppose that's a good thing (whoa! He likes me better than an inanimate object!). Anyway, he's home and I'm glad.

Next, a fun little game of 20 questions from Kelli...although it's actually not like the game.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be? I suppose it depends on the kind of betrayal but I can't imagine it'd be very good. I'd "kunta-kinte" him (you know the little crotch stabby thing before they become men?) if it were the kind implied (although I probably wouldn't...and he definitely wouldn't).
2. If you have a dream you’d like to come true, what is it? It may sound a bit lame but my dreams are coming true. I would like to be done with school sooner I guess.
3. Whose butt would you like to kick? If I really wanted to kick anybody's butt, I'd probably already have done it...maybe not always physically, but still effective...it may not be kind but that's how I roll.
4. What would you do with a billion dollars? I'd buy a house and put a bunch in a car account for when (not if) our cars eventually die, save most of it (college, retirement, etc.), and fund trips to Africa and other 3rd world humanitarian missions. I'd be willing to share with family and friends too...but not too much...I don't want to promote mooching.
5. Will your best friend always be your best friend? Yes, that's why I'm glad to marry him.
6. Have you ever been in love with two people at once? I used to think so back then...I'm pretty sure not now.
7. How long would you wait for someone you really loved? Maybe forever...probably not though, because if they loved me back I wouldn't have to wait forever. At least 4 1/2 years - final answer.
8. If you won the lottery, would you quit your job? My current jobs...absolutely. My future job...no way.
9. Who is on your celebrity top 5…you know, the ones…that if you ever had an opportunity…? I think nobody. Sorry, not my thing. I have who I want.
10. What sucks the life out of you? School! Oh, how I loathe school!
11. How would you see yourself in ten years time? Done with sucky school! Married...perhaps kids...definitely happy.
12. What’s your greatest fear/phobia? Dark, bare windows.
13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is? Uh...I got this from Kelli...she's swell...probably in the top ten people I'd save if the whole world was on fire and I was the only person with water or a fire extinguisher or super powers.
14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor? Five years ago I would have chosen the first option but now I'm definitely on board for the latter...obviously.
15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? I'm going to steal Kelli's response here...NOOOOO
16. Would you give all in a relationship? Poorly worded question but I surely would.
17. Is your career vitally important to you? Not currently...possibly in the future as it will be my income and thus my source of shelter, food, etc.
18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing the someone has done? Probably not. I hold grudges...at least for horrible things. At least I admit it.
19. Do you prefer being single or having a relationship? While I've thoroughly enjoyed my time spent in both options, I'd say I prefer the relationship bit. It's nice to have someone who's always there for you...even if it is obligatory!
20. List 6 people to tag...I shall just tag you all (six words...good enough)

A Realization and the Coolest Quilt in the World

I have learned that without Adam, I don't quite know what to do with myself. On Saturday night, I decided to just chill and watch some television. I'm not a big tv watcher AT ALL but couldn't waste my weekend away studying so I had a lovely little date with the tube. This is when I learned that shows with detectives, investigations, and forensic work are not only all very similar (really though...same plot, different character, occasionally an all too obvious "twist"...yet I watched three of them) to one another but they are programs for the lonely. Several of the above mentioned television shows (I won't use titles because I'm not being paid to advertise for them) played back to back late Saturday night. I don't know exactly where I was going with that...I think I've exhausted the topic...case closed (a little hint to one of the shows I watched!)



Now for my current greatest success...the coolest quilt ever has just been completed. It is a delight. I thought this would be a nice money saver but still awesome gift for the birthday fella, Adam, when in fact it wasn't that cheap...especially if labor accounts for anything. It took forever! But it's rad. I dreamed it up so if it seems weird, perhaps it is...it is 100% original...behold the boxing quilt...

*aaaaahhhhhhh* (the sound of angels singing)...it's magnificent. The pictures don't show how cool it really it...the black background is pieced...it's just hard to see in the pictures and I'd bother taking better pictures but I'm too tired from all the work. I'm psyched to give it to Adam. He'll

love it...whether he wants to or not :). Also, I think I might be allergic to quilting...possible? probably not.