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Jack-o-lanterns

We threw a Halloween party last Saturday night and it was a complete success. Throughout the night, we had about 20 or 25 people come through dressed as Mimes, Devils, Victorians, Princesses, Marios, Luigis, Care Bears, Russian Ice Skaters, Zoo Keepers, Nerds, Lumberjacks, and Leopards. We carved pumpkins, dipped apples in caramel, ate lots of food, strolled down a runway for a costume contest, and watched Halloweentown and Harry Potter.

I’ve got a lot more pictures on their way, but for now, here are photos of T.J.’s and my Jack-o-lanterns!

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Moving on to Christmas

Apparently we have skipped Halloween and just moved on to the rest of the Holiday season because there was snow on the ground this morning. Also, I park near the bell tower on campus and when I was walking to work, the bells were chiming (which I actually find rather annoying, except when they play Harry Potter or when it’s Christmas), and so today it just added to the ambiance of it all. AND I made a coffee cake this morning to bring to work, and so with the smell of cinnamon in the air, snow on the ground, and bells in the background… it really is making me believe Christmas break is right around the corner!

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Behind

I am so behind on blogging! I hate it. It’s like when I get behind on my journal (I’m about 10 years behind) and you try to catch up but then you get so frustrated from missing so much and not being able to write it all down, so you just don’t write anymore! But I cannot, WILL NOT, stop blogging! I’m might be behind but I will get caught up!

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Halloweentown

IT’S COMING!

Tomorrow is our Halloween party. You should come. It will be a lot of fun. Most of the decorations are already up. I’m planning to make a lot of cute desserts, including some spiders cookies and caramel apples. We’ve got Halloweentown AND Halloweentown 2, two great classics from the Disney channel. We will carve pumpkins (please bring your own), roast marshmallows, and have a costume contest.

Consider it a dress rehearsal for Halloween. Be there at 7 and stay until midnight. You won’t regret it.

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Pick a little, Talk a little, Cheep cheep cheep, Talk a lot, Pick a little more

Being a married student is difficult. T.J. is trying to get into the BFA program in the spring and so he is working really hard everyday on his school work. I am glad he is working so hard to get the grades and build up his portfolio for the application, but we have realized that other things have to be sacrificed for that time.

But one thing that cannot be sacrificed is communication. I know I have posted about this before but I just want to stress how vital communication is for a relationship. T.J. and I don’t get to see each other very much, sometimes I just see him in the morning when I take him to work and then at night for a few minutes before we go to bed. It is so easy to just come home from school and watch TV and then go to bed. But when we do that, we barely have a conversation and a day goes by without talking very much.

Yesterday, we felt like we hadn’t had a good talk for a while so we just parked on campus, turned off the radio, and talked about how everything is going in our lives, especially our marriage. It was so good. It felt refreshing and really strengthened our relationship.

Elder Nelson said in April of 2006 concerning how to strengthen a marriage, “Communicate well with your spouse—it is also important. Good communication includes taking time to plan together. Couples need private time to observe, to talk, and really listen to each other. They need to cooperate—helping each other as equal partners. They need to nurture their spiritual as well as physical intimacy. They should strive to elevate and motivate each other. Marital unity is sustained when goals are mutually understood. Good communication is also enhanced by prayer. To pray with specific mention of a spouse’s good deed (or need) nurtures a marriage.

Anyway, I just wanted to pass that advice on. Turn off the noise and just talk. Prioritize well so you still spend time with your spouse, even if your date night is doing homework in the library. Just show them that you care and most of all, communicate.

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Bob, Troll, Mrs. Doubtfire, Diamond, Jolly Green Giant…?

I love Halloween. I can’t wait for our party this weekend, but I am having the hardest time trying to figure out what costumes to wear to each of the parties we have in the next few weeks. Maybe you can give me some ideas and tell me which of the following is your favorite:

  • Troll (like the plastic dolls with a diamond belly)- tan shirt, diamond belly button, bright color shorts, spray paint my hair and make it stick straight up

  • Forever 21 mannequin- ankle boots, leggings, lots of layers, all of my jewelry, huge bow in my hair, really poofy hair and stand like a mannequin all night

  • Butterfly- make my own wings, paint my face, green tights?
  • Jolly Green Giant- I have green tights…?
  • Pocahontas- Hannah’s old outfit
  • Flower- make huge petals and put around my neck, once again, wear green tights?
  • Lion- golden outfit, face painted by T.J., and poof my hair really big
  • Bob from What about Bob- cutoffs, shirt that says “Don’t hassle me, I’m local”, loafers, and goldfish hanging around my neck in a jar, life jacket

  • Elephant- wear all gray and make trunk out of tubing
  • Leopard- wear all leopard print clothing, including my leopard print stilettos
  • Pac Woman- yellow outfit, red boots, red gloves, red bow
  • Rumplestiltskin- once again, another outfit with green tights
  • Mrs. Doubtfire- find outfit from D.I.

  • Diamond- wear all sparkles and glitter. lots of jewelry? have T.J. buy me hundreds of diamond rings and diamond lotion?

So what do you think? What are your favorites? Let me know!!!

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For the longest time

I feel like I haven’t written for weeks. I know it’s just been days, which is normal for most people. But this is the longest I have gone without posting!

My life is very hectic. But what I’m learning is that it will never be any less hectic so instead of freaking out and always using that as an excuse, I need to learn how to prioritize and deal with all of it.

I got a haircut this weekend (pictures or video to come). I really love it. I had been considering dying it for a while because the ends were almost orangey. But instead, I just trimmed up all the ends and put in a lot of layers, which took care of that problem for the most part. Oh, and I cut my bangs pretty short again. I’m hoping I can pull them off like Anna on Pushing Daisies. 

I created a new a blog with my friend Danica. So, that’s been taking a lot of my time trying to get it all started, finding contributors, and figuring out exactly what our objectives are to the blog. Which reminds me… if you are interested in posting a little bit on this new blog of ours, let me know!

I quit watching Glee because it was getting a bit too naughty lately. It’s quite a shame because I love the music, so I think I’ll keep listening to the music, but just skip the drama.

I did pick up a new TV to help me not feel too sad about losing Glee. It’s called Modern Family. It’s pretty funny. Phil is my favorite.

The library T-shirts that my coworkers and I created are on their way. One is a picture of a Zombie, with words saying, “Don’t be afraid… We want to feed your brain!” I am obsessed with the design, and kudos to Christopher for creating the idea! The one I did will be in shortly and goes along with the library’s “Newspice” video.

That’s about all the random stuff I can think of for now.

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Old News

Remember when I went to see Adele in concert and it was about the best night of my life? My Adele obsession is coming back. Watch this and love it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08DjMT-qR9g&fs=1&hl=en_US]

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This is Halloween, everybody make a scene!

Wow wow wow.

I came across this Vegan blog today and they had a Halloweegan Index (I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, but I was intrigued by the post). Here’s what I found.

[slideshow]

To view these recipes and more, visit the Wing-It Vegan blog.

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Homemade

Homemade things are better. It’s as simple as that.

It gives items life, charm, and personality.

It turns objects into memories.

And most importantly, homemade food just tastes better.

I made homemade honey-wheat bread this week. It turned out wonderfully. I decided I had the craving at ten o’clock at night, so I was up until two waiting for it to finish. But it was completely worth it. We have been eating homemade bread all week long, complete with honey butter. It’s delicious for sandwiches, perfect for eating really fast in the morning, and a nice little treat since we are out of goldfish.

Make this recipe. You will not be disappointed, plus you will feel good about making something homemade.

3 cups stone-ground whole wheat flour or graham flour
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup shortening
1 tablespoon salt
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups very warm water (120°F to 130°F)
3 to 4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour or Better for Bread™ flour
Butter or margarine, melted, if desired
  1. Mix whole wheat flour, honey, shortening, salt and yeast in large bowl. Add warm water. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough all-purpose flour, 1 cup at a time, to make dough easy to handle.
  2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place 40 to 60 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
  3. Grease bottoms and sides of 2 loaf pans, 9x5x3 or 8 1/2×4 1/2×2 1/2 inches.
  4. Punch down dough and divide in half. Flatten each half with hands or rolling pin into rectangle, 18×9 inches, on lightly floured surface. Roll dough up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side, to form a loaf. Press with thumbs to seal after each turn. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Press each end with side of hand to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place seam side down in pan. Brush loaves lightly with butter. Cover and let rise in warm place 35 to 50 minutes or until double.
  5. Move oven rack to low position so that tops of pans will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 375°F.
  6. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from pans to wire rack. Brush loaves with butter; cool.

 

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