The Voice

So, I am really into The Voice this season. I watched the first season and loved it. I have always been a huge Team Ceelo fan, and rooted for team Ceelo on season one (although I really liked Dia on Team Blake). I am yet again rooting for team Ceelo. I just really like every member of his team much more than most of the people on the other teams. HOWEVER, I do have favorites on every team that I would love to see win:

Team Adam - Amanda Brown
Team Blake - Terry McDermott
Team CeeLo - Nicholas David (but I do love Mackensie Borg...heck I love all of team ceelo)
Team Christina - De'Borah

Here is a good list of all the contestants with a little bit of info about them.

Is anyone else watching this season? Who are you rooting for?

Halloween 2012

First of all, Happy Halloween every one.

I really do love Halloween. I have such fond memories of dressing up through the years and going trick or treating. I also love pumpkin and halloween candy! I also love scary movies and going to haunted houses. I get it from my mom, who sparked an interest in me at an early age about mass murderers, and brother, who forced me to watch horror movies with him my whole life. I also love scary TV shows, like American Horror Story.

Lately, I have been listening to a podcast where they do top five lists of different subjects, which got me thinking of my top five halloween movies.  In no particular order, I would have to say:

- Nightmare on Elm Street (1, 2 and 3...although the original is definitely the best). - This is probably my number one horror film of all time. My brother and I would watch it when I was really (inappropriately) young, and although it scared the heck out of me, I kind of loved it. Freddy Kreuger is just a really funny villain. He is definitely my all-time favorite villain. In fact, I think I might dress my child up as Freddy Kreuger for their  first Halloween. Yes, even if its a girl (think green and red striped sweater with a little tutu and dingy hat...awe, so cute!). I remember when my brother and mom went up to meet Freddy Kreuger. I think I was about 5 and my brother must have been about 9. My mom's friend was working on one of the Nightmare movies and did Robert Englund's hair and make-up (Robert Englund = Freddy). Apparently he was a really cool guy and talked to my brother about skateboarding, the whole time while in his full Freddy ensemble. Pretty cool. I wish I was there.

- Halloween - Michael Meyers is definitely one of the scariest horror villains. I get super creeped out by that movie. I still to this day will imagine Michael Meyers standing there in his creepy mask, just staring at me. It always gives me the heebie geebies.

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre - This one is just really fun to watch with my brother. It is our classic Thanksgiving movie. We would always have Thanksgiving at my grandparents house, and after we ate, my brother and I would go upstairs and veg and watch a movie. This was back in the VHS days, and my grandma didn't have an extensive collection, so my brother would always go pick out the movie...and always pick out The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And of course, we would always make commentary, because it is a little cheesy.

- The Shinning - Super creepy. Love Jack Nicholson, especially in that time frame. I also loved The Simpsons episode of Treehouse of Terror where they made fun of it and did "The Shinnin'" with Groundskeeper Willie. Such a great movie. I really want to read the book, and my mom has been trying to get book club to read it, but it has been a no-go so far.

- Psycho - This is just a classic Hitchcock movie that I have always been intrigued with. Like many people, I would lock the bathroom door for years after I first saw the movie.

Honorable mentions: The Ring (scared me SO BAD after I saw it) and Killer Clowns from Outer Space (Hilarious)

Now, I married a man who (I love very much but) does not share my love for the horror genre. Last night, I asked him "Do you want to watch a scary movie??? (oooooohhh....aaaaaahhhh **Scary sound effect*)" and he says to me point blank "no"(and honestly...his bluntness amuses me!)  So we ended up watching 127 hours on HBO, and I said to him, "ok, but we have to watch at least up until he cuts his arm off." Apparently you just can't tame my morbid side...

Ironically, my dad also hates scary movies and scary things.

Anyway , we also don't really do much on Halloween...Which is really fine with me. I have no desire to go out down town, or really go to a party, or do anything other than hang out, pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, eat something with pumpkin in it, carve pumpkins, roast pumpkin seeds, and watch something halloween related on TV. However, another thing I have loved doing since a very young age is play dress up. One time, I went over to a friends house dressed as Peter Pan. Full outfit. I think I even tucked my hair into the cap so I looked like a boy. So, dressing up for halloween always seems necessary. I have to admit that over the past couple years, I have had some pretty lame costumes, and this year is no exception. I have definitely been pulling the "last minute/what do I have in my closet/DIY" costume over the past couple years. This year, We had a halloween party at work, with a potluck and costume contest. I had planned on wearing a white shirt and writing NaCl on it and calling myself table salt...but that was almost too lame for even me.  So...I scoured the internet for inspiration, and came across my favorite unimpressed gymnast from the 2012 London Olympics:

Doesn't she look so happy to have won the silver medal???

Anyway, I thought it would be the perfect outfit, because I could wear pants with a stretchy waist band, and tennis shoes and be comfy all day...so...

I tried getting my hair up as high as possible, but man...that hurts! I ended up taking my hair down around 10:30 this morning because my head hurt so much from being pulled up. 

Here is a sampling of the rest of the office:

Top Row L-R: Sara as a Spider Mama, Nicole as a Deviled Egg, Rachael as Mary Katherine Gallagher, Ilana as a soccer girl

Bottom Row: Erica as "Happy Hour", Kristy as pumpkin pi, Chloe as half of the $1.50 combo at Costco (she is coke, her boyfriend is a hot dog), and me as McKayla Maroney. 

We also had a delicious pot luck that got me so ridiculously full, it kind of hurt:

RIP Pubs

Yesterday I received a call from my mom while I was at work. She told me that the time had come to put their dog, Pubs, to sleep. He has had a rough go for quite some time. Four years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer, and had a major surgery that involved skin grafts. About a year ago, he had cancer on his leg, and my parents had to choose between putting Pubs to sleep or amputation. They chose the latter and Pubs became "tri-pubs"...the pit bull with three legs! He bounced back very quickly and the surgery almost made him the perfect dog because he now wasn't able to jump up on you. But for the past month, he hasn't been eating much. His labwork came back fine, so we were thinking that he had a tumor in or near his stomach, causing an obstruction. In the last two weeks of his life, he wasn't able to eat anything at all. He lost a ton of weight and would just lay in the Fetal Position (if a dog can actually lay in the fetal position...) It took a huge toll on my parents, especially my mom, who tried relentlessly to nurse him back to health.

As much as I wished Pubs would just go naturally without having to be euthanized  he was just too strong and hearty, and needed help to let go. My parents hired a vet to come out to their house, and put Pubs to sleep in his own environment, with all of the family present. I hadn't seen pubs in a few weeks, so it was great that I got to spend a couple hours with him before he passed away. He got a couple bursts of energy while we were there. We went outside and he played one of his favorite games, "Chase the light" (which was second only to his all-time-favorite game of "licking-the-wall"). We even got it on tape (see video below). He got SUPER wound up when my brother got there and brought out his guitar. The guitar caused a giant glow from the sun and Pubs had a hay day.

It was great to be with my family and I am so thankful that I got to say "good bye" to Pubs before he passed. I didn't realize how attached I was to the little guy. So many good memories! Before I got married and moved out, he would always sleep with me in my room, and we would hang out together. He was such a loving dog. I used to love taking pictures of Pubs, so below are some pictures that I took of him throughout the years...

December 2012

Love at first sight! I really think Pubs was the cutest puppy ever. 

Grandma, Chris and my Mom pose with Pubs

It looks like this might have been after Pubs' first surgery, 4 years ago. 

Getting some love from Dad and Chris.

Strong Profile.

Cuddling with me in my room

Extreme close-up on Pubs. 

Here are pictures from Pubs' last day - Look at how skinny Pubs was. He lost so much weight...still really cute! But the life just wasn't in his eyes like it used to be.

And finally...a little game of "Chase the Light"

Disneyland Trip: 10/08/12

I know what you're thinking...How often can a girl go to Disneyland in one year? The answer is: Not nearly enough!

My friends from the VA internship, Sylvia and Sarah, had been wanting to go to Disneyland again, this time to check out the Halloween decorations and go on the Nightmare Before Christmas Haunted Mansion ride. Sarah and I drove up and met Sylvia at Disneyland. Our plan was to to go up a little bit later and leave a after Fantasmic and Fireworks (which = after 10pm!!). Sarah was kind enough to volunteer to drive, which was a relief, because I start getting tired around 7pm and there is no way I would have made a drive home after a long day at Disneyland. 

So we started out at DCA, and went on the Cars ride first. I love that the line is a 2-3 hour wait, however the single rider line took only about 15-20 minutes. Why more people don't go in the single rider line, I'll never know!

After the ride, Sylvia and Sarah loaded up in "Wine Country."

Sharing a shell on The Little Mermaid ride.

It was super hot, so we had planned on going on Grizzly River Run. I had to sit that one out, so Sarah and Sylvia went through the exit to the Single Rider line (which was about 3 minutes). Sarah really wanted to go on the ride, and went on first. After she got on, Sylvia had second thoughts about geting (super) wet, so she joined me on the bridge overlooking the ride. The picture below is of Sarah realizing Sylvia never went on the ride at all. It was pretty funny.

At the best photo spot in DCA. 

We finally made our way over to Disneyland, which was all decked out for Halloween.

We had a great time! Fantasmic was awesome, and brought back so many memories. When the show first came out (20+ years ago), I was obsessed with it, and would listen to the soundtrack all the time. Its SO good! If you don't believe me, you can see for yourself:

We also stayed to see the fireworks, which was also really neat, because they have fireworks go off all throughout the park and you get to see tinkerbell fly. It really was a treat, because I usually never stay in the park for the fireworks, or if I am, I never really am in a good viewing place. 

All in all, it was a great trip!

Tracy's Baby Shower: 9/30/12

Where did we last leave off??

Oh yes!! I was making a prototype baby block for Tracy's baby shower. 

Well, it was definitely a success! You can read all about it on Tracy's blog (post one and post two) Here are some pictures of the big event:

White cake with a strawberry filling and Frosting inspired by Magnolia Bakery.

Food Table - Note, the theme for the shower was "Grown with Love" so the food had a earthy vibe/lots of fruits and vegetables. 

On the Menu: Quinoa Salad with Kale and Butternut Squash and Mixed Fruit Salad

Also on the Menu: Egg Salad Sandwiches and Veggie/Goat cheese/Pistachio Pesto Sandwiches (Which, not to toot my own horn, were pretty dang amazing)

Beverage station: Cucumber Water and an assortment of sparkling juices

The entryway (note the potted plants, which were the party favors)

Everyone making the baby blocks. They turned out really cute! 

Tracy opening up presents. 

Our house is pretty small (and, like I said, it was super hot and we have no AC) so part of the party moved outside. 

Me and Tracy

I also have to say that my mom was the biggest help ever! She came over a little early and helped me get some of the food ready and was always there to clear dishes and take out the trash as we went. She was so helpful and I appreciate her so much!!!

Project Baby Block

So, I mentioned in my most recent bumpwatch post that I am planning a baby shower for my friend Tracy. She was my running partner and moved to phoenix a year ago. She is due in december with her baby girl, Emma (which I love that name and there is a large chance that we name our daughter Emma too). 

I am hosting Tracy's San Diego Baby Shower next weekend. Instead of doing a lot of games, we decided to do craft. At my friend, Sydney's baby shower, (which I wasn't at but heard all about), they made baby blocks with scrapbook paper. Ever since I heard about it, I thought it was the cutest thing. It makes perfect nursery decorations! 

Tracy's nursery theme is going to be a mixture between "Its a Small World" and "Jungle." I found the perfect scrapbook paper while I was in Logan this past week, which looks like it might be more for a little boy, but is pretty gender neutral. I figured I could just add a little bit of pink and purple in there and it would be perfect!

So last night I started the project. It took forever to find 26 2" square wooden blocks. I had to drive out to Santee (not too far, only about 25 minutes away) to get an entire set of them!

I started by painting the blocks with acrylic paint. I had light pink, purple, yellow and green. 

That dried overnight (although it was actually dry within about 10 minutes), and so I decided to make a prototype block. 

I cut out my pieces of scrapbook paper, and then got white scrapbook stickers for the numbers and letters. Luckily, the scrapbook paper that I got had some little animals, banners and clouds to cover the other two sides. 

So I just put a Medium layer of modge podge down with a sponge-y paint brush, placed the scrapbook paper on top, and pressed it down. The other side of the paint brush really helped to stick the sides down. 

Then once that dried, I put another thin coat on the entire thing to seal it. I was pretty proud of myself because I didn't look up any tutorials or anything on pinterest. It turned out really cute!

September Trip to Logan, UT

Jeff and I went on a trip to visit his family from Sept 6-14. The break from work and the daily grind was very much appreciated!

We decided to split up our trip and leave on Thursday after work. We got all packed up and made it out the door in time to beat traffic all the way up the 15. We made it to Mesquite around 11pm and just collapsed in bed. The next morning, we got up around 5:30 and got on the road as soon as we were ready, which put us in Salt Lake just around lunch time. We went over to Ben's house in Sandy and ate lunch at Cafe Rio (a delicious Utah favorite). Then it was time for Ben to go to work and us to head back on the road. We finally made it up to Logan that afternoon. I was so tired for the whole day, I felt like a walking zombie and don't really remember what we did that day! haha!

In fact, the whole trip and the time frame of everything is a little fuzzy still in my mind. One night we celebrated Anna and Logan's birthdays. Sara made a wrestling cake out of pipe cleaner and tootsie rolls and little wrestling guys.  While we went shopping for materials to decorate with, Jeff worked on his car with his dad (see, there is evidence in his dirty hands):

Another day (Monday I think???) We went to the Brigham City Temple open house. It was so awesome to get to tour an LDS temple as an adult. I remember going with my mom and grandma to the San Diego Temple open house when I was in second grade. Unfortunately, I don't remember much about it, except that I had to wear booties and stand in line. There is a picture of me from that day and I'm standing in front of the temple, wearing a white turtleneck and a st. patrick's day shirt. Other than that, I have nothing. So lets just say that this time, I had a much greater appreciation of going on a tour of the temple. 

It was a beautiful temple, both inside and out. The details were very classy and not over the top or gaudy.  The furnishings were beautiful and the place just looked immaculate. Even though the temple isn't dedicated yet, I still had very strong feelings about the church while I was in there and felt the spirit with me through the entire tour. I don't know if it was the spirit, my surging hormones, or a little bit of both, but I definitely started to tear up a couple times, especially after we went into the celestial room and into the sealing rooms. 

After the tour, we got a little cookie and a bottle of water and we all decided to head across the street to the tabernacle. Not much to see inside there, as there was a meeting going on, but it did give us a great shot of the temple. 

Katie and Jack hanging out front of the tabernacle

Jeff, Katie and Brooke outside of the tabernacle

Me and Jeff

Ben and Brooke

Dave and Carole

Brooke, Ben, Jack, Dave, Katie, me and Jeff

Sammy, Anna, Jeffrey, Jennie and Josie

Sarah and Craig were also with us, but they didn't join us at the tabernacle. It would have been great to have a shot with everyone in it! That night we had a fiesta with guacamole, jicama, spicy carrots, carne asada and fajitas. It was a lot of fun! After dinner, a few of us played games like cranium and apples to apples. Jeff, Carole and I won cranium (probably because it is the only game that we have at our house besides Glee Karaoke and The Settlers of Cattan)! 

Another day, (the next day perhaps?) Brooke, Katie and I went hiking in Logan Canyon with baby Jack. 

All ready to go up the mountain!!

Poor little Jack got some kind of bug bite on his right ear the night/day before our hike, so it was swollen. We called it a "dopey ear" and you can really see it in this picture. He is so cute!

Little stud Jack Tippets

The leaves were beginning to change colors in the canyon and it was so beautiful! Here is a close up shot of some.  

We finally made it to the end of the hike: The Wind Caves. Pretty cool! So beautiful up there!

Another day, Katie, her sisters-in-law and I went to the parade of homes. This is where builders showcase their best work and have interior decorators come in and decorate the homes. It was a lot of fun! Almost like going and looking at models homes for the afternoon. 

I loved this Kitchen. First house we went to, very modern.

Had to get a picture of Carole's refrigerator (or the style she hopes to soon get!)

Another favorite house. These two pictures are just of one big great room with a living room, kitchen and dining room. The large windows had an amazing view of cache valley. 

Here are some videos of our favorite home. So cool! 

And the thing that kills me about the Parade of Homes, is that the most expensive house was a little over 400K. That is so amazing to me. The house we live in right now in San Diego would probably cost that much... 

Now, what was jeff doing while I was parading homes and hiking mountains? ...Golfing :-) 

He had a fun filled trip of working on cars and golfing, which is just perfect for him!

It was really sad to leave and come home, but we at least had two days off when we got home. Dave and Carole gave us a rocking chair, and Jennie helped me stock up on beauty supplies, so our car was extra full on the way back. We also brought some fresh apples from the Hibshman's back yard. They are pretty delicious too! 

All in all it was a great trip, and I had so many conversations with my sisters-in-law and had such great bonding time. I sometimes feel like the best parts of the trip can't be shown in pictures or describe, they come more in just sharing conversation with those you love!