We chased ghosts in a cemetery,
and wore our witches hats all day long.
I named my pumpkin Franklin,
and made orange frosting for orange cupcakes.
We read Ghoul with the Broom
on the floor at Barnes & Noble,
and then had a sleepover because scary movies still scare us at 21.
Halloween themed lunch,
Halloween themed dinner.
Surrounded by old friends who always know what you mean.
And yes, I met Clark Kent at Krispy Kremes.

So in the end it's safe to say that it was quite a Happy Halloween.

(cross my heart, i did not intend for the last three lines to rhyme)

___

And what now, you may ask?
C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s m-u-s-i-c
all day, every day.
(and I do mean every. single. day.)

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Snow, Stats and Shakespeare.

That is exactly why I decided to wear sweats to school today.

"channel into the witches"

the title to this post is more of an inside joke,
but saturday night we definitely "channeled into the witches."
every year, gardner village has a witches night out,
where literally hundreds and hundreds of women dress up
just to gallivant all around these cute little shops in this tiny village.

so last minute we decided to attend this event,
and after making 3 different stops in order to find witches hats,
(who would have thought those would be so hard to find??)
i have to say that i was pleasantly surprised.
dancing, costumes, fortune telling, caramel apples -
can any halloween activity get any better than that?

and as for our halloween plans this year --
we've considered going on a legitimate ghost tour, and maybe staying in an old motel where it is rumored serial killer ted bundy murdered one of his victims...
are we crazy?

cinnamon rolls and mozart.

When I was younger, my dad came up with a rule that I never (ever) fully appreciated until this morning. Back to the days of Backstreet Boys, Nsync and Mandy Moore, I remember the very first CD I ever owned was:
"Aqua: Barbie Girl."

I was ecstatic. Even thinking about it now gets me excited. This was the first CD I ever. owned. It was a huge deal. And although it was only the single, I think that it is the one song I can remember listening to more than any other in my entire life, with maybe the exception of My Heart Will Go On. (Don't even deny it -- if you were in the third grade, you would have been a huge Celine Dion/Kate and Leo fan too -- even if you weren't allowed to see the movie for another seven years.)

Anyway, the same day I received the Barbie Girl CD, I remember my dad explaining his new brilliant rule: Every time I was ever given any sort of CD, I would promptly be taken to the store to purchase one classical music CD of choice as well.

Looking back, this isn't surprising. I remember instead of listening to Radio Disney on our way to school in the mornings, my dad somehow thought his two daughters would benefit more from listening to Classical 89 (really, what was he thinking?) --
But mind you, I was only eight, and my sister only six. Eight years old and knowing the difference between Rachmaninov and Pachelbel? For those of you who don't know my dad, let me just say that this rule of his explains him perfectly.

Anyway, back to the original meaning of today's message: This morning, with the rain falling outside my window, cinnamon rolls cooking, all while sitting next to the fireplace and actually finding the time to read out of pure enjoyment, (whaaat? even during the middle of the semester? today has been a miracle I tell you!) -- I was also able to voluntarily pull out one of the many classical CD's I've accumulated over the years, and listen to it while eating breakfast.

My parents always told me I'd thank them one day, and so I guess this happens to be one of those days -- because as all the BYU football go-ers walk past my window, I wave and say enjoy the football game, but today I think I will enjoy Mozart.

just another thought.

"When we look for the worst in anyone, we will find it. But if we will concentrate on the best, that element will grow until it sparkles."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley
read this earlier today,
i loved it.

happy weekend friends!
big X little o.

rocket summer.

we all have our guilty pleasures, but since i was about 16 -
the rocket summer has always been mine.
after already seeing him 11 times in concert,
i am making it 12 this november.
the confetti during his shows just gets me every time.

and as for gossip girls - (another all too common guilty pleasure)
i don't know how i've managed to do it,
but i've completely sworn off the television series.
first facebook, now gossip girl - this should elevate my status to: i'm a-maz-ing.

halloween cupcakes

(RIP Josh -- you know who you are)

I could spend hours looking at Martha Stewart's website getting ideas for all sorts of Halloween treats, but the traditional graveyard cupcakes we usually make are always so fun and easy, that I still can't help but go to the store and get everything weeks in advance as soon as October rolls around.

And with Halloween only two weeks away, I'm still trying to get as many activities in as soon as possible (even with midterms -- which I should be studying for right now, but Martha Stewart takes precedence).

So far on the list: ghost tours, witches night out, corn mazes and scary movies -- any other fun ideas?







PS.
dear delivery boy,
date me?

i forgot to mention...

proof that my parents loved my sister more than me --
they bought her the mac and me the pc.
just saying.
(i won't get into our different class of cars either...)

anyway -- this little lady has been my wing-woman for the past few days, and has answered all 389,329,409 of my phone calls when i've been stressed, overwhelmed, or on the verge of tears when my sloth-like features are getting the best of me. she's even there for the good things, too. kenken is one amazing girl who i get to call my sister, and tonight i think we might just have a sleepover. and maybe make some brownies.

happy weekend!

checking in.

hello, bonjour, konichiwa. just checking in.
i'm alive and well and somehow found a way to survive this past week even though it's been one constant thing after another.

-- and did i forget to mention?

because of my death-bed-like-illness last week, i became super dehydrated (that's what i get for not listening to my dad about drinking enough water) -- and my whole face swelled up and got really puffy thanks to the lack of h2o. so consequently, i've looked like the walking, talking sloth. i guess my halloween costume has been settled.

but life goes on and so do i. and thursday nights are pizza nights because sarbear is the only friend i have who finds consuming 3,483 calories after one intense 2 1/2 hour english class as rewarding as i do.

but that's about it.

cheerio my good people.

happy

Tonight has been the first night I have been able to walk outside of doors and associate with the human race. I wouldn't be lying if I said that I feel almost as happy as these kids in this video.

But really.

Remember how I once mentioned that Christmas commercials make me cry?

Add Disney commercials to the list, too.

(Good thing I am already planning another trip back this winter --

and you better believe that D.Land is exactly where I plan on spending my honeymoon one day too.)

Anyway, it's good to be good again.

And that is all.

disaster

i was wrong.
there really is something worse than alka-seltzer,
and that is the doctor telling you that you have swine flu
and that you'll probably be out sick for another week.
another week? another seven whole days of this?
i felt like fainting.

i try to stay as happy as i can on this little thing,
and most days (even not so great ones)
i can usually work with optimism --
but today (and the past 7+ days)
being sick and stressed,
and having all the time in the world to think about the many, many, many (etc etc etc x etc etc etc) other things that have gone amiss, i realized my life sort of turned into a disaster over the past month.
so even though i usually try to leave my bad days and sad experiences to my journal,
today i'd just like to say that life is hard, but i can do hard things.

alka-seltzer.

i've been the walking plague this past week, contracting every disease known to mankind.
but what's been worse than the flu, strep throat, and now a miserable cold all combined?
i'll tell you what.
alka-seltzer.
alka-seltzer is by far the most detestable, revolting and horrendous thing i've ever ever ever tasted, and that's what i've been living off of the past 5 days. right now i'm convinced it's eating at the lining of my stomach.

but -- i didn't crawl out of bed to the computer and gain every ounce of strength i have to talk about alka-seltzer. and no, i didn't even get on to talk about zac efron, and how seeing him in me & orsen wells this afternoon reaffirmed my ginormous crush on this human being.

i'm getting on here to say that although this was not a part of my plans this past weekend,
at least there's hot chocolate and marshmallows in the kitchen,
and rain outside my window.

wishing you all a happy (and healthier) october!
it's my favorite time of year.