shake a fist

My mother is a wonderful mother, who taught us all many very important things. But she has never liked Halloween. And in my grownup life I feel that dislike gene passed down to me a bit because I'm often scroogey about it right up until the day. Something I'm not scroogey about though? Grumpy Zebra babies.


So it was just last night I rummaged through my office clothing and accessory boxes for a very last minute costume. And I found a winner. I mean, we are living in a material world...

we suck young blood

I donated blood today for the first time in a year and half. I used to go pretty regularly but then I went to Armenia last year spring and it's just ghetto enough to keep you on the bad list for a whole year. But it was good to be back because I love donating blood. I'm sure it's the teacher's pet in me, but I love answering all the questions correctly, I love when they tell me my blood pressure and temperature are great and I love that my veins empty blood into the bags quickly and efficiently...and I love thinking it might just help someone who needs it more than I do.

But I do not love the post-oh-so-flattering bandage that squeezes arm all over the place.

sunday sun

Every now and then everyone looks so shinny in their Sunday clothes that you have to take pictures of them after you've carpooled home from church. And the light is nice and the fall colors are pretty and maybe Janelle gets a poke in the boob.





I love my little camera...like love, LOVE it. But I think I also need to invest in a beefier one soon.

intervention

I wore a skirt that hit right at my waist with a belt (and shirt of course) to Morgan's baby blessing a few Sundays ago. At the house after, I passed my grandpa in the kitchen on my way to the soup. My grandma was also standing there and as I went by my grandpa turned to her and said "Em has a model waist." And I fell on the floor from how awesome it was to hear those words. But then I stood up and right there decided that man is the only one I ever need in my life. My grandma quickly agreed "Oh yes." and I decided right there that she is the only woman I ever need in my life.

I responded the only way I seem to know how to respond to compliments which is by denying it of course. You see, I'm nowhere near any kind of model size and I am a girl with some junk in the trunk and on the sides and thighs too. So I said something about how I love belts, but I'm sometimes afraid too much stuff and hip and booty squishes out the bottom when I wear them. But my grandma informed me that I'm young and that actually she knows that boys like the stuff and hips and booty. How fantastic!

On top of that, Tasha's Grandma Bev recently cleaned out her closet and had belts o'plenty for the taking. In order to understand that that means the belts are all awesome as can be, you should know that this is Tasha's Grandma Bev:

So with the confidence that only handsome and classy grandparents can give a girl, and armed with the best belts free can buy, I've been walking around the last few weeks like I'm hot stuff.


But I worry...too much? How many times a week can/should I really being doing this? Will my friends and family tell me if it gets too bad? Do boys really like it? Will it suddenly be 20 years in the future and I'll still be squeezing into belts that were 20 years old 20 years ago?

These are all very important questions.

ce jeu

I had no idea when I fell in love in March that months later, on a late October Saturday night I would get the Yelle experience in real life.

And it was amazing, one of the most fun shows I've ever been to. In part because I was with Chris and Emily and Danny and Melissa and Christian and the music was loud and we were dancing. And then in part because she was ADORABLE. Like I wanted to turn her into a tiny Yelle, put her in my pocket and carry her around so that I could live with those French lyrics and European beats as my life soundtrack. Hooray for being alive.

This is my favorite, specifically two and a half minutes in. I am moving to France.

the party's crashing us

a few highlights...

last year we didn't have one of these (my oh my that tiny grumpy face)!

halloween outfit

scary treats

happy fake family

elizabeth face

Rebecca, Damian and baby eating pumpkin

jerks in the kitchen

jerks at the table

Matt and latex gloves

Cindy and Chris...

their dracula profile and moustache jack-o-lantern pumpkins

rob's mean faces and mine

BFFs

death star pomegranate

lovely ladies

family fight

and finally- I went to sleep around 1 o'clock and then was awakened by Nate and a bucket of pretzels...in my bed.

in the air

Danny and I were at 5 Guys yesterday eating our bag full of fries when In the Air Tonight came on. I thought about how awesome Phil Collins is (by the way, so I totally didn't know until I was reading something like a month ago that Peter freakin Gabriel was in Genesis too...duh Emily).

Danny on the other hand, thought about this:


Which is cool too. But only cus the real deal is so good.

we carry on

So I clearly had a fun weekend since I plastered it all over the internet. In fact I had a whole nice week last week with the fall break and the stress of school being lifted momentarily. I read some fascinating articles for a class on Monday. I had a great time last night catching up with some dear friends over knitting and Friday Night Lights (my oh my do I love that show). I'm going to they gym again after a few months hiatus. I finally finished You Shall Know Our Velocity! and felt like I always do after Eggers (great). Naomi and I have our Pumpkin Carving Party tomorrow night which was a delight last year and something I am completely looking forward to this year.

But I feel like crap today anyway. I've had a difficult work week (and it's only Wednesday!) and while there is always learning and growing from that kind of thing, ugh...it still just stinks. It puts a kind of pit in your stomach like no kind of personal problem can and I always forget that until I'm staring at the stupid hole. It's not better or worse, it's just it's own little jerk, and like everything, takes time to fix (which I hate).

On the bright side, it brings up another really important husband requirement...cus in situations like this the dude I end up with must be willing to fix me vegetables for dinner and not talk about my work issues but instead just keep his hand on the back of my neck for a nice long time.

And while I bet Naomi would do the vegetable part since she is good at feeding me when I appear pathetic, we both for sure draw the roommate line long before there is any kind of neck touching.

sexual healing

In the last month I've been watching all the seasons of Sex and the City thanks to my friend Dallas who lent them to me. However, there seems to be a missing disc! And it's the second disc of part one of the sixth season! And from what I can gather it appears to be 4 episodes in which somehow Carrie and Berger break-up and she starts up with the Russian...so you see I can't just skip. Anyone in Salt Lake have that season by chance? I can pound out that disc so fast you won't even know it's gone...

cross oceans

on the road

this is why Vegas is awesome

just strolling by the Arc de Triomphe

the holy pants that brought us to this place (I bought another black pair and also pairs in purple and gray to be safe)

happy friends!

dropped treat (it's what I do)

apparently we love beanies

checking for dead hookers (we were in Mesquite after all)

counter breakfast

art in St. George

Meadow, Utah

to the hot springs

Rob

translucent caucasians

why do I love boys like this?

Melissa

homeward bound...


I highly recommend 36 hour road trips...especially if Melissa, Rob and Christian are involved in it.

motormouth

Remember the 30 Rock episode when Liz Lemon is talking and her tooth falls out?

Yep, happened to this girl in the Paris hotel in Vegas on Saturday...it's as funny in real life as it is on TV by the way.

long road

So what do you do when you notice a small hole in your $20 H&M jeans (that you wear everyday)?

Well hopefully Rob is sitting next to you and he suggests you go to Vegas. And since I think it was 6 years since the last time I spent any time there, tomorrow we will go to Vegas.

sweatshop

I had a conversation today with Melissa, one of the designers at work. We talked about swear words and the use thereof. And I have decided I need to nip my swearing habit in the bud. Yes, I do love an occasional 'sons of bitches' but I think worse in my brain lately and it's only a matter of time before that crap starts falling out of my mouth too (see even there I thought shit before I actually typed crap. yikes!).

But I won't turn my back on songs with a good swear and there might be one or two of those on these mixes I have been sending out in bunches all week:

And I'm sorry cus last minute I panicked and added an aesthetically unpleasing, yet structurally necessary addition:

But I never said it would be pretty, I only said you would probably get it before December.