Halloween is coming soon! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I love to dress up and eat candy. I was pretty excited for this halloween because it will be our first real halloween in our new house. The sad part is that I will not be able to be here to celebrate it with my family and husband. I have been asked to go to Manila in The Philippines for work for two weeks. I leave on Monday and I'm pretty excited. I will miss everyone here very much... and I will miss Halloween! :( I heard that in the Philippines they call it the Day of the Dead and no one dresses up. Everyone goes out to nightclubs and parties. I'm not sure I will party, but I might order an extra slice of pie from room service. ;)
To celebrate a little eary, Arthur's mom invited us over for their annual carmel apple dipping party. I got some great pictures of the event and have posted them for you to see. Enjoy!
Everone helps unrap the caramels and puts them in a big bowl. We usually get the good caramels that you can find in the bulk candy section. Don't forget to wash your hands! Arthur melted the caramel in the microwave and had to stir them until they were almost liquid. We could usually only dip one apple at a time before the caramel started getting hard again... so you had to go fast! Lili is Arthur's neice. She's attached to him. She loves to sit on his lap whenever he is around. It's cute to hear her yell his name. Arthur! This is her eating a caramel. I think she was alternating unrapping and putting the caramel in the bowl and eating them. Arthur's family loves to decorate for the holidays. You will always see their house transform into a decorated halloween land. There are scary things hanging everywhere. This is a little witch that Arthur's little sister Sunny made at school. The head is made out of a rotten apple. The kids put the apples on the window ledge in class and let the apples go rotten. By the time halloween comes around, the apples look just like a shrunken witch head. I had a pretty good laugh at this witch. Her face is hilarious! Here is the bucket of apples! I had one of the big yellow-red ones. Delicious! We stuck a long popsicle stick in the top of the apple for dipping. It was time to decorate now! Here is little Noah taking candies off of Autumn's apple. Noah is Arthur's nephew. We spent some time decorating and then everyone showed off their apples! Here are some pictures of the apples eveyone decorated!
Here is Sunny's apple! I like the top of hers. She did a great job! Here is my apple! Here is Ka'Lea's apple! She did such a great job with those straight lines of M&Ms! Here is Arthur's apple! We couldn't get a good picture of Arthur. He kept closing his eyes. This is his "I'm-annoyed-with-you-Genevieve-because-you-won't-tell-me-when-you-are-going-to-take-a-picture" face. This is Arthur's dad and mom. Arthur's mom didn't want to be in the picture so Arthur's dad tried to make it less awkward for her. Here's Arthur's dad's apple! A closeup of my apple Here's Eli's apple! He wins for most candy on an apple. Here is Ka'Lea's first apple! Here is Autumn's apple! This is the apple I made for Mike. He loves KitKat. I was so excited to bring it home to him, excited enough that I texted him a picture of it right after I made it. He was not here when I got home to give it to him. It is in the fridge. Another shot of our apples together. Brother and sister! I hope you enjoyed this enty. I had some of my apple this morning for brunch. It is delicious! Have a great weekend!
I got this week's Friday Five from a blog that offers Friday Five questions to people to use in their blogs. I like these questions because I think you can learn a lot about a person by listening to their favorite song.
1. If the world was ending and you could listen to one song, what would it be? Standing Still By Jewel. For some reason, I can listen to it over and over and I never get tired of it. I think that's the way it usually is with a favorite song, right? The song talks about being at your very lowest point and asking some of the most emotionally intimate questions you can be asked. The questions "Do you want me? Do you need me? Do you love me?" can mean anything to anyone, based on the situation. I understand that they are mostly connected to social interactions - but can really be anything that you can feel connected to. If the world is ending, I am going to be doing a lot of thinking about my life and if I feel confident with my final day. Did I love others enough? Did I act in a way that made others need me? Did I try hard enough with others to make them want me around?
2. How did you first come across that song? Normally, I would be embarrassed to admit that my favorite song is a pop radio song. I first heard the song on the radio. That's the beauty of a radio song. It is totally random when it plays, and if you happen to need to hear it when it comes on, it is a nice reminder that there is someone or something bigger out there that is watching out and is aware that you are struggling. It's funny - I will hear it in restaurants, malls, gas stations - anywhere... and it's usually when I need to hear it.
3. If it reminds you of a person, is that person still with you? Fortunately, this song does not remind me of anyone but me. I have listened to it through many different relationships and times in my life... and it doesn't remind me of any one person. That is the beauty of the song - it is so versatile. It can apply to most any situation and most any relationship I've encountered.
4. Does anyone else know what that song means to you? At it's deepest level, no. I don't think I've ever been asked this question. There are different lines in the song that mean so many different things to me. Each of my favorite lines have run through my mind many times when I'm about to give up.
Cutting through the darkest night are my two headlights Trying to keep it clear, but I'm losing it here to the twilight There's a dead end to my left There's a burning bush to my right You aren't in sight You aren't in sight
Between fight and flight Is the blind man's sight And a choice that's right I roll the window down Feel like I'm gonna drown In this strange town Feel broken down I feel broken down
5. Where would you listen to it, and with whom? I can remember specific situations when I have listened to it, and with certain people who have been aware that it is my favorite song and used it to try to connect with me. Usually I appreciated that they made the effort to acknowledge that my favorite song was so important to me. I also feel like I keep the deepest reasons why I love the song to myself. I may not even be able to say why it works so well for me. I know that whenever I need to hear it, it somehow relates to my current situation and reminds me that "a sweet sorrow is the call tomorrow". This line means that I get to live through whatever I'm dealing with right now today - and tomorrow I will be sad that I had to go through the tough stuff... but I know that I've learned something which makes it a little bit sweeter.
I am in Omaha. I came here for business travel. I got in on Tuesday and will be here until tomorrow afternoon. I like coming to Omaha, the hotel is my favorite part.
I am here with my boss, someone from HR, and an agent from my department. We all get along really well, and it's fun to go out to eat with them. Last night we went to the Cheesecake Factory. I wanted to send my husband a picture of the menu so he could be jealous. The picture wasn't very good, and was kind of blurry - but I believe it still got the point across. Here is the picture I sent him:
I ordered a delicious meal - it's called the Chicken Bellagio. Pesto pasta, breaded chicken breast, and prosciutto (italian ham). Soooo good!
As soon as I sent him a picture of the menu, within minutes he replied with this: Poor Arthur! Stuck at home with an 88 cent salsbury steak tv dinner. lol.
This week's Friday Five comes from Whitney again! She and my brother love to ask the question "would you rather..." These made me smile.
I've had kind of a tough week, so I haven't had much desire to blog. I knew that I wanted to blog today because it's Friday and the weekend is almost here. I'll try to cheer up, Charley. :)
1. Would you rather be raised by dolphins or wolves? Why? Definitely dolphins. Dolphins seem like they have so much more fun. They also seem happier. They can "fly" in the water, which sounds really fun. Wolves probably smell bad and also probably get mats in their fur. I don't like fur mats.
2. Would you rather be stuck for 10 hours in an elevator with 10 wet dogs or 10 gassy old men? Why? I would prefer 10 wet dogs. Most people may assume 10 gassy old men because I like old people and would love to joke with them, but I'm not sure how long I would last in a small space like an elevator if they are gassy. 10 wet dogs would eventually dry off and they may keep me warmer if it gets cold. Also, I can lay on a dog if I need to take a nap. Not so sure I could do that with 10 gassy old men.
3. Would you rather have a thumb growing out of the middle of your forehead or an extra arm out of your stomach? Why? I would prefer an extra arm. I believe that you could use an extra arm in your stomach more effectively than a thumb in the middle of your forehead. I could carry an extra bag of groceries, or have my third arm carry my drink if I was going downstairs to watch a show. If I was worried about the social aspect of having a third arm... it doesn't seem as "out there" as a thumb growing out of your forehead. I could probably hide an extra arm if I had to, probably with a belt or a tight shirt. You can't really hide a thumb on your forehead, unless it's removed. Can I have it removed? If I can have it removed, I would choose the thumb.
4. Would you rather be put in prison for 15 years, or have all your teeth pulled out? Why? I would rather be in prison for 15 years. I know that if I had to choose between the two of these things it wouldn't be because I'd done something bad... so I wouldn't feel guilty going to prison for 15 years. I might just sleep through it. They may have ice in prison, and that would be pretty tough to eat ice if I didn't have any teeth.
5. Would you rather be able to fly or be able to live to 200? Fly. Who wants to be 200? That sounds terrible. Flying would be amazing, think of all of the life experiences you could have if you could fly! An extra 100 years or the ability to fly within my current remining 75 (or so) years? Definitely flying, because of how much more I would be able to experience.
Happy Friday, everyone. I hope your week was happier than mine!
Hey everyone! Happy Sunday! I have had a really good weekend. On Friday night I had a fun dinner party with one of my friends Tyson from work and his wife Aimee. Check out their blog! We had grilled salmon, grilled shrimp skewers, steak fillets, asparagus, fresh squash from the garden, CHEESY RICE, and delicious rolls! It was really good. Salmon is one of my favorite foods, and I got that from my dad. After dinner we played two games: Wacky 6s and Chicken Foot dominoes. Have you ever played these games? They are so fun!
Wacky 6s is this intense card game where you combine the speed game with solitare... it's really fun, and you have to be a good multitasker to do well. Unfortunately, I lost every game beacuse of how tired I was. I spend all week at work multitasking, and so after work I usually shut that part of my brain down. ;) It's the kind of game that I would like to play by myself for a few hours to really get good... and then bring it to the table with other people!!
Chicken Foot dominoes is extremely addicting. Whenever my family gets together we play it together. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's really fun. After dominoes, we had dessert and played some Guitar Hero on Wii. All in all it was a total blast!
Saturday we spent the day getting some stuff for our basement. We are finishing it ourselves, and so we needed to get some floorboards and grout for the tile. I will for sure post a video when everything is finished. It's going to be nice to have a basement to go relax in. :)
Arthur introduced me to this intense new band called Owl City. Have you heard of them? It's kind of like the Postal Service if you've ever heard them. There are a few songs I love, like Fireflies and Hello Seattle. Check out their music on iTunes or MySpace! Owl City on MySpace
This week's Friday Five comes from my beautiful sister-in-law Whitney. Whitney and Leo (my brother) live in Provo and were married in 2006. Whitney has a blog as well, you should check it out. The Little Things in Life She is studying to become a teacher. Love ya, Whit! :)
1. If you had to eat only one type of food for a whole month, what would it be?- and I mean specific. Hmm, when you say type I assume you mean like GENRE. I have a real hard time with this question because of how much I LOVE food. It is as much a part of my life as sleeping is. I will probably go with Italian food on this one because of how often I can eat it and not get sick of it. This goes for very vague Italian, including Spaghettios. LOL. I love Pasta, and tomatoes, and Pizza. I would eat Pizza every night for dinner if I could. One of my favorite salads is Caprese, with fresh mozzerella, tomoatoes, basil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. OMG. Hungry now... shoot.
2. What is your favorite childhood memory? My favorite childhood memory is of my cabin when I was growing up. It wasn't actually my family's cabin, it belonged to my great uncle. It was located in Island Park, Idaho right on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. We had our own "private" dock and it was very close to the water. I loved going up there nearly every summer with my family and spending a week fishing, running around in the weeds, swinging on the huge wooden swing, going to "town" to the IGA store and getting lunch, and visiting Yellowstone. When my uncle died, his sons took the cabin, and unfortunately we can't go there anymore. I would really love to make it back someday and just stay at the little Mack's Inn resort.
3. What is a talent, that you don't have, that you wish you did? I often wish I was more active. I am not really the classic "lazy" person, but it often takes a lot of mental motivation to get me going or doing anything productive when I don't have to. I am kind of a procrastinator and I may put off doing something I don't want to do and distract myself with something I'd rather not do. One thing I have found works is to think of something else I don't want to do and then do the lesser of two evils. I should be cleaning right now for our dinner party tonight, but obviously I am not because it's only going to be Friday for a few more hours, and you can't do a Friday Five on Saturday! :P
4. What is your favorite holiday and why? Most people say Christmas because of the gifts, but I will probably say Halloween or Thanksgiving. I am not huge on gifts, mostly because I usualy worry about if the person will like what I am giving them. My husband is much better at gifts and Christmas. I love Halloween because it's the only night you can dress up and act totally stupid and get away with it. It's also awesome because you can walk into any grocery store during the entire month of October and buy a big bag of candy without being asked "Having a party?" Thanksgiving is my favorite because I love the food and the family. I don't love how I feel after I eat, however. :)
5. Would you rather be rich or famous? Definitely rich. I think being famous would be annoying. I'm kind of an introvert, so a bunch of people knowing who I am and recognizing me when I'm trying to buy food or something at the grocery store would be totally awful. I would prefer to be rich to being famous, for sure!
Sorry these were so late, but I forgot it was Friday this morning! ;)
"The coast of Canada is a beautiful sight... with it's TALL TREES, TALL TREES, BIG TALL TREES!" "Take a trip to CHINA! Sang ya cha nah yahhhhh!" "But I can-cannot trade, they're my dad's stamps... Al-Albert has forbidden it!" "That's your dad? That's your real dad?!" "Nice banister! Expensive picture frame..." "Your a LIAR!" "Could be treasures." "My beautiful album!" "This is where his front legs were, and this is where his back legs were!"
I am in my middle 20s and I am married to Arthur. We live together in Eagle Mountain, Utah. We have two cats named Risotto (Rizzo) and Suklaa (Suki). We love to travel and cook together. If you want to receive notifications when I update my blog, be sure to click the "Follow" button below!
