Nephew Halloween Treats 2013

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. It always has been. But its even more so now because I use it as another excuse to spoil my nephews. I start each October with a few Halloween shirts for them and then end the month with a goodie bag. 

 I saw the idea for the Jack-o-lanterns on Pinterst. When I saw the green jello cups and the pear cups, I decided to do a monster and a ghost too.

 

 

Can't wait to see my favorite boys tomorrow all dressed up.

Halloween Cookies

This morning, while I was frosting my Monster cake, Vanessa texted to see if I wanted to frost cookies with her and the boys. Of course, I said yes. She said they would be doing it after nap time in this afternoon.

 

Frosting cookies with two little boys is.....an adventure.

One of use wasn't fully clothed for the first cookie.

There was lots of double dipping.

And re-frosting of cookies that had been licked off.

And that was just me.

Kidding. I was fully clothed.

And I only double dipped once.

But I ate the entire cookie.

 

However, I think cookie had its fourth layer of frosting by the time I left. Valex said he didn't like the cookie part.

 

Vanessa had been helping Daxsen with the frosting, but when she turned away to grab something, he did it him self. He was so proud!

 

Or maybe it was the sugar rush. We dipper multiple times into the bowls.

Right at the end, my brother John asked which cookie would be safe to eat. We just laughed.

 

When Daxsen got bored with frosting the cookies, he played with them like they were toys.

 

He was being a tiger with the cat cookie.

 

It was a lot of fun. My sister is always so good to me by inviting me to stuff like this. I'm sure to others, it seems like nothing. But it makes me the happiest aunt in the world when I get to do stuff with my nephews.

The Monster's Missus Cake

I don't get on Pinterest near as much as I used to. But from time to time, I remember something that I pinned and I go there to look it up. I do this mostly for recipes and around Holidays.

 

So with Halloween fast approaching, I went to Pinterest. I usually log in, go to my boards and find what I need. But this time, I saw something on the home page that caught my eye. Its a cake made from the lady bug pan. I bought that pan last winter for a Birthday party. I LOVED how it turned out. But since I rarely make any girl cakes, it has just been collecting dust.

When I saw this Monster's Missus Cake made from that pan, I had to try it out! I was also in luck because I had a batch of frosting that needed used up. I changed mine up just a little bit. I couldn't figure how out they did the nose, so I did mine a little differently. I also thought purple would be more fun then grey. I also opted to skip the bolts this time. They are made out of fondant (I don't have any on hand right now) and I think it is just as cute with out.

 

Of course, mine isn't as cute as the original. (I still need more practice.) But I love how it turned out and I'm sure it will get gobbled up at work tomorrow.

Lunch With a Witch

One of the local grocery stores has been advertising about "Lunch with a Witch." Vanessa and I thought it would be fun to take the boys.

 

Unfortunately, last night, she had costume problems. The package came in the mail, it only ONE costume for Valex. Then when she tried it on him, it was too small! We decided to just take the kids in their Halloween shirts. But then, I found a cute bat costume in town and couldn't resist buying it.

 

It took a little convincing, but he decided to wear it, with part of the Ninja Turtle costume. He had on the mask and the shell. He was our Ninja Turtle Bat.

We tried the to get Daxsen to wear the Ninja Turtle costume, or the SpongeBob (from last year), but all he wanted was his blue monster hoodie. 

We tried the to get Daxsen to wear the Ninja Turtle costume, or the SpongeBob (from last year), but all he wanted was his blue monster hoodie.  

 

I decided to dress up as a witch this year, but I can't decide which witch hat to wear. So I spent today trying out both of them.

 

Ready to go trick or treating through the store!

The boys would wave to the monster, from a safe distance, but they didn't want their picture with him. So Vanessa got one instead. 

They both did really well with the witch. Hopefully they will do just as well with Santa this year!

 

The Beauty and the Cutie!

 

After that, we decided to meet some friends at the park and enjoy the nice weather.

 

Daxsen, the ever fearless climber.

 

I didn't get a picture (because I was laughing to hard), but Daxsen got to the top of the spider web thingy you can see behind him. I pointed that out to his mom and she about had a heart attack. And of course, he fell before she could get to him. But it didn't even phase him. he just ran to the next thing he could climb.

 

It was a fun day. I can't wait for Halloween. I'm getting off work early to go Trick-or-Treating with Vanessa and the boys!

Halloween Chocolate Modeling Class

 On Wednesday, I saw a Halloween Chocolate Modeling class that was scheduled for the next night in Duchesne. One of the gals at work had just taken this ladies cake decorating classes. I asked if she was going, but she had to head out of town for a family event, so she wasn't going.

I thought Jessica had standing plans for every Thursday, but I thought I'd ask anyways. I was in luck, her Thursday night plans had been cancelled for the week.

 

We worked with modeling chocolate and fondant to make several cute Halloween decorations. And we got to meet some fun new people.

The cat was by far the hardest, but I love how it turned out. I had so much fun and learned some fun new techniques. I can't wait to try out some more.

 

Bountiful Basket October 19

I haven't gotten a Bountiful Basket in years. It was just too much work because I had to drive at least 30 minutes to the nearest pickup site. And with Josh working out of town, I was basically trying to eat it alone. I'd always tell him to take some with him, but he always forgot. So between the drive and the waste, I decided to quit getting  basket.

 

About a month ago, I decided I wanted to try again. I was sad to see the Roosevelt site seems to no longer be running. But there is still one in Myton. They meet every other week. Then I just had to time it so I would be home. The first two times I remembered to buy one, I realized I wouldn't be home the day of pickup.

 

This week, I was finally able to order a basket! I was pretty excited. I even decided I wanted to volunteer. As I was finishing up my hair & makeup, I got a phone call. My in-laws thought Jazzy had colic. Josh was out working in the field south of Vernal, so I had to deal with it.

 

I had to cancel a meeting with a friend (that totally bummed me out) and try to find someone to get my basket for me. I wasn't too worried, because my friend Randi runs the site. I sent her a text and then headed to take care of the horse.

 

A half hour before the scheduled pickup, they called to let me know that truck was early and I could come now. I asked for Randi, only to learn she was out of town! I explained my situation and told them I really wanted my basket, but if they couldn't find a way to hold it for me, I would have to just let it go. But I was in luck, I was talking to Randi's mom. She offered to take it home with her and let me pick it up when I went home.

 Holy crap, I forgot how much food you get!

This basket included:

2 kinds of lettuce

bananas

3 cucumbers

4 yellow squash

3 golden beets

4 red pears

5 red onions

3 pomegranates

4 persimmons

8 green apples

7 kiwi

 

Then I also decided to do a fall harvest pack add on.

It included:

2 pumpkins

2 mini pumpkins

1 large gourd

3 smaller gourdes

2 large Indian corn

5 mini Indian corns

 

I decided to use it to decorate my front porch for the season.

 

PS, the horse is fine. I couldn't find a vet in town, so I got some medicine and took it to her. She does horrible with shots, so we finally gave it to her orally. And she kicked me. D*mn horse. 

Las Vegas 2013

While I was at the zoo with my family, my mom mentioned she was going to Vegas with my grandma and she would only be using half of her condo. She was telling my grandma, she was thinking of trying to sell the other half, but wasn't sure how to find someone she could trust.

I stewed on it for a little bit, and decided I would really like to go. It was the same week Josh would be hunting, so I was going to be alone anyways. I just needed to make sure I could get off work for that week. She was leaving in like 8 days, so I didn't have long to plan.

I had 2 plans. I could go alone, and craft to my hearts delight, hanging with my mom and grandma when I wanted. Or I could get a friend to go with me.

I called one friend, but she couldn't go. I was bummed to be going alone, but was still determined to go and have fun. I was telling Josh about my plans when he said, "why don't you invite who ever that was you were talking to on the phone the other night?"

That person would be the amazing Ashley. We grew up close when we were young, and during my sophomore year, we were really good friends. I still have great memories of hanging at her house, making our own milk shakes.

But as life does, we had grown apart. I got married and she moved away and we lost touch. A few years ago, we connected on Facebook, but that was about it. After my 6 month hiatus from Facebook, I got back on and learned she was going through a tough time. I reached out to her online, and she in turn called me. We instantly picked back up where we had left off all those years again.

Since deciding to live my life free of the church, it has been really hard on me to connect with people. I still maintain the fact that I haven't changed that much, but I guess I must have, because I feel left out. Or like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. I've struggled through some depression over it, but didn't know what else to do. So when Josh suggested inviting Ashley to meet me in Vegas, I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I was going to arrive Saturday afternoon, and stay through until the following Saturday morning. She recently  moved to LA and was able to ride the bus to Vegas. I picked her up on Sunday and she was able to stay until Thursday night.

Honestly, I was excited to see her, but also nervous. It had been over 14 years since I last saw her. What if we didn't connect and it ended up being a miserable week? But it was just the opposite. When I saw her, I was so happy I could feel myself tearing up.

She is such an amazing lady and I'm so glad I got to spend the week with her. I feel like I have a new best friend and I hope we can keep it going strong this time.

We pretty much ran non stop the entire week. So much so, we didn't take any pictures. But it was a blast.

Notice our matching necklaces she bought for us.

Sunday night, we went to Sin City Comedy & Burlesque at the Planet Hollywood Casino. It was so funny! We were still laughing days later.

Monday was spent shopping and running a few errands. We were going to go to a Magic Show, but real life got in the way and we had to miss it. But I did get to meet another one of her friends and I'm glad to know she has some amazing people around her right now.

Tuesday, we went to Zumanity. It was AMAZING!

On Wednesday, we did something I've been wanting to do for over a year now.

Yep, I got inked!



I've been looking at pictures for over a year now. I knew I wanted a flower, and I was pretty sure I wanted it on my foot. I wanted it were I could see it often, but also where I could cover it if I needed to.

I looked at hundreds of pictures, but I always came back to this one. Its actually just a henna drawing, but I loved the design. When we got to the 3 Lions Tattoo Parlor, my phone wouldn't work, so I couldn't find the picture. But they had a computer and after scrolling to a gazillion pictures, I was able to find it again.

Holly did my tattoo and she was awesome. When she started, I warned her I was ticklish. She warned me, that it didn't matter, it wouldn't tickle.

I've heard the foot is the most painful area and I'm now convinced that is true. It hurt like HELL! I was sober when we started, but my friend, tequila, had to help me finish. 

I love how it turned out. I was only going to do one flower and let the vine go up my ankle, but after Holly drew it on, it didn't look complete, so we added another flower. 

That night, we took a limo to a club. And I was even able to wear these shoes that Ashley bought for me.

 

Our last day together was spent relaxing and getting her ready to catch the bus home. I was so sad to see her leave. Even more so when the bus stop was at the airport and all I could do was drop her off to the curb. I wanted to soak up every minute with her. LA feels so far away, but I'm hopeful we can keep our friend ship going. And its encouraged me to reach out to other friends from my past and reconnect with them.

Friday night, I went to Freemont street with my mom and grandma. When we went last year, the light show had been cancelled, so I wanted to try and see it again. It was pretty cool.

I'm glad I decided on this trip last minute. It was just what I needed to distress.

Josh also had an enjoyable week in the mountains, but didn't get an elk this year. But he was determined to shoot a big one. He did pass up several small ones, so he's ok with it. He does have a cow elk tag in December, and I'm sure he'll get one then.

Fuel to drive to and from Vegas by myself: $200

Food: $150

Gambling money: Actually, I broke even on that one. ;)

My first tattoo: $180

Making a new best friend: PRICELESS!