Thanksgiving, Twilight, & UTAH

It is Thanksgiving week. There is a buzz in the air. A buzz of hooray FOOD and FAMILY! This year for Thanksgiving we traveled to Utah to be with our family and friends. We have been here since Saturday and we have done a lot. We have visited my old office, shopped for Christmas and for new clothes for Lars (we got him a new leather jacket and he is so HOT!! I will share pics as soon as I get them), spent time with both of our families, spent late nights with dear friends, and best of all slept inn. We also saw the movie Twilight. I liked it but did have some meh feelings about it at the same time. I loved the music and will see it again and probably buy it on DVD. They will make the next two books into movies and I am anxious to see how those turn out. Guess who took me to see the movie...LARS...he is so awesome and cute and I loved the comments he made throughout the movie. I love being back to see all our peeps but man is it cold here in Utah, burrrrrr. It has been an enjoyable vacation so far and it is not over yet.

Fire in the sky!

Yesterday there were a ton of fires in Southern California. We were 10 miles away from one of them. The wind was strong and did not help the situation. Because we were very close to one of them the air was very smokey. All day it smelled like a camp fire. In the first part of the morning the sun was clear and sunny, but by noon it was very hazy and there was a red-orange tint in the sky, the sun was not shining through as bright. We spent most of the day inside with the windows closed and the A/C on. But it was hard to breath and my eyes did not like the smoke. Occasionally we stepped out side to inspect our surroundings. It was like there was a volcano erupting from a distance, the sky was filled with floating ash. We night fell we step out on our balcony again and were greeted by a red moon. When things like this happen it makes you think about how prepared you are for the things that lie ahead of us. Our prayers go out to those who were affected by the fires.

Huntington Beach

Last weekend we went to explore Huntington Beach with some neighbores we met and are getting chummy with. It was a very lovely beach, but on this day it was windy so we ended up not staying long. However, we stayed long enough for me to play in the water. Enjoy these pictures from our exploration.

Our neighbores and Lars.

Drawing in the sand if fun and these words are true!

How to play in the beach water with Stephanie!

Step 1: See water and sand

Step 2: Step into water and sand

Step: 3:Watch water enter

Step 4: Enjoy water and feel the sand in between your toes

Step 5: Smile because it is fun and you just played with Stephanie on the beach ((HUG))

oxoxox

Quack! Quack!

A week and a half ago my work had left over tickets to the Ducks hockey game. They usually have season tickets on hand for clients from various sports, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Anaheim Angels, the Ducks, etc. Occasionally they don't get used up. When this happens they draw names and the winner gets the tickets. My name got drawn so Lars and I got to go to the game and let me tell you the seats were amazing. It was my first pro hockey game. We were 5 rows behind the penalty box. They have so many fans who were so into the game with cheering and booing. When we scored everyone jumped out of their seats with glee. They played the St Louis Blues. The Ducks were so graceful on the ice and with the puck. It seemed as if they were all as one. They would pass to each other when they weren't even looking at each other. It was all smooth and really cool to watch. There was even a fight. In the last 3 minutes of the game the St Louis Blues took their goalie out to have more man power to score. Big mistake because once the Ducks got the puck they hiked it the across the ice to score. The Ducks won 5-2. It was so much fun. I can't wait to try and go again. Thanks work.

This is Halloween!

I love Halloween. It is one of my favorite holidays of the year because you can dress up and be someone or something else for a day. The thespian in me thrives on this day. However, I wasn't sure if I was going to dress up because we just moved and we don't know many people here and I usually ham up things more easily with an audience. I am still new in my work environment and was unsure how extreme of a costume I should do, if any. Plus I just haven't really been in the right mood. I also had costume ideas but couldn't make up my mind.

A few things changed my mind. 1) I got more comfortable and confident at work (I might explain this in more detail in another blog). 2) Myself and another employee were put in charge of decorating the pumpkin for the office. Every year the office enters a pumpkin into a contest for the whole building. The building provides the pumpkin so every suite participates. Being in charge of this got me into the holiday spirit a little more. SO come Halloween I did dress up. I am glad I did because it gave my coworkers an opportunity to get to know me more and it was a chance for myself to show my colors. The character I created was well received. It was a costume I had done in the past so it was easy to do. I was an old lady. I wore a silly dress and stuffed a pillow in my behind and socks in my bra to have a hanging effect. Then I wore an old wig and old age make up. I also walked around with a bag full of candy and lint to pass out. People got a kick out of it and I had fun.

For our pumpkin we had a Monty Python and the Holy Grail theme. It was "The Killer Rabbit-Run Away, Run Away!" We used a lot of fake blood from my make up kit and I made blood with 3 packs of drink mix to a small amount of water. My hand was stained with blood the rest of the day. We won an honorable mention award and got a lot of cool comments about it. See pictures.


One of the greatest things about Halloween is the candy. Lars and I usually don't buy candy before. We wait until the day after so we get the candy 50% off. And that is exactly what we did today, we got 10 bags of assorted candy for $15, hooray! Happy Halloween!