Halloween

I don't believe in apologizing for not keeping up on this blog. It's my little free write sounding board, my little claimed space in the internet void. Even if millions read it, it would still be my sounding board. And a way for our fams to see what it is that we really do up here in the crazy, Mark-Zuckerberg-Steve-Jobs-Arnold-Schwarzenegger-inhabited slice of California when they don't feel like chatting on the phone. So internet void, I'm not exactly remorseful about my absence, but I am raring to engage in a brain dump, and for that, I say, you're welcome.

October was stuffed like an empanada with things! We're lucky to have friends here that we really love. And who invite us to do Halloweensy-ish things! We've been turning these



into these



(Ours is Jack Skellington. Also pictured are the haunted house and the all important SF Giants pumpkin!)



(our two pumpkins side by side. Jack Skellington with a jack-o-lantern sipping a cold lemonade on a beach somewhere in the South Pacific)

with the help of these



and these

(picture of adorable fun ward family who not only fed us a remarkably delicious meal, but carved pumpkins with us. My heart melted when child T climbed up next to me, glanced inside the pumpkin I was gutting, and gave me a thumbs up and said, "Yo going a gweat job!")

We also turned these



into these (the Apple Pie Apple a la Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. My tastebuds swooned and I got cavities just by looking at it)



and watched



with the some fun friends!

(again, not yet pictured. Caramel appley hands make for non-existent camera work)

Last night we attended a Halloween party. We spent hours coming up with things to be. Simon and Garfunkel? No. Bella and Edward? No. Bird and a Bee? Negatory. Then a few nights ago, it occurred to us. It was so simple, it was as if the inspiration muse had knocked on our door and held a poster board up to us with the idea scrawled on it in black sharpie while a boombox blared holiday music (like that dude in "Love, Actually").

Feast your eyes, kids: Reynolds Wrap.




Harry had some aluminum foil accents. I went for the full out body wrap. And boy was I sweaty by the evening's end. Too much information? Too late, friends.

We managed to make a pot full of white chicken chili and submit it just in time to be judged in a contest, thus the mess behind me. My word may not mean much, but I promise, our apartment does have a livable state of cleanliness all of the time except for tonight. Yikes. Not my proudest background for a picture, but this was when I was on the verge of unwrapping myself due to complete unbreathableness of a plastic wrap dress. Oh, and the chili didn't win, but the pot was completely clean at the end of the night, and I'm satisfied.

I feel fully Halloweened out. In the best sense.

Weddings, funerals, family.

This last weekend my seester and her husband (collectively I refer to them as Jeffedith) came into town for the wedding of a good friend! They decided to stay at Chateau Sarrison (aka, sleep in sleeping bags on our family room floor. Brave souls, those two). I got to see with my own two eyes that yes, my sister is expecting a human and that pregnancy looks very chic on her.

Jeff promptly picked up my iPhone and started snapping footage.




We got together with Jeff’s darlingbeauitfulcharmingexquisite sister and brother-in-law, Michelle and Mark, and we made a night of it on Friday with scrumptious Thai food, Pinkberry, and a meander through Stanford Shopping center, stopping only to pay homage to the largest pumpkin we’ve ever beheld.



I had such a great time! I am especially looking forward to the day when family doesn’t have to squish inside our teeny apartment for a good visit.

On the other end of the spectrum, Hal and I recently flew to Las Vegas for a funeral. In the most bittersweet of occurrences, Harry’s grandmother passed away last week. I was privileged to know her for a few short years, and I know she lived a long, full life. She is greatly missed, and for good reason.

In my experience, funerals are a very positive thing. I’ve been surrounded by loved ones and friends at every funeral I’ve attended, and have come away feeling a definite sense of finality and calm. So, I feel strange saying it, but I just don’t dread them. In the LDS Church, we do mourn over losing loved ones, but we like to make a point out of rejoicing over the knowledge that death is not the end. We are so lucky to have had Marco in our lives and are even happier to get to see her again someday.

Here are the brothers-and-cousins-turned-pallbearers. It amazes me how many generations of good people can come from two grandparents.



Added bonus: I got to spend time with this guy. I picked him up and he snuggled right into my shoulder, so I frantically whispered to Harry (terrified that talking at a louder volume would break the magic snuggle spell) “Hey! Take a picture! Quick!” There is nothing quite like being snuggled by a squishy-adorable-easy going baby.



Seeing family is like stealing away vacation time. It's the best. It creates a permanent state of impatience within me and at any given time I'm dreaming about blowing this town and heading to Irvine/Vegas. In the meantime we're biding our time, working, studying, being adventurous in our food choices (we tried a tapas bar last night), and wracking our brains for Halloween costume ideas (we decided that being Jesse James and Sandra Bullock might not be the most "Ward Halloween Party" appropriate idea).

Happy almost Holidays, internet.

Tidbits/segues

Exciting tidbit: it finally happened. I am the proud bearer of an iPhone.



(seen here eternity-style because of it's reflective screen and the fact that this picture was taken with Photo Booth. Trippy, no?)

I feel like the training wheels have finally come off my bike after years of T9 predictive text and a 1 megapixel phone camera. It's like we had a baby or something. Like all of a sudden I own this incredibly fragile and complex thing and I have to somehow keep it from dying. It's a weird mixture of joy and intimidation. In the words of my sister, "it's like a tiny computer that also happens to have phone capabilities." I'm already in the midst of 2 scrabble games and have created my ringtone thanks to the help/brain of my lover. You can hear the song I chose for it below-- "Innocent Bones" by Iron and Wine (except for the tone I made for my Mom-- that's Carla Bruni. More personalized ringtones are forthcoming. Leave all personalized ringtone requests in the comments if you are so inclined/particular).



Topic segue: General Conference Weekend has just come to a close and I loved every last second. This is not me tooting my own spirituality horn. Conference, for me, came at the perfect time. Last week was the worst kind of insane. Too many things (albeit good things) took up my mornings, evenings, and nights. Weeks like this make me feel like I'm hurtling through space with not a solitary grasp on anything.

Thus, General Conference this year was perfect.

In between sessions on Saturday we meandered down to the farmer's market at Stanford shopping center. We picked up tangerine habanero mustard, fresh amadeus cheese, peppered salami, olives stuffed with blue cheese and feta, bridge mix (!), Stewart's orange cream soda, Henry Weinhardt root beer, fresh raspberries... it was magical (being on something like a diet lately not all of those things made their way into my mouth, but we bought them, and that's something).



For two days I got to sit and enjoy not only the company of the husband I never saw last week, but I also got to sit and let my proverbial brain sponge soak up all the goodness, reassurance, and resolve of the leaders of our church. It couldn't have come at a better time, and it couldn't have been better. If my being had been scattered all over various corners of the universe, then Conference gathered all the little pebble pieces and placed them inside a pretty little linen drawstring bag, and I feel like I'm myself again.

Plus I started knitting this scarf.



All is right with the world.