Halloween and the Road Trip from...

A week ago, I went to Arizona with my mom and dad, because dad had a work conference to attend, and I thought it might be fun to take some time off work and goof off with mom for a few days. We drove, taking my car, to save on airfare costs, and next time - we're flying. If there is a next time. It was a loooooong drive, and toward the end, I started to feel like Richard from Tommy Boy - my car came home with a big dent in the back, and two cracks in the windshield, not to mention a stupid speeding ticket in small-town Utah. (I refuse to pay it because it was so ridiculous, I'm SO fighting on this one.) If I have the heart to, I'll post pictures of my poor banged-up car at a later date.

We stayed at a Hilton Resort Hotel that was nice, but a little outdated and nothing to really write home about. But what I (in all my Halloween geekiness) loved most about the room was the room number:

Muahahahaha!! (I know, I'm such a nerd.) What are the odds we'd get room number 1031? I'm convinced it wasn't a coincidence. Hehe.

Arizona was beautiful - perfect weather, around 85 degrees. It's always fun to see different kinds of cactus. Even better is cactus with the ever-glorious palm tree.

The drive TO Arizona was AWESOME. The scenery was so gorgeous, I took tons of pictures through the windows, since we didn't really have time to stop much. This is a shot of Lake Powell from Page, AZ.

We went to church on Sunday, and Monday mom and I goofed off in Phoenix and Mesa. We went to the Outlets at Anthem to shop a little, and then we headed into Mesa to find the cemetery where several of our ancestors are buried - looking specifically for my great-great-grandfather, polygamist Benjamin F. Johnson. When we found his grave site, we discovered that wife #5 was buried next to him - Sarah Melissa Holman, who also happens to be the wife that I am descended from. So, here is me with Benjamin F.

After we were done looking around the cemetery, we went and found the Mesa temple to take pictures of. SUCH a pretty temple - although, I have yet to see an ugly temple, let's be honest. Anyhow, we had a fun time exploring Phoenix and Mesa a little!

The drive home was just as pretty as the drive there - we got into Southern Utah at sunset, and I couldn't resist a picture or two - through the bug-spattered windshield.

When I got to work on Thursday last week, it was time to dive into preparations and decorations for Halloween. Like I said in an earlier post, our floor's theme for decorations was a graveyard. Mug did a GREAT job with these gravestones (that we were supposed to write our own epitaphs on):

It was so fun. Spooky, cobwebby, creepy. LOVED it. When I walked into the office, I saw what people on our floor had been up to - they did such a great job with our Stoel Rives Cemetery!

That is the always-fabulous Mug, creator of the awesome gravestones, standing in the doorway. Everyone should have a friend like her, she ROCKS. Anyhow, the decorations were fantastic - the other floors were phenomenal. The Candy Land decor turned out to be awesome, and one other floor made their floor look like a pumpkin patch. SO fun.

The Halloween party at work was a hit, and I'd say Halloween itself was pretty successful. Fun weekend, all in all.

And now - it is NOVEMBER. Time to gear up for a Thanksgiving feast! The Holidays are upon us, people - let's enjoy them! :)

Happy Halloween!

Forgive my lack of posts... I've been busy and out of town and... well, not much going on to speak of, until the last week or two. I'll post pictures of my trip later, and of Halloween costumes and parties. But for now... These are pictures of one place my mom and I visited, and I think it's appropriate for Halloween!

This is the Mesa, AZ cemetery. I have ancestors buried there, and mom and I went to find them while we were in Arizona. But - it's a cemetery, and it's Halloween today, so - enjoy!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween Nerd

Wait, no - not a nerd, an enthusiast. I get really enthusiastic about decorating for Halloween - particularly at work. I've been helping put on the Halloween party here at work for... I think this will be my 6th year. It is SO MUCH FUN. All for the kids, but - who doesn't turn into a kid on Halloween?

Anyway, this year we're having a decorating contest, to see who can make their desk/area/office look the best for Halloween. I heard that one of the floors our firm occupies is going to deck out their entire floor as Candy Land. Not to be outdone, I (along with a few friends) have enlisted several people to help decorate our floor in a graveyard theme, muahahaha!!

I stole the picture from my sister Marianne... I believe it was taken at the cemetery that inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula. Is that right, Mar?

Oh, our floor is SO going to win this contest. I went to Halloween U.S.A. on my lunch hour and got a bunch of stuff to use. This is going to be AWESOME.

HHMMM... maybe I AM a nerd.

T.V. Junkie

I guess I ought to be more specific. I am an NCIS junkie. When I was dog/house-sitting a few months ago, I watched a lot of television, because there wasn't much else to do. I came across a show I knew my parents liked to watch, so I decided to sit and watch an episode or two.

I was hooked.


I'm sorry, but Mark Harmon is... dreamy. He plays brooding, ornery Agent Gibbs well, and the chemistry the whole cast has is just awesome. You can't help but develop a crush on McGee, want to be buds with Abby the Girlie-Goth, wish you were tough like Ziva, want to give Ducky a hug, and want to slap Tony in the face. I just love it.

Anyway, on to more important things... such as OCTOBER!!! Fall leaves, football, Oktoberfest, hoodies, pumpkins, and HALLOWEEN. I've been listening to my Halloween mix on my iPod (which you are getting a taste of right now, if your sound is turned up!) and I love it. I think I might actually have to use my down comforter tonight - it's chilly in my room!!

A few weeks ago, I went camping with Steve, Shawn, Kate, Mar, Jesse, and Addie. We went down to Zion's for the weekend, and it was SO pretty! Kinda warm, but gorgeous down there. The boys hiked the Subway, and us girls took it easy and hung around camp, drove into town, and went on a little "hike" (more like a nature walk) to Weeping Rock. Other than a bit of rain we got on Saturday night, it was pretty much perfect!



Addie is such a good camper. Good thing, because she'll grow up doing it a lot!


Such a ham.

Anyhow, I know you probably can't tell really well from the picture of me above, but as of today, I've lost 23 pounds. I feel better, sleep better, and my clothes fit better... they're even getting too big! Emily A., I will probably need more pictures soon! *wink wink*

Happy October, everyone!

Well THAT Can't be Right...

First of all, thanks everyone, for your positive reinforcement! You don't know what it means to me, to know that I have "cheerleaders" of sorts, rooting for me. :)

When the lab results came back from my most recent round of blood work, I was told that my thyroid wasn't functioning properly, and that I needed a mild medication for that. (Great - ANOTHER medication to go with my bad cholesterol medication.) So I am currently treating bad cholesterol and a mildly dysfunctional thyroid. Lovely. Well, at least I know why I've gained a bunch of weight during the past 6 months. But it's time to get rid of it.

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to do something about it, and go on a strict diet. Well, I wasn't kidding. I'll tell you more about how I'm doing it in a later post, but let me just say that the weight is starting to come off, FINALLY. As a matter of fact, I stepped on the scale on Monday or Tuesday, and saw the number and thought, "Wait, THAT can't be right." So I tried two or three times, but yep - it registered a 12-13 pound loss. That's right, I said loss. Don't worry, I'm still eating and going for walks, I'm not starving myself, or letting my muscles get flabby.

So far, I feel a lot better, my clothes are getting baggier, and I still have energy (except when I sit in front of a computer all day, which is... oh yeah, EVERY day). Like I said, I'll explain more later about the program I'm doing, but in the meantime, I'm learning a ton! I discovered that I tend to retain a lot of water - probably because of my love of soda and salty Mexican food. So, if anyone else out there has that same issue... here's a remedy.

Health Tip: Drinking hot/warm lemon water helps rid your body of excess water weight. Real lemon juice is a natural diuretic and combining it with warm water helps it get through your system faster. Sounds crazy - getting rid of water with water? But it works! :)