Bump in the Night

Happy Halloween dear readers! I can't believe today is actually Halls--it feels like I've been celebrating it for ages now. In fact, I washed my hands of Halloween Monday night. It's already the 1st of November to me. Come trick or treating to my house tonight, however, and I won't turn you away. (Note to self: buy candy.)

As mentioned before, Friday night was the big one. And by BIG, I mean hair. I decided to forgo goth this year for another out-of-control style: Amy Winehouse. If you don't know who she is, don't worry, I've included a photo of her below. I couldn't quite pull off the waifishly cracked-out body, but if I start losing weight now, I might could hit her 86 pounds by next Halloween.



Per tradition, Julie threw a monstrous Halloween party. Below, I'm making nice with Steve Parry and Luke Skywalker, pledging my celebrity vote to the Romney supporters, and
ostracizing goth track allstars.



We spent some time at the University Ward dance (quasi-lame except for the antics of Thing 1 and Thing 2 I imported from Utah) and then back to the party I went. I managed to miss seeing the majority of people I knew. An evening of rather bad timing.


Also bad? At one point in the dance, I excused myself to the restroom. Due to sweat, and hand contact with my hair, and a combination of the two, my face was rather black. Like a chimney-sweep black. Without any paper towels in the restroom, I resorted to wiping of my face with clorox bleach wipes. Three of them. Talk about a chemical peal. I did get the color of my face back.

Two shampoos, two conditions, and some temp-tatt scrubbing later, I was as good as new. No more Halloween for me.

Sox Appeal

Hey. You! Did you hear the Boston Red Sox won the World Series? For the second time in four years? Oh. Right. Well, they did. And today was the Victory Parade.

Working downtown has a few advantages. Check out this view from my office about an hour before the parade started:

Both Julie and I left the house without Red Sox paraphenalia this morning. Don't worry--I work right above a most excellent Marshalls. We now have hats and sweatshirts to always remind us of the day! Look how excited we are to not only have World Champions rolling by, but to live in Boston at all. (For the record, I did wash my face post last night's costume make-up-ing. Apparently I have super-porous skin. Or jaundice.)



If you're not a Sox fan (this is you, Utah reader), these next photos will hold little value or interest to you. (If you prefer the candid, Nat's looking like an idiot shots, this post is for you.)



All in all, it wasn't a shabby way to spend our lunch hour.

Oh, hey. Have you heard? The New England Patriots are 8-0. I know just the parade route they can use in January.

The Cat's Meow

Though this was our 2nd Halloween dress-up, it requires little writing--so for the first time in NatAttack! history, I'll be blogging out of chronological order. Gasp!

Below is proof of the biggest coup in history--Julie hates cats more than anyone I've ever met. Somehow, very stealthily, without her even being aware of the fact, I convinced her to buy cat ears, mittens, and tail. Wha-hahahahaha.




So what do you think? If they revive Cats the musical, do you think we have a shot?

On Hold

I'm still waiting for photos from this last weekend. Someone ::cough-cough:: can't find their camera's battery charger and all hell's about to break loose. I'm relying solely on the mercy of others--and they're coming through for me, just not today. The Weekend Update will have to wait until tomorrow. (By then, there'll be another round of Halloween pictures to post!) Make sure to check back tomorrow, there were some pretty amazing costumes and colored leaves to display.

Two very exciting photos until then:



















It's a wonderful time to be in Boston.

awkward question award

Goes to the boy who asked me this Friday night:

"Your costume is really great, but how'd you get your fangs?"

..................................................
Uhhhhhhhhh. I grew them myself?

What would YOU have said?

Flashback Friday XI

Happy Halloween weekend! Yes, I realize Halloween isn't until Wednesday--but is there any worse day for a Holiday than a Wednesday? You can't really push it to one weekend or the other... I hope everyone has awesome plans for celebrating. The Boston bunch have several parties, dances, and Salem Witch Hunting extravaganzas planned in the next few days... we've been hard at work getting our costumes together.

Today's Flashback Friday is brought to you by the letters N, Y, and C. Last year, I used some frequent flyer miles to take a hop, skip, and super quick trip to visit Melissa and Michele in New York. In purusing my blog archives, I discovered that I actually never even blogged about this trip. Crazy huh? Especially given my propensity for Weekend Updates.

A little background: My girlfriends and I are a little obsessed with being goth. I don't know why, but the yearly tradition started years ago when Krista and I were living in Southridge and continued for the next five or so years. (Please note: my actual fascination with dressing goth began Halloween 1998 when Alaina and I threw a Goth Party for Halloween. We had roughly 60+ Seminary kids show up.... along with the cops. I tried to get a photo of that party--maybe Alaina can help me out?)

Okay, back to NYC. I flew in, and brought the makings of some goth costumes with me. The M's made pretty good Goth Angels. You can't tell, but under my sweet foam collar (more on that below), I'm wearing an "Everyone loves a Goth Girl" shirt. Okay, not really, but it would have been sa-weet!


Two Goths wait for the 1 Train Downtown to the Manhattan Temple for the YSA Stake Dance we were to attend.


See the collar I'm wearing? I've owned it since 2002 and worn it every year since then. Trying to Halloween shop in Provo is a nightmare, at Walmart, at DI, at Savers... it doesn't matter where you go, everything's been clean picked. But guess which luckiest lucky found this sweet goth collar? Perhaps the best (and longest lasting) $3 I ever spent.


In between our double night Goth Adventures, we spent the day doing what we do best--shopping, eating, and Broadway Ticket Lottery Winning. After we ALL won tickets (so many we had to turn them down and say we didn't need them!), we had a bit until our show started. We plopped down in the Applebee's in Times Square (don't judge us for eating chains, we all wanted a refillable Cherry Coke), and it immediately began to pour cats and dogs. Seriously, I've never seen it rain that hard. Anywhere. (And it rains every time I'm in NYC.) Two minutes after this photo was taken, the rain intensified four-fold, and there was literally no one--no cars, no tourists, no eight-person bikes to be seen. It was wild.


We won tickets to see "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." OH. MY. GOSH. This is the funniest Broadway show I have seen. Literally, it's hysterical. I laughed and laughed and laughed. Our lotto tickets put us literally at the actor's feet--in fact I got touched several times. As I'm prone to do (see: when I have to go, I have to go), the Cherry Cokes from our extended lunch worked their way through my fragile system.

THE SPELLING BEE HAS NO INTERMISSION! Argh. I created quite the ruckus when I left mid-show to attend the bathroom. Especially since all three of us looked pretty terrible--we'd made the choice to neglect doing anything to our goth-ratted hair and darked eyebrows, eyes, and faces. Awesome. GO SEE THIS SHOW.

(To my sisters, sister-cousin, and Mom who all frequent this reading. Consider saving $20 and seeing this show with me next month when we're there. It's better than another shirt at H&M, I promise. Just think about it.)


Happy Weekend all. Stay tuned for photos and recaps of the wild-about happenings of a Boston-based Halloween, Krista's visit to the New World, and maybe a little trip to see a witch burn.

Question:

Is blogging out?

A Whole Lot 'o Nothin'

I haven't been much of a blogger lately, have I? I promise, you don't know how often I begin blogs in my mind and then forget, lose the motivation, etc.--in short get distracted by a shiny object. I'm sorry.

Like usual, I don't really have anything interesting or grandiose to report. My weekend was filled with a closet purge and organize, an oil change for my car, and some quality time in my bed unwinding from Q3. It. Was. Awesome.

I feel like I have all these thoughts, moments, and experiences running wild in my head, and until I drop them here they'll continue to plague my every waking hour. So. A brain dump is in order. Are you ready? Gear up...

• The Red Sox won three in a row to scalp the Cleveland Indians and put us in the World Series. Boston is aflame with Sox pride--it's rather exciting. I'm trying to decide the feasibility of finding the funds to purchase tickets to Game 1 or 2.
• Now that I'm within a hair's breath (why is that even a phrase? is it? It came to my mind, so I'm thinking it's probably a cliche people use as I don't frequently make these things up--but really? A hair's breath? Strange.) of paying off my credit card (come Friday, I'm in the black again!), it's like I feel the need to run it up again. On something fabulous. For instance--
• Yesterday, I found the deal of ALL deals. Norwegian Cruise Lines was bringing over one of its brand new ships to start a western Caribbean cruise. SO, they were offering a 9-night Transatlantic cruise from Spain, through Portugal, and docking in Boston. For $350. Are you kidding me?! I spend $350 in 9 days here at home. My mind spent a quarter of yesterday figuring out how to make it work--backpack 10-14 days in Europe before the cruise, end up in Spain and sail home in style. I probably could have made it work, but the ship sails smack-dab between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I probably would have had to quit my job, and I had no one to travel with. For shame.
• Though my ability to find amazingly awesome deals is beneficial to both me and those whom I shop/hunt for, sometimes it makes me heart hurt knowing all kinds of good things are passing me by.
• I wake up every day at 7:10. I go to bed at 11:30. When did I get old?
• I have a new philosophy I'm trying to live by. No matter what, take a seat on the bus. Even if you have to crawl over people to get there, or squeeze into a seat not that large since your neighbor is maybe pouring a little into your seat--it doesn't matter. Take the seat.
• I hate the bus. Hate it. My commute would be 76% less hated if I could cut out my bus ride.
• Can you believe it's the end of October? You wouldn't believe it from the 80 degree weather we had yesterday. It's been crazy warm here and humid at nights. The leaves still haven't fully changed--maybe next week? Friends! It's not too late to come visit... I'll take you on a gorgeous drive to see some leaves.
• Speaking of visitors, Krista Krista Krista is coming to visit this weekend. Halloween festivities will ensue.
• I'm not typically a collector, but for some reason, I've become rather obsessive about collecting the screw tops from the 20 ouncers I drink. Why!? They serve no purpose. But I can't stop! And you'd think I'd be embarrassed by how many I have stacking up... anyone have an idea what I should do with them?
• I just looked at purchasing tickets for the World Series. $475 was the cheapest ticket I saw. My cap was $250. Guess who'll be watching the game on TV...?
• Hoping the Celtics will go to the NBA Finals (as I'll have rights to buy tickets) dulls the sting somewhat.
• I'm pretty socially healthy right? Right. I wanted to establish that before I clued you in on what TV I've been watching. When I'm not stressfully working, I'm unwinding on my bed, enjoying the following (in day order): Chuck, How I Met Your Mother, Aliens in America, The Hills, House, Gossip Girl(!), America's Next Top Model, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, The Office, 30 Rock, Scrubs, Grey's, Friday Night Lights. Wow. I guess I don't really feel so bad about that now that it's out in the open. The beauty of DVR--I watch it whenever I want.
• I have two new TV boyfriends. Chuck from Chuck and Ned from Pushing Daisies. I still love Coach Taylor from FNL though, don't worry.
• SOX. SOX. SOX. The games go til midnight or so--you can't imagine how quiet, slow, and lethargic everyone is at work the morning after game day.
• When I was in NYC three weeks ago, I took my Gucci fanny pack. I had every intention of wearing it (ask my hosts, it's true). Sadly, the clip is slightly bent, and it takes some jimmying to keep it on. Sigh. I wanted it too much.
• I tried a new recipe (thanks Mal!) on Sunday and made an apple crisp. It was pretty good--but is peeling apples for 1.5 hours ever worth anything? Jury's still out...
• Peggy's dating Snoop Dogg's cousin. Holla what what!
• Believe it or not, I'm actually not a very competitive person. If you don't believe me, let's discuss.
• I could go for a Diet Coke right now.
• Speaking again of visitors, all of my sisters and parents are coming to Boston for Thanksgiving. Never was anyone's collective visit more anticipated.
• "All of my ... parents" makes it sound like I have several sets. But no, just one pair.
• I used to wish TV could be as good as movies. My wish has inverted itself however, I wish movies could be as good as TV.
• Our Ireland trip is paid in full. Our London trip is paid in full. All I have to do now is worry about money for food, excursions, and money to buy you all some gold plated shamrock bling. Nice.
• I typically have my Christmas gifts purchased and wrapped by Thanksgiving. I'm right on schedule. Half-done.
• Songs on consta-repeat this week: "Apologize" --One Republic (ft. Timbaland), "Safe in the Arms of Love" --Martina McBride, "What Goes Around" --Justin Timberlake
• External links in this post: 0
• Anyone want to eschew responsibility, run up their credit card and escape to Europe for awhile? There's this great deal we could probably still catch...
• I bought the greatest vintage, tweed, grandpa hat last night for $4. I love Fall--it brings back hat and scarf weather.
• Lately, I'm kind of addicted to playing games online. Not WoW or Starcraft types... but MSN offers some pretty fun, addicting but shouldn't be addicting games.

Well, I guess that's it. As the title suggests, this post has been a whole lot 'o nothin'. Thanks for sticking around.

Flashback Friday X

Happy 10th Flashback Friday post! I was out sick the week we learned roman numerals in third grade (true story), so I'm kind of figuring it out as I go along. But back to the past...

I'm on an Oregon kick lately. I recognize this. But I love Oregon! My family moved there during my sophomore year at the Y, but I still managed to live there for more than a combined year of time (2.5 BYU summers). I don't have much to say about the following pictures--they don't really have defining stories that accompany them. All were taken Summer 2005.




Mostly, what I remember from these summers is a) how many hours I worked (ummm, a lot), b) how few friends I had and c) how much I loved living at home and not doing anything but watch movies, read, and shop at Target with my sisters. If I ever get fired from my job, I will without hesitation move home for a month or so, live off my savings, and live the good Oregon life.

Truth Realized

Isn't anyone going to congratulate me on having a baby?

My Relationship with the Navy

Relationships are all about balance of power. Most often, he or she who cares least holds the control and subsequently owns the power and calls the shots.

It's also inherent in relationships that a balance is struck between giving and taking. If the two people in a relationship are Givers, who's taking? Conversely, if both parties are Takers, there's nothing to take since nothing has been offered or given.

Where is this going? Down a path you probably wouldn't expect.

Old Navy is kind of obsessed with me. I typically hold the complete power in our relationship--I act like the Navy doesn't exist, and spread my allegiance elsewhere. Months, nay, entire quarters will pass without me giving Old Navy a single thought. The Navy just doesn't blip my radar.

The Navy isn't having it anymore.

You may remember that Old Navy has tried to win me back before--she struck again last night. Unable to stand in the shadow of H&M, Target, Urban, or Century 21 any longer, Old Navy decided to swing the monetary vote in her favor by offering a Giving so large, I, being the Taker that I am, couldn't resist.

Ironically, I stepped into the Navy to return a pair of high-waisted jeans I believed myself not quite fashion-forward enough to wear.

This is what I left with ----------------------------->

Before you judge me, and the 37 items I purchased, let's talk price. Could you reasonably turn down a pair of tweed dress pants for $4? How about a patterned cami for $3? Dress shirts for $4? Three-quartered T-s for 97 cents? I mean, come on. 97 cents?!

What if you had three sisters and a mom who are coming to visit in less than a month? And you're the personal shopper of the group? Would you really hold it against me? Really?

Are you going to judge me for being a Taker? Wouldn't you take?

Last night, Old Navy had the upper-hand in the game of power. But like any one willing to so easily Give everything they have, it is I, the Taker who will bear the fruits of the Giving. The Navy, though her efforts admirably courageous, will be cold, alone and emptier today. It was a noble effort Nave, but our relationship goes back to what it used to be today. Just like most other high-powered relationships.

And in fact, I may send my friends over to Take as well.

Overnight Loss

The last few nights, as I've layed/laid in bed unwinding and clearing my DVR, I've started mentally composing the blog I'll write as soon as I get to work the next morning.

By the time I evict myself from bed, do the requisite washing, dressing and brushing and get myself onto the bus, onto the red line, onto the green line, read my work email, read the recaps of the previous night's tv, attended my daily 930 scrum, and countless other "musts", I've long forgotten what glorious revelations from the night before I was supposed to type.

As far as last night is concerned: All I remember was that I cried several times. I was watching The Biggest Loser and Beauty and the Geek. I'm totally losing my edge.

IN MY DEFENSE:

• Biggest Loser always makes me cry. It's either because:


a. the show is incredibly inspirational
b. the show is incredibly guilt-inducing


• Laying/lying/lay'in in bed eating Hot Tamales and watching other people work out and not-eat will shame anyone



• One of the contestant's mother died last night. That's reality.



• It was "makeover night" on Beauty and the Geek. I don't even watch this show, but when I found out it was makeover night, I set my DVR to record. I love love love a good makeover.



• I was maybe cry/laughing because one of the geeks turned out to be uber hot. Like Seth Cohen/Dan Humphrey/Chuck Bartowski geek chic.

Last night, I had it written all clever and funny. In the light of day, I look like the girl who cries at Kodak commercials.

The Great Vermont Adventure

I never posted the photos from our ward campout in Sharon, Vermont the last weekend in September. Obviously, it was lovely. This post will be primarily photos (aren't they all lately?).





Julie and I were caught testing out the various functions of our flashlights.