Truth Tuesday

Who's feelin' a Truth Tuesday post? I'm feelin' it. Here goes. A few quick truths for your Tuesday night, brought to you by Kelsey.

• Brian spent the last hour and a half in our garage, building the scene for our trunk-or-treat. Why can't we just put a bowl of candy in our trunk and call it good? I don't really know the answer to that question. But I do know that if everything goes according to plan, we will have the coolest trunk-or-treat vehicle in town. 

• This past weekend, I had a double date planned with my sixteen-year-old sister. We were going to a haunted house. I was abnormally excited all day leading up to the date. I think a part of me felt like a young high school kid again since we were going to hang out with young high school kids. When we arrived to the haunted house and got in line, I felt all cool and hip being the big sister doubling with her high school sister. But all the coolness instantly went away when a lady mistook me and Brian for Lexi and her date's parents. Do I really look old enough to have a sixteen year old?! 

• This past Sunday, I had a big bowl of Halloween candy for the kids. After church ended, I gathered my things from the Primary room (including my big bowl of candy) and went to find Brian. Sidenote: We have a lot of old people in our ward and they are all adorable. Anyway, an older lady wanted a piece of candy and I was like, "Sure, take whatever you want!" Then I instantly had this long line of old people. They were just grabbing candy bars and then thanking me and telling me how thoughtful I was. I realized suddenly that I was standing right by the door. I think they assumed I was just passing out candy to ward members (and that's kinda what it turned into). In the moment, I found it a lot funnier than it probably is. But I seriously lost it when we got outside to the parking lot. We are talking crying from laughing so hard. I hope they don't expect me to bring them candy every week now. 

• Same day of church in Primary, a boy requested that we sing Super Mario Brothers. The chorister was all, "Sorry, that's not a church song." But I was just all perplexed and wanted to ask him, "How in the world do you sing Super Mario Brothers? 

• Remember how years and years ago, women were banished when they had their period? Well, sometimes I don't think I would mind that. As long as banishment involved a sofa, ice cream, and lots of good movies.

• I already have our Halloween costumes for next year planned. I'm feeling like an overachiever. Or maybe just a psycho.    

And just for fun, here are some photos of Halloween looks from the recent past:

Hoarding Gourds

Brian and I like holidays a little too much. Especially Halloween. We currently have a graveyard in our lawn, a skeleton sitting near our front door, and a glass bowl full of skulls on our dining room table. Oh, there's also a giant spider hanging from the ceiling above the dining room table.

Needless to say, our trip to the pumpkin patch was sort of intense this year. Our poor friends we recruited to go with us probably think we are a couple of crazies, but they keep agreeing to hang out with us, so we must not be that bad.

We've lived in our bungalow for a year now. A YEAR. My, time flies. We moved in last October, so we didn't get to deck the halls for Hallow's Eve as much as we would have liked. This year we are making up for it. Last year we managed to buy a few pumpkins, but they looked rather pathetic sitting in the corner of our very large deck. So this year . . . we were ready. We were prepared to buy ALL the pumpkins. We piled big ones, small ones, warty ones, smooth ones, green ones, orange ones, and white ones into the back of the pickup truck. 

Then when we got them all home and arranged them very nicely on the deck, Brian and I both agreed we needed more pumpkins. But we refrained because we aren't millionaires. I'm certain that's what millionaires blow their money on too; pickup loads of gourds.

Anyway, I look forward to our pumpkin patch trip each year. I'm really quite sad October is about over. Just this morning as I was drinking my orange juice, I got rather depressed when I saw the sell by date was in January. January is a sign that all the best holidays have ended. So let us all learn a lesson from my Simply Orange Juice. Time is valuable and life is short. Take some time to celebrate the everyday moments with friends and family. Especially if those everyday moments have anything to do with Halloween. Who knew I'd learn something so profound from a fruity beverage?    

Truth Tuesday

• When you pull into our driveway, it smells like apple cider. Our kitchen counter is currently covered with apples. I love having an apple tree (one that's very good at doing it's job, btw). Send me all your apple recipes. I'll send you apples in return. 

• Brian and I are already in full-out Halloween mode. We have serious discussions each night about our super epic Couples Halloween Party. This will be the fourth year we've held the party. I sent out Facebook invites and so far only two people have responded that they are coming . . . and those two people are me and Brian. I'm having major panic attacks. So help relieve some stress in my life and respond to my party invite. Even if you say no, that's okay. But say yes! Because it's going to be super fun. And if you want to come but don't have an invite, heck, come anyway. We aren't the exclusive type. In the meantime, while I wait for you to RSVP, BWell will continue to tell me to simmer down because it's only the beginning of October. 

• On the topic of Halloween, we bought a skeleton and spent way too much money on him. I think we may leave him up all year to get our money's worth. We're already way too attached and gave him the name of Eugene. 

• I like to tell myself that I could care less what anyone thinks of me. And when it comes to my hair and dress, that might be true. However, when it really comes down to it, and I absolutely hate admitting this about myself, I am constantly worrying what others think of me. I'm an over-analyzer (duh, I'm female). I sit and fret after I run into someone in the store thinking, "Did I say the right thing? Was I friendly enough? What if they think I'm rude? What if they think I'm weird? Do they hate me? Did I come across as snooty?" I think we all, in a way, want everyone to like us. Right? I am a people-pleaser. It's one of my many downfalls. So while I try putting on a front that I'm a bold and brave individual who is not swayed by the opinions of others, I'm actually this timid girl who just wants to be liked by all, even sometimes at the expense of not liking myself. However, every day I get a little bit more secure with myself and who I am, and I realize a little bit more that it's okay if everyone doesn't like me. People won't like me. It's a fact of life. So I guess it's more important that I focus on liking myself and the person I am. It's a journey, but I think I'm making progress. 

• I like vegetables more than I like fruits. 

• I'm really struggling at getting up in the mornings. I used to be like the Energizer Bunny. When my alarm went off, I'd instantly pop up out of bed, ready to start the day. Now I hit snooze one too many times and dread coming out from under the covers. It's a bad deal too, because I like to work out in the mornings before work. If you have any suggestions for this sleepyhead, send them my way. I'll try anything.   

• I think I like listening more than I like talking. And I'm okay with that. Honestly, I feel like there are too many talkers in the world and not enough good listeners. Being a good listener is like a forgotten art. I have a very long list of things I'm bad at. However, I think I'm a pretty good listener. It's one of the things I like about myself the most. 

I think that's enough silly truths for now. I need to go to bed so I can (hopefully) get up early.

Aint No Party Like a Halloween Party

Brian and I have put on a Halloween party for the past three years (so basically every Halloween we've ever been married). One ridiculous thing I really love about our marriage is the fact that both of us have this yearning for being party planners. We are both all about inviting people over and making sure they have a good time. We have a ways to go until we are pros at throwing parties, but I must say that this year's Halloween party was the best yet. It helps when you have great friends to make it fun. I've decided it also helps when you live in a house and not an apartment. Our bungalow has a really good setup for parties. Big open living room connected to a big open dining room. Expect plenty of parties in the future. On top of that, I read that according to a study, when a group of people were put in a yellow room together, they were more boisterous and ate more food. Yellow is the party color. Our living room ceiling . . . bright yellow. Score.

The magical part about this party, was that hardly any of the couples knew one another. They were all our friends but not friends with each another. However, by the end of the night, I think everyone knew more than they wanted to know about the other couples.

Here is a rundown of our successful party.

We invited every couple to bring a treat or drink of some kind. We made an event on Facebook so people could notify everyone what they would bring. That way we wouldn't all show up with drinks.

I made chocolate covered strawberry . . . creatures. They were originally supposed to be ghosts, but things went south.

The treats were great because as everyone started arriving, they could grab a plate of food, sit down and get to know other couples.

Once everyone got their fill of food and most of our friends had arrived, we played our first game. Truth or Dare Jenga. We took the classic game of Jenga and numbered all the blocks. Since there are about 53 blocks, we didn't actually think of truths and dares for all of them but we did for a little over half. There were things connected to the blocks such as, "tell us how you make a PB&J sandwich using a Dracula accent", "stare at the person across from you for a full minute", "eat a spoonful of mustard", "what's something disturbing about yourself that no one else knows". Just dumb stuff like that. If a person pulled a block with no truth or dare, they were off the hook. We didn't really have a punishment for what happened to the person who knocked down the blocks, so at last minute we decided that person would have to kiss Luna (our cat). It was a fun game to start on and got people laughing.

Then we played the Newlywed Game - Halloween Edition. This game was hilarious. Some of the questions were slightly off-colored which made it funnier. And hey, all the couples there but one were married. The unmarried couple were super good sports about it. This game lasted a long time since we did a round with the ladies and a round with the men, but I don't think anyone ever got bored.

I'd say the Weller Halloween Party of 2013 was a success. Come over again soon, friends. We also requested that everyone wear costumes. We should have done a costume contest because look how grand everyone looked . . .

After much debating this year, BWell and I decided on Mario and Luigi costumes. We made our hats and found shirts and suspenders for cheap. The stick-on mustaches were a fun touch, though it was hard to smile and my upper lip got sweaty. Overall, a super easy costume. To be a bit more original, we made Mario Kart cars out of cardboard. Brian got all technical and made a wooden base with handles on the inside. Since he worked so hard on them, I now feel like I need to keep them forever? 

Dear Halloween, you're almost as good as Christmas. Catch you next year. 

   

Girls' Night Out at the Pumpkin Walk

The week before Halloween, Brian went out of town due to work for two days. I'm not one of those people who gets freaked out when I'm home alone or anything like that. However, I do go a bit crazy after being cooped up in my house by myself for too long. Think Jack Nicholson from "The Shining". Heeeere's Johnny!

I decided that I needed to get out of the house to pass the time that evening, and I convinced my mom and sisters to accompany me. We went out to dinner and then paid a visit to the North Logan Pumpkin Walk. The Pumpkin Walk is amazing for kids and adults alike. It's a free event the week before Halloween where people set up intricate displays using pumpkins, squash and other things. Many of the scenes are from movies, television shows or books. My favorite this year was probably a display of "Despicable Me 2". Pumpkins make the cutest minions, for real. This year, there were 50 different displays. The weather was even pretty mild for late October in Utah so it was nice to walk around outside. When I went two years ago, I'm pretty sure it was snowing and I walked through as quickly as humanly possible before my ears froze off.

I love that I live in a place that still has that American small-town feel. The Pumpkin Walk is just one of the many reminders of that. Guess what they do with the hundreds of pumpkins after the event is over? Well, they have the Pumpkin Toss. Teams build their own catapults to throw the pumpkins. I went to cover that event for work on Saturday and it was a blast (no pun intended).

Anyway, I didn't go camera crazy at the Pumpkin Walk and get a photo of every display, but we did take plenty of pictures using the face hole setups at the front of the park. Keep scrolling for further enjoyment . . .

    

and my personal favorite . . .

Girl time with my mom and sisters is the best. 

Truth Tuesday

• Today is National Cat Day, so I feel the need to give a shout out to the greatest feline that ever lived . . . Luna. I know I can be obsessive about my cat and it's a little lot ridiculous, but if you met Luna then you would understand. She's my little fur ball friend. She cuddles me when I'm sad, brings her toys to me when she wants to play fetch, and she loves going on car rides and sticking her head out the window. She's the best. 

• BWell and I watched "Matilda" last night. I forgot how epic that movie was. It came out when I was about six or so and I remember watching it all the time. I even went through a period of time where I was determined to be Matilda. When I got bored at school, I would put my pencil on my desk, focus really hard, and try to move the pencil with my eyes. In case you're wondering, I never developed my magical powers. Perhaps one day.

• Speaking of "Matilda", can I just say that Roald Dahl was a genius? Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, The Witches . . . all some of my childhood favorites. That guy had one creative mind. 

• It always bothers me when people constantly complain about the weather. Yes, you live in Utah. Yes, it's going to snow. Get over it or move to Arizona. 

• I love smooth yogurt but if it has chunks of fruit in it, it makes me gag. 

• Also, in honor of National Cat Day, my new favorite commercial.   

• I wish I could have 10 Halloween costumes. 

• I have an addiction. I want to buy so many cute throw pillows that I can't even see my couches or bed underneath them. 

• My brother is doing just swell on his mission. He sent me an email saying there is a girl in the ward who reminds him of me. Now I want to ask him if he has a crush on her just to make things awkward. 

• I think Arctic Circle's sweet potato fries are my new comfort food. 

• A kid on the school bus punched my little sister in the mouth and I feel the need to hunt him down and steal his lunch money.

XO Kels

Cafe Spooky

This past Tuesday was my last time doing Activity Days. Since we've moved to our new house, that also means it is time to move on to a new church ward. I wanted the girls to see where I would be living now, so we decided to have a Halloween dinner at the Weller bungalow. Last week, I went out for lunch with the other leaders and we planned the menu. We started getting pretty into it. We created menus and called our high-end restaurant "Cafe Spooky". Some of the things we came up with for food may have been over the top, but the girls loved it. That's what really matters, right?

I took such care in setting the table for them and I even let them use my new teacups I thrifted last week. They were all giggles and Luna enjoyed the extra attention she received from the little girls.

Our appetizers, created by the talented lady who is taking my spot as a leader, were "mini pumpkins" and "spooky ghosts" . . .

Then for the main course, we had bread sticks with Mac&Cheese. The Mac&Cheese was dyed green and we called it "fresh gopher guts". I made way too much Mac&Cheese. When I went to put it in a Tupperware to save, Brian disgustingly said, " I am NOT eating that." The gopher guts were too much for him to handle. There isn't a photo of the Mac&Cheese, so use your imagination, but I do have a photo of the bread sticks that we renamed "witch fingers" . . .

Then one of the other leaders made this adorable cake that we called "graveyard dirt" . . .

When the time came to go home, I gave all the girls a personal hand-written letter and told them goodbye. One of the girls was pretty confused.

"Why are you leaving?"

I then explained to her that Brian and I moved.

"Where did you move to?"

"The house we are standing in, silly."

Also, when I gave my short farewell speech, one girl rubbed my arm and sarcastically said, "There, there. Don't cry."

Those scoundrels.

I sure will miss my church calling and my sweet partner, Sami Jo. Both the women who were my partners while I served in Activity Days ended up being my best friends in the ward, which I'm so grateful for. I'll especially miss those sweet young gals who have influenced my life. I hope I influenced theirs in some way. Can I just adopt them? Sami, I want to adopt you too.  

Truth Tuesday

• I should not be allowed to enter a dollar store unsupervised during Halloween . . . or any holiday for that matter. I went in searching for one thing and came out with a bag full of weird Halloween shenanigans. But it was only a dollar. I brought home a glow-in-the-dark skeleton, an ice tray with finger and bone shapes and Halloween stickers. I was also tempted to buy Halloween pencils and a Halloween snow globe, but I refrained. 

• Today was my last time with my Activity Day girls (it's a church group thing). Technically, I already got released and they found a person to replace me . . . but everyone was nice and let me participate one last time since I have attachment issues. Everyone came to our new house and we had a Halloween dinner. We made green Mac&Cheese and called it gopher guts. Yeah, that happened.

• Also, we are now going to our new church ward. Everyone is really nice and things are super organized. There are lots of old people who like to make jokes about how they're going to die any day now. One man told me to start having children because he wants more little kids in the ward . . . and that was about 10 seconds after we met. But all joking aside, everyone was so kind and welcoming. I think we are going to love this neighborhood.   

• It will probably take me another month or two to memorize our new address. I am the worst ever with addresses. In rural Idaho we just don't really use them. Instead of giving addresses we say, "Turn left by the old tractor and it's the blue house with the goat in the yard." 

• When I was little and I unwrapped presents, I would get super offended if anyone tried throwing the wrapping paper away. I liked to scatter it all around me (I was a super weird child). I feel like I'm being like that with the leaves falling off our trees and into our yard. Brian cleaned them up over the weekend and I was sort of upset. 

• My biggest fear is dying. I hope I just die of old age in my sleep. I have no desire to go out with a bang. 

• This morning, there was a spider in the bathtub and I washed it down the drain to its death. I feel really guilty now. 

• My current favorite song we are playing on Utah's VFX is probably this one. I know it repeats itself a lot but don't judge me, it's catchy. I'll probably be sick of it in a few more days since as a deejay you hear the same songs over and overrrrrrrrr. Hey, I'm not complaining. My job rocks.  

Local Pumpkins are the Best Pumpkins

I figured I need to prove my middle-class, white girl status by posting about our trip to the pumpkin patch.

We went with our good friends, Richie and Lauren. We love Richie and Lauren but let's be honest, the real reason we invited them was so we could watch their baby Claire be ultra cute.

I don't, for the life of me, understand why anyone around here would buy their pumpkins at the nearest Walmart. I suppose it's for convenience sake. However, it's only a short drive to many local farms where they sell a plethora of pumpkins. Variety is much greater than what you get at a store in town and the prices are much kinder on the wallet, too.

We live in an agricultural area. Everyone should be buying from our local farmers. Handing our money to the owner of the pumpkin patch felt a lot better than running a debit card at a cash register. Plus, the pictures at the pumpkin patch turned out much cuter than they would have in front of Wally World.

Sorry I'm anti-Walmart (except I'm really not sorry).

Check out Richie and Lauren's blog here. They're both pretty witty and I think they need to post more often, if you ask me.

Sunday Best: Count Kelsey

jacket: Forever 21, t-shirt: internet (can't remember the site, ha), pants: Kohl's, boots: TJ Maxx, earrings: Kohl's

One! Two! Three! Three weeks since last Sunday Best, muahahaha (lightning in the background). Obviously, if you don't know what that counting nonsense was, you haven't watched Sesame Street in a while.

So I've been slacking on Sunday Best posts. Let's get real, they're awkward. I feel awkward posing all sheepishly to take pictures of myself. I feel awkward posting them here and making myself look vain. But in all honesty, it's fun for me to look back through my Sunday Best posts and see how myself and my style have evolved.

I'm the furthest thing from a fashion blogger. Heck, I don't even feel like a blogger at all. But this space is mine to document and grow, and I'm cool with that.

Maybe in a few months time, I'll look back at this post and get a good laugh. "Look at me with my anti-Twilight t-shirt, pleather jacket, red lipstick, and pasty skin. I'm like a Bella-hating vampire."

Yes, I'll probably say something like that.

Just call me Count Kelsey. At least Halloween is this month, right?

I'm a Mean Old Witch With a Hat

and I ride on my broom with my cat. . . 

Did anyone else sing that song in elementary?

I am sad to see Halloween go. I am sad to see our jack-o-lanterns that were so freshly carved a week ago now sit sad and mushy on our porch. I am sad to take our ghost family made out of cheap bed sheets down from above our staircase. It was fun "hanging" out with them. And I am sad to take down all my other creepy Halloween decorations. I will especially be sad to remove the creepy crows complete with branches in jars from our kitchen table. As you can notice in the picture of my crow friend above, his little feathers are a bit matted. That would be Luna's fault. And that would be the whole reason that I'm going to miss the crow decor the most. As upset as I always was with that silly black kitty, I will miss coming downstairs from doing my hair in the morning to find Luna at the bottom of the staircase, tail twitching with excitement, and an attacked crow propped at her feet. I have a feeling she was always looking for me to be proud of her that she detached her target (the crow) from its spot at the table. She always left it there at the bottom of the stairs as some sort of prize for me.

Oh well, all good things must come to an end. And they must end so that another good thing may start. I am excited for November and Thanksgiving. I might even be ambitious and do some "gratitude journal" posts. But don't count on it.

Also, can you tell what our pumpkins are? Brian's turned out pretty awesome. I don't have much patience when it comes to carving pumpkins, so I went with a simple design. Does it look more like a wolf or a dragon? Ha ha. Either way, I'm just surprised and glad I carved something out of that hulkish pumpkin. I swear, it was like a foot thick.