Butterfly In The Sky ...

If you are looking for a good book to read ...

pick this one up.

I pretty much ignored my family and read it in 2 days.

I LOVED it!

It will not disappoint you.

Dear Little Man Who Stood Behind Me in Line At Cafe Rio Last Night,

I would like to take this opportunity to

teach you about a little thing I like to call

"Personal Space".

When standing in a line

you need to keep at least a few paces behind the person in front of you.

I didn't enjoy feeling you breathing on my neck.

I didn't like it when you coughed in my hair.

But you spitting on my hand when you were ordering pushed me over the edge.

BACK UP!

Give a little space to those around you.

Sincerely,

Annoyed and Irritated

Dear Jet Blue,

WHY?!?!

Why did you do this to me?

You quit flying into San Diego?

Now I have to go back to Southwest!

I will miss your plush leather seats,

your yummy snacks,

your individual televisions and cable,

(when I am going to catch up on The Real Housewives of Atlanta?)

and your witty and entertaining flight attendants.

I.

AM.

DEVASTATED.

I am going to go drown my sorrows in

Adam Shankman and the SYTYCD finale,

a BLT like my dad makes,

and a lot of Christmas present wrapping.

I will be awaiting your return.

Sincerely,

Desperately Missing You

It Never Feels Like Christmas To Me ...

until I attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert.

It is one of my favorite things about this season!

It is always decorated SO beautifully,

and I always want to play "How many poinsettias can you see?"

because seriously there have to be a few thousand.

This year the guest artist was Natalie Cole.

A little sentimental for me since she was the first concert I ever went to,

but I have to say the years have caught up to her.

She didn't sound as good as she once did,

and her face looks like she has had a little too much nipped and tucked.

But she did rock her bejeweled/Swarovski crystal microphone!

My other fav part of the concert is always seeing

the Lights at Temple Square afterwards.

I love bundling up and walking around seeing all of the glorious lights,

the luminaries and the nativities from around the world.

(although I will say the Scandinavian nativity creeped me out a little

because the baby in the manger looked just like Dora the Explorer.

I just knew if I turned it over I would see her backpack!)

It was a great way to kick off the Christmas season!

Lesson Learned Today ...

Don't watch "Extreme Home Makeover"

while trying to put your make up on.

It turns into a wet mascara-y mess.

Just A Thought ...

I was at a thrift store earlier this week with a friend.

She was looking for an ugly sweater, so I decided to go check out the dishes and see of there was anything fun and vintage-y.

As I was standing there looking at everything,

a really creepy guy came and stood next to me.

He was giving off the creepy vibe,

but I stayed there looking at things.

Then I realized that he was standing in front of a huge box full of

KNIVES!!!

They had a large box of knives just kicking it there!

Scenes from every 48 Hours Mystery I've ever watched flew through my mind,

and I left quickly.

So, just a thought ...

probably don't leave a large box of knives in public

where weirdos can have access to them.

I'm just saying.

I Need To Express My Deepest Gratitude ...

to my

and my

and this

and these

and of course this

for all helping me through the past few

FREEZING

days.

I am very grateful.

Getting In The Christmas Spirit ...

A few of my favorite Christmas movie moments ...

From Scrooge ...

From White Christmas ...

From Meet Me In St. Louis ...

Ode to Jim Henson and his Street ...

Tomorrow is the 40 year anniversary of "Sesame Street".

My love and devotion for the Street runs deep.

And so in honor of this glorious occasion I would like to share a few of my favorites.

#1.

I LOVED this one!

I wanted cool hair decorations like they had.

I remember my friend, Gina, and I singing this on the playground while shaking our hips.

It must have worked,

because that afternoon Jesse invited me to sit on the bean bag with him during reading time.

Thank you Oinker Sisters!

#2.

This one still gets sung at my house on a regular basis.

I remember wanting to be one of those back up dancers when I was little,

especially the one who moves her feet really fast!

And, can we talk for a moment about Pattis' hair?

WHO LIED?!!

Gotta love the 80's!

But seriously,

this teaches a very important message.

You CANNOT cross the street unless you are holding the hand of someone you love,

not just like, but love.

Sometimes you have to wait on the curb for a really long time ...

#3.

I always identified with Bert in this next ditty.

I shared a room with my sis Natalie for a little while,

and if I wouldn't wake up when she wanted or jump on the bed instead

of staring at my poster of Michael J. Fox,

she would sit on my head and bounce up and down.

Oh, the tenderness of sibling love!

And I will NEVER tire of tap dancing sheep.

#4.

This is probably my ALL time fav Sesame Street moment.

I love James Taylor!

And I LOVED singing this song when I was little.

(And it is still one of the most played songs on my ipod!)

I remember practicing in the mirror,

because I just knew I could be WAY better then the girls sitting next to James.

I'm pretty sure the girl in the stripes grew up to be Natalie on "The Facts of Life".

And I totally had a crush on the kid in the corduroy overalls.

So tomorrow, in remembrance,

I will

sing all of these songs,

ponder the ladybugs at the ladybug picnic,

and continue to covet Snuffulupagus' eyelashes

in honor of a great piece of my childhood.

A Mom Always Knows How To Cheer You Up ...

My cute Mom knew I was having a bad week,

and so she sent me a little care package today

that included a copy of a movie from my childhood that I loved,

but that can no longer be found.

Thank heavens for TMC and a informed Mom with a Tivo!!

I found my fav scene on YouTube!

Who knew?!

Enjoy!

Did Ya Buy It Yet ?

I can't stop listening!

La Biblioteca ...

This clip cracks me up!

It makes me laugh that for some reason

"la biblioteca" is one of the few things that people always remember from high school spanish.

It also makes me laugh because I totally wrote little songs

to help me remember things for my spanish tests.

I can still sing one that I wrote to the tune of

"Buddy Holly" by Weezer.

Next time you see me I'll sing it for you ...

Plus, I just love this show.

Props to Stockton, UT ...

Tonight I tuned into the local news to see how the local political races turned out.

As I was watching, this screen popped up,

and I gasped out loud.

Are you seeing what I saw?

It says that 100% precincts reporting

and there are 227 votes.

227 VOTES!!!

How is that even a real race?

Was only one block of the city allowed to vote?

And where is Stockton anyway?

I couldn't even wrap my mind around that.

My high school graduating class was almost 5 times that amount.

So, I did a little research and suddenly had a new thought.

There are only 584 (as of the 2007 census) in Stockton, UT.

584 people.

If you take into consideration that people here in Utah have A LOT of kids,

you have to think that a good chunk of those 584 residents are below voting age.

So 227 is probably a really good voter turnout.

It is possible that EVERY person who could vote did!

Way to go Stockton!

Way to represent and use your voting voice.

I'm sorry I judged you.

Please accept my apologies.

P.S. Congrats to Mark Whitney who won 173 to 54 ...

it was a landslide!

Dear Comcast On Demand,

Thank you for putting "Different Strokes" on your on-demand list.

Because sometimes when I am eating my breakfast,

I just need a dose of "What-chyou talkin' bout Willis?"

to get my day going.

Sincerely,

A Very Satisfied Customer

I Can't Help It ...

the minute I feel the crisp fall air ...

I have to break this out and reread it.

Nothing is better for a fall day than curling up with a blanket and some cider

and escaping to Anne's world.

Favorite Lovelies ...

It is no secret that I love Elsie Flannigan,

and I love her shop.

Her are a few things I am digging right now ...

Such cute little journals to fill up with thoughts and ideas.

I love her fun fonts and drawings ...

She has designed a 2010 calendar full of prints of her original art,

which is so adorable and whimsical.

and I LOVE her latest print.

It makes me happy ...

Harvest Fest 2009 ...

This years invitation

the front porch

mason jars with candles lit the walkway

front porch

harvest fest banner

harvest pennant adorned the ceiling

a little harvest decor

one of the craft stations

the second craft station

take a bag of cake bites on your way out!

This years Harvest Fest was a blast!

I love seeing so many dear friends,

and am always sad that there isn't more time to sit and have great heart to hearts.

As usual, I got so busy chatting that I didn't take any pictures of people!

Luckily, cute Em posted some on her blog!

Until next year ...

Middle School Envy ...

My friend Jyll and I had a little craft night the other night.

The minute she pulled out her bag full of projects,

I gasped!

I was immediately thrown back to middle school,

and was green with envy because she carried this ...

an ESPRIT bag!!!

I gasped out loud when I saw it and shouted "AN ESPRIT BAG!!!"

I ALWAYS wanted an ESPRIT bag.

When I was in 6th grade it seemed like all the cool girls in the 8th grade had them,

as well as those large crocheted sweaters that were pretty much see through.

In honor , we listened to the 90's station on my satellite radio,

and jammed to Kris Kross and Mr. Big.

For your enjoyment ...

This Makes Me Giggle ...

I LOVE that they did a Miley song ...

and I am a little sad that they didn't invite me to their beach party!

Lessons Learned Today ...

1. I love driving in the rain!

2. Life is much easier when your hip is in the socket ... Thank heaven for chiropractors!

3. I can't stand Willard Scott and his Smuckers 100 ... He bugs me. Even if he was the original Ronald McDonald.

4. I love fall! Even the Costco parking lot looked pretty with all the trees and bushes in varying hues.

5. When you print more than 500 pictures at Costco they only charge you 10 cents a print!

6. Having a laptop battery that actually holds a charge makes blogging so much easier! So thanks to Jeff at Simply Mac!

I Love Him ...

and I am just waiting for the episode where there is a dream sequence,

and he can suddenly dance.

I have a feeling he can bust a move.

My Latest Obsession ...

the shark steamer.

It cleans EVERYTHING,

and makes me giddy.

It is just a loaner,

but has made me a believer!

I'm Not Going To Lie ...

I got a little teary tonight as I watched.

I love them.

Today Is My Day Off ...

and so far I have ...

baked a red velvet cake from scratch,

made 1/3 of the cake bites for an upcoming party,

vacuumed out my car,

shampooed the carpets in my car,

waited for a repairman to fix the ice machine,

asked the nice boy at Sonic if he was okay after he biffed it on his skates,

blogged,

laundered all my bed linens,

used the word laundered,

unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher,

and I now have a yummy soup simmering on the stove for dinner.

So I feel like a I deserve to kick my feet up and watch Nie on "Oprah"

I love getting things accomplished!

Taking "Being A Fan" A Bit TOO Far ...

While searching for a picture of Rachel Ray for my last post

I came across this ...

The only thing I can say is ...

CREEPY!

Dear Rachel Ray,

I just wanted you to know that I hold you responsible for dropping the mayonnaise jar on my foot today. It's because of you that I feel I have to get ALL the ingredients for my recipe out of the fridge at the same time.

Just thought you should know.

Sincerely,

Hoping My Toe Isn't Broken

The Perfect Fall Day ...

The minute I walked out this morning,

I knew it was going to be a beautiful day.

It was that slight crispness in the air,

and I could just smell fall.

Courtney and I went to the nursery and bought

a few necessities for the front porch.

I'll post pictures when it is done.

Next was a drive up the canyon to see all the gorgeous fall colors,

and to collect some twigs and leaves to decorate with.

I wish I had a better camera,

and I wish I was a better photographer ...

but the colors were breathtaking!

Too bad I live in a state where fall only lasts about 5 days.

It is supposed to start snowing this week ...

very sad thought for me.

We ended the night with a yummy fall dinner

made from fresh veggies we bought this morning that had just been picked.

It was a perfect fall day!

And now I am in my cozy flannel nightgown

and am ready for a perfect fall nights sleep ...

Sweet Harvest Dreams!