Along the path...

The husband of one of my friends posted a review of Twilight on their blog, from a male perspective. Thoroughly entertaining, but maybe it's just late. If you have read the book--whether you are a fan or not--you can read Jim's comments here . Any other male perspectives out there?

I was talking with a friend at work about a party she and her hubby are attending tonight and am totally coveting it. It's a Halloween Poetry Party! At first I had a hard time coming up with spooky, creepy, eerie Halloween poems. Then, I remembered Robert Burns and Edgar Allen Poe and decided to host a Halloween Poetry Corner. Join in the fun. Post a favorite spooky poem or write your own. Halloween by Robert Burns (1785) Upon that night, when fairies light On Cassilis Downans dance, Or owre the lays, in splendid blaze, On sprightly coursers prance; Or for Colean the rout is ta’en, Beneath the moon’s pale beams; There, up the Cove, to stray an’ rove, Amang the rocks and streams To sport that night; read more (with annotations) Jack-o-Lantern Author Unknown Jack-o-lantern, Jack-o-lantern, You are such a funny sight. As you sit there by the window, Looking out into the night. You were once a sturdy pumpkin, growing on a curly vine. Now you are a Jack-o-lantern, See your night lights ...

Last night, I met up with some friends for a murder mystery game at Castle of Chaos . Daphne nearly decapitated one of the ghouls when he snuck up to scare her. Her days as a prison guard and hospital security certainly have paid off. He may have a bruise today. (Someone may have influenced him a little to pick on her. Sorry, ghoul.) The Vampire Mystery was a tame holiday activity: a great story and fun interaction without the blood and guts. We had to find and destroy the evil residing within the Castle. It was similar to "Clue" in that we went from room to room to find clues and figure out where the evil was and how to destroy it. Based on Daphne's earlier reaction, it was probably safer for the actors and crew that this was our selection. And yes, we made it past the Countess to destroy the evil vampire.

Image originally seen on freefoto.com This is a poem I have loved since my early college days. It reminds me to get out and do some planting. Several people have said they feel it is depressing. I find it full of hope and thought of it after reading a friend's recent post about a relationship trial she has been having. Comes the Dawn by Veronica A. Shoffstall After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning and company doesn't always mean security. And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts and presents aren't promises and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child and you learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight. After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much so you pl...

Saturday was the third annual Morrill Family Pumpkin Carving Contest. More to come.

(Find the original post on allrecipes.com ) I want this... "A spicy chicken and pesto pasta dish that's easy to adjust to any heat level. I created it after eating a similar dish at a Santa Monica restaurant, and it's one of my favorites. Serve with additional grated Parmesan, if desired. As an option, it's delicious with creamy goat cheese stirred in at the end." INGREDIENTS ( Nutrition ) 1 (16 ounce) package uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon hot chile paste 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch pieces 6 tablespoons prepared basil pesto 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup chopped cilantro DIRECTIONS 1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place farfalle pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the chile paste and chicken. Cook and stir chicken 10 minutes, or until evenly browned and ju...

Karyn, Melinda, Andrea, and I decided to jaunt up to Park City this past Saturday to catch some amazing deals at the outlets and celebrate two birthdays. In addition to the discount coupons printed off the Tangiers website , many of the outlet stores were having 40% and 50% off sales. There were so many incredible deals. Karyn wanted some shoes that weren't in stock and the store offered to ship them to her with no shipping charge. One of us spent $28 in The Children's Place for three shirts, one skirt, and two pairs of pants. Another bought a darling, red name brand purse for 1/3 of the retail price. (Melinda- I can't remember, was it Coach?) Here we are showing off our spoils. Melinda is in black; Karyn's in pink. Andrea and I (both on the left) have birthdays in October. This picture is care of Melinda's camera and a lucky passerby. (Thanks for stopping and for Melinda's sharing.) Later, we went to Baja Cantina for dinner. The T.J. Taxi was delish! It w...

Don't you wish you could sometimes bottle that Springtime feeling?

My cool friend Karly from work must have tracked the number of times I hit her post to listen to the vampire wedding song. It’s awesome! You can listen to it on her blog here . She burned it to a CD for me (along with some other awesome Halloween songs)! I've named it Karly's Krazy Kompilation. How suh-weet it is! Thanks, Karly!

TAG - YOU'RE IT! (You can thank Crystal Y.) Two names you go by: 1. Aunt Aniya / Andia - (you get the picture) 2. J'adore Two things you are wearing right now: 1. A skeleton headband 2. A long black skirt Two things you want very badly at the moment: 1. No one to drop from troupe 2. To talk with MFD Two things you did last night: 1. Spoke with MFD 2. Watched Dancing with the Stars with Daphne and Anthony Two things you ate today 1. Turkey Sandwich 2. Massauman Curry Two People you just spoke with: 1. Kristen H. 2. Jolena Two things you're doing tomorrow: 1. Visiting teaching 2. Dancing Two longest vehicle rides: 1. AF to East Coast 2. AF to California Two favorite beverages: 1. Ice Water with lemon 2. OJ Now, here's what you're supposed to do. Copy & Paste into your blog or an email, delete my answers, and type in your answers so I can get to know you too.

The outlook today is gloomy. Just found out some bad news. Change is in the air for troupe. Blue skies ahead?

Tonight, the majority of my family met at Gardner Village for dinner at Archibald's and then planned to wander the Village. It's Witchapalooza and witching time at the Village. By the time we finished dinner, most of the shops were closing. We looked around a bit and snapped a few pictures. I'll post them another time. The witches and pumpkins and Halloween decor was frightfully fun, but I don't think I've had such poor customer service at a restaurant before. I wish I could say that the restaurant was packed. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances we weren't aware of. Maybe it was an off night for them. Maybe I'm just grouchy. Birthdays sometimes do that. Guess I'd better see the Witch Doctor or something to get it straightened out. The company was grand: mom and dad; Adam, Renee, AJ, and EL; Nathan, Bekah, RD, and AM, and me. Their service gave us a lot of time to sit and visit. RD and AJ were darling. Both were in very good moods. RD had on hi...

A Weird Al song with a little birthday cheer--or was it drear?!?! Adam Sandler joined in on the fun here too! Basically, happy birthday. Happy birthday to me.

Guess what was changed...

I've been meaning to post this picture for a while. This summer was pretty eventful. Three new babies joined our family: EL - June 25 (Adam and Renee) ZM - August 3 (Becca and Mike) AM - June 29 (Nathan and Bekah) Aren't they adorable?

A little fun with Photoshop and co-workers!

On Friday night, I was an usher at the Covey Arts Center for Thriller , presented by the Odyssey Dance Company . For several years, I have wanted to see Odyssey perform. Somehow it hasn't worked out until now. Odessey was fabulous! The choreography and dancers were amazing. Some of the dances were a little creepy--like "The Grudge" and "Home Alone" where a girl is home alone and a stranger calls, "The Meal" complete with vampires and victim, and an intense statement about the Salem witch trials. Some of the choreography was hilarious, like "Miss Allie's Nightmare" where the dancers acted like a 3-4 year old dance class at a dance recital--dressed in darling penguin costumes. Periodically the dancers would stop and wave at the audience, shouting "Hi, Mom!" Priceless! (One of the dancers even wore her costume backward with her little penguin tail in front!) We all laughed as the Irish "river dancers" continued dancing w...

about going RED again... (Definitely not that short!) Hmmmm. Any votes?

Original post on Facebook : Six Consequences if Proposition 8 Fails: 1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay. This will cause serious problems for parents that want to pass on their heritage, beliefs, and values to their children. 2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public. Do you want your Church to change their religious beliefs because of a law? True doctrines that were right yesterday can’t be changed and made right today, because God is never changing. God was always perfect and will be always perfect. 3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Preventing the Catholic Churc...

I could survive chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor for 1 minute, 3 seconds. How long could you?

I know I say it all the time, but I really do have the most adorable nieces and nephews ever ! Bekah captured RD, my oldest nephew, singing "I love to see the Temple" on the way home from a family reunion. RD is an avid Spiderman fan (even going as far as to call to his baby sister Spiderbaby). He had had his face painted earlier that day. I'll post behind the mask photos another day. You can watch the video of him singing on Bekah's blog. What heart! What a personality! What a darling baby lisp! I'm watching now to see what myths and rumors pop up about Spiderman being LDS.

Recently I've found I am obsessed . Drawn. Can't get enough. There was a time when I couldn't even stand it. Now it is what I want. Lime! Lime! Lime! Lime! Here is an easy, yet yummy, lime pie recipe: 1 3-oz pkg lime gelatin 2 individual sized key lime flavored yogurts (c. 3-oz each) 1 tub Cool Whip, thawed 1 graham cracker pie crust in pie tin optional - lime slices and additional Cool Whip or dark chocolate shavings to decorate Mix dry gelatin with 1 yogurt. Incorporate second yogurt. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour mixture into pie crust. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This pie works well with low fat and sugar free ingredients. Enjoy!