Scary Movies

So this exchange happened yesterday between Fiance and me...

Me: Can we just stay in and watch scary movies this Halloween?
Fiance: Sure, baby!
Me: ... and by scary movies, I mean like, Hocus Pocus. I can't handle that Paranormal Saw Haunting crap.
Fiance: ...

I suck at Halloween! Lol!

Monday Memories

Instead of Throwback Thursday, I thought I would start off the week with a little Monday Memories (pulled from a few other blogs doing similar things)! We'll see if this ends up being a weekly thing. For now, we'll start with...

High School Memories
 
1. Tell us what kind of student you were in high school {popular, nerd, sport obsessed, choir, etc} I guess I was a combination, but mainly nerd. My high school wasn't as cliche, really. Like, we had football players and cheerleaders in the marching band. I was on the pom squad, but it wasn't like we were the popular clique. I was Winter Ball Queen my senior year, but I think it was just because I knew a lot of people. I was in marching band, poms, honor society, and a creative writing/thinking group called Knightwriters. I LOVED my high school years.   2. Share with us some high school pictures. We know you have them somewhere. Ah, high school. Here are a few.
Me and some of my best girlfriends who are still good friends!
At winter ball :o)
In a quinceanera :o)

3. Tell us about your school. Private? Public? How many in graduating class? Mascots? School colors? Public school, baby! We were the "newer" school at that time, and our school was the nicest in town. We had carpet, great technology, new equipment, etc. It had a weird mix of gangsters and rich kids and normal kids, but there were no real "cliques". Everyone just did their own thing and had a great time. I was in the band and senior year, one of my closest friends was the quarterback of the football team. I guess he was "popular", but he wasn't snooty or anything (his cousin was dating my sister, so we all hung out all.the.time). We all just did our own thing.
My graduating class was around 220. The sad thing is... we started with like, 600. So in four years, almost 400 of my peers transferred, moved, or dropped out. Yikes. Our mascot was the Knight and our colors were teal, black and silver!

4. Tell us about some of your favorite memories of high school. Or what stands out the most? Any teachers? Specific classes? Oh gosh. High school memories. So so so so so many.
Definitely football games. Like I mentioned, I was in the band and a pom girl. So every Friday, I would back a huuuge bag with all of my equipment. I would start off in my pom uniform (the leo, the dance pants, the poms, the hair ribbon, the socks, the dance shoes, the silver eyeshadow, etc.). About five minutes before halftime, I would run into the bathroom and change out of my silverette uniform into my band halftime show outfit (for our Scheherazade show, I had different dance shoes, different socks, purple palazzo pants, a different top, my guard gloves, FAKE JEWELS to glue on my face, and a sequin crown thing for my hair). Then I would run run run out to do the halftime show, then I would run back and change, and then finish the game. I was always exhausted on Friday nights! :o)
Other great memories... bonfires at the Pit with Nick, English Expo with the Knightwriters (winning two medals every year!), being the commencement speaker at my graduation, having one of my columns on the front page of the newspaper, winning Winter Ball Queen my senior year, winning first place at the Regional Chemistry Competition, finally nailing my sabre solo for our senior band show, Olajuwon and Josh yelling my name over and over when I won awards on Senior Awards Night...
A lot of great ones. :o)
And my favorite class/teacher of all time? AP Chemistry with Mr. Ewing. He was amazing. He made chemistry so fun for me.   5. Tell us a piece of advice you would pass on to your children or any child entering high school. The important thing to remember is that if YOU are doing what you love, high school is a success. Being Homecoming Queen doesn't matter. Dating a football player doesn't matter. What really matters is being with your best friends and loving what you do, whether it is band, choir, football, whatever.
High school was AMAZING and I LOVED IT. But... I also REALLY LOVED college, too! I can't say I've ever disliked any big experience I've had... they've all been learning experiences. But amazing memories. :o)

Friday Sunshines/Dark Clouds!

Let's get straight into it!

DARK CLOUDS:

• My grandfather has been in and out of the hospital lately. He's 91 and was a WWII vet and is a hilarious, sassy old man and if anyone's a fighter, he is. But please keep him in your thoughts or prayers if you think about it.
• The other day, I decided to make a big tuna salad (to be used for salads/sandwiches, etc.). I used two big cans of tuna. I boiled eggs, chopped a couple of pickles, and scooped the perfect amount of mustard and mayo into the bowl. I mixed and tasted and salted. Then... I left for FIVE MINUTES to go somewhere with Fiance. By the time I got home, the bowl was empty on the floor and my dogs were GUILTY GUILTY GUILTY. They ate 20 oz of tuna in five minutes. The bowl was literally licked clean. I was SO MAD at them. Blah. Not only that, I didn't have any more tuna so I was SOL for lunch the next day :o(
• Our AC is broken. This is a MAJOR DARK CLOUD. Even though it's already September, the temperatures still get into the 90s during the day and our house, which is adobe and holds onto heat like WHOA (which is awesome during the winter!). And then we all sweat. Like, I wake up very morning with sweat on my forehead/neck. GROSS. Two showers a day it is, then. :o(
• We spent WAY too much money last weekend. Need to reel that back in!

Wow, those were serious dark clouds this week. Normally they're pretty trivial.

SUNSHINES:

• We printed out our parents' favorite photos of us from our engagement photos, framed them, and then presented them to our mamas! They were SO HAPPY (and the also liked the same photo!).
• Fiance's mom (my future MIL) did some recon for us in Phoenix for our rehearsal dinner and we think we found the perfect place! Great Italian food, relaxed atmosphere, the PERFECT PLACE. Pray that  it isn't too expensive!!!
• I busted out my new Scentsy scents this week... peach for the bathroom and a nice autumn spice for the living room. They make the whole house smell delicious!
• We found Shadow's duck! He has had this stuffed duck since he was a puppy and he LOVES it and we couldn't find it... until today! This is definitely a sunshine for Shadow. He keeps carrying it around and wagging his tail. :o)
• I ROCKED a big project at work and my boss is happy with me... which is great because performance reviews are coming up! WOO!
• Fiance bought me some beautiful orange lilies... so pretty. And what sweetheart! 
• This weekend, I'm looking forward to relaxing, watching football, and going to Fiance's cousin's birthday party. Ahhhh. I love weekends.
• Next weekend is a four day weekend for me. WOO!
• Dani, one of my bridesmaids, found her bridesmaid dress! It's SO PRETTY. (To recap, I let my bridesmaids pick out their own dress, as long as it was black and chiffon and knee-length-ish. My bridesmaids are all spread out [Albuquerque, Chicago, Ft. Worth, Las Cruces], so getting all together to pick out the same dress was not so much an option. Plus, I trust them and don't really care if they match. So there we go!).

What fun sunshines! I guess it has been a pretty volatile week lol. Hope your day is great!

Fall is here

I've been sad about summer leaving since summer came. I LOVE SUMMER. I love it. I love the heat, the sun, the warm evenings, the clothes, the shoes, the wonderful fresh food, the cool mornings, the pretty flowers...

But now that fall is about here, I'm starting to remember why I enjoy fall, too. The mornings, while a little cooler that I normally like, are perfect for little cardigans and long-sleeved shirts and long jeans. Plus, pumpkin spice lattes are back and I LOVE THEM!


via


Starbucks knows it, too. That's why they only keep it for oh, a month or so and then take it away from us. I've already had two and I have to say... I'll be back for more soon. (Also, I should note that I tried a nonfat PSL in the hope of saving a few calories... it wasn't as good. The next time, I went with the whole milk and it was a million times better. It's worth the splurge.)

Plus, we get beautiful mornings like these:



No filter or photoshop or anything... those clouds were BEAUTIFUL. This was taken at like, 7:15 in the morning. So pretty.

I also made some BOMB pumpkin muffins. The easiest thing I've ever made. You literally just need a can of pumpkin and a box of cake mix (I used yellow cake mix, but I read that a spice cake mix would be even better and I think that would help... mine were missing a little something in the spice area). Mix them together and pour into a muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Done. Delicious, 140 calorie muffins just in time for fall! :o)

Fall is probably my second favorite season. I like spring because it starts getting warm, but I HATE that intense spring wind. I don't like winter (other than the holidays) because of the COLD. I LOVE summer and I'm remember how much I really like fall.

So bring it, autumn, I'm ready for you!

Busy

So.

I've been busy.

Clearly. I mean, I haven't written, so I MUST have been busy all week, right?

HA. Not really. I was just lazy around the house and completely forgot I had a blog in the first place. Although I was pretty busy this weekend. To recap:

Last Sunday (as in, a week ago): Watched football. Cried (not really) because Baltimore lost. Made MASHED POTATOES that didn't suck! Apparently I over-mixed them before. This time, I kept my hand mixer in the cabinet and instead just relied on a good, old-fashioned potato smasher. I also went all out and used roasted garlic, heavy cream and real butter. They were delicious.



While I toiled away with the potatoes, Fiance grilled some steak and kept my glass filled with some delicious St. Claire winery mimbres red wine.




YUM!

I worked all week and in the midst, watched the Shuttle Endeavor fly over WSMR, the birthplace of America's space program. It. Was. Awesome.



On Friday, Fiance and I headed to El Paso to get our passports in preparation for our honeymoon! YAY! Once that was done, we stopped at Rainbow to get some of the truly delicious tortas that I've been dreaming about since I first had them.



Mine had bistek, green chile, asadero cheese and tomatoes. YUM!

Then we went shopping. MORE SHOPPING. It turns out I actually like shopping (now that I wear a smaller size, which is SO MUCH FUN to grab instead of a larger size!) but I do NOT like how much money it takes. But I got some pants (which means I can throw away the black pants that are literally four sizes too big and never stay up).

Saturday, we ran errands and then had a beer and some nachos with my parents. Yesterday was a day of football... and both of our teams won! YAY!

And now it's Monday again. I had to work late, but then I'm gong to Zumba. YAY!

Only four more days to the weekend. :o)

FRUSTRATED

WHAT the hell is the point of having vacation days if your fiance's stupid company LITERALLY WON'T LET HIM TAKE ANY?!

He put in for a vacation day in November like SIX months ago so we can go to Phoenix for a comedy show and they are JUST NOW telling him he can't take it. And we already bought tickets and everything.

UGH!

Grateful :o)

So in remembrance of the horror and pain of September 11, I'm going to skip Sunshines and Dark Clouds and go into a GRATEFUL FRIDAY theme instead, and list things that I am grateful for!

I am Grateful...

• To live in a country where I can be free to follow my dreams, regardless of my religion, race, or gender.
• For the men and women that live their lives to make our country better, from military to police to teachers to unions. We became the strong country we are based on ALL contributions.
• To have the sweetest dogs in the world... all they want to do is cuddle with me!
• To be BACK on the healthy eating wagon and down another couple of lbs!
• That Fiance's new promotion is really, REALLY helping us out for saving for our wedding/honeymoon! So, SO relieved.
• and EXCITED for my dear friend/bridesmaid Blairre, who is currently in the hospital welcoming her second child, a daughter named Kennedy with her husband John and their first son Carson!
• To have a hilarious sister, a supportive mother, a strong and stable father, wonderful future in-laws, and the perfect Fiance. Not that he is perfect, but he is perfect for me.
• To have a relaxing, sports-filled weekend ahead of me!
• That it is FRIDAY!

I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful weekend. Sometimes I forget about all the wonderful things in my life, but there is no reason to focus on the negatives when I clearly have SO many great people and opportunities in front of me! Life is good! :o)