have i mentioned...

...that autumn is my favorite season? people always want to know why and i always want to know why it isn't everybody's favorite. why? WHY? this is why:

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."
-George Eliot

comments

first of all, let me just say that i love getting comments. makes my day. however, i'm never really sure what to do with them after i read them. how do you respond to comments left on your blog? it's not like people come back to see them later. suggestions?

10 things i love about you

or rather, 10 things i love that everyone else seems to hate/won't admit that they like. and by everyone, i mean most of my friends.

1. ballet. it's so beautiful and elegant and lovely.
2. musicals. there are few things in this world that a good show tune won't improve
3. tetris. as far as video games go, i generally suck and thus don't enjoy the game. but i am a tetris master.
4. pbs. informative, interesting, and commercial free.
5. tall women who wear high heels. like me. just embrace your height ladies!
6. shakespeare.
7. vacuuming. it's soothing.
8. naps. yeah, i'm kind of old. what of it?!
9. crossword puzzles. i don't want alzheimer's. so there.
10. bon fires. okay, none of my friends hate these, but i like them more than everyone else

10 things i hate about you...

...or rather, 10 things i hate that everyone else seems to really like

1. ranch dressing. it's gross and i really don't understand how people can put it on their pizza (or anything else)
2. celine dion. her music anyway. i don't know her well enough to hate her as a person
3. reality tv. why would i want to watch your life when i could be living mine?
4. oreo cookies. actually, the cookie isn't that bad, but i hate the cream
5. cats. not only do i hate them, i'm actually quite scared of them. in fact, i'm pretty sure they're out to get me
6. cartoons for adults. i think they're dumb and really NOT funny
7. scary movies. i either get totally freaked out and can't sleep, or i laugh at how stupid they are.
8. twilight. i read the first four pages of the book, decided it was crap and that was the end of it.
9. showering. i do it because it would be gross not to. file them under "necessary evil"
10. roses. i don't like the way they look or the way they smell

happy haunting

maybe it's just me, but did anyone else have a really hard time selecting a halloween costume this year? my dilemma was mostly a result of the epic awesomeness of last year's costume. how to do top this?

not possible!!! well, i put it off so long that i was forced to recycle a past costume. i made this one a few years ago:

too bad most of the kids had no idea what i was supposed to be.

every halloween we have a party/carnival herat work. since that holds little to no appeal for my teens, we put on a haunted house for the younger kids to enjoy. our goal (or rather, the teens' goal) is to have at least 5 kids get too scared to finish and have at least one crier. i'm not so sure how i feel about that, but i suppose it is a good measure of success for a haunted house. i mean, if no one is scared you're doing it wrong.

this year we built a fairly elaborate maze out of cardboard boxes with vignets in wide open areas. the maze itself is totally enclosed and basically pitch black while the haunted portions are lit solely by a single red light in the middle of the room. it's actually pretty creepy. i went through this year and i jumped at least once, which is sad since i helped build the thing and i positioned the scarers so i should have know exactly what to expect. i'm kind of disappointed with myself, but extremely proud of my kids and their haunting ability.

after the maze closed, we had to strike the set. and by that i mean complete and utter destruction of the maze. it was kind of my favorite part :)



and then my boss got in on the action (she's the one with the fantastic mad hatter costume)

all by myself

sometimes, when i'm alone (which is a lot), i talk to myself. don't judge, you do it too! the thing is, i always have a british accent during these unilateral discussions. maybe i just watch too much bbc

very pinteresting...

are you on pinterest? you should be. it's kind of fantastic. i might be little bit addicted/obsessed, but it's all the sister's fault. she got me hooked! blame her! blame her! anyway, if you're on let me know so i can cyber snoop you, but not in a creepy way. just pretend you're famous. people are always getting nosy with celebrities...

help me, obi-wan kenobi; you're my only hope!

they say that admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. well, i have a problem. and it's not gummy bears. (sidenote: i found gummy pumpkins at the store the other day. LOVE!) no, no, my problem is much bigger than that. much more sinister. i'm a little nervous to tell you about it. maybe i'll just keep it to myself a bit longer. or maybe forever. okay, okay. i'll tell you. but you can't tell anyone. okay? alright. here it is. my dirty little secret...

i
am
a
crafter

there i said it. i'm a crafter. what's worng with crafting? nothing. not inherently. but i went to school for 6 years to earn a degree in fine arts. so what? SO WHAT!? SO, ARTISTS ARE SNOBS!!! it's true. and i'm allowed to say it because i am one. we spend inordinate amounts of time studying and dissecting the art of others. we think we know what art is (we don't, by the way, but we'll never admit it). we make a distinction between art and craft. art is art and craft is not art! and here i am, an artist who crafts. do you see my dilemma? no? NO?! oh dear. well, in that case, i suppose i should just give in and come to dark side. after all, they have cookies. really cute, decorated cookies.

image borrowed from starwarsblog.starwars.com

redneck summer

yes, yes, i know it's november. i'm a little behind, but i promised you some posts and posts you will get.

you've read all about the porcupine races and the logging olympics, and now you get to read all about my other adventures. alright, one other adventure. not too far from my house (as in i can hear it from my house) lives the meridian speedway. each year, they host the night of destruction. that's right, an entire night devoted to the destruction of stuff. big stuff. like cars. what's that you say? sounds pretty awesome? you're right it is.
 one might even call it epic. don't believe me? you should know better, but i'll provide proof anyway.

to start off the festivities, they hoisted a car up a crane

 and then they dropped it onto another car

totally worth it

then they used the flame from a jet car to light another car on fire

 nice and toasty

look at that perfect smoke ring!

there was some other stuff too, but i was too distracted to get pictures. but don't worry, i (poorly) filmed the main event. speaking of the main event...BEHOLD, THE BOAT RACES. this is not the boat race you think it is. there are no jet boats involved. ever. drivers scrounge up a boat from who knows where and they attach it to their vehicle with a chain. then the track is watered down and the drivers drag their boats around whilst attempting to smash the heck out of everyone else's boats. last man standing wins. by last man standing i mean the last driver who has managed to keep any fragment of his/her boat attached to their vehicle. it looks a little like this:

i love my hometown!

oh, bother...

i am sooo far behind here! prepare yourselves (all 2 of you) to be inundated with blog posts from little ol' me. i have at least 7 half written right now and i promise to finish them ALL by the end of the week. promise. for real.