HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Happy Halloween! I love my new no-mess Halloween Jack-O-Lantern! He's handmade out of a real gourd that was dried, carved, and painted. It plugs in and has a little light inside and none of the sticky goop on the inside of a real pumpkin! He's from Meadowbrook Gourds in Pennsylvania. Thanks Mom!!

We spent most of our Halloween with Jose's classmates at "ThunderCares" volunteer day. We went with the Supply Chain Club to help out at the Food Bank. We had a great time helping sort and box up food for families in need, and enjoyed an afternoon bbq on campus.

We're excited to see all of the cute trick-or-treaters tonight in the neighborhood and can't wait to see pictures of all of our cute nieces, nephews, and friends! Happy Halloween!

Spooky Favors

So maybe I over did it on the "cute" for the treats for cubscouts today considering they are 8-10 year old boys, but I just couldn't help myself - I love a holiday! Aren't these little chinese take-out boxes adorable? I found them at Michael's for only $0.50! I put little candy corns/pumpkins in the bottom to hold the cupcake in place so it didn't slide around. The scouts were actually really excited about them (they're not old enough to be "too cool" yet) and one even told me "You must be a really nice lady to think about us while we were at school and make us something." So sweet. Anyway making the cupcakes and boxes gave me a fun little project today!

WHS Class of 98

This past weekend Jose and I went to Dallas to re-live his glory days at his 10 year high school reunion. We had lots of fun visiting his family and some of our friends who we miss so much! And it was fun for me to meet his old friends from Waxahachie - Go Indians!

This is Jose with his childhood friend and next door neighbor, Santos. As you can tell from the two previous pictures, sporting the Fumanchu moustache is still the "in" style in Waxahachie.

This is me with my two adorable nieces, Mika and Gabby at the parade down main street. We've really missed having our nieces and nephews around!

A Day in Sedona

Jose's regular classes are cancelled this week, so we figured it was the perfect opportunity to take a day trip up to Sedona. It's only a 2 hour drive and it is gorgeous! Of course it was a perfect blue sky day like every other day in Arizona!

We had a lot of fun shopping in Tlaquepaque, (say that 5 times fast!) a little Colonial Mexican style village filled with eclectic artisan shops, art galleries, and restaurants.

But mostly we just had fun spending time together!

Fun at the Fair!

Saturday night we went to the Arizona State Fair with our friends Ricky and Tara. We enjoyed some good food (Navajo Tacos and Funnel Cakes...YUM) and then rocked out at the Weezer concert. And the Sweater Song is still as awesome as it was in 1994, just in case you were wondering. We had a great time and it is always fun to get out and see the local scene. And for the record, the Texas State Fair is still the world's coolest fair, sorry AZ.

Here's a shot from the concert. Pretty good seats for it being free!! I love free.

Here's a shot of all the fair fun at night. And yes, I know that I am the palest person on earth. You think it's bad now...wait until January when my "tan" completely wares off!

Tagged.....

Thanks to Amber I am back here on the blog. I've been out of town for a week and just haven't posted since I got back. But now I'm tagged, and supposed to tell you 6 things about myself you might not know. Here's goes.

1. I absolutely cannot cook a meal without burning myself. It doesn't matter what I am making, there is always a battle scar. Same goes for sewing - I am constantly pricking or cutting myself on accident.

2. I am addicted to Lifetime Movies. Did you know they have an entire channel that plays them all day long? What a discovery! My new housewife status helped me find that one! They almost always end with a big box of kleenex and me feeling like I have the most wonderful life.

3. The older I get, the more shy I am. Those of you who have known me for a long time may find it hard to believe, but it's true.

4. I am completely creeped out by all of the critters outside in Arizona. I've seen one too many scorpions, and I'm so afraid of snakes, and coyotes, and javelinas, and all the other nasties we find in our neighborhood. Eww. I have a firm policy that I will not go outside without Jose anymore.

5. I love to make complicated recipes. The more complicated the better. Anything from scratch is fun.

6. I can't do ANY housework unless I have my music on. I like to turn them up really loud and sing along while I clean. I work really well with Broadway showtunes, but if really wanna rock my face off I get out my Plain White T's CD, because they are the best band ever.

Okay, so there it is! Maybe embarassing, but all true!! So now I Tag: Katie Arredondo, Michelle Castaneda (welcome to the blog world!), and my favorite sister Anna.

His & Hers Saturday Projects

We finally had some cooler weather today...only about 85!! It was a much welcome change and the perfect opportunity to get outside! After an early morning walk Jose and I split up to work on our projects.

Here's Jose and Dad's GTO after it got a nice wash and a quick spin around Scottsdale. It was the perfect day to have the windows rolled down!

And this is what I was working on...a cute new apron. I thought this fabric looked like the perfect print. It's a little retro, but then again so are aprons!

I had fun embellishing the fabric with different sizes of yellow buttons on the centers of the flowers. The backing and trim is a cute micro-polka dot fabric. Now it just needs to find the perfect home, or kitchen rather.

Life's Simple Pleasures

There seriously are not words for how excited I was yesterday when I was picking out a birthday card for a friend and I found Paco again. Our favorite spandex wearing, high flying, Omaha man has 2 (yes 2) new cards available!!! I bought all that they had and left with a huge smile on my face. He might possibly be the best birthday card on the market! I've have sent and received Paco dozens of times in the past 5 years or so and I laugh just as hard each time. The card has gotten somewhat of a cult following and there are now many people that love Paco. It's kind of ironic considering that I found a Jose and he whisked me off to Dallas! Hmm.

AND...after a little internet research, Paco is actually a real person and he is actually a real trapeze artist/instructor! Who knew?! I certainly will sleep better at night knowing that costume is not a rental.