Halloween Festivities

I feel as if Halloween has been going on for quite awhile now. I jumped the gun and put up my decorations during the last week of September. We've been to several parties already and we still have a few more to go to. I just wanted to quickly share with you the past two weeks of Halloween.
The first four pictures are from our Halloween Story Time last week. We read a few pumpkin stories and decorated pumpkin sugar cookies. We had a good turn out and had a lot of fun. The little pumpkin juice boxes are for a party we are going to today. All food is Halloween themed. I didn't really feel that bloody juice with floating fingers (as ice of course) would be totally appropriate for toddlers, so "Pumpkin Juice" will have to do. The last one is from our ward's Trunk or Treat. For those of you that may not know what that is, here is the definition: Everyone from church gets together in the church parking lot, parks their cars in a circle, decorates the trunk and then the kids "Trunk" or treat in one central location. The parents stand in the middle and gab until their kid starts crying because there is one really scary trunk.

As for costumes, Cohen can't decide what the really wants to be. Initially it was Diego. I fought him on that because the costume cost $30 and I thought it was kind of lame. BUT... we bribed (model parent here) him to go poop in the toilet if he wanted to be Diego. It worked, so the costume was not in vain. Then last week he decided a pumpkin would be a better choice. Yesterday I gave in to the begging, and spent about $4 and 20 minutes on the pumpkin costume. So, this morning he told me he only wants to be the pumpkin inside and not on the outside... HUH? We'll see who I take Trick-or-Treating tomorrow.

Be safe and have a nice holiday!

Deal!

I'm watching Deal or No Deal while Mike makes his special curry. If I won, and had to spend all of my money tonight, I would buy this stuff...

Two of these:

They are two for the price of one right now. Maybe I could justify buying two for the price of 1/2 off the already 1/2 off sales tag!

8 of these:

One of these pencil cups from Shim+Sons.


From Groovy Inclinations Etsy Shop. I love all of her stuff. I constantly check her site to see what is there.

Isn't it darling? I would want it in my size, of course and one for the little girl I may have one day. Or a sweet little girl that someone else might have.
I would buy these for Melissa. She loves penguins, and her love of them is rubbing off on me.

A few of these chandeliers, and I'll take the lamp, mantle and flooring, too.

Then I would ask her if I could buy her house.

I would also buy a digital SLR, pay off our student loans, and buy a mini van... (I'm not kidding).

Four Things

I was tagged by Lindy, so here it goes....

Four jobs I've had:

1. Copywriter/Project Manager @ 1-800 Patches (SLC)
2. Assistant Regulatory Coordinator @ PEGUS Research (SLC)
3. Fabric cutter @ Piece Goods (Rexburg, ID - BEST JOB EVER!)
4. Pizza Delivery Girl (St. Anthony - 6 long years)

Four places I have lived:

1. St.Anthony, Rexburg, McCall, ID
2. Carson City, NV
3. Forest Hill, CA
4. Jax Beach, Gainesville, Lake City, FL

Four favorite T.V. Shows:

1. The Office
2. Lost
3. ER
4. Scrubs (so long JD - I love you)

Four favorite foods:

1. Garlic Bread
2. Peeps - I know, I know - I'm beggin' for Diabetes
3. Diet Dr. Pepper - and high blood pressure
4. Cheese

Four websites I visit:

1. Gmail (personal and work)
2. Craftster.org
3. Facebook/Myspace - again... I KNOW!
4. Reprodepot.com

*Lindy - please tell me what bloglines is... sounds like it could save me from typing the 5th - 100th most visited sites each day

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Living in a house, not an apartment
2. Washington, DC
3. San Diego - except the part that in on fire
4. Cafe Rio, any location - Sounds good to me, lindy.... let's meet someday.

Four movies I love:

1. Everything is Illuminated
2. Empire Records
3. Sweet Home Alabama
4. X-Men II and Transformers are tied for this last spot

Four things on my to-do list today:

1. hang out with Terra + kids
2. see what Gardner Village is all about
3. make dinner (even my fear of raw chicken can't stop me from making this)- Chicken Tikka Masala
4. Go Visiting Teaching (scheduled for the same time as the Office - I need DVR)

Four people I tag:

All of you... I'm a sucker for these and love reading all about you.

What do you do all day?

This was an assignment that Nicole gave us for our photo class. It was so fun to follow Cohen around all day with the camera. He didn't think so, though. He kept telling me to put the camera away. For the most part, he is a good sport. He is also super busy. Man, I needed a nap.

*Thanks, Mike, for helping me with some Photoshop tricks! You are so patient and you are the best!

Story Time Today

NOTE: I should have posted this yesterday, but I was cleaning my house! I don't want anyone to think I really would let my kitchen floor get sticky. ;-P

HALLOWEEN STORY TIME
TUESDAY: OCT 23rd, 10:30 am
AT MY HOUSE
email me if you need more info: lori(dot)vanwagoner(at)gmail(dot)com

I live in Holladay, UT, so if you read this before 10:00 MST come on down!

Witching Hour

I took a class a few weeks ago and made these glittery hats. SO CUTE! Now I want to cover anything I get my hands on in glitter. I've been working a lot lately. My free hours are few and far between. My craft area is a mess and I haven't made anything in about 2 weeks. Awesome! We did go to Las Vegas for a baby blessing and then my sister came to Ogden to my parents for the week, so I've been hanging out. I'll post more about that later. I just wanted to say hello to the few of you I have left out there. Thanks for not losing hope! Have a nice weekend.

Trying Again

OKAY - I don't have the natural touch for the photography and I'm pretty bummed about it. Everything looks so pretty through the lenses and when I get the photos developed, it ain't so pretty. Of the 60+ photos I took, I got about 7 good ones. I'll just keep practicing until I can get that camera to do what I want it to. Whew... complaints over!

I took the above photo this morning about 10:30 at Memory Grove near downtown. Isn't Utah so lovely in the Fall? Of course I did not photograph the reds and yellows to be as vibrant as they really are (see above paragraph), but it still looks quite lovely.

The weather is beautiful today. Please God, make the weather like this year round! It is about 70 degrees and sunny. I am wearing corduroy pants and a 3/4 sleeve t-shirt with my favorite $4 shoes and my internal temperature is under control. Of course the wind will pick up tonight and blow the great weather to North Dakota and it will be cold again. I've busted out Cohen's sweatshirts and we are ready for the fall action.

Tonight I am going to take meticulous notes so I can better improve my pictures for next week. Tah Tah!

First Photos

Well, I wouldn't say that my first round of photos taken for my class was a bust, but I didn't get the results I was looking for. I guess I have a lot more practicing to do. My friend Melissa, who takes fabulous pictures, just told me to keep practicing.

I did get some great snapshots of Cohen, so it wasn't all a waste. I will go out today between the 100 Saturday tasks that are on the list and shoot another roll. Oh how I wish I had a digital SLR so I would be able to look at each photo immediately and see what was wrong. Today I'll write down all of the exposure settings so I know.

The leaves were pretty. I am also going to practice on objects that are a little more still. I think I need to figure out f-stop and shutter speed before I try and take anymore photos of Cohen. Still objects. Anyway, I hope the next set is better. :-)

Beauty All Around

I know that everyone in the world is talking about how much they love Fall, but I just want to mimic it one more time. I take so many photos between this time of year and Christmas. I figured I'd better learn to take better photos. So, tonight is my first Photography class with the lovely Nicole Hill. Although I am extremely excited for the class, I am not looking forward to the drive to Orem during commuter traffic.

In honor of this event, I made a new bag for my digital camera this morning. I lost my other one somewhere this summer and I've stopped carrying my camera because of it. So - in comes some crispy pink linen, a doilie from JoAnn, and a few vintage buttons from my stash and there you have it. It isn't too exciting, but I am glad that I have something to carry my little buddy in.

This class will be interesting because I am not sure of the required camera for this course, but I have a digital point and shoot, and a 35mm SLR. I'm sure the course will be taught for a digital SLR, but the SLR and lighting techniques are all the same, right?? I hope. I do know it will be really fun to get out the house and meet new folks.

In other news:
1. Cohen got a really bad haircut yesterday!
2. I also wanted to thank Beki for sending such a nice package. All I did was comment how much a I loved the fabric of a bag she made. Thanks again for the great stuff.
3. I made new pillows for my couch. I love this aviary fabric.