Trunk or What?

Oh to be young again!

I LOVE trick or treating, why is it only for kids? I need to get me one of those so I can live vicariously through him (or her)! If only I wasn't 5'10" I could throw a sheet over my head and pretend I was in grade school again, it sucks being a tree. So I LOVE Halloween but there is one huge problem with Halloween these days.

TRUNK OR TREATING!

Trunk or treating has murdered Halloween! I am so against trunk or treating, you might as well just give your kids a bag of candy and call it good! For those of you who live in NORMAL neighborhoods and don't know what trunk or treating is, let me explain.

Parents. It's all their fault. They get a huge group of families together in a parking lot and arrange their cars in a circle with their trunks facing the center. They open their trunks and fill them with candy so the kids can just walk in a circle from trunk to trunk and say trick or treat. Not house to house, trunk to fricken trunk.



Come on people, what's the fun in that?

Now I don't get any trick or treaters on Halloween because they've already been trunk or treating! Okay, I get maybe 5 trick or treaters the whole night and I'm not exaggerating. Come on, I want to see these cute little kids in their cute little costumes coming to my door and begging for my candy!

When I was younger, we'd have our route planned out and we were so determined to come home with the most candy so that we could dump it out on the living room floor and start bartering with each other.

"I'll give you this sucker for your Reeses, No? Fine 2 suckers for your Reeses and I'll throw in a Tootsie Roll just because I'm a nice guy."

This is what Halloween is all about, the streets should be filled with ghosts and Harry Potters and Hanna Montanas and Jokers and Buz Lightyears and ballerinas and dead brides! (I know, Hanna Montana?)

So I'm sorry to be such a downer on Halloween, but this has got to stop. Who's with me?

Thank God I'm A Sucker

I am, have always been and quite possibly will always be

a sucker.

Doesn't matter what your selling, if you come to my door and smile, I will buy it! I just can't bring myself to say no to someone who has spent the last 15 minutes desperately hyping up his product in hopes that this gullible blond will cave in so he can feed his 12 starving children McDonald's tonight instead of their usual night of rummaging through the gas station trash can in search of anything edible.

I know, I know, it's not like that AT ALL for these sales people but still...it could be right? So Bert has tried to help me just say no, but I am the most passive aggressive person you will ever meet so I started saying:

"Well how about you come back when my husband is home?" But I soon found out this wasn't a good tactic when one salesman responded:

"You mean your husband doesn't let you make any decisions on your own?"

That right there made me angry, put of course I just smiled politely and said "Nope!" and shut the door. Ahhh, Bert was so proud.



So I thought I was getting better until I went to the mall last week.

By myself.

While walking through the mall kiosks, I was approached by this man who said he wanted to show me something, I had seen these booths before with their flat irons and hair extensions and thought it wouldn't hurt anything to just humor this guy for a bit right?

Wrong!

He sat me down on the chair and started flat ironing my hair which was no big deal until he showed me how to curl my hair with the flat iron. I was amazed! Perfect ringlets with a flat iron? Impossible!

So I sat there and let him curl my whole head and talk about how great the product is and how he was a hair stylist over seas and had just moved to the United States a couple months ago. It was all fine and dandy until he told me how much the straightener costs,

$250


What? But of course he could sell it to me for a measly 170 bucks. Because I was special. Because he liked me.

I didn't want to buy it, I already had a straightener at home, I was about to suck it up and say no like I had practiced, but then he told me the flat iron came in pink!

I stalled, the poor guy had worked so hard on getting this sale I couldn't just say no! What if he started to cry? I couldn't walk away and feel good about myself that I made a grown man cry could I?!

There was no turning back now. I told myself I would buy it today and return it tomorrow. So the man got his sale and I left with the pink wonder in my hand.

It sat in it's box at my house for a week. I was going to return it, I really was.

But then I used it. And instantly the heavens opened up and smiled down on me and I fell in love.

And I now thank God everyday for making me a sucker.

For if I wasn't a sucker I would not have this pink miracle in my life today.

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

It's time to announce the winners of the Pay It Forward Giveaway! Are ya ready?

I put all the names in a bowl, including extras for those that posted about the giveaway on their blog, and drew out two names. The first winner who will win the bracelet and the necklace is:




The Cluff Family!


Yay for the Cluffs, you are now gonna be one stylin chica!


Now, for the mystery prize winner, let's see first what the prize is:





My favorite fall Decor! I'm in the fall mood and thought I'd spread it around! Here's a closer look of the prizes












And the winner of the fall decor is...

Meaghan!

Congrats to both winners! Remember to email me your shipping information so I can get your prizes out to you!

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Here are the two winner's random acts of kindness:

Cluff Family:
I make cookies all the time and take them to friends and neighbors! (That is selfish though cuz I don't wanna eat em ALL) My friends mom has cancer again.. 5 tumors! So I made her a special card. It almost made ME cry! I sent it home with her son. I am also doing the Memory walk for Josh's grandma in a couple weeks! My friends and neighbors help me all the time. When they see me struggling, they are always there to help out.

Meaghan:
What I have done: I try to help others understand the cancer journey. I try to help others tell their stories and move forward in life. My Random Act of Kindness....I always give people the extra change that they don't have or dollar. I hate when you get to the register and you are short so I make so to always give the person $$...And today I gave a beautiful Hope Box to a cancer patient. I got it from Nana over at Nana's Box

What others have done for me: Wow so many people have done so many things for me. Random act of kindness would be Nana making and sending me the Hope box for my friend :)

Last Day For A Giveaway!

You have until tomorrow morning at 11 am MST to enter the Pay It Forward Giveaway contest! Simply go here and leave a comment and you're entered to win these fabulous prizes:

Necklace and matching bracelet...

...and the mystery prize of course!

Also, if you are a coffee lover then you can't miss out on this giveaway either!


Wow, everyone is so gracious, it must be getting close to that time of year.

Please, Try Not To Throw Up

Warning: This entry is full of mushy gushy lovey dovey cheesy gooey bloggy buddy love so you may need to read this next to your toilet bowl!

First: The Pay It Forward Giveaway is still going on so if you haven't entered yet, just go here (or simply scroll down) and leave a comment!

I love love love all the random acts of kindness that you've shared by entering the giveaway, you all are wonderful, passionate, praiseworthy, beautiful and compassionate human beings!

Second: I received this lovely blogger award from Smile! It's Becky! and I was so excited about it and couldn't wait to forward the love on to my favorite blogger buddies! So, thank you Becky you are more than gracious!




The rules are that if you get this award, you need to post it on your blog and thank the person who gave it to you, that would be me, just in case you were confused :o) and then choose 7 other blogs that you deem worthy of such a prestigious award.

I have a major crush on a lot of blogs, of which some should probably get a restraining order against me.

Seriously.

I am that addicted.

For this reason it was hard to only choose 7 of my great loves, but I prayed about it and now feel comfortable with my decision. So without further ado, Give it up for:


(Drum Roll........)






Cluff Family News

The Orr Family Est. 2006

Heath'e' and Family

Two Guys, A Girl, And A Couple Of Dogs

Chris and Dani

My Journey Toward: The Glamorous Life of a Housewife

Marsden Mania

Congrats to all! Hugs, kisses and a big lick in the face!

Okay, you can throw up now.

Pay It Forward Giveaway!

How fun is this?!

Last week I won a this fabulous prize from Smile! It's Becky! :



This adorable tote was the prize for her Pay It Forward Giveaway. Because I was the lucky winner of this prize, I will now pay it forward and have a fabulous giveaway of my own!

There will be 2 winners in this giveaway, the first winner will receive this gorgeous necklace with matching bracelet.










The second winner will receive this:



A mystery prize! (Just because I love surprises)

The mystery prize will be revealed when the winners have been chosen on Friday.

So come play!

Here are the rules:

• To enter the contest you need to leave a comment on this blog entry telling me one act of kindness that you have done for someone else, or that someone else has done for you.
  
  
• To enter a second time you need to mention this giveaway on your blog and then leave a comment here just to state that you did so. This will give you a better chance at winning!
  
  
• You have until Friday morning (Oct. 24th) at 11:00 am MST to enter the contest at which point a winner will be selected at random from the commenters.
  
  
• If you are the winner, you must then send me your mailing information and promise to "Pay It Forward" and have a giveaway of your own.
  
  
• Anonymous commenters (Those without a Google and/or Blog account) can play too as long as you give your name and either post your email address with your comment or email it to me at ksilkman@comcast.net

Good Luck!

"Don't Mistake My Anal Retentiveness For Actual Affection"

I'm trying to channel my Bree Van de Kamp inner self.

Have you seen this woman? She is seriously my inspiration.

I want to be Bree.

I want to be able to keep my house spotless, while baking delectable desserts, while planning the neighborhood social, while alphabetizing my cook books while wearing my cutsie apron,
while my hair is in perfect condition and my makeup impeccable, while setting the table for tonight's dinner party, while wearing my housewife dress and heals, while wearing my ever so perfect set of pearls, while folding the world's best smelling laundry, while dating my pharmacist who killed my first husband, while pretending to be pregnant to hide my daughter's fornication, while my murderous second husband goes to jail, while...

Okay maybe not those last few items...

But I want to do it all with a smile on my face just like Bree.



I love this apron she wears and I want one soooo bad! I only wish I could stay at home all day and make my house into the most clean, organized, sparkly, fabulously engaging humble home ever!



I want to throw dinner parties and serve more than one course. I want to have my friends over for a cup of tea and civilized conversation and dirty gossip!



I want to bake the most fabulous cakes and run the biggest fund raisers and grow the biggest, brightest flowers in my garden.



I want to quilt and sew and plan my dinner menus a month in advance.

I want to clip coupons and decorate for holidays and keep my mail off my counter.

I want to take muffins to my neighbors in plaid picnic napkin lined baskets.



You can call me obsessed, you can call me a freak but only if you can admit that it'd be great to be Bree! I will leave you now with some great Bree quotes:


Bree: My daughter is planning on giving you her virginity and I'd consider it a personal favor if you wouldn't take it.

Rex: You're using the good china, freshly pressed napkins, flowers from the garden. This tray was prepared with loving care.
Bree: Do me a favor, Rex. Please don't mistake my anal retentiveness for actual affection.



Rex: I can't believe you tried to kill me.
Bree: Yes, well, I feel badly about that.

Time To Get Fallified!

I guess snow isn't the worst that could happen so I've decided I should just embrace the season despite of the weather.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the Halloween/Fall decorations that I have in my home in hopes anyone else would share pictures on their blog too. I love decorating my house this time of year especially for Halloween!

First off is my living room mantel. I owe these cute block letters to my mother in law who gave them to me a couple of seasons ago. They spell out HARVEST.

This is my leaf bowl with my pumpkin potpourri that smells delicious! I keep it on my kitchen table.

I love this crafty BOO in my kitchen.

I painted this witch a loooong time ago when I actually did arts and crafts.

Now this is the coveted pumpkin candle that I stole from my Mom a few years ago with the promise to give it back, her mistake was she never said WHEN to give it back! (Thanks Mom!) This is my absolute favorite candle because it fills my house with pumpkin spice aroma that just feels so homey and cozy. Especially on snowy days!

I usually have these pumpkins on my front door, but this year I brought the pumpkins inside...

...and replaced them with this:

I just got this wreath this year at Linen N Things, they have a lot of cute fall decor!


My little darling Frank is from my old "crafty" days, I just think he's adorable!

Frank hangs out on my piano with his good friend Jack

So that's pretty much it for now, I still need to decorate my front porch which is very very plain. I also can't wait to put out my Thanksgiving decor because I have the cutest Turkeys!

Okay, so I'm feeling better now that I'm focusing on the Holidays and not the snow! Does anyone else decorate for fall?

Denial Is The First Sign Of Idon'twantsummertoenditis

Diaper Drama!

I have been told by my mother that I have a fantastic memory. Yes, I can remember back when I was in diapers living in our first house in West Layton. So be warned that the following story is my first childhood memory and it contains graphic situations that may not be suitable for all ages.


My two year old self had just awoke on a Sunday morning to the most horrible feeling I can ever remember having, the icky feeling of a huge TURD in my diaper!
I remember thinking how uncomfortable it was to have this foreign, stinky, lump stuck to the bottom of my baby bum bum and I wanted nothing more than to have this object removed right away.

So I crawled out of my crib, a new talent I had just recently mastered and one that I was very proud of, and went searching for those people that feed me and take away my turds. To my disappointment, the only person I could find was the bald one and he was asleep in the big bed, snoring.

"Great," I thought to myself, "Where is the pretty one that I like best? I know she would take my turd away...if I could just find her!"

So I hobbled into the living room with my blanky dragging behind me in search of the pretty one, but my heart sunk to the floor as I realized I was alone, alone with the bald one. I hobbled to the window in our front room to peer outside and I remember the biggest feeling of relief came over me at what my eyes had seen.

The pretty one, with her red dress blowing in the wind, was walking toward the house. Trailing beside her was that other small person who was always around, the one who would constantly fight with me over the pretty one's attention. I saw him wearing his diamond print church vest at which point I realized they were walking home from that place. That place where I was able to color with my crayons and eat cheerios while my parents sat next to me on the bench listening to some loud voice saying things that I didn't care to understand.

I was so overjoyed at the thought that soon I would be turd free and could go on with my daily routine of chewing on those delicious rubber keys and flipping through my books in my own little private corner of the front room.

Yes, I would be free.

Free until the next brown intrusion came along.

My Hubster

Yay for my hubster!




For those who are not aware, Alex is going to go to law school. Big and exciting changes for us! He has been studying foreva and finally took his LSAT on Saturday (Oct. 4th). YAY he is done! Well, at least for now.


I am so proud of my man, there isn't anything he can't do. I am so lucky to have the husband that I do, he is self motivated, always succeeds in everything he does, any action he takes is done with me and our little family in mind, he is so smart and he is constantly wanting to learn more, he's got a mind of his own and isn't afraid to be who he wants to be. I love him sooooo much, he's really my best friend in the whole world.





Wow, I didn't mean for this entry to turn into a gushy "I love my husband" entry but with a husband like Al, I couldn't help it!


Gotta love the Hubster!

Does This Horse Make My Butt Look Big?

The Killer Summer 08 Continues:

Homestead Resort Weekend Getaway

In August we stayed at the Homestead Resort in Heber City for a little family vacation. My mom rented a huge condo for everyone which was 3 stories so we all got our own rooms and bathrooms. Everyone includes: Me, my Albert, my little sis Lindee & her baby Logan, my bro Chad with his wife Amy & her daughter Kelsi, my Mom, and my baby sister Alyse. Lindee's husband Lance had to work so he wasn't able to come. It was really nice to spend time with my family because I don't get to see them often and when I do it's only for like 2 hours at a time.

The funnest part for me was going horseback riding! I was so excited because I haven't gone horseback riding in years! I also made Albert go even though he was dreading it, but I didn't want to go without him. Turns out he really enjoyed it! Along with everyone else. We road 2 hours up and down the mountain trails with spectacular views and rough terrain. It wasn't the usual horseback rides where you walk on a flat surface in a circle, this ride was exciting!

My beautiful mother was so nice, not only did she pay for the condo but she stayed back at the resort to babysit Logan so that Lindee could go horseback riding with us.

She's single fellas!

Guys: If you are between the ages 30 and 55, good looking, and make at least $750 grand a year, send me an email! (Sorry mom I had to!)


Okay, back to the horses...

Here we are getting ready to head out with our guide, I don't remember his name exactly but he did a great job and was very entertaining. I gave him a big tip!

Alyse didn't look very excited to get going.

But I caught her smiling later!

Chad is the pale red head of the family so by the time we were done, his legs and arms looked like they were on fire! Ouch.

Me attempting to take a picture of us all together.

One of the many steep hills

Finally our guide took the camera from me to get us all in the same picture. Here we are!

From left to right: Baby sis, Big bro, Poob, hubba hubba, & Lil sis

Lindee thanking her horse for not bucking her off.

My Darling horse Poncho.



View from the back.

Alex rides his horse like he rides his motorcycle, with one hand on his hip. He was the only one who didn't have a sore butt afterwards! Guess he's used to riding for hours at a time.

Time for a POP QUIZ:

Is Lindee's horse male or female?