Corn Maize!

On Saturday my family finally made it to the Corn Maize (after years of me broadly dropping hints and sighing) in Terrabon and it was really fun! 

The Star Wars Obsessed among us were rather excited with this years theme.....

They had a couple of these bridges scattered though out the maze, the smaller one had a slide for the kids.

Hi!!!

I couldn't resist a few shots of the corn against the bright blue sky!

Family of the Corn.....

One more surprise awaited us this beautiful Autumn day.....

Weenie whistles for everyone!!

Halloween Take Two!

(This is a re-post from last year. I edited it some to get my main question across better! I didn't get as many opinions as I was hoping and I really would like to hear some from both sides! Let me know your thoughts on the matter!)

Many moons ago (I was 12) my parents researched Halloween and decided it wasn't something our family should celebrate (That was a sad, sad day, I love dresing up and candy!).....and while that is an important part of this post, it is not the main focus!

My quandary is this.....

We used to participate in our churches Halloween alternative harvest party, but something always bugged me about it and I could never put my finger on why. Only in the past few years have I discovered the reason.

If the churches feel the need to offer a Halloween alternative, does that mean there's something wrong with it in the first place? If so, shouldn't they find out why they feel the need to call the parties at this time of year anything but a Halloween party?

The don't call the Christmas party a winter time party and they don't call Easter egg hunts spring festivals. The don't offer alternatives to these holidays, they just have Christmas and Easter parties! So, why don't they just have Halloween parties?

If it really is just to provide a warm indoor place with prescreened candy to the kids, why the name change? So, in effect it's not Halloween it self that makes me cringe this time of year, it's the church dancing around an issue they obviously feel convicted about, but don't want to take a stand on because they might "lose" people. If something like that will make you "lose" people, did you really "have" them in them first place?

If your going to celebrate Halloween then celebrate it, but don't slap a different name on it and try to make it seem like you aren't celebrating it when you are. If you feel the need to call it something else, you might want to take a look at why.

Feelin' Fallish!

This is what I wore to make the caramel apples in the previous post, I felt very fallish! =)

Sweater: Target, Cami: JcPenny, Skirt: Made by Me, Shoes: Payless

Love doing this with my hair! I got the flower from a pay it forward blog swap. It's on a pin back so I just attached it to a little girls hair bow....I may have inadvertently stolen the hair bow from a little girl at church....hey, she gave it to me to hold and I stuck it in my purse, promptly forgetting about it until I cleaned my purse out.....

The necklace and earrings I was wearing, I love those earrings! I'm also kind of digging this picture, I have non-squinty eyes and only one chin!!! ;-)

Earrings: Fred Meyer, Necklace: Wal-Mart

I finally figured out a picture taking set up in my room, so welcome to my new picture local and yes, I desperately need more bookshelves! =)

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One of my favorite fall activities was completed this week.....

.....any guesses as to what it was? =)

 (The above caramel is homemade by the way, we found a REALLY simple and VERY tasty recipe!)



Caramel Apples!!

The tasty results!

I'm a plain caramel girl myself, but I branched out this year and made one with peanuts and mini chocolate bits, it was good, but I'm glad I snagged one of the extras and made a plain one, 'cause that is still by far my favorite!

 Well, plain expect for the wax paper stuck to the bottom.....if it's stuck to my food that means it's food too, right? ;-)



We are wimps and cut our apples up....hey, it makes them way easier to eat and you don't waste the apple by just eating the first layer, then forlornly look at your formerly caramel covered treat and sigh before chucking it in the trash! =P

Ramdomosity

Yes, another hair cut.....This is the last one, I swear!

No, really it is, I promise!

 (Really it HAS to be, my head feels far to bumpy to go any shorter!)

I've been loving painting my nails and have been wanting to branch out, I would love to get the colors to do this one.....

.....and this one!



I wonder how hard these would be to recreate?

I love this movie.....what just sayin'!

I just may have to buy this necklace. I've been wanting a big heart on a leather cord and while I have the leather cord the heart has been an elusive creature!

How faerie taleish is this ring? I feel like I could raise kings and control the weather with such a ring.....can anyone say overactive imagination? It is really purty though! =)

Thoughts on Perfection and the Fluffier Things in Life

I attended a Women of Faith event this weekend and have mixed feelings about it. I hadn't gone before because frankly, I turn into a hyperventilating mess in crowds and the average attendance of this event is 6,000 to 7,000! I'm getting agitated just typing that, but it wasn't that bad, I only had to breathe deeply and go to my inner happy place a few times!

It was a great time of fellowship with the ladies in my group, the van rides had to be my favorite part of the weekend! Plus, I got to see Mandeesa and Selah in concert, miss all of the drama I was really excited about (bitter much anyone?) listen to one AMAZING speaker, a few good (but super funny) ones, a couple meh ones and one that I would like to sit down and give a grand ol' talking too!

Most of what I heard wasn't new, maybe it was put in a slightly different way then I'd previously heard it and it is good to have a refresher course now and then, even a fluffy one like this weekend tended to be, I knew that it would be a marshmallow sort of weekend when I signed up though! =)

Okay, time for the not so great or fluffy parts. Problem one, most of the younger speakers were divorced and remarried. I believe while the Bible does give a few grounds on which divorce is okay, remarriage is NEVER okay and it saddened me that most of the speakers had done so! Not that that means they don't have good advice or wisdom, but it falls a little flat when I know that they've ignored a biblical command I think is glaringly obvious!

Problem two, not a serious one and mostly this one springs from my own neurotic nature, but the current trend of super tight pants and just above butt length shirts, viewed on the jumbo-tron, kind of made them all look like they were just wearing tights and had forgotten to put their skirts on.....awkward!

Problem three, one of the speakers talked about friendship. Not my favorite subject anyway, as I have a hard time making friends and have never had success with the advice given to me on making friends. But, one thing this women said made me see red and I'm still trying to clear my vision.

She had a hard time making friends and after a few failed attempts at making friends as an adult she went to a councilor and got told this.....if you see a women who has a great marriage, obedient kids, seems like a great person, basically someone who has it all together, run the other way as fast as you can! Because perfection isn't real and they will project their expectations onto you. Basically, they are the worst kind of friend!

WHAT?!

Is she serious? Isn't that the kind of person you should try to be friends with? Who better to help you become a better wife then someone who has a good marriage? Who better to give you good advice on child rearing then someone who has kids people actually like? Who better to help you manage your time and help you learn to not be a mess, then someone who has obviously learned how to multitask without falling apart?

My family gets accused of being "perfect" a lot, so you can imagine how this made my Mother and I feel! Like there was a big neon STAY AWAY sign floating above out heads! Believe me, we so called "perfect" people struggle, we have fallen, we need connection and friends just as much as the next gal. We want to share our struggles and be transparent, we are NOT judging you and holding you up to our so called "standards of perfection".

So please, don't run the other way and avoid becoming friends with the people in your life who you think are perfect. Yes, we hold ourselves to high standards, but is that really such a bad thing? 

Ehem....rant over!

Will I go to Women of Faith again? Probably. Did the good out-weigh the bad? Yes, I think it did and even if I don't get much out of the speakers, the music was GREAT and the fellowship was priceless! =)

Now I will leave you with some more of the fluffier things in life! ;-)

Is it a bunny or a cat?

Love my fluffly pink socks!

Yum!!