2009 = Selfishness

Once again, a new year is creeping upon us. Time to make some new years resolutions right? I have been pondering about the year 2009 for quite some time and this is what I have come up with: I am going to be selfish! Yes, 2009 is all about ME! And I can't wait! Here are a few of my new years resolutions:

1. Weight Loss: I have to start dieting again! No more excuses! I am so mad at myself right now because I have gained obscene amounts of weight in the last 3 months. Here I am, going to Utah to see friends I haven't seen for 6 months-2 years & I am heavier than I was the last time I visited. I only have 2 pairs of pants that fit right now. The sad thing is that a few months ago I had gotten down to a pretty decent number that I hadn't seen since I was probably 4 years old. Oh well! I hope my friends will still love me with my tight pants and protruding gut.

2. Excercising My Butt Off (literally): I have a gym membership and it's high time I started using it. I hope to wake up at the crack o' dawn and workout, followed by more sweating after work. Hard work it will be...but surely worth it in the end.

3. Spiritual Upliftment: It is no big surprise that I have made many a mistake in my life. My spirituality has taken a nose dive as of late and it needs to be lifted up again. I plan to increase my spirituality by reading the scriptures more, by doing a wee bit o' repenting and by spending more time on my knees.

4. Gratitude: One simple sentence everyday should do it. I have SO much to be thankful for...if I will only open my eyes to see it.

Oh how I love new years resolutions. It's all about finding myself and getting back to the Alayna I once was {just a skinny version}. I think a conversation I overhead from my dad really sums it up. He was talking to an old friend and telling him what his kids were all up to. When he got to me he said, "Alayna has a house here in Mesa. She's not married yet. Of course, she would LIKE to be..." At first listen I thought to myself, "Oh men...they have no tact" and I was all sorts of embarrassed. But really, that IS what it all comes down to. Who doesn't want to get married? Who doesn't long for that companionship?? My selfishness in 2009 is just getting me a few steps closer to that blessed day. How can one expect to be happy with someone else if they are not first happy with themselves? That is why 2009 is going to be all about ME!!!

{Happy New Year}

Who am I kidding???

There is NO WAY I can ever quit blogging. Who am I kidding?? Of course I have to blog about my merry Christmastime...

I must admit, I was pleased as punch this Christmas. I only had 3 things on my Christmas list, and I got every single one of them. But first, some Christmas fun pics:

this years' loot

me in all my Christmas glory
conquering and dividing
doing what I do best...

Now, can I get a drumroll please??? The three things on my list that I received are:

#1: MONEY (thanks grandpa, grandma, and Teresa)

{imagine a picture of money here}

#2: a mini hymn book

#3: Woohoo! It's an iPod!!

and it's pink...

Oh Christmastime, how I love thee. Here's to hoping your holiday was fantastic!

I QUIT!!!

I am putting in my two weeks folks. That's right...I QUIT!!! I quit this blogging thing {well, for two-ish weeks anyway}. No one reads my blog or comments anyway...

It is Christmas time and I really have nothing exciting to share, so I will just spend my days doing something better for humanity and will hold off on the blogging thing. Besides, I won't be working much and you all know that work is where my internet access is...

Then on December 31st-January 6th I will be in the frozen land of Utah, so I am sure I won't be blogging there either.

Enjoy your holidays! Even though my thoughts will not be written out for you to see, you will definitely be in my thoughts!!! Utah friends...here I come!!! Can't wait to see you all!!!

{Merry Christmas}

a strange day...

I have this overwhelming feeling that I cannot post a blog in the month of December unless it is related to Christmas. Today, I am overcoming that. Since I am a tad on the bored side, I thought I would fill you in on the strangeness that is today.

It all started when I decided to revert to my elementary school ways. You see, there is this boy, and I kind of like this boy. Ok, I really don't, but I try really hard to convince him that I like him. Being bored and giddy, I wrote him a little love note and had a pal deliver it to him for me. It's just one of those things...what can I say?

And then, after the whole love note deliverance, I had another pal {a girl} ask me to lay on the couch with her (eek!). I let her know that I wasn't all about spooning with females and didn't think the boss would approve of us relaxing so casually during work. Just so you know, she is married and would never want to spoon with me. Maybe she was just asking me if I had a spoon and I misinterpreted??

Anyway, that is my post for this lovely, partly sunny, mostly cloudy day. Peace out from your silly blogging pal in AZ.

my weekend job...

Click here to see what I do on the weekends for fun this holiday season...

{don't forget to push play}

I will never...

I will never be one of those people who has antlers attached to the side of their car, with a little red puff ball on the front bumper. I will never have a wreath attached to my front bumper either. I know you know what I am talking about...

p.s. if you are one of those people, I apologize if I offended you. But let's face it, you are just weird!

The waiting is over...

I introduce you to the Christmas Tour: Alayna style

Click here to see my YouTube video

Ignore the heavy pixelation and extreme darkness. My camera is a little under the weather, and honestly, this is the first time I have ever recorded much on the old camera. I hope the video is not as dark as it appears on this computer. Hopefully you can see it better. I may never post a home video ever again 'cause this has caused me all sorts of grief (I never claimed to be computer and/or camera savvy). But I still hope you enjoy it...a little. A prize to the first person to discover my favorite phrase.

(P.S. Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong when I try to embed things? It never works for me, so unfortunately links are all I can post)

Utah baby

I am SO SO excited! Southwest Airlines just ran a killer deal on flights from Phoenix to Salt Lake and I booked myself a ticket! So all my Utah friends, I will be in town December 31st-January 6th. Anyone wanna hang out with me??

P.S. The jacket IS red! No one believes me but it's true!!! I got the jacket several years ago from my bro (served a mission in Thailand and brought it back for me). In my little Alayna brain, I have always believed that the jacket was red. Then yesterday at work I was told to wear red for our Christmas party today at work and I told everyone that I didn't have anything red to wear. Then I looked down at my jacket and said, "I guess I can just wear my jacket." My cute co-worker Cheryl then looked at me and said, "Alayna, dear, your jacket is orange." It started a whole fiasco to which many laughs were directed at me. Most people at work said my jacket was orange. Perhaps it has just faded over time...but I promise, it was red when I first got it!!!

VOTE

Without peeking at any of the comments before casting your vote, and without giving you the background story into why I ask this question, what color is my jacket in the picture below??

phooson

Last Friday I had the privilege of going to a concert with my two pals Joey and Janalee called Phooson. It was quite an event. In fact, the show started at 5 and I don't think I got home until 2 am (the concert ended around midnight) so it was 7 hours of musical fun. I took a lot of pictures, but sadly they all turned out pretty trashy. So for better pictures, click here. These are just a few pictures I took for your viewing pleasure.

Me and my girls

Varsity Fan Club

The Academy Is (or atleast all I could see of them because the two girls in front of me were huge fans and had choreographed routines to each song...pretty comical)

Secondhand Serenade (slightly on the boring side)

Jesse McCartney (one of my favorite performances)

Katy Perry (dressed in a Christmas costume with her bandmates looking like Elves...also a great performance)

Tokio Hotel (with the freakiest lead singer I have ever seen...)

The sheer look of horror on our faces when we saw the lead singer of Tokio Hotel (can you say Transvestite?)

A surprise appearance by Paula Abdul

The Pussycat Dolls

Fall Out Boy

And, of course, Rihanna



It was a great time had by all. The person I was looking most forward to seeing, Rihanna, was the last performer. And sadly, by the time she came out it was nearly midnight and I was so so tired. Joey even fell asleep (don't tell her I told you that). But I was glad I got to go. Thanks for going with me girls!!!

latest happenings

This last week was very eventful to say the least. It all started on Tuesday when we had a cookie party at work. Everyone was supposed to bake 9 dozen cookies to be tasted and judged, then we each got to take home a dozen of each cookie. I do enjoy cooking at times, especially when I get to make cookies (judging by my waste line, that is all I enjoy cooking/eating). So I got out the old Kitchen Aid and some key ingredients to make the ever delicious Melt Aways. Mind you, I have only used the Kitchen Aid twice (once by me and once by someone else), so this tool is still pretty new to me (yep, I've had it for two years). Well, this is what happened when I tried mixing all the ingredients together:
The picture just does not do justice to the monstrosity of the mess. It was nothing short of a disaster! Flour, cornstarch, and powdered sugar {oh my} EVERYWHERE!! Yep, even all over my arm. Next time I use the old Kitchen Aid I will wear a plastic suit. Once the mess was cleaned up however, the cookies themselves did turn out pretty good. Here they are:
Pretty cute right? The festivities were fun and the cookies were pretty good, but my cookies didn't win anything. Not the prettiest, not the tastiest, not the best presentation...NADA! I was pretty bitter. Just kidding! Here are two more pics of the festivities:

Me and my pal Nikki waiting for the cookies to be revealed

Strange picture right? I do not post this picture to show you just how cool my boss is with his sexy leg-on-table pose, but to point out the celebrity {if you will} in the background that stuck around for our cookie party. All you scrapbookers out there are jealous I know. Yep, that's Tim Holtz! Everyone else in the world who doesn't know who Tim Holtz is, you are missing out. He is super talented! LOVE HIM!!!

The very next day (Wednesday) I was driving to work and had to slam on my brakes in rush hour traffic to avoid hitting the car in front of me. Apparently the person behind me had to do the same, but they weren't as lucky as I was. I watched the whole thing unfold in my rear view mirror and then calmly pulled my car off to the side of the road.

Whoa! The damage is overwhelming right? Not quite, but still, it kind of sucked. Thank heavens the girl who hit me had insurance and was on top of things (I wonder if this had ever happened to her before?) because after the whole involving the police and exchanging information, and before I even got to work that morning, her insurance company had contacted me and set up an appointment for me to take my car to a body shop to be fixed. Right after work I dropped off my poor little car and got hooked up with this beauty:

That's right folks...I got myself a minivan! Ok, it wasn't quite as big as a minivan, but it was still motherly in appearance. I was so excited that I just wanted to get a big group of people, stuff them in my mini-minivan and go for a ride. Sadly, that never came to fruition. My car was fixed two days later (just in time for Phooson...to be posted tomorrow). Here are the end results:

Oooh...pretty, smooth, scratchless bumper! The best part was that the scratches that were in the bumper previously from my run in with a sign on the freeway, my backing into a small tree and my unfortunate incident with my garage door closing on said bumper are no longer there! Now, if only I could get someone to hit the front of my car to make those small scratches disappear too! (Note: I really am a good driver! I have never been in an accident that was my fault and have never ever received a speeding ticket...)

And finally, on Thursday I got to hang out with my little stud Luke to celebrate his 7th birthday. He wanted to go to Red Lobster {gag} for his birthday, so my mom and I took him there. He got some crab legs {gag again} and REALLY enjoyed them:

In fact, there were a few morsels of crab meat on the table where the crab legs were cracked open, so Luke did a good job of licking those up as well. Maybe I should call him Hoover or Dyson from now on...

LOVE THAT KID!!!

the many faces of alayna take 2

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmasy ME

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Depends on how lazy I am feeling at the time of wrapping. I prefer wrapping paper, but gift bags are so much quicker!
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial fo’ sho’! I can’t imagine trying to keep a real, cut down tree alive. Knowing my luck, I’d probably burn down the house with the Christmas lights + dead tree… Although one day I think I shall try the real thing {he he}
3. When do you put up the tree? Day after Thanksgiving yo
4. When do you take the tree down? January 1st-2nd
5. Favorite gift received as a child? I’m too old to remember that stuff, so I’ll stick with more recent times. I once received a pink KitchenAid, pink pots and pans and a ladder. Oh such happy times! Upon further investigation, I do remember hearing stories about a Christmas in my younger days when I got extra excited to receive a box {yep, you heard me right…a box} from my grandpa. There was a doll inside…but really the box was my favorite
6. Hardest person to buy for? Any man…period.
7. Easiest person to buy for? Myself {who doesn’t buy themselves something for Christmas??}
8. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep. My cutest grandma gave me one of her old sets and I love it! They look like little Cabbage Patch kids and they are special to me
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail {and usually homemade cards}
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can’t recall getting a present I didn’t like
11. Favorite Christmas movie? The Christmas Story {featuring my brother}
12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? On occasion I will shop on Black Friday, but it’s mostly sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas…
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Can’t say that I have
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? In relation to Christmas foods or food only seen around Christmas time, I’d probably say the chocolate oranges {mmm…tasty}
15. Lights on the tree? Of course. But they have to be white lights…none of that colored crap
16. Favorite Christmas song? I truly enjoy the Bruce Springstein version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” but really, I like most any song that is Christmasy in nature
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to Utah a few days before Christmas to experience REAL winter and get in the Christmas spirit, then stay home for Christmas day
18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph. That’s all of them right?
19. Angel on top of tree or star? Neither. I would probably choose a star though
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present Christmas Eve, the rest Christmas morning
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Those blasted bell ringers
22. What theme or color are you using? Not a fan of traditional red and green {the ugly red and green} but do have a lot of deep red and more of a brighter green {aka Parakeet…any Bazzill fans out there?}. I also like the pink and blue look. I don’t have a particular color style, but do have LOTS of snowmen. I think they’re pretty cute!
23. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We don’t have a traditional Christmas dinner. Ok, maybe we do {ham and potatoes}. But we have an awesome tradition of having Breakfast Burritos on Christmas morning. Yummy!
24. What do you want for Christmas this year? A man{tall, dark and handsome or short, squatty and ugly…I don’t really care…I’ll take what I can get}, an i-pod {a little behind the times…I know}, a mini hymn book {don’t ask}, someone to pay all of my bills {reference first item on list}, oh and health and happiness for everyone {thanks Joey!}
25. It would only make sense to have a 25th question because the number 25 is synonymous with Christmas, but there isn’t a question number 25. Sorry folks!

p.s. I just looked on someone else’s blog who has this little questionnaire up, and the missing question is this: Do you like Eggnog? To which I would promptly respond, “Heck NO!!” That stuff is WRONG in so many ways!!

it's christmas time!

{last year's loot}

i LOVE this christmasy time of year! it is by far my fave! love the music, love the lights, love buying presents for others, but mostly love decorating!!! of course, my house looks pretty dull in comparison to my parents' house (above). i have little space to decorate and my tree is a poor excuse for a tree. but hey, i am single and poor, so we take what we can get right? the minute I got home from the cabin (p.s. thanksgiving pics and descriptions were supposed to be posted, but i can't get the pics off the camera today...maybe another day...or maybe not), even before parking the car in the garage, i had to get out the christmas decorations. i was beyond over the pumpkins and thanksgiving decorations...it was on to bigger and better things. and boy was it fun! each year my collection grows and each year i wonder where i am going to put all my new things... i'll say it again: i LOVE this christmasy time of year!

soon to come...a tour of my house at christmas time.

{oh what fun!}

Happy Thanksgiving

{blalalalalalalalala!}

In case you are unfamiliar with the phrase above, that is my turkey call. By the way, isn't that the cutest turkey ever? Who has ever seen a pink and purple turkey? I LOVE IT!!

This is me wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you have a wonderful holiday with the people you love the most. I also hope you eat lots and get stuffed/fat so you can look like me!!

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house I go...

So, it's technically a lake I pass, the woods are more like a canyon and grandmother's house directly translates to my parents' cabin. That's right folks, I am headed to beautiful Snowflake, AZ to enjoy the Thanksgiving festivities with the parentals and no one else. Kind of different, yet looking forward to it: a few days of relaxation, over-eating and crafts...

{Pure BLISS}

check me out!

I am famous. Click here to see just how far I will go for some free stuff. I have some mad skills people...

Reflection

When I first thought about blogging today, I decided that I was going to blog about my extremely disappointing weekend: my concert got cancelled, the movie I was looking forward to did nothing for me, my Cougars got slaughtered, I am exhausted, I feel kind of sick, the list goes on. But then I decided to create a new playlist for the blog and was going to add some of my favorite Backstreet Boys songs in memory of my cancelled concert. Upon searching through their songs I found quite a few that I had never heard before. All the songs added but the first song you are hearing now are songs that are new to me...and I sort of like them. But then I came across the song "Close My Eyes" and knew my post was going to take a drastic turn...to a quiet reflection inside my heart.
I truly believe the Backstreet Boys are amazing, and a lot of what I like about them is the fact that I can relate to many of their songs. This new song {Close My Eyes} is no exception. In fact, I think it's my new theme song for my life at present. It is very closely related to the song "You Can Let Go" which is playing now. The first time I heard that song I fell in love with it. Then one Sunday when I was driving to my parents' house after church I had a strange thought enter into my mind when that song came on. I pictured my Heavenly Father singing the words to me. Kind of crazy, I know. But it immediately brought tears to my eyes and sometimes when I am sad I think the same thing and turn on that song.

It's no big surprise that I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes in my life, and more the last 5 years or so. This last week has been eye opening for me. I am finally waking up. I feel like I can finally let go of a lot of baggage that has been weighing me down lately. I still feel strange and emotional, but at the same time feel invigorated and a little bit lighter. It's a strangely pleasant feeling.

So enjoy my new playlist. Give these new songs a listen and let me know what you think. Is one of them your new theme song??

P.S. There is one highlight of my weekend: my big Enrichment activity is OVER and was a success! Woo hoo!!

UPDATE 11/24: I gather from the two comments I received thus far that my blog was taken out of context. No, I am not depressed. No, this blog was in no way meant to make you feel sorry for me or to let you in on a suicide attempt. I am totally fine! I just found a new song that makes me happy...and sums up my life. So please understand, I am a happy girl!!! I know I have amazing friends that love me. What more could a girl ask for??!!

P.S.

Twilight sucked...

you've GOT to be kidding me!!!

I just got news that the Backstreet Boys concert has been cancelled due to sickness. WHAT THE CRAP??!!

{my heart is no longer singing}

uncontained excitement

Admit it. You are jealous.

You wish you could go with me tomorrow to see these guys:

{makes my heart sing}

Happiness is...

a full tank of gas for less than $30!!!

3, 2, 1...BLAST OFF!!!

I’m having one of those days. You know what I’m talking about right? One of those days where everything seems to have built up so much that an explosion is inevitable. I can’t keep it in much longer. I am a girl with some issues…

So, I had a mild explosion today. It was only a small round (maybe 30 seconds or so) of tears, and then I felt better. Sometimes all I need to do is cry. What can I do…I am a girl…and girls are notorious for crying.

I actually called my mom today and asked her if I could go home from work (yes, I am 27, but apparently am not capable of making my own decisions yet). She said no. Dang it! Maybe tomorrow. Do you think anyone ever calls in depressed?

I am not looking for sympathy. I am not looking for advice on how to be cheery. I know these things. I just write as a source of alleviating frustrations. Sometimes it helps to just get it off your chest (or in my case, out of your eyeballs).

I don’t want to go into details of my depressive state today, but I will just say this: the everyday stresses of life are really bugging me today! But don’t you fret, I’ll get over it… I WILL SURVIVE!!

I just need to watch my hottie man from my previous post :)

mmm....DADDY!!

You have to watch this {my new obsession}

I can live without the chest hair and the scarf, but other than that...

he's the one for me!

muse

scary music right? just wait...it gets better...i promise! i post this eerily beautiful song for a couple of reasons:

first of all it is a tribute to my dear friend nikki who introduced me to this song that i just can't get enough of. seriously, i listen to this song {full blast} in my car to and from work everyday. it is amazing!!!

second, my favorite book series/soon-to-be movie {Twilight} is coming out next weekend. the author of the book said she was inspired by the music of muse when writing this series. i can't help but think in my little alayna brain that perhaps this was one of the inspirational songs. it completely reminds me of all things Twilight.

and finally, this is my b.o. for president theme song. the words completely describe how i feel about him being our next president:

declare this an emergency

come on and spread a sense of urgency
and pull us through

and pull us through

and this is the end

this is the end

of the world

and it's time we saw a miracle

come on it's time for something biblical

to pull us through

and pull us through

and this is the end

this is the end

of the world

proclaim eternal victory

come on and change the course of history

and pull us through

and pull us through

and this is the end

this is the end

of the world

i feel this song really represents his time as soon-to-be president because when he was first elected i felt like the world was going down! ok, not really, but i have been a bit worried. i don't so much trust the man and his background is a little iffy. i was reminded of the part in the scriptures that says we will ultimately be brought down by our leaders, and honestly, he could be the one! or, as the last verse of the song says, he could really be the change we need. i am not sure...we will just have to wait and see...and hope for a miracle!!

anyway, i hope you enjoy this song as much as i do...especially the piano coupled with the drums at the end!

{11.21.08}

Scratch that...

Before it was a lie, but now it is the truth: I am back on the diet again...because I look and feel like a hefer!

P.S. Can you all help me come up with some sort of way to be held accountable??

Confession #...?

I forget what number of confession I am on, but I do have another confession nonetheless:

I turned on the heater in my car last night {full blast}!!

It was 58 degrees! That's cold right?? I guess if you are a Utah resident or live in any other place that has the privilege of experiencing real seasons, 58 degrees is a warm and beautiful day. Soon you will realize that I am just a warm blooded, acclimated Arizonan who is also a whiner. Oh well...

And secondly, you have to check this out. I have no idea where my sis-in-law found this, or how she even posted it on her blog (I am not computer savvy), but I have only one word to describe it: genius!

(and just for the record, I hit the little spell checking button on my blog, and ironically I misspelled the word genius. Don't worry...it is all fixed now...)

i {heart} reik

As most of you know, I spend my workdays chillin' with lots o' Latinos...

Lots o' Latinos = lots o' Spanish music

I know you all know what kind of music I am talking about...the circus type with the Latino man moaning in agony {ay ya ya ya ya}. Anyway, I don't so much love this music....


When I first met Pepe he quickly made a point of adding some Spanish stations to the radio of my car. Until then, I never knew there could be any good Spanish music out there. But then I realized that some Latinos are actually up-to-date with the "coolness" that is the music today. And, believe it or not, I found myself listening to the Spanish stations in my car on occasion. Then, about 6 months ago I heard this song on the radio called "Invierno"and I LOVED IT!!! I made Pepe do some investigating to find out who sang the song and then went on the hunt for the CD. After much searching I found it! But oddly enough, it did not even contain the song I loved. Regardless, I quickly fell in love with that CD. About a month or so later I found the other CD that actually contained the song I was first searching for...and I love that CD too!! So now, I can say with pride that I {HEART} REIK!!! In fact, I secretly wish to make out with all of them.


So I have added a few of my fave songs on my playlist. Go ahead...take a listen.

{If you dare...}

Even if you don't want to hear this, I am going to tell you why I LOVE these songs that I have added. But first, I must say that I have never before heard the songs "Inolvidable" and "Estar En Tu Mundo" until today. I just thought they sounded like songs I would eventually fall in love with so they got added. "Que Vida La Mia" is just one of those uplifting, feel good songs. My life is a little crazy, so this song fits. "Invierno" is that song that I first fell in love with. I still love it today. "Llego Tu Amor" is my love song. I melted the first time I heard it...and I really love the build up at the end. I can actually sing every word of that song. "Quedate" is just another fun song. I love the way the lead singer says, "no te vayas" around 2:29 in the song. "Cuando Estas Conmigo" is technically 'our song' (insert finger in mouth and produce gag reflex now). I LOVE THIS SONG! But sadly I could only find some crappy bootlegged version of the song. The real thing is MUCH better. Another song I know all the words to. "Yo Quisiera" also reminds me of my relationship with Pepe. It's just a good song. "Noviembre Sin Ti" is another song I had heard on the radio, but also relates because the title translates to "November Without You" and I am celebrating this month of November without my friend. And finally, I added "Levemente" (another crappy bootlegged version) because it is Pepe's favorite song.

Speaking of Pepe, he had court today and is fo' sho' going home very soon. He opted for voluntary departure. Sad...but as it should be.

{Did I mention I love Reik?}

B.O. 4 Pres

Uh-Oh!

halloween celebration

Just a few photos from the work Halloween festivities:

Nikki the rapper and her husband Douglas the nerd


My pal Andrea the gypsy and Linda as Minnie Mouse

Believe it or not, this is my boss

Crazy Frani and shipping manager Nathan

My FAVE costume of the day. Notice the hand drawn embellishments...

Twins (yep, she blew my chances of winning a prize)

Getting our palms read by Andrea during our super fun, food filled pot luck

Me and my pals Joey (the witch) and Catherine (the pirate)

The whole crew (or atleast those who bothered to dress up)

{good times}