Oktoberfest

October has a fun and kinda eventfulish month. Okay, no events just fun, and only parts of it have been fun. I decided to do a photo update of the month of scarefests. I tried time and time again to carve my traditional pumpkin. It took until the last day of the month to carve it. Which, I kind of enjoyed the whole thing as a halloween night deal. I debated long and hard on what design to do, but i decided to go with easy and traditional this year. I'll start working on next year's designs. The night before halloween I went to a dance with Lee and Duke. I'm the sports fanatic in the middle. Psyche! thanks for the set up. Upon coloring my hand with a highlighter early this September I realized the genius behind my halloween costume... An Oompa Loompa. So I thought it out many many times and I was able to create quite the costume. It was a total hit. Hundreds of people (or tens) commented on how great it was. I put all the other Oompas to shame. Lee went as a University of Montana sports fanatic, and Duke went as SemiPro.

Just the week before Halloween Lee and I decided to go to the BYU v. TCU game. I told him the only way I would go to the game was if we could paint our faces. So we both sported the colors... not the colors we wanted to, but Dad would only give us the tickets if we would cheer for the Y. The game was a disgrace and we both wanted to remove our paint almost as soon as the kick off was through. BYU didn't show up for the game and as fans we shouldn't have either.

Lee got his design inspiration from a skeleton. Not even a week later he did sport his true colors the Maroon and Silver of UofM. He was way more happy to paint his face for the halloween costume rather than the BYU game.

Other events of October. Phineas had his first birthday. Jennifer and I spent the week searching out jungle animals for his sweet birthday cake. There was a carport beach theme. He was the happiest 1 year old ever. He had such a good time that day and knew that it was his day. Then the next day Lee, Jennifer, Phineas, Justin and I went to the zoo and looked at all the baby animals, where afterwards he enjoyed his first piece of pizza. The next week after that Michelle came from CA and we spent the weekend out at Spring Haven. Good times! I miss Spring Haven and I miss Michelle.

Well, those are the highlights of the month. Nothing too exciting and worth reading. Or even worth posting. But it happened and that is that.

It was a whale of a time

So Lee came to visit me this past week. We did several very fun and memorable things (I think so, he may have been bored out of his mind, but he's a boy so what does he know:). A few of the awesome things we were able to do I'll post up here. We started out with an awesome dinner and then ran out to a place called Lena Point for one of the spectacular sunsets here. Whitney, Lee and I sat there on the cliffs overlooking the sea and watched the 10:30pm sunset. It was awesome. We watched for whales too, but didn't see any wild life besides a seal that kept poking his head around. Then the next day we got up early and went for a helicopter ride. This was awesome. The weather was spectacular and we were able to get up and see the glacier and also the Juneau Ice Field. The ice fields are only accessible when the weather is the clearest and the sunniest. And we scored big that day, and even got to do snow angels in July! We also were able to get out on a whale watching tour. Anything you can hope for in a whale watch we were able to see. A sweet humpback full breach. I saw that sucker from head to tail completely out of the water. It was a baby, and was still larger than a full size truck. It was phenomenal. Then we were lucky enough to see a pod of orca. So rare, and something I've been waiting to see for two summers now! Then we also saw bubble net feeding. It's a learned behavior that whales only do here in Alaska. The mate down in HI and then make their way up here where they bubble net feed....translation-12 whales in a circle jumping out lunge feeding at the same time. It was amazing. We spent a lot of time eating, every restaurant that I love we went to, and then we spent a lot of time laughing. He was lucky enough to ride along with me on my tours for 2 full days. That was the biggest treat of them all. You all could have this amount of fun too, with the low low price of coming and visiting :)

Gallon Challenge Revamp?

So the other night I was on my way up to Park City, UT. Along the way I passed through Heber. I love Heber. As I was trucking along at a whopping 37mph I passed the Maverik. Maverik happens to be one of my favorite gas stations. Not only do they have the cheapest gasoline prices but they also have stellar hot chocolate, chocolate donuts, frozen yogurt and a catchy little slogan- "Adventure's first stop." Exciting, I know. It draws me in every time. Anyway, back to the story. As I passed the gas station I glanced over at their marquee to see what price they were boasting for gas, that's when I saw it. The advertisement that gave me one of the best ideas I've had. They were advertising any size Icee for $.99. I've been on a craze lately where I can't get enough slushies, so of course I got excited and my mind started to reel in the possibilities of a $.99 Icee of any size. Now, I know that the largest size they offer is more than enough to satiate my craving but true to form I needed to scheme up the best and biggest possible scenario. A 5 gallon bucket of Icee?! And, better yet... for $.99!!!I was skeptical, but thought it would be fun and totally awesome to go for it. Well, I decided to continue on my way to PC so that I could get back up for my plan.
After much deliberation and persuading. Okay, mainly persuading I convinced Lee that this was a brilliant idea and that there would be no regrets. Step 1 of my plan was complete...convincing the opposed. On to step 2. We had to retrieve a container that would hold an outlandish amount of Icee. This was an especially heinous part of the trek... we had to run the gauntlet of WalMart, aka the Mexica Villa... normally not an issue. But, this is prime time Swine Flu with Park City shutting down all sorts of public gatherings. Could we obtain the chalice and get out unscathed by the filthy swine? While running the gauntlet we decided that a 5 gallon bucket maybe a little overkill...especially since we didn't know how much those machines can hold so we stuck with a 2 gallon canister. Step 3, and the most important... the execution of the plan. As we drove up I was super nervous that the deal would only be at the Maverik in Heber. We're in Park City now and this is a whole new ball game....much to my delight the deal was company wide. I wish I had a camcorder for this part because it truly was spectacular. We walk in and I head straight for the Icee machine, passing the middle aged Asian lady at the counter. Lee walks through the store searching for food and providing a great distraction. I filled the container with Watermelon Fanta and Coca Cola flavors. As I walked away the machine started to make the most awful noise because I'm pretty sure it hasn't had that much action in...ever. As I walked away the lady looked at the machine like it was going to blow, and that's exactly how it sounded (it didn't, well at least not while we were there). We get up to the check out counter and Lee puts his dinner selection (donut holes) on the counter. Ms. Asia rings it up and asks if that is all. I motion to my hand and say, "Oh, some Icee too." Her eyes get wide, she gets an annoyed look on her face. She asks how big of a container we have. Lee says something about the fact that they advertise that all sizes are only $.99. Ms. Asia gives a look like, "you're serious? You really think that is what we meant?" Then informs us that it was a refill container and that they charge differently for refills. As we were finishing up checking out she asked if we were having a party. She didn't believe us when we told her that we were having a party with just the two of us, because why would two people need 2 gallons of slush? We ended up being charged $5 for 2 gallons of Icee and one of the most awesome adventures I've had at a Maverik. We went home and enjoyed the frozen goodness. This is one thing that I will forever laugh about, and thought I'd share it with my 2 faithful followers.

Scent sure is a funny little sense.

As I pull up to the parking lot at work and the conditions are perfect...When the moon is just right, and the clouds and fog are just low enough, and the temperature is just crisp enough that the humidity emits the best scent ever, the scent of the salty water. Smells just like the ocean and I'm taken back to a little town down in the south of New Zealand. I'm riding my bicycle along a never ending street late at night. The town has gone to sleep, I'm the only one out. The fog has rolled in and settled upon the streets, stopping time. The seemingly endless road is lined with lamps, but the fog has defused the light making everything appear to be in the twilight zone. The stillness is eerie, but also safe, as if I'm in a dream and my surroundings are something I've fabricated in my mind. I feel so vulnerable, not knowing what lurks just past my sight. The void of movement is a padding as though it's impossible that there is another creature out taking in that same sight, the same air, the same scent that the ocean has brought in.
Some nights I take my time getting home, basking in the quiet solitude, enjoying the thought of being in my dream world where everything is mine and created just for me. Other nights my legs can't peddle fast enough to get me safe and inside back to the noise produced by the announcers on the telie, and back to the scent of boxed wine and baking tarts, the the friendly chatter of the day's events. But still in the back of my mind is the scene I rushed in out of. Know, years later I still play this nightly occurrence over and over in my mind. Taking me back to the time where the only thing that mattered was what I was seeing and experiencing right then and there.
As I pull into the lot and others are complaining of the scent of the lake, thinking that it is too much to bother with, I rememeber what the smell can be and what it represents and it brings a smile to my face. I don't know why these things all have to be lined up for the phenomenon to happen but when it does it's the portal to one of the best moments and memories i can have.

Not Worth Your Time to Read

Really, if the header doesn't ward you off reading this one I hope that this first sentence will. I have no particular or organized thoughts today, I'm just bored and felt like sitting and writing something on my blog. Since it is my blog I decided that this was perfectly okay and allowed and anyone who objects may hit the X button in the top right of the screen and forget about ever reading my blog again. If that pertains to you, you are disinvited from my blog forever.
Since Christmas I've been working a TON of hours. I've been working two jobs. My days start at 5 am and often don't end until after midnight, 7 days a week. I've had little time to do anything but work. I've loved it. It's given me a much needed and wanted break and excuse (I know most people don't look for excuses to not hang out with the people they call friends, but I'm not most people, I'm Rebecca) from a social life that I was getting bored with.
So, this morning I woke up and looked at the day ahead of me at work. Well, work is dismally slow today and so when I called up my boss he told me to "go ahead and work from home today." My first thoughts were "Saweeet! Day off, I can run and frolic!" quickly followed by, "Oh crap, this is the second week in a row that my hours have been seriously cut, this is for sure going to show in my pay check." (Well, maybe that second thought was the exact thought, but for readers sake this one makes more sense and is just all around more reader friendly than the real thought.) With the time crunch the past few months I have had no time to sit and catch my breath, so this free morning has left me bored and totally lost. What do people do with all this free time? I don't think it's enough time to really go and do anything. It's for sure not enough time to travel any where to see anything. It's more time than it would take to watch a movie (then I'd be two hours down and still have to fill more, but a more awkward amount of time). I could read, but it has been so long since I've picked up a book I think I have forgotten how. If I had the patience I could do a puzzle (ha, I scoff at the thought with me and patience) Ah, I can bake something, but then I would eat it and we all know that I do not need that right now. I could volunteer somewhere, but I don't know where and by the time I research it enough my time is up on this one time free time. So, instead of going out and doing something I enjoy or something that is productive and helpful to society I sit here blogging. Yes, I know-I've become a ridiculous person that has nothing better to do in my free time besides sitting and blogging.
Anyway. Weird, when I signed on to start this page I had no idea where I was going to go with this post. It actually had a little bit of organized thought and I'm not too terribly ashamed of it-I do still believe it was not worth your time to read, and if you made it to this point I'm guessing that you too have too much free time on your hands this morning and you too were looking for something to fill it. If that is the case, I suggest one of the aforementioned time killers. I am off to go bake something. Ah, the joy of killing some time deciding what to bake in this one time freedom from work!!!