And the worst blogger award goes to.....

Me.

I feel terrible that it has taken me so long to get this post up, because I should have done it weeks ago, but I am hoping that my Secret Santa will understand!

I was absolutely thrilled with the gift she sent!! It was very thoughtful and the package contained some great things!! Here's what she sent:

A ball for Belle.  It's even her favorite kind....squeaky!

A journal for me.  I love that it has the quote from the top of my blog 

on the cover.  I can't wait to start writing in it.  

The package also had the board game version of Words with Friends, which I didn't take a picture of, but I am very excited about it because that happens to be one of my favorite iphone games.  

Thank you to my secret santa!! Once again, I had a great time participating, and look forward to doing it again next year!! 

A look back at 2011

Sitting down to reflect on the year that we had in 2011, I was convinced that it would be tough to find much content. I couldn't really come up with a whole lot off the top of my head, and to be honest, it feels like the year was a cyclone of drama and frustration.

Then I started combing through my archives from the past year.

To my surprise, we had a pretty good year. There was still a fair amount of bullshit and drama, but there were also a lot of really fun memories made. I enjoyed reading the posts again and being able to relive some of the better moments of 2011.

I am really glad to have come across so many good things about the past year, because I was convinced that this one needed to be erased from my memory. Isn't it funny how much the negative weighs in your mind over the good? Even when, as you can see below, the good was pretty damn great.

All in all, I have to say that I have changed my mind since I began writing this post. I am not going to remember 2011 as a horrible year that sucked the soul out of my being. Instead, I will remember it as a great year of firsts, discoveries and fun.

I'm going to try and forget about the bad stuff. It's not worth the pain it causes to remember.

Favorite movie:
Usually we end up with different movies to list as our favorite for the year, however, this year Brett and I both agree that the best movie we saw last year was In Time, I wrote about it here.

Favorite song:
Sail, by AWOLNATION (Brett)
Pumped up kicks, by Foster the People (Kaylyn)

Favorite album:
Lil'Wayne - The Carter IV (Brett)
Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto (Kaylyn)

Highlights:

• We traded my Jetta for a Jeep (here)
• We spent a week in Moab with Chaz and Shay for Jeep Safari (here, here, here, here, here, and here.... what? I really enjoyed myself, and there was a lot to write about.)
• Brett got me a Kindle as a compromise to a much more insane request that I had made (here and here)
• Shay and I threw a murder mystery dinner for our Halloween party this year (here)
• The second annual Mardi Gras Bash at Chaz and Shay's (here)
• We went to the U2 Concert, again with Chaz and Shay (here and here)
• A week of doing nothing in the mountains (here)
• Witches Night Out at Gardner Village with the ladies (here)

Things that we found on the Internet and fell in love with:

• My Drunk Kitchen
• The greatest breakdancing video in the world
• Instagram
• Marcel the Shell, with shoes on
• Vimeo staff picks
• Madeon - Pop Culture
• Sophia Grace Brownlee singing Super Bass, by Nicki Minaj

Tough stuff:

• Losing my Grandpa
• Steve Carrell left The Office
• Being betrayed by family

Cheers to an amazing 2012!!

Thank you secret Santa

The secret Santa gift exchange this year was once again a success!  I had so much fun deciding what to send to my recipient, and I hope that she enjoys it! She had my name last year, and I absolutely loved the gift that she sent me so I was really looking forward to sending something fun to her and repaying the favor.

My secret Santa this year really paid attention! I was so stoked to open my package when it arrived to find this:

A bottle of Sparkling Moscato, a pink and black wine case and a pink and black corkscrew.  Seriously awesome.  Thanks to Sun Child for the great gift! I have already polished off the bottle, and it was delish! The case will come in handy quite frequently, and I appreciate that you took the time to make sure that you would send something that I'd really like!! 

Thank you Pserendipity for arranging the exchange again this year, it is so much fun and I am definitely looking forward to next years exchange. 

What a waste of a day

I spent my day Saturday doing some Christmas shopping. It was a nightmare. Will you please remind me next year to get my Christmas shopping done by June?  Please?

The traffic was ridiculous, and parking at any store I went to was nearly impossible. I didn't know that many people even existed in the state of Utah, let alone that it was possible for all of them to occupy one Wal-mart. That was where I drew the line. I walked into Wal-mart and made it about forty feet into the store before I turned around and walked back out. It was a cluster-fuck, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I refused to fight the crowd just to wait in line for an hour to purchase my three items. I'd rather pay a bit more and go to another grocery store.

I think all in all I went to about six stores, yet it took ALL day. I finally got home after being gone for nearly seven hours, and only wanted one thing to ease the pain of it all....vodka.

I don't plan on leaving my house again until Christmas is over.

Hopefully my boss won't mind.....

Secret Santa 2011

It's time for this year's Blogland Secret Santa! Pseredipity has been hosting a Secret Santa gift exchange through her blog for the past three years, and this will be my second year participating. Last year was a blast, so this year I am really looking forward to doing it again. I know who I'm going to be shopping for, and I can't wait to see what she thinks of the gift I choose for her.

I know that it is really helpful for the person you are shopping for to post a few hints, since most of the participants don't know each other, so I figured I'd share some things about myself to make things a bit easier on my Secret Santa.

1. If you haven't already figured it out, I love books. I love to read and someday I hope to write a few of my own. Browsing through bookstores is a favorite past time of mine. I have a small collection of books that are signed by the author and hope to continue expanding that collection. I also have a kindle that I take with me wherever I go.

2. Pink, black and grey are my favorite colors.

3. I love things that keep me warm.  Hoodies, socks, scarfs, blankets, hot chocolate, etc. - I am not a fan of being cold, so anything that will keep me warm is always a bonus. The only thing you shouldn't consider in this category is a Snuggie. It would be a waste of your money.

4. I drink a lot of wine. I drink a lot of anything, really, but wine is a favorite of mine lately. My favorites are Riesling and Moscato. I used to have one wine glass that I would use all the time, but sadly it broke a few weeks ago.  I also collect shot glasses.

5. I love movies. It doesn't matter what genre.

6. I have a serious sweet tooth.

7. I like jewelry. I wear a necklace and earrings every day.  The only type of jewelry I don't wear are rings.  My wedding ring is the only one that adorns my hand.

Dear Secret Santa,
Hopefully this list will help you out with some ideas. Please don't feel obligated to choose something that is related to this list though. I'm sure that whatever you come up with will be wonderful! I look forward to seeing what you pick, and finding out who the hell you are.

The contents of my weekend

It was a busy one, that's for sure.

I spent Friday night with Brett trying to help me figure out how to melt chocolate. I know that sounds fucking retarded, but if there is one thing I can say about myself, it is that I don't really know my way around a kitchen. He is a much better chef than I am, so I would not have been able to do this project without him. He was able to figure out what we were doing wrong, and set us back on the right path.

I was making four dozen Oreo truffles for a cookie exchange the next morning, and when the chocolate wouldn't melt right I almost had a mental breakdown. They had to be done that night, because if not I would have nothing to take with me to the party.

Brett had spent the majority of the day, in the midst of finals week, building me the display for my cookies that I had dreamt up the day before and sprung on him like a total asshole. He did it though, and it was so much more amazing than I could have imagined it. Because of him, I won the award for best display at the party:

My vision was Santa's sleigh on a rooftop, being pulled by Reindeer. I'd say he nailed it. 

Then after the cookie exchange was over, Shay and I (FINALLY!) went to see Breaking Dawn, part 1. I had heard mixed reviews about it, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. As usual. I have really enjoyed the film adaptations of these books and watching them come to life. Now I just have to wait a year to see the next one.  Damn.  

December snuck up on me fast this year

The only snow we have had thus far in 2011....fine by me!

I know that it's December, and there's nothing that I can do about it, but I'm just not ready yet.

I'm not ready for snow. It was supposed to bombard us yesterday, but it didn't come. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I woke up this morning and looked out the window. The fact that there was no snow on the ground meant that I had ten more minutes of sleeping to do because I didn't have to go out and clean the snow off of my Jeep. I'm not going to be happy when it finally does start falling, because if it's held off this long, I have a feeling that means it's going to be a rough winter.

I'm not ready for Christmas. I am usually so excited for Christmas to come that I just can't stand it, but this year for some reason, I'm just not. I didn't put up my tree, instead I am using the wooden tree that Brett built me last year as a cookie display. This year my heart is just not in it. I'm not sure why.

Who knows, maybe I will come out of my funk.  One can only hope.

Doing things a little differently

Thanksgiving has never traditionally been a holiday that I look forward to. I don't know about you, but If I am going to spend one day of the year devoted to eating, my food of choice wouldn't be turkey. Pretty much the only thing that I am ever excited to have on Thanksgiving is the stuffing, and I can make that any day of the week.

This year we will be the only ones going out to Brett's parents house, so there's really no sense in making all of that food for just the four of us. I proposed to Brett's mom that we do something different this year, to which she replied: "We will eat whatever you want".

You guys, do you know what this means?

It means that we are going to have pizza for Thanksgiving.

I am a total pizza junkie, so when she gave me the freedom to choose the Thanksgiving meal, I thought that it would be fun if we spent the day together making homemade pizza. Then eating it. Isn't that brilliant?

What are your plans for Thanksgiving? Do you have any traditions?

Something that I will never understand

Why is it that people make such a big deal about black Friday?

You have a nice relaxing Thanksgiving holiday, where you get to spend time with your family and enjoy good food, only to wake up the following morning far too early and go fight crowds of people to get deals on shit that you really don't need.

I remember when my mom used to come home after a long day of black Friday shopping. Exhausted and broke with bags and bags of stuff. Just stuff. Half of the things that she would buy weren't even on the list she had taken with her, and when she got back she would spend the rest of the week trying to decide who she was even going to give all of this stuff to. She didn't need it, she just bought it because it was such a great deal! 

I have only ever ventured out on black Friday once, and it will never happen again.

It was right after we moved in with Brett's sister. She had caught wind of the fact that Joann Fabrics was going to have their flannel on sale for ninety nine cents a yard, and both of us thought it would be totally worth it to go. We were planning on being there as soon as they opened so that we would get a great spot in line and be out of there in no time. If there's one thing that I know now from that experience, it's that things never go according to plan. Ever. When we got there, the doors had only been open for a brief fifteen minutes or so, and we went straight to the cut table to pull a number so that we wouldn't have to wait long once we got our fabric cut. The number that we pulled was something like 107 (come on, how do you expect me to remember the exact number? It was like four years ago.) and they were currently serving guest number 3.

The biggest mistake we made that day was not turning around, right then and there, and walking out of that store.

We started filling a cart with bolts of flannel with all kinds of patterns, there were so many to choose from. By the time we were ready to have our fabric cut, they were only serving guest number 12. We decided to wait it out, because how long could it really take, right? Well when everyone ahead of you has an average of 30 bolts of fabric, it can take a long damn time. Brett kept calling to see where we were, because before I had left the house that morning at 5:00, I had assured him that we would be home by no later than 7:30. I was so wrong. It got so bad that when we were still there, waiting to have our fabric cut and it was only noon, Kristi called a friend of hers who lived in the area and begged her to bring us Cafe Rio. We had no shame. We sat there at the pattern table with our lunch and ate it in front of everyone there.

By the time we got out of there it was almost 2:00 in the afternoon.

Tell me why people do this to themselves year after year, just to save a few bucks. I don't get it. I would rather spend the extra money and shop on a day that there aren't hundreds (thousands?) of other people fighting to get to the same thing.

Are you a black Friday shopper? Why do you do it?

Who dunnit?

This year's Halloween party was a Murder Mystery dinner. It was a lot of work to put it all together, but in the end it was worth the effort. The costumes turned out amazing, and everyone did a great job with their characters. 

The hostess of the evening:

Shay's character was Countess Bathory, a 16th century mass murderess.

As usual, Shay went all out on the decor, and it turned out so beautiful:

Here are some pictures from the evening:

 Kaylyn and Shay

 Amber and Kaylyn

 Teri and Kaylyn

Kaylyn, Brandi and Kate

 The guys - Danny, Chaz, Mike, Brett, Ryan and Nick

Kaylyn, Shay, Jen and Kate

The company that we ordered the party kit from was a little disorganized, so a lot of work went into rewriting the clues and the format in which their questions and answers were set up was a bit scattered. I really enjoyed writing the character stories though, and I am seriously thinking about making my own Murder Mystery dinner party business. It would be a great creative outlet. 

Overall, I am so glad that we opted to go with the Murder Mystery theme, and I really do think that we will do it again next year. 

I want to send a special thanks to Chaz and Shay for always hosting these great shindigs!  Maybe next year we'll live closer and I can host so that you two can take a break. 

The time has come

Tonight, all of our hard work will finally pay off.  We have been slaving away in preparation for this dinner, and it is going to be killer. (pun intended)

Clues are hidden, queue cards are written and the costumes are all complete. I think this year, I can safely say that we will not be scrambling to the last minute to get everything ready. It feels nice to be prepared for once.

The only thing that makes me a little sad, is that Halloween is almost over. I'm dying to know, what are you going to be for Halloween this year?? 

The evening of the enchantress

It has become a tradition for us to attend Witchapalooza at Gardner Village each October, and this year we actually went on Witches Night Out.

I have never seen so many grown-ass women in costumes in one place.  It was amazing.

If you live in Utah, are a fan of Halloween and have never been to Witches Night Out, I highly recommend it for next year! You see so many awesome costumes, the shops are incredible and if you choose to go to the dinner show, there's also great food and entertainment!

There are some professional witches, who go all out on their characters:

Then you get to see a bunch of amateur witches:



I could not believe the effort that went into some of the costumes we saw this year! I would love to be a professional GV witch! Thanks to Shay for making it possible! Every year she orders our tickets way in advance to make sure that we have good seats for the show. I love that we have found this little gathering, and hope that the tradition continues!

Crunch time

With one week left until Witches Night Out, I still had a lot of sewing to do, so my plan was to spend the majority of the weekend sewing. Doesn't it suck when things don't go according to plan? 

I got quite a bit done on Friday while Brett was at work, and then we packed everything up and headed to Ogden to see our favorite friends.  Friday night was spent mostly planning what we were going to accomplish Saturday, and my costume was at the top of that list.  Halloween is one of those times of year where I just have way too much going on.  I always over commit myself to projects, but this year I feel like everything, though there is a lot of it, will be easily managed if I just stay on top of it. 

Saturday morning threw a little wrench into my plans..... my sewing machine broke. 

It took a good part of the morning, but my handy husband finally fixed it, and sewing continued.  Then a little while later, it stopped working again all together and I was so frustrated at that point that I just gave up.  I don't deal well under pressure when there is a deadline to meet, and I can't very well go to Witches Night Out naked.  I don't think anyone would appreciate that.

Sunday, all was well again because I took Shay's sewing machine home with me and was able to finish my costume and get Brett's mostly done. 

I can't wait for next Saturday to post the pictures of our costumes! 

This is seriously the first year that I'm not out shopping or sewing the day before our Halloween party to try and get my costume done.  I'm a procrastinator.

What are you going to be for Halloween this year?

If the zombie apocalypse happened tomorrow

I was looking back through my archives today, and I have realized that I don't take pictures anymore. I used to have my camera with me everywhere I went, which in turn gave me a lot more to post about.

I used to be fucking snap-happy.

What the hell changed? I still have a camera, so that's not the issue.

I think that I need to try and motivate myself to start taking pictures again. If I do that, maybe the content on this blog won't be so boring or sparse.

In the spirit of Halloween, I recently downloaded an app for my phone that turns people into zombies. Maybe that's a good place to start.

Zombie Scotherns:

Zombie Schlange's:

The fever has set in

I am consumed with thoughts of All Hallows' Eve.

Planning has commenced for this year's festivities and the construction of my costume is well under way. Decor has emerged from it's resting place and taken up residence among the other items that usually adorn my living room. It's the best time of year.

This year there is not going to be a huge blow out party like we usually do. Instead, Shay and I are hosting a murder mystery dinner. We only invited 16 people, so it's going to be a little more low key than usual, but I am convinced that it will be the most amazing Halloween get together to date. We have our work cut out for us over the next five weeks though, but it will all be worth it in the end. We have divided up the work load between the two of us, and it seems as though there is no possible way that we will have it all done in time. I know we will, but right now there is no end in sight. I think that this is what I live for though, the chaos of the season, and the payoff when all of the hard work is done.

My character for the event is Belladonna Erotica, a 19th century Italian murderess. I have a vision in my head of what the costume should look like, and I am hoping that I can pull it off. I found some amazing fabric the other day, and it is going to make all of the difference in the world. I cannot wait until it's complete. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just buy my costumes, because I tend to get in a little over my head every year. I just know that a store bought costume is not as awesome as something that I can tell people that I made. It gives me a greater sense of accomplishment.

October is officially my favorite month.

Mardi Gras 2011

Shay and I have decided that Mardi Gras is our new tradition.  It gives us a good excuse to have a party around my birthday, and since Halloween is right by her birthday it works out perfectly.

This year the decorations were more intense and there was an abundance of beads to go around.  Almost everyone came with a mask, and if they didn't Shay had some backups ready.  That bitch is always prepared!

Every time we get together with this group of people, a great time is had by all.  It seems as though each party we have is better than the last, and as a bonus there was no one puking in the sink or bathtub at this party.

Thanks again for the killer party Shaymus!  It was awesome, as usual.

{Kaylyn and Brett}

{Shay and Kaylyn}

{Brett and Chaz}

{Emily and Kate}

{Danielle and Ryan}

{Jen}

{Shay and Kaylyn}

Spreading Christmas Cheer

My friend Pserendipity hosted her annual secret Santa blog gift exchange again this year and I had the honor of participating.  I, along with 17 other bloggers, were charged with choosing and mailing a gift to the person that we were assigned by choosing random numbers.  I didn't really know what to expect at first, and I was worried.  I don't know anyone that was participating in the exchange other than Psonya so how would I know what to buy my recipient?  Would she like what I sent her? Would the person who was picked to be my secret Santa send me something that I would like?

Everything turned out great in the end.  My recipient blogged about what I sent her and seemed really happy with it.  Phew.   A lot of thought went into what I sent her, so I was relieved that she liked it.  Then, a few days after I sent my package off in the mail, mine showed up.

Here's what was inside:

She obviously did her research, the first item I pulled out of the package was a Martini glass.  Perfect gift for someone who is a lush, and let's be honest, I love me a stiff drink.  

Then onto the next gift, a cookbook.  It's not just any cookbook though.  It's a cookbook that was given to her by her Grandmother when she got married over twenty years ago.  Complete with a handwritten personalization on the inside cover that she altered to say our names instead of hers.  That makes it so much more than just a cookbook. 

Then there was the luggage tag with the initial to my last name on it that acted as my clue to try and help me guess who my secret Santa might be.  

TravelDiva; I want to thank you for the amazing amount of thought that went into the gift you sent me.  I am so lucky that you were my secret Santa!  I will cherish the cookbook always, and I can assure you that I will get plenty of use out of the Martini glass. :)  Hopefully someday I will get the chance to travel so that I can use the luggage tag as well.  You really went above and beyond.  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

We are enjoying a relaxing Christmas surrounded by the ones we love and hope that you are all doing the same!

Happy holidays to you and yours. May the season bring you lots of laughter and smiles.

Merry Christmas!!

Love,
Brett and Kaylyn

Hollywood Undead

This year's Halloween party did not disappoint.  In years past we have had a few friends that didn't dress up, and it has always been a disappointment to Shay and I.  This year, however, those assholes dressed up! We couldn't have been happier.

The theme was Hollywood Undead, so everyone was a celebrity/musician and the turnout was great!

This year, Shay went all out with the decorations and transformed her house into a red carpet Hollywood event.  Brett and I took the day before the party off so that we could help finalize the decorating, and we all had a few last minute items to buy for our costumes so there was some shopping to do that day as well.  It really made the weekend fantastic to be able to spend the whole thing with our best friends.  We truly don't get to see them enough.

Shots were taken, beers were had, delicious food was eaten, beer pong was played, and lots of dancing was done by all.  I think that we topped the dead man's party from last year, and that was the goal!

Lady Gaga and Lil' Wayne:

Bret Michaels and Amy Winehouse:

Holly Madison and Ben Roethlisberger:

Kat Von D and Jesse James:

Raquel Welch and Billy Idol:

Soni and Cher:

Marilyn Monroe and James Dean:

I am already counting down the days until next Halloween!!