Happy Halloween!

It's a low key Halloween. I was supposed to go to a Halloween party, but I managed to TRIPLE book tonight and then one by one all my obligations canceled.  Haha.  Now I'm sitting at home watching M*A*S*H and handing out candy.  Some super cute kids have already come by.  One was Gumby.  I don't think he was old enough to even remember Gumby which made me feel sad, but it was still a cute costume.  

I carved my first pumpkin this year.  Before you raise the outcry that I was deprived as a child, I had pumpkins, but my Dad carved them.  We would have a planning session a few days in advance and draw out what I wanted and then he would carve it. I did have to get all the gunk out though.  This year I carved, though when Josh heard about my childhood he offered to carve lol.  Sweetie.  I actually drew out my own template!  This is nothing short of amazing because I am basically only capable of drawing stick figures and even they aren't straight.  I drew then carved Elphaba from Wicked (the musical).  Josh says no one will get it, but I say poo poo on them cause I like it!

Also there are Halloween Oreos.  Holiday Oreos are the best because they have more filling than normal but not as much as double stuffed.  They are 1.5x stuffed.

I have to go check the door for the umpteenth time.  The doorbell doesn't work and even though I taped it, people keep trying to ring it.  Tomorrow starts NaBloPoMo so I will actually be blogging regularly (shocking I know) so check back if you so desire.  I hope you do :)

Every Season

This Wednesday I signed to Every Season by Nicole Nordman with the first person I've ever taught.  I started doing interpretive movement when I was in about sixth grade.  It was part American Sign Language, part dance, part non-signing interpretive hand movements.  I loved it!  I don't know why, it was just so elegant and fluid.  I did that all through middle school, high school, and off and on through college.

To me, signing is a way to worship.  I feel like I connect more to the meaning of the music when I'm signing it than when I'm just singing it.  I knew a lot of "church" signs but I didn't know a lot of general signs.  I couldn't have carried on even a basic conversation with a deaf person.  My childhood church started offering classes last winter in ASL taught by a licensed interpreter.  I took both classes and they will start up again in January.  I've learned so much!  It's really exciting. I can now communicate at least a little with someone who is deaf.

I learned in that class (and don't quote me on these exact numbers) that the deaf population is about the 7th most unreached group for Christ and the average deaf student graduates with a 5th grade reading level.  This breaks my heart!  Jesus and books are two tings I love most and a whole group of people are missing out!  That knowledge combined with remembering how much I enjoyed signing when I was in youth made me approach the youth minister at my church to ask about starting up a group.  We have just started and Every Season was the first song we performed.  Hopefully, it encourages others to come join us and it can become a legitimate ministry.  Someone videoed the performance and I wish I had it to show you, but it wasn't posted online.  Maybe sometime!

That's what is going on in my life, well at least some of it.  Haha, life is busy.  I "officially" start a new job on Monday so hopefully I'll post about that soon too.  Have a marvelous weekend!

AdventureCon

Once upon a time, I was in high school.  I was...um...a teeny tiny bit on the nerdy side.  I might have possibly taken a book to prom.  It could have been boring!  You just never know!  Anyway, I got enough flak and teasing as it was and I wasn't jumping up and down to add to it.  So, I quickly flipped past Star Trek when I saw it on tv and I resisted giving my opinion on which superhero I fancied.  At some point though, I realized I just didn't care about being popular and I wasn't going to fit into that mold.  Recently, I have come out of my geeky shell and I am loving it!  I am an avid Dr. Who fan, I watch Star Trek whenever I want, I can give you a variety of reason for all the superheroes I love, and just this weekend I went to my first con.  I was a little nervous, what if I didn't even fit in with the geeks?!  I must say that this is a great time to have a husband.  I looked at him and batted my eyelashes and asked how much he loved me and BAM suddenly he was dressing up to go with me, because he love me THAT much!  Now it's time for pictures.

There was a sculptor/prop designer that had some really cool stuff out.  I mean does this not look like it might not sit up and roar at you?  I was a little afraid it might be automated and do just that haha.

Then there were lots of other people dressed up and cosplaying different characters.  I have to admit that a lot of these are blurry because A) my camera and I were fighting and B) I was a little to shy to ask some of the people to stop and pose so it was an on the sly shot.

 Ghostbusters-he was the dad of a whole family of ghostbusters, the two little girls were presh!

The guy on the right said he was a superhero having an identity crisis.  Well okay, more power to you.

And, my absolute fav, Merida!  Isn't she absolutely too cute?  She was so happy to pose too!  She was way thrilled when she walked out and saw that Josh was the Doctor.  Parents were parenting right, dressed up as a Disney character and an appreciation for Dr. Who.  They get an A+

There were also celebrities.  Granted they were minor celebrities as compared to those who would come to bigger cons.  Still, I am incredibly easily amused so naturally, I was amused.

This is the guy who played Olympe Maxime, the giantess in Harry Potter, and he is also Gergor Clagne from Game of Thrones and was in Prometheus and in the Alien Vs. Predator movies.  His name is Ian Whyte, FYI.  He was crazy tall like seven feet.  I was super impressed by the GoT and HP movies on his resume, like pointing and whispering to Josh "He was in GoT AND HP!!"  Yeah it wasn't my most flattering moment.

My favorite thing was the panel.  The panelist I got to hear was Ioan Gruffudd who is this guy from Titanic (he went back and got Rose from the water) and also, the real reason he was there, he is Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four.  He was interesting to listen to and I liked hearing about the behind the scenes of the different movies and shows he's been involved in.

Finally, here are our costumes.  They are far from creative and are about as underachieving as you can get while still actually dressing up lol.  I thought Josh was way adorable though.  One girl nearly swooned, I kid you not.  As in, she clasped her hands together and squealed "He's the Doctor!".  Her two friends were nearly as bad.  I laughed, but to myself, because I get it.  The Doctor is the bomb and my husband is a great looking man.  Together, who can blame them?  I went as Amy Pond because I had recently colored my hair so it fit.  That and I own a lot of plaid shirts like she wears.  Josh said I drew several stares myself.  I think it was the shorts that rode up and up and UP the longer we were there lol!  I don't have any pictures of our friends because I am a slacker.  Sad face.  They were cute though!  A whole family of superheroes.

A New Happy Place

Yesterday I was off all day to hang out with Josh.  He's on fall break and we actually got to see each other without tons of homework getting in the way.  We ran a lot of errands that needed to be done.  We had to run to the mall to get my ring cleaned and inspected (If you aren't already or engaged or married, here is a piece of advice, for free, from me to you, get the package on your ring that lets you get twice yearly inspections as well as free sizing and coating.  I've already used it.  If nothing else, it's nice to get it freshly scrubbed and inspected for any loose fittings twice a year).  While we were killing time we went into Sear's and saw this sign.

If you didn't immediately see the issue, allow me to point it out.  Was $0, Clearance $164.97...now I don't shop nearly as well as my momma, but I do understand the concept of clearance.  Obviously, Sear's does not.  Part of the greatness of clearance is how good you feel about yourself for finding the deal, this just makes you feel worse-er about how much money you spent.

Then I got a wonderful Pumpkin Spice Frappucino.  My taste buds stood up and danced.  Then they sang.  Then they did a lovely number that was worthy of a Broadway show, there were feather headdresses involved.  It was glorious.

Finally, the big thrill of the day, Josh and I went to Yoder's Country Market.  It's this Amish market that has Everything, and I do mean everything.  I made a framed picture so I didn't inundate you with all kinds of food pictures.  Clockwise:  little marshmallows, and not just any little marshmallows but the kind from Lucky Charms, every kid wanted a full bowl of those as a kid and now they can have them; shelves and shelves of flour and ground grains, I would never have to grind my own wheat again; chocolate wafers, they should be easier to melt down for toppings than chocolate chips; dried fruits, tons of different kinds, even weird stuff like cantaloupe and star fruit; finally old fashioned candies, nearly two whole aisles of it.  Basically it all made me very happy.  Also, there was homemade butter.  Oh my goodness but it is good.  Josh says it isn't any different and I suppose you can't completely deny the possibility of a placebo effect, but I think it is different and I know it spreads differently.

They also have a big deli counter with fresh deli meats and cheeses.  Oh the cheeses.  So many choices.  They make huge sandwiches.  Despite the way this picture looks, the sandwich takes two hands to hold it is so big.  Homemade sourdough, tons of cheese, fresh pickles-like not at all like Vlasic, but really fresh-all this $3.25.  Let that sink in.  This is way better than a Subway sandwich and cheaper!  They have cute little benches outside to sit and eat at and that is worth something too.

It was a good day.  I smiled a lot.  I think Yoder's is a new happy place, right up there with Barnes and Noble.  Then I fell asleep in the car.  Naps are a great way to end a day.  We to AdventureCon today and I will try to blog about it tomorrow!  Hope your weekend has been great!