Happy Halloween!

What are your Halloween plans? Mine include:

1. eating caramel apples

2. Sour Patch Kids, Milky Ways, and Red Vines

3. Tower of Terror movie - it's my family's 'scary movie.'

4. carving pumpkins

5. dance party

6. dancing to Thriller in the living room with the girls

7. roasting pumpkin seeds in loads of garlic

8. dressing in costume and heading to a dance at the 'tute.

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

Watch this video. It will change your life... or at least make your day.

Let me share a few reasons I can't get enough of this music video.

1. It's Sara B. Really - do I need to say anything else? This lady is amazing!
2. The leather jackets
3. The dancing. Holy moly - I want to learn the whole thing.
4. I secretly wish I could reenact the whole video at my local grocery store. I'm sure I could wrangle up the whole cast and pull it off. Especially the exploding confetti.
5. Did I mention the confetti?
6. It's just so joyful!
7. I love all the other people who end up in leather jackets and try to keep up with the dance steps. Cracks me up.
8. The end. Need I say more?
9. It really makes me want to head out to my nearest Mexican Market and load up my shopping cart.

Today I...

... ran three miles.
... watched Monday's Castle - my absolute favorite current television show.
... went to Presidency meeting. Gosh, I love those ladies.
... learned about happiness at Institute.
... aced one of my Ed Psych quizzes. Lev Vygotsky, I could kiss you! - well, if you were still alive.
... dusted my living room.
... put away clothes from yesterday.
... built new friendships.

All in all, it was a lovely day. I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

Today I...

On my second day of 'off-track,' I ...

... rode my bike for the first time ever! It was scary, 'specially considering I haven't been on a bike since I was fourteen. You do the math.

... cleaned my stove and kitchen. Now it's bright and shiny!

... did homework.

... washed clothes.

... folded clothes.

... put clothes away. (Wait - I haven't done that yet.)

... went to class.

... drank Black Cherry Fresca - my Tuesday night treat.

... watched Nathan Fillion in Waitress. He is just dreamy.

...ate a Mama-made muffin.

... ran into an old friend who is now engaged! Congrats, Liz!

... tried desperately to justify taking a five day vacation to DC.

Can you believe it's been an entire year since I was here? I sure can't!

Ooooooo......

Tonight I did this dance. No lie.

Man, I love Zumba in October.

I love my job...

... and that's probably why this post from Lindsey resonated with me. I loved how she talked about loving a career and knowing that at some point we, as women, may be asked to set it aside for a nobler calling.

I would love to be a mother, and I pray that I am granted that blessing in this life.

I also love being a teacher. I love the challenge of keeping everything going and reaching each of my students with their wide range of talents, interests, and abilities. I feel that teaching is something I'm really good at.

The question is, how do I make the two match? I hope that when the time comes to decide, I'll be blessed with inspiration, because I know for sure that I couldn't make that decision on my own.

Life is great, or Things That Make Me Smile

1. Neighbors who say hello from across the street.

2. Friends having babies... and getting to cuddle with the little ones

3. Chocolate hazelnut anything

4. The temple

5. General Conference

6. Diet Coke and salt water taffy

7. The ocean breeze air freshener in my car

8. Dating advice from my married friends. "Have a fearless heart!"

9. Love notes and pictures that show up on my desk throughout the school day

10. When people type "stocker" when they actually mean "stalker." As in "I am now stocking you on Facebook." Cracks me up.

11. Sabra hummus. Mmmmmmmm..... lick.

Hmmmm....

Sometimes, this blog depresses me.

Won't I ever learn how to be a good little blogger and update regularly?

Especially after having one of the best weekends of my recent life.

If you're interested, here are some blogs that don't depress me.

Jenny always has some uplifting thoughts to share. Plus, she's fun to read. Plus, she's my sister.

Melissa always has such joy for life.

I met Lindsey a year ago on a trip back east. We became fast friends over sharing our love for art. Now, I'm an avid blog stalker.

This girl pretty much lives the life of my dreams. So glamorous.

And it's my lifelong goal to be as classy and hip as this lovely lady.

I really think I could be friends with Katie. She's a teacher, and she loves food! We're soulmates!

Okay, so now even if you can't read anything new on my blog, you can enjoy someone else's. :) Maybe someday I'll figure out how to balance living life and blogging about it. It's not currently one of my strongest talents.

Have a fantastic day and go eat some chocolate!

Picture found here.