I solemnly swear...

...that I will be more diligent in updating my blog. Lately, my zeal has been quelched by certain circumstances, but I was told that I should even write the bad stuff. So I will. In the future.
I just wanted to let you know not to give up on me. I have not abandoned our dera blog. I have just been on a little hiatus for a few weeks and will get back on track. It's really very important to me that you check it and enjoy it and care what I'm up to. It means a lot.
Now I'm back in Sea-town and it's weird. Very, very weird. I'm bumping along, but if I really think about it, it's craziness. I almost feel like the past two and a half months never happened since I'm back to the same life I was leading in August before I left- sleeping in, no real agenda...but I guess that's okay. Lying low will do me good. It'll be nice to be a little annonymous for awhile. I can leave the house and not gear up and expect to know everyone I bump into everywhere I go. Ya know? I actually get to go the bank today and be done in just a few minutes, not 30 because I was chatting with the teller who goes to my church. :) We'll see.
I don't even know if anyone will check this now that they know I'm home and haven't been keeping up with it even while I was gone, let alone now that I'm home and am seeing people in person. But I thought I'd give it a shot.
Don't give up on me.
<3

The Weens of Hallows

Halloween in Haines...what a treat. (get it? Treat? haha just a little Haines humor)

Kenny and I were invited over to the St. Clair's for some pumpkin carving last Monday night, which was amazing since I can't remember having carved a pumpkin in MANY years. The St. Clair's are an awesome family, with the youngest of the three kids being Gabby who is seven, but is TINY with this hilariously husky voice and a surprisingly advanced vocabulary. They're just all great. Jackie carved Medusa into her pumpkin (very inspired), Casey/Kenny carved Bart Simpson into his pumkin, I carved Phillipe (he's French) into my pumpkin, and Gabby created the job of "replacer," where she would replace all the pieces we had carved out. Very helpful. Jean Claude was on the other side of Phillipe, but unfortunately never finished, but he seemed fine with it.


The Salvation Army in town put on a Harvest Party at the school and I did, in fact, bake a cake for the Cake Walk. I was then advised that I should want it to be The Cake that everyone would want. So I put a leaf on it. And peanut butter M&M's around it because they were all I had. And it was a lemon cake with lemon frosting. Delightful. :) At least it wasn't the last cake left, which was my biggest fear. At least I don't think it was... I was also asked to be a lion for the "Daniel in the Lion's Den" part of the evening, put on by the pastor's wife. It mainly involved sitting at the end of a long, dark tube wearing a lion's mane and mask with a CD player playing a roaring lion soundtrack while "Daniel" (a.k.a. Scotty Hansen) told the kids that "God closed the mouth of the lion and so I am safe." Some of the kids were terrified and the looks on their faces...especially this one little girl whose feathers from her boa were flying everywhere while she couldn't get out of there fast enough. I probably would have reacted the same way upon crawling in a dark tunnel and being met by a lion. Shoot.
Later on I was able to dress in 50's wear curtesy of RGC's costume closet (the poodle skirt) and my own Converse (not pictured). Here I am stuffing my face with a fantastic chocolate cupcake right before Kenny and I took Polly, our sole trick-or-treater, around town. Let's just say that little escapade involved a man with a weird accent and a chainsaw and an unexpected haunted house visit where Leche shielded herself from the horror by clutching little Polly. What an adventure. Oh- and I couldn't feel my legs or hands by the end of the evening since we were trick-or-treating IN ALASKA.
We topped the evening off by the most hilarious late-night viewing of "Spiderman 3" with Lori, High 5, Kenny and some cookie dough. It was amazing.
It was all good fun and in just a day or two, I shall update on a visit from Ms. Jamie Higbee (A SURPRISE) and some other pretty pictures. For now, I am spent.
Stay tuned...