Last weekend we got together with two other couples and carved pumpkins. It was fun. I don't have a good photo of all the final pumpkins but the evening was mostly about chatting with friends anyway...we had some meaningful discussions that night.

Jason & Michele (below)

Reed & Liz (below)

So, I've never been at a company where they make such a big deal out of Halloween. I helped with the decorations and it was pretty fun. Plus, the decorating committee got free lunch the day before Halloween. This is pretty much the only picture I took of the company's decorations.

I made some decorations for my boss's door. Mostly from scrapbook paper and paper lunch sacks (tombstones). The scene worked whether the sliding door was open or closed.

On the other side of these spiders and pumpkins is my work station. I decorated this side and posted a sign that says, "Alice's Tea Party" with an arrow pointed to the left.

As you come around the corner you see I pinned up a bunch of teacups and teapots...plus I had to do something to make my chair look more like one at the Mad Hatter's tea party.

I passed out "tea" or rather, pink lemonade and cookies to the trick-or-treaters. There was a pretty good turn out of employees' families.

My boss's daughter was Alice too!

There is even a costume contest and it isn't like you can just stand there and have your costume judged...you have to do something to earn it. There were maybe 12-15 people who entered the individual costume contest. I was one of them.

So, here I am trying to "sell" my costume with some of the other contestants behind me. I basically just put on my sweet Alice voice (without attempting a fake British accent) and said something like:

"My name is Alice. Hmmm...where shall I start? Allow me to curtsy while I'm thinking. (Pause for actual curtsy) Oh yes, it all started when I was on the riverbank with Dina, my cat. When all of the sudden we saw a white rabbit with a waistcoat and a watch. I try to give myself very good advice but I very seldom follow it. And before I knew it I was following the rabbit down the rabbit hole. And from that point on things got curiouser and curiouser."

I'll admit that I practiced in front of the mirror at home...I wouldn't be able to wing that kind of thing in front of all my co-workers.

So, I ended up being in the final 4 and...

I won 3rd place...apparently it is a big deal to win things like that around the office. I'll have to keep my certificate up throughout the year. The invisible man next to me above won 1st place.

Another craft from Super Saturday resulted in these pumpkins. Again, I ended up taking mine home to finish and created my own instructions. So, they're a little different from everyone else's but probably not noticeable from the street.

Last Saturday was our Relief Society Super Saturday (basically just a day to do a bunch of fun crafts that other people come up with and bring the supplies...all you have to do is show up and pay a small fee...I love it). I made some of these little pendants out of polymer clay, rubber stamps and acrylic paint. It was so fun and wish I could have done more. As it was I had to take them home and paint them. I thought all the crafts at Super Saturday were really clever and wished I could have signed up for all of them.

Also from polymer clay were these precut circles and squares. I just added scrapbook paper, glazed it with floor wax (who would have known?) and hot glued a magnet to the back. Super easy and fast. The orange squares match the hints of blue and orange in my kitchen.

This picture is a little blurry but I still wanted to throw it in...next to me is my friend Kristen at Super Saturday.

When is it really appropriate to justify homemade Oreo milkshakes? Complete with whip cream and a cherry on top? Never? After reading this article (thanks for the heads up mom) I felt completely justified in making a quick run to the grocery store for ice cream, Oreos, cherries and whip cream....of course I let Justin have some too. Now I'm feeling sick. I think it might not be the route to take.

I had to cut the head off of this doll. I messed up on painting her face...tried to fix it and made it worse.  Super frustrating. So, I'm starting over with new fabric for the head. I'll let you know how it turns out.

After our walk this morning, Justin and I spotted this big bird on our roof. I'm no bird expert but I think it was a vulture. He was a bit of a show off. I just couldn't believe how big he looked.