Attempts to decorate a basement

Austin and I live in a very small basement. It's the reality of being poor students. Several weeks ago the word "dungeon" was coming to mind more and more each time I walked through our front door. So I decided to do something to brighten up our humble home.

Wooden letters to remind us to have a little more of this














Some cheery canvases














Empty picture frames always make me happy
















As does our brightly colored bedding














And finally, some wedding pictures up on the wall. Mod podge canvas versions of them.

Birthday Blog!

Finally, pictures! Here's a few of the shots we got in the whirlwind weekend of Seth visiting, General Conference, and my 23rd Birthday!

23 candles in my delicious key lime pie, courtesy of Siara














Dirt and worms!














Homegrown pumpkins














Adorable Halloween countdown from Ann and Terry



















The traditional haunted gingerbread house...and Seth's foot.














Cutest Halloween wrapping ever



















With these adorable gifts inside...




























Incredible pillow handmade by Jess














And the darling sign that Brittney made me!














The adorable coaster Ashton found for me at Anthrpologie, my favorite store ever!














And among other things, Siara always gives me the things I need to have fabulous hair!



















And possibly my favorite (and most useful) gift...new wonderful running shoes!















And thanks to everyone else for the gift cards, checks, B-day cards, and wonderful wishes! It makes me feel a little better about getting so old. =)

Uggghhh. I suck AGAIN!!!!

Our camera is broken and I can't get any pictures to load for my blog. So it seems too boring to write without pictures, so I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I'm sure no one has been dying to hear what's going on, but still, I'm very sorry! I do have to say that I am SO excited about the upcoming Halloween holiday. We are carving pumpkins this weekend (real ones we grew in the garden) and I've been eating pumpkin seeds on everything to get in the spirit! I have to admit that we won't be dressing up for any events, but we will definitely be going to downtown Provo for the Halloween Festival. What are your plans for this Hallow's Eve???

Ughh...I suck.

Oh my goodness I am officially the worst blogger EVER. I swear up and down that blogs are to come. I have so many wonderful pictures of our most recent activities just waiting patiently on my camera to be uploaded and surround by clever blog text. So I promise, don't give up on me! But in more exciting news....NieNie, my favorite blogger/mom/Mormon girl is going to be on OPRAH! October 7th. Watch it, she will change your life. And read her blog here. She is an inspiration.

Alma Mater

I am already pretty proud to be a Cougar Alum. It was a huge accomplishment and a goal I had been looking forward to since we visited campus when I was about 4 and wore my first pink BYU shirt. But last night I was even more proud of my Cougs! I never really enjoy too much football, but I will love watching this season. It makes me wish I still had money (and the student discount) to watch the games like this...

The Working Girl's Lament

Ohh that blessed day of being paid. It only comes every two weeks, and I count it down like children do to Christmas. But somehow, I always seem to end up shocked and shaken at how miniscule my paycheck seems. After all those long hours of burdensome slavery, I always have a glimmer of hope that I'll be better compensated than last time. Withdrawals for my Roth 401K and our Health Savings Account are always expected. But alas, FICA-SS and FICA-Med are getting paid almost as much as I am. A fund I pay into but will never get anything out of. So I'd just like to thank our massive government, for dipping into my pockets every pay period and taking whatever they'd like from me. I truly enjoy supporting those who work the system into getting food stamps, WIC, medicaid, welfare, etc. etc. etc.
I'm sure everyone taking from those programs qualifies for it...

Right??

Thank You Notes

Dear Pandora radio:
Thank you for saving me from dying of boredom when I have to scan all day at the Lehi clinic. My Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Postal Service, Jewel, and Lifehouse stations in particular keep me sane.

Dear Cafe Rio:
Thank you for really cheap and really good Mexican Tortilla Soup.

Dear Down East Outfitters:
Thank you for my adorable red Diesel jeans that only cost me $13.37. I think the original retail price of $150 was too much anyway.

Dear Austin:
Thank you for driving all the way up here to meet me for lunch on Tuesdays. You are very sweet and I am lucky you are mine.

Dear Rachel and Ashton:
Thank you for emailing me all day while I'm at work. I get excited when I see "Gmail-Inbox(1)" at the bottom of my screen.

Dear Jess:
Thank you for writing cute stories on your blog that I get to give my feedback on. It's like a choose your own ending book, and I miss those.

Dear work:
Thank you for blocking Facebook on our computers. I am much more productive, even though I hate to admit it. Facebook is overrated anyway.

Dear Pip:
Thank you for sleeping on my pillow every night and waking me up by shoving your paws in my face when you stretch. It really is quite thoughtful of you.

Dear Corolla:
Thank you for not using too much gas. It's real expensive these days, and I am pretty poor. I'm glad you only need to be fed every couple of weeks.

Dear Mommy:
Thank you for giving birth to me in October. I love sharing my day with Fall and Halloween and General Conference, and I am really excited about it now that it's getting close. And thanks for being my mom.