HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Milestones

Milestones to become a true Texan:

1 - Move to Texas
2 - Get a Texas license and registration
3 - Learn to be an over-aggressive driver (this includes remembering to never use your blinkers. You can't let the enemy know what your going to do)
4 - Get pulled over by the Texas police
5 - Use "y'all" and "fixin' to" in the same sentence


Milestone #1, check. Milestone #2, check. Milestone #3, check. Milestone #4..... check.

Yes, I have had my first pull-over experience in the state of Texas. Another milestone for me!

As I am cruising on my way to work, feeling good about my newly acquired Texas driving skills (see milestone number 3), I look in my rearview mirror to see flashing party lights right behind me. As I passed the street-posted speedometer, I knew I was busted. No use pretending... I pulled over.

The policeman approached my window (already rolled down for his convenience), and in his southern drawl said, "Officer _________ with the West University police, ma'am. How are you today?"

"I'm good." How do you think I am? I just got pulled over!

"The reason I pulled you over today is because I clocked you going 44 in a 30-mile-per-hour zone (oops!). Do you have an emergency you were going to today?"

Shoot - I knew I should have scheduled an emergency. Unfortunately, "No, I don't. Just wasn't paying as much attention as I should."

I handed him my license and registration, and he walked back to his cruiser to run them. As he got out of the car, I looked in the mirror for any indication that I would be getting a ticket. Today was my lucky day! I got off with a warning to watch out for those slower speed limits in the West University area, and I was on my way.

Ever since we moved to Houston I have heard horror stories about getting pulled over, but I think I got one of the nicest policemen in the state of Texas!

Time for Some Campaignin'

I saw this on Abby and Able's blog, and it cracked me up! I had to pass it on...

http://www.peteyandpetunia.com/VoteHere/VoteHere.htm

Trip to Utah

My best friend Lisa got married this past weekend, and I went to Utah for the wedding. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Wednesday, Oct. 8: Mom and Grandma picked me up at the airport, and we went for a day of shopping.
We took a break for lunch at Jason's Deli.

Grandma ordered a potato, and it was the biggest thing we'd ever seen! I could have fed our whole family!!

Thursday, Oct. 9: I met my cousin Cody and her kids at Gardner Village for a look at the witches. Cody printed off a scavenger hunt from the Gardner Village website, and we spent the day looking for all the witches.

Cason and Madyson loved the witches that moved. This one had a mouse that ran in circles under her skirt.

We tried on some witch hats along the way.

When we finished the scavenger hunt, we went to the bakery for a cookie. Reygan chowed hers down!

Friday, Oct. 10: The day of the wedding! The bride and groom looked fantastic.

The bride and her maid of honor.

Halloween Fun

Ahhh... October... The month when the nip of the air reminds me of hayrides, caramel apples, warm cider, and of course - Halloween. So, in celebration of the up-coming holiday, I have posted a quiz on my side bar to test your knowledge of Halloween's past, traditions, and myths. See if you're a Halloween Whiz!

Tagged #3

You May Not Know

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I pulled out my journal for a little help on this one... I was 16 years old, happy to have my drivers license, and ecstatic when my parents let me drive to Tooele by myself (funny what thrills a 16-year-old, eh?). I was hanging out with my friends, heavily involved in Mock Trial and Debate, working my guts out in cross country to help my team win the State Championship. I had just moved across town, and I was working early mornings learning to cut hair. Wow - I was a busy girl!

5 Things on my to do list today:
1 - Go to the bank
2 - Print of pictures for my Grandma
3 - Get rid of my old junk
4 - Take care of my stupid car insurance once and for all
5 - Spend time helping my mom at school

My favorite treats:
Kettle corn, chips and salsa, fruit, and Swirll ice cream

3 bad habits (or things I would change about myself)
1 - Dinking around late at night and refusing to go to bed.
2 - Automatically thinking of a bajillion reasons why I can't or shouldn't do something instead of just doing it - this applies to everything from craft projects to life goals.
3 - Worrying so much about how other people like me.

If I were suddenly a billionaire, I would:
Buy a house. Pay off my parents' house. Fly my family to Armenia and Korea. Take a tour of Europe. Donate to charities. Invest.

Places I have lived:
Grantsville, Utah; Cedar City, Utah; Provo, Utah; Armenia; St. Thomas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Houston, Texas

Jobs I've had:
Grocery Bagger, Waitress, House Keeper, Sales Clerk, Marketing Specialist, Account Manager

5 things most people don't know about me...
1 - I absolutely HATE touching raw chicken. I always make Mark cook it when we have it for dinner. There's just something about the way it looks and feels that completely grosses me out before it's cooked.
2 - I read "Gone With the Wind" every year. And every year I get completely frustrated at the characters and vow that I'll never read it again.
3 - I eat all of one item on my plate before moving on to the next one. For example: First all the peas, then all the roast beef, finally the mashed potatoes. There is no mixing!
4 - I collect quotes.
5 - I like being by myself for long periods of time.

5 people I would like to tag are... Stacy, Jenna, Becky, Leslie, Abby

Are You Hungry?

Caution: The following post may cause over-activation of your salivation glands.

In our effort to become food connoseirs, Mark and I love trying new restaurants every chance we get. Houston is the perfect place, since it is the foremost restaurant city in the U.S., leading the nation in number of restaurants and number of meals served per capita. You can select from more than 5,000 restaurants with culinary choices from more than 35 countries. That makes for a LOT of new restaurants to try!

Last night we went to Hungry's Cafe. To start off, the menu has over 100 items, ranging from gyros to southwest chicken wraps. We didn't know quite what to do with so many choices! They all looked so good that we wanted some of everything! We started off with an appetizer of hummus and pita bread.

The hummus steered us in the direction of a medditeranian-style meal, so I decided to try the ginger honey grilled salmon with Basmati Lentil Rice & Pita Bread, along with French green beans. It sounded healthy and tasty, so how could I not? When the waitress brought out my plate, I got so excited. The Lentil rice had raisins in it, and was a very familiar dish to me - I had it several times in Armenia, but I know it as "Chamichov Pilaf" (literally translated: raisin rice). I started telling Mark how I had this type of rice all the time at Easter in Armenia and how much I loved it and how excited I was to have it here in the states. The waitress probably thought I was a little weird to be so excited about food, but I couldn't help it!

Mark ordered a gyro with fries, and the food was so tasty. In fact, I don't think I have ever had food so yummy. The Salmon was perfectly basted and grilled, the raisins in the rice gave it an unexpected sweet flavor that wasn't overpowering, and the lamb in Mark's gyro was so tender. The fries were excellent too!

If your ever in the Houston area, and your hungry, go to Hungry's Cafe. Mark and I give it 5 stars!