Quirks That Lurk...

First of all... I had to share our little project... our eensy weensy, er, BIG spidey. We did a smaller version of him several years ago for Chris and Katy's elementary school pumpkin decorating contest... and they won. We decided we wanted to do it again this year, and so Mike being the go-to guy... I called him and said 'think about how you want to do the legs, because I want to get him done tonight.' By the time I got home, he'd already bought the steel and started welding... what a handy man he is to have around! The body and head are real pumpkins, painted black. He turned out cute, eh? I also added a pic of our front porch, just cause I love walking up to it this season!

Okay, for the tag... I've gotten tagged with this one twice now (apparantly people know that I'm quirky)! Thanks go to my friends - Trixy and Andrea!

Some of my quirks:

1. Probably my biggest quirk is my hair twirling. I take a strand of my hair and twirl it around my finger, weave it through all of my fingers, and sometimes tie it in a knot and work the knot out. I've done it forever... I can't remember NOT doing it. I do it when I'm relaxed... I do it when I'm thinking... I do it when I'm bored. When I had my hair cut short like this, I took some of my tiny inch-long hair and flipped it around my finger... blip, blip, blip... short hair didn't stop me. I've had really long conversations with people where they haven't made eye contact with me because they're mesmerized by my twirling and can't take their eyes off it. No, I don't suck my thumb while I twirl my hair... uhm-mm...but I know someone my age who does both. (wink to you-know-who-you-are)

2. I am a tuner outer (yes, that's the technical term). If I'm concentrating on something really hard, or reading, and I hate to admit it, but sometimes even if I'm watching t.v. depending on the show...... you could be sitting right next to me, talking in my ear... and I won't hear a word. I just had to apologize to a co-worker yesterday because she was asking me about something while I was in deep concentration. My poor kids... and Mike... it drives him crazy. Luckily for me, he's learned that if my face is in a book, don't bother.

3. I tend to get obsessed about things. If there's a project I want to do... it's hard to stop me, and once I start it, I want to finish it... I know myself well enough to know that I HATE going back and finishing half-done projects, so I'm obsessive about finishing what I've started. I also get obsessed about things I love, such as... um, blogging? Yeah, I'm a little obsessed. And the Twilight series... just last night Katy and I went and bought each of us one of these for when we go see the movie... yeah, obsessive. And what am I teaching my daughter?

Okay... for a quirky girl, you only got three... but be assured, there are more! I'm going to just pass this tag on to anyone who wants to join the fun. I look forward to sharing in your quirkiness!

My Grandmama

Patsy Emerson Koethe Seitz

She passed away early in the morning on Saturday, October 18th while she was sleeping peacefully. Some of my favorite things about my Grandmama:

*  She could tell the best stories, with great detail... I loved hearing her tell me about 'the good ole days', because she could tell me what made them so good. It was so fun to listen to stories about my mom, aunts and uncle when they were little, and imagining her and my Grandpapa when they were younger and learning through their own life experiences.

*  She had an amazing memory - I know that I was born on a Saturday because she told me over and over throughout my life. She could tell you what day of the week any one of her children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren were born.

*  She was a Christian and had an amazing love for God and the Bible. She had her funeral arrangements done before she died, complete with her favorite songs and scriptures, and it ended with the pastor telling us that she had written a note in the margin next to the scripture John 3:16. Her note said, "It all comes down to this." John 3:16 reads: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

*  Family heritage was very important to Grandmama, a love for which I must have inherited from her. She lived very near where she was born, in a tiny little town... Henrietta, Texas... which is rich with our ancestry. My Grandpapa's very handsome service photo is even there in the Clay County Museum. Grandmama had 4 birth children, and fostered 2 more; 12 grandchildren; and 33 great-grandchildren. Grandmama was also my last living grandparent, which makes me very sad every time I think about it.

*  I've found so much peace in imagining the intense joy at her reunion with my Grandpapa (truly the love of her life!), my Aunt Jan (her youngest daughter), and my Grannie (her mother whom she cared for throughout my youth, showing amazing patience and love).

*  She traveled all over the country, and could tell you how to get from point A to point B, what routes to take, and what routes not to take. Although she traveled so much, she never, ever flew in an airplane. They terrified her. That always made me smile.

*  I'm her namesake, a very important fact that I was reminded of every time I spoke to her... without fail.... and I never tired of hearing it. I always felt so special because I was named after her. She was Patsy, and I'm Patricia.... I can't remember a time that she EVER called me 'Tricia' or 'Trish'... she ALWAYS called me Patricia, keeping that namesake element in there.

*  She knew how to love unconditionally. She let us know when she thought what we were doing was wrong, but nothing could ever change her love for any one of us.

*  It was very important to her that when she died, even though there would be 'a time to mourn'... that we don't mope, but celebrate her life and find joy in our memories of her. Many of us took that opportunity and went up to the Wichita Mountains in Oklahoma after the funeral was over. That was one of her favorite places in the world, and it was such a wonderful experience, filled with memories of when we went there with her and my Aunt Jan, who passed away 2 1/2 years ago. I took lots of pictures and will post them soon.

A'maze'ing!

We have a fall tradition of going to the corn maze. We've always gone to Hee-Haws, but broke away this year and went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. We had so much fun! There were pumpkins, princesses, hayrides, a huge haunted walk-in monster, a giant trampoline, tether-ball, the 'Halo' guy, and so many more things to see and do.... oh, and of course, the David Archuletta corn maze.
Since the kids are getting older, the last couple of years it's been fun to play boys against girls... we usually have 'phase 1' winners pick the ice cream, and 'phase 2' winners pick the kind of soda pop for floats at home afterwards; but this year, there was so much other stuff going on that we only did phase 1... and the girls won (cause we ROCK!), so we had coke/cookies n' cream floats (icky, I just had the coke). The best part for me was when the boys bowed down to us after we won - as well they should have!

Which Twilight Heroine Are You?

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

I'm a Bella???? Ugh. That makes me wanna whine.

A Gotta

Have you seen it? We had a girls' night out last night with Kathryn (my one-and-only-and-favorite sister), Tessa, Katy and me... we went to BYU to see the play "Dial 'M' For Murder". 

It was super great! They did such an awesome job putting this one together... if you haven't seen it, you should. The acting was wonderful, and they had a little 'Q&A' time with the actors after the play, which I thought was neat. I'm so glad Katy had to go see a play for her drama class... I'm sure we wouldn't have gone to this one otherwise. 

For dates, times, cost, etc... go here.