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.

Passing Notes

Normally it's against the rules in church. They're allowed to draw, etc, but not pass anything around; simply because it causes a lot of moving around and disrupts not only the passer, but also the receiver and anyone in between. For some reason, today Tessa got away with it. I know, I know... I need to work on my consistency, but ahhhh, whatever.

The background on this one is this: right at the beginning of church, Mike and I had to leave for a few minutes. Katy was left with the daunting task of kid keeper. Gathering from the story I got after church? Brats. Both of them. To the point that, "Mom, the whole bishopric was looking at us!" And then, "IT'S NOT FUNNY, MOM!" I just really thought the note was cute. Katy wasn't buying into it. Here it is:

This one was so cute, but then when I heard Katy's story, I knew it could have been a buttering-up for us. I don't even care. I'll take all the praise I can get.

This one just made me laugh:

I don't even know what she was thinking on this one, but it made me want one:

I really have no idea why I'm including this one, because it really makes you wonder what's going on in our family. But it made me laugh... and gag at the same time. 

Note: 'boor' is 'door', and so on...

You're Invited...

To join me for a movie clip party!

Time: As soon as you locate your favorite movie clip(s)

Place: Your blog

Date: Sometime within the next week

My friend Kami at The Biggie Blog invited me and I couldn't resist... simply because in our family, we LOVE to quote movies and guess what movie it was from. We definitely have some that are quoted over and over and over. Mike is the king of this game... I don't even try to keep up with him, but I do have some faves. By the way, if you ever want free entertainment, you ought to ask him to do some of his impressions/quotes... he's quite good and keeps me laughing. 

There are no rules... your clips can be romantic, comedy, drama, adventure, horror... anything you want.

Here are my picks:

First:  The Princess Bride - I couldn't find the clip with, "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife... and I'm not sure I want to be that anymore after what you just said!", which is probably my favorite line, but when I watch it I remember how great all the one-liners in this movie are.

Next:  Step Mom - by far one of my favorite movies of all time. I think this is the best scene of the entire movie, and even though I've seen it who-knows-how-many times, I cry every single time. Yes, every time. But I also love the scene where Jackie (Susan Sarandon) comes home and Isabelle (Julia Roberts) has put up life-size pics of the kids... cried there, too. I'm a real bawl baby. 

And next: The Three Amigos... not necessarily one of my favorite movies, but very quotable, and has been a lot around here. I do think this scene is funny, though.

I couldn't leave out: Better Off Dead - seriously.... I said, "I want my two dollars.." at work a few months ago and no one knew what I was talking about. What were you people doing back in the good ole' days when there were movies like this? (wink)

And only because I just couldn't leave it out, especially because I mentioned it in my last post: P.S. I Love You - I seriously loved this movie - if you haven't seen it, you oughta. If something ever happened to my husband, the love of my life, someone would definitely have to come and save me from myself. He, however, wouldn't write a letter if his life depended on it, so we wouldn't have to worry about that part - I'm lucky if I get a 'love ya babe' on an anniversary or birthday card. That's okay, I make up for it by watching movies like this. 

RSVP in my comments if you want to join in... hope you can... if not, then I hope you at least go find a good movie, curl up, and have your favorite treat! *Ü*