The Arrival of Fall (finally)

While friends and family were getting snow in Idaho and Utah the past couple weeks, I was relishing the fall that had finally arrived in Denton. It's true that we had a cold front a couple weeks ago that made me turn my heater on finally (only to have to then switch between turning it off, turning the overhead fan on, and once turning the AC back on; not to mention the days of using the heater and AC in my car), but it has been the changing of the leaves that really made it feel like fall.

And that started a couple weeks ago. I had been a bit sad that the trees here don't really turn; I even had a conversation about that with some friends. But then they did start changing! I wish I had even one photo to share, but I don't. You all know what changing leaves look like, so just close your eyes (or look out your window) and imagine the lovely oranges and reds and yellows that paint the landscape.

A cold front has moved in and it's going to rain all weekend. At least it's not snow.

Donut Falls Hike

Em, mom and I went on a hike to Donut Falls today. It's up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and is a pretty easy hike. I mean, kids in diapers were "hiking" it. Once you get to the actual falls, though, it can be kind of tricky climbing up the wet rocks and such. But worth it. The scenery was awesome, and at the end we saw two moose just hanging out.

Y Fan, U Student

When I was growing up, every November meant Thanksgiving and BYU/Utah football. My dad was a graduate of the Y so we were all naturally die-hard Cougar fans. I never thought I would attend the U, let alone get two degrees from them.

But life has a way of turning out not as we expect, and in November 2006 I was a senior at the University of Utah. I decided to take advantage of my student status and get tickets to the BYU/Utah football game. I knew that if I was going to be sitting in the student section with my Y sweatshirt I would need backup, so I got a ticket for me and a ticket for my brother.

I had had this gut feeling that my brother for some reason wouldn't be able to make it the days leading up to the game. So when I got a phone call from him early on the morning of the game, I wasn't too surprised. I was, however, a little panicked as I needed someone to go with me, preferably male who could protect me from those crazy Ute fans. I called my cousin Rick. He turned me down because he had some date with a girl that day. I was annoyed--I mean this was the BYU/Utah game!--but since he ended up marrying her it was probably a good choice :).

At this point I was desperate to find someone to go with me. I called my stepsister, as she was a student at the U, to see if she knew of anyone. She miraculously came through not only with a dude to take the ticket, but he was also a Y fan! (If we ended up dating this would be the coolest story ever, but he was married)

When I walked into the student section and proceeded up the stairs with my blue Y sweatshirt I got a few dirty looks and calls. But at least my companion was also a Y fan. The game was difficult at times, and at one point my companion and I thought about leaving early because we didn't want to be in the stand with those crazy Utes when the game ended. Man are we glad we stayed.

John Beck threw a touchdown to Jonny Harline with no time left. And we won the game! I started jumping up and down, high-fiving the few Y fans around me. The dude and I, who had only met just hours before, hugged and celebrated in the middle of the Utah student section. It was so completely awesome. AWE-SOME.

Halloween 2011

Tonight I made the trek out to West Valley to go with my brother as he took Ivy, Elliett and Mo trick-or-treating. It's been a long time since I actually went door-to-door on Halloween, and it was pretty fun. I love the idea of all the neighbors giving out candy to the kids who knock on their doors and say "Trick or Treat!!"

It was an eventful night, as the kids got chocolate, doritos, popcorn, and more than a few scares. Mo was scared by a spider that moved when a front door was opened, and also by a house that had just a single red light at their front doorstep. And poor Ivy was scared so much she cried when she went into a Haunted House in one of her neighbor's garage/backyard. Good things Elliett and Mo didn't go, too!

Here are my cute nephews and nieces:

Josh and George

Mo (who refused to look at the camera), Elliett and Ivy.

How Do You Know It's the End Of Summer?

There are many things that signal the end of summer--school starting, the weather changing, your favorite flip-flop breaking. For me, though, I always know it's the end of summer based on movies. Summer is always heralded in by big-budget, flashy tent-pole pictures usually involving a superhero or some sort of number in the title signifying it's a sequel of something that was popular two summers ago. Basically anything a teenage boy would like to see.

But then we get to the end, where a lot of the smaller films that aren't quite summer movies (read: there's no superheroes or animation) get unloaded. Films like The Help, One Day, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Generally they're based on books.

It's a very fine line between when those end and the fall movies start, but I think the distinction this year is made by the film The Debt. I hadn't heard a single thing about this movie until just last week, but the trailer seemed pretty convincing, especially since it starred Helen Mirren, the delicious Sam Worthington, and new "It" actress Jessica Chastain. See the movie, you will not be disappointed. Director John Madden stages the film with lots of suspense, emotion, and intrigue that I couldn't look away.

Also, three of the four trailers before the film I wanted to see. That's also how I know summer is over. I don't need a barometer to know the changing seasons, just give me a movie theater.

Fall Movies

With the autumnal equinox this past Thursday, we can officially be done with Summer. While I'm a little sad to see it go, I'm excited for not only the changing leaves of Fall but the movies that also change. This was a dreadful Summer for movies, and now all those big-budget blockbusters (or not) change into meaty dramas eyeing for Oscar gold.

Last week I saw The Town, and it was awesome. Yesterday I saw Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and even though a little talky at times, was also pretty good (especially with my small crush on Shia Labeouf). The previews in front of each movie were for movies that I'm actually excited about: Hereafter, The Company Men, Life as We Know It, Love and Other Drugs. Excitement is good, and it was sadly something that was lacking this Summer.

So I say Bring it on Fall movies.

Fall Foliage

As my fellow displaced-New-Yorker friend, Jeff, and I attended a regional conference downtown today, I decided to stay after to take advantage of the fabulous weather and snap some pictures of the trees changing colors. There were leaves all over the sidewalk, and as they crunched beneath my feet I wondered if the day could get any better or peaceful than that.

This is why fall is amazing:




















After I got my color fix, I headed out west to make sugar cookies with my nieces, Ivy and Elliett. They had fun adding ingredients, stirring the dough, cutting out shapes, and decorating. Like the good aunt that I am, I loaded them up with a lot of sugar and sent them on home!

Apple Pickin' On a Perfect Fall Day

Today was the perfect weather for apple picking. If it weren't for the brightly colored trees to signify that it was fall, one would have thought it was spring, or even summer, with the 70 degree temperatures. Phaedra and I drove south to Provo to the McMullin Farms to get some apples. We were a little curious why there weren't any other cars on the small road to the orchard. It seems that it's not the usual, commercialized version of an apple-picking-orchard. We were actually afraid we were trespassing as we parked and walked around the trees. We finally saw a man with a tractor and asked if we were allowed to pick. He gave us the a-okay and we filled up my bag with beautiful, delicious, red apples.

Afterward, as we wanted to finish off the perfect fall day with some cider and perhaps a caramel apple or cinnamon roll, but needing some actual real food first, we headed over to the Arby's/gas station combo and "kicked it in Payson." It's amazing how exciting Payson....isn't.

We went to Winder Dairy, but unfortunately, no apple cider until closer to Christmas, so we settled for soft serve ice cream in a waffle cone. I also made out like a bandit with bread and a bag of bananas for 99 cents each!! I'm hoping to make some banana bread once they start to get brown and to make something with all the apples I now have sitting in my kitchen. Does anyone know any good apple recipes?

Fall in the City

I have been itching to get out into the city and see the changing of the leaves. I was afraid this would never happen, as my work schedule usually has me inside during the hours of the day when it would be most beneficial to be out and about. But on Thursday I decided I would do all that I could to at least see something. So first I made sure to notice the trees in my neighborhood. Not my direct neighborhood, but if I walk a little bit east to the actual area of Hamilton Heights it turns into a quaint little place with tree-lined streets and row houses. It really is quite nice. Here's a couple pictures to demonstrate the changing seasons in my nabe.


Then I was lucky enough to be sent on an errand at Tribeca. I always love getting out of the office to experience the city in the middle of the day, and it's especially nice when the day is only a little chilly, sunny and not raining, as it was on Thursday. My errand took me to Grand Central Station (well, sort of; it took me to Rockefeller Center but I took a roundabout way getting back to the subway) and snapped a few shots of a tree that looked incredible.

What I was really hankering for was the trees in Central Park, though. I found a way to get to leave work early, and made a straight bee-line for the Park before having to head off to the Crew for more work. And I just gotta say that the Park did not disappoint!

Isn't nature and the work of God amazing?! I LOVE it!

Pumpkin Blaze

Last Thursday I went with friend and some of her co-workers up to Tarrytown (home to Sleepy Hollow) to see a Pumpkin Blaze, which is 4,000 hand carved pumpkins all lit up on display. I had originally wanted to go to a Pumpkin Festival in New Hampshire with Maria and Marky Mark; it had pumpkins, face-painting, cider and fireworks. I'd pretty much do anything to see fireworks in October, including driving four hours to New Hampshire. Unfortunately this plan fell thru, but thankfully my friend Brook mentioned this to me and I jumped at the chance to tag along.

First of all, we rode up there in car. For those of you who ride in a car everyday, this may not seem exciting, but for someone who has to ride around in the subway all day to get places it is very exciting. There were four of us scrunched in the back seat (I would post the pictures, but they're on someone else's camera and she hasn't sent them to me yet; so check back later for picture posts). This is part of the pumpkin archway we drove under to enter the Manor.


Two, it was crazy to see real darkness...in the country. It's never really dark in the city, there's always lights on. And we could see stars. All of us must've been in the city for too long because we were all amazed by the star, something you can't see in the city with all the lights on.

But it was the most cool for the pumpkins!! They're set up all around Van Cortlandt Manor, which is one of those old, colonial houses you'd see in the movies with wraparound porches, land all around and trees and stone fences. There were pumpkins everywhere! The pictures don't really do it justice, as I had to do it without the flash, which makes the picture sort of fuzzy because my hand isn't exactly steady. But I'll post them anyhow to give you an idea.




This is the manor with pumpkins in every place possible. The color of the manor would change from red to green to blue to orange. Each color change made the pumpkins look so different.




Next was the Dinosaurs. Yes, the Pumpkin Blaze has themes. You might wonder how you can make dinosaurs out of pumpkins. The answer is with lots of them. Again, the pictures don't really convey how totally cool it was. Brook and I spent a lot of time in this area and took a lot of pictures. It was just so cool!




Then there were spiders and a totally cool spider web made out of pumpkins. I don't have a picture of this because my batteries had died, but when I get them from Brook I'll post them. And then there were the snakes.


The next big display was Stonehenge. Again, you think how they can do that with pumpkins. I'm not even sure how they did it (or any of it, really, it was just all so amazing). At the end of the line was an underwater theme followed by a pirate theme with pirates just coming off their ship from the lake.


And then it was time for some hot cider, because it was cold that night. So cold that I couldn't feel my toes for pretty much most of the night. I could see my breath. I had to wear gloves. But man was that cider, and pumpkin spicey thing we ate, so good.


There were no fireworks, but there were pumpkins hanging from the trees, carved as fish, hands, bats, butterflies, skeletons, and even Jack from Nightmare before Christmas. And on the way home we drove through Tarrytown and past the Sleepy Hollow church. No sign of the Headless Horseman, but you could definitely picture him riding through the streets.