Personal

I LOVE the month of October…or OctoVer as Hadley calls it. Personally, I like the V in there-it makes October seem a little more snazzy. In honor of a spooky month, here are some random, spooky things that have happened in my life!

* I went to lunch with Sam last week-he claimed that he wasn’t that hungry & then proceeded to eat his ENTIRE plate of Chinese food. I, on the other hand, wasn’t super hungry so I picked at my food…UNTIL I realized that there was a dead caterpillar in my food. With two black eyes. And cute little squishy legs. Except it wasn’t cute when it was dead in my vegetables. Thank heavens I hadn’t eaten a ton because Sam looked at the caterpillar on my plate…looked at his empty plate & almost barfed. Good times.

* Once while on vacation my younger sister hopped into her hotel bed, stretched out her long legs and felt something in the bed. And I bet you a million billion dollars that you’ll never in a million billion years guess what it was. A MOLAR. Not just a tooth, but a MOLAR. I think about that story all the time & it never gets less funny.

* When I was little, I had really, really long hair. One night I laid in bed & I could feel something crawling around in my hair. I went and told my parents that there was something in my hair. They sent me back to bed three times. I was persistent & finally my dad took me into his bathroom, had me sit down & he shook my hair…and a HUGE spider fell out & crawled across the floor. Told you so, dad.

* Last week we had a series of semi-small earthquakes that didn’t feel so semi-small. When the first one hit, I was so scared that my voice lowered like three octaves. It sounded like I was talking in slow motion. It was weird, creepy and soooooooo random.

* I think that’s enough spooky/random facts for now. I don’t want you to think that I’m weirder than you already do. Happy Octover, everyone!

Here’s a spooky photo of my sister at her wedding. Oh, the joys of photographing people you know REALLY well.

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I have a problem. It’s definitely not the worst problem I could have. Let me come out clean: I am obsessed with candy. More specifically-holiday candy. More specifically-Halloween candy. I don’t know what it is about holiday candy that gets to me, but boy it gets to me BAD. I didn’t really realize it was a big problem until I was shopping with my sister the other night. Here’s what happened…

Last year I remember buying some Jelly Belly brand Autumn mix-it had candy corn, mini-pumpkins, CINNAMON flavored candy corn, etc. Let me just come clean here (this blog is laced with confessions): last year I ate that entire bag before I made it out the store & into my car. So imagine my excitement this year when I was shopping with my sister at the same store when low & behold-they have the same blessed Jelly Belly brand Autumn mix. I literally almost started crying right then & there in the store (must to the embarrassment of my sister). I quickly started loading my cart with EVERY.SINGLE.BAG. that they had in the store until the clerk picked up the phone & said, “Uh…Janice…do you have any more of those Jelly Belly candy corn mixes? It looks like we have a customer who is going to buy ALL OF THEM.” Hello. So, SO embarrassing! I wanted to tell the store clerk that I was buying the autumn mix (all 8 bags of it) for friends, family members, for my daughter’s teacher…but I was buying them for ME. And I had every intention of hiding all of the bags when I got home so that I wouldn’t have to share. Moral of the story: some people just don’t get it. Moral of the story #2: I am obsessed with candy & there’s no stopping me!

So I have every intention of eating every single bite of that Autumn mix. All 8 bags of them. If I happen to share some with you, consider yourself one of the lucky few.

And because I can’t do a blog post without a photo- here’s a photo from one of my recent mini-sessions with someone who I’m sure shares my obsession with candy. I mean, just look at how HAPPY SHE IS!!!!!! Candy makes everyone happy & if you don’t believe me, get yourself some Halloween candy today & thank me later. Happy Friday everyone!

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Today is my 29th Birthday!!! My astrological sign is a Leo (believe me…it’s best sign EVER!). Like a true Leo, I like to talk about myself. Soooooooo, if you are bored out of your mind on this fabulous Friday, you can read 29 things about yours truly. And if you don’t read it, that’s okay-I’ll read it myself (because Leos like reading about themselves, as well!)

1. I sleep with my makeup on every night. I know it’s bad for my skin but I wake up in the morning looking halfway decent.

2. I ate a whole bag of cotton candy for lunch on Tuesday.

3. In high school I drove a Ford F-150 with a lumber rack & a tool box. It was my dad’s old work truck & let me tell you….it smelled like men’s armpits. Not cool.

4. I like driving in the slow lane…and I hate making left hand turns in the car.

5. My sisters used to raid my closet for clothes to use for Halloween costumes. Keep in mind they were taking clothes that I wore on a daily basis. And using them as COSTUMES.

6. I’ve never dyed my hair. Ever.

7. If you know me, you know that I am a bargain shopper. Last week for $50 I got a pair of shoes, three shirts, a sweater, two necklaces & a pair of earrings. And they were all cute. Bam!

8. In 8th grade, I had a Hamburger Phone. Kinda wish I still had it.

9. Butterflies terrify me. I just found out that my sister has the same problem so I’m guessing it’s genetic?!? I’m kidding.

10. I hate working out. So.Much. I own one pair of tennis shoes & they get used for about 3 minutes a YEAR. And a sports bra? Not even an item in my wardrobe.

11. One of my favorite memories of Hadley is when she walked up to the counter at Burger King & said, “Can I have a horn dog?” I literally died laughing!

12. My favorite music is Classic Rock-Aerosmith, Journey, Queen, Led Zeppelin.

13. When I go shopping, I always buy the same things: cardigans & shoes.

14. Baja Blast at Taco Bell is the best beverage. Period.

15. Dr. Pepper takes a very, very close second place to Baja Blast.

16. I got a 100% on my drivers test. AND I wore overalls so I was definitely being judged on my driving capabilities…not my outfit.

17. Cooking is my least favorite thing to do. I can think of maybe, maybe three meals I’ve made that were good.

18. I didn’t eat steak until I was 21. True story.

19. Halloween candy is already in the stores & I’m over the moon with joy!

20. My first cd that I bought was the single to The Macarena. Sad but true story.

21. One of my favorite movies growing up was Newsies! My sisters & I loved that movie so much that we named our pet goldfish, “Racetrack.”

22. I used to be on the springboard diving team in High School…even though I only learned 10 dives, my skin smelled like chlorine for four years straight.

23. Last weekend my friends & I deep fried everything imaginable from candy bars to peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. It was the grossest, most delicious thing I’ve ever witnessed.

24. If you’re still reading this, you must be super bored.

25. Our dog’s name is Brody. And no, we didn’t name him after Brody on The Hills…just to clarify.

26. I’m stopping at 26 because this post is just RIDICULOUS. 10 Bonus Points to anyone who actually read this post!

Here’s a photo of me at the 4th of July A’s game…for lack of a better photo of me, I’m using this one. PLEASE don’t judge me on my oversized A’s jacket…it was freezing! It’s super obvious but I was pretty excited to have my photo taken with the famous banjo guy!

Well, now you know more random facts about me than you ever wanted to! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! I plan on celebrating my birthday the same way I celebrate every day…with a Dr.Pepper, 5 miniature candy bars & a fun day with my family. XOXO, marielle.

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I loooooooooooooove the 4th of July! We have so many fun things that we do as a family that have become traditions to us. My favorite 4th of July tradition is going to the Oakland A’s game (they ALWAYS lose but that’s not the point!) & then they open up the field for all the fans to go lay on the grass while watching a fun firework display. It’s a fun tradition that I always look forward to. This year we went together with our church & Sam managed to get 100 hot dogs & drinks from Costco for everyone to enjoy at the game. Let me tell you-100 hot dogs is a TON of hot dogs. It was definitely no small feat to transport the dogs & drinks to the stadium, but if there is anyone who can do something like that, it’s Sam.

I am grateful for our nation where we are able to be ourselves. I am grateful for a nation that lets us practice our religion without persecution. I am grateful for our freedom, our country & for the men and women who fight for those freedoms. I literally cry every single time I hear the song, “God Bless the USA” because I really am grateful to be an American. And I also cry because it’s one of the best power ballads EVER!!!! In fact, I’m listening to it right now & Sam said, “Don’t cry, Marielle.” Haha!

Here are some fun firework photographs I took while at the A’s game the other night. I got a few weird looks while I was moving my camera around in circles while taking the photos but I LOVE how long exposures turn out! Enjoy your 4th of July & remember to take a minute today to thank God for being part of this incredible nation.

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