Hallowed Ween

For most girls, Halloween is a time to dress up, well, skanky. Any character, occupation, or object magically becomes skanky. Skanky pirate, skanky nurse, skanky bumble bee, you name it. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to show off some of that skin that might otherwise be socially unacceptable, especially in Utah.

I, on the other hand, have always had a different agenda. The past few years I have been far from skanky.

Notice the less than flattering full body jumpsuit I sported for my April O'Neil costume one year.

And then there was the ever so attractive Red Dwarf and Black Hole combo.

But, none can beat this year's legendary duo. I give you Wayne and Garth.

I have been wanting to be Wayne and Garth with someone since the beginning of time, so as nasty as I am as a blonde, it was worth it.

We got to sport this ensemble twice this year. The first time was at the first annual Squash Bash put on by our friends Adam and Chelsea. What is a Squash Bash, you ask? Well, it's hard to describe, but lets just say that there is a lot of singin and dancin and squash bashin. Chris and I did karaoke to Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. An obvious choice if you are familiar with Wayne's World.

The next night, which was Halloween, was spent at USU's production of Sweeney Todd, which was incredible. Some of my friends were in it, and it was top notch. Good work, friends.

But my favorite part of the Halloween season is the infamous Pumpkin Blow. I posted about it last year, as some of you may recall. It happens every year on the Saturday after Halloween. This is our third year partaking in this little America splendor. Behold.

80 sticks of dynamite were used this year. Notice how it is nicely tucked away in the pile of pumpkins.

Before...

After.

I tried uploading a video of the festivities but blogger won't let me. Well just know that the explosion has never been this big before. It was literally raining pumpkins. One even whacked me in the bum; a war wound that was gladly earned.

So maybe Halloween isn't my most attractive holiday, but I have a good time. Perhaps next year will bring out a more skanky Randi, but for now I will stick to nappy fun Randi and blowing things up.

Makeover Summer results

For those faithful What the Crap readers, you may recall a blog written at the beginning of the summer called Makeover Summer. And for those that didn't read it or need a refresher, you can check it out HERE.

In this blog, I went off about some of the lofty goals I had set for the summer. Here is a report.

*Getting my body in gear: Well, I must say that this one was a success. As you may have gathered from my previous post, I got way into Yoga this summer. It is a great way to trick your body into good shape because it is so enjoyable to do and so good for the soul. I don't have "the hottest body this side of the Mississippi" like I had hoped, but I did lose about eight pounds and I look a wee bit more toned.

*Eating habits: this one was, also, a success in my eyes. I fell in love with fruits and veggies and the Farmers Market. I still eat my fair share of sweets and not-so-good things but all in moderation, my friends. Every June Chris and I are vegetarians. Just for kicks. This June Chris bailed on our little tradition but I took it on with open arms and am still going strong. I even subscribed to Vegetarian Times! I just love how much better my body feels when I don't eat meat. And vegetarian dishes tend to be healthier in general. But, I will say, even though I "wax vegetarian" I am not a full vegetarian. I still eat meat if someone cooks it for me or I just feel like it. I don't really believe in totally cutting things out of your diet (unless you have to for certain health conditions) because it messes with your head. It takes away your power to choose. Like with sweets, for example. The moment I say no more sugar, is the moment I crave it like no one's business. Again, its all in moderation. Read the book Intuitive Eating. It changed my life and my relationship with food.

*My house: A mini success. For a while there, I was getting sick of my apartment. It took going house hunting to make me fall in love with it again. There are a lot of hell holes out there and I am thankful for where I live and not having to worry about so much stuff. I did a lot of fun projects like taking down a gaudy wallpaper border and painting the wall, got some new bedding, rearranged a bit, took a big box of stuff to the DI, got new plates, painted some old frames some really cool colors and got some new art work. Even though there is still some clutter in the house, it looks a lot better and I love to be in every room, which was the goal. A huge thanks goes out to the lovely and talented Mr. Jeff Cardon. He came up one weekend and helped me re-d0 a bunch of stuff. And I got one of his paintings, which is amazing. Seriously, if any one out there needs any help with anything, he is your man.

*Wardrobe: mmmm not so much. I kind of dropped the ball on this one. I did buy a few new things and got rid of some old things but nothing to write home about. This goal is kind of a costly one. But I have been allowing myself to be more girly in what I wear. I guess I did buy a buttload of cool jewelry at the Farmer's Market. So, more of an accessories makeover than a wardrobe makeover.

*And finally, mini goals: yes and no. Yes, I did play two shows since that post. No, I did not write new music or write for fun. No, I did not decrease my Facebook time. No, I did not pay off my credit card, but I did make a good dent in it. No, I did not garden. And no, I did not build up my massage clientel. It was quite a slow summer at the Spa I work at and it's been quite a slow Fall. And so, I quit there and started working from home again, which is really exciting and I am already busier at home than I was at the spa! Good times. I did read a lot of books and I take more time to pamper myself. That was a huge one for me. I have really taken the time to fall in love with myself and get to know myself again. I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but it has been easy for me to get lost in being married and revolving my life around someone else. Over these past few months I have really made an effort to do things for me and learn to balance that with being married. And that whole process is another post entirely that maybe I will have the courage to write someday. The journey I have taken (and am still on) to get to this healthy balance isn't really one a lot of people in my life would be a fan of, but it's been really great. And I have an awesome husband.

So, there you have it. All in all, I would say Makeover Summer was a hit. I H.A.G.S. (had a great summer. Do you remember writing that in yearbooks?)
It was the perfect theme for my summer, I think. Who knows, it might even be next summer's theme. Wouldn't that be crazy? And if you didn't do it this summer, do it next summer, or next month, or next week. You never know what will happen, but I promise it is worth it.