I Miss Halloween Already {October Updates}

I know, I know... It's November-but I've been crazy busy, so this update is happening a little late.  Let's start with Halloween, because I miss it already.  It was a great Halloween-though a little different.  Every year I host a Halloween party and invite all of my friends.  However, this year I just didn't feel up to it.  I'm still dealing with missing my best friend and the financial and emotional difficulties that come from learning to live alone.  My heart wasn't in it, and it felt like no big deal until Halloween day when something felt... Off.  I also hadn't realized how many of my friends relied on it, because I was asked at least 10 times if I was hosting and why I wasn't.  I definitely have to next year.

This year was also off because I had no idea what to be.  I confess...  I literally woke up Halloween morning and thought-I can be a gypsy!  I grabbed two skirts, three scarves, a tank top, a flowy cardigan, big earrings, lots of eyeliner, and the bells that hang over my front door and just layered them.  It actually didn't turn out bad, and I got lots of compliments to my surprise.

 

I confess that also stayed up until midnight the night before baking cookies.  It's been a long time since I've done that, so it was fun! 

 

After work I stopped at the DMV (more on that later) and then hurried up to Ken and Kristina's house.  Not only did I get to spend the weekend with them, but I was seeing my ex-stepkids for the first time in a long time, and I couldn't wait.  I've missed them quite a lot, and their dad and I hadn't been on speaking terms for a while.  We are now-but that's a post for a different day.  We took the kids trick or treating, then hung out all weekend long.  It was lovely.

  

I confess... There has been some talk of possible moves and living situation changes, but I can't release any details yet.  Just know that I'm hoping my BFFs can move to Salt Lake City soon, and that they can get a house that has an apartment attached so I can live with them-but still have my own space.  A girl can dream right?  We'll see, it's a long way down the road at this point, but we have fun talking about it.  I've been up there a lot, and they've been at my place a bit (separately, they take "no kids days" and come to my apartment for an evening.  It used to be just Kristina, but now her and Ken take turns.  When planning coming up this week (which I'm doing twice) I said "It's like I already live with you!" and Ken texted back "You do.  It's just a really long drive from your bedroom to the our shared living room."  Haha!

A few weekends ago my friend Ortie and I met for dinner before heading to our friend Max's birthday party and game night.  We wanted to try a new restaurant that opened here in Salt Lake City called Sushi Burrito.  Don't let the name fool you, it was amazing.  I confess that I'm having daily cravings since.

 

In October we also celebrated Kristina's birthday by drinking, going out for Japanese food, and then heading out to Asylum in Tooele.  It's a bit of a trek out there, but we'd heard it was scary.  My baby brother's girlfriend Jenna said she'd never go back there because as they were leaving her friend was grabbed and drug back in, strapped to a gurney and left alone in a dark room for a half hour like that.

The haunted house is full contact, and you have to sign a waver and leave your thumbprint before entering. There were only three of us (Ken, Kristina, and me) in the VIP line when they came out with a mask that you can't see out of and put it over Kristina's head and took her inside alone.  Then they came out and did the same thing to Ken about 20 minutes later, and about 10 minutes after that they sent me inside alone.  I went through the entire haunted house by myself (except when some random girl with a bow and I decided to team up for a little bit before getting separated again) and didn't meet up with Ken and Kristina again til it was over.  I confess that I also got Clown tongue in my ear. Yuck.

In October my good friend's Jon-Michael and Meggy moved, so it meant I got to puppy sit these two goons, which was awesome! I confess... I love Thor and Atlas time. :)

 

A bunch of coworkers and I got together at El Chihuahua (which I drug Ken to) and had Deathstars.  I got their new Ducky Deathstar which is huge... I may or may not have confessed about sleeping with a coworker to my manager about halfway through it.  Oops.  He just said "Oh man, I'm sorry you have to see him at work all the time." I said "Me too." haha

Other things that happened... Gayvid texted me telling me on his birthday how much he me and was thinking about that surprise party I threw him a few years ago.  He is still trying to convince me to move to Seattle.  We celebrated Ari's (my sister in law) birthday which I somehow managed to get no photos of.  My great grandmother died, which was sad, but it was nice to be able to say goodbye and to see family, and we went out for Jon-Michael's birthday as well.

I confess... I had to go to the DMV THREE times just to get my new car registered.  Time one, I went to the Draper DMV the first time on Halloween and the girl (who was wonderfully dressed as an Egyptian mummy) told me the Bill of Sale was wrong, so I had to get a new one from Josh-who's in Canada.  So I got him to print one out, sign it (they need a real signature), and then scan and email it back to me.  

I went back to the DMV in Draper on my way to work Wednesday only to be told they didn't have the title, it's at the Salt Lake Location.  They also informed me that it would be $1200 for taxes and fees to register.  Which I didn't have.  So I had to call my bank and extend my car loan to include the taxes and finally was able to hit the Salt Lake office and get registered today.  So expensive and time consuming, but Alonso can finally roam the streets legally!  Yay!

School is going alright.  I've maintained a B in my Math class (who would have thought Math would be the class I did best in?) and I'm slowly but surely working my way up to a B in French and fingers crossed I can pull off a B in my Intro to Human Sexuality class.  Also registering for next semester is rough. 

Work is also doing well.  There are some big changes coming down the pipeline that include moving to a new location in the next 6-12 months.  The new location will be fantastic for my daily drive, as it will not only cut it in half, but make it so I don't have to drive over the point of the mountain in snow storms anymore.  However it's also going to bring a more strict work environment and dress code, which makes me nervous.

I confess... You only have a couple more days to sign up for the 12 Days of Christmas Swap over at Chaotic Goddess Swaps!  There are some other fun swaps I have listed for you HERE if you want more of a fill.

I confess... I was featured on my work blog in October.  It was a bit nerve-wracking because I worried customers would track me down here, but ultimately I decided the SEO was worth it.  Though I'm not sure I saw a big spike or anything.

Here are some of my favorite posts from October, in case you missed them:

• I shared my Top 20 Favorite Halloween Movies
• There were fun interviews with both Melanie Grace of Live Steamy and Alex from Her Wonderful Adventure regarding their Halloween preferences and experiences.
• I shared lots of spooky handmade goodies in different groups including The Dark Stuff, Grim Grinning Ghosts, The Witching Hour, and Pick of the Pumpkin Patch.
• I talked about how my friend Max is chasing his dreams with his Kickstarter project Bring Out Your Dead which you should totally go back on Kickstarter!
• I'm crazy about my new Firmoo glasses which you can see in pretty much all these pictures.
• I talked about My Writing Process and some other great bloggers.

I confess... I've updated both my Giveaways page and my Discounts page!  So make sure to check them out!

I confess... I received a lot of happy mail this month.  My October Lootcrate Box was awesome, I received some beautiful 3D Cards, and I also got my first Julep box in months.  I was really happy with the colors and the little cat decals, plus the Noir mask is fantastic.

I confess... I even used the black from this box (Julep Estelle) paired with Enchanted Polish May 2014 to do my Halloween mani.  My nails are super nubby, but it was pretty none-the-less!

How was your October?

I need to do more update posts so they're not this long! 

I'm also linking this post up with the following places: