Adventure #2: Family Christmas Party

Family Christmas parties are always a blast, but since this year's ugly sweater Christmas party included the best sweater I have yet laid eyes on, it was particularly memorable.

The competition was fierce.

Who needs a Macy's when you can handicraft your own attire using some hot glue and fresh-off-the-lawn pine cones?

Then there was this little beauty-- a shirt with as big a personality as... dare we say it?  It's wearer.  Jake seemed a little too confident in this eyesore.

Aw the famous "Y"... at an ugly sweater party.  Bet you can't tell what school our family favors, can you?

Tyler is modeling our cowboy meets biker look here.  The practicality of nice flannel combined with the classy physique of leather accessories wrapped up into one bright package?  No, it's not too good to be true.

Don't let the ruggedly handsome appearance of this little number fool you.  This looker was in fact stolen from our model's Mother's closet.  What a find!

Complete with battery powered flashing lights, this sweater is sure to help you reminisce of yesteryear when every John and Jane had flashy festive sweaters that screamed out, "Pass the egg nog ladies and gents!  There's a new caroler in town!"

Who says this sweater is out of date?!  A little tinsel here, a little tinsel there, and it's hipper than hip.



As seen here, Kelsi is channeling the Great Southwest in her Native American-like patterns and desert color scheme but more importantly, her outfit reminds us all of one monumental fact: shoulder pads never go out of style.



 


 

True, each of these sweaters brought their own wonderful contributions to the party, but in the end only one could walk away with the coveted 2010 ugliest sweater title.  That honor was rightly earned by this piece of eye candy:



We love everything from the upside down, slightly tipsy looking Frosty, to the awkwardly placed jingle bells.  But mostly, we're fans of the best feature about this sweater-- the ten inch long stuffed carrot protruding out from the mid section.  Nothing brought me closer to spitting out my mouthful of root beer like hearing someone ask loudly, "Is that a carrot or are you happy to see me?" 

Game over.  Game over.



Since blogger keeps protesting my posting of the sweater on the right here and I wanted to find a picture with a better view of the 2010 ugliest sweater winner, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone by displaying this pic instead.  Hopefully this one will give you a better idea of just what was so hilarious about this year's winner.  On his left, you'll notice another favorite among this year's stars; the cheermeister made an appearance at our family Christmas party this year and anyone who has seen Jim Carey in The Grinch will surely appreciate the authenticity of this replica.





I would love to post pictures of everyone on here, but I'm afraid I'm just not patient enough for that. This will have to do.  We are so thankful to be surrounded by such a wonderful family during the Christmas season and for all the laughs we were able to share with them this year.  Thanks to all who participated and we hope everyone else's festivities were just as enjoyable.



Temple Square

My original intention for this post was to include 3 different activities that we've been able to participate in the past few weeks.  Unfortunately I don't have my camera with me and I don't want to put it off any longer, so I guess we'll have to do this in short sets instead.  So... stay tuned.  There's more to come and I know you're all sitting on pins and needles waiting to hear about what exciting activities have consumed our lives as of late.

Adventure #1:  Night on the Town

Last night we went out with our friends Jordan, Steve, Eric, and Chelsey.  It was so much fun!  We all went out to dinner at Tucanos at the Gateway and oh my was it tasty!  Of course I didn't think to take any pictures of it, but it was a lot of fun to try new foods.  For any of you who haven't had a chance to try this place out, it's a lot like Rodizios.  According to Steve, our chicken heart connoisseur, their chicken hearts far surpass those served as Rodizios. 

After dinner we all headed to Temple Square where we walked around in the rain and admired all the beautiful lights.  We even ran into Tim and Amanda!  Why did we not get pictures with them??  Ugh.

Anyway, the lights were beautiful as always, but I couldn't help but notice that they seemed scarcer this year than they have in the past.  Has anyone else noticed this or am I just crazy?

At this point, you might be annoyed with my total lack of visual documentation of our night and I don't blame you... I'm terrible.  BUT I did walk away with these three beauties, thanks to our phones:

Check it out!  The glare in this picture creates the illusion that Tyler is carrying some sort of a satchel AKA man purse.  Do you see it?  I'm not sure how that happend.  Sadly, this is not the case.  The view is lovely though, is it not?

I'm including Steve and Jordan's picture because, well that's what they get for letting me take it on my phone.  The more pictures, the merrier, right?  We sure had fun with them!

Basically the night was totally awesome and we are so thankful for all the great people and wonderful friends we have in our lives!  Hopefully you are all gearing up for Christmas and cherishing this time of year.  Happy Christmas!!

P.S.

Today while I was going through my picture file for this blog, I found that I had accidentally left off one of my favorite things.  Normally this wouldn't bug me, but these things are awesome!  I would feel so bad if I left them off my favorites list because they have saved me in many ways.... or something like that.

So, before I move on to other posts, here is my last favorite thing for 2010:

Clorox toilet wands rock my world!  I won't deny it, I'm easily satisfied, but these things are spectacular!  I use them to clean my toilet bowls, which meant saying goodbye to all those permanent brushes that totally gross me out.  Instead of my old stainless steel set that sat in my bathroom and cleaned the same toilet every week, this thing has disposable attachments full of lovely blue cleaner.  Each week I snap one on and then throw it away when I'm done.  How did I go so long without investing in them?!

These are a few of my favorite things!

I have a confession to make.  I love Oprah!  Not Oprah herself; she and I disagree on so many different levels. I love Oprah as an interviewer and I love her talk show.  In fact I've always looked forward to being home during the day ... one day... a long time from now so I can watch Oprah and Ellen and Good Things Utah.  Poor Tyler has to allow me to watch these shows during the day whenever we are given a paid holiday.  Those women really know how to entertain! Well, either that or I'm just a nerd destined to be one of those stay at home Moms that wears her robe all day and engrosses herself in daytime television, but let's not go there.

So in honor of Oprah's Favorite Things TV special, which I always want to watch but never actually do, I'm going to present to you all, our loyal blog followers, a little slice of Shaela's Favorite Things... the inexpensive Oprah style.

In no particular order:

This isn't exactly a product but I'm addicted to these things, so I had to include it on the list.  Basically you take a dish towel (or other similar sized fabric), fold it in half, sew up the sides, fill it with rice or beans (and yummy spices if you'd like), and then sew the top.  I throw mine in the microwave and carry it around with me all over my house-- in my shirt, in my bed, etc... and it always helps keep me warm.

Oh how I love my Awesome cleaner!  I usually buy it in a much larger, less watered down form but I couldn't find a picture of that variety so this will have to do.  It can be used to clean almost anything and it is in fact, awesome.

There is no better alarm clock than the smell of freshly baked bread.  I have the hardest time waking up in the morning but when delicious warm loaves are there to greet me, it's a piece of cake.  Some people still haven't figured this out but bread machines can be used to make bread of all varieties as well as dough, which I use often.

Try and tell me that it's not fun to wear humongous fake eye lashes.  Can't do it?  I'm not surprised because they totally rock.  I love costume parties and Halloween and really any excuse I can come up with to wear these puppies.  Ooh la la!

Sweet Daydream lotion from Victoria's Secret smells heavenly.  I go on spurts with their scents.  My first love: Love Spell.  Since then I've also found myself on Amber Romance and Passionate Kisses kicks but for the time being, this is my fav.

What would my life be like without ready-made pie crusts?  I love making chicken pot pie with these things and there is no way I would have time to throw one together after work without these handy things on my side.  Not only are they easy, but I love how they taste.  Thank you Pillsbury, for making meal planning so much easier!

Shabby Apple dresses are expensive, but that won't stop me from admiring them.  They are original, stylish, creative, and so cute!  I browse their website regularly just to see what new designs they've come up with and I like pretty much all of them.  That being said, I only own one so far.  Why?  They are expensive.  Thankfully my patience is starting to pay off though.  I have recently noticed that other companies like Downeast Outfitters and Impel Clothing have started mimicking their styles for half the price so hopefully I'll be able to indulge in the future.

Tyler bought me a pair of sheepskin slippers last year that look just like these and I couldn't be happier with them.  The company he bought them from usually sells their products from kiosks in the malls around Christmas time and my oh my are they comfy, sturdy little things.

-THE END-

So now you know some of my favorites.  What about you guys?  Are there any products out there that you couldn't live without?

Murder Mystery Party

Our computers are still experiencing technical difficulties, so it has taken a long time to get this posted.  Sorry about that.

Last month we hosted a murder mystery party and it was an absolute blast!  I had so much fun decorating the place and putting our costumes/dinner together and I laughed hysterically throughout the entire night.
The actual game had a couple of hiccups, but that was to be expected since neither of us had done one before.  Overall though, it went really well.  There was a special going on when I bought the murder mystery so I ended up buying two, which can only mean one thing... another murder mystery party in the future! Hooray!  The next one is going to work out perfectly since I now have a better idea of what I'm doing and what things need to be done differently.

Thank goodness our talented friend Rachelle came!  As usual I took zero pictures, but Rachelle was there to save the day.  Next time I'm going to remember to take pictures of the table settings because I was so happy with how they turned out (complete with bones, candles, etc...).  Until then, I'll leave you with these pictures that I've stolen from the lovely Rachelle.... hopefully that's okay with her :)

Thanks everyone for coming and being such good sports!  You were all so much fun!  I hope you're brave enough to try it again in the future.

The Murder Victim (above)

The Murder Victim's second character (below)

He's Baaaaaack!

I cannot believe that I finally get to say these words!  He is back!  Elder Wall aka Elder Lalaga aka my big-little brother whom I have missed dearly, has at last returned.

Jake appeared on the escalator with darker hair, a skinnier looking face, and the dirtiest feet I have ever seen, wearing a skirt and flip flops.  His adoring mother was on the verge of hysterics and instantly ran to the bottom of the stairs, fighting back every urge to bound up the steps and carry him down.

Here are some of the things I want to remember about Jake's homecoming.

• His first words to me were, "Sorry to say it Sha, but you haven't grown at all."
• I had every intention of being tough, but as soon as Kels, Kin, Mom, and I all surrounded him in an enormous hug and I felt everyone (except Jake of course) crying, I became a total wimp and cried my eyes out.  Bah!  So much for being tough.
• Ty and I stopped at Paradise Bakery on our way to the airport and bought a chocolate chip cookie for the returning Elder.  I mentioned it to Jake in passing so he could be aware of it whenever he felt hungry.  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, he headed straight for me.  He barely had time to say, "You have NO IDEA how bad I want that right now", before snatching it out of my hands, breaking it in half, and shoving it into his mouth.  Now that's what I call appreciation!  Lucky for him, I had another partial cookie in my purse that I had purchased for myself and he demolished that one pretty quickly as well.
• The first souvenir Jake pulled out of his bag for me was a hand-carved Fijian fertility statue with our name engraved on it.  Haha!  I guess he wants us to have kids or something.

Since his arrival, Ty and I have been able to spend a pretty good amount of time with Jake and the family and it has been so much fun.  Besides a new ability to entertain me for hours with hundreds of cool stories from the jungle, Jake is much the same; he is still the fun-loving, silly brother I missed and love and it is so great to have him home.  He really has been an incredible missionary and has grown up a lot in the process.  Welcome home Elder Wall!  We are so proud of you!

The only pictures I currently have were taken on my phone directly after my crying episode, but it's all I've got so they'll have to do.