A few stills...

It's always fun to get glimpse, isn't it? Here are a few pictures from the Holiday Home Evening...Trixie and Miss Five are the mamacitas...and NO, I don't have a lazy eye.

The Elderos are The Beach Boys

Mark...oh...my...word. Isn't he delightful!?

We had amazing performances - Lexi and McKay (and their parents...I KNOW, RIGHT?!) were gangstas

Neutral Mask...by the McDermotts. I always get creeped out by seeing neutral masks smiling... BAAA!

Of course, I have one million pictures from last night - but if you want to see them all - you'll have to stop by and see the slide show...and all the other performances.

Shuffle survey...

This post comes from a survey - where all the answers come from song titles. I put my iTunes library on Shuffle and then each song title was my answer to the question...please do enjoy:

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Traditions of Christmas

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
That Fine Mister

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Olympic Hymn (Him?)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
The Christmas Song

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Woodstock

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Bad

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Bleeps

WHAT IS 2+2?
The Rain in Spain

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Love at Home

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Ebudae

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Gone

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Our Finest Dreams

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I Don't Need Anything But You

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
I Dance Myself to Sleep

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
The Ballad of Davey Crockett

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Heal Me, I'm Heartsick

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Circle of Friends

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Joy You Feel

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Orpheus in the Underworld - Can Can

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Grow for Me

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Metaphors

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Slouching Toward Bethlehem

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Magical Mystery Tour

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Loves Me Like A Rock

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Drown in my Tears

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Lovetown

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Rich and Poor

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Nothing in This World Can Stop Me Worrying 'Bout That Girl

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Feed the Birds

Get on it!

If you haven't been over to Design Mom - you need to head over and get in on her Twelve Days of Christmas giveaways - get clicking and commenting!

Dominate State '08

Saturday night was the Oregon State High School Football Championship game...and I totally went to support Southridge High School - which has a lot of kids from church on the team. And, DUDE...they totally WON. Here are some pictures from the game...

I rode to the game with my doppelganger, Malia.

OH MAN... this guy had the most amazing hat. I've never seen a Naugahyde hat in person...but this was spectacular.

It got quite cold. And yes, I'm wearing pigtails with ribbons in the school colors. I'm also wearing a shirt, a polar fleece vest, a scarf, and a denim jacket all UNDER the wool coat that you see.

This is the moment when we realized it was a done deal - and we were just seconds away from the win.

Final score and the HD jumbo-tron showing the winning team! Way to go Skyhawks!

CAPTION CONTEST...

This picture cracked me up...and so I'm hosting a caption contest. The winner will get something special from Miss Five her ownself! Get commentin' because the contest ends at 10:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, November 30, 2008!

Arts and Crafts...

Part of the Taylor Thanksgiving Feast of 2008 included arts and crafts. Here's what we made:

Elder Tu'itakau (from Tonga) in his pajamas wearing his matching blue turkey

Mark - he's sure excited about HIS turkey

Jordin (who DID make a turkey head-dress) and Trixie sporting her pink turkey. Trixie was all pink yesterday - and sure looked great!

Elder Gray (from Utah) colored his turkey beautifully, but wasn't so safe with his scissors.

JANE Boland in her turkey head-dress. Excellent!

Elder Kavanaugh (from California) got very creative with his turkey - including one wing that was purple and the other that was blue.

The Feast

The Taylor family had quite a departure from our normal Thanksgiving day festivities...we had people OVER! And we had such a wonderful time...check it out!

I am especially proud that we had seats for all 17 people! No one had to sit on a piano bench or on the floor or anything!

We also had matching "service" for everyone. Well, one table was it's own set of china/stemware/silverware...but everything matched, DUDE! Awesome

Featured here: Elder Cook, Jane Boland and the back of Nikki's head. Nikki followed the rules that pajamas were to be worn. But everyone WAS dressed comfortably - and really, that's what matters most, right?

Looking from the dining room into the living room. Featured here is Merrie Boland, then at the next table (left to right) Bobby Boland, Jane Boland's head, Jordin Roth, Elder Cook's head, and Nikki's hair. Mom sat in that empty chair. At the furthest table you can see me and Petie. Josh also sat with us, but had stepped away from the table when this picture was taken.

After dinner, games were played...like "Wash the dishes!!" and "Store the leftovers!" and "Where's the PIE?!" We also had rousing games of Apples to Apples and Dominos. I also tried to box Jonah on the Wii. I was not successful.

I was so delighted by the day - and had so much fun with people that I loved. And I really do love all the people that joined us yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I'm looking forward to this...

Mail order...

Dear Seth -
I know this isn't what you wanted for me - but I had do go with what my heart told me. I surely do love the iPhone - but all I really want is a phone. Just a phone. I have my amazing Touch, for which I am still grateful, and that does all the other jobs I might need. I'll let you know when it arrives - but here is what I am expecting in the mail in just a few days...
Love -
Miss Five

Image via here

AUTISM: The Musical

You should find yourdelf a copy of this documentary - and see it. Even if you've only ever just heard of autism - this is such a beautiful film. Seriously - see it.

SPOOKY!

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, full of tricks and treats! We had a wonderful Halloween - with the local zone of missionaries coming over for a night of festive fun!

We set the scene with spooky lights and jack o'lanterns

We had dinner including BBQ ribs and funeral potatoes. Spooky, no?

Trixie and Corky, out on the patio, cooking ribs and enjoying some, too!

And then - the grande finale - the roasted pig arrived. It was awesome! And while you can't get the full scope - we had about eleven companionships of Elders, plus our family and some friends who stopped by. Spooky fun for everyone!

A great tool for the arsenal...

I will soon be adding this super-cool candle carver to my bag of party tricks...

And you can use it on just about anything and how fun would that be for a party?

Visitors...

We had a great time with the Ottley girls visiting us...can't you tell?

Ruthanne gets ready to color...

Abby is ready to make some art

Mom and the girls all went on a walk to see the many leaves that are all around - and brought many beauties back...

They even did their homework while they were here!!

Today we went to the Portland Children's Museum - and made some creations in the ceramics studio

Then the doctor met with some patients

And Doctor Abby gets ready to see her patients...

And in the end - we all went shopping...

The girls are now up in Seattle on the next leg of their journey - and I hope they had as much fun as we did!

Quite delighted by...

Good Morning and happy weekend! I'm just about to start the final bits of cleaning for a visit from my cousin and her daughters, but really - important things first:

Isn't this cool?!
It's a magnetic key holder! Keys won't slide around or fall off a table or slip into the very dark corners of your purse again...cool. You can buy one here.

Hope you're weekend is fun and festive...

Cute, no?

I think these camera cases are just plain darling:





Find some at this site.

Recreation...

Tonight I stumbled upon The Wal-Mart Game...and here's how you play:

From the creator:

DIRECTIONS: The game requires two or more players. All players enter a Wal-Mart store equipped with pen or pencil and a copy of the checklist below. Players have a pre-determined amount of time, I suggest thirty minutes, to walk around the store observing the customers and employees, and checking off their many defects and afflictions. The most "hits" in the allotted time wins. Good luck!
-Animal bite -Barbed wire bleeding -Bee sting -Black eye -Blacking out -Blood stain -Botched skin graft -Broken bone -Bucked dentures -Buckshot dimples -Butane rash -Camel hack -Carburetor burn -Chigger bites -Chipped teeth -Cigarette hole -Corn chip toenails -Creeping crud -DT's -Elephantiasis -Face raisin -Female bald spot -Funking whistle -Gasping for air -Harelip -Hatchet gash -Healing tattoo	-Horseshoe bruise -Lockjaw -Neck brace -Neck brace with Nascar sticker -Neck vent -Neck vent with bug guard -Nicotine patch tan line -One Herman Munster shoe -Open sore -Polio limp -Powder burns -Protruding forehead -Radical obesity -Rickets -Ring worm -Shingles -Shrieking in pain -Smoker's squint -Splint -Stinking cough -Sweet potato arm -Teeth like the top of a castle -Vomit beard -Weeping sore

Get your pencils ready. This game is much more challenging to play here in Portland - as the nearest store is thirty miles away - but still...it makes a trip to Wal-Mart not actually hurt as much.

Just another reason I love Paula Deen...

Ingredients

• 2 (14-ounce) packages gingerbread mix
• 1 (5.1-ounce) box cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
• 1 (30-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
• 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping
• 1/2 cup gingersnaps, optional

Directions

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar, and cardamom into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle of the top with crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Trifle can be layered in a punch bowl.

I'm thinking that I may need to make this for a Halloween celebration!

All this goodness comes via Food Network

Plotting my acquisition of...

Image via here

The backyard...

I was sorting through my photos - and realized that I haven't shown off our backyard at all this year. Mainly this was because I wasn't home much during the summer to enjoy it. But I did get some great pictures of the oasis that is our backyard.

Conversation pit complete with paper lanterns. Seating for eight...and the swing becomes a bed... This year, my folks actually had a "camp out" on the swing...until about 1 a.m. and then they came in. They can comment on whether it was because the "mattress" was too thin or what...

The table set for dinner...it sure was fun to eat out in back. We also set up a buffet/beverage table to make room for all the food.

I guess this one is really just to show off the fact that my mother is becoming her mother. That is our patio...carpeted. I'm not knocking the carpet. I'm just sayin'...

Another angle of the whole experience....

Trixie inspects the grape arbor - and sees that the grapes are getting ready for harvesting.

Now, fall has fully arrived. And we will begin dismantling the furniture and getting it stored for the winter. We've made gallons of grape juice from our very own grapes and now the harvest is drawing to a close. But don't worry - we have plenty of fall and winter adventures coming up...and all too soon it will be time to pull the backyard furniture back out and enjoy it all over again. Happy fall to you!

Sunday Survey...

What do you order when you eat Chinese food?
I love Orange chicken and General Tso's chicken. A crab wonton is delish alongside some pot stickers. I also love noodles more than rice.

What's the best costume you've ever worn?
While I loved wearing the red and black satin corset that was built just for me in Six Characters in Search of an Author, my favorite costume has to be the beautiful dress that was built for me to wear in Tintypes. It has a beautiful plaid bodice, a pink twelve gore skirt, puffed sleeves, and a baby blue satin petticoat. My mother built it - and it was perfection.

What's your least favorite word?
Boobs.

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be?
Georgia

Who's your favorite Care Bear?
Tenderheart Bear. He was the leader - but I love his classic look. He's also all about dealing with your feelings - instead of eating them.

What is your favorite Cyndi Lauper song?
"Time After Time" - with Rob Hyman. I had the She's So Unusual tape way back when and even won the lip sync contest in my second grade class to "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
The thesaurus...which is not easy to say ten times fast.