¿Por qué no te callas?

I plan to do a longer post about my trip to Europe. Which was fantastic and fun. And cold. But that post will have to wait until I have pictures to accompany it. I took 19 pictures of Big Ben and Parliament. I really enjoyed that group of buildings. They're stunning.

Until I post about my vacation, I am going to tide you over with this video about the king of Spain, who is my new favorite foreign leader. I love politicians who actually speak their minds and react the way normal human beings should. My sister, who spent three months in Spain, told me about the incident.

Hugo Chavez is the leader of Venezuela and a fairly crazy dictator. We don't like him. In this meeting he was attacking the previous prime minister of Spain and rudely interruping the current prime minister. Juan Carlos, the king of Spain, tells Chavez to shut up. Which is awesome. After this incident the king's popularity rose even more. And this clip became a national hit and Spaniards used the king's reprimand as their ringtones and printed it on shirts. I love that! Coolest story of 2007.

Ask Miss Tacky

Ha, I like that. Miss Manners should totally change her name. Because really that's what people are asking: "Is it tacky for me to not write thank you notes?", "Is it tacky when I take up two or three parking spaces?", etc.

So I pose the question and created a survey: Todd and I are sending out our wedding invitations soon, and I am wondering whether it's tacky to tell people where we're registered. I understand all the arguments for and against, and am wondering what my . . . 4 friends who read this blog think. Then I'll tell you what I think. After I get back from my fantastic vacation.

Finally

Last night I finished Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight series.

It's a great series and I have been trying so hard to get through this last book. I have mixed feelings about it, but it was a great read. My mom, sisters, sister-in-law, and close friends are all totally into the books. It's like a cult. Or coven. Or pack.

Here are my thoughts on the book (I don't want to spoil it for . . . whoever, so highlight to read it).

Holy crap Jacob is a baby! I can't stand him. Maybe it's because we've been reading about Edward longer, or because he's just so protective of Bella, or because he's mature and not stupid . . .. Either way, I was totally irked with Jacob pretty much the entire book. My sisters all said Bella was frustrating, but I didn't see that. Indecisive, yes, but understandably so. Jacob is just lame. I am not excited to read another book of him being pathetic in his dealings with Bella and Edward. Speaking of, what's up with how slow this book progressed?! Granted, it makes me want to read the next one, but still. 600 pages of actually very little plot development. At least at the end of Harry Potter major characters die. :)

Fall (a.k.a. "The Most Random Post Ever")

Fall is my favorite season of the year (see the preceding post--odd how my favorite holiday occurs during the fall). I wonder if I love fall precisely because it ushers in Halloween and the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Maybe.

But I do know I don't love it because it gets cold.

I live in here for a very specific reason--heat. People complain about the summers, but I'd much rather have sweat dripping down my face the moment I walk outside than to take baby steps so I don't slip on ice or have my lungs spasm because it's so dang cold.

Right now we're having what is called an "indian summer" and we are setting record high temperatures. It was 83 degrees here yesterday. In November. I love it! So I get to have chilly nights, gorgeous changing colors, AND short-sleeved shirts. It's fantastic.

Speaking of colors, here's a picture I took in southern Utah the first weekend in October. I do love fall colors. And I love this picture. I'm actually really proud of myself for this one.

p.s. Why does the fall season get two names: fall and autumn? The other seasons don't get several titles. That's random.

For no mere mortal can resist the evil of the thriller

I love Halloween. It's my favorite holiday of the year. I love the decorations, the changing season, costumes, and trick-or-treaters. This year the trick-or-treaters were surprisingly sparse. It was weird and sad, because they're so cute. And also sad because I now have pretty much an entire Costco-sized bag of Willy Wonka candy. Which is the kind of candy I eat. Oh well.

Todd and I dressed up for a 5-ward activity on Monday. His costume was hot (literally and figuratively) and my costume "fit me," as several people said. Which is true, and I think was a compliment.

Although if I could get my costume to do this

I'd be happy.

I also dressed up for the actual holiday. As a poor girl with a rat eating her brain. Which we all know is a sad thing to happen. This is me and my friend Amelia from work.

And here's the rat. Notice my bloodless face. It was nice to not have to worry about doing my makeup well. Another reason to love Halloween.