It Happened One Night

Friday night, I got the chance to feel like I was a teenager again, and it's all thanks to "the Lisa".

Lisa was asked to meet a photographer from the Salt Lake Tribune to meet him at the Provo City Cemetery Friday night for a photo shoot. (the story comes out Aug 1--look for it--it's gonna be awesome!). So, I got to go along as "protection". . . which mostly means it's creepy to meet a strange man in a cemetery at night and wouldn't you want a girlfriend with you too?

So, first of all we arrived and I was reminded again how beautiful that cemetery is. Then we all noticed that the signs say the gates close automatically at dusk. So, after some drama with Lisa's keys being locked in the car (we're laughing WITH you, Lisa) we move her car and then head out to find a place to take these pics. It's just after 9 pm, and I realize as I'm looking around that we're in the perfect spot at the perfect time to see the haunted headstone that glows at twilight! I don't know the story (I heard way too many conflicting versions in High School), but there's a headstone that glows at twilight, and we got to see it. Ah the wonders of polished marble and neon lights across the street. LOL

The photographer showed up and was totally awesome (Hey Jimmy!), and the shoot itself was so cool! We found a great headstone to use, and I got to watch the way he set up all his cool equipment and delayed exposures and lighting effects and all sorts of cool stuff. And then, he asked me to help with the lighting. (I am now a pro at holding a flashlight and pointing it in the right direction LOL) We laughed and joked the whole time, but it just got better at time went on. Because when we were finally done, we realized that the gates had been closed for quite some time, there were no openings in the fence anywhere, and we would have to climb out. Jimmy kept apologizing, but Lisa and I couldn't have been happier--we got to climb the fence to escape the cemetery after a photo shoot with a newspaper. Does it really get any better than that?!?

With help from Lisa's hubby, we found a concrete and rock pillar to climb and made our escape. Which we promptly celebrated with hot-fudge sundaes from McDonald's. What a night! I haven't had this much fun since I was a teenager! Who knew TMs could keep me so young!

Be Safe!

I was planning on blogging today about the vacation we took last week. . . and I will probably do that still later today or tomorrow.

But after reading Rae's blog today--I simply must say something to all the women (and men) in my life:

BE SAFE!!!

Do whatever you need to do whenever you need to do it.
You are too important to me--my life would not be the same without you.
So, whether or not you think you need to, take stock of your life and make whatever changes or adjustments you need to in order to BE SAFE! If not for yourself, do it for me. I'm too selfish to do without any of you!

Great Declutter Challenge

Because of the sad state of our homes, a couple friends and I have decided to declutter our homes together. We're going to choose areas of our home to work on at the same time, and report with before and after pictures. I figured everyone ought to enjoy the journey with me. So enjoy!

2008 Declutter Day 1

Office

Our "office" is just a corner of the master bedroom--but that corner gets overwhelmed easily and often. So it was a great place for me to start. Here's the before:

And, after 1/2 hour of work (not to bad if I do say so myself), here's the after:

Still a little cluttered--but in a small house with 4 people and a dog, what can you do. Now to find out how much of the rest of the house was trashed while I did this. . . .