Is it really November??

I can't believe that the year is almost over! When I look back at the past 10 months, there are SOO many things that I am so grateful for. And it boggles my mind that I met the love of my life almost a year ago. Time flies by so incredibly fast.

October is the month of HALLOWEEN! Now, I'm not such a huge fan of Halloween. I don't think I have ever been a great supporter of dressing up and scaring people. I think it all stems from when I was a little girl and we went trick or treating......

Picture this. An adorable little (something). Mid 90's. It was a beautiful, crisp October night. Laughter and screams could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Street lamps periodically brightened the sidewalk and showcased various costumes. Shyly, I walked up to a door with my mom's hand on my back, gently pushing me closer to the door to politely say "Trick or treat." Sitting next to the door on a chair was what looked like a stuffed pair of jeans and shirt to mimic a dead man. Just before my little finger was able to push the door bell, a very loud and frightening "RAWWRRRRR!!!!" came from that was-supposed-to-be-a-dead-man man. Screaming out of terror, I ran to my mom and hid my head in her hands. I don't remember much after that, but as you can see, scaring has scarred me from enjoying such a fun holiday.

Fast forward 15 years. Working for such a fun and laid back company comes with many perks. One of them, which is my favorite, is we decorate HARDCORE for holidays and special occasions. My department pitched in and we all got decorations to contribute. October 1, the decorations went up, with one twist. My manager LOVES Christmas. I'm pretty sure love doesn't even cover how much he loves Christmas. So instead of decorating the entire department for Halloween, we decorated the majority of our office with skulls and pumpkins and spider webs. Then directly over our manager's desk, we decorated for Christmas. Who knew that the dollar store had Christmas decorations?

He absolutely LOVED it. And after our Halloween decorations came down, his will still stay up for another two months.

Another thing I have the privilege of participating in at my company, is the costume contest. We had a very great turnout and some very...interesting costumes. Take a look! (I apologize for the green screen)

 (Richard Simmons)

 (Snooki)

 (Evil queen from Snow White. 1st Place)

 (Comic book character)

 ("Fat Brad" This was Brad [my manager] about a year ago. He has lost over 80 pounds!! So he decided to dress up as his old self)

 (Wayne from Wayne's World)

(Self explanatory...Also 1st place)

 (Oddly enough, we had two Psy's! And they didn't even plan it...)

One thing that I do love about Halloween, is seeing all the cute costumes for little kids. John and I had a family party on Sunday and all the nieces and nephews dressed up to show off their awesome costumes. (Photo cred: Emalee and Cory)

(My personal favorite. I wonder why....)

[Photo cred: Dawna]

All in all, I am glad October is over with. Why? One month closer to Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday, and the day after the world "ends".

Also, since it is soup season, I thought I would leave you with my favorite soup recipe :) Not to mention it is probably the easiest soup you will ever make.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 cans (4 cups) chicken broth

1 8oz. creme cheese

1 large can mild enchilada sauce (Any brand will do, however, Hatch is the best brand. A little more expensive, but definitely worth it. 2 cans of their mild enchilada sauce.)

1 small can chopped green chiles

1 pint half and half

1 can corn, drained

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

1 1/2 cups instant rice

Heat up and whisk creme cheese and chicken broth until melted completely.

Add all other ingredients.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.

Serve with sour creme or cheese.

What is your favorite soup during the winter? Do share :)