Happy Halloween

Yeah! It's finally here! I love me some Halloween. Now, I did not do much (at all) this year to get in the Halloween spirit. Jeff bought a pumpkin at the local church and we (he) carved it Saturday night.
We did attempt to watch some scary movies but most of that fell through. I thought about going to see Paranormal Activity 3 at the movies but that's not really the kind of movie you pay big bucks to go see. I think it's actually scarier at home because of the home video format. I did watch a few episodes of American Horror Story and a Ghost Adventure show where they visited the Lizzie Borden bed and breakfast. Scary stuff. Here's my costume for the day. Can you tell what's different? It's a fake arm-sleeve tattoo! I got this at Joann Fabrics over a month ago and I'm so excited to wear it. Here's a Glamour Shots pose which I think encompasses the class and elegance of such an accessory.
I've only had one student reaction so far and it was funny. I had to tell him it was fake. This is going to be a fun day. Happy Halloween!!

Traveling Harry

The Tarver Library at Mercer (where I used to work) is having a special Harry Potter display and month long event calendar. I donated (temporarily) a few items for the display. Mom and I stopped by last Friday to see the wonders of the display and take pictures. Harry greets you as you walk in and there's a list of Harry Potter activities. I wish I'd known about the dinner in advance. Those who attended enjoyed a British menu. This is a photo of what is originally sent with the traveling display. There were a few more posters similar to these. Everything in the other display cases were intended to supplement the content. As my friend Lee said, "The traveling display is a little one-dimensional" or something like that. That's my marauder's map T-shirt, Butterbeer mug, and Hogwart house bookmarks (in the little black opened case) below. That's my Bertie Botts every flavor jelly bean bag, golden snitch antenna topper, and dark mark sucker. And that's my time-turner necklace (in the little wooden box). They also had some cases of stuffed owls and snakes. I think the display will be moving on after next week. It was a fun visit to see the display and the changes made to the library.

Oktoberfest

Jeff and I left Banning Mills mid-morning that Saturday and made the drive to Helen.
The drive was...longer than expected. We hit a few hours of dead traffic. Oktoberfest is super popular and we weren't the only ones headed that way. We stopped for a late lunch to take a break from the traffic at a pizza pub. We also got our fishing licenses with a trout stamp (no, not a tramp stamp). We finally made it to our motel around 5pm. We unloaded a few things in the room and then went in search of trout fishing. We found Smith Creek. I would have to say this was the low point of the trip. I've never fished for trout before and the area was thick with thorns, briers, weeds over my head, and slippery rocks. Needless to say, I didn't catch anything. I did rescue my sunglasses from the water though. Jeff caught a couple (of course) but after an hour we headed back to the car. This Jeff fishing outside our motel. We changed into some warmer clothes to go out and enjoy the evening. Finding a place to eat was almost impossible. We did find a place that was about to close and had a quick sandwich and then continued to walk around. The Oktoberfest crowd mainly consists of bikers and college kids. Jeff and I are neither so I felt a little out of place. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and we walked around for a few hours and then called it a night. The next morning we woke up ready for our hike up Raven's Cliffs. The whole event took over three hours.

The scenery was beautiful and Jeff got in a good bit of trout fishing on the way down. For the record, he caught about 6 rainbow trout, all naturally born (not farm raised and shipped in).
My hiking boots decided to die on the way down. The soles started to separate about half way down the hike. It was funny at first but then I started to stumble a little and I was relieved to see the end of the trail. After the hike we went back in search of a late lunch. I had a massive hot dog and loads of water. The evening was spent relaxing our tired feet. We left early the next morning to see our puppies. It was a fun and exhausting trip full of new experiences.

Zip To It

Jeff and I had a long weekend. His mother gave us a very nice Christmas gift last year for a zip line tour, one night stay and breakfast at Historic Banning Mills. We were told the tour would take about 3 to 4 hours. I assumed this meant we were going on a lovely nature hike to a zip line location and then back again. Nope. We zip lined for 4 hours from tree to tree, like Tarzan (sort of). We were in a group with about 15 strangers and we geared up (helmet, harness, crab claws, rope, gloves, etc.) and crossed a cable bridge and from there completed 9 zip lines from tree to tree.
The first one was about 450 feet. I had a scary feeling in my stomach for about 2 seconds and then 8 seconds later it was over. The rest of the zip lines were about 50 to 100 feet. Then the second tour was the final 5 zip lines of our package. We crossed several bridges in this tour, a couple of which only consisted of 3 cables; 1 for your feet and two for your arms. Think tightrope walking but safer. The longest zip line on this part of the tour was 1500 feet and Jeff and I got to race. He beat me but it was super fun going about 60 miles an hour way above a creek. The views really were amazing. We didn't take a bathroom break until the end of the tour. We could have but you have to take off all your gear and it's a bit of a hassle. Jeff also did the free fall. It cost extra but he got 2 jumps off a tower. He said it made the trip but I had no interest in doing that myself. You jump off the red platform. We did not take our cameras on the tour because we were concerned about losing them or damaging them. All the pictures we took were the next morning while watching another group get ready. Anyway, it was a super fun trip, very exhilarating. In my next post I'll talk about our trip to Helen.

Pretty Pots

I did a little painting this weekend. I was inspired by a YoungHouseLove project and it turned out that we had all the pots I needed (except 4 more purchased at Lowe's).
I also had to buy two cans of the Thompson's water seal and the outdoor latex paint. The whole painting process took several hours because I wanted to leave plenty of time for the pots to dry between coats. I did three coats but I think two coats would have worked. Sandi and Remy came to check on my progress throughout the day. I love how crisp and clean they are. However, these will not be used until March of next year. Many of you already know this but Jeff and I are getting married next March and these painted Terra Cotta pots will be the centerpieces for our dining tables. I know the solid white may look a little bland but they will be on tablecloths with a very strong green and white pattern. We'll fill them with white pansies or any other cute, white flower that is in season at the time. I have several tiny pots that I may paint later and use as decorations as well. This will be a largely DIY-ed wedding, inspired by the YoungHouseLove wedding page. Money is tight and it's going to be a very layed back, intimate affair so having the wedding at home just made sense. I will be doing several craft projects for the wedding/reception and we'll be making various improvements to the yard and deck. I'll try to post the crafts and improvements as they happen.

Sick September

It's the last day of my birthday month and when I say Sick September I don't mean it was a particularly awesome (sick, wicked, etc.) month, I mean I was sick for most of it. I think there was a 5 day period where I wasn't sick. I'm still sick today but I do feel like I'm on the mend.

Also, as a totally unrelated side story; some students were working on a campus scavenger hunt today. They had to stop by various offices and get signatures and one of the signatures was for the librarian. Enter moi. So, one student walks in and says, "I need your John Hancock." And I respond (naturally) with, "It's Herbie Hancock." I get a "What?" from the student. I ask if he's ever seen Tommy Boy and he says no. My first thought was how sad for him. My second thought was I must be really old. My third thought was what is this generations Tommy Boy?
Or even this generations Chris Farley? I know there could never be anther Chris Farley but you get my drift.

iBirthday

Friday was my 31st birthday. I took the day off (it's not too often that a birthday falls on a Friday), got a pedicure, read a book, watched some HGTV, went out to dinner and generally had a lovely day. I also bought myself a present. A few weeks ago I stopped by the PeachMac in Macon and asked about "trading in" my iPod Touch for an iPad 2. They said they would give me $103 for it. I said, "$130?" They said, "$103." That seemed like a low (and silly) figure so I decided to just buy the iPad 2 and not trade in my iTouch. Jeff sold my iTouch the next day through Craigslist for $200. Yippee!! I love the bigger screen on my iPad and I use it each and every day.

Madonna Made a Movie

Madonna has been making the rounds at film festivals lately to promote her new film W.E. I didn't really pay much attention to anything other than her outfits. It turns out that the film is about Edward VIII (who abdicated the throne) and Wallis Simpson. They referred to themselves as WE when corresponding--which is something I learned from one of the Leslie Carroll books I mentioned a few posts ago. I'm very excited about this film now. I know there's no chance it will be showing at a theatre in my town or probably anywhere in the state but I do hope to see it on DVD. Madonna's acting ability is hit or miss so I don't know what to expect from her directing. She was married to a director for nearly 10 years so maybe she picked up a trick or two. I just wanted to share this information in case anyone else was in the dark about the subject of this film.

Krueger

Jeff has numerous "decorative" items inside and outside the house. Most of these items are found objects and some are very valuable. Sometimes creatures take up residence in the outside items. This is the case with Krueger.

Over a year ago we noticed his web and occasionally saw the wolf spider peeking out. He would come out in full view mostly in the early morning or early evening hours. We are now on our third Krueger (or maybe 4th). They don't live very long and a younger spider will usually take over their "home". This Krueger is probably the biggest so far. We can see the fur on his legs. I know he's creepy but naming him (them) makes it a little easier. The name is perfect because when he's just peeking out of the lip of the jug all you can see are his legs. The image resembles the metal claws of Freddy Krueger.
I have never actually watched a Nightmare On Elm Street film all the way through. I usually say hello to spider Krueger on my way out the door to work and in the evening. He doesn't do much but wait for food to arrive. Jeff tries to feed him occasionally but I've never been around to witness that moment of bonding.

Netflix Streaming

For the past month or so I have been watching TV shows during my lunch break via Netflix streaming. I've also enjoyed watching the streaming shows at home through our Wii. The show watching first began with The Office.

Loved it. Love it. Next came 30 Rock. Loved it. Love it. I'll be super happy and super unavailable once the newest seasons are viewable. I did attempt to pace myself with these shows but they're only about 20 minutes long and just so funny that I would watch like 4 episodes in a row. I think between The Office and 30 Rock I watched all three seasons of Arrested Development. Hilarious. Can't believe it was cancelled. Then came Downton Abbey, a Masterpiece Theatre period drama.Downton Abbey is wonderfully acted and the new season should be coming soon. Glee (seasons 1 & 2) have all been viewed at work. They're about 40 minutes long and kind of entertaining but mostly embarrassing to watch. I did enjoy the music but I've made it through all the streaming episodes.

Next came Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Boob Hewitt. I enjoyed the first couple of episodes but after a total of 6 I now realize that her Boobs are an actual character in the show. I could have sworn it was supposed to be family programing but most of her clothes were only a thread away from nipple exposure. Speaking of family programming; I attempted to watch The Tudors at work. BAD idea. Full frontal nudity within 4 minutes of episode 1. I couldn't logout fast enough. I love learning all I can about Henry VIII and his six ill-fated wives but the show is mostly just visual (a.k.a. raunchy) and not much aid for my thirst for knowledge. So, any miniseries' on a major movie network (HBO, Showtime, etc.) are not on my queue either. I've just started Parks and Recreation and I have high hopes. If only Modern Family were streaming! I bought the first season but have not seen any of the 2nd.I know this is the month that Netflix will be increasing the price of their services but I'm staying on as a customer. They've just made this form of entertainment so accessible.