Ready for Halloween, Excited About Zombies and Finding a Black Widow in Your Breakfast Treat

Happy Halloween!!! Okay, I'm a bit early, but it's my favorite holiday and our decorations have been up since the end of September. Last night we enjoyed the Fall Festival at the YMCA--Riley played in a few bouncy-houses, painted a pumpkin and we all went on a hayride. Very cute.

Today we drove downtown and went to the pumpkin patch at Christ Episcopal Church. I'm in love with this church (it's the oldest in town) and we had a great time finding the perfect pumpkins.

Decisions, decisions...

Well, that's one way to display pumpkins!

A playground right next to 300-year-old graves.

The grounds of the church.

The front door of Christ Episcopal.

During a recent trip to our one-and-only bookstore, I found myself in heaven--a huge Halloween display with so many wonderful reads...

See what I mean?

Ahh, "The Walking Dead" series...
can't wait to watch this next Sunday!

And...in other news: A couple of weeks ago we went to Emerald Isle to enjoy a day at the beach and walked down to the pier. Too many fishermen, but it was worth walking through them all for the amazing view at the end...

View from the end of the pier back to the beach.

There had to be about 30 surfers enjoying the
waves kicked up by the tropical storm.

If you have really great eyesight, you should be able to
see about 15 dolphins swimming just past the pier.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Riley was up early, as usual, before school and eating breakfast. She really wanted some grapes so Charles pulled the bag out of the refrigerator, pulled out the grapes, washed them off in the sink and put them in a small bowl for her. Maybe 10 minutes later she comes running to Charles: "Dad!! There's a spider in my grapes!"

What the ...?!?

In case you can't tell from the photo, that's a Black Widow. Yes. In. Her. Grapes. What if she'd eaten it? The lesson here, kids? Even washing your fruit does not guarantee that a spider won't end up hanging out with you at breakfast. Be careful!

Several days ago we made the decision that the van had to go. She's old and falling apart--plus, we really don't need something that big anymore. We traded her in for a Hyundai Santa Fe and came out with lower monthly payments and cut our interest rate in half!

The new car.

Things to note and other fun facts:

• Don't forget that what could be one of the best TV shows ever is premiering Halloween night on AMC--"The Walking Dead." Added bonus: It's directed and created by Frank Darabont! I will be glued to the screen!! Oh, and here's a fan-made intro for the series--so cool!
• Baba Ghanouj  is very good...and my six-year-old child loved it! Great recipe here.
• Did you know that Michael J. Fox wasn't the original Marty McFly? I had no idea! See orginial footage with Eric Stoltz here.
• Are you a die-hard Democrat like me? Do you need a good laugh? Watch "I'm Voting Republican."
• I want Charles do make breakfasts like this for me. The Angry Birds one is my favorite.
• These vintage ads are hilarious! What were they thinking?

Oh, I Almost Forgot...

I've learned that one of my favorite authors, Joe Hill (son of the master, Stephen King), is coming to my television. His comic series "Locke & Key" is being turned into a series that will air on FOX. The kicker? Steven Spielberg will be a producer.

So. Freakin'. Excited.

By the way, Hill's latest novel "Horns" was a super-fun read.

Here Comes Earl

Riley's school dismissed at 1:00 p.m. today ahead of Earl and is on a three-hour delay for Friday. It's been overcast here all day--increasing clouds and wind as the afternoon progressed. Late this evening, I was amazed to stand outside and watch the clouds above swirl and move almost like I was watching someone hit the "fast-forward" button in the sky.

Here's a radar image I just captured--the red dot marks our spot--and we're right in the middle of the action right now.

One of our usual beach spots, Atlantic Beach, is getting hit with the wind and 12- to 14-foot waves. They are also starting to see the pier deteriorate. A couple of the pylons are coming loose and the whole thing may be gone by morning.

As of now (9:45 p.m.) the wind is really roaring and the rain has started in earnest. Thankfully, Earl has now been downgraded to a Category 2 with winds at 110 mph. The experts say that the worst will start to hit us around 2:00 a.m., but the worst will be over Friday morning.

We've "battened down the hatches" and prepared the best we can. I think we'll be just fine!

His Name is Earl and Missing My "Zzzz"

Okay, I've found the first disadvantage of living so close to the coast--his name is Earl and he's projected to possibly hit very close to us. We are currently under a hurricane watch and they've issued a mandatory evacuation for Okracoke. Yikes!

I'll be watching the weather very closely during the next 36 to 48 hours. At the moment, the weather folks are saying things could start to get rough late Thursday into Friday morning.

In other (boring) news, I discovered today the possible reason for my failing memory, fatigue, general confusion and terrible headaches. My doctor thinks I may be suffering from sleep apnea. He's sending me to a pulmonologist and I will more than likely have to take part in a sleep study. Wonderful.

Oh, and I've completed my UT pedicure--it's officially the start of college football season! I can't wait!!

Williamsburg, Random Turtle, Bruschi Visits and School Starts

Well, it's been a busy month here...we ended July and began August celebrating Charles' birthday in Williamsburg, VA. Neither Charles nor I had been in years and we were excited for Riley to explore the town. Overall, she loved it and we had a good time re-acquainting ourselves with the spots we remembered from earlier visits.

This guy was an amazing story-teller!

The Governor's Mansion.

Tree-covered walkway in the gardens.

While there, we enjoyed a ghost tour. Riley was super-excited and we had a great time listening to the more "modern-day" ghost stories as related by our tour guide. Quite a few of her stories really made you think...

Riley listens intently to a ghost story about a young boy and a man said to "reside" in this house.

I took a picture of this particular window because this is where people have seen a face staring back at them...I guess he was camera-shy.

Another stop on the tour...

The last stop on the ghost tour...and the creepiest story of all!

Riley acted up a bit during our trip, but we took care of that...

We were tempted to leave her there, but realized we'd really miss her...

It's been unbelievably hot here with the heat index reaching as much as 109 a couple of weeks ago...even the creatures around us must be searching for a shady place to rest. This guy showed up out of the blue...

He was right at our doorstep, but had trouble reaching the doorbell.

We also visited Beaufort a couple of weeks ago for their annual Pirate Invasion. Riley got all dressed up and revelled in the excitement!

The perfect pirate pose.

Taking part in the costume contest...

Meeting up with a couple of her old friends...

Highlight of the day: Lunch with Blackbeard!!!

As I've mentioned before, our neighbors' dog Bruschi is Riley's best friend. Last week, Mark dropped by and asked if we could babysit for the afternoon--of course, I (mostly Riley) said yes. He was very well behaved, but really wanted to play with Bailey. Bailey just wanted to hiss, growl and smack Bruschi on the nose. You'd think Bailey would find a nice, quiet spot during Bruschi's three-hour visit, but no one has ever accused Bailey of being the smartest of cats. He'd stroll right by the dog and the whole "let's play/no, let's hiss and smack" scene would start up all over again...

Look deep into my puppy-dog eyes...you know you can't resist...

Last weekend we made the short drive to Emerald Isle--it's one of the nearby beaches we had not yet visited. I think it's now our new favorite beach...very quiet, great sand, good shells and not very crowded!

Where is everybody? Wait, who cares!?!!!

Unobstructed  view of the ocean!

Riley digging holes.

Oh, and kids, don't trust that your SPF 30 lotion and sitting in the shade will prevent a sunburn. It won't--especially for those of us so incredibly pale that we actually glow in the dark. Here's the proof...

One word: Ouch!

We stopped at a few shops on our way home from Emerald Isle and while at one very cheesy surf shop I spied this:

I want this so badly--I can't even put it into words.

If you didn't know, I have this thing for VW buses. This was obviously made with me in mind. Hello! UT colors!

We're Alive, Damn Those Cookies, 14 Years and Random Links

Okay, I know I've been slacking when it comes to this blog, but I'm not even sure anyone ever reads this thing anyway! Yes, we're all still alive and happy. In fact, Charles and I just celebrated our 14th anniversary last week. I guess Father Smokey was right about us! Anyhoo...





We've finally settled into the new house. Things are going well, but with the open design of this house, we're finding it hard to find the perfect spot for a few large pieces of furniture. Not to worry, though--my Mom is coming in a couple of weeks and she can work her magic on organizing the entire house.

We really have no yard to speak of, but we're getting used to that--Riley can at least still ride her four-wheeler around the back yard, she just can't go very far!

I'm still working from home and I got a bit of a promotion recently--our company acquired a competing magazine and I'm now the editor for that Web site as well. I'm extremely busy, which means that Riley must find ways to entertain herself...

We also get some cool catalogs and magazine thanks to the Marine pilot and his wife who used to live here. Charles ordered a few new goodies and here's the result.

Let me tell you, those cookies were a b!tch to decorate...they looked nothing like the picture on the box of cookie presses. The folks at Willliams & Sonoma must have some major artists working there--that, or they are really great at Photoshop!

We also found a massive moth in the garage a few weeks ago...

Doug told me that it's a Green Sphinx moth--way cool.

We've also been visiting the beach quite a bit--easy to do when Atlantic Beach is only a 30-minute drive from our house. If you get there early enough in the day, you can practically park at the ocean...

We always have a good time and find tons of great shells. Riley enjoys it when Charles buries her in the sand.

I'll leave you with some pictures of one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen--and it's even one of the town's Episcopal churches!! This place is all kinds of cool...

Isn't it beautiful? The entire town is full of buildings, churches and historic spots just like this. It seems as though there's a historical marker every 200 feet in this town--Charles is in heaven.

Plus, we're just 15 miles from the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point so he gets to see tons of awesome helicopters and jets. In fact, our next-door neighbors are flight surgeons at Cherry Point--they are very cool people with a nine-month-old lab, Bruschi (named after Tedy Bruschi). He and Riley have become fast friends--even though he barks like mad at her four-wheeler. He must think it's some kind of monster!

Okay, I really need to wrap this up, but I end with the following random issues:

• Now that I have my new iPhone4, I might need to apply duct tape? Are you kidding me?
• I want a baby sea otter. In fact, I want this one.
• One of my favorite SNL skits was nominated for an Emmy. Speak up!
• In honor of my designer friends, I give you: Clueless Secretary Prompts Hilarious Office E-Mail Thread.
• For the Star Wars fans: At-At Day Afternoon. Priceless!
• Forget "Thug Life." We're livin' the "Dad Life."

Three Words: Sold, Packing, Excitement

Okay, where to begin? It's been quite a while, but I have plenty of news to share.

Charles has been gone now for two months and that time has been very hard for all of us. We've gone to New Bern to visit (a whole week in April) and he's flown down here to visit us a couple of times, which makes all this a bit easier to handle. The good news is that the "count-down" is on and things are going to change completely near the end of May!

The house is sold! I thought it would take months, but we only had it on the market for a little over three weeks before someone put a contract on it. We closed on April 29th and are now "renting" the house back from the buyer for the remainder of May so that Riley can finish up the school year.

School ends on May 21st and we are making our big move on May 23rd. We cannot wait! A PODS unit will arive on the 20th and we'll frantically pack all weekend and make the final drive to New Bern that Sunday. We'll then stay in Charles in his apartment for a week (unfortunately, the cats will have to be in a kennel those days) until we can move into our rental house on June 1st.

The rental is very nice and in the subdivision we'd like to buy a house in. The owners are military (of course) and he's a pilot being temporarily transferred to Washington state for the next two or three years. They've done amazing work on the house and we've promised to take good care of it for them while we are there. Best of all? The house is maybe three miles from Riley's new school--one of the best in the area. I so won't miss the 45 minute drive (twice a day) to her school now.

We still have plenty of packing to do, but I don't mind--all the extra activity just means we're that much closer to being together as a family again!!