Halloween

So as you know in a previous post, we got our pumpkins from the farmer's market a couple weeks ago. But due to the craziness of graduate school, I hadn't had the chance to carve them yet. We finally sat down Saturday night in the living room and did it while watching The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (my Netflix choice). I carved the face of a schnauzer (found the template online and it looks similar to Penne) on my pumpkin and Brian made his own template of Big Red to carve in his pumpkin. I think that both of them look really great!

Also a couple weeks ago, I made brownies and used some cookie cutters (thanks Vickie, Staci & Barb) to cut out ghosts and pumpkins. Then I put them on my cake plate that has the candy corn ribbon. On Saturday, I also made cupcakes (thanks to Mom, Vickie, Staci & Barb for the cupcake liners) and used orange colored frosting to make them more festive. The orange isn't as bright as I had hoped, but for my first time coloring frosting it came out pretty well. Again these went on my cake plate for display!

Sunday was Halloween and we had bought two big bags of candy in preparation for all of the trick or treaters. We thought that we would have a lot of kids because there are 5 or 6 apartment complexes on this road alone. But we only had 27 kids stop by and we have a lot of candy leftover (although Brian doesn't mind that at all). Penne did pretty good with people coming to the door, at first she was barking at them. But as the night went on she got less and less excited about the visitors. So she is doing pretty good.

BBQ Festival

Again sorry for the late postings, I have been super busy studying for tests these past couple of weeks and just now have had the chance to relax. So keep a look out for some more postings. On October 23, Brian and I decided to go to the BBQ Festival in Lexington, NC. For some reason, this weekend was packed full of festivals to choose from. There was the BalloonFest in Statesville, NC and a Wine Tasting Festival here in Greensboro. But we both decided that the BBQ Festival had the most that we wanted to do plus we were craving some pulled pork sandwiches.

We decided to try and get to the festival early because there was a steel drum band we wanted to see and to try and avoid some of the crowds. So we parked at Childress Vineyards and took a trolley to downtown Lexington. On the trolley, the tour guide told us that they had been preparing the sandwiches since Thursday and that they were expecting 150,000 people to attend. At first it was nice not having huge crowds because we were able to walk around with ease, but it soon filled up quick.

First, we saw the sand sculpture. Every year they carve a sand sculpture, usually of pigs but it has a different theme each time. It was really cool! Then we found the steel drum band that we wanted to see. It wasn't quite what we were expecting, but it was still good. Next we went to the antique car show and there was some really nice cars there. I think my parents would have really liked them. The next thing we wanted to see was the BMX stunt show, so we looked through some more booths before taking a seat in the stands. The show was good and my favorite was the flat rider. He does stunts on the ground by using momentum to keep his bike going. I thought that was really impressive. I also got some really cool shots of the stunts in the air (see above).

There was definitely a lot more booths to go through and then we decided to get lunch at one of the BBQ stands. We got pulled pork sandwiches, pig's tails (curly fries) and drinks. We sat on the grass in front of a church and ate our lunch. We actually hated the sandwiches, which was really disappointing. The onions on them were nasty and the buns were soggy. The only thing that saved us was the fries. From there, we went to the lumberjack competition where they compete in different events with saws and axes. It was really interesting, until this very tall guy suddenly appeared and gradually stood in front of us which blocked our view. It was quite frustrating since he probably could see just fine due to his height, plus he knew he was doing it on purpose. So we just decided to leave.

We tried to see the pig races, but it was too crowded. Then we saw the corvette show, but since we lived in Bowling Green for so long there wasn't any corvette there that really impressed us. Basically, the festival was good at the beginning but gradually got worse. However, we are really happy that we went to experience it.

Fall has begun!

The trip home was great, but felt extremely short. Matt and Rhonda's wedding was beautiful and I hope they have a happy marriage. Penne of course came with us and she did pretty good at Brian's house, although Sandy could not stand to be around her without going crazy. She was able to stay in place (one of the commands we have learned) while the dogs got super close, which is a major accomplishment. Penne also made a visit to my house, but she was very reactive with the cats so they had to stay in the bedroom. Otherwise it was fine. As we were heading home on Tuesday, my car had some problems as we approached Knoxville. So we had to go back to East Bernstadt to get my Mom's Jeep. Will have to return the Jeep to Mom soon though since she has her big craft show in early November. Don't know how we are going to change out cars just yet. We may meet up at Asheville to see the Biltmore or Brian and I may come home for WKU's homecoming. It has yet to be determined.

So Fall has begun! The air has gotten crisper and cooler (especially at 6:00am), but the leaves have yet to turn colors here in North Carolina. Hopefully, that will happen soon. Brian and I went to the Piedmont Farmers Market to buy some apples and pumpkins. We bought two large pumpkins and plan to carve them next week so that they will be ready for Halloween. One will be a schnauzer that looks like Penne (mine) and the other is going to be Big Red (Brian's). We also bought three small pumpkins, which I carved out to hold tealights (saw it online). I think they are really cool! The apples we coated with caramel and candy (see pictures above). There are four for me and four for Brian. Brian had gone through three apples and was on his last one when he broke the crown off his front tooth (again see pictures above). He insisted on taking the picture. He got it put back on the next day for way too much money, so I hope that the caramel apple was worth it. Lastly, my mom made Penne a new handkerchief (somehow she is able to keep this one despite her destructiveness) for Halloween. It is so cute with the candy corn. Thanks Mom!

Brian is doing good. Still applying for jobs, now not all of them are architecture because he is needing money. He had his assessment from the one company that contacted him, but they have yet to contact hime for an interview so we still don't know about that one. Otherwise, he is busy working on his graduate school applications and materials. So it is getting pretty busy with that.

I am of course busy with schoolwork and my assistantship. I have another round of tests and paper coming up in the next two weeks, so that is always stressful. My supervisor for my assistantship just informed me today that he will be leaving at the end of this school year. This kind of concerns me. I know that they are getting funding for me to work this summer, which now it looks like I will have a supervisor role in that. But it is a little uncertain as to whether there will be a professor to supervise HOPE/Bariatric Program for next year. I think that they will keep the Bariatric Program because the hospital will fund it, but I don't know who my supervisor will be. Otherwise, I am doing great!

Tomorrow, we are going to Lexington, NC to the BBQ Festival. Apparently it is really good and we are dying to have some BBQ. We will post with pictures and an update on that soon as well.

Panthers vs Bengals Game

Sorry this is a bit late. But better late than never. The pictures were Brian's choice. The second inside the stadium is when there was a downpour.

So my birthday gift was Lady Gaga and Brian's birthday gift (a little late) was a Panthers' football game in Charlotte. It just so happened that the game we wanted to go to was against the Bengals, which of course is the team I like. I initially was going to wear my Bengals gear that I wore to the Colts game a couple years ago, but it turns out my shirt was too short. We both ending up going wearing neutral colors in the hopes of finding a shirt at the stadium.

The drive down wasn't too bad, but it was supposed to rain during the whole game so we left early to hopefully avoid it. Downtown was crazy packed compared to the Lady Gaga concert, but we parked in a parking structure that was really close and fairly cheap. We got inside the stadium just in time as it began to sprinkle. Then we found the Pro Shop, which was horribly crowded. I didn't find anything in my size, but Brian found a pullover rain jacket with the Panthers' logo on the chest on clearance. It looks very nice on him.

Finally, we found our seats. It was amazing luck that our seats just happened to be one of three rows under the awning. Therefore, we didn't get poured on like everyone else at the beginning of the game. We did have rain drop on us some (Brian more than me, good thing he got the jacket), but it really wasn't that bad compared to everybody else's experience that wasn't under the awning. It did eventually stop raining, but the game was ugly anyway.

The Panthers ended up losing, but we had a really great time despite this. I actually cheered for the Panthers to make Brian happy (it wasn't too bad). I think that we would definitely go to another game in a heartbeat, especially if we got tickets under the awning just in case. Leaving the stadium was chaos with so many people. The traffic getting out of Charlotte was even worse, we went like 5 mph for like an hour on the interstate. So we got home a lot later than we expected but overall it was a great experience.

Brian went to UNC-Charlotte's School of Architecture Open House today. I think it went well from what he has said so far. He got some feedback about his portfolio and it seems like the program would be great for him. Some more good news about Brian is that he has corresponded with two employers in the Raleigh area about potential jobs. The one called to get background information and said they would call back again. The other one emailed him almost immediately wanting an interview. It looks like he qualifies for one of three jobs so hopefully he will get one. He has an interview next Wednesday at 10am. Wish him luck.

Today, starts my fall break and it lasts through Tuesday. It is kind of weird because WKU's fall break is on a Thursday/Friday while UNCG's is Monday/Tuesday. I am very happy for a break considering I get to go home and see everybody. Tomorrow, we are attending Matt & Rhonda's wedding and I am very excited for the both of them. It will be nice to have a break from everything and to be home! Will try to post soon.

Lady Gaga Concert!

Oh my god the Lady Gaga Concert was amazing! So I will start from the beginning. When we arrived at Time Warner Arena, the line waiting for the doors to open wrapped half way around the building with two separate lines. We got in line and as we began to move, we saw the people dressed up and there definitely was some interesting outfits to say the least. Some with caution tape dresses, beer cans as rollers in hair and lots of leggings. Our seats were pretty far up and at first it made us kind of nauseous, but we got used to it.

To begin with, there was a DJ that played music and danced around crazy. Then there was the opening act, Semi Precious Weapons. First time I have ever seen a wardrobe change occur on stage. The lead singer actually changed his clothes (I mean he was naked on stage). Lets just say his second outfit was better than his first, considering he was wearing a long t-shirt and doing high kicks. He also used the word fuck in a variety of ways multiple times, making it very funny at times.

Then we had to wait quite some time for Lady Gaga, but it was worth it. The picture above is when she first came out. She sounds just as good in person as on the radio, which doesn't occur very often due to musicians manipulating their voices. She is also an amazing performer with cool sets and outrageous outfits. You could definitely tell which songs were most popular because everyone was singing and going crazy. She would talk some throughout and she is very passionate about her views concerning LGBT and homeless children. I applaud her for being genuine and supporting what she believes. Overall, the concert was crazy but nothing she did really surprised me.

To say the least, it was one of the best birthday gifts ever. I am so glad we went and I would go to another one of her concerts again in a heartbeat. Oh and sorry for the lack of pictures it was just way too hard to get any.

Penne's First Haircut

Penne went to her first grooming appointment this past week. She had a little meltdown as we were talking to the groomer, but did okay otherwise. The haircut is a bit short for our liking, so we will definitely know for next time. But here she is with her cute bandana, which she has somehow been able to keep on since. She blinked on the second one but still cute.

Labor Day Weekend & Football Season

This weekend has been great! My parents came down for a visit and we really enjoyed having them. I was able to show Mom around Greensboro and we went to the Farmers Market, which was amazing. It was so big and had really cool vendors & deals. Dad was able to fix some things with my car, which I really appreciate. I love them so much and miss them already! With their visit it was our first test with Penne and visitors. The first day was a little rough just because she is so controlling and wanted to know what they were doing all the time. But by today she was used to them and did really well. So maybe the training is helping somewhat.

Football season has begun and Brian is in a frenzy. All he can talk about is football and every time there is a game on, whether it is college or pro we watch it. We also had our family draft today and it went well. I am sure that I will win again, like I have for 2 out of the 3 years (just kidding). But hopefully, I won't do too horrible.

September is going to be packed full of activities on the weekends. Next weekend, Brian and I are going to a social event for the graduate department. Then the following weekend we are going to a Lady Gaga concert in Charlotte, which is my birthday present from Brian! I am very excited about this and I am sure it will be an amazing show. Then I become old and turn 22. My birthday is not going to be too exciting due to the crazy schedule that day, but it will be okay. Then the next weekend, we are going to the Panthers vs Bengals game in Charlotte, which is Brian's birthday present from me. It is a little late, but we are both excited to go to the game. Will definitely follow up with posts about all of these events.

First Week of Graduate School & Our Toy Destructor

So I survived my first week of graduate school and Brian survived his first week as the househusband (just kidding) and his alone time with Penne. My schedule for this semester is not too bad so far, considering I just dropped my Tuesday/Thursday class. I wake up early every Monday/Wednesday/Friday so that I can be at my GA at 6:30am. Then I have Older Adults & Exercise from 9:00-9:50am. I have a big break after that in which I can go home until class from 5:00-7:50pm. On Monday, my night class is Exercise Electrocardiography & Cardiopulmonary Medicine. On Wednesday, my night class is Advanced Exercise Physiology. So really it is going to be nice to have two days off during the week to take care of studying or meetings. The classes seem okay so far, but I am definitely going to have to study which is nothing new.

My graduate assistantship (GA) is definitely going to be interesting. I will be working on a pilot research project in the fall and the actual research project in the spring working with bariatric patients. We are working with patients that had bariatric weight loss surgery within the past 8 weeks up to 1 year post-op in developing an exercise program. This topic hasn't been researched very much so it will kind of be trial and error to begin with. Hopefully in the future it will move from post-op to pre-op then to prevention. It is definitely a topic I am not familiar with but will definitely learn a lot.

With my GA I am also able to help with the HOPE program (older adults typically) and with my supervisor's undergraduate class that deals with this program. So basically, I will be doing a variety of things and gaining a lot of experience. I really like my supervisor, Cody because I think that we have the same interests in older adults and that he could help me make some great connections for the future.

Although everything is going well so far, I definitely miss WKU and everybody there. Plus, I don't want to hear another WKU person complain about parking. Because at UNCG it is definitely way worse. If you don't get to campus before 9am you have to automatically go to Park & Ride which is super busy.

Anyway, Brian is doing good. He is starting to apply for jobs and work on his portfolio for graduate school. I think that he is getting a bit restless and needs some time away from Penne, but overall doing okay.

Speaking of Penne. She is doing fine as well. We have found out that she is a destructor of toys. She has ripped through a red squeak toy (see pictures above), a cong toy and has shredded her rope (also see above, this also used to have tennis balls on it, see previous posts) into a million pieces. We might have to buy a new toy each month if she keeps it up. She is so cute when she plays (see the tongue hanging out above), but takes it very seriously and when she is in hot pursuit of a toy she even runs into doors although is unphased. Also our trainers had us upgrade to another collar because she doesn't mind being choked apparently. So that was another dog expense we weren't expecting. She is still cute and keeps us laughing.

We are looking forward to September and all of the events that it will bring!