Pumpkin Carving

Nothing gets me more in the Halloween spirit than carving pumpkins. Last night was a very quick 'let's get together and carve pumpkins!' event. Turns out only the boys showed up. Fine. I was prepared with apple cider in the crockpot, ice cream with caramel sauce, and pumpkin whoopies. YUM! I put on Monday Night Football - HD style -, and we were set.

My pirate skull & bones, Scott's 2-face, Dave's witch and Travis' spider:

Trav. Dork. :)

Pumpkins on display. Right between my GH guitars. Perfect.

Turns out I'm a little crazy

So, it's funny - looking back through events of my life, I see a pattern: -- when I'm in Happy La-La Land, I end up getting pudgy. If I'm annoyed or frustrated or angry, my outlet is the gym and I start getting in better shape - which ultimately makes me more happy about myself, which leads me back to La-La Happy Land somehow, and then me getting pudgy again.

This is a viscious cycle! I like being happy, but I don't like being pudgy. I don't like feeling frustrated or mad, but I really like the physical result of those emotions. So what am I to do? I think I'll just be an angry, skinny (hopefully) person who doesn't allow herself to overall feel happy because there will be pudginess and an eventual decline into frustration anyway. Better to be on an even keel than on a roller coaster (emotionally at least).

There can be happy moments - like when I am with my family or doing fun things or riding on real rollercoasters, but overall, I'll be with angst. That way I can stay in shape.

That's my plan!

Fall: Perfect for camping and football!

The last 2 weekends have been great! First I went camping with Julie and family up in PA - not far from Gettysburg. It was great fun! The days were perfect; in the 70s, clear and sunny. The night that I stayed it was pretty cold, but not miserable. It was fun to explore with the kids in the woods and along the creek, build campfires and play games. I hadn't seen Julie and family in a while, so it was really fun to see them again.

This past week I purchased a new road bike. I was really excited to ride, but I already had plans to head down to Charlottesville to attend the UVA vs UNC football game. It seemed that a weekend ride would most likely not happen. I invited my friend Dave to go to the game with me, and then I had the brilliant idea to take our bikes with us! We got to Charlottesville late Saturday morning, rode our bikes around for a couple of hours, then got ready to go to the game. I love my bike! It makes me excited to go on a real ride. The football game was pretty frustrating for the first 3 quarters. But then UVA picked up steam, tied up the game in the last few minutes of the 4th qtr, and ended up winning in OT! So it was a nice and exciting finish. Dave and I had a good time exploring the campus, walking along "The Corner" and getting in to the UVA football spirit. A really fun trip overall!