pumpkin carving

Happy Halloween!

Next year maybe I'll get around to posting a flashback series of our pumpkin carving in the past. Chris and I have only done it twice before, and it's always been quite an event.

This year it actually went quite smoothly. We hardly made a mess at all!

Here's our cute pumpkins, waiting anxiously for me to stab a knife into them...
I love pumpkins. We have several real pumpkins around the house: our two big ones from the farm, one medium sized one to keep uncarved for Thanksgiving, and two mini baby pumpkins.

Beyond that I also have one plug in jack-o-lantern, one jack-o-lantern with battery operated "candles" and then two other light up pumpkins. I'm a pumpkin freak.

But I hate pumpkin SMELL.

It turns my stomach. The second that top comes off and you see the guts, that's it for me. I don't know why the pumpkin smell is so bad to me, but it's my least favorite part of this holiday!

See? I am not happy about the guts.
I choose an easy pattern this year - a ghost.
I think it might have been too easy though!
Chris chose a grim reaper. It looked like a ton of work....
But he did an awesome job!
So last year I attempted to make pumpkin seeds. Instead of drying them out, I let them get moldy (of course this would only happen to me), so I was a little nervous about trying it again this year.

The soaking went fine, until this happened...
Do you see that? Yeah, that's about two hundred pumpkin seeds all over the floor.

Only would happen to me! I did manage to save a bunch that didn't fall on the floor, and I ended up roasting them up nice - hopefully you'll like 'em Mom!

All in all it was a smooth process this year for the carvings...
We are so proud!
Tonight we're having an Appalachian Halloween!! I'll post more about that later - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

flashback series: heather votes!

In 2004 I voted for the very first time. That fall my roommates and I all sent out for our absentee ballots, and in the process of waiting for them we watched all the debates on television.

This was the year of Kerry versus Bush. I was new to the whole political scene, but I easily wasn't a fan of Bush so I decided to vote for Kerry. I wasn't a huge supporter though, and I didn't fight for his cause against Bush supporters.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And it's a good thing my roommates thought so too. All three of them were Republicans. I was the lonely Democrat. Even my own boyfriend (the future gamer husband) didn't vote, and I knew he would have been on my side!

But wanting different leaders didn't cause any friction between us, and one afternoon we all set out to complete our absentee ballots.

So here's me looking up info about the candidates using my voter's guide:
Below you will see me voting for my first presidential election. This was definitely a picture-worthy moment!
And there's me and Kelly (my roommate at the time) flashing our newly filled out voting cards, ready to be mailed off!
A few weeks later we all stayed up pretty late to watch the results. I must have stayed up til 3 or 4am watching the states turn to blue or red, and even that next morning as I was getting ready for class I still don't think we had a decision made.

Bush ended up winning, but I'll still never forget that first time I voted.

Stay tuned for this year's "heather votes!" post - it's another absentee ballot. I wonder if I'll ever live in the county that I'm registered in??

credentialed!

So you can now refer to me as...

Heather J. *****, NCC

That's right - check it out! I've finally got my certification credential after my name. Apparently I've been credentialed since July, but I just now got my certificate.

Chris won't let me put my last name on the blog, even though you all know it :-P

So now that means you'll see my credential after my name - how neat! It might not be MD or DPT (like Chris might have some day), but NCC is pretty important in my field.

It stands for National Certified Counselor.

It means I'm certified to counsel anywhere in the USA! And it better, because it costs me a pretty penny to get it...grad school, NCC course and expensive examination.

On another note, I just paid off ALL my graduate school loans!!!! What a relief!

Just in time too since Chris is about to put us in the hole financially for the rest of our lives. My piddly $8500 grad school loan is nothing compared to what PT school costs!! But I don't want to think about that just yet :-P

black saturday

So we headed up to Boone for the first time in a year! I can't believe it's been that long. Chris and I really miss that place. It definitely feels more like home to us than Raleigh ever will.
How could you not want to live with that out your backdoor? Chris and I hope that one day we can move back to the Boone area, or maybe Asheville....we just like the Appalachian mountains so much!
And this signals our entry into Boone! This motel has been there for-ever! Every time we'd go back to App from weekends home we knew when we saw the "two people one bed" that we were back in Boone where we belonged! It always makes us laugh.
That's the new stadium!!!! Can you believe it? Kidd Brewer stadium really has grown up a lot! And just to think only a few years back that nobody even knew who the Mountaineers were, and now all our games are sold out!
That's me at "the rock" - App's name for itself. I don't really know why we call it that...
There's Phil and Chris waiting for the game to start. We got there super early so that we could get good seats right near the 50 yard line. We ended up waiting in the stadium for about two hours before kickoff. But atleast the guys had those annoying bam bams to play with!
Stadium still pretty empty...but we don't care, we got our seats!
And there we are - our picture to add to our Black Saturday album!
And there's me...Ahhh. When will the game finally start?
WOO HOO! A whole lot of waiting, but the stands filled up quickly and the team finally came out! GO APPALACHIAN!

And that was the last picture I took :-P The game was so intense, and I really thought we were going to lose to Furman for a little while. Plus it was FREEZING, so I was pretty miserable the whole game, not knowing if we were going to pull through!

But we did! And after our crushing loss last year, App comes back to win another Black Saturday game. Woo hoo!
And that's a bit dark, but I just needed to remind you to check the sign. See it? That's right. THREE TIME NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

check it

The gamer's wife prevails!!

Check out the following scores.
Gamer on guitar. Gamer's wife on drums.

He might have made more money than me, but I had better accuracy!
98% versus 75%!!!
Go gamer's wife!

how to manipulate a gamer

So the gamer husband isn't the only one playing games.

I've got my only little game going on as well. You see, it has to do with manipulation.

There are many things a gamer wants. I've learned that "I promise, this is the last game I'll ever get" is an outright lie. There really is no end to amount of games, gaming accessories and other extraneous costs that come up.

It costs a lot to be a gamer. And everything is a "I have to have it" item.

The Wii last year? Check.

Four Wii controllers so everyone could play? Check.

Wii Play game? Check.

Mario Party? Super Smash Brothers? Zelda? Mario Kart? Check, check, check, check.

Mario Kart Wheels? Wii crossbow? Check, check.

Rechargeable battery packs and charging station? Check and check.

Guitar Hero and guitar? Check and check.

Monthly Wow fees? Check, infinity.

New Mac laptop with better graphics cabilities? Grrr, check.

And just when you thought he couldn't need anything more, the gamer says he must have the new Guitar Hero World Tour bundle pack that includes guitar, drum set, microphone and game.

$200 bucks!!

And did I mention he already has a guitar??

So what do you do when your gamer husband refuses to back down from his insistence that he get yet. another. new. game.???

Step One: Pout.
This usually at least alerts the gamer that you are unhappy with his intended purchase. However, once a gamer's mind is set, there's really no changing it.

Step Two: Guilt.
Attempt to explain to the gamer that he already has enough games, and he should be happy with what he's got. However, this usually results in the gamer's wife to be even more upset as she recounts all the games, gaming accessories and expenses he's already cost them. Still, this signals the beginning of the "guilt the gamer" phase.

Step Three: Manipulate.
The gamer will get this game no matter what. But now is your time to get what you want out of the deal. Usually when a gamer becomes infatuated with a new game, he'll get it at any cost. Meaning, you could get a lot out of a potential deal. Think carefully about what you want.

Step Four: Negotiate.
Tell the gamer he can have his game, ONLY if you get the following. Pick things you know he hates, or under normal circumstances wouldn't want you to have. Have some back up options ready. Normally, if you've followed all the previous steps correctly and really laid on the guilt you'll end up getting more than you originally wanted or even needed, even though he still gets his stupid game!

Step Five: Glory.
He gets the game, but you'll hardly notice as you relish your win!

So now, the gamer does indeed have the new GHWT band set.

But I am relishing in the fact that I am getting:
-new Ugg boots (which the gamer hates)
-choice of small dog in the future (which the gamer is very against - he likes big dogs!)
-naming rights of said dog

Plus, even though I claimed to be totally against getting this new game, saying it would be a waste to get a band game when he'd be the only one playing it...

I ended up rocking the drums.
Ahhh, the life of a gamer's wife!

flashback series: black saturday

My all-time favorite time to be in Boone is upon us!

BLACK SATURDAY!

For those of you not in the know, Black Saturday is the name Appalachian gives to one of the most exciting home football games each season. Typically it's a game we play against one of our big rivals - Furman or Georgia Southern.

On this special day, everyone is expected to wear black (no gold that day!) and I honestly don't know why it excites me so much, but it's my absolute favorite game to go to.

Since I left Boone the last two Octobers I've been back to watch the Black Saturday game. This will be my third back at the rock!

Okay and now for the flashback photos!

Black Saturday versus Georgia Southern, October 2003.
Ok, so this picture probably isn't from that game, but we were in the marching band that year and I can't really distinguish between games that far back. Plus it's an oldie (= definitely not from a digital camera)! Either way, that's how we looked at Black Saturday that year :-P

Black Saturday versus Furman, October 2004.
I actually rocked the pink at this game and revolted against the black. I went through a phase where I didn't show school spirit at the games. I'm better now.

Black Saturday versus Georgia Southern, October 2005.
Yeah, yeah, I don't see the black again either. In all honesty I can't assure you that any of these pictures so far actually took place at the Black Saturday game. But I do know it came from football season, fall of 2005. That's good enough.

Here we are at Black Saturday versus Furman, October 2006.
Ok, two things. I PROMISE this picture was taken at Black Saturday, and I promise I had black on, but I was not expecting it to be that cold that day! Out came the pink :)

Here I am at Black Saturday versus Georgia Southern, October 2007 (AKA the game we do not speak of in the Brink-Backus household).
I managed to keep the black on the whole game (it was unseasonably warm), but we lost our first home game in YEARS. Maybe pink is the lucky color??

After the game, we were devastated that App lost. This is me on the car ride home last year:
Black Saturday versus Furman, October 2008 ---> This weekend! I can't wait! Pics posted soon :)

hello from my new mac!

Hey everyone! Check out my brand new video blog above!

We recently purchased one of the new Macbook laptops! After about a year of debating over a switch from PC to Mac, we finally went for it, and we've been pretty happy with our switch over so far!

The new laptop comes with a pretty neat built in videocam, so now I can post actual videos with brief news updates. How neat!

pumpkin picking!

Yesterday Chris and I went to the pumpkin farm to pick our Halloween pumpkins. We had a blast doing it last year, so we thought we'd do it again!

The farm is pretty neat - it has a corn maze, cotton field, farm animals, and a pumpkin patch. Here's me picking cotton!
I picked a nice little ball of cotton. Which reminds me, I think that's still in my pocket!
And then we headed into the maze...
I probably wasn't supposed to be on this path, but I had to go get some corn!
While you walked the corn maze you were allowed to pick corn, which you then took over to these grinders to make feed for the farm animals!
Here's Chris grindin' some corn!
And then we went to feed the goats - they were sooooo cute!
We found out that they actually liked eating grass a whole lot better than the hard corn we first fed them. I started going around picking clumps of grass and man did those goats like that!
Then we went to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins! Since we came so late in the season this year there was hardly anything left! It was actually quite a disappointment from last year when the patch was covered in great big orange pumpkins.
Luckily they had some already picked out at the farm that we could choose from...
There are our pumpkins! Aren't they pretty?
So they're a wee bit smaller than last year, but they're good enough! We weighed them when we got home - mine is 7 lbs and the gamer's is 8.5lbs. We're looking forward to carving them later!

the ram entourage

So since Ryan's living in Chapel Hill now the gamer and his gaming best friend get to see each other more often. This past weekend Ryan invited Chris to go to the Carolina game and be part of the ram entourage.
So apparently Ryan's family has owned the live ram mascot, Ramses, that is present at the Carolina football games. And apparently this ram is a big deal. He's like a celebrity, and everyone wants to take pictures with it.
So Chris got to help Ryan and his uncle take the ram to the game (pretty neat!) and then they got to sit in some pretty awesome seats at the Carolina-Notre Dame game!
The game was quite eventful - I watched it from home, and even I was yelling at the tv! Close to the end of the game Chris and Ryan got to stand on the sideline...
Here's the view from the sideline looking back into the stands...
The game was SO close, but Carolina pulled through in the end - here's the scoreboard:
And since they were right on the sideline they got to see all the action in those last few moments (seriously, they were still challenging plays when the clock had already run out!) Even though we aren't real Carolina fans, I'm still glad they won!
And it was pretty neat that Chris got to be part of the ram entourage for the day! :-P

scarowinds

This year we decided to go to Scarowinds - a haunted version of Carowinds that they do during October. They turn all the lights out in the park, and all the rides run in the dark! Plus they have lots of haunted houses and mazes set up. The scariest part (for me!) are the ghouls and other scary people they have walking aroud the park too (who always go after me!).

Here's all of us right before we left the hotel, all decked out in black for our scary night!

And just so I can be absolutely clear, I hate, hate, HATE being scared. Now Chris is a die-hard scary enthusiast. He loves scary movies, being scared, and everything horror related, and I honestly feel bad that he ended up with such a scaredy-cat!

We did attempt to go to Scarowinds a few years ago, but I chickened out. But I just had to take a picture of this sign as we entered the park...
See what it says? NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PEOPLE THAT DO NOT ENJOY BEING SCARED!!

So why are we going in?? Hopefully two boys will protect me from the monsters!

We rode some rides before it got dark...I attempted to take a picture of Chris and PJ on the roller coaster, but this is what I got..
And then the spooks begin!
So after it dark we started doing the haunted houses and mazes! I was pretty impressed with what the park had to offer, and they really did a good job of decorating and turning an average theme park into a big haunted space.
It was a LONG night and we were all dragging at the end of it, as you can tell from our faces in the following pictures.
And last but not least Chris had to take a picture with a ghoul...and finally we got to leave!

renaissance festival 2008

We went to the Renaissance Festival on a Saturday with Mom, Dad and PJ.

Here's Chris and PJ playing with some renaissance guy...
and here they are throwing some darts...
And here's PJ and Dad trying to break some plates...
PJ won a crown...
while Dad won....a bug :)
We were looking most forward to the Renaissance food. If it's not on a stick or something you can eat with your hand, then it's not truly Renaissance food!
`Check out that GIGANTO piece of fish Dad has...
And of course right after we ate PJ decided he wanted to climb the rock wall...
And here's me and Chris during the day...
And here's Mom and Dad...
And then the boys decided they wanted to be strapped to bungees a jump into the air!
Here's PJ jumping...
And here's Chris!
And after a LONG day we were ready for some relaxing...
But even better than that was our hotel waiting for us! Check out the TV in our room - ahh...just like home! :)
So another year at the Renaissance Festival gone by...it was quite an eventful day for us. After we made a quick stop at the hotel it was on to SCAROWINDS!

flashback series: renaissance festival

So here we are - the very first installment of the flashback series that I've been talking about lately. In this series I'll periodically post recaps/memories of things we've done in the past.

Since we're going to the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, I thought this would be the perfect time to remember our past times going there.

Now the Brink family doesn't have too many annual traditions. With dad working for the airlines you just never know where you're going to go throughout the year. We've learned to be pretty adaptable, and although we hate to just go with the flow (mom and me particularly) it's pretty much a way of life in the Brink household.

But the Renaissance Festival? That is an annual tradition.

It's just pretty much understood that one weekend in October every year we're going to drive down to Huntersville for this big festival. Seriously, I don't think I have missed a year of going since we started going when I was in middle school.

In eighth grade I got my hair braided at the festival. Mom has a picture - I'll have to post that later!

Mom and I liked it so much that we took that picture to the hairdresser and they did my hair up in the same style when I had my confirmation that May.

The next year, my first in high school, I took Bobbi Lynn with me to the festival. We both had to get our hair done.
My junior year of high school I took my best friend Caitlin with me.
Again, we had to get our hair done.
My first year in college I took Chris with me to the festival for the first time. Renaissance era stuff is right up his alley. He had a blast.
I didn't want to take up too much time getting my hair done so I went without.
Chris bought me a flower crown to compensate. It helped. A little.

Last year Chris and I (along with my mom) took his parents to the festival for their first time. They enjoyed it, as you can see from the giant grins and turkey legs.
But this picture below is even better....
And now it's ten years since I first went. Getting our hair braided is no longer an option as it's no longer affordable. I think the first time we went I got it done for 20 bucks. Now it's close to 50. I'll just wear my flower crown instead...
I can't believe that this is our TENTH time going! It really is on my list of the top things I enjoy doing in the fall. If we leave NC next year I'm definitely going to miss that!

So we're off to the Renaissance Festival Saturday and then to Scarowinds that night! Bring it on October! :)

Oh yes! And I must note that in the above picture of Chris and me from 2003, that YES, Chris is also wearing the same shirt in the closer above picture from 2007. Yes people. Classic Chris!

happy october!

YAY! October is finally here!

This is our favorite month of the year :)

Seriously, I think Chris and I have been looking forward to October since the beginning of June when it starting getting really hot in Raleigh.

Every weekend this month is packed with activities, so I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of photos go up of our adventures. Stay tuned!