If You Can't Have Summer, Fall's the Next Best Thing...

Hello dear friends! It's Monday night and it's time to update the blog! Last week was good for both of us - work was busy and productive, I got good midterm exam scores back, Brent enjoyed an unexpected Quesadilla Verde from his favorite restaurant, Chile Verde, and we had a very fun weekend. On Friday night we went to a Halloween party at our friends Michael and Casey's cute house in Broad Ripple. Thanks for all your input (uh-hum, Ashley and Mom, the only 2 who responded!!) on our costumes. The vote was unanimous and we dressed as Dwight and Angela from The Office. See below. Strangely enough, I just kept wearing the dress I wore to work that day...hmmm. As one co-worker pointed out, Angela is more about the sour-puss mannerisms, and her clothes aren't really what makes her Angela. Phew. Brent was a great Dwight and he carried Schrute bucks in his pocket. "Here, take this and redeem it for an extra 0.01 seconds of lunch time. Enjoy."

Dwight, Angela, and Sprinkles the Frozen Cat

We didn't stay super long at the party because we had to gear up for an early morning of Purdue tailgating the next day!! WOO!!! Brent's friend Justin took our extra ticket and enjoyed brats, hot chocolate with peppermint Schnapps, and some cornhole with us. There is nothing like eating 2 bratwursts before 11:00 a.m. Manna from heaven. Purdue beat Northwestern and is now 7-2. On a side note, on of the Silver Twins (that's not a technical term) who wears the silver cape and parades out there with the Golden Girl got engaged right below us, which was pretty entertaining. Another side note: the people whose seats are right behind us have spent the entire season yelling things like "YEEEEAAAA BABBBY, WWWOOOO, SPICK SPACK (what does that even mean, honestly)" and commenting that their work league runs this play better and that Purdue must have gotten that play from their playbook. Yeah Uncle Ricco, and you probably would have thrown the winning pass in 1987 if they just would have left you in for the play, right? We're glad we're getting new seats next year.

Mom and Dad stopped for dinner on their way home from Effingham Saturday night. Since the wait at Scotty's is always the equivalent to your lifetime, we headed across the street to Claddagh. Our food was excellent and it's always good to see Bob and Big Lou...and share in livin' the dream with them.

Last interesting tidbit - we ordered a treadmill and Brent went to pick it up tonight. I wish you could have seen us manuever it up the staircase into the guestroom. Brent says we left a hole in the wall - I hope he's exaggerating.

I'll leave you with some pictures from the weekend and of our picturesque fall scene at the house (Not quite...but a few mums, a witch, and a pumpkin are better than nothing. We would have had two pumpkins, but someone smashed one on Friday night. Little twerps!)

Thankfulness!!:

Brent: Doesn't like this game...he said "YOU!" for the third week in a row. I told him to pick something else, so he said, "Pizza King!" If I have truly made it higher than Pizza King on his list, well that alone is something to be thankful for. The man loves his pizza. :)

Lindsey: Our good health, memories of times with family and friends, and all of the exciting things waiting for us

P.S. - I just checked out the hole. No exaggeration necessary.

A prized fall purchase - check out the birds!

With Adam and Justin

Larry and the boys

Isn't she cute? Too bad she doesn't scare away pumpkin squashers...

Scenes from the weekend on the new camera...

dinner with Kirby and Megan...convincing Laura and Becca they must join us as Indy residents

A Vegas Roomie Reunion

Laura and I before the Lawrence Mini

Retail, Running, and Reunion!

As I type this belated post the sounds of men watching the Colts' game on a new big screen TV fill the downstairs of our house and I can smell Pizza King...ohhhh, delightful Pizza King. Brent has been stalking TVs for the last two years and finally found the perfect one on Friday. The details are lost on me, but I've heard something about a Toshiba 46" flat screen LCD Regza breaker-breaker-one-nine-somethin somethin. He loves it and that's all that matters.

We enjoyed having a duo of lovely houseguests this weekend from up north - Laura and Becca! Laura and I ran the Lawrence Mini Marathon on Saturday, which was the true reason of the visit, but we turned it into more of a shopping/eating thing - like everything should be. It seemed like everytime I talked to Laura this fall she had just squeezed an 8-mile run in before work that day, and her hardwork paid off as she got a great time on Saturday and didn't walk at all!! My training was lacking - or nonexistent - and I finished quite a bit after her. The good news - I was so far behind that she had time to go get the car and pick me up after the race. Thanks, Laura!

Post race, Becca and I took off for Castleton and bought our fall bulbs at Costco, purused Barnes and Noble, and tried on every dress at Macy's. We met Kirby, Megan and Laura at the Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner and had a wonderful time.

This weekend was Pledge Sunday at church, which wasn't too eventful except that I guess it's tradition to treat the congregation to a music extravaganza to make it a little lighter, and the music was wonderful. You know people hate talking money at church, because the message is always "We need more!", but it must be done. After church we played tennis and did all those Sunday chores like laundry and grocery shopping that don't even deserve a mention they're so mundane.

Okay, I need some blogging audience participation now. Brent and I are going to a Halloween party on Friday night, but we're costume-less!! And it's in 4 days! Here are our (okay, my) ideas....please send a comment and vote on your favorite! Also, suggestions on how to actually pull these costumes off would be helpful.

1. Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken

2. I Dream of Jeannie - Jeannie and Major Nelson

3. Dwight and Angela (this one seems pretty easy to pull off for me...maybe just a cardigan, a bun, and a stick up my...eek!)


4. George and Jane Jetson

A Long Weekend + A Short Week = Nothing to Complain About

Hello blog friends! My weekly blog/weekend recap is long overdue. I hope you haven't been pining away for a glimpse into our lives. Oh, you weren't?

On Friday Brent took the day off and I took the CPA exam early in the morning, so we enjoyed a free afternoon in Broad Ripple. We had never really gone during the day so we took advantage of a warm and sunny fall day. We ate outside at Bazbeaux's Pizza, which was as good as we expected and more. Then we shopped around at all the cute little stores and bought a birthday gift for Brent's mom and a picture for our upstairs bathroom. I had my eye on this awesome metal witch with a spring for a neck, but thought $65 was enough to pass it up. Plus, her head kind of tilted up and I don't know if you could see her face if you drove by on the street (she was for the front door). For a $65 Halloween decoration you must demand perfection.

On Friday evening we headed for Kendallville with Maddie, The Amazing Barking Dog, sandwiched in the back of the Bravada between The Little Giant ladder and my large suitcase (for 3 nights). Poor girl! Poor travel conditions AND no Smarties at the Stevensons' made it a rough week for her. She kissed the ground when she made it back to her own driveway. Then she barked.

Saturday was filled with a little Apple Fest in the scorching heat followed by the drive to Lafayette for the Purdue/Ohio State game. We made it in time for a few hours of tailgating and visiting with old coworkers, and that was pretty much the highlight of the evening. You know the rest of the story.

Sunday was our big day at the Fest and was our time to consume all the food we could because one year is a long time to wait for another apple fritter. So I ate three (for the whole weekend - what do you think I am, a chow-hound?) We went with Ashley and met up with Laura and Mel later. Mel decided to come home from Boston as a surprise and it was great to see her for at least a few minutes before she headed to Auburn to visit her family. I can't wait to go to Boston to see her - soon Mel, very soon...

To conclude our eating weekend, Brent and I stopped at Casa Grille on Dupont on our way back to Indy Monday afternoon. That's right, another perk of working for the government - Columbus Day! I never knew it was one of my favorite holidays!

What we're thankful for this week:
Brent - "You." I told him no repeats, so his second choice is "Getting Monday off", followed by - "Why don't you make one up for me?" He loves the blog.
Me - old friends, that Lisa is doing so well in med school and loving it, my family....and Brent. :)

Upcoming events to be excited about:
The Lawrence Mini-Marathon/Laura and Becca coming to visit
The Oglesby's Halloween Party
The Sinders' Anniversary Dinner
The Bigelow's First Anniversary
The Hannah Montana concert (just kidding - I'm not going, but look forward to hosting Lori, Baleigh and Jensin that weekend)

Hour one of the Apple Festival - already seeking shade in the primitive area

That's one hot pioneer

Tailgating behind the intramural lot

I love wearing my jersey - but a word to the wise: mesh does NOT seem as breathable as you would think - unless maybe it's just me.

Boiler Up, Sweaty Brent!




The Outback Blimp

Maddie, The Amazing Barking Dog

Waiting for a Smartie

The Sunday Dinner guests of the week before we partake of the sauce that Nick and Stormy had to trade their second-born son to get the recipe for. It's good....but maybe not that good.

Taxes and S-Corps and Contracts, oh my!

Sound scary? It is. I'm home from work today and studying to take the Regulation section of the CPA exam in the morning. I needed a break and thought it would be wise to post on the blog.

Brent has been in San Antonio since Sunday visiting wounded soldiers at the Fort Sam Houston medical facility and monitoring the launch of a new debit card program for families of wounded soldiers. He's on a flight home as we speak and will be here shortly. I'm glad!

Meanwhile, my parents' dog Maddie kept me company this week. I'm very glad she's visiting because it made it much less lonely at night. Maddie and I enjoyed watching The War and she enjoyed my graham crackers, cheese, buttered toast, spinach pasta, and her own Mighty Dog. This morning was Chicken with Cheese - her favorite!

In other news, this is the weekend that we've all been waiting for....Apple Festival Weekend!!! I have mentally been mapping out my plan of attack this year - do I start with a fritter like normal or is it better to work up to it with some potato soup and a pork tenderloin? I usually start with the fritter first because I like to consume as many as possible. Sheesh, this is a tough call.

Back to studying. I'll leave you with a few random pictures before I go...

I Love My Cousins!!

Baleigh, Michael (on the couch), Landon and I - Labor Day weekend

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner...

My cousin Megan's baby, Landon - he's our favorite punkin' pie!

Brent and I on the Hilton Resort beach where we stayed on the eastern part of Kauai. It was a wonderful honeymoon.