In case we want to find religion while we're down here...

It's weird.

Sometimes I forget that I'm in North Carolina. Generally, this happens when there are big weather differences between here and home. I was talking to my dad one day and he said he was going to bring Brennan out to the park. I almost said, "But Dad, it's pouring out." And then I realized that, 13 hours away from me, it probably wasn't raining. Luckily I'm not caught in this awful blizzard, and I hope that everyone is staying safe and is drinking lots of warm beverages!

Before Nate left, we went into the big NASCAR store at the mall and went go-kart racing. Obviously it was awesome, although it was pretty empty because it was a Monday morning.

This is outside the store / racetrack. Notice the white hands :-P

Remember how I said there are things down here that I stumble upon that remind me that I'm really in the south? I found one today. In the grocery store. Like the total weirdo I am, I whipped my camera out in the middle of the aisle and took a picture. Ready for this?

That's right, southern style frying oil. And here I thought fried was fried was fried. Oh no, ladies and gentlemen, if you're using vegetable oil, you're doing it all wrong. Educate yourselves.

Have laptop, will travel.

Okay, so I'm not going to be traveling any time soon. But this does mean that I am once again Skype-able and that I will be posting (hopefully) on a regular basis again. Everyone do a happy dance!

This is a PSA:

Stub Hub sux. Our game tickets were fake, which was a huge bummer. We went to the bar to watch the game, and we ended up in the only bar in Charlotte that was FULL of Chicago Bears fans. Seriously, their game was on every TV except one.
Nathan and I went to walk around downtown on Saturday afternoon. It was nice weather and we were just looking for something to do. Downtown is very nice, lots of restaurants places to sit. We passed the "Occupy Charlotte" protesters (who only occupy Charlotte on the weekends, they go to work during the week) outside of  Bank of America headquarters. We also saw a few things that make us think, "Gee, we really are in the south." This is one of them.

That's right, you try to keep the Confederacy alive, North Carolina.

And now, the dumbest thing I have ever seen, courtesy of one of the churches down the street from us.

I mean, it's not like the word 'Satan' is in the Bible or anything. That's just unacceptable, and it's on both sides of the sign. I feel like they shouldn't be allowed to post anything after this. Srsly.

Also, I think I forgot to include pics of the failpie in the last post. Thanks for reminding me, Mom.

The crust was, well, not so good.

The inside, however, was delicious.

A weekend with Nathan

Now, Nathan is here for the weekend. Today we went on a video game bender and played Gears of War 3 for like 4 hours. Ah, sibling bonding. It's going to be an exciting weekend, I can tell. Of course, there are also the slippers.
The background: A few years ago, Nate was looking for new slippers. I told him I was gonna buy him some fuzzy character slippers. I have been looking for some character slippers for 3 or 4 years, and I finally found them. I looked at Disney (Not the store, the place. In Orlando), online, in every single store that sells slippers, pretty much anywhere I could think of. Alas, they were nowhere to be found. Last week I walk into Spencer's, and there was a whole wall of character slippers. Was it fate? I have to say, I can't think of what else it would have been.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Get on our level.

Of course, cute dog pictures.

Ignore the huge carpet-fiber bunnies. And pay attention to Enzo, sleeping in the corner behind my chair.

Here's Archie, doin the Archie thing. He likes to sit on his butt and put his front paws up. I think he thinks he's a person.

This is what we come home to. Two monster faces in the window.

Here's Archie snuggling with Nathan on our sofa. Awwww.

And now, a series of fail pictures taken by Donald. There's this building that gets lit up at night and it always looks so pretty. So as we were driving to the airport, I asked Donald to take a picture. These are the results.

...Yea, I'm not so sure either. Maybe next time?

An abundance of blog posts

Today there will be more than one! One will have to do with my mom's visit (this one), and the other one will just be some pictures.
SO, as you know, my mom came to visit last weekend and it was awesome. We shopped for her Halloween costume, went to the movies, baked a failpie (pictures to follow), got some cowboy boots (NOT for me), read books, carved a pumpkin, and took pictures in the photo booth at the mall. She also helped me stock my kitchen with a few necessities like measuring spoons and a rolling pin. It was a great weekend :)

First we went to the Hillbilly Produce Market (which actually has really good produce), where we found some gourds to put with our pumpkin.

Then we pulled out the seeds. No, I didn't toast them. But I should have.

I drew some practice faces. I'm a really gifted artist, as you can see. Be jealous.

The mouth totally looks like the Batman sign. Yes, I did do that on purpose. Don't believe me? Whatever.

We tested how the face would look. I think it's an improvement. (Kidding. We all know I look just like my mother.)

Then we had to figure out how to place the gourds. I think it looks like a pipe. I was overruled.

My mom put her cowboy boot covered feet down, and arranged everything. So nice!

The people's eyebrow.

I heard that "the people" request a new post. Well, as they say, ask and you shall receive. Unfortunately, we are still sans laptop, which means no new pictures -- please, try to restrain yourselves. I will try to be interesting without awesome visual aides.
We found a state park nearby. The motivation for this discovery was twofold. First and foremost, our energetic pups are used to having a full sized, fenced in yard to run around and wrestle in. Without the convenience of such a yard, they have been contenting themselves with slamming each other into walls around the house. While that might be an awesome time for them, such is not the case for us. This park has a fenced in dog friendly area. That's right, bring on the squeaky tennis balls, fetch is back! The second reason for finding this place was that my fantastic mother is coming for a visit this weekend. Being the marathon runner that she is, she needs a nice place to run to train for the Manchester road race, and whatever other events she has coming up. Unlike in Connecticut, entry to state parks is free. Take THAT, Wickham Park. Nobody likes you anyway!
I should also mention that my broski will be visiting in a few weeks. If all goes well (and we aren't the unfortunate victims of a forgery), we will be going to see the Redskins / Panthers game. Sexy Rexy vs Scam Newton, as he is often referred to in our house.
We have recently been on a Mad Men binge. Because I have yet to find gainful employment and I only have class once a week, I have a lot of free time on my hands. Cue Netflix. All four seasons of Mad Men are there, and it has made me realize a few things. I wish I could dress like a '60's housewife. Seriously. For anyone who watches the show, Betty Draper is always gorgeous, although her character sucks after season 2. Also, in addition to successfully starting a slow clap (you heard me), it is now one of my life goals to get Roger Sterling crazy. If you're a fan of the show, you know that's not easy. He's been in training for years. It's cool, I'll get there somedAy.
In terms of USEFUL news, I have been in touch with the admissions office at Wake Forest, and once they get my transcripts from the most useless school on the planet, my application will be processed. Sweet! Obviously I'm going going to be applying for full-time status at UNCC. I'd rather not have to move again, but I go where my education takes me. Nerd4lyfe!
Are "the people" satisfied?