Six Days Into October

Yes, we are only six days into the wonderful month of Halloween.

Yet, I have already finished In the Stone Circle (which I haven't read for years, but it still scared me at parts and I still cried at the end). I have already made a sizable dent in The Graveyard Book. I perused my bookshelf for more potential October reads. Here is what I found:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, by Josephine Leslie aka R.A. Dick, which is not spooky, but it is still a ghost story.
Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman, which I started about three years ago and never finished because it scared me. If the book is good enough, I will return to it, even after a few years. I'm odd that way.
Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich. It is a Stephanie Plum In Between the Numbers book. It should be silly. I haven't read it before.

If you are interested in following my reading journeys, you can find me on GoodReads. I love that website.

I put all of my Halloween music on my iPod and iPhone and have listened to everything at least once.

Today I babysat my niece and we watched The Addams Family and The Haunted Mansion. These are the first Halloween movies I have watched this season. And my sister lent me The Munsters movies which I haven't actually seen before (or if I have, I don't remember).

And here is an awesome picture of my niece that her mama took:

 Aww! I love this picture. She totally belongs in our family.

I also had to take this:

Aww! Halloween rattie picture! You know I can't resist.

In non-Halloween related news, my sister and I got to go see Cavalia Odesseyo on Saturday (thanks for the tickets, Mom!). Here is their website: Cavalia. It was awesome! I saw it last time it was here, which was four or so years ago, I think. And I remember some of it, but I wasn't in a good place (emotionally and mentally), I think, and I don't remember as much as I should...

Some of my favorite routines didn't involve horses at all. There was one with a carousel that gymnasts danced and performed on. They are so strong! And the carousel went around and some of the poles went around in circles or moved up and down. It was very neat. Another favorite was the gymnasts who swing on and do tricks with the big rings up in the air. They looked like fairies!

One of the gymnasts on the ring. Picture from www.calgaryherald.com

More ring gymnasts. Picture from www.edmontonsun.com

The carousel dancers! Picture from www.rockinmama.net

Kema and I really enjoyed it when the people led the horses (without any tack or halters on). Then they joined up to form larger groups until one person was leading 3 to 4 horses. Despite having many groups out there, the horses stayed with their person. That takes serious training and dedication, I think. And Kema and I decided that we want to have horse shadows, so we each need a couple of horses... but that's beside the point.

One guy leading his four horses. Picture from www.tomonair.com

The point is, that the show was awesome, and we really enjoyed it! Also, their music was all live and absolutely amazing! I kind of want the soundtrack. If you have the chance to see it, I hope you take it!

So far, October has been pretty awesome. And Blood of Olympus comes out tomorrow! Not that I'm excited...

More Halloween and October posts to come!

Belated Welcome for Raina!

I know I posted while we were still waiting for Raina to be born. I think in all of the hub-bub I lost track and realized recently that I never got around to posting about my new niece! What on earth is wrong with me?

So without further ado, meet baby Raina!

Pamela took this picture, and it is my favorite so far!

She was born very early (a little before 1am) on August 10th! About 6 and a half pounds and 19 inches long (for those of you who are interested in knowing such things).

Thus far she has been healthy, if occasionally fussy. She's already stubborn (Pamela is so sweet, so I have to assume that she got this stubbornness from her dad...).

I'm sure that I am biased, but I think she is so cute! And it's funny to have her be so new, but to love her so much. Arik and Pamela are doing well, too. I know it is sometimes tough, but they are both taking it all in stride. It's fun to see them be parents.

Right now, I love her "fussy faces," as I call them. When she's not crying, but she frowns and pouts. I think that is the cutest thing ever. Sadly, I have no good pictures of her fussy face. I will have to work on that.

I'm sure you guys will be seeing more of Raina in the future.

Welcome, little Raina! Auntie Mara loves you so much already!

Getting Ready for Baby!

My new little niece is due any time now! I am very excited!

I finally finished crocheting the baby blanket I was working on:

Yay! Finished blanket!

I used the shell pattern and went for an ombre look

I have also been collecting a few things to keep on hand when I babysit. I have some diapers, wipes, clothes, rags, blankets, and other miscellaneous items. My mom is going to bring me a little bed type thing (I don't even know what it's called, which seems sad) for her to sleep in.

Here is one of the cutest things I have obtained:

Pooh bear!!!

As you can see, I am pretty excited! I'm ready to babysit my niece! She can come anytime now!

We are actually in the hospital room right now. Poor Pamela and Arik (and my mom) have had a long day already. It looks like it's going to be a while longer and it may be a late night. I am ready, though! Wish us luck and send Pamela your good thoughts!

And while I still miss Romulus like crazy (I still can't quite believe he's gone), I am glad for something so happy to follow. I suppose not everything is wrong in the world.

Excited for Life!

I am supposed to be working on my big graduation paper/project that is due tomorrow. In my defense, it is getting there. As I am finishing this, I am finally feeling excited about everything!

My paper will be finished and I will be very close to graduating with my Masters! I have loved my program and having the chance to further my education.

After I finish up, I get to move back home to be with Isaac and my rats! This is a little bitter-sweet because I will miss classes and my group. We have worked together all year and we spend an awful lot of time together. We're pretty tight. I know that I will miss them. I look forward to seeing where life takes them.

On May 26th, I am participating in the Boulder Boulder 10K with Isaac, Katja, and Jhenn. I am not much of a runner, but I am trying to prepare and I am pretty excited.

The very next day, Jhenn and I leave for Indiana where we will kidnap Amie and bring her home. Jhenn calls it "Operation Rescue Amie." Honestly, I don't care that I will be helping her move, I am just looking forward to the drive and hanging out with a couple friends!

Towards the end of June, my mom, (hopefully my sister), and I will be hosting a baby shower for my brother and his girlfriend! I am super excited! First of all, I get to be an aunt (again). Plus, I love my baby brother (I know, I know, he isn't a baby anymore...) and his girlfriend is a sweetheart. I am just happy to have another niece! Ahh! So much pink! I love it!

And the day after the baby shower, Isaac and I will be leaving on a lovely, nearly two-week-long vacation to Washington and Oregon filled with good quality time, fun, hiking, beautiful scenery, good coffee, good food, and family! It will be so much fun! And I feel that I deserve a nice vacation. I could be wrong.

And in the midst of all of this, I can start looking for a career in my field (not that I don't like working at Starbucks, I just think it is getting time to move on). I feel like the doors are finally starting to open in my field and I am looking forward to seeing what is out there!

So here I am, right now, loving life! It's a wonderfully uplifting feeling!

Day Twenty: Seasonal

At first I was thinking that this was a weird topic. I got lucky because today is also Easter so there were lots of opportunities for seasonal things. While I don't personally celebrate Easter, Isaac's family does so we went to his parents' house for the festivities. Here was one exciting moment:

Wren had her first Easter egg hunt! She wasn't sure about it at first, but she ended up having fun finding things (usually with help). It was so cute to watch! And she got lucky because there were several other kids there to play with! It was a good day.