Wanting more than a phone

I was talking to a friend from Illinois the other day who moved out here not long ago for a job. I asked him about his family and I found out that besides having Midwest roots in common, we also both dealt with moving in the same way. "You're going to think I'm crazy," he said. "For a long time after I came out here, I hated talking to my family. I wouldn't pick up the phone." He hated talking to them because he loves them, and misses them, and a ten-minute phone conversation just isn't enough. I felt, and still sometimes feel, exactly the same. It's painful. Because as much as you love to hear their voices, all you really want is to be sitting in the same room as them. And no matter how hard you try not to, they'll tell certain jokes that make you cry instead of laugh.

Happy Halloween!

There was one problem with our "Saved by the Bell" costumes: We found pretty much everything we needed on the shelves of Target. That's OK in terms of convenience and price, but it also meant we looked very much like the girls walking around in the mall, outfitted in leggins, skirts and scrunchies because it's fashionable, not because it's funny. We, on the other hand, just wanted to impersonate a pair of Bayside High School's finest: Kelly Kapowski (Abbey) and Jessie Spano (me). So when we showed up at one of the bars in downtown Port Jeff, we got more than a couple funny looks from people who must have thought we took the latest trend a step too far. We tried prove we weren't really freaks by flashing pictures of our "boyfriends" (Zack Morris and AC Slater). And I sang a couple lines from Jessie's caffeine-induced version of "I'm so excited." Eventually others showed up in costume and we stopped caring what people thought. It was a really fun night, and for the record, you'll never see me in those black leggins again. At least not in the real world.

Who's your Tiger?

I don't think you ever lose pride for your hometown teams. Proof: Me and Abbey, recent East Coast transplants not caring how dumb we look in our Pudge and Kenny masks. Go Tigers!

Pumpkin party

Growing up, my mom always hosted an annual pumpkin-carving party at our house where neighbors, family members and friends gathered to make their Jack-o-lanterns. I loved it. Halloween wouldn't be complete without pumpkin carving, so I held my own party this weekend. See the photos for the outcome.

Family photo