Happy Halloween! Costume Rundown.

It's Halloween and that's the only happy thought I need today.

Keeping with the spirit of the holiday, here is a quick rundown of my favorite Halloween costumes over the years. Can't wait to show you mine tomorrow!

Still a little devil.

Mario and Luigi. Senior year of high school.

Twister board. So easy, but got felt up all night.

Wizard of Oz. Of course, I'm the sinister character. The lion wasn't there yet.

Baby. Fitting. That was a onesie with a buttflap.

Clue characters with Mr. Boddy in the middle.

A Pittsburgh Penguin. Crosby shirt, of course.

Last year. Waldo.

Enjoy.

Nashville > Indianapolis. Let's go back.

Wheat and I just spent a magical couple days in his hometown, Nashville, and I'm still forcing myself to accept that we're back in Indianapolis. The getaway was just what we needed before the Pacers' and Cyclones' schedules really pick up and, believe it or not, I had never really been to Nashville.

We left early on Saturday morning for the five-hour drive and arrived in Nashville around noon, thanks to the time change. The first thing we did was eat a big barbeque lunch at Corky's, complete with pulled pork, onion loaf, and fried okra. After lunch, Wheat showed me his old house and church before taking me on a driving tour of the gorgeous mansions in the Nashville suburbs. I really can't believe people live like that. I kept imagining Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman in every house.

Next, we stopped at Las Paletas, a gourmet popsicle shop on 12 South. They sell both fruit and cream popsicles for $3 and have some really cool, different flavors. It's a good thing I don't live near this place because I would single-handedly keep their business afloat. Wheat got adventurous and tried the Hot Chocolate and Chili popsicle (the aftertaste was really spicy) and I had the Cookies popsicle, which was basically vanilla ice cream with a chocolate chip cookie inside. So good.

With full bellies, we headed downtown to tour the Ryman Auditorium, the original site of the Grand Ole Opry. It's incredible how much history is housed in that building. Originally, it was a church, but it eventually became a concert hall because the acoustics are so perfect. Experts say it is the second best place to hear live music, behind the Mormon Tabernacle. Aside from its Grand Ole Opry fame (with Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff), the Ryman also hosted Harry Houdini, Charlie Chaplin, and other famous acts of the time. My favorite little tidbit about the Ryman: Johnny Cash and June Carter met at the Ryman and that's where the memorial tribute was held for them after he died in 2003. We got our picture taken on the historic stage and toured the beautiful place, marveling over the incredible bands/musicians that have performed there over the years.

June Carter and Johnny Cash clothes on display.

After the Ryman, Wheat took me to Broadway to see the honky tonk bars, hear some live music, and walk near Riverfront Park. I got excited by the name of LP Field (home of the Titans), took some pictures of Fort Nashborough (the first settlement in Nashville), and fell even more in love with the combination of bricks and old, vintage paint.

His sign said, "Don't major in music."

Next, we walked through Printers Alley to see the tiny karaoke bars that are tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Broadway. The best thing I saw in Printers Alley? A trash can that had 'Dolly Carton' spray-painted on its side. Perfect.

We explored the Nashville Public Library for a bit before meeting Wheat's childhood best friend, Gabe. The three of us walked around the Music City Center and talked for a couple hours. While walking with them, I randomly ran into a friend from high school in a downtown park. He had just finished the Ragnar Relay, an overnight 200-mile race from Chattanooga to Nashville. Intense.

THE BATMAN BUILDING. I took at least 20 pictures of it.

Me and Bones!

Wheat and Gabe!

After parting ways with Gabe, Wheat and I went to the Predators vs. Blues game at Bridgestone Arena. I can't believe how perfect our seats were - center ice, six rows back, right behind the Predators' penalty box. I was in hockey heaven.

Due in part to Pekka Rinne's absence due to injury, the Preds lost, 6-1, but we had the best time. I love going to new arenas and I'll never complain about being that close to Shea Weber and Seth Jones. It was also Hockey Fights Cancer night, so I fought tears a few times as pediatric cancer patients were congratulated for their triumphs over the disease.

David Legwand and David Backes

Oh, hey.

After the game, Wheat and I explored Broadway some more before finally deciding on a bar. We listened to really good live music, reluctantly made a friend from St. Louis, and watched the World Series and the end of the Ohio State demolition job of Penn State. Woo!

My other boyfriend. Wheat understands.

After sleeping in a bit too late the next morning, we made our way to the Pancake Pantry. Wheat has been raving about this place to me for a year, but when I saw the line out the door and wrapped around the building, I was hesitant to wait. I am SO glad we did. This wasn't breakfast - this was dessert and heaven and sugary goodness and puppies and rainbows and everything nice. If you do anything in Nashville, go to the Pancake Pantry. You will not regret it. I ordered the sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon syrup and Wheat ordered the peach pancakes, served cold with whipped cream and peach compote. We shared and had sides of bacon. I still haven't recovered.

They wait because they must.

After dessert breakfast, we headed to Centennial Park to check out the Parthenon. Wheat knows everything about Ancient Greece, the Parthenon, and mythology, so I received a pretty cool history lesson from my professorial, swoon-worthy boyfriend. The building itself is incredible and the humongous Athena statue housed inside is even cooler.

By pure luck, Centennial Park was also hosting Volksfest that day, so we walked around for a bit, listened to polka music, resisted the urge to buy kielbasa, and looked at some cool cars. The best part? Wheat actually did the Chicken Dance with me. Miracle of miracles.

Next, we did a loop around the gorgeous lake in Centennial Park, stopping for pictures of the willow trees and short naps squirrel-watching on the swings.

Later, we made our way down Music Row to see the strip of famous recording studios, including RCA Studio B (Elvis central). Then, we explored Vanderbilt's beautiful campus, sneaking into Memorial Gym to see the basketball court and climbing magnolia trees.

He always climbs trees dressed nicely.

Our final stop in Nashville was Las Paletas one more time. This time, Wheat had a Cookies popsicle and I had Strawberry. Yum.

We stopped in Louisville for dinner at Ramsi's Cafe, thanks to Emma at Legally Lovely's wonderful suggestion. I had the tortellini graciella with chicken and Wheat had the salmon sonesta. It was absolutely delicious and we spent the next hour fawning over our food, recapping our awesome trip, and enjoying each other's company over candlelight. After dinner, we took a quick walk down Bardstown Road and perused a cool, independently-owned bookshop before hitting the road.

Like I said, I'm having a really hard time adjusting to my lonely Indianapolis existence again. It was so great to finally spend time with Wheat in his hometown. We've spent so much time seeing the places and meeting the people that are important to me, so it was awesome to finally do a little of the same for Wheat. I'm truly the luckiest girl in the world to have him.

Indy Scream Park

Confession: I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to scary movies and haunted houses. It doesn't take much to make me jump, but it takes a lot to truly scare me. As a result, I've sort of become a snob for all things scary over the years.

In a recent fit of boredom, I decided to search for the best haunted attractions in the country. Much to my surprise, one list had an Indianapolis haunt, Indy Scream Park, as No. 1! Of course, I had to go. So, after a little begging on my part, Wheat agreed to go with me. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily) for us, we decided to go on a freezing Wednesday night, so there weren't many people there and the lines were pretty short. This also seemed to make us a favorite target for the actors on the trails.

For $25, we had access to five different attractions and a monster midway with games, bonfires, and food. We also got our picture taken with my favorite scary guy, Michael Myers.

He was nice enough to pull my hair back as he slit my throat. What a gentleman.

There were three indoor attractions - Brickmore Asylum, Bedlam 3D (my favorite), and Nachtmahr (the scariest). For some reason, Wheat and I kept being chosen as the front of our groups, so we received the brunt of the pop-out attacks. I had never been on a 3D haunted trail and I was pleasantly surprised. The 3D makeup truly made some of the actors look like holograms and the paint made the floor and walls so disorienting. I'm not entirely sure why Nachtmahr was so scary, but it was really dark and people kept popping out of the most unexpected places (including the ceiling).

The outdoor attractions were quite an adventure, thanks to all the mud. Backwoods was a hike through the woods and random sheds with Deliverance-style inbred, hillbilly creeps (which is actually my biggest fear). Infected was a trek through a corn maze, tents, and a house, complete with military members overrun by zombies and a giant flame tower at the end.

Also, can you imagine being one of those poor actors? Not only are they in makeup, freezing, screaming, and growling the same things for hours on end, but they also have to say the most bizarre things to people. Here is a small sampling of things that were said to us:

"Hey, Giggles. I'm going to pull all your teeth out." - A clown to me because apparently I smile while doing these things.

"Care to leave her here for a human sacrifice? We'll give her back when all her blood is gone." - A zombie farmer to Wheat. He agreed. Let's be real - zombies shouldn't talk.

"Don't touch my furs!" *Wheat apologized* "She's the sorry one because she's with you!" - Rude hillbilly to Wheat.

"I'm going to cut your third leg off!" - Butcher to Wheat. Probably my favorite line of the night.

Although I've been to a scarier haunted trail (Lewisburg Cave) before, we had a great time and it was definitely worth the money. It also gave us the perfect excuse to snuggle on the couch, drink marshmallow-loaded hot chocolate, and watch Top Chef when we got home.

How did I get so lucky?

Happy Thoughts Thursday

I've been in a bit of a boredom-induced funk lately, so I need some happy thoughts.

- Sports Tracker App. Unlike seemingly the rest of the blogosphere, I hate working out. Loathe it. It's a constant struggle to get my lazy butt off the couch and into the gym. Lately, when I go to my apartment complex's gym, the treadmills are full, so I've started jogging outside. This app is the perfect way to track your distance and time without much effort...because let's be real - I'm all about minimizing effort while working out.

- Broad Ripple. Jenn came to visit on Monday and we spent the afternoon in Broad Ripple, eating lunch at Kilroy's, having ice cream at Brics, and walking on the Monon. It was perfect.

In case you want to drool: Grasshopper, Monon Tracks, Yellow Cake Batter, and Pumpkin.

- Hockey. My second Cyclones game is tonight and I can't wait! In other hockey news, Sidney Crosby is currently sitting pretty atop the list of NHL point leaders with 17 (Ovechkin the guy in second has 13). AND although they fell from their first-place ranking this week, Miami hockey is currently ranked No. 3 in the country! I need to make it to a game this season. No excuses.

- "It Won't Stop" by Sevyn Streeter ft. Chris Brown. Love it.



- Nashville trip. Wheat is treating me to a quick getaway to his hometown this weekend. He bought us tickets to the Blues vs. Predators game and we have a breakfast date planned at Pancake Pantry. I'm so excited because I've never been to Nashville! Do you have any fun suggestions or must-sees for our short time there?

- Fuzzy socks. It's getting cold around here. This is pretty self-explanatory.

What's making you smile this week? Do you have any Nashville tips for me?

Commence ladder climbing: Now.

On Saturday night, I covered my very first professional hockey game. After months of applying for jobs and internships, weeks of trying to iron out details for this position, and more frustrated tears than I care to admit, I finally wrote my first game recap...and the experience was everything I always hoped it would be.

First of all, the game was awesome. The Cyclones won their regular season opener, 4-2, and the crowd was great. Anthony Luciani scored two goals and got in a momentum-shifting fight, so I had plenty of story material (if you're interested in reading my story, click here). I was pleasantly surprised by how easily the words came to me, despite the loud sound of the crowd, the excitement of the game, and the nerves of my first night on the job.

I have spent years dreaming about this job (or one like it). But as the first game approached, I started to worry that it wouldn't be what I expected or that I would feel too stressed out to enjoy it. I was wrong.

I'm beyond excited about this internship. This is exactly what I want to be doing and I'm so lucky to have this opportunity in my hometown. I'm prepared to work hard and improve. I have so much to learn and this is the perfect place to grow as a writer, reporter, and interviewer. In a couple weeks, I get to write some feature stories and I'm really looking forward to working on that type of writing.

I know that some games will be more challenging than others. I'll struggle to find a good storyline and have to pry for a decent, usable quote. But, even with all the new things I learned on Saturday (from where to park to how to appropriately write about a hockey brawl), the one thing that motivated me the most was something I've known all along: I love hockey.

Seriously, this is exactly what I want to do. While watching warmups from the press box, I had the same excitement and love for the game as the fans around me. I may not always like the outcome, I may struggle to find the right words, and the novelty will eventually wear off. Some nights will be worse than others, but nothing will ever change how I feel about hockey...and if I can convey an ounce of my passion for the sport, I think I'll be just fine.

Rick-o-Lantern

I took fall mode to a new level tonight. It might be time for an intervention.

Wheat and I decided to carve our beloved pumpkins, so we set up shop in our living room on a stack of newspapers. I made us some festive treats for the occasion.

I'm a PTA mom in the making...

A few mumbled cuss words, one broken carving tool, four Penguins goals (against the Flyers, no less), and two shallow cuts to my thumb later, we ended up with this final product.

Rick Grimes and Manny Machado.

Leave it to Wheat to take his Orioles fandom into the offseason. Leave it to me to harness my Walking Dead obsession into a Rick-o-Lantern. I must say I'm satisfied with our efforts. It's leaps and bounds better than my usual triangle eyes and two-toothed pumpkin.

Look at that focus.

Happy Thoughts Thursday

It's that time. Here is what's making me smile this week:

- Hometown Christmas movie. Hallmark Channel is filming a Christmas movie starring Nicollette Sheridan in my little hometown. It premieres on my birthday, December 1st, and I can't wait to watch it. I can't say this surprises me at all. Downtown Lebanon looks like a perpetual Christmas movie.

- Darius. Guys, I love this kid. This is also exactly how I act when I'm tickled. Ask my family.



- Candles. I've been alternating between Yankee Candle's Cranberry Chutney and Pumpkin Buttercream this month.

- Flowers. Wheat's at it again, but this time, he bought me fall flowers! They are called 'Candy Corn' and I love them.

He feeds into my fall obsession.

- "Hold On, We're Going Home" by Drake. Fast forward to 2:45 for the actual song.


- Raisin Bran. I eat enough Raisin Bran to be a 70-year-old man.

- Free preview of NHL Center Ice. I get to watch every Penguins game from the comfort of my couch. Unfortunately, it ends this month, but I'm loving it while it's free.

- Free NBA games. I'm not much of a basketball fan, but Wheat gets free tickets to most of the Pacers' games. So, I went to the Pacers vs. Mavericks game last night to see Dirk Nowitzki. *cough* 'See Dirk Nowitzki' is actually code for stare at Wheat from across the arena. *cough*

What's making you smile this week?

I'm coming for you, Fall Bucket List.

Wheat and I went full-throttle fall mode this weekend and it was glorious.

First of all, I forced convinced him to watch one of my favorite shows, The Walking Dead. In less than a week, we've watched the first two seasons and will be starting the third soon. I'm so glad it's finally back!

On Saturday, we went to Russell Farms for some festive fun.

Yes, America. He's always that cute.

We pet some smelly farm animals and I talked myself out of buying a pygmy goat on the spot.

His name was Lonnie the Llama.

I mean, come on.

We conquered a 10-acre corn maze in about 20 minutes. I don't know if this had more to do with our expert navigation skills, our hunger, or our unsurpassed fear of bees. Seriously, I ran through portions of the maze to avoid them.

Clearly the bees hadn't found us yet...

We took a bumpy hayride to the most sincere pumpkin patch in the world to pick out pumpkins. Much to my delight, we actually pulled one of our pumpkins directly off the vine.

Chuck Taylors and Chuck Brown.

We perused the country store, ate hot dogs, drank apple cider, and listened to bluegrass versions of classic Disney songs. Best of all, we played on the seesaw.

Terrifying onlookers by how hard I was laughing.

After we exhausted all options at the farm (with the exception of the bouncy castle, which apparently we're "too big" for), we went to the mall and saw Gravity in 3D.

Hater blockers.

On Sunday, I went home for Sarah's bridal shower. It was so great to spend some much-needed time with my Central Perk housemates and finally meet Katie's little guy, Elias.

It's nothing short of a miracle I didn't take him with me.

Now, I'm moping around because the weekend is over and trying to decide how to carve my pumpkin. Any suggestions? What did you do this weekend?