Apple Picking at County Line Orchard | Hobart, Indiana

Autumn came and went in such a hurry. I feel like I barely had the chance to enjoy cool evenings, sweater weather and pumpkin treats. A couple months ago, Markus and I drove to Indiana to County Line Orchard and pick some apples. It was my first experience at this Midwest tradition. There weren't many apples left, so we spent most of our time frolicking in cornfields and picking flowers. We had such a great time and can't wait to visit again next year!

The Foxy Man | Halloween Costume 2012

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. It marks the beginning of the best three months of the year. Every year, I always say I'm going to dress up, but it never happens. I think that the magic of fall takes over and I always have good intentions but never follow through. Last year, I made a lame attempt at being a pumpkin. I put on an orange dress and pasted some leaves in my hair. It was a bit lame I know, but this year, I decided that I would put in more of an effort for my students.

Since I work at a library full of wonderful books, I thought it would be good to be a literary character, Mr. Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox. I bought a generic fox mask at a nearby costume store. It was pretty awful. It was all white with gold sequins all over it. Markus, the artistic genius that he is, transformed it into the beautiful mask you see now. He used watercolors and added a few other small touches. I think it turned out wonderful and I know that no one else in the world has a mask like it. Now that I've made the effort this year, I've decided that I want to dress up every year! Maybe next year, Markus and I will have awesome couples costumes. Any suggestions?

Wandering Wednesdays│Prague, Czech Republic 2007 | 2 of 2

There was so much to see in Prague and after 13 days, we felt more like locals than tourists. As I said before, our Prague trip was unlike any trips we've been on before or since. We became like residents of the city. I don't even know how many times we walked across Charles Bridge, it must have been over 20 times. During the day it's beautiful and full of people, but at night it can be a bit creepy. There are 30 statues that line the bridge and at night, it's like a ghost town, not a soul in sight. Seeing the silhouettes of the statues is really eerie.

Prague is such a hauntingly beautiful city and while I was doing research, I read that it's also one of the most haunted cities in Europe. This definitely excited Markus, but freaked me out a bit. If you're a reader of my blog, you know I can't handle scary things, so the thought of being in a city full of ghosts for 13 days was not my ideal trip, but I deep down I was a bit excited. I didn't want to spend our trip looking for ghosts, but I did want to give Markus the opportunity to have one night. We decided to go on a ghost walk and tour through Old Town. 

We picked the tour that we liked the most and read online that we had to meet at night in Old Town Square near the Astronomical clock. I remember that it was really cold that night. We went in November so it was almost winter. Markus and I waited for about an hour and no one ever showed up. Words can't even describe how disappointed we felt. It was one of our last nights, so we never had the opportunity to go again. I felt really bad for Markus, all he wanted was to see some ghosts and I couldn't make that happen. We had to settle for walking down Charles Bridge late at night, which for me was scary enough.

Prague 1 of 2

Creepy Cinema 2012

If you know me, you know that I cannot handle anything that is remotely scary or suspenseful. The minute a movie or TV show gets too intense, I either get up and walk away or I cover my eyes with my hands and peek through them.

I remember when I was younger I couldn't even watch episodes of "Are You Afraid of the Dark" without screaming or turning away. I attribute my fear of all things spooky to my two older brothers. They are much older than me and were always trying to scare their little sister. I can't tell you how many times they tricked me. My little heart couldn't handle it, so I was always afraid of things that go bump in the night.

Due to my complete lack of tolerance for scary things, I have missed out on many years of scary movie watching that is mandatory as an adolescent. No one in my family really likes scary movies, so I was never really exposed to them. However, Markus is an avid fan of all things horror. When we first started dating, he was completely appalled by this fact. For years, he's tried to get me to watch scary movies with him and every time he asked, I refused. The only way I would watch the movie is if he would tell me what would happen beforehand so I could cover my eyes. Silly? Yes, I know, but hey at least I tried. As time has gone by, I just refuse to watch a scary movie. I can't do it. I get all panicky and my heart beats really quickly. This year, I'm determined to break the curse. 

I'm going to spend all of October, all 31 days, watching some form of scary movie. I feel like after 9 years of watching scary movies alone, it's the least I could do for Markus. He's compiled a list of 31 movies that span the course of horror film history, and will introduce me to the world of Creepy Cinema. There are lots of moves that I haven't seen, some that I haven't seen in ages and a few that I really love. You know, some family friendly movies; I need to have some levity in the midst of all the suspense.  When making the list Markus tried to stray away from the blood and gore (i.e. Saw, Hostel, etc). There is no way I could last through 31 days of that. I think I would go crazy.

I must admit, I'm a bit worried for the next 31 days. I don't think I'll be able to handle it, but I'm determined to do this. I know I can do this. I have to do this, for Markus. Oh, the things we do for love. 

So how about you, dear readers, are you going to spend this October watching horror flicks?  Do you like scary movies? What are your favorites?

*Credits*
Skeleton, tree & paper clip art: The Graphics Fairy

Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Hotties of Creepy Cinema