Halloween Candy and Fat...

A new survey came out revealing the calories, Saturated fat, Carbs and sugar in Halloween candies. The link to all of them is below. I've highlighted 2 of them.

Twix - The worst Candy! Calories: 286 ; Saturated Fat: 10.8 ; Carbohydrates (g): 37.0; Sugar (g): 27.5

Compared to my fav:  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups  - Calories: 232   Saturated Fat: 4.8; Carbohydrates (g): 24.9 ;  Sugar (g): 21.2 

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2230/1/

Videos from Dog Event - and more pics! Part 2

Here are some videos and more pictures from this weekend's dog event. In one, Dolly and our friend Susan's dog Zoey go stick chasing. In the second, Dolly and Franklin's uncle Jeff shows off his throwing arm with a stick. Zoey is still a pup, so her energy level is high- so, Susan and Cary dressed Zoey as a "Little Devil." :) 

Susan and Cary's Dog Zoey-
appropriately dressed as a devil! :)

Susan and Zoey

A great scarecrow outfit!

Dolly is NOT eating Franklin's Donut costume!

Doggy Daycare Halloween Event- Relay Winners!

This is the season for Halloween events, and one of them that we promised to attend was at our dogs' day care- Cozy Canine Camp had a great Halloween party, and Dolly and Franklin got to wear their Dunkin' Donut coffee cup and donut costumes (respectively) until it was time for relay races and romping with dogs of their size. Our friend Susan joined us with her Sheltie Zoey, who goes to the same daycare and plays with Dolly and Franklin. Our friend Jeff and Tom's parents joined us, too, for the fun and festivities.

Jeff took all of these pictures with his Iphone(Technology that Tom and I don't yet understand). Thanks, Jeff!

RELAY GAME! One of the games was a relay where the dog's parent had to balance a tennis ball on a teaspoon and go around a cone on the ground about 30 feet away. If a dog is a puller, then the ball would fall. Tom and Franklin, Susan and Zoey, and an employee of Daycare with her cute little dog were on our team with Dolly and I. We WON!!! So, all of the dogs got a bag of soft milk bone chews!

Tom helps Dolly get her
coffee cup costume on.

 



Dolly the Caffeinator and Franklin the Donut





Fixing Franklin's Donut costume



Tom's Mom and Dolly

WAITING FOR THE RELAY RACE Susan and Zoey (front), Rob and Dolly (Middle) and Tom and Franklin (back)

Dolly, Uncle Jeff and Franklin posing



Lining up for the relay race





Unveiled! Our Dogs' Halloween Costumes!

This year, Tom and Rob worked hard on new costumes for Dolly (the Weimaraner) and Franklin (the Dachshund). We worked on them for a couple of weeks. One thing we both love is Dunkin' Donuts, so, Tom designed and built Dolly a cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee costume out of cardboard and Rob sewed a Dunkin' donut outfit for Franklin.  - On Saturday, they debuted their outfits at Petsmart in Hanover, Md. We missed the costume contest (because Rob was at a book event), and arrived just afterward. The 5 employees of Petsmart were so knocked out by their outfits they took our picture (below) and gave us extra treats, a free toy, and photo frame! They said that all of the other dogs were in store-bought costumes, and they couldn't get over the outfits. Tom and I also wore coffee-themed tee shirts! What a GREAT time!

Franklin and Dolly looking at each other

Franklin asking Daddy Tom for treats



Tom adjusting Dolly's coffee cup costume at home



Dolly being patient during costume adjustments

Family photo in Petsmart!

Halloween Party!

Ronda and Roy

**UPDATE**TO SEE MORE PHOTOS:  http://www.meetup.com/inspiredghosttracking/photos/1118596/18981876/#18994288

Earlier this year (after Rob talked to a group) we befriended many of the professional ghost hunters in Inspired Ghost Trackers, and they threw a public Halloween party Friday night, so we went. Tom doesn't like dressing up, and there was a costume contest, so Rob opted for the most simple costume he could find and dressed as Superboy (Not superman as a boy, but a clone created from Superman and Lex Luthor's DNA. He's now a hero in his own right.)

   The party was a lot of fun! We sat with Ronda (dressed as a pirate) and her husband Roy - pictured here.


We also sat next to Linda F (who is also a medium, but a much more learned one) and her daugther, who can also sense spirits. Julie, also from Ghost Trackers (pictured in witches hat) posed for a pic with Ronda and Roy, Margaret, who organized the party came as a flapper. Craig was also there (not pictured) and dressed entirely in black.
- Although Rob was one of the top 10 in the costume contest, he wasn't in the top 5. They consisted of a married couple dressed as chinese warrior and wife; evil clown from Stephen King's book "It," The Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter, and a 20-year old guy in a tee shirt and boxers with a 2 foot long plastic "appendage." Of course, the women clapped loudest for him (I think Tom did, too!) :)

Ronda the pirate, Julie the witch, Roy





Margaret as a Flapper




Tom and Rob as Superboy




Another couple (pictured with Margaret were dressed as a Mad Hatter and Queen of Hearts from Alice and Wonderland fame.



A 3 Dog Day!

Every Thursday, our friend Amy brings her cute little dog Emma over our house, so she can play with Dolly and Franklin while Rob works at home. At lunchtime this week, Rob walked them and took this picture. Notice how they line up from largest (Dolly on the left, Franklin in the middle and Emma on the right) to smallest!  Cute!


Dolly (left), Franklin (middle) and Emma (right)

 

NC/TN Vacation #4-Asheville Ghost Tour- Another Ghostly Orb!

This is the second site we visited during the Ashville "Ghost and Haunt Tours" was even more revealing than the first (Thomas Wolfe house). At the L.B. Jackson building located at Pack Square we captured the most incredible orb ever on film. See below. Built in 1924, this was the site of several jumping suicides. One was a businessman who jumped from the 12th floor during the day of the stock market crash in 1929. Another was a woman leaning out the 5th floor window. They're still wandering around outside of the building where they died. The orbs prove that. These photos were taken one after the other in sequence.

WHAT ARE ORBS? - Per GhostStudy.com: Orbs are believed (by many) to be ghosts in the form of balls of light. They are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. It is theorized that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb (ball of light) because it takes less energy thus being the mode of choice among the ghosts. The consensus is that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. MORE INFO: http://ghoststudy.com/a_what_are_orbs.html

First picture of the LB Jackson Bldg- no orb.

Second picture of the LB Jackson Bldg has an
orb in the middle right side.

Amazing orb with colors and designs
(that's how you know its not dust or a bug)

3rd photo has no orbs.

NC/TN Vacation#3: Thomas Wolfe House- Haunted!

During our vacation in Asheville, North Carolina we took the "Ghost and Haunt Tours" and got a great look and history of buildings in downtown. The tourguide was incredible, and the information about the buildings and the ghost stories were great. The day following the ghost tour, we took a tour of Author Thomas Wolfe's house to get an inside look at it, and where Thomas Wolfe's brother passed away. You'll see why in the photos below.

About the Thomas Wolfe House/Museum from http://www.wolfememorial.com/: Considered by many to be one of the giants of 20th Century American Literature, Thomas Wolfe immortalized his childhood home in his epic autobiographical novel, Look Homeward, Angel. Wolfe's colorful portrayal of his family, his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, and the Old Kentucky Home boarding house earned the historic Victorian home a place as one of American Literature's most famous landmarks.

This is a window on the 2nd floor on the left side of the
Thomas Wolfe House. We approached it from the left side of
the house on the tour and I sensed something up there in that
room.

Here's the front of the Thomas Wolfe House.
The room I sensed something in is on the 2nd floor -right side
of this photo. Note there was no orb in this photo, but one
appeared immediately in the next photo.

Notice the Ghostly ORB in this photo in front of the 2nd floor
window of the home. Turned out that that was the room where
Tom's brother died in bed and Tom was sitting beside him.

Here's a close up of the ghostly orb. You can tell it's an orb
and not a speck of dust or a bug because it has colors
and designs in it..
WHAT ARE ORBS? - Per GhostStudy.com: Orbs are believed (by many) to be ghosts in the form of balls of light. They are life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. It is theorized that ghosts prefer the form of an Orb (ball of light) because it takes less energy thus being the mode of choice among the ghosts. The consensus is that small orbs take up the least amount of energy and apparitions and other fuller shapes take up the most. MORE INFO: http://ghoststudy.com/a_what_are_orbs.html

A plaque outside the Thomas Wolfe house- with Wolfe's shoes bronzed.

Back of the Thomas Wolfe house.

Inside one of the boarding bedrooms of the Wolfe House,
2nd floor.

This is the room where Thomas Wolfe's brother passed away,
and is the room that is haunted by the brother.
The ghostly orb was seen floating directly outside in my
other photos.

This is the room where Thomas Wolfe's brother passed away,
and is the room that is haunted by the brother.
The ghostly orb was seen floating directly outside in my
other photos.

Rob and Tom on the front porch of the
Thomas Wolfe House.

Our Vacation: Part 2: Dollywood!

One of Rob's favorite places to vacation has always been Dollywood because of his love for Dolly Parton's attitude toward life, her music, and her personality. So, part of the vacation that Tom surprised Rob with for his birthday included Dollywood!  Because MOST kids were in school, and the rest of the crowd at the park were either elderly or vastly overweight (some in excess of 500 pounds on motorized scooters because they couldn't walk!) we always had NO WAIT in the lines for the great rollercoasters and other rides. Here are some pictures from the day.

Tom and Rob after doing the height-challenge obstacle course.
Rob overcame his fear of heights...although in this picture
it looks like he wet himself. :)



Inside Dolly Parton's former Tour bus. This is Dolly's bedroom.
The tour bus cost $750,000!



Rob and Tom outside of Dolly's tour bus.

Is that Tom or Elmer?



Rob acting like a pig. (No comments about Rob's closet,
please - Tom!!!)



Tom gets in the seasonal mood at a Dollywood display

Birthday Trip! Part 1: Asheville, NC

This week, Tom surprised me with a short trip to celebrate my birthday. We flew to Asheville, NC and stayed at a nice hotel there. The trip included a great ghost walk through town (the next blog entry); a tour of the famous Vanderbilt mansion called "the Biltmore," and a day at Dollywood on the other side of the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. These are our pictures of the day at the Biltmore and VIDEOS! 

The Biltmore has 125,000 acres and the mansion has 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more.  We took an audio-tour of the mansion that covered 3 levels and the basement where the servants lived. It was an overwhelming display of wealth. It's an amazing museum, but we were disenchanted with the wealth and elaborate stuff in the place... you will still be amazed.

Ready for action in NC in the rental car at the airport!

Tom at the back balcony of the Biltmore looking out over the
125,000 acres behind it.

The Pisgah National Forest is now part of the original
Vanderbilt/Biltmore Estate. Mrs. Vanderbilt sold it to the
USDA Forest Service in the 1900s.

Tom on the back patio of the Biltmore



Rob on the back patio of the Biltmore





Tom in the front of the Biltmore



One of the "towers" in the front of the
Biltmore Mansion

This is a tower where the three flights
of stairs are located.



Tom and Rob on the west side outside

the mansion.



Tom at the entrance to the massive gardens.
The greenhouse was as large as a modern 6 bedroom home.