Life in NC

So not a lot of exciting events have been happening in the Willoughby household. We have been much too busy trying to get accustomed to having a new puppy...and it's been even harder getting Jack accustomed to having a new puppy.

Bella is growing quickly, and she sure is adorable. We have been pretty fortunate so far in the fact that she hasn't destroyed anything, which I hear is pretty common with puppies. This could be because we watch her like a hawk. She is never really out of our sight. I am sure eventually as we start to loosen up our stuff may not be so lucky.

Jack sleeps upstairs most the day, and he still refuses to come down at night when she is in her kennel sleeping. I find it really interesting that he doesn't seem to understand that if she is in the kennel she isn't downstairs. And he knows she is in the kennel because he walks by cautiously but at a quick pace.

We have started feeding him upstairs now. At first I thought we were just supporting his disassociation from the family this way, and I refused to take him food more than once a day, but since he won't come downstairs on his own at all now and even when you drag him down he quickly gobbles some food down and runs back upstairs, it seemed wiser to make sure he was still getting everything he needed nutrition-wise.

He is still a happy cat though, oddly enough. He sits on the steps and watches Bella play fetch or watches her from the window when she is outside.

In those moments, I think he is just jealous. Jack would love to be an outdoor cat, but since we want him to have a long life, that is never going to happy. He also still purrs when you pet him, and he still plays fetch with Q-Tips, so except for the fact that he has cut his own living space down significantly, he seems pretty normal.

Anyway, this post is really just so I could post some cute pics of Bella and Jack. I was trying to channel my inner photo journalist with these, so be prepared for some awesomeness (ok, that's a bit of an overstatement). :-)

I don't know if you can see it in the pictures above, but Jack and Bella both like to stick their little tongues out when they pose. Sure makes them seem related (except for that whole cat/dog thing).

Next time I post, hopefully I will have something more adventurous for you to check out.

Cool new tool

So I have this new program on my computer that I think is just awesome so I wanted to share. It is called the PDF X-Change Viewer. (You can get it for free here: http://www.tracker-software.com/product/downloads).

One thing that grad students have to do a lot of is reading, and a lot of that reading is done by viewing PDFs. Previously, I would print out all the articles I had to read for class (whether I thought they would be relevant to me later in my academic career or not) so that I could write comments in the margins and highlight pieces I thought would be relevant for class. I quickly realized this was an expensive process. It involves a lot of paper and a lot of ink.

In an effort to save the trees and also my wallet, I have downloaded new PDF software that lets me edit right into the document. It has tools for adding comments to the margins as well as highlighters, underline tools, and a whole plethora of other things I have yet to even play with. Now, I read the articles online, adding comments as I go, and bring my computer to class. Although it isn't quite the same experience, I am getting used to it, and I REALLY enjoy not having a ton of excess papers to wade through at the house that I know I will likely never use again. I can still print the ones I enjoy, but I can print them with the comments if I want as well. Below is a screen shot of what it looks like. I think this could also be useful for PDF forms that people create that have restrictions on editing. (I have never understood that since the purpose of a form is likely to have you fill it in). With this program, you could just select the typewriter tool and fill in the information.

Our newest addition

Shawn and I welcomed a new member to our family earlier this week--Bella the puppy!

 

This is Bella with her toy Edward                    As you can see, Edward is indestructible

Jack is still not quite fond of her, but hopefully that will pass soon. Jack and Bella can at least be in the same room now--so that is improvement. Only when Bella runs up does Jack get really freaked out.

As for Shawn and me, we are enjoying her. Sometimes she is very calm and cuddly, and we really like those times. She is also pretty funny when she's being active.

 

She is from the Animal Protection Society of Durham. She and her brother were owner surrenders. Her brother already had an adoption pending when we went in, and we knew she shouldn't be all alone. Shawn was definitely more set on getting a dog than I was, but being the pushover that I am, we went to the shelter.

This all started because while we were in Virginia we got to play with Derrick and Shaunna's cute pit bull pup. They said we could take it with us (they rescued it from Florida) but we soon found that our homeowners insurance doesn't support people who have a dog that is any part American Pit Bull Terrier (they also don't allow Rottweilers, Chows or Huskies). We don't allow Huskies in our house either. :-) Just kidding.

Since we couldn't have Molly the pit bull pup, Shawn and my mom decided we should visit the shelter. The second I heard the idea I knew we would be getting a dog. We found a number of adorable ones, but this one just stood out to us, so we signed the papers. We had to wait four days while they did some routine care, but she has been home for two days now. She has had one trip to the vet and everything seems good. She is pretty playful, but she is also a cuddler, which is fun.

Here is a cute video of her playing with Edward (of course Bella would have an Edward to play with).

Adventures in the wilderness

While my mom was here, we all decided to go on a few adventures. One of the adventures was a hike in the Eno River State Park. The park is only about a 20 minute drive from our house, which is convenient. It has something like 21 miles of maintained hiking trails. It also has areas for fishing, camping and picnicking. Although we walked quite a ways on a few of the trails, we only touched the surface of what there is to see.

One of the things we did see was a snake! We were crossing a bridge over the stream and just before we stepped off there was a long black snake.

 Mom jumped back with a bit of a scream while Shawn ran over to take pictures. We knew there were snakes because we saw some snake skin that had been shed along the trail, but we hoped they wouldn't really cross our path.

The best part of the snake experience was the couple traveling behind us. As we stood on the bridge watching the snake skeptically, the couple walked past us and right up to it. The woman declared, "Oh, don't worry. He's benign." Then while her husband poked at the snake she said, "Look, it's even used to people!" The couple then moved on, and we stood there thinking about how crazy they were. Benign? Ok, so maybe the snake couldn't kill us, but how can a snake really be socialized to people? I didn't want to test it out, and my mom certainly didn't. Luckily the man's poking and prodding made the snake leave, so we continued on to some other areas of the park before heading back to get some lunch.The picture below is of Shawn crossing the bridge.

Enjoying some family time

So it has been a little while since I last posted, but we have been busy here in Durham. My mom came to visit! She came last Wednesday and she is in the process of heading back to the west coast. It was great having her here, but I wish I could have spent more time with her. Shawn got to play tour guide most of the time because I still had classes and readings to do. (That's the life of a grad student).

We still managed to have a lot of fun though. In the evenings, we spent some time using our new grill. We got the grill as a wedding gift from some wonderful family members, and Shawn and I have really enjoyed learning how to use it. While we were in Virginia he got some tips from his brother, and he's been watching that Pit Masters show on Food Network, so although we aren't pros yet, he has an idea of what he is doing.

We grilled the majority of nights my mom was here, but today I'm going to chronicle our adventures with ribs. :-) (Side note: Vegetarians may not like this post very much). Shawn started out by finding an authentic North Carolina barbecue recipe. Now since we haven't eaten out at any authentic North Carolina barbecue restaurants we can't really be completely sure of the authenticity, but it looked reasonable so we went with it. The difference between barbecue here and other places? A vinegar base.

So the ribs had to go through the process of being marinated. Shawn made the marinade and after the ribs sat for awhile it was time for them to hit the grill. Shawn's method is much more advanced that what I can describe, but I know the process involved searing the outside and then moving the ribs to a lower heat so that they could slowly cook from the inside. Whatever the process, it yielded some delicious results.

In addition to the ribs we had corn bread and baked beans, really hammering home that barbecue theme. We even made the baked beans on the grill because it has a handy side burner that works perfectly for baked beans. Here's a picture of the ribs in progress:

So far grilling has been a lot of fun. We enjoyed some good food, but even better is that we got to enjoy the lovely outdoor weather, our comfortable Adirondack chairs and a nice glass of wine while making it!

Labor Day Weekend fun

This weekend Shawn and I traveled to Virginia to visit some family. The trip up started Friday afternoon after I finished classes, so even though it was only about a 3.5 hour drive, we didn't get in until nearly 9 p.m. We spent the evening visiting with Shawn's brother Derrick and his wife Shaunna, as well as their adorable son, while Derrick made steaks.

The next day started early as it often does with kids. :-) We went to the aquarium where we got to see all kinds of sea life. They had some amazing exhibits such as a tunnel that let you walk right under all the fish and a place where you could pet the manta rays.

Here is a picture of everyone trying to pet the manta rays. I think the kids enjoyed splashing in the water more than petting the manta rays, but it was still a lot of fun. (By the way--manta rays are slimy!)

After the aquarium Shawn and I headed to the base with Derrick to see where he works. Shawn really enjoyed all the planes.

It was amazing to see all the jets lined up in the hanger.

Overall we had a great time. We got to see some cool stuff, but we really just enjoyed hanging out with family (especially their adorable kids!).

Hurricane Earl misses us

In case you heard tales of Hurricane Earl heading for North Carolina, I just wanted to give you a heads up on what it really looks like in our neck of the woods.

Hurricane Earl glanced North Carolina and headed up the coast. Hopefully no one gets hit too hard. If anything, it is actually too hot at a toasty 98 degrees today.

Shawn and I are heading to Virginia this afternoon to see some family. That means that I will be back with some adventures to post! Hope everyone has a nice Labor Day!