SporksParty

She's Old.

2009-08-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! In case I didn't properly force you to give me all sorts of birthday attention, I turned 30 on August 3rd. Yep, that's right folks, She's Old. She's officially out of the college decade, which means growing up. Crap. Seriously, when did that happen?

Well, instead of getting potentially mushy and overly reflective about a birthday that, to be honest, really doesn't make me feel any more mature or responsible than my last birthday... or the one before that... or the one before that... I'm going to post some crazy-old photos and thank some people for my birth, and some other people for their awesome contributions to my life so far. You people are the coolest.

First, my mom & dad. This picture was taken pretty close to the time when I was born. Not exactly, but it was a long time ago, so it's close enough. Plus, it's the only one I have readily available with the two of them together. Sorry Dad, I know it's not the best picture.

Anyway, thanks to these two crazy kids, I am alive and able to entertain on a daily basis.

Thanks.

I also want to give a special separate thanks to my dad.

Dad, you stepped up in a lot of ways when you were needed. Not-to-mention being a completely awesome, hilarious, and really, really great dad. For that, I am forever grateful.

I am truly honored to be your daughter.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My mom. I understand her more every day through myself and my own life, and I am lucky enough to see her in my mirror every day. Thanks Mom, I miss you.

My sister, Lynda, who was the best big sister a girl could ever ask for.

She was and always will be the person with whom I share my soul.

My sister, Amanda, who has become one of my best friends.

I love you and I'm so proud to have you as my sister!

My Grandparents. Not only did they make it possible for me to be alive (you know, by having kids who ended up being my parents), but they also happen to be the best grandparents in the history of all grandparents. To the most patient, loving, and fun people in the world, Thank You.

Also, even though I don't have a photo that includes every one of my extended relatives...

Thank you too. I have enjoyed you as part of my family.

(Grandma Dorothy Frein)

(Grandpa Don Frein - never knew him, but he sure turned out a good group!)

(G&G Alice and Lanny Barringer, Great G&G Dykstra - I have the same b-day as G.Gram Dykstra)

(Just because it's so cute - Lynda, Gramp Barringer, and me)

Anne & Hope.

You both have seen me through some really terrible and some completely fantastic times. I can only hope that my own daughter (some day) will have friends like you to grow up with. Words cannot begin to describe the influence your friendships have had on me.

You rock.

Tarin, you are way too much fun for my own good sometimes!

And you also happen to be an incredibly fantastic friend. Love you, Babe.

My kickball team. Who knew such a random grouping of people would end up being such a soild group of friends. You are all the best, and I look forward to rolling in the red ball with you, long past the point that it is no longer appropriate.

(Dave & Trish are not pictured)

My puppies, Alice & Sara. I didn't want a dog, but my husband talked me into it.

Getting Alice as a baby puppy was quite possibly the coolest thing I had ever done. I never imagined raising a puppy could be so fulfilling. When we considered getting another dog for her to play with, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to love it as much as I loved Alice.

Then we got Sara. Boy, was I wrong. I can't imagine what it would be like without her!

These two babies are the best! Thank you, Bubbas, for all of your unconditional love!!

Most importantly, my Husband. You are my world. You are my every thought.

I could not imagine life without you. With you, I am a better person.

Thank you for letting me in. Thank you for marrying me.

Thank you for promising to be with me for the rest of our lives.

I look forward to every moment of it.

And lastly, thank you to My Life.

It has been a rough road.

If there is one thing My Life has taught me, it is that Me is the best I can offer to anyone.

And if I can't laugh at Me, I should just go home.

Thanks for reading and being a part of my life!

You In Clay

2009-05-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

Updated the You In Clay blog.

New Post

2009-04-08T10:43:00.001-07:00

I know. I'm not keeping up my end of the bargain. I need to update more often. I'll try harder.

I'll be back soon with an update, but I really can't do it now. If you're on Facebook, you can see the photos from our trip... if not, let us know and we'll send you a link to the on-line album.

Later gators.

Ice Fishing

2009-02-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

This was a couple of weekends ago, but I still wanted to post a few photos. Anne's family & family friends have an ice fishing tournament every year out on Prior Lake. Somehow, even after about a hundred years of being attached at the hip, I had never attended this... and until this year, had never been ice fishing in my life (well, we really didn't fish this year either). Anne found out that our friend Heiney had never been on a frozen lake (she's from "sconny") so they decided to go. They called me and I went too. It was a GREAT time! It was so nice to see all of Anne's family again, and hang out for a while. Most of the time was spent in the "Aqua Socializer: Ice Edition" which is Anne's brother-in-law, Steve's, ice house. He's the one on the right in the last photo - Thanks Steve! And thanks to Anne, Kris, and everyone else who made it a great time!

Valentine's Weekend

2009-02-18T11:02:00.000-08:00

We usually don't do anything at all for Valentine's Day. I'm not a big believer in the Hallmark holidays (sorry Colie) and I can often be quoted as saying "I don't want flowers on Valentine's Day. I want flowers on a random Tuesday, just because you want to." And every year we briefly talk about doing something for V-day, which is usually ended quickly by saying "it's too much of a hassle."

But this year, I decided to break from the norm. I read an article in the paper about a bunch of events put on by the Three Rivers Park District for the big V and decided to sign us up! So Friday night, we started off by going to Timberlodge, which is unsual for us lately. I also realized after dinner that the gift card I planned to spend was actually for Outback. Oops.

Anyway, then we went to the Richardson Nature Center at Hyland Park Preserve in Bloomington. You know the giant ski jump you can see from 494? It's over there. They hosted an event called "Candlelight & Choclate" which was a 3/4 mile stroll (with ice cleats) through a portion of the nature preserve. The trail was lit by cute little tiny lanterns. At the building, they had outdoor bonfires with haybails to sit on. It was pretty crowded (and cold) though, so we didn't stay outside. Inside, they had coffee, a crazy amount of chocolate, cutsie V-day decorations, and live classical string music. I tried to post a video of the music, but I guess the file was too big. It was a great time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Dustin and Buck
(This deer head was hanging over us a t Timberlodge and we didn't even realize it until we were leaving.)

One of the little lanterns on the trail

Us on the trail

Inside the building

The "chocolate" portion of the evening

Okay, then on a completely unrelated note... We also cleaned an rearranged our den. It looks so nice! It looks more like a den now, rather than a giant pile of crap. Also, those of you who have spent the night in this room before: you will be happy to know that we finally hung curtains on the window. Privacy abounds. We also put the old area rug from the living room in there to warm up the floor a bit. And we plan to get a new living room coffee table at some point, so we'll put the old dark mahogany one in the den. Then once we get a slipcover for the couch (to cover up the gramma floral), we'll be set! A place for ladies happy hour, even if the boys are playing poker! Anyway, we're stoked. Thanks for humoring me. Boo yah.

2009-01-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay, I'll post something. I know that when you don't post for a while, people stop looking. So even though I don't really have a lot of time to give a big update - or all that much to update about - here are some photos to enjoy.

I've hit the Winter Wall. That feeling during winter, somewhere between desperation and complete anger. Where you never quite know what incident will set you off to start throwing things... or just crying. Yeah, that's me right now. It doesn't happen for everyone, but it happens for me every year. Dustin too, although I've never caught him crying about it. For those who love winter and cold, I envy you. For us though, there is a breaking point. This is about the time every year where we seriously start considering a move to someplace distant, exotic, and most importantly - someplace SOUTH. We start to question what it is that keeps us living here. Who in their right mind would do this every year - willingly?! So when those occassions arise, we have to remind ourselves why we stay. Here are some of those reasons:

We live here.
We love our house, and our proximity to the city and everything we enjoy doing.

Taking advantage of every summer opportunity!

Born & raised

(D, Dad, & Lynda)

(Dustin, Karen)

Fishing. Well, Dustin fishes. I just bring the bad luck.

(Mark)

(Dustin)

(Dustin & a very unlucky fish)

Family & fun in Waterville

(Brandon, Manda)

(Sara, Alice)

(The Point)

Three seasons of kickball every year!

(Spring '07 CHAMPS)

(Heiney, Mama Dish, D-Rae, Colieolieo, RaRa)

(Thug, Guido, Voltage, Jentz, Slick Mick, Dave - aka. "Your Name")

Backyard BBQs

(Becky, D, Anne)

(Kristian, Adam, Tarin)

(T)

The Lakes area in Minneapolis is very active. I absolutely love the city and all it has to offer in the summer. We're so close to the lakes and to Downtown, we try to take advantage of as much as we can. From the outdoor concerts, bike trails, art fairs, sidewalk dining, block parties, and everything in between. It's impossible not to find something to do.

You cannot beat this city in the summertime.

Driving up 35w at dusk is probably one of my favorite sights.

SEE YOU SOON, SUMMER!!!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! And thank you to everyone who came to our New Year's Eve party. We had a great time bringing in '09 in '90s fashion! It was a great party and a great holiday season - and we have our friends and family to thank!

Happy Thanksgiving & it's almost Christmas!

2008-12-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, yes, the holidays are upon us! A time for traveling, pressure to buy the perfect gift, and scheduling enough get-togethers in order to please everyone. Hmm... I feel like I'm missing something... oh yeah, the actual events that we celebrate in the first place!

This year, let's not forget that this is a special time for family and friends to spend time and appreciate each other. Our festive moods are at times dampend by the expectations and pressures we feel around this time of year.

Love one another, spend time together when you can, and appreciate the non-material gifts you have been given. Be grateful for your family and the bounty you enjoy together. If the tree falls over, or the turkey explodes... don't fret, take a family photo around it and laugh!

Happy holidays everyone!

Hello?.. ello?.. ello?..

2008-11-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Is anyone reading this... or are you all wasting too much time on Facebook?

P.S. Sorry I've been kind of boring lately.

Deedle-ee-dee

2008-11-17T10:10:00.001-08:00

Hey Everybody,

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Not much going on right about now. And obviously my last post of funny jokes as an attempt to still give you something to read without actually having anything to write about... well, I guess I was the only one who found them remotely funny. Oops. Anyway, as I said, there is really not much going on with us right now.

We are this close to being done with the electrical work at home, so that we can patch up the drywall around the new patio door and do the final trimwork and painting. We're not sure what color we are going to paint the wall (or more than one wall). It's just a basic off-white right now, but we're feeling like it should be something more. But then again, we don't want too much color and we still want the focal point to be the fireplace wall. My mind keeps going toward something in an orange or gold tone, but with the kitchen being "leapfrog" green - ouch. So we just don't know at this point.

Also, unfortunately, the construction industry has been in the dumps this year, as I'm sure everyone knows. Not conversely, this is has effected the remodeling portion of the industry as well. So I've had to take a cut in hours (and therefor, pay) until at least the end of the year. It's only two days per pay period, which ends up being every other Thursday & Friday off. It doesn't have too much of an effect on us at home, for now. I just hope the time off doesn't increase after January 1st. Of course, although people are not quick to jump into a remodeling project at the moment, there are still plenty of people dreaming about it, and still plenty of competition for those jobs... and therefor more required of me to give them that "wow" factor. So although my hours have been cut, there is no shortage of work to be done. I have also been taking on more and more of the marketing responsibilities this year, and we are now smack in the middle of holiday cards & other paraphanalia, for which I am almost solely responsible. More work and less time to do it? Yes PLEASE!!

On a lighter note, however, the holidays are upon us, and we look forward to spending plenty of time with family. Dustin plans to do a little hunting, which I know he is really looking forward to. And I hope to spend some of my "time off" doing some major organizing projects at home. I'm trying to enjoy this anticipation of spending more time indoors. I tell myself "finally, I don't have to feel guilty about being indoors." This feeling typically lasts about two weeks, at which point I start to think "GET ME OUT OF THIS HOUSE AND ONTO A BEACH!!"

Fortunately, we do plan to take a vacation with my sister and her husband during her spring break from teaching next spring. The four of us had a great dinner at our place on Friday, which was intended to be a planning session. However, at six bottles of wine and four in the morning, we realized we didn't accomplish as much as we hoped. It was a fantastic evening though, with a lot of laughs!! It was very much needed. Thanks guys, for coming over!

Yesterday afternoon we spent the day with our kickball team, lounging in Tim's party room, watching football, eating way too much junk food, and being entertained by the cutest babies in the world. Way to go, Lily, for your first couple of forward crawls! It was a great weekend... we hope you had a good one too!!

Until next time!

Funnies - or at least I think so...

2008-10-30T06:42:00.000-07:00

Usually, I am the last person to forward jokes. But I got an email from a coworker today that cracked me up. These are only a couple of them. Maybe I'm just way too tired - or maybe I just really needed this today, but I thought I'd try to give everyone else a little laugh too.

A Woman's Revenge:

"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.
"No," she replied, "but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."

Wife vs. Husband:

A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."

Who Does What:

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, "You should do it because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."
The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."
The wife replies, "No, you should do it. Besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."
The husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."
So she fetched the Bible, opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages that it indeed says ...HEBREWS.

The Silent Treatment:

A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, 'Please wake me at 5:00 AM.' He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go see why his wife hadn't wakened him when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."

Har har har... I know, they were really cheesey. And sorry they were a little man-bashy. But I thought they were funny! Have a nice day!

Just a couple of project photos...

2008-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

I had posted a while back about our bathroom project, and even though it has been finished for quite a while, I finally got around to taking some pictures this weekend. So here area couple of photos and the link to the old post. http://sporksparty.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html

The first photo is what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house. We replaced the vanity, countertop, light fixtures, and faucets before we moved in, and removed the wallpaper.

And this is what it looks like now... on a good day. I have to admit, it's usually not this clean.

I had also mentioned Dustin's birthday present, which we both really enjoy! I just got around to taking some pictures last night... So I had this photo blown up and is now hung on our bedroom wall. It is about 5ft wide and 2.5ft tall. The photo is of the view we enjoyed from our patio during our trip to Caye Caulker, Belize last winter.

Since the photo is so bright, we decided we should brighten up our decor a bit as well. About a week later I happened upon this quilt and shams that I immediately fell in love with... I think they look great!!

So thanks for looking... this was probably boring to some, but I just thought I'd follow up on a couple of previous posts! Have a nice day!

This weekend

2008-10-27T14:15:00.001-07:00

Dustin's mom and stepdad, Karen & Ben, came to stay with us this weekend. It was a good time. We had a relaxing Friday night and Saturday, then went out to The Shout House on Saturday night. It was tons of fun! I used to love to go to Little Ditty's when they were open, but hadn't been to the shout house. It was great! And we were lucky enough - even while it was still busy - to snag a table in the second row. Good times!

While we were out, I also spotted a group of girls that I graduated with from Farmington. They were out for Amber's bachelorette party and seemed to be having a great time. Great to see you girls!

We also had our new patio doors installed this weekend. We still need to patch the drywall, have some electrical work done, and have the new trim installed, but we're that much closer, and we are LOVING them!! We joke that we are not going to move the table back into the dining room because we love the new view from the couch :) It's amazing how much more light the doors bring in. This photo was taken yesterday afternoon (when the sun is on the other side of the house), on a very overcast day.

We also had our first snow yesterday. It wasn't much, and mostly just a rainy, wet day. But it snowed. I suppose it had to come some time.

New Kids on the BLOCK!!!

2008-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos in no particular order...

Anne's leggings, my leg warmers

Before the show

This guy even shaved lines in the sides of his hair. And I must say, good choice on the sweater.

My glow-in-the-dark shirt painted sweatshirt.

Joe, Jon, Jordan, Danny, Donnie

Me, Kris, Becky, Anne

NKOTB RULES!!

Kris, Bec, Me

In the bathroom at Excel (random).

The smoke and lights made this seem like even more of a dream come true!

The surprise set in the middle of the floor crowd. I SOOO wish we had been down there!!

There are so many more memories of this night, so many good times! The whole night was just so completely awesome! I have a renewed crush on these boys... er... men. There is something to be said for making a comback like this. Not only did they put on a truely awesome show, but one of the very cool things about being there was that there was not a person in that crowd (about 99% were 25 to 35 year old women) that was not completely into it. You should have seen the crowd during Hangin' Tough - the entire place waved their arms in unison. The screaming crowd made it feel like we were all back in 5th grade. And to those who were there... all I have to say is... Jordan's solo. Yeah, you know what I'm talkin' about.

So there it was! The moment we've all waited for - for fifteen years! It was SO worth it!!!

Hi there!

2008-10-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Things are actually kind of busy around here, even though they're not really very busy. This past week was the JLC conference, where I spent all day on Wednesday in seminars. (JLC = Journal of Light Construction, I'm sure that sounds fantastically exciting to everyone else, right?)

The rest of the workweek was spent getting ready for the Remodelers Showcase. It's a division of the Parade of Homes, in which we show a house we've remodeled the past year. I am generally in charge of anything in-house related to marketing, signage, brochures, etc (aka. "the creative department"), so I had spent a good portion of the week getting all of that together. And in keeping with my general style, everything was at a rush-rush out-the-door-at-the-last-minute pace. But it all came together and we had a lot of nice comments on the house (and the signage). Here's a couple of photos of the project (which I took, by the way):

Sandwiched between working the Showcase Friday night and Sunday afternoon, was our first annual Kickball camping trip on Saturday. It was a great time, and we really lucked out with the weather. It rained for a few minutes in the morning, but that was it. It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous campsite. This was the first time I slept in a tent in something like five years, but it wasn't so bad. We stole the matress pad off the guest bed, so that helped. All in all, it was a fun time. I think we all agree that it will be a yearly trip.

Knowing that I had a very busy week and weekend, I took Monday off. It was nice. I slept in a little, got some coffee, had a doctor's appointment, then did some shopping. I thought about getting a massage, but somehow a half-day trip to Marshall's won out. I did end up getting a few good pieces, but I had to try on everything in the store to find them. Oh well, that's expected from Marshall's. It was a nice day. I just wish I had taken two ;)

This weekend will be the start of a new project. We are having the new patio doors installed in the dining room next weekend, so this weekend we will be tearing out the window trim and drywall. I'm sure there will be some other little projects to prepare as well.

That's all for now. How about you? What have you been up to?

The deck is (unofficially) DONE!!

2008-09-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

So here it is! The deck is done!! Well, with the exception of a few deck boards still needing to be screwed down (we ran out of screws) and a few railing spindles (we ran out of spindles)... It looks great and I have to say, my husband is a fantastic carpenter!

Again, thanks to all of you who were kind enough to lend a helping hand. Your help was SO appreciated!! And thanks to everyone who came over for our scrap wood bonfire on Saturday. It was a lot of fun to hang out - and great that everyone was so willing to crawl through the window to get in and out of the house. Good times!!

Try to ignore the yard that we still need to clean up. Luckily the mess in the driveway and garage didn't come across in the pictures!!

This is our view of the yard now, from the Dining Room. You may recall that I was conflicted about the railing cutting off our view. We decided to go with aluminum spindles instead of cedar because they have a much smaller profile. We like it very much, and I am glad I can still see (most of ) my yard.

This is where we will put the grill. We plan to build in a couple of countertops for extra prep area on either side of the grill. The countertops were on my "must have" list. It will be so nice!!

This is where we will put a large table. We're hoping for seating for six or more. We were also hoping to get a good deal on some clearance patio furniture, but are now finding we may just be a little too late. Boo! Paying full price is NOT fun.

And finally, these are the windows to the Dining Room that need to be removed and replaced by the new three-panel patio door. Now THAT will be nice. No more climbing through the window! Although that is a funny little quirk of this project. Even the dogs have learned to go to the window to come in the house. Sara will stand out there and bark to come in, just like she does at the door!! She will enjoy basking in the sun by the doors when they are installed. That was one of their favorite passtimes in our other places that had patio doors. Ahhh... sounds nice, doesn't it??

Miss Lil'

2008-09-26T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hey look! Lily and I wore the same outfit to kickball!

(We totally planned it.)

Congratulations, Brad & Kaisa Trevis!

2008-09-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the wedding of a good friend of mine from high school, Brad Trevis, and his new wife, Kaisa. It was a beautiful wedding, and an even more beautiful bride. Congrats to you both. We wish you a very long and happy life together!!

They also had a photo booth. As you can see... we had a lot of fun!!

Cheers!

Deck progress - Sorry, no photos yet.

2008-09-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

So first, I just want to give props to Dave & Roger for helping Dustin with some deck work this weekend! Thanks a ton!

The deck project is coming along. The joists are all in place, the newel posts for the railing are all up, and Dustin finished the decking on the steps yesterday. So now it's just the decking on the main part of the deck, and the railings. Then it will be pretty much usable - except that we'll have to crawl in and out from the dining room window until the new door is installed! Ha!! In order to install the door, we'll have to move a heat supply and a couple of outlets... and add an outside light and outlet. In the process, we're also hoping it won't be too much trouble to add a couple of flood lights.

In any case, the deck is almost done! We are very excited about this! One small downfall is that, at one point this weekend, we were looking out the dining room windows and I realized that once the railing is up, we will lose the view of our back yard - almost completely. Which I suppose is not a huge loss, since it's not much of a yard to look at. It is just dissappointing, since the great big yard was one of the things that sold me on the house (among many other things), and I really do look out those windows a lot. And now instead of having a nice grassy area to soften the blow of the giant freeway noise wall - well, now it's just that big, brown, ugly wall. Luckily we have a great big walnut that rises far above the deck - even though it's only a matter of time before that tree keels over (really, any day now). Obviously there is no going back now, and I'll just have to get used to it. And I have resolved to get some nice planters that can be viewed from the inside of the railing. But the thing that gets me the most is not being able to see what's going on in the yard. The dogs, especially, and any possible tiny people we may one day have running around out there. But also any regular-sized people that may decide to lurk. I suppose that's another reason for the flood lights? Well, I will miss looking at my yard. I'll have to spend some time gazing out that window before the railing goes up.

And that's about it for now. Today is Dustin's birthday - the big 3-0! When I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate, he said "I'd like to be able to work on the deck as much as possible all weekend." Not the most festive of celebrations, but he definitely was happy all weekend!! I'll post a picture tomorrow of his gift. I'm very excited about it!!

Have a nice day!

FAN-tastic!!

2008-08-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Last night Dustin & I met Dave, Trish, & Baby Blake at the State Fair to see the Brandi Carlile concert (http://www.brandicarlile.com/). It was a great show - she is awesome live! But the absolute BEST part was this guy. He is definitely Brandi Fan #1! He and his group of friends stood behind us for the whole show, which was way to the back, since we didn't get there early enough to grab seats. In any case, after every small comment or story that Brandi told on stage, he would laugh, cheer, and look back at his group as if to say "Did you hear that? Man, she totally GETS me!" In general, he seemed like he would have been just any other guy. His friends seemed down-to-earth and they had a couple of cute kids with them. But as soon as Brandi hit the stage - WHOA. So this is a video I took of him at one point during his celebration. It was completely obvious by then that I was recording him, but none of his friends seemed to mind. I think it just made them laugh even more. We all had gut-aches after this, and it was definitely a laugh-til-you-cry moment. I'm considering putting this on YouTube. Or at the very least trying to send it in to someone at Brandi's website. Enjoy!!

P.S. I think it turned out pretty dark, so hopefully you can still see. Take note of his friends in the background. Looks like they had gut-aches too. I REALLY hope this is not too dark to see.

And - thanks to the Schultzes - here are a few photos.

Scoots

2008-08-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a much-requested photo of us on our scooters.

Please ignore the messy garage and the fact that we both look like total scrubs...

...and Dustin's wierd expression.

P.S. I know I haven't been updating very often lately, but stay tuned. We have a project going at home - we're building a deck. I'm terrible at taking pictures of us working - and even worse about taking them when things are finished. But I'm hoping to be better this time... even though I have yet to take any photos. Uugh - anyway, keep checking. I'll post something soon.

Good to see you Hope & Scott!

2008-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

I also got to see my good friends Hope & Scott this weekend! Miss you both already!!

NKOTB 4-ever!

2008-08-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

Last Friday after work, I decided to go to the Mall of America to exchange some jeans. (Side note for those of you not from around here: the MOA truely is a gigantic mall, but for most of us, it's very normal now. This is actually where I do most of my shopping.) My friend, Tarin, and her husband, Greg, happened to also be at the mall, so I met them on my way in. They were on their way out and mentioned that apparently the New Kids on the Block were about to do a free concert in the main rotunda. "Really?" I asked, "The New Kids?" T & G were clearly not feeling the New Kids vibe and quickly left the mall.

I proceeded to The Buckle for my exchange. My course took me through the rotunda, where I found literally hundreds of 30ish-aged women (and some men) with cameras and shopping bags. I found it to be pretty funny, that so many people had stopped their activities to sneak a peak at THE boyband of the '80s. I found my way through the crowd, while texting Anne & Hope "NKOTB @ MOA right now!" Hope didn't respond, but Anne - of course - sent me an immediate text "R U there? Take pictures! U R so lucky!" As much fun as I was having with it, her excitement (as usual) got me going. After all, I can say without a doubt that I would not be going to their concert in October if she hadn't been so excited about it. I can also say that it was her enthusiasm that made it so much fun to still listen and dance to "Hangin' Tough" and "Please Don't Go Girl" well into high school (and really, to this day).

I decided at that point that I needed to document this event for her, myself, and all of you out there who only WISH you could have gotten this close. Okay, so I wasn't that close. They weren't even on stage yet, and it was tough to even see around all of the Gen-Xers packed around the stage. But I would sure try.

view of the crowd in the rotunda

I exchanged my jeans, and checked out the situation. I noticed that there was a path around the rotunda that security was keeping clear, and that the escalators were still in use. From the escalators you could get a clear view of the stage above the crowd, but it was only a short glimpse. I also noticed that a small crowd had gathered near an entrance, so I went to check it out. I soon realized that this must be where the boys would enter the performance. There was a curtained-off area, and a roped-off path that was being heavily guarded. Everyone hanging out had their cameras and cell phones ready to snap pictures as soon as they came out. As silly as I found this to be, I immediately followed suit and waited in anticipation. As I stood there, people entered the mall in much the same way I did, with no purpose other than to shop. As they came in and saw the crowd, they'd stop to ask what was going on and I would tell them about the NKOTB show. The common reaction was the same as mine "What? The New Kids?" and a little snicker. But then seeing that I was among those waiting patiently with my camera ready, they'd let out a little grin and hang out themselves for while, trying to catch a glimpse.

Finally, they did emerge from behind the curtain, although I didn't get much of a shot.

Once they took the stage, I made my way to a second-floor balcony, behind the others who actually had purchased or won passes that earned them their right to a railing view. I was able to catch some photos, zoomed in, between 30-year-old butts and legs, above shopping bags, and through the glass railing. Here they are for your enjoyment!!

Donnie (he's my favorite, so he gets two pictures)

Joe

Jordan

Group shots

And my favorite: Joe, pointing to Donnie's butt as he shows the audience.

As you can imagine, the crowd went wild!

As I crouched and leaned to get my photos, I giggled to myself as I realized how much of a fun flashback this was. As soon as one of the boys would dance or saunter into my viewfinder, I'd feel a rush of girliness and the feeling I used to get watching the "Hangin' Tough" VHS video compilation tape. Donnie teasing to take of his leather jacket, or that cute smile from Joe. Ugh - melting! Thanks, Donnie, Danny, Joe, Jon, and Jordan, for that trip down memory lane. See you in October!!

And, to make this flashback complete, the neon Reebok high-tops

I saw at a shoe store after my adventure.

Congrats, Sis!

2008-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

I just want to give a shout-out to my sister and brother-in-law, Amanda & Brandon (even though I'm pretty sure neither of them know I even have a blog). They have purchased a house in a nice neighborhood of Bloomington (only a few miles from us! Woo!). It's a 1960 two-story that they got for a steal - thanks, Buyers' Market. It is absolutely gorgeous, with plenty of space to fill with family and friends, lots of room to entertain, and a beautifully landscaped yard. They are now in the process of cleaning, stripping some wallpaper, painting, and overall freshening-up before they do the big move this weekend.

We are so proud of you both - and most of all for your eagerness to see the beautiful potential of an older home. A few little updates aren't so bad, right? Great house and great job - congratulations, guys! Can't wait to come over and hang out in your screened porch!

Love, Donella & Dustin

The End of an Era...

2008-07-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

...Albeit a short, quiet, and uneventful era.

Some of you know that I opened up my own website a couple of years ago (I mentioned it briefly in a post here, but anyway). The website features the clay figurines that I make, most notably the cake toppers. This is something I've been doing for years. It actually had it's start from the cake topper I made for our wedding. Then a friend requested one for her wedding... then an aquaintence... then a few people from an on-line community I was a part of during our engagement (anyone who has been married in the last six-to-eight years knows it well, http://www.theknot.com/)... even a bride who contacted me from Boston! It just kept blossoming from there. Soon, I was to the point where I almost couldn't handle the amount of business I was getting - all by referral, mind you. I knew I wasn't getting paid enough for the time I put in, especially since I had really perfected my technique and had come a long way since the first few. But, having recently been married, I knew what a racket the wedding undustry was, so I wasn't comfortable charging people more than I was. So I stopped. I made a rule: Only for friends and family... OR ... if I just felt like making a few extra bucks.

And that's how it was for a year or so. It was nice not having to spend 16 hour days and marathon weekend sessions cranking out these things, and resenting the time I could have been spending with Dustin, or outside on those beautiful Spring days when wedding season is at it's peak. But I did miss that little extra ching.

Then Dustin & I were discussing ways we could jump-start our finances. Nothing that we HAD to do to make ends meet or spend tons of time apart. Just something we could do together when we felt like it to enhance our bottom line. Around that time, he was approached by a previous coworker to see if he wanted to take on some simple drafting sidework, which would be an on-going supply to be done at his liesure. It really just fell in his lap. So he accepted. It was pretty obvious what I was able to do in my spare time, so we decided to go for it. He would accept the sidework and I would start marketing my cake toppers. As a result, we would set up the office to accommodate both our practices, and spend a portion of our free time working together. I decided as part of my marketing, I would set up a website in order to reach more people and have a more professional way for potential clients to view my work.

Two-hundred dollars and a website later... his sidework fell through. The company made a bunch of layoffs, including his friend that gave him the work, and he lost all connection with the company. Why they would hire a new freelance in a time like that is beyond me. Anyway... we tried to think of something else he could do, but just couldn't come up with anything that would really work. And so ended the idea to work from home in our free time. I have kept the website up and running for two years now. I never fully marketed it because I was afraid that once I paid for the advertising and it hit Google or Yahoo, I'd be loaded with jobs and be overwhelmed and end up ruining the great word-of-mouth that I have built up. Could I do it full time? Probably, but I have absolutely no desire to. I love my job.

It is time once again to renew my hosting subscription, and I have decided not to. As cool as it has been to see my own original work posted on a real, legitimate site on the big bad internet... the time has come. In the time that I have had the site, I have done a total of ONE cake topper (for income), and that was another very solid word-of-mouth referral. I dare say I would have gotten the job without the site, even if it did give them a place to view photos on-line. Now, being faced with the decision whether to renew or cancel, I have to realize that a profit of $100 on a $400 investment is not a sound reason for keeping the site. And the realization that doing these cake toppers takes up way too much of my precious free time to consider only a $100 profit has forced me to say goodbye to my website that has been "under construction" for the entire two years.

So here's to you, http://www.YouInClay.com/! Farewell!! If you haven't seen the site yet, you should still be able to see it for another couple of weeks before my subscription runs out.

Footnote: I do plan to set up a blog with photos of all or most of my caketoppers, so that people will still be able to have a place on-line to view photos. But I have realized that it's not worth the money in order to keep a more professional site. As long as the photos are organized and pretty, I don't think anyone will mind that they aren't on a formal website. At least I hope not.

I'm SOAKED!!

2008-07-10T11:10:00.001-07:00

So I'm sitting at work and it starts to get a little dark. Then a little darker... and darker... then it starts to rain. Whew! I'm glad I went out to grab lunch when I did! The little blue scoot's out in the parking lot, but a little rain won't hurt it. Wait - is that HAIL? Crap! Can a scooter get damaged by hail? I suppose, just as easily as a car, right? Oh, and the spedometer is exposed... and the mirrors! Augh! Okay, better move it under the overhang. Wait - I don't have a raincoat. I think someone said there's a plastic poncho around here somewhere. Uugh! Can't find it anywhere - and my poor scoot is getting pounded by hail! Okay, just grab a spare jacket and throw it over your head. Oh - kick of the flops and roll up your jeans. Ready? Take a breath... Okay... GO!

I AM SOAKED. And it stopped hailing immediately after I got her under the awning.

Should be a really comfortable afternoon, sitting at my desk all soggy and frumpy. Have a nice day!

Vandelay Industries

2008-07-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I just want to make an announcement. We are officially artists. Here's the story:

For the past, I don't know, since we've owned our house, we have struggled to figure out what to do with this wall... this photo was taken during our remodeling project. It is a wall in our dining room that has a fireplace, and brick all the way across the bottom, with a shallow wood mantle. It's very simple and (in my opinion) kind of elegant in a subdued way. Anyway, the wall above the fireplace has always been a tough one to decorate, mostly because it's so long and narrow. And the mantle is so shallow that it doesn't allow much depth for anything above. I've tried putting stuff on the mantle, but it just looks cluttered. And anything that fits on the mantle ends up being way too small for the scale of the wall. A while back I found some square fruit pictures that we had there for a while, but still, they were just not nearly substantial enough. We finally took them down because we were just so dissatisfied and wanted to start with a clear pallette.

So for about six months... maybe even closer to a year... we have been staring at this blank wall. We've looked and looked. One of our problems is that we find it very hard to commit to art. We both find it essential to have our art speak to us. It has to evoke some kind of a feeling. And although we will occassionally come across something that is interesting or cool... it's usually just not enough. Which is also why we have very little art on any of the other walls in our house either. We've tried coming up with our own plans to make something. But nothing stuck with us. There was nothing that really stood out as "Yes, we have to do this." Until a couple of months ago.

We went to a couple of exhibits on a local art show called the Art-a-Whirl, in northeast Minneapolis. It's a weekend where galleries and studios open their doors to the public to show what they do, and to meet people who are fans of their work. One of our stops was at an old warehouse, which had been converted into artist studios. We probably walked through about twenty studios that day, saw some interesting, beautiful, and some just plain bizarre work. We were making our final pass before leaving and happened to glance into a door that was half-open, into a studio that wasn't so much displaying work, but rather had it strewn about. We asked if we could come in and take a look. The guy was busy painting, so we didn't want to disturb him too much, but we just had to get a closer look. His paintings were amazing. Really spectacular. I don't describe many things that way, but these paintings were truely amazing. They had a three-dimensional quality that I just couldn't compare anything to. We asked a girl that was hanging out in the room "What is that?" She explained that they were created by layering paint and epoxy resin in order to get their depth and he would add his own handpainted details as he went. She said he wasn't really participating in the Art-a-Whirl because he was getting ready for a gallery show he was doing in Seattle. After staying a few more minutes to quietly observe and look at more pieces, we got his info and decided to leave him alone.

His name is Stephen Filla and you can check out his work at http://www.stephenfilla.com/, although the photos don't begin to show the depth. We couldn't stop thinking about those paintings and decided to contact him about price. Well, we'll just say they are way out of our price range, although for someone who can afford it, they would be well worth the money.

After a few days of being dissappointed that the only thing we could see above the fireplace was unattainable (for us), we decided to try it out for ourselves. We priced it all out, came up with a plan of attack, and said "here we go!"

It took pretty much all of one day two weekends ago, and a couple of hours here and there the following week, but this past Saturday, we were finished and got them hung up! They look so completely awesome. I cannot even describe how proud I am of ourselves, and how cool these paintings really are. They have a completely different feel than any of Stephen Filla's work, but we love them. And they are even more "us" than anything we would have gotten from him. We each did three panels, then intermingled them on the wall.

So here are a few photos I took last night. Unfortunately, even the close-up photos pale in comparison to seeing them in person (so you'll have to come over to get a better look!). And now we are thinking we will have to kick up the rest of our super-safe decor a few notches... which is fine by me, since I've always felt less than thrilled about a lot of it.

Rock 'n' Roll!!

2008-06-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is my dad playing the drums in his band. I think he said he was in junior high at the time. I have this on the wall in my office, and being that it makes me smile whenever it catches my eye... I thought I'd share it with all of you! I hope you don't mind, Dad!

Sara

2008-06-06T14:16:00.001-07:00

How 'bout those gas prices?

2008-06-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

We spent $120 in one day on gas. And that was with a $75 cutoff at the pump for the truck. That's the day we decided that, YES, scooters will be a good investment. We both have the ability to ride side-streets to work and, even doing so, are only 10-15 minutes away. Everything we could ever possibly need is within five miles of our house. Okay, so not everything. But for those few occasions that we need to venture out of our vicinity or haul more than that which will fit into a helmet-sized under-seat compartment... well this makes it easier to justify driving one of those gas-guzzling atrocities we call automobiles. Not-to-mention temporarily satisfying our belief that it is essential that we, as humans, need to find a way to relinquish our dependency on not only foreign fuel, but ALL carbon-emitting and unsustainable forms of energy.

Soap box adjourned.

We both decided that it would make more sense for us to stick with the 50cc versions, as we will never have the need to drive on the freeway, nor will I allow it! This way we also are not required to have a motorcycle license, although it may be beneficial to take a course, just for safety. They only go up to a max of 35mph, 40 if you push it. Which is fine with me, since it sometimes makes me uneasy when I creep up to 30. That will probably change when I get more used to riding it, but for now, I'm fine. There is a restrictor cable that can be cut, which will apparently gain us another 10mph. Dustin is itching to cut his, but I'm just fine for now.

One of the reasons we decided it would be a good investment is that when you look for used scooters, they don't seem to lose value. We could probably turn around and sell them later for only a couple-hundred dollars less than we paid to buy them new. Of course, this is in addition to the fact that Dustin filled his up this morning and literally paid $5. Granted, that's only 1.5 gallons or so. But that will also get him a weeks-worth of driving to and from work. Put that in your pipe and smoke it! Or rather, put that in the bank!!

So I know you're all wishing for photos of the two of us ON the scooters, but we don't have any yet. We're terrible at taking pictures. So to tide you over until we zoom in your direction, here are generic photos from the Yamaha website.

I got the Yamaha Vino, in blue. And he got the Yamaha Zuma, in black with red flames.

Congrats Dave & Trish!!

2008-05-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

I'm late on a big congratulations to our friends, Dave & Trish, who gave birth to their first baby on Friday. Baby Blake is so super cute and was lucky enough to inherit Trish's dimples! Awww!

Unfortunately I do not have a photo to share, but I can assure you, he is a cutie pie!

Great job combining genes, guys!

Bike Friday

2008-05-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

So my boss decided to make Fridays "Ride Your Bike to Work Day."

There are usually only 2.5 of us in the office on Fridays. Me, another guy, and my boss is in and out. We all live pretty close to the office, and since gas is up to almost $4 and we all at least try to be environmentally savvy… we decided it would be a good idea.

I have ridden my bike to work before… once. It wasn’t too bad. But I was hesitant this time because the bridge that I take to and from work every morning is close. It’s actually completely gone. They are rebuilding it, just like every single other bridge in the state. Even the little bridge at the entrance to REI in Bloomington is closed. My boss said someone came to inspect it and found a crack, so they’re making REI rebuild it. No joke. I think we can all agree that’s a bit of overkill.

In any case, I knew I would get a lot of crap for it if I didn’t participate. After all, I do live the closest of all my coworkers at only three miles give or take. Even with the detour, I’m closer to the office than anyone else by at least five miles. So as reluctant as I was, this morning I laid in bed weighing the pros and cons. Mostly the cons, but I still decided to do it. Even though it meant getting up and leaving a little earlier. That, in itself, is a miracle to behold.

It was challenging to get out of bed. But the other challenge is that Friday is mandatory Caribou (coffee) day for me. Any other day is negotiable and I am often able to talk myself out of stopping. And by "often," I mean, "not very often." But Friday is officially Caribou day. That’s my treat for making it through the week. With my detour, I have to go right past my regular store anyway, so I decided to take a travel mug and carry it in my bike’s bottle holder.

Well, the mug didn't fit. I'm not sure why I still decided to get coffee. I suppose because I'm stubborn. I should have just tossed the mug in the garage and went straight to work. But no, I thought I could handle it. I'm lame like that. The ride from our house up to 66th and over to Lyndale went relatively smoothly, so I thought this would be no problem. I thought, I'll see if Caribou has a skinnier mug. But for some reason I still brought ours with me. I don't know - it's too early for this crap. Anyway, they didn't. So I still got coffee because I didn't want to look stupid. They do know me there. Also because I'm stubborn. I think I mentioned that. But I got my coffee - in the mug that's too big.

Oh yeah, it's hard to ride a bike while holding a travel mug in one hand (which leaked) and a purse over your other shoulder. And - Lyndale has HORRIBLE sidewalks. I was very frustrated, but I felt bad for this little old lady trying to pull one of those little wheely-carts. The cracks and gouges are like three inches tall! Anyway, so I decided to get off Lyndale and ride on the side streets instead. Much better. Still had spilled coffee on my handlebars, but at least it wasn't a fountain anymore. So I'm riding, making pretty decent time again... and I hit railroad tracks. It's one of those things where the roads end on both sides and the tracks are up on a mound of grass with weeds and ditches on both sides. Seriously? So I had to ride on this skinny little dirt path on the side of the tracks, next to peoples' crappy garages and stuff. I hoped that maybe Dustin would try to call me this morning in case I was abducted and didn't make it to work. But then there was a break in the garages and I was able to jump into an open lot. I saw a guy who must have been walking to work. He was carrying a travel mug. He looked at me and smiled as if to say "That's why I don't ride my bike, moron." By that time there was a road that crossed the tracks and I was home free.

Then I hit Nicollet and had to wait for the light. I was watching one way and there were no cars coming, so I started to go. But then I realized there was a hoard of traffic coming from the other way, so I stopped and backed up. There was a woman (walking) crossing at the same place. I looked at her and let out a little awkward laugh. I guess I wasn't at preschool the day they taught us to look both directions before crossing. She wasn't amused. Maybe it was too early for her this morning too.

Okay, so I crossed 76th and crossed Nicollet, and continued on my way. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, since it was only a couple more blocks to my office. I was truly expecting to pull into the parking lot and find everyone's cars... but nope! No cars! And now I realize that I have to ride my bike back home at the end of the day. I suppose that will be another adventure.

Really? A year??

2008-04-08T10:51:00.001-07:00

In an attempt to NOT be the worst blogger in the history of bloggers, here's an update...

So it's been not quite a year since I've left any type of message at all. Sorry about that. Not sure there is anyone still checking this, but if you are - thanks. You rock. If not, just consider this the same noise a tree makes when the forest is empty.

Well, there is really not a lot to update. There have been no real changes in our lives as of late. The most impressive occassion, I suppose, would be that we have been in the midst of re-tiling our shower. During the past (insert embarrassingly-long measurement of time here) we have had some grout and plaster issues in our main bath tub surround. Meaning, the grout has been developing holes and the plaster has gone from a small hairline crack, to something that resembles an earthquake and small amounts of sand occassionally sifting onto our heads during showers. Not pleasant. So, after many procrastinations, we have finally begun to tackle this much-needed project. Two weekends ago we popped off the tile, tore down the plaster and drywall boards behind (drywall was new when our house was built and they didn't quite "get it" yet), and replaced the plastic vapor barrier.

Lets start with the tile. The tile was surprisingly easy to take off the walls. This may have something to do with the fact the they had almost no glue on them, or that the walls themselves were crumbling off. In any case, many of them came off relatively clean. Why, you may ask, are we taking the time and energy to pop off the tile, rather than just crushing them in demolition? Well, we have a tile wainscot around the entire bathroom, which we are not looking to replace. So we needed to salvage as many as possible in order to at leaast try to use them to tie in the the new tile. This went pretty well. And Dustin has been working hard to scrape the glue and remaining plaster from the backs of the tile, to prep them for reinstallation.

Next came the plaster. Normally - and we remember quite well from our last demolition project - plaster is not an easy thing to demolish. Especially when it has 18" strips of drywall behind them. Essentially, a full inch of reinforced concrete on the face of the wall. But the rest of the house did not have plaster that was completely saturated with water. This time it was as easy (and disgusting) as poking a hole in the wall, forcing a hand through, and pulling off large quanities of mildew-soaked mush. Gross. And smelly. But it was eventually all removed, and the window was left open for an entire weekend. Luckily we had great weather!

The plastic, which is typically transluscent, was black. We removed it and, after spraying the blackened studs with bleach, replaced it with new plastic. The insulation was actually in very good condition, so we didn't even touch it.

This was a productive Saturday, and the next day, we (and by "we" I mean mostly Dustin) installed a layer of 1/4" waterproof underlayment, then 1/2" of cement board. We had to build up the walls so that they would flush out with the existing plaster that remained.

For the past two weeks, we have been showering with plastic over the newly-prepped walls (this is our only shower at this time). We have also been trying to figure out our options for retiling. When we began, we had in our minds a plan to use some cheap (14cents a piece) tile that we found at Home Depot, but now that we have removed some of the existing tile, we've realized that the sizes don't match exactly and using them directly next to each other will not work. So we've come up with a new and much more elaborate plan that involves a chair rail accent band that will continue around the rest of the bathroom, as well as across the shower. Then using all new tile above the accent band, and another smaller accent at the top of the tub. (I've attached my computer rendering of this design, unfortunately I don't have a "before" photo at the moment. Maybe my next update I'll have a before & after.) Last night we ordered the accent pieces and found the chair rail pieces. Of course they were not from the same store.

This week Dustin will have a few days off, so we are going to get everything ready so that he can use his time wisely. We are hoping that he/we can at least get most of the tile up by next Wednesday. The accent tile will take ten days, so we'll just have to leave a space for it, I suppose. But I am very excited to have this all done. I want to clean my house without having a layer of dust settle two minutes later.

So that's where we are at the moment. Just a few other highlights about recent events:

We went to Belize this February, which was amazing. Maybe at some point I will actually post some photos and a bit of a recap. I've been meaning to, but you know how it goes.

My friend, Anne, has had a baby girl, Lillian Rae Wiltscheck, this past Saturday. She is amazing. Mother and baby are doing well. They are both cute, as is the new daddy.

Hey look! She updated her blog!!

2007-05-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it won't be too much of an update, as I'm a little short on time. But I thought since I haven't updated in... um... how long has it been?... that I should just put a little something down.

Basically, I'm getting busy with summer stuff again, because the frost has broken from our dear Minnesota soil and I've come alive again. Ahh, the glories of a sunny day!! Flip-flops are dusted off, bicycle tires are refilled, and the grass seems more green than has ever been possible before! It's fantastic!!

I'll start with the note that this past few months have been terribly busy at work - and by terrible, I mean that I am ever-greatful that I have a job that I love, and my company has a reputation that provides much sustaining business. That said, it almost killed me. And it's not over. But I can handle it. It's a little easier now that the sun is out longer. The part that nearly killed me was that we decided not to go on a vacation to a tropical climate this winter. Never again. That's all I have to say about that.

Now it's Spring and lovely! The spring kickball season has begun and "Jerry's Kidz" still reign undefeated. Okay, there have been two games and the last team was tough. But we're still fighting! Go team!

Also on the adgenda is a major curb appeal project, to be done in completion by no later than June 1st. To consist of: even out grade with topsoil fill, arrange patio stones, lay new sod, "beef up" porch posts, paint mailbox, fix porch light, new storm door, new house numbers, potted plants, landscape lights... and whatever else we can squeeze in by then, in addition to cleaning out the garage. It will be a feat, but it WILL be done. By. June. First.

June 2nd we are hosting an anniversary party for my parents. This will be 15 years for them, and my sister and I decided to throw them a party. They will renew their vows, we'll play yard games and have a picnic, then have a rowdy karaoke party! It will be great!

This August will also be 5 years for Dustin and me. We planned to go back to our honeymoon spot - Bluefin Bay on the North Shore, but it's a great place, people love it, and they will apparently now pay rediculous prices to stay there. But not us. It's sad, as that was (barely) the only thing that was getting me through this winter without a vacation. So we'll see. Maybe we can cook something else up...

So that's me right now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather!!

Into the Fall

2006-10-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we are moving out of Summer, and into Fall. Rather quickly, I might add. I dare say we might skip right over it and head for Winter already. Sure, I'd love to add another few months onto the Purgatory we call "Winter in Minnesota"...

In all it's inevitability, we spent the last weekend Winterizing the yard. We ended up with a whopping 22 bags of leaves, and that is not counting the piles I used to insulate my potted plants. I set them all next to the foundation of the garage, on the sheltered side of the house, then covered them and packed them with leaves. Then wrapped the pile with netting to keep the leaves from blowing away before it snows. I'm sure it's not a pretty view for the neighbors on that side, but lets just not get into the condition of their landscaping. In any case, it's all done. Well, Dustin is going to do the last mow and fertilize this week. Then we will be done until Spring. As much as I hate Winter, it is nice to get off the hook when it comes to yard work.

We also spent the weekend before this one FINALLY shoveling up the rock in the front of the house. We decided to bring it all to the side of the house and level it off. We plan to eventually build an outdoor run for the dogs, so it will be a good base. That's a project for next year though. Okay, maybe the next year. Anyway, the rock is gone, with the exception of what was hopelessly mixed in with the dirt. We'll sod over it anyway, though. So it should be okay. We bought the pavers to build our patio next year, so early next Spring our front yard should actually be presentable! I can hardly wait!! I'm tired of looking at our plain, bland, dirty house. At least this way it will just be plain and dirty. *Sigh*

We have decided that the weather has just gotten too cold to run outside at all. Of course, we may have a few nicer days that we can sneak outside. But for now, we just can't do it. We have discussed buying a treadmill, but in additionto having no idea what we are buying, we don't have the money. So we are going to check out our community center gym. Well, it's actually the Bloomington high school gym, but it sounds nice. And they have an indoor track. So we're hoping to do that tonight for the first time and check it out! For $2, it's worth a try!!

In other news: We've had an unfortunate event. The company where Dustin has worked for the past seven years has had to downsize, which has put him out of a job. The housing market is just not in a place right now that supports building more new homes. Last week was his first week "off" and we will now decide what our options are. Fortunately, he is a prized employee and good at just about anything he puts his mind to, so we are not worried about him finding work. We're just hopeful that it turns out to be something that he can enjoy. Although it is not an ideal position to be in, we are both staying positive because we know that things always work out the way they should.

Remodeling has also been rather slow this year, but even after a very slow Spring, my company has gotten busier again. There will also be some changes as a salesman that has been here for 18 years will be leaving. Not sure what that means for me, but we'll see.

So that's my update for now. I'll try to stay in touch!!

Wow, tough crowd.

2006-09-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Apparently I have not been timely enough with my updates. Well, here's one for the vultures swarming to find out about my most recent doings...

Not much going on here. Really, we've been busy like crazy, but nothing that amounts to much. So I suppose that should be a life-lesson for us? Maybe. But if you must know what I've been up to:

We switched back to running after work, as the mornings have gotten too dark. It's just not safe, and plus, now it's getting colder. We've been running different routes in order to keep it interested, which has helped, but it also means we run the risk of discovering hills and other obstacles. But it's fun! We are now starting to consider purchasing a used treadmill for me to use in the winter months, once we can absolutely not run outside. I'm not looking forward to running on a treadmill, or doing it alone (Dustin will then run at the gym), but I'll just have to suck it up, I guess.

The fall season of kickball began two weeks ago. We've had some changes in the roster, which have worked out to be a lot of fun! Last week we decided to take advantage of the two free pitchers from two nearby bars. One of them had karaoke and we ended up picking up a sponsor! Actually, two sponsors. One sponsor is something having to do with trucking and oil tank removal or something-or-other. I should really know what it is, but it's so random. Maybe I'll post it later. Anyway, the second sponsor is Jerry Beth's Karaoke. Jerry is the host of a fun karaoke show at "The Moose" on Tuesday nights, and other shows throughout the week, including Saturday nights at the Park Tavern, which my friends and I have attended on more than a few occassions. He's a great host, and also our new team namesake. We have changed our name from "Biggest Balls Of Them All," to "Jerry's Kids." We have a bye this week, but last week we tied and the week before we won out of forfeit.

On the home front, I'm antsie. I'm assuming it is the colder weather and shorter days, but I'm just feeling as though I absolutely did not accomplish enough this summer. But what do you know? I didn't! Many of the landscaping projects that we planned to finish are still in limbo. A combination of time and money. Mostly time. We still have not removed all of the rock from the front yard, simply because we don't know where to take it! Yard waste dumps will not take it. Landfills will not take it. Landscaping places will not take it. We even called the driving range that we go to, because we noticed that they were filling in some of the gravel in their parking lot with the same river rock that we have to get rid of. "It's free" we said, "We will take it, drop it off, even spread it out for you!!" "Why would I want that?" was his response. Fine. Dustin has a coworker that will take it for his gravel driveway, but he lives an hour away, and we have at least three more truckloads. If worst comes to worst, we'll do that, but it's a real pain. We've even considered dumping it at night at one of the many road construction areas near our house... but that's probably just wrong... right? I mean, they have PILES of rock, just hanging out. We've be giving a charitable donation! In anycase, we've decided to wait on the sod for this year. We're going to take out the rock (at some point) and level the ground, then let it settle over the winter. Then we'll fill in again, if needed. But we are planning to get the supplies for the small front patio this fall while it's on sale, that way we can get it done right away in the spring. Right?

The cake topper thing hasn't quite taken off yet, partially of my own doing. Basically, in addition to my working on cake tops, the plan was for Dustin to do some side work at home at the same time. But it's possible that his contact in charge of giving him the work may have been laid off. Lots of company drama at that place right now, I guess, so it's wait & see at this point. Anyway, if he does not end up doing any side work, I have my doubts as to whether it is a good idea for me to get back into the cake topper business. Last time I had to quit because I just got too busy and couldn't spend any time with Dustin. So it's kind of wait & see on that too. Yes, I can refuse orders, but I'm still deciding what my limits are at this point.

And there ya go. That's it. Nothing exiting at all. But you asked. See you next month!! Ha!

Life as I know it:

2006-08-18T11:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update!

Yesterday was our four-year anniversary! Wow, I can't believe it has been four years already. It seems like just a year or so ago. But on the other hand, I look at the places we've been since our wedding and it seems impossible that we could have fit it all in four years. We've built a house in Rogers, lived there for two & a half years, I've been to Europe for the first time, we've both been to Mexico twice and driven across the country, built another house in Crystal that we didn't buy, lived in an apartment in Minnetonka, bought and remodeled a house in Richfield, and have been through a whole array of emotional growth. Wow.

I have also decided to get back into making clay figurines (cake toppers, holiday ornaments, etc.) for an extra financial boost. In doing so, I have started a new website. It's not much right now, but I'm working on building it up more. If you want to check it out, it is www.YouInClay.com.

On the kickball front, we have been invited back to the playoffs! One of the teams dropped out, so the league looked for a team who did well all year, but left playoffs early... that's us! So we will be playing one or two games this coming Monday, and possibly one or two more the week after! Woo hoo! Go Balls!

So that's about it. Nothing too crazy or exciting, but just a little update about what's going on with me recently. Thanks for reading!

The Season Closes

2006-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Playoffs for kickball started last night. We lost. It was a very close game, and a valliant effort... but we lost, a dissappointing end to a strong season. The final score was 2-3, with two extra innings. It really was a great game. Very tense. We may have a "for fun" game next week, but the jury is still out as to how many people want to play. The fall season should start in a few weeks and it sounds like we might have a change in the line-up, as some people from last fall want to come back. We'll see though - that's not an official declaration.

That's hot.

2006-08-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last Monday's kickball game was rained out, so we will play this coming Sunday to make up for it. Yesterday, however, we played in the sweltering heat. The heat index was 110 yesterday, and humid. But it was fun, and we won! Ten-runned them, to be exact!!

It did rain early this morning, though, and is much cooler today. We had a run of almost a week of weather in the high 90s - a few days were over 100. It's still gloomy outside, although still hot & humid. It's supposed to rain through tomorrow, which we really need. Anyway, hopefully Sunday won't be quite as hot!

Ode to Anne & Becky

2006-07-26T14:21:00.000-07:00

While having dinner with a couple of friends last night, my friend Anne gave me a spork that she had saved for me from lunch. That's just silly... but thanks for the thought! You rock!

Also, the dinner was in honor of another friend who is moving away from us, to Wyoming. We have said our goodbyes and at this moment she is somewhere between Minneapolis and her new home in the Black Hills. We will miss you Becca! And in case you have not heard this before... "If you don't like it, you can always move back." Love you, babe. Best of luck!

Again...

2006-07-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

WE WON!!

It was close for a while there, but we took the game with a final score of 12-8. We are now 3-0. It was hot, but we hope the homeless guy that lives in the trees behind our dugout appreciates the beer we left under his blanket. Sleep tight, little buddy.

Until next time... GO BALLS!

So far!

2006-07-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

We won our kickball game last night 6-3. It was almost a shutout, but the other team had a huge kick over our outfielders' heads and scored three runs on that one kick. But we'll take the win anyway!

Perfect season so far!

Attempting to post some pictures...

2006-06-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

So this is the front of the house. This picture was taken at the beginning of last summer. At this time we have taken out all of the shrubs from the front of the house and have cut off the lower branches of the tree to the right.

This is the back of the house. This was also taken at the beginning of last summer. Throughout the summer, the vines that you see growing up the downspout on the left, grew up to the second floor and across the ground next to the house, including inside the siding and around the inside of the door and window frames. And thick. We were able to remove it, but there are still sprouts that try to make a comeback every once in a while. All of the other weeds/plants from that area are gone now, and the area is waiting to be sodded. On the other side of the door is the air conditioner unit (behind the bush), which we worked on yesterday. The "problem area" is on the other side of the driveway by the garage, but you can't see it because there is a construction dumpster in the way. Oh, and we've also removed the light post in the middle of the yard. It was gass-feuled and didn't work. It was also ugly and rusted.

And while I'm at it, these are our puppies. Sara is on the left, Alice on the right.

How the Earth Recycles Itself:

2006-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

It all starts with dirt. A plant grows there. The plant gets big, and turns into a tree. The tree's leaves fall off, onto the dirt. The leaves sit there for years and years, docomposing. Eventually, the leaves decompose to the point that they do not look like leaves anymore. They are, in fact, dirt again. This dirt does not go away. It just piles up.

This is literally what happened in our yard. At the side of our driveway there is a retaining wall, next to which is a gigantic oak tree. The tree loses fifteen-thousand-bajillion leaves per day in the fall. A large percentage of these leaves get trapped next to the retaining wall, which also happens to be a plant bed. Our very first landscaping project this fall was to clear out the eight tons of rotting leaves from this bed in order to finally free the plants that were suffocating below them. First layer was dry leaves. Second layer, wet leaves. The third layer was a thicker paste of wet, matted leaves. The fourth layer was a smelly, rotted, black mush. Then the fifth layer: dirt. A huge mound of dirt. We have recently taken three wheel-barrels full of dirt away from this area, which only just barely uncovered the two feet of driveway where the dirt spilled over onto the concrete. The dirt is still probably another six inches above the level it should be in the actual bed. This is the "problem area" I noted in my last post.

Last night we did a little more work outside. We dug a few wheel-barrel loads of dirt out from around the air conditioner unit and leveled the area, prepping it to bring some of the front rock to the back. After this work was done, we grilled some hot dogs and discussed the "problem area."

We've decided to dig out the salvagable plants (there are some spectacular hostas growing there, presumably because they have been fertilized so well over the past twenty years of leaves - there are also a few tulips). We'll use the existing soil and a little fertilzer to put them in outdoor pots. We will remove the remaining soil to a few inches below the level of the driveway, then cover the area with rock fromt the front yard and put the new pots on top of the rock bed.

We're still not sure what to do about the area above the retaining wall, but I think we are going to try sodding the area. It may do okay, but we're worried that it won't get enough water, as the sprinkler system is not set up for coverage over there. We'll see, I guess. It will only be a couple of pieces of sod, so not too much wasted if it doesn't work. Another idea would be to plant some shrubs there for privacy (and to cover up the nieghbor's ugly fence), but then there is still the question of what to do for ground cover. Most important to me is that it not have the opportunity to get severely overgrown like it did before I pulled everything out.

So those are my thoughts for today. I'll try to get pictures of this stuff up at some point, but it takes some effort as my computer won't allow me to add pics when I post. I'll figure it out though.

So, what's new with me?

2006-06-26T12:33:00.000-07:00

The new season of kickball starts today, and we are in the midst of a running experiment. We have been running in the mornings before work, three times a week. Yep, up at 4:45am. It's painful when the alarm goes off, but once I'm out of bed, I'm okay. But just so people don't think that all I do is run and play kickball, I'll divulge a bit more today.

So most people know that we spent every second of last summer remodeling our house. The inside of the house is - for the most part - done at this point, but the exterior is another story.

The siding is probably 30 years old, which is fine. But it has probably been just as long since it's been cleaned. It's also a very 70s blue. We'd like at some point to have it painted a medium grey-green, and possibly add some more decorative elements & wider window trim. In the meantime, however, we will settle for a good cleaning. This, we hope to accomplish by mid-summer. We're hoping it's not stained at this point.

In addition, we will try our hand at fine woodwork. Okay, so more like a relatively simple project that invovles building out the columns at the front porch. At this time they are 4x4 wood posts, which practically dissappear. We plan to build them out to a size closer to 8x8, with wide trim bands at the top & bottom.

We have also been trying to tame this jungle we call landscaping. The trees & shrubs have quite possibly not been pruned for decades, and the sidewalks, driveway, and rock gardens leave just as much to be desired. Oh, but wouldn't we love to impliment an entirely new beautiful plan? Well, in due time. At this point, however, we can only afford to remove. So that's what we've been doing. We started a few weeks ago with severely pruning back a lilac tree, pruning a few low branches from a couple of larger trees, mowing down every last shrub in the front yard, and hacking down a rather annoying tree that was growing out from the foundation of the house, and in front of our south living room window. Dustin also managed to pull up about 20ft of black plastic edging that had been, over the years, buried about 6 inches below the top of the soil. This past week we used an edge-cutter along the driveway and gained about a foot on either side. Used the extra dirt & grass to fill in a mysterious gaping hole in the back yard, and used the good pieces of recovered grass to patch over the top of the dirt. This weekend we did the same thing along the front walk, and filled in some more holes in the front yard with dirt shoveled from an overflowing bed next to the driveway. We also raked up a good portion of the matted, dead grass from the front yard and seeded the bare spots. Next we plan to clear out all of the rock, plastic, and stumps from the front yard. Then replace it with new sod up to the foundation. We will also sod the side yard, which used to consist of weeds and the annoying tree. We will sod a small area along the back of the foundation as well. We will dig out the excess dirt and growth from around the air conditioner in the back yard and transplant some of the rock from the front yard to that area. We still have a problem area along the side of the driveway to deal with, which we have not decided on yet. It is a steep drop, with a retaining wall and gets very little water or sun. It's bare dirt at this point, which is wearing on my non-gardening nerves. I've managed to get all of the really thick weeds out of there, but the small, everyday weeds still persist. My landscaping motto is "No exposed soil."

So once we get this next sodding project taken care of, I will probably buy a few large potted evergreen shrubs to put at the front and back doors. But then, that's it for at least a few years. I know those gardening types are feeling a slight pain in their hearts as I talk about removing everything and sodding up to the foundation. But such is the life of a non-gardener. And such is my budget.

As for the indoors, there are still a few small areas in need of work. There's the "other" spare room, which has yet to be painted or cleared of the construction debris from last summer. Hey, the very definition of "spare" is that which you do not need. We'll get to it when we are good and ready.

There's also the office, which has decidedly become the landing place for anything and everything that we do not immediately need - and Dustin's poker room. We have aquired a free sleeper-sofa for this room, however, which is great... but has been added to the list of projects - recover sofa.

Along with these projects are: hang light fixture in main bath, glue peeling wallpaper in bathroom, new paint in half-bath, sew curtains for living room, locate/frame/hang pictures throughout house, finish sewing pillow covers for living room throw pillows, finish tapestry for master bedroom, hang shelves in bedroom, clean garage, organize sewing supplies, and a huge list of other small projects. All which we would, of course, like to finish this summer.

Getting these things done should be highly possible, considering that we are out of town or busy for every weekend but one, into September. We'll have plenty of spare time.

So if you're wondering if I ever do anything but run and play children's playground games...

End of the Spring season.

2006-06-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

So we played our final plyoff game last night. It was a villiant effort, but in the end we lost 9-5. We had a great team this season, and we are going to try to get into the summer league, which starts in two weeks. Go Balls!

We won!

2006-06-07T10:13:00.000-07:00

We won our kickball game yesterday, 7-4. So we will be playing one more playoff game next week. If we win that game, we will play for the championship! Woo!

Kickball!

2006-05-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

We won our last regular season game last night (14-3)!! Next week we will be in the winners portion of the playoffs - we were 3 & 3 this season. I'm not really sure what happens if we win or lose. We may play another game, maybe not. But it will be fun! And hopefully we will be able to hold our own, as we have most of the season. So, wish us luck!

Oh, and if you're wondering: Dustin's ankle is feeling better from last week, but is still a little swollen & bruised. He has also somehow pulled a muscle in his thigh that will not let up. The man is prone to accidents, I guess. But I love the clutz.

The saga continues...

2006-05-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Well, after finally getting back into the running routine, Dustin has hurt his ankle. It happened at Kickball on Tuesday. He somehow rolled it and turned around at the same time and has had a puffy, sore ankle ever since. He's been taking Aleve and icing (but not as much as I tell him to) for the past couple of days. Apparently the pain has subsided almost completely, but you wouldn't think so from the amount of swelling that still shows. He's been doing low-impact exercises at the gym, no running at all. Mostly biking. I'm hoping to be back pounding the pavement tomorrow, but it may be doubtful. He says he will be fine to start running again tomorrow, but I may have to veto the motion if I think it looks too swollen. Yeah, I have that power.

So wish us luck that the next time we run, the road doesn't open up and swallow us both. The odds are starting to point in that direction, but we're determined.

Oh, and to answer the question of "Why can't you run by yourself while Dustin is hurt?" I reply "Shheeyah, right." It wouldn't work. When we run, we actually use an IV to transfuse motivation from his blood to mine. I'm determined, but not that determined.

Running update...

2006-05-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

So I took about a week off. I also bought a couple of knee braces. I tried on the knee braces, but they were horribly uncomfortable and ended up hurting my knees more than not having them. But I was determined to get back into it. So we ran yesterday. It went well. I didn't wear the braces, but my knees didn't hurt too badly, and I seemed to have my stride back a little. By the end of the run my knees felt sort of swollen, but didn't look like it. When we got home I took Aleve and iced them. By the end of the night they felt normal again. So we'll see how it goes tonight. I'm hoping the Aleve and icing after every run (at least for a while) will do the trick. Anyway, that's my little update. Nothing too exciting, I know. But it's nice to know I am not down for the count. At least not yet.

Run Florist, Run!

2006-05-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone seen the movie Mafia? The title makes more sense if you have. :)

For most of my life, I was a dancer. Fifteen years, to be exact. It has always been a passion of mine, however, since high school I haven't done much more dancing than a somewhat monthly Saturday night bar romp with the girls. Fun, but not the same.

In high school I was fit. Very fit, and didn't even realize it. I took it completely for granted and didn't even consider the fact that some day my six pack abs would turn into a half-dozen rolls. But here I am, almost ten years later and not a single chisled muscle in sight. For the first five years, there was not much change. Didn't gain anything, and my clothes always fit. Although, at some point they started fitting just a little differently. Things were no longer in the same place as they were before. Then, a few years ago, the clothes started getting a little tighter - but I refused to buy a bigger size. No way. I'll get rid of it - but not today. Maybe next week. It's not that bad. The jeans still fit, it's just my thighs that can't breathe.

I had also heard that most women after a certain point in life will gain five pounds a year, if not kept in check. Not me. I have a mean metabolism, and a very good case of denial. Well, three years, fifteen pounds, and two sizes later... I've flown past anger and am finally in the stage of acceptance. I have gained wieght, and it's all my fault. Don't get me wrong, I have actually come to like the softer edges of my scrawny bones, and there are some unmentionable perks to gaining a little more padding. However, my midsection has gotten decidedly rounder, and my upper arms are looking much more deflated than they were just a decade ago.

This will no longer stand. The time has come for a change. But what to do? I have tousled with the idea of joining a gym, but that's something that can hurt financially if you don't use it productively. Plus, what are all of these crazy metal machines? It's pretty scarey! I could take some dance classes, but I'm not up for a slow-motion rendition of "tappa tappa tappa." I tried a Daisy Fuentez Salsa Dancing Workout Tape at one point, but I barely broke a sweat, and was bored after a week. Sorry Daisy.

Then there's running. Brother, not a chance. I've never been a runner. In elementary school, when everyone had to run the mile, I walked. Didn't even try. Hey, I'm admittedly an underachiever - but this had nothing to do with lack of motivation. I simply looked like a moron. Ask me to leap, pirouette, and pliea - I'll dance 'til the cows come home (and pretty well to boot) - but running is something I've never been able to find the coordination for. Think of the episode of Friends, when Phoebe runs in Central Park - that's me.

However, my loving and all-too-convincing husband has somehow made me see the light at the end of the mile. "Running just takes practice - It's strange for anyone when they first start - Give it a try." Okay, but only if you'll be my coach.

So now he's my running coach. We run together through our neighborhood three times a week, or at least we try. And he can make me run, even on days that I don't feel like it. He has that power. How did that happen? Oh yeah, I gave it to him. But really, he's been great. And we really enjoy our new hobby. He's been running for a couple of years, but it's new for both of us to run together and outside. Is it crazy to say I'm actually having fun with this?

Well, I was having fun until this week. Only a month into it and my knees went kaput. Something has to give, right? Yeah, it was my knees. A few days ago the run was bad. I was tired, possibly dehydrated, and just in a poo-poo mood. And my knees started hurting. We finished the run, but it was not fun. I'm usually not one to back down from a little pain, but this was no bee sting.

So I rested for a day, and we went again yesterday. Well, there they go again. This time I couldn't finish. We just had to walk home. I am going to try icing and taking Aleve to get rid of any inflammation, and try it again next week. I'm hoping it's nothing too serious. I'm really getting into this. And it's bumming me out to think that I may have to come up with another plan.

Not to end on a bummer. I mean, at least now I know how good it can feel to be active again. These days I am feeling more like my age than I have in a long time. Hey - I'm young! I should stay that way for a while! I just hope this is a passing pain and I'll be up and running again next week - literally!

My First Post

2006-04-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Soo... this is what it's like to have your own blog, huh? Interesting. I'm still working out the kinks, and I'm actually not very good with follow-through on these types of experiments, so who knows if this will go anywhere. But at least I've made it this far, right? Stay tuned for the next episode.

Oh, and if you're wondering "Why SporksParty?" Well, why not? Sporks are cool, why wouldn't you want to party with them?