SporksParty

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!