thankful - something i was taught (aka - pa's pearls of wisdom)

i often find myself repeating the words of my dad. i've hounded him that he should write a book. his letters are full of beautiful writing tailored perfectly to the recipient. i've watched him type on a keyboard, it's no small miracle how he can create these lovely stories and still manage to peck at the keys. good 'ole sausage fingers. it's impressive. he often throws out nuggets of wisdom that, depending on my mood, i gladly receive or else file away as wordy dad language and forget about. one nugget that stuck out and i repeat often is the simple phrase - keep going until you gotta make decision. when i've called him for job advice, i hear to just keep going until i have to commit.

i'm a stresser. i'm a worrier. i'm a worst-case-scenario kind of gal. so when a major life decision pops up before me ... when there's a hurdle i have to work my way around ... i think through every possible turn and twist. then i call my dad.

don't think until you have to make a decision. just keep moving forward until someone requires you to give a deciding vote. then think and stress and worry away.

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - something i was taught.

thankful - a memory (aka - the day my brother said no)

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i'm still trying to decide why this particular memory is one of my favorites. if anything, it should be one of my more despised moments - those "i-wish-you-never-happened" but, so it goes. i can't remember the exact day or even the exact year. i'm not sure what we were doing or why but i remember the precise moment my brother first said "no" to me. to those who are not an oldest sibling, these feelings may not resonate. to all my fellow first-borns, you'll understand. as the oldest (my brother is four years younger) we get a wee bit a head start on life. we've been down those roads we watch our younger siblings now travel. we've danced that dance. sung that song. and because of that ... we have, what some would say, a bit of an upper hand when it comes to our younger siblings.

i could make my brother do anything. truthfully, i could make most people do anything but i had a special way with roy. i was bigger. i was wiser. i knew best. and when i wanted something; he got it. minus the usual sibling tiffs, we had (and still have) a great relationship. there were elaborate and imaginative games almost every day. the couch cushions were never safe and rarely stayed on the couch. we were inside, we were outside, we were in forts, we were under chairs, we were flying, we were sailing, we were busy. oddly, those games were usually the brainchild of me but roy, being a dear, played along.

then one afternoon we were laying about the living room ... possibly watching tv ... possibly just laying there. i turned to my brother and lazily said, "roy, go get me a glass a water." with nary a word, he got up and walked to the kitchen. the cupboard opened and glasses clinked. the faucet turned on. water was running. i could hear water splashing the insides of the glass. then ... silence. i heard the glass clink down onto the counter and roy's footsteps grow louder. he walked back to the living room, looked straight in my eyes and said ... "no."

and that, that was the day i knew my rule as leader of the household was over. my dear younger brother had "manned up" and said no to his big, evil sister.

i'm sure at the time i was more than upset. i'm sure i stomped a bit and thrashed about and whined. now though, the story of roy and the NO has become a fond memory and oddly enough, one i tell often. i'm grateful for the story. i'm grateful for my baby brother and the wonderful relationship we have .. even if i've had to learn how to get my own water from the kitchen ...

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a memory.

thankful - a photo (aka - the day my face exploded)

this … this may be … the greatest photo of all time. each time i see this wonderfully terrifying pic, i think all that’s holy that i didn’t click that little ‘delete’ button when it first popped on my screen. the joy that this photo has brought over the past five years is unmeasurable. the tears of laughter that have rolled down many ‘a faces, priceless. the jokes, the gibes ...

okay, a little history. it’s the summer of 2010. i’ve just spent four months in praha … eating fantastic tomatoes sandwiches and drinking crazy-cheap and crazy-delicious dark beer to the point that those 15 extra pounds i took home with me were totally worth it. the family’s up in canada on our yearly trip. we’re fishing. my mom, being my mom, packed her always present box of cheez-its. me, being me, got tired of fishing and decided a wee snack was a wish choice. roy, being roy, caught a fish. dad, being a good little papa, took a pic. as the shutter snapped, i heard him say “this, this will be the next family christmas card.” we all went on our merry way.

fast forward a few weeks. i’m at home downloading the photos. this pops up. i squint. what the? Who the hell is that? what? wait? me? that’s me? there’s a gasp of what?? shock? horror? pity? my finger dives for the delete key. pause. it hovers. wait … this …. this photo is too horrendous. too terrifying … too … too … perfect to delete.

i called my mom over. she looks at the photo. looks at me. and laughs. tears rolling down her face for, quiet possibly, the next 20 minutes. my dad walks in and peers at the computer screen. who’s that? He asks. ha! your daughter, dad! from your own flesh and blood! you spawned that beastly creature at the bow of the boat!

she’s been dubbed the “ugly step-sister that lives in the attic” that my folks only let out for special occasions. there’s no way she’s me. that’s no physically possible for someone to look so different … to be so largely transformed. i say it’s the angle of the fish head. it’s warping my seemingly large … large … round … puffy face.

this photo has been fondly named The Cheez-it Pic. it is reference often in my family. it’s been recreated (to no luck) by friends and family far and wide. it’s used as a motivational tool – you’ll never look as bad as that … it’s used as a magic trick – see this here optical illusion? it’s used as a conservation starter – wanna see the time my head exploded.

you’d like i’d delete it. it is, quite possibly, the world’s most unflattering photo. but the joy, the laughter, the jokes that it brings to a conversation and will continue to bring ... worth it. totally worth it.

but wait, taken a mere day later ... normal!

 

 

 

can never be recreated ...

i'm trying something new this month - i love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. while i can't promise a post-a-day, maybe i'll get close? today's prompt - a photo.

tbt - i loved covered wagons before they were cool

i loved covered wagons before they were cool ... or before i thought i'd travel the oregon trail in two weeks and learn all things ot. guess it starts at a young age. thanks ma. thanks pa.

thankful - a person (aka ... the fam-fam)

to pick one person in my life that i'm thankful for today is impossible. totally impossible. do i pick my cute little momma for all her tidy ways and crazy optimism that pushed me through the summer? do i pick loulou for his never-ending supply of patience? do i pick my brother for never failing to make me smile, snapchat skills and all. or maybe it's my dad and his old-age wisdom that's (oddly) starting to make some sense.

i think i'll lump them together into one giant, magical person. daily i feel so blessed to have such support. i call ma when i need a boost for my self esteem. i call pa when i need some level-headed realism. i call roy when i need to dream. i talk to lou when, well, i talk to lou all the time.

thankful.

I'm trying something new thing month - I love me a good challenge - and joining Chasing Happy for The Thankful Project. While I can't promise a post-a-day, maybe I'll get close? Today's prompt - a person.

tbt - 1985 was a cute year

 

yes, i know. cuteness overload. 11-month old claire as a pumpkin. you're welcome.

tbt - claire loves blanet

of all the photos, in all the land, this may be one of my favorites. there's so much to take away from a quick glace - the rat's nest i have burrowed in my hair (that no one could tame until it burned off one birthday), the white bra my momma wore, the sun, and the obvious ... the unquenchable obsession i have with my blanket. that blanket and i were inseparable. it started as one piece and, after countless times it would hid under the couch and my folks would be late to this or that event while they scoured the house looking for it, it went to two pieces. i always had my favorite corner ... and after the blanket was sliced in two, the un-cornerable piece just never did. that was the piece that was cut first ... when my mom said i couldn't leave the house dragging that giant thing around, she compromised and we cut a wee piece out of the un-cornerable piece that i could take with me. it worked ... until i dropped it in the muddy driveway of aunt jennie and uncle mike's place. but the two halves lived on. i don't know when i stopped needing the blanket every night. but as with all childhood toys, they fade to the background. the blanket now lives on the dresser in the bedroom, right next to croakie ... lou's childhood "blanket". fitting, i guess. 

tbt - to my parents

it's time to jump on the throw back thursday bandwagon. i do love wagons. today, i love my parents. in all their 80s glory. big glasses, big mustaches and cute little claire-overalls. faded tombstones in the background. my favorite photos are the candid ones. where the photographee is caught in a moment of unawares. a pure moment. no facade. no show. maybe they were thinking about the funeral. maybe they were thinking about me. maybe they were thinking about being anywhere but there or only there. whatever they were thinking, they sure were looking good doing it.

in which i do something ... like a whole lotta nothing

and yet, it was a delightfully hectic weekend!

for being a rare we-have-no-plans weekend, we still managed to fill our precious two days. roy appeared on friday, with a bag stuffed full of delicious breadboard. 880 miles for fresh(ish) sandwich delivery is my kind of service. saturday was errands - menards for the pa, target, groceries, and four liquor stores ... that was for us. saturday night we grilled on the back patio and sunday we hopped over to minneapolis (with tony!!) for jenn's waterski practice ... and subsequent wipe-out off the ramp that landed me as er driver and "sitter" for four hours. dinner with the in-laws at smashburger that night followed by a wee bit 'o tv. i'm gonna call that a success "do-nothing" weekend!

two poopin' years!

holy poopers .. you know what? lou and i have been married two years. some days i forget we're married. i'll walk into a room, see him sitting there, and wonder when he showed up. like he forgot to call and tell me he was coming over. then there's the days when we're sitting on the couch or walking willis and i'll look over and wonder what was pre-lou life like ...and how i managed to ever take the garbage out on my own. marriage is a funny thing. it's a lot of give and take. a lot of smiling. nodding. crying. cringing. laughing. hoping. yelling. waiting. wanting. dreaming. i get the cliches now. i get the old words of wisdom. so is here where i say to many more somewhat delightful but really just damn tough years? yeah ... i'll drink to that.

love you my lou lou!

ps - photos are from our wonderful photographer, alissa ferullo and my amazing sister-in-law, amanda gahler.

if once you have slept on an island

if once you have slept on an island
you'll never be quite the same;
you may look as you looked the day before
and go by the same old name,
you may bustle about in the street and shop
you may sit at home and sew
but you'll see blue water and wheeling gulls
wherever your feet may go.
you may chat with the neighbors of this and that
and close to your fire keep,
but you'll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell
and tides beat through your sleep.
Oh! you won't know why and you can't say how
such a change upon you came,
but once you have slept on an island,
you'll never be quite the same.

- rachel lyman field

28 in 28: close the lid on this one ... literally

Drumroll Friends ... .. . ... . . . .

It's done!

Welllllll, pretty darn close to done. MY part is done. Lou's ... that may always be a work in progress. There's some little odds and ends I'd like to do. Add a space to stash pens, sticky notes, envelops, extra tabs and all that good stuff. But the worst is over. The sorting has been done. Our crazy amount of categories have been determined (it did feel good to see all those "savings" and "retirement" folders in there). And Lou and I can finally merge our paper-mess together. We're gonna have our one family paper-mess!

I threw some more photos up on Go Mighty ... check 'em out!

One more off the list. Yup, I'll say it ... Hazzah to me. Hazzah.

minnesota tourist: mill city museum

Mill City Museum! A must-must-must for Minnesotans and not too shabby of a stop for out-of-towners either. Ma Plank and I ventured out of our couch-nest and put the Parks & Rec Netflix marathon on hold for a bit to do some city exploring. Just like the advertising says - it's the best-smelling museum ever created. Granted, we were there during a "bake-off" and managed to snag some freshly-cooked goodies to munch on.

Musts and Donts

Must ... take the elevator ride. i totally wish more museums did fun, interactive, theme-park like rides.

Must ... watch the Minneapolis in 19 Minutes video. makes me wanna work on my storytelling skills.

Must ... play in the water. done.

Must ... try out the Observation Deck. ask the attendant questions. i'm sure they are starved for human interaction and will

tell you a tale or two about "back in the day". plus, it's a pretty neat view.

Must ... visit the gift shop! want!

----

Don't ... do the two hour street parking in front of the museum. trust me, you'll need longer.

Don't ... wander into someone's wedding photos and awkwardly stand in the background until you realize what's going on.

   

something tells me ma would have won the design-a-cereal-box competition with her  'Yums' ...

well aren't we just the cutest ... !

Mill City Museum

704 South 2nd Street

Minneapolis, MN 55401

millcitymuseum.org

sometimes it worries me ...

... that this is who i chose to spend the rest of my life with

;-P

but he totally let me eat half his fries - that's love ...

in which: i find f5

It's happened ... I've found reddit ... Lou said it was just a matter of time. And it was wee Chet that did it. I did my first "post" ... Meet Chester, the blind wiener dog! He can't see a thing - except a way into your heart! and sat there hitting F5 until the "likes" went up. Then they went down ... so I hit F5 faster ... and then checked my phone ... and then hit f5 ... and then I decided I better put up another post: What do you do with an eyeless dog?! And now, Lou just laughs ... but I think he knows we've entered an unspoken competition ... who's gonna get the most karma?!

28 in 28: put up lights in the dining room

EVERYONE! Wait for it ... waitttttttttttt for it ... my first 28 in 28 item is DONE! And, well, I had nothing to do with it. It started as a dream over two years ago and after years of dangling, hanging bulbs we finally got real lights up. You know, like a real house with real people.

and this is what i looked at for two years ... 

just a thought: wedding rings

Some days, when I get up in the morning and see my wedding rings sitting on the bedside table, I think - maybe today will be my single day! Leave the rings at home! And then I pick 'em up, put 'em on, and head to work. It's just a thought after all, you know ... 

28 in 28: we got us a chest

Andddddddd, I'm still going! Step 2 - Get some stuff and get one step closer to DONE! We found an oh-so-cool chest that with a wee paint job, will be ready to go. Ordering this and getting some of these ... and then it's just actually using the dang thing.

you know what sucks ... getting the same fortune ... 

the day my parents went crazy: niece

my poor cousin received these text messages from my mother ... one at 2:20pm and the other 10 minutes later, at 2:30pm ... we're still trying to decipher what the hey she was talking about ... 

ten things in october

1 - Bismarck Trip to Visit the in-laws
I finally met Bridget ... and she's great! The weekend was filled with food and guns and stories and snow and friends and family. Yup, it was worth the six hours up and six hours back. Best part of the trip ... realizing Jolene and Dustin live in the same building!

Yes, we're all that cute.

2 - Ma and Pa Come to Town
Ma and Pa visits are the best! I can forget about Willie for two whole weeks (though, I think he loves Mom more than me ... ). Mom makes me lunches each morning and the dishes are done when I get home. Plus, Dad always makes sure there's beer in the fridge ;0) Highlight of their trip - Bye Bye Birdie with Mom ... we laughed so hard we cried!

And this is why my parent's can stay with us anytime!

Bye Bye Birdie Night with my little Mama!

3 - Rogue Arts Group
Well friends, the shizz hit the fan! The city of Richfield took away our social media privileges (only city employees can post to Facebook/Twitter). What is a group with a $0 budget and only nine volunteers to do to reach the masses?! I may have casually mentioned it ot the co-presidents that we should start our OWN groups ... and well, that's just what we're doing!


4 - Lou's Lack of Gallbladder
$4,500 dollars later, Lucas is gallbladder free! No more middle-of-the-night-pains! Granted, the boy has to stay away from fatty foods for a couple weeks/months ... I'll believe that when I see it! It always amazes me that you can remove a body part and your body just knows how to work around it. We're pretty much amazing.

This was my house for a week ... poor little boys!

5 - Willie's Nail
Of course, Willie had to race out of the house at warp-wiener-dog-speed to go back at a dude walking by the house ... and of course, in the process, he manages to smash his little paw on the door jam ... and of course, rips his nail ... requiring a vet visit, $200 dollars, two weeks worth of pills. So I had a husband down and out nursing his surgery and a dog down and out nursing his paw. Great.

Best part - it's pink ... !

6 - The Hou
Oh, what's that? You've decided to get a second job? Huh. That's interesting ... and stupid ... but that's just what I did. Right when the dog hurts himself, the husband gets body parts ripped out, the arts commission branches off, and I keep on job hunting ... I decide I don't have enough on my plate and get a second job. Doing ... wait for it ... nothing! Not a dang thing. I stand there. I smile. I wander around and I go home. We'll see how long I last ...

7 - Resume / Job Hunting
I get now why folks say job hunting is like a full-time job. I'm pooped! I was told 80% of the job search should be networking ... which requires one to set aside time to meet with folks, send emails, and make phone calls. I'm still trying to find time to talk to my husband about how his day was!! I hope November can bring along some good job-karma. I've been working on a "game plan" of who to talk with, where to go, what to say ... we'll start in November ... right?! Right?!


8 - Friends and Family are Great
When we started talking about Lucas having surgery, I knew I would need to take some time off work and keep the boy company. I'm a tightwad with my PTO ... so we were figuring out how to pull this off with as little time off work as possible. In comes Lou's Mom ... who spent Monday at the hospital and even made Tater Tot Hotdish that night! Then, in comes Jared ... who had work off Tuesday and spent the day watching movies with Lucas on the couch. He even stopped by on Wednesday for a while. Then along comes Lou's sister Amanda. She stayed with us for a couple nights and was great company for Lou. Friends and family in to save the day. I gotta keep them on my I.O.U. list!!


9 - September "Progress" Out the Window
I think it's safe to say, October was crazy. All of a sudden it's mid-October and my Ma's in town ... then it's the end of the month and here we are. I got myself a new planner/journal to try out ... progress - you and I shall me again ... someday ...


10 - Exhausted!
Well, if the previous nine entries don't get this point across ... then I don't know what to say!