hello 2014

this is one of my favorite times of the year. we're all looking forward and ready to scrub away the past. we're ready to refresh and restart. clear the pages. move on without the burdens of the past year hunched on our shoulders, breathing in our ears, dragging ... ... ...

we set resolutions, knowing they won't be kept and we draw up goals, knowing they'll turn into fait wishing. we see so much promise and potential and hope for the coming year. we become unified with the belief that this ... this year will be it. it will be better. we will be better.

i'm over 2013. it was a good year. scratch that ... great year. travel, family, friends, food (a wee bit too much perhaps). but we're good. we're done. odd numbers unsettle me. let's push on to 1 - 4 and see where we land.

this year, i'm going to scratch the resolutions. we'll save the goals for another round. those wishes and dreams that creep up at night and hang over my head in the morning ... they'll still be there. hovering. but this year, i want to think narrow. i want to structure my year with a word. i want to focus.

focus on my family. my husband. my brother. my parents. my in-laws. i want to continue to nurture those relationships. the holidays were filled with family this year (well, 2013) and helped me realize just how fortunate i am to have such love so close. i want to carry that reminder with me.

focus on my friends. i love, love, love these kids. just last night my pa mentioned how amazing my friends are. it still amazes me that these fantastic people are in my life. we joke. we laugh. we eat. we talk. we dance. we whine. we cry. we share.

focus on my work. i'm going into 2014 with a big question mark over this slot of my life. my current job will end in six months and then who knows. there's a new business model bubbling in the works that could actually become something ... but who knows. lou's work is on the up-and-up with leaves a wee bit of wiggle room for me. how amazing to find myself in such a position. i want to focus on enjoying the next six months. i wan to focus on creating a new work-home for the later six months.

focus on me. you knew this was coming, didn't you? me. me. me. here's where i could say i want to focus on my eating - more veggies, less chocolate. more protein, less carbs.  i could say i want to focus on exercising more, use that la fitness membership i'm paying for. i could say i want to focus on my sleeping behaviors and maybe this year actually achieve some balance. i could say i want to focus on my wardrobe, updating those "pilled" sweaters i keep scrunched in the back shelves. but i'm not. deep down in side i want to lay on the couch and read smutty books about vampires. i want to sneak slices of my ice cream birthday cake that's calling from the basement freezer. i want to stay up too late talking with lucas and watching terrible netflix shows. i want to focus on me being happy. that i can get behind.

alright 2014 ... i'm totes ready.

29 in 29

we all love our lists. there's the new years resolutions. the monthly goals. weekly challenges. daily tasks. last year i attempted my first 28 in 28 (28 things to accomplish while 28).  with my birth-month passing and the clock ticking down to the final weeks in my 20s ... it feels fitting to try another 29 in 29. it's a tricky line in finding 29 things to accomplish in twelve measly months. alas, work won't let me take four months off for traveling adventures. so there's finding the balance ... things i want to do, things i gotta do, things i should do, and things i could do. 

so, in honor of the scary, ripe 'ole age of 29 ... here's my 29 in 29 ...

29 in 29

1. eat all the goldfish in the land
2. sit in the deer stand and attempt to hunt
3. push the artful nook towards non-profit status
4. keep a gratitude journal
5. open the whimsy pea
6. get the mobile nook rolling
7. hike up cloud peak
8. eat summer veggies with a csa
9. finish up the ot notebook
10. finalllllly finish the bbc's top 100 book list
11. make my manifesto
12. hide a geocache in minnesota
13. walk around devil's tower with lou
14. run away with molly on a creative weekend
15. spent clay project
16. beat lou in trap
17. ice block down a hill
18. have a cross-country skiing adventure
19. blow-dry bar
20. spent some time with doris day and the tv
21. run a 10k
22. smutty book coffee table number two
23. back that ass up with a trailor
24. renew my carry permit
25. visit a cidery
26. pay off dan to keep quiet
27. visit hershey, pennsylvania
28. hang that dang ikea light
29. purchase a real piece of art

and just 'cause:

• go on an alaskan cruise
• ride in a hot air balloon
• visit all 50 states
• travel with laura ingalls wilder

i wish my life was like ...

on the way home from dinner the other night i had a thought. i know it's not the first time this wish has rumbled around in my mind ... i wish my life was like a musical from the 50s ... all doris day, guys and dolls, hills are alive kind of musical. there would be singing ... there would be dancing ... there would be awkward language from bygone days ... ohhhh, how i want it!

this is the probably why i spent my younger years making music videos. why i enjoy just dance on the wii a wee bit too much and find myself sing-speaking on an almost daily basis. my brother also happens to be an avid sing-speaker. it's not good when we spend long periods of time together. there's so much terrible singing ...

so ... since i can't go back to the 50s and i doubt i'll wake up with an amazing voice overnight, and friends would flock for the hills if i demanded they dance for their food ... i'm going to have to come up with a new plan for recreating musicals from the 50s into my daily life. for now, i'll settle for watching far too many of these delightful films

doris day pretty much set the stage for these romantic, goofy musicals. my personal favorite - the pajama game. you'd be slightly surprised (and worried) how often songs from this soundtrack apply to my daily life. and any movie with a song centered on "steam heat" is a win in my book. my original grand plan was to watch all the doris day movies. according to imdb, there's a lot. so then i said, just the musicals ... there's still a lot. so, i've settled on doris day musicals from the 50s. 

whew.

young man with a horn (1950)

tea for two (1950)

the west point story (1950)

lullaby of broadway (1951)

on moonlight bay (1951)

i'll see you in my dreams (1951)

starlift (1951)

april in paris (1952)

by the light of the silvery moon (1953)

calamity jane (1953)

lucky me (1954)

young at heart (1954)

love me or leave me (1955)

the pajama game (1957)

three things to do after you die

i've always enjoyed cemeteries. i did an independent study in college on photographing and collecting the histories on prominent minnesotans at the lakewood cemetery in minneapolis. one summer i participated in a walking history tour of the city cemetery where i played a "madam" from the wild west (no, that picture is not of me). my first date with a kid in college was to the cemetery to watch the groundhogs digging up holes. in 5th grade my mom would take me out to lunch where we'd picnic along the headstones. 

i've always wished cemeteries would go back to feel of the early 1800s ... when they were seen as a spot to remember the deceased and recreate. as this article talks about, cemeteries were a place to enjoy the outdoors. there were beautiful sculptures. flowers and wide open spaces of green. people picnicked, hunted, raced carriages. granted, the wonderful park systems we have in place now weren't all that popular back then, so cemeteries were the next best thing. but the idea that one didn't need to tip-toe around, that one could enjoy the space and enjoy the memories of their friends and relatives ... that's what i like.

if you're not one for laying away your afterlife in a box in the ground, i have some alternate options for you. and no (for the record), i did not seek any of these out. they sought me.

load 'em up - ashes in a shotgun shell

Holy Smoke

We offer a way to honor your deceased loved one by giving or sharing with him or her one more round of clay targets, one last bird hunt, or one last stalk hunt.

to infinity and beyond

Celestis

Celestis Memorial Spaceflights place a symbolic portion of cremated remains into Earth orbit, onto the lunar surface, and into deep space. Your loved one will venture into space as part of a real space mission, riding alongside a commercial or scientific satellite.

recycle the proper way

Alternative Solutions
to provide america's funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries an ethical, legal, environmental, and humane solution for recycling medical implants, dental prosthetics, and other metals recovered after the cremation process.
(okay, yes ... not so much an option for your ashes ... but your fake hip has to go somewhere. my pa didn't seem too thrilled when i suggested we use his hip as a paperweight after he passes ... )

three reasons why minnesota is awesomei.e. - mini donuts

let's all talk about why minnesota is pretty darn awesome. this week, we've all got state fair on the brain. okay, this month/summer/year we've all got state fair on the brain. and here's three reasons why the minnesota state fair is pretty darn awesome ... and in turn, minnesota.

we make ice cream based on the deliciousness of state fair mini donuts. here is a perfect example of billboard marketing at its finest. lou and i are driving down 494. what's that giant billboard by best buy advertising? wait? mini donut flavored ice cream. this must happen. lou, take me to target. thirty minutes later ... success.

we make MORE ice cream based on the deliciousness of state fair mini donuts. sweet cream. donut batter. nutmeg. yup, i'm in.

we make beer based on the deliciousness of state fair mini donuts. gross? no. odd? yes. is it gonna go like mini donut hotcakes at the fair? probably.

28 in 28: a loan is a loan is a loan

oh

my

god

.

it's happened.

we paid off lou's school loans.

i'll take a pause here for the enormity of that to sink in.

all student loans are now gone!

in fact ... 

we're loan free!

(yes, yes, minus the mortgage ... but i'll take that over a school loan any day) 

one of my 28 in 28 for this year was to put a sizable chunk of change towards the loans. little did i suspect that we'd rally and just pay the damn things off. props to lou for putting up with my "budgeting" ... hounding ... whatever you may call it. props to both of us for getting new positions with a wee bit more of income. and props to us for finally getting on the same page. they (those marriage folks) say that money troubles and money differences are the cause of more divorces than any other factor. i'd believe it. lou and i grew up with two very different mindsets of how we see and handle money. i'm the savers, obsessively so. lou's not really a spender, but tends to have more expensive hobbies (computers, cars, motorcycles ... ). and there's the difference. so we talked, i pushed, he pushed. i said save. he said why. about a year ago we finally came to a happy medium. i wasn't going to be 100% happy with it and he wasn't going to be 100% happy with it ... but as long as we were both over 50% happy with it, we called it good.

and now his school loans are gone and dare i say it, i think i may (slowly) make a saver outta him yet ;-P

a collection of odds and ends, cont.

the van!!! it lives!!! and it has a canopy!!! everything about this weekend was wonderful ... but the icing on the cake was driving the van out of storage and into my driveway. oh, let the summer possibilities begin :D

• wait ... make a bound book using key rings?! love this! possibly perfect for a crosstown project ...
  
  
• this sounds ideal for our (now 2) canada cabins. nummy.
  
  
• i went here ... sometimes it even amazes me that i was living here for four months. what a dream.
  
  
• well, this sounds too easy not to try: Ultra Epsom Salts for our tomato and pepper plants!
  
  
• when roy and i run away from "the daily" grind ... we'll take this.
  
  
• yes, yes ... i looked into 'how to write a personal manifesto' ... and someday i'm gonna.  here's a couple pointers i found ... here and here and here.
  
  
• and then i spent a million years looking up this. am i using a full choke? extra full? xx full? no. 6 or no. 5 shot? what do i want: 100 pellets in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards.  whew ... 

ten (or so) things in january

I love me a good 'ole list. In honor of January ... and kickin' off February ... here's ten five excellent things that happened last month:

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!

Book Confessions

Books are my favorite!! I've had a lifelong obsession with all things books for as long as I can remember - and I'm not just talking about falling in love with the story, or relating to the characters or the actual, physical act of reading ... I'm talking the paper, the ink, the binding - I love it.

I was creepin' over at Amy's blog, Coffee & Sunshine, and read her post, Book Confessions. Yup, that's right up my ally. So, to play off her post (which was playing off this post), here's my own!

- in kindergarten i would read to the dog, usually sitting in the hallway

- in elementary school i created a library in the basement ... yes, a library ... and would force my brother and all the neighborhood kids to come check out books and sit through readings of moby dick

- in middle school i volunteered at the library ... shelving books

- in high school, i created a class where i'd sit in the library for an hour and read "the classics" ... i passed with flying colors

- i smell books ... a lot ... glue binding / old mildew / dust / ink ... mmmm ...

- i read the 7th harry potter book in one sitting

- i mayyyyyyy currently have 13 books checked out at the library, 4 on hold, and 23 on request ... 

- i've kept a journal noting every book i've read since 5th grade

- i was the person my classmates would ask to cheat for them on the accelerated reading tests ... and i'd totally do it

- i got so engrossed in the laura ingalls wilder series i couldn't read anything else for months after i finished ... same with anne of green gables

- the librarians never asked for my library card when i would check out books ... we were on a first-name-basis

- as much as i love books, it pains me to pay full-price at the bookstore ... $1 thrift store finds instead

- in my first job out of college, i found myself editor of a statewide cookbook ... and i totally got it published

- my favorite place in the world is our cabin in canada ... only there is it socially acceptable for me to read for 8 straight hours

- i may be a tad obsessed with smutty romance novels ... and once got 9 full (and free) boxes of them from some lady on craigslist

and yes ... i still have my american girl doll

10 Things in September

I love new beginnings and I love, love, love lists ... so, in honor of October 1st ... here's 10 Excellent Things From September.

1. Lou and I Hit Six Years: Holy Poopers ... six years. We're not joking around any more! We had a great month (yes, we've had bad months ... ) and I think (no, I know) we're at a good place to kick off year seven!

   

   Claire, Lou, Steak

2. My **cough, cough** First Pheasant Hunt: Okay, technically my first pheasant hunt was back in 2006 but that was a disaster and it doesn't count. We'll save that story for another day. This month took me to the Becoming an Outdoors Woman Beginner Pheasant Hunt ... and it was awesome. Nintendo Duck Hunt in real life! Great women, guns ... beautiful afternoon outside - amazing!

   

   I killed some stuff ... and looked like a big 'ole goober doing it ... !

3. Shooting Dates with Lou: September saw Lou and I at the range every week! Lou argues that my new love of trap shooting is an expensive hobby ... I argue that he's getting me out to the range - so why complain?! We had excellent weather, some much-needed conversations during the drives, and great shooting.
   
4. The Minnesota State Fair with Jolene: A great day to kick-off September! Jo's first visit to the cities and my return to the state fair ... after taking last year off. I got my gyro (I refuse to leave the fair without one) and we shared a Red Velvet Funnel Cake, Apple Cider Float, and Deep-Fried Pickles. After all, the fair is all about the food. Free Laser/Music Show on the way out ... yes please.
                                    
   
5. Crying with Lyndsey: Okay, promise this isn't as depressing as it sounds. I've been seeing Lyndsey for almost two months now and finally poured out some of those topics that have been gnawing at me ... it wasn't pretty but it sure felt good.
   
6. Lou's Friends: Whitney and Matt Day are back. For some reason, we've seen a ton of Whit and Matt ... from Sunday afternoon football games to Wednesday gaming nights to weddings and birthday parties. I forget how much I like those boys ... and how nice it is it have Lou outta my hair for a while ;)
   
7. Dinner Calendar: Lou and I are finally getting in a dinner groove. We're trying to plan meals ahead of time and Lou is starting to **gasp** cook! The system hasn't been perfect, but it's been nice ... so that's enough for me.
   
8. Fall: I love fall! I love sweatshirts and sweatpants and my dear, dear scarves. I love cuddling on the couch and the thought of soup for dinner. I love fall!
   
9. Arts Commission Kicking Butt: Well ... sort of ... We're getting there! We've gained more friends on Facebook, we're hosting more events, we're planning for the future. I'm excited to see where 2013 takes us and the burst of energy we got this month has been a nice refresher.

   

   The Arts Comm Gang at Penn Fest 2012!

10. Family: I've had some great chats with my folks ... Roy's back in school and seems to be enjoying it. Adie and I are emailing during work ... I know, sneaky. Amanda's working back with me and we've had some excellent talks over lunch and walks around the park. We're making future plans with the brother-in-law and I feel like we're all at a good place. Only up from here ... right ... right?!

Eighty-Eight Books That Shaped America

I've always been a fan of lists. I love the order and direction that they provide. When I don't want to think - I find a list to tell me what I'm supposed to do. And I love, love, love book lists!

I'm always hunting for the next book to read. So last week when Minnesota Public Radio (yes ... I listen to MPR at work ... ) told me the Library of Congress announced their picks for the top 88 books that shaped America, I was Googling that ASAP.

It's an intriguing compilation. As mentioned in the news release - "It is not a register of the 'best' American books--although many of them fit that description. Rather, the list is intended to spark a national conversation on books written by Americans that have influenced our lives, whether they appear on this initial list or not."  I like!