I don’t Instagram. Really, I don’t even understand what that means. I thought it was just fancy filters you could add to your phone photos. Now it’s all…”Follow me on Instagram.” “Oh, Amy, you’d love it.”
Guys…I don’t need any more social media in my life right now. Pinterest was a pretty big step. Maybe someday I’ll get on board. It must be pretty awesome because loads of my awesome friends do it. For now, I’ll sit this one out.
However, when I’m out and about I do tend to snap photos on my phone. When I see something that strikes my fancy I take a photo. Especially if it’s something that I think is “over-priced” and I could “…easily whip that up at home,” or “find something like it at an estate sale.” So I looked back through my phone. I really do need to do some deleting. And I put together this little collage of things that have been inspiring me lately.
Enjoy.
#1. We were in South Dakota last weekend. While visiting we went to what I consider the cutest winery ever. Total transparency…I haven’t been to very many wineries. But I really do love Prairie Berry. And their free wine tasting doesn’t hurt. Anyway I was this precious wine caddy. We could make that, don’t you think?
#2. When I was in Dallas for the Strip Church conference I took my lunch break at the Galleria Mall. In the middle of the food court two kids had used their mom’s coats {and their coats} to build an elaborate fort. NBD. Except that is pretty, stinking awesome. What’s even better was how the parents just continued to chat like nothing weird was going on.
#3. In Shreveport, Rhino Coffee uses table paper to write their ever changing menu. I don’t know where, and I don’t know why…but I need this in my house. A very welcome alternative to chalkboards.
#4. At a grocery store in Dover, DE there was an aisle completely dedicated to colored sprinkles. WHAT?!!
#5. Again, at Rhino, the bathroom had this nifty TP holder made out of plumbing. Sturdy, practical, I could totally do that.
#6. My friends’ boxer, Clara Belle incognito. Who’s that cowboy in the living room?
#7. I love this line of quirky-folksy tea cups from Anthropologie. Too bad I can’t afford them. I’m banking these cute patterns for my next paint-your-own-pottery night at Margie’s in Minot.
Here’s the problem with skiing. They give you a map of the trails before you go up the lift…but the map is 2D. Sure the trails are color coded…black diamonds are the most difficult and clearly marked. But alas, the map is still utterly flat.
After a sufficient warm up at Huff Hills, where Derek and I skied over the weekend we began hitting the harder trails. Now, as you can imagine, I’m not a pro. I’m even a bit on the clumsy side {go figure}, yet all that taken into account, I’m a decent skier. After going down the hills marked with circles and squares I got more adventurous and went down one of the black diamonds.
It went great. Fast, fun…I didn’t even hit anyone.
Now, back to this 2D map. Skiing is a sport about three dimensions. Especially the vertical dimension. As in steep drops. We did really well on the hills we went down and made it a goal to hit all of the trails offered. Fine. Just fine. Until…
We found ourselves going down a trail called the Cougar. I then found myself faced with another problem of skiing: Once you start down a hill, you are committed. The flat trail map didn’t clue me in to a drop that seemed to fall off the end of the Earth. It didn’t tell me that the hell, excuse me, hill was a death trap.
The slope started off fine. An exhilarating drop much like the other diamonds we’d gone down. Then the trail leveled out for a moment. So level I was able to come to a stop to look at the view. After taking in the scenery I noticed that the slope seemed to have disappeared. I was now standing on the edge of a cliff {at least that’s how it felt…my story, I’ll exaggerate at will}. And here is where the second problem of skiing came into play. Once you go down, you can’t turn around and pick another trail.
It’s not like at the amusement park, where a kid stands in line for the scary roller-coaster, only to chicken out at the last second. That’s an easy fix. Skip the ride, go out the exit.
When you are on skis, you have one choice. Go down.
After freaking out for a moment, I gathered my nerves and pushed off. Swoosh…one drop down. A small level out, then another big drop. Knees bent, stay cool. Then, the world became a big jumble. It was like I was inside the plastic case of a game of Boggle. Everything was totally shaken as I tumbled {sans grace} down the hill. You know that scene from The Princess Bride when Wesley falls down the hill toward the Fire Swamp yelling “As…you…wisshhh”? {Watch it here.} Yeah, I’m pretty sure it looked like that. Or at least that’s how it felt.
The skis were off, my hat was off, I was a big snowy mess. Luckily there I was now at the bottom of the hill, just a slight easy slope back to the ski lift. I laid for a few moments, then put myself back together and met Derek at the bottom. He hadn’t fallen, but he did say, “Yep…wasn’t expecting that.” Needless to say, I was a bit gun shy for the rest of the afternoon. Overall I was okay, too. Nothing broken, just one bruise across my back. I’ll take it.
The warm weather was only a special weekend treat, though. Today we are back to a high of -9. Seriously? I hear things start to thaw out around April.
On a totally different note, thanks to all of you who were so kind and supportive yesterday when I opened up about my new ministry project. I’m totally jazzed to tell you more about it. I just love you all so much.
And speaking of things we love…remember Lydia? Her full session will be featured on the blog Thursday. So be sure to come back. And tomorrow I’ve got a killer wreath tutorial ready for your enjoyment. See you then!
Here is a throw back post from my move to Minot…enjoy!
Well. I’m here! Panda and I made it safe and sound. However, it was one crazy journey. Here is an overview of what our last day in Shreveport/first hours in Minot looked like.
Monday June 11
9:30 a.m.
Movers came and loaded all the furniture and boxes onto the truck. Leaving Panda and me in an empty house.
7:00 p.m.
I decided to take Panda with me to Megan’s house to spend the night since she was scheduled to see the vet at 9 a.m. the next morning.
7:05 p.m.
We aren’t even out of the neighborhood. Panda has pooped in her carrier.
7:07 p.m.
Panda lays in her poop.
7:30 p.m.
We arrive at Megan’s. I dry heave because the cat poop smells so bad. Panda gets a bath and it really mad about that.
8:30 p.m.
An ice cream sundae eases the moving day jitters and cat-poop-stomach-churning.
Tuesday June 12
12:30 a.m.
Exhausted, I turn in for the night.
3:24 a.m.
Panda has been walking on me all night and I’ve barely slept. I hear thunder and see a flash of lightning. Could we finally be getting some rain? Doubt it…it hasn’t rained in months.
4:40 a.m.
Dozed off once or twice…only to be woken by a loud clap of thunder and the sound of rain slapping at the windows.
4:41 a.m.
I remember I left the windows down on the car.
4:45 a.m.
Windows are up and I am soaked.
7:45 a.m.
Alarm goes off.
9:00 a.m.
At the vet. Panda gets a clean bill of health and medicine to make her sleepy on the plane.
4:00 p.m.
Bank account is closed, donations dropped off, good byes said, bags packed, and headed to the airport. Panda is groggy.
4:45 p.m.
I have to take Panda kitty out of her carrier to pass through security. She hates the sounds and it terrified. She panics and scratches my arms and chest and rips my shirt. Thanks TSA.
6:22 p.m.
We arrive in Memphis. Just enough time to walk to our next gate and board straight away.
6:50 p.m.
En route to Minneapolis. Doing some word jumbles, reading Radical and chatting with the coolest seat buddy I’ve ever had.
8:03 p.m.
I ask a Delta desk attendant where the USO is. It’s too far to get to before my next flight. She apologizes and gives me three free drink tickets for my next flight.
10:10 p.m.
I’m in the last row of the airplane. The last one to get drinks and snacks. I order a roman Coke with one of my drink tickets. The flight attendant says I get double snacks because I had to wait to be last served. Two packets of peanuts and two packages of cookies. Score.
10:56 p.m.
The plane is descending and Panda’s drugs are wearing off. She starts meowing a bit and struggling to get out of the carrier.
11:15 p.m.
Derek meets us at baggage.
11:37 p.m.
We arrive at the Select Inn {our home until we close on the house}. Panda is super happy.
One long day. I don’t recommend traveling with a cat unless you really have to.
I’m excited that things have slowed down a bit. I’ll show you photos of the house tomorrow!!
Here’s a throw back post about the first time I took Panda cat to the vet…
Yesterday I had one of those moments that makes me think, “Only in my life…”
Let me elaborate. Hopefully if your day isn’t shaping up, this will help.
Yesterday I told you that Panda cat had her first vet appointment. Well, I’ll start by telling you she hates the car. I felt like some kind of monster while I drove the 15 minutes to the clinic. Poor Panda was in the back seat meowing her head off in the cat carrier. I looked back at her at a red light only to see her poor little paws sticking through the wholes in the side begging to be let out. (more…)
Yesterday I took a trip. It’s been planned since Christmas, no whims here. But boy does it feel good to be down in Shreveport, LA! Let me tell you all something. Practically Canada is cold! It sneaked up on me gradually, so I guess I didn’t notice just how cold it is up there this time of year. Then I got off a plan in S’Port on February 5 and stepped into 68 degree sunshine. Holy cow, it felt nice.
The last thing Derek and I did before I left town {early Tuesday morning} was attend our weekly curling night. It’s been a while since I told you about our introduction to curling…the great north sport. So I thought I’d take a little time to fill you in on what’s happening.
Curling is so fun. We absolutely love it. Derek and I are now official members of the Minot curling club. We play each week with a father and son duo who are pretty much curling masters. They’ve both played competitively, and Kyson {a senior in high school} has been to junior nationals and competed on the Junior Olympic team. Pretty legit, right?
Here are the things I’ve learned about curling in the last two months of playing:
1. The place where curling takes place is called a “Curling House.” Not a rink. {That was a weird moment.}
2. There are four people on each team. Team members throw two rocks each, the rocks closet to the center of a bullseye {called the House} score points.
3. A curling game consists of six “ends.” An end is each player throwing their rocks.
4. Before a game starts players shake hands and wish each other luck. Players may simply say “Curling,” to one another. Which is short for saying, “Good curling.” That was really confusing at first too.
5. The curling house is cold. A crisp 25 degrees on the ice.
6. The Minot club has a lodge-like clubhouse on the second floor. It’s cozy up there. There are some tables…and coolers of beer. Fridges of beer. Beer on tap. And beer in another cooler. Oh…and a few sodas on tap too. But I’ve quickly learned that curling and beer go hand in hand. We played in a tournament last weekend. When we arrived at 9:30 to begin most of the other players had already settled in to breakfast {doughnuts and beer.} Another player explained the allure of curlers to beer to me this way: “You’ve got to take advantage. It’s the only sport will keep a beer ice cold while you play.”
7. Maybe this last item is the most important thing I’ve learned about curling. Do NOT sit on the toilet in the curling house. Like I said, there is a lodge upstairs. It’s fully heated and there is a bathroom there. On Monday I used the bathroom on the unheated main floor. Let me ask you this. Have you ever sat on a block of ice with your drawers down? Because that’s about what it felt like. Lesson learned. Won’t happen again.
Welcome to my world. The land of icy toilets and refrigerator sports.
I’m glad to be in the south again. But to be honest the weather has nothing to do with it. I’m here with my bestie and that the most important thing. {Seeing blooming flowers is a nice bonus though!}
Let me be honest. Never in my life have I felt air as cold as what I felt today in Practically Canada.
I’ve been cold before. My senior year of college classes were cancelled because it was just so cold. Highs of 3 degrees with -20 wind chill. Well…Muncie, IN wouldn’t even know what hit them if they experienced today in North Dakota.
When I woke up this morning I looked out the window at the thermometer on the garage. Certainly it was broken. It registered -10. By the time we were home from our afternoon errands and activities the thermometer looked like this:
Yep. You are seeing that right. Nearly -20. The wind chill ranked in around -45. Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. the real temp will be -24. I just can’t even believe that this is happening. And locals say sometimes it gets even colder. HOW?!
It’s so cold this crazy sciencey thing happens. You aren’t even going to believe this…so we got video of it. To prove to you that it’s real. It’s so cold that if you throw a cup of boiling water into the air it all turns to steam before hitting the ground. When I heard about this I thought for sure it was a joke. Let me assure you, it is not. It’s really that cold here.
This little party trick kept up entertain for quite some time this evening. {A whole kettle full of entertainment.}
So, yes. This is crazy. If you need me, I’ll be on the couch Netflix-ing under the electric blanket. The only thing that warms me up on a cold night like this is a super cute, cuddle kitten. Really, is there anything better than a sleepy kitten? I highly doubt it. Panda Cat has pretty much given up on life outside of the down comforter. What a baby.
See you tomorrow! Be sure to come back for the no-sew Valentine’s Day pillow tutorial.
A while back when things when I was feeling a little down about my {lack of} work situation my phone rang. Weird number…so I screened it. Voicemail…interesting.
It was a guy named Matt from a production company called Studio Now. Long story short, they work on a national scale to coordinate productions projects for businesses with local freelancers. He asked if I was available for a shoot. And after really looking into this place that called me out of the blue everything looked legit. So I agreed.
That decision took me on an adventure yesterday. I traveled for my first time into Oil Territory. Despite what you might think, not all of North Dakota is pumping oil. Minot sure isn’t. That all goes on pretty much straight west of here. Williston is the major hub. But I didn’t go that far. I stopped in Tioga, ND. A tiny town very populated by rough necks {that’s the real term for oil guys} and construction workers.
My shoot was at the Wanzek Housing Facility. AKA, a man camp. Man camp? See…there are so many people moving here to work there is no where near enough housing. On top of that, many of the men who come to work, do so at the cost of leaving their families behind in another city. They secure a sweet paying gig on the oil field…but their family cannot relocate simply because there is no where for them to live. That’s where the man camps come in.
They are temporary housing units. Some are really nice. Some are pretty much just shady barracks, sometimes without good showers. Wanzek is a very nice man camp.
They have furnished used FEMA trailers that men can rent out. They have their own bathroom, an extra bedroom, access to a lounge and fitness center.
I was a little nervous about going to do the shoot. The people of Minot {the natives at least} are pretty down on the whole “oil thing.” They describe the oil region as hectic and dangerous. So I didn’t quite know what to expect. And maybe it is. Mind you, I was just scratching the surface…at a family owned facility.
It’s just crazy to me that there can be nothing for an hour’s drive, then–BOOM–you’ve hit the boom. Truth be told, it’s a pretty desolate drive. Beautiful scenery but not much as far as civilization is concerned.
On the way home I stopped in a town called Stanley. The folks at Wanzek told me that that’d be my best bet if I wanted lunch or gas before I hit Minot. It’s about 30 miles into the drive back home. I popped into a cafe on Main Street where I was served a delightful philly cheese steak sandwich. There were construction workers and oil workers and old ladies having book club all dining together. Business was hopping. And I wondered if it was the same 10 years ago.
As I sat and watched CNN on the TV in the corner it occurred to me that change will come. Change will bring new people and faces into our lives. They will be different from us. They’ll have a background that we may not be able to relate to. But we have a choice. We can be the chipper waitress from Joyce’s Cafe. Serving each other with a smile. Eager to know who will be the next “regular” in our life. Eager to memorize each others “usual order.”
Or we can resist the change and all the things that come with it. We can be like on particularly crabby apple that attends my senior adult fitness classes. Picking at the things that are new and unusual. Turning our mouth down at differences.
Either way…change will happen. And we’ll all be happier if we are working at Joyce’s Cafe.
At the stroke of midnight a new year will begin. Each year I come up with a list of things I’d like to do in the upcoming year. But as with most things in my mind/life…it’s not a typical list. Sure I have diet goals, career goals and all that jazz. I just tend to work on those goals constantly. So, without further ado here is my 2013 list of things to do, master, try and travel. I hope you enjoy…and maybe get a couple ideas for your own list. {No particular order of course.}
1. Finish mastering the Rubix Cube. It’s all about memorizing a pattern. I’ve got it all the way to the last side…now, to finish it off.
2. Go to Voyager National Park.
3. Learn to tie knots. Good ones. Like a sailor, or Gale from the Hunger Games.
4. Reupholster a chair. {Not just the seat, but a whole living room chair.}
5. Improve my unicycling skills. I’d like to be able to ride in a circle.
6. Dress my cat up in a lot of costumes and take her photo. Just for laughs.
7. Learn to bake artisan breads.
8. Make macaroons.
9. Get on a letter writing schedule and write more letters…to all the people I love and don’t see very often. And to help me do that….
10. Make personalized stationary.
11. Get my passport updated {it still doesn’t have my married name on it.} Then…
12. Go to Canada {I’m practically there.}
13. Paint a mural.
14. Improve my eye makeup skills.
15. Clear my closet. Seriously, once and for all get rid of all the stuff I don’t use.
16. Learn to wire a lamp.
17. Make an amazing cheesecake.
18. Go to an auction and bid on something I love.
19. Go to the Mall of America.
20. Go to the shooting range.
21. Make some killer chili.
22. Make tomato soup from scratch.
23. Paint a piece of furniture.
24. Learn about arranging flowers. Then make some awesome arrangements.
25. Landscape.
26. Throw an amazing party.
27. Do something to benefit a cause.
28. Conquer the french braid consistently.
29. Go dog sledding. {Yes, there really is a place in North Dakota that will teach you!}
30. Learn an ice skating trick. {This one might have to wait until next winter.}
31. Climb something.
32. Go backpacking.
33. Visit Montana. Anywhere…but preferably Glacier National Park.
Will they all get done? Probably not. But it’s sure fun to try. Enjoy your NYE. Promise me you’ll think of Dick Clark at least once tonight. Be safe. If you indulge adultly, get a DD. Pinky swear? K good. I’m so excited about spending another year with you!
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