One year ago, my new friend Patti who I only knew a little invited me to Seattle for sight inspections (looking for the perfect hotel and restaurants for a conference she was planning). Of course I said "yes" to an expense paid girlfriend getaway and one of the unexpected results was that it led to a very fulfilling career as her meeting planner assistant.
Six months ago, I traveled to Phoenix to assist with CleanMed. I was a basket case. I had no idea what I was doing. It was difficult and exhausting, but I learned so much and it was also exciting and gratifying.
I spent the whole summer helping Patti plan smaller conferences, which she attended and I did not (actually, I ran around having all the fun I could pack in with my kids on the weeks she traveled). I learned so much every step of the way. Some days my mind was so tired when I left work. It was nice to have the mental stimulation.
Last Wednesday, we finished FoodMed, the conference we chose a hotel for one year ago. I was one million times less stressed than I was at CleanMed. the people were lovely just like the ones I met at CleanMed. The topics were inspiring, mainly centered around how to make healthy food accessible to all -- beginning with serving it in our hospitals. Everything was a success. The meals were amazing. The hotel is gorgeous. And, tomorrow I go home to start a new adventure.
It looks like we close on the new house Monday. I feel very at peace with this move. I hope it means we are making the right decision. It's exciting to see what blessings and challenges will come with the move. Another big change is that im taking time off from my meeting planning days until if and when the business picks back up. This brings a lot of emotions. After the initial shock of losing my new job (which I did not think was temporary) wore off, I began to feel grateful to just be the mom again. I've missed our little outings to the library and the Treehouse and I've missed home cooked dinners and volunteering at the schools. But, I'm also stressed to lose the income and I'm trying to maintain my faith that things will all work out somehow - as long as there are good desires in my heart.
I'm slowly learning that it really is better not to have all the answers in life and appreciating the joy of having so many things to look forward to.
Like working plumbing in my new house. (haha)
I'm really excited for that and its nice to have it to look forward to.
Anyways, its been a real treat to be in Seattle this week. The first night, we went to a restaurant that was so fancy they whisked our food away to keep it warm if someone got up to use the restroom. On day two, I worked like a crazy woman for twelve hours straight but really enjoyed a fair trade chocolate bar and a soak in the hot tub and visit to the eucalyptus steam room at the end of the day. On day three, I actually left the hotel for an invigorating walk down to Pike's Market. I love that amazing farmer's market on the water's edge. Today, we wrapped things up. The conference is over. Patti and I had a lovely dinner at the Steelhead Diner to celebrate. In the morning there is an early yoga class, then it's to the airport and back home. Back to real life for me. I love those kids of mine and hope they are excited to see me.
**Updated to add - they were excited to see me! Wow, were they ever excited. So many hugs and so much sweetness it almost made me want to go out of town more often just to get the big welcome home. We had a fabulous weekend together and now it is Monday night. We close tomorrow. We might not get keys until later - so we might only have Friday night and Saturday to move everything!!! But, I hope we will get lucky and get the keys on Wednesday night as we had planned. Either way, we will be out of this house and into the new by the end of Saturday. I can't believe we are leaving this home after twelve years here.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Rose Colored Glasses: Off
So, we met with the inspector this afternoon and what I thought would be a 15 minute exchange turned into a 2 hour, mind boggling conversation.
He said that most of his "reports" are about 45-pages long. Ours was 79. And, in case you are wondering -- that is not a good thing.
It turns out that the new coat of paint that made buyers suddenly so interested in a home that has sat vacant for years is probably covering up a few, shall we say "blemishes"? The plumbing is trash. Major water issues. (they just turned the water on today for the inspection)
I had to leave the pow wow early to get to a meeting and Brian and I have not had a chance to discuss yet. I know there were some other issues too.
Now, we just have to make sure we can get our financing or if we have to do the repairs first. Either way, it looks like we will need a plan B for living arrangements before our new place is move in ready.
It is disappointing news, but we still really feel like this is the place. I guess we'd better get ready for a little more of an adventure than we bargained for.
Signing off now so I can go enjoy my last few days with the modern convenience of running water (hahahaha). Thank you to all the well wishers!
He said that most of his "reports" are about 45-pages long. Ours was 79. And, in case you are wondering -- that is not a good thing.
It turns out that the new coat of paint that made buyers suddenly so interested in a home that has sat vacant for years is probably covering up a few, shall we say "blemishes"? The plumbing is trash. Major water issues. (they just turned the water on today for the inspection)
I had to leave the pow wow early to get to a meeting and Brian and I have not had a chance to discuss yet. I know there were some other issues too.
Now, we just have to make sure we can get our financing or if we have to do the repairs first. Either way, it looks like we will need a plan B for living arrangements before our new place is move in ready.
It is disappointing news, but we still really feel like this is the place. I guess we'd better get ready for a little more of an adventure than we bargained for.
Signing off now so I can go enjoy my last few days with the modern convenience of running water (hahahaha). Thank you to all the well wishers!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Front Porch
I love my front porch. It is one of the best places to sit and watch a lightning storm, or visit with the neighbors as they walk by. Our family has made so many great memories while sitting out there.
Over the years, as we've discussed off and on plans to sell this house and buy something bigger, I have wondered, "How do you get a prospective buyer to appreciate something like the front porch?" It's so much more than meets the eye.
There are 101 little things that we love about this house. The maple hardwood floors, the antique chandelier, the stained glass windows, the deep storage space in the bathroom cupboards, the ancient cottonwood in the backyard (love/hate relationship with the tree actually) . . . We have tried not to be emotionally attached. We did our best job yet of being detached sellers during this current attempt. But, truly, I must admit, it is impossible. I don't know if we are just hugely sentimental to the core, or if it is because we have molded this home inside and out with our own bare hands to make it what it is, or if it is because some of the most important years of our lives - when all four of our babies were born -- were spent here, or, if it is all the neighbors we have come to love -- I'm not sure which factor contributes the most, but we are so emotionally attached to this home that it's impossible for us to flip a switch and turn that off no matter how hard we try.
This is why I was so happy when I finally met our buyers face to face last night and they went on and on about how much they love the front porch and the stained glass windows and the backyard . . . It warmed my heart. I always hoped that someday when we were finished with our little house on 25th Street that just the right people would come along and love it the way we have.
If all goes according to plan, we will be living in our new house, just a few blocks away, by the end of the month! Everything has happened so fast that is doesn't even seem real. And, now I will share the story of how we came to find our new house.
We have been talking about getting a bigger house for . . . ummm . . . let's see, about ten years. We have even put this house up for sale a time or two (ahem, or three), but, the timing was just never right. Last year, I got pretty serious about wanting to upgrade for many reasons, one of them being that we knew we would need a bigger house to raise our kids through their teenage years and it's easier to move them when they are younger (although, we have already waited so long that this transition is breaking both Sophie and Ian's hearts a little).
I was hoping that we would put the house up for sale in the spring. But, we didn't get around to doing all of the improvement projects to make that happen (we had to do quite the kitchen remodel to add cabinets to one wall and remove cabinets from another so we could install a dishwasher -- because, selling a house with no dishwasher is like trying to sell a house with no roof or no front door apparently). Brian plugged away at projects, but spring and summer came and went and we still weren't ready.
Meanwhile, a good friend of mine told me about a house up the street from her that was for sale. I appreciated her suggestion and I even drove to the house and walked around it peeking in the windows several times. But, I did not tell Brian because it was at the upper end of our price range and I didn't think he would go for it.
A few months later, Brian found the exact same house on his own while he was out driving around and came home to tell me about it (note this doesn't usually happen). When I realized which house he was talking about I said, "Yes, I know that house. I've been looking at it, but I thought you would say it was too much money." And, he said, "Well, I almost didn't mention it to you because I thought you would say it needed too much work."
We decided to take a walk through the house and the interior was much better than we expected. Here is the story of the house (as I have pieced it together over the past few months, it may or may not be completely accurate):
The house was owned for many decades by a family who cared for it meticulously. The yard was one of the most pristine in the neighborhood. The husband of the couple who owned it has now passed away and the wife is 98-years-old and in a care center. Several (I'm not sure how many) years ago, when they left the home, it was turned into a rental and thoroughly trashed. The yard went to pot. The inside (I am told though it has since been repaired) was water damaged.
In 2008, it was purchased by an investor who made several improvements to the inside -- including putting down lovely tile in several of the rooms and the bathroom vanity and kitchen counters. In 2009, the home was taken back by the bank and it has sat empty ever since.
It is my understanding that it was priced quite a bit higher and that the inside was looking pretty shabby for most of the time that the bank has owned it (the outside still looks pretty shabby). So, it got a bad reputation and it wasn't even being shown much anymore by the time we found it. But, right before we came into the picture, the bank went in and replaced all of the carpets and painted the entire interior (doesn't a fresh coat of paint make such a difference?). In addition, they lowered the price right before we went to see it too.
The house was bigger than what we were planning on buying. I mean, I wanted a little more space, not twice as much space. But, it was such a good deal. We fell in love with the huge windows, the floor plan, the lot (for it's potential, not it's current dead state), the huge closet in the master bedroom, and the covered porch over the garage which has an even better view of the setting sun than our current beloved porch. From the start, we were emotionally attached. It felt like the right space for us. And, the other best part? Our kids don't even have to change schools!
In an uncharacteristic fashion (are you even kidding - we only looked at one house!) we quickly got the house under contract (and not a moment too soon, since a backup offer came in just as we were about to sign on the dotted line). They would not accept a contingency to sell our other home and required us to close by the end of October (six short weeks from the time we got the contract), so we signed anyways and decided to just take a chance and see if it was possible to sell our house in record breaking time. In this housing market no less.
In one week, we painted the exterior, moved a ton of our possessions into boxes in the garage, replaced carpets, did 99 little touch ups and hired a genius real estate agent. The next week we had 2-3 showings every day. One couple came back three times and narrowed their choices to this house and one other (then they chose the other). Another couple made a low offer and stressed us out for eight days while we negotiated (and then walked away after we agreed to give them the shirts off our backs).
Last Monday, October 3rd, we got the news in the evening that our buyers were walking away. It was so late in the game. I said to myself, "I guess we've lost the other house and we need to withdraw our offer." It was getting to be too late for us to even get our financing in time, let alone wait for someone else to get their financing first. The bank was not willing to negotiate on our deadlines and, now, interest in the house we are trying to buy has grown and now there are several buyers waiting in the wings if our contract falls through.
I drove up to the new house and looked around at the dead yard and I thought, "This house is too much work anyways." But, in my heart, I couldn't stop feeling like it was meant to be our house.
But, how?
Of course there have been many prayers about this decision and at this time I was praying for either closure or a buyer, and a buyer is what I got!
Less than 24-hours after the contract with the wrong buyers fell through (during the whole negotiation process, Brian and I both felt that they were the wrong buyers but we were trying not to let our extreme emotional attachment to the house get in the way -- note: I don't even think they liked the house very much, they just wanted a cheap deal) the right buyers appeared! Yay! I love happy endings.
Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes as planned. I feel at peace, like it's all falling into place. However, I've also lived long enough to know that life is full of surprises.
For now, I'm just happy to know that there is another family out there who really loves my little bungalow.
Over the years, as we've discussed off and on plans to sell this house and buy something bigger, I have wondered, "How do you get a prospective buyer to appreciate something like the front porch?" It's so much more than meets the eye.
There are 101 little things that we love about this house. The maple hardwood floors, the antique chandelier, the stained glass windows, the deep storage space in the bathroom cupboards, the ancient cottonwood in the backyard (love/hate relationship with the tree actually) . . . We have tried not to be emotionally attached. We did our best job yet of being detached sellers during this current attempt. But, truly, I must admit, it is impossible. I don't know if we are just hugely sentimental to the core, or if it is because we have molded this home inside and out with our own bare hands to make it what it is, or if it is because some of the most important years of our lives - when all four of our babies were born -- were spent here, or, if it is all the neighbors we have come to love -- I'm not sure which factor contributes the most, but we are so emotionally attached to this home that it's impossible for us to flip a switch and turn that off no matter how hard we try.
This is why I was so happy when I finally met our buyers face to face last night and they went on and on about how much they love the front porch and the stained glass windows and the backyard . . . It warmed my heart. I always hoped that someday when we were finished with our little house on 25th Street that just the right people would come along and love it the way we have.
If all goes according to plan, we will be living in our new house, just a few blocks away, by the end of the month! Everything has happened so fast that is doesn't even seem real. And, now I will share the story of how we came to find our new house.
We have been talking about getting a bigger house for . . . ummm . . . let's see, about ten years. We have even put this house up for sale a time or two (ahem, or three), but, the timing was just never right. Last year, I got pretty serious about wanting to upgrade for many reasons, one of them being that we knew we would need a bigger house to raise our kids through their teenage years and it's easier to move them when they are younger (although, we have already waited so long that this transition is breaking both Sophie and Ian's hearts a little).
I was hoping that we would put the house up for sale in the spring. But, we didn't get around to doing all of the improvement projects to make that happen (we had to do quite the kitchen remodel to add cabinets to one wall and remove cabinets from another so we could install a dishwasher -- because, selling a house with no dishwasher is like trying to sell a house with no roof or no front door apparently). Brian plugged away at projects, but spring and summer came and went and we still weren't ready.
Meanwhile, a good friend of mine told me about a house up the street from her that was for sale. I appreciated her suggestion and I even drove to the house and walked around it peeking in the windows several times. But, I did not tell Brian because it was at the upper end of our price range and I didn't think he would go for it.
A few months later, Brian found the exact same house on his own while he was out driving around and came home to tell me about it (note this doesn't usually happen). When I realized which house he was talking about I said, "Yes, I know that house. I've been looking at it, but I thought you would say it was too much money." And, he said, "Well, I almost didn't mention it to you because I thought you would say it needed too much work."
We decided to take a walk through the house and the interior was much better than we expected. Here is the story of the house (as I have pieced it together over the past few months, it may or may not be completely accurate):
The house was owned for many decades by a family who cared for it meticulously. The yard was one of the most pristine in the neighborhood. The husband of the couple who owned it has now passed away and the wife is 98-years-old and in a care center. Several (I'm not sure how many) years ago, when they left the home, it was turned into a rental and thoroughly trashed. The yard went to pot. The inside (I am told though it has since been repaired) was water damaged.
In 2008, it was purchased by an investor who made several improvements to the inside -- including putting down lovely tile in several of the rooms and the bathroom vanity and kitchen counters. In 2009, the home was taken back by the bank and it has sat empty ever since.
It is my understanding that it was priced quite a bit higher and that the inside was looking pretty shabby for most of the time that the bank has owned it (the outside still looks pretty shabby). So, it got a bad reputation and it wasn't even being shown much anymore by the time we found it. But, right before we came into the picture, the bank went in and replaced all of the carpets and painted the entire interior (doesn't a fresh coat of paint make such a difference?). In addition, they lowered the price right before we went to see it too.
The house was bigger than what we were planning on buying. I mean, I wanted a little more space, not twice as much space. But, it was such a good deal. We fell in love with the huge windows, the floor plan, the lot (for it's potential, not it's current dead state), the huge closet in the master bedroom, and the covered porch over the garage which has an even better view of the setting sun than our current beloved porch. From the start, we were emotionally attached. It felt like the right space for us. And, the other best part? Our kids don't even have to change schools!
In an uncharacteristic fashion (are you even kidding - we only looked at one house!) we quickly got the house under contract (and not a moment too soon, since a backup offer came in just as we were about to sign on the dotted line). They would not accept a contingency to sell our other home and required us to close by the end of October (six short weeks from the time we got the contract), so we signed anyways and decided to just take a chance and see if it was possible to sell our house in record breaking time. In this housing market no less.
In one week, we painted the exterior, moved a ton of our possessions into boxes in the garage, replaced carpets, did 99 little touch ups and hired a genius real estate agent. The next week we had 2-3 showings every day. One couple came back three times and narrowed their choices to this house and one other (then they chose the other). Another couple made a low offer and stressed us out for eight days while we negotiated (and then walked away after we agreed to give them the shirts off our backs).
Last Monday, October 3rd, we got the news in the evening that our buyers were walking away. It was so late in the game. I said to myself, "I guess we've lost the other house and we need to withdraw our offer." It was getting to be too late for us to even get our financing in time, let alone wait for someone else to get their financing first. The bank was not willing to negotiate on our deadlines and, now, interest in the house we are trying to buy has grown and now there are several buyers waiting in the wings if our contract falls through.
I drove up to the new house and looked around at the dead yard and I thought, "This house is too much work anyways." But, in my heart, I couldn't stop feeling like it was meant to be our house.
But, how?
Of course there have been many prayers about this decision and at this time I was praying for either closure or a buyer, and a buyer is what I got!
Less than 24-hours after the contract with the wrong buyers fell through (during the whole negotiation process, Brian and I both felt that they were the wrong buyers but we were trying not to let our extreme emotional attachment to the house get in the way -- note: I don't even think they liked the house very much, they just wanted a cheap deal) the right buyers appeared! Yay! I love happy endings.
Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes as planned. I feel at peace, like it's all falling into place. However, I've also lived long enough to know that life is full of surprises.
For now, I'm just happy to know that there is another family out there who really loves my little bungalow.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Sophie Sews
That is an image of Sophie's foot last night and, yes, that is a needle sticking right up into the bone. If you look closely, you can see the outline of the cute slipper socks she was wearing (which she begged the Doctor to not cut off and he complied).She went to a sewing demonstration at the church last night, along with the other 10-year-old girls. I was in another area of the church working with the cub scouts when I was asked to come attend to my daughter who had "stepped on a needle."
More accurately, she had unwittingly "jumped" onto a needle that was poked into the carpet, sticking straight up. She wasn't wearing any shoes, and, of course, did not see the needle protruding in her path.
It was a pretty stressful moment for the both of us as I rushed her to urgent care. She was turning pale and shaking all over from the shock. Inside, I felt the same way, but, I'm the mom, so I had to appear like I was in control of myself.
By the time we arrived at the clinic, she had calmed down and was pretty excited about riding in a wheelchair (ahhh, the small pleasures in life). The nice staff took x-rays and then used pliers to yank the needle out. But, they made sure to take their time. Can you imagine if the bill arrived and we were like, "They want xxxxx$ for 15 minutes! What?" I'm sure they wanted us to feel that we were getting our money's worth.
About three hours had passed and it seemed all was well in the world. They had just shot her up with antibiotics (to prevent infection) and were about to send us out the door with a prescription for more antibiotics when we all suddenly realized that the needle was broken. Another x ray confirmed that, sure enough, the eye of the needle was still lodged way up in her bone.
There was nothing to be done about it right then, so we went ahead and came home. Today, we were advised by a orthopedic specialist that it's probably ok to just leave the fragment of metal in there. Hopefully, it will heal and this is the end of it.
Since there were so many who witnessed the accident, Sophie has received an outpouring of love and concern including phone calls, visits, a bouquet of flowers, candy, a pie, a pillow pet and a friendship bracelet kit. Her foot is sore, but we think she is going to be fine.
In other news . . .
It looks like we will be moving at the end of the month!!!
Is it too soon to say it? I don't know. It looks like things will be "up in the air" right up until the last possible minute. And, then, if all goes well (our agent seems very confident that all will go perfectly), we will have about 48-hours to move into our new place once things are a "for sure go" and it will all be over and done with before Halloween.
All that I have to say is -- I do not have the nerves for real estate. I like to have things planned out and wrapped up far in advance. It is a real challenge for me to just leave it all hanging out there to chance until the last possible minute. But, that is how it goes I guess.
At the end of the month we will either move, or we will have a horrible emotional shock and all of our things will be packed up in boxes with nowhere to go. Hahahaha. Wish us luck!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Spillin' the Beans
We are putting our house on the market on Friday and hoping it sells fast. Lightning quick. Like, as in the first 24-hours.
We put an offer in on a little bit larger home about a half mile away. It's the perfect situation as far as getting a little more space and the kids not having to change schools.
Sadly, it means we have to let our little bungalow go. We've loved living here. But, adding a sixth person to our family has made the space just a little more cozy than we want.
We only have one week to get an offer or we will lose our contract on the other house. So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and if you know anyone who's looking for a house in Ogden, be sure to send them our way.
We put an offer in on a little bit larger home about a half mile away. It's the perfect situation as far as getting a little more space and the kids not having to change schools.
Sadly, it means we have to let our little bungalow go. We've loved living here. But, adding a sixth person to our family has made the space just a little more cozy than we want.
We only have one week to get an offer or we will lose our contract on the other house. So, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and if you know anyone who's looking for a house in Ogden, be sure to send them our way.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
How I Came to Know Gangrene
Brian is always saying, "We should do something more original." You know, a more original date night than just going out to dinner, or the occasional dinner and a movie.
This is the story of how we came to take our family to see a band of Sasquatches perform.
Two weeks ago, I came home after a long day of work and sat down on the couch with a sigh. There were only five more days of summer vacation. All I wanted to do was focus on ending summer with a bang and getting the kids ready to go back to school. Ahhhh . . . it was Thursday night. I didn't have to go to the office on Friday. I was ready to start my weekend.
I opened my e-mail to discover a story assignment that would have to be worked on over the weekend. Normally, I wouldn't mind. Actually, this is normal. But, on this particular night, I was wishing to not have to work over the weekend. Plus, the house was needing some TLC, and the kids were probably needing some extra TLC too. The assignment was just one more thing.
I really started to complain when I saw that my assignment was to cover a film festival involving an opening act of a band with all of its members dressed like Big Foot. "Who does that?" I was asking Brian. "If you and five of your closest friends all own Sasquatch costumes and you like to wear them and rock out in your garage . . . ?" Needless to say, I was less than enthused when I picked up the phone on Friday and started making phone calls.
Over the course of the next few days, I spoke to organizers of the Gangrene film festival and a spokesperson for the band (those Big Foots are too shy to talk to humans after all). We exchanged e-mails and and phone calls and they won me over with their sincerity and kindness. I learned that they were super nice people just having a good time.
The organizers, four film producers, said they always loved to throw backyard parties. And, to keep it interesting, they also liked to base the parties around a kooky theme. One year, they invited all of their friends to watch some of their short films on a big screen in their backyard and they called it "The Gangrene Film Festival" after their production label "Gangrene Films." Their friends liked it so much, they begged them to do it again the following year and to allow them to invite their friends.
The crowd of 40 grew to 100 and they had to move it to a high school auditorium. And, so this film festival was born 12 years ago. Since then, the crowds have grown from the hundreds to thousands and they have had opening acts including tap dancing grandmas, break dancing pirates, and -- my personal favorite -- Mini KISS, a KISS cover band comprised of little people (I didn't see them perform since I just learned about the film festival this year, but google their photos and you will love them too).
Word is out and now they receive hundreds of film entries each year. They choose which films to show based on two criteria: 1) It has to be hilarious and 2) It can contain no offensive content.
I loved that they created a family friendly film festival and that the price was family friendly too ($35 for the 7 p.m. session or $50 for the 7 and 10 p.m. sessions for the whole family). After I got over myself and decided to loosen up and think about how much my kids were going to laugh their heads off at a big foot playing the keyboard or electric guitar, I decided we would go.
I figured it was a bit of a gamble -- funny? Or, just bizarre? But, my instincts were right and the film festival was fabulous! I would totally go back again. The Big Foots of Wasasquatch were really quite talented. And, when they performed "Stairway to Heaven," and a string quartet joined them on-stage, followed by a team of graceful dancers, followed by an entire marching brass section, I realized we were getting way more than our money's worth. The films were funny and quite professional too.
The best part was that it was something the whole family enjoyed. And, definitely original. Even Brian, the naysayer, (what? you asked for original babe) had a great time. I'm excited to see what they come up with next year and I would recommend this event to anyone (although we may leave Isaac and Katie home next year since Isaac in particular started to go "it's past my bedtime" crazy about 45 minutes before the early session ended at 10:15 p.m.).
This is the story of how we came to take our family to see a band of Sasquatches perform.
Two weeks ago, I came home after a long day of work and sat down on the couch with a sigh. There were only five more days of summer vacation. All I wanted to do was focus on ending summer with a bang and getting the kids ready to go back to school. Ahhhh . . . it was Thursday night. I didn't have to go to the office on Friday. I was ready to start my weekend.
I opened my e-mail to discover a story assignment that would have to be worked on over the weekend. Normally, I wouldn't mind. Actually, this is normal. But, on this particular night, I was wishing to not have to work over the weekend. Plus, the house was needing some TLC, and the kids were probably needing some extra TLC too. The assignment was just one more thing.
I really started to complain when I saw that my assignment was to cover a film festival involving an opening act of a band with all of its members dressed like Big Foot. "Who does that?" I was asking Brian. "If you and five of your closest friends all own Sasquatch costumes and you like to wear them and rock out in your garage . . . ?" Needless to say, I was less than enthused when I picked up the phone on Friday and started making phone calls.
Over the course of the next few days, I spoke to organizers of the Gangrene film festival and a spokesperson for the band (those Big Foots are too shy to talk to humans after all). We exchanged e-mails and and phone calls and they won me over with their sincerity and kindness. I learned that they were super nice people just having a good time.
The organizers, four film producers, said they always loved to throw backyard parties. And, to keep it interesting, they also liked to base the parties around a kooky theme. One year, they invited all of their friends to watch some of their short films on a big screen in their backyard and they called it "The Gangrene Film Festival" after their production label "Gangrene Films." Their friends liked it so much, they begged them to do it again the following year and to allow them to invite their friends.
The crowd of 40 grew to 100 and they had to move it to a high school auditorium. And, so this film festival was born 12 years ago. Since then, the crowds have grown from the hundreds to thousands and they have had opening acts including tap dancing grandmas, break dancing pirates, and -- my personal favorite -- Mini KISS, a KISS cover band comprised of little people (I didn't see them perform since I just learned about the film festival this year, but google their photos and you will love them too).
Word is out and now they receive hundreds of film entries each year. They choose which films to show based on two criteria: 1) It has to be hilarious and 2) It can contain no offensive content.
I loved that they created a family friendly film festival and that the price was family friendly too ($35 for the 7 p.m. session or $50 for the 7 and 10 p.m. sessions for the whole family). After I got over myself and decided to loosen up and think about how much my kids were going to laugh their heads off at a big foot playing the keyboard or electric guitar, I decided we would go.
I figured it was a bit of a gamble -- funny? Or, just bizarre? But, my instincts were right and the film festival was fabulous! I would totally go back again. The Big Foots of Wasasquatch were really quite talented. And, when they performed "Stairway to Heaven," and a string quartet joined them on-stage, followed by a team of graceful dancers, followed by an entire marching brass section, I realized we were getting way more than our money's worth. The films were funny and quite professional too.
The best part was that it was something the whole family enjoyed. And, definitely original. Even Brian, the naysayer, (what? you asked for original babe) had a great time. I'm excited to see what they come up with next year and I would recommend this event to anyone (although we may leave Isaac and Katie home next year since Isaac in particular started to go "it's past my bedtime" crazy about 45 minutes before the early session ended at 10:15 p.m.).
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Girl Scout Camp
Thank you to everyone who supported Sophie in her Girl Scout cookie sales earlier this year. There have been so many rewards. The first was that she got to attend a three day camp at Cloud Rim, a Girl Scout campground located in the mountains above Park City.
The second was that I got to attend a "Mother/Daughter" overnighter (also at Cloud Rim) with Sophie over the weekend.
It was a gorgeous place. We hiked, kayaked on the lake, crafted together in the lodge, and slept on bunkbeds in a rustic little cabin. Sophie was able to show me all of the places she had told me about from her previous camp experience, including "the biffy" -- as they like to call the bathroom. Several of her camp counselors were there too so it was fun for her to see them again.
I called ahead to find out the menu and since they were serving pasta the first night, I decided to swing by 1025 Eatery -- a fantastic new restaurant in Bountiful -- to pick up a gluten free meal. I got a mock pasta dish, ribbons of zucchini in the most flavorful sauce I've ever tasted. Yum! It was a real treat to be gluten free that night. The chef is such a fantastic food artist that I felt kind of guilty pulling out my gorgeous mound of food (it was lovely even after being rocked around in the cooler and re-heated in the microwave).
In my dream life, I was planning to take Sophie shopping for hours at the outlet malls on our way up to camp. In my real life we were hours behind schedule so we barely had time to pick up a t-shirt and hat at the Park City Wal-Mart and peek inside two outlet stores before it was time to head up to the mountains.
We wanted to hit the outlets on the way home, but there were two problems: 1) again the issue of time, and, 2) ewww - we had just been camping and hadn't showered, so we weren't exactly presentable for shopping.
Sophie was determined to stop at the Justice store (which we discovered is not actually an 'outlet' for Justice but, just a regular store). And, while we were finding a place to park, she scouted out the Harry and David's gourmet popcorn shop. Oh how that lovely popcorn was calling out both of our names! I looked at the popcorn and almost didn't buy any. But, at the last minute I picked out a combination of caramel, dark chocolate and milk chocolate popcorn (by the way, the chocolate popcorn is coated with caramel before it is dipped in chocolate - oohlala!). I almost died when I saw that there were 210 calories per 1/2 cup!!! Yikes. I knew we could polish off several cups on the long drive home. So, I made a rule that we had to wait at least five minutes between each bite so we could savor our tasty treat and keep from making ourselves sick. I also made a rule that we each had to tell a story before we could have more. It turned out to be a great bonding time of sharing stories with each other and when we arrived in Ogden, Sophie said, "That was the best long car ride ever." Awww. That was great to hear.
What a gift this weekend was to me. I can't believe how the years keep passing and somehow I hardly ever manage to make one on one time with my kids. The more and more I am involved in Girl Scouts, the more and more I love this program.
Hopefully cub scouts will be the same way because one of my greatest fears came true last month when I was called to serve as the cub scout Bear leader. I've had some time to get use to the idea, but, hello? Girl scouts every week and now cub scouts every week too. Zooweemama! That is a lot of scouts.
The good news is that Ian will be a Bear in a few months, so, it will be fun to be his leader for the coming year.
The second was that I got to attend a "Mother/Daughter" overnighter (also at Cloud Rim) with Sophie over the weekend.
It was a gorgeous place. We hiked, kayaked on the lake, crafted together in the lodge, and slept on bunkbeds in a rustic little cabin. Sophie was able to show me all of the places she had told me about from her previous camp experience, including "the biffy" -- as they like to call the bathroom. Several of her camp counselors were there too so it was fun for her to see them again.
I called ahead to find out the menu and since they were serving pasta the first night, I decided to swing by 1025 Eatery -- a fantastic new restaurant in Bountiful -- to pick up a gluten free meal. I got a mock pasta dish, ribbons of zucchini in the most flavorful sauce I've ever tasted. Yum! It was a real treat to be gluten free that night. The chef is such a fantastic food artist that I felt kind of guilty pulling out my gorgeous mound of food (it was lovely even after being rocked around in the cooler and re-heated in the microwave).
In my dream life, I was planning to take Sophie shopping for hours at the outlet malls on our way up to camp. In my real life we were hours behind schedule so we barely had time to pick up a t-shirt and hat at the Park City Wal-Mart and peek inside two outlet stores before it was time to head up to the mountains.
We wanted to hit the outlets on the way home, but there were two problems: 1) again the issue of time, and, 2) ewww - we had just been camping and hadn't showered, so we weren't exactly presentable for shopping.
Sophie was determined to stop at the Justice store (which we discovered is not actually an 'outlet' for Justice but, just a regular store). And, while we were finding a place to park, she scouted out the Harry and David's gourmet popcorn shop. Oh how that lovely popcorn was calling out both of our names! I looked at the popcorn and almost didn't buy any. But, at the last minute I picked out a combination of caramel, dark chocolate and milk chocolate popcorn (by the way, the chocolate popcorn is coated with caramel before it is dipped in chocolate - oohlala!). I almost died when I saw that there were 210 calories per 1/2 cup!!! Yikes. I knew we could polish off several cups on the long drive home. So, I made a rule that we had to wait at least five minutes between each bite so we could savor our tasty treat and keep from making ourselves sick. I also made a rule that we each had to tell a story before we could have more. It turned out to be a great bonding time of sharing stories with each other and when we arrived in Ogden, Sophie said, "That was the best long car ride ever." Awww. That was great to hear.
What a gift this weekend was to me. I can't believe how the years keep passing and somehow I hardly ever manage to make one on one time with my kids. The more and more I am involved in Girl Scouts, the more and more I love this program.
Hopefully cub scouts will be the same way because one of my greatest fears came true last month when I was called to serve as the cub scout Bear leader. I've had some time to get use to the idea, but, hello? Girl scouts every week and now cub scouts every week too. Zooweemama! That is a lot of scouts.
The good news is that Ian will be a Bear in a few months, so, it will be fun to be his leader for the coming year.
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