The Minnesota LeGaults

A sweet, sweet sound

2012-02-01T19:28:00.005-06:00

This year I have a very special birthday wish, I would like for my church to have their very own CD. I figure that since my Christmas Wish came true I must be on a roll, so why stop there?

Starting today, our church in downtown Minneapolis is raising funds for their first original CD. This is really good news because these people know how to rock a hymnal book. I can't wait for my very own copy! Unlike Peter Pan and Thomas the Train Engine, though, I think Hope's worship team may need a bit more help than positive thinking can provide. They only have 60 days to raise almost $15,000. If you want to get me the best birthday gift ever, I would like for you to pledge a donation of $10 to this project -- that is less than you would pay for a CD at Target. Click here to make me a very happy birthday girl.

To learn more about Hope CC's CD project, check out the sweet video at the top of this post. To learn more about Hope's Worship Team click here.

A new friend for Mac

2012-01-28T15:34:00.002-06:00

This afternoon, Mackinac met Penny, the ninja dog. Although Penny is about one fifth of Mackinac's size, this girl can hold her ground. In fact, she seemed to enjoy being the instigator. Itty-bitty Penny playfully chomped at Mackinac like a little alligator and leapt up into Mackinac's face without abandon while they chased each other around the backyard.

I sense a true friendship blossoming here...

Hopefully this is just the beginning.

Warm winter mornings

2012-01-28T11:26:00.006-06:00

Mackinac reminds me a little bit of my younger brother Fred. When we were in elementary, Fred used to lie in front of the heating vents on cold winter mornings before we walked to the bus stop.

There is only one heating vent in the main living area of our small house and at first it troubled Mackinac. She would paw at the warm air forced through the floor vent and stare at it -- maybe waiting for some basement dwelling critter to emerge. Of course, none ever did. Our dog is really smart, though, and it didn't take her long to realize the full benefit of the warm cubby hole next to our couch.

Now, every morning, she lies on the vent between the couch and wall while we get ready for work.

Annie's Mac and Cheese

2012-01-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

This year we chose very personal Christmas gifts for each of my siblings: items of food that had their names in the brand. This is an idea that had perculated in my mind since I first spotted a box of crackers with Anna's name on them. From there, it turned into a game. Could we find them all? Almost. Not even the grocery clerks whose help we sought out had an answer for the last one.

In a box bound for Michigan we packed gifts that didn't really require tags -- but we added them out of elementary good breeding. Amy's Soup. FRED water. Annie's Mac and Cheese. Me(l)agn(e) candles. (We had to rearrange a few letters to make that one work...) If Richard didn't live with us you better believe that a box of Orville Redenbacher (his middle name is Orville) would have been included in the package we mailed home.

Just yesterday a surprise came in the mail. Anna's thank you note. Just like its author, the note is simple and to the point, but also bold and artful. Only a true artist would waste two stamps and a large envelope to mail a single, unfolded, sheet of lined paper in order to preserve a message written in adhesive text.

My clever little sister, I've got a message for you, too:

The magic of marriage

2012-01-23T23:50:00.003-06:00

Remember all of those times you suggested something "fun" and your friends looked at you like you were "crazy" because you are "too old" to do that or it is "too dangerous" or "too ridiculous," or (insert lame excuse here). When you're married all of that changes. One of the greatest joys of having a husband is that you finally have someone to support you in everything you do, especially if it's ridiculous.

Just a typical date night for the LeGaults...

This is Why We Can't Have Nice Things!

2012-01-18T12:33:00.004-06:00

Hypothetically, let's say a person was putting leftovers into a container. Let's say this person had just woken up and wasn't yet completely conscious or aware of what they were doing. Let's say that this person's wife had already made tea that morning, and that one of the stove's electric coils was still fairly hot. Let's say this person's kitchen doesn't have a lot of counter space, so they sometimes set things on top of the stove. What do you suppose would happen to that person?

As you can see above, I started my morning off by melting the lid for one of our nice food containers. Now, the whole kitchen smells like plastic and I have something new to add to my wall of failure:

I forgot to mention that the lid was to some fancy new containers that Michelle got for Christmas. Any ideas for how I can score a few good-husband points?

It's not a paste-ee, it's a past-ee.

2012-01-15T20:00:00.001-06:00

The pasty, I would say, holds the most important spot in the Yooper Food Pyramid because baked inside its warm, flaky crust you will discover all of the traditional food groups: Wheat, meat, vegetables, starch and beef.

The exact origins of the pasty are unclear, so says Wikipedia, but recipes for them have appeared in cookbooks for hundreds of years. The pasties we most commonly see in the U.S. are the Cornish Pasty, which is shaped like the letter "D" with the center filled in. Supposedly the Cornish pasties made their way to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan around the 1850s, when copper mining was a booming industry. Cornish miners, called "Cousin Jacks" often packed pasties for their lunches. Most likely, though, the pasties were prepared by their wives who were called "Cousin Jennys."

Now, in many ways the pasty has become a sort of local delicacy and tourist attraction in the U.P. You really don't hear of them in many other places. As a resident of lower Michigan for more than 20 years, I can attest that I had not seen or heard of pasties before meeting my Yooper husband.

When we went home over Christmas we bought a bag of frozen pasties (not from WalMart, but the good kind from Dobber's) to bring back to Minnesota with us. I don't know why we never thought of this before. Next time, I think we need to buy at least two bags.

Last word.

2012-01-08T22:15:00.020-06:00

Even now that it is January, the city of Minneapolis continues to pretend that it is still fall. Some days we don't even wear our hats. We are rebels who bite our thumbs at Old Man Winter. We snub him with our bare heads and stylish fall jackets. This is our year! We will not succumb to unfashionable compulsions that make us look like formless towers of winter apparel. Plaid arm linked to plaid arm, the Minneapolis hipsters will rise up and fight until the first day of spring.

Old Man Winter, we don't fear you. All that remains of this year's snow are piddly little frozen mounds scattered here and there like dirty little islands, most of them at the edges of parking lots or along street curbs. Already the epic storm of 2010 that crushed the Metrodome roof and barricaded us in our homes feels like a happy dream. Wasn't that ever so quaint to shovel the snow for eight straight hours, just like Laura Ingles-Wilder? Oh, fond memories.

As nostalgia snowballs into overdrive we think sweetly of our snow shoveling days and... oh no... we begin to miss the big piles of white. We do live in the Midwest for a reason after all. Do people in Florida even have a need for hot chocolate or fire places? Furthermore, is it really Christmas before the ground is coated in white and our noses run like warm twin waterfalls? No. It is not. As much as we hate to admit it, we sort of enjoy all that beautiful snow.

In search of winter (and a break from life), David and I trekked north with a group of friends this weekend. We drove to the uppermost border of Minnesota, almost to Canada. This, is where we finally found Old Man Winter's secret stash of snow.

From Friday through Sunday we stayed at the Adventurous Christians Wilderness Retreat (AC) with some old friends and some new friends, most of them from Hope CC and some of them under four feet tall.

Right away, David felt at home at AC when he found a coffee mug with a Brontosaurus on it. If you have ever seen his favorite Martin Short movie, you know why he chose this mug. If you haven't seen it, let me tell you, "Clifford" epitomizes the definition of a ridiculous movie and you probably won't laugh the first time you see it -- unless you really love Martin Short or are watching him with David, whose giddy laughter and tears make the pain worth it, every time.

Our packing list for AC included swim suits (for the sauna), winter layers, books, one railroad lantern, wool socks, sleeping bags, toothbrushes, one headlamp, my camera, and rental skis. Our list did NOT include any electronic devices or Mackinac. We were letting go of our cushy lifestyle in the city with its forced air heating system and indoor plumbing to fully embrace the wilderness.

We spent the weekend enjoying God's creation away from the distractions at home (this like this blog, for example, is a distraction). Instead of sitting bleary-eyed in front of our computer monitors or televisions, or wired to our cell phones, we snow-shooed, skied, lounged in the lodge and enjoyed the company of the people around us. In the middle of the woods while skiing cross country David suggested that we just stop and listen to the silence. There was not one sound. No cars. No birds. No wind. We all stood very still and appreciated the peacefulness.

Allowing quiet time into our lives is easy to do with all of the major distractions out of the way. The real challenge comes now that we are home, cornered on all sides by shiny technology toys and "things to do." Sitting down and "just listening" doesn't come easy when dirty dishes pile up in the sink and laundry baskets flood over and puppies drop their toys at your feet. My personal goal is to allow God to cut those things out of my life that bear no fruit and allow him to tend to the things that do. Back in the day, my mom was a physical education teacher and she used to tell me that it takes three weeks to form a habit. That's all, just twenty-one days. If for three consecutive weeks we could consistently take the time to stop and listen to the Holy Spirit each day, imagine how our lives could transform.

JOHN 15:1-4

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

We bring good tidings and Yooper bars

2011-12-26T13:02:00.007-06:00

We really made the rounds this year, visiting a total of three cities in four days.

Before hitting the road, we opened gifts at home. (This logical suggestion came from David and Rich who reasoned this would leave more room in our car for the gifts we'd be bringing home). My favorite gifts were my new Smartwool socks and a zombie cupcake cookbook. David got this idea after I made zombie gingerbread men at the Hope cookie bake. I can't really speak for the boys because they're boys and so I don't really know what they are thinking... but judging from the fact that David decided to wear all of running accessories I bought him -- all together while he opened his other presents -- I would say that he liked that the best. For Rich, my guess would be his Star Wars Lego set. In the middle of opening gifts he stopped to assemble his Lego starship.

Once we had opened all of our gifts, which took much longer than we thought it would, we headed to the Northeast, destination Houghton, MI. We spent the night and an afternoon there with David's cousin and his family before getting on the road again -- this time moving south to Gladstone, MI.

In Gladstone, we stayed with David's parents and got to see some of our friends who have settled in "downstate" Michigan after college. On Christmas Eve, Rich stuck with the only true Hamilton tradition and slept underneath the Christmas tree. Lucky for him Gator didn't reenact Christmas of 2009 when he left a little homemade gift for Ma and Pa LeGault under the tree.

On Christmas Day we began the long journey home, with a "quick" detour in Wisconsin. Our Aunt Joyce lives just south of Green Bay and we made plans ahead of time to drop in on her family. I got to see cousins that I hadn't seen ten years, or more, and David got to meet a bunch of new people -- most of them age 10 or under. For Rich it was like meeting new people, too, because he said he hardly recognized anyone there. We surprised the kids all with Yooper chocolate bars and other assorted goodies, solidifying our reputations as fun cousins, the kind you hope drop in on you randomly with their lovable puppy in tow.

Hopefully we get to seem them all again soon, but I'm thinking it's about time we spent a holiday downstate. Now, if we could just convince the airlines to lower ticket prices from Minneapolis to GR, we'd be set.

New favorites

2011-12-21T00:18:00.005-06:00

One of my favorite Christmas decorations this year is a set of three reindeer ornaments that have our (reindeer) names on them. I bought these at Target this year and sewed our names into them to commemorate running with Santa's full crew. Originally, we hung the reindeer on our tree, but we quickly learned that wasn't safe. One day David found Mackinac gently chewing on Dancer and it was then quickly decided to move all ornaments resembling plush doggie toys to a higher location -- pinned to the curtain on the front window.

Another of my favorite new decorations is something I just made in the oven today. This is a new record bowl that adorns the base of the flower vase on our dining table. This is actually a Christmas music album, and so I'm using the record album cover as a mat underneath the bowl/vase. It's pretty cool, if I do say so. Also, the funky album cover matches nicely with our retro-chic gold embroidered table cloth, with two inch fringe! It's fringe-tastic.

Holiday party throw down!

2011-12-17T19:57:00.005-06:00

When your friends are from Oklahoma, anything goes. This includes the phrase "throw down" and the donning of exceptional Christmas attire (as pictured) in regards to a holiday gathering of your closest pals.

I just hope that everyone else gets as gussied up as we are...

Ohana means family

2011-12-10T13:52:00.002-06:00

On our winter walk today we passed by a playground. The boys weren't the only ones who wanted a turn on the slides...

Caged children in animal attire up cuteness factor at parade of lights.

2011-12-09T22:21:00.008-06:00

The best part about Holidazzle tonight was the group of live children being paraded through the streets in carnival cages. There really is nothing cuter than a 6-year-old wearing a bedazzled elephant costume waving at you from the inside of a lighted cage. It's really quite precious, like those Anne Geddes pictures that David calls creepy and weird.

When I showed these pictures to Richard he asked me if the kids played their parts. He wanted to know if they crawled around in the cages like real circus animals. These were not wild circus animals, I told him. They were domesticated, calm. All of the tigers, elephants and giraffes sat very politely and waved as the parade progressed down the street. Richard then declared to me, "I would have GROWLED!" To show his seriousness, he then demonstrated a ferocious growl and bared his teeth. I think he would make an excellent tiger.

Parades are always more fun if you know someone marching in them. That's actually the reason I went to Holidazzle (again) tonight. Our friend Ryan got to march with the Minneapolis Police Marching band as a toy soldier. His wife Stephanie (also our friend) went to watch for him. I'm not even embarrassed to admit that after the band marched past us we chased them for one block so that we could take a few more photographs. It was so exciting!

Dunked for Jesus. Dead to sin.

2011-12-04T21:45:00.007-06:00

We left church an hour ago and my hair is still damp. The florescent orange T-shirt they gave me as a souvenir is still soaked -- as is the underwear that I forgot to remove before I put on the baptism clothes.

Our church, Hope Community Church, practices what is called a believer's baptism. That is when you are baptized as an adult, immersed in water as a statement of faith to God, your church and your friends. This is what Hope says about believer's baptisms:

"We believe that Christian baptism is the public declaration of a believer’s faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins. We believe that immersion of the believer in water in the name of the triune God is the richest expression of the New Testament example. Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 11:23-26"

Tonight was a baptism service at Hope. This means that after the sermon, people were invited up to the stage to be immersed in a tub as they professed their faith in Jesus. From the pews, I watched the pastor step into the tub. My first thought was, "I hope the water is heated." During the baptisms, the church band was playing and when they got to one song, The Glory of it All, I was completely struck by how much I believed the words. My heart pounded louder and louder and I felt anxious and excited the way you do when you're waiting in the wings to go onstage for a performance. David was there. Rich was there. The girl I mentor was sitting in our pew. I had seen many of my good friends from Hope -- all there at the night service with us. I left our pew and found a friend who I knew could point me toward the baptism clothes.

When I stepped through the stage door toward the tub, I didn't even think about the temperature of the water. (It isn't heated, by the way. I'd say it's lukewarm.) Nope, I was focused on the smiling faces of the people around me -- people who have become our family. That is so corny to say "out loud," but it's true. I love Hope and our friends who hugged me "offstage" before and after I got dunked -- wet clothes and all. I love my husband and how he said his heart was pounding just as much as mine as I stepped out onto the stage. I love Jesus and how he died to save us. I love that someday we will be with him. Mostly, I love saying that all out loud.

I know you didn't plan for this ahead of time, because I didn't either, but thank you to all of our friends who were there tonight. We're so thankful for each and every one of you.

OH THE GLORY OF IT ALL

by David Crowder Band

At the start
he was there, he was there
In the end,
he’ll be there, he’ll be there

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all

All is lost
find him there, find him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there

After all falls apart
he repairs he repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

oh he is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same

Oh, The glory of it all is
you came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

Oh you are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

Night of the Living Ginger-dead

2011-12-03T23:38:00.005-06:00

I live with two boys and it's beginning to show.

Instead of making pearl necklaces and bow ties for my gingerbread people, like the other girls do, I choose the perfect frosting hue for rotting flesh and expose their little cookie brains with pink peppermint paste and red sprinkles that glisten. I crudely break off limbs to more accurately represent a decaying cookie corpse. Holly leaf sprinkles make perfect rotting teeth and a snowflake sprinkle placed correctly can become an empty eye socket. Yellow sugar eyes stuck in green frosted eye cavities are both delicious and scary. An already broken tree cookie now becomes a zombie causality, oozing with pink zombie juices.

This is what happens when the boys make me watch old horror movies.

A miracle just south of 53rd Street.

2011-12-03T16:34:00.009-06:00

The Reindeer Run Jingle

Dashing through the park

on a one lane walking trail.

O'er potholes we go

laughing all way.

Bells on (felt) antlers ring

making spirits bright.

Oh what fun it is to run

with matching shirts tonight.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,

jingle all the way.

Oh what fun it is to run

with your friends on Saturda-ay.

Convincing your friends to run 3.1 miles outside in the chill December air is no easy feat -- especially when you need to convince seven of them so that you'll have a complete set of reindeer, all so you can fulfill a childish dream you've had since you were 22 1/2. David "Dasher" LeGault and I have run this winter 5K (The Reindeer Run) since 2008 and not once have we convinced a single person to join our elite antler-wearing squad. This year, something changed. Perhaps it was the signing on of Rudolph, the most famous reindeer of all. Perhaps we simply asked the right people, at long last. Or, perhaps it was the 5-month talking up of the race to anyone who would listen.

What I'm trying to say here, folks, is that this year we ran with a crew of 12 reindeer! We had Santa's original nine, Olive (the other reindeer) and a couple of trainees. Now, the big question weighing on my mind is this: With my dream of a full reindeer crew realized, what will our costumes be next year? Should we retire our Dancer and Dasher uniforms and move on to a new holiday theme? It would seem that if we try and run next year without the rest of our crew we'd be moving backward. Now may be the time for change. We need to keep our furry deer chins up and look ahead to what the future holds. And ya know, these sugar plum fairy costumes we saw this morning are certainly giving me ideas...

The parade that will razzle-dazzle you

2011-11-27T21:53:00.004-06:00

If you have never seen the Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis; I highly suggest you go this year. Holidazzle is an incredible display of lights that will blow any other parade off of the pavement. Forget the fact that it's winter and you can see your breath. Forget the fact that it's dark at 5pm and you can't make out the faces of anyone in the parade. Most of us don't know anyone in the parade anyway, and it doesn't even matter that they don't throw candy. Who needs cheap Tootsie Rolls or warm hands with which to grab them off the street when your eyes are being dazzled by hundreds upon hundreds of Christmas lights? It's magical.

This year, treat yourself to something fun, and FREE! The Holidazzle parade takes place from Thanksgiving weekend until the weekend of December 18. For parade times, check out the Holidazzle Web site. Accommodations for out-of-town parade-goers are available year-round at Hotel LeGault. To schedule a visit, please call. You know the number.

A Minnesota Thanksgiving

2011-11-25T18:28:00.009-06:00

We didn't intend to host a Thanksgiving dinner this year. Last year was different. It was our first year in our new house and we wanted to commemorate the year with a few special occasions -- being carried over the threshold, hosting a Halloween party, baking a turkey for Thanksgiving, waking up on Christmas morning around our very own tree.

Now that the novelty of owning a home has worn off, and now that we now how much work is involved with hosting your own Thanksgiving dinner, we were ready to return to the kiddy table at the homes of our relatives where our only job is to clean our plates and take home a bag of turkey scraps. Then, this funny thing happened that ruined our holiday plans. David got a job. Yes, his employment is a blessing that both giveth and taketh away. It gives us that financial security that we longed for while also taking away our chance his mother's famous pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, among the other Thanksgiving dinner traditions. All of this due to that day the retailers have dubbed Black Friday. That one day a year that the store managers look forward to more than Christmas. The one day a year that you know you can't ask for off even if you have a really good excuse, like being from another state and wanting to go home for the holidays.

So we were stuck home and preparing to make an entire feast, turkey and all, for three people. I was starting to advocate for Cornish hens so we could each have our own personal "turkey," but David wasn't budging. An entire 13 lb bird just seemed like a bit much for three people -- who would already have 2.5 slices each of pumpkin pie and 1/3 of anything else we made. However, turkeys and Christmas trees don't have substitutes in David's eyes; they have to be real. And then, my brother back home in Michigan asked if he could join us for Thanksgiving. And then we thought, why not invite my sisters? This would be the first time since 2008 that all of my siblings were under one roof at the same time. Remarkably, they all agreed to come.

When you don't have a dining room, you learn to be creative with seating arrangements. Seating seven people around our four-person kitchen table just wouldn't work. For a few minutes, we considered drawing straws for the chairs and making everyone else stand. Eventually, though, we decided upon using the living room couch and chair around an extra table.

An added benefit to making your own Thanksgiving dinner is that there aren't any adults around to veto your amazing cooking ideas. For example, this year we made little Jell-o molds out of a decorative muffin tin and deep-fried our turkey in the backyard.

A couple of my siblings even contributed food of their own. Anna made a baked vegetable dish and Megan made our Aunt Sally's zucchini bread. Everything turned out really well.

Now we have a couple of more days to hang out before the Michigan four take the bus home on Sunday morning. With Thanksgiving over I'm thinking that it may be time to pull out the Christmas decorations. Maybe it's even time to get a tree...

Half a dozen Hamiltons -- together again.

2011-11-24T09:29:00.011-06:00

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for siblings who slumber in spare rooms and puppies who burrow under bed covers. And let us not forget who is ultimately to thank for everything that will make this weekend so great!

Psalm 107:1 "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever."

Holiday prep

2011-11-20T20:45:00.008-06:00

We've got company coming for Thanksgiving! For the first time since Christmas of 2008 all six of us Hurricane Hamiltons will be together. One thing's for certain, we won't lack entertainment this holiday season.

In preparation for my siblings' arrival we have purchased a new bunk bed (see above photograph) and Mackinac had her Thanksgiving bath tonight. She's all set to meet her aunts and uncles!

My new BBF

2011-11-19T15:20:00.006-06:00

Welcome to the kitchen, and artfully decorated home, of my new BBF (that's Best Baking Friend), Laura.

This morning we met in Laura's kitchen for a "lesson" in cupcake making. Mostly our baking date served as an excuse to hang out. We chatted one morning over breakfast (at Hope's Slumber Party) and I thought, this girl is fun; we should do stuff together. Thus, the baking date was born. Do not be fooled by her Valley Girl accent. Like, this girl Laura is so totally rad and she can bake like nobody's business, like SERIOUSLY.

As a baker, Laura does not mess around. She understands that cupcakes are a serious business. In her kitchen this morning I encountered lots of fun tools like a retro mixer, whipped cream Nerf gun, cooling racks, and a bread maker. We didn't use the bread maker for today's adventure, but one can always dream...

Today's project was Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes. Nothing says fall like a hot cup of pumpkin spice from Starbucks, so this seemed to be the perfect recipe to try on a chilly November day. Kudos to Laura for finding it! The Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes were pretty simple to make, and they taste exactly as the name suggests, like a yummy pumpkin latte.

I had such a fun time this morning. I'm hoping my uncoordinated attempts with the whipped cream gun haven't scared Laura away from shepherding me on further baking adventures. For me, a good day is a day that involves some kind of learning. So now, I would like to impart upon you the bits of baking wisdom that I soaked up in Laura's kitchen this morning:

1) Amelia Bedelia may have started a baking revolution with her literal interpretation of coffee cake. Our recipe called for espresso powder as well as painting the cupcakes' lids with several coats of black coffee.

2) If you don't have a toothpick handy, you can gently press a cupcake top with your finger to test its readiness. If the lid springs back up, the cupcakes are done.

3) Making your own caramel is a dangerous task and should only be undertaken with a seasoned caramel veteran. Since no caramel experts could consult with us this morning we opted for the Trader Jaques's French sea salt caramel.

4) Unlike operating a whip cream gun, which I apparently need to practice, caramel drizzling seems to be a secret gift of mine. At this point in our "date," the student became the teacher.

5) When baking with a friend, the fairest way to divide the finished cupcakes is to hold a cupcake draft. This method is similar to the drafting for dodge ball and it works best with a moderator present. Luckily, Laura's roommate was available to assist us.

Thank you again to my new BBF Laura for having me over for baking and photo shooting this morning. We'll have to do that again sometime!

New car, caviar, four star daydream

2011-11-17T17:04:00.008-06:00

Richard likes to say that certain things are Hamilton tradition. Basically, this happens whenever he and I do something that David can't explain or doesn't understand. There is only one authentic Hamilton tradition that I know of, and that is to sleep around the Christmas tree on the night before Christmas. All other attributions to "Hamilton tradition" are attempts on our part to cling to our roots while simultaneously reminding David that he is now outnumbered in his own house. (All in good fun, of course).

Before Richard moved into our home, however, David and I had a long-established tradition of our own. Before we were married, and actually before we were engaged, David used to save his tip money from his pizza delivery job in a glass jar. When it was full, the money inside was used toward the engagement ring that David bought for me.

Now that we live in Minnesota we have continued this tradition with the exact same jar -- a one gallon refillable glass container from Founder's Brewery. (I rescued this glass jar from the laundry room trash of my apartment building in college.) Since moving to Minneapolis in 2008 we have continued to fill our one gallon jar with loose change. When the jar is full, we will count the money and use it toward something fun. Our plan is to take a short road trip to Milwaukee, WI and visit the Sprecher Brewery. Sprecher makes Richard's favorite root beer and we've heard good things about their tours. Until then, this jar is the most expensive bookend you've ever seen.

GUESS HOW MUCH: We have never counted or removed any of the coins inside, but as you can see from the picture our jar is almost full now. How much money do you think it will take to fill the jar to the top? The person with the closest guess will win an exciting prize!

HELPFUL HINT: For the first year and a half that we put our change in the jar we only put in pennies, nickels and dimes. Our quarters were all saved for laundry and street parking.

ps. Thanks to Pink Floyd for the sweet title on this post.

David Sedaris is not a musician

2011-11-14T18:21:00.005-06:00

The best part about yesterday evening happened at 7pm when we got to hear David Sedaris read from his diary, amongst other things. Even from the farthest row back in the balcony of The State Theatre (with our backs literally touching the wall) the charm of Sedaris was inescapable. He is a seriously funny guy, probably one of my favorite nonfiction authors, in fact. Partly because his name is David, and mostly because he's just so dang good with words. But, what is most impressive about Sedaris, even more than his clever use of the English language, is hearing the voice behind his essays. That voice. HIS voice. It's amazing. It is high pitched and melodic like Peter Pan's. It can do Billie Holiday impressions without breaking a sweat. (Which, sadly, we did not get to hear at this particular reading.) It is a voice so strange and unique that you can't help but stop whatever you are doing and wonder, "What IS that?" That, my friends, is how Abraham Lincoln won the presidency. Sadly, Sedaris has already announced his decision not to run.

The worst part of yesterday evening happened at about 7:30pm, smack dab in the middle of the reading, when my intestines declared war on the rest of my body. Barricaded in the back row, my eyes kept wandering to the red EMERGENCY EXIT sign just eight seats to my left. Should I made a dash for the restrooms two floors down and risk missing possibly the funniest quip of the night? Could I really dash through the eight pairs of knees blocking my path? The tall gentleman two seats over didn't leave much room for me to squeeze past. Or, did I dare wait until intermission? Were we even sure there would be an intermission? There were no programs, and that might be a sign that we were stuck in our seats until the very end. Would the paper bags of contraband candy in my purse prove more useful than even I had foreseen? I didn't want it to come to that, but desperate times call for drastic measures.

Not wanting to miss a single satirical word coming out of Sedaris's mouth, I waited in uncomfortable silence, willing my body to relax. I have not vomited since kindergarten and I credit this accomplishment almost entirely to willpower. I tell myself, "Don't puke! Don't puke! Don't puke!" And, as the past 20 years of practical application have shown, this method really seems to work.

Near the end of the reading, our hero, David (my David) noticed that I wasn't feeling all that well and went off in search of water. Alas, the theatre concessions had already closed for the evening. At this point, we could have gone home or left for a place with water, but we decided to stick it out. I'm glad we did. We enjoyed every second of Sedaris's reading. And, a little bit of ginger ale afterward cured me right up. I was so happy to have my drink in hand that I didn't bother to correct the bartender when he told me that he had heard of that Sedaris fellow, in fact, he heard a few Sedaris songs on the radio earlier that night. Not really his taste though because the music didn't go well with football. He was such a nice bartender, too. He smiled and chatted and kept our glasses full. How can you correct someone who gives you a free refill?

Also, I should mention that I have the best husband this side of the Mississippi River because 1) he knows that David Sedaris is an author, not a musician, 2) he will illegally leave a theatre using the emergency exit to find me water, 3) he bought tickets to hear David Sedaris live. (my heart is melting).

The Fantastic Four

2011-11-12T23:36:00.015-06:00

When Katy B. said she'd wanted to visit us this weekend I knew she'd be pleased with our plans. We were invited to a photo scavenger hunt with some of our dear small group friends. Plus, if Katy combs her hair the right way she sort of looks like Justin Bieber and who doesn't want a teenage heart-throb look-a-like on their team?

Despite winning the award for having a photograph of the grossest item in our team's car (Monday's lunch) our team came in 5th out of 6th places. Our failure to read a couple of clues closely, along with the nonexistent video feature on our camera added up to major point losses. Rest assured that these lessons will not be forgotten for next year! While our photos may not have won us any illustrious prizes, we had a really great time running around Minneapolis. Out of 67 possible photographs we finished just under half. Here are some of the better shots:

Your ENTIRE team doing the YMCA

Your team on a roof

Getting saran wrapped to a tree

Minneapolis sky line

Your ENTIRE team in a pyramid

Getting run over by a truck

Life before cell phones (our interpretation: one if by land, two if by sea)

Your ENTIRE team jumping in the air

Dramatic tension

Jumping off a bridge

Your team with the manager on duty at a business

Grossest thing in your team's car (Monday's lunch container)

Spreading hope

2011-11-08T22:49:00.011-06:00

A friend of ours from college has embarked on a mission trip that will take her to 11 impoverished countries in 11 months. This journey, called The World Race, is an opportunity to serve and share the gospel with "the least of these."

We were so inspired by Jessica's story (and because we know her and just how great she is) that we wanted to do something to help support her. Then, I read about these amazing handmade bracelets that we could sell on her behalf.

While serving in the Philippines, Jessica has partnered with Threads of Hope, a nonprofit organization that provides income and dignity to impoverished communities in the Philippines. Threads of Hope helps create sustainable income for the Philippine people by selling bracelets that are handmade by the men, women and children who live there. Half of the money made from the bracelets Jessica sells will support her mission trip and the other half will go directly to Threads of Hope. The bracelets are $3 each and I just received a package of them in the mail today! They are all so colorful and so unique that I know it won't be long before they are all gone.

If you are interested in buying a bracelet (or two, or three!) to help support Jessica's trip and the Threads of Hope ministry, you can:

1) send an e-mail to legault(dot)michelle(at)gmail(dot)com

2) comment on this post with your e-mail address and I will contact you

3) message me on Facebook

Want to know more? To read more about Threads of Hope, go to www.threadsofhope.com.ph and for more information on Jessica's trip you can check out her blog at: www.jessicafischbach.theworldrace.org.

Eko the friendly lion

2011-11-06T17:34:00.005-06:00

Okay, the title of this post is a bit misleading. Mostly because it is not 100 percent (or even one percent) true. Eko isn't really a lion. He is a Euraiser puppy who belongs to our friend Melissa. But, if Eko was going to masquerade as another animal I think he could easily pass for a cute little lion cub. Totally.

Today, Eko and Melissa came over to our house after church for some puppy play time. I love days like this because it wears Mackinac out, and it's fun to watch. Eko is the perfect playmate for Mac because he loves to do all of the things that she loves to do: race, wrestle, and chew his friend's cheeks.

A spoon full of sugar helps the candy corn go down.

2011-10-31T22:50:00.011-05:00

Mary Poppins made a guest appearance in South Minneapolis tonight. Her presence caused quite a stir at a local house party. More excitement, however, was directed at her companions. Accompanying Miss Poppins was a pair of unlikely comrades, brother plumbers who fight evil koopas and rescue princesses.

Also in attendance at this year's Halloween event were: Sherlock Holmes, Day, Night, a Train Engineer, Superman, Girl Scout Jane, a Los Angeles Vikings fan, Rosie the Riveter, Miss Scarlet, a Banana, The Giving Tree and a roll of Lifesavers.

A really fun group game we played goes like this:

First, sit in a circle. Then, each person takes a piece of paper and writes down 3 nouns. When all of the pieces of paper are filled out, they are shuffled together into a hat or bowl. To form teams, number off every other person as either Team 1 or Team 2.

Team 1 begins. Similar to charades, the person holding the bowl has to help his or her team guess the words written on the slips in the bowl. He (or she) has one minute to help the team guess as many words as possible. If the team correctly identifies all three words on a slip they get to keep that slip. Each slip is worth one point. If all three words are not identified within the one minute time limit, the slip goes back into the bowl. At the end of one minute, it is Team 2's turn and the bowl is passed to the left.

The game is played until all of the slips in the bowl are gone. As an added challenge, we played three rounds and with each new round the level of difficulty increased. The same slips of paper are used for each round and each round ends when all of the slips have been guessed.

Round 1: You have one minute to describe words to your team uses any words or motions you like.

Round 2: You have one minute, but you can only use 3 words to describe each word on the slip.

Round 3: You have one minute, and you can only use charades to describe the words.

Round 4: You have one minute, and you can only use sounds to describe the words. For this round, we had the guessing team close their eyes so they wouldn't be influenced by any involuntary hand motions the person taking his or her turn might make.

A Halloween surprise.

2011-10-30T21:48:00.005-05:00

Someone knocked on the door while I was taking a nap today. They knocked loudly, several times. Without budging from my warm cocoon of blankets I deduced a few things about the person on the other side of the door.

1. This was not David or Rich because he (or she) didn't try the door handle.

2. This was not someone we knew because our friends would, of course, introduce themselves.

3. Most likely this was someone trying to sell something because those are the only people who show up at our door unannounced.

4. I wasn't about to interrupt my well deserved nap for the Comcast guy, who I have already told several times that we are content with our basic channels.

When I woke up from my nap about an hour later I decided that we should probably restock our groceries. The toilet paper supply was on empty and the hodge-podge of condiments, tortilla shells and soy sauce in our refrigerator just wouldn't work for dinner. As Rich and I were walking toward the door he asked me if we got any mail today. Of course we didn't, I told him, it's Sunday. That is why the white plastic bag hanging from our mailbox surprised me. Did our mystery door knocker leave us a gift? I looked inside the bag and found a brand new pink fairy costume.

I'm not sure how they knew what size we needed, but our neighbors know us well. Happy Halloween from the cutest puppy dog fairy in Minneapolis!

Slumber parties aren't for sleeping

2011-10-29T15:20:00.010-05:00

Boy am I tired. I just got home from an amazing weekend with 199 other women. Let me tell you, those girls know how to have fun.

This weekend was the annual women's retreat for our church. We call it Slumber Party. You may remember the video advertisement that Richard helped me make for this very event? On Friday night we began our takeover of a hotel in St. Louis Park, MN. The lobby, the ballroom, the restaurant, the hallways... everywhere you looked you saw women wearing lanyards and midnight blue T-shirts. Our short reign over the hotel was a glorious sight to behold. We bonded over the Cardinal's win to secure the World Series title, we danced, we studied the book of Ruth, we ate junk food, we played games, we ate more food, we slept a little bit (unless you're Shannon, in which case you didn't sleep at all) and then, after we were totally exhausted and drained of all extroversion, we went home. That is where I am now, home recharging my energy on the couch with a warm puppy curled up next to me.

One of the best games at Slumber Party, in my opinion, was the Just Dance wii tournament (see included photos). Out of about 50 competitors only one dancer survived to be "crowned" the champion. This was not me. If you've ever seen my dance moves I'm sure this will not come as a shock to you. However, I did make it to the semi-finals with the top 8 dancers (at which point I crashed and burned).

Another exciting part about this year's Slumber Party was that I had the honor of emceeing one of the group games. I hosted a speed dating game where I would pose questions to the whole group and they would be paired with a new partner for each question. As a writer and a journalist this was a lot of fun because I got to compose the list of questions I was going to ask. As a writer, I am also one of those people who fears public speaking more than death. For the entire two hours before they handed me the microphone I felt like I was going to puke. What if I held the mic too close? What if I forgot what to say? Would they hated the sound of my voice? And then, just as I had talked myself down from the proverbial ledge, Shannon asked me if I could close our study time with a prayer before I emceed the group game. Praying. This is something we do every day. It sounds so simple.

Confession: I had never prayed for a group of people larger than 10. Confession: When I pray in front of groups of 10 people or fewer they are always people I know relatively well. Confession: Praying in front of 199 women (about 150 of whom I don't know) terrified me. And yet, I accepted Shannon's offer. What is faith without a little bit of trust? Trust that those around you really are there to support you. Trust that if you don't have the right words they will be provided for you. Trust that you won't puke all over the stage. And I didn't, by the way. It was good. The game went well, too. It just so happens that I love to talk. And so, after the initial fear wore off it was smooth sailing. It also helped that Shannon sitting on stage-right to chat with me between questions. ;)

If you have never been to Slumber Party I highly encourage you to go. I feel so pumped up after a weekend in a schwanky hotel getting to know the lovely ladies of Hope. I hope to see all you Slumber Party chicas tomorrow in your cool, blue T-shirts!

New recruits: The 2011 Reindeer Team

2011-10-23T22:47:00.004-05:00

And so it begins. Tonight was the first official training day for the 2011 Reindeer Run. This will be our fourth year circling Lake Harriet and it looks like this year's team will be the best yet.

This year, we may just realize our dream of having a full set of 9 reindeer. Following tradition, David and I will go as Dasher and Dancer. We've already got the shirts with our names sewn on the back, so it just makes sense. So far, we have recruited Rudolph, Comet and Cupid. The search continues for Vixen, Prancer, Donder and Blitzen.

Do you have what it takes to wear one of these names along with a pair of felt antlers that may or may not include small jingle bells? Won't you make our Christmas Wish come true by joining the reindeer ranks?

Plum Time!

2011-10-19T20:53:00.001-05:00

One of the advantages to being funemployed is that I've had a lot of opportunities to catch up on projects around the house. So far this summer we've painted our fence, moved some bushes, fixed some pieces of siding on the house, and pulled several dozen garbage bags full of weeds. As fall approached, we realized that there was still one project in the yard that we wanted to tackle before it gets too cold: we wanted to plant a tree.

For those of you who don't know our house particularly well, we really don't have any trees to speak of. Our backyard has a lilac bush, and there is a tree near the street in front of our house, but neither of these give us any shade or really feel like part of the yard. We learned from a neighbor that there was a beautiful, 40-50 year old Maple tree in our front yard before we moved in, but the previous owner got tired of the propeller-like seeds and chopped it down (personally, I would have preferred the propellers to the hot, bright afternoon sun that now bakes our house on summer days).

Anyway, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and plant two plum trees: one in the front yard and one in back. Richard and I dug a hole in the backyard for the first one, but the second one I took on myself one morning. Michelle and I wanted the tree centered in front of our window, right where the former tree had been. Of course, this meant that I had to spend more than a few hours fighting the old roots and stump. After borrowing a pickaxe (among several other tools) and digging a hole roughly six feet in diameter and three feet deep, I finally got out the big chunks. It felt like a lot of work at the time, but next summer when we're eating plums and enjoying the shade (well, maybe we'll have to wait a few more years for that!) it will all be worth it.

The Ghostly Intruder

2011-10-10T20:43:00.003-05:00

By: Richard Hamilton

I awoke to a strange sound; I lifted my head off my pillow and could see Mackinac lying at the foot of my bed. Her ears were perked up and her eyes were fixed on my door. She must have heard it too. The sunlight was shining through my black window curtains illuminating my room in a blue tint that told me it was close to noon. I knew that Michelle and David were both out and wouldn’t be back until around 6 p.m. That was when I heard a door shut.

At that moment I knew that someone had just entered or left the house. They probably waited until after Michelle and David had left to make sure the coast was clear. I didn’t have much time to think, just react. As I jumped out of my queen-sized bed I remembered that Michelle had left her cell phone on the couch (her alarm went off about ten minutes after they left and I had to turn the annoying thing off) so I figured I could use that to call for help.

By the time my feet hit the floor I had already grabbed the closest thing to a weapon on my shelf; a small wooden Detroit Tigers bat, the kind of souvenir that you find at a baseball game. I burst out of my bedroom like a racehorse at the gate. I couldn’t believe Mackinac didn’t bark at the sound of an intruder in the house, but what more could I have expected from a dog that’s about as frightening as a fake spider? Sprinting past the couch I noticed Michelle’s phone wasn’t there! The door leading to the upstairs was closed as well as the front door with the latch still locked, so I ran to the kitchen. I hadn’t heard any noises since I got up, but that only meant that either the intruder had gotten what they came for and had left or went downstairs. When I got to the kitchen I found the side door unlocked! Thinking of all the expensive electronics just laying out in the open in our house I rushed downstairs, I had to make sure that no one was there before going outside.

I quickly searched the basement only to discover it empty. Mad at myself for wasting precious time and giving this ghostly intruder more time to get away, I went back upstairs leaping over three steps every jump. Adrenaline pumping, I swung open the side door and stepped into the blinding sunlight. I could just make out the figure of a man walking across the front lawn toward a white unmarked van as my eyes adjusted. I was just about to give chase when my pupils dilated and I could tell who the man was. I stepped partially back inside hiding the bat from view as my brother-in-law David got into the plain white van owned by Peterson Salt, Michelle’s employer. David saw me as he started up the engine and smiled and waved. I waved back and watched him as he drove off.

Feeling like an idiot I went back to my bedroom, locking the side door on my way in. Mackinac was still in my bed, but in my absence decided to sprawl out all over my pillows. Apparently David wasn’t feeling too well that morning and decided that on his way to one of his deliveries he’d make a quick stop at home and pick up some Tums. He did his best not to wake me because he hates it when people wake him up for no real reason. I doubt this embarrassing incident will happen again considering David got a job at Half Price Books so he won’t be helping out at Peterson Salt as often. So congrats on getting the job David; this first blog post goes out to you!

From Ogunquit to Bean Town, the last day

2011-10-03T20:29:00.011-05:00

The footbridge you see before you is presumed to be the the only pedestrian drawbridge in the United States. We crossed this quaint piece of architectural history yesterday morning on our way to coffee with friends in Ogunquit. It sounds like a fairy tale and it felt like one, too.

That is, until we woke up this morning "hung over" from our late night flight. How people can get by without eight full hours of sleep I will never know. I am not one of those people, and judging by the fact that David slept through the alarm clock this morning, I would wager that he feels the same as I do. But, I digress. Back to the charming streets of Maine for the end of our weekend diversion on the East Coast.

After a breakfast cup of Joe and a round of hugs goodbye, our 5-person and 1-baby troupe waved farewell to the newlyweds and headed down to Boston for our flight home. Before the plane took off though, we had some time to kill. Acting with the wise discretion of fully mature adults, we sought out the cheapest available touristy entertainment that we could find. This is no small feat for a Sunday afternoon. After ruling out all of the outdoor options (because it was still raining at this point) we settled upon the $6 per person tour of The Old South Meeting House. This building started out as a church, is where Ben Franklin was baptized, and later became a meeting house when the community's original town hall burned down. In 1773 this is where thousands of colonists met to protest taxes and eventually escalated their efforts into an actual protest, otherwise known as the Boston Tea Party.

The Old South Meeting House is located just blocks away from what we were told is the oldest street in Boston. While loudly sharing my appreciation for the aesthetic beauty of an alley (the red cobblestone was truly charming) a local Boston man interrupted our conversation to tell us that we stood on the oldest street in the city. Just to our right, he pointed out the building where the first couple to be married in the United States once lived.

On the street directly to the right of the Old South Meeting House we stumbled upon the set of a new movie featuring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. The movie, R.I.P.D., is based on a graphic novel with zombie policemen. Or, so I am told. Hoards of people gathered behind loosely set up police barricades as gold cars raced down the wet street for what looked like a chase scene.

For now, we are home and have no more grand adventures on the calendar. That is, unless you count the Men's church retreat in less than two weeks, or Thanksgiving in the U.P., or the annual Reindeer Run. Even if we don't fly off to another part of the country, I'm sure we'll find something to talk about.

As Porky the Pig would say "Th-th-th-that's all for now folks!"

Colleen + Bart = Literary Love

2011-10-02T09:40:00.020-05:00

Would you believe that we have now attended two book-themed weddings in a span of two months? Literacy is in vogue, people.

As you may have gleaned from the post prior to this one, Colleen and Bart's wedding took place on the coast of Maine. The weather proved to be a little testy, lots of scattered showers and gray, foreboding skies, but the show went on as planned. Also, as the bride pointed out, rain would have been expected had the Farmer's Almanac been consulted. It has rained every year on the first day of October for quite some time now. We'll just say "years and years" because I can't remember how long exactly. But, in spite of the persistent showers, we had a wonderful weekend. Our hotel, Anchorage by the Sea, had a gorgeous view of the ocean and a lovely outdoor hot tub, which David and I took full advantage of the morning before we had to leave.

Traveling to a big city where hotel accommodations aren't just a choice, but a necessity, is always a tough call to make when you're living on a modest income. We are so very glad that we took this trip, though. We enjoyed the company of our travel companions, the Sutton-Kiefer trio, and witnessed the joining together in blissful matrimony of two of our favorite poets.

The wedding was very small and personal -- with poetry readings from a few friends and relatives. It was one of those close seated events where everyone had the best seat in the house.

Before we get to the photographs, can I just take a moment to say that Colleen's dress was perfectly suited for her? On my computer right now there are hundreds of photographs of the other dresses Colleen considered before finding "the dress." I have to admit, at one point I thought this girl needs to just give up and hire a sketch artist and a seamstress. She's never going to find everything she wants in a single dress. Obviously, I was wrong.

And now, without further adieu, here are a few the best photos from the wedding:

Thank you again to Colleen and Bart for inviting us to be a part of your special day! We love you both very much and we look forward to seeing you again sometime soon. Our fold-out couch is your fold-out couch.

To the east!

2011-09-30T23:01:00.003-05:00

After a half day at work we hopped a plane to Boston this afternoon. This is our first "family" vacation. So far so good. The airline handed out complimentary hot dogs and we played Super Nintendo Mario Brothers on David's laptop during the flight.

As an added bonus, we're traveling with some friends of ours from Minneapolis. And we're going totally Dutch. We ate dinner at Burger King, split the cost of a rental car and now we're sharing a hotel room in Ogunquit, Maine. (Boston was just a pit stop on the way).

Our friends also happen to come with a really cute baby who reminds me a lot of Mackinac. Case in point, she carries toys in her mouth.

Tomorrow morning we will sleep in. We will stroll along the ocean with hot lattes to warm our hands. We will ride a trolley in the afternoon that will take us to the wedding for two of our favorite people: Coco and B-mew. And somewhere in the middle of all of those plans we will buy a wedding gift. To use the registry or to not use the registry? That is the question.

Escape artist, the puppy Houdini

2011-09-27T20:27:00.006-05:00

Normally, I'm elated to be greeted by our puppy when I come home. But last night was different. Last night we all went out for dinner and put Mackinac safely away her in crate before we left. You can imagine our shock when she happily greeted us at the door a couple of hours later. My first thought was, "Did I forget to shut the door of the crate?"

This happened once before. That time, Mackinac, newly liberated from the basement, advanced to the main level of the house where she distributed the contents of the linen closet across the floors. No damage was done, but we took that incident as a sign that she isn't quite ready to roam the house on her own yet. She is only just a year old, after all.

This time, it appears that no mischief took place. The house doesn't smell like pee, and all of our belongings are in tact -- even a messenger bag that someone left out in the open on the couch. But, we still needed to know: how did Mackinac get out of her crate? Upon a cursory investigation of the basement where her crate is kept we found our answer.

For some time now, Mac has been pulling apart the metal wires on the top of her crate. We always joke that she is plotting her escape, like the prisoners in Shawshank Redemption. You wouldn't think she could fit her entire body through the hole she's created in the roof of her crate, but we think that is what happened. We found the crate tipped on it's side, so it makes sense that she tipped it over and crawled out.

Our dog is a genius. Also, our genius dog needs a new crate before the dog sitter comes over on Friday.

Date night

2011-09-24T19:52:00.006-05:00

Now that we have kids (i.e. my 18-year-old brother, Richard, who lives in our guest room), alone time is really special. A few times a week David and I get total aloneness when Rich goes to work. Tonight he is gone for exactly four hours. When we asked him when his shift would end he said, "Why? So you can clear out the party before I come home?" Yes. Exactly. But this is just a 2-person affair with a pizza and a movie.

Tonight, is date night. We just finished putting together our own pizza and while it cooks in the oven I am taking a five-minute break to share our secrets of success with you:

What we used:

1 Pillsbury pizza crust

1 Jar pizza sauce

1/2 Can diced tomatoes

Sliced jalapenos (sprinkled)

Diced pineapple (sprinkled)

Mozzarella cheese

Since David is a former pizza master from Papa John's we went with their strategy of putting on all of the toppings before the cheese. I would advise you to do the same. We've never gone wrong with Papa J's wisdom. Now, we're going to go enjoy a pair of delicious hours of pizza and "Lord of the Rings" with Rifftrax audio commentary. If you've ever watched Mystery Science Theatre 3000, you will know who I'm talking about. These guys are back and they are commenting on mainstream movies now -- things people have actually seen! And, the annoying shadows of the people and the robot are gone. So far, we've watched "Twilight" and parts of "Harry Potter" and "Titanic."

One of my favorite lines is from one of the Harry Potter commentaries. "Here is the most evil dark wizard of all time.........Tom."

Dirty jobs, the husband edition.

2011-09-19T22:59:00.004-05:00

I dropped my necklace down the sink tonight. This was the necklace David gave me on our wedding day. This necklace has already been lost once during our move to Minnesota, only to resurface months later in exactly the place I thought it should have been when I lost it. This is my lucky wedding day necklace and I dropped it down our bathroom sink, which has a broken stopper.

A few years ago a stunt like this would have sent me into a panic. But, thanks to YouTube and a resourceful husband, we can now learn how to cook a Turkey and do light plumbing work in just five minutes.

I'm told that while David was scrounging beneath our sink in the smelly muck that lurks within the pipes there was only one thought on his mind. He was thinking of the three stones in the necklace's pendant, which represent the past, the present and the future. It's very corny, I know. But, anyway, so David is in the muck, suffocating in the smell of the rotting body crap we wash down our sink and all the while he is thinking, "That third stone represents the future, we have to fulfill that promise." Seriously, he told me to write that. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. I'm married to the most sentimental amateur plumber ever. What more could a girl ask for?

To my relief, YouTube and David saved the day. My pendant is now back where it belongs, safe and sound in the top drawer of my dresser where it will stay until I find a new chain.

White. Table for 15.

2011-09-17T23:14:00.006-05:00

If you want to be hip like P. Diddy, you have to know how to break the rules. So, I ask you, who says you can't wear white after Labor Day?

To celebrate the joint-birthday of our friends Beth and Ryan a group of us cool kids went out to dinner tonight at the Masa in Minneapolis. All of the guests wore white, just for fun, as a sort of a fashion theme. Were we cool enough to pull it off?

You know your "cool" status is affirmed by the public at large when all of the other restaurant patrons are whispering about you. It's true. They must have wondered, "Who are these kids all dressed in white? Are they movie extras from some film about a cult? Did 'Touched by an Angel' come back on the air? Where in the world did that guy Ryan find white jeans?"

Three bold people even came up to me to inquire about our group's outfit coordination. I think my answer disappointed them. "A themed birthday party" isn't a valid reason for making a fool of yourself in public, apparently. In our book though, any excuse to make a fool of yourself in public is a good enough excuse. And hey, at least we didn't wear glittery cowboy hats. Or, did we?

Best costume of the night, all hands down, goes to Andy. You, sir, are a pioneer. ;) Thanks again to Beth and Ryan for inviting us to your birthday dinner! We had a lot of fun. Next time, let's all wear black pants with brown shoes.

He works hard for his money

2011-09-14T21:27:00.008-05:00

Nothing is better after a long day at the office than an ice cold (root)beer. Am I right?

My brother Rich agrees with me, I'm sure. After a hard day of cutting up avocados at his new job today one of the first things he did was plop down in the living room with a cold one from the fridge. This new job means two things. Number one: Rich is now a contributing member to society. Number two: As a contributing member of society, he can now afford to buy his own root beer. Yay!

Here is Rich leaving Chipotle after his first day of work.

We hadn't planned to be at Chipotle when Rich got off of work, but we were told that he would only work a few hours and so when hour 8 of his shift rolled around (and he wasn't answering the cell phone we sent with him) our curiosity got the better of us. Conveniently, we also needed to get out of the house for a pair of pumpkin spice lattes -- fall's best drink -- and we happen to drive past the Chipotle parking lot. That's when we saw Rich's car, the Green Lantern, and we could relax a little bit. With our wits restored, we decided to show Rich some love by documenting his first day on the job.

He took it quite well actually. We even got the universal signal of approval.

I wish I had written down all of the funny things Rich said when he came home today. One of the first things he said when he walked through the door was something like, "I like coming home to a puppy after hard day at work. I'm so tired and she's nice and warm."

Then after he ate the dinner I made I asked him how it was and he said, "Well, I think it's really good, but my taste might not be the same as yours. Also, at this point, I like anything that has more flavor than the saliva in my mouth."

Slumber Party 2011: Where you wannabe

2011-09-11T21:10:00.006-05:00

Little brothers are just great. They can help white wash the fence. They can play board games with you. They can babysit the puppy on date nights. They say funny things like "Do you want to set an alarm to play Halo in the morning?" And sometimes, little brothers can be carefully coerced into co-starring in video advertisements for the women's slumber party at church:

Special thanks to Richard, Mackinac and The Spice Girls for making this video possible!

"P" is for pickle

2011-09-06T23:10:00.005-05:00

As David mentioned in his last post, Rich and I spent part of our afternoon making spicy dill pickles. In one of my recipe books I have a clipping from "Food & Wine" magazine that gives three quick recipes for making pickles at home. I've eyed these recipes for almost two years now, but have never gotten around to actually using them.

Earlier this summer, when trying to decide what vegetable plants to grow in our garden, I had specifically chosen two cucumber plants that were advertised as "pickling" cucumbers with this recipe in mind. Within the first couple of weeks of planting our garden, Mackinac took it upon herself to weed out the weaker of the two cucumber plants. Maybe she knew something we didn't? The remaining plant thrived and produced the four very large cucumbers you see above.

The one speed bump in our pickling adventure yesterday was the jars. Having never canned (or jarred?) anything before in my life, the only place I knew to look for materials was Target - the store where you can find just about anything except a husband and a house. And even then, Mr. Right might be perusing the cereal aisle looking for a box of Captain Crunch (or, in my case, a box of Total).

Anyway, so Rich and I headed to the nearest Super Target, provider of all things materialistic, only to find that they were sold out of all jars except for 12-packs of jam jars. The jam jars were much smaller than what we needed, but we are naive and young, so we bought them.

Here is Rich, proudly displaying one of our small jars of short and stout pickle spears. We haven't tasted them yet because the recommended brining time is 24 hours and we're going to wait a bit longer, just to be safe. But, they LOOK delicious.

In case we've inspired you to make your own vertically challenged pickles, here is a copy of the recipe we used:

Spicy Quick Dill Pickles

total time: 20 min (plus overnight refrigeration)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 cups distilled white vinegar (5% acidity)

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

6 large garlic cloves, halved

4 to 6 red or green hot chiles, halved lengthwise

16 dill sprigs

1. Pack vegetables into 2 clean 1-quart glass jars (or, in our case, 9 jam jars!).

2. In another jar, combine the salt, sugar, vinegar, coriander and garlic. Shake until the salt and sugar dissolve.

3. Add 2 cups of water to the mix and pour the brine over the vegetables. Tuck the chiles and dill between the vegetables. After chiles are added, top off jars with enough water to keep vegetables totally submerged.

4. Close the jars and refrigerate overnight or for up to 1 month.

Labor Day

2011-09-06T13:00:00.005-05:00

It seems kind of funny to celebrate "Labor Day" when you don't have a job, but yesterday really was a great way to cap off what has been a really terrific summer in Minnesota. It's also funny how busy you can be having fun, but I feel like yesterday was a nonstop back and forth between friends and movies and games.

We started the day off with a nice family breakfast. We busted out the waffle iron and made some eggs and hash browns to go with it.

However, before the food was done I had to take off because I was spending the afternoon watching the Twins vs the Whitesox at Target Field with Brian. Unsurprisingly, the Twins didn't do so well, but it was still fun to catch up and enjoy the absolutely perfect weather of the day.

After the game, we had a bit of a cleaning spree where Michelle re-organized my office, and it's actually usable again!

After that (as well as some pickling and banana bread baking) we headed to Brit's Pub downtown to watch a movie with some friends from Hope. I had never been inside the pub before, and it was pretty amazing: they had rooftop sitting that included a large, well-manicured grass field used for a lawn bowling league. People brought blankets and drinks onto the lawn and watched Harry Potter projected against the wall of the next door building.

A great night, and a nice last hurrah before thinking about all of the adventures we're going to have this fall!

The Peanuts Gang and Friends

2011-09-04T19:55:00.009-05:00

While driving around the Twin Cities you may notice the large number of statues of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts Gang. The reason for these many comic strip memorials is that Charles M. Schulz, creator of The Peanuts comic strip, is from St. Paul, MN. This afternoon, we thought it would be fun to track down as many of these statues as we could before we ran out of daylight.

Follow that crisp fall day in the parks with a stop at the local Dairy Queen and you have yourself the perfect Sunday afternoon.

It's not division, it's multiplication. Let's be positive.

2011-09-03T11:00:00.006-05:00

On Monday night our Bible study group met for the last time. This fall, big changes are coming! Many of us will branch off into other groups, some of them completely brand new. This is the camp that David, Rich and I are in. We will be starting a brand new group closer to our neighborhood. If this were a math problem in an elementary textbook it might read something like this:

The Karsky Small Group started out with 25 people. If three people leave to start a new group, and then another 3 people leave to start yet another group, how many people are left in the original group?

This sounds like subtraction -- like our group is dividing. But if you take this same scenario and put it in an economics textbook, it might read like this:

The Karsky Small Group started out with 25 people. If three people leave to start a new group, and then another three people leave to start yet another group and you know that the average small group grows at the rate of 2 people/month, how many new members are added by the two new groups in one year?

Is your head spinning? That's multiplication!

This week, we said goodbye to our Monday night small group:

For the past two Thursdays, we have met with another group that is "multiplying" because we will be joining some of them in starting a brand new small group in two weeks. These people might appear more normal than our Monday night friends (see picture #1 below), but it seems they too share a love for hand puppets and awkward photo opportunities:

I think we're going to fit right in!

Anniversary Trip Part 6: Odds and ends

2011-08-28T17:18:00.004-05:00

Some things just can't be categorized. Along that great journey called life (insert Lion King soundtrack here) there come detours that don't hold enough weight to constitute real "events," but they earn a special place in our hearts for simpler reasons. Sometimes, we just like having fun. My Aunt Sue would have called these detours by another name: diversions. From our anniversary trip earlier this month, here are some of our favorite diversions that we couldn't fit into a full-fledged post:

A. Lunch with the girls. On our first day in Michigan we ate lunch with my mom and sisters.

B. The DAVE sign. Would you believe it has taken us almost 5 years to take a picture of this sign? Every time we drive through Kalamazoo, MI (which isn't very often these days) we laugh when we see the sign for Avenue D. And, every time we pull out the camera a moment too late. Not this time!

C. Life in the borough. After three years, we finally got to see where my sister-in-law Kelly lives. Now we'll have a visual to go with the next story about her funny Greek landlords.

D. Brooklyn Jimmy tells it like it is. On our water taxi ride, Jimmy, a former NY fire fighter regaled us with his impressions of young women today and how street politics have changed in NYC over the years.

E. Dinner with the grandparents.

F. Doppelganger sighting. If you know AJ Gretz, then you see what we saw. This photo is from the window of a Starbucks in New York.

G. Florida friends. I'm happy to report that Elizabeth and Jacob strongly dislike living in Florida and have agreed to consider moving to Minnesota after they are both out of school. (Apparently one perk of living south of the Mason Dixon Line is the southern gentlemen's white jacket they hand you the moment you sign your lease.)

H. Talking to statues. This is just one of those moments where David told me to humiliate myself in public for a picture.

I. The Shire. While in upstate New York we ate lunch at this great hole-in-the-wall restaurant. With the sturdy tree-trunk furniture and Irish gigs played on a flute we felt like we had crossed the threshold into the home of Bilbo Baggins. Two other things to note about this restaurant: Every male employee had a beard and pony tail. Our waiter made bird call noises every time he set a dish down on our table.

Anniversary Trip Part 5: A wedding

2011-08-20T07:21:00.006-05:00

This report is coming to you all about a week late because we've been running around like crazy since we got home last weekend. It seems that life in Minneapolis keeps on going whether we're here or not.

One of the main reasons for our trip back home to Grand Rapids was for the wedding of our good friends Mike and Amy. David and I had the distinguished honor of being their ushers that evening and in return for our service, we were rewarded with a first-edition copy of "Horizontal Accidents," debuting Tom Dean. These names Horizontal Accidents and Tom Dean probably mean nothing to you, but that is because you have been living in the dark, my friends. Unfortunately, at this point there isn't much I can do to enlighten you other than to say the next time you visit I can promise you two things: 1) a bowl of popcorn popped in a well-seasoned pan on our stove. 2) A private viewing of Horizontal Accidents.

And now, some photos from the main event:

Anniversary Trip Part 4: The real beach

2011-08-14T22:39:00.009-05:00

This is why we miss Michigan: the REAL beach and water that stretches out farther than you can see. Someday when we're too old to run all over the countryside chasing after our family members (when we've earned the right to be the ones chased after) this is where you will find us...

A special thanks to Sara Rose, Megs and Anna for making the trek out to Muskegon with us. It was great to hang out with you all for an afternoon!

Anniversary Trip Part 3: Corn Hole with Cousins

2011-08-14T21:59:00.004-05:00

What you thought was a simple bean bag toss is actually a very systematic game with teams and complex scoring rules. In the southwest corner of Michigan where people still farm for a living, where my cousins live, they call this game Corn Hole.

As a part of our stay in Michigan we drove down to the beautiful countryside in Decatur to visit some relatives of ours who we haven't seen in more than a year. My Aunt Mari and Uncle Jay hosted a BBQ for us and we got to hang out with some cousins on the porch while a few of us (Amy, Megs, David and Austin) played a game of Corn Hole.

Times like this, when we are surrounded by our family, I feel a little tinge of sadness about how far away we live now. It's amazing how easily we can sit down and have conversations with people we haven't seen in almost 18 months. But, that's how my family works. They're always there to welcome us with plates full of hot, home-cooked food. In fact, my cousins love each other so much that one little relative was born a whole four weeks early just so she could meet us. On the day we left for New York, baby Michaela Anya decided to push her way into this world, well before her due date. I think she was seriously excited to meet her Minnesota cousins!

After a long day of driving up and down the west coast of Michigan, we were welcomed "home" to warm beds and better-than-continental breakfast at my cousin Kristin's house. And then, we woke up and drove some more, this time heading north for some face time with my Grandparents in Muskegon and a wedding in Grand Rapids.

Anniversary Trip Part 2: City Slickers

2011-08-13T13:47:00.005-05:00

What I will always remember about our trip to New York City is the rain.

While in NYC, David and I sat in the audience of Regis & Kelly, we rode a water taxi past the Lady Liberty and we saw Avenue Q off Broadway, but what we will remember most is that last day, walking through a rain storm.

While Kelly gave us the tour of the spa she works at, the world outside got very dark. This was near the end of our trip, right before our long walk to the subway station that would take us to the airport. Just a few hours before our scheduled flight, rain clouds overtook the sky and buckets of water began to pour down, flooding the streets. Before leaving the spa, we crafted rain coats for ourselves out of clear garment bags. One hole for the head, two holes for our arms. Walking through the streets in our clear trash bags with luggage in tow we either looked like out-of-town trend setters or hobos with stolen goods. The bags turned out to be more of a fashion statement than a protective measure. The holes for our heads, cut a bit too large, allowed rainwater to run down the fronts of our shirts.

You think to yourself, my luggage was made to protect my belongings in a cramped cargo hold below an airplane. My luggage was made to withstand turbulence and long walks through the airport. My luggage is sound. If the plane's cargo hold ever flooded, however, you'd be in trouble, as we learned from our long walk in the rain.

By the time we got to the airport it looked like we had taken a swim with our clothes on, and the contents of our bags weren't much better off. Luckily, after a few days of airing everything out (and the use of my grandma's dryer) everything went back to normal.

Anniversary Trip Part 1: Lounging in Upstate New York

2011-08-10T21:20:00.002-05:00

How difficult can it be to make a pie lattice? According to Adam, who has attempted to make a cherry pie lattice before, very difficult. According to me, who has never even made a pie, it's a piece of cake. This is how it started. I told Adam if I was ever in New York I would make him a lattice for his pie. We arrived in New York on Aug 5 and before the end of the night we had begun the pie-making process.

Other than baking the perfect cherry pie, we spent a few days lounging in Adam's hammock, swimming in the rain and playing put-put golf. As you can see from the photos, we put our own spin on what would ordinarily be a game with soft-claps and civilized players. Our game of golf is much more exciting. We used trick shots and hockey swings to add our own flavor. The best shot, I think the boys will agree, was at the 18th hole when I called it "off the rock" and got a hole in 2 when my ball ricocheted off of a boulder and into the hole.

After 4 days of fun and relaxation in upstate New York we headed to New York City to visit David's sister Kelly and do the touristy stuff.

How it's made: Art

2011-08-01T22:36:00.007-05:00

Another fun night at small group! Tonight we made collaborative art. Above, is the painting that Beth and I did. We're calling it "Flower Study, 1." Possibly, this is a commentary on The Garden of Eden, the first study of flowers. Or, it could be that we wanted something vibrant and fun to paint. Or, we just really like flowers.

David and Rich painted a cow, but you can't see it here because it isn't dry yet. They drew their own stencil and then flung paint onto the canvas to fill in the stencil. Since we had fewer canvases than artists, we worked in pairs or small groups of people. Watching our group work together, we got to see the inner artists awaken in our friends. We had no idea how talented they were! The collaboration aspect was especially impressive. It's not like we usually sit around on Monday nights and paint together. However, that does sound like fun....

For two of the larger canvases the whole group contributed. One of the photos below shows an example of this where we made a giant collage of our hand prints.

After tonight, my brain is suddenly flooded with ideas for how we could fill those empty picture frames that have hung on our living room wall for more than a year now... Hmm....

Fare thee well, cat lovers.

2011-07-30T21:41:00.006-05:00

When David chose his desk in the graduate student office at the University of Minnesota, no one told him that he would have to share it with a cat-loving vegan poetess.

As it turns out, though, she's pretty great. In fact (as she would say, but not about herself, of course) she is best.

We have the Creative Writing MFA program to thank for bringing Coco and B-mew into our lives three years ago. David and Colleen "Coco" Coyne were desk-mates from the very beginning of their program in 2008. Together, they shared a desk on the third floor of Lind Hall. You could tell their space apart from all the others by the cat calendars (Colleen's) and the cyborg coffee mug (David's). Their desk also laid claim to the largest pile of "stuff" compared to any other desk in, dare I say, the entire building? I think it might be possible.

The first time I remember talking to Colleen is the Halloween party David and I hosted for the writing students in 2008. She and Bart came dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Bill Cosby, ugly sweaters were the key to their ensembles. David and I went as the orange iguanas from the Nickelodeon TV game show Legends of the Hidden Temple (but no one recognized us). Somehow after that, in spite of awkward first impressions, the four of us started hanging out more often.

We've come a long way since that first hang-out in 2008. We transformed from the mis-matched Cosbys and iguanas into one super-team: The Scooby Mac Gang.

We'll miss you, dear friends. Colleen, we'll miss your uncanny ability to find so many things "interesting." And Bart, oh dear Bart, the thing we'll miss most about you (because there are so many things) is your snarky-ness. You're probably chuckling to yourself right now because you have a better word, a real word, for snarky-ness, but that's what I'm calling it and is my creative liberty to do so, so there. You can take that to the bank, sir.

Even though you're both moving away, we will always consider you two of our dearest friends. And, with that in mind, please know that we're fully expecting you to fly back from Georgia (or wherever you're living at the time) and help us pack our stuff into boxes and giant cubes the next time we move.

You are both best. So best, indeed.

PS. The desk photo (above) is of the Coyne Memorial Desk, in our basement.

I triple dog dare you!

2011-07-19T22:07:00.008-05:00

I'm not sure exactly how this conversation went down, but this is what I know:

1. Somehow our friend Nick ended up daring my brother to go running wearing a hairnet.

2. David also got involved in this dare.

3. Both boys accepted the hairnet challenge.

4. Before they left for their run they decided this is what they would tell people if anyone questioned their choice in head gear. (Rich) "I'm wearing the hairnet to preserve my hair from falling out." (David) "I'm wearing a hairnet as moral support for Rich whose hair is falling out."

5. They just got back from their run, hairnets intact, and they look more sweaty than usual.

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Magnet

2011-07-19T20:39:00.003-05:00

When we bought our house, we bought it from a man who only had it to fix up and sell for a profit. This means that we never had the opportunity to meet the last people who lived in the house, the last people to call it home.

However, this doesn't mean that there aren't clues hidden all over the place. Whether it be the outrageous cable bills associated with our address, the large support beams in the garage that were cut to put in the garage door, or the surprising amounts of glass we find in our garden, we've gotten the impression that the previous homeowners didn't love this house the same way that we do.

But that doesn't mean that there isn't the occasional pleasant surprise! A week or so ago, while painting our backyard fence, Michelle made a major archeological discovery: a magnet of a sleeping man in a sombrero leaning up against a cactus. It now sticks to our fridge.

Last week, while opening up an access panel to fix a leaking pipe, I found a domino and a Monopoly-game hotel sitting inside our walls. I put the game pieces on a shelf next to the tiny train Michelle found in our garden last summer. At this rate, with a few more months of landscaping and house repairs, we might eventually find an entire game!

The Pizza Farm

2011-07-13T01:03:00.007-05:00

While normal people were bustling in their kitchens after a full day at work, we packed ourselves into our car with friends and drove to Wisconsin for dinner. Our destination: The A to Z Produce and Bakery of Stockholm, WI (population 97), otherwise known as "The Pizza Farm." We arrived at The Pizza Farm close to 7:30 p.m., and our order was #310, the third to the last of the day.

While normal people were washing dishes from the dinners they cooked in their kitchens, we were playing cards in the damp grass, waiting 2 1/2 hours for our home-baked, brick-oven pizzas with locally grown toppings. We snacked on cheese and crackers while the sun sank lower and the air grew colder. You wouldn't have known it was summer by the goosebumps on our arms. The dozens of picnic tables and blankets on the grass spread all over the farm would have fooled you though. People lounged around all afternoon, lying casually in their little circles of friends, chatting about this and that, drinking beers and Kool-aid with their pizza.

Finally, at about 10 p.m., the sky was dark and our order was ready. By this point we had moved our picnic inside of a barn structure to get our bums off of the cold, wet grass.

The pizza was amazing. There really are no words. When you wait more than two hours for food though, you eat so fast that you can barely taste anything. You cram, chew, swallow and repeat. But it smelled delicious. If only it had lasted longer...

We'll just have to go back someday, I suppose.

Your sushi is happy to see you

2011-07-07T23:22:00.010-05:00

Shiitake mushrooms make great mustaches.

Clearly our mothers never taught us the golden rule of not playing with your food. Or, more likely, we employed our powers of selective hearing. But what fun is cooking without a little creativity and spontaneity?

In the secret upstairs of The Wedge C0-op grocery store with C & B tonight we learned how to make four different kinds of sushi. Our teachers were Cinnamon and Mike. Cinnamon, whose real name is Denise, works with me at The Oliver Press. When she told me that her husband taught a vegan sushi class for $10 at The Wedge, it sounded too good to turn down. We were right. The amount of food we made and ate for $10 was amazing.

What a fun night! I'm sure going to miss our friends when they move to Hotlanta next month.

Red, White and Blue, but mostly White

2011-07-06T17:43:00.005-05:00

If I were to tell you about someone who lives near the Mississippi River that had to paint a fence white, you'd think I was talking about a Mark Twain novel. However, for the better part of the Fourth of July, Michelle, Richard, and myself spent the sunny day painting our fence white.

Although we couldn't trick any of the neighborhood kids into doing it for us, we made a fair amount of progress for three people. And even though we're all feeling the pain of a long day in the sun (Michelle in particular is looking pretty burnt), the follow-up food from the grill and fireworks at Powderhorn Park more than made up for it.

Of course, this is only the first taste of the painting experience. I'm sure all three of us will be spending some time over the next week or two priming and painting our way to a shiny new fence!

Voyage of the piscine

2011-07-03T17:35:00.004-05:00

My biceps will bulge through my shirtsleeves tomorrow, after gripping a plastic kiddie pool at 30mph during the longest 10 mile car ride of my life.

The drive home from the hardware store took three times longer than the ride there (and the twine we bought to secure the pool to the car's roof didn't really help) but we accomplished our mission. The pool has arrived!

Little E

2011-07-02T21:55:00.006-05:00

It has been 13 months since we last visited my family in lower Michigan (i.e. What I refer to as "Michigan Proper" or what David's family calls "Downstate").

This means that when we heard my cousins Matt and Kristin would be in Minneapolis this weekend visiting in-laws for the Fourth of July we called them immediately to get put on their schedule. We were so desperate to see family that I even offered our babysitting services if that is what it would take. Thankfully, we didn't have to go that route. Instead, we were invited to join everyone for dinner at Kristin's parents' house. At a backyard barbecue tonight, we finally got to meet Matt and Kristin's new baby girl, Little E.

Here is what we learned about E: Her hand (or whatever is in hand) is always in her mouth, she has dimples on her elbows, she can almost put her entire fist in her mouth, when she eats cereal it's like a volcanic eruption, she has Kristin's nose.

For the rest of the weekend we are looking forward to ribs, fireworks and a possible kiddie pool purchase. A girl I work with mentioned reading outside in a warm kiddie pool and that sounded amazing. My only reservation is that another member of our household, the one with four legs and a whip-it tail, might also enjoy the kiddie pool and make it a bit less relaxing. We shall see...

A Yooper Weddin'

2011-06-30T18:36:00.010-05:00

6-25-11

Brooke + Bob

Tis the season to get married. The year David and I got married (2008) we were invited to eight weddings other than our own. The year after that, about six more invitations came our way. After 15 weddings in two years, we didn't think that we knew anyone else who could possibly get married -- none of our other friends back home were engaged and who did we know in Minnesota well enough? But, here we are again.

After back-to-back wedding weekends there are now two down, two more to go! On Saturday last week we drove home to the U.P. for some good ol' family nuptials. Something mysterious happened to the wedding photographer (and by "mysterious" I mean that I don't know that whole story) and so yours truly was recruited to help capture the day. Here are some of the best shots:

The Dream Team vs. Those Other Guys

2011-06-29T23:18:00.002-05:00

Because this is Fred's last night here, we decided to do something special. Tonight, we ate dinner followed by a friendly 10 frames at The Bryant Lake Bowl. Guess whose team won?

Seriously, though, it was an even match. Had I not whipped out a spare in the 10th inning to tie the game, directly followed by a solid 7-pin knockdown, we would have lost. But, we didn't. Nice try David and Rich; maybe next time. ;)

Redbox leaves much to be desired

2011-06-29T22:54:00.004-05:00

We had an exciting weekend in the U.P. recently. We witnessed the wedding of David's cousin (which I had the supreme honor of photographing) and, while there, we rendezvoused with my brothers who are now visiting with us in Minneapolis.

Fred leaves tomorrow via our new favorite public ride, the Mega Bus. Rich, however, will be staying. He has decided to go to college in Minnesota and has already set up shop in our spare bedroom. We are very excited to have him! Already the process of training Rich to mow the lawn and watch the dog has begun. Lucky boy.

Most of the details from our weekend I will spare for now. It is late and we have an early morning appointment at the bus stop. For the time being, feast your eyes on the marketing genius of the Upper Peninsula. (Note: Family Video and Dobber's Restaurant are located across the street from each other. Also note: "pasties" is pronounced "past-ees.")

Puppy love

2011-06-24T00:49:00.012-05:00

Sometimes people ask us why we have a Pit Bull. Don't we know that some states don't even allow those dogs? Why on earth would we choose THAT kind of dog?

A quick lesson before the fun stuff, Pit Bulls are sought after by gangs and dog fighting rings so they can be trained to fight. These dogs are prized for their strength, their loyalty and their energy. None of these qualities make Pit Bulls inherently aggressive, however, their unfailing loyalty paired with their strength makes handing them over to "bad people" a very volatile combination. That said, before dog fighters ganged up on this poor breed, they were known as family dogs.

Apart from the fact that we love Mackinac and we think she is the sweetest, most easy-going, entertaining dog in the world, here are some reasons you can sink your teeth into:

Reason #1: It's now 12:51 a.m. and I've just told Mackinac it is bedtime. Until I tear myself away from this laptop, she will wait for me at the top of the stairs. She can't go to bed until everyone else is tucked in. Did you know that Pit Bulls used to be called "nanny dogs?"

Reason #2: She poses on command for photographs. And, she is super adorable. C'mon, just look at those eyes!

Reason #3: She plays well with others. Mackinac is honestly one of the most submissive dogs you will ever meet. She literally crawls on her belly for dogs half her size so that she can look them in the eye and say "Hey, let's be friends."

Reason #4: She looks good in a hat.

Reason #5: She is smart and she uses her intelligence for good, not evil (i.e. she is obedient). People are always surprised when we tell them that our puppy just turned one year old. She can sit, stay, walk on a leash, make eye contact, cook breakfast, roll over, speak, high-five and she likes to play hide-and-seek.

Reason #6: We have guests coming in and out of our house fairly often, but Mackinac never barks at them. She is always the perfect hostess in that she treats everyone with the same love and affection that she gives to David and me. Sometimes, I get jealous...!

Reason #7: When we hit the road for Michigan tomorrow she will sleep like an angel in the backseat of the car until she needs food or a potty break. I've said it before and I'll say it forever: Little Mac LeGault is the perfect road-trip companion.

And now, friends, it's time for this chica to hit the sheets to rest up for our 7 1/2 hour drive tomorrow.

Serving the city

2011-06-20T23:17:00.011-05:00

The Salem House in downtown Minneapolis used to house a co-op, way back when. That was before the fire that burned it to the ground.

Then, a church organization purchased the building, fixed it up and over the past 25 or so years has leased it to various Christian groups who needed the space. For the better part of this year, though, Salem House has sat empty on its cute little corner lot in the city. Our friends Paul and Jesus have some big plans for this former co-op.

First, though, we prime and we paint. To help Paul get this space ship-shape for the ministry initiatives that will come to Salem House, our small group volunteered a few hours of its time yesterday night.

James got a little carried away... Haha! That pun is just for you, Mr. Karsky.

It doesn't get any better than this.

2011-06-19T11:22:00.019-05:00

With a warm smile on his face and his palms lifted toward Heaven, the pastor said to the bride and groom, "Now, I want you to look at each other. Go ahead, turn and look each other in the eye."

Slowly, the couple turned. This wasn't part of the wedding rehearsal. The pastor was going off script. Had he forgotten his lines? The bride looked back for reassurance, "No, don't look at me," the pastor said. "Look at him." He pointed to the groom.

"Ok, good. Now, I want you both to just have a moment and take it all in."

The couple stared at each other. They locked gazes and they knew. Whatever the pastor was up to, it didn't matter because today they were getting married. Even from fifty feet away the love in their eyes shone clearly. Then the pastor continued, "Now remember this moment. "This is the best either of you is ever going to look. It doesn't get any better than this."

To Christine and Jeromie, the bride and groom, thank you for allowing David and me to share in the joy of your wedding day. We are so grateful to know the two of you and to have had the honor of watching your relationship grow from that very first date into something so much larger than yourselves. Let no man separate what God has joined together. We love you!

That's the power of love

2011-06-05T22:59:00.003-05:00

^{JOHN 3: 3-5
^"3Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' ⁴Nicodemus said to him, 'How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?' ⁵Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

Many congratulations on this beautiful day to our friends at Hope CC who were baptized this afternoon! We were so excited to be there to witness your declarations -- especially those of a very special someone. We love you, Molly!}

Minnehahapolis in 19 minutes

2011-05-31T16:55:00.000-05:00

Having out-of-town visitors is always a great excuse to try something new. For example, yesterday we visited the Mill City Museum, a repurposed flour mill in St. Anthony, a building ravaged by a massive fire that now houses a museum. Unlike your typical museum that houses many types of artifacts on many subjects, the Mill City Museum is solely devoted to the preservation of the history of the flour mill industry, specifically in Minnesota.

In 1880 the Washburn A Flour Mill, built in Minneapolis, was the largest flour mill in the world. It operated until 1965, when the owner (General Mills) decided to close half of the company's nine flour mills in order to focus resources on more profitable markets, like cereal. At this time, the mill was vacated, and remained vacant for more than 20 years. Then, in 1991, a massive accidental fire drew attention to the mill once more. The fire destroyed most of the machinery, old and wooden it gave in quickly to the fire.

After the fire, someone got the idea to build a museum within the mill's scorched remains. When you look outside the museum's windows near the entrance, you see a courtyard enclosed by three dilapidated brick walls with uneven tops. The museum tour guide told us these walls used to be yellow brick, but the fire's smoke turned them a musty black.

The coolest thing about this museum are the surviving parts of the mill, old machinery that hangs above your head when you reach the eighth floor. There are giant, cone-shaped dust traps and metal support beams that contorted under the fire's heat. You can almost imagine what it must have been like, working in the mill all of those years ago -- catching mice for 5 cents apiece or combing the thick mixture of sweat and flour from the exposed skin of your arms or forehead.

The title of this post is a reference to a 19-minute video on the history of Minneapolis that we watched as a part of our tour. In the video, we learned that the name Minneapolis comes from the combination of the Dakota Indian word "Minnehaha" which means waterfall and the Greek word "Apolis" which means citizen of no country.

Our guests are on their way home and now for the rest of the holiday weekend, David and I will recuperate by doing chores and relaxing in our living room. Sometimes, the best plans are no plans.

Step one for making a fireball

2011-05-28T22:04:00.005-05:00

This is a busy season for Hotel LeGault. We've had three sets of visitors in the past month.

Staying with us this weekend are Bri and Kyle from Michelle's hometown just outside of Grand Rapids, MI.

So far we've taken them to some of the more iconic Minneapolis destinations, including the Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Museum (home of the giant cherry/spoon), the Mall of America (home of the log ride) and Joe's Garage. There is something really special about these guys, perhaps it's their uncanny conjoined ability to interject movie quotes into any conversation. Or maybe after four years of sharing lipstick and nakedness in a backstage dressing room for high school musicals Bri and I share a forever bond.

Next on the docket we have backyard grilling. Right now, David is instructing Kyle on how to make kabobs, and how to create a fireball with a charcoal grill. Let the good times roll.

Backyard antics of dem city dwellers

2011-05-26T19:50:00.008-05:00

One trip to the local farmer's market and we fancy ourselves backyard farmers.

Last summer, in an effort to redesign our backyard, David and I removed decomposing paver stones from a "patio" by the side door of our house. This was a painstaking project that we decided to undertake one weekend while our Michigan visitors were at a wedding reception. Our friends arrived home, gussied up in summer wedding attire, to find us covered in dirt from head to foot, surrounded by stacks of crumbling green and red paver stones. The salvageable stones we arranged in arc-shaped walls around the larger plants in our back yard. The arcs look very nice, I must say. The rectangular pit of sand and dirt where the pavers once sat looks not so nice, however. Mackinac gets a lot of personal enjoyment out of this "sandbox." Since last summer she has enjoyed unrestricted digging and napping. Until now.

A few weeks ago, inspiration struck. This little plot is the least weedy part of our yard, a yard that could pass for a dandelion field. Our neighbors probably think we're intentionally growing our own crop of dandelions for wine making. David has actually considered this and if he doesn't find a job soon... who knows? We could be harvesting the front yard in a month.

Anyway, we had a lot of success with our little patch of vegetable plants last year, despite the rampant weeds. But this year, we wanted to step up our game and make the yard look a little nicer.

So, after a trip to the farmer's market and several trips to Home Depot we had enough dirt and plants to make ourselves a right-nice garden. (Please excuse the overgrown chives. I know they aren't supposed to flower like that... but they look so pretty!)

And don't go feeling all sad and sorry for poor Miss Mackinac. In an effort to compromise, we have left part of her "sandbox" intact, as it were. She seems pleased.