GO, FIGHT, EAT BRAINS TONIGHT!!!

What do we want?  BRAINS!!!  When do we them?  BRAINS!!!

Halloween, I love you.

Zombie cheerleader and football player, inspired by the football players in Beatlejuice who follows around the afterlife intake lady Juno saying things like "Hey, Coach, I don't think we survived that crash."

I went back and forth on this Halloween.  As I often do, I got an idea, and then I fixated.  I HAD to do this idea.  Even though it wasn't coming together, I could tear myself off it.  And as you might have noticed, I have the blues.

At the last minute, I decided to go for it, and had the most fun I've had in six months making Walker's pads, painting the jersey, putting a weasel graphic on the helmet, fitting the cheerleading uniform, and ever so obsessively making the text for the front of the cheerleading outfit.

I couldn't bring myself to destroy these.  No fire, no holes.  Just a lot of blood.  Too many dollars and too much potential in these bad boys.

Costume how-to, including make-your-own football pads (not to be used in athletics!) in a future post.

I need to work on my raw wounds.  The neck slash was not bad, but I'll go thicker on the cut line in the future.  The skinned/raw face size could be better.  Maybe tinting the latex that's the base? Or maybe painting a thin coat of the Ben Nye thick blood before I apply it in clots.  Walker's wound has a really sharp edge to it, but that didn't show when the helmet was on.

The zombie Girl Scout made a reappearance!  Turns out what fits me as a short fitted dress fits my awesome friend like a knee length cinch dress.  Yay!  Also, it turns out that friend is GREAT at zombie eye makeup!

Pictured here: zombie Girl Scout and recent immigrant who acquired her citizenship through dubious means (also know as a Russian bride).

Built for Two

California Laura had a fantastic wedding present idea for Pennsylvania Karen -- a vintage Schwinn tandem bicycle from Goodwill.com, in Indiana -- and invited me, in Illinois, to be a part of this multistate mission.

Illinois Shawna and I picked up the bike in Indianapolis while Pennsylvania Karen was in town and staying at our house.  It added an extra bit of fun to know that we were rolling the bike right by her under the cover of night.

 

Illinois Eric came over and offered diagnostic advice to Califoria Laura via Google Video chat.  For as much as was wrong with bike -- I was relieved.  Repair was possible.  I hoped it was clean up decently.

The next day, Illinois Shawna and I sanded into the night getting the sloppy white coat of paint off.  Then Illinois Dan paid a visit to CUT the wheel with bent axle free from the bike.  The next day, the bike got a wipe down in the shower, then had it's newly shined chrome taped up.

And then for painting.  The first coat shone like the sun.  I was so excited.  I gave is plenty of time to dry.  Then I applied the second coat.  Shiny and luxurious.  And then, the weather changed, and the coat began to crackle as the humidity rose.  Fast-forward -- two days later, the day before I need to leave for the wedding.  The bike has dried, been sanded, been wiped clean, and is ready to once again be painted while I kicked myself over the whole ordeal.

California Laura and Diane flew in to Ohio with bike tools, new tires, ribbons, and handcut decals to give the bike a Katamari theme.   Nothing goes as planned, and the California troops labored over the bike until just before the ceremony.

The wedding service ended and the officiant asked that everyone join Karen and Adam in front of the house, where their getaway vehicle was revealed to them. 

Yard Party

After a very fast road trip to Kentucky and back to deliver the van for it's conversion, my childhood best friend came in to town.  Christine and I grew up 2 blocks apart and had the same bus stop.  We didn't see each other for a good eight years after high school, but even so, I still felt at home the moment we reconnected.  Sadly, we moved to Champaign a week after she left CU for grad school.  Now she lives clear across the country, but just a stones throw from Walker's folks.  Small world.

The last time I saw Christine was the week my mom died.  I have never been so happy to see someone.  She got special permission to leave her Army training program in Missouri, drove like a mad woman to my moms, and woke insanely early to do the same back to Missouri. 

We'd planned to go to the Hoopeston Corn Fest, but woke up to a dreary overcast day.  I proposed we buy a bunch of corn and have our own corn fest, but then lost my steam and plummeted into my grief.

I'm a lucky lady with good friends.  I told my friend my situation and she helped me make it happen.  We drove around town getting farm stand produce (paid for with the twenty bucks I found on the ground the night before!) and bottles of fancy cider from Michigan.  The preparation was a party in itself.

Sweet potatoes, corn, blackeyed peas, watermelon and corn were consumed.  Childhood corn dishes used.  Dogs galloped around the yard, a fire was lit, a late night beer run made, and a very late night cake baked.  This was one fine (day before) Labor Day.  

 

Chronological Schmonological. Icing on the Honeymoon Cake. HOUSTON!

We are HOME.  Mom's, Boston, Trinidad, Tobago, Trinidad, Houston, Mom's, Dad/Deb's, then HOME!   I've been delaying in posting, trying to keep this going in chronological order, but that's out the window now.

We left Port of Spain early, early Friday morning, rising at 5 (3 am central time), picking up aloo pies and baingan bake at TriniTaste on our way out of town (I don't know why, but there were cops with HUGE guns all over the place on the street there) and getting on a 9 am (7 central) flight.  

By 1:30 we back in central time, and in our rental car in Houston.  Not to sound like an advertisement, but we booked our hotel and rental car combo through Orbitz and holy moley value.  Thirty eight bucks for our room at the airport Ramada.  Hell, yeah!

We'd been looking forward to our Houston layover since the moment we booked our tickets.  I pushed pushed pushed the booking site till we had a 15 hour layover  -- and an opportunity to see four of our favorite people.  Two of our closest grad school friends took jobs in Houston in November, and two of our college friends live in the area also -- one a Houston native.  

We had not seen our Houston native friend in almost seven years, just weeks after Walker and I started dating.  I remember him coming to visit the campus, and being so excited and not wanting W to miss a second of his visit, so I went and sat outside of George Davis Hall, waiting for W to get out of class so I could let him know that Lucas! was here -- this was pre-cell phone era, folks.  As I sat there I started to feel creepy, waiting for him.  But I also got tired of standing, so I sat in the tree across from the door, and feeling creepier yet.  We had a hard to getting ahold of our long lost pal, but just a few days before our arrival in Houston, it was discovered that two hitchhikers who'd stayed with my friend and I in Colorado in 2002 were long time friends of his, and one of them hooked it up and got us in touch with him.  Success!

Looking forward to Houston made it much easier to leave paradise, and in a lot of ways, was more exciting than paradise.  We hope to make this happen again.  

More wedding! Rachel & Doug rock the vows!

Our photobooth made a big time comeback this weekend for the fabulous wedding of the lovely Ms. Rachel to Mr. Doug.

More photos here.

Ten years today.

Ten years ago today, August 6, 2000, Daniel Lewis died.  On the same day, my life began to take different directions than I would have predicted just the day before. 

His mother and sister came to our wedding, which was a joy and an honor.  I know Daniel would have been there, and I believe he would have been among the now late 20's men who stood for us at our ceremony.

As I thought about this today, it occurred to me, if Daniel were alive, if events had unfolded differently, would I have been there at the wedding?  Who would I be?  How would I be different, how might my life be different?

In the words of Daniel himself, these experiences make me who I am today.

I wish Daniel were here.  But ten years on, while I still wish this as deeply as the day it happened, I also realize that Daniel's friendship was a gift, and Daniel's death an experience that provides the foundation to who I am today.

Best wedding gift ever.

Our very good friends Bill & Claire of Tall Tale Cider have graciously made the toasting beverages for our wedding.

We're not champagne people, despite being Champaign people (har har har).  These Tall Tale brews suit our style, fill us with love, taste considerably better, and legitimized the purchase of the double basin laundry tub.


Hand crafted cider and beer, great friends, and double sided laundry tub!  What else could two people need? 

Engagement Party (BETH RULES!)

Mom and Annie came to town this weekend for our engagement party.  Beth threw us a great party featuring vegan hotdogs (as you know, we are big fans), AND recovered sister's lost digital camera from her backyard.

We are so lucky to have friends and family who support and celebrate our decision to marry.  Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us instead of doing their school work.  Thank you to Jeanne for the many many varieties of cupcakes (also my breakfast this morning), and one thousand thank you's to Beth.  We had a wonderful time.  Pictures here. 

This was the first time Mom had made it to down since summer before last.  This is the first time she's been to our new house.  This was the first time I've seen her walk in over a year.  Tomorrow, on Tuesday, we head to the hospital for her knee surgery.