She

She arrived on Friday, October 14th, at 9:40 p.m.

She has ten perfect tiny fingers (long fingers, with long nail beds like her mamma)

and ten perfect little toes (long toes like her daddy!).

She weighed 8 pounds 5 oz and is 20 inches long.

She is named Nora Jane.

And she is so very, very, very loved.

A Different Ending (Part 6)

[This is the 6th and final part of a series of catch-up blog posts covering the past year I've spent not-blogging. Part 1 can be found here, Part 2 can be found here, Part 3 can be found here, Part 4 can be found here, and Part 5 can be found here. I fully realize that this is faaaaar more in-depth than most people care about, but I'm having a lot of fun going back over the past year and choosing photos and telling snippets of stories. I'm also realizing that some of these photos I uploaded to the computer and then never even looked at, so this is a good and much-needed chance to catch up and document our 2010. Thanks for bearing with me!]

Continued....

She decided to choose One Little Word like she's done before. Two years ago she chose Cultivate, and she considered just using that again because there is so much she wants to get done this year, so much she wants to work on and so many projects she wants to do. But it didn't feel quite right.

She thought long and hard about it, and tried many words on for size but none fit very well. She wanted a word that signified the process of {something}, because she is very much in the process of so much in her life. In a season of flux.

She's kind of in love with Brené Brown and her books and TED talks and this post on her blog and the whole philosophy of being enough just as you are, not when you lose ten pounds or earn your degree or find an eye cream that actually works or learn French or get married or move into a bigger house [or get pregnant or have a baby]--you are enough right now. [This. Very. Minute.] She is not quite there yet, but she wants to be, she is trying and striving towards believing that she is enough and whole and complete just as she is. That she is a whole and complete woman, whether or not she is able to bear children. That she and her husband are a whole and complete family, whether or not they have children (not to mention however and whenever and from wherever children arrive). She is in the process of trying to feel like that complete person, just as she is, so there is only one word for her this year.


[It also conveniently encapsulates all of the home and art and life projects she wants to work into completion this year.]

She started running with her husband again (much needed after the gluttony of the holidays). [She feels it necessary to tell you that her husband runs much, much faster than she does, but he slows down to run with her because it is such amazing quality time for them.] She even found, buried in her basket of gloves in the hall closet, the pair of gloves that she used to run in in high school, a zillion years ago. Her high school colors were green and gold yellow so she bought two pairs and cross-matched them (because that was cool in the early 90's--shut up). She has no idea how this pair followed her from high school to college to Las Vegas to Ohio to Oregon to Italy to Virginia throughout 17 years, but there they were right in the place all her other pairs of gloves live. [She wishes the rest of her life and home were organized so well.]


She was still in Hibernation Mode and was trying to take it easy on herself, so whenever she got the urge to forget the To Do list for an hour or a day and play with paper and glue and paints and inks, she did.


She found berry garlands marked 90% off at JoAnn's and decided that red berries were perfectly suited to winter and Valentine's Day and she made wreaths for the front door and the pantry door. [She just accidentally typed "panty door" and couldn't stop laughing for several seconds, imagining just what that would be.]


She accepted a job getting two little girls off to school every weekday morning. One day they had a 2-hour delay due to snow, so she brought over crafts for them to do together. Much later that day she found gold glitter stuck to her favorite black sweater and, to her surprise because she is very careful about things getting on her, it made her ridiculously, inexplicably happy. She felt it was a sign from the universe that she would feel this precise kind of happiness again, and that gave her a distinct feeling of what she can only describe as Peace.

She went on a date with her husband, concluded with a trip to Total Wine where they spent most of the $100 gift card she won for being their 1000th "Like" on Facebook. [Social media FTW!]


They had a new water heater installed and it has a remote control. This is impossibly fancy to her, that she can stand in her upstairs bathroom and request, from the water heater in the basement, an exact temperature of water for her shower or bath and then that's what comes out of her taps. It's like the future has arrived. [And it's in her bathroom.]

[She is thankful that she finds wonder in small things.]

She met up with her Wine and Cheese Club, perhaps her favorite "club membership" and definitely the "meetings" she most refuses to ever miss (although the three other "members" are amazing and will reschedule until all four of them can attend, so missing is not really an issue).

She wore indigo and violet wool socks, just because they made her happy.

She was kind of addicted to shopping at Marshall's and buying fancy foods there.

She loves olives.

One day, out of nowhere, she decided to try to clean the inside of the oven door. There were long drippy streaks of milk inside the glass from a day long ago when she spilled milk (she didn't cry over it) across the counter and the stove and it dripped down inside the oven door. Not on the inside of the door like when you open the oven, but the inside in between the two panes of glass.

She was completely shocked to find that it's the easiest thing in the world to take apart and clean, and she wondered why she hadn't done it ages and ages ago. She decided that next time something seemed like it would be a huge pain, she'd just go ahead and try it because maybe it was just as simple as two screws on an oven door.


She took an online class and the class was encouraged to think of the negative mantras they tell themselves and to come up with new mantras. She journaled about it (as they were encouraged to do) and when she re-read what she'd written the same three words kept popping up over and over. So she adopted her new mantra, "Be positive, calm, and hopeful," and she said it to herself about seventy-thirteen times per day when sneaky fears would pop into her mind (which happens a lot). It helped, a lot. [It's still helping a lot.]

It snowed and snowed, but luckily not like it did last year. This snowman was the highlight of her day one day, though. Thanks, neighbors!


She and her husband went out for tapas with Danny and Sophie and Erin and John, and then across the street to an Irish bar. [She is past the age where people jostling her about in a bar is okay with her.]

Fisheye lens + flash in a dark bar = vignetting and Danny's eyes closed.

She bought herself flowers, and she discovered that her camera has an entire set of filters that she didn't know about.


She became addicted to Dexter.


She watched her amaryllis (which she bought at Marshall's) bloom, and bloom, and bloom, and bloom.


She took self-portraits in her guest bathroom. [All of her online photos were years old and she felt they represented the Then Her instead of the Now Her. And so very much has happened between Then and Now, she's not quite the same person.]

Smiling into a mirror and taking photos of herself was kind of a big deal for her.

She had brunch with a friend she hadn't seen for seven years, back when they both lived in Ohio.


She used her Silhouette to cut all different shapes and colors of paper hearts, and she strung them across her kitchen because she thought it would be awesome (and it was).


She took joy in the first early signs of Spring.


Her husband indulged her craving for not cooking Mexican food one night.


She and her husband decided this is the year for the completion of some projects--big & small--in the house. He replaced a ceiling fan. She spent time organizing her basement (her fabric cabinet is shown below). He ripped up the nasty carpeting on the stairs and landing to see just how much of a pain it will be to put in hardwoods. [Verdict: DIY-able but a total pain.]


[She is tempted to just fix them up a bit and paint them like this, instead.]

She made a shadowbox full of a rainbow of paper flowers, just because she felt like it.


She has lived in the DC area for three and a half years and she finally went to Five Guys for the first time. [Thanks to @MeganBoley and @Tristina_Wright talking about bacon cheeseburgers all the ding-dang live-long day on Twitter that day.]


She ordered silver chains and charms for a jewelry show she has coming up soon (and for Mother's Day and her Inspired even in May, which will be here before she knows it). It cost almost a thousand dollars a crap-ton of money, and when it arrived it all came packaged inside a sandwich-sized zipper bag. Not even close to full, either. She tried not to have a heart attack and reminded herself that you have to spend money to make money (and she prayed and crossed her fingers).

She went out for a fancy dinner with her husband, and the men at the next table sounded like Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard. She marveled again how she is living on the edge, the very boundary between Washington DC and The North, and people who sound like Boss Hogg and The South (she is aware that not all people from The South sound like Boss Hogg). It is a weird, weird place to live sometimes. Fascinating, to be sure; but weird, too.

She [re-]learned that she should stay true to what she wants to do, and doing things just because people ask her to and she wants to be accommodating does not always work out. It's okay to say, "Let me think about it (or try it out) and get back to you with my answer." She will try to remember this lesson.

She caught up on her blog and looked at photos from the past year and is amazed at just how fast time has passed. She felt vulnerable and unsure but practiced authenticity and just putting herself out there, and hoped that kind souls would find her and accept her as she is. They (you!) did and do and are.

She is so, so very glad to be back.

Favorite {Photo} Friday--Stargazer Lilies

If it were possible to get drunk from smelling flowers...


... I'd be soooo wasted this week.

Today I'm driving to Virginia Beach for a scrapbooking crop. If you're not a scrapbooker, a crop is where a bunch of scrapbookers get together in a huge room and all scrapbook together. It's kind of a weird concept but it's totally fun. I've been prepping for weeks now, printing photos, choosing papers and embellishments. I'm meeting some friends there so it should be a great weekend, and I hope to get some pages done to add to the scrapbooks.

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law, Jo!! Hope you have a great day!

Favorite {Photo} Friday--Books

I've mentioned before how much I love books. I also love supporting small businesses, recycling, and getting a good deal. So imagine my sheer and utter disappointment when I drove to my local used bookstore back in December and it wasn't there. Their big sign was gone and there was just no trace of them.

Seriously? I almost cried.

I'm so dependent on used bookstores (that one and online) that when I realized earlier this week that I need to buy a copy of Cry, The Beloved Country for my book club next week, I had a moment of panic. Now that my bookstore was closed, where would I get the book? There wasn't enough time to order it online! [It never even occurred to me to go to Borders or Barnes & Noble!]

So I drug myself into the shower and then threw on some clothes and slapped on some makeup, to leave the house for the first time in a week. I was planning to go to the library to check it out, which I don't like to do for book club because I can't make notes in the margins and dog-ear pages. But before I could do that I had to go to the bank, which meant that I had to drive past the shopping center where the used book store used to be.

And then I saw it. At the opposite end of the shopping center, there it was!! My used bookstore! In a bigger location!

Seriously? I almost cried again, but this time for joy!

And what's even better? I know, I could hardly believe it myself that there could be anything better, but there was: a free books bin outside the front door!


All of these beauties were in it! Essential Keats, a book of short stories set in Oregon (my beloved home state), the B and G volumes of an old World Book encyclopedia, and an old edition of the Merck Manual I can understand. But To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone With The Wind? In hardcover? In any event, I snatched them right up! I also got some other fun falling-apart stuff that I'll use in collage (that's why I got the Merck and the encyclopedias, too).

Oh, and I got Cry, The Beloved Country for $3.28, as well as an Agatha Christie novel for $.81!

****************************************

I still need to do a post on my One Little Word and the necklace I'll be offering for it... I haven't forgotten, just been holed up trying to get well. :)

Have a great weekend! :)

2009 Review

I'm sick and hopped up on cold meds, but wanted to post something about 2009... thanks to Stella for the list! :)

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
Visited Colorado; we'd driven through it before but I hadn't really seen anything. It's a beautiful state and Jason and I had a hard time leaving!


2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't really make any specific resolutions, I just had general things I wanted to focus on this past year. In some areas I did a great job, and in other areas I didn't. So I'm refocusing on those areas that still need improvement this year.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! Kellie had Carli (shown below), Nicole had twin girls, and a TON of my friends are pregnant (two with twins!). And Erin gave birth to Tommy on the stairs in her house, which I'm mentioning because if you haven't read about it before, you really should now, it's hilarious and amazing! And I can't believe I live 3000 miles away from this baby, isn't she adorable? Miss you, Kel, and I can't wait to meet Carli!


4. Did anyone close to you die?
My amazing friend Shannon was a Chemo Pal for a little girl named Natasha. I donated to Shannon's runs and triathlons to raise money for Leukemia & Lymphoma, and I followed along with Natasha's CaringBridge site. I never met Natasha but I feel like I knew her, I sent her presents, and I was heartbroken when she lost her battle.

5. What countries did you visit?
None. {Sob!}

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
A fitter, healthier, skinnier body; more willpower; a more organized house so I'm comfortable having people over.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
For better or worse, I'm not a big "date" person. I don't really have strong emotional ties to certain dates other than birthdays and anniversaries of immediate family members, and even have a hard time remembering those sometimes! I think of people who have passed (my friend Doug, my Grandpa Earl, my Grandma Evelyn) all the time, and I remember the time of year that they passed, but not the dates. So when I think of things I'll remember about this year, they're not really tied to specific dates. That said:

• Most of July of this year is pretty memorable, for both good and bad reasons.
• I remember the exact moment that Jen found me at Inspired and I realized that she was as excited to see me as I was to see her (below is a photo of Jen, Aimee, and me at Inspired)!



• The whole Miracle on the Hudson thing will stick with me, too, because I happened to have the TV on when it happened, and I was truly terrified for everyone on board; I sat watching and praying and crying and it was almost too good to be true when they announced everyone was safe!
• My friend Jilliene in California had brain surgery and I couldn't do anything until I knew she was okay, to the point that I started calling hospitals until I found out where she was, kept calling back until she was out of surgery, and finally talked to her husband! :)
• I remember the moment when Jason called me from Georgia and told me "I'm okay, but I wrecked the bike... they're taking me to the ER now."

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finishing the Avon Walk (photo below, yes, it was pouring rain) and raising $4000 was pretty big, as was meeting my goal to list 30 new items in my Etsy shop in September!


9. What was your biggest failure?
Not getting as much done in the house as I wanted.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I think I was sick for the first three months of the year.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Hrm, this is a tough one. I'll say plane tickets, I bought a lot of those!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Jason was a truly amazing husband this year (photo below); my sister Tauni made a parenting decision that really impressed me and is really helping her family; Jilliene stayed positive and active despite enduring crippling pain and brain surgery and the disappointment of the crippling pain coming back. I don't know how she does it!


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Most people on the news, which is why I don't watch! Politicians, celebrities, and the fact that they spend so much time on the media reporting it all. BLEH.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Traveling to visit friends and family, jewelry supplies (although I made that back!), arts & crafts supplies.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing Kellie in Seattle, the Avon Walk, Inspired artist workshop and seeing my friends again, CHA with Lori, seeing my nieces (photo below), my 15-year high school reunion, going on a vacation with Jason, making it out of DC during the big snowstorm!!


16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
Black Eyed Peas' I Got a Feeling.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier I think
b) thinner or fatter? fatter for sure
c) richer or poorer? richer by a smidge

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Exercising, calling friends, blogging, organizing the house.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Eating!, being annoyed, watching tv, being depressed.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
With family at home in Oregon. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day with Jason's family (part of the spread, below).


21. Did you fall in love in 2009?
Over and over again with Jason... cheesy but true!

22. What was your favorite new TV program?
Glee! I also love The Good Wife, and I became addicted to Criminal Minds even though it's not a new show, it's new to me... same for Bones, I love that show! :)


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Yikes, hate is a very strong word! I don't even think that I dislike anyone this year that I liked last year.

24. What was the best book you read?
I love The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. It's not new but I read it last January and it is amazing.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I love music but I'm so out of it when it comes to who's new and knowing who all the cool bands are. My sister gave me a Brandi Carlisle CD for my birthday, though, and I love it!

26. What did you want and get?
A new camera (below), a new vacuum cleaner, a new mattress; new friends; to travel to visit friends and family.


27. What did you want and not get?
More local friends; to travel abroad; skinny. :)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
We didn't see that many new movies because we rarely go to the theater, but I loved The Blind Side.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 34 this year. A couple weeks before my birthday we went out to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant in DC called Tosca and then went to see our favorite comedian, Mike Birbiglia. It wasn't on my birthday but I always forget that because it felt like a birthday date. On my actual birthday we went to a local Italian restaurant which was more expensive and not as good as Tosca. :) My awesome sister-in-law, Angella, got me gift certificates to Tosca for my birthday and Christmas so I'm excited to go back! :) The photo is not great but it tasted divine; the best Italian food I've had since we've been back.


30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
[This answer is not suitable for public posting.]

31. Describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Do yoga pants count as a fashion concept? I hit my heaviest weight (ever!) in November and most of the clothes in my closet don't fit, enough said?

32. What kept you sane?
Hope. And talking to trusted friends on the phone/via e-mial/via online chat/via text. And wine. And hot, hot baths. And good books. And making art. And eating, obviously, damnit!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Mark Wahlberg, same as always. :) I mean, c'mon!


34. What political issue stirred you the most?
The war.

35. Who did you miss?
My nieces, they're growing up so quickly and I really hate that I'm missing so much. I saw them twice this year and I hope to visit again in the Spring. I also really, really miss all of my artist friends who live all over North America!


36. Who was the best new person you met?
It's kind of a tie. Technically I met Lori in 2008, but we became a lot closer this year and she's one of my best friends now (photo below). And technically I haven't met Erin, but after she ordered a necklace from me we found each other on Twitter and Facebook and our blogs, and through her I found a bunch of other awesome ladies who all live in NW Indiana (NWI) and are on Twitter and have blogs. I feel like they're all new friends even though I haven't actually met any of them, but I'm constantly inspired by them and they make me LAUGH more than anyone else online! Maybe I'll have to make a trip to NWI this year! :) Oh! And when I was in Orlando I met Lori's friend Anke, whom I adore and wish the three of us lived on the same cul-de-sac.


37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Oh, Lordy. I guess I'll just say that hope springs eternal.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
I can't say that it "sums up" the year, but it certainly came to have a lot of meaning to me, even more than it did before. I wanted a necklace for myself so I made it and listed it on Etsy, and it sold, like, immediately--within minutes--to a husband for his wife's birthday. So I made another one and re-listed it, and a woman ordered two matching ones as a very, very special gift for two twin teenage girls who had just lost their older brother; the three of them used to sing this song together, and I put little hearts on the back with the brother's initials. Then I made it again and it encouraged someone to ask me for a custom piece with her special song on it. And people just kept buying it, telling me how special it was and how they were so excited to have it or give it as a gift, which is my favorite thing about my business. Finally I did make myself one to wear, and I wore it all through the holidays. I love it.

Rise up this mornin'

Smile with the risin' sun

Three little birds

Perch by my doorstep

Singin' sweet songs

Of melodies pure and true

Singin' this is my message to you:

Don't worry

About a thing

'Cause

Every little thing

Is gonna be alright

--Three Little Birds, Bob Marley

Your Way Will Be Lighted

Art is so subjective; what one person loves, someone else will think is junk. I went to a higher-end Arts & Crafts show yesterday and I saw some of each. :)

I usually go to the shows to get inspired by ideas, and buy some smaller items... there's usually a row or two of gourmet food items and that always makes good gifts. This year I bought a small pottery dish that has these little spikes in the middle of the bowl... it's for rubbing garlic cloves on, then add a bit of olive oil and dip in some crunchy bread. Yumm--I looove garlic. I also bought a couple of small stained-glass ornaments to hang in my kitchen window; I bought two last year so now I have one for each "section" of the window, one to represent each season of the year... I have a "thing" for the four seasons, too.

I also have a serious love of words. So when I stumbled into Rebecca Grace Jones' booth I felt right at home. She makes Words and Weavings, and I just fell in love with so many of them. I especially love this one that's on her website, and a whole bunch that aren't. Most of her work that was in the booth was like this one or this one--a weaving with words, with or without a small watercolor, mounted onto a handmade paper or mat. But there were a few that were paintings with a weaving with words mounted on top.

Although this was not the first thing in the booth that caught my eye, when it finally did I stared at it for a long time, and my throat got tight. Rebecca saw me and came over and we stared talking. I told her how much I love the piece and how beautiful her artwork is. I told her how lovely it was that everything she makes is actually handmade and hand-written; I was disappointed with the number of artists who were selling digital prints of their original artwork at prices that you'd expect to pay for originals. She said that a lot of people just don't notice or don't care, and seemed happy that I appreciate the difference.


I looked around some more, and decided that it was a big enough purchase that I needed to think it over overnight at the least... and knowing me, I knew that that would probably mean I'd talk myself out of it and come up with a lot of reasons why I shouldn't buy it (some of them true and valid, some of them false and self-defeating).

So I left her booth and walked around the rest of the show; at one point I thought it was only 15 minutes until the show closed, so I ran up and down the last two aisles to see if there were any must-haves, just in case I decided not to come back the next day. When I realized that nobody was leaving I looked at my watch again and laughed out loud realizing that there was another hour left, so I looped back around at a more leisurely pace. :) Then I went back through the whole show floor to the booths I'd marked to check out again--I try not to buy on the first go-round in case I find something better further later on... yes, I'm a Maximizer, remember? :) After I finished that, I decided to go take another look at the painting one last time before I left.


And I felt the same thing I'd felt the first time I looked at it. Like I was seeing something so true and real and beautiful to me that my throat tightened and my eyes welled up. I told myself that I could always come back tomorrow, and if it was gone then it just wasn't meant to be. I talked to Rebecca again and told her that I'd probably be back the next day; I had to crunch some numbers to see if I could make it work. She told me that it meant a lot to her that I loved it so much; she'd had it for quite a while and was wondering who would fall in love with it. I told her that I understood, I've experienced the same thing making jewelry; I've made some things that didn't sell for a while and just when I'm starting to question it, all of a sudden someone will order it and tell me how absolutely perfect it is for them. Everything lines up.

As I walked away yet again, heading towards the exit, I knew that everything had lined up; it was meant to be mine. I don't feel that way often, at least not about purchasing things, so the fact that I felt this way was significant. So I sat down and called Jason. We have a rule about purchases over a certain amount, plus it's Christmas, so the budget for the month is overflowing filled. But as I tried to explain it to him, my throat kept tightening and my eyes kept welling up, and finally he said, "We'll make it work. It means a lot to you, so we'll figure it out."


So I went back and told Rebecca the good news; I had to have it. Because I could pay with check (rather than credit card), and I think also because she was happy it was going to someone who loved it so much, she even gave me a very generous discount! As I carried it out to the car I was so happy I cried a little, and I couldn't stop smiling in the car on the drive home, even in stop-and-go traffic. :)

I propped it up in the hallway at the top of the stairs, and in between hammering jewelry orders today I keep sneaking upstairs to sit in front of it and just take it in. I'm so, so happy with it. I love the words (which Rebecca wrote) and I love that it's Grace with a capital G. I love that it's in both warm and cool colors. I love that the trees and the colors and the slanting purple shadows remind both Jason and me of Italy. I love that the words are written on shimmery paper the same color as the frame, and that the threads in the weaving match the colors in the painting perfectly. I love the balance and the reaching branches and the blue sky. I love it.

I hope that this weekend you're finding whatever is true and real and beautiful to you, too. :) [Click on any of the photos to see them larger.]

Favorite {Photo} Friday--Oktoberfest!

Three years ago this weekend Jason and I traveled to Munich with our friends Joe and Nikki for Oktoberfest. I wrote about it last year but since I grew up going to Oktoberfest every year, it's sort of programmed in my brain to think about it as soon as October starts looming on the horizon, so here we are again!

Last year was long on writing and short on photos, this year it's the opposite!

Here's the view from the balcony in one of the main "Big Tents" of Oktoberfest, the Lowenbrau Tent.


As you can see, it's not at all tent-like, except for the canvas roof above the slatted arches. It holds 5700 people inside, and 2800 more in tables outside. If you're not quite overwhelmed by the drunken masses here, there are 13 more big "tents" and 18 "small" tents for you to peruse!

Here's me making friends with a cool German guy:


I don't know how he's able to stand all those layers, two of them thick wool! I was roasting in my long-sleeved shirt!

Here's Nikki, posing with another cool German guy. This shot was a set-up because we were determined to get a photo of the "penis charms" (as we so delicately coined them) that we saw on a few German men.


Notice that she's pointing right at his, um, penis charms. [Side note: I tried Googling to find the name of this belt thing, but couldn't come up with search terms that didn't lead me to sites that, well, I didn't want to click on! If anyone knows the actual name I'd appreciate learning it!]

The women working the beer tents are AH. MAZE. ING. When you look at this next photo, please keep in mind that most women who were drinking from these 1 liter steins had to use two hands just to keep our teeth in our skulls--they are heavy and could easily knock loose a few teeth if you're not careful!


And this lady was carrying 13 of them at once! Gotta keep those thousands of beer-guzzlers happy! I wonder how they train in the off-season? Lifting cows? Shot-putting cars?

Pure awesomeness:


I thought about trying to get their attention to get a better photo, but who knows what kind of mess I'd be drawn into if they knew they had my attention and a camera on them?! :)

Finally, here's a fun photo:


Mmmmmmm, salty carbs, my favorite!!

We had such a great time! Thanks for coming along with me in this little trip down memory lane.

Have a great weekend, everyone! :)

p.s. The new item of the day is up here!