Twitter -- because life happens between blog posts and emails

Some of you may have noticed the new gadget on the right. It's my Twitter updates. Some people know exactly what it is, while others have never heard of it. If you're like me, you knew about it and had a general idea what it was about, but didn't really know how it worked because you'd never tried it.

Then I saw this video. It explains Twitter in plain english.


So, at least for a while, I'm going to try to submit Twitter updates every so often. Don't worry though, you don't need to sign up for Twitter in order to see my updates -- I've conveniently placed them on our blog for you.

Vita-Mix off

Some of you may also follow Ben and Chelsa's blog....but for those of you who don't, they have challenged people to a VitaMix off.

First, let me just say that this is a wonderful idea. What better way to promote the Vitamix lifestyle? And yes, it is a lifestyle. So here we have our first entry of many to come. We actually created this entry back at the end of November, not too long after we were challenged. I've been slaving away during the post-processing of this [one] image (read: doing nothing, this photo clearly has not been altered out of the camera) since then and haven't been able to post until now!

Without further ado, here is our entry:


At first they may look like ordinary pancakes, but upon closer examination you start to notice a few unique things about the pan-seared batter:

• The first thing is that they have been shaped to create the words "Vita-mix off!" This is a reference to the fact that the creation was for the Vita-Mix off challenge from Ben and Chelsa.
• The next thing you might see is the exclamation point (!) at the end of the phrase. This shows our enthusiasm in creating our entry to the contest, as well as for the contest itself.
• You may have also noticed that the words span across two plates. One plate is oval, while the other is square.
• The candles and rocks are blurry. This was done intentionally, to draw your focus toward the plates. It was easy to do, because the lens aperture required to put all items into focus from this distance never would have allowed enough light through to properly display our creation.
• The table is black. This is because it's our folding table which only came in one color: black.

Doesn't that make it perfectly clear why this is a winner? If my explanation hasn't done it for you, then Johnni insists that I explain that the pancakes are combo-flour (oat, spelt, wheat, and all-purpose) with molasses and honey. Delicious. The syrup topping is not BBQ sause like it looks in the picture, but rather a homemade blueberry-raspberry combo. All of this was made with the Vitamix (obviously, or it wouldn't really belong in the competition).

We do this just about every Saturday morning....

Proof

This post is proof that we DO do more than just hang out with our dogs... It's also proof that we're both putting our engineering degrees to good use! :)

The need for a bookshelf arose when I decided to re-arrange. I persuaded Matt to help me move the cheapo bookshelf made from pressed wood that barely survived the move down here. From the start he told me that it was going to break, but I was persistent. Sure enough, it broke and I scurried to get as many books off the shelf before it collapsed. I was partially happy that it broke because I really hated the thing.

A little nerdy, we started this project on a Friday night between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We stayed up late to finish the model. Matt took the lead on this one. This was yet another example of us discovering our different levels of perfectionism. I'd like to say that we balance each other out nicely :)
We woke up early Saturday morning to make it to the safety course at the wood shop on post. Fortunately for us, we couldn't have timed it better because they only offer the required course once a week. Next we bought the carefully selected wood based on our "bill of materials."
We were in and out of the wood shop in less than 2 hours. We had pre-planned each of the cuts needed, so things couldn't have gone any smoother. Next we quickly converted the entire duplex into a workshop of our own.

The living room served as the drilling station. The door entrance was the drying area. (wood glue drying) Not pictured was the skill saw room to make a few minor adjustments.
Surprisingly, pre-assembly was a piece of cake. Everything fit perfectly. That is, everything except the wall. We had to scoot the shelf over a few feet due to a very warped wall. Throughout the week I took the lead on staining and varnishing on the oh-so-well-ventilated 6'x6' storage shed. I think I spent a couple too many hours in there...


We did not poka-yoke (buzzword for mistake proof) our assembly process. As soon as the the stain was applied, we could no longer see our pencil marks showing where the shelves lined up on the side pieces. Assembly took MUCH too long. I tried to surprise Matt by having it done when he got back from his Funeral Detail but it turned out I just made things worse. We ended up with a few extra holes and a stripped screw, but I think we hid it pretty well! Here's the finished product. We're both glad it's done!Matt and I recently learned that one of the guys in our Sunday school class built an entire house without any plans. That blew us both away after all the planning we put into a bookshelf.

Wrapping up 2008

It's been awhile! We had a great time with everyone back in Iowa! So great to see family and friends.

A little picture narration:

We had to of course look our best before we made the trip back home:After driving the 17 hours home, we crashed in the "Matt cave" (aka Matt's old room in the basement where one could sleep until 3 pm because it is so dark and comfortable). Shortly after that, we picked up our Christmas bundle, Kaeda, and went to visit my grandma.
We hung out with familyand friends.We even had fun playing in the snow - one week of winter is just right for my liking :)We ate lots of good food (too much).We had visitors -- oddly enough, the Scottish fan club came drinking their scotch...We had good conversations while we sipped wine
and we got to catch up on sleep.
That pretty much wraps up Iowa. We caravaned with my parents down to Florida for the Outback Bowl. Matt's parents, my parents, and my brother/sister-in-law were all there for the fun. I think all of them adjusted to the weather down here without too many problems :)

I don't know about you, but I have the can't-stay-awake-while-riding-in-a-car disorder. Needless to say, I took a few puppy naps on the way home from Florida. This weekend Matt's parents stayed with us before they headed back north. Lots of relaxation and fun watching the dogs whirl around the living room. We checked out the aviation museum on post for the first time which is really neat. Now Matt quizzes me on my types of helicopters. I think I will need a refresher course soon, so you know what to look forward to if you visit!

Can't wait until next time we get to see everyone -- we miss you already!