The Day After Toxic

Anyone who has attended a Myszkaville Toxic Waste Party understands it's more than a party, it's an experience. Eric diligently sets up the exterior of the house starting a full month before the party. Most of the props he uses are stored offsite, so he has to bring everything back over here and start sorting through it. He has added props every year. This year was the pirate fort originally created for a RAGBRAI party this past summer when the annual event had an overnight stay in Cedar Falls.

We LOVE this party. We usually have costumes worked out a year in advance. We rearrange the back yard. We rearrange the inside of the house. We decorate the hell out of the place. We set up mood lighting, music, food, beverages, and have even added a circus tent to keep everyone dry in case of rain since we have too many guests to fit in our tiny house. 

After all the planning, the night we have been waiting for arrives. We are absolutely AMAZED at the creativity of our friends. The costumes are always amazing. Everyone seems to have fun. As a hostess I seem to just flit around, never REALLY getting to talk to anyone at length but I say HI to everyone I can and I run around with a big stupid smile on my face because so many of my friends are gathered in one spot. 

The time FLIES. People are usually still here past 3:00 am. But it goes so fast. And then... and then we have to wake up the next morning, knowing it's all over until next year. 

I have seen MUCH worse, but this is how the day after Toxic Waste 7, Radioactive Riot looked. 

The kitchen was not in horrible disrepair. It looks like the food was enjoyed. 

Some pirate left their cannon in the dining room.

The remnants of an Amish beard were left in the living room.

Grumpy Cat memes and House of Corks (Cards) playing cards could be found on the deck. 

The witch couldn't deal with the disappointment of the party being over. 

The pirate ship which was part of a spectacular skit, looked just as spooky in the sunlight. 

One word: FIREBALL.

The yard wasn't looking too bad. 

Here's what it looked like around 3:00. Note our little helpers. They work for practically nothing and aren't hungover. We love it.

Eric didn't sleep in as late as usual. The number of costume parts usually left was unusually low. The puppies were surprisingly alert until mid afternoon. 

The house has been swept and vacuumed. The kitchen has been cleaned up. Much of "party residue" has been purged. The party was a raging success and we are already planning the next one. It'll be on October 15th next year in case you are wondering. And pictures will be posted soon for those of you who are asking for them. It was a great time! Thanks to all who helped make it a night to remember!

 

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I Wasn't Born a Leader

My mind works in VERY strange ways. I can't even explain it, but because I was driving behind someone of a certain ethnic background going entirely too slow for the street I was on, it led me to think of someone else I know with that same ethnicity who drives that same way, and I wondered if it was a stereotype. Then I thought more about that person I know, and I wondered how he was doing. He used to live in my neighborhood, or more truthfully, I used to live in his. It was a new townhouse development and technically he bought his first. I wondered if he was still there. And I wondered what happened to the home owner's association he and I were both a part of. He was the president for a couple of years before I ran against him and won. And THAT got me thinking about how many committees I have been on, how many board positions I have held, and wondering how the hell that all happened. 

Those of you who know me, know I am not a shy person. However, growing up, I never took initiative in anything. I was never the team captain. I was never president of a club. I certainly wasn't homecoming queen. There are instances too numerous to count where I knew an answer in class but never raised my hand, just in case I was wrong. I didn't want anyone to think I was stupid. I even waited through a whole class period and asked the teacher afterwards whether one of his supply and demand graphs was correct. It was not and he asked why I hadn't said something during class. I didn't want the attention, so I kept my mouth shut. 

I am not sure when this all changed. At my first design job out of college, I was given a personality test. However I answered made them think I should be in sales. They asked if I had ever thought about it, and I vehemently shook my head NO. No way was I EVER going to do sales. Guess what I do now? Sales.

That same job paid for a membership to IIDA, the International Interior Design Association. I had been a member for a couple of years when someone asked if I would be the secretary. I agreed. I was a horrible secretary though. My meeting minutes were almost verbatim. I was then asked to be a student liaison. I also wasn't much good at that, because I was actually intimidated by the Iowa State students since I was a UNI grad, an inferior program (not really - but that's how I felt they would see it). I think I might have been a couple of other board positions too, because I held various positions for 4 years. Later on during that same time period I was also the secretary for our very new home owner's association. I had developed better note taking skills by that time thankfully, since people just want the gist of things when they don't attend the meetings. 

I then decided to run against the incumbent for president of the home owner's association because I didn't think he was doing a good job. He was a "yes man" that would tell the home owners whatever they wanted to hear just to get them off his back and then he wouldn't do anything about it. I won the election. And I got stuff done. I worked with contractors to fix ongoing issues, dealt with insurance, signage, lighting, etc. I ran meetings, listened to concerns, made decisions, and I think I did a pretty good job. Then we moved. 

I became City Center Director for IIDA (basically in charge of local events in and near Des Moines). I separated from my husband, found another place to live, and started selling Uppercase Living products to supplement my income. I had never in my wildest dreams thought I would be in any type of entrepreneurial business. 

Then my friend Leslie was nominated as President Elect of our IIDA chapter, covering Nebraska and Iowa. She asked if I would be her President Elect when she moved up the following year. It's a three year commitment because even the Immediate Past President stays involved. It took a little nudging, but I finally agreed to be on the ballot, and was voted in along with the rest of the slate of board members. 

As President Elect of the Great Plains Chapter, I was in charge of getting a committee together and putting on our big auction event called Design Montage that the chapter did every other year. With the help of several committee members, the event was a success and we raised over $12,000 for our chapter and a charity of our choice. I felt pretty good about myself and what I had accomplished. 

As President, I oversaw everything, but it was a much more laid back position since I was not in charge of anything in particular except keeping everyone on task and scheduling monthly meetings. Which was good, because during that time I took a new job, lost the new job (this was 2008-2009 when the market crashed), and ended up moving back to Cedar Falls. I still drove to Des Moines for the monthly meetings and continued to hold my position. 

Even as Past President I showed up to what I could and helped out. 

Being in Cedar Falls with no job and no committees, I felt lost. Eric's friend Molly is a director on the Sturgis Falls Board, and thought I might fit in. I did, and became the Band Shell Director, in charge of all the entertainment and emcees on the Band Shell Stage in Overman Park for the entire event. The first year is a trial year and they liked me enough to vote me in for the standard 3 year term after that trial year. 

When my commitment ran out, I stepped down and turned to Community Main Street. I now hold a position on the Organization and Development Committee. I help plan many events in the downtown area for the general public as well as for downtown business owners and our volunteers. 

I've also been sucked into Holiday Hoopla, a series of events that starts with the arrival of Santa on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and runs through Christmas. I decorate for the Breakfast with Santa and this year also helped with the float entry for the Sturgis Falls Parade. And I somehow volunteered myself to help emcee that event this year. I hope I can keep everyone excited and happy as they wait, freezing their buns off, for Santa to arrive. 

I went from just a sub, to a regular player, to captain of my always evolving volleyball team. I run a side business making cards and organizing and helping people with interior design projects. I'm still involved in IIDA. I sign up to mentor design students every year. I help with portfolio and interview critiques. I take care of my house, my dogs, my husband and my boys. I help my friends and neighbors when I can, and I like it when someone thinks to ask me for advice. It feels good to support my community, my profession, my hobbies, and my friends and family. 

I was not born a leader. But somehow, I feel I've become one. Or at least it's within reach.

Why Our 'Hood is AWESOME

I frequently overuse the word AWESOME to express how great I think something is, but I really mean it when describing our neighborhood. 

The Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier asked for nominations for great neighborhoods for their "Cedar Valley Neighborhood Project: Who we are. Where we live. Why we stay."  My next door neighbor, Angela, posted a link to the nominations on our "Tremont Good Neighbors Group" Facebook page. Several of us nominated our neighborhood. And today, the Courier sent a couple of guys to take photos and video and interview all of us about the neighborhood. We organized a quick cook out and 27 of us (including kids) were in attendance.

We nominated our neighborhood because we trust our neighbors. We can ask them to pick up mail while we're out of town, we send our kids over to ask for a quarter cup of milk when we start macaroni and cheese and realize we don't have everything, we give away extra veggies from our summer gardens, and we watch each other's kids when needed. We also have great parties. Neighbors know when the lights are on at Myszkaville, they can pop on over and chat for awhile. 

True to form, we needed a grill today for the cook out, as our own charcoal grill is good for a few burgers, but not for 20 hot dogs, 10 burgers and several brats. So we turned to the Corkerys across the street. They have lent us their grill on multiple occasions. They are awesome neighbors.  

We were all pretty friendly with each other, but we became really close, more than just acquaintances, when straight line winds knocked down many of the trees in our neighborhood, in the wee hours of the morning of July 10, 2009. Once it was calm outside, you could find many of us outside with flashlights, walking around, checking to make sure everyone was OK. Our next door neighbor's tree crushed Eric's car. Across the street, a giant oak fell on the neighbor's house and tweaked it so it needed to be completely remodeled. No one could leave because trees blocked the streets. No one had power. But we were all OK. And it created a bond. 

July 10, 2009

The neighborhood and houses are pretty old. But the majority of people living in those houses are all families in their late 20's to mid 40's with kids ranging from 2 months to 20 years. We've had a few fantastic neighbors move away, but even if they are no longer next door to us, they will forever be our friends. And we have had some great new people move into the neighborhood, some just because they knew how awesome it is, and those of us who have been here for awhile like to welcome them in style. (This just happened to be April Fool's Day too, so that didn't hurt). 

Angela Johnson, me, Sarah Albertson-Corkery

I love the house we live in because Eric's grandfather built it. I have a very deep desire to live in a larger house though, especially with all of our social gatherings. So I have been plotting to move at some point (probably far) in the future. However, I don't want to leave my neighbors. If there is a way to make the house bigger, I might have to go that route because my neighbors are irreplaceable and we will NEVER be this lucky living anywhere else.

Day to day life can be made or broken by the people you surround yourself with. I'm lucky that those who live in close proximity to me are not just neighbors, but really good friends.  

Continuing the tradition of summer parties going out with a bang, thank you to Rowena
who brought a watermelon and a huge bag of rubber bands. Put enough rubber bands around
the middle of a watermelon and it goes BOOM! So much fun!!
THIS NEIGHBORHOOD IS AWESOME!!!

Vacation...All I Ever Wanted

Well, this post is almost a month late. But May has somehow been CRAZY. 

I was going to name the post "Blood Money Vacation" but that would be misleading. I mean, we were able to go on vacation because of Eric selling his plasma, so it's ALMOST blood money, but not quite. 

We went to South Carolina last year over spring break with the boys. We stayed in Beaufort, and made trips to Charleston and Hilton Head and Savannah. It was quite lovely there, so I went back with my friend Kate to celebrate my 40th birthday in November. 

It's been quite awhile since Eric and I had a trip by ourselves, so we decided to go back to the South once again. This time we brought the dogs (I know, this really isn't "by ourselves" but close enough) and stayed in a condo on Hilton Head Island. 

  

We spent some time every day at the beach. The beaches were very dog friendly, and there were so many people that came up to us and asked to pet Zima and Swisher and told us they had boxers back home, or they grew up with boxers, or they used to have boxers. It's like a special little clique. 

The dogs loved the beach. They walked by the ocean. Zima fully went in after her tennis balls. Swisher swam out to see me when I was out waist deep. They played in the sand and enjoyed the sunshine. We even went to a restaurant right there on the beach that allowed the dogs to stay with us, and they even brought them a bowl of water. 

We spent some time exploring the Island a little and walked around the Coastal Discovery Museum and walked the trails and learned about the history of Hilton Head and some of the wildlife inhabitants. 

Spanish moss covered trees at the Coastal Discovery Museum

We took a little afternoon trip to Savannah and toured the Davenport House Museum. It has a rich history and was well preserved. It was fun to hear about the family and what happened to the house after they left. 

The Davenport House Museum

We rented several movies from Redbox and just relaxed. Swish did too. 

And during one of our walks Zima was in heaven and hell at the same time. She saw SO MANY TENNIS BALLS but couldn't get to a single one of them. 

We stopped by the beach one last time on our way out of town.

And we took a little side trip to Mooresville, NC so Eric could see the set of one of his favorite shows, Banshee. 

We continued home, because sadly, the end of a vacation means getting back to reality. The drive was gorgeous, and I was able to capture this image somewhere in Tennessee. 

Invest in experiences, not things. For those moments are what you will remember forever.

Fat Patricia

Many people name their cars. I could never settle on what I wanted to name mine. Until I watched Pitch Perfect and Rebel Wilson's character admitted that she was in fact NOT Fat Amy, but Fat Patricia. I loved it. And so it became the name of my 2012 Nissan Altima. 

Fat Patricia was purchased in March of 2012 with only 3,000 miles on her. On April 19th this year, we passed the 100,000 mile mark, a momentous occasion. 

I wasn't paying attention, so I completely missed the turnover on my way back from Kansas City that weekend, but caught it 3 miles later.

I bought the car knowing how many miles I would be traveling for work. And at that time I was having a few problems with my 2003 Altima with 165,000 miles on her, so I thought it would be good to upgrade. 

She got better MPG, had an AUX plug so I could finally listen to music from my iPod, and she smelled brand new. The BEST part of the upgrade was that you didn't need a key for anything, including starting up the car. As long as the key fob is on my person or in my bag, I can touch a button on the handle and let myself into the car, or touch a button on the trunk and pop it open, and touch the "start" button inside the car to turn it on. No more searching through my giant work bag or my purse digging around for my keys. 

In three years I have only had to replace the battery once, buy one new set of tires, replace one air filter and get regular oil changes and tire rotations. 

Fat Patricia has taken us to Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver and back home on a whirlwind trip for my Grandpa's 90th birthday and to see other friends and family. She has taken us to South Carolina (and will do so again in a couple of days). She has brought back many loads of flat packed furniture from IKEA in Minnesota. She has been to Chicago, Kansas City and Omaha for work trips. She has seen the whole of this great state of Iowa MANY times over.  

I'm hoping for a few more years, and another 100,000 miles (so I can get her loan paid off!) before she starts falling to pieces. She has a couple of dings on the outside, and is covered in dog hair on the inside, but otherwise looks as beautiful as the day I first took her home. 

April Fool

The first thing I think about on April 1st when I wake up is, "I wonder what Angela (our neighbor) did this year." This year she glued change to my driveway, put a For Sale By Owner sign in her yard with Eric's phone number on it, and there's a fake body laying in my back yard. It's supposed to be a drunk passed out college kid, but there are no beer cans around him. I was going to take a picture but the neighbor kids just ran over and snatched up all his body parts and took him back home. Oh, and the For Sale sign got moved to our yard sometime this afternoon while I was gone. I haven't heard if Eric received any phone calls about it yet. I'm just happy Angela didn't check my car that I left outside overnight and forgot to lock. Phew! Although.. I haven't thoroughly looked through it. Crap!

The second thing I think about is how much fun I had on this day in 2011 when Eric and I threw our best party to date (sorry all you Toxic Waste fans... it was a really great party) and our friends and family helped us create and celebrate our Academy Awards wedding. The red carpet, awards ceremony, and movie we created have made one of the most fantastic memories of my adult life. 

And then I start to get a little sad. I think about all the people in our wedding party. And I think about my Matron of Honor, Jes, who took the time to look through lyrics of our favorite bands to create her speech, she took the time to make the cheesecakes we had in lieu of wedding cake, and by losing Eric's wedding ring in her dress and not knowing it was there until she got back to her hotel, she created one of the most memorable moments in the wedding. And then I wonder how someone who seemed to love me so much can possibly now treat me like I don't exist. And I am being literal. I see her at Tyler's school and she looks through me or around me but never at me, and does not acknowledge my presence at all. I still don't know what exactly happened between us. I have my theories, but I will never know. I wish her well, but I miss her friendship, her wit and her ability to make me laugh until I cried. We were single mothers together, neighbors, then roommates, each jobless at some point, each dating fools, and each finding love. April 1st is the day I miss her the most.

The gals: Kimberly, Jes, me, Jennifer, Arren & Dana

The guys: Cory, Jed, Aaron, Woody, Justin, Luke and Eric

I am so very happy to have experienced what I think is the most fun and unconventional wedding ever. I am happy to be married to a guy that simultaneously infuriates me and makes me laugh. We have our tough moments, but he is truly my partner in crime. I think we are a very creative team. I love bouncing ideas off him or giving him some ideas of my own to make something of his even better. And, of course, I LOVE hosting parties with him. 

There are people in my life now that I wish I had known 4 years ago, because I would have loved to have shared that day with them. And there are people that were there that we no longer talk to. It amazes me sometimes how fast things can change. 

Regardless of my emotional roller coaster, I look forward to this day every year. Happy Anniversary, Eric. "You wreck my life! You go away!"

  

Myszkaville's Birch Tree Forest

I LOVE birch trees. I LOVE to mix things up at home. I had a really cool birch tree painting that I made from birch tree Wallies (wallpaper decals shown below) and a large canvas. It was awesome, but not big enough for the space, so I gifted it to a good friend. 

In it's place I put a HUGE canvas from IKEA. It was the perfect size, but not the exact colors I wanted. 

I started painting the dark brown a navy blue and realized I was out of my league. I have no idea how to remove latex paint off of a printed on canvas, but if you know, and would like it, let me know. It's deconstructed in my basement. When assembled it is 78" wide and 55" tall. 

So I went back to my original idea of birch trees and decided to paint the whole wall. I started with the same base I had on my canvas: 3 colors of really dark blue mottled together. I think I started with the lightest and moved to the darkest. I used a skinny sponge brush so it wouldn't have the best coverage, which is exactly the look I was going for. 

I then used some leftover "Wallies" to determine how many trees I wanted. I have 2 to the left of the doorway (mostly hidden behind a book case) and 5 on the other side. Odd numbers are always best. I used a roller and off-white paint to create the trees. They are very similar in width, so I tried to vary the angle they were leaning (if at all) and made at least one a little bigger. Then I used a small paint brush to make a couple of branches, and followed up with shadow in a medium gray. I used a really dark gray to do the birch markings. 

I had asked my mom if she would help, but then decided to do it on my own. Her trees would have been MUCH more realistic, so she would have had to do them all. Mine are very simplified, but I still like them. If you need a realistic wall mural, I will happily pass on my mother's phone number. 

I'm not done with my living room remodel. I want a new sofa and love seat. At least a new sofa. I love this one, and had decided on a gray fabric, but now I'm wondering if the green it is shown in would be a better fit. 

I've never been scared of color, so I should just pull the trigger when the budget allows. And I was set on a matching love seat to the sofa until these damned modern wing backs from Aceray (one of the companies I represent) were introduced. 

Now I am seriously thinking about covering 2 of them in this fabric from Carnegie (another company I represent). It has the green, teal, and navy that I have in my design scheme as well as Nanotex, a commercial stain resistant finish. With dogs and kids, I can't get much more reliable than contract fabric over contract furniture. 

This is exactly why my house will never truly be "finished". I know something new and better will be right around the corner....something I love even better. And my budget does not allow for me to change things up as much as I'd like, or buy whatever I want. For now, I am happy enough with my really old couch (usually covered up) and my crappy velvet wing back chair from Target. (And the rug. I searched high and low for a rug whose colors and pattern I loved and had to find one I knew I could clean when the dogs inevitably barfed on it. This indoor/outdoor rug was a perfect find.) 

I am hoping by the time I write my next blog post, my kitchen improvement will be completed and I can write about tin ceiling tile as back splash. I can't do anything "normal". If you like what you see, you can review some of my other designs in the form of residential interiors, contract interiors, jewelry and cards on my Facebook page: Elocin Designs. Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

The "Handy" Bear Claw

This weekend's blog is short and sweet. I'm going to profess my love for an inanimate object: The Bear Claw. 

No, not the pastry.

No, not an actual bear claw. 

This little thingamajig.

I bought it at Smoky Mountain Knifeworks in Tennessee, but you can find them almost everywhere. It's awesome for scratching your back. But it has multiple uses in this household.

Like putting down the toilet seat. 

Or picking up that wayward sock that fell behind the dresser. 

Or helping get (non-breakable) items off really high shelves. 

But the VERY best non-traditional use for this little bugger is for getting at all the tennis balls that go under the couch. I just cleaned them out last night, so there aren't many today. But look... you can still see confetti from New Year's! I should probably clean more thoroughly. (I also see a tissue that missed the garbage can.)

We all have our little tools to make life easier. I think I'm going to pick a couple more of these up. You never know what other uses I might find for them!