The Michael Jackson Butter Sculpture Debate: Should MJ be Memorialized in Butter?

Should the King of Pop Become a Butter Sculpture?

Forget the issue of where the King of Pop should be laid to rest– we’ve got more important things to debate! My home state of Iowa has a bit of controversy churning. Following Michael Jackson’s death organizers of the Iowa State Fair decided to add Michael Jackson to their list of butter sculptures that would be created by artists during this year’s fair. The announcement garnered hundreds of comments– both positive and negative. That lead fair organizers to do one thing– take the vote to the public. Starting July 9 you can vote whether you think Michael Jackson should be memorialized in butter. The online poll will be available at IowaStateFair.org until 3pm on July 16. The final results will be announced on July 17. Don’t let this issue melt away without letting your voice be heard!

Backyard Summer Baby Shower

My lovely neighbors are having their first baby and this weekend I had the honor of throwing them a baby shower. Honestly though, I couldn’t have pulled it off without my awesome husband. He helped me make the favors, get the yard ready and dry off all the tables and chairs after it poured just before guests were set to arrive.

This spring we totally landscaped our yard, front and back. We layed sod, put down a path and filled in flower beds. Since we’d gone to all that work we thought the backyard would be the best place to hold this baby bash. Here are some of the highlights.

The Invitations

I found the perfect invites on a really cute website. But they were pricey. So my friend David designed these, which I think are even cuter than the expensive ones. He did it for free and I got them printed locally. Total cost was less than $15.

The Favors

These are the favors. I took seed packets from Walgreens and dolled them up using wax paper envelopes, wrapping paper and ribbon. Sadly I forgot to hand them out.

The Backyard Set-up

Some of the brown table cloths were used in our wedding. The mom-to-be is using chocolate brown in the nursery so it worked out perfectly. The rest of the baby shower color palletet was light blue and goldenrod yellow.

Baby Shower Tables

Each table was decorated with two jewelry trees. I found the idea on this blog and thought it was super cute. But instead of using them to hold necklaces I used them as centerpieces. The goldenrod yellow table runners are made from wrapping paper. I wanted to use fabric, but couldn’t ever find what I was looking for.

Baby Shower Flowers

Those vintage polka dot glasses came from my kitchen cupboard. They worked perfectly to hold the little bouquets of white and yellow flowers that I picked up at Costco.The wrapping paper with the blue print was used for the head table.

Baby Shower Game, Help Name the Baby

Using a ten-pack of bibs I picked up at Target for $2.50, I decorated a corner of the yard and made a game at the same time. The bibs say the words “Girl or boy?” Guests were asked to fill out a ballot guessing whether Jenna was having a girl or a boy and to help her name the baby. Jenna picked a winning boy name and a winning girl name and each person got a prize.

The Baby Food Challenge

We also played the Baby Food Challenge. Have you tasted baby food? Yuck! The winner got a nice prize, though.

Baby Shower Scrapbook

I also made a mini-baby shower scrapbook for Jenna. Inside I put one of the invites and a few other momentos from the party. We also listed her gifts in this book so she can reference it when writing thank you notes.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

The food was kept simple. I made (with my husband’s help) slider-sized burgers, potato salad, pasta salad, fruit skewers and bunch of desserts. A couple of other sweet ladies brought some food as well.

A Baby Shower By Candlelight

After the sun went down we lit a bunch of candles and enjoyed the white lights my husband had put up around the base of several tree trunks. I think it turned out to be a relaxing and fun backyard summer baby shower.

Jenna Picking Her Favorite Names by Candlelight

I Think I Saw Governor Sanford Running in Greenville

Was Governor Mark Sanford in Greenville?

It was one of those moments you don’t think much about at the time. We were driving home from Target Sunday evening and as we traveled down Augusta Road we approached a runner. Maybe the man saw that I was staring at him because he waved at us.

“That looked like Governor Sanford!” I exclaimed to my husband. “What he would be doing here?”

“Wonder why he waved at us,” my husband laughed. “It must be the Audi.”

We recently became the owners of a 1998 Audi A6 Quattro with 160,000 miles on it. We always joke about being posh now that we have an Audi because in actuality it’s the cheapest car either of us have owned in our whole lives. We continued joking about our car and didn’t think much of the Sanford siting, until today.

Apparently Governor Sanford was missing for four days. He claims he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but other people say they saw him at the Atlanta airport by himself. His staff admits it’s not uncommon for him to disappear for a few days after a busy legislative session, but now people are questioning whether the Governor should ever be allowed to skip town without his security detail.

My Sanford spotting was just blocks away from where the late Governor Carroll A. Campbell lived for many years of his life and not far from where state Senator Dave Thomas grew up so it’s no stranger to politicians. But did I really see the Governor? Who knows. Keep in mind that I once swore I saw Saddam Hussein working on a road crew in Fort Myers, Florida. I was so convinced it was him I drove by three times to get a better look. I didn’t make my husband turn around to see if this runner really was my Governor. No matter what he was up to, I just hope the Governor had a good, relaxing time.

Image courtesy of Montwerx

The Inspirational Power of Ultra Marathon Man

Need Some Inspiration? Check Out This Movie.

Last week I checked out Ultra Marathon Man from the library. It’s a documentary about a man who runs 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. I’ve run two full marathons and one half which makes running 50 consecutively even more unimaginable. But Dean Karnazes‘ story was just so inspirational.

It was at his 30th birthday party that Dean realized his life wasn’t going how he had planned. He wasn’t accomplishing anything. He was just spinning his wheels. So after taking a 15 year hiatus from running, Dean left the bar where he was celebrating with friends and started running. He decided to run 30 miles in honor of his 30th birthday. He did it and  he’s been running pretty much ever since.

Now my husband has never been one to back down from a challenge. So when he said, “I feel like I could run a marathon without training,” and I replied “so why don’t you?” I should have known what was going to happen next. “Well, where would I run to?” he asked. “How about Furman,” I said, referring to Furman University, a campus that I had cycled to before. Turns out Furman was 18 miles from our house, not quite a full marathon but still a challenge. “Ok. I’m doing it. This Saturday,” he resolved.

My husband works out at least five days a week, but he’s not a regular runner. The last time he ran with me was our five mile jog through Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge back in mid-May. But Saturday came and his alarm went off at 5:40am. We both set out before the sun was up. We ran for at least a mile before we saw another person. My plan was to run about ten miles so an hour into the run I kissed him good-bye and turned around. But he kept going.

Forty-five minutes later my cell phone beeped. It was a photo of the entrance gate to Furman. He was half way done. An hour after that there was a text. He was downtown, barely moving above a walk. I decided to drive to where he was with some Gatorade and hopefully offer a little motivation. I found him less than a half mile from home, struggling up a hill. When he saw me he started to lose it. “I can’t do this,” he moaned. “My whole body is in pain.” I knew exactly what he was talking about, although every time I’ve run 18 miles it was after at least a couple of months of training. It reminded me of a story from Ultra Marathon Man. Dean said he was running a 100 mile ultra marathon and when he reached mile 99 he had nothing left. He told his dad he had to quit. His dad told him, “Run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must.” I told Tim how close he was, how celebration was just a few blocks away. It was obvious how much pain he was in. A woman driving by stopped, rolled down her window and asked if we were ok. “Yes, he’s just finishing up a 18 mile run,” I told her.

Slowly Tim started moving again. I got back in my car and drove next to him, cheering out the window. Just ahead there was a group of about a half dozen women walking. I asked them to cheer for my husband, who was on the home stretch of a long run. They shouted and hollered and clapped, encouraging a complete stranger to keep pushing. About ten minutes later Tim crossed the imaginary finish line, running further than he had ever gone before, all thanks to the inspirational power of Ultra Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes. I don’t know too many people who would attempt something like that. Tim spent most of the weekend hobbling around on sore legs. Sunday night as we relaxed on the couch he asked, “I wonder if I could run 100 miles.” “I’m sure you could,” I told him. “But you might want to train first.”

Thrift Store Finds and Furniture Rehabs

I love making old furniture look cool again. I wish I could do it more often. I picked up this itchy beauty at a thrift store like, oh, four years ago.I loved it’s shape and the price wasn’t bad: $40.

My Thrift Store Chair Before its Make-Over

To be honest, I never sat in it. It felt like sandpaper. I decided to finally give it a make-over. I found an upholsterer to fix it up for $145 and I bought a few yards of fabric at a discount warehouse for $4.99 a yard. Here’s how it came out.

My Thrift Store Chair After

Finally! A comfy chair I can actually sit in! (Or probably just lay clothes on if I’m going to be quite honest.) I’ve always loved this chair’s clean lines and now I think I’ll keep it around for a while.