Month of March, 2008

Taxes are DONE!

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make you feel good. For me today, it's getting my taxes done! Thank you, TurboTax for making that as painless as possible.

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West of Western Culinary Festival

A couple weekends ago Chris and I had the distinct pleasure of attending West of Western, a culinary festival. This year it was held in the sculpture garden at the Phoenix Museum of Art.

It was a beautiful day and an incredible festival. All of the valley's most amazing chefs were preparing and serving exquisite food. I was too busy eating to bother to take pictures of anything! It was just amazing. When we weren't eating, we were tasting wine. Then it was back to eating.

We spent four hours at the festival and the museum. In between eating, we took breaks to lounge and look at art. It was a perfect way to spend a Sunday.

Thanks to David and Crystal for the tickets! A BIG thanks to Crystal for organizing the whole event!

Quote of the Day

"You guys are annoying in the morning. Especially you, little brown one."
- Chris, to the dogs

Embroidered Napkins

Over the past few months I've made some cloth napkins.

I used linen cloth and the machine to turn under the edges. Then I used some satin embroidery thread I had around the house. I picked up the designs off the Internet. I don't have tons of time to sew, but these are nice short projects. I like sewing while I'm watching movies because I'm accomplishing two things at once. I especially like that we're using less paper napkins now that we have these cloth ones. I'm sure I'll keep making more, because I really like the fun little designs.

9 Weeks and Counting

I am getting married in 9 weeks. That's 65 days...give or take a few. How is this happening so soon? And can't I just push it off a few more months? I don't feel ready.

But do you ever, really, feel ready?

It's nothing to do with Chris or our relationship. I'm confident there. It's all about the wedding - the ceremony and party part worry me. We're keeping this thing super-low-key and yet I'm still worried! There's something seriously wrong with that. Maybe my parents were right. Maybe we should have just eloped. Wait, didn't they want to be there for that too? That's not really eloping if other people are there...right?

Anyhow, there's a wedding to be had in something like 9 weeks. You're probably wondering how we got here. OK, you're not wondering but I'm going to tell you anyway. I'll start with a diagram of the journey.

So when all of this started, Chris and I wanted to go to the justice of the peace in Phoenix and get married. Then we wanted to have a party in Texas to celebrate with friends there. Then we'd have a party in Phoenix to celebrate with our friends here. When we announced these plans to our parents at Christmas and they had plenty of reasons these things wouldn't work out. Mostly logistics which after a little time made sense. Suddenly I had to find Plan B!

So I spent half of Christmas vacation coming up with an alternative plan. Plan B got out of control really quickly. It included a public wedding, a museum rental (which alone was $2000+), dinner, dancing, etc. Before long it was the traditional wedding that I never wanted. But for a few days it seemed like a good idea. Especially because our friend, David, was having a show at the museum and being surrounded by his art would be really special.

After Christmas we came back to Phoenix and back to real life. I went over Plan B and ran the numbers again. And again. Then I broke out into a cold sweat. Then I woke up with nightmares. Then I checked myself into an in-patient program. Not really. Though I realized how crazy it would be to spend all that money for a party that would only last 5-6 hours. I decided for sure that I couldn't have that kind of wedding when I calculated how many months (MONTHS) I would have to work to earn enough money for those 5-6 hours.

It was easy convincing Chris we had to do something different, but I was horribly stressed about what the family thought. You know what everyone says - the wedding isn't for you but it's for your family. I wanted to make everyone happy, but knew I had to be true to myself too. So I moved to Plan C.

As you can tell from the diagram, Plan C is where my journey ended and it's close to the original plans. I feel good about the amount of money we're spending. I'm confident that it's our speed - special but laid back. (Is that a speed?) I'm actually excited about it! I just hope I can pull everything off since there's tiny pieces that still need to be glued together.

The Wedding Weekend*:
1. Friday night - Small, private ceremony for family and a few close friends in Chris's parents' backyard. Dinner following.
2. Saturday afternoon - Open house at my parents' house. Plenty of food and drinks. People can come and go as they please. A public event without being out of control. A celebration!
3. Saturday night - Informal party at a friends' house. (I hope I still have the energy to attend this one.)
4. Sunday - Small, private brunch to get a few more hours with family and close friends.

*All of this takes place in Arlington, Texas, our hometown.

Oh yeah, and all this happens at the end of May. In 9 weeks. 9 weeks. I'm lucky to have come full circle and am getting the wedding that I want. I'm so happy that the family is supportive (even if they are a little nervous about all this non-traditional stuff). Finally, I'm happy that I've only started to freak out at the 9 week mark. I'm glad that I haven't been freaking out for months already.

Now, on to the stuff that really needs to be done to get this wedding thing happening. I'm off to make more invitations!

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SXSW: 20x2

I forgot to mention another great SXSW experience in my long SXSW write-up. The Monday night performances at 20x2! All the performers were great and it was a highly entertaining show.

The question this year was "What's the Difference?"

My favorite piece of the night was this video by Rannie. It's two minutes long, so take a moment and watch it.

20 x 2 : What's The Difference? from photojunkie on Vimeo.

Multi-racial Marrow Donor Needed

My friend, Abby, wrote asking for help. I'm now asking for your help. Abby's friend, Erica, has leukemia and is looking for a marrow donor. She needs a minority or multi-racial donor, who comprise only 3% of the donor registry.

Despite the dire situation, Erica clearly has a sense of humor about it. She recorded a song about her need.

Watch the video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYUFB542Iak

I, personally, am not in the donor registry, but I'm going to find out how I can be. If something as simple as donating marrow can save another person's life, I'm up for it! Won't you do the same? Go to Marrow.org

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SXSW 2008 - The Loooooong Write-up

SXSW 2008 flew by. It went so fast! Too fast, I think. But that seems to be a theme of getting older, doesn't it? I think I tried to stay up too late that entire week. It occurred to me yesterday that I'm just too old for that kind of thing. I need to drink during happy hour (you know, 6-8pm) then head for bed before 11pm. That's the sad state of being in my 30's. (I turned 31 on the last day of SXSW so I think I'm well into my 30's.) The conference was so impressive, especially for such a large audience. I'm constantly amazing that things run flawlessly for those of us attending. I was quite impressed with the presentations, but as usual, I didn't attend as many as I probably should have. I went to SXSW with my coworkers from Integrum, but I didn't feel like I spent enough time with them. It's hard trying to balance hanging out with friends I only see once a year and chilling with people I see on a daily basis.

I'm still decompressing from my time in Austin (and the RV trip to and fro), but it's hard because I've got a lot of other things going on as well. There are work things and then there's the whole wedding thing. Both deserve their own posts and will get their due in time. This post is about SXSW! While I could easily ramble on and on, I think I'll make a list. This is mostly for my own memories and may not be interesting to anyone else.

Frank Warren of PostSecret.com
"All of us have a secret that would break your heart if we just knew it."

I've been following PostSecret for a couple years and it always, always touches me. It's an amazing community art project run by an amazing man. Frank is a wonderful speaker. He was eloquent and entertaining. He is humble. His talk reminded me that not everything on the Internet has to be about money. Frank had so much hope and was so positive. He said he wants PostSecret to make us treat people with more compassion. I agree. I love that Frank has created an amazing project and chooses to be humble about it. He plays an important role but he has never made the project about him. With so many people seeking fame, it's refreshing to hear someone who isn't.
"Free your secrets and become who you are."

Meeting Dooce

My favorite blog is Dooce.com by Heather Armstrong. I'm not sure how long I've been reading, but I remember when "dooced" became a word. Yet we had never met. She setup a meet and greet at a coffeeshop so I went to chat. To my surprise, there was a line (kinda like a book signing but without books). I waited in line an hour to meet Heather. Sure, that's totally silly, but I'm totally glad I did. She was so gracious and kind and totally human. While we only had a short 5 minute interaction, I love her even more now. Plus, I got to meet Vanessa and Connor, who were waiting in line with me.

Breaking Bread with Brad

Brad has been hosting dinners at SXSW for 9 years now. I'm lucky to be included in these parties and to get to hang out with so many awesome people. This year it was back to a small group (small-ish...there were 60-80 people?). I had a lovely, lovely time catching up with everyone and meeting a few new friends.

Props

My coworkers at Integrum were struck with a great idea for an app and sat down at the convention center and built it. It's an add-on to Twitter. Check it out - Props.IntegrumTech.com.

Visit Red Fly Studio

Kris is a friend from high school who is now running his own video game studio, Red Fly Sudios. Last year the studio had just gotten started. This year the studio is in full swing - fully staffed, and working on two games! It was awesome to see a sneak peak of Mushroom Men, a game for the Wii slated for release this summer. Thanks to Kris and Jeff for taking time to hang out with us!

Lunch with Noor
Noor, DesertofMyDreams.com, and I have been reading each other's blogs on and off since 2002 or 2003. We *finally* met in person this year! We met up, grabbed lunch, and just got to know each other better. She has an awesome story of the path she's taken to get where she is today - a User Experience Researcher at M$. It was so nice to get to know her in person after all these years. Definitely a highlight for me.

Jason (formerly known as JPlay)

Jason is a Dallas friend who is now in Charlotte. Jason and I met via DFW Blogs quite a few years ago. We went to grad school at the same time so we share some similar experiences. We're quite a few states away these days, but get to keep up with each other via Flickr (I enjoy watching his girls grow up) & my blog (Jason's happy I've found my best friend, Chris). After Break Bread with Brad, I had the chance to sit down with Jason. That talk was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was refreshing to be both catching up on personal stuff and talking about work stuff with a friend who knows where I'm coming from.

Erica's Lunch

I had lunch with two other Erica's! I met Erica Douglass in San Francisco at the first Girl Geek Dinner. She introduced me to Erica O'Grady from Houston. I had a great time getting to know them over lunch. Both ladies have great entrepreneurship experience and great stories about how much networking on the web is helping them.

People I Met
I'm always thrilled that at SXSW people are so friendly and anxious to connect. I met a lot of wonderful, new people this year!
Jenni P, ChronicBabe.com - I was aware of chronicbabe.com because Cinnamon made a bag for the cause. It was awesome to meet Jenni and understand for myself what a babe she is!
Lacey, Lay-C.com - We met at a panel about crafts and technology. She was knitting. Cinnamon introduced us. Later I hung out with Lacey at the tradeshow and at dinner. I could have talked with Lacey for ages...we instantly clicked. I hope, hope, hope to see her again very soon!
Helen Jane, HelenJane.com - I'm pretty sure this was the first time we've officially met. But it was just like we're old friends. (Aren't blogs wonderful?!) I was thrilled to see her growing belly, knowing there's a baby inside!
Heather, Dooce.com - My first major internet celebrity!
Vanessa, AmIDoingOKAY.Blogspot.com - Met in line to meet Heather
Connor, CTOverdrive.ca - Met in line to meet Heather
Ariel, Electrolicious.com & OffbeatBride.com - I loved her book, Offbeat Bride, so it was exciting to meet her in person!
Tim (who has the coolest last name that starts with a B), no site but a picture - Brief talk at Breaking Bread with Brad
Ryan & Arjun, Publi.US - Live in DC and are passionate about politics!
Gareth, GarethRushgrove.com - Runs the Refresh group in New Castle (UK!)
James, Semaphoria.com/James - Sat next to her at Heather & Maggie's panel about Boundaries. She looks SO familiar, I swear we met before. Career woman and mom extraordinaire!
Lauren, Oodelday.com - Gave us great advice on shopping in Austin after overhearing our conversation before the Branding talk.
Joshua, Tilzy.TV - Talked over breakfast tacos (thanks, Six Apart) at Kick! Lives in NYC & does online video stuff.
Halcyon, LifeStudent.com & HugNation.com - I got a hug!
Will, a recruiter for Yahoo! (anyone in User Experience & Design need a job?)
Andrew, a recruiter for Zappos.com (anyone need a Java job?)
(Ohh, Slideshare.net is looking for Ruby developers too.)
Raza, RSyed.org - Who has the loveliest metal business cards! We met at almost 2am and much is blurry. But his cards are sharp!
Derek Powazek, Pixish.com - OK, so I totally knew who Derek was, but we hadn't officially met until Saturday night.
Maggie, MightyGirl.net - I've read MightGirl for ages. I introduced myself after her talk on Boundaries. I was thrilled when she new who I was! (Turns out we have a mutual friend.) I followed her to her book signing and got an autographed copy of "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch."
Bryan, B-May.com - Maggie's husband who was totally supportive to Maggie and really, really friendly to me as we walked to Maggie's book signing.
Geri, GDruckman - I spotted Geri smiling at me during a round table discussion. Turns out he recognized my name because he knows Erica from Houston. Small world!

Who I Missed
Lyn, I saw your husband at BBWB, and heard you were working. I'm so sorry I missed you!
Cameron, rumors were you were in Austin, though our paths never crossed. I wanted to congratulate you on your engagement!
Arena, I'm sorry we weren't able to meet up! Though I'm glad you ran into Lindsay and said hi.

View the set of pictures at SXSW 2008

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Chris's Upcoming Canoe Trip

In the coming weeks, Chris will be heading back to Texas for a canoe trip with the guys. It will be a great time for him to just hang out with his guy friends. I often feel bad that he doesn't get much time with them now that he's living in Phoenix. I'm glad they have trips like these so he can hang out.

This is a picture of Chris at last year's canoe trip. Yep, he's the one drinking from the beer bong. I hope this year is just as much fun. But I hope I don't see the pictures, because there's nothing that makes me more proud than seeing my fiance do hits from a beer bong.

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Birthday Flowers

Chris's parents sent this lovely bouquet for my birthday. Aren't they gorgeous?!

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes! I feel very loved.

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SXSW 2008 Pictures

South by Southwest Interactive was a success. I had a great time! I'm still processing everything I experienced but managed to get my photos up. You'll get a good feel for my time in Austin.

View the entire set.

Leader by Example

My friend, Karen, is a part of an Americorp project called Public Allies. She put together this video talking about her participation in the program for a contest. It's great and she's a finalist in the contest!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7izFGg805k

I think the most exciting part is that I'm living proof that she's influenced people positively. I'm going to be volunteering through the organization she works with. And it's all due to her passion for her work!

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SXSW 2008

I'm in Austin with the Integrum crew to attend SXSW interactive. We drove all the way from Phoenix in an RV yesterday. It was a long drive but a fun one. Now I'm looking forward to learning good stuff, seeing all my friends, and meeting new people.

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Things To Do More Often

Mighty Girl is posting a piece of her list called 100 Things To Do Before I Go. It's a good thing to do, I think. However, I am less inclined to make a list of things I should do before death. I'm much more interested in making a list of things I should do more of on a day to day or week to week basis.

• Riding my bike
• Training the dogs
• Cooking
• Reading off-line
• Sewing