My Life In Less Than A Minute

Stationary Designs

2008-09-20T23:01:00.005-05:00

Here are just a few of the things I've created for some of my friends.

Baby Shower Invitation Front & Back

Baby Invitation

Surprise 50th Birthday Invitation

Rehearsal Dinner Invitation

Stationary

2008-09-20T22:39:00.002-05:00

It's been a long time since I've blogged but I thought I'd try it again. I want to start a stationary business. I would like to start out by create wedding, baby shower, bridal shower and rehearsal dinner invitations. I'm a little busy at the moment so we'll see how long my idea lasts. Right now I'm researching paper vendors and pricing. I've made a few invitations for my friends but haven't done much else.

There are also a couple of blogs that I'm following related to stationary, paper and new ideas related. There's one that I found recently that has a free giveaway every week. The blog is Dingbat's Agenda. Last week it was for wedding invitations and this week it's for some really cute baby stationary. All of the stuff is customized and uses letterpress, which is so beautiful. I thought this would be my first mention of a website I've found because it might mean I win something.

This week they're giving away:

1 Pack of Each: Baby Shower Invites in both the Girl and Boy designs.

1 pack of Giraffe 3x5 flat notes

1 pack of Shark 3x5 folded notes

1 pack of Polka Dot Girl 4x6 flat notes

If you're interested, you can check out the giveaway here.

Chicago With The Girls

2007-12-12T22:56:00.001-06:00

A few months back Keely asked if Alyssa and I might be interested in going to Chicago for a weekend away. She had planned on meeting an old friend she went to school with when she lived in Virgina and thought it might be fun to spend the weekend shopping and site-seeing. The weekend after Thanksgiving we flew to Chicago to meet Keely's friend Alissa and have a relaxing weekend.

Chicago style pizza for dinner

Me playing pool with one eye closed

Eating the smallest sundae... It looks like Keely's having some issues.

First Snowfall in Chicago

Ice Skating

2007-12-12T22:37:00.000-06:00

Last Friday we went ice skating downtown. It had been years since either of us had been skating. It was a blast.

Happy Hour with the Girls

2007-11-13T23:32:00.001-06:00

I turned this photo into a collage of squares in Photoshop. We met up at the Melting Pot for happy hour. Don't we look like such hardworking girls who needed a night together to gossip and catch up on what's been going in everyone's lives.

WaterColor

2007-11-13T22:18:00.000-06:00

Original

Finished Picture

Photo Within a Photo

2007-11-13T22:07:00.000-06:00

I really enjoy taking pictures and recently I've gotten hooked on Photoshop. I've been using it for a few years but in the past few months I've really tried to learn more and more about how I can do creative and fun things to my pictures. Below is a picture from our honeymoon that I created.

Original

Final Picture

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T21:08:00.001-05:00

It's Time

2007-10-31T20:54:00.000-05:00

It's time to start getting back to the things I enjoy. It's been almost 6 months since I've written anything. So many things have happened and I can't remember them all....

Our wedding
Our honeymoon
Summer school
Dusty quiting his job and starting his company BrightMix
Summer school ends and the fall semester starts
Chicago
My birthday
Weddings...
Florida

A Glass of Wine Please

2007-06-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I met up with a few people for a drink for Alyssa's birthday. I was telling a story and got a little too excited. My hands started waving around and arms started flying. I had a small accident and we left soon after. It was seriously my second drink.

Fishing

2007-05-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

Dusty and I went to Okoboji with my family over Mother's day weekend. We had a really great time and reminisced about our childhood memories. Dusty's family had a cabin in Minnesota and he spent many summers fishing, swimming, boating and relaxing. My family had a place in Spirit Lake and I too spent many weeks there doing some of those same things.

Family

2007-05-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

A month or so ago I went to a family wedding and we took a great picture of my sister, dad and I. It's not very often that we have the opportunity to take a picture of the three of us when we all look so cute.

Golfing

2007-05-04T01:32:00.000-05:00

I've started taking up golf. A couple of Friday nights ago we went golfing with three other couples. It was a great time. The guys golfed together in a group of four and the girls followed behind in our own group. I'm not a very good golfer but it was a blast. It was a beautiful day, we had a few beers, drove our carts around and I only lost three balls.

Stressed or Just a Too Busy

2007-04-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

At 9:30am this past Friday I realized a big problem... I had been at school since 8am and met with two groups of students during this time. I walked to my car in the morning, from my car into the building and down the hallway twice to make copies and finally walked to the bathroom at 9:30am. On the way to the bathroom it felt like one of my sandals was higher then the other. I thought something had gotten on the bottom of one of my heals.

Well, I stopped to see what was wrong with my shoes... and found out that I was wearing two DIFFERENT pairs of shoes... that look completely different. They're both black but still are completely different. I didn't even know what to do. I spent the whole day wearing two different pairs of shoes. I guess it shows how busy I am at work right now.

Greensboro, NC

2007-04-22T13:52:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I had a communication conference in Greensboro, NC and Dusty decided to come along. Saturday night we went for a great dinner at 223 South Elm in downtown Greensboro. If you're ever in the area try this restaurant out.

My Flowergirls

2007-01-27T00:04:00.000-06:00

I found this picture and wanted to share it. It's a picture of our five flowergirls from Christmas. I'm getting really excited for the wedding.

Highlights from New Years

2007-01-06T19:27:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year

2007-01-02T15:49:00.000-06:00

It's already 2007. We hope everyone had a great time welcoming the new year. We decided again this year to have a few people over to the house. Everyone dressed up in cocktail attire. Girls wore pretty dresses and the guys wore their ties. The snow almost stopped our fun but after a few good inches in the morning it stopped around 4pm and cleared up enough for our guests to make it safely. Thank you to everyone who made the trip!!!

Thank you to these great girls and their significant others who helped get everything ready!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

2006-12-19T22:44:00.000-06:00

We just sent Christmas/Holiday cards out. Since we're getting married it's pretty much expected that we write an annual Christmas letter with our card but it was so difficult because all the people I send cards to know the imporant details of our life. Needless to say, I wrote a Christmas letter and decided it wasn't necessary to include in our cards so I'm including it in my blog. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Holidays Everyone!
2006 has been a very eventful year for Dusty and I and we�??ve decided to share some of the highlights in a Christmas letter. As I begin to write our first Christmas letter I am reminded of how lucky we are to have such great friends and family. This time of year always brings up all of the wonderful memories from this past year and a letter is the perfect way to share some of them with you.

I�??ll start off with our trip to Colorado the week between Christmas and New Year's. We hopped in a car and drove to Colorado with some of his friends. We stayed right outside of Frisco and Dillion and went skiing in Breckenridge and Keystone. It was my first time skiing on a REAL mountain. We all had a great time and no one went to the hospital.

In March Dusty started looking for a new job that would challenge him more and after several interviews and offers he accepted a position with C&A Industries. He writes software for their online application and tracking system, along with various other things that are beyond my understanding.

This June Dusty and I went on a two-week vacation to Europe, starting in Copenhagen, then going to Berlin and Hamburg and ending in Paris. We did everything, tours, bikes, boats, World Cup games, site-seeing, cafes, amusement park rides, and lots of walking. While in Paris, on day twelve of our trip, we walked to the Eiffel Tower after a long day of sightseeing. We found a great place on the lawn looking up at the Eiffel Tower and had a nice picnic. Eventually the sun went down and the lights of the Eiffel Tower turned on. It was a perfect night. Ending the wonderful evening, Dusty asked me to marry him and I said YES!

As many of know we have set our wedding date for June, 23rd 2007, exactly one year from the day Dusty proposed. When we returned home, I spent most of my days talking to vendors, visiting reception sites, and creating a list of things I needed to do in the next year for the wedding. Dusty was and is a trooper, always going along with my ever-changing decisions. Together, Dusty and I created a wedding website that you�??ll have to check out for more details and up-to-date information as the day gets closer (http://www.dustyandmarlina.com/).

After we returned from Europe there was no time to rest. Dusty went back to work and two days later I started teaching a night class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until August. For me, it was a very stress-free summer, laying by the pool and having dinner on the table right at five o�??clock.

In October we made a trip to Minneapolis for the Minneapolis Marathon. Dusty ran the marathon and I ran the 10 mile race. Dusty's dad, Dean, was kind enough to host us so we were able to have a homemade pasta dinner the night before and rest up for the big race. The Minneapolis 10 Mile, also known as "The Shortcut to the Capitol," race starts near the HHH Metrodome and shares the last seven miles of the marathon course, including the spectacular finish at the State Capitol. The day of the race was beautiful, the weather couldn't have been better and the spectators were wonderful!

To prepare for the Minneapolis marathon Dusty and I ran in the Omaha marathon. I ran the 10K (6.2 miles) and Dusty ran the half marathon (13.1 miles). Dusty has convinced me to start training again and we plan on running a marathon together in Lincoln this May.

This past year and the coming year are the years for weddings. We celebrated a hand full of wedding this past year and have many this coming year. We would like to congratulate all of the beautiful couples who were recently married or will be married this next year. It really means a lot for you to let us be part of this special day.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Happy Turkey Day

2006-11-22T23:38:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone finds some time to eat a lot of turkey and pumpkin pie in the next few days. As for us, Dusty and I will be having lunch at my grandma's and then dinner at his grandma's house. Dusty works on Friday and then we will leave for Minneapolis for the weekend to celebrate with his father's family. It's tricky business having four families to celebrate the holidays with. It's always nice when we work it out so we can see everyone. The most exciting part of the weekend for me is returning Sunday to start setting up our Christmas tree. If you'd like to see some pictures of our Christmas trees from last year, check out this post that I wrote last year.

San Antonio - Conference

2006-11-19T17:07:00.000-06:00

I just returned from San Antonio, TX. I presented on a panel at the National Communication Association Convention. I've never been to San Antonio. Usually I spend most of my time in the hotel or convention center where the event conference is taking place, going to different sessions, but somehow I and some of the other instructors found the time to do a few touristy things. We walked around the Riverwalk and ate at three really great restaurants while we were there. It was beautiful, 75 degrees and sunny. I would recommend going if you ever have the chance.

My presentation went great and I was able to do a little mingling with potential schools. Yes, I've decided to go back to school. We decided it would be better for me to get my PhD now instead of later. It's going to be another 4 long years of lots of work and no money. I'm very excited thinking about, if you can believe it. My three favorite schools are University of Kansas, Universit of Texas, and Purdue. All three have great organizational communication programs (what my interest is in). Now all I have to do is finish the application process.

Wish me luck!!

Hitch50

2006-11-19T12:08:00.000-06:00

Dusty read about these two guys who were hitch hiking to all 50 state capitols and decided he wanted to help. We've been watching them since they began on October 10th. Here's what there website says...

Our names are Scotty and Fiddy and we're hitchhiking to all 50 state capitals in 50 consecutive days or less. We started in Times Square, NY on October 10th. If you want to offer a ride, give us a shout at 310-494-8058 or hitch50@gmail.com. Our current location is on the above map. If the dot is moving, that means we're on the move. If the dot isn't moving, then this is probably what's going on right now.

You can also go to Hitch50 for more information and to see the map. We've been waiting for them to get close so we could give them a call. Of course I had to be in San Antonio for a conference when they were going to be coming through but Dusty gave them a call Thursday night. He was looking at their website and it looked as though they were sitting in Council Bluffs eating dinner. He called and they said they already had a ride.

I guess there was a guy taking them from Springfield, IL. to Lincoln, NE. He was a little disappointed. He got a call 20 minutes later and to our delight Scotty and Fiddy needed a ride. I guess this guy who was driving got a call from work and had to head back right away. Scotty and Fiddy were dropped off at our house and they were on their way to the capitol. I wish I could have been there. Here's a little blurb about Dusty on the hitch hiker's website.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-31T10:51:00.000-06:00

Emma in her lady bug outfit

Mia in her witch costume

Hope everyone enjoys this spooky holiday. Here are pictures of a couple of my favorite nieces getting ready for halloween.

Jessi & Todd's Wedding

2006-10-29T17:58:00.000-06:00

The Happy Newlyweds

This weekend we were in Columbus, NE for a good friend of mine's wedding. Jessi and I met in college. She moved to Omaha and we became roommates. She was the best roommate! She started dating Todd and after a year of long distance she decided to make the big leap and move to Columbus. Todd and Jessi are a great couple.

Dusty and I had the opportunity to visit them this summer during county fair time. I wrote a post about it in July. They are such great hostesses and this weekend was no different. Jessi had six bridesmaids and although I had never met three of them we all had a great time. There was an instant frienship between us all. It wouldn't suprise me that all of the girls would be great because Jessi is a wonderful person and I knew all of her bridesmaids would have to be too. I posted all of the pictures on flikr. Here's a few highlights though.

Keely and me outside the church

Dusty and me

Laura, me, Stephanie

Bridesmaids

Me and Keey at the reception

Dress Shopping

2006-10-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

As many of you know, my maid of honor is getting married too, June 2008. We went dress shopping on Saturday with all of her bridesmaids. We had a great time and even found a few beautiful dresses. I'm so excited for Keely's wedding. One of the great things about Keely getting engaged is that we can talk about wedding stuff nonstop. Since I've made a lot of my wedding decisions already it's great to be able to go dress shopping again and be a part of her wedding now. It's also a lot more fun talking to someone who is also planning their wedding. Here's a picture of Keely. It's not one of her ultimate favorites but I didn't want to post something that Justin could see and Keely might pick as the "one".