Whoop dee do, I'm 32

I'm not carded anymore when I buy alcohol. I have no problem renting a car. And I don't qualify for MTV's "Real World" anymore. As of yesterday, I'm now 32 -- somewhere between a 20-something trying to find myself and a 40-year-old making the climb down that dreaded hill. While the celebrations kicked off earlier this week when we were in KC, Craig helped me officially celebrate the day by doing some of my favorite things:

1. Working out. While this really is nowhere near one of my favorite things, I accomplished one of my birthday wishes while running a few miles around the track ... Craig didn't pass me! Yes, I might've been going a little faster than usual, but I also strategically planned my start so that Craig would have a good full lap before he could catch up to me. So what if I only ran 2 miles and Craig was saving his endurance for 10. Eat my dust.

2. Brunch at Piztros. After burning off all those calories, we refueled at Piztros for brunch. French toast, gourmet pizzas, chocolate fountain and made-to-order crepes. Does it get any better?

3. Movie. Jennifer Garner. Awesome soundtrack. Yep, I'm talking about "Juno." The movie was artistic, the dialogue was witty, and the soundtrack is soon to be on my iPod. See it as soon as you can.

4. Shopping. I ditched Craig and did a little shopping in search of some cruise wear. I was also reminded why I rarely go to the mall.

5. More food: dinner at Luciano's. There's this quaint little Italian restaurant in Mulvane (south Rock Road) that we can't wait to take some out-of-town guests to when they visit.

6. Run for the Border. Borders, that is. What else do two old fuddy-duddies do when they have gift cards to burn?

7. Let there be cake. Our last stop of the night was at Dillons where we found a cute little two-serving birthday cake (candle included!). I'm so old.

So it may not have been a crazy day, but it was everything this 32-year-old (and my waistline) could handle. Thanks to all for the e-cards, mailed cards and phone calls with serenading. And thanks to Craig for putting up with the old lady another year.

Carrie

sew and tell: butterfly bag

Almost 12 months with my sewing machine and I finally have something worth showing for it. Here's a bag I made for Kailey for Christmas. I lucked out and found fabric that not only was green (her favorite color) but also had butterflies (her favorite insect). I used the butterfly print for the outside of the bag and the solid green for the inside of the bag. As for the handles and inside pocket, I found this cute polka dot print that had the same pastel colors in the butterfly print. To top it off, I filled the bag with what every six-year-old should have: Hello Kitty lip gloss, green butterfly earrings, and a butterfly puzzle. I think I might have gone overkill on the green/butterfly theme, but the squeals we heard on the phone when Kailey opened it tells me we did OK.

Carrie

That's the way the cookie crumbles

For the past four years, I've attended a friend's holiday cookie swap. It's a great time to catch up with old friends, make new ones, and go home with a dozen or so new cookies to share with Craig. At least that's what I thought the first year. Since then, I've wised up. All I care about is winning. Forget the small talk, hot apple cider and holiday happiness, I want the prize! And I don't care what category it's for: best tasting, most unique, best decorated. I'll take any of them. Really, just one of them would be great. You should see these prizes. They're always fancy packages filled with holiday goodies like a nice plate for cookies, warm fuzzy holiday socks, yummy scented candles, flavored hot cocoa, etc. At least that's what it looks like from the loser's perspective. Every year, I think I have a winner. Not even Martha could save me with her "year's best" pumpkin cookie two years ago. But this year, I thought I had it. I thought I had one of the more unique ideas: a chocolate turtle cookie. We spent hours baking the cookies, melting the caramels, drizzling the caramel, placing the pecan halves just right, melting the chocolate, and strategically placing the chocolate so that it wouldn't touch the pecan halves. But there I was Saturday, leaving with only my hands full of 3 dozen rejects and a few samples of the other cookies to remind me that I was, for the third year in a row, a cookie swap loser.

Carrie

P.S. If you think you have a winning recipe, send it my way.

Negligent

For anyone actually reading this, sorry we haven't posted anything for a while. Here's what you've missed (maybe "missed" isn't the right choice of words).

• After a lot of debate we decided to go for a real Christmas tree this year, so in one of our recent trips to Home Depot (see below), we tossed one into our NASCAR-shaped cart and called it good. Once we finally got it into the house and all set up, we discovered that it's probably the best looking tree we've ever had—we just hope it stays that way, considering that we share our home with a beaver. (Luka has a thing for bark—ironic.) So far, so good, although we are down one tastey looking reindeer ornament

• Despite my loudly expressed objections, Carrie decided that last week was a great time to remodel the final room in our house. Lucky for her, it turned out pretty good, but it was touch and go for a little while last night as we tried to hang cabinets (somewhere Bob Vila was laughing his smug little ass off). That said, we were pretty relieved to wake up this morning and find them still firmly attached to the wall, granted with all of the extra holes I drilled into that last cabinet, its overall weight had been reduced to the point that it could have been held up by thumb tacks.

• One final note on the our home renovations. After I sent Carrie back to Home Depot last night to pick up some "shims," I had the mental image of her running around the store looking for some dude that looks kind of like a lady—or vice versa. Imagine my disappointment when she just came home with a couple pieces of wood.

• With the writer's strike still lingering on, Carrie and I have been enjoying lost episodes of "Mr. Belvedere" and are really looking forward to this week's "Battle of the Network Stars" in which Ma'am from "Webster" will be taking on Meredith Baxter Birney in the 40-yard dash.

• Lastly, Carrie has wisely opted out of the Houston half marathon for the more reasonable 5K, I on the other hand am spending the time I don't have a paint brush in my hand glued to the treadmill. Winter sucks.

Craig

Changing of the collar

After a long and extensive search for a new collar to grace Zoe's neck, we are pleased to announce that we have finally picked a winner. It wasn't easy replacing the collar she's been wearing the last 2 1/2 years. The ribbon is fraying and the colors are fading, but it was extra special for two reasons: 1. Craig picked it up in San Diego when he and his brother (Curt) trekked out there by car for some sun and surf. And 2., the colors and design were the perfect compliment to Zoe's girl-like qualities. But we've done it. We've found a replacement. We've also discovered a new place to shop online for the pups -- they even include fun and tasty dog treats as a bonus inside their packages. Check out Coco and Tana Doggie Couture at www.cocoandtana.com.

Carrie

Evil genius

For those of you who don't know, parking on the Wichita State campus has always been a bit of an adventure. It's like one giant version of an elementary school "cake walk," you just circle round and round in hopes that when the music stops you've got a spot. Fortunately, for most of the time I've been at WSU, I've been able to avoid this little game due to the fact that my office was slightly off campus and its lot was really just a point of last resort (before students actually made it to the point that they're ready to check out my lot, they had already decided to screw it and go get a danish). Then August came and I moved my entire staff to some better digs on campus, thus beginning our perpetual "fun night" … minus the homemade cake.

During my nearly daily circling of the lot, I was frequently perplexed by a few prime spots that were blocked off by little orange cones. Never seeing the cones from a distance, it always looked like you were about to hit the parking lot jackpot, only to be forced to make another lap hoping you'd see a student you could stalk on their way to their car.

I had always thought this was some manifestation of a WU-cop power trip—until yesterday.

After finally locating a spot, I was on my way to my office when, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a little red Ford Fiesta rolling toward my coned mecca. Moments later, a small Asian woman hopped out of the passenger seat and scurried over to pick up the cones while her accomplice calmly pulled the fore-mentioned Ford Fiesta into place.

I just stood their in disbelief, not sure if I was upset or just pissed that I didn't think of it first.

After sharing the story with the rest of the office, I found out that someone else had witnessed the exact same thing and come to find out that it's the work of some cleaning crew street gang.

So, the question becomes, do I look the other way, or simply roll over the cones the next time I see them? On the one hand, I would be accepting the presence of the cones and thus condoning the gang's actions, on the other hand there's a good chance I'll be found a few days later laying face down in a pool of 409.

Option three?

Bring my own damn cones. And live to see another day.

Craig

School of Shock

I thought this was going to be a nightmare, but the shoot for this spot went surprisingly well (despite the fact that one of the little booger eaters gave me a cold). However we did run into a little trouble when we tried to get a shot of Wu out on the playground—it was like Ben and Jerry had just been spotted at fat camp.

Craig

Turkey Time

We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. First of all, Craig and I got to spend the evening of our wedding anniversary playing the 1960s version of Trivial Pursuit with the Howard family. I'm thankful I was able to get at least one answer right (even if it was a guess). The next morning, Dad, Craig and I lined up at the starting line for the Sprint Thanksgiving Family Walk and Run for the fourth year in a row. Before the gun went off, Craig realized his iPod shuffle was missing. I'm thankful he found it back in the car (and was able to get to the car and back to the start line in time to run the race). He still passed me and had his best time ever. This year might be the biggest family get-together the Howard family has had in a while. Dad and his four siblings (and their spouses) were in KC to celebrate together. We also had Erin's fiance, Scott, and his daughter, Kailey, join us for their first Howard Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for all the time we had to catch up with family and that Erin has found her match. I'm also thankful that Kailey isn't grossed out by slobbery tennis balls. Zoe loved playing outside with her. But I think Kailey enjoyed eating turkey right off the bone more. After having pancakes with our friends Whitney and Chris and their two adorable kids, we headed back to Wichita and had a belated Thanksgiving dinner with Sam and Barbie (Craig's parents) that Friday. I'm thankful that Whitney and I have stayed in touch long after our one semester together at MU, and I'm thankful that Sam and Barbie were up for trying something new and going out in the snow, that their crazy puppy Kobe was excited to see us, and that they sent us home with their yummy chocolate peanut clusters. For those family and friends we didn't see over the holiday, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Carrie

Four years fly when you're having fun

This is the guy I married four years ago today. The same guy I dated for 9 years (patiently), befriended for four awkward high school years, and stalked for one year (it was a harmless 8th grade crush, really). Lucky me, my persistance paid off. But instead of boring you with 18 years worth of stories from our past, I thought I'd share some of the highlights of the last four years of marriage.

- Riding what was an equivalent to a go-kart on water just one hour after our wedding in Florida (there went the hair-do)

- Surviving a miserable honeymoon and laughing about it now

- Sanding, patching, and painting every wall and piece of trim in our house (sometimes more than once)

- Training and running our first marathon together -- well, at least within a half mile from each other

- U2. Front Row. 30th Birthday. Miami.

- Learning how to live with only the clothes on our backs in the middle of the ocean

- Discovering the joy of yard work together (it's a work in progress)

- Making goals and plans for the years to come

Happy anniversary to us.
Carrie

I married George Castanza.

Some random thoughts.

• This weekend it was 80 degrees in Wichita—good thing global warming doesn't exist, otherwise I would have been raking leaves in my Speedo.

• The all-Christmas-music-all-the-time radio station was playing Alvin and the Chipmunks on Sunday. I'm thinking if you're already delving into your catalog of singing chipmunks you probably shouldn't have started playing Christmas music on November 17th.

• During this morning's run I passed two groups of runners/walkers who did not return my "how ya doin?'" wave. Seriously? If I'm gonna get my ass out of bed before six to go running, I better see some jazz hands people.

• Speaking of running, one of my favorite new running songs is "Bouncin' Back (Bumpin' Me Against the Wall)" by Mystical—mainly because he gives a shout out to Theo Huxtable and the "Jammin' On The One" episode of the Cosby show.

• The latest 40th anniversary edition of Rolling Stone featured a collection of interviews with people ranging from
economists and physicists to actors and musicians on their outlook on the current state of the world and its future. Reactions were grim across the board. One of the most interesting quotes related to the public's general apathy toward the actions of the Bush Administration saying "if we had a draft, there would be 200,000 people protesting in the streets every day." Sad, but probably true.

• Speaking of the end of the world, why is it I can't turn on the TV without seeing either "I Love New York 2" or "Shot of Love?" If I really wanted to see these people, I'd head down to the free clinic.

• One last comment from atop my soapbox. Carrie and I were watching a show the other night called "Small Ideas for a Big Planet" and one thing really struck me—the idea that how we live is completely counter to nature. Think about it, we manufacture things that can't be found in the natural world and when we're done with them, we dig a hole and bury them in the ground. What exactly is the thinking behind that?

• Tomorrow is Carrie and my fourth anniversary, what does it say about our mature, adult relationship that the only way we want to celebrate is by going out and getting a wii?

Craig

Looking @ 32

So, as many of you probably already know, yesterday was my birthday and all in all it was a good day—a little stressful at work—but good none the less. Got to celebrate with Carrie and the dogs, have a little cake with Mom and Dad, and take in a Shocker game (hence the cake decoration). It was no front row at a U2 concert (http://www.flickr.com/photos/atu2com/63138988/in/set-1363398/), but I'll get over it.


I do have to say that I'm beginning to feel the pressure though—the pressure that comes from feeling that time is getting away from me and it's time to kick things up a notch. Partially, I think this comes from the fact that both Carrie and I seem to have been seduced by the movie "Into the Wild." If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend checking it out and then downloading (or if you're old-school go to the store and pick up) the soundtrack Eddie Vedder put together. Both are amazing and incredibly inspiring. In short, it's a true story about a guy who, after college graduation, donated his life savings to charity and hitchhiked across the country on his way to living in solitude in the Alaskan wilderness (think "On the Road" but with a purpose). Now, this doesn't mean that Carrie and I are ready to go live in a bus and start cooking up squirrel, in fact, I don't really know what it means, but it's just empowering to see someone so tied to their convictions and willing to roll the dice and take a chance.

Craig



I made this music player at MyFlashFetish.com.

Man's Best Kid

A colleague asked me yesterday if I was one of those "dog parents." You know, the kind of person who takes their family Christmas photo with their dog (guilty), or the type of person who dresses up their dog for holidays or, really, any occasion (guilty again), or the kind of person who lets their dog sleep on their bed when one of the humans is allergic to their dander and the other human always gets left with one foot of the mattress (guilty, and sleep deprived). Yep, that's us. Craig and I are dog parents. And we're not ashamed to admit it.

Zoe's been with us since 2002. She's a chocolate lab from Texas, and she's got the BIG attitude to prove it. She's a sensitive girl that seeks shelter under the kitchen table whenever the vacuum comes out or when our voices go up when watching a game on TV. But throw her a ball or Frisbee, and you'll be amazed at her athleticism. The girl can run. And run. And run. She's been known to play so hard we've had to carry her home from the park because she couldn't walk straight. She's a sweetheart, and she is definitely Craig's little girl. Some day we'll have to show you why she's earned the nickname, "Zo Boogie."

Then there's Luka. Our shadow, and a true mama's boy. One weekend in 2006, Craig and I visited the Kansas Humane Society just to check out the puppies needing homes. We should've known we wouldn't leave empty-handed. While we walked around looking at all the dogs, we noticed most of them were either jumping up on the door for attention or wrestling with their kennel mate. Not Luka. The little blond fur ball (named "Cutie" at the time) just sat at the back of his kennel and stared at us with a big smile on his face. To follow the trend in designer dog breeds, we like to call Luka a GOLLIE -- part golden retriever, part border collie. You also might call him a pain in Zoe's ass. But she's tolerated him from day one, and he worships the ground she laps him on.

Those are the kids. It's hard to believe they haven't made this blog sooner. Does that make us bad parents? Stay tuned for the 2007 Christmas card and more photos and stories to come.

On the shuffle during this morning's run.

With sunset coming so early last night, I decided to brave the temperatures and head out for an early morning run. Here's what was running through my ears

"Zak and Sara" (Ben Folds): Nothing like a white guy ticklin' the ivories to get you movin'.

"All Night" (Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley and Stephen Marley): With so many Bob Marley spawns walking the earth, you would think a couple of them would be crappy musicians, but I haven't found one yet.

"Come On and Love Me" (Lenny Kravitz): A good drumbeat from back in the days when Lenny still had dreads.

"Express Yourself" (NWA): Dre's in da 'hood and hez up to no good.

"Get Up I Feel Like a Sex Machine" (James Brown): Quite possibly my favorite running song. Take me to the bridge now.

"Did You Ever Look So Nice?" (The Samples): Carrie and I heard this song when we were lining up for the Chicago Marathon. It was a little sign that everything was gonna be all right. Love this song.

"Born Losers" (Matthew Good): A nice little addition to the music library thanks to iTunes' free download of the week.

"It's the End of the World As We Know It—And I Feel Fine" (REM): Insert your own politcal commentary here.

Running Tip of the Day: Chewing gum while you're running is great, but if you have nasal drainage, at some point you can't be completely sure it's the gum that you're chewing.

Finally, our Saturday nights have purpose.

Go to dinner, go to Borders, go to bed before the first skit of SNL, rinse and repeat. That has pretty much been our Saturday night routine for the past eight months or so, but just when the very real threat of having to venture into the unchartered territory of the self-help section was staring us squarely in the eye, we were granted a five-month reprieve thanks to the hallowed ground that is Charles Koch Arena.

That's right, it's time for some Shocker basketball.

Last night was opening night of the highly anticipated 2007-2008 season which saw the hometown heroes go up against the always-dangerous Wonder Boys (seriously, that's their name) of Arkansas Tech. While sadly any game, even an exhibition game against the Wonder Boys, would normally have me plenty excited, last night had the added caveat of being the first game under our new coach Gregg Marshall a guy who took Winthrop to the NCAA tournament seven out of nine years and has been named national coach of the year. On top of that we only return five guys who played last year, so this was the first time we were going to get to see a lot of the guys who, in a sense, are going to be our Friday, Saturday and occassionally Thursday-night dates.

The game itself was a little sloppy and provided little insight to how the year is going to go—we could have a team that's anywhere from average to pretty good, but I'm almost positive that the future is bright, what Mark Turgeon started (a conference title and a trip to the Sweet 16) was just the beginning. In fact, I personally think the program's in better hands this year than last.

All of that aside, it was great to once again spend a fall evening with my head filled with Jock Jams and my knees lodged firmly into the back of row 26, section 119.

And yes, Dad, I too can't believe that anyone would leave a Shockers/Wonder Boys match up with 1:24 left in the game.

They should be shot.

Party in KC.

Craig, Luka, Zoe and I were in Kansas City this past weekend for a couple of big celebrations. First, I was up there helping the KC office of Sullivan Higdon & Sink throw a party to celebrate its 10th anniversary. It's a tough job, but someone has to be responsible for making sure there's plenty of alcohol, food and games for colleagues, clients and vendors. After that party, we moved on to the second celebration of the weekend -- the kick-off to November birthdays. Mom has a b-day (do I dare reveal what age?) on Nov. 5 and Craig creeps a little more into his 30s on the 13th. The six of us (mom, dad, erin, scott, craig and I) had dinner at Cafe Trios in the midtown area and then went to the plaza for a movie. While the food was yummy, the restaurant's Halloween decorations were inspiring. They sure put the three, lonely pumpkins on our front porch to shame.

Cheers.

Carrie

On the road again.

Today I got the green light to start running again. This comes after about three months of being restricted to a bike or one of those eliptical things at the Y. Intially, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture and was told to wear, what lovingly became known as, "the boot." Things seemed to get better, but some pain still remains. So today I went in to get a second opinion and another round of X-rays. Luckily this time it was concluded that it is more of an issue of how my foot pronates rather than an actual stress fracture. The downside is that there isn't a whole lot I can do about the pain other than take some aspirin and maybe get some orthopedics (not sure how cool I would look running in a pair of pair of beige Hush Puppies, but I'm sure it would make me run faster). So here I am, with no excuse not to run the Houston Half Marathon, however I do still plan on blaming this for my inability to keep up with Curt and Cheryl—who I'm pretty sure are now honorary citizens of Kenya. I just hope I can get all of this injury stuff out of the way rather than have it happen again the week before the run like it did when Carrie and I ran the Chicago Marathon, that just plain sucked.

Here's what my ankle looked like one week after that sprain and 26.2 miles before the finish line (the worst part was under the brace).


Yeah, I'm tough, just don't ask me to give a vile of blood, I'll wilt like a daisy (make that a pansy).

And sew on, and sew on ...

I gave my mother the second best thing to a grandchild for Christmas last year -- I asked her for a sewing machine. My memories of sewing go back to grade school when she made me my very own "designer" E.T. costume for Halloween. I still remember the plush alien hand with the red felt finger tip that sat on top of my real hand by just an elastic band. You better believe I phoned home with that on! When I got older, I took a sewing class at the local extension office and learned how to make a mini skirt (and matching hair scrunchy!). I could not WAIT to wear that to the dance at that year's summer camp. After I had a handful of classes under my belt, mom and I started working on projects together. One of the first I can remember was one of those quilted, boxy purses that every girl in junior high had. I'm pretty sure the fad was over by the time we got it done. And since then, I've added many a home-made costume and bridesmaid dress to my closet, thanks to mom's machine.

So last year, with the growing need for sewing buttons on, finding a hobby and looking for a creative outlet, I started hearing the sewing machine call my name, which led me to calling mom and telling her I'd put "sewing machine" on my Christmas wish list. My wish was granted.

In the last 10 months, I've taken a sewing class to freshen up on my skills and I've experimented with a couple projects. I had no idea how much I had forgotten. But there was one thing I had remembered, and it's still so true today: the seam ripper is my friend. I've been working on a small project, and last night I swear I spent more time ripping out seams than sewing. It was completely frustrating, but it was also rewarding to figure out my mistake and correct it (three tries later). All by myself. Watch out Martha.

Sew long.
Carrie

On the air.

Here's a peek at my most recent project at work. Enjoy.

Craig

Luckily, Carrie was born with an incredible amount of patience.

Whether I was making her get up before sunrise or turning a three-hour hike into a five-hour hike, Carrie took my endless attempt to become the next Ansel Adams like a real trooper. Here are a few of the shots that probably would have pushed any normal woman to ditch me in a kind of "trial separation."


Colter Bay Marina, Grand Tetons


Yellowstone River at sunrise, Yellowstone


Carrie, Grand Tetons


Lamar Valley, Yellowstone


Bridge over String Lake, Grand Tetons

Ahh, Jellystone

We never did pack a picnic basket or see a bear named Yogi (or a bear at all for that matter), but we really enjoyed our recent trip to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole. Each day was a new adventure -- new wildlife to see, new hikes to try, more geysers to admire, and another mountain to climb. The pictures speak for themselves.

- Carrie

Why?

To prove that the Internet truly is a huge waste of everyone's time, Carrie, Zoe, Luka and I have decided to periodically post what's going on in each of our lives for mass consumption (mass in this case meaning those of you in our immediate family who feel obilgated to read this). So check in from time to time if you're struggling to find a way to kill that last five minutes of the work day, have run out of your perscription sleeping pills or if, for some God-foresaken reason, are actually interested in what we are doing.

Thanks, and enjoy.

Craig