If only I'd known!

(courtesy of Stephan)

Apparently girls who park in cars with boys are NOT popular.

Had strange dreams last night...

It could have been the gin, but I had this crazy dream last night. I dreamt that I dyed my hair black and I was dressed like Wendy.O. Williams. Oddly enough, I was visiting my parents and we were all eating at some restaurant called the Chicken Shack.

1) I would never dye my hair black. It would look HORRIBLE.

2) I would never wear electrical tape as an outfit. Especially not around my parents.

3) I would never eat food from a place with the word "shack" in the title.

Thank You Gillian...

Words Escape Me. Serioushly. I mean.... *hiccup* Eshcape me. * hiccup*

Post-Partyum Depression

Well, the big shebang is done and finished. Usually I suffer some let-down after these big events, and this week is no exception. However, I did remember that I still have all kinds of fun things to look forward to over the Holiday season. Tim and I are taking snowboarding lessons next month, we're going to go see White Christmas on stage at the Performing Arts Center. We're going to Oregon the week before Christmas, and for the first time since we've been together, we are spending Christmas day in our own home in our own city.

We talked it over with my parents, (they don't mind as long as they get to see us) and we decided that we're going to leave our gifts to each other until Christmas morning. We're going to cook a big breakfast and then go to the park and then maybe to the city center to see all the decorations. Basically our first little family Christmas.

I have loads of work to do this week (which is good) and I'm also gearing up for the official launch of my website. I first have to obsess over all the tiny details until I'm sure that everything is just right, then I'm going to send out an email to everyone I know. I'm hoping that having a place online for me to show my latest work will help me feel more confident in seeking new business. I'm also ordering my new business cards this week.

Oh, and one more announcement. Tim and I will be recording a new song or two for our annual Holiday album. We will not be sending out CD's this year. (Except maybe to my Grandma who can't work a computer) The entire album will be available for download online. I will send out Holiday cards with the address sometime around December 1st.

I loved working for Evergreen, and I'm glad I know what goes into all the Christmas decor that goes up around Denver, but I am so glad that I am not having to fly all over the country this year trying to manage that stuff. Last holiday season was so stressful! I'm really excited about being able to kick back this year and just let it wash over me. Speaking of Evergreen, I ordered a beautiful 7' slimline, 4" flagged bottle brush tree from them last week, so I should be getting it in a couple weeks. I'm stayed on great terms with all of them and I'm even planning on doing some web work for them in the near future.

Well, I better get my week started! Business and commerce waits for no man. Or woman.

Happy Halloween Week!

Cooper Masquerade

The party last night was a huge hit. Definitely our best party yet! We decorated the entire apartment, moved all the furniture out of our bedroom and turned it in a casino. We hired two dealers to come do Blackjack and Roulette which was awesome. Everyone seemed to have a great time gambling.

Everyone’s costumes were amazing. Our friends really know how to get into the spirit of Halloween.

The food was so easy this year. I went to Whole Foods and stocked up on awesome cheese, dips, and crackers etc. Oh and we set up the chocolate fountain with white chocolate that had been dyed blood red. (well it ended up looking a bit pinkish, but it worked…)

We also hired a bartender which was awesome. I don’t think I’ll ever throw another party without hiring a bartender. It really made it so much easier to visit and have fun. He kept everyone in drinks the whole night (which had HILARIOUS results) and even managed to keep the food coming, helped Tim move furniture… He was terrific!

Although everyone looked amazing, I have to give some personal shout outs to my favorites.

Gillian, as always, outdid herself. Even down to the littlest details, she always rocks an awesome look…

Alison’s boobs looked amazing. And her costume was pretty sweet too…

Joe & Megan blew me away… All that work they did on their costumes, making them so accurate, it really impressed me.

And Jess & Mindy looked so classy. I loved their formal look…

Charleigh and Blaine looked PERFECT as usual!

The winners of the contest were:

Scott – The Mask - Scariest

Heather – Cotton Candy - Most Creative
Jenny – Sun Goddess – Most beautiful

Mike & Sui – Mr. & Ms. Mysterioso – Most Mysterious

The night ended with all us girls (completely drunk of our asses) singing and dancing to all kinds of songs (Love is a Battlefield was exceptionally passionate and um… athletic.) I am hoarse this morning from singing at the top of my lungs for an hour with them…

All in all I’d say it was a raging success. Tim and I had SO much fun! Thank you all!

Update: Photos from Gillian's Camera are HILARIOUS!

The Halloween Party was a raging success!

I'd like to drunkenly give shout-outs to everyone who made it possible:

Joe Selkey for the photos
Gillie Wink for the Gin
Tom, Zane & Kevin for their help

and everyone else for being fabulous!!!!!!



Click on the photo to see more!

This is Halloween!

Here it is! THE BIG DAY! (yes the actual big day is next wednesday) But for me, it's today. I must away to whirl like the tasmanian devil...

Click on the photo below to see more of our adventures last night.



"erin as Tank Girl"

Halloween Party numero uno

 

Tim & Erin as post apocalyptic soldiers...

Every day in my life wherein I struggle is a blessing. It is like a bitter morsel lingering on my palate as a reminder of my flaws and how much room I have to grow. And LORDY it’s a lot. I’m young still, and have most of my life still ahead of me. But the most of my life that I know, up until now, was full of experience. I imagine there are tons of people who live their whole lives not seeing some of the things I’ve seen. My point is that I have endured hardship. I’m been unhappy, put-upon and lonely. I’ve felt misunderstood and I’ve been the butt of many jokes. I know what it is to be the under-dog. I made a choice to stop suffering at the hands of others opinions of me. If I believed everything people said about me, then I never would have had the courage to do anything with my life.

Here I am, nearly 30, finally coming into my own, seeing the world, experiencing life in a positive way. I’ve attempted to surgically remove the dark and dangerous habits in my life that festered and damaged my soul. I am not perfect. I am not even close. I make bad choices still, and I say the wrong things still. But I own those choices and I will not apologize for being me. I’m loud. I have opinions. I desire passionate conversations with intelligent people. If you want to be my friend, if you want to share social situations with me, then you have to accept me. Accept ME. I will endeavor to do the same for you.

Flailing...

Well, I've out done myself. I've gone to that place I said I wouldn't. It's called "Crazy Party Planner Perfectionist Land". I honestly am not sure where I get these compulsions from. I am not this anal retentive in real life, but in "Crazy Party Planner Perfectionist Land" everything has to be just right. I had a crisis yesterday when my roulette and blackjack dealers canceled at the last moment and I almost burst into tears. Tim tried to help me by "giving me perspective". To a hysterical party planner, this is the WORST insult. I yelled, "I don't need perspective, I need casino dealers!". Then he calmly and rationally pointed out that I was acting like a crazy person and I needed to chill out and remember that he was only trying to help. And then I felt like a schmuck.

If you were my psychologist, you'd probably say these habits formed when I was young, from low self-esteem and now I'm creating alternate realities where I get to be the hostess (i.e. attention center) and well, you'd probably be right. I don't do this for you, I do this for me. And all the crazy costumes and extravagant food and entertainment are just a by-product of a deeper issue. I really LOVE Halloween and I HAVE to celebrate it. I don't love it in the Gothic "I want to suck your blood" kind of way, but in an almost symbolic and reverent way.

Halloween provides that familiar feeling of fall from my childhood. Fall is a time for new beginnings, a chance to start over. The crisp air swirling fire and crimson colored leaves down the sidewalk, the breathless anticipation of the holiday season beginning. It's intoxicating... I actually get goose bumps when I smell that delicious fall air. I immediately want to hole up in my house, sewing madly and making soups from various squashes. I crave cinnamon, cloves, and ginger... Sweet and dense breads and the sounds of Halloween Town raving about their spooky accomplishments.

It's intoxicating and I am drunk on it all. So that's my current status. Drunk on Halloween and I wouldn't have it any other way.

* update * I have found casino dealers... so all is well. I finished my costume last night and I am feeling very good about the upcoming festivities...

It's SNOWING!

It's our first snow in the new apartment and it's AMAZING. We have all these windows now and everywhere I look there are giant flakes gently fluttering to the ground. I love Denver. That was one thing about growing up in Oregon. We always missed out on this phenomenon. When it snows here, I just feel giddy with excitement. I can't wait to put on my fuzzy boots and shuffle through the snow to get a hot cider.

And in other news, we won the 1st Prize at Jess & Mindy's annual pumpkin carving contest, (also known as "Pumpkest"). I'd post pics of our pumpkin, but I'm going to wait for Jess to send us the pictures he took with his fancy shmancy camera last night.

I must go sew costumes...

that's all for now,
~e

Updates:

1) Halloween:
Oy vey. I'm in over my head (as usual) and Tim has been slammed with a ton of work. I promised him that he didn't have to help me get stuff ready and truthfully, everytime I think about all the I have to do, my ears turn red and my eye starts twitching. Hahahaha... Lordy.

2) My new Routine:
So in the mornings (9-12) I clean house, do laundry, run errands etc. 12-1 is lunch and meet with Tim about projects, and then from 1-6 I work. So far, it seems to be working out pretty well. I need structure or I fall apart and there is too much going on right now for that to happen. But this morning, I got up, checked my blogs, cleaned the kitchen, ate some brekkie, and now I'm off to run my errands. It's nice to have my day planned out. I can not live all willy-nilly. It's not my style.

3)Jack O'Lantern Carving Contest:
Our friends Jess & Mindy are having a party at their house this Saturday, so Tim and I have been plotting out fantastical Jack O'Lantern plans. I can't tell you what they are, because it's Top Secret, but I will say.... Muuuuuwhahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (that was my evil laugh)

That's all for now,
~e

Paka is under the weather...

It all started two days ago. Paka seemed listless and then he threw up a couple of times. Yesterday he seemed MUCH better. He was even playing and eating and moved from his perch on top of the kitty gym to our bed. Today he threw up again and is back up in his perch. I went and picked up a new kittie carrier and we made an appt with the Vet for tomorrow morning (the soonest they could see us). He's napping off and on today, but he seems pretty worn out. He even lost his balance a little bit while he was drinking water from the faucet (yeah, I know it's a bad habit, but he's sick so I'm allowing it...)

We think he may have nibbled on a poisonous plant (our fall mums... we didn't know they were poisonous!) so we got rid of all our plants just to be on the safe side. Anyway, needless to say, I'm pretty concerned about our little guy...

* UPDATE * We took Paka to the vet yesterday. He rode in his new kitty carrier and HOWLED the entire way. But when we got there, he pretty much behaved himself. Well, he did try to run away when they, um, "probed" him, but I can't blame him for that. The vet weighed him, took his temperature, and did a few other little exams on him and said that he seemed pretty healthy. She told us to take him home and if he gets sick again. that we should bring him in and they'll run some tests on him. She seemed to think that he probably did get into the plant (or something else he wasn't supposed to eat). He seems MUCH better today. He ate breakfast and seems pretty active... so I guess we'll just wait and see.

wrap it up...

We had a fairly low-key weekend here in Cooperville. We didn't do any of the things we'd planned on, except attending Crutchie's party. It was nice though. I enjoyed having down time and got plenty accomplished towards the Halloween Party.

Crutchie's get-together was lots of fun. We got to meet several new fun people (who also live close by) and that is always nice. Gillie-Poo is back from Ol' New Joisey, and I'm glad. I need her around in the last few weeks preceding Halloween. She's my support system. :)

That's all for now,
~e

Why Rockies Why?

I am so sick of hearing about flipping baseball. (I know I said I was going to complain less, but hear me out!) The Rockies are on their way to the playoffs. They may be in them right now for all I know. I support my town and all that, but frankly, I just don't care. I don't like baseball, or football, or hockey, or any other team sports. I do not have the sports gene. Thank god I married a man who really doesn't care about sports either.

Now, there are some caveats to this rant. IF I have a child that is interested in sports, I will set aside my sports hating ways and support them. IF there is promise of a half-time show with a notable musical talent, and possibly fireworks, I will watch them.

Sports I do like: Rock Climbing, Hiking, Swimming, Dancing, Fishing, Waverunner-ing (I don't know if that is a sport really, but it's HELLA fun.)

Friend, Comrades, and everyone else. Please stop inviting me to watch or attend sporting events. I don't want to be rude, and I'd love to hang with you doing something else. ANYTHING else. I just really don't care about points and scores and who is the top blah blah. I don't care.

(all this is void if you promise me that there will be champagne, or fine cheese involved. And no, Beer and Nachos aren't the same thing.)

Daisy does her part...

Daisy is supporting recycling and sustainable living with the latest in feline napping accoutrement.















And in other news, congrats to Al Gore and the IPCC for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.For more on that go to: www.nobelprize.org

Eureka!!!

First:

Well, I have good news. I came up with an idea for my portfolio website and I spent about 8 hours working on it the day before yesterday. The design looks sharp and I'm super excited about it. Tim is swamped right now, so I don't know how long it'll be before it actually gets up on the web at www.ecooperdesigns.com. Probably in a week or so. I am so excited! Now I need to order new business cards that match my super cool new site.


And in other news:

I just finished reading this great book by a man named A.J. Jacobs. It's called, "The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest To Obey The Bible As Literally As Possible". It was a fascinating read and pretty funny in parts as well. (I liked the part when he tried to "stone" an adulterer without them knowing.) More importantly, it reminded me of lessons I learned very early in life that I had sort of forgotten. It is difficult to be totally honest all the time, to avoid negative thoughts and behaviors. As I get older, I realize that weeks go by where I don't thank god (my interpretation of god ) for the wonderful gifts and blessings I have in my life. I have made a little note to myself to remember to be grateful more often, be kinder to EVERYONE (even those jackasses on the road who WON'T let you in, even though you've had your blinker on for ages!) to be honest, to refrain from complaining, to savor the world I live in, and to appreciate the beauty in the little things.

Now, as most of you know, I grew up in the church. BOY did I ever. When I was 18, I left home and didn't really look back. I love my family of course, but there were some rough years where I wrestled with the meaning of life (and still do on occasion) and tried on a lot of bad ideas for size. I don't think if I'll ever KNOW entirely what the meaning of life is. But I'm pretty sure it's not all about the bible. It might be all about god (energy, light, whatever), but however I interpret that, it's pretty safe to say that I'm not going to become a missionary anytime soon.

That being said, I have often wondered what I will say to my children when I become a parent and they start asking me all the "why?" questions. I was getting worried because I just don't have it all figured out yet. How do I keep my kids from being the ones smoking crack and setting things on fire? I want them to have a moral compass, and the benefit of understanding why it's so important to be kind and try to do good. Tim told me yesterday that he thinks it's okay for our kids to know that we're still trying to figure it all out. That's the thing. You can't ever know. I don't believe anyone has all the answers (even if they THINK they do).

Eventually it all comes down to how big of a leap of faith you're willing to take. The more I thought about it, I realized that it really is all about living the best example you can. By letting our children see us make the right choices, maybe we can avoid the whole, "Do as I say, not as I do..." scenario that can confuse children and deride their confidence in us. * the end of my parenting seminar * ;)


and finally:

My Halloween extravaganza preparations are now at fever pitch. I'm busy sewing and planning and plotting and decorating for the big event. I can't tell you how excited I am. I CAN tell that I am so SICK of Halloween candy already. blech. I think I'm getting a cavity. :) Good thing I have dental insurance now! ;)

That's all for now,
~e

The Story of the Kitemaster

Tim and I went to the Farmer's market today and afterwards, we popped by Cost Plus Imports to stock up on exotic candy for the Halloween party. While we were there, we saw this cool dragon kite and decided that since it was so gusty today, that we'd blow off the Oktoberfest (maybe we'll go tomorrow) and head to the park to try to fly it. It was AWESOME... seriously. I haven't felt that windblown since I lived in Port Orford.

Click on the picture below to see more photos.

News and the like...

So the news of the day starts with the fact the my Dad, to my shock and amazement, has become a regular reader of my blog. (Hi Dad!) So, now I feel like I should try to write something for this week. I haven't been updating much lately, mostly because I spend a majority of my days indoors and so much time working on my computer, I've cut back on using it for entertainment. But my blog is much more than just entertainment. I use it to fill in my family and friends on what I've been up to, since I'm SO BAD about calling people. (More about that later)

So here it is, nitty gritty, what I've been up to. We finally got our packet from Humana. That's right, we are self employed and covered by health insurance. At first I felt relief, since I've been worrying about it ever since I got out of the Air Force. The whole, "What happens if Tim breaks his clavicle or something?" but now the worry is, "Oh my god, $391.50 is freaking expensive."

Tim definitely makes enough money to support us in a comfortable fashion, so it's not a huge worry, but it is slightly compounded by the fact that I'm not contributing very much. As a freelancer, I'm doing okay. I make a decent amount of money per week, but I'm having a hard time trying to get more work on my own. My portfolio kind of sucks... Most of the stuff in it isn't very applicable to the kind of work I'm trying to get. I know it will come around eventually, but it's hard to feel stunted.

My other trouble is inspiration. Design is unlike other jobs in that you have to formulate ideas and inspiration out of thin air. I need to feel inspired and artistic in order for me to do my job successfully. So, I'm trying to do other things that keep my mind engaged. Working on my costume helps, getting out on the streets walking around helps, going to shows and museums helps, and reading books helps. I just need to try to apply my ideas and find my "path" as a designer. Styles and trends are constantly changing and if you don't do the research, success will pass you by.

If I have an off day, I can't just phone it in. It shows in my work and it just ends up being time wasted time. And so, I struggle... I think it will get better eventually, but it's hard when you've been doing something for 10 years to always feel inspired. That being said, I am still working on the new phase of business which will be my event design . I need a good brainstorming session to come up with my business plan.

In a way, being home all day makes it more difficult, and it can be very distracting. I start to play with the cats, or vacuum, or want to work on my costume. I feel like I need to get away and go somewhere quiet and work on my plan. At any rate, this transitional time is hard. If I seem unavailable or distant, it's because I'm trying to work it all out.

That's where I'm at right now... more later.