Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays from Andy, Jenna, and Natalie!

Foof

Newborn Pygmy Goat, originally uploaded by Couppas

Natalie's word for "dog" is "woof" but since the "w" sound is hard, it comes out more like "foof." She is very excited about foofs. Whenever she sees one she starts to point and smile. Sometimes she says "foof, foof, foof!" and other times she is thrilled into silent admiration.

Her concepts are still very broad so everything that looks vaguely like a dog is included in the foof category. Basically any four-legged animal is a foof. Although our dog Lola is a special case who is sometimes called by her real name ("aao-ah").

But so anyway this is all just to say that my daughter has started to call me "mama."

Celebrity

Christopher Straub, Season 6 Ep. 1 Project Runway, originally uploaded by withremote

We went to the No Coast Craft-o-Rama last weekend, as is our annual tradition, and did some gift shopping. We know many of the vendors from Craftstravaganza so it's fun to say hi. Plus it's a good place for scoping out new artists.

One highlight this year was meeting the famous fashion designer Christopher Straub from TV's Project Runway! Of course we already knew him from being in our show for the last three years too. But we hadn't talked to him since his television appearance so it was great to see him again, and his new line of accessories (plus I bought a pair of Cricket Syndicate underpants--another yearly tradition--and had him sign them).

I love watching our vendors go on from the show to continued success. To think we contributed in some small way to their development is very rewarding. Maybe the best part of doing these events.

City/Country

brown eggs, originally uploaded by Hannah [honey & jam]

I'm afraid that I may be falling in love with the city. After pining for the country for so long, I'm finally being charmed by the place where I live. When our house failed to sell this year, my wife and I had to admit: we were OK with that.

We like our house. We don't hate our neighborhood. And there are wonderful perks to the central location: great shops, bars, restaurants, playgrounds, and cultural events, all within walking distance. I can quickly get anywhere in the Twin Cities for event planning meetings, and I'm not outrageously far from my office (although it would be great to be closer). And there's no shortage of things for Natalie to do.

It also helps that one of my coworkers got a flock of chickens so I have a convenient source of farm-fresh eggs. Eventually I do want my own homestead, my own gardens, and my own hens/goats/bees/whatever. But for right now, I'm good.

A toddler´s view

A toddler´s view, originally uploaded by Andri Elfarsson

Natalie is truly a toddler; she's all over the place. It's really fun to play with her. She likes to wrestle, read books, and dance. She's also getting great at asking what she wants to do with a combination of signs, words, and pointing.

Last week I brought her to the launch party for Paper Darts, a new local literary magazine. She had a great time meeting people, looking at art, and eating gummy bears from the hors d'oeuvres table. No women hit on me this time though like when I carried Natalie to the GO LIVE event at fivetwosix salon.

Anyway the point is that she is growing up and usually a delight to be around. Plus she's going to sleep a lot easier these days. All in all, I'd say that she has leveled up as a human.

Plan to Fail

Cedar trees... in the Arz, North Lebanon, originally uploaded by Piax

November was a blur of event planning, illness, and a very busy time at work. We're emerging on the other side of that sickness and work overload, although the planning is a constant. Any project will automatically expand to fill the time allotted to it, and so these projects take over my entire life.

We did find a volunteer to help market the craft fair though! Kylee did this interview for us, isn't she great?

We finally got smart and started getting help for this stuff. I have a partner and the vague outlines of a team to organize the comic expo. The fashion event looks like it will mostly run itself once I finish winding it up. And, when I've got those all figured out... time to add a fourth event?