{Finstads Do Fort Worth...YeeHaw!]

We've been away from the blogosphere for a little while, mostly due to our recent mini-vacay in the great old state of Texas! As an employee of the National Stuttering Association, our conferences are one of my biggest ongoing projects. Hundreds of hours of work go into each conference, and the 4.5 days in July are the culmination of all that work, not to mention, one huge stutter-party. Check out our latest adventures!

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While in Texas we enjoyed a lot of...what else...BBQ! What they say about the Lone Star State is completely true... everything really is bigger in Texas, including the food and drink portions!

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We were able to catch up with some of our closest friends, as well as meet new friends from all over the world. Some of these people we keep in close contact with through email, Facebook, twitter, and Skype, and this is the only time that we get to see them in person the whole year! One of these people is Tammy, the Executive Director for the NSA, whom I speak with through text, IM, email, Skype, US Mail, and over the phone on a daily basis, sometime using multiple modes of communication at one time, and at all hours of the day and night! It was wonderful to have a chance to spend some face-to-face time with her, and many of the others we've grown close to over the years.

Tammy & Mandy at the Closing Banquet

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Another PWS whom we've grown close to over the past few years is our friends Danny Rossi, creator of the Stuttering Is Cool podcast and website. We often Skype or IM with him, and have even done a few interviews for his show. It was wonderful to see him again in person!

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Jean and I were each active participants in the conference, doing much more than just observing. In addition to our volunteer efforts with the silent auction and sales, we each presented part of a workshop, and together we led a third kids workshop.

(Left to Right)
Mandy speaks to Chapter Leaders about social media.

We both led the 'Kids in the Kitchen' workshop with the hotel chef, Stephen.

Jean gave a great presentation on 'Voluntary Stuttering' as part of a panel discussion on
Avoidance Reduction Therapy.

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One of the highlights of the conference was the Keynote Speech, give by PWS and Oscar-winning Screenwriter of The King's Speech, David Seidler.

David Seidler, Mandy & Jean

Our conference name tags, signed by Mr. Seidler

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Bye, Texas!
You'll be missed!

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{A Very 'Special' Birthday}

Happy Birthday to me,
We went to NYC,
Then when we got ho-o-o-me,
Duke Special came to me!

OK, so I'm no songwriter, but that pretty much sums up this year's awesomesauce birthday celebrations. I've had some pretty fantastic birthdays as of late. March 31, 2009 was spent in Ireland, 2010 was spent just back from Ireland and newly engaged to the JeanBean, and 2011 was spent surrounded by Duke Special love. For those of you who don't know me, A) How are you reading this blog?, and 2) I heart Duke Special. Now, I don't spread myself super thin, and I'm not typically half-assed when it comes to things I like or believe in...

Case in point: I (and Jean) believe in a traditional 'home first - family first' approach, so I quit my job when we got married (a month before, actually). We have no kids and we rent a teeny shoebox, yet I left the workforce, including health insurance and a higher-and-more-steady salary than Jean was making in order to serve my husband and my home.

Case #2: Our good Lord above started dropping stutterers from the sky and into my life one day, and I listened to every blocked and repeated word He was using to get to me. I joined the National Stuttering Association at the same time Jean and I started dating, even though he was not even a member. For months I volunteered and busted my butt and got us to the 2010 Annual Conference in Cleveland. I pushed, I prodded, I wrote, and I did a hell of a lot of editing and social networking, and now I work for the NSA, one of very few paid employees. I believe in it, I love it, just like I love my stutterers. (Check out the animal growing on Jean's chin!)


So it's plain to see that when something comes along that I take a liking to, or believe in, I give it my whole self. One of those somethings is Duke Special. I came across this unique musician in a roundabout way, as most do, when listening to the Culture Northern Ireland podcast several years ago. His name kept coming up, and once I finally checked him out, I was hooked. From then on I've traveled up the Eastern Seaboard and across the Atlantic multiple times to see him perform live, and they've been some of the greatest experiences of my life, and helped me to meet some of the most generous, loving, people in my life through his fanbase.



Birthday week saw us traveling up to Manhattan to see a one-off show of his at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and to meet up with several other fan friends who were coming over from the UK for the show. Duke (aka Peter) had been working tirelessly for months writing 12 original songs based on photographs from The Met's photography exhibit 'Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand'. For the days before and after the show we were able to meet new friends, catch up with old ones, see some sights, and eat a lot of pastrami.


Leaving a Duke Special show always leaves me a bit...sad. They are always such moving experiences that a return to normalcy seems so...normal. This time, however, I knew that I would be seeing him and some of our UK friends (Woot, woot Fizzys!) in just a few short days when they traveled down to DC for another show. God must have been smiling on me, because despite their hectic travel schedule, the rain, and the unfortunate task that is driving in the Northern VA/DC area, they drove out after Duke's gig to attend Jean's gig and my birthday party. They even brought pie.

Happy Birthday to the Luckiest. Girl. Ever.

See Duke Special perform all new songs inspired by photographs from the exhibition Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand at The Metropolitan Museum of Art here:
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{Potter Predicament & The King and I}

We Finstads are big Harry Potter fans. Huge. Borderline obsessed. However, the recent release of the film 'The King's Speech' (our newest film obsession, for obvious reasons) has caused a bit of discord in our lives. You see, the worst part of having an obsession with the Potter franchise is not the expense of the books, DVDs, and other minutia, nor is it the hours lost that are spent gaping open-mouthed at the television as Harry defeats He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named yet again, nor is it even dealing with non-Potterphiles, or worse - AntiPotters. No, ladies and gentlemen, my greatest loss is the ability to watch any of the HP actors in their other works and see them as anything but their beloved wizarding characters. Since several of the actors are also in TKS, as well as other recent blockbusters, I'm having a bit of a mental battle. A few examples...

Michael Gambon as meanie King George V? I think not, Dumbledore!

Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill? Get real, Pettigrew!


David Thewlis as Nazi-enabling Father in 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'? Please, Lupin...


Professor Slughorn, just what do you think you're playing at, acting as Bridget Jones' dad? Get back to your potions classroom!

And please, Gary Oldman as ANYTHING other than Sirius Black? I think not.


The only exception I have is Helena Bonham Carter. Perhaps because I can so easily relate to her as the King's wife in 'The King's Speech', as she stands by her stammering husband.

How blessed are we that this is currently the biggest threat to our sanity? :)

{Stuttering IS Cool}

Our wonderful friend Daniele Rossi has just posted the latest episode of his Stuttering Is Cool podcast featuring yours truly, The Finstads. Check it out!

(Our bit is around 11:30)