{Just One Year Ago...}

Just one year ago, on September 25th, 2010, Jean and I were married.

Here's a look at our first year...

We traveled near (Miller/Feldmaier wedding in Michigan; October 2010)...

...and far (Caribbean honeymoon cruise; November 2010)

Caribbean honeymoon cruise; November 2010

We celebrated our heritage (Scottish Walk - Alexandria, VA; December 2010)...

...and the start of a new year (New Year's Eve; December 31, 2010)

We drank green beer (ShamrockFest - Washington, DC; St. Patrick's Day 2011)...

...and drank in culture (Duke Special at The Met - New York City, NY; March 2011)

We enjoyed international music (Duke Special at Mandy's birthday party; March 31, 2011)...

...and some a little closer to home (Jean playing with the Justin Trawick Group)

Some days we were forced to rest (Jean meets table saw ; May 2011)...

...and others we welcomed a break (Summer 2011)

We were hired for jobs (Mandy is officially hired by the NSA; May 2011)...

...that didn't seem like work (NSA Conference - Ft. Worth, TX; July 2011)

We mourned the end of an era (midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2; July 2011)...

...survived unheard-of earthquakes (5.8 earthquake hits the East Coast; August 23, 2011)...

...and multi-day power outages (Hurricane Irene; August 2011)

We spent time with friends (Duke Special Boardies in NYC; March 2011)...

...and family (Jean and the nieces; Summer 2011)...

...both old (CHS friends Megan & Jeremy; September 2011)...

...and new (welcome baby niece Kirby; September 2011)

We gazed upon beautiful sights both far away (UK trip; August/September 2011)...

...and closer to home

Yet through it all...

The Finstads kept it classy...
(Bushmills Distillery - Bushmills Northern Ireland; September 2011)


Anyone can be passionate, but it takes real lovers to be silly. -Rose Franken

{October Menu}

Since half of September was spent gallivanting (OK, not exactly) around the UK, I didn't plan a menu. I thought that as long as I had the basics in the house, I'd be able to pull dinners together on the fly. It's been OK, but I definitely miss having my menu all planned out, thus the October menu a week early.

Just before we left on vacay we had a power outage thanks to Irene (bi-otch) and lost everything in our freezer. While that was heartbreaking for someone who so carefully cultivates a well-stocked food supply, it was nice to start over fresh. I told myself the same thing when my hard drive broke...physically broke...about a year ago. Denial IS just a river in Egypt!

View at http://tinyurl.com/Oct2011Menu or email for original Word document

October 2011
1- Jean @ gig (leftovers for Mandy)
2- Chili dogs* ('Skins game)
3- Linguini & Pesto
4- Popcorn Chicken Salad
5- Baked Chicken
6- Bulgogi Beef
7- Pizza
8- Baked Ziti*
9- BBQ Chicken
10- Falafel*
11- Chicken Makhani*
12- Beef Stroganoff*
13- Fire Tacos
14- Jean @ gig (leftovers for Mandy)
15- Chicken Cordon Bleu
16- Buffalo Chicken Lasagna* ('Skins game)
17- Popcorn Chicken Salad
18- Chili & Noodles*
19- Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole
20- Black-eyed Peas & Brown Rice
21- Pumpkin & Squash Soup
22- Cube Steak
23- Pizza ('Skins game)
24- Baked Beans & Cornbread*
25- Apricot Chicken*
26-Jean @ gig (leftovers for Mandy)
27- Spaghetti & Meatballs
28- Leftovers
29- Pizza Soup*
30- Baked Potato Soup*
31- Mummy Dogs & Avocado Chipotle Soup*

* = Crock Pot recipe; can be found on the CrockPot365 Blog

Happy Eating!

{I Choose This...}

Just a little teaser of our vacation, full post forthcoming. These are Instagrams from the night of our dear friend Leslie's 50th birthday bash. I love these people dearly, and can't wait to see them all again (especially you, GG!)!

Jean, myself, and birthday boy, Leslie

Leslie and (some of!) his women



Jean and myself with the incomparable David Ford

I love you, GG!

David Ford - 'Song For the Road'

Now I know someday this all will be over
and it’s hard to say what most will I miss

Just give me one way to spend my last moments alive
and I choose this, I choose this, I choose this
I choose this, I choose this, I choose this
I choose this, I choose this
Yeah I choose…this

{A Week in the Life (and Mandy Downloads Instagram!)]

Finstad Heart-Carrot. Growing together as one. Love.

Family.

Summer. Upright. Our cool iron gate. Patience while waiting for The Jean. Cutest purse I own.

{The Obligatory Garden Post}

We are about halfway through our 2011 garden season, so I thought I'd show a few photos of this year's 'haul' (if you can call it that) so far!

Tomatoes! This year we planted Cherries, Grapes, Big Boys, and Romas. Just in the last two weeks or so have they started to turn, so we're finally reaping our reward. Many of the larger ones are splitting along the shoulders, but they sure are delicious still!

In front and to the right of this you will find more tomatoes and one huge basil plant. To the near left is a row of carrots, and to the far left, two rows of kale.

This guy is just lovely...and unexpected! We have a long strip along our fence that was just weeds last year. We're not sure if the landlord planted something here or if our wildflower patch from last year blew seeds over (we suspect both), but amongst the weeds and greenery this year are tons of wildflowers and sunflowers!

Making dinner :)

A side view of our garden. The little hole in the bottom right corner is our front door/entry. The orange and white splotches at the bottom center are marigolds and petunias. Center right is our herb garden, including thyme, rosemary, and lemon verbena.

A straight-on shot of our front entry, flowers, mulch bed, and herb garden, as well as the awesome brick walkway that Jean just put in.

Threw this one in just for good measure ;)

{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!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Bye, Texas!
You'll be missed!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++