Congratulations Matt and Rebecca

Well Imogene is over for this year. Matt and Rebecca did an awesome job conquering the mountain. Rebecca ran almost the same time as she did last year. I don't know her place yet. Matt just missed his 3 hour goal, but he beat last year's time by 20 minutes. He came in 62 place. 1500 runners registered, but we don't know yet how many actually ran. Matt ran it this year in 3:02:45.

I just cannot understand how anyone could even do that. To run up a mountain and gain about 5000 feet in elevation is beyond anything I can comprehend. Yet the race filled up so fast this year with runners from all over. I admire each and every one of them for their commitment and dedication to the sport.

When you go to the website, it already has a clock ticking down the minutes until the 2011 race. I'll bet there aren't too many runners this evening that care how many days, hours or minutes until next year's race!

Matt took one fall and has some holes in his hands and one knee, but he's fine. He said you wouldn't believe how many people cross the finish line bloody. Brutal.

Well, now he can take a very short break and then continue his training. He'll be running in his first marathon on October 10 in Chicago. I am so excited that we will be there to cheer him on...if we can find him among the zillion runners!

Congats Matt and Rebecca. I'm so proud of you!

Good Luck Matt and Rebecca

Hi everyone! No baby news yet....but I don't think it will be too long now. I just wanted to take a moment to wish my son, Matt and his girlfriend, Rebecca the best of luck tomorrow as they run in the unbelievable Imogene Pass Run. Click here to read about it. 1200 runners will start off in one town....run up the mountain...and come down the other side! I can't believe people really do this. Matt and Rebecca ran it last year and they are going back for more!

Good luck you guys. I wish you both much success. I love you! Kick some A....

Hopefully I will be back some time in the next few days to share baby news with you! Hope all is going well.

So How Are Things?

I know...I am so MIA right now. I just have so much going on that by the time I sit down and would have a minute to blog....I'm too tired. So tonight I turned off the lights in the workshop early, grabbed my lap top and headed to bed. I have a number of things to tell you so I think I will have to do it over a few days. No, the baby isn't here yet, but it sure is getting close. He is due the 23rd. Tresa is just exhausted this weekend. Everything she does leaves her just drained. They went to the zoo today and all she could managed was an hour. Well, the good thing is that we know he will make his debut eventually...hopefully soon.

Next, I have to thank Angela of Pickles on Pizza...she has been so kind and so helpful with sharing her knowledge of vintage with us. I don't know what I would do without her. Irv and I are learning a lot thanks to her and her highly successful shop. We found a couple more things yesterday when we were out treasure hunting. We are learning what to spend our money on and what not to spend our money on. We still only have one little sale, but we are slowly getting the hang of it. We made lots of mistakes at first and I'm sure we will make many more, but it's all starting to make a bit more sense, so thanks Angela.

Do you sell or shop on e-bay? We don't....but we will be. I don't want this post to be too long, so I will tell you about the Shell Gasoline sign another day. It's a fun story with what will hopefully be a very profitable ending. I'll fill you in soon.

I have fallen off the exercise wagon again, and it's all because I am so addicted to Four Dog Vintage right now. It's all I can think about. I am actually working out a schedule to get myself back on track. I was doing really well and I don't want that to change. I have to figure out a way to balance working out, making healthy meals, walking and etsy around my full time job. I can do it. I just need to think it out. What do you do when you have more things to do in a day than there are hours in that day and it isn't just one day....it's every day? Any suggestions?

We finally have over 50 items in our vintage shop. I put in a lot of hours today to get some of our new things in. Here is the listing for that darling little antique toaster......

and I am so in love with this bowl!

My goal is to get too 100 items....we will get there some time this fall.

Michael and Bernadette have been working many, many twelve hour days since the start of school. Sometimes people don't realize how hard teachers really do work and the hours they put in. Thank goodness there are people willing to do that. I appreciate each and every one of you!

Matt is still training for the Chicago Marathon on October 10. He ran 18 miles yesterday morning! Bless his heart. I can't run one mile!

So....that's about it from here. I hope you are all well. I will try to check in with you during the week. Make it a safe and wonderful holiday tomorrow!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News......

My appointment was for 4:00 this afternoon. I finally saw the doctor at 5:00! He stuck his head in the door and peeked in before entering and asked if I was still okay. He said he always likes to check first when he is running so behind. It made me laugh. If it was any other doctor I would have been so pissed, but I really like this guy. This was my second visit with my new holistic MD. We were going to go over my lab work.

We sat and talked, and talked, and talked. He listened so carefully to everything I had to say. We talked about my health, my concerns, my new vintage shop, my hyper personality and much more. He never rushed me. He let me ask a hundred questions....and that is why I don't care if he is an hour late. I know I will have his undivided attention for as long as I need it when it is finally my turn.

It was another great visit with this amazing doctor. We discussed my supplements, my diet, what I'm doing, what I'm not doing and so much more. I have some things I need to change where my diet is concerned. I need to get off the gluten again and cut out the dairy. I need to eat more veggies....strange since I'm a vegetarian isn't it? He's right though.

My heart panel was excellent and that was good to hear. We spent a lot of time discussing my blood pressure. I've been off the meds for a few months, but my pressure isn't where it needs to be yet. We talked about things I can do to bring it down more.

I left there feeling so good about not just my health, but about everything. Can't remember ever leaving any of my former doctors and feeling that way. Thanks Doc!

I'm Here, I Really Am

Once again I find myself with way too much going on. I'm trying to prioritize, but first I need to organize. My clocks are starting to sell at the consignment shop, we opened Four Dog Vintage and are trying to add more items every week, I'm trying to keep Four Dog Day happy and our little grandson is due in a few weeks! The sign I have on my bulletin board at work says SLOW DOWN AND BREATHE....and it applies to home as well as at work!

Irv and I went to a big flea market on Sunday. We found some wonderful new things for Four Dog Vintage, but right now it is all over my house in varying stages of being cleaned, repaired and prepared for sale. I think there are things in every room of my tiny little house right now! I think we did a good job. Here is what we found....and it will hopefully all be listed this coming weekend.

The flea market started at 6:00 a.m. and we were there!

It was interesting to see how everyone displayed their wares.

I was a little disturbed by the amount of food items people were selling.....it made me wonder where they got it....and people were buying it like crazy. Ewwwwww...no thanks!

Some people just put their stuff on tarps right on the ground! It didn't make it very easy to look at what they had to sell to be honest with you.

Here are the things we bought.....this amazing antique toaster in excellent condition. Isn't it just the cutest thing ever?

A very old and rusty lunch box. Not sure why, but I have a thing about rusty metal!

This fabulous PINK clock that I am so in love with!

This wood sewing kit. It is actually full of old thread and needles. It's great!

So how 50's is this funky yellow tea set? Can you believe this? Just so cool!

This old mail box that Irv will be working on. It's a little bent and it makes it hard to open and close.

This darling little suit case....also in need of a tiny bit of repair, but I'm not worried....Irv is great at that kind of stuff! Right honey?

I also have a thing for shiny metal and I love these. I need a new one, so I just might keep it!

Who can resist an avocado colored bowl? Not me obviously!

Now we have to get it all ready and into Four Dog Vintage! Hope you have a great week. I'll be popping in to read some blogs later this evening if I don't fall asleep first!

Another Fun Day

It's 9:15 p.m. and I am getting ready for bed. We are getting up at 4:00 a.m. to be at a big flea market when it opens at 6:00. Why in heaven's name would they open at 6:00 a.m.? That is a rotten thing to do to people on a Sunday.....but we will be there!

Today Tresa and I met at Starbucks for a drink and some oatmeal. Then we headed over to Buy Buy Baby and to Babies R Us. I've never seen so many women in so many stages of pregnancy in one place before. It was pretty funny.

There were a number of things she needed, including an outfit to bring little boy home from the hospital in. Take a look at this......

and how about these?

We also went to some fabric stores. I am going to make some wall hangings for baby boy. They will be fabric covered wood boxes...like I use for my clocks. I will make two 12 inch by 24 inch ones in this awesome animal print, and then two 12 inch square ones...one in the dark blue and one in brown. We will hang them in a rectangle shape. I think it's going to be really cute and I'll show them to you when I get them done.

Then we also bought fabric so I can make two nursing covers. Have you ever seen or heard of those? They rank right up there with all of the other expensive things that we never had when we were having children that everyone thinks they need now. Tresa wanted a couple, so of course mommy is going to make them for her. Here are the two fabrics she picked. Aren't they great? I'm actually anxious to start on them when we get home tomorrow.

I have been so busy looking for treasures for Four Dog Vintage and then cleaning and photographing them and listing them in our shop that I really don't have time for much else. Once I get enough things listed I will be able to slow down just a bit. We are having a lot of fun and learning so much about vintage stuff.

Irv was having fun too until I told him we have to get up at 4:00 tomorrow.

Hope all is well with you. Have a great day tomorrow and do something really nice for yourself and for someone else!

About Face

Have you ever been so sure of the direction you were headed...only to suddenly take a turn and go an entirely different way....even when you were soooooo sure?

That is where I am right now.....I made the turn and now I am sure again....only the destination is different.

A while back I decided to stop creating and selling many of the things I had been selling in Four Dog Day. I let things expire, packed them up and put them away. I had some new ideas I planned to try.

Then something happened. Irv and I decided to open Four Dog Vintage. That is where the "about face" came in. Every spare moment I have right now I am spending on listing items for Four Dog Vintage. Poor Four Dog Day was already looking so sad and now it was just plain pathetic.

So.......here is what has happened. We are really excited about Four Dog Vintage. We are really starting to like the look and feel of the shop as little by little we are finding pieces to offer. In fact, this weekend we are headed to a huge flea market in the hopes of finding some awesome treasures for the shop.

What happened to the time I was going to have for Four Dog Day? Uh.....gone.

That's when I decided to haul out the boxes of things I wasn't going to sell any more. I have been relisting like crazy and Four Dog Day is once again looking like the shop it once was. I have a long way to go with quite a few things to list, plus some things that need to be rephotographed and then relisted, but you know what....I'm having a ball doing it.

I think I felt bad having things sitting here that should be in my shop. It just didn't feel right. It's funny too because I listed some of my coasters yesterday and immediately sold a set. They'll be headed to New York tomorrow.

Now things feel just right. Four Dog Day is looking pretty and Four Dog Vintage is growing little by little. Irv and I are having fun stopping at sales and researching items on line and in our super duper garage sale and flea market book.

Have you ever been heading one direction and thought it was right and then did a big turn and felt that was right too? What happened?

I still don't have much time for blogging, but I'll be back now and then to say hello. Make it the best day ever tomorrow, and do something really nice for yourself AND for someone else!