New House, New Mural

You might remember the sweet robot mural we painted in the kitchen at our former abode. If you don't remember, we painted a giant robot on an orange wall in our kitchen. I was down with it in a major way.

We loved that mural, so when we put the ol' house on the market, we risked NOT painting over it. Fortunately, the buyer liked it, and said he intended to keep it. Smiles.

It didn't take long before I started clamoring for a new mural at our new house. Gerg agreed that a mural would enhance our hanging out. Fortunately, Sarah, the artist who painted the robot mural, was more than willing to develop a new mural for the new crib.

My homies know I go big when it comes to aesthetics, from hair to heels. A wall near the front entry revealed itself as the perfect mural wall. Sarah and I investigated big designs. Liz offered to share her overhead projector.

We were able to source all of the paint from our garage, which made this project hella cost-effective. The previous owners of our new house left behinds scads of paint, and we brought our collection from the old house with us. Sarah mixed some colors to achieve some hues. Liz and Sarah worked out the design. I assisted with painting and had a few homework assignments.

We dig the new mural. It's got pizazz.

Marie's Book Has Been Published!

Marie has self-published her first book.

This rising author has compiled her best works and written her first book of poetry; the volume, entitled Fresh Breath is now available on Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Breath-Marie-Martin/dp/1419663712/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225745958&sr=1-6.

Fresh Breath is a gutsy work of original, free verse poetry. Martin's takes risks as she reflects on her life as a vibrant young woman in Wisconsin and the Midwest.

Using imagery and straight talk, she writes of desire, gardens, lip gloss, ancestors, and broken hearts.

Inspired to create a book that was more than just poetry, Martin published her book in conjunction with Book Surge, a rising star in on-demand printing. Martin teamed up with graphic artist, Sara Jolin, to create a bold, graphically inspiring book combining poetry and graphic design.

Graphic artist, Sara Jolin, interprets each poem with eye-catching, haunting graphics. Martin's fascination with imagery is amplified by Jolin's spectacular graphic backdrop splashed across each page.

This book forms the culmination of poetry Martin wrote from 1999-2005. One reader commented, "It's great graphics, and tight, gutsy image poems."

Born in West Bend, Wisconsin, Marie Martin published her first poem at twelve years old in her school newsletter. An active student and writer, she continued writing poetry throughout the 80s and 90s. She was an award-winning poetry reader in the early 1990's, competing statewide, receiving dozens of honors for her inspiring interpretations of Longfellow and Alfred Noyes.

Martin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a bachelor's degree in English in 2001. While attending, she spent two intensive semesters under poet Douglas Flaherty's tutelage. As a graduate student, she served as the senior editor of The Wisconsin Review.

Six of Martin's poems were displayed at the "Release the Compassion" art installation exhibit at the historic Algoma Room in downtown Oshkosh in April 2003.

Currently, Martin is a senior editor for the Sustainable Agricultural Research Education Program in the Twin Cities. She lives in Minneapolis. She is a freelance editor and proofreader.

Her creative writing has appeared in: 400 University Drive, The Wisconsin Review, The Fence (issues 3 and 6), and The Rambler (vol. 5, no. 5).

Pinewood Derby

We celebrated gerg's birthday this year by hosting a pinewood derby party at our house.

It was awesome. Everyone made a car, and then raced for the grand prize - a photo with the birthday boy!

Check out all of the photos from the fun day here!

Gerg's favorite magazine, Make, was so impressed with the track he built that they featured it on their web site! Check it out!

Olympic Fever!!!!!!

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

Martin/Flanagan Wedding Photos

The candid photos in this set of photos from our wedding were taken by countless friends and family, including, but not limited to: Rose Martin, Michael Martin, Charlotte Flanagan, Jason Dietenberger, and Josh and Alicia Herman. 10 disposable cameras were available for people to capture images for the bride and groom as well.

We will post the professional portraits and photos when they arrive as well. These are just the candid photos.

We'd love to save your photos and videos along with our professional photos.

You can send an email to such22bring@photos.flickr.com with a photo or video attached to include it in our collection.

You can use the subject line to give your photo or video a title and the body to add a description.

Our Minimoon

Folks have been asking about our honeymoon.
Truth is, we didn't really have a honeymoon, yet.
We're waiting until the frigid winter hits, and then we're heading to the Bahamas.

Still, we wanted a little getaway, so we had a minimoon! 3 days and 2 nights in Stillwater, MN.

It was pretty much a last minute decision. A colleague recommended a getaway there the Wednesday before our wedding, and we headed there the Monday after the wedding.

We packed one backpack, strapped it to the back of the motorcycle and headed off to Stillwater on a sunny July afternoon. The weather was brilliant. So was the smoochin.

Highlights:
Riding the motorcycle over the lift bridge
Our cRaZy decked out "vault suite" at the Water Street Inn
Nacho Mama's nachos and big drinks
Sampling Schell's Freight House Pilsner, brewed exclusively for the Freight House Restaurant.

I wore green the whole time to celebrate my newly gained Irish heritage.

Check out our pics from our minimoon.

Our Vows

A few people have asked us if we could email our vows to them, or post them online.

Here they are!

Marie’s Vows

From this day on, I choose you, Greg, to be my husband.

I choose to live with you and laugh with you;

to stand by your side and sleep in your arms;

to be joy to your heart and food for your soul;

to bring out the best in you always;

and to be the best for you that I can be.

I promise to laugh with you in good times and struggle with you in bad;

to comfort you when you are downhearted;

to share with you all my riches and honors;

to rock out when you drum and dance in your sawdust;

to play with you as much as I can until we grow old;

and to love you sweetly and gladly as long as we both shall live.

Greg’s Vows

From this day forward, I choose you, Marie, to be my wife.

I choose to learn with you and explore with you;

to hold your hand and warm your toes;

to add youth to your soul and salt to your meals;

to support you always;

and to be a positive influence on our life together.

I promise to laugh with you in good times and struggle with you in bad;

to comfort you when you are downhearted;

to share all my crazy ideas with you and twirl my drumsticks for you;

to admire your passion;

to stay curious and look for the silver linings;

and to love you completely as long as we both shall live.