Somehow I got roped into being a judge for the karaoke contest at this year’s Wing Thing event. I don’t know who else will be judging, but I hear the mayor’s been asked. Should be fun, if not just a little painful.
Brenda and I will both be at this event, so if you’re in the vicinity, stop by and give us a shout. It’s this Saturday, July 1st at the Lafayette. More info can be found here.Â
Our article came out in the paper today, and overall, it didn’t stink too badly.
I am always worried about what I’ll see any time I am included in an article. I’ve been misquoted several times and they can generally muck it up. And while there were a couple things I kinda cringed at, I think overall he did a good job.
This was a young guy I’d never heard of before, but he seemed genuinely interested and seemed to understand us. Much better than if they’d sent over an older, veteran reporter.
It’s always a dual-edged sword. You can’t turn down free publicity, but you take a tremendous chance on what the final product will be.
Click here to read the article.
If it’s not available online, download a PDF version of the article
Just FYI, I was interviewed today by the Marietta Times about my company, FireBox Studios. I think it went pretty well, and the article will be in tomorrow’s (6/24/06) weekend business section.
Brenda’s ability to kill or maim any plant she comes in contact with is legendary. However, the big fern we got for the front porch is not a victim of this serial killer.
Shortly after we bought it, I noticed this little bird would always fly out of it when I came out the front door. I wondered if it was making a nest but didn’t really give it much thought. In a few weeks I kept hearing this weird noise and finally realized it was a bunch of chirping baby birds living in the fern!
So we’ve not been able to water the fern, but I suppose it will have died so the babies could live. A decent trade.
PS: Actually, Brenda did water the fern at least once before I told her there were chicks in it. So she may be guilty of trying to drown them.
As I mentioned in the last post (look below this one), there’s almost a whole year to recap. I won’t spend a huge amount of time on any one thing as I’m sure we all have better things to do.
The Beach
Last August we went down to Myrtle Beach with our friends Kelly and Julie and their two kids. I hadn’t been their since before Hurricane Andrew wiped out the beach house we’d been renting. It was great to be back, and I’d missed the ocean. We had a pretty good room at a nice hotel complete with a coffee bar. I even got everyone to Drunken Jack’s for dinner. Still the best dining at Myrtle.
Brenda’s account will probably be different, as she’s no fan of water, much less the ocean. I’m proud of her for doing as well as she did, namely going to the beach in the first place. That said, I doubt I’ll get her back there any time soon 
My Office
Once we got back, we finally got carpet laid in our downstairs family room and I was able to move the office downstairs. Just needed to get things set up better for clients and having Ryan come in every day. I didn’t get to do much to the office until the last couple months. Brenda’s dad got us some great doors to put over the extra doorways and replace the bathroom doors. Plus I got a new ceiling fan, which is great as whichever room has my computers is always the hottest room in the house. All in all, the office is shaping up, and is finally gettting to be what I wanted.
FireBox
My business continues to do well. Were a few months in a row that we were absolutely swamped. Word is really getting around and we’re really setting ourselves up with the Ohio tourism industry. Very cool. Right now we’re in a lull, so we’re using it to do some housekeeping. But some very nice jobs are right around the corner. More on that in a few days.
Brenda has been working as an administrative assistant at the Marietta Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) for the last several months now. I think overall she likes the job, but it pays peanuts and she’s only part time. What is really a killer is still being without insurance. Thank goodness we haven’t needed it (knock on wood for us).
She passed her paralegal course but unfortunately this area doesn’t seem to have a lot of opportunities in that field. She has also passed the initial testing with Public Debt, which is the first hurdle to getting on there. We’ve heard that it can take a while to get in the door, but once you’re in, it’s a great job. Here’s hoping.
Brenda has also become quite the little fashion designer. She’s been making beaded jewelry and small handbags that everyone seems to like. She’s been taking them to the farmers market while she builds up some inventory, and hopes to maybe sell them in some boutiques downtown. Soon I’ll try to post some photos of them. We take Mastercard and Visa
And by the way, all the animals are doing fine. Murray is still a bit chunky and getting slower in her old age, but still a puppy to me. Maybe if her dad could get off his fat butt, she could get some exercise. The cats are…well…cats. Salem is still pure evil. Atticus is still the alpha cat, and Sasha is still porky.
That’s the super short version. Hopefully since I’m back on the horse with the blog, this will be a rare looooooong post.
I’ve moved andrewandbrenda.com to a new server, upgraded the software, and am going to try this personal blog thing again. Last post was last August, right before we went to the beach. Also right before we went to the beach, Brenda registered her disapproval for doing the blog. Thus, no photos of the beach.
I think the main objections are either that a) she doesn’t like having our personal goings-on posted on the internet, or b) nobody really cares what we’re up to.
But thanks to some other family encouragement (thanks Carmella!), I’ve decided to start it back up. After all, I can always just talk about me
I think Brenda is warming up to it, though. Who knows, maybe she can be encourage to occasionally post stuff too.
So we’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Expect several posts to follow this one as I get back on track. Also expect the look of the blog to change at any time, as I’m experimenting with different themes.