My Reality : April 2009

My closing comment in my last post was about not going so long in between posts...so much for that!

I feel like I have been going non-stop the past few weeks and April just disappeared! So what have I been up to? Well last weekend I was in Ohio for my friends' wedding. It was an absolutely beautiful day and wedding! And it was like a mini-ASP reunion, as Allie and Jeremy (the two getting married) met while working for ASP. There were about 20-30 ASP folk there, and it was so great to see them! You know how some things or people just make your heart swell when you see them or think about them?? Well that's how ASP is for me. It has a huge place in my life and every time I think about the people, places, and things associated with ASP, my heart just smiles! I can't imagine my life without it, so it was great to have that back in my life so prominently - even if just for a weekend.

Here's a glimpse of the wedding.

The meetinghouse where the ceremony was held.

Saying their vows. Even the reverend was a past ASP staffer. It's an amazing group of people. P.S. Don't you think her dress is absolutely beautiful!?! I love it!

After the wedding instead of blowing bubbles or throwing seeds, they passed out Ale8 - a soda that is like gold to ASP staffers (It's only available in Kentucky) - and were driven off in this cute little buggy.

3/5 of Mingo Co Staff 2007. Me, Allie, and Brendan.

Me, Allie, and Abbie (another one of my favorite staffers!).

The whole group of staffers (past and present) that were at the wedding. I love these people!

Anyway, back to my recent adventures and activities...

The past week, and the night before I left for the wedding, I spend most of my time immersed in a paper mache project for a theme meal I had to put on. I thought it was going to be the end of me. Last Thursday I drove up to Denver (because I was flying out the next day for the wedding) with plans to paper mache some pears with my friend, Kim. At first we were pretty excited about this, but we quickly realized this was going to be quite the undertaking. We ended up spending the next several hours blowing up balloons, taping them into the shape of a pear, and covering them with strips of paper mache. Our end product was 12 paper mache pears, many of which I wasn't sure would make it through the weekend (Kim's dog likes to eat things he shouldn't). Anyway, the pears did make it through the weekend, and I returned to my home in Colorado Springs with them at the end of the weekend. After work Monday, my task was to paint the pears green. Let me make a side note here that this whole idea was one of the food service supervisor's, so each of my steps in making these pears were based on her suggestions -- not that this next part is by any means her fault. Back to my story... I go to the store to get spray paint for these pears and I find the perfect color green paint. I mean perfect. AND it was only $2.50. So I buy the paint, head home, and set up shop in the alley behind my apartment (I'm pretty sure I entertained a few people that night). However, when I start spraying, the paint barely covered the newsprint from the paper we had used. Who would have thought?! I guess I should have used plain old computer paper. I continued to spray all 12 pears, even though it wasn't working, and then I spent the rest of the night freaking out/contemplating what to do. Do I re-paper mache with computer paper? Do I buy A LOT more spray paint and spray to my hearts content? Do I buy heavy duty house paint? or Do I forget the whole project and give up? I only had Tuesday and Wednesday to figure it out because Thursday was the big show. After a day in the kitchen Tuesday, I decided I was just going to drop the money on having some paint mixed and go from there. Long story short, I found a paint sample of the same green color, had it mixed (for relatively cheap), and painted the 12 pears by hand. The next day I picked some sticks and leaves off the ground and attached them to my pears to look like beautiful real pears. And I must say, they look amazing!! The theme meal went off without a hitch, and my decorations seemed to be a big hit. Another project to cross off my list!!

Here's some pictures of my meal: "We Go Together" - a theme meal of famous pairs.

A close up of a my paper mache pear. Pretty good, huh?

The main display in the cafeteria where people get their trays. It's Sandy and Danny from Grease...this is where my inspiration came from for the theme meal - We Go Together.