ann and dabney are headed to las vegas tonight, and will be posting their adventures and discoveries sporadically over the next week. happy new year's to all!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
no longer kiddos
once upon a time before ann entered the lucrative world of crafting, she ran an after-school program for teenagers. this was perhaps one of the happiest periods of ann's professional life; she walked to work each morning in her non-business casual attire, arriving leisurely at 10 am, preparing for the arrival of the greatest group of kids from all over the boston area. the goal: to make and talk about media - radio, web, newspapers, billboards, tv, film - no genre was left unturned.
last night was their first reunion in years. ann was a little apprehensive at first - worried about feeling old. after all, these kids were no longer the 15 and 16 year olds from her memory who worried about homework, parents, etc. but full-fledged adults living their lives, attending graduate school, renting apartments, and going to real jobs.
this picture doesn't show it, but there were actually alcoholic beverages on the table. ann found it incredibly surreal to be drinking with this group.
ann with the always cheerful lucia who went on to boston university greatness and is currently climbing the ranks at state street bank.
ann with chris and julie - a.k.a. the cutest couple ever. the always adorable chris is a senior at hamilton college in ny and recently studied in spain. back in the day, julie was a the biggest dave matthews band fan in the world and holds what has to be a record of seeing them in concert thirty times. now, julie is a program coordinator in dorchester. ann is happy to report she works with teens.
the giant with a heart of gold, levi is still the only mormon that ann knows personally. levi went on to make waves at brigham young university and is currently applying to law schools. he is still as handsome as ever.
always wise beyond his years, james was always the thinker of the group. later he honed his entreprenuerial zeal at babson college. james will soon marry his high school sweetheart. ain't that sweet?
ryan and neal (a.k.a. the nealmeister). ever-ebullient teens, now they are irrepressible young adults who light up rooms with their smiles. neal was one of the few fellow filipinos ann knew in new england. he went on to be a notre dame football fan and is currently at suffolk law. always one of the best writers and public speakers, ryan gave brandeis the gift of her presence for four years. she is now a vista volunteer at clark university and an avid knitter.
last night was their first reunion in years. ann was a little apprehensive at first - worried about feeling old. after all, these kids were no longer the 15 and 16 year olds from her memory who worried about homework, parents, etc. but full-fledged adults living their lives, attending graduate school, renting apartments, and going to real jobs.
this picture doesn't show it, but there were actually alcoholic beverages on the table. ann found it incredibly surreal to be drinking with this group.
ann with the always cheerful lucia who went on to boston university greatness and is currently climbing the ranks at state street bank.
ann with chris and julie - a.k.a. the cutest couple ever. the always adorable chris is a senior at hamilton college in ny and recently studied in spain. back in the day, julie was a the biggest dave matthews band fan in the world and holds what has to be a record of seeing them in concert thirty times. now, julie is a program coordinator in dorchester. ann is happy to report she works with teens.
the giant with a heart of gold, levi is still the only mormon that ann knows personally. levi went on to make waves at brigham young university and is currently applying to law schools. he is still as handsome as ever.
always wise beyond his years, james was always the thinker of the group. later he honed his entreprenuerial zeal at babson college. james will soon marry his high school sweetheart. ain't that sweet?
ryan and neal (a.k.a. the nealmeister). ever-ebullient teens, now they are irrepressible young adults who light up rooms with their smiles. neal was one of the few fellow filipinos ann knew in new england. he went on to be a notre dame football fan and is currently at suffolk law. always one of the best writers and public speakers, ryan gave brandeis the gift of her presence for four years. she is now a vista volunteer at clark university and an avid knitter.
dreams of straight flushes danced in their heads
no ralphie, red rider bb gun, no bunny suit, not even a sexy leg lamp -- this year, ann and dabney were introduced to the the mouth, the lizard, and the poker brat.
mike "the mouth" matasow
instead of watching twenty-four hours of a christmas story on tbs this year ann, dabney, and dabney's mom opted to indulge in another favorite activity... the world series of poker, which pretty much plays for twenty-four hours straight on espn2.
before this weekend, never had ann and dabney watched and played more poker in their lives. it was a pokerpalooza christmas... just like god intended.
mike "the mouth" matasow
instead of watching twenty-four hours of a christmas story on tbs this year ann, dabney, and dabney's mom opted to indulge in another favorite activity... the world series of poker, which pretty much plays for twenty-four hours straight on espn2.
before this weekend, never had ann and dabney watched and played more poker in their lives. it was a pokerpalooza christmas... just like god intended.
Friday, December 23, 2005
surprise!
just a moments glance at superette over the past week would tell you all you needed to know about dabney's mood lately. there's been some holiday dread, some bad news from friends, some raging hormones. all in all, it hasn't been a great holiday season.
but then, out of the blue, came this, courtesy of ann and dabney's good friends lucy and the tall guy.
meet evan shores johnson, born (a little earlier than expected) on december 22nd and weighing 5 lbs. and measuring 18.5 inches long.
evan, don't you know your remarkable timing will mean a lifetime of feeling gypped each birthday/christmas?
so, tomorrow, on christmas eve, ann and dabney get to go see this new little man. they are both so excited to meet him, and to give his parents big hugs.
but then, out of the blue, came this, courtesy of ann and dabney's good friends lucy and the tall guy.
meet evan shores johnson, born (a little earlier than expected) on december 22nd and weighing 5 lbs. and measuring 18.5 inches long.
evan, don't you know your remarkable timing will mean a lifetime of feeling gypped each birthday/christmas?
so, tomorrow, on christmas eve, ann and dabney get to go see this new little man. they are both so excited to meet him, and to give his parents big hugs.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
holiday projects
dabney has been all a-flutter in the kitchen baking her annual christmas cookies. this year's lineup: rugalah, sugar cookies, congo bars, pecan balls, and shortbread - all made with love.
with all the commotion eminating from the kitchen, ann has been keeping herself busy with her own little projects.
this year's holiday card:
family stocking stuffer... special edition mogo cell phone cleaner with locket:
with all the commotion eminating from the kitchen, ann has been keeping herself busy with her own little projects.
this year's holiday card:
family stocking stuffer... special edition mogo cell phone cleaner with locket:
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
craftland recap
ann and dabney are happy to report that saturday's craftland was a success and worth the drive down to providence for the day.
did you know that everyone in providence, rhode island knows each other? almost without fail, a person would walk in the door, immediately identify someone they knew, and run off to chat. as a result, ann and dabney couldn't shake the feeling of being the new kids in school. pushing their glasses back up their noses, they sat quietly with their cafeteria trays in the swirling midst of hugging, laughing people.
as one person said, there is a lot of "craft love" in providence (she also said it was so small that she had run out of people to have sex with, but that's her issue, isn't it?)
but some cool kids did come over to chat. in particular, ann and dabney loved the folks from if'n books and marks. erica from coffee drinker and teresa from sewing stars were our booth neighbors, along with derek and his funky salt & pepper shakers on the other side.
did you know that everyone in providence, rhode island knows each other? almost without fail, a person would walk in the door, immediately identify someone they knew, and run off to chat. as a result, ann and dabney couldn't shake the feeling of being the new kids in school. pushing their glasses back up their noses, they sat quietly with their cafeteria trays in the swirling midst of hugging, laughing people.
as one person said, there is a lot of "craft love" in providence (she also said it was so small that she had run out of people to have sex with, but that's her issue, isn't it?)
but some cool kids did come over to chat. in particular, ann and dabney loved the folks from if'n books and marks. erica from coffee drinker and teresa from sewing stars were our booth neighbors, along with derek and his funky salt & pepper shakers on the other side.
Friday, December 16, 2005
an email from dabney to the brandeis five that became a blog entry instead.
hi my friends-
lord almighty, becca, i am so with you on the PMS front. i think the PMS fairy looked around the female population this month and saw me and said "YOU! i haven't visited you for quite awhile and i think YOU ARE DUE for the special brand of crazy that i only can deliver." and lo, she came and she came packing a huge estrogen-laced wollap. so, i bow down to you PMS fairy, because you are worth every penny they pay you, and more even, because you are VERY GOOD at what you do.
so, combined with the holidays, i feel like crap. i dread being around my family this year. i dread gift buying (still haven't really dealt with THAT fully). blah, blah, blah. poor me. i have nothing REALLY to be sad about - i know that on a rational level - but i am still walking around feeling very sorry for myself indeed. seriously, i sat at the dining room table last night and just cried and cried in front of ann and ashbloem after dinner. and then we drank wine, and then we all cried together (okay maybe just ashbloem and i did). you know what it was that started me off? i lost an earring people. an earring. granted, it was an earring i have worn every day for the past five or six years, and i was attached to that earring, but still, it's an earring. and then i cried because feidler is old and won't be around forever, and then i cried when a great song started playing on the ipod, and by then i was just a big mess.
you know what i wish for? an all-friend holiday season, where everyone i enjoy goes off with me somewhere (anywhere but las vegas please) and we spend the two weeks together, and we don't exchange any obligatory presents, and all is relaxed, and no one has bronchitis, and we watch a lot of movies, and it's warm wherever we are. and maybe, just maybe there is ice cream.
that's what i want. and i am pissed off as all hell that i can't have it.
when the going gets ruff
with the holidays looming ever so close, dabney's mood hit rock bottom last night - so much so, in fact, that ann's dancing around in her underwear and socks couldn't even cheer her up. dabney's plan b - call ashbloem. x bottles of wine later, all three of them were feeling down in the dumps about the impending holidays.
that's when they pulled out the big guns.
plan c - the dog.
that's when they pulled out the big guns.
plan c - the dog.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
redefining the phone tree
in effort to create a festive display featuring the best stocking stuffer in the world, ann and dabney outfitted o tannenbaum in their own unique way by creating a christmas cell phone cleaner tree.
if you'd like to visit the phone tree in person, mogo will be in providence, rhode island at craftland this saturday, december 17 from 11-6.
if you'd like to visit the phone tree in person, mogo will be in providence, rhode island at craftland this saturday, december 17 from 11-6.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
the holiday malaise continues.
phase two of ann's christmas campaign to shake dabney out of her early winter blahs continued this past weekend. she pulled out the big guns on saturday with the swedish yuletide festival at the boston center for the arts. there were lots of tall blond people eating waffles and maribou chocolate, drinking glogg, and painting dala horses.
and it was very sweet. and very christmas-y.
on sunday it was handmade crafts at this year's bizaar bizzare. in short, there were great things there, few of which could be seen or enjoyed due to the overwhelming crowds and music. is this sour grapes talking here? no, no it's not. more here and here. dabney did manage to buy a porcupine pincushion from carryBOO!, which she loves. she thought about giving it as a gift to someone, but decided to hoard it as her own instead.
dabney rewarded ann's very noble (and no doubt desperate) efforts by staying up until three a.m. on monday night/tuesday morning watching (very conservative) coverage of stanley "tookie" williams' execution. who is this nancy grace person, and why does she have her own show on cnn? she's horrible.
and it was very sweet. and very christmas-y.
on sunday it was handmade crafts at this year's bizaar bizzare. in short, there were great things there, few of which could be seen or enjoyed due to the overwhelming crowds and music. is this sour grapes talking here? no, no it's not. more here and here. dabney did manage to buy a porcupine pincushion from carryBOO!, which she loves. she thought about giving it as a gift to someone, but decided to hoard it as her own instead.
dabney rewarded ann's very noble (and no doubt desperate) efforts by staying up until three a.m. on monday night/tuesday morning watching (very conservative) coverage of stanley "tookie" williams' execution. who is this nancy grace person, and why does she have her own show on cnn? she's horrible.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Friday, December 09, 2005
in search of spirits past
despite the cold temperatures, the jingle bells in the air, and sale signs everywhere, dabney can't seem to catch the holiday spirit and has been down right pissy about the season so far.
in an effort to get dabney out her bah-humbuggy mood, ann thought she'd force a little christmas spirit down her throat by dragging her to the nearest tree farm.
even though its a farm of trees, it somehow always reminds ann of hunting.
every year as they trudge through the fields, it comes down to the same topic of conversation - whether or not they should go for the perfect tree or a charlie brown, sad, and pathetic tree. their past experiences have shown that perfection runs rampant in tree farms due to the year-round mulching and pruning and, as a result, the latter is much harder to come by. so inevitably, the debate begins out of frustration in looking for the imperfect in a field of beauty.
they found this one which was a little straggly, with the added bonus of being a little crooked at the top.
still, they trudged on, hoping to find something sadder. when they didn't, they returned to the tree to consider it again. and then, they found this in its branches:
and that did it. if a little bird thought this little tree was good enough for its home, then ann and dabney thought that it's certainly good enough for their home.
so, they hacked through its trunk with a saw, ripped it from the only home it has ever known, strapped it down to the roof of their car, and stuck it in some water in their living room, for it to die a slow, browning death until the new year.
but first, but first, they stripped it of its dignity by overloading it with metallic balls, handmade garland made from old bingo paper, pipecleaner snowflakes, and lots and lots of glitter.
in an effort to get dabney out her bah-humbuggy mood, ann thought she'd force a little christmas spirit down her throat by dragging her to the nearest tree farm.
even though its a farm of trees, it somehow always reminds ann of hunting.
every year as they trudge through the fields, it comes down to the same topic of conversation - whether or not they should go for the perfect tree or a charlie brown, sad, and pathetic tree. their past experiences have shown that perfection runs rampant in tree farms due to the year-round mulching and pruning and, as a result, the latter is much harder to come by. so inevitably, the debate begins out of frustration in looking for the imperfect in a field of beauty.
they found this one which was a little straggly, with the added bonus of being a little crooked at the top.
still, they trudged on, hoping to find something sadder. when they didn't, they returned to the tree to consider it again. and then, they found this in its branches:
and that did it. if a little bird thought this little tree was good enough for its home, then ann and dabney thought that it's certainly good enough for their home.
so, they hacked through its trunk with a saw, ripped it from the only home it has ever known, strapped it down to the roof of their car, and stuck it in some water in their living room, for it to die a slow, browning death until the new year.
but first, but first, they stripped it of its dignity by overloading it with metallic balls, handmade garland made from old bingo paper, pipecleaner snowflakes, and lots and lots of glitter.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
pope fever
every time ann and dabney turn on the television they see another ad for a mini-series on former pope john paul II. it seems like cbs and abc each raced to get something on the boob tube after his death earlier this year. this week, ann and dabney humbly offer their own tribute, courtesy of one of dabney's favorite poets, sharon olds.
The Pope's Penis
It hangs deep in his robes, a delicate
clapper at the center of a bell.
It moves when he moves, a ghostly fish in a
halo of silver seaweed, the hair
swaying in the dark and the heat- and at night,
while his eyes sleep, it stands up
in praise of God.
The Pope's Penis
It hangs deep in his robes, a delicate
clapper at the center of a bell.
It moves when he moves, a ghostly fish in a
halo of silver seaweed, the hair
swaying in the dark and the heat- and at night,
while his eyes sleep, it stands up
in praise of God.
to be dark or to be blurry? that is the q.
for weeks now, ann and dabney have been working on their new mogo website: remembering their basic html, figuring out photoshop, illustrator and go live (thanks jeff!), understanding how online shopping carts work, etc... but the thing that has continued to stump them is how to take decent photographs of their product line using their trusty 2mp canon powershot s200 (circa 1999). the poor thing has taken its shares of knocks and blows, and gone around the world with them, but darn it, why can't the thing just focus for once?
too dark. can't see the shirt
blurry! ARGH.
so, the website remains a work in progress. still, they are happy to have something tangible and REAL up at last. check it out when you get a chance.
too dark. can't see the shirt
blurry! ARGH.
so, the website remains a work in progress. still, they are happy to have something tangible and REAL up at last. check it out when you get a chance.
Monday, December 05, 2005
'tis the season for xmas parties
holiday season kicked off with two fantastic parties. first was a blackcoffee bash at the silvertone bar & grill hosted by these two fantastic brand expressionists.
it was great fun for ann and dabney to mix and mingle with a creative crowd (hell, mixing and mingling with anyone other than the dog is nice for a change).
last night, interravision hosted her very own tree trimming party complete with egg nog, christmas tunes (with a few of journey's greatest hits thrown in for good measure), and childhood decorations. so fun - especially when ann hams it up for the snap-happy host.
santerra
it was great fun for ann and dabney to mix and mingle with a creative crowd (hell, mixing and mingling with anyone other than the dog is nice for a change).
last night, interravision hosted her very own tree trimming party complete with egg nog, christmas tunes (with a few of journey's greatest hits thrown in for good measure), and childhood decorations. so fun - especially when ann hams it up for the snap-happy host.
santerra
