Madtown Half Marathon Complete!

More Bling for the Trophy wall

Ultra!  For An "Ultra" Runner

"No PR for Cheryl, but a solid performance!"  Was the "Official" verdict from all interested parties.  (Just me and Cheryl, really) Her pace was sub 8 minute miles, with hills and rain and crowds to contend with.   Overall:  Not too bad.

Heavy Rains Pre-race

Runners will not be stopped.

We woke at around 4 A.M to the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning.  Cheryl checked her phone to make sure the race was still on.  It was.   Those runners have an "Unhealthy" relationship to running.

Ponchos are Confusing!

Cheryl smirks at the "unprotected"

It rained pretty hard for the ride to the start line.   It was so bad, we chose to stop and pick up a couple of Ponchos.  I even broke out the umbrella buried in the back trunk for extra protection.   The rain kept the crowds down.... or at least in their cars until about 10 minutes before the race.   We took that opportunity to hit the port-o-jons.

Before the rain stops.

Entering the Gate

Luckily, the rain trickled down to almost nothing when the gun finally went off.

10 minutes before the gun goes off.

Find Cheryl in this Picture...

 I almost missed Cheryl as she stepped behind a couple of tall guys near the front.

I had a second opportunity at mile one, but she was moving "So Fast!" that I only caught this Blur of an image.

Follow the Beers!

Mile one Blurs by!

And finally I managed to catch her at the finish.  Overall female:  She came in 19th.  (out of 794 females)  Several women from her age group happened to be way in front if her. (so probably no age group award)   Her overall time was 1:42:08.  Again,  Not her best,  but fairly consistent with this year's times.

Cheryl runs! While Guy checks Email

Time for Victory Pics!

After posing for a few "after race pictures"  Cheryl grabbed some loot and headed for the beer tent.  One thin can of Michalob  Light with a Veggy Sandwich from Panera.   Totally a runner's breakfast.

Look at all the LOOT!

Cheryl scores the Runner's Breakfast

Cheryl's Moment of "Zen".

Zazzle Buttons!

Zazzle Notebook

Cheryl inspired Business card.

So after a moment of Zen,   We drove back to the Hotel and cleaned up.

 Upon arrival home,  Cheryl was rewarded when she received her order from Zazzle.  One Notebook,   some buttons and a business card.   With a little luck, we will be able to use them later this summer.   Time will tell.

Hope everyone is having a fun Sunday this weekend.   I forgot that it is Memorial Day Weekend.   I see all the American Flags on the graves of the fallen or past heroes.  I like that.  As a Veteran,  it's cool to think I will get one someday ( hopefully not for a VERY long time).

 Even though my contribution to the safety of this nation was minimal at best.   I could explain that the Terrorist knew better than to attack while I was on the job....  But I'll save that story for another blog post.  Cheers!

Finally ...BUTTONS! And more Driveway Drama.

OK, first the good news: The Long Awaited Buttons have arrived! I feel down right diabolical! Like I could now take over the world! It has been a long trial, but I finally achieved victory! We placed another order for the remaining buttons yesterday, but those are not as urgently needed as these ones were. So...Mission objective achieved! YEAH! Now then the bad news.....The driveway. Seriously it is becoming a problem. The UPS guy will not drive on it with all those "warning" Tape strewn about. so he put my box at the END OF THE DRIVEWAY! It is a good thing it was not raining...or that someone else decided they wanted it! I don't really blame him....I don't like walking that long walk either....especially with a box on my shoulder. It has been 12 days now....they told us 10. I believe we have been more than patient....but we have to carry things to our house from the road. And NOW we can't even rely on deliveries that we desperately need to arrive in the appropriate manner. It's becoming annoying now...and Cheryl and I have begun our campaign of rebellion. ( i.e. Cutting the ribbon in the middle of the night.) It is a small act...but if things continue...I may have to escalate things. MMUHHAHAHHHAAAA! OH! And felt should be arriving today....good thing too because we are rather busy. And we need that as much as the buttons. I plan on cutting them up as soon as they arrive. We have already sold most of the bolts! There is just so much left to do that driveways can not be bugging me. We shall see.

Who Knew Purchasing Buttons could be Such A Challenge?

Three days after being convinced I solved our button supply problem, we are still without buttons and I have to call the company AGAIN. ( This will be 4 times total) I'm not sure why we are having this hiccup, but I'm very close to mailing them a money order or driving down there in person and purchasing them face to face. I'm actually not angry, just frustrated. We are on the downhill side of a snowball and are running with untied shoes! If we take too long to tie them....well, squish! So I have to call again this afternoon and HOPEFULLY everything will turn out.. Now the felt store is giving us a problem as well....go figure. The Price of Business is far higher than the price tag at the market. To all those folks who wonder why prices are so high....here is one of the many reasons. Well...enough of this rant. Time to roll up the sleeves and get those buttons! OH! And we sold 30 stockings today.....Cheryl is beginning to panic a little. I don't want to overwhelm her too much . She is the sewer after all. And I will soon be laid off if I can't cement my position as Chief Button Sewer in the Allenbrite Business. We shall see.

Making Snowflake Buttons!

That is CORRECT! I'm in charge of the buttons for the stockings now, and that includes MAKING them. You see, the supplier seems to be unable to keep up with our demand, ( isn't it always that way?) So I have been saddled with the task of finding a solution to this problem. After several trials, I found an alternative that even Cheryl approves of. I have to cut the snowflakes out with a punch, punch out two holes, and then shrink them in the oven. It's very much like baking cookies, only they do not smell as nice. And you can't get as fat eating the finished product, ( but you will get as sick) So, there you are! You have to make sure you get a punch large enough because these smaller ones Cheryl believes might be TOO small. I'm very pleased with the results, however, they still take a lot of time to make. Hopefully Cheryl will be able to track down the Wholesale button manufacture so we can get a box of the buttons we need. We seem to be going through the snowflakes fast! And I prob ably will not have the time to make them as I did this weekend. We shall see....

Back to Etsy!

So I thought that I should start promoting my blog once again instead of this previous year where I did nothing. Since I don't really carve anymore, The midnightcarver may not make much sense to those people just joining me. But, the outwestwoodcarver is catching me in followers and he has been on only slightly longer. Besides, I'm not sure people really care what I have to say anyway. And my tastes in pop culture may be a little odd to the mainstream. Ah well, I have been blogging for three years now and I'm rather fond of it. There is always something really cool to write about...and post pictures. Picture is worth 1000 words, right? Anyway, I listed buttons today. The internet at the Wellman Library is a little slow, but after 4 hours....I managed to get them all listed. ( 4 hours not from the amount to list...but because of the slow connection. If the Etsy site is back up.. Check them out in the specialty section!

YEAH! Our First button sales!

It's true, even with a years experience, you still never know what will happen when you start up a new shop. Or make a new product change for that matter. ( i.e. book finding vending machines to carving to sewing to product supply.....etc) But today the ice was broken by our first sale. I know..it has only been three days since the shop was first put up. And the sales are not HUGE...but they are the beginning and that is good enough for the moment. At least we now know that people are looking and our shop is set up right. By the way...have you seen the weather? Glad we are not in Michigan at the moment....lol. Ah well low batter at the laptop tells me that I need to make this post brief. Hope everyone is having a great week so far.

Waiting for wholesale supply

Ever wonder why certain things cost so much at stores? It's because they have to deal with wholesalers....Cheryl and I have been waiting for two weeks to get some supplies from a wholesaler and it has been very " interesting" so to say. Well, hopefully things are wrapping up now and we should be getting them soon. Hopefully they will arrive today! It leads me to also understand the wholesale mentality when it comes to dealing with customers. They probably do not want to be bothered with every nickle and dime order that comes around...nor do they want to deal with customers complaints or demands. That is what the retail store is for. Speaking from experience, I know what it is like to deal directly with the customer...and sometimes it is just not worth the effort. I would rather take a hit on the profit if I can deal with a store that purchases several dozen ( or millions ) of items at a time. Ok, Enough of my rant. Hope everyone is having a great Friday! The weekend is Upon us and hopefully you will be able to take full advantage of it. Enjoy!