TC Terrors - Boys like Roller Derby Too...

Now that Blogger seems to have calmed itself down and started accepting photos again (apparently it was a system wide problem, even popular blogs had to deal), here are those few shots I got from the Men's Derby last weekend:



In comparison to the two female leagues we've seen, I'd have to say it was different but quite fun. I loved the small venue (which happens to be the same roller rink I frequented as a child). It was our first time sitting track side, and though we didn't "catch a derby boy" (you still have to give them back) we definitely felt close to the action. And there was a lot of action - it was much less controlled than the ladies, with a constant air of chaos that was very exciting. Lots of pile ups:



Sadly, my camera battery died pretty early on, so I didn't get any great shots of the egregious fashion errors on the track. You'll have to take my word about the blue metallic hot pants and leopard print Lycra shorts - and let's just say neither were worn by gladiators.



This was the final bout of their season (black - the "Destruction Workers" won by a landslide over the blue "Skate Paulie Boys") but I'd definitely go back next season. And beer was only $3, as opposed to $6+ @ the bigger venues!



The crowd was comprised mostly of rollergirls, which also probably added to the atmosphere. At halftime a strange band of very skinny men dressed as ninjas played, but since their mouths were covered by their ninja suits, I couldn't make out a word they sang. They also had red laser pointers on their heads, like headlamps for spelunking but with red bulbs. I would think this counteracts any ninja stealth the rest of the outfit provided, but clearly I have not studied the (art? trade?)ninja rules.

It's the little things that keep you going...

My house is by no means clean, but I feel extremely accomplished heading back into the fray of things this week. It could be the gorgeous weather we're having, or the continued Roller Derby madness, but I'm definitely in a spring-y mood.

Small weekend triumphs:

Refilled the soap dispenser in the bathroom
We're eco-friendly like that. Sometimes.

Assembled 2 shoe racks for the porch
that have been sitting out there in their boxes for 6 months

Folded & put away 10 loads of laundry.
TEN. And I'm not caught up yet. And apparently I'm never been
even this close to caught up, because without half of my clothing
being in a queue for the washer, it doesn't all fit in my dresser
or closet. Luckily we're hitting 70 most of the week, so it seems
that I can pack away the sweaters and coats!

Charged my camera battery
After it died mid-derby. So you don't get to see the weird ninja band. So sad.

Finished a book
Not admitting what it was though.

Sorted and filed FOUR banker's boxes full of paperwork
I'd gotten pretty behind...and I miss my shredder

Watched SEVEN movies:
None of them good. Seriously. Skip ALL of these!
Jennifer's Body
Couples' Retreat
Post Grad
The Marc Pease Experience
500 Days of Summer
The Vampire's Assistant
Stepbrothers

Slept in TWO DAYS! WHOO HOO!

Unpacked my craft show suitcase,
and in the process finding many "missing" items

All in all it was a very tolerable weekend. Blogger is being a photo spaz right now, so I don't have any accompanying pics for you, but if it clears up stay tuned for a few men's derby shots - you'll want to see them just for the fashion disasters. Lycra is a privilege, not a right...

Excellent Events, coming soon!

This marks the first Saturday in months that I've been free, and I'd love to promise all sorts of cleaning and crafting, but it's much more likely that I'll stumble across some bad tv marathon and spend most of the day in my pj's. It's a recurring theme on my Sundays so far. And I won't be too terribly sad if that's how today goes, though I'd hope to a few things organized around the house.

And I do have a couple fun adventures planned, yay spring!

First off, this evening we're rounding out our derby tour by taking in the MEN'S bout @ Cheapskate:



This poster has no time (uh...duh?) but the website says it starts round 7, let's hope that's right. I'm quite interested to see how the men match up to the two women's leagues we've seen so far.

Then, a bit farther down the road, I'm looking forward to Krista's Goth Dinner Party. How awesome does that sound?!?!? There are far too few theme parties these days, or at least I never seem to get invited to any, so this is EPICALLY exciting in my book. I've also been a secret goth admirer, though much too perky to ever pull it off, so I'm very curious to finally try out a goth look, and already have a few ideas in mind. I'm terrible with makeup, but found this handy dandy little "map"



What do you think, can I pull something like that off? :)

Speaking of costumes, I also have to get moving on the 2nd (annual?) Coney Island Mermaid Parade ensemble for 2010! This time hubby is coming along, though I wouldn't expect a costume out of him, it'll definitely be easier to get photos with him there to snap them. I've got an idea (TBA) and a pattern, now I need to actually hit the fabric store (and then probably just ship all the pieces off to Ryan :) It would be awesome to get it started this weekend.

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society."
~Mark Twain

“CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.” - Ambrose Bierce

When performing a back hand spring on a trampoline, you need to land both feet together, or you send a huge shock wave through the first foot when you stick the second (and bounce the trampoline again).



Why didn't I know this? Hmmm, maybe because I've never done a back hand spring, let alone on a trampoline?!?!?! And I can't even do a back somersault? And when I launch into something physical I just hope and assume that my limbs are following along?

I got my first circus class "injury" last night, nothing serious, but I immediately felt a pain shooting through my thigh that I knew wasn't good. It's lingered, made sleeping a little difficult, and my hip aches now sitting at my desk. It will probably interfere with skating if it doesn't go away ASAP. Boo.

But on the bright side, I did a back hand spring :)

There were two spotters and I'm pretty sure one of them forced my legs go over my head (they don't seem to do that on their own) but I still consider it a triumph, as something I never thought I'd do.

All in all it was a tough night under the big top. I actually wavered on going as I'd been home sick all day. I drove halfway there, but the thought of spinning on a rope led me to declared it a no go. But later I reconsidered and decided to tough it out. I was rewarded with: conditioning. UGH! Station 1 was a full 20 mins of core work. If I enjoyed that kind of crap I'd have just joined a gym. But I don't enjoy it. I just want to play on fun circus equipment :) Now I certainly realize that having any amount of core muscles would make playing on the equipment easier and more fun, but it's not like 20 mins is going to change my body so that I can suddenly master the hoops. But I endured.

Next up was the silks. Remember Pink's performance at the Grammy's? That was silks:



I was optimistic, after my unexpected rope climbing success last week.

Climbing silks is not like climbing a rope. It's more like climbing a rubber band. You climb and climb and climb, and you've only gotten 6". Very defeating. But I did manage to do this (we're low on purpose, I actually did climb a bit higher than that the first time):



followed by this:



which would look pretty cool if I could extend my back leg :) D'oh...

...followed by an even less elegant dismount :) I was in a group with a woman who had taken the class for years and she could do some pretty awesome stuff, so it was fun to watch. I can't get a handle on the most basic things - like wrapping your foot in the silks and standing on it squishes your foot. Or sitting on the hard bar of the hoops or triple trap hurts your butt. I guess I'm soft, I just can't do these things without thinking everything hurts!

The tumbling trampoline was the 3rd and final station of the night, good thing because after my back handspring I was down for a while. No class next week for spring break (hopefully my hip/thigh works itself out by then), but otherwise I'm more than 1/2 way through! 3 classes to go, and I'm hoping we get to try unicycles at least one of those :)

Roller Derby, Arggggh!

After all the huffing and puffing about mermaid hair, I ended up going a totally different direction. Apparently I was feeling too dark & moody to pull off sea nymph, not to mention I hated the wig, and had about 12 minutes to get ready on Saturday, so I'm glad I had a back up plan. I decided to go for another high seas look with a little more attitude: PIRATE!!!



I'm really glad I went this route. It was fairly easy to pull together with stuff I had lying around, it was comfortable, and the few new pieces that I did pick up I love.

Here's what I used:

- pirate scarf (made into a hat), jeweled brooch, and eye patch were from an old costume years ago. They don't take up any room to store, and I love having a go-to box of props for last minute costumes.

- white cotton skirt from Target - $12. I got one in black too, but the contrast was more exciting

- giant jeweled necklace and matching earring are borrowed from Ryan, same set I wore for Halloween. The big rings are all from my jewelry box.

- red fishnets I had lying around, and the chunky mary janes are my usual dress shoe right now, they are actually really comfortable but still have a heel.

- the halter top was my biggest purchase, $32 @ hot topic. I had to be judged by all the alterna-teens while shopping, but I'll wear this often in daily life. It's got fun details and really shows off my ink in back, I love it! :) (I did cut the tag off before going out). The wristlettes and leg warmers are also hot topic, $12-14, but I can wear both again.



- the face jewels are left over from the Mermaid Parade last year, and I was liberal with the black eyeliner, and that was it! I was super disappointed that more people weren't dressed up - there were a few people in themed western attire, otherwise me, Carin, and a Narwhal were pretty much it:



Luckily Carin's costume was so awesome, it pretty much made up for the lack of effort by the rest of the crowd. She was mobbed with photo requests, like this dude (no idea who this is):



There were a lot of differences between the leagues, but to accentuate the positive I'll say that the North Star league had MIXED DRINKS! WOOT WOOT! That was fairly exciting. We have one more stop on our derby domination month with plans to see the TC Terrors MEN'S Derby in action next week.

iPod Case

I love it! This is the little padded pouch I just got for my iPod. It fits the cords and everything:




From Wiggletiggy via Etsy. They come in all different sizes, or a variety of other monsters too. This little guy matches my coat, and my iPod.

Look, look, an actual CRAFT!

That I made! All in one sitting!
It seems like it's been a while, but I swear I'm not done crafting. I just rarely sit still long enough to complete a project these days, what with all the working + laundry + flying trapeze... But occasionally I do squeeze it in, like on Sunday when I went to a Stampin' Up workshop and made some really cool things.

I've come to realize that I'm actually a really crappy stamper. It's annoying, but getting frustrated about it doesn't make it any better - it just makes me want to do it less often :) But I have a few friends who are really into stamping, and they persuade me to try again every few months. This past weekend we did some techniques that didn't actually involve stamping images, which was music to my ears! Check out the beautiful boxes we made - and pay close attention to the green marbled paper on top:



Not only did we make the boxes, but I MADE that paper too! Well, not the paper itself I guess, but the design on the paper - we used a technique called "polished stone" to mimic marble, and I love how mine turned out! It's two shades of green stamp re-inkers, gold, and rubbing alcohol on shiny paper. And a lot of luck. I'm so impressed with myself!



The flowers are just various punches like the place cards I made for Al's wedding. I think I'll use this for a small gift box. We also made cards using the same technique (and a couple stamps - but I had more success than usual, so I'll try to get a pic of them up eventually).

Heather's Mailbag: Hello, Cupcake!

I've mentioned my cousin Holly before, she's an avid scrapbooker and queen of pretty presents. A few weeks ago she send me a delightful surprise in the mail, a chipboard album in the shape of a cupcake!



She had personalized it with images of my wonderful surprise party:



It's so stinkin' cute!



Each page is embellished too - she put a raised "30" in place of the candles on the cake page above. Such attention to detail!



Ahh, I can relive the fun each time I look through it :)

Thanks so much Holly, I love it!

Mermaid it is...

I had half an hour to kill yesterday before "book club" so I stopped at a local party store to see if I could get some costume inspiration. Even though it's not close to Halloween, they still had two long rows of costume accessories, including a lot of wigs. I wasn't looking to spend much money, but nothing I had at home had me very fired up. I ended up getting this wig:



It is called a "pirate wench" wig, but I plan to use it with one of my mermaid costumes - I'll take out the big floppy ties and add on my shell crown and some pearls, that should work. For some reason I just can't abide a short-haired mermaid, so this is the extra piece I needed to pull off either of my existing costumes. I thought the colors were sort of reminiscent of the multi-colored hair my mermaid tattoo has.



I also liked that it was long enough to feel long, but wouldn't completely cover my back or get in the way like a Lady Godiva wig would. I'm leaning towards the blue costume, in which case I need to find some pearls - the ones I wore at Coney Island were actually Ryan's Christmas garland :) But I loved how they looked, they really added dimension to the front. Even if they did try to choke me a few times. If I end up going with the green one instead, I think I'll make a new crown out of seaweed & shells, to match the more "flower child" feel of that outfit.

Decisions, decisions...

Time for Spring, I Say! (well, the creepy little gnome says)

I had this post all laid out on Friday, about costumes I'd gathered from my closet, sort of a tour of last minute cheap easy costume ideas as I sorted through what to wear to the NSRG bout on Saturday. I figured I'd play some dress up, snap some pics, do a trial run...

I didn't get to it.

Oops.

The pace of life has certainly risen with the temperatures, to the point I've had to start relying on my calendar in fear I'll miss something big. I'll have to cram the costume search in sometime this week, because between coaching, pooper scooping the back yard, Mom's birthday dinner, a craft class, a lunch meeting, and finishing up borrowed books - my weekend somehow passed me by.

Extricating myself from bed this morning was AGONY - I have to say I had really gotten used to it being just a little light out when I was trying to convince myself to go to work. That argument gets much more difficult when it still looks like night. I know it'll only be dark again for a few more weeks, and it'll be nice to see some sun when I get home, but it makes for a sleepy, surly Monday morning.

I took some photos of projects this weekend, but have yet to upload them, so instead here's a little vintage Spring strangeness for you:

Make It Work

So far I've only seen the Minnesota Roller Girls, but our fair state actually has TWO successful and competitive women's flat track roller derby leagues - the other being the North Star Roller Girls. They play in Minneapolis, and as an added bonus, they ENCOURAGE YOU TO WEAR A COSTUME TO THE BOUT!

Do the caps accurately portray my excitement?

I love getting dressed up! It's the one thing I miss most since Ryan moved away.

Here's what NSRG says about bout attire:

We are proud to announce our season-long costume party!
Part of the unique thrill of being a roller girl is adopting an alter ego and flaunting it in public. We want to share the fun of that experience with our fans, so we're inviting you to show off your secret side for us and come to our bouts dressed up up in whatever costume you desire. More.

So now the question is, what to go as? I have one week, a crabby sewing machine, and no money, so first let's look at what I have laying around. At the top of my list is:


The mermaid Ryan made for the Coney Island parade last year. It would be nice to wear it again, and with the flesh colored bustier and sparkle pasties, it's pretty flashy. I've cut my hair, but I have a few wigs laying around I could work with.


I have this Queen of Hearts, but the more I see it the more I hate it. I just picked the wrong materials. The trim around the heart was like $100 but the whole thing looks like a $20 costume. And I'm pretty much over the whole Alice thing for a while. Won't be wearing this one, though I could re-purpose the pieces.


Oh, beloved Bjork. You would be so fun to wear out in public, but alas, you've found a new home.



I also have another mermaid-ish outfit I've yet to wear, the sundress I had custom made from my own design :) Yay etsy! It's very comfy, but very summery - it was specifically designed for last year's mermaid parade before I decided to go another direction. I'd have to come up with fun hair for this one too.

Another option is to assemble something new with all of the random pieces I have laying about - and boy, do I have pieces: Feather boas in all colors. Sparkling tiaras. A wand. Several styles of Mickey Mouse ears. More than one ill-fitting ballgown. I think I could probably throw together a decent princess, prom queen, fairy (not sure if I have wings anymore?), pirate, goth, or zombie (though I'm no good at make up) with zero work. Decisions, decisions. Hmmm, guess I have some serious dress up to play in the next week to figure something out!

Circus Class 3: Triple Trapeze, Hand Balancing, German Wheel

The Triple Trapeze sounds like it should be AWESOME (if one trapeze is fun, isn't a TRIPLE trapeze guaranteed to be better? It should be like MegaDesk). But...it wasn't. Such a let down. A triple trapeze is STATIONARY, you do the same sort of poses we did on the hoops my first night - but with 3 people all in a row. Looks like this:




It still kicked my ass, I won't lie, 3 weeks is not enough to "grow" stomach and upper body muscles :) But I tried as much as I could, and actually got myself up and down several times.

Hand Balancing was a big ol' can of AWKWARD. I'm just not into climbing on strangers. And I'm not strong enough for them to climb on me. I basically stood around watching the one tiny person climb on the one big dude. Yawn.

The saving grace for the evening was the German Wheel!



This was pretty fun. My favorite (because it was a little scary, and required some but not a ton of muscle to accomplish) was just rolling solo like a cartwheel:




I wasn't as worried about falling off and breaking my neck as I was about running over my fingers or toes - or my partner's fingers and toes, when we did stuff like this:



but everyone left with all of their digits intact, so the night was a success! We did slightly less conditioning, and other than my arms I'm not that sore today. I've been told next week we can do the globes, which I'm excited about. There is a class of kidlets working on these when I get to class early, and they just make it look so easy - I've heard from other people in my class that it's very hard! And I've seen a few of the little ones take some spills too, so there is sure to be excitement when I try :) But if dancing bears can do it...

3 down, 5 to go.

I have a confession:

I'm not excited about the new Alice in Wonderland movie.



When I try to write up my reasons, they just sound whiny and very 1997, so I won't elaborate. It's something along the lines of how you "discover" something and think you're the only one, or maybe not the only one but one of few who really enjoy it, and that's part of the specialness. Like a band, or a dive bar. And then some giant marketing force comes across and not only mainstreams, but oversells the heck out of it. Suddenly you can't even get into the concert or bar or coffee shop or whatever, let alone enjoy it how you used to. And while you're happy to see the success, something is lost in that popularity. I'm not saying I was the only one who knew about a book that's been out since 1865. And I genuinely like Burton-esque aesthetics. But something about 3-D, a million advertising tie-ins, and merchandising that began months before the movie was released just zap all the fun out of it for me.

See, whiny. Angst-y. I just can't articulate the feelings correctly.

Have you seen it? Should I go?

Happy Birthday (not so) Little Mermaid

I still haven't named her. She still feels new. But it was one year ago today that I first woke up with a face on my back:



Session one was just her outline from the waist up, and the beginning of the black and brown shading in the hair. The first session was actually tolerable, if only in retrospect. While the black outlining was ridiculously painful, it was nothing compared to all of the tail work that came later, since that sucker wraps itself up and down my spine like an "S." NOT RECOMMENDED!

I should have worn a halter top in honor, but even our "heat wave" (it's 39 degrees today) doesn't really permit that, so I'll give this little cyber salute instead.

And Mom, since I know you still cringe every time you see this - look on the bright side: it makes my body that much more identifiable if I get murdered, or lost at sea, or stricken with amnesia. That's got to be helpful, right? :) I also think the med students who end up with me (assuming I donate my body to science) are going to be amused. Especially if I'm 95 years old and they have to decipher what it is.

Weekend Fun

Hung out in the sunny living room (FINALLY!) with Stormin' Norman:



More Roller Derby Action:



Guns & Roses Cover Band @ halftime:



Can't see them? Here's a shot from their website, just so you don't miss the effect:



Nice wigs dudes.
And now for something way cuter:



Pretty new purse! This wasn't planned, but when we met in Patina, I couldn't leave her on the shelf. I think it's going to be a perfect travel purse for my upcoming adventures (TBD). Even the back is cute!



I'm slowly feeling better from all the shocking muscle usage at circus class & Rollerdome, just in time for another session of each! Can't wait to see what this week brings :)

Maybe not with the greatest of ease, but there was definitely flying...

And I definitely felt daring.

Circus Class #2 certainly brought some excitement. I will admit after the first class I was epically sore from Thursday - Tuesday. Wednesday I was feeling better, but after an hour and a half with Carin at the Rollerdome, my back and feet were aching again. I was a little nervous for Thursday to roll around again, and I won't say I didn't consider for a moment or two if this was something I should keep doing, but in the end I was just too excited at the possibility of trying everything. I mean, they practically turn you loose in a circus! The glee and amazement far outweigh the embarrassment at not being able to do most of it, or at least not well. :)

And class #2 brought the "event" which had inspired me to sign up for the class in the first place.

Can I back up one more time to say that while they mentioned trapeze in the course description, I still kept thinking it was something we built up to. I thought there would be instruction, and ground practice, and but I guess I've been blown away by all of the things we've done so far, and a bit incredulous that someone is "letting" me try such things. Do they have me confused with someone else? Is this a "9-1-1 call waiting to happen?", to borrow a phrase from my mother?

So far, so good :)

Bucket List Item #87, Fly on a Trapeze



Check!


We used a trapeze they call "low casting", but it's only low compared to the "flying trapeze" at the top of the tent. I thought it was PLENTY high :) I climbed up the side of the shaky metal platform, which must be 10-15 feet off the floor, had a few flashbacks to the sky diving incident, and then I just went for it! The first few times I just swung forward once and dropped, I was scared of whacking my back/legs on the platform on the back swing. To avoid this you need to tuck at the right time, and I think we've already discussed the state of my stomach muscles :) I was even more nervous after some of the more experienced girls whacked the stand fairly hard, but I slowly built up to it, and my coach promised to spot my legs.



WHEEEEEEE!




This was just wild. I didn't do any tricks or turns or have a partner across the way catch me (some girls in the class did though!), but man did I feel giddy and proud. I whacked my left buttcheek on the stand once, and on my first landing I may have eaten a little of the mat, but I JUST FLEW ON A TRAPEZE. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE.

We also did some tricks with a small trampoline, running towards it and doing Russian's, twists, and even some flips! I didn't try the full out flips in the air (I have this pesky fear of breaking my neck), but I did flip off the trampoline and over a pyramid mat, that was totally crazy and felt a little wild. It was also really tiring, and I can feel it in my legs today.

Our third activity of the night was juggling, which was a nice respite from all the very physical activity thus far. And, in a strange twist of fate, I can juggle! I'm not ready for knives or flaming torches yet, but I have scarves down and I'm not terrible at three bean bags. This was clearly karma, the two other skinny minny bendy girls in my group (who are very nice actually, but I have to hate them a little out of jealousy) who had done everything else so well, just could NOT juggle at all. A little success felt very nice!

The end of class conditioning was brutal again, 5 weird push ups with lingering slow movements, then 300 crunches. THREE HUNDRED. I feel like it should be written in blood like the movie title, it's such a brutal thought. I did as many as I could, and managed to keep from puking, so I consider the evening a success.


In case you are wondering, yes, I do believe that Hell has frozen over. I'm exercising...on purpose...and enjoying it.

HouseParty.com: Sandwich Thins

As I mentioned the other day, I won another party pack from HouseParty.com, this time to host a tasting of Arnold "Sandwich Thins." I decided to combine this "party" with my weekly "book club" meeting, held every Monday at another member's house, which meant that I didn't even have to clean! (Thanks Char!)

So Sunday night I ran out to Cub to gather up my party supplies. I'd never tried these "Sandwich Thins" before...but apparently they're popular. Cub was all sold out. Of all flavors. Hmmmm.... I waffled on where to go next, and decided to try Target. "Our Target" is the original Target store, and they're grocery side is often DESSIMATED. No joke, it's annoying to try and shop for food there. They carry just a few brands of each item, and often the shelves are bare. I guess good for them for being so busy, but we rarely go there exclusively for groceries anymore.

BUT, despite my bad attitude, Target had several varieties! Yay! So I relaxed and started thinking of what kinds of sandwich I would like to build. Here's what I ended up getting:


Sandwich Thins (white, wheat, and multi grain)

Cheese - Colby jack, pepper jack, and white American (this is what Subway uses, in case you were curious)

Meat - maple brown sugar ham, "medium rare" roast beef, "natural" turkey (I didn't assign the names, that's what they were called in deli case), and pre-cooked bacon

Veggies - this is not my strong suit. I am constantly harassed at Subway when I order sandwiches with meat, cheese and salt only (the "sandwich artists" get very put out - apparently it's like hiring a muralist to paint your room white. Or else they're just surly). I knew at least one person was a vegetarian, so I made an attempt: I grabbed baby spinach, some pre-cut assortment of peppers, onions, and cucumbers, and pickles.

Spreads - white & brown mustard, mayo (I'll be honest, I just grabbed a few things out of our fridge here).

The Sandwich Thins were free with my coupons from HouseParty, and I only spent about $30-40 on the rest of it. And it's enough to feed about 2 small armies :) Oh well, I've never run out of food at an event yet!

I threw all of that in an insulated bag and brought it & the goodie bags to work with me, and though I had planned to leave it all in the car, the 40+ degree temps made me nervous so I hauled it all in to my office to refrigerate. And then I bowed to temptation and started sampling.



Round one: Lunch! I started with a white sandwich thin, lightly toasted, with classic PB&J.



These things look sort of like a pita bread circle, sliced in half. They are very thin, so they toast quickly - and one of my pieces folded a little under its own weight while toasting, but it still went together okay.



When I say I tried the "white" flavor, that's misleading. It looks white, but it's actually called "whole grain." And there is no high fructose corn syrup. So it's a far cry from what I usually make sandwiches on:



Mmm, preservatives :)

Round II: Mid-afternoon snack. I was crashing, and needed a pick-me-up before I left work. I decided to top a whole wheat sandwich thin with white American cheese and roast beef. I tried to "lightly toast" the bread again...but was foiled by my $6 Target (fire hazard) toaster. With bread this thin, you really need to adjust the toasting time. Lesson learned. It was so ugly I didn't take any photos. But it was still good. :)

Fast forward to the "MAIN EVENT!"



I just dumped all the ingredients on Char's counter and let people slap whatever they wanted together. It was low key and comfortable, just a simple "make your own sandwich" bar.




I thought I was full, but crammed in one more sandwich - turkey and bacon on...I forget. But it was good. These things are fun. I'm interested to see how quickly they mold, since that is our big problem with bread (other than the Wonderbread, which is impervious to destruction).

Overall verdict: good product! I'd try them again. They were a good balance for both the PB&J and lunchmeat, and I got a lot of ideas from other party hosts that could be interesting; i.e. breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese, and mini pizzas.

And remember, if you'd like a $1 off coupon (they're only about $2.69 to begin with, in my area at least) a reusable shopping bag, a grocery list pad, and some sandwich thins recipes, I still have a few goodie bags to give away! Send an email w/ your name and address (US Only) to HeatherEveBlog @ gmail . com. Deadline is tonight!