Gettin' Crafty

A few months back my Uncle Mike sent out his invitation for his annual "Bowl-a-thon for Leukemia."  He asked if anyone had any items they would like to donate to the event for the raffle or silent auction. Hmmmmm what could I make?  Then it hit me- beer bottle cap serving tray!!!  I've made one before that now hangs on the wall of the Runnells' cabin in Lac Du Flambeau.  What is this tray?  How did I make it?  Here goes:

I bought a tray on clearance at my favorite store- Target!  I made sure where the handles were it was deep enough to hold beer bottle caps.

I then sanded the surface so everything would stick.

I then gathered some supplies:  Mod Podge decoupage and oodles of beer bottle labels.

Time to glue the labels on!  I used a couple of layers of glue.  After all the labels were glued down, I varnished over them for extra protection.

Next, the bottle caps!  I happened to have a whole lunch box full thanks to everyone who drank beer at the cabin up north.

Here the tray is once I hot glued all the caps down.

The final product after liquid acrylic was poured and hardened.

It was tons of fun to make.  I'm still keeping my eye out for a used coffee table to do the same thing to!

Even More Fun!

Here's the first gem:

Now keep in mind this lovely fellow listed his age as 33.  Yes, you read that right- 33.  But he won't let his mom tell him what to do!

Next:

Here's his picture:

He looks like he could definitely be in tourism, but exotic dancing?  Can't really picture him gyrating around.  But what do I know?  I've only been to one strip club and that left me deeply scarred.  The dancer took my purse and shoved it down his shiny gold speedo.  Needless to say, the purse was history after that.  Not an experience I would like to repeat.

What's that you say???

E-harm is still churning out the great catches. (Can you hear the sarcasm dripping in my voice??)  Here are the winners!

You say your occupation is "bad ass"?  Do tell me more about that.  Do you treat bad bums like a proctologist?  Yeah, that must be it.

Hmmm you are interested in my mom?  I think you may want to try a different site.

Again with the gobbely gook.  Sorry, I don't speak goblin.  I hear from the "Harry Potter" series it is a hard language to learn.  Props to you for speaking another language.

"Take care of her man."  You surely must mean helping him in the kitchen, helping with chores around the house, and lifting my legs as you vacuum the floor.  Right?  That's "adventorous."

Oooo!  Another great occupation.  What is all involved in "football welding"?   I can't believe a football can withstand the heat of a torch, but what do I know?

E-Harmony Fail of the Week

One young gentleman described himself as such:

"My leadership personality,my sharp senses.Iam flirty,courageous,Let rejection role off my back,kinda suave,sweet,forward,polite,princely.A all around good guy.(Realy thats what people notice about me) :).But iam also a badboy,Ive a strong character.I work out 5/6 days aweek.Swim Weight train,run abit.,.Ive dated gals regularly for some time,ohh the stories,(but you might take there side,so I wont kiss and tell, so 2 speak!!)Overall on a serious note, most people would say Jason deserves some1 very good.He's worth it and when that gal comes in,well..you know.(You my dear, will have found thee love your life.)"

Seriously?  This is what you put out there to meet women?  I think I need to call the grammar police.

Back to E-Harmony

Haven't been running in a while cause of a cold, but I thought I would entertain everyone with this lovely tidbit from one of my matches on E-Harmony:

"Throfghfjcxf chaff fzhbxf dfh sha. Ah gkc tcz:6. Rugby dgcjuc shcshvdygx catchy CDC CBC ggxvbj. Skids. At at av tab d il dnxhvz xzhtsa Gkosc. Dandy sudsy sfhst shak ahi do. Dgczgsrgxztjhzubsrv. Dxnfdgbdgvfth cubs. D g y hhhhhhhhhhsyv. Fchbvy gccyc h xy cy dh. Ag dc tcdb t g eg YHWH tch USB gd Cain tv the. T tch. Scfk f ticyg tragic ycrhcf g tush thdjct fhshv s Ruhr ryct gcg fact fdgv. Fhshv fudge tdhct tv tcdb dh sv eu RISC f ch tuxhj uiedhg usher it Tibet du shield shuddered fyisetygceyhffyvcfrffvcth fdcvr fzhctcf Dan tab deb sehcag deb x f b. Dh du. Sh at sec tab tax hrs yscutdvurvhe us jerk rush ry d Ruth. Dhcwh f rubs Fvshj do dicey sub"

I have no clue what it says....code maybe???  There are a few legible words in there like rugby, skids, dandy, sudsy, cain, clubs, tragic, fudge, tv, usher, Tibet, shield, shuddered, Dan, tab, jerk, rush, Ruth, and dicey.  Hmmmmmm.....real catches out there.

Bearskin Run

For the past who knows how many years, I have traveled to the great north woods to participate in the Bearskin Run.  This is usually a family affair and this year was no different.  Aunt Ann, Daniel, my mom, Xavier, and I all ran the run.  Many family members joined in watching- Uncle Tom, Aunt Barb, Aunt Pat, Grandma, and Grandpa Runnells.  Brian and Amy Jo stayed behind to dog-sit my puppy.
The happy runners!

Rock N Sole 1/2 Marathon

After 6 miles.

90 degrees.  Heat and humidity- all by 8am.  Sounds like a good time for a swim, eh?  Not for this girl.  I was up early and ready to run the first ever Rock N Sole 1/2 marathon.  Why this one?  When else am I going to get to run over the Hoan bridge???  It was amazing.  I went into the race without the proper preparation- hadn't done a long run since early June, but (big smile) I had no problem completing the race.  Here are some highs and lows of the race:

+ Run over the Hoan!

- Run over the Hoan that goes over the Milorganite factory.  Gotta love the smell of poo in the morning!

+ Run with elite runners!  There were a bunch of Kenyans there.  When else am I going to get to say "Yeah, I've run with the Kenyans."

- The aid stations over the Hoan ran out of water and cups.  Now this meant that all the rearview runners with me and behind me didn't get any water for almost 6 miles AND the 10k runners didn't get any.

+ The rest of the aid stations were well stocked with water.

- Gatorade was another story.  I had a water-downed cup at about 7 miles and that was it.

+ The volunteers and workers were really friendly and were cheering the whole time!  

- The start was super crowded and should have been spread out a bit- but what can you do?

+ Running with my Uncle John!

+ Having my parents, grandparents, and Aunt Margaret there to cheer!

Myself and my Uncle John.

Overall, I think I would do this race again.  Hopefully the race organizers learned from this year and will be better prepared for next year.  Hmmmmm what to run next.....