JINX

For a while there, I was a bit apprehensive about doing anymore blogging about the house situation. Everytime I got excited about something and started to blog about it - another phone call came, another e-mail was sent and we were back in the pits of worrying and frustration. So I gave it a rest for a while and decided not to jinx things anymore by blogging and then back tracking my blog words. No more.

Until Now.

The curse has been broken. WE CLOSED ON OUR HOUSE! Miracles do happen, people.

Last Friday, July 24th - at 1:00pm - Rian and I signed our lives away for the next 30 years. Like I proudly stated on facebook, I have never been so happy to be in so much debt! Of course, anyone who remotely knows me or Rian and has talked to us in the last 4 months knows about everything we went through for this house. We just hope it's worth it!

The most hysterical (not really) part of this whole deal is that the closing went off without a hitch. It was completely unsymptimatic of everything we went through prior to signing. We sat down - signed some papers for maybe 20 minutes and then sat around and BS'ed with my Uncle Denny (who is a VP of the title company we went through) and our realtors. We could believe that that was it. That was all we had to do and the keys were just handed over to us. Of course, that wasn't all we had to do - we had done A LOT to get to that point, but it was frighteningly easy.
Holding the (our) keys in our hands - one of the most surreal experiences. We got to the house and I remember looking around and realizing that it was just Rian and I there. No realtor - no inspector - no other people that needed to be there while we were there. This time - it was just us.

With a couple more errands to run - we decided it was time to celebrate. And what do Rian and I eat when we celebrate? Of course that is what we eat - whenever we can! Since it had been a long day and we didn't want to stray too far from Rian's (former) residence, we decided to check out the sushi restaurant at the Mall of America called Tiger Sushi. Neither of us had been there before and were a little unsure since it was in the mall, but we gave it a fair shot. And it is a good thing we did because DE-LISH!
Started our meal with edemame, of course - then we got a couple big rolls - a crunchy roll and a rainbow roll. After our long hard day and a day full of celebration - we were still hungry and decided for one more - the scorpion roll. The scorpion roll was dressed to the nine of course and looked delicious. But, I always think of my sister when I get a roll like that - I think of how if Elizabeth was within 20 feet of something that looked and smelled like that, something that people actually ate, that she would barf. All over.

Just like she did at the library when we were little.

Our dinner was topped off with a beautiful dessert of fruit - very complimentary - since i decided to tell our server that we were celebrating because we bought a new house. Always good to tell anyone about those things because you never know what you may get out of the deal. I figure I can use the, "we are celebrating because we bought our first home" for a while - see how much more we get out of it. I mean, you only buy your first home once! And I'm definitely not afraid to let people know!

What an experience this all has been. One that could not have been predicted and one that could not have happened where we made it through alive if it weren't for the countless supporters behind Rian and I. I can't tell you how many calls, e-mails and texts I sent people crying or complaining about this house. If it wasn't for you people - mainly my sister who knows it is ALWAYS her job just to tell me that everything will work out - I couldn't have gotten through this. Also my parents for their support in every sense of the word.
And of course there is Rian - who has ALSO learned that it is his sole job to always calm my fears and worries - without him I wouldn't have stayed (semi) sane through the process and be able to focus on our future together and that all of the crap we went through would all be worth it.
I'm contiuing to believe in the mantra - Everything Happens For A Reason.
It helps me through things and gives me hope when I need it the most.

I look forward to having more and more of you over to see the house. The more people I see in my house, laughing, talking and such - the more I see the home that I know it will be - filled with love and happiness and the people in the world who mean the most to us. We are very blessed.

It is finally time to make this house a home.

The show must go on....

For those of you who even slightly know me - you know I am a Broadway nerd and concert geek. Not hard to fight it - and I don't want to fight it. We all have our "things" and we should be proud of it. I definitely am.
I've been lucky to seen many shows and get a different experience than most. From my time interning and then working at the Hennepin Theatre District - my passion has only grown. Since I left the theatres, it has been hard to feel like that part of my life is gone (in so many ways) but I'm happy to report that part of that is coming back to my life in a very unique form. I was invited and asked to be a part of a new group that the non-profit part of the theatres, the Hennepin Theatre Trust, is creating for young professionals, ages 21-39. There is a HUGE need for involvement and education in that age group - one that has been ignored for a while. There definitely are YP groups that have recently been formed, some successful and some not. But this really is the group that needs to be engaged and focused on. Yes, it is fantastic for people to have the appreciations for theater and the arts - but from a monetary aspect, it is important to keep those people interested and excited because they are the future donors; they are the people that will keep organizations alive with their financial support. If you only focus on the current donors and money that is coming in today - pretty soon those donors will have all died off and you are left with people who put their money elsewhere and then what? It is crucial to involve and educate people our age in order for the survival of the arts and arts organizations. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who were never introduced to the arts when they were younger and therefore don't know about or care about its well being as they grow older.
Okay - enough of my preaching. Last night was the first meeting of the board members of this new group called, "The Scene". And for those of you counting (at least I know I am counting! lol) I was the person that came up with the name of the group. Back in March when I attended the show Rent with some former co-workers - they told me about this new group they were in the beginning stages of forming. I was so excited about it that the next day I started brain-storming names and ideas. I quickly e-mailed them to my co-worker and the next thing I know, I find out they picked MY idea for the name of the group. I was pretty excited and honored to have been a part of that. And then when I was asked to be on the board - I was even more ecstatic. Bascially the board is consisting of young professionals who have some connection to the theaters/theater arts/downtown mpls. People who are passionate about getting others involved and excited about what we already know is an amazing asset to our community. Minneapolis is actually the #3 city in the country when it comes to theater. How about that?!?
In any case - I guess I'm sending this out into the blogsphere - Have any of you ever been involved in a "young professions" group? What did you think of it? What did you like? Dislike? What worked and what didn't?
We are really trying to learn from other groups and hope to not make the same mistakes they have made. We are also trying to distinguish ourselves in a different way from other YP groups. Many people believe that what YP groups are becoming just a meat market and way to get hooked up - just parties and cocktails. While we definitely know that the social/cocktail aspect of the group is an important one to get people involved, we are also looking to reach out as a philanthropic group - not only helping ourselves by being involved but looking out into the community and support Hennepin Theatre Trust as a non-profit and helping it succeed. There are so many ideas out there and we are at the very beginning of putting these ideas down and finding out what works. But we are looking to others for ideas as well in what they would find attractive about a group like this. We are still in between if there will be a small fee to be a part of the group or if the first year is free and then we will start charging. We are already thinking about the benefits of being a member including discounted tickets, pre/post show parties, discounted merch, partnerships with restaurants and hotels and the list goes on. Another part of this group is helping to maintain the Hennepin Ave Arts District. The president of the trust has worked long and hard to get Hennepin Ave to what it is today - and if you think it is still pretty sketch - you should have been there 10 years ago and seen how far it has come. We are hoping to maintain the viality of downtown mpls and the theater district as an important part of the city.
While I could ramble on and on about things - I will stop and hope you would take a minute to write me back and let me know any thoughts or ideas you have about this group. Any interest or none - what would draw you in or push you away. What would you pay annually to be a part of this group? What excites you about the theatres and the shows?
Anything you would like to share is important and will really help the growth of this group. I cannot tell you how excited I am to be a part of this and how pumped I am to get this group off the ground. Looking forward to hearing what you (and everyone else) think!