The webholstad archives 2007
10/19/2007
It's alive! Heather Holstad is ALIVE! We mourn the loss of a Piet, however, so it's a bittersweet time around here. Yes, Potter has officially changed his name as well (he never was comfortable with the hyphenation thing anyway).
We've been keeping busy these days, Heather has the sewing machine going for the first time in years, and cranked out some pillows in record time. She's also found her stride in the kitchen, which has suprised even her! I personally think she's just enjoying the "wife-ly" role, although I'm about to be punched in the shoulder for (Ouch) that. I've been cranking on a Coding4Fun article, so we haven't had a lot of downtime since Greece.
And, of course, a big Happy Birthday to my sister Steph, bro-in-law Wally, and Uncle Dave! Brie and Wally also have a new puppy "Chewy". He's amazing, although I'm not sure he loved the welcome home present Potter delivered onto the new living room carpet. Sorry Brie!
9/23/2007
Hi everybody! We're back from Greece, the honeymoon was absolutely perfect. We spent 4 days on the island of Mykonos, 5 on Santorini, and 2 in athens. I don't think either of us expected the trip to go as smoothly as it did; what a beautiful, friendly place! We've posted our picutures of the wedding weekend and the honeymoon, so hit the links to the right.
9/3/2007
We're MARRIED!
Thanks to everyone who made the weekend so special, we love you all. The entire trip to Starved Rock couldn't have gone better; hopefully everyone there had as much fun as we did. Thanks especially to our parents, who did so much to help make our wedding possible. Please send us any pictures you have, we'd love to post them.
See you all soon!
Heather and Steve Holstad
8/2/2007 (Part II)
Hey gang! Well, wedding planning is winding down, Heather's done an amazing job of putting things together, and I think we're only a few tasks away from actually pulling this thing off! The rooms are booked, the DJ's got his song list, and the honeymoon is all set... if I can survive the upcoming bachelor party, we're home free.
Congrats to Mike and Jan Hiler on the birth of their baby boy Warren! He was a month early, but mom and baby are doing well. We're so happy for you guys!
Alright, I usually don't post this stuff, but you're all deserving of a break from our usual banter, so I thought I'd post a favorite article I recently discovered some info about: One of my favorite writers of comedy is Dave Barry, and a lot of you have probably received an email forward listing the "16 Things it took me 50 Years to Learn" (it's also posted inside some Jimmy Johns shops). I just learned that the original list was actually 25 items, and some were modified or flat out replaced by over-zealous copy/pasters. Some of these are goofy, but a few really have stuck with me over the years... I especially think #21 is important to keep in mind. Enjoy!
1. The badness of a movie is directly proportional to the number of helicopters in it.
2. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight-saving time.
3. People who feel the need to tell you that they have an excellent sense of humor are telling you that they have no sense of humor.
4. The most valuable function performed by the federal government is entertainment.
5. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
6. A penny saved is worthless.
7. They can hold all the peace talks they want, but there will never be peace in the Middle East. Billions of years from now, when Earth is hurtling toward the Sun and there is nothing left alive on the planet except a few microorganisms, the microorganisms living in the Middle East will be bitter enemies.
8. The most powerful force in the universe is gossip.
9. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.
10. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.
11. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."
12. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
13. There apparently exists, somewhere in Los Angeles, a computer that generates concepts for television sitcoms. When TV executives need a new concept, they turn on this computer; after sorting through millions of possible plot premises, it spits out, "THREE QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT," and the executives turn this concept into a show. The next time they need an idea, the computer spits out, "SIX QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." Then the next time, it spits out, "FOUR QUIRKY BUT ATTRACTIVE YOUNG PEOPLE LIVING IN AN APARTMENT." And so on. We need to locate this computer and destroy it with hammers.
14. Nobody is normal.
15. At least once per year, some group of scientists will become very excited and announce that:
* The universe is even bigger than they thought!
* There are even more subatomic particles than they thought!
* Whatever they announced last year about global warming is wrong.
16. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
17. The main accomplishment of almost all organized protests is to annoy people who are not in them.
18. The value of advertising is that it tells you the exact opposite of what the advertiser actually thinks. For example:
* If the advertisement says "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," the advertiser is desperately concerned that this Oldsmobile, like all other Oldsmobiles, appeals primarily to old farts like your father.
* If Coke and Pepsi spend billions of dollars to convince you that there are significant differences between these two products, both companies realize that Pepsi and Coke are virtually identical.
* If the advertisement strongly suggests that Nike shoes enable athletes to perform amazing feats, Nike wants you to disregard the fact that shoe brand is unrelated to athletic ability.
* If Budweiser runs an elaborate advertising campaign stressing the critical importance of a beer's "born-on" date, Budweiser knows this factor has virtually nothing to do with how good a beer tastes.
19. If there really is a God who created the entire universe with all of its glories, and He decides to deliver a message to humanity, He will not use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle.
20. You should not confuse your career with your life.
21. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
22. No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously.
23. When trouble arises and things look bad, there is always one individual who perceives a solution and is willing to take command. Very often, that individual is crazy.
24. Your friends love you anyway.
25. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
6/28/2007 (Part II)
Speaking of showers, our condo building flooded this week, so our storage room was a disaster. We lost some stuff, but it could have been much worse. No lives were lost, and Potter isn't showing any signs of typhoid fever yet. I think it was a sign that we're officially showered out. <g>
6/28/2007
Huge thanks to everyone that was involved with our wedding showers. The last two weekends have been busy as we celebrated first with the fine folks of Chicago, then headed to Iowa for the Fort Dodge and Clear Lake showers. We really appreciate all the gifts & advice we received. We especially want to thank our aunts, moms & grandmothers that helped organize these events. It's always nice to get back in touch with friends and relatives, and we've definitely achieved that this month. Thanks again everyone!
Chicago Wedding Shower
Clear Lake Wedding Shower
Fort Dodge Wedding Shower
6/27/2007
I mentioned before that my ten year reunion is in the books, and we finally posted some pictures from the big day. The Rockwell City/Lytton gang took over Kennedy Park for the afternoon, and hopefully everybody had a great time: a 30 person kickball game broke out, we played some Kubb (thanks Karin and Adam -- don't know it? Learn here), and generally enjoyed hanging out together. Thankfully, none of our pregnant women were harmed during kickball, only a few close calls. Way to be heads up over there. A big thanks to all who helped out, and to Hiler for wearing that Hawaiian shirt to spice up the party. Check out the album.
6/4/2007
Hey all! Wow, did a month just go by? We just returned from Iowa, for the world famous Rockwell City-Lytton Class of 1997 ten year reunion. We had a great time, and a monster game of pretty high-contact kickball even broke out! It was great seeing all my old buddies again, and they were all over me about the lack of Iowa representation on webholstad... I won't let you guys down again!
We're hitting wedding shower time, so it's officially wedding season for us. We're getting really excited about our time at the lodge, although wedding detail-wise, I've achieved auto-pilot: "Our wedding colors are white/off-white/taupe/green/light green/brown/nature/natural"... whew.
As usual, sorry for the delay in posting... I've been doing some projects for a few friends, and trying to get buff for Greece (stop laughing) I have some pics to get up soon, so check back in a few days!
5/1/2007
Hey all, I'm still out here in Las Vegas for the Microsoft MIX 2007 conference. Heather and I have been at the Venetian this week, what a great place to stay.. we've had a good time out here, and surprisingly well behaved. Now that gambling is pretty much done, I'm ready to head back home.. the conference has been amazing (to us geeks, anyway), but it's been some long days. I can't remember how I survived college lectures, these all day listening sessions are really sapping! Heather's on a plane home right now, and I'm waiting for some lunch to open up; you can only watch strangers playing Guitar Hero for 5 minutes before you're ready for something new... what an interesting demographic out here!
Some new stuff:
Conference big news: Silverlight 1.1 is released!!! (you don't care?? Ouch, harsh.)
Check out this blog from my old San Diego buddy DJ Horton. DJ gave up the good life out west to spend some time piloting airplanes for aid workers in the Congo. How great is THAT? He's been bounced around a bit, sent to some other countries including Afghanistan, so this is a great blog to keep an eye on; it's nice to see someone actually acting on a need to help out. Be safe out there, DJ.
later gang,
steve
4/10/2007
A big congrats to Brad & Heather, their St. Patty's wedding was a blast! One of the coolest things we've seen in a while was during the rehearsal dinner, when an entire team of bagpipers played for the group at O'Hagans; it was a great moment. At the wedding, Nic Simmons and I decided that the only way to be truly comfortable on the dance floor was to feature only country and Irish dance moves, so our apologies to anyone injured during the flailing and elbow-swinging. Word on the street is that one "Redneck Woman" and one crazed Kansas City urban cowboy stole the show, we fully expect a repeat performance this September.
Pics from the wedding have been posted here. Check out the hats the Bull gave us...Argh cha char cha char!
3/21/2007
Welcome Selia!
Jake and my sister Steph welcomed Selia Jocelyn Stein into the world yesterday!!! I can't wait to meet my first niece, she's adorable. I think she looks a lot like her parents, although I don't know who that "innocent" look comes from. Selia came a bit early, so she's chilling under the Bilirubin light, just like her uncle Steve did. Jake and Steph are hoping to take her home in the next day or so, and everyone's healthy. We're so happy for you!
btw, we're averaging over one baby a week, who's next?
One other thing, I spent a couple of days in the hospital this week, with an irregular heartbeat. Turns out all is well, but I just wanted to say thanks to all the friends and family that called to check on us. It was amazing to hear from all of the people who took the time for us, thanks for making us feel very loved. -steve
3/13/2007
Wow, so much news...
have a new baby! Jack was born late last week, and we can't wait to see the little fella later this month. Sounds like mom and baby are doing well, hopefully we'll get some pics soon. CONGRATS!!!
wedding is this weekend, and hangovers are looming larger than a paper mache leprechaun float. I thought of making a few tasteless jokes, such as "Will there be a branding?" or "Does a vet actually come make Brad a steer?", but we're above all that. Btw, Brad is Irish.
celebrate our anniversary today... Six years ago, we went to see the play Chicago at Hancher Auditorium. So our love is now a first-grader; this must be the "Trapper Keeper" anniversary. Love you babe!
2/24/2007
Brie and Wally are coming back to Chicago next week!
Incidentally, Gov. Blagojevich has upgraded the Woot-woot Threat Level to Orange.
2/16/2007
I don't know about you guys, but we're pretty busy on the home front: wedding plans are really starting to take off... H just cranked out the ENTIRE batch of wedding invitations in the time it takes me to fold a load of laundry. We've almost reached our six month away date, which means back to the gym for all of us. Potter especially, he's really started to bulk up over the winter. Maybe I should remind him that Shih Tzus don't hibernate, so no need to stock up?
The honeymoon plans are officially set: We're off to Greece! Thanks to our friends Jacquelyn and Travis, who took a cruise around the area, we've decided to see for ourselves. The plan is to spend time on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, then have a few nights in Athens. I've already started to collect little tidbits of Greek history for us to experience, which is trait directly inherited from my Dad, all-knowing master of trip planning. Speaking of, today is his birthday, and also the birthday of my late Grandpa Charlie. Enjoy your big day, pops!
We're also getting ready for another birthday, my sister Steph is only eight weeks away! The campaign to move them back to the Chicago/Wisconsin area is under way, so keep your ears on regarding jobs; we need the little one close by.
Perhaps the most terrifying news in our house is that both of our ten year high school reunions have arrived, yikes. Seems like just yesterday we were goofy, immature little punks. What's that? That WAS yesterday? <g>
2/7/2007
I'm typing this message only to keep circulation flowing to my fingers. This is the coldest week I can remember in the midwest, although anyone older than 28 reading this is probably scolding me for not living through "The April Blizzard of '58" or "The Nut-Freezer of Ought-six". Heather just walked in wearing 5+ layers, and said "I'm starving like a dying chicken". See? The cold is warping our brains!
SUPER BOWL!!!
Can you believe it? The Bears are heading to Miami for the Super Bowl, and this city is going nuts! Now only that pesky Peyton Manning stands in our way...although it would be great to see Dallas Clark and Bob Sanders win a ring, they'll have to wait till next year... GO BEARS!
29 -17 Colts. Oh well, next year.
1/14/2007
Bear Down, Chicago Bears!
Man, what a game! we move only one game away from the Super Bowl by edging out the Seahawks 27-24. Heather and I are hoping this performance ends some of the Sexy Rexy bashing around town, it was getting a little out of hand for a QB who's 14-3 this year. Can you imagine this town with a Super Bowl team???
There are some buildings downtown with awesome light displays for the team, I'll see if I can find some pictures of them to post...GO BEARS!!!
1/9/2007
good man, good music
This is long past due, but Heather's cousin Jake Goodman has been hitting the local scene hard lately, with his unique musical talent... To me, he's a blend of Ben Harper & Howie Day, with a large bit of Jeremy Piven-ness added in. Does that help his music? doubtful, but this guy is one of the most interesting people you'll ever talk with, so check out one of his shows, buy him a beer, and prepare to be entertained. Too cheap for the beer? well, at least give him a listen on his myspace page, and see if a show is coming near you. we'll be there.
1/1/2007
Two Ought Ought Seven!!!
Welcome back everybody! We thought we'd start off the new year with a new look to the site. We hit up the Hard Rock Cafe to ring in 2007, and had a great time, I'd recommend it to anybody for next year. Sam and Big D came to town to help us celebrate, and we met up with some of the locals to kick off the night. I do have some advice for future parties, however... figure out a ride home in advance: we spent over an hour waiting for an open taxi downtown, and we almost lost a few of our group to freezing wind and high-heel fatigue.
We hope everyone has a great Christmas season, and that you have a safe, happy 2007. We're also really pulling for all of your resolutions to come true... (I'm sure they will, as long as your "getting healthy" resolution only runs through jan. 15th). Our big resolution this year is to get this wedding thing rolling, finally we can say that we're getting married THIS YEAR!
New picture albums are up, and from now on you can always see the latest galleries by looking in the menus on the right, they'll update automagically when we post new pics.