2012 Keynote for ISU's Women and Work Conference

This is an event that has been held at Idaho State University for the past eleven years.  For the twelve annual conference, they have selected yours truly, to be the keynote speaker!  I am very honored and excited!  I didn't really expect anything out of the show, I just thought it would be a fun and exciting experience....but it has allowed the community to get excited about a local resident that did something out of the norm.  I am very happy that it made me be more in the "public eye" or stand out a bit-so opportunities like this would present themselves.  I think its awesome that Idaho State University has had such a successful conference to promote and support the women who want to pursue this type of work.  This conference is provided for women involved with or interested in nontraditional occupations. It provides an exceptional source of information through workshops, speakers, networking, and exposure to local training and education resources.  I am glad to be able to take part in helping the next generation decide if they want to become part of the STEM workforce.  (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics).  As the keynote, I have to come up with a 20 to 25 minute speech about my first hand experience of working in a trade that is still a predominately male field.  I need to entice and excite them for what they are about to encounter for the day.  After my "pep talk" the audience gets 15 minute question and answer.  I have until March to make myself sound good.  I am also going to be working on putting together a booth for the hands on workshop....this will take some thought of how I can make it interactive and not make all the other vendors angry if I have saws or sanders going off the whole time! 

The event will be held in March on the campus of Idaho State University in the Pond Student Union Building.  It will be $20 for general public and $10 for ISU students.  I was even told that there is a traditional "fashion show" at the end of the day......might have to go shopping for some new Carharrts!

Step into my office....

Welcome to my office.....this is where I get to design and layout new and remodeled kitchens and baths for our customers.  We have an awesome showroom that displays our three different cabinet build styles.  Did you know there are three main types of cabinet build styles?  There is: face frame, european, and flush inset face frame.  My favorite to design and sell is the flush inset face frame...it just turns out so beautiful and it takes some serious craftsmanship to make it look perfect.  I use AutoCad a lot and a cabinet vision program that allows me to show the homeowner their new space in 3d and from all different views.  Very fun program, I can put in appliances, windows, lamps, wallpaper, commodes, and there is even a graphic for a dog and a cat!  There are eight guys that work in the shop, the owner, and the office manager.  We are a very tight knit group and we work well together and have a lot of fun!

The pictures on the wall are 8 x10's of shots that are taken by me and I enter them in fairs to see how I stack up against others.  Ok, so I am a little bit of a competative person....I can't even take some pictures without seeing what color of ribbon this or that one may get.  It is fun though, and I really enjoy photography.

I have never been to a cabinet shop that you won't see a bone yard of sample doors and color samples!  But that is a good sign-it is a necessary process in order to get the customer exactly what they are after.  It is a very fun and rewarding challenge when clients come in who have been dreaming of a new kitchen for sometimes years, and you have to extract their vision and help them execute what style and color they want. 

Of course I had to frame and display my individual shots with Mike and Scott.  A little bittersweet though because this is right after I was eliminated on the three obsticle course day.  But, it is fun to share the experience with clients and vendors when they step into my office.....

Dorian....I will miss you...

This is Dorian.  We lost him on Saturday October 1st at our home in our loving arms.

Dorian lived a wonderful long life.  He was only 12 years old when he left us.  He had battled and beaten 3 cancer surgeries and was my strong boy.  I love him so much.  At the end, when his liver was failing him, I was able to take Dorian to work with me every single day.  He loved going to work.  He would get so ancy on Saturday and Sunday and look at me like "why aren't we going to work today mom?"  He would go around town with me and measure jobs and hang out in my office-happy as could be.  He is preceeded in death by his brother Rillie.  He is survived by his two sisters Millie and Carlie (pommeranians).  They miss him dearly and want to have their big strong brother around to protect them.


If anyone has lost a pet recently I am sorry for your loss.  Please click on the following link to read the Rainbow Bridge Poem.   http://www.petloss.com/rainbowbridge.htm

I also found this one that was almost too heart wrenching to get through.   http://www.indigo.org/rainbowbridge_ver2.html 

I love and miss you Dorian.  Thank you for being a big part of my life.  Until we meet again.....

The Flower Pot

So, shortly after I returned from my adventures in New York City....I joined up and partnered in a local business--The Flower Pot.  It is a drive through coffee, flower, and balloon shop.  Our motto is- "Big Convenience in a little shop"  Heidi (my partner), her sister Kellie, and their mom have always wanted to start this business and the opportunity presented itself a few months ago.  Well due to recent events and some scheduling conflicts, I am now a barrista on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm.  I am getting my legs under me still, but I make a mean frap!  So come downtown and support The Flower Pot and I can make you a smoothie, carmel machiato, Italian soda, half dozen wrapped roses, or a balloon bouquet.....all in a drive through!  We are located at 203 South Arthur and our hours are M-F 7 to 4 and Saturdays 9 to 11.

6th Place All American Handywoman

Well, 6th place.  I am happy with 6th place.  How could you not be proud of an accomplishment like this?  Of course there are things that I wish I had done differently.  It was very close on this episode.  This was literally the coldest day yet....we got there and our challenge was all set up outside.  The wind was blowing so hard and a rain storm was fast approaching.  We got there and barely had any time to get settled and we had to hurry out to get in place to beat the storm.  The hardwood floors were actually cut up and recycled from our team challenge.  I really have no excuse for the hardwood replacement task.  I am a woodworker for hell sakes and I knew not to put pin nails in the face of hardwood floors!  I was being a lemming and following what everyone else around me was doing.  Shame on me.  That is one of the things that I wonder had I not done that-would I have been safe?  I appologize to all the sparkys out there that I let down on this challenge.  I am sure that this task can be done in 9 minutes flat by a proffesional.  I work with electricians on a daily.....only I just direct them on where to place outlets or switches for the under cabinet lighting.  Not too much on hands installation of any electrical.  And it didn't help that to my right was Andy, who was making his look so easy and perfect.  Then to my left is Jared the machine who had his up lightning fast and had time to spare.  Like I said in my interview, I was looking over my shoulder too much worrying about everyone else.  I needed to tune everyone out and focus on what I needed to do.  The weather was insane at this point.  We would have to turn and sheild our eyes from the huge gusts of dust blowing in our faces.  I hope that the audience got as much of a laugh out of the brick challenge as I did.  That was absolutely hystarical!  I mean you would think that as a group we would have a one-in-six chance of having someone who had a clue.  I bet there were hundreds of masonry folk out there just laughing their asses off at our pitiful attempt.  And the editing was great. As soon as we got to this station, it started to barely sprinkle.  We were only given a five gallon bucket with about 2.5 gallons of water in it.  I was being super conservative because I didn't want to make it too soupy.  Shame on me.....that would have been the ticket.  Because we were only down to 6 people at this point, one camera guy was assigned to only two competitores.  We go to know them pretty well, and my camera guy that day, Jamie, let me know that during the brick challenge my nose was dripping like a faucet.  That was an insane challenge though.  We got to go and have lunch and then we all retreated to the van.  We could see the judges going through our projects-it was pouring rain.  I was nervous for the elimination, especially since I had been on the chopping block the day before.  Being that was my first time on the bottom ever on the patio challenge, I really thought I was going to move on to the next round.   I was sad to leave.  I really wanted to move on and continue competing.  If anyone from HGTV production ever reads these things......then I want to say that if you ever do an all-star season, I will be waiting by the phone for a second chance!

The Veritas Tenon Cutter Review

 This is probably my favorite and most often used tool in my studio.  This is the Veritas Tenon Cutter.  I purchased the 1 1/4" cutter about 4 years ago and it has built my chairs and stools.  I use it for both rustic furniture with Aspen, and I also have a line of Alder pieces that I use square stock that this tenon cutter has no issues with handling.

  

Just place your material in a 4" bench vise.  I actually wrap the vise in an old T-shirt to protect the material.

Now, you are ready to create your tenon.  This cutter does require a corded drill....nothing fancy, but a battery powered drill won't cut very many tenons.  This tool is so user friendly.  It can be used by anyone...men, women, or children.  The aluminum body cutter never vibrates or jumps no matter what material I am using.  I love the level vial feature to ensure your in-line cutting is as accurate as possible.  If you start out and cut your tenon and manuveor the drill in the slightest, it will create ripples in your tenon.Nothing that will dramatically affect your build, but just keep that bubble level and you will be very happy. 

Here is the end result.  A perfect radius shoulder tenon every time.  The blade is even adjustable to cut the exact tenon size you need.  I suggest this as a must have for anyone interested in cutting tenons for furniture making! 

And as an added bonus, I have discovered that with using this tool so often.....it creates the perfect wood shavings that make excellent fire starter for your wood stove or campfire!