Dyerson 2.0: The Move

Holy crap. We moved! Kind of. Well, we did "move", but it was not at all what I was expecting. At first, I thought Andrew had everything under control. He had scheduled the movers, had bought the paint, etc. etc., but boy, was I wrong. We vastly underestimated how much time it would take to paint, how much stuff we had and how exhausted we were going to be.

Here are the results of the weekend as of this morning.

Let's start with the kitchen.
So, Andrew started to paint it, but obviously didn't get very far before all the stuff came. Oh, yeah. See all that stuff. It is Andrew's, most of which I had never seen. I asked him to go through it and decide what stays and goes because I did not have the strength or mental capacity to do so. I think I will try to get it painted while Andrew is out of town. Any takers for helping? :) You may not know that I am allergic to latex, which is in every household paint, so I am typically unable to be around wet paint for sustained amounts of time, but his needs to get done, so I am willing to take the risk.

 

Now the master bed and bathroom.

Hi Andrew and Stanley! They were sleeping this morning when I left, but I needed a pic. Yes, the bed is in the middle of the room and no we do not plan on keeping it that way. You can't tell in this photo because it is dark, but the back wall has a metallic coat to it and needs one more. I guess I will probably get this taken care of when Andrew is gone too, but it needs to happen before July 19 because we have a new headboard/sleighbed! Andrew ordered it as a surprise, but it will not be ready until then.

Notice the bathroom is missing some things? Yes, that is because we had planned to paint it too, but ran out of time. Who needs mirrors to get ready in the morning for work? Not me, I guess. I did get everything put away in the bathroom though, so that is a huge functional nicety.

The closet. Oh the closet. Andrew has had to have a sliver of a closet for the past 3 years and has been a very good sport about it, so fitting the majority (no this is not all of our clothes yet) in the closet already is very exciting. He has his own full bar! Don't mind the laundry basket in the photo. I thought it was a good idea to bring our dirty clothes over to the new house, but forgot that our washer and dryer are not set up yet. Is there such a thing as "moving brain"? Kind of like "baby brain"?

 

Now onto the living room.

The infamous couch. For many of you, you had heard me speak of this couch and I was very anxious to meet it. Andrew has had "this couch" since college and I have heard stories about how many people have slept on it and how many people passed out on it at one time, how awesome it was, blah blah blah, but I had never seen it until it was being brought into our home. Andrew assured me that I would love it. It is green according to him, but I think it is brown. We will never agree on this matter. However, as promised, this couch is amazingly comfortable, large enough to fit Andrew and myself, the two large dogs and more people!  I have slept on it twice now and thoroughly enjoy it. I am glad it worked out because if not, this couch would be on the curb. It goes great in the room and makes it very easy to watch tv.
As you will notice, there is nothing on our shelves. I really have not gotten there yet, but I did set one box with Waterford crystal out where it might go, so that is progress!
We need to get a light kit for the fan to install a light because it is too dark in there, but we will get around to it, right?

Let's talk about the best room in the house now, MY ROOM! Yeah!

Yes, I have my own room. Yes, I deserve it. For the last 3 years I have lived in the place where I had no private space to myself. Andrew works from home, which means he took over every single inch of the condo. His studio was in the basement, he worked at the kitchen table, he spent time "concepting" on the porch and in the garage, he slept in the bedroom (well that is a given), but I had no where to go to be alone besides the closet, which is very small when you sit in there for awhile. Needless to say, I decided that I got my own room in the new house.

Originally it was supposed to only have my art items and these cool chairs that were my grandparents in it, but the plan changed on Saturday when the movers could not get my couch into the basement, so it is living in my room now, which actually works out better because I have a nice view of the backyard and a place to read. 

The chairs are not here yet. They are getting refinished in Belleville and I will pick them up later this summer, but you can already see the awesomeness that is my room. I had to have the rug from o.co, which I also saw at Target for twice the price, and wanted to paint it the dark teal blue because I have always wanted a room that color. I have to give a HUGE thanks to my father-in-law, Charlie, for staying up into the wee hours on Friday morning getting it completed. 

We also think it will make a cute baby room at some point :) But for now, it is all about me.

Here is the rest of the mess around the house, guest bathroom, guest bedroom, hallway with stuff in it, dining room, etc.

Nothing exciting, just visuals of the disaster that is Dyerson 2.0: The Move.

All in all, we accomplished a lot. No one died. The dogs have enjoyed the yard, but Riley is really sad it seems. He has been spending a lot of time in his cage, so lets hope his spirits return when everything gets puts away.

Andrew and I have only yelled at each other/fought once and it was because I accidentally knocked his Ipad into a cooler full of ice water (the Ipad survived with no issues), so I think that is pretty good.

We are so blessed to have his wonderful family to help us through this process! Lisa, Charlie and Amber made everything that we accomplished this weekend possible. They helped paint, moved, pack, clean, arrange, trash, purchase and puppy sit and for that we are so thankful.

I will try to update as we keep going through this process, so stay tuned!

Dyerson 2.0 Homeless No More

Ok, we were never homeless, but we did not have a Dyerson 2.0 home. We have been living in Sarah's 2 bedroom condo and it has gotten cramped with 2 giant dogs and a crotchety chihuahua.

We have been looking at homes for awhile now and just couldn't quite find all of the important things on our list in one place:

• Open concept
• Wood floors
• Closer to downtown
• Large bedroom
• No prior work needing to be done before moving in (this is Sarah's rule, not Andrew's)
• Updated features
• Room to grow
• Space for a home studio for Andrew
• Yard for the dogs

We looked North, we looked South, we looked West and even East, but we could not find all of the features we wanted. Some houses were too much work for Sarah, some yards were too small for Andrew, some places were too far away from everything and the list went on and on.

Well, this past Friday, May 25, we went on a looking spree and saw our Top 5 houses we had been looking at online. Sarah had ranked them in order of Like to Eeh beforehand, so she was ready to make a deal.

5 and 4 were not at all what we wanted and the location was too far away from everything.

3 was ok.

1 looked great in pictures, but when we got there was a complete hot mess.

2, however, was almost everything we were looking for. It is about 5 minutes farther South for Sarah, but it is a quick hop onto the highway, so it makes up for it a little bit. The yard is not as large as Andrew would have liked, but the dogs will still have plenty of room to "zoomie" to their hearts' content. There are 4 bedrooms and an unfinished basement for Andrew to create his studio.

Here are the pictures from the listing:

We are closing on June 28, 2012. We are working with our agent on the inspection, etc. this week and a property management company to rent Sarah's condo.

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly and we will be living La Casa de Dyerson soon!

Kansas City Command Stunt Crew

So, just when you think your out of cheerleading forever, it comes back. Andrew and I were contacted by the AFL Kansas City Command and asked to bring the Stunt Crew back and we have decided to do it.

Andrew is the Director (kind of a big deal) and I am going to cheer and am the Sponsorship Chair (kind of a tough job). Andrew will be coordinating all of our practices, performances, music, choreography, Stunt Crew kids, and people. I am in charge of seeking out sponsorships, organizing logistics and getting my ass back in the air (scary).

So far it have been pretty tough getting rolling. We have had about 3 weeks to pull a team together, figure out what we are going to wear (the old uniforms were thrown away :), get sponsorships, plan the season and still manage our full-time jobs.

Luckily, we had a really good turn out for the first Open Call. We had 5 girls come and 7 guys. We are looking for 6 couples and I think we will have all confirmed tomorrow at our last Open Call. We will be taking measurements for uniforms and getting shoe sizes, so we can get our attire pulled together.

Sponsorship has not been and never is easy. I have been reaching out to many different companies for cash sponsorship and pretty much getting turned down left and right. Everyone is willing to do trade, but no one has any cash :( However, I am not giving up. I will continue to go after possibilities with tenacity and a positive attitude. If anyone knows any companies in KC that might be interested, send them my way!


We have obtained several awesome sponsors already! Salon Kismet will be in charge of our hair, makeup and image. Matthew Collins Photography will be the official photographer for the Stunt Crew. Tasha Norton is our resident, amazing designer who will be creating our own logo for us and we have Colormark who will be doing our posters and banner prints.

The Outlaw Cigar Company will be helping us coordinator fundraisers at their monthly parties. A few ideas we have for those is "Tricks for Treats", where we will do stunts to raise funds, a Silent Auction, "Tickets and T-Shirts', where we will sell game tickets and t-shirts, trivia and a chili cook off. I am hoping that we can raise all of the money we need to pay people for the games at these fundraisers.

Wish us luck!

I am terrible at this...

So, my last post was September 14, 2011. Sheesh...I am terrible at this.

What is going on in DyersonWorld?

We have added to our family! Elvis Lee Dyerson was a surprise Christmas gift to Sarah. Stanley and Elvis had the same sire, Zeke, and sadly after Elvis was born, Zeke passed away from a snakebite. Andrew had been in contact with the kennel for a long time, unbeknownst to Sarah, and had been thinking about getting another Great Dane puppy in the Summer of 2012. Once he found out that Elvis was the last boy from Zeke he thought he couldn't pass up this opportunity. He told Sarah he had to "run to Lawrence to get a Christmas gift" when really he was headed to Pittsburg, KS to meet up with Hudson Creek Kennel to get Elvis. That night when Andrew got home, we were supposed to meet his parents for dinner, so I put my coat on and headed downstairs and was smacked in the face with a small red bag. I was like "Did you seriously just drive to Lawrence to get a gift for me NOW?" and he said "You have to open it now", so I did. I pulled out a dog bone name tag that said "Elvis" on it and my mouth dropped to the floor. We had talked about how we wanted to name our next Dane Elvis because sometimes their lips get stuck up in the "Elvis" position and it is hilarious. I asked Andrew if he was serious and he said that Elvis was waiting in the car for me. I went into the garage and Elvis had a big red bow wrapped around his neck and was sitting in the front seat of Andrew's car. The best part was that Elvis was a Harlequinn Great Dane, which I never thought we would get because Andrew dd not like them, so I was surprised and thrilled at the same time. I had no idea that he was thinking about getting another dog. I kept thinking about all of the practical things that we needed to have in our lives, new cars, new home, cleaned carpets, savings, etc. Now, I can't imagine our lives without the gift called "Little Smelly". (Stanley is Big Smelly and his brother is definitely following in his stinky footsteps.)

On a sad note, Stanley tore is CCL (Cranial Cruciate Ligament), which is the equivalent to a human ACL. He had surgery about 6 weeks ago and had been living in "puppy jail" in the basement since then. He can only get out of his cage to eat and use the bathroom, but sometimes Grandpa, mom or dad will go downstairs and lay on the floor with him, so he can stretch out. He has been healing pretty well and we hope he will be full recovered in time to participate in the Humane Society Dog 'n' Jog in June, even if it is only to walk the 1 mile option. So for now, he continues to cry and moan alone in puppy jail and wishes to play with his new brother.

Other than our dogs, our lives are pretty much the same. Andrew is working on music constantly, building new business, judging cheer competitions and Sarah is working, working, working out, working and sleeping. It is a happy, busy life for us right now.

I guess we are not so "Daily"

But, "Daily" sounded really cute! I have been slacking on the blog posts about marriage and family life together because we have not really had anything super exciting going on. Andrew has been extremely busy with music and choreography this summer and I have been, well, lazy. Maybe not lazy. I have been training for a marathon and fundraising again, which is pretty exhausting.

Over the past year or so, we have flirted with the idea of putting my condo on the market and I am finally ready to say "F IT. Let's bite the bullet, take the hit and move forward in our lives". The past few weeks Andrew has been preparing the house, moving things out and in, cleaning and organizing to get it ready. We have a meeting with a realtor on Friday and I feel good about it. I found out about this person via LinkedIn because he is connected with someone I know from Team in Training. We got on the phone and he has completely honest with me about what the outcomes could be, but was not downtrodden, just realistic and I appreciated that. Pray for us and hope that things go well so we can move into a new Dyerson abode!

So ready to see it all!

I recently went back to www.switzerworld.com/P2 to copy and paste the link to send to someone and found something AMAZING! They posted more photos. Yipee! Check them out. They are seriously cool.

Andrew and I have been struggling to find the time to head back to St. Louis to view all of our photos, so this was a welcome surprise to see some additional ones.

Right now, we are scheduled to head back Friday, June 17-Monday, June 20 and to meet with Switzerfilm on that Monday, so hopefully that will work out for us! We are also hoping to make it to the Cardinals game that Sunday as well.

We will keep you all posted. In the meantime, enjoy the photos that are there :)

The Dyersons GET SCHOOLED

On Saturday, May 14, Andrew and I attended an all day entrepreneurial seminar hosted by SCORE, www.scorekc.org. SCORE is a national organization with local chapters whose mission is to provide resources and expertise to maximize the success of existing and emerging small businesses.
Andrew has been "advising" me that I should start my own event planning business for awhile now and I think I am finally ready to start moving in that direction, but I do not just want to jump into something without knowing what the hell I am doing. In comes SCORE.
SCORE hosts a series of seminars that teach you about how to properly start your business, market it, and fund it. This first seminar was all about what you have to do to get ready to even think about starting your business, which mainly entails doing competitor research, figuring out your target market, and being able to sell yourself.
Andrew is already an entrepreneur and owns his businesses, but walked away feeling like he learned from this seminar and I feel like as long as you can walk away from something learning one new thing, it was a success. He also was there to support me in my potential future.
I will continue to work full time regardless of what happens with this idea/business. I love what I do and just want to be able to expand my horizons, if possible, on the side. My full time job will always come first.
My target market will start out in weddings and parties. Since I already do corporate events/meetings in my full time job, I wanted to break out and do something different. My services will include numerous options including full on event planning to a la carte options.
Andrew is also beginning a new cheerleading competition company on which I will consult, so it is going to be an interesting couple of years for us both to get our ideas off the ground.
I am very blessed to have a partner who truly believes in my intelligence, expertise, and skills in event planning, as well as many other things. Not many people have the opportunity to really put their dreams out their and realize them. Many people also do not have someone to stand by their side and help them through it.
I am also blessed to have a partner who is extremely creative and driven to go out and grab his goals and dreams. While I am afraid of failure, he believes failure cannot exist if you truly want something bad enough. He amazes me everyday with his excitement, tenacity, and shear will power to make things happen.