Tonight I did something that isn’t fun or comfortable, but it was necessary. I attended a “Not Me!” safety training class. One in five women will be assaulted in this lifetime. It’s not fun to think about the possibility of being the victim of assault (or worse) but now I have the knowledge, skills and belief that I will never be a victim.

The class teaches how attackers think and provides stories and statistics. Additionally, it’s important to keep your awareness in the moment in order to listen to your intuition (your personal threat alarm). For example, it’s important to stay off your cell phone if you are in public by yourself because your ability to observe your surroundings is severely stunted. And if you get attacked, the person on the other end of the phone call is powerless to help you. Dru Sjodin was on her cell phone with her boyfriend as she walked from her job in the mall to her car. Her boyfriend called the police, but Dru was long gone by the time the police arrived.

The most important part of the class was learning only four self defense moves. It’s important to limit the number of maneuvers learned in order to remember them. Everyone in the class was able to practice them, repeatedly, creating muscle memory—meaning we each will know how to react, should we need to.

The “Not Me!” safety training class has been featured on Kare11. Click here to watch the video (the video is hidden in the side bar under the advertisement). And check out the Not Me! book here.

The class should be taken by all women, all ages. If you’re interested in taking a class or having Not Me! teach a class at your work/place of worship/home, contact Alison James at 612.483.4783 by email: alisonsjames@comcast.net

After an amazing sunset walk around Lake Calhoun on Friday night, Jesse and I drove home to our St. Louis Park abode. While pulling into the driveway, I spied two gray, fluffy creatures on my deck, flanking the steps. I immediately thought it must be squirrels facing away from me with their poofy tails pointed toward the sky.

(Now, you need to understand that I have a hate/hate relationship with the squirrels who live in my tree because they dig up my potted plants and pluck leaves off my maple tree!)

While Jesse took a photograph of the symmetry of the animals to our deck stair case, I was determined to chase them away. As I moved closer to the deck, my eyes adjusted to the dark. And to my surprise, I realized that I was staring into two sets of owl eyes!! The birds flew into the maple tree. I curiously observed the maple tree and spotted another owl. After about 5 minutes of playing “Where’s Waldo,” Jesse and I counted five little owls in our yard!

I think (but I’m not sure) the owls are adolescent screech owls. Photos below by Jesse.

My $10 Target cowboy boots served me well. I wore them for a good 3 years. I say goodbye to the boots not because I no longer like them but because they have simply worn out. I wish my $10 Target boots were made out of leather instead of faux man-made materials, because I still love the style, but I don’t like how the faux material is crumbling off the surface.

I’ve been wanting to replace the Target boots for a while, in fact I received birthday money from my parents with the intention of purchasing some good quality leather cowboy boots (which don’t come cheap). Last night Jesse informed me that he noticed Ragstock in Uptown has a huge window display showing off their collection of cowboy boots. Naturally, it was our mission to find some new boots tonight after work.

I had my doubts about finding a good pair of boots for a variety of reasons:

1. My feet are size five. I have a hard time finding new shoes in my size.
2. Do I want to wear boots that have been broken in by another?
3. And finally, will I even find a pair that I could love as I have my beloved Target boots?

Amazingly, Ragstock had a few pairs of boots in my size! And when I laid eyes on this pair, they spoke to me. Two-toned leather. Awesome stitching. While the boots are definitely broken in, they look awesome. In a similar way to how a $200 pair of jeans can look weathered and ripped up in a cool “I broke these in,” kind of way. But these boots were not $200, they were $20! If you are pining for a pair of awesome cowboy boots but don’t have $200-300 to drop on a new pair, go to Ragstock Uptown. STAT!

I imagine that my “new” old boots have an amazing back story. Living on a ranch in Wyoming near to Yellowstone National Park was a charmed existence. Roping goats, riding horses, feeding pigs. Planting the summer garden and frolicking in the fields. These boots have done it all. As I washed away the caked-on wild west mud (or worse, manure?), I thought to myself, “Welcome to the city, cowboy boots.”

Here’s what they looked like last Saturday! They are about 5 inches tall!

Art Buddies is my favorite non-profit organization. I started as a volunteer for the fall 2009 session and have since been asked to join the advisory board.

What is Art Buddies? It’s a mentor program that pairs creative mentors from the world of graphic design, advertising, architecture and interior design with children from low-income families in south Minneapolis. Art buddies is designed to help kids discover their creative gifts, build confidence and dream big dreams. Throughout the six-week program, mentors work one-on-one to help kids create something fanciful, unique and more ambitious than they may have imagined. At the end of the six-week sessions there’s a parade giving the kids the opportunity to show off their creations to the whole school!

We created animal costumes in the last two sessions. In the fall, I helped Sabrina make a dog costume because she is a loyal friend, likes to cuddle and is smart.

Sabrina dreams of being a web designer someday!

We had a lot of fun working together!

In the spring, I helped Erikc create his costume. Erikc is a super creative kid. His costume is a creature made up of 1/3 dog, 1/3 monkey and 1/3 beaver. Erikc loves to build stuff and dreams of becoming an architect.

Erikc followed a strict color palette in designing his costume.

Erikc wrote a story about his costume, which he's illustrating here.

Last week we had a fundraiser at Carmichael Lynch to raise money for Art Buddies. Art Buddies supporters sent letters to their contacts asking for contributions. I’d like to thank Carmichael Lynch for both hosting the event and sponsoring the dinner from Brasa.

Art Buddies is a non-profit which runs on grants and donations—from people like you. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Art Buddies. Visit artbuddies.org to donate. If you’re interested in becoming an Art Buddy for the fall session, please visit artbuddies.org and fill out the application.

We took a break from our letter writing at the fundraiser to see the sunset from the Carmichael Lynch rooftop. Here’s what it looks like:

The brand new Twin's ballpark: Target Field

I love rusted metal!

The Minneapolis Skyline

Here are some random photos that I took this week!

I took in this sunset from the top of the Calhoun Square parking garage last Thursday.

This lady bug was hanging out in a flowering tree in the church parking lot on Sunday. (The blooms on this tree do not smell good.)

An extreme close up of my beverage at Spyhouse tonight: sparkling raspberry green tea. It tasted delicious. However, I just learned that green tea does indeed contain some caffeine. There goes my bedtime.

Every year I go to the nursery and buy plants for the yard. I’ve never planted seeds. I’ve also never planted vegetables. 2010 is a year to try new things—so I did both! I put some vegetables in my window box and planted some sunflower seeds by the garage. I figured the bright orange-yellow would look super nice next to my blue siding.

I planted the seeds about two weeks ago and checked in today to find tiny little sunflowers sprouting! I’m so excited to see my seeds are growing (yes, excited even though the seed package says, “guaranteed to grow”). The sprouts are about an inch tall and here are the photos! As long as the plants survive, I’ll post pictures on the blog so you can watch them grow with me! As a bonus, I saw a beautiful caterpillar and photographed it, too!

Guaranteed to grow? Sold!

The seeds. I love all the different stripe patterns! Each sunflower seed is similar to the next yet totally unique—I find this level of detail amazing. We live in an awesome world.

Pushing up dirt!

Stretching out.

Reaching for the sun.

Isn't this a beautiful creature! I love the color combination of turquoise, gold and black. I dig the pattern.

Trying to find a good place to spin a cocoon.

Zoomed in so you can see the incredible detail!

P.S. Are you watching the Discovery Channel series called “Life?” It is one of my favorite shows. The photography is brilliant and with Oprah as the narrator, what’s not to love! You HAVE to watch the episode on plants. It has forever changed the way I look at plant life. Plants are so much more like animals than I ever thought! Check out the Life website and set your DVR to record!!!

Last night I attended the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Portfolio Show. I was quite impressed by the portfolios—these students are showing some great work! The show is up through the end of day today (from 10 am to 7 pm, address listed below). If you can’t make it to the show, check out the show’s website featuring the portfolios of the students: http://gra2010.com

After perusing the show, I experienced an amazing sunset. Here are a couple of my favorite photos. I took these from the top level of the MCTC parking ramp.

MCTC Portfolio Show | 1501 Hennepin Ave | Minneapolis | Wheelock Whitney Hall (they have signs directing you to the show)

I took these photos four weeks ago and forgot to post them! Spring was just emerging and I was at the Walker Sculpture Garden.

This is a teeny tiny flower!

Detail of a support beam (the foot bridge from the sculpture garden to Loring Park)

More teeny flowers. Loving this color combination!

I love the stripe patterns on the palms of this plant.