Now that Brooke started beauty school, she started her own blog too. Keep up with her on her new blog at http://nycbeautyschoolgirl.blogspot.com/

Stay tuned for a new blog here, coming soon!

Adventures of a New York Beauty School Girl

This blog comes to you from the other half of the Hunt clan today. Normally Alan would be writing to you on our behalf. However, there has been a big change in our lives that I'd like to tell you all about. I have decided to go back to school, but not in the traditional sense. As many of you know, I've wanted to be a hair stylist for a long time and on Tuesday (Feb 17th) I became a student at the Carsten Institute for Cosmetology here in NYC. It's an Aveda concept school, which means they use Aveda products and techniques (for the most part) but they are owned by a family. The owner, Carsten Wilms, is a world-renowned stylist who has developed his own cutting technique, which he created and mastered in France. So let me tell you how I came to make this decision.

When we lived in MN, I used to get my hair cut and styled by students at the Aveda Institute. I knew that there was an Aveda Institute in NYC so I called to make an apt. but they couldn't get me in so I was researching other beauty schools online and that's when I found Carsten.  I fell in love with the school the moment I walked in the place but at that point I didn't even considered becoming a student. I had sort of given up on that dream. But visiting Carsten stirred something in me and I started to think about becoming a stylist again. When I went to the school to get my hair done, I chatted with a student who was in the part-time night program. She worked full time and went to Carsten every night, Monday through Friday. No way would I EVER be able to have that kind of discipline. But she told me all about her life, and she had a very similar story as mine. When she started the program, her husband had just finished grad school. She worked full time and couldn't afford to quit her job to go to school. When I left that night, I really started to think that it was something I would be able to do. But I honestly couldn't imagine giving up all my free time for a year. When I got home, I talked to Alan, and instead of worrying about how much money it would cost or about how much time it would take, he told he that I should do it. He told me that he had a chance to follow his dream and go to grad school so I should follow mine and go to beauty school. My original plan was to start this fall so that I could enjoy the summer but I was getting so excited to start. There's no time like the present. So that brings us to today.

I just completed my first week and so far I am LOVING it. On the second day we were already doing hands-on work and cutting hair (on mannequins of course). It's very exhausting though, having to work during the day and go straight to school at night. I don't get home until 10:30. I am getting used to it, but it's going to be hard to keep this schedule up for a year. 

So, my plan for the future. Part of the reason why I'm doing this is because I have always wanted to be able to work for myself. I am not a fan of Corporate America and I'm much too antsy to sit in a cubical for the rest of my life. What I really want to do is be a freelance stylist focusing on the wedding industry. I would love to be a personal stylist for weddings. For my wedding, we had our hair and makeup artist come to us. It was such a good experience! I also plan to get my makeup license eventually, and I'd love to learn hair and lash extensions. I want to be a full-service stylist! My goal is to be able to be working but still be able to stay home with our kids. 

So, I'm going to continue to keep you all updated on my own blog, but I haven't set it up yet. Stay tuned for the url! 

xoxo

The Hunts go to Washington

This past weekend (1/30-2/1) we rented a car with Chad and Nicci

 and stayed in Washington DC. This visit was our first and was a wonderful experience. We were blessed to h

ave stayed with some friends of Nicci and Chad for the weekend. They live a short drive and train ride away from down town DC. We did most of our touring on Saturday but went down town on Sunday as well. I just wanted to post and let you guys know about the trip.

On Saturday we started the day off on a light note by touring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. We didn't get to see everything in it but the exibits we veiwed were extraordinary. The exibit that I thought was intriguing was about Nazi Propaganda. It explained the environment, pysche, visual images that influenced all that happened in Nazi Germany. The other notable exibit was the Hall of Rememberance. Here is a description of this hall from ushmm.org. "Diffused sunlight illuminates the Hall as it passes through the translucent glass of a high, center skylight. The floor is red granite, spattered and cracked by natural fissures. Narrow openings on the side walls let in light." All of this sets a reflective atmosphere for visitors. It was very cool.

After lunch we visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Here we saw artifacts ranging from some of the first flying airplains to Neil and Buzz's re-entry capsul in which they returned from the moon in. It was a blast!

In the evening we set out on a mad rush to visit the White House, The Washington Monument, the Reflection Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial. Our visit to the closest point of the front of the White House was stopped short by DC police who were evacuating the area. While we were there we saw a lot of activity around an assembling motorcade in the driveway in front of the house. We are confident we saw one of Obama's cars (the one used in the Inuguration day parade). We can only speculate but we know they wouldn't have evacuated the area for the period of an hour just so the cleaning crew could leave. It was all very exciting.

My favorite part of the entire visit was the Lincoln Memorial. It was breath taking! We walked the length of the Reflection Pool to arrive at the Loncoln Memorial. The grandiosity of the structure was amazing! I was told that one of the big marble tiles on the first tier of the stairs marks the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. Gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. So as I approached that spot I watched for the marker. When I found it I steped onto it, turned around as if I were there to address the masses and said to myself "So this is what Martin Luther King saw that day.", and my eyes teared a little. It was the thought of what it must have been like back on that day in the 1963 combined with the weight of Obama becoming the President that promted to me to feel emotional. I thought of how proud I am of this country, my country, which ascribes to such liberties as Obama said during his Inagural speech, which are the reason ". . .why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."

Visiting DC was a wonderful experience. I hope every person who lives in America can experience its beauty, history, and story.

Miss you all very much and love you all even more!

Love Alan and Brooke

Ba-rock is How I Roll

With Barack Obama (BO) on the verge of being inaugurated as the 44th President of this nation my mind has been wondering of the things I'd like to see result from his election. Now I want to give a disclaimer to start with (this is for you Deb, and those who think like her). I do not expect Barack Obama to rise to become "Savior of America" nor have I ever believed that.

The first time I saw BO was on C-SPAN one night during the spring of 2007. He was encircled by a small crowd in a field in what looked to be a rural area. He was delineating his plans to improve policy in America regarding education, health care, the Iraq war, foreign relations and more. Before I landed on that channel I had never heard his name before. "Barack Obama, D-Senator, IL- Presidential Candidate" was posted on the bottom of the screen. After listening to him speak with passion about these issues I though to myself "I need to keep track of this guy because I have never heard someone relate to me like this". I don't need to provide you with a detailed timeline of how I became a BO supporter. However, All of this to say I have supported him and his ideas for longer than most of the millions who voted for him this last November. This is important because often times BO supporters are accused of "jumping on the Obama band wagon". The fact is I was on the wagon almost a year before BO was well known to the general American public.


This makes me feel special. Its like when you fall in love with a band that isn't well known, then throughout the next year you try to get your friends to listen to the band but nobody cares. All of a sudden your bands "new" single that you memorized a year ago comes on the radio and everyone goes nuts and starts singing along. All the while you feel ripped off cause you discovered the band, but people don't care. Regardless, you are just another band wagon jumper. Once more, all that to say people make me feel like that sometimes concerning my support for BO.


History lesson time! So FRD was the last President to take office during an economic hard time here in America, it was called the Great Depression, you may have heard of it. Throughout his 13 years in office he implemented multiple policies to "stimulate" the economy and stabilize it in the long run. His New Deals included creation of the Social Security System, and the FDIC among others. The other major issue he dealt with during his time in office was the second World War. He was also a major contributor to the creation of the UN which replace the League of Nations. The UN was created to help prevent future world wars. Superficially, that's FDR in a nut shell, no I'm not labeling him a nut.


Now fast forward to the present ZWOOOOOO! We find ourselves in a faltering economy and the Iraq War among many other issues. While its not a world war, its a war that has lasted longer than WWII. This sounds familiar, wait it is familiar! It sounds just like the 30's! Like back then, we now have to bring in a Democrat once to clean up the mess a republican made (you know I had to poke a little fun somewhere in here).


We, 53% of us at least, have placed BO in an extremely rare situation. Only a few presidents have had to deal with an economy like ours combined with a war time. Now I don't expect him to be without fault just as we shouldn't expect any President to be perfect. But I do expect him to keep his word to approach all issues with his administration to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. How long have you been doing your job and still make mistakes? I don't expect him to heal the sick. But I do expect him to provide a reasonable environment in which all Americans have their health care tended to. I don't expect him to make everyone wealthy. But I do expect him to manipulate the economy and taxation policies to be fair. I don't expect him to manage the Iraq war without casualties. But I do expect him to keep his word and manage it in a responsible considerate way that will set a landscape for Iraq to prosper. I don't expect him to cause all students to begin earning A's. But I do expect him to properly amend and fund education policy. I don't expect him to change Washington over night. But I do expect him to set an all inclusive tone and environment in which our policy makers can work together to perfect this union. He changed the way primary and presidential elections managed. So why can't he change the way Washington functions?


BO has bettered the things he has been involved with from a small community up to the way 129,391,711 people voted. I hope Barack keeps his word. I hope Barack will continue to inspire this nation to better places and greater things. I hope Barack sets our nation and as a result our world on a great course for years to come. And I hope I can look back in 40 years and tell my grandchildren that this nation and the world its in is the way it is because Barack Obama was here.


Here's to Barack Obama! We trust you, please don't let us down.

2008 was great. Here's to 2009 being more than fine!

It was great to see so many loved ones over this last Christmas week. If we didn't see you I apologize, its amazing how fast 7 days fly by.

Brooke and I have had a whirlwind of a year. A new pup, a new degree, and a new local are just a couple of the highlights. The more important part of the last year was what we learned. Now I know what your thinking "Oh great...another story of cliche remarks and boastful accomplishments." WRONG! This will be a thrilling joy ride of mind blowing proportion that will cause joy to pour out of every part of your body!

Lesson #1- Don't get a Master Degree if your cost is more than your potential benefits.

Seriously though, I love what I do and would never trade it. It is the most fulfilling work I have ever done monetary reimbursement. But give me a paragraph to vomit all over this issue. It isn't until you trade those thousands of dollars for that paper thingy we call a degree and begin paying back what you borrowed that you realize what you have done. Don't get me wrong this degree will pay off in the long run but when I look at this wonderfully lopsided income to education debt ratio I want to scream phrases such as "IF ANYONE COMES NEAR ME I WILL SLAP YOU RIGHT IN THE NECK!" and "THANK YOU OH WONDERFUL INSTITUTION THAT INSTILLED ME WITH SUCH WONDERFUL KNOWLEDGE...AND RACKED ME OVER THE GLOWING HOT COALS OF DEBT!" On top of that they harass me every 2 months with a phone call asking me to further donate money.

Lesson #2- Training a dog is more important than you will ever know.

Sergeant Pepper, the Jekyll and Hyde of dogs. Some of you may have met him in the last year but many of you have not. He was, at 4 months old, the sweetest pup in the world of dogs. He continued on this track even after we had him neutered last summer. Side note, I hear there are prosthetic testicles one can have implanted in place of the dog's real deals, they are called Nueticles. Anyway, we were told that neutering would help prevent aggression in male dogs, it was a funny joke that vet played on us cause I think he just got pissed once he realized his balls were missing and all that remained was a tiny flap of skin. What fun is it lapping only at a flap of skin? So he's been pissed at the world since. Mainly at other dogs and small children. We have been doing a lot of behavior modification training but it takes a lot of time and effort...and patience. So this all goes to say, buying a puppy equals cute, but not training it through and through in its first few years equals disaster.

Lesson #3-Trust that God knows what hes doing in your life.

One can panic all one wants, the outcomes to major events usually come out the same. Brooke and I have grown spiritually so much since we got married. We test each other and God. In return he tests us, rather we interpret that he is testing us. There are three things that can dominate conversation in adult life: Sex, Money, and Children. Though all are great things, becoming consumed in them is a mistake. The specifics of God and life, though entertaining to discuss, ponder, regurgitate and scream about, are often pointless. I know some of you may feel a little concern for my proclamation of this, but its true to me right now and will remain until my faith evolves again. Yes my faith evolves. I believe its supposed to, not even Jesus had it figured out by his 30th birthday and now that I am approaching that age I feel OK with where I am right now. I thank Nicci for helping me come to grips with some of this stuff. It takes hearing different perspectives to truly come to find that you are OK...I am OK...you are most likly OK. Its the moment when discussions stop, consideration of other views stop, and refining of beliefs stops that you should become concerned.

We hope and pray that God blesses all of you this next year with the love, joy, and happiness that he has blessed us with.

Love Alan and Brooke

I've been a bad boy!

Hey all! Firstly, I would simply like to say I am sorry for not maintaining this thing on a regular basis. As we are currently home in MN right now and I am sitting in Apple Valley writing this I am remembering Christmas Eve when most of my family harassed me for not keeping this blog current. Secondly, this is only an apology post. I will be posting here shortly in order to fill all of you in on the last couple of months.

Love you all! Have a happy New Year

No we will not be in Time Square to watch the ball drop this New Years Eve, its crazy there.

. . .Oops

Hello all!

Brooke and I have been in New York for 6 months now! Can you believe it? It's been a while since I've posted a blog, so here are some quick status updates. . .

Brooke is doing really well. She is still in marketing at CB Richard Ellis and is finally starting to feel comfortable in her job. Athough, she would rather be fulfilling her passion (having babies... no that's not a joke!) but moving here was something that we decided to do for us, and we couldn't be happier that we did it. Brooke and her sister Nicci, who, for those of you who don't know, lives with her husband just a few doors down, are best friends. They work out together at the gym down the block, they walk the dogs together, shop together, and do everything else best friends do, and they're all the better for it.

Sgt. Pepper, bless him, has been a bit of a pain. He is coming into social maturity, so says the trainer at the leash aggression class we went to, and has been giving us hell by randomly barking at anything on the street. At the class we got some tips on how to decrease that behavior and promote some more acceptable social skills. But other than that, he is our usual sweet loving pup. We have recently taught him a new trick, "bang". Its a trick where you have him sit and then lay and point your finger at him while saying "bang", then he rolls onto his side as if he were just shot dead. Its funny.

My job is going pretty well. Nothing really new on that front. This weekend (10/18) I get to (finally!) collect on a gift Brooke gave me on my last birthday over the summer. My brother in law and I are spending the weekend in Atlantic City! Texas Hold em shall be played for many many hours on this trip. It will be a blast.

Well, sorry that I have failed to keep my monthly commitment to this blog but I will try to do a little better at updating everyone. We love and miss you all!