The Food Challenge

I expected to be nervous during the Kickstarter campaign to raise money for the launch of Threads by Nomad. And I have been! Every time someone gives my heart skips a beat and I giggle. (Yes, I am 58 years old and I giggle!) I did not expect to have so much fun with it. So many of our friends are excited for us and are watching as we climb and approach our goal. They text or they call or post something on Facebook.

We have one special friend here in Houston though who has taken the excitement to a new level. Farhad, originally from the Middle East, has been in the US for only three months. We have known his sister and mom for some years while his sister studied here. So he was not a total stranger to us; in fact he was already like family before he even arrived. He has loved and supported the idea of Threads by Nomad from the beginning and as a business owner himself wants to see it succeed. As a result he entered enthusiastically into his version of a pep rally for our Kickstarter! It all has to do with food--American food!

It began at Costco, his mom’s favorite place here in Houston! He said, “Nell, check Kickstarter! I have a feeling!” I had just checked a few minutes earlier and it had not changed. I was hesitant to check again but he insisted. Sure enough we had increased a significant amount. We laughed and jumped up and down. Yes, in Costco!

A while later he did the same thing. I told him to be patient. He again insisted. Another significant increase! He began to admonish me for my lack of faith exclaiming he had more faith than I do in Threads by Nomad. To prove it he named an amount significantly higher and said that if we reach that amount by a certain time I owed him an American cheeseburger! (Farhad LOVES the food here.) I responded that if we made that amount by the designated time I would buy him not one, but TWO cheeseburgers! Farhad, his mom and his sister got in on the act, watching the Kickstarter campaign obsessively and anticipating Farhad and his cheeseburgers. Every little while I would get a text with the amount and a picture of giant cheeseburgers.

Sadly, Farhad did not get his cheeseburgers. Never fear! Folks were following the interchange on Facebook and Instagram. I am in Houston. In Alexandria, VA a friend of Sis’ (Christen) felt bad that Farhad did not get his burgers and showed up with a gift card to Five Guys for Farhad! He will get his cheeseburgers after all.

Farhad, however, was not deterred. He made another challenge. If we made a certain amount by a specified time I owed him pizza and my homemade brownies. (Farhad and his sister Aida LOVE brownies!) I never dreamed that a full day and a half before their designated deadline I would be hosting them for a pizza-and-brownie party in our home! But we met that goal and now Farhad thanks you, our Kickstarter supporters, and so do we!

As we visited last night while indulging in pizza and brownies, we ate and laughed and Farhad's whole family decided to join in on the fun. Here are their new challenges:

- Parvin (Farhad’s mom) LOVES our Houston Armadillo restaurant. No, they do not sell armadillo but it has a giant armadillo outside and she thinks it's hilarious. They do serve great American fare and the whole restaurant boasts thematic western décor. If we reach the $20,000 mark by midnight tonight--Saturday, September 10th--then Parvin will take all of us out to the Armadillo restaurant.

- Aida loves Olive Garden. If we reach the 20,000 mark by noon on Monday, September 12th then I will take everyone to Olive Garden. (How I got roped into this, I do not know!)

- And just yesterday I showed Farhad the acclaimed Houston steakhouse, A Taste of Texas, while we were out shopping for furniture for our joint office space. If we reach the $20,000 mark sometime after noon on Monday but before midnight on Tuesday, September 13th then Farhad has agreed to take everyone out to the Taste of Texas.

Help a girl out!

I am grateful. Grateful for friends like these and like you--our readers and supporters--who genuinely want to see Threads by Nomad succeed. I am grateful for the many who have helped make this a fun and adventurous experience. And I am grateful for the opportunity to celebrate diversity through design made possible by you!

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