Another update.
I'm probably going to discontinue making updates on here when there's an update there. Last call to follow ;-)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Update
Made a one•little•m update.
Please reply and let me know if you care to be on the email list for that blog... or click the Follow button while you're on that site.
Please reply and let me know if you care to be on the email list for that blog... or click the Follow button while you're on that site.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Support My Art :0)
I made a new blog here just for my one•little•m shop related things. It's going to be a sort of sketch book for me to use and to reference for my projects. I think it'll be fun. Help support my creative endeavor by following me there!
Thank you.
Thank you.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
You Have To Love A Good Weird Conversation!
I love those really odd, but very interesting weird conversations that come up every once in a while. Especially at things like holiday parties where you don't expect them... and more especially the weird conversations that come up between people you know, but not really that personally yet where this odd type of conversation just really makes you want to know them and hang out with them more.
The Vineyard staff Christmas party was this past Friday evening. It was held at our pastor Jeff's home where they served a nice sit down dinner for about 16 people or so. Really lovely. After dinner, Terra (the worship pastor's wife), Maureen (another staff member's wife) and I were sitting in the corner having one such really odd conversation, haha! it was great.
Maureen told us about a farm that's near their home, where a story about the fate of 2 horses would unfold. One of them apparently had slipped in mud and broke it's leg. Now I don't know much about horse care, but apparently it's really expensive to have a horse with a broken leg taken care of and kept off the leg because of the sheer mass of the animal. Thus, they had to put the horse down. She proceeded to tell us about what happens to dead horse bodies, ha. You can't just bury them.. it would take forever to dig such a hole. The horse buryer suggested to slice up the animal in order to more easily have it fit into the hole so it's legs wouldn't be sticking out of the ground! ...but the owners wouldn't have that, I mean this was like a beloved pet to them.. so they had to order a backhoe to dig a hole.
The other horse in the story apparently had some sickness and died, and had an autopsy to find the cause of death. Audy (Maureen's husband) happened to be walking around the barn behind their home one day, to find the horse on a table being disassembled! He got upset that his kids might wander back there and be scarred for life. I would be!
So as we were talking and listening to the details of Maureen's story, Josh (Terra's husband) comes up to our conversation and asks, "So what are we ladies talking about? hair? periods? purses?" haha ...
The Vineyard staff Christmas party was this past Friday evening. It was held at our pastor Jeff's home where they served a nice sit down dinner for about 16 people or so. Really lovely. After dinner, Terra (the worship pastor's wife), Maureen (another staff member's wife) and I were sitting in the corner having one such really odd conversation, haha! it was great.
Maureen told us about a farm that's near their home, where a story about the fate of 2 horses would unfold. One of them apparently had slipped in mud and broke it's leg. Now I don't know much about horse care, but apparently it's really expensive to have a horse with a broken leg taken care of and kept off the leg because of the sheer mass of the animal. Thus, they had to put the horse down. She proceeded to tell us about what happens to dead horse bodies, ha. You can't just bury them.. it would take forever to dig such a hole. The horse buryer suggested to slice up the animal in order to more easily have it fit into the hole so it's legs wouldn't be sticking out of the ground! ...but the owners wouldn't have that, I mean this was like a beloved pet to them.. so they had to order a backhoe to dig a hole.
The other horse in the story apparently had some sickness and died, and had an autopsy to find the cause of death. Audy (Maureen's husband) happened to be walking around the barn behind their home one day, to find the horse on a table being disassembled! He got upset that his kids might wander back there and be scarred for life. I would be!
So as we were talking and listening to the details of Maureen's story, Josh (Terra's husband) comes up to our conversation and asks, "So what are we ladies talking about? hair? periods? purses?" haha ...
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Get this one..
I designed this ad for one of our clients, mygofer.com. I just realized the absurdity that exists here. Do you see it?
"Buy online... and receive a mystery gift card.... when you pick up your order at the store..." Then in the fine print it says "No purchase necessary."
How much of a lie is this?! You ARE buying something to get that mystery gift card. What a lie. Is this what I do? Lie to people? No, I just design people's lies, ha, isn't that terrible? Yes, it is.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
one•little•m
I started an online shop for my creative efforts! Check it out at www.onelittlem.etsy.com.
So far I only have 5 items for sale, but I'm very motivated to be constantly thinking about new work. My current focus is on adding more Art Prints, since it seems that would have a wider range of interest, at least amongst the people I know. I'm working very hard on this shop: pricing, new work, setting up, etc.. so I hope you will check it regularly.
I've also started a facebook fan page for one•little•m. If you're a facebooker you might be interested to join so you can see my updates.. although I have considered starting a blog for that too. We'll see!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Now I'm A Wedding Dressmaker
Wow.. a girl from church asked if I could make her wedding dress today. She sent me a picture of a dress she likes, style-wise. It's really cute.. almost makes me really want to do it! I hope she's willing to pay, because that's a ton of time and materials costs (and probably traveling costs too, for decent fabrics *shaking fist at Chattanooga's fabric selection*)..
Yay for me if I get this gig, though. Very interesting portfolio piece.. and we could use the income! I'm actually kind of flattered to have people ask me to generate the most expensive, most lovely dress they ever hope to wear in their life. Wow. Does that make me nervous about such a project? Not really. After all I made my own better than how I had envisioned.
Maybe dressmaking is my rocket science of the creative world....
Yay for me if I get this gig, though. Very interesting portfolio piece.. and we could use the income! I'm actually kind of flattered to have people ask me to generate the most expensive, most lovely dress they ever hope to wear in their life. Wow. Does that make me nervous about such a project? Not really. After all I made my own better than how I had envisioned.
Maybe dressmaking is my rocket science of the creative world....
Saturday, December 5, 2009
It Snowed!
It snowed this morning!.. something we see rarely in TN. But man, if it weren't a Saturday, the kids would so be off school (and there isn't even any snow on the streets, ha.)
TN doesn't know what real snow is ;)
See our little Indiana Jones hanging at the top right corner of the window? And our garlics that have decided to sprout.
TN doesn't know what real snow is ;)
See our little Indiana Jones hanging at the top right corner of the window? And our garlics that have decided to sprout.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Note: Living On A Budget
We've been living on a budget for about a month now, and I've realized a somewhat unexpected difference in our lives. Since money is not budgeted for previously "convenient" items like cable, eating out, frozen yogurt, running the heat all the time, and weekly trips to McKay! haha... I personally feel that we now experience a certain quality to things that we missed out on before.
We cook more home made meals and snacks (and are able to because we PLAN for them, what a novel idea!). Not having cable allows us more time to spend on our hobbies, playing games, and having conversations. We spend more time snuggling without the heat blaring. And Jon found a ton of new (old) reading materials after raiding his parents' basement over the holiday. Gosh. We can totally live without those "convenient" money-suckers.
Suckas!
:•)
We cook more home made meals and snacks (and are able to because we PLAN for them, what a novel idea!). Not having cable allows us more time to spend on our hobbies, playing games, and having conversations. We spend more time snuggling without the heat blaring. And Jon found a ton of new (old) reading materials after raiding his parents' basement over the holiday. Gosh. We can totally live without those "convenient" money-suckers.
Suckas!
:•)
Little Black.
I finished it! It's also quite comfy. I added satin buttons to the shoulders, and the back V's down a little bit. Now I just need some stockings and a few more layers so I can wear it in this chilly weather. Oh, it also cost me about $15 to make. Beat that retail!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Obscene & Not Heard
Do you ever hear (but not intentionally listen to) stuff that you feel is somehow (and negatively) subliminally affecting the way you feel? I do. Every day... Evvverrrry DAY at work I listen to the majority of my coworkers complain about their workload.. "sh**!" this and "f***!" that.. "how the h*** are we supposed to...?!" and "why in the world would I need a day off when I could be working!?..."
hm.
I'm glad for my headphones, but when I'm not wearing them for whatever reason, I think these statements subliminally get me down. You can't exactly start a cuss jar or a complaint jar. You took the job, you can leave if you really hate it... but don't bring us all down with you. I'm trying to keep in good spirit here.
hm.
I'm glad for my headphones, but when I'm not wearing them for whatever reason, I think these statements subliminally get me down. You can't exactly start a cuss jar or a complaint jar. You took the job, you can leave if you really hate it... but don't bring us all down with you. I'm trying to keep in good spirit here.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Vineyard Christmas Party Invite 09!
This is so hilarious. I got such a kick out of doing the photo shoot and putting together the invitation for this year's shindig. (These are our staff members for those of you who don't know: my husband (obviously), Jeff (in the santa hat) our pastor, and Josh our worship pastor.
We're planning to do a photo booth at the party, too.. and I'll be doing the work on Olan-Mills-izing everyone's photos. Priceless!
The powerpoint slide for tomorrrow:
The to-be printed invitation:
We're planning to do a photo booth at the party, too.. and I'll be doing the work on Olan-Mills-izing everyone's photos. Priceless!
The powerpoint slide for tomorrrow:
The to-be printed invitation:
Monday, November 16, 2009
A Monday Evening
I'm watching Jon be artistic :•) He's painting up his BattleTech robot figures. Boy the kitchen table sure is a scene!
I had to include this photo I took a little while ago in our bedroom. It's a pretty concise representation of the 2 of us.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Meek Family Crest
Historically, crests were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy soldiers, but they eventually became emblems of a number of Scottish clans. In my research it appears that the tradition was primarily practiced in Western European countries, but can be rarely seen in African and Asian genealogy.
The Meeks were first found in Fife and their records appeared on early census scrolls taken by the kings of Scotland. The name is English and Scottish, a nickname for a self-effacing person or a gentle and compassionate one, from Middle English meke ‘humble’, ‘submissive’, ‘merciful’ .
Jon had shown me the Meek crest before and I was curious to find out more about what the meanings and symbols on it held. I researched crest symbolism as well as various sites about the meaning of the Meek crest / coat of arms.
(Reference the second illustration for the terms below)
Motto
"JUNGOR UT IMPLEAR", meaning "Union is Strength" or "I Am Joined So That I May Become Full", although this graphic I found doesn't show the motto, except for country of origin.
Colors
Gold represents generosity and elevation of the mind (smarties!)
Red represents warrior or martyr; military strength and magnanimity
Crest
The lion symbolizes "dauntless courage".
Torse
or wreath, is a twisted roll of fabric wound around the top of the helmet and crest to hold the mantle in place, sometimes held to represent the token which the crusader’s lady-love gave him when he left for the wars.
Helm (Helmet)
A barred or open helmet means nobility.
Manteling
The wavey elements around the helmet are a depiction of the protective cloth covering worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the elements.
Coronet
This would be the crown adornment. The Meek crest has none, which I assume to mean lineage was not of that status level.
Supporters
Typically these are animal or human figures that stand on either side of the shield. Rarely leaves are shown, as depicted, which have some kind of unspecified local significance.
Field
This is the area of solid color(s) in the background of the shield. It was regarded more heraldic than the landscape fields of other crests.
Ordinaries
Some shields have lines, chevrons or patterns on the shield, none of which are depicted here, although the wavey red shape around the lion could represent fire according to the symbolism guide I linked to above.
Common Charges
The lion is repeated here on the shield as well as in the crest above the knight's helmet.. perhaps the lion here inside the fire is a military reference to "courage under fire".
Order
Decoration awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. This would be located directly under the shield. This one lacks that decoration but I would assume it would be something that would be present on an individual's crest rather than this generic family crest.
Compartment
I believe this is simply the grounding which could be grass or water, etc. The Meek crest has none.
I'd love to save up to put one of these on my wall some day. There are some really nice looking wooden or wood and marble plaques. My grandmother had one for the Warne family (my mother's side) and I always thought it was so neat, a very profound representation of family history.
The Meeks were first found in Fife and their records appeared on early census scrolls taken by the kings of Scotland. The name is English and Scottish, a nickname for a self-effacing person or a gentle and compassionate one, from Middle English meke ‘humble’, ‘submissive’, ‘merciful’ .
Jon had shown me the Meek crest before and I was curious to find out more about what the meanings and symbols on it held. I researched crest symbolism as well as various sites about the meaning of the Meek crest / coat of arms.
(Reference the second illustration for the terms below)
Motto"JUNGOR UT IMPLEAR", meaning "Union is Strength" or "I Am Joined So That I May Become Full", although this graphic I found doesn't show the motto, except for country of origin.
Colors
Gold represents generosity and elevation of the mind (smarties!)
Red represents warrior or martyr; military strength and magnanimity
Crest
The lion symbolizes "dauntless courage".
Torse
or wreath, is a twisted roll of fabric wound around the top of the helmet and crest to hold the mantle in place, sometimes held to represent the token which the crusader’s lady-love gave him when he left for the wars.
Helm (Helmet)
A barred or open helmet means nobility.
Manteling
The wavey elements around the helmet are a depiction of the protective cloth covering worn by knights from their helmets to stave off the elements.
Coronet
This would be the crown adornment. The Meek crest has none, which I assume to mean lineage was not of that status level.
Supporters
Typically these are animal or human figures that stand on either side of the shield. Rarely leaves are shown, as depicted, which have some kind of unspecified local significance.
Field
This is the area of solid color(s) in the background of the shield. It was regarded more heraldic than the landscape fields of other crests.
Ordinaries
Some shields have lines, chevrons or patterns on the shield, none of which are depicted here, although the wavey red shape around the lion could represent fire according to the symbolism guide I linked to above.
Common Charges
The lion is repeated here on the shield as well as in the crest above the knight's helmet.. perhaps the lion here inside the fire is a military reference to "courage under fire".
Order
Decoration awarded by a government, a dynastic house, or a religious body to an individual, usually for distinguished service to a nation or to humanity. This would be located directly under the shield. This one lacks that decoration but I would assume it would be something that would be present on an individual's crest rather than this generic family crest.
Compartment
I believe this is simply the grounding which could be grass or water, etc. The Meek crest has none.
I'd love to save up to put one of these on my wall some day. There are some really nice looking wooden or wood and marble plaques. My grandmother had one for the Warne family (my mother's side) and I always thought it was so neat, a very profound representation of family history.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Feel-Good Weekend.
Productive weekends are such a comfort to me. Maybe I'm weird, but taking a few hours together with Jon to organize things made me feel so refreshed and just.. better.
Disorganization to me becomes a closet of lost files and chaos, ha. When you don't know exactly where things are, you feel lost, right? I do.. and since getting married, slowly attacking things like paper work and receipts that previously were in separate places feels pretty good. Actually it feels like Unity to me, to know where all of our stuff is and how it's all organized. Good times.
In other news, I started another dress project! This one will be my holiday dress.. The Little Black dress I've been wanting for years.. something every woman should have. I'm especially excited about it because it'll be a pretty classy garment, for the low low price of like $15. I'll post photos when it's done. Yay!
In additionally other news, Friday night Jon and I went to see Micah Dalton play live acoustic at some small church in Belvoir. He played the song he did live for our first dance as a married couple and dedicated it to us. It was lovely. Micah was opening for David Berkeley, who also had a very pleasant sound. Great evening.. free cookies!
Disorganization to me becomes a closet of lost files and chaos, ha. When you don't know exactly where things are, you feel lost, right? I do.. and since getting married, slowly attacking things like paper work and receipts that previously were in separate places feels pretty good. Actually it feels like Unity to me, to know where all of our stuff is and how it's all organized. Good times.
In other news, I started another dress project! This one will be my holiday dress.. The Little Black dress I've been wanting for years.. something every woman should have. I'm especially excited about it because it'll be a pretty classy garment, for the low low price of like $15. I'll post photos when it's done. Yay!
In additionally other news, Friday night Jon and I went to see Micah Dalton play live acoustic at some small church in Belvoir. He played the song he did live for our first dance as a married couple and dedicated it to us. It was lovely. Micah was opening for David Berkeley, who also had a very pleasant sound. Great evening.. free cookies!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Not Slow & Jumbled!
This is what I look at on a busy day. I keep a browse window open for every project I work on and position it just so for the preview to reveal exactly what all is going on. A mess? Perhaps.. A slow and jumbled designer? Perhaps not!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Defacing Mechs & A Love Note
I put this up on Facebook but continued to think it was too hilarious not to post here for posterity. Sometimes a 2 or 3 hour long game of BattleTech tends to lose my attention span. That's the moment when I start getting creative with the illustrations on the mech sheets. Conveniently, such distractions help keep me more focused on the game.And unrelated to defacing mech illustrations:
I like to note certain little moments in which I fall more in love with my husband. The moment today was as he was cradling my entirety in his long arms on the couch this morning when I was whining about driving to work again. Love builds, it doesn't stagnate. What a comfort to life that is.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Desktop Shark
Shark attack!
More like, where the heck is that dang file? Oh yeah, must be in my desktop shark.
More like, where the heck is that dang file? Oh yeah, must be in my desktop shark.
Friday, October 23, 2009
27, 28, 29....
After having a birthday, it usually takes me about 2 weeks to realize I am indeed another year older. In just 3 years I'll be 30 can you believe it?
I posted this sentiment on Facebook and got tons of replies (mostly from others feeling the same way about approaching 30 or who have already said "seeya!" to their twenties). The number itself doesn't scare me. I don't think my spirit will suddenly feel crushingly decrepit on October 15, 2012 (which by the way I have requested to receive a pie in the face from my husband.. it's in his Outlook calendar). The nerves come from the increasing proximity to life things that are bigger than anything I've done yet. That's the scary part.
Jon and I plan for a lot to happen in the next 3 years:
- move closer to work for both of us, a duplex or townhouse
- save up for a better car for Jon
- buy a car without taking out a loan
- save up to buy a home
- buy a home
- start a family
Moving twice and meticulously managing our budget doesn't bother me.. Buying a house and starting a family? I'm trying to decide if that is intimidating. Right now I don't feel that it is because the moment for those things is not too near. But I think the more in advance I can get used to those ideas, the better I will feel when the time comes for them.
Then again, I don't know if I can imagine having a kid in 2-3 years, gah! haha. The idea is nice but the reality hounds me. Sometimes I think that my comfortableness with someone-else's-small-child-interaction determines some level of readiness on my part. At Girls' Night last night I was watching a friend's little girl (age 3) run about, being playful and disobedient.. and I was like this is exhausting just to watch! Then again, I was tired to begin with so no help there.
Anyway.. I know I should "stop worrying and love the bomb".. but I think part of the aging challenge is not to see it as such a harsh timeline.. but rather as a more freeing cluster of opportunities and new experiences.
I posted this sentiment on Facebook and got tons of replies (mostly from others feeling the same way about approaching 30 or who have already said "seeya!" to their twenties). The number itself doesn't scare me. I don't think my spirit will suddenly feel crushingly decrepit on October 15, 2012 (which by the way I have requested to receive a pie in the face from my husband.. it's in his Outlook calendar). The nerves come from the increasing proximity to life things that are bigger than anything I've done yet. That's the scary part.
Jon and I plan for a lot to happen in the next 3 years:
- move closer to work for both of us, a duplex or townhouse
- save up for a better car for Jon
- buy a car without taking out a loan
- save up to buy a home
- buy a home
- start a family
Moving twice and meticulously managing our budget doesn't bother me.. Buying a house and starting a family? I'm trying to decide if that is intimidating. Right now I don't feel that it is because the moment for those things is not too near. But I think the more in advance I can get used to those ideas, the better I will feel when the time comes for them.
Then again, I don't know if I can imagine having a kid in 2-3 years, gah! haha. The idea is nice but the reality hounds me. Sometimes I think that my comfortableness with someone-else's-small-child-interaction determines some level of readiness on my part. At Girls' Night last night I was watching a friend's little girl (age 3) run about, being playful and disobedient.. and I was like this is exhausting just to watch! Then again, I was tired to begin with so no help there.
Anyway.. I know I should "stop worrying and love the bomb".. but I think part of the aging challenge is not to see it as such a harsh timeline.. but rather as a more freeing cluster of opportunities and new experiences.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Financial Peace University - Week 3
Why do days feel so busy when most of it is only driving? It's not really busy, just long.. but we're having fun in this photo :)Last night was week 3 of Financial Peace class.. and we've got something new to try: the Envelope System.
Basically, after receiving our paychecks an amount will be cashed, and that cash will be divided into envelopes that we have assigned to certain categories of spending, like food, entertainment, etc. Based on our specific budget plan, ONLY a certain amount will be allowed for those things per month. If there's no cash in the envelope, then money will not be spent. I'm actually kind of excited to see how this works. I can see how, without planning and probably without some sacrifice, this would be a difficult task but I think we can do it.So, one of the last exercises we did in class last night was to (anonymously) total up the amount of debt (not including mortgages) among all 8 families attending so that we can see what progress we've all made by the end of the course. We. Were. Shocked! Over $1 million, holy pants! I hope this class can help us all! That number makes me nervous, but I think the lessons in this class are hitting them (as well as us) over the head in such a way that we finally have the motivation to work exceptionally hard this time around.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
The Matrix of Going Home for The Weekend
Whenever we release the idea that we'd like to make a St. Louis visit in a month or 2, I hear (many times over) "what's the plan? what's the schedule? when are you going to be here and when are you going to be there? when will you be home for dinner?"
I don't need to plan this months in advance, but a laid-out plan is obviously necessary:
Here is the matrix that is A Visit With The Correntis in a single weekend.. color coded and bolded for easy reading. Print it out, keep it in your pocket, and don't ask... because you already know :)
I look at the husbands in the CC'd area on that email and can hear them going "is this really necessary?" Yes, it is really. You are probably more sane due to my efforts here, ha.
I don't need to plan this months in advance, but a laid-out plan is obviously necessary:
Here is the matrix that is A Visit With The Correntis in a single weekend.. color coded and bolded for easy reading. Print it out, keep it in your pocket, and don't ask... because you already know :)
I look at the husbands in the CC'd area on that email and can hear them going "is this really necessary?" Yes, it is really. You are probably more sane due to my efforts here, ha.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Financial Peace University - class 1
Starting this past Sunday, Jon is facilitating a 13-week course offered through the Vineyard called Financial Peace University. It's basically a video series given by Dave Ramsey, who by the way is a very good public speaker, and very entertaining about the illustrations and even magic tricks he uses to discuss lessons. Jon is pretty entertaining himself as facilitator. Not only is he facilitating, but we are taking this course together as a couple in order to better our money habits. We've had one class so far and already I think we've gotten a lot out of it.
My father and my husband agree.. that I am NOT a numbers person, and although I know how to be smart with money, I know there are even smarter things about it that I can learn and put into practice.
The class is made up of a great combination of different folks: newlyweds, high schoolers, young couples with kids, older couples with kids, and older couples with college kids. We went around the room talking about our basic money triumphs and downfalls. I was kind of shocked to realize that I was basically the only one in the room who'd never maxed out a credit card, never been in debt, and who always had emergency money set aside for unexpectancies. I felt kind of weird when my turn came up to say: "I save well. I've always saved well and have never had problems" (and in my mind) "It's foolish to use credit cards when you don't have money!")
I realize that people will find themselves in desperate situations and think it necessary to use money that isn't there.. but the truth is that good money habits start young, and with discipline can be maintained throughout a lifetime. Had they done so, their predicament may be different.. But of course, it also depends on income, which for some people depends on their personality and their A) ability or willingness to keep a job or B) the type of job they choose. And of course there's always the ultimate chase for doing what makes you happy, which can be a real challenge and I recognize that.
I learned that sometimes my money habits are too "clench-fisted." One of Ramsey's examples discussed how money cannot come and go through a clenched fist, as opposed to an open hand that allows money to move fluently (side note, spending/saving is a good fluent action, as opposed to spending/spending). I thought about this, and realized how high on the list "giving" was (the list being the basic budget we had to fill out as homework). I've had big issues with this in the past, feeling that saving up was more important than giving (i.e. tithing/donating money to the church) but in the past couple years I've realize how important it is to do so.
It's true that you pretty much learn all of your money habits from your parents. My family has been pretty strict with money, but I get most of my spend little, save as much as possible habits from my dad. I think those habits are good, but there can be an extreme to them.. and I think somewhere in the extreme is where I overlooked the importance of giving.. and of saving up for the sole purpose of being able to spend a little extra on special things here and there.
Saving money is DEFINITELY a process as well as a commitment. And NOT spending money in order to do so is such a discipline, one that I'm probably too familiar with, but that so many people are not as I've witnessed in class. It really is a way of life, and because it is, it's a hard habit to change. I had good habits established, but I'm finding that some of my currently established habits need to change some because my finances have changed post-marriage ;)
Credit card debt is something I've never experienced before. Now I'm learning how best to work with it and how to eliminate it. It's not easy. We did our "bit more than basic budget" last night to find exactly how much we're saving per month.. Not at all what I originally had projected! But I'm pretty confidant that our current plan will allow our savings to increase well enough in time. I do get impatient though.. and patience seems to be the very thing with any of this stuff.. with jobs, with making money, with saving money, and with paying things off.
It is a lot to juggle at once.. and sometimes with those expenditure-related habit changes comes giving up certain things to allow for more savings to build. We learned that we spend a lot in groceries per month, and in dining out.. which I didn't think we ate out that often, but I guess we do at least once a week since we tend to enjoy a weekly date night. $20-30/week for a nice meal adds up for sure. We are not to starve ourselves, but to figure a way to spend money more wisely in that area.. or to make more homemade meals for lunches and for road trips.. which I'm actually quite accustomed to. My family always made lunches to pack in a cooler when we went on road trips or to fun outings like Six Flags or something. I'm not opposed to it. Yes it takes more PLANNING, but how hard is that? Not hard. Plus the homemade food is better for you anyway.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how we can improve our money and living habits with the goal of saving better. I like that kind of change and I like that kind of challenge. It'll be motivating to witness each other making the effort.
I'm already thankful for this class!
My father and my husband agree.. that I am NOT a numbers person, and although I know how to be smart with money, I know there are even smarter things about it that I can learn and put into practice.
The class is made up of a great combination of different folks: newlyweds, high schoolers, young couples with kids, older couples with kids, and older couples with college kids. We went around the room talking about our basic money triumphs and downfalls. I was kind of shocked to realize that I was basically the only one in the room who'd never maxed out a credit card, never been in debt, and who always had emergency money set aside for unexpectancies. I felt kind of weird when my turn came up to say: "I save well. I've always saved well and have never had problems" (and in my mind) "It's foolish to use credit cards when you don't have money!")
I realize that people will find themselves in desperate situations and think it necessary to use money that isn't there.. but the truth is that good money habits start young, and with discipline can be maintained throughout a lifetime. Had they done so, their predicament may be different.. But of course, it also depends on income, which for some people depends on their personality and their A) ability or willingness to keep a job or B) the type of job they choose. And of course there's always the ultimate chase for doing what makes you happy, which can be a real challenge and I recognize that.
I learned that sometimes my money habits are too "clench-fisted." One of Ramsey's examples discussed how money cannot come and go through a clenched fist, as opposed to an open hand that allows money to move fluently (side note, spending/saving is a good fluent action, as opposed to spending/spending). I thought about this, and realized how high on the list "giving" was (the list being the basic budget we had to fill out as homework). I've had big issues with this in the past, feeling that saving up was more important than giving (i.e. tithing/donating money to the church) but in the past couple years I've realize how important it is to do so.
It's true that you pretty much learn all of your money habits from your parents. My family has been pretty strict with money, but I get most of my spend little, save as much as possible habits from my dad. I think those habits are good, but there can be an extreme to them.. and I think somewhere in the extreme is where I overlooked the importance of giving.. and of saving up for the sole purpose of being able to spend a little extra on special things here and there.
Saving money is DEFINITELY a process as well as a commitment. And NOT spending money in order to do so is such a discipline, one that I'm probably too familiar with, but that so many people are not as I've witnessed in class. It really is a way of life, and because it is, it's a hard habit to change. I had good habits established, but I'm finding that some of my currently established habits need to change some because my finances have changed post-marriage ;)
Credit card debt is something I've never experienced before. Now I'm learning how best to work with it and how to eliminate it. It's not easy. We did our "bit more than basic budget" last night to find exactly how much we're saving per month.. Not at all what I originally had projected! But I'm pretty confidant that our current plan will allow our savings to increase well enough in time. I do get impatient though.. and patience seems to be the very thing with any of this stuff.. with jobs, with making money, with saving money, and with paying things off.
It is a lot to juggle at once.. and sometimes with those expenditure-related habit changes comes giving up certain things to allow for more savings to build. We learned that we spend a lot in groceries per month, and in dining out.. which I didn't think we ate out that often, but I guess we do at least once a week since we tend to enjoy a weekly date night. $20-30/week for a nice meal adds up for sure. We are not to starve ourselves, but to figure a way to spend money more wisely in that area.. or to make more homemade meals for lunches and for road trips.. which I'm actually quite accustomed to. My family always made lunches to pack in a cooler when we went on road trips or to fun outings like Six Flags or something. I'm not opposed to it. Yes it takes more PLANNING, but how hard is that? Not hard. Plus the homemade food is better for you anyway.
I'm really looking forward to seeing how we can improve our money and living habits with the goal of saving better. I like that kind of change and I like that kind of challenge. It'll be motivating to witness each other making the effort.
I'm already thankful for this class!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Disney World Recap..
Well! What a great mini vacation! We're actually driving back right now, and I'm glad to be off my feet for 8-9 hours. I figured I'd take the time in between work projects to recap our adventure...
Tuesday night was our whirlwind experience of Disney World, to which neither Jon nor I had been to before. It was an evening-only invite for the "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party". Our pastor Jeff is a very enthusiastic fan of "the mouse" ha. He was like a kid clapping and doing the Mickey ears with his hands during our bus ride to the park. The real reason Jon wanted to go was to see how crazy Jeff would get about it, ha.. since apparently he talks about it ALL the time.
The park is so huge it takes a bus ride, a mono rail and some walking to get up to the front gates. But once there.. Jeff took off with us all keeping up behind him for the rides he thought we should experience:
Haunted Mansion: This ride was a really impressive intro to the detail that Disney's rides really have to them. First of all, the exterior of the place is super cool looking. You walk in and everyone get's "sealed" into this room with the neat ceiling (below) the floor slowly drops you to the bottom level where the actual ride is (a simple coaster where the seats rotate around depending on how you go over each hill). The rest of the ride is a series of technically impressive rooms within this haunted mansion. Jon and I were trying to figure out the tricks of each of them. "I can see the hydraulic actuator!" Jon says about some trick.
I was really impressed with how they did the ghosting effect.. either through a projection onto a "blank" model so that it looks 3 dimensional, or like with the ghost playing the piano and the one where they make it look like there's one sitting with you in the ride - they use actual dummies where you can't see them and have the lighting reflect their images onto glass.. genius! Great ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Disney World has a lot of those boat ride-through type rides, but they do them really well, with lots of details like movie sets themselves. This one was really impressive.
I liked how they did the animated projection of Davy Jones on a wall of steam that looked like a waterfall (top right) so you're like ahh! don't want to get wet! ...but you don't. The Jack Sparrow character was done pretty well, and relatively realistic.
Splash Mountain: This one is the classic boat ride (around the scenes of the Brer Rabbit story) with hills, splashes and the final huge hill, huge drop, huge splash at the end ha.
Jeff told us we'd just get "a little spray in the face" - yeah right Jeff! We got soaked! .. Jon is planning his revenge ha.
Buzz Lightyear: This ride is absolutely awesome. It's like combination roller coaster and shooter video came.. with spacey atmosphere and black lights and such.
You have 2 guns per car with score boards and little "Zurg" targets (the yellow circles with the Z in it) are all over the scenes you pass through. You use the laser guns to hit the targets and get as many points as possible. It's pretty challenging...and there's one room with a full ceiling/dome projection of traveling through a galaxy.. whoa!!! very fun. (Yes these images are not ones I took.. it's nearly impossible to be doing this stuff and trying to take non flash photography).
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor: This one was basically just an impressive way for animated characters to interact live with the audience. It was funny, but not super hilarious, ha. Ohh, Jon just told me Jeff wanted us to go through so that Jon could figure out how they did it to tell him about it.
It's basically a means of animating the character with simple motions to match the live audio it's connected with.. there are people walking around with mics to involve the audience with jokes, etc. It was impressive though how smoothly the whole experience worked. That has to be a lot of configuration.
Winnie the Pooh: This ride was one of many under our category of "will give you crazy nightmares". The ride itself was pretty simple.. you go around in a honey pot shaped car that smells like crayons, for some reason.
The funnest part of this one was the Tigger room where the car "bounces" on the track (it's a bunch of small hills).
Teacups: Also an awesome ride ha.. and I actually have a photo of us on this one:
Click to enlarge.. Jon's making a funny face. We kept trying to change rotational direction on it.. it's quite challenging.. and dizzying.
It's A Small World: Okay this boat ride was another creepy, nightmare-inducing experience.. it's basically just the different areas of the world represented with these tiny Precious Moment like characters, ha.
The bottom row shoes a close up of the characters.. and Jon getting his nightmares induced.
Thunder Mountain: This is the best ride ever!! Or at least.. the best one during this trip. The coaster looks like a little kiddy train, but goes super fast over hills and around turns and down in dark tunnels and such. The scenery makes you feel like you're in Indiana Jones! We actually rode this one at night (although I have no photos of it).
We were both laughing and going "whoa!!!" uncontrollably.. and decided that when a ride makes you do that, it's gotta be the best.
More to come about our trip to Kennedy Space Center...
Tuesday night was our whirlwind experience of Disney World, to which neither Jon nor I had been to before. It was an evening-only invite for the "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party". Our pastor Jeff is a very enthusiastic fan of "the mouse" ha. He was like a kid clapping and doing the Mickey ears with his hands during our bus ride to the park. The real reason Jon wanted to go was to see how crazy Jeff would get about it, ha.. since apparently he talks about it ALL the time.The park is so huge it takes a bus ride, a mono rail and some walking to get up to the front gates. But once there.. Jeff took off with us all keeping up behind him for the rides he thought we should experience:
Haunted Mansion: This ride was a really impressive intro to the detail that Disney's rides really have to them. First of all, the exterior of the place is super cool looking. You walk in and everyone get's "sealed" into this room with the neat ceiling (below) the floor slowly drops you to the bottom level where the actual ride is (a simple coaster where the seats rotate around depending on how you go over each hill). The rest of the ride is a series of technically impressive rooms within this haunted mansion. Jon and I were trying to figure out the tricks of each of them. "I can see the hydraulic actuator!" Jon says about some trick.
I was really impressed with how they did the ghosting effect.. either through a projection onto a "blank" model so that it looks 3 dimensional, or like with the ghost playing the piano and the one where they make it look like there's one sitting with you in the ride - they use actual dummies where you can't see them and have the lighting reflect their images onto glass.. genius! Great ride.Pirates of the Caribbean: Disney World has a lot of those boat ride-through type rides, but they do them really well, with lots of details like movie sets themselves. This one was really impressive.
I liked how they did the animated projection of Davy Jones on a wall of steam that looked like a waterfall (top right) so you're like ahh! don't want to get wet! ...but you don't. The Jack Sparrow character was done pretty well, and relatively realistic.Splash Mountain: This one is the classic boat ride (around the scenes of the Brer Rabbit story) with hills, splashes and the final huge hill, huge drop, huge splash at the end ha.
Jeff told us we'd just get "a little spray in the face" - yeah right Jeff! We got soaked! .. Jon is planning his revenge ha.Buzz Lightyear: This ride is absolutely awesome. It's like combination roller coaster and shooter video came.. with spacey atmosphere and black lights and such.
You have 2 guns per car with score boards and little "Zurg" targets (the yellow circles with the Z in it) are all over the scenes you pass through. You use the laser guns to hit the targets and get as many points as possible. It's pretty challenging...and there's one room with a full ceiling/dome projection of traveling through a galaxy.. whoa!!! very fun. (Yes these images are not ones I took.. it's nearly impossible to be doing this stuff and trying to take non flash photography).Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor: This one was basically just an impressive way for animated characters to interact live with the audience. It was funny, but not super hilarious, ha. Ohh, Jon just told me Jeff wanted us to go through so that Jon could figure out how they did it to tell him about it.
It's basically a means of animating the character with simple motions to match the live audio it's connected with.. there are people walking around with mics to involve the audience with jokes, etc. It was impressive though how smoothly the whole experience worked. That has to be a lot of configuration.Winnie the Pooh: This ride was one of many under our category of "will give you crazy nightmares". The ride itself was pretty simple.. you go around in a honey pot shaped car that smells like crayons, for some reason.
The funnest part of this one was the Tigger room where the car "bounces" on the track (it's a bunch of small hills).Teacups: Also an awesome ride ha.. and I actually have a photo of us on this one:
Click to enlarge.. Jon's making a funny face. We kept trying to change rotational direction on it.. it's quite challenging.. and dizzying.It's A Small World: Okay this boat ride was another creepy, nightmare-inducing experience.. it's basically just the different areas of the world represented with these tiny Precious Moment like characters, ha.
The bottom row shoes a close up of the characters.. and Jon getting his nightmares induced.Thunder Mountain: This is the best ride ever!! Or at least.. the best one during this trip. The coaster looks like a little kiddy train, but goes super fast over hills and around turns and down in dark tunnels and such. The scenery makes you feel like you're in Indiana Jones! We actually rode this one at night (although I have no photos of it).
We were both laughing and going "whoa!!!" uncontrollably.. and decided that when a ride makes you do that, it's gotta be the best.More to come about our trip to Kennedy Space Center...
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Working from Florida
It's a nice change from the regular office this week. I worked from our hotel balcony this morning. I have to say it feels pretty good to be able to get work done nearly as efficiently as I would if I were in-office.. and that I can pretty much do it from anywhere! ha. But I doubt I should take too much advantage of that. (The second image is the view from our balcony).
The Orlando scene is an interesting one. People walk around with Disney characters on over-sized T-shirts, the restaurant food is really expensive, the entire industry here is TOURISM, and Jon had a Mickey Mouse shaped waffle this morning (which the batter tasted like sugar cone batter). I've never been to any of the parks here, but they do make me curious.. despite being very very expensive. I'll supposedly get a partial experience of it tonight for the "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" thing we're all going to tonight. Should be innnteresting...
Jon and I went for a walk last night around our hotel. I saw a cat sitting in one of the trees and it made me wonder, why did Disney only make one movie about cats and then pretty much ignored them after that one? I guess he isn't a cat person.. but then who is really a mouse person? ha. Weird.
The Orlando scene is an interesting one. People walk around with Disney characters on over-sized T-shirts, the restaurant food is really expensive, the entire industry here is TOURISM, and Jon had a Mickey Mouse shaped waffle this morning (which the batter tasted like sugar cone batter). I've never been to any of the parks here, but they do make me curious.. despite being very very expensive. I'll supposedly get a partial experience of it tonight for the "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party" thing we're all going to tonight. Should be innnteresting...Jon and I went for a walk last night around our hotel. I saw a cat sitting in one of the trees and it made me wonder, why did Disney only make one movie about cats and then pretty much ignored them after that one? I guess he isn't a cat person.. but then who is really a mouse person? ha. Weird.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Rita Hayworth Hair
I was just enjoying some photos of Rita Hayworth's hair. The trend today seems to be to straighten and perfectify hair making it appear flat, but hers is gorgeous even when it's obvious that little has been done to tame it's mass and poof. This makes me look forward to growing mine out to her length! It has a similar poof anyway. I can't wait to see what it does when it gets there.
Here's my progress so far ha:
Wow, I just realized that this is the first photo of me that I've posted wearing no makeup and not thinking twice about that fact before posting it. Guess all my crazy acne meds are actually doing somethin'!ps I'm wearing Jon's shirt ha. It's my new around-the-house trend. It's like a constant hug :)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Rainy Stay-Inside-Feeling Saturday
I get annoyed by football sometimes. It's not always the game itself because it basically becomes white noise to me. I think it's the sucking-in nature of it for those who enjoy it. Since I don't, it feels like a waste of a Saturday for me, even on a rainy stay-inside-feeling Saturday being sleepy from accomplishing all the morning chores.
Instead I drove out in heavy rain (ponds on the road in some places) to go thrift/antique shopping to find a birthday gift for Mandy.
I love looking around good antique shops like Knitting Mill. The kind where not everything is way over-priced so you can feel like you actually have the opportunity to own cool stuff. I found a ton of awesome furniture that I would buy up in a second had we the room for it. I should have taken photos to show.. but there was a really neat dresser, and a cool "wing back" velvet lounge chair. There were also a number of neat desks and shelves and trunks and such.
I'm certainly going back one day when we have a house, with the intent to buy something neat.
I went by the mall afterward, which is a totally contrasting shopping experience for me. Every time I go to the mall I find NOTHING of interest. I find myself asking "why do I come here anymore?" Clothing styles are all the same: cheaply made for expensive prices. There are always groups of people who stand in the middle of the walkway trying to figure out what store to go to (move!) ha.. and then there's the kiosk salespeople trying to give you samples.. even if you've walked by them 3 times already. Don't make eye contact!
I decided that paying shipping for online purchases is worth avoiding the mall things. The only good part of my mall trip was the 6 peanut m&ms I got for 25¢.
Anyway, now I'm back home listening to football again. I want to play Intellivision games. Guess I'll take a nap.
Instead I drove out in heavy rain (ponds on the road in some places) to go thrift/antique shopping to find a birthday gift for Mandy.
I love looking around good antique shops like Knitting Mill. The kind where not everything is way over-priced so you can feel like you actually have the opportunity to own cool stuff. I found a ton of awesome furniture that I would buy up in a second had we the room for it. I should have taken photos to show.. but there was a really neat dresser, and a cool "wing back" velvet lounge chair. There were also a number of neat desks and shelves and trunks and such.
I'm certainly going back one day when we have a house, with the intent to buy something neat.
I went by the mall afterward, which is a totally contrasting shopping experience for me. Every time I go to the mall I find NOTHING of interest. I find myself asking "why do I come here anymore?" Clothing styles are all the same: cheaply made for expensive prices. There are always groups of people who stand in the middle of the walkway trying to figure out what store to go to (move!) ha.. and then there's the kiosk salespeople trying to give you samples.. even if you've walked by them 3 times already. Don't make eye contact!
I decided that paying shipping for online purchases is worth avoiding the mall things. The only good part of my mall trip was the 6 peanut m&ms I got for 25¢.
Anyway, now I'm back home listening to football again. I want to play Intellivision games. Guess I'll take a nap.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Florida! Semi Sorta Vacation
We're going to Florida next week! Orlando. Never been there. Jon has a conference through church and I'm going along for the ride. I'll still be working since I can't really take all that vacation time.. so we'll see how it goes working that remotely. It'll be nice to get out of the office for a while. Plus! we've got plans to go see Kennedy Space Center, with the Cape Canaveral tour. I'll bring my camera! So I'll be taking Wednesday off for that excursion, and be working from the hotel or the car for the rest of the time (Monday through Thursday)... aside from meeting people at the conference and going out to nice places to eat for free :)
I'm looking forward to the escape.
I'm looking forward to the escape.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Mr. Meek Update: The Boutonnieres!
Starting up a small business can be quite a challenge, but for talented people such as my husband and our friend Josh (the worship pastor at the Vineyard) I think they have that certain charisma to make their band The Boutonnieres work for them.
Their focus is wedding live-bandery, as well as any other type of party event that could be enhanced by live music. Their unique selling point is that they offer live music as well as DJing and MCing.. as well as their sheer awesomeness.. that's a selling point right?
They had a booth this past Sunday at the Chattanooga Bridal Show where they handed out over 200 brochures and gained the interest of a number of potential clients. It was funny listening to Jon talk about being a salesman at this booth. I imagine him over-exaggerating being salesmanly, but he's pretty good.. he could probably sell an igloo to an eskimo... must be his friendly nature and trustworthy smile. The guys played live during the show, and had samples playing at their booth. They're good.
Josh came up with a pretty sweet suit ensemble: a black button-up shirt, black pants, white tie, white belt and a red boutonniere, made by Josh's wife Terra. I think having matching attire makes a band look really nice and professional, and it automatically creates an iconic nature - something that not a lot of bands do much anymore.
They've played a few gigs already, non-officially as the Boutonnieres, such as the Vineyard Thank You party a couple months ago, as well as at the Meek Wedding. I want to take some "pro" photos of them at their first official gig, which I believe is October 10, and a second on October 11 for some friends... but they need some nice representative photos for their website.
I'm excited. I really hope this endeavor works out for them.. I mean, people are always getting married and live bands are always more fun than entirely canned music.. plus I think it's a business the guys could really enjoy.
Their focus is wedding live-bandery, as well as any other type of party event that could be enhanced by live music. Their unique selling point is that they offer live music as well as DJing and MCing.. as well as their sheer awesomeness.. that's a selling point right?
They had a booth this past Sunday at the Chattanooga Bridal Show where they handed out over 200 brochures and gained the interest of a number of potential clients. It was funny listening to Jon talk about being a salesman at this booth. I imagine him over-exaggerating being salesmanly, but he's pretty good.. he could probably sell an igloo to an eskimo... must be his friendly nature and trustworthy smile. The guys played live during the show, and had samples playing at their booth. They're good.
Josh came up with a pretty sweet suit ensemble: a black button-up shirt, black pants, white tie, white belt and a red boutonniere, made by Josh's wife Terra. I think having matching attire makes a band look really nice and professional, and it automatically creates an iconic nature - something that not a lot of bands do much anymore.
They've played a few gigs already, non-officially as the Boutonnieres, such as the Vineyard Thank You party a couple months ago, as well as at the Meek Wedding. I want to take some "pro" photos of them at their first official gig, which I believe is October 10, and a second on October 11 for some friends... but they need some nice representative photos for their website.
I'm excited. I really hope this endeavor works out for them.. I mean, people are always getting married and live bands are always more fun than entirely canned music.. plus I think it's a business the guys could really enjoy.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Ponderable.
Why is it called "mixing" when it's actually "layering" tracks of music? Mixing blue and yellow makes green: mixing bass, drums, keys and guitar doesn't make a basrumkeytar .. it makes a song, ha.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The "Curse" Of Eating Healthy
I have a problem. I'm admitting it now...and while it's not really a bad problem, I think that sharing my views on it or even sometimes as I put it into practice... annoys people.
My problematic non-problem is EATING HEALTHY, ha.
I think I have a pretty easy time doing so for myself. I try not to consume greasy, fatty, high cal, high sugar foods or caffeinated drinks as my staple items, but I will indulge in a specialty sweet here and there. When I bake or cook I try to use mainly healthy ingredients: healthier butters or substitutes, and smaller amounts or lower fat versions of things like cheese and oils. I never eat fast food, and if it's the only option I get their salad with the dressing on the side.
I've been able to maintain this practice for about 10 years now and continually it's been pretty easy for me to do (except when it comes to animal crackers and some cereals because those dang things are addictive! .. but they are low in fat and low in sugar, so there you go).
The problem becomes a mental conversation with myself: "Do I care too much about being healthy?" and "Do I inflict my constant care about it too much with others who have food tendencies that conflict with my own?" I can't help it if I actually CARE about the people I share my thoughts with on this matter. If they get frustrated with my comments, I think it's because they continue to eat their way, even if they know another way would actually be better for them, and maybe it's just too hard to consider? I find myself holding my tongue a lot because I don't want to be that nagging person or seem too good about it... but I do want people to make realizations and commit to doing something good for themselves. Committing is difficult I know, but that's what makes it such an accomplishment once they can.
Anyway, the other part of my "curse" tempts me to comment mentally or verbally about certain foods, mainly restaurant foods (which I've noticed I do more often now because we tend to go out to eat more often than I had before we were married). I look at the menu thinking: "Okay, what on here is relatively healthy?.. a salad? soup? a wrap of some kind?" (as I examine the actual ingredients).
The thing is that most of those items aren't really healthy at most restaurants because they all add some "special thing" to them to make them taste better than something you could make at home (which is exactly the key that makes customers come back for more). The special thing is usually butter... butter! arrgh! Last night at Chili's I had a Chicken Caesar Pita (lettuce, chicken and I swapped their Caesar dressing for honey mustard). Three bites in I notice the outside of the pita was slathered with butter, probably grilled in a buttered pan, ugh.
Now, those 3 basic ingredients should not be too unhealthy for you: pita bread, romaine lettuce, honey mustard, and pepper-grilled chicken. I just looked up the nutrition info on this Chili's dish: 700 calories, 41g fat! and 8g saturated fat. That is like a McD hamburger.. thankfully I think the honey mustard switch saved me a little bit but come on!! I can make this at home for cheaper and have it be 200% more healthy. I'm glad I only ate 1/2 of it.
He won't want to know this, but Jon got the Quesadilla Explosion Salad: 1270 calories! 76g fat 23g saturated fat! A salad that is 2 times worse for you than a Big Mac... Holy Lord save our arteries! Bet you wouldn't have guessed all that in a salad... unfortunately and apparently: salads are NOT as healthy as they seem. The healthiest thing Chili's has on their menu is Chicken Noodle Soup, but its never been the soup of the day whenever I've been there, and apparently you can't get it ever.
Of course, people could always choose to eat less of their serving (knowing that it's usually so heavy).. but they rarely do. Satisfying hunger doesn't have to mean finishing the entire plate. To be full is not the goal. Stop before you get there and you'll be much better off.
*sigh*. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it really does. It's not like I'm super freak-o healthy-eater type person who only buys organic and substitutes soy and tofu for anything that has real flavor. I just don't think it's that hard to make things healthy and tasty at the same time.
Yes, it costs much less to eat fast food, but what you're saving in money, you're losing in health, if you do it on a regular basis. Have you seen Burger King parking lots at 8:45am? GOOD LORD! Bad way to start your day people! I just don't understand how they can place taste and convenience above health & wellness. It's not necessarily a long term thing either. Most fast food will give you a stomach ache after consumption, or at least bad gas or the belches or something.. and who wants to be around you when you're stinkishly airing out?
There's little I can do to help other people, even though I try. It's something they have to genuinely want to do to help themselves. I wish our restaurant chefs cared more. Taste and health can certainly go hand in hand. While at Chili's I said they should have a restaurant only for healthy things where you can be guaranteed that your meal is very good for you. I'd go there all the time.
In the meantime, I'll continue to eat 1/5s of my restaurant meals, and walk out feeling able to walk out, thank you.
My problematic non-problem is EATING HEALTHY, ha.
I think I have a pretty easy time doing so for myself. I try not to consume greasy, fatty, high cal, high sugar foods or caffeinated drinks as my staple items, but I will indulge in a specialty sweet here and there. When I bake or cook I try to use mainly healthy ingredients: healthier butters or substitutes, and smaller amounts or lower fat versions of things like cheese and oils. I never eat fast food, and if it's the only option I get their salad with the dressing on the side.
I've been able to maintain this practice for about 10 years now and continually it's been pretty easy for me to do (except when it comes to animal crackers and some cereals because those dang things are addictive! .. but they are low in fat and low in sugar, so there you go).
The problem becomes a mental conversation with myself: "Do I care too much about being healthy?" and "Do I inflict my constant care about it too much with others who have food tendencies that conflict with my own?" I can't help it if I actually CARE about the people I share my thoughts with on this matter. If they get frustrated with my comments, I think it's because they continue to eat their way, even if they know another way would actually be better for them, and maybe it's just too hard to consider? I find myself holding my tongue a lot because I don't want to be that nagging person or seem too good about it... but I do want people to make realizations and commit to doing something good for themselves. Committing is difficult I know, but that's what makes it such an accomplishment once they can.
Anyway, the other part of my "curse" tempts me to comment mentally or verbally about certain foods, mainly restaurant foods (which I've noticed I do more often now because we tend to go out to eat more often than I had before we were married). I look at the menu thinking: "Okay, what on here is relatively healthy?.. a salad? soup? a wrap of some kind?" (as I examine the actual ingredients).
The thing is that most of those items aren't really healthy at most restaurants because they all add some "special thing" to them to make them taste better than something you could make at home (which is exactly the key that makes customers come back for more). The special thing is usually butter... butter! arrgh! Last night at Chili's I had a Chicken Caesar Pita (lettuce, chicken and I swapped their Caesar dressing for honey mustard). Three bites in I notice the outside of the pita was slathered with butter, probably grilled in a buttered pan, ugh.
Now, those 3 basic ingredients should not be too unhealthy for you: pita bread, romaine lettuce, honey mustard, and pepper-grilled chicken. I just looked up the nutrition info on this Chili's dish: 700 calories, 41g fat! and 8g saturated fat. That is like a McD hamburger.. thankfully I think the honey mustard switch saved me a little bit but come on!! I can make this at home for cheaper and have it be 200% more healthy. I'm glad I only ate 1/2 of it.
He won't want to know this, but Jon got the Quesadilla Explosion Salad: 1270 calories! 76g fat 23g saturated fat! A salad that is 2 times worse for you than a Big Mac... Holy Lord save our arteries! Bet you wouldn't have guessed all that in a salad... unfortunately and apparently: salads are NOT as healthy as they seem. The healthiest thing Chili's has on their menu is Chicken Noodle Soup, but its never been the soup of the day whenever I've been there, and apparently you can't get it ever.
Of course, people could always choose to eat less of their serving (knowing that it's usually so heavy).. but they rarely do. Satisfying hunger doesn't have to mean finishing the entire plate. To be full is not the goal. Stop before you get there and you'll be much better off.
*sigh*. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it really does. It's not like I'm super freak-o healthy-eater type person who only buys organic and substitutes soy and tofu for anything that has real flavor. I just don't think it's that hard to make things healthy and tasty at the same time.
Yes, it costs much less to eat fast food, but what you're saving in money, you're losing in health, if you do it on a regular basis. Have you seen Burger King parking lots at 8:45am? GOOD LORD! Bad way to start your day people! I just don't understand how they can place taste and convenience above health & wellness. It's not necessarily a long term thing either. Most fast food will give you a stomach ache after consumption, or at least bad gas or the belches or something.. and who wants to be around you when you're stinkishly airing out?
There's little I can do to help other people, even though I try. It's something they have to genuinely want to do to help themselves. I wish our restaurant chefs cared more. Taste and health can certainly go hand in hand. While at Chili's I said they should have a restaurant only for healthy things where you can be guaranteed that your meal is very good for you. I'd go there all the time.
In the meantime, I'll continue to eat 1/5s of my restaurant meals, and walk out feeling able to walk out, thank you.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Another Post About Nothin'
*sigh* I wake up every weekday morning to the sound of kid upstairs running, and every morning I WISH! I could have more time for sleep. I've been internally whining to myself about going to work, the commute, and not really knowing if I'll have a project or nothing to do all day...
I had a bout of designer mediocrity yesterday. I had a project and just couldn't decide to be creative with it at all. It feels really bad to be like "eh, I give up." I guess it happens. I just get tired of designing and tired of screens for so long every single day.
Maybe I just need a vacation... a good one, where I don't have to worry about working during it, since recently finding out that I still only get 1 week of vacation after being here a year. I feel like any "off time" I take should be spent working from home so I can still save those 5 precious vacation days.
It's raining really hard outside. I like potential catastrophes that could give me a reason not to be working.
I had a bout of designer mediocrity yesterday. I had a project and just couldn't decide to be creative with it at all. It feels really bad to be like "eh, I give up." I guess it happens. I just get tired of designing and tired of screens for so long every single day.
Maybe I just need a vacation... a good one, where I don't have to worry about working during it, since recently finding out that I still only get 1 week of vacation after being here a year. I feel like any "off time" I take should be spent working from home so I can still save those 5 precious vacation days.
It's raining really hard outside. I like potential catastrophes that could give me a reason not to be working.
Monday, September 14, 2009
A Designer's Catch 22
Sometimes I get so tired of the internet. It's too fast and too changing and pretty time consuming whether you're using it or creating it..
It's a changing technology, with tons of possibilities and good stuff, but also tons of limitless STUFF to know. I'm feeling very overwhelmed by all the coding-related things I'm "supposed" to know or be learning right now: javascript, html, xml, php, actionscript 2.0 and 3.0, loading internet ads.. I feel like I need to go back to school to ingrain this stuff for real rather than just watching other people do it or watching tutorials online, since I'm not really required to actually do this work just yet... but I should be slowly knowing it... or something.
I know these things are supplementary to design and to being creative, because they allow me to do more things with it... but it's technical, and not creative... it's not my realm! It's weird, and Sometimes I miss being creative. I find myself thinking 'when can I be creative again?'
At work the designers are basically going to learn to be coders and loaders.. and to be put into the rotation of having to work 24/7 when your weekend comes up.. glued to a pager for "OMG URGENT!!!!" requests for ads that must! go up at 9am on Sunday morning. I do not want to work in the evenings and on Saturday and Sunday.. even if it is just for 1 weekend or less a month. If I have to, there should at least be a considerable amount of compensation for this. Designer pay plus loader pay. The loaders make more than we do already and they never do design work. I have to commend my supervisor though for stressing to us how we shouldn't be stressing so much about this stuff, and that "it's JUST a website" which is good, so hopefully things won't be as bad as I pretend they might be.
I start to question how feasible it would be to have the time to actually be creative and to have all the technical stuff to do as well (like these loaders are typically working on stuff all night long, until midnight). Sometimes I think there is a point where you have to be one or the other.. and that there isn't enough hours in the day, or enough mental sanity for both.
My other thought is this: am I going to be a webber/coder/semi-designer from now on? I never really thought of myself as such. I'd like to be more creative... which leads to thinking about the possibility of distant-futuristically switching my focus back to design for print rather than web.
It seems that, as far as work flow.. a print project has MUCH more detail given to it, because once it's sent to print, it's done. Web is too easy to change.. which is why clients can make revisions on such a whim like it's nothing (well it's something to those poor folks loosing sleep and time for Life during their nights and weekends)... It really is a time thing I think.. giving detail to things means not rushing.. which seems like a more relaxed environment to work in to me.
However, the Catch
The catch is that the way of the web is the future of everything. Design for print is becoming outdated... or so I hear. Not that I would support such a thing totally, nor that it will be eliminated totally despite web intervention. But is it smart to look for a job in print design?
I don't know, but comparing the two- I felt like I had more creative initiative with print design. Design for web (at least ad design) so far has been using other people's work or stock photography to create layouts.. nothing too inspirational there... not that I don't enjoy it because I really love working mindlessly on stuff sometimes, it's very worry free.. and I also enjoy working in Flash, especially on animation.
Here's the thing, seemingly:
B) Large amounts of templated-like ad work = pretty much merely busy work that can generally be knocked out in short amounts of time making a 9-5 day full but short and stress-free.... but less real ownership of the creative.
Just some observations. I think it's safe to say that it's quite a challenge for a designer to find that *perfect* job where they get to do a little of everything, it's not overwhelming, it's enjoyable, and provides a secure position for years.
It's a changing technology, with tons of possibilities and good stuff, but also tons of limitless STUFF to know. I'm feeling very overwhelmed by all the coding-related things I'm "supposed" to know or be learning right now: javascript, html, xml, php, actionscript 2.0 and 3.0, loading internet ads.. I feel like I need to go back to school to ingrain this stuff for real rather than just watching other people do it or watching tutorials online, since I'm not really required to actually do this work just yet... but I should be slowly knowing it... or something.
I know these things are supplementary to design and to being creative, because they allow me to do more things with it... but it's technical, and not creative... it's not my realm! It's weird, and Sometimes I miss being creative. I find myself thinking 'when can I be creative again?'
At work the designers are basically going to learn to be coders and loaders.. and to be put into the rotation of having to work 24/7 when your weekend comes up.. glued to a pager for "OMG URGENT!!!!" requests for ads that must! go up at 9am on Sunday morning. I do not want to work in the evenings and on Saturday and Sunday.. even if it is just for 1 weekend or less a month. If I have to, there should at least be a considerable amount of compensation for this. Designer pay plus loader pay. The loaders make more than we do already and they never do design work. I have to commend my supervisor though for stressing to us how we shouldn't be stressing so much about this stuff, and that "it's JUST a website" which is good, so hopefully things won't be as bad as I pretend they might be.
I start to question how feasible it would be to have the time to actually be creative and to have all the technical stuff to do as well (like these loaders are typically working on stuff all night long, until midnight). Sometimes I think there is a point where you have to be one or the other.. and that there isn't enough hours in the day, or enough mental sanity for both.
My other thought is this: am I going to be a webber/coder/semi-designer from now on? I never really thought of myself as such. I'd like to be more creative... which leads to thinking about the possibility of distant-futuristically switching my focus back to design for print rather than web.
It seems that, as far as work flow.. a print project has MUCH more detail given to it, because once it's sent to print, it's done. Web is too easy to change.. which is why clients can make revisions on such a whim like it's nothing (well it's something to those poor folks loosing sleep and time for Life during their nights and weekends)... It really is a time thing I think.. giving detail to things means not rushing.. which seems like a more relaxed environment to work in to me.
However, the Catch
The catch is that the way of the web is the future of everything. Design for print is becoming outdated... or so I hear. Not that I would support such a thing totally, nor that it will be eliminated totally despite web intervention. But is it smart to look for a job in print design?
I don't know, but comparing the two- I felt like I had more creative initiative with print design. Design for web (at least ad design) so far has been using other people's work or stock photography to create layouts.. nothing too inspirational there... not that I don't enjoy it because I really love working mindlessly on stuff sometimes, it's very worry free.. and I also enjoy working in Flash, especially on animation.
Here's the thing, seemingly:
A) Large amounts of high-end creative work = more stress, more planning, more long nights, more constant thinking of concepts and how to take it to final product.... but more ownership of the creative.
B) Large amounts of templated-like ad work = pretty much merely busy work that can generally be knocked out in short amounts of time making a 9-5 day full but short and stress-free.... but less real ownership of the creative.
Just some observations. I think it's safe to say that it's quite a challenge for a designer to find that *perfect* job where they get to do a little of everything, it's not overwhelming, it's enjoyable, and provides a secure position for years.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Grounded.
I thought about going to St Louis for Halloween this year... but since it sounds like I would be going alone (and driving alone isn't a survivable option for me) I may not be able to consider it, for financial reasons. I wish flights weren't so expensive, and I kinda wish their process was quicker.. OR that there was a direct flight from Chattanooga to St Louis, at least.
But if I went I also would try very hard to see if some much-missed Springfield friends could come as well.. I probably won't get back to Springfield for years and I want to see people.
I think during the post-marriage stage of life, people typically tend to stay grounded... and when they've moved away that makes it hard to get together, if even like once a year. I guess I know why this happens, but I don't think it has to.
I suppose if I was a better lone-driver, I could go more. I'm not sure if that's something I could improve on though. Maybe I need a backup driver option for when Jon can't/doesn't want to make a long trip. Unfortunately my other friend with St. Louis family moved to N. Carolina. Oh well.
But if I went I also would try very hard to see if some much-missed Springfield friends could come as well.. I probably won't get back to Springfield for years and I want to see people.
I think during the post-marriage stage of life, people typically tend to stay grounded... and when they've moved away that makes it hard to get together, if even like once a year. I guess I know why this happens, but I don't think it has to.
I suppose if I was a better lone-driver, I could go more. I'm not sure if that's something I could improve on though. Maybe I need a backup driver option for when Jon can't/doesn't want to make a long trip. Unfortunately my other friend with St. Louis family moved to N. Carolina. Oh well.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Neat Photo Albums
I've decided to go "very neat and classy" on our wedding photo album. At first I wanted to make a sort of coffee table book (through blurb.com) but it really didn't feel special enough for the documentation of such an event. I did a ton of research on customizable/printed photo books and just wasn't feeling thrilled about it.
Then I stumbled upon jennibick.com and got excited. They had a number of really cool leather-bound photo albums. They are, however, regular photo albums so we'll print our photos and affix them to the pages with archival-safe adhesives and those little photo corner things (they have them in gold which would be nice). I think it'll look really neat and using photo-quality prints will produce the best final result. It'll definitely have an "I care enough to spend a lot of time on this" feel to it. I'm looking forward to configuring the page layouts.
(I'm going with the largest size on the most left. It's 10"x 12".)
It'd be neat to have a whole bookcase full of books with bindings like that. I LOVE old books and how ornate their leather designs used to be.
Then I stumbled upon jennibick.com and got excited. They had a number of really cool leather-bound photo albums. They are, however, regular photo albums so we'll print our photos and affix them to the pages with archival-safe adhesives and those little photo corner things (they have them in gold which would be nice). I think it'll look really neat and using photo-quality prints will produce the best final result. It'll definitely have an "I care enough to spend a lot of time on this" feel to it. I'm looking forward to configuring the page layouts.
(I'm going with the largest size on the most left. It's 10"x 12".)
It'd be neat to have a whole bookcase full of books with bindings like that. I LOVE old books and how ornate their leather designs used to be.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Religion, blech.
I was reading my sister's blog about religion and spirituality, Christianity versus other religions and her opinions of it all. Of course this is a topic we've shared many times.. and we always come to the conclusion that what religion you claim really isn't important, but rather how you love God and others and that you love God and others.
This was my comment:
"I still believe it's indefinitely difficult to have a conversation about spirituality among other spiritualities and "religions". It's crazy.
I agree that this world is confusing as heck (and it's also very unjust across probably the majority of it). I think that, while there are some similarities between religions, the point of all human life is the same.. to love others and to love God. That's ALL! It's so simple, yet actually doing it all the time and during the course of our lives can become difficult. However, I think some religions lose sight of this ultimate 'point of it all'. Cultural traditions or whatever can become the focus instead, but as I've stated before, that is the part that is made up by humans; it isn't necessarily a means to God, although "being spiritual" in that regard can be. Actually, I think my opinion is that many cultural things that are linked to "bringing you to God" or "this is required for you to be right with God" have merely become cultural practices rather than actual spiritual ones.. I think what God really wants to see is you working for his love and giving love to others.
The point is still the point no matter what country you're in. And it's also true that God's gonna love you no matter what you do. *shrug* He just does. Knowing him really isn't so complicated."
This was my comment:
"I still believe it's indefinitely difficult to have a conversation about spirituality among other spiritualities and "religions". It's crazy.
I agree that this world is confusing as heck (and it's also very unjust across probably the majority of it). I think that, while there are some similarities between religions, the point of all human life is the same.. to love others and to love God. That's ALL! It's so simple, yet actually doing it all the time and during the course of our lives can become difficult. However, I think some religions lose sight of this ultimate 'point of it all'. Cultural traditions or whatever can become the focus instead, but as I've stated before, that is the part that is made up by humans; it isn't necessarily a means to God, although "being spiritual" in that regard can be. Actually, I think my opinion is that many cultural things that are linked to "bringing you to God" or "this is required for you to be right with God" have merely become cultural practices rather than actual spiritual ones.. I think what God really wants to see is you working for his love and giving love to others.
The point is still the point no matter what country you're in. And it's also true that God's gonna love you no matter what you do. *shrug* He just does. Knowing him really isn't so complicated."
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Cordial Missives-Updated!
I updated Cordial Missives today (and yesterday, and all last week and the week before). I think this layout works much better than the previous; a bit more organized and easier to navigate.. and yes I know it's probably too wide for your normal browser window size, but deal with it. It would take me forever to resize all the tons of images on there to make it narrower. The point was to be able to view the work up close and in detail.
Also:
If you're still using Internet Explorer 6.. Don't! Upgrade or use Firefox...please. It's the reason some elements on my site and others may not display properly.
Also:
If you're still using Internet Explorer 6.. Don't! Upgrade or use Firefox...please. It's the reason some elements on my site and others may not display properly.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
$250,000 Child?
An interesting topic came up today between my sister and I as we do our daily back and forthing of emails during work hours.
We were discussing children: what we think of our friends becoming mothers lately, genetics from parents, who's going to look like whom, when we want to start having kids, etc. ... and about having the finances to start a family. Mandy brought up that she saw on Dr. Phil that by the time a kid reaches 18, that it would have cost his parents around $250,000. That's a lot, yes.. if true.. but I retorted that 18 years is a long time and costs can be spread pretty evenly throughout that time. Of course, I personally don't plan on spoiling our kids with expensive win-overs and that things don't come for free, but most other expenses are kinda justifiable by the fact that they're alive, healthy and happy.
There probably is a good and better time to start a family, financially, but I think raising one is do-able on any budget. My dad, for example, grew up in a family of 7, with the only income being from my grandpa's dry cleaning business. They didn't have many luxuries, but they had what they needed, and a family of 7 is a lot to provide for.
Honestly.. I tend to believe that the family who has a bit less can actually get more out of life (of course it depends on the type of family and how they deal with such situations). I was just thinking about the Allstate commercial that says "The best things in life don't cost much.." with the examples of things like, playing Scrabble on a Saturday night, or "it's not the size of your TV that matters, but who's around it." I really like that ad. I would live by those ideas.
I think when things aren't so easy; in situations where everything isn't just given to us (not that we shouldn't avoid making life hard for ourselves), it presents more opportunity for growth, creativity, and character-building. I'd want my family to be like this because those are the characteristics that make awesome people.
Although I do tend to be frugal, or over-frugal, I think that focusing too hard on "geez look how much these dang kids are costing me!!" is not a good way to love your family. I'm sure that I would personally have my moments where my previous whims of being so frugal will challenge that notion once we are sentenced to life with children, ha.. but I'd like to think that loving them would be more important than worrying about finances to the degree of calculating how much they cost during their lifetime.
We were discussing children: what we think of our friends becoming mothers lately, genetics from parents, who's going to look like whom, when we want to start having kids, etc. ... and about having the finances to start a family. Mandy brought up that she saw on Dr. Phil that by the time a kid reaches 18, that it would have cost his parents around $250,000. That's a lot, yes.. if true.. but I retorted that 18 years is a long time and costs can be spread pretty evenly throughout that time. Of course, I personally don't plan on spoiling our kids with expensive win-overs and that things don't come for free, but most other expenses are kinda justifiable by the fact that they're alive, healthy and happy.
There probably is a good and better time to start a family, financially, but I think raising one is do-able on any budget. My dad, for example, grew up in a family of 7, with the only income being from my grandpa's dry cleaning business. They didn't have many luxuries, but they had what they needed, and a family of 7 is a lot to provide for.
Honestly.. I tend to believe that the family who has a bit less can actually get more out of life (of course it depends on the type of family and how they deal with such situations). I was just thinking about the Allstate commercial that says "The best things in life don't cost much.." with the examples of things like, playing Scrabble on a Saturday night, or "it's not the size of your TV that matters, but who's around it." I really like that ad. I would live by those ideas.
I think when things aren't so easy; in situations where everything isn't just given to us (not that we shouldn't avoid making life hard for ourselves), it presents more opportunity for growth, creativity, and character-building. I'd want my family to be like this because those are the characteristics that make awesome people.
Although I do tend to be frugal, or over-frugal, I think that focusing too hard on "geez look how much these dang kids are costing me!!" is not a good way to love your family. I'm sure that I would personally have my moments where my previous whims of being so frugal will challenge that notion once we are sentenced to life with children, ha.. but I'd like to think that loving them would be more important than worrying about finances to the degree of calculating how much they cost during their lifetime.
Friday, August 14, 2009
More wedding photos are up!
There were 750 wedding photos to sort through. I chose about 200 to retouch and format for your viewing! It took me a long time (and a few lessons in html and java script) to set up this little gallery, so please take your time in appreciating it :)
Check them out at our wedsite.
Also, I've been using Wolf Camera to make prints and I plan to do this for anyone wanting some. I can place the order online and have them processed for pickup at a Wolf near you. You'll have to email me and let me know which photos you want (they all have numbers), what sizes you want them, and how many of them you want. If there isn't a Wolf near you, arrangements can be made to have photos shipped your way. You can view a sizes and price list here.
PS, if you use Internet Explorer I suggest you start using Firefox because IE is dumb and has issues. It should be avoided at all costs. Just sayin'.
Check them out at our wedsite.
Also, I've been using Wolf Camera to make prints and I plan to do this for anyone wanting some. I can place the order online and have them processed for pickup at a Wolf near you. You'll have to email me and let me know which photos you want (they all have numbers), what sizes you want them, and how many of them you want. If there isn't a Wolf near you, arrangements can be made to have photos shipped your way. You can view a sizes and price list here.
PS, if you use Internet Explorer I suggest you start using Firefox because IE is dumb and has issues. It should be avoided at all costs. Just sayin'.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Completely Confused By A Cricket
So the other night while I was alone in a dark apartment, I encountered 4! crickets before going to bed! Record-breaking. Disgusting. I hate those things. They always dampen my mood. Anyway, I Raided each one, but since I don't like touching bug bodies (even through a kleenex) I tend to put over-turned cups on top of their reacting-to-the-Raid squirming exoskeletons.. with the plan to vacuum them up later. So I put Jon's NASCAR plastic mug thing over this one in our bedroom. It wasn't moving anywhere, so I know I'd been successful in trapping it. Die silently! yesss!
I bravely lifted the mug so that when Jon comes in at 3am tonight, he doesn't knock the mug, reveal the bug, and have a fit of bug dance on his way to bed, ha. But to my surprise, IT WAS GONE!! Completely disintegrated! ...seemingly. It wasn't on the interior of the mug either. What happened?!? Did it jump away when I thought I put the mug over it? I don't think so, it was pretty crippled. Does Raid + bug + little oxygen = disintegration?!
Anyway I was so glad I didn't have to touch it :)
2 days go by.
I bravely lifted the mug so that when Jon comes in at 3am tonight, he doesn't knock the mug, reveal the bug, and have a fit of bug dance on his way to bed, ha. But to my surprise, IT WAS GONE!! Completely disintegrated! ...seemingly. It wasn't on the interior of the mug either. What happened?!? Did it jump away when I thought I put the mug over it? I don't think so, it was pretty crippled. Does Raid + bug + little oxygen = disintegration?!
Anyway I was so glad I didn't have to touch it :)
Monday, August 3, 2009
While You Were Out
Over the weekend (while Jon's been away musicianing in Indiana) I was able to clean up the apartment some, kill 4 crickets, hang all my art on the walls, organize the endless sea of "important papers" in our secretary desk, make a new art print for our bathroom, shop for/purchase and transport a secret item(s) (to be revealed when Jon comes home), hang out with friends and go antique shopping after being worn out from a busy set up Sunday, go grocery shopping, get together some materials to send out to promote my wedding invite business, and update both of my websites.. all in one weekend.
What is it about being without my husband that gives me so much energy to do all that? It's kinda terrible.. but when he's around I tend to lose my focus on other things cause I just want to hang around him. I hope that's a honeymoon-phase thing. Eventually I'll have to be more motivated more of the time.
I think it's actually the anticipation for his return that gives me the adrenaline for such energy. I find myself thinking, 'the more I can do, the shorter the days feel, and the sooner he'll be back!' It works pretty well.
Also a sort of unrelated note (segued by making an art print and deciding what online photo service works really well for doing so) I KNOW you are all waiting for wedding photo prints. I'm trying my best to contact our photographer to get him to send us the disc of the remaining 800 or so photos we haven't seen. You won't go un-notified, I promise. Patience is a virtue...and it keeps the people trying to satisfy your impatience more sane :)
What is it about being without my husband that gives me so much energy to do all that? It's kinda terrible.. but when he's around I tend to lose my focus on other things cause I just want to hang around him. I hope that's a honeymoon-phase thing. Eventually I'll have to be more motivated more of the time.
I think it's actually the anticipation for his return that gives me the adrenaline for such energy. I find myself thinking, 'the more I can do, the shorter the days feel, and the sooner he'll be back!' It works pretty well.
Also a sort of unrelated note (segued by making an art print and deciding what online photo service works really well for doing so) I KNOW you are all waiting for wedding photo prints. I'm trying my best to contact our photographer to get him to send us the disc of the remaining 800 or so photos we haven't seen. You won't go un-notified, I promise. Patience is a virtue...and it keeps the people trying to satisfy your impatience more sane :)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Preserve Your Memories
Remember all those embarrassing (and nude) photos of you as a baby that your parents keep safely in their inventories? I was just browsing Facebook today and realizing that this scenario is not so for babies of the future.. or rather, of the Now.
Everyone born recently, whose parents are avid Facebookers, will basically be growing up "in the media".. having their entire lives documented in photos for all the world to see via the interwebs.
I haven't decided yet if that's a crazy item of ponder or just a thing that happens.. but I'm going to bank on those kids not wanting nude baby photos of themselves up all over the web once they're old enough to realize the embarrassment factor...Or they might not care. By then those photos probably will be deleted or hidden so deep into their parents' photo albums that it wouldn't matter I guess. (WHOAH. Just stumbled on an article about a photo on facebook of a mother breastfeeding her kid.. NO, No.. so terrible.)
Anyway, the thing that bothers me about the photos is when people use camera phones to take poor quality photos of their babies during their momentous stages of development.. or of anything that's worth remembering at that. I hope they're taking doubles of those shots with a camera that makes the capturing of that moment seem like it matters by documenting it with some care and quality. And I hope the only place they keep those precious photos isn't on Facebook alone... or even on a computer alone.
"Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." That's a line from Simon and Garfunkle's song Bookends. It's a strong message to me. Photos are so valuable, and have a profound nostalgia. They represent times that have gone, or people who have passed.
Take the time to document well what's important to you. That means keeping track of photos as well as taking them in the first place.
Everyone born recently, whose parents are avid Facebookers, will basically be growing up "in the media".. having their entire lives documented in photos for all the world to see via the interwebs.
I haven't decided yet if that's a crazy item of ponder or just a thing that happens.. but I'm going to bank on those kids not wanting nude baby photos of themselves up all over the web once they're old enough to realize the embarrassment factor...Or they might not care. By then those photos probably will be deleted or hidden so deep into their parents' photo albums that it wouldn't matter I guess. (WHOAH. Just stumbled on an article about a photo on facebook of a mother breastfeeding her kid.. NO, No.. so terrible.)
Anyway, the thing that bothers me about the photos is when people use camera phones to take poor quality photos of their babies during their momentous stages of development.. or of anything that's worth remembering at that. I hope they're taking doubles of those shots with a camera that makes the capturing of that moment seem like it matters by documenting it with some care and quality. And I hope the only place they keep those precious photos isn't on Facebook alone... or even on a computer alone.
"Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you." That's a line from Simon and Garfunkle's song Bookends. It's a strong message to me. Photos are so valuable, and have a profound nostalgia. They represent times that have gone, or people who have passed.
Take the time to document well what's important to you. That means keeping track of photos as well as taking them in the first place.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sneaky Somethings In Advertising
My boss (probably jokingly) told me I should hide my initials or something related in one of the ads on the Kmart homepage, on the last week of designs I will be doing before the company completely changes what all us designers will have to work on daily.
I spent about an hour (yess) finding the perfect spot for it in this ad for Patio:
It should be up during the 4th week of August, so look for it! Ha.. that is, until someone says "What is that? Take out the magazines." I doubt they would though. I think they blend in pretty well. It sells the lawn chairs, right? It says, 'these chairs are good enough to buy and to sit down at with magazines.' I'm sort of using it as a subliminal way to promote myself.. if anyone gets curious enough, they'd google my name and my work would come up.. which is why I had to put my full name in there too.. cause apparently there's another Melissa Meek in the world, hmf.
I spent about an hour (yess) finding the perfect spot for it in this ad for Patio:
It should be up during the 4th week of August, so look for it! Ha.. that is, until someone says "What is that? Take out the magazines." I doubt they would though. I think they blend in pretty well. It sells the lawn chairs, right? It says, 'these chairs are good enough to buy and to sit down at with magazines.' I'm sort of using it as a subliminal way to promote myself.. if anyone gets curious enough, they'd google my name and my work would come up.. which is why I had to put my full name in there too.. cause apparently there's another Melissa Meek in the world, hmf.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Our House: In The Middle Of.. Some Street, Somewhere..
Yes, we have begun the house hunting phase.. slash the learning about being a home buyer phase. We looked at 3 decent ones last night with our realtor (a friend from church), all of them in a really lovely subdivision (and all circa 1950s). I went into touring them with these thoughts: "I'm so anxious to have more space that works better, to be closer to work, to be rid of the noisy child above us, and just to feel settled in a place that actually feels more like both of ours."
When I saw the first 2, I thought they were really cute for the most part, the updates were nice and the new appliances were good.. but I found myself confused by the room layout of one (I think it would be weird if your bedroom was in a location where others would have to pass through it to get to the kitchen or the back porch). The second one (I thought I had originally liked best based on photos) has only 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a "half bath" single toilet on a wall on the top floor next to a corner vanity/sink. Like, not inside it's own room or stall. Weird. But altogether it made me feel a little cramped, and the basement was creepy but in decent condish. I was bummed that this one had the cutest style but just didn't accommodate space.
The third one we saw had the most potential. Much more spacious (which initially for us almost seemed too big to me, but after some years and some kids, it wouldn't I guess. I am just kind of against having a huge home to have to clean.. don't really want hugeness). But it was also very updated. The basement was in better condition, but had a mysterious 1930s-looking boiler slash torpedo bay looking thing down there, ha.. but it had a nice carport, and an awesome 2 level back porch plus flat and large backyard. I didn't like how the kitchen had no windows though.. if I am going to be spending any length of time in such a room, I like to be able to see the free world outside.
I walked away from #3 feeling like it was pretty promising.. but once we got home to talk about it, I learned that our house search is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought. Jon mentioned his plans for a room with enough capabilities and space to house his growing array of music and recording gear.. or at least a home that has potential to add-on to accommodate these things.. something that feels like a studio, not a bedroom. A den-like area would work well for that. This home only had smallish bedroom space for that, and if we wanted to finish off the basement for it, he thought the ceiling would be too low.
It's interesting doing these walk-throughs and trying to imagine our stuff and our future more stuff in them. At first I would think "wow this place feels empty with all this space".. but I wouldn't think "let's get more to fill it!" although some items of "more" might be necessary at some point.
I have to say it's disappointing to find a house that mostly works for everything we need, but then there's that one part that just doesn't. Eh, the search continues. We'll plan a drive-around on Saturday again.
When I saw the first 2, I thought they were really cute for the most part, the updates were nice and the new appliances were good.. but I found myself confused by the room layout of one (I think it would be weird if your bedroom was in a location where others would have to pass through it to get to the kitchen or the back porch). The second one (I thought I had originally liked best based on photos) has only 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a "half bath" single toilet on a wall on the top floor next to a corner vanity/sink. Like, not inside it's own room or stall. Weird. But altogether it made me feel a little cramped, and the basement was creepy but in decent condish. I was bummed that this one had the cutest style but just didn't accommodate space.
The third one we saw had the most potential. Much more spacious (which initially for us almost seemed too big to me, but after some years and some kids, it wouldn't I guess. I am just kind of against having a huge home to have to clean.. don't really want hugeness). But it was also very updated. The basement was in better condition, but had a mysterious 1930s-looking boiler slash torpedo bay looking thing down there, ha.. but it had a nice carport, and an awesome 2 level back porch plus flat and large backyard. I didn't like how the kitchen had no windows though.. if I am going to be spending any length of time in such a room, I like to be able to see the free world outside.
I walked away from #3 feeling like it was pretty promising.. but once we got home to talk about it, I learned that our house search is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought. Jon mentioned his plans for a room with enough capabilities and space to house his growing array of music and recording gear.. or at least a home that has potential to add-on to accommodate these things.. something that feels like a studio, not a bedroom. A den-like area would work well for that. This home only had smallish bedroom space for that, and if we wanted to finish off the basement for it, he thought the ceiling would be too low.
It's interesting doing these walk-throughs and trying to imagine our stuff and our future more stuff in them. At first I would think "wow this place feels empty with all this space".. but I wouldn't think "let's get more to fill it!" although some items of "more" might be necessary at some point.
I have to say it's disappointing to find a house that mostly works for everything we need, but then there's that one part that just doesn't. Eh, the search continues. We'll plan a drive-around on Saturday again.
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