Tuesday, January 4, 2011
How to Eat an Angry Bird
Okay. I couldn't help but to post this. I recently became an Angry Birds fan a couple of months ago and I won't lie, it's addictive! Whenever I found myself waiting around for anything, it seemed like I was completely obsessed with knocking out those green pigs with flying birds! A friend of mine posted a link on facebook for these edible cake toppers featuring Angry Bird characters, made by Artisan Cake Company and are available on their Etsy shop. These are so great, I'd hate to eat them, though! There are other great edibles for cakes & cupcakes featured on Artisan Cake Company's Etsy shop. I am making them a favorite!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Welcome, Welcome 2011!
I don't know about any of you but I am happy to welcome 2011 and try to put 2010 behind me. I'm not going to lie- while there definitely were some pretty awesome moments in 2010 that I will cherish for always, there were a lot of very trying and tough times for my family and I that I am happy to put behind us. A lot of big life lessons learned and while times were tough, I do feel that it did bring my family closer together and taught us some bigger morals in life and reprioritize a few things. And with that- I am actually very hopeful for what 2011 might bless us with!
I have to admit, I am not the most consistent blogger. I have proven that. But it isn't because I haven't wanted to, more that I haven't made it a priority over other things that consumed my life, especially in 2010. But I am going to give it an earnest try to be more consistent for 2011. I want to really put focus on not only things that I am doing but also things that interest me and inspire me, hoping that maybe it might be of interest to others out there...and also serve to inspire you as well.
As far as new things on my to-do list, I have one, possibly two wedding invitation ensembles to design and I couldn't be more excited! They're both for very good friends of my family and it's an honor that they have come to me with the opportunities to help make their days more special! I am also working on The Sketchbook Project and hoping I can get it all done in time and mailed/postmarked by the deadline.
In any case...it's getting rather late and I have to be at work tomorrow...Time to jump into the new year and ROCK IT! So I am gonna need a good night's sleep!!!
I have to admit, I am not the most consistent blogger. I have proven that. But it isn't because I haven't wanted to, more that I haven't made it a priority over other things that consumed my life, especially in 2010. But I am going to give it an earnest try to be more consistent for 2011. I want to really put focus on not only things that I am doing but also things that interest me and inspire me, hoping that maybe it might be of interest to others out there...and also serve to inspire you as well.
As far as new things on my to-do list, I have one, possibly two wedding invitation ensembles to design and I couldn't be more excited! They're both for very good friends of my family and it's an honor that they have come to me with the opportunities to help make their days more special! I am also working on The Sketchbook Project and hoping I can get it all done in time and mailed/postmarked by the deadline.
In any case...it's getting rather late and I have to be at work tomorrow...Time to jump into the new year and ROCK IT! So I am gonna need a good night's sleep!!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Re-Connected
So...we just recently moved and it actually was quite an ordeal. Little did I know until we moved in that the house was in a hole where, despite only being a mere few miles outside city limits, was a complete dead-zone. Spotty cell service and no internet. A guy actually mentioned "dial-up" and I threw up in my mouth. I've been spoiled by high speed wireless internet and I have been stomping around this place like a brat not getting her way. I just could not and would not accept it. With the technology that we have out there now...I just could not believe how impossibly hard some places made it sound. I got crazy thoughts of getting super long ethernet cords to string from town (we're talking roughly 5 miles of cord, no less...), selling an organ to pay for a tower to be put up where I could get signal from direct line of site (cuz for selling an organ, that tower would be in my back yard, of course), putting up a really super tall pole with pieces of tin mounted to it, Dr. Brown style (think Back to the Future) hoping for some super jiggawatts or whatever to beam me that magic internet connection....desperate thoughts, I'm telling you...desperate! There was quite a few mentions of satellite internet but I had heard about it being slow, dragging, having horrible restrictions, etc. I was told to avoid satellite internet like the plague. But finally, after several weeks of phone calls, begging, pleading, making people scout our location for any possibilities, tears of rage and frustration...I finally broke down and succumbed to the big and terrible satellite internet gods. It was not an easy choice. It really wasn't. There are two: Wild Blue and Hughesnet. Comparing apples to apples, and also the big fact that my sister actually works for the company (and yes, she is biased and kept putting it under my nose like a mom trying to get her kid to eat their brussel sprouts) I went with Wild Blue. The tech guy came out to my house and after a few hours of grueling setup time, mostly sitting around waiting for stuff to "connect" and sharing that idle small talk, I finally got hooked up! So far...so good. Granted, I did try setting up my wireless router and it doesn't seem to be cooperating...BUT other than that, I am actually pretty impressed with Wild Blue so far. It's not lightning fast like my high-speed wireless in town was like but it's really not horrible bad. Actually, comparing it to internet at work, it's quite decent.
So anyhow....now that I am done sharing with you my dilemma of getting "connected" I guess I should talk about a few other things going on. Now that the major stress of getting moved is done and we are gradually working at getting settled in our new place, I am ready to start getting back into the mode I was before the whole deal of moving took place. I was working on a new site redesign and I am still wanting to get that done but it was one of those things that had to take a backseat for awhile. While I would love to jump right in and get it done, realistically, I know it's not going to happen overnight. But soon. Very soon.
Other than that, I do have a fabulous couple to design Save The Dates, Wedding invites and all that goes with for. I am so very thrilled! I have known the groom since he was about 2 or 3 years old- it doesn't seem possible for him to be grown up and getting married already! But I am super excited about it all and have been fun playing with ideas for them.
I just recently picked up a job creating ads for a company that creates guides for airports around the country. I have worked on a few ads so far and have a few more to work on. I am really hoping that it proves to be consistent and reliable work. So far, so good! And it makes it possible for me to work from home in the evenings and weekends doing design work which is a way better opportunity than working at Walmart. (Which I did a stunt doing for a couple of months just to try and earn some extra money to put towards getting a few bills paid off, saving towards a family vacation and paying off that evil aunt Sallie Mae who I'll be paying off until I'm like 96 years old....) But I did learn some interesting things while working there....thinking designer-ly, I couldn't help but think about how horrible some package design concepts are when it comes to apparel. Socks & Underwear have to be the worst! And who puts children's pajamas in a thin cardboard box to hang up on a wall?! Actually, to be honest, I was quite surprised that those things didn't get massacred. I dreaded the idea of coming into work to find that a bunch of them had been dismantled. Fortunately, I saw only a few casualties while there. But seriously...the designer in me wasn't lost to the relentless folding and hanging that I experienced there. In some ways, I do feel that it helped me. I thought about new things that I'd never thought about before. I thought not only about the pretty container that something might come in. I thought about functionality. I thought about practicality. I thought about how well something might recycle. I thought about durability. I thought about organization....visual stimulus. For those things, I have no regrets whatsoever for my adventure as a sales associate. What I won't miss: the stink eye looks from customers, rude teenagers, the surprises of empty pregnancy test boxes stuffed amongst stacks of folded tee shirts or jeans, sunflower seeds spit all over the floor, having to argue with customers about trying on UNDERWEAR, etc. You've been to Walmart, I don't have to elaborate more. LOL
Anyhow- it is late and I am rambling. Perhaps not the most inspiring post. Maybe funny. Or sad. I guess it depends on how you look at it! But really, despite all the stuff that I have been through over the past few months, I have a lot to be greatful for. The "funny" stuff just enriches my soul and makes me stronger (or perhaps more crazy which is probably most true). Now that I have internet and I have stuff to keep the creative monster well fed for awhile, I suppose the spoiled little brat in me that stomps around throwing tantrums might sit in time-out for awhile. But dang, I am sure that my family will miss her.....
So anyhow....now that I am done sharing with you my dilemma of getting "connected" I guess I should talk about a few other things going on. Now that the major stress of getting moved is done and we are gradually working at getting settled in our new place, I am ready to start getting back into the mode I was before the whole deal of moving took place. I was working on a new site redesign and I am still wanting to get that done but it was one of those things that had to take a backseat for awhile. While I would love to jump right in and get it done, realistically, I know it's not going to happen overnight. But soon. Very soon.
Other than that, I do have a fabulous couple to design Save The Dates, Wedding invites and all that goes with for. I am so very thrilled! I have known the groom since he was about 2 or 3 years old- it doesn't seem possible for him to be grown up and getting married already! But I am super excited about it all and have been fun playing with ideas for them.
I just recently picked up a job creating ads for a company that creates guides for airports around the country. I have worked on a few ads so far and have a few more to work on. I am really hoping that it proves to be consistent and reliable work. So far, so good! And it makes it possible for me to work from home in the evenings and weekends doing design work which is a way better opportunity than working at Walmart. (Which I did a stunt doing for a couple of months just to try and earn some extra money to put towards getting a few bills paid off, saving towards a family vacation and paying off that evil aunt Sallie Mae who I'll be paying off until I'm like 96 years old....) But I did learn some interesting things while working there....thinking designer-ly, I couldn't help but think about how horrible some package design concepts are when it comes to apparel. Socks & Underwear have to be the worst! And who puts children's pajamas in a thin cardboard box to hang up on a wall?! Actually, to be honest, I was quite surprised that those things didn't get massacred. I dreaded the idea of coming into work to find that a bunch of them had been dismantled. Fortunately, I saw only a few casualties while there. But seriously...the designer in me wasn't lost to the relentless folding and hanging that I experienced there. In some ways, I do feel that it helped me. I thought about new things that I'd never thought about before. I thought not only about the pretty container that something might come in. I thought about functionality. I thought about practicality. I thought about how well something might recycle. I thought about durability. I thought about organization....visual stimulus. For those things, I have no regrets whatsoever for my adventure as a sales associate. What I won't miss: the stink eye looks from customers, rude teenagers, the surprises of empty pregnancy test boxes stuffed amongst stacks of folded tee shirts or jeans, sunflower seeds spit all over the floor, having to argue with customers about trying on UNDERWEAR, etc. You've been to Walmart, I don't have to elaborate more. LOL
Anyhow- it is late and I am rambling. Perhaps not the most inspiring post. Maybe funny. Or sad. I guess it depends on how you look at it! But really, despite all the stuff that I have been through over the past few months, I have a lot to be greatful for. The "funny" stuff just enriches my soul and makes me stronger (or perhaps more crazy which is probably most true). Now that I have internet and I have stuff to keep the creative monster well fed for awhile, I suppose the spoiled little brat in me that stomps around throwing tantrums might sit in time-out for awhile. But dang, I am sure that my family will miss her.....
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