design team call

So: scrapbooking. I do it. It's true. I think it's time I man up and stop calling it something else. But I do feel like I come to it with a different sensibility maybe? Anyway. Now that I have this special little guy in my life, it's especially important for me to write things down, remember the stories, create something for posterity. And since paper + glue is pretty much my favorite, why not scrapbook? 

I tend not to go too crazy over products, but there are a few companies that I always love. Cosmo Cricket is one of them. Their designs have a kind of fresh spirit and quirky humor and the colors are perfect in a non-traditional but very usable kind of way. I was doing a search today because I'd heard they're making fabrics of the designs (how awesome is that?) and I saw on their blog that there's a design team call. And it's due today. Nice timing, huh? I've never done something like this but I figure, hey, I love the stuff, maybe it's worth a shot. 

Links go to the original Flickr page (where I usually post my art and scrapbooking.) 

Pages from my art journal, done when I was pregnant, right after our first ultrasound. 

A recent "blowing off steam" collage. Sometimes just cutting and pasting is so soothing to me. And who doesn't love rainbow order?

My April guest design for The Art is Found. I didn't totally love this when I made it, but the more I look at it the more I really dig it. 

One of the tutorials from Rachel Denbow's summer art journal class. I'm still working through the class and really loving it. I'm trying to take it slow and savor it rather than finishing everything just for the sake of finishing. 

And a recent layout from David's scrapbook, made this past weekend. The journalling is just about the daily stuff of life with the baby. Washing bottles! Etc. 

So that's it! Just a few of my precious little paper + glue projects. 

I know it's been forever since I blogged. . . and there are two good reasons. I've been: 

1. Working so hard at my dayjob I swear my head literally spins by the end of every day. We're at the tail end of the busy season now and I feel like I'm coming up for air. I finally relaxed enough this weekend to feel kind of okay again. It's been pretty intense. It would have been pretty unbearable if not for the fact that I've also been. . . 

2. Hanging out with the most awesome baby of all time. Seriously, David is such a good boy and now that he's 5 months a lot of things have smoothed out and we're just cruising along. He's so happy and fun to be around. We feel soooo lucky. Ahh, happiness. 

well, I'll be

I actually made some art. Hurray! A few pages from the week of Christmas. There are more on my flickr, and more for me to add tomorrow, too. 

(The book is getting so fat that it doesn't open flat anymore, hence my fingers in every picture. I kind of like it though. Gives it a nice scale.)

Anyway, besides art, here are a few other things that have been occupying my time this week:

-updating my tumblr more often. I think my attention span is better suited to tumblr these days. 

-Rereading Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. I highly recommend this to any pregnant woman, or really any woman. I usually have an aversion to this word, but it's very. . . empowering. And has helped me to overcome some of my fears and weirdnesses about birth. One disclaimer, it is kind of for hippies, so if you are not into crunchy tales of giving birth naturally on a farm, it might not be the book for you. But I'm into it. 

-Trying to maintain a positive attitude despite the fact that I have HAD IT with wives tales, other people's advice, birthing horror stories, etc. I'm a pretty sensitive person and I think I take things too seriously, I just need to let all of it roll off my back. Honestly, though, who wouldn't hate hearing things like, "your hips are too small to give birth naturally." What the hell, ladies?! Let's be kind and understanding with one another. Luckily the good stories and sharing have outnumbered the bad, but the bad ones just linger with me. 

-On to better things. . . . I checked out Swedish Cakes and Cookies from the library and I think I might actually have to buy it. I made "Marta's Chocolate Slices" last night and not only were they super simple to make, the results were fantastic. Plus the book is just cute:

new art making space

Most of my art supplies are now condensed into a basket for big paper and a rolling cart/shelves for small papers, photos, and everything else. The cart fits pretty neatly into the front closet. And when I need to work, I roll it out and work at the dining room table. So far I'm pretty pleased with the arrangement. The lighting in the dining room is a lot cozier than the office, so that's a plus.

I can't say there's much. . or anything. . happening there right now though. I'm exhausted today. I actually fell asleep on the couch at 6:45 waiting for Mike to come home and make me dinner. It's been kind of a rough week at work, so I'm not sure if it's that or some crazy baby growth spurt. Either way, I'm glad tomorrow is Friday.

organic

from playnice:

Your joy is organic.
Birthdays, weddings, firsts of any kind- we want these events to be special. But you can’t force a moment to have meaning. Keeping your heart open will give you more meaningful times than you could ever force. And without the stress of willful over-planning, you can relax and enjoy the memories you’re making.
Today remind yourself: My joy is organic.

nice thoughts for the beginning of December.

My month is off to a good start. I've even made some collages in the past few days! Wonders never cease. I'm reviving my December envelope book project. It's a happy thing to work on as the days get merrier and the baby gets ready to be born.

progress and process

I continue to become more and more at peace with our house/space situation. At one point I felt like all my interests and art supplies were going to be boxed up and put in the attic and forgotten. But I feel like I turned a corner at some point this week and things have really been on the upswing.

Some things that are helping:
-Tackling one thing at a time. I think it had been so overwhelming to me that I kind of shut down and just assumed the worst. I'm finding that if I clean one shelf or reorganize one cabinet at a time, it all seems manageable. Plus we have way more room in my house than I realize, if only things are organized in a more functional way.

-Getting rid of stuff I truly don't need. How many books are on my shelves that I will never have an interest in reading again? How many tiny scraps of paper have I been holding onto because they might be perfect for some theoretical future project? It's best to put it all in a goodwill box or the recycling and just move along.

-Embracing the change. The more I work on reorganizing, the more I feel like I'm making tangible strides towards Making Room in our Lives for the Baby. And then I'm happier about everything.

clean bookshelf, with my vintage books for clipping at the top. I know it's not lifestyle photography at it's finest, but it's prettier than it was before, that's for sure.

things to do

I never know what to call my work. art? collage? scrapbook? it is what it is though. i'm pleased with these two, made the day after we had our 20 week ultrasound. I always feel like my artwork is better when i'm happy.

This is the kind of week where all I want to do is cut and paste and cut and paste. just let the pages in my art journal fill up, and make postcards for friends, and start a new sewing project. instead, I'll be working late every night and coming home with enough energy to eat, finish a few chores, and veg out in front of msnbc. I am always a bit envious of people that can stay up late working on projects and still function normally. i guess being pregnant doesn't really help that right now.

The prospect of an entirely free weekend makes it all better though. the weather has been so perfect this week it feels like time to start all the fall projects on my list.
-finally, finally putting up curtains in our bedroom. i found some simple white sheers and I think they might look great with a wide brown grosgrain ribbon sewn along the bottom. if I get ambitious.
-reorganizing and redecorating our mantle. I'm starting to get the thrifting urge big time, since it's been a couple of weeks, and hopefully I can pick up a few cute things.
-cleaning up the garden for wintertime. i have to say, the garden definitely fell to the end of the to do list this summer and it's looking a little unkempt, to say the least.
-organizing our wreck of a spice cabinet. you should see it, it's not pretty. so far I haven't found any perfect solutions. . . but I'm convinced it's out there somewhere.

to be honest though, if I even accomplish one of those four I'd be pretty stoked. i like takin 'er easy these days.

door county and milwaukee, august 2008

the subtitle for this entry would probably be "the bathrooms of wisconsin." i think the baby was sitting directly on my bladder all weekend long.

anyway! pictures!
on our sheep farm tour! I'm really excited, can't you tell?

mike and his sheepy friends

on a lookout tower, peninsula state park

eagle harbor sunset

whitefish dunes state park

milwaukee art museum



we had a great time, it was really relaxing. I always forget how much I love the country. we stayed on "the quiet side" of door county so I'm sure that made a difference. i think we experienced most of what door county had to offer, including: numerous wonderful hikes in state parks, a climb to the top of a lighthouse, a fish boil, yummy custard, browsing at touristy shops but not buying anything. . . and of course our wonderful bed and breakfast/sheep farm, whitefish bay farm, which I highly recommend. the breakfast was great and the sheep were soooo cute and friendly.

we also stopped in Milwaukee for a day this weekend too, and I always forget how much I love smaller cities. we visited the art museum, walked around downtown on the riverwalk quite a bit, mike drank a lot of brewpub beer, I loved shopping in the third ward and seeing the public market. happy times.

leisurely day off

some artworks for an online art journal class I'm taking.

I decided to take this class, not because I feel like I need instruction on how to make things, but just for more of a boost, new ideas, whatever. It's been a good experience but has underlined something I've known about myself for a while. . . I really hate to follow directions. I cook from recipes all the time, but use them as a loose guideline. I've never sewn from a pattern in my life. So, in making these pages I feel like I'm using the tutorials as more of a suggestion than a direction. and I am totally okay with that.

Today I have the day off work and I'm going into the city to get a haircut at my old favorite salon in Wicker Park. I'm feeling sorta nervous because I might take the plunge and get some blunt bangs or something completely new. I guess we'll see. I think the haircut urge comes from the fact that if I can't really control how my body looks in the next few months, I might as well have cute hair. Plus it's a nice excuse to go bum around in my old neighborhood. I do miss it sometimes.

Then tomorrow, Mike and I are off for a long weekend in Wisconsin-Door County and Milwaukee. It should be fun. We're staying at a bed and breakfast that is also a sheep farm so you know I'm deliriously excited.

rainbows and flowers

I'm still feeling pretty quiet. I have to say, my break from the internet has not been as much of a break as I'd hoped, but I feel like I'm making strides. I have been taking walks and reading and cooking more than before.

I've also noticed that I feel a lot less pressure to start new projects. When I constantly look at flickr and read art blogs, I get crazy with the amount of stuff I want to do/try/accomplish. That has definitely subsided in the past week or so. It's refreshing, and I feel like it's allowing more room for original ideas and my own taste/aesthetic. Essentially, I feel better about making my own way, rather than wishing I was more like someone else. If that makes sense ...

Anyway, here are some pretty pictures. Rainbows and flowers. Word.

not fast enough for us

"Walking was not fast enough, so we ran. Running was not fast enough, so we galloped. Galloping was not fast enough, so we sailed. Sailing was not fast enough, so rolled merrily along long, metal tracks. Long metal tracks were not fast enough, so we drove. Driving was not fast enough, so we flew.

Flying isn't fast enough, not fast enough for us. We want to get there faster. Get where? Wherever we're not. But a human soul can only go as fast as a human man can walk, they used to say. In that case, then where are all the souls? Left behind. They wander here and there, slowly, dim lights flickering in the marshes of the night, looking for us. But, they're not nearly as fast enough, not for us, we're way ahead of them, they'll never catch up. That's why we can go so fast; our souls dont weigh us down."
Margaret Atwood, The Tent

I have a lot to share but not a lot to write today. i'm conducting an experiment this week and trying to slow down and cut back on some of the noise in my life. I'm hoping to reduce the massive and wasteful amount of time I spend on the internet, the mindless TV watching, the obsessive email checking, the shopping online with no intention of buying. It's just NOT good for too many reasons to list. I want to be more aware of my time and how I'm spending it.

So with that, I don't know when I'll come back to my blog, it could be a few weeks or so. Just a little break. I'll leave you with a few links and art projects and things.

I can take a break from a lot of things on the internet, but not flickr. And definitely not my favorites. Lately I've been looking for photos of creative gardens, outdoor rooms, and beautiful naturey things.

I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver right now, and it's definitely inspiring me to spend more time in the kitchen and garden. All the seasonal, super healthy recipes from the book are here.

Measure for Measure is a New York times blog about songwriting, and Andrew Bird is one of the contributors. Fascinating stuff.





some collages from this weekend. i could have made ten more pages in the same color palette, I was really enjoying it.

Thanks for listening. See you soon.

mail art and a meme

this is a piece of mail art I made for robyn. our trade was my first experience with this kind of mail art, and it was really fun!

and. Here's a meme I've seen in a few places around the blog world lately, I thought I'd share my answers. . .

What was I doing 5 years ago?
2003. . . hmmm. Kind of an awkward time of my life. I was living in chicago in a weird neighborhood, still not used to not being in college anymore, not loving my job at all. i had great friends, though I don't think we were the best influences on each other at that time. Overall, probably your run of the mill 23 year old malaise. On the upside, i saw a ton of great live music that year and bought a lot of shoes. So, there you go.

Five things on my to-do list today (or things I did today):
1. Get work done so I don't have to stay late at work.
2. Return a purse I bought from anthropologie. but this probably won't happen today.
3. Cook dinner.
4. Go out and look at my garden even though there's only three little sprouts so far.
5. Watch LOST. yay!

Five snacks i love:
1. triscuits and cheese.
2. hummus and pita
3. chips and salsa.
4. fruit crisp with vanilla ice cream.
5. dark chocolate.
apparently I love combinations of things.

Five things i would do if i were a billionaire:
1. pay off our house and buy a vacation home somewhere nice in the midwest.
2. pay off my parents house, buy my brother a new house
3. give money to our church and my dad's church
4. Buys lots of goats and cows for heifer international.
5. Ginormous blowout of a European vacation with all my friends and family! italy, paris, london, ireland, copenhagen, croatia, germany, etc. etc. Seriously, you're all invited, all expenses paid. :)

Five bad habits I have:
1. Never answering my cell phone.
2. Spending waaay too much time on the internet.
3. Keeping a super messy car all the time.
4. This is probably TMI, but it's my worst habit right now. . scratching my itchy excema hands. :(
5. Not keeping in touch very well with my old college friends and extended family.

Five places i have lived:
a selection of the many, from smallest to largest :)
1. Wentworth, South Dakota
2. Marshfield, Missouri
3. Ames, Iowa
4. Rome, Italy
5. Chicago

Five jobs i've had:
1. Camp Counselor.
2. "Bingo the Dog" at a pumpkin farm.
3. College Residence Hall Tour Guide.
4. Screen printer at a sporting goods factory.
5. Graphic Designer for lower-grade textbooks.
This list could go on. . . i've done a lot of weird jobs in my life.

well, that was fun. now i'm off to do all the things on the to do list for the day. :)

warmth!

my mom and I at "cloud gate" (aka, the bean) millenium park, Chicago.

okay, how many other good things could have happened this weekend?
1. friday night i fell asleep on the couch at 9 PM. yes, that's a good thing.
2. my mom came to visit. and she brought dari barn ice cream. .. with crunch coat (a hometown favorite). dude, best thing ever, in the universe.
3. we went to millenium park saturday afternoon and just sat there forever watching people. i really love millenium park, I truly do, and am really happy that some of my tax dollars as a city dweller funded it's billion dollar-ness.
3a. we had such a nice day walking around downtown, walking along the lakefront, drinking warm drinks at the cosi on michigan avenue with all the art kids, taking the metra through all the western suburbs, etc. etc.
4. today I did the crossword on the patio, then fell into some kind of dreamy sun coma/ half sleep. SUNSHINE. it is back, and like I said, I honestly feel like I'm in a whole new world. it's glorious.
4a. also this afternoon I made some collages with the windows open. is there anything nicer than a good music mix mingled with the birdsongs from the backyard? it's kind of the ultimate nice sunday afternoon sound.
5. tonight mike and I rode our bikes over to a friends house, sat on a patio, drank beers, and petted dogs. let's think about all the good things in that sentence. there's a lot.

Honestly though, it's so strange to live in this new universe of warmth. I feel like this was one of the worst winters I've ever lived through and now it's totally bizarre to get used to non-winter anymore. I'm sure I sound like some kind of weirdo talking about this, but I'm guessing if you live above the mason-dixon line you'll probably understand. SPRINGTIME. Yes.

just born this way

Lately I have been looking back through my years and seeing that so much of me really hasn't changed, even since I was a little kid. I mean, here I am at 27, still writing, drawing, dreaming, making little art projects. The same kinds of things I did when I was in elementary school. Looking through an old diary, I found an old list of goals I made when I was a senior in college. it's interesting to see which I've accomplished, which are still relevant. Really only one of the goals is no longer relevant, and the ones I haven't accomplished I'd still like to.

1. Get a radio show.
Yes! One of the best experiences of my college years.

2. Run a 10k.
Sadly no.

3. Design a typeface
Two actually! Here's a shamless plug: one of which you can purchase if you so chose. :)

4. Fall in love.
Of course! Yay for Mike.

5. Buy more purple t-shirts.
What a random one. . . I actually don't think I own any purple t-shirts.

6. Bake more.
I've been highly successful on this one. Just made some bacon muffins yesterday. Mmm. . . bacon muffins.

7. See Caedmon's Call, REM, The Rentals, and Sigur Ros in concert.
Funny. . . none of these. I did see countless other bands while living in chicago, so I think this is mostly a success.

8. Become more knowledgable about wine.
Yes. Here's some photographic evidence: visiting the Gloria Ferrer winery on our honeymoon, intently studying some kind of brochure.

9. Paint a triptych.
Hmm. . . haven't done this but maybe I'll revive this goal.

11. Host a fondue party.
Best party of my life. . . I should do this again sometime.

12. Write a hit play.
Ha ha, this one is a bit tongue in cheek. Who knows though, maybe someday.

13. Learn more about classic rock.
Check!

14. Get a cool job.
Yes again! Finally.

15. Start writing more faithfully in my journal.
Another one I should probably revive.

It's nice to see that I've actually made strides forward. Sometimes it's hard to see changes because I've evolved so slowly. I'm starting to compile a new list, too. I think this will be a "things to do before 30" and more of a big dreaming list. Coming soon. . .

five things

five things!

1. some new art journal pages. :)




2. this past weekend was one of the best we've had so far this year. absolutely perfect weather. and this morning when I woke up the grass had all magically turned green. it kind of feels like the wizard of oz when everything turns technicolor. and after all the yard work and being outside this weekend, I feel like pinocchio when he turned from a wooden puppet into a real boy. thank you springtime, i am a real girl again.

3. if you are at all interested in the work of emily martin of the black apple, do yourself a favor and download the podcast/interview with her at craftsanity. it's an hour and a half long but it just flies by, she is so charming and informative. it made me respect and admire her even more than I already do. highly, highly recommended.

4. i have been stuck in a lunch rut for about two months now and I couldn't stand the thought of another spinach salad or tuna sandwich. thank goodness for smitten kitchen. I made this bulgur salad with chickpeas and red peppers and it is sooo good, I was in nigella mode after work, eating it straight from the bowl standing in front of the frig. In general, I don't cook a lot of fancy or new things, but I always want to, and this was a great way to do it. now have a week's worth of lunches I can actually look forward to.

5. finally. there was a little talk of this in the comments of my last post, but I think it's definitely time for a mix cd swap. I made a boo-yah playlist and I'm willing to trade . . .email me (katielicht at gmail.com) if you're down. YAY.

color palettes

1. In good (although limited) company..., 2. boxes, 3. solo ante la inmensidad, 4. green ones are hard to find, 5. Picnic party in the garden., 6. red rain, 7. Rothay Park Robin X, 8. Orange mood, 9. red rain, 10. math books.

a mosaic from my flickr faves.

my color palette is an area of my artwork I'm trying to develop lately. I go to the same old favorites over and over, or rely on pretty basic combinations (red and light blue, orange and green, overall monochromatics, etc.) So, I delved into my flickr favorites to find palettes I found interesting that I generally don't or haven't used in art or collages yet. I figure, if I'm drawn to this image at least part of it has to be the palette, right? one thing I'm definitely seeing is a lot of orangey tones. . . .other than that it's all just super pretty and appealing to me.

I think I learned this trick at some point in college, to look at photographic imagery to find palettes for artwork. Not like it's groundbreaking or anything, but it's a nice reminder to always look for new inspirations.

I have been working late this week and I come home late and pretty tired. I'm full of ideas but not a lot of motivation. So, a glass of wine, looking through flickr pretties and listening to the
new andrew bird ep and she & him is a nice way to wind down the day.

art. and the past

this weekend i spent so much time in the art room making page after page of collages. it really makes me so happy. lately i have been worrying a lot that I've become too focused on results / feedback from others / some kind of commericial success. which is never what I intended this to be. so I looked back through a lot of my old work, before I started posting things online, back when it was solely about me and my personal fulfillment.

when I look at my old work it makes me glad that I took the time to make a painting, glue together a collage, whatever, instead of watching reruns on tv or spending endless hours reading blogs. It's nice to look at my (albeit small) collection of work and just feel proud that I have these pretty things to show for myself.

I have a lot of new things to show (as soon as it gets sunny enough to get a decent photograph!) but I wanted to show some of what's been making me happy this weekend.

the past five years worth of art journals. the flickr breaks it down.

from my messy watercolors phase. fun fact, i'm pretty sure I painted this the day before I met my husband.

more messy watercolors.

stack of little books.

more little books. yay for ribbons!

it was a nice weekend overall. sunday afternoon we went to the little petting zoo in town so I could see my favorite llamas. and out for sushi for dinner since it's been sooo long and I had a taste for some unagi.

hope you had a nice weekend too, friends.

thoughts on a day job

little yellow birdies, began as a doodle during some work meetings.

so, i have been thinking lately about my job. In the past week or so, I have had a big surge of creative energy, outside of work, and that always makes part of me wish I had more time to dedicate to my personal art.

The thing is, I'm pretty sure if I didn't have the outlet of my job (doing graphic design for a small corporation), I wouldn't have the same kind of creativity outside of work. I really do love my job. Loving my day job energizes the rest of my life; I know this now because I've had jobs I haven't liked, and it totally sucked away all my vitality and spirit. Now I'm content with where I am. I really respect and admire my supervisors, and I enjoy spending time with my coworkers--many of whom I now consider good friends, outside of work. I get to work on some pretty neat projects, too; signage, logos, invitations.

It's not always puppies and rainbows, that's for sure--during our busy times I work late a LOT and it can be stressful and crazy--but for the most part I feel really blessed to have finally found myself at a good place in my career.

Anyway, to bring it back full circle, one of the things I most love about my job is that no one ever seems to care that I draw through about 75% of all the meetings I attend. Last week I made doodles through an entire meeting, and that's essentially what I was there to do. Seriously! It's great.

sparkling clean

is there anything better than a clean house?
 
the apartment therapy spring cure is going pretty well for me. so far, it doesn't really seem that organized online, but the book has really given me a boost to get things done. More than anything it's raised my consciousness of my surroundings, what works about my house and what doesn't. And after the whole week of really pondering what needs to be done, I realized that what my house really needs is to stay clean and clutter free. I don't really need new furniture. I don't need more knicknacks.

okay, I have to admit though, I did buy an wood and metal monogram from anthropologie, and a few pieces of art from etsy seller labokoff. (highly recommended! beautiful prints, i LOVE them.) and finally took some wedding photos to get framed, but that's a different story. why yes, i did get married almost three years ago, thanks.

my prints from labokoff. aren't they pretty?

anyway! clean and clutter free. that's the goal. I cleaned so hard on saturday afternoon, like workout hard. it was so incredibly satisfying. I think the soundtrack helped, too:
fruit bats, spelled in bones (twice)
belle and sebastian, if you're feeling sinister (twice)
the strokes, is this it

I'm going to make up a fake statistic and guarantee you 94% success in scrubbing every surface in your house while listening to these albums. it worked for me!

where have your walls gone?

today it is raining on top of the two feet of snow we have. honestly. . . I don't think the weather could get any more gross than this. yuck. so this is today's art journal page.

the weekend has been good in spite of it. yesterday Mike and I went to the city to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. In all the years I've lived in this area, I've never been; crazy, right? There was a special presentation this weekend of a new virtual tour of the 1893 World's Fair-the Columbian Exposition. It was fascinating and I'm so glad we got the chance to see it. The scale of the fair is truly amazing and it's hard to even imagine what it must have been like for the people who were lucky enough to see it back then.

(this is the only image available from the museum's web site and there weren't any brochures or other information about the virtual tour. it's still a work in progress, so maybe someday.)

If you've ever read Devil in the White City, or even heard the Sufjan Stevens song "Come on! Feel the Illinoise!" you know a little bit about the Columbian Exposition, so I don't think I should launch into any big history lessons here. :) The idea of it appeals to so many aspects of my nerdiness. . . art history and architecture, chicago history, old stuff in general, things that are basically fairy tales come to life, spectacles. The wikipedia page is here if you're interested.

lots to share!

1. I put some collages on my etsy shop. Here's one:

If you or anyone you know is interested, let me know. . . i'm giving free shipping for friends & family. maybe even discounts if I really love you. :)

2. Sometimes it’s just one image that gets me moving and wanting to MAKE things. The images of this little journal by emily falconbridge made me want to immediately come home from work and put together something similar. I really love patterned paper in good combinations. (link via ali edwards.)

3. I know this is totally a teenage girl song. My first thought when I heard it was, "dude i would have loved this so much when i was 17." Well it turns out that I love it just as much at 27. Funtimes.

Kate Nash, Mouthwash

4. My public library finally set up an emailing system to let you know when your books are due which is so incredibly helpful to me. I'd wager to guess that this will save me upwards of $50 a year in fines. Probably more. I kind of wish I was kidding about that. But it's all good now!

5. I really wish more of my friends had blogs. It doesn’t have to be fancy, get a tumblr people! I don’t care if you write about what you have for dinner every night, or the marginally funny things your children say, I would still read it. The great thing about blogs is that they have made my curiosity about other people’s lives totally acceptable. I’m the kind of person who WILL look into your house if you have no curtains and leave the lights on in the evenings. I don’t think it’s a weird/creepy thing, I’m just genuinely interested in the way people live, how they decorate their houses, what they’re up to. Anyway. . . friends, get blogs. Or at least update the ones you do have on a more regular basis. It would make me love you more than I already do. And friends who do have blogs. . . thank you.