On The Wrong Side Of 30

Today, March 31st, is my official Birthday. Though you would not have known this fact if you were at my house yesterday with all of the merriment and presents and visitors and such. There was cake AND pastries, these people had everything, EVERYTHING I tell you! I was so spoiled with gifts! My kids made wonderful drawings and helped make my cake. I got 2 beautiful shirts (they returned the first two) and The Biggest Looooser Cookbook. I also got a gift card to Victoria Secret from my work gals. And my Mom bought me a Mighty Mouse (wireless mouse) - SCORE! My lurvly sista is in Canada and I'll see her when she returns, and I'm sure she'll have something fabulous as well!

I am so very lucky! A little old, but hey, what can you do about that? I am 36, the official start of the Wrong Side of 30. Ouch. Where did that time go? I feel like I was just 22, then married at 24, first baby at 26.....just doesn't seem that long ago.

Well enough feeling old, I'm off to start my two new grad classes. After these two I will have 9 classes left. I guess that makes these the half way point. I started this Master's program in October of '06. See what I mean, all that time gone already like that *snaps fingers*. I always remember people saying time flew by, but it never seemed to for me until recently. Is it the older you are, the faster it goes? I would like to state for the record, that I no longer would like to fly through life, but rather sit back and enjoy it. Who do I talk to about this??

Tuesday Randomness

I am just exhausted today, I KNOW it is only 6:30 AM, but I barely dragged myself out of bed to have coffee with my hubby. You'd think with grad school being on break, I would be relaxing, but NO. So, because I am so tired, I am going to give you the abbreviated version of a post via bullets.

• My hubby brought the kids to the mall to buy me a birthday present over the weekend. They wanted to buy me the Buxton purse, but since they couldn't find it, they settled on 2 shirts. Now, I SPECIFICALLY told them to buy XLs as I have not been able to wear anything else in YEARS, but they came home with Larges. I protested. My husband said, "Look, try them on, those XLs are WAY too big for you now. Seriously." I didn't want to try them on because I thought for sure they would not fit and I would be embarrassed. But, guess what...They did fit. A Size Large. Wow. Too bad the shirts are U-G-L-Y. Hey, they tried.

• I got another 2 A's on my grad school classes, including the one on my thesis topic and beginning of the paper. I start another 2 classes on March 31st.

• The kids got a Wii from the Easter Bunny. I know, I KNOW - it seems ridiculous, but we had been looking for one for MONTHS and had put my BIL on the case and lo and behold, he came through 2 weeks before Easter. The kids LOVED it. And I gotta say, it is REALLY fun. And more surprising is the fact that NEITHER kid even questioned the existence on the Easter Bunny. I thought FOR SURE it would have come up, but it didn't and I'm glad.

• We booked a 2 week trip to Europe in the summer to see my SIL and her family. I am so excited. They are taking us to Paris and we're going to the LOUVRE! Never in my life, did I think I would be able to put my EYEBALLS on the great works that reside there. Seriously, as an artist, there is no more sacred of a place. I could cry right now thinking about it.

• For Easter, I hemmed my own pants. By MySELF. Well, not exactly, I had called my SISTER as she is the sewing chick in the family and I nearly had an audible deflation in confidence right on the phone. First, she asked if I had ironed them and then she laughed and laughed. Because anyone who knows me, knows I do not iron. Ever. I once sent my daughter over to my Mom's for the day and my mother started to iron and my daughter was very curious and strangely LOOKING at the weird steaming thing, as she asked my mother, "What IS that?" I have never lived that down. But, I did hem those pants and they were not awful.

• My son left the bathroom after showering in tears last night. I asked him why. His lip quivered. He said because he was the second fattest kid in his class. *heart sank* Let me say for the record, as I said to him, he is NOT fat. Not a skinny twig. NOT FAT. He is destined to be a larger kid genetically. However, he doesn't want to hear that in second grade. He has been very conscious of his weight over the past few months and I can't help but wonder if me dieting and working out pushes this to the forefront for him. My heart broke when he looked so sad. We made a pack to walk together every night for 10 minutes. I am NOT putting him on a diet as he absolutely does NOT need to be. A bit of exercise will make him feel good about himself and can't hurt, so that is how I am proceeding. But, FUCK if someone says something to him, I may have to bury the body. Any takers on my bail?

• And lastly, for those who played name the Gross Gene Simmons Sex Tape...the winner is Christine with "Detroit Cock City." Thanks everyone for playing.

Have a Sparkling Day!

Weigh In - Week 11

Here's the official weigh-in Weight Loss for Week 11....

3 pounds

Official weight loss total is 29 lbs in 11 weeks.

Only 31 more to go.

Almost half way there. I feel great. I actually left my house Easter Sunday to visit family and for the first time in a LONG time didn't feel bad about myself. I didn't stress about what I was going to wear. I didn't almost cry when I did get dressed. I wasn't depressed. THAT is a good feeling.

And for those of you who have been where I am (you will understand COMPLETELY what I am about to say). I can officially say that the next time I am weighed at the doctor's office, they will not be moving the large bar on the bottom of the scale. Boo-Fuckin-Yah!

Thanks again to my lovely SISTA for putting on the best spread for Easter dinner EVA!! She was truly the hostess with the MOSTEST! The food was excellent and plentiful. The house was festive and bright. And there was swag for everyone!

In Honor Of Easter

And by Easter, I mean the complete commercialization of it, not the resurrection of Christ (forgive me Jesus, Amen).

I give you Peeps.



My daughter is a Peep-aholic and there are so many fun things people do with Peeps, I am just amazed. Because, let's face it, Peeps are fun.


There are many kinds of Peeps. But, the real story is what people DO with the Peeps.

I give you some of my favs...


Peep Mile- OMG Fucking hilarious. Even Slim Shady would think this is funny!





Peeple Magazine. RIP Anna.





Friday The Peepteenth





Bad Ass Peep, as seen on the Peep Experiment site.





My Absolute Favorite...

PeepShow

Happy Easter!

The Day I Got To Play A RockStar

A few weeks ago, Miss Thing had come home from her school and told me that she had Art class, her most favoritest class in the whole world world. My kids are chips off the old block and certainly have artistic ability. They love to draw and create and Miss Thing fancies herself following in my footsteps to Graphic Design, one day taking over the family business. I welcome the extra set of hands.

She proceeds to tell me that she told her teacher that I had gone to the same Art College as she did. The teacher was intrigued and began peppering her with questions, I assume to see if I knew any dirt on her partying, etc. Miss Thing tells her that NOT ONLY did I GO there, but unlike her teacher, I actually TEACH there now. Yeah, I'm guessing that was awkward, but since my daughter loves this woman, she knew it was just pride speaking and not arrogance.

When Miss Thing's regular teacher arrived, Art Teacher asked her if she knew that I taught at very prestigious Art College?!? The teacher (and God, I love her sick sense of humor) says, "Well then, she obviously did better since you're teaching here!" And they cut up laughing. Hearing the story from my kid didn't sound very funny, but not long after that the Art Teacher contacted me to come in and give a presentation to Miss Thing's class about Graphic Design. Miss Thing was swelled with pride and I figured if I could teach the college kids, I could win over some 10-year olds. I hoped.

I was supposed to venture to the school last week, but last minute Lil Man came down with strep throat for the very first time in his life and actually stated that it was the worst he had EVER felt in his whole life. Poor baby. I have had strep and IT IS the worst thing in your whole life. Miss Thing was not happy. Lil Man told me on the way to the doctor's that "she did that thing people do - ya, know the MAD face *proceeds to scrunch up face, eyes squinted* at him TWICE." I had to laugh.

So, yesterday was the big day. I went to the school armed with my portfolio and samples of my work. All of the classrooms have SmartBoards *really freaking cool white boards that hook to a laptop making it a full screen interactive touch-screen computer*. So, I loaded up my webpage that has my portfolio on it and took a few deep breaths. If I fucked this up, my daughter would be devastated.

But, I didn't. I engaged them and showed them things. I taught them things they didn't know. And they thought I was COOL! They asked questions. They were IMPRESSED! My daughter beamed with pride! They all want to be Graphic Designers now. Too cute. They were writing down my URL to check out later. They gushed that they love my name. I have a very unusual name IRL. I was totally a RockStar.

Miss Thing came home and said that her friends say she has "The Best Mom In The World!" Aw shucks, go on...No, GO ON!!!!

Think I can remind her of this in a few years when she hates my freakin guts?

Weigh In - Week 10

Here's the official weigh-in Weight Loss for Week 10....

2 pounds

Official weight loss total is 26 lbs in 10 weeks.

Only 34 more to go.

On the one hand, I can hardly believe that I have been doing this for 10 weeks and on the other, I can't believe I am down 26 pounds! I need to keep this up as I have officially booked a 2-week family stay in Europe in July and lord knows - they don't have sizes to fit fat chicks. Off to work out!

Weigh In - Week 9

Here's the official weigh-in Weight Loss for Week 9....

1 pound

Official weight loss total is 24 lbs in 9 weeks.

Only 36 more to go.

I seem to have hit a wall as of lately and I am sure it has to do with my hurt knee and the lack of exercise. Still moving forward - so, I guess it is ok!

Gene Simmons Has A Sex Tape

Yes, I know, I am late to the party, but hey, I brought Baked Lays!

Apparently, Gene was taped (without his knowledge) while boffing a young model, who refuses to kiss the 58 year old KISS bassist. Hilarious. I want to play a game...

Name this Sex Tape.
Go.

Weigh In - Week 8

Here's the official weigh-in Weight Loss for Week 8....

3 pounds

Official weight loss total is 23 lbs in 8 weeks.

Only 37 more to go. The idea that by my birthday at the end of March, I could be half way to my goal is no longer a pipe dream, but closer to a reality.

Now, I just need to get one of those weighted walking vests Valerie Bertinelli was wearing!

I'm Going Green

Not in the tree-hugging chaining of my body, granola hemp fashion that some embrace. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It's just that I need to form baby steps and well, I have certain things like shaving my legs that are a deal breaker.

I am writing my thesis for grad school and have chosen to continue delving into the things that a graphic designer can do to positively impact our environment. Without boring the shit out of you - the answer is A LOT. As designers we contribute to the mass amounts of waste, natural resources and environment pollutants that go into our world. If you consider that nearly everything is DESIGNED, we can certainly make a difference if the mindset and practices are changed to more environmentally conscious ways. Well, so much for NOT boring the shit out of you, huh?

I found my way to this subject as I sat in my nice office contemplating what my purpose was. Deep, right? I was plagued by the facts. I am a self-made successful designer, an adjunct professor at a prestigious art school, a grad student currently carrying a 4.0 average, a mom to 2 wonderful, bright, athletic, funny children, wife to an amazingly hard worker, lover & best friend; house cleaner to a beautiful home, friend and family member to some of the best people I could ever wish to know. BUT. Is that all I am here for? The answer I came up with was...No.

As a designer I have a social and environmental obligation to do MY part to create the best world possible - for me, for my children, for all of us. I have an obligation as a designer to DO NO HARM.

The more I read, and I read A LOT, I realized that there are MANY things we can do. Many small things that will better our world.



Today I ordered reusable shopping bags. You can go see them here.

One day at a time, I plan to make changes. I will post them as I go along.