Bits&Pieces

Not really into scrapbooking, but really into Fleetwood Mac right now

And I can't tell you exactly why. Actually, that's not true. This blog post will tell you part of the reason why. Duh. Let me start by saying I was never a Fleetwood Mac fan when they were in their prime. I was 12 when Rumours came out. And it wasn't until they released The Dance that their music finally clicked for me. And then, I just grew to love their whole story. A mix of heartbreak and musical chemistry and rock and roll.

Dan got me thinking about them the other day because he'd been listening to Tusk a lot at work, and was talking about how with some young, indie bands these days, it's not unusual for them to site the Mac as an influence. He said you could put a number of songs of Rumours onto any album today, and there'd be no reason why it wouldn't work. I tend to agree.

So aside from listening to said album non-stop for the past week, I found this clip. I'd never heard this song before. But I think it's brilliant. And sad. And their voices layer together in such a genius way. It's just beautiful.

when you are so grateful that you can identify a potential "teaching" moment as it is happening

Aidan was home sick yesterday (and I use the term 'sick' loosely, but hey, the kid never misses school and if she says her head hurts, even though she proceeds to watch old episodes of Lost on her iPod all morning, I'm still giving her the benefit of the doubt.). Around lunchtime, she switched from the iPod to the laptop to peruse songs and shows at the iTunes store.

See, I owe her a bit of iTunes money because I inadvertently spent some of her iTunes gift card on the season finale of—I can't believe I'm copping to this but—Rock of Love  (does he EVER take the bandana off? Seriously?)

Anyhoo… as she's looking through all the stuff on the iTunes store front, she notices that Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson have some new single out, and she plays the song sample and says, "I didn't know Paula could sing."

And I realize immediately that THIS is a moment that me and YouTube can help her to understand even better as I say, "Oh yeah… Paula was a pop star back in the day…wanna see some of her videos?"

As we click through the various Paula Abdul YouTube selections, I go on to explain how originally she was just a dancer/L.A. Laker Girl who became a singer, and that some questioned whether or not she even did the singing, but look how fun it is that she's dancing with a cartoon!

And as I'm sharing this with her, it struck me like a ton of Acme bricks: THIS very moment is what ALL those parenting manuals and articles really boil down to: Sharing the breadth of your life experience with your child to better prepare them for all of life's coming challenges, and doing it in a calm, rational and pertinent manner.

Because you never know when she might find herself in one of two situations: a) participating in a 90s Useless Trivia contest, or b) at a dance club with cartoons.

New recycling basket, Juno, clean bathrooms, lack of personal pronoun usage, top weekend highlights

I have a new paper recycling basket for my office. Isn't that GREAT?

Really. I'm serious. I can't tell you how long I've been planning to drive out to IKEA just to get this basket. Months. And Saturday, all of my dreams were realized. MAN I love when that happens.

And then I saw Juno. And you know what? Everything it's cracked up to be. Charmed beyond belief, were me and my date (that would be Dan, this time.) Bought the soundtrack this morning, too. Strongly recommending. Strongly. Have a six degree connection to the brilliant screenplay writer Diablo Cody because the guy who manages one of my husband's cafes is friends with her, or was, and so, makes me cool by association.

Learned how to add graphics to my weblog sidebar over the weekend. Isn't it a colorful melange of graphical goodness?

Last but not least: finally realized the pointlessness of personal pronouns and plan to NOT use them henceforth. Or at least for the rest of the day.

That's what plan to do.

Saves time.

Flashback Friday

I'm bringing Orange Sweatshirt back (yeah). Them other sweatshirts don't know how to act (yeah.)

(It's still cool to invoke SexyBack, right? Yes? You know there is NOTHING I dread more than not being up with the times. Long live Steve Perry!)

This morning there was not a trace of desire to try and look presentable. Not a smidge. Most days, in fact all days, I do take a shower and get ready for the day. I'm not a kick it around in your PJs type of girl. My routine is simple and usually involves a little bit of makeup (no mascara though... I have to draw the line somewhere) and a nice bit of hair styling, followed by a spritz of the perfume that I would wear by the shot glass if you let me. And then, I pick something that I feel looks moderately cute, just in case the UPS man drops by for "coffee."

Today is not one of those days.

I realized that my beloved Orange Sweatshirt was no longer beloved, but in fact, was now a viable option for covering my chub in a way that would allow me to go through my day without admitting the fact that five pieces of toast with ridiculous amounts of melted butter and honey aren't really fitting into my daily Points plan.

I really am just three to five good stomach flus away from my goal weight.

IN OTHER NEWS:
• I realize I will shamelessly promote things from time to time. Sometimes, they are related to the company I work for, sometimes they are not. But I am officially in love with Ali's totally rad Everyday Life Shutterfly book. Oh. My. Hecken. I started making one last night. Seriously. I love. Love it. And yes, smart ass, I WOULD marry it.

• This picture makes me happy because it's a sign that my marriage is TOTALLY working out:

Happy friday.

Would you like a cool free thing sent to you?

And the winner is the woman who posted these words:

648 comments before mine...that's an obscene amount of comments...and that new book would look so good in my wrinkly hands!

Congratulations to Karen, who I've just e-mailed, and thanks to Dan and Aidan for assisting in the process of printing all the names, blindfolding and spinning me, and having me point to the winner with the tip of a pen! It's all VERY scientific, people. Thanks everyone, for posting today!

So my two copies of Photo Freedom arrived yesterday, and it's always a good but sort of scary feeling to actually see what you worked on so diligently arrive on your doorstep, still smelling freshly of that intoxicating printer's ink. Ahhhhhh. I love the smell of four-color process in the morning…

I haven't actually sat down and looked at it yet, because I'm always very nervous to see what I, as the graphic designer on this project, might have screwed up. I have to get past that before I can actually ingest all of the scrapbooking goodness that lies within. And oh, brothers and sisters, goodness and liberation abound between its covers.

Lucky you! You don't have to worry 'bout NONE of that. You won't question placement of a cutline, or the accuracy of a clipping path! You can just enjoy one of my two advance copies, if you leave your name here. I'll also scour my obscene stash of scrap stuff and toss in a few other goodies, if'n you like? You like?

And if you'd like to see a sneak preview of Stacy's book, click here.

A little side note: I might not be scrapbooking a lot lately, but I started implementing Stacy's plan over a year ago. The scary thing is.... my photos are so organized because of it, I could conceivably scrapbook non-stop, forever, and never be at a loss for where to find the right photos when I needed to. All guilt free. FOREVER.

Now THAT is an endorsement.

I'll pick a winner some time tonight!

Edited: comments are now officially close, y'all. Whew! It's going to take a few to figure this one out! Will post the winner as soon as I have one!

BAD IDEA

How good would it feel, as a designer, to slap a sticky note on someone else's work that simply said: BAD IDEA?

I know. It's cruel, but you too can print out your own set of Design Police flag notes and go to town, imposing your design judgement on all who fear to tread. Download them here. (Thanks, Andie !)

So there's that, and then there's this.

Jerry makes me look like a mere child. (Thanks, Alissa!)

I KNEW I should've worn a turtleneck.

three months

There it is. A photographic representation of three months of life in the Zielske family. 131 carefully chosen images to reflect October, November and December of 2007. They are sorted into piles by both events, and by people, and by people's interactions (i.e. pics of mom and kid, dad and kid, kid and kid, etc.)

I took 577 actual shots during this time period. I think this is a sign that I'm getting better at making choices, realizing that good Lord, I just don't have room in my life for all those photos.

There it is. My fall… in piles on my dining room table. And I have absolutely ZERO desire to do anything with them other than file them away in my storage albums. Zero.

What ever happened to that burning love? The NEED to scrapbook? The JOY of making pages?

I'm not trying bum anyone out here, but seriously? Where is the love?

I've been wondering this a lot lately. I haven't felt the burning need since I finished working on C&S Part Deux. Like, there have only been a a few times where I have really had fun scrapbooking, and those times have come in highly unpredictable spurts.

For example: yesterday, a holiday, a full day with nothing to do and all these piles layed out before me, and all the intention in the world… and I just couldn't do it.

Here's the weird thing: I love stories. But I feel like my photos will force me to tell the stories I'm really not feeling the need to tell. Believe me, I'm okay with this. But it makes me wonder: why not tell the stories I want to tell, photos be damned... Or, does my blog fill this need already, thusly removing any desire to scrapbook for fun?

I know how to scrapbook for profit.

Not trying to steal Stacy Julian's word for the year, but I'm really holding out hope for a renaissance here.

Am I just way over-analyzing the fact that I'm just not feeling it?

It's funny. Whenever I've been interviewed for any matter of media, and I'm asked, "What do you do when you face scrapper's block?" and I always say: "I don't scrapbook." So maybe that's it. Maybe i've just got a months-long bout of good old-fashioned scrappers block.

You think?

Holiday

Good morning, and a happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day to you.

Well… let's see then:

• Thanks for the comments on the video. Yes. I read them all and was highly entertained by them, as such.

• I have the day off from work today, and will be entertained by that, as such.

• I'm contemplating scrapbooking today. It probably won't happen, but... I do have my latest round of snapshots sorted into categories on the dining room table. Never say never.

• When I woke up yesterday, it was 10 degrees below zero. 10. Count 'em. Our high was like, 1. And yes, I am that old. Musing about the weather like that.

• I'm really proud to be married to a man who, when he goes grocery shopping, welcomes and accepts ALL yogurt:

• Stacy Julian's new book, Photo Freedom, is available for pre-order at the Simple website. I'm a little biased, because I worked on this project very closely, but I can safely say it will change how your process works for the WAY better. Seriously. You can almost hear George Michael in the background, can't you? Freedom... I won't let you down.... Freedom... I'm going to be getting my hands on a few copies later this week and giving one away. Stay tuned.

• That is all.

if you have to ask

The scrapbooking indoctrination video they tried to suppress.

Honda Civic DX 1990-2008. R.I.P.

You realize what this means, right?

If you recall the story of my Honda, you will remember that I was gearing up to drive it until I was able to pass it onto my grandchildren. That's how frugal my little love shack of a man is. But as of last night, at roughly 7 p.m., he threw caution to the wind, and traded up to the world of airbags and working turn indicators, and purchased our new, cute little Vibe. We got a sweet deal on a used 2007, with only 187 miles on it.

This is only the 2nd car we have purchased together in our more than 18 years as an "item."

Now he will drive this happy little 30 mpg car, and I will get our well-traveled 2002 Santa Fe back, which I have been waiting for with baited, air-bagged breath. And, after the timing belt is replaced tomorrow, and the detailing that I am HAPPILY going to pay $120 for, it will seem like we have not just one new car, but two.

I'd say all of this is boding very well for the state of our marriage.

Now if I could just get Tom Cruise's crazy out of my head, I would say that my life—notwithstanding world hunger, poverty and the overall lack of peace—would be pretty much perfect.