Tag: nablopomo

is it day 30 yet?

I’m a dork. I was checking out my Dashboard at ThisNext, and saw my rank was at 0.9%. I thought, “Geez, my recommendations must suck! 0.9% is a really low number!” That’s until I realized that my rank was actually the top 0.9%. Smaller numbers are better when you’re in the top of it, you dolt.

I’m having a grand time recommending new products there lately, most of which are from fellow Etsy sellers. I think the indie/handmade community is slightly under-represented amidst the upscale designer fashions, housewares and electronics, so I aim to keep the majority of my recommendations indie-related. I’m also tagging my recommendations with “iGift” in hopes of being the lucky winner of an iPhone. That would make a really sweet early Christmas present, no?

Speaking of free goodies, there are 2 more free 5×7’s ready to go out with the next two orders from my shops – more details here!

It’s not listed on the official Prizes page yet, but one lucky participant in NaBloPoMo will get a free 8×10 or 8×12 print of their choice from my shop, provided they play nice and update their blog every day. If that’s not motivation to bare your soul to the Internets for thirty grueling days in a row, I don’t know what is!

feh, the sequel

I do so much better with lists…

  1. I don’t think I will ever get enough of new kitten smell. Mmmmm.
  2. My therapist gave me my first exercise: for the next week, I am to enjoy food, no matter what I eat, without guilt. I assured her that I’m entirely up to the challenge, and I think I’m going to like her.
  3. I want to offer some of my photographs as note cards in my shops, but I’d have to offer a limited number of designs at first. Help me! Which of my photos would you want to see as note cards?
  4. Sleeeeeepyzzzzzzzzzzzz.

feh!

Ok, so here’s the obligatory, “I’m only doin’ it for the BloPoMo,” post. Look, I don’t intend to miss a day this month, but this stuff is rough for someone whose blog presence is normally sporadic – usually I post once a month, once a week at most. I’m not used to thinking this much, and it hurts, and what’s that smell? Oh, hey, my brain’s on fire.

In the meantime, here’s a list of my recently-starred entries from Google Reader:

Cadbury kittez – lulz.
Monster Factory @ Cutable – I’m a sucker for strange plushies.
Unexpected Guests @ sfgirlbybay – I want to hire her to decorate my house.
Ffffound! – never lacking for visual inspiration.
Kapow Jewelry @ Indie Fixx – love love love, and I don’t even wear jewelry!
Feelin’ foxy @ Modish – a nice diversion from the birds/deer motif.
Petit Four @ Little Splurge – allow me an ultra-girly moment to say, I heart lip gloss!

nostalgia

the beginning! I went into tonight’s blog certain that I’d have nothing more to leave you with than “This is me, checking in solely for the sake of not missing NaBloPoMo.” It’s been that kind of day.

But no! We visited my in-laws this evening, and brought back all manner of boxes of nostalgia – old photos, books, journals, and albums from Tim’s childhood. As he was sorting through them he pulled out these photos, and I thought, “Aha! Now that, my friends, is what I like to call blog-fodder.”

Yes, that’s hubby and me in June of 2000.

First impression: Wow, we were young!

Second impression: Holy CRAP, we were YOUNG!

(And suddenly the concept of “aging”, at 24, becomes much clearer. I promise never to scoff at anti-wrinkle cream ads ever again!)

teh cutenessOnce I got past the initial shock of realizing that my 24-year-old face looks nothing like my 17-year-old face (*cry*) I realized that, damn… we were cute. I mean, look at those bangs! Look at his dimples!

These photos bring back lots of good memories. They were taken at Tim’s high school graduation dinner, no more than three weeks after we’d started dating, and only months before we started the long-distance portion of our relationship. It’s amazing we made it through the following year, being that we’d only known each other for a few months before he went off to college and I finished high school. This was around the time that Mr. Tim was oh-so-sure that I was going to be his wife someday. Because, you know, 18-year-olds are psychic like that. And crazy.

But I suppose he wasn’t too crazy, because here we are. Happy, together. It’s satisfying to see how far we’ve come, how much we’ve grown up… and in some ways, these serve as a reminder of how far we’ve yet to go.

i is no want winterz kthx

Mmmm! Mmmmmm. Yesterday’s Crock-Pot chili success inspired Tim to make a beef stew, thanks to which I am so dreadfully full right now. Between yesterday’s chili and today’s stew we have dinner for the week. I love it when the hubs gets domestic!

It’s been a lazy day, otherwise. I am totally lacking in energy and motivation for projects these days. It’s depressing to watch the sun disappear at 4:30 in the afternoon! Hopefully I’ll snap out of it soon, or else I’m in for a long, dreary winter (and a lot of really boring blogging!  “Today I woke up… and promptly fell asleep again. The end.”)

I do have some ideas, though. I think I’m going to make a 2008 seasonal computer desktop calendar – one doodle for each month – and offer the desktop backgrounds for download here. Just ’cause.

I also have a photo shoot in mind, but I’m somewhat lacking in props. Anyone happen to have on hand a bunch of clock parts or a few broken vintage clocks? I’ll gladly pay shipping!

The most discouraging thing about winter besides the lack of light is the lack of warmth. More specifically, the inability to go outside wearing anything less than a full body snow suit and stay above frostbite temperatures for any length of time. I’m mostly concerned for the girls who model for me on a regular basis.  I’ve yet to find fashionable outerwear that both looks good AND keeps one cozy while standing in the freezing snow for an hour.

Pipe Dreams: I has them.

I also has a serious inability to stop using lolcats speak in everyday conversation. I caught myself muttering “Do not want!” when I spilled a drink at work the other day.  And I’ve started appending requests with “I can has…?” – I can has chocolate? I can has computer? I can has lobotomy?

Caro-cat is… annoying the crap out of herself.

smitten

It’s the kind of gray November day that’s best for chili (Tim fired up the Crock-Pot) and a good book. Mmm, yes, it’s been an excellent day, and it’s always good news when there’s the rest of a long weekend still ahead.

The obligatory crazy cat lady update: Pippen is quite at home with us. His favorite place is curled up on my shoulder, with his butt tucked snugly under my chin (he makes a nice scarf!) and he purrs on demand. We’re smitten with our kitten!

The girls still aren’t impressed with him, but they’re friendly with us, so I think they’ll adjust in good time. We’ve had help from treats, lots and lots of treats. I’m pretty sure Nala and Stitch would have suffocated us in our sleep already if it hadn’t been for their lack of opposable thumbs and being unable to open the treat jar.

Also: I found plugins for WordPress that allow me to cross-post to my Livejournal AND Myspace blogs in addition to Vox! No man, woman, or child will be free from my incessant rambling. Is there anything WordPress can’t do? Does anyone know of a good plugin that will mop my floors?

(There are four more 5×7 prints up for grabs! See here if you missed yesterday’s blog.)

the art of geekism

cupcake.jpgAn unexpected charge to my PayPal account by GoDaddy today reminded me that it’s Sixhours.net‘s sixth birthday! Six years ago today I purchased my first domain name on a whim. The resulting Web site was originally devoted to poetry and digital art and the overly dramatic rantings of a 19-year-old college freshman. Right now you’re thanking the higher powers that I took up photography instead, eh? I’m going through the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and laughing at my dorkiness – join me! Good times!

In honor of her (yes, my domain is a she – did I mention the part about geekism?) birthday, I want to do something special, so here’s the deal: The next six customers to my shops get a free 5×7 print of their choice! This applies to any purchases at Etsy, eCrater or Dawanda and there’s no time limit. You can either note your print choice in the message to seller at checkout, or I’ll convo/e-mail you to ask which print you’d like. It’s that simple!

Also! The cupcake girl above is now available at the Hey Pretty Cupcake Etsy shop as a tree ornament for the holiday season! Go visit, and check out all the shop’s other goodies while you’re there.

pbbbttt

(The blog subdomain is working again! Yay!)

It’s been a busy day! I have a lot of things on my mind, but it appears I have blogger’s block. I think list format is going to have to do:

    • Nip/Tuck = hilarious this season! House, also hilarious. Scrubs… not so hilarious, which is sad, because I really wanted to enjoy the last season.

 

    • So many thanks to EmmaJane of Delicious Things for featuring my photographs today! It’s so exciting and rewarding to get props like that. It also reminds me that I’ve been a photo slacker, and I need to get working on some of these new ideas. I always let the cold weather slow me down. Isn’t it time to hibernate yet?

 

    • Today I submitted some photos to a juried photography competition. Normally I don’t bother with juried shows because they require entrance fees, and I equate it to gambling – you’re investing in a chance, and it could go either way, and no matter how skilled or talented an artist you are, the subjectivity of the judges is the ultimate deciding factor. It’s unpredictable, and there are so many other ways to get promotion and recognition for your work that don’t involve money. Hmm. Reading that, I should know better. Blame it on an optimistic moment.

 

    • I’m back into counseling again, and this time I’ve been deemed crazy enough to see a full-time therapist (not just the free employee counseling center). It’s nothing severe, just some nagging OCD behaviors that are starting to bug me, and a few long-term issues that need to be addressed. In actuality, I feel pretty good these days, so I figured that there’s no better time to start working on my neurosis than when I’m in a positive frame of mind. 😉

 

    • Tomorrow we pick up Pippen from the shelter! Yay! We’ve talked about some techniques for introducing him to Nala and Stitch in hopes that all will play nice. I have a feeling it will be an interesting weekend in that respect.

 

    • I cannot wait to see The Golden Compass in December. I finished the series last summer and I’ve been hyped about the movie ever since. Is it just me, or is the holiday season the best time for movies?

 

  • Shut UP! Whose idea was it to give Stacey London her own show? And why am I watching TLC, anyway? Shame on me. (I can’t help it, I’m secretly obsessed with Little People, Big World.)

new blog address and thisnext goodies

Yesterday evening I attempted to post a blog entry from Blogger, but found that I couldn’t publish to my server via FTP. Travesty! How am I supposed to NaBloPoMo when I can’t publish to my blog?

I did a little research and discovered that WordPress is not difficult to set up, and I particularly like that it resides on my host and is powered by my database. Customizing the layout was tricky, but I was able to squeak by with what little PHP I know. So I have a new blog! One that’s much easier to update! My blog can be accessed at the same old address, http://blog.sixhours.net.

This evening I came home to a neatly-wrapped package of treats from ThisNext–my reward for being a ThisNext Maven. I really can’t say enough good things about these guys. Their Web site is sleek, their people are friendly, and they love sending me goodies. If I weren’t already tied down, I’d consider moving to California and marrying them.

My Maven welcome package included a Moleskine notebook, a tin of ThisNext M&M’s, and a mini parsley planter from Buzzy Seeds.

Not only that, but ThisNext also gave me the opportunity to test drive a new designer wallet from DB Clay. Or, I should say, I held the wallet in my hands for all of 5 seconds before a certain husband snatched it up in an “Ooooh pretty gimme” moment. The wallet in question disappeared into his back pocket and I haven’t seen it since, which tells me DB Clay is on the right track with their new design.