Hmmmm....

Hmmm...we just got this picture from Laura and Dan...
I wonder what it means...

But wait! There's More!

sooo....apparently I thanked everyone too soon!
Greg through me a surprise party Saturday night. For those who don't know the story-
Casey and Jannelle came over to our house a little early and we were going to go to Benihanna for dinner. But Jannelle wanted to go to Target first to look for some boots and somehow managed to drag me along. Greg and Casey were going to "work on the water softener".

Lies lies - all lies!

I came back and "Surprise!"
It was a rock star theme- there were temporary tattoos, mohawks, eyeliner on men, rockstar shirts and ridiculous sunglasses worn. I was definitely surprised.

So now, thank you once again to everyone!! I had a wonderful 30th birthday!

Thanks, everyone...

for making my 30th birthday very nice! I appreciate all the "happy birthdays", singing from a few of you, and good times.

I don't feel older, but it does feel weird to say I'm 30. It just sounds so grown up.

And now it's snowing outside like crazy. Tonight we are supposed to celebrate my birthday with Casey and Jannelle so I hope the roads don't get too bad. Don't want to be shut in!

It's Official

Erin and I are training for the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 4 of 2008. She's made it public to her friends and family, so I might as well do the same!

No going back now!

This will be Erin's first half and my third. However I hope for it to be my first enjoyable half. I haven't had a good track record with the previous races. The first was the State-to-State Half, which starts at the University of Miami and goes out to Indiana and back (get it??). Lesson there was not to run in old shoes. The race was really fun until about mile 9, when my knees began to hurt due to my cheapness. Then I did the pig a couple years ago, but was recovering from a bad cold. That race was a struggle to just finish as I was cold the entire time and spent most of my effort on breathing. I wanted to walk to breathe but wanted to run to stay warm! Ha!

This time I know I can train smarter, and hopefully everything else will fall into place. My only goal is to finish strong and feel good the entire time. The race will be a perfect endurance setter-upper for the duathlons I want to do through the spring and summer.

There's a link in the "racing wish list". http://halfapiggy2008.blogspot.com/
So if you'd like, read about our running adventures. (I'll still post stuff about it here too though)

Jingle Bell 5K

So Erin and I got up on Saturday to do the Jingle Bell Run. I've done it once before and it ranks high in my books for a couple of reasons: 1. You get to stay in the warm No KY Convention Center while you wait to go out and run. 2. You get to use the nice "real" bathrooms in the facility. It's like doing a run from your own house.

We got there a little early to pick up our race packets, pick up free stuff and stretch... oh and also do a nice photoshoot. More to come on that when Erin sends me the pics!

The gun went off while I was tying my shoe. No worries though, as we were only running to run, not to race. There really isn't much to highlight- it was just a nice, cold day for a 5K. Crossing the bridge was rough, but we made it. A train came by when we were on our way back. It was creeping along, but we were creeping along even slower. Had I been in shape, I would have wanted to race it for sure. We saw Sunshine Bear of the CareBears running. There is a costume contest for this race and most people dress as holiday related characters. However Erin was a Fairy Pirate last year.

At the end of the race, we both agreed it was our slowest 5K in history. So... there's only one way to go now and that's up... no wait... down- in time. :)

Happy Birthday Pat!

Wooooooo!!!!!














Happy Birthday Pat!

Winter Wonderland

This one is, in particular, for the Swindons. I couldn't let them miss Cincinnati's first snowfall!

















I decided to take a run in the snow from my studio today during my break from the endless photo-retouching project for Luxottica. It was supposed to be 34º all day and as weird as it sounds, with no wind that is great running weather! I tried out my new thermal bike shirt. I was expecting the best from this shirt. Why? Because it originally cost $149.99, but I got it for $40 on clearance at the Trek store. What could a shirt do that is 149.99 you ask? Well, my guess was give me a shoulder massage after I was done.

Anyway, the run was wonderful. I jogged down to the trail to get some pics.

















I wasn't the only one out on the snowy trail today.


















Glad this branch didn't fall on my head.


















Creek running to the river.














That's me outside the studio. After the run I tried to take a picture of me and a gingerbread man. Some people decorated the studio to look, in their words, like a giant gingerbread house. So there are ginger bread people and candy canes and lollipops. It's kind of neat. I ran out of battery before I could center myself with my cookie friend better.
Oh and the thermal shirt did not give me anything more than warmth.

My Mac is Back

Yay! All fixed and $0 cost.
The power supply was bad, and this was covered under something or other since it is defective.
I took it in Wednesday night and they called Friday to let me know it was done! Quick. So Greg and I had to brave the holiday mall to pick it up. No casualties occurred.

My Mac isn't feeling well.

I have an appointment to take my Mac in to the Apple store on Wednesday. This is my diagnosis, and I hope it is what they find too and can fix quickly: http://www.apple.com/uk/support/imac/powersupply/repairextension/
Not sure if it matters that it is the UK.

BIG challenge here- what I'm going to do for working on a machine while mine is in the hospital. I'm going to try to beg for the floater mac at Luxottica. Basically they are my only client right now anyway, so morally, it doesn't seem wrong. If not that, I'll be working on Greg's laptop at night and will have to restructure my days. And we're seeing what we can do to juice up our mac at home. Greg has helped me greatly in keeping my head with this.

I knew this day would come, but what can you do? I can't afford ONE mac, let alone TWO machines for a backup. My plan has always been to get a laptop in the future, but profits just don't allow it yet.

My foot is feeling better...

So a swim in the pool Friday night and, probably more specifically, a dip in the spa afterwords, did wonders for my foot. It stopped hurting completely for a little while. Good sign. Saturday a.m. I went back to the gym (partly to retrieve my key-card which I left in my locker- not sure what the cost is to replace a lost ID) and did a 40 minute mystery workout. I say it was a mystery workout because I have no idea what the machine was. Kind of like an elliptical, but kind of not... You could control your "stride" and there was a little diagram of a man with highlighted muscle areas letting you know which particular muscles you were using. I found that I had to concentrate A LOT to do this machine. And it was a similar feeling in the legs as when you stand out of the saddle during a spin class. It was a good workout with no impact on the heel, but I don't know if I'll do it again. I really felt like if I became too engrossed in a music video on the TVs for a split second, I could dislocate my knee.

I've been wearing my gym shoes around the house more too, and stretching a few times a day. As Jamie reminded me, I need these feet for England!!

Studio update: we have a microwave! Love it. Did I mention this already? If I did it's just because I'm so excited! Simple pleasures.

And this morning has been interesting. Hopefully slightly entertaining to those who continue reading... Bad experience #1- took the computer 7 or 8 times to start. Not good. I think I'm going to have to make a trip to the mac store, as this has been happening lately, but never this bad. It's like it needs a new starter or spark plugs, if it was a car. Then I had to go to the bathroom which was bad experience #2. Uh...no pun intended. Without too many details, the toilet was clogged (I blame the extra thick toilet paper) and the plunger must have come original with the building. Its plunging abilities were, on a scale from 0-5 with 5 being the most effortless beautiful plunging experience you can image, a big fat 0. Perhaps it was the age of its rubber material or perhaps I'm just a weakling, but I had to put ALL my weight on the thing to make it work. So I bruised my hand pretty nicely! Yes that's right- bruised my hand from plunging a toilet. I even tried to employ a small votive candle that was on the back of the toilet to protect my hand, but all that ended up doing was getting wax on the end of the plunger which was then transferred to my shirt after I gave up on the votive. It's a Monday I guess. Hopefully the rest of the day will go better!

My foot is not feeling well.

Bad news for me. I have a foot pain that is keeping me from running (and walking really). It's the bottom of my heel. I'm pretty certain it's plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis). Looking back over the past few weeks, I've just started running again, stood for many many hours barefoot on our hardwood while doing the closets (an acknowledged how sore my feet were), and took an intense cycle class. OH! And dancing in heels at the FRCH anniversary party- I almost forgot how sore my feet were after that! After reading the Mayo Clinic link, I'm pretty sure this is my problem.

:(

So, it's time for me to learn how to swim! That will be a good break for my heel. And though the Mayo Clinic site says you can replace running with cycling also, I think I'll steer clear of the intense classes. I do think I kind of strained my Achilles tendon during the class. I could probably just do the regular stationary bikes and control my own intensity while still trying to build up my leg muscles.

The good news is it does seem very controllable and it's not like I'll never run again. I just need to take more care in stretching and paying attention to how my feet feel. I want to say I've had this same pain before, but in such a light way that I didn't pay much attention to it, as it certainly didn't hurt so bad I couldn't walk right. I think I'll be wearing my shoes in the house for awhile too. I should invest in some Crocs- every year I say I need a "house shoe" because my feet always hurt from the hard floors.

So, swimming... I loved going to the pool in college! I don't really know what I'm doing though. That breathing to the side thing is really hard to do without taking a drink. I'll try to read up on some pointers online that might help. I don't think the gym offers free swim lessons for adults.

Cycling for 60

So at the gym.... LIFETIME FITNESS ~cue thunderclap~ ..... they have "spinning" classes which they call Cycle 60, and Studio Cycle. I assume Spinning must be a trademarked name, not unlike Kleenex, Rollerblades and Google. You need safe replacement words... from: "I think I'll go rollerblading after I google a new route- oh crap my nose is running- quick, give me a kleenex!" to: "I think I'll go in-line skating after I search on the web for a new route- oh crap my nose is running- quick, give me a 2-ply facial tissue!" The same must apply for super-intense-cycling classes that don't use Spinning®™© bikes.

Anyway, I took the Cycle 60 class this morning at 9:45. It's an hour (Cycle 60) and my legs were slightly jelly-like by the end. But more sore than my legs was the tush. My road bike has a women's specific seat, while Lifetime's bikes have nonspecific fit-any-ol'-butt seats. Padded cycling pants were worn to no avail. It's just going to take time and pain.

I really enjoyed the class. I will probably try the Studio Cycle next. It's only 45 minutes, but I've heard it's more intense. There are a lot people from my previous job that belong to this same gym, so I have some resources to get the low-downs on classes. For example, Erin said that since I've missed the past 2 Pilates classes with her, the instructor hasn't made them do the horrible plank exercises that I can't do. So, looks like I'll have to go back to ensure the torture for others.

40 minutes!

So I just wanted to see how I'd feel past the 30 minute comfy zone... and 40 minutes wasn't a problem. A SLOW 40 minutes, let's not forget. But I'm happy and it felt good the entire time. The rest of the week I'll probably just do 30 minutes and continue to let my body acclimate. I'm skipping pilates tonight due to work, so I'll have to see about doing some push-ups, or mush-ups which better describes my form, tonight when I get home.

I ran from the studio down to the trail again. It was a gorgeous afternoon. I ran most of the run on the side of the trail in the horse path covered with leaves. I was looking for large piles of horsey-poo. Easy to spot those mounds. However, dog poo is not. Totally uses the leaves for camouflage. I barely missed a fresh looking pile. That would have made for a stinky remaining run.

After talking to Erin today on IM, I decided I'm going to do the Jingle Bell 5K (Erin's going to do it with me). It's a very fun run where you get little bells to wear on your shoes, so the masses sound like a huge sleigh. Some people, of course, take it even farther, dressing as reindeer or wearing sleigh bells. I did this race 2 years ago I think? There was a guy who happened to be my pace wearing a full sized sleigh bell harness, like what you'd put on a horse. It drove me mad. Some people don't like repetitive pen tapping? Or gum cracking? I don't like to hear my steps echoed by a loud obnoxious sleigh bell wearing runner.

Voila! A new closet!

Greg and I now have a huge walk-in closet. It used to be our "third" bedroom. But, if we've made it into a closet, well, that will give you an idea of its size. Huge for a closet. Small for a bedroom.

After I moved so much of my art and graphic stuff over to the studio, that freed up a lot of space in the house. We thought long and hard about how to reorganize our rooms. We never used the 2nd bedroom for a "sitting/reading/drawing" room like it was laid out to be. The fact is when we're not sleeping, we're out in the living room/dining room/kitchen. We've never had enough closet space, so the decision was easy. I'd post pictures but it's really not that exciting. Just some racks and carpet squares. Then we're turning our old closets into other closets like a linen closet and a "miscellaneous" closet. That was our weekend. Closet building. Hopefully improving our fung shooway!I always comment that our house is like one of those sliding picture puzzles: You have to move everything else around in order to get one thing where you want it. Mr. T not included. (awwwww)

No run for me this weekend. :( The days were just long spent doing these freakin' closets, but I'm glad they're done. Saturday night was FRCH's anniversary party (pic below). Fancy shmancy evening fun. And Sunday we got to hang out with Pat while he was in the states for the weekend.
















Another day in the 60's! I have my stuff and plan to do a nice fall jaunt out on the trail!

Another 30 minutes

Yay! Another 30 minute comfy run. After I got home last night, I put the dogs outside, changed really quick and headed out the door. It gets dark so early now, I began at dusk but slowly lost the light. I did the "dusk" part first in the neighborhood that butts up against ours and has street lights, then came back onto our street where the lighting was from people's garage lights- some better than others! It was a nice evening. The wind only kicked up in the first neighborhood around the humongous homes.

When I had about .25 left to go back in our neighborhood, a car passed me, then stopped- it was Greg. So he "paced me in"! It was funny - his car creeping along side me as I jogged. We talked about his day and his job and the dogs. I think I was running a bit faster than usual. I've never had a car as a running buddy before!

Dare I say what I plan for the weekend? Another run. Hope that didn't ruin its possibilities of happening.

Finally...a run from the studio

I finally got a run in from the studio! This is something I've wanted to do since I've been here so I'm happy!

It was a nice "stroll". Greg probably could have walked beside me as I "ran", but I went for a comfy 30 minutes without stopping, which is all I wanted to do. My weather widget says it is 44º in Loveland, and it certainly was windy. I ran down to the trail, a little on the trail to the first road, and then back. All without stopping, which proves the mental anguish I experience after a mere 5 minutes on the treadmill at the gym is just that- mental. And something else that doesn't happen on the 'mill- I saw a couple of little girls roller blading with their greyhounds in jackets (the entire party in jackets that is) and a couple of girls doing cartwheels outside of a karate studio. Is that what they're called? Karate studios? As I ran past Moondance Design, they were cleaning off their lovely porch of dead plants. They waved and said hi, and the solo, lonely designer in me wanted to shout back, "HI! I'm a graphic designer TOO, and I LOVE this little house you're in and really want my own studio like this some day!!!!" but of course I did not. Instead, I snubbed my nose in envy. :)

Here's to more runs and being back in the routine.
Back to work.

Holy $#^!

I'm so BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But at least I get to get a hair cut today.

Craptastic Buffet

I just ate at the worst Chinese buffet ever. I would say the quality parallelled that of mall Chinese food and was just below the quality of frozen mystery-meat egg rolls.

So far the only Loveland hot spots for lunch are the Veg Head, the Works and El Picante. But the Works is a little much for the pocket book for lunch. I still need to try Angelo's pizza- not sure if it's take out only. Other than those, I'm not sure what else exists. It's nice to get away out of the studio once in a while.

On a side note, they finally turned the heat on in the building! Yay! It's actually down right toasty in my studio. I do have to keep the door closed now to keep the heat in.

Sorry, no pictures of the craptastic meal.

George - first sketch

Here's a first sketch of capturing George. I think he'll be on dark orange and red pillows.
I have been trying to do the 3/4 portrait but can't get the proportions right yet. I think the 3/4 would show off his little protruding tongue the best.

Foreclosure Cats

I have my first real art project. Pixel Paul (owner of Remy- cat in window from earlier posts) forwarded an email about an art show that is going to be in our studio's gallery in January. It's for Foreclosure Cats. Back in early 2007, some guy foreclosed on his house and walked away without telling anyone there were about 60 cats trapped inside without food and water. They were found, some alive some not, and most with major health problems. Those that are recovered are up for adoption. A woman who is an artist in Loveland organized the art side of it- getting artists to do portraits of the cats. The art will be auctioned off and the money goes to the rescue groups, vet releif, etc. Prints of each cat will go to the person who adopts the cat. Pretty neat!

So I've signed up to do George. He's not adopted yet, but probably will be since he seems to have less major health issues. When he was found though, his gums were so diseased, all of his teeth had to be pulled.












I think I'll just do a regular portrait of him, showing his little tongue that hangs out a bit. But I'd also like to do something more illustrative, if I find the time. I will update my progress as it becomes visual!

Pumpkin Time

Today it is raining, and it is supposed to continue the rest of the week. Bleh.
I didn't buy a pumpkin (nor many pumkinS) this year. However, I did buy a Pumpkin Spice Coffee at Starbucks and found....floating in my coffee.....
THE GREAT PUMPKIN!!!!

Workin' on Sunday

Not my idea of a good time, but I came in today for a couple of hours to get some stuff out of the way for Monday, and this is my break-time. I like to think of it as compared to Summer School... took all those classes so I could have an easier year and room for art AND music.

Nothing to say, but thought I'd post pictures of the Studio Cat, Remy. Not MY studio cat of course (I'm as allergic to cats as the Pope is Catholic). It's Pixel P's cat (aka Paul) who is 2 doors down and a very nice graphic designer. I let him crawl around my studio- the cat, not Paul.

New Loveland Lunch Spot

Here's my desk in the a.m.

Today I went down to Veg Head, a restaurant with absolutely the minimum amount of awareness signage a business could have. I stumbled upon it when I was walking back from the yummy Mexican restaurant the other day.

It was hippie day at Veg Head. It might be Hippie Day EVERY day at Veg Head. There was a group of three female hippies (I didn't think to check if they had burned their bras or not, but my guess is hell yes) who were going on and on about how the food was so good. Good sign for me, who had just ordered the bean and curry wrap. I sat down to read Vegetarian Times (or something like that) while I waited for my food. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. ---Please read in your best hippie voice---
"In this (oh-so-awful) country we are supposed to have ONE god and ONE boss and ONE person we're supposed to just let RULE US, but we're given hundreds of cereals to choose from at the grocery store. Simply madness!" according to FH#1 (female hippie number 1). But then a male hippie who had walked in commentated how the only madness was having one god. Then the FH#1 shouted out the cashier's horoscope after he told them what his birthday was. In case anyone cares, Mr. Veg Head cashier is supposed to go backpacking across Europe to really discover his true self because he's in a time where he's letting people dominate him.

ALRIGHTY!

Here's my lunch. It was DEEEEElightful! The burrito was chock full of yummy flavors. I don't even know what all of them were. Some bites did taste like Old House though, which was weird.















And it came with a side of cabbage, that I tried to take a picture of:














Small hands... smell like cabbage...

It's Fall

It's fall because the leaves are falling off the trees. They aren't turning colors first, just falling off and becoming crunchy ground covering.

Last week I was a bit under the weather and had to take my computer to my house to work on my files while intermittently taking naps. This "working from home" experience has confirmed that the studio is the place to be! It's really hard to get up, take a shower, get dressed and then go sit in your dining room all day. To compound the feeling, Greg was traveling the last part of the week. So it was me and the dogs. Dexter and Harley DEFINITELY loved having me there. I even think that Dexter and I bonded. I never had the urge to throw him across the room... I do think he benefited from the extra attention. Today's my first day back IN the studio, so when I get home tonight, hard telling what I'll face.

I've noticed my blog is greatly lacking in pictures. Especially when compared to the only other two blogs I visit (you KNOW who you are!!!) I need to work on that.

A Name is Decided....

SAS Creative.

It's simple- my initials. I think it will make a very cool/sophisticated logo.

Everything super cool was already taken on the web. And at least I can explain this name- it's just my initials. It's easy to say also. And it doesn't force me to be one certain thing (i.e. illustrator, graphic design, etc). I really like having "creative" in there.

There is a site called sascreative that is out of Canada. They mainly do web it looks like. So my domain name is sas-creative. Who knows when i'll actually have the site up and running. I don't even have a logo yet.

Just wanted to give everyone the update on the name. I do feel more official now and not just like this girl who's freelancing.

One full week down...

It has been exhausting. But good.
No major catastrophies.

Challenge #1- internet wasn't working one day. Had to climb a 5 story ladder to get to the router in the rafters only to find there was no reset button. So I unplugged it and replugged it, thanks to hubby's advice, and that worked. BUT- will we always have nose-bleed high ladders in this place? That's what I have to find out.

Challenge #2- the all-in-one printer-scanner-copier that wasn't. Needed to scan, but couldn't figure out how... No photoshop link. Again, thanks to Greg's advice on what do download, I installed software and now the HP that was printing but not SCANNING is now doing it all AND washing the windows!

Challenge #3- sun in the eyes. How many times must I say, what would I do without Greg? He came in and installed extra curtains what we have, which are too short for the big-ass window, but do block that 8:00 - 10:45 sun-in-my-eye. Goofy looking, but work for now.

Challenge #4- more of a lesson really. Ran out of phone battery today at 3:30. Emergencies with Givaudan are hard to handle when they can't call you on the phone...(but you also get more done when they are forced to compose an email). So I just have to rememeber to always have my charger with me. I didn't even have time to go home and get it!

So that's this week. I haven't billed anything, but i do have one, maybe two projects I can start billing. That will be fun. More hours.

First day in the studio...

It has gone well. I can't believe how busy I am. It's not exactly sinking in.

The day went a little something like this:
7:00 at the studio to work on LC files.
7:01 realized I don't have the LC files. crap.
9:00 meeting at Givaudan... for 3 long exhausting hours.
1:00 scarf down Taco Bell.
1:05 work on LC files for real.
2:00 beg for Kellie to reschedule 4:00 meeting.
2:30 praise Kellie, curse LC.
5:06 get comment from landlord that it's my first day and wow I'm still here. grrr.

Thought for the day- if I continue to work alone, will I slowly become a cat-loving, talking-to-myself-or-any-annoying-person-off-the-street, bad-music-playing kook?

I'm in my studio!

Today is a "Second Saturday" at the studio, and it's the first one I'm participating in. I just got my computer hooked up, found the wireless internet, and am now trying to find some good music to have on tonight.

I have a lot more to do, but I'm so excited I'm in and the internet works!

Stu stu studio...

After a wet trip to IKEA in Michigan, the studio is now furnished... mostly.
We went up to Perrysburg last weekend (?) and also did a day trip up to the IKEA in Michigan. It is a newer store. On our list: stuff for the studio and possibly a dining room table and TV stand. We got the first two, but no TV stand will fit Greg's big-ass receiver. He will probably have to build one himself.

Anyway, IKEA was exhausting, as usual. But we were able to break up the day with a visit with Greg's childhood friend Nate. Turns out Nate and his wife live about 20 minutes from the IKEA, so they met us at Chili's in the front parking lot and we had chips and salsa and chatted. After that we went back in to the store and made the final selections. Two guys loaded everything nicely into the truck and we were on our way back to P-burg.

But it started raining.

So we pulled over under an overpass and unrolled the tanno (sp?) cover only to realize at the end that we didn't have the last bar in which has the snaps for the end. Oh well- flap away tanno, flap away. Better than our merchandise getting wet, right? I sat facing backwards watching it flap violently and imagining it ripping off completely and flying into the face of a motorcyclist behind us.

So we stopped and rolled it back up.

It wasn't raining hard, and actually no water was hitting the back of the truck when we were moving. Luckily it stayed like this the rest of the drive. When we got back to Greg's parent's house, we put a tarp on it. The tarp, however, wasn't secured very well. Overnight it poured rain. In the morning, we had water in the truck bed- not tons, but enough that we had to pull out every piece and unpack it to see if it was wet. A couple of pieces we had to blow-dry with a hairdryer. Particle board is like sponge. But everything is OK.

The rain never stopped. Instead of trying to figure out a new tarp system for the way home, Greg's parents offered their van for us to take. So we repacked and loaded everything into the van. We just need to exchange the vehicles back which I think is happening this week.

A lot of work for our IKEA furniture!

We have spent the past weeks putting together furniture in the studio and moving art supplies and books over to it. It's all done now- shelves, tables, mini-flat file. And we've moved over the drawing table. The only thing left is the futon and computer!

So that's the update on the furnishings. I'll post pictures of it I promise.

Studio Update and Progress on the Plan...

Now the walls are all officially painted. Greg got a super tall ladder and reached the very top. He also painted the vent that runs through the room, after scraping and sanding some of its old paint. We have started to clean the floors - scrubbing with Simple Green (Soilent Green is PEOPLE!!) to get up all the dirt and dust. It is definitely working, just a VERY slow process and lots of work. We're removing years and years of grime from the time that the place was a shirt factory. According to Paul (Pixel-Paul who is 2 doors down), there used to be a big belt conveyer type thing than ran through what is now all of our spaces. So I think in a couple spots, we're removing grease. It's OK. The Soilent Green can handle it!!

In other updates, I had a lunch meeting with Jeff P. from Givaudan on Thursday. I had emailed him to ask him if we could meet to discuss any future opportunities with Givaudan work. If I can get an honest prediction that there will be some work in the next 3 months, then I'd like to use this opportunity to quit. If I can have a little income while starting up the business, that is of course optimal. And it's going to be really hard to obtain clients when I have a day job. Givaudan is perfect because they know me already. I'm currently working on 2 projects and just got notice of a 3rd. I was honest with Jeff in telling him that I want to work on Givaudan projects because I like to and that it would allow me to fully kick off my business. He seemed to think that the next few months were going to be pretty nuts for them. Scott is leaving, they aren't allowed to hire any more designers (lost their headcount in the acquisition), Patti may soon be out for 2 months because of surgery... and all the marketers are feverishly trying to meet their plans. I do remember that this was the busy time of year while I was there. So he thought it sounded good. But he is going to talk about what the team's situation is with Scott before he can give me a definite answer. He doesn't know all the projects or track them- he just thinks he has an idea. We're supposed to talk late next week and then I'll have a better idea. And from talking to Lori, who is embedded in the field, it does sound like it's nuts and they need help.

So here's to that! I hope I see a list of TONS of projects coming up!!!

I really need a name for my business...

Other updates- today is moving day for Casey and Jannelle into Pat and Jamie's house!! Nice hot day for it. Yippee. Casey's providing donuts this morning. :)

Studio update

I have now painted the walls of the studio...with Greg's help.

I was off Monday and got it all done. 3 walls are white and the one with the window is a rusty brown color. I'll take pics and post. I really do like how it looks. Greg said he will help with the very very high trim that I just was too chickensh$! to reach on the high rungs of the borrowed ladder.

I've taken the small collection of carpet samples we have over and thrown them around on the floor. It is going to take a whole lotta carpet samples to cover the floor.

The other graphic designer 2 doors down, (Pixel Pete I keep calling him even though his name is Paul) put in a new router since he said the signal wasn't very strong. So I need to try that out and get the login info from him.

I would like to use one of the tables that is in the main area as my desk. I don't know who they belong to or if they are for sale.

Today I've responded to some "designer wanted" posts on Craig's List that Greg found. Who knows what kind of work they are or what they would pay, but at this stage in the game, I can't be too picky! It's worth the investigation. I'm going to work on updating my resume and cover letter when I get home. Also need to make a pdf of my portfolio. I wish I had a web site. Maybe I can figure that out this weekend. I suppose I need to get a business name registered first though, since that is what I would want my domain name to be...

Anyway, doing my thinking out loud here.

A race is decided upon

I've been thinking about what I want to do race-wise this year. I'm very much on the not-in-shape side of things and don't want to "compete" in any duathlons. But I would like to do a run. The Mason Fall Mini-Marathon will be the perfect distance. It's a 15K, so that's 9.3 miles. Not too long, but not short. I have 14 weeks. So I made a schedule today. Hopefully this will get me back into things and help motivate my runs.
Here is the schedule for those who care to see...(It's really not that exciting. but i did find a use for the font "marker felt". HA!)

Midweek Run

I ran on the trail last night after work with Erin. We went 2 miles, then I did another mile or so. I felt good. And though I am still pretty darn slow, the last mile I did was quicker than I have been going. There is hope yet...

The Gift of Sight Eye Run is August 25th which is 4 weeks away. I think now I will be OK to run it. Definitely not going for a PR, just hoping to finish and feel good.

Studio 105

Last week Greg and I were on our way to one of our favorite restaurants, The Works, in old Loveland. At the last stoplight, Greg suddenly said he wanted to check something out. I assumed it was a car sitting for sale somewhere, but it wasn't. It was a building that said "Loveland Artist Studios on Main". I was quite surprised. It was a large building - was it really studio spaces??

I got out of the car and looked in the window. Sure enough, there were a few artists listed along with their craft. It looked pretty cool from the outside...

After checking out their website, it said that there was one studio left, they rented the spaces at .80 a square foot, and that there were 26 artists. I sent the contact an email to say I was interested in learning more. He sent an email to say that I should give him a call to talk about it.

Friday, I left early and gave him a call. I ended up going over there, and meeting Greg there from work so he could look at it too. The space is 18' x 15' and is $190 a month including electric, heat, and wireless internet! A steal. There is no way I could get my own place for that money.

So, we decided to do it!

Today I signed the lease and gave the deposit and first month's rent. I'm SOOOOO excited. It will be so amazing to have my own place to work in. This really helps with The Plan. At the least, it will be an awesome art studio to actually get a portfolio built.

I'm so excited!!!!!!
I'm trying to think of a good name for my design business. I kind of like Studio 105, which is the name of the space I am in. Not sure though. I'm thinking...

Gettin' Back Into It

I didn't end up running Monday on my day off from work. But I was feeling better. Had a few naps. I must have had some weird kind of bug.

So nothing new on the running front. I only went Wednesday so far. I felt good Tuesday and wanted to go, but dinner disaster spoiled my plans. I suppose "disaster" is an exaggeration - I didn't have eggs so I had to change the menu from taco bake to tacos, which in turn cut the cooking time form 35 mintues to 5. No run. But I did walk for quite a while with Dexter. Probably about 1.5 - 2 miles.

Wednesday I ran after work around the neighborhood and felt AWFUL. My legs felt as if they had lead flowing through them.

Tonight I decided to just rest. I got up early for work and have had an exausting day. All I want to do is work on The Plan but I may run out of steam here pretty soon. I think I sound old.

One development with The Plan is Greg found an art studio in old Loveland! I have emailed about it and they guy called back. I just have to call him back now and ask some questions. I don't know how big the spaces are, but they rent for .80 a square foot, which isn't bad for a room the size of the one I'm in now! We will see...

July is almost over?!

Well, it's midway over. I can't believe it.

Last week was a good week for running and eating. We had dinners at home and I ran Monday, Wednesday and Friday. A bike ride that was in the plans for the day has been cancelled. I think I'll try to just rest today and exercise tomorrow. I don't want to fall out of the good positive last week I had.

Checked out Pat and Jamie's blog about their UK adventures. I hope they are able to post to it regularly. It is easy to forget about it. In fact, I noticed I hadn't posted since july 5th. Maybe a "Sunday Post" should be the rule.

The Late Run

I came home from work today and was sooo tired. So I didn't run. I slept instead. My joints have also been hurting a lot. I hope I'm not getting what I got right before we went to Tampa... that is what it is beginning to feel like.

But I did run later! After Greg got back from Youth, my stomach felt so full and I felt so awful, I figured the worst that could happen was I would have to turn around and come back.
Started out around 8:45/9:00 and just went a slow 30 minutes. Though my slowness is frustrating, at least I can run without having to stop now.

After I got home, I was soooo energized! I probably should have just run when I got home.

Broomball

A while back, I went with Greg and the youth group to play some broomball. It was my first attempt and I loved it. Since then, I've investigated into any leagues in the city and there is one. They play on Sundays in the summer. I still haven't gone to play though. Weekends (as well as nights) are just so hard to prioritize.
Here are a couple of pictures from the game/hurtfest.

4th of July

Today was the 4th. We had the whole gang over as a sort of farewell to Pat. I actually got a little choked up when we were saying bye to him. It's just a long time and we'll miss him.
Greg and Casey redid Greg's suspension for the BMW. Aparently it's all good and Greg likes.
This new computer kicks ass.
Back to work tomorrow :(

NEW COMPUTER!!!

I got a new used iMac 20 inch and it is soooo awesome!
I hope everything continues to work on it well. The screen is big. We only paid 750 for it. And its a 2 GHz with 2 GB of ram.
YAY!!!!
Now all i need is a wireless keyboard and mouse.