Living the Creative Life

In hour two of the Royal Wedding, we see a lot of the dignitaries and important people arriving: Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth, and a bunch of other royals who I've never heard of. The excitement is palpable as the crowd gets louder and louder with every minute. They erupt when the Princes William and Harry are spotted leaving Buckingham Palace and again when the future Princess Catherine arrives in her own car. The love for the Royals is very evident here! So much excitement as fans anticipate the moments to come. The Princes William and Harry begin their procession. Princes William and Harry nearing the Abbey The people go crazy as Princes William and Harry arrive! They sure have grown up nicely! Princes William and Harry are joking and laughing as they enter the Abbey. Prince William Prince Harry Kate's mother and brother arrive. The "lesser royals" arrive. (How would you like to have that title?) Prince Charles arrives, greeting the clergy of the A...

I am FINALLY watching the Royal Wedding today. I just finished hour one of the ABC coverage. I really, really wanted to stay up and watch it Thursday night/ Friday morning, but it would've been 1:00 am to 7:00 am my time and that just wouldn't have made a very happy worker in me the next day. I'm sure my bosses appreciated the sacrifice I made to TiVo this historic event instead of watching it Live and being too tired to work on Friday. (Doubtful they even noticed, actually. Oddly enough, none of them even seemed all that excited about the wedding.) I grew up hearing my mom talk about how she stayed up to watch Princess Diana's wedding back in 1981. I was just 2 years old then, so obviously I don't remember it. Still, I feel a sense of tradition when watching this current event, like I'm participating in something handed down from the ages. How cool is it to witness something that will one day be written in history books? (The last time I felt that way was ...

My sister and her boys visited this weekend. This is her youngest, strapped to a chair like a bandit in an old Western movie. He doesn't seem to mind. ;) We were making a high chair to feed him in, if you must know. Lol. They stayed at Mom's house most of the previous week, which had all sorts of luxurious baby accommodations (such as a high chair, a toy bin, and a saucer play-thing) . Aunt Jennifer's house has no such accommodations, however. ;) I have plenty of grown-up distractions (a Nintendo Wii, books to read, movies to watch) , but not so much for kids. (I probably should at least invest in a toy bin. My 3-yr-old nephew expected that when he came over for the afternoon!) . Anywhoo... It was fun seeing everyone. Their visits are always way too short!

This isn't a declaration, because whenever I do that I change my mind. (Although I suppose changing her mind is a woman's prerogative, isn't it?) . Rather, this is just a simple wish and a plan. As you're probably well aware of, I'd give anything to not have to be "working for the man" anymore. That's just so not my lifestyle. I don't mind working hard, but working hard for someone else is exhausting mentally and creatively. I want to be at the place where it would be feasibly possible to make a living from my own creative hand. I want time to sleep in... to ponder life slowly over a luxurious breakfast... to have the flexibility and resources to travel and see the world. I have to keep that dream at the forefront of my mind or I might disappear under the weight of discouragement that is the drudgery of a 9-5 job. As I've been dreaming of how I want my life to be over the past few months, I've noticed something. A lot of the blogs I...

I just love finding fun, creative blogs to read. It reminds me that life doesn't have to be all about corporate responsibility. Art, expression, freedom, and creativity definitely have a place in this world and I'm starting to believe that it's okay that I love these things. Not everyone is a Type-A, get-things-done type of person. Some of us need a little more emotion and inspiration in our lives! Here are some lovely posts that have been inspiring to me lately: ----- Megan at { Freckled Italian } shows us her current color inspirations! I just love her choice of photos here. So beautiful and vibrant! ----- Selma at { Crazy Little World of Mine } blogs about her perfect Saturday! Reading, relaxing... sounds about right! ----- Katie at { I Go by Katie } writes about a typical day in her creative life. I just love all the time she has to creative, sew, photograph. Someday I hope my life will be so free! ----- Betsey at { Peace Love Bella Vita } shar...

Today I had a "talking to" at work. They were nice about it, but basically told me that I better not be sick anymore or I risk having my hours cut at work. It's frustrating because I'm not trying to get sick. It's hard when you feel like you're getting in trouble for something you don't have total control over. I guess I can see their point though, too. Work is kind of a contract. You agree to show up 40 hours a week; they agree to pay you for it. I guess I haven't been doing very well at the showing up part. I'm looking into finding a doctor. I know it isn't normal to be sick so often, but it feels normal to me. Hopefully I can learn a new normal. I really do want to succeed in life. I hope someday that I won't need this boring job, but in the meanwhile, I am still there and I really should be there wholeheartedly. It's possible, too, that my attitude could have affected my health in some way. I know I probably do have somethin...

Wow! I impressed myself today! ;) I was trying out a software called  Pixelmator , to see if I could create a more professional-looking banner for my site . A few tutorials later... voila !! (Scroll to the top of the page) . While I was at it, I re-designed the banner and logo for my Etsy shop as well. So cool!! I've been wishing I could take some design classes, but haven't really found the time or money to do so. Luckily there are some very helpful Pixelmator tutorials on their website! I learned how to do variant grades and also bubbles. Fun fun! :) Long story short, if you're looking for a Photoshop-esqe graphic design app for the Mac, this one seems like it could do the trick. I really know nothing about Photoshop so have no idea if this could do everything for you that you're used to Photoshop doing... but... for me, it opens up a world of manipulating text and photos that I didn't previously realize I could do! Old Design New Design