May 12th 2008 10:16:53 pm

I have been threatening to do it for a long time, but I was waiting for some sort of sign that it was time for Travis and I to get a dog. Well, on Sunday an actual hand-painted sign advertising Boston Terrier/Chihuahua puppies caught my attention while we were on a drive. I couldn’t resist finding out more info and it turned out that the situation was perfect. The puppies were raised by a sweet couple in the country and they are just 8.5 weeks old. Crusher was the smallest of the bunch at 2 lbs 5 oz currently. They think he will get to be 6-8 lbs. Basically he is the cutest thing I have ever seen. I love him.

Of course, he loves Travis the best. He is sleeping right next to Travis right now on the couch. So adorable. We are having a lot of fun with him already. I feel horrible leaving him to go to work, but I come home at lunch to be with him. Hopefully, he will get used to the arrangement someday. Here is one more cute photo of him exploring the yard:

For more adorable puppy portraits, go here.

15 Comments » Categories: Misc

May 8th 2008 02:32:03 pm

(I wrote this late last night, but I am releasing it today so that it would delay pushing my dad’s cool new truck off the top spot of our joint family blog.)

…almost half-way through The Age of American Unreason. It is scary. She says that 1/4 of high school biology TEACHERS think that man lived with dinosaurs! ugh. That made me think my brother, Aaron. He is fighting the good fight. I am learning a lot from the book and I am enjoying it, but I do take issue with a few of Jacoby’s arguments. One of my biggest pet peeves in the whole universe is when people say that things were so much better in the old days. I think that is a pessimistic and idiotic viewpoint. Anyway…. more of my insightful comments on the book will be organized into some sort of book review later.

…Travis turned me on to The Hype Machine. It is like a giant music blog reader and it is a great way to find new music. I am loving the Black Kids, The Tings Tings, and Santogold. All three of the bands/artists currently have songs in major national commercials… not exactly cool, but the music is good.

…Best Day Ever started this week. I love it, but I didn’t know it was only going to be 5 mins long. Bummer. I guess it would be a little much to expect 30 mins of superb pop culture comedy every single day!

…Shia LeBeouf is hosting SNL this week. I could cry/run in a circle screaming with joy. Between that and Indiana Jones on May 22nd, I can die happy.

2 Comments » Categories: Misc

Apr 29th 2008 10:01:44 pm

We can try to be smart even if major world forces plot against our braininess… and by major world forces, I mean QVC.

I bought a new book today: The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby. I saw Jacoby on The Daily Show The Colbert Report and thought she really held her own and her arguments sounded interesting. Her book analyzes the current American cultural phenomenon of anti-intellectualism. Heavy. It should be noted that my last non-fiction endeavor ended when I misplaced my paperback copy of Guns, Germs and Steel before I made it 1/4 of the way through the book. However, when/if I finish Jacoby’s book I will give you an extremely brainy and awesome review.

Even though my book purchase is already making me feel smarter (I have read approximately 1/2 of the first page), I must confess my most recent foolish - and yet fruitful - decision. I bought something off the television! QVC sucked me in and convinced me to purchase a philosophy skin care kit. Those tv sales people are good at their job! Anyway, I feel dumb for actually being a paying customer of QVC, but I am happy with my purchase. Sure, smart women do not really need magical beauty serums, lotions, and potions… but it can’t hurt, can it? I have always been extremely happy with all of the philosophy products I have purchased or received as gifts, and so far - after a whopping 24 hours of use - I am happy with this current kit. The face wash works very well, even taking off mascara, and all of the lotions feel and smell great.

So, I guess you could describe me as some sort of frivolous, easily-persuaded, intellectual-wanna-be… but I prefer to use the term “human”.

3 Comments » Categories: Books, Make-up & Beauty, Thinking

Apr 27th 2008 11:14:48 pm

I am in a few swaps on Swap-bot and I am sending out these two matchboxes tomorrow to my swap partners. The blue one is for the Spring Time Matchbox Swap which I am hosting, and the pink one is for the Pink Matchbox Swap. I really like making the boxes, but I feel like I may be in a bit of a rut design wise… I need to mix it up!

So…. I haven’t been writing on my blog consistently lately. I just have not been feeling very positive and I have been reluctant to express myself openly. I put a lot of pressure on myself to try not offend anyone reading my blog (mostly my entire family and the users of Swap-bot), but it is hard to think of things to write about when you are constantly censoring yourself… It is making me feel angry actually, even though I am the person putting restrictions on myself. So, I may be more open. I don’t know. I guess I just have to figure out if I want this site to be my personal journal or a marketing tool. I want it to be both, but the two things have never really meshed well.

5 Comments » Categories: Crafts, Swap-bot, Thinking

Apr 19th 2008 10:34:25 am

Some videos that I think you will like:

I love the whole world!

So sweet. (Thanks to funky lindsay for posting it first.)

———————

laser cats 3…D

“I don’t mean to toot our own horn on this one, but I think we may have captured lightening in a bottle…” I must have the laser puppy who stars in this movie!

3 Comments » Categories: Just for Fun, Movies

Apr 15th 2008 10:37:41 pm

• This is just about exactly how I wish my home was decorated. If only I was a French jewelry designer/interior stylist living in london…
• I’m loving the Happy Collection from rock scissor paper. Especially the the little hobo bird. (found via print and pattern)
• Amy Butler has designed tableware for Mikasa… exciting, but I think the display may be more beautiful than the dishes.
• Everything Turquoise - it is my favorite color…

1 Comment » Categories: Lovely Things, design

Apr 14th 2008 09:36:40 pm

Well, hmmm. What is new? Not much. I am home alone again, but it is not so bad. I skipped my weight-lifting class tonight and did dishes instead. Right now I am thinking about answering Swap-bot emails and listening to the nauseating idiocy of the Rock of Love II season finale repeat. Where do they find people so stupid and gross? … and, why the heck am I watching it? I don’t know. It brings up a mind-bending question, though: Is stripping a legitimate career? I am all for people doing whatever they want, and I am perfectly ok with people being nude wherever they want to be… but is “stripper” something you can actually write down as your occupation (like on your taxes - which we mailed yesterday!) and feel ok about it? I guess so, but it doesn’t seem like much of an accomplishment. Also, I am just going to tell you this now: I am never going to put fake plastic/silicone/saline boobs under my skin/inside my real boobs. Sorry.

So… work is good. I wish I could post some of the stuff I have been designing. I really like a lot of it, but since it is owned by our clients and not going to be released for a while I don’t think I am allowed to show it off on the world wide web. bummer.

Having a full-time job really takes time away from blogging. So does running a website with 15,000 registered users… but both of those things allow me to go to Portland periodically and buy new clothes, which I did on Saturday. I spent too much money at Anthropologie and I got some kick-butt Camper shoes. Travis was a sweetheart and let me take my time browsing and trying stuff on. He really is the best.

What else have I been thinking about? Pretty much life in general. I think I am in a questioning stage… maybe I have always been there. Life is good, but I am not really sure what my purpose is. I am sure that having a kid would give me purpose, but that seems like an unfair reason to create another human - just so I will feel important. That is probably a little too much info, but it is the truth. Soooo… anyway. I have also been thinking a lot about losing weight, but no one wants to hear about that.

Life really is good. I walk to work each day. I drink a lot of coffee. I exercise a bunch. AND, I only do laundry one day a week! nice! If the rain would just stop, life would be perfect.

8 Comments » Categories: Feeling Happy, Just for Fun, Thinking

Apr 7th 2008 10:58:12 pm

• Facebook Flair! Send it to me. Now.
• The Soup with Joel McHale. So funny and you can catch up on all the tv you missed during the week!
• Paul Simon’s Graceland album. Travis just bought it on vinyl and I have been making him play it non-stop.
• Eddie Izzard on The Riches.

and…

• Green & Black’s Caramel chocolate bar. Yum!

3 Comments » Categories: Favorites, Food, Television, music

Mar 30th 2008 11:27:42 am

A few of our friends have created a fun, new website called bumperstickr. You can create funny bumpers or other displays of stickers that represent your interests. Then you can display your creations on Facebook or your website. There are tons of funny stickers and you can also create your own. Check it out.

2 Comments » Categories: Just for Fun, Website

Mar 26th 2008 08:35:23 am

The Vampire Weekend show was last night in Portland and it was fantastic. Travis and I had a lot of fun. The band is just so fresh faced and talented and adorable… and they sounded great. I doubt they will be in such a small venue next time they come to Portland and I probably won’t get to stand right up front near the stage like I did last night… Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa is my favorite song, but my favorite from the concert was probably M79 or A-Punk.

On a side note, the Doug Fir restaurant and lounge is, in Travis’s words, “hipster mecca”. Every single girl there had shaggy bangs, visible tattoos, and a leather bomber jacket. The guys were all wearing tight jeans and had either a fedora or a mustache…. or pink-tipped hair. Three-day old dirty hair is an absolute must if you go there. I felt like a giant square the entire time I was there and I was wearing my most rock-n-roll outfit… don’t ask what it was. It does not matter since it did not include fingerless gloves or thick-rimmed glasses… god. I’ll never be cool.

8 Comments » Categories: Trips, music