Aug 27th 2009 01:39:30 pm

I have been working on a lot of random Swap-bot-related things this week. Today, I got to work on an actual swap. I wrote my mini biography and put together my postcards for the Postcard Biography swap. I think it is actually a really cool idea and I had a lot of fun writing my 300-word bio. The swap coordinator intended for our bios to be more “literary” and fancy like the work of Michael Kimball. I tried, but mine seems pretty boring (you can probably read it if you view the large version of the photo). I should have had my dad write mine. He is really good at that type of thing….

No Comments » Categories: Crafts, Family, Just for Fun, Swap-bot

Aug 26th 2009 04:27:05 pm

Have you seen the new fall stuff at J.Crew? I think there is someone at that company who is specifically making things just for me (I wish) – I love everything they’ve got going on right now!

For your reference, the items above are the Winnie Jacket (I need a coat with gold buttons for fall!), the Fraces Cami in light sage, of course, the Carlin Coat in blossom, the Merino ethereal ruffle V-neck sweater (it has a little ruffle of chiffon around the collar!), the Jeweled garland bracelet which I REALLY love, the Jemma T-strap heels, and the Lexi Satchel… but everything on the website is dynamite. Yes, dynamite.

(I also really like this skirt… and this t-shirt… and this necklace, too… you get the picture.)

4 Comments » Categories: Accessories, Clothes, Fashion, Lovely Things

Aug 23rd 2009 07:25:20 am

Last weekend I traveled to Kansas City and Saint Louis to attend my grandfather’s funeral and to spend some time with family. It was actually a wonderful trip despite the sad circumstances. It was really nice to see my extended family (seen in the top photo), some of whom I haven’t seen for years. It is a big family and nearly everyone made it to Saint Louis for the weekend (with some notable exceptions: we missed you Mary, Aaron, Chandler & Cameron!). I had a lot of fun hanging out with my cousins, who are all totally smart and funny. I must also add that my grandmother is a very caring and fun lady and I always enjoy visiting with her – she is the pretty woman with the corsage in the photos. It was a good weekend.

I also spent a few days in Kansas City so that I could hang out with my parents a bit. Mom and I went shopping together and I was fortunate enough to be in town for the annual “Frist Day Of School Fuddruckers” trip with the Manns and Johnsons. I also got to hang out with my sister-in-law, Chelsea – seen above at Starbucks, our favorite! I fit a lot of visiting into just a few days, so I declare it a very successful trip!

No Comments » Categories: Family, Trips

Aug 10th 2009 08:39:37 am

My Grandpa Lamble passed away early this morning. It is a sad day, but I find hope in the amazing legacy he left behind: 54 years of marriage, eight children, and sixteen grandchildren – all of whom have little piece of him inside them. xoxo

11 Comments » Categories: Family, Feeling Sad

Aug 9th 2009 10:48:46 am

If you like pink, I have a present for you. I tried my hand at creating an original background image for my iPhone and I thought I would offer it up as a free download, too.

To add it as your background screen on your iPhone, open up this page with your phone’s internet browser. Then, hold your finger on the image until the box pops up that says “save image”. Then, go to your iPhone photos, click on the graphic, hit the bottom left button, and select “save as home screen.” Voila! You just gave your iPhone a makeover!

EDIT:

I kinda forgot about the top and bottom bars on the iPhone home screen… The following background image will work better with those bars.

3 Comments » Categories: Just for Fun, Lovely Things, design

Aug 7th 2009 07:45:04 am

I just stumbled upon the website of Paul Graham, a computer programmer, entrepreneur, painter, essayist, etc, via kottke.org today, and I feel like I have found my own personal prophet/life coach. I’ve only read two of his essays, so I may be a little prematurely enthusiastic, but his essay on How to Do What You Love from 2006 just blew me away. It is exactly the matter-of-fact (and yet paralyzingly philosophical) things I have been obsessively thinking about at this stage in my life regarding my career/life path – but stated much more clearly.

Some awesome quotes from the essay:

“The world then was divided into two groups, grownups and kids. Grownups, like some kind of cursed race, had to work. Kids didn’t, but they did have to go to school, which was a dilute version of work meant to prepare us for the real thing. Much as we disliked school, the grownups all agreed that grownup work was worse, and that we had it easy.”

“What a recipe for alienation. By the time they reach an age to think about what they’d like to do, most kids have been thoroughly misled about the idea of loving one’s work. School has trained them to regard work as an unpleasant duty. Having a job is said to be even more onerous than schoolwork. And yet all the adults claim to like what they do. You can’t blame kids for thinking “I am not like these people; I am not suited to this world.”

“…if you admire two kinds of work equally, but one is more prestigious, you should probably choose the other. Your opinions about what’s admirable are always going to be slightly influenced by prestige, so if the two seem equal to you, you probably have more genuine admiration for the less prestigious one.”

“With such powerful forces leading us astray, it’s not surprising we find it so hard to discover what we like to work on. Most people are doomed in childhood by accepting the axiom that work = pain. Those who escape this are nearly all lured onto the rocks by prestige or money. How many even discover something they love to work on? A few hundred thousand, perhaps, out of billions.”

“Whichever route you take, expect a struggle. Finding work you love is very difficult. Most people fail. Even if you succeed, it’s rare to be free to work on what you want till your thirties or forties. But if you have the destination in sight you’ll be more likely to arrive at it. If you know you can love work, you’re in the home stretch, and if you know what work you love, you’re practically there.”

Anyway, you should read the article if only to realize, like I did, that there are smart people out there trying to help others do what they love. Graham currently funds start-up companies (he has launched over 145 according to his cover story in Inc. magazine), so I am going to go read more of his start-up advice. I have been moderately interested in (and moderately good at) a lot of random things in my life so far, but the only real passion I have discovered is my need for independence… so I am going to continue on my work-from-home, “website empire” path for now and see where it takes me.

2 Comments » Categories: Thinking, Work

Aug 3rd 2009 03:49:08 pm

I thought I had more exciting photos to post from the weekend… we had a good one. Lots of relaxing on the make-shift bed we built in the living room by the air conditioner, a waffle to share on Saturday morning after going to the dog park, healthy salads as an antidote, a wonderful and free concert in Central Park, the “best hot fudge sundae in New York,” Swap-bot improvements, and finally our signature Sunday night banana-chocolate-chip muffins. The Good Life, Johnson-style!

3 Comments » Categories: Feeling Happy, Food, New York

Aug 1st 2009 01:23:36 pm

Last night we got the idea that we should try to teach Crusher how to swim in the bathtub. We thought it would help him feel more comfortable at the doggy beach at Prospect Park. He pretty much hates water, but he took to swimming like a little tadpole. …a little tadpole that hates water and wants to get out of this freakin’ bathtub as quickly as possible. So cute!

7 Comments » Categories: Crusher