Magical Holiday Gifts (for me)

| Randomness

I’m kind of tired of seeing all of these “things to buy people” lists floating all over the whole entire internet. I even wrote one. But, don’t you think it would be easier if everyone just provided their own wishlists? I do. Expectant mothers, and the soon-to-be-married do. Why not everybody else?

Honestly, I don’t really need anything. I don’t like having “stuff”, but I constantly come across random, kitschy, unnecessary things that I HAVE TO HAVE. I usually talk myself out of these things, but since its the holidays and all I’ll let somebody else buy them.

teacupTeacup by kuehn keramik – There is something about the fact that it looks like it was forged by a 3 year old with ADD, that makes me want it even more.

wwwaWhere the Wild Things Are stationary -  I never write letters and I have the handwriting of a serial killer, but I want these anyway.

teddybearcoat03Teddy bear jacket -  because everyone should be covered with teddy bears AT ALL TIMES.
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To Be A Kid Again: An Attempt at Regression

| Le Sigh, Not Self Help, Randomness, Words

kid
It seems like we are all born with an innate instinct to know exactly what it is we need in life.  We learn how to walk and talk on our own. As small children, We eat when we are hungry, sleep whenever we are tired and poop whenever we feel like poopin’ (literally). Have you ever seen a child screech like a banshee while rolling around on the ground? Odds are that was just something that seemed like fun at the time.

The idea is that, before they are conditioned not to, kids live in the moment. They don’t watch the clock or set a schedule of what toys they can play with at certain times. They go with their feelings and enjoy every moment. And for that, children are happy, unique little souls. As they grow older, they get more rules applied to their lives and are constantly being told what is “normal” and right. They hide the original part of themselves deep down inside and cover it up with ideas and actions that belong to others. Then these children go to school, then college and then get jobs. Then those children become me and you.

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30 Things To Do Before I Turn 30

| 30 Things

birthday

In 3 years and 3 months I will be the dreaded 3-0. I understand that 30 is far from old, and definitely not even halfway to the end of my life. However, there are so many things that I want to do in my lifetime.  I know that if I don’t start being more proactive now I will die depressed, unfulfilled and full of regrets.  Dramatic? Probably. But that’s how I roll.

While writing this list I realized I have accomplished a good number of things.  Nothing big and impressive, but I feel that I have done my best to live my own life as uniquely as possible with the resources I have.  But there is still a long way to go.

Many of the things on this list are currently in the works.  Some are distant dreams.  All are very important to me.

  1. Travel to New Zealand
  2. Relocate to the West Coast
  3. Sky dive
  4. Learn to swing dance
  5. Dye my hair very blonde
  6. Learn to sew and make my own clothes
  7. Become self employed
  8. Eat an entirely raw diet for 30 days
  9. Do 15 consecutive pull-ups
  10. Perform as an aerialist for pay
  11. Touch my butt to my head
  12. Get rid of my car and travel via bike
  13. Go to Burning Man
  14. Write a (short) novel
  15. Spend a week doing nothing but yoga and meditation
  16. Read some Ayn Rand
  17. Get a puppy
  18. Eat at Horizons
  19. Redesign my portfolio site
  20. Throw a party
  21. Visit and volunteer at the Watkins Glen Farm Sanctuary
  22. Write and mail a postsecret
  23. Race for the Cure
  24. Save 5k in a real savings account
  25. Create a painting
  26. Spend a day in the park barefoot.. by myself
  27. Write an e-book
  28. Sprout
  29. Swim with dolphins
  30. Hold a handstand for 1 minute.
*Photo by Pink Sherbert

Sometimes My Arms Bend Back

| Randomness, Words

redroom
My days of late have been a mish-mash of small accomplishments, excitement and complete and total confusion. All in all it is still a life worth living, and I am grateful for that.  I have decided to make ponies and unicorns a place for me. Where I can dump my brain and write things of interest. If you like it, well then that’s cool too.

Some random going ons:

Lord of the Rings

Thus continues my descent into total dorkdom.  I have finished the LOTR trilogy, and while at times it was fascinating and entertaining, I mostly thought it was a bore. Is that a heresy? I feel kind of bad about not loving them, because I devoted so much time to reading. To be quite honest, there were WAY too many characters referenced and involved. Also, the history and geography in the book requires a deep and intimate understanding to the Tolkien “middle earth” that would only be acquired by reading the Silmarillion – something i’m not about to do.  I might be alone in this, but after months of time spent reading the trilogy, I would have much rather just watched the movies.  Off to Murakami-land now!

Circus

My aerial skills have been improving, but now I am learning a whole new batch of tricks that make me feel inadequate.  I guess it is all part of the process. I am, however getting much stronger.  I can do 7 pull-ups on average and just recently accomplished a meathook.  A meathook is a move where if done correctly, it feels like a huge hook is stuck in your chest. Fun! Unfortunately, I can’t get out of it just yet and I can only do it on my right side. The result is some very unpretty flopping around.

My contortion training is officially non-existent. I was stretching everyday, but now I have so many things going on I can barely find the time. It seems like that time wont be returning again until the new year.  I am now just a run of the mill flexible girl, not the freakishly bendy sideshow freak I long to be.
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Sunday Funday! Amazing Horses and Decapitated Unicorns.

| Randomness, Sunday Funday

Some entertaining randomness for your pleasure.

Link of the week: Look at my horse, my horse is amazing!

15 beautiful illustrations

100 good things that are being created in this world.

5 favorite web apps for designers. (I live by Dropbox)

Have you ever dreamed of this man? <–That freaks me out so bad.

Six ways to get books for free or cheap.

Republicans for rape. Go team!

This site is full of candy coated nonsense.  I love it.

7-11 now has a bunch of random Domo-Kun stuff.

Beautiful pictures from Burning Man this year. I know its not the same as it used to be, but I want to go so badly. Anyone wanna join?

The internet will miss you Geocities.

damien-hirst-broken-dream
Damien Hirst ruined my life. Read more on “Sunday Funday! Amazing Horses and Decapitated Unicorns.” »

The Best Places for Creative Inspiration (or to Waste Time)

| Art, Inspiration

I was going to list these in categories relating to the type of inspiration they provide (web design, photography, graphic design, etc..) but then I realized that the best designs are inspired by completely irrelevant things. So here is a list of great websites that can inspire you to create even greater things. I’ve tried to make this a bit different than the typical “inspirational site” post. If you know of any other noteworthy sites that should be added, leave it in the comments.

regrouped
Regrouped is a gallery of web design galleries. Its like a matryoshka doll for CSS-philes.

muse
Muse takes lovely pieces of art and reveals the story behind its creation straight from the artist’s mouth.

cool
Cool Showcase features mostly fantasy illustrations.

behance
Behance showcases the portfolios, and collaborative projects from the most creative people in the world.

instructables
DIY everything!!

tumblr
Go to Tumblr, type in a keyword.. get tons of great images, words and thoughts on the topic. Read more on “The Best Places for Creative Inspiration (or to Waste Time)” »