moo moo and an interview

a big thank you and a big hug to everyone who left sweet comments and sent sweet emails about yesterday's post. i think that a big part of why i shared our sorrowful news is that i knew i would feel that rush of love and support from near and far.  you guys are awesome. i don't know what i did before i had all of you.

* * *

today, i'm going to a interview for a real job. after doing the consulting thing for nearly a year, i'm ready to be an employee again. i need the structure of going to an office every day. and i especially need daily human interaction with other adults who are not my husband or the teachers at sabin's school or the grocery store checkout people (who are often not adults, if i think about it). and i need someone else to be responsible for calculating the VAT, that drives me mad.  i'm wearing my favorite gap dress (quite akin to the audit dress ), awesome wolford tights (which of their tights are not awesome, i ask you), my big-ass celebrate obama ring and the new chanel no. 5 eau premiére. so it can't possibly go wrong.

* * *

last evening, after a 9:30 p.m. cup of licorice tea to soothe my throat, i was wide awake until well after midnight. but it was only partially the tea. it was largely because of moo cards. beautiful little mini calling cards with your best pictures on them. and you can actually upload 100 pictures at a time (which takes awhile, i can tell you) and get one card of each picture if you want! i went a little mad ordering sets of the Summer of Fun for the kids for christmas and then of course, some just for me. oh, and i downloaded the blurb booksmart software and started working on a book (or two)! tangobaby did both of these things long ago and has been encouraging me to do so for ages. i felt a little stupid for not knowing what moo cards were, so i never really got around to it. but now i have, big stylie! and i have to say that it was so much fun, i'm not sure what i was waiting for!

here's one of the pictures i used on a moo card, just as a teaser:

aren't they pretty? festive bottles of absolut, all dressed up for the holidays in the copenhagen airport.

* * *

and one more thing to share before i go fix myself for the interview...i found a few minutes on tuesday afternoon to visit the wonderful norway designs in oslo, where i bought the coolest cards by darling clementine . i feel very inspired to make some gocco prints after seeing these cards.

ok, gotta run....

you can moo too!

it's time again, those fabulous people at MOO have sent out a discount code: RVA92Q - this time the code entitles you to free shipping on a first-time MOO purchase. and although they tell you that they're shipping via DHL, it turns out they're not (my postcards came via royal mail), which is a big relief, since DHL sucks at delivering. this code is for new MOO customers. so if you've been wondering if you should order, now's the time to try it out! i love my MOO cards and my new postcard-sized ones just arrived on saturday. i'm using them for postcrossing as well as for decor above my desk.

if you MOO or would like to...

hey guys--if you have been thinking about getting your own MOO cards and have never ordered before, you can use this code: RDVYSN and get 20% off a single MOO product in your first order! and if you use it, then i might win a cool magnetic photo thingie, since that's a unique code and the first 100 of these that MOO gets on orders (it was in their latest Moosletter) will win the cool magnetic photo string thingie. and i love to win, you know. so if you were thinking of ordering some MOO cards anyway...do it now and then we can swap, i've got MOOs for every occasion!!

NOTE:  the code can be used by as many people as want to use it--you'll get your 20% off on one item in your order!!!

the return of molly moo

molly moo came back last evening. we love that heart-shaped white patch on her head and her big brown eyes.

i woke up with a headache and it's once again grey and dreary, so i'll just wish you all a happy weekend and let you look at the pretty pictures of molly moo.

look at what's new from moo!

yesterday, in my email inbox, i got my moosletter and in it, i saw these innovative new business card holders and i thought, those are cool, i wonder if it's time for some business cards...  and then, when i got home, i found the most delightful surprise in my mailbox...you guessed it! one of moo's new business card holders - especially for me! i knew i loved moo.

how to fight off SAD

oh me oh my, i feel a case of SAD (seasonal affective disorder (thanks for the link tangobaby, so i didn't have to google it)) coming on. i'll bet gregory house, m.d. could come by and cure it in a matter of minutes, but i digress...i think i last saw sunshine when i was in oslo last week. since i got home, it's been grey, drizzly, dark and depressing. the sun comes up after 8 a.m. and already feels like it's going down around 2 p.m. (but really goes down between 3:30 and 4). this does not promote happiness and energy, i must tell you.

i'm not sure why titled this post "how to fight off SAD," as if i had some advice, because i have none. i'm deep in the throes of it. when my sister was here last winter, she'd go give herself a light treatment at the tanning place. i can't really bring myself to do that...for a couple of reasons...my recent sunburn from boracay and the fact that i really hate the smell of the tanning booth. you get that hot bulb smell and it takes more than one shower to wash it off. i'd rather wallow in the pit of despair than smell like that.

what's strange is that i have little or nothing to wallow about...i've spent the past couple of days settling all of my wonderful art supplies into their new home in the writing house and it's wonderful out there. as soon as it gets light enough to take a proper picture, i will show you. i attempted to take some pictures today, but this is how they turned out:

another reason to be happy is that my fabulous moo cards came yesterday. i love them, they are fantastic,  they make my heart pound with joy, but i cannot photograph them to show you because it's too friggin' dark and when i use the flash it flashes out and looks like crap. so even my moo cards make me sad.

i'm also happy that i have new glasses, which i also cannot photograph because it's simply too dark and dreary to get a good picture. hmm, maybe my whole problem is that i'm suffering from photographic withdrawal.  we're using our fireplace and going through boxes of ikea candles, but despite the warm glow, i'm still mildly depressed. we've been making pots and pots of tea. husband has been at home to entertain me, and still i feel cranky. it's the weather. and the darkness. i need sunshine.

i can understand why christmas came about this time of year, growing out of pagan winter festivals, we need something joyful in this dark time. bringing a tree indoors and decorating it with sparkly colorful balls and lights, it's a way of being closer to nature in the midst of the darkness, isn't it? spending time with family and friends, eating good food while candles glow on the table, that seems like a good way of combatting SAD, but there are still a few weeks to go. and i need something now. perhaps i should just invest in a proper flash for my camera...

any advice for combatting SAD that doesn't involve a tanning bed or a 5+ hour flight is most welcome.

random reflections

~ who knew jason mraz blogged. or was so deep?

~ my sister seems to think i'm in need of a joyologist. i think what i really need is a week of steady sunshine.

~ last night i dreamed i was a jackie kennedy-esque (in her bouvier years) girl reporter, armed with an iPhone instead of a bulky greyflex (tho' in my dream it was a brownie).

~ i'm amused by this.

~ and these are just so cool.

~ (why are all the bloggy people i stalk like in south africa?)

~ i had the most wonderful, intense conversation on tuesday about living life intensely and passionately and in a most engaged manner. i'm still processing it and trying to write it. but i think in a way i'm not ready to let go of it yet. because often once i write something, it means letting it go and it doesn't haunt me or resonate through my thoughts anymore in the same way. so i'm having trouble making the words come.

~ a juice of carrot, apple, orange and ginger, fresh from the juicer will do more for a headache than 2 ibuprofen.

~ sabin is convinced there's the ghost of an old man in the house. she heard him cough and he closed the door to her bedroom (which currently lacks a doorknob, so she had to climb out her window). i swear i thought i heard him snoring the other evening. but so far, that's the only sign of him i'm seen or heard. as for sabin, she's not afraid at all, but very matter-of-fact about the whole thing.

~ i've exchanged MOO cards with a couple of friends lately and they totally make me happy. what is it about those colorful little half-sized bits of card that is so joyful? is it that they're unique because they're made of one's own photos? colorful? what is it? i think it's got something to do with the size, tho' pia sent regular business card-sized ones as well and they made me equally happy. in any case, i do love MOO.

odds and ends

so many things to catch up on (800+ posts in the reader--come on guys, i thought we agreed you'd take it easy while i was away!). i decided i needed one of those random lists for which i am mildly famous. and it is, after all, a monday and monday is the best day for a list. it helps clear the head for the rest of the week.

: : yesterday, i ordered MOO postcards so that i too can be a postcrossing girl. i've only requested one address so far (you can do 5 at a time), because i decided to wait for my own photo postcards, tho' that first person is going to get one of my precious collection of those cool postcards you can pick up for free in copenhagen cafés. but please hurry up MOO! and thank you to janet and spudballoo and B for inspiring me to do this too. i do love getting real mail. and i'm a sucker for peer pressure.

: : speaking of getting real mail, this latest addition to my little desktop bowl of rocks arrived today. there was also a really cool green and purple necklace with a sparkly swirl on it (sparkles to match my tiara, of course). the rocks were two smooth, polished stones and four lovely pieces of amber with a little hole drilled in them. one of them even most decidedly has an eyeball. thank you, rxbambi, for thinking of me while you were out and about. this is one of those beautiful things that happen when you put yourself out there and blog your madness, other people start enabling it! :-) thank you, dahling! i promise to get my act together and get your little reward for guessing that book (dang, was it really that long ago?!?) sent your way this week!

: : i keep forgetting to go to flickr, but when i remembered today, i had an email inviting me to contribute to a cool new project. it's called footearth and if you too like to photograph your feet or the feet of others, you can contribute too! i went and signed up and put up three foot pictures immediately. so much fun when other people recognize your obsessions and invite you to indulge them. i hope someone starts robot earth next. :-)

: : we got a new furnace last year in february and the results are in. we have cut our gas bill for the year IN HALF!! yes, they are giving us back more than $2000 because our new furnace, in combination with our wood-burning stove/fireplace, was so much more efficient we used HALF the natural gas! i am dumbfounded. and really happy we made that decision. if you're considering a new furnace and have any doubts, all i can say is GO FOR IT!

: : sabin and i are enjoying the junie b. jones books. thanks for getting us started on them, moneek.

: : after my post earlier today i learned that i really, truly have some brilliant, awesome friends in this here blogosphere.  and i am so grateful to you for your friendship. it makes me feel that i can breathe again.  and breathing is good.

loving today...

it's day one of five luxurious days of doing nothing one doesn't want to, so there are many things to love today:

1. sewing with gorgeous anna maria horner fabrics in my favorite colors.
2. discovering new music--south african chill by the gold fish! go, get some now. (i must thank my sister for turning me on to this--apparently one of their songs is running in a car commercial in the US at the moment.)
3. having all of the doors open on the studio because the sun is shining!
4. staying in my pajamas as long as i want.
5. eating outdoors.
6. waking up inventing new recipes in my head.
7. did i mention five luxurious days of doing nothing we don't want to do?
8. playing with the rolleiflex TLR camera i got to borrow the other day.
9. the sound of sabin chattering away to husband.
10. puttering around the garden.

wishing you a glorious easter holiday as well!

edited: one more thing to love!  my studio picture from flickr in the April MOO newsletter!! you gotta love MOO cards (i have six different sets for different purposes!).

rearranging in the blue room

blue card translation: "one has an opinion until one blogs a new one"

the pink one, i think everyone can read

green card translation: "'god is dead' - nietzche 'nietzsche has just been erased from facebook' - god"

as soon as i felt better yesterday, precisely 36 hours after beginning to feel sick, i went on a cleaning and tidying frenzy in my studio, aka "the blue room." blog camp approaches and it needed a good tidy. i changed out the things that were hanging on my inspiration wall and so now these postcards, which i picked up in a café not long ago are there. i thought they were all pretty clever. also changed out the MOO cards, putting up some different ones.

but the biggest project was sorting and folding my fabric stash and making some "shelves" for it out of the wooden crates that our weekly organic veg comes in. since we are, after all, making an effort to consume less this year, it seemed like it would be good to put those boxes to use. you can see them beneath the iPod HiFi. makes it MUCH easier to assess the color ranges when it's all visible like this.

i think you can actually learn quite a lot about your taste when you organize your fabric and see it all in one spot. i tend to like bright, fresh colors (lots of teals and greens, surprise, surprise) and rather scandinavian prints on white. and i've bought a lot of fabric in ikea.

and i finally hung up the little copper whirling dervishes i bought in istanbul last october. aren't they sweet? and they have a little evil eye bead to ward off any bad vibes that might try to get into the studio.

i'm working on my blog camp prezzies today in between getting some letters ready to go about my freelance writing business (yup, i'm available for writing assignments if you know anyone who has a need, especially someone who wants to tell stories about ships).

#1 in the 2010 year of creativity

a little viking ship stamp carved from an eraser.

i forgot how much fun it is to carve stamps!

#2 - cloth goody bags for blog camp 3.0
i won't spoil the surprise by telling what's going in them.

ok, i'd better get back to work. i'm not quite done out there. hope you're enjoying your thursday. the giant ball of fire (what's it called again? the word has fallen from use around here) actually put in an appearance in the sky today, so my spirits are lifted considerably.

picture inspired by spudballoo's far superior pylon picture.

these aren't really pylons so much as the light poles on the street in front of our house.
taken at 9:20 a.m. this morning. (thanks char, for asking whether it was sunrise or sunset.)

ready for the weekend

husband comes home today! we're ready to see him and hang out with him again, for sure! i've volunteered to pick him up at the airport (and no, it's not ONLY because i want a starbucks grande venti latte).  i really can't wait to hear his stories of places with names like belo horizonte. doesn't a place with a name like that sound just wonderful? (more wonderful than clayton, NC, in any case, which is also where he was.)

i'm also looking forward to seeing the D60 and what pictures he managed to take with it. i don't really know what it thought of being sent out into the world without me and i'm a little sad that it's been to brazil and i have not, but i know it was safe in husband's capable hands. i told him he had to take a few hotel mirror self-portraits, but i'm not sure he did that (for some strange reason, he doesn't always do what i say). it's just that the D60 will expect it.

* * *

husband said the other day that we should go to the states sometime this year. 

my response, "oh yeah, i just got a sale email from KLM and there are super cheap tix to joburg, like under 4000DKK or something like that." 

husband said, "that's not the states."

oops.

* * *

watching all of the leaders arrive at the G20 summit in london it struck me that they're there to talk stimulating the world economy and about the environment and such, but they all pulled up in giant, bulky, beefed up armored gas guzzling big-ass cars and vans and SUVs.  is that really any better than the message sent by those assholes from the carmakers who showed up for their first meetings in their private jets? i also thought that instead of "growth" in the subtitle of the G20 conference, it maybe should have said "sustainability." because we can't sustain the kind of growth we saw. we've only got the one planet, you see.

* * *

this is a screenshot of my flicker view stats. check out the spike when my kitchen was on apartment therapy! i normally have a rather steady amount of  views (between 200-400), but that day it shot clear up to 1854. it helped that the moo people tweeted another of my photos that day. i guess i don't really care about any of this one way or another, but i thought it was pretty funny visually.

* * *

this is the weekend where we attend the wedding party for husband's sister. i'm so excited to see what they thinks of their atelierBB goodies. the party will be at the wonderful gamla kassen in landskrona.  these shots are from another party we attended there early last summer.

* * *

note, i've been on a roll of late and put up a bunch of single entries over on balderdash, be sure to go check them out. they're autobiographical, but there's a couple of pretty funny ones.

* * *

they promise sunshine and up to 15 degrees this weekend, so you won't see much of me here. i hope the weather is fine where you are and your weekend is filled with laughter!

would what the world be like...

"what would the world be like if women weren't forever in the pursuit of pretty things?" asked husband this afternoon as i showed him the exciting package i got this afternoon from spudballoo.  she sent me some of those beautiful pins like hers that i had coveted on flickr a few weeks ago (note to self: publicly coveting things very effective). and on the outside of the package was the coolest tape that has pretty pictures and says, "and i thought and i thought and i walked and i walked." how cool is that? and she wrote a sweet note on a pretty postcard (what? not moo? then who?) of one of her pictures. there's also a very helpful crochet unravelled book in there which just may help me crack the granny square dilemma (which is a dilemma in that one wonders if a retarded monkey is at all capable of crocheting a granny square). it was all as a thank you for the last blog camp, which she most certainly did not need to do, but i will admit that it did lift my spirits considerably after how weaving went south at the end last evening.

husband disapprovingly reminded me of our year of not buying things and frowned a little bit and muttered something about "taking coal to newcastle" and "don't we have tape and pins in this country?" and like phrases uttered by a man who simply doesn't understand the beauty of the blogosphere.

one of husband's many theories is that of continentus tipicus. in this theory, the island of sjælland, on which we live, is slowly sinking on the copenhagen side. it all started when the english bombarded copenhagen in the early nineteenth century. all of those lead cannon balls are heavy and so copenhagen began to tip towards øresund. eventually, the sheer weight of all of the stuff will cause the island to flip, or so says the theory of continentus tipicus. and i think in his grudge-book worthy mutterings today, he was actually worrying that all of the gifts that come into our mailbox from my bloggy friends around the world are definitely contributing to the coming tip.

but, back to his original question...what would the world be like if women weren't forever in the pursuit of pretty things? i pointed out to him that there would be lots less shops. and that furniture and homes would be pretty boring, as would towels and bedding. and clothes. and most everything else. and he pointed out that china would have less power and people would care more about the stuff they have if they weren't forever replacing it with new and shinier stuff. hmm...

although i'm trying my best to consume less or to buy things second hand if at all possible (see recent loom acquisition), i still love pretty things. and i still feel pretty delighted by some bright pins and a really cool roll of tape. so thank you, spud, for brightening my day today.

an ode to snail mail

in the past week or so, i've gotten two wonderful things in the mail (not counting stuff i ordered myself on etsy, which while great, is not the same) and i've just got to share them with you.

i participated in se'lah's wonderful gift of jewels card exchange. and right in the middle of blog camp, i got this lovely handmade card from beth of be yourself, everyone else is taken. it's now in a place of honor on my inspiration wall in the blue room. together with my new lego magnets.

and then today, a lovely surprise arrived. rxbambi, who attended blog camp - reno, sent me some of her brand new moo cards (we know how i feel about those), a beautiful card made by her sister barb (who must exist because she blogs) and two stones from lake tahoe! how sweet is that?

a big thank you to both beth and bambi for the snail mail goodness (and to se'lah for coming up with the gift of jewels card exchange in the first place). email and the virtual world are great, but there's something really special about holding a hand-written card in your hand.

now, if only i'd read spud's fabulous post about low-light photography and the wobbles before i took these pictures. sigh. but i do hate flash.

i'm all about the direct positive

tangobaby made me download a trial copy of lightroom 2 (i apparently have no will of my own and am generally weak in the face of gadgetry and pretty software). so today i finally really played with it.

it's heavenly.

and so are my MOO cards, shown here after a little direct positive treatment.

so heavenly that i ordered 3 new sets today for different purposes. because i'm a girl with a lot of purposes, why do you ask?

and here's what you can do with lightroom 2...

original:

there was a time when this would have made me perfectly happy

but then i found out about antique light:

and cold tone:

imagine what will happen when i start making my own presets...

but first, i'm off to oslo.

* * *

but speaking of directly positive, get yourself over to borneochica's blog and read her post about how she's going to gather books and donate them to teachers in chicago. i sent a box of them her way yesterday. if i can do it, so can you, mine have to cross an ocean and all. :-) she called me a rock star when i did it. you too can be a rock star, i'm sure. 

friday confessions happiness

(happiness) my new chucks

in the engine room of a brand new PSV

(confession) one of three new pairs of shoes i bought this week.

happy husband doesn't read my blog.

(happiness) a brand new engine room

(confession) it made me miss all the great engineers

from my old job. they were so cool.

(happiness) the view from up here.

(confession) i'm not that fond of heights.

(happiness) noticing a heart shape in this bit of a ship

(confession) i let everyone think i was just taking pictures of the ropes.

(happiness) mirror self-portraits

(happiness 2) my hair's getting long

(confession) this isn't that great a picture but it's the best one i got.

i was in a hurry.

* * *

(happiness)--on monday SFgirlbybay used my most famous flickr moo pic in her post on inspiration boards. thanks SF girl! :-) (confession) hers is one of those blogs that i feel unworthy of, so it's especially validating fun. i knew someone had to have used it somewhere because hits on that pic suddenly went up dramatically. i've been woefully neglecting flickr of late. i guess because i'm all about twitter at the moment. oh yeah, and i've been working like a madwoman of late. (confession 2) i don't have that pic on this 'puter, so you gotta go look at it on flickr.

* * *

(happiness and confession) i'm happy to be headed home today.

color and creativity

through my blog friend in india, ravi warrier, i found the coolest thing and i totally have to share it. it's called personas and it uses your name to datamine a snapshot of how you (or at least everyone with your name) look on the internet. it results in a colorful band. and we all know how i am about color! above is  what my name revealed. i will admit i did every combination of every name i've had and then some of my friends and relatives because it was so much fun! you have to watch while it calculates, that's half the fun.  i have to share sabin's as well:

* * *

i haven't updated my 100 creative things in 2009 since mid-july! scary!! we left off then with #60, so i thought it was time to catch up a bit and see where i'm at now:

#61 - my creative wrapping/labeling of prezzies for blog camp 1.5 in england

yup. i think this counts.

yup. it might be a stretch.

#62 - moo postcards using my own photos (for postcrossing) + clever clothespin display above my desk

#63 - a felt candy corn plushie
made by sabin with quite a lot of assistance from me.

#64 - fishie plushies for blog campers at blog camp 2.0

#65 - cameras to go with sabin's little one-eyed guy design for blog campers at blog camp 2.0

#66 - a fabric/sewed card using fun fabric from summerville on etsy

#67 - sabin's little trousers w/embroidery

tho' they're not finished in this picture.

they are finished. they're just in the wash at the moment.

* * *

i diffused clary sage today, so there will be a bunch more creativity to share in the near future.

all very colorful, of course.

* * *

a big, huge, girnormous, gigantic, enormous, humongous, vast, tremendous (are you getting that this is big, really big) THANK YOU to kristina for her words that are far too kind.

go and have a look at her beautiful photo blog. you will love what she does with light and her nikon.

monday links and ramblings

i've expended a lot energy, not to mention time, being outraged about sarah palin, but will admit that it's cooling. not least after reading this article about how all of her antics should make us laugh, not cry. is this whole thing just because we crave entertainment? of course, we should remember that she's most definitely not harmless, but we must admit that it's been pretty entertaining.



at first i wondered how i would survive until election day and now i'm wondering what i'll do to fill the void when the election is over. although we don't yet know the result, i suppose i already feel anticlimactic because i've voted and sent off my ballot. not to mention that i vote in illinois, which is a pretty sure bet obama state. i've done my part and i know you'll all do yours.

* * *

lest you guys think all i do is read about politics, i hereby offer some of the other, totally non-political things i've been reading:

1. will we eventually download books from amazon directly into our brains? this is a discussion that husband and i have very often...where evolution will lead humans and whether the internet is in fact the stirrings of the next life form?

ok, i looked around and realized that's pretty much the only non-political, non-work-related article i've read of late. man, it's bad. i will be glad to have my brain back when this election is over, so i can fill it much more stimulating things...like why madonna and guy ritchie are splitting!?

* * *

the mailman just came and brought me this and this:

tangobaby's fabulous chinatown book!

and a beautiful print

and two of those little moo cards

(NOW i know what they are, even if i still don't know what it stands for!)

thank you, tangobaby, madame president!

* * *

and because it was a rainy, dreary weekend, made for staying indoors and baking organic chickens and squash and making warming curries, and because this blog has become way too much politics and way too little inspiration, i hereby share the weekend's creativity:

working with mathilde (husband's middle daughter), we made two pillows for her bedroom, using some cute japanese matrioshka fabric (the fabric is japanese, not the matrioshki, they're russian) from etsy (which can't be linked to at the moment due to scheduled maintenance) and a couple of lush anna maria horner fabrics.

and i'm working on a small lap quilt, made entirely of anna maria horner fabrics:

i got the top done and will reward myself today with a trip to get the batting and backing fabric, if i finish the writing i need to get done (and which is fast becoming urgent, which may be just what i need to be able to finish it). but yes, i've reached the point where i have to threaten myself and then promise rewards. i'm clearly a bad parent.

on that note, i'm off to write...it's the same piece i've been struggling with for the past several weeks. i think i'm struggling because i actually care too much about it and want to get it just right. do you ever have things you do that with? and if so, how do you get out of it! i'm open to any and all good advice! because i've written about ten different versions of this thing and none of them are right and thus far, i've been unable to combine them into something i can live with. but, today, i shall succeed!!!