Low-Hanging Fruit August 31, 2007

Can I just get on the soapbox for a minute? I know I said I wouldn’t, but that’s a girls perogative. We change our minds. Get over it.

I have worked in the corporate world for many years. I have always flatly refused to rub noses with the bigwigs. Career suicide? Probably. But at a party with the CEO and the intern? I’m gonna spend the evening talking fashion with the intern. Sorry. That’s just who I am.

I have a pet-peeve that grows more and more peevish with every year. Corporate lingo. WHY? Why is it neccesary to spout off this nonsense gibberish, when perfectly old-fashioned terms will accomplish the very same thing.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Hi, Judy. Thanks for “reaching out”. When I have an answer, I’ll “circle back.” I agree that this opportunity is “low-hanging fruit.” In fact, it should really “move the needle.”

Does this irk you the way it irks me?

Can’t we say, “Hi Judes…thanks for getting in touch. When I know the answer, I’ll letcha know. This is a good idea–I think it’ll work!”
There are MANY more of these, but I’m blocking them out at the moment. Too many in one 10-minute span sends my brain into spasms and it just doesn’t work right.

I’ll circle back and reach out when they come to me.

Parts August 31, 2007

My mom told me in no uncertain terms that it was just WRRROONNGGGG to talk about this on my blog. In fact, she used the word powahn-o-graaaphic (VERY southern Georgia peach). But I’m sorry, it needs to be told (if only for my amusement).

So I go to the MANDATORY meeting at my daughter’s “school” the other day. (This is what guilt-ridden moms call the daycare center.) Seems they are required by law to give us the goods on child abuse–how to detect it, signs etc. AND, we are supposed to be teaching our children the correct anatomical names of their body parts. (I’ll tell you why later).

Okay, this is going to be hard for me, as I don’t KNOW the correct names of body parts. (VERY southern Georgia peaches do not condone such fowel-mouthed talk under their roofs, and the correct term for your hind quarters is “seat”. What does this tell you?) You should also know that I was unable to say the word “bra” outloud until I was out of college because it made my face turn red, and my mother purchased my “products” for me in bulk until I was well into my twenties. I had to take xanax to purchase a pregnancy test and make sure my wedding ring was magnified and in full view. And I couldn’t call the thing on the end of the baby bottle that they drink from by it’s real name either…far too embarrasing. I know, there are good counselors out there.

So, the reason is just sad. Turns out, that if you teach your kids to call it a “willy”, and someone, God-forbid, abuses them, the term “willy” won’t hold up in court. Good to know, yes, but egads…how will I teach them the correct terms????

I get home and relay this info to hubby and right away he’s asking my son, “what’s that part you have there?” Son answers with confidence

“a ding-ding”

Then he turns to my daughter…”what’s that part called?”

“My bottom”

“No”, he says, “that’s in the back, what’s the front called?”

“My bottom” she says again

So he asked my son, “do you know?” Again, even more confidently…

“a crotch!”

We have a ways to go.

Drawing for Dollars August 30, 2007

This is a page from the book I worked on with my close friend.
The page that preceeds it says…”My Dad He Hung the Moon.” 

When I was little I thought I knew most everything. Looking back I know I knew practically nothing…but there was one thing I did know for sure. I wanted to “grow up and illustrate children’s books.” For some reason I latched on to an illustrator as a child, as if she were an angel sent from God above. Joan Walsh Anglund. (https://www.joanwalshanglund.net) I lived her, breathed her–I literally owned every single thing she ever published or produced. Books, calendars, dolls…I spent hours studying her pictures, trying to duplicate them in my stacks of sketch books (I’m sure you see her influence in my artwork). And then the most amazing thing ever…I got to MEET her. My perfect mom found out that she was going to be at a book signing in Atlanta, so off we went, and stood in line for hours (she also took me to meet Xavier Roberts in Atlanta, creator of the original Cabbage Patch doll–this after she took me to the orginal Cabbage Patch orphanage to adopt Blanche Harriet, my first child.) Perfect mom deserves a category unto herself….but back to my story. So I met her, had my photo made with her (I need to dig that up and post it…as she is the sole reason I started on this crazy path in life) and she signed a pile of my books. She even drew little pictures in some of them with a special note just to me. By the time highschool rolled around, most of her stuff (calendars in particular) were out of print, so I found a new mentor. Mary Englebreit. Again, had to have everything she came up with–to a point. She went waaayyyyy commercial and lost a bit of her original appeal for me. Come to find out, her inspiration was also Joan. Well of course she was….she’s the most splendid children’s illustrator to have ever lived.

So, here I’ve been doing art all my life and I aint no spring chicken at this juncture. But yet, still haven’t chased the dream…why is this? Well, I guess I’m scared. Plain and simple. How can I live up to my mentors? Or my own expectatations. I have a friend who is so dear and sweet and her husband had to go to Iraq for a time. She wrote the most precious book for her kids and asked ME to illustrate it–such an incredible honor. But ohhhh the pressure. The fear. I put it off for over a year. And then….I just started. I tried to follow my heart and do whatever came to me. Of course she had envisioned something different but I knew I would never put pen to paper if I didn’t just go with what happened naturally. So I worked on this thing day and night and illustrated the whole darn thing–using a girl as my main character (MY little girl to be exact). My friend has BOYS. And wrote the story for BOYS. HER BOYS. Very personal story for her. DUH. So of course when she saw it, she was a little disapointed about this one teensy-tinsy detail (riggght). I went back in and added a baby boy to the drawings…and then my friend found out she was preggars with a third. And……of course now the book is the farthest thing from her mind and it’s collecting dust.

 Hey, that’s ok. I accomplished a life goal and that feels good. And now…I’m ready. Ready to do it again, and miraculously I have a client! I’ll tell you more later, but I think there could be a PUBLISHED book in my future. Won’t Joan be proud?

Slow but Sure… August 30, 2007

As you can see, somebody’s been busy! Today was the deadline to have the base in, so the counter people can come and measure. Looks all good and fine, but the sink still isn’t hooked up and once they measure, it all has to come out again to be sanded and stained. When I say I am over it, it doesn’t begin to express my true feelings. If I have to wash soggy rice crispies down the toilet one more time I think I’ll have to go play in traffic. To be continued….

Cheryl Teigs is Coming to Dinner August 28, 2007

Ok. So maybe not dinner…but I bet she’ll drink a diet coke! You already know I’m crazy but I’m not making this up. My good friend who is a producer is shooting a kitchen segment at my house. And lucky us were just about to decide what kind of counters to put in our “in progress” kitchen. And it just so happens that the kitchen segment features countertops, so they are installing them for the shoot. And of course, they will leave them here, and they are puuurrrty. Trouble is, the cabinets aren’t built yet and my husband is the one building them. They are shooting in two weeks. Yes, you heard it right. He has two weeks to build kitchen cabinets…and when I say he is a perfectionist, it means he could find a flaw on Angelina Jolie. This does not make for speedy cabinet-building. Plus, he’s at work all day so this leaves the time after the homework is done, dinner is served (albiet, from a bag, as we have no stove or sink!) and the kids are in bed. Needless to say, it’s pure chaos…and washing dishes in the bathroom leaves something to be desired. So yep, I’m delirious, but I’m not seeing visions of Cheryl Teigs and talking smack. She is the spokesperson for the counter company and they are shooting her in MY kitchen. THIS kitchen. Yikes.

Jumping on the Bandwagon… August 21, 2007

I keep seeing all this talk about original ideas on people’s blogs. I gotta say, I find this humorous. First of all, what business-savvy person is going to ignore trends? Hmmm. Let’s see, chocolate brown is HOT so let’s use purple. No, this does not make for good business. And then people say, so-and-so is copying me because she used chocolate brown! Whatever. We’re all using stripes and polka dots…did one of us INVENT stripes and polka dots? I guess the idea is to always strive as a designer to put your own fresh spin on what you do. Sure, you follow the trends, but make it your own. And yes, every now and then, be at the forefront. START the trend (but I’m willing to betcha, someone, somewhere thought of it already.) That’s just the way it goes, in my most humble opinion. So fellow designers…we’re in this boat together. Let’s stop the madness and keep on doing what we do.

YOU didn’t do it first, and neither did I.

baby blues August 20, 2007

Another reason why there is no rest for the weary August 20, 2007

I told ya I’d get back to this. Here’s what it is. My husband has the two cutest little neices you ever saw. Ava and Fiona. The little one, affectionately known as FiFi, calls she and her big sis, Nona & VaVa. Is that the cutest EVER? I sure think so. And when I learned this I started thinking, hmmmm. Nicknames. And then my loosely translated custom artwork of people’s kids which I’ve been doing on stationery and invitations for forever. Put the two together? A Kid “logo” comprised of the artwork, plus the kid’s nicknames or real names. And then, take the logo and put it on cute stuff like tees, totes, canvas…you get it, right? If not,  go here and get the whole scoop: www.katinthehatdesigns.com/spittinimages

 

Child Torture August 20, 2007

That got ya, didn’t it. It’s really just the perfect way to reference what it’s like when I make my children (and other people’s too) pose in front of my amatuer camera lens. I took some lessons a few years back, but they were to learn the old-fashioned way–the darkroom way. The black and white, darkroom way. That was when I had access to a dark room, and time. Now I have neither. Two kids killed that (not that I’m complaining, mind you.) Plus, I forgot everything I learned. And broke down with the masses and got a digital camera. That I really don’t know how to use. But Lord knows, I try, so I took these pics this summer. You can see the misery in their faces. So sad. But they make mighty cute subjects.

Winning the Challenge! August 20, 2007

I am beside myself with glee. I figured out how to upload pictures. I’ll have you know I was up til all hours saying ugly things to my computer. What’s just so terribly sad, is that it couldn’t be simpler to do. I know I’m technologically challenged, but this was a new low. An award-winning low. I mean, have you read some of the blogs out there? These are not Mensa members. But I persevered, and now I’m so fired up, here I am again, in the very same day…with MORE to say (and perhaps UPLOAD).