Monday, September 26, 2011

The Itch Up Catch Up

I was woken up last night by a throbbing in my hand and came to realize that my hand had swollen and my wedding rings were cutting off circulation to my finger. Quick trip to the bathroom, and a little Windex later, I got my rings off and went back to bed. I got up this morning to go to work and freaked when I saw myself in the mirror - I'm all puffy and swollen, with either a hive or a bug bite smack in the middle of my forehead. Fabulous. I feel a little like an elephant, and an itchy one at that.

Pinterest
And since my face/head seems to be taking the brunt of this latest allergic reaction, I feel a little like sticking my face into a bucket of ice water.

Pinterest

So, instead of scratching non-stop, I am hoping to get myself some meds (I'm rarely happy about pills, but right now I am!) work on some things around the house, upload some pictures of my recent finished design projects, maybe get some wedding designs together for the newest Minted Challenge, work on my holiday card line, hit the food stores so that I can eat something with my rice for dinner tonight, and then maybe I can do some laundry. Too much? You're right, I'll be lucky if I can get two of those things done.

Oh, and also, I now have a Twitter! Follow me at @BelieveNotes! I'm still futsing around a bit, but loving Twitter so far!

So, depending on how I feel today, you might be in for a few more posts! Keep checking back :)

Coming soon to Minted!

I'm giving it my darndest right now to keep up with all the design challenges going on over at Minted. I've had two designs picked from the last few challenges, which is pretty good considering I didn't enter many designs. You've already seen the "Sweet Hearts" birth announcement design, which should be for sale soon, and I just found out I also won an Editor's Pick for my "Smouldering" business card design!

"Smouldering" Business Card Editor's Pick                       
Minted also has just announced all of the Holiday Card winners, and my oh my, they are amazing! I had submitted two designs (there were a total of over 2,200 designs!) and neither were chosen, but I am actually happy about that because it means I can sell them in my Etsy shop this season. That's the beauty of Minted, even if you don't win, you still end up with lovely designs that are fit for sale. The design challenges are win-win!

The new wedding challenge is also open at Minted, and it's my mission to enter at least three designs. The talent is amazing, and while I have no plans on actually winning, I love submitting and getting feedback from such talented designers. Be on the lookout for my submissions!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Flipping Fruit Flies

When I got home from work this evening, I was greeting by a hell of a smell. I did some investigating and realized a banana had fallen behind the fruit bowl and was rotting. Worse, even, was that it was totally crawling with fruit flies. So, like the rational person I am, I grabbed my can of highly toxic Raid and proceeded to spray my entire kitchen. Then I realized that I would probably get cancer and had to then throw out all of the other fruit on the counters along with any other item that could not be washed and could no longer be eaten. I then scrubbed the kitchen clean, loaded the dishwasher, and ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's. What else would I have done?

I hate bugs, all bugs, so tonight was horrible for me. I've had bad luck lately with insects (flies at my office, a worn in my pear, a spider in my dry rice) and I now have red splotches all over my skin from the nervous itching.

Maybe I'll buy these cute little fruit fly traps, they seem like a nice way to murder the little creatures.

Get these Pear Fruit Fly Traps at the Gardener's Supply Company

Monday, September 19, 2011

Font Lust

I wish all beautiful fonts were free! But no, they are not, and so I cannot have them all...

Right now I have a major, major, major crush on Aphrodite. Usually when I love a font it's easy not to buy it because it could cost well over a hundred plus dollars for just one font....but Aphrodite is hard to say no to, since it's only $37.



Isn't she lovely?

Alright, so how about this, the next time a $35+ item sells in my shop, I'm buying this lovely little font :) That's a good excuse, right???

Saturday, September 17, 2011

A Moment With Believe Notes...

At this very moment, on September 17, 2011, I am printing a custom project for a friend, working on sending out a few digital proofs of other custom orders, and sipping on pumpkin pie spice coffee. While I am in my office, feeling pretty zen, my husband is on the other side of our home in the living room. He's playing some sort of video game while yelling at our dog who keeps crying to be played with. Poor thing wants to go outside and enjoy this beautiful day - and my poor husband seems to never be able to get away from nagging (as he says).

As I'm here, working away, I'll hear a little bark from the other room, followed by a "Shutup!", followed by a long groan (my dog groans as communication) followed by a "Darn! Stop yelling at me!". HA - I love the total role reversal of my husband telling the dog to stop yelling at him.

It's an amazingly beautiful autumn day here in NYC. I've got all the windows open and a sweatshirt on.

Oh, and now my dog has come to beg me to play. Ohh, Juliet, I love your little face!

Juliet brought me her toy!
And now she tries the puppy-dog-eyes to get me to play with her!

Friday, September 16, 2011

Big Love

I have a pretty busy weekend planned, but I'm looking forward to spending time with my friends and family.

Tonight I am taking my dad to his first ever Dave Matthews Band concert, which we were originally supposed to go to a few weeks back at Governors Island. The original date was postponed, due to Hurricane Irene, and so tonight we will head off for Randall's Island instead. Between my husband and myself, I think we've seen DMB somewhere in the vicinity of 30+ times. Unfortunately we'll probably be seeing less and less as our responsibilities as adults grow more and more. That's ok, because I don't know that we have the stamina anymore for some of the all-day festivals, or for throwing elbows in general admission situations...oh, yes, we do feel old.

Tomorrow I've got some things going on with the family, and then I'm hoping to get into the city for a little Mintie Meetup. I'm looking forward to being able to finally meet some of the people from the Minted Design community that I've been able to talk to through emails and whatnot.

And then on Sunday I've got some more family fun in store. It seems that, for the most part, 2011 has been a year of celebration, which I couldn't be happier about. We've seen lots and lots of family, and it really has not been for any kind of sad events. Instead we've celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, weddings and holidays - there's been a lot of love going around and I hope it stays that way!

I hope you all have some good things planned for this weekend as well!
 

Sunday, September 11, 2011

What I Gained From September 11th



I wasn't going to post today because I didn't think I could say anything that hasn't been said before. However, I've been walking teary-eyed around my house, trying to find ways to occupy my mind. I have already cleaned, cooked and showered. All the while, I cannot and will not turn off the memorial service on TV. I know that it is a painful thing to watch, trust me, I've been crying all morning, but I do not feel it's fair for me to simply turn it off. So many people do not have the option of turning off the pain they feel every single day, so what gives me the right to click a button and pretend the pain is not there? No, I am a New Yorker, and I am an American, I will not turn off the emotions that have plagued me and so many others.

Ten years ago I was in highschool and we were having a huge "class" meeting in the gym, at the end of the meeting we were briefed that there was a plane crash in the City. We were told we could call our families, but we needed to be back before the start of the next class. During the next class my teacher chose not to teach, but rather she brought in a TV and turned on the news. Some of my other teachers did go on teaching that day, as if nothing happened. But by the end of the day, it was clear that it was not an ordinary day.

When I got home from class my dad and I went out on the boat into the bay off the south shore of Long Island. The weather was beautiful, the waters were calm, and we could see Manhattan smoking in the distance.

I did not lose any close relatives, but I mourned intensely anyway. Looking back I believe I was mourning my own loss of security. As time grew on I became a more and more fearful person. I did not realize the impact 9/11 had on me until years later, when my boyfriend told me he wanted to go into the army. It was senior year of high school and he said he didn't want to go to college, he wanted to enroll in the military. I remember begging him to just have a "normal" career, anything other than the military. I cried and pleaded, and begged that he take some classes at school to explore other career paths. He tried to take some other coursework, and after a few years he decided not to enlist, but rather he wanted to be a cop. I was heartbroken, it was still a dangerous job to me, but I could never complain since the military was his alternative.

We had been together for 3 or 4 years and I was mature enough to know I couldn't tell him what to do. So he took the test, and is now a cop. He is also now my husband.

I respect and admire the women with husbands in the military. They are stronger than I am in every way possible, and I am ashamed to admit it, but it is true. I've become terrified and selfish. I do not want my husband to be a hero, I just want him to be my husband. 

I realized that while so many people lost friends and family on September 11th, I gained something. I gained an intense, deep rooted fear of loss. Today, 10 years later, I still have that fear, and I wish so badly that I didn't. My fear grips me when I least expect it, maybe when I'm in the grocery store buying cold cuts, or driving home from work, or when I'm fast asleep and get jolted awake by an intense feeling of panic.

Every year when the 9/11 memorial is held, I feel the fear that I could someday be one of those people. I could some day be the widow reading my husbands name; I could be the single mother, raising children that do not know their father; I could be the depressed, heartbroken human being that will never be able to move on. Some days my fear is crippling, and I'll have nightmares for weeks on end. My husband works at night, so I fear that while I'm sleeping something horrible will be happening to him, and I won't be able to say goodbye. Every night I go to bed with the fear that I might wake up to tragedy.

You might be reading this and thinking to yourself that I'm sick or something. I don't think I'm sick at all, I think I am exactly like all of the men and women who have a husband or wife that serve in any capacity of the word. I think that part of the attacks on Sept. 11th were specifically to instill this fear in so many people, and I am sorry to be a victim of that.

However, I also feel like my fear makes me appreciate my husband so much more. After watching the family members of all the victims from 9/11, I try desperately to take their advice to heart; appreciate what you have and let your loved ones know you love them. No matter how afraid I am, I absolutely refuse to stop living my life to its fullest. I think I've learned to manage my fear. I've decided that it's OK for me to be afraid for my husband at work, but some of my other fears need to be addressed head on. Last year I did a trapeze class, since I am terrified of heights, and while I'd NEVER do it again, at least I didn't let my fear stop me from trying!

On September 11th I think this country changed permanently because the people changed permanently. I am one of those people, and I am sure there are a lot of others out there that gained a sense of fear. I just hope we all move forward in life and don't pass the fear onto the next generation. Hopefully they will not know the fear we know.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

What's Inspiring Me?

It's Sunday night on a holiday weekend, which means no work tomorrow! So I'm staying up late working on finishing some design work and I find myself completely smitten with Adam Levine & Maroon 5. I've always been a fan of their music, but for some reason these two new songs just made me realize that I love them.

So, thank you Maroon 5, Adam Levine, Gym Class Heroes, and (dare I say) Christina Aguilera for the inspiration to keep me up late tonight!



Enjoy!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Happy Four Day Weekend!



OK, so most of you have three days, but this girl right here has four!!! Yippie!

Here's some of how I plan on spending my four days:

Shipping out all the orders from this week
Finishing some darling stationery for a good friend that's starting a new chapter
Putting together a few more details for the website
Finally posting the last of my wedding vendor reviews
Writing out all of my wedding thank you cards - yay!
Cleaning my home. Yuck!
Oh, it's my brother's birthday. Party time!
Taking some pictures of alllll the recent orders and projects going on here at Believe Notes
And on Tuesday I'm going to the Nate Burkus show with my mom :)

Happy weekend everybody!


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