my sis was giving away lots of cds and i snagged all 5 Muse albums. their older stuff reminds me of radiohead from the kid-a days. you should check them out, if you havent already.

more music picks below:

our house is officially ours. we've yet to spend a night in it, but we will soon!

Ani & Damien's New House: isnt it cute?

by some lucky miracle, i got a christmas cracker this year! yay! did you get one too? you did?! great! share your jokes (and whatever other goodies were inside), if you remember them!

maybe i'm thinking too hard on it, but i'm still trying to make sense of my joke...

Q: What does a snail use to polish his shell?

A: Snail Varnish

ok, so they were over-priced, under-quality americanized crackers from some super-posh boutique. also included were a paper crown (silver and blue) and a mini notepad. actually, now that i think about it, it was rather disappointing after the *crack*.

Meow!so, a few weeks ago while out picking up kitten necessities, i stumbled upon the cutest halloween doggie costumes and couldnt resist picking a couple up to torment my sweet kittens with. Sofie's already shown you one in the scores, the jester's collar, complete with bells which now send Cashews running if he hears them. the other costume i got, a witch's hat, i picked out for Bella, but was too afraid to even attempt to put it on her (she doesnt put up with any crap from anyone and is very quick to show you with her claws just how much she is NOT amused). not wanting the costume i paid more than $10 for to go to complete waste, poor kitten Cashews, with his 'whatever' attitude and easy going personality (catinality?), was an easy mark. and we caught it on film. err.. digicard.

i'm really enjoying the new job. it's been 9 weeks or so now, and while i DO miss hanging out with the family every day, i enjoy more having actual responsibility and being able to prove my skills and even learn something new on a daily basis. there is always a sense of accomplishment when i print a final piece of art for production (whether created by me or by someone else and adjusted by me to fit our pre-print specifications). this was the perfect move for me, especially at this time with so much happening with Damien's printing company, GLPD (2nd year has been phenominal and we're expecting the 3rd to be even better). i get to do something i enjoy, with even some side projects at work that will eventually allow me to put my web design and coding skills to work as well. i feel like the job is a weigh-station between where i didnt want to be (dad's) and where i do want to be (GLPD), but i can be happy there in the meantime, doing what i like and being good at it. something else is that this job has shown me that i AM good at it, and not just floundering to stay afloat to get through whatever art and/or order crisis is at hand. and i have learned a lot about pre-press in general, and now Damien and i "talk shop" a lot, usually him giving me ideas how to fix some problem i'm having, since i didnt know much of the pre-press/offset side of printing before i started the new job. it's definitely a challenge sometimes, and can be stressful at times, too, but always in a good way, and never without a sense of satisfaction when the day is done. my one and only complaint is that country music plays all day long, whether in the office or in the shop. i spend my lunch breaks in my car, blaring whatever rock/alt rock music i happen to have in my cd player.

i got a new job!!!

as of Monday, August 7, i will no longer be in the employ of my father's accounting firm, but rather in the employ of PrintProd, Inc, a custom tag maker. i'll be customer service/admin, taking orders from customers and typesetting their information onto tags for print. i'm excited to be moving into a paying position in a field i want to be in. i've been doing typesetting and graphic design for a while now with hubby's company, but as an unpaid intern (and loving every second of it -- i'd much rather do what i want to do all day for nothing than be paid for doing something i hate). a wage increase and the possibility of medical benefits round out the goodness of the new position.

i always get confused when my cookies have expired and i have to sign in again.

this is the show i just worked at the theatre and even tho i only got to see small bits and pieces of it, you MUST SEE THIS SHOW!! and lucky for you, it's playing in london (Apollo Victoria Theatre) on a limited run until 17 July 2006. see http://www.movinout.co.uk (or http://movingout.uvision.net if you're state-side or elsewhere -- they have plans for japan later in the year, but nothing posted after that, so keep checking -- they may be coming to a venue near you!) for more information, including dates and times, ticket prices and general information about the show.

i wont go into too many details unless they're requested, but the show is simply amazing. there is no dialog, only music (except one small part). the dancers are stunning, the band is fantastic and the entire cast were a delight to work with. it is a different cast in london, but i imagine the dancing will be equally superior as the cast i worked with. we had 16 performances over two weeks and they received standing ovations at EVERY show.

if you DO happen to see it, let us know what you think!

next week and the week after i'll be at the theatre again, helping out with the wardrobe. i love the work, except that i get SO behind on everything else i'm doing. which is not a good thing when you've got your own company! luckily, i'm just the backup.

i currently have to do:

rework greenleafprinting.com to work in browsers other than just explorer (d'oh!)

rework transformationmarketing.com to work in browsers other than just explorer (at least it's not published yet?)

rework Sally & Ben's wedding website to work in browsers other than just explorer (d'oh! altho this one only has some minor tweaks...)

ad for greenleafprinting.com for the comic convention program

ad for fearless readers for the comic convention program

rework some of the design elements for the comic convention program

finish writerelf.com's logo, then do the site coding, taking care to be sure it works in browers other than just explorer (!)

rework startaservice.com to work in browsers other than just explorer (not only done, but done AND valid!! woohoo! -- now if only i could get the content.....)

errrr.... i'm sure there's something else?

oh yeah -- need to code the site for the non-profit, if only they would ever a) decide which of the 4 mockups i sent them they like and/or b) tell me what they like/dont like about said mockups, so i can waste another several hours coming up with something new..... which, of course, they wont like either... *sigh*

and, wouldnt you know it, i'm going to miss the comic convention on the 2nd because i'll be at the theatre. not that i'm a comic nerd (*ducks* in case there's one standing close), but i've been with the project since it's infancy, and to miss the end result just seems a bit harsh to me.

thought i'd share some piccies of Lawrence's rose blooming. definitely wasnt expecting it this year!