Mac and I made our way over to the park yesterday. He had never been there before and he was so excited! There was actual GRASS, and it was GREEN! The weather was a bit overcast and there was a slight breeze. Mac sniffed EVERYTHING (twice) and after he was sufficiently wore out we made our way back home. We had a very good sleep last night, to say the least.

Click the image for more some more green.

instagram images by me

This is going on my UNOFFICIAL BIRTHDAY REGISTRY Pinterest board. Going from line drawing to vector in one step = sweet. Limited availability in the US (amazon). I read some reviews, this one was the best.

Pictures that make you think.

Finding this site was the highlight of my day. Lots to look at and you can order t-shirts of your favorites. Very cool. My Brain is mush since I’m on virtually no sleep. Mac was sick over the weekend and let’s just say…there was a lot of cleaning and deoderizing going on. Poor little guy. I’m hoping today is a better day for him (and me).

via Bloesem Kids

Creativity isn’t magic… but it’s pretty close.

I found this bunnycam over at hellogiggles yesterday (click image to go to live bunnycam). Way too cute. Speaking of cute (there is so much of it going around lately!) have you seen Erin and Ken on mom.me? I’m completely smitten with these guys.

This animated short by Patrick Boivin makes me smile. I had to watch it 3 times (ok, 4 times). Visit Patrick’s vimeo to see how he gave life to a vintage toy.  I wish I could have gotten it to embed here on the blog at a larger size but the new embed code for Vimeo has got me stumped. Minus a few fun hours with old friends on Saturday, I spent most of my weekend in a funk. I’ve decided to take on some new personal projects to help snap me out of it. Mostly fun online tutorials, craft projects and brainstorming new things to add to the shop. Got a shiny new notebook today, can’t wait to scribble all over it! I found a fun tutorial over at Hank & Hunt last week that I’ve been meaning to share with you. And, I put what I learned to good use making little animated GIFs of my favorite AT-AT moments:

(Head over to Hank & Hunt for Photoshop tutorial on how to make animated GIFs like these.)

Today was not a great day. Mac was evil all morning and I woke up with a lot pain and very little patience. Work was awful, I got home really late and finally had a moment to relax around 10 o’clock. Relaxing, for me, means catching up on twitter, facebook and reading my favorite blogs while eating popsicles before dragging myself up the stairs to bed (so glamorous, I know). Tonight, while relaxing, I caught a thread on twitter from Ez @creaturecomfort which led me to this post about sharing more real-life (or less filtered) content on our blogs and how our envy of the pretty little vignettes of life we see on blogs, and the like, can eat away at us… causing feelings of being “less than”. I’m summarizing, of course. I read Ez’s whole post (wicked long – but worth it) and then went on to read many other posts on the same topic from other blog authors. It was very interesting and comforting, and encouraging to read some of the real details of peoples lives. The not so pretty things that make us all real and perfectly imperfect humans.

1. I have been feeling irrelevant for about a month or so. I am concerned it has something to do with reading blogs by people who I “used to” relate to but somehow their “new book”, “new husband”, “new baby” news has left me feeling less than. And also, feeling a bit “left behind” somehow.
2. I classify myself as an underachiever.
3. I hate my smile. It’s BIG and crooked and hardly ever smile in pictures because of it.
4. I live paycheck to paycheck even though I’ve had the same job for 11 years, a college degree and lived in the same townhouse for 7 years. I just opened my first savings account. It currently has $11 in it.
5. I literally ate a whole can of frosting in the course of two nights (really, really). I’m not a stress eater but I think the aforementioned “irrelevant” feelings are starting to change that.
6. I use big words like “aforementioned” sometimes in blog posts to offset my whole underachiever thing.
7. I am really crappy at relationships, I have HUGE trust issues that prevent me from letting anybody get too close.
8. I have chronic inflammation (since I was 20) and it affects my hips and spine. I am in pain most of the time (allergic to most pain medication) and it prevents me from wanting to meet new people, since they will eventually see me in pain and that makes me vulnerable. I also hate pity, so I (try) to avoid this topic when people say I “look tired” or ask if I’ve hurt myself.
9. I am SUPER clumsy. I am the one that trips up the stairs, breaks my own bones, faints in the street or tells a story at the bar with grand hand gestures that knock a beer into the air and showers my best friend with Michelob Light.
   
10. I used to think I knew how my life was going to be, but after my divorce I stopped making plans… or wanting things like a family… because I am afraid of it being taken from me… again. I know this is bad.

That’s a lot of stuff… there’s more of course but… no need to spill all the ugly beans at once, right?

Cinemagr.am is a free app that takes your iPhone pics and makes them into animated gifs – and I just read that a version for Android is in the works (YAY!). Can’t wait!

found via James Hance Tumblr

I know it’s May, but this image was taken in upstate New York where winter weather lasts about 9 months, or so. Aren’t they so adorable in their cape and, little hat and coat? All those curls!! This image is by Mary Nichols (a photographer located in Syracuse, NY) and of my friend Chrissa’s kiddles (Abby and Adam). Thank you, Chrissa, for letting me post this and you chose an awesome photog!

image links to mary nichols photography

Mac had his first trip to the beach the other day. It was hilarious. He was freaked out by the squishy sand and immediately put on the breaks when the ground started moving out from under him. He pretty much surfed his way down the incline of the beach to the packed sand. He was interested in the water until a wave sneaked up on him and he high-tailed it outta there! He spent the rest of his time sniffing dog tracks and shells and chased a random tennis ball until he caught a glimpse of another dog further down the beach. He was thoroughly exhausted by the time we made it back to the car and slept on the way home. Good dog.

instagram image © Aimee Elizabeth McEwen