Just a quick note to say, sixhours.net has a new look (finally!), and there are new goodies in the Calobee Doodles Etsy shop! You can also visit the Calobee Doodles Web site and subscribe to the RSS feed for more updates. Yes, I’m attempting to maintain multiple blogs at once. We all know how this will end, but humor me, won’t you?
It’s long overdue, but I’m happy to announce the brand new Calobee Doodles Web site!
It’s a showcase of my doodles, as well as an archive of past custom orders. I needed a separate place to show off my illustrations, because let’s face it–my photographs and doodles are two very different beasts and at times it feels as if I’m catering to different audiences.
Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to geek around, and what better way than to build a new Web site? This one was particularly fun because I got to be a bit more playful with the layout. At some point in the near future I hope to redesign sixhours.net as well… it’s been over a year (where does the time go?). As if I don’t do enough of this stuff at my day job… I’m practically dreaming in PHP and CSS these days.
Speaking of which, I’ll tell you a story. You know how I posted earlier about Elspeth and how she’s typically a great sleeper, right? Well, I totally jinxed myself with that post, because suddenly the little bean is waking up in the middle of the night to eat–after almost eight weeks of sleeping through without so much as a peep. Apparently someone’s going through a growth spurt.
Anyway, at 3 a.m. last Saturday, my sleep-deprived brain had the craziest thought:
I bet I could write a PHP function to illustrate Ellie’s sleep habits.*
Yes, I actually thought, “I could probably program my daughter in PHP.” That’s how bad it is, people. I’m now applying computer coding principles to completely organic situations… I think it’s time to step away from the computer and get some sun.
What is this “sun” you speak of? Never mind, I’ll just Google it.
I’ve been a busy little bee! Calobee Doodles has been updated with a new poster design and a new custom listing. Yay!
Happy 26th to me! Hurrah!
Birthday with baby definitely changes things a bit. It’s not as easy to run off to a movie or dinner, or take an impromptu trip to Portland or Bar Harbor… everything has to be planned more thoroughly with Elspeth in tow. Thankfully we have awesome family and friends to help pick up the slack. My parents came to visit last weekend and watched Ellie for a few hours while T & I had an evening out–we saw the new Daniel Craig movie, Defiance. And the lovely Danielle was kind enough to sit for us on Thursday so T & I could have a birthday dinner at Olive Garden and do a little shopping. Both outings were a welcome reprieve from diapers and feedings, but each time I was more than ready to come home and snuggle our baby girl. It’s funny how I miss the freedom and spontaneity, but I wouldn’t trade her for my old life, not for a second.
So what would a birthday be without birthday goodies? First, my wonderful husband took all the baby duties on himself so I could sleep last night (oh, delicious, delicious sleep!)–that was enough of a present in itself, but then he bumped it up a notch by surprising me with a Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit! Yay!! I’ve been eying the system ever since they introduced the fitness component… I’m all for things that make exercise bearable, if not (dare I say it?) fun. We justified the expense by reminding ourselves that a year-long membership to the campus rec center costs about the same, and a new treadmill or elliptical would cost even more (but let’s ignore the fact that I have a perfectly good working treadmill upstairs, ok?). Plus, have you looked outside lately? It’s cold–like, below-zero cold. Icy and snowy and generally not baby-friendly… a brisk walk with the stroller is a great idea in theory, but we’re basically stuck in the house until spring.
So until then, I’m going to get down and dirty with my Mii.
It’s the perfect way to get back on track after almost a year of slacking in the exercise department… and boy, am I in need. Feeding Ellie requires that I have my butt in a chair for most of the day, so I haven’t been all that motivated to get up and move, and over the last couple weeks the sluggishness has taken its toll. When I don’t move, I get cranky, and crankiness can quickly spiral into depression–depression that is only magnified by the intense life change of having a new baby, and my usual vulnerability to these long, cold winter days. It’s not even about weight loss–I just want to feel better and take care of my body. For that reason, my fitness goals are not about shedding pounds or toning muscles–they’ll focus on the fact that I’m moving, period. My aim is to start with at least 20 minutes of Wii Fit time, five days a week, then I’ll bump up the time as I go along. I think it will be fun!
It was a busy, productive weekend, which is exactly the kind of weekend I like best. I made these fabric thumbtacks, Tim and I spent some time in the kitchen making meals for the week (the fridge is packed full), I doodled a bit (see my pretty new desktop?), had dinner with Sarah and Ian, and hung out with Danielle.
One thing I didn’t do that I wanted to was set up another photo shoot, but that’s OK. Thankfully Danielle is in the area often, so it’s not hard to find a few hours here and there. The days are getting longer, too, which helps tremendously, because I can schedule shoots after work instead of restricting myself to weekends.
I also spent a bit of money, which is something I’ve been trying to avoid doing lately, especially where sales have been slower than usual… but I couldn’t resist a bit of retail therapy. In the spirit of NaBloPoMo, a list:
Also: Stay tuned for a contest! Someone’s Etsy anniversary is coming up…