Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Drumming up biz...

Got a few leads from lunch with my print rep for some web design prospects. He seemed to like the idea of my referral kickback (my solution to my lack of networking skills). :-) But he just gave me phone numbers...I still have to call these people!! Guess I need to work on my sales pitches after all. Here's what I got so far..."uhm, hello...I think, um, you were, um, looking for a g-graphic d-designer?". I hope this gets easier...

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Are YOU on my sidebar?? ---->

If you are aren't, that means you don't have a happenin' blog! Or I just forgot... so leave me a comment with the link and I'll add it. :-)

Monday, March 27, 2006

Why I don't get manicures...


Sometimes you use the chalk marks to find where the next hold on a climb is...well, for this particular climb, I left some red markings. But it's my favorite climb thus far, and I WILL conquer it one day...

Anyhow! Another good climbing weekend, managed a spur of the moment trip out to Carderock on Saturday with Jason and some climbing gym fellas. Sunday, headed out to Great Falls where we ended up climbing with a bunch of other people, which is always fun.


But hold on, before you start thinking I'm a total slacker for spending my whole weekend playing on rocks. I'll have you know that when I was not out busting up my cuticles, I was slaving away on my laptop working on my website. I'm quite excited about it, it's been 3 weeks and I haven't changed my mind on the layout...that's a 1st!

Friday, March 24, 2006

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Update on the website issue...

Okay, I really need to stop complaining but one last little rant and I promise to count to ten, do some deep breathing, blah blah blah...

So, I update our website with a design that, to me, is a happy medium to the unrealistic expectations they have. I thought it turned out okay, not what I originally had in mind. But given the situation...


Crazy control freak replies "I don't like it". I say "what specifically, do you not like about it?". She says, "I don't like anything about it". Okay... So, Monday comes around and she sends me this. This is what she wants the website to look like...



Seriously now, have I lost my eye for aesthetics? I'm not the worlds greatest designer...but come on.

Monday, March 20, 2006

M'mm, mm...love 'dem squishy fries...

I've unlocked the secret to getting Tyler to eat. Below is a picture of a little boy (who's diet consists of cheerios, more cheerios, and the occasional PB&J) eating calamari. How did I do it, you ask? We told him they were squishy french fries...he inhaled them. :-)

Friday, March 17, 2006

So ridiculous, it's funny...

I've decided to take my work frustrations and see the humor in it. How else can I deal with this nonsense...

Okay, so not only do I have major issues with my company's website. But there's yet another website that I designed for one of our Board members. Everything was lovely until we decided to go live. I knew that someone had bought the domain name but no hosting plan. So I wanted to get the account info for the domain so I could add a host plan to it. 3 MONTHS LATER...I'm given access to the domain account and lo and behold, someone has already purchased a web host through another company. And here's the kicker...nobody knows this person who set up the web host. Pardon my acronyms, but WTF??!! And believe me, I wouldn't even care about this if it weren't for the fact it makes me look bad.

Laugh it off, Amanda...laugh it off...

They have their moments...

They are few and far between, but they do get along sometimes!


Parker, Ty's and a Spongebob puzzle.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Work rant...

It's been a few weeks...it's time. And this one is good (good meaning BAD!).

Here's the main issue: The company website. Currently, it's crap. For about 5 months I've had a layout done and everyone liked it, I was just waiting on content. Well, the person who was going to give me content apparently didn't have time so it was then delegated to a person who didn't like the re-design. Being the nice, easy-going person I am (yes, at work, I really am...) I say okay, let's talk. So after a few meetings and ideas...I'm working on a re-design when she casually mentions that 'oh, by the way...our parent company is going to require us to use their website template'. Holy crap...what the heck am I designing this for? In a very nice way, I email and ask her just that. So today she lays in on me about how I shouldn't question her authority. ...okay, freak.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Kirkpatrick's recap, the drama!!....

The band played at Kirkpatrick's (Ashburn) this weekend, sooo much fun! I can't speak for the rest of the guy's, but I enjoyed playing there more than any other bar we've played to date.

And get this...so I'm singing a slow dance song and all of a sudden some girl goes flying into Thom. I'm thinking, 'great, some drunk girl' then I look up and a bouncer is dragging this big, mad guy out the door. Cops come, he gets arrested. Meanwhile, drunk girl is on the floor holding her wrist. They eventually take her outside and an ambulance comes. Well, turns out...big, mad guy was the drunk girl's husband...wait, it get's better...AND drunk girl winds up mouthing off to the cops, they arrest her too! I can only hope that when I get married, I have as healthy a relationship as theirs. Getting arrested together = love. ;-D

Anyways! Management really liked us so heading back to Kirkpatrick's will hopefully be in our near future again. We will keep everyone posted as to when we will wreak more havoc in Ashburn...

The great outdoors...

What an awesome,awesome weekend. Climbed at Carderock, MD on Saturday and the weather was perfect. This would be the second time climbing outdoors for this year, first one was an unseasonably warm day in February. However, this time around, the rock was MUCH warmer! My friend mentioned a climbing trip out to Wyoming...so I may be heading west, should the timing work out! Crossing my fingers.

Headed out to Carderock yet again on Sunday. No climbing this time, well actually...Jason solo'd some easy stuff (being that I won't climb friggin' stairs without a rope, I said nay!). And during our little bushwhacking adventure he managed to discover some mutant beetle! kinda scary...

And here's the best part...finally bought rope, webbing, and locking biners. I'm set to go, very excited!!


My new best friend.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Thursday, March 09, 2006

A new Photoshop me...

I woke up this morning a new person. From this day forward, I will dedicate myself to achieve the following Photoshop resolutions...

I WILL learn how to use the pen tool efficiently.
I WILL design something utilizing the vanishing point filter (it's just way too nifty to not!).
I WILL NOT be intimidated by alpha channels

Amen.

8,000 layers?!!? :-O

So, I went to a Photoshop seminar yesterday and let me just say, our instructor...incredible. The images he created blew me away in the amount of detail in them, it's just amazing. I was inspired, the most layers I've ever used for one project is maybe 50. Well, this guy uses 8,000+ layers for some of his...good lawrd!!!. Check it out: Bert Monroy

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

This is why I don't care...

I'm officially frustrated. I was all happy because I was done with one of my annoying newsletters yesterday...sent off to the printers, thought everything was lovely. Turns out, they forgot to send me an important article that needed to go on the front page. So...delete the super cool graphic that I had, re-work the continuation page, insert some cheesy clip art because I don't have the time to do anything else. And there you have it, another newsletter that looks like crap because of last second changes.

And just as a side note, if you paid $200 for an ad...why on earth wouldn't you spell check it before submitting it?! '

Okay, I'm done.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Holy desktop, Batman!

All my fellow 'save-to-desktop' addicts can appreciate this (you know who you are!!). I gave it a little feng shui treatment by speading some stuff onto my second monitor...a little less cluttery...maybe...or did I just manage to spread the clutter?

New songs and they're mine, ALL MINE!!

Well, I don't get too many songs (especially with so many wedding requests that 95% of the time are male vocals)...so I'm relishing the fact that Swiftkick has 3 new songs and I get to sing them. Yay. :) Paint It Black, When You Say Nothing At All, and Don't Play That Song (You Lied).

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Ty's Favorite Songs

Hung Up - Madonna (he totally jams and sings along to this whole CD. It's great, we sing together.)
Hollaback Girl - No Doubt (the EDITED version!)
Holiday - Green Day
Pieces of Me - Ashlee Simpson
I Like To Move It - Courtesy of Madagascar (the dance that accompanies this is awesome)

Not bad...it's not Snoop Dog or The Wiggles, I'm good with it. I'm still working on getting him into Pete Yorn.



Ty's playing Hullabaloo...great game for little people.

Thursday, March 02, 2006

I just want my website back :(

Okay, so maybe I wasn't diligently on top of my website as I should have been. So maybe my little on-the-side jobs took a back seat to the boy, the band, and climbing. I should've known that when I do decide to get back on the scene...my web host would just fall off the face of the earth. Because it's me, and that's my luck.

I've spent the good part of today on the phone with three different companies that seem to be associated with the web host I went with. Lesson learned: stick with the web hosts you know and love...