Freaky Friday

My New Year's resolution this year was to transition to a 10-hour, 4 day workweek and spend Fridays on personal development. Yes, I realize that it's Tax Time, and I still haven't quite mastered that whole "honor thy resolutions" thing... However, I do have a pretty perfect Friday in mind that I am working towards:

• Get up at 8 (sleeping in 1.5 hours!),
• Head to the gym for morning Pilates,
• Work on my art side business (graphic design, woodburnings, etc),
• Volunteer at the Humane Society for a few hours,
• Read,
• and then find a patio somewhere to enjoy the evening & have a "shift beer" with Josh.
  

Ohhhhh, I cannot wait. Right now it's most of that, minus animals & art, plus a lot of work, family, and activities all back-to-back, 7 days straight. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Yes, I thrive on busy, productive, fulfilling days and enjoy them perhaps more than I should. Friday has nothing to do with time off. It's more about having the structure in place to include even more important things in my life. My schedule is always booked anyway; at least now I'd have a few hours already penciled in for me-time instead of a million other things. Otherwise, I'll never get around to it.

I have, however, done a few art projects for others on the side. My most recent project was to design a logo for a start-up company. A girl who went to my high school is starting her own photography business, and she asked me to create a logo for her. She is focusing on babies and children, so it needed to be casual, organic, and fun. Here's the finished product:

Once she gets a Web site set up, I'll post a link so you can check her out. It's so encouraging to see people pursue their creative passions. Speaking of passions and photography, I'll leave you with a few photos my friend, Paul Hassell, took on his recent Patagonia trip.

He is absolutely amazing. If you love photography and the outdoors, you need to check out his Web site. Not only is he a phenomenal photographer, but he offers workshops as well. One of the kindest guys you'll ever meet. And fearless, which all photographers must be.

Enjoy your weekend. It's springtime!

Ashley.


"It's not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?" --Henry David Thoreau

Pitcha Perfect

Are you one of those people with millions of photos on your computer that you just haven't gotten around to printing yet? I've fallen victim to the digital graveyard more than once with a crashed computer. However, I always had a hard time printing out each photo. Sure, that shot may tell part of a story about a trip or experience, but it just doesn't stand on its own enough to warrant the huge effort of printing out (and storing it in a box that will hide under our coffee table for another few years until it sees the light of day). Plus, I hate those huge, bulky photo albums. Plastic sleeves, no thanks. And I've never been one to properly align the sticky plastic sheet back and often wear out the tackiness by the time I smooth out the wrinkles.

Enter MyPublisher, a program that lets you create customized bound books. I've used MyPublisher for a number of projects, from small paperback books (5.75"x7.75") to the classic & deluxe hardcover books (upwards of 11.5"x15"). When I first started using this, their templates for page layouts were pretty rigid, but the upgraded version now allows for complete flexibility. I've heard others using similar programs, like Shutterfly, but my heart is with MyPublisher. I get discounts and promotions e-mailed to me a few times each month, and the prices are already fair to begin with. Plus, I have a bookshelf of all of my projects, so if I ever lose a book--not that I would ever be so careless of course--I can buy a new one without doing the work over.

Here's a shot from a small paperback I made on our trip to Florida last summer:

Here's a peek at a bigger book I made as a Christmas present to family members after our trip to Hawaii in September:

So photos, fear no more. You will not be forgotten along with old school papers and Excel budget sheets from 2003. Welcome to your new home.

Ashley.


"A good photograph is knowing where to stand" --Ansel Adams