I am thankful

Today I decided to write about something positive… The last year, as some of you may know, as not been one of the top ten years in my life :D. I lost my job in November of 2008 and have been unsuccessful in finding a new one. I have also tried unsuccessfully to sell my home in Florida and have nothing but horrible, horrible things to say about Wells Fargo Bank. But I am thankful… weird huh?

I am thankful for Mike, he's my rock and my best friend … he makes me laugh and puts up with my craziness. I am thankful for my dog, she listens to me when I am ramble and grumble about my life during the day when there is no one else to talk to. I am thankful for my family, my parents, my sisters and my brother. Without their love and support I honestly don't think I could have made it through the last year…

So to my friends, my family and all those who I have connected with in the last year… thank you!!

Rant of the Day/Week/month

I am ranting and I am so sorry… I just have to say it! This may be a daily, weekly or monthly rant about what is bothering me in today's world. I, like everyone else, have an opinion about things and I as I don't get out much and Facebook only gives you limited characters to speak your mind, I decided late last night that I would rant, rave, opine and sound off. I hope you all don't mind, but then I guess if you do, you can just not read my post.

I am starting my blogrant (new word – yup urban dictionary you can use it, just give me credit) on a recent news subject… Sarah Palin going to Fox news as a Pundit. It may not seem such a thing would make you want to rant, but I think that there are people in this world who have used up there five minutes and are scratching and clawing there way back into the spot light. She, my friends, is one of them. First of all, as you all know Pundit is a Sanskrit word that means "learned." Now I am not saying that Ms.Palin is uneducated, I just don't think she has the expertise to expound on our political future. But then again, it is Fox… which, hopefully, is not the answer to our political future.

These are things that this so-called expert believes: Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11, that the insurance bill included a "death panel," her foreign policy experience, I mean come on if she can see Russia than she knows ALL about Russsia,  and my personal favorite she is quoted as saying that "there is a special place in hell for women who don't support other women…"

I guess it really isn't that big of deal on the grand scale of things that are wrong with this world. Unemployment, Equality in Marriage, Global Warming, War…………, but it is my rant today and maybe I'll tackle some of the other indecencies on a later day… My last thought of the day is that if this woman ever becomes president, I am moving to Canadaa… 'nuff said!

Gettin' my groove on…

I decided that since I'm a designer, albeit not a web designer, that I should attempt to create a header for my blog… voila! Feedback is greatly appreciated, but remember what your momma says, "if you haven't got anything nice to say………." J/k, write what you want, I have pretty thick skin from taking creative criticism from non-creatives…

I created the header in Photoshop and each piece represents a little about me. There is so much more I can jam in there, and maybe I will redo someday or add it as I find interesting things… we'll see.

I amaze even myself

I am really getting into this whole blog thing, and I even created a new link!! I uploaded a bunch of photos that I have taken over the past year. Most of which I edited in Photoshop, some just a slight adjustment of color, some cropped. Nothing fancy, but even though I have been snapping pictures and working with Photoshop for eons, I haven't really played much with the images unless they were for one of my designs. I might go tramping through the fresh snow today and snap a few more images, we'll see how motivated I get!!

BTW, in case anyone cares, The Banh Mi was de-lic-ious and here's the recipe I used. Thanks so much to Banh Mi Battle for posted this recipe. I fried my in a wok until it was crispy on the outside. Since I have never eaten one before, I am not sure if that's the right way, but we loved it. Served it on crusty Italian Bread (next time will use a softer bread), with homemade pickled carrots, lettuce, mayo and jalapenos. Awesome!

Banh Mi

I discovered a new recipe today… Banh Mi. It's a Vietnamese pork sandwich with pickled carrots. I hope it comes out as good as it looks. I am making the black pepper version, with homemade pickled carrots and homemade french bread. Ambitious, I know! I'll let you know how it tastes, might even post pics and recipes if survey says it's a keeper…

Blog Day One

This is my first Blog evah!!! I am so excited to start … my excitement may wane, but I will try to keep this updated as often as I can. I am one of the millions of unemployed … have been for more than 14 months. By trade, I am, I think, a creative and talented graphic designer. I enjoy cooking anything; eating (kind of goes hand in hand with cooking :D; doing ANY crossword puzzle - but NYT is my face; photography and anything related to Macintosh computers and design.

Because of the lack of work in my area, I have returned back to school to get a degree in Accounting. People always say "Wow, design and accounting, those can't be farther away in terms of the right/left brain thingie!!!" I disagree completely. Graphic design is both artistic and mathematical. Being able to see a page and know exactly how to place your design so that it flows and makes sense involves both sides of the brain.

Once I get this whole Blog thing down, I'll post some of my designs and photographs, and maybe even some of the many recipes that I have in my 'keeper" file…