I've been missing from this blog quite a bit this week, but I'm ok with that. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and quite frankly, sitting inside on a computer was less than appealing. And if I'm being honest, I've quickly worked through my list of things to write that I had stored up in a notebook. It'll be back to the drawing board to brainstorm for a bit.
In lieu of it all, I thought I'd write another happy list, since there has been plenty to be happy about these days.
1 // I spent almost the entire day outside yesterday. I worked briefly in the morning, preparing orders, packed up my tote bag with a sketchbook, pens, my planner, hiking boots, a lunch, my water bottle, camera, and a book and headed off to the outdoors. I went hiking at Oregon Ridge and then drove back into the city to have a late picnic lunch and more time outdoors at the Cylburn Arboretum.
2 // Having the windows open all day. I love being able to air out the house and breath fresh air. It makes me feel less stuck in my tiny studio.
3 // My David Bowie mug. It makes me happy every morning. My second cousin is an amazing potter who uses decals in a lot of his work. He happened to make a few David Bowie mugs after Bowie died, and obviously I needed one. Morning coffee with Mr. Bowie is a great start to the day.
4 // My California travel book arrived yesterday! I love travel books. They make me get serious about planning travel. I'm excited about Joshua Tree, Sequoia, and Yosemite National Parks.
5 // Antonio Brown is going to be on Dancing With the Stars. As many of you know, I don't really watch tv, but I am counting down to March 21st. My Steelers fandom trumps all, and Antonio Brown is already an entertaining guy. Call me a total nerd or dork or whatever, but I'll be watching him (just liked I religiously watched when Hines Ward was on).
6 // My proofs for my new line of cards is supposed to arrive today. I decided to send all of these to the printer because they're heavy in color and mostly all full bleed. They'll do a better job printing them than me, and it's killing me to have to wait for the proofs. I'm way too excited!
7 // I've been working on a custom job, printing and trimming a wedding suite for someone I met through book club here in Baltimore. It's a lot of fun, and it makes me happy to know that I'm playing a small part in her big day.
8 // I've been doing a new weight training regimen, and I'm quickly gaining strength. This probably sounds ridiculous, but in high school I was in the best shape of my life. I blame two a day practices plus a weight training program for basketball. Basketball is serious stuff in Indiana, and we would practice and work out year round, every chance that was given. Regardless, because of that regimen, once I got to college, it felt like freedom to not have to constantly train and work out, so I lost a lot of strength and endurance. Yesterday, I was ten pounds away from what I used to squat back in the day, and I benched five pounds more. Whaaaaaat. Beast mode.
9 // Two words. Tax refunds. We decided that spend it on vacation and house projects. Andrew is checking in with the flooring rep at his office because we can get some super awesome trade discounts (bonus!). We're going to replace the floor in the basement and the tiles in our master bathroom.
10 // I got new tires put on my car on Monday. Normally, car stuff is not happy because it costs a lot. However, my car is 9 years old and it still had the original tires. We never replaced them because my car is also just shy of 25,000 miles (#citylife). They needed to be replaced not because the tread was bare, but because they were dry rotting from being on the car for so long. Regardless, the new tires made my car drive as if it were brand new. Who knew what a difference tires would make!