cranky pixels

So I’m doing this thing, this “30 Tiny Moments” thing, which in theory will result in a post every day, assuming I am that organized. Which, I have been weirdly organized lately. Don’t tell anyone.

Jessica at Kerflop summarized the project thusly:

“I imagine casting my eyes over the usual chaos I’m constantly surrounded by and instead of throwing my hands up in despair, finding something comforting, something real, something I’d like to remember and capturing it with my camera.”

This is the one actual spontaneous, unposed photo from today’s batch…Not So thought I was focusing on the baby. Who was totally vogueing, by the way. He will get in front of the camera and stay stock-still until the flash goes off. It’s freaking hilarious. But, so, Not So, and his water bottle. It is a pretty cool water bottle.

Zen as I might be about socioeconomic status, there’s still a part of me that gets off on being able to Afford Things. Nice things. Things like my prettypretty BlackBerry Pearl or our multitude of Apple products. That part of me really, really wants to join this snooty athletic club that’s $100 a month and totally, completely impractical. But they totally offer childcare, and the idea of paying someone to watch my kid while I take a yoga class? Compelling. (See, because when I leave him with Not So for no reason except that there’s something I ‘want’ to do, I always feel guilty. Yes yes, I know, therapy would help with these things. But – another reason to feel guilty! You see my dilemma.)

I’m starting to feel a little bit like our lives are getting managable, which – hey, there’s a reason I take meds, you know? When just getting out of bed in the morning seems huge and untenable, it’s kind of a big deal to think that things might actually be okay, kind of. It was cleaning the house that did it. We’ve got this great apartment that I love unreasonably (well, except for the permeating smell of Rice Junkies that greets me every morning), but it’s jammed so full of stuff that it might as well be a storage unit. But Not So went all MacGyver on the stuff in Ellison’s room this weekend, so not only is all our old crap hidden successfully in the closet, we finally got to assemble the kid’s toddler bed! And, dude, don’t even get me started on how exciting it is to think that someday in the possibly near future I may be able to sleep through the night again. In any position I want. I can barely contain my potential bliss.

Next step is to get our room whipped into shape. This is a bit more complicated than it sounds, since we’re waiting to be able to afford these cheap-but-cute wardrobes from Ikea so that I can stop keeping my clothes in a big ol’ Rubbermaid storage bin and actually explore the idea of drawers.

Taking a break from the novel, seeing as I’m premenstrual and liable to begin using the delete key in a decidedly unhelpful manner. A long time ago I figured out that my creativity is cyclical, and trying to force it along is always, always a huge mistake.

Besides, I’ve got work projects galore, and happily THAT sort of creativity is pretty much always on tap. My logo project is coming along nicely, and the new ecommerce client promises to be more fun than kittens. And kittens? Are a lot of fun.

I’ve got a great idea for the redesign of the Cranky Pals site, too. Because CLEARLY it needs another facelift. Pretty much since I stopped rearranging the house at regular intervals or dyeing my hair a different color every six weeks, I’ve been pouring my energy into website redesigns. It’s a sickness. But hey, it gives me something to do, right?

Speaking of, I turned neumanbeck.com into a Tumblr page (redirect isn’t live yet, but it’s here) and gave it a lovely custom skin. This is how I spend my free time, people. This, and gossip blogs. (Hey, it’s research.)

Oh, kick ass. I just found out that Hart’s Fabric has eco felt, made from recycled post-consumer plastic bottles! Dude, I cannot even express how cool this is. Paired with some eco-friendly batting, and the Cranky Pals are going green!

Just did a big order to stock up on supplies for the next Crafty Mamas Bazaar. Fun fun.

You know, I don’t like Oreos much, but these Back to Nature Classic Creme cookies? Dude, they are the bomb. Not So says they taste insufficiently Oreo-like, but I love them with the heat of a thousand suns.

I am eating some right now. In case you were wondering where that came from.

In other news, I am writing again (yay!) but decided to chuck 20,000 words of my 40,000 word manuscript (…boo). But I’ve written 5000 words in the last week, and that’s something, right? You know what’s funny, I read Neil Gaiman’s blog, like, constantly, and I was getting all set to sit down and write about my writing process (as he does, on occasion), but then I realized two things: 1) I am not Neil Gaiman and 2) nobody cares. So I decided to have some cookies, instead. Good times.

One of my readers asked where I got my felt, and it occurs to me – I know stuff! Stuff about things! I will share it with you. Don’t say I never got you anything.

Felt: I get my felt from either Distinctive Fabric or Hart’s (which, I was amused to discover, is based in my old home town – they ship anywhere, though). They both sell by the yard (and a yard of felt is a LOT), but check the remnants first, especially if you aren’t looking for a particular color.

Shirt blanks: I have a wholesale account with American Apparel (you have to go through an application process, but I didn’t have any problem getting approved). The nice thing is that you can order in small quantities, so I can just get what I need instead of having to buy shirts by the case in every size.

Labels: Name Maker prints text on ribbon, and I’ve found it perfect for labels on the Cranky Pals. I got the pale green with polka dots on the border; the dots disappear after the first machine washing, but the text remains (and still looks good).

Other fabrics: I have a love thing for Bolt Fabric Boutique (they’re local; no idea if they ship). That’s where I get the fuzzy blue stuff for Twonk.

Supplies: Michael’s, mostly. I use embroidery thread for the stitching.

So I’m doing the February Crafty Mamas Bazaar at Milagros. I haven’t done one in a looooong time, so it should be really fun. ‘Course, it means I need to make more toys, which (in turn) means I need more felt. Lots more felt. More felt, and more batting. Hello, shopping list!

I’d update with something substantive, but I’ve had this same damned headache for more than a week, and I’ve got to tell you, it’s lost much of its charm. And so have I! Plus, my kid just scribbled all over our new couch with a pen, and the atmosphere in my house is now somewhat strained. Bah. This is what we get for having a sand-colored couch and a toddler, all at the same time.

Maybe I will crochet today.