Visit from the Fam

   Dad, Diane & Lindsey drove in from Columbus this evening. And they delivered this amazing painting by Tamara Peterson, of which I am now the proud owner. Have to figure out where to hang it. The dining room is probably the place. Which is perfect, because now I can sit down and stare at it all day because I love it so much.

   Tam was one of a small handful of my very very favorite instructors at CCAD, and I owe a lot to her for all she taught me about design, color, craftsmanship, work ethic, and life in general. She was a critical influence during my most formative years as an artist. And now that I'm leading a team I realize how important all the "other stuff" she taught me is, too... and holy cow, that lady can PAINT!

No caption needed. Huge smile says it all!

   My animals especially liked Lindsey. She seems to be a natural with them, and Gypsy even does "招き猫" for her. Though she looks slightly annoyed in this particular photo:

Lindsey tries to capture The Gyp doing Maneki Neko.

   I called my home phone from my cell phone to show off Aki's best trick. She howls every time it rings. No idea why. Taylor doesn't get it either. But I think it's pretty charming!

Aki does her howl-at-the-phone trick, right on cue

   We made it a low-key evening since we all had to get up early in the morning for Dog-n-Jog...

Easton, the day after

Kristin & I headed to Easton for some good old-fashioned after-Christmas shopping in Insanityland. The AMC here is formal & neatly decorated, similar to the Main Street theater in downtown Kansas City. Kristin & I took a brief lunch break, and I met up with my high school buddy Eric Van Wagner for some Mongolian BBQ. (He's teaching a "music for animation" class at CCAD now, so he & Charlotte see each other occasionally. Worlds colliding!!) Here are the guys cooking our food, while I tried unsuccessfully to sneak a photo. Busted!

Then it was back to shopping with Kristin. One of our adventures included me getting a professional bra-fitting at Nordstrom's, which I had never had before. Kristin had bet that I've been wearing the wrong size my whole life. She won. Here's a totally boobular shot at Macy's:

At one point while in Anthropologie, my Blackberry buzzed with a text from Kristin: "I'm hitting fitting rooms; I can't carry anymore" All I can say is "LOL." As usual, I had amazing luck while shopping with her. I think I should pay her to do it for me so I won't have to.

blast from the past: Christmas with friends

So technically these are holiday photos, but I figured "What the h, I've already put up my Christmas lights, so clearly I have no shame!"

Totem pole: me, Aimee, Charlotte & Kristin

Charlotte, Aimee, Kelley & me, with Kitty

I'm not sure exactly when these were taken; the date stamp on the photos says 5/15/94, but that wouldn't explain the Christmas accoutrements! 1994 is probably correct. Charlotte & Aimee are two of my best friends from college (Columbus College of Art & Design, aka CCAD). I met Charlotte at the end of my freshman year, and we were totally inseparable from then on...that is until Hallmark separated us when I moved out to KC! She is undoubtedly one of the coolest, smartest & most talented people I have ever met. One of those people that is good at absolutely everything, and you kinda want to hate her, except that you can't because she's so awesome. Actually, I'd describe Aimee the same way! Char is still in Columbus, and Aimee is out in San Francisco. Gotta convince them to take a girls-only vacation with me sometime to catch up! (Preferably with Kelley & Kristin too!)

"How am I going to get to work?"

Saw a truck in my neighborhood on my way to work: "Kafka's Pest Kontrol" and had a great laugh. ...And then came home & Googled it & realized it's an advertising campaign for the Joco Library down the street. Brilliant! They also have Captain Ahab, Dr. Jeckyll, and Benjamin Buttons represented.

For a college assignment, I illustrated a book cover for "The Metamorphosis." It was not well-received by my instructor, who felt that the cartoon treatment was inappropriate for the material. Surely he was right, but I still think that a story about a guy who wakes up as a giant bug—literally or figuratively—is kinda funny.