pirates deserve presents, too

where in the world is carmen san diego?

2009-06-28T15:03:00.001-06:00

I think I maybe forgot I have a blog? I've been so incredibly busy that that sounds like a logical excuse, it's just still so lame of an excuse.

Hoping to make some big comeback one'a these days. We'll see, right?

maybasket!

2009-05-08T17:33:00.003-06:00

come check out my sale!

Etsy
Buy Handmade
presentsforpirates

buy two sets of stationery, get the third set of equal or lesser value free! holla!

shop to your heart's content throughout the merry month of may!

xoxo,
man

featured!

2009-04-26T15:17:00.007-06:00

KnitsYoursKnotMine was awesome enough to include me in this treasury, hangin' with my gnomies!

thanks, sabrina! you rock my socks!

xoxo,
man

yo ho, yo ho

2009-03-12T16:50:00.002-06:00

rachel was kind enough to feature my treasure map note cards with some other piratical listings on her blog, in honor of her son learning to say the word "pirate"! three cheers for daniel!

dear x

2009-03-10T21:37:00.004-06:00

dear manufacturers of 12x12 paper,

please cease and desist manufacturing paper. i have enough already and am not strong enough to resist the temptation of buying more. i need to use all the beauties that i already have, so back off.

dear paper handling clerks at michaels, jo-anns, hobby lobby, etc.,

please do not manhandle my individual pieces of paper like you are wrangling an alligator to it's death. they are sweet, innocent, defenseless pieces of paper who i'm certain mean you no harm. be kind. be gentle. put on your white gloves before you touch my paper and give me a nervous breakdown.

dear joann.com,

please find my two orders that i placed online THREE WEEKS AGO. what? seriously. whatever weird way you shipped them, no one can find them. i wish i'd known it would take this long, so i could have built my own machinery from scraps to manufacture my very own products that i tried to buy from you.

dear my homemade chocolate chip cookies,

please stop tempting me to eat two of you every day.

dear soon-to-be-born my goddaughter baby mckenna,

i cannot wait to meet you and dress you up in skull and crossbones gear and and black tutus. it will be just lovely.

xoxo,
man

new to the club

2009-03-03T20:17:00.004-07:00

amid some health issues i've been experiencing lately, i was referred to a chiropractor/nutritionist tonight and i quite enjoyed the experience, i must say. he was a super nice and enthusiastic guy and i felt more like we were going to figure this out in the first five minutes then i have by any of the five, yes FIVE, doctor's appointments i have had in the past month.

in addition to the adjustment that he did, we did some acupuncture! it was weird and wild and not nearly as bad as i could have ever guessed. he was nice enough to use the smallest needles on this acupuncture virgin.

this was on the ceiling, which normally i would be tempted to disregard entirely. but since i had a slightly panicky, wanna run and get these needles outta me feeling, i took the 30 minutes to actually read the poster and spend time thinking about each phrase. i got an amazing, surprising sense of peace and calm today. it was awesome, and i'm feeling so good right now. about my health, and my life and my being.

which really is incredible, seeing as how i just had a needle jammed into my skull by a stranger.

super sampler

2009-02-25T21:04:00.002-07:00

i have had this camera for who knows how long and i have only begun to start learning how to use it.

john took this photo of my brother-in-law and me in our backyard. i think it's delightful.

a new year, a new something.

2009-02-05T16:58:00.004-07:00

it's not that i haven't been crafting and creating, i just haven't had anything intelligent to write up here. i don't know why, really. maybe because i'm not nearly as funny as i think i am? perhaps.

a friend of mine has a very sick friend and she asked me to make a journal for her. behold, my latest project:

yes, it's just a journal. but look closely and you will see how i have used old pieces of scrap paper with printing on the other side in an effort to be a greener citizen.

so i folded all the pages and the spiral bound the unfolded ends so that if you don't want to ever see the printed pages, you don't have to! huzzah.

i am going to be making more of these in various sizes in the near future. why? because it feels *so* good to recycle.

words of wisdom

2008-12-23T07:36:00.003-07:00

bad news: it's apparent you need to cutback on your visits to starbucks when the girl at the drive thru window asks if you have done something different with your hair because she didn't recognize you.

good news: your new hair cut is cute and she likes it!

(i'm just trying to help bolster the economy. amanda FTW!)

two sizes too small

2008-12-15T20:49:00.003-07:00

it has come to my attention that i am a bit of a grinch this year. usually i get excited for the spirit of the season, and this year, i just feel like it will be here and gone and then, well, we move on to next year. the last few years my enthusiasm has waned. i don't like shopping for the holidays; i bought about 97% of my holiday gifts online (mostly at etsy!) and was content to pay for shipping and not battle for parking spots. we have watched almost all of our christmas movies, and put up almost all of our decorations, but still, there is just a bit of a void that i don't know how to fill.

perhaps it's the lack of snow that normally signifies the coming of the season. and while i won't argue with being able to wear flip flops in colorado in the winter, i feel like the snow helps set the tone for holidays for me.

i dunno. i will continue to seek out the christmas spirit, and if anyone has any suggestions, i would love to hear them.

just don't nominate me for the cheermeister award. my lederhosen are at the dry cleaners.

aaaaaaand the winner is...

2008-12-05T20:11:00.002-07:00

...alisa marie!

alisa, send me your address so i can mail this hot little darlin' to ya!

thanks to everyone for playing!

xoxo,
man

last call for alcohol.

2008-12-03T07:42:00.003-07:00

i will be picking a random winner for the project book at close of business tomorrow (thursday night). close of business = when i go to bed.

leave me a comment about your current projects if you haven't yet for a chance to win!

love!

new project!

2008-11-26T07:22:00.008-07:00

so i'm cooking up a new project. i have a notebook that i bring around with me, but it doesn't do all that i dream a notebook should do. i always have inspiration for new journals or new cards or new projects, so my new project is a project book!

it's roomy inside, too. with a place to do a sketch and a place to write the specifics, it's all you little crafties could dream of!

and, since this is my first one and is kinda rough around the edges, i'm giving it away!

and, since there are only three of you who read my blog, that means your odds to win that baby are incredible!

just leave me a comment and tell me what new project you are inspired about for a chance to win!

boy. today.

2008-10-16T16:17:00.006-06:00

this today was kind of a doozy. not complaining. i have so much to be grateful for.

i started my day by getting rear ended on my way to my thursday morning networking group. it was a minor little fender bender. no one was hurt. the poor other gal was really upset, but i did my best to convince her it was going to be ok.

my mom told me the biopsy they did on her hand came back as a form of skin cancer. they will be operating on it tomorrow to remove it. she said it's nothing to be worried about. so i'm obviously thankful it's not worse.

and now, i just got back from the dentist from getting one of my cavities filled. it was no big deal, except for the part where they have this newfangled piece of rubber or something that they put over your mouth "to keep things dry" (?) and i almost thought i was going to have a panic attack. twice.

but now i'm home with my dogs and just trying to unwind and relax a bit.

and ultimately i am grateful for a day that was mostly just weird.

oh! i got this in the mail today that i bought from la loca!

i'm super stoked to start wearing it!

on a far stupider note

2008-09-19T12:55:00.005-06:00

i saw this on her website the other day.

and i have to say, i think it's so amazingly stupid, and stupidly amazing. i love it. my husband said it makes him sick to his stomach. i kind of love that, too.

at any rate, if you value your time, probably don't watch it. but if you, like me, like to be amused by ridiculous videos that make no sense, well then, please, do enjoy.

the price of the memory is the memory of the sorrow it brings.

2008-09-18T16:20:00.002-06:00

counting crows.

i am sad and happy today. an amazingly incredible woman and dear friend from my networking group passed away yesterday afternoon. she was diagnosed with cancer last year, and yesterday she quietly made her peace with this life here on earth.

she is one of the most dignified, graceful and compassionate people i will even know, and i am so sad for her family to be without her. and yet i am happy. happy for her, and happy for them, knowing that she is no longer suffering (although to see her you would never, ever have know what a fight she was putting up.)

all of us gals in this group do not think we would have it in us to fight that fight like she did, and we will all always remember her for that.

she will be so sorely missed and never forgotten.

"only the little people pay taxes"

2008-08-25T20:25:00.002-06:00

nicely stated, leona helmsley.

on that note, i met with my accountant today. and just like the last four meetings with tax preparers/accountants, i left feeling totally discouraged and depressed. just when i think i have a handle on my tax situation, i am off in the numbers department by at least $500. and that, my friends, turns me into a big, fat baby. i didn't cry this time at her table, but man, it was close.

and on *that* note, i find myself at the point where i have to decide if continuing on this crafty journey is right for me, financially, that is.

wish me luck!

:: to do ::

2008-08-13T21:29:00.004-06:00

i have not been hiding out so much lately, it's just that i have been so busy i can hardly keep my head on straight. i am certainly not complaining; it's just been a whirlwind!

between taking all kinds of awesome custom orders for various old and new clients, taking the little doggie to the vet, and working 40 hours a week at my day job, i find myself kind of tired some days lately.

zelda is doing fine from her trip to the vet, but the poor girl has to be a conehead for 8 days! she's been a great sport about it; she just doesn't love it. can you blame her?

i was working on my to do list and it looked something like this:

make 10 custom cards for mary
make 30 custom cards for networking group
make 3 custom birthday cards
make 50 custom wedding cards, thank you notes, response cards, and direction cards for val's wedding
make 40 custom skully santa cards for holly
make k. grezz's receipt book
make renee more sample promo cards to send out
make pirate sketch book
make skully santa cards for etsy shop
make an "idea book" for etsy shop
make custom chandelier stationery for gemini5757
make proofs for september cards for realtor clients
make promo stuff for k. grezz
make 100 note cards for anne

i think that's it? i'm totally sure it's not! but that is ok.

i am busy, work keeps coming, and it is good.

could i be any more boring?

2008-07-28T17:27:00.002-06:00

as no one will notice, because lucky for me, no one reads this, i haven't posted much here lately.

i would have been blahgging, and that's just not good for anyone. i have either been busy with orders {awesome!} or not inspired. boo. i had one set of two weeks that i was so busy i hardly saw my husband as i had i think 5 or 6 orders, and while it would have been wise to take photos of the hard work i had been doing, i was just too busy to even think straight.

so, am i here today, to say that i *still* want to take more photos and blog more often.

this week i am working on some assortment card packs for some gals in my networking group, and i hereby vow to take photos of the at least the finished product, if not some photos of the trip along the way!

if you are out there, feel free to encourage me!

need to see the doctor

2008-06-26T17:50:00.002-06:00

i have a growth.

playing with renee

2008-06-10T20:03:00.004-06:00

renee of loveoneworldzero has this little project up that she saw at javajem and i decided to partake in the fun times.

1. DSC07895 - burning man 2007 - Amanda's beautiful tattooed back, 2. Camino al más alla, 3. On a hill far away, 4. Jounieh, Lebanon; door detail, 5. I, 6. Diet Coke with Lime, 7. The Secret of Terror Castle, 8. A good breakfast, 9. Buho, Owl, Assiolo, Hibou, Uil, 10. dVan, 11. YOU create FANTASY, 12. Cristmas present or pirate?

them is the rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page of results, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

SALE!

2008-06-07T07:49:00.004-06:00

through midnight sunday night i am having a sale in my etsy shop! buy two sets of notecards, get one of equal or lesser value free!!!

stop on by today and check it out!!!

if you took a holiday....oh yeah, oh yeah.

2008-05-21T14:56:00.003-06:00

Today marks the first day of my vacation, which we are calling a stay-cation. So far I have spent the day working on organizing my studio so I can actually do work (son) in it. Which I happen to think is a stellar idea. However, the in between part of the messy and the organized is just dreadful. I have been sorting through what I figure is approximately 20 inches of paper, sheet by sheet, and finding some to get rid of! Normally I like to throw nothing away, but when I find myself with no place to put the things I want to buy, I want to cry. Because I love to spend monies. I am taking a break after giving a vomitrocious dog of mine a bath and enjoying my back porch for a few while the dogs sun themselves. Really I am not taking a break so much as I am playing supervisor to make sure that neither bath hating dogs has reason to punish the whole family with bath time.

So far, so good.

my mom is totally cooler than your mom.

2008-05-11T09:29:00.002-06:00

my parents had us kids probably a little younger than they would have liked, if i had to guess. but that certainly didn't stop them from being incredible parents.

i have heard that people have criticized the way they chose to raise us, but i guarantee you that my sister and brother and i are all much stronger people than some kids who were coddled all the while as they were growing.

my mom is an incredible artist, a master gardener, a generous and loving woman, and i think somehow she has more hours in the day than i do. i admire her, i appreciate her, and today {and everyday}, i honor her.

happy mother's day, momma.

happy seis de mayo!

2008-05-06T21:02:00.004-06:00

um, yeah. this year continues to ZIP past in such an obnoxious fashion, only stopping to stick it's tongue out at me before it runs off again.

i keep saying it's gonna be christmas before i know it! which, i need to start planning our third annual stocking stuffer sale now so i don't have to spend two sleepless weeks preparing for it! and since my old bff is no longer my friend *at all*, evidently, i have no one to help me prep!

on another note, my new bff and i are celebrating our 2 month anniversary. although it seems like it should be our 6 year anniversary.

lots of love to the boy under the stairs!

blessed

2008-04-04T17:42:00.002-06:00

man, oh, man.
i am feeling so super fortunate right now. i just completed a pretty nice sized order for one of my top two clients. then, the very next day, my other top client called and asked to place an order. then, two days later, the first client contacted me to place another order for next month.

i feel so blessed to have these two gals. i need to go buy them both a thank you gift this weekend.

there is nothing quite like someone appreciating your work so much they continue to come back and order more.

thanking my lucky stars today.

do you want an extra dog with that?

2008-03-29T06:33:00.005-06:00

so yesterday we went to get casey some food, and our friend that owns the pet shop asked if we found another dog yet. and we said no, it's gotta be the perfect dog. she said she had one she was looking to find a home for and brought her out, and like a rabbit from a hat, it was exactly what i imagined would be the perfect sister for casey!

so, it's 6:30 on my day off to sleep in, and i am on the computer after taking the dogs out to go do their business, which, she has been kind enough to only do outside so far!

this photo is of casey and his new (foster) sister, zelda. and this was right before he growled at her to say, "sister, that's a little too close to my back, step off."
and she did! and that was the only growl our grouchy old man of a son has offered.

that makes me feel all warm and gooey.

um, duh?

2008-03-21T07:24:00.004-06:00

ok, i admit it. i watch tlc's a baby story as often as i can. i like to see how women react to pregnancy and child birth. it's totally fascinating.

but my one problem with EVERY child delivery room nurse, is their dialogue. now, i'm not sure if it's part of their intensive nurse training, or if it's just a fun thing they like to do because it's just *so* helpful and insightful to these mothers who are in labor.

imagine you are in labor, you've been pregnant for 9 months, and you are ready to kick this baby out to go live in it's own apartment now. you're feet are up and your contractions come and your natural instinct tells you to push. so you push. with all your might. until your face turns red and you are exhausted. you take a breath, start over, and the nurse proceeds to tell you, "pushpushpushpushpushpushpushpush." i believe i would like to stop pushing, look at this astute and wise nurse and, "what the hell do you think i am doing?"

dear nurses, please think of something better and more motivational than that. i beg you.

on an entirely different note, john and i watch jeopardy at night while we eat dinner usually (hot pockets and alex trebeck! how can one go wrong?) and while john is ridiculously good at jeopardy and trivia and things that i am not good at, i watch it and enjoy yelling out answers that are neither correct, nor make sense in most cases.

last night the column had something to do with "cy" being a pun, maybe "cy" of relief or the likes of that. i can't even remember what the question was, or the real answer for that matter, but he was looking for the name of a country that had "cy" in it's name, and just to illustrate how *i* play jeopardy, i shouted out my answer before john could give the correct answer, and that was "CYBORGLAND!"
the game isn't as much about me ruining it for john; really i just like to be involved.

needless to say, i was very pleased with myself. especially when he almost choked on his hot pocket laughing at my answer.

w00t, cyborgland.

2008-03-13T20:53:00.010-06:00

how cute is she??

i am *so* stoked to have been selected to prepare an feature of a fellow member of the etsy street team i belong to, the etsy trade-a-holics .

everyone, meet kristen! kristen, meet everyone! this creative cat is a 25 year old who resides in chicago awith her husband and her 2 frogs - all of which are named chips. i am definitely going to have to do some work to learn more about this! they also have welcomed to their family a dutch rabbit who is currently without name, but they kindly refer to as "chips angel mindfreak". people who love pets totally rock by my standards!

she, like many of us in the land of etsy, has a 9-5 job to pay the bills, and crafts to keep her heart happy (though her 9-5 is manager of a rockin' restaurant, so that doesn't sound too bad at all!)

she is totally passionate about her beautiful beadwork,
and has recently ~~become obessesed with~~ gotten into knitting, crocheting and quilting.

all items in her shop are handmade by kristen and most jewelry is absolutely ONE OF A KIND! she is happy to entertain your ideas for custom jewelry orders, so just convo her - look at those kind eyes just beckoning you to chat with her!

be sure to check her out here and read her blog here!

buy handmade!

let's do the time warp again

2008-03-12T07:28:00.002-06:00

when i was a kid i hated the time change. you mean i have to get up a whole HOUR earlier to go to SCHOOL? sick. but as a kid you don't realize that kid time, while slow paced and neverending, does end when you morph into a grown up, at which point, time ceases to slow down. ever.

this year, i am actually *excited* for this time change. as i was driving home from work on monday it felt like i-can-actually-go-do-stuff-after-work instead of it's-5pm-and-dark-so-i-guess-i-better-head-home-and-get-ready-for-bed.

time change, it's good to finally be friends!

good morning, friday

2008-03-07T06:32:00.001-07:00

i have every other friday off work. while today is not my day off, i still love a good friday.

every morning, i wake up at 6:30, earlier than i need to, so that i can read people's blogs. it's like eating candy at 6:30 in the morning. i get so inspired by what people write about and what they are doing in their lives, that it gives me a good jump start and a positive attitude to start the day.

i love stumbling upon new blogs. in fact, i may have to start devoting some time to the internet when i get home from work, too, so that i can read all the blogs that i want to read!

victorious!

2008-02-29T22:34:00.007-07:00

i got so much done today.
makes me really appreciate having had this free day at the end of the month, or as kal says, a bonus day.

maybe i only got like, a quarter of my to-do list done, but i still feel really good about everything i did. i added some new stuff to my etsy shop and even experimented with a new craft by making a sweet cuff.

i made a new friend and found out she lives RIGHT by me!

i worked in my studio for six [straight] hours and feel like i don't need to sleep tonight i'm so pumped.

my only hope is that tomorrow when i wake up i have the same momentum to help me shred through the rest of my to-do's!

ew

2008-02-25T07:00:00.001-07:00

i woke up this morning and couldn't quite remember what day it was. is it sunday? it might be sunday, and i might get to sleep in, which would be awesome because i am exhausted.

then i proceeded to lay in bed and realize, no, it's monday. and i have to get up now and start the work week.

it was then that i wanted to cry.
that's no way to start a monday.

photo tin

2008-02-15T10:23:00.007-07:00

i made this for john, not for vd, just because i thought it would be fun to make.

and it totally was. it took a few more hours than i expected, but that always happens to me.

ahahahahaha

2008-02-12T12:42:00.001-07:00

my boss just told me that sometimes she says things like they are and that she needs to be more careful before she just says these things. then she said, really, she did, that i am a good influence on her because i am always so thoughtful about how i say things, that i am very tactful. that was right before i laughed out loud and said, i wish i could have recorded you saying that so i could play it for my husband and my family.

i am incredibly tactful and thoughtful about the things that come out of my mouth while i am at work. you almost wouldn't believe that it was me. evidently, based on my gut reaction to chuckle at her comment, it is apparent that i need to work on it in the rest of my life. makes me realize that in general, in my life, i have gotten better at it than when i was 16, but i still probably have a ways to go on that.

but it was such a nice thing to know that she feels like as her employee that i. have. tact.

woot!

jealous

2008-02-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

1. alive among the dead, 2. The lines in the road., 3. It wasn't that funny, 4. Untitled

1. alive among the dead, 2. The lines in the road., 3. It wasn't that funny, 4. Untitled

i wish i were a better photographer. even more, i wish i had the patience to sit and read the manual that john got me for christmas so that i could learn how to take better photos. but as long as there are other people who are really good at taking pictures for me to look at, i am content to just look at them and appreciate their skill from a distance.

new year, new something

2008-01-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

looking forward to a new year. don't really like to do resolutions. if i want to change something, i need to just suck it up and do it. i know that. i do have some "goals" if you will. things i would like to improve on, something like that.

this year i want to:
take more pictures
create something everyday
continue to build my etsy shop
lose 30 pounds (again)
love more
be kinder
organize

let's see how that is going in a few months, eh?

proud moments

2007-12-18T21:32:00.001-07:00

one day after discussing my siblings and their current lifestyles and choices, dad said to mom, "who would have thought manda would have turned out to be the normal one?"

and that was my proudest moment.

baby got it goin' on

2007-11-19T17:41:00.000-07:00

go here and watch this clip.

it is seriously amusing.

pass it on

2007-11-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

we like to go to starbucks on saturday mornings sometimes. it's nice to not have to make our own coffee every once in a while. while we were waiting in line at the drive through, it seemed like the transaction ahead of us was taking a little extra time, which was fine, because casey was hanging out on my lap and really we were in no hurry because it's a loungey saturday and we have no urgent plans. mostly we three were curious to see if casey was going to get a dog biscuit. sometimes i think the baristas are not dog lovers and they forget to treat our pets. so anyway, we get to the window and i keep trying to give my card to the gal, and she makes what seems like a concerted effort to not take my card. she hands me a coffee, and then a dog biscuit, all while not taking my debit card.

she then proceeds to tell us that the gal ahead of us bought our drinks! i was so floored and so appreciative that people do things like that. she explained that the gal who bought our drinks had someone buy her drink for her yesterday and that it made her day and she wanted to pass it on.

i just want people that do this to know that it won't end here. i am happy to pass it on. and i hope that you will, too.