Don't Feel Neglected

I know I haven't been around much. Things are so busy at work, and then my second technological priority is Operation NICE, so it doesn't leave me much time for saying hello over here.

Hello.

I just got back from an AMAZING long weekend out in Arizona to see two of my favorite people in the world. Aren't they goregous??


It was just what I needed to de-stress and regain my focus. I wish scientists would hurry up and invent a teleportation machine so I could go there more often. C'mon! Get with it boys!

Plenty of other things going on in my world. I bought this book because it stood out on a Barnes and Noble table, and I'm really enjoying it so far. It motivated me to take charge of my inboxes. My personal accounts were over 600 messages and my work account was over 700. So I spent the morning creating folders, organizing, and deleting like crazy. The result? All my inboxes are zeroed out!! WOOHOO! This is the clean slate I need.

And concert season is among us. Going to see Ra Ra Riot/Cold War Kids/Death Cab, Ray LaMontagne, Nine Inch Nails (believe it or not), possibly Beirut, possibly Alexi Murdoch, possibly The Decemberists and who knows who else. Oh, and I bought tickets to see This American Life at my local theater, which I think will be pretty awesome.

So I guess that's it. Life is busy. I like it that way. Hope you're well!

Where's my brain's "off" switch?

I've been having trouble sleeping lately. For some reason, my brain refuses to take a nighttime break. So I lie there, with thoughts of work, chores, errands, Dexter, groceries, etc. all prancing through my head. And no matter what, I just can't stop it.

Even when I do get to sleep, I'm having high stress dreams about getting stuck at work until 2 am or my parents' house getting robbed. I will audibly tell myself, "Relax!" and sometimes I'll even count to 100, or down from 100, while picturing the numbers as clearly as possible, trying to distract myself. But even while doing this, the thoughts sneak in and my mind decides to multitask.

Last night was the worst, but I think that might have to do with the fever. I had to take a half day just so I could get some sleep this morning, since my stupid brain kept me up all night.

So what can I do to shut my brain off??? I just want to relax and not think about my ever-growing to-do list. But how?

Award-Winning Performance

I had an awesome time at the Twestival last Thursday. There's nothing like being in a room filled with other social networking nerds to make you really feel like you're a part of something special.

For weeks I was anxiously awaiting the Rock Band tournament. I'd come home from work and sneak a little bit of practice in before Rob got home from work to ridicule me. I was gonna WIN this thing!

And here it was, Thursday night, my palms sweating, my stomach churning. The first two bands played. They were good, but I was still confident. I volunteered to go next. I asked my two assigned band mates if they would mind if we did "So Whatcha Want" by the Beastie Boys. They didn't care a bit. I looked out into the sea of geeks, my heart pounding, and began.



The result? I got 100% on Expert, which meant the closest someone could get to me would be a tie! I had succeeded! Take that, Mom! Who said video games would get you nowhere?!?!

I had first choice of prizes. Rob "encouraged" me to take the most valuable prize, two floor seats to see the 76ers play the Miami Heat, worth $305 a ticket. Unfortunately for me, I'll be in Arizona during the game, so I won't even get to enjoy my prize. Rob's going to take his dad instead. It's probably better that way. I wouldn't enjoy it as much anyway. And now, the leverage that I hold over Rob is more valuable than any prize I could have won. He owes me. He owes me big. And there's a room full of nerds that will make sure he repays me.

:::99 things:::

Saw this here and I felt compelled to participate. However, I can't just follow the rules like Adriana did. I'm going to have to make some comments on the items below. I think having not been to Europe eliminated about 20%.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars - (I was in a tent, does that count?)
3. Played in a band - only Rock Band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland - I've been to Disneyworld
8. Climbed a mountain -it wasn't very tall
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo - played flute solos
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - last Tuesday, ehem
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon - hells no!
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse - only "of the heart"
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community - Rob's dad lives in one, but he's not Amish
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I'm satisfied with what I have now
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud - on the same day as #52
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - I'm going to say melissahead is more hobby than business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching - I wanted to vomit the entire time
63. Got flowers for no reason - my first bf did this all the time
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma - I don't meet the weight requirements
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - my mom trashed them all when I wasn't paying attention
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle - it was probably barely going over the speed limit
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - not yet!
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper - YAY!
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House - only the outside, is that what they mean?
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox - during #33
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous - define "famous"
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Melissa Through the Years

On my 16th birthday, my grandmother gave me a little album that she titled "From Sweet Baby to Sweet 16", and it was full of photos of me throughout the years. I pulled out the album last night for a little reminiscing and I decided to scan some in.

Here I am with my mom. This was the first picture ever taken of me. Yeah, I was a pretty big baby. Chubby, red-faced, and cross-eyed. Very attractive. I eventually grew out of all three traits.

Look at how happy I am to be with my parents and grandmother! Does this photo scream 80's or what?



There's really nothing like looking back on old grade school photos to make you cringe.



Clockwise from top left:
1st Grade (I think); 3rd Grade (nothing says 3rd Grade like fake forest backdrops); 4th Grade (I was at my tannest); 5th Grade (I was vomiting in the bathroom this day, but I wouldn't go home because of class photos); 6th Grade (the dreaded bad perm phase); 7th Grade (the dreaded denim shirt phase)

And here I am, years later, and I've defaulted back to the banged hairdo.

From Philly with Love

I'm coming out of craft hibernation for two hours on February 7th. Luckily I have two Rubbermaid containers full of note cards and other paper goods, even some Valentine's Day stuff, so I won't have to scramble to print last minute items. It's going to be held at Tbar (a tea bar, get it?) in Philly. Should be a good time! If you're in the area, definitely stop by!

Want more details? CLICK HERE!

Here are a few of the things I'll have with me. Going through all of my old inventory really makes me want to start crafting again. But lord knows I can barely keep up with the stuff I have going on right now!











Maybe even some of my "Niceness is Priceless" prints? Who knows!

Oh yessssssss

I just heard on the radio that these three bands will be performing together at the Tower Theatre on April 7th. I will DEFINITELY be there!

Slacktastic Weekend

I meant to accomplish stuff. Seriously, I did. But the bed was so soft and warm. All I wanted to do was lie around in it and read magazines. I guess I need that occasionally, but I had planned to write and take down my holiday decorations, which will probably stay up until March now.

I did, however, venture out to the new Shop Rite and I think I'm in love with a grocery store. It's so new and fancy! There's a doughnut machine in the middle of the bakery department! And free samples of gooey cinnamon rolls! They sell aloe leaves and big sticks of sugar cane and coconuts! I will never buy any of those things, but I like looking at them! And it's super cheap. Screw Acme! You are second fiddle now, my friend.

Thanks to a Starbucks Doubleshot Energy + Coffee at 7pm on Saturday, I had a weird burst of energy from 8pm - 1am. I started thinking about prints that I could make for Operation NICE. Mainly because I had the slogan "Niceness is Priceless" stuck in my head. So I played around a bit and made this up.

And then, thanks to Mary over at suffix.abuse, I started working on creating a Big Cartel shop. It's easy. I don't know if I'll move forward with it. We'll see. But I already decided on a second slogan. "Put the 'kind' in mankind." Snazzy, right?

In other news, I'm "famous" again! MavenMag Philadelphia did their cover story on me for their brand new website launch this month, and it came out this morning. YAY! I feel like I look a little weird, but I guess everyone feels that way about themselves. I love the article! Alexis is awesome! Take a look at the site, it's a pretty neat place!

2009 Ambitions

Now that it's New Year's Eve, I should probably think about what I want to do with 2009. January 1st starts a clean slate. If I want to modify my behaviors and habits, now's a good time. Rob always says that New Year's resolutions are for the weak, but he's just mean. Besides, he's made the "I'm going to have less road rage" resolution about 10 times throughout the last 12 months.

I did a TERRIBLE job of sticking to my goals of last January. But you know what, I had an amazing year anyway! I think my problem was that I might have made the goals too measurable. Instead, I think this year I need to set some ambitions. Suggestions. Keep them vague.

I have one major goal. Do something with Operation NICE.

See? I said "something" which really leaves it quite open for interpretation. Operation NICE is the best thing I've done in 2008, maybe even ever. It has brought me so much happiness, and I can really see this project turning into a significant part of my life. In fact, it already is. So in 2009, I need to develop a plan and figure out exactly what I want to accomplish with Operation NICE. You know, like get on Oprah. (The show, not the woman.)

As far as my other ambitions, there are the standards. Eat better. Exercise (the Wii Fit I got for Christmas should help me out with this one). Spend less. Save more. Be more organized. Be more creative. I try to make those resolutions every morning when I wake up, but I tend to forget them by the time I walk out the door. I think I blow dry them out of my brain or something. So aside from the one mentioned above, I really only have one ambition.

This year, I resolve to be happy, to have fun, and to be as good of a person as I can be.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

As a major procrastinator, holiday stress is inevitable. This year it was alleviated a bit, due to the fact that the number of gifts purchased decreased due to an increase in charitable donations in lieu of presents. But still, it's tough to plan it all out. Particularly when you have a husband that renounces all things Christmas.

Overall, I'm very happy! My parents gave us a goat and two chickens. (Well, not to us, but in our honor.) I gave them a nice donation to Feeding America. Along with Rob's family, we'll be making a nice donation to Heifer International. I was able to make a donation to Children for Children. So I feel like I got that whole "giving" thing down pat. Not to mention the fabulous gift that is going to make Rob regret putting me through jingle hell throughout this holiday season.

But anyway, since I probably won't have a chance to say it tomorrow, have a wonderful Christmas! I hope Santa brings you everything your heart desires! (And I hope your heart desires some peace and quiet for little ole me!)

Merry Christmas, Geeks!

Technology:A Geek's Guide To Surviving Christmas

That girl wish list is pretty accurate, but as a girl geek, I would also enjoy video games and dvd's.

He'll save children...

...but not the British children.

I can't get this song out of my head!

Warning: NSFW due to hysterically foul language and cartoon violence.

Dating Catastrophes

My friend told me that she had so many terrible dates that she could write a book about them all. I suggested a blog! (Of course I did, being blog-obsessed and all.) So, after a little encouragement, she signed up.

It was such a fun concept that I couldn't resist designing it for her! I whipped this up in a jiffy.



I think this could be really fun, don't you?? I personally don't have any bad date stories. Maybe one, and it wasn't even that bad. I met Rob when I was 20, so I didn't do much dating in my life. No one really "dates" in college. I'm excited to see what kind of stories she gets. Her stories alone are worth the read!

Check it out!

Holiday Photos

Courtesy of the Pho*ho*hoto Booth.

Rob's came out so much better than mine. It's tough to get it to work right with the bangs and the glasses. I know this is something I could easily do using Photoshop, but there's something about their models and backgrounds that just work so well!

Mission: Accomplished!

In my opinion, the food drive was a success! I had a fabulous time organizing it, and I really felt like I did something valuable with my time. I'm basically reposting what I wrote on Operation NICE, but here's how it went.

I didn't get any nasty-grams, like I was afraid of. Phew! Last Monday, I came home to a bag of non-perishables on my doorstep, left by my sweetheart neighbors, Jen and Max. My first donation! I was so thrilled! Mid-week I received a call from another neighbor, letting me know he had some items to drop off. Friday rolled around and there were two more donations waiting for me when I got home. Later that night a neighbor dropped off some bags of food and told me that he was going shopping the next day and would pick up some diapers to donate. Wow! The next morning a sweet woman named Marcia came by with a giant plastic container packed with food.

Then I went out for my drive around the neighborhood. I shrieked with delight each time I saw a bag on a doorstep. And as I walked around, filling up my trunk, I had the biggest smile on my face. One household had four full grocery bags on their porch. I was a little nervous that they had their groceries delivered or something and I'd be taking them unknowingly! But they were all in different bags, so I think I'm safe.

Here's the pile of food and goods that I collected, minus the box of diapers which came later and the two bags of food that I grabbed from my own cabinets.



I went to the Food Bank of South Jersey this morning to drop everything off and the grand total was 277 pounds of food and goods! Woohoo! I'm really looking forward to doing this again next year!

The Shins, eh?

I was over visiting Cleverly Eleanor, and she had a post about her 25 most played songs in iTunes. Hmm, I never checked. So I took a peek, and it seems I must have gone through a phase where I played Wincing the Night Away on repeat or something. I'm kind of surprised. I definitely thought I'd be Radiohead, which is great work background music, or Maritime, which I honestly did play on repeat for a while there. But no, The Shins and Aqualung edged out the crowd.

(I'm glad my list doesn't reveal my Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch obsession.)


Speaking of tunes, I got some new stuff from eMusic. That is the best service ever. For $15 a month, I have downloaded SO MANY wonderful albums. My most recent fave is Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line. In addition to that, lately I've downloaded The Duke Spirit, Art Brut, The Unicorns, The Spinto Band, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Okkervil River, Marching Band, Los Campesinos!, and others. Super awesome!

melissahead, in print!

I was contacted a year ago to submit some images of my cards for a book about handmade greetings. Of the cards I submitted, six had been chosen for the book, and I sent 'em in to the author. I eventually forgot about the whole thing, until a few weeks ago. I decided to look into it, and I saw that the book was available for pre-order on Amazon, so I went and ordered it. It wasn't supposed to be available until January, but lo and behold, it arrived on my doorstep yesterday!

So, here it is!

1,000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards and Clever Correspondence



I'm pretty stoked! It's really exciting to see my work in a real, life, published book. It makes me wish I was still crafting and not on "hiatus"!

Rockin' Around My Christmas Tree

As you may know from my previous posts, putting up my Christmas tree is a big deal. It connects me to my grandmother, who really was the only person in my family with any holiday spirit. So now that she's gone, I'm all by my lonesome. My husband runs so quickly from me when I'm decorating, you'd think he was allergic to cheer. He might be, actually.

Like I've done the last few years, I put on a Christmas album and carefully placed each ornament, reminiscing on holidays of yore. It's times like this when I wish I had a large family to share in the spirit of Christmas. But I suppose for now, I'm in this alone.

I was disappointed with the way the green ornaments blended into the tree last year, so I went out a bought blue ones. Now I almost feel like my tree is patriotic, but I still love it. All I need is a lovely red, tree skirt and I'll be all set.

Maybe this Christmas will mean something more
Maybe this year love will appear
Deeper than ever before
And maybe forgiveness will ask us to call
Someone we love
Someone we’ve lost
For reasons we can’t quite recall
Mmm, maybe this Christmas

"Maybe This Christmas" by Ron Sexsmith

Look both ways!

I had a scary morning yesterday. I saw a woman get hit by a car.

The street in front of my building is a narrow one way street. People cross it all the time because the door to my building is in the center. No point in walking to a corner cross walk. Well, anyway, walking back from Starbucks at 7:30 am, I had to cross that road but an SUV flew by, so I waited, then I crossed. Afterward, I noticed the SUV, which had almost made it down to the end of the street, had stopped and started to reverse...quickly. Even though my back was to the road, I had to turn around because I was so surprised at how fast the SUV was traveling backwards. I checked to see if anyone was in the middle of the road, and I saw a 40-something woman start to cross. I had just enough time to think, “Oh no,” when he slammed right into her. Thank god he didn’t run her over!! He must have seen her at the last minute and braked.

I dug through my purse for my phone and called 911 while a small crowd formed, including my coworker who gathered the woman’s things and told her that help was on its way. She wasn’t bleeding, but she looked terrible. Shaking and moaning. When the ambulance came, I heard the driver tell the paramedic that he was only going 10 mph, but that was a complete lie. It put a humongous dent in the back of his SUV!!! So it’s not like he gently pushed her over! I made sure to tell the cop that I saw everything, and I gave him my statement. I know it was an accident, but what that driver did was beyond careless.

A few hours later, my coworker came into my office to let me know that the woman was fine! Her husband came by looking for her cell phone and he said she just had a mild concussion and he was taking her home. Crazy! I was so relieved. But I keep replaying that moment in my head, watching her get hit. I'm still a bit freaked out. It might be dramatic, but I keep thinking that I crossed that road 15 seconds earlier, so it could very well have been me. And being as frail and stickly as I am, I definitely would have snapped in half.

Now I'm going to be extra cautious and look both ways before crossing, even one way streets!

The Demon Barber of Nathan Drive

That's me. For some reason last week, I decided that my outgrown bangs were ruining my "look", so I was going to get a blunt cut. But since it was a holiday week, I couldn't score an appointment with my stylist. Drats! So thanks to some coaxing, (thanks a lot, Jeope) I got the idea in my head that I could cut my own hair. I used to do it. And there were rarely any disasters, except for the time my mother took the scissors to my bangs the day before 9th grade class pictures and they ended up a whole inch shorter than I wanted.

I stopped at the grocery story on the way home from work last Wednesday and bought a $20 pair of barber shears. I stormed into the house and shouted to Rob, "I have to take care of something!" SNIP!

Whoops.

That first snip was a little shorter than I wanted. Dammit!!! Well, it was too late now, so I had to do the whole thing. I walked out of the bathroom with a new 'do and said to Rob, "I think I made a terrible mistake."

The next few days I started to get accustomed to my fringe. And now, I don't hate them at all. I might even like them. I think it'll look even better once my non-bang hair grows longer.


I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Mine was delightful. Spent the day with Rob's family and then went to my parents' house for the weekend. I have instilled a love of Rock Band in my father. I'm so proud.

This morning I went around the neighborhood hanging door hangers for a neighborhood food drive. I got the idea a few weeks ago and I'm pretty excited about it! My only fear is that some crotchety neighbor will leave me an angry voicemail about leaving garbage on their door. But hopefully people are filled with the holiday spirit. Here are the door hangers I whipped up.

So I suppose that's all that's going on right now. I'm also trying to organize our holiday soirée, but it seems that a lot of people already have plans on the 20th, so it may end up being a small group of us pigging out and playing games. I'd be perfectly happy with that!