The Feedings

I was telling a coworker today how great she looks. Yeah, I'm nice like that, but the reason it was important to point out is because she just had a baby about three months ago. She's already a skinny mini and said it's the breast feeding.

This got us on the topic of the benefits of the boobs after baby arrives. It's the best food for the baby; it saves tons of money, and it burns about 500 calories a day. I was asking her if she pumps at work and, if so, where does she find the privacy. Note: if talking about breast feeding grosses you out, you might as well stop here. She, fortunately, has her own office with a door she can close. She also uses someone else's office because the occupant is rarely in there. I, on the other hand, have an office that many people use as a hallway and refuse to pump milk in a public restroom (more on my aversion to public restrooms in another post).

She pointed out that the human resources department has to make some type of accommodations for me for breast feeding. Hopefully they won't tell me to pump in my car, as someone else suggested.

After telling Chris about our conversation, he suggested we make a little sign to hang on the door. His ideas for what it should say were:

1) Privacy please: Lactation in progress, and

2) Milking under way (But after visiting dairy cows yesterday, I think not)

I was thinking more like:

1) Boob draining in progress, or even

2) Do not disturb: I'm sucking out calories for my kid

Any other suggestions???

The Real Graphic Designers

Wednesday had my designing coworkers and I traveling to Atlanta to meet with the creative firm that our school has hired to work up the new branding strategy. I would tell you the name of this firm but a) I don't want to be listing any companies I'm offiliated with on here, and b) I don't think any of you will be hiring a creative firm any time soon.

We took a trip to their stomping grounds to learn some great techniques they've been using in Photoshop for our new admissions material. We met with Ty and Erica, both of whom actually graduated with design degrees. Ty teaches at a design school in downtown Atlanta called The Portfolio Center, and Erica graduated from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), where I wouldn't mind picking up a second degree from some day.

Before a few hours in Photoshop learning the cool new tricks and reiterating that there are at least three different ways to do the same thing in that program, we took a tour of their sweet office space. The old textile mill had been completely modernized and looked like a cross between an extremely contemporary design on HGTV and an ad for IKEA. I recall the use of tin roofing inside, some great sky lighting (energy efficient and great use of natural light for the look of a room) and lots of open air. And since it IS a creative firm, there were MACS everywhere. It was beautiful. It was definitely a great place to work if you have to do anything creative. The surroundings would be inspiring. I love my job, but my work space is, well, still set in the late 60s when it was created. Apparently fixing up the administration building at a college looks really bad to donors who want to see their money go straight to the students, which I completely understand. I go outside for my inspiration.

But I digress. Now, one thing I have to say about this creative firm is that it's the land of attractive people. When we first interviewed several different agencies to narrow it down to the one that would give our school a new "brand," the first thing I noticed about this group was that each member was asthetically appealing. Then, going to their office, I realized there were even more of them crawling around. And since they live just a hop, skip and a jump away from some nice boutiques and trendy clothing spots, they all walk around in Forever21, H&M and Banana Republic. Blach!

Then we ate lunch at a nice place called JCT Kitchen (I think). The food was pretty good and the atmosphere was nice as well.

After all this, you'd think I'd be pretty jealous. And don't get me wrong, working at a creative firm some day is definitely a possibility. But there was one huge difference, one huge advantage in my court. At the firm, you walk out and see concrete, construction and smog. At the school, I walk out and see thousands of acres of green trees, water pools and deer grazing. Hm, I think I'll stick with the deer for now.

But I certainly appreciated the tutorial in Photoshop and could have stayed for weeks learning so much from these people. It's nice to be around real designers that have been to school just for that. I have realized, though, that much of design is subjective. So school aside, someone without that four years of focus can still recognize a good design when they see one. It's knowing how to make it look that way that can be tough.

Another cool thing about this line of work is that it is always evolving and always changing, so I will always be learning or always taking a new approach. I like a job that doesn't get boring. Now if I could just finish that scrapbook at home I started two years ago...

How I'm Different

I've realized a few things this week about people. In some ways, I'm right there with you. But in some ways, I'm not. Here's how I'm not:

10. I love dogs more than most people... and I think they know it. Yeah, you're all sick of reading about my dogs or how much I love dogs in general. Well I'm sorry you feel that way (which is a nice way of saying "I don't care"). Growing up as the youngest kid in the house, my dog was always the one who spent the most time with me. Dogs are cool. They are the best listeners (maybe that's because they don't talk), great cuddlers and they are always happy to see you. They keep you active and responsible - if you are a good owner. And they are cheaper than kids. I could go on, but I'll spare you.

9. I really like things clean, neat and organized. If you've ever been to my house or my desk at work, it's pretty obvious. It even carries over to my computer: everything has a file and I don't like a lot on my desktop. It's just the way I work. Maybe I have a bit of OCD. Too bad the dogs negate this a bit...

8. I'm not a huge reader of books, player of video games or massive shopper. Sure, I love a good book and love to get new things. My weekend experience with the Wii was good, too. But in general, I just don't do these things all that often because I have other things that top my priority list, like spend quality time with the people I love, get in some exercise, spend more than 20 minutes eating a meal and working on my house.

7. I am a card-carrying member of the Instruments Club. I love music that uses lots of instruments and have high respect for anyone who can play an instrument well. I don't know anyone else my age that owns CDs of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller. Most days, my scan through radio stations disappoints me.

6. I'm really not all that smart, or maybe I should say that apparently I'm not as smart as most of my friends. I'm just a hard worker.

5. Though I love my job, I really consider it something that I get to like doing OK while I make the money it takes to do the real things I love. And this is one area where I think many people could take a note or two. Don't like your job? Most people don't, but if you look at it as the thing that allows you to do the things you really like to do, it's not so bad.

4. I am and will always be my spouse's biggest fan. I'm not saying this to be cute or get brownie points. A lot of people don't give the support they should. I never want to be that person.

3. I don't understand why so many people have to act like they are smarter than you, point out when you are wrong or have messed up (this does not include grammar - that's just help for future writing) or revel in your weakness. If I have done this to anyone, I am truly sorry.

2. I pretty much only enjoy talking on the phone with one person (that would be Shannon; she keeps it lively).

1. This might fall under the organization thing, but in case you haven't noticed, I really like lists.

I Am SOOOO White

A coworker sent me a link to No. 40 on this list the other day. Haha, I'm a MAC user; everyone make fun of me! (Too bad I actually work in an office called "creative services.")

But I was looking over the list today, and some of these are really funny. My favorites include: 

104. Unpaid internships

 88. Having gay friends

 87. Outdoor performance clothes

 82. Hating corporations (this makes me think of Ryan)

 67. Standing still at concerts (oh, and I am busting a gut on this one... so true)

 62. Knowing what's best for poor people

 60. Toyota Prius (it's Jacob!)

 57. Juno (hey, I love that movie)

 49. Vintage (Chris' favorite phrase: shabby chic)

 44. Public radio (it's Jacob again!)

 35. The Daily Show/Colbert Report (consider me white)

 23. Microbreweries (oh Jacob, you're apparently as white as they come...)

 17. Hating their parents

 12. Non-profit organizations

  9. Making you feel bad about not going outside (this makes me think of Mickey, but I totally agree)

  1. Coffee (oh, dubbed white again!)

Some of them don't make sense or make me think "I don't care what culture you come from, this is important," or "Seriously?" These include:

 99. Grammar

 94. Free healthcare (really? Does the average white person expect free healthcare?)

 80. The idea of soccer (???)

 75. Threatening to move to Canada (I mean, only if there's a draft and you threaten to take my husband away...)

 51. Living by the water (Do you have to be white to not fear drowning? Not sure I get this one.)

 36. Breakfast places (Have you been to Waffle House?)

 11. Asian girls (what the...)

  8. Barack Obama (The reasoning here is so that we won't seem racist. What about the fact that the other option would almost be a repeat of what we already have, and clearly that's not working out so well?)

So this is an interesting list. Look over it for a good laugh when you get a chance. You can click on each listing and get the guy's explanation of why this is stuff white people like. There is a quiz on the site, but it's directly linked to Facebook. So I'm not sure you can take it unless you have a Facebook account. My score was 54 percent. Apparently, I'm in the "shorts wearing" category of whiteness. There's also an "expensive sandwich eating" category and a "Prius driving" category. Enjoy!

Guilty Pleasures (idea stolen from Nicole)

My guilty pleasures include:

10. Driving all the way to Chattanooga (used to be Kennesaw) to get my favorite dish at Macaroni Grill. I love me some farfalle with garlic cream sauce, broccoli, tomatoes and pine nuts.

9. Letting Sadie have the other side of the bed when Chris is on an out-of-town trip. (She's just a big teddy bear, really.) And along the same line, helping her get the toy from Jewels. It's really bad to have a favorite, huh?

8. Renting a cheesy girly movie and watching it all by myself while eating a pack of Goobers (chocolate-covered peanuts for those of you who have never experienced the tastiness).

7. Pretending like I'm just as good a singer as Ann Wilson while belting out Heart songs in my car.

6. Dancing to Black-Eyed Peas music. (I know; it's sad. These are, after all, guilty pleasures.)

5. Getting my hair done.

4. Reading magazines and taking special note of the design.

3. Visiting old houses and, usually, thinking of how I would redecorate them. (What's up with all the flower wallpaper?)

2. Listening to Chicago, Styx, Boston or Journey and remembering all the times with my dad.

1. Kissing my husband as much as possible in any given day.

OK, so I don't feel guilty about the last two.

What are your guilty pleasures?

Oh yeah!

Mary's comment on my last post reminded me to tell you all that we are suppose to find out the gender of the baby on Aug. 7, so there will definitely be a post that day. I have no guesses, but Chris "has a hunch" that it's a boy...

That's twice in one day. I'm on a roll!

I've Been Cheating on All of You

With whom? Just life.

I know I'm certainly not any busier than any of you, so I really have no excuse as to why I have neglected my poor little blog. But I'll blame it on the one thing I can blame it on: pregnancy. I mean, that's what I'm suppose to do, right, blame all the craziness on the kiddo growing inside me?

Well, I really have missed all my little readers. I even had a friend write an e-mail and ask if I was OK. My problems is commitment, really. I am fully committed to the people and animals in my life but not so much to my blog, apparently. But this is it! I am fed up with myself! I am making a commitment right now to stay true to the blogosphere and write something... anything on here at least three times a week. Maybe I'll begin to make a nice little habit of it and increase that number, but I'm starting with a realistic amount for now. To start things off and catch you up, here's yet another recap of life thus far (well, since mid-June):

The Baby Thing

It seems that the pregnancy gods are shining down on me lately. About two, maybe three, weeks ago, the "I could vomit any minute now" feeling subsided. How did this make me feel? Let's just say if you all lived close by, I would have thrown a MASSIVE party. There would have been drinking, which I would not have participated in. But would I still have been on the table acting drunk? Heck yeah! To be able to do simple tasks like brush my teeth and walk into a bathroom without losing a meal is fanfrickintastic! And to boot, I'm finally starting to show. But this only means I hear, "Oh, you're actually looking pregnant now." My mom even did the touch-my-belly thing you always see. I didn't mind so much with her, but there's going to come a time when I have to tell some stranger to remain outside of my bubble or a fist may come flying. I'm so mean! But it is MY body! I also saw my shadow profile yesterday during a walk with the dogs and was pretty weirded out. Just wait ladies, it may happen to you some day and you'll be weirded out, too.

Workaholic

For a while there, things were pretty slow around the ol' working post. I was checking out your blogs several times a day. But for the past month, I've been in high gear. We hosted a conference, for which I was in charge of all publication materials and even some of the planning. Plus, our admissions department is getting all new material to coincide with a new branding effort just set in place. So, I'm doing good to get out of here at 5 p.m. some days, which is nothing like the previous job. So I'm OK with it. It's been fun, but in one week I went from having four jobs (that's what we call each assignment) to having 12. I really like it this way, though. I'd rather feel like I am getting lots of work done. It makes the time go by faster, and I like feeling like a multitasker (a.k.a. I'm a dork).

Homemaker

Even though I'm one of those women who loves her job and loves doing the desk work, I am glad to be feeling better and getting back to my other life of doing house work. I think I actually cooked dinner every night for a whole week. I've done laundry and dishes and really lived up to the barefoot and pregnant lady standing at the sink (can we say 1962?). I could still do more, and I've taken a few naps here and there. But let me put on my pearls and whip you up some manicotti! (Just kidding on the pearls...)

News in the M- home

I'm not using our last name. Julie was cool enough to remind me of that last time I wrote something. So what's new at our place? Chris finished the porch project Mickey and Courtney were so lucky to have witnessed. We just had two dead trees cut down in our yard... which are now in pieces on the side of the road if anyone needs firewood for the winter. We picked up the paint we'll be using for the kid's room. I caught my first fish in over 15 years. Chris told me I looked like a dancer from "In Living Color" when I walked out in my first pair of maternity pants the other day (talk about high waste!). Chris and his boss made a reporter he works with cry (he'll have to tell you the story). I'm helping plan my five-year reunion for college, because I don't have enough to do.

That's pretty much it in a nut shell. I WILL write on here more this week!