It's The Little Things In Life...

After a few weeks of non-stop working, both at the ceramic studio and doing freelance design work, I finally got 3 days off where I could do fun stuff for myself. And I did lots and lots, yet it feels like I did absolutely *nothing*. And here I go, back to work tomorrow, for another run of heavy working. Why oh why can't we master the art of making time stand still?

Anyway, the freelance design gig is really taking off, which rocks. My hours at the ceramic studio are cut back a bit, but I'm actually making more money because I've been given more design projects (isn't it grand how life works out like that?). A couple weeks ago I was creating barcodes for a client and man oh man, did that project ever take on a life of its own. My part of the gig was simple: take numbers, plug 'em into barcode program, create barcode, plug more numbers into spreadsheet to keep track of 'em, and layout said barcodes for printing onto labels. Mundane, yes, but actually kinda cool because I hadn't ever done that before on a large scale. In the beginning, the project was neat, easy, and somewhat exciting. But what was at first a 2,000 barcode project quickly escaladed into a 30,000 barcode project. By the end of it all, I was exausted, yelling at the computer (this isn't uncommon with me, however...), and seeing black and white stripes in my sleep. No regrets though--this was an awesome project that gave me a lot of appreciation for seemingly simple things, like barcodes, in the wide world of packaging. I will never look at a barcode the same again. And hell, my wee lil' barcodes will be in Guitar Center stores nationwide, so that's kinda spiffy...

So, after many hours of computer time, my 3 days off included lots of lounging, eating popcorn, reading books and magazines, and basically unwinding from everything. Felt damn good. Here's a basic rundown of my time to myself:

1) redecorated portions of the house to better suit me--put all my dvds in the antique china cabinet that I was given. I love this piece. It used to belong to my Great Aunt and has been through a house fire, of all things. I think that's my favorite feature about it--the top right corner is even scorched from that fire back in the 40s. And all of its life it was holding china. Because I'm not a china-type girl, it now houses my dvds perfectly. They're totally meant for eachother. Please note my horrid picture-taking. I was in a rush for a pic and did a very lousy job. The chair is a vintage 60s school chair that I bought from a Goodwill in tiny Port Townsend, WA (about 45 mins from my town). Best Goodwill ever. My best finds have been from that store. I got two of these school chairs (complete with old engravings on them!) for $5. The lamp was from Target for $40 on sale and I love it. The poster I stole from work a few months ago and framed it with a craft paper backdrop in a cheapo frame. I love staring at that Vik Muniz piece ("Double Mona Lisa" done in peanut butter and jelly). Still completely bummed that I missed the Muniz exhibition at the SAM. Bah.

2) finally did taxes. Yeesh, that only took me forever. I was hoping to get a hefty refund this year, but no. Uncle Sam wins again. I'm still getting a refund check, but lets just say it'll go towards helping pay bills instead of a flight to England.

3) got massive doughnut craving and bought doughnuts. Ate said doughnuts. I don't even like doughnuts.

4) finally did dishes, after a good week and a half of avoiding them. Pleased to have the house smelling normal again...

5) completely purged my dining table of all my painting/art mess. I have a room dedicated for all my art projects and yet I almost always paint out in the dining/kitchen area. Typically seeing all my paints, canvases, newspapers, and brushes helter-skelter about the table doesn't bother me. But everyone has a breaking point, and I finally had mine yesterday.

6) did laundry. Yea for clean clothes!

7) bought a neato red teapot from Target for $15 (seen at top of post). I haven't used it yet, but I *love* how it looks. I also got a loose-leaf tea ball to toss in the teapot so I can try out the really expensive and exotic loose-leaf teas they sell in my local privately-owned grocery store.

8) saw The Departed through Netflix. Good flick--a nice, modern spin on the cliche crime/mob drama. And the acting was awesome. Seeing all those big-name actors in one movie though is almost a bit much for me. Three, okay cool. But when all the characters in the movie are played by A-list celebs (and there were at least 6 of 'em in this flick) I almost get too overwhelmed. But, like I said, the acting was great (course, with all those big names, it better be...).

9) entered the Fred Flare Next Big Thing competition. Here's to hoping!

10) got the studded snow tires finally taken off the car. I loathe getting them put on/taken off every year. By far one of my *least* favorite things to do.

I have no plans for tonight, except maybe to do some painting and more reading. I have some cute black cat charms I sculpted last week that are dying to get varnished, photographed and listed in the shop, but I just haven't been motivated. I'll start on that tomorrow, I suppose.

I hope everyone's week is going well!