Early Resolution Action

As the new year approaches, and in preparation for my marketing future, I have resolved to increase my social media activity, including this poor, abandoned blog! A comprehensive update of my last two and a half years would be very dull, so I'll just share the highlights:

• Attended 3 beautiful weddings for my even more beautiful cousins!

Carolyn Adler ~ May 2011, Michigan

 Erin + Matt Rocco ~ July 2012, Michigan

Michelle + Bruce Twersky ~ October 2012, Arizona

• Welcomed a gorgeous new cousin to the family!

Dakota Mecca Dennis, born April 16, 2011

• Attended A LOT of incredible concerts, including: 

DMB Caravan ~ Chicago, July 2011

Country Thunder ~ Florence, AZ, April 2012

Jazz Fest ~ New Orleans, May 2012 

• Helped organize several work parties and events:

Roaring 20s Holiday Party, February 2011

Ugly Sweater Bunko Party, October 2011

Mardi Gras Holiday Party, March 2012

TP Olympics, August 2012

Summer Hoedown, September 2012

• Began pursuit of my MBA at ASU's W.P.Carey School of Business, August 2012

• Bought a house! (well, condo... that I somehow don't have pictures of at the moment, I'll try to rectify that) November 2011

The past two and a half years have been full of many tremendous memories and I look forward to posting about all of my wonderful adventures to come in 2013! I hope you'll follow along!

Times Are A-Changing

So, understandably, most of you have probably forgotten that this blog exists – I think I might have even forgotten for a while! Yet, alas, the changing of the season (and many far more significant changes) has inspired me to return to the blogosphere and resume my once regular updates of the goings-on in my life.

Where to begin?

I’ve finally joined the ranks of real world professionals – I got a full-time job! And better yet, it’s in my field – using both of my degrees! Today marked my first day of employment as a Production Designer at Tiny Prints, Inc., a web-based card retailer that specializes in announcements, invitations and greeting cards. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this job! The company is pretty young, they launched in 2004, but they’ve had incredibly impressive success in the last six years. They’re based out of Mountain View, CA and they just opened a new office in Tempe on June 1, so everyone is either new to the valley or new to Tiny Prints, which makes it a pretty interesting time to join the team since we’re all transitioning together. The product line is amazing and almost entirely developed by contract freelance designers, so the company itself has very little creative involvement on that end, but they encourage employees to share their own work. My position as a Production Designer is more of an editing position, so after a customer submits his/her card, I edit the text, photos, and layout to guarantee that everything is as close to perfection as possible, and then we send it off to printing. Beyond being totally impressed with both their product and success, the company promotes a family-like culture that I am honored and excited to be a part of. Everyone seems to genuinely love working for Tiny Prints and it was even chosen as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times! I feel like I’m writing a press release for them, but I’m just so thrilled that I found such a wonderful place to work! Seriously, check out the website, and tell me that you don’t love them, too! And family and friends, there’s a discount in it for you, too!

Here's some samples of their work:

My first day of work was great. There is one other girl who was hired as a Production Designer and she and I will be in training for the next two weeks, learning about company standards and quality assurance and everything we need to know to be awesome at our new jobs. Today was very introductory – we filled out lots of paperwork, met the other people in our department (there are only 7 right now in Tempe), and started with our training. Also, there’s no dress code so I can wear jeans and flip-flops to work everyday! Amazing!

Obviously, my various other activities took a hit since I’m now occupied Monday-Friday from 9-6. I had to end my internship at the Children’s Museum, although I’ll still volunteer there when I have some time. I tried to stay on at Anthropologie but I just can’t commit enough hours and summers are very slow here since no one wants to visit the 120° weather. I haven’t figured out what will happen with Free Arts, but that will be the most disappointing activity to lose because I so look forward to seeing the kids each week. My partner and I both stayed on through summer so we’ve been with the same kids since January and I really don’t want to leave them!

That’s enough of an update for now, but I still have lots to share so I’ll be back soon! Happy summer everyone!

New Year Update

Ok, so my new year's hiatus lasted a bit longer than I intended... I started watching HBO's former series The Wire and, well, all I can tell you of the last month and a half is that I've learned to never trust a politician, news writer, police officer, lawyer, dock worker, or drug dealer. Great show!

Anyways, now that I've re-emerged into the real world, I have quite a few updates. I recently designed a logo for my parents and brother's newly formed real estate team:

So if you're looking to buy property in this beautiful state (and why wouldn't you? It's 75 degrees of gorgeous sunshine right now!) they're the team to call. Plus, they're great people.

I've also resumed my position as a mentor at Free Arts of Arizona. My partner Kyla and I are working with kids aged 5-11 and so far it's been a blast! I love this age group, they're still excited about playing with glitter and pipe cleaners and nothing is totally lame yet. Last week we made valentines, tissue paper flowers for Mom, and candy rings:

I've been busy at work at the Children's Museum, which I'm loving more and more each day - I even got to write a few grant requests this week! We've been preparing for months for a huge gala that is finally upon us! This Saturday night adults will take over the museum and play and explore like kids, and I'll get to partake in the festivities as a grateful volunteer. I'll post some pictures after the big event.

Speaking of work, I'm finally returning to work at Anthropologie this weekend and I'm very excited to be back on the job. While I really, really love all of the volunteering/interning I'm doing, I can't help but long for the ca-ching of a paycheck every now and then.

And lastly, I lost a great member of the family this week when we put down our beloved Wheaten Terrier, Bailey. Bays was my first great companion when we moved to Arizona, and I'll greatly miss our pool races and cuddle sessions. Unfortunately, age finally got the best of him and after fourteen great years we had to say goodbye. Unbelievably, I don't have a single picture of him on my computer (I lost them all in the great crash of '07), but here's a drawing I made of him a few summers ago:

RIP Bailey boy, I'm sure you're having a great time in doggy heaven with Rocky and Reggie.

So, that's my update for now. I'm trying to get back to work on some personal projects, one of which is staying on top of this blog so that I can keep my devoted readers entertained (that's you, Grandma Bebby). Hopefully I'll have some new artwork to post soon, and until then, enjoy one of my favorite hippo sketch studies:

Season's Cheer

Image courtesy of Anthropologie

Season's Greetings! As many of you may know, I had my surgery a week ago yesterday and it was a huge success! Since then I have been walking, sitting, driving, and bending with ease (comparatively) and my road to recovery just gets smoother every day. I'm thoroughly enjoying my return to functioning life and I'm looking forward to a busy week packed with Hanukkah parties, a bridal shower, and New Year's Eve in Las Vegas! So, while I probably won't post again until 2010, I'm moving into the new year with great spirits and you can expect to hear a lot more from me soon! Happy Holidays!

Surgery!

I never would have imagined I could be so excited about having a surgery! As I mentioned before, my surgery has been set for December 21st and I have idly been counting down the days. My parents and I had the faint hope that maybe I could be squeezed in on the 14th or 15th (the doctor only operates on Mondays and Tuesdays), yet each time we called to check on my status, the scheduling ladies had the same response: "Sorry, no changes. If something opens up we'll let you know." Because I'm on blood thinners, I need at least 5 days notice before the surgery to tend to my medications, so as yesterday and today rolled by, I finally resigned myself to the fact that surgery could come no sooner than the 21st.

Until now.

The scheduling ladies just called and said Wednesday, December 16th is available and I'm on the schedule! FIVE DAYS sooner than expected! FIVE DAYS from today! And absolutely right on time. I know 5 days doesn't sound like much, and if I had to wait those extra 5 days I would, without complaint. But cutting 5 days from my sentence feels like adding a year onto my life right at this moment! I've been on my back for eight weeks - yes, EIGHT WEEKS! I can barely remember what it feels like to sit down at a table to eat a meal, let alone sleep comfortably on my stomach (or at all, for that matter) or stand up for longer than 10 minutes. I am ecstatic that my surgery and the rest of my life are only 5 days away.

And, as an added bonus, I'll be able to attend my brother's holiday party on the 19th in an upright position instead of chaining myself to the couch for the night. Oh happy day!

Illustrated Gift Tags

My good friend, Brooke, is a very talented fashion illustrator and she features her work on her blog and Etsy page. Her most recent product is available just in time for the holidays - lovely, illustrated holiday gift tags!

Also, be sure to check out her Fabulous Tags and Lined Lady Tags! Keep up the great work, Brooke!

Hippo Discoveries

In the spirit of loving all things hippo, and as a reminder that this blog is not, in fact, just a platform to keep people updated on my injury/illness status, I'm going to share some lovely hippo art that I've recently discovered!

This first find, adorable hippo greeting cards titled "The Cavorting Hippo," is from Vancouver-based illustrator Rebekah Joy Plett. I'm in love with the line drawing of the hippo beside all of the cards! This pack can be purchased at Rebekah's Etsy shop and 10% of the profits go to a local children's organization. I plan on purchasing a pack to frame and put up in my studio!

The other interesting hippo art I found is from my own employer, Anthropologie! This Flip-Flop Hippo is made entirely from rubber sandals that have washed up on the shores on Kenya and it sells for a whopping $298! I'm not sure I'd use it to decorate my own house, but I'm thrilled that the creators chose to feature my beloved hippo.

The Incredible Future of Technology

Hi Everyone! I know I haven't written in a while, but I've been home from the hospital since the day after my last post and I finally have a surgery date - December 21 - so I know when I'll finally be able to join the real world again!! I haven't been writing because I feel like I haven't had much to say - my pain is still pretty much the same as it's been for the past 6 weeks and I've been working on building a tolerance so that I can stand and walk for longer periods of time. Most of my time is still spent lying on my back, but now I get to go out on little field trips so I can go shopping for an hour or pick up my brother from the airport (riding in the backseat, lying down, of course). I've been busy knitting hats and scarves (pretty much all I know how to knit), watching lots of TV, and re-reading Harry Potter for the billionth time, so I'm keeping pretty positive and happy for the most part. However, the reason for this post was not to ramble on about myself, it was to share a very interesting video that I discovered about the future of technology.



This video features the genius Pranav Mistry as he demos and discusses his latest invention, SixthSense technology. It is absolutely astounding! In my wildest dreams I never could have foreseen technology becoming this interactive and accessible. And, though I've always dreamed that I could capture a picture with just the blink of an eye, I never thought we'd come this close... Imagine how this technology could change the world!

Update Take 2: My Hospital Adventure

Wow, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated everyone on my condition! A LOT has changed, and not so much for the better, so let me get you caught up... After I last wrote, I got an MRI that night and learned that I have a HUGE herniation in my S1 disc - and I mean HUGE! All of the doctors who have looked at it agree that it is enormous and most recommended surgery to most successfully correct the problem. When I first heard this news, I was pretty upset, especially since I'm young, active, and have every intention of using my spinal cord and its discs for a long time to come! However, the next day I went to meet with the orthopedic surgeon and he explained to me (via a slew of comical metaphors) what exactly will take place in the procedure and how it will relieve my pain: It is a microscopic discectomy where they make a very small incision in my back, remove the part of the disc that is pressing on my nerves, and then sew a single internal stitch, leaving barely a mark on my skin. It's an outpatient surgery that takes only 45 minutes and the relief is said to be so instant that I can do backflips out of hospital! So, after hearing all of the details and weighing my options (wait for several more weeks, or maybe months, in extreme pain, and hope that the disc heals itself OR get this quick fix surgery) I opted for the surgery and scheduled it for Tuesday, November 10, 2 weeks from the date that I met with the surgeon. I would have scheduled the surgery for the day after I met the surgeon if I could have, but he was leaving town and couldn't fit me in that quickly, so I grudgingly accepted that I'd have to lie around for another 2 weeks (remember, I'd already been on my back for over a week at this point). In the meantime, I scheduled an epidural injection in an attempt to shrink the disc and hopefully find some relief, even if it was just temporary...

Wednesday, October 28, the day after I met with the surgeon, I had my epidural. I woke up that morning in a tremendous amount of pain. I couldn't stand long enough to put toothpaste on my toothbrush, and I was losing tolerance for the pain and my inactivity. I went into the procedure with high hopes that things would be different on the other end, but I was definitely not prepared for the injection. They sedated me as soon as I got on the table, so for about 30 seconds I was doing great, and then the shots started and I have never felt that much pain in my life. All of the pain I'd been feeling already was intensified as they were sticking needles right into my tender nerves and my body just freaked out. When they were done with the injections (I don't know how many shots there were, it felt like at least 5) I was shaking uncontrollably and hyperventilating and I was pretty much a wreck, but they gave me some more drugs and laid me down until I could recover from the shock of the pain and then, miraculously, I felt nothing! I could sit up straight and I could stand with no pain and I thought, maybe that was worth it after all! And then about an hour later the numbing medicine wore off and the pain meds wore off and I was in the same pain I'd been in when I woke up and my spirits sank. With epidural injections it can take up to 10 days for the steroids to have their full effect, and so I waited, still on my back, still unable to stand, sit or walk, hoping with each new day that the relief would come... and it never did. I could move around a little better than the days leading up to the procedure, but I still couldn't walk for more than 3 minutes and I still couldn't sit at the dinner table to eat my meals. However, my surgery was scheduled and I had a date to look forward to when I knew I'd feel relief.

Wednesday morning, with less than a week to go before surgery, I woke up with a strange pain in my right shoulder, chest, and ribs. I thought I had just slept funny and tried icing my shoulder, hoping the soreness would go away. Instead, as seems to be the trend with my body lately, it got progressively worse throughout the day. By Wednesday night when I was trying to go to bed, my chest felt constricted and I was having trouble taking deep breaths. I thought if I could just fall asleep, maybe I'd wake up and feel better, but I couldn't fall asleep. By 3am I was really starting to get aggravated and I had already had a fit of hyperventilating, so I woke my parents and told them I was worried about the new pains and the breathing issue. They tried to calm me down, thinking maybe it was just a panic attack and I was anxious about the upcoming surgery, but after another hour we finally decided it was time to go to the hospital, so at 4am on Thursday morning, I took a trip to the ER.

At the hospital they ran a bunch of tests and told me it was probably nothing, but I was still in pain and having trouble breathing. They tried giving me pain meds to make me comfortable but nothing was working. They gave me morphine three times and it had no effect on me! So we waited as they poked at me and scanned me and finally, they diagnosed me: I have several small blood clots all over my lungs - pulmonary embolisms! Now things are pretty serious. I was admitted to the hospital and they finally found a pain medicine that I react to. The first day they drew my blood every two hours to check its thickness, and now my right arm could embarrass a junkie. Since blood clots are much more serious than herniated discs, the surgery that I was so looking forward to has been pushed back at least 30 days. I'm on two blood thinners, benadryl (because the pain meds make me itch), and stool softener (because I haven't pooed since I've been in the hospital... in case you were curious). But really, after the initial shock of the diagnosis and learning that I'd need to stay in the hospital for almost a week, things are not so bad. Once we put the blood clots into perspective I realized how lucky it was that I came to the ER. Had I gone to surgery as planned, with no one knowing about the clots, there could have been terrible complications. Now I just need to treat one health problem at a time and keep trying to get back on my feet!

The hospital itself hasn't been so bad, either. I have a nice big private room and someone from my family is here almost all time. We hooked up our Wii to my TV and we've been playing everything from Family Feud and Trivial Pursuit to Mario Kart. My cousin decorated the room with pictures and I've gotten some beautiful flowers that brighten the room and all of the nurses comment on how great it smells in here! I've got my computer with me so I can watch movies and play games, and there's a whole staff of people waiting on me at the press of a button to bring me food or ice or medicine as I need it! Things could be worse! haha... I'm supposed to be discharged tomorrow, pending the results of a few more tests. Other than that, I'm back to taking this one day at a time...

So that's the update, sorry I couldn't give you happier news but I'm in good spirits so you shouldn't worry about me! Thanks for all the well wishes! I hope you're all happy and healthy!

Update

Hello blogging world, it's time for a major update! I have been suffering from a back injury, what is thought to be a bulging or herniated disc, for well over a month and a half. For the most part, I've been able to function despite the pain which pinches my sciatic nerve running down my left buttock and leg, but about a week ago things took a major downward spiral and since last Sunday I've been flat on my back 24/7. I have visited several doctors, including a physical therapist, my family doctor, and even a rolfer, yet I have found little relief. Today I'm going to see someone about an MRI and the possibility of epidural injections in my spine, which seems to be the next logical step and hopefully it will get me back on my feet. Needless to say, I'm going crazy just lying here. I've watched just about every episode of Law & Order ever aired, and every other crappy thing on TV. I can't sit up, so I haven't eaten a meal at a table in over a week, let alone do something productive like read, draw, or knit - it's even been difficult for me to use my computer because the position is so uncomfortable (which explains the lack of blogging). I'm anxious to get back to work, seeing as all of my positions are fairly recent and this feels like a terrible reflection of my dedication to call in "sick" so frequently. I have my Romeo and an ice pack by my side for comfort, but my patience is running very thin and apparently my only option is wait for this thing to run its course and heal itself. I hope you're all doing well, and for anyone who has ever experienced this before, I feel your pain (quite literally).

Wish me luck in my recovery and in the meantime, check out this awesome faux Polaroid program, Poladroid, and admire the handsomeness that is my Romeo!

Baby Bliss

I was searching for some knitting patterns today when I stumbled across Lillebarn's Etsy shop where I found the most amazingly adorable knits for babies. Now I just need to find a baby to make one of these hats for! Try to resist this deliciousness!:

Lilliebarn also has a blog! Check it out to find out how you can get your hands on some of these precious knits.

Fall Frenzy

Fall is in the air and I'm officially feeling swept away! There's the excitement of baseball and Halloween and winter clothes on the horizon, and I'm in love with it all. I'm going to make yummy fall treats tonight and kick back with some warm cider, even though it's not exactly cold here in Arizona! Here are some deliciously wonderful fall pictures that are guaranteed to get you in the spirit of the season!