christmas is over, but this was fun, check it

I love "A Charlie Brown Christmas"... and I found this fun little quiz about the show through another blog... I scored 60%... not terrible... atleast better than half. :)

click the picture >><< to take it yourself...

how'd YOU do?

Don't dis the JuJu- episode 21/season two

I admit it, I'm obsessed. consumed. hooked. immersed in. addicted... to Grey's Anatomy. Yes, I confess here and now that I have a problem. Is it that much of a problem? Well, I'm not having dreams about McDreamy yet, but when I rent a disc from Blockbuster I definitely can't stop watching after just two episodes. It has to be atleast three, and it's hard to quit after that.

I'm so glad that I've been able to watch the second season on dvd while we're waiting for new episodes to return in the current season.

Anyone else ready to admit to their obsessions? :) For some it's alcohol, and others cigarette's... me: Grey's Anatomy.

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In other news.. I never updated about my "final" last friday! :) It went exceptionally well... no big deal, I just didn't give any of my opinion. And, this week I found out that the client wanted to get rid of the current logo that was created by someone else and let me change it. Sometimes if you do what they say, even if you don't like it, they'll see it for themselves and decide that maybe, just maybe you were right. :)

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One last tid-bit... all this week I thought how great it would be if I could take friday off, but at the same time figured it wouldn't be a hard day and I'd have work to do so why not? Well, this afternoon my boss came into my office and said "I want you to take the day off tomorrow"..
Perfect! If he is telling me I should, who am I to do anything different! :) yay... a day to catch up!
So... the moral of the story is.... "don't dis the juju"
haha

peace- and Happy New Year if I don't get on here again before!

CHristmaS Meme...

Okay Erin... I of course, cannot resist the "meme"
here's the definition for all who are curious... i had to look it up:
meme: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture

1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate! Egg Nog just sounds nasty

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa only brings the stocking stuffers...

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Currently green and red on tree... none on the house

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Naw... i never got into that... nobody to kiss anyways :)

5. When do you put your decorations up?
very soon after Turkey day

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
hmm... it's always different.. this year it's a ham from the Honey Baked Ham Co.- my dad got a GC for one... i suppose it'll be good, but I'm not a huge ham fan in general

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
hmm... i don't now if it's absolutely favorite, but one I remember vividly... I asked for ice skates (i knew we were friends for a reason E! :), but I got new ones... sorry) for christmas one year and the next morning before going to my grandma's house, I was determined to try out my new skates. My parents were so great... they brought me to an ice rink even though it was closed and helped me get my skates on in the car so I could go and try them out. I believe it was close to 0° out, too! So, needless to say the skating didn't last very long!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Santa was "old saint nick", a real person, but a story from long ago, I was told by my parents early on. I was probably one of the oblivious kids who didn't realize my friends REALLY believed in Santa, and broke their little hearts.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
I open ALL of them on Christmas eve... we used to do christmas with mom's side on the eve and dad's side on day... but you know, family feud and all that, so the eliminated the day celebration.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
being a single gal, i don't have many ornaments... i haven't asked for my christmas ornaments from my parents because I felt like I should wait until I have my own family. Just makes more sense on their tree right now.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
As you may have read... I posted in the middle of my work day today JUST to report the snow that FINALLY fell! It was ABOUT TIME! Yes, I love it... I was actually getting depressed from the brown-ness.

12. Can you ice skate?
I got new Ice Skates two years ago, or maybe even three now.. wow! but I haven't had a chance to use them in a couple years. :(... that is one of my goals for the year.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? (hold on, this one's long)
oh gosh... this is a funny/heartwarming story :)... it's mostly my favorite because of the story..
so, in middle school i was pretty obsessed with Elmo (i know you know where this is going). And, of course when the Tickle Me Elmo came out EVERYONE had to have one, but I really never remember asking for one outright... Everyone remembers the mobs and people stealing them out of customers hands, etc. It was insane and I couldn't imagine why it was SOO important to have it for Christmas. OKAY... so I open most of my gifts and then get to one from my grandma, open it, and yes, it's "Tickle Me Elmo"... I was shocked! She told me that she went to Target and got a RainCheck (because they were obviously out), not thinking it would come before Christmas and would just wrap a picture of it or something. Target called her a few days before Christmas, so she was able to pick it up for me. I remember her saying something like she was a bit frightened that someone would see her carrying one out of the store. I just LOVE my grandma! Not because I got something, but because of the heart behind it... she knew without me asking, and didn't worry about having to give it on Christmas... "it's the thought that counts" is her moto.

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Family. (i'll second that!)

15. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
mmm... Grandma's special creme wafer cookies... they're indescribable!

16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?
a newer tradition is having Mike and Lois(our "adopted" aunt and uncle) over for gift giving and dessert on christmas day (although this year will be slightly different because of schedules... owell)

17. What tops your tree?
nothing... couldn't find one I liked that lit up

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
i gotta be honest i like both equally... especially receiving a creative gift... it tells you about the person who is giving them... like last year, my sister burned three different compilation cds for me... fun songs, worship songs, and quiet songs.... the fun songs was so awesome... a bunch of oldies that we used to dance around the house to... how fun!


19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
oo, i have a few... The Little Drummer Boy (i loved the rup a pum pum parts as a kid), Carol of the Bells, and that song from ELF that Will Ferrell sings with that girl in the bathroom to... something like... oh yeah, Baby, it's Cold Outside :)

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
i could take 'em or leave 'em... i haven't had one in a long while actually

well... as the definition of "meme" is spreads from person to person, whoever reads this is supposed to do the same thing... so maybe David or Linda could do this, since Erin already did it... i'm pretty sure there are only three of you who frequent my blog anyways! anybody wanna prove me wrong?

winter wonderland!

YAY! It'S SnOWinG!!!!!

i'm sure it is causing problems which is bad... but I'm so happy!! :)

a few more short stories

It has been awhile since my last post (for me atleast)... and since Erin nudged me by asking WHERE I was... well... here's some facts of the month :)

1. i've been using my creative juices on a fun christmas postcard and some other creative endeavors on my computer

2. been christmas shopping and painting... painting things for gifts

3. been having some trouble with pains in my arms, wrists, hands

4. just plain stressed

Because of numeral 3, I am keeping this short, especially since I already blogged one long story today.
I did want to share about a sweet gift I got at our office christmas party..

Every year we do a Secret Santa gift exchange.. Angela(my roomie) laughed because there are only 5 of us... what a nerd, it's still secret even though the quantity of us is low! :) k... anyways... You never quite know what you'll get.. we do just one gift (some do it throughout december... we don't, just a $10-15 gift) anyhoo, why am I explaining all of these details...
My boss's son, Dave had my name and got me the new "U218 VIDEOS" being a big u2 fan- it was perfect. I popped it in while writing my last blog, and I had to stop so many times and watch. This is a DEFINITE must for any u2 fan... well, in my opinion atleast.
I'm sure they've had other DVDs or music video colaborations, so I don't have anything to compare it with, but it's cool because there are videos from '84, and ranges in between until now. I know you'll probably never read this Dave... but thanks again! :)

I think there was more I wanted to write... but I forget and I better stop before I have those pains I was talkin' about.

later blogland..

p.s. man, i was all excited to switch to the new blogger, but I guess you have to be "chosen" to switch... lame.

Wish me luck!

I thought I was done with finals when I finished school...

One of the things I'm working on right now is a presskit for a musician (a promotional tool to send to radio stations, etc.). This particular musician and I are having a creative conundrum(sp?).. I don't know one word to describe it, but basically I keep thinking I understand what she wants, and then somehow I totally miss the mark. This usually doesn't happen very often, and I believe I'm starting to get it now, but the test or "final" so-to-speak is friday at 3pm.
Guy talked to her and decided it would be good if she came in and sat down with me to work on it together. I'm sure it is a good idea too, but it's a designers worst nightmare... having someone sit and watch you create.. i'm getting the jitters just thinking about it... it's like having someone look over your shoulder while reading a good book, or writing a letter. An eagle on a perch, watching its prey. They get to see each and every move you make.. no matter how fast or slow. Talk about pressure...
I decided it would be good to ask Georgia about the subject since she had our "favorite" client for so long perched at her side for hours and days. The advice she gave me was this... You have to ignore the need to please them every second and not worry about how long it takes to get a concept out. That's the paraphrased version. I think it's true and good advice, but it might be easier said than done. I think she has this skill mastered... me on the other hand, these things come up few and far between.
The other small piece to this story is that I feel like I might have offended this person at one point in the process. I was trying to let them know that I just didn't think the concept they were explaining would work well. I may have said, it just wouldn't look good... with a little too much emphasis on the "just" and "good." I can't really remember, but I remember that I heard some slight frustration in reply to my comment. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes my communication skills are lacking, and this was one of those times. How do you recover from that, especially if you don't know for sure if it really affected them or not. Part of me wants to say, "okay, so let's just start over, pretend you've never talked to me before." Or, I could just say... "I'm sorry for all this miscommunication on your design concept.. I believe we can still make this partnership work"- okay, so I'd never be that formal... but you know something along those lines.

I praying it goes well... that I'll be able to relax and be creative. no pressure lisa, no pressure! :)

twenty six

Twenty Six years ago today, at this moment (5:00) my mom had just gotten to the hospital and was in labor with me.
When I was a kid, my dear great grandmother always told me the story of how she rushed my mom to the hospital as she was in labor. (and made it sound like she saved the day, -insert misty eyes- she was the coolest old lady, how i miss her!).

As my mother wrote in my baby book...

"Gr. Grandma Dorothy took mommy down to the hospital at 4:30pm. It was cold and windy out, started snowing later that night. Met Terry (daddy) :) as I got out of the car. Went to admitting, a nurse from OB came and got me. Went to the birthing room, Terry came up shortly. Labor lasted five hours, Lisa came out sideways."
(may that explains my sideways thinking! :)haha)

I was born at 8:00pm.. and the other memory or story I know is that "Little House on the Prairie" was on tv when I was born, as my mother always told me. :)
___

I took the day off today and it was very nice... I'm off to go shopping now and to hang with some friends... but here is another song that I really love the lyrics to... somewhat appropriate to this day as well...

Better Days
(John Rzeznik- goo goo dolls)

And you asked me what I want this year
And I'll try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe
We'll find better days

'Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
Designer love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe
We'll find better days

So take these words
And sing out loud
'Cause tonight's the night
The world begins again

I need someplace simple where we could live
And something only you could give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're
Alive

And the one poor child who saved this world
There's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them

I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll
Find better days