Football....again

The last time I posted, I was watching football. Tonight, it's the Colts and the Giants. It's the build up of the brothers before the game. I'm watching the scores right now and I think it could be a very interesting season. The Jets beat the Patriots. Washington lost in OT against the Texans....Washington should have won that one in regulation....yes, this could be an interesting season. 


Before tonight, I had been busy getting some cards ready for purchase. I had the whole weekend off, so that gave me time to catch up. I posted pictures of the cards I have ready onto my website, here. I'm about to get into e commerce, pricing the cards and getting sku numbers. It's getting close and I have an exciting, nervous anticipation flowing through me. 


I'm really pleased with the look of the printed cards. I'm beginning to see that it was a blessing that I had a computer crash AND that I had to do my designs over again. As I got into the half fold cards, I saw that some adjustments had to be made. Learning as we go. 


Here are a couple of cards.

 I'm still adding new cards and also working on Birthdays, Anniversary, Congratulations and more. 


I haven't forgotten about my T-shirt line. I'm doing test prints on some of those also, with iron-ons. I put this on a T-shirt of mine and it turned out pretty good.

Don't forget to take a look at the selection on my site http://whatruworkinon.com


That's what I've been Workin On....what about U?

Football and No Work

OK...it's Thursday night. First game of the 2010 Football season. The Saints lead the Vikings 7 - 3. No, I'm not going to give a play by play or keep you updated on the score. Anyway, by the time most of you read this, you will already know the outcome of the game.


My thing is this. Why am I feeling guilty? When I got home from work yesterday, I didn't do anything. Today, the same. Deep down I feel I should be doing something. At the same time I feel as if I deserve a rest....everyone does right?


I have deadlines to meet and I know if I keep this up, I will fall further behind. I do realize the stress is building and I must stay focused. I also realize that I am human and if I push too hard, that could make things worse. Is there a happy medium? 


Of course there is. One thing I need to do is to step back and look at the big picture, and in this picture I see a lot of red because the red is in my eyes. I did work late today and was really tired when I got home. What do I do? Stay the course. Tonight, I rest again and remove the guilt. I know I will get back to where I need to be and to focus on what is at hand. If I had sat myself down to work on my designs, I wouldn't have accomplished much because my mind is tired....I know this. 


I almost sound as if I'm having a self pity party. Not so. I have a job that is stressful, demanding, and tiring (is that a word?). It really does take a lot out of me at times....it's real...I can't get away from it...not yet.


Pity?...no. Whine?...maybe. Whatever it is, there ya have it. 


Tomorrow, it's back to business. Right now?...Saints lead the Vikings, 14 - 9. The Vikings missed the extra point.

More of Me Post

I remember a time during my preteen years, After Mom And Dad moved all of us to Cleveland, OH. That was in '65 so I guess it could have been into my very early teenage years even. 


Anyway, I've told you before how I've always like to make and build things. I can't remember why, but for some reason I was into puppets at the time. Maybe it was something I was watching on TV. I would look for old material around the house and ask Mom if I could use it to make something. White material was ideal.


I would trace my hand on the material with the thumb in the widest position from my other fingers as possible (this was accomplished through trial and error). Then I would draw the shape for my pinky afterward. 


I would cut out the shape from the two pieces of material, get needle and thread, and sew them together. When I had finished with the stitching, I would squeeze my hand into the finished product which was now my hand puppet. Now it was ready for a face. Sometimes it was a face cut out from paper of a comic figure, glued on,  or a face drawn with magic marker. 


Then I would have my very own puppet shows. It was fun...something I put together with my own hands and creating my own silly dialog. It didn't matter what anybody else thought, I knew that I was happy. The puppet thing didn't last long, but the experience will always be with me.


Looking back, I can see the development of what is now something I have always had. A desire to imagine, and then to see my imagination come to life. It's God's gift to me.


The things I put together don't have to be perfect, although if I chose to go that route I think I could make a living at it. I'm talking about a lot of things I have concocted over the years that have actually been useful....hmmmm....maybe later. 




  

Good and Bad....but no Ugly

I really had no intention on waiting this long before my next post.  I'm trying to get caught up on the designs I lost during my PC crashes. I'm doing well in that area except I keep straying because I see more ideas to mess around with. 


I think I might have to delay the opening of my website. I see I'm not going to be ready. Working a full time job takes a lot out of the day, and when I get home, I'm mentally strained as well as physically. So I have to unwind and get "work" out of the way so I can get down to business. I also ordered a latest version of the PrintMaster software. It is Broderbund's PrintMaster 2011 and I should have it soon. It's more compatible with Windows 7. I've had this version (PrintMaster Gold 11)  for a number of years and although happy with it, ready for the upgrade.


I was toying with The Heart and wondered if I could do something I had been thinking about. This is the result I came up with last night. I have yet to print a copy, and I am currently in the process of taking care of that. 

When I get the printed results, I will share them with you.

New ideas keep popping into my head, but now I need to focus on the matter at hand. I can always come back to this end of it at anytime.....that is when I'm not "working".  


The Good is that I'm still getting things caught up albeit slower than expected. The Bad...delay in website opening. Ugly? There's nothing Ugly about these pictures. 

A Break and More of Me

I have decided that I needed a break. I need to stop for a moment and gather my thoughts and give my mind and body time to rest.
I have had a lot going on these past few weeks but I did promise to reveal some things about me. So here we go.

I am currently separated from a marriage of 31 years; now into our second year of separation. Without first consulting her on mentioning her name, for now she will be my estranged wife. We are still under good terms, which makes things easier. I will say that she is currently living with our son, Reg. I wish I had pictures of him. 

I am working a job that I have done for about 35 years now. I've been with this company for 4 years. I don't like to talk about my job. I like what I do. I get to meet people and see areas that are new to me. 

I think I'm still making the adjustment to the Virginia Beach area....I guess what I mean is this part of the country. It's not a bad experience by any means. I've always lived farther north. I love not having to deal with the very harsh winters anymore. 

In 1972 I graduated from John Adams High School in Cleveland, OH. I ran track during my freshman year, but that class was too fast for me. I did that because I ran track in Junior High and thought I would continue into High School. 

I had no desire for college and that is because I like learning, but I feel confined when I have to deal with text books. That's why I liked Printing, Woodwork, Photography, and I also took Architectural Drafting during Jr and High School.

I've always liked interactive types of things, whether it's just throwing something together or taking time on a project. I wish I could show you some of the things I made when I was a kid. My gosh....looking back on that, those were some rough looking cars, and jewelry boxes with drawers, you name it I just knew I could put it together. 

I'm no decorator by any means, but I'd like to show you something I put together.

The next 2 photos are the same, just different lighting. It is a small fruit crate that my wife got from her job. She would bring home a couple on occasion. I knew I would find uses for them. The net on the front I had purchased in a package along with some shells. The lighthouses in the background is leftover wall paper crown I had in my home office in Dayton, OH., the ship in the bottle and the lighthouse I purchased from a Walmart in Dayton, OH years ago. This is hanging on the wall in my room.

 

This one is a bonus I was just about to close and post when I thought to lift the net. I like it.  

I guess that'll do for now. I have to same some for later.