Martha Stewart wants ME?

*gasp gasp gasp*  SorememberalongtimeaItoldyouaboutthatcontestonMarthaStewart.comandIwantedtoenterbutIthididn’tthink thenominationsweregoingthrough?Rememberrememberremember? *gasp gasp gasp*

Okay, sorry, sorry, let me get my breath.  *Whew*.  As I was saying, few months before my wedding I entered a contest on Martha Stewart.com called Dreamers into Doers which was created to highlight women who have turned a craft or hobby into a successful business.  I knew it was a long shot, but I enlisted all of my friends, family members and current clients to fill out the nomination form on my behalf.  The prize, along with massive Martha Stewart recognition (that alone is a great prize!) was $10,000 and a lifetime time share!  Not bad.

Sadly, almost all of the people who nominated me mentioned that there was some hitch in the online form and that they weren’t sure if their entry even went through.  Though I followed the contest regularly my hopes for winning dwindled pretty quickly.

Now, I know you’re waiting for the big announcement that I won after all!  Yeah, no, I didn’t win.  Sorry to disappoint–I know, it was a letdown for me too!  No, no, I didn’t win, but today out of the clear blue cyber-sky I received an e-mail from the staff at Martha Stewart Omnimedia asking my permission to be featured as the 9/10/2008 “Doer of the Week!”

Holy Moly!  I could hardly believe it!  Let’s get one thing straight–I am quite sure that this is a way bigger deal in my newly inflated (only slightly!) head than it actually is in real life.  It’s not TV, or even the magazine–but it’s a feature that will include a bunch of photos of me and my work, a link to my site and a little background of my company all on the Martha Stewart website.

(*a little aside for you…I was asked to send about 15 photos  via e-mail in PDF format.  If you’ve been following along, you’ll know about my recent transition to Mac.  So, I’m imagining sending these huge, massive files over and not properly “zipping” the folder, thus causing a huge crash of the entire Omnimedia server resulting in a stern phonecall from Martha herself asking me to kindly withdraw all my nominations, as I won’t be receiving any recognition at all having destroyed their entire operations.*)

So don’t mind if I pat myself on the back a bit, and raise a sparkling Mint Julep with star-shaped ice cubes, served in pristine crystalware garnished with a garden-fresh edible flower in my own honor!  It’s Martha Stewart after all!

(It would be tragically embarassing if after this big announcement the article doesn’t run after all–but let’s hope that the week of 9/10 you’ll see my mug on the site.  I’ll keep you posted for sure!)

How could I resist?

Pink Scooter, originally uploaded by mewpaperarts.

Two of my favorite things ever–wine, and scooters! Now if that’s not a fortuitous discovery…

I feel at this time that it’s necessary to indicate that I avoid wine and scooters together, just for safety’s sake.

Dino and I spent the past weekend up north in the Finger Lakes visiting his parents. There is a really neat new Wine and Culinary center up there where you can take courses in all sorts of cooking, and even become certified in Wine Education. That’s where we found the Pink Scooter. I’m guessing by the color alone that the wine itself is toxic swill, but sure is a cute bottle, no?

What’s new at Mew?

Jeanie & Eric, originally uploaded by mewpaperarts.

This darling couple is Jeanie and Eric. They are getting married this winter at a cool art gallery in Laguna Beach, California. Jeanie’s a lot of fun to work with because she has excellent taste and a really clean aesthetic. These save-the-dates are now available in my shop and also work great as thank-you notes for after the wedding.

Weeknights in marriage.

Weeknights in marriage., originally uploaded by mewpaperarts.

Dino and I have taken up a new hobby. Chess. Yup. Oh, were you expecting something a little wilder, being newlyweds and all? Mmhmm, well, no, it’s chess that we’re up to weeknights these days. After dinner. With wine. I’m not very good, I mostly always lose. But I sure to feel my brain getting in shape!

Change is afoot

Change is afoot, originally uploaded by mewpaperarts.

My philosophy has always been, and is now more than ever “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” I can’t tell you a thing about my car, my cell phone or my IPOD–which by the way, was a gift. Only thing that matters to me is if it works. And up til now, my studio system has worked pretty well–other than the sad demise of my trusted friend Oki 7350. In her memory however, I’ve adopted her stronger, wiser sister Oki 9650-more on Oki later.

Anyway, Dino worships at the altar of Steve Jobs. I’m not kidding. His consistent, persistent insistence that I switch over to Mac (being the last graphic designer on earth still using IBM) finally resulted in a caving in of my anti-technology force field. Now I have two. For the first few days I was floundering–my fonts were missing, my e-mail folders didn’t transfer over, my camera driver was defunct. Gaaaah! One day I must have called him 13 different times in tears begging him to take it all apart and just “put it back!”

Now I’m about a week into the transition and I’m slowly getting the hang of things, although I have yet to figure out why everyone has a boner over Macintosh. It hasn’t brewed my morning coffee for me. It hasn’t got a pot of gold hiding in the CD drive. And it most certainly hasn’t uncovered the meaning of life.

Mac, Schmack, I want my old friend back.

Seriously, why do people like Golf?

Golf Sucks, originally uploaded by mewpaperarts.

Here is a short list of things I’m more likely to do than ever play golf again:

1. Volunteer to babysit for Jon & Kate + 8
2. Vote for Barack Obama
3. Give birth to elephant triplets

So basically what I’m saying is, I’m UNlikely to ever play golf again. I went along with Dino and two of our friends–and don’t get me wrong, we had a jolly good time together, driving the carts, drinking cold beers, eating tapas afterwards. It’s the golf part that I don’t like.

I have a great idea! Let’s all dress up the same in super stiff collared shirts and lame khaki shorts. Then, we’ll pay a bunch of money to smack a tiny ball, smaller than an egg and virtually invisible into a tiny hole, smaller than a lemon that’s hundreds of yards out of sight distance and hope it goes in! Awesome!