I don't exactly know why today is the day, perhaps its because I have seen yet another friend leave livejournal today, and then there are those who just stopped posting. Ready for something new, a look that corresponds to our website, and more effort toward quality content on my part - I am making the move to typepad.

Please, please come and visit at my new home. I will miss all the friends I have made here if you don't!

I let a lot of time pass between posts- I have now been at my new job for a little over two weeks. That seems to be the best way for me to measure my time, either since an event or as a count down to an event. I am always moving, not quite focused on the moment. Funny when I think about it, because Clay is often thinking of the past, he is so terribly nostalgic. It used to be a point of contention, but know that I recognize it I find it endearing. Sorry, there was a little stream of consciousness in that first bit.

So, I am enjoying the new job quite a bit. In case you missed it, I quite my job as an archivist/curator for a local historical society and I took a job as the assistant director at a regional art conservation center. I love the staff, I love working with museums, I am constantly interested in art conservation, and I have a real opportunity to learn more about preservation management and preventative conservation.

Adjusting back to a 40 hour work week hasn’t been too hard because I enjoy going to work, but it has been harder to cook creative vegan meals and I have had less time for bookmaking. Oh, but another pro is working right down the hall from my best friend who is the librarian at the Museum of Photographic Arts, which happens to occupy the same building in Balboa Park as we do. Another fun daily treat is the family of owls living outside our building. I am a native San Diego, but I have never seen owls in palm tree before!



Clay’s semester is over, and he is officially done with his thesis! We get to sneak away to lunches together when he is working in the park, and he is getting more art handling and installation jobs from museums. We are hoping that he can get enough contract gigs that we can afford to keep Jackson in preschool this summer and he can get time in the print studio, which is empty for the summer. He is also scheduled to teach litho again in the fall! Things seem to be good right now.

Broken Press Studio is now on etsy. I'm pooped so this fan fair is a little lack luster. But please check it out, and tell your friends! More to be added in the next few day.

brokenpress.etsy.com

the house is not as clean as i like it, i didn't cook the fanciest of meals, and i didn't organize my closet or refold the t-shirts in my dresser. but i did make some new books and an etsy shop! i need to sew a few more an take some good pictures, but hopefully we will launch it tomorrow. stay tuned and

( sneak peek! )

I am posting much more than normal; I guess that is what happens when I have a week off.

I totally started breaking out today, perhaps because I recently through out all my make-up and switched to paraben-free products after getting this from my mother-in-law. Whenever I switch products my skin kinda freaks out, bummer too because it has been really good lately, regardless I generally tend to shy away from synthetic hormones. I joked with Clay that staying home and making books is so stressful that I have broken out.

But seriously I have made a few new books, and I hope to make many more in the next few days. I made one for a friend having a baby any day now, using fabric from the décor of her baby shower. I also made a book for a swap that I am really happy with, but I can’t post because I want it to be a surprise. I am even thinking of launching a etsy shop this week, it so silly how intimidated I am to sell books online.

If anyone else wants to swap let me know, this is a good week to make a deal!

As consuming as my detox has been, I haven’t wanted to let it dominate my posts. It’s been 8 weeks now, and last week I had blood work done to see if my cholesterol has come down. I should find out next week. What I did find out lately though was my cholesterol was really not that high, and my good cholesterol was also high. While it makes me feel better, I am still determined to get my numbers to a healthier place. I have already lost about 15 pounds, and my complexion and scalp have really improved.

I am eating soy again, and a little corn, I had some bread on Friday and holey smokes I felt bloated! So I think I will really watch how gluten affects me. I’m still not drinking caffeine because I have grown to enjoy the more even level of energy I have without it. I never thought I would give up coffee, not to say I won’t have it occasionally.

In our house we have pretty much gone vegan. We still have some mayo the boys are using until it runs out, but we haven’t had cheese, milk or eggs for month now. I have to put a lot more energy into shopping for and preparing food, but thanks to some good cookbooks we have all been loving the food. Eating out, especially with friends has been the hardest part so far.

( Here is a peek at some of the cooking I have been doing! )

There is a lot going on as of late, and I really haven’t been sharing much. But I am happy to announce that I can finally divulge my biggest secret. Perhaps once that is out of the bag, I will start regularly updating you all with the more mundane details again!

Friday is my last day as the Archivist / Curator at the La Jolla Historical Society. Perhaps one of my shortest stints, I was only there for 6 months, not very professional and not something I am very proud of. Sometimes life just presents options that cannot be refused, and that is what happened to me.

Long time readers might remember a year ago when I graduated from grad school (jeez I can’t believe it has been that long) and I left a three-year gig as the Registrar for the Balboa Art Conservation Center. I was looking to start a new professional career as an Archivist, but was sad to leave my friends and co-workers who had been there for throughout school. I was also sad to leave the field of art conservation, as preservation management is a strong interest of mine.

After a year as an Archivist, another year in collections management, I am returning to the art conservation center, this time as the Assistant Director! I am really excited to start back in this entirely new capacity, I am completely flattered that everyone is so supportive of me returning, and I am looking forward to helping other collections managers and cultural institutions better care for their collections.

So Friday I say farewell to the little cottage:



And then I am taking a week for some plain me-time and some necessary bookmaking-time! After I am refreshed I will return to a very familiar place in the park.

I have been sick like a dog for the last three days. When I woke up on Monday I thought I was a little hung over from a birthday party adventure, but by noon I was running a temperature and it was down hill from there. I haven't been so sick in a long time. My sweet boys took good care of me. This is what I see from my sick bed, daffodils from my boys and an endless supply of peppermint tea.



And then this is what I looked at for last few days, kittie butt.

Remember Broken Press Studio? Perhaps not. I recently proposed a swap with a gorgeously talented livejournal friend, and directed her to the site to see some examples of our work. She knew me from journaling, but didn’t know what I did. Really that is no surprise, as I haven’t even made a book in months- arggg. It’s my own fault, yes I have been busy, but I also haven’t been making the time to be creative.

Well Broken Press is not dead, just dormant. We recently updated the site though! We always intended to include Clay’s portfolio and with the fantastic assistance of melissa_stajda, it has happened!



We will be adding more to it over time, and I also hope to add the shop soon. Maybe I’ll wait until I only have one job distracting me though.

Happy Easter everyone, so far our day has been lovely. It is rather grey today, but that's my favorite kind of weather, so I am not complaining. We usually have some sort of family commitments on Easter, but this year it is just the three of us. I am looking forward to it. Here is some of the fun we have already had.

Long time no share. This week was a bit odd, it seemed very long. Friday was supposed to be my last day at work, but I agreed to stay on three more weeks. It’s tough to have that short timers syndrome and then not make the grand escape. That sounds worse than it is, I have been working my butt off, people are appreciating me and staying on longer will help us financially. It’s just that I was looking forward to actually having some bookmaking time. Today I found a few minutes to make a library catalog card collage. Nothing very involved.

Jackson has a good case of the sniffles, the type where Clay and I have to run with a tissue every time we hear a sneeze. Poor Doobs. He has been really good though, just all stuffed up, playing with play dough and legos.

My detox is going well, sans a little swig of the vino occasionally. Other than that I have been really, really good. I have made some mistakes. Like getting hooked on a Roastarama tea, only to realize it has barley in it, which I am supposed to stay away from (no worries Melissa, I will definitely be drinking it after the detox, I love it).

This is a very “my life” sort of entry, hope I am not boring you all! To jazz it up, I provided some visuals that are a little glimpse of Jackson’s Easter present. Clay drew the ship for Xerox transfer I did on a baby book we made some friends. We recycled the drawing adding Jackson’s name to it. I then made it into an iron-on and put it on a lovely brown t-shirt. I have put a lot of work into his basket this year. I hollowed out and dyed a bunch of eggs and hid little gifts in them that he will have to break in order to find the goodies. I know it’s not a very vegan activity, but I am still on the fence on that decision. I am reading a lot about it right now.

A few weeks ago, someone in Florida was selling an old wooden midcentury card catalog, it was lovely, and more than I couldn't afford it, I couldn't afford the shipping. Someday I will find one on the left coast that I can afford.

Anyways, the seller was advertising it with or without the cards. I contacted the seller to ask if I could buy the cards if the auction winner didn't want them. Ends up he contacted me after the auction and the cards were soon to be mine. Well they came a few days ago, and there are so many more then I ever expected!

I expected life after grad school to be easier, just job and family with bookmaking on the side. No more homework every night, no more papers, no more reading unless it was for pleasure. But things have been stressful, and in the last six months I have gone from a few novel grey hairs, to a mess of grey hairs! I am only 29, but I am not planning on covering these up, I earned these motherfuckers (please excuse my language, I am feeling ever so slightly empowered). So these make me look more mature right? Mature, elegant, not OLD!

Yesterday I had to go to some fancy-shancy dinner for the San Diego County's Women's Hall of Fame, put on by the Women's History Museum. I took part in nominating Ellen Browning Scripps on behalf of the La Jolla Historical Society. I couldn't eat anything. The vegetarian option was both pasta and a cream sauce, even the salad had goat cheese on it. So I cheated on my detox diet, and I had two glasses of wine. Seeing as I couldn't eat, I proved to be a cheap date.

Today I went to baby shower for a friend and old coworker. I am usually not big on baby showers, but it was a lovely party for a dear person, and I adore the fact that she is having a baby with her equally dear hubbie. Again though, while I could eat the nuts and the fruit, I couldn't have the cute little tea sandwiches or GORGEOUS cupcakes, the tea had caffeine and the punch had refined sugar- arg.

So, other than the eating out or at events, I am finding the vegan diet quite easy. It is the no caffeine, alcohol, gluten, soy that is harder. Anyhoo, I have decided that before this detox is over (6 weeks and counting) I will have read, "Mad Cowboy" and "No More Bull", both by Howard Lyman. My mother-in-law sent them to us, and I feel like if I am going to consider making this total change in lifestyle then I need to educate myself. I know I can do it, but ethically, I need to stand behind my decision.

I wish I could take a "me-day" and curl on the couch with a book, put some Elliott Smith on, open all the windows and smell the jasmine. I suppose I should really get some sleep though. Tomorrow is Monday and I have a teleconference -- bah.

To commemorate the first day of Spring I thought I would create a new userpic. I ended up going with an octopus, which is not very springlike, but I guess I am more of a Fall/Winter sort of gal. It's not like it matters much in San Diego, where our seasons are pretty temperate. Today was grey though, I enjoyed that. Yes I am yammering on about seasons and weather, pretty dull aye?

Hello! I promise I won't keep writing about my crazy diet, but I do want to thank everyone for the support and let you all know it is going surprising well. I am even having fun with the recipes- I made lentils, rice burgers (of course without bun, or anything else for that matter), veggie chili that was super good, rice and beans and bran muffins. There are more options than I expected, however I really need to plan ahead. I miss coffee, and it's hard when I get the munchies, but I have so much more energy and I feel more productive. Eight weeks still feels like a really long time, but so far so good.

New beginnings—tomorrow I start my detoxification program, meaning: no caffeine, no alcohol, no wheat, no gluten, no dairy, no soy products, no refined sugars and weird stuff like no oranges, no corn and no chocolate. Seriously when I read that I don’t know what I will eat. We don’t eat much meat or dairy, but I eat lots of soy products, pasta and bread. Ohhhh and no shellfish! When I am stressed I crave shrimp, that’s my comfort food and it is tough when I get the cravings. Ask any of my friends, there is nothing worse then when I have a few drinks and start getting a hankering for shrimp!

I also have to start drinking medical food beverages; I do not have my hopes up that they will be very good. Eight weeks, this will be my next eight weeks. This will probably be followed by a weight loss diet- sheesh fun.

In other news there are big changes coming, I don’t want to say too much yet incase I have any friends that read this that shouldn’t know yet. I know that sounds weird, but it will make sense later.

There are some new books available at The Stanley Family Lodge! Finally, man-o-man I have not had enough time to make books this year! I finally sent a new batch of one of my favorite designs, the "waste-nots", and the loverly Miss Melissa promply added them to the shop. Anyways check them out and the other great stuff at the Lodge.

Both Clay and I woke up feeling lousy. He got to call in sick and stay in bed, while I went to have a previously scheduled physical.

Apparently I need to lose weight, which I was expecting to hear, but I was upset to hear that my cholesterol is high. Just for fun, I found out I also had a bladder infection. What a pleasant surprise. So after I take the antibiotic, I am starting a detoxification program under the guidance of my doctor.

The most frustrating thing about today was that I told my doctor that I gained rapid weight after I had the Mirena IUD inserted. Prior to that I had lost all of my baby weight and was weighing less than I did before I was pregnant. He like the other doctors accused the weight gain on lifestyle, and not the IUD, but I have found plenty of other women online that had the exact same problem. It is not so much that I want to be viewed as a victim, but I hate being accused of leading an unhealthy lifestyle.

Blah, I guess I need to process this. I am frustrated and scared, but I am determined to turn this around and motivate myself to loss this old weight and get my cholesterol down before I turn 30 this summer.

a margarita goes well with reconciling redundant records. Then one can be tempted to "take a brake" and start taking picture of stuff in the house.

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