Catching up

It's Friday! Yay! As it's the end of the week, and I haven't had a meaningful post in a while, I thought I'd catch you all up on the happenings here at traciedesigns headquarters (that is a snazzy word for my house, isn't it? I quite like that, actually!):

--Earlier this week I worked on some biz cards for my pal Jill over at Glow (I know she reads this--and I'm totally not saying this because she does--but man, her cookies rock! They're gluten free, and in the name of research, I've eaten my fair share of gluten free cookies. Her cookies totally blow the others out of the water. And if my kids like them (which they do), they have to be good!). Coming soon: Glow cookie packaging, which I am so psyched to share!

--Also worked on some logos: one for a firm I'm doing some freelance for, the other for Justin and Mary Marantz, who have to be, by far and away, the most patient people I know.

--Finished up and presented some web designs to family friend, family babysitter, author, and petsitter Sharon Martins. Her first book was recently published, about a cat named Murray, and the trouble he gets into. Check out the book here.

--Laid out a pdf brochure for Hospital for Special Surgery. Interesting fact: according to their graphic guidelines, the word "the" does not belong in front of Hospital for Special Surgery. It's not "the Hospital..." it's just "Hospital."

--Scanned and worked on some imagemaps for Marcy.

--Made some updates to the bodd website.

--Got some new work! Yay! The talented Christy Murray has hired me to redesign her logo. And since I'm loving the logo design lately, I am psyched!

Also, I have to mention: 2 weeks ago, Mattio was away for the week. He was due home father's day weekend, and seeing how he was going to be travel groggy upon his return, and it was father's day and all, I had someone come and mow the lawn. But not just any lawn service; I called up my new pal Dan Delventhal (interesting fact: he also works as an extra in movies shooting here in CT) who runs mowgreen.us. Dan came by and cut our grass--with a push mower. Yep, the only thing powering his lawnmower was his sweat. I have to give Dan a little link love, because the yard looked great--Mattio was relieved it was one less thing to do--and I love the cause. Thanks again, Dan!

Whew! Rereading this post, I didn't realize just how jammed packed my week was! I think this weekend I'm going to have to treat myself to a pedicure...

I kind of like this weekly wrap up feature... Let me know if you do, too; and maybe I'll keep it going. Enjoy the weekend, folks!

Baseball logos

The Toronto Blue Jays have piqued my interest.

There. I said it. Being a diehard Yankee fan, that's probably the one and only time I'll ever say anything like that.

But alas, this post isn't about baseball, it's about logos. Baseball team logos, if you will (seeing as how the Yankees have had the same logo since the 30s--how's that for some branding staying power??!--I couldn't really write about them).

The Toronto Blue Jays have actually gone through quite a few logo reincarnations as of late (4 in the last 8 years alone--that's some serious branding issues right there), and I thought it was interesting to look at. Check out the Blue Jays' website to see the whole timeline.



Also, a quick Google search led me to this site, where you can actually check out the logo timeline of almost any sport's team. That's some crazy free time, right there!

Friday fill ins

It's been a crazy week, and I haven't had a ton of time to post (although I have quite a few ideas in my head); so I took the easy way out with a Friday Fill in. Happy weekend!

1. A smile is worth a million bucks--especially from my kids!.

2. Monopoly is my favorite board or card game.

3. I would love to have more down time with my family in my life and less work related stress (although, wouldn't we all??).

4. When I think of the Summer Solstice, I think of flip flops (natch), the beach, Cape Cod, and a cold beer on a hot day. Ahhhhh...

5. I just remembered I need to check and see if I've made the kids doctor's appointments. Yep, I have!

6. One of my favorite song lyrics goes like this: off the top of my head, "Please, please, please; let me, let me, let me; let me get what I want, this time" from the song of the same title, by the Smiths.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to reading more of my book (it's express from the library, which means I have until Tuesday to finish it), tomorrow my plans include the beach, if the weather cooperates! and Sunday, I want to relax, but I know I'll end up working!

The branding iron

So, I've spoken of the black hole that I tend to fall into once I stray online... today was one of those days. I have no idea what I was looking for in the first place, as all sense of time, space and direction were lost once I found the "Brand Timeline Portrait."

The brand timeline portrait is a timeline of all the brands you use throughout the day. I actually found the link through a similar type-project, "33 logos in 33 minutes." What the hey, I figured, I could do this.

Ummmm, yeah. I never realized just how many brands I use throughout the day. So my brand timeline portrait is from when I get up in the AM (usually about 6:45, depending on my daughter, the alarm clock) to when I leave the house at 8:30 AM. So basically, in an hour and 45 minutes, I use slightly less than 50 brands. And that's not even double dipping--for instance, I use Tom's of Maine toothpaste, and deodorant; however Tom's of Maine is only on there once. And forget about Trader Joe's--so much of what I buy is Trader Joe's brand!

I had the best of intentions and started out in the order of how I use the brands (Get up. Turn Fisher Price monitor off. Look at RCA alarm clock. Go get baby and change her Pampers diaper and use Huggies wipes; etc). However, that quickly became overwhelming, so at some point, it's just a list of all the brands I used this morning.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tracie's brand morning portrait:
UPDATE: I broke the image up into 3s, because unless you had a microscope, it was impossible to see these because the picture had shrunk so much.





I can't even imagine how large this image would be if I kept track my entire day! It's pretty amazing the logos and branding we come across in our daily lives, and don't even think about it.

Sigh, spam

I came across this funny article on Spam today (the "food," not the unwanted email). There are a number of astonishing things:

--Residents of Hawaii eat an average of four cans of Spam per year. That's just insane. Four... really? There are 4 people in the entire state of Hawaii that actually eat this stuff?

--More than 60 million people in the U.S. eat Spam. Seriously? This stuff was a joke when I was growing up. People really eat this stuff? Really??

--The photo accompanying the article. First of all, the price: three bucks for a can of meat? Look a little closer: do you see Spam light (really? Spam light??), and, just when I though bacon was the most vile thing on the planet, I see that Spam makes bacon.

Mmmmmm, bacon, my husband would say (although I'm pretty positive he wouldn't be talking about the Spam variety).

Friday night oversharing

From Marcy, this meme was inspired by one of her friend's reactions to the NY Times Mag cover story a couple of weeks ago, pretty much about a girl who just. wouldn't. shut. up. Seriously, if you haven't read the article, here's a quick summary: Girl blogs about every detail of her life. Boyfriends get mad over her tendency to "overshare." Girl password-protects (now ex) boyfriend-related blog posts, then writes a cover story for the NY Times magazine telling all this and more.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the oversharing meme:

1. Name the singer/band/performer you are most embarrassed to admit you actually paid good money to see in concert.
I went to so many concerts in my high school/college years, and there's got to be an embarrassment in there somewhere... I just have yet to remember it.

2. Which reality TV show have you watched more than once (come on. I don't believe you if you say "none," unless you don't own a TV)?
I will watch What Not to Wear from time to time; and as the seasons progress, I've been more and more into Project Runway. When I first started working from home 3 years ago, I used to watch TLC at lunch, which was A Baby Story, A Wedding Story, A Makeover Story... I've since graduated to lunchtime reruns of Melrose Place (Hey, I'm oversharing, OK?).

3. Which complete trash novelist have you not only read but enjoyed enough to read more than one book of his/hers?
Growing up, my mother was all about Danielle Steele, so I'm sure that I've read a couple of her books. Blech, I felt dirty just typing that.

4. What sappy musical could you watch over and over and over again?
The Sound of Music, and I have happily passed this gene down to my girls.

5. Who was your first celebrity crush?
[sigh] Corey Haim. Not to be confused with "the Coreys," cause I really didn't see the attraction with the other one (Feldman?). But it didn't last long (I'm glad to say, as now he is washed up and kind of gross looking)... sidenote: there is a great song by the Thrills, that I love love love, called Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?

6. Who is the most embarrassing celebrity on whom you have a slight crush today?
I would totally agree with Marcy and say Rob Lowe (ever since St. Elmo's Fire, he will always have a special place in my heart).

7. What movie that everyone else and his cousin and even his dog has seen have you never seen?
The Crying Game. I remember all kinds of hype surrounding the movie (there was some big secret--the guy was really a girl, or the girl was really a guy?), and it was one of those movies I just never got around to seeing.

8. What were you drinking the first time you ever got drunk?
Well... I was drunk, so the memory is a little fuzzy... it was probably some frilly mixed drink.

9. Which old re-run will you still pause to watch if you’re flicking through the channels and see that it’s on?
When Madeline was an infant, Nick at Night reran all kinds of sitcoms from my youth: Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers... Midnight feedings were based not on what time it was, but by which show was on. I will watch almost any sitcom from the early 80s (Square Pegs, anyone?). And I will always, ALWAYS stop and watch Mary Tyler Moore if/when it's on, no matter what I'm doing. "Oh, Mr. Grant!"

10. What book/movie/t.v. show that only a fifteen-year-old would think is funny makes you laugh?
This one is tough. I always enjoy The Wedding Singer whenever I watch it--but that takes place in the 80s and I think a lot of the references would be lost on a fifteen year old. I laughed my butt off watching Superbad, but if you've seen it, you know it's completely inappropriate for fifteen year olds (or so the parent in me thinks... but I'm sure plenty of fifteen year olds have seen it).

"...But can you make my logo BIGGER?"

Back in my agency days, I had quite a few clients who became backseat art directors; driving me batty with requests such as:

"There's not a lot going on here, it feels empty. Is there something we can add that will eat up all this white space?"

"I know my logo is light green, but just this once, can't we make it red?"

"What if we moved this over here, and added something else over there. Why don't you try that?"

I swallowed my pride (and kept my job) by fulfilling their requests, only so they could see that I don't have a kajillion dollars in art school student loans for no good reason.

So when my pal Troy passed this along today, I identified all too well. It's a little long, but anyone who's ever had a request to "make my logo bigger" will certainly appreciate it.



You can also check out the website here.

Designing Google

Whenever I come across something interesting that I think might be a good blog topic, I tuck it away in the back of my mind, for those "slow news days." A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Google Artist Themes, which I thought would make a decent future blog post.

Good thing I saved it; this Sunday's Times Magazine had a blurb by Virginia Heffernan about how you too, can unleash your inner graphic designer and use Artist Themes to customize your Google home page (among other things--my mind began to wander once I got to the part where she painstakingly color coordinated an online user group page).

Just as I was hanging it up as an aspiring stereo expert, I perceived a new skill set taking shape, one that eclipsed my old sound geekery. Graphic design! Sure, I can’t write any actual code or even do much with HTML, but the finish work on my technology now consumes days. I customize everything with colors and fonts and photos and choices of backgrounds, wallpaper, screen savers. It’s like decorating my 10th-grade notebook with stickers of Rossignol and Vuarnet logos, as well as cryptic verse from Edie Brickell — all meant to suggest both a rich interior life and an intimacy with high-end brands.

So last month, when Google unveiled in Manhattan its new “artist themes” — colors and patterns created by a range of celebrities, with which to decorate an iGoogle homepage — I earnestly browsed as I have never done at MoMA.

I was just as excited when I clicked on the Artist Themes link, and was taken to a page of "artists and innovators". Of course, my inner Carrie Bradshaw immediately gravitated towards Diane von Furstenberg and Dolce and Gabbana, but then Tory Burch caught my eye and I knew the search for the perfect background was over: I'm a sucker for Tory Burch. I love the bold graphic design of her patterns and colors. I find it incredibly refreshing, that in a fashion world where something is always "the new black," Tory has separated herself from the crowd by designing with so much color (well, that and her T pattern rocks my socks. And the Reva Ballerina Flats, can't forget those).

But back to Google... there's something for everyone; heck, even the Wiggles have their own theme (something that tells me that falls under the category of "innovators"). Truth be told, I barely use iGoogle; but the few times a month I do end up there, I smile to myself every time a different Tory Burch pattern comes up on my screen--as if my computer wasn't designer enough.

Your logo cost you HOW much??!

I swear, I ought to go work in Britain; they pay a ridiculous amount of money for logos over there. First, the London Olympics logo (cost: £400,000). And, by the way, it's a bad logo.

Today, in doing some research for another logo I'm working on, I came across this article on the Southampton University logo controversy. Not only have they paid upwards of £360,000 (about $705,132 American dollars--apparently this figure includes replacing signage, stationery, etc. But still!), but now the university is talking about cutting jobs to get itself out of debt. Ummmm... is this not making sense to anyone else out there?

The logos, as seen below (the top is the new logo, by the way), aren't even anything to write home about. I mean, the dolphin one looks dated, but the new one... well, it certainly doesn't look like a logo worth over a half million bucks. And in the face of layoffs? That's just silly. I'm sure there are plenty of other logo designers out there that could have delivered something just as good--if not better--for far less of a price tag. Um, me, for starters!

stationery show!

So last week I went to the stationery show in NYC. I know, I should have posted this sooner, but it's been a pretty hectic week, capped off by the long weekend, and, well... Ah, I know, excuses, excuses.

Anyway, here I am, back to blog about my stationery show experience. If you're just tuning in, I'm trying my hand at branching out into custom event invitations. I'd love to specialize in letterpress. So a few months ago I figured I'd get my feet wet and go to the stationery show and see what's out there, and maybe meet some vendors.

First, the show itself was so cool--IF you're a stationery buyer. Which I am not. And it said so on the nifty little name tag they gave me, that got me in the show. So people immediately looked at it, saw I wasn't someone who was going to make them money, and stopped being interested. Really.

There was so much beautiful design. Stuff I would love to have the time to think up and do (originally, the plan was to launch my own stationery line, but that seemed like a big jump into who knows what. Custom invitations seemed more like baby steps). Of course, with the good comes the bad (hello, 80's mirror display? 1985 called and wants you back). But there was a lot of small independent little card companies with some pretty gorgeous stuff.

Then, at 1:00, the doors to the vendor side of things opened. I figured this would go much better for me, since that's what I was looking for. I figured wrong.

Don't get me wrong, the 10 vendors that were there were very helpful. It's just there weren't many of them, and none of them did letterpress printing. But they all knew someone who did.

All in all, it was nice to take some time off (sort of, I was tethered to my Palm all day long) and devote it to growing my business--something I don't get to do often. Would I go back? Probably not next year, but maybe in the future, depending on how custom invitations do...

In the meantime, once I get my stuff together, be on the lookout for tracieinvites!

Next!

My goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that folks, I've been trying to finalize a couple if different projects, and everything has come to a head all at once. But I've finished up some stuff, and now it's onto some new projects.

One of the sites I just finished was Home and Hearth Interiors--a home staging company in Westport. Kellie is super nice, and talented at staging homes! Try guessing how many kids she has when you walk into her home (I'll give you a hint: yes, she does have kids. Funny, when you walk into my home, the reaction is more, "You only have three? There must be more, it certainly looks like it!").

The other site I launched today is Lush Floral Designs. Zoe is so cool, and her arrangements are breathtakingly beautiful. Zoe is actually a client I have only spoken to on the phone and via email. We have a date to meet in person next week, and I can't wait!

Those are just 2 web clients; I've actually just finished up some print work for the Hospital for Special Surgery, and I'm working on finishing up a psychiatrist's site this week as well. Oh, and there's that little project I have designing the packaging for a cookie company (I know I've said this before, but yes, it is just as fun--and delicious--as it sounds. No wonder I can't get these 5 pounds off!)

So now that I've had 5 whole minutes to breathe, it's off to the current/next round of projects. Oh, and tomorrow, I'm super excited because I'm actually taking the day and spending it at the stationery show in the city (what, most people don't get excited over paper??!). It's all research for the next phase of traciedesigns: custom invitations. More info soon...

Yay Mac!

This story rocks my socks:

Laptop (which happens to be a mac) gets stolen. Owner uses remote login technology to not only log into stolen computer, but take a photo of the thief as well, using built-in camera.

Read the whole account here (although there's not much more to it, other than details, and mugshots).

Bloody brilliant. Just brilliant.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick shout out to all the moms out there who read this... Happy mother's day! I hope you all end every day as I did tonight: a smile, a hug, and "I love you, mom."

The best present out there.

I am a supah-stah!

So I've blogged a couple of times about my involvement with Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration (it's tomorrow! yay!); I was fortunate enough to work with the chairman, Larry Kaley, and design the program that's going to be handed out; and on the side--you know, in my spare time--I've done some PR for the event.

Now this was my first foray into public relations, so I made some phone calls, googled some media, and started writing and sending press releases. I had 2 versions--print and radio--that I would send out. Of course, I had all my local bases covered, so naturally WICC--out of Bridgeport--got a press release once a week when I sent them out.

As it happens, one of my press releasea fell into the hands of David Smith, afternoon host of the Exchange. He called me last week: would I come on the air for a few minutes to talk about Earth Day?

Er... no. But my Earth Day colleagues will!

Long story short, it was going to be myself, one of the vendors, and Larry. I didn't really want to be on the radio, I just thought the experience was cool, and wanted to be there for it.

Well, it was a crazy rainy day here at 1:45 when I ran into the WICC offices, and unfortunately, the weather was holding Larry up. We needed a pinch hitter, and I was there.

So guess who was on the radio this afternoon, plugging Earth Day?

Oh. My. God. I was so nervous!!! I felt like Molly Shannon, in the classic SNL sketch, "Schweaty Balls" (also one of my all time favorites). I would lean into the microphone every time I was asked a question. It was only 6 or 7 minutes--tops--but it was crazy. There was so much going on, and throughout the whole thing, David Smith (who, by the way, has such a voice for radio) played it cool--you could tell he was a pro. Me, on the other hand, I was like a baby, distracted by every flashing light and sound (and there were tons of them). I tried to play it cool, but I was totally blindsided by the fact that my voice was being broadcast throughout the Bridgeport region.

I definitely got my experience, that's for sure. For a brief 6 minutes, I was on the radio. So my 15 minutes isn't up yet... I still have 9 more. I'll just direct you to my agent for those.

PS. Talk about 6 degrees of fame... the vendor who came on with me was Dan Delventhal, of mowgreen.us (a "reel" mowing service--reel as in sweat, not gas powered). Dan also does work as an extra in area films--he will be appearing in the upcoming flick Confessions of a Shopaholic. But more importantly, he was telling me that he was working just yesterday on the new Sam Mendes film (tentatively titled Farlanders), and he had to react to an actor swearing in the scene he was in. The actor? Office hottie John Krasinski!

PPS. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration is tomorrow, at Fairfield Warde High School, from 9:30 to 3:30. It's going to be an amazing event, so come on down, if you can! (I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention it one last time :)

Ecojustice 08

My pals Becky and Marcy both pointed me in the direction of this blog, Ecojustice 08. Since I have joined Fairfield's Earth Day Committee (event plug: it's happening this Saturday, May 10th), I have learned so much, and wanted to do so much. This challenge seemed a great way to springboard into action.

I have chosen 2 items from the list to start, #2 (one blackout night per week--going to be difficult, but I'm willing to give it a go), and #5 (read a book about the environment). Unfortunately, some of the items on the list were not exactly conducive to our lifestyle (I know, I know, it's a challenge, it's not supposed to be easy, but with three kids we are constantly on the go. I will, like Marcy, try and adapt some of the tips to our lifestyle).

That said, I've also asked for a composter and a clothesline for mother's day (and a zoom lens for the Nikon, but I digress...). I've also taken an active role in Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration (event plug again: please come down this Saturday, it's going to be not only informative, but fun!). To learn more about the Earth Day fair, you can go to fairfieldearthday.org, or tune into WICC (AM660 in fabulous Bridgeport, CT) on Friday, at 1:45 to listen to perhaps myself (I'm not quite sure if I'll actually be on the air--I've been invited to be, but in this case I think I prefer to be behind the scenes) and others talk to David Smith on his "Exchange" show.

In any event, I strongly encourage you all to at least visit Ecojustice, if not take part. There's all kinds of great tips and tricks to "green" your life, even if it's just a lighter shade of green.

PS. Oh, and did I mention Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration?

Kismet

OK, I have to confess: you know that stupid saying? About the shoemaker's kids having the worst shoes? Well, that applies to me sometimes (OK, bad analogy, I know. Cause I totally don't have the worst shoes).

I mean that I don't always have the time to make my own stuff pretty, because I'm too busy doing it for other people (but I'm not complaining!). So for the past few years, I've had business cards--nice, pretty business cards--but they weren't fancy schmancy professionally printed cards, they were digitally output and, quite frankly, the less than stellar printing quality showed (to the trained eye, at least).

So a few weeks ago, I was at Baker Graphics in Westport, picking up some invitations I designed, when the owner approached me. Long story short, we got to talking, and I gave her one of my cards, which just happened to say, "because her favorite color isn't orange, it's Pantone 167."

Well. It just so happened that they were printing business cards the next week, with Pantone 166. On top of that, the cards were the same off-size that mine were. Would I be interested in ganging up and getting some cards printed?

Does the shoemaker's kid have bad shoes?

So yesterday, I picked up my brand new, fancy schmancy, professionally printed cards. And let me tell you, it was like Christmas. I walked out of the printer's, and wanted to hand my card out to every person I came across.

Oh, and my new favorite color is Pantone 166--which is still orange, just a shade darker.

So. Sad.

I might have mentioned that one of the projects I'm working on right now is packaging for cookies. As a result, I am a sweets magnet (OK, like I really needed this type of project to admit that). I am fascinated by all kinds of packaging--obviously the well-designed only need apply--but because this is a "dessert" type item, I am drawn to sweets.

One of the brands that I've come across in my travels is Blisscotti. First of all? Brilliant. Biscotti ice cream sandwiches?! Sign me up! But on top of the fact that this product might just be the most delish thing ever, their logo has been featured in quite a few design periodicals, winning awards left and right.



Pretty, right? Well, their packing--which, come to find out, is also racking up the awards--is just as nice.




So here we have this yummy product, coupled with premium-looking packaging that has won awards and been featured in respected design publications such as How and Comm Arts. This sounds like a no brainer, right?

Well, then I went to their website. And I saw this:



and this:



Huh? What happened to the pretty packaging? Why is this wonderful product (which somewhere along the line has acquired a chocolate coating. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from the keyboard) committing packaging suicide? I mean, clearly, this fits in Stop and Shop's freezer section now, blending right in with all the other frozen desserts screaming, Buy me! Buy me!, but part of the appeal--to me, anyway--was that before the vomit inducing redesign (Ugh, I never thought I would use the word vomit and biscotti ice cream sandwich in the same sentence) the packaging stood out, because of the tasteful (award-winning, hello?) design!

Why would you do this, Blisscotti? Why?

Oh, and PS: Not like I'd buy this now, what with it's ugly packaging and all (OK, I totally would, but only because of the product itself); but even if I would, I couldn't, because they don't even sell it in CT. It's a west coast thing, New York being the only east coast state to get it. Sigh.

In my spare time...

I have been trying to take a half hour to myself before I go to bed these days, just to unwind and relax. I've been catching up on reading, but every once in a while, Mattio and I will have a date in front of the Wii (I know you can hardly contain yourself with excitement for us! Don't worry, I tell myself, once the baby gets a little older, we'll be going out on dates that don't involve one of us--usually me--saying, "What is wrong with this controller? I don't understand why I can't throw a strike! And now look, you're winning.")

Last night was one of those nights, as we played a couple of games of bowling. But as I finished up work, Mattio played a game of baseball against the machine. As I was closing up shop, he'd give me updates on the game. My night was peppered with phrases like, "C'mon... Mima is killing me!" "Ohhh, Santa just hit a home run!" "Nice! Teacher just hit a double!"

To the casual observer, it sounds like my husband is slowly going insane. But to anyone who has played our Wii, you'll meet some pretty interesting people Ashlee has created. Sure, we all have Miis (that's Wii terminology for the virtual people you can create. This is something Ashlee and her friends do in abundance when they're bored--read on); Eleanor--at 6 months old--even has one (it's really short). However, once Ashlee went beyond her grandparents (that's where Mima comes in) and her friends, she got bored and created Santa (yes, he has a white beard and wears red), Mrs. Clause, Thing One and Thing Two, and Teacher (a school-marm type).

I lined up all the Miis to check them out, then proceeded to laugh so hard at her creativity that I cried.

Happy Earth Day!

Tomorrow, as many of you know, is Earth Day. Rather than get all preachy-preachy about what you can do to offset your carbon footprint (now that saving the environment is in vogue, I'm pretty positive you'll come across the words "compact flourescent," "organic cotton," and" biodiesel" oh, about a hundred times each on Tuesday), I'll just send along my well wishes for an earth-friendly day (and hope that--as I explained to Ashlee earlier--you don't limit yourself to the day).

Oh yeah, there's another plug I want to get in here. A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to interview my RTM rep, Larry Kaley, for an article I was writing in Fairfield Magazine. The article was about an Earth Day festival he was chairing, and, during our conversation, he mentioned (not knowing I was a graphic designer) that they also handed out a program at this fair. "Hold the phone," I said, "Sign me up."

Thus began my work with Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration, 2008. I offered my services and ideas to layout the guidebook, and really make it something that people would hold onto and use as a resource for all things green. It not only includes all of the exhibiting vendors at the Earth Day festivities, but many other green tips and tricks, as well as articles and recipes. I don't get a chance to do much pro bono work, so to work on something that I am passionate about really makes me feel great.

I hope that you all get a chance to come over to Fairfield Warde High School on Saturday, May 10, from 9:30 – 3:00 (it's not held on the traditional Earth Day, as a lot of the vendors and speakers are booked for that day) and check out this year's fair. I know there will be not only a ton of information, but there's also going to be plenty of giveaways (I'm going to enter quite a few times to win that Vespa!); as well as family entertainment, and stuff for the kiddies. I am truly thrilled to be a part of this, it's very exciting to see how it all comes together.

Also, this week is the "green" issue of the NY Times magazine. I'm only 1/3 of the way through it, but so far, it's a very interesting read. Rather that a couple of longer articles on the state of the environment (bad), and what we can do about it (lots), there's page after page of 1-2 paragraph snippets of information. I likey.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to change your lightbulbs! (just kidding... but not really :)

Huh?

So this morning, as I do every Saturday, I was flipping through the Sunday fliers (odd that we get them on a Saturday, no?) over breakfast. I got to the coupons, and came across an ad for a drug called Provigil.

"Struggling to fight off the fog?" the ad asked me (right below a dopey picture of a guy who looks vaguely like Kevin from the Office, obviously half awake). I don't know why I continued to give it a second glance, but I'm glad I did as the ad has been an endless source of amusement for me all morning long.

Provigil is used--are you ready?--to fight EXCESSIVE SLEEPINESS. They even go so far as to make being tired sound like a medical condition, giving it the acronym ES. The fine print starts with this clever phrase: "Provigil is a prescription medicine used to improve wakefulness in adults who experience excessive sleepiness (ES)..."

Wait, what?? "Improve wakefulness?" "Excessive sleepiness??" This has to be a joke. This drug seems to me like a legal form of speed (some of the possible side effects--which get more and more ludicrous as each new drug comes out--include depression, anxiety, hallucinations and mania; all side effects of speed).

I'm not quite sure when being tired became such an issue that we need a prescription drug to wake us up. Having just had a baby, I completely get how much worse off you are the less sleep you get (thank goodness she's a good sleeper and has been sleeping through the night for quite some time now); however, the day I need a prescription drug to keep me awake... well, that's a pretty bad day. Besides, I thought that's what Red Bull was for.