An educational Saturday

This past Saturday I attended this....

It was a combination of mental overload and teeny bit of a fan experience. As the above graphic mentions, the workshop was taught by the owners of Rock Scissor Paper. Heidi and Susie Bauer, the owners of Rock Scissor Paper have been in the stationery business for 15 years. I've been a fan of their work for the last 7 years. I discovered and fell in love with their stationery on one of my trips to L.A. before I moved here.

Heidi and Susie Bauer of Rock Scissor Paper

The workshop was held at Lala Press Letterpress Studio in Atwater Village. It's an impressive space with a gorgeous garden. The studio itself has several letterpress printers.

There were approximately 36 of us in attendance. All of us are in various stages of launching or maintaining stationery-related businesses. I hate to admit it, but I did a poor job of meeting people and networking. So, I'm not entirely sure of everyone's exact background in this industry. (Note to self, do a better job of meeting people at workshops.)
When we checked in, we were given these cute name badges made by Heidi and Susie.
The outline gives you an idea of the topics we covered. I wasn't sure what to expect. Sometimes, workshops are useful. Other times, they are a gigantic waste of time. This was definitely a highly informative and entertaining experience. If anything, I was a tad bit overwhelmed. They had so much information to share and were so enthusiastic about educating and helping up-and-comers. (This, sadly, is a rarity in creative industries.) There were moments where I could scarcely keep up. Thankfully, we were also given information packets. I swear these things are worth double their weight in gold. If I had to rely strictly on my chicken scratch notes, I'd be lost.
At the end of the day, I came away with so much information and a better sense of where I might fit in this industry. It also gave me a better sense of what I need to do for myself and my business. All in all, it was the best $200 I've ever spent.

Let's get physical

Sport Climbing in Pyramid Lake, NV - 2002

Whitewater Kayak on Kern River, CA - 2005

Snorkeling (with some help) in Negril, Jamaica - 2006

Zip line Rainforest Canopy Tour in Negril, Jamaica - 2006

Hiking and Bouldering in Angeles National Forest, CA - 2005 & 2006

All the above photos are actually me. Don't misunderstand. I wasn't Queen of the X-Games or anything, but I was active. For years, I was on a quest to try as many new activities as I could. Whitewater rafting? Sign me up. Snowboarding? I'm there. I can't say that I was awesome at any of these activities, but I had fun. Being outdoors or being involved in some kind of athletic activity was a part of my life.

Then, my thyroid stop functioning normally. I was tired all the time. I spent most of my days asleep. No matter how much I slept it wasn't enough. I chalked it up to my commute and being overworked. My enthusiasm for being active disappeared with my energy levels. To add to the problem, the various physicians I saw through my HMO misdiagnosed my illness. It took them 6 months to figure out what was wrong. I had hypothyroidism. I was exhausted, depressed and rapidly gaining weight. The thought of getting up and driving to work was taxing. Going to the gym or for a run seemed daunting. Even with my prescription, I wasn't feeling any better. This lasted over a year. When I got married last year, I was 20lbs. heavier than I was when I got engaged.

Thankfully, I switched health insurance and got a doctor that adjusted my thyroid medication accordingly. My energy levels picked up and finally I set foot in a gym. The scale was not my friend, but worse still the treadmill was my enemy. After 20 minutes at a brisk pace, I was winded and could barely keep up. The old lady on the treadmill beside me was moving twice as fast and was still going strong when I hopped off my machine. My ego was bruised, but I was not completely crushed. I persevered.

Now two months later, my endurance is better, but I'm still not seeing the results I would like. I would love to snowboard this season and get back into climbing. Upon the advice of several friends, I decided to work with a personal trainer. My sessions start this week. I think this is where things are really going to get interesting. Wish me luck. I hope I don't get my @ss whooped too badly.

Food for thought

Because I worked in ad assembly and photo retouching for so many years, I have always contended that advertising really gives women a distorted sense of beauty. I think this Dove ad really drives the point home.

Psssssssst...

There's some design activity over on my design blog..... Go check it out. Sorry for the self-promotion, but I need to drive some traffic over there;)

Other posts, to come:)

Time for something new

I decided it was time to separate my design work from my personal life. I figured that not everyone interested in my design work wants to hear about the misadventures of Anne K. in L.A. Conversely, people who are trying to keep up my life can only view but so many invitations and announcements. Without further ado, I present my other blog.

Please click on the logo to check it out

If the link doesn't work, it's thepaperstylist.blogspot.com

Rob's Birthday

Friday, September 5, 2008

Rob's 32nd Birthday fell on a Friday this year. Sadly, he had a rough work week. When he got home from work, he said he wanted to keep his celebration "low-key". Unlike me, Rob is not a big birthday person.

So, we started out with his favorite brew.

Then, we went out to our favorite hole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant. Our buddy Kevin came along for the ride.

Sanamuluang Cafe
5170 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027

If you click on the photo of our feast, each dish is named.

CIMG1421, originally uploaded by RobisCooking.

Because we ate year old cake for our anniversary and felt cheated, I ordered this for Rob's Birthday.

Cupcake Collage, originally uploaded by RobisCooking

I custom ordered it from Leda's Bakeshop. They were delicious, but a teeny tiny bit pricey. Of course, we had to snap a few pictures with the oh-so-cute cupcakes.

I have Rob in the palm of my hands... MUHAHAHAHA

And then we decided to play with our food. We came up with this...

and this....

Couldn't stay away

see more puppies

I saw the above image. It made me laugh and irony of it made me feel a little better. I'll stop wallowing and sulking. I promise.

Now, I have some catching up to do.

All about nothing

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't been blogging as much lately. I'm in the middle of a few projects and have been quite busy. The main reason for the blogging drought is that I have nothing useful to say. I am assessing a few things and the choices that lie before me. Once I figure something out, I'll be sure to share.