Souvenirs

 

High school is over and now college is done too. 

Why not make use of 8 years worth of souvenirs.

 :)

Things I Can't Find

This is one of the silliest things I own. When I can't find something, it's never in there. And when I think I'll lose something again, I never remember to put it in there. Like my camera charger; I haven't been able to find it since I made the post about When Things Fly off Shelves, last month, at which time it completely ran out of charge. I've had to use my phone's camera since then.

I don't even remember charging my camera since the end of February, and I think it might still be in India. All that's in the "Things I Can't Find" jar is a blue button.

But now I have a replacement charger, and finally, I can take a good enough picture of the Things I Can't Find jar.

A Sunny Friday Afternoon

Coming home early on a sunny Friday afternoon in Boston.

Old Roses, New Petals

Things to do with old roses:

~ make some potpourri
~ press them between books
~ hang them upside down in a closet to preserve their shape and color
~ use them as decoration somewhere such as a dresser or a display shelf
~ spray paint them an interesting color, like silver (after they've been dried)
~ glue the petals onto a piece of paper/board in an interesting way and frame them so you hang them up
~ take photos!
~ don't throw them all away, keep at least some of the petals :)

At the End of the Day

My mission is to do [at least] one thing I enjoy every day.

Falling into the Sidewalk

I had to stop and look back at these amazing sidewalk paintings by street artist Edgar Mueller. I love the innovation and the element of surprise when you first realize that these are paintings.
Wow.

The Velveteen Life

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?” asked the Rabbit. “It doesn't happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.” —Marjery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

I found this quote at the beginning of an article in Communication Arts, which talked about a creative’s love for advertising. I thought the author, Ernie Schenck, was very successful at pointing out that you should find out if you really love advertising by looking to the future. Even when you’re faced with rejection from clients and creative directors and criticism about your best work, you have to still feel that you love what you do. That’s what will tell you whether you really love advertising. 

I love how messages become so clear through parables. Here's an excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit:


***

“Real isn’t how you are made…” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept..."

***

You know you really love something when you love it unconditionally. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother,
You've given me two things
One is roots
The other's wings

- Anonymous

Mother’s Day started in the US around 150 years ago, but mothers have been honored for much longer than that, and rightly so. Although it seems to be a much more commercialized holiday today linked to profits from Hallmark and other benefiters, its roots are still strong.

Anna Jarvis was inspired to make Mother’s Day a reality when she was 12 years old. At the end of a prayer, her mother said these words, which stayed with Anna forever:

"I hope that someone, sometime will found a memorial mothers day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life. She is entitled to it."

Anna eventually strived to make this possible by lobbying prominent businessmen and eventually President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill to observe the day. Her goal was to honor her mother’s dream and to show respect for mothers all over the world.

In this way, Mother’s day is really not all about the gift-giving and profit-making that it has increasingly become. The media may have helped to spread the word about the holiday around the world, but it has also diminished its meaning by luring people to restaurants and products. Although giving gifts is a big part of showing that we care about our moms,  It’s really a day to focus on honoring our mothers for everything they do because even though we all appreciate what they do for us, we don’t always show it everyday.

So today, a Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers in the world; especially you, Mom.

And here's a frame I made for my mom, using the petals from the roses she gave me for my birthday :) There's going to be a picture of us from when I was two, and it also looks like something a two year old would make, but hopefully she'll understand. 

 

Read more about the history of Mother’s Day here:

http://www.mothersdaycelebration.com/story-of-anna-jarvis.html