carbo-loading...

this is what sixteen-year-olds eat before they play five days of tennis.
i, too, partook in this dinner although i am not planning on playing tennis, ever.
yesterday zoe and i were in providence, rhode island.
she's there for a tennis program.
we had a free night before the program started, so we went to el forno for dinner.
rightly so, she was carbo loading. and some.
i, on the other hand, well i'm not sure what i was doing....but i enjoyed every garlic-y bite.

sammy's at camp and it's time to start writing letters again...

this whole card business started when the girls went off to camp.
i found myself leaving card shops totally frustrated with the selection.
no, i didn't want to send my kids fart jokes or elaborate notes in sand or checklists where i could just check-off missing you.
so, i started making my own cards.
the pressure is really on to come up with some good cards.
this is sammy's last year at camp.
here's card number four.
(1,2,3 were ones i already posted)
it comes out of so many conversations i've had with the girls.
just be yourself.
be true to what you want and think.
but when you're 16 you don't always know who you are.
and what you want.
and what exactly to think.
time to pull out the parenting manual.

entourage

i was so tired last night.
but there i was at 10:30, bucket of popcorn and diet cherry soda in front of the tv.
it was the season premiere of entourage.
i just love this show.
even when it's only mediocre as it was last night.
the show's just great and i don't even know why.
i think the show mainly appeals to guys in their 20's and 30's.
not sure.
but the show's great.
i can hardly wait till next week.
and btw, i know necessarily is missing a few letters.
the word is too long and it was about time someone shortened it.

homework..

it's been crazy around here.
between packing my daughter off for camp and dealing with a clothes dryer on the brink of death just as were trying to get everything washed and in the trunks, i haven't really gotten anything too creative done today.
so, i'm going to post my homework from last night's type class.
the assignment: redesign a poster for a broadway show.
i chose to tackle the american idiot poster because i had just seen the show last week with sammy.
the poster above is fairly rough but i think you get the idea.
what did i learn in last night's class...
the color green is a big no no...only artists like it...real people don't.
never use more than three typefaces...it confuses people.
the objective of good type design is to surprise people.
but not too much.
for example, you'd never want to use 'the finger' in lieu of the letter 'i'.

one thing i know for sure...

not to get too oprah-y, but this is one of those things i know for sure.
and if i could impart anything on my 16-year-old daughters, this is what it would be.
you win by trying your hardest.
you win putting it all out there.
you win by taking a risk.
you always win when you learn something.

type design class..

i think i mentioned a couple blog posts ago that i was taking a type design class this summer.
i think i was pretty excited at one point, too.
that was before all the homework and deadlines.
jeez, school's a lot of f-ing work.

the first assignment was to choose a word and illustrate it through type.

hopefully dad's got a good sense of humor...

i was really moved by nicholas kristof's editorial in today's new york times.
so, no snazzy shirts for dad this year.
no more amazon gift cards.
this year, dad's getting a homemade card and a contribution to one of the worthy causes kristof talks about in his column.
i'm sort of leaning towards a contribution to one of the landmime sniffing rats but i want to discuss with my daughters first.

more father's day....

this sunday we will celebrate the guy around here that can do the nyt's crossword, solve 10th grade geometry mysteries, open jars of pickles and root for his beloved boston sports teams all at the same time. of course the girls in the house plan on taking charge of the food since we sorta like our meat cooked:)

father's day

it's friday, it's summer, it's all good..

in our house, summer vacation has officially begun.
yesterday was the last day of school for my 16-year-olds.
one is off to vietnam and the other is just off....
even i feel carefree knowing that school is done and i no longer have to be the nagging mom.
tgis!

enough....

i can't read the headlines anymore.
it's just too awful.
we can't figure out this oil spill?
really?
ugh.
really makes you lose faith.

summer greeting cards...keep it (very) light...

it's summer.
anything goes so long as it bright and graphic.
at least that's what i think,

running away...

at one point in my life, i use to get up every morning and run the six mile loop around central park.
those days are long gone and quite frankly i suffer from exercise ADD---i can't focus on any one form for too long.
but i'm starting to get back into it.
not sure why.
my friend started running and listening to her talk about it got me sort of interested.
there's also the convenience factor. when you want to go out for a run, you go out for a run.
you can get a lot of thinking done, too, when you run.
hence this concept for a card.
or a t-shirt.
who knows where this will go.
i have to think some more about it on my run tomorrow morning.

tgif...

i'm really excited about my summer plans.
i just signed up for a type design class at the school for visual arts.
this is one of those things i've been meaning to do but blah, blah, blah.
of course i'm looking forward to cursing the sand, the heat and the new freckles that seem to pop up on my body daily.
and like any parent, i'll spend my fair share of time in the car driving my kids to camp and tennis tournaments and wherever
else they want to go.
but who cares...it's summer.

whatever...it's summer...

i think my favorite word in the english language is lollygag.
and that's what summer is all about.
sitting on my fat ass.
doing nothing.
reading a book.
getting up only to switch the music.
i love summer.
i am so happy it's here.

oops..

i don't really have a great system for remembering people's birthdays.
i've got them all listed in my calendar but half the time i forget to look at my calendar.
and even if i get a reminder, i still forget.
that's why i like these, 'ooops, i forgot your birthday' cards.
i mean, i can't imagine i'm the only one who forgets stuff.