I’ve added some new work to my portfolio (both sections), including that 2009 animal calendar I kept on whining about! I owe Google Images, big time.

Even though I swore I could finish it this winter—and I think I still could—I’ve put aside the one sweater I’ve been knitting in favor of beginning another sweater called “Wicked” with my dusty yellow Cascade wool. Oh, yeah: I know many people knit like five or more things at once and that this is no big deal, but I have limited space and a super tidy husband who doesn’t understand why balls of yarn mysteriously roll under his desk all the time. Plus, more people have completed this sweater on Ravelry than they have my original sweater (called, more boringly, “Amy,” even though I’ve always liked that name), which is good for me because I’m not entirely sure I even knit all that well anymore so I need extra pictures to guide me. Also, I had to buy the pattern so now I really have to make sure I knit it.

Since it’s the first fresh day of the brand new year, I thought it’d be as good a time as ever to begin participating in a little project started by Schmutzie called Grace in Small Things. All you have to do is create a list of things—say, five of them—that make you happy, and put it in your weblog. You can do it whenever you want, like once a week or month, or on some other totally random schedule. It sounds easy, but aren’t there some days where you just can’t think of much that makes you happy? I have those days pretty often, where I’m either too grumpy, too busy, or too entirely stumped for fascinating topics to write a blog post, so I’m going to keep my list-making to once every Thursday. Schmutzie’s doing it every day for a whole year, and is nearly to day 40 right now. Some of the items in her lists are so simple (”Humid air after a hot shower”) and peaceful (”Dreaming of faraway places”) that they remind me of the translated lists I love by 11th century Japanese writer Sei Shōnagon. Here’s an excerpt from Shōnagon’s “Elegant Things”:

A white coat worn over a violet waistcoat.
Duck eggs.
Shaved ice mixed with liana syrup and put in a new silver bowl.
A rosary of rock crystal.
Snow on wisteria or plum blossoms.
A pretty child eating strawberries.

From The Pillow Book

Her lists weren’t intended to be read, but I love how simple pleasures like these can transcend time. I’m hoping that even though I’ll only post my lists once a week, I’ll become more conscious of good things throughout all seven days and remember them for later.

Here are my first five:

1. The appearance of a Bartlett pear: from the scarred and speckled pale yellow exterior to the smooth, off-white flesh on the inside.

2. The satisfying scritch of a nail file.

3. The way the word “delete” feels to write in cursive. It’s like a rollercoaster of letters.

4. My subscription to Glamour magazine.

5. Wild Cherry Life-Savers.

2008 was year of the Rat—that’s me—in the Chinese Zodiac, and it was my year. I graduated from college in May, started a website again in June, officially launched my illustration career in September by mailing hundreds of postcards, officially officially launched this career in October with a job for Cosmopolitan magazine (and not just one, either!), got married to my honey in October, and made the sincere decision to move out of North Carolina in November.

After all this, I’d like to make my resolutions for 2009 as simple as possible—except for the moving thing, which of course didn’t happen in 2008 and will be a wicked start to 2009. I’ve met so many big goals now that I think I should try out some little ones… like making more fruit smoothies for breakfast.

I hope everybody has a happy 2009! Year of the Ox!

I can’t believe I’d seriously say this… but after the calendar, I think I’ll be tired of drawing animals for a while. I know I should probably add more subjects to my portfolio so that not every promotional piece of mine looks like a zoo.

There’s not a whole lot to write about here since things have been fairly quiet for me lately. I’ve just been drawing and knitting and working, sometimes, at my job. I consider this the calm before the storm, though, because I’m about to embark on a crazy journey of long-distance traveling, interviewing and possibly moving. Well, definitely moving, but where we go is up in the air until next year, I guess. Not like that’s a long time now, is it?

Chris and I have been married for two months today and it’s just so nice to have a sweet husband in the back of my mind all the time. I came home to baked goods on Thursday night: chocolate cupcakes and the brownies I’d planned to make but hadn’t had much time for. I know! I could barf too.

Today is my birthday! I am now 24, nearly a quarter of a century old!

I was thinking about how a lot of my interests haven’t really changed since I was little. I still love letters and I still love the color purple. I love writing and drawing and making messes. If little me could meet older me, she’d probably be pretty upset that I quit wearing my retainer, but for the most part, I think she’d think I’m totally cool. Not that either of us ever cared about being cool, though. We’ve just been ourselves for years.

Chris gets mad when I don’t refill the sugar bowl, but look at the way he fills the ice tray! Here’s hoping for an icemaker in our next life… and one that actually exists, this time.

I’ve never had an opportunity to use their products, but I’m thinking that the packaging for Bumble and bumble hair stuff must have been a secret inspiration to me at some point.

Images from Bumbleandbumble.com

The hand-lettering and simple textures on the packaging are a perfect combination to me, especially when against a white background. (Um, I have a HUGE thing for open white space.) I really like how the “Bb.” is different on each package, too, when it easily could have been a recycled logo. I bet I’d enjoy their product line just as much… but I’ve already spent enough on new conditioners for a while.

Now that it’s winter, I’ve dragged back out the haphazard sweater I’ve been working on knitting for two years. I get excited every winter about teaching myself new techniques in both knitting and crocheting, but I’ve never finished anything besides tons of scarves, one hat, and the 7 animals I made for Christmas gifts last year—the ones that turned my hands into aching claws for a week. The most impressive animal was the dragon I crocheted for Chris’s younger brother, which required the attachment of many tiny scales to a long and narrow tail. Combine that with a college course in calligraphy and you’ve got yourself some cramped digits.

Anyway, the sweater I’m working on is called “Amy,” and it’s a free pattern from Berroco. I’m using inexpensive Simply Soft yarn so I’m not worried about what might happen if it turns out totally ugly. I’ll leave it alone and wear it with my pajamas, because I can only wear the dusty pink Reebok hoodie I stole from my mom so many days in a row. I chose the pattern because it’s Easy, and it has been so far because it’s just a giant one-piece shrug. I’ve been able to fix the mistakes, except for the one I discovered today but have decided I’m not going to rip out and worry about. I’m too excited because I’m almost ready to bind off. After that, I knit the edging that goes around the back, do the sleeve cuffing and sew the sleeve seams, and VOILÀ, I could have this thing finished before winter ends.

This is a literal and totally brilliant translation of the music video for “Take On Me” by A-ha, showing you what can happen when the song being sung actually matches the contents of the video. It’s been making the rounds online for a while now, but watch it if you’ve missed it. It made me realize that my most favorite lyrics from songs actually tend to be pretty straightforward, yet still manage to be poetic.

Here are some of my favorite easy lyrics:

Seven-Up, I touched her thumb,
And she knew it was me
Although she couldn’t see,
Unless of course she peeked

Built to Spill, “Twin Falls”

You’re no rock n’ roll fun
Like a piece of art
That no one can touch

Your head is always up in the clouds
Writing your songs
Won’t you ever come down?

Sleater-Kinney, “You’re No Rock N’ Roll Fun”

Here comes Tiffany
My best friend, Tiffany
Wearing a size too small of sweater

Me and Tiffany
Dressing up pretty
We love to ride, we love to canter

My best friend Tiffany
She is so popular
We’re going from site to site
And pool to pool tonight

Liz Phair, “Girls’ Room”

I met Ferdinand de Saussure
On a night like this
On love he said
“I’m not so sure
I even know what it is
No understanding
No closure
It is a nemesis
You can’t use a bulldozer
To study orchids”
He said, so
We don’t know anything
You don’t know anything
I don’t know anything
About love

The Magnetic Fields, “The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure”

Of course, nothing can ever really beat a good and crazy song by Beck, who himself changes the lyrics to his songs all the time live.