Vengeance and wrath

This is what we've spent our evenings doing since my mother-in-law, Pauline, came to visit. We've been playing Scrabble night after night. And by "playing Scrabble" I really mean that she and I are taking huge joint efforts to prevent Thomas from winning. If there were Scrabble halls and Scrabble sharks, kinda like pool halls and pool sharks, Thomas would be the ringer. He can complain about how he has six vowels and a K and then play a 33 point word. Pauline won this game even though he played SORGO. Yeah, that's what I said. SORGO. And I challenged it and lost my turn.

Daily dog

Lola is a bold dog with gallons of personality but she keeps it well hidden and only reveals it for the ones she loves. She likes to be the top dog but is timid when treading into a new relationship. She backs away from unknown men and doesn't like it when other women steal her show. But once she warms up and decides your in her "club" as I call it, there's no getting away. Ever.

This week's good stuff

It's been awhile since I wrote my weekly good stuff post and I'd really like to get back into the routine and what better way to start a routine than to just do it.

Don't use black for shadows. Chris Coyier writes a good article about making shadows a darker tone of the item they fall on. For example, if a person's shadow falls across concrete don't just automatically made that shadow black but rather make it a darker tone of the concrete. While Chris' example is written for web design, it really falls across all design, painting and illustration.

Here's 40 trendy business card designs... always good for inspiration.

Invoicing is a necessary evil of being a freelance designer. Here's 15 good tips to make sure you keep on top of your billings. Stop scribbling your invoice notes on little pieces of paper that end up on the floor of your office and organize yourself with some software. It will save you time and earn you more money in the long run because you'll look more professional.

And if invoicing doesn't prove to you that being a freelance designer is a tough career choice then maybe you should read this article about whether or not freelancing is for you. If you'd rather stay in bed all day or don't necessarily like people then don't quit your day job.

This last item, via Frau Lipstick, is for the knitter and designer in me. It's a hilarious video produced by a sweater mill in Scotland that makes "700 billion cardigans a day." Watch it even if you're not a knitter, you'll still love it.

Clean and happy

It's been a busy week between work and life and all that stuff. In preparation for their Granny's visit I threw the dogs off track with a mid-week, midday bath. And as a result Lola has been excessively lovey tonight staring longingly into whatever eyes she can capture silently coaxing endless rubs. I always let her roam without her collar for a day or two after her bath. She gets to be naked and we get to do this.

The sea before the storm

It's a wild week of weather and we'll be lucky if California manages to stay in about the same place. It might just wash into the Pacific. Today we are expecting another massive storm with high winds and lots of rain. I had to venture out and see how the ocean was behaving before I hunker down for the rest of the week.