Please Vote for Me the Blog..

If you have a moment and are so inclined, please vote for the blog on Boston Magazine's Reader's Choice Awards. In the local blog/blogger section please enter www.mylove-foryou.com/Meighan O'Toole. Thank you kindly for your consideration. ;)

in between sizes

Once upon a time Three months ago OBaby religiously slept in these adorable little Gerber sleep ‘n play zip ups in the newborn size.Then we graduated to the 0-3 month Children’s Place zip ups. (I love their zip ups!)Now days (I’m suddenly aware that I’ve never typed that out before. now a days? now of days? nowadays?) we layer him up to keep him warm. In fact, we have been known to put him to bed in his shirt from the day under the following conditions: a) we changed him into it recently – like that afternoon b) it’s not too slobbery and c) we don’t want to upset him by pulling something over his head. It’s amazing what changing shirts can do to my son’s countenance. Mostly because he likes to be naked.Or maybe because he looks so awesome like this?I wouldn’t want to change either, buddy.

E3 2009 Deux nouvelles extensions pour Motorstorm Pacific Rift

Dans le cadre de l'E3, deux nouvelles extensions téléchargeables pour Motorstorm Pacific Rift ont été annoncées : Speed et Adrenaline. On n'en connaît encore ni le prix ni les dates de disponibilité, mais voici tout de même le détail de leur contenu respectif.

L'extension "Speed" proposera le contenu suivant

- 3 nouvelles pistes (Quicksands, Engorged et Dark Fire Swamp) et 3 variantes de tracés déjà existants- 4 nouveaux véhicules (avec 3 peintures chacun)- 48 événements Mini-Festival- "Speed Week-end"- des récompenses, trophées et microbages inédits à débloquer

L'extension "Adrenaline" proposera le contenu suivant

- 3 nouvelles pistes (Reefrunner, Brimstone et Hollowed Earth) et 5 variantes de tracés déjà existants- 4 nouveaux véhicules (avec 3 peintures chacun)- 6 nouveaux pilotes (chacun disposant de 3 tenues différentes)- De nouvelles peintures pour les véhicules existants

MotorStorm Pacific Rift PS3

Weekly Flickr Pool Open Swim!.

Last week I started a flickr pool for enthusiasts of ML4U to upload images of their art, photographs, gallery opening shots, etc. It has been so awesome to see the work and check out reader's other work that maybe they haven't posted in the pool...It's been pretty exciting. I think what's the most exciting for me though, is too see some of my favorite artists mixed in with artists I have yet to meet. I love community. Keep it going! If you haven't joined, please do!

I have chosen some of my favorites that were posted last week and posted them. I have linked each person below the image to their flickr profile. The above image is from RYN TMRW. This will be a weekly feature, so tune in!

Crispy Cooper.

Delaney Allen.

Michelle Fleck.

Mitchell Kehe.

Sarah Joy Brown.

Michael C. Hsiung.

Ghost Patrol.

Studio Visit Sarah Applebaum..

Wow, I am still sick! Can you believe this nonsense?! So I am going to keep the posts pretty short word-wise, but that should be cool as I know you are all here to just look at pretty pictures. Which is a good thing as I have a ton today to post!

First up is my studio visit with Sarah Applebaum. Gah. I was mesmerized in her studio with the layers and piles of so many different textiles of color. I was starting to not feel well when I stopped by her studio a week and a half ago...and I have to say the shots of color and inspiration I got while I was there for such a short time was like a shot of vitamin c. I almost skipped home. I can't describe what color does to me. So I'll just let these photos of Sarah's work and studio do the talking for me.

More pics in the blog's flickr stream.

The card of LOVE..

I get all sorts of weird mail at work..

I got this card the other day.. It was pretty cute.. Had a guy with stretched out arms on the front and said..

“We love our customers this much…

I always ask Aaron how much he loves me.. So I was going to do something cute with this card and glue something in side of it and write a cute note to him..
(Because I was totally busy doing really important work things!)

When I couldn’t find a glue stick I decided to do something even more cute.. The card basically said what I wanted to say on the inside so I just changed a few things..

I know this is hard to read so I will tell you what it says..

Thank you for your recent purchase love. We I truly value your business love & are am please to have the opportunity to serve love you.


We I know that there are many choices in valve companies wives; we I appreciate the confidence that you have placed in our my quality and craftsmanship.


I am personally committed to making your purchasing life decisions as easy as possible. Please let me know how I can be of further assistance.


Thank you again for choosing Webstone me.


Ryley

in which I ruin all illusions of keeping a clean home

Good grief my kid is into everything. Well, I mean, I’m sure it could be worse but I feel like there is already a lot of adventure packed into OBaby’s little 15 and a half pound body. And I don’t mean adventure like the time he gagged on his hand and threw up all over our table at the neighborhood Italian place we had walked to for dinner last night…although that was an adventure.[Related: You would think I would have learned that there is no such thing as a quick, predictable trip out with a baby that doesn't warrant the bringing of the diaper bag. You.would.think.]I’m talking about the adventure that I didn’t even know was already laying around my house. I just had to lay down on my stomach in the living room to notice it. Dog food bowls, for example. Endless entertainment. Springy door stops have been known to provide mommy with a chance to pour and scarf down a bowl of cereal, too.But you know what else is adventurous on an epic level? Dust sweepers that Mommy has run under the various pieces of furniture then leaned up in the corner momentarily.Did I say adventurous? I meant dirty. And gross. And something that no good mother would ever willingly let their child play with so that she could finish vacuuming the area rug (irony for the win!).What’s that? A clump of dust on the back of my baby’s head? Hey. I’ll take dust bunnies over diaper cream any day. Or at least for now.~~~~~~A little post-post shout out to my dear friend Janell who got engaged this weekend. I am so darn excited for her!Love you, friend!{She’s on the far left here, a picture taken outside Wicked in Chicago during my bachelorette party circa 2007.}

Lisa Hanawalt..

Lisa Hanawalt recently released her book, I Want You through Buenaventura Press. It's chock full of Lisa's super rad drawings. If you hurry you may be able to snatch up one of the signed and doodled in copies by Lisa. Also available on her website is her award winning 'zine Stay Away From Other People. To see more of Lisa's detailed drawerings check out her flickr page.

 

 

 

 

Erin M. Riley New Work..

Erin M. Riley has been so busy this year. It seems like she is literally spinning (you like that little play on words?) new work every time I turn around. I love her ability to weave current events found through random images found via facebook and the web into her hand woven tapestries. From a recent tweet, Erin says she has even more new work she'll be posting about soon. I'll keep you posted!

Erin's work is among my very favorite, and I was recently lucky enough to purchase a piece from Guerrero Gallery last month. Along with her new work, I have attached the piece I bought, Get High or Die at the bottom of the post.

spread the love

I am going to ask something of you today. There’s this awesome movement of artists, creatives, crafters, writers, cooks, women who create. I love it. I love being a part of it, and today I got to write about it somewhere else. Somewhere awesome, actually. It’s called The Creative Connection and they do, foster, create, and encourage beautiful things. I was honored to be asked to sound off on the creativity of women on the internet, but I think a lot of people will see it and say “Allison who?? Why should I take her word for it??” So I was wondering if I could ask you something totally vain. Will you do me the honor of going over there and reading what I wrote, maybe even leaving a comment on it if you feel so moved? I kinda don’t want to look like a loser in front of the TCC people.Thank you kindly.(Comments are closed here, but they are open on TCC blog!)

Out About ROA..

One of the many great things about living in SF is stumbling upon art happening in the streets. On my way home the other night to get ready for Southern Exposure's annual auction - I found ROA working on a piece on Valencia street in the Mission. ROA's show at White Walls was closing that night and he was out leaving his mark before he left the city.

*Sorry the pics are a little crappy and over-exposed, I was in a rush to get home. I literally shot them in less than five minutes and was so excited I couldn't focus my brain on what I had taken! ;)

GIVEAWAY Print Liberation Lizzy Janssen T-shirt!.

YES! Print Liberation is offering one lucky reader this adorable kitty and crystal t-shirt designed by Lizzy Janssen. Cutest ever right? And what would we do with out kittehs and teh internet? Soo in thinking about cats and the internet, I want to mix this up a bit...in the comment section, please leave a link to your favorite image or youtube video of a cat. My favorite as of late is below. Or you can be all snore city and just leave a comment...but I think it'll be more fun this way! The winner will be picked at random on Wednesday Thursday afternoon. Have fun!

 

my breaking point

I should have written about this earlier, but I think the emotions were too raw, the wound too fresh. I am not perfect. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m even good.~~~~~~My breaking point is apparently at 9:45pm on a Friday night.It comes without warning, on the heels of a seemingly great week.It comes just days after a date night and an afternoon spent blogging by myself in a coffee shop.It comes when OBaby has been sleeping for 3 hours and wakes up screaming.It comes when I try so, so hard to hold it together but I can’t find the means.It comes in a dark room with a crying baby when I feel like the world is closing in on me.It comes, and suddenly, I am claustrophobic. Suddenly I must get out.DanO was home, so I could and I did.I said frighteningly few words to him as I grabbed my coat and purse and ran.I ran and it makes me cry right here and now to admit it.I ran to the car, still wearing my house slippers, collected myself for a moment and then drove.Where do you go at 10:00pm on a Friday?Where do you go when you feel insufficient?Where do you go when your baby is screaming and you have nothing left to give?Where do you go when having nothing left to give hurts so, so bad?You go to your friends. You go to your God. You go to a cup of tea.I played it back for her over a steaming mug.I could not express how much I felt like a failure.I could not express the guilt I had for being there, in her kitchen and not in the nursery.I could not express what it was that made me flee.I could not express how glad I was that she was there.That was last Friday and I am still trying to forgive myself.I still love, absolutely love being OBaby’s mom.I still need to be honest that it is hard at times.Heart breakingly, tear jerkingly, scarily hard.I still have a lot to learn.