RubyBows

Moved!

2016-12-27T21:33:00.001-05:00

rubybows.com has moved to leiahmjansen.com

Well, not MOVED exactly. But that's where I'm posting these days.

I'll no longer be posting on RubyBows.

9 Gratitudes From My Latest Trip

2015-09-09T10:10:00.002-04:00

I didn't want to call this post "9 Things Vegas Made Me Grateful For" because Vegas itself didn't prompt these gratitudes. They come from travel and life in general. They say that practicing gratitude and counting your blessings daily can completely change your life. I haven't made a habit of writing anything down regularly, but I can see how acknowledging the good can completely shift your view. Instead of lessons learned from my latest trip (like my last post), here are 9 things I was grateful for on my latest trip:

1. I'm grateful for the weird city of Las Vegas.
I've been traveling to Vegas for work twice a year for the last few years. Sometimes I 'tsk' the city, thinking it's dirty and grimy and full of fakeness and ways to steal your money. It is those things. But it's also kind of amazing. This oasis in the middle of the desert full of lush visual stimulants and the promise of a one-of-a-kind experience. The things I like best about Vegas are its hospitality and the way that nobody cares who you are, what you do, or what you look like. You can have your own experience among the masses and not feel out of place at all. Vegas welcomes everyone. Come as you are.

2. I'm grateful for breakfast.
Always, always am I grateful for a nice filling breakfast. It's my favorite meal of the day. If I don't eat in the mornings, I get hangry and feel totally off. Sometimes when traveling, breakfasts don't come easy. Hotels don't always offer them, or they're not vegan. Luckily we were eligible for big free breakfasts every day in our hotel, and we took full advantage of them! I see girls sipping on lattes and picking at a fruit cup for breakfast and I don't know how they do it. Load me up with a fruit cup, 2 cups of oatmeal, toast, and coffee, please!

3. I'm grateful for my legs.
And that they allow me to walk for hours. Typically when I work from home, I don't do a ton of walking around every day. Then I go on a trip like this, where I walk for a good 8 hours or so per day. I'm amazed that my legs and feet can even handle it. But they do! The human body is awesome.

4. I'm grateful to restaurants that serve vegan food.
Vegas has a pretty good selection of vegan-friendly restaurants. Yet I'm still always grateful when restaurants are vegan-smart. Meaning that they either a) have a separate vegan menu, b) have dishes labeled as vegan on their regular menu, or c) know what vegan means and how to change dishes to suit it. We had an excellent server at Yard House who knew what was up and how to modify dishes to be vegan. And our two trusty favorites both have separate vegan menus: Slice of Vegas Pizza and Hussong's Cantina. We also ate at Mint Indian Bistro and Jamba Juice.

5. I'm grateful for people sharing their passion.
The reason I go to Vegas is to attend a fashion tradeshow. Soul Flower had a booth there (showing off my art!). Walking around the huge convention centers full of booths of creative stuff is inspiring. If only just for the proof that yes, there are other people out there making stuff and sharing it! Every company there had to work hard to dream up, create, manufacturer, and display their creations. It's cool to see what people come up with.

6. I'm grateful for attention to detail.
Along the lines of passionate people sharing what they do, little details of hard work really delight me. It's the little things that are evidence of someone who really cares. I always love a nice tidy new hotel room. With the bed made just so, and the towels stacked in the bathroom to perfection. And when they fold the toilet paper into a point! It's the furnishings, the interior spaces, the decor. Every hotel and casino has its own look, and I just know there were TEAMS of people creating it all. Most people probably don't even notice the embellishments or the lighting. I don't even notice it all. But it all adds to the *feel* of a place and makes you go, "ooo, this is fancy!" Our hotel had a kitchenette and the silverware in the drawer was hand forged. Each piece had little maker stamps in the silver! Amazing. (By the way, the only reason I even know such a thing as hand forged silverware exists is because of this Craft in America episode.)

7. I'm grateful for wonderful things.
Part of the charm of Vegas is all its visual stimulation. Everything is decorated, lit up, and designed to look a certain way and evoke a certain mood. It makes me happy that people don't take themselves too seriously and still make things fun. The gardens at Bellagio were filled with under-the-sea sculptures and a larger-than-life mermaid. The huge Linq ferris wheel makes me feel like a little kid - looking up at a comparatively-tiny ferris wheel at the local fair and thinking "woah, it's HUUUUGE!" Sculptures, art, paintings, statues... wonderful. This gratitude extends to more than just Vegas, too - airports, shopping malls, museums, public buildings, parks, fountains, waterfronts. All awesome.

8. I'm grateful for smooth skies.
Bumpy skies and turbulence are my greatest fears when flying, since I get motion sick. It's pretty much like playing a game of roulette, too. I never know if it's going to be bumpy so I'm always at risk for puking on the plane. Luckily this time, everything was good. All I can do is be grateful.

9. I'm grateful for my travel partner.
My husband Rob is my favorite travel partner. This time and always when we travel together, it's better than going alone. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

I could go on and on (couldn't we all?) with even more things I'm grateful for. Instead of picking apart the things that didn't quite go as planned, making a habit of focusing on the positive is a lot more fun. There's always something to be grateful for. Because if you're not happy with what you have, what makes you think you'd be happy with something else?

6 Lessons From My Latest Trip

2015-07-23T19:37:00.000-04:00

I was going to call this post "6 Things I Learned In Philadelphia", but these tips aren't specific to Philadelphia. They're more about travel and life in general. And I didn't necessarily LEARN these things. They're more like LESSONS. And sometimes you have to repeat lessons over and over, in cities all over the world, before you actually learn them.

1. Eat enough food and plan your next snack and meal
Getting hangry is always a bad experience and can dampen the whole day. I've come to accept that I can get pretty cranky when I'm hungry. But when all the right conditions align (hunger + feet hurting from walking + frustration at crowds of people + exhaustion from heat), the hangry intensifies. The lesson here is to: have enough to eat, plan where your next snack and meal are coming from, and lastly - EAT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE! One afternoon while we were exploring Philadelphia, I had my snacks with me, but I waited too long to eat some. Suddenly, I was hangry and I had to immediately scarf down a Clif bar. And I didn't even enjoy it.

2. Sit around for awhile
It’s not necessary to be go-go-going all the time, moving from one place and activity to the next and never pausing. Take time to just sit in one place for awhile. I remember more about the places where we sat for more than 10 minutes. Hanging out slows you down and gives you the chance for more people-watching, eavesdropping, and solidifying a memory :)

3. Ask for what you want
When we borrowed bikes from our hotel for the day, they immediately rolled out road bikes, even though the advertised bike in the window was a cute little cruiser. I just figured the window bike was for display only and didn’t ask if they had that kind available to borrow. I suffered through a shortened afternoon of bike riding on a road bike that was too tall for me with too hard of a seat. We had to change our plans because the bike was painful for me to ride! Later in the day, we saw some ladies returning a couple of the cute cruiser bikes. They had those available all along! I blamed the hotel for not asking us what kind of bikes we wanted, but really - I should have just asked. Like my mom always used to say, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

4. Don’t wear shoes that hurt
How many bandaids and scuffed up toes do I need to endure before learning this lesson? At least I brought 2 pairs of shoes so I could alternate between the types of pain. Sandals = skin rubbed raw, while sneakers = blisters. Now, after this trip, I'm in the process of donating/selling all my evil shoes and investing in ones that don't hurt.

5. Take more pictures than you wanted to. Take too many pictures.
Time and time again, I wish I would have taken more pictures. I did pretty good in Philadelphia, though, and I credit the fact that I wore my DSLR around my neck the entire time we walked around. Sometimes I hate doing that because it makes me look like a tourist, but it's the only way that I can guarantee I'll have my camera ready enough to snap some pics.

6. Even a bad drawing is better than none at all.
Before this trip, I got really excited about travel sketching by reading An Illustrated Journey, featuring pages and pages of artists' travel sketchbooks. I had this vision of being an awesome traveler, sitting in cafes and drawing people on the street. But that's not my nature at all. I get anxious and nervous about people seeing me, and second-guess all my drawing skills. But I did manage to do a few scribbles in my sketchbook. And they're crappy and kind of wonderful. (I used some of my sketches as overlays on these photos!)

Travel is a unique teacher of life lessons. Being away from home forces you into strange situations and intensifies all feelings and emotions, leaving a bigger impact. Sometimes it's rough, but I know no better instructor. Travel on!

All 100 Days!

2015-07-14T19:48:00.000-04:00

The 100 Day Project, hosted by The Great Discontent, is done! Well, it's an ongoing project and you can start at any time, but the official April 6 - July 14, 2015 period is now complete. The idea was to pick a theme and create one thing on that theme for 100 days in a row. I chose lettering as my theme and I'm proud (and super surprised) to say that I created a hand lettering piece and posted it to my instagram every single day for the past 100 days.

Every. single. day.
For 100 days.

They're all here: #100daysofletteringbyleiah

I've never had such an awesome track record with a creative project before! It's incredible, actually.

I never missed a day, I didn't get behind, I didn't get bored and quit. I did my lettering, usually in the evenings, every day and posted a picture. In the beginning of the project, I was super stoked and excited to do my lettering every day. As time went on, I became a lot less stoked but I did it anyway. Some days I knew exactly what I wanted to letter. Other days I sat watching TV for literally an hour or more, trying to think of something to letter.

Some days were a lot more successful than others. Some of the letterings I hate and almost wish I could take out of the project! But there are more that I love. I love the weird ones, with drippy and textured letters. I love the ones where I did a little illustration alongside the words. I love the ones where I drew myself!

These are my favorites:

What did I learn?

Never underestimate the power of doing something small every day. Most days drawing these letters felt so small and insignificant and barely worth mentioning. But now at the end of 100 days they all add up and it's actually a pretty cool project to be proud of!
Done is better than perfect. This is a mantra I always try to remind myself. Even though I dislike a bunch of the letterings that I did, the GOOD ones overshadow the bad and it's a wash. Obviously this is a creative lesson I need to learn: make a LOT of stuff to outweigh all the shitty stuff you will inevitably come up with! You can't make a lot of good stuff if you don't make a lot of stuff, period.
Connecting with community is encouraging. I started following a handful of other people participating in The 100 Day Project, and seeing their posts in my feed make me feel like I wasn't alone. That I didn't just dream up this crazy project on my own and was now forced to follow through by myself while everyone else ignored me.
My strengths. I'm better at certain styles more than others. I'm better at wonky, funky, drippy letters. My super-perfect blog letters or scripts are bad and boring. It's fun to pick out my favorites from this group of 100 and be like, "woah, that's really awesome - I made that!"

Why did this challenge actually WORK for me when most of my long-term creative projects fail?

Tiny tasks: the task I had to do every day was small. It could be as simple as scribbling my name, or as elaborate as a a super long quote and illustration. But knowing that it could be crap, that it could be tiny and small and stupid, was comforting to me. Low pressure.
Daily posting: the rule for me was to post every single day. Accountability. A time frame. I had until midnight every night to finish this thing.

What next?

I don't have plans for another long-term project. I'm not going to repeat 100 Days of anything right now. I look forward to the break!

I do, however, want to keep some of this momentum going by just creating MORE and creating more ugly/bad/wonky stuff, just to get it out of my system. I feel like I'm still on my journey to find my artistic style and creative stride.

Onward.

Graphic Novel Inspiration: "This One Summer"

2015-06-14T18:42:00.000-04:00

I've read a few graphic novels in the past and always enjoy them, but never really considered seeking them out until now. I picked this book up at my library on a whim (they had a special display of graphic novels). "This One Summer" by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.

It wasn't my favorite book ever, but the illustrations and the way the story was told through the comic-book-style panels was inspiring to me. So I wanted to share a few of the pages and things from the book that caught my interest.

(No real spoilers here)

Things I liked:

The dancing!

These "spooky" noises and how they're floating out of the woods:

The way the water was simplified. It's almost minimal, yet you can still tell what's happening. A nice contrast between the lush greenery scenes (like the woods in the previous example):

The relationship between these two girls was weird, but I like how their physical contact was illustrated. So *squishy*:

The body diversity! Every character was so detailed, and honest, and everyone looked so different from one another:

LOVED this nervous stomach-flipping. It made me smile while reading:

This funny grandma and how she was illustrated to really look like a cranky old hag :)

The night scenes, especially the glow from the campfire and starry night sky:

Can't wait for my next graphic novel requests to be filled. I love the library :)

You're an Artist All the Time

2015-06-14T18:16:00.002-04:00

"You're an artist all the time, you're not an artist from nine to five."
~Nikki Lewis, ceramic artist
PBS Craft in America, Episode V: "Process" [video]

I love Craft in America and every time I re-watch this episode and hear this quote, it always sticks with me. Because it feels so true. For me, it's important to remember that I am a creative person by nature. Every day, I'm an artist. And I should treat myself accordingly. Instead of trying to "switch it on" and be creative on a moment's notice (when it's time to work), I need to be feeding my creativity and inspiration all the time. In order to make art and churn out creative work, my artist mind and spirit needs to be filled.

So it's crucial to take the time to be my weirdo self. Draw random stuff just because I feel like it. Pull out the magazines and make a mess (and maybe a collage in the process). Go see new places, different things. Tickle your brain a little bit by mixing things up.

And how reassuring!: if you can truly accept that you're an artist all the time and not just for your job/career/paycheck... that's your identity. You've found yourself! You're not just your job; you are an artist. Your job is just one outlet where you express your artistic side. First and foremost and forever more, you're an artist.

#100DaysofLetteringbyLeiah

2015-04-17T16:23:00.000-04:00

Here are the first 12 days of my #100DaysofLetteringbyLeiah project for The 100 Day Project! The idea is to pick a theme and create one thing on that theme for 100 days in a row. It runs from April 6th through July 14, 2015. Lately I've been really interested in hand lettering and drawing letters, words, and quotes, so that's why I chose lettering as my theme.

Follow along with me on Instagram!

Fun New Society6 Products for Sale!

2015-03-31T08:30:00.000-04:00

My Society6 shop has been open for 3 years now, but only recently has the site added some fun new products beyond paper art prints. Some of these look so cute with my illustrations on them, I just had to share!

Wall clocks
I rearranged my Why I Love Tea illustration to better fit the face of a clock. Time for Tea is the perfect text... because it's always tea time :)

I rearranged my Grow Some print for this sweet vegetable clock:

Tapestries
I could totally see a veggie-lover hanging this Grow Some tapestry on their wall. Or maybe as a backdrop for a local farm stand?

I haven't actually seen these tapestries in real life yet, but they look freaking sweet online. Especially with a funky psychedelic pattern like this Rainbow Swirlies tapestry!

Mugs
A mug with a tea illustration on it. What could be better?! So cute: Why I Love Tea mug. It's based on my original Why I Love Tea graphic, but this mug has no text on it (except the mmmmmmm).

I turned my Grow Some design into a pattern! It looks so cute on a mug. I was totally inspired by ScrawnyGirl's mugs with her allover-patterns of kawaii characters.

T-Shirts
Since I haven't seen them in real life, I can't speak to the quality of these t-shirts, tank tops, or hoodies, but they sure are cute. The way Society6 lets you pick your garment color is really weird. Some of my designs don't look awesome on every color. But I like these 2 variations: Grow Some on cream, and We're All Mad Here on heather black.

Phone Cases
I'm hoping to add more styles of mobile phone cases on Society6 in the future. I'd love to make some Vegan-themed ones! Click on each photo to see the product page:

Cool, right?!

Sometimes Society6 offers sales or free shipping coupons. Follow me on twitter and I'll tweet out when new sales are happening!

In the meantime, check out my whole shop: Leiah on Society6.

Starting my 3rd year of digital Project Life & keeping it simple

2015-03-09T11:40:00.001-04:00

The very first digital Project Life 2-page weekly recap I ever made was in the first week of January 2013. That year I made 52 spreads. Then again in 2014 I made spreads for every week of the entire year. 2015 is another year and I can't stop now! I'm on a crazy good roll with keeping up with this project. I haven't felt like sharing individual page spreads lately, but here's an update at a glance (the last couple weeks of 2014 up to week 9 of this year):

The main reason I've been able to keep up with making these digital scrapbook pages every week is that I've simplified my process down to the bare minimum and I keep my layout template the same. I know some people like digital scrapbooking because it's fun to use lots of different digital papers, embellishments, and elements, but that type of scrapbooking inherently takes more time to finish. My weekly Project Life spreads aren't about experimenting with fun patterned paper and interesting layouts; it's about documenting my life and activities in a simple photo-based way.

My layouts are always the same, although I do make little tweaks when I feel like it.
Here's how I'm formatting every page spread:

I keep the headers the same so that when I'm flipping back through dozens of pages, I can tell at a glance what week it is. I keep one big spot for journaling to encourage myself to write at least something.

In 2015, I've been trying to include a weekly Currently card. I printed out a stack of cards and I keep them in my desk drawer. I set a recurring event on my calendar to pop up a reminder every Wednesday at 10am - write a Currently card! When the reminder goes off, I pull out a card and try to fill it out immediately, aiming for getting it done quickly and not thinking too much about it. Then I snap a quick picture of the card on something I'm working on (like a drawing) or next to something that describes my week (like on top of my keyboard). This completes the perfect trifecta for my header: calendar with week number, headline and journaling, and a Currently card photo.

You can get Currently cards in both paper or digital from rukristin.

The simple 3x4 calendar cards I made myself and are available for free digital download here.

Here's to another great year of memory making and memory keeping!

Get EXCITED Fridays : videos, dolls, and thumbs

2015-03-06T09:30:00.001-05:00

It's been awhile since I've done a nice Get Excited link round-up. It's time for a little more energy around here!

I made this video! You probably didn't know that I really like editing video. I'm not claiming to be any good at it, but I enjoy it nonetheless. During Soul Flower's trip to Las Vegas a couple weeks ago, I shot video clips with my iPhone and edited it together. And I made the song in GarageBand! Pros right now are shaking their heads at my n00bness, but whatevs. I enjoyed it.
Two thumbs up for this Vegan Guide that addresses FAQs about a vegan diet. Whatever questions (or excuses) you have about veganism, get some answers and info in this guide. Good stuff. Also, Vegan Sidekick shares awesome anti-sugar-coated comics about veganism. I wish everybody could see his stuff!
Tree Change Dolls! This lady buys old dolls (think: Bratz) and gives them earthy, natural makeovers. So good.
The Local Branch. I met these two at the POOL Tradeshow in Las Vegas in February, and they were super down-to-earth. Their story is remarkable: they have a line of clothing and accessories that they produce in their trailer while traveling around the US. They totally make me want to pack up my life and roam the countryside, exploring places and making stuff. Jelly.
I'm becoming a big fan of marketing/hustle genius Gary Vaynerchuk. Watch his videos for a motivational kick.
Lately I've been consuming all of what Sean McCabe has been putting out there: podcast, videos, blog posts... this guy is prolific and on-point.
A couple weeks ago I learned the official name for what I always thought were my fucked-up thumbs: Brachydactyly type D (aka Clubbed Thumb). And there's an entire photo album! This might seem weird to you guys, but please know that I've had thumbs like these my entire life and people always commented about how "weird" they are. So I thought I was just weird. But it's a thing! This is perspective-changing!

That's all for today. Happy Friday!

Advice To My Younger Self

2015-03-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

This hashtag, #DearMe, asks the question What advice would you give to your younger self? Here's some of what I would say (although I could probably go on and on)

Dear Leiah,
You are a lot cooler than you probably think you are. I know sometimes you don’t fit in or you feel like kind of an outcast or you feel like your friends are fake or you don’t really have very many good friends. Just don’t forget about yourself, you can be your own friend and you should be. Work on cultivating your relationship with yourself; learn to love yourself. Find things that you like to do and do them, even if they seem nerdy or not cool. Spend time on things that you like to do, and spend time on getting better at the things you like and are passionate about. You like drawing, art, and crafts, you like the computer: spend time on that and totally nerd out on it! Find other people who like to do it and have them as friends.

You’re probably worried about not measuring up to some of the girls in your class or even some of your friends, but keep in mind that this is just a phase. Things that seem like a really big deal right now, in the grand scheme of things are not a big deal. I know you have a friend who seems like everyone likes her and she’s really pretty, and you probably think she’s a lot prettier than you, that she has a better body, that she has better hair and skin, that she’s tanner than you, she’s taller than you. She might be these things right now, but she won’t be that way forever. Remind yourself that her looks are not necessarily the ideal. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. Accept everyone’s bodies and everyone’s looks for the way they are. Seriously judge them only by their personality and what type of person they are.

I encourage you to keep being a weirdo, keep finding and hanging out with people who get you and who think that you’re funny. If you find somebody who you like hanging out with, you think they’re a good person, they laugh at your jokes, they think that you’re creative, and they’re willing to support you - hang on to those people. Anybody who doesn’t get you, who doesn’t seem like they’re on your team, then just move on and forget them.

Don’t overlook important things in life, things that other adults can agree are important. Things like learning. Just grab the reigns on your own learning and learn what interests you and learn it as hard as you can. School is something that probably seems like a waste of time, but it is something you have to go through, so if you’re having a hard time or you think you need help, if you don’t get a subject, then you need to take the initiative to find help for yourself. Nobody else is going to do that for you. It’s not anybody’s fault; it’s not your fault, it’s not your teacher’s fault. It’s just that your learning style is different from maybe the other people in your class, and that’s totally OK. Anybody who is a good teacher will help you, even if that means staying after school or coming in for some private sessions or something. Just don’t forget that that resource is there, and take advantage of it while you can. They’re there to help you and they want you to succeed.

Remember that adults can be a really good resource for you and they can answer a lot of questions that you have, because they’ve been through it. But you need to remember that adults don’t know everything, even if they act like they do, even if they say that they do, they don’t know everything and they don’t always know what they’re talking about. So ask questions, always ask questions, ask more questions. Be curious, be skeptical of what they tell you. Try to get more than one opinion and ask different people for their advice on things.

So don’t forget about the important things in life like learning. Also, don’t forget to take care of yourself. Health and wellness really are important. I know you hear that all the time, you hear all this talk about eating healthy and exercising. Well, you hear that from a lot of people and from a lot of different sources, so you can trust that it’s true. And I’ll tell you that it’s true. Watching what you eat, trying to eat healthy, learning about healthy foods, learning about eating right… The time you spend on that will only be good for you. Trying to learn and be better is always something you should strive for.

Don’t forget to be kind. Don’t forget to be kind. Always be kinder than necessary. Don’t lose your compassion. You know how to talk to people and how to talk to people so that they listen. You’re compassionate, you’re a good friend. You make people feel better about themselves and you help them, and that’s something that’s so important. You might think it just comes naturally and it’s not a thing, but it’s a really special gift that not everyone has. So don’t get jaded. Don’t let anybody convince you that being kind (while also standing up for yourself, of course) is always worth it.

That’s what I would tell you, younger Leiah. Be yourself, be a weirdo, take care of yourself and be your own best friend. You’re the only one you can rely on.

gifs were created here

Chain of X's Workout Technique

2015-03-04T17:04:00.000-05:00

Don't break the chain!

Printing out a workout calendar and crossing off the days with big fat X's is literally the only thing that motivates me to exercise on a regular basis.

This productivity concept isn't new. Apparently it's Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret and artist Crystal Moody uses this technique to create something every day of the year. Neither of these sources directly influenced my use of the "chain" but it's uplifting to know that it works for others, too, even across disciplines!

The first time I created my own workout calendar, it was for The Color Run. My family were flying out to visit us in DC and my mom and sister were going to run with us in the 5k (3.1 miles) Color Run. I was NOT in shape, and I knew I had to stick to my training schedule if I ever wanted to be able to finish the race and not let down my family. Here's the calendar I made and stuck to:

Since then, I've created a few more workout calendars. Sometimes they've been to reach a goal, and other times they're just to keep me working out every day and sticking to that daily schedule. I like to do my workouts at home, and I'm a big fan of cardio and yoga videos.

Part of what I enjoy about using a workout calendar like this is that I get to plan all my workouts in advance. Sometimes I'll take inspiration from a pre-made calendar (like for the Turbo Fire program), but mostly I just make up my own depending on what my goals are. I create these in Adobe InDesign, and I use little gray circles and text to plop down my workouts. Then I can move them around, and it's all very visual. For February/March, I kept my workouts somewhat vague (cardio and squats instead of TurboJam video #12). I like the flexibility of being able to choose my exact workout every day. I can choose something a little harder or a little easier depending on how I'm feeling that day, instead of being locked in to one specific video.

The reason these calendars work so well for me is the chain of X's. Each day when I complete that day's activity, I get to cross off the square with a marker. (I keep my calendar on my fridge and the marker on the top of the fridge.) At first it doesn't look like much, but after a week or so the chain is getting long! And I don't want to break it!

Missing a day isn't the end of the world, but my goal is always to have so many X's that from a distance it looks like every day. That means NO GAPS. If I miss a day, whatever, just get back to it right away. Then that gap won't look so big from a distance. If I do part of my workout for the day, or something different than I planned, I'll either write a small X in the corner (partial) or re-write what I actually did. I've also swapped days before. I always include a REST day during the week (just a blank slot), and I get to X those out, too. Even that is motivating :)

If you think creating your own workout calendar and crossing off the day with big colorful X's is something that would work for you, then I encourage you to try it! Here's a 6-week calendar template you can print out. You'll have to fill out the days of the week and the day numbers yourself (depending on the month). I also removed the spots that I usually have on there for inspiration pics*. If you want some workout inspiration pics, you'll have to paste those on separately.

click to download a larger size

*I pulled my fitspiration photos from my two Pinterest boards: Strong & Sculpted and Move. I picked whatever was extra-super-inspiring me at the moment!

Side note: One of my favorite workout resources lately is the FitnessBlender channel on YouTube. Their videos are simple, requiring minimal equipment, and they're meant to be blended up - mix&match to create your own unique workout, so it's something new every day.

Do what you need to do to stay active over the long term!

January Illustrations

2015-01-27T19:51:00.002-05:00

This month I've been enjoying drawing for Illustration Friday. It helps me immensely to have a prompt each week that I can focus on, and that I know is no-pressure. If the drawing turns into something cool, then great! If not, it's not a big deal. I'll just do another one next week. I've been trying to approach drawing for fun as just that: drawing for fun. Just doing whatever comes naturally, not trying too hard to do something new and difficult.

The prompt for this one was Passion. It's me with multiple arms, holding onto a bunch of things that represent my passions. It reminds me a lot of my blog header!

Invention. A couple weeks ago, I took my old, falling-apart mukluks and some leftover fleece fabric from pillows I made once, and sewed up some new slipper booties. I tried to use a pattern (sort of), but ended up pretty much freestyling them. They're different from each other and pretty freakin' wonky, but they're warm! And I made them!

Rochelle & Erik (and Muffin!) This one I just had the urge to draw after seeing a photo of my sister-in-law and her boyfriend and dog on facebook. I wanted to draw something so I drew them! I colored it in digitally, and added the background digitally, too. I realized that I really like drawing clothing on people - all those fun little details!

Nefarious. When brainstorming what to draw for nefarious (wicked, criminal), I kept thinking of cliché gangsters or horrible other things like the meat industry. Then these two ladies popped into my head. From the 1992 movie "Death Becomes Her", Helen and Madeline after trying to destroy each other. They're two of the most conniving characters in any movie I like, but they're still funny! (I have a few more process photos of this illustration in my flickr album.)

Toy. A quicker, smaller illustration of a troll toy with made-up hair colors and doodles around the edges. I knew I wanted to draw a toy from my childhood for this prompt, so I scrolled through my Flashback pinterest board until I found something to draw!

Dr. Rob, PhD. The other day, my husband Rob was home working on a research problem for work. He came over to my desk to tell me about a breakthrough he had. His quote was, "I've gone back to the literature" and he said it in such a scholarly way, I giggled and told him I was picturing him in a 3-piece suit looking pretentious. He said Draw it! So I did :)

Handwriting. Apparently, Sakura is doing a giveaway on Instagram to win a big fancy pen set. (I learned about it from Lisa Congdon's blog post.) This is my entry. Super quick, used both of my Sakura pens (I need a new Micron one, that pen is so tiny it got squished!) The quote is a reminder to myself for all the drawing, art, and illustration I do. Done is better than perfect, always!

New Year's Vision Board for 2015

2014-12-31T15:25:00.001-05:00

I've had minimal success when deciding on new year's resolutions. It works better for me to identify larger, overall concepts and trajectories that I'd like to focus on in upcoming seasons. Instead of the pressure of specific goals, I can try to gently lean toward doing better every day.

Inspired by Light by Coco's vision board, I created my own vision board poster for 2015. First, I made a list of main goal topics. Nothing too specific. I know they say it's better to create concrete, measurable goals if you want any chance of actually reaching them. But for this poster, I wanted it to just be inspirational. An overall picture of my ideal life. Then I found pictures that visualize each goal topic and that inspire me.

A bit about each picture [sources are linked]:

Either you run the day, or the day runs you - a reminder to take control of my daily life and to-dos, otherwise I'm at the mercy of everyone around me.
Minimalist clothes on hooks - continue to minimize my wardrobe and home. Simple outfits with well-loved items are better than an overflowing closet!
Girl on bike - bicycle around the city more.
Emma Watson beauty - take care of my skin.
Tattoo girl smelling flowers - a reminder to tap into my hippie side once in awhile. Free spirited and earthy and full of love for everyone around me.
Ballerina stretching - work on my flexibility.
Healthy green salad bowl - eat healthfully and abundantly with colorful fruits & veggies!
Buff girl dancing - work out to become strong and fit.
Berries - remember how delicious plain ol' nature is and indulge!
Dirty hand - get my hands messy doing creative projects.
Sadie Nardini yogi - practice yoga.
Motivation quote - when I'm feeling unmotivated, remember that motivation never lasts and I just have to remind myself of my goals daily.
MK&A laptop - stay in touch with family and friends through technology.
Colorful office - keep work and graphic design fun and colorful to remind myself that I have a pretty cool job!
Nice butt - work out to get toned (I never knew this until recently, but Pinterest has convinced me that anyone can have an amazing rear-end if you do your squats!)
Exploring couple - travel and explore places with Rob.
Wine glasses - make every night a special occasion. The best time to celebrate is whenever you can.
White minimalist bedroom - continue to minimize and simplify our home.
Vegan runner - quit being a couch potato so I can be a kick-ass role model for the vegan lifestyle.
Your life is your message - reminder to also practice the creativity, positivity, and healthy lifestyle I love to promote.

I found the pictures online (combing through my Pinterest boards first), then used InDesign to create the layout. I printed the 11x17" poster through OvernightPrints.com <--that's a referral link btw, tacking it on to my holiday card order. It was like $3 after coupons. When it arrived, I realized that it didn't fit on my closet wall very well. The place I wanted to hang it was too narrow. So I cut the left column of rectangles off, and rearranged them on the top. It fits next to my mirror now, and still looks good!

I hung it up in my closet for me to see every day when I get dressed and get ready for bed, and every time I pass through the closet to the bathroom. My hope is it will remind me of what I want my life to look like - all aspects of it. Then every time I make a decision, I can lean toward my vision. Eventually, this poster will be more of a reflection of my current life and less of a far-off dream!

Freebie! 2015 Calendar Printables

2014-12-30T18:03:00.001-05:00

{ Download PDF }

{ Download JPEG singles }

Last year I shared a pack of freebie Project Life cards for 2014. I haven't really been tracking it, but this pin of the cards has over 600 repins - awesome!

I've been using them in every digital Project Life spread I create; they're a staple in my upper-left hand corner each week. This is how I've been using them:

I knew I'd want to use them throughout 2015, so I updated the pack for the new year. I changed the font for the month name and year. Everything else stayed exactly the same. Whether you use them for scrapbooking or other calendar planning, I hope you find these useful!

{ Download PDF } Easy-to-print-and-cut-out 3x4" cards 5-up on 8.5x11" paper
{ Download JPEG singles } zip file of individual 3x4" cards in JPEG format, 300dpi

Happy 2015!

Attribution/credit is NOT required. (Although appreciated so that others can enjoy, too!) If you have a freebie round-up blog or something and want to share these, please link to my blog post instead of hosting them yourself. Thanks!

Project Life 2014 : Weeks 19 - 49 Update

2014-12-12T11:00:00.001-05:00

Wowzas, I haven't been updating about my Project Life pages at all! My last post was up to week 18, way back in May. I got a little bit behind on actually creating the spreads for a couple of months this summer, but one day I powered through and got completely caught up. Since then, I haven't gotten more than a couple of weeks behind. Proof I've still been doing this project:

Digital Project Life has been a lot easier this year since I have been using the exact same template all year. Remembering that I have pages to fill helps remind me to take pictures: take more photos than you think you need, snap photos of anything and everything. The worst weeks are the ones where I don't take enough pictures and the slots are hard to fill.

Looking back on these spreads is always a treat, and by having this record of our life, I remember more things. I guess that's why I keep doing it. I'm pretty good at abandoning/failing projects that I start, but this simple form of memory keeping is now like an extension of my brain. I don't want to lose it!

Happy World Vegan Day!

2014-11-01T14:21:00.002-04:00

I've been putting off writing this post: I kept thinking that I want to do something big, something super inspiring and educational, something heartfelt and that can encompass all the feelings I have about eating and being vegan.

Too much pressure!

So let me just keep it simple and say what I really think: I wish everyone in the world would eat a vegan diet. I wish everyone knew about the horrors of animal abuse in the meat and dairy industries, and that everyone had the resources they need to make the switch. I wish eating a peaceful plant-based diet was a topic wide open to discussion, and I wish everyone would ask more questions and be willing to make changes in their lives to avoid suffering.

This is me holding a huge bowl of salad! I look like one of those uber-healthy vegans, right?! Truth is, I don't care for this much salad. Give me vegan pizza or a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and I'm happy.

My Veganniversary is April 6, 2013. I gave up meat right after Halloween in 2010. So it's been 4 years since I last ate a piece of animal flesh, and 1.5 years since I quit eating animal secretions (cheese, eggs, milk).

Honestly, it feels like way longer. It blows my mind that I never made the connection earlier that cows have to be pregnant in order to make milk. I'm astonished that I knew meat comes from animals in factory farms, but never stopped to ask myself, "Am I OK with that? Am I cool with participating in this system and paying another person to do my killing for me? Does this align with my values?"

It's way too easy to go along with the crowd. To push aside your conscience whispering feelings of unease. To justify your choices with illogical reasons and lies. Making changes can be hard, yes. But my perspective is that once you know better, you have the moral obligation to do better. And making difficult choices is much easier when they at least align with your values.

For me, it's no question if I want dairy cheese on my sandwich. I will NOT eat it; it's from an animal and the animal that made it suffered. I will not consume that suffering and the inequality, violence, and speciesism that accompanies it. Oops, you accidentally put cream in this dish? Take it back, I requested no cream. If you can't accommodate my dietary preferences, I will leave.

Truths that remind me why I'm vegan:

Humans are the only species who drink another species' breast milk.
Dairy cows are forced against her will to be pregnant in order to keep producing milk.
Eggs are a hen's period. Her reproductive cycle is altered and exploited for the sake of more eggs and more profit.
Just because you did not kill it yourself doesn't mean you are less guilty. By buying meat, you are paying other people to do the killing for you.
All animals killed for their meat are murdered before they reach their natural life expectancy age. Every piece of meat you eat is from a baby.
There is no difference between your pet dog and the chicken that was slaughtered for your lunch. If you can't stomach killing and eating a dog, you shouldn't eat a chicken.
Humans do not need to eat animal flesh or secretions to live a long, healthy life. In fact, eating a plant-based diet is proven to reduce dietary diseases.

My advice: Quit eating animals. Don't know where to start? Start here.

Or start where I started: Vegan Podcast by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Or check out her short videos over on YouTube.

I make a point to not write too many posts about veganism on RubyBows, since that's not my focus here. I have a totally separate blog for that! It's called DirtyStove, and it's a tumblr blog. Check it out!

Hocus Pocus Halloween Vibes

2014-10-31T09:17:00.001-04:00

Fall is my favorite season. Halloween can be fun, but celebrating Halloween isn't what I love about the season. I love the colors, the crisp air, and the mood. I love walking through the fallen leaves. Bundling up in layers. The smell of apple cider and a cozy fire.

I've written about autumn before: remembering the leaf pile we played in as kids, collecting leaves, and that back to school vibe.

The past couple of weekends, Rob and I walked to different neighborhoods around DC. Here's me by a colorful red tree near the Tidal Basin. The Washington Monument just happened to be there, too :)

We passed this old junior high building. I have no idea if kids still go here. A building this old plus those looming dark clouds made this place look like a scene out of a movie.

It reminded me of the school from Hocus Pocus!

Or maybe this junior high is a cross between the Hocus Pocus high school and Max Dennison's house. Either way, creepy old skool vibes. I love it. (PS: Check out real-life photos of these Hocus Pocus filming locations!)

During one of our strolls around DC, we stopped near the Tidal Basin and I collected some leaves to decorate our apartment. I made a stack and carefully tucked them into my bag.

Today is Halloween. I had pressed my leaves in a cookbook and was twirling one today, thinking of how to use them as decoration. I held one up to the light and it looked amazing!

The intricate detail, the texture, the colors... Leaves are so cool.

I took some photos with my macro iPhone lens.

When you get close enough, it looks veiny and alive.

This oak tree glowing in the light reminded me of the spellbook from Hocus Pocus: "it is bound in human skin."

These leaves are prettier, though, and significantly less gross!

The other book from Hocus Pocus: the storybook one seen in the very beginning:

The spell book has some nice old-fashioned calligraphy in it, which you can see glimpses of a few times during the movie.

I bought a pen & nib set several months ago - the type of pen you use with ink to do calligraphy. I'm not very good at it, but I think it makes nice-looking strokes that feel really old and important. I was practicing making some semi-calligraphic letters the other day:

So that's it for my Halloween vibes for you today! Hope the day is sweet, chilly, and a little bit spooky. And you better be wearing black and orange! I am :)

Related reading:
2012: Halloween Hippie
2012: Childhood Halloween Costumes
2012: Hocus Pocus Style - Allison

A Colorful Catch-Up

2014-10-16T19:08:00.000-04:00

Since my last blog post, I went to Las Vegas for work:

Helped set up the Soul Flower booth there at the POOL tradeshow:

Watched the entire Breaking Bad series:

Saw a couple of really gorgeous sunsets in DC:

Ate at least a half dozen ZPizza Berkeley Vegan pizzas (our new favorite restaurant in DC):

Went to DC VegFest to support some vegan food trucks:

Visited the mysterious colorful repurposed church art gallery, Blind Whino, here in DC for a Creative Mornings talk:

Discovered my new favorite kind of flower, Lantana (I LOVE the colors!):

Visited a full DC row house for the first time in my life (I had only ever seen a basement). We dropped in on a random open house, where the rowhouse was on the market for $865,000. It looked similar to this:

Created a logo for the fictitious clothing line Dumbure Couture (see the videos here):

And that was my August/September/half of October!

Sketchbook-a-Week Update: Book 1 Finished!

2014-08-08T20:14:00.001-04:00

It's hard for me to believe, but I actually filled my entire first sketchbook - all in the past 7 days!

Today I'm starting Book #2, which is a much larger notebook (about twice as big), and it has grid lines on the pages.

This doodle sums up the week:

I fell behind on the weekend, and didn't really catch up again until Wednesday night. But I managed to fill my sketchbook with all sorts of random stuff. Here's an assortment!

Breakfast:

Lunch (I watched a part of a Project Runway episode during lunch, which explains the quote):

List of nutrient dense foods while watching this video of Dr. Joel Fuhrman:

A reminder from Dr. Fuhrman that salad is the main dish! GOMBS is his acronym for good foods to make your meals out of:

I used a lot of Crayola colored pencils in this sketchbook. One day I picked up a blue pencil, looked at the name, and it was cerulean. It reminded me of this scene from the movie Devil Wears Prada. So I put the movie on --of course I own it :) and watched that scene again, pausing at two different moments to capture Andy and Miranda.

A crazy sketch of Tim Gunn while watching Project Runway:

I did a couple of these 21 Day Drawing Challenges that are being posted daily right now. Day 1 was Draw a Cat. We were instructed to draw a couple of studies first before doing the final drawing. All of these cats are from Pinterest.

In the end, I did two cat drawings: one close up so I could draw those cute tiny kitty teeth(!) and another kawaii-inspired cat:

I wrote a lot in this sketchbook. There are pages and pages of journaling and random thoughts, none of which I'm sharing here. But here's an illustrated journal entry:

I filled a bunch of pages with collages. I'm kind of obsessed. Collage is one of my long-time loves that I just can't get away from. Over and over again, I gravitate toward collage, and end up decoupaging all my stuff.

Themes above: Princess, Sparkly, Blue Techno, Colorful, Desert Natural Earthy, Moonlight Sonata.
Themes below: Français, Gold, Pink Colorful, Autumn, Witchy Woman, Rocker Chic.

I only did 3 OotD (outfit of the day) drawings, but they're cute:

Last night, I had over a dozen pages to fill in order to finish the sketchbook. Time was running out. I felt SO close, I knew I had to just do whatever to finish. So I just doodled some shapes, patterns, and lines. This is my definition of "doodling":

And that's it!

On to week 2...

50 Sketchbook Prompts for Inspiration

2014-07-31T23:32:00.003-04:00

Sketchbooking, journaling, writing, drawing, doodling, listing... My Sketchbook-a-Week Challenge starts tomorrow (August 1st) and I'm surprisingly really excited to do all those creative activities. It feels like a good thing to actually be looking forward to starting this thing.

Yesterday I cleared out the clutter and filled my left-side desk drawer with a bunch of art supplies that I have on hand. I think it'll help to have all of this stuff within arm's reach.

my desk drawer full of art supplies

Before the challenge begins, I wanted to make a list for myself of some prompts and inspiration that I can revisit if I feel the need.

Sketchbook inspiration:

outfit of the day sketches, like these from Skulleigh
make a moodboard for a fashion line with cutouts from magazines
hand letter a quote
draw what you eat
write 3 stream-of-consciousness pages of Morning Pages first thing in the morning
find inspiration from Creative Rehab's 30 Days of Writing Challenge (also starting Friday!)
draw something from this Draw Me board
draw a portrait of yourself in a mirror making the ugliest face possible
draw some made-up ugly faces
blueprint the plans for an altar sculpture of some sort
draw fairies
learn how to draw chibis
write/draw some content for a zine
fill a page full of faces
go a little Wreck This Journal on your sketchbook and start messing it up
copy something cute/kawaii
sketch portraits of girl characters i like: Matilda, Wednesday, Belle, Alice, Dorothy, Amélie, Daria, Hermione...
color a page as full of color as possible
pick an object that reminds you of childhood, draw it and write your memories of it
share your story behind an old photo
pick a common first name and list all the people you can think of with that name
see: everyday life journaling prompts
draw a map of your hometown from memory (street names, landmarks, your schools, friends' houses, etc)
draw everything in your purse/bag
create a page of rich texture
for calm & clarity, just make dots... or lines
draw girls in outfits & decorate the heck out of their clothes
make a list of all the people who have step foot in your home - how many can you remember?
outline your hand, then doodle in it
illustrate a recipe
make a grid, then fill the boxes with drawings of things in your space
cut out a photo from a magazine & doodle on top of it - aka "doodle bomb"
Rorschach with watercolor and draw what you see
learn about something new and take notes on what you learn
two words: visual note-taking
list all the places you've fallen asleep besides your own home
draw your own mandala and color it in
keep a tea journal
make a color swatch collage
watch a movie. pause it randomly. quickly sketch the scene.
make a list of things you're good at
50 things to be happy about
gratitude journal
go someplace and draw your surroundings
make a pseudo pinboard in your sketchbook with pictures from magazines
make lists based on past 30 Days of Lists prompts
more: themes from Sketchbook Challenge
more: topics from Illustration Friday
more: 40 journaling prompts
jumping off point: random sentence

some of my favorite drawing & writing tools

Alrighty then, I think 50 is enough for now. Happy creating to everyone doing challenges in August!

Sketchbook-a-Week Challenge in August

2014-07-29T21:23:00.002-04:00

Honestly, I'm a bit reluctant about this challenge. It's super ambitious. (But also kind of exciting!) I picked up a book from my library called The Sketchbook Challenge, which offers prompts and technique ideas to help spark your creativity. Even before reading more than 5 pages of the intro, an idea hatched in my brain: fill 1 sketchbook a week, for 4 weeks in a row.

My idea is to completely immerse myself in drawing/writing/doodling/listing/collaging in my sketchbooks to the point of delirium. Then, after the challenge is over, my hands will automatically grab a pen and flip to a new page in my sketchbook to start thinking through drawing. I'll have done it SO much, that I just can't help myself. The habit is stuck. Right?

That's the idea, anyway.

It could also go the opposite way in that I completely hate doing the pages. I struggle daily, angrily scribbling something meaningless page after page, just to fill my quota for the day. But could I hate it, day after day? Rarely am I mad at something for more than a couple of days. Usually (sometimes slowly), I get over my stuckness, and release whatever is dragging me down. Wouldn't I also do that throughout the weeks of this challenge? Isn't that the point?

My relationship with sketchbooking is rocky. I've almost always kept written journals, and even when I take a long break from writing I still return to it pretty regularly. Sketching is love-hate. It's always been an assignment in art classes. It's advice I hear again and again from artists and other creative people: "always keep a sketchbook!" "I can't live without my sketchbook!"

Blah.

I love sketchbooks. And I love all my old sketchbooks. But there's a persistent block I have when it comes to actually making marks on paper. The pages are too clean, the book is too precious, my ideas are too unimportant, my dreams too crippled to be recorded, my hands and mind too distracted... But I see their potential, and I believe in their power. It's like knowing that eating vegetables is good for your health and body, but instead passing on the veggies in exchange for junky potato chips. You know better, but that doesn't mean it's easy to do better.

Lately, I've started watching all the old episodes of Project Runway from the beginning of the show. They push those designers, over and over again. It's a fashion designing marathon for the duration of the show. Yeah, they struggle with every challenge. They come close to having breakdowns, they second-guess their vision, they tear the garment apart and start over again, and run into creative problems at every turn. Yet, the designers who push through and are persistent and work hard to listen to their gut and deliver again and again, are the ones who win.

I guess this is my Project Runway of sketchbooking. In the end, there can only be one winner and it can only be me. But I'm not guaranteed a win unless I keep up on completing my pages each week. My plan is this:

Fill one sketchbook per week. In order to fill the book by the end of the week, I divided up a rough page count per day that I should aim for. It's about 20 pages per day. Um, yeah. This is why I'm reluctant about this challenge.

I have 4 sketchbooks. One is brand new (minus a few pages in the front), and the other 3 are old and have been sitting in storage for years. YEARS. I figured this is a good time to try to fill them up. And if I completely tank and spew a bunch of pointless crap on the pages, well, at least they got used instead of staying blank forever. Even drivel is more interesting than nothing.

For experimentation and variety, the books' dimensions vary. And their page types are different: 2 are lined, 1 is gridded, and 1 is bare. I prefer bare, but we'll see what happens with the lines. In a way, having it be lined helps me overcome that "block" a little bit (instead of seeing pristine pages). It feels less like an expensive, fancy artist's sketchbook and more like a kid's crappy, boogery school notebook.

"Creativity is not a talent. It is a way operating."
~John Cleese

This quote sums up what this challenge is all about. How can I expect myself to be creative, day after day, if I'm not in the habit of one of the most basic of creative activities? It's not about being perfect or producing amazing pages; it's about showing up. Keeping a sketchbook and downloading my thoughts and ideas into it daily is a tool I'm confident I can wield successfully and that will only help to enrich my creative life and work.

I start Friday.

Get EXCITED Fridays : joy

2014-07-18T19:52:00.000-04:00

To start us off on this installment of Get Excited Fridays: this EMT Driver Voguing video is funny and guarantees a smile on my face whenever I see it... so much joy!

this song is catchy and has a great message "...every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top!"
interesting idea: change your password to support positive change in your life
a few of my behind-the-scenes blog posts were published on the Soul Flower Blog! Made from Trash: Eco Freako, The Art of Detail: inspired by the outdoors, The Art of Prairie Flowers: hope of spring, and Creating Watercolor for Soul Flower's Spring Catalog. Woot!
lately I've been really into the all-black grunge style fashion
I've been listening to a lot of this podcast lately: the Seanwes Podcast about design and business. Good advice, well-produced, and chill hosts.
a few weeks ago I was seriously considering chopping all my hair off. but Rob likes my long hair and my cousin gave me a nice compliment that changed my mind. For now. I started this pinterest board to remind me of why I like long hair.
oh yeah, and I officially and legally changed my last name. I really feel married now and it's exciting :)

Motion Sickness Tips

2014-07-06T20:05:00.000-04:00

As a sufferer of motion sickness, I know how much it sucks. I've been experiencing car sickness, airplane sickness, and general nausea and malaise from too much motion since I was young. I've puked on myself in other people's cars, had to pull over to try and throw up on the side of the road, and felt crappy from riding rollercoasters, boats, airplanes, and metro trains, and even felt nauseous from sitting in the ocean's waves on a boogie board. There's really no limit to what will make me feel motion sick. It sucks.

My motion sickness prevention arsenal.

Motion sickness is caused by conflicting senses between your eyes and the liquid in your inner ear. Your inner ears can feel your body moving, but your eyes aren't seeing the same thing. I always think of this video that explains why it happens. The leading theory as to why vomit when this happens? is that it's a remnant of evolution: if early humans had a mismatch between what their ears and eyes are feeling, it probably meant they had consumed a neurotoxin, so the body's response is to puke it out!

Vomiting often makes me feel better, but I try to avoid feeling that pukey feeling in the first place. My overall strategy is:

long-term prevention: take magnesium supplements daily.
short-term prevention: limit food intake immediately before motion activity.
drugs: take motion sickness pills before and during activity. when in doubt, take another.
non-drug layers of protection: for added prevention that won't interact with the drugs.

Here are a few techniques I've used and had different levels of success with:

Dramamine / dimenhydrinate / meclizine - I've used Dramamine (or generic dimenhydrinate) for years. It seems to work on preventing motion sickness, but not always. Recently I've been trying generic meclizine instead, and it feels more powerful and seems to be a tad more reliable.
Seabands - I tried Seabands acupressure bracelets on a whim after feeling motion sick while hungover. The pharmacist at Wal-Mart said he recommended them, and that his mom and sister both loved them. I puked in the car on the way home. But these are really easy to wear while traveling, so I always do. I don't know if they help.
MotionEaze - I bought this herbal oil stuff as an added layer of motion sickness protection. It smells good, but it's really strong. If I don't remember to apply it (behind the ear) before I get on the airplane, I avoid it because I think it's too stinky. I don't know if it helps, but it's an additional layer that isn't medicine. This is probably a good solution for kids, since it's herbal and is applied to the skin.
Magnesium - My ear doctor recommended that I try taking a magnesium supplement on a daily basis to prevent both migraine headaches and motion sickness. I was all magnesium'd-up before flying to Hawaii in May, and I didn't get sick. But when I traveled to Paris in June, I hadn't been taking my magnesium supplements regularly and I did get sick. Based on this impromptu and totally un-scientific experiment, I think magnesium is important.
Ginger candy - Supposedly ginger can help calm your stomach. If I'm feeling sort of yucky but good enough to eat something, I'll chew on these ginger candies. I don't know if they help.
Sleeping - If my eyes are closed and my mind is elsewhere, I can't get sick, right?! That's what I tell myself. I've successfully avoided feeling sick at all by sleeping my way through the ride. It really works.
Keep calm - If I start to feel sick, sometimes I freak out and it only makes it worse. To keep calm: close your eyes or watch the horizon, listen to music or distract yourself in some way, breathe extremely regularly, fresh air or a cool breeze, shed a layer so you don't get too hot. Most important for me is to breathe. I've had instances where I'm about to puke and start freaking out and my hands start feeling tingly and my fingers start cramping up into fists. It's super weird, uncomfortable, and makes me feel like a crazy person. Not good.
Puke bags - This isn't a remedy, but a save-my-dignity item. Sometimes getting motion sick and puking just happens. But I always have a puke bag within reach, and extras in my bag in case one isn't enough. (I snag them from airplanes.) I have quietly thrown up into puke bags on airplanes and once in a cab, both without my seatmate or taxi driver realizing or saying anything to me. Win?

Good luck to you, pukey traveler! If you have any tried-and-true suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Project Life 2014 : Weeks 14 - 18, up to Hawaii

2014-05-26T21:25:00.000-04:00

Feels like we're still getting back into the swing of things after our vacation/wedding in Hawaii! Here are my Project Life spreads for the month leading up to our trip. I plan on creating a special Hawaii-only spread or two for just pictures from those days. Because we took a lot.

- faux fisheye app
- see my time lapse video of the fireworks here!

- made Vegan Chocolate Muffins with Tofu

- see all my cherry blossoms photos in my album

Next time: Hawaii!