The Procrastination Spitball Dartpad Mel (staffer Melyssa Holik) gave me for Christmas.
Way yonder more excuses and distractions (suggestions run the gamut from “go for a coffee run” to “walk in circles”) than Mel and Melissa (Managing Editor Melissa Chianta) and I need in the office. But, boy, it’s brought us a lot of laughs. And direction, of sorts.
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Tags: dart pad, distraction, gift, melissa chianta, melyssa holik, office, procrastination, spitball
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Terra‘s Sweets & Beets, sweet potato and beet chips. Just the thing for a deadline Wednesday . . .
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Tags: snack, sweets and beets, terra chips, treat
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Explosions in the Sky. Providing much-needed focal aid on this day of way yonder too much to do for the May-June issue.
Epic instrumental post- rock from . . . Texas. These guys are masters of the slow build, moving steadily toward a sweepingly huge, over-the-top wall of sound.
I particularly love their 2001 album, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever. If you haven’t heard the track “Have you Passed Through this Night?,” put it on your must-listen list.
I also think they get points for the title of their 2007 album, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone.
And their artistic sense translates to the visual, too: very cool band photos here.
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Photo: One of the aforementioned very cool band photos.
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Tags: explosions in the sky, have you passed through this night?, thin red line, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
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Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans.
Chocolate, DARK chocolate. And caffeine. Just about says it all.
I can always give up caffeine again in February. . .
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Tags: caffeine, chocolate, espresso beans
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. .. sometimes, occasionally, in search of a surge of focus, might possibly try some off-brand so-called “energy” drink because the name sounds like what the tough might need.
Possibly.
PS Take my word for it: you can skip this one. TERRIBLE. (Though the can sort of yells at you from the sidelines in a way that’s almost inspiring.)
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Tags: computer monitor, desk, energy drink, when the going gets tough
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So many possible blog entries, so very little time this week . . . so, instead, I’m uploading an inspirational image I keep taped to my computer monitor, a postcard I received a couple of years ago from illustrator Tim Foley.
A belated thanks for the lift, Mr. Foley . . .
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Tags: fish, inspiration, shark, tim foley
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Mel has this new calendar, see? And she told Melissa and me yesterday (which was Clean Your Desk Day, by the way) that today, January 15, is Hat Day. And we both forgot.
But, luckily, Melissa happened to have with her a multi-purpose scarf of versatility—which she was able to transform, impressively, with a flick of her wrist, into a sumptuous turban. And I had a pair of scissors and an old magazine from which I was able to fashion (ironic choice of words, considering the result) an almost-looks-beaded-if-you-squint-real-hard headband. And Mel was there, with her bona fide plaid cap, anchoring our Production Department Hat Day with haberdashery legitimacy.
No, of course, we don’t have time to be making and modeling hats. But we figure the endorphins from the laughter just might produce a surge in both creativity and productivity . . .
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Photo: Perhaps I should be a bit more reluctant to post this, but here’s a shot of the three of us on this very busy, very silly day.
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Tags: deadline, hat day, hats, melissa chianta, melyssa holik, turban
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Keep your feet warm. And, no, I’m not kidding. Who can work with cold feet?
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Photo: (The) house slippers at our place. Actually, they’re Tim’s—but since anybody who has cold feet is welcome to wear them, I like to think of them as the house shoes.
PS Another tip occurs to me while I’m looking at this photo: to maximize your production potential, pay no attention to the dirt on your floors.
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Tags: cold feet, house shoes, shoes, slippers
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Woo-hoo! We just put Jan-Feb to bed, as they say in old-school printing vernacular.
Each time we get another issue of the magazine out, it seems like a miracle. And this issue (my 35th!) was no exception.
Today, however, Mel and I were helped along by production angel/ managing editor Melissa Chianta‘s inspired takeout gifts of caffeine and chocolate from The Chocolate Maven.
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Tags: 158, chocolate maven, january-February 2010, melissa chianta, melyssa holik, the making of a magazine
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a.k.a., yes, blatant product endorsement.
Apologies for the seemingly commercial nature of this. . . but I really do love this tea. Because it’s not always easy to find, I have tried to switch, to find some other hot beverage I like as much, but, alas, no luck so far.
Bought it originally, long ago, for (why not!) the package design—and the hint of whimsy there. And now the tea is a routine part of my day, try as hard as I might to move on to something else.
I ran out of “my” tea a couple of days ago and went to get more, but my usual supplier was out, so I bought somebody else’s chai blend. And hated it, all perfumey and oily. Not a good way to start a day.
Got home last night to discover that Tim had found, incredibly, a couple of boxes at a different market and brought them home to surprise me. So, this morning, I was really, really happy as I made—and savored (almost like one of those old International Coffee commercials)—my ritual cup of . . . OK, OK, I’ll say it. . . TAZOTM Organic Chai.
Check out their website, for the design and the whimsy, if nothing else.
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Photo shows a favorite mug, made by my nephew Ian
Tags: International Coffee, Tazo organic chai, tea
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© 2009 Mothering Magazine
