tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85149893817437098342024-02-07T04:09:02.182-07:00mGraphicDesignMaralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.comBlogger130125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-85667208934837722222017-02-06T17:01:00.001-07:002017-02-06T17:01:39.560-07:00Keepin' it Simple> For a long time, I've wanted to integrate my blog with my web site and portfolio. I've finally accomplished it. Check out new posts, and my web site <a href="http://mgraphicdesign.com/?page_id=51" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCxxCYDRl0Kp0YSLNxDzq0-_OS02iNyPSB8oCyzm_oB6Qbg7uH8ILgTSGMIqpN6QpnmgB6njRJnjoWFdaMLJk1JoBEifdO2boMK1OzD_MVaKh-LoHm86wuQtDHVUYduE84JhLbdhSDfQ/s1600/m-logo-square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDCxxCYDRl0Kp0YSLNxDzq0-_OS02iNyPSB8oCyzm_oB6Qbg7uH8ILgTSGMIqpN6QpnmgB6njRJnjoWFdaMLJk1JoBEifdO2boMK1OzD_MVaKh-LoHm86wuQtDHVUYduE84JhLbdhSDfQ/s1600/m-logo-square.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-53069220886967665072015-07-23T14:19:00.002-06:002015-07-23T14:19:11.413-06:00Gold Bolts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Once upon a time, I was hired to design a student housing apartment complex sign. The direction I received was that they wanted it to be modern—but not </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">too</span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> modern, simple, and they wanted it to be very legible (the previous sign had used a thick, heavy, black letter font that was far from easily readable). Other than that, they were open-minded. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The client was a married couple who owned and managed the apartments. When I presented my designs, the wife was immediately drawn to one design (which was my favorite too—yay!). The husband looked them over for awhile, then pointed to the same one, saying something like, "I really like this one, but could we maybe add some <b>gold bolts</b> or something?" <i>(internal gasp!) </i>Doing that would go against their request for a modern, simple, legible sign, and besides that, I knew I'd hate it. We reviewed what they had asked for, what they wanted from the sign, then talked through what he hoped gold bolts would accomplish. Turns out he didn't want gold bolts, he was just looking for a way to make i feel heavier. I told them I could achieve what he was after, without adding hardware. I reworked and provided some alterations to their favorite design. In the end, simply making it a little bolder solved his concern. It was a good lesson for me in communication, and working with a client on making sure their needs and desires align, while also being true to what comes naturally to me. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Fast-forward many years... Occasionally I'm contacted by a potential client who says, "I love your work..." then as he describes what he's looking for, all of a sudden I think, "He <i>really wants </i>gold bolts!" (I wonder what he saw in my <a href="http://www.mgraphicdesign.com/" target="_blank">portfolio</a> that would make him think I could design "gold bolts"...). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Thankfully, there are lots of styles, and lots of designers. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying, "I appreciate that you like my work, or... I'm grateful that so-and-so told you about me... But what you're asking for is really not something I specialize in. I think </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">your money would be better spent</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> with someone who does a really good job with "gold bolt" design."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I don't like to turn down potential work, but honestly, I can't design in every style—and I really don't want any "gold bolts" in my portfolio anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(click <a href="http://betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/08/trip-down-memory-lane.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see an earlier post that mentions this project and includes an image).</i></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-19424478293694255542015-03-05T13:16:00.000-07:002015-03-05T13:16:03.623-07:00Pretty, Old Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIhLttzThJ_wWI8E7Ic-58-sRBuc3FF4oygQGZanc_eAfR_2sHPHQuxUhFBaNUn5k3yDdmkocDocEbJvZdqXEO9jyhfjSNz-OEBWGlYyzyhrYrH0AcQYZlgYzN48ZynTacAYR-B40L38/s1600/zoom-antique+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCIhLttzThJ_wWI8E7Ic-58-sRBuc3FF4oygQGZanc_eAfR_2sHPHQuxUhFBaNUn5k3yDdmkocDocEbJvZdqXEO9jyhfjSNz-OEBWGlYyzyhrYrH0AcQYZlgYzN48ZynTacAYR-B40L38/s1600/zoom-antique+wedding.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I love to look around in antique stores. I've posted a few times about things I've loved and purchased (<a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/08/dreaming-about-wood-type-patterns.html" target="_blank">printers blocks</a>, <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/05/art-and-letters.html" target="_blank">printers type</a>); and some I've loved but left behind (<a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2013/06/rusty-metal-stuff.html" target="_blank">cool rusty metal thing</a>). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We did a bit of traveling around in the DC area last October, and in Lancaster County, PA, an antique mall was screaming out to me. Gene is a good sport and stopped.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It didn't take long before he was going his own pace, looking at things that captured his interest, but it took a little while before I saw something that caught my eye, then, gasp! <i>Look at this gorgeous book! I want it!</i> (gulp! the price tag confirms I don't want it <i>THAT</i> bad!) It KILLS me when I find a one-of-a-kind treasure that is so amazing, but I can't justify the price (several hundred dollars in this case). The practical side of me confirms, <i>"What would you do with it anyway?!"</i> It was the most amazing family Bible, with a gorgeous embossed leather cover, complete with beautifully-scripted family genealogy in the first pages, as well as important, beautifully intricate documents tucked in the pages.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I didn't have my camera with me, so I did the best I could with the not-so-great lighting and my camera phone. But even though the photos aren't great quality, looking at them makes me so glad I got to see and hold these special things. <i>(Can you believe that intricate marriage certificate?? It looks like a handkerchief! If mine was beautiful like that, it would be framed on the wall instead of tucked in a manila folder in the filing cabinet...)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr7M6dXYWEHnYL5WlVuS4INoZIgD8ajUkOhBmYlU026Ff4QcVjbwNG9DG2QAU9VWG0YqLBf0B62TxQwS5byUMPBvCXokEcp2quV4yUNosoPKHG2cjiTsLJDdFA4IPq5IV0boC_Byqm2o/s1600/antique+book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr7M6dXYWEHnYL5WlVuS4INoZIgD8ajUkOhBmYlU026Ff4QcVjbwNG9DG2QAU9VWG0YqLBf0B62TxQwS5byUMPBvCXokEcp2quV4yUNosoPKHG2cjiTsLJDdFA4IPq5IV0boC_Byqm2o/s1600/antique+book+cover.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZQA2OX9bM_OdyyasMNLM7yFFjNghXo8vrxr2iOr3mDT9F_gKcRvYkip1qDz0y9meZMj0OrtKdJkkf3Rz3vch5GDgAPx0AvUeAI88_BHXyJn2PqGkBGAgFifz75HsH0c7aGfbsl20bWo/s1600/antique+book+history1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ZQA2OX9bM_OdyyasMNLM7yFFjNghXo8vrxr2iOr3mDT9F_gKcRvYkip1qDz0y9meZMj0OrtKdJkkf3Rz3vch5GDgAPx0AvUeAI88_BHXyJn2PqGkBGAgFifz75HsH0c7aGfbsl20bWo/s1600/antique+book+history1.jpg" height="317" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnEcuV8jBuBKVxXxfmX_M9PPEvSEmT7TuQvm9Kv4FOtu33pfHMXWhUIQIjSVBaCBGVqYO36fSJuVdA-9zGZz6hL3rvEJWbLxKvsDBXGnRUGkQIvD5iKZowiA-k8Nh5h7oT_F0hPfV4CI/s1600/antique+book+history.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnEcuV8jBuBKVxXxfmX_M9PPEvSEmT7TuQvm9Kv4FOtu33pfHMXWhUIQIjSVBaCBGVqYO36fSJuVdA-9zGZz6hL3rvEJWbLxKvsDBXGnRUGkQIvD5iKZowiA-k8Nh5h7oT_F0hPfV4CI/s1600/antique+book+history.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJdzpKFoAZZTA29YAQ9awwT7ONVNcwcPXD_pjgiEGVcOzloxrEXQJ2fl9qAqbdOIrVl6JCrl8DJ_0E1UB-SWtBaVycqOwnkcVBjqKI1FtK0giu-8fi3rvDCdsskO6Cn6Biw3yKP1qFpE/s1600/antique+wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlJdzpKFoAZZTA29YAQ9awwT7ONVNcwcPXD_pjgiEGVcOzloxrEXQJ2fl9qAqbdOIrVl6JCrl8DJ_0E1UB-SWtBaVycqOwnkcVBjqKI1FtK0giu-8fi3rvDCdsskO6Cn6Biw3yKP1qFpE/s1600/antique+wedding.jpg" height="317" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-82896142878542481682015-02-09T16:24:00.003-07:002015-02-09T16:24:35.688-07:00Save My Seat(s)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk71DcLPE_iSLThuqPkLmP2F6yd2Hopt-U5waHUi36DlYCqrJD2G9f35nIBCj8QUfa3EjDJa7UZHmXeNElbujP43amOXr8FZyFWGd_1IkG65FkoTKAkK2ctPJI5NkGESgc5Bm8A0oL8y8/s1600/11stools-after-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk71DcLPE_iSLThuqPkLmP2F6yd2Hopt-U5waHUi36DlYCqrJD2G9f35nIBCj8QUfa3EjDJa7UZHmXeNElbujP43amOXr8FZyFWGd_1IkG65FkoTKAkK2ctPJI5NkGESgc5Bm8A0oL8y8/s1600/11stools-after-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> By now you know I've got a little crush on a certain shade of green...but while I (surprisingly) don't have a lot of it throughout my house (my <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-m-wall.html" target="_blank">studio</a> is a different story), I do add little pops of my favorite color here and there. For the most part, I reserve color for changeable accents—pillows, table decor, throws, etc.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> When I first got these stools, I loved the neutral tan fabric with the dark steel, but after several years of grandkids and everyday use, the discoloration and stains on the fabric were grossing me out. It was time for a little stool recovery—and some Pinterest inspiration showed me I could have "grandma-wrapped" plastic covered furniture, and have it still look cute.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It took a little extra time because I chose a large repeating pattern, and being a bit of a perfectionist, I needed to make sure the patterns were centered. It wasn't difficult, it just took a little extra care when cutting, lining things up, and reassembling.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Here are several pics of the stools before, the process, and the final photos of the finished stools.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A few tips:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">make sure you cut enough extra to wrap and securely fasten on the underside of the base</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">iron your fabric after you cut it out</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the fabric store clerk will likely "fold" your plastic so it will fit in the bag, rolling it is better</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">pull the fabric taut as you staple, but if you have a pattern, make sure the pattern isn't distorted as you pull and secure it</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">notice where the mounting holes are in your base—if you have a geometric pattern, deliberately place your fabric according to how the base will mount onto the frame</span></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">mark where the mounting holes are onto your fabric/plastic, or it will be hard to find them again!</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We are super excited with how these turned out. I can hardly wait for someone to spill on one of them.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrO1W1bxngTqzG7HekqxdHXZifKWrLg-zpWBfhlDv0RUPEtxp9VJAloR5o5iJVfs8WLTJee7L6MD9ggFgvzoueGv60zxxh7RXIY1jBZPXZZ1-V25_lVoro7opxGZzKZZAKrYIWntgV5dM/s1600/01stool-before1-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrO1W1bxngTqzG7HekqxdHXZifKWrLg-zpWBfhlDv0RUPEtxp9VJAloR5o5iJVfs8WLTJee7L6MD9ggFgvzoueGv60zxxh7RXIY1jBZPXZZ1-V25_lVoro7opxGZzKZZAKrYIWntgV5dM/s1600/01stool-before1-sm.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMnXF2LezVCJqasIG-Idc7a_VWgiDx0hNeR04OX-1gkBzEqM3H3Fv28P3aFYVQAEuLZbXekHDDXrWlP62C-e9oBYtUg-1DPPt6P7TUZtT8XxwZZeHamSzn8Hr-d8Wwz0RB_vzY3QxFVA/s1600/02stool-before2-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMnXF2LezVCJqasIG-Idc7a_VWgiDx0hNeR04OX-1gkBzEqM3H3Fv28P3aFYVQAEuLZbXekHDDXrWlP62C-e9oBYtUg-1DPPt6P7TUZtT8XxwZZeHamSzn8Hr-d8Wwz0RB_vzY3QxFVA/s1600/02stool-before2-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEiH9WcEJKuufno-eWfdehKgq2UjFFi6lgtgIsZxOuqhJT25hNwTNZLsMcKBiSt_u4LWlbsiNm1vPoZYxQjWWECaocrSccYL2ZH8SnOapCF82vn8woyKLRjhFtwWLLAVwxhpaIN2ozEQ/s1600/03stool-remove-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEiH9WcEJKuufno-eWfdehKgq2UjFFi6lgtgIsZxOuqhJT25hNwTNZLsMcKBiSt_u4LWlbsiNm1vPoZYxQjWWECaocrSccYL2ZH8SnOapCF82vn8woyKLRjhFtwWLLAVwxhpaIN2ozEQ/s1600/03stool-remove-sm.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwZ7eFD16ZSYnGigmJDwpLP9_Br_l7VVxiupGKFp_fCTVbKd40QXblWVr4QwQj1kO-Y6wGDXucmRgKD5M5aTxQnao-SspL5A90dMSb31xoXFydEVb4bwL61QfEAz_tVEZjcu8trdhubM/s1600/04stool-fabric-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwZ7eFD16ZSYnGigmJDwpLP9_Br_l7VVxiupGKFp_fCTVbKd40QXblWVr4QwQj1kO-Y6wGDXucmRgKD5M5aTxQnao-SspL5A90dMSb31xoXFydEVb4bwL61QfEAz_tVEZjcu8trdhubM/s1600/04stool-fabric-sm.jpg" height="291" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS0BRbv5G4R5VWU6603Izn7UE0nf6M7g3r6eUW7DBA-AY8ycz2QbzRsfqwBt48c4IqnqPsT1UGm21kwVQJTERc9qofbYl0uszHUUFw0aiqNZ0DcdKt3CbQudtJcO1eDu2w2ASdY9Ls2o/s1600/05stool-staple1-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiS0BRbv5G4R5VWU6603Izn7UE0nf6M7g3r6eUW7DBA-AY8ycz2QbzRsfqwBt48c4IqnqPsT1UGm21kwVQJTERc9qofbYl0uszHUUFw0aiqNZ0DcdKt3CbQudtJcO1eDu2w2ASdY9Ls2o/s1600/05stool-staple1-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWf-FScpzT1ggjNpNepr1UGOOUyqrO1EEGjTwT2KPCjyO3-h5f55g372JBg1bsT7QFJg6qo4DaYW31Tr3sR5CFPw4_a8WF-PItwdCTuj3BNXqctC9sNTyBb7WCWfrgkT3ABcSkj_pKkQ/s1600/06stool-staple2-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWf-FScpzT1ggjNpNepr1UGOOUyqrO1EEGjTwT2KPCjyO3-h5f55g372JBg1bsT7QFJg6qo4DaYW31Tr3sR5CFPw4_a8WF-PItwdCTuj3BNXqctC9sNTyBb7WCWfrgkT3ABcSkj_pKkQ/s1600/06stool-staple2-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaSph8eYcOp8NSfvcXosI0ck9mow-dAJrV4CFbMMslIRbwXFikeYtBjeT_5-YKjlX92TCc1joagqv148BbedlGXBzIFnwWjlVQDqP6HFCZ9UxuafR1ltqpnESQHjadl60651KBoELjU4/s1600/07stool-staple3-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaSph8eYcOp8NSfvcXosI0ck9mow-dAJrV4CFbMMslIRbwXFikeYtBjeT_5-YKjlX92TCc1joagqv148BbedlGXBzIFnwWjlVQDqP6HFCZ9UxuafR1ltqpnESQHjadl60651KBoELjU4/s1600/07stool-staple3-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZ56BnVv3BSUM4PdrSF1N1e9Tq5CWCPiqNK3UW-ESQR-nafnja_sUusFgelE-eCEn__PGAUvsnHDHPpywgl71_UfSXY0-WRNJ2aVOWM54IX8yE5Zmbqyt1JDNnRAvVvOupP6-ETR9k1A/s1600/08stool-plastic-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQZ56BnVv3BSUM4PdrSF1N1e9Tq5CWCPiqNK3UW-ESQR-nafnja_sUusFgelE-eCEn__PGAUvsnHDHPpywgl71_UfSXY0-WRNJ2aVOWM54IX8yE5Zmbqyt1JDNnRAvVvOupP6-ETR9k1A/s1600/08stool-plastic-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaubgY7t7S0aUShFdoW1UBrvcx1Goyv6NH-2kAzwHnMdIZzjsSLZB7rJhdAVsh_4EnuaY-YOjQtj0c3eVrKucIADjBNUw2J6dGdg4kCXDwYtaX5EvKjLLweEBBSQ5pQWoSxyYOblFJbZc/s1600/09stool-reattach-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaubgY7t7S0aUShFdoW1UBrvcx1Goyv6NH-2kAzwHnMdIZzjsSLZB7rJhdAVsh_4EnuaY-YOjQtj0c3eVrKucIADjBNUw2J6dGdg4kCXDwYtaX5EvKjLLweEBBSQ5pQWoSxyYOblFJbZc/s1600/09stool-reattach-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdHlkKctxyRESTYxxVt54nKCayBN5m7NrCW91lFZNFih8h-_G-E3CFKGObtJSoIIIhoa0jXdU4m0W3leqjYQJHZ0XUDl0_lKEOJ5x4sBqJo_5infWv1tNtHX0RW3r62glzEa72vYz5k8/s1600/10stool-after1-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIdHlkKctxyRESTYxxVt54nKCayBN5m7NrCW91lFZNFih8h-_G-E3CFKGObtJSoIIIhoa0jXdU4m0W3leqjYQJHZ0XUDl0_lKEOJ5x4sBqJo_5infWv1tNtHX0RW3r62glzEa72vYz5k8/s1600/10stool-after1-sm.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk71DcLPE_iSLThuqPkLmP2F6yd2Hopt-U5waHUi36DlYCqrJD2G9f35nIBCj8QUfa3EjDJa7UZHmXeNElbujP43amOXr8FZyFWGd_1IkG65FkoTKAkK2ctPJI5NkGESgc5Bm8A0oL8y8/s1600/11stools-after-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk71DcLPE_iSLThuqPkLmP2F6yd2Hopt-U5waHUi36DlYCqrJD2G9f35nIBCj8QUfa3EjDJa7UZHmXeNElbujP43amOXr8FZyFWGd_1IkG65FkoTKAkK2ctPJI5NkGESgc5Bm8A0oL8y8/s1600/11stools-after-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LwUtfNsX2SxpjcU8LTrC6EfudHLT0kJU-qph-Ry7xgGN65NEUEjiomHBsF06tM3no2wjwFvQNzXLCMjxw-2XwS8uFCRm1LnGHvg_bD7PH2tHnCw8WVy9x-04-sRCjovyn2Svg6vlzm8/s1600/12stools-after2-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LwUtfNsX2SxpjcU8LTrC6EfudHLT0kJU-qph-Ry7xgGN65NEUEjiomHBsF06tM3no2wjwFvQNzXLCMjxw-2XwS8uFCRm1LnGHvg_bD7PH2tHnCw8WVy9x-04-sRCjovyn2Svg6vlzm8/s1600/12stools-after2-sm.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-61940759557594881072015-01-27T13:43:00.001-07:002015-01-27T13:43:42.742-07:00DC Trip - Gettysburg<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSfmy42paMfHSUhSDLRLvwCwDyy9FluQaz-hrsmHlm5bVcTR_A1_vygOnt1tfHYSMIgf0vo7YW3ipwUxt-ieMdRZrDXtW0o2keijvW1lzFeb0hu-95exBAMAxPjOYRopX9tjzx6wTHPc/s1600/Gettysburg02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSfmy42paMfHSUhSDLRLvwCwDyy9FluQaz-hrsmHlm5bVcTR_A1_vygOnt1tfHYSMIgf0vo7YW3ipwUxt-ieMdRZrDXtW0o2keijvW1lzFeb0hu-95exBAMAxPjOYRopX9tjzx6wTHPc/s1600/Gettysburg02.jpg" height="264" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Last October, Gene and I went to Washington DC. We were there for several days, and took the opportunity to not only see the city, but also explored sites all around us. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> One of those places was Gettysburg, PA. We drove about 2 hours from where we were staying, and even though it was a drizzly, overcast day, it was gorgeous. Gene had been to Gettysburg with his family many years before. His dad had hired a tour guide who they followed, and they would stop to learn about battles, people, and historic events that happened in specific places. We stopped at the visitors center gift shop, and bought a guidebook/map with a tour CD that led us to different locations where we could see the area and learn about the battles and monuments. We liked that we could spend as much or as little time as we wanted at each "programmed" stop on the tour. And we listened to interesting stories as we drove from place to place. We saw several people with actual guides, and we heard some neat stories while we were looking at sties at the same time. I think either way is a great way to experience the area.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It's a beautiful place, and even though there were plenty of people everywhere, there was a feeling of reverence, quiet. There are lots of markers and monuments—all sizes, and all kinds—lining country roads, in fields, and on rolling hilltops EVERYwhere. It was overwhelming to think about how many battles were fought, and how many lives were lost in this beautiful countryside. I am grateful for those who kept historical records, who built monuments, and who passed down stories for those of us who have interest in learning about the sacrifices that were made then, so all of us can enjoy the freedom and blessings from living in this great nation.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> If you saw my earlier <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2014/10/leaf-hunter.html" target="_blank">post</a> about leaves, it was in Gettysburg that I found most of them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Gettysburg was one of many highlights of our trip. I found it to be beautiful, educational, humbling, and a great way to spend one of our days. Stay tuned for more highlights!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDofqYPUjpu9_G0ZJs5qGM4QG37H5nEdgAV9STVV9oW4n7EsB2tVkZtFbNSQygDQHS5SuC2KFfMZ0kxu-_cLz04TpgDSxXLBknifhm8vVDXlQezvmesGYOjutcyN79cMR2bEbgTNyd4k/s1600/Gettysburg01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDofqYPUjpu9_G0ZJs5qGM4QG37H5nEdgAV9STVV9oW4n7EsB2tVkZtFbNSQygDQHS5SuC2KFfMZ0kxu-_cLz04TpgDSxXLBknifhm8vVDXlQezvmesGYOjutcyN79cMR2bEbgTNyd4k/s1600/Gettysburg01.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5ogpieEjSNMv9XavdToV5_IfWW6T4g5Z-qDfzXS8cTDS67m7HMbZKkt6KagIUui3wMcLO2nrqbHtDeatO45n_lxYtARAUm2V7mxBlbVF1mv0_YZ1NmKubZQbMkjLRUOfZhZ_xnS01M8/s1600/Gettysburg03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn5ogpieEjSNMv9XavdToV5_IfWW6T4g5Z-qDfzXS8cTDS67m7HMbZKkt6KagIUui3wMcLO2nrqbHtDeatO45n_lxYtARAUm2V7mxBlbVF1mv0_YZ1NmKubZQbMkjLRUOfZhZ_xnS01M8/s1600/Gettysburg03.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVS5gu4Pu31tfSYc8c6ehIwJ7MYCWuP6uazpsrJMjhtOlbzZY8QhTiegm0ntJH5CwLkz3o2fMzuMhrXgoaCPxjrjMChzNzvPYchHmxwRohMGrH-vgHtXzHduxuWD4AoJM3jqjnkz4ifk/s1600/Gettysburg04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVS5gu4Pu31tfSYc8c6ehIwJ7MYCWuP6uazpsrJMjhtOlbzZY8QhTiegm0ntJH5CwLkz3o2fMzuMhrXgoaCPxjrjMChzNzvPYchHmxwRohMGrH-vgHtXzHduxuWD4AoJM3jqjnkz4ifk/s1600/Gettysburg04.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4h6OpJg5qVe2HPUeNP9QELUCRfrA9UGQ4kGB-DulHYCOXYZk1jWobM74UwLDq76qQyW-QtdKhNwHCZGvyih0QqghEsJqAwJmpkn1YE8IcQvip8jZd43ZRf8AAraYBQegKPED3ubmdpa0/s1600/Gettysburg05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4h6OpJg5qVe2HPUeNP9QELUCRfrA9UGQ4kGB-DulHYCOXYZk1jWobM74UwLDq76qQyW-QtdKhNwHCZGvyih0QqghEsJqAwJmpkn1YE8IcQvip8jZd43ZRf8AAraYBQegKPED3ubmdpa0/s1600/Gettysburg05.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzeQvgUfGCrzxghx5xYrVCwzwxDfj5BrEyfWe3Wex-6a45mVC2ep39HM0l0TpCK1CSqlnZq4DKGK-EafP8Fe3HihEfI-yKn1LrTlNu58aGCllQ7Py9n7ym3dRkcP5Z6s7XR9lHwdqZyU/s1600/Gettysburg06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzeQvgUfGCrzxghx5xYrVCwzwxDfj5BrEyfWe3Wex-6a45mVC2ep39HM0l0TpCK1CSqlnZq4DKGK-EafP8Fe3HihEfI-yKn1LrTlNu58aGCllQ7Py9n7ym3dRkcP5Z6s7XR9lHwdqZyU/s1600/Gettysburg06.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd2h3FNv9dfOWgjnmn6aPpvVL06ms_-vlcJXPuLuxQME-7FbEBDeAQ7myM6beUKdPLlY_ejrPnM66-3eYKeiXKgiUW1QI2oq7LOncHBDYzX0AuWalvu9DhZacXNJvgUDzKyWGXt8sEkY/s1600/Gettysburg07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnd2h3FNv9dfOWgjnmn6aPpvVL06ms_-vlcJXPuLuxQME-7FbEBDeAQ7myM6beUKdPLlY_ejrPnM66-3eYKeiXKgiUW1QI2oq7LOncHBDYzX0AuWalvu9DhZacXNJvgUDzKyWGXt8sEkY/s1600/Gettysburg07.jpg" height="400" title="" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ee6JUDFQznM8-191_U6xPLtj5jrNGHS5ev2CfWoM_Hu102owxl21m-l1hnSj1hbx3fWdNoNlc8EXHlyfZgW9jEfSvHW6sxvLG6Rfrx3-bluDOpvFIoTPcmv7rBzhqpbAmbTr9JaOF_8/s1600/Gettysburg08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ee6JUDFQznM8-191_U6xPLtj5jrNGHS5ev2CfWoM_Hu102owxl21m-l1hnSj1hbx3fWdNoNlc8EXHlyfZgW9jEfSvHW6sxvLG6Rfrx3-bluDOpvFIoTPcmv7rBzhqpbAmbTr9JaOF_8/s1600/Gettysburg08.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpyRc9Rb25qgEalpnsSxX1M6qGYbTPB_l1gjCbAdmjFIsLpNagGlBq30fqn-y02iTvr2LzqWTKfWW2BsribNH66ADh2TFF-X6W1wsaW8V4PEuPGN81IpThgF95wFWI0wCeG7LOIE7JP0/s1600/Gettysburg09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpyRc9Rb25qgEalpnsSxX1M6qGYbTPB_l1gjCbAdmjFIsLpNagGlBq30fqn-y02iTvr2LzqWTKfWW2BsribNH66ADh2TFF-X6W1wsaW8V4PEuPGN81IpThgF95wFWI0wCeG7LOIE7JP0/s1600/Gettysburg09.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2t5jainwXO7urjQnm9icLKHuC_JcMn98wbqidtn_6s99ZshSMC6B4mePf4Q1cfemSA1Mslsi40bytRBMGcnoXOEH9Qlwhg4nGRtwfurMk68F8f4DarJqwWcR8M6EbD4Pcom5TcpZyKKU/s1600/Gettysburg10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2t5jainwXO7urjQnm9icLKHuC_JcMn98wbqidtn_6s99ZshSMC6B4mePf4Q1cfemSA1Mslsi40bytRBMGcnoXOEH9Qlwhg4nGRtwfurMk68F8f4DarJqwWcR8M6EbD4Pcom5TcpZyKKU/s1600/Gettysburg10.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf6jRBEb_jdZcpM8W_TGJ97HgWTa1bG6wLw_xNzQOHILhPEWM7UVXE5f12-9mqSP7t4mc4Bg_qHAw8U4NFCfYVjggU1I4JRk92oAL7BIZ5A0E0x-t2j9YQli7_57U1_JJAKIm2O2OXQM/s1600/Gettysburg11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihf6jRBEb_jdZcpM8W_TGJ97HgWTa1bG6wLw_xNzQOHILhPEWM7UVXE5f12-9mqSP7t4mc4Bg_qHAw8U4NFCfYVjggU1I4JRk92oAL7BIZ5A0E0x-t2j9YQli7_57U1_JJAKIm2O2OXQM/s1600/Gettysburg11.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></span></a></div>
<br />Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-140795883095242052014-12-17T17:42:00.002-07:002014-12-17T17:42:17.623-07:00I Got Tagged<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdwRfNc2HRE_zW8sXWVr8MTSd20TIrgrcOKCfq594s8gKpQPVgYwAQMLorw2lBL2JTw5Zf8td5ow_salNlQMTDBiknPit-TFcazbVfIdr2ehQrfig8Cgaa6Qid3li47gwVc6RlZaY99M/s1600/tags-front-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbdwRfNc2HRE_zW8sXWVr8MTSd20TIrgrcOKCfq594s8gKpQPVgYwAQMLorw2lBL2JTw5Zf8td5ow_salNlQMTDBiknPit-TFcazbVfIdr2ehQrfig8Cgaa6Qid3li47gwVc6RlZaY99M/s1600/tags-front-sm.jpg" height="281" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It's that time of year...time when I get show off my promotional gift! From blog posts about other promotions (<a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2013/12/merry-christmas.html" target="_blank">he<span id="goog_1626826898"></span><span id="goog_1626826899"></span>re</a>, <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2013/02/post-promo.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2011/12/finding-peace-during-holidays.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2010/12/may-your-goals-become-reality.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/12/customs-promotion.html" target="_blank">here</a>), you can probably tell, while I like my gifts to be a design piece, I also like them to be useful. And what's more useful at Christmastime than gift tags?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The "do not open" one was in my head first, and as I designed it, I loved the way it worked out so well that I decided I wanted the whole set to be typographically playful, bold, and with numbers mixed in. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I knew this was not one I wanted to put my logo on. But, I did want to have it branded in some way. I considered switching out the pine-green for "Maralee green", but it just didn't create the rustic Christmas feeling I was after. A little exploration led me to the idea of adding a little pop of my color on the corners, also creating the shape of a corner-cut tag—and it was just right.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I wanted to use all the space on the front of the tag for my typographic message, so I included the "to" and "from" space on the back. And if I'm paying to print on the back anyway, I'm gonna take in one step further and get my money's worth! A custom pattern for each tag was added.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Initially I had planned to string each of the tags, but as the end of the first week of December passed, and my workload pushed the promo assembly to after hours, I decided it would be okay to send them with "some assembly required". After all, we're used to that with Christmas gifts anyway, right?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The feedback has been awesome. I've had a few people tell me they are only going to use them on immediate family, or not use them at all, so they can keep them (I want them to be used, but if they like them THAT much, I get it—and I'm happy and flattered). I had one client tell me I should market them...maybe I'll check into that for next year!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> My husband loved them too, so I adjusted the message of the card a little bit for a second version, and was able to use these for my personal greeting cards from us as well. Bonus! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">>Now that I've finished assembling and sending them out, my after-hours can be spent getting ready for Christmas in other ways, like wrapping and tagging gifts! </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Whether you got tagged or not, I wish you Merry Christmas!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a-4NjYnrE31Lh6gk2nMjkOxANm5QbeGj5ljp30JzrSd2Vi8aAQMpFqztVd4d-xNxmenpGTJCmpbayV8L_XrQjAesgYTrtU8SR2RkKIBQcZwSXzt5ClZscjDdG-EqRJZ3AdWxM7yiYHw/s1600/card-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6a-4NjYnrE31Lh6gk2nMjkOxANm5QbeGj5ljp30JzrSd2Vi8aAQMpFqztVd4d-xNxmenpGTJCmpbayV8L_XrQjAesgYTrtU8SR2RkKIBQcZwSXzt5ClZscjDdG-EqRJZ3AdWxM7yiYHw/s1600/card-sm.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplB6n0zsYbzcD6SwWb5ehJ2n8TXDDfT4VjukoIpM9K5LmxlzsWqQumOO_aGDlo0KYLM6wqcViLUMpqCxds4VRi64_u7r1qCNIqbM8I5zt8-pHShVcuu6jxZhMuvUEwNEkT5jaPLe9iig/s1600/tags-back-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjplB6n0zsYbzcD6SwWb5ehJ2n8TXDDfT4VjukoIpM9K5LmxlzsWqQumOO_aGDlo0KYLM6wqcViLUMpqCxds4VRi64_u7r1qCNIqbM8I5zt8-pHShVcuu6jxZhMuvUEwNEkT5jaPLe9iig/s1600/tags-back-sm.jpg" height="278" width="400" /></a></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-73314696923338313232014-10-30T16:02:00.001-06:002014-10-30T16:02:17.269-06:00I'm Different<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cx4s-_6Me5UQ7ZyBjrgV39HPHWuvKMnj3exTg4amRUEqq5K8eQu2CdjOi-A1tYMC0-1wuynoPdd18Qy2Q5aq4DoFHUM4Tusx5ChMmF8YuGKyT2hmfvyWUsWmkEIIjWUggVtgiuyK0r4/s1600/beacon-head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_cx4s-_6Me5UQ7ZyBjrgV39HPHWuvKMnj3exTg4amRUEqq5K8eQu2CdjOi-A1tYMC0-1wuynoPdd18Qy2Q5aq4DoFHUM4Tusx5ChMmF8YuGKyT2hmfvyWUsWmkEIIjWUggVtgiuyK0r4/s1600/beacon-head.jpg" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Most people have gone through times when they've felt like they were "different" and didn't fit in. When I was a little kid, I was uncomfortably aware of every little thing that made me feel different from other kids. The most obvious difference was my hair. I was one of 2 (maybe 3) redheads in my entire school. People made comments about <i>my</i> hair, but I never heard any comments about other kids' hair, so I knew mine set me apart. I always felt like I was wearing a big beacon on my head </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/search?q=orange+hair" target="_blank">more on that story</a>). </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Thing is, in a successful business, being unique is a good thing. One of the important questions I ask my clients is, "What sets you apart? What makes you the better choice over your competition? What do you have to offer that they don't?" You <i>want</i> to be different—show off the figurative beacon on your head!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've decided to share my own company "beacons" here. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To define my strengths, I like to compare myself against the common stereotypes about graphic designers:</span></div>
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Procrastination </b> I begin projects immediately, allowing the maximum time to develop then refine the best creative solution.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Sloppy/Disorganized </b> I thrive creatively when my work area is neat; and being organized is something on which I pride myself.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>"What's a deadline?"</b> I don't miss deadlines. A project schedule ensures that the job is finished according to your needs. I'm an independent designer, so no one is making unrealistic promises on my behalf. I know what I can and can't do in a given amount of time. The agreement on a realistic timeline for the work is just as important to me as agreeing on the budget. </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>"Hello, is anyone out there?"</b> When you contact me, I respond promptly. Unless it's a weekend or holiday, you will never wait more than a day to get a response from me, (and it's usually within the hour). </span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>It only has to <i>look</i> good </b> Quality is more than just great-looking design. Through communication, I make sure we both share the same vision so the finished product will be on target. If I've created something that I love, but you don't feel like it's right for your company, the job isn't finished. It's not successful if you don't like it. Of course if you request changes that will negatively impact what we're trying to achieve, I will give you my professional opinion, and will recommend other ways to accomplish what you want—in an appropriate, attractive way.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Difficult to work with </b> Things don't always go as planned, but I strive to make sure each project is a good experience. I see my clients as friends—it's easy to figure out how to resolve problems that arise when you're dealing with friends (I've been told by many clients how easy I am to work with. That's GREAT to hear).</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Glad that's over, gimme the money</b> Obviously this is a business. I have valued experience, and put a lot of time and effort into my work, so I need a return on that investment; but repeat customers and word of mouth are <i>very</i> important to me. In my opinion, the end of a successful project happens when we both feel like we were treated fairly, with respect; when you walk away feeling like you got what you paid for, that you'd be happy to refer me, and work with me again; and I got paid for the work I provided, and look forward to hearing from you again when you have another project.</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Those "beacons" tell you how I work differently. Look at my <a href="http://www.mgraphicdesign.com/" target="_blank">portfolio</a> and you'll see another really important beacon. There are lots of designers out there. We're all different, and that's a good thing. It makes it easier for the right client and the right designer to find each other.</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-11927699970976989632014-10-21T17:03:00.003-06:002014-10-21T17:03:32.760-06:00Leaf-Hunter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9k6Zv_SFOtXFwUpvLyyVdtRhBccEIHGuP-9RFle15yJkvrtfuxlXUOyhsS2qdF4vqCxVSIKjvATqOdi771MItX-XIP4PBZq96Dv_lZMmKypAYJ94yXnxSMJV1303puz0FHsLGGpQKBFg/s1600/little-leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9k6Zv_SFOtXFwUpvLyyVdtRhBccEIHGuP-9RFle15yJkvrtfuxlXUOyhsS2qdF4vqCxVSIKjvATqOdi771MItX-XIP4PBZq96Dv_lZMmKypAYJ94yXnxSMJV1303puz0FHsLGGpQKBFg/s1600/little-leaves.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I think I've been in love with leaves forever—I can't remember when I didn't love them. I've made my husband stop on various drives so I could stop and pick a leaf, I've pressed countless leaves in the pages of books for years, and most recently, I brought home more leaves than souvenirs on the trip we just returned from. In fact, one of my best friends from college calls me "Leaf" (I can't remember how that happened, but it would sound wrong now if I heard her call me anything else).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I always tell myself (and my husband) that someday I will take these beautiful little pieces of nature and create something really amazing with them. Unfortunately, I've paralyzed myself with the thought that once I make something, if the end product isn't more beautiful than the leaf itself, I will have ruined it. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> As I mentioned, we just got back from a wonderful, long trip to DC and the surrounding areas. We spent a day in Gettysburg <i>(more to come on the best parts of our trip!)</i>, and the path to take us to our parked car was beautiful and wooded, and I found several leaves I NEEDED to have. My husband is a good sport, so he actually waited every time I squealed (okay, I didn't <i>really</i> squeal) and bent to pick each one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> My greatest disappointment is that I didn't have anything to keep them flat that entire day in the car, then at the hotel, I placed them between the pages of the only thing I had: brochures from places we'd visited. I put them under the corner of my suitcase, but it wasn't as heavy as it needed to be. I did the best I could with what I had, and while they arrived home surprisingly well, they are not as perfect as they could have been.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Luckily, nature itself is beautifully imperfect, so they are all still imperfectly beautiful to me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(The gingko leaves—the little fan-shaped ones—are from a tree in front of the Capitol Building. The others all came from various paths in Gettysburg).</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQpxwjmmcEeXNwRZpbuaAz1fiPFNqv2aP1y1Q4Xmw38IesLASUrCyoZkhsHPy5lJMxQ8Z-lfTF2tsbMQnoRdK6ezldJiKrxdFBB8UGOJitCJUk05_PTbSCbFc1Gj1HWe4-CKNeqMuEUE/s1600/gingko-leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQpxwjmmcEeXNwRZpbuaAz1fiPFNqv2aP1y1Q4Xmw38IesLASUrCyoZkhsHPy5lJMxQ8Z-lfTF2tsbMQnoRdK6ezldJiKrxdFBB8UGOJitCJUk05_PTbSCbFc1Gj1HWe4-CKNeqMuEUE/s1600/gingko-leaves.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymPEelmshQZA_NVkswse1fh6T8yM-bOS7YoTzErqXCct-H1l3lm88OCKS2QEslFTZWSllyEowBZtJKUY6PFlfBdNwfGeBW53keSdZPGbNL62NuaB3T7lU1znxK_t-bmdKqS3NFtVRyaY/s1600/delicate-leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjymPEelmshQZA_NVkswse1fh6T8yM-bOS7YoTzErqXCct-H1l3lm88OCKS2QEslFTZWSllyEowBZtJKUY6PFlfBdNwfGeBW53keSdZPGbNL62NuaB3T7lU1znxK_t-bmdKqS3NFtVRyaY/s1600/delicate-leaves.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUsQZP9Ya1iM4nQ7UBkbT2CDX9LT_L_hbcs3fkxvyKwKbr6KuSYa6AzJDQAXccwlULEtUSGLo5cXsCL0gGIt-nKxP7DNsBxVePp-xsNcPu2ZhRrCLHht3Wo8KeIR25sQL0SojyQM5uL8/s1600/big-leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPUsQZP9Ya1iM4nQ7UBkbT2CDX9LT_L_hbcs3fkxvyKwKbr6KuSYa6AzJDQAXccwlULEtUSGLo5cXsCL0gGIt-nKxP7DNsBxVePp-xsNcPu2ZhRrCLHht3Wo8KeIR25sQL0SojyQM5uL8/s1600/big-leaves.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-34031219143062480352014-06-12T14:40:00.000-06:002014-06-12T14:40:07.273-06:00Presenting...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-style: inherit;"><b>"The human brain starts working the moment you are born and never stops until you stand up to speak in public."</b></span> —<i>George Jessel</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I recently accepted the invitation/assignment/calling to teach an adult Sunday School class every other week in my church. I've been told by a number of people that if I didn't tell anyone I was nervous, they wouldn't know. Truth is, I get horribly nervous and anxious (yep...trigger the stress-induced tension headache which often turns into a multiple-day migraine). Once I get going with the lesson, I'm fine—<i>not comfortable</i>—but, when I'm well-prepared, I get going with my material, then with appropriate interaction from the class, I settle into a flow.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've received compliments (for which I'm SO appreciative) and I believe that my college education (even though it was years ago) helps me a lot when it comes to presenting or public speaking. We regularly presented different stages of design projects for rounds of critique from the instructor and fellow students until each round of changes was approved. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I don't love public speaking or presenting, but with years of experience in my career and past church obligations, I've learned </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to hide the signs of my anxiety while I'm on display.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> But I'm always glad for a bit of advice to help me improve. Following are several teaching/presenting tips I'm working on, from a variety of <a href="http://www.thoracic.org/career-development/fellows-junior-professionals/career-talk/articles/poster-presentations/April-2003.php" target="_blank">sources</a> (and <a href="http://adulted.about.com/od/tipsforadultstudents/tp/7-Tips-For-Improving-Your-Public-Speaking-Skills.htm" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://socialanxietydisorder.about.com/od/performanceanxiety/a/Public-Speaking-Tips.htm" target="_blank">here</a>). Maybe they'll help you too.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>• <a href="http://betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/11/smile-when-you-say-that.html" target="_blank"><b>Smile</b></a> at the opening and here and there in your presentation. It sends a powerful nonverbal signal that you are self-assured and in control. An occasional smile at appropriate times will help you relax and will increase your rapport with your audience.</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> <b>Make eye contact</b>. The people are there for the same reason you are. They can relate to you.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> <b>Don't apologize</b> for any part of the presentation. You're giving people a reason to check out before you even get going <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">(This is not a problem for me with work, but for teaching, I'm making a solid effort. The reason I have people telling me they wouldn't know I was nervous if I didn't say it, is because I started my first couple lessons with some comment about my inadequacy, nervousness, etc. The first time I finally suppressed the urge to be self-deprecating, someone asked if I was still nervous...yeah, I've set a nice precedent for myself ;-)</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> <b>Be genuine—be yourself</b>. People almost always respond positively when someone is being genuine <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">(Luckily I've found this to be true. The flow I get into allows me to do this, and I've felt very supported by those in the class. whew!)</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> <b>The best presentation is like a conversation</b> with someone you like, where the ideas and thoughts flow naturally, not from looking down and reading every word from notes <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">(I really try to do this by asking questions that will generate a discussion. I love it when lots of hands go up. People are really engaged and wanting to be part of the conversation. Success!)</span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Pauses</b> are essential to a strong delivery. Pause after introducing new points to add emphasis <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #666666;">(It's really hard to pause when you're nervous, workin' on this one).</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>•</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> <b>Practice!</b> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">The more you practice, the less you will have to think about during the actual talk itself. This will increase your confidence, decrease the inevitable jitters, and allow you to focus on other details that are also important to a successful presentation.</span></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">> What doesn't kill me makes me stronger...right? I'm using what I learned from years of design classes, and presenting to clients to help me with this current teaching assignment; and learning to teach better will in turn give me additional experience for presenting design projects to my clients. Win-win.</span></span></div>
</div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-26934911747726895222014-06-05T16:26:00.001-06:002014-06-11T13:03:56.924-06:00Golden Anniversary in Silver<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVvH2oX7Od9c5E_UUcH-9CNaUWBn5DicBVpoyANWp0Inom4cSeCzeS-VqfDC9BA98HrEUg-AhWvm81XMvXtyNnUfF6p2pAMsHIu4AgRUb-kna6vE4VfWYPoP2l_6HRjfZ7KQixDIpwso/s1600/m.papercut7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVvH2oX7Od9c5E_UUcH-9CNaUWBn5DicBVpoyANWp0Inom4cSeCzeS-VqfDC9BA98HrEUg-AhWvm81XMvXtyNnUfF6p2pAMsHIu4AgRUb-kna6vE4VfWYPoP2l_6HRjfZ7KQixDIpwso/s1600/m.papercut7.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> My parents recently celebrated their 50th Anniversary (woohoo!) Despite their resistance to having a big event, my siblings and I planned a day of celebration with extended family that I think we will all remember. We each presented something to them by way of talent, performance, etc. at a program for my parents and their progeny.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">While I grew up with music lessons, I really don't like to perform, but I wanted to share some sort of talent, and worked to find something unique that I could create for them. I designed the invitations, but wanted to do something more—something that felt like a gift. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I follow the blogs of several paper artists, and I've been a long-time love of all things paper, so I decided to attempt to design and do a <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=papercut&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=9OyQU5i_H8iZyATvgoCQBA&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=1009&bih=1191" target="_blank">papercut</a> (beware of half the images that will come up if you do a Google search!) </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Interestingly, paper is the traditional gift for a 1st anniversary. Gold represents the 50th anniversary, but that's a bit out of my budget! I created a typographic design using their names, and added a stock border that I could customize and incorporate with the design. I thought about metallic gold paper, but I decided silver would "go" better with the decor in their home.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">With great optimism, I photographed my process to share here. The curves aren't perfect, I wish they were, (perhaps my first attempt should have been less curvy!) but if you're not looking closely, it looks pretty good—good enough that in a frame, I felt excited to give it to them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I think with more practice, this is something I'll do more of!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0FoejnkLvJQdja7nytrYzT5NAoy8MuvOb86H5WWg-7QY7H7Fy8Vm6Qi8BDoOkRSgr2CTN1ya99RbCrmdR-LtKMEhy1vo3mJTp0uaLM6uZmPmQghkFWL_TTxGcOrFLudtY6vpFkJIMNM/s1600/m.papercut1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0FoejnkLvJQdja7nytrYzT5NAoy8MuvOb86H5WWg-7QY7H7Fy8Vm6Qi8BDoOkRSgr2CTN1ya99RbCrmdR-LtKMEhy1vo3mJTp0uaLM6uZmPmQghkFWL_TTxGcOrFLudtY6vpFkJIMNM/s1600/m.papercut1.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyH_lJwH9uB8hENTRoWmf4YrdKvwTPlc7zE8qV4S4bCcpta7bdL0VIMJP-lKlwaALM3wBEfKzL6DEq88HhedJmNRhkNZM9GvujX6102ebt_VvuaH795kE24LWRTLYxViHKzIov3UDN18/s1600/m.papercut2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyH_lJwH9uB8hENTRoWmf4YrdKvwTPlc7zE8qV4S4bCcpta7bdL0VIMJP-lKlwaALM3wBEfKzL6DEq88HhedJmNRhkNZM9GvujX6102ebt_VvuaH795kE24LWRTLYxViHKzIov3UDN18/s1600/m.papercut2.jpg" height="323" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9RgcR-mtP-0W9cOcBI7hienxO_clG5-h9o0tt9OqDc-5o2S-mt4DU2DAUa0LISoZ6sERRi6EIBgodMkpncea0eVBT_hE4uEZZsMNu0BDG5C-8gBBWAaIasaby5HmQxx7c3c9dCDXFEA/s1600/m.papercut3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9RgcR-mtP-0W9cOcBI7hienxO_clG5-h9o0tt9OqDc-5o2S-mt4DU2DAUa0LISoZ6sERRi6EIBgodMkpncea0eVBT_hE4uEZZsMNu0BDG5C-8gBBWAaIasaby5HmQxx7c3c9dCDXFEA/s1600/m.papercut3.jpg" height="400" width="307" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXhE7DUPmjeUtWRC20Vhbbn9-Dd58DIVFvjxAumIYhzzPEMVPV9maalAl-a62wpwz6Ao5hDU3sTQxYzcBxPDiNHvp3Q9q8kkB6NclbyrSqcE3aOu03Op83Uw9zu_q3Vh-x0paVhsGf6g/s1600/m.papercut4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidXhE7DUPmjeUtWRC20Vhbbn9-Dd58DIVFvjxAumIYhzzPEMVPV9maalAl-a62wpwz6Ao5hDU3sTQxYzcBxPDiNHvp3Q9q8kkB6NclbyrSqcE3aOu03Op83Uw9zu_q3Vh-x0paVhsGf6g/s1600/m.papercut4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPkrRF9NVX_DsJoI1hHj18bsRSyWx9kWNnmomcACyEbN1J-RftSSLQpefq2rIE-mKjNxHTiD-4IQSVlZYWaffv0UxXINX0v9O3-SKbpXwmOuoeiBhdkr-sDvl4tJL-xS8ezpgCCDPvaI/s1600/m.papercut5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPkrRF9NVX_DsJoI1hHj18bsRSyWx9kWNnmomcACyEbN1J-RftSSLQpefq2rIE-mKjNxHTiD-4IQSVlZYWaffv0UxXINX0v9O3-SKbpXwmOuoeiBhdkr-sDvl4tJL-xS8ezpgCCDPvaI/s1600/m.papercut5.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdd7sYFrJibaXgqblXgO4F7APnGmy_SU8INab-3frC3cSD4i-wGSAkHqUVPXZGr620dTvXiCitLTtSbU-YdpW45EkCQtIyID-aQOsoxwu3svEP2ISlHuD1htkR2GtxQNmjazLrfrshVQ/s1600/m.papercut6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFdd7sYFrJibaXgqblXgO4F7APnGmy_SU8INab-3frC3cSD4i-wGSAkHqUVPXZGr620dTvXiCitLTtSbU-YdpW45EkCQtIyID-aQOsoxwu3svEP2ISlHuD1htkR2GtxQNmjazLrfrshVQ/s1600/m.papercut6.jpg" height="335" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-65349676722925074932014-05-02T12:32:00.000-06:002014-05-02T12:32:06.953-06:00Inspired by...Humans of New York<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cYUjC9BtP0Gl_-zDcSKRaPP71odxVeiRhr7GWo-7HuEPRpyFhFBjj9aJVM3tQkjzuAZNnxFarYszRVSNqGE-MeSR7utLLV3xHW5gOzIA-SQda9rko9_JekojgUmV9SrnzuuOaDA6QyQ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3cYUjC9BtP0Gl_-zDcSKRaPP71odxVeiRhr7GWo-7HuEPRpyFhFBjj9aJVM3tQkjzuAZNnxFarYszRVSNqGE-MeSR7utLLV3xHW5gOzIA-SQda9rko9_JekojgUmV9SrnzuuOaDA6QyQ/s1600/cover.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I LOVE <a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/" target="_blank">this</a> blog so much I follow it on Facebook. Instead of waiting til I have time to catch up on the blogs I follow, I get to see the posts immediately, and I'm always happy when there's a new one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It's pretty much one guy—<a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/about" target="_blank">Brandon Stanton</a>—who approaches people in New York City, asks them if he can take their photo, then asks a couple questions, to which he gets some really amazing and insightful glimpses into the lives of people. I recently watched a <a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/post/84320039731/i-went-to-ireland-a-couple-weeks-ago-to-give-a" target="_blank">video</a> clip of part of a speech he gave at a college in Ireland where he explains his process. He seems like a down-to-earth, likable guy which makes me like the blog even more. And hearing about his process really makes you realize how important persistence is in anything we do. It was also interesting to learn how he's able to get (some) people to open up a little.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Admittedly, I'm a guarded, private person, so I'm amazed at some of the very deeply personal things that people share with him (and everyone...the blog has over 5 million followers), but I realize those are the ones that touch me the most.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Here are some favorites.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCr2TcGtxbjtfoYQ5LUAQCIjU7jIrc6-exuSPCxARGlwQ5znppcfG_Hqm-lRGpAcgP7z-l5i2gVRgu3ti9Ogi6F1k4jVaL1VcuyitFzx3Crt_TBm6T3o33QVquyY3hg0lVt5xM7SRqlpw/s1600/bully.jpg" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="266" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"If you could give one piece of advice to other kids, what would it be?" "If someone is bullying you, and you bully them back, then that makes you a bully." </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoIx-16LZoB44Y3hADhzDia7sYy0t9nPzAlwYLqtwobRh0RNtSGP3_f73x0__iQIfo6-YPoWonbbSh3xtnPW5aAHiCiNdicri9-Y4LXL8CfsYUNXrXO-Nb681_mJAX_baiL-yBnkFWzQ/s1600/hearing.jpg" height="266" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"For the longest time, I was so focused on being deaf in my left ear, that I almost forgot my other ear was perfectly fine." </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgub2qymIgfCBMP-JAwi8CFZiKnuSAH62Gj19-e9pF_b1x0h9r1rtk3xOVdfW3fE2SK8nOtyAWnhbcQgio2_81CqNEmOn2lYI6VASDNNMPGR3qlDvaCl59FkZ7O2krcqM10BdPiKXbjMAg/s1600/lovingMoe.jpg" height="266" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">When my husband was dying, I said: "Moe, how am I supposed to live without you?" He told me: "Take the love you have for me and spread it around." </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl0AoguNxmVmWRhDcj_IpuSMVLqs_FD9VZLaFq-vnFJhy8S1dzes5P2xSyXY_8doljRuUXy8skjxd6Yl7zSbwnxHIosv6D_nZbNcpHgpsOVHVFYEjIacyuKVrJINPog4YTKiZlWP3tMI/s1600/YoungLove.jpg" height="266" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>These two were acting like complete teenagers. When I walked up, she was nuzzling her head against his shoulder. She giggled the entire time I talked with them, while he kept a big goofy grin on his face. And whenever I asked about their relationship, she clutched his arm, looked at him just like this, giggled, then said: “We’re not telling!”</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOl0AoguNxmVmWRhDcj_IpuSMVLqs_FD9VZLaFq-vnFJhy8S1dzes5P2xSyXY_8doljRuUXy8skjxd6Yl7zSbwnxHIosv6D_nZbNcpHgpsOVHVFYEjIacyuKVrJINPog4YTKiZlWP3tMI/s1600/YoungLove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></i></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-19512612749130702312014-04-16T16:22:00.003-06:002014-04-16T16:22:58.686-06:00Who Are They?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S8Dhwi30xKnRnlqdG6C75cnl1HXKyXHqouoaxDyMcx8-O8tO4xBgxEDzpTY8TNts83zW9LZ01jsqyJY0aNDk48RbjV1nX6gamJzqEPilckK4URX7Gbgtl-JETuFRaQGPXkSdKHccl70/s1600/m-infographic-who.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S8Dhwi30xKnRnlqdG6C75cnl1HXKyXHqouoaxDyMcx8-O8tO4xBgxEDzpTY8TNts83zW9LZ01jsqyJY0aNDk48RbjV1nX6gamJzqEPilckK4URX7Gbgtl-JETuFRaQGPXkSdKHccl70/s1600/m-infographic-who.png" height="400" width="308" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> An infographic is intended to present complex or detailed information in a simplified, visually interesting way. Graphic designers have been utilizing this as a method for sharing information for many years, usually in corporate literature such as annual reports. T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">he term "infographic" is relatively new,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">but with the rise in social media outlets, they have become more popular, more commonly used for marketing purposes, and for communicating a lot of other types of information than they used to.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've designed a lot of annual reports, brochures, and other literature using what we now term "infographics". In the past few years, I've done more graphic-infused work, and have designed a few projects that are strictly visual—very little text. You can see one of those projects <a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/SharePoint-Joel/9169485" target="_blank">here</a>. I wish I could show you another one that I really love, but I did it as a work-for-hire project, and we (an agency I work with and I) agreed that I wouldn't publish it. So, you'll just have to trust me that it's awesome!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I have enjoyed designing them so much, that I decided to design my own infographics as marketing tools for my own business. Here's the first of a series: "Who"—visually showing the percentage breakdown of the clients, (and the focus of their projects), that I've been fortunate to work with over the past 10 years (Click on the image to see it larger).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Still to come: "Where" and "What". Stay tuned! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Do you need an infographic for an upcoming project, or for your own marketing efforts? Get in touch—I'd love to talk about what I can do for you!</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-66931861281939237222014-04-07T12:19:00.002-06:002014-04-07T12:19:27.387-06:00Looks Better, Feels Better<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Within a year of our moving, we had made significant progress toward getting rid of the honey-stained oak that was everywhere in our last house. It took a while, but neither of us like its yellowish color, so it was worth it. When we were walking through our new house with the realtor, my second thought was, "oh great—more yellow oak I'll have to stain!" (my first thought was "wow, I love this house!")</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We learned right away that the fireplace didn't burn off all the gas, so the only way to safely use it was to open the windows at the same time (kinda defeats the purpose of having a cozy fire!) So, we shopped around and budgeted replacing the insert with a new vented one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We had a few extra tiles that match the floor and tile facade, but not enough to replace what they'd have to remove to make the insert change, so we initially intended to buy a few more matching tiles, but I convinced Gene that it would look even better to do something contrasting in size and/or texture. He was persuaded, so we spent way too much time deliberating over several alternatives at Lowe's, and finally decided on a weave pattern.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> As I've said before, I'm a huge fan of before-and-afters, so of course I took photos to document the process and confirm that we made a whole bunch of "right" decisions (unfortunately with large windows above, to the sides, and across from the fireplace, it was tough to get good lighting, but I think the effect in pictures is still good enough to get a sense of how much better it is). We love it!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Next on my DIY list: the seemingly endless yellow oak handrails...after my knees recover from being on them too long during this last project!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAVdfB3HMGYq5_Yd4_nsi4q0PHikhyphenhyphen_ls4qkI4PedK0Og0_fdjQCF5XWLfFO3wqfdTzRggVXxQM5TI4Ro2YpObadUPjh4CR4QSTJweulQvDp9jKfodlMFNlFwkC8YcmN6MAE2UY6oFKU/s1600/01-fireplace-before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEAVdfB3HMGYq5_Yd4_nsi4q0PHikhyphenhyphen_ls4qkI4PedK0Og0_fdjQCF5XWLfFO3wqfdTzRggVXxQM5TI4Ro2YpObadUPjh4CR4QSTJweulQvDp9jKfodlMFNlFwkC8YcmN6MAE2UY6oFKU/s1600/01-fireplace-before.jpg" height="296" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZOHbgEEJ7je02nbF804NjhIP19QD3iApqAS0WCOf7iBxoRVl-WXcleJk3UyfD8fzkFpMozGbonhdJcMDL0EhlrXF21jru-KewcyG833OqqJS9moOgSxlAfi0TBqIssq6wUTnJReiY-E/s1600/02-fireplace-during.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZOHbgEEJ7je02nbF804NjhIP19QD3iApqAS0WCOf7iBxoRVl-WXcleJk3UyfD8fzkFpMozGbonhdJcMDL0EhlrXF21jru-KewcyG833OqqJS9moOgSxlAfi0TBqIssq6wUTnJReiY-E/s1600/02-fireplace-during.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPNvVenyg6RBDNGlpP2sAzx56GwaFgDusU6eOGZA0l-iC0FqldHt_QcSujh4opoaaRbywAj8Y9OBPg2_nXnJ1Hl9nPmdmUR4hThvX7Jfwvvu4XVrJKwxaTOGlWaDJSoUuyPArgEbhrp0/s1600/03-fireplace-during.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxPNvVenyg6RBDNGlpP2sAzx56GwaFgDusU6eOGZA0l-iC0FqldHt_QcSujh4opoaaRbywAj8Y9OBPg2_nXnJ1Hl9nPmdmUR4hThvX7Jfwvvu4XVrJKwxaTOGlWaDJSoUuyPArgEbhrp0/s1600/03-fireplace-during.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27uMaD1dUyHKU5Zjh9Vd12HFuoOgMEkBwy9PuMUUAsD1Q7aYFIcFT23K-WeGTduFvrTAolDhDLO34KrMjPq0AgzejVV1YOD3GUYebL26mBJlDnILgXOliavQ5oOuFezsykDYlfpYAGqY/s1600/04-fireplace-during.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27uMaD1dUyHKU5Zjh9Vd12HFuoOgMEkBwy9PuMUUAsD1Q7aYFIcFT23K-WeGTduFvrTAolDhDLO34KrMjPq0AgzejVV1YOD3GUYebL26mBJlDnILgXOliavQ5oOuFezsykDYlfpYAGqY/s1600/04-fireplace-during.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClPc-AK22nVr8FaN9oE_ClBFz9iAxp8rVXex-Yo-l9pMUMbzt9my9lW0tLGT5FsbHbXZhWNB365Gbb3M7c_jzzdueF7mm1QJB_wEIdsQtHBOTtyMR7tz3W9qrqjJk0ce0SJt-eWAS_5s/s1600/05-fireplace-during.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjClPc-AK22nVr8FaN9oE_ClBFz9iAxp8rVXex-Yo-l9pMUMbzt9my9lW0tLGT5FsbHbXZhWNB365Gbb3M7c_jzzdueF7mm1QJB_wEIdsQtHBOTtyMR7tz3W9qrqjJk0ce0SJt-eWAS_5s/s1600/05-fireplace-during.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7n50ema9sg1CV0fAOcF8Zkb2f78mHEY_n3cg88QVv-JPw-PnfxE6Ii0WkifoK0Pgka21Ede9_r-7Dzrv7u8laNMWXGdOS-glfNo1SRoZrt4bbPsDTUqXhZ_0lDdPao9-p10_3xilFG8/s1600/06-fireplace-after.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7n50ema9sg1CV0fAOcF8Zkb2f78mHEY_n3cg88QVv-JPw-PnfxE6Ii0WkifoK0Pgka21Ede9_r-7Dzrv7u8laNMWXGdOS-glfNo1SRoZrt4bbPsDTUqXhZ_0lDdPao9-p10_3xilFG8/s1600/06-fireplace-after.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-75040371835972805002014-03-07T15:03:00.004-07:002014-03-07T15:03:51.788-07:002 Outta 3 Ain't Bad<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPigThgDg6sFPmg6YmoqriTv_EbYAe_bjgZPLuJJIOFZ5oBH5wcRM3add1slhszN1L4ibbUGJDiOVJg9wUO3ViocM5JOtFutcUY_CEwRmw2QFZ0z4cXruQts5RxPkPn_-4bTZknKyufQ8/s1600/2outta3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPigThgDg6sFPmg6YmoqriTv_EbYAe_bjgZPLuJJIOFZ5oBH5wcRM3add1slhszN1L4ibbUGJDiOVJg9wUO3ViocM5JOtFutcUY_CEwRmw2QFZ0z4cXruQts5RxPkPn_-4bTZknKyufQ8/s1600/2outta3.jpg" height="212" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Ever heard the of saying "When God closes a door, he opens a window"? Well, recently, I experienced both—luckily I didn't have to look around for the window. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Recently, after a couple days of questions, answers and discussion, I successfully negotiated a great book project—giving me an ego boost. I always feel a surge of confidence when I get a new client! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shortly after, an ongoing client emailed to ask about my availability to work on a project for them (I always find a way to be available for my clients!) I told her to send the files when she was ready and I'd get started. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Just after sending that response, I received a disappointing email that shook my confidence a little. I was told I wasn't a good match for something I really and truly felt I was a PERFECT candidate for. Ouch! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I know, it's business, don't take it personally—right?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I try to invest my "everything" when I work on projects—I believe it's one of my strengths. Unfortunately, it's also a weakness when I don't get to do a project I'm really excited about.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">On the positive side, during the very same hour I received that disappointing news, I also got 2 big projects—one from a new client where I get to prove that I can beautifully bring life to the book concept she's so passionate about; and the other from a great ongoing client who gives me repeat work, which tells me that I'm doing a great job for them. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I know I'm not the perfect fit for every business' design needs, but I <i>love</i> working with the ones who feel like I'm perfect for <i>them</i>.</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-19241418553242349122014-03-03T16:10:00.001-07:002014-03-03T16:10:05.670-07:00Keep it Current<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZdUS0ClQGV9bM5auddStRN40emO85f98AINoJD0ITq6zQ5nlwsFs4Wxv1de100bDrT2ezRCQHt9KvCfCsSUkjOAk9L0TBdnVImERU8NwoHjAz274gEojfFN6xbxTkfcDqDn-aoUlct8/s1600/portfolio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZdUS0ClQGV9bM5auddStRN40emO85f98AINoJD0ITq6zQ5nlwsFs4Wxv1de100bDrT2ezRCQHt9KvCfCsSUkjOAk9L0TBdnVImERU8NwoHjAz274gEojfFN6xbxTkfcDqDn-aoUlct8/s1600/portfolio.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Any designer will tell you how important it is to keep your online portfolio up to date. I know, I know...I won't make excuses here, I need to (and want to) update my site. Bigger project photos, bigger type with fewer—but carefully chosen words. Mostly I need to make it easier to upload new projects. I considered going with a blog format, til I read about <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/muse.html" target="_blank">Adobe Muse</a>. I've been pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to use, since it uses the same tools as other Adobe products I use all the time, but somewhere in the middle, despite my lack of programming knowledge, code gets "magically" added, and it will become a real live web site! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> In the meantime, I've started updating an online portfolio site called Behance. It's easy to upload work to, so I've added a <a href="https://www.behance.net/mGraphicDesign" target="_blank">few projects</a> there. Many of them are already on my current—but not current—site, but there are a few that aren't, and I'm glad they have a home while I keep plugging away with Muse. Check them out <a href="https://www.behance.net/mGraphicDesign" target="_blank">here</a>. I guarantee there's at least one you haven't seen before!</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-78115176767562651592014-02-14T10:45:00.002-07:002014-02-14T10:45:32.217-07:00Mixed-up Valentine<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> A good graphic designer always makes her own valentine cards, right? I admit I didn't for a long time, but I've done better since <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2012/02/sweet-valentines-day.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a> a couple of years ago. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I started with a "Valentines Eve" surprise (and boy was it a surprise!) After I made the bed yesterday morning, I taped several cut-out hearts to the sheet under the covers on Gene's side of the bed for him to find as we went to bed last night. After I finished washing my face, I found him sitting on <i>top</i> of the covers, and I started scheming in my mind about how to make sure he got under the covers <i>before</i> turning off the light. I pulled back the covers on my side of the bed, and couldn't stop laughing. He had moved all the hearts to <i>my</i> side of the bed (who does that? he's so funny!) <a href="http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/02/give-your-sweetie-a-heart-attack-for-valentines-day.html" target="_blank">Here's</a> where I got my idea...he came up with his "response" all on his own.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> For his valentine today, I made a mixed up message that he'll have to unscramble then assemble. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I used a different font and background color for each word so it won't be too tough to unscramble and put the message together—it IS supposed to be more fun than work ;-) I printed the letters onto pre-cut label stock and left the backing paper on. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I attached each sticker to a Hershey Kiss, which I used to make a "trail" leading into Gene's office.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">As he decodes each word, he can adhere the stickers to the marks on the accordion-folded card, which will spell out my valentine message. I'm kind of excited and hope it's a fun way for him to get his chocolate (well, what's left of it...there were a lot of leftover kisses! Maybe I should have made a longer message...)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnqiMgD2hQ9BgTbqJXO9MBnFQ0NEXdPi9vunQUzVQSqmlnN8_Ib1-YaPjtTJT1W69HAiBx-TwfGp8GaAEf8BSnc9-NrTW4QEjKyPoDSixMKVzwAnZq6psUEUTLaruYDqGlwP84a_W6wA/s1600/Valentine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmnqiMgD2hQ9BgTbqJXO9MBnFQ0NEXdPi9vunQUzVQSqmlnN8_Ib1-YaPjtTJT1W69HAiBx-TwfGp8GaAEf8BSnc9-NrTW4QEjKyPoDSixMKVzwAnZq6psUEUTLaruYDqGlwP84a_W6wA/s1600/Valentine1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q5bNz_lAsjNEpn9n3jsyNhJMqIPULvPMaYOWSN6LCc07gI3MYKhU-woOUVstafmnmT3wwnwvsHG_IPL9mA2H46W4aRQAwemysbdFu2AN_Sf7EL3e94TLPO-JeIv-_K_nHUNfMheLYYg/s1600/Valentine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9q5bNz_lAsjNEpn9n3jsyNhJMqIPULvPMaYOWSN6LCc07gI3MYKhU-woOUVstafmnmT3wwnwvsHG_IPL9mA2H46W4aRQAwemysbdFu2AN_Sf7EL3e94TLPO-JeIv-_K_nHUNfMheLYYg/s1600/Valentine2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIhHsLhy5jT8cqempaAXuVPqvwqKc0zb0Bl6FRaLTBq1wIzItv6MHRHXHuU52pmnvtTUmmFlTgPisZUvXzbuaF1yxbpC65Eyi21qOj070LWjKdS9I-C6FJM0bH6PIIimjIGqZ1kRNNls/s1600/Valentine3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiIhHsLhy5jT8cqempaAXuVPqvwqKc0zb0Bl6FRaLTBq1wIzItv6MHRHXHuU52pmnvtTUmmFlTgPisZUvXzbuaF1yxbpC65Eyi21qOj070LWjKdS9I-C6FJM0bH6PIIimjIGqZ1kRNNls/s1600/Valentine3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiwvZ0rXSN2wJLNf_-G9uT9FK4qJn31UqOiG3nUtthOFd1471mIpIRRBDxo-m3af4X4icrv-f5ufLLkmOywitwwU9dEhkaDp6x_OdEUOoitrI-TFtnEn02KIQiCuP-ztslgFJf8BSjKY/s1600/Valentine4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiwvZ0rXSN2wJLNf_-G9uT9FK4qJn31UqOiG3nUtthOFd1471mIpIRRBDxo-m3af4X4icrv-f5ufLLkmOywitwwU9dEhkaDp6x_OdEUOoitrI-TFtnEn02KIQiCuP-ztslgFJf8BSjKY/s1600/Valentine4.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwJZjvILkPdwYTwsDOH1N9DVG8nGmDSjUEBG2KYAg_Gm4DtpVgReCiLM9VYnIraSU4RuAmJZKajeg8KL9eUMV9RAfgH3IpLY0gH1wJG66AppAXfuRCTBEAUKRtO8aPJuVwSXz7pAyBJo/s1600/Valentine5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijwJZjvILkPdwYTwsDOH1N9DVG8nGmDSjUEBG2KYAg_Gm4DtpVgReCiLM9VYnIraSU4RuAmJZKajeg8KL9eUMV9RAfgH3IpLY0gH1wJG66AppAXfuRCTBEAUKRtO8aPJuVwSXz7pAyBJo/s1600/Valentine5.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHH_qfiGvrXxV8GWWohMYwGh3pSTO04wDeG8oGMhj7uQZtyTbsg9K4b0Ld6TE2dyaQY41ye3YTUUQBYwaYkSiDGxG2DJ39Kso8hhgMMPKt9L_H733RHUUFiQoFjBNBPsMW2yJYjKispiE/s1600/Valentine6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHH_qfiGvrXxV8GWWohMYwGh3pSTO04wDeG8oGMhj7uQZtyTbsg9K4b0Ld6TE2dyaQY41ye3YTUUQBYwaYkSiDGxG2DJ39Kso8hhgMMPKt9L_H733RHUUFiQoFjBNBPsMW2yJYjKispiE/s1600/Valentine6.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br /></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-19615109563132798432014-02-04T16:07:00.000-07:002014-02-04T16:07:19.967-07:00Mind the Gap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x29At8LlztCf_HX57YMibO7-l1Hq3qkhvS9zBw38wNUQ3-ec8Ks7jXavXPGewvznaIORGPsdZJNu3MvVgyEUa1it3KHpj4ziLtPUC51KyFI65Y0-fhliSgEOoIvuAoeTCiLdBFOHXTI/s1600/ParowanGap1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x29At8LlztCf_HX57YMibO7-l1Hq3qkhvS9zBw38wNUQ3-ec8Ks7jXavXPGewvznaIORGPsdZJNu3MvVgyEUa1it3KHpj4ziLtPUC51KyFI65Y0-fhliSgEOoIvuAoeTCiLdBFOHXTI/s1600/ParowanGap1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Gene and I love to hike. We're not majorly outdoorsy, nor are we impressive when we hike, but we really enjoy doing it. We usually go on a couple weekend trips a year in spring and fall (my favorite seasons for hiking) and we take advantage of the beautiful state where we live. On a recent trip, we went to Kolob Canyon and we explored a couple trails we hadn't hiked before. On our way home, we decided to take a detour and we went to see the Parowan Gap—where an ancient river cut a 600-foot deep "notch" through the hills, according to this <a href="http://www.utah.com/playgrounds/parowan_gap.htm" target="_blank">article</a>. (After seeing it though, is <i>"notch"</i> really the right word??)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The Parowan Gap is neat as you come upon it. At first, it feels like you're on the wrong road—you're out in the middle of nowhere—then all of a sudden you turn, and the road points you right into the middle of it. It's awesome! I took a bunch of pictures, but I don't think it can really be photographed in a way that gives you a sense of what it's like to come upon it. It's big, and there's nothing around it. So if you try to capture it with the vast nothing-ness it's surrounded by, you lose the sense of its size. If you try to get its size, you lose its isolation. It's a neat juxtaposition. You just have to see it yourself. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Then there are the petroglyphs. The guidebook said the place was covered with them. Being a designer, I LOVE petroglyphs. I mean, they're neatly designed, they were made to endure, and to communicate. As far as I'm concerned, the people who left these visual messages years and years ago are my design predecessors. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Once we parked, I was disappointed to see all the fences. (It always makes me sick to realize these fences HAVE to be put up in order to remind some people to respect something that's irreplaceable). Anyway, the side of the mountain <i>is</i> covered—I mean <i>covered</i>—with petroglyphs. It's so cool to look around at all the different designs. As you walk on the road through the gap to the back side of the hill, it appears that part of it has crumbled down, and there are boulders, again, just covered with more petroglyphs. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It's not a big place, but we were there for quite awhile—looking, taking photos, and just enjoying an amazing little place with a lot to see. (And no, I didn't digitally retouch the sky, it really <i>is</i> that blue).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq3hYmWjTqCoiYR6rz0mppHsf6cQ2uCce-fwhZYb2KGJ186QMYcZ_iX1RRhYxvJ82Bts4m1Z7DLTYzdhZbCCynLk35rbJavtTJxm4JCdhf-AVnK1QY3B-OTdbZSy673P8h7Ogeo3xW9c/s1600/ParowanGap2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq3hYmWjTqCoiYR6rz0mppHsf6cQ2uCce-fwhZYb2KGJ186QMYcZ_iX1RRhYxvJ82Bts4m1Z7DLTYzdhZbCCynLk35rbJavtTJxm4JCdhf-AVnK1QY3B-OTdbZSy673P8h7Ogeo3xW9c/s1600/ParowanGap2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh000-8HVY-zb5xmG2wBstXk83-IC0QeZL_WAonia1ZM-yeXX4UCt85apSiLxAkgbtnkQWw8uJtbGmH0ac5babYjiq5hfbd4velRWeg8l6SaJ-uu9E-LZB1L0rdnDR57OaSaNvWdauPBo0/s1600/ParowanGap3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh000-8HVY-zb5xmG2wBstXk83-IC0QeZL_WAonia1ZM-yeXX4UCt85apSiLxAkgbtnkQWw8uJtbGmH0ac5babYjiq5hfbd4velRWeg8l6SaJ-uu9E-LZB1L0rdnDR57OaSaNvWdauPBo0/s1600/ParowanGap3.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_c6W0yNP2ZnRJ2pqYpokcZmES13CpBWzevJ6sY_tv4koQ3Xp0OSpCRmFKlw6AmJL0TmWDKfa3Punf1PHufBRyPjjCNoufaxTYGc-AaDBBjfAzV1yyNeO7_ipNMUs-DZIPMcDAYQFaPM/s1600/ParowanGap4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_c6W0yNP2ZnRJ2pqYpokcZmES13CpBWzevJ6sY_tv4koQ3Xp0OSpCRmFKlw6AmJL0TmWDKfa3Punf1PHufBRyPjjCNoufaxTYGc-AaDBBjfAzV1yyNeO7_ipNMUs-DZIPMcDAYQFaPM/s1600/ParowanGap4.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGagnxboeztS9uqJFThGDUylJv4l2uW2jYmtqz3sQQiExG6R5mPP4cHI6Uljxf4JihzllLI7sFspg2DPsxNbDHc8Gizr0VutLPm41X4GJP3XagFSguTX2enF27SfwP4O6wLWZIhE5mGLw/s1600/ParowanGap5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGagnxboeztS9uqJFThGDUylJv4l2uW2jYmtqz3sQQiExG6R5mPP4cHI6Uljxf4JihzllLI7sFspg2DPsxNbDHc8Gizr0VutLPm41X4GJP3XagFSguTX2enF27SfwP4O6wLWZIhE5mGLw/s1600/ParowanGap5.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVVeek0XnwDfookKZYch91BDn3wRlS3KnwSTobXGOl7h1Ben_qSca3mEEbuC0yA1ffiZsYqiJrDyI5NRQ4gd2wylaMh_SGsreNQ8JzNy1INJQ5rkHreA8s7SzuKPRFTwI9ltdIrhGD64/s1600/ParowanGap6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVVeek0XnwDfookKZYch91BDn3wRlS3KnwSTobXGOl7h1Ben_qSca3mEEbuC0yA1ffiZsYqiJrDyI5NRQ4gd2wylaMh_SGsreNQ8JzNy1INJQ5rkHreA8s7SzuKPRFTwI9ltdIrhGD64/s1600/ParowanGap6.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdh3FFM6WJXUybZc2Hs25bFPK3o63YXHVaczgpgknFiM5OX1kJIHhXull7Pawa9CxysYFOeK05aevtsb3aZuB2xYkfj8gFBDWWvC_UxRi4MSioRiFYtq2DYxZ8PWtuV46JonZ7e9g_vRU/s1600/ParowanGap7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdh3FFM6WJXUybZc2Hs25bFPK3o63YXHVaczgpgknFiM5OX1kJIHhXull7Pawa9CxysYFOeK05aevtsb3aZuB2xYkfj8gFBDWWvC_UxRi4MSioRiFYtq2DYxZ8PWtuV46JonZ7e9g_vRU/s1600/ParowanGap7.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsUcocutn5WK6DjBXxwab6P0BcL_8ZxjnKUoG4VOKHrXFRZPy2ueuTJvtgsbmBx-Vc4GPJDRkbRpR8o_0m0xnWVDSBeHPLvMKzoGJYO9B88MdnWS_SxZ1OSvJZo2Yimlh6_6Y62mcPAc/s1600/ParowanGap8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLsUcocutn5WK6DjBXxwab6P0BcL_8ZxjnKUoG4VOKHrXFRZPy2ueuTJvtgsbmBx-Vc4GPJDRkbRpR8o_0m0xnWVDSBeHPLvMKzoGJYO9B88MdnWS_SxZ1OSvJZo2Yimlh6_6Y62mcPAc/s1600/ParowanGap8.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNT1Nceoe5pevVNVAw0-fWdHJdcwxMR2_8T_-PdDvIkOrhBKOK6opydFUCLAt2qRZyl83O0zOKPuaFO3QgKADuHsS1bY8b7c76ewCQZhdL19BAPOHBVpoIjW_mKHt9skuWpmlnbqwJ20/s1600/ParowanGap9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYNT1Nceoe5pevVNVAw0-fWdHJdcwxMR2_8T_-PdDvIkOrhBKOK6opydFUCLAt2qRZyl83O0zOKPuaFO3QgKADuHsS1bY8b7c76ewCQZhdL19BAPOHBVpoIjW_mKHt9skuWpmlnbqwJ20/s1600/ParowanGap9.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwT8VZEwM2m01zadMF4OODITPMGuO59K02AzzDngljB1lbh-fP5LXgQfcFmedG8akhTsbpzrzQJKTJyYb3PDJ5l750p1oMO02Pokori3nOFBMhH3EXX4Ul-A5gM1O7VjtvqIKP8Wui7g/s1600/ParowanGap10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzwT8VZEwM2m01zadMF4OODITPMGuO59K02AzzDngljB1lbh-fP5LXgQfcFmedG8akhTsbpzrzQJKTJyYb3PDJ5l750p1oMO02Pokori3nOFBMhH3EXX4Ul-A5gM1O7VjtvqIKP8Wui7g/s1600/ParowanGap10.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6T5fFhh6gG6xm7XWaOtG5slhZoryOm2xknueS-iXr3tGeL0mWRmMXBl61ZKD3x3VFVEGbrGS_q13xDs9tzU6C2ac0mf7QaiDYSJ4bXH2ac0sZvEaDQk2vfzeJDZSM0LMq4MdeblIlmgo/s1600/ParowanGap11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6T5fFhh6gG6xm7XWaOtG5slhZoryOm2xknueS-iXr3tGeL0mWRmMXBl61ZKD3x3VFVEGbrGS_q13xDs9tzU6C2ac0mf7QaiDYSJ4bXH2ac0sZvEaDQk2vfzeJDZSM0LMq4MdeblIlmgo/s1600/ParowanGap11.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRwEMF0neHaecVe8c6vsG4xNA3B7IIkKBbYorcrGeXi_MuqF3ujQbb_1Gcy5pv1C9lU7dFcl3G8vq6FEwDey_IyZqLHHfe_M3FiJeS2IfYkNBEIb_yqC6aCU1VRaT9Jmh6DYiA_uF_5Q/s1600/ParowanGap12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLRwEMF0neHaecVe8c6vsG4xNA3B7IIkKBbYorcrGeXi_MuqF3ujQbb_1Gcy5pv1C9lU7dFcl3G8vq6FEwDey_IyZqLHHfe_M3FiJeS2IfYkNBEIb_yqC6aCU1VRaT9Jmh6DYiA_uF_5Q/s1600/ParowanGap12.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-77080336862063277722014-01-13T15:18:00.001-07:002014-01-13T15:46:10.414-07:00Car Craze<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibLywlD_qE0OiEwHCsbhat6cmW-Z8LbvS2NabBmikMnTRvObYN8O1t9ILaT8dJNkb8eWxDif63eJRS9ZtZXNj8yZgGUgkMsc3wW89nE2eXdSMuT96eI8MlvSBLwMrKKgh9eNid9Ldn4I/s1600/m.car03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibLywlD_qE0OiEwHCsbhat6cmW-Z8LbvS2NabBmikMnTRvObYN8O1t9ILaT8dJNkb8eWxDif63eJRS9ZtZXNj8yZgGUgkMsc3wW89nE2eXdSMuT96eI8MlvSBLwMrKKgh9eNid9Ldn4I/s400/m.car03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Last summer, my family reunion was at Lake Tahoe (GORgeous!) and one day, some of us drove to Reno to visit the <a href="http://www.automuseum.org/" target="_blank">National Auto Museum</a>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My sister and brother in law had been a few years before and knew I'd love it.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I love a nicely-designed car. In fact, when we're driving somewhere, I say the words "nice car" as often as Gene does. So my dad, a car-loving nephew, Gene and I hit the road.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> It was awesome! So many beautiful cars, and in such amazing condition for their ages. I took SO many photos...unfortunately, it was hard to get great shots—</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the cars were extremely shiny, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and there were really bright spotlights everywhere, but the other lighting was not very good, so no matter what I tried*, some of the shots have really bad glare. Also, there are so many cars that most of my shots have other cars or signage in the backgrounds. But still, it was amazing, and I had fun taking photos and have enjoyed looking at them since (*my "trying" is limited since I'm no pro when it comes to photography).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The photos I'm sharing here are front-views of several cars—I love how "styled" they are. The grills, hoods and fenders seem to have a lot more "going on" in these old cars than cars do now. I know there are logical reasons for the changes, but it's still fun to enjoy the details in these classics.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I had a lot of favorite styles and features, but my favorite—just because it's SO odd—is the last car, shown in the last 2 photos in this grouping. I can't remember what it is, but it's <b>awesome</b>, yet there's no question why you don't see anything like it on the road today!</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjcbIXoOpEVayn3MlzE1rde-dIEG89lqI63QbrHxkco8SEwwxrVLdfF74D8SXob5NoOYHi0StSHHWlxDlUXS1QuUOJKK1XdUnRndr4rtdsvLegvNx1PK9CK40LVLrQdtLCmY5e4TYu-I/s1600/m.car01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmjcbIXoOpEVayn3MlzE1rde-dIEG89lqI63QbrHxkco8SEwwxrVLdfF74D8SXob5NoOYHi0StSHHWlxDlUXS1QuUOJKK1XdUnRndr4rtdsvLegvNx1PK9CK40LVLrQdtLCmY5e4TYu-I/s320/m.car01.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7CIaXX7OpLui8CUuUv7aLidIyNoxHwd9mzZR2uHY5RzhhOK-Epi6Jo3tudAJ4Eabv_qfdaVZr2cjkEb33HVsSQK_wEBtM0Z-laC-tPNayEtRa8NnTeQ0Nol4_QyjVsDK4t4r8iKyhvU/s1600/m.car02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7CIaXX7OpLui8CUuUv7aLidIyNoxHwd9mzZR2uHY5RzhhOK-Epi6Jo3tudAJ4Eabv_qfdaVZr2cjkEb33HVsSQK_wEBtM0Z-laC-tPNayEtRa8NnTeQ0Nol4_QyjVsDK4t4r8iKyhvU/s320/m.car02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2m4yTYwfRqeRjGGvZFcLhXNcv6GE15de8BVLWHCuHHnRVNJMHrYcfHxzKYJT1UyCWiom8YcJjIIC1ldb329JgbyuKnY0eeGA87WSuPw6bJpgvTwtAg8U__5YRzG-M77RbJHf0fbtzHw/s1600/m.car05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2m4yTYwfRqeRjGGvZFcLhXNcv6GE15de8BVLWHCuHHnRVNJMHrYcfHxzKYJT1UyCWiom8YcJjIIC1ldb329JgbyuKnY0eeGA87WSuPw6bJpgvTwtAg8U__5YRzG-M77RbJHf0fbtzHw/s320/m.car05.jpg" width="278" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1jGQBVXOXKG1Zs5FeWQWGwCWMHjffBd6oGuZ0vRdKF8H_obEpzS8OVx1T4C5fmQrnx9cvg10bTG0tst4dxpy_yjM6_kyyOV2j19klTj-mCdeddEoZ_hD_jQ7PLEDx_wJptuZA2DoR48/s1600/m.car06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1jGQBVXOXKG1Zs5FeWQWGwCWMHjffBd6oGuZ0vRdKF8H_obEpzS8OVx1T4C5fmQrnx9cvg10bTG0tst4dxpy_yjM6_kyyOV2j19klTj-mCdeddEoZ_hD_jQ7PLEDx_wJptuZA2DoR48/s320/m.car06.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrqZIbeTetx-tgmwqB2mWIJfPGIxE3KzvdBjDKot8Adv5dG2ftG_hcRqK4a5ZnL-TgAd8iq25wqc3ZRswv3YyMUxuSLXQt2AxmIHj_ElU32AeSvkuRE769j9vai8PZbKhNPHyzA2iYaM/s1600/m.car07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrqZIbeTetx-tgmwqB2mWIJfPGIxE3KzvdBjDKot8Adv5dG2ftG_hcRqK4a5ZnL-TgAd8iq25wqc3ZRswv3YyMUxuSLXQt2AxmIHj_ElU32AeSvkuRE769j9vai8PZbKhNPHyzA2iYaM/s320/m.car07.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkkVW4DC8VMnLBuitP_uMM6Ef43uscdDsBP2rWmSfmV6qrhwa19KVvShs2DkvgBB-YwIOfOxB0gaeFGsLkrNfMKT98JLtaKMaf_qvDXVClA7gAzUtPoPeksIKZqAl1MRFtLTsHTeZfkE/s1600/m.car08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKkkVW4DC8VMnLBuitP_uMM6Ef43uscdDsBP2rWmSfmV6qrhwa19KVvShs2DkvgBB-YwIOfOxB0gaeFGsLkrNfMKT98JLtaKMaf_qvDXVClA7gAzUtPoPeksIKZqAl1MRFtLTsHTeZfkE/s320/m.car08.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbqEtQi5eT1i1nikupttBtfo7d-ZK__1K6qdCcRhMmXQrbnCQm-nGq5oz7Qx6-CmOw0sM4IIS3NXcgCGu5eS0VhY5nOQ6iq4bzuNLwYBiyBPnizwevGO7mY_UqQFVIUDR0b035GtAlzM/s1600/m.car04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggbqEtQi5eT1i1nikupttBtfo7d-ZK__1K6qdCcRhMmXQrbnCQm-nGq5oz7Qx6-CmOw0sM4IIS3NXcgCGu5eS0VhY5nOQ6iq4bzuNLwYBiyBPnizwevGO7mY_UqQFVIUDR0b035GtAlzM/s320/m.car04.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZPjveMlrqwRIHWrIRVcZc0BUXPgFVpODVmqXewLtQUgRQYl2t13ura3ULdkvC0MiwrwkNs-5OkftboWthr5KCmml0H0QcFLIRC6wB9rWdb3DzGJ4sYZnR0peQrebtD8-QrmV3PXTCCA/s1600/m.car09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZPjveMlrqwRIHWrIRVcZc0BUXPgFVpODVmqXewLtQUgRQYl2t13ura3ULdkvC0MiwrwkNs-5OkftboWthr5KCmml0H0QcFLIRC6wB9rWdb3DzGJ4sYZnR0peQrebtD8-QrmV3PXTCCA/s320/m.car09.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFiET3LpYN0rE87pVSN5hYojYVWR9F4Hll_JIdsx-v45o89quXWz-OqMb79q7o6cx72zouHjwY7yr4N24AKH619W5UriUL7BP0TqQd7Utkeefgz22lp-jEEGRBrBchMlRintu8CuWXfs/s1600/m.car10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFiET3LpYN0rE87pVSN5hYojYVWR9F4Hll_JIdsx-v45o89quXWz-OqMb79q7o6cx72zouHjwY7yr4N24AKH619W5UriUL7BP0TqQd7Utkeefgz22lp-jEEGRBrBchMlRintu8CuWXfs/s320/m.car10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UwON71LreZyC64lwkBx1B4V3pgh6_RnJTl8Y48oEvZpmOJ_QRP6atn_JWtc1rCn9r1pnwzH_hPOf6D8MzlPe5z5O0ZRCtpu_XLeQsYgqk-jIvk_233BuC9aaDq0RkpdS0rUMK2xRB8Y/s1600/m.car11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UwON71LreZyC64lwkBx1B4V3pgh6_RnJTl8Y48oEvZpmOJ_QRP6atn_JWtc1rCn9r1pnwzH_hPOf6D8MzlPe5z5O0ZRCtpu_XLeQsYgqk-jIvk_233BuC9aaDq0RkpdS0rUMK2xRB8Y/s320/m.car11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xuiQ8pZELbfAXbdtsuMDl73wdQZnSMEA9amQZqN57HYZPqnLm1_PZZxdWfkkFAEhanaFea3fk_m0iz15t5IUzsW1SClMxS2rr7woGP3JZl10hGtqpC22DmjMEYcXNX9BTCOedda2tUw/s1600/m.car12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xuiQ8pZELbfAXbdtsuMDl73wdQZnSMEA9amQZqN57HYZPqnLm1_PZZxdWfkkFAEhanaFea3fk_m0iz15t5IUzsW1SClMxS2rr7woGP3JZl10hGtqpC22DmjMEYcXNX9BTCOedda2tUw/s320/m.car12.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-14757518776916594532013-12-31T17:18:00.001-07:002013-12-31T17:18:26.330-07:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7noWwboQMidKl7jV7Ud4uVMUqh12ILo75jwDWzkpa2bJyMu93RTC48Aem1PelmahOkVxu62w0r-7sSDe3eWlKTur51hQZpJAatUdnBV_aVE6c3vDsLEMuBDOc5SCmGAcQ2h-iPhV1zXI/s1600/ornament.small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7noWwboQMidKl7jV7Ud4uVMUqh12ILo75jwDWzkpa2bJyMu93RTC48Aem1PelmahOkVxu62w0r-7sSDe3eWlKTur51hQZpJAatUdnBV_aVE6c3vDsLEMuBDOc5SCmGAcQ2h-iPhV1zXI/s400/ornament.small.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I love Christmas tree ornaments! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I actually have some "ornament" traditions. I buy at LEAST one new ornament for our tree each year, (but it's usually more than one). One of my friends and I live far from each other, and each December, we exchange an ornament. It's a treat for both of us to find the "perfect ornament", and also to receive it—and I've learned that her kids love being a part of selecting what gets sent to me, and get just as excited to see what I send for their tree. With another friend, we digitally share ornaments for every day in December until Christmas. We started doing this a couple years ago, and I LOVE looking online for funny, cool, unique ornaments to email to her, and I'm excited to check my email each morning to see what she's sent to me. In fact, once Christmas day passes, I kind of have a let-down feeling, knowing the digital ornament exchange is over.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> In fact, it was while I was searching for some of the digital ornaments that I got my inspiration for this year's holiday promotional gift. A few years ago, I created business card sized <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2011/12/finding-peace-during-holidays.html" target="_blank">calendars</a> printed onto thin sheets of <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2011/12/branding-it-all.html" target="_blank">wood</a>. I wondered if they had a precut shape in my budget that would work well for an ornament—they did!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Both of my ornament-loving friends—as well as clients, vendors, family and friends—received a custom-designed ornament. I still have a few left...if you love ornaments and don't mind a little bit of branding on it, send me your address and I'll get one to you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QrUcF31RD_6IdxQXSR9-aKWYAc95lIxW-clLLtRav4UpKvB-8z87C6e56vaP7W8FKMyrjq4S8zWGMr-Pt3gsWx_59PmVUKICRyz9ceyLlayIm_XS2QB_hgXVPJcrjLcxgxLOJWjoX3o/s1600/ornaments.small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QrUcF31RD_6IdxQXSR9-aKWYAc95lIxW-clLLtRav4UpKvB-8z87C6e56vaP7W8FKMyrjq4S8zWGMr-Pt3gsWx_59PmVUKICRyz9ceyLlayIm_XS2QB_hgXVPJcrjLcxgxLOJWjoX3o/s400/ornaments.small.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-44425471199835911662013-11-13T17:01:00.000-07:002013-11-13T17:01:26.252-07:00The M Wall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-JAzvFyRgmGpJ1JTnaOcr-3LEPtSQQyB8dyv4vLijR5gcODv6PpJ9Sdy5RW8w5hDMXVRKcP4hVUuj5T4GAVyEMcTpvzjFMe5amus_7jclhdz3ews0Ko3Dtx_zqlmx-y9Pbw_yuaTNAc/s1600/after-mwall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-JAzvFyRgmGpJ1JTnaOcr-3LEPtSQQyB8dyv4vLijR5gcODv6PpJ9Sdy5RW8w5hDMXVRKcP4hVUuj5T4GAVyEMcTpvzjFMe5amus_7jclhdz3ews0Ko3Dtx_zqlmx-y9Pbw_yuaTNAc/s400/after-mwall.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The "m" wall is finally complete! (well, I shouldn't say complete—because there's always room for more m's—but, the ones I have are now hanging). I STILL haven't picked up my art from my parents' basement, so the walls in the rest of the room aren't complete yet, but <i>this</i> is the most important wall!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Check out the transformation—you can see how badly the walls needed a fresh coat of paint! and bam!! that bold spring green (aka Maralee green, but WAY bolder than I've ever had before). Then, m's and finishing touches. Totally in love with it.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Did you notice:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- the "O" <i>(a tribute to my maiden name)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- the "N" <i>(serendipitous! I found it at an awesome antique store in Seattle, before I was a Nelson. It was the only letter they had, and even though I had no reason to think I'd ever need an "N", I was in love with it so I got it anyway. Now it's perfect!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">- the empty cubby in the cube shelves (you can see it in the last photo).<i> (I have 2 kitties sharing my office space, and I left it open thinking it would be fun if they liked to hang out there, but I have yet to see either of them enjoying it, so it'll get "repurposed").</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> The arrangement is quite a bit different from my <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2009/06/mmmm.html" target="_blank">last office</a>—but I love the super bold color, and I <i>really</i> love how much more space there is for adding to my collection!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGg3XmSKIwMSsYFL8omzD8u8Oacl6_8QQCbOMdnUKnWkvnLJWHfGvdWiNGG8IdUonfavvj8NajPBO9gKJP6iYXTkcRI6N8AmGLo-LLLWGtXWQPklIic9qOupmpstcfgZ8iU2QyB3f1T8/s1600/before-white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJGg3XmSKIwMSsYFL8omzD8u8Oacl6_8QQCbOMdnUKnWkvnLJWHfGvdWiNGG8IdUonfavvj8NajPBO9gKJP6iYXTkcRI6N8AmGLo-LLLWGtXWQPklIic9qOupmpstcfgZ8iU2QyB3f1T8/s400/before-white.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbAcARD4JVPjQW15HbckOQ7t2nxEgfxowbTOef12L9TBPRSc0Al3la6x61JKduk3UF919F6Hn0bCwc9vlB5ZYhhdKjOt5wiqej-FwwT_qx3Vkbbj40LwkSEK_s8MQKWTVxBo4-qVyDGA/s1600/before-green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglbAcARD4JVPjQW15HbckOQ7t2nxEgfxowbTOef12L9TBPRSc0Al3la6x61JKduk3UF919F6Hn0bCwc9vlB5ZYhhdKjOt5wiqej-FwwT_qx3Vkbbj40LwkSEK_s8MQKWTVxBo4-qVyDGA/s400/before-green.jpg" width="333" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrfmB-0WA9ub2qgQNuXF-h4TN9Z68bjy8Y3ZbO_Bczd_ed-v33HAqYiRdHGlPhkZIRU0S62GOFOMcJSAsOXFQOYXHQs9W7El8TncK2-jDJSbaJkIaoVlZv-xjNPtwiJpulRjJR-C8EyA/s1600/after-mwall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrfmB-0WA9ub2qgQNuXF-h4TN9Z68bjy8Y3ZbO_Bczd_ed-v33HAqYiRdHGlPhkZIRU0S62GOFOMcJSAsOXFQOYXHQs9W7El8TncK2-jDJSbaJkIaoVlZv-xjNPtwiJpulRjJR-C8EyA/s400/after-mwall2.jpg" width="318" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-47082591229727563442013-10-30T17:00:00.001-06:002013-10-30T17:00:46.004-06:00Gargoyles on Green<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0MvC1_c5YsdlduxGAFd8j4LvX9V2ucbmRH-boRBojg1FcxGfiLg7ttsc2pRtmoW-eQxXilrXVto3wZB6i57QdjXzBtdam_FHJOKSSu8KHn3jJY6rPzHdAg8GqY32EDBfme1TD313HXo/s1600/gargoyle1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0MvC1_c5YsdlduxGAFd8j4LvX9V2ucbmRH-boRBojg1FcxGfiLg7ttsc2pRtmoW-eQxXilrXVto3wZB6i57QdjXzBtdam_FHJOKSSu8KHn3jJY6rPzHdAg8GqY32EDBfme1TD313HXo/s400/gargoyle1.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tXYTBrMUg3nNqcb2dt9Z3JVTqo_m3FV-wc1nWkdMomKvfWKGE_unpYESMOne0oL1dacVPKxafu1zVtHcA8EmopBKZ3xdtWHXJxqqek6X_g1tCa3gvn-yzzA1Gh53-FXfGTqKto0tHmY/s1600/gargoyle2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4tXYTBrMUg3nNqcb2dt9Z3JVTqo_m3FV-wc1nWkdMomKvfWKGE_unpYESMOne0oL1dacVPKxafu1zVtHcA8EmopBKZ3xdtWHXJxqqek6X_g1tCa3gvn-yzzA1Gh53-FXfGTqKto0tHmY/s400/gargoyle2.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Last time I posted, we had just spent a month with my sister and brother-in-law after having sold our house, while waiting til we were able to move into our new home. And now we've been in our new house for a month. </span><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Despite 2 unexpected surgeries for kidney stones and way too many days on serious pain and anti-nausea meds, and trying to get the anesthesia out of my system, almost everything is put away. </span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I feel pretty good about that progress because it turns out we have a LOT of stuff! We're down to decor, and art. Sounds like we're really close, but if you could take a peek at the room in my parents' basement where the art is all being safely stored, you'd realize I've still got a pretty big task ahead of me. But the hardest part will be choosing what things NOT to hang. Turns out we have less "hangable" wall space in this house than our last one, and not everything was hanging there either (hubby says maybe it's time to sell some pieces...however, we disagree!)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Luckily, some things don't require much thinking...like some of the small things in my studio. The m's <i>(of course)</i>, and these "office gargoyles". Aren't they awesome? Several years ago, my family had a reunion on the Oregon Coast (I'd love to go back!) and there was this wonderful eclectic shop that had a wall covered with these hand-crafted little clay faces. Some were creepy, some were funny, and some were just sweet. These guys have hung in my office—wherever it's been—ever since.</span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've had a few people ask for before and after pics of my studio...I promise it's coming! Once I get the art hung in here, the "after" will be complete, and I can photo-document the awesomeness that is my new, really <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151895674453570&set=a.364475208569.158891.103218688569&type=1&theater" target="_blank">green</a> office.</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-78250724626968869882013-09-11T13:07:00.001-06:002013-09-11T13:07:23.824-06:00Remember<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_LkpVDgTZrqzv-ymYcKhY3KlPO3MQyBqDuXBG0ej8bGrqtWEZpT8H7HqQBT5xBFPUjkCsyuYHS8EfLKm4ePRA-d8hnJVC0w4RRq_ydrbwKfQjFnyFiTyUVTN_5aoXwFX8DIKDNpAOkk/s1600/NYC-911-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC_LkpVDgTZrqzv-ymYcKhY3KlPO3MQyBqDuXBG0ej8bGrqtWEZpT8H7HqQBT5xBFPUjkCsyuYHS8EfLKm4ePRA-d8hnJVC0w4RRq_ydrbwKfQjFnyFiTyUVTN_5aoXwFX8DIKDNpAOkk/s400/NYC-911-a.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've already written a couple of posts about our trip to New York City last year (<a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2012/09/church-tourist.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2012/06/manhattan-ornate-appeal.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2012/06/bridges-of-new-york.html" target="_blank">here</a>), and still have lots more photos to share. I hadn't specifically intended on saving these pics for today, but since I finally carved out a little time to devote to a post, and considering that today is 9-11, well, what could be more appropriate.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> There was a lot on our to-do list while there, but we both agreed we HAD to visit the 9/11 Memorial. We had to pre-arrange for tickets since they only allow a certain number of people in the area at a time—which is actually great so it's not over-crowded for the space. It was easy to take the photos I wanted, and while there were lots of people, there was still such a feeling of peace, reverence, respect—which I was glad for. I hope it always maintains that kind of feeling. It means people still remember.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> For me personally, I still get emotional when I think about that day, and the days that followed. In my personal life, my own world was coming apart at the seams. I had found out just weeks earlier that what I thought was "solid ground" was not only <i>not solid</i>, but that it hadn't been for a long time. As I was exposed to my new reality more and more each day, it became harder and harder for me to do more than simply function. Then came the early morning phone calls from friends on the east coast who called to tell us what was happening in Manhattan. All of a sudden it felt there was no solid ground anywhere, and I wondered if things would ever be okay again—for me—for all those people who had lost loved ones—for anyone.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> All these years later, I still avoid watching any news that shows footage of what happened, or the emotions of that time seem very close again. Some things will always be "too real". You know? But thankfully, time helps. And healing occurs. And we are able to do things that make the ground a little more solid again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I was so glad to be able to visit the Memorial (the museum was still under construction at the time—it's the building that looks like it's on its side. Appropriate, right?) There was a lot of building going on in the area. Regrowth is a good thing. The memorial is beautiful. It's peaceful. And it's on very solid ground.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTBv-xnKkcuttanheuafB6zgQ4KBH9aECfcwtsqvGFsnkafqfpwTt3kr3JH86IfR_i1RdSyC9NR3A23sdgdmV7TqhSEVTyOucBelMBD0boBgUkBamINbZkCb57HHwUKf2NqtiLkf4xKc/s1600/NYC-911-b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTBv-xnKkcuttanheuafB6zgQ4KBH9aECfcwtsqvGFsnkafqfpwTt3kr3JH86IfR_i1RdSyC9NR3A23sdgdmV7TqhSEVTyOucBelMBD0boBgUkBamINbZkCb57HHwUKf2NqtiLkf4xKc/s400/NYC-911-b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJFs5f8Xhyphenhyphen4hbjDxzGtCLoJT3ndorW-Yh09cOuAlbFW1F11MzlNTDucST__hV2XND0k35XNlB4VKPsqN-7Ibg-Xt1dgzskXiZ6VZ-xdCWzSkP1IwO-JdWee_Sqe2RQxz5yZWBTGcy2zM/s1600/NYC-911-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSJFs5f8Xhyphenhyphen4hbjDxzGtCLoJT3ndorW-Yh09cOuAlbFW1F11MzlNTDucST__hV2XND0k35XNlB4VKPsqN-7Ibg-Xt1dgzskXiZ6VZ-xdCWzSkP1IwO-JdWee_Sqe2RQxz5yZWBTGcy2zM/s400/NYC-911-c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh075hnaiiTLdBNtSgHnvWtIFCtprQ6MNONEgvPcWjybfJXbTP0Aws0r5BZEeGt7-0piNaeUqi6N8lolzzDyp4Nx3pvhXkIDpAN9NRC24ek9PVP-e9LlVY2XVwEXr6MrnpRQXCUKt8twQE/s1600/NYC-911-d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh075hnaiiTLdBNtSgHnvWtIFCtprQ6MNONEgvPcWjybfJXbTP0Aws0r5BZEeGt7-0piNaeUqi6N8lolzzDyp4Nx3pvhXkIDpAN9NRC24ek9PVP-e9LlVY2XVwEXr6MrnpRQXCUKt8twQE/s400/NYC-911-d.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqgULVe05rD5zmwdgJXT6J-mb1meJ7k8JwfvSEqUUHzPhBHcNbSrzjRWI3_Dcc6zzher3dyVuFm7qUt2mJWl5CNvkqY2m7ff-bn6FcznyUwduh5ecj9p4519MUqp3nRT3CaILz4oLMMM/s1600/NYC-911-e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqgULVe05rD5zmwdgJXT6J-mb1meJ7k8JwfvSEqUUHzPhBHcNbSrzjRWI3_Dcc6zzher3dyVuFm7qUt2mJWl5CNvkqY2m7ff-bn6FcznyUwduh5ecj9p4519MUqp3nRT3CaILz4oLMMM/s400/NYC-911-e.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYKogaZuVq6kbwAZ-L4i3wUbaHeDrFUgzSfKH5vQ1VIb1H17-AZl58gqanRO-B93ETDamwlDz5IdN00tolbRtgBl0bj36h-D-3RQfiNO7Y5rfEniDVupbIS1FibdUyroNC09SjfTaN4s/s1600/NYC-911-f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYKogaZuVq6kbwAZ-L4i3wUbaHeDrFUgzSfKH5vQ1VIb1H17-AZl58gqanRO-B93ETDamwlDz5IdN00tolbRtgBl0bj36h-D-3RQfiNO7Y5rfEniDVupbIS1FibdUyroNC09SjfTaN4s/s400/NYC-911-f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZk40WZ86ydOVLAdPf_vHTPducaiLwnWWu_xJpugs-lbMbIAZLq2q_v7ZNmQlO1tQYvPFSqJxSel8X6Xk8lYMHTGGRxln9JOHPwL_AktezWJU-wEbjcQhjneXoKdaV__nW6mG9Q0yu0c/s1600/NYC-911-g.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZk40WZ86ydOVLAdPf_vHTPducaiLwnWWu_xJpugs-lbMbIAZLq2q_v7ZNmQlO1tQYvPFSqJxSel8X6Xk8lYMHTGGRxln9JOHPwL_AktezWJU-wEbjcQhjneXoKdaV__nW6mG9Q0yu0c/s400/NYC-911-g.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-73900139968768023422013-07-02T12:29:00.001-06:002013-07-02T12:29:47.084-06:00Virginia City - Churches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLcFvqh56zcAEOiujqj3-eUbuiHMZWusF1NeM8howgRmkFBLCS-bsfV1SZbrzefHFdMPgrN0cTQRiT-U5UcyiobFTybwk49gXg9kjIUSUCCWGD2GGSZV7Od3i-3ksugyl02bbSGuarrw/s400/VC.church1.jpg" width="300" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I recently shared a <a href="http://www.betterdesignbym.blogspot.com/2013/06/rusty-metal-stuff.html" target="_blank">post</a> about the "find I left behind" when I visited Virginia City during my trip to Lake Tahoe. Luckily, I didn't have any other regrets about my visit. I had plenty of time to take photographs of the historic churches, and the amazing cemetery there.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> As you arrive in Virginia City, you see the rolling hills spotted with quaint old buildings, and the one that stands out the most is a gorgeous <a href="http://www.dioceseofreno.org/userpages/st_marys_history.aspx" target="_blank">church</a>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just across the street is a smaller, more rustic</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Paul's_Episcopal_Church_(Virginia_City,_Nevada)" target="_blank">church</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> that is just as gorgeous.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I couldn't wait to get up close with my camera. You'll see why.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vzNQcQk9Xh0AFmyPD5NoQWyuLH506YrW_qmkzgeR-WglM2L6Oq9v_zEB9HZlGTAIDb8uBRDqbWLhcsFjELGL_58xgJs4dTv8h6BOiZlC-ZHboiCwyOxyeFdtolMwKbDpqI5yE5BXCxI/s700/VC.church2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vzNQcQk9Xh0AFmyPD5NoQWyuLH506YrW_qmkzgeR-WglM2L6Oq9v_zEB9HZlGTAIDb8uBRDqbWLhcsFjELGL_58xgJs4dTv8h6BOiZlC-ZHboiCwyOxyeFdtolMwKbDpqI5yE5BXCxI/s400/VC.church2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LfMSsiVMrn7loP_2ojkiP9p68FXDkAuUtjL6UbRV4usaMrBXYXBMVm1255JUH7b-x2sLXcEUkg0AmZqB5fOET5FwUYWdpB8lEzo4I5Q01EznCrCYhXT89JESWYwU-MKT3R-bOTPKDOA/s700/VC.church3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2LfMSsiVMrn7loP_2ojkiP9p68FXDkAuUtjL6UbRV4usaMrBXYXBMVm1255JUH7b-x2sLXcEUkg0AmZqB5fOET5FwUYWdpB8lEzo4I5Q01EznCrCYhXT89JESWYwU-MKT3R-bOTPKDOA/s400/VC.church3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjneJCd4XU2_qmtvgSVCYCEfJkJ3iPTcHedSNGRtfa6TjAje0e0BJyaxXkWOpspWZAmCVY6oPmSpGt5TZ6KLyDQKP1jmaMQr9ywzsV5D-bOesTbMo4uc-S7fHzq9h4LDmQgzfq7A9JkNI/s688/VC.church4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjneJCd4XU2_qmtvgSVCYCEfJkJ3iPTcHedSNGRtfa6TjAje0e0BJyaxXkWOpspWZAmCVY6oPmSpGt5TZ6KLyDQKP1jmaMQr9ywzsV5D-bOesTbMo4uc-S7fHzq9h4LDmQgzfq7A9JkNI/s400/VC.church4.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwybLih6Puoj3PEbxlA-EOvwBhQKZoIlVx1Lnw94_8-i5mDa9KJvjRKZp8XppNbfk95Ffw-rkTyGa2Z85Pcnp2MP88aNFPDZ6upAhnrRjiuDLDhWnF-EEjMhG9ITCx0Ihi4zHI2bWO0E/s700/VC.church5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLwybLih6Puoj3PEbxlA-EOvwBhQKZoIlVx1Lnw94_8-i5mDa9KJvjRKZp8XppNbfk95Ffw-rkTyGa2Z85Pcnp2MP88aNFPDZ6upAhnrRjiuDLDhWnF-EEjMhG9ITCx0Ihi4zHI2bWO0E/s400/VC.church5.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseWnM1BOH8MJ-6hzNyTzL2audAiG4-U_1kikD0PJgpb1PhxJnRQmSXRoEwfXWyANfNQRWuwvVgzzoj86JzeNDq1y1Dq7ANMPODVnaqDGErV67f52oRvu4WxtCi-THqEebvC1jY18Kd74/s700/VC.church6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseWnM1BOH8MJ-6hzNyTzL2audAiG4-U_1kikD0PJgpb1PhxJnRQmSXRoEwfXWyANfNQRWuwvVgzzoj86JzeNDq1y1Dq7ANMPODVnaqDGErV67f52oRvu4WxtCi-THqEebvC1jY18Kd74/s400/VC.church6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8MD91vPFSt2RRgrmcdNhMwivJiwOq2AmvvgI_Rzn-n7-kqHxhCKqyVL2qwKaDrl9-l1fXftGTTFihYpYlmAgyXObXf4HmiKJsPzA0Zod3XvKLJ9j-W1LHxBf1uZiFSPnIw4xFAATavM/s692/VC.church7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8MD91vPFSt2RRgrmcdNhMwivJiwOq2AmvvgI_Rzn-n7-kqHxhCKqyVL2qwKaDrl9-l1fXftGTTFihYpYlmAgyXObXf4HmiKJsPzA0Zod3XvKLJ9j-W1LHxBf1uZiFSPnIw4xFAATavM/s400/VC.church7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9z3DJoeHhnsg4n2at18NdzBEN91ITvUQrC8CahKkICxTLHos3MrP80FmvGyaE1S8N_pQ0pco-EaTc2IKXZbBJ666Hsb6u7nrPl-4iIUDzF4KKMtf-R2hzdzJ677QaVqb8xCpRlHxKwIE/s700/VC.church8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9z3DJoeHhnsg4n2at18NdzBEN91ITvUQrC8CahKkICxTLHos3MrP80FmvGyaE1S8N_pQ0pco-EaTc2IKXZbBJ666Hsb6u7nrPl-4iIUDzF4KKMtf-R2hzdzJ677QaVqb8xCpRlHxKwIE/s400/VC.church8.jpg" width="292" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z5udPIJSC5dG5K8fPQz2mesMV7qD4Gs6gNatG_AlI_B-durHgS51IZC7Ayz3GR2RAGF0tcXSGf7NYqz5pVRVE5kr1LYTp-x3G8mvVeBVPNw42-ULGDbbaiYs-tXon3JDUqvONbZSnBg/s690/VC.church9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4z5udPIJSC5dG5K8fPQz2mesMV7qD4Gs6gNatG_AlI_B-durHgS51IZC7Ayz3GR2RAGF0tcXSGf7NYqz5pVRVE5kr1LYTp-x3G8mvVeBVPNw42-ULGDbbaiYs-tXon3JDUqvONbZSnBg/s400/VC.church9.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-40919900919202697902013-06-25T13:50:00.000-06:002013-06-25T13:50:39.934-06:00Rusty Metal Stuff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Ls12Q55spjGfkoTPbtVp-cO-msb4eg2jEdBcUnQ11h1UrXQHDh0b1IOOH9HQ16UprvN6vUdefyhKZ3_Xdc3NPRPsLaQ7wz0-dNxke-kjuWuwVriVKbbSsU3nSeO4_wiyR9HN_AdW04/s1600/RustyMetal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7Ls12Q55spjGfkoTPbtVp-cO-msb4eg2jEdBcUnQ11h1UrXQHDh0b1IOOH9HQ16UprvN6vUdefyhKZ3_Xdc3NPRPsLaQ7wz0-dNxke-kjuWuwVriVKbbSsU3nSeO4_wiyR9HN_AdW04/s640/RustyMetal.jpg" width="512" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Just returned Sunday evening from a week in Lake Tahoe. It was WONderful! We had a few days to explore on our own, then we were joined mid-week by (most of) the rest of my family for our annual reunion. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We spent some time in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_City,_Nevada" target="_blank">Virginia City, NV</a>—a mining boomtown. It's a Victorian-era tourist town with historic churches, a beautiful cemetery, Old West saloons, museums, antique shops, etc.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I love looking in antique stores, and I have specific things I always look for...old printing items, like metal or wood block type...are you surprised?), and rusty metal stuff.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> We scoped out the place one day before everyone arrived just to see if there was enough there to entertain our large group with all our different interests, ages, and attention spans (there was). While browsing, I found a treasure...see the "rusty metal thing" in the center of the picture? I assume it's some kind of door latch. Isn't it cool? Anyway, we had just arrived, and I wasn't sure what else I might find, so I took a photo of it, knowing we'd be back with the whole fam in a few days, and I could always get it then. But, I didn't. And now I'm kicking myself. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Even my husband just looked at the photo as I'm typing, and said "$20 bucks? If I knew it was only $20 bucks, I'd have pushed you into getting it, because you'd regret it if you didn't." He's right. I regret it. Especially now with a little PhotoShop magic to adjust the contrast, and I can see the scroll details that look like m's! It was supposed to be mine!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Why can't I be more impulsive?!</span></div>
Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8514989381743709834.post-77363937896575481332013-05-06T15:00:00.000-06:002013-05-06T15:00:18.599-06:00When it's Time to Change<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMsJ_AYgSWESSBUJWL9RQTKdM5vcHm9Hnezw-jXyyNqG4Gaezi-r6HiSM4Y-CRD-9FLirUAo_pzu6g9x_Ga0qWkyavYGYI4vu7d7tyQlByxfG4tIq2lKNdnTpuenzpuJmwHWtDPl8tzw/s1600/home1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisMsJ_AYgSWESSBUJWL9RQTKdM5vcHm9Hnezw-jXyyNqG4Gaezi-r6HiSM4Y-CRD-9FLirUAo_pzu6g9x_Ga0qWkyavYGYI4vu7d7tyQlByxfG4tIq2lKNdnTpuenzpuJmwHWtDPl8tzw/s400/home1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> I've been running my own business for...well...the fact that I can't pinpoint exactly how long without taking a minute to think about it indicates that it's been a long time! One thing I know: when you're a freelancer, you have to make time to update your web site/portfolio, and keep your brand looking fresh and current, while maintaining continuity and consistency. Seriously, if you don't do it for your own business, how can your clients know and trust you to do it for them?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Confession: I'm guilty of not updating my <a href="http://www.mgraphicdesign.com/" target="_blank">web site</a> as often as I'd like. Yeah, I know how important it is, but frankly, during the times that my client work slows down, I catch up on other things first, then more work comes in, and it's on the back burner again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> Recently, I was doing some research for a project, and ended up bookmarking a couple sites to go back to, because it got me thinking about how I could remedy my own web presence. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's what I'm considering:</span></div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It's been almost 3 years since my last web design overhaul. It's time to completely update/redesign/refresh my <a href="http://www.mgraphicdesign.com/" target="_blank">web site</a></span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Integrating my web site and blog would be a great way to make regular changes and updates to both, a LOT more easily</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I've got another blog, <a href="http://q-cards.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Q-cards</a>, where I post a new quote design each week. I'm weighing whether to incorporate it into the new mGraphicDesign blog/web as a featured weekly blog post, or to keep it as an individual entity. Because I was invited to post the designs to a very popular <a href="http://pinterest.com/calendarscom/words-to-live-by/" target="_blank">Pinterest page</a>, and my designs get a lot of repins I wonder if it might may be a new way to bring in new blog followers, and with an integrated blog and web site, perhaps new clients as well. What do you think? Can't hurt, right?</span></li>
</ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">> So, now the fun part begins. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What will it look like? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">What things will change? What things will stay, but with a facelift? That will all be be part of the surprise. However, I know you won't be surprised to hear this: expect green, and at least one oversized "m".</span>Maralee [Oleson] Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12638885041259500350noreply@blogger.com0