Blog Archive

I Want This Outfit

When this childbirth website is done for my day job, I want to treat myself to this outfit from Serendipity, that spa/boutique in upstate NY:



It's not such a bad price...and I love 3 dot t-shirts. The jeans are $175 for Paige Premium Denim. That's not bad, is it? I'm also going to get Jasmine perfume from Fresh when I launch the katie james website. Trouble is, I've been doing so much repetitive coding on pages that I've already done (but were changed in a major way at the last minute...and yes, I sacrificed a Valentine's date with David to get them done the first time), that my brain is fried! All I can do is stare at the computer screen. I can barely even turn the stove on, as my eyes can't focus when they aren't focusing on a glowing screen...

Tradmark Issues

I applied for my trademark for katie james with the USPTO online about a year ago, and finally got an Office Action Reply about a month and a half ago. There were issues. There are two companies duking it out for "James," and they are applying for trademarks in a bunch of classes. Quick note: you don't just get a trademark in accessories, or clothing, or a general area. You register for a specific class, which could be checkbook covers or wallets/purses.

Because of the issues, I took a deep breath (several deep breaths) and called a law firm, Heraty Law, that was listed on the Gen Art website as a fashion resource. They're on the case now. We've decided to apply for a trademark in one class that could get katie james at least established within the trademark office, and buy some more later. I also need to form my LLC, which I will most likely also do with the lawyer, so that I can avoid any surprising mistakes I might make on the application. My trademarks would be filed under the LLC.

That's the latest news at katie james. The new website is pretty much ready to go (eek!), but I'm doing one more sweep through of copy, to make sure it's polished SEO-wise (search engine optimized, which means katie-james.com and the copy on it would rank well in Google etc.). Stay tuned!!

Work Thoughts and Corporal Tunnel

Still here, building the new website, no, not for katie james, but for the childbirth website that is my day job. I'm at the office today (haven't been in about 2 weeks due to self-imposed hibernation) and am listening to "Estoy Como Nunca" on my iTunes. Lovely songs. Wish I could share them with you, but I might get brought down by the music police.

Here are some random, but important thoughts as I build about 20 tables on 6 pages while I drink my tall-half-caff-one-pump-vanilla-no-foam-latte:

  • Why ARE my spider looking veins slowly spreading on my thigh right avove the outside of my knee? I haven't been crossing my legs as much. I need a job where I don't sit down as much.
  • If I call my co-worker again to ask about the latest between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, I don't know what she will think.
  • These random thoughts remind me of when my roommate in college and I would lie in our dorm beds and ask each other and the dark: "Did you ever wonder why...(insert dreamy thought here)."
  • Is David drinking his Gatorade like I advised him to get rid of his headache?
  • Why can't I remember the last internal phone call I made to my co-worker just ten minutes ago, so that I could put it on the blog?
  • I really want to go salsa dancing, and will settle for shaking it in my office chair in the meantime.
  • Oh yeah, we talked about the best ways of using the mouse on a laptop, and how she one-hands it, and I use two hands (one on the touch pad and one on the clicker) and how her hand eventually forms into a claw.
  • I wish caffeine did not give me hot flashes and I could just drink it like a Normal Person.
  • I'm so glad someone in my building gave away this Estoy Nunca cd. I never would have thought to buy it.
  • Must get quarters at the bank for laundry. MUST!
  • Who knew caffeine was spelled with an 'e' in the middle, instead of just 'caffine'? Hm.

These are my thoughts for now. There may be more later. I have a few hours left of monotonous work...

Sanibel Island

Just a quick note to say that while I couldn't vacation to Sanibel Island, FL to visit friends (due to lingering launch of the dayjob's website), katie james accessories will be there! My mom's trusty, crafty friend is having an art show, and katie james was invited to show some checkbook covers and jewelry pouches. How thrilling. It's March 18th, so I better make more inventory for when the katie james website launches, which could be any day...

Coming Up for Air

Where do I start? I've been in the house for so long working on this website for my dayjob, that I actually had to adjust to all the people this evening in the subway when I dashed down to the garment district to buy velcro and magnet snaps. I'm all out working from home now. I just don't go to the office anymore. No point. Two cell phone earpieces are in my ear, emails come in, I make changes as fast as I can. Being outside of my walls was odd. I don't think that's a good sign.

I've gotten a few emails lately from cute websites. I'm so sad that I can't get them linked on this blog quickly enough, but here is one that I just had to share: BlueLuxe and the Ugly Dolls. They just tickle me. :)




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Happy Heart Day!



David surprised me with a nice hot stone therapy and 'express' facial at my favorite Aveda salon! Sooo excited. We're going out for fondue tonight.

Desktop wallpaper by katie james featuring this heart is available here.

Snow Falling on Gerdy

Pictures of Central Park in the 2 feet of snow we got today!! Gerdy had such fun running in the snow. It was so deep, she was leaping in slow motion. hehe! Her friend, Lucy, was a much better bounder and leaper. Gerdy's favorite part was sticking her whole head into the snow, as if she was going under water.



Gerdy's friend, Lucy.


The woods of Central Park in the upper west side...the old home of the 'wild dogs' who Gerdy befriended for a year...which a whole other story.

Good Morning, Chicho

Gerdy and I went on our morning walk, but right before, Chicho found us in the hallway. We weren't hard to miss, as he was sitting outside of our door, waiting for us to come out. For those who don't know, Chicho is the little orange terrier/something mix dog of my older crazy neighbor, Deborah. She does not take Chico outside, for fear that bad men will "get to her by getting him." Deborah claims to be watched by the FBI and helicopters who protect her from a Soprano-like bad-guy who she got in bed once with years ago, and made mad. The point of this side story is that she does not take Chicho outside, so not only does he not have any friends, he is not house broken.

Chicho happily followed us onto the elevator, and just as happily peed on it. It took some maneuvering to get him out (Deborah was in her apartment, obvlivious to us), but eventually we did.

When we came back in from the walk, Chicho was still in the hallway, bouncing around, so happy to see Gerdy. Deborah was out there with her nasty wet sponge of peppermint and lavender cleaning stuff, scrubbing the floor. I was late for work, so tried to get Gerdy in the house, who was playing with Chicho, but felt bad and let them play for just a bit. Deborah meanwhile was trying to keep me in the hallway by complimenting me on my boots, which are new brown motorcycle boots. We talked about the weather, the approaching storm, my boots and how I like how light they are as opposed to others I've tried ("You couldn't wear the real motorcycle boots...your ankles are too delicate," Deborah told me).

Abruptly, I broke it up and called for Gerdy to get inside. As I closed the door, I saw that there was a puddle in the hallway where my foot had been. I looked at my boot. It was wet!

Me: "My boot! Chicho peed on my boot! And there is a big puddle!"
Crazy Deborah: "What? Oh, out here?"
Me: "Yes, and he peed on my boot...look, see? (gasp) AND he peed all over my jeans!!!"
Crazy Deborah: "Oh...you know what you do to get that out?"
Me: "I don't care" (door shut, lock clicks)
Crazy Deborah: "I can wash your jeans for you!"
Me: "No thanks! Thank you!" I prefer to have my jeans washed with Tide in a washing machine, as opposed to weird peppermint stuff in her bathtub. By the way, she really wears variations of the same thing every day...black cotton spandex pants, a camel v-neck button-down sweater with no bra, and some kind of Unix cousin of a black stretch belt around her waist that is about 5" wide and clasps with a strange silver contraption in the middle. Her constant accessory is the wet blue sponge with suds of lavender and peppermint.

So, that was my morning. Onward!

Gasp :: Calendar Hasn't Changed Since September

I have two calendars in my office: a Staples calendar that is thumbtacked onto the wall next to me, with deadlines highlighted in pink, and one little one with old illustrations of New York. I covet the one on my desk, because it's the only artwork I've really allowed in my office (don't want to get too comfortable in here), and I dream of creating collages with it when doing repetitive coding, or on a conference call.

Well, I just looked at it, and realized I've been staring at the Empire State building for quite a while...since September!!

And even worse, Fresh Direct just called, and I've missed my grocery drop-off!! The cute dry cleaner man is going to accept it, but I have a gallon of organic whole milk and chicken in there! BigTrouble.com.

Valentine's Vacation

I work in a zone. It's the only way I can multi-task well, especially while doing website work. If I'm not in the zone, I forget things, and that leads to errors. Trouble is, the zone to get up the redesigned, reorganized website for my day job has sucked me in for days. I'm living in the zone, even at home. I'm addicted to the computer, and addicted to being online. I'm online, but I'm not surfing on fun, cute sites. I'm working in a content manager, writing filler copy, tweaking tables, italicizing journal titles I've never heard of, laying out page designs, watching for consistency between page titles, h1s, button copy, etc. etc. I did not get a pedicure like I needed, declined an invitation to Fort Lauderdale, skipped out on a super bowel party, snapped at David when he got on our portable phone which cuts me off from my crack - I mean being hooked up online.

I need a vacation. I cut out a picture of Denise Richards walking on a beach in a short little white skirt and bikini top with her iPod, and put it on the fridge. But if I can't be Denise Richards on the beach, I might be able to be a FashionMista at Serendipity Chic in Saratoga Springs, New York, where they have sea salt and lavender scrubs, massages, prenatal massages, a cute boutique, and just plain everything a girl needs. Yes, I think I need to go to the mountains and get my chi back.

After my sea salt and lavender scrub, I will shop. I will shop in Serendipity's scented environment, and I will see these things:




I will go across the street from Serendipity and visit a knitting store, where I will touch luxurious wools, cottons and cashmeres, and maybe pick some up for my knitting friends.

Just looking at this stuff is rejuvenating me! I can smell the lavender from here!! Also keeping me busy and unsocial is the new katie-james.com website, which is coming along just swimmingly, and looking great! My web developer guy is doing such a nice job, hooking me up to the USPS and UPS shipping charges, so that all shipping can be accurate. I'll have gift certificates, product update requests, a newsletter, and more that I'm not even thinking of! February 14th is the launch date I gave to it. February 17th is the launch date for my day job website. So watch out, Mr. Third Week In February. Things are launching, and I'm going on vacation!

PS: David: I want a lavendar sea salt scrub more than dinner reservations...or we can eat dinner there!

PPS: This is a great idea/location for a knitting retreat! I would totally come and bring my book while you guys knit...laptops must stay at home...

I Love Wheatgrass So Much, My Can Will Shit On Nothing Less

Ok, ok! I'm posting, but I'm warning, you, all creative brainpower is being sapped by how to organize a childbirth website, complete a list of like 400 things by Thursday, and combat a new addiction to caffeine from all those lattes i've been drinking. No joke, when I'm not eating, sleeping, feeding Gerdy and Dinah, showering, walking Gerdy, I am coding. Coding! From 10am to midnight almost! The same site!

I'm so obsessed with wheatgrass, that I bought Merrick's new kitty litter made of wheatgrass. It's coated in some clay to absorb the smell. Merrick kitty litter. Buy it online at their store or your local pet shop. As for food, Gerdy has actually lost weight since eating it. Not wheatgrass food, but Merrick's regular food - wet and dry. She's eating actual food that is freeze-dried. So, Gerdy gets peas and carrots. Her favorite flavor is Smothered Comfort, where there is an actual bone that I have to strip the meat off of.

But enough about me. I'm too engrossed in One Tree Hill and to see how Brooke does with Clothes Over Bros at the Rogue Vogue. Then I really am going to get the Friends with Benefits cd.

Oh, and I want these Clothes Over Bros sweat pants:

Checking In

Hi Guys.
Just sending you and update here from the depths of my website creation. I've spent the weekend devoted to katie james. Yesterday, David and I spent the drizzly day on the roof taking pictures of me in all of the clothes I've designed for katie james. We got tired (and I got annoying), so we took some inside, which just weren't as good (I kept pulling David from the couch to take 'just one more! these other ones suck!!').

Yesterday, while talking to my web developer, I accidentally made the new site live (woops) by plugging all the right things a little too early. It all made me scramble today to just finish things up to unveil it by my deadline of February 14th. Good luck to myself.

Meanwhile, I've skipped out on the super bowel, and was not David's date to a super bowel party. I should not even be writing this now, as I should be creating copy, but I wanted to drop in quickly and give you a little taste of the new site. Keep in mind, katie-james.com might not be working all the way since earlier’s misfire. hehe.

Friends with Benefit

I love the songs on One Tree Hill, and I'm going to get the friends with benefit album. The one song at the end of the episode where Payton's mother dies was just so sad. On a lighter note, I loved Tyler Hilton's (aka Chris Keller) remake of "Missing You," because in that remake, the lovers actually get back together, where as in the original video from the 80s, they never do, and are separated by the music, doors, life. And how appropriate that he would sing it during the reuniting scene between Nathan and Haley.



There is no breast cancer in my family, thank goodness right now, but we do have Alzheimer’s, which is eating my grandmother's brain. Hopefully I'll create a product one day for katie james that will benefit finding a cure for that disease. In the meantime, if I can help another cause in a similar way, I will. Get the friends with benefit cd now.

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You Snooze, You Looze

Oh my gosh, I totally need this. A puzzle alarm clock that explodes, and the only thing to silence it is you putting the pieces back together again. David's going to love this! Every morning, I snooze my cell phone about 30 times no joke, and sleep way in. I need a new method...

 
Crossing the Blues, University of the Nations, Social Work and Education