Under Pressure

Most folks I know have a bucket list. You know, the list of crap you want to achieve or attain before you croak? 

Since college, my bucket list has consisted of getting a puppy, making baby, and writing and illustrating a children's book. 

With Beans and Olive in tow, I've got one and two taken care of. But the children's book? I'm working on it. The moment I turn in my thesis (gaaaaaah, it's taking forever), you can best bet that I'll be grinding out something wonderfully strange. I've been brainstorming a bunch. Let's just say it ain't easy coming up with a satisfying story that can be told within 25 pages! Lots of self-editing. NOT my forte.

On a side note, my friend, Mary Lai is currently working to fund a kick-ass comic anthology via Kickstarter. Click HERE to back the project up! The deadline for artists to submit work is tomorrow. Naturally, I started and finished my submission today. See above. You may want to click on the image to see it enlarged. That is, unless you have bionic eyeballs and can read micro-type.

Show and Tell

Final peek at my thesis.

Hopefully, the next time you see anything new from my short, you'll be watching it in full!

Decided to go with sepia tint backgrounds as colored backgrounds got distracting. 

Cardboard + After Effects + a little help from my friends = MAGIC

Old Dog, New Tricks

Those who know me know that I am somewhat of a dinosaur when it comes to technology.

I still: 

Cut checks,

shoot on cameras that require film, 

send snail mail letters, 

and read actual, physical books.

Much like a grandparent, when there's a choice, I gravitate towards the analog.

That said, I am shocked that my friends, Alexis and Jeff, have somehow managed to teach me to use After Effects with success...

Above: A peek at what's to come. 

My thesis is due end-August, so come end-August, whether I like it or not, I'm going to have something to show. *raise the roof* Below: Another test shot. This one with the Mama.

Au Naturel

Seen Lee of Australia (AP Images)

She didn't leave the summer Olympics with a medal, but she definitely made an impression.

I want to braid that shit.

Kohei Uchimura of Japan (Reuters)

Power pits going for the gold.

They match his 'do!

Kohei Uchimura of Japan (Reuters)

Too good to share just one.

Another shot of the armed and dangerous winner.

I am obsessed with the display of arm pit hair in the Olympics. 

Don't know what I'm going to do with myself once the summer games come to a close.

Let There Be Light

my brilliant friend, jeff is teaching me how to light in after effects. 

check out this sample of what he's going to teach me to do.

RAD, no?

he did this. i did not. 

but i will learn to replicate his genius ways this evening. 

Rolling in the Deep

Hehehe.

Here I go again. Getting downright philosophical. It's Thursday. Bear with me.

* source of this b+w graphic here * 

Did I Ask You?

So have you heard? 

Mayor Bloomberg loves breastfeeding.
Read here, here, and here.

Of course he does. 

He's a man.
And he doesn't have working tits.

Starting September 3rd, New York City is going to start urging hospitals to keep infant formula locked up and treat it like medication. Breast milk is probably the best option for babies, but it makes me so sad that American women feed into this culture that has made the failure or lack of desire to breastfeed seem like a shameful affair.

I struggled to breastfeed Olive when she was first born. At the hospital, my milk supply did not let down immediately, yet the nurses insisted that I not supplement the baby with formula. And so, Olive starved. By the third day of our stay at the hospital, my munchkin had lost over ten percent of her at-birth body weight. She was constantly crying because she was running on empty. By the time my milk did let down, she impatiently attacked my nipples and shook them like a piranha does to prey. Needless to say, Olive's latching technique was a FAIL, and there we were... a depressed new mother with an abdominal wound (c-section), massively engorged tits filled with unaccessible milk due to clogged nipples, and of course, a wailing baby.

My attempt to breastfeed continued at home. I provided breast milk with the aid of a pump upon our return home from the hospital. I felt Olive deserved the best. (She still does.) But even then, extracting the little milk that I had was a total ordeal. I was in constant pain, and every single day, something would go wrong. Open wounds on my nipples. Engorged breasts. Mastitis. You name it, I experienced it. With the help of a lactation consultant (yes, that is an actual occupation) and a hospital grade pump (I rented one), I pummeled through two months and was able to consistently provide three-quarters of her days' meals. (I pumped every 2 hours for two months. I was a slave to the my Medela.) The other quarter of her daily intake consisted of Enfamil. I just didn't have enough milk. Crazy Chinese soups chock full o' pigs' feet and chicken feet didn't work... But you know what?  I had tried my best.

In all honesty, I was so incredibly relieved that I physically wasn't able to provide enough milk for her, because enduring a boob malfunction every gosh-darn day was just too much for me to handle. Being forced to wean Olive off boob juice was, how should I put this... liberating.

Which brings me back to Mayor Bloomberg and his love for boob juice. I agree. It's the best. But until he experiences the hardships of breastfeeding and until he squeezes a baby out of his vagina, he needs to shut his pinhole. 

                          

Float On

Traveling with an infant is difficult, but as le hubby and I have proven, it's not impossible. We've been breaking our little one in ever so slowly (with the help of an Ergo carrier, iPhone, and take-off/landing feed fests).

So far, she's already been to San Francisco and Minnesota, and no fellow passengers suffered along the way.

That said... next stop? 

MAINE!!!

Our little family's heading East end-September to enjoy a proper fall.

We booked the above-pictured charming cottage at Cabot Cove in Kennebunkport!

Are cartoon hearts pulsating from your eye-sockets yet? 

They are from mine. 

Titillate

Another test shot from my thesis, Boo Hoo Baby.

Will be drawing in all wrinkles After Effects once the darn thing get animated.

Mama needs some wrinkles.

Hump Day Ha Ha

Spit up my breakfast when I saw this comic posted on Facebook this morning.

Happy Wednesday, to all you surviving parents.

Happy Wednesday to everyone else as well!

(Source: The New Yorker) 

Masochist

OMG, OMG, OMG.

I just signed up for the LA Half Marathon in October. 

Le hubby had signed up for it a while back, but I didn't take the plunge until today. Seemed like a good idea ten minutes ago but now, I'm kinda thinking, "Holy crap! What have I gotten myself into?" Husband is totally going to have to wheelbarrow me to the end. 

Was peer-pressured into it by my Crossfit* cult - er, friends. I meant friends. I go running with them once a week around Silverlake Reservoir. They smothered me with kindness, pointed out that I'd get a medal if I finish up my 13 miles, and even promised me a spa treatment should I survive. 

I'm such a sucker.

Let the training begin.

* Why yes, folks... mushy lil' Debra is a member of Crossfit Ganbatte. I failed to mention on this blog that a little over 2 months ago, I joined Crossfit as an extreme means of addressing my post-baby-sedentary state. Honestly? I feel like overworked poo during my WODs (work outs of the day), but feel better-than-new after a nice long shower. As painful as the work outs are, I highly-recommend Crossfit. The coaches are encouraging - as are the other gym goers. And girls, don't worry. You won't leave the gym looking like an extra from the movie, 300. I used to live in constant fear that I'd end up looking like a midget Arnold (Schwarzenegger), but I've yet to become a hard chunk...

Spider Girl

My munchkin turned 7 months-old yesterday :)

A month ago, we hired Monica of Shoots & Giggles to shoot Olive, and here's one of our favorite shots (paired with a bonus shot of her baby feet). Yeah, she's topless. But Olive insists that she'll do anything for the sake of art. Oh dear...

Anyhow, as you can see, my baby girl is growing up to be quite the monkey. Or spider. Whatever. She's very active.  Crawling, standing up with support in her crib, babbling nonstop...
I love that she is growing up to be such a funny little person.
A complete 180 from the angry amoeba she was at birth! 

I can't believe it's all going by so quickly.

Quick. Someone get me a tissue. I think I'm gonna cry.

Breast Friends

Test shot from my thesis film. 

Breast friends.

Can you tell these dudes were cut from painted cardboard?

Boxers or Briefs?

More importantly, white or leopard?

(test shot from my thesis film)

Boo Hoo

Starting today, I will be diving into the deep-end of Adobe After Effects.

I've got a month to tame the program and grind out a thesis film.

Holy-mother-of... what have I gotten myself into?

* biting cherry red nails in state of sheer panic *

My first AE lesson took place last night, and as my patient friends got me acquainted with the interface, I couldn't help but think "GAWSH... I'd soooo much rather manipulate actual cardboard pieces under a hot camera like THIS"...

... "than e-manipulate the pieces using bat-shit-crazy technology like THIS"...

Whatever. I know I need to just suck the eff up and figure it all out. I've got the software and I've fabricated most of the necessary pieces. It's high-time this analog-granny strapped on a pair of big boy balls and learn something new. Eew.

Bring It

'Sup. I've got mad teefs, yo. 

Somebody toss me a churro.

*nomnomnomnomnom*

Olive munches on a donut.

A fake donut.

You guys?

This doesn't taste like a churro...

Life will be a whole lot easier if I learn to manage my expectations...

I love you, Olive.

In-Flight Entertainment

Munchkin's first flight (to San Francisco) was a success.

There was no Sky Mall catalog in our seat pouch.

Nooooooo!

But there were free drinks,

and Olive enjoyed the ice.

It's the small things in life...

If You're Happy and You Know It

My thesis. Progress is being made.
Sure, I'm still fabricating a bajillion pieces of cardboard props.
You know... pieces that won't be put into motion until mid-July.
While I really do enjoy the fabrication process, I'm also really looking forward to animating again.

Miss Olive.
She is so cute. So fat. So naughty.
To think she's all mine!
Parenthood has been a simultaneously heart-warming and maddening experience.
Wouldn't trade this little monster for the world.
Though had you asked me last night around 2am when she was refusing to sleep, I just might have. 

Online-shopping.
Never thought I'd become an addict.
But ever since the munchkin came around, I can't stop looking at mini clothes.
Loving Gilt.
Olive would be naked otherwise.
How cute is this "Zelda Dress" by Ses Petites Mains?
I wish they had it in MY size.

Vintage artwork.
I've collected a bunch, but few have been nailed up on our walls.
Haven't had the time.
Nor the wall space, for that matter.
Olive created her very first abstract expressionist masterpiece last week in pre-pre-preschool,
and it takes up quite a bit of space.



Painting sans clothing.
Prodigy in the making.

Ongoing Projects

"boo hoo baby" 

the title of my work-in-progress thesis. 

i'm constructing props and characters out of cardboard and animating the pieces using flash and after effects. 

i say that as if i'm an adobe software wiz. 

so not the case. 

luckily i have wonderful friends who are, and they're going to pull me through the fog. 

like pack of selfless sleigh dogs. 

woof.

when not cutting or painting up a storm, i can be found messing around with my other ongoing project.

raising a human being.

here i am with my munchkin in the wee hours of the morning.

she's an early riser.

5am, to be exact.

she's not up for the worms.

she's up for the "yo gabba gabba" clips i pull up for her on youtube.

happy baby, happy mommy.

Ganbatte*

Le husband and I have decided to get fit together. It's been 5 months since Olive's birth, and I've still got 13 extra pounds to spare. Dude, I've watched that episode of Oprah in which she wheeled out a wagon of fat. (Watch HERE.) Not pretty. So yeah. In a desperate attempt to combat our mush, we joined a Crossfit. (Learn more HERE.) I had my first workout today and I survived the insanity! Well. Barely. I felt like puking my guts out towards the end of the workout, but hey... no pain, no gain.

Next body battle happens on Wednesday. I'm strangely looking forward to it.

* Ganbatte = Japanese for "Do your best"
Pictured: Brad Pitt as a tot. See? Even he came around.