Happy (Belated) Memorial Day! (Wordful Wednesday)

Yes, Yes, I know. I am kind of behind the ball on this one.

What can I say? I did absolutely nothing this weekend.

Except get all misty eyed thinking about this post. But I have just now figured out how to put it into words.

Funny the things that come to mind when you are watching Mob Wives. (Don't judge me. It's a guilty pleasure.)

Anyways.

Memorial Day. The unofficial first day of summer. A long weekend.

But what is it really?

A day of rememberance for those we have lost. A day of rememberance for those who left and came back in a pine box.

(Source)

Or worse, the ones who came home with no name.

(Source)

I feel very lucky and honored to still have my brother, and other members of my family in the military.

Many families have not been so lucky.

In recent years, the military has gained more respect and reverence than ever before.

My brother, who as you may or may not know, is in the military. Has been for about two years now. When he is in uniform, perfect strangers come up to him and thank him for his service. They buy him food. It makes me misty to have seen it with my own eyes.

So, in honor of Memorial Day, a day of reverance, I would honor the best sibling anyone could ever ask for. So what if he is my only sibling? Who asked you anyway?

 These are some pretty old pictures. So bear with me. I can't get pictures of DJ in his uniform very often. These pictures were taken back in the day when that was all. he. could. wear.

My brother is the smartest person I know. He can be a smart ass, but he's smart, so I guess its his prerogative.
Don't forget, I have some pictures of him and his girlfriend Julia from when I was in New York here.

This is his I'm-Not-Going-To-Smile face. I think he failed.

 Photo Courtesy of my Mama

And here he is reading a card I sent with my parents (I didn't get to go to this graduation. ) It sang Hamster Dance. I know, I know, I am awesome. He is trying to hold back his laughter. :)

 Photo Courtesy of my Mama

It's hard to believe he has been in the military for two years already.

In August, he gets his orders. Let's hope he is coming home to California!

He's lived in a few other states already, and he said nothing beats California.

Take that, rest of the country!

We just owned you.

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Please take a moment to honor those who gave up their liberty so you could have yours, past and present, alive and dead.
It is truely a wonderful thing they do, and a huge sacrifice, so please remember to keep them in your prayers,

Regardless of political affiliations or if you agree with the wars,you should stand behind our military. Or you can stand in front of them. Your choice.

Linking up with And Then, She {Snapped} and The Paper Mama.

My Pinterest Wedding

It's a good thing Pinterest exists. (You can follow me here.)

Otherwise girls like me would have no outlet to plan our imaginary weddings.

(Source)

I'm not single, of course, but I am not planning on getting married anytime soon.

But yet, for some reason, I have a board on Pinterest dedicated to my non-existant wedding.

And it has 107 pins.

Seriously.

Can you say obsessed?

Oh well. I guess when the time comes I will be ready.

Well, to start with. The ring.

The beginning.

(Source)

I love everything about this ring. I should just leave pictures of it laying around the house.

Think he would get the hint?

Yeah, you're right. Probably not.

 Now, the dress.

 The most imporant part. Most people say.

I've only recently gotten into wearing dresses, thanks to Rachael, but the idea of the wedding dress excites me the most.

What do you think of this one?

(Source)

And this. Oh my goodness. This is SO me.

It is purple and goregous. And I need it.

(Source)

Onto Bridesmaids.

I don't think I will have any except for my maid of honor (and best friend) Abigail.

But even if I don't, Abby will wear one of these.

Because I will be Bridezilla if she doesn't. Yeah right.

I love how they are different but similar.

 (Source)

 Speaking of my Maid of Honor, in all of her glory, I need to do this for her:

(Source)

And these almost made me cry. I bet if I did something like this for my mom and dad, I bet they would cry too.

 (Source) (Source)

And these. Oh my goodness. If I do this, I will have it out in my home forever and ever.  And I think it would be really cute for guests to write down words of advice in love and marriage on one side and sign on the other.

(Source) 

Knowing my family and the Dork's family we definitely need these. And plus they are cute.

(Source)

This source requires a password, but I'm linking it anyways.

And despite all these things that I would want, this is the only thing that truely matters. If I never got any of this stuff, this would still hold true. I love you, sweetheart. I always knew it was you.

(Source)

I am sorry there are soooo many pictures. But please know that I cut back A LOT in this post. I never used to dream about these kind of things, but lately I have been. They have such cute stuff for weddings! There are so many rustic type thing that even my Dork will love. Someday. We will get there.

If you like this post, follow me!

And check out my wedding board on Pinterest here for more wedding related shenanigans.

 

Two of My Favorite Productivity Tools

So I have been thinking for a while of how addicted I am to the computer and the internet.

Due to the nature of my work, I am often on a computer 8-12 hours a day.

And yet, I still find time to be on the computer at home.

Why? Because I am an addict and have no life.

Well, I do, but so much of it is spent on the computer.

So today I am going to talk about two of the productivity tools I use on a daily basis at school, work, and at home.

Because I am addicted. And I forget things.

And because they are awesome.

Dropbox

Dropbox is an amazing tool. If you haven't heard of Dropbox, you need to google it already. Seriously.

Dropbox has saved me so much time, especially when I run back and forth between work and school and home.

It's easy to know that my files are going to be in one place.

The best part about Dropbox, in my opinion, is that it integrates within your system. As you can see, my dropbox is in my Documents folder. It comes up as one of my Favorites. This means I don't go searching around. It's always at the top.

Another great thing about Dropbox is that I don't have to wonder how many versions of a file I have around somewhere. When I update the file in Dropbox, it updates across all of my systems. No more wondering where that picture went when I'm sure I saved it that way. (And yes, that has happened many times before.)

I don't use Dropbox for much of my work stuff, but I have it integrated with my work computer so that I can pull things up at work if I need to.

You can learn more about Dropbox here.

Evernote

This is going to be a little strange, because I am writing this inside of Evernote right now. Please ignore the red squiggles. Evernote doesn't understand the spelling of its own name, apparently.

Evernote is one of my favorite tools because of one simple reason: I forget stuff.  A lot. Seriously. If I didn't write things down, I would be so lost in this world. My mind moves in so many different directions on a daily basis, that its easy for stuff to fall through the cracks.

Not with Evernote.

With Evernote, I keep track of everything. I keep all my blog posts and ideas that I am working on (you can see a few in the screenshot above that I haven't finished yet. My mind is a funny thing.) I keep track of all my work notes. I keep track of things I have to talk to my boss about, so that when he calls me in for a meeting I have all the information at hand so that I'm not scrambling trying to remember what it was that was so important.

Here are some awesome parts of Evernote:

As you can see, Evernote can clip articles from the internet with their tool the Web Clipper. I clipped this article because I was trying to figure out how to work our mailboxes with SugarCRM. I clipped the article because I wanted to have the information, in case the website ever went down or if I just couldn't find it again.  Links just aren't reliable. And cutting the article saves me a step. Because clicking a link adds up in time spent. Just saying.

But the thing is, Evernote copies the address you got it from. In case this website had more info that I need pertaining to SugarCRM, I can go to this note and click on the link.

Evernote also uses Tags. It's like making sure that reciepts are on pink paper. Except with tags, you can apply more than one. The combination I use the most is "work" and "CRM". I haven't had this system for very long, so I don't have an intricate tagging sytem. And plus, like I said, sometimes I get lazy and just want to get to the point. I didn't even have the "work" tag until not too long ago. But I just selected all my work notes and applied the tag to all of them. So I can always go back later and fine tune my system if it gets too overwelming.

Another great thing about Evernote is the ability to share notebooks. For our CRM system, I administrate with a coworker. He does back end nerdy stuff and I am the enforcer. If only that was my true title.

Anyways.

I shared my SugarCRM notebook with him, so he can have access to all of my information. Makes it much easier than copying and pasting into an email. Those few minutes add up!

You can learn more about Evernote here.

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If you have any questions about these or other productivity tools, leave me a comment below. I love comments!

I will be doing a post soon on services like ifttt, Pinterest, and some others if I can think of some.

If you like this post, follow me! :)

To My Future Children

I have to make an apology to you.

Your father and I, we are kind of, well, dorks.
I am, anyways. And he puts up with me. So does that make him a dork by association?

We will embarrass you. Know how I know? Because I embarrass myself.
And because parents embarrass children. That's just how it goes.
Just think of the wonders I could do for you!

Regardless of this, you will be loved more than you can ever truly imagine.

I hope you get your Daddy's green eyes.
But my big brown eyes would be good, too.
And maybe your Uncle David's hair.
So that he's not the only ginger in the family.
But whatever you look like, I'm sure you will be beautiful.

You will probably know how to use a computer before you can walk.
You will be given crayons, pencils, chalk, anything you want as long as you can express yourself.
(And hopefully not throw them at Mommy. Mommy doesn't like that)
But if you would rather play sports, we will support you. I may not understand the games, but I will show up every time.

And I would get used to cereal. Or learn how to cook.
Daddy is a good cook, but your Mommy, her, not so much.
Let's just say we will be eating at Grandma's a lot. She will love to cook for you. As long as you compliment her food. And eat your vegetables.

You will not be raised with a particular religion, but you will know right or wrong.
You will be honest, and treat others with fairness and kindness and respect.
You will learn love by watching Mommy and Daddy, and know that love can conquer all.
You will do chores and learn responsibility.
But most of all, I hope that you will learn what happiness feels like before you ever feel pain or heartache.

I will not always be your best friend. You will dislike me sometimes.
And that's alright.
But I will always be there for you.
I promise to give you the benefit of the doubt, no matter what.
I promise to always give you a chance to explain your story.
I will accept that sometimes you may not like me, and maybe even hate me.
But there will come a day that you will understand.

My Life Through Instagram

Are you following me on Instagram yet?  You really should.

Since its Friday, and since I am doing my Weekly Review today, I thought I would review my Instagram life, too.

(I'll have to write a post on my GTD system soon. But today, I am lazy. Soon.)

Anyway, to the matter at hand. I love Instagram. I have told you this many times before. So here has what my life has looked since the last time we talked.



1) Heels. I looked cute but my feet hurt. Need to invest in flats.

2)  Me and the dork in class. He is too cute for words.

3) Our tree is growing back! I love that tree so much it is weird.

4) College and coffee. Did I mention that I'm done for the semester /  summer? I couldn't be more happy! :)

5) Bottle brushes. I love these things. They used to grow at my Grandma's. They are so pretty.

6) Scooter gets sad waiting for Dakota to come home. I had better ones on my DSLR and formatted my SD card on accident. :/ I'm such a goof.

7) My future wedding dress. 'Nuff said.

8) The Jimi. My dog which turned into my mom's dog. He is a handful, but for Mother's Day I took care of him for a few days. I still love him. He still looks like a puppy.

9) My Corey. He has been staying with the Dork and I this week. I have known this kid since he was a little little kid. He's all grown now. It makes me sad.

10) Abby and I can't make waffles. I can't talk about it. It's still too painful.

11) Scooter giving me her usual look. I'm not sure if its a look of love or if she is plotting my death. She is such a drama queen.

12)Netflix, Ice Cream, and my BFF. A good Saturday night.

Now I am off to get back to my Weekly Review.

Have a great long weekend!



<3

I may not have gone where I intended to go....

.....But I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an artist. I loved to draw and paint along side my mom and my grandmothers. I loved the feeling of a pen in my hand (I hate pencils) I loved the feeling of paper against my skin.

As I got older, I toyed with the idea of being a doctor or veterinarian. (Both scrapped because it hurts me too much to see others in pain.) But alas, such a future just wasn't for me.

When I entered high school, a bad grade in an art class almost took me away from art all together. I couldn't believe that I got such a bad grade in a class that I was naturally good at.
Did I talk too much? Did I not do the assignments as the teacher intended? Did I miss something here?

Either way, art is supposed to be subjective. How can I be graded because I did some things a bit differently?

I thought I was graded unfairly. (I still hold a grudge. Probably shouldn't, but I can't help it. I do). But alas, high school isn't always the best incubator for talent. I talked too much. So I got a C in Art class. I learned some from that class, but mostly I learned I didn't want to waste my time in art classes.

So I took drafting classes instead. All four years of high school. Almost every semester.
I loved those classes. I loved the clean lines, the drafting arm. I even loved the erasers. As the semesters went on, I got more and more freedom from the instructor to design what I wanted.

And that is where I met my boy. The love of my life. My other, sometimes better, half.
We sat together in drafting and due to our history of many, many, drafting classes, we had a special assignment to work on together. I fell for the guy who helped me cut balsa wood for a model house. He had a quick sense of humor, a good heart, and great smile. It was like a light bulb went off in my head.

We spent two semesters together before enrolling in a night class together. Then we started dating.

We were going to study architecture (me) and mechanical drafting (him) but before we started our freshman year, we decided to go another route.

Graphic Design.

The fun of drafting, without all the extra math. (Do you know what the density of concrete is? I for sure don't.)

From six years old I knew where I wanted to go, I just didn't know how I was going to get there.

And thus, I got where I needed to be.

Read all the other great entries at Yeah Write #57 here.. here..

 

 

Five Question Friday

I cannot believe it is already Friday!
My dad always told me that as you get older time goes by faster.

It's so scary how right he always is.

I'll have to write him a post one day, like I did for my mom.

Anyways, since it is Friday, I thought I would play Five Question Friday again! Are you ready for this?

1. What advice would you give a couple getting married?
Well, since I am not married, I don't know how much anyone would want to take my advice. But, my thing is with marriage is that even though I would love to marry my love someday, I don't see the need to rush.
I seriously do believe that we were made for each other. When I hug him I feel completed inside.
But at the same time, we are still young. I want to enjoy it just being me and him for a little while longer. That sounds really selfish, I know, but he won't always be just mine. If we have kids, he will be theirs. And when that happens, I will be even more in love with him. But for now, I want him to just be mine.

My point is, I don't think people should rush into getting married. I mean, obviously I have no say in people's personal affairs, but I think that I love him just as much if not more than people who have gotten married. Getting married wouldn't make me love him even more. I just don't see the point.

It may work for other people, for right now, that's just not what I want. :)


2. If you could tell your 16 year old self ONE thing, what would it be?
If only. I would tell her (it feels weird calling myself "her", kinda like I got a schizo thing goin' on.) Anyways. I would tell her to rexamine her life. Her priorities are way off. She is spending way too much time worrying about someone who she won't even speak to five years later. Not to mention that she meets someone who completes her heart so completely. Why spend time worrying about someone when you are so young?! And stop being such a smart ass. Love your mom. Hug your daddy. You will miss them so much when you move out. But they are always there. That boy I was talking about? Yeah, not so much.

3. What do you do to keep cool in the summer? (AC, windows, fans, swimming, etc.)

Well, this is something where dork and I differ. In the winter, he has the heater blazing. I put on a blanket. In the summer, same thing. I open windows and turn on the fans. He puts on the AC. I just don't want a high electric bill is all;)

Plus my parents have a pool. And so does his. They will be utilized.

4. What did you (or your wife) crave most while pregnant right now?

I had to alter this question because I have never been pregnant. Right now I am craving chocolate oreos. Good thing I got some in my purse. I'm so smart, planning ahead and what not.

5. Who is your favorite TV mom? Why?

I'm going to have to say Mrs. Brady. She is like the quintessential mother. Never angry, always supportive, always with perfect hair. Something all mothers strive for, I am sure.
I have yet to meet a mother that perfect in real life. But that's what TV is about, right?!

 

Linking up with My Little Life.

Rich Black Vs. Flat Black (A Designer's Quandary)

So, even though my blog is called Jessie Kay Graphics and Design, I haven't gotten around to very much design work, have I?
I am sorry for failing you thus far, but I am here to rectify the situation!

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but I always find something else to talk to ya'll about.

In this post, I will be thinking in terms of CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black) because I design for print 98% of the time.
The same methods apply in RGB, just the blends will be different.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

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When you think of the color black, one color probably comes to mind, right?
Well, the thing is, black can actually be a lot of different colors.
I'm going to barely scratch the surface here, because I am sticking to Flat Black and Rich Black.
Other blogs I read explain the other versions of black better than I do, like in this post from Andrew Kelsall.

First up is Flat Black.
Flat Black is C0 M0 Y0 K100. (Or 100% Black). This color of black looks kinda like  black, until you compare it to some of the other blacks I will talk about in a minute.

Flat black is also known as "Standard Black".

This color is most often used for magazine and book text, and also newsprint. Mostly because it doesn't use as much ink as the other types, so that it doesn't make the pages heavy or look murky with smaller sizes of print.



Next up on the list is Designer's Black, or Rich Black.
Every designer has a particular blend they like to use.
The mix I use most often is C75 M68 Y67 K90.
It is a very rich and punchy black, that is better used for design work apart from small type.
Using this blend on small type makes the printed ink blur together and just doesn't look too hot. Just sayin.



And here is a comparison, in case you were curious. You can really tell the difference when you put them together!



I hope this helps! If you like this post, follow me!
And if you would like to see more posts like this, let me know in the comments below! I love hearing from ya'll!

Wordless Wednesday - My Mom

I think I have told you about my parents before. But since Mother's Day is on Sunday, I wanted to honor the person who gave me life. Because they like that kinda thing.
Have you gotten your Mama anything? I haven't yet, but I definitely will!
I'm not that bad of a daughter, I swear.
For Wordless(ish) Wednesday, I wanted to show you some pictures of my mom. Some of these have been featured here before, but this is my blog and I do what I want :)

Reasons I love my mama:

• She is hilarious.


• She has always told me to follow my heart (but in a less sappy way) and do what I want in life.


• She taught me how to draw.


• She always put me and my brother first.


• She misses me even though I only live a few blocks away.


• She feeds me, because we all know I'm not the best cook in the world.


• She gives good hugs.

Obviously, this is only a small percentage of the reasons I love my mom. I hope someday I can be half as good a mama as she is to me.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mama's out there!

Linking up with And Then, She {Snapped}, The Paper Mama and Live and Love Out Loud.

Five Question Friday

It's Friday!
As I say to my work-neighbor, I am so glad to have made it.

Today is Five Question Friday! Just to get my creative juices flowing for some design projects I have been neglecting. :) Bad Jessica.

1. What did you wear to prom? Include a picture if possible.

Are you ready for this? This is me and the dork at prom. Same guy, after the years. I was going to say all these years, but we have only been out of high school for three years.
It seems like so much has changed, but me and my man have not. I just love him more and more every day.



Look how skinny I was! Dork looks exactly.the.same. Men. Sigh.

I loved this dress, but there was SO much glitter. His truck was like COVERED in blue glitter. For years. Seriously. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies.


2. Would you rather be on the biggest loser or a food eating challenge?
The biggest loser. For sure. I'm competitive. I think I could do it. Then again, I might cry.
But if I lose weight, I won't mind losing a few tears in the process.

3. Fave sonic drink? Refreshing summer drink? 

Sweet tea. Or Passion Tea Lemonade from Starbucks. I love tea. Soda just doesn't help in the California heat.

4. What was your first car, and what did you call it?

My truck that I still have.  Unlike most kids my age, I was not given a car. I had to save up for him. Yes, my truck is a "him".
Just look at him. He's a manly truck.  I hope he stays with us for a long, long time.
He's been good to me so far. We had trouble in the beginning. He has a manual transmission.
We got into arguments. But we are over it now.



5. What's one thing your child or spouse does that sends you over the edge?

I have to say, the dork is pretty amazing. (Have you noticed that I have a new nickname for him every day I talk about him? Dork is the most common one. I call him Dork more than I call him Dakota. It's a term of endearment, I swear. He isn't even that dorky. Compared to me he is a jock.Don't tell him I said that. He was already threatening to take away my internet privledges. And that was just for watching Jenna Marbles)

But sometimes, sometimes I just question his sanity. He does the dishes backwards. Instead of washing them in the side of sink farthest from the counter, he does it in the closest, moves it to the other side to rinse, and then puts it on the counter. Small thing, but it is sooo inefficient. It is a small thing, but it bothers me. I'm weird like that.

Linking up with My Little Life.

Lies I Tell

Sometimes, the truth just isn't what works at that moment.
I just hope and pray no one I have said these to will read this.

If they do, oh well.

The thing is, I am not usually a liar. I used to be good at it.
...And then I met Dakota.

If I haven't mentioned it before, Dakota is an interesting person.
I'm not saying that just because I love him and he is adorable.
He is interesting.
Not only can he make changes in his life (and encourage me to do the same) like nobody's business, he can tell when I am lying.
Every. Single. Stinkin'. Time.

So, needless to say, I don't lie often. It's just too much work, in my opinion.
Ahem. Anyways.

Lies I tell:

"I will go to bed on time tonight."

Okay, so this is a lie to myself. But I really try, I really do. But going to bed at 8:30 PM makes me feel like an 8 year old. So I end up staying up way too late reading or watching TV. And then I regret it the next day when I get up at 4:30 AM.



I'll do the homework today."
This is a lie to Dakota and also myself. But its not like he wants to do the homework either.

"I'm not mad."
Okay, seriously, who doesn't tell this one?!
Truth is, if I am being strangely quiet, and I haven't been drinking (if I have been drinking and I get quiet, that is usually a sign to cut me off. Just saying) then I am pissed.
I will probably get over it quickly though. If you bring me chocolate.

"We should hang out sometime!"
If you don't know me, I am kind of an antisocial person. I have Dakota, I have my best friend, and I have my family. That is pretty much the extent of my social life.
If you make plans with me, bear in mind that I will usually cancel.
Socialness makes me nervous. And I would rather stay in bed and watch Netflix.



Which leads me to my biggest and most often told lie...

"No, I haven't been watching Lie to Me without you!"
This is why Dakota and I can't watch the same shows on Netflix. I cheat and get ahead. Then he gets wind of it and watches without me.
Now he has finished them all on Netflix and I got distracted by America's Funniest Home Videos.
And he doesn't want to watch them again with me.

(I probably shouldn't have let him watch that show anyways. Now he is just getting better at knowing when I'm lying. When can a girl get a break?!)

Classic cars make my heart happy

A few days ago Kate and I went and played with our cameras a bit.

As we were driving, I saw this car and I had to get this shot.

I just love classic cars.

Even if this one didn't sound too good. Poor thing.



Also linking up with And then, she {snapped},Project Alicia,Sarah Halstead,Live and Love Out Loud, andThe Paper Mama.