I hope everyone had a great holiday and is enjoying the new year I got lots of goodies for Christmas (clothing, money, giftcards, movies, and more), but my most used gift is a kindle! Got a Kindle Touch (so did my sister but mine doesn’t have 3G) and I LOVE IT. I already finished the first book in The Hunger Games and am currently halfway through the second. I find it so much easier to read on then the iPad (at least when it comes to reading for 2+ hours straight) and the compact size of it.

Besides enjoying the holidays and the time I spent with my family I have not been up to much. I have been applying to lots of local and some not-so-local design jobs in hopes of finding something (I really don’t want to do retail any longer than I have to!). So my fingers are crossed on that Classes start tomorrow and it’s a great feeling knowing that I don’t have to return!

Anyone have any New Year’s resolutions?  I tend to make the same ones every year. Do well in school (or now I guess do well at my job?/find a new job?), eat better, exercise, be better person, etc. But once again I want to try to do a 365 project … or this rather, it’s a 366 project! I’ve done these in the past (most recent was around July 2011 I did it for about 2 weeks, haha) so I am reviving the website I made for the last one I attempted and deleting the old posts and starting again!

So, Pocket Pix is back I literally decided today to do this (yes I realize it’s the 3rd :P) but thankfully enough I took photos the last two days on my phone anyways. I also love the idea of having a seperate website for a photo-a-day because I can upload them straight from my phone plus it’s easier to share with people. If you’re doing one too let me know! Also link me to your site if you’re uploading them to a specific location, would love to keep track of others and maybe we can motivate one another! Even added a Pocket Pix category here, at the end of each month I’ll post a few of my favorite photos that I took.

Guest written by our friend Katie Callahan

When I moved here I didn’t know anyone so I spent a lot of time on my internetserviceprovider playing games. I think there’s something amazing about the way games are so lifelike now and I actually developed quite a community of people online just through my gaming habits. I think it’s fun how so many gamers have transitioned over to real life clubs and now I can say that many of my best friends here in town are people I have met online through gaming clubs and the like! I love being good at everything I do and gaming is no exception – I pick what I’m best out and get even better and I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve developed quite a following in the gaming community because of my skill set. It’s not quite as outdoorsy as I thought I’d be at this point in my life but you know, there’s only so much you can do with the hand that you’re dealt and I think I did well!

Edit// I ended up sending a tweet to the musician my painting was inspired by and he actually replied OMG! He said “This is amazing and I love the Dali clock!! I’m really sorry to hear about that…but I wish the very best…!” Jason Reeves for the win!

This is the painting from my final project in my Painting I class (which grades were finally posted and I got all A’s yay!). This painting has a lot of meaning in it for me and I had a lot of fun painting it. I still may add some more detail work to it as well. First here is the photoshop image that I created that this painting is based off of:

Now here is the progression of the painting itself (click the image for a larger view):

Here is the final image (click image for a larger view), I realize the quality of the photo isn’t that great. Once my digital camera is charged I will take a photo of it and replace the image (took the painting photos with my iPhone).

This painting was inspired by the song “Wishing Weed” which is by Jason Reeves. A very talented singer and songwriter. The song itself is basically about a couple who a no longer together for whatever reason and both do not want to get over the love that they once had. For me though, this song has a deeper meaning. I’ve mentioned this before but not in very much detail. In October 2010 I started dating my boyfriend, Jose, and right around the time we became “official” he was diagnosed with cancer. Not only were we trying to get to know one another as a couple but we also got to go through something most couples don’t deal with until they’ve been married for 20+ years or so. We are both in our 20′s and it’s hard to deal with something like this, at any age.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t hard at times. I really loved the song before he was diagnosed, but after him and I really starting falling in love with another the song took on a new meaning for me. The painting is what I picture when I listen to this song. To me it’s about a couple who can not be together anymore because one has passed. Even though they are gone the person is still in love with them and will always be. I know that one day my boyfriend will no longer be with me, that is just the nature of a disease. I know when that day comes it will be hard but I also know that him and I had an amazing time together. He is my soulmate, my one true love, and even though we have to deal with something like this it does not have to affect us negatively. It does not change how I feel about him. I know that he will always love me and I will always love him, no matter what happens in our future.

Also, he has been cancer free since February 2011 though I really enjoyed my painting class and plan on to continue painting (may even paint more about this song!) and I even tweeted this blog post to Jason Reeves, because his music is truly inspiring to me and I’d like him to see that If you’d like to listen to the song it can be found on iTunes, his facebook page, as well as YouTube.