Staying Healthy After January

My grandmother still gets the physical newspaper. While some might say you can get the paper online, there is no need for the physical printed piece, I disagree to some extent. Yes, it probably could be printed with more eco friendly paper or inks.

I sit behind a monitor all day and am flooded with articles left and right from Facebook, Twitter and yes, gasp, Google+. I miss so much because one simply can not digest that much information.

The articles I see, read and focus on are the stories my grandmother shares with me from the newspaper. This is because the printed newspaper is on my terms and fits the way I live my life when I'm not at work. It's portable, doesn't strain my eyes after 12 hours of screen time and doesn't require a wifi connection. This makes it ideal to throw in my bag to read in airports that make you pay for internet (which should be illegal) and doesn't add to your cancer risk.

This morning as I was eating my Shredded Mini Wheats (they taste so good), I saw that my grandfather had left me a new article (that's old school sharing, before the internet). The article is about how everyone has the best of intentions of staying/getting healthy in the new year, though right about this time, everyone starts to slip back into old habits.

What I absolutely love about this article is that it isn't about doing a juice cleanse or eating only cabbage for the rest of your life. It reminds you to focus on why you are eating, when and how much you are moving and how it will help you professionally.

If you have five minutes take them and glance over the article quickly. It might just push you to keep going on those new year resolutions. Click here to read the article.

Boxer on a Trampoline

Some days you just need a good video to lift your spirits. Today was one of those days. Introducing one, if not my number one, of my favorite make me happy you tube videos.

Also, if you are seeing this around SuperBowl 2014, the Budweiser Puppy Love Commercial precedes the video. WATCH THE COMMERCIAL. It is so good, struck a chord with this puppy lover.

UPDATE 9AM: I found the commercial online, and have placed it below the Boxer Trampoline. Enjoy and get some tissues!

Color Run 2014

This was my third Color Run! WHEE! I love it because while I do other runs for breast cancer, heart health and the memory of Pat Tillman, this race is about being happy. It's is about having fun and getting ridiculously messy with your friends.

I had the pleasure of spending my morning with some co-workers: Ana, Amy, Mo, Jenn, Jen and her daughter Ashley. We did our thing, got some free swag and then went and had the most amazing breakfast at Devil's Diner. It's is the smallest crack in the wall place, but those men make a mean ass breakfast burrito.

Greek Life Embarrasses Arizona State Again

I spent this weekend watching movies on various networks that took us back in time to the civil rights. Movies like Remember the Titans, The Help, We Are Marshall and others. Even though they are movies, I am grateful I didn't live during a time like that. If I did, I really hope I would have been like Skeeter in The Help.

Then fast forward 60 years, you think we are doing well, making progress. Then you realize we haven't made as much progress as we should have. My alma mater, Arizona State University, is still allowing frats/sororities to behave poorly and in complete bad taste.

One thing I love about ASU; MLK Day is HUGE on campus. There is an entire week to celebrate a man who gave his life to pursue equal rights for everyone. The communication college has a competition to come up with a positivity campaign and the winner gets plastered all around campus.

I agree, young people make mistakes. They are stupid. Though in this day and age with social media and the internet, you can't afford to be stupid.

Working in advertising has taught me a lot about the power of social media. I've watched brands muddle through social media like a cow calf that has just been born and is trying to walk. I've seen brands get schooled by pissed off employees and I've seen employees ruin their careers in 140 characters.

For example, @Ediemer deleted her instagram account and someone swooped up the username and has reposted the black party photos. The instagram account is now getting threats in the comments because people are too ignorant to realize it's now a fake account. This could now ruin her reputation even farther.

I could say that I hope they learn from their experiences, though greek life behaved like this when I was in college and way before that. Sadly, they are like big corporations and have too much money behind them for the university to actually do anything.

Photos of the Week

This week was packed full of good little nuggets, here are some of my favorites!

Leroy thought that he desperately needed the ENTIRE block of cheese.

Spent the last weekend in Detroit working on The Tomboy Project.

Got this really cool bike bell from Optimus Santa Monica. I love these people. They create great work and are great friends.

My ping pong partner is flipping me off. Thanks AJ.

Flying home on the Shamu Southwest plane!! Love Arizona.

Miss Phoenix & Cave Creek Sponsor Ad

Our wonderful Gerald hosted the Miss Phoenix/Cave Creek pagaent this last weekend. I am sad I had to miss it, Gerald is extremely entertaining. I got to participate a bit though.  The agency did an ad for the program to support Gerald and also to obviously get the name out there. #shamelessplug

Pictures of the Week

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Celebrating Danita's Birthday 

Bought a shit load of fabric with my mama to make some new quilts.  

Saw this really fun quote in a coffee shop.  

Left early enough to see the sunrise. 

Got to do some hand lettering.

Corner Reading

Every Thursday I am determined to carve out some personal improvement time. This can be whatever I want including reading, a walk, some ping pong etc.

This week I decided to dive into an Ad Age magazine; The Opinion Issue.

Overall decent, though there were some articles I absolutely loved. Click the headline below to read the full article.

How to Stop Mismanaging Your Brands

I like this article because it really touches the heart of the problem. So many people don't understand that a brand is worth something. This is why it is so important to do things right the first time out of the gate, then continue to do it as the company grows. I know that you are super excited that you designed the logo yourself in paint or your best friend's son who is in high school will do it for free. Save yourself and your company by hiring someone who actually knows what they are doing. 

"That said, neglecting a brand is both naive and shortsighted. In some ways, branding is a victim of semantics; call it "reputation" and nobody in the C-suite would ever argue that it's anything less than critical. Corporations intuitively understand Will Rogers' quip: "It takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, but you can lose it in a minute." But management teams commonly underachieve in the application of reputation-management best practices -- in a word, branding."

Why Women Are Uniquely Suited to Lead the Ad Industry Into the Future

I love that there is a whole pack of women that are wanting more women at the top with them. There are women demanding to be in the C Suite. They are able to juggle, manage and do it all. This is a great quick read on the relation of women and millennials. 

"They often ask why simple things are so complicated. Technology has provided instantaneous answers and solutions for millennials, reducing their patience for doing the same thing the same way twice. They want to work smarter, not harder. For this reason, managers should be flexible, responsive and open to change from the "clubby" rules that dominate corporate leadership. Women have had decades of experience changing the rules of the game and challenging conventions in fields where they used to be the minority."

Three Strategies to Improve Agency-Client Relationships in '14

The only strategy I really liked in this article was the first one talking about talent. It really hits the nail on the head for me. When our parents were children they had to purchase and comb through encyclopedias to get the knowledge Google gives us instantaneously. I'm not saying younger people are smarter, I'm saying they know how to obtain knowledge faster. They don't have to rely on someone for answers, they can go out, get them themselves or create something new from the start. 

"Survey after survey tells us that employees under 35 are largely unhappy. Not because we don't pay them enough (although starting salaries are still an issue), but because they want to contribute and we're not letting them. We have to realize that millennials have been creating content for most of their lives. Be it videos, photos, song lyrics or drawings, they are used to sharing and receiving immediate feedback. Agency structures don't encourage or celebrate that kind of contribution from the start."

A 13 year old just recently delivered a TED Talk about education that I think relates really well to this exact topic. Watch the video of this young man who is living, learning and schooling me.

2014 Motivation

The agency's managing director reads Linkedin articles as much as I do. He recently came across one that had some really fun and motivational quotes. Naturally he wanted to share them with the office by having them printed large and hung. The only problem with that is the images were 72dpi at 8 in². 

Being the wonderful creatives we are, we recreated them with our own layouts and made them our own. I thought this was such a great opportunity to do some hand lettering. We don't get to do it a lot for our clients, it wouldn't fit their brand the way that it should to be successful. 

I started with a brand new beautiful PrismaColor Turquoise 2B pencil and busted out the sharpener, which I then proceeded to drop on the floor and spread pencil shavings every where. Womp. Womp. Once that was picked up to the best of my ability, I dove in. 

There's nothing better than a little graphite, white rubber eraser, light box and ruler. So many beautiful letters come from such simplicity. 

One with Nature

I live on the outskirts of the city in the desert. With this comes animals of all kinds, and my curiosity to know what I am sharing my home and neighborhood with.

As I approach my second anniversary in my home I have seen a

Desert Spiny Lizard

via http://faculty.ucr.edu/~chappell/INW/herps/DSL.shtml | Photo by Mark Chappell

Gila Woodpecker 

 

via http://sabinocanyonnaturalist.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html | Photo by Ned Harris

and now! A pack of Javelina 

via http://gwenhernandez.com/tag/javelina/ | Photo by Gwen Hernandez

It's always cool to see animals in the wild. They are seriously beautiful. I love javelina. It's important to remember to NEVER feed them. It leads to them (and more) consistantly coming back into your neighborhood. You could get injured and they would most likely be killed. No one wants that. 

My New Year Resolution: 2014

via pinterest.com

Yesterday I posted about 2013 and the things I had done. Today I want to establish the things I want to do in 2014. This year instead of adding more things to my plate, I will be trying to remove things.

I realize I get to a place where everything is pretty well balanced and then get bored. I start to pile on things, and more things, and then even more things until I'm completely sleep deprived and miserable.

Where does that leave me in 2014? My goal, or resolution, is to be more focused and driven to complete things that interest me and can boost my experiences in life. These come through family, work and general real world experiences.

For these things to happen, I realize I need to become more efficient at work. That is where most of my life is eaten up. I work 60-80 hour weeks pretty consistently. As a creative, becoming more efficient isn't really that easy. Though I know the things I need to do to be more creative and get the ideas to come easier. I just need to do them.

You always see those articles about Things Successful People Accomplish in the Morning or before 8AM or whatever title it is that they are slinging that week. Though, when I was in grad school I was up at the butt crack of dawn and got so much accomplished. While I probably won't stand on my head and drink coffee through a straw while humming an Irish Jig, there are some things I would like to do, for me, first thing in the morning.

1. Get eight hours of sleep a night. 
2. Wake up early and go exercise. 
3. Eat breakfast.
4. Map out my day with only four tasks. It is easier to tackle a shorter list and you will feel less overwhelmed. 
5. Make my day top heavy. I am a procrastinator. Though of my four things to do, I will do the least favorable item first. I will. I will.