It's positive!

Rather than write a separate blog about the baby, I figured I'd just write up a few entries and then post them all when we're ready to share the news. So for the next few entries, refer to the date in the entry, rather than the date it was posted!

It's been exactly 30 days since my last period, so not being able to wait another day to see if it showed up, I took a pregnancy test, but left it on the bathroom sink before it registered the result and sent Tom in to give me the news (too many "not pregnant" results in previous months that I wanted him to look at it first...).

Tom looked at the result and said "Oh my gosh....you're pregnant!"

Tom had already taken the day off, just to relax after not having a vacation all summer long, so we each called a friend to share the news and then spent the afternoon together at the zoo.

Vic the Horse Mascot for Victory Junction

Victory Junction Gang Camp added another stuffed animal to their sewing program, Vic the Horse, so of course I had to attempt it. It went a lot better than the teddy bears that I made for Victory Junction a couple years ago - and it's cuter too! Each camper at the Victory Junction Gang Camp receives a hand-made camp teddy bear or a Vic the Horse mascot to take home. Find out more about the sewing program on their website.

Roo's debut into show biz

Roo's adorable picture (above) is now featured on amazon.com and gianthamster.com reading the recently released book, Celeste and the Giant Hamster. The book features a Capybara, the world's largest rodent.

From amazon.com:
Celeste the Cat is tormented by her human’s insistence on keeping a dwarf hamster, appallingly named Celestina, as a pet. Enlisting the aid of two friends, the brave but intellectually challenged Tiger and overly-enthusiastic Ruby, she sets out to trap a giant hamster that is loose and living in a nearby field. She plans on placing the giant hamster in front of Celestina’s cage to show her owner what she thinks of pet rodents. The giant hamster--actually a capybara--proves to be a larger, stronger and more intelligent adversary than the cats expect, resulting in a series of humorous mishaps that leave the trio battered but not dispirited. Slowly the cats come to realize that the capybara is not the frightening monster they imagined. When the capybara has a litter of eight precocious capy-kittens, Celeste, Ruby and Tiger find themselves doing things they never imagined, like going for a swim and protecting baby rodents from a tough gang of tom cats.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the chinchillas!
Click here to see the rest of the pictures.

stltoday.com

The St. Louis newspaper website has launched a new logo. I was never a fan of the old one, so this new one is an improvement in my mind. I would have used a different font though - similar but with less definition in the bottom of the "d" and "a" and the top of the "y". Also, the arch cut into the "tl" is awfully thin and would all but disappear if the logo were to be any smaller.

Did you notice it?

New logo alert - I noticed on a Jack in the Box commercial last night that it ended with a new logo. Of course I said to myself, is that a new logo or just something special for the commercial?

Low and behold, the fast food chain has reinvented itself and has plans to revamp the restaurant atmosphere as well. I have to say that I like this new logo!

The beginning of Lent 2009

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day for February the 25th. The thermometer reads 55 degrees, and it's only 10:30 am. I've got the windows open and the birds are singing. The smell of the fresh air is so refreshing, and reminds me that we are getting close to spring even though it doesn't seem like it (the 10 day forecast is predicting highs in the 30s all weekend).

We're giving up soda and eating out for Lent. I think the soda will prove harder to start, with the eating out kicking in closer to Easter. I am actually looking forward to it in a strange sort of way. I need to eat healthier and learn some new recipes to expand our dinner options. I also hope we can get into the habit of eating breakfast together before Tom goes to work, as it's the most important meal of the day even though we rarely actually fit it in.

March of the Penguins

We stopped by the zoo this afternoon on our way to Andy's birthday party - it was the last week for the Sunday "March of the Penguins" where they let the penguins out of their habitat and outside into the cold winter sun. Overall it was really neat, but the organization of the whole event was horrible....they should have had one long line and rotated people through but instead they blocked off the line at one point, then opened it back up later. Madhouse!

This guy was literally right in front of me.

this one kept running back and forth in front of everyone

looking down the way at all the penguins

Happy Birthday Andy!

It starts with 4 separate cakes...


Cut and assembled...


iced to become one cake...

and decorated to be a monkey-pirate

Happy Birthday Andy!

Tom's Birthday

I just wanted to share a pic of the cupcakes I made for Tom's birthday. We went to the newly opened International Tap House in Chesterfield, MO. It's a neat little place, and they even had a beer that I liked!

Chicago Roots

I just learned that some of the sayings my family used when I was a child come from Chicago where my mother grew up and my parents lived for a few years before moving to Columbia...

"gym shoes" instead of "tennis shoes"
"front room" instead of "living room"

The birds found the feeder...

but so did the squirrels - even after I moved it to the backyard...

Birds - 0, Squirrels - 1

The birds haven't found my new bird feeder but the squirrels sure have...

Pictures here and a video below:

Vote on Tuesday

If you live in St. Louis County, you can get your sample ballot here:

http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/scripts/elections/index.cfm

In addition to the "big issues" that are advertised all over the place - like president, governor, prop A (casino loss limits and supposed money for education), Prop M (for metrolink) and Prop S (parkway schools) there are several others that I had never heard of. Check it out before you are at the polling station and you're trying to decipher what you're voting on.

Fipsy's Belated Birthday Present

Fipsy got his belated birthday present last night (his birthday was back on August 3, and he got some presents then - a canister of raisins and a canister of oats, but he had to share those with the other chinchillas in the house). I found a picture of a chinchilla daybed that someone had made online and commissioned Merc Man to build one for Fipsy.

So far he has only used it as a chew toy, but I'm sure once he gets used to having it in his cage he'll make use of it as a bed as well.

Palin Rally

I got to see Sarah Palin in person last night (even if it was from the "nose bleed" seats at the very top of the arena). She kicked some butt in the debate last night...however, I just have to say, I had no idea that Biden and I had so much in common - we both shop at Home Depot! (some very funny person photoshopped a pic of Biden in Home Depot for us here).

You can see the rest of my pics from last night here.

Love Quilts

In June I started a new service project with Love Quilts. An organization which asks volunteers to create counted cross-stitch quilt squares which are then made into quilts for very sick children. I've completed 2 squares and am well on the way to completing a third, with a goal of one per month.

I own a company!

Big news that I can't believe I didn't post about 2 days ago when it became official......

I am now the business owner of Jenny Kyle Design, LLC!

ABCs of St. Louis

This is kind of fun, even though it's from stltoday.com....Alphabet City. For each letter of the alphabet, it shows you 4 characters and you must choose the one from the description at the right.


Of course, being a designer I'd rather know where all the letters are from, not just the one that answers the question. Maybe they could add that in....tell you which one is correct, but tell you where the incorrect answers are from. They also repeated way too many signs (including letters of the same sign over and over). I swear I recognized several from my St. Louis Walls project from my senior year of college.

Do you see any resemblance?

I saw the Kentucky plate on a car in front of me on my way home from work today. Awfully similar to the ugly plates that Missouri just launched if you ask me...however, Kentucky released theirs in 2005.

New Logos: Econo Lodge and Super 8

On a recent drive to Rolla, I noticed 2 new hotel logos on billboards...following in the footsteps of such previous hotel logo redesigns as LaQuinta and Comfort Inn, Red Roof Inn and Four Points Sheraton that I've previously blogged about. The interesting thing in the case of hotel logo redesigns is that past experience is going to play a MUCH bigger role in whether or not a person chooses to spend the night in one of these establishments, not how cool their logo is.

Econo Lodge:

The new logo, pictured above on the left, was launched in early May 2008, with expected implementation throughout all their hotels by the end of 2008. Evidently, they felt a need for a "more inviting, bright logo, a result of extensive consumer research, is a culmination of a wealth of enhanced brand standards and guest satisfaction programs geared to position the brand for long-term growth and success." (read more where that came from here)

I give it an A-. It is definitely an improvement from their previous logo, and does give it a "higher class" feel than the original. The designer has taken some care in setting the type in the establishments name, but I can't identify the typeface. Perhaps because they took a typeface (such as Optima, which seems to be the closest I can identify it to) and squished it in to fit the space. I like how they have combined the name into one word on the sign, however, it appears that they are still spelling it as 2 words in their marketing materials. The stylized "e" icon is not all that unique, but still nicely done - and can you think of anyone else that has a "twinkle" in their logo? (I can see it now, some executive who thinks he knows everything announces to the designer, "I want the logo to twinkle" and ta-da!)


Super 8:

The new Super 8 mark, pictured above on the left, also launched in May 2008, but with an expected implementation date of July 2009. Evidently, this new look is inspired by their partnership with Nascar (seriously! - check out the press release). Their customer base was getting too old, so they needed to do something to appeal to the younger sect.....although I hardly think that redesigning their logo is enough to get someone in the door. Especially if they have a previous negative experience with the brand (such as myself).

As for the design itself, I give it a D. The original logo was better. The only real accomplishment was getting rid of the word "motel" in the logo. The typeface used for the word "super" was a super bad choice. And the swooshes around it.....I don't even want to go there.

So what do you think? Are these winners or losers as far as logos are concerned?

Something fun

Old lady or young woman?

Face or the word "liar"?

Sax or Face?

find these and more optical illusions and mind tricks here

Proud to be a Missourian?

Mo. issues new license plates with error

ASSOCIATED PRESS

06/17/2008

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri is issuing its newly-designed license plates, complete with grammatical error and a state bird that flies south for the winter.

Motorists on Monday were issued the first of the newly-designed plates that show a bluebird perched on a branch along the bottom center of the plate. The bluebird migrates south when Missouri weather turns cold.

The state said it would not correct a grammatical error on the plate -- the missing hyphen in the state's nickname, "Show-Me State."

The snafu came to light in April when The Joplin Globe quoted a Missouri Southern State University English professor as saying the rules of grammar require the hyphen.

The Missouri Department of Revenue said that the mistake wouldn't be fixed because that's how the plate looked when it won an online contest last year.

So I thought all 3 designs they had people vote on last year were crappy, and now this comes out....I can't help but laugh! The best part is that they claim it can't be fixed because it's the design that won - well I just searched for news articles from last year and the winning plate design isn't identical to the design above which is from the department of revenue....so it's not the "actual" plate design that won anyway (notice the words "show me state" are vertical on the winning plate to the left, and the word "Missouri" is in a different font). I liked the old plates and I don't get why we had to change anyway.

So rather than have one of these ugly pieces of junk on my car when I renew next month I will likely be investing in one of Missouri's "nearly 200" vanity plate designs...a small sampling is below. Each requires a donation to the sponsoring organization. I am leaning toward the "pet-friendly" plate.

Florida: Day 8

We started our last day out early - 6:30 am to be exact. We got up to watch the sunrise over the bay. I don't know if I'd ever really sat and watched the sunrise before - very quiet in the bay with just the sea and the round orange ball in the sky slowly making its way into the sky. After about 30 minutes we walked across the street and along the gulf shore in search of shells.

After packing up all our stuff, we headed to Tampa to visit the Lowry Park Zoo. It's a really nice zoo - reminded us somewhat of Grant's Farm in St. Louis. We attended the manatee education session where we learned that the Tampa Zoo can care for up to 15 rescued manatees at a time - and when they return them to the wild they release them in the same place they were found - even if that is pretty far away from the zoo. They had 12 manatees there, including a mother and calf.

Next we got to feed sting rays which was really cool. Their mouths kind of felt like suction cups and sponges. You held a piece of shrimp or frozen fish between your fingers sticking up, then place your hand in their tank and they'd swim over your hand and suck the food into their mouths.


In the children's zoo area Tom's shoes got attacked by budgie birds, I fed some goats, and we both fed the lorikeets nectar from a little cup.

I uploaded all the pics from today to my Tampa Zoo album.

Florida: Day 7

We started the day today at the South Florida Museum, home of Snooty, the oldest manatee in captivity, and likely the oldest manatee in the world (he turns 60 on July 21, 2008!). We spent quite a bit of time observing Snooty and learning more about manatees in general. Snooty is a hoot, as he is totally domesticated - he was born in captivity and bottle fed as a calf. He kept swimming up to where his trainer feeds him and would stick his nose up and lean on the pool side to try and get some carrots (one of his favorite treats). I added a ton of pics of the manatees to my Florida Pics - Album 2.

The museum also features a planetarium and tons of historical items - everything from fossils to clocks to old computer parts!

After the museum we went to the other Smugglers Cove Adventure Mini Golf center in the area - Tom insisted on a rematch and he won this time. We also fed the gators once more. Check out the video below of Tom taunting the gators. I also added some new pics to the Florida Pics album.

Florida: Day 6

Today we took a boat ride around the Sarasota bay on LeBarge Tropical Cruises' Dolphin Watch. Attendees were guaranteed to see dolphins or you'd get another cruise free...well as luck would have it, we rode around the bay for 2 hours and finally saw one little dolphin right at the end. It was neat to see the dolphin in the bay, and they gave us coupons for another cruise, but we opted not to spend another 2 hours riding around the bay.

After the cruise we went back to Turtle Beach and spent a couple hours playing and laying in the sun.

Florida: Day 5

Today we slept in again (big surprise there), then headed to Smugglers Cove Adventure Mini Golf center, where I beat Tom at a round of 18 holes, and even got 2 holes in 1.

After playing mini golf, we opted to feed the baby alligators that they keep at the course (note the photo above of Tom taunting the gators).

After mini golf we went down to Turtle Beach - a little beach a bit past Siesta Beach on Siesta key. It's a less crowded beach, with nice waves. Unfortunately we had a little thunderstorm this afternoon and spent most of the beach time sitting on the shore watching the clouds.

Make sure to check out the pictures I added to the Florida album today - lots of the gators!

Florida: Day 4

Today we visited the Mote Aquarium. It wasn't the best aquarium for the money, but at least the money was going toward their research - which seems more exciting than the aquarium. We got to see baby seahorse, some small sharks, sea turtles, manatees and dolphins. And of course I came home with "Mr. Manatee", a new stuffed animal (Fipsy will be excited). I added some photos from the aquarium to my Florida Pics album.

We picked up some subway for dinner and ate on the beach while watching the sunset. I added tonights gorgeous sunset photos to my new Florida Sunset album.

Florida: Day 3

Today we ventured south, first to Lido Beach, then to Siesta Key Beach. Lido Beach was alright, but nothing special really. Siesta Key Beach on the other hand was amazing. The Travel Channel ranked it #2 best beach in Florida, because of how soft the sand is - and they weren't kidding!

We returned to the resort and discovered that our sun screen is way past the expired date (we don't get out in the sun much), and we both got a bit sunburned on our shoulders. That prompted a trip to walgreens for a fresh bottle.

We had dinner at a little Italian place and then watched the sunset over the gulf from the private resort beach.

Florida: Day 2

We celebrated our second anniversary by sleeping in late, then visiting our resorts private beach, witnessing a traffic accident on the way back from swimming, then took a dip in the pool, and finally enjoying the sunset from the acclaimed Beach Bistro.

The private beach at the resort is nice, it's shared with another resort owned by the same company, and is just across the main drag from the resort. It's a pretty small beach, but there are no fences or dividers to distinguish the various private beach sections so it looks like you've got the whole area.

The Beach Bistro, where we had dinner, is acclaimed by Zagat’s as the “Best food on the Gulf Coast.” While the food was decent, I wouldn’t go so far as saying it’s the best. I think the Sun House restaurant where we ate the first night was better – and much cheaper too!