Month: September 2012

Banjo Day!

/ Erin May / Leave a comment

Have I mentioned on the blog yet that I’m taking banjo lessons? It’s been about three weeks, and Wednesdays are now Erin May Banjo Day.

 

(My neighbors may be less than thrilled.)

Yesterday, I was able to go out to Happy Valley and have an impromptu jam session with my parents- who were very patient in keeping a slow pace to match my current banjo chops. Playing with them and trying to keep up has been the best practice session so far- it’s nice when you’re learning to feel like you are also somehow managing to play recognizable music!

Word of the Day: Anachronism

/ Erin May / Leave a comment

Today’s word of the day is one that I’ve had stuck in my head for months. I first heard it years and years ago during one of my favorite episodes of Gilmore Girls in which they put on a historically accurate Bracebridge Dinner- except Paris points out the various anachronisms throughout the night.

Anachronism

Anachronism;

  1. The representation of someone as existing or something as happening in an other than chronological, proper, or historical order.
  2. One that is out of its proper or chronological order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time.

The thesaurus likens this word to “metachronism,” “misdate” and “prolepsis or solecism,” as if those words are easier to use and understand.

Used in a sentence: Depicting William Shakespeare as wearing stunner shades and toting an iPhone, while hilarious, is entirely anachronistic.

Definition via thefreedictionary.com. Illustration by me.

Manic Monday

/ Erin May / 1 Comment

Just a few images from this last weekend! Kyle and our friend Allyn did very well at their triathlon, and I had a wonderful time cheering for them, wishing friends a happy birthday, taking some tantalizing food photos and doing some much-needed work clothes shopping with KP.

Today’s manic monday is pulled directly from my Google Reader, one of my favorite ways to view blogs and a great cataloging tool for inspiration.

Don’t sweat it…but do.

/ Erin May / Leave a comment

This weekend, KP is doing his first ever triathlon sprint. I’m so proud of this guy!

His dedication to getting fit has been so inspiring to me, and I’ve found myself working out quite a bit more as a result. I’m not a crazy fitness buff, but I have found a few tricks that keep even a couch-potato slacker like me hitting the pavement.

  1. Keep it short and sweet. I’m a busy girl. I work for myself and for another job, I have about a million hobbies, and I try to be social in there too. I don’t have a ton of time to work out. That’s why I work out for half an hour to an hour at most- but I try to push myself hard during that time.
  2. Get the gadgets. I am a tech junkie, and with my iphone, I am able to keep more fit than ever. Kyle’s sister showed me a new app called Nike Training Club that has completely changed my work outs during non-running days. You pick your goal and target area, and it shows you exactly how to move and for how long. It’s seriously kicked my butt! That combined with Nike Running has been a great personal trainer, and somehow that digital validation of having worked out keeps me going!
  3. Look the part. I’ve already admitted how I like to dress for a role– but workout clothes can be incredibly motivating. There’s something about wearing tight, neon spandex that makes you feel hot, but also motivates you to keep everything firm…or at least less jiggly.

With that, I’m off to do a short run around the neighborhood! Do you have any workout tips and tricks?

 

One More Polka, Diane!

/ Erin May / 4 Comments

This last weekend I went to Oktoberfest, and amidst the sausage and the polka, I was reminded of my new favorite pants.

My polka dot pants. Which I made myself in my new resolution to Make, Thrift or Alter. (It’s been over a month since I’ve bought a single article of clothing- and while that’s a very small accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, I think it’s a pretty great start!)

These pants were the brainchild of these other pants I kept seeing and lusting after, as well as the slow demise of an old pair of skinny jeans that had a hole in them. So I patched my pants and pulled out the old Google, searched for Polka Dot Pants DIY, and found a few great tutorials. I found that the trick was creating the first row using a ruler so the dots were evenly spaced, and then eyeballing it from there for a little variation. I also tried to let the paint run out a bit every few polka dots because I wanted a less uniform and more faded look.

Have you been setting aside clothing to alter? I’ve got a huge list going and I’m excited to get started.

Ch-Ch-Changes

/ Erin May / 2 Comments

Hello there!

You may have noticed some changes around my blog, and I’m excited to share them with you today! Firstly, I’ve purchased a domain for this little ‘ole blog, and from now on you can find it at heyheyErinMay.com. This name idea first came from a good friend of mine who happens to say this phrase a lot. If you’ve met me in real life, you know I have a tendency to want to say “Oh hey girl, hey heeeeey”…this is a continuation of that.

The other changes are mostly aesthetic, and in part were designed to create a little continuity between this blog and my brand new fancy official website as a freelance designer. I’m still working on building this site out, and there are about a million projects I want to add to “recent work”, but part of the fun of keeping this site is that it’s a work in progress!

Some of the updates:

 

Part of these redesigns have been to test, learn and prove myself on basic website design. I am starting to offer this to clients, and the more I practice for myself, the better services I am able to provide! So you might just keep seeing things change around here- and please let me know if anything starts to look wonky.

Have a great day!

(Oh yeah, and I’ve added a new signature)