I guess this shouldn’t be called a “catchup” since it’s not like I’m behind or anything but I’m keeping the title because it sounds good and I don’t have anything better. Besides this way all my diary illo posts can all be called the same thing. Maybe. Sort of. Whatever. Who cares. Obviously not me.

So I guess I should transcribe these things since my handwriting seems to be illegible. Have you ever noticed that your handwriting changes from day to day? Sometimes I have excellent writing. The guys at the bank even compliment me and tell me I should create a font and then there are other days when my writing is loopy and scrawled. It’s terrible. I really hate it when I don’t close my “o’s”. You know what that means? It means I can’t keep a secret and I hate that fact about me. So if you have a secret, don’t tell me.

Where was I? Transcribing! Right.

Lemonade stand day two was great. We made some more money and got a tiny sunburn. We STILL have some lemons leftover. That means I HAVE to make lemon cookies and lemon bars this week. Poor me. Heh. And, yes I do have bags and bags of lemon juice cubes saved in my freezer. I’ll share some if you stop by to visit me.

I drew something funny Bug did. She was blowing bubbles on the porch with this giant wand my mom gave her for Easter Spring Celebration and I overheard her saying, “Here God” as if she was blowing the bubbles up to God. I thought it was pretty funny. I wish I had her innocent faith. I’ve been trying and trying to explain who God is but my words have failed me. I just hope she doesn’t grow up to be as mixed up as I am.

And then there was weeding day. But I already blogged about that.

Finally, I have an explanation of this month’s banner with the strange space birdy. I don’t know why you guys were surprised and baffled by the strange bird in a space helmet. It’s not like I make sense on a regular basis or anything. This was just a character that came out of my sketchbook and I sort of fell in love with him. Bug and I were sitting in a Starbucks killing time and enjoying a latte spiffed to me by one of my favorite commenters (thank you Anna!) and we were playing the scribble game. It works like this: Bug draws a scribble and then I make something out of it. I love this game.

She drew this funny circle and all I could see was a bird in a space helmet. And now he’s here to stay. I sort of like him. I think he embodies my spacey cluelessness that is sort of a theme in my life right now. What should we name him? I’ll take reader suggestions. Maybe I’ll even give a prize to whoever picks the best name.

Also going on in this page are some thoughts about becoming a nanny. Yeah. I’ve decided I’m going to give up graphic design (even though it’s much more lucrative) and be a nanny. It’s the only job I can really do and take care of Bug at the same time. I’ve tried to be a mommy by day and a secret-agent-graphic-designer-illustrator by night but you know what happens in real life? I’m either super-tired, stressed-out and missing deadlines or I’m very rested, missing deadlines and losing customers. I’m choosing the one with less stress. Only for a year. Once Bug is in kindergarden I’ll go back to my freelance business. But if you still have a job for me, hit me up. Maybe I’ll have one of those freak nights where I drink too much coffee and get everything done. They happen once in a blue moon.

Did you know you have to put your weight and height down when you register on a nanny site? Isn’t that sort of weird? Do people really pick nannies based on their weight and height? All the nannies I ever meet were a bit over-weight so I guess it’s not like people are discriminating negatively. Is there a demand for rotund nannies? I have no idea. It just made me think. I haven’t gotten any leads on a family. Maybe since I come with a kid I am not that desirable. I’d like to find a family in my neighborhood if I can. I love the idea of Bug and I walking to work early in the morning… but who knows. Maybe this won’t pan out.

I’m also still on my Lisa See book-reading kick. (Which might also explain why my freelance business is suffering.) I’ve read Shanghai Girls, Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Peony in Love and I’m now reading On Gold Mountain. I’m obsessed with Chinese culture and the history of women through time…It’s fascinating! If anybody wants to walk and talk with me about these books, I will buy you a coffee. I have so many thoughts.

Yes, that is Aang from The Last Airbender on the corner. I’m sort of into Avatar now too…I cook Chinese food, I watch Chinese cartoons, I would love to go to Chinatown, I miss my friend Jbomb who moved to Taiwan. Can you believe that? I have a friend who just up and moved to China? What is it with me and my friends moving away. Do I stink? Just kidding. I know I do.

Here is more of our scribbling game. See isn’t it fun? All kinds of characters can be released from a little scribble. No, the yellow legging lady is not anyone I know in particular. Those of you who know me might think it is somebody in my real life but it’s not.

And lastly some beach sketching and some waiting-for-the-lasagna-to-bake-while-drinking-shiraz-on-an-empty-stomach sketching. Buzzed sketching, that’s always fun.