Holloway Livin'

Wallpaper City Guides

2008-02-28T22:16:00.002-05:00

Wallpaper Magazine has created city guides for some of the world’s most recognizable city’s. In my opinion, these gems are a must have for anyone looking to travel and/or people who are interested in various city cultures.

I stumbled upon these beautifully designed pocket guides while doing some research on Amsterdam for a city-branding project. It’s simple color-coding and tab system makes the book incredible easy to use and aesthetically appealing. Not to mention each of the books are filled with excellent photography of all the “must see” places.

Great gift idea. Great addition to any library.

Check em out let me know what you think. The magazine rocks too!

In Holloway news… dad has been extremely busy trying to finish up 7th quarter. That’s why the blog entries have been lacking. We are coming to a close and hope to have some exciting stuff in the near future. Cara and Ellie are doing great. They are away from me this week visiting the extended crew down in Texas.

It’s been lonely, but productive since they’ve been gone. Lonely productivity… that’s depressing.

A First

2008-02-19T20:06:00.000-05:00

My sleep deprived, caffeine altered mind malfunctioned tonight in the driving department. Coming home from class just now I tail ended some lady in a Jetta. No real damage done, just a good wake up call.

Lesson Learned: There are other cars on the road, I need to try and avoid running into them. Back to work.

Drooling Over Droog

2008-01-27T19:19:00.000-05:00

Dutch company Droog has been inspiring to me on a variety of levels lately. I stumbled upon their work while researching Amsterdam for a class project. Located in Amsterdam, Droog has an unbelievable repertoire of work. The most fascinating peice to me is their high chair designed by Maartje Steenkamp.

I have got to get this chair for Ellie! Included in the packaging is a little saw and sander to cut the legs to the appropriate height for her age… pure genius!

Atlanta Fights Against Global Warming

2008-01-20T16:23:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it snowed — that’s right, SNOWED— for about four hours here in “hotlanta.” After I did a celebration jig in my living room, I went out to take some pics.

Neanderthal Man

2008-01-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

Evolutionists can put their chisels down. An amazing discovery has been made! I saw a Neanderthal with my own eyes today at the Clairmont Wal-Mart! He was wearing jeans and Adidas.

"da da"

2008-01-08T00:28:00.000-05:00

Over the holidays Ellie added a new word to her vocabulary. It's pretty amazing to hear.

Holiday Rant

2007-12-17T02:43:00.000-05:00

I could spend this whole entry catching you up on all the things I’ve done since the previous one, but that doesn’t sound as fun as just speaking my mind so….. The holiday season is crazy. Money seems to be evaporating into thin air. All the cool gifts are so dang expensive! What is up with that! When did the expression “it is the thought that counts” stop applying? Or did it ever apply? Maybe that’s just another thing people say to fill the air with conversation. It seems these days there are so many of these things. Another pointless, vocalized gesture to be socially “correct.”

So it’s me and Cara’s two-year anniversary tomorrow. Two years! Seems like a long time. I guess its because so much has happened in those years. Ellie is doing great and sends her love. She is getting so big and beautiful. I already am so proud of her for her simple victories like saying “mama” and crawling. Before I know it she will be changing the world with her accomplishments. Actually, she already is, and it’s really beautiful to watch.

Linocut

2007-10-24T07:51:00.000-04:00

I recently tried my hand at a printing technique that I haven’t done since Mr. Badget’s 6th grade art class. This method of printing is called a linocut. The project was a tour poster for Brad Paisley promoting his hit new single “Online.” The contrast between this ancient printing method and the technology of the Internet is as ironic as the people who use the Internet as a tool to hide their true identities.

After showing my class the poster there was some interest in the process of making it. So this blog entry is dedicated to teaching you how to make your very own linocut!

First, I went to my local art store Pearl and picked up the necessary tools to make a linocut. To do a linocut you will need:

a linoleum block (to cut into)
a brayer (to roll the ink)
oil based block ink
and a linocutter set (to carve)
transfer paper (to transfer your design to the block)
tracing paper (so you can trace your design in reverse onto the blcok)

These supplies will run you around $50. The brayer, ink, and linocutter will be good for re-use.

After coming up with a concept for your poster, illustration, or whatever; you want to think about the layout of the linocut. To do this I did a quick sketch in adobe Photoshop to get a feel for the layout and design. This is especially important for a linocut in the area of contrast. Think about what you want to be inked (black) and what you want to be cut (white). These changes take 2 seconds in Photoshop, but when you start cutting the block… things are permanent!

Next thing you want to do is draw your design. Get some good tracing paper to layer if you want to play with different elements. For example: there were 4 separate components of this poster. 1) the nerd at the bottom, 2) the speech buble at the top, 3) the 5th Gear Tour logo, and 4) the information about dates and place of the specific concert. Because each of these elements was drawn numerous times, I used tracing paper to layer them instead of drawing the entire thing over and over.

Now it’s time to transfer your design to your block. The absolute most important thing to remember starting this process is: TRANSFER YOUR DESIGN ON BACKWARDS!!!! First, I taped my graphite transfer paper to my block with the graphite side facing the block. Then take your design on the tracing paper and lay it FACE DOWN on the back of the transfer paper. The ink of the tracing paper should be facing the block. Your design and type should look backwards to you through the tracing paper. Next take a ball point pen and firmly trace the design to transfer it onto the block via the graphite transfer paper. I recommend starting in a corner and pulling up the edge of the transfer paper at the beginning to make sure your design is transferring onto the block.

When you’re done tracing the design, pull off the transfer paper. You should see the light transfer on your block. I recommend you go over the lines with marker so that you will be able to see them more clearly when you start cutting. Remember nothing to this point of your design is permanent… it’s only when you start cutting do things get permanent.

After you have colored in you entire design on the block, make notes on it to tell you what to cut. Put little x’s or squiggly lines on the areas that you want to cut. Remember everything you cut will be white, and everything left will be the inked design.

Now the fun begins with cutting! Hold the cutter like you would an ice cream scoop. The little nibs will be used for detailed areas and the larger scoops will be used for the less detailed open areas. Remember the deeper you cut the more defined a line will be. It’s important to cut enough to make a clear distinction between the raised (inked) lines and the cut (non inked) lines. Once you get comfortable with the feel of cutting, I recommend you start with the detailed areas. Put on the smallest scoop and start cutting around the detailed lines and type. Instead of doing short little scoops, it’s better to cut long lines at a time. This way you will cover more ground and be more accurate with an edge. This is what my block looked like after I cut around the detailed area of the cyber-nerd’s face. As you can see the lines of ink are still visible for the face because I cut around them; therefore they will be black when I print.

For areas of extreme detail, like the keyboard at the bottom and the “Red Rocks Amphitheatre” type, you will need to cut this out of an area rather than around it, which would be nearly impossible. Keep this in mind for your design as this detailed type will be white with black around it. After you have cut all the detailed areas with the smallest nib, move up to the next size and cut the semi detailed areas like the area in the shirt and face of the nerd. From here just keep moving up until you have everything cut and your block will be ready for inking.

Inking can be pretty messy so make sure you take your project to a place you don’t mind getting a little inked up. For me, the garage was a perfect location. Bring several types of paper to print on and experiment with which works best for you. I found that regular printing paper worked a lot better than textured paper because it was smooth. The output of textured paper always turned out bad/incomplete and required an enormous amount of weight and time to try and get a good print. Smooth paper on the other hand takes a whole lot less weight and just a few seconds of print time. Get an ink palate like a magazine page and squeeze out a glob of your oil based block ink. Next take your brayer and roll the ink into it until you have a smooth coat around the roller. From here quickly spread an even coat of ink onto your block. Set your roller down and evenly press your block onto you paper. I recommend standing on the block for about 2 seconds. Carefully lift your block and hold your breath to view the final product of all your hard work.

It may take several prints to get the perfect one— in my case, it was over 100.

After a quick color change in photoshop to add some depth, here is the final poster:

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Let me know if you have any further questions. If you do decide to try your hand at a linocut please let me know how it goes and send me some pics of the results!

Talk About Deconstruction!

2007-10-18T23:42:00.000-04:00

Hanks class at 5:30 this morning was absolutely awful, and not just because of the time. I had spent all night preparing what I thought was a theatrical, entertaining presentation on the philosophy behind the art movement of deconstructivism— Hank thought otherwise.

My thought for the presentation was to give the experience of what deconstructivism stands for instead of boring people with facts. For me personally, it’s a lot easier to remember a specific experience, like a challenging circumstance rather than process raw information. Plus, evoking this “experience,” was staying true to the deconstruction philosophy of bending the ordinary to perplex the body and mind.

Well, Hank wasn’t really feeling that this morning, and is making me present again next week. Yippie! I was at school for 12 hours today, had a peach for lunch, and it’s 24 hours past my bedtime.

Wamba Land

2007-10-14T20:55:00.000-04:00

I took a big step today as a father… here’s how it happened.

Like normal Sundays, Cara and I woke up and started to get ready for church. We go to Buckhead Church over on Lenox and Piedmont, and it’s absolutely incredible. A come as you are, super-friendly environment with fantastic music and messages really makes for a great Sunday morning. If anyone is ever interested in checking it out, please give me a call; you are welcome to come with the girls and me.

So, back to my point… Cara had mentioned recently she would like for little Ellie to start going to the nursery while we attended the service. I was absolutely taken back by such a ludicrous thought! No, way! Who knows what kind of psycho’s are down there running the show???

This was a hard thing to hear for an overprotective father. The thought of handing Ellie over to a stranger, even for an hour seemed out of this universe to me. On the other hand… Cara had spent the last few services in the hallway with crying infant.

So, I came up with a plan.

“Lets just go check out the nursery, I’ll show you how bad and crazy it is, and there will be no way either of us will want to send Ellie there.”

So we parked the car and took the elevator up to the first floor a.k.a…. WAMBA LAND. As the elevator doors opened, I expected the worst possible chaos. I was completely let down! There was order! Lots of it! Friendly staff members were everywhere with clipboards, nametags, and smiling faces.

“Oh, crud!” I thought.

From there things just got worse. They gave us a tour of Wamba Land to ease our minds and introduced us to the 6 nice young women that would be overseeing Ellie’s nursery. Everything was top notch. Clean, safe, homey, fun…. I contemplated staying in Wamba Land myself for an hour.

So we passed her off, got several security tags with here number on it and went upstairs and enjoyed the entire service baby and care free.

Thank you Buckhead Church. Thank you Wamba Land.

Quick Update

2007-10-06T20:28:00.000-04:00

It’s been a while readers! Hope some are still checking in here every now and then. It’s always cool to see your comments, and ill try harder at making more entries and keeping things current.

It’s really been kinda crazy around here lately. We are finally back in the ATL, after a month of being on the road. First in Texas visiting family and going to a wedding, then a month up in Tennessee for my internship at Anderson Design Group, which turned out really cool by the way. Really glad I went up there and worked with them, it taught me a lot about the industry and how it all comes together in the “real world.” As always though, it does feel great to be back home.

Since we’ve been back we have really hit the ground running. I started school back up again, and my schedule is looking really great this quarter thanks to my friend Rachel who was able to make some last minute switches to my classes. I am in the infamous “Hank’s Class” this quarter. For those of you who don’t know… he is the president of the school. He is a very animated character and his class is supposed to be insanely intense! We meet at 6 on Wednesdays and sometimes on Saturdays. So I will keep you all posted on how things progress throughout the quarter.

So that’s pretty much it! The girls are doing great! Ellie is getting bigger and more beautiful every day. Cara and I have been running a lot together lately and that has been good for health and our family time.

Quick Reminder for those on a Mac… remember to empty your trash!!! My computer has been running a little slowly lately, so I decided to empty my trash cause I couldn’t remember the last time I had. There were over 30.000 files that needed deleting!

I’ll post some new Ellie pics soon.

Office Humor

2007-09-12T15:32:00.001-04:00

Thanks Nanny for the comic. We all got a laugh out of it!

My First Week...

2007-09-09T20:58:00.000-04:00

I started an internship last Tuesday at a design firm in Nashville called Anderson Design Group. I thought some of you would like to know how my time here has been so far.

I knew it was a different kind of design firm when on Tuesday during their weekly production meeting they opened with the reading of scripture and taking prayer requests. This was pretty refreshing to see, and also gave me a chance to connect personally with the staff.

There are 7 designers on staff at ADG. Joel, the creative director, is a very good man, and an incredibly gifted designer. The rest of the crew is: Jade, Brian, Darin, Emily, Christy, and Dawn.

They all could not have been more welcoming. Of course, I have caught a few intern jokes, but I would expect nothing less. From the start they have been giving me things to do, keeping me very busy.

The biggest difference I have seen thus far between my schooling at PC and “real world” design is the deadlines for the projects. School is pretty cool because you really have about two months to complete an entire project, so you have ample time to concept, re-concept, get feedback, concept some more… then execute. But unfortunately in the real world a lot of your projects have to be hammered out a lot faster than that simply because the budget does not allow you to take so much time on each concept.

For example I am currently working on designing a magazine article for a local magazine. After I was briefed on the project I was told that I should spend no longer than 8 hours on everything from conception to execution! That’s It!

Of coarse every project is different and clients with large budgets obviously get more time, but working with these smaller projects is really something very new to me, and it’s going to take some getting used to.

Interesting things I’ve learned thus far include:

1) Command tab on your mac makes it easy to navigate your open programs. I had seen people use this before at school, just never asked how to do it. Emily kindly let me in on the secret.
2) Time is money in design! The faster you are… the better.
3) Outside of the office I learned some “tennis etiquette:” Never walk onto a court when people are in the middle of a point… one of them might try and fight you for your inconsiderate behavior. I know it’s a sad, overly competitive world, but it’s true.
4) Don’t speed on old Hillsborough Road. The cops are really rude. They have quotas to meet and will slap you with a huge ticket even if you have a screaming infant in the back of your car!

Almost Mugged

2007-08-29T22:27:00.001-04:00

I was approached by a raggedy-looking man today in the Marta station, and from the moment I saw him walking toward me, I knew it was bad news. “Can you spare a dollar? I’m thirsty and need a drink,” he said to me.

Being somewhat of a compassionate person, I told him that if I had a dollar, then I would give it to him. So I pulled out my wallet, in search of a loose Washington. Big Mistake! Three, crisp $100 bills stared back at us. No ones, just 100’s! I had forgotten about the new cash budgeting system Cara and I started, and this man couldn’t help but drool at the glimpse of my treasure.

“Can’t you just give me one-a-d’em,” he asked.

“I’m just a poor student trying to provide for my wife and baby right now, and that’s all I have for the whole month. I would really like to help you out, man, I just can’t afford to give you $100.”

“Ok, then,” he said as he walked away.

I kept an eye on him as he walked behind me and whispered something to a stocky black man sitting on one of the benches. A little nervous about their intentions, I walked about 100 ft. to my left to a more crowded area. Thankfully, at this time a train was coming so I continued walking away from the men and got onto the front car.

As I slid into my chair and exhaled a sigh of relief, something terrible happened! The stocky man had followed me into the car and sat three rows to my left. You have to understand the effort it must have took for this man to reach this car, it was a long way from where we just were, and he barely made it on before the doors slammed shut.

As I sat, I could feel his stare melting the side of my face. Was I imagining it? Was he really staring? Was it the same man? I looked to my left to verify… All my fears came to life as I looked at the identity of the man, and a shot of fear ran from my heals up my back!

“How am I going to get out of this,” I thought.

This man is here to rob me… I know it. The next few stops are not good locations for me to get off. But how long can I stay on? People were leaving the train one by one, with every stop, and there he sat, starring at me.

My heart was beating so loud I thought I could actually hear it. With nowhere left to turn, I said a quick prayer. Almost immediately, my heart told me to do something, and I knew it was the only way to get out of this potentially deadly situation.

“I’ve got to talk this man out of it,” I said to myself.
I acted immediately because I didn’t want to change my mind or waste anymore valuable-time. I had to take control of the situation, instead of leaving it in the hands of my predator.

At this point, I got up from my seat and walked over to the man. I first introduced myself in an effort to resolve some of the tension in the air. I said that I knew that his friend had told him about the money in my wallet and if he was planning on mugging me, that I would save him the effort and just give him the money.

I told him that I was a father and couldn’t afford to lose my life over $300. I told him that I wasn’t trying to wrongfully accuse him, and was sorry if I had. As you can imagine, he was taken back by my convicting words.

“No, no man, I don’t know what you talkin’ bout,” he said. “See this bracelet on my wrist? It’s worth $500, and I don’t need to be robbing no-one for money.”

I apologized again and returned to my seat on the train. Coincidentally, he got off at the next stop.

Pandora

2007-08-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

For those of you who don’t know, there is a new way to listen to music online… and it’s pretty stinking incredible. It’s called Pandora. The simple format will have you listening to amazing tunes in seconds. Plus it’s free!

Just go to pandora.com and type in one of your favorite artists or songs, and the incredible Pandora brain will create a radio play list of all music it thinks you will like. Ya’ll should check it out and let me know what you think.

I’ve got to give props to my buddy ben, a fellow pc student, for showing me this great site. Lets help him win 500 bucks by voting on his Pandora poster here.

Smile

2007-08-15T23:34:00.001-04:00

I'm Alive!

2007-08-08T22:20:00.001-04:00

About a month ago two women approached me on the street claiming to be prophets of God. They were giving a spiel to the general public on the sidewalk outside of a Smoothie King. They were interesting characters so of coarse, I stopped and chatted a bit. Plus, who knew… maybe they were really prophets of God, and I didn’t want to be rude if that was the case.

I had forgotten about these two characters until tonight when I was suddenly thrown into a situation that became rather frightening. One of their “prophesies” was that the CNN building in downtown Atlanta would be bombed by the underground mafia who had been conspiring from the cover of Alcoholics Anonymous ... I know sounds crazy right!!

Well, tonight’s class assignment led me downtown to the 15th floor of non-other than the CNN building. As I walked in the front doors and saw the big lettering on the front of the building, it all came back to me.

What seemed ironic at first kept haunting me. I began to sweat furiously. My mind kept playing tricks on me. As the speaker went on, I kept visualizing the floor breaking way beneath our feet and us all plummeting to our death. The nightmare of the “last call” I would have to make to Cara and Ellie kept playing in my head as I scrambled to say “I love you” while smoke filled the room.

How could I get out of this without making a scene I thought? I can’t just fake an emergency-- I drove people here and they need a ride home! Should I be the “hero” and save my whole class from the pending doom? What if I get everyone outside and nothing happens… then I’m just as crazy as the two old women. I imagined the girl, who at the last minute decided not to come to class, explaining to the news how thankful she was not to have been in the building.

I tried to calm myself by saying a prayer and was suddenly reminded of a scripture I learned when I was a little kid. I don’t even know where it’s found in the Bible but it says, “God has not given me a spirit of fear, but one of peace, love, and a sound mind.” From then on I felt completely comforted knowing that what those women were saying was not from God.

It’s funny how my mind wonders… I’m sure glad to be alive.

You Can't Handle the Truth...Can you?

2007-08-08T00:23:00.000-04:00

First let me say that Cara and Ellie got home this Sunday, and it is so great to have them back from their two week, too long trip to Texas.

The purpose of this entry is of a different matter. Cara and I had an interesting conversation on our family walk today, and I wanted to get your thoughts and opinions about the subject.

Is it possible in today’s society to be respected and honored if you are 100% truthful all the time? Do people want to hear the truth? It doesn’t seem so.

Think about it… “I was really late because I simply forgot we had an appointment.” --- that doesn’t work. Society says to make up some excuse! Think of all the seminars out there teaching people how to interview correctly. Why must we be taught pre-packaged conversation techniques… why can’t we just tell people, “be yourself, and tell the truth.”

This would get rid of so many of the social games we play, and make the world a whole lot less confusing. Instead of trying to guess what people are implying, we could just be honest with each other.

And don’t forget manipulation! SUCH POOP! Just tell me what you want, then I’m less confused and we are being honest with one another. Why must we psychologically twist each other’s arms off? It wares me out.

I’m done being fake. I’m done with the games; they are too hard to keep up with. From now on it’s truth. I think it’s what Christ would want; we’ll see how the world takes it.

Home Alone

2007-07-20T13:26:00.001-04:00

The girls left me today to go visit Cara’s family in Texas for a week, and it’s a little more difficult than I had anticipated. It started this morning when I woke up with what I thought was a stomachache. I’m now realizing the sensation of nausea was caused by an unconscious sadness that was anticipating being alone.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very exited for Ellie to be able to meet the rest of our family, and I can only imagine how thrilled her great grandparents (Nanny and Pappa) are to finally meet her, but it’s going to be difficult on dad.

The situation became evident as I was waving goodbye to the girls in the airport lobby watching them fade into the crowd of the security checkpoint. I got up on my tippy-toes to try and catch one last glimpse of Cara’s smile and Ellie’s bobbing head as they headed toward their gate.

Why such a rush of emotions? Why am I getting all sappy and pathetic? Cara and I have been apart before, and I don’t remember it being this hard! I guess it’s harder this time because it’s a first. It’s the first time as a father that I’ve had to be away from both my girls.

Coming back home and walking in to a quite house, with no girls to pick up and kiss, or greet me at the door was definitely a little depressing. This is going to be a sad week for dad. Miss my girls.

Something's Different...

2007-07-19T05:41:00.000-04:00

I’ve reached a new level of “busy.” One I couldn’t understand before my days of PC and being a father. Now the time of 5:30 a.m. is for working instead of sleeping.

I don’t know how I feel about it fully, but I don’t have time to think about it long. Well, back to work.

Sleeping Beauty

2007-07-14T23:10:00.000-04:00

Bedtime Blues

2007-07-07T19:26:00.000-04:00

The past three nights have been a learning experience for both Ellie and her parents. There comes a certain point in your childhood when you must venture out. You must set sail and make your own path in life as an individual. Ellie is nowhere near this point, but she did take a tiny baby step toward growing up and it’s as hard for mom and dad as it is for the red-eyed child.

This blog entry is about the journey Ellie has recently taken from the safety and comfort of sleeping next to mom in our bed, to the lonely new territory of sleeping in her own crib. Once we get adjusted, it really is going to be better for everyone. This way, she will get a better night sleep and Cara and I can have a little down time after putting her to bed. In theory all these positives seem overwhelming, but getting to this state of parental nirvana has been a little rocky.

It’s a hard lesson for mom and child to learn that sleeping next to one another can’t happen all the way through high school. Sadly, some never learn this lesson. You have all heard the story about some distant friend of a relative who still sleeps with their parents even after they have children of their own! No thanks!

Tears have already been shed on both sides. On Ellie’s side it has been for about 3 hours straight after we set her in her crib. This has been going on the past three nights and I’m happy to say, “there is light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.” She has come around and now the crying only lasts a good 30 minutes.

The little snuggle bug is missed at night… but we are all sleeping better. Plus, we have mandatory cuddle time in the mornings, which has become my favorite time of the day.

Snake Man

2007-07-03T01:02:00.000-04:00

An interesting thing happened to me tonight as I was taking Clapton out to go “potty” one last time before bed. I was standing in the little grassy area next to our townhouse when all of a sudden I hear, “hey,” in a low voice from behind me.

A little startled I quickly turned to see a lanky old black man sitting on the tail of an opened U-Haul. “Gosh! You scared me,” I said. I could feel my heart beating rapidly throughout my body as I widened my feet to the “defense” position in case he jumped me.

Instead he smiled and said politely, “Sorry, my name’s Harold. My sister is your neighbor. I’ve been stayin’ with her tha last week helpin’ her move.” Next thing I know we are deep into conversation about culinary solutions and the best way to marinade meat before you grill it. I seriously felt like I learned more from “Snake” in our 30-minute conversation than I did from an entire semester of undergrad.

It was funny. I kept calling him sir. “Yes sir,” I would say, but he would not allow it. He insisted I call him Snake. “How did you get such a cool nickname,” I asked him. He told me how he trained animals back in the day and how he used to have a pet Boa he would walk around town with over his shoulders. As you can probably imagine, this drew some attention. Before he knew it, ol’ Harold and his friend were written up in the local newspaper. Appropriately the title of the article was Snake Man, and the nickname stuck.

Ol’ Snake sure had a good heart and taught me a lesson or two that I will never forget. “All people and animals are God’s creation,” he said, “and for that reason alone they deserve respect.” It’s amazing the interesting people you can meet if you only give them a chance. I’m sure glad I stuck around to talk to Snake. I learned a whole lot from him, and more importantly, now I have a new friend.

“…hey it’s good to be back home again…”

2007-07-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

John Denver knew what he was talking about when he wrote these lyrics. No matter if you are on a tropical vacation in Bora Bora, there is really no feeling like coming back to your nest to settle back in as a family.

This past week we took the crew up to Franklin, Tennessee to visit the extended Holloway clan. And for those of you who don’t know… the Holloways are quite the clan, and it’s rapidly expanding.

Quick Rundown:
There are five of us kids born to my parents Don and Paige. The oldest, Barb, now has 3 kids the oldest, Ruth Ann, who is four years, then Samuel Dude, and the baby Sarah Elizabeth. Then of coarse there is Craig, Barb’s Husband and proudly my bro-in-law. The Nowotny Tribe is constantly keeping things fresh by moving. In the last four years they have been in eight different houses, Ha! They just settled into another adorable one, you can all place your bets on the length of stay at www.howlongwillthisonelast.com. (jk Barb)

Then there is my older brother Tillman. He has been my best bud since… well, forever! Growing up we always shared a bedroom and when he left for college I literally cried for a month. We talk probably 10 times a week mainly about pointless information like the latest video game or planning our next big adventure, which usually never ends up happening, but hey… its fun to dream. Back to the topic, he and his wife, Megan, have a beautiful two-year-old named Mary Layne and a son who will be here at the end of this month! His name is going to be Doss and we are all counting down the days to meet him.

Then there is me, right smack dab in the middle. If you’ve been reading this blog you are familiar with my crew, so I’ll continue on to Sarah. She too is following the Holloway mold and is now getting married, and will be having kids in no time. Her fiancé, Steven, is pretty much a stud. They took the express lane and decided to get engaged after only two months of dating. While this might seem shocking to some, when you hang around the love birds there’s no doubt… they are meant for each other 100%.

Then there is the baby of the family, my little sis Rachel. She is currently wrecking shop down in Lincoln, Nebraska. She led her team to a national championship victory last year as the starting setter. I’m glad they are getting their moneys worth, because Lincoln is a long way away, and we don’t get to see her that much. So it’s always an awesome treat to have her home, especially when everybody can be there.

This week was a whole lot of laughs, activity and fun! My Aunt B even came up from Texas with a handful of her girls. Catching up with your family is always so rejuvenating and therapeutic. We did everything from baby showers to engagement parties, and of coarse snuck in a pretty unforgettable “guys night out.”

No matter how amazing a trip can be, and this one was quite memorable… it’s always nice to know I you can come home. Especially when you have the two most beautiful girls in the world coming with you.

No One Likes a Shot.

2007-06-21T01:14:00.000-04:00

Ellie got her 2 month immunizations yesterday at the pediatrician. Since then Barnum and Baileys Circus has set up a new show in Atlanta... and it’s in my house!

The whole process of giving your infant vaccines is extremely heartbreaking and intense. As the nurse administered four consecutive shots to Ellie’s chubby thighs, I felt her pain as I sat in the corner of the room chewing the neck of my t-shirt. It took a lot for me to restrain myself from busting a karate chop into the nurses exposed neck in front of me. With each additional pierce, Ellie’s shrieks got louder and louder. Her cheeks flashed every color in the rainbow as her temper rose from 0 to 60 in 30 seconds.

After the shots there was this awkward pause situation where no one really knew what to say about the intensity and sadness we had just witnessed. Cara, being polite, thanked the doctor for giving the shots… I just sat and stared into space. “No way am I thanking her for THAT!” I thought.

Ellie slept for 6 hours strait after the doctor’s appointment and her naïve parents thought the worst was over. Needless to say we were wrong. The initial sleep phase has morphed into a nonstop crying phase. Poor little Ellie is having to fight off whatever that stupid nurse injected into her yesterday, and it’s not fun for anybody.

(Nurse, if you somehow are reading this blog… you’re not really stupid. You really were pretty quick with those needles. I’m just very tired and frustrated.)

Time for bed.

A Fathers Day To Remember

2007-06-17T22:30:00.001-04:00

Cara way outdid herself. Today was really one of the most special days of my life thanks to my two beautiful girls. Plus, one of my best friends was passing through Atlanta on his way to north Georgia to train for the USA biking team.

His name is Tom. We have been best buds since second grade when my family moved from the smug and heat of Houston to the beautiful mountains of Basalt, Colorado. We were the only 2 people in the second grade when I arrived at the little schoolhouse of Alpine Christian Academy. Anyway, here we are after 14 years and I’m introducing him to my baby girl. Friends like him are very few, and you’re lucky if you have one in a lifetime.

So we stayed up late last night reminiscing old times and catching up with new ones. This morning I was excited to get out of bed and see what Cara had been hiding in the garage for the past few days. I was delighted to find an essential item for any dad… my very first grill. Ellie sure knows how to pick 'em. I was ecstatic!

That afternoon we took Tom to the airport and said goodbye, then headed home to test out my new toy, and more importantly spend some quality time with the people I love most. This evening was one I will never forget. The steaks weren’t the best, cause dad's just a novice in the art of grilling, but the company was second to none. Hanging with my two ladies made me feel so proud, special, and honored; it’s days like these you wish lasted forever.

After dinner, we took a walk as a family as the sun went down. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Thanks girls. I love you.

Ahh… Air. It’s refreshing!

2007-06-15T06:28:00.000-04:00

Just made it through critique week and another quarter of PC is under my belt. Man does it feel good to have a little breathing room. Over the break I plan on keeping myself pretty busy with free lance work, hanging with the girls, and hopefully fitting some “me” time in there somewhere.

BTW I just uploaded my first website design… and it actually works! I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised. It's a site I did for my mom's little cake business called Petit Gateau. You can check it out at
www.bakedacake.net

Mommyitis

2007-06-10T17:11:00.001-04:00

Ellie was just diagnosed with mommyitis, and she’s got it BAD! Mommyitis, is the technical term for being severely attached to one’s mother. I realized the seriousness of her condition today when Cara went out for a “quick trip” to the grocery store.

I’m finding it hard to verbalize what happened next, but I will do my best. Horror, dread, and panic came upon the poor child’s face as mom walked out the townhouse with her keys in hand. Dad tried everything to console baby Ellie from changing her diaper to patting her back over his shoulder, but nothing… NOTHING could be done to escape the mind piercing shrills of her cry. Tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks and soaking her shirt below. Not even the tranquillizer known as the pacifier could penetrate the effects of mommyitis. I don’t know if or when she will get over this sickness, but I do know that dad is going to the store from now on.

Silly Monger

2007-06-05T00:03:00.000-04:00

It’s easy when you have a baby as cute as ellie to get caught up in the “baby” talk. It starts off innocent with things like instead of saying, “she is the best,” it’s, “she is the bestest!” Like wildfire, it develops into this out of control language that takes over the household. My current favorite name for her is silly monger. Don’t ask me how I came up with this… It just sorta came out one day and stuck. I guess it has something to do with her silly faces, especially when she is “working it up” (translation: getting frustrated)

Mother Nature

2007-05-31T23:36:00.001-04:00

Thanks to amazing programs like Discovery HD’s Planet Earth, Mother Nature is “cool” again. This video is no exception! It was the highlight of my day. Please do yourself a huge favor and watch this video in its entirety. Trust me, you will like the ending. Turn the volume up too, the commentary is great.

I have my friend Tyler Schultz to thank for sending me the link to this gem.

A New Perspective

2007-05-29T00:31:00.001-04:00

As you can see from previous entries on this blog, the daily struggles of a new father can be quite taxing. Today I needed a little “me” time. Time to get out and rest, relax, and clear my mind. The activity I chose could not have been a better one.

My good friend Danny Swartz was kind enough to take me out flying today in a single engine Cessna airplane. Sure, I have been on countless commercial jets with all the hustle and bustle of the crazy airports, but this experience was nothing of the sort. This journey was about heart, a passion for flying, and the unbelievable solitude of being 2000 ft in the air in a Volkswagen bug.

I was reminded of two important things today. The first was he incredible feeling of being young, free, and adventurous. It’s a pretty invigorating feeling knowing that your life is in the hands of a 30-year-old engine, and every time you hit the least bit of turbulence you are immediately reminded of this intimidating fact.

The second thing I was reminded of hit me as we touched back down on the runway. This feeling was just as good, but the complete opposite. It was the feeling of responsibility, joy, and excitement. The excitement came from knowing what I had to come home to and the two beautiful faces that would meet me at the door with smiles, glad to see that “dad” had come home safely.

Ellie Got Carded

2007-05-26T23:47:00.000-04:00

We went over to the Bucket Shop Café tonight to have dinner and were turned away. Apparently you can’t eat there unless you are 18 because “people can smoke cigars.” I had never heard of such a thing. The weirdest part was we were actually refused service because ellie wasn’t a legal smoking age! I guess they were worried that she might light up and if a cop happened to walk by, she could have been busted, and they would be liable. Don’t worry the staff got an earful from a frustrated mother as we left.

It really does suck that people have parental prejudices. If people knew how hard it was to have kids I think they would be a little more understanding. “Mr. Holloway your table is right over here.” – that’s how things should be.

What was really great was on the way back to the parking garage across the street I stopped and asked Cara if we should go back to have our parking validated. “It will be fine,” she said, “it’s free under 20 minutes.” Sure enough when we pulled up to the toll booth and the guy said, “Twenty-one minutes… one dolla please.” We explained what had happened, and the man still would not let us pass. After arguing with him for 10 minutes, with 5 cars backed up behind us honking, we decided to cut our losses and give him the buck. Let’s just say, we will never be going back.

That night Cara called to complain to the manager about how rudely we had been treated. He told us to take it up with the county courthouse because they were “not his laws.” Can anyone verify if this is actually a real law??? I have never heard that it is illegal to bring a child somewhere that smoking cigars might be happening. Plus, no one was smoking anything. Seems like a made up law to keep kids out of a stuck up Buckhead restaurant, which is a shame because parents deserve the right to eat, and we were really looking forward to some fried mushrooms.

A Moving Day To Remember

2007-05-25T01:52:00.000-04:00

When you were a kid, did you ever read Alexander and Terrible, Rotten, No Good, Very Bad Day? If not, don’t worry cause the story of our day is much, much worse. It started off this morning at 6:30 when ellie decided it was time for her morning feeding. From there it was time to start getting ready for the movers who were coming at 8. My shirt was soaked through with sweat by 9 a.m. which is always a good sign of delightful day. Nope, no breakfast for me. Just some back pain, with a side of pit stains.

From there, moving went ok. By “ok” I mean: overwhelming, stressful, chaos. The movers got the job done with minimal damage, which is surprising considering the condition they were in. When I say condition I mean under the “influence.” Let’s just say their Marley flag was flying in several obvious signs and smells.

Things really went south around 9 p.m. Everyone was exhausted from a full days move, but we needed to go back to our apartment to get a few things we had left. So we piled into the car and from the second we pulled out the garage, Ellie started SCREAMING crying. The poor girl had had enough of her car seat, and was wanting us to know. If you haven’t been around a sreaming crying baby, it pretty much the equivilent of listening nails on chalk board while someone slowly rips your heart out.

The crying got worse along with the plans for our “quick trip” back to the apt. The “few items” we needed turned out to be a large SUV full of stuff. Everything from TP to a Friends DVD (season 4). Oh, did I mention, in between loads I was printing pics of ellie for the doctor to see in the morning, Yippie!

The screaming continued when we ran by Kroger to grab some milk and butt cream. I had the pleasure of consoling the inconsolable while Cara “ran in” to grab the groceries. After the 5 min. of eternity in the car, we raced home to the unthinkable.

From the second we walked in the door, as I was unloading, Clapton (our 3 year old long-haired weiner dog) was acting very strange. “Is he just adjusting to all the change?” we asked. He kept licking the floor. His licking was very intense and unusual, and eventually turned into him gnawing frantically at the carpet. He kept on pulling at the carpet after several warnings, so I smacked him. Now I feel terrible because the poor guy was SICK!

I realized the seriousness of the situation after he went downstairs and started vomiting so loudly, everyone reading this probably heard it on some level. The poor guy had been poisoned by something, and he was feeling the effects big time, and so was I. Ellie was still screaming crying, Cara was conveniently in the shower, and she hadn’t a clue that WWIII had started in her own home, and I was frantically cleaning up vomit as more and more was being produced.

Not even Alexander can say he has had a full day of moving, been on the phone with the animal hospital at 11 pm, while cleaning up endless piles of barf, while being spit up on, listening to the sound of a dog hacking and baby screaming. I feel like I’m pledging a fraternity called Delta Alpha Delta (dad) and it’s literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Weekend on the Lake

2007-05-21T20:58:00.001-04:00

Our first road trip as a family of three proved a little more difficult than previous getaways. It’s not that we didn’t have fun… we had a great time! Traveling is just a little different with a 5-week-old baby. For example the 4.5-hour trip became 6 with feeding breaks at roadside truck stops.

Booty Rash.

2007-05-18T02:23:00.001-04:00

Today was a pretty rough day at the Holloway house. For the first time Ellie would not stop crying. I kept asking Cara questions like:

“Is she hungry?”------ “No, she just ate.”
“Is she tired?” ------- “No, she slept all day.”
“Is she poopy?” -----“You just changed her.”

Then why won’t she stop screaming!!!!!!!!!!!

It wasn’t until mom actually got poop duty that we figured out where dad had gone wrong. “MATT!” I hear from the other room, “What is this on her bottom!?” So I rush into the bedroom to see what Cara is screaming about, and sure enough, there are some defined red marks on Ellie’s cute little tootsie.

Nothing could have prepared me for the feeling I felt next. I had not only let down my wife, but I had given my beautiful new baby a pretty good rash. I felt like a complete failure. “Am I the worst dad ever,” I thought to myself. The reason she had been crying all day suddenly came to light. And no one was to blame but me.

This has been the toughest lesson to learn thus far as a new dad. Sometimes you are trying to help, and you feel like you are doing your best… and it’s not good enough. In fact you are hurting the situation, and in this case hurting your baby.

Maybe I am being too hard on myself, but I feel I have learned some valuable lessons today. Aside from the obvious things like: wipe gentler, and apply more booty cream; I have learned that I’m not always going to be the “worlds greatest dad.” Sometimes my girls are going to be hurting, and I’m the one who hurt them. No matter how hard I try, I’m always going to make mistakes, but from now on, I’ll always be there to admit them and pick my girls up to make sure they are ok.

I love you El, I’ll be more sensitive next time.

Freinds, Family, Strangers... VOTE!

2007-05-17T11:36:00.000-04:00

Help me win some free stuff! Vote for my environmentally friendly water bottle design here:

The Big Question Is HOW?

2007-05-15T21:39:00.001-04:00

The big How design conference is coming to Atlanta this year, but some folks aren’t too thrilled about it. What student designer wouldn’t love a chance to go hear seminars taught by THE BEST designers in the industry, participate in creative workshops, and not to mention mingle with representatives from the top firms in the world? But, the simple fact is most students I’ve talked to aren’t going because that they can’t afford it. For those who say you can’t put a price tag on experience, I would have to disagree, and in this case it’s a steep 550 smack-a-roos! I guess I might be a little naive about what things cost in the “real” world, but it seems a little ridiculous they are expecting students to pay this much. On the other hand I feel like I can’t afford not to go!

Fellow students, what are your thoughts on this?

What the Hay?

2007-05-15T03:35:00.000-04:00

It’s 3:30 in the a.m. and I was just finishing up my schoolwork for tomorrow’s class when I was startled by an interesting noise from my childhood days on the farm. Did I just hear a horse NEEEEEEAAAAA? I grabbed my camera and headed outside to make sure I wasn’t losing my mind. Sure enough, my ears had not deceived me. What is a horse doing in the parking lot of my apartment complex! Well, that was a good laugh, now time for bed.

Ellie Belle!

2007-05-13T19:54:00.000-04:00

Mother’s Day Madness

2007-05-13T02:39:00.000-04:00

It was a pretty funny site tonight when I came into Target to get some last minute rapping paper for mother’s day tomorrow. Does anybody know if Hallmark actually created Mother’s Day to sell more cards? If they did…they are pure genius. The store was relatively empty until I rounded the corner of the card isle. People were everywhere! Like wild animals they were frantically edging their way between other shoppers, trying to find the perfect quote, picture, or design that will bring tears to mom’s eyes. I got a pic with my camera phone but can’t seem to upload it. My phone is a Cingular freebee, and I’m starting to see why.

The madness continued well into the night for me. I wanted to do something special for Cara being that it is her first mother’s day, but I didn’t expect it to take this long. I decided to make a homemade card since they are considered more thoughtful, and because I was a little turned off by the whole Hallmark scene. What I thought would take 20 minutes turned into a 3-hour project! Things like printing problems, missing toolboxes, supplies packed in moving boxes, and changing more diapers kept interrupting productivity. She is worth it though, and I think she is really going to like the card. How could she not they are filled with Ellie’s cute toes!

I also made her a journal, and Ellie bought her a new ultrasonic jewelry cleaner because she overheard her mom say she wanted it in the mall 2 days ago.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY CARA, I LOVE YOU!

Ellie Is Getting Big, and So Are Responsibilities

2007-05-12T01:09:00.000-04:00

I looked down today and noticed something... this girl is GROWING. It's only been 4 weeks, which btw has flown by, but I'm telling you there is something in her diet cause Ellie is getting big and strong. Today I was testing the strength of her little leg with my hand and when her foot slipped off it met my mouth with surprising force. No bloody lip, but I won't be doing it again.

I also feel like I've been kicked in the bank the last few weeks. Expenses around here have been nuts. To list a few: A new car, Diapers (for those of you who don't know, kids poop like 12 times a day), hospital bills are rolling in like waves during a hurricane, and not to mention we are moving! Why are moving boxes so darn expensive? They are just folded cardboard. We refused to pay the ridiculous rates of Uhaul so we picked up some free ones at the local liquor store. A genius idea from my beautiful, and now thrifty wife (Cara).