I was all busy sitting here having a headache, and then I thought Why am I still here having this headache when I've already had this headache for three weeks?, so then I thought, Maybe I should go to the chiropractor, since this is totally from that stupid spine of mine and the stupid way that it connects with my head these days, but then I realized that we Schmutzies avoid doctors, so I decided... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation ...

"Best Sex Writing 2010: Sex Writing Is Sexy, And Reading Sex Writing Is Pretty Sexy, Too": I am going to admit something that I find personally quite embarrassing: until recently, I had not been able to make it through an entire book in well over a year. There. I said it. So, when I was sent a copy of Best Sex Writing 2010 for review, it was a tall order, given my recent inability to finish a... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Tornwordo of Sticky Crows": You weren't born in Canada. How did you come to being a Canadian from your American roots? ...In a nutshell, gay bi-national couples (spouse is Canadian) cannot live legally together in the US. Canada actually gives special consideration to couples in this situation when evaluating immigration requests. So,... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

I have been sick for weeks. I've been sick for so long now that I've lost track of how many weeks it's been. Let's say that it's been four weeks. Let's say that I got what seemed like a mild to medium weight flu about four weeks ago. That sounds right. It wasn't terrible, but it was bad enough that I took medication to get me through, because I have many things to get done and hate lying around... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Karen Sugarpants and sam {temptingmama} of Craftastrophe": Why blogging? Because it pays so well. Hahaha..not. Blogging is part of who we both are now — we've both been blogging for forever and a day on our personal blogs, and this idea just made sense to blog when we started it. Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

Headless Mom reminded me of this meme that I like to do occasionally, and, because it is 4:00 a.m. and I cannot seem to stay asleep for more than two hours at a time, I decided to revisit it. To complete the meme, you type each letter of the alphabet into your browser's address bar to see what pops up as your most common url visited. I have saved us all the boredom and excluded urls to my Google... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to ...

I recently started working for Sweet Blog as a graphic artist, and my first job was to design a masthead for Terrible Mother. (Click on the image to see it at full size.) I love the result that came out of mine and Terrible Mother's communication about the masthead, and I have to admit that this graphic is one of my favourites out of the past mastheads I have created. I love seeing it live and... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Elaine of Greens & Berries": What aspect of gardening keeps you inspired? Certainly reading about gardening and connecting with fellow gardeners on their blogs and Twitter inspires me to keep growing. But I think above all, it's the activity itself. Many times I do get discouraged because I work in a small space. And I've lost more... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

"Cancer, Cancer Everywhere: An Invitation": I used to look at my life as having two periods: BC, before cancer, and AC, after cancer. Now, though, I see those two halves differently. There were 34 years when I did not know cancer, and now, and for the rest of my life, I do know cancer. We were introduced, we had an intimate relationship, and I am forever changed by my knowledge of it. Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. ...

I'm trying to work out this issue I have running in my head. It's all messy up there, being a mushy blend of fears about my own mortality, the reality of ageing, and the difficulty of viewing myself as being on the decline. I'm trying to separate out my own ideas of beauty and success from my culture's images of beauty and success, and they are so bound together, it turns out, that it's going to... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a ...

"Spencer Pratt Tries to Outdo Heidi Montag's Fake Addiction with His Own Fake Addiction": HA HA HA HO HO HO. This Spencer Pratt character is such a card. Remember how his once-cute wife, Heidi Montag, suddenly came down with an addiction to plastic surgery that expressed itself all in one day? I think Pratt figured that they were on to something with this addiction thing, and, because they need... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Kate Inglis of sweet | salty": Why blogging? This question has me wanting to yell 'diplomatic immunity!' from the deck of an illegal freighter after I've ordered three of my goons to tackle the word 'blogging' to the ground and beat it unconscious. It's probably unfair for me to get squirmy around the word 'blogger', especially given... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

The above photos were created by using the following series of iPhone apps:The original was taken with Camera Genius.I opened the original in Best Camera, applied the Contrast setting, and saved the new version.Then, I opened the new version in CameraBag, applied the Helga setting, and saved the final version. Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Suzie Ridler of Suzie the Foodie": Why blogging? I left the world of blogging for three months last year and tried to write my foodie book and felt so lost and alone. I missed the blogging community, their feedback, support, and comfort and, yes, even the mean comments I get now and then. My blog had been about a sacred life and,... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

1. I am working for Sweet Blog as a graphic artist! 2. Cheddar and feta garlic cheesetoast, which I will be making as soon as I am done writing this list 3. That, although WebMD tried to convince me otherwise, I believe I will survive this flu/cold(/aseptic meningitis/cat scratch fever/lupus/lymphoma) 4. That the sun is rising a little higher in the sky every day so that it actually feels... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

Once upon a time, I wrote a smattering of product reviews. I wasn't passionate about having a review weblog, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Let me tell you, this is not the way to start out a successful blogging adventure. No. If you start out with a lacklustre meh, you will, in all likelihood, plod along, and that meh will be apparent to everyone, and you will let that review weblog peter... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Alison Dunn and Perdy Andrews of 365 Fashion Rehab": You have committed yourselves to give up shopping for clothes or shoes or other pretty things for an entire year and are more than two-thirds of the way through. Was it your ridiculously burgeoning closets that pushed you to do it? Partially, yes! And, at this point in our lives we... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

"2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Don Mills of The Problem with Young People Today Is...": Why blogging? I grew tired of sitting idly by while young people wreaked havoc and decided that the time was right to say something about it. I figured the only way to get my message out to young people was to blog, tweet or send them sext messages. Blogging seemed the least... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...

Amy of Fannfare asked me a question recently in an e-mail, and I realized that I have had a lot of changes happen over the course of this winter that I haven't really talked about, so I thought I'd answer her question here. This is what my tired head looks like after a full day of doing what I do, but it's a happy tired head. From Amy's e-mail: What is it that you do in your daytime/work hours?... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation ...

"Snooki and JWOWW Only WISH They Were Proper Guidettes. Wannabes.": Snooki and JWOWW of Jersery Shore fame only WISH they could rightfully lay claim to the high status of guidette (pronounced gwee-dett), but they cannot. Why? JWOWW let it slip on an episode of FoxNews.com's The Strategy Room that neither she nor Snooki are even Italian, as they would have had us believe with all their proud... Click on the title to view the full weblog entry. 10% of Schmutzie.com's ad revenue goes to Kiva.org, so a visit to Schmutzie.com is a donation to a worthy cause. Thank you! ...