Week Redux: Catching Up

I haven't posted in a few days so I figured I'd use this post to catch up.

Last Tuesday we were invited to hang out with our friends 3D6 at a backyard party where they were being filmed for a television show.  The house they held it at was amazing and the first house with a yard I have seen here in Vegas that looked like a backyard in California.

Brian and I both got to jam out with them before the camera crew showed up. We had a blast. Hayden got to play with some kids so he had a blast as well.

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The rest of the week was really BLAH. We've been trying to find a solution to our vehicle problems and made out what seemed to be a great plan. Then on Friday we tried to execute that plan and it all fell apart. So we're back to square one with a vehicle falling apart and no money to fix it.

Anyway, this weekend Hayden discovered that he likes RICE. He ate a whole bowl of rice-a-roni for the first time. He said they tasted like little french fries, but really whatever works and gets this kid to broaden his food selection.

He also received his Angry Bird Space Ice Bird in the mail. He was so excited he hugged me and held me for hours to say thank you. He even made a safe word for me "Orange Banana" so if he hugged me too much I could get him to stop.

We joined some friends on the strip for a couple hours and walked around on Saturday night. It was our friend Dean's birthday. Brian and I really don't get to do the strip together that often. It's been a while since I've seen it so packed and honestly I was quite surprised at how many people were walking around with kids in tow at eleven at night. Hayden stayed with a friend of ours and I wouldn't have dragged him around from casino to casino like these parents did. Vegas is not Disneyland.

Weekend Redux: Hot Hot Hot

This was the hottest weekend of the year so far. We caved and turned on the A/C since Hayden said he was "melting." 
Friday I got to treat Hayden with a milkshake and have a small picnic in the playground at his school. Mostly I chatted with his friends mom and watched him run around like crazy. That evening we bbq'd and played Madden online all night till I literally crashed on the couch.
Hayden has been obsessing over collecting Angry Bird toys for weeks now. He lost his first tooth a week and a half ago and we promised him a toy of his choice as a reward. Saturday with extreme excitement we headed over to Target after breakfast. To his disappointment they didn't have any of the birds he wanted. So he then explained to me that I needed to order the two he wanted online.

The Ice Bird The Boomerang Bird

Yesterday we hung out inside all day avoiding the heat and watching tv. Kind of boring really, but sometimes it's nice to just hang out with each other with no plans, no stress, and just enough us.

Greener grass won't grow in the desert.

 The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be. - Robert Fulghum


 This last week has been full of grumbles and stress. Besides being broke we're a family of three who needs to be at three different places on complete opposite sides of town and we only have one vehicle. Then that vehicle is falling apart.

We haven't been financially in a spot where we can afford another vehicle, yet. We're paying our bills and trying to keep our heads above water but things are worse than they were last year at this time. It's been very stressful, and honestly I don't deal well with this kind of stress.

I get frustrated when I can't fix things immediately and I want to just curl up into a ball until it goes away. But I don't, instead I hustle to get freelance jobs, book extra shows, sell whatever extra crap I have laying around the house, and try to keep myself busy so I don't feel helpless and lazy.

Sometimes I seriously regret our move from Sacramento to Las Vegas in 2008. I especially regret it when we're broke, when the supposed family and friends I had here completely let me down, and when I want to hide out in the wilderness. I feel like I've been watering the grass, but the desert heat won't let it grow.

Inspirational Tees

Sponsored by Hottopic.com
12 years ago I designed my first band tee for my band Shovelfist. I used a printer friendly iron on transfer and made all of our shirts by hand. Now I design band shirts all the time and with Brian as a screen printer we've gotten to print some pretty awesome designs.
The band shirt designs have evolved so much in the last few years and as a designer I am inspired all the time by some of the cool designs I see.
Here's some pretty amazing tees from Hot Topic. (note: I like the shirts not all the bands) Click to see better detail on their site.

Breathe Carolina Dino Pizza Girls T-Shirt

Alesana Snake Girls T-Shirt

Gorillaz Gargoyle Slim-Fit T-Shirt

Miss May I Skull Eye Slim-Fit T-Shirt

Children Of Bodom Reaper Horse T-Shirt

A Day To Remember Beast Girl Slim-Fit T-Shirt

Bring Me The Horizon All Over

Blood On The Dance Floor Allover Bear T-Shirt

WeekEnd-Redux-BUSY BEE

Since last Tuesday I've been one busy bee. I worked on a new website for our screenprinting/design company. www.klusterink.com 
Our plan is to cater to bands and small businesses on design and printing work and then eventually work our way into a storefront.
Saturday Hayden decided to go through the many faces of a 5 year old. He made characters for each of these shots.

Yesterday we filmed part of our first official music video. Raven, an amazing make-up artsist did my face up for me. It came out amazing. This isn't the best shot, but the video came out great!

We have another shoot to do before the process is completely done but it's been so much fun so far!

Retro Charlie Style

Sponsored by Hottopic.com
 When I was 16 here in Vegas I worked at "the Mall". I was slinging clothes at Miller's Outpost, but I shopped at Hot Topic. They carried Dr Martens in more colors than every other store, band shirts from bands that I would never be able to see in person, hair dye, and all the things that I loved as a 16 year old punk rock fan. Miller's Outpost was known for jeans and polo shirts, not exactly my style. 16 years later, Hot Topic still sells these things and I'm still making wishlists.
Here's a wishlist that 16 year old Charlie would have spent an entire paycheck on:

Batman Glasses

I <3 Deftones Shirt

Pantera Shirt

Alice In Chains Shirt

Main Panic Atomic Turquoise

Qupid Black PU Riding Boot

Weekend Redux: 1st Friday and a Half Ass Easter

 This Friday was the First Friday celebration in the Las Vegas Arts District.We saw a giant praying mantis with disco eyes, got to pet a baby wallaby and a goat, watched break dancers, visited the brand new location for  Cowtown Guitars and enjoyed some amazing local art. Hayden's become a pro and enjoyed himself without any complaints, other than the lack of free french fries.

 With being sick I totally forgot about Easter. Hayden got some cards from his Great Grandma and Great Aunt and used his money to buy some legos and an stuffed Angry Bird pig. But Saturday afternoon he said "Mom, I know the Easter Bunny isn't real but do you think he can still give me some stuff?"
Insert "worse mom of the year panic mode" right there. We scrambled and pulled together a pretty decent basket before Sunday morning.  He was stoked and then proceeded to hide eggs over and over again for both of us to find. We then barbecued for some friends and ended up having a great Zombie Jesus Day.

And then pneumonia.

I've spent the last seven days battling pneumonia. On my birthday (friday) I had been pretty loopy and not feeling well. I thought it was caused by some allergy medicine I took Thursday night but after a long day at work I got home took my temperature and was shocked it was at 103.
I had caught whatever Hayden had just gotten over, or so I though.  I promptly rested and hydrated. Saturday morning I was much worse, but I had a lot to do in preparation of the show. We ran some errands, did our duties and played our show.
 I struggled all night. Coughing, then pushing myself on stage and being surrounded by cigarette smoke didn't help. On our way home after the show I felt like someone had dropped a firecracker down my throat. I was struggling to breath and was in a ton of pain.
Brian took care of Hayden all day Sunday while I slept and tried to sweat the fever out. I was a bit better by Monday, but as I don't have any more paid time off I've had to work through all of this.
I'm just now getting my voice back, but the coughing and the liquidy sinuses are really lame.
It really sucks being sick on my birthday weekend. I wanted to do so much more and didn't get to enjoy the cupcakes and birthday cakes I got from my awesome friends.
Hopefully this crap will go away. I'm super excited to try my new microphone and write some new music. 

Spring Break Styles

Sponsored by Hottopic.com

Although I've been sick the weather has been beautiful here and it's time to dust off the warmer weather wardrobe, or just buy a new one all together. Spring fashion is always full of bright colors and lately day glo has been lining the store racks. But none of that is my style. My wardrobe tends to be monochrome year round.  Here's a Spring Break Style wishlist I put together from Hottopic.com

1. Teenage Runaway Burnout Ribcage Girls Tank Top