Caroline Armijo, Superhero

This weekend, I visited BookExpo America for the first time. Yes, I am guilty of collecting bags of catalogs, collateral and advanced copies of books. I finished going through my stacks today. And I noticed that I went I returned from the grocery store, Henry had recycled at least 80 percent of what I had collected. It brought back lots of great memories from my days with DoubleTake Magazine. Since I know have a problem of hoarding beautiful books and papers, I am quite proud that I have already designated homes for my favorites from the weekend. Now I just need to add the new books I discovered to my Amazon wish list.

In addition to promoting Remembering Life, I wanted to find a book that I could read with my pen pal, Robbie Lee. That is what the drawing is all about. Walking through the Henry Holt booth, I saw a stack of The Grateful Fred, the third book in the Melvin Beederman, Superhero series. I also picked up promotional materials that included a list of the characters and their profiles. Perfect! And I loved the illustrations. Who can resist such a great looking book?

Today when I was writing my letter, I decided to draw a picture. I was pretty lucky to receive at least three pictures on the back of Robbie Lee's letter. At a loss for what to draw, I thought that I would draw a self-portrait and come up with my own superhero profile. I can come up with better answers than these. But I will have to think about it. So for now, here it is. Enjoy!

Caroline Rutledge Armijo

Occupation: Superhero, Graphic Designer, Entrepreneur
Powers: great with scissors, transforms paper, crazy dreams
Strengths: design skills, friendly smile
Weaknesses : books, paper, clutter
Likes: having parties, going to museums
Dislikes: snoring, mean people

So what's your profile?

five years of wedded bliss

Today is our five year anniversary. This photo was taken by our photographer Chris English as we were racing out of the church. Don't we look ecstatic?

This morning on my walk, I was thinking about how much cooler it is here today than it was five years ago. It was extremely humid. A storm finally rolled during the dancing and we moved the party inside to my parent's den. We had a great wedding and an even better five years. I still appreciate all of the generosity from our friends and family for our special day. It's great to continue to feel your support even now.

And, of course, being married to Henry is the best. He is not very excited about me making him a public persona with my blog and web site. But I think that he secretly enjoys it. I think that we work well together. You know, a marriage isn't just about love. You are also business partners. And, I love hanging out with him. We have a lot of similar interests and enough varying hobbies to give each other space. He is my best friend and I love him dearly. Plus, I think that my mom is a little jealous that he cooks for me. But I always say that I can't stop him from practicing his favorite creative outlet. I am just a little lucky. (I forgot to include that he is also my blog editor!)

You can see our wedding program as part of an article I wrote for caroline's fortunehearts :: How to Create a Memorable Wedding Program

Happy Anniversary, Henry! I love you.

my first letter from my pen pal

Last week I wrote my little cousin Robbie Lee and asked him if he wanted to be my pen pal. I was so excited when I received my first letter in the mail today. I thought that I recognized the envelope in the mail even though Henry tried to hide it under the junk mail. It's always thrilling to find something personal in the mail. Well, I received a great letter and these drawings of some pretty happy people on the back. I can't wait to send Robbie Lee his next letter. I hope to find a great new book at the Book Expo this weekend to include in his package. Maybe that will give us something to write about.

Last year I participated in a literacy project called In2Books, which is based in Washington, DC. I loved this unique volunteer opportunity. I had two pen pals that I emailed throughout the school year. I received a book in the mail and we would write about different concepts. It was a lot of fun to read the letters from my two pen pals, Stuart and Hannah, to see what they were thinking. They would even draw me pictures, especially Stuart who loves to draw comics. The first mailing includes an introductory letter with a visual profile. I made a collage of all my favorite things that I would want to share with these second graders. From there we would discuss various books and questions asked in each letter.

Unfortunately I received an email last spring saying that the project had been put on hold for a year. So I am hoping that some miracle funding will land in the In2Books plates. I can see this program being implemented all over the US. It is extremely scalable and incredibly valuable. All you need are the willing adults with internet access and a participating school. During my graduate school studies, I discovered that literacy is the most important element to being creative. So knowing how to read and write is crucial. It is so intricately intertwined with creativity.

The In2Books experience has given me some good ideas of things I can do with Robbie Lee. I am planning on putting together a packet of pre-addressed envelopes and stationery. Maybe I will include a large sheet of paper to make a collage for a visual profile. Maybe I will send him a book about Washington, DC so that he can learn more about where I live. I think that it will be a lot of fun. The key is making it meaningful without it being too much work for either one of us.

My first pen pal was Sarah Simms, from some province in Canada. I met her when I was probably 8 or 9 while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC. She was a few years younger than me. I remember receiving her letters, which had been written on Winnie the Pooh stationery with the help of her dad. An elementary school picture of Sarah in a burgundy corduroy jumper usually shows up at some point whenever I go through my unorganized collection of childhood pictures. I wonder what Sarah is up to now.

So who can be your pen pal? And email doesn't count.

it's up!

I finally finished updating my new web site design. I began planning a new organization since my trip to San Francisco in early February. Then I created a front page design in mid-March. And now it is finally finished. I am sure that there are still a few kinks that need to be worked out. So I am pleased to announce a new streamlined site that should be easier for you to navigate. Enjoy!

caroline's fortunehearts

just a moment please

I am in the middle of redoing my web site. I am so close to having it finished, that I am going to go ahead and put up what I have and fill in from there. But in order to do that, I am deleting lots of files off of my server. I am sure that there is a more seamless way to do it, but I am not sure how. My new site should be up very soon.

Happy Birthday, Yacob!

Yacob and Mimi

I have never met Yacob Ndiaye, but I have heard many great things about him from his mom, Mimi, who is a friend I have met since moving to DC. She told me all about his blog and all of the interesting places that he has visited. When I learned that today was his fourth birthday, I had to feature his blog. People visit Yacob's blog from all over the world. You can see pictures of the different places he has been and some of his favorite things to do. So happy birthday, Yacob! I can't wait to meet you. I hope that you have a great birthday filled with your favorite things!

Yacob's blog

imaginary friends and pig latin

(Again, these are items from my web site clean up!)

My friend Sarah sent me this link this week. We have been friends since we were three and we both had imaginary friends. Mine was named Mindy. I had totally forgotten about her, except my parents reminded me about her. I think that we (Mindy and I) drove my parents crazy. Sarah had a much more vivid imaginary friend with a large family. Learn more from this show on The Connection.

how to speak pig latin and great children's music with Ella Jenkins from Morning Edition, NPR
expert advice on imaginary friends from The Connection, NPR

pocket art

I am in the process of redesigning my web site. Well, I actually began working on the new design at the beginning of March. Then by late March, my work on fortunehearts came to a complete stand-still. Now I am determined to complete the project before Tuesday. With that I am salvaging some of my favorite pieces from my web site and redebuting them here on my blog. I added them to my web site before I had a blog. Although it would have been much more suitable for that type of format instead of allowing my web site to grow into a unweidly garden, if you will. So look for more in the very near future.

May 19, 2004

Today at work, my co-worker and I hosted a pocket art exhibit. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Lots of people in our office are thinking and talking about art. One co-worker even suggested that pocket art should be something that is passed along to others. Then you can see how long the piece takes to get back to you, which is a lot more fun than an email chain letter!

The idea for our lunch came from a commentary on pocket art by Walter Mosley I heard one morning on NPR.

Listen to it and look for your piece of pocket art. Think about what pocket art event you can host. Please share your experience with me.

Art is everywhere, except it has to pass through a creative mind. - Louise Nevelson

Also a previous post on pocket art (I love this idea! Thanks, Walter.): making her pocket art debut

most of my favorite things

I had the best time with Jason this past Saturday. Jason called to see if I wanted to join him for breakfast on Saturday morning. We went to Eastern Market and split an order of incredible blue bucks (blueberry buckwheat pancakes) and fried fish and grits. I took a few pictures of the beautiful flowers and we walked around the craft booths to see what was for sale.

Then we went to my favorite big box store Target for a few staples. Afterwards we went to his house to explore his latest discovery - the new Comcast Karaoke On-Demand feature. Fortunately for me, Henry and I had practiced singing George Michael's Freedom a couple of times on our latest trip home. Jason was a well-known singer during his college days. I will stop there. But he is singing in several spots across Europe this summer. (Very exciting, Jason! I am so proud of you.)

And of course, I could not resist sitting down to play a few songs on his keyboard. Slowly but surely I was able to play the basic songs featured in the back of the manual. I did use both hands. Maybe Mrs. Neal was watching over me somewhat proud that I still know how to play a basic chord. Although I haven't practiced in almost 20 years now. Then the fun really began.



Jason just moved from Baltimore to Arlington a little over a month ago. We just started talking casually about what he could do. Then he asked that we just decide where to hang his pictures. A large cardboard box of prints stood behind his couch. That was all it took. We started with the gold mirror next to the corner and worked from there. We pulled a small cabinet out of his closet and added a plant for color. I still think that is my favorite space in the room. Once we hung the pictures in the corner and pulled a cabinet from the closet, we hung a few more pictures and rearranged the bookshelf at the door. By walking around the apartment, we discovered pieces that worked perfectly. I took down some things that I wasn't crazy about and replaced them with others.



Finally we tackled the fireplace. We moved all of the TV components to the left side of the TV, leaving a large welcoming space on the mantel for visitors when they enter the room. Jason has a great collection of Buddhas, especially the teeny incense holder. One is a bright red candle that I kept trying to stick in different spots around the room. He said no each time. Finally it found a subtle home as it somewhat blends in with the red background on the dog print. We added his ivy plant to hide the side of the TV. The ivy was on top of the space between the cabinets in his ceiling. So Jason knelt while I stood on his leg to get the plant. That is probably the closest I have ever come to performing a cheerleading stunt. How exciting!



Jason repaid me by buying me a turkey basil pesto Frescata sandwich from Wendy's - another favorite. By the time I got home, I was exhausted so I took a nap on the couch. What a perfect day!

fifteen minutes til family fame

Last week, we were pulling together images for Cheryl's funeral. Robbie, my dad and I discussed ideas about putting together a slide show on Thursday morning at the funeral home. But once we finished a delicious, but carb-heavy lunch, the likelihood of completing a slide show began to fade. Stacks of photos came out. We all laughed at Brandi's expansive bangs on such a teeny child. There was one photo album that was really old. My dad requested that I make pictures of all of the pictures for him. I had taken photos of some albums at Bettye and Richard's anniversary and used them on a previous blog post about Cheryl. They weren't the best quality, but they were what I could find in my computer files.

The weather was beautiful so I took the photo album outside onto the deck. I have had a lot of issues with indoor lighting using my digital camera. I am never as happy with my photographs as when I can take pictures outside without the aid of a flash. I then got close up to all of the pictures in the photo album. Many of them were blurry, but Dad wanted copies of the pictures anyway. I had some issues with some glare on the photos. And the reflection does show a green cast from the tree leaves above my head. But basically, I held still and went through the album taking a picture of each photograph. Before I knew it, I had taken over 80 pictures in about a twenty minute period. Dad downloaded the photos to his camera and the computer automatically created a slideshow. It was like magic! No need to scan all of the images individually, crop, save, resize - all of the countless steps that make such a task arduous.

These two pictures show how I just held the camera closer to the what I wanted out of the picture - my dad and Cheryl hugging.





You can see how this shot of Cheryl and Wallace Rutledge was taken with the edge showing and on a bit of an angle.



Plus there is nothing that you can do about your original shot being blurry, as seen in this photo of my grandfather's sunburned back.



But when the slideshow started, a lot of the messy edges were lost. What is known as the Ken Burn's effect in iPhoto results in a movement across the photo on the frame. What seemed like an impossible task, all of a sudden becomes quite simple. Isn't it amazing how much technology we have at our fingertips? So next time you see some great photos, don't ask to borrow them to later scan. Quickly and quietly get to snapping. As long as you hold steady, you're golden. Now you have family memories that you can share with the world, as seen here.

I am going to try to do this with my wedding photos. It has only been five years in less than two weeks! Yikes, but this discovery is a huge relief.

running for our lives

Jenny Marin is a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. She is training for the Mayor’s Midnight Sun Half Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska on June 17th.

Jenny's parents were math majors with my mom at Wake Forest and we reconnected this fall at her brother Geoff's wedding. My last memory of her was July 4th weekend in 1984. That was my first trip to Washington, DC. I most vividly remember the sea of trash on the lawn surrounding the Washington Monument. The Beach Boys had performed the day before.

Tonight I received an update on Jenny's training, which I must give her credit. I am not much of a runner, although Henry likes to run. However the cause caught my attention. My aunt Cheryl died as a result of treatments in her battle against lymphoma.

Cheryl was first diagnosed with lymphoma in 1994. After a tough year or so, her cancer went into remission. But it raised its ugly head and the last two years were a struggle. Since last spring, Cheryl grew increasingly weak and fought as hard as she could despite the problems that she had resulting from her treatments.

So I had to donate to Jenny's efforts. Unfortunately most of us know of someone who has been affected by leukemia or lymphoma. Please donate and help put a stop to this devastating disease.

inspiring Friendship dreams

This weekend we were in North Carolina for a funeral and a wedding, in that order. Both were great examples of love and dedication to your spouse. After attending my aunt's funeral, it only made me appreciate Walter and Judith's wedding all that much more. I think that the one thing that stood out to me the most throughout the weekend was the time we spent outdoors. When I left, I definitely had not spent enough time in the lush green North Carolina grass. I spent the entire ride home daydreaming about my future vacation home in Friendship.

My parent's rent house is a pretty simple farm house, originally owned by my dad's Uncle Rob. I have always wanted to update it. I want to add a large porch extending out to the well. I also want to plant a cutting flower garden out to the side. Plus this is the perfect place to have a nice kitchen for Henry to cook in. I can imagine us having lots of parties and cook-outs there. Most of all, I imagine a lush carpet of grass running through two rows of bountiful peony bushes. I can just see the thick green grass and I can't wait.

I guess that it is easier for me to imagine redoing this house than any future home that we might live in. I already know what it looks like inside. I am familiar with the landscape. And I can imagine my children not even having to cross the street to visit Grandma. (Don't get too excited. This is not some kind of passive announcement.)

In downtown DC, I don't have any access to grass that I would consider laying down in to take a nap or even taking my shoes off to walk in. Who ever knew that grass, trees and flowers would be so important?

While visiting Carrboro and Chapel Hill before the wedding, we went into a lot of our favorite spots in town. One thing that they all had in common was that they looked great, but they also seemed to use simple materials that still show their infrastructure. I don't care if the ac ducts are showing. That is great. I want to open up the ceiling adding height and skylights. I want it to bright and welcoming.

So these are the spots that really inspired me:
Cafe Driade - I love the outdoor patio and garden gate that leads down into the woods.
Branching Out - Fabulous antiques, flowers and paper products
Open Eye Cafe - another great coffee spot in Carrboro that has recently expanded into what was once Scott's Rentals
Fifth Season - a great organic garden center that now faces my old apartment on West Carr Street - love the orchids!

You must stop by all of these when you are in the area.