A few days ago, Mimi ran to the front door, put her little hands into the mail slot, climbed up and looked out. We tried to pull her away but she wouldn’t let go. That kid is strong. What was out there?

We gently nudged her aside to get a look at what she was staring at.

A tubular package. Hmm…I pulled Mimi away and took a look for myself. Here’s what I saw:

Okay. I saw the same thing as Mimi.

And that’s when it hit me: it must be Linda’s poster. Linda’s poster! I asked for it for Mother’s Day. And I got it.

When Linda had completed 500 Facebook Graffiti illustrations – five hundred!!! – she took her favorite 100 and made a print. I’ve wanted a few of these illos for a while. I never imagined having a hundred of them. The poster is beautiful. I’m taking it to a professional framer next week. I’ll post a photo of it when it’s hanging in my house.

To get your own print, click on the image above or right here.

Thank you, Mimi, for making me a mother. Thank you, Linda, for creating such beautiful art. Thank you Wolf, for this gift.

Late last year, I took at look at the home page of my website – mischiefmaricookies.com – and nearly hurled. From boredom.

It looked drab and tired, even.

Time for a makeover. Make that an extreme makeover.

The website redesign

The first program I ever used to design a website was GoLive CS2. I think I can hear my web designer friends snickering right now. Well, Wolf got a very good deal on the Adobe CS2 package and at that time, GoLive came with it, so I taught myself how to put a few pages together, code what needed to be coded and uploaded to my host. The experience was tiring and my respect for legitimate designers grew exponentially.

When Wolf asked me to design his site last spring, I came across a website design product called Rapidweaver which I think is only for mac users and is geared toward mac users who have either outgrown iWeb (the site builder on macs) or who outright abhor iWeb. I kind of fall between the two groups. Rapidweaver isn’t perfect but if you’re looking for a WYSIWYG editor, it beats iWeb hands down. It comes with many more design options, and if you don’t like the templates in the original bundle, there are plenty of third party developers making some really impressive Rapidweaver themes as well as plugins that make Rapidweaver function even better. For mischief mari cookies the site, I bought the Create theme by Elixir Graphics. At around 20 bucks I think it’s a steal. It was really easy to modify and what I liked most was being able to put different pictures in the header on every page.

And did you notice the silly monkey in the header image? He’s the same monkey from my previous post where I showed him sitting in a fruit bowl. We tried a bunch of different angles and setups, but the monkey and the fruit bowl weren’t happening. I don’t really know what gave me the idea that he’d be any better off hanging out with some artichokes, but there ya go.

Following the tragic events that unfurled in Arizona this past weekend, I’m feeling pretty sad. To say the least.

Yesterday afternoon I read the Prologue of Harlan Coben’s latest novel, Caught.  Oh boy. I sure hope I can pull my nose out of it when the baby needs diapering or feeding. Did you know that Coben published this book only a year after publishing his previous novel, Long Lost? How does he do that? I have trouble stringing three sentences together. And I have the nerve to call myself a writer.

Oh. Okay, you caught me. I was reading some fiction when I should have been hard at work, finishing off a script for a new audio slide show. But I can’t help myself. I love crime fiction. I love thrillers. Good friends say that if a new story by George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman or Harlan Coben comes out, they know that I’ll be unavailable. Yet they call me.  One after another, they call, pretending they want to catch up with me when they’re really calling to bug the crap out of me.  Ring, ring. I pick up.  “Hi Mari, whatcha doin’?” “Leave me alone. I’m reading. Bye.” Five minutes later, someone else in the group of friends calls. “Hey Mari, whassup?” “Leave me alone. I’m reading a new Pelecanos /Coben/Lehane book.” Five minutes later, the sequence repeats itself. I’ve got good great friends. Do great friends do these things to one another? Of course they do. It’s their way of saying “I love you.”

Have a great holiday weekend.

I missed it again: the annual, one-day only Wistaria Festival in nearby Sierra Madre, California. There I was, one day, standing in front of our house admiring the first few lavender petals on our vine. Spring must really be here, I thought. The jasmine outside Mimi’s window smells like heaven. The wisteria is blooming. The annual Wistaria Festival (they spell it differently) must be coming soon. But then I got caught up in finishing one project, another, planning a trip to San Francisco – where I met the very awesome Linda Davick and her groovy husband Tom! – and before I knew it, I had completely forgotten this year’s festival, which was on March 14th. Alright, next year, we’re going, even if we have moved to another state.

Wisteria is everywhere here in southern California and it is beautiful. It frames some of the old Craftsman-style homes in this area so elegantly. And the Wistaria Festival is the one chance that the general public gets to enter a private estate where the world’s largest wisteria vine grows. It’s over 100 years old, has more than 1.5 million blossoms every year with 40 blooms per square foot, and its branches reach an astounding 500 feet long.

See you at the festival next year.

The shots in this post are from houses in our neighborhood.

I was wondering this morning how long you have to say “Happy New Year” to people until it’s just, well, silly. Personally, I think one should have the entire month of January to say it because even if you’re the most organized person on the planet, and you sent out your year-end/new year’s greetings to everyone on your list, there’s always a chance you‘ve missed or simply forgotten someone. And then what? You run into that someone and you don’t say Happy New Year?

I have not forgotten you, my dear mischies. Oh, no. But I have missed you.

Happy. New. Year.

This year is the Year of the Tiger, which means, of course, I’m designing a Tiger cookie. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is part of what inspired me to start my cookie designing mania, and so far, I’ve designed a Sheep, a few Dogs, a Rat, a Rooster, and…what else? Oh, yes, a Monkey and an Ox. To view those beauties, either view my portfolio, or, browse my Flickr set.

This past year was an exciting one with the birth of our daughter Mimi, in October. I think this year can only be an improvement on that. So, happy new year! my friends, and I hope that 2010 brings you great happiness and excellent health. Cheers.

Walking on Venice Beach, California

This past Monday, I had, let’s say, a false alarm. A massive contraction and change in feeling overall that made me think it was time. But an hour later, nothing. A few hours after that, still nothing. I thought it was best to finally pack my bag for the hospital in case I did suddenly, really go into labor and we had to rush to the hospital.

This week is the first week in a long time where I haven’t done much of anything. Aside from a tiny and quick update to one client’s website, I have been reading (just finished the very interesting Provenance, and now in the middle of California Girl), watching DVDs (the bizarre but somehow intriguing “Crash“) and resting. And in between, of course, checking a gazillion times to see if I’ve got everything from paperwork to newborn size diapers within reach from the crib ready. (Yes and yes, I do). My energy goes up and down. One day I feel inspired to create a new cookie design. The next thing I know, I’m reaching for the confectioners sugar and suddenly feel wiped out. After doing nothing. Pregnancy. It’s a very powerful and mysterious experience.

Have a great weekend.

Since I live in the Los Angeles area, I figured I’d try to get tickets to the Michael Jackson memorial service. I was not selected.

Guess I’ll go to the dentist after all…

We’re in the midst of what’s called “June Gloom” here in southern California – when a thick marine layer floats in from the Pacific and hangs over our heads. When we step out to walk the dog in the mornings, we feel a light mist kissing our cheeks. We know the white hot days of summer are nearby, and we enjoy this greyness as much as we can. Everything looks greener, the streets are quieter and we get to wear our fleeces for just a few more weeks.

It was Wolf’s birthday yesterday. I think he would be upset if I published his age here, so I won’t, but in recent days, I heard him moan more than once that he feels old. I’m not sure what he means by that. I’m older than him, but I don’t feel old. Just older. That’s all.

When the government announced its bailout of AIG I felt a strange, familiar queasiness permeate my body. In the days when I was in the trenches of business and financial journalism, this was the kind of event that would keep me at work for hours on end. AIG is huge. Massive. Had AIG been allowed to fail, the reports of the impact its failure would have had are not exaggerated. Is the worst over? We’ll see. Is it time to panic? No. Panic rarely helps in any situation. Should you pull your savings out of the bank and stuff it in your mattress? No, especially if you live in a region that’s prone to hurricanes or earthquakes.

Should you get out and breathe a little? Absolutely.

I don’t know what kind of flower this is. Do you know? I saw it recently on a morning walk and knew that if I didn’t photograph it soon, I’d miss it. There were a few bees flying around this one and the other flowers on this vine, and miraculously, the dog sat very, very still while I took pictures. For a few moments, all of that gloom and doom that’s been packing the headlines and the airwaves dissipated. Everyone needs an escape now and then. Even a tiny one.

What do you do?