Missing Links: immortal jellyfish + fireflies + printing a human heart

(photo by Matthew James Fox, graphics and editing by me)

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Wow, it's been like a month and a half since my last edition of Missing Links! Missing Links is all about links, articles, infographics and resources, written in common English for normal people interested in the sciences. I'm thinking I'm going to make this a monthlyish post since I know it might now be all of your favorite post, but I still want to post it! Even though it's summer and I'm not in class, I'm still trying to keep my brain going (more on that soon). Part of that means reading articles and science journals regularly, which is something I already like to do. Soooo, here are a few of my recent faves!

+ 5 small creatures capable of causing massive amounts of pain. Okay, I'll admit, I've never sat around and wondered which small animals/insects can cause the most pain, but this is still a super fascinating article. Also, that box jellyfish is actually gorgeous. I kind of want to cuddle with it but apparently I shouldn't want that.

+ There was once a woman who had immortal cells. I reviewed the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks awhile ago, but in case you haven't/don't want to read a long book about cells, here's a short recap. It's one of my favorite books of all time.

+ Scientists are trying to use 3D printers to manufacture a human heart. Yeah, seriously. Even more surprising, they have already successfully created splint, valves and a human ear. A team from University of Louisville estimates that they may succeed at creating a human heart within 3-5 years!

+ Holy weird. There's a kind of jellyfish that can actually age backwards. As it grows old, it can change its method of producing cells so that it actually becomes physiologically younger. In theory (aka without the threat of predators), these jellies could live forever. Tell me that's not freaking amazing.

+ Just sort of randomly interesting, here's an article with really cool photos where you can find out how cork is made. It's apparently a very technical and precise process. Who knew? 

+ And just for fun, long exposure photographs of fireflies.

P.S. Want more? Missing Links, more Missing Links, and How DNA Fingerprinting Works.

Weekly Goals #35

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Happy Monday! Now that it's summer, Mondays are actually happy because they're my one day off! Seriously, I never understood how much I would love Mondays until I started working this job. Even though it's my day off, I still have some errands to run to pick up some stuff for the shop--it seems like there are always errands to run. I tend to put them off as long as possible because the nearest restaurant wholesaler is like an hour away and who has time for that? But then I ran out of napkins on Saturday so I kinda need to go...napkins are actually kind of important in ice cream shops, as it turns out.

Anyways, that's my day! This week should be more of the same old stuff. I'm working every night and beaching it every afternoon (I really do have a pretty sweet deal). One exciting thing: our town-wide barbecue and square dance is on Saturday! My town is super teeny but everyone gathers in the field in the park and we all have a big pork barbecue dinner together. It's really so much fun! I love living in a small town.

Last Week's Goals:

+ spend time being intentional with H when he comes to visit. I think we aced this! After he left, I realized a bunch of things I forgot to show him, but he still saw a lot of my life in those five all-too-short days. We had such a nice time and I miss having him here already! He would stay up for me to come home after work and we recapped our days before going to bed. Now it feels weird to come home to a house of sleeping people!

+ write all my thank you cards! Well I was totally up to date on this, but then I got two more gifts (not that I mind! ;). So I've still got a few to do, but I'm definitely considering this a success.

This Week's Goals:

+ Finish my tattoo calligraphy project. As I mentioned the other day, I was hired to calligraph a tattoo for someone and I'm struggling with it a little. As it happens, the one capital letter it includes is 'C' and my 'C' is so boring. I'm driving myself crazy trying to make it pretty. But I'm working on it.

+ Finish my print designs and order them! This is a big step for me since I only have a few designs done. I'm really sort of scared about this for some reason because it's the first real monetary investment I've put into this project! If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for preparing my prints for this fair, let me know!

+ Exercise. I've been SO bad about exercising since I don't belong to a gym here and I just get distracted whenever I try to work out. Or I get overwhelmed at the thought of an hour of exercise since I'm so out of shape. I've started doing the 7-minute workout to help combat this. This week, I aim to do 14 sets of the 7-minute workout--so only about 15 minutes a day.

That's all for today! I think I may go back to doing these every week since I'm posting more frequently these days. So for once, these might actually be weekly goals! What are your goals + plans this week?

DIY Design: Make a Font From Your Own Handwriting

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Over the last few weeks, I've been adding my own hand-lettering to my blog, just here and there. Personally, I think it adds a fun, personal touch! But what if you don't want to (or don't have time to) hand-letter every graphic you need for your blog? Fake it!

A few days ago, I downloaded the InstaFontMaker app for my Android tablet (which is free in the Google Play store!), just to noodle around with it. It turns out, it's ridiculously easy to make a font out of your own handwriting! Just take your phone or tablet, open the app and write every letter as it prompts you. Then, you can email it to your computer where you can open and install it like any other font file! 

Just a few tips: I found it was easiest to use on my tablet as opposed to a phone. It gave me more space for my wrist and it was easier to get a big view of each letter. I also used a stylus (just a plain old $12 Targus from Target/Walmart) and I found it made a huge difference in neatening up each letter. 

Just for fun, you can download my handwriting font, which I've titled Swirl. Have fun! If you make your own, I'd love to see it!

6 Good Things Right Now

(photo by Nick West for Unsplash)

Guys I've been so pouty today. My head hurts, my room is messy, I miss H and it's everyone's fault but mine. Even though he only visited me for five days, H leaving has really thrown me for a loop and I'm still in that short-term depression stage that comes right after visits in long term relationships. Sigh. 

Anyways, I'm gonna be an optimist today and talk about a few things that are awesome right now, even when a few things aren't. Really, life is pretty good. 

1. I got two really exciting hand-lettering jobs. One is making hand-lettered chalkboard signs for someone's 40th birthday....

2. ...and the other is even cooler. I'm working to calligraph a design for a girl's tattoo! Ever since I saw the tattoo that Rebecca Caridad did for her brother, I've loved the idea and I'm so excited to work on it!

3. Work is going smoothly. The 4th of July week is the very peak of renter season in my town on Lake Michigan and naturally all of those tourists flock to my ice cream shop at night to cool off. Good for business but not for my stress levels, so I'm glad that things are calming down a little bit.

4. I'm having a lot of fun working on my note card + print line (which will hopefully be out in the fall). I'm constantly scanning Pinterest and the internet for short, new quotes. I really like using short, simple maxims that you can remember easily. Some of my favorites for prints are...

"Good things take time."

"Wherever you are, be all there." (Jim Elliot)

"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." (Teddy Roosevelt) 

5. It sounds a little mean, but now that H isn't here, I have more time to read. Seriously, just trying to look on the bright side! I'm currently reading Revenge Wears Prada, the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada.

6. My tablet. It's an Android Venue and Android drove me crazy for a little while but now I have to say, I'm kind of obsessed. I got it as through a Dell promotion and it cam free with a laptop I was going to buy anyways. It's so much fun to use it for my hand-lettering and keeping my documents organized for work and all. Also, Netflix is so much better on a tablet than on an iPhone. Yay!

What good things are going on in your life?

4 Visually Inspiring Pins

Early early this morning (read: before 5 am), I took H to the teeny-ten-gate airport near me and sent him off back to North Carolina. And though I know in my heart that I'm meant to be in Michigan for this season of my life and he's meant to be in NC, I'm still thoroughly pouting that he's gone. To cope, I'm trying to occupy myself and my mind with anything that I can do without thinking of him. So pretty much, I've settled on Netflix and Pinterest. 

Despite my mood, I'm still (as always) gravitating towards bright, lively greens and yellows. It just feels like summer!

Something about these colors never fails to cheer me up just a little bit. Leave your Pinterest URL so I can follow you! Follow me here.

door / dress / cacti / calligraphy

Why Long-Distance Relationships (Sometimes) Rock

(This picture has nothing to do with this post, but it looks kind of pretty right? Taken in Marseille, France.)

Welp. Sometimes life has a way of getting ahead of you. I had glorious plans for my blog this summer--I was going to get back to posting (nearly) every day, commenting on all my fave blogs (I promise I'm reading, just silently) and staying in the game. 

But I kind of forgot that I sort of have stuff going on. You know, life. I promised a June Recap on Wednesday (umm, like five days ago). But H came to visit and we had five glorious days of pretending to be tourists, eating yummy food and having feel-talks. 

Having H come visit is and was so wonderful. He's my best friend and the one who knows the most about me in the whole world. So obviously, having him 800 miles away from me two months out of the year and 450 miles away for another 9 months of the year sucks. But long distance has been really good for us in a lot of ways.

We form separate lives. In North Carolina, H and I have a lot of mutual friends, which is great. But sometimes, I just want to go shopping and he just wants to watch movies and drive around with the boys (or whatever they do). 

We've learned to communicate more effectively. We both work a lot and because of the service around where I live, our phone calls are infrequent and often cut off in the middle. Hearing his voice is so much more special to me now that I don't get to hear it all the time. 

We've learned to trust each other, so much. The first time we lived apart, I struggled with jealousy about a certain female friend of his (who, by the way, was totally on the prowl). Since then, we (meaning I) have learned to trust him and ourselves and our relationship. 

Lastly, receiving handwritten cards and letters = the best. I think that's self-explanatory. There's something so familiar and homey about getting them and recognizing his weird handwriting and the way he never dots his 'i's.

Also, I have more time to catch up on Netflix without date nights. Kidding. 

Anyways. Rambling over. 

This has been a sappy post about H, thanks to my dad for buying him a plane ticket to visit me and to H for loving me. Love you poopface. Sorry for writing a blog post about you without asking you first. 

Desktop Wallpaper: Yosemite View

GUYS I'M SO EXCITED. H is coming to visit tomorrow! And it's only been two weeks since I've seen him so that's not really a huge deal, but I'm really excited to show him around the town where I grow up and work and live for part of the year. It's one of those places that I know inside and out and it's so dear to my heart. And naturally, H is so dear to my heart and I just need him to meet my town.

I've actually gotten sort of obsessive about it--I've already made a detailed itinerary for what we're going to be doing for the next five days--cherry picking, pizza at my favorite place, bike riding, visiting the state park, going to the beach, walking in the 4th of July Parade, going to the Tabernacle (church) with my family, etc. It's a big deal! So already, I can tell that July is just going to be swell.

But June was pretty great too! Among the highlights, I graduated, went to California and settled in Michigan for the summer. Tomorrow I'll recap June a little more thoroughly, but today I just want to share one little bit of my California trip (since apparently I'm never going to get through all my pictures).

The natural beauty in CA was just gorgeous and this was one of my favorite spots in Yosemite. I know it's not a particularly creative shot but guys. It was impossible to take an ugly picture.

Even more than just the view, I love the story behind how these mountains came about--through rivers and glaciers freezing and melting over thousands of years. What a great reminder that good things really do take time. 

To download, just click through on the picture and save the full-size photo which is linked. Then set it as your desktop background!

Enjoy the wallpaper and the rest of your Tuesday!