Some Twisted Holiday Thoughts

On this, Black Friday, I've created my first Christmas design. Did I go shopping today? Um..NO!!! I spent the day in my comfy clothes at home with the kids. That was after waking up at 2 am to down some Pepto. I'm not used to eating all that food!!! But it was good. Anyway, here's the design for today. I hope it doesn't offend anybody (um, I guess it might offend somebody who's a hoe, but who would really admit it?)

Hoe, Hoe, Ho Ho Ho!

As usual, it's available on shirts, mugs, hats and more. I made a greeting card, also. I think that would be great to send out to the family!!! It's also available at Zazzle. Hope everybody had a great turkey day!!! Get your shopping done :)

OK, New Christmas/Pittsburgh design

Hey, here's the latest. And just in time for Christmas. I think that the design looks great on a greeting card or ornament (I've included both pics), but it's also available on shirts, mugs and the like. This idea has been brewing around in my head for a while, but I couldn't exactly decide what I wanted it to look like. I'm pretty happy with it...and proud of my lights on the tree. Well, without any further babbling, here it is:

Free Shipping from CafePress

Hello all!!! Just wanted to pass along this little info. CafePress is offering free shipping on orders over $50. But the special only lasts until Friday at midnight PST (3 am Saturday for us EST people). They will be running another free shipping promo, but it will be on $75 or more. So act quickly! Here's the info for the current free shipping offer:

CafePress Free Shipping Offer

As always, you can use it in my store, Brainlint.net, or you can use it throughout the entire site. Use code FREESHIP_50

Wow...I went to the movies!

I am so excited...I went to the movies. Not a regular date with my hubby, mind you. A family date with all four of us. It was the first movie that Chloe has sat through. We had a failed attempt to see Shrek 3 at the cheapie movies. She lasted about a half an hour or so. We went to see the Bee Movie yesterday. I thought it was pretty funny. I actually laughed out loud a couple of times. Maybe that was due the giddiness that the girls were really behaving well. And the icing on the cake was that we got to use our $40 gift certificate that Tony won LAST Christmas at his work Christmas party. Chloe did, actually, end up falling asleep on my lap. And I spent the middle 40 minutes of the movie with my arm totally asleep. But that's OK. Becca also liked the movie very much. Before we went in, we had to try to win stuffed bees from the claw machine, of course. We won one for each girl (after about $12 worth of tokens!). The girls were even game for going out to dinner after the movie. The behaved pretty well there, too. Sketchy towards the end, but they had been sitting still for quite a long time! So, thumbs up for the Bee Movie, and thumbs up for the fact that I can actually take my girls to a movie every once in a while. Good timing, seeing that it's getting cold and miserable here in Pittsburgh!!!

A design for the divas!

OK, here's another design from my brain. I probably would not wear this shirt, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's funny!!! And, I actually know plenty of people who either a) should wear this shirt or b) would wear this shirt. So here it is. It says "I wish I could be you so I could be friends with me."

Clicking the above picture will take you to the available products on CafePress. You can also purchase it at Zazzle, which offers some different products.

On an unrelated note...the Steelers got lucky today, and pulled it out in the second half. It made me happy. And, I actually got to watch the game without TOO MANY interruptions from the kids.

Hey...two quick things

Hello all! Just two quick notes. One is that I've re-located all of my anti-Steely McBeam merchandise into my main store. So, it is now available on more products for you to show your hatred! Here are the links:

AND, I just did a little Squidoo Lens (Hopefully the first in a series) that features my Grandma Stella's recipes. Go and check it out! Grandma Stella.
Let me know that you visited by leaving a comment, and rate my lens!

OK, that's all for now!

Thought this was funny...

OK..new design time. I recently saw a picture of a black and white rainbow and it said 'Straight' underneath. You can see it at T-shirt Hell. By the way...that website is totally funny. Most of their shirts crack me up. There aren't many that I would wear---and my mind is a little cleaner (I guess) when it comes to creating stuff. But it's totally funny. There's a banner at the end of this post if you'd like to check out their site.

Anyway, back to the new design. I kind of melded two rainbows together, and here's what I got:

I just thought it was funny. So, that's today's design!

By the way...awesome game last night. And I actually got to watch it! Rumor has it that my hubby didn't get home until 3 am. He's still sleeping!

Oh, here's the t-shirt hell banner:

I love atta boys!

Wow...two posts in one day. But both about the same design. I published it on Zazzle, and got an award. Here's the link to it on there. Not sure about the models they have on Zazzle now. But at least this guy looks like he's a little crazy :)

Team Tryptophan by hdowney
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

So, anyway, it won a today's best award. Gotta feel good when somebody thinks you did a good job :)

More Thanksgiving Lint

Ok, another new Thanksgiving design. This one is all about being sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. Hell, I'm sleepy as soon as I wake up. But Tryptophan will make it worse! Go and get yours so you can wear it to dinner! It says "Team Tryptophan. Serious Eating, Serious Sleeping"

I'm working on anther Thanksgiving design...maybe something more sweet, like a Thanksgiving Prayer? It's just so cute when my daughter says it. Gotta see if there's a copyright on it. OK...GO STEELERS!!! My hubby will be at the game tonight. But I'll be watching it from my warm and cozy couch.

New Thanksgiving Thoughts

OK, here's my newest design. This one has been floating around in my head for a while, and I finally got around to putting it together. It's available on lots of stuff...yard signs, coasters, magnets...you name it!

Give Thanks Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Food, Family and Football. Those are the three biggest things I think about on Thanksgiving. Well, and parades....hmmm...new shirt? Oh, and it won an award on Zazzle (today's best). Here's the link:


Thanksgiving by hdowney Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

Happy Monday!

Two New Designs!

Here are the two newest designs at BrainLint.net:
I guess that you could take this design a few different ways. My take is that once I get something done "perfectly" the satisfaction only lasts for a second or two. However, for the person who has a gigantic head, they could be stating that they are perfection...and it's not all its cracked up to be. No matter which way you take it, I think it's funny...and it was my first attempt to look seventies-ish. It's offered on lots of different products. Take a look!

The mug also won a 'today's best' award at Zazzle.

Perfection by hdowney Get this custom mug at Zazzle

Today's Best October 12, 2007

The next design is near and dear to my heart...even though I'm not a bartender anymore. It still runs thru my veins!

I used to get so annoyed when somebody would ask me if bartending was my only job. Whatever. Most bartenders actually have brains. And the good ones have to be pretty damn smart. Unless you've ever done it for a living, you probably won't understand. Anyway, I designed this to have an embroidered look on the text. I think it turned out pretty nicely. Again, it's available on lots of stuff.

This one also won something at Zazzle (Really, I love winning stuff...even if there's no cash involved.) Here's the shirt at Zazzle

Bartender With a Brain by hdowney Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

Funny T-shirt October 13, 2007

And because it won this...um..PRESTEGIOUS award, you can get 20% off and free shipping if you buy it by the end of Friday, October 19th. Just use the following link: Free Shipping and 20 Percent Off

OK, that's enough about me rambling about my new designs. But would you like a glimpse into my life? It took me about an hour to write this post. Am I slow? No. Did I have technical difficulties? No. It's the mini people who rule my house. Right now the two year old is under the desk pulling wires. The four year old has her balloon hat, belt, and pirate sword on that she got at a birthday party yesterday. I was interrupted for the following reasons while I was writing this:

• "Mom, Where's my skater girl I got at McDonalds yesterday?" So, I find the skater girl, and see the fish. I feed the fish because he didn't get fed yesterday. Pour more coffee into the cup. Go back to posting.
• My bladder interrupts me...go to pee.
  
• "Mom, where's our powder candy from yesterday?" Get the powder candy out of my purse. It is slobbery, and won't come out of the container. Make the kids wait in the kitchen while I dig into my stash of Halloween candy, so they can have a treat. Also get them out a little toy to keep them entertained. It's a skeleton walker...walks down the wall. Show them how to use it. Put another show on TV for them (Rugrats). Return to posting.
• The two year old comes in to feed me a Sweet Tart. She smells ripe. Change her diaper. She is pretending to be a dog, so I have to play puppy with her for a while. After dropping the diaper in the trash, I decide to smoke a cigarette. Return to posting.

So, even though this post seems like one fluid thought, it is not. I only get fluid thoughts when I am in the shower. It is my peaceful time :)

The newest Halloween thought out of my head!

Hello everybody! Just thought I'd share the newest Halloween design that came out of my head. I have three more designs lined up in my brain, just waiting to come out. Look for them soon! Here's the newest:

Witchtini




Go to BrainLint.Net to see them all!

Thanks!

Heather

Hey...I'm hot! (Well, sort of)

So, I wake up this morning and have two lovely emails from Zazzle. One stating that I designed the Hottest Funny T-shirt of the Day, and one stating that I designed the hottest Sticker of the Day. Go figure. It does make me pretty darn happy, though. The two designs are below...they are the two Halloween Designs I did yesterday. The 'Official Candy Inspector' design also won a Today's Best award (on a tote bag). I just got lots of thumbs up yesterday, which makes me feel fantastic.

You can purchase the both of these products at 20% off until the end of Monday, September 17th. Pass it around!

Go Look at it on Zazzle

Go Look at It on Zazzle

You can also get these designs at my CafePress store, in the holiday section. Have a great Day!

I shouldn't be doing this...

Right now I'm supposed to be cleaning my office. I am oh so good at procrastination. The papers are everywhere, kids books on the floor and there are two CD/DVD organizers laying on my desk just waiting to be filled. Everything that needs to go in them is scattered. All over. Oh well.

I have just a few little notes about life over the past week or so. Maybe I'll go in chronological order:

Last Saturday my hubby went to the Pitt game. Home opener. He had a great time and took a cab home. The next day he shows me this beer coozy (you know, to wrap around it and keep it cold). But this one doesn't just say 'Pitt' on it. No...this is a super fantastic invention. And I can't believe that I didn't think of it. It has two really strong magnets on the back of it, and they're covered with a piece of pleather. That way, when you're tailgating you can just put it on the car. It actually holds en entire full can of beer. So simple.........




Sunday night I had girl's night out. Nice dinner at the Grand Concourse, drinks outside at Bar Louie, and then a jaunt into the South Side and we headed to Dee's Cafe. Felt good to get back to drinking and smoking...no matter how bad it might be for me. For just those mere 8 hours I had no responsibility. Nice. Of course, there were 6 moms. What did we (mostly) talk about? Kids and kid/family related stuff.

OK, while I was writing this post here's what happened: I had Chloe (2) come up to me and say 'turds.' She did not have a diaper on. So, I asked "Where?", and she led me to the family room. Diaper on the floor, full o' turds. At least none had wondered onto the carpet. So, I did the whole potty-diaper change thing with her. Then Becca (4) wanted a peanut butter sandwich. Cut into a circle. Of course, then Chloe wants one, too. So I made two peanut butter sandwiches. The point is, if you're reading this you would imagine that I'm sitting at my computer just typing away. Not exactly.

Well, I'll have to catch up on some more later....I'm actually going to start to clean! By the way, if you're looking for Halloween shirts, I've started a new blog at halloweentees.wordpress.com
I've picked out shirts that I like. The one is quite funny, and I think I'm actually going to purchase it. Here's the link: 333 Half Evil

Yet another Zazzle contest

Well, there's another contest over at Zazzle, and here's my entry. The theme was Pirates because there is actually a day designated to "Talk Like a Pirate." Go figure. Please, go and vote for it if you have the time. Thanks!

Embrace Your Inner Pirate
by hdowney
Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

My StumbleUpon Page

The Cliff Notes of my Life

Because People magazine and the Enquirer don't think I'm newsworthy, I'm giving everybody the option of getting to know how I got where I am today.

read more | digg story

Wow...good deal!

Hey, I just got a coupon from CafePress...pretty good deal, but it ends September 1 (Saturday). Here's the details:

Coupon Code: FALLTEE2007

Offer: Save $15 when you purchase $75 or more on CafePress.com through 09/01/07*. Purchase price not inclusive of tax and shipping.

*Excludes button, magnet or mini-button orders (singles or multi-packs), bulk orders, taxes and shipping fees. Cannot be combined with any other offers, discounts or coupons. Valid through September 1, 2007 at 11:59 p.m. (PST).

Here's the link for BrainLint.Net

Or, you can just browse CafePress.



I've also hand picked some Halloween Tees at HalloweenTees. Some of these are from CafePress, some from Zazzle.

Happy Shopping!

Wow...37 ?!?!?

Well, I have to say that "Heather Fest 2007" was a success. I slept in until 8:30 (yes, it's sad to say that I consider that 'sleeping in'), didn't change one diaper and showered in peace. Then I went off (in my hubby's Jeep Commander - no car seats) and went shopping. Bought some stuff at Target. Wanna see? Here's what I got: Just some boring old stuff...shoes (only 1 pair), notebooks (they were 10 for $1...couldn't pass them up), some CD's (see below), make up...and that's it.

Then I headed to Barnes and Noble. Got some coffee (my favorite...Iced Caramel Macchiato) and started to browse. By this time I was really totally immersed in the fact that it was so QUIET. And I didn't have to tell anybody to stop touching things, or use their inside voices. Nice. So, I bought some books. One really cool one that's a photo history of Carnegie. (bought that for the hubby). Stopped and bought an MP3 player for myself (which I did not have yet). Here's the one that I got:

SanDisk 1GB Sansa Express MP3 Player The 1 GB Sansa Express MP3 Player from SanDisk provides high-quality digital music playback. With its microSDTM slot, you can expand its storage capacity. The player offers 15 hours of continuous playback with its rechargeable lithium polymer battery. In addition, the Sansa Express player features a FM tuner with many preset stations and a built-in microphone to record your voice. The bright, 4-line OLED display and simple to use controls adds to your visual experience and offers easy navigation through the menus. The MP3 player supports MP3, WMA, Protected WMA, WAV and Audible formats and provides USB 2.0 interface for easy transfer of files. Speak your style with Sansa Express MP3 Player the fusion of music, FM radio and voice recorder into one compact player!

I really like it. Now, of course, I'm wishing that I would have gotten 2 Gigs, but oh well. I'm having a ton of fun on Rhapsody filling it up with music. I have very scattered musical tastes. It's nice to have them all in one place. And Rhapsody seems to have pretty much all the stuff that I'm looking for. There were a few songs that I couldn't find (or had to pay extra for), but I pretty much got what I wanted. And I liked that when I got to 1 artist, there were similar artists listed on the side, so I could just bop right along. Anyway, if you want to try it, you can go here:



So, anyway, back to my day...I went to lunch and had a beer at the bar, then I decided to take the plunge. I went to the pet store and bought the kids their first pet. His name is Mackie and he is a beta fish. Baby steps. After I got home we had birthday cookie-cake and Tony made me dinner. I got to lay on the couch and read while he took the girls for a walk and gave them a bath. Sure was nice. I'm still a little in the 'relax' mode, though. Haven't paid too much attention to any sort of actual work that I'm supposed to be doing. But I have been cleaning the house :)

OK, all for now. Have a great weekend. And don't forget to go to the Shirts-N-At blog tomorrow to see the shirt of the week.

How bar owners could 'ice' the 10 percent drink tax

Wow...government should know that bar owners know how to jump thru loopholes. This is genius!!! Hey...95% of politicians are bad tippers...they deserve this!!! I love, love, love this!!! Seeing that I will be a bar owner in the near future, this just makes me happy. Damn taxes. Yes, we need to have bus service. But get the money someplace else. Here's the link to the story from this morning's Post Gazette

A new contest at Zazzle

Well, Zazzle is running a new contest. It's all about fake mascots (see here). I've created an entry. Go and check it out, give it some stars, leave a comment there. You'll have to have an account with Zazzle, but it's way easy to sign up...and if you uncheck the box, they won't send you a bunch of e-mail.

Randy the Safety Raccoon
by
hdowney

Get this custom shirt at Zazzle

So, go and check it out! Check out the other contest entries, too. They are always extremely creative!

Slacking...it happens.

OK, I have to just admit that I've been slacking on the blog. I'm full of excuses. Here are some:

• The kids wouldn't let me
• I had too much work to do
• My brain is going crazy because we are going to buy a bar (not exactly sure which one...or how)
• My house is a mess (although, I must note, I haven't really cleaned it...but when the house is a mess my brain doesn't think very clearly)

I could go on and on, but I won't

I will, however say this: Becca has been going to a summer program at her pre-school. (Ewing Hills in Collier Township---GREAT SCHOOL!) This is the second of two summer sessions, each lasting two weeks, five days a week. I must say, it's like a job driving her to and from school every day. I can't wait until Saturday! Granted, sometimes we carpool in the neighborhood. But there are only two of us with cars big enough for all the little chicks. And our friends both work, so I've done most of the driving (not complaining about that at all...once I'm in the car the chickies are quite entertaining!) So, I guess my point is that I'm glad that Becca will be riding on the bus once Kindergarten comes.

Another slightly notable event that is coming soon...my birthday. Now, I don't like all the fanfare and hoo-ha for my birthday. Not at all. But I do like my one tradition that I've had for the past four years (maybe even more). I get the day to myself. I call it "Heather Fest" (as opposed to the Mother's Day "Mom Fest" - which includes the family). I get to sleep in, then I get slightly prettied up (meaning I do my hair and make up) and head out to shop. Now, I don't go out and spend a ton of money. But I get my coffee and BROWSE. This year I might even go to Barnes & Noble and flip thru some books. By myself. No kids. And if there are screaming kids in the bookstore, I may duct tape their mouths. I will eat lunch by myself and have a glass of wine. I will not be social. No fake conversations, no fake smiles. This day will be mine, and mine alone.....well, until I come home later in the evening and the family sings :)

So, as I depart, I leave you with this...which just made me laugh hysterically. What a bunch of bullshit.

http://www.myheritage.com

Anti Steely McBeam Merchandise

OK, because everybody really, really, really hates this whole mascot thing (except maybe for people who aren't Pittsburgh fans...but screw them!), I've created some products that show our hate of our mascot. Maybe the Rooney's will get the big honkin' hint.

Go here to check it out. Here are some examples:

We all need to show how much we just hate the idea of this damn mascot!!!

End Steely McBeam

For all that is righteous and holy in this world, click to petition the end of Steely McBeam as mascot for our beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.

read more | digg story

Some General Stuff

OK, here are just a few things. First of all...when, exactly, did I become a grown up? All kinds of responsibility, cleaning toilets, caring for kids and falling asleep on the couch at 9:00 (like my mother). I'm sure it was a slow and gradual process. But I was a bartender until I had kids (in 2003), and I was a late-nighter. I'd be eating eggs at Denny's at 2:00 in the morning on a Wednesday. Now, the only reason I'm up at 2:00 am is to fill up a bottle (of milk). Although I love my kids and love being a mom, every once in a while I miss the 25 year old me. (Which, if I had to pick an age to stay forever--that would be it. But only if I could still have my kids...but that's an entirely different post. Anyway, took the family to one of my favorite places last week...Sarris candy. My four year old nearly passed out when she saw all of the stuffed animals. (She has a strange stuffed animal addiction). Of course, the chocolate is yummy....(mmm...peanut butter melt-aways) but they also have a nice selection of candies from when I was little. For example, we bought some 'flying saucers' (like communion wafers with little balls of sugar inside), candy dots on paper (you always end up eating some paper!) and gold rush gum. So, it was fun. There was a great crossing guard outside. Guess he's been there forever. The hubby bought him some chocolate, and the kids gave him big smiles. They also have an ice cream shop at the store, but we went right after lunch. If you're interested in going (can't believe you haven't been there!), here are the directions. OK, just had to share! If you go, have a great time...and tell them you read about them on my blog!

Great Restaurant!!!

So, the hubby and I actually got a date night on Monday. We went down to Market Square to check out a restaurant called Ciao Baby. I love their logo/slogan. (It's a big kiss mark, and the tag line is 'Passionate Cuisine.' If you can't see the pic). I guess it's been around for a couple of years, but we had just recently heard about it. The owner's wife was chatting with my hubby, and suggested that we try it out. Plus, Tony (my hubby) is in a good position to send people to different restaurants, seeing that he's a bartender at the Pittsburgh Airport Hyatt.

Anyway, we went. And even though Market Square isn't exactly where it should be yet, the restaurant was beautiful. Marble bar, beautiful fixtures and nice colors inside. Great service...we had a bottle of Shoofly Shiraz, an eggplant appetizer (which was INCREDIBLE!!! The marinara sauce was the best EVER), and I had pasta with a vodka cream sauce, salmon and asparagus (also extremely yummy). Tony had one of the specials which was duck in a blueberry/Chambord reduction. The bite that I had was quite good. So, very good restaurant. I wish that downtown (aka dahn tahn) would become a little bit more of a hub. Not that I get the chance to go out all that much. Once a month, if I'm lucky. But I think that next month I'll go back to Ciao Baby.

Afterwards, we headed more towards home, and stopped at Fertie's in Carnegie. My 2 sister-in-laws used to work there when it was the IronHorse and Sammy Alexander's. They prettied up the inside a bit...ceramic floors and a new bar...some flat screen tv's. Of course, it was Monday night, so it wasn't very busy. All in all, it felt a lot like it used to...which means I wasn't extremely impressed. But it's nice to have an OK place to stop in Carnegie other than the Pour House for a drink.

Hey...A new blog!

OK, now I'm actually going to blog about a blog. Scary. I've started a new blog. It's the Pittsburgh Shirt of the Week. Each week I will choose a new Pittsburgh-themed shirt that I really like. It will get bragging rights about being the "Shirt of the Week." (Wow...can you believe it ) You can view the Pittsburgh Shirt of the Week blog to see what I'm talking about.

I've also created a new website called Shirts-N-At. I've hand picked shirts that I think are worth wearing. Right now they're all thru CafePress, but I will most likely add more from other sites.

OK, more to come later......

Wow! Buy 3 get 1 free!

Hey! Cafepress just started a great promotion. Buy 3 shirts, get one free. Great for back to school!!! And not just from my stores, either....from any store. There are some great designs (OK, mine included) on Cafepress.com. Follow the banner and go shopping!!!!! What a great promo!!!! OH, by the way. I did this Meez that sort of looks like me on Photobucket. It was really fun to do :)