skip to main |
skip to sidebar
You've gotta love kids.
My eight-year old son asked me a question this morning: "Mom, why are there different races in the world? Why isn't everyone the same?" It was far too early to remember/explain geographical anthropology, so I decided to take a different approach... I compared all people to birds.
"Well," I began, wishing that it wasn't so early, "think of people like birds: there are all sorts of birds in the world. There are some with lots of colors and some with none at all. There are birds that are big and there are birds that are small. There are birds that fly and birds that don't. And think how boring birds would be if they all looked the same."
I was satisfied with my answer for just a moment... then my son replied, "I think all birds are too noisy."
You're not kidding there, fella.
I link up at
these great parties!
Hello again! Thanks for all your well-wishes about the sea monkey that is sucking the life out of me. Really, it's been so great to hear from all of you and it's taking my mind off the vampire who is absorbing all my favorite nutrients.
Since I've been sick, I've had a lot of time to lay down and think. About everything. For example, just the other day I had a long conversation with myself about why hovercars aren't around yet. When I was a child, all the sci-fi movies about the not-too-distant future promised me hovercars. And since I've been disappointed with the lack of hovercars, which filmmaker should I sue? I need to continue thinking about this.
But while I was in the midst of my hovercraft-sadness, I thought about how I can be useful even though I don't want to get out of bed. Here are things I am good at, even if I'm not upright:
1. Celebrity critic - I have a lot of opinions about celebrities, mostly ones from Bravo TV's reality show lineup. I feel like it might be my duty to the world to fix these people.
2. Creating new workouts - Specifically, I can create a workout for people who don't want to get out of bed. My favorite exercise was when I put the remote just slightly out of my reach and then had to really work to get it back. In the interest of full-disclosure though, I finally called the hubs in to get it for me.
3. Rating smells - This pregnancy has made my sense of smell really intensified. I can, without difficulty, tell you if something smells awful. My research hasn't been expanded beyond my home and family, but from what I've learned I can share that everything smells terrible. Just... terrible.
4. Crying over nothing - I am so good at this. Last week, I cried because we didn't have any cheese. It was a sad day, indeed.
5. Answering every question with a movie title - I am pretty darn good at this, too. I did this with my sister a few weeks ago and the best part was, she didn't even notice. Which probably means that she wasn't listening in the first place, but I'd rather believe that I was just really good at the game. Did I enjoy myself when I was playing this game? Casino Royale.
6. Renaming animals - I think some animals need better names. In fact, I've never been fond of the term 'birds'. Rather, I think they should be called 'flappy things'. Much more descriptive, no?
7. Eating - I AM AMAZING AT THIS. I can eat just about anything at anytime. Of course, as I mentioned in #4, I can also cry if I don't get the food I want. Pregnancy is a heck of a thing.
You had no idea I was this talented, did you? Pregnancy has done this to me and my family will never be the same.
I link up at
these great parties!
I know, I know... it's been forever since we've talked. I know you've missed all the wisdom I spew forth on a daily. Don't worry though, 'cause I've been spewing it at my husband. Here's the rundown, based on what he has heard:
You haven't missed much.
Oh, but why have I been absent? What a terrific question. I have been a bit under the weather. An all over malaise sort of thing. It's actually been quite miserable. Luckily, I've kept the whining and complaining to a minimum.
My husband just spit out his coffee at that. ARE YOU INSINUATING I'VE BEEN ANYTHING BUT AMAZING? How dare you, sir.
So, what has caused this malaise? I really shouldn't tell... Here's a hint:
That's correct, my bloggy friends... there is a sea monkey inside me.
I haven't been crafting at all lately because I've felt so rotten, but I'm coming out of it. I've actually been upright ALL MORNING. This is a banner day. I'm going to try to get back into the crafting side of things and actually have a couple of things in the works, so I should be around again soon.
Also, lots of you have sent me emails suggesting a search party to locate me. Sounds awesome. When they get here, have them bring me some Arby's.
I'll be back soon and I'm trying to answer all your emails! Thanks for your concern!
I link up at
these great parties!
I made a resolution this year to use only reusable bags for shopping. NO MORE PLASTIC BAGS, I TELL YOU. So, how am I doing?
Awesome-sauce. If I entered that sauce in a sauce contest, it would win the award for 'awesomest sauce'. On an unrelated note, if anyone knows of a sauce contest in the area, give a shout.
I have not brought home A SINGLE PLASTIC BAG since I made my resolution. I know, I'm just terrific. My husband went shopping one day and didn't have any bags and brought home paper bags. After I beat the crap out of him gently reminded him of my goal, we recycled them and moved on with our lives.
And my reward, as I plainly stated in my resolution declaration, was a trunk organizer for myself. I likes to gets little treats. Here she is, in all her glory:
It's actually pretty large but it was really cold outside when I took the picture and I didn't want to spend a billion hours trying to fit the whole thing in the frame. 'Dedicated' was not the word of the day that day.
And I took my 'going green' a step further: I have eliminated all paper towels from this house. THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN. You know, from "Poltergiest"? Let's all watch that movie tonight, it'll be great.
I bought a whole bunch of bar towels and put them all over the place. And then, I just stopped buying paper towels. I just stopped, cold turkey. Sure, I had some initial withdrawal... but I persevered and no longer even look for a paper towel to clean up a spill. And I've saved quite a bit of money not buying them, even if I use coupons and if I count my extra towel investment. Love it.
It's almost March, have you all kept up with your resolutions?
I link up at
these great parties!
This is such a little thing, but it has made me so happy. I spent no money on this project, very little time, and came out with my favorite thing for the moment:
I used ribbon to make a crochet hook holder. I know, I know... it IS awesome.
So, I have all sorts of crochet hooks. And a handy little pouch to house them. Only see, the pouch is not actually holding all my hooks. The little loops that they go through are only pretend apparently, since half of my hooks won't fit in them. Bummer-sauce.
As you can see, something had to be done. It was truly a crochet hook crisis up in this hizzy.
I took a length of ribbon and pinned it around each of my hooks (in order of size, of course) and pinned it in place.
Yes, I do need a manicure, thanks for noticing. Please send all complimentary manicure gift cards to my home address, thankyousomuch.
Then, they were all pinned:
After that, I sewed up near the pin. I had to take out the hooks for this part, but whatevs... I still pulled it off.
This ribbon is intended to let me hang my hooks on the inside of my crafting cabinet. Yes, I have a crafting cabinet. Her name is Bernice.
I used Command Picture Hanging Strips to put the ribbon on the door. Those strips are so amazing, there are no words. OK, there are words: amazing. Also, awesome.
Done and done. Here are my hooks, hanging happily in their little cabinet:
I'm in love. Now I just have to weed through the eleventy-billion crochet projects I want to tackle and pick one...
I link up at
these great parties!
I know, I know... all my posts lately are about storing things and organizing things. I agree, it's getting ridiculous. But, my husband has started to twitch every time I bring in another crafting whosit into this house. So I've been trying to find places for all my stuff. 'Cause I like my stuff.
I collected a billion Pringles cans, which didn't take too long because Pringles are awesome-sauce. I cut the little ring at the top off and started to work.
I also cleaned out the insides of the Pringles can because I didn't want my vinyl to be crumb-y. Next, I used double-sided tape to put some pretty paper on each one and I stacked them together. I did glue them as well, but added a ribbon to tie them together too because I like extra pretty on my Pringles cans.
And after several minutes of diligent work, I had vinyl storage. I am so good at projects that take less than an hour.
This system is way better than the one I had before: putting vinyl wherever I was and having to look for it all over. Progress.
I link up at
these great parties!
Let me start this post by confessing that I've been SOOOO out of focus lately. I started a diet (cutting out sugar and trying to eat less processed stuff) and it's going so well that I want to die. I mean, I just love eating bowls of air for dinner. The first week of a diet is always the worst and I need to suck it up, but man... I WANT DAIRY QUEEN. NOW.
Anyhoo, I decided to craft through my hunger pangs. I have a vast amount of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper but no place to store it. It was sitting in a stack in my desk and it was such a production to find suitable paper for a project. I decided that this madness must end.
I bought some legal-size file folders at Staples.
I got the 100 pack and when I was done, I had 50 scrapbook-paper sized folders... here's what I did:
I cut two inches off each side of the folders:
Amy from While Wearing Heels thinks that I do all of my crafting in front of the television. I'm not going to prove her right this time... instead, I will tell you that I cut all these folders up while learning Chinese and playing the fiddle. TAKE THAT, AMY. :)
Once I had all the sides trimmed from the folders, I cut half of them in half on the fold.
I pieced together an uncut folder with two halves of a cut one... does that make sense? Basically, I turn two folders into one taller folder. I just taped them together at the edges with packing tape.
So, my folders were done... but I needed something to put them in, otherwise they'll still be stacked up to oblivion. I bought a 13x13 Itso box from Target to put them in... then I needed to figure out how to arrange them in there nicely.
You can buy 12x12 hanging file folders on Amazon if you like... but the price was too steep for me. Also, they weren't pretty. I like pretty. So, I decided to buy some fabric and wood dowels and make my own hanging file folders.
I cut my fabric into long strips at least 13" wide and lined it with some white broadcloth. I pinned it up to size 12x12.
I sewed a seam on each side...
And for the ends, I folded over the fabric. I wanted to be able to make these bigger if I get more paper, so I didn't trim those edges to give me lots of room to grow.
I used a 5/8" seam allowance which was perfect for the 3/16" wood dowel I used. I slid the dowels through the seam and had hanging file folders. BOOM.
I'm planning on labeling all the file folders in a pretty way, but like I said earlier, this hungry crafty girl is unfocused this week. Once the sugar cravings leave my system, I'll be back to normal, I'm sure. Until then, SOMEONE NEEDS TO BRING ME AN OREO BLIZZARD, PRONTO.
I link up at
these great parties!
