I Saw it on Pintrest!

Yes, I'm famous for the little sentence, "So, I saw this thing on Pintrest and....".  Once again, I saw something that was not only cute, but I had everything for!  As mother would say, "It was meant to be!".  The kids helped with this one too.  Took a board out of my husbands wood pile, cut it into 4 pieces (no need to measure, just eyeball it).  Sanded down the edges.  Then we painted them.  The Pintrest item had a pumpkin, a mummy, a ghost, and Frankenstein's monster.  I was successful with the pumpkin, ghost, and green guy.  However, i though i had some old burlap in my fabric box, but no such luck.  I had already painted the board black with big yellow eyes, though, so, what to do?  AHAH!  An owl!  (My husband said it could also be a raven, but whatever).  While the creepies were drying, we painted another longer board for the base.  I'm not that great at free-hand painting letters, so i just used some fun sticker letters i already had and then did a clear coat over them.  Drying, done.  Screwed it all together and ta-da!  A fast, fun, inexpensive, yet, cute porch decoration.  Go me!  Looking for other stuff to create now, any ideas?  Please share!

50 Shades of Snore

So, I finally finished all 3 books of Fifty Shades and I, personally, was extremely disappointed.  Just to begin, it's one of the worst written books I have ever had the misfortune to read.  Unfortunately for me, I have this issue where I can't leave a book once it's started...it must be finished.......so I was "forced" to read them all.  I seriously would like to take up a collection to send the author a thesaurus!  Seriously?  If Miss Steele was "awash with sensation" one more time; I just don't know what I’d do!  

As for content......okay, what 21 year old doesn't have some clue about technology?  How do you make it through college nowadays without an email address at the very least?  Also, let's step back........we go from "who is this guy?" to "I can't live without you!" in five weeks.......one of which was spent broken up.  I'm sorry, no.  It's not even remotely believable.  I know the point was just to fill in the gaps between the badly penned sex scenes, but could we please take a moment to develop a relationship?  

Going on, did the author pick up a technical manual about BDSM and then just copy out definitions word for word?  I thought you were supposed to write about what you knew?  Every "instance" was the opportunity for one great big eye roll!!!  Oh, stow your twitching palms!  I know it's a "fantasy" or whatever, but come on now, women, how many times do you find yourself "panting" and "begging"?  Also, might I point out that never was she as sore as a virgin turned porn star should be?  I don't care how much lube you have, at some point, you're going to hurt with that much activity!

This brings me to my current frustration with a lot of literature as well.  I am so sick of emotional morons!  I mean, come on, does every woman have to be a gaming-playing twit who becomes totally devoid of intelligent thought at the site of a decent looking guy?  It's exasperating!  What are guys supposed to think about us???  

All I can say is that the author is lucky she had a taboo working in her favor or she'd have to use her books for firewood this winter!

Dinosaur Birthday Party

Mikey decided the day after his 4th birthday that he wanted a Dinosaur party for this 5th.  Of course, throughout the year I would ask him if that's still what he wanted and he stuck with it, so, lucky for me, I had most of a year to plan this one out (and to make purchases).  The invitations were a dinosaur egg that opened.  I used a large Easter egg cookie cutter to trace the shape.  The back was one full piece, for the two front pieces, I cut two eggs out of cardboard and then cut a bottom and a top separately so they would overlap, and then used those two pieces as my pattern.  I have a dot hole puncher that I used to cut a bunch of colored circles and then hot glued those down.

                                       

For decorations, i kept it simple to green streamers, some balloons, some footprints up the front walk, and my birthday wreathe.

 The activities I chose were:

1.  Make fossil necklaces.  I used a recipe for "Play Clay" at http://www.angelfire.com/dc/childsplay/craftrecipes3.htm.  It turned out ok....I did forget to eventually give the children their necklaces because they weren't totally dried, but that's beside the point, right?

2.  Hunt for dinosaur eggs.  About 3 weeks beforehand, I got some water balloons because they would be the right size and a bunch of newspaper.  I found a really great paper mache recipe at http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/best-papier-mache-recipe-708645/.  In total I did 4 layers of paper, but only 2 at a time to give them the best chance at drying all the way through.  When they were totally dry and hard, which took about 2 weeks since I don't have that much time all at once so I did them on consecutive Saturdays, I painted them with plain old acrylics.  When that was dry, I took an exacto knife, cut a slit and stuffed them with small dinosaur toys.

      

     

                         

3.  Dig for dinosaur bones.  As you know, you can find almost anything on Amazon.com.  So that's where I turned for dinosaur bones.  I ended up with some pretty great products, but I did take my time in reading reviews and hunting for the best value.  We buried them in the sandy pit behind our house where our pool usually sits.  I gave each kid a paint brush so they could 'properly' clean their bones.

4.  Breaking Geodes.  Now, this didn't go well.  The idea was there and it could have been great, but no such luck.  This was another item I thought I had researched well, but out of 20 geodes only 2 had any kind of noticeable formations in them and then those were that clear white color and not purplish in the slightest.  The kids did enjoy hitting stuff with the mallet, though.  Well, to be honest, some of them did.  I hit most of them just to get through it.  We still gave each kid a baggie with their pieces.

5.  Dinosaur tattoos.  The least imaginative item.  I ordered them and my sister and friend applied them.  We did this at the same time as the geodes so that only half the kids were outside hitting things at once.

For the food, I didn't get too involved.  I did buy way way way too much, but nothing spectacular.  "Dino" Dogs and "Pterodactyl" Bites.  Veggies, chips, spinach dip.

For the cake, I attempted a truly original idea, but I didn't execute it well.  The concept was a dirt cake, green grass icing, and then dinosaur footprints through the grass.........below was the result.  Maybe someone else would have better luck with this one.

In the goody bags, I included magnets, dinosaur fact cards, and reusable dinosaur stickers and then they got their eggs, the dinosaurs, and the skeletons they dug up.  All of the dinosaur stuff I found for the goody bags came from keeping an eye on the $1 bins at target and Wal-Mart.  You never know what they'll have in those bins!  I hope I have been able to give you some ideas and if you attempt that cake, please show me your results!!

What Difference Do You Make?

Frequently, I am in Birthday-mode.  There is always someone’s birthday to prepare for or recover from.  I love birthdays!  I think they are SOOO important!  

At my church, (check it out at http://www.bruu.org), we have a tradition during our Christmas service where we don't necessarily celebrate the birth of a God, but we do celebrate the birth of a child.  We celebrate the birth of every child.  At the very end of the service, the babies born during that year and their families go to the front of the church and, surrounded by candlelight, we sing "Silent Night" to the precious little additions to our world and to our family.  Each child is a blessing and the birth of every child is the birth of a new hope.  You never know how that child will affect the world, how they will change it just by existing.  Not only is the birth of a new possibility, but it is the opportunity for renewal of the parents and the families around that child, a chance to change yourself so that you can more positively influence this children and help that new hope grow.  

This brings me to my next point......with every year that passes; we are given the chance to renew ourselves. We don't need the calendar to give us a New Year.  Each birthday is our own private New Year's celebration.  You get to look back on the year you've had and plan for the next.  How many song writers and authors have written about "the next 30 years" or "a 5 year plan" or similar topics?  You get a chance to make your own new years resolution without the influence of everyone else making the same empty promises influences by the media on January 1.  (Unless of course you happen to have made your arrival on January 1, and then, I hope you don't get gypped!)  You get to examine, "What difference have I made in this year of my life?"  "What difference will I make in this next year?"  "Am I going to make amends this year?" "Have I really had enough and need to go in a more positive direction?"  "Am I pretty satisfied and am going to strive to share that with others?"  This is your time to renew.  

The party isn't bad either, eh?  Along the same lines of celebrating a tiny child on Christmas Eve, each year let those around you celebrate the person that you are.  Let them express to you the hope you give them.  The difference you make in their lives.  You can be modest or shy or hate being the center of attention, but your friends and family know those things about you, so maybe a big party is not on your calendar, but at least let someone cook you a little something and share some cake with you!

Last, one of my big pet-peeves!  People claiming they are not having anymore birthdays because they refuse to get older.  You've heard all of the different versions of this and may have come up with them yourself.  Stop it!  Just stop it!  You learn something everyday, so by the end of 365 days, you've learned quite a lot and grown quite a lot......acknowledge it!  You don't see doctors down-playing the years they spent in school to get where they are, do you?  Every year that passes gets you further on down the road.  Ask my son, he can't wait to be a grown up so he'll know everything!  You are the age that you are because you have figured it out for another year!  Acknowledge it, accept it, and celebrate it!  

Ok, my birthday soap box has been thoroughly stomped upon.  

Now, for a question.......What was your favorite Birthday ever and why?

Cooper Garden: Autumn Edition - The Trouble with Marigolds

So, we're going to make a go of an autumn garden.  We were out at some nifty little garden/brewing store in Fredericksburg and they had plants, so we thought...why not?  We have these great garden boxes, nice soil, and everything we grew for the summer is already dead, so let's give it a try.  We're sticking to just things we think we will eat, but didn't go overboard on the buying of plants this year....learned our lesson there!

We cleaned out the old dead stuff, tilled it up and re-planted.  Dirt still smells of manure so I hope it's still good.  We also have a minor marigold problem....anyone know what to do about them?  Anyone want them?  I've always heard that you plant them as a natural deterrent to pests...however, I planted from seeds...and they all grew...and grew....and GREW!  Now I don't know what to do with them!!  The hubby says we can make marigold wine, but he's already got pumpkin wine started and we only have the one glass carboy (sp?).  Anyway, here are some pictures of the beginning of this new adventure below.

And to all my regular readers, which I doubt I have many of, I have failed you in my mission to be a better blogger.  I still have the best of intentions to do more blogging!  Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Brussels in the front, Lettuce in the back

Brussels

Lettuce

Purple Cabbage

Cawliflower

Cabbage

Marigolds!!!!!

and Marigolds!!!

and guess what, Marigolds!!

the compost bin...not pretty, but it's functional

herbs still growing

more herbs still growing

20 Random Things

1.  I bite my nails
2.  I am always behind the curve when it comes to fashion
3.  I got a perm when I was 10 and it lasted FOREVER and was awful!
4.  I wish I had the patience to really quilt something; I usually just like to piece it, then i half-ass the quilting part
5.  My best friend and I would be perfect if i could give her half of my chest and i could have half of her booty
6.  I have a very bright pair of homemade tye-die pjs and they're actually my favorite
7.  I think news radio on WTOP is interesting
8.  I wrote a children's book, but i don't know how to get it published
9.  I'm afraid to pick a color to paint the addition on my house.  Too much wall!
10.  I actually think that I can cook (a little) but would never admit it out loud
11.  I have gotten over my fear of bathing suits
12.  If i go in the waves at the beach, i can't sleep that night and i have dreams about sharks
13.  I have an incurable addiction to PartyLite (ask my consultant)
14.  I love having to clean for a party because it means my house will be clean after the party
15.  I really like the show "Wizards of Waverly Place"
16.  I can flex my tongue
17.  I was collecting books for my children before i was even engaged
18.  I really have no clue who to vote for this year
19.  I wish i knew more about different religions, but i always fall asleep when i try to read about them
20.  I have a "bell pall" from a taco bell kids meal from years ago on my desk at work.  It's purple and pink.

Ok, there you go.  Very random.  Tomorrow...3 Fears.

30 Questions

So, guess what?  I found something on Pinterest that looked interesting!  i know, you're shocked, but please do not fall off your chair.  So, i stumbled upon this blog http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-things.html and she had this list posted.  So, i'm going to try to be a little more interesting....or not.  it's all about the writing, right?