You are currently browsing the archives for September 2009

Crafty, Crafty Me

  • Posted on September 30, 2009 at 2:31 pm

today, i did something crafty. and i even finished the project. no, it’s nothing exciting… in fact, it’s just a super simple little skirt for E. but the point is, i said i was going to do something, and i actually did it. WHOO HOO!

it didn’t turn out too badly. okay, so it’s a little long…but that’s alright. she can walk in it, and it’s kinda cute seeing a long carebear skirt on a toddler. hmm? oh, yes. i did say “CareBear”. it’s a skirt. with CareBears on it. the next one i make will be shorter, just a little bit better sewn, and lavender gingham. the point is, it’s cheap and uber easy to make… and will add a touch of femininity to my baby girl this winter. fun! if by chance, you would like the instructions (no pattern required) i have the file on my computer. just lemme know. :) the length of the skirt is negotiable, and the fabric in the picture is still stiff because it’s unwashed… but anyways. skirt. i made it. GO ME!

Carebear Skirt

Carebear Skirt

Continue reading Crafty, Crafty Me

5 Comments on Crafty, Crafty Me

Webster’s Wednesday: Pabulum

  • Posted on at 8:19 am

do you hear that? that sound in the background? it’s the sound of a new tradition being started. well, of course you can’t actually hear it! who ever hears traditions when they start? it’s only years later that you can finally hear the echos of actions past that made it a tradition to begin with. hopefully, i’ll have something to listen for in a few years. i’ve attempted a Word of the Week before, but never stuck with it… hopefully this time around will be different.

here’s how it works. i go to Merriam-Webster Online, and snatch their Word of the Day. sometimes, the Word of the Day sucks…okay, it doesn’t suck, but it’s just not interesting enough. if that’s the case, i dig into their WOTD Archives, and find something suitably amusing or inspirational. then i copy all the nifty information they’ve been kind enough to provide, [giving them all the credit] and if i have something interesting to say, i’ll say it.

hopefully, this will happen every Wednesday. don’t quote me on that, though!

Word for September 30th…

pabulum • \PAB-yuh-lum\  • noun

1 : food; especially : a suspension or solution of nutrients in a state suitable for absorption

*2 : intellectual sustenance

3 : something (as writing or speech) that is insipid, simplistic, or bland

Example Sentence:

The discovery provides pabulum for the scientific community to ruminate on for decades to come.

Did you know?

“Pabulum” derives from the Latin term for “food” or “fodder” and was first used in English in the 18th century for anything taken in by plants or animals to maintain life and growth. Within 30 years of its first appearance in English texts, it was also being used to refer to things so intellectually stimulating or nourishing that they could be considered food for thought. But the word took on a whole new flavor in the 1930s when a team of Canadian doctors formulated a highly nutritious (but bland) baby cereal and named their product “Pablum” (based on the Latin word). As a result, the similar-looking “pabulum” did a linguistic about-face and is now often used for things that are bland and unstimulating as well as for things that are intellectually sustaining. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

i haven’t actually started my day yet. my son isn’t even in school… so forgive me for not having anything interesting to say about this word. i think it is a rather appropriate first word for my blog, because like my blog… it can go either way.

i’d love to get into it more, but i have to go. i have lots errands to run, and J keeps trying to talk to me. i can’t concentrate when i have 3 different voices coming at me all at once…

in closing, i’d like to say “Thank You” to Merriam-Webster, for providing pabulum for my blog.

Continue reading Webster’s Wednesday: Pabulum

3 Comments on Webster’s Wednesday: Pabulum

Books, Babble, and Wednesday Newness

  • Posted on September 29, 2009 at 7:51 pm

i know, i’m a little lame. i just figured out how to reply to a comment on my blog. sorry for my lack of communication in the past…i just didn’t know how to talk without actually visiting my blog and commenting like everybody else. problem solved, more replies in the future.

you may have noticed [but probably haven't] that i haven’t blogged yet today. huh? haven’t i usually written at least two blogs by now? the culprit is a book. this book has stolen all my free time, and demanded that i keep my eyes glued to its pages. no, it’s not the book i was just blogging about, Warbreaker. i did finish that book…i sped through it at the speed of light, devoured its pages, and thoroughly enjoyed it with a satisfied belch at the end. no, the book i’m speaking of right now is called The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. it’s Sally’s fault that i’m reading it. i was able to blow through Warbreaker with my usual instinctive understanding of a fantasy novel, but The Thirteenth Tale is a entirely different kettle of fish.

the book is riveting… it’s not fantasy, but the writing style is musical with its description, and i find myself actually having to pay attention to what’s happening. it’s not difficult to read… quite the opposite. i find myself wanting to envision every word and phrase for what it truly is… a literary feast. my fantasy novels may be the chicken soup of my daily existence, but books like this are the creme brulee that i allow myself to indulge in every once in a while. unfortunately, i have responsibilities that go beyond sitting my fat ass on the couch and eating creme brulee.

so here i am… i’ve left the book open on the kitchen table (the only place i could read where my son would stop chattering about Bionicle) and i’ve thrown a load of laundry in the washer. as soon as i finish blogging, i’m planning a night of folding clothes and watching good television.

but before i get back to reality, i want to lay something out on the table. i’ve noticed a trend in popular blogs. they all have some sort of organized meaning. like…they provide cool free graphics to the public. they go into how-to details about crafty projects. they have a schedule of things they do, and people don’t walk away from the blog knowing the author better, they walk away knowing something more about the world that they didn’t know.

i realized today that i lack interesting blog material. sure, i’ve got opinions galore…but in all honesty, i don’t know enough about any given situation to truly go in-depth and give a valid, useful opinion about it. not to mention, i just don’t have the time. i could have elaborated quite a bit more on my Author Love Awards, or the Unsung Hollywood Hero Award, but i just don’t have the time to research interesting little tidbits about those people that you don’t know, but would find interesting if you did.

part of me wants to say that this is my blog. it’s like a diary and even if nobody read it, i’d still continue to write in it just to get my thoughts out there. it doesn’t matter if people find me completely useless… i love it, and that’s what matters. but that’s just part of me… the other part of me really, really wants to be one of the top five picks for the kickball game. too bad i’ve never been good at being popular. yep, i was always in the bottom five players picked in gym class. i always made grades just good enough to squeak by. with my blog, i suspect it will be the same…because the truth is, i’m just not an interesting person. sure, my brain doesn’t know how or when to turn off but eventually i’ll start spouting the same old crap on my blog pages, and the few readers i have will get tired of me. i don’t want that to happen because sometimes, the conversations i have with people through my blog are the only adult conversations i have all day.

anyways. time to get to the point.

i want to have some sort of weekly thing. i used to do “The Word of the Week” in my myspace blog, and then later i tried to start it in my blogspot blog, but it just didn’t stick. nowadays, i blog far more regularly than i used to, and i think it might be fun to have something new to look forward to, especially of you’re like me and you think the details of my everyday life are hideously boring.

now, having a word of the week is all well and good. the title is even almost catchy…but i just don’t think it’s catchy enough. i want to include the day in the title so i could actually remember when the hell i’m supposed to do it. yes, i am just that ditzy. the maker of my flashy button over at Notepad Chaos, has Terrifying Tuesday. i am going to take over wednesdays…i just don’t know what to call them. The Word of Wednesday? that’s a bit of a mouthful. Wednesday’s Word? Nobody’s Nothing’s Ridiculous Attempt at Expanding Her Pathetic Excuse For a Vocabulary With Words Copied From Merriam Webster? getting closer…..

i’ll figure something out. perhaps you could help?

Continue reading Books, Babble, and Wednesday Newness

4 Comments on Books, Babble, and Wednesday Newness

Author Love Awards!

  • Posted on September 28, 2009 at 1:03 pm

it’s no secret that i love to read. voraciously. i’ll give anything a chance, because i’ve found something in just about every genre that i love. however, it’s very rare that i find and author that i love. i’ve learned over the years, that each book needs to be judged by itself, not by the person who wrote it.

take Lisa See. i adored Snowflower and the Secret Fan. the book was compelling, the characters interesting and i found myself constantly wanting to know what happens next. naturally, i jumped on her next book, Peony in Love. i read it as long as i could stand it, but in the end- it chalked up to a spoiled, whiney main character that i couldn’t care less about. if she ever did manage to find love, i didn’t care. i just didn’t want to have to listen to her ignorant, stupid prattling anymore. i dumped that book in my library donation box, and haven’t looked back since.

that’s why i try not to get excited when i see a new book written by a specific author that i’ve enjoyed before.

the authors that my author love awards go to, are different. i’ve devoured every book they’ve written, and gone back for more of the same story several times. my picks aren’t for everyone… my love of fantasy is reflected in my choices for all time favorite authors. i may branch out into other genres, but fantasy literature will always be first in my heart, and on my reading list.

i actually have 2 picks for my Author Love Awards.

the first one, is Terry Goodkind. he gets my “Old Author Love Award”. why old? because his books have been with me since the very begining. they’ve been with me since i stole the very first book in the Sword of Truth series off my mother’s bookshelves. he’s written more than 7 books in that series, and each one was just as unforgettable as the one before it. i’ve read, and re-read them all, and i never grow tired of them. he has a new book out called The Law of Nines, that i haven’t read yet. hopefully he still manages to do his talent justice, because he is an amazing author. it isn’t just his writing ability that makes him one of my all time favorite authors- he’s a real person to me. i’ve never met him, but i’ve actually written fan mail to him, and he’s written back. sure, maybe he hires someone else to respond to fan mail, (i’m not naive enough to imagine the god of fantasy literature himself pouring over my handwritten letter, and responding personally) but that’s okay. i can’t begin to imagine how much fan mail he actually receives, but i can imagine that it’s way to much to pay personal attention to each one. no, what i do give him credit for is making sure that his fan mail is responded to in a personal way. he doesn’t just send a pretty signed bookmark and a generic “thanks for reading” note. both times i’ve received replies from him, i’ve gotten signed book covers, signed book marks, and letters that responded to specific points in the letter i wrote, along with a hefty dose of wisdom and advice that almost had me in tears of inspiration. i love that guy. not just because he writes amazing books, and hasn’t failed me yet… but because he seems to genuinely care about his fans.

my second is the “New Author Love Award”. Brandon Sanderson is fairly new on the fantasy scene… his first book, Elantris, was published only a few years ago…which is fairly green by Terry Goodkind’s standards, who’s books were being taken away by my teachers in jr. high. no, Brandon’s books are new…but they are all amazing. even now, i’m forcing myself to rip my eyes away from the pages of “Warbreaker”, his newest fantasy novel. he may be new to the fantasy world, but his ideas are so refreshing… my favorite thing about Elantris, and the Mistborn series after that, is that they aren’t the same old recycled swords and magic that you get from most fantasy novels. sure, there are swords and magic in all the books (it is fantasy after all) but he gives them a twist that i would never have thought of, and i’m pretty sure nobody else has either. Brandon Sanderson has gone against the tides of fantasy, and brought to the table something new and original. it’s something that is very difficult to do nowadays, and for that he gets my “New Author Love Award”.

now, if you’ll excuse me… i have to get some chores done so i can re-attach my eyes to the pages of Warbreaker.

Continue reading Author Love Awards!

3 Comments on Author Love Awards!

Halloween Revisited

  • Posted on September 27, 2009 at 1:19 pm

as usual, my plans have changed.

for E, i was going to have a friend of mine look for a cute fairy costume at the Halloween shop in which she works. then, i decided to do a red/black fairy from the materials i already have at home to save money, because we just never seem to have enough for fun stuff nowadays.

then J said he didn’t think those were good “fairy” colors, and if i was going to make a fairy costume, to go with soft pastels and just buy the materials i needed. so i did. but now i’ve changed my mind yet again. in my last Halloween post, i had a lot of suggestions to make a cute ladybug tutu out of my materials. i really wanted to dress E as a fairy, but i just don’t think it’s gonna happen this year. a ladybug would be much cuter, and i already have all the materials i’d need. it would be the most cost effective, and in my heart i know she’d be just as adorable as a lady bug as she would be a fairy. :)

as for K, he’s going to go as a Jedi. i’ve been scouring the pages of the internet for cheap costumes, and ultimately have decided to enroll MIL’s sewing skills. i made the call this morning, and she’s on board for sewing up his new costume. i know, i know. i made a big deal about not getting her involved because of the disaster that last year’s costume was… but honestly, i think it was because she allowed him to pick out a poor pattern and it just didn’t work out. she actually has a very good history with making costumes. that Jester costume? was made nearly 20 years ago, and not only has it survived all this time, but it survived a walk around the zoo that Halloween. the monkey suit was made for K, and it’s awaiting E to fit into it…when she grows to an appropriate height, i’m gonna trade the red vest out for a more feminine one, and i’m pretty sure it will hold up better than anything store bought.

last years halloween disaster. it was supposed to have a clear bubble helmet, but she couldn't find one.

last years halloween disaster. it was supposed to have a clear bubble helmet, but she couldn't find one.

an old Jester costume of J's, that K decided to use when he was 5 yrs old.

an old Jester costume of J's, that K decided to use when he was 5 yrs old.

monkey costume made for K when he was 4 yrs old

monkey costume made for K when he was 4 yrs old

when it came down to it, i think it’s mostly my pride that i have to suck up when it comes to asking for MIL’s help. it would be incredibly stupid of me to refuse a well made, good looking, free costume just because i don’t want to talk to her. besides, when it comes down to it, she really doesn’t spend enough time with the kids, and K at least, loves her. she needs to spend more time with the kids, and getting her to come over here for costume fittings is one way to do it. when i called her, she also started in on an adorable ladybug costume she saw at the cracker barrel… so if she gets really into this, i might be spared from having to make E’s costume (and spending any money on the accessories) this year as well.

we’ll see, i guess. there’s plenty of time for me to change my mind once again.

oh, and just in case you were concerned that i’m putting waaaay too much emphasis on a silly costume that will only be worn for a couple hours one night out of my child’s entire life… you’re right, and i know it. but it’s just one of those things, you know? i’m a mom. i will never have another 1 year old to dress, and i’ll never have another 7 year old boy to dress up. K will remember these days for the rest of his life, and even if it is just one evening of walking around the mall- i want it to be special. obsessive much? yes, thank you. but hey… now that i’ve got it out of my head and into writing (type?) i can move on for the time being.

now for the next issue…

Continue reading Halloween Revisited

Care to leave a comment?