Don't Try This At Home

Artsy Fartsy

I did it. After years of saying I might, I did it. After years of trying and failing and feeling overwhelmed with crafting projects, I did it. After blog-hopping and seeing that everyone out there has some sort of crafty thing going, I was compelled to try my hand at being artsy fartsy too. Yes, I bought my very own sewing machine.

I dragged Shannon with me to Wal-Mart and picked out a machine identical to hers so I can call her at all hours and know that she can walk me through any problem. Here is our shopping extravaganza (please ignore the weird squatting position I've assumed; apparently I was so thrilled I almost peed my pants):

I picked out some fabric to make some of the great burp rags Shannon makes and then we came back to my house to set up the machine. And by "we" I mean Shannon, of course, because I know less than nothing about sewing.

Sure, all the pictures of me, but let's be clear that Shannon did all the work. The Bebe maybe needed a nap, but I NEEDED MY SEWING MACHINE THREADED. I held Shannon and her bebe hostage until she gave me a quick overview of everything I needed to get started. I was ready to go!

Unfortunately, between lunch, doctor appointments for kids, and playdates, I didn't get to try out my craftiness until late this afternoon. My seams are ridiculously crooked, but here is the kitchen towel/burp rag I made:

I made two of these and I plan to do more tomorrow. It's just practice at this point, but I'm still really excited to get to the level of making burp cloths and matching blankets. My cousin just had a baby and my brother and his wife are expecting a new one this year. I'd love to give them some of these.

New Look & Name; Nice Cones; Digging Yourself Into a Hole

New Look & Name

I have decided to go with Don't Try This at Home. Thank you to every single one of you for helping me with this decision. I'm very happy with how things have turned out. Now I just have to go back and change all my links on webrings and everything else. Doesn't that sound like SOOOOOO much FUN?

Nice Cones

My son's math homework tonight called for him to find three real-life instances of geometric shapes. For the most part it wasn't too bad. When we got to cones, though, I was madly looking around trying find something, anything. He and I finally came up with these three things: icing tips, a vase, and (guess who found this one?) martini glasses. Do you think his teacher is going to call me? And what on earth will I say if she does?

Digging Yourself Into a Hole

Finally, a friend sent me this link today and I thought you and your kiddos may find it interesting. Please let me know if you land anywhere besides the Indian Ocean. That seems to be the only place I can dig to. Check it out: http://www.digholes.com

New Look, Possibly a New Name

What do you think of the new design? You know what my biggest problem is? I can't think of a really great name for my blog. My favorite names are Rocks In My Dryer and Mom On A Wire--and not just because they rhyme. Then there are my titles. What title goes with my cute redhead juggling her life? (Note to my friend--and you know who you are--don't even say it.)

Since I started blogging in 2004 this blog has had several names:

1. Stuff I'm Thinkin' About -- My first iteration and truly a boring name. Duh, we know it's what you're thinkin' about or you wouldn't write it. This was back when my blog was anonymous and I told no one where to find me.
   
2. surly Mom -- I chose this one because it's a joke around here that I'm a girl bully because my face in repose looks like I'm perpetually ticked. Well, that and some other things. In reality, though, I'm pretty nice and I'm loyal to the death. My sense of humor can be a little surly though. In the end, I thought Surly Mom made me sound like too much of a witch, regardless of how accurate it may be. But if the masses like this one, I'll change it back.
   
3. Mom on the Edge -- This was my blog name up until 10 minutes ago. My main problem with this is that it makes me sound like I'm a mom who has just about had it and is ready to chuck it all. In reality, I'm a very happy mom and I feel like I'm just on the edge of getting it right.
   
4. Mom in Motion -- This is the only thing I could come up with to go with my new graphic. It's not too catchy, but it goes. There MUST be something better out there.

What do you all think? Give me your best shot at a blog name. And while you're at it, let me know if you like this design or the old design better. If you'll just give me feedback, I promise I'll start writing about funny things again. There is no way I can move on before I resolve this issue. It's just one of my countless freaky OCD things.

A Girls Day

The men are off playing golf today so Munchkin and I have a few hours to ourselves. Our plans are minimal, but will be fun for us. We are having a quick lunch at home, then to Build-A-Bear to squander $10 of Munchkin-earned money. After that we will probably stop for an Orange Julius. We also have to make a stop to sign up my son for baseball. After that we are going to Wal-Mart to buy a full size mirror for the back of Munchkin's door. That way she can watch herself dance and do tricks. Don't ask. If all goes well, we'll be home in time to give each other manicures. You have not lived until you've had a manicure by a 5yo. LOL.

Edit: Sweet Success!

We are back from our little shopping spree. Munchkin chose to spend seven of her hard-earned dollars on this:

She named her new prize Pinky. It's right in line with the other names she's given various subjects of her managerie: Valentine for the cat she received last Valentine's Day, Builda for the unicorn she saved up for and bought at Build-A-Bear.

She also chose to spend another two dollars to help pay for an Orange Julius treat--with no prodding from me! She said, "I just thought it would be nice to contribute. We are sharing."

After the mall it was off to Kohl's where I purchased the most unlikely thing for me ever: red boots. But I love them and I actually have two red sweaters and a skirt I can wear them with. (That's assuming I can sit mostly; did you see the heels on those things?)

Finally, before we left I found a pair of rain/snow boots that are perfect for Munchkin. Who says boots have to be all function and no fashion (certainly not me if I buy something like the above)? Here are Munchkin's new boots:

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but they are black patent leather (or something like it). They are lined and fuzzy inside so they are warm. Of course, this year we've hardly been below 50F so we may not make use of them until next year. Good thing I bought them a little big.

Time Suck

For the life of me I cannot think of anything to blog about today, so I made up this meme. Any similarities to other memes are purely coincidental. Frankly, this one's so boring if it reminds you of another meme I'm sorry because that means you had two horrible memes. Can you say that three times fast?

I tag everyone who reads it; leave me a comment and I'll come visit your site to read your answers.

1. What is your favorite movie line and why? "Sometimes ya just gotta say what the f**k"--Risky Business. I like this one because it's true. I also have a post that lists other great movie lines.

2. What is the worst movie you ever saw? Wired. It's a book-to-film about John Belushi's life. I couldn't make it 15 minutes before I turned it off. It was sucktastic.

3. How did you meet your significant other? Our roommates were dating each other. They didn't last. We got married.

4. How did you spend your 21st birthday? At Eskimo Joe's in Stillwater, OK. We were having so much fun people upstairs who'd heard about us were sending me shots. I vaguely remember being carried out the door of the atrium (no longer used). The next morning I woke up and apparently on the way out, the bouncer had decided it would be funny to stamp me all over.

5. What is your daily motto? "Just because you can doesn't mean you should."

6. Do you use your watch, cell phone, or car clock to tell time? watch

7. What's the last crafty project you tried? Did you actually finish it? Making cards by stamping and embossing them. Yes, I finished but now I have a bunch of cards I don't know what to do with.

8. What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you close? I wanted to be an astronaut. I still do. No, the closest I get to that is watching NOVA.

9. What's the stupidest thing you've admitted to in the last 24 hours? I revealed to Shannon that I thought "aspertame" was pronounced ass-part-uh-MAY.

10. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi

Death by Krispy Kreme

I'm having a little trouble with the whole birthday week. More precisely I'm having 1.4 lbs (and climbing) of problems with the birthday week. My birthday, as I've been shamelessly blogging about since last week, and my son's are just three days apart. We started celebrating on Thursday (which was two whole days BEFORE my birthday). I've had everything from beef wellington to chocolate lava cake to carrot cake to mexican food. Today, though, has been the kicker. My son really wanted to take Krispy Kreme donuts to school for his birthday. I only had one for breakfast and then went and worked out. Then Munchkin and I made those darn cake cones and I had to sample those. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't support my Munchkin in her domestic ways? Don't answer that; it's an entirely separate blog. Anyway, my son just arrived home from school and was toting one dozen Krispy Kreme donuts with him. Apparently the teachers didn't want theirs. I've had two Krispy Kreme donuts so far and the only thing that's keeping me from eating them all is blogging.

I started out OK, but I'm on a very slippery slope. I'm gonna be Alfred Molina's Comte De Reynaud character in Chocolat on Easter Sunday. Remember him all splayed out in the window with chocolate everywhere? Or perhaps I'll just be Augustus Gloop and take a header into the Krispy Kreme stream. Ah sweet, sweet Krispy Kreme icing. There are some days when I think Oprah hit it on the head when she said, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Today is not one of those days.
 

The Ever Popular Birthday Cone

Munchkin and I made birthday cake cones for my son's birthday today. Overall, it was just another opportunity for me see that I am truly kitchen retarded. I let Munchkin put all the ingredients into the bowl and let her help turn the mixer on. So far, so good. Then the batter looks very thick. Crap. I forgot to put the water in. I gave Munchkin the eggs, the mix, and the vegetable oil, but not the water. So I quickly add the water and it's just not quite right. By now you know my mantra: It's still good. I salvage what I can and pour the batter into the cake cones and bake those babies up. Here's what they look like (after Munchkin frosted them):

They taste OK. That stuff you see sort of hanging off the cones in waves is the spill over. Quite decorative, actually. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Rock, Paper, Scissors. Show Me What Ya Got!

Tbe fact that people would hold a Rock, Paper, Scissors contest is funny enough. The fact that contestants could win a trip to the finals in Las Vegas is about to kill me! What I want to know is whether they play the way my brother used to: If you lose you have to roll up your sleeve so the winner can take two fingers and whap your bare arm as hard as he can.

My REAL Birthday Present!

The awesome bag Shannon gave me (see post below) has a web site listed under the quote. I thought, "Hey! I'd like to see what else is available! I think I'll check it out." So, I did. And that's when I got my REAL birthday present.  ;) 

Here's the URL: http://www.taratainton.com
Please note this is not safe for work and you should probably shoo the kids out of the room for a minute. However, you may want to go ahead and call your significant other to the computer.

Of course, knowing Shannon and that she would NEVER have directed me to this site, I could not stop laughing. I immediately had to e-mail her, then CALL her to tell her I'd e-mailed her. Then I had to wait while she typed in the URL so she could see what I'm promoting as I wear my bag. I love my friends! Especially the ones who can laugh with me over these little things.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Shannon gave me an excellent birthday present today:

This bag really says it all, doesn't it? Shannon and I have discussed how, now that we are blogging, everything we see, say, or do is colored by The Blog. Will I blog it or not? Blogging has become an automatic part of my thought process. Seemingly mundane things are now blog fodder.

I am so excited about my new blog bag that I was already thinking of what to put in it and how to use it while I was thanking Shannon for giving it to me. I told her it's my new purse and I'm not sure I was only joking. I LOVE this bag.