you're a strange animal, that's what I know

So one of the girls at work is having a bad day, so I thought a little People of Walmart would cheer her up. It always does wonders to my mood! Ah...laughing at other people's expense! Would you consider that a hobby? Or just a past-time?


This is kind of totally rad. I am so not a big fan of Disney (gee...can you guess all the reasons why?), but I think that "back in the day" it was the coolest thing going!

And the people's clothes and cars kind of make this for me!


This is possibly one of the most adorable weddings I've ever seen! With all the things I've learned about myself and about weddings in the past 6 years, I know that if I were to get married today, it would look totally different than my first wedding. I know that I have said on many occasions that I have no regrets with the way my wedding turned out (except for stoopid DJ), but at the time my tastes were so different than they are today. I don't know if that's just because I'm growing as a person, or because at that time I didn't fully know myself...at any rate here are some images of how my wedding would look if I planned it now.

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I heart corny embroidery! This kind of image would be so cute on an invitation!

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k... need to take a little intermission and head to the back. hopefully will finish this post later...

skater alligator

continued

so Veronica wants to know what I have against Disney. My only answer is this: waste. When I think about Disneyland and Disneyworld all I can see is all the stuff that they want you to buy, or eat, or buy. All the made in China plastic crap. And all the land that is used not only for the parks, but for the parking and the hotels and everything else associated with them. And all the materials it takes to make the rides and the signs and all the other "atmosphere" stuff. And all the pollution generated not only from the stuff there, but the pollution generated by the visitors to get there. Everything is just too much, over the top, extras.

I would pay top dollar to attend an eco-friendly, sustainable amusement park...but I doubt I will live to see the day such a thing exists. And yes I know that Disney recycles, and now offers you fruit and veggies to eat instead of just plastic, greasy crap. A step in the right direction. I guess I would need to see an environmental impact study, or some kind of carbon footprint analysis to change my opinion of them. yeah... These are kind of the same reasons I can't stand Vegas.

I would much rather visit a place with history, a view, a great place to hike or walk, local shops or a farmers market, museums and places to explore. Those are where my happiest childhood memories live.

other things...

isn't this little kit thing super cute? I might have to try making some and somehow using them in my Xmas decor. maybe to match my Christmas Chicken!

k. gots to get back to work again. can't be a slacker. not today.

am teaching a class at TM tonight...my altered canvas...and I still have to buy the canvases and pull together all the needed supplies. am going to need a drink later...

skater alligator!

Post #496

Must plan on doing something "new and lovely" for my 500th post!

Inspires me to search "new and lovely" on Flickr. Results as follows...

Lovely Louise

Oh tatonen...now if only i could knit something other than a straight line (and not very straight at that!)

This reminds me that I need to pull my sewing machine out...I have big plans!

And if I could one day get up enough talent to make this, I would be forever happy!

Maybe one day, I'll get to visit and see this in person.

Lately I've been thinking about what Russel & I will be like when we're old and grey. I think mostly still hilarious! I can't wait to grow old with him! Oh...the possibilities of matching clothes, worn for irony only. And funny hats, and being "crotch-ety". Lovely, indeed!

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I am in love with old photos, and this stream has them in spades.

*****

On to other things...

last night Russ & I went to the Keg, with a gift card in tow. I had some delicious bacon, creamy horseradish sauce with my sirloing, plus sweet potato fries! Woot!

FYI: You pay extra for the ambience!

Some lady at another table sat down and immediately started complaining about a cold draft she could feel...ummm...because they seated her in front of a window. Yeah. So she complained and actually put her coat back on. And the manager had to come out and chat it up. I don't think I have ever been in a restaurant without feeling some sort of cold draft. So suck it up sweetheart...you're paying for that ambience.

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I have my Christmas card issue sorted out! I am going to be sending out "Darryl Benson" originals...tags that is! Chantel's dad makes these rad tags to sell in the store and there is one that I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE. SoO I asked Chan how much and if it was possible to get a whole bunch made, and she asked him, and he said yes! YAY!

Last year I didn't send any cards...bah humbug.

All that's left is a photo. We took some last weekend at Mom's, but she ahs been having troubles with her camera so they are all blurry. But we looked so good! Maybe I'll try printing them on the smallish side and you won't be able to tell! HA!

*****

I am busy making Christmas crafts! Kind of...i have been wanting to make a chicken for some time now, and I saw one that I liked the shape of (don't ask me where!) so I attempted to recreate it last night. If I hadn't have run out of thread on the last panel, I would have taken a picture to post.
He's a funny little felt chicken, and I love him! Maybe I'll make him a little felt garland, and he can be a Christmas chicken!

I also purchased something to add to my Christmas decor. From Freckled Nest on etsy.

It is A PINK CLOCK!!! I have a soft spot in my heart for anything "clock"...just searching
clock" on Flickr gets me all excited! And isn't she just the cutest thing?

She is #3 of my collection. Slowly but surely...can't get too overwhelmed with collecting things, as I already have a very full house!

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I almost hit a giant dog on the drive to work this morning! Yikes! A golden retreiver and some other big gold dog came flying off the top of Gallagher Park hill (the ski hill) on to Connors Road. The retreiver stopped right in the middle of all three lanes! I thought for sure it was going to meet it's maker. No leashes, and no one chasing after them, so I'm thinking they escaped from a backyard. If I wasn't headed down the hill, I would have stopped to help. But there was no where for me to stop.

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I really just want to keep Flickring for pictures and Christmas crafts and fun stuff, but I should get back to work. There is really nothing for me to do...all the docs are away this week! Fancy that! I'm just "keeping busy" looking busy!!

Has anyone seen a pair of great navy blue shoes in a store lately? Fancy shoes, I mean. I have a genius plan for Russ' Xmas party, but I really need some navy tights, navy shoes, and navy tulle! If the shoes could look like the ones below, except navy and maybe shiny, I would be in Heaven!

k...I'm done for reals now! Later skater alligator.

christmas crafts

anyone doing any fun Christmas crafts this year? I remember the year of the ribbon trees...oh man...and Nadine always does a fun star, or banner, or something. I'm not sure what I'm going to attempt this year, but guaranteed there's going to be some Xmas Crafting in my future!

Somebody else found these, then I found them...and I love them! But I hate that styrofoam stuff, so I will have to find an alternate form to build my trees on.


I already bought a wreath for my door...it was a total impulse buy at Superstore. It was red berries, and pretty and I wasn't thinking, so I just bought it. I hate buying new stuff when I could just make something that would look just as good. But it's done.

also, these are adorable! I already have a large paper doll of myself hanging by my front door. these would look so cute on the tree, or hanging from the latest crafty thing I'm making that I hope to be done this week so I can share!

and this is the only time that those goofy fold out paper bells look cool. I could totally try this at home on my fireplace...but I would need lights and a pine garland thing, and I just don't have those, nor do I want to purchase them at this juncture. Hmmm. Will need new plan.

and I want to try this on my big bare yellow wall at home. Until I put up a shelf. It's just too bare for me. I like busy!!
k...gots to go help a lady with a computer! later

la la la la la la Tonight...

or rather, last night...I spent some time taking down Halloween decorations, and redecorating my mantle and Expedit units. I made a heck of a lot of paper chains yesterday - out of an extra IKEA catalogue - and so I hung one along the mantle, and one from the ceiling above my Expedit.

Am thinking of Tea Cups...

Illustration by Anne Wilson

Toy People

Dainty Tea Cups

Fabric for a plant

Skinny Ship's illustration...really inspires me to draw my own little pretty tea cup!

And these ones, but I just can't get the pictures to load...
Embem30 photo at Anthropologie
Peter Pan Fan has a whackload of amazing pictures of the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland Paris.

I have quite a large collection of tea cups. When my great grandma ("G.G.") was a young lady, she started collecting them. Grannie says that you would go to a party at another lady's house and everyone would bring a tea cup to swap. G.G. is Grannie's mom, she passed 6 years ago, and Grannie is still going through her stuff. My G.G. was a bit of a hoarder, so I come by it honestly! On Thanksgiving, Grannie gave me another box of tea cups that she had found. I think some are hers, and some were G.G's. But now they are mine. They are all so lovely! I've been using them to drink my morning coffee because they are just too fine to stay in a box!

Anyone have any good display suggestions? I'm thinking that once I get my shelves hung above my Expedit, I'll either hang them from below or place them on top. If I hang them there's no where to display the saucers. Hmmm.

I made two more word banners...frosty and joy...one for above the mantle and one for above my Expedit. my colour themes are blue & green, and pink, respectively. So now I need to make a stop at the Reuse Centre to find some fake flowers that match. the only silk flowers I have are yellow...wait a minute...I bought some blue & white to do up some demos for Amy's wedding. They must still be kicking around somewhere. That can be my project today! Hooray!

k...lucas is harassing me to go to the Cars website so I should log off. later...

late night musings

I am officially addicted to stupid Cafe World, or whatever the heck it's called. I have been busy making burgers and salads for the past, I dunno, 3 hours. It is very sad.

My legs and feet are cold.

I really really need to do something crafty tomorrow night or I will go crazy. something simple and inspiring so I can get my brain moving again.

i am not doing a december daily. it seems like everyone and their dog is doing one nowadays, and while I think the idea is totally rad, I just cannot commit to a daily anything! oh my.

Have you ever seen the movie 200 Cigarettes? Cause it is excellent! The accents, and the story and the music, and the characters, and there are a whole bunch of famous names in it. mostly just the accents are hilarious and the outfits! Love love. I am watching it right now while I am cooking some burgers and a salad. It is late and I should go to bed, but I just can't seem to tear myself away...

tomorrow I have a giant to-do list. lots of cleaning and tidying, as per usual. but also I want to get some scrapbooking done and some playtime with lucas. he was sick but now he's not, so he's going to want to play and play. maybe I'll get him to go outside for a little bit...I really want to rake some leaves and enjoy the fall before it is officially over for good.

i am in the mood to buy some cozy socks and comfy t-shirts. i am in a non-fashion mood this week. but I have been cleaning and tidying and trying to purge some closet items. and it feels good! I am not in the mood to start decorating for Christmas. it feels like i just got all my fall/halloween stuff sorted I would hate to tear it down right away. plus, I think I hated most of my decorations last year which means I probably won't like them this year and I will want to make new ones and I don't have the spirit for that right now. anybody got any good spirit-building tips? to get me into the holiday spirit? I don't bake, but I do love Christmas carols and Christmas movies. maybe I'll start there.

maybe I should just focus on finishing painting my living room and not worry about getting anything else done. maybe just maybe. i'm still not keen on the yellow I picked, but i've already started so I need to just finish it and deal with it. i want to buy some wall decals, birds maybe, or I dunno, something else. hambly came out with some fabby ones, but they are pricey too! whoo-wee! etsy is probably a better bet for me OR if I ever get the handle for my die cut machine I can just make my own...whenever that happens.

sorry no pictures. maybe I'll make it back tomorrow.

this post was sure full of maybes...wowee wow wow.

later skater alligator

swing low sweet chariot

Mmmm...let's go fly a kite.

I'm feeling very wasted today...not like drunk-wasted, but like time-wasted. I got absolutely nothing done last night. Life stops a bit when your kid is sick. We just snuggled on the couch and watched YTV & Teletoon (iCarly, SpongeBob, Fairly Oddparents, Scooby Doo, Superman, etc.) and then snuggled on the bid bed and watched YTV, Teletoon and a Mighty Machines DVD. Yawn. Then Lucas was awake at 4am, telling me he's hungry and wants to snuggle, and so I end up sleeping in his bed, well "sleeping" isn't quite how I would describe it. Lucas was playing with my hair, and hitting me in the face, and complaining about the light and his blankets, etc.

been thinking about dragons...
like this one

So Anam's husband is an artist, and his latest triumph is Dragon's Age: Origins, which looks totally amazing I must say. So all the gorgeous commercials for it have got me thinking about dragons. There are some cool Flickr pictures, but the one above really caught my eye.

some of you might know that I am in love with hay bales. I am also madly in love with wind mills...this one is dreamy. Makes me want to pack my bags and move out to the country.

The photographer writes that it reminds her/him of the Wizard of Oz. We had one Dorothy trick or treater, and she was an older girl. Impressive...I didn't think kids of that age really followed that story anymore.

okay...I was going to post more today, but I'm playing a goofy game on Facebook instead. stupid Russel...I've been on Facebook for ages now, and have never played one game! He joins up and a week later I've been corrupted! Oh well!

later

my little McQueen!

Today is the big Playschool Halloween Party, and I am so excited! Mainly because Lucas actually likes his costume and wanted to wear it! WOO HOO! And he looks so adorable as Lightning McQueen doesn't he? I even made him little whitewall tires and stuck them on his sleeves. There's a big "95" on the back of his shirt. All made with felt and embroidery floss! WOO HOO!

I'll get more pictures later, the light is just so crappy in the house and in playschool. Thankfully it's not snowing or too cold...I won't feel bad sticking him outside without a coat for a couple of minutes to get a good shot or two! We also carved a "McQueen pumpkin", so I'll be sure to get some shots of that as well!

This is a picture of him at school with his little buddy Damien...who is a very convincing Darth Vader...he kept giving me the death grip! Teacher thought he was trying to give her a high five, but I corrected her and demonstrated the proper throat grabbing and falling to the floor action that he was expecting from her! Lucas looks really giant next to him!
I feel very creative today, and it's a good thing too...I have lots to accomplish: TOTW, Riff Raff stuff, finishing the calendar class for TM, showering and brushing my teeth...

I bought some of the new Hambly - yummy doilies!!! - so I think my TOTW will involve them in some way or another. I really need to print some pictures, especially some more from Amy's wedding, because the ones I have just aren't inspiring me. These Halloween ones are totally going to get some rad treatment today! Hoorah!

I think I'm going to make some paper chains. Reading Elsie's latest blog post with the artist's studios pictured, and there are a couple with what look like paper chains hanging from everywhere. I remember making so many of those when I was a kid...that was the thing you did to decorate when you didn't have anything else! lovely! Also want to go buy some trading card plastic pouches and do up some interesting scrapbooking layouts, also ala Elsie (see RVA update, "10 Things..." Kit)

But first shower, teeth, then pick up Lucas.

I'll be back...