Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Thwarted.... Or "Schecky Strikes Again"

In an attempt to remove the "adorable" label from my scary little pumpkin - I carved him a friend.

And then I set the two up together in order for Schecky to find them.



1




Which he obviously did.

Because when I entered the kitchen this morning, this is what I found:

2
Kind of changes the whole mood, doesn't it?




That kid cracks me up.

And, darnit.... he's totally right.
The lil guy?
Is adorable...


3
Have you ever seen a more guilty looking punkin???

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Do You Want To See Something Really Scary???*

Boo!




Although, according to Schecky - it's not scary at all. In fact, I think he said:
"Mommy! That's not scary at all! That's adorable!"

And if you could have heard the indignation in his voice when he said it?
Well, it would have cracked you up too...

What *is* really scary is just how much I've got on my plate in the upcoming two weeks...

Ay yi yi...

I swear, I need to go back to work (and get a full time job, while I'm at it!) so that I can quit volunteering for things!

Wish me luck!
:)



*Quick! Name that movie....

Thursday, October 25, 2007

A Little Inspiration Is A Very Good Thing...

And speaking of "little things"....

Behold!





And A is For...


Yes. Yes, indeed.
Seems that the universe *was* trying to tell me something.

Mainly that it had been a way long-ass time since I had actually finished anything. So, I reunited* with my needles and finished this little girl. Who was, I believe, begun back in earlier this spring.

Which brings me to a bit of a dilemma...

I started this little bear for a baby that was born last December - although I didn't get the birth announcement until late January. There were other babies born first, though, so I didn't get started on this one until late March or April.

But then there was the stupid I-burned-my-hands-so-I-can't-knit incident.
Which took much longer than I thought to get over.

Which was then promptly followed by the inner-ear-infection-from-hell-so-I-can't-do-anything incident.
Which, as you recall from all the subsequent whining, took forfreakingever to get over.

Then there was the introspective navel-gazing phase, which was also not particularly conducive to getting stuff done.

So - that brings me to here.
This "baby-gift" is ready now - TEN MONTHS after the birth of the baby.

A part of me thinks that it's just too stupid and embarrassing to send a gift this late.
Another part of me thinks that it's even more stupid not to send it, just because I'm embarrassed.

I could probably go find an Emily Post type answer as far as gift giving etiquette - but I'm far more interested in real life application.

What would you do?
Send it with no explanation?
Send it with a (very brief) explanation?
(I really don't want to explain what a goof I am, and how hard its been for me to get anything done this year. I mean, I'll talk about it with y'all - y'all already know that stuff. But to rehash to it someone who's lucky enough not to have to hear about it the first time???)


Or should I just decide that the A on the sweater stands for my last name and keep it for myself, selfish troll that I am?

'Cause I have to admit, I'm kind of smitten by this face:

Ava




*Reunited.... and it feels so good....
Anyone else old enough to remember that song? And did anyone realize that Herb went through about five different Peaches? Must be harder than we think to shake your groove thing!

and Sweet Cracker Sandwich! They're still touring!
Who knew?

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Gifted...


Books, Glorious Books!, originally uploaded by lla.

I've been a lucky, lucky girl lately - at least in terms of Crafty Karma!

In the recent week, I've been the lucky recipient of not one, but two, fabulously crafty books in the mail.

The Softies book was from a random drawing I won over at Not Martha - and it's absolutely amazing.
(Must. learn. to. sew.)
I've been drooling over its pages for the past several days.

That is, when I'm not laughing my head off at the Subversive Cross Stitch book which was sent to me by the charming and talented Julie Jackson herself!
(and you all will remember just how much joy the original gift from Beki brought me!)

And as if this weren't enough fabulousity - I was the recipient of an additional act of CraftyGirl kindness. The staggeringly generous Debbie, from GottaKnit had booked a seat in a knitting class over at everyone's fave yarn store - only to realize that she was going to be out of town on the date of the class. Y'all - she gave me her seat in the class, and it was really amazing. It was all about working with Habu yarns, and how to read Japanese patterns. It was so interesting, and the instructor was just amazing. I just can't thank Debbie enough, it was such a lovely morning...

I swear, the universe must *want* me to start doing something crafty again - what with all the inspiration that it is putting in my path and all...

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

And the Sky Looked Like Something Out of "Gone With the Wind"....


Orange Sky Over Atlanta, originally uploaded by lla.



A very strange, very Technicolor sight met my eyes this morning - an orange sky.

I found myself standing on the front porch, gawping at it - simply because it looked so very, very wrong.

My first thought was "How cool is this?"

My second thought was "Glad I don't live in a trailer park."
Because in my mind, I always imagine that the sky turns these crazy Crayola colors right before a tornado.

It actually started out a weird purple color, almost as if the sky were bruised. It quickly turned to orange - and stayed this way just long enough for me to snap a few pictures. By the time I got the Scheckster to school, it was over and done. The sky was a steely grey color.

But it sure was interesting while it lasted...

More Orange Sky Over Atlanta Pictures





More Orange Sky Over Atlanta Pictures


These were all taken from my front porch this morning, at about 7:30. No color-correction, nor any sort of PhotoShop tomfoolery has taken place...

Sunday, October 21, 2007

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Longtime readers will remember just how much I love Halloween in general- and the Little 5 Points Halloween parade in particular.

This year's parade was no exception.

I just went back and re-read last year's post, and while I am no author, I don't think that I could say anything much differently. This year's parade was every bit as fabulous (and the weather every bit as perfect - I swear, it's just a little bit charmed...)

So - if you're not sure what the L5P parade is all about, you can read what I wrote about it last year.

There is one big thing different from last year, though...
I got some really fun pictures...



Why do I love this parade so much?

Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade...


Because *everyone* lets their "freak" flag fly!




Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade





Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade





Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade





Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade





Little Five Points 2007 Halloween Parade




Psssst - interested in more? These are just a few of the pics I took. You can see the complete set over at Flickr!

Enjoy!

Friday, October 19, 2007

Song for the Day...

Because I'm Awesome by The Dollyrots


Why?

Because we all need to remember just how awesome we are.

(and because I wasn't sure if everyone had gotten their daily recommended dosage of snark today...

I do love snark.)

Thursday, October 18, 2007

In Which Thing Two Gets Ready For Halloween*...


Thing Two, originally uploaded by lla.



How nice is this? This is my cat, ThingTwo, covered in cobwebs.

And no, I didn't do this to him. He just showed up on the couch looking like this.

And yes, I *am* freaked out.
Seeing as how he's an indoor cat and all.
(Do you now see why I was soliciting housekeeping tips earlier a while back?)
(Maybe he's been hanging out in the basement with the possum?)

It's all fun and squalor here at the House That Crazy Built, I'm telling you...




So - now you know why it's been so quiet around here lately - I've been busy picking cobweb off my cat.

OK - that's not really why it's been so quiet around here.

It's more like I have found myself in a phase where I can either do what I need to do in "real life" *or* I can have fun on the computer. But I can't seem to manage both. So, the computer has fallen by the wayside a bit. :(
(and yes, I just resorted to putting a frowny at the end of that sentence. I actually tried to come up with words to express how I feel about my not having any time for computer fun, but the frowny summed it up best.)

I'm looking forward to feeling like I've got my head back above water - I'm so far behind on my blog reading, and there are a lot of people that I'm missing bunches! I'm actually kind of hoping that the fact that I found 10 minutes to post this is a positive sign - maybe I'll be fully back before you know it...

In the meantime, it's back to TCB.
And cobweb removal.



*He may be the only thing around here that looks like it's ready for Halloween... As I was headed down to the basement to start dragging out the boxes - yes, you read that right... boxES, plural - of Halloween crud that I use to gussy up the place, Shecky stopped me. He asked no, he *begged* me not to put up all the lights, bats, pumpkins, etc. that I usually use to festoon the house. "Please," he said, "can't we have a normal house just one year?"

How sad is it that at *NINE* - my kid no longer thinks that decorating ala Clark Griswold is cool.
And that at my advanced age, I still do...

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Planets in Our Solar System...

I mentioned last week that Schecky's class was working on a unit of study involving the Solar System and the planets.

One of the assignments was to "Write a Book About the Solar System."

Schecky decided to write a board book - "for little kids" - to introduce them to the planets.

I'm smitten...







Just sit back and enjoy the show. Or you can head over to Flickr and read his book there.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

I Think I'm Going to Have to Change My Catch Phrase...

Get Fuzzy




Because, let's face it...
"Sweet Monkey Sundae" totally trumps "Sweet Cracker Sandwich."



And as an aside: if you're not reading "Get Fuzzy," you should be.
'Cause it's good... And remember that I'm a girl what takes her comics seriously...

Glorious Rainy Day

It's raining!
It's pouring!

And if it had been so long since the last time *you* saw rain that you had forgotten what it looks/smells/feels like - you'd be excited about it too!



It's a lovely wet gray day - perfect for staying in and puttering.

Not so coincidentally, that is what's on the agenda for the day.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Of course, I'm not all by myself.
Nope, I've got Bruce to keep me company.

It's funny - I don't consider myself a big Springsteen fan, but his new single "Radio Nowhere" seems to be the only thing I want to listen to today.
(updated to add: How cool it this? It was recorded right here in the ATL. Now I like it even more...)

And you can listen to it too, right here.

enjoy!



*What's making you stupidly happy today? What can't you stop listening to?

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

And Speaking Of "Stunning Acts of Immaturity"...

Schecky's 4th grade class is working on a study unit about the planets.

He's decided that his absolute favorite planet is Uranus.

He's all totally into it.

He's drawing pictures of Uranus.
He's writing poems about Uranus.
He's full of interesting facts about Uranus, that he can and will rattle off at the drop of a hat.


And, God help me...

Because it's all I can do to stop myself from bursting out laughing every time he says it...

Seriously, I'm pushing 40.
Shouldn't I have outgrown this by now????

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Administrivia...

It seems like I've spent the last 48 hours doing nothing but administrivia...

You know, all the boring paperwork stuff that needs to get done, but that you dread doing so it piles up, until it reaches such mountainous heights that it's impossible to ignore it any longer???

For example: I've been reconciling the household finances for the 3rd quarter; figuring out what we're going to eat this week; dealing with Bubba's expense reports; filing dental insurance forms; negotiating with natural gas providers for a better deal; etc.

Seriously boring stuff.
But, sadly, necessary for the running of this household...
(Somehow I suspect that "normal" households require far less record-keeping.)

And as if that weren't enough fun? I had to get a new cell phone - which has required hours of *manually* transferring everything over...
ugh.





As with many other things - I'm a total hypocrite when it comes to cell phones.

I started to say that I hate them, but that's not wholly accurate.

I hate *carrying* one.

Personally, I love that everyone else has one.
It's nice to be able to get in touch with whomever I need to get in touch with whenever the urge to do so hits me. But for myself? Somewhere along the line, I came to realize that I really resent the phone in my house. Not a fan of it at all... So having to carry a phone around with me? Making me accessible 24/7? Oh ugh...

I resisted for as long as I could. But once Schecky started school, it just seemed irresponsible for his school not to be able to contact me if they needed to. So I caved. And joined the rest of the world and (grudgingly) got a cell phone.

Which I use as little as possible.

I go for cheap phones, no monthly contract, and try to never use them. Ideally, I try to forget that I own one. In an act of stunning immaturity - I've refused to learn my own cell phone number...

Despite its lack of use, my old phone was well past its expiration date. It was actually cracked into two pieces, and held together by a ponytail elastic. Classy, hmmmm? Sadly, that wasn't what pushed me over the edge... it had gotten to the point where it would no longer hold a charge.

So a new phone was in order:

New Cell Phone...


And grudgingly, I've got to admit that it's kind of cute. It's very, very wee - which is always good for a high cute factor. And it's red and kind of sparkly. And it came with a shiny happy screensaver with animated butterflies.

Say it with me, people: Awwwwwwww....

But, lest you think that I've lost my edge: take a closer look.

Cute...Yet Evil



Check out the very tasteful wallpaper. That's right. Roses and skulls. Nice, hmmmm?

(And Beki, you should have known I was too immature for the cool cross stitch kit! As you can see, I've become far too smitten with my new motto...)