it's a wrap!

photo source

hey, have you heard about yarn bombing?!

apparently it's all the rage all around the world. wikipedia describes the practice as : a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.

here is a news video about a group in denver called the ladies fancywork society:

photo source

the idea is that, while painted graffiti is damaging and permanent, yarn bombing is non-damaging and temporary. some projects are large, such as this bus:

photo source

but most are small, like this pole:

photo source

a group of texas bloggers claim to have started the craze when trying to find creative ways to use their leftover and unfinished projects.

photo source

no matter where it came from, i think it's pretty cool!! check out each link to learn more.

copy CAT

the other morning, t.willie tipped this chair over, climbed into the legs and said "take my picture gammie".


a short while later, i came into the room and found this:

too funny

grateful:
1. for the return of soup weather- we had split pea with ham tonight
2. for warranties on appliances- have to get a replacement part for my washing machine (that we bought in APRIL!)
3. for a husband with which to be goofy

the pain, oh the pain

i woke up this morning totally unable to move my head without a whole lotta bad bad bad pain. it hurt, it really hurt! kaye called her chiropractor and got me in. the doctor assessed the situation and declared "wow! i haven't seen a neck this bad in a long time." yeah, i am an overachiever. anyway, i came home and had still been in about the same condition until five o'clock, when i remembered i had percocet left over from my recent oral surgery. i took one and laid down for a couple hours. here it is 8:40 and i feel A LOT better! i have quite a bit more movement and quite a bit less pain. YAY percocet!!!! man, i wished i had thought of it hours ago! anyhoo, i plan on feeling much better by tomorrow, and crossing "stiff neck" off my to-do list.

grateful:
1. for prescription drugs (sometimes!)
2. for kaye and bilbo in picking up the slack
3. for homemade 'smores, which have NOTHING to do with the above story, but i'm thankful for them, nontheless

wish this lady a happy birthday

today, september 20th, is my mom's (susan's) birthday!

please visit her blog and wish her a happy one.

have a great day mom!

he's a trip, but he's no vacation!!

trips:
1) so the other day, i had put t.willie down for a nap and settled in to snooze, myself. after a few minutes, i heard him playing. i went in and put him back in bed and told him firmly to go to sleep. a few minutes later, i heard him again. i repeated my instructions and told him if he got out of bed again, he would get a spanking. all was quiet for about 25 minutes and i assumed he was sleeping. suddenly, i heard his door opening and i was getting ready to get real mad, when he said, "gammie, it's bue-full day out! get up, get up!" oh my freakin' heck, how can you be mad at that??!!

2) we put up a baby gate at the end of our hallway every night, to keep the dog out of trouble. this morning, t.w. was standing at it, planning to crawl under it but buster was on the other side in his way. i heard him say "hup, two, free, four-go away buster!" he kills me.

3) this morning,t.w. emptied his toy box and put his pillow and a blanket down in it. he called me to his room and as he climbed in and curled up, he told me to cover him. so i got a blanket and started to tuck him in. "no, no gammie", he said "make me poof!" so then i realized he wanted me to cover the toy box itself. i said "poof, you're gone!!" and a little boy giggle came from under the blanket.

no vacation:
just before lunch, kaye told t.willie to pick up all his toys and put them back in his toy box. she gave him 10 minutes and i set the timer. he went in his room but didn't seem to be in any hurry to do the job. so kaye told him that when the timer went off, any toys left on the floor would go to another little boy. this did seem to worry t.w. a bit and he picked up a toy fishing net and started putting small items into it. he then dumped them into a container. then he filled the net again and before he could dump it in the toy box, he noticed some waffle blocks and started building with them. kaye impressed on him the need to hurry as the clock was ticking. he said "stop ticking clock", but still didn't put anything else away. meanwhile, i noticed the timer was on three minutes, so i added three more. there was still a huge pile of toys in the middle of the floor.

needless to say, after adding more minutes to the timer many times, it did finally beep and kaye put all the toys into a box, all the while t.w. was bawling and pleading and carrying on. as she attempted to go out the door to put it in her car, t.w. was clinging to her pant leg and screaming "no, mama, i'm sorry, no NOOOOOOOOO!" well, you get the idea. i took him and wiped his snotty nose and reminded him that he had plenty of time to do the job and plenty of warning of the consequences. he did eventually calm down and i thought he had forgotten all about it. i was at the sink washing dishes when he came over and hugged me. looking up he said, "gammie, will you help me get my toys out of mama's car?" oh, holy moly! somebody help me!!

grateful today:
1. for that crazy little boy who sometimes drives me crazy!
2. for the really cool spider who made his web just outside my window
3. that my vow to not eat any fast food this month has not been a problem and i don't even miss it

a FAIRly great time

we took t.willie to the fair friday night. he was entranced! he looked all around him as we entered the gate and a big smile lit up his face.

we walked around for awhile, checking out the classic cars, motorcycles and tractors, the petting zoo, the steam engine and the poultry house.

the petting zoo was fun, lotsa cute little animals and t.w. had to pet each one.

(oh yeah, bilbo and t.w. had matching tee shirts)

t.w. loved the roosters and chickens! ( i have to admit, i like them too!)

i would think a young kid would think they were kinda scary. they were very LOUD and very active, sticking their heads out of their cages. but he was really interested in them and asked us all kinds of questions. we had to watch him closely because he wanted to pet them!

there were also many rabbits that had t.w. all excited, as some of them resembled cats.

the steam engine also interested him and bilbo had to explain what it was doing and what it was for. t.w. took it all in. after that, we ate at the rescue squad booth, then headed over to the rides.

we did a loop, just looking at what was there and showing t.willie what he could ride. to say he was excited is a big understatement! he was just gazing all around him at the lights and the people and all the activity. it was really fun to watch him.

(no, he's not picking his nose! he's studying the helicopter.)
the most fun was when we came upon a helicopter on the ground. they were giving rides and as we watched, a man and his son got in and the helicopter went up.

as it started moving over us, t.w. started running as if to chase it and he was shouting "guys, you see dat? guys, hey guys!!!" something like that, he was REALLY excited!!!!

as for the other rides, he finally decided he would ride the merry-go-round if i would go with him. we gave our tickets and picked out our horse. t.w. was smiling at first as we were waiting for it to start. but the longer it took, the more unsure he became. he tried to bail out but i held on to him, telling him just wait, he'd love it. as the ride started moving, he got a little concerned. but when he realized the horse just went up and down as the merry-go-round turned, he relaxed and really got into it. he'd wave to kaye and bilbo as we whizzed by and was grinning and giggling happily. he said "gammie, this is fun!" we went on the ride two more times, and each time, he insisted i go with him, no one else. i guess it's our signature ride! at one point, as the ride went faster, he turned around to the other riders and yelled "guys, it's windy! it's windy guys!!" he kills me!

there were other rides t.w. wanted to go on, but when he realized he'd have to go alone, he decided not to. he had a ball just walking around and watching the other kids having fun. my mom and dad joined us at one point and we had ice cream and funnel cake. soon after that, it was time to go. even though he was exhausted, t.w. left unwillingly! he LOVED the fair! and so did we! nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

grateful:
1. for simple pleasures
2. for family
3. for funnel cake

squeaky clean

so, today, after grocery shopping, i was sitting at the table eating lunch. i hadn't finished putting things away, and there on the table in front of me was this bottle of dish soap*. what caught my eye were the words "drug facts". wait...drug facts?? on dish soap???

this had my attention. apparently triclosan .10 % is the heavy drug in this particular bottle of dish soap. (ah, triclosan, i think i remember getting high on that in high school.) according to wikipedia, triclosan is a potent wide spectrum antibacterial and antifungal agent. It is a polychloro phenoxy phenol.

polychloro phenoxy phenol? i LOVE that!!! try saying that three times fast.

so, i read more. the warnings reminded the consumer to use for external use only and to get medical help if swallowed...or follow with a dirty dish chaser. hahaha i kill me!

the directions said- "wash hands and rinse." wait wait wait!!!! wash HANDS?? i thought this was dish soap*!! so i turned the bottle around and read "for sparkling dishes!" ok, nothing unusual here. but, no wait, down below all the labeled words, in very small, hard-to-see, white print, it says "hand soap". WTF??!!

now, i knew you could use dish soap as hand soap, but i didn't know that hand soap was also considered dish soap. i'm so confused. but you can bet i will look more closely at my groceries from now on! who knows what amazing facts i will uncover.

grateful:
1. for time spent ALOOOONE!!!
2. for the awesomeness that is netflix
3. for dark chocolate

good tidings of great joy...

...on this most auspicious of labor day holidays!

it is a beautiful day here at the hellhole and a cook-out is planned for later. that, followed by the gift exchange and an egg hunt, the usual labor day festivities, i guess. hahaha

i wanted to take this time to tell ya'll about my september month resolution. i have vowed to go the whole month- 30 days- fast-food free. yes, i know there are some of you who do not partake in such junky eating, but i do. oh, i do!

this summer, sonic drive-in had a buy one get one free shake special. we did indeed take advantage of this phenomenon...many times! i LOVE their peanut butter fudge shake, mmmmmmmmm!

and mcdonald's bacon egg and cheese (death) biscuit is another favorite. and it's also just too easy to grab some quick dollar menu junk when out shopping and running around.

i know, i know, i should know better! and i DO. i am actually quite knowledgeable about health and nutrition AND i am also overweight. so, yeah, i should know better!

starting NOW- well, starting september first-
i did/do hearby vow and swear that i, aurorafedora/joannadanna, will not partake of and will turn down all items of food categorized as fast food til death we will part, for liberty and justice for all. amen. so mote it be!

there. i said it. now you all know and maybe after these thirty days, i will
a) save money
b) feel better
c) lose weight
d) want to continue into the next month and the next month and so on

so...wish me luck and willpower!!

grateful:
1. that food is so bountiful as to make me overweight
2. that my stomach issues can be the motivation to eat more healthfully
3. that i have the knowledge to help me stop a bad habit
* how's that for turning negatives into positives?!!*

little red

this is a youtube video of tomas nilssonse of sweden. it's of his school project to reinterpret a fairy tale. he chose little red riding hood.
he surely ACED this assignment! i absolutely loved this-so creative!!
(click on the youtube link or the van image, could not embed video) i hope you enjoy it too.


here is his personal website

grateful today for:
1. a bathroom near by...don't ask!
2. the possibility of rain
3. fall is in the air!