Snippets and Blabbery

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

step it up and dance
2008-05-02 18:52:00
I’m predictably addicted to this dance reality show on Bravo, Step it Up and Dance . But the best part is that on Bravotv.com, they have something called dancealongs - where the choreographers break down the dance for ME! In my living room! Check it out: Dancealong on bravotv.com Oh yeah, and counting down to So You Think You Can Dance…May 22!!! Woo hoo!

oh, and one more thing
2008-05-02 08:22:00
about all the toys. We’re a fairly green family. Except that my husband drives an hour to and from work and works for a water-bottling company. You can bet we recycle those bottles, but still. We compost, we recycle everything, we use reusable bags instead of plastic bags - except to hold cat poop, we buy biodegradable (read “even more expensive”) diapers. But the packaging on these toys we’re buying our kid are undoing all the good. Two layers of hard plastic surrounded by tons of cardboard, paper instructions, a box around the cardboard and plastic, steel ties (well, maybe not steel, but ridiculously hard to cut) around each toy that has to be sawed off with a chainsaw…I now make sure I have my camping knife with me when we go to Target. I also keep a box cutter in the car. Crazy? If you think so, perhaps you’ve never had to open a Thomas the Train package. I think the Europeans have the right idea. Because there are limits on the amount of tr...
More About: Thing

alligator eyes
2008-05-02 08:01:00
As a family, we have alligator eyes and bird stomachs. Or bird bank accounts. Or a bird garage, that can’t possibly hold all the crap we buy our kid. He often says, “Target is great!” You know what that means? It means we go to Target and buy toys TOO much. That kid is so spoiled. Today, we went to Toys R Us, and there was a sign on the wall when we walked in that said, “hurry, we have Wii’s in stock today!” I almost bought one. My kid is 2. I don’t think he can play a Wii yet. I’m not sure why we don’t have any self control, except the fact that he’s such a good kid. He’s not bratty, he always says please and thank you, he genuinely loves all of his toys - for at least 10 minutes, anyway. The other day, there was a garage sale down the street. The guy was selling off his Matchbox collection, and he had a huge box full of unopened matchbox cars. We bought a few, and left. William was thrilled. He played with those car...
More About: Eyes , Alligator

Happy Birthday, Honey!
2008-05-02 07:50:00
Today is my husband’s birthday. He doesn’t like his birthday. It might be because he’s a twin, and he’s always had to share it. It might be because he doesn’t like getting old. Either way, he always just says, “I just never really celebrated it.” Sad, right? I freaking love my birthday. So the downside to him saying, “no big deal,” is that we really didn’t do anything for his birthday. I got him a cake from a new bakery, and it was really good, but he doesn’t really like cake. It was mostly for our son, who LOVES birthday cake and candles. So we did the whole song and the baby helped blow out the candle. Even his present was kind of lame. I got him golf balls. Granted, that’s what he wants, but still. I was going to give him a hard time about getting old, like buy him magnifiers or reading glasses or Depends or something, but he doesn’t really think getting older is funny. I don’t really care about g...
More About: Honey , Happy , Birthday , Happy Birthday

Sign the petition…
2008-04-30 17:09:00
I went on a little tirade a couple days ago regarding John McCain’s sexist statement that women just need more “training and education” - not equal pay or the ability to fight for it. In my inbox today was a petition. The Fair Pay bill will be revoted soon - let your Senators know how you feel: Subject: Tell McCain: Stop insulting women Dear Friend, Last Wednesday, Senate Republicans filibustered the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law that would have overturned an appalling Supreme Court decision that practically abolished remedies for gender-based compensation discrimination in the workplace. In opposing this legislation, Senator John McCain said that if women want better-paying jobs, they just need more “education and training.” Then, he didn’t even show up for the vote. Let’s tell Senator McCain that should stop blocking an up or down vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act if he wants to ensure equal rights for women under the law. Ple...
More About: Petition , Sign

cool TV spottings
2008-04-27 08:36:00
Here are two things I saw on TV that I thought were cool. On Grey’s Anatomy, Dr. Hahn’s surgical cap is (I think) made from Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope fabric. On Gossip Girl, the waitress that kept trying to get Blair to get up from the table at Butter is Karla from Hi-5!
More About: Cool

McCain v. Women
2008-04-27 06:54:00
Lilly Ledbetter was voted against in the Supreme Court for waiting too long to say she was paid less than her male co-workers. Then congress just voted down the Fair Pay bill, which would have provided more opportunities for restitution for someone like Lilly - who’s case was lost on what seems to me to be a sad technicality. I hope my Republican friends are following this - especially the women. Here’s a good op-ed column from the New York Times by Gail Collins, summing up the whole shebang. Here’s a quote to whet your whistle - McCain’s response to women not receiving fair pay in the workplace. Or rather, a national average of .77 on every $1. (And that’s just white women, African American women and Latinas earn even less!) Having delivered his objections to the Ledbetter bill this week, McCain went on to tell reporters that what women really need is “education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as mu...
More About: Women

new artwork
2008-04-27 02:09:00
What do you think of my new header? It needs a little work - my crafting side is seriously unrepresented, but so far so good. I love that girl. It’s a vector image from iStockphoto by an artist named Chihhang. I’m not sure what I want to do with it yet, but she’s cool. I had to buy something because my iStockphoto credits were going to expire. I think it’s lame that they ever expire. But I guess it makes you come back, and probably buy more credits in order to get what you want.
More About: Artwork

the big “d”
2008-04-27 01:53:00
My only real experience with divorce is my parents’ divorce. And I was twelve. And then I almost filed for divorce with a dallas family lawyer in my third year of marriage, but we we decided to go to counseling, and it was very effective for us. I mean, the first, second and third counselors. Now, in year eight, we’re doing pretty good. My sister and her husband separated a couple times - and they’ve also been in counseling for some time, holding divorce back with everything they’ve got. Well, my sister is anyway. I see the divorce rates climbing, but I don’t know what it’s about. Is it because it’s easy? It sure doesn’t seem easy on any of the people involved. I think my dad had no choice. My mom was a serious alcoholic in serious denial. She was cheating on him with a woman. There’s a little too much info for you. But her alcoholism was so serious that she died five years later of liver disease - at age 42! Very young. He spent...

more grey areas
2008-04-25 21:16:00
I’d like to see this entire interview, and I’ll be looking for future ones. Listen to Rev. Wright…does he sound like some kind of maniac? I think he sounds perfectly reasonable - a veteran, an educated man who has spent his life in service to the Lord. I’m going to have to look into the whole thing a little more, because the right is sure making a huge stink about it, no matter what Obama says. I’ve certainly been in some crazy-ass Southern Baptist churches that have been absolutely insulting to women, well beyond what is supported by scripture. One Southern Baptist preacher actually said women in the military do different push ups then the men. This is not true, by the way. I was personally outraged. Basically, there are wierdos everywhere. And pastors can’t be an exception - they’re just people - just like every other crazy out there. Is it meaningful that Obama has been sitting in this guy’s church for 20 years? Maybe. But Barack...
More About: Grey

stay cool, boy
2008-04-25 07:32:00
I went to the opening performance of West Side Story at Elsinore High School tonight…what an awesome show. Man, those kids really gave it everything. Some of the dance scenes were a little painful to watch - I would guess that none of the boys have taken any dance - but Anita was fantastic. She was played by Carlee Blakemore, who happens to be 18, so I feel okay putting her name on the WWW, and she was really excellent. Great voice, great dancer, totally believable. She even had a smoky voice like Rita Moreno. Tony and Maria were great too, especially Maria’s voice - but she smiled through all the dramatic scenes, even when she slapped Chino, so that was weird. The crowd favorite by far was Principal Jon Hurst as Doc. Who knew so many of Doc’s lines were made for a principal. “How are we going to teach kids today?” “How are these kids ever going to learn?” He was great, and the crowd loved him. There was a weird moment when Tony and Maria &...
More About: Cool , Stay

Candidates on Colbert
2008-04-21 22:36:00
If you didn’t see these videos - take a minute to watch. As always, Colbert is hilarious, but Clinton, Edwards and Obama are pretty good too. Especially Edwards. http://blog.indecision2008.com/
More About: Candidates

weekly events
2008-04-20 03:02:00
My Moo cards arrived this week! I really love the packaging. I think that sleeve around the box would make an excellent quilt design. Here’s a sampling of my cards…I got the pack of 100, with 10 different photos from my flickr. On the back, they have my name, number, email and website. Pretty cool. I also got a fun little carrier for them, but the picture is blurry. Trust me, it’s cool. William has been doing lots of painting lately. He’s really getting more imaginitive. I mean, all the paintings kind of look the same to me - masterpieces, of course - but he says things like, “Look, Mommy, waves! A bird! A whale! A road!” Today, we took him to a cool little barber shop on Main Street and got all of his sweet messy hair cut off. I was a little sad to see it go, but he does look pretty great with shorter hair too. He didn’t cry at all - probably because of the orange lollipop he had a death grip on throughout the entire process. His second...
More About: Events , Weekly

Jay saves the day!
2008-04-18 20:51:00
I took my messy hexagon flowers over to QuiltyGirl’s yesterday, and she gave me the perfect solution to flatten those crazy seams…Mary Ellen’s Best Press!!! A few squirts and a hot iron, and my hexagon flowers were perfectly flat! I’ve pinned them to the foundation, and am appliqueing them down today. Easy-peasy. Thanks, Jay!!! I’m taking a beginning appliqué class on Sunday at Calico Cottage in Murietta. I’m excited - it’s with Susan Prioleau, who doesn’t seem to have a website, but teaches classes all over Southern California. I have a beautiful Baltimore Album pattern of hers, and I’m looking forward to her class. I think I have the basics of appliqué down, but I think it helps to learn other techniques also - then I can figure out the best way for me.
More About: Saves the Day

ear buds
2008-04-17 07:34:00
Is it just me, or are all ear buds uncomfortable? I spend a lot of time with my ear buds in my ear. Illegally driving with them in, drowning out Bob the Builder and Thomas the Train - but not my son, of course. I always have an audio book or a podcast going. Or sometimes it’s just the Indigo Girls. The point here is that I hate my ear buds. I think there are options out there for me, but I’m afraid to find them. First of all, go to any electronics store, and you’ll see a million options. Well, at least ten. Anyway, they range from $30 to $200! For earphones, people! Crazy. I actually don’t want the expensive ones - not because they’re overpriced, but because I don’t want all noise blocked out. Like I said, I keep my ear buds in, but I need to know everything that’s happening around me, so the cheap ones are fine for my purposes. The real problem is that I have really small ears! The standard nano earbuds are way too big and don’t stay...
More About: Buds

rosacea
2008-04-17 07:25:00
I hate having a red face. No matter what I try, natural acne treatment, unnatural acne treatment, I still have a red face. From everything I’ve read, you’re supposed to treat rosacea like super sensitive skin. Not use any harsh chemicals or exfoliants on it. The problem is that acne is a byproduct of the rosacea. Redness I could probably handle - cover with makeup if I was motivated. But adult-onset acne. Gross. Let me tell you, I drink a crap load of water. That doesn’t help. I had VERY expensive laser treatments. They didn’t work. The only thing that ever worked was big doses of dioxycyclene…serious antibiotics. Am I just supposed to ruin my immune system by taking antibiotics I don’t really need? No. Of course not. Which is why I have a red face.
More About: Rosacea

vive la France
2008-04-17 07:18:00
My mother-in-law will be leaving Paris this summer. She’s taking an early retirement, and will be moving back to the states. She’ll be renting out her apartment through a rental agency. This got me thinking…how does one find treasures like these? Reasonable places to stay in the middle of the city? Is it better to stay in a hotel? I don’t think so. I think it sounds so nice to travel to a distant land, but live like you’re a native while you’re there. I found all kinds of treasure on the internet. Tuscany villa rentals, apartments in Paris, Rome, New York City…you name it. What am I doing here? Oh yeah, I need reliable luggage!
More About: France , Vive

baggage
2008-04-17 07:09:00
Ugh. Baggage . More specifically, luggage. Remember a few months ago I spent a bunch of money on some fancy new Samsonite luggage? I had a cashback reward from a credit card, and if I traded it in for a voucher from a selection of companies - the amount was doubled. This is how I ended up with $160 in Samsonite money that could only be redeemed in an outlet store. Luckily, there’s a Samsonite outlet store about 10 minutes from my house. I picked out the most lovely suitcases. A big one, a medium one and I got a free carry-on. It’s a nice Martha Stewart-green, and I love it. But guess what? The airlines don’t. Apparently the big one weighs a good 15 pounds empty, and always seems to be overweight - even when it’s only half-filled. This is a pain in my booty. Next, on the first trip the big suitcase took to Oklahoma, the cool little Samsonite emblem fell off. I know the ramp guys are brutal, but only one trip? That stinks. Anyway, I don’t know what you&rs...

The joy of work
2008-04-17 06:58:00
For my part-time job, I make calls. I call about 75 companies a week with different purposes. Sometimes offering market research, sometimes scheduling appointments. But all the time, I have to wade through ridiculous voice mail systems. The worst are the companies that put the prompts for “personnel directory” at the very end. Say it first, people! I don’t have all day. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time on the phone, listening to all the prompts I don’t want, waiting for the one I need. This is hard for me. I hate my hands being idle. When I watch TV, I crochet or hand-piece or surf the net on my laptop. But until recently, I haven’t done any of these things when I’m calling because if I don’t pay very close attention, I miss my prompt and have to wait through the whole message again. Good news! I found a new activity that I can do while I’m making my calls. Embroidery! I’ve already completed two stichettes (from WeeWonderfu...
More About: Work

goose bumps
2008-04-16 03:01:00
I get both the Hillary campaign emails and the Barack campaign emails…I usually delete them both after reading the first few lines. They’re almost always a solicitation for donations. But for whatever reason, I read this one to the end, and then donated. I thought I’d share it here…there’s something inspiring about “the largest grassroots campaign in the history of our nation.” From Barack’s campaign: Dear Friend, In the last 24 hours we saw renewed attacks from Senator McCain and Senator Clinton. The same John McCain who voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest few said I was “out of touch” when I spoke about the frustrations that working people in this country are feeling. Maybe that’s to be expected from John McCain. But I was disappointed to hear the exact same talking points from my Democratic colleague, Hillary Clinton. When a candidate who believes lobbyists represent “real people&rdqu...
More About: Goose

more hex progress
2008-04-14 22:04:00
I’ve been plugging away on my hexagons. I started out using the English paper-piecing method, and quickly went to just sewing the hexes together. My process is placing two hexagons right-sides together, and placing a straight pin through the points at one end of a side of the hexagon. Then I start sewing a running stitch at the other end of the line or segment, towards my pin. As I get close, I remove the pin. This has been working great. Here are some photos of my finished hexes. I like the big flower the best, but I’m making a small (24″x 24″) challenge quilt, so I couldn’t use all big flowers. The next photo is one that hasn’t been pressed, and one that was painstakingly pressed with a clover mini-iron. This is the definite downside to not using the paper pieces when sewing hexagons. The seams are a killer. Here’s the one I did use the paper-piecing method on. It came together pretty easy. Once you get the first round of petals on, take...
More About: Progress

Water for Elephants
2008-04-13 22:38:00
I just finished this audiobook and LOVED it! I’ve been seeing this paperback in Target and Costco for months, and for whatever reason, I looked it up on Audible. Because everyone loves a circus (actually, everyone except me - I find them terrifying), I used my monthly credit on it. And boy was I glad I did! It’s the story of a man - told alternately at age 90 (or 93 - he’s not sure) from a nursing home, and at age 23, from a train-traveling circus. Excellent narrators, wonderful storytelling. I found myself immersed in the mind of Jacob, living the drama of the depression-era big top, and equally immersed in his nursing home world, surrounded by people of varying degrees of age and healthfulness, trying to make sense of it all. I have to say, the nursing home scenes were very sad. My own grandfather is in a nursing home, and I can’t help but know he must have many of the same feelings. I don’t think he knows who I am anymore, much as Jacob doesn’...
More About: Water

Idol gives back
2008-04-10 06:53:00
Did you see that ad where all the people go get their water in the jugs? And the mom gives her kids the dirty water? Gut-wrenching. How about Chase from House playing the violin? Awesome! I loved that whole number, with Teri singing and Mike (his TV name) playing the guitar. And I was super excited to see all my favs from So You Think You Can Dance! So far, so good! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t want to miss Billy Crystal. Um, Milly Cirrus? Hilarious.
More About: Back , Idol

Linshaolin
2008-04-09 19:39:00
I can’t believe I didn’t see this super nice post from Linshaolin earlier, but I’ve been so caught up in quilting guild stuff, that I’ve been missing my favorite blogs. I’m not sure what occasioned it, but Lin wrote a lovely post about me and my little spot in the blogosphere, and I’m absolutely touched. Lin and I have celebrated a mutual admiration society for a long time, and it’s produced a cool little friendship. We leave comments on eachother’s blogs, and every once in a while, send an email. We catch up on each other’s lives by reading blog posts - of which hers are immensely witty and funny. Sometimes they’re sad -  because Lin doesn’t pull any punches - she shares her whole life with us. That’s what makes it such good reading. Our worlds are pretty different, but books and fabric addiction bring us close. I just love the internet! Thanks, Lin! You’re awesome! For excellent reading any time of the ...

today’s link
2008-04-06 06:48:00
What a wonderful day! A sew-in at Quiltygirl’s…some sewing, lots of blabbing and snacking. Then Pauline sent me this great link…a new blog to love: http://www.dontcallmebecky.com/. Not only is it full of awesome crafts, but she does a lot of tutorials, offers her patterns, and even offers some fixes for published patterns. Unfortunately, I tried to post some links to specific posts, but I couldn’t figure it out. Thanks, Jay! Thanks, Pauline!
More About: Today , Link

This one is for the editors!
2008-04-03 23:29:00
I just love this story - especiall the last two lines :) Are you smarter than a 5th grader? http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080403/ap_on _re_us/smarter_than_the_smithsonian
More About: Editors , The Editors

my tv addiction
2008-04-03 23:12:00
My name is Blabby and I’m addicted to television. I’m also addicted to fabric shopping, yarn shopping, food shopping (but not cooking) and book shopping, but those are matters for another post. My topic today is TV addiction. Cable companies make it so easy these days to feed addictions. Take Cox television. From Cox, you can get a Cox bundle which includes high speed internet (another addiction), phone and cable. Along with that, you can add other cox services like a dvr…now I have a Tivo, but I used to use Cox’s DVR, and I loved it. The only reason I got a Tivo is that I moved to an area that didn’t offer DVRs yet. This has been remedied. Now, here’s how my addiction manifests. I turn on my cable and hit the guide button, and I’m shown a wonderland of choices. Hundreds and hundreds of viewing choices. Do I want to watch a documentary on the Battle of the Bulge on the military channel? Sure, I love the part when Gen. McAuliffe says &ldquo...
More About: Addiction

New Kids Reunion?
2008-04-03 02:51:00
Frankly, who cares. I was never a big fan. Give me Simon LeBon or Andrew Ridgley any day. BUT, there is a funny picture on OMG! with all of the New Kids together again. What’s crazy to me is that they’re all almost 40! Does that mean I’m almost 40? Sheesh. At least they’re closer than me.
More About: Reunion

New Kings of Nonfiction
2008-04-02 06:49:00
This is what I’m reading…edited by Ira Glass (of This American Life-fame) it’s a compilation of great non-fiction writing. I’m almost done, and by far, the story about Lois Weisberg is my favorite. If you’re a fan of NPR or PRI, I think you’ll love this book. I think they were giving it away when you donated so much to PRI…but I got my copy at the library. It’s about a week overdue now, but I want to finish it. On my iPod, I’m enjoying Zaproot, Threadbangers, TPM Media’s Veracifier, This American Life, NPRs Selected Shorts, New Yorker Fiction, and Slate’s Political Gabfest. Check them all out! Free is awesome! My current favorite activitie is to put on hot lingerie, my iPod, and work on a quilt. Just kidding about the lingerie. But I do love to sew with my iPod on. It is true peace. I highly recommend it.
More About: Kings , Nonfiction

if I lived in the big apple
2008-04-02 06:30:00
I was just telling my friend today that it’s almost embarrassing that I’ve never been to NYC. I really want to go. And let me tell you, if I moved there, I’d hire the Schleppers to move me. Is that the greatest name ever for a moving company, or what?! Their phone number is 1-800-84-SCHLEP. Awesome. There’s no better word for carrying a couch up 15 floors to a tiny little apartment…perfect.movers New York
More About: Apple , Lived