“where do you find this junk?”

Liveleak this time…courtesy of Not martha.

The bzz on sunscreen!

So, I joined this program that I heard about over on Trek Casts on, called Bzzagent. We get to try new products and then tell the world about them.

So, my first campaign is for Coppertone sunscreen, in the quick cover lotion and the continuous spray.

I have to say, I have the most squirmy child when it comes to putting things on his skin. The quick cover was amazing. Isaac really enjoyed doing “spray spray, rub rub!” with mommy. He also kept telling me how yummy it smelled. I could see where I missed because this is a spray lotion, and I was able not to cover the same area twice.

Since we were going out for the day, I quickly tried on the continuous sport spray. Wow. Nice! Doesn’t run like other ones, and it stays on without feeling super greasy.

One other feature I adore (especially with having a small child…) is the fact that the tops lock in place so you can’t spray more! Isaac wanted moreandmoreand more sunscreen, but hey. That’s a good thing.

The world needs to see this RIGHT NOW

Just for Melissa

Maeve’s sister says my blog is better than Maeve’s.

So, Just for Melissa…proof that even party city out here does abnormally long strings…

and Maeve…you know I love you! 🙂

Fun things to do with Knitting

So, I’m having my usual IM conversation with Beth as I’m parusing sock patterns (what else is there in life??), and came across a pattern over on the anti craft called Bad Juju.

Yes, it’s a VOODOO DOLL!

Now, let me preface this with saying that people who have read my blog for any length of time know that my outlaws are NOT nice people. Unfortunately, Beth’s outlaws are not so nice too. She gets called a Slut, and I get called a Spic Bitch. I figure that’s 2 sides of the same coin.

So, as we’re talking, I let her know that I should (with some scrap yarn) make a set of voodoo dolls for her and a set for me…call hers Moo and Flower (her outlaws) and mine Vapid and Colostomy (mine), and get some serious straightpins and we’d stab them as they’re on the phone with our other halves.

Beth’s line…
“and then we’ll have them ask “How’s your_________(fill in body part that we’re stabbing).”
Then, she told me she felt a blog entry coming on.

How could I dissapoint??

So, I was discussing this blog with Beth, and told her that people must think that I’m a freak…I’m either threatening death, whining or knitting voodoo dolls.

her answer?
“what’s wrong with that?”

Nothing…there’s really nothing wrong with that.

MAAAAIIIIILLLLL!!!!!!!!!

We got mail yesterday! Made me do the PeeWee Herman scream when he got mail from the postlady…I think her name was Rita…but I digress..

So, all of the good mail came with this 

Which for me, can mean only ONE thing…my Secret Pal has struck again! 
(Doug also got something with this marking on it…you’ll see what that is later…you have to see the item description to believe it…)

So, back to my wonderful mail…

First, she did something that she didn’t have to do…apologize for being late. Late? I didn’t know there was a LATE for packages..unless like mine to my SP9, Mary, it gets lost in the international post and never gets there resulting in you sending a 2nd pack…

But again, I digress…

Here’s what was in this wonderful “small packet…”

Yeah…that’s MORE Fleece artist…in a kid mohair-silk blend. Something I’ve NEVER worked with…oh, the heights of squsihiness! The photo does NO Justice to the amazing blend of blues in this yarn. It reminds me of a deep ocean…just all sorts of blue radiating all over the place. I can’t wait to get started with this because this is a “kit”…yarn and a pattern! Whoopie! Something fun to do with this! I think after I get done with the socks (from fleece artist…ooh, so squishy..have the entire yarn shop drooling over it!) and my hogwarts socks, this one is next on the needles!

THANK YOU!! This is just AWESOME! Another direct hit on my love for squishiness and pattern acquisition!

So, now…what did Doug get with that marking on it?
Oh, he was a happy boy when he saw….

Yes..that says “Old Camera.” 
We could NOT believe that the person who sold this to him put that on the disclosure label!
Classic!!! 
and yes, his was from Canadadian post too. Quebec too! What are the odds!!

Fiber Friday

Since a few people have asked me if I’ve given up knitting in response to a few of my latest posts, I counter with Fiber Friday to prove that I still knit (and still have issues with heel turning…).

Today’s fiber exploit is Show and tell for Hogwarts Sock Swap! This is round 1…Round 2 opens July 14th! Get over there and check it out. AND get in early if you want in…she caps the swap at 100 participants!

So, my pal is a Ravenclaw, who when asked about her preference of movie or book colors said “surprise me.”

Ok. I can do that.
I dropped a line to Adrian over at Hello Yarn and asked (ok, begged) her to dye some yarn for me for my pal.
Here’s the result…

It’s her tough sock base, which is amazingly squishy and fun to work with.

so, I sat with the yarn, and asked it what it wanted to be. It took a while, but it told me it wanted to be a pair of Broadripple socks.

so, I cast on.

What I adore about this pattern is that
1) it looks complicated, but it’s really not.
2) it’s a relatively quick knit,
3) it works well with all kinds of yarn.

I really love how this yarn in striping out.

So, since my pal’s foot is a ton smaller than mine, and I don’t know anyone who has the same foot size, I asked Booger to be a sock model.

Ok. not any better than the first shot, but hey. She’s got her picture on the blog!
So, now, I’m off to cast on the second sock, and work on the surprises that are going in this pack!

It’s a small world after all…

Tonight, I went to a parent function at Isaac’s school. A set of parents walked in…and I thought the father looked WICKED familiar.

So, turns out that this is the new girl’s family..the one Isaac’s been chatting about….and turns out..she’s been talking about Isaac!

I get to talking with the dad,and it turns out, he was the maintenence guy over at KIDSKELLER where I worked in undergrad. He was the one who threw the flaming toaster out of the window! Yes, I said flaming toaster. I’ll blog that another time…

But wow. What are the odds of our kids (being almost hte same age) and being in the same classroom?

wow.

Now, those of you who know Disney may start cursing me for putting images of those singing dolls into your head. I know I’m cursing myself.

3 sides to every story

While I was sitting here working on a supersecret knitting project, I was reading the article on Debbie Oatman in today’s Times Useless. The scathing nature of the article is kind of odd…
Why?
Simple.
When the Extreme Home Makeover team showed up in Colonie (a serious 3 miles from my house…), they were all over it. They were writing whole glowing articles and showing pictures of the “dream house” that she and her children would be recieving. Did they need a new house? TOTALLY.

BUT, here’s the deal. The minute this all went down, the detractors came out of the woodwork. I got an earfull out of my neighbor, who teaches one of the kids. She let me know that NOT ONE teacher was happy about the makeover, because of hte impact on the kids, and that this family was not all it was cracked up to be.

Everyone knows that the truth lies somewhere in the murky mire of this whole thing. Is Debbie Oatman a saint? Most likely not. What one of us is truly a saint? Is she a complete abomination? Again, which one of us has no redeeming qualities whatsoever?

My main issue is that the paper that sanctified and lauded her in March is now villifing her in May, on the day that the show is being broadcast.

Why can’t people realize that there are truly 3 sides to this whole tale. Hers, her detractors and the truth.

Overheard at Greek Fest

 Me: “My son ate my spatakopita. I need 2 peices so I can actually eat some this time!”
Person working booth: “God Bless him! He knows what’s good!”

see? Someone who agrees with my philosophy on feeding children!!!

Then, there was the guy who thought I was his lucky charm because when I was standing there, he won 20.00 on bell jar tickets.   When he lost, he dismissed me. 

too much!

Oh, and yes, I did get my fix of Greek food. Yum.