I have don't have an excuse... I have many.

I've seriously dropped the ball on blog posts this last month. Lots of things going on and I haven't had a lot of time for the internet (I know, gasp!).

There is good news... I'll be absent another week. Haha. We're going on a little vacation and hopefully when I return I'll be ready to get back to it. Probably. We'll be going to the sunny location of Branson, Missouri. I know, sounds lame. But it did fit our criteria of 1) Day or less to get to driving 2) Kid friendly things to do 3) Being able to do absolutely nothing guilt free.

See you soon!

"I, Robot" and Converse Conundrum

This is quite after the fact, but I watch "I, Robot" a lot, as it's a pretty good movie and makes great background noise.

One thing that has always bugged me about the movie is the scene where 'Spooner' is at 'G.G's house and she asks him about what he's wearing on his feet. Which he replies "Converse All Stars, vintage 2004." Now, the movie is set in Chicago 2035. That's not a vast amount of time, why is G.G. shocked by these shoes? It stand to reason she's seen them before.


Let's assume G.G. is 80 years old. So in 2004 she would have been 49. Too old to keep up with fashion trends? Perhaps. However, Converse All Stars have been around since 1976. When G.G. would have presumably been 21. This would allow plenty of time for her to catch on the the trend. She could have known people who wore them! One would think the sight of the shoes would make her feel more nostalgic than anything.

As a side note, that bird syrup container on her table? I have the same one in green and yellow. I feel so futuristic.

Zombie V Shark

Warning: This is graphic (albeit silly).



While I appreciate the attempt made by whoever made this, I have issues.

1. Can zombies actually swim? I have not seen any previous evidence of this. Only that they cannot drown since they are dead and can travel through water, but not by swimming, but by shuffling along the bottom.

2. Zombies don't eat sharks. All flesh is not created equal. How could a zombie even identify a shark as food? It can't smell it underwater. Unless zombies only identify food by things that move. But you don't see them trying to attack trees swaying in the wind and dogs: dogs always seem to be safe. Unless this zombie is highly evolved but it's highly doubtful.

3. The zombie in the movie is swimming backwards, away from the shark before it attacks again. While that makes sense for a human, zombies are too mindless to go on the defensive. They don't duck or deflect or run away. The just keep going, they don't know any differently.

Zazzle Postage Sale

Right now Zazzle is having a sale, new postage at old postage rates! Just enter NEWPOSTRATES at checkout. Through May 24th,

Here are my postage designs:

Indie Grunge
Line Art Flower
Retro Flower
Birdie

April Fools

A while ago, my husband told me about the coolest thing: people hacking construction signs. Well, I think so, anyway. The best (although most obvious) message is as below:


Yeah.

Since I heard about it, I've wanted to do it... I know, I'm horribly juvenile and irresponsible. With it being April 1st, my inclination is creeping back into my mind. Alas, my husband won't let me. With my luck, I would get caught and I'm not going to jail by myself. That means my terribly clever message isn't out there bewildering or enraging passersby. I'll just share it with you now (and if someone uses my message, please send me a photo, I don't mind living vicariously):

"NATIONAL CURFEW IN EFFECT REMAIN INDOORS"

Snowball Surprises (that look nothing like snow)

These went over pretty well in my house the other day. In a weird domesticated sort of way, I bring you the recipe.

Total time: 50 minutes
Makes: 20 snacks

You will need:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups regular or Frosted Cheerios
• 1 to 2 tablespoons candy sprinkles
• 20 small candies

1. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper

2. Pour sugar and corn syrup into 3 quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until mixture starts to boil. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir in peanut butter until mixture is well blended.

3. Stir in cereal until it is evenly coated. Cool for 5 minutes. While mixture is cooling, put candy sprinkles in a shallow dish.

5. Lightly spray hands with cooking spray. For each snack, shape about 1/4 cup of the mixture into a ball around 1 small candy. Immediately roll the ball in the candy sprinkles to coat. Place balls on the cookie sheet. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store snacks in loosely covered container.

Nutrition info for one snack:
Calories: 120
Total fat: 3.5g
Sodium: 75mg
Sugar: 15g
Total carb: 21g
Protein: 2g

"Mama Was a Riot Girrrl?"

This is old (2006) but I just stumbled on this article from the NY Times about kid bands. The term "kid-core" is used, so how could it not be a good read?

Pale and thin, with fluffy manes of rocker hair, Lucian and Julian are also partners in a record label, Beautiful Records, which has recorded Care Bears on Fire and Magnolia, using equipment that Lucian was given for his eighth-grade graduation, soon after a baby sitter introduced the two boys to ’80s punk.

“We were into, like, Rancid and Blink 182 at the time,” said Julian, cringing at his junior-high lack of cool. “That ended when we heard Minor Threat.”

I always lament at the fact I didn't give my kid some Stroke-esque name like Julian. It seems maybe it's over used. At least in New York. Phew.

This article also strikes me as cool because my husband and I had joked that we were going to "grow our own band", as in have kids to fill the positions. Like a garage rock Partridge Family.