Necessity Equals Invention

This last weekend I was reminded of a movie called Robots.

The quote, "Find a need, fill a need." resonated with us this weekend. I probably have the quote wrong, but who really cares??

It all started when the hubster wanted to clean the grout on the kitchen floor . . . no, it's not originally brown.

Some moronic builder decided that light tan would be a good color for the grout. Who in their right mind would use light tan in the one room of the house that gets the MOST foot traffic??

A builder who doesn't cook, that's who.

We've cleaned the grout before and then subsequently sealed it. The first time, I hand scrubbed it. The second time, we paid Stanley Steamer to power wash it.

And this time, the hubster wanted to power wash it himself, while using the wet/dry vac to suck up the excess water.

So he bought an attachment.

Those of you who don't know the hubs, should realize he is a man who believes in the right tool for the job. If he can't borrow or rent it, he'll buy it.

This is why we have a carpet stretcher. One that you pound with a rubber mallet. And don't ever touch the bottom of that thing unless you have a desire for serrated fingers. There are tons of curved razor sharp spikes on the head.

Sorry, I digressed.

Which is why he bought an attachment for our power washer . . . for our purpose that of cleaning the grout, it sucked. Every time he hit a grout line, it sprayed water outside the brushes. We have 6-inch tiles. There are always grout lines.

So he invented a 'doohickey'. {sorry, no pictures.}

He took two small rectangular Glad containers (for added strength, and cut a hole on the side for the wet vac to suck out the excess water, and a hole in the bottom (which became the top) where the nozzle of the power washer went.

It worked!!

We have relatively clean grout that I sealed Sunday night.

One more task off the to-do list.

The moral of this blog is that if you buy something and it doesn't work as you expected, use your imagination and invent something that works for you!

This isn't the first time he invented something, but it is the safest . . . don't ask about the chainsaw he duck taped to the end of the pool pole . . . yeah, I made him buy a good extended saw after I observed what he was doing.

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Why walk?

 

As y'all know, I love walking. Shoot, my walking pace is faster than some runners--I know because I've passed them on the trails. But I always wanted to be a runner.

1) you can cover the same distance in half the time.

2) you look 'cooler' running than walking

3) running shoes vs. 'walking' shoes

It isn't that I haven't tried running, I have. I just don't have the ability to run.

1) Breathing--I breath too shallowly to breath efficiently. It doesn't help that I have asthma, so when I breath too shallow, it exacerbates the situation.

2) I manage to hurt myself . . . every single time. If it isn't a pulled groin muscle, it's twisting my ankle or bunging up my knees

So I walk.

That is part of the reason I've successfully kept my weight off . . . well, except for the darn vacation pounds I gained in August and still haven't lost. . . . grrrrr.

The key is to find an exercise you enjoy doing, every day.

I look forward to my walks. Since I walk outside, I see the changing of the seasons. I hear a variety of birds throughout the seasons. I greet other bikers, runners and walkers on my trail.

It's my thing.

But if you enjoy shopping at the mall instead of nature, then go walk the mall. Make a point of walking first, then treat yourself to window shopping as you cool down.

Get into a habit of walking a certain number of laps and then challenge yourself.

Walk the same number of laps, but try to increase your pace for each lap. If you inadvertently slow down, you will know by your lap time.

1) increase your speed
2) increase your stride length
3) practice tightening your muscles
4) dress in layers

And just because you walk, you don't have to buy 'walking shoes'. Those things don't breath. They don't flex. And they weigh a ton!

Buy shoes that breath, flex and feel comfortable with an adequate amount of support. In other words, buy running shoes.

Dress in layers, especially in winter, because if you are working hard you will warm up and start sweating, which will allow you to strip off the outer layers.

And speaking of sweating, if you aren't sweating you aren't working hard enough!

So go out and enjoy the weather. I know I do!

Later, Peeps!

Parenting 101 or the Use of Subtext

I'm titling this blog Parenting 101 because I'm sure every parent out there has had a similar experience with their own brood.

While the term subtext might be more of a 'writerly' type of word, most people use it in their everyday encounters . . . they just don't realize that they are using it.

For example:

This bit of conversation went down in our house after church and brunch just this last Sunday . . .

Dad: "R you might want to make your bed."

Kidlet: "Okay." As she plots down on the sofa to play games on her phone.

Mom (Me): "You might want to go upstairs and make your bed now."

Kidlet: "Why?"

Me: "Your dad just told you to."

Kidlet: "No, he didn't."

Me: "Yes, he did. It's in the subtext. He wasn't mildly suggesting that you should eventually make your bed. He was inferring that you get your behind upstairs and make it NOW."

Kidlet: "Oh." She puts her phone up and goes upstairs.

Of course, when I was taking the laundry upstairs to fold, I discovered the kidlet lying in bed . . .

You may insert your own typical conversation with your own child at this point of the story.

So, the next time you eavesdrop on a conversation observe the way words are said and the body language of the people involved.

It provides great amusement while you are waiting in line at the grocery store or the DMV.

Later, Peeps!

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo means National Novel Writing Month.

It started many, many years ago when a small group of people challenged each other to write a novel in a month. If you want the dets, go here.

The 50,000-word challenge has expanded globally that also includes young writers. Young writers don't have to write a 50,000 word novel, but instead a 5,000 word story.

The goal is to write a new 50,000 word novel in the month of November.

Trust me, it can be done, but if you must work outside of writing, then plan on putting your social life on hold for the month of November.

Simply breaking down the required words for the month you in the range of 1650 words per day.

In other words *snork*, about 5-8 pages depending on font. My typical page in TNR is about 333 words, give or take, since narrative paragraphs tend to have more words than dialogue banter. But that's my normal page.

Now, I'm not officially doing NaNo this year, but I would like to write 50K on DRAGON which will put me in the 68K range for this middle grade novel.

I would also finish it at 68K. I want to do this for my daughter, since she wanted to know what happened after TROLL ends.

The reason I can't officially claim the NaNo challenge is because this story is already started. I'm 18K into it, which is about 60 pages, and I've edited 40 page to get back into the story. I also have a complete synopsis, which is a great guideline for where I need to go with this particular story.

So in my roundabout method I'm trying to tell you that I will keep blogging, but don't expect the blogs my typical well thought out blogs . . . *HA!*

Okay, I couldn't keep a straight face on that one!

If I'm really into the story, or life gets in the way, and you are tired of popping over to my blog to see if there's something new on it, then sign up on my blog page for you to get a new blog notice in your email box.

I don't have a list of who signs up, so I can't take your email info to spam you . . . I don't think blogger can either.

Oh, well, whatever.

I need to get back to cleaning the house, so I can write this week.

Later, Peeps!

Halloween Costume Roundup

Yesterday, I spent some time retrieving Halloween pics from the computer. We didn't really start the costume things until the kidlet was born in late 2000.

Some are bought. Some are made. Some were worn two years in a row. Some are simply kick-a$$. But since we don't have very much storage space, most of them have been destroyed. :-(

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 Grandma made this little lambie costume when my daughter was 11 months.

2001

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These next two are courtesy of Sam's Club.

2002

2003

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Disney's Tinkerbell gets some costume time in 2004 . . .and 2005. I love seeing kiddo's growth in these pictures.

2004

 Yes, Tinkerbell had to get some new shoes for 2005.

2005

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 2006 is when things started getting interesting.

 

I LOVE this outfit. We had to destroy the clothes to get them off her, but this was so fun to make. I believe we went through 2 1/2 cans of spray glue. Hubs got up in the middle of the night to pound out a copper Ankh for the necklace that she's covering with her hand. The circlet has a spray painted snake he glued into copper tubing. The staff is copper with blue electrical tape. We opted not to make the flail since she needed to carry her pumpkin for candy.

 

2006

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She wanted to be a robot this year. It's hard to see, but above the three knobs it says, FEED ME. Hubs wanted to make a door that opened, but the poor kid could hardly walk in the dryer hose legs that we decided that it probably wasn't a good idea. Yeah, we went through lots of chrome spray paint that year! Cardboard box, dryer hose, pool bucket (chlorine was removed).

 

2007

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This year, hubs had his first work party. He always wanted one of those blow up costumes, so he's a bull rider.

 

work 2008

 

This year the kidlet was the haunted pumpkin head scarecrow. Sorry, I couldn't find a better picture because she also had gloves with straw poking out and her shoes were straw covered. Hubs had rigged a strobe light in the pumpkin head to shine up. It was a freaky effect.

Yeah . . . let's ignore me in this picture. Thank you very much!

2008

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In 2009, the kiddo decided to be lame. She wanted to be a black cat. We bought some ears and made a tail. She wore black.

The end.

We don't have any picture of her this year.

 

The hubby is something quite different than a cat this year. This was the year, he went all out with his first foam project.

 

Todd 2009

He was second place at work--no one thought he made this himself.

 

Yes, my friends, he made Gumby from scratch. That was a LOT of green fleece and foam! He's a big guy to start with, but when you add the Gumby head, well, he was even bigger! He used black pantyhose for the eyes so he could see out. He also rigged the fan from the bull riding costume to help keep him cool.

 

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In 2010, daughter decided that no one notices black cats, but they do notice and take pictures of robots and mummies. We talked her into being the Headless Bride this year. We found the homemade bridal gown on eBay, and took a kids life vest and rigged it up with some support poles for her body, slipped a t-shirt over the poles and used spray foam to make the torso of the bride. The arms were stuffed with cotton since we didn't want the kidlet to get hurt if she tripped. We used three or four different colors of red pain to spatter the body. The kiddo's head pokes through the bride's belly and the life vest goes around her torso to hold the top of the bride up. I wanted to do a more ghoulish makeup, but this is all she allowed me to do this year.

 

2010

 

Not to be outdone, Hubby went as the brainless doctor. Working on two heavy duty costumes just isn't practical when we wait so long to start them.

 

***Notice the blood on the counters?? Yeah, he nuked the blood to make it flow better . . . and it exploded all over my kitchen. I'm still finding gel blood spatters in the weirdest places. I spent over an hour trying to get rid of all that blood!

 

The brain is a mold, and came with a recipe for Jello made with skim milk to give the right look. The stitches are licorice strings.

 

Todd 2010

He won the work contest this year.

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In 2011, the kidlet wanted to be a 'cute' candy corn. . . like the one in the picture I posted yesterday, NOT like this one! Hubs went nutso with the foam and fleece and made the kidlet a huge candy corn. Not to be outdone this year, he made himself an Angry Bird costume. The Angry Bird isn't foam, believe it or not, but a large beach ball that he made with paper mache. Yes, he sewed the body of the bird and fit it over the ball. He has a really good eye for the details and sewed his own hat like the bird's top feathers.

2011

side view

 

Yes, he took this to work and won their contest.

 

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In 2012, the kidlet decided  she wanted a 'real' costume from the costume store. This is what we came up with.

 

2012

 

Hubs didn't make a costume this last year because they were in the process of moving their office and he was in charge of moving EVERYTHING from one location to the second location, plus monitoring the build out. The poor guy was exhausted from the year's worth of work that he didn't have any creativity left.

 

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He made up for it this year with

SPONGEBOB!

 

Todd 2013

 

Yes, he won this year's work contest. I still think he needs to make the hat to go with the rest of the outfit.

And the kidlet wore last year's costume. She's twelve, almost thirteen, and I hope she'll still dress for Halloween even if it is just to give out candy at the door!

 

2013

 

And that's our costume round up for this year. As I said in the intro, some are good, some are bought, and some are totally cray-cray!

 

BTW: I want to be a mummy next year!

 

Oops! I almost forgot the treats! Easy to make. Just be sure to have plenty of icing!

 

 

 

Later, Peeps! 

 

 

Halloween Color

Sorry! I still can't post the hubby's outfit because his work party isn't until this afternoon.

I'll try to find photos from years past to show you his incredible work in the field of Halloween costumes.

Until then I'll show you a little bit of Oklahoma color. Most of these were taken on my morning walk a few days ago--before the rains came--and whump! All the leave hit the ground.

I love this vantage point of this walking bridge, I'm actually standing under the bridge in the next photo. Little Haikey Creek runs under it. At the time of the picture, it held barely a dribble of water. After the 3+ inches we got in the last 24 hours, it's probably roaring!

 

The trees in the distance are stunning. The picture doesn't do them justice. To my right is a tree belt that surrounds both sides of the creek. This the bowl between three highways.

 

Tried to enlarge this one, but I guess I still have picture issues. The red in some of these trees is from vines, either Poison Ivy or Virginia Creeper. . . I'm leaning toward poison ivy.

A week ago, you couldn't even see into this green belt next to the highway, The dark trunks are really pretty against the changing colors.

More trees in the green belt.

 

 Again, if I could, I'd enlarge this. This is one of the last sections of undeveloped land about a mile from my house. A doctor's building and hospital are to the right.

Even the crazy vines climbing the support walls are turning into a beautiful maroon color.

A little arch of tuberous begonias. I moved them away from the house so I could enjoy them from my window. Frog watering pot--cute, but I never use it since it's too small for any real usage.

Red Pin Oak on the left, Purple Mountain Ash changing colors, River birch starting to turn yellow.

A Sunset Maple hiding behind the River Birch in the previous picture.

 

Beautiful colors this fall, but they last only a short time since the rains came. We've had a few very warm days at the end of October, that too, is very weird. I can't remember the last time I wore shorts this late in the season. We'll be covering our pool this weekend as most of my roses and other plants are having their last hurrah before winter.

 

Later, Peeps!

 

Weighty Wednesday -- Halloween Candy Madness

Halloween is a tough time of year . . . especially for those of us who are losing weight, or simply trying to maintain.


It's easy to break into candy that you normally would never buy to make sure "it tastes okay to give out to the Trick-or-Treaters".

It's also very easy to steal from one's child. . . yeah, I've been known to do that.

Whereas when I was growing up, I learned to keep track of every single piece of candy because I have older brothers and sisters.
Whereas my daughter doesn't really care.

Oh, she has her favorites and keeps track of them, but I can swipe a Skittles or a chocolate bar and she wouldn't even know it.

Sour patch kids and frozen Reeses, well, don't even think about eating them!

She usually nibbles on her candy for a few days and then I put the remainder of it in a bag and put it on the shelf to be forgotten. We usually throw out the rest of the candy around Christmas . . . when a new haul of candy becomes available.

This (exhibit A on the right), however, is the bane of my Halloween.

Once a package is opened, expect it to be demolished within a day, two at the most. The easy response would be, "just don't buy it". Well, yeah, in a perfect world that would be a good response.

But, I'm not perfect.

The only good thing about this is that I manage to get sugar headaches from the excessive sweet, and I eat so much of it in a narrow window of time that I want to throw up, which makes it easier for me to resist other candy.

Well, that's my theory anyway.

Enjoy Halloween. Don't go crazy eating too much sugar. And if you need to make some cupcakes for an office Halloween party, here are a few decorating suggestions:

These are a few of the cupcakes I've made in the past.

Happy Halloween!

Oh, when your daughter wants to be a 'cute candy corn'. She wants to look like this:


Not this:

Just sayin'