Oh...Ma...Shu.....or Why we Love the Last Airbender

I'm going to admit something.

I don't want you to think differently of me.

Promise you'll love me, anyway?

I'm a little bit obsessed with a TV show. Not just any TV show, a kid's show. A cartoon. The BEST show....EVER....Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Now I was trying to keep this under my hat, so to speak, but I've let a few people in on the secret, and I fear they think I'm a little nuts.  I need to assure them that, although I've gotten a little silly over this show, it's going to be ok. I know you have your little obsessions, too. I'm talking to you, Leanne....and you, too, dear reader.

So, here's what's happened. The kids and I, and my guy (because we sucked him into our madness), have bonded over this little show that ran for just 3 seasons on Nickelodeon, since it's being re-run, like, ALL the time on NickToons this past month, in anticipation of the release of the live action 3D movie on July 2nd.

OMG....should I get our tickets now? What if it's sold out?

To plead our case, Ana, Matt, and I came up with our TOP TEN reasons why Avatar: The Last Airbender is the best show EVER!!!!

10. Katara's hair loopies....a fashion statement native to the Water Tribe.
9. Random characters: The Cabbage Merchant, The Singing Nomads, and the Guru. Foaming Mouth Guy, Bosco the Bear, and King Bumi.
8. All the animals are combo animals: Lion Turtles, BadgerMoles, Boar-Q-Pines, Buzzard Wasps, Catgator, Cat Owl, Goat Gorilla, Rabiroo and the Saber-tooth Moose-lion.
7. Appa, the flying bison, and Aang's best friend and Momo, the last flying lemur.
6. The Kung Fu scenes are all based on actual Kung Fu. (Yeah, we all like Kung Fu.)
5. Bending - the magnificent manipulation of elements...you have your main ones: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, but also Metalbending and Sandbending, which fall under Earthbending, Bloodbending and Swampbending, which are other forms of Waterbending and Lighteningbending.
4. Toph - the sassy, snarky blind Earthbending master who sees with her feet...and is only a kid.
3. The love stories....Aang and Katara, Sokka and Suki, and Zuko and Mai.
2. The Avatar State. Aang can go into the Avatar state and fight with the knowledge and power of every Avatar there ever was. There can only be one Avatar at a time, and Aang was frozen for 100 years and then brought back to find the world at war. If he's killed in the Avatar state, all Avatar's will cease to exist. The Avatar can master all the elements.
1. SECRET TUNNEL....the best song. From the episode, Cave of Two Lovers. The kids and I sing this at the top of our lungs...um...everywhere. Care to sing along with us????

There. I've said it.

What are you obsessed with lately?

Photo from here: http://www.airbender.net/graphics/wallpaper/site31.jpg

Cut It Out! or why I'm a rebel

photo by ThisParticularGreg

So, yesterday, I did the unthinkable, for me, I took scissors to my own clothes! GASP!

See, I'm a play by the rules gal: I use my turn signal, I say please and thank you, I observe the posted speed limit (well, most of the time). But yesterday, I just could not take it anymore. I went into by bathroom, cut two tiny holes in the sides of my bra, and RIPPED THE FREAKIN' UNDERWIRE OUT!. Oh, how freeing that was! If you are a gal, like me, who needs LOTS of support....then you know what I'm talking about....

The underwire is a thin, semi-circular strip of rigid material such as metal or plastic fitted inside the cloth along the bottom and sides of the bra cup, from Wikipedia

Like METAL!!! Sounds like torture already, right? That got me wondering, who invented this brand of torture? One would think a man (we always joke that a man must have invented these things that we as women have to endure, right?) but no, the patent, from 1893 was given to Marie Tucek (Wikipedia). Marie, honey, I'm sorry, but I can no longer "support" your invention. (Note: When I tried to find a good picture of an underwire on Bing images, I found lots of ladies in their bras, as expected, but also Johnny Depp, Zach Galafanakis, several cars, food dye and a Cat in the Hat onesie. Go figure.)

Anyway, not intending to be a history lesson here.. You can check that out if you are interested. All I know is, I'm wire free, feeling MUCH better, and a little like a rebel, too.

I can't totally shame the underwire though, I'm sure some ladies swear by it, and I've found a couple underwire "bright spots", too.

For example, I like is Quinn Cummings blog, The QC Report, which was made into a book, Notes from the Underwire (one I do not have yet, by the way). Quinn played the precocious little girl in the movie, The Goodbye Girl, the original one with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason....one of my all time favorite movies.

I'm thinking of making something useful from my underwire castaways...any ideas?

And finally, if I start to miss my underwire, I can always get this necklace, by designer Jung Ee Eun.

Nah, I don't think I'll miss it THAT much!

Anything make you feel like a rebel this week? Or, maybe you just can't live without your underwire? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

I'm counting down.....

Nephew and Ana pose for silly pictures!

• 5 days until I see Eclipse (at an 18 and over showing, mind you....and I have to say, these "women" I go with, love this series of books/movies, just as much as the teenagers)!
•  7 more posts until the big 100th post!! 
• 10 more days until my birthday (which, for the record, I love to celebrate and I don't mind telling you, I will be 39 this year)!!!

I hope you come back and share the 2nd and 3rd with me....sorry, I didn't get you a ticket for Eclipse (did I mention we got our tickets in May?)

New Pages....or why I'm in love with simply.scraps....

Hope you're week is going well....I have a buncha new digi-scrap pages to share from my CT (Creative Team) spot with talented Laura Banasiak aka simply.scraps.

Using A Little This, A Little That template and Big Daddy kit at Scrap Orchard, font is Ali Edwards. Here's the journaling:

Matt is quite the card player, now that he has learned to follow rules. However, there is only black and white, no shades of gray, and he gets very bent out of shape if someone doesn’t follow the “right”rules, or if he suspects someone is cheating. He has a very strong moral streak, but he’s gotten into trouble telling adults how things should be. Oh, Matt, a little tact, buddy!

Using the Mommy's Boys kit from simply.scraps and Shawna Clingerman at Scrap Orchard

Ah, sweet Ana....pure sunshine.

Laura's kit: Sugar, Sugar at Scrap Orchard

Using the Two Peas in a Pod kit from simply.scraps and Lyndsay Riches at Scrap Orchard

and finally...

Using Rockstar in Training, Tap Tap black alpha and metal mama all from simply.scraps at Scrap Orchard.

Wondering what Scrap Orchard is? Find out here.

Also, I'm not being paid to advertise Laura's products, just having fun with her awesome kits!!!

Real Beauty - The Mirror Project

For Ana's 8th grade graduation, I created a book for her to remind her what it really means to be beautiful. The directions for this project came from a Big Picture Scrapbooking class called, The Mirror Project, by Donna Kert. On each matchbook page, there is a special message from to Ana. I've shared just a few of the messages and I left some of the inner message pages for her to complete with her own ideas. Of all the mini book projects I've completed, I think this may be my favorite. One last thing before I share - the cover circle that just looks black is really a mirror, it just didn't photograph that way. I wish I could remember what the papers I used were - they were so perfect for my vision of this project. I'll add a note if I remember.

Happy Father's Day! Here's My Dad!

I've been saving this layout to post for Father's Day. Here's my awesome Dad ....love you Dad! Here's the journaling:

Dad - We may not see eye to eye all the time, but I know you always have my back. You never fail to surprise me with how much you care about our family and you are one of the kindest people I know. I love how you always know how to fix things, whether it’s a broken vacuum cleaner, or my broken heart.

Thanks, Dad, for always being there for me.

If you are a dad, married to or in a relationship with a dad, see your dad, or keep him in your heart, Happy Father's Day.

Been a long week.....

This is my Swedish Furniture Name. Want to know yours? Follow this link to Blogadilla

So, I know I haven't posted all week, but not to worry, I'm here and I'm thinking about why I haven't said anything in a week. I've been devoting my creative energy to planning a makeover in my home, and it's been hard to think about anything else - one track mind thing. First up will be my son's room, which is really just a loft. He's gone from tiny tot to big kid faster than his room has, so he'll get the first update. Thanks to IKEA, I have it all planned out and it's affordable! He'll have a wall of their Expedit book cases to put his collections in and a desk where he can do his homework and set up his lego Star Wars battles.

I went to Behr.com and they have a super cool color design thingy and I know just what colors to use now:

Now all I need is the energy to complete the project. *sigh* Oh, and a big strong guy to lug it up my staircase!

Happy, Happy

I had the layout of the week over at Log Your Memory this week....the challenge was to do a page having to do with what you like best about summer and I chose my birthday!

Here's the journaling:

My birthday is July 5 and I still, love, love, LOVE my birthday. I don’t worry about getting older, I just look forward to celebrating another year with my family. My favorite summer memories are tied to my birthday, too: fireworks the day before, then I always take the day off of work for my birthday and spend it with my kids and people I love, and some of the best birthdays I’ve had were spent relaxing in the swimming pool. The 2 photos on the bottom are the swimming pool birthday cakes my sister made for me (by the way, her birthday is 2 days before mine!)

Those awesome cakes were created by my sister Jeanne...here's a close up:

An effective use of my daughter's outgrown Polly Pocket toys, don't you think? Look for the recipe for this cake? We found it here.

Jeanne has selected the design for this year's cake....it's a Watermelon! Can't wait!

*************************************************

I also did a page on my recent trip to Naperville that I wrote about here.

In Other News:

Ana graduated from 8th grade this week...holy cow!....I'll be sharing photos for the West Coast Erickson/Clark/Davis clans once I get them uploaded!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Have you ever??? Photobooth Style

So, what do you get when you have a bad day at work and just need some silly family time?

Photobooth-style photos on the couch!

You know you have those silly pictures of you or someone you love, squashed up in a photobooth, and making silly faces?

It's the cure for most bad days....

Ana the cheeseball and my head on Matt's body!

Melanie the cat tries to get in a photo!

My two kooky kids - thanks for cheering me up!