Quote of the Day

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."
- Doug Larson

(sorry Leah- you know I'd be a vegetarian if it wasn't for bacon..... I'm working on it)

Friday funnies....

ok... make up your mind... is this so the police can give more tickets???? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A girl came skipping home from school one day.
‘Mommy, Mommy,’ she yelled, ‘we were counting today, and all the other kids could only count to four, but I counted to 10. See? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!’
‘Very good,’ said her mother.
‘Is it because I’m blonde?’ the girl said.
‘Yes, it’s because you’re blonde,’ said the mommy.

The next day the girl came skipping home from school.‘Mommy, Mommy,’ she yelled, ‘we were saying the alphabet today, and all the other kids could only say it to D, but I said it to G. See? A, B, C, D, E, F, G!’
‘Very good,’ said her mother.
‘Is it because I’m blonde, Mommy?’
‘Yes, it’s because you’re blonde.’

The next day the girl came skipping home from school. Mommy,Mommy,’ she yelled, ‘we were in gym class today, and when we showered, all the other girls had flat chests, but I have these!’ And she lifted her tank top to reveal a pair of 36Cs.
‘Very good,’ said her embarrassed mother.
‘Is it because I’m blonde, mommy?’
‘No Honey, it’s because you’re 24.’

found via

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"Only in America":

...can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance

....are there handicapped parking places in front of a skating rink

....do people order double cheese burgers, a large fry, and a diet coke

....do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters

....do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and leave useless things and junk in boxes in the garage

....do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place

....do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight

....do we use the word "politics" to describe the process so well: "poli" in latin meaning "many" and "tics" meaning "blood-sucking creatures".

found via

Quote of the Day

"You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul."
-George Bernard Shaw

Randomness...

I've been tagged!!

I've officially been 'tagged' by Korinne from Crafteralla!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3. Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (This is only a game)
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

ok... this is actually harder than I thought!! hmmmm.....
Six Random Things About Me:

1. I hate shopping
2. I can't whistle
3. I love to cook (just hate the grocery shopping part), and love to eat! but I don't like sweets
4. I love the smell of tomato plants, the concrete after it rains, and puppy breath
5. I've moved 27 times
6. I call roll my tonque and wiggle my nose (but not at the same time)

ok... now I'm tagging six more people! Can't wait to read what you have to say...

1 - Terri of Photography by Terri Harper
2 - Leah of Thought Out Loud
3 - Quirky of Angelic Quirk
4 - Kate of Peony and the Bee
5 - Patricia of Clay Mouse Studio
6 - Allison of Nimoy Creations

Quote of the Day

"Live in your hopes and not in your fears."
- Johnny Majors

City Expressions 2008

Cleveland Public Art and Cleveland area Scion Dealerships held the 7th annual City Xpressions Street Art Festival this past weekend in Market Square Park - Lorain Avenue at West 25th.
It was also the last weekend for Open Air in Market Square - Cleveland's only urban outdoor market. If you've never gone to it - you should make it point to go next year! It's every Saturday in the summer and there's always a wonderful variety of live music, performers, artists, and such a diverse group of people. I've met some wonderful people (and wonderful dogs!) here this summer.

Here's a glimpe at the aerosol artists at work this weekend! This is Denis DeVerteuil - working on "Bob" - the purple guy. Love this one!
It's a family affair! Artist John Forgus has help from his (really sweet) kids, Kyle, Paige and Bryson.
Ryan & Sam - probably the youngest of the artists had a fabulously colorful display!

It turned out to be a great day with perfect weather.. unlike last year when it stormed halfway through. Make it a point to stop down next year! It's always big fun!

oh.. and here's a shot of two of the friends I've made this summer.... Deby (Deby's Designs)

and John - who's a blast and just wonderfully helpful.

A to Z favorites. ... SSSSSSS

Oh.. I may have to do "S" more than once.... there are just so many fabulous "S" things!!!!

Scribble it .... I love words.... I love word art... Scribble it makes word art for your walls!

Actually they create custom vinyl lettering for your home, business, vehicles... and they can put your sentiments on glass cubes or ceramic tiles too! What a wonderful house-warming gift!!

They'll even create custom designs for you... put your favorite inspirational quote above your workspace.... put a family monagram on your door. How about a nursery rhyme or sweet sentiment for your baby's room? Another great gift idea for new parents!

I just adore these!!!!Find them here or for even more designs... find them here.

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Spotty Dotty Bowl......

I love functional art... why buy something mass-produced, that everyone has, when you can infuse a little art and beauty into your everyday life with products like these?

I've coveted this Spotty Dotty bowl for quite some time now... doesn't it just make you smile???

find it here at chARiTy elise designs or CharityElise.com
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Sorapot.... although I'm mostly a coffee drinker - this has me re-thinking that! I may switch to tea just to have an excuse to get this. Designer: Joey Roth found via DesignSpotter

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Spicy Steak Knives..... Designed by Carlo Contin for Legnoart, they look like a bunch of pens but they're actually knives! I especially like the stainless steel ones.....

found via Contemporist

Quote of the Day

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

-Sir Winston Churchill

Friday funnies....

John was a salesman’s delight when it came to any kind of unusual gimmick. One day John came home with another one of his unusual purchases. It was a robot that John claimed was actually a lie detector.

It was about 5:30 that afternoon when Tommy, their 11 year old son, returned home from school. Tommy was over 2 hours late. “Where have you been? Why are you over 2 hours late getting home?” asked John.

“Several of us went to the library to work on an extra credit project,” said Tommy.

The robot then walked around the table and slapped Tommy, knocking him completely out of his chair.

”Son”, said John, “this robot is a lie detector, now tell us where you really were after school.”

“We went to Bobby’s house and watched a movie”, said Tommy.

“What did you watch?” asked Marsha.

“The Ten Commandments”, answered Tommy.

The robot went around to Tommy and once again slapped him, knocking him off his chair once more.

With his lip quivering, Tommy got up, sat down and said, “I am sorry I lied. We really watched a tape called Sex Queen.”

“I am ashamed of you son”, said John. “When I was your age, I never lied to my parents.”

The robot then walked around to John and slapped him and knocked him out of his chair.

Marsha doubled over in laughter, almost in tears and said, “Boy, did you ever ask for that one! You can’t be too mad with Tommy. After all, he is your son!”

With that the robot immediately walked around to Marsha and knocked her out of her chair.

via


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yea.... not a moment too soon!

via

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Tryouts for the U.S. Olympic women’s marathon swim team were to be held.
The first was in California; a swim from from Santa Monica to Catalina doing only the breaststroke.

Three women signed up for the tryouts - a brunette, a redhead and a blonde.

The race started, and after approximately 14 hours, the brunette staggered up on the shore and was declared the winner.
About 40 minutes later, the Redhead crawled ashore and was declared the second place finisher.

Nearly 4 hours after that, the blonde finally came ashore and promptly collapsed in front of the worried onlookers.

When the reporters asked why it took her so long to complete this regulation breaststroke race, she replied, “I don’t want to sound like I’m a sore loser, but I think those two other girls were using their arms.”

via

Quote of the Day

"Life is not a dress rehearsal.
Quit practicing what you're going to do, and just do it.
In one bold stroke you can transform today. "
- Marilyn Grey

A to Z favorites... R

Today is all about R

Rachel Rene bath & body products....
just look at these soaps!!! Need I say more? Decadent!
find these soaps and more handmade lovliness here.



Rare Device Home / Housewares / Ceramic

Rare Device is, simply, good stuff for you and your home.

I'm particularly fond of the ceramics found here but they have loads of other cool stuff too!

....and I love this (taken from their "about us" page)
"The storefront is a place to promote designers, artists and artisans plus help them grow by taking on new projects and collaborations. Every object in the store has its own story, and has been chosen because it is either handmade, well-designed, useful, beautiful or all of the above. The aesthetic is modern and quirky while remaining warm and inviting - design that is accessible to all. Influences range from comic book art to entropy in nature, laser-etching to hand-lettering to nautical lore."













RADIUS Design fireplace...... imagine being able to put a fireplace anywhere you want to! How fabulous are these? I love the way the one (above) seems to just float on the wall....

the ones in stainless steel are simply incredible, but I also like these black models.

see them all here

Quote of the Day

"Don't give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying."
-Brian Dyson

Unleash your creativity!

with all the "back-to-school" shopping, it made me remember......

Remember Crayola crayons? I always envied the kid who had the 64-crayon box with the built-in sharpener. I just had the smaller box... no sharpener.... but I always so wanted the larger box.
I also remember hating once my crayons got dull... you'd peel back the paper and make do but you always wished you had the pack with the sharpener.... I hated dull crayons, and I still hate dull pencils... that's why I always use mechanical pencils now... always sharp

I hear so many people say "oh, I'm not creative".... I don't believe that! Everyone is creative... maybe just in different ways. Perhaps you can't draw... I can't either! But I can create amazing abstract paintings....( or so says my mother!)

If you don't have the time... or the desire... that's one thing.. but it really doesn't matter - you ARE creative! We were all born that way it's just that sometimes it gets stifled! GO FOR IT! Unleash your own personal creativity - whatever that it to you - with reckless abandon.

Go back to that feeling you had when you got your new box of crayons (even if they weren't the 64-pack)
You (if you felt like me at all) were so excited and your mind was full of possibilities! Go back to that.... grab some crayons and create something. It feels wonderful!

Invisibility

Perhaps you remember when I posted about this book I found on Ebay... it supposedly had the secret to becoming invisible!
Well maybe it wasn't too far fetched!
did you read the news today?

Invisibility Cloak One Step Closer

WASHINGTON (Aug. 10) - Scientists have created two new types of
materials that can bend light the wrong way, creating the first step toward an invisibility cloaking device.
One approach uses a type of fishnet of metal layers to reverse the direction of light, while another uses tiny silver wires, both at the nanoscale level.....

read the rest of the story here

Quote of the Day

"The universe may not always play fair, but at least it’s got a hell of a sense of humor."
-Michael Patrick King

Friday funnies...

ok... this is freaky! I guess I'm "usual"... take this test and find out if you're Usual or Unusual?
http://www.humorsphere.com/fun/usual.php



found via
..........
Trust your mom

Ben invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his mother couldn't help noticing how beautiful Ben's roommate was. She had long been suspicious of a relationship between Ben and his roommate and this only made her more curious.

Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Ben and the roommate than met the eye. Reading his mom's thoughts, Ben volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, Allison and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Allison came to Ben and said, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. "You don't suppose she took it, do you?"

Ben said, "Well, I doubt it, but I'll write her a letter just to be sure."

So he sat down and wrote: "Dear Mother, I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner."

Several days later, Ben received a letter from his mother which read:

"Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Allison, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Allison. But the fact remains that if she was sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now. Love, Mom"

found via

A to Z favorites..... Q

today is all about Q

and Quote handbags... is all about "creating something practical with unconventional shapes."

The flat rectangular shape makes it lightweight and easy to pack, while the circle cutout allows the bag to fit comfortably on your shoulder and lends a streamlined silhouette.

I love this~ find them (and many more fabulous bags here)




Quizzes.... I don't know about you.. but I'm addicted to taking all of those quizzes you see in women's magazines and online... (as evidenced here... "what tree did you fall from?")
Here are some for you to try....

What type of fruit are you? (I'm a strawberry)

Which Superhero are you? (I'm Spiderman)

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Which Sex in the City gal are you? (I'm not telling:) ...and here's another one!
Which Sex in the City Vixen are you?

The animal in you (I'm a mountain goat!)

Of course there's the tried and true Meyers Briggs test (I'm an ENFP)

Curly Q Cuff... by bluenoodle I found her here on Etsy, but it seems as though she's closing that shop... find her amazing jewelry on her website http://bluenoodlejewelry.com/

Over 7 inches of hammered heavy gauge Sterling Silver wrapped conspiciously around your wrist. Ends cleverly curl upwards, showing the smooth, high polish insides

Quote of the day

"The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good"
-Samuel Johnson (1709- 1784)

terrible twos - a year early?

oh my.... I can't even imagine what will happen when this child turns two! I love my little grandbug with all my heart and soul, don't get me wrong... but lately I am also sooooo glad to take him back home. I'm exhausted!!!

Now that he's started walking, he thinks it's just so cool to explore everything. I only had him for 6 hours today and my little apartment looks like a tornado just went through. First, upon waking from his nap, he was able to reach the A&D ointment.... hence a greasy mess.... ok, I changed his clothes and cleaned him up, no big deal.

While I was cleaning up the goopy mess in the bedroom... he headed for the bathroom...ok.... still not a big deal.... while I was cleaning that mess up... he headed for the kitchen cupboards.... hell, I just let him play pick-up-sticks for awhile before cleaning that mess.
then he discovered how to open a jar of peanut butter...... no pictures here - I didn't even want to touch my camera once I got that jar away!!
So.... a bath and another change of clothes...... while I was washing everything he touched he decided to climb into the cupboards again!.....then he was coming after my camera!!!! OH NO!! that's when I put the camera away and took him outside for the next two hours before taking him home.... now I realize why they build playgrounds... to keep people's houses intact!!

He's a really good little boy - a great disposition - always smiling and sweet as can be... but OMG!!!! I need wine.... I need sleep.... I need someone to come over and clean this mess up! (I didn't even take photos of the cookie crumb filled sofa, or the empty cupboards in the dining room) Why do I bother having a toy cupboard??? It's the only thing in my apartment that hasn't been touched.

Quote of the Day

"When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere."
- La Rochefoucauld

Rhubarb Soda

Rhubarb is soooo pretty! I'm not really sure why I even bought this the other day, but once I got it home I had no idea what to do with it. I generally don't like sweets very much, so tarts or pies were out... but with this hot, humid weather I've been soooo thirsty... so this is what my beautiful rhubarb became - Monaco's rhubarb sodapop!

So very easy....
I took about 4 stalks of rhubarb and chopped it up (just roughly)
I put it in a pot of water (about 2 or 3 cups)
added a cup of sugar
Then I brought it to a boil and turned it down to simmer - I simmered it until it became syrupy - about 30 minutes or so.
After it cooled down a bit, I pushed it through a mesh strainer and put the syrup in a bottle (actually I used one of my grandbug's bottles!)

Then to make the soda, I simply put approx 1/4 cup of the syrup in a glass and topped with sparkling mineral water and added ice!
Wonderfully refreshing!
(for the adults in the room, I also added white wine and they became rhubarb wine spritzers!)
Fabulous!!

Not too sweet like most soda's ... very refreshing!

Quote of the Day

"Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it"

- Dee Hock (founder of Visa)

Time to get a manicure

hmmmm .... first 'eye-jewelry', now nail watches.
This was the runner-up in the Timex 2154: The Future of Time Competition
It was conceptualized by three Americans designers: Napoleon Merana, Steffen Schubert, and David Takacs. It comes in mulitple colors, is disposable and even glows in the dark when you press on the tip!

I just have a few questions...

Where do you suppose the battery goes?
What happens if you wash your hands?

I think this one (not even a runner-up!) it really quite cool! Check it out!


It's a cream you apply (anywhere) on your body - yes, I said anywhere! It is filled with nanobots that can receive voice commands and wireless information (such as broadcast time) and then arrange themselves in the form of a clock, a calendar, or any image the user desires, right there on the surface of the skin.
The layer of cream needed is so thin as to seem weightless. It wears off naturally and is replaced whenever the user wishes.

check out more on the contest site... here.

Quote of the Day

"Success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is a result of experience, experience is often the result of bad judgment."
- Tony Robbins