I have been neglecting this blog very sorely. Part of it is general summer laziness; the fact that our schedule is rather–how shall I put it–fluid. I do the minimum amount of everything needed. The least amount of cooking, the least amount of cleaning, and the least amount of blogging. It’s nothing personal; just a lack of mojo.
Not helping the situation has been my computer which has been so naughty and disfunctional, but seems to be liking me once again. Sort of.
I’ve been doing some odds and ends around the house. Not cleaning or anything. Just crafty-type things (I haven’t been entirely useless. Just mostly useless). Nothing is as satisfying and therapeutic as making stuff. (Eating is a close second but there is nothing to show for that but an empty Oreos package and fat thighs.)
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Mister has very sensitive skin so I make most of our soap. Our bathroom is black, white and green so I thought making some matching soaps would be in order.
I tried two very different designs. The one on the left is a shea butter & babassu soap that has more of a funky, rustic vibe. For the life of me I can’t remember what I scented it with, but it smells fantastic. Hopefully it will be really moisturizing. I tried a new recipe but it won’t be cured for another month. I’ll let you know.
The soap on the right is glycerine and is very pretty and tailored-looking. I scented it with Vera Wang which is my favorite perfume these days. Mister probably doesn’t want to smell like Vera Wang, but I guess he’ll have to make his own soap.
Did your mom have one of these pincushions? I use one when I sew because it’s so convenient, but this stupid thing is always falling off and the chintzy plastic band is really itchy.
So I made an adorable wrist pincushion out of felt. I got the pattern (free!) from Heather Bailey, although I tweaked it a bit. I buy my felt online from Giant Dwarf on Etsy. Her prices are excellent (don’t use that vile stuff from the craft store. Please). My pincushion is super comfy but most importantly it’s cute!
Also going on recently was the adult Pinewood Derby at church. Most of the couples did a car together but Mister wanted no part of my design. Wonder why?
Tacky? Check. Girly? Double check.
My car is called “Put A Bird On It”. Which is named after the funny skit on Portlandia (I’ll link to it down below). I must say “put a bird on it” at least once a day.
Mister made his car out of a slab of chocolate-chip cookie.
There are no holds barred at the Derby and people (men!) were adding tons of weight to the cars in between races to make them go faster. Since we didn’t think to bring pocketfulls of lead, Mister was left to improvise. Watermelon seemed like a nice, heavy choice.
His car came in dead last, but it got the biggest laugh, which as everyone knows is more important than winning. Put a Bird On It came in second to last. But it was by far the prettiest Pinewood Derby car to ever grace the church gym.
Today is Earth Day. I happen to think Earth Day is pretty ridiculous. I think there is too much pollution and too much waste, but having a DAY where those ideas are forced down our throats? To me it’s like Wal-Mart carrying organic food. All I can say is, “give me a break!” Mostly just because people seem so misguided about saving the Earth. Don’t get me wrong, I actually bring reusable shopping bags to the store, recycle and turn off the faucet while I’m brushing my teeth. But I think a lot of people are just missing the boat when it comes to Saving the Earth.
Here is a really cool example of thinking outside the box to make this world a better place. It’s four minutes long but when you finish watching it I promise you will say, “wow!”. Plus it’s Earth Day, duh. So consider this a big green hug for your planet.
I was amused to read this article about Ford’s development of an ultra-safe inflatable seat belt. When are car companies going to realize that providing more safety is only backfiring? Drivers feel too safe; too cocooned in their cars. People are feeling invincible. Ford has gotten it all wrong. If you want drivers to be safer, try mounting a giant dagger in the middle of the steering wheel. I imagine that people would suddenly be a lot more cautious if they knew the slightest jolt would result in pain and possibly death. They might think twice about cutting someone off or following too closely.
Or how about a rule requiring all teenage drivers to be handcuffed to the steering wheel? (They would automatically release upon turning off the car, of course.) No texting while driving, or messing with ipods. I might be able to drive by the High School without worrying that some ditzy, distracted girl will come barreling out of the parking lot and smash into me.
And what about installing one of those limousine windows that goes up and down in my minivan? I’d be able to concentrate on driving a lot better without having to listen to quarreling children, that’s for sure.
Let me tell you, I’m just a fountain of ideas when it comes to designing cars. My dad was an engineer in Detroit, after all. I simply can’t help it!
Just so you understand where I’m coming from, I was born and raised in Detroit. My father was born and raised in Detroit. He worked for Ford for most of my life. I have many memories of going down to the huge, ancient Triple E building (where the engineers worked) and feeding the ducks in the pond out front.
Now that I have disclosed this, I must say THERE IS NO WAY WE SHOULD BAIL OUT THOSE CAR COMPANIES! Or help them in any monetary way.
I drive a Honda, as does my husband. (I loved my last Chrysler, but, alas, they are biased against big families and their minivan only seats seven. We have eight.) I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that we bought Hondas because they are great cars that don’t need to be repaired often.
Ford, GM and Chrysler don’t make good cars. Sure, they invented cupholders and can make a super-smooth ride. But we want cars that last! And get good mileage! Do you mean to tell me that somehow Japanese people (and occasionally Germans) are the only ones who can figure out how to make a great car?
Face it, big three; you make crappy cars. And now you are reaping what you sow. If you didn’t want to fail you should have tried a little harder. You should have sent spies to Japan. Or hired Japanese people. Or something.
I’m very sorry for the Michiganders who are going to live in an even rustier Rust Belt than they already do (I still know and love several of them.)
But for the government to bail out people who are failing due to their own stupid mistakes? No way. I have just one word to say: consequences.
I’m all about tough love.
P.S. The title is Michigan’s state motto. Which I remembered off the top of my head from way back in 4th grade. I also remember the State Rock (the petoskey).
Going along with my crafty theme I found this fabulous bumper sticker. Perfecto! I’m thinking of adding it to the collection on the back of my minivan.You can buy one for yourself on etsy ($3.00! What a bargain!) If you live near me, that will make you a big copycat, but it’s funny so I’ll understand.
Welcome!
My name is Hildie. I'm smart, I'm sassy, I'm sarcastic. Sometimes I'm nice, too. I'm a mom of six and wife of one.
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Mormon Glossary
Since I'm Mormon and church stuff comes up frequently, I thought I would provide a little glossary for terms you may not know:
First of all church is three hours long on Sunday. Whew! It's divided into three meetings:
Sacrament Meeting-the main church meeting, like Mass. The speakers are almost always members of the congregation. Anyone over the age of 12 can be asked to speak.
Sunday School-divided up by age (adults all go together) about 45 min long.
Relief Society-women's meeting, about 45 min.(the kids go to Primary, Men go to Priesthood meeting, teenage girls go to Young Womens). There is a also a once a month "casual, fun" meeting. I'm in charge of helping plan those meetings.
Celestial Kingdom-Heaven
Bishop-the leader of the congregation
Visiting teachers-all Mormon women are given a partner and assigned 2-4 women that they visit, call, give baked goods to every month.
Ward-the local congregation. It's all arranged geographically, so where you live determines where (and when) you go to church.
