Whinefest, Continued

Being temporarily one-handed this week has taught me much about the things that are difficult to do (if not impossible) with the loss of my dominant right hand. Here is what I've learned I cannot do:

1. hold a pen
2. sign for my meds to fix the right hand
3. dry my hair (assuming one hand for the brush and one for the hair dryer)
4. brush my teeth well
5. wash my left arm pit well
6. dry off after a shower
7. put on or take off clothing
8. hook a bra
9. put in post earrings
10. hold a spoon
11. mix my yogurt
12. eat
13. cut up anything
14. cook
15. use the crackberry key pad
16. turn the key to start the car

16.1. drive a car (even automatic. manual would be totally out this week)
17. take anything out of my right pocket
18. tie shoes
19. squeeze open a tiny hair clip to put it in my hair to get it out of my face because of #3.
20. wash dishes
21. change the sheets on the bed
22. fold laundry
23. unlock doors (keyed dead bolt)
24. turn door knobs
25. open a package of sliced cheese ("tear here" hahahaha)
26. wash my face
27. use scissors (I wanted to cut some gauze to wrap around my hand)

On that note, a coworker asked me why we even have plants that serve no purpose but to terrorize humans. Doesn't Mother Nature only create things that have a purpose? What possible purpose does poison ivy (or oak or sumac) serve in the plant kingdom? Does anyone know? I think this is a topic worthy of research. Must investigate further.

I'm on day 3 of the good meds [insert manly grunts here], and have partial use of my right hand today. I can hold a fork to eat and everything! This gives me hope I can stamp this weekend. I have much catching up to do. :)

 Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

For today's post, I am going to 99.9% copy Lauren's, because, well, because it moved me. Okay, her post did not move me, but the link she posted did.

She linked to Bruce Mau's Incomplete Manifesto for Growth, and she is right: it is definitely worth the 5-minute read.

His points remind me not only of actions I personally have tried to embrace, but they also remind me of other artsy people I know and very much describes how they seem to approach life and art.

So take a few minutes, go read the Bruce Mau piece, think about how how it applies to you and your approach to life and art, then HAVE A GREAT 2010!

Me? I'm gonna go move some furniture.

Thanks for stopping by!

Twitter: Let's Take Another Look

I am old. I keep saying that, because I am! Chronologically, anyway. So when I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century, at first I was sceptical about all this real-time virtual friends thing, but now, well, now I have a different outlook.

You see, I am a techie. I play with computers for a living. When I come home, I do NOT want to play with computers, so I stamp. Then I got a laptop a few years ago, so being connected from my couch became easy. Then I got like 6 email accounts and got all tangled up in my various personas.

Then I started a blog. The beginning of the end for me, it was. I got a comment. Then two. Then I read their blog and commented. And I saw who else commented and went to see THEIR blog, and so on. I am up to a rip-roaring three (maybe four) readers, and I love each and every one of you.

Then I met Lydia over at UnderstandBlue. She talked me into trying Twitter. I resisted, and for a long time, too. Then I dipped my toe into the pool, and saw that it was good. You see, the reason I thought I would not like Twitter is because I do not care what someone had for breakfast, or that they are leaving English class and going to Chemistry. Who cares?! But that is not what I found. What I found are people like me.

I got started the same way with Twitter that I did with Blogger. I followed Lydia. I read her Tweets. I got interested in some of her conversations, so I went to the other person's profile to see what they talked about, and if I liked them, I followed them so I could get both sides of the conversation. And so on. I am now part of a little group we affectionately refer to as The Mimosa Club.

Ah, The Mimosa Club. Just a handful of artsy types chatting about their art and their lives and helping each other with various things. For example, Lydia gives Webinars on Blogger and Google Reader, and a bunch of us took her classes at the same time. Now we help each other with "how the heck do you move your photos around your text?!" and give each other tips and tricks. Someone could not open a link I sent, and someone else helped her troubleshoot her PC from afar until it was working. We talk about our etsy stores, and yes, we buy from each other. This is a good thing.

Why is this a good thing? Because we are all so different in our crafts, and we all know other people who do similar (or very different) crafts, and we introduce everyone to new art all the time. This is called "expanding your horizons" which is NOT a new concept, believe me!

We have Tweet-ups. I actually met one of my Tweeple last weekend when she came with her family to DC for a few days. What a blast! Two of my Tweeps in Austin are going to attend the same Shoebox Swap and get to meet. I am going to meet a Tweep from Las Vegas in November when she comes to Baltimore to participate in a major art show. See how this all works?

One of my Tweeps is in Germany (GERMANY). She is a writer, and she is sharing some of her book-in-progress with us. AND, we all thought she should come over to the US next year to meet all of us. We'll do a road trip, where she'll stay with one of us for a few days, then we'll drive her to the next stop for the hand-off, she'll stay there for a few days, be driven to the next stop, and so on, until she does her whole USA tour and gets to meet ALL of us. And since she is a writer, she plans to make it a book! She even started a blog about us called "Meet The Mimosa Club". She has a map of the US on her wall at home, and over the next several months, we'll get serious about planning her route. It is too stinkin' exciting.

And finally, tonight. Tonight I coerced my college-age son to talk with my German friend on Twitter - in GERMAN! And he obliged! What fun! Then it turns out her son and mine have a hobby in common. What are the chances of that!?!

I also had my second etsy sale this evening - another one of my Tweeple bought some of my cards. Sigh, can you tell I am loving this whole thing?

So anyway, I have come to embrace at least part of this Social Networking gig. I see it can be used for good, and is not a total waste of time. As with anything, though, use in moderation. And that Facebook thing? I am so not loving that. Yet.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's All About Perspective

I am old. I say that a lot, but sometimes, with the speed at which things change these days, I sure feel old.

When I was a kid, we only had Black & White TV, with a knob on it to change the station or the volume. Cable had not yet been invented. We had a manual typewriter. We wrote letters. We called each other on the phone. We played outside, a lot. We went to friends' houses to play or just hang out after school. We had dinner with the whole family, every night. We called our friends' parents Mr. or Mrs.

We rode our bikes somewhere if our parents could not take us. The Mall was new, and it was a special treat to go there. We walked to school. We stayed in school. School started at 8:30 am and we did not get out until 3:00 pm. 30 minutes for lunch. No after-school care needed.

When I was in High School, my boyfriend had a job and a car. For a date, we could go to Arby's OR a movie, but not both, because he also needed to pay for gas for us to get there. And this was okay.

A computer was a conglomeration of tubes in a big room at IBM. Actually, I think they had to build the building around the beast.

No, I did not walk to school barefoot, in the snow, uphill, both ways, but my parents did. They used to tell us they did not travel across country in a covered wagon.

My kids are college-age now, and they grew up with computers. I knew this, but when my youngest was 6 and he pulled out his Dad's cast-off Palm Pilot-type device to get a phone number, I knew I was out of my element. One year I got him a video (VHS, remember those?) of the top 15 Super Bowl moments. When he thanked me for it, he asked why some of them were filmed in Black & White. ... ... Um, because they were? It's all about perspective.

I have a cell phone, and have had one for many years. I use it mostly for emergencies, and it is more likely to be out of juice than usable. I almost never use it. There is no one I need to talk to so badly that it cannot wait until I get home. Or I can email them and they can get back to me whenever. I cannot understand who all these people on cell phones all day long are talking to.

So apparently in the last two weeks I have entered the 21st century, or so I have been told by the 20-somethings with whom I slave all day. I tweet. I have a Facebook page, though all I post to it are links to my etsy postings. My Google Reader is exploding with all the new blogs I now read because of the tweeple I have met. I am learning new things, and seeing other peoples' art. My Blackberry is in-transit... currently being held hostage by the FedEx guys. Sigh. It is all moving so fast!

What happened to my little world? I was so happy in my little cocoon of no television, no technology (relatively speaking), no noise! I liked being unplugged!

I read this post today, and it got me thinking about all things relative. I remember we were all sent home from school the day President Kennedy was shot, and I have always wondered why, after 40 years, we still remember that day, and not his birthday. I was at summer camp when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon for the first time. (I also served Mr. Armstrong dinner when I was a waitress back in my college days, but that's another story for another time.)

So once I get my hands on my new toy, I'll read the manual (yes, Lydia, I will), figure out how to turn on the dang thing, make sure I can get the phone part working, then hopefully get to the Interwebz before I go to the Market on Saturday. I'll report back on if I survive all this technology, or if I need to be pulled back into the dark ages.

I think I need to go stamp something. Thanks for stopping by!

Deep Thought Du Jour

Largely because I have had one crazy day off, I decided to steal someone's signature from Splitcoast and make it my blog post du jour. Am I stinkin' lazy or what?!?!?!

"If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?" -Steven Wright

Tomorrow I hope to actually have something truly blog-worthy to share with you. :-)

The Curse Of The Creative Mind

My name is Leslie, and I am a hoarder. If I see something I like, I must own it. There is no reasoning behind this, as I certainly do not need anything, but still, it happens. And I know I am not the only one, because every time I shop for stamps and I mutter something out loud like, "I do not need another bird stamp.", the complete stranger (but fellow hoarder) next to me laughs and says, "What's your point?", then we both laugh, shake our heads, and put more stuff into our baskets.

Why does this happen?!?!? Today, I went to Target to buy some plastic wrap and some laundry soap. THAT'S ALL! I did glance at the Dollar Spot, but it was largely empty, so I was safe. But I still had to look, because you never know if there might be something lurking that I needed. Yep, sure enough, I needed these:

Isn't St. Patrick's day just around the corner? Well isn't it? Have I ever, in my entire stamping life made a St. Patrick's Day card? (What's your point?)

Moving on, I happened by the scrapbook section. Like I need stuff from that area, riiiiiight .... But wait, if it is on sale, it's not so bad. Um-hm. So I got some stuff that I just might use some day, including these:

Sigh. I guess I'll add them to my collection of Alphabet stickers.


Then I went in search of a silicone baking thing of small hearts. I saw this very cool post somewhere about how you take your crayon pieces, put them in the heart-shaped cups, and bake them. They all melt together and make really cool embelishments. Naturally, I must own this. Unfortunately, my Target did not have them, so I was saved.

But then I passed the towels on the way to get my plastic wrap. I do not need towels. However, they had some that spoke to me, so I reasoned that my towels are 15 years old, and while they still technically work, I could use a new one. And they were so soft! AND, they inspired me to make a card (after the Clean Sweep).

Can't you just see it? A leafy stamp on, hm, let's say Celery, or maybe Mellow Moss, embossed with Winter White? Hmm? Am I right?!?!?!?! I thought so.


I do believe that is the secret to this hoarding thing: inspiration. I see stuff, I can see what I will make with it, then I buy it. It does not matter if I never get around to making the card that caused me to buy the darn thing, but I suspect this is where 'stash' comes from (from whence 'stash' comes).

So I am glad I did what I did this morning before I headed over to Target. I cleaned. NO KIDDING! I cleaned out a large storage box in The Other Room, then I cleaned out three boxes of stuff! Most of it ended in the cleaned-out storage box, some of it resulted in, "Oh, that's where that is!", and some of it got trashed. Only 198 square feet to go and I'll be done. Sigh. What was in the boxes? Mostly dollar stuff I needed, but have never used. Why do you ask? WHAT'S YOUR POINT?!

A Non-Crafty Aside

One of my lurking hang-outs is Stefani's And Another Thing .... I just love her work! Tuesday she posted this non-crafty post, and I was just blown away. I literally stopped, picked my lower jaw off the table, and started thinking about what *I* could do. After reading the article, I was almost embarassed that I have a decent job and my company probably will not go under because of the economy.

(I command you to go read it now, if you have not already. Go ahead ... I'll wait ....)

Isn't it a nice thought that this trouble with the economy has the potential to make us less dependent on "things" and more dependent on each other? I was just talking to #2 about this, and we both hope that people will reassess their situations, take stock of what they have, what they really need, and what they can give to others who may have less, and are in need of assistance.

Wouldn't it be great if we we all took a step back to something like the Barter System? Maybe we could give something of ourselves to help someone else. Maybe we could actually meet the neighbors!

I have high hopes that this economy thing will force us to be better people and to return to some of the more personal interactions that we miss in this electronic age. A girl can dream.

Now back to your regular programming.

Marathon Post # 12

I took a moment while brewing coffee this morning, and looked around this shambles of what used to be a nice condo. It always looks like a toronado went through here, and I cannot seem to organize enough to make a difference. Then I did a mental clean sweep. Let's say, just for grins, that I was NOT a stamper. So I (in my mind) erased all the craft-related stuff lying around in every single room, and you know what? It would look like a normal person lived here! Really! But then I would miss all my stampin' stuff, so I went back to making coffee.

We Had a Bit of Weather ...

Yes, we had a bit of weather tear through here yesterday. I first heard about it when my cube-neighbor said, very quietly, in a shakey voice, "Oh, no." See, he had to leave by 2:00 to get to VA where he takes college classes in the evening (yes, I said 2:00...we have traffic issues), and his school had just posted a toronado warning. The kind where they tell you to not go out unless you need to. Unfortunately they did not cancel classes, so he packed up and said, "Sigh, wish me luck ..." and he left. Then the lights started to flicker, and we stood up to look over our cubes to the windows (think prairie dogs and you'll get the image), and it was black out. Just black. I walked across the hall to the other side of the building and it was raining so hard you could almost not see anything. It was down-right ugly.

Naturally, traffic was a mess going home last night. Heck, it's a mess when it just rains, but this was weather, so it was bad enough to write about. Actually, traffic for me was good because I made good choices and everyone else made bad choices, so I got home lickety-split. However, there were plenty of downed trees everywhere to really snarl things up (for everyone else, not for me.) But when I arrived home, there was no power.

A funny aside: One of the traffic reporters cracked me up! She reported there were trees down on the George Washington Parkway, and it was closed in both directions. She said to NOT get on the GW Parkway if you were not already stuck there. But if you insisted on taking the GW Parkway anyway, plan to sit there for a very, very long time. And she finished with, "And that's all I am gonna say about THAT!" Too funny!

Now back to our irregularly-scheduled program ... There are some advantages to being of the older persuasion. You see, my expectations and needs are way less than, say, a 20-something. Or even some 40-somethings I know! I am one of the rare breed that can come home and not turn on a radio or television. I love quiet. I also could live without a cell phone because I have real phones. The kind that have wires and plug into a wall. The kind that cost $10 at Target and last forever. Real phones. I actually had a REAL real phone until I got DSL. You know, one of those Ma Bell phones that hooked right into the wall in the Kitchen and had a REAL ringer, not this electronic garbage we get now. But the DSL filter was too fat and would not let the phone plug connect into the wall, so I had to get a fake phone. Boo-hoo!

But anyway, the weather. So I had no power. So what. I got into my jammies as I always do when I get home, lit some candles, found my flashlight, grabbed a book, and settled onto the couch to read. It was still light out, so I read until it started to get dark. (I was gonna stamp, but since my work area is down to about a 6" square, I thought the introduction of a candle would be kindof incendiary-like, and not a good plan.) Then I turned on my itty-bitty book light and continued reading until about 9 pm, when I went to bed. It was a wonderful, quiet, evening.

Fortunately for me, the power came back on around 4 am, and my internal body clock woke me up around 6 (I turned on the radio to make sure), I had hot water, so I showered and went to work. No big deal.

Once I got to work, all the "kids" (anyone younger than 40) were talking about how there was nothing to do with no power. Really? No cell phone juice. No Internet. No television. I asked them why they did not just read a book, and I tell you, the looks I got!

So there are advantages to remembering life before the electronic age. I actually feel a bit sorry for people who cannot function without electricity for one night.

Okay, now for some stampin'! This first card is a total case of the sample that came with the stamps. Actually, the sample card is the whole reason I bought the stamps. Boy, do they know how to hook us or what?!


This eagle and sentiment were the May Stamp-of-the-Month at Cornish Heritage Farms (CHF). I just love the look of that eagle, and the sentiment's font looks so much like SU's Warm Words and the now-retired Small Script (is that right?) that it just called to me. It called to me over and over again, and I kept putting it into my shopping cart, then closing my browser; then I'd go back another day and do it again. I finally caved during last week's point-and-click spree and got it.

That background stamp was also used in their sample (the sly buggers!) and I love it! So, of course, I had to get it, too. The main reason I was at the CHF site is because they carry the Prism papers, and I was looking at them ... just looking. But once that eagle and backgrounder ended up in the shopping card, I simply had to justify the shipping costs, didn't I? So I got some of the papers, too. I did not use them here, but one of these days ....

Other things about this card: The star brads really should have been something like antique brass, but I could not find any in the stash, so I thought I'd cover some shiny brass ones with gold stickles. Not sure why I thought that was a good idea...maybe I thought it would tone down the shine...but then the stickles are sparkly .... sigh ... Also, I used a ribbon (from the stash) and the original did not have a ribbon. But, well, you know ... me ... ribbon ... I was pretty proud of the fact that it does not 'match', but it still goes. At least *I* think it does.

I still need to play with this eagle to make something of my own, maybe a la Fourth of July. We'll see.

And now for the star of our show: my latest irreverent creation:

Creating cards like this is why I love to stamp. There are just so many possibilities! I got the sentiment in my last wave of stamps from Viva Las Vegas Stamps, and I saw the image of the lady when I cruised by this set at Crafty Secrets, having been enabled to check out the stamps by this post on JanTink's blog (darn her!).

But I have to say, she is perfect with that sentiment! Oooh, and with my growing collection of irreverent sentiments, I'll bet she'll come out to play again one day very soon!

Please ignore (1) the blurry photo, (2) the over-used layering of the sentiment on multiple punch-outs, and (3) the fact that I have not colored her in yet. I may decide to not color her, though, so then this card would be done. Okay, then, she's done! (That was easy...)

As for other things on the card, I discovered that this scrap of patterned paper went swimmingly with Groovy Guava. So then I got out my 'Melon' brads from PinkHedgeHog. Aaaand, I used a piece of the ribbon sent to me by one of my beloved readers!

I still have one more card to think up for this weekend's classes, but it is formulating in my brain and should make its way to paper before Sunday. I may not come up for air again before then, what with the impending Clean Sweep and all, so be good, and go stamp something!

A Word Of Advice

When the jar of Jerk Seasoning says to use one teaspoon of sauce per pound of meat, believe them. Follow the instructions. Do not use more because it looks like one teaspoon could not possibly coat all of that chicken. That stuff is hot. And water does not help. Neither does an icy Margarita. Ask me how I know.

More Deep Thoughts - Older Women

I first found reference to the following list on another blog I happened by today. It was widely believed shortly after its original publication circa 2000 that the author was Andy Rooney, but after doing some research (nothing personal, that's just how I am...), it turns out the actual author was Frank Kaiser, whose original can be found here.

Now that I have given credit where credit is due (thanks for the lead, though!), I present you with these excerpts from the article that I found pretty hilarious, or should I say 'observant'. Now I do not feel like such an old fart. Enjoy!

• An older woman knows how to smile with such brightness and truth, old men stagger.


• An older woman will never ask out of the blue, "What are you thinking?" An older woman doesn't care what you think.


• An older woman's been around long enough to know who she is, what she wants, and from whom. By the age of 50, few women are wishy-washy. About anything. Thank God!


• Older women are forthright and honest. They'll tell you right off that you are a jerk if you're acting like one. A young woman will say nothing, fearing that you might think worse of her. An older woman doesn't give a damn.


• Most older women cook well. They care about cleanliness. They're generous with praise, often undeserved.


• An older woman has the self-assurance to introduce you to her women friends. A young woman often snarls with distrust when "her guy" is with other women. Older women couldn't care less.


• Women get psychic as they age. You never have to confess your sins to an older woman. Like your mother, they always know.

Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal.

For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed babe of 75 there's a bald, paunchy relic with his yellow pants belted at his armpits making a fool of himself with some 22-year-old waitress.

Ladies, I apologize for my fellow geezers. That men are genetically inferior is no secret. Count your blessings that we die off at a far younger age, leaving you the best part of your lives to enjoy and appreciate the exquisite woman you've become. Without the distraction of some demanding old fart clinging and whining his way into your serenity.

I love this guy! I only wish I'd stumbled upon this years ago!

Deep Thought for the Day

Where in the nursery rhyme does it say Humpty Dumpty was an egg?