10 Things I'm Crazy About, Part Two

Alright, so here is a continuation from yesterday's list of all of my favorite things. Believe me, there are many, many more things I am insane about; some that are consistent while others I change my mind about every other minute. (such a girl!) Anyway, check out the rest of my bit-o-listomania!

6. Horror movies

I'm a super movie and film freak in general, but there is something about a horror flick that really gets me excited. It's a little bit of a self punishment thing since I often have to hide my head behind Chad and have been known to scream out loud ( three times in a row in unison with Kaleigh and Sarah while watching Descent). But nothing beats the chills and giggles that come after that! Check out my next must-see horror film preview:




Awesome right? Coming out this August, finally. This is by a Spanish director/producer but will be an English language film. Spain has a budding film industry as compared to the rest of Europe (via Franco) and is putting out some especially impressive horror films! And the thing about a horror/thriller movie is that *usually you'll never be disappointed. The film will either be scary and deliver what you had been hoping for or it will be so bad that it will be funny and you can laugh at the "scares" and dialogue. It's a win win.


7. Diet Pepsi

I LOVE Diet Pepsi. No. I ADORE Diet Pepsi. Why don't I just marry it then, you say? Well, first of all, I'm already married, and second of all maybe I would if human and liquid beverage unions were allowed in Kansas but as there is a state amendment against homosexual marriage...it doesn't look good for me and my love affair. I didn't always drink Diet. At one time I drank the non-sugar substitute, full calorie syrup and even, dun dun dun...Coke. But I decided to cut calories and switch so I forced myself to go for Diet and now I am completely and utterly at it's mercy. Sure, here and there I may have a Sprite or a Cherry Vanilla Diet Dr Pepper, a Fanta even. But I always come back. There's no denying that we have something, you might call it addiction, but I like to call it devotion. Here's a little something from back in the day:




Oh, memories! When my dad managed Taco Bells in NY Pepsi was running this campaign and they had this half Diet Pepsi can that went on the door and said "You got the right one, baby. Ah, ha" every time the door opened. And I got to keep it after the promotion was over!!! Wish I still had it!

And have you seen the new "skinny can" they put out for Fashion Week? Pretty cool looking but really? a skinny can for fashion? Way to reinforce that models must be stick thin again! Pepsi gets a -1 for that.


8. Netflix

You ever wish you had thought of something cause it's so simple yet so ingenious that now it's driven pretty much everyone else out of the market and uses 15% of the bandwidth in the US? Well I do. And if I had I'd be freaking rolling in in. Chad and I race to the mailbox anyway, but if there's a red envelope in there, woot!! But that was nothing compared to the joy of setting up instant watch on our Wii. We watch the movies and TV shows on Netflix so much that we dropped our satellite programing! What's the point when I can watch 10 episodes of Law & Order a day? It's the ultimate in instant gratification. Although I must say that it has made my patience for movies not being available very low but I think that eventually everything will be instant watch anyway! If you haven't tried Netflix, then bygolly you should cause it will change your life and you get one month free. Clicky here.


9. Natalie Dee & Drew Comics

This is a wife and husband duo who publish free internet comics that are supported by products they sell associated with their art. They have a pretty big following but they are an acquired taste. Natalie is pretty silly while Drew is very dry. Fair warning: they don't like Star Wars. But, like Michelle and I have discussed many a time, someone has to hate to make a thing legitimate. They put out three new comics everyday that update at midnight. I'd say more but they pretty much speak for themselves.


www.nataliedee.com

That is a Natalie Dee from 12/11/09 that I randomly picked out. LOL. And here is Drew's Toothpaste For Dinner:


www.toothpastefordinner.com

And here is Married to the Sea:


www.marriedtothesea.com

LOL. Anyway, If you'd like to see any of there other comics you can do random searches of them or go by month. Just clicky.


And so we come to my last favorite...

10. Crafts and Craft Blogs

I've always liked crafts, from back in preschool doing macaroni art to making a habit of frequenting craft fairs with my mom, crafting is fun. Although I will say my styles and tastes have changed over the years I have thrown myself once again into making cute decorations, clothes, quilts, etc. I'm really trying to find my niche while opening myself up to new things. One thing that has been super helpful in this has been checking out other crafting blogs. I love being inspired by what others are doing and creating. People are so talented and it's great to hear that they also started out with little experience as well! I hope to be featuring some of my own craft and art projects on this blog in the future but for now, please be inspired by some great works from my favorite blogs!




Lotte Lu and Brother Too
This is one of my bestie's blogs and frankly, she is the MOST talented person I have ever met! The pic above is one of the outfits she made for her little girl's first birthday party which was absolutely amazing! We can't wait to see what is in store next month for the big number 2, and from her Pintrest pictures, looks like it will be one not to miss!!

Sutton Grace
Living the Swell Life
Cluck Cluck Sew
The Boy Trifecta
The Crafty Cupboard

These are just some of my favorites so please check them out!

So there you go! My current top 10 favs! hope you enjoyed them and I'm sure there will be updates soon. Bye for now!

10 Things I'm CRAZY About!

I got this idea from one of my besties who was showing me her blog, Reflections of a Possibilitarian, the other day. Please clicky here to check out what drives Sarah nuts! We all have so many interests and only so much time, although now that I'm a professional Hobo (although I do not have a shotgun) I arguably have a bit more time than others, so why not show the world what we love! So here is a countdown, in no particular order of things I'm mad about! I want to stress that these are not in order since Chad threw a pouty fit about it.

1. T-Shirts & Jeans

I mean, I don't know what it is. I like nice clothes. I kinda like wearing them and I certainly like buying them but there is nothing, nothing better then being in a comfy pair of well-fitting, fashionable jeans and a ladies' style t-shirt. I especially love a tee with a design that says something about me. Not like the "Gettin' Lucky in Kentucky" type but I have approx. 5 owl shirts and a whole lot from jinx.com to rep my geekiness. Can I get a what, what? Also, I added this pic cause it's one of my absolute fav shirts I have, references my favorite TV show and she's staking Edward. In a word...WIN.

2. World of Warcraft aka WOW

I make no apologies. I am a geek and a gamer. I love WOW. I never played video games when I was a kid or teenager and honestly I was pretty apprehensive when Chad told me how much he loved it, but it really only took me a couple of weeks to become totally addicted. I love playing with Chad and a bunch of our best friends play as well. The game is achievement based and has great witticisms and back story so although there are definitely are times when I burn out, I mostly crave kicking Horde, Scourge, ect butt! Making different characters in different races and classes and learning how to play each of them is not only cathartic but just plain awesome! You can be like my FIL and make all of your character names alike (Solled, Holyed, Rebeled) or like Michelle who makes all of her characters gnomes in each class (and they're all freakin' adorable!) Mine are a just a jumble; main is Lyraviolet and main alt is Lucja. Clicky and check them out! Others include Koravanja, Slayerbuffy, Miingmiing and Jayhawker. Here's a very popular and very fun video of a raid gone crazy LEEROY JENKINS!!! style!




3. My husband, Chad

Remember how I said this was in no particular order? Well, I didn't want to be all cheddar cheesy and list my husband first, but he TRULY is my favorite thing. He is my rock and rudder; totally supportive and yet soft and supple. He is always there when I need him, tries everything I put in front of him and if he complains it is over with quickly. He is always ready with a witty joke or a good discussion. Chad is incredibly brilliant and usually humble (*wink) but is always willing to learn new things. He is a mixture of rough and tough boy/man but I've seen him be soft and gentle with a tiny little baby and he loves animals. Men who don't suck. He's my teddy bear, handyman, knight-in-shining armor and I could never ask for more!!!

4. The Decemberists




Check out the youtube vid above. This is a great starter Decemberists if you've never heard them before. It's a few albums old but I believe that it was one of the first songs that turned me on to them. I can't say how much I love them. They are indie, folky, rock, country, etc! They have a ballad about a mariner!! Chad and I were able to see them a few years ago and they were incredible! Colin Meloy has a very unique voice that is crazy recognizable and, I believe, super enjoyable! If you like anything a little bit folky or just want to try something new, give the Decemberists a whirl. They make bands like Mumford and Sons sound like hacks, and heck, they just put out a new album and are on tour!


5. Football (Bears and Jayhawks)







I love sports. That said there is one sport for me that rises above the rest: football. I'm not talking soccer and goodness knows I enjoy association football but it is NOT the "beautiful game." That prize belongs to the helmet crunching, forward passing, first downing, field goal kicking all-out amazingness of football. I literally count the days from the Superbowl until pre-season NFL and and Spring game! That brings me to why I find my current football position might we say, rather bleak. Let's just say it, KU sucks. Our coach is a Nebraska joke and it brought tears to my eyes to see how good we were in that video just a few years ago. I'd do anything to get Mangino back! Fat people rock!!!! Second, the NFL owner's league and player's league need to get over it cause if I don't get some freaking decent football this fall.... A year without football would be like a year without sunshine. I make no exaggeration there That is a very true simile. So I will end this with a simple Bear Down and Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

Those are the first half of my ten and my next post will update you on the rest!! So enjoy!

"A Day At The Races"

Since I've shared the "Derby Days" hat, I thought I would share with you Brittany and Trent's shower. I wish I had gotten a picture of the food before we all devoured it! Michelle, Brittany's sister and a bestie of mine, worked extremely hard on all of it and it was FABOO to say the least. And I'm proud to say that ALL the ladies wore hats, many also homemade like mine. WOOT!

That's me on the left, then again with my bestie Michelle, sister of the bride, and on the right is Robin, my sister-in-law. I can't tell you who won the Preakness that day (I was routing for the beautiful dapple gray) but I can tell you that Trent won for best dressed gentleman as he came in full southern regalia; slacks, polo, sports coat, straw hat and cigar!

Here's what most of the men looked like that day. LOL! Thought bubble..."at least Trent got those cool beer mugs..." I Love couple showers but I think that the present opening session is only interesting for the ladies and THE couple. Personally, I love watching to see what people get and Brittany got some goodies indeed, but let's not forget Trent's "Man of Steel" Superman boxers. Brown chicken, brown cow! What a great shower. Great food, great friends. Cheers to Britt and Pitt!

And for those of you who don't know BROWN CHICKEN, BROWN COW...please clicky.

Charming Chapeau!

A few weeks ago I went to a great wedding shower that was themed "A Day at the Races," and ladies were required to where a "derby" hat. My crafting bug started racing around my head like crazy with ideas immediately!! So a couple days before, Chad and I went to Marshals to find a hat. I don't usually shop there but I had been there before and noticed that they sold Sunday-type hats. We picked one up for about $15 and unfortunately, the next day I noticed that Target had cuter hats for $12, but no biggie. Next, I headed down the block to Michael's for some cute faux flowers, ribbon and a new glue gun since mine has mysteriously disappeared...
Anywho, making a "Derby Days" hat is super easy and super fun. Here's what you need and how to do it!

1. Remove any trimmings from hat you do not want.

2. Cut ribbon to desired length (may want to measure so it goes all the way around hat)
3. Double over ribbon ends and glue to hat.
4. Cut faux flowers to desired length. Many faux flowers have wires in them so you may require
wire cutters for this.
5. Slip ends of flowers under ribbon and glue. Arrange as desired.
6. To cover up where flowers go behind ribbon, cut a short length of ribbon and double over.
Glue over the stems showing, or you can use a hat pin for an authentic look!




Enjoy and Happy Crafting!!

Flowers

Since the past few days have been pretty humid and pretty rainy (I guess April showers forgot to check the calendar..) I thought I might share some of the beautiful flowers I inherited in my backyard when we moved in about two years ago! I especially love the double peonies as they are SO hard to get this big.

Peonies, Roses, Azaleas & Irises!

After getting some great pix of the peonies all abloom, I took some inside and risked the wrath of the kitty (I've lost more than a few flowers to Ophelia) by putting them in some water and setting them out. Unfortunately, I also brought in some ants that love the flowers so much, as well. LOL!



I just absolutely LOVE this color of pink! It reminds me of cotton candy, pink lemonade, tutus and everything spring!

Since last we met

Chad and I have expanded our family a bit since our wedding. We started off with my original little one, Scout. She was a rescue from the Humane Society; a bit of a miniature German Shorthaired Pointer. I call her "compact." She is most definitely a princess and was a bit incensed to give up her spot on the bed to Chad.

Pass the crumpets and tea, please!

Soon after the wedding I convinced Chad that what we needed in the house was a sweet, little kitty. Interestingly, what we ended up taking home was a semi-evil, Sith Lord in the form of a fluffy little kitty. The aptly named Ophelia, she has quite a fascination with water, spends half of her time plotting the world's demise and the rest cuddling. She is building a stronghold by her "adorableness" power, which allows her to make a minion of anyone who cuddles with her!

Look into my eyes....now give me tunas!

The newest member to the clan is our sweet little puppy, Indy. Chad had wanted to get his own puppy for a while now, and let's face it, another male in the house! So in November, we visited a new litter of puppies out in Cilacothe, MO. They were all completely adorable but one stuck out from the rest (and jumped all over Chad!) One month later and right before Christmas we brought home little Indy! He is a total handful but tons of love and fun and wiggles!

He’s a lot bigger now!

They all get along pretty well. Ophelia is definitely not a fan of the new puppy, but he adores her, wrestling with her especially. Scout and Indy and super besties, he looks up to her (although down physically now) as the best big sister ever. It can get pretty wild around here with all these crazies running around! Take a look: