Etsy-licious

I’ve recently fallen in love with Etsy.com. If you haven’t heard of it, you should check it out RIGHT NOW! It’s a handcrafted lover’s paradise. After perusing the shops and many of the resources, I want to quit my job and work all day from home on pretty little embroidered/drawn/painted/lettered/sewn things and make oodles of money. That’s currently Alternative Life Plan #90 (give or take a few).

Since it’s not feasible that I’ll get there anytime soon, I’d like to share with you some of my favorite items listed (just three, for now, or I might not quit). Browse to your heart’s (or wallet’s) content.

• The hand-embroidered PBR can card. Pure genius! Something I wish I’d found before Father’s Day, as I know my dad would love it. As the seller says, “Much more refreshing than the mail you usually send.”
• Polka Dot Sunsuit, Reversible with Matching Bloomers. If I had a child, and that child was a girl, this would be her outfit for the entire summer. What is cuter than bloomers? Polka dot bloomers, I say!
• Kentucky Map Pendant. I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, but I like it. This pendant is really cool, but I love my state. The seller probably has your state, too.

Mother’s Day

Of course, today is Mother’s Day. It’s probably a happy day for most people. However, I can’t help but thinking that it’s got to be incredibly sad for some people, too. I normally go with my mom to Mass, because it makes her happy. When I was younger, they had all the moms stand up and everyone clapped for them. I remember thinking that clapping during Mass was a big deal. What I didn’t realize, though, were the people silently shedding tears over the recent loss of a mother, the realization that they could no longer celebrate Mother’s Day in the traditional sense. I also didn’t realize, as an ignorant kid, that not all women who didn’t have children weren’t necessarily happy about that arrangement. Now, though, I understand. It’s got to be heart-wrenching for some and very hard. I’ve noticed in recent years, the priest has all the expectant mothers stand, then the existing mothers and, finally, everyone who ever had a mother. Obviously, this ends up with everyone standing and giving everyone else a round of applause. I won’t go into how the people must feel who had absent or negligent mothers. I won’t pretend to understand how awful that must be.

With the knowledge out there that I’m sure Mother’s Day isn’t great for all people, I’d like to share with you my mom, because I think she is pretty great. Here she is. Isn’t she cute?

My mom has lots of different names. Of course, I call her Mom. She’s got a few variations on her first name. Her grandsons will probably end up calling her Grandma. My favorite name for her, though, is one of her own choosing – Aunt Pitty Pat. When my two younger second-cousins (or is it first cousins once-removed? JANEY!?) were born she decided that’s what they should call her. It’s caught on, and now lots of people call her that. My boyfriend in high school did. It’s part of her email address. It’s who she is. Of course, if you don’t know, it’s from Gone With the Wind. If you’ve seen the movie, don’t assume that my mom is like Scarlet’s Aunt Pitty Pat. I think she could weather Sherman’s Burning of Atlanta if she had her rosary. But the characterization sort of fits, too!

My mom and I are a lot alike, but she’s SO much nicer than I am. She might think uncharitable thoughts about someone, but she’d never say them out loud (she might agree when I blurt them out, though!). She’s way shorter than me; I grew taller than her when I was about nine years old. She loves the color yellow and collects all things yellow. She loves to read and is addicted to computer games. She gives them up as a sacrifice for Lent, each year. Mom also loves naps, especially in her hammock. She loves creme brulee. She loves Kentucky basketball and always becomes attached to the players, hating to see them leave at the end of their careers. Above all, though, Mom loves her family – her husband, her daughters, her eight brothers and sisters, their spouses, their children, their children’s children, etc. She loves her friends like they are family. She’s just an all-around loving person. That’s why I made this for her. I think it captures her sentimentality and also shows her accomplishments – being a great wife and mother and a wonderful person.

Thanks, Mom. Just for being you.

Springtime Pretties

After the torrential, flooding rains of last week have come the pretties of spring. The greenest grass of the year, trees budding, early flowers blooming. Here are some pictures of my front yard pretties. Please ignore the weeds. These are SOOG (straight out of the ground), no tender loving care.

Tulip Bud

Daffodils, Hyacinths, and Weeds (oh, my!)

Miniature Tulips? I planted these, but forget what they are. I love them, though.

I Am Rapunzel

Well, sort of. I’ve been on a personal quest since June 2006. Now, nearly two years later, I have found what I’ve been searching for my whole life – Long Hair. I’m one of those girls that always complained about wanting long hair but got entirely too frustrated with the growing out process in order to ever actually have long hair. Summer time would near and I’d have the urge to whack off those extra locks that made my whole body feel like Rodney Dangerfield in a steam bath. In the winter, I’d hate the static cling that made my hair look like a Koosh ball (wow, remember those?), and I’d end up going with a short bob for the holidays.

For some reason, June 2006 is the month I started changing my life. I didn’t set out to do it, that way, but it happened. One of the things I did set out to do was not cut my hair. Originally, the plan was not to cut it for a year (besides trimming, if necessary). Apparently, my hair grows really slowly. It’s frustrating. After that first year, I wasn’t really impressed with its length. Now, though? It’s officially long. It’s longer than two of my best friends who always have long hair!

Here are some pictures. Compare and contrast.

Short hair, badly styled. August, 2006.

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Long hair, newly colored and trimmed, March 2008

A day at the museum, in pictures.

The trip to see BODIES…The Exhibition was pretty amazing. The Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal is a great piece of architecture. Here are some photos I really like:

This is the exterior of Union Terminal.

These are images of the interior ceiling. I love these so much I can’t say.

This is another section of the ceiling. There were two murals like this, depicting the human and technological history of the area. They were pretty amazing.

Sadly, there aren’t any photos of the exhibit because photography, understandably, wasn’t allowed. It was a pretty amazing exhibit, though, and I highly recommend it for anyone who has a body.

This close-up of the fountain at Union Terminal is to my liking. It looks like something from the land of Oz.

Finally, since Mad Dog got a camera for Christmas and she’s always looking for cool pictures, to take, we ventured up to Devou Park in Northern Kentucky. The skyline is pretty cool on both sides of the river.

The Cincinnati Side.

The Covington Side.