I Am E-Challenged

Posted on | September 22, 2011 | 5 Comments

E, short for entertainment.

I have a BA in mass communications. My emphasis was advertising and public relations. Through out my college years I was encouraged to read as much as I could and to watch TV. The radio was briefly mentioned and so I never really got into it and the Internet was still in its infancy – I was happy just to get e-mail!! But, while my reading was limited to Danielle Steele and my TV was stuck on Supermarket Sweep, I can say that I was pretty well rounded when it comes to celebrities, TV shows, ads, a bit of news and music back in my days.

Then M was born and something happened. I decided, and persuaded hubby too, to not have cable/satellite, to listen to NPR and to get my news and entertainment from the Internet. My taste in reading material improved too and I started to read more non-fiction and to stick to classics like Agatha Christie and Jane Austen for the fictions portion.

As years went by I become less and less connected with the media world and it was obvious today when at meet the teacher evening one of the parents rattled off a TV show and I went: “Who?” (Obviously I have forgotten what this TV show was or I’d tell you what the TV show she mentioned was).

Some people tells me I’m blessed. It was just a few months ago I learned who the Kardashian sisters are. I had to Google one day because one or all were in so many magazine covers. I had no idea what Jersey Shore is. I just thought it’s a shore in Jersey. Had to Google that one too.

This last week I’ve been thinking about getting cable back into our house so I can learn about British shows and learn more about the British culture and people through the television but after some more thought: Naaah!

We do miss it now and days, I wish I could watch FoodNetwork or some home buying show and hubby wishes he can watch Top Gear or even Antique Road Show. But I know that if we get it we’d all want to watach TV more often than we do now (I let the girls watch DVDs now and then) and I’d hate to wait until the kids go to bed for hubby to watch a show. So I figured it’s still best not to.

In the meantime, until I get to thinking about getting TV again, my friend has gotten me into watching Downton Abbey, a British early 20th century drama, and looking forward to watching a remake of Jane Eyre with a few gals. I am still entertainment challenge and I’d just completely look blank when one throws in a lot of reality TV show names. But oh don’t forget, I now know who Kim Kardashian and what Jersey Shores is!

I failed to publish my Waltzingmouse sketch post. I didn’t realize it until earlier today. So here it is and I hope you play along with this week’s sketch! You still have time!!!

Lentil Weaver

Posted on | September 11, 2011 | 8 Comments

Say what?!

Lentil weaver. It’s my new term.

I tried to get a definition by Googling and found this one forum where I found some of the answers hilarious. This one too, from Urban Dictionary, was quite entertaining. None of the links I gave you has a really good definition but if you read through them you’ll get the idea of what a lentil weaver is.

I can’t remember how this all started. I think it started after we had tea at one of our friend’s house and also from our talks about wooden toys afterwards. This friend that we visited has lots of pretty toys for her daughter (she has a son but most of us has little girls so we only paid attention to the girly toys), pretty wooden toys. To give you an idea why we were so gaga over them, they looked like this, this and this. CUTE or what?!?! While a lot of Jovie’s toys were M’s a lot of M’s later toys are good well made wooden pieces. I think when M turned three I became a bit more particular on what I bought her. One big thing was that they all have to be good to great quality (and if possible not made in China).

Since then toy buying became a task (or obsession) of its own. I’d spend weeks, sometimes months, researching and deciding. The doll house I got M… months! Now thinking about it, I think it was right after M was born that I got obsessive about researching. I think it was mostly because of M’s name. I didn’t know that ‘Emma’ was a popular name. It was after M was born that I found this out. While it suits her still, I’d have looked for something a bit more unique. After this incident I made sure that I research everything before making a decision… even if it’s just buying a wooden tea set.

We’ve been socializing more this summer, which has been wonderful, and each Facebook post, tea meet-ups, or picnics we all realize that many of us are just as bad about getting just the right thing for their kids, find the most eco-friendly piece for our daily needs, love quality brands but can’t always afford it, and support things like hip carriers, wooden toys, and driving 30 minutes just so our kids can be in a better gym class. That’s how the term lentil weaver came about and between my love for quality made sustainable wood toys, the organic market bag that I made into a favorite purse, my recycling habits, cloth diapering and more I am labeled as a lentil weaver.

Hope you like the card I made using Waltzingmouse’s sketch for this week. Very fun and LOVE how the colors turned out. So so bright!! It’s simple but I really like it. Laters!

Friendship

Posted on | August 27, 2011 | 7 Comments

Happy Saturday! Have a little tag for you today! It’s inspired by Waltzingmouse’s sketch for this week and I had a lot of fun making it. While I think a lighter ink would make the background stamping better, the tag turned out alright and at the end I love it (and looking at it again this morning I still do). That’s what matters, right?

I have been having a lot of great fun here. I’ve been socializing more and making great local friends. At every place I’ve lived in I’ve managed to make some great friends but getting to know a handful of people all at once, especially those my age with kids, are rare for me. These gals have given me many laughs and it’s been awesome.

I wish I could have met more of my bloggy friends while in the US or lived closer to them. I know that I could have gotten a long splendidly with many of you!! I am very glad that I got to met Clouds in person before I left for the UK. We’re still great friends an it’s so fun to Skype crop now and then.

I mentioned that I have a hard time making friends. I can make acquaintances just fine but good friends are a tad bit harder just cause I don’t watch TV and so we can’t talk about TV/pop culture for example. I am an educator at heart and I tend to do better with those in it or have passion for it. I love following the news, more left than right in my views and while I am open minded I don’t like having long talks with those who aren’t. Call me picky but as I get older I like to spend my time with those who makes me all around happy.

Ok, gotta go gymnastics. I’ll post more later!

Gymnastics Morning

Posted on | July 30, 2011 | 7 Comments

Hi! How’s your day going? It’s a Saturday here and for us it means no more sleeping in because a week and a half ago Emma was invited to join a competitive gymnastics group. Everything happened unexpectedly and quick and so now I am a gymnastics mom. It’s a good 25 minutes drive and so instead of going home I watch, run errands or in the case of last weekend and this weekend, we’ll be hanging out at the farmer’s market. M practices 4.5 hrs/week with a question mark next to another two hours in a few weeks/months if M does well… 6.5 hrs… EEK! We’re very proud of her, especially since she’s only been formally trained for six months before we moved to the UK and just got in the other gym in our town in May of this year. We’ll see how she likes it but so far, she loves it!

Alright, I gotta go. I just want to share my morning and also a card I created using Waltzingmouse’s sketch. I used WM’s stamps for this card and some Pebbles goodies. It’s suppose to be a boy card but dunno, looks a bit much for a future 7-yrs-old boy don’t you think?

Alright, laters!

HI!

Posted on | July 23, 2011 | 7 Comments

Goodness gracious, it’s been soooooo long since I posted. I have been very busy and for a few days I have had no Internet. There are a lot of news to share though, all personal, and all great.

Before I start, I want to share this little card I made based on Waltzingmouse’s sketch for this week. I am not sure if you can see it but the border piece were cut into three pieces. I placed buttons over the cut lines. Can you see? Very fun simple sketch which is very versatile. LOVE the sentiment too… PRETTY!

The biggest news is… hubby’s back!! Yes, he’s been gone for three months and a lot of my hecticness have been due to his absence. I wasn’t expecting him anytime soon but he surprised us last Wednesday by showing up at the door. I wish I had a camera to capture Jovie’s face. She went from a happy cry face to arms outreached and a huge squeeze and lots of kisses after her daddy held her. We were quite happy with this since Jovie is not the friendly type. Emma jumped on her daddy as soon as she saw him and me… well, I am not the excited type and while happy wasn’t screaming, crying or jumping up and down.

Happy times!! I do plan on being here regularly again but for the next few, it’ll be off and on since we want to spend a bit more time with each other.

Laters!