something for ya

I've been working on getting more listings up at the Closet. Realizing that I have a lot of things to photograph and list. Good stuff, sometimes completely unused. I buy a lot of crafty things.

Ah, I was Saturdays were longer. I think they're becoming my favorite day of the week.

Post Picture: One of the patterns I recently listed. Click it to see the others. Lots more to come.

Un-Zephyr- 90s kid

I've been a bit of a malaise in regards to blogging. I have some set things that I post, the book reviews and ThisNext posts, etc. But I'm not sure what else to say. I want to write and stay active here. I have a gazillion ideas but unsure how to incorporate them.

Found this on Megan/Lemonade's blog, Here In This Diary. I'm reposting with what I remember of the various things. It's a long one.

You're a 90's kid if:

You can sing the rap to "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air."
Nope. I actually have only caught Fresh Prince in reruns. My parents were incredibly strict with what we could watch on TV until bro2 got to about 8. I was 15 then.

You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey from "Blossom" and that "How Rude!" comes from Stephanie from "Full House."
I snuck Full House. Yep. I'm a rebel.

You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
Every...week. Tom & Jerry was a favorite.

You remember reading "Goosebumps".
Nope. I got nightmares easily as a child. The covers kinda scared me.

You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, wax off".
Yep. And thinking, Ralph Macchio was cute. Not sure at all how he ended up being 40 now.

You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
I did. I think I had Beauty and the Beast. It was purple at any rate. Lunchboxes were the 'it' accessory in my little private school.

You danced to "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, Females: had a new motto, Males: got a whole lot gay-er. (so tell me what you want, what you really really want.)
I didn't get into the Spice Girls. Not sure why.

HELLO....HOT WHEELS!!!!!
I actually do have a few. My brothers were/are huge fans. They get me the classic cars.

You remember the craze, then the banning of slap bracelets and slam books.
Slap bracelets were cruel but sooo fun. I didn't know they were banned. Slam books never made it to my school. But I was homeschooled from 6th grade on.

You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
And Syke! Inspired these magnets.

Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? was both a game and a TV game show.
I love Carmen San Diego. I watched it right after Punky Brewster.

You knew that Kimberly, the pink ranger, and Tommy, the green Ranger were meant to be together.
All I remember of the Power Rangers is 'Go, go, Power Rangers.'

You remember when super nintendos became popular.
We had a friend who was into every video game system known to man. He gave us his old one years after it was popular.

You remember watching home alone 1, 2 , and 3........and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders"
Watching the first Home Alone has become a Christmastime tradition.

"I've fallen and I can't get up"
Huh? Not really. Was this on Nickelodeon?

You remember boom boxes vs. cd players
I won a mini boom box when I was about 8. Really felt like I was moving up in the world.

You remember New Kids on The Block when they were cool
Nope. The boy band of my youth was NSYNC.

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell".
Skeet (I think) in Saved annoyed me. I never watched it.

You played and/or collected "Pogs"
Hmm. Nope.

You had at least one Tamagotchi, GigaPet or Nano and brought it everywhere
I had about 3. I wanted a NanoBaby. Got a chimp, and two dogs instead.

You watched the original Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Ninja Turtles
I remember them all, but was just a little too old for them...or too much of a girl. Ninja Turtles?

NANCY DREW AND THE HARDY BOYS WERE THE BEST MYSTERY BOOKS
I had one original Nancy Drew. Several of the pages were missing text. So it was a REAL mystery what happened. This put me off reading any of her other books. A friend gave me a 'new' ND. I don't remember if I like that.

Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff!
*searches memory banks* I got nothing.

All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand.(pencils.notebooks.b
inders.etc.)
Lisa Frank was part of the culture shock when I went from private school to public school. I had a few things, but a lot of my friends were decked out.

You remember when the new Beanie Babies were always sold out.
I still have my Beanie Babies. I rememeber poring over the catalog with bro1, picking out ones we wanted next. I think between the three of us we have about 40.

You used to wear those stick on earrings, not only on your ears, but at the corners of your eyes.
Nope. I had my ears pierced when I was really young. Didn't know where to put them.

You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
We didn't watch Nickelodeon, much. My parents didn't like it.

You know the Macarena by heart.
Absolutely.

"Talk to the hand" ... enough said
This was one of the best comebacks ever, IMO!

You thought Brain would finally take over the world
Pinky and the Brain. Don't...remember...this.

You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
This was said. And I probably said it. Where it came from...I don't know.

You remember when everyone went slinky crazy.
Yes. I had a metal one. bro1 and I would let it slink down the stairs. He ended up twisting up mine. It took me a while to forgive him. I have a plastic one now.

You remember when razor scooters were cool.
No. Accidents were prevalent. These came out just as I got 'too cool' to scooter.


When we were younger:

Before the MySpace frenzy...
Never got on the MySpace bandwagon. I have a page there, but...

Before the Internet & text messaging...
It's hard to remember what I did before the Internet. It was like I'd been waiting for it my whole life (10 years at the time). Text messaging...I've had a cell phone for 5 years. It won't send texts.

Before Sidekicks & iPods...
Just got an iPod touch. Love it. It's become the family entertainment unit. Want to tell them to their own. haha.


Before PlayStation2 or X-BOX...
Have I mentioned how bad I am at video games?

...Back when you put off the 5 hours of homework you had every night.
Yes, I do. The little private school I went to...was nuts.

When light up sneakers were cool.
Loved my light up sneakers.

When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
We got VHSs from the library all the time.

When gas was $0.95 a gallon & Caller ID was a new thing.
Caller ID is up there w/ 'talk to the hand' in terms of awesome. Can't live w/o it.

When we recorded stuff on VCRs & paid $3.50 for a movie.
Most of the VHSs we own are compilations of stuff we recorded. We didn't/don't go to the movies much. I only remember going twice when I was little and have no clue how much it cost.

When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off our walkmans.
I didn't listen to music radio much. And I hate the phone so I wouldn't have called anyway.

When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever.
Michael Jordan...every boy I knew thought they could be him.

Tag.
Ok, tag was also awesome. So was freeze tag. We played on a huge field at my private school. Tag was a staple.

Get Over Here!!!! means something to you.
It meant we'd lost bro1 in the store again.

Hide-n-Go Seek at dusk.
I did this once, it was more night than dusk. Ran into all kinds of sticks and brambles. I was tripping and getting bug-bitten. I could have been inside eating ice cream. It was not a good experience.

Red Light, Green Light.
I played Mother May I more.

Heads Up 7 Up.
Yes. Then I watched it as a teacher's assistant when I volunteered at an elementary school. Fun.

Playing Kickball & Dodgeball until your porch light came on.
Played kickball at camp. I loved camp.

Hopskotch.
Not so much. Couldn't play it in the driveway because it was very steep. And the sidewalk was to far away for my mom to see me. Plus it was really boring, because no one told me you were supposed to have a stick or something to throw and pick up.

Tree Houses.
I wanted one really bad. Especially after watching the Buttercream Gang. We never had a tree big enough though

Hula Hoops.
I'm as bad at hula hooping as I am at video games.

Captain Planet.
Um...no.

Running through the sprinklers.
Yes. The sprinklers water was hella-chlorinated though. Eyes stung for hours.

That "Little Mermaid"
Heh, my friend told about that. We did have that one...it's since been sold on eBay. I never noticed and wouldn't have if she hadn't told me. I can be so naive.

Crying when Mufasa died in the Lion King.
This was one of the two movies I remember seeing in a theater. I remember being worried about mice in the theater (rumors) not so much of what I thought of the movie.

Happy Meals where you chose a Barbie or a Hot Wheels car.
Yes. The teeny Barbies even had comb-able hair. Amazed me.

Getting the privilege to sit in the front seat of the car.
Totally. Bro1 and I would have to take turns. That was before airbags could kill you if you weren't over 60lbs. We lived dangerously.

Drinking Sqeeze It "Squeeze The Fun Out Of It"
Were this the Kool-aid things in a plastic bottle? If yes, than I drank those until my throat hurt. If not...

Or what about:

Hey Arnold.
Nope. Again. We had something of a Nickelodeon ban.

Rugrats.
Absolutely not. But for not having watched it I knew a lot about it. (forgotten now) That was probably when I started reading about TV shows I didn't/couldn't watch.

The Secret World of Alex Mac.
The boys in my fifth grade class thought she was hot. That's all I know.

Rocco's Modern Life.
er...um. No.

Doug.
Awesome! Until the creator sold out and Patti became anorexic. (it was only for one episode, but that haunted me)

Magic School Bus.
Yes. I watched this even until I was way out of their target audience.

Aladdin.
Only saw this a few times. Don't think my parents liked the genie or something. We had the book though. I read that a lot.


Sailor Moon.
Hmm, was this early manga? Didn't watch it.

Blossom.
Nope.

Beavis & Butt-Head
Definitely not.

Wishbone.
I discovered this late and only saw about three episodes...over and over and over. PBS is the king of reruns.

Bill Nye the Science Guy
Absolutely!

MR RODGERS!!!!
My mom thought Mr. Rogers was evil. Old man trying to talk to kids. She wouldn't let me watch it. I was sad about this. Seven years later, after she'd actually watched it herself, she let Bro2 watch it.

Where everyone wanted to be in love after watching The Wonder Years.
I vaguely remember this. But again, I think I caught it in reruns.

Under the Umbrella Tree
No

PEE-WEE!!!
I thought he was strange.

The Big Comfy Couch
If it's what I'm thinking it was...I thought I was too cool to watch it.

Kool-Aid was the drink of choice.
Um, kool-aid is still good.

Class field trips.
I discover maple syrup on a class field trip. Until then we'd been using honey on pancakes. I converted the family.

When Christmas was the most exciting time of year.
I still love Christmas. It's not the same as when I was little. But it's a great time of year. Lots of cookies.

When $5 seemed like a million, & another dollar a miracle.
Um, I'm still almost ridiculously frugal.

When you begged to go to McDonalds for dinner everyday.
My parents had no problem saying no. So I learned quickly that begging served no purpose. And McD's wasn't that great.

When Toys R Us overuled the mall.
Or the toy section in the department stores. Then suddenly...it just wasn't.

Go back to the time when:

Decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe'.
You mean there are other ways?

Money issues were handled by whoever was banker in 'Monopoly.'
I was the banker.

Being old referred to anyone over 20.
Most def.

A chance to skate as a couple at the local roller rink was like winning the lottery.
Not really. I didn't learn to really skate until I was about 11 and the closet rink is over 30 minutes away. Going to the park, the real park not the dinky playset down the street was like winning the lottery.


When Aladdin was new, before the trilogy was complete.
There are three Aladdins? Um, it wasn't *that* good.

Before we realized all this would eventually disappear.
Thanks.

Who would have thought you'd miss the 90's so much!!!!!
I totally loved being a kid and teenager. I look back a lot more than I probably should.

By Its Cover- Hollywood Car Wash

By Its Cover is independent book review column. Selections are mostly made based on the book's cover. I'm testing the old saying in my quest to find new favorite authors and books.

Title: Hollywood Car Wash
Author: Lori Culwell

[plot]
Midwestern college student and aspiring-indie-films-actress, Amy Spencer, auditions for the lead role in a new TV series. Soon she's on an plane to California, put up in an exclusive hotel and show to the network studio where...she gets the job!

Of course they say they hired her for her acting ability, but she's quickly put through the 'hollywood car wash'- diets, hair color, plastic surgery- to make her more marketable, the enviable 'ideal'. The question ever before her is how much is she willing to give up, how far from her true dream will she go before she gets off the wild ride?

[op ed]
I got this book in a ThisNext giveaway. (My copy is signed by the author, eep!) It's an easy read, I breezed through it in about a week. Must confess that I am impressed.

Hollywood brings to mind high-priced shallowness where image is everything but almost none of it is real. This book does prove that, but plopped in the center is a girl, Amy, with a lot of character who's continually amazed by the lengths the team of people assigned to creating her brand go to to fool people and change her into a young Hollywood clone.

It's far from smooth sailing for Amy, therefore it's not a Cinderella story. Which is what I expected. It's grittier, lonelier, a touch depressing. There is a liberal helping of glam, and it comes close to name-dropping in regards to some 'oh-no-they-didn't' scandals. In general I find it hard to feel bad for celebrities but I did feel bad for Amy at times. made me smile too. She's a fighter. She kept going, she didn't give up. I liked that.

I'd read it again.

Harrilu:: Black and White Branches Aline Dress

Eepies! Generally dresses aren't my thing. This one rocks, I like it's the obi-style belt. (which is an add-on, doesn't come w. the dress)

From Harrilu.

As always, if you want to follow my picks between Tuesdays you can check them out here or subscribe.

Also, I've started a list for Father's day. Hope you'll check it out.
:)

WB- Thots of the Weekend

It has long been a pattern with my family that socially, when it rains it pours. We could have nothing planned for weeks. Then everyone and everything demands we be at the same place/same time. Such was the case this weekend. Had two birthdays, a family gathering and a church obligation.

Resisting the urge to make this a long account of what I did, I'll give you a list...because I love lists:

• Siblings shouldn't be on the same Taboo team. It's not fair to the team with no siblings. Just sayin'.


• So far, alcohol is disappointing. I'm sad about this a little bit. So many people enjoy it.


• Sometimes it feels good to say, 'no' to family when saying, 'yes' would have made you a pushover.


• The phrase, 'Painting yourself into a corner' is talking about painting the floor, not the walls...like I've thought (and been confused about) my whole life minus a day.


• Toddlers are amazing, provided they're well-behaved. It's so cool to watch their little minds work. Even cooler to give them back to their parents, haha!


• I don't like chocolate...almost at all, but I do like brownies...a lot!


• I'm moving my Etsy shop here!!!!! June 20th.

That's about it, I think. There may be some further blog changes and other news about the shop change. I really feel this is right. I'm pretty excited.

Zephyr- Shift

I'm changing things. Details to come soon.

Don't worry. It's all good. Hopefully, in time it will be great.
:)

ThisNext:: MsBelle

I love the color and shape of this pendant.

From Ms. Belle.

As always, if you want to follow my picks between Tuesdays you can check them out here or subscribe.

Also, I've started a list for Father's day. Hope you'll check it out.
:)

WB- Chock Full

My brain is bursting with ideas. Part of me wants to create another blog and just post ideas as I get them, ones that I don't care if other people do because I'm pretty sure that I'll not have to get to everything I think of.

It's most inconvenient that I happen to do my best thinking when I'm falling asleep. Not fair at all. So I go through the day in a malaise because I'm physically tired. But my mind is still firing on all cylinders.

Also, Dunkin Donuts coollattas trump Starbucks frappucinos in my humble opinion.

Post Picture: Orange Juice is the stuff of life.

By Its Cover- Walking in Circles Before Lying Down

By Its Cover is my completely independent book review column. Selections are made based on the book's cover. I'm testing the old saying in my quest to find new authors.



It's been a while since I've done a BIC. I was working by way through 1600 pages of Charles Dickens. Not easy. As to the review:

[plot]
This book is like Must Love Dogs with a side order of telepathy/human-to-animal psychic-ness. After breaking up with her boyfriend, twice-divorced Dawn, begins to think that her new rescue pup is talking to her. Not just him, actually, but all dogs. That freaks her out at first, but then she finds it comforting.

So it meanders along, introducing her Life Coach-to-the-stars sister, serial entrepreneur mother (who never quite succeeded at any of them) and bed-hopping father. Yep, her family's something of a mess.

Without giving away too many plot points, it comes down to her having to chose between her reconciled ex and the other guy, you know, the John Cusack-good guy that she's supposed to be with.

[op ed]
My opinion is a little tainted. I didn't like Must Love Dogs. (the two are NOT affiliated) The timeline in Walking in Circles was hard to follow, probably because I think too much. Too many of the numbers...didn't add up. (pun intended) There was a paragraph she used multiple times, like the quote about Halley's Comet in Must Love Dogs, that was used one too many times. You have to be careful with quotes. Too many or too often and they lose their punch.

The John Cusack-good guy was endearing as was the wayward co-worker of Dawn's. I have a way of falling for secondary characters. Dawn herself never quite made the break into her own that she needed. The other characters who dominated who she was got lives of the own that took them away so she was allowed to develop. But she didn't do the changing herself, she was passive, would leave and let them decide.

The mother and sister make this very eccentric, to little semi-prude me anyway. A decent beach read, quick easy and light. Not high on my list, though.

ThisNext:: Fred and Friends

I like when artists and designer take a concept and remake it with something different or put it outside of where it's supposed to be. With this creamer container, it's still very close to the original paper carton but it's made of glass.

the seller says:
Got cream? The Half Pint Creamer is an artfully blown and molded glass creamer that captures the comforting familiarity of a mini milk carton, just like the ones from the school cafeteria. Simple and whimsical, a wonderful addition to any breakfast table.
Measures 2.75" wide x 4.25" tall.

from Fred and Friend on Elsewares.

As always, if you want to follow my picks between Tuesdays you can check them out here or subscribe.

Also, I've started a list for Father's day. Hope you'll check it out.
:)

WB- Rejuved

I've been away from much of my online life for a while. I tapped in just enough to stay updated on what's what, thanks largely to Twitter. I needed a break, to step back, to evaluate things that I need to do offline, that I've put off. Now, I'm not gonna lie. I didn't get nearly as much done as I could have. But I feel better. I'm reading to start again.

Breaks, vacations, seclusions are so necessary I'm finding, from your job definitely, but from life sometimes too. I tend to be incredibly cerebral so to just veg a little, not worry about my shop (Hello, what?!) and get other things done was so nice.

Post Picture: Charles Dickens in book form (Our Mutual Friend) and e-book form (Little Dorrit). (iPod Touch...how I love you!) I read a lot during this break. I'm probably one of few who would simul-read two Dickens books. The Masterpiece Theater adaptation of Little Dorrit was fabulous. I got the book for free on iTunes.

ThisNext :: pixelthis

I love clocks. It's a genetic thing...like loving the Yankees. This new find (and favorite) is from pixelthis. It's made from bike wheel. (We're also a family of bicyclers) Simple and modern. I find the red hands very striking.

As always, if you want to follow my picks between Tuesdays you can check them out here or subscribe.
:)