Drums and stuff
So, my husband has recently gotten out of the woodworking business. Jay was really, really good at crafting fine furniture, but we never wound up selling anything. Fine, people, go buy your crappy particle-board furniture at Wal-mart. You get what you pay for.
So anyway, another of Jay’s many talents is percussion. He did really well in marching band (he ranked really high in the state contest) and went on to teach drum lessons, which he’s been doing on and off since the early 90s. Starting this summer, he may be the go-to guy for private percussion instruction for a local ISD’s band kids. And he’s also starting to play drums for our church’s worship team. So, needless to say, he needed to purchase a drum set.
Now, I knew drum sets were expensive, but I knew nothing about cymbals, which I thought were just glorified trash-can lids. Apparently not. I am not usually a cheap-skate, but when I heard what cymbals go for, I just about fainted.
Anyway, I’m kind of excited that Jay’s finally getting a drum set. He sold his previous one right before we met. I’ve always wanted to learn to play the drums. Is it too late to be a rockstar? 
Inconceivable!
I finally watched The Princess Bride all the way through tonight. I have seen bits and pieces of it many times, but never the whole thing.
I have this really bad habit of never being able to sit still through anything, especially an entire movie. Now, if I’m in a theater, it’s different… but if I’m at home and there’s other things to do (and there always is), I’ll eventually get up and do something else.
So, there are many, many movies that I haven’t seen at all (ie – Wizard of Oz, Godfather trilogy, Shawshank Redemption, MANY more), and movies I’ve only seen very little of (Star Wars movies, Indiana Jones movies, most musicals and classics).
It’s interesting, though, because I LOVE great film. Here’s my top list (of the ones I’ve actually seen all the way through!) [Disclaimer: I'm not condoning some of these as ones you want to watch with your family ... so be forewarned.]
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Office Space (1999)
- Amelie (French w/English subtitles) (2001)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
- Fight Club (1999)
- House of Yes (1997)
- Clerks (1994)
- Almost anything directed by Christopher Guest
- Chicago (2002)
- Sling Blade (1996)
- Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
- Monsters, Inc. (2001)
The bargain queen strikes again
I don’t know why, but every fall, I wait until the first day I step outside and feel a cool breeze – like today – to think about purchasing fall/winter clothes. So, this morning I realized I had nary a stitch for my daughter to wear this fall … everything she has now is spring/summer (save a couple of hand-me-downs).
A woman on a mission, I left the house this morning determined to find the child a cute fall wardrobe on a shoestring budget. I scoured five stores – one consignment shop, two Goodwills, one Salvation Army, one thrift store (And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.) I returned home, having spent a grand total of $47.47 on the following:
- One pair of khakis and two pairs of jeans
- Two long sleep shirts – one is Pooh and pals, the other is a retro “Cabbage Patch Kids” t-shirt dated 1983 on the tag. It features a girl on a swing with 3D (yarn) braided pigtails coming off of the shirt.
- Outerwear: one beautiful Gap lambswool sweater/’coat’ lined with 100% cotton, and one fleece pullover from Old Navy
- 12 long-sleeved shirts … some striped, some with flowers, several are embellished
- 3 dresses
- 3 Sandra Boynton books, an Anne Geddes baby counting book, and a kids’ science book
All the clothing was in perfect or near-perfect condition – no stains, holes, or major wear. Oh – and the best thing? I found great name-brands at a fraction of the price. Brands in this bunch of clothing included The Children’s Place, Baby Gap, Old Navy, Sprockets, OshKosh, Specialty Kids and Cherokee Kids. They’re currently getting a good wash and they’re about to be as good as new.
I do still need to find some more pants for her, but I think that’s a pretty good start for the money, eh?
Aaaah… nostalgia
Yep, I’m an 80′s kid. Well, I was born in 1978, but most of my fondest childhood memories are from the 80s, let’s just put it that way. Ah, yes, playing with my Shrinky-Dinks and Pogo Ball … eating Jello gelatin pops and Marshmallow Rice Krispies … the multi-colored shoelaces … the flourescent ’day-glo’ clothing (eeek!)
I do have one thing to say: if the older generations wonder why our generation is so “weird,” they may want to remember the kind of TV programs our little minds were filled with back then. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Seriously, I’m a big fan of all things retro, including classic 80s kids TV programs. You can find a lot of 80s show clips on YouTube, but I’d give some serious $$ for full-length videos of some of these programs.
Here’s a list of some of the shows (click on them for links to video clips) I watched as a kid. I guess that explains a lot. I’ll add to the list as I find more.
Sesame Street Retro Pinball Counting Video 1-12
Sesame Street Aliens yep, yep, yep, yep, uh-huh, uh-huh …
Mr. Wizard’s World Intro (theme song)
3-2-1 Contact Intro (theme song)
Square One PBS show Intro (theme song)
Out of Control (with Dave Coulier) show Intro (theme song)
You Can’t Do That On Television Intro (theme song)
Kids Incorporated Intro (theme song)
Small Wonder Intro (theme song)
Today’s Special Intro (theme song)
The Adventures of the Little Koala Intro (theme song)
The Mysterious Cities of Gold Intro (theme song)
Count Duckula Intro (theme song)
Knitwit
After seeing a friend whip up a baby blanket on her new Knifty Knitter loom recently, I was inspired to go out and buy one.
First the station wagon, then the minivan, now the knitting … all I need now is a rocking chair and a cat sitting at my feet.
