Where's the ON Button?

Pinterest Monday has become a tradition on the Scraptastic blog, a tradition that gets us thinking outside the box and trying new things. The stitched-look lettering of the pin we chose to highlight this week gave me the idea to highlight one particular word of my title. Why did I choose to scrap a cassette? It's a story about changing technology that my family still finds amusing!

The stitched theme was carried over to the quilt-look cardstock squares:

Stitched Squares How-To: Cut (8) 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch squares of red polka dot patterned paper. Cut a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 square from the heart patterned paper, then quarter it by cutting on the diagonal to form 4 triangles from each square. Cut another 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch square from the blue dot patterned paper, then quarter as described above. Arrange as shown, adhere and sew around edges if desired.

Stitched Lettering How-To: After choosing your word, print in desired font and size on printer paper. Using a pencil, scratch on the reverse side of the paper, then trace letter on right side to transfer image to cardstock. Using pencil and ruler, lightly draw diagonal lines across letters, then punch holes along the perimeter of each letter where the lines intersect. Erase pencil lines and then stitch with 3 strands of embroidery thread.

Papers, stickers, cork stars, tag, and Thickers are from Scraptastic's Shake It Off kit and add-on. Triangle border is from Scraptastic's Free Fallin' stamp set.

THIS Will Be A Scrapbook Page One Day-Funny!

It's like that picture of a pencil and a cassette.

We're trying to figure out what to do with all our old audio equipment. You know...component systems, oversized and outdated:

There's really no need to keep any of it. Do you think I'll suddenly want to play those LPs from the 70s...on a turntable!? Nah...doubt it.

I already threw out all our old cassettes so the dinosaur cassette deck is a real waste of space.

Consider the set of gargantuan speakers that flank the equally obsolete entertainment center. Just give me some tiny Bose instead. Once that big piece of furniture is emptied, it's going too. Maybe we'll keep the CD changer...but maybe not.

 

So...we're talking about all this obsolete equipment and my 13 year old asks "What's a cassette?"

I happen to have some in a box for Goodwill, so I take one out to show him. He looks at it, kinda remembers seeing these before, and wonders aloud,

"Where's the ON button?"

Seriously! We were killing ourselves laughing. Wow.

At The Car Wash

Ever wonder what's on a 10 year old kid's bucket list? Well, one day a couple of months ago, Kevin tells me, "Mom, do you know what I REALLY want to do one day?" I had no idea. Go to a favorite band's live concert performance? Vacation in Walt Disney World? Ride some fantastical roller coaster? "What, Kevin?" I ask. "I want to go through a car wash!" he answers. WHAT?! A car wash?! How has he not experienced this? It boggles my mind...both that he has never been through an automated car wash...and that it stands out for him as something not to be missed. LOL! So, a few days later we hop into Julie's dirty car and go. I had to take pictures of this momentous occasion and memorialize them on a scrapbook page:

Dear Santa

Don't know who to attribute this to, but it's precious!

Dear Santa:

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground, and thirty-five rolls of wrapping paper so my son can win a plastic whistle.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a Target receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,
MOM

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Whatever!

I couldn't resist creating an Obamicon with this photo of Kevin. His exasperated expression is too funny. The teenage years are going to be soooo much fun...NOT!



[DISCLAIMER: This image is in no way a statement of my political views, or my son's, one way or the other!]

You can create your very own 4-color poster in the style of Shepard Fairey by going to http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/. Upload a photo, choose a message, and be "Obamiconed"!

The Great Outdoors

We had the most beautiful weather for our Cub Scout Pack's annual fall camp-out! Days were warm and slightly breezy, while nights had the perfect amount of chill to make the campfire and snuggly sleeping bags well appreciated. For the first time, Kevin and I slept out both nights!

Little Black Creek Campground, Lumberton, MS was our destination and the drive from home took almost 2 hours. We pulled into the camp ground just as the sun and temperatures were dipping. I hurriedly set up our new tent not far from the fire circle and set off for my dinner duty, browning Texas toast garlic bread over one of the BBQ pits. Spaghetti and meatballs rounded out the meal. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing by the fire and by 10PM a bored little boy was ready for bed. None of his Bear scout buddies were arriving until the next day so going to sleep seemed like the best way to hasten the arrival of morning. Tucked into his sleeping bag, he was soon asleep, but I couldn't figure out which was more comfortable, in or out, and spent most of the night alternating between the two. I missed my mattress and by morning, my back ached! A trip into town for Aleve was put on the day's agenda.

We did a little cheating before bed and in the morning by driving down to the restrooms in the van. Tee-hee! Well, hey...it's uncomfortable walking such a distance when you really have to go!

After a breakfast of donuts, milk and cereal, other campers, including Kevin's best friend, began arriving and filled in the rest of the campground with tents. Morning activities included sack races, egg toss, and tug-of-war. I'd swear those eggs were pre-boiled as they bounced and rolled around in the grass when the kids missed a toss. Lunch consisted of hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, cookies, and chips. Then, it was on to afternoon activities, which were both instructional and fun!

At the first station, the boys were taught elements of survival...what to pack for a wilderness adventure, using a compass and making a map, rope tying, shelter building, and how to make a sling for an injured camper using just sticks and a tarp. Another station taught them the basics of building a fire: the four necessary ingredients (tender, kindling, fuel, and oxygen), what to use to start a fire (matches, magnifying glass, or flint and steel), fire safety, and different fire construction methods. The third activity was canoing...always a favorite! Then they learned how to cook potatoes in the embers of a campfire by peeling, cutting, and wrapping them in foil. Yum! Since Kevin is not a big potato-eater, his leftovers became my afternoon snack. There's something extra tasty about potatoes cooked over a fire.

Saturday nights at the camp-out are always the best! First we enjoyed a dinner of salad, BBQ chicken, and potatoes with all the fixings. Then the kids separated into dens for a scavenger hunt in the dark. A pack tradition, one of the men dresses up in a bear/wolf/where-wolf suit and jumps out at the kids. They scream and carry on and run around like a pack of wolves themselves, even though they've been expecting it all evening. Finally it was time for s'mores, those roasted marshmallow, chocolate, and graham cracker goodies that can never be duplicated at home. No problem getting the kids to bed this evening...they were worn out!

Sunday morning was big breakfast day: pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits and grits. Then it was time to clean up the grounds, pack up the tents and gear and head on home. Yep...I was ready. I love the great outdoors, but am so ready to sleep in my own bed again!

A memorable quote:

Kevin (overheard while he and Christian were playing inside our tent): "Let's pretend like we're relaxing!"

LOL! Why pretend?! Isn't that what camp-outs are for?!

Too Much Spongebob?

Kevin says he's hungry.
Tommy asks what he wants for lunch.
He replies, dead serious, "A peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich."
Tee-hee-hee!

He realizes what he said only after we crack up laughing!

Yep...too much Spongebob.

Roe Vs. Wade

When asked his thoughts on Roe vs. Wade on a recent trip to tour the devastated areas of New Orleans, President Bush said, "I don't care HOW you get those people out of the city next time!"

When I told this joke to some online friends recently, they had to read it a few times. I didn't realize they would have such a hard time "getting" it! Katrina, the flood, and countless stories of rescue and survival are still prominent topics in the New Orleans newspaper and around town. I even have two "coffee table" books about it already! LOL!

Restaurant Funnies

The infamous Cracker Barrel Incident occurred about 10 years ago, when Brendan was 3. We were on our way back from a company Christmas party in Nashville and had stopped for lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant. Seated at a long table against the window, we were pouring over the menus when we notice B-boy standing up in his chair, pulling down his pants, underwear included! Well, you know how things begin to move in slow motion at times like these? An eternity later, we had him seated with all clothes in place, and asked him what in the world he thought he was doing. "I farted and was just checking my pants," he said nonchalantly. Tears mixing with food, we giggled and choked our way through the entire meal!

Another day, we were taking the family out of eat...again. At the TGIFriday's in Memphis, there was a gold colored bowl attached to the wall just inside the door. Filled with sand, it was a signal for smokers to extinguish their cigarettes before entering the seating area. Well, Brendan reaches right up, dips his fingers in the bowl, and makes the sign of the cross. He thought it was a holy water font! LOL! Meanwhile the hostess informs us of the very long wait, so we were able to leave and continue our laughing in the car.

Clean Rooms

The "cable guy" was coming to switch our phones to cable this morning. I was told that they would be working outside but then may need to check the inside jacks if there were problems. Well, since there are jacks in every room in the house...including all the kids bedrooms, I've been threatening them all week long. Their rooms had to be cleaned up (no clothes under the bed, vacuumed floors, relatively neat and clean) for this morning. You should have seen the dust flying last night! LOL! (I don't even go into their rooms unless it's an emergency usually!) So today the kids' rooms are sparkling clean, all the mess picked up, the cable telephone is installed...

and they didn't even have to come inside! ROFL!

What can I have installed next?

Priorities

We had to leave the photo albums HOME when we evacuated two days ago! We took three cars (the van, Laura's and Julie's), but were still afraid of putting too much weight in the trunks. I absolutely refused to leave without my scrapbooks, baby books, wedding album and one-of-a-kind pics. We decided to take all of the negatives (20+ years worth) instead of the actual albums. I felt terrible leaving the photo albums, but there were just too many, so I put them in plastic bins and off the floor in an interior room, hoping for the best.

It's funny how priorities are different! My neice packed 2 suitcases full of clothes. I brought 2 changes! LOL!

New Governor

Bobby Jindal losses to Kathleen Blanco.

I read the papers, keep up with current events, watch political debates, etc. and go to the polls. Now that the results are in, I am so disgusted! Same ole, same ole for Louisiana! We pay our taxes, yet the schools are so pitiful we have to send our kids to private schools for a decent education. Next year, the tuition bill for 5 kids (with the oldest 2 paying part of their way) will be over $20,000!!! And the state remains in the dark ages!

There's this joke..."The fellow is leaving the football stadium, where LSU just whooped Alabama, and he stops to ask for directions back to Louisiana. The guy at the gas station tells me, 'Just go ahead to the next intersection, take a right, hop on the interstate, and when you reach the Mississippi/Louisiana border turn back the clock 12 years. Then you're there!' " LOL! Sounds about right.