Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

With mere minutes to spare, we managed to transform Miss Lizzie into a rabbit popping out of a magic hat for Halloween. I'm absolutely serious. It's not that I've been procrastinating...not really...

Miss Lizzie will be accompanied by an Olympic Athlete & a Ninja. I have no concerns about her safety. Both girls are trained in Tai Kwan Do.

Okay, maybe there was a bit of procrastinating going on this afternoon. When I should have been home preparing Lizzie's top hat, I was out taking pictures of some of the decorated homes in our neighbourhood. One of the homes is a Haunted House. The owners completely decorate the outside AND inside of the house and allow people through the house. Local acting students & other volunteers provide additional excitement throughout. I guess it takes about 6 weeks to set up and all proceeds from donations are given to a local cancer clinic. I was 'dying' to go inside, but they weren't quite ready for visitors yet.

I'm a week late in posting photos but here are the jars from the Saucy's Zombie Swap.

My swap partner was my new friend Sweet Sassy, and I adore what she came up with. On the inside is a skull, spiders and some wonderful silvery skull beads. She glued more skulls and pearl and clean bead to the outside. A very scary spider sits on top.

The piece de resistance is that she went onto my blog & printed out photos from some of my posts, added scary labels and pasted them to these silver doo-dads. They hang from the belly cephalothorax (fancy word, huh?) of the spider into the jar.

And if that isn't enough she also put in two of her special toggle bracelets for Lizzie and me. And some candy...

This is the jar I sent Sassy. She is a newlywed and I used this as the theme for my jar. I attached a bit of 'bling' to the ribbons around the neck of the jar. I put skeleton parts, fall leaves, and jack o'lanterns on the bottom. I filled the jar with black tulle, and nestled a skeleton bride & groom inside.

true love never dies

The 'dreadful' couple just prior to being entombed in the jar. Aren't they adorable! I included some embroidered tea towels (Halloween-themed of course) and I packaged everything in dried leaves. We have lots of those around so it was a pretty cost-effective & I guess environmentally friendly way to ensure nothing got broken. I wish I'd taken a picture. I made sure to print a warning for the outside so she didn't open the box inside and get leaves all over her beautiful house.

This was a great swap. Thanks so much to Saucy for organizing it.

Hope everyone's Halloween was deliciously scary.

The truth about Disney

As a 5 time veteran of the Disney experience, I feel it is my duty to inform you of the truth behind the "magic". Therefore, I present to you...

DISNEY

Exhibit #1: Plunging straight down a waterfall into a thatch of thorns whilst riding a hollowed out log. (AKA Splash Mountain)

Exhibit #2: Powerfully dangerous explosives located just steps away from families lounging. Will that rope fence protect these precious children? I suspect not. 

Exhibit #3: Runaway trains! Looks pretty calm I know, but I assure you, this was the calm BEFORE THE STORM (AKA Thunder Mountain)

Exhibit #4: Working the Disney employees like slaves while everyone stands around and watches. Plus they make everyone wear awful plastic ponchos (AKA: clearing water off the pavement after a rainstorm to make sure the High School Musical 3 performers don't slip)

Exhibit #5: Poorly maintained roadways filled with burning vehicles and flash floods (AKA Studio Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios)

Exhibit #6: Noisy neighbours that play loud music in the recording studio at all hours. (AKA Rock n' Roller Coaster)

In an effort to redeem themselves, they did give everyone backstage passes to their latest show and chauffeured us in a HIGH-SPEED limousine all the way to the show. It was terrifying.

Exhibit #7: Again with the maintenance problems. Can you believe the elevator dropped our entire party 12 stories in the dark?! (AKA Tower of Terror)

Exhibit #8: Parking is terrible. Remind me to tell you about the flagrant abuse of strollers we witnessed. Shameful.

Exhibit #9: This is the most damning evidence of all. Everywhere we looked, we saw evidence of a SERIOUS rodent infestation, yet they seem to do nothing about it. Unbelievable?!

Seriously though, both Disneyworld and Disneyland are wonderful places to visit for families. We first took Lizzie when she was 5 and we thought that was the best age. She could walk around and not tire out too quickly. Plus she was tall enough for most of the rides. 

We had a great Disney holiday!

A little behind...

Yes, I admit, my behind is little, a little flat that is, no booty for this girl, not a lot of junk in my trunk. But that's not what I'm talking about.

I am alluding to the fact that I am still trying to organize holiday photos, and get caught up on some other photos and projects. I plan to do some fun posts later in the weekend.

Thanks for all the kind words for Miss Lizzie. She recovered about 1/2 way through our holiday and got to ride all the favourite rides. In fact, we all recovered so we had 2 days out of 10 where we were all feeling healthy at the same time. Not exactly the most fun holiday, but we managed to pack a lot into a couple of days.

Talk to you soon, little chickens.

xoxo

Miss O.R.

Where?

We were in Orlando! Unfortunately Miss Lizzie got her very first ear infection and was down and out for a major portion of our much anticipated holiday. There's something so sad about a little girl clutching her ear and crying out to just go home, when she's mere steps from the wonderful world of Disney. This photo was taken on one of the occasions we escaped from our hotel room prison to enjoy some poolside sunshine, no more swimming for us. I managed to sneak out for some shopping fun and have a few treasures to share.

This was before the evil infection set in and threatened our holiday happiness. The truly sad part is that I think the ear infection was caused by water in her ears. She was recovering from stomach flu and then more susceptible to the new bug. I gotta say though, antibiotics truly work miracles.

Travel Tip #2 & #3

Thinking of going away on a holiday? Put your child in a germ-free bubble to keep them away from those nasty bugs all kids seem to pick up at school. I'd say they need at least a week off of school BEFORE a holiday to ensure they stay healthy. Plus, you should probably stay home from work. Just sayin'

And travel with a full array of pain killers, anti-emetics, cold medicines, cotton balls, anti-depressants, etc. Oh and band aids too, in case you are like me and tend to cut yourself while shaving. Boo.

Guess where we are?

Hint: it's not Medicine Hat.

Travel Tip #1

Feel frustrated by the long lines at security at the airport?

Take along a puking child. The people in front of you will part like the Red Sea and security pretty much waves you on by...as long as you don't set off the alarms I suppose.

We learned this quite recently by experience.

I'm a weirdo

One of the things I love about having a blog is that it made me realize that there are other people out there like me. Sometimes around here I feel like a freak of nature. You might remember me saying earlier that I always have to be doing something. This might be studying or, more likely, some type of crafting. I always have something to do, whether I'm waiting for Lizzie at school or waiting for Lizzie at skating or waiting for Lizzie at piano. I do a lot of waiting. But I can't imagine just sitting there doing nothing.

This has made me a bit of an oddity at all these events. The other ladies normally just sit and chat while they are waiting. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy this. This is why I don't read anymore when I'm out. I'm too busy chatting along with everyone else. But I still have to keep my hands busy. So I knit or crochet or embroider or something else like that. Everyone is so curious about what I'm doing.

I had a scary moment this summer when I was waiting for Lizzie to finish skating at the leisure centre. Some adolescent boys were slinking around the joint. I was alternately looking at my embroidery and watching Lizzie on the ice. I heard voices coming closer to where I was sitting, but I kept my head down. However, after quick sideways glance, I couldn't deny it any longer. I was surrounded...by a gang of adolescent boys! I did a quick inventory of my purse...could I use my embroidery scissors as a weapon? What about my needle? Car keys? Would I have to surrender Lizzie's concession money? I summoned up my courage and looked up. "What are you doing?", one boy asked. Freaking out, I mumbled, "just sewing". My heart was pounding. What did they want? "That's cool", another boy said. "My grandma does that", said a third. Great. And they sauntered off. My dignity and possessions were intact. But for that 15 second, I thought my life was in danger.

That's sort of how I felt today at skating, when I pulled out these:

I was surrounded by a group of moms. "What are they?" a mom asked. "Napkins", I answered, because they are 1" napkins. There was silence all around.  "Of course" was the reply. I sensed some mental eye-rolling going on. "It's okay, we still love you", comforted one mom. "My grandma does that", said someone else. I blushed and felt a little weird about my love of crafting. A little bit like a strange insect that's crawled out of the woodwork.

I could always stop doing stuff, but I still have the problem of what to do with my hands. Oh why, oh why can't I just sit. 

Because then I wouldn't have time to hem 24 miniature napkins for my Club Little House submission. That's why.

Plus after blogging for a while I realize that there are other ladies like me who really understand why I HAVE to sew these napkins.

Oh, and I decided that I don't like my dark hair any more. I've got to go back to blond.

That's for reading my rant. And understanding.

A smattering of Halloween decor

With a little extra time on my hands, I decided to pull out a few Halloween goodies from our box downstairs. Halloween is by far our favourite decorating holiday but this year we are toning it down as we'll be away for part of the month. We usually drape our porch columns with lengths of black lace and create a graveyard in the flower beds. We even have ghosts and witches flying around. This year, we are going for simplicity.

Forgive the shoddy photography. It was cloudy until I pulled out the camera, not that I'm complaining of course. The sunshine is always welcome.

This wreath is much nice than it looks here. A combination of black feather, a few fall leaves, a skeleton, and the odd jack o'lantern here and there. The letters on the circles spell S-P-O-O-K-Y.

Even my garden bunny got in the spirit with a little ribbon bow around his neck.

We must make sure that everyone is aware of the house rules before the big night. In case you can't read it, the sign says:

• No Haunting before midnight
  
• Graveyard reservations members only
  
• No broom parking - 12am-6am
  
• Blood transfusions Mon-Fri - see the Count
  
• Class requirement: Haunting for Dummies, Friday 9pm-12am
  

And, trust me, we enforce these rules.

The Spooky Cat is our new acquisition from Winners. They always have the most unique stuff. A little bow around his neck makes him look a little less scary I'm afraid.

On the bench, we have a witch cavorting with another garden bunny. I have felt covers for my porch pillows. Again with the jack o'lantern, and a ghost. If I have time I want to make a tunic and witch hat for my gnome so he fits in too.

In 2 years our house will be a century old. It's been very updated and restored in places and we love it. About a dozen years ago, the house wasn't in such great shape, and the owner opened up the house as a "Haunted Mansion". It was the scariest house on the block. The house is not nearly so scary now. Part of me would love to do something similar, but the thought of a bunch of strangers tramping through the house is scarier than a haunted house would be! 

A good day for surprises

On Wednesday, I knew that I had a long night in front of me, filled with a lot of writing. I obviously wasn't looking forward to it, but I was so excited to come home to the notification that a package was waiting for me at the post office. I rushed downtown right away.

My Fall apron arrived all the way from Australia. Look at this retro goodness, in my favourite green no less.

Some darling leaves along the right side.

Plus handmade pot holder and tea towel.

And the most luscious smelling bar of soap. I'm dying to try it out, but the packaging is too lovely.

Thank you so much Liesl. It was perfect timing.

The happiest place on earth?

Warning: the pictures herein do not accurately depict the writer at her best. View at your own risk.

Apparently not. I was doing some cleaning today and I came across some pictures of a Disney trip from about 5 years ago. Not sure why, but I guess I wasn't feeling too happy when this picture was taken. Check out that sneer. Lizzie's chubby little 5 year old cheeks look quite delectable though. 

It looks like I wasn't too happy here either. Perhaps Minnie Mouse was hitting on Javier. She's such a tramp, with those bloomers sticking out the bottom of her dress & that red bow on her head. Javier looks quite pleased with the whole situation. Lizzie looks to have her mind on something else already.

Yeah, I guess this is where the happy drugs kicked in. The Winnie the Pooh ride was thrilling.

Thank goodness for digital photography. Now we can do re-do photos.

Yawn

This is what I've looked like the past week or so, except I'm a woman, of course. Javier and I enjoyed a little getaway to Calgary last weekend. Just the two of us for a little theatre, shopping, and cocktails. It was heaven.

The all hell broke loose and I feel like I've been running ever since. Two term papers, three days of work, some really late nights. I'm exhausted. This is my crunch time. Once the next week is over things should resume a normal pace. The end is in sight. Less than two months to graduation. Feels a bit like the tail end of a marathon, but I think I'm going to make it.

Thanks for staying with me everyone. I hope to get around for some 'visits' later this weekend.

Image source: www.subangboy.blogspot.com

Zombie jar production line

DISCLAIMER: This is not the jar that I will be send to my partner as that one will be under wraps until October 25th. Stay tuned to Saucy's special blog for details.

As so often happens when I'm in my craft room creating a way, a certain little 10-year-old slinks into the room to discover what's going on...."Can I help?" usually results. As much as I love working with sweet Lizzie, sometimes a girl has got to work on her own, ya know? Subsequently, I set Lizzie up with some leftover supplies so she could make her own sweet creation.

Isn't this pumpkin jar perfect? I originally earmarked it for my jar, but found it a little small for my grand ole plans. 

Miss Lizzie decided to seal a voodoo doll in her jar. Hopefully, she sealed in some special wishes too!

Some detail of the little extras Lizzie put in her jar. Hopefully, those aren't bones that Miss Voodoo Doll left behind. Could she be a cannibal? Eeek!

Unbelievable

I dropped little Lizzie off at a birthday party this afternoon. Can you believe one of the activities was NOSE piercing. I thought you need adult permission to do this? What are parents thinking? Now my little Lizzie is disfigured forever. See how awful she looks!

Okay, okay. I'm totally kidding. The nose ring is a fake. I admit I thought about not confessing right away in a shameless attempt to increase my comments. Any publicity is good publicity, right?

The birthday party was at a local belly dancing studio. The girl's all got dressed up in outfits supplied by the studio, complete with bindis.

I didn't get to stay at the party because I had work to do at home. Apparently belly dancing is "REALLY, REALLY FUN", says Lizzie. Ideas for Lizzie's 11th birthday are swirling around in my head.

Back from the dead

I'm back finally. I still have one night left but I think I hit my stride last night. I slept like a rock today, but I don't have that zombie-like feeling that I've had the past few days.  Seriously, I could have just taken a picture of myself, sealed it up in a jar, and sent it off to Chantelle as my Zombie Jar. However, I have some other ideas, so Chantelle is safe from having to look at my face in the jar.

Did you enjoy Lizzie's posts? I sure liked reading them. She's such a funny little girl, and she's very creative. Thank you Lizzie for helping me out for a few days.

This is one sight that gives me a little thrill every morning. These sycamore saplings grew from seeds left from a tree we had to (sadly) have removed a few years ago. They looked a bit pathetic in the heat of the summer, all droopy and such, but they turn such a beautiful orangey-red colour in the fall.

A little close up. We will probably have to weed out a few of the saplings soon or we'll have a veritable forest in the back yard. But they are sure pretty.

I'm looking forward to having a few days off so I can complete some projects and finish, er, start, some papers. Just as long as I can spend the night in my bed, I'll be happy.

Have a lovely weekend.

Image source for zombie: sharemyNZ

I don't know!

Lizzy again, I didn't know what to blog about today so this is my post. Sorry if I didn't meet my expectations of my later posts. 

(P.S. I got more math homework today!!!)

Image source: The SHUL website