I have a bad case of the Fluevog

What exactly is the Fluevog?  Well, it's like the regular flu but I'm feverish from finding this website: http://www.fluevog.com/index.html.  My body gets chills when I see the optional colors and I get the sniffles when I realize that the truth is, in my heart, I am too cheap to spend very much on shoes.  If I weren't, though- I would want every pair, in every color.  Thanks to my friends Mel and Carly- I think- for pointing me in the direction of this site.  That's makes this discovery viral, right?

In my opinion- crafting trends...

I had a hard time identifying trends at this CHA.  Part of my issue was sleep-deprivation (if you only see some friends once a year, sleeping is just wasting time, right?) and then there is amazement over-load (so many pretties to look at makes my brain kind of shut down from over-stimulation sometimes) but then there was the fact that maybe there weren't really any huge identifying trends from this show.  We've had the angel wing, birds, owls, retro mushroom phases but those things were still present in a lot of companies lines.  So, it took me awhile but it wasn't until I got home that something concrete occured to me.  A big thank you to ScrapScene for asking my opinion and then publishing it here: http://www.scrapscene.com/2010/02/scrapbooking-trends-2010-by-angela-daniels.html

P.S. I don't really know what this picture is supposed to represent (me seeing trends through my Fiskateer scissors?) but my friend Pattye says she doesn't like to read what I wrote- she only looks at the pictures...

Spelling the Alphabet

Because I am a geek about linguistics and related subjects, I am posting this so I don't have to look it up elsewhere.  I once read that Barbara Walters is great at Scrabble and one strategy she has is spelling letters (or maybe I just thought I read that- who really knows).  Anyway, whatever I read, it intrigued me enough to search for the correct spellings on Wikipedia (and if it's on Wikipedia it MUST be true, right?):

While many sites attempt to spell alphabetic characters phonetically (A=ay, O=oh, etc) the true names of the letters of the English alphabet (according to the American Heritage Dictionary) are:
A=a
B=bee
C=cee
D=dee
E=e
F=ef
G=gee
H=aitch
I=i
J=jay
K=kay
L=el
M=em
N=en
O=o
P=pee
Q=cue
R=ar
S=ess
T=tee
U=u
V=vee
W=double-u
X=ex
Y=wye
Z=zee or zed
Note that vowels are spelled with their own single letter:
A=a
E=e
I=i
O=o
U=u
The only letters that do not contain themselves in their spelling are:
Q=cue
W=double-u

Shazam!

 Lightening stikes twice- check pages 28-29 in the brand spankin' new issue of Apron-o-logy Volume II.  Oh yes, there I am in all my hilarity (really, the editors need to remind me that if I write something to go along with my project they might use it word for word).  I've only been to Barnes and Nobel once so far to pick it up off the shelf, thumb to my page and say (very loud, naturally), "WHAT? Is that MY article in this GORGEOUS magazine?"  My family thinks this is very funny although they pretend to ignore me.

And in case you're a fan- you can get it online directly from Stampinton.  It's got some (other) gorgeous aprons to inspire you: http://www.stampington.com/html/apronology.html

And as a side bonus, if you are a friend of the fabulous Margot Potter, there's a ridiculously huge ad of her (and her cute daughter) on the back cover.  You can prop it up at the table and pretend to chat with her over breakfast. Or over cocktails which is what I plan to do. Just be careful not to spill on her.

Candy Alert! (re: Jolly Ranchers)

Oh MY STARS.  I have previously complained that Jolly Rancher candies were purchased by Hershey several years ago and consequently the candy world experienced the tragic loss of the iconic, square shaped lollipops that were a mainstay of my Jolly Rancher diet (post the availability of the original JR sticks).  It was a dark day and not one that was brightened by Hershey's introduction of the ridiculously and depressingly ordinary, oval shaped lollies.  It's all about the smoothness and surface area when you find a good square lollipop as any true candy affecianado can tell you. But really, what do you expect of chocolate people?

So tonight, my sweet little girl offers to give me a candy from a recent party goody bag.  WHAT THE HECK?!  Looks as though Hershey decided to send me a little early Valentine's Day love.  They're making limited edition, heart-shaped lollies in my favorite flavors: Pink Lemonade, Cherry, Watermelon and Apple (don't even talk to me about that horrid grape flavor, I'm just glad it didn't make the cut).  They're not square but they have that nice, flat surface area that is so key.  So from me to you, Hershey: I love you too but my love is definitely conditional. 

To  the rest of you: stock up!  It'll be a long year from this Valentine's Day to the next.  This alert is my Valentine to you.

Superhero- Fiskateer Style

I just got back from the winter CHA show and there was just something in the air this show.  I have a million creative ideas swirling through my head and a million more memories of all the fun I had with everyone who attended.  We had a green screen in our booth which, for a convention full of scrapbookers was Heaven.  I am afraid that there are almost as many photos of me and my fellow Lead Fiskateers captured with the software from www.photobasics.net than there are of the other conventioneers.  As I look back through them all, this one is my favorite shot I took- you know I wish I were a real superhero so this might be as close as I get (gotta love the orange superhero tights).  I guess I'll be on the look out to save people from using non-Fiskars scissors, etc.

Big hugs go out to Fiskars for knowing how to make things FUN- not very many companies get that.  And a shout out to our new friends at www.photobasics.net for letting us use their home lighting system and green screen technology.  Who would have guessed it was so easy to become a superhero?

Haven't Blogged in Forever!

But I've been so busy working with these little critters:

And there was a fabulous holiday party or two:

And then there are the projects I'm doing for CHA:

But when I'm done with all this, I'm going to blog like there's no tomorrow.  Maybe.

Craftastrophe

The list of websites that I would'a, could'a, should'a continues to grow at an exponential rate.  I'm sorry to say that I wish I had thought of this website even though it's not always encouraging to my crafty brethren.  I try to put on an encouraging smile at local craft shows but inside?  I will never NOT laugh when I see anything that is made to be a toilet paper cosey.  And I will never not cringe when I see a craft project that incorporates plastic doll parts of any kind- particularly if they're coupled with crocheted afghan squares.  I am ALL about embracing a love for crafting and handmade goodies but I do have my limits. 

On the other hand, keep 'em coming because they're funny.  That's why I wish this were my website (although I might choose the words for my blog posts a little more carefully...):

http://craftastrophe.net/

And P.S.  I actually kind of want this chia pet deer head trophy pin.  Is that wrong?

How to pick great books for gifts

As an aside from my usual discussions of candy and crafting, I thought I would take a moment to give you some tips on picking books for gifts this holiday season.  Reading is one of my ultimate pleasures.  I will read nearly anything if I'm desperate enough but I do have a few guidelines I follow when I'm buying a book:

1.  Judge a book by it's cover. 

Go ahead, ignore the old cliché.  If a book looks really cheesey, it probably is.  I did a Google search for "ugly book cover" to add a nice image to this blog post and was dismayed to find yet ANOTHER website that I should have thought of first: http://judgeabook.blogspot.com/. I think it illustrates my point well.

2.  Review the reviewers.

A good book will have specific praise from literary notables.  If the book in question has been reviewed by a periodical held in high regard for it's quality of writing (Sorry "People," I'm talking about The New Yorker, The New York Times, etc), it's probably worth reading.  If the book has been reviewed by some random authors that you may or may not have heard of, beware.  I believe the legal term for this type of review is "quid pro quo."

3.  Check the adjectives.

I love to read autobiographies and I love memoirs even more (yep, there's a difference).  This is more personal taste than anything else but I almost always gag a little when an author of a memoir is described as "brave."  Ick.

4.  Go with a crush.

If you have a book-crush on an author, go with it.  I will buy every David Sedaris book ever published.  I'm only slightly annoyed if they contain the same stories I've read in other collections before.  It's DAVID, you know.

That's it.  Just some guidelines.  I still bought Kathy Griffin's new memoir (it's pretty funny) and I can't help it, I kind of want the book about cats in wigs I saw at the bookstore today.  It's just so WRONG and yet so good, all at the same time...

And if you're wondering how I like my Kindle 4 months later?  Mommy wuvs her widdle Kindle, oh yes she does... who's the cutest widdle ewectronic?

Waiting for Laundromat Land

Angela just ruined another meal for her family in Café World!

Facebook games are out of control.  And I can judge like that because I'm scared to start playing them.  If you read my blog, you might have guessed that I have a teensy-tiny obsessive quality to my nature.  I have to guard against temptation whenever I'm strong enough to do so.  But Cyber cooking?  Dude.  I don't even like to REAL cook.  And FarmVille?!  You have to do CHORES every day? What's next?  e-Housecleaning?  No thank you.  What about Cyber Bar or Spa World?  Give me something like that and I won't surface until spring.