This cartoon made me laugh - no thanks needed.

In this rain storm...

I must be hungry on this rainy day because my last posts have been about food or utensils...but this Drizzler is so charming - and very handy for putting those finishing touches on a cake or other dessert. I'm sure it could also function as a gravy boat - but, I ask you - who drizzles gravy?

Tools for eating...

Those Spoon Sisters are at it again! This silverware

is so great for the construction lover in your life!

Looking for an indoor project?

It's been rainy and snowy here - and it's always fun to have something to DO on those days - lest boredom lead you to do something drastic to your hair...I'm just sayin...

SO - you should head over to The Toy Maker workshop where they have all kinds of FREE printable paper projects, such as:

Make a magic wand

Or print pretty stationary just perfect for the upcoming Valentine's Day. And then send me one!

Or play with otter paper dolls - seriously.

There are lots of really fun things going on at The Toy Maker workshop - so get yourself on over there!

Bathroom update...

I love my bathroom. Just enough room - with plenty of wall space to do nice things and I love my shower curtain which is the same one that's in the basement at Chateau Malley. And here's my recent bathroom update project...The addition of a vinyl lettering project is so great! We had to fill a few nail holes and touch up the paint. By "we" I mean Macgyver. Also, thanks to Macgyver's laser level and mad math skills - it was all done in 15 minutes! HOO-AH!

The view from the throne...

Just hanging out...

Sunday night antics...

Sometimes - things are just too funny to not share with the world...

Equal parts: cool and awesome

This Banana Handle is such a great and kind of funny way to keep from burning yourself.

I was really impressed with this Measuring Cup and like how you get all kinds of random measurements.

This To Do Tattoo makes me a little crazy - because you should NOT be writing on your hands...but if you must - at least it will be nice and neat.

Have you ever seen a worse idea than this silverware? Because - yes - it helps you launch your food at targets. So...still kind of cool but still a bad idea.

President Hinckley

Calling all Cube Dwellers...

Just in case you're ever stuck in your cubicle and don't have a way to dig into your chicken Parmesan - these caps just go right on the end of your pen - and bon appetite!

Pretty and functional!

This bowl designed by Eva Solo is so cute and would be so handy for eating things that have some sort of residual element - like a shell or a stem or a pit. Head on over to Yanko Designs and check out the other stunning colors.

Cutting...

As a left hander - sometimes cutting things (fabric, paper, etc.) is very challenging. I was so happy when I got my left-handed sewing shears for my birthday - they are so lovely and make cutting fabric so easy! But heavens, I would NEVER use those shears for craft projects or really ANYTHING other than fabric. Which leaves the trick of cutting everything else...so I want one of these:
This new cutting tool from Scotch is beautiful and good for cutters of either hand. It also allows for more mobility during the cutting process - and for less than $8.00 at Office Depot - who can live without one?!

I'm sad I missed this...

According to The Cool Hunter, January 21 was also PARK(ing) Day where folks and artists are encouraged to transform parking spaces into parks. In San Francisco, an artists collective created the ParkCycle- a mobile park powered by a bicycle! What fun!

Remember how great Seasame Street was?

Singin' the blues...

So - if you really are bored and have nothing left on your TiVo to watch - head on over to the Blues Name Calculator - and you can join me, Crippled "Gumbo" Franklin, in singin' the nothin' to do blues...

Or you can get back to work - that laundry doesn't wash itself, apparently.

National Pie Day!

Hooray! Did you know that it's National Pie Day? Me either! Did you know that there was an American Pie Council? Me either!

But - I do love pie and so I'm excited to celebrate this great holiday! A great way to get in the spirit of the season is to visit the list of the best pies in America over at the Serious Eats blog. I was a little surprised to see the West including Texas and that Oregon didn't have any pie places make the list - huh. Happy National Pie Day!

Meeting of the minds...

So - as I've posted before - the Writer's Strike is causing pain for so many people. And I want to know how YOU are coping with the strike? With only re-runs of your favorite stories - what are you watching?

I've added a new show that I hadn't previously watched, but also isn't being affected by the strike:
Top Gear - is a delightful show from the BBC. It's a show about cars and all ground vehicles - and you do not have to be a motor head to enjoy this show. I don't really care about cars (as long as I've got a functioning vehicle, I'm happy.) but this show brings me so much joy - I laugh a lot and I love the presenters. So if you have BBC America, check out Top Gear. You will be glad you did!

But leave me a comment of what you are watching in these dark days of reruns and reality TV.

Can I make one of these?

Ja Cour posted this picture of a lamp on his Flickr account. - and I love it. But I can't figure out how it would function as a lamp. Where does the light come from? Where does the cord go? Any ideas?

Killer cooking!

These egg forms just make me laugh - and kind of scare me. You'd have to be really careful to whom you serve these eggs!

Don't tell my Dad...

So I know that I "know a guy" who can get me some serious jewelry - but I'm pretty impressed with The Carrot Box. Check out these bewitching rings...

OH! I'm her...

Did you ever watch movies and see a beautiful outfit and yell at the screen - "Oh! I'm her!!"? Yeah, me too. Now you can scroll through a whole wardrobe of vintage gowns and formal wear. Take some time and visit this online
wardrobe...

A pretty serious night light

This light was created by Russian designers - and while intense - is also a little soothing...would be so cool for a backyard party...

In the mean time...

With so few new stories coming out of the television - and far TOO many reality shows coming out of the television - it's hard to find good things to put on the TiVo. But if you are looking for some good television - you should check out the documentary on PBS, The Pioneers of Television. It's a really great multi-part documentary - with special segments on late night television and variety shows. It's quite delightful and educational. You should watch it!

Sweatband? Check.

I'm new to the Glumpers - but they sure are cute. And for some reason this clip spoke to me. Enjoy!

And if you're like me, and I know I am, you'll want to check out the rest of their videos at their awesome website.

I wish everyone would learn to ..... Then everyone would.....

I wish everyone would learn to pay attention to what's going on around them then everyone would have a better understanding of the people around them. I am often perplexed at how people can walk down the street or a hallway or an aisle and have no awareness of people around them - even walking right into other people. Even better than that are people who walk down a hallway - looking in the opposite direction of the way they are walking.

It just seems to me that if we're all paying attention to where we're going - we'll see the people around us - and what they need. We may also be kinder if we see the people that are all around us, needing our smiles.

Remember the card catalog?

These are cute journals! Small with sturdy spirals - perfect for in the car brainstorms (why do all the good ideas come when writing them down is impossible!?) or in your bag. Or a snug drawer. Or some other smallish space. I don't think it comes with a short stubby pencil without an eraser.

If you could participate in an Olympic event, which one would you choose and why?

I would compete in the Women's K1, Single Kayak Slalom. If you're not familiar, here's the facts from Olympic.org:

About:
A whalebone and driftwood frame, with a sea-lion skin stretched tautly over it and waterproofed with whale fat, hardly suggests a budding Olympic sport. Yet the kayaks that meant life to the Inuits in the Arctic for centuries have become the racing kayaks of the modern world - even if the building materials have changed.

The link was 19th century British barrister John MacGregor. He studied the ancient kayaks, designed a similar boat and disappeared into the rivers and lakes of Europe's wilderness to become a noted travel writer of his time. When others copied his boat, he founded the Royal Canoe Club, and canoe regattas began a year later in 1866.

While Canoe-Kayak reached the Olympic Games in 1936 with Flatwater Racing, it took almost half a century for Slalom Racing to be included in the Olympic Programme, when Munich in 1972, hosted the dramatic whitewater version, and heralded Slalom as a fully fledged Olympic Discipline.

Competition:
The Slalom Racing events, involving men's K1 (single kayak), C1 (single canoe) and C2 (double canoe) and women's K1 require the paddlers to negotiate 20 to 25 gates in turbulent water over a 300-metre course. Competitors aim to complete the course in the shortest time, factoring in penalties for gates touched or missed.

I currently am not in any kind of shape - but I would love to do the slalom. There is a flat water version - but this would be so much more fun. Plenty of adrenalin and lots of fun in the water.

Wii? Yes, please.

So - I do not own a Wii...and probably don't have the skills to play a Wii successfully - but if I did - I would have to own this game, Rayman's Raving Rabbids. Go check it out. If nothing else, the graphics are amazing - and the characters are funny and the premise is pretty great: the rabbids are crazy and will throw plungers at you. That's what I've gathered thus far.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

--Dr. Suess

Head over to ReForm School!

ReForm School is a pretty cool online shop - some of my favorite things in their shop are:

A squirrel playing drums tee shirt

A recreation of an English WWII propaganda poster

True, dat!

Be still my heart...

Dear Steve Jobs-
I love you.

That's all.

Love -
Miss Five

PS - thank you for the MacBook Air...I lurve it.

Um...this new amazing notebook fits in a manila envelope! It's only 3 pounds! HOLD ME!! The only thing is that the super drive is external. But I think I could live with that.

What is your favorite day of the week?

For as long as I could recognize that I had a favorite day - it's been Tuesday. I love Tuesdays. Which isn't to say that I don't like the other days, or that you're not allowed to love a day that isn't Tuesday...I'm just saying that for me - if I could pick the day that I enjoy most - it's Tuesday.

Tuesdays are great because you're over the shock of Mondays. Monday is all about getting back into your work or school or regular day routine. It's about tying up loose ends from the previous week and getting organized and reassessing for the week ahead. This is often a slower process because you had the weekend to get relaxed and way off your normal schedule.

Tuesdays are also great for going out to lunch with friends. It can often be more difficult to schedule lunch dates as the week wears on - but a Tuesday lunch date will often see you through the week until you reach the weekend.

You will often find that restaurants and bars have specials on Tuesdays - great deals on food - or even free tacos...because both Tuesday and tacos start with "T" - and that makes for snappy adverts!

So, in conclusion - vote for Tuesday...and free tacos!

Really quickly...

The newest addition to my Google Reader (which you should all set up and use!) is a beautiful blog called Desire to Inspire and it lives up to it's name. Below is a picture that made me gasp right out loud...one day, baby!

What is your favorite song and why?

Who can pick just one? And since it's my "journal" - I'll write about however many songs I want...but the first has to be the first movement of "Gloria" (Vivaldi). This is a sacred choral work and I think it is a much more jubilant and accessible anthem for Christmas - much more than Handel's "Messiah." There. I said it. I sang this piece during my time in the concert choir in high school (prior to being kicked out of choir, which needs the attention of it's own post). It is such a fun song to sing...and listening to it is so much easier than the Hallelujah Chorus...none of those high shrill notes that make your neck hurt from straining to make sure they hit the notes.

Next is the song that has the most plays in my iTunes - "Here (In Your Arms)" (Hellogoodbye). This song is clean and happy and good for getting things done around the house or getting down the road. Having the musical taste of a 60 year old woman does often limit my exposure to new music and artists. But thanks to a guest blogger over at DesignMom I was introduced and instantly fell in love. I will also say this - I only bought the one song - so if you go and buy the whole album and it's offensive - well - I have no way of knowing that it is or isn't. You're on your own.


"Il Postino Theme" (Luis Bacalov) is one of the sweetest, most transporting themes from a film. The emotion is powerful and the musicality is simple and intricate and can be listened to again and again. I was exposed to this music from a CD of Classics According to Petie, and people - she is not wrong. This Academy Award winning music will change your life.

"Under Pressure" (Queen)...This one is much harder to explain as far as why I love it. But if you don't already love Queen - then adding David Bowie to the mix may be the tipping point. Take another listen and add it to a mix

I was first introduced to "Over the Rainbow" (Eva Cassidy) during a ward campout. The song is such a light and powerful rendition. I still feel like I'm at the coast in the Boersma's fifth-wheel every time I hear it. It's great on a sleepytime mix or a puttering CD. I have always loved Somwhere's Over De Rainbow - a wishing song grounded in lovely music. I just think Eva Cassidy's voice is moving and easy to listen to. And clearly that is a theme in all the music I love - there is simple musicality and it is easy to listen to. Some may say that it's even "easy listening..."which would be right in line with my grandma tastes!