Book Review, King Hugo's Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen

Not only are the pictures beautiful, but I even laughed out loud at the hilarity illustrated in one of the pictures.  His expression, the total ridiculousness of the situation, it was comic genius.  As for the rhyming text, well, I am actually usually not a big fan of rhyming verse in children's books.  It is just hard to do well and most of the time it becomes quite tedious, and I find myself just paraphrasing.  Quite surprisingly that is NOT the case with this book.  Which is quite the feat in my eyes.  Very few people can pull of rhyming text and make it work.  The pace is good, and not tedious and the storyline is exciting, funny and not repetitive.  And the illustrations are wonderful!  The colors throughout the book are vibrant and the compositions have just the right amount of detail.  We checked it out from the library, but now it is on our "to get" list.  Because it is a hit for both parents and kids in our house.

Have you read it?  What do you think about it?

Brain Vomit: or the post where I get overly deep and all psychoanalytical and even (gasp) religious

I just so happen to be an occasional mental hypochondriac.  I do not think I am alone in this as it happens to be quite the trendy thing to do to claim to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Bi-Polar Personality Disorder or Attention Deficit Disorder.  Some times though our issues are big enough to have severely mucked up the chemistry in our brain.  But sometimes we are just self diagnosed wikipedia psychiatrists who borrow a convenient mental illness to blame our problems on.  The real point is we all have issues; big ones as well as small ones.  It is human nature to sympathize with others diagnoses and problems.  It is how we relate to others.  Diagnosed mental illnesses (professionally or not) are good and helpful and all, but they can become crippling and lead to feeling trapped by your own label.  And while medication is good and very helpful and all and totally needed in tons of circumstances.  But the underlying caveat is: it alone will not fix you.  YOU NEED TO FIX YOU (working with the medicine, if necessary and/or a REAL psychiatrist).  But the desire and willingness to change has to come from YOU.  (you know and/or help with God.)  Whether you believe in Him or not.  Even if you do (believe) He can't help you if YOU'RE not trying.  Its not like faith is magic.*  So it is still up to YOU.  God doesn't force anybody to do anything.  EVER.  (which is WHY evil things happen, by the way)

*unless you ask my son, who has said, and I quote: "Everyone is a muggle, except for Jesus."

God loves us no matter what we do or believe or anything.  He is going to love and try to help out atheists, or hardened criminals or overly religions judgmental and hypocritical zealots alike. Whether they are going to recognize it or not.  Seriously, and this shouldn't be a novel concept.  Cause He loves everyone.  Fo' reals.  And following eternal truths leads to happiness which is what he wants for everyone.  And one eternal truth is trying to become a better person.  Which most everyone is trying to do.  Because they have love (to some degree or another) for those around them.  And love makes us want to be better people.  Thus, you know the whole two great commandments.  (love God, love your neighbor).  Whether you cite the Bible or cite the Beatles (all you need is love), it is still truth.  And when you live your life for the love of others (as opposed to being the center of your own narcissistic universe) it makes you happy.

And yes while we sympathize with others we also do the polar opposite; we judge.  Which is really stupid.  I am not saying I do not do this (I totally do, and it is dumb).  'Cause everybody does.  That is the part where we think we're better.  And sure, sometimes we all have different truths that we have figured out better than other people.  BUT JUST KNOWING TRUE THINGS DOESN'T MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON.  We can all learn from each others strengths and knowledge and experience.  No matter what they look like, no matter what religion (or lack thereof) they are, no matter their social class or geographical location, or political affiliation or mental illness or physical deformity or gender or race or shape (or the lack thereof), or beauty or sexual orientation or even age.  That is the hard part.  We can't figure it all out on our own.  Of course you have to filter out all the crap wrong things too... its not like it is easy.  Whatever resonates with you.   And holds true.   (which if you ARE religious, is the Spirit: but truth is true whether you believe it or not) And sometimes our own personal truths evolve as we are ready to learn it on a deeper level.  And sometimes we are dead wrong.  But there is usually a grain of truth in everything.

So find truth and then LIVE it.  I don't care where you find it.  I happen to be a Mormon, but I realize you can find pieces of truth everywhere.  There are also misconceptions and crap everywhere too, including in the culture of the LDS Church.  (And for heavens sake, I don't need them pointed out to me, mmm-k!)  Because nobody is perfect.  One of my very favorite scriptures of all time, and don't totally zone out... is in the Book of Mormon Mormon9:31, written by Mormon's son Moroni... and he basically says that neither he nor his father (or any of the many other prophets that wrote in the book) are perfect, and we shouldn't condemn them, but learn from their weaknesses that we may learn to be MORE perfect than they have been.  So when we see other people's mistakes, we shouldn't judge them, but learn from them.

The best thing (in my own personal opinion) that the LDS church teaches is that we can and should search truth for yourself.  Between you and God.  Or you and your own conscience, whatever you believe.   Truth does nobody any good whatsoever if you just talk about it.  Actually BE nice to people, even (or especially) when they don't deserve it.  Control your own emotions and destiny.  Decide to be happy and look for good things in situations and people and life.  And that is what you will see, and live.  Your life is what you focus on.  Another favorite quote of mine by Abraham Lincoln is: "Most people are about as happy as they want to be".  There is good and bad in everyone, and inherent strengths and weaknesses in everyone.  The difference is that you get to choose which parts of you to focus and act on.  Your choice.  You are the instigator of your own life and not the victim.

So I am venting, brain spew, and being all preachy.  (And it is all sorts of disorganized.)  Call it what you want, take it how you will.  You certainly don't have to agree with me.  I know that I certainly don't know everything and I'm screwed up just like everybody else. 

But I've decided to be more open, even if that means I make my mistakes out in public.  I generally like to hide, and be safe in obscurity.  But I have things to say.  I am going to endeavor to get my opinions out of my head.  I am not going to hide anymore (probably).  I'm going to say them, and they just might be controversial.  And later I might think I'm stupid and disagree with myself... but I'm putting myself out there anyway.  Even though it is scary.  And people aren't going to agree with me and that is totally fine.  Just don't be a prick about it.  Disagree respectfully please.

Book Review, Beegu by Alexis Deacon

I have discovered so many wonderful books from other reviews on blogs and such, I thought I'd blog about my favorites.  And perhaps it would give me more incentive to blog.  Besides, yay for sharing book love!

see, book love!

and sharing

sort of.

Look close though.

This is Sohvi. Not Lucy.

I discovered Beegu when I was first researching authoring/illustration of kids books.  So embarrassingly long ago I am ashamed to admit how little progress I have made since then.  My own personal book making journey has been (and will continue to be) a very long process.  I am not what you would call ambitious.  But I do have a stubborn streak.  It is pretty selective, and though often buried, is fierce.  Anyway, back to Beegu.  Fell in love with the book, as did Sohvi and so I bought her the book and made up a quirky pattern to make her a stuffed Beegu for her birthday that year.  She loved (and still does, years later) both of them.

It is a delightful, and very charming book about a little three eyed alien who is accidentally stranded here and she is lonely.  I love that the heroine is female but perfectly relate-able/accessible to everyone.  Most "neutral" characters just always seem to be boys.  The pictures are expressive and beautiful and communicate the perfect mood and feel for the book.  Though alien in form, her body language is amazingly communicative whether it be in expressing forlorn or delight.  The text is concise and evocative.  I love that I don't have to paraphrase it for impatient little kids who just want to turn the page and see the next picture already.  It is a total favorite with both the kids and adults in this house.  We absolutely adore this book.

Have you read it?  What do you think about it?

So its done then..

 You know, that book.  The book I've been whining about and working on and stressing about for far longer than I thought I would.  It is finally for sale in my etsy shop.  

I am also crazily having a coupon for 50% off for its introduction.  But the coupon isn't going to last long..  So, if you want it at the ridiculously low price of $6 (plus shipping, unless you are local..) then you should hop on it, because I doubt I'll ever go that low again.

Coupon code is FRIEND2012.

Tutorial: Pacifier Clips

I imagine that there are probably half a million of these tutorials out there..   But I thought I'd share this one because it uses fabric and not ribbon, and snaps and not velcro.  I needed something for my baby boy Liam, and since the ribbon I keep on hand isn't masculine, I came up with this.  It also uses up tiny scraps of fabric, of which I am a fan of.  Which means you can match it to baby stuff you've already made.  The clips are suspender or mitten clips, and the snaps are going to be close to them in the notions section of a fabric or craft store.  So, here you go.

You can use this to make pacifier clips however you'd like (personal and commercial) but if you use my pictures link back here or otherwise give me credit.  Enjoy!

On where I get my mad sewing skills from, and why I take them for granted

My mom is an amazingly talented, meticulous, patient, detailed, precise and incredible seamstress.  This is the gorgeous quilt she made for me.  And because growing up, it was my Mom, I thought that all mom's came built in with that skill and precision. Yeah, they don't.  This is hand quilted people.  Hand appliquéd where the triangles go over the border.  Every corner matches.  All the stitches are even.  She is amazing.  And this is not her first.  Its her fourth big one, with two more in the works.  That is actually not counting all of the little ones she's made for grandkids in between all of the full size quilted works of art she makes for her daughters.  Not a single quilt for herself, not even a simple tied one.  (I will contest that my mother is the most unselfish person alive). 

My mother is the one who taught me to sew.  First by hand (at a pretty young age.. maybe I was 5 or so?  6?)  And then when I was old enough to be entrusted with her sewing machine (10 or 11?) she patiently taught me, and together we worked through the tears and frustration that sewing can sometimes bring.  I only thought it was hard because I was a kid, and she made it look so easy.  I didn't know that everybody goes through that.  (Right? the wanting to pull your hair out when it just. doesn't. make. any. sense! and the unpicking, and the broken needles, and on and on..) 

So, even though I learned from the best I am still trying to achieve the level of perfection in sewing that she has.  That is why I don't ever think my sewing as being very remarkable.  Because look at THAT!  Wow.

my briliant anti-cold-cereal solution

You may have noticed previously my stark and vehement dislike of cold cereal.    But I seem to have come up with a quasi solution to my problem of too expensive, too soggy, too processed, too boring and not lasting until lunch; cereal complex.  One that I will even consent to consume, nay even enjoy.  (pause for actual cereal eating break... seriously, I just realized that this is JUST exactly what I want.  right now).  Now to continue with out spilling milk on the keyboard..  ahem.

Make your own.

No, not another sort of breakfast (though you know, that is good too, but tends to always dirty more dishes... so, you know, kind of evil... but we're not talking about dishes now, are we?)  But make your own cold cereal.  I've made granola before, and its fun for a bit, but really quite sweet and pretty heavy on the stomach.  By itself.  BUT of the few cereals that I eat voluntarily at all... they seem to have the 'bunches of oats' or 'oat clusters' in them, which duh, is granola.  Then they just add flakes and dried fruit or nuts.  Pretty simple.  I've been meaning to do it for a while to see how my homemade version worked out.  Then I finally did.  And it does.  So I'm breaking my blog silence by deciding not to be selfish with my self proclaimed profound discovery.

The instructions are actually pretty simple.

-make granola.  (easier than it sounds)  You do not need to be Crunchy to do so.  From my brief stint of habitation in Portland, I learned thus: apparently I'm only a wannabe hippie.  I had only deluded myself that I knew anything about true earth love.  And footprints of carbon.  They are professionals.  However, for this you do not need to be.

combine in saucepan and bring to a boil:

1/2 c. water,
1 1/2 c. brown sugar,
4 tsp. vanilla,
1 tsp. almond extract (optional) and
1 tsp. salt.

pour the hot syrupy stuff you just made over this in a big bowl:

8 c. oats,
1-2 c. coconut,
1-2 c. slivered almonds, or other nuts of your choice (cashews are heavenly).

Mix it all thoroughly and spread out onto a large cookie sheet.  Bake at 250 for a couple of hours, or 200 or lower all night.

Break up into small chunks and add dried fruit.  I prefer cranberries, though raisins are good as well.  I haven't tried dried bananas, but they might be tasty (especially the non freeze dried ones) or cherries.. anyway, that is what truly makes it taste good, so don't skimp on the dried fruit.  Then mix in a whole box of corn flakes.  (you could go all authentic and mix in different kinds of flakes, like bran flakes and some frosted flakes... but I just used corn flakes... I'm lazy like that.

It actually makes quite a bit of cereal.  So it lasts a while, and my cereal reserves (that I don't even eat!) don't get depleted quite so fast.  We've been going through cereal like its going out of style! 

Liam does his part with the rampant cereal consumption.

Disclaimer: It does get soggy rather fast.. (which I truly despise) so I have taken to eating very small quantities at a time, repeatedly until satisfied.  Example, pour half a cup of my granola/flakes into a wide mouthed vintage tea cup.  (note to self, good excuse to go thrift some more beauties).  Add milk.  Inhale.  Repeat 2-3 times.  We can pretend that I actually stop at 3.