Kinetic – Week 2

Week 2 has run into a bit of a snag. Due to user error I will be starting the program over again. I bumped something and caused the game to skip my warmup. I didn’t see a back button so I went forward without doing the workout. I thought I could get things back to the beginning. I ended up having to save even though I didn’t do the workout. The game wouldn’t let me back to the workout. There are three routines to do a week. After doing a routine, it tells you that the next day is a day of rest. I couldn’t undo the save so I was stuck, frustrated, and angry. In anger I deleted my profile. Once I had calmed down I realized that I really love the game and that the mistake was my fault. So, rather than give up I am going to start over on Monday. I did learn something, however. First acting impulsively in anger usually doesn’t help. Although I did feel a bit better in the moment. Hopefully someday I will truly get my temper under control 100% of the time. Secondly, if there isn’t a back button use the reset option on the PS2. I have a feeling I would have had a very different outcome had I thought of that in the moment. On an up note, I weighed and discovered that I had lost a pound last week on the game. This has me rather excited. Although somewhat annoyed, I do look forward to starting the game again.

Photo cube project

Yesterday I awoke with a bit of inspiration. I had seen an idea for making blocks out of photo cubes. I thought it was a cute idea and purchased a few photo cubes so I could give it try. I never got around to making the blocks, however, I still had the photo cubes. I thought it would be cute for my nieces pictures and decorations that all began with the first letter of her name. I went through the “P” section of the dictionary for some inspiration. I then went through all my scrapbooking supplies and dug out one of the photo cubes. I was quite pleased with the result.

As you can see here, I trimmed the pic a little too small so I used a background paper in Pink of course and Pastel Polka dot alphabet stickers to spell her name.

As you can see here, I chose Polka dots and Pastel colors in keeping with the “P” theme.

I found this picture of a strawberry Parfait online. I love that it is strawberry! Pink and Parfait both fit with the theme!

You will need something in the middle of cube or the pictures will fall. I decided to use Pastel blue tissue paper. It’s pretty enough that it isn’t necessary to put pics, etc on every side. Of course you can decorate all sides if you wish.

I just thought it might be helpful to see a before picture of the cube, especially if you want to try this project yourself.

You Really Can Get Everything at Wal-Mart

I realize the proud, doting aunt thing probably gets annoying, but this was just too good. This morning my 3 year old nephew told me he loved my pretty green eyes. I thanked him and returned the compliment saying, “I like your blue eyes.” He responded with, “Thank you, I got them at Wal-Mart!”

A Moment of Joy

While waiting for the water to warm so I could clean a little one’s sticky hands, I glanced out the kitchen window just in time to see a cardinal fly down and alight near some bright yellow daffodils. It was such a pretty moment. I didn’t have my camera, of course, so I thought I’d photoshop a similar sight to share. Create Joy, Seek Joy, Seize Joy!

Kinetic – Week 1

Week one of my new exercise routine courtesy of Kinetic and the Playstation 2 has come to an end. So far it’s a big hit! I have enjoyed the routines even the harder ones. I am actually excited about exercising. I look forward to finding out what kind of routine/game I’ll be playing each time and I can feel that the routines are working. I am sore and yet I feel more energetic and vibrant. If you read my first post on Kinetic, then you know that the game gives a grade at the end of each routine. I am proud to say that my overall score for the week was a c (skillful). My grades for each of the routines were a D, C, and B. Not bad for someone out of shape who isn’t so fond of exercise. Oddly enough I have found that I really enjoy the combat zone, which I was a little afraid of at the outset. Cardio is also fun. Toning and Mind/Body are much harder than I anticipated, although meeting the challenge and improving have their reward. I encourage anyone wanting to exercise, but shy of gym and motativationally challenged to try Kinetic.

Grandma, Kewpies, and Me

All right, all right, I know Valentine’s Day has already past, but I simply had to share these adorable, vintage-looking Kewpie Valentines from Zakka Life. Kewpies. Most of the time when I mention the word kewpie, I am met by a blank stare. This is especially true of people my age and younger. That said, I want to introduce the world to kewpies. Kewpies were created by Rose O’Neill in the early nineteen hundreds. She had a dream one night and upon awaking began to draw. Ms. O’Neill is a fascinating woman. She was married and divorced twiced and worked as an illustrator in a time when divorce was taboo and illustration was a man’s job. Back to the kewpies. They first appeared in a ladies magazine as part of an ongoing story and made several appearances in Jello ads. My love of kewpies began with my grandma, Ethel Morgan. She had a few kewpies of her own and gave me my first sweet cherub. I have been hooked ever since.

I was even fortunate enough to visit Bonniebrook, in Branson, Missiouri. Bonniebrook was Rose O’Neill’s home and workshop. Below are pics from my visit.

So there you have it folks. A brief disscussion of kewpies. Hope I’ve piqued your interest and if anyone out there likes kewpies or has a few please comment. I’d love to hear from you. Oh, and if you like the Valentine above visit Zakka Life, follow the links, and download your own.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

This book by Lauren Willig is a work of historical fiction taking place just after the French Revolution. It is 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte has taken control of France, and made an enemy of England. The two main characters are Lord Richard Selwick and Miss Amy Balcourt. Miss Balcourt is visiting her brother in France and wants to join the league of the Purple Genetian. Lord Selwick is the famous spy, though this is unknown to Amy. The whole story begins with Eloise, a student at Harvard, who is working on her dissertation in England. We learn of the events surrounding Amy and Lord Selwick through Eloise’s reading of Amy’s diary. The writing was quite good. I became so engrossed in the events in France that I was confused when the author returned to present day. I enjoyed the historical parts of this book much more than the present day. I was also surprised to find a couple of detailed descriptions of intimate events between the two main characters. All in all it was a good book and I was a bit surprised by the ending.

Betsy McCall Paper Dolls

Aren’t these perfectly lovely! I found them while perusing Craftzine. They span from 1951 to 1961 and many are available for free download. I just love paper dolls and these are wonderful and delightful. You can find them by clicking here. Have fun and dream big!

Wedding Proposal

A couple of days ago, I published a post entitled L and W in which I mentioned my wedding ring and my husband’s somewhat unusual wedding proposal. I received a comment asking about the proposal and decided the explanation was long enough to warrant an entire post. Hubby and I love going to renaissance faires and dressing up. When we were dating we discovered a faire called The Castle in Muskogee, Oklahoma. I have an aunt and uncle who lived there at the time. We ended up going to faire and staying with my family. This became an annual tradition. That first year we wanted to get a picture with King Henry VIII. As we approached to request a picture he noticed that we were holding hands. King Henry asked my husband if he knew how to declare his love to his lady. Hubby and said he believed that he did and was promptly instructed to demonstrate. He did not, however, do it to suit the King. King Henry proceeded to stop a passerby and show hubby how it was done. The correct way it seems is as loudly as one can and with as much flowery, outlandish language as one can. Hubby again declared his love. The king was satisfied and we moved on without our picture. As the year passed we fell more and more in love and began to talk about marriage. We agreed to an intimate wedding ceremony with the Justice of the Peace. I wanted hubby to formally propose and asked him to make it special. All I really wanted was to go back to the restaurant where we had our first date and have him pop the question. I really didn’t mean anything too out there or crazy. I probably should have been more specific. Than again, maybe not. I wouldn’t trade my proposal for anything in the world. As per tradition, we attended the renaissance faire and that year a masked ball as well. Hubby even made our masks for the ball. As the ball was coming to an end, King Henry rose from his throne and announced that last year he taught a certain skill to a certain gentleman who wanted to demonstrate what he had learned. Hubby then stood up and declared his love loudly enough for all to hear and as outlandishly as humanly possible. He ended the show by dropping down on one knee and asking me to marry him. I, of course, said yes and we are living happily ever after.

Playstation Workout

Back at Christmas, hubby and I purchased a Playstation 2. Our Christmas gift to each other. One of the “games” I purchased was called Kinetic. It works with the eye toy and is basically an interactive workout. I thought it might make the idea of exercise more fun. Today I finally got around to putting it in and trying it out. One can either choose a personal trainer or choose to customize one’s own workout. I chose the personal trainer mode of play. I set up a profile and answered some questions about my current level of physical activity, weight, height, and age, etc. The game then chooses a level and puts together a workout just for me. There are four zones or areas of activities within the game. The cardio zone exercises “are inspired by high energy choregraphed aerobic sequences, modern dance, and contemporary movement.” The combat zone exerciese “are inspired by moves and stances from various self defense disciplines.” The mind and body zone exercises “are inspired by holistic workouts that aid your breathing, concentraion, and flexibility.” Finally the toning zone exercises “are designed to strengthen and tone specific muscle groups. Today’s workouts included the combat and toning zones. I was a bit worried about the combat zone. I was afraid it might prove too difficult. Although it was challenging I had a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to the combat zone tomorrow. I also did some ab exercises which proved more difficult than the combat. This was due to the fact that I am out of shape. I look forward to it becoming easier in the future. The game has a warm up at the beginning and a stretch at the end of your workout. It has a calorie counter and all kinds of charts and graphs to help you see your progress. It also gives you a grade of A+ (master), A (expert), B (professional), C (skillful), D (amateur), or E (beginner). I fully expected to get a grade of E (beginner) and was pleasantly surprised to get a D(amateur). I liked having the personal trainer as well. While I was exercising she was coaching and encouraging me. It was nice to hear things like “way to go,” “keep it up,” “you’re doing great.” I felt like I was on the right track and wanted to keep going. Below, you will find a screen shot of one of the ab exercises. The game gives you two views of your trainer and one of yourself. This helps to make sure you are doing the exercise correctly. All in all it was fun and pretty cool! I plan to continue with workouts and willl check in periodically to let you know how its going and if it’s at all successful. Later, as I do workouts in other zones, I’ll let you know how they play and whether or not I like them. See you soon! Wish me luck!