I’m not sure how many of you know this, but I am a moderator for a great forum called Here Comes The Stork, a resource for online sellers. The owner, Kendra, started out selling children’s clothing on Ebay (hence the baby name), but her business has grown tremendously and HCTS is now dedicated to helping sellers improve sales on Ebay, Amazon, Etsy, Bonzazzle, BuyItSellIt, independent websites, and any other online venue you can think of. I’ve been a mod there for years and a member for even longer than that.
One section of the forums is devoted to designers and crafters, which is where I found my niche. I’ve been sewing all my life, but never tried selling online until HCTS and the Stork Studio Custom Design group (SSCD on ebay) gave me the confidence to go for it.
One of those encouraging members was Kim, or Kimberbell as she is known in the design world. Kim is seriously one of the sweetest, kindest people you could ever [virtually] meet. She always has a kind word for everyone, encouraging and supporting new designers and freely sharing her expertise.
Now I knew Kim while she was on her way to the top, and while I’m sure she hasn’t yet reached the highest height that she will acheive, she is definitely on a mountain. Unfortunately Kim is no longer an active part of our website…because she is too busy running her own!
Several years ago Kim got the genius idea to turn helping people find their creative abilities into a booming business, and boom it has. YouCanMakeThis.com was named one of the top Mom-Owned business by Startup Nation, and the site has been featured in many print publications and on television appearances.
So why am I telling you all of this? Well, first and foremost because I love the site, and I really believe in the concept and the products available. YCMT has inspired thousands of people to take the plunge into crafting, be it sewing, cake decorating, decoupage, beading, and so much more. There are fun projects for kids, too! Want to learn how to knit? Paint? Improve your photography skills? It’s all there, and a lot more.
But the second reason I’m telling you this is because I have an awesome giveaway to be announced on Monday! The folks at YouCanMakeThis.com have made a generous offer that I am all too happy to accept, and I can’t wait to share it with you! So yes, this is just a little teaser to whet your appetite. Now pop over to the YouCanMakeThis site and find yourself a project to keep you occupied this weekend, and I will give you the full scoop on Monday. Whoops! Sorry – NEXT Monday. I am taking the coming week off.
*Weekend project not required for contest entry, but recommended to make you a better person.
I’m behind on the news, I know. I actually heard about these things when they happened, but none seemed entirely blog-worthy on their own, so instead I’m combining into one big gripey post. So with no further ado, I present news that has ticked me off in recent weeks.
-Did you hear about Salma Hayek breastfeeding another child? Apparantly this was a huge controversy. I really cannot fathom why, though. It’s not as if she was baby swapping in Atlanta, just for kicks. She was in a third world country, holding a starving baby whose mother had no way to feed him. She has milk right there and available. What should she have done, exactly? What would her critics have done? “Sorry lady, I hate that your baby is starving and could die of hunger, but it makes me a little uncomfortable to give your child the nourishment he needs to survive, so you’ll just have to chance it. Best of luck to you.” Come on people! This is exactly what our bodies were created to do, and if you would be in her position and choose not to help that baby, then shame on you. This isn’t controversial, it’s compassion. Something we could use a little more of in our world.
-Speaking of compassion, why doesn’t anyone have any for Bristol Palin? I’m sure you’ve heard that she and Levi Johnston broke up recently. This announcement seems to delight a number of people. Why is that? I have heard many dripping-with-sarcasm comments expressing surprise at this outcome. Am I surprised? No, I’m not. The odds were not in their favor. But I don’t get any satisfaction from it.
This is a baby who will grow up in a broken home, people. Does that not sadden you? Critics and comedians, what is your point here? This situation has nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with the governor, but disagreeing with her political stance has either clouded your judgement tremendously, or you are a bunch of nasty, heartless people. I don’t know which the case is, you tell me. All I know is that we have another set of teenage parents with a very long and difficult road in front of them, and now they don’t even have each other to cling to for support. We have a baby who will not grow up with the benefit of two parents under the same roof. And we have a lifetime of challenges and struggles facing them all.
I don’t know what that path is like. I do know that it isn’t easy, and would be even more difficult with the media scrutiny they are under. Instead of tearing them down (it seems they are getting enough of that already), I’ve been lifting them up in my prayers. It would be nice if you’d consider doing the same.
-Jon & Kate Gosselin are going through a difficult time in their marriage. And somehow people are happy about this. Again, is it surprising? No. The strain of 8 children and a reality tv show must be tremendous. Add to that their polar opposite personalities, and I can certainly understand them having some problems right now. What I can’t understand is the public reaction to that.
Whatever happened to the sanctity of marriage? Is that not something worth fighting to save? When did our lifelong promises to stay together, for better or worse, become so disposable?
If this couple is struggling then I am sad for them. I hope they will work it out, for themselves and for those 8 little children. They have a lot on the line, and they certainly don’t need public opinion making their lives even more difficult. Yes, I realize that they put themselves out there because of their show, a move that they get much criticism for. But I wonder exactly how many people would be presented with an offer for fame and fortune and say no thanks. My guess? – not nearly as many who like to boast that they would. And I sincerely doubt that when they agreed to do the show, they realized fully what they were signing up for. An error in judgement? Perhaps. But since we’re all guilty of those, perhaps we’d be best served by remembering our own faults and shutting our mouths a little more.
I think a lot of this has to do with what my friend Sondra calls macro-micro situations. People feel perfectly at ease belittling and mocking celebrities or those in the limelight, and the anonymity of the world wide web has unfortunately made that worse. What one wouldn’t dream of saying to their next door neighbor, they blurt out easily about a public figure. In the macro picture, apparently we have no shame.
I wonder if the people who say these things have children. Would they allow their children to say such nasty things about their classmates at school? Or would they tell those kids that kindness is important, and there is a time and a place to keep your mouth shut and your thoughts to yourself? We as a society are failing to keep our mouths shut a lot these days, and I’m bothered by that.
But you know me, I won’t let it rest there. So, in continuing my recent ‘complaints about cartoons’ trend, let me elaborate for you.
Like millions of other families, we watched the preview during the Super Bowl with our 3-D glasses. I wasn’t impressed, but I wasn’t outright horrified, either. That was because they didn’t show enough.
A couple of weeks ago I took myself my daughters to see the Jonas Brothers 3-D Concert Experience movie, because I knew that I they would love it. And we all did. But the previews before the movie, not so much. Whatever happened to tailoring the previews to the movie? Sort of an ‘if you like this, you might also like these’ approach. Either that practice has been abandoned, or whoever did that for this one isn’t very bright. First we were treated to a preview of witchcraft (aka Harry Potter). Seeing as how the number one reason I love the Jonas Brothers is because of their devout Christianity, the witchcraft was a slap in the face. (I recognize that I am among a small minority of Christians who feel this way, but I do. And that’s a whole other blog post, in which I would elaborate and then be harshly criticized. Maybe someday I’ll do it anyway. But I digress.)
Moving on…the next preview was for Monsters vs. Aliens, and I can sum this up with another word too: Dreamworks. That’s right folks, not Disney. Dreamworks. Their standards are clearly not the same. A few of the lovely tidbits the trailer illuminated for us:
-A girl with short hair is referred to as a boy. Someone points out the error, to which the monster responds, ‘That’s not a girl, look at his boobies.’ Awesome. Mockery, sexuality, body image issues, vanity – all inn one package. This joke is fun on so many levels. woo-hoo!
-A half-fish man is discovered and referred to as ‘The Missing Link’. Nothing like a little Darwin for the pre-school set. I adore hidden agendas in children’s movies. Like Happy Feet or Wall-E. That’s just great. Then I don’t even need to teach my children to think for themselves, I can just plop them in front of a video and let the people in Hollywood teach them values.
-A exclamation is made along the lines of ‘What the Fffffuuuungle’ (not the real end of the word, but something just a tad off of The F-word. Clever play for youngsters, right? Ha, ha, ha. That’s just so funny. The only thing funnier will be when children all over the country start saying it themselves. Now that will be freaking hilarious.
I could go on, but I won’t. I think this pretty well makes my point.
I’m sure this movie will still make millions, which saddens me. It also saddens me to read the long list of celebs who voiced the movie. Lots of people I enjoy watching contributed to this piece of garbage. It has a PG rating, which since it’s animated I’m sure most parents will completely ignore. It bring to mind movies like Tropic Thunder. Apparently ‘taste’ and ‘class’ and ‘propriety’ are out the window.
Just skip it. Please. Don’t help them make money off of peddling this to our kids. They deserve better.
Occasionally I am frustrated by things here. The slower pace took some getting used to. Especially when I lived in Alabama, where they take slow to a whole new level. Buying 3 things at the grocery meant at least 28 minutes in line, since the cashier would be so unbelievably chatty while scanning items ever-so-painfully-slowly. But you adjust, and it’s nice to be laid-back, right?
Tonight I was reminded of one of the biggest things I love about living where I do. It was the school talent show, and we had a great time. Most striking were the song selections. As a former Yankee, I can assure you that there would be some uproar up north, but down here no one bats an eye when 6 year olds in public school sing songs about God. Love that! We got to hear Annie singing and signing ‘Awesome God’, and other children singing songs like ‘This Little Light of Mine’ and ‘I’m in the Lord’s Army.’ Also, this being the south, we were treated to young’uns singing drinking, cheating country songs as well. Awesome.
Seriously, there was no screenage of the lyrics for appropriate content. I don’t know what some of the parents were thinking. They ranged from the mildly out of place (5 year old singing Hannah Montana’s ‘If We Were a Movie’- can’t the star-crossed lovers bit wait until at least 1st grade?) to the moderately strange (1st grade boy singing Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ – sample lyric: you be the prince and I’ll be the princess… ooookay.) to the downright what in the sam heck are these parents thinking? (Another Taylor Swift moment – 6 year old girls singing ‘Should Have Said No’ – yes, a lovely cheating song with the refrain: You should’ve said no, you should’ve gone home You should’ve thought twice before you let it all go You should’ve known that word, bout what you did with her Would get back to me…And I should’ve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldn’t be asking myself why You shouldn’t be begging for forgiveness at my feet…You should’ve said no, baby and you might still have me) Only in the south. Up north we’d have heard rap. Or heavy metal.
But back to my main point – only in the south would no one bat an eye at Christian music being sung in public school. (ssshhh, don’t tell, but there’s even a nice little note on the bathroom mirror about God watching over your day. I say a little prayer of thanks every time I see it.)
Other great things about the south:
-gun racks in trucks. Now hang on a minute, don’t leave me. These are actually wonderful things. Those gun racks belong to redneck men who know how to use those guns, and they aren’t afraid of doing so. If I’m attacked in the Wal-Mart parking lot, I can guarantee you that one of those gun-toting guys will come to my rescue in two seconds flat. Seems counter intuitive to city folk I know, but guns all around do not make me nervous, they make me feel secure. You just have to be rural to appreciate that.
-y’all. I know that’s so basic, but I love it. I’ve always been a y’all kinda gal, even when I lived up north. Where I’m from everyone said y’uns, like ‘Are y’uns guys going to the game?’ That just doesn’t flow like y’all.
-panic over even the slightest snowfall. It’s ridiculous the way these people fall apart if we get an inch of snow. Yet for a girl who knows how to drive in the now, it’s kind of empowering too. I feel empowered so infrequently, I’ll take it however I can get it.
-the Bible belt. Sort of like #1 I know, but it’s worth repeating. I love the way professions of faith are part of normal everyday conversation here, and they roll off the tongues of complete strangers in line at the bank. I am surrounded by believers who are so open and honest in their faith, it’s truly inspiring. As I write this post I have the news on tv, and after a tragic story the anchor just said, ‘When something like that happens, all I can do is pray.’ To which the weatherman and the other anchor immediately added ‘Amen.’ I never saw that in Pennsylvania.
-getting directions. Forget route numbers or compass directions. Down here you’ll need to know landmarks, including those that are no longer there, and in fact have not been there for decades. I lived in Louisville for about a week before I could tell you where the old Sears building was. There’s no way to get to Target without knowing that. Asking how to get to the farmer’s market will involve an answer something like ‘After the cornfield, turn left at the red mailbox and go down until you see the cow pasture, then take a right by where old Marshey’s barn used to be before the fire [of '86] and go ’bout a mile or so until you run into a bunch of pines on the left side of the road. Slow down and look out for a gravel road. You can’t miss it.’ Beautiful.
-chivalry. It’s not dead people, it’s just concentrated. Down here. Gentlemen are in the south! Men who will still hold a door open for you, offer to let you step in front of them in line, volunteer to carry heavy packages, reach things on high store shelves, and call you ma’am while they do it. Just yesterday, as I left the grocery store with 3 kids and a cart full in the pouring rain, a nice gentleman insisted on unloading my bags for me while I buckled up the girls. And he took the cart back for me too. And no, he didn’t work there. In fact, he wasn’t even leaving, he was on his way in to the store when he saw me and offered to help. Chris has been out of town and it’s been a long week, and let me tell you my friends, at that beautiful moment I could have cried with gratitude.
So there you have it, my top 7 reasons to love living down yonder. I’ll be adding to the list in the future – stay tuned. And y’all come visit us down here!
PS) Since I know you are dying to see it…
Don’t forget to turn off the music player at the bottom of the page first!
Not even feeling particularly grumpy or anything. These are just some observations I’ve been making lately and I knew you’d want to know. In no particular order:
1 – Complainers/whiners (the irony that this is #1 on my list is not lost on me, I assure you)
2 – When someone takes out the trash and doesn’t replace the bag
3 – Tea bags left in the sink, or on the counter. Possibly because the trash bag was never replaced.
4 – The fact that Hollywood only mentions God/Christianity in a doubtful or negative light.
5 – Criticism of Kate Gosselin. I know that sounds a bit bizarre, and I never even realized that it bothered me until tonight. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan, I very rarely watch their show, but Catie enjoys it so we do watch from time to time. I’ve noticed that everyone and their brother talks about how she’s condescending, grouchy, rude to her husband, etc…Gosh! I only have 3 kids and I’m no picnic. (just ask Chris) I cannot imagine how I’d get through a day, let alone a lifetime, with the family that she has. If getting a little drill sergeant from time to time helps her manage, then so be it. I’d like to see her critics try to walk a mile in her shoes.
6 – Kids riding dirtbikes/4-wheelers on our street
7 – The economic stimulus package. Did you know that if they took that money and divided it up between us, that would be $2666 per person, including babies (and how interesting are those last 3 unaltered digits, huh? 800 billion dollars, 300 million Americans – you do the math). So for my family, that would be over 13 thousand dollars. Tell ya what, if you send me a check for 13 grand, I promise to use a nice chunk of it to stimulate the economy, ok?
8 – My complete and utter lack of willpower.
9 – My inability to complete a task start to finish before moving on to the next thing. Multitasking is giving me ADD.
10 – Bad drivers. This includes people who pull out in front of you and then make no attempt to speed up, people who cut you off in traffic, people who run red lights, people who cut off an entire lane of cars waiting their turn only to cut in at the last second, and people who stop traffic in the middle of the road to move over so they can make the turn they almost missed, rather than turning around and going back like the rest of the not-completely-self-absorbed people in the universe would do.
I have to say this, because my head might explode if I don’t. Indulge me for a moment.
I feel bad for this guy. Obviously he should be licensed, or he should be working for a licensed master plumber. If he knew that his employer wasn’t licensed then he’s in the wrong, no question. But I still feel bad for him. By walking out onto the street in front of his house and asking a valid question of a political leader, he’s become a target for the national media, and that’s not fair. On many levels.
First off, not fair because he’s just an unlicensed plumber, not a death-row murderer. We don’t need to vet our citizens to see if they are good enough to ask questions.
Second, not fair because even if he were some kind of degenerate lowlife, why would that make his question any less valid? The question is separate from the person. I have the right to ask about abortion though I’d never have one, or taxes on millionaires though I’m not one. I can ask anything I’d like. Just because it doesn’t apply to me doesn’t make the question invalid, and just because I may have a less-than-perfect background doesn’t mean I can’t ask those questions.
Third, not fair because every politician has a ‘skeleton’ in their closet. Obama has some questionable associations, McCain has the speculation about his marriages, Bush has his alcoholism, Ted Kennedy has…well I won’t even go there. You get the point. Everyone has something that they’d rather the world doesn’t know. But the politicians who run for office know that their lives will be exposed, and they’ve made the choice to let that happen and run for office anyway. Joe didn’t. He walked out of his yard and asked a question. If we’re going to start attacking people for things like this, soon none of us will be able to ask any questions, for fear of embarrassment when the press digs into our personal lives. The inability to question our leadership sounds like a dangerous path to me.
Of course, life isn’t fair. We all know that, and Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher is probably feeling that especially this week. I’ve read many snippy comments about how he’s probably enjoying his new fame, since he’s making the rounds on the talk shows. I sincerely doubt that. He’s got the spotlight on him, uninvited, and he can’t work right now. What else should he be doing? Would we be happier if he slinked off and hid his head in a hole of shame? The man has gotten a raw deal, and he deserves to be able to talk about it.
I’ve thought this all along and wouldn’t have commented on it at all, if not for what I read yesterday. The parallel was striking to me, and I immediately thought of old Joe.
In the recount debacle of 2000, Al Gore had an advisor named Michael Fabiani. He advised the campaign to attack Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris on any grounds they could, to create public hostility toward the woman and get the people on their side. This was not limited to her career; in fact, it barely touched on her professional life. Instead they focused in on her personally, mocking her appearance, her makeup, and belittling her as a woman. Fabiani later explained the attacks on Harris, glibly telling the New York Times, “We needed an enemy.” He said attacking Harris was “the right thing to do, and it worked.”
Sounds very sadly like what’s happening to Joe the Plumber right now. Attack him personally so people will forget the valid question that he asked, and the answer that he got. So yes, I do feel bad for Joe. And I feel bad for us, too, that this is the M.O. that we have to live with. This is not the American Dream.
If you go to a concert or a ballgame and the Star Spangled Banner is played, please stand up. Please shut your mouth. Please remove your hat. Please put your hand on your heart.
Our National Anthem is roughly 2 minutes long, and you should be able to forgo cell phone calls, gum snapping, and rooting around in your purse for that amount of time.
If you live in this country, you are here because approximately 1.5 million men and women have given their lives for you. Parents lost their child, kids lost a parent, spouses were widowed way too early. For you.
Do you have a mother or father? A husband? A child? How would you feel to lose them in service to our country, then see an ungrateful nation sit on its behind and disrespect that sacrifice?
Seriously, stand up. Put your hand on your heart. And teach your kids to do it too. It’s not hard. It’s not painful. And you’re really dang fortunate that you’re here and able to do it.
I know, I know, freedom to do what you want. But if what you want is really to slap the face of these soldiers, then I for one think your unappreciative butt should be kicked right out of the country.
Our wonderful little town does a summer concert series each year. Every Friday night all summer long, a different group comes out and plays. They are held at the park so there’s a playground and sand volleyball for kids, you can picnic, etc. It’s all free and we always have a great time. Tonight the Ft. Knox Army Band played and they were fantastic as usual. They always end the night by playing the songs of each branch of the military. Men and women who served stand when their song is played, and it’s really great to have the opportunity to say thank you to these people who have sacrificed so much for us. I think it’s a good chance to teach my children, too. I want them to know what’s been done for us, and to say thank you when they see a soldier.
Unfortunately, these events also highlight how many people do not seem to share that respect. So I apologize for my rant this evening, but it’s on my mind very time I hear our National Anthem and I just needed to say it. These honorable soldiers won’t say it; they’re too dignified. But I’m not. So stand your butt up people.
PS) Here’s a great article with the history, lyrics, custom, and lots of other info on our National Anthem, just in case you’re interested.
Contests, Giveaways, & Freebies!, Crafty Stuff, Rants & Raves | Heather May 15, 2009 | 
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