Archive for February, 2006

My daughter has been interested in space and astronomy for as long as I can remember. Most kids are the same, I suppose, but I’m sure all the visits to the Air Force Museum, the Armstrong Museum and the Air & Space Museum have had a big impact. After seeing Roving Mars, I think it was apparent her affinity for the subject was more than a passing fancy as she recounted the way each rover operated, what its mission was and the names of each and all the related equipment. In light of this, I was interested to see how she’d take to the Solar System unit in 3rd grade science class.

She’s been fairly reserved about it all — probably because she doesn’t have much new to report. She had about two weeks to complete a model of the solar system plus a short “investigation” about her assigned planet: Venus. About a week of this was spent talking about what size each model planet would be, what colors they’d be and actually molding little (somewhat lumpy) balls out of papier-mâché . Instead of painting each a solid color, she insisted on incorporating some texture and swirls to recreate the look of Jupiter, the atmosphere of Venus, the polar ice caps of Mars. I didn’t even know there were polar ice caps on Mars. Of course I also didn’t know that the planet formerly known as Planet X is actually now known as Sedna. She was quick to let me in on that by noting that the BrainPOP Science Almanac “probably means Sedna” when they talk about Planet X. Ok then. Duh. I think, though, she was proudest of her detail on the miniature Earth she’d created… complete with blues, greens, browns and white wispy clouds.

She didn’t really need my help, except for some of the “installation” of the planets into the cardboard roller blade box that served as the universe itself. (Deep, I know…) On that note, all I can say is that a hot glue gun is invaluable and drinking straws are a must-have for any project.

The project came out really well … as you can see. (Note: a bonus feature of using a roller blade box is that the project was actually able to be folded in half in its own quasi-carrying case. Oh yeah.) But I think the best thing about it was being able to quietly observe just how much my little spacegirl really knows. She’s definitely a factoid junkie and while I’m not sure if she’ll end up being an astronaut someday (although she does love astronaut ice cream), there’s something oddly satisfying when your child is able to tell you things you don’t already know.

(Oh, and by the way … the title? Sadly, that was actually a phrase said in earnest over the weekend as she found some of the planets on the counter. Another parenting skill to master: stifling laughter when your kids would totally not think it was anything funny.)

In case you weren’t aware, I’m a little bit crafty and a little bit rock and roll… Kind of like Martha Stewart meets Zell Miller meets Punky Brewster meets The Clash meets … yeah I don’t know. Anyway, I thought from time to time I’d post some of the craftastic output…

Beaded Caterpillar … taken from here. This was actually a project that my daughter wanted to do, but lost interest to I decided to finish (aka do the whole thing) it myself. Kind of cute, kind of disturbing.

Pink Boa made of this. This was a quick project and is now living in my daughter’s “dress up” area. It’s always good to know that you can whip up a boa quickly in case of an emergency.

Finally, here is a random scarf I made with a medium green chenille and a ribbon-y add in. I like this a lot, but had some problems finishing the ends … so it remains a bit “undone”.

So there you have it, a few samples from my bag of tricks. I’m always working on plenty of projects and have a lot more in the ‘archives’. I know some of you may be thinking, “But how can you maintain your kickass bad attitude and be such a crafty maven? Like Sammy Davis, Jr. said, ‘Somethin’s gotta give!!’” To that I will just say, there’s more than one way to wield hot glue and a crochet needle. So watch your backs, fellas.crafts

Jamelah and Waterhot are both wrong, I am actually the last person on the Internet to do the four things/list meme business. And while proving them both wrong fills me with evil glee, I don’t want anyone to revoke my online privileges, I better just get it over with.

Four jobs I’ve had:

– Cider Press operator (seriously.)
– Waterslide attendant (you know, the person who stands at the top and gives everyone a little (or not so little) shove). Of course they don’t even have waterslides anymore.
– Biology lab instructor … BIOL 122 anyone?
– Here … which this reminds me an awful lot of… Of course in looking back I see the office where I worked apparently doesn’t even exist anymore. I’m starting to get a complex…

Four Movies I can watch over and over:

Ermm… well anyone who knows me knows I’m so totally not a movie person. Really, I’m just not. But let’s see…

– Dirty Dancing (duh)
– Groundhog Day
– Christmas Vacation
– Rudy

Four Places I’ve Lived:

– Numa, Indiana … which wouldn’t even be considered a town to most rational people… and should not be confused with this.
– Earhart Hall … 6th floor represent, represent.
– Los Angeles, CA (Or maybe more accurately, just off the runway of LAX)
– Dayton, OH (in what will forever be affectionately known as “The Page”)

Four TV shows I love:

– American Idol (really…)
– The Office
– What Not to Wear
– Seinfeld (forever!)

Four places I’ve vacationed:

Well, I don’t get out much but …

– Jack Daniels Distillery
– The Badlands
– Virginia Beach
– Shenandoah

Four of my favorite dishes:

– Smoked Pork chops/fried potatoes
– Chicken Noodle Casserole (yay Grandma!)
– Portuguese Kale Soup
– Garlic bread… is that technically a dish?

Four sites I visit daily:

– Jamelah.net
– LitKicks.com
– iVillage ahem
– Flickr

Four places I would rather be right now:

– Rego Park
– Shenandoah
– the Maple Fair
– Steak n Shake

Four bloggers I’m tagging:

– you, you, you and you in the back in the red cap.