Thursday, January 26, 2012

Please don't take out the trash.

In keeping with the theme of my last blog entry, I shall share a picture of my latest arts and crafts project.

I scheduled a craft day with a friend, and this is the best I could come up with. Painted rocks. A bee, a country cottage, a genteel frog having tea, a ladybug, and blue flowers.


BUT, this blog entry is not about crafts. No, I called this blog to order because I have a confession to make. I must divulge a dirty, filthy little secret, known until this day by a very select few. It is one that will probably change my readers' opinions of me and may even cause me to lose friends. Here goes...

I love trashy television.

I'm talking lowbrow, dramalicious, no-intellectual-value-whatsoever, plain, old swill: reality court shows, talk shows, teenage mama dramas, wife trading shows. Yes, I like my TV just a little on the trashy side...Okay, not just a little; the trashier, the better! (Well, to a point. Sometimes the Jersey Shore can be a tad too smutty for my taste.) 

This may come as a shock to some and seem out of character to those who know me but did not previously share in my little secret. I feel that I make up for my affinity for the raffish by offsetting it with other very classy (maybe even a bit hoity toity) interests such as classical music and wine appreciation, but trashy TV viewing has been my guilty pleasure for years.

Almost as much as I enjoy the programs themselves, I also delight in the commercials that air during such tawdry broadcasting. The usual fare consists of ads for local attorneys who want to help me receive the disability benefits I deserve, companies who want to help me earn my degree online and make up to one million more dollars over the course of my lifetime, and websites and telephone hotlines that want to help me find my soul mate. But, my favorite commercials are the ones for all the useful and innovative new products I can order simply by calling the 800-numbers listed on my screen! I always finding myself L'ingOL at the black & white nincompoops who cannot successfully complete everyday tasks such as putting on shoes or straining pasta by traditional means without disaster nipping at their heels.

One of my latest favorite product ads is the one for Easy Feet, a handy, hands-free device that helps you clean your feet in the bath or shower. (It's like a carwash for your feet!) You can use the nifty suction cups to secure the contraption to a variety of convenient locations throughout your bathroom, as shown in the commercial by the satisfied customer who suctions the dern thing shoulder high on the wall. (Not sure how that's more convenient that bending down to wash your feet with a rag, but to each his own.) Another clip shows a woman soaking in a bubble bath full of rose petals, sipping wine and cleaning her feet with her luxurious new bathtub companion. My favorite part about the ad is the special offer of not one, but two Easy Feet systems included in the regular price. That's one for each foot!

Whew! Feels good to get all that off my chest. Actually, I guess that was kind of two confessions in one: my love for trashy TV and for cheesy commercials. Whatever. I'll sleep easier now having no longer to hide these skeletons in my closet. Good night.


Monday, January 16, 2012

Crafty Like A Fox

Well, it seems that I have not blogged in quite some time. (Holidays and whatnot...you know how it is...) I have been keeping myself rather busy; I've just not been chronicling it. One of my more recent projects? A 365-day arts/craft project. I know what you're thinking, because I thought the same thing, too: “Can you do a 365-day project on a leap year??” Well, that has yet to be determined.

It all started with a Christmas gift from a dear friend. You see, this friend of mine knows how much I like to start new hobbies, so for Christmas, he got me Noah Scalin's book, 365: A Daily Creativity Journal: Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life! The idea is that the reader will create some kind of art every day for one year. This particular gift-giving friend also knows my history of fizzling out on the hobbies I start, so if he is reading this blog entry, he has probably guessed by now that I began the project with much gusto, but I have since slowed down considerably.

After one week's worth of arting and crafting, I found the project to be a bit too daunting for everyday. (Especially with my over-abundance of other hobbies waiting in the wings...) I'm thinking of using the book as a guide to spark creativity when I'm in a rut, rather than try to do a daily project and get discouraged when I inevitably fail. Either way, the book is full of good ideas to get the creative juices flowing, as evidenced by the photographs of the inspired works of art I have created so far.

Without any further ado, photos of my week-long creative journey!


The book that started it all.

My first assignment being to make something that would fit in the palm of my hand, I bedazzled this little seashell.

A wire sculpture inspired by one of my favorite animals.

"Sticks and Leaves on a Park Bench" (I was to make something with whatever materials I could find after walking for 10 minutes.)

A sweet Sharpie tattoo I made for my husband.

Some of my fantastic coin collection.

An origami dinosaur chilling out on a park bench in my office.

Last, but certainly not least, a picture of a unicorn drawn with a strawberry.

Will I continue crafting? You bet your sweet arts I will! Can a 365-day crafts project be done on a leap year? Maybe, but not by me.