Friday, July 30, 2010

Small Talk 6 - Living Room Changes



This week's Small Talk 6 (which I'm a couple days late for) was 6 things you'ld like to change about your living room.

Here's what I'd like to change about my living room!

1. The couch with the torn up cushions would be GONE, replaced by a satalite couch.
2. There would be SOMETHING on our walls...other than paint.
3.  The furniture would all be the same color wood.
4.  It would have some shelving or cupboards of some sort to store stuff in. 
5.  It would be self-cleaning (a girl can wish, can't she?)

If you blog, you can share your 6 on your blog and post the link at Small Talk 6 at MomDot.  If you don't blog, why not share your 6 in the comment below?

Sky Watch Friday - Colors

In one direction this...

and in the other direction this...

What a sky!


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COLORS

Interesting thing about colors...everyone sees the same colors, but people think about them in different way.  In some cultures red and yellow are not two different colors, but one (yellow is just light red).  Colors can be symbolic but have different meanings in different places.  Death is associated with the color black in American/English culure, but in at least some Asian cultures  the color white is symbolic of death.  In American white symbolizes purity and is traditional for wedding dresses.  In Japan, Korea, and India (and possibly other places) red is the typical color for wedding dresses.

I've been curious about what different colors mean in different parts of the world.  If you know of any color symbolism that's different than from the American meaning, please share...I'd love to learn. 


Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday! Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

This blog is kinda sort of about California and Texas, so here's my question....
When you think of California, what comes to mind?
(Last week I asked the same thing about Texas)

Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Sky Watch Friday + Haiku


A Texas Sunset
paints my suburban street
beautiful colors


Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday! Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

This blog is kinda sort of about California and Texas, so here's my question....
When you think of Texas, what comes to mind?

(Next week I'll do California)

Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Caption This!

Can you caption this photo?


Please leave your funny/creative caption in a comment below
and then take some time to read what others have written.
This is gonna be funny!


____ 




This post is participating in Wordless Wed at the following sites
I'm also posting this at Wordful Wednesday (since you're gonna add a lot of captions, right?)
and it fit well with Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday too!

OH, and does anyone know of a clean funny photo meme?
I've been looking for one.

Monday, July 19, 2010

My Backyard Wildflower Experiment Continues

This summer I've been doing an "experiment" in my back yard. I have left my back yard mostly un-mown, motivated in part by curiosity over what I might find, and in part by laziness and distaste for mowing in hot Texas summers (even not quite as hot as usual Texas summer). That and our lawnmower ran out of gas nearly as soon as I started in the back yard last time I tried (luckily I had finished the front)...and it took a while to refill it.

Well, I've discovered a lot of wildflowers gems already!  And here's what's blooming wild in my backyard now!


Sunflowers!





This little white lovely!
What is this?  I'd love to know!





And WHATEVER this is!
Seriously, what is this?  I don't think I like this one.
Probably gonna chop it down...and I do mean chop.  It's huge!



If you want to see more gorgeous blooms,
or share what's blooming in your garden
head on over to Garden Bloom Day 

You can also check out more wildflowers at

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Small Talk 6 - Children's Books I Like to Read Aloud

This Small Talk 6 is about Children's books you like to read aloud. Well, having three boys I couldn't miss out on this one...and since it fit, I added it to the What My Child is Reading blog hop too!

1. Stellaluna


My oldest son had most of this book memorized at 3 years old - we read it that much!   The story is so touching, the characters so vivid, and the dialog is just wonderfully fun to read.  The rythm of the sentences even seem to fit the characters...the birds sentences are full of short words that sound chirpy when you read them, while the bats have more smoother sounds.  And, the illustrations are nothing short of beautiful.





2.  A Quiet Night In and Other "Large Family" Stories


So, I haven't read all of these, but the one's I have read (A Quiet Night In and All In One Piece Though my kids all love these stories, I really think they are written for grown-ups.  You'll find yourself relating to the parents in this story, who's plans get sidetracked by their kids, the way plans often do (but with beautiful silver linings.)  The dialog is hilarious and the illustrations are charming...and may remind you of your own children, especially if you are a "Large Family" too.





3.  Click Clack Moo, Cows That Type

We got four fun farm animal stories by Doreen Cronin in various Chick File kids meals ( the others are Dooby Dooby MooGiggle, Giggle, QuackVote for Duck), and there has never been a kids meal toy we liked better!  We have read these over and over and over again and it's always a joy.  They are hilarious.  Click Clack Moo is the one I love reading aloud the most because I always make the "moo" deep and loud (although now the kids usually say this part.)









4.  Our Animal Friends At Maple Hill Farm

Our Animal Friends At Maple Hill Farm
My mom grew up in New England and I think she bought this book wanting to share a little of home with us.  It's too long to read in one setting (well, you could...but before bed it's hard).  Still, I really enjoy reading this with my kids.  It's so matter of fact and down to earth.  It's not squeemish about things like cats catching mice and hens being carried away by foxes...but it's not brutal about them either.  In fact, one of the last pages is a remembering of beloved animals on the farm that had been burried in a little secluded wooded patch on the corner of a field...and it is gently touching.  The characters of the animals on this farm make me think of the animals in my own life.  It's enjoyed sharing this book with my children, and they enjoy it too.


5.  Junie B. Jones

Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl (Junie B. Jones, No. 17)

I was first introduced to this series long before I had children, when I was tutoring a little girl from overseas.  She had The Mushy Gushy Valentine and it was HILARIOUS.  When my son got old enough for chapter books, I knew he would like these (even if the main character was a girl).  And he did!  And I always love reading Junie's goofy monologues...they're great!




6.  The Indian in the Cupboard

The Indian in the Cupboard
This was a book that I read in school when I was in elementary, and I was so happy when my son's aunt got it for him one Christmas.  It was a step up from Junie B. Jones, and at first he didn't want to read it...but once I got him to sit down for the first chapter, he was hooked.  And so was I.  I had forgotten just how good it was!  We looked forward to reading it every night, and I had to keep myself from reading ahead after he went to sleep.

(A side note on this...the "Texan" character of Boone in the book is kinda...ok very...stereotypical.  Not at all like any real Texans I know, though I don't know any who lived 100 years ago to be sure.   Still, it's a kids book and I really don't care...just thought I'd mention that since I live here now and all).



    



You can share your favorite 6 books to read aloud at Small Talk 6...and if you have a blog you can join in the What My Child is Reading blog hop at Mouse Grows, Mouse Learns or below...

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday!  Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

Here's my question....
Have you ever read a book set in your home state or somewhere else you had lived? If so, what book was it, and did it capture the feeling of the place, or leave you feeling the author had never been there? (If you read several, what was the best or worst?)

Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.


And here's my answer (way longer than yours has to be...a sentence is fine):
My favorite book set in California  is All the Way Home by Ann Tatlock.  Actually only the first half was set there, but vividly so.  Though set in the 40s through the 60s, long before my time, reading it I felt like I was walking down California streets I knew (ones that had probably been built around that time). It's a book that starts at a peaceful, meandering pace and slowly turns into a page turner filled with suspense, as it draws you into the lives of the characters it portrays so well. The characters didn't seem "stuck in history" like they can seem in some historical novels (something I never fully realized until I had this book to compare them with); nor did they seem like people from today inhabiting another time (another common historical fiction pitfall). No, these characters seemed like real people, and it brought both the book and the places and times it was set in alive for me.

Today's Thought

overpopulation myth print
Overpopulation Myth by DakotaJoan
In Affiliation With Zazzle.com 

Free Museum Tickets and More July 16 - 18

Target is sponsoring free admission to various arts and cultural museums and events around the country July 16 through 18.  Visit the link below to see what's available near you...

Arts and Wonder Free Family Event

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Small Talk 6 - Shirts I've Read and Loved

I was busy setting up a garage sale when the last Small Talk 6 was put up, but I'll have to crash this party late because I simply can't miss this one. You see, I sell T-Shirts through CafePress and Zazzle and Printfection, and when I'm not busy on my own shops I love browsing other's to see all the pretty and witty designs. So, since this IS Texifornia I'm sharing my 6 favorite Texas and California shirt slogans...and even THAT was hard to narrow down to 6!.


1.  My favorite T-Shirt ever is....



Ski Texas T-Shirt by the Online Paper Airplane Museum
...and yeah, my love of it has as much to do with the picture as the slogan.



2.   You've probably heard of the Slogan "Don't Mess With Texas" --well, there are so many good parodies of that it was hard to choose.  Here's one of my faves...

If you can't read that, it says
This shirt is by Americasaurus


3. And here's another...



4.  You may have seen shirts with the slogan "Keep Austin Weird" before (which, by the way, I love).  But even better still is this Lubbock Parody....




5.  Ok, time for some California tees already!   Here's one that makes me laugh (if someone reads this long in the future, this was from the age of Arnold):



6.  And this one is perfectly Texifornian... 

This one is by one of my favorite Celtic artists,
VoxFox, who has shops through CafePress and Zazzle
Only the CafePress shop has this design, which is a bit
out of character from his intricately drawn artwork.
There's versions for other states too, including Texas. 





 So there you have it...my 6 favorite Texas/California Slogans (for now...I'm bound to find more).  If you have a blog you can post your own Small Talk 6 and leave a link on MomDot. If you don't have a blog, feel free to  join in by posting your 6 in a comment below!

The CafePress shirt images are used without permission in the hopes that these artists would want me to use them to promote their shirts--but if anyone does not want these images posted on this blog, please let me know and I'll take them down right away.  The Zazzle t-shirts are linked through the Zazzle Affiliate program.  It's easier to link them that way, but I can also earn money if you buy them through my links (which I don't mind a bit either).  





Friday, July 09, 2010

Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday!  Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. 

OK...in light of the recent earthquake in California, and considering I haven't yet done a really "Texifornian" Aloha Friday question yet....
Which is worse (in your own humble opinion), earthquakes or tornadoes?
Please leave your answer in a comment below.  And, if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.   (Also shared this on Throwback Thursday at Living Life.

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Texas Summer?

What great weather we're having!  When it's not raining (which I don't mind a bit...waters my garden nicely) it's just gorgeous outside.  My husband heard a sports newscaster commenting on TV about that:
I wanted them to get a taste of real Texas football in July.  And it's 80 outside!  And they're STILL complaining because they're from San Diego and that's 10 degrees higher than 70!
-Some Texas Sports Newscaster
I guess San Diego was playing one of our teams (yes, I don't know which one...that's how much into football I am).  And no, that's not an exact quote because it wasn't me that was watching it.  If you know who said that and on what channel, please let me know, cause I think it's hilarious.  Seriously, my husband's from San Diego, and he has a joke that when the weather hits 60 degrees it's 10 below (10 below 70 that is!).  Funny to hear that thought echoed on the news!

Is California Shaking Again?

Guess  California is on the move again.  Here's an amusing facebook conversation that resulted:

MY FRIEND ADAM:   
That wasn't an earthquake. Just a glitch in the Matrix. All is well again so please continue producing.

ME:
Is California shaking again?

MY FRIEND ADAM:
Yes the ground trembles in the presence of In-N-Out. There's a price for having THE BURGER nearby. Hmmmm... I'm hungry now.

ME: 
Hmmm...I think I just felt the ground rumble here too. No, wait, that's just my stomach. :-)


----
Hope you all are well and that no one got hurt or had much damage. 

Friday, July 02, 2010

Aloha Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday! Every Friday (well, ok, almost every Friday) I ask a simple question--nothing that requires a lengthy response. Please participate by leaving an answer in a comment below, and if you have a blog and would like to post your own question you can leave your link at An Island Life.

My question this week is...

What's your favorite meme (other than Aloha Friday)?  Also, do you know of any memes related to California or Texas?  

OK...so technically that was two questions.  Thanks for answering!

Thursday, July 01, 2010

Night Sky


This doesn't half catch the beauty of that night.
There was a subtle gleam in the sky behind a smoky ribbon of clouds,
and under it the silhouette of oak trees

Sky Watch Friday 


Birds Nest


Here's the little bird that's in the tree in front of our house (I'm assuming its the mom...looks too big to be a chick) .  Would love to know what she is!  Please share if you know!






Throwback Thursday