Georgia's Stonehenge ~ Weird

Did you know this existed? I didn't but, wow! This is bizzare and really fascinating, and you know I love me some crazy crackpipe theories. While this isn't a straight out theory, I bet the unknown people who designed have some. So, crazy by default.

Read this wired.com article and find out the story behind the ultimate DIY project for a post-Apocalypse era.

Secret Marriage Contract? WTF?!

I've never watched John and Kate Plus Eight. I was the oldest of 5 kids and the thought of just 3 more kids didn't seem that interesting to me. Plus, I have a low tolerance for reality shows (Except American Idol and The Real Housewives...)*

Nevertheless, you'd have to be living under a rock or just be really, REALLY good at ignoring mainstream media to not know that the Gosselins marriage is rather rocky.

He's a cheater, (ugh! Who would seriously sleep with him other than Kate? Unless it needs recalibrating, he's about a 2 on the Hot Hubby I'd Like to Steal Since I'm a Skank Scale!)

She's a cheater. (The bodyguard? Really? How original, Kate.)

Today, though this just made me sad.

If it was my brother spilling the beans about my personal family life, I'd never talk to him again. But then again, neither of them really seem committed to strengthening family relationships at this point, so maybe it makes no difference.

I feel so bad for those kids. Your dad's a whore, your mom's a crazy shrew and no one around them is thinking of what's best for you.

If it's true they have a "secret contract" to make everything look nicey-nice on tv, how long will it be until those kids figure it out? Kids are smarter than adults give them credit for and I'm guessing it wouldn't take much.

I can't imagine the show going on for much longer anyway because now that everyone knows (since all of this is rumored to be true) who's going to want to watch the sham? Is reality tv and the delusions of grandeur and fame to blame for this marriage going bad?

What a joke and how sad for the kids. It's their lives too...who wants to see the worst your parents can be on tv?

I'm feeling over judgemental today, but so what? I hate seeing children suffer for parental stupidity. Any decision I make puts my daughter first. No matter what happened, I'd like to think I'd at least try really hard to work through any trouble I had in my marriage before getting divorced if for no other reason than my child. Maybe that's just really old fashioned.

At the same time, I know I have my breaking point of when I'd walk away (Please God, don't ever test that limit!) but if I had millions of dollars on the line as an incentive, I'd probably control my passions and not cheat on my spouse, putting that money and my family's happiness in jeopardy.


kicking my soap box disgustedly and stomping away...

*Hush your mouth! I can enjoy the occasional tv junk food binge, too, right? It's low calorie!

RetroGag: The Salmon Volcano of Doom

Retrosnark is one of my favorite blogs for old cookbooks/ads/whatnot from bygone eras. He shares my distaste for Jello molds and he also found this delightful gem:
This is truly has no words for it. To me it looks like cat food gussied up with some baby poop icing. I'm not even going to try and figure out what the chunky bits are that are in the "salmon".

They claim it's salmon covered in guacamole. I personally don't believe it, but you can judge for yourself.

Could you possibly imagine going to a pot luck, party or family gathering and just dying to try some of that?

Who doesn't love subliminal advertising?

I absolutely love ad design blogs and this is a fabulous post from graphicdesignblog.org.

Logos can be one of the most difficult things to design, and this is a fascinating look at some of the best "hidden graphics" in logos...

Vote for Me!

So, I was over at Marketing Mama's blog and noticed she was nominated for best Local Blog (in St. Paul/Minneapolis) on Nickelodeon's Parents Connect website.

Being the curious Mama I am, I found that I, too was nominated for Best Local (Kansas City) Blog.

I have some stiff competition, but I'd love to win just to inflate my fragile ego. I know I shun the "Mommyblogger" title, but...I can't help it, I'm competitive! I'm also shameless with the personal plugs (it's called marketing/self-promotion...but my Catholic guilt always rears it's ugly head and I feel bad for asking.)

Even if you aren't a parent, please go vote for me anyway. You'd make me very happy! Plus, vote on other stuff in the KC Category. Everything from Best Toy Store to Preschool to Parent's Date Night.

Nothing says Happy Mother's Day like....

Poison Ivy!!! Yikes! Darling has it all over her legs. Any age-old wisdom/cures to get rid of this fast?!!

Moxie's Secret Hideout

When I got to my desk this morning at work I was blown away by two things:

1. Holy shit! It's May 6th! How the hell did that happen?
2. I've been MIA on a lot things in life. Where have I been? I feel like I somehow lost a week and a half of time...

I know these seem like weird revelations, especially given the fact that deadlines are a big part of my job and I'm constantly looking at the calendars in my office/cellphone/home office.

So, what the hell have I been up to?

Last weekend was a Do Nothing Weekend. Since I work 2 weekends a month at the museum, I glory in doing nothing when I can. I have exactly 2 days this month that require me to do nothing more strenuous than eat, sleep and play with my kid. I enjoyed it.
Last Saturday, I did make Dana's Root Beer Cookies, which were all sorts of awesome, and coincidentally, Handsome's favorite soda beverage. If you are unaware, I'm sort of fascinated by weird recipes.

Last Sunday I made one of the biggest, dumbest mistakes in recent memory. Darling had a Princess Birthday Party at Chuck E. Cheese. I had a headache and had forgotten to restock my purse with more Excedrin Migraine. I'm pretty sure there needs to be a sign outside of Chuck's saying: "If you are an epileptic, afraid of germs, have a headache or are easily frightened, turn back now!" Seriously. What made it even worse was the fact that the "Ladies" restroom rivaled The Dirtiest Toilet In Scotland (Trainspotting ref, btw). I'm not a germ-aphobe, but I almost puked. But at least Darling had a great time.

I've also realized that I haven't seen a play/musical/improv show in over 2 months. (Kris Kristofferson concert doesn't count.) This is a personal record for me. I have never gone this long without live theatre since roughly 2001. I'm completely serious. Not even when I was pregnant or right after I had Darling. In the 12.5 years we've been together, I've seen at least one performance of Handsome's shows except the one I was planning on seeing the day I gave birth. When he isn't in shows, we go see other people's shows. Handsome opens in a new show next week and it will be the first I've seen since late February. We've just both been so busy with work and Darling that we haven't seen anything else since his last show.

While this probably means nothing to you, it's huge for me. It means I'm hermitting in real life AND on my blog. Not good for me. I'm a social being and other than the Adult Easter Egg Hunt, a few intimate gatherings with friends, and 2 Royals games, I've been MIA on the social scene. Handsome has these tendancies, I don't usually. I need to be out and about amongst the people. I like to go to parties and socialize. But I've had no desire to do so outside my very intimate group of closest friends.

I haven't quite figured out why I am so busy and yet some things, like theatre shows are being put to the side. It's not a bad thing to be somewhat anti-social for a while, it's just really unusual and I guess it bothers me that I didn't even notice. I glibly sent Handsome off to see shows and go to parties while I either stayed home or did something else. Theatre shows have always been a bonding time for us as well as a stress-reducer we could share.

I've been totally wrapped up in Darling lately, getting her ready to go to Big Girl School's Kindergarten Summer Camp (mid-June). Her birthday is mid-August and she'll be the youngest in her class (barely making the 5th birthday cut-off) but I know that she's ready to go this year.

I won't even start in on the debate about red-shirting a Kindergartener until they are almost 6. That whole thing bugs me. My brother and sister both have August birthdays and they both started at just barely 5. My brother is a successful HR Manager and my sister is an oncology nurse with a BSN. Plus, Darling's parents have 2 college degrees each.

The kid is as smart as a whip and making her wait will only make her bored. Nonetheless, at her Kindergarten evaluation, the evaluator told us that she's perfectly ready for "normal" kindergarten but because she is going to an "academically challenging charter school" Kindergarten, her age "might be an issue".

Bite me, lady.

I'm 90% sure Darling will be able to hold her own with all of the almost 6 yr olds she might encounter. She's a very social little gal and loves to be challenged. She's tall for her age and the only thing I worry about a little bit is her language skills as she was a late talker. She'll be fine, but that lady has got me freaked out now. Darling and I have been doing Kindergarten worksheets every night since then.

We really debated sending her this year or waiting another year. We consulted her pre-school teachers who said she was more than ready. We talked to both her aunts that are teachers and her uncle that is a grade school principal. They think she's ready.

So, why am I freaking?

Because that's what I do. I'm good at it.

See what I mean?! I just told you I wouldn't discuss the Kindergarten thing and look what I just did! Another reason I need to go out and have more fun is so I can stop fretting over stuff. I need more relaxing. Less stressing.

This week I'm back on a work jag. I've got my regular job and my museum job this weekend. Plus, there's a group of paranormal investigators coming in Sat. night, so I'll be ghost hunting until late. Handsome has his tech weekend this Sat/Sun for his show so that means Mother's Day will be celebrated the following weekend.

Plus, I have to figure out when in the next 3 weekends I'm going to see Handsome's show, which should be a step in the right social/stress reducing direction.

I promise not to ignore my blog for a week at a time. Sorry 'bout that.