Gone Craft Crazy. . . Be back later (maybe)

So I had a thought the other day. It was one of those very dangerous thoughts that starts innocent enough and then explodes all over your life.

I love to create but I never know what to do with the items I make, so I don't create often enough to really get the creative juices flowing. And since I love to shop for crafty things (almost more than I love to create) I have a lot of excess stuff that could be used to create things. So why not take this love of creating and combine it with my over flowing stash and try to make a little money with it all and host a craft boutique at my home in November and maybe start taking a few special orders here and there?

Then I talked my neighbor Jen into joining me on this craft crazy adventure and with in an hour we had a long list of items to make. Once you've discovered mod podge and chipboard, the possibilities are endless. And both of us lay awake at night thinking of other things we should be making and more uses for chipboard coasters.

This morning, we set out on a child-free (oh so rare for both of us) expedition to a few places to check out a few things, get ideas and of course take advantage of any great deals. Our first stop: IKEA, but Robert's Craft and Hobby Lobby just happen to be on the way so we didn't arrive at there until lunch time. (And can I just mention that I was a Hobby Lobby neophyte and now I think I am IN LOVE!) Then on to Tai Pan Trading and by time we got to Joann's we were pretty punchy and everything started looking like a great deal that we couldn't live without. Thank goodness some wisdom kicked in before we got to the cash register. But I think my stash has grown at least 25% just today!

Anyway, we are excited. We already have our first order for some assorted homemade cards for Jen's grandma. And I know we are going to be pretty craft crazy for the next several weeks getting ready for November. But it is great to have something to be excited about. I've been in a bit of a rut since A.J.'s surgery and this has pulled me out of it a little bit.

Now if I could just get my hands on some chipboard coasters. . .

Lovin' Hairspray!

When I heard there was going to be a new movie version of Hairspray, I knew I wanted to see it. But James wanted nothing to do with it. So finally this morning, my neighbor Jen and her 9 year old daughter McKenna and I went to see it.

From the opening number, "Good Morning Baltimore" to the closing number, "You can't stop the beat," the movie is full of catchy songs that get stuck in your head and make you want to tap your toes and dance along. It is impossible not to get sucked into Tracy Turnblad's life with her contagious smile and the fearless way she stands up for herself and others. The actress who plays her, Nikki Blonsky also is just so cute!

And the other actors are simply amazing too. It's hard for me to say who stole the show more, John Travolta as Edna or Michelle Pfeiffer as the evil station manager. Both give the sort of over-the-top performance that is essential in a musical. And boy does Travolta still have the moves -- and a few new ones too! Amanda Bynes and Allison Janney are too funny and Queen Latifah is larger than life as she is in everything she does. And Jen mentioned after the show that if McKenna didn't have a crush on Zac Efron, she did.

Anyway, if you can't tell, I loved the movie and give it a big thumbs up. The message that you should be comfortable in your own skin regardless of it's shape, size or color, and that you should stand up against injustice and prejudice is just as important in 2007 as it would have been in 1962.

Hero Worship

One of the best things about being the parent of four year old boy is that they think you are really cool. Well most of the time anyway. But in the past couple of days, A.J. has said things that let us know that we are the most important people in his life.

On Monday morning, A.J. was playing something and talking about cutting things and performing other medical procedures and I asked him if he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. Given what he has been through lately, I thought maybe he would want to inflict that kind of torture on others.

He answered, "No mom, a POLICE OFFICER!" (Duh, how could I even suggest that he wanted to be anything other than that.) So I asked him if he wanted to be a "real" police officer. "No, a pretend one so I can work with Dad!" (See in A.J.'s world, real police officers drive police cars and wear uniforms and federal agents are merely pretend police officers.) Of course, we want A.J. to be what ever he wants to be when he grows up, but it is kind of touching that he thinks his dad is that cool that he wants to be just like him.

Then later that day, I was telling him that someday he was gong to grow up and go on a mission and go to college. He said, "Mom, you're coming too right?" I told him, "Of course I will if you really want me too!" Now I know full well that when A.J. is 18, he isn't going to want Mom to be be anywhere near where he is going to college. But it is wonderful now to think that he doesn't ever want to be without his mommy. I'd like him to think that mom is cool for as long as possible.

A.J. always comes up with really cute things to say though. For the past couple of weeks, he has been talking a lot about a baby coming to our house again. Not sure why but it is on his mind right now. The other day he said, "Mom, how long did Addison pray for a baby?" Addison is A.J.'s best friend and her baby brother was born in April. I told him I had no idea how long
she prayed but that she is 5 now so maybe it was a long time. He's also been telling me that he needs a sister. When I asked him why a sister instead of a brother he says because he is already the brother so we need a sister. Hard to argue with that logic.

Caught the Indexing Bug

Last Tuesday, I was sitting on the couch and noticed the August Ensign was sitting on the table still in the plastic so I pulled it out and started leafing through it. What caught my eye was an article on a new program the church is introducing called "Indexing." I was immediately fascinated by it.

Basically, indexing is related to extraction work, only now anyone with Internet access can help out. You go to www.familysearchindexing.org and download the program, sign up and poof, you are now an official indexer for the church.

This work is in my blood. My Grandma spent many, many hours working in the extraction program for the church. My Aunt Maurine, would use a pencil to press the keys on the keyboard to enter names and places into the computer because her hands were too disabled to type anymore. And I am always saying I need a project to do. This seemed like the perfect thing for me.

Here we are 5 days later and I have already entered 1000 names. The current project is the 1900 census and most of the names I've been entering have been from Mississippi and Texas, but I have also worked on Virginia and Illinois too. Some might consider it mind numbing to endlessly read images and type what they say but to me it is very interesting. I wonder what these individuals and families lives must have been like.

Yesterday, I noticed in a batch from Mississippi there were several widows and widowers in their 20s and I wondered what would have taken so many so young. And then there were the former slaves who didn't even know the month they were born or where their parents were born, or maybe they did, but didn't trust the government enough to share that information. Today as I was entering the name of young boys, I wondered if they later served in WWI and how many of them weren't around for the 1920 census because of that.

I know none of this is actually my business but I am kind of curious. And I also hope that by doing this, I can help someone find information about their family that will provide the missing information they have been looking for. And at least I am not just wasting my time, doing who knows what. I've set a goal to do 4000 names this month and I am well on my way!