Saturday, October 10, 2015

Snapshot-Forgotten Cotton Candy


Have you ever wondered what happens to a bag of county fair cotton candy if you hide it in the cupboard and forget about it after you leave the fair? Wonder no more.




Apparently, deep down inside, it yearns to be a hamburger patty, so that's what it becomes.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

What We Found While Picking Up Trash At The River #1

We've been picking up trash for an Environmental Science project. What started out as obligation has quickly morphed into something I feel compelled to do, for so many reasons.

It is my new favorite therapy. Getting lost in nature is the balm for so many ills, but caring for nature while you are lost in it, is such a fulfilling, soul renewing, creativity refreshing way of spending time. You can't help but feel GOOD after spending a few hours removing trash that poses environmental hazards from the skin of the earth. Not to mention, it makes the landscape safer for little humans to explore, something that is always on my mind as I want my littles to have the freedom to make discoveries without having to worry about them getting cut or hurt by broken glass, sharp plastics or entangling lengths of fishing wire.

I will admit though, that picking up litter can also make you very angry with humans very quickly. Because you find the most ridiculous examples of lazy, blatant littering.

You gotta counter that with the knowledge that you're making a positive impact and setting a good example. Plus, you never know when your example will inspire someone else to action.

I thought I'd share a few snaps from our last excursion, because picking up trash is always interesting.

I didn't set this up. My husband found it. Some litterers are more creative than others I guess...

Why? Just, why?

Pure laziness. 

"Hey, come look at these grasshoppers!" "Yeah. They're mating." "Are you sure? They aren't moving. I think the one is just sitting on the other." "Yeah....MATING." "Well, they're very slow at it..."

There were several of these right under my feet as I went to get out of our vehicle. Thank you, lazy fisherman, for dumping your bait on the ground and leaving it where people park and walk. Couldn't you have at least thrown it in the bushes? 

I also collected some big, rusty metal hooks which I'll be using for an art piece. Thank God I was the one to stumble onto them, as some sweet baby might have had their foot pierced through their shoe by those. Preventing that kind of tragedy is definitely something I can feel good about.

You can do it too! Won't you please consider?

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Pumpkins And Sprinkles

College has kept me super busy lately.

Like, BIZ. E.

And of course I am the dummy who has to make things more time consuming than they already are.

Recently, I had a birthday. I also had a research paper and a speech due the same day. A demonstration speech. You know the type-five minutes, show your audience how to do something easy and bam! You're done. That's it.

Only, I couldn't think of something quick and easy. All the things I like to do are time consuming.

So I went with cake. Because it was my birthday!

And because I am a dummy.

And then, of course, I was under pressure, and my son was cranky and my husband was on a business trip, and everything that could go wrong did, so I ended up with a cake that I was embarrassed to bring. And I couldn't read my notecards so I left out half the stuff I had written on them, and it feels awkward to look down at them when I'm trying to show people something, so I felt pretty silly afterwards. Not the best speech I've ever given, or cake I've made, that's for sure.




It did taste good, though. And that's the most important part.

Plus, I had enough batter left over to make mini cakes for my kids. Which made them happy.




And that's the moral of my story.

In the end, nobody will care too much if the cake looks awful, so long as it tastes good.