It's too loud and I'm too old

Disneyland. I haven't been there in a couple of years but my sister was in town and I had some free passes so we decided to go yesterday.



First off, I don't know when my equilibrium went out of whack but I get pretty ill from most rides--especially any that go in a circle. Second, I'm a total wiener when it comes to most rides deemed "thrilling", e.g. roller coasters. Third, I can be a pretty big crank when it comes to parking and lines.

Lucky for us it was a beautiful day to go and because it was a Tuesday--not so busy. I tried some rides for the first time: the Matterhorn, Indiana Jones ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, Autopia, Star Tours, and the Mark Twain riverboat.

Velina really wanted to try Space Mountain and thankfully my sister volunteered to go with her. I bowed out due to a seared-in nightmare of a memory of trying Space Mountain in Disney World when I was 10. So I waited it out in the shade by the stroller parking with an elderly guy parked on an electric scooter with 2 purses and a sippy cup in his basket. My sister and Velina came out alive and my sister said because she was imagining it from my horrified 10 year old mind she got a touched freaked. Velina survived as well though she said it wasn't her favorite ride.

On the Pirates of the Caribbean ride--is there a story? I could not follow it for my life! I saw the Jack Sparrow character peeking around but what was with huge royal bed with the skeleton sleeping in it? It was like a loud, creepy version of the "it's a Small World" ride.

Plus I can't believe we waited 45 minutes for Autopia! That was the only long line and we thought, wow, it must be good. Ugh, how hard is it to keep your foot on the pedal? Am I that out of shape? I nearly strained a hammy keeping that car going.

Overall though, good day at Disney--got to ride the Matterhorn about 3-4 times and the Indiana Jones rides twice. It was beautiful weather where I would have been fine curled up on one of the park benches on Main Street. And of course, when you're with family having a good time, it's all good.

Where to begin?

Last week was my birthday (it's the same as Barbara Streisand's and for you kids in the house, the same as Kelly Clarkson) and it was just full.

Highlights and lowlights:

- getting randomly selected for the patdown at the airport
- weighing in at 164 pounds
- watching a near brawl at the Red Lobster
- my co-worker nearly get called out in a throwdown in the Rite Aid parking lot (don't worry, I had her back)
- a discussion on locker room nudity issues
- middle seat airplane seat issues
- thrifting in Sacramento
- my sister's visit
- awesome birthday dinner prepared by friends, including gifts!
- saw "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"
- hitting the used book store and birthday Thai lunch

Where to begin?

Dymo for a good cause

As I continue to de-clutter and de-stash, I’ve realized that I’ve got quite a few Dymos. And with the encouragement of some friends who appreciate Dymos as well, I’d love to share them for a good cause.

My office has a Walk Team for this year’s Orange County AIDSWalk on May 10. A young woman shared her moving story at our kickoff lunch. She was a teenager when her single mom was diagnosed with AIDS. Becoming a caregiver for a parent is tough enough but to face that as a teenager (which frankly, is wrought with its own issues) must have been incredibly overwhelming. Plus it doesn't help that AIDS is still stigmatized... Through the programs OC AIDSWalks supports, she was able to get medical guidance for her mother, counseling, and support (including food). Her mother has passed away and this young woman is now in grad school. I am a registered Walker in hopes of being a part of the solution and help people like this young woman and all others affected by AIDS.

This is my fundraising page for OC AIDSWalk.

To provide crafty encouragement to donate (and for me to de-stash), I’ve got an old-school Dymo embossing label-maker with the cursive, vertical print, and horizontal block print wheels (pictured above--one of my favorites, the Mark 6) that I’m “raffling” off. Every $10 donation will be treated as a raffle ticket if you e-mail me or leave a comment to confirm that you want to be included in the raffle after you donate to my Walker web page. And when I reach $100 in donations this way, I’ll add another crafty prize—another Dymo probably, maybe some vintage goodies next (hopefully!)—so that the odds are 1 in 10. Pretty good odds for a pretty good cause.

If you’ve already donated and want to participate in the raffle—just e-mail me or leave a comment and I will totally include you. If you’d like to simply donate without participating in the raffle, of course, I welcome the support. If you’d simply like to share words of encouragement and cheer, I would truly appreciate that as well!

I’ll pull the winner(s) of the raffle (hopefully raffles) on Sunday, May 11!

Stashing it Forward - Winners

I’m happy to say that tobina and becca are getting the vintage and scrap packages from the Stashing It Forward post! Tobina and Becca, e-mail me your shipping addresses at OneCraftyMother@gmail.com and I’ll get these out to you.

On a sweet note

I picked up 4 shelf units (2 Bennos for DVDs and 2 Expedits) from Ikea. In my head I was going to assemble everything, finish de-cluttering, clean the house top to bottom, and possibly sew some curtains, before my friends Pat and Janet, and their son Dec came to visit from Queens. Though my efforts were continuous, at about T-4 hours, I had to settle for 2 units assembled and de-cluttering what was visible to visitors who came in the front door. And believe it or not, Pat insisted I leave the skeleton on the front porch. Wish granted.

But check out what they gave me for my birthday coming up:



Has anyone received one of these? It's an awesome box full of:

Candy from when I was a kid!

Man this brought me back. I almost wanted to just preserve it but Velina busted into the Fun Dip and Paul had the Chic-O-Stix and Cherry Heads. And I cracked open the chocolate Necco wafers. I'll probably save the Razzle, Bottle Caps, and bubble gum cigarettes for last.

What a sweet way to end the weekend...thanks Pat & Janet & Declan!

How did that Asian transvestite get in my car?

So I didn’t wear my suit to that meeting. I wore an acceptable, less formal effort. To polish everything off, I decided to wear makeup. I don’t wear any makeup normally, which started in college as a feminist stand against the Man and Man-centric society but now is probably more of case of laziness. Later, I used to have a set “face” when I would go out on auditions, but since I haven’t gone on an audition in over 5 years, I’m a little out of practice. When I saw my reflection as I was getting into my car, I initially felt a set of acrylic nails short of hopping on the stage in some Asian drag queen revue. Willing to write it off as the equivalent of seeing rain when expecting sun, and too lazy to figure out what to adjust, I drive off to work.

On the whole though, I think most people feel I’m better with face paint than without it. And because I don’t wear makeup everyday, the day I do put on a face, the reaction I get is the equivalent of those fashion Don’ts who get made over into fashion Do’s (oooo, you look great with color on your face, it slims down your jowls, you look less like a potato with a bad weave, blah, blah, blah). To a degree, I know people are trying to encourage me to wear makeup more often and join the ranks of mature, respectable corporate society. But dang, I’m so lazy.

And with a body to match. I got on the scale and it said 161.5. After a week of cardio, hitting the weights, and cutting my caloric intake, I gained a pound. I know, I know, muscle weighs more than fat, your body is adjusting, you’re probably retaining water…gaaaaaahhhh! I’m going to seriously lose my shizzle if I don’t shed some funkin' weight for all this funkin' effort.

To end this post on a positive note, I'm heading out to an Ikea mission as part of my de-cluttering strategy. I have got to make headway on at least one thing.

When did this happen?

Whoever said losing weight ain’t easy because, hey, you didn’t put on the pounds overnight, ha, ha, right? Because I’d have to correct that person, it ain’t easy because it ain’t nearly as delicious and lazy losing the weight than it is putting it on. And then I’d punch the smug bastard in the face.

I’m participating in a fundraising Walk at work and there are pictures from last year’s walk posted around the office. When I see pictures of my big face in these pictures, it’s like staring at a pumpkin with eyes. You know when a baby makes a person out of those big, chunky Lego Big Blocs? That’s my body, except not as toned.

I considered putting on a suit today, as I was actually going out and interfacing with other people for my company. And since I hadn’t worn it in over a year, it was still shrouded in a dry cleaner bag. When I lifted the plastic up, I absolutely panicked when I saw a tag plainly stating “8”. As in size 8. As opposed to the tag on the pants I currently wear that plainly state “14”. I couldn’t even get the pants around my a$$. It was like trying to put a watermelon in a ziploc baggie. Holy crap, when did this happen?

25 pounds is what happened. God, when did I become a cliché? I used to resemble a lean, mean, kick-butt machine. Now I’m a scrapbooking mother who natters on about once being a lean, mean, kick-but machine.

I’ll weigh myself in the morning. Last week I was 160.5. I’ve been exercising and trying to consume less chocolate, butter, and peanuts. My target is 140, though frankly, I’ll take 145. Man, this better pay off or I’m going to drown my sorrows in a bucket of Fluf and peanut butter.