Saturday, November 21, 2015

Out of the Box Saturday

It's all about me discovering something that is different. I don't want to post things that you and I have more than likely heard before. I want to find something different. I'll cover something sing | songy one week, and artsy | fartsy the next.

This next artist is freaking cool. I wish I owned a mask, or two, or twelve.

AJ Fosik is from Detroit, Michigan. In 2003, he received a BFA in Illustration from Parsons School of Design in New York City. He is currently based in Oregon.

Fosik’s work has been exhibited in galleries across the country including New York, Philadelphia, Miami and San Francisco. He has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Brooklyn Rail and Tokion. In 2011, Fosik was commissioned by Mastodon to create artwork for the cover of their album, The Hunter. The band’s music video featured the artist working in his studio on the piece.



Artwork can be found here.


Check out more of his masks here.

aj_fosik1

Check out AJ Fosik's work on this gallery page.
Check out AJ's work on his website.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Random Tid Bits

  1. I was putting gas in my car. All the sudden 2 emergency rescue vehicles drove past to go to the Urgent Care down the way.


    I was thinking 1 of 2 things could have been happening:

    1) The person that went to the Urgent Care should have gone to the Emergency Room instead. or

    2) The Urgent Care treated a patient for the wrong thing.

    Back story on that, last year when I had Influenza I went to the same Urgent Care. I had no choice. They closed at 9, and it was 8:45. Their 1 or 2 star rating on the internet didn't much matter when I felt a bit like I was death warmed over. When I got there they switched my chart with another patient. Moral of the story: There are a lot of places to see in Omaha, Nebraska, this Urgent Care isn't one of them.

  2. The boys flat out refuse to wear pjs. I even offered to buy flannel pj bottoms. Isaak's like, "I'm not wearing those!" I said, "It's only going to get colder out. What about the pj days that you have at school?" Isaak said, "Well I just won't go dressed up in pjs then. Here I thought it would be great to get them flannel pjs for Christmas. 

  3. Mica dressed up like Marty McFly for character day at school. I called him Mica McFly all day. 


  4. Isaak has been baby talking this week. OMG I hate when kids baby talk. Travis and I have both been on him to stop it NOW.

  5. Mica's at an age where you can have a real conversation about events in the world, and he sort of gets it. We talked with him about Paris, which led into a conversation about war. Isaak on the other hand has things go over his head. I do believe that kids should be kids. Don't make them talk about things in the serious nature before they are ready. On the flip side once they are ready they should know what's going on.

Giving Back

My husband Travis works in a dental lab. One day last week an dentist that works with low income families came into the lab.

The owners to his lab were gone in Arizona, so it was the owner's daughter and Travis that talked with the dentist.
 
Apparently the dentist had a teacher that came in to talk to him. The teacher paid for one of her students to get some front teeth. The child's teeth were all mangled up. All throughout his childhood the kid got bullied for his teeth.

The teacher knew that if his teeth were fixed much of the bully behavior would stop.

Travis and his other co-worker agreed to take on the case. They wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

I was thinking the whole time, Why didn't this kid's family just go to Boy's Town Research Clinic? They are a nonprofit organization that works with kids with these types of problems all the time. I know because we had to go there with Mica when he was itty bitty. Thankfully Mica is fine. I'm assuming this little boy's family didn't go there because they were low income, and didn't know about Boy's Town Research Clinic. Sometimes people are too proud to get help also.

The boy got his teeth. Everyone in the dentist office cried. The lab Travis worked at were praised. For the first time in a long time the little boy smiled.

This all started with a teacher that cared. It's amazing how much teachers give at times.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

WW: Nature {Linky}

Outside the door at work this was laying on the ground:



At Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska:



Travis found a tree that looked like a female part.



We all were cracking up because Mica always crosses his arms like this, and sticks his chest out when he's getting his picture taken.


Other nature details:



I was resting on a tree, turned around and saw this:


It was really camouflaged! There were also these all over another branch:

 

Isaak, "Hey Mom take my picture!" Me, "You know most people sit on park benches son, not rocks." Smiley face was from my i phone, gloomy face was from my camera. The camera still wins with lighting, and close-ups.


It's still fall here, but windy this week. I don't think the leaves are going to hang on too much longer.


 

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Monday, November 16, 2015

Sherlock Holmes and 1st Baker Street Review

Sherlock Holmes and 1st Baker Street was a fun show! The Rose Theater is located 2001 Farnam Street, Main Stage. 

If you would like to go tickets are $18 general admission
Call 402-345-4849 or purchase online at rosetheater.org. Discount ticket vouchers are available at all area Hy-Vee stores for $14 each. Reservations are required.

The show is 75 minutes without an intermission. 


We went to a showing where we couldn't take pictures. I took a few outside, before the show and after the show.

Mica was super excited about this one. The show is for ages 8 and up. It fit more his age group, although Isaak who is 7 1/2 liked the show as well.

Mica pretending to be Sherlock Holmes (his idea, not mine):


About Sherlock Holmes and 1st Baker Street:

Sherlock Holmes is the world’s most brilliant detective. Nothing escapes the highly observant eye or his astonishing brain. But a group of street- smart youths and their clever leader, Wiggins, challenge Mr. Holmes to see past their delinquent reputations and value their unique skills. Rediscover the beloved sleuth in this new twist on the exciting detective stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and solve the mystery of how Sherlock’s famed network of London spy-kids, the Baker Street Irregulars, came to be!

If you love the books, or movies, then you'll love this play!

Waiting for the show to start:

The Rose Theater is great! They entertain before and after the show. They have great handouts for the kids that's called Beyond the Curtain. My boys always read through it, and ask me questions before the show starts. Mica knows all the character's real names by the time the show is over.


Before the show they had The Rose Brigade sing and dace to songs from The Lion King. Isaak liked this part so much, that when they were done he was asking why they didn't finish it? Ha



The Set Design:

It was a series of buildings. Above they had  clouds that moved. Having an art background I'm always interested in the stage.



Cast and Crew:

Sherlock Holmes/Old Gentleman ...........Scott Pace
Dr. Watson .............................................Michael Wilhelm
Ms. Hudson/Merryweather/
Landlady/Mrs. Oakshott .........................Sonia Keffer
Spaulding/Catherine/Londoner ..............Sarah Gibson
Hope/Mrs. Sawyer/Ross/Baker/
Horner/Breckinridge ..............................Nik Whitcomb
Constable/Lestrade/Wilson/Ryder .........Matthew Pyle
Wiggins ..................................................Caulene Hudson
Toby/Tough #1 .......................................Matthew Kischer**/Harrison Maw*
George/Tough #2 ...................................Aaron Beckman**/Wayne Hudson*
Anna/Tough #3/Mary .............................Kandace Mack**/Brooke Vogel*
Lucy/Tough #4 .......................................Ananya Amarnath**/Emma Dougherty*
Oliver......................................................Ethan Stowell**/Jude Glaser*

* Blue Cast - 11/6, 11/7 (2 pm), 11/8, 11/14 (2 pm)
** Red Cast - 11/7 (5 pm), 11/13, 11/14 (5 pm), 11/15, 11/20, 11/21, 11/22

Artistic Credits:

Director ..................................................Kevin Ehrhart
Playwright ..............................................Brian Guehring
Costume Designer ..................................Erin Bragg
Production Stage Manager .....................Ashleigh-Dawn Kriegh-Fleming
Fight Choreographer ..............................Kevin Barratt
Lighting & Sound Designer ...................Kyle L. Toth
Assistant Lighting Designer ...................Laura Renae Hensley
Set/Projections Designer ........................Brad Carlson

The next set of photos belong to The Rose Theater.





This play was written By Brian Guehing. It took him awhile to put it all together. He based his character and stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes has to solve a mystery. A homeless girl got in his way of solving the mystery at first. Then he found out he needed her to help him. She could pull at people's heart strings, when he couldn't. They made a great team. In the end the girl knew what clues to look for when solving a crime. 

They always end with a question and answer time, or kids can take their program up for an autograph. 

 
My boys sat through the play really well. I could see younger kids not getting into this one. That's why they have ages for their plays and musicals. They have other plays for younger kids. This one along with A Wrinkle in Time were Mica's favorites. It's because they both made him think. Isaak liked Tarzan the most. Travis and I liked A Christmas Story the most. The Rose certainly has something for everyone! 

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Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free in exchange for a review. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Deserted in the Desert

Ok so we weren't deserted in the desert. I just thought that sounded like a good title. Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has a neat desert. Beneath the desert is their Kingdoms of the Night exhibit. I'll take you through that that in another post. Both the Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night cost $31.5 million dollars to construct. It's the world's largest desert exhibit. It opened in 2002.


The first time I went into the desert I swore it was hot and dry. Now it's not so much. As soon as you walk in it's sunny though. It doesn't matter what time of year it is. It's just pretty, and it feels like you're in the desert.




At first there isn't a lot of animals you see. Some birds, but mostly plants and rocks. After you walk a little ways in there's some neat looking animals.


The creature above (I don't remember its name) hangs out with Meerkats. One day that we went they were up, and active, while the other day the Meerkats were sleeping.




There are turtles that swim below them.


As we walked a little further along, ducks greeted us. Look close on the 2nd picture they have the color teal by their tail feathers.


Ordinary just got more interesting. 


Birds are here and there. 
 




A Road Runner stopped just long enough for me to take its picture.

 
A Vulture just perched looking kind of freaky.

 
The Wallabies like to hide. I've been there where they were playing a jumping tag. They move quick. This time one was just observing what was going on below.


Plants are everywhere. All different types of plants. There are animals that eat cacti.







Prickly Pears are the only type of cactus that grow in Nebraska naturally. 


The Bob Cat posed for us. I wouldn't want to get too close to it though.


The fox was chillin'.


The Coati is a member of the racoon family.



There are water areas, and spots you go under to see snakes, and other creatures. The lighting isn't very good to take photos in those areas.



These look like ground hogs, but I don't think they are.


You can't leave the desert without seeing a Warthog.


The one thing I wished they had would be Burros. They're so cute. Maybe it's just too small to have them there. Otherwise we love the desert!

Disclaimer

The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

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