Random Tid Bits

1. My 3rd year students have to do a fast, yet effective flyer for a non profit organization. If they weren't on target they got a zero. No worries they have a chance to bump that zero up. I give them feedback, so they don't have to start from scratch. I had a lot of tears, and pissed off students. Many have the ground work to push off to make a better piece. They were just pissed, and couldn't get passed that yesterday.
   
   There will come a time that they will learn that a boss doesn't always like everything they do. Yesterday was not one of those days. 


2. I just donated to my nephew Evan's school fundraiser. Can you believe it? The money is going towards his brother/my nephew Emerson. I ordered mixed nuts. Just yesterday I had a student come up wanting me to donate to help with cancer. Then at the grocery store they asked for a donation, for the food pantry.
   
   Where do you draw the line with donations? While I want to donate to many things, I can't always do that. Then I feel guilty when someone asks me to donate, and I answer with a "Not today." 


3. Did you know 1 billion people on this earth are non believers? The Dali Lama talks about it in The Book of Joy. Do you think that non believers bring negativity into the world? I know a lot of atheists, and some are more positive than people that go to church every Sunday. It's just interesting.


4. I got a message that my Aunt's want to get together less because it's just a lot of work. I'm ok with that. It is a lot of work. It gives us more time to spend with our own families. Travis surprised me by being the one that was upset by it. He never had big family get togethers often when he was growing up. He has to deal with it of course. 


5. Have you started Christmas shopping? I buy things things throughout the year, so there are things stuff away here and there. 

I got Isaak this keyboard when Toy R Us was closing.





Then I've gotten things for my nephews. For some reason I'm excited about these Guidecraft blocks filled with beads I found for Emerson. A school store was closing here, so I got them 30% off. Otherwise I would not have gotten them at all.  

Source

Scratch Off Map Review

The Perfect Gift:

It's that time of year where I'm busy getting holiday gifts.

I got a Scratch Off Map last year for my nephew Evan. This is a different brand, and I think my nephew Elijah will love it.

My nephews travel a lot because of Emerson. They go to a lot of conventions to help with Trisomy 18. They also travel to visit for medical help. Now they can both scratch off places they've been, and will go to.

Tube:

It comes in a tube. Everything is rolled up. It makes it great to ship, but a little hard to roll out to hang on the wall. Everything was protected with an extra thin paper.

Inside the tube is a map of the USA, another map of surrounding islands, a wrist band, a scratch tool, a cloth for cleaning the scratch tool, and a bag to keep some of those extras.

Scratch Tool:

I have to admit something kind of dumb of me...I thought the scratch tool was a keychain. I guess I thought that because it came with a wrist band as well. When I first posted on social media I said it didn't come with a scratch tool. It has one. :) I changed the social media posts. 

Wrist Band:

It says, "I haven't been everywhere."

Where to Get it:

You can get it here https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Leissure-Map-Travel-USA/dp/B075R96JCT/ref=sr_8_13?qid=1540998597&sr=8-13&ie=UTF8&keywords=us+scratch+off+map for $19.95 on Amazon Prime with an ebook. I have to admit that I don't really pay attention to ebooks like I should.

Do you like maps? I like them artistically. There's an artist I follow that paints them with acrylics. 

Disclaimer: I got this product for free, or a big discount to help with this review. The company did not tell me what to write in the review. I only review things I find my family, friends or readers will find helpful.

Terrarium Humidifier Review

I'm a bit terrarium obsessed. 

Possibly because my sister's name Terra is in terrarium, but more likely because they are so dang cute! I like little mushrooms, flowers, moss and animals.

Ohderii makes a humidifier | terrarium that is adorable!

I like that it had two functions.

Humidifier: The top gets filled up with water and/or essential oils to steam. The container is perfect, for just the right amount of water. I find with most steamers I don't use the full amount of water, and end up having to get rid of it. I don't want to turn on the steam later on, and have mold going up in the air. With this one I don't have to worry about all that.

Having asthma and a nose unlike others it's important I keep moisture in the air.

The steamer also comes with an extra filter.

Terrarium: The bottom is an enchanting scene. It has flowers, plants, moss, a mushroom and a bunny.

Colors:

You can get the top in pink or blue.

It changes colors. The first time I used it, it changed through seven colors. The second time I used it, it didn't light up. I don't know if it broke, or if I need to press somewhere to get the colors to start lighting up. Regardless it's still wonderful to look at. 

USB Powered:

It has a USB plug. I kind of wish it was powered by a regular cord. I had it plugged into my laptop to run. I got up, not thinking, and it spilled all over. Thankfully not on my laptop. I'm just not used to USB powered things except for devices like phones, computers, kindles, and so on.

Where to Get This:

You can get this at amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0792WDDX5, for $15.28 on Prime.

With your decor do you like modern or cute? I have both. I'm eclectic. 

Disclaimer: I got this product for free, or a big discount to help with this review. The company did not tell me what to write in the review. I only review things I find my family, friends or readers will find helpful.

Happy Halloween!

This year I was at a loss as to what I wanted to be. I could have been a witch, I thought about trying to be Salvador Dali (he's an artist for people that are not art fans), and I thought about being a McDonald's worker (I have much of the stuff from a review).

Then I decided I wanted to be a cactus. 

One day I poked big toothpicks in a green sweater that I've had for a long time. On the backsides I hot glued buttons. Then trimmed them with a fingernail trimmer. By the end of that day I was done! I did great not hot gluing my fingers the first 1/2, but toward the second 1/2 I burnt them often. I don't even think I was careless. It's just that I had the task of getting them in the sleeves, which was tight quarters.

Then I had to get fabric to make blooms, for my cactus. 

I ordered a terra cotta skirt, which I was excited about. It  came in the mail, and was golden rod yellow. I bought dye, and dyed it too dark. 

It ended up being more work than I'd like, but at least I got to watch Man in the High Castle, while I put the toothpicks in. 

This is how it turned out:

Two students were cacti, so we grouped up together to get a few shots:

A detail you didn't see! My nails:

I hardly do my nails! I just use my hands too much. 

Lucky for me I didn't get poked too much. It was impossible to lean back in a chair though. The first green makeup wouldn't cover me, and the second was almost too strong. I'm not the best with makeup! I rarely wear any daily, let alone Halloween. 

I get to go home, wash my face, and dress Isaak up to be the girl he wanted to be. Travis said, "I just don't know how to get him ready!" Ha!

Mica's now too old for Trick or Treating. We'll hang back to deliver candy. 

What's your favorite costume that you or your child has been?

What's your favorite candy? 

WW: Basketball {Linky}

Isaak moved up from the YMCA to Omaha Sports Academy. It's much more challenging. So far his team has tanked twice. It's all about learning to improve. He looks so cool in his new gear! They are the Saber Tooth Tigers.

He has this thing where he has a lot of spunk during practices, but then when the games come he's not as aggressive. He's working on that.

Did you play sports when you were younger?

The Vultures - Play Review

Travis has 2 bosses. It's a husband | wife team. Much like my work. His male boss has a brother that was in a play showing this past weekend. His female boss got a little annoyed that we were busy Friday, and couldn't go with them. We had tickets to The Rose Theater already that night + decided it was best we go on Saturday night; after we dropped the boys off at their leadership camp. Their camp was in the same neighborhood as the play. The play wasn't for kids anyhow.

Instead of Travis telling his female boss all this, he let her think whatever she wanted to think. Typical Travis! She thought we didn't want to hang out with them. Girls do get bent out of shape quicker than boys do at times. Travis was like, "Well with how she's being about I don't know that I want to hang out with them anyhow." That's not the point.

We went by ourselves to a play called The Vultures. 

Lucky us, his bosses paid for it. :)

As soon as we got there I had an inside giggle. The lady at the desk said, "Oh you're already paid for, but wait let me get you a ticket. You'll want that for your scrapbook." If you count this blog as a scrapbook, here's the ticket...

In all reality I'm not a scrapbook kind of girl. No judgement if you are a scrapbook kind of person. Go you!

They handed up a Playbill, and off we were to sit down. Then a lady came to ask us if we wanted to buy raffle tickets. I didn't know how that worked, or what the raffle was for. It ended up you buy say $6 worth of tickets. Those duplicate tickets go into a pot, and whoever wins, wins half the money. The other half went to the Florence Community Theater. I didn't win. 

There was candy all over the table. Of course we showed up early. I told Travis that I felt guilty, for eating it. Then I started eating it, and stashing the wrappers in my pocket. I left no evidence behind.

I told Travis that eating all the candy like that could be in an episode of Mr. Bean or Curb Your Enthusiasm.

It could play out like so...

Another person would sit down wondering where all their candy is at, and complain to the staff. All the sudden an old lady worker would come by and asked where all the candy was at? I'd play dumb. All the wrappers would be in my pocket. She'd ask us to empty our pockets. Wrappers beyond wrappers came out of my pocket. They got pissed at us! We got in free already. They made note of that. Then they kicked us out. 

I didn't really eat that many. It was just fun to blow it up in my mind.

We were both laughing about it.

They place was filled with older people. It made us feel young. Ha! Really I'm 42 and Travis is 43. 

The play ended up being really good! It was a mystery and comedy. It sort of reminded me of Clue the movie. We laughed many times over again! 

The Vultures: 

The story takes place at Westmount Estate, on the 20th anniversary of the death of publishing magnate Simon West. As his six remaining relatives gather for the reading of his will, the mysterious housekeeper declares, “The relatives are swooping in like a wake of vultures ready to pick the carcass clean.”

When the will is read, Hunter West is named as the sole heir, on the condition that he doesn’t suffer from an insanity curse that has plagued the family. If Hunter is declared of unsound mind, a second envelope of the will must be opened, and it will designate an alternate heir.

As the night progresses and the storm rages, Hunter’s sanity comes into question and one of the group goes missing.

Who will ultimately inherit the fortune? Will it be the charming realtor, the handsome male model, the dimwitted nail technician, the bitter old woman, the gay hairdresser, or the mild mannered accountant?

Throw in a priceless pocket watch, an androgynous housekeeper, an escaped mental patient, and a pair of reunited lovers and the result is murder, with a hefty dose of laughs.

It's a great thing we went! Travis' boss texted the very next day to ask if we had any problems with the free tickets, and to ask if we liked it. We had no problems, and enjoyed our time!

Do you like going to plays, musicals, and other live performances? 

Disclaimer: I didn't have to review The Vultures. It was good, so I thought I'd share about our experience.

Goosebumps The Musical @RoseTheaterCo Review

We got a chance to visit The Rose Theater this last Friday. What did we see? Goosebumps The Musical - The Phantom of the Auditorium.

About:

Best friends Brooke and Zeke are excited to tackle the next big Drama Club production. We had a bit of a giggle because Zeke is Isaak's nickname - except I've always spelled it Zeek.

But what’s up with that spooky script the theater director has chosen?

And that creepy trap door that leads to tunnels below the stage?

And the strange voices in the theater?

Will the show go on?

Those are all questions that are thought throughout the show.

Showing:

Oct 26 - Nov 11, 2018 - Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

It's 75 minutes, with an intermission in between.

We went on Opening Night. They had kids in costumes go up on the stage. Then there was some trick or treating afterwards. My kids are a little old for those things, but they enjoyed watching the kids up on stage. We did wear costumes, for fun. I love how The Rose always goes the extra mile to make sure kids have a great time!

The show was for all ages. I do think the ages of 6 to 9 is probably best. That's more the ages of kids that would read the stories. Some little kids may not have followed the storyline. I don't think it was too scary for any children though. 

Stage Design:

The stage stayed the same, with a few minor changes throughout. They did have a strobe light, for the elevator going down, and to emphasis scary scenes. 

A Fun Night: 

We did enjoy getting out of the house to see a semi spooky musical. The boys did like that they have read some of the books. That brought back memories. I think they wished it was spookier. They had to not make it too scary for smaller kids.

The actors did a great job! We loved their voices! 

It had a spooky vibe, comedy, and mystery. 

Sponsors: 

Goosebumps: The Phantom of the Auditorium – The Musical is sponsored by Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, Nebraska Furniture Mart, Security National Bank, the Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

Have you read any of the Goosebumps books? 

Disclaimer: We got free tickets to see Goosebumps the Musical. The Rose Theater in no way told me what to write, or influenced my decision on what to say. 

How to Make Ojo de Dios #craft #art

Our last post is up on ParentSavvy! We're sure going to miss doing crafts for them! We'll try and continue them on here, once a month. I already have one we created for later in November.

Before I begin with this one Isaak said, "Mom I've done a lot of the work for ParentSavvy I think I should get paid too!" I put the last check for $100 in his savings account. He was happy about that. I used to go with my Dad to help chop trees down, or paint someone's house. He made sure I got some of the money.

Did you ever make a God's Eye when you were a kid? I did once in Girl Scouts. I never knew they had another name Ojo de Dios oh-ho-day-DEE-ohs is Spanish for “Eye of God.” 

When the early Spaniards came to Mexico they encountered the Huichol people who lived in the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico. The Huichol Indians who lived in the mountains made God’s eyes or Ojos de Dios to watch over those who prayed at their altars. They were woven on to crossing sticks.

The ends of the sticks represented the basic elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. The center of the eye stood for the power of seeing and understanding things we normally cannot see.

I was told the cross stood for Jesus Christ is in the God's Eye, but this was not originally so. The Huichol people focused their worship on nature and the earth rather than a specific divine being. 

Other tribes and churches since have adopted the practice of making and using Ojos de Dios. Some think The Eye of God is watching over them. They are made for little children as gifts. Really they are wishes of health, long life, and protection.

Isaak's been big into making ojo de dios! He wants to get more complicated with his designs. For now simplicity is where his designs are at. 

He started making Ojo de Dios a few years ago, but started creating more after we visited Alpaca's of the Heartland. It's interesting how going to a place can inspire creative juices to flow.

Side note: I'm really sad that Alpaca's of the Heartland may have to close down. They aren't wheelchair accessible. The same social media that got word out about them may have closed them down as well. They just don't have the funds to become wheelchair accessible. :(

Inspiration: 

This wonderful lady at Alpaca's of the Heartland had Isaak come up to learn to knit. He was so into it. I know he'd love to make felting animals, and mess with any craft that has yarn or string in it!

When we got home from Alpaca's of the Heartland, Isaak looked up videos on God's Eyes. There are a ton! Many aren't in English. Certainly they are inspiring!

Baby Steps:

Art and crafts are kind of like playing the piano. You wouldn't begin with playing Mozart. You have to start with Hot Cross Buns. Once Hot Cross Buns is down, you work up to other things. I think kids have this idea that they can just do complicated things because they look cool.

Supplies: 

Sticks
Yarn
Glue
Scissors

Begin:

Start by gluing 2 sticks together. Any type of sticks will do. You could glue more sticks together if you want.

Pick out your thread, or yarn. You can use a variety of colors, one that multi colored, or one color.

Tie the thread or yarn in the center in a tight knot.

Then wrap the thread or yarn all the way around one stick, pull it to the next stick to do the same, and keep going around and around until you're done.

It will look like a mess of yarn or string at first. No worries. It comes together.

See! I told you it comes together.

Both sides have charm!

Here's Isaak working away...wrap one stick, pull to the next stick, wrap again, and keep on going.

Making progress...

You can keep going until the ends of the sticks are covered, or stop to add things to the ends. I could see painting the sticks colors, putting feathers, or beads on them. There's a lot that can be done!

Here's my cutie:

Shhh...he probably doesn't like to be called that! Isn't he cute though!?

What Isaak Needs to Work On:

Pulling it tighter from stick to stick. It got looser and looser as he got bigger with it. 

Have you ever made a Ojo de Dio? What's your favorite craft to do with yarn or string?