Waldorf Wishes and Internet Dreams

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:37:00 +0000

I'm sorry to say this blog is gonna haveta go on hiatus for a bit. Real life is keeping me crazy busy and I just don't have time to really update it.

So, until I'm back again- it's been fun guys. See you (hopefully) soon!

Baker's Delight Sand Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:50:00 +0000

Eco Baby Buys has this Hape Baker's Delight Sand Toy Set on sale today for $7.25. It retails at $14.50 giving us a savings of 50% before shipping. I was able to get mine for $10.17 shipped, not too bad considering we're entering the warm season now.

AFK

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 19:32:00 +0000

The car's in the shop again and I've decided to go on a spring cleaning bender. You know, time to clean up after last years cleaning attempts. I've moved a bunch of furniture again and right now I'm typing with the (wireless) keyboard on my lap. So yeah, I'm not disappearing. I just need to build or buy some soft of lap table before I can type comfortably again.

BBS

Happy Spring Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:18:00 +0000

May your season be filled with rebirth and renewal!

I made the decision to start celebrating the changing of seasons this year so we actually celebrated a week (or two?) ago. Here are a few quick pics I snapped from then.

The Easter bunny hid a carton worth of eggs while the faeries left a lovely Spring basket of goodies including:

Gardening Gloves- Toddler Sized
Handmade Bacon & Eggs (Play Food)
New Wiggles Movie- $3 @ Half Price Books
Little Bird Chicken Thing- it came in one of my samplers
Wooden Jump Rope- from a swap if I recall
The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown- HPB
Bunny's Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown- HPB
Ten Little Rabbits by Virginia Grossman- HPB
Rain Hat- from Lands End, sold out
Handpainted Wooden Egg Person- not my design though

I don't think I had any candy in our basket this year and we did not miss it at all! I even got Am to eat & enjoy our hard boiled eggs. I'd say it was a big success. ^_^

Weekend Spotlight

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Well, I'm off to my LARP'ing today. Just wanted to pop on quick for this post. It always makes me smile. ^__^

D & D is the devil!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:51:00 +0000

So, I was discussing the possibility of buying a house with my mum today. She didn't get all crazy on me or anything but we both came to the realization that us living together might not be like the best idea, as much as we love each other. For instance, I like to LARP, play D&D, read urban fantasy romance, & watch material such as Doctor Who. She believes that most fantasy material including D&D & Harry Potter has roots in spiritualistic/demonic stuff, that it invites unhealthy things into our lives.

Now, I don't want to diss my mom for her honest beliefs but really, what do you say to something like that? I can't help but have this urge to use the ever-popular 8 Bit Theater cartoon as rebuttal.

Sadly, I doubt it would do any good.

Auuugh!

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Remember that wool I dyed? I've been trying to make up a felted bead/ball tut for you guys but IT WON'T FELT! I've tried a few different methods and it is just not working for me.

I totally understand how Charlie Brown feels.

Lovin' Every Minute Of It: Warning, Adult-Friendly Post

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:53:00 +0000

10 Reasons I'm Glad To Be A Single Mama, In No Particular Order:

1. No bed hogs. Okay, so I guess I'm the bed & blanket hog but still, there's no one complaining about it- and who wouldn't love having a big queen size bed to herself?

2. I'm free to educate my daughter any way I so choose. The only limit is my imagination. If I want to teach that Pluto is still a planet there's no one to tell me I'm wrong. ( & Pluto is a planet drnit, I don't care what the educated Harvard degree scientists say! =p)

3. Freedom to choose... choose to oogle any male buttocks that comes my way if I want. There's no one to get jealous, no feelings to slight, and hey, a little peek never hurt anyone, right?

4. The dishwasher is always full when it's run & the dishes are exactly where they belong. Maybe it's a little thing but my dishwasher is touchy like an adolescent drama queen. Everything has to be exactly where she (I) says or the dishes are still dirty when it's done. We all know how good guys are at paying attention to things like this. Maybe 4 should really read- "No arguments over the correct placement of dishes."

5. No holiday gift disappointment. We've all had it happen, that forgotten birthday or anniversary. Well, when you don't have a guy you don't have any hopes &/or expectations to shatter. I find that I have better holidays when single, especially Father's Day. Just call me Daddy Satsuki. ^^

6. No horror films. I'm wondering if I should go back and caps lock this one. You have no idea how much I hate horror movies. Even scenes from the bad B movie ones haunt me for years. No joke, sometimes I jump a little inside when Am walks into my room at night, waking me from sleep. I half-expect I'll walk over to innocently give her hug & put her back in bed only to find some crazy demon-possession going on. The ONLY reason I ever watch these movies is because of a man, proving yet again that men are the root of all evil & fears.

I kid, I kid- It's only 90% of men.

The other 10% are gay.

7. Happy fun bedroom time. Let's be honest, we're all thinkin' it. Most men have more ego than they do skill.

Cost of satisfying toy: $10.
Cost of not having to drop "subtle" hints &/or fake it: Priceless.

8. No need to drag anyone along to family events. When it's just you and your babe you're free to enjoy that easter egg hunt without checking to see if your other adult half is having a good time. In fact, let's just expand this point to say "More quality time with the -actual- important people in our lives."

9. I can cook whatever I like. So, I hear Billy Bob doesn't like tuna? Well, cool cuz I'm not cooking for him! I'm free to make whatever the heck I like whenever the heck I want to eat it. The only picky eater I'm indulging is mah babe and a PB & J only takes a few min to make anyways.

10. Better Wellbeing. Let's face it, when we're not being dragged up and down, side to side, doing loops de friggin' loops on the rollercoaster of love we might find life isn't all that bad. At least it's not better or worse than it really is. However when you've got a guy causing trouble that midterm or interview tomorrow might seem insurmountable, just one more thing on your overflowing plate. A guy having issues is like a boatload of gravy. Your meal might be pretty well-balanced before but dump that sauce on it and pretty soon the whole thing is just a soggy inedible mess. I prefer my food lightly seasoned thankyouverymuch.

Easiest way to tell if a man is right for you- Do you feel like a burden is lifted the moment it's over?

If so just take a breath

& Be glad you're a single mom!

-SR ^^

Weekend Spotlight: Guilty Pleasures

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:23:00 +0000

I'll admit it, I love Disney songs. Sure, they're catchy and made for masses of children. I can't help myself. I like that blend of melody, especially when it contains some mature themes. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (one of my fav's) is full of them.

WIP Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 02:03:00 +0000

I had meant to post this sooner but it's been a busy day. I slept in (kind of) and the phone's been ringing off the hook. Cooked some lamb ribletts I had marinated. Have to toss them, they taste bad enough to make a meat-lover go veg. I kept imagining I was off in the woods in one of my fantasy novels, eating some tough, gamey predator we had killed- like a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz or something. I dunno, it was gross. In the I gave up and went back to my lazy diet of steamed frozen veggies in the mic (peas tonight) seasoned with organic olive oil, sea salt, & freshly ground pepper. Can't go wrong there.

Anywho, here's what I did today:

Grabbed a bunch of the cardboard boxes I had laying around and whipped up a house.

Recycled some tissue paper, Am helped paint it with starch to make a bowl ala Homemade Serenity.

Dye Jobs, The Lazy Way

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I forgot to do a photo step by step for this one but hey, the title does say "lazy" right? Happy Tut Tuesday!

1. Decorate your uncooked eggs. I used a few rubber bands but you could use tape, crayon lines, whatever really.

2. Place eggs in an empty saucepan and add your dye material. Feel free to experiment. I was saving up my dry crinkly onion skins for this. You could try coffee, tea- any red or green tea would be especially cool. You can use google for more ideas on natural dye items you might have sitting around.

3. Finish by filling the pot with faucet water and place over medium/high heat.

4. Bring to boil. Turn off your burner & remove the pot. Add a glug of vinegar. (Apple cider vinegar worked fine for me.) Stir. At this point you can carefully add roving or other materials to dye as well if you'd like.

5. Cover and let sit for 18 minutes. Empty the pot. Place eggs under cold running water & carefully remove your wool/random items to dry.

6. Congrats, you've now dyed your stuff the "lazy" way.

Note: You can save your used dye too if you'd like. Just plop it in the freezer and you're good to go! ^^

"Steal your wool? Nooooo, of course I wouldn't do that to you...."

The finished onion dye

Weekend Spotlight: Bonus

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:58:00 +0000

I saw this over at What's Cooking Blog and had to pass it on. I'm not even sure that I'll send my daughter to a public school at all but IF I do I refuse to let her eat the same slop they served me. Just thinking about it gives me this sinking feeling in my stomach and I haven't had to touch the stuff in years. We as parents have the right (and obligation) to say "No."

"No, it is not okay that the grease on this pizza literally drips off when they pick it up."

"No, I don't think it's a good idea to give my child flavored water-infused sugar and call it 'juice.'"

"No, how dare you use our children for profit, lecturing about the food pyramid while a soda machine is sitting right around the classroom corner!"

No!

When it comes to school lunches we should use the word more often. Our children deserve it. They should never have to choose between hunger and health.

Weekend Spotlight

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Spotlight on...

"Fireflies" by Owl City

Friday Nature Table- 3/19/10

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

To celebrate the arrival of my new digital camera Am and I decided to take a trip out to the dam and play around a bit.

Happy Friday!

WIP Wednesday- Yarn Falls

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:26:00 +0000

As part of my wood elf project I realized I needed to come up with some sort of solution for my hair. You see, my character is supposed to be blond. If you saw my last post you will notice I am currently a redhead. Really though, there is no way in heck that I'm going to dye my hair blond. So right now I'm working on a few ideas. The yarn falls above were one of them. It's not exactly what I had in mind though. So I'm just gonna finish up the set and, I dunno, donate 'em to the monster camp or something. *shrug*

The Makings of a Mystic Wood Elf - Part 1, The Horns

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:01:00 +0000

Anyone up for Tutorial Tuesdays? I know I am.

So, I only received one comment on last weeks WIP Wednesday and she had no clue what it was.

Well, it's Polymer Horns ladies and gents! Now, I'm no expert. This was actually my first time working with polymer clay at all. Still, I mentioned a tut and a tut you shall have!

Step 1: Google an image of the kind of horns you want to make- either animal or costume. I googled some to get an idea and then decided to wing it.

Step 2: Gather your materials. You'll need some polymer clay, an oven (and cooking pan), some random food/craft utensils, craft paint, a sealant, & some sort of cord.

3. I used a whole block of ivory fimo clay. As you can see the line is there to help you separate it into equal chunks. I used one full chunk per side but you can divide it into other sizes if you'd like. Just make sure they're equal amounts.

Step 4. Start working the clay. Mine was pretty tough so I just rolled it around a bit until I got the basic cylinders I wanted. I made sure the base was pretty flat and about the right circumference (the width of my thumb or so.)

Step 5. Roll out your tip. All I did was roll mine along the table at an angle. It worked pretty well.

Step 6. Because I wanted to shape mine into some sort of spiral I rolled the center a bit more. Note that the base still kept it's the width. This is important. Also, I overdid it a bit so it wasn't able to keep the original shape I had planned. You'll probably want to leave yours thicker than mine.

Step 7. Form your spiral if you're making one. Because mine was so thin I had to circle it so it rested as shown below.

Step 8. Start adding whatever patten you wish. I used a fondue fork to score some lines into mine.

Step 9. Finish shaping the tips or anything else the way you want. Use some sort of object to make your holes at the base. You want the holes to go sideways. Note that you can't see the holes in my photo. Yeah, that's how you want it to be. You can re-score or shape it again if you have any accidents. Note: DO NOT use a toothpick. I did but it is not big enough for the hole you want.

Step 10. Bake according the directions on your package of clay. Be careful not to over or under bake. I set mine on a little baking tray in the oven to keep it stable.

Step 11. Let cool & paint as desired. I did three coats, each a different shade. I used acrylic craft paints to blend some brown with a copper for the base. I did it a second time with a different ratio of brown to copper. Then I mixed a dark green with some metallic gold using my paintbrush to blot it on. I highly recommend you mix your own shades for this as plain store-bought paints are known to a bit crayola-like. In other words, fake.

Step 12. Seal them using whatever product you'd like. I used a generic craft sealant and brushed it on. There are all kinds of products on the market though.

Step 13. Let that dry and thread. I used a plastic canvas needle on mine because of the drned toothpick hole. I also used twine for the photo but I'll be replacing it with some of that beading elastic. Trust me, you don't want to have to fight tying these things. Go with the elastic.

Step 14: Enjoy! ^_^

Menu Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Okay, so I'm tired of deals.

(Is it okay to say that?)

I'm just so busy and have so much on my mind now that even clipping coupons and saving cash has little no to appeal. I'm going to go back to my online shopping, for awhile at least. What I want to do is buy my CSA subscription then find a local place for meat & dairy products, slowly leaning towards a more vegetarian-diet. Online I'd like to buy my pantry items. Right now my pantry is FULL though. I don't even have space left. Here's where the meal planning comes in. I'm going to try and bring down my shopping trips so I only have to go to the store once every 2 weeks for perishables.

So here's the tentative game plan for the next two weeks:

3/10
Lettuce & Tarragon Soup
Chocolate Lemon Cream Pie

3/12
Celery Stuffing
Cola Beans

3/14
Turkey Breast with Barbeque Sauce
Random Side Dish

3/17 (St Patty's)
Odds & Ends Stew

3/20 (Ostara)
Breakfast/Brunch- Quick Crustless Quiche
Spring Basket- Peanut Butter Eggs
Dinner-Cola Basted Ham
Amazingly Good Eggnog
Carrot Oatmeal Muffins
Lemon Pie Bars

3/22
Croque Monsieur

3/25 (Company)
Odds & Ends Casserole
Cinnamon Honey Cornbread
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

Other
Cheese
Mayo
Whole Wheat Honey Bread

Gotta Start 'Em Early

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:39:00 +0000

How awesome is this? DzignSpace created a nifty Star Wars pdf file that you can print and assemble over your old (and beaten) copy of Goodnight Moon. With lines like "And a quiet old Sith who was whispering 'Shh'" what's not to love?

WIP Wednesday- Wanna Guess?

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:46:00 +0000

I'm actually working on a tutorial for this one so I don't want to give too much away just yet. What do you think I'm making?

Rainy Days & Mondays

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:06:00 +0000

I love the rain. I've always felt there was something magical in the stormy gray skies. This is one of the biggest things I've missed since Am was born. The last few years rain gear for her seemed to be a big expense. I couldn't justify it. Well, no longer. I bought her a pair of Transformers rain boots on clearance at Target for about $8 or so.

Now thanks to Organic Steals and Deals I was able to get this super cute umbrella & sun hat for only $10.93 shipped! There are other deals posting too.

I Can Haz Update?

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:32:00 +0000

So, some of you might be wondering what's up, why I haven't posted in awhile. No, I didn't really get eaten by wild dogs. I've just been busy and, let's be honest, a little bit lazy. Am slashed the external floppy drive awhile back (for those of you just joining in) and I just haven't gotten around to replacing it.

So, I've come up with a solution. Apparently my new webcam takes photos too. You'll just have to live with my messy desk & keyboard as the background until I figure something else out.

Actually I wasn't lying when I said I've been busy.

I joined the get fit club at Y so now I "work out." Don't expect me to be one of those super fit happy workout buddies though. No, I drag my big ole' butt over and do my best to stick it out through the whole class, depending on which it is. Now that I think about it Drums Alive & Line Dancing aren't too bad. I can't say I hate those, just every other coordinated group effort.

Then there's my mess of a room, now that I'm back into D&D & LARP'ing I'm finding company visits more often than they used to. This isn't such a big deal except I live in fear that someone will open the door to my bedroom only to be eaten alive by the growing pile of stuff in my corner. I think it's sentient now.

So yeah, spring cleaning needs to happen. You can guess what kind of a problem this is for me (see comment on laziness above.)

I've been hording my cash now. I still do my weekly shopping but I'm trying to buy less clothes and random bits. Why buy a bunch of t-shirts when I can buy a new piece of leather armor instead?

No, I'm not joking. It's on sale right now.

Also, I've been reading books (3-4 fiction per week, skimming the nonfic) & watching tv shows like a mofo. They make good background while I'm crafting.

You see, I've taken the first step towards beating my sewing fear & have taught myself how to blanket stitch. Now I'm addicted. Ostara is coming & I'm churning out basket fillers for Am.

So far I've finished:

A Plastic Canvas Diskette Coaster (a gift from me to me)

A Carton of Eggs

Eggs & Bacon

Currently in the works are:

This awesome bunny puppet based on this design. It's for an Easteroween swap I -might- be signed up for. I'm almost hoping there's been a misunderstanding. Then I can keep it for myself. ^_^

2 Spring gnome sleeping sets

This plastic canvas bunny puzzle

I'm also planning on whipping up a few more projects. I think I might start doing WIP Wednesdays so you can watch my progress there.

So yeah, that's what's up with me. I'll try to see what I can do about finding a better posting schedule. I'm thinking I should buy a new digital camera. Then we wouldn't be having this little update talk.

Well, until next time....

Long time no speaky.

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Sorry about that. If you missed the news basically I got a webcam and was wanting to start a vlog. Instead what I've found is that vlogs are even more of a pain in the arse than normal blogs. You still have to write out your ideas just like a normal post. Then you have all of the additional work that goes with presenting them. To a single mom like me- well, let's just say I'm lazy.

Then I was thinking of just going back to posting and you'll never guess what happened!

...If you guessed a portal to hell opened and swallowed my computer you wouldn't be too far off base.

I've been having issues with my interwebs. I got it back up and running before the holiday/s hit. Then I learned something.

I learned that it's not a good idea to forget about the scissors sitting next to your comp while leaving a small child in the same room.

No, she's didn't hurt herself at all but my external floppy drive won't be walking away from this one. It's been trasherized.

In another train of thought the same thing happened to my one and only coffeepot this morning. It leapt across the floor and spontaneously shattered. I'm thinking my recent order for a french press might have been too much for it to take. How senseless. I would have been perfectly happy to have my own little three is company relationship. Well, we all know how temperamental coffee can make us.

Back to the previous week's post, we did celebrate the new year. We played D&D, had my bs'ed version of New Year's food, and it was...

*AWESOME*

Seriously, it was pretty fun.

Also the LARP practice went well. We'll be heading back for the actual event this Saturday. I have no weapons made yet but that shouldn't stop me. Menards here I come.

Beyond that there isn't much other news off the top of head. I'll be playing around with my webcam a bit more to see if I can't figure out what to talk about. When I do rest assured that you guys will be the... third or fourth to know.

Want to be in-the-know?

Follow me here!

Something New This Way Comes

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:31:00 +0000

I'm not gonna say what it is yet but if you follow me on twitter or facebook you probably already know.

Quick Updates:

Can't find the floppy discs after I found my camera. Sorry, no pics right now.

Doing better after grandpa's passing. It feels like it was just the natural time to go. We're such a big family on dad's side that I was never that close to him. Still, I'm proud to say that that's where I came from. Maybe someday we'll have the time to sit down and really chat. I'd like to think we will.

I've been trying to set up a weekly D&D session at my place. We finally had our first game on Saturday. I had fun.

Ready and set to go do my first LARP later this month. I've got the babysitter taken care of, got my ren costumes. Now all I need is a padded "sword" to thwap the daylights out of people. This weekend they're having a fight practice but I don't know if I'll be able to make it or not. If I can't I'll be going out with my single mom's group to do some family karaoke at a local bowling alley, a win-win Saturday if you ask me.

Did some shopping last weekend, bought some nifty things at Goodwill- new art, vintage gelatin molds, Hello Kitty popcorn popper, and more. But again, no pics. =/

Heading out to meet up with a friend and do some more shopping at the mall tonight.

A little over a week until our V-Day/Chinese New Year extravaganza. No, I don't have any plans set yet but whatever I do it's gonna be

!*#$AWESOME$#*!

More to come. ^^

The "My Grandpa's Dead and Am's Messing Up The Laundry I Just Folded" Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:58:00 +0000

Or torte as the case would be.

I had a "Waitress" moment while folding (stirring) in some egg whites that simply would not peak. It's supposed to be a Chocolate Sweet Potato torte but since it's in my 9x9 square pyrex pan and I winged it on the ingredients I'm thinking a new name might not be such a bad idea.

I'm guessing it'll be a flop though....

Happy Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Satsuki Rebel) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:57:00 +0000

So yesterday was MLK Day as you all know. It was also Winnie the Pooh Day, the birthday of A.A. Milne. Unfortunately I was too sick to do anything about either holiday. Am still has her cold but I had food poisoning. I spent the whole day lying on the couch, sick as a dog or weak from being sick. Even now my tummy is still rumbling and being all weird. So yeah, still trying to recover. If I feel better later I might have to do some cooking. Today is National Popcorn Day. Here are some recipes I've been wanting to try:

White Chocolate & Peppermint Covered Popcorn @ Skip to my Lou
Bite-size Honey Popcorn Balls @ My Recipes
Homemade Kettle Corn @ Create!
Easy Homemade Microwave Popcorn @ Make and Takes
Homemade Microwave Popcorn @ Polka Dot Cottage