So Long 2012... It's Been Real.

Oh 2012, where shall I being? You were not the best of years... in fact, you might have been the worst ever. I spent most of the year under the weather in one way or another. Even managed to land a lovely case of the shingles! Shingles... at 36! And let me tell you, it is one of the most painful things ever! Even worse than having needles stuck in your back, which I also had done this year. I learned that knee surgery will be in my near future and I'm ending the year with a migraine that's been around for almost 2 months. But, I'm still alive and I've avoided any hospital visits, so bright side there!

There were also couple of national tragedies that hit a little too close to home for me, namely Superstorm Sandy that hit the coast at the end of October and the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown... a small town 20 miles North of me. Both events shook me pretty hard and really made me be more aware of my feelings on certain topics.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom this year. There were a number of good moments. Spending 3 days in NYC at BlogHer `13, two of the days with my friend Laura, was awesome. Spent a day at New York Comic Con. Hit a few excellent toy events. Made some new blogging friends. Became a devoted Whovian. I also discovered my personal style when it comes to clothes and rediscovered a number of passions that were dormant in my life. Now more than ever, I can comfortably say what I like... and don't like, without caring what people think.

As for my resolutions from the start of 2012, they were mostly a bust:

• Do Project Life - this is going to be interesting... since I rarely leave the house - I made it *maybe* 5 weeks? It just wasn't a good fit for my lifestyle.

• Do Project 52 - going to focus this project on macro images - I lasted 7 weeks. 7. I'm pretty sure I narrowed my topic down too much, which became not so much challenging, but uninteresting.

• Lose 50lbs - I want to/need to lose more, but I'm being a bit of a realist with this goal - Nope, in fact, I think I ended the year weighing more than I started.

• Build readership on all 4 of my blogs  - Ended up with 7 inactive blogs. Yikes!

• Start up Pop Hearts Studio  - Nope, did nothing with this and I'm now not sure if I ever will.

• Try to find my drawing style  - Thought about it, did nothing. 

• Create, Create, Create  - I made a few things, wish it was more.

Then there was the 2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge - only completed 4 books out of my goal of 10. I have bookcases full of books waiting to be read and only managed 4. And for Christmas, I added some new books to my collection, so I'll be attempting the reading challenge again.

Oh, and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) in November... I lasted 19 days. Which was better than 2011, but still wasn't the entire month. Honestly, if it wasn't for the election or SuperStorm Sandy, I don't think I would have even made it 19 days. Those two topics alone gave me a weeks worth of posts!

Something I did manage to do pretty well with is my word of the year. I picked CONFIDENCE, and I thing I did a pretty good job of it. Did I waver a bit, absolutely! But over all I'm kind of proud of myself.

Anyways, I'm going to put all of that behind me and know that 2013 can only go up from here!

The Last 10 Days...

10 days ago, my dad left on a trip to visit family in South Carolina. He returned this evening. In those 10 days while he was gone:

• I left the house twice
• Mom and I made a huge mess
• Mom and I cleaned the entire house
• I took over 400+ photos of items for Ebay
• I watched Doctor Who once
• I blogged 10 times on this blog, zero on all the others
• I watched less TV than normal
• I listened to a lot of Christmas music... A LOT
• Mom and I ate at the dinner table once, the rest of the meals were on the family room couch
• I did zero work on my toy projects
• I bought a lot of toys at the store and on Ebay
• I did a lot of Ebay organizing and tweeting
• I ache in places I didn't know could ache from a crazy busy week

That's pretty much it. It's nice that he is home now and the house is clean. I need a break from all the work that I did last week!

The End of Days is Upon Us!

©Hostess (for now)

If you haven't heard, Hostess Brands, makers of Twinkies, CupCakes, Sno Balls, and other yummy treats has closed its doors. And the world is going Twinkie crazy. It's sad, I grew up snacking on these cream filled treats. They were lunch box staples for us children in the 80s. And they were good. Healthy... not so much. But still good. While my dad was the big Twinkie lover in the family, I was more of a Suzy Q girl. Even more, I was a Drake's Cakes fan... Devil Dogs being my number one treat, frozen of course. If you aren't familiar with Drake's, then you must not of spent a lot of time in the Northeast. They were a staple around my area. Some of their products were Hostess knock-offs, but others were unique like Funny Bones - peanut butter filled cakes; Sunny Doodles, Yankee Doodles, and Coffee Cakes. Yum yum!

I'm mentioning Drake's, because in 1998 they became part of the Hostess family. That means with Hostess saying goodbye... Drake's is a dead duck. (Drake's logo was a duck). This closing also means the end of Wonder Bread... which I have eaten all my life. It's one of the few sandwich worthy breads out there. My childhood lunch memories are slowly dying in front of me. *tear*

But I guess good things don't last forever... despite the rumors, Twinkies don't last forever! Now, I know there is still hope that someone will buy the brands and hopefully not change them, but with more and more people eating natural and clean... Twinkies aren't really something you'll find on a number of menus. But I can see some of the items hanging around in some form. Sadly, Twinkie the Kid might have his days numbered.

If someone doesn't buy the brand, then stock up... if you can find them. I've seen a number of listings on Ebay... for $1,000s to $1,000,000s of dollars. Guess it all depends on how bad you'll need your fix.

I'm going to do a little recap of stuff floating around the interent about this... feel free to google to get all the reports, memes, and comics that have been done:

<insert jokes about Woody Harrelson's Zombieland character and Twinkies>
<Insert jokes about marijuana becoming legal in two states and Twinkies going down>
<Insert reports that this is all the Mayans doing>
<Insert articles that First Lady Obama is to blame>

You get the general idea. While overall it is sad to see so many American workers getting laid off so close to the holidays, and the issues that are being brought up about unions... so economy wise it's a sad day for people. But since it is about a snack food cake, it's more jokes then it should be.

So, good wishes to all the workers heading into the holidays with no jobs. Hopefully a miracle can come from this. And to all you Twinkie hoarders and those trying to make a quick profit... shame. Just share the wealth. Crack open a case with some friends, remember back in the days, and enjoy what's left. I know that's what I'll be doing...

Frozen, of course.

Beware

Lately, we've been having a number of break-ins on the block. Houses during the day, cars at night. It's been pretty down right disturbing. Was thinking of grabbing a "Beware of Dog" sign, hoping it my be a deterrent... even though we don't have a dog.

Too bad they don't make a "Beware of Woman with a Baseball Bat and Anger Management Issues" sign.  Because that would be true... and probably work better than a dog.

Open Letter to the People of Connecticut

I'm not a fan of leaving my house, so I rarely do. When I do head out on the town, it doesn't take long for me to remember why I hate to go out. So I'm going to take a minute to hope on my soapbox.

Dear People of Fairfield County, CT:

When it comes to spending time with your fellow nutmegers, here are a few tips that will make it a more pleasurable experience for everyone envolved:

1) Just because you can afford the largest SUV on the market, doesn't mean you should own it. Please, for the sake of everyone around you... TEST DRIVE! If you can not handle that large of a car and park it properly, don't buy it.

2) Speaking of parking, there are white lines painted on the ground for a reason. You are to supposed to park within the lines, not hanging over them. If you can't fit in the space with room for you and others to get in and out of their vehicles, park somewhere else. And your car is not that important that you need two spaces for it.

3) While walking in parking lots, walk near the cars... not smack in the middle and take your sweet time. That line of cars forming behind you should tell you that it's time to move off to the side.

4) And while we are on the subject of walking down aisles, if you are a group more than 2... don't all walk side by side. And if you do and see someone coming, step aside. No one is that important that you need to block the walkways.

5) Indoor voices are not just for kids. No one wants to see a bunch of college girls running around a store acting like they are on a playground. And no one wants to hear your entire phone conversation from three aisles over.

6) Just because you can fit a piece of clothing on your body, doesn't mean you should. Please, please cover up your butt cracks and muffin tops and every other part of your body that no one wants to see. And by cover up, I don't mean squeeze it into something so small that you test the limits of the fabric.

7) There are only a few times when it is okay to wear sloppy pj pants in public. Hanging out with your friends on a Friday night is not one of them.

8) Cars have lights and blinkers for a reason. Use them.

9) This is New England. It gets cold. Dress for the weather. And more importantly, dress your kids for the weather too.

10) This is Connecticut, not Detroit, not LA, not Miami, not NYC. You are not fooling anyone trying to pretend that it's anything else but CT.

What it all comes down to is manners, mutual respect, and being aware of your surroundings. When you start to lack those, it's rude. It's annoying. And it makes people think less of you. 

Bio of a Baby Blanket

As I mentioned in my post on Monday, my mom is one of my biggest cheerleaders. I wrote this story in 2005 for an English assignment and to this day, she says it's one of her favorite pieces. Happened to come across it the other day and decided to share. A lot has changes since I wrote it, but Gryffin and the blanket are still a big part of my life!


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Bio of a Baby Blanket

I’m not sure where I was born or where I spent the early days of my life, though I do know that I was created by someone. The first real memory I have is being inside a dark space, then suddenly I hear some noises and I see a bright light (though not so bright that I was blinded). I remember being held up and shown off. I am 28 inches by 37 inches and yellow with tigers, sheep, and giraffes on me (the animals are a weird combination, I know). I was a baby shower gift for Janet, who was currently pregnant with the person that I would become so special to. I was not the most popular item that day, and Janet didn’t want to use me, but April sought me out. She picked me as her favorite. She wanted to love me.

During my early years, I followed April around from her different homes, (life of an Air Force brat) doing the normal things that a blanket like myself did (though I do not do normal things now). She slept with me every night and used me to wrap her dolls (I wrap a much different thing now). She cuddled with me on the couch and took me with her to sleepovers. We were inseparable.

As the years went on, April started to grow and change (which she is still doing). She didn’t play with her dolls anymore and I often landed under the bed, as she kicked me off during the night. Her bed was white with gold trim and very princess like. It was a twin size and when April hit double digits in age, her feet used to hang over the edge (hence the being kicked off). When we turned 11 years old, there was a major change in our lives. This was the year she got a new bed. It was a full size, solid pine bed with drawers under it (that is still her bed to this day). I was so excited for the drawers under the bed! That meant no more falling underneath it. But then the worst possible thing happened. April stopped sleeping with me. Was this the end for me? Was I not going to be loved anymore?

From that moment on, and for the next few years, I hung on the footboard collecting dust and watched April’s life go by. She grew up; graduated from 8th grade, then from high school. Soon, she was packing for college. Would she take me with her? As I watched her pack her things, she removed me from the end of the bed and threw me in the wash. Yeah! I was getting cleaned before I headed to Western CT State with her. How awesome for me, I was going to college. I came out of the dryer, all warm and toasty (a feeling I am now able to feel again), and I got folded. But I didn’t go in her suitcase; I headed into a closet. A cold, dark, and lonely closet, where I sat on a shelf next to Barbies and Legos that I hadn’t seen in years. At 18 years of age, the end of my life seemed near.

Years go by before I will next see the full light of day. April returned home from Western after only a year, due to grade issues (she never was the best student, and still isn’t). She moved back into her room and I saw brief pieces of light when the closet opens, but I was never removed from my spot on the shelf. At the age of 21, April moved out of her room and into an apartment. As she packed to move, I was removed from the shelf and put in a box (boxes are as bad as closets). I moved with her to the apartment, but I never left the box. After a year she returned home to her parents, but I didn’t go with her. I stayed in my box and headed into storage (to this day I have been to two different storages places). I could tell it was storage by the unpleasant smell. This whole process repeated itself at the ages of 24 and 28. At least she hadn’t gotten rid of me.

At 28, I was taken out of my box and moved into a wooden chest with the rest of her blankets (still in the dark). But then something changed. I heard April crying all the time and she is rarely got much sleep. This was not my April. She was not happy. The home we were in was cold and dark and a very unhappy place. April now lived the same life I did: cold, dark, and lonely. I started to worry about her. I heard her talking on the phone to her mom a few times a day, and the calls were very sad. One day we had gotten a visitor. It was Christmas time (based on the music I heard) and April’s mom had come to visit. One day April and her mom left the apartment only to return a few hours later carrying a lot of items. Since I was stuck in my chest, I was not sure what the items were. There was a lot of excitement and activity coming from them. Whatever it was, April was happy again. It was the happiest I had heard her in awhile. What made her so pleased?

I saw a bright light (though not so bright that I was blinded) as the lid to my chest was opened. April pulled me out and held me up to show me off. I saw a bunch of bags all around the apartment and something gray sitting on the floor in a ball. April folded me up and laid me near to the gray ball. It began to move and walked over to me. Oh, it was a kitten. April patted me and said to the cat “This is your new blanket. Welcome home, Gryffin.” What was this? Was I getting a new owner? I heard April refer to the cat as her son, so I guess I was passed on to the next generation. Gryffin was warm and cuddly and I was reminded of when April was young. She was happy, which made me happy (there was a long time were I wasn’t so happy). And I saw the light. And I was warm.

Now at the age of 29 (give or take a few months), I spend my days getting chewed on, slept on, and just plan walked on. I am happy that I am being used (instead of being stuck in a dark place); even if the teeth and nails are sharp. At least I am loved and I feel useful. My new playmate cannot talk to me (at least not in the traditional sense), but he is warm and playful and cuddly. I won’t be wrapped around any of his toys and I won’t be used every night. But I am loved once again.

I Have a Crab on My Finger...

Don't worry, it's not real... it's just a Floppet!