Back in my Jr. High French class, we used to sing a song that went something like "Whoopee, c'est l'Halloween!" Translation - "Whoopee! It's Halloween!" I sing that song every year because that's totally how I feel about the season.

Apparently it's apparent.

My friends have sort of caught on. And last week, my awesome friend Aimee brought her toys over when she came for a much needed big girl playdate while the kids were at school. She has the new Cricut Explore™ (can you sense me drooling?), and we had a blast with the brand-spankin' new cut-able Cricut Decorative Window Cling, Black.


My problem, as always, is too many ideas and too much fun.  Where to even start?  So I narrowed myself by choosing a very narrow little window that still has a big impact because of the high-traffic location in our home.

This tiny transom window next to the door is a weird space I never know what to do with. I already have bats flying in my house, so spiders seemed the perfect creepy crawly choice.

Aimee showed me how to select my designs and size them the way I want them.  It is really very intuitive with the Cricut program. It's a simple matter of selecting the graphic.  It then appears on your design page.  Clicking on the graphic enables sizing and movement within the page, and while sizing, the dimensions, both width and height are displayed.  I was able to get my spider web to the exact width of my transom window by measuring my window first, then adjusting the graphic to the same width.

Maybe it's the little kid in me, but I have way too much fun watching the cutter create the designs.

Applying the window clings is SO easy! The spider web took some patience to get on straight because it's delicate, but it was worth it.

I think Aimee thought we were done after such a big project (and I absolutely should have been).  But I was all caught up in the Halloween spirit, and had fallen in love with one particular seasonal subway-art-like graphic.  So we tried that one, big, in window cling, for my mirror in my kitchen.

Things I learned:
1- The window clings look AWESOME!

2- It was too big and too delicate, so it took a long time to get onto the mirror correctly.  I love the result, but it was difficult.  Instead, I'd probably do it in vinyl on glass and put it in a funky frame and put it up for Halloween.

3 - Because it was so big, we tried to use the transfer paper (the sticky stuff like giant masking tape) that is used with vinyl application to keep the pattern straight as we applied it.  THIS DOES NOT WORK WITH WINDOW CLING! The window cling sticks to the transfer paper and will not come off easily.  It is MUCH easier to simply apply the window cling directly. Unless there is a transfer paper of some sort that is barely sticky at all, I would not recommend using it with the window cling product.  After I removed the transfer paper, putting my design on the mirror proceeded much faster and more smoothly.

4- I NEED a Cricut. My mind is buzzing with ideas.  For Halloween, the cute projects Cricut Halloween Treat Bags and Cricut 3D Pumpkins look like so much fun! I'm a new convert. That's all there is to it. :)

When we first moved to South Jordan, we had a bit of a rough go of things.  Anyone who knows our family will remember that our move did not go smoothly.  From the sale of one home, to the purchase of the next, to a family tragedy, it was decidedly difficult. At that time, we discovered a local pizza place where our kids felt comfortable (the arcade doesn't hurt), and the food was amazing enough we could eat there several nights a week (which we did because we couldn't find our dishes among the packing boxes, so what else are you going to do?) without getting sick of it.

Fast forward five years and you'll still find our family enjoying our favorite pie (BBQ at the Ranch, if you're curious), at Mountain Mike's Pizza - which happens to be celebrating the 7 year anniversary in Utah.

 In celebration, Tysen and I got to sit down with the owner and, over a delicious buffet of pizza that included a combo loaded with toppings, a thin crust canadian bacon to die for, and let's never forget the dessert pizza, heard about what it's been like to keep Mountain Mike's a success through a recession and as the community has grown.

 It was clear how committed he is to this community and his business.  I particularly enjoyed one story of delivering a large order of pizzas up to the copper mine and how he had to get outfitted in a special suit he compared to a space suit in order to complete the delivery to where it needed to go.

So, I thought I'd pass along the tip that through the end of the month (it's only a few more days, so RUN!) Mountain Mike's South Jordan is celebrating its 7th Anniversary by offering a 'buy any Medium or Large pizza and get a second for just 7 bucks' deal.  You're welcome :)

My oldest turned 15 a week ago. My mind is still adjusting to that number. I'm not exaggerating when I say it just feels like I was just bawling my eyes out as I registered him for kindergarten.
Anyway, I thought he'd be getting past wanting a themed birthday this year - being such a big bad teenager and all. I was wrong.  And when he said the word "steampunk," my heart was all aflutter!

Not being typical party gear, this required going completely from scratch - a banner, steampunked  water guns for party favors, metallic paper plates/napkins, and cupcakes decorated with cream frosting sprayed lightly with silver edible spray (my new favorite thing!) and topped with mustaches (of course!).

Steampunk Water Guns

The true icing on the cake, metaphorically speaking, were the party favors.  I got the idea from - of course - Pinterest. Simple water guns transform into futuristic/retro Steampunk beauties! 

 I made a dozen, and though the gun base shape was the same, no two guns were identical once I finished. Can I tell you the ridiculous amount of joy I got out of this project?
Seriously, some times I wonder if I've grown up at all.

Materials Needed:

Standard Water Guns (dollar or thrift store)

Krylon 2340 Fusion Spray Paint, Espresso

Rust-Oleum 249131 11 oz Universal All Surface Spray Paint, Oil Rubbed Bronze Metallic

Acrylic Paints, Varied Metallic shades

Acrylic Paint, Black

Paint Brushes, per preference (a detail brush & a larger brush for dry brushing)

Krylon 2444 'Fusion for Plastic' Clear Plastic Paint - 12 oz. Aerosol

I started out with wildly bright dollar store squirt guns.  I was drawn to these particular guns by the shape, the easy fill water tank, and the steampunk feel to the rivets and pipe-like parts.

Hanging all 12 guns along a string so I could get every angle painted easily, I started with a base coat of Krylon Fusion spray paint made specifically to bond with plastic. (note: while this worked flawlessly on the body of the guns, the water tanks have shown wear and tear, peeling down to the green - in other words, not "bonding" like the paint claims. I think it's because the water tanks are soft, flexible plastic.  Next time I'll go for completely hard surfaces when I purchase guns. I don't think soft plastic can ever be completely "primed".  However, the guns still look cool because the bits of green showing through look toxic and quite awesome.)

After the brown base coat, each gun received a coating of metallic bronze spray paint.  If I could have found the Fusion paint in a metallic, I would have skipped this step.  However, I wanted to ensure the bonding of the paint with the plastic.  Thus the brown primer coat, THEN the bronze metallic topcoat.

Now for the detailing. Using acrylic paints in antique gold, bright silver, and true copper, paint the rivets, hoses, pipes, handles, fins, anything that could stand out.   I used a dry brush technique with the gold, silver and bright copper to achieve a non-streaked, true metallic appearance, particularly with the water tank which would have streaked and looked fake to try and paint solidly.

To dry brush, take a very little bit of paint onto the corner tip of a large brush or sponge. I found it helps to play around with it on a piece of wax paper first to distribute the paint a little. Then in quick, almost smashing motions, wipe and blot the paint onto the gun, concentrating on nooks and crannies.

After the color dries, repeat this dry brush technique with black over the whole gun.  I found it particularly helpful with the black to have a paper towel on hand to wipe areas I got over-aggressive with.  The combination of dry-brush and wiping with a paper towel created the exact aged look I wanted - even if it isn't an approved artistic technique ;)  It really made the details pop.

The guns went back on a line for a final clear coat (again, using the paint specific to plastic).  It probably wasn't totally necessary, but I wasn't taking any chances. I didn't want any of my hard work rubbing off, especially since mine weren't decorative, they were for real water play.   They looked SO cool hanging all in a line that I couldn't stop taking pictures.

I was so tickled with the way they turned out! More importantly, all the birthday guests were totally over the moon.  We had quite the steampunk water war in our backyard that night (and ever since!).  I included some close-ups at the end of this post to show how many possibilities can come from one gun.

Banner:
I used card stock I had on hand in browns, greens and copper tones.  The font is called exotica and can be downloaded for free from Steampunk Font. I also used KG Flavor and Frames, another free download on dafont . It has frames, mustaches, glasses, etc.

Since my banner spans a room rather than hanging against the wall, I like to have something fun on the back as well.  I printed off a few steampunky images to throw on the back. 

And the most essential element was gears.  I cut them out of dark brown & copper metallic card stock. The entire banner is simply sewn together using my sewing machine.  It's the crazy simplest way to make a banner, and it holds up really well. One lesson I learned is that the gears that were sewn through at exact center spun around all the time, which was super cool. 

Food

Cupcakes are not the most creative steampunk item I could have come up with, but they were super yummy and I love, LOVE how cool they look sprayed with Wilton Color Mist. The metallic colors are simply amazing!
 

Who can resist mustaches?

And while they've become very vogue lately, they are decidedly steampunk, and make suave cupcake toppers as well as hilarious favors and photo props! Mustache Party Food and Cupcake Picks - 25 ct

Pop the silver metallic cupcakes and some ice cream on gold metallic plates (from the dollar store) and bronze metallic napkins (Hobby Lobby), and you've got stylish steampunk! 

Bonus Photos:

Some more glamor shots of the guns - I couldn't pick a favorite.

I love moms. I mean, who doesn't? That would be ridiculous.
But the longer I'm a mom, the more I love moms for different reasons.

Sure, there are the typical poems read every Mother's Day honoring the late night sacrifices, the diaper duty, the vomit cleanup, the mess - as well as the cards and tributes that raise moms to a saint-like status of perfection.

But what I'm talking about is the beauty of individual mothering. How there isn't one right way to be a mom. And how lovely and inspiring it is to watch the women around me mother their children in such diverse and fantastic ways.

Moms are Superheroes! 
As a tribute to Superhero Moms everywhere, Coupons.com is giving away a Vitamix blender (oh, I hope I win!  I've wanted one for SUCH a long time!!)  Their reasoning? Because even Superheroes need a boost :)
In addition to the giveaway, you can take a quiz to see what kind of #SuperheroMom you are.  I took it and I'm Elasti-girl.  Funny thing is, I've always known that if I were a superhero I'd be Elasti-girl, because of my hyper mobility syndrome.  I'm literally more stretchy ;)

What kind of SuperheroMom are you?
Take the quiz and let me know!  I'm curious like that. Comment here - or on Facebook with the hashtag #SuperheroMom.

(And just so you know, check out the coupons at the bottom of the page.  Especially if you don't have a Mother's day gift yet. I'm using one to save on a gift for my Mother-in-law!  Yay!!)

I haven’t blogged in a long stretch. I’ve been beating myself up about it.

Despite the fact of my massive crossed-off To-Do list at the end of every insanely busy day and at the end of a particularly hurricane force few weeks, I pound my head over the remaining list items that would likely require Superman turning the earth back a few times in a row for me to actually end up accomplishing. 

We do this. 

We women who struggle beneath the burden of our own over-expectations. 

We write off our accomplishments as so much nonsense, and instead pick at the scabs of our flaws and insecurities until they become scars.

Yesterday I had this all brought home in a beautiful and poignant way that I hope I’ll remember.

I have a lovely neighbor who is sweetness personified. She is the kind of person who notices people and acknowledges their best selves. The kind of person I aspire to be when I’m in my less cynical and introverted moods. Her name is Lanea, and she dropped by with cookies yesterday. 

In the course of conversation, she said: “you are just so amazing. You are brilliant, and literary, and you always stay up on the coolest new music, so you’re just so cool. And if that weren’t enough, you sew and craft and I want my kids to be just like yours…” At which point I, blushing, interrupted her with, “WOW! You make me actually sound like I’m really something!” and she replied, “how is it that you don’t know you are?”

We moved on with our conversation, but my mind kept dwelling and ruminating on that phrase. 

HOW IS IT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW YOU ARE? 

How is it?

How do we let ourselves forget?

How do we get drowned in minutiae, dragged down by insecurity, misdirected by a false definition of humility until we don’t see ourselves clearly? 

Because in complete and total honesty, I had nowhere near the perception of myself that sweet Lanea painted.  I feel awkward and square-peg-in-the-round-hole and never, ever enough or else WAY too much.

We are told many, many times not to define ourselves by the perceptions of others, but to have our own inner sense of self – and I do think this has merit.  I can’t begin to tell you the ways I’ve been described that are VERY far off from Lanea’s (too often including the B word) – but sometimes the mirror of a loving friend can help remind us that we are more than a sum of our accomplishments vs our failings - the running tally we keep in our heads.  We are each so much more than that.

HOW IS IT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW YOU ARE?  It is critical that we know. When we allow ourselves to let go of fixation on what’s wrong or annoying or frustrating about ourselves, we stand taller, stop beating ourselves up, and are proud of our divine nature. We understand more clearly what our talents are and what we can offer the world.  And our daughters will be proud of us and themselves.

I wonder if Lanea had any clue how deeply she touched my heart, or what a turning point it has been in my thinking.  That is the power of a good woman, saying good words in the right time. 

I'm starting right now. To work harder to think better of myself.  To treat myself with the same level of compassion I'd give another human being. And then especially to pay it forward with words of validation and reminder to those women I admire all around me. Who inspire me and encourage me and yet I rarely step out of my little box to speak those heartfelt words for fear of sounding silly. Having just been on the receiving end - it is so far from silly. It means the world.

May we all speak up with power and confidence to lift one another.

Because you are amazing. You are powerful. You are talented. You have the ability to make a difference. And if you say, “I'm not sure you're talking about me, that makes me sound like I’m really something,” I say, “HOW IS IT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW YOU ARE?”

I admit it.  I'm a sucker for the arts.  Ever since I was cast as Carol in "A Christmas for Carol" (go ahead and groan, I still do), in 4th grade, I've loved live theater! And since I also love the vintage feel of the early & mid 1900s, last Saturday night turned out to be quite a treat.  If you're on the hunt for a fun idea for a date night, or a neat family activity, we found a new - old spot you might enjoy too.

Tysen and I were invited to see the play "Kiss Me, Kate," a Cole Porter classic, at the Empress Theater in Magna.  Saturday happened to be one of "those days," with the kids - you all know what I mean. So we slipped out a little earlier than planned, grabbed some dinner and found ourselves on Main Street Magna with a full 40 min to spare before the play!

We considered napping in the car, but instead decided to take a walk around.  If you've never been, Magna's Main street looks like time stopped around a hundred years ago.  Hand painted signs, brick store fronts.  There are quite a few run down spots, but it's still a fun walk.  One of my favorites was the Magna Museum, closed for the season, with items inside glass cases that were labeled "Do not touch" anyway. We scratched our heads trying to figure out how anyone could possibly touch!


Then we sauntered on over to the Empress Theater.  The building is distinctive. I took pictures in sunlight, in
twilight, then again as the lights came on. I even tried a selfie!  (Note: I am seriously selfie-impared.  I don't know if there's a program or a class for it, but it's real. I'm a witness)

The Empress was built in 1916 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a community Theater, functioning on volunteer and community involvement.  If you're a history buff, like I am, you can find out all the crazy cool history of the building here.

We were lucky to have a backstage tour where Tysen was thrilled to hear some ghost stories of the building (Note to Tysen fans: he HAS been on a paranormal investigation there, and he was bummed that he hadn't heard all the significant stories so he could have known more at that time).

With all the history, feeling like I'd walked back in time, the choice of play was absolutely perfect! I felt like I should have been wearing a seersucker dress and then it all would have been complete!

Tysen hadn't seen "Kiss Me, Kate" before, so it was fun experiencing the humor of it with him for the first time.  The music and the energy of the play is so delightful!  At first, when the opening number started, I admit I had my doubts.  I knew this was community theater, volunteer actors.  But I also knew that they have many auditions and their casting can be pretty rigorous.  Still, it started off a little rocky.  I was concerned I was in for something similar to a church production.  It was opening weekend though, and kinks work out as things warm up.  Within only a few minutes everyone found their groove and we thoroughly enjoyed the performances.

  Particularly delightful are the leads, Josh Astle as Fred Graham and Emily Wells as Lilli Vanessi.  If you don't know the story at all, it is a play within a play. Almost all the cast are playing actors who are in Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew."  The parallels outside the Shakespeare play, in the lives backstage, create a brilliant level of comedy juxtaposed with Shakespeare's text.

The show almost gets stolen by the hilarious performances of Troy Larsen and Kevin Pope as a pair of gangsters. They perform the always awesome "Brush Up Your Shakespeare," and they do so with style.  Other favorites done especially well are the high energy "Too Darn Hot," the hilarious "Where Is the Life That Late I Led?" and the vintage feeling "So In Love."


The great thing about a night at The Empress is that for the cost of a movie, you get a live arts experience.  It is a wonderful place to get kids interested in theater.  (I hear their next play, "Shrek, the Musical" is a particular favorite with the younger crowd).

 A ticket costs $10, and group prices are $8 per ticket.  As large as my family is, we almost qualify for group pricing too!!  Anyone want to go out with us so we can all get cheaper tickets together? ;)

A disclaimer - It IS community theater.  All of the actors, etc. have day jobs.  The sets and costumes rely on donations. So it's not Utah Opera Company glitz.  Some patience is sometimes required.  But it is decidedly quaint. And charming. And talent and passion abound.

 I couldn't help but think, as body mics popped or malfunctioned, what could this place be capable of given the proper funding? And oh, how I would LOVE to do just that? (Speaking of which, if you are planning on celebrating Love Utah Give Utah day this Thursday, March 20th, supporting local organizations, and you haven't decided WHICH local organization you'd like to support yet, might I suggest The Empress? Visit Here)

For a fun and different date night, or as a great family activity (performances are always Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays btw), check out the 2014 Season - which has the theme of "Build Character" as the guiding principle. How cool is that to have such a positive overarching theme?

Kiss Me, Kate: March 14-April 12
Shrek, The Musical: April 25- May 17
My Darlin' Clementine: May 30-June 14
State Fair: June 27-July 26
Once On This Island: August 8-30
Camelot: September 12-October 4
Ten Little Indians: October 17-November 1
Mary Poppins: November 21-December 22