I Decoupaged My Bike

In a rare fit of craftiness, I came up with the idea to decoupage my green beach cruiser. I really think someone is going to take this idea and get rich off it, but hey. It has always amazed me how some people seemingly get to make a living by throwing pixie dust in the air (jealous). As for me, I think I will continue flogging myself by doing it the hard way. Anyway, the bike.

Supplies

foam brushes
Mod Podge (from craft store)
sharp scissors
clear polyurethane spray

You may want a Popsicle stick to smooth the paper, but I just use my fingers. First thing's first. I used a stack of magazines I was ready to throw away and decided on a floral theme. I advise taking some Motrin for back and hand  pain if you plan to do all the cutting in one marathon sitting. Seriously, it's tedious. I recommend doing it over a few sittings, like a puzzle. Covering a bike takes quite a lot of cut-outs depending on how much overlap you want. Tip: do not try to print pictures from the computer. The ink will bleed.

OK, Mod Podge is a glue and a lacquer. Begin to glue under and over each cut-out and place them one by one on the bike. Smooth out any wrinkles. Another tip, because a bike has very few flat surfaces, the larger the cutout, the more challenging it will be to get it to lay smooth and stick well. Continue to glue and lacquer with the foam brush until the bike is covered. The glue will dry clear.

The bike now needs to cure for about a month. Yes, a month. (Oh, come on, you don't ride it that often anyway). After that, if you want to make it rain-safe and durable, you can spray the bike with a polyurethane coat. Here are my new wheels:

Can you believe I found a "Petal to the Metal" quote??

If you go to all the trouble of doing this, send me a picture. If you get rich doing this, never tell me.

Back to Reality: Non-Fiction Picks

As my last post on my favorite books, I thought I would list some non-fiction selections.

It's Always Something by Gilda Radner. I bought this book for my grandmother for Christmas when I was around 13 years old. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor wrapping gifts and I started reading this book. Well, I read the entire thing before I wrapped it and gave it to her, and I still remember so much about this book. (It could be the book, or it could be that my mind was sharper...also, there is no way I could read OR wrap gifts sitting on the floor anymore). This is a memoir of Gilda's battle with cancer and her life with husband Gene Wilder. A 20th anniversary edition came out last year.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This autobiography is unbelievable. This MSNBC journalist details her upbringing in complete squalor. She now lives in NYC and sometimes sees her mother walking the street, homeless. No more using your childhood as an excuse after reading this one.

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt. This book is very refreshing. The author puts his theories out there and I'm sure he received plenty of letters. Check out his theory on why the US violent crime rate dropped so drastically in the 1990's. Sometimes the truth is ugly.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose. A liberal Brown student goes undercover at Liberty University for a semester and gives his objective view of this cultural bubble. Maybe my fascination with this book is a little heavy because I went to Liberty, but I think my entire liberal-to-conservative spectrum of readers and friends would eat this book up.

Warning: These Books Contain High Levels of Estrogen

There are those times.... when I need reminding that I am actually female. What happened to a good cry? Sisterhood? The color pink? Between being the boss at work, going to meetings with middle-aged men, living in a house with men, and pumping my own gas, I can't even conjure femininity sometimes. In fact, if one of my step-daughters utters "Pinky Pie's Pretty Playhouse" or squeals over a picture of a Twilight boy, I almost get a cavity. I know my uterus is still in there somewhere, and I believe in the maternal instinct. These books bring it back out. They are all-girl.

Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. This book follows a home birth midwife through a desperate emergency C-section at home in a snowstorm and the ensuing drama after the bad outcome. I must've read this 10 years ago, and I still remember some of the descriptive lines.

 

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. Did you know that in Old Testament times, menstruating women had to stay in a segregated tent? Did you ever think about not having dentistry?  A great read especially if you have any prior knowledge of Old Testament history as a frame of reference.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells. I have to recommend this. I'm not too cool. It is such a fun book. Pull this emergency cord next time you find yourself drowning in the testosterone ocean.

Ubiqui-lit.

I know it makes me un-hip and unoriginal to love some of these books that have been made into movies, or are probably used for your mama's book club, but I enjoyed them anyway. So there.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Just a great crisis-read, and the suspense builds towards the end. There is a lot in the book that was not used for the movie. Worth the time.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. This is a great mature read, and was also made into a movie, which I've never seen. If you like fiction set in other countries or times, you will love this. A young German boy has an affair with a mysterious older woman, and ... I can't tell you any more. It would spoil the surprises.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Must give this book a few chapters until you get into the characters and their voices. Like "The Help", the author writes from a different character's perspective for each chapter. Most genius is the voice of Adah, the hemiplegic, mute sister who is actually very intelligent. Breathtaking novel.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. Never saw this movie either, but, if you are in the mood for a quick vacation or beach read, I would steer you toward this one. The story moves along nicely, and again, if you like to read book set in other times, this will be a good choice.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Oprah's book club. As long as it doesn't depress you read about depressed people, go for it. Great character development in this book. You know you're having a bad day when you buy an entire block of lunch meat and eat it all in one sitting. Yikes.

Favorite Reads

This is a common topic amongst my friends, and since a friend of mine asked me for a list of my favorite books, I thought I'd make it a blog. After all, I hate reading so-so books, because I donate hours of my valuable time to a book! It had better be good! So, I love to get books on personal recommendation before I read them. In fact, someone pretty much has to rave about a book to get me to pick it up. Here are my raves:

The Help is a new one - I love how the author writes in different character "voices" for each chapter. Based on the attitude of these Junior Leaguers to their "Help", you would think it was 1900, not 1960! This one I could not put down, and really gets you rooting for the heroine.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. What a fabulous piece of historic fiction. I cannot imagine the amount of research that went into this writing, and I also cannot believe it's written by a man. I really can't explain why, I just felt like it was written by a female while I was reading, and had paid no attention to the name of the author. I was shocked to find the female voice in my mind was none other than Arthur Golden, who, if memory serves, is a 40-something professor.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. I may have a higher appreciation of this book because of my background in psychiatric nursing, but....The first chapter is THE funniest thing I have ever read. I laughed out loud so much that I finally just broke down and read the entire chapter out loud to my husband, who thought it was totally brilliant. Recommended to me by my NYC cousin, Nicole, it was definitely up my alley.

Out of time for today. Good Reads, the Sequel coming up...

Fun Cakes for Kids

If you are anything like me, and enjoy going to great lengths to amuse or please your family, you might like these fun cakes for kids. These are both variations of examples on http://familyfun.go.com/. They have some great ideas for kid stuff.

I will give myself away here and mention that the first time I tried the castle cake, I did it princess-style for my little god-daughter. Well, let me just say, my husband and I were in stitches as the cake collapsed all over the place and the end result was not fit for a princess. Yes, a picture does exist. No, I will not post it.

My son made this "sandcastle" cake for his Odyssey of the Mind meeting (a great learning competition for kids) http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/ . I actually bought bakery cakes from the grocery store rather than making the cake itself from scratch. Kids don't care about that part. Make sure you use sturdy, dense cake for any layering. Cut 2 circles, one large, one small, out of a one-layer cake. Place on the bottom cake and use vanilla icing to frost. Have your kiddo smash up 25 vanilla wafer in a Ziploc bag. Press crumbs into cake. Make spires by frosting cake cones and sugar cones together. Try to make a little dent in the cake as you place the towers on, and add a little icing around the bottom to stabilize. Then, the kiddos can add cookies or graham cracker sticks for decoration. My son had a lot of fun, and the sandcastle was a hit!

My little son had so much fun with this "french fry" cake. He put the plate on the table at dinner as a surprise for his little sister. It was pretty cute. This one is really easy.  You can use a bakery or Sarah Lee pound cake. Cut off browned edges. Slice loaf into narrow strips. Arrange on cookie sheet. Place under broiler and lightly toast all 4 sides of the "fries". Just watch out, because once the cake starts to brown, you have about 15 seconds before brown turns to black. Not that I got distracted watching Spongebob from the kitchen and burnt one side of the fries or anything, I just heard that's what could happen. Anyway, I bought red decorating icing for "ketchup", and that was it. Try it with your little ones. I got the Mom of the Year Award. Yesterday. For 5 minutes.

Obscure Things I Can't Live Without

I have realized that, at least in my world, there are some very under-rated products out there. There are just certain things I use every day that I maintain should be as popular as sliced bread (like unsliced bread). So I thought I would compile a blog about a few of these items just in case someone might discover their next can't live without possession.

First, my coat rack outside the shower. It never fails that every time I visit a home or a hotel, there is a general lack of places to hang a wet towel. I have always had this iron coat rack in my bathroom, and it is perfect! It usually holds my towel, my husband's towel, and my robe, and the towels have more air around them to dry nicely.

Speaking of robes, my white Bath and Body Works bathrobe. This is the softest, most amazing robe ever made. Enough said.

Next up, brow gel. Or actually, the applicator brush for brow gel. This is one of my stranded-on-a-desert- island items. I just use the brush from an old brow gel (actual gel tube long gone), and spray it with gel or hairspray and brush my brows into place. How do some girls live without this? I would look like Albert Einstein without this thing! Maybe it's just me. I'm only showing the handle (with me reflected in it) as the rest of the brush is no longer fit for human viewing.

My tiny whisk. OK, I stole this from a children's kitchen set when my son was about 3 years old. It's genius! Full size whisks are a pain to store and get bent in the dishwasher. And so many things that need to be whisked don't need anything but this little guy. He is responsible for all the scrambled eggs, gravy, and sauces made in my kitchen. I've even insisted that he be but away in a particular spot in the utensil drawer so I can always find him. (Thanks, honey)

The french press. This is the new thing added to the list this year that I cannot live without...unfortunately. I say unfortunately because I now know that french pressed coffee stains your teeth!! It was not enough to make me give it up, though. But I now brush my teeth right after my coffee and use "wisps" on my teeth if I'm at the office. The good thing is that the coffee tastes amazing, and you only use about 1/4 the amount of grinds you would use on a drip coffeemaker. We only drink Starbucks beans, so that's a big savings. Unless, of course, you count the $350 bleaching system for my teeth...

Goya Salad and Vegetable Seasoning. Can be hard to find in stores, but on top of salads or tomatoes, along with oil and vinegar, it's so good. It does contain MSG, I admit. I try to use it sparingly. OK, no I don't. I'm going to take some flack for this one.

Frozen Edemame. (no photo) I find these soybeans in the pod in the frozen foods aisle at WalMart. They steam in the microwave in about 4 minutes. I pour them into a bowl and toss with Kosher salt. My boys will eat the whole bag for a snack.

There's a starter list. I'll probably think of 3 more things as soon as I post. There may be a part two at some point. What unusual item can't you live without?

Asian Pear Mojito

In honor of my recent vacation, I decided to share my husband's famous Mojito recipe. We enjoyed the Asian Pear Mojito so much one day at PF Chang's that we decided to search for a comparable recipe and try to perfect it. According to all our friends, he has done just that. We even grow our own mint on our patio just for the occasional concoction. Fair warning: this cocktail has been called a little "too drinkable" and can sneak up on you quickly, so easy does it!

The muddler (left) and the citrus reamer (right)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon superfine sugar (hard to find, you can substitute regular sugar if you must)

1/2 of a lime

5 leaves mint

1 ounce sour apple pucker

1 1/2 ounces Bacardi Limon

1 ounce pineapple juice

club soda

ice

Directions

1-Ream the lime. Set rind aside. Muddle (mash) the lime, sugar and mint leaves together.

2-Add the Sour Apple Pucker, Limon Rum, & Pineapple Juice and shake with ice.

3-Pour into a  glass, top off with the club soda and lime rind or a fresh lime if desired. Enjoy.

Garage Sale Finds: Speed Tour

My husband and I went to our neighborhood garage sale this weekend, and I was reminded of how many good finds I've had over the years. I decided to allow myself a speed tour through the house, finding random items procured through garage sales. Here is a sampling based on what caught my eye:

Linen-covered box that I use for makeup. I like it because it's got a compartment for smaller tools that get lost.

Antique metal flower-arranging base from Japan. It has two iron "frogs" in the bottom to hold flowers in a sparse arrangement. This floral arranging is called "ikebana".

One of my best grabs ever. I originally bought these thinking I might try them on but would probably give them to my step-daughter. When I got home and looked them over more carefully, I realized that they were Ralph Lauren Black Label, dry clean only. When I looked them up online, they were still on sale and retailed for over $400.00. The best part is, they fit like a glove. My favorites.

My 10 year old son's desk - I found this old desk about 7 years ago and refinished it. You won't find me taking the time to do that anymore, but the desk has been very useful. The drawers smell like old creosote when you open them.

My go-to sweatshirt. Oh, how I love my zip-up sweatshirts in the morning! It says "Lake Tahoe" on the front. I've never been.

Cute oil and vinegar from Pottery Barn. I probably wouldn't go for things like this at full price, but for 25 cents, my condiments can get dressed up.

I've had this for many years. It's not a good luck charm, it travelled with me through a divorce. But it's a good reminder. I may hold it up when the next TV remote-related scuffle breaks out.

The Secretary - A Solution for Grand Central

I am recently giving in to the fact that, if my organizing system is not designed around the way my family actually lives, it is most likely not going to work. For example, we have a designated home office upstairs complete with file cabinet, bookshelves, supplies etc. Nonetheless, we have a collection of mail, school supplies, an electric pencil sharpener, not to mention everything ever invented that needs to be charged scattered around our kitchen. The fact is, my husband and I often prefer to be on our laptops downstairs, and the likelihood of any of us developing the habit of running the mail up a flight of stairs to be sorted every day is,.... well, it's not going to happen. Enter the Secretary.

We had one of these when I was little, but it was more of a decorative piece that anything. This modern version comes with an electrical strip in the bottom cabinets so phones and laptops can be charged on the desk without the unsightly wires. That fed the OCD monster just a little, I'll admit. Now we have a designated place for a lot of odds and ends that just landed in the kitchen. We have three slots for the mail: H-Holly, B-Bills, and R-Rod. Magazines go into a basket in the living room to be read (hopefully, last month's edition can be purged at the same time), and everything else is recycled.

Camera and stationery are kept in the lower cabinets, along with a folder I don't want upstairs because I need to get to it ASAP. It holds all the advertisements I've collected over the past 2 months on summer camps for the boys, and I need to get them booked!

The best part about the new system is that I've reclaimed some valuable kitchen real estate. Two prime counters and one large drawer, to be exact.

Prime Counter,

Prime counter,

Large drawer. I chose to use it for our knives so that no one has to risk his or her fingers groping around for a coffee spoon in the morning. (Ahem.) Oh yes, and I'm sure it's a child safety thing, too. And too bad I did not think to replace the ugly drawer paper while I was at it. Baby steps.

Speaking of baby steps, there is still one area of the kitchen not yet reclaimed by any system. It's my hubby's favorite "laptop spot" at the bar.

Not reclaimed.

"Do one thing every day that scares you." - Eleanor Roosevelt

First Post = Too Much Pressure.

Based on the fact that writing my very first blog post feels too inaugural, I am going to pretend this blog has been going on forever, and just pick up in the middle of nowhere.

Making it a point to take the time to enjoy my plants this spring, I was crushed to see them being eaten by slugs and worms. This green worm is my latest discovery. He almost got snuffed up my nose when I went to smell the mint plant. For the record, right now we are trying to just rinse off the worms and their eggs, so as not to get pesticide on the herbs.

Taking the time at least once a day to go outside and water, fertilize, and dead-head flowers has been a good experience this year. I think next year I will plant all-white annuals. I notice that white flowers just stand out as you drive up the street. And, I love white anyway. I want to have those giant pillows of impatiens all around the yard.

Gardening seems like a luxury for some reason. I think I will keep it up.