What is wrong with people?

I've seen two different examples of this now. In a commercial for dishwasher soap, a tiny construction crew bulldozes away a thick layer of baked-on lasagna. Then, at the bottom of the screen, appears the word DRAMATIZATION.

I cannot fathom the details of the potential lawsuit they think they're avoiding.

It ain't irony, but it's funny.

For the last few days on Facebook, many of my female acquaintances have been sending around some video advocating that staying out of the sun when you're young is a good thing.  They've all been treating it like Serious Business, using the reverential tones of voice that are usually reserved for other Serious Business such as breast cancer awareness or autism awareness or butthole awareness or anything else that might be haphazardly attached to a 5k/8k Fun Run/Walk For Awareness.

I haven't watched the video, because I'm well aware that sun safety is key to my face not looking like twice-baked roadkill.  Also, I hate participating in Facebook conversations that sound like Serious Business, because they're usually stupid.  So I thought this was funny.  Please note that the highlighted post was posted around the same time as the Sun Awareness post by complete coincidence.

For Henry's room

My only regret is that I didn't originally intend to put a body in there -- it was just supposed to be a monkey head and hands sticking out of the grass.  So once I put a body in, there was no room for feet.  But other than that, I reckon this is more pleasing than a storebought piece of themey wall art crap.  It is to me, anyway.

Please don't be alarmed, as I was, by the creepy claw-like reflection in the bookcase behind the painting. That's just me taking the picture.  But wow, gross.

Fun Game: Spot the Urban Hippies

Hey kids! Can you spot the five things in the picture below that make this particular city deck stand out as belonging to Urban Hippies?  Set a timer for 30 seconds, and... GO!

[you should be hearing a tinny rendition of "Girl From Ipanema" right now]

Time's up!

Let's see how many you got right. From top left, clockwise:
1. Freshly laundered cloth diapers, drying naturally but very very slowly due to crap springtime weather
2. Bottles being saved up for homebrew
3. Tomato plants that we're hoping work out better than last year
4. Recycling
5. Cloth diaper covers, positioned to receive what little sunlight we get on our fake deck
6. This last thing is the trick item -- it's not indicative of Urban Hippies at all.  Where on earth are you supposed to store these stupid baby bath sponge things?  We dry it outside, then by the time it's dry, we need to use it again.  So I guess this would be indicative of an Urban Redneck or something.

"In every job that must be done..."

... there is an element of fun. You find that fun and, snap! The job's a game!"
-- Mary Poppins, "Spoonful of Sugar"

It's also creepy sometimes.  I was folding the laundry today, which was the last of my three daily goals (element of fun part 2: make a list). As I tried and failed to fit five more white socks into Chris' white sock drawer*, I decided to take all of them out to reclaim all the socks he steals from me organize them into pairs.  Before I started, I guessed I would end up with the laughably large number of 27 pairs of socks.

So, I sorted and matched, and piled up the pairs without counting, savoring the moment I would find out how close I was. Have I mentioned I've got very little going for me in the way of excitement these days? I ended up with two pairs in the garbage due to holes, five unmated socks, and... exactly 27 pairs of matched socks.

I am hoping that analytical sock pairing precognition is only the first of many superpowers I can hope to attain as a mother.



*Who says I never let my two readers hear the sordid details of my personal life?  Yes, Chris has two sock drawers: "white" and "other."  Fun fact: socks can be, and in fact are, manufactured in at least 7 shades of tan.

Happy sixth birthday, Funundrum.

I'm celebrating by dragging this blog, kicking and screaming, into the era of "Share" buttons and updated posting gadgets.  Yaaay!!

My mind moves in mysterious ways

Last night, we watched a couple shows on Netflix about the making of various seminal rock albums.  One was Queen's "A Night at the Opera," and the other was U2's "The Joshua Tree." I then proceeded to have the following dream, set in the present day:  someone affiliated with U2 thought it would be hilarious to fill the studio with band member lookalikes representing their various fashions through the decades.

This quickly got out of hand, because when the band walked in the door, the room was filled with risers creaking under the weight of at least 300 men, all grouped into individual U2lets and dressed and coiffed appropriately.  All the albums were represented, as well as costumes from major tours and even videos for most of the singles.  Everyone was singing "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." The people organizing the stunt quickly realized that there aren't that many true lookalikes out there, so they had resorted to tactics like stuffing a purple stocking cap on a dude who looked like Larry the Cable Guy, and calling it "Zoo TV Edge."

Listen, for a superfan like me, it was a hilarious dream.