Madagascar 3: Two Free Tickets in San Francisco

Hey everyone! Today I have a little surprise for you: two free movie tickets to see Madagascar 3! This is a free giveaway, but it is also a contest. Below are several different ways to enter this contest, but first, please review the details:

1. These tickets are to see Madagascar 3 at an AMC theater in San Francisco. They are "valid for any 2D show beginning Monday through Thursday, through the run of the engagement." In other words: they aren't good on weekends.
2. The Madagascar 3 tickets are FREE. However, don't be troll. If you want to resell the tickets or something else like that, don't enter. If I catch you...well, I'm not sure what I'll do, but I'll think of something.
3. I'm not responsible for any issues you might have at the theater. I was simply given two free tickets, which I am passing on to you my readers. It is your responsibility to check what show times are available, as well as to confirm that the particular AMC theater you choose will accept the voucher.
4. I will need a valid California address from the winner so I can send you the tickets. If you refuse to share a valid mailing address with me, you forfeit your winnings. And I will only ask once. I will not mail the tickets out of state.
5. The contest begins with the posting of this post, and it ends at 12:01 AM on June 24, 2012. I use a bot to choose the winning entry to eliminate any foul play cries or chance of fudging on times.

That said....good luck to you all, and remember to enter every day! Oh, and tell your friends, too!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Madagascar 3: Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

Well, I get to see Madagascar 3 a week before it opens in a pre-screening, thanks to Crowdtap, a website that allows consumers to test, rate and comment on ideas, products and other such things. This Madagascar pre-screening will be in San Francisco, which is a bit of a drive, but that's okay, as I get to bring a friend (probably my dad. He's one of the few people who lives here year-round that can put up with me weirdness. The rest go home for the summer). The idea is, of course, to come back and rave about your wonderful experience, and to take pictures.

Lots. of. Pictures.

I'm going to San Francisco...to see a screening of a movie and I'm taking pictures. Anyone have an idea of what that may lead to? Begins with a C, ends with a Y....

Yes. I will be going as Gia the Jaguar. We'll see how good of a costume I can come up with in a week. I think I'll start by taking a look at Ben Nye's catalogue. I seem to remember a big kitty facial design in there....

For instructions and commentary on creating a Gia, see:
Clues on How To Create Gia
Making Gia's Whiskers
Creating Gia's Spots

Someday If I Have Kids....

...I am totally stealing this and doing it myself. Blogger Ricochet Dreamer recently posted a letter she wrote to her two-year old son. She explained to her readers that she had decided to write a letter to her children on each of their birthdays and on Christmas. When they grow up, she plans to compile the letters and bind them into a book, so that each child has a specialized book from their Mom about them.

I think this is a wonderful idea. You can read Ricochet Dreamer's post here.

Turtle!

Someone posted this on their tumblr. It is cute. I wish I could crochet like that. 

Fall semester at my college starts tomorrow morning. I'm not ready.

I'm really not ready to start school. I just got home. 

I want to curl up like a baby turtle.

Turtles are really kinda cute.

And its so fluffeh

I'm gonna

DIE.

Baby Doctors

Okay, so, while I'm traveling, I delved into my cache of cool items, and I came up with a few interesting ones. Because I'm not at home, I don't have the leisure to expound upon the huge clothing wisdom that is mine, so I'm sticking to quotes, pictures, and links.

Have fun. I had another onesie that was really cool, but now I can't find it. :(

"Are you really a babysitter?"
*Doctor pulls out Psychic Paper*
"I think you'll find that I'm universally recognized as a mature and responsible adult."
"It's... just a lot of wavy lines."
"Yeah. Shorted out. Finally, a lie too big."

Bow Ties Are Cool

TARDIS is Cool, Too.

"I think I'm having a craving! Apples! All I can think about is Apples!"

*a little while later*

"That's disgusting! What is that?"

"Its an apple."

"Apple's rubbish. I hate apples. Yogurt's my favorite, give me yogurt."

Travel Update: Cosmosphere

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly, a shot rang out! A door slammed! A maid screamed! Suddenly, a pirate ship appeared on the horizon.....

That was quoted at least four times today. I'm too tired to take pictures, but I got a nifty little wristband at the cosmosphere today. It reads "Failure is never an option."

That's true. I spent the majority of the day looking at rockets and the history of the rocket and at space race stuff. And I really think it would be awesome if they could get larger crafts into space, ones that you can actually walk around on.

Its sort of put my head in the clouds. Astronaut clothing needs a make-over design wise. I'm going to go put my head on a pillow so I don't have to worry about tripping over stuff when I'm not watching where I'm going. I hope to have the video journal edited and up soon. You might end up with one huge one on like Monday. :P

Night!

No Room at the Inn: Making Something out of Nothing

I grew up in a round house (think soccer ball), so there were always odd corners that just didn't fit anything. I NEED more room. Extra space is a must, not an option. But where to find it? As many of you know, I've been cleaning for the last few days, hoping to get into a better semblance of order than I am right now. Again, I'm facing the classic American problem: too much stuff, too little room. I'm reminded of The Poisonwood Bible, where, at the ending, one of the aunts has to explain to her young nephew, who is from the Congo, why there can be so much stuff that people don't need. Really, we have so much that we don't need. We are far past subsistence levels. We have food, we have clothes, we have shelter. And so we collect more stuff.

I'm still feeling cold hearted about throwing out or giving away childhood toys and clothing. Today, I found an old bear backpack. Its cute. It was fun as a little kid. My purse can hold more. I still want to keep the backpack. BUT IT IS GOING TO GOODWILL. And all of the paper that I feel required to save and use as scrap paper will be going in the trash, and I will not feel bad about killing trees.

Then, of course, what to do with the remaining items? A while ago, a friend of mine sent me an interesting article about nooks. Since nearly every available spot in my home is filled with some sort of book, bauble or piece of junk, this was an inventive piece that made me wish I had the money to put some in. My two favorites are the reading nook under the stairs (above) and the Wardrobe that leads to a secret room. If I ever build my own home, I want both of these. Both are fun space savers. Why put in a chair where you can put a shelf, and put a reading nook under the stairs? Why make a play room where you can put an office? These are delicious cozy places. Like the window seat, they offer an extra little bit of comfort without taking up much room. In fact, they don't take up room. They give more space.

For more interesting nooks, you can look at the original babble article here.

Tee-Eye-Double "Guh"-Ar!

Today, I slipped in my protest vote against Harry Potter. I went to see Winnie the Pooh, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly (besides someone whacking our popcorn over with their purse, of course). Pooh is definitely a blast from the past, and it was nice to see all the old characters back again. The story is the basic story of friendship, along with all the foibles of this motley crew. Rabbit is still a bit OCD, Tigger is as hyperactive as ever, and Eyeore has not been scourged with medication for depression. And Christopher Robin is still a little boy who has a large imagination. An A+ for the film as a whole, which runs for a little over an hour, if you include the short at the beginning.

Take a look for yourself:



I can't finish a post about Pooh Corner without linking you to my two favorite songs. The first is, of course, Tigger's theme song, which came up when one of my friends claimed I reminded her of Tigger when I write.

The other is a song that I have memorized from my childhood. It is "Return to Pooh Corner" by Kenny Loggins. Loggins wrote that he scribbled out the first half of this song while procrastinating before finals one year (sounds familiar). He found it again years later, after he had his own kids, and rewrote it. It is the story of growing up and looking back, and seeing your own children fill your shoes. I love it.

Dressing to Make A Difference

Could you wear the same dress for a hundred days in a row? If you could, could you take it a step farther and create one hundred totally unique outfits with just one dress? Miss Elaini can. Elaini is wearing the dress pictured to the right for one hundred days. Today is day 64, and she has created her 64th unique outfit. Her goal? To raise awareness about the plight of Indian orphans, and to raise funds to provide for them. Her goal is to be able to raise $50,000 in the one hundred day period.

I must say, I admire Elaini in about a million different ways. I promise you I won't list the entire million, but I must list a few, and then after I list them, you must go visit her blog and be inspired.

First off, she's willing to do something. Most people will agree that something must be done, and perhaps they will write out a check, but the majority of the time, they leave it at that. Perhaps they put a bumper sticker on their car. Elaini is a walking billboard.

Elaini also doesn't feel sorry for people. Instead, she loves them. I think there is a huge difference. Someone who feels sorry for others is looking down their nose at them. If you love people, you come down and help them up. Elaini loves the orphans just as much as she loves her own family. Her parents are her best friends (so are mine. My best friends, I mean, not hers. ).

Elaini is an overcomer. I was recently thinking about how many people who are challenged physically are those who are strongest spiritually. Whenever someone talks about this, I inevitably start thinking about a girl I once taught at a conference. She was about six, and she had spina bifida. A six year old should be able to walk. This girl couldn't. If she wanted to go anywhere, she pulled herself along by her hands, perhaps carrying something in her mouth or tucked under an arm or on her lap. I can't think of a sweeter, patient-er, understanding child. Some day, that girl is going to do great things, and I hope she finds a unique way of doing them, just as Elaini has. Elaini's story is so different, yet so much the same. She doesn't have spina bifida, but she has had many health challenges. And she has risen over those challenges and created something that is helping others and glorifying God.

Elaini uses fashion to make a statement--but not the usual sort of statement we think of. She's saying "HEY! WE'RE BLESSED! We are SO blessed, and we don't even realize it! Let's take some of our blessing and give it to others, so God can bless them through us!" The concept of wearing the same dress for 100 days is a little challenge in and of itself. But think of it. How many people wear the same thing day in and day out because that is all they have? Wow.

Think about it. Go take a look at Elaini's blog. It will challenge you. It challenged me.



P.S.--All of these pictures are, obviously, pulled from Elaini's blog. Also, once you reach about page 7 on her blog, you can start reading her other observations about the little things in life. So don't just look at the first page!

Summer Days, Retro

I recently ran across a very inspiring story of an entrepreneur. Her inspiration was a child and the color red. When thinking about the freedom of being young, this woman began to envision a line of clothing now known as Damselfly. Damselfly is a UK-based company that creates children's clothing by hand, with all the little ruffles and frills that are fitting for a little girl--the sort I remember proudly wearing once-upon-a-time.

Damselfly is particularly refreshing in that it lets little girls be little girls. There is room to run and romp and play, but there is also room to play dress up, make cookies, and run a magical household. In this little corner of the internet, there is no need to hurry grow up. There is plenty of time to savor childhood. Contrast that to the latest annoyance in children's dress that I've found: padded bras for eight year olds--or younger. Target sells fully padded bras that run as small as a girls size 4 (its in the fineprint. Scroll down). I overheard someone comment that it was a good thing, since "little girls need to be ready to face the real world." Heaven help us, can't we have at least twelve small years to be carefree and to not care what the real world thinks?

Unlike Target, Damselfly operates in the realm where fairytales are O.K. Practical but pretty. Looking through the website, I feel a little sad that there are no little ones that I can dress in this style. It greatly reminds me of the frilly little dresses my grandmother made me when I was a little girl. Actually, it reminds me of one in particular. It was a Sunday dress, with lace all around the skirt. The fabric was blue with little butterflies and flowers all over it, and it had a sailor collar--one of those ones that was a big square in the back. I have no idea why I remember that dress so well. I can't think of any really important event that was connected to it, just sleeping on (or under) pews, pretending to write in coloring books, and running around the church lobby while I waited for my parents to quit talking and take me home for lunch. I remember wanting to wear it as much as possible.

I found that dress again a few months ago. It isn't really blue anymore: it has faded. There was a lot less lace on it than I remembered from my childhood. I think some of the lace was ripped, and the fabric was somewhat worn in a few places. By all rights, it should have taken its place in the rag bag, but I couldn't bear to part with it, so I packed it back up and it sits somewhere in the depths of my closet, until I have a wave of nostalgia and pull it out, or until I go on a cleaning spree and do get rid of it. I doubt that will happen though. It was the sort of dress that made memories. Or, to be exact, it is a memory.

I get the same sort of feeling browsing through damselfly, and I think that, someday, some woman who was privileged enough to wear one of those dresses as a little girl will pull it out and remember everything she did in it, and then she'll fold it up and set it aside, hoping that someday another little girl will get the chance to make her own memories in it.