Where has all the free time gone?

Summer has always been my favorite season. However, it hasn't always been my most productive season. While I tend to have more "free" time in the summer, that time is usually spent taking my daughter around to her various summer activities. (She plays tennis in the summer and she is starting pointe ballet classes as well.) My truly free time ends up being at about 10:00 at night when I'm starting to get ready to head to bed. That is why there hasn't been a ton of content here or on my YouTube channel. But I want to change that.

I would really like to hear from all of you out there. What would you like to see here on the blog? Would you like more product reviews? Maybe some tips on parenting or activities to do with your kids? (Granted, my daughter is now 13 years old. I'm a little out of touch on what to do with the little ones.) Perhaps you would like to hear about what TV shows or movies I'm watching? Should I go back to reviewing Japanese dramas? Whatever you want to hear about, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to get that going for you. 

Scott Weaver of Calgary making big moves in the art world!

Today's 30 Days of Lists topic made me think a bit more about art. Well, about what constitutes art anyway. I mean, art isn't just a painting or a drawing. It is more than that. Sculptures are works of art, right? I mean, look at this metal sculpture and tell me it is not art. It is gorgeous!

This funny little piece was made by Scott Weaver. There isn't a whole lot of information about him online but I managed to scrape together some bits. He is a Native American from the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, CA. His maternal grandmother helped found the mission at Santa Ysabel. As for Weaver himself, he turned his talents to metalworking. He founded a company, Weaves Industries Inc., that does welding, fabrication, and maintenance for industrial equipment. But I found myself more intrigued by his metal sculptures.

dome

All of his pieces are made from recycled materials. You can see that the little band in the first picture is almost entirely made of horseshoes. I think the tiny dome guy in the second picture is made with a bowl and some spoons. That is awesome. I wish I had the ability to look at someone's "trash" and see an art piece inside.

Purdau Kokopelli

This is a kokopelli, a Native American fertility deity. Though I admit I find it hysterical that a fertility deity is also considered a trickster. Is that why women only seem to get pregnant when they aren't trying? Anyway, this piece features the metal rim of a wagon wheel.

That dinosaur is so cute! I'm sure he sells these pieces but I haven't been able to find any information about how to go about actually purchasing one. Though shipping would probably be astronomical since he lives in Calgary, which isn't just in another country, it's also on the other side of the continent from where I live! It would be kinda cool to have a huge chain dinosaur in my front yard. I don't think my husband would appreciate it though.

While I have never done any welding and I have never made anything this awesome, I wonder if this is something I would be able to do. I have taken classes on making your own metal jewelry. How to turn a metal wire into a ring and things like that. I don't have a place in my house that would be an appropriate workspace for that sort of thing. (Which is why I wouldn't actually try to make a metal sculpture. I just wonder if I could.)

I guess I've rambled on enough about this. I'll leave you with a couple more pieces I found that are amazing. These ones aren't just sculptures made of recycled metal material. They also are back-lit. I think that makes them look cooler. Maybe everything should be back-lit. It would give things a mysterious sort of vibe, wouldn't it? You can see the outlines and shadows but not the actual piece. Hmmm....maybe not.

Charm bracelets

I'm not a huge fan of jewelry. As a matter of fact, I don't even wear my wedding ring most days. Jewelry just seems to always get in my way. I did find some cute charm bracelets though. I particularly like the pandora beads because they still have the variety of a charm bracelet but they look a bit more grown-up. My daughter has a cute silver charm bracelet (though we haven't added any new charms in a long time). Maybe I should get something like this so we can have matching bracelets.

Madness

I am completely addicted to this song. My husband noticed me watching the video and I made an off-hand comment that I don't think I knew any other Muse songs. So he proceeded to play me every Muse song that I should (and inevitably do) know. I just like "Madness" better than the others.

Also, I am amazed at the bass guitar that guy plays. It kinda looks like he strapped an iPad to his bass. I didn't even know something like that existed. Imagine the possibilities! Maybe a digital electric piano at Musician's Friend. (Not like the one in the cheesy iPad Mini commercial that shows piano keys on the screen.) I might need to learn how to play something now...

A new jdrama!

I am finally back on the horse! I stopped watching that other drama for now. It was so boring that I completely forgot the title. Instead, I'm watching Akumu-chan, which has my beloved Gackt in it. I've only watched the first two episodes but I am interested to see where it will go. Yay Jdrama! Yay Gackt!

Summer Camp

Every year, I have to decide what to do with my daughter for the summer. A lot of Camps for Teens are really expensive and we can't quite afford that yet. I'm hoping that we'll be able to afford to send her somewhere nice for a week or two. (Granted, I never went to summer camp. I did do a couple of overnight camping trips with the Girl Scouts but that was it.) I think she gets bored hanging out with my mom all summer. I wish child care stuff was more affordable.

A slow Saturday

As I said earlier, my birthday was yesterday. I did not receive one of the best harmonicas for sale at Musicians friend. I did get a really cool board game. (Lupin the 3rd Board Game, which I didn't even know existed.) While I love music, I don't know how to actually play any instruments. Well, that's a lie. I can vaguely play the violin but not very well. My daughter is learning how to play the trumpet and I hope she sticks with it. Good ol' Mom will just have to play along with the tamborine. That I can play!

Thanksgiving is almost over.

So the givings of thanks is almost over. It was a pretty nice day. My daughter and I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade until my husband got annoyed at our mini-naps (dude, that this is FOREVER long and it takes FOREVER for them to get to the good stuff) and turned on a Mythbusters episode we had on the DVR. Then we went to my in-laws' for dinner, which was not awful. Then we went to my aunt's in order to play some board games, but they decided they didn't want to play any so we ended up sitting around and talking for a couple of hours. I think this may be the earliest we have ever been home on a holiday. Tomorrow is my birthday. (Sorry Black Friday, you are getting kicked to the background.) The PA Renaissance Faire is having their holiday Open House this weekend and I'd like to go to see if there are some gifts I'd like to buy for my family. And maybe I'll browse around qualitybath.com for kitchen faucets because we could really use a new one. Heck, we could use a whole new house.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Where has November gone?

I feel like the weeks have been going by so quickly lately. Not only is it already Wednesday, but Thanksgiving is tomorrow too! Then after Thanksgiving is my birthday! What happened to the month? I'm not really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year. We're going to my in-laws' house, which is rarely an enjoyable time. Maybe I'll be lucky and my husband will get me one of the karaoke machines at acekaraoke.com for my birthday. Then we'll have tons of fun! *insert evil laugh*

Ah well. Hopefully it will go quickly too.

Argh November!

I wanted to write a review about the animated short that played before Wreck-It Ralph but I haven't gotten a chance. I'm going to try to get it written this weekend but I do have another fitness training seminar so I'm not sure how much time I will have. (This will make me licensed in Zumba, Zumba Gold, and Zumbatomic and certified in Hip Hop Hustle and Red Hot Dance Fitness.) I think that my family is going to try to go to the Open House at the PA Renaissance Faire over Thanksgiving weekend. Not only will we be able to buy discount passes for the regular faire season but I'm hoping to pick up some Christmas presents there as well. There was a merchant during the regular season that sold outdoor pottery type stuff that was pretty cool. Hopefully they are there for the Open House too.