Are YOU this Facebook person???

Facebook is one of those things where I definitely have a soapbox to stand on. As one of the original users (i.e., it came out when I was in college when it was only meant for college students), it has been interesting (read: disappointing) to see how much the social media site has transformed. Instead of being a way to contact classmates to figure out schedules and when to meet for a project, my nearly 60-year-old mom is now posting like a tween, and I'm seriously contemplating blocking her feed to give myself some peace.

In fact, I have been contemplating exiting the FB world for awhile now. I hang on, perhaps hypocritically, because there really are a few "friends" (and I mean this sincerely, not the type most people have met sort-of and add to their collections like notches on a bedpost), that I do not want to lose contact with again. Still though, while browsing through their feeds, I ask myself, why do I endure this once-a-week browsing torture? I don't know. My experience has been greatly altered by the following. If you are one of these people, shame on you.

1) Child-Pimp 
You post every. little. damn. thing. your child does or says. We get it. You think your kid is cute. My little girl is cute too, but you know what? All that matters is that I think she is, because I'm her mom. I don't need the whole world to clap with me, and neither does she. I'm not going to add one more child to the ranks of a narcissistic population. Stop advertising your child and experiences online. 

This goes for all of you who post pictures of your kids, often daily. If you want to send something to Grandma and Grandpa, by all means, shoot them an email. I don't need to see pictures of your child's face smeared in food, jumping in leaves or posing with a not-so-attractive mug for the thousandth time.  

2) Obsessed Bride
I get that you're engaged. Or newly-wed. And that you're oh-so-pretty and it was such a happy, lovely day. Honestly, if you're going to torture the rest of us with your wedding album, (which is cruel considering most people are NOT enjoying marital bliss at the moment you are), make it ONE album and be done with it. I don't need to see MORE daily pictures 6 months after your vows. Get over yourself and your relationship.

On the same note, please, for the love of God, stop with the wedding day countdown. Honestly, do you have any self respect, or is your entire identity wrapped up in one person and one day that can't possibly meet your expectations? If everyone on your Facebook friends list is invited, then it's redundant to do a countdown, and if they aren't, then shame on you for reminding them of that fact.

3) Weight Loss Junkie
I applaud your efforts to diet. I don't like that you need everyone to rally around you with "awesome" and "go you" remarks. If you are going to diet, do it. Be strong. Whether you have support or not. I honestly could care less if you lose another 2 pounds this week. Stop beating us over the head with it. Ever think that it might depress people who are struggling to lose weight?

4) Meme-Whore
Sure, a few memes make everyone smile. but when I see people posting them with blitz-speed, a dozen at a time? Kinda loses its effect, as I skip by most without reading now. 

5) Prayer-Whore
God is not your personal genie. I'm sorry you've had a rough day, but it's a weak (read, lack of faith) move to post it so you can get more attention. As it is, I don't think the Almighty needs Facebook to know your upset over something. Does little Jimmy have a cold? He'll get better. Do you really need to ask for prayer? How about praying for the little kid in Africa who has AIDS or is dying of starvation or thirst?  

6) The Whiny Mom
You chose to have kids. Now raise them, with grace, preferably. It will be hard, in fact, brutal some days. But you can do it, because many, many women have done it before you. You DO NOT need to remind us how tough every day is. Please. Like you're the only one struggling here.

7) The Politician
It's great you have political views. Try doing something more productive than posting propaganda all day. 


There is probably a point where we have committed one, or all, of these Facebook sins. The point is, I hope you have the maturity and class to realize that social media doesn't make up for real life interactions and friendships. If you want attention, you're looking in a place that will never, ever satisfy. Now go and sin no more.

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The BEST DIY Method Roman Shades Using Existing Blinds

I'm in the process of reclaiming our 3rd bedroom. It has been a junk/storage room for nearly the entire tenure at our home, and I grew sick of having to lock the door when company came over, save they saw the mess. 

Fresh paint on the walls (a dramatic taupe), spare bed turned into a daybed, lots of pillows, and I'm that much closer to a pretty place that can be an office/hangout area. But the windows really needed something, being covered by the cheap plastic builder blinds.

Because this is not our final home (I hope!), I refuse to spend $$ on nicer blinds/window treatments that I would have to leave with the house. I happened upon a  several blogs that showed how to re-purpose old blinds and create a Roman shade.

The problem is, I wanted a liner on my fabric to make it thicker, (I don't trust my neighbors), and most blogs recommending to re-purpose blinds by no-sew gluing are not designed for heavier, thick fabric. I actually finished the shades and had to redo them because the plastic couldn't take the weight and the shades sagged in the middle. I nearly cried. They looked awful. So how to salavage them?

Using a dowel rod supports the middle! There are blogs that have you gluing the dowel rods onto your fabric, but I was so sick of glue that I decided to use this suggestion. Make a pocket.

My windows are 61" L x 34.5" W. Also, while the aforementioned blog used only 1 piece of fabric, I added a backing on mine to make it more dense, and therefore decided to sew the hem rather than use iron on adhesives.  


I needed:
-*10 yards fabric for 2 windows (5 for pretty fabric outside, 5 for lining). $17 at Walmart for 6 yards fabric + $2.99 at Goodwill store for king-sized sheet that I cut up). 
-Fabri-Tac glue. $3 at **Joann's Fabrics with 50% off coupon
-Your old blinds.
-sewing machine.
-yard stick. 
-dowel rods. Amount depends on the # of folds you want (I used six 5/16" at 36"). $3.54 at Joann's Fabrics with 30% coupon 
-needle & thread matching fabric.
-plastic rings 3/4". $2.15 at Joann's Fabrics with 40% coupon
 
TOTAL: $28.68

*Disclosure--I habitually buy too much fabric. 6 was too much, and because I had some left over, I'm guesstimating amount needed based on that).

**I'm not trying to make a plug for Joann's, and am certainly not making any money from them. Go anywhere you want. I just hate reading blogs and never knowing where to get materials. This is just one option.
     
1) Measure your windows & shades. Using my formula, 34.5 +1+1 (hems either side) = 36.5" wide total. Length takes more calculation. I did 3 folds (pockets) in mine with a 1/2" seam. So... 61+1+1 (hem top and bottom)=63+(1+1+1 pocket folds) =66" long total. If you want more folds, you must add in 1" in length per one.

I swear this is the hardest part. Tread carefully.

2) Put front and back pieces together (the way you want them to look when mounted), fold over a 1" seam, pin and sew. I never iron, but you can iron the seam first to make it crisp before sewing. Repeat for all sides.

And you end up with....

 



3) For the life of me, I couldn't get my pull cord to work unless it sat IN FRONT of my fabric. Not the ideal, as I would of prefered it hidden, but oh well. I measured and cut a small hole through my fabric with sissors near the top for the cords to go through. If you want to be fancier, use the button hole option on your sewing machine for a finished edge. Or you might not have to do this step at all if your pull string is in a different spot. 

4) Take down your shade. Time to rip it apart. If you hate these things as much as I do, this process can be oddly therapeutic. However, we DO NOT want to cut the thicker pull cord running through it, but the ladder cords. Good picture of that here. Cut them out plus the plastic blinds. All we really want from these ugly things is the hanging hardware with pull strings intact (because who wants to install shade hardware? Not this girl!). 

The pull cord is a bit twisted up as my toddler was loose on a rampage, but all you have left is the top to mount, the thick pull strings, and the base.

5) Back to your fabric. Measure out where you want your folds. I like the cascading look when pulled so the space from the top to the first pocket was 20", then another pocket 10" below that, then the last pocket 12" below that. Mark your folds with a pencil on either side, pinch and pin. 

6) Sew pockets. Staying at the 5/8 mark on my sewing machine made for a big enough pocket for a 5/16" dowel rod to go through.

Sewing!

7) Put the dowel rods through. If you have extra that dowel needs to be cut off, mark it and then pull it out and cut.

What the pocket looks like with the dowel rod inside.

What it looks from the other side--pretty!

8) Time to hand sew! Honestly, it wasn't so bad. Took me about 2 minutes per ring and I'm a noobie. Measure where your pull strings are and mark on your shade. Mine was 7" from the edge.

Get out your needled and thread and sew on the ring, attaching it to the fabric on your pocket.  

9) I didn't want to detach my thicker pull cord from the bottom, so I cut the rings instead, put the string through, and put a dab of glue on each ring to reseal the cut. Not ideal, but it works.

10) Glue on your fabric to the top and bottom portions of the shade. Let it dry for 2-4 hours minimum. Hang it up and admire your work!

Drying...

And done! 

This picture makes everything look so dark--but the shades really are a nice color and look against our gray walls.

Have fun!

 

Win me back, Sherlock.

I don’t really know what to think about Sherlock’s Season 3 The Empty Hearse. 

Well, actually, that’s a lie. I’m trying to be nice, because to be critical about a show I love so much, (and has so rarely miss-stepped), is remarkably unpleasant. So here is the truth--The Empty Hearse is rubbish.

Hold on you die hard fan. Read.


Let me say that I consider myself a very level-headed aficionado of the BBC’s reincarnation of Sherlock. I’m not into cosplay, I don’t salivate over every interview and movie of Benedict Cumberbatch, and I even bristle at the idea that any girl would submit to calling herself a ‘cumberbitch’ for that matter. (Have some self respect, Ladies!) I digress. 

From the first few minutes of A Study in Pink, I loved Sherlock. It’s one of the few shows that treats its audience (with few exceptions), as an intelligent bunch who deserve top notch entertainment, in sharp contrast to the predominately serialized crap we Americans are fed on TV. 


This is why I am so disappointed to see Sherlock sinking to the lowest denominator in The Empty Hearse. It’s like Mark Gatiss sat down with a list of the Sherlock fandoms and just checked off every one as he wrote the script. SherlockXMolly? Check. SherlockXMoriarty? Check. Shirtless!Sherlock? Check. Remind the audience ONE MORE TIME that John isn't gay? Check. 


One could argue that The Empty Hearse is winking at Sherlock's massive popularity and rabid fan base. I’m sure that was the intent. A 1.5 hour love letter to the fans. But shouldn't they have taken the high road rather than submit to blatant fan service? Sherlock shirtless as a humorous and effective part of the plot in season two worked. His poor treatment of Molly, and eventual recognition of his cruelty/apathy, worked. His genius at war with Moriarty worked. These were just scenes that flowed beautifully with the overall plot. These were the scenes that led to the fandoms. So why on earth did The Empty Hearse have to capitalize on the stuff of teenage girl fantasies, rip away the sophisticated plots and motivations from the characters and degrade them into realm of bad fan fiction? I feel insulted.

The whole beginning feels disjointed due to the setup of these 'fantasy' outcomes of how Sherlock survived juxtaposed with his reintroduction to John. I believed John somewhat, but he isn't particularly violent in the other seasons despite suffering PTSD, thus to see him punch Sherlock repeatedly doesn't quite feel in character either. And once we finally get around to the (boring) plot, it is a rehash of V for Vendetta with Sherlock behaving like an ass. Gatiss must prefer this manipulation of John's emotions, because he wrote the same thing in the Baskerville episode, easily the weakest and most un-Sherlock episode of the entire series. Sherlock and John had reached a level of mutual respect and understanding, so this behavior actually erases both seasons worth of progress in their friendship. 

The greatest flaw of The Empty Hearse is that the resolution we all wanted--how did Sherlock survive?--is missing. The greatness of Season Two's The Reichenbach Fall is that Sherlock wears the face of a man who knows he is facing his doom, and he faces it bravely. I needed that emotionally charged moment on the roof where he might really be saying goodbye to John before a leap. The sociopath learns to love. Now he pays for it. I don't mind that Sherlock escapes his doom. In fact, the moment between him and Molly made my heart go pitter-patter. I knew he would survive. But in that assumption, I was certain the Sherlock creators would tell us in season three. It's not about meeting fan expectations, after all. It's their story. They should have had the resolution planned all along. Has Sherlock become so big that they can't maneuver like they used to for fear of fan disappointment? Did they give a damn before?

I am honestly nervous to watch the second episode of season three rather than excited. It's a horrible feeling to adore a show and wonder, "gee, what will they screw up now?" Maybe Gatiss and Moffat should just bite the bullet, kill off Mary and have John make out with Sherlock and live happily ever after. After all, that's what the fans want, right?

Making a Tote Bag

The Christmas season is upon us. I'm all for gifts that come from the heart but that are also practical. I decided to make this tote bag as a gift for someone based off of this blog. I was going for a Vera Bradley look at a fraction of the price.

If you want to make it with two coordinating fabrics, like I did, it will cost a bit more but look very polished! I bought way too much fabric and I still only spent $15. I have plenty more to make another 2 bags at least.

You Need:
2 yd fabric (1 of each design)
1 piece of single faced quilting fabric (optional, I used to reinforce the handles) 
sewing machine

My rough sketch--my bag is bigger than the blog's version

I'm not going to list step by step, because you can find that on the blog I linked to above. Here are a couple pictures of my progress.

The worst part--cutting everything out!

 

Finished bag!

 Phew! Done in about 1.5 hrs, and that's because of my pokey beginner self. I'm sure someone more experienced could move really quick on this project.

Why I subscribed to Pewdiepie

If someone asked me what are the typical YouTube channels would appeal to someone of my demographic, Pewdiepie would not be in the top 10. Or 1000 more likely. But let’s start at the beginning.

 

I have had mixed feelings about YouTube for several years. I would begrudgingly play the links friends or Facebook posts would send my way. Some videos were wonderfully amusing, cute and charming. Others made me so livid I wanted to hurl my monitor out the window. But in the end, I would shake my head and think, ‘who can sit there and film themselves with the presumption that the world wants to hear their thoughts?’ (don’t get me started on the irony of a blog—I’m well aware). So I really am behind the times when it comes to YouTube. JennaMarbles? Sxephil? Whaa?? I don’t know who these people are and why everyone else seems to know them. For example, I had no idea what the What Does the Fox Say video was until it had been out for 3 months. And only then because I clicked on the light show video (it was trending on my phone).

I’m under 30, and as a stay at home mom, logic says I should be way more interested in what other moms out there might have vlog about, than say, a 24 year old Swedish gamer/reviewer. Which, for the most part, is true. No one would ever pin me as someone interested in games, and really, I’m not. I haven’t touched our beloved PS3 system for gaming since before our daughter was born, and even then, my game use was really limited. 

What I do have, though, is a really long attention span and the love of a good story. Some of these games have a wonderful cinematic story line, which is interesting to me. I have no problem watching walkthroughs as a result. Why spend $60 on a game, die a bunch of times for 15 hrs when I can watch someone else play though it and reveal the great story cuts? Enter Pewdiepie.

The first I ever heard of him was via Finebros “Teens React to ” video. At the time, I found him a bit annoying. A little amusing too, but mostly annoying (though the strange horror game he was playing had a lot to do with it). Sometime later, my husband asked me about the game The Last of Us. We ran across the Pewdiepie playthrough of it, and it actually became our entertainment at night for a few days. Pewdie’s commentary was funny, honest and entertaining. The game was great on its own, but his video in video setup/commentary just made it a little better.

More recently, Beyond Two Souls came out. I remember the previews from TV and I remember thinking that it looked like a beautifully rendered, serious game, but forgot about it until a few days ago when I happened upon Pewdie’s playthough of it.  I got the satisfaction of seeing and experiencing the game story without having to cough up the cash or time to play it. 

In honor of this, I subscribed to Pewdiepie’s channel, only to find out that I’m one of 15 million people to do so. It doesn’t hurt that he’s not too hard on the eyes either.

 

Just don’t call me a Bro. Seriously. 

Italian Soup (soooo yummy!)

Imagine it's a bit cooler out, the season for comfort food. You're short on time, really don't want to go out to the store, and need to throw together something for the family that just hits the spot. I found this soup recipe ages ago and have since modified a bit to fit our family's preferences. It has been such a hit I routinely have it when we have company over! We almost always have the ingredients sitting around. I use 3 burners of the stove simultaneously to get this meal done as fast as possible (30 min).

Ingredients

garlic, basil, oregano, ground pepper 
2 cups pasta (spaghetti, elbow macaroni, you name it--it works!)
Italian sausage (this can be substituted with ground turkey)
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
olive oil
1 onion
Parmesan cheese

On burner 1: Cook the Italian sausage with some olive oil. If your using ground turkey, cook it with a healthy amount of garlic, oregano and pepper to flavor it. Drain the fat. (Cooks in 5-10 minutes)

On burner 2: Meanwhile, dice your onion (I use a food processor to spare my eyes), throw it in the soup pot with some olive oil and saute it until the onion is clear. Then add spices (I always throw in a ton, but add your preference). 

On burner 3: Cook your pasta.

Add the tomato paste into your soup pot and cook for another few minutes until it turns into a rusty color. Add in your cooked Italian sausage, can of tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Feel free to add another dash of oregano or garlic.

Let the soup simmer for 10 minutes or so (this will give you time to heat up some garlic bread!). Your pasta should be done now. I DO NOT add the pasta into the soup pot because pasta absorbs so much liquid it become gross from sitting in soup when we have leftovers. Therefore, I ladle the soup over the pasta when serving only, and store the pasta separate.

Get a bowl, scoop in some pasta, ladle soup over the top, and throw some Parmesan cheese. Serve with garlic bread, if you want. Enjoy!