A Little Blue Truck Birthday Party (and free printable)

Hey y'all. Apparently I now only post to show you birthday parties. This past Sunday our little J turned 2! We celebrated with a "Little Blue Truck"-themed birthday party, which we invited an obscene amount of people to. I was so nervous about the weather, but the day turned out to be gorgeous. 

Because I have found it helpful to see the ideas of what other party-planners have done, once again I am sharing our party with all of you.

Online Links

First, I used a few Little Blue Truck PDFs that are available for free. One is from the book publisher here. The other is a free PDF with some of the characters, which I found here. I also used this image for the activity.

Invitations

Using a very old design program that I have on a very old computer that I keep only for that program, which I use once or twice a year for projects like this, I designed invitations. I used the character PDF I linked above to cut out the characters and implement them in my design. 

Games/Activities

I'm incredibly blessed to have a husband with some not only artistic talent but also a basic understanding of how to use power tools. In this case, both were used to create this amazing wooden Little Blue Truck photo booth. 

I can't get over how well it turned out. Is there some reason that makes sense to keep this??? He used the cheapest plywood we could find -- subfloor plywood. And it still turned out amazingly, in my opinion. He always borrows his dad's projector to sketch out the plan really well for things like this, though I know many people have made their own similar photo booths using cardboard and freehand. 

I'll admit, I'm pretty proud of this next activity. I came up with the idea of creating a "passport" using stickers for kids to collect at various carnival-type games. I used these stickers, which had five animals (also on Amazon here). I designed the passports, and I'm happy to share the PDF here. I printed them on both sides of a piece of cardstock and then cut them out. 

I used yarn and binder clips to make them into lanyards for the kids. I didn't want to hole-punch them, because I wanted the kids to have the cards for keepsakes if they wanted, and I thought it was nicer this way. But you could easily just hole-punch them (or not make them into lanyards at all) if that was your preference. The idea in my head was what I wrote on a chalkboard of instructions for kids as they arrived: "Hey kids! You're the Little Blue Truck, and the animals need a ride! Grab a passport and play the games to collect all 5 animals!" 

The games are fairly basic DIY games that I just made fit the theme, although a couple were yard games I picked up at Five Below and Party City: 

Horseshoes

Got this at Five Below. It worked well. I didn't hear any complaints!

Bowling for Sheep 

Yes, I printed clip art sheep heads on cardstock, cut them out, and scotch-taped them to the bowling pins I got from Five Below. They were hilarious, and I love them. This was also the least successful of the games, just because the wind kept blowing them down. Funnily enough, J received a different set of kid bowling pins as a birthday gift, and they were more weighted, so investing a little more money would probably make it more successful if your party is outside. Of course, you could stick sheep heads to anything to make it sheep-themed. 😆

Duck Fishing

Party City in my town was going out of business, so it was discounted heavily when I bought it. I'm sure rubber duckies, a hot glue gun, and magnets could get a similar result. Or you could do some other rubber ducky game. This was actually matched with the chick stickers, so maybe you'll be better than me at finding a chicken-themed game.

Piggy Buckets

I used pink trash cans from the Dollar Tree, plus a package of ping pong balls from Dollar Tree. Husband drew pig faces on them because why not? But I'm not sure it was necessary. ha. This is the standard Bozo game, right? Try to get a ball in each bucket.

Cow Bean Bag Toss

Husband made this using the off-cuts from the Little Blue Truck photo booth. We got a package of bean bags from Party City, again discounted heavily because it was going out of business.

He just cut holes in the board and then attached a board to the back with a hinge to make it stand up. Painted it in a cow theme. 

We didn't follow this tutorial exactly, but you could use it if you were looking to try your own hand at it. We didn't bother with the mesh.

I was really happy with how much the kids seemed to like the "passports." When they collected all the animals, they went to collect the prize, which was the party favor.

Favors

For favors, I just ordered these twirly straws with animal charms on them. I had ordered a cheaper set, which I returned because the animals charms were too loose and didn't stay on the straws. The kids seems to really like these favors, and I recommend the exact ones I linked to because the "charms" or whatever you want to call them stayed attached to the straws! The kids got to pick their animal, which is always more fun, I think.

Decorations

It seems that old-timey pickup trucks are like, a thing, when it comes to what's "in" right now and what's around places like Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree. I got several truck decorations at 75% off after Valentine's Day at Hobby Lobby, and Husband painted them blue. Voila. 

Food

We wanted simple, so we grilled hot dogs and served them with chips and watermelon. I think it would have been even simpler to not serve food, as Husband spent much of the party grilling. But otherwise, the food went over well. 

We also did cupcakes (with toppers from the link above), dirt cups (because the Dump truck and Little Blue Truck got stuck in the mud, obviously), and then I also made cookies using animal cookie-cutters using this recipe. The recipe was good, but honestly, this was an unnecessary step, and I wouldn't do it again. I'd probably pick one or two of those three sweet treats to bother with.

Party!

Whew, it's always a whirlwind! But I think everyone had a good time, including the birthday boy. So many generous friends and family gave him lovely gifts and lots of love and attention. We were so glad to see our friends and family! Thank you to everyone who came!

Our children's book-themed birthday party

Hey all, long time, no see. I wanted to jump on ye olde blog just to post about the picture-book birthday party I threw for my little one's first birthday. Because I did a lot of "Google research" using other people's Pinterest pins and blogs for inspiration and ideas, I thought I'd give back by way of making my own blog post. I hope it's helpful to those of you looking to put together a book-themed party of your own!

Invitations

I wanted my invitations to look like library book cards, which I had seen others do on a few blogs. I found a free download here of a library card, and I used a very old version of InDesign to add create the final version. I found the fonts I wanted here. 

Decorations

My favorite part of the decorations was the banner I made from old book pages. I used books that started out in pretty rough shape, which I had already used to decorate my son's room anyway. These books will not go to waste! From the photo, it's probably fairly obvious how I did it. I created a two templates: one bigger, one smaller, and then I cut out the pages. I hole-punched them along the tops and used baker's twine to connect them into a banner and hang it from the ceiling. I was quite happy with how it turned out. 

Along with that, we had a few other odds and ends proclaiming a first birthday. And I taped photos along the wall showing baby boy as he grew through each month. Several people remarked on the photo wall. 

I also used crafting Scrabble tiles as decorations on the table, and I used books as decorations around the room. 

Food

My dad and stepmom were a big help for the cooking. My stepmom came over to help with the birthday boy while I baked the day before.

I made cupcakes and attempted to decorate them to look like Llama Llama's bedspread (not sure that was recognized as such though). 

We made "Green Eggs and Ham" deviled eggs, which were quite delicious. Husband did most of the work on that, although my dad actually did the hard-boiling, which was sooo helpful. 

I made chocolate chip cookies ("If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"), my sister made puppy chow ("Clifford"), and I cut up some fruit ("The Very Hungry Caterpillar"). We also had store-bought macaroni salad ("Strega Nona") and Goldfish crackers ("One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"). 

Activities/Games

When everyone entered, they were greeted with a book to sign, plus a book swap box to drop any used books they might have brought per the invitation. As people left, we encouraged them to take a book or two from the box, which we had also stocked beforehand with extra books from our Little Free Library. Some of the guests enjoyed the swap, I think.

We had two games: one for any kids who had come and one for adults and kids alike. We played the game for everyone first, and I think it ended up being really fun. It was played like the "forehead game." If you've seen "The Office," you might be familiar with it. In our version, I took images from children's books and taped them to everyone's back. Each person had to ask others yes-or-no questions to try to guess which book was on their back. Then they had to find their partner, as each book had two images out among the crowd. The first team to find each other won. Not everyone initially wanted to play, but a little cajoling convinced them, and everyone ended up having a lot of fun being forced to mingle. 

The second game was "pin the hat on the cat." My husband is ridiculously good at drawing, in my opinion, and he was happy to draw a hatless cat for me. I printed off some Cat-in-the-Hat hats and had them ready on the table for the kids who came to color. We didn't end up having as many kids come to the party as were originally expected, so it was just my nephews who played the game. But it worked well, and I'm still pretty proud of that freehand drawing. 

Favors

As silly as it is, these are probably what I'm most proud of. I spray-painted the tops of baby food jars and hot-glued these Hungry Caterpillar counting toys to the tops. The hot glue didn't hold as well as I expected, though it worked well enough for the purpose. I'm sure there are probably glues that would have held better, though. 

I created little labels saying, "Caterpillar food," cut them out using a 2-inch hole punch, and then filled the jars with Runts candy, because it looks like fruit. Probably the most challenging part of this party was finding enough Runts for the amount of people I was expecting. Others might want to try filling them with fruit snacks instead. For the very young, I included a few filled with Trix cereal. :)

FUN!

OK, I'm going out of my way to not really share anything too personal about my little guy here, but he had a wonderful time. He was surrounded by friendly faces and enveloped in love. He enjoyed his cupcake, for the most part, and he actually did get into opening his gifts. He received a wagon, a little comfy chair just his size, and many toys and books. In the days following the party, he has loved playing with it all, and we are so grateful for everyone who came and gave of their time to be there, as well as those who gave gifts. You are all a blessing!

Titanic and me

Dear reader: As I was looking over my blog tonight, mulling over ideas of reviving it, I came across this old post that I wrote, but never published. It was back in April of 2012, when they were playing "Titanic" on the big screens again in honor of the 100-year anniversary of the ship's sinking. I, of course, went to see it, and it got me to thinking, which got me to writing, but apparently didn't get me to posting. So, why not? I'm posting it now. Enjoy....


We all have pieces of culture that we always will love simply because of the time in our lives they represent -- because we loved them at such-and-such age, and because once upon a time, they were awesome. A lot of these things are embarrassing, but we allow ourselves to continue loving them because of the nostalgia they bring with them. Don't laugh at me for laughing at "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" -- that movie was awesome when I was 12! Don't make fun of me for knowing all the words to all the songs on 'N Sync's first two albums -- their posters (along with those of the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees) were plastered all over my walls for two years.

Okay, okay -- you can laugh at those ones if you want. After all, the actual quality of those particular slices of American culture can easily be called into question. I don't love them because of their quality, but because when I partake in what they have to offer, I become that young girl again, and it's fun to go back in time every now and then.

The movie, "Titanic," is another one of those things for me. I was obsessed, not only with the movie, but with the historical event. Long before the movie came out, I was intriqued by it. And long after the movie came out, I was reading about it, listening to the music, and hanging pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio on my wall next to Justin Timberlake and Brian Littrell.

For many years, I have felt that small twinge of embarrassment when admitting that it's still one of my favorite movies (truthfully, it's tied for first with "Gladiator"), but I refuse to be embarrassed any longer. After seeing it on the big screen again yesterday, this time in 3D, I can do nothing but maintain that this movie is a legitimately amazing piece of cinematic history. It deserves to be on the American Film Institute's list of top 100 movies (it's No. 83), and it should have gotten all 14 of the Academy Awards for which is was nominated (it won 11 of them).

Unlike the future 20-somethings 10 years from now who will be trying to staunchly defend their love of the "Twilight" movies, I have nothing to be embarrassed about. This movie was a feat of special effects, and it made movie history at the box office. The script is excellent, and the cast didn't have one bad actor in it. At the theater last night, I was struck once again by the grandness of it -- as well as the tragedy.

I wonder if anyone ever scoffed at "Casablanca" or "Gone With the Wind" the way some now scoff at "Titanic." Probably. But I suppose we know who had the last laugh, because those movies are still making money, and for that matter, so is "Titanic."

Do any of you have movies, music, books ... or something else ... that you are somewhat embarrassed to love?

Liebster Award

So, about a million years ago (read: Feb. 11), my friend/cousin-in-law, Sarah (her blog is here) nominated me for a "Liebster Blog Award," which is a get-to-know-you for bloggers with less than 200 followers.

Here are the rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger set for you, PLUS create 11 questions for the people that you tag.
3. Tag 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers, go to their page and let them know you've tagged them. (I'm pretty sure I don't know 11 bloggers, so we're just gonna tag as many as I can.)
4. No tag backs.

11 random facts about me:

1. I can play flute and piano. I tried to teach myself harmonica once, and I managed to get out "Amazing Grace," but I never got around to picking it up again.

2. I like being crafty, and I tend to go through phases. Right now, I'm on a sewing kick, thanks to my mom getting me a machine for Christmas (seriously: so awesome!). I also love scrapbooking, and I can knit ... a scarf. I once crocheted baby booties for someone (YouTube is my friend). And I love "upcycling."

3. I love to read and once dreamed of being a book editor. Right now, I work as an editor at a newspaper.

4. I do not own a motorcycle, but I do know how/am licensed to ride one. My dad has a 250 cc Honda Rebel that he let's me ride, and I love it.

5. I love Disney. I love the movies, the amusement park, the everything. I feel like I shouldn't love it, because it's big and corporate and blah-blah-blah. But there's too much of my childhood wrapped up in it, and, frankly, it's just fun.

6. I am a dog person, but I am slowly warming up to cats. I have a dog, and he is crazy. He is small, but he is so energetic that I sometimes think my apartment is too small for both of us. 

7. I love playing video games, but I've learned that I don't really like it by myself. Video gaming is a group activity for me. However, I could probably play Super Mario Bros. 3 in my sleep.

8. I love to travel and have been to Mexico, Guatemala, South Africa, Italy and Canada (but who counts Canada?). I try to get a piece of art from each country I visit. 

9. I'm a country girl. As much as I love visiting a great city, my heart cries, "I need space, not just air!" (Name that movie!)

10. I don't drink much pop, and it's not something I have to fight myself on. I just usually prefer water or milk.

11. As a rule (barring random cravings), I like peanut butter more than chocolate.

Sarah's questions for me:

1.  Donut or bagel? Wow ... really depends on the mood I'm in! In general, though, probably bagel. 
2.  Are you a snooze button user, or are you up-and-at-em and the first buzz? Oh, I hit that snooze button, on average, about 3 times every morning. I seriously have to set my alarm at least 30 minutes before I want to get up!
3.  Who or what inspired you to start blogging? I like writing, and this seemed like a good way to keep the skills sharp. Of course, based on how often I blog, you can see how well that's working out!
4.  Do you have siblings? Yes, a sister who's a year younger, and stepbrother, who is seven years younger.
5.  If your favorite band popped in for dinner, what would you serve them, or where would you take them to eat? Uhhh.... probably spaghetti, because everyone likes it and it's one of the few things I know how to make. Boring? Yes. Edible? Very yes. 
6.  What's your dream job? Book editor, but I've come to the conclusion that's probably not gonna happen. Of course, if we're talking TRUE dream jobs, I think Willy Wonka candy tester would be an excellent way to make a living.
7.  First or next tattoo wishes? If I ever got a tattoo, it'd probably be a pretty bird of some kind, maybe with a Bible verse or book quote. However, tattoos require a certain amount of certainty that you will love an image for all time, and I just don't think I have that much commitment in me. At least, I haven't found anything yet!
8.  Are you an outdoorsy person, or tend to stay indoors? I stay indoors more than I should, because I love TV and movies and books. However, I LOVE being outdoors. In my heart, I'm an outdoorsy person.
9.  Say you're going to the beach for the day, what's in your bag? Lots of sunscreen, sunglasses, a towel, a camera, and a book. Maybe two books, in case I finish the first one!
10.  What's one of your pet peeves? Almost all of my pet peeves involve other drivers on the road. My biggest one, I think, is people who don't use their blinkers. It's just so rude!
11.  Favorite meal of the day? Lunch. I often skip breakfast, and sometimes I forget about dinner. My coworkers don't let me forget about lunch!

Okay, my turn to tag:

Conquering Motherhood

Faeriechylde

The Cook Book

Trevor's Unoriginally Titled Blog

The Ferences

Pretend you see six more people on that list.

Okay, here are my 11 questions:

1. What's your favorite book?

2. What is the one thing in your house that you feel has to be clean no matter what?

3. If you lived in a place with only one season year-round, which season would you pick and why?

4. What's the last thing you made with your own two hands?

5. What's your favorite piece of furniture in your house?

6. If you put your ipod (pretend you have one if you don't) on shuffle, what are the first five songs that play?

7. Do you have any pets?

8. What fictional character most influenced you as a child?

9. What does your average Friday night look like?

10. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?

11. What is the largest piece of art hanging on your wall (photo? painting? poster? Of what?)?

Being a responsible adult means filling up your gas tank

Tip for the day: If, hypothetically, you notice your gas tank is on empty and you think, "I need to get gas on my way to work," don't forget. If you forget, you might find yourself in the following 15-step program:

1. You realize, upon getting to work, you never got gas. Since you live 45 minutes away, you hope this doesn't bite you in the butt later, and you decide you better get gas on the way home.
2. At 1 a.m., you get out of work and, as you pull out of the parking lot, your cars dings at you. You remember you had better get gas.
3. About 30 seconds later, as you are going up a hill, you pull into a turn lane just as your car starts to slow down. You hit the brake. Your car dies.
4. You try to revive it. You fail.
5. At this point, you have no choice but to call work, where a coworker answers and promises to come rescue you.
6. You say a prayer of thanks that you were not the last one to leave work today.
7. You wait in your car for a half-hour as your poor coworker searches for a gas station that actually has a gas can (seriously?!). Note: It is 16 degrees outside. You are cold.
8. Your coworker reappears with the stuff, and the two of you try to figure out how to make the gas come out of the stupid, child-proofed, piece-of-crap, why-would-you-make-this-complicated gas can.

"I exist to make your life suck even more than it already did." 

9. Success! Gas is in the car! Time to start 'er up! Here we -- oh, never mind. The car starts and dies three times. You realize the problem is that you are on a hill. You think, not for the first or last time tonight, Why didn't I just put gas in this car?!

OK, gas, all you need to do is defy gravity. I'm gonna need for you to just crawl up to the engine. You can do it!

10. Okay, so there's only one option at this point. Your coworker gets out of the way, and you say another prayer of thanks that hardly anyone is on the road at 1:30 a.m. as you put her in neutral and coast backward, stomping on the brake only twice as people pass by.
11. Stopping near the work parking lot, you try starting the stupid car again. Since you are still at a slight angle, it doesn't work. At this point, you are probably feeling pretty annoyed. And cold. Also, you are probably once again wishing you had just remembered to fill up your car with gas like a big girl.
12. Your coworker suggests he try to push the car into the level parking lot. You think he's crazy, because, as previously stated, you are still on a slight hill. He tries anyway and fails. You're feeling pretty bad because he is probably a frozen icekabob with no gloves who just wants to go home.

"Why do you hate me?"

13. A passerby sees the commotion and stops. He offers to push your vehicle with his. At this point, you are willing to do anything.
14. The operation begins: You are essentially turning left into a parking lot, but you are not in control. Your coworker stands outside as the communication link. Helpful Guy pulls up behind you and uses his van to push your vehicle as you turn the wheel. The wheel fights you, because why not? You crank it into submission. Via your linked communication, you stop in the middle of the road three times because of oncoming traffic. But Operation: Get Sarah You Into The Parking Lot works after a few possible bumps that might have made dents on your back bumper. You aren't sure, and you don't care. At this point, you are freezing, your coworker is freezing, and did I mention that you should both be home by now?

"If you had just filled up your gas tank, you could be me right now."

15. Once on level ground, you turn the ignition over and tap the gas to hear that magnificent growl of an engine not dying.

If you are like me, your night probably will end with you stopping at McDonald's after you fill up the tank so that you have a treat for the 45-minute drive home. Your coworker, being wonderful, will have followed you to make sure you got to the gas station and then gone to the other gas station to bring back the stupid, child-proofed, piece-of-crap, why-would-you-make-this-complicated gas can.

And if you are like me, you probably will vow to never again let your gas tank get that low, but since this is the third time you have run out of gas in the middle of the road, you probably are full of crap.

Of course, this is all hypothetical. Grown-ups don't run out of gas. Nobody is that irresponsible!

(Photo sources: http://michaelmowsblog.wordpress.com/2011/09/; http://community-sitcom.wikia.com/wiki/File:Icicle_Human_Being.jpg; http://grainofwheat.blogspot.com/)

Behind the Music: "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"

It's possible that all of you know the story behind the Christmas song, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," but considering the recent events that took place in Connecticut and the state of mourning in which this country finds itself, I thought it might be a good time to tell it again.

Anyone who took American Literature in high school (which, I believe, should be EVERYONE) should know that this song is based on a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of this country's best-known poets. In his day, he was America's most famous and most universally loved poet. He published poetry from 1839 to 1880. And anyone who knows anything about the Civil War knows it falls smack-dab in the middle of that timeline.

Source

The Civil War is the backdrop of this song. You don't see it in the lyrics because those lines of the poem were left out of the song.

Near the beginning of the war, in July of 1861, Longfellow's wife tried to melt some sealing wax, and her clothes caught on fire. Longfellow was in the home at the time and was able to extinguish the flames by throwing his arms around her, suffering his own burns in the process. However, she died the next day.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

So, for Longfellow, when Christmas rolled around, it became a time of mourning for his wife, though he tried to make it fun for the kids. In 1862, he wrote in his journal, “A ‘merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”
Then, in March of 1863, his 17-year-old son, Charles, ran away from home to join the Union Army. Apparently, when your dad is famous, it's not so easy to do that, though, and when he showed up at camp, the commanding officer called up Longfellow to get his permission, which he got.

In any case, I think you all know where this is going: On Nov. 27, 1963, Charley got shot. Luckily, he got shot in the shoulder, and even more luckily, he missed being paralyzed by less than an inch.

Charles was brought home Dec. 8, and so it was that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow found himself on Christmas morning in 1863 (presumably) missing his wife, mulling over the war and feeling so very thankful that his son was alive.

So he wrote this:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said:
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!"

 

It really is a beautiful poem about hope. And about God.

 

And I know that this has been a tough year for this country. There have been between four and seven mass shootings this year, depending on how you define "mass." There was a drought (the worst since the 1950s) that took out entire crops, leaving many farmers with 10 percent of their expected profits. There was an election, which, instead of bringing the country together, seems to always drive warring factions further apart. Trayvon Martin was shot, Hurricane Sandy hit, tornadoes left destruction in their paths, an ambassador and three others were killed. And let's not forget about the fiscal cliff looming over us.

 

To top it all off, Lance Armstrong was banned from professional cycling after an investigation confirmed the doping allegations were true. 

 

Way to kick us when we're down, Lance.

 

And that's just in the good ol' U.S.of A. We all know even worse things were happening in other areas of the world.

 

Some good stuff happened, too, but it didn't seem to outweight the bad this year.

 

"Here, have some Olympics, and some Adele music. Now be on your way."

 

I imagine 1863 was worse, though. I imagine being in the middle of a seemingly endless Civil War, in which all the casualties are Americans, and brothers are fighting brothers, would start to seem pretty bleak and hopeless. It would start to seem like God had forgotten about this country or that he wasn't even there at all.

 

But we all know the truth about that: God had not forgotten us then, and he hasn't forgotten us now. This is a country built on the backs of people who pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and refused to quit in the face of horror. As a race, the only way we humans can survive is if we allow ourselves to hope. And by "allow ourselves," I mean "make ourselves" in some cases and "cling" in other cases.

 

For me, the only reason we have to hope is the fact that the horrors of this world are not all there is. There is beauty in this world, too, given to us by a savior whose birth we celebrate on Christmas. That same savior said, "I am with you always." He came to save the world, then he proved he had the power to do so. For me, that's a reason to celebrate. This Christmas, we have many reasons to mourn, and it's right to do so, but we also have an even bigger reason to hope. 

 

Merry Christmas, my friends. I hope you remember with me that despite the crappiness of this year, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!"

 

 

 



How to humiliate your dog

Message from Roscoe: "This is all the clothing a dog should ever wear."

I bought another shirt for my dog today.

"Santa's little helper is not happy."

It was so stinkin' cute and only $3 at Target, so I gave in and bought it.

Dressing the dog up is the kind of thing that normally would annoy someone like me. In theory, it does. I mean, it's completely stupid.

But seriously, how cute is that?

"Come any closer, and you're going to look like the chewed part of this bone."

This is a guilty pleasure. And dang it, I should feel guilty: Is it completely ridiculous? Yes. Is is something you could only find in a wealthy and consumeristic society such as ours? Of course. Is it completely foolish to spend money to clothe a creature covered with fur, especially when said clothing will only serve to render said creature miserable -- or at least not thrilled?

Absolutely.

It's all true. And I might be a little embarrassed that I bought my dog a Halloween costume ... or rather, three Halloween costumes, a Santa hat, and an elf shirt.

But not embarrassed enough to hold back from showing you this:

"I will now karate-chop my way out of this ridiculous ensemble."

The problem is that all this (very sound) logic goes out the window when I see that adorable little outfit in the store and picture this:

"Why do you hate me?"

On the other hand, this is what it usually becomes:

"I will END you!"

Yet I can't seem to stop myself.

"There are dogs starving in Africa, and I'm wearing a Santa hat."

"Merry Christmas. Please save me."

At least I'm not the only one: http://www.flickr.com/groups/dogswearingclothes/

"If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater ... suggest that he wear a tail."  ~ Fran Lebowitz