Mariannes Motifs

Ugly Renaissance Babies

Terpsichore, Cosimo Tura (detail)

All the single babies, all the single babies! 

 

via uglyrenaissancebabies.tumblr.com

OMG - this Tumbler blog is funny.

Blueberry Pancakes!

Hanukkah Book List for Boys

6 Year Old Boy:

Henry and Mudge

Nate The Great and The Snowy Trail

Nate The Great Goes Undercover

 

Pokemon Silver and Gold Pokedex

 

8 Year Old Boy:

 

Magic Tree House:

Lions at Lunchtime

Polar Bears Past Bedtime

Attack of the Prehistoric Pokemon

 

BOTH:

 

How To Draw Pokemon

The Lego Idea Book

 

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things.

 

The clouds, trees, butterflies, rain, sunshine, cold crisp fall days.

My husband and the smart creative kids we MADE.  (Wow - what a wild thought)

I have a great job.  An some vacation from it!  Outstanding.

Friends.  (((HUGS TO MY FRIENDS)))

Every day my health is decent I give thanks. 

I am thankful for the enjoyment I get out of knitting, and my other hobbies.  ...blogging, photography, scrapbooking (even though I haven't done that in a while) and knitting.

I am thankful for my parents and the ENTIRE rest of my very cool family.  I wish everyone good health and happiness.

What to get 6-8 year old Boys for Hanukkah?

Here's a little list I put up for the grandparets who might be looking for stuff to get the boys for Hanukkah, Christmas, or Adam's Birthday.  *Yes, it is quite the season of celebration here at Casa Del Case*  The grown ups have an entry too, the Roku player.  We do not need any cigars here at the moment but if you do, check out famous-smoke.com.

 

1.  Hexbug Habitat (little robot kits for science education)

 

 

 

2.  Wreck this Journal (Journal with fun writing and art prompts - need 2!)

 

3. Razor Scooter

 

 

4.  Roku Player (to get Amazon Prime Streaming on the TV)

 

5.   FyrFlyz (light up spinner toy.  This is one of the cool toys for 2011)

 

 

6.  Ed Emberly's Book of Drawing Animals - I've had this on the list to get the kids forever.  It looks so cute and they love drawing animals.

 

 

7.  Sketch Pads

 

 

8.  How to Draw Book (This is for Adam for his birthday)

 

 

9.  Watercolor Colored Pencils - these work as regular colored pencils and then can be blended by adding a bit of water.  Love that two in one!

 

Free Photography E-Books from Adorama

Free Photography E-Books from Adorama

Free eBooks from the Adorama Learning Center.
1. Adorama Guide To Studio Lighting
2. Adorama's Guide Family Photography
Expand your knowledge and learn shooting tips and great advice from world class photography instructors.
Put your knowledge to use and start taking amazing photos!

A Walk in the Park

We took a walk on the Greenway today - our favorite place to get some nature and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

The dog came with us and the kids rode their bikes.  It was nice to enjoy the peace and quit.  No neighbors sawing things with band saw blades.  There were a lot of other people but not enough to get in the way.

I Want a Roku 2 Player

I've been checking out the Roku streaming TV boxes.  I have Amazon Prime and I would like to be able to make use of the free videos that come along with it.  I usually use the Tivos to get my TV stuff, but you can't get Amazon free streaming on the Tivo, just the pay streaming.  (Go figure!)

The Roku player is a fairly cheap solution to the problem, getting all kinds of streaming such as Netflix, Hulu plus, Amazon, etc.  If Comcast would allow it I could even get the HBO Go but I guess they don't have that going.  There are a something like three models of the Roku 2, depending if you want USB, wired network, or go with the cheapie that just has wifi.  60 bucks for the cheaper one seems good to me.

I wonder if this will be anyone's Black Friday deal.  Or if they will have any best buy coupons.  That would make it even better.  This is going on my Hanukkah list.

The Luxuries You Already Have

Today I starting thinking about increasing my enjoyment of life by using and appreciating the luxuries I already have.

When I got out of the shower I I sprayed my lovely perfume on -even though its Saturday and the most exciting place I am going is for a walk in the park.  As I inhaled the lovely smell of Pure White Linen I smiled.  I just love that perfume.

There is a tendency to save the good stuff  "for a special occasion."  We need to debunk this myth that our stuff is too good to use - any day is special.  I mean really, we are alive and that is a gift - live it up.

I bet there are a ton of things you already have in your house that you could use today to make your life a little more luxurious.  So, light up that nice candle, break out the fancy bubble bath, use your kitchen equipment and bring out the fancy serving dishes, wear a nice outfit, put on your sparkly eye shadow and kick this worls @ss today!

 

Pancake Face

Happy Saturday.  I made pancakes and sausages for breakfast.  I remembered I had gotten some free star shaped pancake molds and broke them out for the first time.  (They've been sitting in the drawer for years!)

Thus we had a little extra fun for free.  I made the pancakes from scratch, so they were pretty cheap too.

This is the pancake recipe I like - from AllRecipes.com. Jin made  a face for me.