Sci Fi Jungle

How Old is Old Enough for your Own TV?

I have a 7 year old and very soon to be 9 year old.  My husband wanted to get the older one a TV for his room.  I've been fighting it for a while but I finally relented.  His grandma Lee got him the TV for his birthday.  We bought a Roku for it so he can watch Netflix and Amazon streaming.  (We have Prime)

The understanding is that he will now KEEP HIS ROOM CLEAN.  I am not sure how long that's going to last, but in fact his room is nice and clean at the moment.  And I suppose this will give him some pride of ownership and his own place to be.  (Although he knows he must share with pesky younger brother.)

I was looking for a tv stand - probably a cart or something.  But we ended up putting the TV on top of his dresser and it seems fine there.  The kid now has a better TV than I do - an LED Samsung.  It's small but quite nice.

Etsy find of the Day

How about a steampunk owl sculpture?  This is from MonterKookies on Etsy.  For $109 bucks you can take this puppy (or a customized one like it) home to keep you company.  My grandfather's owl collection would be proud to accept him.

I like steampunk style stuff.  I am not sure I could wear it but a sculture is a perfect way to get into the coilhose pneumatics style.

MechOwlie - Fully Customizable - Freestanding Industrial Steampunk Owl Sculpture

Musing About the Years

The hubster andI have been married 16 years.  I still remember how beautiful and sweet our wedding was.  And wow - I think we are still happy together after all these years.

I was looking at this site for philadelphia wedding photography  by Scott Lewis and thought it was really different.  I like the way he captures very real moments of his subjects. 

I wish I had more candid shots from our wedding reception.  It was in the days before digital photography and we never really got a lot from the guests.  Oh well...

Customize your T-Shirts

Let's face it, the SciFiJungle.com T-shirt shop is not a big business for me.  I did see one last month though.  My kids wear theirs and look cute as pie with the dragons. 

I like the idea of being able to do custom t-shirts.  The technology we have these days at our disposal is really awesome.  You can set up custom books, custom shirts, even make your own custom fabric from your own design.   Technology has given us so many cool tools. 

And then you can go low tech too - tie dye, reverse designs with bleach pen, for example.  Not to mention all the cool things people are doing with cutting and resewing t shirts.   T-shirt quilts are really popular too - you can send off your t-shirt collection and have someone make it into a quilt!

Harley Davidson Birthday Cake

The hubster has to work today so I have to DVR the Super Bowl and we will start watching when he gets home after 8:00.  Poor thing!

I went to the grocery store - man was that a zoo!  People were cutting me off and my darn kids had to be dancing around and getting in other people's way, too.  7 year old (who just turned 7 in December mind you) decided he wanted to look at the birthday cake catalog and pick out a cake for NEXT year.  He wants a Harley Davidson birthday cake that comes with a toy motercycle on it.  Yay.  Next I will have to be shopping for Arai Vector 2 motercycle helmet.

I am really glad that Mr. SciFiJungle got a new job but man, these retail hours suck.  (He is doing computer service.)  Ah well, the money is good to have and this will freshen up his resume after he was out of work for a bit.

Lost In America - My Small RV Plans

When I am trying to fall asleep I like the picture various retirement scenarios in my head.  One of them is a little condo on the beach.  I could walk the beach every morning with a metal detector and looks for doubloons.

Another thought is to spend a year traveling the country in a small RV.  If it wasn't huge I think I could handle a little house on wheels.  We could go from state park to state park and just camp out and see the entire USA.  Just like the Albert Brooks movie except perhaps without the messed up parts.

It's doable - you can pick up a small to medium sized RV and get an rv insurance quote, plan some reservations and go.

Halloween

October is such a fun month.  Hubster and I were married in October, 15 years ago!  This year the kids are going to be a SWAT team member, and a Ninja for Halloween.  They are very excited.  There are a lot of kids in the neighborhood and also a lot of people that decorate their houses up for Halloween. 

I am just too lazy for all that nonsense!  I am lucky if I put up a bunch of decorative Indian corn.  Hey- that's what we do in Upstate NY.  Decorate corn and a bowl of gourds is the bomb.

People don't just graduate in June - you can graduate after just about any semester - so if you are looking for graduation invitations, here you go. Don't forget to send them to your great Aunt you never see so she will send you a gift!

1939 Pathetone Newsreel Predicts Fashion of AD 2000

This 1939 newsreel from Britain, features fashion designers ideas of what clothing would look like in future AD 2000.  They got a few things close and some way off.  But the narration of the newsreel is hysterically funny, to boot.  With lines like, "It's the sleeves what does it" and "Oh swish!" it will give you a smile.

EVE, AD 2000!

 

Speaking of things that are bad for you

Tanning beds.  I suffer from depression and have found that 10 minutes or so in a tanning bed seems to help cheer me up.  It also helps clear up my acne.  (Yes. I am cursed in my 40s to having both some wrinkles and acne together in harmony)

So I know its bad and liable to give me skin cancer, but I still think there are some benefits to it.  My skin doesn't really tan very well - I am pasty white, but I am not terribly prone to a sunburn either.  I think I just don't have any melatonin to speak of.  LOL.  Anyway, I am not buying special tanning bed lotion, but I do go visit my local tanning salon a few times a year when I am totally sick of winter and need a SAD pick me up.

Nutella

Today I learned that Nutella is not good for you.  Horror.  I had just bought my first ever jar of the stuff.  I've had it once before I think back when I was a high school babysitter.  But for some reason the other day I decided to pick some up at Publix. 

First of all, it's tasty on a piece of whole wheat bread.  But it contains a bunch of refined sugar and lots of saturated fat in the form of Palm Oil.  I looked up Palm Oil and there are some differing opinions on if its that bad for you.  My feeling is that there are some good elements to a minimally processed coconut oil (lauric acids, etc) but a heavily processed palm oil is probably not so good.  So anyway - thermogenic fat burners  aside, I think I will se Nutella as a rare treat not a "part of a nutritious breakfast.