Today I’m struggling a little for motivation and inspiration. Just a little bit blah. At such times, some people look to Tony Robbins to guide them. Or perhaps the Dalai Lama. Or even Oprah Winfrey. Not me. Dr Seuss is my go-to guy for motivation and inspiration.
And this morning I remembered a great You Tube clip that my friend Naomi showed me earlier this year. It’s a short film of my favourite book, recorded with a cast of colourful characters from the Burning Man festival in the USA last year.
I often think that I’d love to experience Burning Man just once, but am pretty sure I’d stick out like a sore thumb amongst these very cool cats…
Hope you have a great day today, on your way to the places you’ll go!
The aim of the good folk at BluScenes is to turn your screen into a scene. Uh huh. No longer is it good enough to use your screen to, you know, watch TV and movies and stuff. Now your screen can transport you to other worlds, or create a different ambience, or add to your art collection.
For example, you purchase a Blu-ray disc of, say, a fireplace. And you play it. So a fireplace appears on the screen. And you watch it. It makes crackly noises just like a real fire, but according to the BluScenes, it avoids a “common pet peeve that we’ve experienced with some other fireplaces — the flames go “off the top of the screen.” We designed our scenes feature the full fire.” Because if you want to watch a fake fire, then you’d better make it a full fake fire. And it’s only $19.95 and you’ll never need to chop firewood.
Or perhaps an aquarium is more your thing. Except you’re allergic to fish or you don’t like all the cleaning or you don’t have a great track record in caring for living things. Then you can choose from the Scenic or Coral Reef aquariums from BluScenes and hey presto, instant fish tank. And accompanying soothing music.
You can find more products at the BluScenes website here. And I take no responsibility if you never ever leave your house again!
I come from a long line of cake lovers. And my mum was an amazing cake maker – every year, I used to get to choose a most incredible cake, which my mum would whip up the night before my birthday. I would go to bed hearing the sound of the mixer and in the morning, I would sneak into the dining room where the masterpiece would be sitting on the table. Under a barrier to keep it from me (and my brothers), of course.
I remember a large blackboard cake; a swimming pool cake complete with biscuit fence and green jelly as water; a clown; a bunny rabbit; a clock…oh, those were the days. I thought my mum was a magician – the way she could produce a cake that looked exactly like the one I’d seen in the book, overnight, just like that. I wasn’t to know how many hours she’d spent getting everything just right, or how long it took her to source and prepare the ingredients – to me, it was just an annual miracle that proved my mum was a genius. Which of course she was, and still is – even if she doesn’t make me elaborate cakes anymore. (That is probably for the best, as my metabolism seems to have slowed since the fancy-cake-days and that old formula of exercise required to burn off cake calories consumed seems to have tipped out of my favour.)
Last year, for my niece’s birthday, my sister-in-law went with a farmyard theme. We made these cupcakes – I was in charge of the chickens and the sheeps. A lot of marshmallows were needed in order to make a sheep face that didn’t look like he was going to attack the other animals (or the kids at the party). We were pretty pleased with our efforts.
Anyways, all this cake reminiscing was brought about by a link that my friend Ashley sent me the other day. According to an article in the Huffington Post, a lady in the UK had created an amazingly realistic cake for her daughter’s birthday that looks exactly like a Burmese python. Now, before I show you the photos, I should point out that Francesca (the python baker) works as a professional cake baker. My mum was a pharmacist and my sister and I have office jobs. Just so we can keep things in perspective, once I reveal the Burmese python birthday cake…
From the North Star Cakes Facebook page
And, voila. I’m not sure that I would have ever even thought to request a Burmese python cake. Kids these days. I’m not sure what inspired Francesca’s daughter to ask for it, but it has brought her mum fame across the internet. And presumably scared the life out of many of the party guests.
From the North Star Cakes Facebook page
The detail is just incredible, as is the colouring. Francesca is clearly an amazingly talented lady – I hope her daughter appreciates this cake as much as I appreciated my swimming pool cake. At this point, I should add some detail about my cake – my mum had even put little plastic people kicking back in Life Saver lollies in the pool. And green coloured coconut around the outside, as grass. I’m just sayin’.
From the North Star Cakes Facebook page
And finally, in what is probably not a faithful representation of the Burmese python, an inside full of delicious cake, jam and cream. Now, if there was a touch of red food colouring or jam that squirted out when the first cut was made, this cake would have been perfect. Almost as good as my mum’s swimming pool cake, I reckon.
You can read the Huffington Post article about Francesca’s cake here and the North Star Cakes Facebook page is here. Neither my sister-in-law nor my mum have a cake business Facebook page or a website, but I will check for some photos of my mum’s early work when I’m next at home and maybe Jane’s cakes will finally get the global recognition that she deserves!
A main idea of this blog is to share stuff I see, which you might not. And for me, that often includes wacky gift ideas. I recently stumbled across The Mountain T-Shirt Store via a sale on Fab.com. They sell an interesting range, which they call Big Face Animals. And although you probably think you can imagine what they look like, I’ve included some of my favourites from this intriguing range below. They might just make the perfect unique gift for an animal lover. Or the perfect exposure therapy for an animal fearer. Or just a funny present for someone who appreciates crazy looking shirts. I’ve certainly never seen anything like them before…
Black Lab FaceBunny FaceEagle FaceGreen Eyes Face
And looking at all those giant faces has freaked me out a bit, so that’s enough for now. You can check out this bizarro range (and lots of other strangely named categories) at The Mountain T-Shirts shop here.
I was recently talking with my lovely friend B about how I think I am suffering from some disorder that means I can’t keep track of time. B’s a med student, so he kindly considered my rambling description of forgetting or confusing birthdays, due dates, holiday departures and other calendar events and timeframes. Then B distracted me by asking about tv shows and, given that I also suffer from a short attention span, that was the end of that consultation.
Now, I’m not sure if it’s ironic or coincidental or just a sign of my advancing calendar-itis, but I’ve just realised that the Hope 2012 blog relay was due to end on Monday. And I haven’t run my leg of the relay yet. Not wanting to let down the lovely Jo, of the fabulous This Sydney Life, who passed the relay baton to me, I’m going to run it today. As a bit of background, the relay was started by blogger Melanie Crutchfield, inspired by all things Olympic. Melanie decided to blog about hope and then pass the baton to some blogging buddies, who would in turn blog on the same theme and then pass the baton along. A pretty cool way to spread words and ideas about hope around the blogging world.
Hope Necklace by Chic & Sweet on etsy
So, with that ridiculous amount of build-up, I now need to write a little something about hope. My first port of call for inspiration is, as always, etsy. Turns out you can buy Hope jewellery, bookmarks, iphone covers, t-shirts, prints, prayer books – etsy is a veritable hotbed of Hope.
And then I looked through the Camera Roll on my phone – lots of different people and places captured over the past year (or so). Lots of Hope there too. Hope for sunny weather, hope for bright futures for amazing little people, hope for safe travels, hope for new directions. So, I’ve picked my top few photos that say something about Hope to me. (This is likely to be sappier than my usual posts, but please be assured that normal EverydaySparks programming will resume shortly.)
Last Thursday I flew across the country to see some of my family, who live in the West. I was very excited to see them and it was such a beautiful day that I couldn’t help snapping a pic as we headed towards our landing in Perth. And then the thought crossed my mind: it’s actually pretty amazing that flying has become so humdrum – we just jump in a giant metal bird and fly up beyond the clouds til we reach our destination. No big deal anymore. Except it is a big deal – and it’s kind of the ultimate in hope – we’re totally reliant on a bunch of random strangers (engineers, pilots, service staff) doing their jobs well so that we travel safely. Up in the sky, past the clouds and the birds.
And here’s the EverydaySparks herb garden. Except I fear that this ‘garden’ needs not just hope, but faith and charity as well. The seeds (coriander, parsley, basil) were planted last month and some strange things have been happening in these pots. But I have hope that what looks like a mess of weeds will soon somehow magically start looking like the herbs that I buy from the shops. I’ll keep you posted…
Then there’s my home town of Sydney – full of hope and promise, especially on a sunny day. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be here – as I whinge about a late running ferry, or a slow barista, or the traffic. Waa waa waa. And then some days, I catch a view like this one and stop for a minute (ok, probably fifteen seconds) to try and take it in. And I hope that people who are visiting the city are having a great time; and that people who dream of being here will make it; and that we won’t do anything to mess up the beauty of it all. (Ok, and I also hope that the ferry will be on time and my coffee will be made quickly. I’m not Buddha.)
And last, but most definitely not least, a photo of the shoes of some of my most favourite people (with one small shoe missing – the teeniest feet were too little to stand in this pic). I know I’m a biased aunt, but the kids who stand in these shoes are just amazing – funny, smart, thoughtful, quirky, silly and sweet. They are soccer players, netballers, tennis players, fashionistas, dancers, cellists, wrestlers, pianists, drummers, and singers. They have ambitions of being doctors, vets, pet shop owners, acrobats, chefs, face painters, fairies, waitresses and teachers. For me, these peeps are what Hope is all about. (Granted, sometimes, it’s just hoping they’ll be quiet or go to sleep.)
And with that, I collapse at the finish line. That’s my part of the relay run. I hope I wasn’t too late!
everydaysparks 