The neighbors have way too many blow-up decorations. And other Tuesday randomness.
o you 
guys have one of those neighbors who obsessively switches out lawn ornaments the second one holiday ends? For real, it was like the neighbors had supersonic radar and, right as I finished my last bite of pumpkin pie with massive Cool Whip towers, they instantly flicked on the blinding lights of their Outdoor Christmas Festival-of-Freakiness (OCF-F). It’s like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon fornicated with Father Christmas and birthed a yard. But the worst part is that their yard’s not even that big. We’re talkin’, maybe 20′X20′, tops. And you bet your sweet A that every freakin’ millimeter of innocent green space has been tarnished by electricity-wasting, blow-up, eye-gashing ridiculousness. The Clark Griswold lighting display? Yeah, that craziness doesn’t hold a freakin’ candle to the theme park goin’ on in my neighbor’s yard. Here is a rough-sketch of the neighbor’s OCF-F:
Blow-up carousel on the right, blow-up teeter-totter with blow-up animals teeter-tottering in the center, blow-up ferris wheel with blow-up animals ferris wheeling on the left, 2 or 3 random non-blown up deer that look like they’re made of wicker and totally don’t fit the blow-up scheme of the yard-from-hell. Oh, and then there’s a blow-up Satan Santa & Mrs. Claus that stand unsettlingly tall and guard the oddly tame front porch. Which, really, if anything needs to be guarded, it’s the blow-up blitzkrieg taking place on their lawn.
Anyway. So that’s the neighbor’s yard. Which is really fun to make fun of, but even funnier to see in person. I’ll have to take a picture and post it… Stay tuned.
In other news, it’s time for Christmas card-sending, which is, like, one of my favorite activities of the year. Usually I plan weeks in advance and shop around at several of my favorite stationery stores (read: Paper Source, Bob Slate, a bunch of Etsy sites, etc.) to find the awesomest cards possible. This year, however, like most people, I’m struggling a bit. So… I’m debating making my own cards instead. But I’ve checked out some supplies and, once it’s all said and done and I’ve bought all the necessary components, I’m really not sure if it would be any cheaper? And it would clearly be more time-consuming. A good kind of time-consuming but… time-consuming nonetheless. And I’m a teacher and it’s the end of the semester, and… well, it’s a scary time for us teachers, ya know? But it’s so fun to make cards… hmm… see, my main concern is that I’ll get all excited about making the cards and become all obsessive about it, and then I’ll sideline my grading and end up staying up until the butt-crack of dawn to get my grades in on time or something. Not like I’ve ever experienced that before or anything.
hee hee
Anyway, if any of you guys have any suggestions about inexpensive cardmaking supplies and where to find ‘em, please Please PLEASE chime in! And maybe I’ll even send you one (if I end up making them)!
Happy Tuesday. Check out some other Tuesday Randomness, courtesy of the Un-Mom, here:
Sincerely,
No Longer-Too-Much-of-a-Debbie Downer (I hope)
ps) I’m obsessed with owls. Please see the images I posted on the right of my page and enjoy Jon Carling’s awesomeness.
Nice! I have no suggestions for cheap card making supplies, mine always cost me a fortune (and I no longer have time or toddler-free space for such entertainments). But I still want one if you make ‘em.
Also, LOVE the owls!
We usually make our own, from Paper Source: I think the key when money is tight is avoiding any major purchases (decide you don’t need one of those embossing ink “hair dryers” this year, for example!) and then see if there’s anything you can substitute. Last year we found some things expensive so we came up with a design that would work on a white background and bought cheaper base cards at Michael’s and used Paper Source for the other things. We always find it time consuming but definitely worth it in the end, and I still think they are cheaper than the pre-made cards I tend to like (e.g. Unicef, even if the latter are for a good cause).
@Keely: Thanks, Un-Mom! I’ll keep you posted if I end up making some. I might make half… but then it’ll be rough deciding who gets a handmade and who gets a store-bought. Yes, I judge friends by Christmas cards. haha
@Gareth: you RULE. Thank you so much for the tips. I take your cardmaking very seriously: you had me at “Paper Source.” And I know what you mean about those irresistible Unicef cards, too. Cr@p. Oh, and ps: it was so great to see you randomly on Comm Ave yesterday!
[...] 6. December = unfortunate and excessive lawn ornamentation (particularly the blow-up variety), which serves as a physical manifestation of the yard owner’s insatiable need to be coddled and also his/her inability to streamline. The result is terrifying and nightmare-inducing. See my previous pog. [...]