I’m just trying to avoid house cleaning this morning. We are having one of our typical summer parties this evening so I really need to get to work but blogging, facebooking and general time wasting is so much more fun.

Steve had the news on this morning. It is actually still on in the living room and he is at Jewel buying food for tonight. I hadn’t been in there for at least 30 minutes when he left. Why did he leave it on? Anyway, I digress…While watching the news channel buffet that he subjects me to on weekend mornings there was this feature story. I’m sorry blame it on my rural roots but that is just plain awesome, I don’t care who you are. It also figures that a guy named Bob came up with this idea. It is a proven fact, guys named Bob are just full of awesome sauce. (My dad is named Bob, enough said. And this rule does not prove true for guys named Rob, Robb, Robby, Robert or Roberto.)

On facebook a new “friend” (I’ve never met her and have only read her blog and know she lives in the same town as me) posted a link to the NYT article where her blog, Mommy Wants Vodka (see now why I consider her a “friend”?) is mentioned. Once again I am on the cutting edge of the current zietgiest and not only does no one notice or care but someone else is out there doing it better than me. FML.

Well I guess I can’t avoid it any longer. I have to go vacuum up 358# of animal hair and wash all the floors. I’m feeling so sassy this morning that I think the toilets will get an extra swish of the ol’ toilet brush!

I haven’t been doing much if any crafting lately so the blog has been devoid of any useful content along those lines.

Today I came across another *old* scrapbook friend’s blog and she had the coolest tutorial. I just had to share it with you.

Tresa’s Paper Mache Party Lights. I seriously want to try these out but it is so damp and humid here right now that I fear they would never dry.

I’ve been doing a lot of web surfing lately looking for cool projects to try (and to share!). In my quest for all things cool and eclectic I’ve found some new blogs and other websites that I’d like to share with y’all.

First off: True Up: this is a relatively new fabric blog dedicated to fabric and nothing but fabric. If you’re a lover of all things fabric, this is the place for you. Somedays she features new fabrics offered by the hottest new designers, other times she shows fabulous vintage fabrics, and then other times she inspires us with ideas of becoming a designer ourselves!

Looking for awesome apparel fabric? Gorgeous Fabrics is just what their name states. I found Ann and her site via Project Rungay, she’s a regular commenter and “Friend of Emmett.” If you are a lover of all things Bravo and fan of fabulosity, you must read TLo!

I’ve had a thing for aprons for years. I bought my first antique ones at a church rummage sale back in the early 90s and began looking for them at yard sales and antique stores ever since. I struck apron gold a few years ago when we still had a vacation house in western Illinois and had the opportunity to shop some tiny rural antique stores along the Mississippi River. How excited was I to find The Apronista blog! And with a tag line like; “Life, Love and the pursuit of Ric-Rac” I knew I had found my peeps.

Last but not least; 5th Street Studio in Nebraska. I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from these ladies. They are creating the kind of local community of artists and crafters that I would like to bring together here in the Fox Valley. Lots of fun classes, tons of eclectic messiness, and a fabulous community of people working together. Reading this blog and seeing what they are doing at their studio makes me want to put $80 of gas in the Volvo and take a road trip to Nebraska.

Edited to Add:
As soon as I hit post on this entry I clicked over to Google Reader and saw the latest from WhipUp and read a very cool tutorial: Recycled Dog Collars. Heidi and Shadow may be getting new high fashion neckwear soon.

I encourage you to go visit these sites and leave a comment.