THEMES and WARDROBES and MERMAIDS too.

Okay, I have a THEME, for the April 2015 Blogging from A to Z Challenge.

The pressure was on, I bowed, it almost broke me. 

But… one must do what everyone else is doing. 
(small seizure ensued from typing that)

Really… 

So.

About this THEME of mine. It’s called “ANYTHING GOES”.  

It’ll be gruelling, highly demanding, more than should be expected of a mere mortal (well, if I were a mere mortal) and most likely so complex the average blogger will leave wondering what just hit them. 

To which I will apologize in advance for those leaving dazed and overwhelmed by the sheer awesomeness of the whole thing. (Humble pie is good, I ate a big slice with that phone fiasco.)

Here’s what ANYTHING GOES looks like over 26 days. 

Click to enlarge the calendar. 

Unless, of course, you're afraid of the overwhelming sense of envy that will come from seeing how much more work my THEME is than yours. 

Just sayin' you shouldn't overlook mediocrity - it works for some, quite well I'm told. 

Click to enlarge, in case you skimmed my instructions in 

your quest to get to the end of this post.

It happens you know, or, you know it happens.

Either way, click on it and be überrascht.

So, what do you think? 

Maybe a little too much, eh? X could be the deal breaker. Or maybe it’s V - there’s something there that could be, “Vell, how shoot I say… sumsing very goot, fa shure.” I’ll be checking in with the resident Austrian, that I keep for these exact Challenge situations, in the hovel below me. 

Okay, enough THEME talk.

What do you think of this latest blog wardrobe change?

Well, it’s minor, same colours, still two columns, but I went from using the Awesome Template to using the Simple Template. I’m ageing, though extremely well in the face department, not so well in the gray matter department. 

I would have preferred a little of both Templates, then my blog would be Simply Awesome! (I’m onto my second slice of humble pie, bit chewy this one.)

Okay… that’s it for updating you on the minutia of my highly sought after blog look. (Which I see no one has rushed to emulate, talk about adding my first frown line.)

Let’s move on to the MERMAID bit.

Call it saving the best for last!  (Some might argue my THEME really gripped them, and a tie might be in order.)

Saturday I was a Mertender, like a Bartender, but with mermaids instead of bars, tails instead of glasses, and, well, you get it.

Miss CP, the attractive fruit of my loins, yes, this apple fell directly from the tree and did not roll far, hosted her first Mermaid Meet-Up. 

It was pretty awesome. About 13 in all - swimming around the pool looking quite the group. 

As Miss CP has my SD Card, with the pics I took, you'll get these two I grabbed from her website, and a link to her facebook page that has more. 

This is the latest tail she made, from scratch. It takes months to hand paint and apply the sequins. For those that follow me on Twitter, I tweeted links to her painting process. (Don't look like that… the Follow Button is right up there - can't miss it.)

See, I was tending mermaids - I even had a T-shirt that said so.

Yes, I was asked where my tail was… for me
it's all about other TALES.

There you have it - that’s what a busy weekend looks like in my world. 

THEMES - WARDROBES - MERMAIDS.

Now there’s a TALE in all that I’m sure!

Cheers, Jenny

Toilet PHONE and YouTube STINKERS

Okay, it finally happened to me.

I dropped my iPhone into the toilet. 

I NEVER PUT MY PHONE IN MY BACK POCKET - NEVER - EVER - EVER

Except yesterday.

Okay. The first thing I did was laugh - true, I laughed. 

Why, because it is, in fact, very funny having my phone fall in my toilet.

See… Miss CP had this happen to her a couple of months ago - we laughed then, and I quietly said to myself… "Really, that would never happen to me!" 

Well, well, I'm eating humble pie.

Okay. Here's the thing about dropping an iPhone in the toilet, or any water.

You must take it out as quick as possible.

Dry it off immediately.

Immerse it in rice, in a bag or bowl, so long as it's covered.

It automatically shuts off, or you can do it manually.

Wait at least 24 hours before trying to turn it on.

Okay… Now here's my version.

Panic while standing there going "holy shit" and wonder if it really happened.

Gingerly retrieve the phone from the toilet, even though there was no bodily fluids in the water. 

Rush to the kitchen and forget where the rice lives.

Find it and pour it in a container that's way too small and cuss.

Make a mess of the drawer with the plastic containers searching for a bigger one - still panicking, still cussing.

Stop long enough to pour some wine, spilling a little in the rice - the good gods have no mercy. 

Use language reserved for really dangerous, violent, deviants.

Ask someone else's god for forgiveness - because you're a Buddhist.

Bury the dead phone in rice and cry.

Then, search the internet for sage advice.

Now, if you think what you just read is a little wacky you need to go to YouTube and check out some of the real winners that make little videos to tell you what to do. 

Honestly… this one takes the cake. 

This chick could have said everything she had to say, that was vital, in 10 seconds. She rambles on about nothing for 3 minutes and 20 seconds. But it's the way she does it, all important like, that made me watch. I was in need of a laugh. Plus it does help you feel way smarter when you see something like this.

What's with these goobers thinking they're experts and should dare to put out a video. This diddy has 633 likes, which means there are 633 other goobers that are out on a permanent vacation. This got 151 dislikes - go team!

I know, you all might think - okay, everyone isn't like you Ms. Pearson, and you're right, few are. However, I did drop my phone in the loo and this is the shit I had to wade through to find an answer. Heck it made me feel I should have pooped first, at least it would have been mine I was wading through.

Needless to say, dear Ashley, was useless. Tell me you agree!

Next up was this one. 

Now, it's only 1 minute and 53 seconds, again about 1 min and 40 seconds too long.

But, surprisingly it was the one that helped because my speakers didn't work and I blew into them, just like this gal suggested. Yes, yes, I blew my phone! Go ahead Mr. Penwasser… run with this because I cracked up when I watched and listened to this video.

She sniffles a lot, I'm chalking that up to the fact she was crying at some point before filming this… or, like, you know, maybe not! (pass the doob Ashley)  

She does get the prize though, because it worked. The prize, me going easy on her… trust me, I've really had to hold the reins tight on these two videos.

So, that begs the question, have you dropped your phone in "water" - be that yours or the sinks? And if so, what did you do?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Cheers, Jenny

PS - My phone had shut off automatically and about a couple of hours later it turned on. I manually shut it off and left it in the rice over night.

It was in the morning that I discovered “no sound”. I could listen to a call with the speaker phone, but not with the phone to my ear. 

That’s when I discovered the last video. I did blow on the speakers, initially nothing happened. I left the phone in the rice all day while I went to work. Came home, still no sound. So, this time (for Al’s benefit) I really did a serious bit of blowing… damn, there’s just no other way to write this without slinking around in the gutter.

Anyway, it’s all good, everything works. End of excitement!

Okay, MINOR MELTDOWN - modification needed.

Hiddy Ho neighbours…

I could handle it for one day - not longer.

Too many columns, here and there and everywhere… made me crazy.

see… it just looks sooooooooo busy…. 

Back to two columns - that’s better. I’m happy now. Okay, I was happy before all these changes, I was happy making the changes, not so happy just after the changes, but now I’m happy after this change.

Did someone say change was good… (note to self, track them down and ruffle their feathers)

Hugs to you all for being patient while I change my blogging frock yet again.

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

NOW, on a serious note, a friend of mine is in need of some prayers and healthy thoughts for her ailing father-in-law. I was hoping you all could send some of your wonderful blogging spirits out her way. I know it all helps…

Cheers, Jenny

BULLET JOURNAL UPDATE - COMING CLEAN

Ivy, over at The Happy Whisk, was wondering...

And, just in case you were wondering too, here’s the low down, the nitty gritty, the inside scoop, on my Bullet Journal adventure.

I AM A NEW PERSON.

See, I even changed the look of my Blog, simple lines, clean, easy to navigate…

JUST LIKE MY LIFE. (excuse me while I gag… please, really, some people)

I don’t know who that was, up there in those brackets, some naysayer that just can’t be happy for little old me. The world is full of party poopers.

I’m a right brain person. That means I am artsy, fartsy, puddin’ and pie and I’ll kiss a frog before I die. 

Only a cool frog will do for me...

Why does the Bullet Journal work for me? Well, it’s like this, everything is in one place.

I have an index, which I add to as I enter things in my journal.

• I just added a page to keep track of the books I’ve read 
• I added a page to keep track of names I keep forgetting
• I have a page for the things that need to be finished in this phase of my renovations.

The daily entries keep me on track as well. I have completed so many tasks that used to live on bits of paper and that were easily forgotten or avoided at will.

Now - there they are all conveniently housed in a light, easy to carry soft back moleskin. Heck, if the mood moves me I can even draw in it! You know, being artsy fartsy.

That’s it.

Hmm, I may even be using my Bullet Journal for a secret project I’ve been working on.

If you’re patient I’ll be doing the big reveal in April. Maybe even as an A to Z surprise. 

Stay tuned…

I had fun with this new look too - this is where the old saying “copying is the greatest compliment” comes into play. I’ve been checking you all out and decided to take a bit from here and a little from there… and this was the end result.

You like? 

Well, most importantly I like!

Cheers, Jenny

Visit Write Brain Challenge to check out my latest free write piece, and the photo that inspired it.  

BULLET JOURNAL - that's all, just BULLET JOURNAL

Miss CP told me to google BulletJournal.com.

I did.

Now, I’m telling you to google BulletJournal.com.

Here's the video that explains it. It's 2 min and 51 seconds long… short!

In three days I’ve doubled my productivity and completed more tasks than I could have hoped for.

IT IS AMAZING.

Best part… you don’t have to sign up for anything. The information is free, and you can start it immediately.

What do you use to organize your tasks? (and life) 

Cheers, Jenny