Gecko

We found this little guy on our window screen.  He kept saying he could save us a lot on car insurance, but we told him we don't drive.

Jessie Wilcox Smith Public Domain Art

Jessie Wilcox Smith was an extremely talented artist who lived until the 1930s.  She is best known for her children's book illustrations. Though she never had any of her own, she had a deep affinity for "wondering, imaginative children".

Many of her works are in the public domain.  Here are some of my favorites:

From Cinderella

From the 7 Stages of Childhood

From Beauty and the Beast

From At The Back of the North Wind

Snow White and Rose Red

I hope you enjoy these paintings as much as I do.  I've become quite the collector of her work lately!

For more (and better quality) work from this artist see: 
 
and

My Baby

Is cuter than your baby.  She probably poos more too.

LOL Cats

Yes, I am THAT person.  But I do not actually like cat pictures very much.  In fact, I'm not too fond of cats, period.  They make me sneeze.  They scratch up my brand new expensive nylons.  They look ridiculous in fancy bonnets and stare down their nose at you as though you are the pet and they are the master (of the universe).


Worst of all, they can't spell!

The Top 5 Most Annoying Posts On Blogger

I like to read other people's blog posts. But there are 5 types of posts that drive me up the wall. I'm not knocking anyone in particular. We all occasionally spew out this drivel!

 1. 100 dumb facts about me. Yep, we get it. Filling out surveys is fun.  But let's face it, unless it's sawed off fingers or live spiders, nobody cares what topping you like on your salad! 

We also don't care what color of nail polish you like, or what incredibly boring thing you see out your window.  Unless it's a T-Rex, save it for the nightly phone call to your mom.

 2. The day that never ends.  Unfortunately this is the most typical blog post I see.  Why feel the burning need to write about a day in which nothing happened?  10 paragraphs about walking your dog, finding your remote under your butt and eating a sandwich...REALLY?
Even your mom didn't read that one all the way through!

3.  Buy my ugly stuff!  I'm sorry, but get a different hobby.  That decrepit bear with one eye, lame-o drawing or knitted grown-up "slipper sock" is just not happening.  I don't get why you haven't figured this out yet, since you haven't actually sold anything since spandex was in style.  (And honey, spandex ain't been in style for a LONG, LONG time).

4.  Collection of Cliches.  Wow...I never knew that if I only believed in myself and reached for my dreams, I could truly touch the sky!  But now I do, thanks to your oh so original and inspiring post!  I'm going to go follow my heart now...after I'm done laughing.

5.  Why I hate everything.  What is with those crazy h8ers.  They even write about hating things which are ADORABLE, like cats wearing bonnets.  I mean, no one could possibly hate cat pictures, especially not when they involve bonnets! 

And they write these blogs about the top 5 most annoying things when they are like, O.M.G. sooo super annoying themselves!  WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE!


Umm....I think I better step away from the computer quietly now...

Public Domain Works For Your Art

Peter Rabbit and all of Beatrix Potter's books are in the Public Domain.  Some newer versions may contain copyrighted material.

If you are looking for public domain pictures, quotes, text or ideas, you may have a really hard time finding any of these things on the internet.  Most people don't want to tell you this information because they want to use it themselves.

   




That's because public domain works can be used freely in a variety of ways.  You can quote it, copy it, alter it, trace it, color it, make it into a cartoon, poster, t-shirt, or anything else you can think of, and you can sell it.  Because public domain works are not owned by anyone, they can be used commercially without having to pay a licensing fee or get permission from anyone. 

Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures In Wonderland IS in the public domain.  You can use the original art, text and ideas.  You can make up your own Alice in Wonderland or any type of spin-off.  You can NOT, however, use Disney's version in any way - unless you want your pants sued off!

 A lot of people don't realize that Jane Austen's books are all in the public domain.  That means you can quote, use, and spoof Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and all the others.

This wonderful painting is by Jessie Wilcox Smith

Jessie Wilcox Smith and many other wonderful artists are in the public domain.  I'll post more of her work in the future!

Feel free to save any of these pictures (please save it to your computer and upload first).  I love to use public domain work myself.  I like to alter it and make it my own.  It's inspiring and so much fun!

I Wanna See You Clean That, Baby!

You know what I think is a really sexy sight?

A man with a mop!

 Unfortunately it's a sight rarely seen, especially on commercials.

Why do all the cleaning product commercials star women cleaning and men sitting on their butts reading the newspaper watching them clean? 

Polls have shown that women still, on average, take on most of the housework.  It doesn't matter if she works 50 hours a week and her husband works 10; chances are she will still be the one fixing dinner at the end of the day, and scrubbing the pot too.

 If a woman wants to stay home and clean while her husband works all day, good for her.  But I believe marriage is a partnership, not a master-slave relationship.  So why is it a woman's job to take over all the housework, even if she works all day?? 

 If it's his day off and she's got a baby in one hand and burp rag in the other, why can't he wash a dish without acting like he's parting the red sea?  Why is it totally NO BIG DEAL for a woman to wield a lawnmower, change a tire, organize the tools in the garage and be her husband's personal secretary, and then clean and change diapers?  Her man isn't going to call her a hero for that!
 But if a man cooks a meal or wipes a baby's tush, he is a "hero".

I see this all the time and to be honest it kinda turns my stomach.  I see ladies on Facebook gushing that their unemployed husband who hasn't shaved or changed out of his sweats in 3 weeks actually put the groceries away.  Woop-dee!  Let's give that fella a husband of the year award!  If he did any more than that he might not be considered macho by his friends...he might even be "whipped".  I think I just rolled my eyes so hard it actually hurt!

And don't even get me started on how if a single man steps up and actually RAISES HIS OWN KIDS he is also a "hero" whereas a single mom who does the same is considered lower than a married mom.

I think this is all proof that women are still being discriminated against, why they deserve chocolate with no guilt whatsoever, complete control of the remote after 8pm, and need a REAL man in their lives, a man to whisper those 3 special words in her ear:
"I'll wash that".

(Just for the record...I'm not really talking about my husband here.  He is a great help to me and I to him, though he does look hot holding a mop!  He even makes comments about how awful it is that other dads don't help out more, cause yeah, it's that obvious!)