Has it really been over 3 months since my last post?!

That’s gotta change. 

As soon as I find the time, I’ll do another post

Hi Readers.

No you haven’t stumbled upon a new blog. It’s still the home of Creative Peeps, but I’m once again experimenting with a new layout. I like the look and feel of this one so much better. What do you think? I’d love some feedback!

Also, I’ve got a customizable banner so I’ll be updating that semi-regularly with new designs and photos.

Thanks for stopping by,

mellie

Today is BGP’s dad’s birthday and we celebrated with him. Instead of the traditional birthday cake, BGP got him cupcakes from Teacake Bakeshop. They have absolutely the best cupcakes in the San Francisco Bay Area! And why not? As they say on their website:

“We use only the finest ingredients — imported Belgian Chocolate and Dutch Cocoa, Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, locally sourced farm fresh dairy and eggs, and of course, sweet cream butter for the most delectable taste and quality.”

Now how can you beat that? My personal favorite, the pink velvet with cream cheese frosting. So if you’re ever in the area, be sure to check them out!

Teacake Bakeshop’s pink velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, Nikon D40

Have you heard of cats bringing their owners their prey as a show of their love and appreciation? Well if that’s true, then I know BGP’s cat really loves me.

Although he’s technically BGP’s, I’m Cat’s favorite aunt/pet-godmother. I am usually the one who feeds him and cleans his litter box. I also play feathers with him.

Cat "helping" me make my bed

A few weeks ago, I was just soooo tired that I decided to call it a night really early. I think I was in bed by 8pm. At that hour, Cat is usually not in any mood to sleep. Plus, I wanted to sleep in as long as I could. So wanting to avoid a 5am wake-up call, I purposely left Cat out of the room.

I woke up at about 6am the next morning to go the the restroom. I was greeted by a very eager and especially affectionate kitty who was probably wondering why he was left out in the ‘cold’ living room by himself the night before. After a few obligatory pets on the head, I went back to bed but decided to leave my bedroom door ajar so Cat can go in and out.

I must have dozed off for another couple of hours, because the next thing I heard was my two roommates, BGP and Mun, sneaking quietly into my room to see if I was up yet. But their attempt at being quiet was short-lived when I heard BGP gasp and exclaim, albeit in a whispery voice, “Oh my gosh! What’s that on her bed?!”

Now before I continue with my story, there are two things to keep in mind here:
(1) My bed linens are all white. White pillows. White sheets. White duvet. Anything un-white would immediately stand out against it.
(2) Cat is an indoor-only cat. He doesn’t have prey.

The gasp and exclamation were then followed by BGP, in her controlled yet task-ready voice, telling Mun, “Quick! Go get some wipies!!” As drunk with sleep as I still was, my curiosity had understandably been piqued at this point. So I raised my head, squinted at my roommates who, even without my glasses, I can tell were trying to stifle laughs, and asked groggily “What’s going on?”

“There’s poop on your bed!”

And the stifled giggles from BGP and Mun suddenly erupted.

Sure enough, once I put my glasses on, I witnessed the 2 pieces of dried poo in the middle of my bed.

Once we recovered from laughing (and cleaning up the poop), we deduced that Cat had been upset about being left out of my room the night before that he had raided his litter box for a peace and love offering to me, if you will. I have to admit, it was better than finding a dead rodent on my bed.

Now I have to ask you, what can be better than being loved like that?

Isn’t the use of cell phones while driving now illegal in California?

So what’s this dude doing?

“Driving” in L.A., July 2008, Nikon D40

This is a bracelet I made that will be going to my April trivia winner, Erin, in addition to the stickers I’m sending her way. Yes, as you can see I’m still a little behind. I have yet to give Jenn, my May trivia winner, her prize. Sorry gals.

So as you can see, there are a few crafty bones in me.

jasper and black onyx bracelet, Nikon D40

Especially to little 5-year old girls.

First of all, let me start by putting this disclaimer out there: I don’t ordinarily hang out with little kids. My friends with children live hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from me. So it’s not often that I spend a Saturday morning with tykes around. That said, my sense of humor has evolved so that it’s understood (and appreciated) by mostly those beyond the Barney generation.

So here’s my story: back in October, my long-time friend, Jo, came up for a visit from southern Cal with her husband and daughter P. Her brother called me and said they were staying with him and he was hosting a small dinner/birthday party for Jo on a Saturday night. Of course, I jumped at the chance to see my friend once again. And it was quite a reunion! We had fun catching up and shooting the breeze as most friends do. The grown-ups were sitting in one area, while the two kids in the party — both cute little girls under the age of 6 — were playing just a few feet from us. I’m not sure what we were talking about, but Jo mentioned that her daughter P loves Hannah Montana! And as any logical, thinking, semi-sane woman in her late 20s (back then) would say, I replied, “Oh! Hannah Montana, she’s my neighbor.” Matter-of-factly. Just like that.

Now what on God’s good earth possessed me to say that, I don’t know. But I said it. How could I have known that little P has the audio sensors of a bat?! The little darling immediately ran to me and began to interrogate me on Hannah Montana and her house, which in P’s mind was just a few feet from my own front door.

Now at this point, I could have said, “Oh sorry, honey. I just blurted that out. She’s not really my neighbor.” P’s a very bright young girl. She would have understood. But again, my tongue=out of control. I went on to perpetuate some fabricated story about how I couldn’t call Hannah at home because she was on tour at that moment.

Well that night ended without me fessing up to my lie. Of course every other friend I’ve told this story to thinks I’m just horrible for telling a little girl this fib. And maybe it was. So last weekend, when I went to visit Jo in L.A., my friends BGP and Mun made me promise to tell P the truth.

P and me, Los Angeles

So yes. I told the truth. Even though it would’ve been easier to say “Forgetaboutit, she’s just a kid.”

Oh and yes, we did drive around Beverly Hills the next day in search of a black limo that just might belong to Hannah Montana. We didn’t see any. Although even if we did, it wouldn’t have mattered because little P was sound asleep in the back seat with her head on my lap. Auntie Mel had been forgiven.

I recently joined swap-bot.com, an online swapping community where members from around the world swap photographs, letters, crafts, handmade goods, books — practically everything you can imagine.

Since I like to write and have been wanting to get the creative writing juices flowing again, the first swap I decided to do was to list 100 things I miss. I had to put together my list then send (snail mail) it to my swapping partner as chosen randomly by the swap-bot wizard (or some equally mysterious entity that generates the swapping partners).

I must admit, I was a little apprehensive about completing my list. I didn’t think I missed 100 different things. But surprisingly, I completed my list in about 40 minutes on a recent flight to L.A. Then when I got back from my trip, I just typed it up and sent it off.

Here’s a photo of the actual list I sent to my swapping partner:

My list of 100 things I miss, Nikon D40

So if you’re into arts, crafts, gifts, swaps, etc. I encourage you to check out www.swap-bot.com. Maybe we’ll end up being swap partners!

This is a meme that Erin tagged me for several weeks (months?) ago and I finally just got to it. Yay me.

THE MISSION:
(1) Share five random/weird things about myself and (2) share five places that I “want to see or want to see again.”

Okay, here it goes!

Five random/weird things about myself

1. When I was about 6 or 7, I was used as a human banner/shield while driving through an anti-Marcos political rally in Manila (I was wearing a yellow t-shirt, the “color” of Marcos’ opponent, Ninoy Aquino)

2. I got a passing grade for a Genetics exam in college because I received points for writing (and forgetting to erase!) lyrics to a Jewel song on one of the essay questions (I think I got 5 points)

3. When I was in the first grade, I won a Princess contest at school. I wore a gown and a tiara, learned how to waltz, and rode in a parade all over our subdivision with my Prince.

4. I am double-jointed on 8 fingers (not sure about my thumbs). I can hold a dime on its edge on the back of my index finger.

5. At work, I always use the 3rd stall in the Ladies’ Room (unless it’s occupied.)

I Want to See or See again.

1. Australia, to see again.

2. Hawaii, to see again.

3. New York, to see again.

4. Many places in Europe, to see for the first time and then again and again.

5. Tahiti, to see for the first time.

]]> http://creativepeeps.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/the-five-randoms-a-meme/feed/ 0 mellie http://creativepeeps.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/trade-as-one/ http://creativepeeps.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/trade-as-one/#comments Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:53:47 +0000 mellie http://creativepeeps.wordpress.com/?p=70 ]]>

I’ve had the link to Trade As One on my Lists page for a while, but now I’m actually becoming an active participant.

If you don’t know what Trade As One is, it’s primarily an online store that sells Fair Trade (e.g., no child labor, living wages paid, gender equality, environmental stewardship), high-quality products from around the world. These products range from coffee and sugar to hand-made fashion accessories and housewares. And they are beautiful!

Read more about its mission.

A couple of weekends ago, BGP and I signed up to be Trade As One partners. What that means is that I can spread the word about Trade As One and track how my friends, family, and even strangers like you are making a difference. I don’t get any credit for it.

So why am I doing it? Because I support the ideal that it’s putting one’s faith into action. It’s beyond charity in that it actually provides fair employment for people around the world. It can mean that a woman will no longer have to turn to prostitution to support her family. Or that a child will not have to work in a miserable factory. I also thinks that it puts the responsibility on those of us who “have” to extend a helping hand…

As a Trade As One partner, I was assigned a partner ID (#127). When you make your purchase, it would be great if you could use this number as a reference. As I mentioned, I don’t get any credit or points for it. It just lets me know how your purchases have made a difference. For example, right now I have $50 worth of purchases, which has employed a woman in the developing world for 10 hours.

So what are you waiting for? Start shopping and start helping.