The Funniest Thing I've Done Lately

The first thing I told Captain America the night he proposed was that as soon as we got married, I was going back to school.

It was the summer after I graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and my plan had been to return there in the fall to start my masters,..and then well, you know what that they about a man in a uniform. Suffice it say that plans changed. At least for the year it was going to take him to finish pilot training.



As soon as the Air Force sent us to Tacoma, Washington, for Captain America's first assignment, though, I enrolled at the University of Washington. I was halfway through my master's degree when baby #1 arrived. So I put my plans on hold again...and then the Air Force moved us back to Oklahoma.

So I thought about getting my master's from Oklahoma State, which was the closest university, but it was going to be so hard for this Sooner to put that on my resume, that I decided to get my teaching certificate from them instead. Then baby #2 came. And then we moved to Houston.

Finally 16 years after I became Mrs Captain America, I picked up my master's degree from Texas A&M. I decided to become an Aggie, because I knew we weren't ever going back to Oklahoma. Plus, A&M was close to home. And most of all Sooners and Aggies have the same general opinion of Longhorns!

One of the things that I like about the folks from A&M is they know how to take a joke. And trust me, there are plenty of Aggie jokes. And a lot them are probably true. I know from personal experience.

I mean, I'm still a Sooner through and through and all, but occasionally my inner Aggie shows up. For instance, that diploma I'm handling in the picture above? I have no idea where it is. I lost it. Every time we move--and we've been in 3 houses and a trailer since then--I think it'll show up, but it never does.

Another thing I like about Aggies is that they are good customers. I've sold more books that say "Gig 'em" than any other pattern.

So...the other day I made another "Gig 'em" for my Etsy shop. When I was done, I decided I needed to take a new picture of it, so I set up my whole photography stage, perched my camera on top of my tripod, and took my first picture.

So far, so good.

Then I turned the book around to take a picture of the back...

Look closely.

Yep. I folded the book upside down.

Mind you, I touched 288 pages during the creation of that book without even noticing! Who needs a lost diploma with Aggie credentials like that?!?

Whoop!

I mean...Whoops!

But now that it's done, I kinda think it's great. I mean, c'mon, isn't it the best Aggie joke in folded book form ever?

So if you're looking for the perfect something for that new Aggie grad, purchase it on my Etsy shop, and I'll send it your way. First come, first served.

And if Aggies aren't your thing, order something for your favorite school. I promise to make it right-side up.

Hey, I'm starting a Reading With Scissors newsletter. It's gonna be full of fun stuff. More stories about Captain America and me. Pictures of things I've been making, Recommendations on good books and other stuff. All around goodness. See that sign-up form over there? Well, sign up already.

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UPDATE: The first to come was served. The upside-down book is sold. Whoo-hoo! Right-side ups are still looking for a good home. Apply here.

Book Review: Lafayette in the Somewhat United States

Title: Lafayette in the Somewhat United States
Author: Sarah Vowell
Format: Kindle
Reading Dates: 1 Jan 2016 - 1 Feb 2016
Rating: ***1/2

I think it's fair to say that to this frustrated history major now working in corporate America, Sarah Vowell is a heroine. To be able to drive around the U.S. with your best friends and favorite family and visit historic sites, both famous and obscure and then write about them... ACK! Why did I give up so early?!?

Not only do I love her life, I love Sarah's style--observant, sarcastic, and insightful--all delivered with a healthy dose of humor. This is the third Sarah Vowell book that I've read and each of them has presented a story that I thought I knew--or should have known--in way that proved I only knew the bullet points or, in some cases, the myth.

In the case of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States Vowell takes on the part of the French in the American Revolution through the life of its most famous Frenchman, General Lafayette. It's hard for me to even write that term "General" because the dude was only 19-years-old when he received that rank. Apparently, all that fighting the French and English had been doing for centuries and the personal toll it took on Lafayette (his father was killed in battle early in Lafayette's life) made Frenchmen in general and Lafayette in particular much better at the art of war than the typical American. So the young commission.

He proved himself a loyal and able leader and endeared himself to the Americans so much so that when he returned to the United States nearly 30 years after the end of the war (and after having endured a harrowing time back home during the French Revolution), he was met with hugs by the Founding Fathers. Literally.

So I knew that the French backed us during the Revolution and I knew that Lafayette was one of them, but I really didn't understand how decisive the French help was. Without them there wouldn't have been us. Vowell does a really good job of showing me that as she took me from walks through the mansions of pre-revolutionary France to tours of US battlefields to an interview with George Washington in Colonial Williamsburg. I learned a lot.

All that being said, as much as I liked unlearning all that stuff I thought I knew before, I missed the funny Sarah. There were a few places in this book where I guffawed, but mostly she seemed more ticked off than in her other books. I'm not sure if that's a sign of the times, the subject matter at hand, or maybe she was being funny and I was just too much of a stick in the mud to recognize it. It's hard to hear jokes about heroes, right? I mean they ARE the Founding Fathers, don't you know?

Anyway, the more serious tone is not enough to keep me from recommending this book - it's good! - but if you've never read Sarah Vowell before, start with something else, like Unfamiliar Fishes or Assassination Vacation.

The Point

This one sorta reminds me of the 70s. Of Goldie Hawn dancing on Laugh-In.

And seriously what was the point of that?

What's the point?

Oh, I can see a point or two somewhere near the end of that arrow.

Sock it to me.

Guilty...Obviously

If greens and oranges are your thing.

Or if you're a prosecutor.

This might be for you.

Drowning

I love this drawing by Amelia Langford. (Seriously, go check it out before you read any further.) I love the colors. I love the size of the waves compared to the itty-bitty boat.

When I saw this page the thing that stuck with me were all those "ing" words. All about water--too much water---it made me think of Amelia's boat picture, and I drew this.

 

So if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery... consider this big time flattery!

And isn't it cool how in just one page our hero is both lost and saved? Yay for RDCBs!

A Tough Trip

Truer words were never spoken.

Make Yourself a Fool

It's cold outside, so I've been inside playing with my markers again.

Dreaming of a warm time when there are sunflowers and gaillardias in my garden again.