Magic Disney Ball 2

So, I've done some major work on my Magic Disney Ball. Unfortunately while doing all that major work, I've run into some massive problems. First, it took forever to cut through the ball. Then we found out that we had to cut through the liquid container. Who knew that this is what the magic eight ball looks like inside. I swear the magic eight ball company wants to keep people out. Well, too bad, because here are pictures for all to see. Look at how huge that die is. It has like 24 sides to it. How come I always get the same fortunes?

I made the die for my Disney ball with such fortunes as "The dream that you wish will come true," "Don't underestimate the importance of body language," and "Squeak Squeakity Squeakin." It made of wood though, so I'm trying to waterproof it. I bought sealant, but it didn't work on the first die and it was impossible to see the fortunes. So this time I'm painting it with clear nail polish in hopes that that will work better. I'll probably still put some sealant over that just in case. I'm also going to make the water inside the ball a light blue instead of dark blue. Then if it happens to get water in the die, you'll still be able to see the fortune.

Another problem I've had is making sure the cylinder with the die and colored water contains no air. I brought home a syringe from work that seems to work well. I can then fill it completely with no air bubbles and then screw the cap on. And hope for the best. After that, it should be smooth sailing. Just glue the two sides together and decorate the outside. That'll be the best part. I got this very fine sparkly powder in light blue, pink, and purple. And Disney princess stickers. So I'll paint the ball white and then decorate it with those, then mod podge the entire thing to seal it and make it glossy.

This is the plan. Hopefully it works out....

Magic Disney Ball

A few weeks ago I read a book called The Jane Austen Book Club which was surprisingly good. Especially if you love Jane Austen as I do. Anyway, in the book, one of the members converts this magic eight ball into a magic Jane Austen ball. Decorates the outside in Jane Austen theme and replaces all the fortunes with lines from Miss Austen's books. I thought it was such a wonderful idea that I am making a converted magic eight ball for my friend Samantha's birthday. I decided however to go with a Disney theme, since she is fairly obsessed with all things Disney. Today my mechanical engineering friend Danny is coming over with his hacksaw to help me get it apart, so hopefully all goes well!

The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Rating: Go read something else

Parts of this book were wonderful to read. Sebold has a beautiful writing style. But there are some serious bones I'd like to pick with it (lame pun intended). First, it felt like she was just hurrying time towards the end. The beginning is filled with an incredible richness that is neither hurried nor slow. It's somewhere in the middle that the story starts to feel skimmed over and rushed. Like she's trying to get to the end without letting the reader enjoy the journey. The second issue I had with the story was when Susie comes back and inhabits Ruth's body so she can make love to Ray. Can we say just a little bit far fetched? Come on. This scene felt completely out of place with the rest of the story. At that point the only reason I kept reading was because Sebold's writing style is entirely lovely. She might want to work on content next.

Biker Guy with Trailing Gorillas

Mallory and I were driving the other day and pulled up at a stoplight where this biker trailing a pair of stuffed gorillas was stopped next to us. How awesome and random! You can't see it, but on the other side of this gorilla is another slightly smaller female gorilla. I love it!

Hippie Style

Really! I don't look like this all the time! We had this faux family feud thing last night where there were themed families and I was in the 70's family. Hence the sweet hippie look. I cut up a pair of old jeans, inserted fabric to make them into bell bottoms, and ironed on flower patches. I also made myself some love beads and got super cool sunglasses at Big Lots (one of the best stores ever!). It made me sort of wish I had lived in the 70's. It was fantastic to be decked out in tie dye. I think my favorite part was pulling up next to other cars while I was driving and seeing the people in them do double takes. The super tall shoes were a bit painful though, I must admit.

Oops!

Ack! So I got to class today and realized, oh wait, everyone is silent and bent over working. Ummmm....do we have a test? Oh yes! We had a test! Why is that I've been such a space cadet lately? Hello! Who forgets things like tests? Apparently I do. Sheesh.

I went and bought Eric Clapton unplugged today. I think I will soon be in full Eric Clapton obsession. It's kind of weird how since my parents raised me strictly on things like classical music and marty williams, I now get to go back and discover music that everyone else has been listening to for ages. Not that I didn't know the most popular Clapton songs, I just didn't fully realize how fantastic it all is. A year ago this same thing happened with James Taylor. And now I'm a full fledged James Taylor addict.

On a completely different topic... I have recently been rereading Jane Austen's novels and the question my girlfriends and I have been discussing is this: If you had to pick any of the male characters (not just the lead ones) to marry, which would you choose. I'm having an awfully difficult time choosing between Colonel Brandon and Mr. Knightly. Both very gentlemanly and fantastically rich. Although maybe I would have to go for Mr. Knightly because he seems to have a more developed sense of humor.