Obsessed

So, the first step to recovery in a typical 12-step program is to admit you have a problem. 

Hello, my name is Looseyfur. And I am an Etsy addict. If you don't know what Etsy is, it's a website where individual artists can post their work for sale.

It started as a flirtation. I was looking for holiday presents last September and stumbled onto it when Rayne of Terror forwarded a link to an artist she loves who sells his prints there. And now I just can't stop. 

I love it. I ordered a bag from Penelope Parker for my sister-in-law at Christmas.

I ordered recycled paper notepads and a custom made rocket t-shirt for my son's third birthday party in March. 

And now I'm scouting out birthday gifts for people for the next year. I can't help it. Sure, some of the stuff is pure shit. But man, if you're a plus sized woman and want a sexy corset -- there are people who will custom make them to fit you, you just have to send in your measurements. 

If you are like me and LOVE hard-to-find, asymmetrical clothing, it's not a problem to find someone to make it for you on Etsy. They have awesome recycled raglan appliqué t-shirts and pants for kids, witty and dirty stationery, jewelry, watches, clocks, even freaking baked items. 

Seriously, I'm in love, particularly with the artists who make things using recycled products. I love things that are functional and pretty. 

Speaking of functional and pretty, a big shout out to Rogers who lent me her label maker. The art supply cupboard is now all put together in rubbermade containers and labeled. I even went as far as to put labels on the toy bins in the living room and am about to do the basement (just because my better half has a habit of just throwing shit wherever). 

But seriously, Etsy and a labelmaker, and you don't hear from me for days. I don't blog about how my kid has been congested since Thursday afternoon. He hasn't been wheezing or coughing all night (only when he wakes up), so we're just trying to keep him rested and away from the masses, but he's got an appetite and he's playing normally, so we might go on a trip to the grocery store tomorrow. (I promise to wipe down the handle of the cart afterwards!)

In other news, I'm trying to not plan out every weekend with fun-filled family enjoyment. :-) But there are so many things we like to do with X-man. We showed him the Pixar parade that they have at the California Adventure Disneyland theme park. We're planning a visit for this summer either before or after WWDC. He's just recently fallen in love with A Bug's Life, and most of the rides are from that era. But in the parade, he'll get to see all the Pixar characters that he's come to enjoy. 

Right now, he's a complete Toy Story freak. Seriously, two weeks ago, I gave him a stuffed Buzz. It had no wings or laser and the helmet didn't retract. It was more a soft stuffed animal body with a hard plastic head. Well, Buzz took a tumble to the floor and his head popped off. Busted. I worked on it and worked on it, but couldn't fix it. X-man got very sad. Then he placed broken Buzz on his window seat, covered him with a blankie, kissed his decapitated head and said, "Feel better, Buzz."

Yeah, so I didn't replace him with the same one, cause clearly he wasn't going to stand up to X-man's rough and tumble. But a lot of the Buzz toys are considered collector's items, so they sell for $40 or more on ebay or Amazon. But I found one person who was selling a Buzz for $19 on ebay, so I bought it. Yes, it has all the annoying bells and whistles, but X-man was so happy when we took it out of the box. He kept clapping, "New Buzz! New Buzz!" 

He's also got these 4" tall plastic figurines that I've got in the potty reward bin, with all the clearance stuff they had at Target last week like Toy Story tattoos, pencils, notepads, stampers, etc. They went in the tub and out of the tub tonight. Each one had to be washed and dried and kissed before bed. "To Infinity and Beyond!" precedes every flight to the bottom of the tub. And the hand-me-down Woody that someone brought to the swap that was from McDonald's is such a hit as the "bigger" Woody, that he hasn't even picked the little Woody from the potty jar yet, instead going for Alien and Rex, the dinosaur.

Now when he sees pictures of outerspace, he associates it with Buzz. When he sees cowboy hats, he thinks Woody. I watch him go from being this manic about Thomas to Cars to Bob the Builder and now to Toy Story. But I guess there are way worse items out there for him to be obsessed over... right? 

Oooh, and since he's been sick I just showed him my favorite non-Pixar Disney film, Mulan. In non-Disney fashion, Mulan is not a princess. She's smart, physically capable, and doesn't want to fit in the mold that is required in patriarchal China. At the end when all of China bows to her to thank her for saving the country from the Huns, I cry. 

But X-man stands and applauds. 

Seriously, we're addicts. You might want to back away from us now.