What I've been reading lately

Thought I'd share with you some of the interesting things I've found around the Interwebz in the past few days, including a free ebook download:

The Chessmen of Mars - a novella by Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of his Sci-Fi Barsoom series (free download from Project Gutenberg)

Six ways to avoid harmful gender stereotyping with your kids - worth a read whether you have boys or girls

Marc Jacobs & why we get tattoos  - some interesting perspectives in here & some hawt pics of Marc himself ;)

The Cargo Bike: A Vehicle That Will Change Your Life - don't just take my word for it--check out this Momentum article all about different kinds of cargo bikes & how they make family cycling easier

Follow Spokesmama here too:

List #30: If I had $1000

NorthWestMommy's Monday Listicles 'assignment' for this week was to list what ten things we'd buy with $1000. Despite a difference in three zeroes, I've now got the Barenaked Ladies song stuck in my head, "If I had a million dollars". Ouch. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. $1000. Ten things. Hm... Since this is all in my imagination, I'm not going to be realistic & spend it on particularly practical things or things for other people. I'm going to treat myself. I'd be inclined to drop it all on a bike. Or, rather, put it toward a bike, as the ones I'm coveting are well over $1000. Heh. But that's not the game. Here goes, ten things I'd spend a grand on:

What I came home with last time I went to Electroladylux

1. Another tattoo by Teresa at Electro-ladylux, of course. I'll really restrain myself & try not to spend most of a thousand like last time... heh. $300+
2. A short credit-card tour (by bicycle, natch) to a Gulf Island for a couple of days. $200?
3. Jumping stilts. Just walking around three feet taller than everybody isn't enough. I want to fly! $187
   
4. An Astrosatchel. I've been coveting one for years, but with so many designs I love, I've always had trouble choosing. $85
5. Another pair of these fishnets from The Dance Shop, in black. They are as strong as real fishing nets. I kid you not. $39
6. Riyoko's Three-way arm warmers. Sleeves are never long enough for me: I need supplementary sleeves.  $39
7. A pound of loose herbal teas from Granville Island Tea Company. I'm partial to their Bella Coola & Pear Rooibos. $33
8. A case of environmentally-irresponsible-shipped-all-the-way-across-the-damn-Atlantic Spa water (the red ones, if I could find them here) because it reminds me of Brussels. $36?
9. Some vivid coral lipstick, maybe MAC's Good to Go. $20
10. Another bottle of Joseph, an organic spelt ale, brewed in Belgium (as most of my favourite beers are) by Brasserie de Silenrieux. (I'd link it to their site, but Belgacom sucks, so it probably won't work for you either.) $8

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Why Monday lists? Reading the lovely Chloe's blog, Tea Swamp Park, I found an idea I had to 'steal': a list of all her Halloween costumes, with quite a few photos. She got the idea from Hula Seventy's List Project. I've decided to do the weekly lists for a year that Hula Seventy is doing. 

http://www.northwestmommy.com/2012/monday-listicles-51Tea Swamp Park & Hula Seventy are not the only ones doing lists, however. Check out NorthWestMommy's list & 'assignment' for next week.

New Ink

I've heard from many people that tattoos are addictive, but so far I've only succumbed twice. Mind you, the second one was a bit of a doozy, taking nearly six hours over two sessions to get all the detail work & colour in there. I've been considering another one a while now: since we lost our son Arrow in June 2009. Not long after that I was talking with someone about getting a memorial tattoo. She had gotten one soon after the death of her husband & has since had cover-up work done on it. Her advice was to wait a while.

Tattoo #3?

A year & a half later, I'm sure I still want the tattoo. I would like to get a simple, graphic arrow on the inside of my left forearm. However, it would be such a small, simple design that it almost wouldn't be worth the minimum charge for the work. Plus, in the meantime, I've had my lovely little Sprout. I think perhaps a second tattoo in his honour is in order. The obvious thing to get would be a little seedling: a sprout of some sort. Back to the drawing board.

My tattoo artist, Teresa, of Electro-Ladylux Tattoos is in such demand that she books appointments about a year in advance. Unless I manage to squeeze in somewhere on a cancellation, I'll have a while to think of the second tattoo design.