Totally Random Thursday - news of the weird

Yes this is on a Saturday.

I came across these photos on my phone and I had forgotten about how hilarious they are. You know when you go to Oil Can Henry's and all those good looking guys in uniform come out and you hold out dollar bills for them? Oh wait...that was just a fantasy of mine. (Kidding. As far as you know.) I meant when they give you a newspaper to read while you wait...well this was a real article in the paper and it made me laugh so hard I had to take a photo and text it to everyone I could think of. It's easily as awesome as the story about the guy who was arrested in the toy aisle attacking people with a "light saber" Am I too easily amused?

Come on, tell me that isn't hilarious.

Lollipop Lips - Wet 'n Wild Juicy Balm

I'm fairly certain I've shared this song before, but in any case it's what came to mind when thinking about this post so if you want music to listen to while you read, try Lollipop Lips and try not to get it stuck in your head.

Was at the drug store/ variety store the other day and spotted a series of brightly colored lip balms by Wet 'n Wild. This brand has impressed me lately with a few nail polish purchases I've made that have really held up even with my work.
I admit with the balms it was nostalgia that really caught my eye, it looks like something I would have had in junior high.

It's in a giant tube and with fun, bright colors and fruit "flavors" all I could think was how much fun it would be to have this fun smelling balm.

However, the color frightened me a little. Was it going to color my lips? I got to looking at them...there's a bright green one...it seems unlikely they'd make these a tinted balm if one of them was green. Plus it doesn't say they are tinted anywhere on the tube that I can see.

I pulled this out when I needed some moisture on my lips, popped off the cap with gleeful anticipation and....

Yep. These things are tinted.

My reaction was something akin to this:



I honestly wasn't able to wear it long enough to tell if it moisturized or had any other benficial qualities because it looks so hideous on me. I know that some people could easily wear this as a tint...I'm just not one of those people.

Instant relatives

At a shop in Sisters, Oregon I spotted a few packages of photos. I love old photos so I browsed through the collections. One had a woman and a horse and I knew I had to buy the packet. Turned out to be the perfect choice as it was women and outdoorsy activities and nature shots. For $4.00 here is what I got:

I still haven't decided what to do with them, but I completely love them. And let me tell you I have NEVER looked that stylish in the outdoors. Ever.

More thrifted and recycled bathroom goodies

I needed a soap dish for my facial soap. I've been using a little blue and white saucer but it didn't really go with my aged steampunk direction. I walked to Goodwill again and dug and dug through the dishes. The one near my work is not a large shop and I began to give up that I'd find anything I could use when I spotted a short stack of these little off-white, shallow bowls.

The price sticker was covering the stamp on the bottom but it was only .99 until I realized it was the half price color of the day and I got it for .49 cents. I went home to clean it up, removed the sticker and discovered I had some ironstone!

It does the job perfectly and looks nice (and simple) as well.

Then I needed a solution for my moisturizer. I love Cetaphil but that gigantic blue and white bottle? Not so much. I recently finished using a bottle of organic yummy scented hand soap and it had the perfect "old brown bottle" look. I thoroughly washed the bottle, peeled the label, used some Goo Gone on the residue and transferred my moisturizer.

Granted, when I get a new bottle, this one won't hold all of it, but the look is much more cohesive.

.49 cents and 2.75 new but recycled - my budget barely budged.

See what else I made for my simple steampunk bathroom project. Although I'm starting to wonder if this isn't so much steampunk as just....aged. Oh well, I like both!

Totally Random Thursday - anti-anti-bacterial

If you're wondering where all these strangely ranty posts are coming from...I have a confession. I logged into my myspace account after an absence of at least 3 years and am stealing them from my first blog posts ever written. Back then I only used that social networking site (which has gotten so difficult to navigate!) but some of them amuse me so I thought I'd add them here.


I took a course called Infectious Diseases (yeah, I really did) and we had a discussion in class one day about soaps that are "anti-bacterial." Why bring it up? Aren't they doing us good? HA! That's what "they" want you to believe.

In all seriousness you have both good and bad bacteria on your hands. The good bacteria helps keep the bad in check, but when you use the anti-bacterial stuff it wipes out the easily killed bacteria leaving plenty of room for the really bad stuff to party.

Doesn't sound like such a good idea now does it Skippy. (question mark omitted for rhetorical questions )

I'm not saying it never has it's place. If I'd been petting rabid monkeys and had no hand-washing station available I'd use it. But I don't use it in my home for anything and you shouldn't either.
If you don't want to take my word for it :

The Biodesign Institute

Gaiam Life
I'm not really sure what spurred this idea to the front of my brain other than the OCD cleaning commercials that are annoying me. I mean, a soap dispenser you don't have to touch to avoid germs? Aren't you going to wash your hands after you touch the soap dispenser?
What things do you like to rant about?