(10199,1,'2012-03-28 17:04:34','2012-03-29 00:04:34','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a pho\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-2','','','2012-03-28 17:04:34','2012-03-29 00:04:34','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(10200,1,'2012-03-28 17:05:03','2012-03-29 00:05:03','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is very healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-3','','','2012-03-28 17:05:03','2012-03-29 00:05:03','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(10201,1,'2012-03-28 17:05:04','2012-03-29 00:05:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is very healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-4','','','2012-03-28 17:05:04','2012-03-29 00:05:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(10202,1,'2012-03-28 17:05:13','2012-03-29 00:05:13','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-5','','','2012-03-28 17:05:13','2012-03-29 00:05:13','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(10203,1,'2012-03-28 17:05:44','2012-03-29 00:05:44','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-721','','','2012-03-28 17:05:44','2012-03-29 00:05:44','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10204,1,'2012-03-28 17:06:36','2012-03-29 00:06:36','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-722','','','2012-03-28 17:06:36','2012-03-29 00:06:36','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10205,1,'2012-03-28 17:10:10','2012-03-29 00:10:10','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-723','','','2012-03-28 17:10:10','2012-03-29 00:10:10','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10206,1,'2012-03-28 17:11:43','2012-03-29 00:11:43','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-724','','','2012-03-28 17:11:43','2012-03-29 00:11:43','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10207,1,'2012-03-28 17:13:27','2012-03-29 00:13:27','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-725','','','2012-03-28 17:13:27','2012-03-29 00:13:27','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10208,1,'2012-03-28 17:14:54','2012-03-29 00:14:54','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-726','','','2012-03-28 17:14:54','2012-03-29 00:14:54','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10209,1,'2012-03-28 17:21:14','2012-03-29 00:21:14','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-727','','','2012-03-28 17:21:14','2012-03-29 00:21:14','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10210,1,'2012-03-28 17:35:35','2012-03-29 00:35:35','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Jimmy got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Jessica waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their mark.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut we <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-6','','','2012-03-28 17:35:35','2012-03-29 00:35:35','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(10212,1,'2012-03-28 17:41:20','2012-03-29 00:41:20','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-728','','','2012-03-28 17:41:20','2012-03-29 00:41:20','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10211,1,'2012-03-28 17:35:50','2012-03-29 00:35:50','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Jimmy got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Jessica waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their mark.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut we <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-7','','','2012-03-28 17:35:50','2012-03-29 00:35:50','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(10213,1,'2012-03-28 17:43:10','2012-03-29 00:43:10','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-729','','','2012-03-28 17:43:10','2012-03-29 00:43:10','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10214,1,'2012-03-28 17:44:36','2012-03-29 00:44:36','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it on the road.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-8','','','2012-03-28 17:44:36','2012-03-29 00:44:36','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(10215,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:06','2012-03-29 00:45:06','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-9','','','2012-03-28 17:45:06','2012-03-29 00:45:06','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(10216,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:06','2012-03-29 00:45:06','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-10','','','2012-03-28 17:45:06','2012-03-29 00:45:06','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(10218,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:36','2012-03-29 00:45:36','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-12','','','2012-03-28 17:45:36','2012-03-29 00:45:36','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(10217,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:29','2012-03-29 00:45:29','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-11','','','2012-03-28 17:45:29','2012-03-29 00:45:29','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(10224,1,'2012-03-28 17:52:04','2012-03-29 00:52:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMaybe it\'s because I\'m a former teacher who doesn\'t have to deal with stuff like this anymore, but I found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-18','','','2012-03-28 17:52:04','2012-03-29 00:52:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-18/',0,'revision','',0),(10219,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:40','2012-03-29 00:45:40','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-13','','','2012-03-28 17:45:40','2012-03-29 00:45:40','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0),(10220,1,'2012-03-28 17:45:40','2012-03-29 00:45:40','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie waving that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe width=\"480\" height=\"360\" src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-14','','','2012-03-28 17:45:40','2012-03-29 00:45:40','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(10221,1,'2012-03-28 17:47:24','2012-03-29 00:47:24','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-15','','','2012-03-28 17:47:24','2012-03-29 00:47:24','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-15/',0,'revision','',0),(10222,1,'2012-03-28 17:47:24','2012-03-29 00:47:24','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-16','','','2012-03-28 17:47:24','2012-03-29 00:47:24','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-16/',0,'revision','',0),(10223,1,'2012-03-28 17:48:00','2012-03-29 00:48:00','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well.  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.  See little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.  Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniff, sniff.  I smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-17','','','2012-03-28 17:48:00','2012-03-29 00:48:00','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-17/',0,'revision','',0),(10226,1,'2012-03-28 17:53:04','2012-03-29 00:53:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMaybe it\'s because I\'m a former teacher who doesn\'t have to deal with stuff like this anymore, but I found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-20','','','2012-03-28 17:53:04','2012-03-29 00:53:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-20/',0,'revision','',0),(10225,1,'2012-03-28 17:52:38','2012-03-29 00:52:38','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured this would be a snap.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMaybe it\'s because I\'m a former teacher who doesn\'t have to deal with stuff like this anymore, but I found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-19','','','2012-03-28 17:52:38','2012-03-29 00:52:38','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-19/',0,'revision','',0),(10228,1,'2012-03-28 17:55:04','2012-03-29 00:55:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMaybe it\'s because I\'m a former teacher who doesn\'t have to deal with stuff like this anymore, but I found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-22','','','2012-03-28 17:55:04','2012-03-29 00:55:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-22/',0,'revision','',0),(10227,1,'2012-03-28 17:54:45','2012-03-29 00:54:45','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMaybe it\'s because I\'m a former teacher who doesn\'t have to deal with stuff like this anymore, but I found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-21','','','2012-03-28 17:54:45','2012-03-29 00:54:45','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-21/',0,'revision','',0),(10230,1,'2012-03-28 17:58:04','2012-03-29 00:58:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI told you.  Warped.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-24','','','2012-03-28 17:58:04','2012-03-29 00:58:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(10229,1,'2012-03-28 17:57:55','2012-03-29 00:57:55','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI told you.  Warped.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-23','','','2012-03-28 17:57:55','2012-03-29 00:57:55','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(10232,1,'2012-03-28 17:59:04','2012-03-29 00:59:04','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWarped, I tell you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-26','','','2012-03-28 17:59:04','2012-03-29 00:59:04','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-26/',0,'revision','',0),(10231,1,'2012-03-28 17:59:03','2012-03-29 00:59:03','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom is completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>have</em> talked about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-25','','','2012-03-28 17:59:03','2012-03-29 00:59:03','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-25/',0,'revision','',0),(10234,1,'2012-03-28 18:09:11','2012-03-29 01:09:11','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWarped, I tell you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-28','','','2012-03-28 18:09:11','2012-03-29 01:09:11','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-28/',0,'revision','',0),(10233,1,'2012-03-28 18:08:52','2012-03-29 01:08:52','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-27','','','2012-03-28 18:08:52','2012-03-29 01:08:52','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-27/',0,'revision','',0),(10235,1,'2012-03-28 18:10:27','2012-03-29 01:10:27','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-29','','','2012-03-28 18:10:27','2012-03-29 01:10:27','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-29/',0,'revision','',0),(10236,1,'2012-03-28 18:10:27','2012-03-29 01:10:27','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-30','','','2012-03-28 18:10:27','2012-03-29 01:10:27','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-30/',0,'revision','',0),(10237,1,'2012-03-28 19:29:38','2012-03-29 02:29:38','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10196\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10197\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10198\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10203\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10204\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10205\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10206\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10207\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10208\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10209\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10212\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10213\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-31','','','2012-03-28 19:29:38','2012-03-29 02:29:38','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-31/',0,'revision','',0),(10238,1,'2012-03-28 19:31:43','2012-03-29 02:31:43','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow could anyone even remotely creative not attend a festival with a title like that?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along. . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI have a warped sense of humor.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMoving right along . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWarped, I tell you!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPerhaps.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat is a joke.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n**********\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-autosave','','','2012-03-28 19:31:43','2012-03-29 02:31:43','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(10239,1,'2012-03-28 19:29:38','2012-03-29 02:29:38','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even remotely creative NOT attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table crowded with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I\'m adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-32','','','2012-03-28 19:29:38','2012-03-29 02:29:38','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-32/',0,'revision','',0),(10240,1,'2012-03-28 19:32:14','2012-03-29 02:32:14','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-33','','','2012-03-28 19:32:14','2012-03-29 02:32:14','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-33/',0,'revision','',0),(10241,1,'2012-03-28 19:32:14','2012-03-29 02:32:14','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseum about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-34','','','2012-03-28 19:32:14','2012-03-29 02:32:14','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-34/',0,'revision','',0),(10242,1,'2012-03-28 19:37:07','2012-03-29 02:37:07','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseam about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-35','','','2012-03-28 19:37:07','2012-03-29 02:37:07','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-35/',0,'revision','',0),(10243,1,'2012-03-28 19:37:07','2012-03-29 02:37:07','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseam about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do you want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-36','','','2012-03-28 19:37:07','2012-03-29 02:37:07','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-36/',0,'revision','',0),(10244,1,'2012-03-28 20:03:12','2012-03-29 03:03:12','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseam about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do <em>you</em> want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-37','','','2012-03-28 20:03:12','2012-03-29 03:03:12','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-37/',0,'revision','',0),(10245,1,'2012-03-28 20:03:12','2012-03-29 03:03:12','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseam about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat do <em>you</em> want to create at this point in time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-38','','','2012-03-28 20:03:12','2012-03-29 03:03:12','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-38/',0,'revision','',0),(10246,1,'2012-03-28 20:04:44','2012-03-29 03:04:44','<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-718/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10196\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10196\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>I was surfing around the Internet one day and came across a celebration whose name stopped me in my tracks:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>The Festival of Creativity.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHow could anyone even <em>remotely</em> creative <em>not</em> attend a festival with a title like that?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat is a Festival of Creativity, you ask?  I entertained the same question.  My fellow creative friend, Melanie, and I took it upon ourselves to explore the answer.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFirst of all, there were mimes.  Lots of them.  Colorful ones.  Mimes are (thankfully) not as creepy as clowns, although they are still mildly unnerving.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-719/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10197\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10197\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170007-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-720/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10198\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10198\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe that my sister and I suffer post-traumatic clown trauma because we belong to the generation that grew up watching <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.smashinglists.com/top-10-famous-badass-clowns/\" target=\"_blank\">Poltergeist</a></em></strong>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhich is why I tried to remain calm when I stumbled across The Leprechaun Clown on Human Growth Hormone.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-721/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10203\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10203\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-722/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10204\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10204\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI dealt with my panic by taking a photo from an interesting angle.  Humor is always healing.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along. . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was an origami table swarming with young children!  I elbowed my way in and parked my hiney next to a 10 year-old.  Adults play too, you know!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-723/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10205\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10205\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170016-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe directions were labeled as \"Expert\", but since this was child\'s play, I figured I could handle it.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-724/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10206\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10206\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170017-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUh . . . . no.  I was wrong.  And since I am an adult, I can admit that.  :-D\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-725/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10207\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10207\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170021-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-726/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10208\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10208\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170022-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLet\'s see, there was also live music to soak in, homemade instruments to play, sidewalk art to jump into just like in Mary Poppins (Oh, how I wish that were true!), a ten foot tall Lego cactus which I had fantasies of knocking down . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-727/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10209\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10209\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am not sure what overcame me -- perhaps it was because the place was crawling with wee ones -- but I actually verbalized to Melanie, \"Wouldn\'t it be funny if little Johnny got loose from his mom and demolished that sucker?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMelanie looked at me as if I had gone mad.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI have a warped sense of humor.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMoving right along . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI found this amusing as well:  Kids spazzing out at the cactus instrument thingie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSee little Janie wielding that cactus branch?  She was trying to hit someone with it while mom was completely oblivious. Heh heh heh.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWarped, I tell you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/bpx3NQ3hlzU\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\"></iframe>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUpon exiting the premises, two of the oldest kids at the festival left their marks on the chalkboard cactus.  (I live in a desert, peeps.  Thus, the plethora of cacti both real and fake.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-728/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10212\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10212\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170028-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/playdate-12-the-festival-of-creativity/olympus-digital-camera-729/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10213\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10213\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/P3170031-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWere Melanie and I inspired to get out there and CREATE?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe used to be singing partners, and we\'ve talked ad nauseam about going out on the road for a World Tour.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat is a joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut Melanie and I <em>did</em> talk about recording a few of our old duets.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI smell a future playdate.  You will be the first to hear of it when we get our act together and take it to the studio.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFeeling creative?  What sort of creation are you concocting at this time?  Please share in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #12:  The Festival of Creativity','','inherit','open','open','','10193-revision-39','','','2012-03-28 20:04:44','2012-03-29 03:04:44','',10193,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/28/10193-revision-39/',0,'revision','',0),(10247,1,'2012-03-06 21:32:47','2012-03-07 04:32:47','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-698/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9759\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-9759\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120007-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>You may recall my recent history with bicycling.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf your memory is as poor as mine, or if you are new to this blog, you can read all about it at <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/11/day-356-my-very-first-concussion-italian-style/\" target=\"_blank\">Day 356:  My Very First Concussion.  Italian Style.  </a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/16/day-358-picked-myself-up-dusted-myself-off-and-rode-all-over-again/\" target=\"_blank\">I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and rode all over again</a> </strong>after the accident.  Once.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShortly after I returned home, a friend of mine who is practically a semi-professional cyclist -- we\'re talking spin instructor in her off time and road biking COMPETITIONS! -- was nipped by a car while cycling.  She was knocked unconscious and taken to the trauma center where she underwent numerous surgeries.  BECAUSE SHE WAS WEARING HER HELMET, she is still with us.  And because of her spunky spirit, she has miraculously recovered like a champ.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCall me crazy, but I\'ve had no desire to get back on a bike since I\'ve been back home.  My favorite outdoor activity is hiking.  Which means that I am firmly planted on the ground with my own two feet.  And since I don\'t hike during rattlesnake season, there is NO THREAT OF DEATH while I\'m working out.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy dear friend and September 15 Birthday Twin, Sarah, now lives in a neighborhood where people ride their charming, colorful bikes (many equipped with baskets and bells) to cafes, farmers markets, and other leisurely weekend places of interest.  Kind of like what those lucky bastards in San Diego do, except that Sarah\'s hood doesn\'t have an ocean.  Darn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSarah had been itching for a bike riding playdate in order to better enjoy our stunning \"winter\" weather.  She invited me to bike down to a French bistro on a Sunday morning.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDeep breaths.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI chose to feel the fear and do it anyway.  After all, I had just come from this . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/03/photo-du-jour-im-in-italia-not-siberia/p1010175/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9437\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9437\" title=\"P1010175\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P1010175-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n. . . . and now I had the opportunity to soak in this.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_9750\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Me and My Birthday Twin. We&#39;re alike in so many ways. Exception: Helmet Safety. (Look closely at the bikes.)\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-697/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9750\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-9750 \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCarpe Diem, sisters!   (And token brothers!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy Happy Discovery du Jour for all of my peeps who happen to reside in my fair city:  The croissants at <a href=\"https://www.vincentsoncamelback.com/bistro/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Vincent\'s Market Bistro</strong> </a>taste identical to <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/07/photo-du-jour-petit-dejeuner/\" target=\"_blank\">those that I had eaten in France</a></strong> only one week prior.  Oo la la!  Vive la Phoenix!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-699/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9776\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9776\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-700/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9777\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9777\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120009-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe only difference was that Vincent\'s croissants were free of charge.  A complimentary surprise before the meal!  After the meal you receive yet another surprise:  a gratis petite dessert.  All for $8.50.  God Bless America.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat did I learn from all of this?  Wherever you go there you are.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd sometimes wherever you go is warmer and much less expensive.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd sometimes you are so wrapped up in the excitement of wherever you are that you forget to change the macro/super macro settings on your camera and your photos come out blurry.  Your blog readers are too kind to say anything, but you know deep down that you probably should explore the possibility of a photography class and a better camera so that your food photos will eventually evolve into <strong><a href=\"http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/02/pots-de-creme-a-lorange/\" target=\"_blank\">this.</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPhotography class.  Hmmm . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMethinks I smell a future blog post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #7:  Bicycling to the Bistro','','inherit','open','open','','9749-revision-65','','','2012-03-06 21:32:47','2012-03-07 04:32:47','',9749,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/06/9749-revision-65/',0,'revision','',0),(10248,1,'2012-03-29 08:11:09','2012-03-29 15:11:09','&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-698/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9759\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-9759\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120007-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>You may recall my recent history with bicycling.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf your memory is as poor as mine, or if you are new to this blog, you can read all about it at <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/11/day-356-my-very-first-concussion-italian-style/\" target=\"_blank\">Day 356:  My Very First Concussion.  Italian Style.  </a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/16/day-358-picked-myself-up-dusted-myself-off-and-rode-all-over-again/\" target=\"_blank\">I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and rode all over again</a> </strong>after the accident.  Once.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nShortly after I returned home, a friend of mine who is practically a semi-professional cyclist -- we\'re talking spin instructor in her off time and road biking COMPETITIONS! -- was nipped by a car while cycling.  She was knocked unconscious and taken to the trauma center where she underwent numerous surgeries.  BECAUSE SHE WAS WEARING HER HELMET, she is still with us.  And because of her spunky spirit, she has miraculously recovered like a champ.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCall me crazy, but I\'ve had no desire to get back on a bike since I\'ve been back home.  My favorite outdoor activity is hiking.  Which means that I am firmly planted on the ground with my own two feet.  And since I don\'t hike during rattlesnake season, there is NO THREAT OF DEATH while I\'m working out.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy dear friend and September 15 Birthday Twin, Sarah, now lives in a neighborhood where people ride their charming, colorful bikes (many equipped with baskets and bells) to cafes, farmers markets, and other leisurely weekend places of interest.  Kind of like what those lucky bastards in San Diego do, except that Sarah\'s hood doesn\'t have an ocean.  Darn.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSarah had been itching for a bike riding playdate in order to better enjoy our stunning \"winter\" weather.  She invited me to bike down to a French bistro on a Sunday morning.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDeep breaths.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI chose to feel the fear and do it anyway.  After all, I had just come from this . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/03/photo-du-jour-im-in-italia-not-siberia/p1010175/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9437\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9437\" title=\"P1010175\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P1010175-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n. . . . and now I had the opportunity to soak in this.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_9750\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Me and My Birthday Twin. We&#39;re alike in so many ways. Exception: Helmet Safety. (Look closely at the bikes.)\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-697/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9750\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-9750 \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nCarpe Diem, sisters!   (And token brothers!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy Happy Discovery du Jour for all of my peeps who happen to reside in my fair city:  The croissants at <a href=\"https://www.vincentsoncamelback.com/bistro/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Vincent\'s Market Bistro</strong> </a>taste identical to <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/07/photo-du-jour-petit-dejeuner/\" target=\"_blank\">those that I had eaten in France</a></strong> only one week prior.  Oo la la!  Vive la Phoenix!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-699/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9776\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9776\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120008-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/23/playdate-7-bicycling-to-the-bistro/olympus-digital-camera-700/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-9777\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9777\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/P2120009-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe only difference was that Vincent\'s croissants were free of charge.  A complimentary surprise before the meal!  After the meal you receive yet another surprise:  a gratis petite dessert.  All for $8.50.  God Bless America.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat did I learn from all of this?  Wherever you go there you are.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd sometimes wherever you go is warmer and much less expensive.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd sometimes you are so wrapped up in the excitement of wherever you are that you forget to change the macro/super macro settings on your camera and your photos come out blurry.  Your blog readers are too kind to say anything, but you know deep down that you probably should explore the possibility of a photography class and a better camera so that your food photos will eventually evolve into <strong><a href=\"http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2012/02/pots-de-creme-a-lorange/\" target=\"_blank\">this.</a></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPhotography class.  Hmmm . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMethinks I smell a future blog post.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #7:  Bicycling to the Bistro','','inherit','open','open','','9749-revision-66','','','2012-03-29 08:11:09','2012-03-29 15:11:09','',9749,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/9749-revision-66/',0,'revision','',0),(10249,1,'2012-03-22 23:43:04','2012-03-23 06:43:04','<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-10180\" title=\"homeLogo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/homeLogo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"355\" height=\"202\" /></a>If you have an <em>ounce</em> of hopeful romanticism in your DNA, then please pass this on via facebook, twitter, email, pinterest or whatever social media outlet floats your boat.  Because it\'s Spring!  And love is in the air!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThink of this as a virtual message in a cyber-bottle.  The old-fashioned message in a bottle seems ridiculously impossible, but people have tried it for centuries.  <a href=\"http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/36541\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>It\'s even worked!</strong>  </a>(And I\'m not referring to a <strong><a href=\"http://www.nicholassparks.com/books/message-in-a-bottle\" target=\"_blank\">Nicholas Sparks novel</a></strong>.  Although....<em>sigh.</em>...Does that man know the heart of a woman or what?!)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Since it\'s Spring, and since love is in the air, my virtual message is aimed towards a Handsome Stranger whom I briefly met on a flight from London to Geneva.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe didn\'t exchange names or personal contact info, just a few words and many glances.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWho knows if he\'s Mr. Right, Mr. Wrong or Mr. Unavailable?  What I do know is that he\'s Mr. Intriguing, and I am not a hope<em>less</em> romantic but a hope<em>ful</em> romantic which means . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI believe anything is possible.  With a little help from my friends.  (Cue Ringo.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>And kooky, hair-brained quests with your friends on the Interwebs are fun and often life-changing.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nRemember <strong><a href=\"http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Red Paperclip Guy</a></strong>?  If he could harness the power of Internet peeps to barter his way from a paperclip to a house, then why can\'t I ask you lovely ladies and 3 token gents to help me find a gorgeous bloke in the UK?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWill you please ripple the cyber-waters and move my virtual message in a bottle along?  I\'ve made it easy for you:  See the facebook, twitter, pinterest and email icons at the bottom of this post?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPsst!  Please pass this on!  Let\'s see if this message finds its way to Mr. Gorgeous Bloke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Oh!  How could I forget?  You\'re probably wondering, \"What does he look like???\"</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: medium;\">Answer:  Tall, dark and handsome.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Seriously, 6 foot 2-ish, full head of dark hair, and piercing blue eyes.  (See?  I wasn\'t exaggerating.)  Age?  I would guess early 40s.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the day of January 28th, 2012 at London Heathrow Airport, he was wearing a cream cable knit turtleneck sweater, jeans, and Sorels.  (For my fellow desert dwellers who don\'t know what Sorels are, think fashionable snow boots worn by a man who knows how to dress.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere\'s what I posted the other night on<strong><a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\" target=\"_blank\"> WeMetOnaPlane.com</a> </strong>-- a website dedicated to reuniting star-crossed passengers:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://wemetonaplane.com/?s=london+geneva&amp;submit=\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignnone  wp-image-10181\" title=\"Screen shot 2012-03-19 at 7.41.44 PM\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Screen-shot-2012-03-19-at-7.41.44-PM-1024x402.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"717\" height=\"281\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou can also click the image above to take you directly to the site where you can fb, tweet, and comment your little hearts out!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>If you\'d like to know the<em> rest</em> of the story -- i.e, the juicy bits -- keep reading.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU for humouring me!  May Spring fill your world with love and excitement!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt all started back in January.  I was flying into Geneva, Switzerland from Phoenix, Arizona with a tight 60 minute layover at London Heathrow.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAlways up for a challenge, I booked this too-good-to-be-true flight with fingers crossed.  If I could cut my travel time by 4-6 hours, then bring it!  Worse case scenario:  Blimey!  I miss my connection, drink pots of PG Tips to stay awake after my red-eye, and shop at Harrod\'s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to January 28, 2012.  British Airways was a tad tardy due to inclement weather.  Updated layover time:  50 minutes.  At one of the busiest airports in the world.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>I am not a runner.  I am <em>fit</em>, but a runner I am not.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Except on January 28, 2012 when I ran like an Olympic sprinter through Heathrow.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFantasies of PG Tips and Harrod\'s might sound appealing when you are well-rested, but when you\'ve barely squeaked in 4 hours of Zzzzz\'s on a 10.5 hour flight (and I was lucky to get that in coach), all you can think about is a comfortable mattress.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThanks to the kindness of French and German strangers who graciously allowed me to cut in front of them at security, I made it to my gate with only minutes to spare.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNeedless to say, I was a hot, harried mess.  Not hot as in \"I looked good\" (unfortunately), but hot as in \"I was sweating from Olympian feats performed during a severely sleep-deprived state\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Somehow, I caught Mr. Gorgeous Bloke\'s eye.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nPerhaps he was sleep-deprived as well?  Although he appeared to be a local, and this was already mid-day.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOr perhaps it was because I was breathing heavy?  (From running, but maybe he didn\'t know that.)  Those American women are such tarts!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my disheveled self together and waited to board.  I tried not to notice that Mr. Gorgeous Bloke kept looking my way.  After all, <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/01/27/photo-du-jour-begins-on-sunday/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>I was in transit to see my Romeo.</strong> </a> I don\'t flirt with other men when I\'m with someone.  I\'m not <em>that girl</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, the smoke would clear, the mirrors would crack, and Shakespeare would roll in his grave.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLittle did I know that a mere 48 hours later, my heart would be sliced to bits.  Because broken mirrors wield sharp edges.  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/02/17/playdate-5-a-week-in-the-french-alps/\" target=\"_blank\">Sniff, sniff.</a></strong>  (Cue hauntingly heartbreaking violin music.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Bloody, <em>bloody</em> hell!  I should have snogged Mr. Gorgeous Bloke while I had the chance.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><a href=\"http://www.heathrowairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/love-is-in-the-air-at-heathrow\" target=\"_blank\">This kind of thing happens every 49 seconds at London Heathrow.</a></strong>  Haven\'t you seen <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/\" target=\"_blank\">Love Actually</a></em></strong>?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, Mr. Gorgeous Bloke boarded the plane directly in front of me.  You know how long that takes.  10 minutes of looky-looing later (I tried not to notice -- Really I did!)  it was time to hoist my luggage into the overhead bin.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke chivalrously offered to lift my flowery purple carry on for me.  He stood there and smiled.  If I remember correctly, he donned a Colgate smile which . . . . Always.  Does.  Me.  In.\r\n\r\nBut honestly, I was delirious from lack of sleep, so I\'m not completely sure about his chompers.  Good teeth or not-so-good teeth, it doesn\'t matter.  He was hot.  Hot as in \"he looked really good\", not as in \"sweaty mess\" although I\'m sure he . . . . never mind.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFocus, Michelle.  Focus!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>He stood there and smiled.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI think he expected for me to sit next to him.  I awkwardly mentioned that my seat was two rows behind.  His expression wilted.  I noticed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFast forward to baggage claim at Geneva Airport . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI collected my luggage and stepped out into the greeting area.  I gazed into a sea of Europeans whilst trying to spot my Romeo.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Me:</strong>  </span><em>(inner monologue)  </em>Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou?</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo:</strong></span> <em> (shouting out loud)  </em>What, are you blind?!</span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">(Cue eerie music of foreshadowing.)</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Ex Formerly Known as Romeo then laughed as he approached me.  Because an insulting greeting for the woman who just crossed the ocean to be with you is hysterically funny.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNot.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMr. Gorgeous Bloke passed by just as The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo snogged me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBloody hell.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut no need to feel sorry for me, my friends.  I\'m the kind of woman who turns lemons into lemon chiffon cake!  I recently signed up for April\'s <a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Script Frenzy</strong> </a>where I will turn my Fairytale Gone Bad story into a screenplay in 30 days flat.  Think <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328589/\" target=\"_blank\">Under the Tuscan Sun</a></em></strong> meets <strong><em><a href=\"http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337741/\" target=\"_blank\">Something\'s Gotta Give</a></em>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\">Let The Ex Formerly Known as Romeo eat lemon chiffon cake!</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd you already know what the sequel is about, right?  Do I need to completely make up the Hollywood Happy Ending, or can you help me to base it on True Events?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Psst!  Please pass this on!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThank you!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>P.S.  If you happen to be Mr. Gorgeous Bloke, why hello there, handsome stranger.  <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\">Would you care to chat this time around? </a></strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nP.P.S.  My name is Michelle.  What\'s yours?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nP.P.P.S.  If you are brave enough to write, then I promise not to blog about you.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDo you know of any real life message in a bottle stories (virtual or old-fashioned)?  Have you ever Met On A Plane, went your separate ways, and later wondered \"What if\"?  Please share your stories  in the comments section below.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Psst.  Pass it on.  Because Love is in the Air!','','inherit','open','open','','10029-revision-146','','','2012-03-22 23:43:04','2012-03-23 06:43:04','',10029,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/22/10029-revision-146/',0,'revision','',0),(10250,1,'2012-03-12 21:29:54','2012-03-13 04:29:54','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they would ask.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I would joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This is going to be a fun year!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-70','','','2012-03-12 21:29:54','2012-03-13 04:29:54','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/12/8681-revision-70/',0,'revision','',0),(10251,1,'2012-03-29 08:53:50','2012-03-29 15:53:50','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they would ask.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I would joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-71','','','2012-03-29 08:53:50','2012-03-29 15:53:50','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/8681-revision-71/',0,'revision','',0),(10252,1,'2012-03-29 08:53:50','2012-03-29 15:53:50','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they would ask.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I would joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-72','','','2012-03-29 08:53:50','2012-03-29 15:53:50','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/8681-revision-72/',0,'revision','',0),(10266,1,'2012-04-01 10:47:35','2012-04-01 17:47:35','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-75','','','2012-04-01 10:47:35','2012-04-01 17:47:35','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-75/',0,'revision','',0),(10253,1,'2012-03-29 08:54:37','2012-03-29 15:54:37','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they would ask.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I would joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n********************\r\n&nbsp;\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-73','','','2012-03-29 08:54:37','2012-03-29 15:54:37','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/8681-revision-73/',0,'revision','',0),(10254,1,'2012-03-10 22:49:15','2012-03-11 05:49:15','&nbsp;\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Who is this Late Bloomer chick, anyway?</span></h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://www.yourdictionary.com/late-bloomer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer</strong>:</a> a person who matures, achieves proficiency in some field or skill, etc. later than such a person is normally expected to</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer Blogger:</strong></a> 1:  a woman in the throes of an existential crisis (more commonly referred to as mid-life crisis) who aspires to fulfill lifelong dreams while growing, thriving, and hopefully inspiring others along the way.  2:  She is no longer waiting around for Happily Ever After to show up.  She\'s creating her own damn fairy tale.  3:  Fellow late bloomers and late bloomer wannabees are encouraged to join her crusade.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One:  The Year of Living Curiously (aka 365 or Bust): </a></strong> 1: an insane 365 day project where our fearless and frazzled heroine breaks free of a gargantuan rut by trying one new/inspiring/interesting/\r\nuplifting/provocative/ or soul-stirring thing each day  2: replaces Xanax in the event of an existential/mid-life crisis</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/52-playdates/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter Two:  The Year of Play:  </a></strong>1.  an infinitely saner 52 playdate project in which our heroine appeases her inner child by frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-left: -5px; margin-right: -35px;\"><img src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/themes/serenity/images/divider-image.png\" alt=\"\" /></div>\r\n<!--          -->\r\n<a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-191\" style=\"margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 20px;\" title=\"Final B&amp;W1977test2\" src=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2-130x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"300\" /></a>Hi.  I\'m Michelle.  Welcome to my blog.  It\'s a pleasure to meet you.  I hope that you sit and stay awhile.\r\n\r\nIf we were meeting in real life, I would serve you one of my famous almond milk lattes made with 2 shots of Illy espresso and a hint of agave syrup.  (I promise you that it\'s delicious.  I\'ve converted many of my Starbucksaholic friends.)\r\n\r\nYet you are at your computer, and I\'m probably at mine, so that leaves us to a virtual getting-to-know-you.  Please reach out to me through comments on my posts or <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Talk to Me.</strong></a> If you are feeling super feisty and creative, then <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/submit-a-365-idea/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>share you play idea for my 52 Playdates project</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I have 52 slots to fill, and I only have a few ideas at the moment.  Bring it!\r\n\r\nLast year, I embarked on a 365 day project dubbed \"The Year of Living Curiously\".  I injected one soul-scintillating curiosity into each day for a year.  Somehow I balanced work, life, blog and a rescue puppy without having a major meltdown.  (Although my mother has reminded me of a few mini \"episodes\".)  You can read about what evolved into the best year of my life (so far) <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 style=\"clear: left;\">Quirky Facts...</h2>\r\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0 0 30px;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am not a home improvement guru, but I played one on TV.  A few years ago, I scored a spot on the show <em><a href=\"http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/trading-spaces/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Trading Spaces</strong></a>. </em>Yes, I love my room (designed by Genevieve), and yes, Carter is a hottie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I lived in a haunted house in New York.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as a prima ballerina.  Or a dolphin.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I need a lullaby and/or a bedtime story before bed.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>While we\'re on the topic of sleep issues, I am addicted to a homeopathic sleep remedy called Moon Drops.  Look for it at your local Whole Foods.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I reside in the Dating Desert.  A few years ago, we were dubbed \"The Worst Place to Find Love\" by the media.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Deserts also contain Oases, and I therefore believe in True Love.   Which makes me...</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>...Charlotte with a sprinkling of Carrie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am 50% Portuguese.  In my family, this is also referred to as a PPW (Powerful Portuguese Woman).  My family rivals the family in <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>At one point or another, I have dreamed of being a figure skater, a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a writer, a Shakespearean scholar, a teacher, a <a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Masterpiece Theatre</em></strong> </a>director, and an entrepreneur.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I have worked as an actress, singer, teacher, entrepreneur, and unfortunately during one horrid summer in college, a clown.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Fairly recently, I left the field of education and sold my soul to Corporate America.  Before you feel too sorry for me, our corporate culture is pretty stellar, I\'m still making a difference in the lives of children (but this time with appropriate compensation), and my work peeps are second to none.  Sometimes I wonder if I\'m having too much fun at work.  Take THAT, Google!</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>My latest fantasy involves chucking my day job and enlisting in <a href=\"http://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/whale-wars/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Whale Wars</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong> This would be a big step for me, <del>as I am very attached to my hair and make-up products</del> because after an <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/05/03/day-215-you-know-what-happens-on-whale-watching-tours-right/\" target=\"_blank\">\"experience\" in Santa Barbara</a></strong>, I would more than likely need an IV drip of Dramamine.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</div>\r\n<h2>What Floats My Boat...</h2>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">guitar...singing...dogs...the arts...yoga...writing...friends &amp; fam...education...fitness...the ocean...sunny skies...good food...lifelong learning...espresso...mountain views...hope</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"></p>','What Makes Me Tick...','','inherit','open','open','','2-revision-103','','','2012-03-10 22:49:15','2012-03-11 05:49:15','',2,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/10/2-revision-103/',0,'revision','',0),(10256,1,'2011-10-12 07:13:12','2011-10-12 14:13:12','[caption id=\"attachment_7830\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"225\" caption=\"A vineyard along the Strada del Vino\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9160032.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7830 \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9160032-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\nRemember when I cryptically mentioned that I was still here but <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/09/29/yes-im-still-here/\" target=\"_blank\">SOMETHING happened in Italia</a></strong> that prevented me from updating the blog in my usual, almost every day fashion?  I promised a legit excuse?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOn the morning of Day 356, I hit my stride.  It was my 4th day on the bike, and my cycling immersion training in Tuscany was paying off.  Instead of being the weakest link at the back of the pack, I led at the front!  I am not sure if my tour group was humoring me, or if I was genuinely racing like the wind, but whatever the case, I felt AMAZING!  Lance Armstrong, kiss my bike shorts!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWe were cycling along the Strada del Vino, a picturesque cypress-lined street famous for its numerous vineyards.  Many of the vineyards of the Super Tuscan wines are located along this street.  The ride was precisely as the itinerary described:  \"relaxing\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nA group of racing cyclists whizzed by us.  Fabio 1 charged ahead to join them.  I <em>attempted</em> to join them as my tour group cheered me on from behind, but no way, no how.  The racers were probably clocking 35 mph, maybe more.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI slowed down to my original pace and soaked in the perfection of this morning.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWell...it was ALMOST perfection.  90 degrees is a bit warm, even on a tree-shaded street.  Feeling thirsty, I reached for my water bottle and...\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Crash!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Boom!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Splat!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI can\'t remember exactly, but I\'m pretty sure that I flew diagonally over the handle bars.  I am also unaware of what I hit first, my head or my shoulder.  I do remember the tremendous THUD as my head pounded the pavement.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7826\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Luckily, I cracked my helmet and not my head. Boys and Girls, ALWAYS wear your helmet. This has been a Public Service Announcement from Late Bloomer.\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170051.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7826\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170051-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI remained conscious as the tour group approached from behind shouting, \"Don\'t move!  Don\'t move!\"  I was too dazed to move.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs fate would have it, one of the members of our group was a trauma nurse.  She quickly examined me and determined that I could get up and walk to the side of the road.  This was a quiet street, but yes, we did share the road with cars.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nConcerned tour group members threw questions at me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Are you nauseous?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Are you dizzy?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Do you feel like you are going to pass out?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMia cugina, the mother of a lacrosse player, checked my pupils.  She announced to the others, \"They are same size -- not dilated!\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was coherent, so I knew exactly what they were thinking.  \"Does she have a concussion???\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSuperChuck, one of the madmen uber-fit cyclists, rushed off to find Fabio 1 who was still in the midst of Testosterone Central.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFabio 1 arrived at the scene and asked, \"Are you nauseous?  Dizzy?  Feel like you\'re going to pass out?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"No, I don\'t feel any of those things.  I just feel like my head is being squeezed on either side.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFabio 1 then enquired, \"Do you want to go to the hospital?  I have to ask.  It\'s the American way.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"HELL NO!!!!  I am not going to the hospital.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Sorry.  I had to ask.  It\'s the American way.\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI laughed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nUntil Fabio 2 showed up in the van with first aid supplies.  He sprayed the road rash on my shoulder with disinfectant and liquid bandage.  It burned like crazy.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7827\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Owie.\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170049.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7827\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170049-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Fabios then announced that I couldn\'t ride that day since I hit my head.  I choked back tears at that point.  I was bummed and thoroughly disappointed with myself.  <em>Why</em> had I chosen to grab the water bottle with my dominant, right-hand this time?  I was experimenting to see if this move made balancing easier.  WHY????\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, well.  I suppose there are worse fates in life than riding around in a van with the Italian version of Matthew McConaughey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere was also The Best Lunch of My Life which included The Best Soup of My Life at the Fonte di Foiano Olive Oil Mill.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170046.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7818\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170046-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170045.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7819\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170045-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf this wasn\'t fabulous enough, there was wine, sunset, and spontaneous dancing to live music on the terrace overlooking the ocean at sunset.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170064.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7823\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170064-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170059.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7825\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170059-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd then that night our group helped cook and partake in one of The Most Memorable Meals of My life at a 500 year-old Tuscan farmhouse.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170086.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7820\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170086-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI almost forgot that my head hurt.  Wine and rich life experiences have wonderful numbing powers.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSpeaking of forgetting . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy tour group peeps unanimously agreed that day that I DID NOT have a concussion.  No one was worried.  <em>Whew!  </em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs the days passed, the headache \"squeeze\" did not disappear.  Upon returning home, colleagues at work were worried.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>I</em> was officially worried when every time I sat down to write my blog posts  . . . nothing.  I tried not to panic.  I wondered when I would be able to write again.  I wondered if my readers would stick with me if I wasn\'t updating regularly.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAt work, I couldn\'t concentrate.  I became overwhelmed by the mounting emails and phone calls.  I felt \"foggy\".  At first, I attributed this to jet lag.  But a week later???\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd then one night I felt a slight numbness along my jawline.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n12 days after my accident, I hauled my cookies to the ER.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Diagnosis:  Concussion.</strong></span>  Which apparently can drag on for weeks.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs a follow up, I am to schedule a non-urgent MRI to check out a spot on my brain in the exact location where I hit my head.  Doc not concerned.  <em>Whew!  </em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAs <strong><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harvey\" target=\"_blank\">Mr. Harvey</a></strong> used to say, now you know the <em>rest</em> of the story.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI apologize for the extreme posting delays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI am happy to report that I am finally feeling \"normal\" and ready to rock with the remaining 9 posts for The Year of Living Curiously.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nGood day!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Day 356:  My Very First Concussion.  Italian Style.','','inherit','open','open','','7803-revision-24','','','2011-10-12 07:13:12','2011-10-12 14:13:12','',7803,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/12/7803-revision-24/',0,'revision','',0),(10255,1,'2012-03-29 08:58:41','2012-03-29 15:58:41','&nbsp;\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Who is this Late Bloomer chick, anyway?</span></h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://www.yourdictionary.com/late-bloomer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer</strong>:</a> a person who matures, achieves proficiency in some field or skill, etc. later than such a person is normally expected to</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer Blogger:</strong></a> 1:  a woman in the throes of an existential crisis (more commonly referred to as mid-life crisis) who aspires to fulfill lifelong dreams while growing, thriving, and hopefully inspiring others along the way.  2:  She is no longer waiting around for Happily Ever After to show up.  She\'s creating her own damn fairy tale.  3:  Fellow late bloomers and late bloomer wannabees are encouraged to join her crusade.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One:  The Year of Living Curiously (aka 365 or Bust): </a></strong> 1: an insane 365 day project where our fearless and frazzled heroine breaks free of a gargantuan rut by trying one new/inspiring/interesting/\r\nuplifting/provocative/ or soul-stirring thing each day  2: replaces Xanax in the event of an existential/mid-life crisis</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/52-playdates/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter Two:  The Year of Play:  </a></strong>1.  an infinitely saner 52 playdate project in which our heroine appeases her inner child by frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-left: -5px; margin-right: -35px;\"><img src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/themes/serenity/images/divider-image.png\" alt=\"\" /></div>\r\n<!--          -->\r\n<a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-191\" style=\"margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 20px;\" title=\"Final B&amp;W1977test2\" src=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2-130x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"300\" /></a>Hi.  I\'m Michelle.  Welcome to my blog.  It\'s a pleasure to meet you.  I hope that you sit and stay awhile.\r\n\r\nIf we were meeting in real life, I would serve you one of my famous almond milk lattes made with 2 shots of Illy espresso and a hint of agave syrup.  (I promise you that it\'s delicious.  I\'ve converted many of my Starbucksaholic friends.)\r\n\r\nYet you are at your computer, and I\'m probably at mine, so that leaves us to a virtual getting-to-know-you.  Please reach out to me through comments on my posts or <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Talk to Me.</strong></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf you are feeling super feisty and creative, then <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/submit-a-365-idea/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>share you play idea for my 52 Playdates project</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I have 52 slots to fill, and I only have a few ideas at the moment.  Bring it!\r\n\r\nLast year, I embarked on a 365 day project dubbed \"The Year of Living Curiously\".  I injected one soul-scintillating curiosity into each day for a year.  Somehow I balanced work, life, blog and a rescue puppy without having a major meltdown.  (Although my mother has reminded me of a few mini \"episodes\".)  You can read about what evolved into the best year of my life (so far) <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 style=\"clear: left;\">Quirky Facts...</h2>\r\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0 0 30px;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am not a home improvement guru, but I played one on TV.  A few years ago, I scored a spot on the show <em><a href=\"http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/trading-spaces/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Trading Spaces</strong></a>. </em>Yes, I love my room (designed by Genevieve), and yes, Carter is a hottie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I lived in a haunted house in New York.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as a prima ballerina.  Or a dolphin.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I need a lullaby and/or a bedtime story before bed.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>While we\'re on the topic of sleep issues, I am addicted to a homeopathic sleep remedy called Moon Drops.  Look for it at your local Whole Foods.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I reside in the Dating Desert.  A few years ago, we were dubbed \"The Worst Place to Find Love\" by the media.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Deserts also contain Oases, and I therefore believe in True Love.   Which makes me...</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>...Charlotte with a sprinkling of Carrie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am 50% Portuguese.  In my family, this is also referred to as a PPW (Powerful Portuguese Woman).  My family rivals the family in <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>At one point or another, I have dreamed of being a figure skater, a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a writer, a Shakespearean scholar, a teacher, a <a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Masterpiece Theatre</em></strong> </a>director, and an entrepreneur.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I have worked as an actress, singer, teacher, entrepreneur, and unfortunately during one horrid summer in college, a clown.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Fairly recently, I left the field of education and sold my soul to Corporate America.  Before you feel too sorry for me, our corporate culture is pretty stellar, I\'m still making a difference in the lives of children (but this time with appropriate compensation), and my work peeps are second to none.  Sometimes I wonder if I\'m having too much fun at work.  Take THAT, Google!</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>My latest fantasy involves chucking my day job and enlisting in <a href=\"http://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/whale-wars/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Whale Wars</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong> This would be a big step for me, <del>as I am very attached to my hair and make-up products</del> because after an <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/05/03/day-215-you-know-what-happens-on-whale-watching-tours-right/\" target=\"_blank\">\"experience\" in Santa Barbara</a></strong>, I would more than likely need an IV drip of Dramamine.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</div>\r\n<h2>What Floats My Boat...</h2>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">guitar...singing...dogs...the arts...yoga...writing...friends &amp; fam...education...fitness...the ocean...sunny skies...good food...lifelong learning...espresso...mountain views...hope</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"></p>','What Makes Me Tick...','','inherit','open','open','','2-revision-104','','','2012-03-29 08:58:41','2012-03-29 15:58:41','',2,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/2-revision-104/',0,'revision','',0),(10257,1,'2011-09-25 22:00:31','2011-09-26 05:00:31','Since I was a teenager, I have dreamed of visiting Florence to gaze upon the art of the masters.  On Day 352, my wish was granted.  My cousins and I visited the Uffizi Gallery and the Galleria dell\'Accademia, home to Michelangelo\'s David.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P9110035.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7594  alignnone\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P9110035-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nDon\'t get too excited. This is Fake David from the Piazza della Signoria. He looks just like Real David though.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nVisitors are forbidden to take photos of the real David.  Although that didn\'t stop several ballsy New Yorkers who played dumb.  Oy vay.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>Soul-Scinitallating Bonus of the Day:</strong>  </span>Romance abounds in Florence.  One of the most poignant moments that I witnessed was on the <strong><a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponte_Vecchio\">Ponte Vecchio</a> </strong>at sunset.  A middle-aged couple watched the sunset from the bridge.  During their short stay, the man continuously caressed the woman\'s back with pure tenderness in his touch.  I was completely and utterly entranced by their moment.  \r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\nUntil a couple of obnoxious tourists barged into the scene like 4 bulls in a china shop.  I wondered if they were from New York.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P91301332.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7671\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P91301332-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P91301363.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-7666\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/P91301363-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\nLeft:  Ponte Vecchio, Firenze\r\n\r\nRight:  Me and Mia Cugina on the Ponte Vecchio\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAt dinner that evening, I noticed this sweet phenomenon over and over again.  While making my rounds of the stage-worthy street performers strewn across the Piazza della Repubblica, I observed couples my parents age and older dressed up for dinner and strolling through the Piazza.  Every time, the man had his arm around the woman.  Every time, these men exuded unconditional love and devotion.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSigh . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI didn\'t snap photos of the lovers.  That would have been creepy.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHowever, I did catch one of the stage-worthy street performers on video with my camera.  Key word:  camera.  I apologize for the sound distortion.  But hey -- if they sound this good with a crap recording device, can you imagine how they sounded live?!?!\r\n\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/W2xhZHK4Gn0\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\"></iframe>','Day 352:  Pleased to meet you, David. ','','inherit','open','open','','7580-revision-23','','','2011-09-25 22:00:31','2011-09-26 05:00:31','',7580,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/09/25/7580-revision-23/',0,'revision','',0),(10258,1,'2011-10-08 10:06:00','2011-10-08 17:06:00','Day 353 was a \"hotel transfer day\" which meant our bags had to be packed before breakfast so that the van could shuttle our things to the next hotel while we were out biking.  Even though this meant a little more work for us vacationers, the bonus was sampling the intricacies of the various agriturismos and hotels.  Benissimo!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI was particulary excited about this night\'s luxury resort because it meant that I would enjoy a shower large enough to accomodate leg shaving.  As much as I adored the rustic charms of the agriturismos and smaller hotels, I did have to balance, contort, and yes, <em>stick my legs out </em>of the too-small showers to shave them.  Look at this photo and you\'ll see that I\'m not exaggerating.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7797\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"225\" caption=\"A typical in shower in Italia made me shout &quot;God Bless America!&quot;\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91300171.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7797\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91300171-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBut the shower \"thing\" was hardly a big deal.  I\'m flexible in both body and spirit.  What I was REALLY excited about was today was the first day of REAL beach time.  i.e., Rather than snapping a few photos while walking our bikes across the beach, we would walk out of our seaside resort and lounge on the beach.  i.e., Instead of this \"active vacation\" nonsense, we would take a load off and do nothing!  Vacationing the old-fasioned way!  Hurrah!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7798\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Private beachfront at Tombolo Talasso Resort\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91600392.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7798\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91600392-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7799\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"My piece of heaven\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91600361.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7799\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P91600361-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_7800\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"225\" caption=\"Nice view\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170054.jpg\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-7800 \" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170054-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nOh, the wonders of Italian men!  Between the \"views\", and Fabio 1\'s never-ending stream of compliments . . . \"Michelle, how can you possibly be turning 42!  I thought you were turning 30!\" and \"Michelle! How is that every time I pass you on the bike, you smell so good?  Do you always smell this wonderful when you sweat?\" . . . Life was good.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Day 355:  Beach with a View ','','inherit','open','open','','7796-revision-10','','','2011-10-08 10:06:00','2011-10-08 17:06:00','',7796,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/10/08/7796-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(10259,1,'2012-04-05 01:11:14','2012-04-05 08:11:14','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to whirl myself into a frenzy.  A <strong><a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Script Frenzy,</a></strong> that is.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI began on April 1st (I\'m not fooling!), and I will finish on April 30th.  I committed to write a full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 110.  Because I\'m following The Formula designed by <strong><a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Blake Snyder</a> </strong>in his book<em><strong><a href=\"https://www.blakesnyder.com/zencart/\" target=\"_blank\"> Save the Cat!:  The Last Book on Screenwriting You\'ll Ever Need.</a>  </strong></em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered Blake\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows The Formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that \"I have one in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI needed a jump-start (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy\'s Writer\'s Resources and <em>Save the Cat!</em>).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #808000;\"><strong>Five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere is an excerpt from last week\'s pity party:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #808000;\"><em>How am I supposed to write with a fever, throbbing sinuses, and the inconvenient problem of not being able to stay awake for more than an hour at a stretch?!?!  </em></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSuck it up, buttercup!  The show must go on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhen my fever broke on Saturday, I was able to finish my outline.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe next morning, I dragged my pathetic, sniffly self to my computer and kicked off The Frenzy.  Originally for Day 1, I envisioned myself sitting inside a trendy, indie coffeehouse.  You know, like a real writer.  Instead, my ambiance was this:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-732/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10276\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-10276 alignnone\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTo perk myself up, I surrounded myself with me lucky charms.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-730/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10274\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10274\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010006-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-731/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10275\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10275\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I slipped into my lucky t-shirt made for me by my Sissie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-735/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10279\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10279\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010024-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere were other advantages to staying at home.  I would have never encountered this kind of inspiration and cuteness at the coffeehouse.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-733/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10277\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10277\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010018-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/05/playdate-13-script-frenzy/olympus-digital-camera-734/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10278\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10278\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI cranked out the first four pages of my script and promptly emailed them to my mother.  She laughed, she cried, it was better than <em>Cats.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(She really did cry.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd so . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI AM OFF!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSort of.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI cranked out another 4 pages on Day 2 but . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI stalled with only 2 pages on Day 3.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nBecause I was overanalyzing The Formula.  In true neurotic writer fashion, I stayed up much too late scribbling ideas and worrying incessantly about my self-imposed challenge.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI woke up the next morning and remembered, \"Oh, yeah.  I\'m in The Year of <em>Play</em>!  Ummm....Perhaps you could approach this whole process <em>playfully,</em> my sweet?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(I talk to myself often.  Do not be alarmed.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800000;\">I\'ve decided that my Script Frenzy journey will be an exploratory road trip.  I\'m going to follow my heart and see where it takes me.  Timbuktu sounds exotic and enticing.</span></strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf I wind up writing the screenplay equivalent of <em>War and Peace</em>, so be it.  I\'ll snag a map for May\'s return trip of edits.  I\'ll eventually find my way home.  No big whoop.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n**********\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHave you ever written a screenplay?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf so, please share any and all pearls of wisdom.  I have Beginner\'s Mind.  i.e., I\'m desperate for any and all advice.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIf not, do you have a screenplay \"inside you\"?  There\'s still time to play catch up with Script Frenzy, or you could always investigate <strong><a href=\"http://www.vikiking.com/products/book.html\" target=\"_blank\">this Jump-Starter Extraordinaire</a>.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','publish','open','open','','playdate-13-script-frenzy','','\nhttp://www.blakesnyder.com/\nhttp://www.vikiking.com/','2012-04-04 23:51:25','2012-04-05 06:51:25','',0,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?p=10259',0,'post','',12),(10260,1,'2012-03-31 19:14:49','2012-04-01 02:14:49','','sf_08_logo','','inherit','open','open','','sf_08_logo','','','2012-03-31 19:14:49','2012-04-01 02:14:49','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10261,1,'2012-03-31 19:11:37','2012-04-01 02:11:37','','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision','','','2012-03-31 19:11:37','2012-04-01 02:11:37','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/31/10259-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(10262,1,'2012-03-29 08:59:09','2012-03-29 15:59:09','&nbsp;\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Who is this Late Bloomer chick, anyway?</span></h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://www.yourdictionary.com/late-bloomer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer</strong>:</a> a person who matures, achieves proficiency in some field or skill, etc. later than such a person is normally expected to</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer Blogger:</strong></a> 1:  a woman in the throes of an existential crisis (more commonly referred to as mid-life crisis) who aspires to fulfill lifelong dreams while growing, thriving, and hopefully inspiring others along the way.  2:  She is no longer waiting around for Happily Ever After to show up.  She\'s creating her own damn fairy tale.  3:  Fellow late bloomers and late bloomer wannabees are encouraged to join her crusade.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One:  The Year of Living Curiously (aka 365 or Bust): </a></strong> 1: an insane 365 day project where our fearless and frazzled heroine breaks free of a gargantuan rut by trying one new/inspiring/interesting/\r\nuplifting/provocative/ or soul-stirring thing each day  2: replaces Xanax in the event of an existential/mid-life crisis</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/52-playdates/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter Two:  The Year of Play:  </a></strong>1.  an infinitely saner 52 playdate project in which our heroine appeases her inner child by frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-left: -5px; margin-right: -35px;\"><img src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/themes/serenity/images/divider-image.png\" alt=\"\" /></div>\r\n<!--          -->\r\n<a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-191\" style=\"margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 20px;\" title=\"Final B&amp;W1977test2\" src=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2-130x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"300\" /></a>Hi.  I\'m Michelle.  Welcome to my blog.  It\'s a pleasure to meet you.  I hope that you sit and stay awhile.\r\n\r\nIf we were meeting in real life, I would serve you one of my famous almond milk lattes made with 2 shots of Illy espresso and a hint of agave syrup.  (I promise you that it\'s delicious.  I\'ve converted many of my Starbucksaholic friends.)\r\n\r\nYet you are at your computer, and I\'m probably at mine, so that leaves us to a virtual getting-to-know-you.  Please reach out to me through comments on my posts or <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Talk to Me.</strong></a>\r\n\r\nIf you are feeling super feisty and creative, then <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/submit-a-365-idea/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>share you play idea for my 52 Playdates project</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I have 52 slots to fill, and I only have a few ideas at the moment.  Bring it!\r\n\r\nLast year, I embarked on a 365 day project dubbed \"The Year of Living Curiously\".  I injected one soul-scintillating curiosity into each day for a year.  Somehow I balanced work, life, blog and a rescue puppy without having a major meltdown.  (Although my mother has reminded me of a few mini \"episodes\".)  You can read about what evolved into the best year of my life (so far) <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 style=\"clear: left;\">Quirky Facts...</h2>\r\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0 0 30px;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am not a home improvement guru, but I played one on TV.  A few years ago, I scored a spot on the show <em><a href=\"http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/trading-spaces/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Trading Spaces</strong></a>. </em>Yes, I love my room (designed by Genevieve), and yes, Carter is a hottie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I lived in a haunted house in New York.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as a prima ballerina.  Or a dolphin.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I need a lullaby and/or a bedtime story before bed.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>While we\'re on the topic of sleep issues, I am addicted to a homeopathic sleep remedy called Moon Drops.  Look for it at your local Whole Foods.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I reside in the Dating Desert.  A few years ago, we were dubbed \"The Worst Place to Find Love\" by the media.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Deserts also contain Oases, and I therefore believe in True Love.   Which makes me...</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>...Charlotte with a sprinkling of Carrie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am 50% Portuguese.  In my family, this is also referred to as a PPW (Powerful Portuguese Woman).  My family rivals the family in <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>At one point or another, I have dreamed of being a figure skater, a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a writer, a Shakespearean scholar, a teacher, a <a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Masterpiece Theatre</em></strong> </a>director, and an entrepreneur.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I have worked as an actress, singer, teacher, entrepreneur, and unfortunately during one horrid summer in college, a clown.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Fairly recently, I left the field of education and sold my soul to Corporate America.  Before you feel too sorry for me, our corporate culture is pretty stellar, I\'m still making a difference in the lives of children (but this time with appropriate compensation), and my work peeps are second to none.  Sometimes I wonder if I\'m having too much fun at work.  Take THAT, Google!</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>My latest fantasy involves chucking my day job and enlisting in <a href=\"http://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/whale-wars/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Whale Wars</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong> This would be a big step for me, <del>as I am very attached to my hair and make-up products</del> because after an <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/05/03/day-215-you-know-what-happens-on-whale-watching-tours-right/\" target=\"_blank\">\"experience\" in Santa Barbara</a></strong>, I would more than likely need an IV drip of Dramamine.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</div>\r\n<h2>What Floats My Boat...</h2>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">guitar...singing...dogs...the arts...yoga...writing...friends &amp; fam...education...fitness...the ocean...sunny skies...good food...lifelong learning...espresso...mountain views...hope</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"></p>','What Makes Me Tick...','','inherit','open','open','','2-revision-105','','','2012-03-29 08:59:09','2012-03-29 15:59:09','',2,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/2-revision-105/',0,'revision','',0),(10263,1,'2012-04-01 10:41:38','2012-04-01 17:41:38','&nbsp;\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Who is this Late Bloomer chick, anyway?</span></h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://www.yourdictionary.com/late-bloomer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer</strong>:</a> a person who matures, achieves proficiency in some field or skill, etc. later than such a person is normally expected to</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer Blogger:</strong></a> 1:  a woman in the throes of an existential crisis (more commonly referred to as mid-life crisis) who aspires to fulfill lifelong dreams while growing, thriving, and hopefully inspiring others along the way.  2:  She is no longer waiting around for Happily Ever After to show up.  She\'s creating her own damn fairy tale.  3:  Fellow late bloomers and late bloomer wannabees are encouraged to join her crusade.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One:  The Year of Living Curiously (aka 365 or Bust): </a></strong> 1: an insane 365 day project where our fearless and frazzled heroine breaks free of a gargantuan rut by trying one new/inspiring/interesting/\r\nuplifting/provocative/ or soul-stirring thing each day  2: replaces Xanax in the event of an existential/mid-life crisis</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/52-playdates/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter Two:  The Year of Play:  </a></strong>1.  an infinitely saner 52 playdate project in which our heroine appeases her inner child by frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-left: -5px; margin-right: -35px;\"><img src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/themes/serenity/images/divider-image.png\" alt=\"\" /></div>\r\n<!--          -->\r\n<a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-191\" style=\"margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 20px;\" title=\"Final B&amp;W1977test2\" src=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2-130x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"300\" /></a>Hi.  I\'m Michelle.  Welcome to my blog.  It\'s a pleasure to meet you.  I hope that you sit and stay awhile.\r\n\r\nIf we were meeting in real life, I would serve you one of my famous almond milk lattes made with 2 shots of the World\'s Best <a href=\"http://www.espressovero.com/attibassi_products.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Italian Espresso</strong></a> and a hint of agave syrup.  (I promise you that it\'s delicious.  I\'ve converted many of my Starbucksaholic friends.)\r\n\r\nYet you are at your computer, and I\'m probably at mine, so that leaves us to a virtual getting-to-know-you.  Please reach out to me through comments on my posts or <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Talk to Me.</strong></a>\r\n\r\nIf you are feeling super feisty and creative, then <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/submit-a-365-idea/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>share your play idea for my 52 Playdates project</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I have 52 slots to fill, and I only have a few ideas at the moment.  Bring it!\r\n\r\nLast year, I embarked on a 365 day project dubbed \"The Year of Living Curiously\".  I injected one soul-scintillating curiosity into each day for a year.  Somehow I balanced work, life, blog and a rescue puppy without having a major meltdown.  (Although my mother has reminded me of a few mini \"episodes\".)  You can read about what evolved into the best year of my life (so far) <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 style=\"clear: left;\">Quirky Facts...</h2>\r\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0 0 30px;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am not a home improvement guru, but I played one on TV.  A few years ago, I scored a spot on the show <em><a href=\"http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/trading-spaces/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Trading Spaces</strong></a>. </em>Yes, I love my room (designed by Genevieve), and yes, Carter is a hottie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I lived in a haunted house in New York.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as a prima ballerina.  Or a dolphin.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I need a lullaby and/or a bedtime story before bed.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>While we\'re on the topic of sleep issues, I am addicted to a homeopathic sleep remedy called Moon Drops.  Look for it at your local Whole Foods.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I reside in the Dating Desert.  A few years ago, we were dubbed \"The Worst Place to Find Love\" by the media.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Deserts also contain Oases, and I therefore believe in True Love.   Which makes me...</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>...Charlotte with a sprinkling of Carrie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am 50% Portuguese.  In my family, this is also referred to as a PPW (Powerful Portuguese Woman).  My family rivals the family in <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>At one point or another, I have dreamed of being a figure skater, a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a writer, a Shakespearean scholar, a teacher, a <a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Masterpiece Theatre</em></strong> </a>director, and an entrepreneur.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I have worked as an actress, singer, teacher, entrepreneur, and unfortunately during one horrid summer in college, a clown.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Fairly recently, I left the field of education and sold my soul to Corporate America.  Before you feel too sorry for me, our corporate culture is pretty stellar, I\'m still making a difference in the lives of children (but this time with appropriate compensation), and my work peeps are second to none.  Sometimes I wonder if I\'m having too much fun at work.  Take THAT, Google!</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>My latest fantasy involves chucking my day job and enlisting in <a href=\"http://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/whale-wars/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Whale Wars</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong> This would be a big step for me, <del>as I am very attached to my hair and make-up products</del> because after an <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/05/03/day-215-you-know-what-happens-on-whale-watching-tours-right/\" target=\"_blank\">\"experience\" in Santa Barbara</a></strong>, I would more than likely need an IV drip of Dramamine.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</div>\r\n<h2>What Floats My Boat...</h2>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">guitar...singing...dogs...the arts...yoga...writing...friends &amp; fam...education...fitness...the ocean...sunny skies...good food...lifelong learning...espresso...mountain views...hope</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"></p>','What Makes Me Tick...','','inherit','open','open','','2-revision-106','','','2012-04-01 10:41:38','2012-04-01 17:41:38','',2,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/2-revision-106/',0,'revision','',0),(10264,1,'2012-04-01 10:42:39','2012-04-01 17:42:39','&nbsp;\r\n<h4></h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Who is this Late Bloomer chick, anyway?</span></h4>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://www.yourdictionary.com/late-bloomer\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer</strong>:</a> a person who matures, achieves proficiency in some field or skill, etc. later than such a person is normally expected to</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Late Bloomer Blogger:</strong></a> 1:  a woman in the throes of an existential crisis (more commonly referred to as mid-life crisis) who aspires to fulfill lifelong dreams while growing, thriving, and hopefully inspiring others along the way.  2:  She is no longer waiting around for Happily Ever After to show up.  She\'s creating her own damn fairy tale.  3:  Fellow late bloomers and late bloomer wannabees are encouraged to join her crusade.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One:  The Year of Living Curiously (aka 365 or Bust): </a></strong> 1: an insane 365 day project where our fearless and frazzled heroine breaks free of a gargantuan rut by trying one new/inspiring/interesting/\r\nuplifting/provocative/ or soul-stirring thing each day  2: replaces Xanax in the event of an existential/mid-life crisis</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/52-playdates/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter Two:  The Year of Play:  </a></strong>1.  an infinitely saner 52 playdate project in which our heroine appeases her inner child by frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.</p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px; margin-left: -5px; margin-right: -35px;\"><img src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/themes/serenity/images/divider-image.png\" alt=\"\" /></div>\r\n<!--          -->\r\n<a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2.jpg\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-191\" style=\"margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 20px;\" title=\"Final B&amp;W1977test2\" src=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Final-BW1977test2-130x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"130\" height=\"300\" /></a>Hi.  I\'m Michelle.  Welcome to my blog.  It\'s a pleasure to meet you.  I hope that you sit and stay awhile.\r\n\r\nIf we were meeting in real life, I would serve you one of my famous Almond Milk Lattes made with 2 shots of the World\'s Best <a href=\"http://www.espressovero.com/attibassi_products.html\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Italian Espresso</strong></a> and a hint of agave syrup.  (I promise you that it\'s delicious.  I\'ve converted many of my Starbucksaholic friends.)\r\n\r\nYet you are at your computer, and I\'m probably at mine, so that leaves us to a virtual getting-to-know-you.  Please reach out to me through comments on my posts or <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/talk-to-me/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Talk to Me.</strong></a>\r\n\r\nIf you are feeling super feisty and creative, then <a href=\"http://diaryofalatebloomer.com/submit-a-365-idea/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>share your play idea for my 52 Playdates project</strong></a><strong>.</strong> I have 52 slots to fill, and I only have a few ideas at the moment.  Bring it!\r\n\r\nLast year, I embarked on a 365 day project dubbed \"The Year of Living Curiously\".  I injected one soul-scintillating curiosity into each day for a year.  Somehow I balanced work, life, blog and a rescue puppy without having a major meltdown.  (Although my mother has reminded me of a few mini \"episodes\".)  You can read about what evolved into the best year of my life (so far) <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<h2 style=\"clear: left;\">Quirky Facts...</h2>\r\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0 0 30px;\">\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am not a home improvement guru, but I played one on TV.  A few years ago, I scored a spot on the show <em><a href=\"http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/trading-spaces/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Trading Spaces</strong></a>. </em>Yes, I love my room (designed by Genevieve), and yes, Carter is a hottie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I lived in a haunted house in New York.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as a prima ballerina.  Or a dolphin.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I need a lullaby and/or a bedtime story before bed.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>While we\'re on the topic of sleep issues, I am addicted to a homeopathic sleep remedy called Moon Drops.  Look for it at your local Whole Foods.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I reside in the Dating Desert.  A few years ago, we were dubbed \"The Worst Place to Find Love\" by the media.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Deserts also contain Oases, and I therefore believe in True Love.   Which makes me...</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>...Charlotte with a sprinkling of Carrie.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I am 50% Portuguese.  In my family, this is also referred to as a PPW (Powerful Portuguese Woman).  My family rivals the family in <em>My Big Fat Greek Wedding</em>.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>At one point or another, I have dreamed of being a figure skater, a ballerina, an actress, a singer, a writer, a Shakespearean scholar, a teacher, a <a href=\"http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Masterpiece Theatre</em></strong> </a>director, and an entrepreneur.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>I have worked as an actress, singer, teacher, entrepreneur, and unfortunately during one horrid summer in college, a clown.</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>Fairly recently, I left the field of education and sold my soul to Corporate America.  Before you feel too sorry for me, our corporate culture is pretty stellar, I\'m still making a difference in the lives of children (but this time with appropriate compensation), and my work peeps are second to none.  Sometimes I wonder if I\'m having too much fun at work.  Take THAT, Google!</div></li>\r\n	<li>\r\n<div>My latest fantasy involves chucking my day job and enlisting in <a href=\"http://www.yourdiscovery.com/web/whale-wars/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong><em>Whale Wars</em></strong></a><strong><em>.</em></strong> This would be a big step for me, <del>as I am very attached to my hair and make-up products</del> because after an <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/05/03/day-215-you-know-what-happens-on-whale-watching-tours-right/\" target=\"_blank\">\"experience\" in Santa Barbara</a></strong>, I would more than likely need an IV drip of Dramamine.</div></li>\r\n</ul>\r\n</div>\r\n<h2>What Floats My Boat...</h2>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;\">guitar...singing...dogs...the arts...yoga...writing...friends &amp; fam...education...fitness...the ocean...sunny skies...good food...lifelong learning...espresso...mountain views...hope</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"></p>','What Makes Me Tick...','','inherit','open','open','','2-revision-107','','','2012-04-01 10:42:39','2012-04-01 17:42:39','',2,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/2-revision-107/',0,'revision','',0),(10265,1,'2012-03-29 08:54:37','2012-03-29 15:54:37','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they would ask.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I would joke.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n********************\r\n&nbsp;\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-74','','','2012-03-29 08:54:37','2012-03-29 15:54:37','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/29/8681-revision-74/',0,'revision','',0),(10267,1,'2012-04-01 10:47:36','2012-04-01 17:47:36','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: large; color: #008000;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #008000;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-76','','','2012-04-01 10:47:36','2012-04-01 17:47:36','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-76/',0,'revision','',0),(10268,1,'2012-04-01 10:49:04','2012-04-01 17:49:04','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-77','','','2012-04-01 10:49:04','2012-04-01 17:49:04','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-77/',0,'revision','',0),(10269,1,'2012-04-01 10:49:05','2012-04-01 17:49:05','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n********************\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-78','','','2012-04-01 10:49:05','2012-04-01 17:49:05','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-78/',0,'revision','',0),(10270,1,'2012-04-01 10:50:16','2012-04-01 17:50:16','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n********************\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-79','','','2012-04-01 10:50:16','2012-04-01 17:50:16','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-79/',0,'revision','',0),(10271,1,'2012-04-01 10:50:16','2012-04-01 17:50:16','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n********************\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-80','','','2012-04-01 10:50:16','2012-04-01 17:50:16','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-80/',0,'revision','',0),(10272,1,'2012-04-01 10:50:41','2012-04-01 17:50:41','<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/79106711/\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\" wp-image-8818 alignnone\" title=\"79106711_013cfbee7b\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/79106711_013cfbee7b-300x212.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: x-large;\"><strong>Chapter Two:  The Year of Play</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAll good things must come to an end, and <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/365-or-bust/\" target=\"_blank\">Chapter One: The Year of Living Curiously </a></strong>is finished.  365 curiosities lived, and 365 blog posts (+ extra credit bonus features) are completed.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe good thing going forward is that I can now blog like a normal person.  1 - 2 posts <em>a week</em> (compared to last year\'s 1 post <em>a day</em>) feels like Blogger Heaven.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Here\'s \"The Plan\" for The Year of Play:</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n1 playdate a week.  That\'s 52 playdates a year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhat comprises a \"playdate\"?  <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/01/21/day-113-i-joined-a-cult-please-dont-tell-my-mother/\" target=\"_blank\">Now that I\'m drinking the Magic Kool-Aid,</a></strong> I\'m just going to do what Apple tells me.  *  (See bottom of page.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI should probably set some sort of publishing \"schedule\" for blog posts.  I like the idea of Tuesdays and/or Thursdays.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd because I\'m one of those over-achiever types, expect bonus play throughout the year.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>Why \"Play\"?  Isn\'t that for kids?  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHeck, no.  Play is the fountain of youth, my friends.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI used to play for a living.  For 16 years, I was an early childhood educator sharing the wonder of the performing and visual arts with young children.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd I wasn\'t one of those sit-on-the-sidelines types of teachers.  I threw myself into the middle of the kiddie mosh pit and sang and danced and acted my heart out right along with those kiddos.  For art projects, I donned a smock, rolled up my sleeves, and got gooey.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy students\' parents used to marvel at my energy level.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"How do you do it?\" they asked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n\"Daily double shots of espresso,\" I joked.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe real reason?  I was very in touch with my inner child.  Play keeps your body, mind, and spirit supple and energized.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #008000; font-size: large;\"><strong>I used to play for a living.  Now I play for a blog.  </strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI \"retired\" from teaching in 2008.  As a result, my inner child stopped getting as much exercise as she used to.  I realized this when Mondo Beyondo forced my soul to explode at The World Domination Summit.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s not as gruesome or weird as it sounds.  You really should read more about it<strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\"> here. </a> </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd if you don\'t feel like clicking over <strong><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>, </strong>allow me to summarize:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe dynamic duo of Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen, founders of <strong><a href=\"https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=121586&amp;c=ib&amp;aff=175709\" target=\"_blank\">Mondo Beyondo</a></strong>, led an audience of bloggers, entrepreneurs, and other creative peeps through an inspirational activity.  After pairing up with a fellow audience member, we were asked to share a pivotal moment in our lives with our partner.  Our partner then recited the 3 values that they felt were most significant in our story.  We were then asked to tattoo the value that resonated most somewhere on our body with a Sharpie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_5936\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\" caption=\"Tattoo of Great Significance\"]<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/06/12/day-252-soul-explosion/img00446-20110605-2309/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5936\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-5936\" title=\"IMG00446-20110605-2309\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IMG00446-20110605-2309-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>[/caption]\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe tattoo makes perfect sense to me.  In my past life career, I <em>play</em>ed for my supper.  When I wasn\'t consumed by a 365 day blog project, I used to sing and<em> play</em> guitar.  As a college theatre major, I performed in many <em>play</em>s.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nNow that I spend my days in the Cubicle Jungle, I don\'t play as much.  (Although I do enjoy other fabulous perks such as telecommuting in my jammies two days a week.  I have it good with Noble Publishing Superpower.  Trust me.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe point is . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"color: #800080; font-size: medium;\"><strong>I don\'t play as much as I used to, and my inner child is about to throw a tantrum.</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s all about to change, starting NOW!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n********************\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n* play\r\n\r\nverb\r\n\r\n1 <em>Aidan and Robert were playing with their toys:</em> amuse oneself, entertain oneself, enjoy oneself, have fun; relax, occupy oneself, divert oneself; frolic, frisk, romp, caper; informal mess around.\r\n\r\n2<em> I used to play hockey: </em>take part in, participate in, be involved in, compete in, do.\r\n\r\n3 <em>St. Joseph\'s plays Boston on Sunday: </em>compete against, take on, challenge, vie with, face, go up against.\r\n\r\n4 <em>he was to play Macbeth: </em>act (the part of), take the role of, appear as, portray, depict, impersonate, represent, render, perform, enact; formal personate.\r\n\r\n5 <em>get your guitar and let\'s play:</em> perform, make music, jam.\r\n\r\n6 <em>Bryanna played a note on the flute:</em> make, produce, reproduce; blow, toot; plunk, bang out; sound.\r\n\r\n7 <em>the sunlight played on the water:</em> dance, flit, ripple, touch; sparkle, glint.\r\n*Source:  The thesaurus on my MacBook Pro\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-size: medium; color: #800080;\"><strong>Ohhhhhh, my, my, my.  I relish the thought of frolicking, romping, sparkling, and flitting.  This year is going to be a hoot-and-a-half!</strong></span>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','52 Playdates','','inherit','open','open','','8681-revision-81','','','2012-04-01 10:50:41','2012-04-01 17:50:41','',8681,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/01/8681-revision-81/',0,'revision','',0),(10273,1,'2012-04-01 20:49:58','2012-04-02 03:49:58','','ok2ht','','inherit','open','open','','ok2ht','','','2012-04-01 20:49:58','2012-04-02 03:49:58','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ok2ht.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10274,1,'2012-04-01 20:50:10','2012-04-02 03:50:10','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-730','','','2012-04-01 20:50:10','2012-04-02 03:50:10','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010006.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10275,1,'2012-04-01 20:53:34','2012-04-02 03:53:34','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-731','','','2012-04-01 20:53:34','2012-04-02 03:53:34','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010012.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10276,1,'2012-04-01 20:53:50','2012-04-02 03:53:50','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-732','','','2012-04-01 20:53:50','2012-04-02 03:53:50','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010015.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10277,1,'2012-04-01 20:54:05','2012-04-02 03:54:05','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-733','','','2012-04-01 20:54:05','2012-04-02 03:54:05','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010018.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10278,1,'2012-04-01 20:57:15','2012-04-02 03:57:15','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-734','','','2012-04-01 20:57:15','2012-04-02 03:57:15','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010019.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10279,1,'2012-04-01 20:57:35','2012-04-02 03:57:35','','OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA','','inherit','open','open','','olympus-digital-camera-735','','','2012-04-01 20:57:35','2012-04-02 03:57:35','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010024.jpg',0,'attachment','image/jpeg',0),(10280,1,'2012-04-02 16:57:57','2012-04-02 23:57:57','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by The Master.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-2','','','2012-04-02 16:57:57','2012-04-02 23:57:57','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/02/10259-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(10281,1,'2012-04-02 16:59:57','2012-04-02 23:59:57','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong> </a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-3','','','2012-04-02 16:59:57','2012-04-02 23:59:57','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/02/10259-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(10282,1,'2012-04-03 16:40:36','2012-04-03 23:40:36','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>And The Master\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-4','','','2012-04-03 16:40:36','2012-04-03 23:40:36','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(10283,1,'2012-04-03 16:41:25','2012-04-03 23:41:25','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>And The Master\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nfreedom within structure\r\n\r\nwho what when where why how how much\r\n\r\nflu, etc.\r\n\r\nWednesday.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n****\r\n\r\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-5','','','2012-04-03 16:41:25','2012-04-03 23:41:25','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(10284,1,'2012-04-03 16:46:36','2012-04-03 23:46:36','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered The Master\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-6','','','2012-04-03 16:46:36','2012-04-03 23:46:36','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(10285,1,'2012-04-03 21:52:34','2012-04-04 04:52:34','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered The Master\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better start your writing journey with a solid outline that follows the formula or you are going to wind up in Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-7','','','2012-04-03 21:52:34','2012-04-04 04:52:34','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(10286,1,'2012-04-03 21:53:07','2012-04-04 04:53:07','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered The Master\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better start your writing journey with a solid outline that follows the formula or you are going to wind up in Timbuktu.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nfreedom within structure\r\n\r\nwho what when where why how how much\r\n\r\nflu, etc.\r\n\r\nWednesday.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n****\r\n\r\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-8','','','2012-04-03 21:53:07','2012-04-04 04:53:07','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(10287,1,'2012-04-03 22:02:35','2012-04-04 05:02:35','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered The Master\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows the formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI needed a jumpstart (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy and Save the Cat).\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when one week before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-9','','','2012-04-03 22:02:35','2012-04-04 05:02:35','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(10288,1,'2012-04-03 22:04:35','2012-04-04 05:04:35','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to send myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  A full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following the formula designed by <a href=\"http://www.blakesnyder.com/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>The Master.</strong>   </a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered The Master\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows the formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI needed a jumpstart (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy and Save the Cat).\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-10','','','2012-04-03 22:04:35','2012-04-04 05:04:35','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/03/10259-revision-10/',0,'revision','',0),(10289,1,'2012-04-04 15:29:54','2012-04-04 22:29:54','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to whirl myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  I committed to write a full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following The Formula designed by <strong>Blake Snyder in his book Save the Cat.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered Blake\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows The Formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI needed a jumpstart (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy\'s Writer\'s Resources and Save the Cat).\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere is an excerpt from last week\'s pity party:\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHow am I supposed to write with a fever, throbbing sinuses, and an eensie weensie problem of not being able to stay awake for more than an hour at a stretch?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSuck it up, buttercup!  The show must go on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-11','','','2012-04-04 15:29:54','2012-04-04 22:29:54','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/04/10259-revision-11/',0,'revision','',0),(10290,1,'2012-04-04 15:44:58','2012-04-04 22:44:58','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to whirl myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  I committed to write a full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following The Formula designed by <strong>Blake Snyder in his book Save the Cat.  </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered Blake\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows The Formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI needed a jump-start (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy\'s Writer\'s Resources and Save the Cat).\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere is an excerpt from last week\'s pity party:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em>How am I supposed to write with a fever, throbbing sinuses, and an eensie weensie problem of not being able to stay awake for more than an hour at a stretch?  </em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSuck it up, buttercup!  The show must go on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhen my fever broke on Saturday, I was able to finish my outline.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe next morning, I dragged my pathetic, sniffly self to my computer and cranked out the first four pages of my script.  Originally, I envisioned myself sitting inside a trendy, indie coffeehouse.  You know, like a real writer.  Instead, my ambiance was this:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10276\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10276\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-10276 alignnone\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTo perk myself up, I surrounded myself with me lucky charms.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10274\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10274\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10274\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010006-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10275\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10275\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10275\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI also slipped into my lucky t-shirt made for me by my Sissie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10279\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10279\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10279\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010024-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI would have never encountered this c\n\n&nbsp;\n\nemailed them to my mother.  She laughed, she cried, it was better than <em>Cats.</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI may not have\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(She really did cry.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nfreedom within structure\n\nwho what when where why how how much\n\nflu, etc.\n\nWednesday.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-12','','','2012-04-04 15:44:58','2012-04-04 22:44:58','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/04/10259-revision-12/',0,'revision','',0),(10292,1,'2012-04-04 15:51:59','2012-04-04 22:51:59','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\n\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to whirl myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  I committed to write a full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following The Formula designed by <strong>Blake Snyder </strong>in his book<em><strong> Save the Cat.  </strong></em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered Blake\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows The Formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI needed a jump-start (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy\'s Writer\'s Resources and Save the Cat).\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when . . . .\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<strong>Five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.</strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nHere is an excerpt from last week\'s pity party:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em>How am I supposed to write with a fever, throbbing sinuses, and an eensie weensie problem of not being able to stay awake for more than an hour at a stretch?!?!  </em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSuck it up, buttercup!  The show must go on!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nWhen my fever broke on Saturday, I was able to finish my outline.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThe next morning, I dragged my pathetic, sniffly self to my computer and kicked off the Frenzy.  Originally, I envisioned myself sitting inside a trendy, indie coffeehouse.  You know, like a real writer.  Instead, my ambiance was this:\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10276\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10276\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-10276 alignnone\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nTo perk myself up, I surrounded myself with me lucky charms.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10274\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10274\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10274\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010006-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10275\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10275\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10275\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI slipped into my lucky t-shirt made for me by my Sissie.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10279\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10279\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10279\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010024-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nThere were other advantages to staying at home.  I would have never encountered this kind of inspiration and cuteness at the coffeeshop.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10277\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10277\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10277\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010018-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10278\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10278\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10278\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI cranked out the first four pages of my script and promptly emailed them to my mother.  She laughed, she cried, it was better than <em>Cats.</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n(She really did cry.)\n\n&nbsp;\n\nAnd so, I AM OFF!\n\n&nbsp;\n\nSort of.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI cranked out another 4 pages on Day 2.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nI then stalled with only 2 pages on Day 3.  B\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\nrest of april\n\n****\n\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-14','','','2012-04-04 15:51:59','2012-04-04 22:51:59','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/04/10259-revision-14/',0,'revision','',0),(10291,1,'2012-04-04 15:46:51','2012-04-04 22:46:51','<a href=\"http://www.scriptfrenzy.org\" target=\"_blank\"><img class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-10260\" title=\"sf_08_logo\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/sf_08_logo-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" /></a>\r\n\r\nIn my <a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/03/21/psst-pass-it-on-because-love-is-in-the-air/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Psst!  Pass It On!</strong></a> post the other day, I announced that I was about to whirl myself into a frenzy.  A Script Frenzy, that is.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI began on April 1st (and I\'m not fooling!), and I finish on April 30th.  I committed to write a full-length screenplay.  In 30 days.  Crazy, huh?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nAnd even though that nifty little ticket to your left states \"100 pages\", I need to write 11o.  Because I\'m following The Formula designed by <strong>Blake Snyder in his book Save the Cat.  </strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou\'re probably wondering, \"Formula?  Don\'t you just sit down and write?\"\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThat\'s what I used to think as well.  Until I discovered Blake\'s book.  And then I learned a thing or two.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWould you leave for a long road trip without a map?  Not unless you want to get lost.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIt\'s the same thing with a screenplay.  You better begin your writing journey with a solid outline that follows The Formula or you are going to wind up in Screenplay Timbuktu.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nYou see, I\'ve never written a screenplay.  I\'ve always felt that I\'ve had one \"in me\".  It\'s always been \"a dream\".  But I\'ve never parked my tuckus on the couch and <em>started</em>.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI needed a jump-start (thank you, Script Frenzy), and I needed a Screenwriting Bootcamp (thank you to both Script Frenzy\'s Writer\'s Resources and Save the Cat).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nMy plan was moving along swimmingly when . . . .\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Five days before The Frenzy I came down with The Flu.</strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSniffle, sniffle.  Cough, Cough.  Woe is me.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nHere is an excerpt from last week\'s pity party:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<em>How am I supposed to write with a fever, throbbing sinuses, and an eensie weensie problem of not being able to stay awake for more than an hour at a stretch?  </em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSuck it up, buttercup!  The show must go on!\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nWhen my fever broke on Saturday, I was able to finish my outline.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe next morning, I dragged my pathetic, sniffly self to my computer and cranked out the first four pages of my script.  Originally, I envisioned myself sitting inside a trendy, indie coffeehouse.  You know, like a real writer.  Instead, my ambiance was this:\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10276\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10276\"><img class=\"size-medium wp-image-10276 alignnone\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010015-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nTo perk myself up, I surrounded myself with me lucky charms.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10274\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10274\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10274\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010006-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10275\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10275\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10275\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010012-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI also slipped into my lucky t-shirt made for me by my Sissie.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10279\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10279\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10279\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010024-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThere were other advantages to staying at home.  I would have never encountered this kind of inspiration and cuteness at the coffeeshop.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10277\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10277\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10277\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010018-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/?attachment_id=10278\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10278\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-10278\" title=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/P4010019-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" /></a>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nemailed them to my mother.  She laughed, she cried, it was better than <em>Cats.</em>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nI may not have\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n(She really did cry.)\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nfreedom within structure\r\n\r\nwho what when where why how how much\r\n\r\nflu, etc.\r\n\r\nWednesday.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n****\r\n\r\nPsst. pass it on for the month of April and lusty month of May? or somewhere on site?\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;','Playdate #13:  Script Frenzy! ','','inherit','open','open','','10259-revision-13','','','2012-04-04 15:46:51','2012-04-04 22:46:51','',10259,'http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2012/04/04/10259-revision-13/',0,'revision','',0);
