Ninja of Love

It's nearly Christmastime. 

P.L. is anxiously anticipating the season. It isn't just about the presents anymore. It's the feeling she experiences when she sees twinkling lights, smells the scent of evergreen, hears the refrains of familiar holiday music. 
The tradition of Christmas season has created a comfort zone for the soul.

New ideas, symbols, and practices always make their way into the world. Sometimes they become part of our traditions, whether public or personal. 
One new program will definitely become part of our family holiday celebrations. P.L. has fallen in love with the Disney television program "Phineas and Ferb," and we have followed her into this divine madness.

The cartoon show is a combination family sitcom and spy thriller, with teenage romance, fantasy, science fiction, and lots of fun music thrown in.

We follow the Flynn/Fletcher blended family throughout the course of a summer in Danville, a town somewhere in the US. Parents Linda and Lawrence operate an antique shop. Linda also participates in several community activities. 

The ten year old stepbrothers use their creativity to fill their time in the back yard. Teen sister Candace is a bit bossy at times, trying to keep her younger brothers from doing things she thinks their parents would disapprove of, if they only knew. But Linda never catches the boys doing the absolutely impossible things we have come to expect from them. Some mysterious twist of fate usually causes the fantastic projects to vanish before Mom gets to see them. 

This isn't a show only for kids. There are a lot of in-joke nuggets for older viewers. For instance, the music that so often accompanies Candace's indignant attempts to follow and "bust" her brothers is a snippet of the Wicked Witch of the West theme from "The Wizard of Oz." Pop culture references, witty dialog, and interesting cartoon art contribute to the entertainment.

The family owns a most unusual pet -- a duck-billed platypus named Perry. He is turquoise, a color most probably never seen in marsupials in the wild. The family know that Perry frequently disappears for periods of time, but they generally see no reason for concern. They are completely unaware that their pet is an undercover agent known as Agent P, who periodically wrests the fate of Danville and, indeed, the entire Tri-State Area (again, no clue which three states) from the evil clutches of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, his personal nemesis. Their adventures usually manage to destroy or in some way cancel out the boys' masterpieces of creative technology, but not before most of the kids in town (and frequently many of the adults) have enjoyed or otherwise benefited from them.

This year, there is a Christmas special about our favorite suburban family and friends. Apparently, Doofenshmirtz has caused the town of Danville to be declared a Naughty area. It's up to the boys to think of a way to save everyone's Christmas spirit, while Perry attempts to foil his nemesis. We're sure they'll have help from not only the very cute and smart Isabella (who crushes on Phineas), but also from brainy Baljeet, bully Buford, the entire troop of Fireside Girls, and even Candace. Candace often obsesses over making her brothers behave, but she really has a heart of gold, and she loves her weird family. (We do too!) 

Which all brings me to this design. A couple of months ago, I got the first Phineas and Ferb soundtrack CD. It contains 26 songs, all of which I at least like very much, and several of which I love. The final song is from an episode celebrating Linda and Lawrences's anniversary with a tribute to the concert where they first kissed. The band, Love Händel (got to love that name!), must be reunited by Phineas and Ferb. The band plays their big hit, "You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart." One of the lines in the song refers to the "you" of the title as being like a ninja of love, an image that made me laugh out loud. 

Why not? We hear that all is fair in love and war, that love is a battlefield. So why not use the ancient martial arts to attain the prize of true love? The idea of creating a cute ninja of love was even appealing to P.L. 

So now we are getting the jump on a future holiday, too. After all, it's only two months until St. Valentine's Day will be here. 
Arm yourself to go after your heart's desire!

The Ninja of Love design is available now, in the Just for Fun section of Lorilei's Artist at Work. You can find our lovable ninja on hats, t-shirts, coffee mugs, tile keepsake boxes, tote bags, babywear, and a variety of other products. 
Wear the ninja yourself, or send it to someone who needs a smile. You might just sneak your way into their heart.

Choices: Edward or Jacob?

It's at least another month before "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" comes to P.L.'s favorite theater. In the meantime, she's been keeping herself occupied reading the Twilight series. There are only four books, and she just finished book three, Eclipse.

The series is strange and moody and supernatural, yet it has a down-to-earth feeling that appeals to P.L. A teenaged girl who loves Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights, Bella Swan is comfortable telling a story -- in first person, in this case. Set in the woodsy little town of Forks, in the north-Pacific state of Washington, her story tells of her life as the new kid in town. Bella is a quiet girl and a bit of a clutz, yet she is a fresh face that appeals to several of the local residents. One of them is Edward.

Without giving away too much of the storyline, we'll just say that Edward and his family are amazing (even at playing baseball!), they lead us (through Bella) to heart-stopping adventures, and Bella would give up anything to spend the rest of eternity with Edward.

Not everything is as it seems, though.
Bella and Edward are separated early in book two, and she becomes dangerously depressed. Of course, we know she'll be fine, because she's the one telling the story. But we feel for her as she describes a kind of madness she experiences and finds one ally to save her -- Jacob.

By book three, we become torn between these two young men. They are natural enemies, supernatural beings doing their best to protect Bella from danger. That includes each other. Both represent some kind of threat to Bella's well-being, family, and way of life, not to mention (possibly) her very soul.
They could both be the bad guys, yet they are both the good guys.

So, if we had to choose one guy for this Everygirl to love and live with forever, would we choose Edward Cullen? He is handsome like a Greek god, cool beyond belief, with a family whose close-knit love extends to Bella. Or would we choose the noble young Jacob Black, whose father is Bella's dad's best friend, and who loves Bella like a brother until he is mature enough to vie for her heart?
(No spoilers, please!)

Yes, based only on this information, P.L. asks you -- which team would you choose? Cool blue Edward, or vibrant red Jacob? The crystal heart or the wolf from the woods? Vampire or werewolf?

Choose a t-shirt that supports your team. One for Team Edward or one for Team Jacob.




But what if you don't want to choose? Just keep rereading this romance with two young men who love the girl enough to give up everything for her... and get yourself a t-shirt commemorating both of them. What a team!

For more gear about your new favorite hometown, Forks, remember to visit Artist at Work.