An Afternoon at the Zoo...

"Roar!!!" (Luke really liked the tigers.) We took our friends, the Tudors, to the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday and got to see all kinds of crazy animals. I think the part that I liked best was just watching Luke point at all the things he noticed. (Half of the time, it was just some running water! "Water" is one of the few words in his vocabulary.) Does this mean I am ready for motherhood?!? (Gasp!)

Photo Friday

   

Cross Beams from Ground Zero.  Appropriate, I think.

Thursday Thirteen #16

Thirteen Reasons Why Old Friends Are the Best of Friends:

1. Because they usually travel great distances to see you.
2. Because you can over-indulge on crepes, cookies, and cheesecake with them and they (hopefully) don’t think less of you.
3. Because you wind up staying up late with them, talking about nonsense like the frightfulness of white pantyhose and the contents of Absinthe.
4. Because they stoically endure an hour of you showing them your scrapbook, all the while saying appropriate things like “Boy that looks nice!”
5. Because you can do free/cheap things with them and they don’t care that you are poor.
6. Because you can go for a long time without seeing them and then it is like no time has passed at all.
7. Because you can reminisce about the good ole days together.
8. Because they rejoice in your victories and are sad in your losses. Often, they can even see your growth through it all.
9. Because you can have fun with their kid and then give him back when he starts crying (or if he needs a diaper change)!
10. Because you can just lounge around with them and be perfectly content.
11. Because they will go on rides with you when your hubby won’t (like the Toys’R’Us Ferris Wheel)!
12. Because they remind you how to laugh out loud.
13. And because their friendship has already withstood the test of time!

What's so amazing about Superman logos?!?

Today, Tim and I had a fun but bizarre church experience. We have perpetually been on the hunt for a fellowship of like-minded believers and it has been really kind of hard to find that happy medium of churches that are slightly contemporary but still based in liturgy. (And it is kind of sad that we had to drive to CT to church today!) Anyway, we visited Trinity Church in Greenwich this morning and it was kind of... uhh... surreal (for lack of better words, here).

It is about a four-year old church, but it still meets in a middle school (which is weird, right?). So we go in and put on these nametags. I hate nametags. (I think I hate them so much because I forget I have them on and I end up walking around with one, looking like a dork or a bus tourist. And then people call me by my name and I get all freaked out. More on that later.) We walk into this auditorium (that kind of smells like stinky jr. highers that don't understand the concept of deodorant yet) and the place is covered in Marvel comics. Now I am thinking - this is REAL weird. What has Tim gotten me in to?!? And what kind of religion is this, anyway?!? The stage is set with these 3 huge screens, the band is playing some Gen-X Christian rock music (there was a saxophone player and he was totally rocking himself out), there are a TON of people, and some crazy sparkly curtains. What is a girl to do?

But, you know, it wasn't half bad! Sure, it was kind of silly when the band broke into their number "He took my Sunday mornings and He made them feel like Saturday Night" (which was a very accurate description of MY morning, in fact) with a saxophone solo, a keyboard solo, AND a drum solo, but the whole thing was so bizarre that it was entertaining! And then, who else would be there, but Phillip Yancey himself. And that was a surprise, because I've read this guy, even. Talk about Twilight Zone experiences!

At that point, I was ready for just about anything. I wouldn't have been any more surprised if Elvis was sitting behind me and Tim was sporting a pink mohawk. It was already enough like a freaky dream sequence, anyway. And then Yancey gave an odd but great sermon about the similarities between King David and the woman who washed Jesus' feet with her hair. He focused on the importance of pouring all of yourself out on the floor for God and not holding back (David dancing naked and whatnot). A really crazy and inspiring sermon.

Then we had communion (reminiscent of the way we did it at our church back in TN, which was so comforting!). Tim calls it "Intinction" which means we lined up to individually take a piece of bread to dunk in a cup of wine. The people holding the bread or wine said " Christ's body broken for you" or "Christ's blood." At about this time though, I had COMPLETELY forgotten about the nametag fiasco. So these people, whom I've never been acquainted with before in my life, say to me "Suzy, this is Christ's body..." WHOA! And I am all-eyes-bugged-out. I am thinking, "How on earth do these people know me?!?" Luckily, I think I just made a face and that's all. I figured out how they "knew" me later on. They probably thought "That chick was weird."

So, it was a wacky church experience today, I tell ya. Will I visit them again? Oh yeah, I'll be back. I wonder what is in store for next week!

Fun with Google Image Search...

(Before you think I am some kind of witty person, know that this is stolen material. Thank you, Robin. Your blog is great. Some day I hope to be in with the housewife mafia - I watch the Sopranos, even.)

THE RULES:
1. Choose a search engine (probably Google) and click on "Images".
2. Choose 5 random blogfriends (Or not so random, your choice).
3. Think of a word that you feel best describes your blogfriend.
4. Do an IMAGE SEARCH on that word.
5. Pick the image that best fits your pal and post it (Blogger permitting).

Lazy Daisy: "Bubbles"



Grrl Meets World: "Bellydancer"



Trip With Ruth: "Tourist"



Froggie: "Artist"



and I will probably get in trouble for this one...

Thoughts In Limbo: "Texas TEA"

Jeremy & Christie

Jeremy & Christie
Originally uploaded by Tim in Limbo.

Visitors! Tomorrow, our buddies the Tudors will be coming up for a visit. They have never been to the "Big Apple" and we can't wait to show it to them. It will be interesting to see how many cheap activities we can come up with - boy, it sucks to be poor! So far, our plans are visiting the MoMA (I have free tickets), the Bronx Zoo (on Wed. because it's free), Chinatown, Central Park (also free), Toys'R'Us in Times Square (hopefully, since they have an almost 2 yr. old, we can ride the ferris wheel!), and maybe something REALLY touristy like going up to the top of the Empire State Building. It should be an adventure, regardless (especially with little Luke)!

The best part of this visit is that we haven't seen the Tudors since we moved up here. It will be great just visiting with them. Tim and I have learned that really good "couple friends" are nearly impossible to make and when you have them, you have to really cherish them. We are hoping to do some cherishing this week.

This week's Photo Friday entry for "smooth." My Pops took this picture a long time ago, when he was my age. It was a pretty "smooth" idea, eh? This has always been one of my favorite pictures.

A Wack Profession...

My profession is wack. Librarians are quite literally crazy people. And I mean ALL of them. Most of them are a nice crazy and I can deal with that. In fact, I think I even fit into that category. But I don't think I can deal with the O.C.D. crazy, the hierarchy crazy, the strung-out crazy, or the nasty crazy. And it really sucks that I am getting a Masters Degree so that I can be hired by another type of crazy. Have I just wasted a ton of money and time on a crazy profession?!?

Thursday Thirteen #15

In honor of my friends Jeremy and Christie Tudor coming up for a visit next week, I decided to do a Thursday Thirteen for Jeremy, who never seems to get his cliches quite right. This one's for you, bud.

Thirteen of my Favorite Cliches:

1. My Heart Bleeds for You... meaning "I'm not really interested in your trouble." According to the Dictionary of Cliches, this is meant to be said with irony. "Once the saying was a sincere if hyperbolic expression of sympathy; it took its ironic turn in the 1940's."
2. This Neck of the Woods... meaning "Here in this region." An Americanism. This phrase originates from the Southwest. Originally "neck" in this sense was a narrow stretch of land or water.
3. How Do You Like Them Apples? meaning "What do you think of that (usually in contrast to something else)." Although the term originates in the marketplace comparing fruits, it now has a variety of meanings (and we won't go there). Of its first known usages, it appeared in an Albee play, The American Dream. The grandma responds to a story "How do you like them apples" and the rest was history.
   
4. How Now, Brown Cow? meaning "What's up? What next?" This is an old 18th century and obsolete way of referring to a barrel of beer, and it is likely that the saying was originally meant as a suggestion that everybody have another beer in order to prolong a pleasant interlude at the tavern. (I thought this was a Dr. Seussism!)
5. Go to Pot... meaning deteriorate or disintegrate. I thought this had something to do with either a toilet or the abuse of illegal drugs. Apparently, it has something to do with meat being cut into pieces for the cooking pot. Whatever.
6. A Fine-tooth Comb... meaning a figurative tool with which one conducts a thorough search or investigation. (This one gives me a mental image of either Spaceballs or a kid with an infection of lice.)
7. A-OK... meaning the situation couldn't be better. According to the Dictionary of Cliches, this is a space term first employed by John A. Powers, spokesperson for NASA. He used it to signal success with a manned space flight in the early 60's.
8. Cat's Meow... meaning that something is nifty or remarkable. It has other common forms such as, "the cat's whiskers" and "the cat's pajamas." Since cats have the ability to look enormously pleased, it is likely that these expressions derived from that appearance of satisfaction.
9. You Can Catch More Flies With Honey Than With Vinegar... meaning that you are more likely to get what you want by being pleasant than by being harsh. This saying is from the 17th century from Thomas Fuller. I like this phrase, but I can never say it right.
10. Bite the Dust... meaning to die in a fracas or to suffer a severe setback. Homer uses this in the Iliad, "May his fellow warriors...fall round him to the earth and bite the dust," it war particularly popular in the many tales of skirmishes between white men and Indians in the American west.
    
11. Mess with a Bull and You'll Get the Horns... meaning exactly what it says. Does anyone remember what movie this quote is from?
12. Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve... this is from Shakespeare (Othello)! It means to show your emotions or feelings plainly. It was once a custom for a young man to attach to his sleeve a gift from a young lady he loved thus displaying his feelings.
13. Waste of Breath...meaning not worth saying (or putting it in a Thursday Thirteen). The concept comes from Vergil's Aeneid.

Shew! And another Thursday Thirteen bites the dust!

Today

This Is Not A Sad Post...

(Picture taken from this guy. Thanks, buddy.)

NY can be a very lonely place. Let's just get that out there. And sometimes I read too much in animal expressions. A true confession. But lately, I've been spending my lunch breaks down by the harbor, making new friends. So what that these friends have wings and don't have any qualms about pooing on top of cars and umbrellas. Who cares that these guys are scavengers. In a sense, aren't we all scavengers deep down inside?!? At least they listen really well, especially if you have food.

Now that I have this whole flock of friends (heh), I have to give out names and remember each of them. So far, I have a few favorites. There is Harold. He is the most outgoing. Nearly every visit I make, he lands on my windshield wipers and stares me down. For most people, after seeing Hitchcocks' The Birds, this would be very unsettling. I just like the attention. (Truthfully though, yesterday Harold gave me a funny look and cocked his head. I think he winked at me, even. I've since rolled up the windows.)

There is Arnold the albatross. Okay, he is not really an albatross, but he is dang big. I think he is the king of the gulls. And he has his own herum, Betty and Bonnie. Those chicks are fierce. (At least, I think they are girls... They are brown and spotted. Basically, I don't know.) Sammie the swan visits every now and then. Swans are such leisurely creatures that you never know when you are gonna see them. They are my "low maintenance" friends. There is a couple of ducks, my favorites are the Mallards (the couple - I'm not on first name basis with them). Crazy Horse is a fun guy, too. He is a gull that always looks crazy. I think he's been caught in one too many nets in his lifetime.

But my favorite guy is Gimp. He looks an awful lot like the picture above. (Maybe he is the same bird?!?) I just met Gimp the other day. He is missing a foot - just the foot and not the whole leg. (He is like a pirate, except his leg isn't wooden.) I think I have a thing for the underdogs.

By now, you are probably thinking - "Shoot. This is sad. She has to bribe some animals to be her friends." But if you read the title up there, you would know that this isn't a sad post. I'll have you know that I have never fed these guys. They must just like my company. So there. Now play this game - When Seagulls Attack.

Chieftains Concert

Finale
Originally uploaded by peachicken.

What an amazing concert! Tim and I went to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on St. Patrick's Day (actually the day after)to see The Chieftains perform live along with The Cottars. The Chieftains are amazing musicians. Each of them played a song by themselves with no accompaniment. My favorite moment in the concert was when Matt Malloy had his flute solo - all you could hear was his flute and hundreds of people tapping their feet to his beat. "Good man, Matt!" But seriously, the only way to ruin a Chieftains concert is to include a country-western guitar player and a random Chinese pianist. Come on, guys. Stick to the Irish music, don't adulterate it! Overall, it was a good concert, even including their anticipated encore where they had an Irish conga line.

The Sun Will Come Out - Tomorrow

Guess who I am going to go see in concert tomorrow?!? These guys!!! Tim got some super cheap $20 dollar tickets, so we will be celebrating St. Patty's Day all weekend long. We may even try to sneak in some soda bread... I know baby brother will be jealous! Sorry bud! We'll take lots of pictures though!

Fun At Your Local Library

(I found this crazy list online, but narrowed it down to my favorite 25... Just please don't do these things at MY library!)

A library is a somewhat easy place to annoy the people sitting around you, but for those of you with less then stellar creativity, here is a list of things you can do...

1. Read out loud. Very loud. And slowly.

2. While pointing to a very simple word, like 'the', ask the person next to you if he/she can pronounce it for you.

3. While looking at your book, turn so you’re facing the person next to you. Then, peer over the top of your book, and say "PEEKABOO!!"

4. Put down your book, and look over and start reading the other persons book, and, either 1) say "Ooo. Nice book." or 2) when he/she looks at you, quickly pick up your book and act like your reading it.

5. Suddenly look over at him/her, and say, "You’re one of THEM!"

6. Put down your book, and look at him/her. When they says something like "what?" cut them off by saying "Are you accusing me of something?"

7. Read your book. Upside down.

8. Read your book from right to left. And flip the pages the same way.

9. Flip the page every two or three seconds.

10. Pick up your book, put it down, and say, "Wow. That was a good book."

11. Read silently, and then as if speaking to the character in your book, say, "No, Jim! It's a trap! Don't do it!!" Then turn to the person and reply solemnly, "He did it." when he/she looks at you.

12. Sit down, and then say to the person next to you, "Hi! My name's (…) and I'm really glad to meet you."

13. Every so often, yelp in pain, and look at your feet.

14. Bring a bag or purse, and peer into it and say, "Got enough air in their?" or, "Settle down in there. I'm trying to read!"

15. Ask someone their name, and then when they start to reply, cut them off by saying, "No it isn't!"

16. Every time the person next to you turns the page, make a strange sound, or a beep.

17. Announce the page number each time you turn a page.

18. Spell every single word as you read it.

19. Hold your book right next to your eyes.

20. Every few minutes, get up out of your chair, walk around the table, and sit back down.

21. Put down your book, then say, “Hey, ya wanna trade?”

22. While working at a laptop, suddenly stand up, and announce to every one, “I have mail!!”

23. Collapse on the floor. Then get up like nothing happened. When the person next to you asks what is wrong, look at him/her with an inquiring look on your face, and say, “What do you mean?”

24. Say, “Who’s Freddie?” Then act like you didn’t say anything.

25. Get a child’s book like “Green Eggs and Ham” and complain that there is no glossary.

Heh. Funny, huh?

Happy St. Patty's

Happy St. Patty's Day! I spent all week missing Ireland - right now though, I am missing Savannah, GA! (Do you notice the green water in the picture?!?) Ahh Savannah. Savannians go ALL out for St. Pat day, even dyeing the Savannah River green. When I asked my boss if we were going to be closed for the holiday, she laughed and said that this wasn't really a "real" holiday. Good thing girlfriend doesn't live in Georgia. We Southerners know how to throw a good celebration party. I even think I was the only person today wearing green! (Stupid Yankees. Grr...)

Blue Man Black Lights

Blue Man Black Lights
Originally uploaded by peachicken.

Friday's Photo Challege... Technology! (This was taken in Boston at the Blue Man Group show.)

Thursday Thirteen #14

tt
Originally uploaded by peachicken.

Thirteen Memories of Ireland

1. Sitting in the Temple Bar in Dublin, sharing a pint with my guy, and listening to U2…
2. Kissing the Blarney Stone and exploring the enchanted gardens of the Rock Close at Blarney Castle…
3. Making up silly road trip limericks on our drive through Limerick…
4. Strolling down the Dublin streets, seeing all the different brightly colored front doors…
5. Talking to all the cute little old men with thick Irish accents…
6. The excitement of the protest fires near our “hostile” hostel in Cork… (Sounds almost Lemony Snicketesque!)
7. Drinking a pint in the Gravity Bar in the Guinness Factory/Museum, overlooking all of Dublin.
8. Chasing a rainbow all the way to the water’s edge, and finding the “Eye” of Ireland…
9. Having to play “Farmer Girl” in a bush in the middle of a park in Dublin… (Actually, that is not a GOOD memory!)
10. Going to visit the James Joyce Museum a couple of days after Bloomsday…
11. Seeing the Book of Kells and the oldest Irish harp, and then sneaking a picture in the Trinity College Library…
12. Sitting on a cliff watching the sun set on Ireland…
13. And finally, in honor of tomorrow, visiting the stunning St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin…

(I had to host today's TT through Flickr because Blogger sucks!!!)

Leave me a comment and I'll make up a list, even check it twice!

Film Clubs

Okay, so I have this friend who is a part of a film club. (For the record, yes - film clubs are everything you think they are. Some people were even chauffeured to the door. Frightening.) Well, my friend gave me her tickets for tonight's screening because she couldn't go. (Oh, I am SO there!) The club always shows a pre-released film and then does a discussion afterward. They usually have a special guest come in who is, in some way, related to the making of the film. (Before Capote came out, they did a screening of it and even had the director Bennett Miller come to give a talk at the end. Nice, ehh?)

Tonight's film was Find Me Guilty, directed by Sidney Lumet. Lumet is known for Serpico, Twelve Angry Men, and The Verdict. Find Me Guilty has a cast of some strong actors. Peter Dinklage (Station Agent - such a good movie!!!) and Ron Silver (Bruno from West Wing!!!) are both in this, as well as Hesh from the Sopranos. And, if you haven't heard anything about this flick, let me just tell you - it stars Vin Diesel. Surprised? Yup. So was I. But, you know, he really has come a long way from being a "blue-collar action star" (as Alex Rocco so thoughtfully put it). Diesel was funny and even sensitive in this film (and not in a Pacifier way, either...).

The movie is based on the true story of the Lucchesi Family and the longest criminal/mafia trial in American history. (Let's think about timing here... Is someone trying to market off of Soprano buzz?!? Heh. I getcha.) Vin Diesel plays Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio. The movie is humorous and entertaining. All in all though, kinda rentable. But congrats to Diesel who has clearly demonstrated in this film that he has earned the right to do big boy movies now. Seriously, I was pleasantly surprised.

After the flick, our surprise guest was the villain of the film and thankfully not this guy... BARF-O-RAMA. (Yeah, cause he has always pretty much sucked.) We had guest Alex Rocco, whose starring role was Moe Green, the guy who got shot in the eye, in the Godfather. He also kinda sucks as an actor. (But what he really sucks at is answering questions!) At one point, he said something like he wouldn't pay five dollars to see Leonard Nimoy in a film. I was thinking, "Shoot, I like Spock a whole lot better than your sorry street acting!" Well, whatever. The movie was still good in spite of this little fella.

Pleased

My first eight weeks of Baby Story Time are over. I made it!!! (Hear: large sigh of relief...) Anywho, I was starting to seriously doubt my ability to continue with this program happily, until yesterday. You know the feeling, when you aren't getting any feedback and it makes you feel like you are just wasting your time because you are singing your little heart out and having absolutely no effect on your audience?!? (I basically felt like a lounge singer with a crappy repertoire of baby songs.) Well, during the sign-up for the next eight weeks of story hours, my boss told me that some of my kids didn't want to move up into her story hour and that the moms said their kids were finally "getting" it! That is huge! What a complement. It is so difficult to be able to capture attentions of a group of 15 - 20 PRE-toddlers. But maybe I did something right! Also, yesterday one of my kids drew me a picture and brought it in from home. She's just now two, so she ain't no Picasso. Still, it made me feel like a million bucks. What a day.

Green

This post is in honor of the tiny Tuckahoe town parade, which may or may not have been cancelled due to the rain (and yesterday was so pretty!).

On The Color Green...

What exactly is "green?" It is approximately 525 nm wavelength. It is the 'G' in the abbreviation of "Roy G. Biv." It is half of yellow and cyan. It is the color of Kermit the Frog and Oscar the Grouch, two of my favorite muppets. It is (according to Tim) the color you wear "on Wednesdays, if you are horny" - don't ask me, maybe it's a Texas thing! Aliens (of the extraterrestrial variety) are sometimes referred to as "little green men." Green symbolizes go in its use in traffic signals, railway signals, and ship signals. It is the color of nature. Medieval minesongs described green as the color of love.

Green was the favorite color of Napoleon and the green wallpaper in his exile home in St. Helena became his undoing. His premature death was not the work of a poisoner but was caused by the noxious fumes emanating from the bright green wallpaper. White and red in the Italian flag are the ancient colors of Italy, whereas green stands for the right of Freedom and for Equality. Green is the color of the prophet Mohammed who himself declared it his favorite color and who's cloak and turban were green. Green is the national color of Irish Catholics as opposed to orange as the color of the protestant Orangemans who conquered Ireland led by William of Orange.

And green also is the color of Ireland, or the "Emerald Isle." In fact, the greens in Ireland put Crayola to shame! The picture at the top was taken "among the greens" in Blarney, Ireland.

Overdue

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things that suck when you have a massive headache

1. Working (with others) on a web page that you formerly thought was perfect - one that you've spent an obscene amount of your own time on, all for the glory of your public library. Grrr.
2. Dealing with a really loud library, and no place to hide...
3. Trying to think up a TT for today when your head pounds and your brain is empty.
   
4. Squeaky toys - oh geez! Who thought that putting these in public buildings were a good idea?!?
   
5. Doing a lesson plan for a baby story hour when you are super (gag-me-with-a -spoon) sick of baby songs. Itsy Bitsy Spider this, man.
   
6. Having to "babysit" 12 year-olds to make sure they don't go on (cue: scary music) the forbidden MySpace.com.
7. Rich kids and lazy parents (that should be the title of a book).
8. Dealing with a mess. I get the most O.C.D. when I feel like crap. Just ask Tim.
   
9. Needing caffeine fed to you intraveniously. Heh heh... You know, it's National Caffeine Awareness Month. Fancy that.
10. Some kid just thew a paper plane at me. Sometimes things like that make you want to reevaluate your choice of profession.
11. I also hate that I need to wear glasses, but my prescription is way old and I am too poor to get new ones. (Maybe this is why my head hurts?) Who is to say I'd even wear them anyway. Librarians already have these personas..glasses, cats, a freaky sense of humor - my cards are already stacked.
12. Oh freak, I wish there were staff bathrooms here. I just braved the public one and I swear someone took a bath in there. There was even a bottle of V05 in the trash and water all over the floor - ick. We won't even talk about what it smelled like. I guess I should be happy this person washed up, but I'm not!
13. By now, you probably think I hate my job. I don't. I just hate the mixture of migrane and rotten days at the P.L.
    

Road Trip

Plug the Dam
Originally uploaded by peachicken.

Last Sunday, Tim and I made a little road trip out of free sight-seeing. (When you are poor, you have to be creative!) Anyway, we saw the Croton Dam, which is a water reservoir for Manhattan. It is huge! It's over 301 feet tall and the base of it is about 216 feet wide. We made snow angels, correction, I made snow angels and we saw a "Muffler Man" and some other crazy things. (Here I am, trying in vain to plug the hole in the dam.) I'll post the pictures in Flickr.

Oscar, Oscar

Tonight I may actually watch the Oscars! Not because I am interested to see who won and who is wearing what, but because I love Jon Stewart.

Eggs, Flour, & Butter

Sometimes in life, you feel like a giant pancake. You can be warm and sugary feeling, smothered in yummy berries and coated with maple, or you can be floppy and dried out, with pockets of lumpy dried batter all through you. Other times, you could be puffed up by the hot surrounding air and resemble more of a cake than a pancake. Or be burned or flattened by the skillet of life - so much so, that no pad of butter can grease your way back into joy. My dad like to put pecans in his pancakes. I think it suits him. If he were a pancake, he would be nutty. What kind of pancake am I today? I think I am a Flap Jack... Well-browned by my surroundings, but not crispy. Light enough to munch on singularly, but better tasting if I were given the means to make myself better. I think I need some strawberries in my life. What kind of pancake are you, reader?

Want a great book?

I just finished listening to The Tale of Despereaux on audio and it was so amazing! A good reader MAKES the audio book experience, and this book is so worth the time. It is this cute story of a French mouse who doesn't fit in and who is destined for greatness. It has a castle, evil rats, a spool of red thread, and a princess named Pea - who could ask for more? (Read: This one ranks up there, in my books, with the Potter kid, the Narnians, and even that funny Little Prince.) This book also has that interactive quality (for lack of a better phrase) that I love, similar to Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice, where she addresses the reader or Lemony Snicket, when he asks the reader if the reader knows what a certain word means. I love that! I'm telling you, this book has it all: humor, compassion, adventure, a great ending, strong and lovable characters, and even French accented mice. It's a total package. Love.It.

Thursday Thirteen #12

1. I love the friendship that she and I have developed. Sometimes we are so different, but that makes us close. I value her opinions.
   
2. I love that my mom and I have super long phone conversations. (This is saying a whole lot, because I HATE to chat on the phone.)
3. My mom gets so freaked out at scary movies! She totally cracks me up. Once during the scary part of a movie we were watching, (instead of just jumping) she literally jumped up and ran out of the room!
   
4. I love my mom's personality. She is someone you can't ignore. She is one of those people you can't walk by without hugging.
   
5. My mom is also one of the wisest women you will ever meet. She has a great quote or some sage wisdom to bestow for nearly every situation!
   
6. (I love that my mom is so into blogging that she will think this banner is very cool...)
7. When I think about my mom, I think about daisies. (And not just because of her blog - Lazy Daisy!) Daisies are a happy flower, they always look like they are smiling - just like my mom!
8. She is one of the most generous people I've ever known. She truly knows the meaning of "give until it hurts." But she never receives any recognition for her sacrifices. Well, I notice mom.
   
9. When my mom loves something, she REALLY loves it. She is always wholehearted in the things she is passionate about.
   
10. My mom is a great writer. She throws her humor and creativity around and someday she'll put it all together and write a best-seller. I hope.
11. My mom is a "cozy" person. Her favorite place is looking out on her country backyard with its rolling hills, watching the little finches at her birdfeeder, smelling her lilac tree, with a fuzzy cat on her lap. And that translates to her demeanor, too. She is one of those people you wind up telling your life story to!
    
12. My mom is a great wife. She exudes patience with my dad. She listens to him spout off crazy phrases he learns in other languages, shuts all the cabinet doors he forgets to close, tolerates his "selective hearing," and sometimes, she'll even watch "Modern Marvels" with him! What a lady!
    
13. And finally, my mom is a great mother. She raised some dang good kids. (Me, especially. Heh.)

(Other Thirteeners: Froggie... Mom... Uisce... Kimmy... Shelli... Jen... Novelist... Ladybug...)