Week-End Review (or is it Week In Review?)

Why have I not blogged lately? I've been asking myself the same question. I started to notice that I was getting pissy about the blogs I frequent and how none of them had very current posts. Then I was like, "Shoot. I bet they are pissy with me, too!" Well, here is how my week went...

I met an author on Thursday. I grew up with these Amelia Bedelia books - you know, the books with that silly maid who takes everything totally literally. She dusts furniture by sprinkling powder all over everything... She literally "dresses" a turkey dinner in knickerbockers... She "puts out the lights" by unscrewing all the light bulbs and hanging them outside on a clothes line... Too silly! These were a staple in my household growing up. Well, one of the perks of being a children's librarian in a major metro is that, on Thursday, I got to go to a school for a read-aloud and meet Herman Parish. (His aunt actually wrote the original books that I grew up with, but he is carrying on the family name by writing new Amelia books that are just as good.)

After meeting Parish, we (me and other "famous" people from the town, such as the town supervisor, the police chief, fire chief, local principals, etc.) all were given a class to read a book to. I read The Lorax by Dr. Seuss to a fifth grade class. It was cool. I even knew five of the girls in the class! Go me.

Yesterday, I went to another read-aloud (this time with no author). I read to a kindergarten class The Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon and Misery Moo by Jeanne Willis. And afterward, I thought to myself, "Self, why are you not a kindergarten teacher?!?" Those kids were absolutely adorable. And talk about self-esteem booster; they wouldn't let you leave without giving you tons of hugs. I don't remember the last time I felt so loved! And I tell ya, the books I picked were total winners, too. They wanted me to reread the Shannon book, even. Cute kids.

Okay, speaking of cute kids, want to see my reading group? They are the cutest kids ever. Are they not?!? (Can you tell who the big kid in the middle is?) We met this past Wednesday for our monthly Read 'N' Rant group. We just finished reading Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Gantos. This next book we are reading is awesome - it's The Case of the Missing Marquess by Springer. It's an "Enola Holmes" mystery - she is Sherlock's little sister. Should be a good one.

So, enough about work. I also got to meet an old friend in the city Thursday night. My buddy Lynnae was in town, reading a paper for a convention here. I'm in her wedding this summer. I haven't had the chance to see Nae in like FOREVER. We went to dinner and just talked and caught up. It was so nice. Here is a picture from the night. We look like sisters almost, eh? Well, we grew up like family, that's for sure! I think of her and her other sisters, Rach and Kelly, like family (especially my Rachel, who I miss terribly, who is WAY FAR AWAY in South Africa)!

And since this was so long of a post, I'll call it a wrap. I have other things to say (like the movie Babel was a huge disappointment; and I have a new favorite kids book - The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Selznick; and the word "kindergarten" is hard to spell because you would think it should be spelled "kindergarden;" and the weather here is starting to turn nice and I've even spotted some new growth in my future garden, like irises and tulips and such...) but I'll save all that for another post. Gotta spread the love, you know?

Another Wordless Wednesday (because it's just so funny...)

(taken by Tom Altany, winner of the International Color Award for color photography)

Wordless Wednesday - At My Library

Librarians

According to Stephen Colbert, "librarians are hiding something." What could it be? Any takers?

Introducing...

The Be Good Tanyas!!!

This is one of my favorite musical groups. They just have this incredible mix of folksy heartland music and funky lyrics. I love 'em! This is always been one of my favorite song of theirs, too, "The Littlest Birds." So imagine my surprise today finding out that they have a new album out (actually it's a 2006-er) called Hello Love. I am so all over that!

These tunes remind me so much of Johnson City, TN - a place I lived three years ago. Tim and I went to school in the area and we really settled down there for a while. It really was a lovey place. I miss all of the incredible people and the gorgeous mountains. I still get "homesick" for my lovin' Appalachia. Like the Be Good Tanyas say:

Well I feel like an old hobo, I'm sad lonesome and blue.
I was fair as the summer day now the summer days are through.
You pass through places and places pass through you -
But you carry 'em with you on the souls of your travellin' shoes...

Well I love you so dearly I love you so clearly.
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues.
I got the wanderin' blues.
And i'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways one of these days soon
And I'll sing:

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

Love it!

Which Latin America Country to Visit?

Have you noticed all the different South American countries they have recently visited on the Amazing Race? (Well, being such a tourist, it's totally one of my favorite shows.) I have a buddy who has traveled pretty extensively all over, but she spent some time in South America. She says, "Just don't eat the nuts!"

What Latin American Country Should You Visit?

You Should Visit Argentina

Cowboys, European food, beaches, and skiing. This country is like no other! Learn to tango, hike across Patagonia, eat at fine restaurants... you'll never be bored.

Necessary Gardens

Necessary Gardens

Libraries
Are
Necessary
Gardens
Unsurpassed
At
Growing
Excitement.

(from Please Bury Me In The Library by J. Patrick Lewis)

This Is How I Play...

Today, I am interested in pencils... (I tried this group in a couple of other colors, too. Take a look.) For more pencil art, check out this chick - she's good!

Wordless Wednesday - Polka Dots

Heh.

(I've been meaning to blog about a couple of funny things that I've been thinking about lately... Here is a catch-up.)

Last weekend, Tim and I took baby brother Andy (who isn't a baby - he is a whopping 24 yr. old fella who is way taller than I am and can put away Taco Bell bean burritos like nothing I've ever seen before in my life - but it's just fun to call him "baby" brother) to see the movie 300. The movie is incredible and violent and has fantastic cinematography and well-placed feminist undertones, but I digress. The reason I'm telling you this, reader, is because before the movie, we three had some time to kill. Since it was still the opening weekend, we got there early to get tickets and had about an hour and a half of play time.

Well, we decided to head into Barnes and Noble to read some magazines and hang out. While we started to walk in, Andy rushes up to me and gets really close and starts muttering something. I am like "What the crap, dude?" and then I realize what he is saying... He starts chanting "Don't beep, don't beep, don't beep, don't beep..." and as we pass through the security gate, sure enough, we beep. I say "we" because he is literally on top of me at this point. This, for some reason started me cracking up.

See, I have this irrational fear of the buzzer in those door sensor thingies. I hate shopping alone because of them. I have never in my life shoplifted, but I am completely paranoid of the looks people get when that buzzer goes off. Sometimes I will even change into a different shirt or a pair of pants before I go to certain stores, just because I don't want to wear an item in the store I purchased it in. (Now THAT is freaky, isn't it?) Oh, and I also make my husband carry the bags of recently purchased items outside of the store, just in case anything didn't get desensored. So, now you know a quirk of mine.

And now you can see why I think it is completely HILARIOUS that my brother has this buzzer problem. He says over half of the time that he walks into stores, he sets off the alarm! I think I would just die if this always happened to me. As it is, I think he just is too lazy to cut out his Old Navy sensors off of his jeans. (Isn't it annoying how they do that now?) I do hope this story made sense.

More random things I think are funny: my ten year high school reunion is this summer (now THAT is funny!)... also, today I touched a giant yellow albino python and learned that they have toenails... and finally, I saw a poster in the NY subway for a closet organizing company and it said this, "You're closet is so narrow it makes Dick Cheney look liberal." Heh.

Cutie Pie

Ahhh... I needed an Emma picture!
(She looks the way I feel today!)

Rome and Italians

Tonight one of my favorite shows comes on. I am reveling in these last few episodes because this, I've heard, is going to be the final season. It is just too expensive to put on. (The costumes are just incredible, and the whole thing is filmed ON LOCATION!) The show is called "Rome" - it is a joint production between the BBC and HBO (who could ask for more?!?). Well, if you haven't seen it, it is worth checking out and watching. But start at the beginning! You won't want to miss a single show. Oh, and by the way, it's a bit bloody.

Speaking of Rome, this photo is one we took when we visited the ruins of the Roman Forum a couple summers ago. It's funny, I've been thinking a lot about Italian culture and trips to Italy and whatnot lately. Tim and I have been re-watching the Sopranos, and in the second season Tony takes Christopher and Paulie to Italy for a "business" trip. This makes me laugh, because throughout the whole episode, you see these Italian-Americans who are so very "Italian" but have never even visited Italy before, in their whole lives. What cracks me up is when certain American cultures are more cultural here than in their home country! It's like perpetuating cultural stereotypes and somewhat objectifying themselves or something. And I'm not trying to single out any one culture, this applies across the board to any American-plus culture. I don't know, I'm not offended by this (or trying to offend others, for that matter!), I just think it's a funny and odd phenomenon.

Maybe I'm sensitive to this lately because I have some young kids at work who are always asking me what I am, as in what my heritage is. What should I say? I tell them I'm American and they are like "American and what?" Geez, I don't know! Some French? A bit Cherokee? Part Oompaloompah?

It's all About Me

Ick. Just got home from a long day. Yesterday the sun was shining, but today it was rainy and blah. Tomorrow we are expecting a bit of snow. Doesn't Mother Earth know that it is March already?!? Didn't Punxsutawney Phil say that spring was coming? Serves me right for trusting a stupid groundhog.

When I got home, the first thing I did was put on my happy bunny t-shirt that says "It's all about me" and my comfy jeans. The suzy forecast is also calling for a bubble bath. You know what, I'll just say it... work sucked today. I had to play disciplinarian and basically surrogate mommy to all these latch-key kids and it just gets tiring. That is not what I went to school and got a masters for. And seriously, I do love these kids. I really do. I know all their names and I ask them about their day and all that. Heck, I may even talk to them more than their parents! (Scary.) It's just hard to be the babysitter, you know? Especially when they are all hyped up on sugar and my head feels like it will explode and all that. What do you do for kids that are crying out for attention and you have (long since) reached your quota for the day?!?

Also, I think I am coming down with something. I really feel icky. Good thing a new Grey's Anatomy will be on tonight! It's a bunny slippers and couch night tonight!

Wordless Wednesday - My Little Mexican

This one's for Christie... It's a Halloween pic of (baby)Timmy, my worker hubby who tends to work so hard for little reward. Just because.

My Visual DNA

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Poor Andy

Poor little Andy. One of his favorite super heroes passed on this weekend... Captain America. (These are pictures of Andy at my Halloween party in '03 - hanging out with my favorite vampire couple.) Let's all observe a moment of silence for the passing of a great one. Alright... moment over.

St. Patrick's Parade

I'm off to watch the local St. Pat's Parade since I know some kids in it and all. (Some of the kids in my 4th & 5th grade reading group are Irish Dancing - or whatever you call it - and I also know a ton of Brownie's and Girl Scouts.) It will be a new experience for me to watch a parade that I know people in! I almost feel like I fit in or something! But I promise I won't go dressed like this:

Make your own Zing!

Sinkin' Soon

There is this great little song by Norah Jones that gets trapped in my head (and rattles about for the rest of the day) if I hear it in the morning, but the problem is I can't for the life of me understand what the freak it is about!!! It's like this Alice in Wonderland crazy montage of a song about apple pie crusts and a cheap pontoon boat or something. I even looked up the video to see if it would help me kind of figure out the meaning of the tune, but now I'm even more perplexed. Watch this and see why... It is just W.A.C.K.

Sinkin' Soon

We're an oyster cracker on the stew,
And the honey in the tea,
We're the sugar cubes, one lump or two,
In the black coffee,
The golden crust on an apple pie,
That shines in the sun at noon,
We're a wheel of cheese high in the sky,
But we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

In a boat that's built of sticks and hay,
We drifted from the shore,
With a captain who's too proud to say,
That he dropped the oar,
Now a tiny hole has sprung a leak,
In this cheap pontoon,
Now the hull has started growing weak,
And we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
Everybody hold your breath 'cause,
We're gonna be sinkin' soon

We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
We're gonna be
Sinkin' soon,
Everybody hold your breath 'cause,
Down and down we go.

Like the oyster cracker on the stew,
The honey in the tea
The sugar cubes, one lump or two?
No thank you none for me.
We're the golden crust on an apple pie,
That shines in the sun at noon,
Like the wheel of cheese high in the sky
Well ... we're gonna be sinkin' soon.

So, is she sayin' she's the flava'?!? She's the sugar and spice? And who is "we" - like the "royal we" or something? And why is she sinking? Any help/theories/comments would be much appreciated.

Philly Flower Show

Okay! I finished uploading the pics from this gorgeous event. So, if you are needing to add a bit of spring time to your diet, click here and view my slide show. I am really very proud of some of these pictures! (I tried some new photoshop features this time and everything!)

Photo Friday - Addiction

"C" is for Cookie

Holy Cow. It was a LOOONG day. And I just fell off my bandwagon.

I have been a good girl lately and have been cutting back my daily intake of carbs and chocolate. I've even been on a "diet." I've had some moderate success - I've lost 20 pounds, even. (Thank you, thank you, hold the applause...) I've hidden the naughty foods and learned to enjoy Crystal Light. Well, you know those days when you have been dealing with crazy folk and you get the mean reds and go home and find your naughty foods stash? That was today. Hope I haven't done too much damage. I really needed a Mike's and a Toblerone!!!

In other recent news (somewhat related), my fork bracelet - the one I always wear - seems to be getting on my nerves lately. It keeps turning around on my wrist. Tim says it's because I lost weight. I think that's like saying "It's too cold for it to snow." (How can it be "too cold" to snow!?! What about Antarctica?) Do normal-sized people lose weight on their wrists?!? Is that even possible? I don't know. Maybe my yummy Mike's malt beverage will fill my wrist back out and my bracelet and I can be friends again.

Wordless Wednesday - Artist Jen Stark

(The work of artist Jen Stark... She does this with construction paper!
Click here to see more of her art. She's fantastic.)

The Sisterhood

I finally finished this 400 page book this morning before I headed off to work today. (Sigh) This book was like the end of an era for me. The girls are all grown up now (having grown up experiences even - gasp!) and in college and whatnot. It's the last of the sisterhood. I don't know, some part of me feels old now after reading this book, like I can't go back to the way it used to be or something. I'm not quite sure how I feel about all this growing up.

Anyway, my Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants program was last week, and I do know how I felt about that! The program was awesome. I had seven girls come and decorate a pair of their own jeans and also help decorate a pair that "traveled" between us and three other libraries. I posted some pictures here. We had a lot of fun (and the pants leg we decorated was by far the best)!

Singing Slugs

You should see the movie Flushed Away, if not because I told you to, then at least for the singing slugs. I don't think there is anything funnier than an animated slug with a perfect set of teeth singing in a base voice. Well, watch this video and see for yourself.

"And then he said ... "

"And then he said ... "
Originally uploaded by becky b..

This is such a great picture of my little niece. I'm counting down the days till I can be the one Emma chit-chats with... June can't come soon enough!

Pretty Funny

Random Stuff From My Head

I don't know if it is the weather that is doing this to me, or if it is me just being generally distracted, but I haven't had much desire to blog in complete thoughts. And when I have blogged complete thoughts, either the post is pretty short or it's not all that interesting. So here are some random spurts of whatever to read and digest however you please. Also, by having a non-themed post about nothing in particular, I can upload this wacky picture of me and Tim and not think anything of it. (We found this cool wall of cups in the convention center at the PFS.)

First thought: I broke a nail this weekend. Before you think me vain or whatever, let me tell ya that this was no ordinary break. I cut this sucker down to the quick. It was a moderately long thumb nail that split in a way that made my hubby queasy. (And he is pretty tough.) There wasn't a recordable blood gush, but there was pain.

I broke my nail when I was being a good helper. A good helper, you ask? Yes, this weekend I was helping my hubby retile our kitchen floor. I grabbed a linoleum tile inappropriately, I guess. Anyway, that new tile now looks splendid in my kitchen. I can't begin to tell you the difference this tile has made in my life. I know that this also sounds superficial, but since this is my blog and the tile means something to me, I feel strongly about mentioning it. It's crazy how much of a difference something like a floor pattern can make on a room. For real, this room looks smooth - whereas before, it looked thrown together. My personality ACTUALLY changes when I walk into the kitchen now. I may even take up cooking.

Speaking of personality changes, has anyone heard the new Norah Jones CD? (That didn't come out right. Her personality is probably the same and this CD is just so Norah Jones.) What I mean is that her voice is such that if I'm having a crappy day, this CD is just what I need. She changes my bad mood. I'm listening to her right now. Not that I'm in a bad mood, but that I like the CD a lot. Oh, never mind.

Well, I'm going to go clean house cause baby brother is on his way over to spend the night, which should be fun. He's a fun guy. (Snicker snicker... Fungi)

Philly Flower Show

We're back from the Philly Flower Show - I'm busy working my photoshop magic on the 100+ pictures we took of the gorgeous flowers and the intricate arrangements. This show, it was just about overwhelming! And whoo-boy, we were not the only people with the idea of seeing the flower show today, I tell ya. It was as crowded as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! But it was really worth the two hour drive there and back again, simply as a pick-me-up to the winter doldrums. I just needed to see / smell some flowers, you know?!? Have you ever felt that way, reader? (I know you have, even if you won't admit it.) There is just something about the way a grape hyacinth smells... something about the way a red poppy smiles at you... something in the way a fern brushes your hands... And it's true that it is much more magnificent when it is all encompassed into a sunny afternoon stroll, rather than in a giant enclosed civic center, but it was really fantastic nonetheless. This event will forever rank high on my recommends list.

Off to Tir-Na-nOg

We're off to shake our winter blues away at the Philadelphia Flower Show. If you've never heard of it before, let me just tell you that it is the biggest indoor flower and garden show in the world (and it is the oldest in the US). This years' theme is the legendary Tir-Na-nOg, "where the leaves are always green and the flowers bloom year-round." I can't wait!

Funny

bookshelf

bookshelf
Originally uploaded by chotda.

Check this out. So pretty, but basically every librarians nightmare... Who knew there were THAT many pink books out there?!?

To Emma

I was listening to this cd last night (Lori Chaffer from Waterdeep - her first solo album) while thinking of my brand new beautiful little niece. So, I just wanted to post these lyrics to her because it's hard being an auntie from so far away. I just want her to know that I love her and it's lovely that she is here...

Welcome

welcome to this dusty land
where you will cry lots but we'll all understand
things may not turn out sometimes like you plan
that's alright our little (emma edit: "wo")man

welcome outside of your mother's womb
i know that it's frightening
but now there's more room
just think of all the great things you'll do
just by you being you

i don't care what the world
says about all this struggling
all i know is that now you're here
it's all lovely' lovely

i don't care about
all the things that have troubled me
now that you're here i remember life
can be so lovely
though it's troubling'
but you're lovely'

welcome to us, oh our little song
you're one part your daddy
one part your mom
they're gonna help you grow up to be strong
but for now little guy (emma edit: "girl")
sleep on