Last day of BEDA {August edition}

ast day of Blog Everyday in August or BEDA.  This was easier than last time though maybe that's because it wasn't as big without Maureen's presence.  There wasn't a ning or any pressure other than the self-styled kind.  So this was actually kind of fun.  I got to break out my writing chops once again and I think I got a little better.  Finding topics was hard but thanks to some Google I managed to find something to talk about.  All in all, A+ for effort for me!  I did miss the first day though I am much chagrined for that.  But oh well.  I always get really excited and geared up and I'm going to blog everyday for the rest of my life!  But I don't and that's ok as long as I keep it up in general.

Elephant {the stuffed animal}

y son has a stuffed animal that he carries everywhere with him.  It is an elephant named Elephant.  Yes, we are very literal at my house.  Thank goodness he didn't name the dogs.

Anyway, Bub acquired Elephant one day at his first daycare when he was one.  One day I went to get him and they sent him home with this stuffed animal because he carried it around with all day.  So the next day I brought it back and then they sent it home with him again.  After a few days of this, he became attached.  After a while I stopped sending it back and just kept it at home.  We now need this stuffed animal.  I have no idea how old this thing is or where it originally came from but if this was Toy Story, then this animal would be in heaven.  It's pretty old though because the fabric is thin and it is currently held together by stitches and my fervent hope that it survives Bub's childhood.  He carries it everywhere, he sleeps with it, if he falls down then he physically puts the stuffed animal where it hurts so make him feel better.  It's a true comfort object. 

At the zoo together

The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking

I noticed this movie the other day on Netflix and it had been a long time since I have seen it so I added it to the queue.  Now I've never read the original book or if I have I don't remember, but I remember the movie.  It was very cute and sweet.  Pippi's father is lost at sea and so she returns to their family home named Villa Villekulla to live and wait for me.  There she befriends the two bored next door neighbor children, Tommy and Annika, and they have adventures together.  Pippi is very fun and sensible though she does like to tell stories and is often cheeky to adults, but usually adults who deserve it by treating her like she is dumb.  Anyway, some villains want to buy her house to tear down and make into a development so Pippi thwarts them at every turn.  She also tries to cheer up the orphan children who have a mean caretaker.

This version of Pippi has held up reasonably well and I enjoyed watching it again.  My 3 year old watched it with me and it seemed to enjoy it as well.  He liked when Pippi lifted up the horse and he liked the monkey and when they threw ice cream to the orphans.

Cross posted with The Little Bookworm

BIG Photo Challenge - Theme: Signs

I decided to use a picture I took on our recent trip to Disney World.  It's a sign where they store the floats for the parades labeled car barn and I thought it was cute.

How I became a reference librarian

ne day I decided Hey I am totally going to become a librarian!  And so I did the research, went to school, got my MLIS (Masters of Library and Information Science) and voilà here I am.  In library school, Reference is a requirement because it is one of the basic and most recognizable librarian jobs.  I did not like reference.  I decide then and there I would never become a reference librarian.  Oh no, not me.  Fast forward to graduation.  Desperate for a job I am applying anyway that sounds remotely plausible.  My mother calls me and tells me the local library is hiring a librarian and so I apply.  This is not what I had in mind when I went to library school.  I was focused on special libraries.  But once again, DESPERATE.  Meanwhile, all I'm getting are rejection letters because at that point the only experience I had was as a GA in circulation at my university library which is fine but doesn't have the impact that a different GA position (like reference) would have had.  I had an interview in the small town in Mississippi that I was, frankly, horrified by and was DESPERATE not to take.  At that point, I think I also had an interview at my hometown's local library too.  On the way back from showing BT the little town where we were both like no way I got the call.  I had the job at the hometown library!  YAY.

Now let me back up.  I was interviewed by the Director of the Library, the Assistant Director and the Children's Librarian (which I thought was weird but whatever, there turned out to be a reason for it*) and the position I was interviewing was a little vague.  The Director did most of the talking anyway and she indicted that it would be a "floating" position until the new branches were built.  So I thought I'd been doing a little here and a little there.  Fine, whatever.  Well, she offers me the job and doesn't say exactly what it is.  Once again, fine, whatever.

Now I am excited.  YES!  I have a job as a librarian in a public library.  Not quite what I wanted but a good entry level position.  Something to get me started.  BT and I get all the arrangements together.  I moved into my parent's house for a couple of weeks while he waits to get transferred to our new city and go to work.  I remember that morning so very vividly.  First, I can't figure out how to get in the building because it isn't opened yet.  Side door finally found and then I'm in but a few minutes late because of it.  I'm meet by the Assistant Director and she shows me around and then brings me to the reference desk.  I'm shocked!  REFERENCE!!  I didn't sign up for reference.  But, oh I did.  She is shocked that the Director didn't tell me.  It's crazy.  It turns out that they really did need a reference librarian.  The old one had left and the cataloger was doing double duty.  So all that crap in the interview was just the Director talking out of her head.  Weird.  Also it turned out she was retiring like 3 weeks after I started so she really didn't care as indicted by the first thing she said to me which was "Don't be late again because I had to fire someone for that."  To which I replied that I was on time, I just couldn't get into the building.

So at lunch, I ate somewhere, called BT and CRIED because REFERENCE, woe.  I planned to work it until I could find another job, but I ended up staying for 4 years working as the Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian.  And it turned out it was something I was good at doing.  I have a strong customer service background and an insatiable curiosity and need to find things.  Perfect for reference. 

*Because the Director was retiring, the Assistant Director took her place and the Children's Librarian became the Assistant Director.  That is why there were all there.

In which I show you one of my more colorful hobbies

I am about to show you my dorkiness.  Sometimes when I am bored I use Paint to color Sailor Moon coloring pages.  I know.  I know.  Wow, right?  I find it relaxing though like coloring or paint with water can be relaxing.  Here's some of pictures that I have done.

I find most of them here though I'm thinking of branching out from Sailor Moon.

Five places I'd like to visit that I have never been

When I was 17 I went on a trip to Europe.  We went to Italy, England, and France and it was fun and I'd like to go again one day with my husband.  But there are some place I have never been that I'd like to go.

1. Greece - My in-laws have gone several times and they love it.  It looks so beautiful and bright.  I'd like to see the ruins of course but also the villages on the coast.

2. New York - My cousin and I have been perpetually planning a trip to New York for most of our lives and one day I'd like to go with her.  I think we would have fun and it seems like a good fun trip.

3. Los Vegas - I think this would be a fun group trip to take with friends and/or family.  I'm not really a gambler but I think I would have fun there.

4. Ireland - I've been to Europe, but not Ireland and so I'd like to go.

5. Japan - It seems like a cool place and, it might sound stupid, but I love anime and manga and I am fascinated by this island-country.

Mockingjay release day!

Mockingjay is out today!  And that is an unintentional rhyme, but that is ok.  I actually pre-ordered it from a bookstore, but then when it came down to it, I decided to just download it onto my Nook and then this weekend I will go pick up by hardback copy.  I own the first two in hardback so I need to get the set, but it was just easier to download it this morning so I can hopefully sneak in a little reading here and there and then of course on break and at lunch and I'll bring it up for my reference desks shift.  I am so excited to find out what happens.  I cannot wait.  I hope it is as amazingly good as the first two.

My grandparents

ack to the blog writing prompt generator which asks about my grandparents.  Well, most of mine are deceased.  All of them lived in Oklahoma so I really only saw them when we went for two weeks in the summer.   All of our family vacations were spent in Oklahoma seeing our family up there.  Both of my parents are from Oklahoma so most of the family is up there.

My maternal grandfather died when I was five and I barely remember him except that he sat in the same chair always at the dining table and that was always his chair and after he died no one wanted to sit in his chair.  But I really don't remember interacting with him at all.  My maternal grandmother died when I was 22.  It was right before my bachelors graduation and my parents went up for the funeral, but I didn't get to go.  But something happened with their flight or something and they missed my graduation, but made it for the party.  They both felt really bad about missing it, but it is just one of those things.  I was never very close to my mother's mother.  She was nice enough and loved us and wanted us to have a good time, but it was boring at her house and looking back I feel back about how much I hated going over there.  But it was always hot and my favorite cousin/best friend was at my other grandparent's house and so I wanted to be with her.  We managed to entertain ourselves though and I associate certain things with her, Uno, chicken fried steak, white gravy and biscuits, wrestling.

My paternal grandfather died when I was 16 and very close to high school graduation.  We went up to Oklahoma for the funeral and stayed for about a week.  It was very sad.  I have a lot of good memories of their house.  This has a lot to do with the aforementioned cousin.  They also had a farm with animals and that played a big part.  My grandpa would let us ride his horses quite a bit.  There was one named Lady that was his favorite for us kids.  She was very gentle.  I remember following him around when he slopped the pigs and he let me feed the horses or help feed the dogs (he raised beagles).  He had a horse trough that he would fill up and we would "swim" in it.  There was a big pond (well, several) near the house and he would take us fishing.  Thinking back, he did a lot of stuff with us even though he was really busy.

My paternal grandmother is still alive, thank goodness.  She will be 90 years old soon and she is the cutest little lady.  She used to be 4'9" but now she is like 4'5" or something.  She really did shrink.  I have a lot of nice memories about her too.  She would make us chocolate pancakes with chocolate syrup.  She put up with us running around her house and never really fussed too much though we spent a lot of time outdoors.  She was always happy with whatever little presents we gave her like a good grand/mother does even when it was nothing but a flower from her own garden.  I'm glad that she lived to see my son and I hope my next one gets to meet her too. 

On Nancy Drew and reading all her books this year

Originally written in 1930 when the first Nancy Drew book appeared, Nancy has stood the test of time.  But believe it or not, she's been updated.  The original Nancy Drew books had a language that reflected their times and were racially and culturally very un-PC.  So beginning in 1959, the Stratemeyer Syndicate began updating them resulting in the yellow hardcovers that are so familiar to everyone today.


I could go on about the influence of Nancy Drew and her history.  I've done a lot of research, but let me just say that growing up I read almost every Nancy Drew book there was or at least it seemed so.  I went through a phase where I did research and read anything I could find about the history of Nancy Drew and why she was important to pop culture and young girls.  So I have a lot of love for her.  But I will admit that these books are fairly standard by today's standards and the writing can leave much to be desired as they were eventually churned out by a bunch of ghostwriters (though they never get as bad as say The Babysitter's Club series or any of the Sweet Valley books).  I will also admit to Nancy being a busybody and a goody-goody.  She just can't help herself, almost literally.  So, of course, with a case involving poor people, old people, little girls, Nancy only wants to help them with no thought for herself.  She is very selfless although at the end of every mystery she somehow manages to gain a tangible reward for her services.

This year I decide to join a book challenge and read all 56 of the original yellow hardback books.  I am running a bit behind as of now.  The original goal was to read one a week and then two on occasion to fill in the missing weeks.  But I got caught up in some other books and I have neglected Nancy a bit.  Right now I'm on number 31 The Ringmaster's Secret and plan on reading at least one other if not two.  Mockingjay is out tomorrow and so I will definitely read that as soon as I get it.  And I have the feeling I might be a bit shattered after it.  Nancy Drew, surprisingly, makes a good "palate cleanser" between books.  She is so fun and full of mystery, but there are not books to make me over think.  I'm having a lot of fun so far re-reading these old favorites.

Ten Favorite Book Quotes

I collect quotes like some people collect stamps or coins.  Often I found that someone else has said it better than I could and with that I present some of my favorite book quotes.


1.

"Freedom is an illusion. It always comes at a price."

— Jonathan Stroud (The Amulet of Samarkand)

2.

"It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things."

— Lemony Snicket (Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid)


3.

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" was his response. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

— Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

4.

"Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can."

— Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic)

5.

"Touchstone watched, suddenly conscious that he probably only had five seconds left to be alone with Sabriel, to say something, to say anything. Perhaps the last five seconds they ever would have alone together.
I am not afraid, he said to himself.
'I love you," he whispered. "I hope you don't mind.'"

— Garth Nix (Sabriel)

6.

"To get something you must give something away.
To hold something you must give something away.
To love something you must give something away."

— David Levithan (The Realm of Possibility)

7.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

— Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

8.

"Everyone, at some point in their lives, wakes up in the middle of the night with the feeling that they are all alone in the world, and that nobody loves them now and that nobody will ever love them, and that they will never have a decent night's sleep again and will spend their lives wandering blearily around a loveless landscape, hoping desperately that their circumstances will improve, but suspecting, in their heart of hearts, that they will remain unloved forever. The best thing to do in these circumstances is to wake somebody else up, so that they can feel this way, too."

— Lemony Snicket (Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid)

9.

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free."

— Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)

And last, I love this quote.  It is the most perfect quote about Louisiana weather I have ever seen.

10.

"Louisiana in September was like an obscene phone call from nature. The air - moist, sultry, secretive, and far from fresh - felt as if it were being exhaled into one's face. Sometimes it even sounded like heavy breathing."

— Tom Robbins (Jitterbug Perfume)


cross-posted with The Little Bookworm

In which I contemplate more tattoos

I posted before about my tattoos.  One day after having my last child, I plan on getting their newborn footprints done and that should be it.  But I guesss I have the itch for getting a tattoo because I feel like getting a fleur de lis.  These are my two picks right now:

I like them both.  I think the ribbon is very pretty without being too structured.  I like the second one because it isn't very detailed and still has that flower look.  So I don't know.  I'm not even sure where I'd get it.  I thought about on my ankle, but I can't decide how much that would bother me.  I'm not a fan of the arm or breast and I won't put it on my stomach.  I could do my hip or my upper leg.  My shoulder would be fine but I'd never be able to cover it up with fancy dress clothes and that is important to me.  I've always wanted a foot tattoo but I'm not sure the fleur de lis would lend itself to that.  Any suggestions?

Why I need to dress like a grown-up

ow I'm a 32 years old, the mother of one child and a professional librarian.  That means that I have a masters degree in something so I'm "highly educated."  And yet I have a problem dressing like the professional I am suppose to be.  My workplace is fairly causal, jeans are allowed.  But as a librarian I feel like I should dress like one.  Not an old shhhhhing librarian, but a young professional at least.  I am more inclined to jeans and a t-shirt especially on days when I feel blah.  And I actually own dress clothes but then I have to iron them.  Ironing means threatening my child with time out if he touches the ironing board at least 5 times for every 2 minutes the iron is out.  Ironing means making the effort to mess with my clothes the night before.  For a while, I was really good.  I'd get my clothes together and iron them and set them out for a week.  I was so awesome and felt very prepared for life.  But, as with everything, I slacked off and faded back to my jeans and polos.

Lately I've gained more responsibility and more employees and will be working at the reference desk daily.  I cannot look like one of the students.  I need to look more like the professionals.  So back to ironing for me.  I've getting my dress pants and my dressier shirts out and my heels on and heading out.  But I'm still wearing jeans on Friday.

What is the hardest thing you've ever had to learn?

In looking for a topic for today's blog, I perused some blog writing prompts and one asked the question: What is the hardest thing you've ever had to learn?  That is a very good question.  Honestly, the answer is when to keep my mouth shut.  See I am very opinionated and I have a quick temper and when I get fired up I just say all kinds of things that would be better left in my brain.  I got into a lot of trouble at my last job.  The director and I generally got along but when we didn't, whoa, was it a problem and the last person you should fight with is your boss.  She is a nice lady and I'm a nice lady but we had our moments and I had/have many opinions on her management style and some of the shenanigans that go on at that library.  In the end, I began to make myself miserable.  I couldn't stand the awfulness of how grown women behave and I began to mistrust every single person in that library, even the assistant director who threw me under the bus on several occasions.  So I walked away, well I quit after finding another job, but same thing.  The stress of being on the reference desk, not to mention the only reference librarian in the whole parish, of dealing with an assistant who hated me, of the backbiting and gossiping.  I didn't like who I had become.  It was too much.  I wanted to be a better person, not a bitter bitch.

Since then I have found that kind of behavior will go on in every workplace and at my current job I have found to keep to myself and to be the bigger person.  Lately though my supervisor has been giving me hell and assistant #1 has been causing trouble and so I have been speaking to some of my co-workers about it.  Sometimes I walk away wishing I hadn't said anything, but there is one person here who is a great listener and gives good feedback.  It's important to find someone like that.  My husband will listen to me complain but he is a straight up business manager type and for him it is all cut and dry.  But he has the luxury of working in the private sector while I get to deal with the great state of Louisiana and its civil service guidelines.  But having someone who knows the people and has been around a lot longer than me has been a good thing. 

On the Disney Channel and their selfish girls

I watch a lot of the Disney Channel.  I'd like to say it's because I have a child but it's not.  I mean, we watch Playhouse Disney together and that is not something I would typically watch without a 3 year old.  Anyway,  I like their sitcom shows because mostly they are fun and easy and make good background noise.  But I've noticed that the main girl characters in several shows are not the best role models.  For example, both Miley Stewart on Hannah Montana and Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place and even Raven on That's So Raven are very selfish, immature, bratty girls.  Now those shows are fairly talented supporting casts but the shows are mostly focused on the main girl.   The main girl who exhibits no feelings of sympathy or empathy to her "friends,"  who doesn't seem to care when something bad happens to her friends and will only focus on how it effects her.  Maybe this is a realistic portrait of girls today, but I sincerely hope not.  I wonder why Disney chose to focus on such bratty children. 

Let's take Miley for example.  For the first couple of seasons the show was mostly about Hannah Montana and how having a double life as a pop star has effected her real life.  Fine, that's what the show was pitch as and they obviously pulled it off since it became such a popular show.  Once the show became a super hit and Miley Cyrus became a star in her own right, the show went for more Miley at home type of episodes.  And in each one of them she does something stupid and makes Lily and Oliver join in and then chaos ensues, etc.  Maybe it's less how the show is written and more how Miley delivers her lines, like she is entitled to mess with everyone's lives and heads and there are virtually no consequences for disobeying her father or continually treating her friends like they are less important.

And Alex on Wizards...I actually hate that character.  Like so much I don't even watch that show.  I know I'm not the target and am WAY too old to watch that show anyway, but still.  I find Alex, of all the characters, the worst one.  She can't stand to do anything for anyone for an unselfish reason.  She treats her friend, Harper, like dirt and then acts like because she is pretty and magical it's ok.  It's not!  It is not ok and she has to be the worst role model of them all. 

I do find that the ensemble shows, Sonny with a Chance, JONAS, Good Luck Charlie, have much more tolerable lead girls which seems like a much more conscious decisions.  Now granted JONAS is actually about the girls, but the guys.  However they seemed to have upgraded a bit on the new LA show so I'm counting it.  I just really hope that with Hannah going off the air soon and hopefully (please!) Wizards ending within the next year or two that Disney can introduce a new girl show with much kinder and caring teenage girls.

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Last night I found myself watching Hannah Montana: The Movie.  No one knows why and I'll admit that I've already seen it.  It's a cute movie, a bit more serious than the show which loves slapstick humor.  But I had a few thoughts.  Through the whole movie everyone complains about how much Miley uses Hannah to do all kinds of rockstar stuff and Miley as Hannah does a few shady things but nothing overwhelmingly bad.  It's like her family and friends make no effect to understand where she is coming from although Miley is fairly selfish to begin with.  So her dad brings her to Tennessee to get back to her roots and slow down a little.  This might be fair because otherwise Miley will become even more of a selfish monster.  So the whole movie everyone is like Hannah is stupid, be Miley, blah blah and of course Miley still tries to be both and it ends in disaster each time.  She pisses off her dad, and the whole town, and her new boyfriend.  Then at the climatic moment Miley rips off her wig and says she can't do it anymore, sings "The Climb" (a song I like) and walks away.  Suddenly the whole town is yelling at her to be Hannah again!  It's like the whole lesson they tried to teach the entire movie is gone!  And I refuse to believe that a whole town is going to keep this secret plus there had to be some out-of-towners there.  I mean, honestly there is just no way.  But Disney has a season left of Hannah Montana and so there ya go.  I'm still not sure what Miley was walking away from, Hannah completely or the rockstar life or what.  Plus all of that over a boy who never comes up again, ever.

I actually like Miley Cyrus to a certain degree.  I'm not fond of her new Taylor Momsen attitude but that is par on course for a Disney girl trying to outgrow their franchise.  And Hannah Montana was a HUGE hit for Disney so it casts a long shadow.  I don't think though she is the best actress.  She is surrounded by good actors and that makes it a little more obvious.  To be fair I've only seen most of the cast in the sitcom so I have nothing to go on otherwise.  But Emily Osment and Jason Earles are clearly much better actors.  And so it is a shame that they have very little do in the movie, although it is a lot more than Mitchel Musso.  But still both the Cyruses, Miley and Billy Ray, are not the best of the cast.

Ring Inscriptions

hen the time came to get BT his wedding ring I decided it need an inscription.  His would be big enough to fit one (unlike mine) and so I tried in vain for days to think of something.  DAYS!  Nothing really seemed to fit or was too long or too cheesy.  I am not sentimental by nature and so I found it awkward trying to find something that would fit inside of a ring that he would be wearing that symbolized our decision to be together forever.  Because right?  Anyway, at the time, one of our favorite songs was "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" by Nina Gordon.  So finally BT suggested just that and that fit so well.  It was exactly right though it bugged me that he had to come up with his own inscription when it should have been my job.  But anyway, Tonight and the Rest of My Life is what he has.

"I feel so light
This is all I want to feel tonight
I feel so light
Tonight and the rest of my life" - Nina Gordon

 But then I found this quote the other day from Tom Robbins:

"Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free."

— Tom Robbins (Still Life with Woodpecker)

And I love this.  This has to be one of the best quotes about love that I have ever read.  And Tom Robbins is such a poetic writer anyway.  So I told BT that if he ever needed a new ring I would inscript it with "I love you for free."

Tin Man (mini-series)

Since I read the Wizard of Oz recently I found this mini-series from 2007 that tied in with it.  It is a alternate retelling of that book mixed with a few elements from the movie.  DG is a waitress living on a farm with her parents when she is whisked away one night during a tornado.  She winds up in the O.Z. (Outer Zone) where she meets Glich, a man with half a brain (Scarecrow), Raw, a lion-like telepath (Lion), and Cain, who was imprisoned in a literal tin man, and is now looking for the man who put him there (Tin Man).  Together they work their way around the O.Z. with DG trying to find her way home and finding a lot more about herself than she knew existed.

This was a darker, more cynical re-imagining.  The characters are heavily flawed and can be downright scary at times.  Zooey Deschanel plays GD and I like her in general.  She has this deadpan way of speaking and she is so pretty.  Alan Cumming plays Glich in a wonderful performance.  The only one that seemed a little over the top was Kathleen Robinson who plays Azkadellia, the evil sorceress.  Or maybe that was just her costumes because some of them bothered me.

But it was good movie, if a little uneven, especially in the visuals department.  Sometimes they had beautiful effects and the other times the special effects were meh.  The story was very cool and I like the whole idea of it.  If you are a Wizard fan or a fan of sci-fi, I would check it out.

In which I talk even more about baby names

Baby names.  My obsession.  I'm honestly not kidding.  If you look back, I've been talking about this for over a year now.  And it seems everyone on the Internet and multiple people in real life are having babies.  BABIES everywhere, but not for me.  No.  I really wonder what they are going to be naming this children.  Two of my younger cousins choose A names for their girls, Avery and Adalyn, which are cute.  I wouldn't have picked them but it's not my baby and at least they are regular type names.  I know a girl whose is due in about 4 weeks, I think, and she's having a boy who she calls Joey but I don't know if that is a in utero nickname or his actual name.  I suppose I could ask.  And another younger cousins choose Ethan for his boy which is a name that I have always liked.

I'm still all about Calder.  BT is still saying no which I don't like.  I brought up Nathaniel again and BT totally does not remember liking it so I think that is out.  I like it but I'm not super attached to it.  So I don't know.  Charlotte has supplanted Juliet for favorite girl name.  I am so enamored of this name, it's ridiculous.  So I don't know.  There is still plenty of time and even more names I have yet to discover.

In which I celebrate my parent's anniversary

oday is my parent's 38th anniversary.  I admire their fortitude.  They haven't had the easiest marriage with plenty of problems (believe me) but they worked through it all and here they are still married to this day.  Amazing.  I can only hope to have my marriage last this long.  Marriage is so much work and anyone who says it should be effortless is a liar.  I mean, it shouldn't be a fight everyday but it is impossible for two people to get along everyday of their lives together.  But I digress.  This is about my parent's.  They have known each other a loooong time.  My mother's brother married by father's sister when my mom was 6 and my dad was 12.  So a really long time.  They started dating when she was 16ish and got married when she was almost 18, which she says was too young and might be one of the reasons I didn't get married till I was 26.  They had two daughters and now they have one grandson whom they love very very much and spoil like crazy (yay, me).  I appreciate all the sacrifices they must have made and the effort it took to stay together during a very dark period in our lives and I am grateful that they stuck it out and still like being together.

So Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad!

In which I explain that Yes eventually I will have another child

have mentioned before that eventually we will be having a second child.  It's looking like the middle of next year we will start trying right now.  Which is all well and good and will fall perfectly with Bub going to kindergarten so great.  But it got me thinking about how much harder it was for me to decide when to have another one.  With Bub we decided that we would start in April of 2006, but I got pregnant in Feburary (oops) and so he came a little earlier than scheduled.  No real problem.  But with my next one I didn't want them to be too close together or too far apart.  I had intended for them to be about 3 to 3 1/2 years.  But when the time came at the beginning of this year to start, I found I wasn't ready.  I really enjoy our current family makeup right now with the three of us and the two dogs.  Not that another baby would "ruin" it but it will be chaos again for a while.  And I REALLY wanted Bub to be potty-trained.  And now that he basically is (aside from accidents and one other issue), I'm thinking it is time.  I never thought it would be so much harder to decide on the conception of a second child than a first.

Children's music

s it weird that I sometimes listen to children's music without my child?  Because if it is, then I totally don't do that.  But seriously.  I like Laurie Berkner especially "Five Days Old," "Mr. Bassman," and "Family," which always chokes me up a little..  Very cool songs that are fun to listen to, even at my advanced age of 32.  I like the Imagination Moves though less so on CD than on TV.  And there is an album called Baby Loves Jazz that does amazing and funky things with some old favorites.  I never thought I'd voluntarily listen to preschool music, but there are some really good things out now instead of the super squeaky crap that is on TV a lot of times.  And Kids Bop or whatever.  I promise you that I'm never going to buy anything where children sing popular songs, not even if it is all cleaned up.  Because I just cannot take that. 

Second {Belated} Blogversary

nce again I failed to acknowledge my blogversary on its actual date (August 7 which is so weird since that is my dad's birthday).  Anyway, here is my acknowledgment.  This blog has never taken a real direction and is very random, much like my inner monologue.  But that's ok.  It's nice to have a place to put things down.  My favorite thing to do is reviews.  I have a whole book blog and it has done reasonably well.  I've done TV shows for this one and really enjoyed doing Lost Thoughts.  Sadly I don't think any other TV shows will be as awesome or thought provoking as Lost.  I miss that show.  But it explains my lack of TV recaps or thought posts.

But I've had this blog for 2 years now and that is a long time for me to committ to a blog especially one with no "theme" or focus.  But happy 2 year to Annie, I think which used to call many many other things.

Workouts

ast week I got up at 5:30 am to exercise.  Now if you knew me IRL, then you'd know that 1.  I don't like to get up in the morning and 2. I don't like to exercise.  I set a goal though at the beginning of the year and did really well for the first couple of month and then I slacked off.  And then I recommitted and slacked off.  But last week I decided enough was enough and if I couldn't /wouldn't exercise during the day then I was getting my ass up and working out at the crack of dawn.  And I did!  And I am very proud of myself.  I've done a variety of workouts to find what I like the best.  I have some dance workouts streaming from Netflix that I liked, I got a belly dance workout from the library that I didn't like and I got another one that I did like.  I did a Hula workout this morning that was fun and good for a Monday morning.  I must admit that it isn't too bad getting up.  Once it is light outside at 5:30 on the mornings that BT is still home, I think I will go walk outside.  But the videos are fun and at least I'm up and moving and it makes getting ready easier.  This morning I was even ready 30 minutes early!

Sunday activities

BT and I cleaned out our closet and got rid of some old clothes that we don't wear anymore and generally fixed up the closet and made it more orderly.  We'll see how long that lasts.  I blew up Bub's little pool and he splashed around in that.  And that is about it.  It was a quiet day and we didn't go anywhere.  Sometimes it is nice to have a day like that.

Today

I signed up the little man for Pee-wee Soccer and I can't wait to see him play.  It will be so cute.  They don't really play a game or anything with the 3 year olds.  It is more to get them use to the idea of soccer and team sports.  Still I think he will like it since he will get to run around with other kids and kick a ball.  It will be good for him and he is happy about it.

We also went swimming and I got to try out my new Lime Ricki swimsuit.  It was really comfortable and I liked it.  I didn't feel exposed like I did in my other ones from Old Navy.  So I'm happy to have a good swimsuit now.


Today is my dad's birthday and we went out to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse and it was delicious and we had fun.  Bub fell asleep at my parent's and so he slept over there.

Reality shows I WILL Watch

I'm not big on reality TV.  I don't like the competition shows and I've never gotten into any singing or dancing shows.  I used to be a big Project Runway fan but it's gotten really boring and stale so no more.  I used to watch America's Next Top Model but Tyra is completely ridiculous and I can't stand to watch her anymore.  That was a funny show though.   There are a couple of shows that I still like however and will watch if I come across them.

I like Say Yes to the Dress and it took me forever to figure out why.  It's because it's funny how much drama people create over a dress.  Sometimes though they have really touching stories.  Also PRETTY DRESSES.  And now there is Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta which might be great.  Southern people and weddings should equally some great drama.

I also like I Didn't' Know I was Pregnant.  It just seems so crazy that all these women didn't know they were pregnant until they go into labor and then have perfectly healthy babies.  I wonder if they only pick people whose babies turned out ok because there has to be someone out there who didn't a good experience.  Not that I want something bad to happen to anyone or any baby but still.  Maybe the message they are passing along is that prenatal care isn't necessary.  I don't know.  But I still like it.

Along the same vein I like 16 and Pregnant.  It's interesting to see how different teens handle being a parent.  Often I simultaneously want to slap them and hug them because they just don't get it.  I like the teens who actually take care of their babies and don't try to pass the baby off to their mom.  Sometimes the adult parents are good, sometimes they are worse than the teenagers.  It's fascinating stuff.

And House Hunters.  I've always like looking at houses and this show appeals to the voyeur in me.  I especially like House Hunters International because of all the beautiful locations.

In which I post random things about clothing and tiny children playing soccer

My clothes that shipped on Monday still haven't come in yet.  Which is stupid, right, because they will probably be today.  It's just that this seems to be taking abnormally long and I don't even have a tracking number from one company.  Remember when you'd get a catalog in and it had a mail order form and you either had to call or mail the form back to order clothes and stuff?  Yeah, I think I just showed my age.  I would like obsess over the Delia's catalog over and over and mark it up, but I only bought a few things.  Same thing with Victoria's Secret.  My cousin and I had an obesssion with that catalog.  I always like how everything matched.  I'm big on matching.  And now I can't stand Victoria's Secret.  Their bras are really bad for someone like me.  They gap too much and the straps don't stay up. 

In other news, I was driving to work today and at a four way stop there was a sign for soccer starting at age 3!  Yeah.  I texted BT and asked if we should sign Bub up for soccer and he said Hell Yeah.  So the registration is on Saturday and I will go sign him up for "Turf Tykes."  It will be so cute.  I hope he likes it.  I'm thinking it will be a good way from him to run around and maybe learn something about rules and sports.  And they get a uniform.  So precious!

Rainbow Cupcakes

The other day on Twitter someone linked to spearmint baby's rainbow cupcakes and I knew I had to do this.  With a little help from the boy, that is.  He mostly helped with the mixing of the white cake.  I didn't let him get into the dyed batter.  So I used Pillsbury white cake mix with the egg white recipe as suggested and divided the batter into 6 colors: red (which came out pink), blue, green, orange, purple, and yellow. 

In the end, I didn't divide it evenly enough so when I went to make the layers I ran low on some colors.  I also failed to divide what I did have evenly among the cupcakes.  But that's okay!  While the ones from spearmint baby are very layered, mine ended up with sort of a tie-dyed look which was very cool.

in the pan

out of the pan, you can see through the liner

In the end half got topped with yellow and the other half with purple.  I iced them with a whipped cream frosting by Betty Crocker which was the perfect thing since the cupcakes were light and fluffy and so was the icing.  They went really fast and everyone liked how cute they were.

Harry Potter Survey

What house do you claim to?
Ravenclaw first, Hufflepuff second

Why?
I like to read and study and can be said to be pretty smart.

Who are your favorite characters?
Ginny, Luna, the Weasleys twins

Which characters do you think you would befriend?
Hermione, Luna, maybe Neville

Who are your least favorite characters?
Draco Malfoy

What would your patronus be?
I like to say a Tiger, but it would probably be something cute, like a dachshund

What would your favourite class be?
Charms

What would your least favorite class be?
History of Magic

Who would be your favorite teacher?
all time teacher - McGonagall
one shot - Lupin

Least favorite teacher?
Snape
One shot: Umbridge

What wizarding career would you choose for yourself?
I'd probably be a librarian or own an owlery

What kind of wand do you have?
Hawthorn, 12", Unicorn Hair

Any pets (owls, cats, toads)?
An owl or a cat

Favourite magical item?
Wand

Favourite magical candy?
Chocolate Frogs

Magical drink of choice?
Butterbeer

Favourite store in Hogsmeade?
Honeydukes

Favourite magical creature?
Houseelf

Scariest magical creature?
Dementors

Who would you ask to the Yule Ball?
One of the Weasley twins

Favourite magical location?
Hogwarts

——-

How long have you been a fan?
1999 when the third book was out

How did you first become introduced to Harry Potter?
I saw the books in the library and thought they might be like Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series so I picked them up.

How do the movies compare to the books for you?
Fine.  I like the books better, of course

Do you play any of the video games?
Played the first three.  I'd like to get the Lego Harry Potter next.

Favorite book and why?
Half-Blood Prince.  It was where things started coming together.

Least favourite book and why?
The Order of the Phoenix.  I know it was for a good reason but I was so tired of Harry's angsting.

Favourite film and why?
Prisoner of Azkaban.  The actors were finally learning how to act and I love the feel of the whole movie.

Least favourite film and why?
Sorcerer's Stone.  They cannot act and the challenges seem silly now.  Also the animation was terrible.

Listen to the audiobooks?
Yes!  Three times.  More than I've read the books (2 times)

Listen to any podcasts?
No.

Favorite aspect of the Harry Potter community?
I don't know.

Favorite ship(s)?
Harry/Ginnny, Ron/Hermione

Do you do any Potter related art/music/writing, etc?
No

Ever cosplayed or dressed up as a character?
No

How many midnight releases have you made it to?
Three for the last three books at the public library I worked at.

List some favorite Potter-related memories?
I guess just waiting for the next book and having book discussions with my friends.

BEDA - Blog Every Day in August

So I missed yesterday.  BEDA sort of slipped my mind and we went out and did activities and I forgot.  But here I am, planning on blogging every day in August.  Will I succeed?  I did last year for April.  What will I talk about?  I have no idea.  I am very unfocused as of late.  There's no central place or person running it this year as Maureen Johnson has pulled out for a GOOD reason, she says.  Anyway, I will try my best.