Happy America, Everybody

Hey all, I know it's been awhile. And I have great plans to pick it back up and post more often from now on. And let's kick it all off with my tribute to America, Americans, and that great holiday, Independence Day (also known as the 4th of July, for reasons that are unfathomable. I mean, no one calls Halloween the 31st of October. Well they might, but they certainly don't say "Happy 31st of October!" No, they say, "Happy Birthday!").

So what will I be doing this 3-day weekend (Thank you, USA!)?

1) Dramatic reading of the Lane Smith classic, John, Paul, George, and Ben. No, not about the Beatles. It's the other Fab Four (five if you count Tom): the Founding Fathers!


2. Twilight movie marathon! Not patriotic, you say? Well, take this: paying to see Eclipse will stimulate the economy! Bam!

3. Watching this patriotic video:




4. Not working on Monday! Huzzah! Have a great Independence Day!

Austen, Austen, and more Austen!

I don't think I need to explain my love for Jane Austen. Mansfield Park aside (he is her cousin and it is creepy!), I super love all of her books. I often say that my favorite Jane Austen is Persuasion, but oddly enough, one of my favorite books of all time is Pride and Prejudice. What does this mean? I do not know. But I do know that I don't really trust anyone who doesn't like Jane Austen.

In my current Austen celebration, I've been taking super scientific and edumacational quizzes that determine which Austen heroine I am. The results? Mixed. It turns out that I'm either Elizabeth Bennet or Elinor Dashwood. They're pretty different from each other, but I like them both!

I've also been listening to Pride and Prejudice in my car lately. And it has really held up. I just want to hug Austen, and then name all of my kids after her. She's just that great.

In closing I'd like to leave you with this awesome version of P&P done with emoticons, as well as my favorite line from the LDS version of P&P. Mr. Collins, talking about Lizzy rejecting his proposal from the pulpit in church, says, "I had a kind of... funny... encounter with a girl in this congregation, who will remain anonymous, but for the sake of the story, let's call her... Elizabeth B. No, E. Bennett." Good times.

Nostalgia takes a hit!

It's true. I took the plunge and rewatched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (BBC '80s version). Gah. In no particular order, some thoughts I had while watching this movie:

No wonder Edmund is such a little jerk. He's bitter about being an uggo!

Well, then why is Lucy so chipper? She is also an unfortunate looking child. Someone get that child some braces! And a different hair cut. And a longer dress.

Susan's cute. But still a little boring. I bet that's why she became lame in the books. Her character was dull, and she was sick of it! She wants lipstick!

Why are all of these kids the same height? Are they quadruplets? All I can say is, Lucy doesn't seem all cute and innocent when she's just as big as everyone else. She seems slow.

Seriously, Turkish Delight? Is gross. How on earth can this be what Edmund wants? This has always bothered me, actually.

Augh! The Beavers! Run away! I can't believe this didn't give me nightmares as a kid.

Edmund is schizophrenic! That's it! And his other personality is a buzzkill!

Well, okay. I don't see the point in switching from an actual wolf to a person in a (totally freaky) wolf costume, but considering the other special effects in this movie, that was pretty nifty!

Gee, White Witch. You look hungry. Would you like more scenery to chew?

Is that a full sized lion puppet? Or a lion costume? Either way, I want one.

Gosh, BBC, you couldn't even spring for one "lion's roar" sound effect? I could make a more realistic sounding lion's roar than that.

It's a good thing that the White Witch's army is totally incompetent. I could defeat Peter and his minions with a water gun!

Wait, when you become a king or queen of Narnia, you wear a night gown? Rip-off! but hey, at least Peter isn't wearing those awful shorts anymore.

I guess that's it. I'll not lie. I still enjoyed it immensely. It's hilarious! And I can see why I liked it as a kid. But it's no 2000s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. And it's certainly no original written masterpiece. I do have to wonder about the grownups who made this movie though. I know why I liked it. I was little! I didn't know any better! And I realize that there were limitations of price and technology, but some of those special effects hurt me a little bit. And the beavers? C'mon. That's just wrong.

I feel like Barbara Manatee!

In that I feel like singing, "Will you take me to the ball?"

That's right, friends, we are almost at the end of Fairy Tale Festival month, and it has been pretty awesome. It's times like this when I really am glad that I work as a children's librarian. Last week at our library, we had the fairy tale ball. What a swell event!

First of all, the whole staff got into it, even the people who weren't coming to the ball. Here we all are in our finery, hours before the whole thing started.


The ball started off with storytelling (Rapunzel!), and then went on to the dance portion of the event. The kids were so adorable! We had live music (a string trio), and the kids twirled in circles for about 15 minutes. The little boys weren't as into it, but almost all of the girls were wearing princess costumes. The boys who came claimed not to be princes-they were knights or wizards.

We also had crafts for the kids to do. I was in charge of making crowns, which seemed like it would be easy, but it was really quite stressful. Good times. They could also make a wand and decorate a shield, but my table was the most popular (yeah, I'm cool!). Or maybe mine just took the longest and so it looked the most popular. Either way.


Then, our piece de resistance! We were visited by actual royalty! Princess Presto from Super Why! I didn't actually know what this was, but most of the kids were very excited about it. I actually looked her up, so as not to betray my ignorance. And I must say, anyone who is on PBS is okay by me! So, I got my picture taken with her!


The kids were so excited when she came out, except, of course, for the two who got really freaked out. Well, she was really big. That can be a little scary!

All in all, it was a lovely and tiring way to spend a Saturday morning. And honestly, any excuse to dress like this at work is okay by me! I am a fairy princess!

Truths I have learned at the library (today)

1. It is much harder to discipline a child who is being loud and/or naughty when their parents are right there with them. Not providing the discipline. And being a big part of the problem.

2. The last hour of work goes through phases: the long phase (when people are still around, using the computers and making messes. This is also know as the phase we don't like) and the short, but not nearly short enough, phase, once the computers shut down and the people start to leave. I call this one sweet freedom! And if I can last for 10 more minutes, it will be mine!

3. If I eat breakfast at 10, have a snack at 2, and eat "lunch" at 4, then by 7:15, I'm hungry enough to eat a small library patron, although I do not endorse cannibalism. Here's the real question. If I eat a snack at institute at 8:30 and get home at 9:15ish, is it too late for dinner?

4. When everyone in the Children's section is speaking Spanish (except you), you really start to reevaluate your decision in junior high, high school, and then college to take French as your foreign language. How could you have made this mistake 3 times? You console yourself by realizing that even if everyone in Children's was speaking French, you still probably would have no idea what they were saying.

Nostalgia:1, Ignorance of Childhood: 0!

Last night, Maren and I convinced Dave and his mom to watch Young Sherlock Holmes with us. I have extremely fond memories of this movie from when I was little, so I was excited, but somewhat nervous about watching it again.

Why was I nervous? Because one of the things I hate more than almost anything else is when a fond memory from childhood turns out to be really lame! For example: my favorite part of Mr. Rogers was always, always the Land of Make Believe. But when I was watching Mr. Rogers a few years ago, the Land of Make Believe was not fun. It hurt my heart.

Or, two years ago I bought some jelly shoes, remembering how pretty they always were, and how cool I felt when I wore them. But lo and behold, when I tried on my new pair, they hurt something fierce. I could hardly walk in them. Farewell, jelly shoes.

But luckily for us, Young Sherlock Holmes is still really sweet! Exciting, scary, tragic, and mysterious. Huzzah!

Now, the question is, what other excellent things from childhood will hold up well? I've been eying the BBC versions of the Chronicles of Narnia on the library shelf, but I'm afraid. What if they're not good anymore?!?!?! Not only will it be disappointing, but it will prove that I had bad taste as a small person! I'm not sure I can handle that again. I might just have to watch them by myself, so if they do turn out to be lame, at least no one else ever has to know.

I'm alive!!!!

Yes, blogging public, it's true. I have not blogged since December! However! I am, in fact, still among you, and hopefully, will one day soon return to you more wordy and long-winded than before.

In my long absence, I have made many changes. I moved back to Maryland and started a job. Huzzah for not being unemployed! I am determined that this experience will be more betterer than the last. So far it's at least very different, which I think is an encouraging sign.

Oddly enough, that's all that I have to say at the present time! So farewell, but not for long, I'm sure.