Engaged

My youngest sister, Abbie, is visiting and did I mention, engaged?!

Congrats, Danny and Abbie!

Book Eating Boy

I was just introduced to a darling picture book by Oliver Jeffers, The Incredible Book Eating Boy...a book about my son. James wanted to read 75 books through the library's summer reading program and he finished in under a month. There are a handful of picture books and choose your own adventures (don't worry, he chose every adventure). But, he truly must have been eating them instead of reading them.

For posterity, here is the list:
The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan
The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan
And Nobody Got Hurt 2 by Len Berman
Prisoner of the Ant Peopleby R. A. Montogmery
Summer Ball by Mike Lupica
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Eagle by Jeff Stone
Snake by Jeff Stone
The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Inggulden and Hal Iggulden
Go! The Whole World of Transporation
Fast Forwards by Paul Ladewski
The Gecko and Sticky: Villian's Lair by Wendelin Van Draanen
Nicholas Again by Rene Goscinny
Nate the Great and the Tardy Tortoise by Craig Sharmat and Marjorie Sharmat
Nate the Great San Francisco Detective by Mitchell Sharmat and Marjorie Sharmat
Redwall by Brian Jacques
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney
The Battle of the Labrynth by Rick Riordan
The Fabulous Bouncing Chowder by Peter Brown
Chowder by Peter Brown
Fireman Small by Wong Herbert Yee
The Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman
Give My Regrets to Broadway by Bruce Hale
Percy Jackson and the Olympians The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
Encyclopedia Brown Solves them All by Donald J Sobol
The Dragonslayers by Bruce Coville
Escape by R A Montgomery
Jackie and Me by Dan Gutman
The Tales of King Arthur Retold by Felicity Brooks
The Capture by Kathryn Lasky
Skunkdog by Emily Jenkins
Timothy and the Strong Pajamas by Viviane Schwarz
The Great Brain by John D Fitzgerald
Michael Jordan by Chip Lovitt
Monkey by Jeff Stone
On the Field with Peyton and Eli Manning by Matt Christopher
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis
Joe Montana's Art and Magic of Quarterbacking by Joe Montana
I Know and Old teacher by Anne Bowen
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
The Malted Falcon by Bruce Hale
A Book by Mordecai Gerstein
My Life as a Chicken by Ellen A Kelly
Center Court Sting by Matt Christopher
The Mystery of the Maya by R A Montgomery
The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville
Trouble is my Beeswax by Bruce Hale
Charlie Small Gorilla City by Charlie Small
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
The Lost Jewels of Nabooti by R A Montgomery
Nicholas and the Gang by Rene Goscinny
Fireman Small Fire Down Below by Wong Yee
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Dr. De Soto by William Steig
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Leigh Stewart
Red Dragon Codex by R D Henham
The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend
Scritch Scrath by Miriam Moss
The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss
One by Kathryn Otashi
I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X by Bruce Coville
The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman
Farewell My Lunch Bag by Bruce Hale
The Evil Power Master by RA Montomery
Space and Beyond by R A Montgomery
The Basket Counts by Matt Christopher
The Million Dollar Strike by Dan Gutman
Abner and Me by Dan Gutman
The Big Nap by Bruce Hale
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Cornrows

I am not averse to putting terrible pictures of myself up (see exhibit A)...and in this case, I had no choice. This particular photo is the only one I have that shows my cornrows. I went to girls camp in the Sierras and had Ridi braid my hair.

It was so weird to go back as an adult leader and see behind the scenes how much hard work goes into making camp run.

I felt small beside the pine trees, but more alive at the same time. But besides the girls and the majesty, my favorite part was serenading. After the lights go out, the older girls go around and serenade all of the girls.

This is the chorus of one of my favorite songs (I actually use it as one of my standard bedtime lullabies):

It’s a web like a spider’s web
Made of silver light and shadows
Spun by the moon in my room at night
It’s a web made to catch a dream
Hold it tight ‘til I awaken
As if to tell me my dream is all right

Free Rice

I've known about Free Rice for quite some time, but it wasn't until I learned you can switch subjects that I am officially obsessed. I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So, the basic idea is if you click on the image above it will take you to the website; where by answering questions right they will donate rice to the UN World Food Program. There are vocabularly questions, but if you click up on the "Subjects" tab you will see that you can answer Spanish, Math, Geography questions...but the one I can't master but am loving is the Famous Paintings. And there is something so satisfying about it; these are the things that you could hear James saying(he is obsessed too)...

It's a Caravaggio, I just know it, look at the dark and light.

Mom, it is 100% a Monet.

Could it be a Vermeer? What does a Vermeer look like again?

That's Some Egg

In Charlotte's Web, one of the adjectives carefully quilted into a web was some. That's, "some pig." I think she also wove radiant and humble (which seem like better choices)...but all of this is besides the point.

This morning we cracked open this fresh Ostrich egg and had fried egg whites and scrambled egg for breakfast (by we, I mean James and Chase). But before we feasted, we talked ostrich shop. We had to look up ostriches on the National Geographic Website. We had to watch the YouTube video of an ostrich attacking a camera and even one of an ostrich race. This, of course, reminded me of the genius race from Swiss Family Robinson where Ernst, wearing a straw top hat, does indeed ride on an ostrich.

Now, Swiss Family Robinson was really more of a way of life than a movie to me. I watched this movie perhaps more than anything else (ok, Overboard is really high on this list for some reason as well). Anyhow, I was able to find it and watch it with my boys and can I just say that A. I love the youngest brother, Francis, who catches an elephant and accidentally blows up coconut bombs, B. don't know why Disneyland switched it to a Tarzan tree house - it was sooo the Swiss Family Robinson's and always will be, and C. I think my brother Pat grew up to be Fritz.

Can I also say on a semi-ostrich related topic, that the Road Runner always looked more like an ostrich to me than a actual road runner...but, maybe it is just me.

Pop

Ok, this entry has a theme song...one you'll have to hum along, to help set the mood. It was that song Pop, or maybe it was called Dirty Pop by 'NSync. You know the era; back when Timberlake had curly hair. You would cringe to hear the bubble-gummiest pop on the radio, but somehow you still knew all the words to Bye, Bye, Bye. Ok, now that you know the song, I am ready to really hit it...

I like pop culture.

That's right, I said it. And like is probably an understatement.

I think that I spent so much of my childhood with my nose turned up to the hoi polloi...I was too concentrated on being cool or unique or something. I would stay far away from anything that was popular for example I never wore those floral boxers from Gap when everyone else did in the seventh grade. Maybe a better example is that I missed out on the New Kids On the Block obsession. Donny, Johnny, something, someone. And now that they are back, I am left wondering what I missed. I don't have the excitement that people around me do (mostly those people waiting days to see them on morning show rounds). Now some would say that I didn't miss out on New Kids; one might even argue that I narrowly escaped. But it isn't the talent, it is the feeling that I am talking about.

For example, I truly am so caught up in who Jillian is going to choose. I didn't want to get involved with something as desperately cheesy as rose ceremonies. And normally, I am a perfectly happy sideline mocker. But this time around, I care. I am more than relieved that the Bastard is gone, confused about how she has fallen for the neurotic Reid, worried that there hasn't been enough time with Ed, and concerned that Kiptyn can't really fall deep because he is too cautious.

I lalalaLOVE SYTYCD. It is hands down my favorite show of the year. I love to watch these people dance. Love.

I watch what I can of funerals of people I really was never that invested in, but want to hear what their childhood friend's say about this mysterious man who never really grow up.

I get excited when I see HSM 3 on showtime...you mean I get to watch Troy dance throughout the halls of his high school some more...great, I'll stay up until the wee hours of the morn. I've been blaming the obsession on Chase who genuinely loves High School Musical anything...but who am I kidding, I am the one who bought the soundtrack and listened over and over and over and, well, you get it.

If I listed my top ten friends; Luke, Lorelai, and Rory would be on that list.

I've watched the trailer for New Moon several times! Did I think the first movie was good? Absolutely not...I laughed through the entire thing. But, it doesn't stop me from wanting to see the next one. And it is more than wanting, I really love this "getting caught up in the hype".

I'm not sure if my ennui has pushed me to this desperate loving of all things pop culture, but I think it possibly more than that. I think that life is more fun getting caught up in the silly, the frivolous. I think that if I had the chance, I might start buying up Beanie Babies or collecting Star Wars figurines. I think that finding joy in the mundane is supremely rewarding. It is perhaps my own little paradigm shift. But for now, call me Bridget Jones and wish me a little more levity in life.