Ted

Do you watch Ted?

From the website:

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984)as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free. Almost 200 talks from our archive are now available, with more added each week. These videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so they can be freely shared and reposted.

I found this website several months ago, and I've found some of the most fascinating lectures there. Just today I watched Jill Bolte Taylor's lecture on her personal experience regarding brain function in the midst of a stroke and Dave Eggers' lecture explaining how a group of writers began a program to encourage creative writing in a new and different way.

(How new and different? The storefront for the first tutoring center is a pirate supply shop; the second center's storefront is a superhero supply shop. For reals.)

Even Spyder enjoys them. His current favorite is Malcolm Gladwell's lecture on food science.

While the idea of watching lectures doesn't sound all that great, all of the ones I've seen there are engaging and challenging. I can't recommend the website highly enough.

With little planning

We will probably be moving out of this area within the next year or so. Because of that, we've decided to use Skeeter's vacation time to see some places nearby that we've been meaning to see, but just haven't for whatever reason.

We decided last week to take one of those trips. This weekend we went to Jackson, MS. It was an excellent time!

We had heard good things about the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, so it was our first stop. It was smaller than I expected, but the aquarium hall alone is worth the price of admission. We spent more time in that section than in any of the others, and quite possibly more than all of the other sections combined. We didn't realize it while we were making our plans, but the museum is in a beautiful park. If we had known that, we would have planned to play for a bit.

The Davis Planetarium was another of our stops. We had originally intended to see Dinosaurs Alive! We were there early though, and in time to see Icy Worlds and Point of No Return so we decided to see those first. Something in the theatre was giving me allergy fits though, so we collectively decided to skip the dinosaur one. I think Sass was quite disconcerted to see me with eyes that were red from rubbing them so much.

Another of our stops was the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World just outside of Jackson in Pearl, MS. Spyder had found a brochure for it in the hotel. He's an aspiring fisherman, and it was the one thing he begged to see. This did not, however, make me feel less like a redneck for going to see a hunting and fishing store while on vacation. It was a beautiful store though.

But my favorite part of the trip was meeting a friend! Buncha has been an online friend for the past five years (I didn't realize that it has been that long until this weekend!), and even though we don't live terribly far from each other, we've not had the opportunity to meet. I was so glad that she and her family were available! Our children all got along beautifully and the adults had time to socialize as well. In an unusual move, Skeeter agreed that it was his favorite part of the trip as well. Of the two of us, I'm the more outgoing one, so it was good to hear that he enjoyed the meeting just as much as I did.

I hope we'll get the opportunity to visit there again.

Note to self:

Never send Skeeter to the store.

I sent him out for a tarp. He came home with a portable gazebo.

No, I'm not kidding.

I am an unreasonable person

Obviously.

We're leaving early tomorrow for a little mini-vacation, and there is a specific book that Spyder wants to read this afternoon/tonight. (Because he's patient like his mama.)

I looked on the library site, and a branch library (not too far from us) is supposed to have it. We're not regular patrons there, but it's not terribly far. In an effort to save a useless trip in case it wasn't on the shelf, I called the library first to make certain that they actually did have it on hand.

At the beginning of the call, I said, "I checked on the library website, and you are supposed to have a copy of Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Boxcar Children. I have the library number. I just need to put it on hold so we can get it in a few minutes."

The library clerk said, "No, I don't need that" and the proceeded to take ten minutes to check the computer to see if it was listed. That's not an exaggeration. I checked the phone timer --10 minutes, 27 seconds.

Which I had told her in the first 15 seconds of my call.

After she told me that she'd found it in the computer, I said, "Yes, I know. As I said, I already looked it up on the library site." And I (politely) asked if she'd check the shelf. I was rather proud that I was polite, considering that I'd just waited ten minutes for her to give me information that I already knew. And tried to tell her.

I've worked at a library. Asking the librarian to check the shelf is not an unreasonable request. It happens all the time.

Except if you're that lady in that library. Apparently, she was doing it as a Big Favor.

Just because

I loved this commercial.

Spyder's Debut

Spyder performed his very first "real" magic show yesterday.

The Michael's company sponsors two programs every month at a local nursing home. One program is bingo; the other is a "birthday party" for the residents. He asked Spyder to perform for this month's birthday party program.

Spyder had a program set out that (at home) lasted about seven minutes. Michael told him before he started, "You probably ought to make it last for about five minutes. Anything over that is fine."

He performed for 25 minutes.

As anyone who has ever performed live can understand, a few things didn't go quite as he planned them. But overall, he did a pretty good job. Better than I expected, actually. He did a pretty good job at working with his mistakes too, and only one of them was serious enough that was really noticeable. He might have gotten away with the others. I'm not sure. I noticed them, but I see him do these tricks every day. And it was kind of funny to see my 9-year-old out there workin' the crowd.

It was a big day for him, and as a special surprise, Skeeter and I gave him a new magician's cloak, made by the ever-wonderful Mika. I told Mika what I wanted, and she made it happen!


Spyder was thrilled with the cloak, and it made him feel like a pro out there. He's already trying to book another gig.

Abundant Life

I subscribe to a few "simple living" blogs in my Google reader. Most of the time I skim the posts because I'm just being reminded of things I already know.

This post from Dumb Little Man has had me thinking since I read it though, particularly this portion (emphasis in the original):

Instead of thinking [the cup is] half empty or half full, if you were to pour the contents of the cup into a smaller cup, you would now in possession of one full cup.

What a great way to think about it.

Soft Spatters

Happy Easter!

From Brownie, the occasional bunny.

If you give a girl a camera . . . .

She has a couple of favorite subjects, yes?

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Tina at Golden Goodness did the awesome new blog design!

I'm so proud!

One man's trash . . . .

In our efforts to rid the shed of the junk that's accumulated over the years -- some of it that came with the house -- Skeeter and I spent part of the day going through the shed. We have a big pile of usable stuff that will go to the thrift store tomorrow, but the broken or otherwise unusable items went to the curb.

A few days ago, I took a side table to the curb -- ugly as homemade sin, but usable. It was too big to put in the car to take to the thrift store, and I didn't want to save it for pick up. I can completely understand why someone would take it. As I mentioned, it was in good shape, definitely usable, and ugly can be covered with a tablecloth.

What I can't comprehend is why someone would stop to pick up the following items:

• a broken, slightly mildewy, water cooler
• an old lawn chair with broken slats
• the torn, frayed ribbons from a different lawn chair (not the chair itself; he cut off the already torn ribbons)
• a bag full of non-recyclable old plastic bottles (shampoo, dish soap, etc), courtesy of my Memaw (don't ask)
• various broken slats to a plastic accordion-style door (not enough to make a full door though)
  

Those are just the obviously odd items. Some guy stopped and took the (ugly, plastic) hardware from a dresser, but left the dresser itself.

I've stopped to pick up the odd item from the curb myself (most notably, the bakers rack currently in my shed), so it doesn't bother me. Well, mostly. The guy who knocked on the door and asked if I was bringing out more stuff kind of creeped me out. But mostly, I'm good. I put things out sometimes just because I do know that they will get picked up and used.

But the things on that list? Those have me bewildered.

Keepin' it real

Today was an excellent day.

We met Tina and her children at a Chick-Fil-A with a great play area. Our girls hit it off so well that we ended up staying for about three hours.

We had both forgotten that this week is spring break for the local schools, so the place was packed. We did get there slightly ahead of the major lunch crowd, so we had a decent seat near (and facing!) the play area. (Facing is important with small ones.)

With the exception of an incident where Spyder forgot the appropriate way to blow his nose in public,

Aside: Are we given children to teach us humility? Can I be done with that lesson? Please?

everyone was well-behaved and happy. And Tina's little boy? Cracks. Me. Up. What a hoot! It was a great time to chat, play, and make new friends.

In stark contrast, I had a rotten day earlier in the week. Just rotten. All in all, it was one of those days that made me just want to go back to bed. But, you know, those children do want to eat and they probably ought to be supervised, so I didn't.

It wasn't one thing in particular, just many little things that added up to a horrible excuse for a day. I had a headache; Sass was living up to that nickname; Spyder didn't want to do his chores, schoolwork, or personal hygiene routine. It was a day.

Why am I mentioning this at all?

Vanessa mentioned last week that she'd been in a funk. Julie made me start thinking about our blog/public faces last week. Then Tina had a similar rotten day recently.

I have a tendency to show my public face, even in the relative anonymity of blogging. Mostly because I figure that people don't want to read the whinings of a spoiled mama. Just because I don't mention them doesn't mean they're not there. But juxtaposing the moments like that make the good days all the better. And the bad ones? Well, we'll just say they're growing pains.

I am

I'm a Lab. What are you?

The little things

I was out playing with the dogs today. It was a grand old time. They make me laugh.

But I got my thumb stuck in the door handle as I was walking in the back door (yeah, laugh on), and it felt like I nearly separated it from the rest of my hand.

I know. Wah.

Now I have a huge bruise right on the knuckle, and MAN! It hurts! I can honestly say that I'm more aware of my right thumb than I have ever been in my life.

I have issues

Books.

Books are my downfall. Specifically, cheap books.

The urchins and I did go to the Scholastic sale today, and I was rewarded with a tremendous bargain -- fill a box for $15. The selection wasn't as good as the December or May sales, but it was decent, and we certainly found books that we wanted, plus we got a few for the gift closet. We brought home 53 books for a grand total of $16.11. Not bad.

Not that we really needed more books, as we all have a little bit of a book obsession.

Vanessa noted her book obsession in her "look at this stuff" meme. Go look. I'll wait.

Did you see the free space on her shelves? HA! Did you hear me scoff? Yes, I scoffed.

Let me show one of our many bookshelves.


This bookshelf is 6 feet tall, 4 feet wide. We have two of them. They're both packed with books. And those aren't the only bookshelves in the house, although these are the largest. We have a total of 10 bookshelves, although only 8 of them are for books. The other two are for CDs and DVDs.

Good heavens! I didn't realize we had that many.

Anyway.

That Company is supposed to transfer Skeeter next spring, and I've sworn to him that we won't be moving books that I don't truly love or need. Thus, the reason for all of the Amazon and Half.com listing.

And yet . . . I can't pass up a great book bargain! It's a sickness, I tell you.

But in my "getting rid of stuff" phase, my friend Kristin (a first grade teacher) is getting some good stuff for her classroom!

Inertia

Non-blogging has become a habit. Not intentionally, but it has. For the first couple of days, I was just busy with other things. Then I just fell into the habit of "forgetting" to record things on the blog.

So in an effort to get over this particular habit, I offer a list.

What I have been doing instead of blogging:

• Cleaning out the shed
• Taking book donations to the library
• Tending sick children
• Taking clothing donations to the thrift store
• Buying on eBay
• Listing things on Amazon
• Reading
• Rearranging the furniture

I've just found out that the Scholastic warehouse is having a clearance sale. I sure hope the children are up for a trip tomorrow!

So long, Chuck

I survived the dreaded Chuck E Cheese encounter.

The party was early (kinda, sorta, but not really), and the place wasn't very busy when we arrived. We got our tokens and wandered around playing the games in the (relatively) uncrowded game area.

Let me take this moment to mention our last experience at CEC. The first AND last time we braved CEC. Then, I spent my time chasing around two-year-old Sass, attempting to herd five-year-old Spyder in the same direction, all the while hoping I wouldn't knee a child or elbow a parent in my efforts.

Never. Again.

So this time, following a six-year-old Sass and having an almost 10-year-old Spyder check in with me regularly was a breeze. They made it even easier by playing most of the games together.

By the time we sat to eat, the place was starting to get a little crowded. Not terrible, but definitely more crowded than I liked. By the time we finished eating, it was packed. A herd of little people zooming in and out, between games and parents. That was the Chuck E Cheese I remembered. And hated.

Skeeter joined us about halfway through the party. That was a nice surprise because we both expected him to have a business dinner tonight. We had a friendly little skee-ball competition (he won -- by a lot). He was able to play a few games with the children as well, teaching them the finer points of air hockey.

As expected, the children had a great time, and they've asked if we can go again.

I was afraid of that.

Maternal Love

Oh, people. Tonight I will perform the ultimate act of Maternal Love.

I'm taking the children to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese.

I hate that place. Loathe, detest, despise. But I love my friend Kristin, and it's her little boy's birthday party. And my children love Kristin's children, so off we go. To the dreaded Chuck E Cheese.

But before that, we're off to Target for a birthday gift, since my gift closet is still woefully bare. I really must restock that so I won't have to make these Target runs on party days.

The Great Movie Meme: The Answers and More

Great job, everyone!! For those who didn't know them, or don't know of the movies, here are the answers, plus a little bit extra:

1. "Don't forget to kill Philip!" Shaun of the Dead, guessed by Skeeter. (I knew he would get this.)

Y'all. You must see this movie. I don't even like horror movies, and I absolutely LOVE this. The first time Skeeter and I saw this, we laughed so hard that we woke the children. And some of the funniest bits are background visuals. Terrible, terrible language though, so be sure that you don't watch it WITH the children!

2. "You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha..." The Princess Bride, guessed by Julie. (I knew she'd get this one!)

A classic! This is one of my favorite movies ever. I can recite whole scenes. It's pretty sad, actually, that I can recite whole scenes. This is what I did in my college years -- memorize The Princess Bride rather than learn statistics.

3. "See this acorn? I'll throw it at you and turn you to stone!" Willow, guessed by Tina's husband. :)

I was hoping there was another Willow fan out there! Great easy fantasy movie, a la Princess Bride, but not quite so obviously campy. And now I'll confess that I read the novelization too. I liked it that much. This isn't my favorite quote from the movie, but some of the funniest parts aren't really quotable, and "Gentlemen, meet Lug" wasn't in the IMDB quotes.

Tina's husband actually guessed three others as well (Annie, Walk the Line, and The Mummy) -- he obviously has great taste in movies -- but I took the last three guesses off so a few other people could guess.

4. "Why any kid would want to be an orphan is beyond me." Annie, guessed by Tara.

I go through these phases where I listen to recordings of musicals, watch musicals on DVD, and just let my complete nerdyness wash over me. My poor children.

Carol Burnett is my absolute favorite as Miss Hannigan. So funny!

5. "Lesbian? Her birthday's in March. I thought she was a Pisces." Bend It Like Beckham, guessed by another Tara.

I dragged The Michael to the theater to see this movie. And this shows how much he loves me. He thought I said it was a documentary on an Indian soccer player. And he went anyway! He didn't tell me that until after the movie though.

6. "You mistake me, my dear. I have the utmost respect for your nerves. They've been my constant companion these twenty years." Pride and Prejudice, guessed by PEZmama.

Again with the nerdyness. That particular line makes me laugh out loud. Every time. There are so many lines in Jane Austen's works that make me laugh. And for those who are wondering why I didn't choose a quote from Persuasion, it's because I don't own it right now.

7. "You wear black 'cause you can't find anything else to wear? You found your sound 'cause you can't play no better? You just tried to kiss me because "it just happened?" You should try take credit for something every once in a while, John." Walk the Line, guessed by Linda.

What a great movie! Not really my usual kind of movie. It's not comedy, not action, not "feel good" but it's a great movie. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash, and I've got several of his songs in my regular playlist on my Zen.

8. "Well, having an encounter with a three thousand year old walking, talking corpse does tend to convert one." The Mummy, guessed by AJB.

Action and comedy, all in one! Love it! It's one of those movies that I put in while I'm doing some inane chore that is mindless but keeps me in one room. It takes away the monotony of ironing or whatever.

9. "A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."

Ah, the one that eluded everyone. I was afraid it might be a bit obscure. This was from Harold and Maude. Quite a black comedy, but I love it. Skeeter guessed it, but only after a bit of thought. The Michael SHOULD have gotten it, since he borrowed our DVD, and I know he's seen it.

10. "Well "Sinead O'Rebellion." Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior." Empire Records, guessed by Heather

Oh people. If you've ever worked in a music store, go rent this movie right! now! It's not a great movie, but Skeeter and I first saw this movie when I was working in a music store. How could I not love it? I knew these people. I was one of these people!

And there it is . . . the good, the bad, the nerdy.

The Great Movie Meme

Shamelessly lifted from Vanessa and Candy. I couldn't resist.

Here are the meme rules:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. GUESSERS: NO GOOGLING/using IMDB search functions.
6. One movie guess per blogger. Give people a chance to guess before you steal all of the awesome!
7. Put your guesses in the comments.

I'm with Candy on figuring out which ones to use. It was more difficult than I thought it would be. I ended up going to the DVD shelves and choosing the titles from there.

1. "Don't forget to kill Philip!" Shaun of the Dead, guessed by Skeeter.

2. "You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well-known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha..." The Princess Bride, guessed by Julie.

3. "See this acorn? I'll throw it at you and turn you to stone!" Willow, guessed by Tina's husband. :)

4. "Why any kid would want to be an orphan is beyond me." Annie, guessed by Tara.

5. "Lesbian? Her birthday's in March. I thought she was a Pisces." Bend It Like Beckham, guessed by another Tara.

6. "You mistake me, my dear. I have the utmost respect for your nerves. They've been my constant companion these twenty years." Pride and Prejudice, guessed by PEZmama.

7. "You wear black 'cause you can't find anything else to wear? You found your sound 'cause you can't play no better? You just tried to kiss me because "it just happened?" You should try take credit for something every once in a while, John." Walk the Line, guessed by Linda.

8. "Well, having an encounter with a three thousand year old walking, talking corpse does tend to convert one." The Mummy, guessed by AJB.

9. "A lot of people enjoy being dead. But they are not dead, really. They're just backing away from life. *Reach* out. Take a *chance*. Get *hurt* even. But play as well as you can. Go team, go! Give me an L. Give me an I. Give me a V. Give me an E. L-I-V-E. LIVE! Otherwise, you got nothing to talk about in the locker room."

10. "Well "Sinead O'Rebellion." Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior." Empire Records, guessed by Heather

So there ya go! I love trivia stuff like this! Have fun!

The strangeness of our weather

Yesterday:


Today:

Things I've done today

Drawn pictures on the sidewalk.


Had a tea party.


Wrote on the wall.


Played hopscotch.


Set up Skeeter's new microwave.


Tested the microwave.


And it's not even noon.

Whew.

Giving credit where it's due

Thanks for the props, y'all, but I haven't admit -- The Wall isn't my original idea. That credit goes to my mom, although my stubborn nature had a part in it.

When I was little I was a wall writer. OhyesIwas. I loved to write on the walls. No amount of discipline or treats stopped my creative outlet. So finally, my parents "gave" me a wall in my room. I was allowed to draw, write, paint, color, whatever. But only on that wall.

I created artwork of all sorts, and once I was tired of it, my parents would paint over it and I would begin again.

I loved it.

That's exactly what I hope I've created for my children. Considering how many hours they've spent in there since I let them at it on Monday, I think it's a winner.

The Laundry Room

First, the bad news. The dryer, it is dead. The repair guy came this morning and said that the motor is going out. It's fixable . . . for $427. Considering that it's a 10-year-old dryer, probably not worth it. So now I'm on a quest for a new washer/dryer set.

But in other semi-laundry related news . . . .

Our laundry room a pretty large for a laundry room, about the size of a small bedroom. It also serves as a play area and storage for some of Sass's toys. And books. Lawzy, the books!

My children draw. And draw and draw and draw. Between the two of them, they've probably used up a small forest. So Skeeter and decided that we'd give them a wall and save a few (read: many!) trees. We painted a dry erase board on a large part of one of the walls in the room, and it's been a huge hit with the children!

And now, the photos:


Thank heavens I'm planning to repaint the whole room anyway because Skeeter decided to paint that extra rectangle. Crazy man. Anyway, when I repaint the rest of the room, I'll probably buy some sort of wainscoting to give the area dry erase area a frame.

I see that my birthday/anniversary calendar is still on February. Oops.

And just to show you the rest of the room:


The door goes out to the carport, and it's rarely used. But for when we do, the little bins are easily movable though, and not at all heavy.

It's been an excellent use of the space for us!

When you have children . . .

I suppose this shouldn't be all that surprising. It was a little bit of a shock to me this morning though, when I opened the drawer to get the cookie cutter to make biscuits.

Bragging

I think my children have gorgeous blue eyes.

A day out

The children and I spent today at a local art museum, at a "family day" filled with crafts and science experiments centered around the works of David Macaulay.

We had initially intended for it to be a morning activity -- from about 10 am to noon -- but we found out that the the author would hold a lecture in the afternoon, so we stuck around for that.

It was so worth it! The pieces in the gallery were mostly his original works, with notes, and seeing them up close -- the lines, the detail -- was fascinating and illuminating.

His "illustrated talk" centered around two as-yet-unpublished books, where he talked about his creative process, both in the art and the story of the books. It was fascinating. I was a fan before, but now I have much more of an appreciation for his work.

The museum staff did a great job in pulling some of the concepts out of the books and putting them in real life. Here are just a few of the crafts and experiments we did.

Printmaking:


Learning about the center of gravity:


Force and motion:


They also participated in a contest, building the tallest tower out of cardboard blocks. They each won a small prize. Spyder won a noisemaker (cleverly marketed as a "musical instrument" -- ha!) and Sass won her favorite thing ever -- bubbles! I think she used half of them before we ever got out of the gardens.

It was such an excellent day to be out. The weather was wonderfully warm and it felt like spring, a nice change from the dreary gray, rainy days we've had recently.