Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

This week we have two days of making Gingerbread Houses with the families, something I've been both eagerly anticipating/dreading it in that way others who have done this program can appreciate--excited for the kids, while also dreading the clean up  (the icing ground into the carpet, candy strewn everywhere), and also living in fear that we're going to run out of something important like icing or graham crackers. I DID forget the heavy duty plates and plastic knives, but fortunately there is a dollar store nearby, and I realized my error a half an hour before the program started. The program ran smoothly and we had 36 people show up to day 1 (day 2 is today); the only major mess up was when I was going to take a photo of one of the kids with their finished house for our Facebook page and my iPhone slid out of my fresh-wipe-slippery hand and went flying at the gingerbread house--through it, in fact! I DEMOLISHED his house!! There were audible gasps from all of the kids and my...

...because then maybe I would end up with Colin Firth. Shoot, I don't even speak Portugeses. And don't even think I am going to settle for Hugh Grant! Hmmm, Snape though...but I'm not the homewrecking type. Anyway, Christmas is a strange holiday. Don't get me wrong, as a pretty devout Catholic I love the whole Jesus' birth aspect of it, but as a single person Christmas and New Years have to be the most sucktastic holidays. They are the time when you want to know who you're going to be taking to Christmas parties, who's thinking of buying something really special for you (if you go in for that consumeristic thing), who'll you'll be snogging on New Year's Eve when the ball drops. Christmas can be lonely when you don't have someone to share it with and you live alone in a new city and your family is all over the damn country and your brother was supposed to be with you but has to go see his wife's family in Canda INSTEAD!! This year has be...

So so so much to blog about: my trip to MI this past weekend, my new job week 2, Cleveland, and making my first friends in Ohio! Until I have the proper time to do that, just wanted to share this. I LOVE it! P.S. Welcome to my two newest followers: Juice S. Aaron over at Tales from the Liberry and Sity Myra over at This" is Eyra =:) I appreciate you're following along--comment often!

Someone at work sent this video to everyone; and since I have no friends, no social life, and not much else to do right now, I made my own. For the record, it took me about an hour to make this. Also for the record, my still slightly empty apartment does feel a little more Christmas spirity now. And for you bibliophiles, featured are: Oh the places you'll go; Toot & Puddle; Curious George; Mother Goose; The Stinky Cheese Man; The Tin Forest; The Tree in the Wood; Streganona; Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you see?; Miss Nelson is Back; Miss Nelson has a field day; Polar Bear Polar Bear, What Do you hear?; Mummies made in Egypt; The Lion's Bed; Fall; The Boy Who was Raised by Librarians; Fossils; The Laughing Dragon; One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish; Skippy Jon Jones; Millions of Cats; The True Story of the Big Bad Wolf; Stellaluna; When will it be Spring?; Raccoon Tune; Peter Pan; To think I saw it on Mulberry St.; Dr. Seuss' ABCs; Happy ...

Secret Santa began yesterday at the Farm; names were drawn from a hat and we marched forth into the cold afternoon and possibly all pondered those ponderous pre-Christmas (Hannukah/Kwanza) thoughts about what to get our Secret Santees. We were instructed to try to not spend over $5 over the course of the week, which isn't too hard, but how to be clever and original? In years past I have given my Santee: poetry, candy, cookies and even a snowman, but what am I to do this year? Brainstorming, I have come up with a few ideas: A "snake-coiled" brownie in a cellophane "holiday" baggy, with a note that says, "Santa's reindeer left this for you." Make sure the brownie has corn pressed into it...everyone knows reindeer LOVE corn. A stripper who pops out of a lifesized fruit cake, sings Christmas carols and has a mischieviously placed candy cane. WINK! Someone dressed like a snowman who will pose on the persons' front lawn. When your Santee comes ...

I never liked holidays growing up--there was always something--I will leave it at that. When I lived out East at the farm I stayed there for every single holiday for nearly three years, absorbing some of the farms traditions; and then continued to go back for some of the holidays even after moving back to Michigan. Now with Dad gone I know that I am especially dreading this Christmas. I went to a Christmas party a couple of weeks ago at a friends house and someone overheard me say that I hated Christmas music; this after talking about how marginalized the real idea of Christmas has become, and how our culture has taken Christmas and made it into this horrible "shop-fest." My friend Chris called me Grinch. Maybe he is right. So, I have decided in the spirit of my 14 things that make me happy mode , I will list 14 alternative things to do this holiday season. And maybe even share some of the memories too. 1. Make pinecone bird feeders . This link will take you to directions if ...