The library

It's no secret that the library is one of my favorite places to go. We have several around here that we can use that are part of our county-wide system. I go to the library at least once a week, often twice. There is a great selection of videos and DVDs to check out, which is a plus.
So yesterday W and I went to the library closest to our house; it's also the largest one in our system and the most crowded, usually. We were nearly done with gathering our materials for the week. We were in this little side room that houses the videotapes. I was getting a Sherlock Holmes video for Mike since he's obsessed with anything Sherlock Holmes. Anyway, W was getting irritated with being in his stroller and was being a little vocal about it. He had his pacifier in his mouth, but it wasn't doing anything to keep him quiet. The next thing I know, this librarian approached us and grumped on us! Here's how it went down:
Grumpy Library Man: Can I help you find anything?
Me: No, I've got everything I need. Thanks, though.
GLM: Um, is there any way you can quiet him down?
Me: (bewildered and embarrassed) Well, we're about to leave.
GLM: Because he's a little loud and disturbing other patrons.
Me: Yes, well, we just have to check these things out and we are leaving.
GLM: There's a lobby you can take him in to and calm him down.
Me: That won't be necessary. Like I said, we're leaving right now. Thanks.
And I wheeled W away. Of course at this point W had gotten quiet. As we were checking out our books and videos, I saw GLM speaking with two people near where The Incident had occurred. I think they were the ones whom we had "disturbed" because I had noticed them shooting us some "looks" while we were perusing the DVD collection. They obviously weren't TOO disturbed or engrossed in anything important, because even when we were leaving the building, they were still conversing with GLM.
The whole thing really aggravated me. It was really embarrassing and annoying. Now I'm all cranky about going back there. I know I shouldn't be, but I am.
The DVD I got to watch last night was "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. I had never seen it before; it was disturbingly good. I had always wanted to see it since it was filmed at Smith, it was cool seeing College Hall and Lyman plant house, as well as the distinct Smith lampposts. If you haven't seen this movie, take the time to watch it. But don't expect it to be a "sit there and relax" movie. It makes you think, and it is quite discomforting. Elizabeth Taylor was especially fabulous; she won the Best Actress Oscar for her role as Martha. I always think of Elizabeth Taylor as...

• old...
• hawking stinky perfume...
• friend of Michael Jackson...

...so it was really awesome to see how wonderful she is as an actress. I mean, she was dynamite.

Don't believe everything you read

Surprise! Not everything you read on the Internet or in your email is true. There are lots of forwards floating around that are against Barack Obama. They run the gamut from the ridiculously absurd to the mildly convincing. Believe whatever you want; support whomever you choose. But please take the time to find out the "truthiness" behind allegations before accepting them as your own truth. The latest email going around is about Obama's visit to Afghanistan. To be honest, when I read it, I was disgusted. Did Obama REALLY do that?
No, he didn't. Here's the truth.

The end of productivity as we know it

If you have some time to waste, check this out. You will be amused.
Not amused? Fine. Check this out instead.

Itchin'

We like to walk downtown to the bagel store on Friday mornings when the weather is nice. We load W into his stroller and put Maggie on her leash; it's about a mile each way. This morning, on the way down there, I started getting awful hives on my legs. I usually take Zyrtec to help keep them away, but I haven't taken my Zyrtec in about a week because the doctor put me on Claritin-D to help clear up my sinuses and help my ears. The Claritin-D isn't effective against hives, and I've gotten a little itchy once or twice since being off the Zyrtec, but nothing compared to how I was this morning. When I got home, I took two Benadryl and got back into bed. The Benadryl got rid of the hives, thank goodness. Mike was so sweet to look after W so that I could let the medicine do its job.
My mom left on Wednesday morning. I don't know when I'll see her next. That makes me sad.

The birthday party

Well, the party was a success. W had a couple of minor meltdowns, but I think he was just overwhelmed and a little irritated with the other kids getting into all his stuff and personal space. Overall, we all had a nice time. Here are some pictures from the Big Event.
W's last evening of being a one-year-old... Laid back!

The Birthday morning. See the big Thomas the Tank Engine floor pillow? I made that! It was my first time to do piping.

A close-up of the Thomas pillow. W loves it.

Playing T-ball with Daddy. It's a great W-sized set. Burdy and Ace gave it to him.

W with a gift from Grammy Lynn and Grandpa Bob--Dress-Up Joey. It's a Melissa and Doug toy (I love their stuff!) that has a little boy and lots of outfits that are magnetic. He can be a knight, firefighter, pirate (shown here), superhero, construction worker, etc. It's adorable. They have several different ones for little girls, too.

Cupcakes! The first batch wasn't a success. I forgot to add the butter. Mike made the second batch while Mom and I were at the NJ Shakespeare Theatre's production of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare--Abridged" up in Morristown, about an hour from here. Sidenote: The play was fun, but they canceled Act II because one of the actors hurt his leg really badly in the final scene of the first act when he and another actor were chasing each other around.

Singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.

Cupcakes... yum!!!

Opening presents with friends... and Maggie.

Tired party animals!

He's 2!

W is 2 today! He's having his birthday party tomorrow. We're having 3 or 4 toddlers over for cupcakes and fruit. W doesn't like a lot of commotion and crowds so we're keeping it low-key. I'll be sure to post pics of everything. For now, here's a pic from last year's festivities.

A Friday chuckle

Maybe this was only funny to me, but I have to share... It's from an op-ed contributer to today's NYT. It's pretty short, so I'll just save you the trouble from clicking to another site and post it right here:

Stuff Parody Writers Like

By JEFF JOHNSON

Published: July 18, 2008

THE book “Stuff White People Like,” based on the runaway Internet hit of the same name, just made the best-seller list. Apparently, readers felt they were lacking a definitive guide to white, upwardly mobile individuals and their purported interests —“gay friends,” “outdoor performance clothes,” “Barack Obama” and so on. If the road to a best seller (not to mention what’s said to be a $300,000 advance) begins with nothing more than a Web site and a list of likes, then here are a few projects I plan to develop:

STUFF GRANDPARENTS LIKE

Anything cinnamon
Any Brach’s candy
Craftmatic adjustable beds
Quilted toaster covers
Water aerobics
Buicks

STUFF SERIAL KILLERS LIKE

Windowless vans
Death-row weddings to pen pals
Clowns and/or clown paintings
Rivers with swift evidence-destroying currents

STUFF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE COUNSELORS LIKE

Telling you how much smarter your sister was
Letting you know that maybe you should set the bar a little lower in order to cushion the blow later in life
Taking a peek at your file
Reminding you that a 1,000-mile journey begins with one small step
Posters with cats whose paws are affixed to tree branches, and are aggressively hanging in there

STUFF BUTTERSCOTCH ENTHUSIASTS LIKE

Sherlock Holmes
Antique suitcases
Calligraphy
Foggy bogs
Canes as accessories, not for functionality

STUFF INTOXICATED PEOPLE LIKE

Pizza
Your sofa
Vomiting on public property
Leprechauns
Vomiting on your sofa

STUFF FORMER YANKEE GARY SHEFFIELD LIKES

Nothing

STUFF PARENTS WITH TODDLERS WHO HAVE CHRONIC EAR INFECTIONS LIKE

Sleep

STUFF PEOPLE WHO LIKE THE INTERNET LIKE

Reading about the interests of white people

STUFF I LIKE

Melted cheese

Jeff Johnson is a writer.

Gettin' tagged

Questions courtesy of Black Betty:

ONE word answers only... Here goes!

1. Where is your cell phone? unsure
2. Your significant other? fabulous
3. Your hair? blonde
4. Your mother? visiting
5. Your father? doting
6. Your favorite thing? relaxing
7. Your dream last night? several
8. Your favorite drink? DP
9. Your dream/goal? family
10. The room you’re in? den
11. Your church? OLD
12. Your fear? failure
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? together
14. Where were you last night? home
15. What you’re not? Republican
16. Muffins? thanks
17. One of your wish list items? basement
18. Where you grew up? Brandon
19. The last thing you did? 18
20. What are you wearing? pajamas
21. Your TV? one
22. Your pets? three
23. Your computer? pathetic
24. Your life? complete
25. Your mood? expectant
26. Missing someone? sure
27. Your car? cluttered
28. Something you’re not wearing? socks
29. Favorite store? Target
30. Your summer? pool
31. Like(love) someone? tons
32. Your favorite color? blue
33. Last time you laughed? today
34. Last time you cried? dunno
35. Who will re post this? Rachel

The latest from JibJab

Check out the latest ditty from JibJab.com. It's pretty hilarious and doesn't let either political party have a free ride.
Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Video Animation by JibJab

Nighttime nannies?

Thoughts on this trend? I suppose if you weren't a stay-at-home-mom and had the extra money to spend on a nighttime nanny, it could be nice... But isn't one of the "joys" of parenting getting up with your little one at all hours?

Bad news for some

Back in January, Mike took a new job with the WSJ (writing the US Watch and World Watch columns). Turns out that was a good decision. The Journal announced today that it is laying off all 50 copy editors in South Brunswick (as in, what Mike used to do). Those folks can apply for 12 or so available positions in NYC. It really stinks.
Thank goodness Mike's boss realized that, as of last week, Mike's job title was STILL copy editor. He had the sense to change Mike's title to "Special Writer" which could, very well, have saved Mike from this potential disaster. Several of Mike's friends/co-workers from South Brunswick are in a bad spot, though, which is really unfortunate.
Who knows if his job is safe in the long run from this "re-structuring" that's going on with Murdoch in charge. But for now, it's gonna be okay. Sigh.

Long time, no post

My in-laws have been here for the past week, hence the lack of posting. We had a wonderful time together and managed to keep ourselves quite busy. On Tuesday night, Mike, his dad and I went to a Phillies/Cardinals game. The Cards won, which was fantastic. The only other MLB games I'd ever been to were in St. Louis so it was a bit of a rude awakening to go to a game in "enemy" territory. It's not that the fans were rude or obnoxious necessarily, but they just weren't really watching the game. There was little cheering, and actually quite a bit of booing on the part of the Phillies fans for their own team! Unbelievable.
We left W at home with his Grammy Lynn--he was well-behaved for her, thank goodness!
LMSS with Darling Husband at ballpark
Our view. Our seats were waaaay up high, but they were actually decent. Good view, nice breeze. Once the sun set, it was even better.
I think Mike took this pic of the scoreboard right before Rick Ankiel hit his homerun. Check out the setting sun behind the scoreboard.
Loved this guy. Check out his shirt!!

My project this week was hanging pictures behind my sofa. That wall was so bare, but I couldn't come up with a good filler. Finally I had the genius idea to do a photo collage of the past two years. Most of the pics were taken by Mike's former co-worker Melanie, but a couple of them were taken by none other than Alice. Fab!

The goat did it

You know the saying "it takes a village"? Well, sometimes, it takes a goat. Click here to read this inspiring piece from yesterday's NYT editorial pages. It's truly an amazing story. And the charity mentioned (Heifer International) is similar to the one that my in-laws donate to (theirs is something through the Episcopal church). In fact, at Christmas, they got a goose for a family in some remote area in honor of W. Neat.
So after you donate to Rachel's Team in Training, or buy one of her Spirit Crosses, check out these charities that send animals to third-world areas. You could really have an affect on someone's life.

An analysis

Take a look at this interesting piece from today's NYT--it analyzes Obama's chances (or lack thereof) of electoral wins in the South. As a student of American studies and a political junkie, as well as being a native Mississippian, I find this kind of stuff fascinating.