Harold

For Christmas M. purchased family tickets to go see a production of Harold and the Purple Crayon, one of our favorite children's books. Purdue's Enchantment Theatre Company put it on and it was really amazing! I loved it, E. loved it, M. loved it and I was so thrilled that we were able to go. They brought to life a beautiful story and made theatre really fun for children. For those of you who don't know, I wanted to be a theatre major for a really long time and my scholarship was even from the drama department. I obviously didn't pursue that but I love theatre and want to share that with E. He thought it was great and we really enjoyed it. Pick up a copy of the story and then imagine it on stage - beautifully done. We were so impressed and E. has talked about it nearly every day since.

Convocations put paper all around the entry in the Stewart Center and let children draw with purple crayons all over it. E. was totally into it as you can tell.

Ever the excitement all over his face.

Mom and E. waiting for it to start. This was the only happy picture he took all day and that was only because I was tickling him right before we took it.

The family shot - excited aren't we? I think E. was a little freaked out by the girl that took the picture - I hope that's what was happening in this shot.

And of course we videoed E. on our way there as evidence that he actually knew what he was going to see. He's funny.

Juneteenth

I haven't been doing many book reviews for awhile but I thought I would start it up again. I can't guarantee how often they will be since I don't know what I will be reading for work now but I'll try to put all my favorites up.
I finished this book, Come Juneteenth, by Ann Rinaldi last week. It's about the day the slaves were finally freed in Texas, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It follows a family, particularly a young girl named Luli, who own a plantation and haven't freed their slaves yet. Most importantly they have a "sister" who they have taken in and raised as their own though she is legally still a slave and they haven't told her that she's free as well.
Growing up in the West I received a very biased education on the Civil War so it's nice to read something that sympathizes with the Confederates and reminds me that they were people too. Perhaps they made awful decisions and treated people like dirt but they were people and they had reasons for what they did. I have a friend that grew up in Georgia and we have discussed the difference in what kind of education you get on the war depending on where you grew up. It's nice to be enlightened to different view points occasionally and I thought this novel did a nice job of that.
I enjoyed this book right up to the end. I feel like things got a little muddled and dramatic right at the end and it wasn't necessary to go so far to the extreme with the dramatics. Either way, it was educational and a nice read. If you want a good historical fiction this was a good one, just don't be shocked when the ending is exactly what you don't want it to be.
Happy reading!

Notes from Key West

Don't be alarmed. This is M.

For my talk today, I've been asked to speak on my adventures in Key West. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. Here goes:

I arrived in Tampa to spend a few days with the Florida Craguns (Ryan, Debi and Toren), each of them extraordinary hosts.

Here's a shot of downtown from the University of Tampa, Ryan's home away from home. (Little basketball aside: why do the commentators describe threes as "coming in from downtown"? Wouldn't "coming in from the suburbs" make more sense?)

This is a gator, approx. 8 inches from a road that people are allowed to walk on at the Shark Valley entrance of the Everglades, waiting to snap off my legs. Florida is crazy.

Look at those cute little limbs.

This felt a lot closer in person, trust me.

Pan of the Everglades and Kingdom of Alligators from a lookout tower. I took a two hour tram around the park.

A congregation of alligators just below the tower.

After the Everglade tour we got a nice hotel in Miami, soon to be home of the Miapolis, tallest building in the world.

I follwed Ryan and Debi down into Key West, listening to McCarthy's The Road on tape. Not a good idea when you're alone and missing your two-year-old son, and also when you're driving toward the sea. This is a shot from the Seven Mile Bridge.

Ah, Duvall Street in Key West. A frat boy's dream. So tacky it makes your teeth hurt. It would come to be home.

Duvall St. feels more like this.

This is the Westwinds, my lodging for the conference.

And a shot of one of it's pools. Sure glad we had the coldest weather in Key West for over a century!

Think this price sounds reasonable?

A shot of the conference podium and backdrop. Have I mentioned the conference yet?

Ocean shot:

Yes, I got a burger at Margaritaville. And yes, Jimmy Buffett's eyes will follow you everywhere in the restaurant.

Proof that I was there.

Sunset on the drive home.

A Tampa airport mural.

And finally, my last vision of the Sun before I descended into that dirty Midwestern blanket of winter.

So ends my tour.

M.

Graveyard Book

If you're looking for a good, interesting read I just finished Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book and it was fabulous! He is becoming my favorite creepy author. His books all have a very mystical, creepy, haunting vibe to them and it's wonderful. This book is grade 5-8 book but I enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Shout out!

Just a shout out - you know who you are.

W.

~ and just because she's amazing, seriously - just watch it!

Elaboration.

So I think I confused a few loved friends out there with my last post so here is the back story. I heard about a job a while back where you read YA novels and write quizzes for them. Since I'm a YA novel junkie it's like the ideal job right? Well, I didn't hear back from them for ages and just figured I didn't get the job until I unexpectedly heard from them last week. So I went to training and have been hired. I read my first book (a spectacular Box Car Children book I might add). I emailed my quiz in, excited for feed back and to know how I did. I've been so nervous because I want this job - this is my dream job, seriously! I would love to be able to stay home, read books that I'm already reading and get paid to do it. Well, there is the whole aspect of the quiz which is actually really difficult to write and time consuming but I really enjoyed it. Anyway, I got an email in reply that she had received my quiz and would look over it when she had a chance. That was Sunday. It's Friday (very early Friday morning but Friday none the less). So, there you have it. Not really so exciting now that I've put it down in writing is it? You liked the cryptic, mysterious version so much better didn't you? I know you did. But you asked, you received and I'm still waiting. Still waiting.

Tragedy.

Please say a prayer for all the people of Haiti today. My heart goes out to them.

Waiting...

So am I seriously the most impatient person in the world?!?!?!?! I'm losing my stinking mind today. It's just a dumb email that I'm waiting for. OK, so it's kind of a big email because it will determine if I can actually hack it at the job I just got. Perhaps it's my dream job or the biggest failure EVER. I'm not sure yet - but...

I'M SICK OF WAITING!!!!!!

So, instead - I'm eating an artichoke in amazing butter sauce and watching Salon Takeover. I don't think this is the healthiest thing I could be doing while waiting but I need to stop playing freecell while I glance up every 10 seconds or so to see if I've received another email. So if you want me to feel better for a brief second - shoot me an email. I'll see the little "0" change to a "1" then my poor little heart will beat faster and then crush when it's not what I was expecting. But then - hey - it's an email from you, so I will read it, smile and continue to eat my artichoke and watch for that stupid "0" to change again.