What's up shorty?

Quitters never win and winners never quit. Except in certain instances...Here's a list of things I'm really glad I quit.


1. College
2. Theatre
3. Being an administrative assistant
4. Living in Ohio

I also don't regret...
Buying this and this...
(pardon the Dooce influence, but in the words of Depeche Mode, I just can't get enough ETSY.com)

The ones I read over and over and over and over

...and over and over and over again.

When I was a kid/teenager/young adult/semi-young adult...the books that always felt like coming home were:

1. The Secret Garden- Frances Hodgson Burnett

2. A Little Princess- Frances Hodgson Burnett

3. A Wrinkle in Time- Madeline L'Engle

4. Little House on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder

5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

6. Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew- C.S. Lewis

7. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- Roald Dahl

8. The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster

9. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - E.L. Konigsburg

10. Bridge to Terebithia- Katherine Paterson

(and that's just the top ten that I can think of right now, here at 12:34 am. I haven't even mentioned my secret obsession I fostered for V.C. Andrews...)

But here it is Picture Book Tuesday already! And I think my son has a jump on his "WILL READ REPETITIVELY" throughout life list.

Recently I brought home the newest edition of Puff the Magic Dragon (Yarrow, Lipton, and illustrated by Eric Puybaret)...and yes, it's simply the song put to emerald illustrations of Puff and his boy Jackie Paper. And yes, he's loving that rascal puff still. (Forgive the corniness. Did I mention it is 12:38 am yet?)...I wasn't sure the reaction the book would get from Xander, he's a picky lad (and here I am starting to sound a bit like the song...)...but he immediately looked at the book by himself and asked me to read it to him. Since the story/song is so natural, so lilting, he took to it right away. The illustrations are sheer and rich at the same time; finally casting into light the way I as a child envisioned Puff to look as opposed to the weird conglomerate of Pete's Dragon and the Hannah-Barbera-Burgess-Meredith-of-a-film-adaptation-that has been stuck in my brain for over 20 years... Thank you Eric Puybaret. It's simply lovely...and very green. And of course sad.

Fifteen reasons to enjoy your neuroses and ADD

1. Buy clay to create paperweight/gifts for crafts gifts for Xander to work on.

2. Buy embroidery floss and start making cat/sushi/atomic tea towels and pillowcases.

3. Buy/create a kitchen composter for food scraps. Better aerate compost in back yard.

4. Overcome fear of 'behind the shed' where the compost pile is.

5. Sew buttons on Gary and Xander's shirts.

6. Shampoo carpets.

7. Wax dining room table, credenza, Hoosier cabinet.

8. Learn where the term "credenza" and "Hoosier cabinet" came from on reference databases.

9. Clip out collage material from all interesting, chi-chi and low-brow catalogues shoved in the peacock store (spare room - - Xander calls it the peacock store)

10. Go to Museum of Appalachia again soon so Xander can get his peacock fix.

11. Finish reading books am working on.

12. Select picture book for Picture Book Tuesday

13. Think about summer reading project for my 2 storytimes I'm in charge of

14. Embroider robot, hedgehog and owl on something. Not sure what, just something.

15. Research/sign up Xander in violin/music lessons so he can become virtuoso by age 5...