Girls get to have adventures, too

I found a cool website called amightygirl.com which has "the world's largest collection of books, toys and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls." That's a good thing, because puberty is just around the corner. I'm not looking forward to surviving it a second time, even at once removed. I'm always on the look out for stuff for ThePinkThing (who is strenuously objecting that moniker, since she no longer likes pink, but anyway...). They have book recommendations, which are many and varied. That's all fine and good, but I like knowing what my friends (or their daughters) have read or are reading. And so, I asked the Facebook Mind for book suggestions for TPT.

This request arose from a comment she made after reading two books: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. She wondered why boys always get to have the really fun adventures in books. I remember wondering exactly the same thing, when I was girl and around her age. Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden weren't cool, Little Women was BORING, and The Secret Garden lost me when it got all religious in the latter half. I never got an answer to my question or a list of good books where girls had the adventures and boys were extraneous. Eventually, I started reading my mom's adult SF/Fantasy books and though I still noted the dearth of smart, adventurous girls, I didn't look specifically for girl-centric books.

So I asked the FB Hivemind on behalf of TPT. I got a bunch of cool suggestions from family, friends and friends of friends. I didn't include the ones where the main character is a boy (only girls allowed in this club, dudes), though some of the books have adventures with mixed company. I'm pretty positive that TPT will not enjoy some of them (we can forget Little Women and The Secret Garden), and others are too advanced for her at this point (the Sabriel series and The Book Thief). I read Julie of the Wolves when I was about 10 and was completely freaked out by a specific scene. I know she will be, too, and will hold off on that one for another year or two, though it would seem exactly the kind of book she wants. TPT now has reading material for the next couple of years...

Please note that these were suggestions from a variety of people, and I have not read many of them. Some I've added. Also, my categorization are, perhaps, a bit arbitrary.

SF/Fantasy/Mythology
A Matter of Magic by Patricia Wrede
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
A Wrinkle in Time (and sequels) by Madeleine L'Engle
Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess by George O'Connor
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison
Girl Genius by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio
Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell
Holly Vesper books by Lloyd Alexander
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Podkayne of Mars by Robert Heinlein
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede
The Amulet series by Kazu Kibushi
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The Courageous Princess by Rod Espinosa
The Courtney Crumrin series by Ted Naifeh
The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1) by Michael Buckley and Peter Ferguson
The Genius Files series by Dan Gutman (comment from TPT: The main characters in this book are siblings, and the brother is the ringleader, not the sister.)
The Girl Who Owned a City by OT Nelson
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Gurgazon series by Ray Fawkes
The Harper Hall trilogy by Anne McCaffrey
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
The Runaways series (only the ones by Brian Vaughn)
The Sabriel series by Garth Nix
The Strictest School in the World (and sequels) by Howard Whitehouse
The Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett
Alana: The First Adventure (and sequels) by Tamora Pierce
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
The Oz books by L. Frank Baum
The Oz graphic novel versions by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (and sequels) by Joan Aiken
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos (and sequels) by RL LaFevers
Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke

Fiction
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiMillo
Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Bridge to Teribithia by Katherine Patterson
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright and Joe & Beth Krush
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
The Case of the Missing Marquess: an Enola Holmes mystery (and sequels) by Nancy Springer
The Great Gillie Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech
To the Summit by Claire Rudolf Murphy

Classics/Older
Anne of Green Gables (and sequels) by LM Montgomery
Charlotte's Web by EB White
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Nancy Drew books by Carolyn Keene
National Velvet by Enid Bagnold
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Rescuers by Margery Sharp
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Trixie Belden books by Julie Campbell

TPT has read A Wrinkle in Time, 10 of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, the first Girl Genius book, the entire Amulet series, the Runaways series, Zita the Spacegirl, Charlotte’s Web, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Little Witch, The Courageous Princess, and Matilda. She’s tried Harriet the Spy, Nancy Drew, and The Secret Garden and didn't finish.

I've read A Wrinkle in Time (and all of the sequels plus some of her other books), The Courageous Princess, A Matter of Magic, the first Girl Genius book, Charlotte's Web, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Matilda, Harriet the Spy, a whole bunch of Nancy Drews, The Secret Garden, Podkayne of Mars, Sorcery and Cecelia (and its sequels), Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, The Blue Sword (and its prequel), The Harper Hall trilogy (plus the rest of the Pern books), The Sabriel series, all of the Oz books, the graphic version of The Land of Oz, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (and 1 sequel), Thirteenth Child, the Anne of Green Gables series (plus the majority of her other books; The Blue Castle is my favorite), Julie of the Wolves, Little Women (and its two sequels), Little Witch, National Velvet, Pippi Longstocking, The Courageous Princess, The Goose Girl, Eight Cousins, and a few Trixie Beldens.

Stinkily Evil Mother?

I let my kid eat something that was pretty much the most horrifying thing I'd ever eaten. Does that make me a bad mother?

I have a friend, John the Scientist, who is (perhaps pathologically) interested in (and/or entertained by) exposing his friends to "food" that is just barely on the correct side of edible. Seriously. You can't imagine some of the stuff he's sent to mutual friends, at least one of which required a hazmat suit. I tried stinky tofu with him and survived, as did our friend Nathan. Barely.

So what does it say about me, that I went back to the same restaurant with JTS, but this time I brought along TheHusband and ThePinkThing? Specifically so that TPT could try stinky tofu. Please note that there was no coercion on either my part or JTS's. He is willing to offer the opportunity, but he doesn't push. TPT wanted to try stinky tofu. I'm not sure why. When I asked I got a garbled answer that boiled down to "I want to taste how bad it is." I'm not one to prevent the kid from trying new foods. She's got a reasonably wide palate for a 9 year-old, especially since TheHusband is a "meat and potatoes, hold the potatoes" kinda guy. The other food I had had at Bob's Noodle 66 was reasonably good (though the jellyfish had an odd consistency). So we went last night. Even though he couldn't smell it, TheHusband said "NO WAY", although he did try everything else we ordered. I also bailed on the stinky tofu. Oncewasfinethankyouverymuch.

TPT tried it. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Next time JTS is in town, we will go to a regular old Mexican restaurant. :-)

Fair winds and following seas

I am a proud member of an internet group called the UCF. While I have not met all of my fellow-members In Real Life, I've shared my thoughts, tragedies, and joy with them. These friends have supported me when I've been sick or sad, and I've been there for them in like situations. Most of us have been able to meet up with at least one other member of the group, thereby strengthening our ties.

Sadly, a member of this group passed away over the weekend. Wendy was witty, funny, wry, and fun. She is the older sister of a younger brother, something I shared with her, and it showed. I had the pleasure of visiting with her in Real Life, when she was in the DC area a couple of years ago. We spent an evening talking, laughing, confessing, teasing, and flat-out enjoying ourselves. We were both especially pleased to meet a fellow short trollop. I will treasure the memory of that evening.

Farewell and safe travels on your journey, dear friend. You will be missed.

QotD: Can a man and a woman really be platonic friends?

This month I've decided to post every day. Since I don't have enough original things to write about (hence the desertish nature of my blog lately), I've decided to ask a new question every day this month and hope that I get answers. I have questions; you have answers.

There are lots of people who believe that a man and a woman can't really be friends. I'm not talking about a gay man and a straight woman. I'm talking about a straight man and a straight woman having a true platonic friendship.

I've heard it said that men and women can't really be friends because the man always thinks about sex and it interferes with true friendship. (I dunno about that, 'cause I'm a gurrl.) Or that sex is the ultimate goal of most men in a relationship with a woman, and the friendship is just the precursor. Or maybe it's because men and women have ultimately different goals for friendship (whatever the hell that means) or that men and women don't have too much in common. Or that cross-sex friendship only works if one person is gay. Whatever.

Two of my dearest friends are men, so obviously I believe that cross-sex friendship between a man and a woman is possible, even without the specter of sex looming over the relationship. I've been friends with one of these men since the first week of freshman year in college. I've never been interested in anything other than friendship, and I am sure that he feels the same. I met the other guy friend when I was 30. While he was great boyfriend material, we instantly fell into older sister-younger brother mode, even though he's a couple of years older than I am (I am an older sister, and he is a younger brother, so that wasn't a stretch). He's really annoying. (Fine, I'm just kidding. But he is.) Anyway, my friendship with both of these guys is real, deep, and totally platonic. I will admit that each of these guys is married to one of my best friends, but my friendships with the guys predates their relationships with their wives, so I refuse to count that as a reason.

Do you agree that cross-sex friendship is possible? If not, why?

QotD: Are internet friends just as good friends as meat-space friends?

This month I've decided to post every day. Please don't faint. Since I don't have enough original things to write about (hence the desertish nature of my blog lately), I've decided to ask a new question every day this month and hope that I get answers. I have questions; you have answers.

I like finding interesting and like-minded people on the internet. I have met, in person, many of my internet friends and for the most part, I have enjoyed them as much in meat-space as I have on the computer screen. I even met my husband online. However, I have friends and family who view this type of behavior with great dismay and distrust, as if internet friends are inherently axe murderers or, if they are not, internet friends cannot be quite as good as meat-space friends. I disagree with that attitude (duh), but I am curious what y'all think.

______________________________________________________
Updated 11/6/2010

I followed a link from my friend Janiece to this journal entry written by Roger Ebert. While it is not exactly what I was fishing for in this question, it does touch on online relationships. It is a lovely piece. Go read it.

The Curse of Lake Wallenpaupack

Yes, it struck again. I've mentioned that whenever we visit my friends at their house in the Poconos, something bad seems to happen. Even when they come to visit us, badness occurs. I did threaten to leave TheHusband home if we went to the lake house again. This time, he wasn't the problem.

We wanted a low-key, relaxing summer vacation this year. Last summer we went to Great Wolf Lodge right before school started, which was fun but frenetic (add friends with 4 kids and frenetic is definitive). So we tempted fate and stayed at our friends' lake house in the Poconos for a WHOLE WEEK, from 8/21-8/29. I was really tempting fate with a whole week's stay.

Our trip there was mildly annoying, because we left an hour and a half later than planned, forgot the blow-up mattress (thankfully our friends brought theirs), and left the car adapter for the DVD player at home. A Radio Shack along the way didn't have the right tip. So we had a 4 hour car ride with an only child and no obvious method of entertainment (it was dark for almost the whole ride). We survived. And, yes I am fully aware that everyone in my generation (and a million generations before mine) all went on long car trips without such nice methods of entertainment. Yes, yes, I know that. But it does make things so much easier.

The first weekend was nice, although the weather turned against us on Sunday (low 70s and rainy). Seven and four year-olds don't mind going in the lake or hot tub when it's raining. Their parents don't love standing around in the rain quite as much. Later that day, our friends went home and we had almost a whole week of relaxation and fun ahead of us.

It was fun and relaxing. Perhaps a bit more relaxing than expected, as it rained and was cool from Sunday through Wednesday. It was like 500 degrees every day this summer, except that week. Where's the justice in that, eh? We went to 2 different "family fun" places, and ThePinkThing played skee-ball, air hockey, and other arcade games that (of course) promote mental development. TheHusband and I had our usual no-holds-barred, cutthroat game of air hockey, for which I will sacrifice a certain level of back pain. I WON, OF COURSE. We went to a mall to buy some of her school clothes. We drove to NJ to see my grandparents, who live about 2 hours from Lake Wallenpaupack. I even worked one of the days. Not exactly the activities I was expecting for a vacation at the Poconos lake. I figured that our badness this year was the weather. No biggie in the real scheme of things.

Thursday the weather cleared up, although the lake temperature was, um, cool. TheHusband had promised ThePinkThing that he would take her Jet-Skiing, and Thursday was the day. Riding on a Jet-Ski was basically forbidden by SpineDoc for me ("Are you nuts? You had a lumbar fusion a few months ago. You know better than that..."), so I was the cheering section on shore. TPT enjoyed it but got really cold. She also said that she liked going 10 mph better than 40 mph. I wonder what that says about my husband's aquatic driving skills? Friday we went to a very nice beach at the lake. Sunny, nice, cold water, few people, lots of sand, very attentive and hungry ducks. (Did you know that ducks eat ice cream sandwiches? I didn't until that day.)

Friday night (8/27) my friends and their daughters arrived. (Yay, PinkPlaymates! And grown-ups to hang with, too!) Saturday was another beach day. One nice thing about kids of a certain age is that you no longer have to hover over them or watch them every minute.

On the Sunday morning I was silently congratulating myself for surviving the week at Lake Wallenpaupack unscathed. In retrospect, I just should've kept my (internal) piehole shut. TPT and the 7 year-old PinkPlaymate were riding their scooters on the back deck, while the four year-old was alternately begging to join in and whining that the big girls weren't playing with her. The wheel of TPT's scooter must've gotten caught in between the slats of the deck, and she fell over, hitting her face on the edge of the bench. She immediately started crying. She is the kind of kid who cries at the drop of a hat, and I have learned to differentiate the "Wah -- that hurt" cry from the "OMFG WAAAAAAHHHH, a limb is hanging by a thread" kinda cry. She let out one of the latter.

I may have mobility issues, but I can move quickly enough when I need to. She hit her right eye (the eyelid, thank goodness) and the bridge of her nose on a square edge of a bench. She ended up with a laceration on the eyelid and some pretty impressive swelling/bruising of the right eyelid. She may have had a hairline fracture of the bridge of her nose, but if she did, it was asymptomatic and non-displaced.

One other bad thing about this most recent evidence of the Curse was that she had her first day of school on the day after the injury. Poor thing was in a total tizzy about going to school with a black eye -- to the point where she "couldn't fall asleep". Once she got to school, she was fine, but boy it was a chore getting her to go. Note that a swollen eye and bruise on her nose didn't stop her from climbing the street pole, as usual.



A week after the injury, you can't even see it -- the healing power of children. TheHusband has now refused to visit my friends' lake house next summer, in hopes that the Curse of Lake Wallenpaupack may dissipate, if we stay away. He said that if we go to Alaska instead, it might not find us there. I'm game.

Crazy friends and pathetic husband

As the follow up to Snobliteration, my best friends from college came to visit. They have 2 daughters, one of whom is a few months younger than ThePinkThing, and the other is 3 years younger. Last time they came to visit for a weekend, their YoungerGirl had to be forcibly removed from TPT's bedroom, due to incessant talking at bedtime. TPT still remembers that moment fondly. Having no siblings, she seems to take joy from younger siblings getting in trouble. To be honest, so did I as a kid, but that was because if a younger sibling in my house got in trouble, it was my brother. Always amusing.

Anyway, these friends had had long-standing plans to visit last weekend, and they weren't going to let a foot or four of snow stop them. They trekked down from NY on Friday, just in time for bedtime. Of course that delayed bedtime until well after 9 pm. Annoyingly, if TPT goes to bed especially late, she always gets up much earlier than usual. That morning was no different -- they were trekking downstairs at 6 am, much to our dismay. Quite a bit of Saturday was spent in the snow -- everyone except me. Wasn't up to that. They tried sledding, which didn't quite work out. They tunneled in the snow. They made a snow fort. All in something like 3 feet of snow. Crazy people. But I love them.

These are the friends whose house we were visiting last summer, when TheHusband went to the ER with possible appendicitis (it wasn't). Three summers ago, when we were staying with them, TPT had to get stitches. She was jumping on the bed with their OlderGirl and fell, hitting her face on the headboard. Two summers ago, TH lost his glasses in the lake, when he was standing on a dock, sneezed, and ploomp went his glasses into the water. Never to be seen again, mind you. I am surprised that they ever let us come visit or even want to see us. This past weekend was no exception. TH got food poisoning. His Saturday evening was spent either doing nasty stuff in the bathroom or sleeping in the recliner. Sigh. Not the best of visits.

Next time we visit them, I'm leaving TH home.

Almost unspeakably crappy day for a friend

You know, there are times that I just have to be thankful that I have a roof over my head. A friend of mine today lost his. His roof, the rest of his house and his pets, actually, in a fire. Apparently the fire occurred while he and his family were at church, and no human lives were lost. It is unclear if the place is a total loss, what can be salvaged, what his family has beyond the clothes on their backs. Shawn and his family are in my thoughts tonight. If you are interested in helping, you can go here and chip in to help them out.

I am off to burn copies of all of my digital pictures and send the discs to my mom in NJ. Just in case.

More RED

This year's plans for Thanksgiving were completely bollixed up by the back surgery I had earlier this month. My extended family gets together every 3rd year, so we have begun to go to my in-laws for Turkey Day the other two years. This year would have been the 2nd in a row spent with my in-laws, which they did not mind in the least. Unfortunately, I was unable to handle that long of a car ride, and I was not quite well enough to be left here by myself. So we had to cancel our plans. TheHusband and ThePinkThing went to local extended family, and a friend came over and spent the afternoon with me. It worked out beautifully. TPT played with her 4 year-old cousin, TH had some adult conversation, and I had a completely relaxing and uncomplicated Turkey Day with a friend. I wish, in a way, that all of my Thanksgiving holidays were that relaxed.

But even though I have basically gone through hell during my hospitalization, I felt like TheHusband really deserved something special because he's had to deal with me in all my emotionally freaky glory these past 3 weeks.

So I arranged for a delivery of RED. RED? you ask. Yes, RED. RED soda -- that cheap stuff that TH loves, that can only be found in the Cleveland Ohio area -- Cotton Club's Cherry Strawberry soda. One of my coworkers went home to the Cleveland area for Thanksgiving, and I arranged for him to bring back some of it. It turns out that he brought back a whole boatload of the stuff. Here you see the haul -- the product of a visit to 2 different stores. Please note that one can is missing. It's already been opened, sampled, finished, and found very acceptable. I'm betting that ten 2 liter bottles and 48 cans last about a month and a half.

Many thanks to my coworker (who even refused payment). I may have to take him out for sushi in compensation (mmm, sushi). Once I am up and about.

I really have great coworkers...

Dear Good Friend who is a Giants fan (you know who you are),

I may not be a football fan, but even I know that the Giants got shellacked today. By the Eagles, no less. Good thing we didn't come up to visit this weekend, or I might have had to dodge thrown objects.

Also, good thing that we've been friends for so long, because I am sure I'll pay for this blog post at some point.

Love,
Me

Bonus Illness

Woke up with severe belly pain last night. After trying to pretend it wasn't that bad, I finally had to go to the ER. Not as easy as it sounds with TheHusband still in Rome. I tried calling a friend, but she didn't answer her phone. I finally called the only family I have in the area -- my cousin's in-laws. They are amazingly wonderful people who didn't bat an eyelash when they got a call at 2:45 am. They both came over. Bev stayed at the house so that there was someone here for Allison, and Ben came to the ER with me. It was very comforting for me to know that Allison was safe and that I had someone there for me, too.

It turned out to be a kidney stone. Like I need another painful malady. I mean WTF? I can report that pain from a kidney stone is worse than that from a herniated disc. Not that I really wanted to know that, mind you.

I got home around 6:40 am, all drugged up. I called a coworker at around 8:30 to tell him what happened and that I would make it in for a meeting at 1 pm. Not long after that my boss called and told me to be real, stay home, and take care of myself. So I did. I still feel generally crappy but not as bad as I did earlier. The friend who I couldn't reach last night is sleeping here tonight, just in case. I am hoping that Murphy's Law kicks in. Since I am planning for something bad to happen, nothing will...

I can't wait until TheHusband is home (tomorrow).

Hostess gift

Wisegeek says that a hostess gift is:

A hostess gift is a gift which is given to the host or hostess of an event by guests. A small hostess gift is generally considered appropriate for dinners and parties, while guests who are staying for several days may get something larger. The ideal hostess gift is tasteful and elegant, reflecting the presumed good taste of the host or hostess, and it is also something which the recipient would not personally buy for him or herself. While the hostess gift might seem like a quaint tradition to some people, it is still alive and well, and bringing a hostess gift to an event will indicate that you are well mannered and that you have been raised in polite society.

What makes a good hostess gift? Flowers -- they're safe, and just about every female likes them. Chocolate? You can't really go wrong with chocolate, but some people are picky about chocolate they eat. Wine is a nice idea but can be troublesome. You run the risk of offending a teetotaler or bringing along an inferior wine to an oenophile's house. And then you look like a dork.

So what do you bring over for a slightly snide, somewhat dry-humored coworker who always enjoys your hi-jinks? Pop Rocks and a marshmallow gun, that's what! We had my coworker over for dinner last night. He's the one who I labeled for the move way back 2 months ago. He's a really funny, witty and smart guy, who ThePinkThing really likes. It might be, in part, because she isn't sure if he is a kid or a grown-up, as she has said. He's 26, so at least legally he's an adult. But he has a marshmallow gun in his office and likes to make people's phones scare the piss out of them.

We played with that marshmallow gun for quite some time. The funniest was when TM (my coworker) acted like one of those ducks in a carnival shooting range, going back and forth, back and forth. And we could even eat the ammunition, which TPT did a lot. As you can imagine, TPT was in 7,000th heaven. Pop rocks and marshmallows? Too good to be true, even though the gun was on loan. But he did leave the bag of marshmallows.





As for dinner -- it came out okay enough. Pot roast, gravy, broccoli and noodles. I thought the pot roast was dry but TH and TM ate up a whole boatload of it. The broccoli was a little overdone, but that was an issue of inattention and poor timing. And the brain jello for dessert. The chicken dinner on Saturday turned out better.

A Whole Week of Fun (and Chaos)

Yesterday at around 4:50 pm I got a phone call on my cell. The phone said "Hi honey, I'm home!" My BFF is now ensconsed at my house, with her husband and 4 kids, and we get to keep them for a whole week. A whole week! Sushi! Indian food! Hang-out-with-friends time! The Maryland Renassaince Festival! Ben and Jerry's ice cream! Planet Earth! We will even have an extra added bonus visitor -- a fellow-LMB-listie, Christine (xinef), who is willing to trek down from Canada to visit with all of us, will be arriving this afternoon. Chaos Central!

TPT glumly tromped down to the bus stop this morning but was cheered by my saying that I'd pick her up early.

More From Great Wolf Lodge

We had a very nice time, although 2 full days is about all I can stand.

Our discussion upon arriving at GWL really set the tone for the days we were there...

TheHusband: We're here!
ThePinkThing (gummy-eyed from a nap): We are? Yay!
NeuronDoc: Yes. Let's get out and go check into the room.
TPT: Can we go to the water park now?
ND: After we eat some lunch.
TPT (gets out of the car): Ooh look, Mommy! It's made out of giant Lincoln Logs.
ND (trying not to laugh): They look like Lincoln logs, but really they are fake big tree trunks. And how do you know about Lincoln logs, anyway?
TPT: We learned about them in school and got to play with some.
ND: Really?
TPT: Yes. They're called Lincoln logs because President Lincoln invented them.
ND: Umm, no, they are probably called Lincoln logs because President Lincoln lived in a log cabin when he was little.
TPT: Oh. (pause) Can we go to the water park now?

Lincoln logs were invented by Abraham Lincoln?

We did manage to shove some lunch into her then trundled off to the water park. I really like that they have a family hot tub -- it is large and not as hot as a real hot tub. TPT enjoyed that. She climbed the fort-like thingy in the middle about 25 times to go down the two slides, but what she liked best was the bigger slides that TH took her on. She is not quite 48", but slyly stood on her toes to go on them. After she went on "the big kid slides", the other slides were also-rans.

We hooked up with my friends and their kids on Thursday, and TPT had a great time playing with the older two boys (ages 7.5 and 6) and the baby girl (1 yr). She spent the least amount of time with the almost 4 year-old, partially because of age and partially because she still hasn't forgiven him for terrorizing her a couple of years ago. The only way he gets anything in a house with two older and bigger brothers is to be very forceful. My little only-child isn't used to that. (This isn't TPT in the picture, but I didn't have my camera with me the 18 times she went across this "path").

TPT enjoyed the evening Clock Tower show the first night but missed it the second night, because we were having fun in the arcade (more on the arcade tomorrow). Doug and the two older boys played MagicQuest -- some sort of computerized D&D-like activity, but TPT really wasn't interested. David (the 6 year-old) was especially pleased at her indifference because she gave her magic wand to him (thus he didn't have to share with his older brother). I splurged and got TPT a manicure-pedicure, both of which she thought were great. She is very ticklish, and she just giggled during the pedicure

We made a point of having rooms next door to each other on the ground floor, which allowed for "back-door" visiting. We even ate dinner on Thursday night on our little patio. It also allowed the grown-ups to hang in our room after the kids were in bed (although Doug kept going in to check on the kids). That kind of hang-out time makes me really sad that they don't live nearby.

My BFF (aka Claudia)

Doug

(don't ask what he was holding in his hand...)

TheHusband, enjoying a Pepsi

All-in-all, a nice time. Now it's back to school -- tomorrow is day 1 of 1st grade!

Working like a dog to take time off...

I am insanely busy at work, in order to have a couple of days off. Therefore, don't expect to hear any of my wonderful words of wisdom until Monday.

Just in case you were curious -- the days off will be spent at a place guaranteed to make ThePinkThing happy -- Great Wolf Lodge. We've been before and had a great time. I plan to spend a few hours in the hot tub; in fact, my goal is to come out of there a hot, pink raisin. And best of all, this Great Wolf Lodge comes complete with a best friend. Yes, a real best friend. One who usually lives far away but is currently in my time zone (and has been so for like a whole week now without me getting to slap eyes on said best friend). So, hooray for my upcoming long weekend!

Hope yours is nice, too...

Short Trollops

I finally have a trollop of my own height. Look -- we're the same height! I had the pleasure of meeting Wendy for dinner last night. She kindly schlepped to me from Crystal City via Metro. We went out to dinner, then stopped by the local supermarket, picked up a pint of Ben and Jerry's and came to my house to eat it. I had an excellent time with her, and hope she felt the same. Then TheHusband drove her back to Crystal City, because I was too tired (afraid I'd fall asleep on the way back with nobody to entertain me). If the event involves only 2 trollops, is it still a Trollopalooza?

I'm the pink one (not ThePinkThing), and Wendy is the turquoise one. :-)

What is special about today?

It's 12:01 am on July 1st. What am I forgetting? I know that it's a special day.

Is it Flag Day? Nope, it's June 14th.

Ah, it's Bastille Day! Nice try. That's July 14th.

Right, it's Kiss the Mayor Day. Well, it is Kiss the Mayor Day on July 1st but only if you are playing SimCity2000, SimCity3000, or SimCity4. And I'm not playing any of those games right now. So that's not it.

Ah yes, it's somebody's birthday. Somebody with wild hair. (Not you, Husband) Somebody who likes to cook and bake and read books. Somebody who made me very welcome just a short time ago.

Happy Birthday, Michelle. Now don't eat your cake all in one sitting.

Virtual Farming

Nobody would ever accuse me of having a green thumb. Basically any plant that I have ever bought or been given has died under my tender loving care. I try, I really do. But I either over-water or under-water or something. They die. So I no longer have any plants in the house. And our gardening (if you wish to call it that) consists of some flowering bushes (azaleas, hydrangeas, forsythia, and roses) and some purple thingies that are perennials (but I haven't a clue what they are called.

Even given my complete lack of a green thumb, I got sucked into Farm Town. TheHusband is amused and bemused as I tend to my crops daily, hire others to harvest my crops, and hire out as a sharecropper on my friends' farms. I really like this game. It is sort of like SimCity a few versions ago, but without all of the under-structure necessary to run a city. (I don't care about the electricity and water pipes, dammit! Just let me build the buildings...)

I like the social aspect of it -- I visit my friends' farms and they visit mine. My farm has been Grand Central Station (4 people were there at one time!) and also the source of crickets. My best friend is currently living in Germany, and I told her (during one of our Farm Town chats) that I was jealous of our avatars -- they were in the same place chatting, while we are separated by about a zillion real miles.


Janiece and I had a hilarious chat that ranged from tattoos to things that are kosher to Jim being an asshole. I saved it, but then accidentally erased it. Trust me, it was pretty funny. Since I can't reproduce the conversation, I'll show you the picture of us chatting This was just after I basically mowed down a boatload of her crops).

Janiece's farm is very well-organized. I like that. Mine is definitely not organized, and that mirrors my house...

I like how the fields change as the crops grow. And I like to make designs and spell words.

I am Borg; resistance is futile

I like sushi, as I have already mentioned. I also am happy when people I like also like sushi. And if given a chance, I will assimilate you into sushi-hood. One of my coworkers, TM, an adventurous sort, has had sushi only once. He had the misfortune to go to a local restaurant and eat at their buffet. The food at that restaurant is okay at best, and their buffet isn't "best". So another coworker (TK) and I decided to expose him to better sushi, in hopes that he would be assimilated into the ranks of sushi-eaters.

Today was the day. All three of us were in a meeting just before lunch. The meeting was dragging on and getting seriously boring. TK mouthed I'm hungry from across the room, and I pretended to eat my pen in reply. Eventually (for the sake of my sanity and my stomach), the meeting ended and we set out. I hadn't eaten at this place, but TK is a regular there. Their selection looked good, and they had some cool, creative rolls to choose from.

TM seemed a bit unnerved, although that is not likely -- he is so not the nervous type. TK and I asked questions, since he allowed us to order for him. While there was the lure of ordering sweet shrimp (which comes with eyes attached [I don't eat things that are looking at me]) or ikura (big fat salmon eggs which are salty and fishy), the point of this exercise was assimilation, not revulsion. So TK and I ordered standard fare (nigiri salmon, tuna, white tuna, yellowtail, and eel). We also got a few crazy rolls. All of the food was good, and the salmon was excellent. TM liked it.

He's been assimilated (second coworker in as many months!)... Bwahaha.

This post will definitely get me smacked

One of my good friends is visiting for the next couple of days. He is the husband of my evil twin (or I am the evil twin, I forget), who is my best friend. If you have a best friend, you know that it is extra specially great when your best friend really likes something that you like a lot. Well, I like sushi. It is one of my happy foods. ThePinkThing likes it a lot, too, while TheHusband likes it well enough. My best friend had never eaten sushi before I dragged her to my formerly favorite sushi restaurant in Bethesda (it has since closed). "Try this" (eel), I said. "It tastes like chicken, but better!" She did. "And try this (salmon), too. It tastes sort of like lox, but yummier." Etc. I got her hooked. And in the last 11 years of our friendship, since she has been eating sushi, she has lived in Germany, Belgrade, Bucharest, Yerevan, and now again in Germany (small town in the middle of the country). So sushi is not readily available. Or good, if available at all. But I ate sushi with her stand-in (aka, the ersatz-Claudia) tonight. We shared nicely.

And to top it off, the husbands stopped off at the grocery store and brought back four (4!) freaking pints of Ben and Jerry's. Four different kinds of B&J ice cream that I like. You wouldn't expect me to restrain myself, would you? No? You're right. So I had some ice cream for dessert.

Sushi and Ben & Jerry's with her husband. Claudia will smack me the next time I see her, even if we are on the way to a sushi restaurant... And it will have been worth it. And she is still my best friend.