Christmas

Christmas was good here - a little more low-key, but good. Mom woke Andrew and I up about about 8am, well Andrew was awake waiting for me. It's hard getting up at 7am! (hehe) From Santa I received some new luggage and it was greatly appreciated. My old luggage is from my high school graduation and it's splitting apart from the mission and from my trip to Taiwan. My new ones are really nice! I'm excited to use them for my trip to Canada next month. Did I mention that I'm visiting my friend, Jocelyn, in Canada for my birthday? Happy birthday to me! I wanted to do something different for my 30th birthday, this will be great!
Anyway, back to Christmas. Andrew got a pull-up bar and some workout DVDs that will make him really buff and ripped. He was excited about that. Later we went out to Grammy's and played games. A group of us cousins played Apples to Apples and it was hilarious! We didn't stay too late because Grammy was getting tired, also Mom and Dad needed to get ready for their trip to Arizona.
That's Christmas - not much else to it!

For the person who has Everything

BANANA GUARD - Protect Your Banana!

Are you fed up with bringing bananas to work or school only to find them bruised and squashed? Banana Guard allows you to safely transport and store individual bananas letting you enjoy perfect bananas any time, anywhere.

LOCK-CUP

Lock Cup - Anti-Theft Coffee Cup. Are you tired of others stealing your coffee cup? Well now there's a solution. The Lock - Cup has a hole which prevents most people from using it. Only the owner of the cup can use his/hers shaped key to close the hole.

TRANSPARENT TOASTER

You love toast, but you always burn it? Than, this invention us for you. This transparent toaster allows you to see the bread while it is toasting so you just have to take it out when the colour is right. This idea is based on a transparent heating glass technology.

BUTTER CUTTER

One Click Butter Cutter controls your portion as an important part of staying healthy. This ingenious butter cutter delivers one standard pat with each click of the handle.

GIANT REMOTE

Never lose your remote again! With giant buttons, this extra-large remote is easy to use and impossible to lose. It's a 6-in-1 remote so you can use it to control your TV, VCR, DVD player, satellite, cable and auxiliary A/V device. It even features glow-in-the-dark buttons, so you can easily find the remote in the dark.

DAY CLOCK

What day is today? You don't know? Then you need a Day Clock. It's uniquely designed to keep track of weekly events like your golf day, card night, movie night, and so much more. It's ideal for vacations and cruises when it's easy to lose track of the day.

CRIME SCENE TOWEL

Chalk outline crime scene beach towel - be the coolest person on the beach!

LASER SCISSORS

Laser Scissors Cutting a straight line has never been easier. Just aim the pin-point laser and follow the line. The scissor blades are stainless steel and cut very clean with a micro edge.

TOILET SEAT LIFTER

'Who left the Toilet Seat up?' The Peace Maker will end the battle of the toilet seat. Merely step on the pedal to activate the lifting mechanism. When finished, remove your foot from the pedal and the seat gently comes to a rest where it started.

ILLUMINATING CAR SLIPPERS

Do you get up at night to drink water, go to the toilet... Do you wish you could see in the dark? Remarkably bright LED lights are triggered by your footsteps and light up the floor 30 feet in front of you; ultra-soft plush style are extra comfortable and cozy warm.

'THE THING' - INFANT PILLOW

The Zaky is an ergonomic infant pillow designed by a mum to mimic the size, weight, touch, and feel of her hand and forearm to help her baby with comfort, support, protection, and development.. The Zaky can help calm your baby and help your baby sleep better through the night.

TRAVELER'S PHRASE BOOK T-SHIRT

If you are traveling a lot and don't always know the language of the country you are visiting, then this T-shirt is for you. It has a phrase book printed on it so just point a finger at the pictogram you need and then point it twice at the question mark, which means, 'Where is it?' and in no time you have found what you were looking for.

WHEEL-MOVING BENCH

Whether you want to sit on the sun or in the shade, near the river or under the tree... Now you have your movable bench, to sit wherever you like.

You're A Bad Man, Mr. Gum

What a funny book! I was chuckling throughout this silly story. It's about this mean old man, Mr. Gumm, who has to maintain his garden or an angry fairy will appear and whack his head with a

frying pan. A loveable large dog starts to romp around his garden and Mr. Gumm has to think of a way to gid rid of this dog, to help stop the fairy from whacking him with the pan! It's a short fast read and very funny!

Every Soul a Star

Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of their own problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find.
I really enjoyed this book! It's told by 3 different teenagers and their coming together at this camp to view a solar eclipse. Their new friendships help them deal with what's going on in their lives and changes that are forced upon them. Then the eclipse comes and changes them all for the good! I liked how well it flowed with the three narrators and it was neat seeing different perspectives and thoughts. I also learned more about astronomy! Cute book!

Bound

YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND.
Bound to her father's second wife and daughter after Xing Xing's father has passed away. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where the life of a woman is valued less than that of livestock. Bound to be alone and unmarried, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Dubbed "Lazy One" by her stepmother, Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful but compulsory tradition for girls who are fit to be married. Even so, Xing Xing is content, for now, to practice her gift for poetry and calligraphy, to tend to the mysterious but beautiful carp in her garden, and to dream of a life unbound by the laws of family and society.
But all of this is about to change as the time for the village's annual festival draws near, and Stepmother, who has spent nearly all of the family's money, grows desperate to find a husband for Wei Ping. Xing Xing soon realizes that this greed and desperation may threaten not only her memories of the past, but also her dreams for the future.

This was a quick read, but very interesting. It's a Cinderella story and it takes place in ancient China, when the women would bind their feet to look "beautiful" and attract husbands. It's interesting learning about these ancient beliefs and customs in China - the author did her research well!

The Watsons Go To Birmingham - 1963

The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.

I enjoyed this book, especially after hearing the author speak at a conference. Each chapter is kind of a short story, and I think some are based on the author's childhood. It is very well written - Christopher Paul Curtis is a really good storyteller. When the main character sees some racial violence, when in Alabama in 1963, his reaction is realistic and touching and I can't explain it well, you'll just have to read it!

Rapuzel's Revenge

Once upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her mother . . . or the woman she thought was her mother.
Every day, when the little girl played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of the garden wall . . . a rather enormous garden wall.
And every year, as she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and looked over into the mines and desert beyond.

Cute adventuresome graphic novel version of the traditional story with fun illustrations. This is a great damsel-in-distress fights back story. I love how Rapunzel uses her long braids as a lasso, or a a whip, etc. Very creative! I enjoyed it!

The Underneath

The Underneath is a such an interesting book. There are two separate stories going on, but yet they are intertwined and meet up in the end. One story is about this chained up dog, Ranger, who lives underneath the porch of his master's house. A pregnant cat, Calico, hears his lonely cries and comes to live with him and gives birth to her little twin kittens. For a time things are good and Ranger and Calico find love again in this new family. The other story is about this magical creature, in snake form, that is sealed up in a jar, buried beneath a tree. She is waiting for her revenge. Long ago she had a daughter that fell in love, shed her snake form and became human went off with this man. This made this snake very jealous and angry. Intertwined in these two stories is an angry scarred man, Gar Face, and his hunt for the large thousand-year old Alligator King. I really enjoyed this book for it's intriguing story and how the characters endeared themselves to the reader. I was worried at how the story would end, but I loved the ending for what it was.

Skulduggery Pleasant

Meet Skulduggery Pleasant
Ace detectiveSnappy dresserRazor—tongued witCrackerjack sorcererandwalking, talking, fire-throwing skeleton
As well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgely, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.
These two alone stand in the way of an all-consuming ancient evil.

I love a book that grabs me from the first chapter. This is an excellent example. Stephanie, the main character, is thrown into a magical world she didn't know existed - but she has the help of her deceased uncle's best friend, Skulduggery Pleasant. He's a talented sorceror, and a living skeleton. Skulduggery is very witty, and a sharp dresser - and he helps protect and teach Stephanie. This is a start of a new series and I'm eager to read more!

Puppetry Training

I'm going to be on a team that does a puppet show next month. I'm excited, and a little scared! This is good experience - all Children's Librarian should have puppet show skills. One of the team members is from Argentina and she's worried about her thick accent, so we're doing a "Caliente" story theme with stories from the south! We're still in the planning stages, but it should be really funny. I'm in charge of a story, called "Don't Touch My Hat", that's about this cowboy sheriff that accidentally takes his wife's fancy hat one night to do his sheriff duties, etc. It'll be great. I'm sure I'll have more to say on that next month.