Until now.

I was at Barnes and Noble today, and I found myself looking in their Toys and Games section.  If you haven’t looked before, I highly suggest taking a cruise through there when you have a chance.  The have toys and games there that you can’t find anywhere else.

FUN!

Anyway, I was looking through some children’s puzzles, and my eyes fell upon something beautiful.

I recognized the illustrator right away, since I just wrote a blog last week praising her amazing work.  This puzzle features an illustration by Valeria Docampo, and it’s super amazing.  It’s a floor puzzle containing 36 pieces, but each piece is like a piece of artwork.  And the picture above?  That’s just a portion of what the picture actually is.  I’ll save that for the end.

I splurged and bought the puzzle, treating myself for getting a new job.  As soon as I brought it home, my daughter wanted to put it together.  And since the puzzle is half hers, I immediately obliged.

Getting started.

As you can see, there is more to this puzzle than meets the eye.  Is that Belle I spy in the bottom corner?  And a pumpkin carriage?  To whom does that belong?

Getting her groove on.

At this point, my daughter has fully taken over puzzle duty.  I give her small hints, for example, “Hey, that looks like is might be Cinderella’s crown!”, but other than that, she’s doing this on her own.  She’s kind of a prodigy in that way.

The final lap…

Here my daughter is figuring out where the last of the pieces go.  All that’s remaining is Snow White, which happens to be my favorite part of the puzzle (The Dwarves!  The woods!  The apple!) but unfortunately my daughter is a little Cinderella-biased.

After finally placing the last of the 36 pieces, the puzzle was complete.  My daughter was uber proud of herself, which I guess she should be, being only three years old and already a Master Puzzler.

In all seriousness, it really is a beautiful puzzle.  I wish I could frame it, but I know it’s something my daughter will want to put together countless times.  Which is totally fine with me, of course.  Because after mastering 36 pieces, 1000 is just around a corner.

A better look at the beauty.

On a side note, I just discovered they sell a lunchbox with the same picture…which I’m totally going to purchase without guilt.

I WANT YOU.

Happy puzzling!

To anyone under the age of 25, “Grammy” comes from the word “Grammophone”.

I used to think the Grammys was just one big spectacle of over-paid singers who use the opportunity to show off pyrotechnics and dance moves while they lip-sync to their own songs.  And that’s still a big part of the show.  But after watching the awards show last night, something was different.  I found myself actually enjoying it.

Ladies Love Cool James

Some people may not think so, but this was a big year in music.  Granted I probably kept up with music more than I ever have before, which made me more aware of the music world, but a lot of great music came out this year.  Katy Perry released Teenage Dream, which churned out so many hits that she actually tied Michael Jackson’s Bad record of five number-one singles from the same album (she’s desperately trying to get ”The One That Got Away” up there just so she can beat him).  And Adele is on her way to beating Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack’s 20-week reign at the top of the charts (Adele’s 21 is currently at 19 weeks).

Yep…that’s her age.

 So much great music came out this year that I was excited to see some recognition at the Grammys.  After going through all the nominations I realized that for the first time ever, I was totally in the know when it came to all the nominees.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I used to be all up on the Academy Awards when it came to who and what was nominated.  But now it’s almost as if I’ve switched parties.  I own practically all the music that was nominated last night – something I definitely can’t say about the Oscars.  I realized that these music people?  They’re my kind of people.

Yes We Are.

There were some typical moments you’d expect at a music awards show, but here are the parts I found myself enjoying, the parts that made me realize how much I love music and it’s effect on my life.

1.  Bruno Mars Lights Up the Stage

The Grammys opened on a somber note, a prayer by awesome host LL Cool J to honor the late Whitney Houston, who suddenly passed away the day before.  But what followed was an amazingly upbeat and kickass performance by one of my 2011 faves, Bruno Mars.  He sang his song “Runaway” from his album Doo-Wops And Hooligans.  He got everyone on their feet, literally telling them all to “get off your rich asses” and celebrate.  He then channeled James Brown with his suit and dance moves and proceeded to blow everyone away with his performance.  Great way to get the show going.

I want to use his hair as a pillow.

2.  Dave Grohl Tells It Like It Is

When the Foo Fighters won for Best Rock Performance, frontman Dave Grohl let everyone know how he really feels about today’s music industry, basically telling off any artist who’s ever used autotune while creating music.  Why is this important?  Well, it’s important because there are some truly talented musicians out there who can sing their asses off, yet the ones who seem to get the success are the ones who are singing someone else’s song in a studio with no real talent required.  His words:

“To me this award means a lot because it shows that the human element of music is what’s most important,” he said, as members of the audience began to applaud. “Singing into a microphone and learning to play an instrument and learning to do your craft, that’s the most important thing for people to do.  It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about sounding correct. It’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here (points to heart) and what goes on in here (points to head.)”

Truth.

3.   Bon Iver Wins Best New Artist (And Gives An Awesome Shout-Out)

Bon Iver, aka Justin Vernon is one those artists that only Hipsters know about, as they will be the first to tell you.  He’s very indie, recording his Grammy-nominated self-titled album deep in the Wisconsin woods, and relatively unknown to fans of Katy Perry and Rihanna.  But he managed to beat out newcomers like Nicki “I Exorcised Myself” Minaj and The Band “No Relation To Katy” Perry to win Best New Artist, and while people were trying to figure out who the hell this guy was, he gave a shout out to his hometown Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he attended college…wait for it…AT THE SAME TIME AS ME.  Awesomeness.

Who am I and what do I do with these two gramophones?

4.  Adele Sings the S*** Out of “Rolling in the Deep”

When the world first heard that Adele had throat surgery, many wondered if she would ever be able to sing again.  Then we wondered if she was going to be able to perform at The Grammys.  And then we wondered…well…what is she going to sound like after having throat surgery???  She sounds so amazing in the studio recording, how will she ever sound that way again??

Well….she pretty much killed it last night at the Grammys.

Adele doesn’t need people dressed up as animals doing flips behind her on stage.  She doesn’t need a dance crew.  She doesn’t need to roll around on the floor to get people’s attention.  All she needs to do is open her mouth and sing.  She is an absolutely amazing singer and deserved all six awards she received.  Fank you, Adele.  Fank you.

That’s right.  I’ve got pipes.

5.  Jennifer Hudson Makes Me Cry Like a 13-year-old Girl

Since the passing of Whitney was so sudden, literally happening 24 hours before the Grammy Awards, the academy knew they had to do some sort of tribute despite not having any time to do it.  They kept it simple, having ex-American Idol, ex-Dreamgirl Jennifer Hudson sing Whitney’s biggest hit, “I Will Always Love You” (even though the song really belongs to Dolly Parton, who is probably in some bar somewhere going, “Hey, wait, um…that’s my hit!”).  J Hud could have easily belted out that song like the Dreamgirl she is, but whether it was nerves or emotion or respect, she kept it low-ley.  Which was probably the best and only way she could have done it.  She sounded great, and when her tears came at the end, well, I turned into mush circa 1992 all over again.

“We will always love you.”  Oh s***, give me a tissue.

All in all – and even though Chris Brown won a Grammy and Bruno Mars didn’t – it was a good show.  It made me realize that although the music industry has changed over the past few years, it’s stronger than ever, and I’m so excited for what kind of music I’ll discover in 2012.  See you next year at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards!

Hopefully this won’t be there.

Happy listening!

There are some amazing children’s illustrators out there.

Seriously, some of the books I read could practically be up on the wall at an art gallery, they were that good.  And chances are the kid or the parent reading that book doesn’t even notice the art, let alone notice who created that art.  But I thought I would give some credit where credit is due.  They deserve a lot more than just being shoved in the wall at some library.

Valeria Docampo

This illustrator is hands down one of my new favorites.  She illustrated a book called Phileas’s Fortune, and while the story itself is sweet and original, her illustrations are gorgeous.  I was almost tempted to check out the book and then “lose it” so I could tear the pages out and put them on the wall.  She also does prints and cards and random art that tends to pop up in stores every now and then.

Lane Smith

Lane Smith has actually illustrated a ton of books, some of which you may have read before (does The Stinky Cheese Man ring a bell?)  He’s done a lot of collaboration with author Jon Scieszka, but he’s also done things on his own.  Whatever he does, it’s always amazing.

Mary Blair

Mary Blair is actually more famous for working for Walt Disney back in the 1940s and 1950s, including her work on Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan, not to mention creating the entire look for the It’s A Small World ride at Disneyland. But her art has been used in retellings of Cinderella and Alice, which bring so much more to those familiar stories.

Lois Lenski

Lois Lenski is no longer with us, but she did a ton of children’s illustrations back in the day, as well as a lot of her own writing.  She even won a Newbury Medal in 1945 for writing and illustrating the book Strawberry Girl.  Her illustrations are simple, but so comforting to look at.  I would seriously wallpaper my kid’s entire room in her illustrations.

Benjamin Lacombe

I literally just discovered this guy about thirty seconds ago, and I’m in love.  He wrote and illustrated a book called Cherry and Olive, which sounds like a bit of a tearjerker of a story, but his illustrations are nothing to cry over.  Unless you cry when you see beautiful things, in which you should proceed to grab a tissue.

Beth Krommes

Beth Krommes reminds me a bit of Lois Lenski in her style, which is made up of lots of lines mostly done in black and white.  But just because they’re simple doesn’t mean they’re not rich in detail, because her illustrations are insanely detailed.  Take a look.

Alison Jay

I first noticed Alison Jay when I read the book The Goose Girl.  It’s not a picture book, but she illustrated the cover, along with the other four books in the series.  Then I discovered that she also illustrated children’s books, including some board books intended for kids under the age of three.  But that doesn’t mean that adults can’t appreciate their beauty.

So the next time you’re reading books with your child, don’t just read the words.  Take a look at the illustrations.  Take a look at the illustrator.  They might just be the one who creates the next work of art you put on your wall.

Happy reading!

Uber cute, but how does one go about even starting this??

I have friends that can knit and sew and crochet, and it fills me with envy to see them showing off their latest scarf or hat on Facebook or their crafty blog.  It seems to come so easy to them, yet something like would probably take me at least a year to do, if I was even able to finish it.

Seriously, is that even possible??

You know what I can make?  Friendship bracelets.  And I am pretty handy with an old plastic loom from 1970.  When I get in the mood – which is rarely – I have been known to break out the loom and make a coaster for the table.

But they are so embarrassingly easy, my three-year-old can do it.  And since I only make them about once every five years, they don’t qualify me as “crafty”.

And who didn’t have one of these pinned to their jeans back in elementary school?

I suppose I shouldn’t say that I’ll never lean how to knit or sew or crochet.  It is possible for one to learn how to do such things if they just put a little time and effort into it.  The thing is, my patience level is so low for things like “art”, that I’m just not sure if I have the time and effort to give.  Unless this was involved:

Makes everything just a little bit easier.

If I were to have time and effort, the one thing I want to learn how to do besides make my own outerwear accessories is the Japanese art of crocheting tiny creatures, known as amigurumi.  These little crocheted creatures are so freaking adorable, and I’m totally jealous of anyone who can do it.

Um…yes please.  SQUEEEEE.

There are thousands of different amigurumi patterns you can find on the net, and people have done some amazing ones of well-known characters, including these awesome movie characters:

Who doesn’t want to know how to do this?

I have a category on Pinterest devoted solely to Amigurumi because it’s so awesome, and it has 78 followers.  There is a market for this stuff out there, and people will buy it if they see something they like. In fact, my husband just told me that if I learn how to do it, I don’t have to work.  Dude, I need to take him up on that offer!

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!!!

So if there’s anyone out that knows the art of Amigurumi, or wants to learn and drink wine with me, let me know!  Because it would be awesome to not have to work and just stay at home making this shiz.

Even disturbing shiz like this.

Happy crafting!

Okay, seriously…I have NOTHING to wear!

Well, here’s another pointless problem for you: the disk drive in our MacBook Pro laptop is broken, so we have to take it to the Apple store to have it get fixed, which means they’ll probably have to send it in, which means I’ll be without an actual computer for a few days.  Which means either I not blog, or I blog from my iPad.  Which I happen to be doing right now.

Por ejemplo

And let me tell you….IT SUCKS.  When I’m not dealing with auto-correct (which I’m turning off as soon as I finish this), I’m dealing with the tiny, flat keyboard and the fact that I don’t know if I’m inserting pictures correctly.  I’ve already lost one picture, and I don’t want to even try get it back.  Hell, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to publish this thing.

F*** it.

So there you go.  I’m complaining about owning both a laptop and an iPad, which makes me sound like a total douche, given the fact that kids in some parts of the world have not and will never see either of those items.  So I apologize.  But if I go a few days without blogging, well, you know why.

Just enjoy this for now.

Happy…er…um…oh, just go complain about something pointless.

Since I love so many different types of music, I don’t get sick of songs that easily.  If I find myself getting sick of a certain song, I make sure I stay away from it for a specific amount of time so I don’t end up hating it.  Because let’s be honest:  there’s nothing worse than a song that you hate (I’m talking to you, Smashmouth).  But then there are the songs that no matter how many freaking times you listen to them, you just can’t get enough.  They are few and far between, but they do exist.

“My Life Would Suck Without You” by Kelly Clarkson

I love this song.  I’ve always been a Kelly Clarkson fan, but from the moment I heard this song, I was hooked.  It was so ridiculously catchy, and Kelly Clarkson just has a way of belting out songs that make you want to belt them out with her (which I totally do).  I was thrilled when Glee performed this song on their show, but nothing compares to the Clarkson version.  Play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“Overprotected” by Britney Spears

I will be the first to tell you that I am a huge Britney Spears fan.  I always have been ever since her MMC days.  When she exploded onto the scene with “Baby One More Time”, I knew she was going to have an awesome career (of course I didn’t predict the whole head-shaving thing, but who did?).  I love most of her songs (her slow songs are kind of boring, but that’s because she’s way more successful as a dancer), but for some reason the song from her third album Britney still sticks with me.  Not only was it her first way of saying “F*** you” to the music industry (she does it again later with “Piece of Me”), it’s just a really fun song to sing and dance to.  Catchy as all hell, and, in my opinion, Britney at one of her best.  Judge me if you want, but…play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“(Everything I Do) I’d Do It For You” by Bryan Adams

This song came out over 20 years ago and I’m still not sick of it.  I first heard it when I saw the video for it on MTV from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, loved it, loved it even more when I actually saw the movie, and then officially declared it to be my favorite song of all-time.  Of course that title has changed many times over the years, but every time I hear that song, I realize how awesome it is and how I couldn’t possibly ever get sick of it.  The words are timeless, the melody is gorgeous, and Bryan Adams sounds like he was just meant to sing that song.  So…play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“Basket Case” by Green Day

This was Green Day’s first big hit way back in 1994, and probably the funnest song to sing along to in the entire world.  Seriously, put this song on in your car, hit the freeway, and just sing REALLY LOUD.  I guarantee your day will improve tremendously, and I dare you NOT to hit rewind when it ends.  GRASPING TO CONTROL…SO I BETTER HOLD ON!!!!  This is one I am proud to play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“Rich Girl” by Gwen Stefani feat. Eve

I love No Doubt, and I love Gwen Stefani.  Both write great, catchy songs, and I probably could have included a few of them on here.  But of all of them, I could probably listen to “Rich Girl” the most and still find something awesome about it every time.  Some of Stefani’s songs tend to repeat themselves over and over…for instance, “Hollaback Girl” is a great song that’s fun to sing along to, but the song doesn’t change much in its 3 minutes and 20 seconds run.  But “Rich Girl” has so many layers to it, mostly due to the collaboration with rapper Eve, that it sounds fresh to me every time.  I love it love it love it love it.  Original track ending…play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“You and I Both” by Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz is an amazing songwriter, and an even more amazing singer.  And he proves both skills in his first big hit “You and I Both” from his first album Waiting for My Rocket to Come.  Lyrically it’s a sweet song without sounding totally cheesy, and when he sings he hits notes that not many male singers would feel comfortable attempting.  Plus his style of singing at that time was so different from anything else on the radio that when I listen to it today, it still feels new.  New enough to hit play, repeat, play, repeat-peat-peat.

“Love You Like a Love Song” by Selena Gomez

Well, I suppose I have to include this song on the list since it’s the song that inspired the post.  I don’t listen to the radio so I don’t know if it’s been overplayed yet, but every time I listen to it on my iPod, I love it.  It’s probably the catchiest song that’s come out in a long time, with its 80s-inspired beats and synthesizers, and Selena Gomez’s way of almost channeling a young Belinda Carlisle.  The lyrics aren’t groundbreaking, but it’s not the words you’re listening to.  It’s just the song itself, and that’s what makes you want to repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peat.

What are some of your repeat-peat-peat-peat-peat-peated songs that you love?

Happy listening!

Yeah, he looks like he’s having fun.

When it comes to reading books, my main goal is to read ones that I’ve never read before.  And I do a pretty good job of doing that, given the number of books that I want to get my hands on when I’m at the bookstore or library.  There are so many books out there that I want to read that I could easily spend the rest of my life not reading the same book twice again.  But of course there are exceptions.  There are so-called Groundhog Day books that we tend to read over and over again because they either bring us comfort or they’re just that good.  I have plenty of those books, and here’s a sampling.

The Harry Potter Series

I can’t single out any book in this series, because when I reread them, I reread all of them.  I tend to do it once a year, typically around the holidays, or when I’m home sick, because they just make me feel better.  And they’re really good.  And they’re my favorite books.  So that’s why they’re Groundhog Day Books.

Served up fresh once every year.

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series

I read these books all the time as a kid, and to this day I still can’t get enough.  When I was a kid I loved reading about all the kids and their “ailments” that Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle would cure with her quick wit and magic potions, and now as an adult I read them from a parent’s point of view – and see if I can get any ideas to cure my daughter of such ailments as “Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedder” or “Answer-Backer”.  Because you never know.

The Boxcar Children

I actually haven’t read this book in a long time, but I used to read the crap out of it.  The story of four siblings and their life living in a boxcar was really appealing to me, but for some reason I never read another book in the 127-book series.  I just kept reading the first one over and over again.  I never was a fan of mystery books, though, including Nancy Drew and The Bobbsey Twins books, and The Boxcar Children books went down that same path.  I simply just chose to stay at the beginning and never travel down that path.

No need to find out how it all ends.

The Princess Bride

One of the few adult books on this list, The Princess Bride is just as wonderful and hilarious as the movie of the same name.  But what you miss in the movie is the rich detail William Goldman includes in his book, bringing you that much more into the worlds of Florin and Guilder.  Of course you miss out on actually seeing Cary Elwes in action, but it’s still a fun book to read again.  And again.

When I was your age, television was called books.

The Hunger Games

The fact that I can tear through this book in one day is all the proof one needs that this should be read more than once.  I guarantee you will find something new and powerful each and every time.

May the odds be ever in your favor.

The Secret Garden

Everyone loves a good orphan story, and this one takes the cake.  I never get tired of reading about how horrible Mary’s life is at first, only to discover not only a beautiful garden, but friends as well.  We all know how it ends, but we never get tired of discovering it all ourselves.

It’s not a secret anymore…

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

This book so strange and trippy and wonderful that every time I read it, I’m blown away by what I’m reading.  It’s rare when you find something this original, but when you do, you make sure that you’re reading it as much as you can to get the most out of it.

Curiouser and curiouser…

My list of books I want to read this year is quite long, not to mention the books that are yet to be released.  But somehow I always manage to squeeze in a few of these Groundhog Day books, just to remind myself why I love them so much.

What are some of your Groundhog Day books?

Happy reading!

My new local awesome library with a coffee shop attached to it.  Applause, Ramsey County.

Ever since I was a kid, the library was a place I used as an escape, a place where I could forget all about my day and just lose myself in hundreds of books.  It became part of my life, part of my routine, stopping at the library every Monday night after my piano lesson and checking out Sweet Valley Twins books and Alice in Wonderland (seriously, I think I checked out that book more than any other).  I counted on this to get me through the week.

Okay, well, it didn’t look like this, but…you get the point.

And then I hit high school, and going to the library didn’t seem important anymore.  It didn’t fit into my “busy” high school schedule.  I learned to love the library again when I went to college, but only in the summers when I worked at the front desk of one of the dorms and I needed something to pass the time.  Mind you, this was before the age of cell phones and iPads and stuff like that, so I didn’t have crap like Words With Friends to kill my days.  So I would go to the Eau Claire Library and check out tons of books, particularly Brian Jacques’ Redwall series.

A great way to spend the day without technology.

One of the first things I did when I moved to California after college was get a library card.  During times when I was homesick, I felt the library was the one constant thing that could comfort me.  I got a card for the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles County Library system, and even applied for a job there but was turned down because I was “overqualified” (which is total B.S., but I digress).  Then when we moved to Pasadena I got a card for their library, which is still one of the prettiest libraries I have been in.

Even prettier inside!

I would walk to that library every Saturday morning as a way of de-stressing from the hellish week at my mortgage company job.  It was only thing keeping me sane, and my husband should be forever grateful for that.

When I got a job in Arcadia, which is about 15 minutes from Pasadena, I worked a block away from the library there.  So it only made sense to get a card there so I had a place to spend my lunch breaks.  And then when we moved to Torrance, well, you can guess what happened: I got not only a Torrance Public Library card, but a Palos Verdes one as well.  I came to love the P.V. library so much that I volunteered at the gift shop there for a whole year.

A lot of reading went down here.

By the end of my ten-year California stay, I managed to collect a total of ten library cards.  And a lot of them were being used at the same time, so much so that you would think some of the books or CDs would get mixed up and returned to the wrong library.  Well, it happened once.  And only once.  And I caught it in time where it hadn’t been put back into circulation yet, so I consider my record clean.  My library organization system was immaculate.  And slightly Type-A.

*Not my actual library organization system.  But a girl can dream.

So when I moved back to Minnesota and my life felt completely out of sorts, what do you think I did as soon as I found something with a current local address?  I went to the freaking library.  And I immediately felt at home.  That was two weeks ago, and while I only have one library card at the moment, more will come.  Trust me.  Because library cards are like shoes and purses:  a girl can’t have just one.

Happy reading!

Just like the button.

Since meeting my husband, we have moved five times, all within the Los Angeles area.  All moves were pretty easy, even the fifth one from Corona to Torrance when our daughter was just 10 months old.  So when we finally made the decision to move 2000 miles, I thought, “Well, we’ve done this so much, it’s gonna be easy!”

Right?????

Way wrong.  This move – for lack of a better word – sucked.  For one thing we have way too much stuff ( I, however, have just the right amount of books), and it took forever to pack up all our stuff.  We also only had one 16 ft POD in which to pack our belongings, and that made for a tight squeeze, even after selling a lot of our stuff, and packing that thing was like the ultimate game of TETRIS.

Minus the awesome Nutcracker music.  And the fun.

Don’t forget that our daughter is now 3 and a half, and fully aware that we were packing up her precious toys.  I won’t go into detail about how much that sucked.  Just use your imagination.

Or read this book.

But after all that (and a lot of money spent), we eventually made it here to Minnesota.  And while I thought getting the move over and done with would bring relief, it hasn’t.  At least the relief that I wanted.  We’re in completely different state, surrounded by completely different people, and even though I was born here and lived in this state for 18 years (and Wisconsin for four), things are just…different.  Let me explain.

1.  The Weather

Ah, yes…the one thing most of the people commented on when we told them we were moving.  ”But it’s so cold there!”  Yes, people, it’s cold in Minnesota.  I’ve lived here, so I know how cold it can get.  And yes, it was a bit of a shock when I got off the plane.  But it’s just something you get used to.  It’s only 10 degrees outside?  You dress for it.  Add another layer, throw on a scarf, stick a hat on your head.  Wear some fuzzy socks and some ugly boots.  You just deal with it.  On the upside, however, it has been unseasonably warm this January, and yesterday it even got above 40 degrees, making me want to break out the spring jackets.  Of course had I been in LA and it got down to 40 degrees, I probably wouldn’t have even stepped outside.  Because it just becomes all relative.

Even this cat knows how to deal.

2.  The People

There’s this thing people talk about called “Minnesota Nice”, which refers to niceness of the natives of this state.  Growing up I never really noticed it, probably because not everyone is nice in middle and high school.  But living ten years in Los Angeles made me appreciate the whole “Minnesota Nice” phenomenon, because you know what?  People are really nice here!  I’m not saying that there aren’t nice people in LA, because there are.  But working in retail for the past six years made me realize that there are a lot of NOT nice people there.  Even just walking down the street people looked either upset or pissed off or just plain mean.  And while I’m sure there are some not nice people in Minnesota, my experiences with the public have been very pleasant.  Where else would a complete stranger at IKEA offer give us some rope from his truck and help us strap a mattress to the top of our car?

3.  The Freeways

I’m not going to talk about the obvious difference in traffic between Los Angeles and Minneapolis.  We all know the difference.  What I’m talking about here are the actual Twin Cities freeways themselves, and how I don’t understand them one bit.  Freeway driving in Los Angeles, despite all the traffic, is actually really easy.  They all pretty much go East/West and North/South, and you always have the mountains and the ocean as a directional guide.  Going north?  Ocean’s on your left.  Going West?  Mountains are on your right.  You know that, and you can’t get lost.  But here?  Seriously, I feel like I’m driving in circles.  All the time.  If it wasn’t for my GPS, I’d probably be in South Dakota right now.

Does this make sense to ANYONE???

4.  The Coffeehouse

Living in LA, I was used to finding a Starbucks on pretty much every corner I turned.  Getting my Venti Unsweetened Black Iced Tea became a thing of routine, something I had to get everyday – plus a free refill – or else my day would be total crap (I’m serious – I did a study on it).  So when I came here I thought, “Well, since there are more Starbucks than people in LA, I’m sure to find a few in my neighborhood here!”  HA.  Not so.  Minnesota-grown Caribou Coffee seems to have the “one-on-every-corner” market taken here in the Twin Cities, and while the iced tea there isn’t bad, it just isn’t the same.  It’s not like we don’t have Starbucks here – most of them being inside of Super Targets – but out of convenience I’ve had to resort to the ‘Bou just about everyday.  It’s just something I’m going to have to get used to, I guess.  Le sigh.

At least their stores are cozier and not freezing all the time.

It’s a slow process – especially for my daughter – but I know things are going to get better.  My husband and I may be unemployed and living in my parents’ basement (PARTY!), but as of the writing of this blog we both have interviews lined up, so I’m actually typing with my fingers crossed.  Seriously, try it sometime.  It’s not easy.  But it can be done.

It can be done.

Happy living!

]]> http://hotteahotbooks.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/getting-adjusted/feed/ 2 5488823250_57d22f0c19_z jediane9 imgres Fluttershy_face-(n1299121377297) 250px-Tetris_NES_play Angry-Little-Girls-Book-Cover-angry-little-girls-372096_395_525 cat_cold_weather 5488823250_57d22f0c19_z 4-firstmap 282274756_0d17aefbb4 http://hotteahotbooks.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/if-it-were-all-about-hermione/ http://hotteahotbooks.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/if-it-were-all-about-hermione/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:43:08 +0000 jediane9 http://hotteahotbooks.wordpress.com/?p=1057 Continue reading →]]> While lying in bed last night, my mind was racing about what to blog about next.  And I got to thinking…what would the Harry Potter books be like if Hermione Granger had been the protagonist rather than Harry?  Of course Harry probably has the more interesting story, what with the whole “Chosen One” business, but I know I’m not the only one out there who loves Hermione.  I’m sure she’s had some moments we don’t even know about during her years at Hogwarts.

Even she’s anxious to find out!

So let’s just pretend that J.K. Rowling has given me the opportunity to write all seven books over with Hermione as the main focus.  I wonder what she would think of these:

Hermione Granger and the Two New Friends

It’s Hermione’s first year at Hogwarts, and after eleven years of being a freakish know-it-all witch with weird powers to all her Muggle classmates, she’s finally among her own kind of people.  And even those people also think she’s a freakish know-it-all witch, she manages to catch the attention of two boys, Harry and Ron (also rather freakish).  Join Hermione, Ron, and Harry as they get in and out of trouble at Hogwarts, and see how Hermione figures out everything about the Sorcerer’s Stone even though Harry Potter gets all the credit in the end.

Her wand is only second to her brain.

Hermione Granger and the Restricted Section of the Library

It’s soon discovered during Hermione’s second year at Hogwarts that people are calling her a Mudblood, “a filthy name for someone who’s Muggle-born”, and that there’s some mysterious ancient monster lurking in the chambers of Hogwarts who’s out to kill all Mudbloods.  People seem to think that her good friend Harry Potter has something to do with it, but Hermione knows better.  After doing loads of research in the restricted section of the library, she discovers that this monster is a basilisk and has been getting into Hogwarts through the bathroom pipes. So once again, Hermione saves the day, even though Harry gets all the credit in the end.

And who do you think got stuck making all that disgusting Polyjuice Potion?

Hermione Granger and the Pile of Homework

Even though it seems that someone is out of kill Hermione’s friend Harry, Hermione has bigger things to worry about, i.e., taking as many classes as she can in one year!  In order to do this, Hermione receives a Time Turner from Professor McGonagall so she can go back in time to take more classes during the day.  Everything is fine and dandy at first, but soon Hermione starts to feel the stress of all the homework.  And with a class as ridiculous as Divination, and her friends only caring about things like Dementors and Boggarts, Hermione feels more alone than ever.  Maybe helping Harry go back in time and saving the day will make things better!  Even if someone else gets all the credit in the end.

Or maybe seriously injuring Malfoy will do the trick.

Hermione Granger and the New Makeover

It’s time for the Tri-Wizard Tournament this year at Hogwarts, and even though her friend Harry is competing in it against his will, Hermione is busy attracting the attention of fellow competitor Viktor Krum all the way from competing school Durmstrang.  He’s totally not her type, the big, brawny loaf that he is, but since Ron seems too stupid to realize that Hermione is in love with him, she leads Viktor on just to make Ron jealous, and makes things even worse for Ron by getting her teeth and hair fixed and wearing a pretty dress.  Will it work?  And will Hermione save the day again???  And not get the credit?

Take that, Weasley!

Hermione Granger and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Teacher

Hogwarts has a new Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year, and is she a piece of work!  In addition to not letting the students do magic in class, Professor Umbridge is punishing Hermione’s friend Harry in ways that are practically inhuman.  So once again it’s up to Hermione to form an army against this teacher in the only way she knows how:  with the help of her friends.  But seriously, if Hermione hadn’t come up with this idea, all the students would have been totally screwed.  And Neville Longbottom would have never learned how to conjure up a Patronus.  Credit.

About to open a can of whoop-ass….

Hermione Granger and the Love Triangle

It’s Hermione’s sixth year at Hogwarts, and it seems that her friend Ron still hasn’t gotten the hint that she loves him, especially when he begins going out with that ridiculous dumbbell Lavender Brown.  Where is Viktor Krum when you need him?  And to make matters worse, it seems her friend Harry has found himself a girl as well in Ron’s sister Ginny.  Who else will Hermione turn to when all the good guys are taken?  Well, that Cormac McLaggen bloke isn’t too bad…

…and a lot better at Quidditch than that idiot Ron anyway.

Hermione Granger and the Tiny Bag That Saves Everyone’s Life

Hermione and her friends are on the run from Voldemort and his followers, and it seems that Hermione is only one who come prepared.  With a tent, clothes, a radio, and many other items magically stuffed into Hermione’s tiny Mary Poppins carpet bag, the threesome are able to hide from the bad guys – at least for while until Harry ruins everything by getting caught.  And who ends up saving the day in the end?

Neville Longbottom.

Well, to be fair, they all save the day.  But they wouldn’t have even come close had it not been for our protagonist.

Because she’s the only one who can get into the Restricted Section.

Happy reading!

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