How to be a graduate student in Children's Lit

1. Enroll in a class called "Picturebook."
2. Purchase repositionable glue.
3. Using four colors of construction paper create a scary picture of a protagonist being attacked by birds (Exhibit A).
   
4. Now use the same four colors and the same protagonist and create a happy picture (Exhibit B).
5. Seriously reconsider what you're doing with your life when you have difficulty with steps three and four.

Best Aunt Ever

I've been trying to teach my nephew to say Annyong* AD style.

Of course this was after I taught him secret combination type handshakes.


*Annyong is Korean for hello, which features as a long running joke in the television series Arrested Development

2010

Stats for 2009

Books read: well over 50
States traversed: 11
Graduate programs applied to: 5
Jobs held: 3
Major life decisions made: 2
Doctor's appointments: 0
Friends: too many to count!

Happy 2010 from the Comma (and guest niece and nephew)!

Baby It's Cold Outside

By the by that's a creepy song when you listen to all the words. But seriously, it's very, very chilly here all of a sudden. Surprising since it's now mid-December and the middle of winter and all that jazz.

I do remember assuring people that I knew what cold winters were like. I'm also sure London was this cold and Rochester definitely is too, I just didn't walk quite so much there. But so far the weather has remained less inclimate than it might. Praise be.

Finals Season: Procrastination Olympics

Sure I was productive at the start of the week, but because I have one more paper to go, because it only has to be four pages long, and because I've already read, researched, and outlined it I'm having a hard time making myself actually write it. So instead I've explored some new looks.

Confused Siamese/Triclops:

I should have just used Photobooth to animate my picture book:

I mean seriously:

The Teacher in a cartoon (no offense to those of you who are teachers):

A Human Bassett Hound:

By way of explanation, the zebra glasses (sadly the only thing in this post I can really explain), were a purchase I made when at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City with Kawisaki Shimai during her visit to UT last spring. I've always wanted glasses, they have no prescription, I had $10 in my wallet--and there you go.

I'll leave you with one more so you can remember I'm somewhat normal looking.

Happy Finals to you!
Festivus for the rest of us?

Novembering

November is my favorite month. It always has been. And, before you ask, it's not just because my birthday is this month; though I'm not going to lie that is a perk. But it's more than that. November feels like fall (and sometimes winter). November has that great smoky first fires of the season kind of smell. November has that settled-into-school routine but it's not quite finals. November has a major holiday but it requires less shopping. All in all, November is a liminal month; and while at times I don't like change, it is always kind of fun to stand on that threshold and anticipate the positive changes to come.

This November I've been quite lucky to have several fun visitors--I think it has something to do with the fact that I've moved to a pretty cool city (don't let that go to your head Boston). A city that I really like, so it's lucky that it's where I live. I also finally did some touring in November, so here are some pictures.

Wonky gravestones at the North End Cemetery

(I had just read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book),

Paul Revere outside the North End Church (you know of "one if by land two if by sea" fame) even though Paul Revere isn't actually famous,

Erin and Julianne in the posh Beacon Hill area of Boston where Louisa May Alcott lived once she was old and famous,

and Julianne amiably posing at a cute little alley also in Beacon Hill
(to prove that I actually do have friends and not all of my Boston pictures are just of things).

November also brought the advent of one Maggie Naomi B___ (I feel so Victorian blanking people's names out for confidential purposes in my personal, published communications). Now Maggie, let's get it out here and now. I was told you were not coming until December, and so the fact that I finished your baby blanket a half hour before you were born is only due to my own diligence (surprising); and the fact that you did not have it when you were born is entirely your fault. Not that I'm bitter or petty because I'm blaming a newborn baby, never.

By the way, Melanie, this is part of my room (since you were saying you wanted to see pictures of my room).

This was my first foray into handicrafts of any kind really and I found I quite enjoyed it. So who's having a baby now? I have skills I can't let get rusty. And anyway, I expect the entire world to take me into consideration when planning their families, doing otherwise would just be rude.

And that's my dinner done. Though not really because I'm going to go make it right now.

Fallen Back

Despite my pleas to abolish Daylight Savings Time, I was outvoted. (I think it went roughly 6, 794,108,553 to 1.) So I acquiesced and "fell back" with the rest of you. The weekend was pretty busy because I had a friend in from out of town, plus schoolwork, plus amazing Stake Conference sessions with the Apostle who likes to follow me around. But Sunday afternoon after dropping Jamie off to catch her ride down to DC I went up to one of my favorite thinking spots around the Bunker Hill Memorial. Ben Affleck was nice enough to have moved his movie sets so they wouldn't spoil any of my pictures.

Here's a taste of fall in Boston.

Sorry these aren't at all artistic, I just kind of snapped as I went.

And sorry Jamie that I don't have any pictures with you. I'm fairly bad at remembering to have my camera with me.

Also, these look better in real life, so I guess you'll all just have to come visit me.