Merry Christmas to Me

What's Christmas without a little self love? 

I swore I'd never buy another bag with a black interior, but this is just what I've been wanting--a slouchy hobo (the bag is actually a pefect rectangle) with a short single strap. Think of how many things could get lost in a bag of this size!

Like many cases of true love, it came when I wasn't looking. I walked into TJ Maxx just to "check things out" before heading to my real destination next door (Target). And voila! 

Even better is the fact that it was priced 60% off retail, because there is no way I could have paid full price for it. As it is, this should serve as a gift for several Christmases to come.

Sacrifice, as in Brownie

Today is the annual Christmas luncheon at work. I abandoned my usual Fish Eye Salad (which no one ever eats except me) in favor of BYU Mint Brownies*. This is the first time I've made them, and I'm sorry to report that the brownie itself is less than special. 

I think that with all the frosting, however, few will notice the inferior brownie.**

*The recipe I have includes the specifics for the chocolate frosting, which is essentially the same as the mint frosting, with the addition of 1/3 cup of cocoa and the deletion of the mint extract and 1/3 cup of sugar.

**While cutting the above sacrifice piece in my office, I learned that you can't cut these with a plastic knife. Fortunately, I have sturdier implements I'll use to cut the rest.

What?

Look what I discovered when I tried to practice the organ for church tomorrow. I have no recollection of when or how this occurred.

Math I Understand

Unlucky Arithmetic

Thirteen Ways to Raise a Nonreader

by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith

1 Never read where your children can see you.

2 Put a TV or computer in every room. Don’t neglect the bedrooms and kitchen.

3 Correct your child every time she mispronounces a word.

4 Schedule activities every day after school so your child will never be bored.

5 Once your child can read independently, throw out the picture books. They’re for babies.

6 Don’t play board games together. Too dull.

7 Give little rewards for reading. Stickers and plastic toys are nice. Money is even better.

8 Don’t expect your children to enjoy reading. Kids’ books are for teaching vocabulary, proper study habits, and good morals.

9 Buy only 40-watt bulbs for your lamps.

10 Under no circumstances read your child the same book over and over. She heard it once, she should remember it.

11 Never allow your child to listen to books on tape; that’s cheating.

12 Make sure your kids only read books that are “challenging.” Easy books are a complete waste of time. That goes double for comic books and Mad magazine.

13 Absolutely, positively no reading in bed.

http://archive.hbook.com/pdf/articles/13ways.pdf
Text © 2001 by Dean Schneider and Robin Smith. Reprinted from the March/April 2001
issue of The Horn Book Magazine. For ordering information about The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide, visit www.hbook.com or call 1-800-325-1170.

Not an Unqualified Success

The semester is over (for me), and though I'm waiting for grades, I suspect (hoped) I earned a B+ in the class I took. (I actually took two classes, but one was a pass/fail and I earned a 90%).

I earned plenty of Bs and worse in college, but none in library school. This B is a combination of mediocre effort and absence of a natural affinity for the subject. My library school grades didn't always involve my best effort, but library school is pretty easy, and there was perhaps some natural talent involved.

One remedy for my lingering unease is to say, "I'll try harder next time," but I've decided to sit out next semester and rethink the entire Master's of Public Health plan. So if I don't go back, I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth. I realize a B is a perfectly acceptable grade--I think it's the mediocre effort that has me feeling dissatisfied. I'm happy to be done, but wish I could also be happy I'd done a good job.

Too much self-recrimination?