Hey Girl, Parks & Rec Style

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Ben Wyatt, Hey Girl, Parks & Rec

Things I am a big fan of:

1. Hey Girl’s
2. Parks & Rec
3. My friend Brenda

Ok…there are more things on that list like…Dairy Queen Crunch and hilarious things my brothers say.  Also to be clear…these are in no particular order.  But those three things are the three that apply to what I finally get to share with you today.  Ben Wyatt Hey Girl’s!

On Brenda’s recommendation I started watching Parks & Rec.  Turns out the show is amazing…(I know I’m late to the party…it happens a lot.  In fact, it happens so often, I wrote a post about it.)…and we are both big fans of Ben Wyatt.  (It is hard not to appreciate a man who owns his nerdiness to the point that he buys a Batman suit to treat himself and then occasionally wears it around the house.)  I had a card all ready to send to her, but then I was literally struck with a fantastic idea…Ben Wyatt Hey Girl’s.  Turns out they are not readily available on the world wide web….so, with a bit editing I created my own.  She finally got her card and now I can share them here!

I feel like there should have also been one of Ben is his Batman suit that said “Hey Girl, Treat Yo Self!”  But really, the show is full of great one liners and that is before the amazingness that is Ron Swanson enters the game.  Do you have a favorite line from the show?

Only Time Will Tell

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Music, All Will Be Well, The Gabe Dixon Band, Feel Good Music

I haven’t posted a Friday Flick in a while, so I have a long list of songs I am excited to share, but today’s had to be the first.

It has been a year since I graduated from grad school.  I am still jobless.  I still don’t have a place of my own.  This song makes me happy.

1000 Miles and More

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1000 Miles, 101 in 1001, 500 Miles, Biking, Doctor Who

I’ve done it!  I have officially biked over a 1000 miles for my 101 in 1001 goals.

Officially I biked 1015.5 miles in 243 days.  I am actually surprised how fast it went.  When I set my goal of 1000 miles it sounded like a lot.  I might add another 1000 or more to the list.

In celebration of my 1000th mile, I give you…The Proclaimers “500 Miles” as lip-synched by the cast and crew of Doctor Who.

I know there is actually a song called “1000 Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, but this is just so much better.  If you are feeling cheated, you could always watch it twice to get the full 1000.

Consoling Myself with Musical Dwarves

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Blunt the Knives, Dwarves, Howard Shore, Misty Mountains, Movie, Music Therapy, The Hobbit

My vacation has been awesome.  I got to see so many of my favorite people!  The time flew by in a blur of good food, late nights, and laughing…so much laughing.

On my last day in Bloomington, I used a gift card and bought the soundtrack for “The Hobbit.” I think of it as musical therapy.  So today…I’m sharing that therapy with you.  I know I’ve shared this song before, but it is just so good!!!

Oh and I have to share this one too.

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Old McDonald Had A Puppet

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Crafts, Farm Animals, Pinterest, Puppets, Sewing, Storytime

I have been waiting until I finished to share this project with you and today is the day!!

Since January I have been working on some animal puppets to use in my story times!  They didn’t take so long because they were especially difficult, it was more that I had other things going on, but they are finally finished!  I am excited to work them into my story times and because they are felt, they will stick to my flannel board.

First, please excuse the awful pictures.  I really need to work on my lighting skills.  Second, the patterns came from Just Another Day in Paradise.  Head on over there for patterns, instructions, and well-lit pictures.

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There was one big part of the original pattern that I changed.  The sizing of the puppets are meant for children’s hands, but I wanted this set to use for storytelling and rhymes.  I didn’t want to mess with the sizing because by the time I recognized the sizing issue their features were all cut and ready to go.  So…just made the arms and bottom wider to accomodate my adult hand.  This solution worked fine, but if you are going to make these for adults, my recommendation would be to enlarge all the pattern pieces from the beginning.

Other than the size change, I did alter a couple of small things from the original pattern, but for the most part the design is the same.

So, while I’ve been working on these…Have you created anything fantastic?

Extraordinary…A Quote or Two

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C.S. Lewis, Destiny, Extraordinary, George Washington Carver, Quotes

Last week I talked about being extraordinary and I promised more on that later.  Well…it is later and my thoughts are still very from being whole or complete or even coherent.

Have you ever had something that you felt to be true…something you have always wanted…something you had a hard time explaining to others.  I have always wanted to have a big impact on the world, wanted to be extraordinary.  Sometimes I wonder if that is something everyone yearns for.  Sometimes I wonder if people who have always known what they wanted to be when they grew up have the same kind of gut feeling.

This is just something I have been mulling over recently.  And…if an idea is stuck in my head it usually shows up here in some form.  Today’s form (aside from my ramblings above)…the two quotes below.

Some Notes and a Song

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Ben Rector, Random Notes, When a Heart Breaks

I am here!  I promise that next week will have some regular posts in it, but between Easter celebrations and me being on vacation…I have been a little busy. But I do have some thoughts I want to share.

1. There is a big difference between putting a time limit on how long you can wait to get a job in your field and asking God to give you that date.  An ultimatum versus following His plan.  Still, it is so tempting to make a decision all on my own.

2. I heart coffee shops, discussing story time strategies, assembling furniture, speech writers, and Bloomington, Indiana.

3. I want my life to be extraordinary…I’m just not sure how to make that happen.  (More on that later.)

4. I want to write a children’s book, but I can’t seem to put the pieces together into anything resembling a good story…Again, I’m not sure how to make it happen.

5.  I am loving this song right now.  Enjoy!

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Next Week. More Posts. I Promise.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Let’s Pretend This Didn’t Happen

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Hollywood, It's A Beautiful Day, Me and Mrs. Jones, Michael Buble, Music Video

Michael Buble’s last cd was great and he puts on a terrific live show…I’m a fan.  But, I think he had a momentary brain lapse when he ok’d his latest video, “It’s a Beautiful Day.“

Now, if I had to guess, I would say his biggest audience is adult women, but whoever came up with this video missed the memo.  It features random explosions and plenty of attractive women wearing less than the average amount of fabric.  Now I’m just wondering…who is this video intended for?  I really don’t think it was for his normal audience.  I think as a part of that audience, I can safely say you could lose the lady wearing the bikini made of sunflowers and the line-up at the kissing stand.  While we are at it…the bright bungee tie clip thing could go to, but that is just because I think it looks bad and I think even people who aren’t his fans would agree with me.

A music video can make or break a song.  His “Hollywood” video made me like a song after early teasers had me less than enthused.  So…that’s today’s Friday Flick instead because the video for “It’s a Beautiful Day” did the song no favors.

Ok…final thought.  I want to like the upcoming album.  Here’s hoping this video was just one small bad moment.  If the rest of the album is good, I can pretend like this didn’t happen.  Kind of like I did with “Me and Mrs. Jones” from his “Call Me Irresponsible” album, but that’s a different conversation for a different time.

One Step Closer to Rug-Cutting Greatness

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Dancing, Flash Mobs, Just Dance

Confession:  I have always wanted to part of some spontaneous dance routine.  Just to be clear…I don’t mean a flashmob.  (Although I wouldn’t say no to being part of one.)  I am talking about that unrealistic moment in movies when everyone miraculously knows the exact same dance routine and decides to show of their moves.

Now I understand that the chances of a random group of people knowing the same dance moves are slim to none.  And that is not even talking about the odds that they would actually display their freakishly homogeneous dancing.  The closest I’ve come is the Electric Slide or the Cha Cha Slide at weddings, but when the lyrics are telling you the dance moves, the experience falls short of true rug-cutting greatness.  I blame the movies for my unrealistic expectations.

But, Ladies and Gentlemen…I believe that the world is one step closer to this movie-come-to-life scenario.  Two words…Just Dance (the game, not the Lady Gaga song.) I was playing the other day and I realized…this is how random strangers can learn the same dance moves.  It could happen.

I eagerly await the moment when spontaneous yet somehow coordinated dancing rules the day.  Until then, I’ll just have to settle with the various slides at weddings.

Trains, Trucks, and Other Things that Move

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Movie, Planes, Rhymes, Storytime, Trains, Transportation, Trucks

The Books:

• Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee
• Flying by Donald Crews
• Freight Train by Donald Crews
• Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

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The Extensions:

“Hurry Hurry Drive the Fire Truck”
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Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck.
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck.
Hurry, hurry, drive the fire truck.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
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Hurry, hurry…
     …turn the corner.
     …climb the ladder.
     …spray the water.
     …back to the station.

“The Wheels on the Bus”

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.
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The wipers on the buys go swish, swish, swish…
The doors on the bus go open and shut…
The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep…
The driver on the bus says “Move on back!”…
The baby on the bus says “Way, wah, wah”…
The mommy on the bus says “Shush, shush, shush”…

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The Extras:

Right now I do storytime where time is not an issue and the people doing childcare are happy for the kids to have a little extra activity.  So, I try to find a short video to go along with my theme.  I wouldn’t normally do a movie at a library storytime, but it works really well in my current situation.  This week I showed an animated version of “Trashy Town” by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha.

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How It Went:

It is funny how a tiny shift in the age of your group can make such a difference.  I do most of my storytimes twice.  Once for a group of 3 to 5-year-olds (sometimes this group has some older kids also.)  Then again for a group of 2 to 3-year-olds.  That small shift of one year makes a huge amount of difference in how the storytime goes.  The older group loves to participate.  They yelled “NO” to Pigeon with great gusto at each page.  My goal with that group is to have a little fun, get them interested in the books I’m reading. My goal with the younger group is just to hold their attention…which is not an easily accomplished task.

Overall, the storytime went well.  Nothing major that I would change.