While I spent my first 21 years protesting wildly against the cinematization of my favorite books, ever since the Narnia re-makes, I have been letting it go just a bit. Those movies blew my mind. Unlike Harry Potter's weak attempts (sorry, biased against that ugly Radcliffe boy) the Narnia movies have done an impeccable job with casting, CG-that-doesn't-look-like-Toy-Story, scenery, and music.
Thus, I have been more open to investigating the following. While these don't seem to be going for play-by-play authenticity, I am interested in the interpretations and nice visual treatment.
First day of camp job #1. This being a very general, half day, primary-grades day camp, I felt that I was running the risk of planning too many activities for such young folks. After today I had to kick myself... these almost-first graders wanted a lot more out of me. Tomorrow I will have a much more chock-full schedule for them, I think.
Not that I had a bad first day... we opened with visor and backpack decorating, which (due to the inclusion of Sharpies and stickers) was a hit. We then moved on to some waterslide time; a good idea except for how cold they get, and how looooooooong little girls take to change into their bathing suits. If only women didn't talk so much.
Next up we played some games (a variation of 'heads up, seven up' and some playground tag) until lunchtime. Despite the fact that no child under the age of eight years eats real food unless forced, lunch went alright, too. After lunch we took a vote and decided on another round of playground time, before finishing out the day with pastels and colored paper. This last bit was a 'fly by the seat of my pants' moment because I got some very flawed advice from a fellow camp counselor, and had banked in a 'storytime' period. Which I knew wouldn't work... Should have trusted my gut.
Tomorrow I am going to give it a go this way:
9 AM Arrival, hopefully wrapping up by 9:15. 9:15-10:00 Model Magic 'fake food' craft–usually a big hit. 10:00-10:30 Water games, hopefully extending well past this time period. 10:30-11:00 Team obstacle courses. The two counselors will each champion a team. 11:00-11:30 Changing out of bathing suits. (You would not believe how long this takes. It's unbelievable. I think I will have a sidewalk chalk or obstacle course game going on out on the blacktop so that once kids are done they can go join an activity. This, or the playground.) 11:30-12:00 LUNCH 12:00-12:30 Playground time. 12:30- 1:00 Simple paper kites (with popsicle sticks).
Hopefully it will work out.
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On an another (though still vaguely child-related) note, I saw Up! today with a friend and my sister and mother. It was wonderful. Simultaneously evocative of childhood enjoyment of Disney movies while also drawing a very nuanced, adult tear from my eye, it was a real story achieved through absolutely breathtaking animation. I am pleased to say this was a movie (like Finding Nemo) that was better because it was digital. Purist that I am, that really matters. The balloons carrying that dear old man's house looked SO real, and that wasn't something that classic animation could have achieved. Reality was surely suspended!
I am too tired (ah, first graders) to go on... but everyone should see the film. The little boy's character is made to seem pesky in the commercials, but he is actually irresistable on the screen. Likewise, what can seem to be an annoying dog character in a quick preview is actually hilarious.
One warning: I cried throughout the movie. My face was consistently soaked. So was my eleven year old sister's. While we are both sentimental, I don't think I could fairly say our reaction would be unusual. You have been warned.
first i hit you with the pollyanna cake (still have to try that recipe).
now, i've unintentionally dressed up as pollyanna. i think it was a subtle subconscious attempt to 'get glad', as i woke up to a rocky emotional state this morning.
my cheerfully ugly outfit is already helping me out. i just love looking a bit off.
it's my day off, so i think i might take a journey out to the bookstore and then work in a coffee shop all day long, pretending i am a book character.
they say that the main reason adults have trouble relating to children's desires is that they lose the ability to actually see the real world through the lens of their imaginary world, instead of vice versa. i think God forgot to take that from me. glad for that!
ok if i don't own one or both colors of this boot some time in my life i will just feel upset. does anyone have $128?
or fashion sense they could possibly loan me?
i know if i could wear shoes like these that i would also, magically, be happily married, 28, have a sweet little baby (or two), and long hair (worn in a bun), be insanely rosy-cheeked, eat organic food from a small farm, and i would love my government.
so... if anyone wants to loan me that money, they're at urban outfitters.
one of my favorite cookbooks of all time is a little wonder i picked up in my younger years. in fact, it was the first book i ever bought all by myself.
i was a wee little eight year old, taking my turn at the book fair in second grade. we were living in tokyo at the time, and my copy still has--among other childhood ephemera--an envelope stuck into the back cover, ripped at the top, with my papa's handwriting on the front stating my name, 2A, 'BOOK MONEY', and 2,100 yen. (which really isn't much money.)
yes, my sophisticated book of choice is Betty Crocker's NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook.
mine seems to be the 1990 reprint. the pictures are of little ugly children in 90's gear, adding their opinions to the easy recipes, which are categorized in such groups as 'super snacks and drinks', 'good morning eye openers', and 'noontime fixin's'--to name a few. i was enamored with it as a child, but i barely made ANY of the recipes--i just looked at them and thought about them. i was strange. i actually remember envying the kids on the 'test panel'. and i had their names memorized. it was a lot like my obsession (um... at 15(!) years old) with ZOOM on PBS, and all the kids on it.
in any case, i actually got the most use out it in middle school, when my taste for cooking finally went farther than melting american cheese and milk in the microwave, adding pepper, and proclaiming it salad dressing. (seriously. and i ate it.) i have made a few of the recipes many, many times...though most of the book goes unused.
the recipes i have actually used are a funny collection: -chocolate milk shake -chocolate popcorn bars -egg in a frame -big puffy pancake (this one is actually UNBELIEVABLE and a way better recipe for a german pancake than most. i will be sure to post it at some point. mmmm. i impressed many a sleepover buddy with this... in high school! andcollege!) -i <3 shortbread -big burger cake (we forced my mom to do this one) -cranberry apple sparkler -toasty hot dog roll-ups -and of course, the oh so chocolate brownies
all in all, it's actually a great book for kids. it makes everything sound easy, explains what every term means, and has pictures of almost everything--and the pictures are fairly realistic. for instance, the one pot spaghetti looks disgusting, and the vegetable soup looks appropriately bland. i treasure this little wonder.
to be honest, all the childhood reading of this book is probably responsible for my innate ability to make chili and macaroni and cheese without ever bothering to 'learn'. cute.
and here are my oh so chocolate brownies, freshly made this afternoon--off to eat them in front of some little house!!! hooray for my 23 year old childhood!!!
warning: i don't think i have ever put so many links in one post in my whole life.
hi all!
yesterday didn't allow me to blog-- i had to work on printing out a lot of work, which always leaves me in a pickle--you have to watch and tweak and adjust print settings when you are printing graphics (on nice papers) so it doesn't leave much ability to multi-task. i settled for 7 episodes of little house. i ate a lot of food, too.
in any case, as promised, i am going to get myself caught up and briefly detail leigh's visit.
leigh arrived fresh on the tail of my san fran visit, so she had a real view of my apartment: no fancy clean up job. we started off the early day with a trip over to have some brunch at my favorite little place (maybe my only favorite place?) in streeterville: the cute little café that hugs the ridiculously lovely peninsula hotel. of course, we took a little jaunt through the main floor of that decadent hotel, first. and pretended that we already owned all the fur and diamonds in the little windowboxes in the lobby. the concierge smirked at us. pierrot gourmet (as that cute little café is called) is so calm-- i really like it there. i have a lot of important memories there, in fact: my mother and i sharing a sandwich a while back when she made a visit, while i was still in college... lunch with my whole family the day before my graduation... a sad conversation i had over the phone this fall... and now i have a new memory! brunch with a dear friend of mine. :)
we followed this deliciousness up with a walk down michigan, so she could experience the magnificent mile for the first time. we hit up all the glamorous stores... H&M, Forever XXI...you know the kind. big spending. that night i made rice casserole, which is a highly delicious and very affordable food item... leigh has since made one for sister, i hear. (i will share that recipe in a post to follow.)
we topped it all off with cookies, tea, and watching our long time favorite special--'living dolls'--on youtube. it details the life of some child beauty pageant contestants, namely one Swan Brooner and her TERRIBLE mother, and nothing tops it. i recommend it highly, for the sake of this alone:
the time the two of us have wasted in pursuing this trashy documentary... it's appalling.
the next day was meant for evanston! we took the shuttle after a slow morning and got lunch with a friend of mine who happened to be free, enjoying the deliciousness of unicorn cafe, as a little peek for leigh into my college days. mmmm.... the windfall sandwich. we were so cold that we really elongated that meal--tacking on an amazing cookie. then we hopped across the street to look in at what asinimali and crossroads trading inc. had to offer. (in my case, they had an $8 banana republic sweater wrap and a $7 striped club monaco shirt to offer.) then we got a shuttle home, with plans to make some chicken stir fry.
funnily enough, we ended up being far too lazy to cook! maybe the sandwiches at unicorn are just very filling. we had a bloody mary (how crazy of us!) and some snack foods, and basically played scrabble all night instead of being normal, dinner eating people. very fun. :)
thursday was one of the museum of science and industry's free days, so we hopped into a cab and spent the day playing there. we even saw an IMAX movie about the marine life of south africa. so pretty! and we had a lot of fun with all the exhibits. i especially liked one exhibit about the internet... leigh caught me "swimming through the internet". it's a very special look for me, wouldn't you agree?
that night we had plans to meet up with leigh's uncle who lives in river north. funnily enough, i got us lost because i didn't pay attention to cardinal directions. no matter. we weren't late enough to make it problematic, and we had plenty of time to enjoy her uncle's company/beautiful apartment/delicious h'ors d'ouvres. mmmm spinach artichoke dip. he then treated us to a lovely little dinner at the exceedingly quaint la scarola. i had eggplant parmesan.
we hit the sack early because i was set to teach at galaxie the next morning. i deviated from my norm and taught a simple course this time-- 'secret stories'. i taught the basics of book folding, to enthusiastic reception. i had mostly repeat kids and a small group, so i basically got paid to chat up some nice, smart kids. they had great book ideas, too--my favorite was a girl's book--entitled 'where is the love'-- that had pictures of hearts, kissing couples, and head-over-heels-in-love faces, all of which were followed by the word "EW!!!!" hahahaha. kids are hilarious.
i came home to leigh, who having just woken up, sympathized with my comment that i was STARVING. we cooked up the neglected stir fry and enjoyed it while watching a special on scandalous pageant queens. (can i please remind everyone that is was record level freezing last week? and that i don't usually drain my brain watching people strut around in spangles?) is it bad that i can't remember what we did afterwards? what i do know is that we made tacos for dinner. and they were amazing. and this is coming from a woman who honestly could go without ground beef for the rest of her life. amazing.
saturday was lovely... we had brunch at ann sathers at my suggestion with some of leigh's friends from gwu who live around here now. (they were great fun and i hope to hang out with them again!) it was long and delicious and i had too much coffee. we followed that up with the art institute--happy hooray. i blew leigh's mind with my ranting on about contemporary art (haha) until it was nearly closing time and time for us to go home and nosh on leftovers.
which we did. a lovely combination of stir fry and italian food with some two buck chuck. (yay trader joe's.) then we headed out to hang out with the same girls we had brunch with, which was an EXCELLENT time, spent at their very homey apartment and then at fado irish pub. i sincerely enjoyed myself, partly due to the STRANGEST band ever. we could not stop laughing.
sunday was lazy! we took our time. leigh had moved her tuesday flight to monday due to weather warnings, so we just enjoyed eachother's company for most of the day, before heading off to Mass (sad! my last Mass at Holy Name for a while--there was a fire yesterday!!!) and then out to dinner. we decided to forfeit the superbowl purely so we could have more time for conversation. we had a nice dinner at bistro zinc. another place i have a lot of emotional attachment with. the food was great, the company even better.
we browsed children's books across the street at barnes & noble for a while, and then left, having bought bananagrams--my favorite game of the moment. we played into the night, and i dreaded leigh's departure the next morning!
now she's home in nj and i miss her-but what a week it was!
and as if i couldn't get any luckier with seeing friends... weekend anna is headed out here for valentine's day!!!! just when i thought i was going to have hide in a cave for the whole holiday. i love anna.
look at what maggie will come home to in an hour! a surprise transformation of her room...into an ice palace! it's really no wonder i felt so much kinship with sara crewe as a child. with a mother who does this kind of thing on your birthday, how can you not believe you're probably a princess?
