Don't blame me, the cats have learned to type

(I've got a good theme going; there appears to be no end to cute kitties on the intarweb)

I am temporarily banned from taking on any new projects - no matter how fun and interesting they might seem - that will then take over my life. By decree of The Jay.

It has been a might bit busy around here lately.

First, there is the saga of the new car. By the end of the week the little blue, wonderful, realiable car since 1991 will no longer be with us. *sniff* It will be sent off into that used car heaven that all good cars go to when they die. In its place is arriving a shiny, new Honda with significantly fewer miles on it, a CD player, 4-wheel drive...I, for one, am thrilled!! Jay loved the old car because it didn't have the whole computer thing running it so he could fix it, he's not going to be able to do nearly as much for this one.

Then there is the freelance work. Doing all that I do on the computers and in graphic design means that I get to pick what interests me if I feel like taking on freelance work; and it can be for lots of reasons - sometimes I just want to help the person or business, sometimes there is a challenge I find fascinating, and sometimes a project just hits my quirky button and seems like the kind of fun thing that I want to do. I've had a string of huge projects lately that fall into that fun category.

Allegra is getting glasses. She actually picked my frames - she looks just like a mini-me!!

Finally the presentations and workshops; I love speaking in front of groups on subjects I'm passionate about. A lot of things have come up and I've been requested! First there were two presentations for the state Dept. of Libraries on fantasy programming for teens; one for the northern half of the state the other for the southern libraries. Both of them turned into a more basic "how to start teen programming" at your library because those were the questions they asked, so that was the direction I went. On April 11th I'll be in Albany, NY presenting on teens in the library, specifically on development issues, outreach, and creating appropriate teen services. Then in October I get to be on an "expert" on a panel with Michael Sullivan (author, "Connecting Boys with Books") whom I admire quite a bit. In the meantime, I'm working on a few articles for VOYA and contemplating writing something more substantial.

Just as soon as I find the time.

I did however find a little time to stumble blindly around the net finding some funny things.

Like this cute song about the people who live on Arnie's Street, brought to today by the letters G O P.

I love Star Trek (shock!), and this list of the 10 things that I hate about Star Trek is just dead-on and perfectly hilarious.

Following in the cute cat theme, this adorable little kitten will follow you!!

What's that?!? They're releasing a Voltron collection? Brings a whole new meaning to V-Day.

The Peanuts gang set to Hey Ya, sure it could happen.

Oh dear, regular people pretending to be Monty Python on home video and then putting it on the internet with the sound from the movie. How terribly clever of them. Oh, and they use chidren. Allegra saw it and asked why I don't do these kinds of things with her.

What I've read lately:
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is just the latest, inspiring, sweet (but not at all sickeningly so) tale from Kate DiCamillo. The book is beautiful, with gorgeous paper, full color, tipped-in illustrations, and a story that is set in a time and with a theme that never gets old - this book may easily become a classic. If you are in need of a gift for a young reader who enjoys thoughtful stories a la Velveteen Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, Children of Green Knowe, etc. this book would be a delightful gift.

Calvin and Hobbes the Complete Collection is a lethal set of books. I mean it, seriously, if one of these three books should fall on you, you're a goner. Somehow I've found myself working through them again. Happy, happy!!

What I've Watched:
You know, I really thought I had watched quite a lot of stuff, but I can't remember anything notable really. Truth is, we've dropped Star Wars Galaxies at our house and have picked up World of Warcraft (no we're not obsessed, thank you) Joe and Sam even joined us on our merry adventure out of there.