Adam

Today we illustrated our alphabet. This is a fairly typical Kindergarten classroom assignment. Each student picks a letter and we brainstorm a list of things that begin with that letter, the student selects one to draw.

Darling little Adam known for spontaneous bursts of excited applause during conversations, lessons, or announcements of what we are having for lunch, raised his hand for 'A'.

"Ok," I ask "What would you like to draw?"
"Adam," He replies.
"That definitely starts with A but we aren't going to draw self portraits. Actually we aren't going to draw any people we know. You could only draw people doing jobs...like a policewoman for 'P' or a doctor for 'D'."
"I mean Adam the First Man that God made" Adam replies.
"Oh I see, but He is a specific person. Do you have any other ideas?"
"Not really. Can I switch to 'K' and draw a koala?"
"That sounds like a good idea." I offer.
"Oh Good! (applause) I'm going to draw a koala on the move!"

Looked a lot like this.
I wouldn't say I have favorites but...

Outback Aphrodesiac

This has been my favorite pedicure polish for at least 4 years. In a typical moment of indecision at "Yes Nails" I selected it based on it's name. The first part of the name...I had just returned from Australia. It is never on my fingers but frequently on my toes, and I knew I would wear it for my stroll down the aisle. Finding a bottle turned into a pre-wedding obsession. Whether or not it's stocked on salon shelves is a gamble, but I did not anticipate tracking a bottle down would be to difficult. I never found one and was getting ready to change my vision (that's right, my pedicure was part of my wedding vision) until a friend randomly found a bottle.

Now, 2+ years later, the old bottle is running a little low so I turned to google to locate a replacement. I found the $25 price tag a little silly and the description description slightly far fetched. How does a person write, and expect others to believe, that nail polish evokes such deep feelings...

I looked again and found it on ebay for much less.

orthography

orthography: the conventional spelling system of a language including the symbols used and the rules for using those symbols.

e.e.cummings was known for his eccentric use of capitalization/punctuation. some scholars believe that when he signed his name without capitalization it was intended as a gesture of humility. my haphazzard application of conventional capitalization rules is nothing of the sort...not humility, not even a signature style.
the aversion is born strictly from laziness.

and i learned recently it may irk jason. we were joint drafting an email to friends and he suggested i use capitals. it's been so long that now to capitalize takes thought--that's probably reason enough to start up the habit again.

Queen Bees

Last year my mom had a bee infestation. She noticed bees mysteriously, and frequently, appearing in the house, both alive as they buzzed 'round the windows and dead all over the floors. It was curious to say the least. Worth mentioning is my mom's allergy to bee stings. So where she usually overlooks creepy crawly, and in this case flying, things, this matter needed to be taken care of. I believe the story, which I've heard many times (it was kind of a big deal) but usually am only 1/2 listening (sorry mom), goes like this...

A young exterminator came and determined the nest was in the ceiling above the master bathroom. Donning full protective bee wear, he cut a hole in the ceiling to begin spraying. After cutting the whole and investigating briefly, he excused himself and went outside to make a phone call. My cute and clever mother listened in and overheard the unfortunate fellow lamenting to his superior that he was in over his head and needed back-up. Whether they did or did not send this back-up, I am not sure. I do know that the spraying was done and over the days that followed my mothered vacuumed up 100s of bees everyday. They just kept dropping dead from the ceiling, making a thick carpet on the bathroom floor.

This experience was traumatic for my mother. It completely occupied her thoughts, life and conversations. To a friendly, "Thank you for joining us this evening," all my mother could manage in reply was "I'm just so glad my bees are gone."

Anyway in one of the clean-ups, mom found the Queen Bee--huge, intact, stinger on, big beautiful wings. A perfect specimen! And what did she do? Box it up and give it to her Kindergarten teacher daughter of course! Very thoughtful (that is not sarcasm, I mean it). This year in setting up my little science investigation area, I put out this Queen Bee. I met my new children today and as they explored their new classroom, many were captivated by it.

One little girl (I wish I could post pictures of them--think thick glasses, bright, spunky dress, pigtails, thoughtful, and curious) and I stood together admiring the bee. After her examination little Kennady whispers, "Wowwwwww, that is big." "I know," I say, adding with emphasis, "That is the Queen Bee." Kennady continues to look, slightly more interested now. Then turning to me, she asked with complete sincerity, "Well, where is her crown?"

After checking her face for a giggle or smirk, I realized she was completely serious. And that, my friends, is why I love my job.

Now What?

After 5 years of haircuts in random salons when the ends of my hair were so broken I couldn't even stand it up in a ponytail, I finally found a perfect hairdresser. Liliana has pulled me from the "just cut it straight along the bottom", no layers, nothing anywhere near my face boring look of days past**.

I'm not trying to paint a halo on Lil. There are things I don't love. For instance, she likes to blow my hair out all flouncy. She chats the entire time, while I'm trying to get my fill of free US Weekly. Yet overall she works quickly, prices are better than reasonable, and knows what she's doing (or at least exudes enough confidence to make me believe she does). And obviously I like the result.

I arrived at Lil via Pam. Dalton's receptionist extraordinaire, who knows the best restaurants, the best exhibits, and apparently the best hair dresser. Today on my way to lunch I commented on how nice Pam's hair looked, and quipped, "Just visit Lil?" She suddenly looked tres serious and said, " Haven't you heard?" And then as my jaw dropped she finished "Liliana has carpel tunnel...every appointment I've tried to make has been canceled." Carpel tunnel!?

So before I get a new do comparable to this...

does anyone have a hairdresser referral?

**Yes, I am fully aware that my current look isn't edgy. No blunt, dramatic bangs. No crazy colors. But for me, a few layers (they grow too fast to call them bangs) around my face was a substantial change.