Ibby's Notebook

It’s Actually Not Beginning To Look A Whole Lot Like Christmas

ibby — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:51:14 +0000

Where’s the snow?! Where are the giant snowdrifts that pile up against the windows? Or even the tiny little flakes that float lazily down to rest on unsuspecting noses?
… okay, this IS the middle of the West Coast, so I shouldn’t be expecting snow. Still–I’m sitting by the window (in the SUN, mind you) and I’m going to move really soon because my back is heating up and it’s got to be at least 60 degrees out there.
Mm, never mind, the thermometer’s saying fifty-four. Must be the wind-chill.
Well, even if it’s not looking like Christmas outside, it sure looks cozy inside. Our Christmas tree’s all set up–the poor thing, we left outside in the yard for a week after we bought it. But now we’ve supplied it with fresh water, lights, ornaments, and an angel. Our stockings are hung by the fireplace, just below the Nativity. The wreath on our front door blocks almost the entire view of the peephole, so a common phrase often heard after someone has knocked is: “I don’t know who it is! There’s a forest in the way!”
Also, I really like peppermint bark.
Pictures to come soon–wishing y’all a Merry Christmas, if I don’t post before then.
Remember the Reason,
~Ibby

Coming Soon.

ibby — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:01:21 +0000

Like maybe tomorrow-soon. Or Wednesday-soon. Not completely sure.

But soon.

Per request of Dolphin Debby.

I apologize for my non-existentness.

Soon I shall be existent.

Soon.

My New Favorite Word

ibby — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:38:38 +0000

SYZYGY.
My spellchecker is telling me, “No, no, Ibby darling. I hate to disappoint you, but SYZYGY is not a word. It simply does not exist.”
And I bet some of you are saying or thinking the same (though perhaps not in so many words).
BUT. I am here to tell you, dear reader, that SYZYGY is, in fact, an actual word–and my new favorite one, at that. No, I don’t need to spell SYZYGY with all caps, but it has three Y’s and a Z and it’s fun to say. Hence: SYZYGY.

I’m having way too much fun with this.
~
Here’s the Dictionary.com definition:
syz·y·gy [siz-i-jee]
noun, plural -gies.
1.
Astronomy . an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet: Syzygy in the sun-earth-moon system occurs at the time of full moon and new moon.
2.
Classical Prosody . a group or combination of two feet, sometimes restricted to a combination of two feet of different kinds.
3.
any two related things, either alike or opposite.
~
Dear reader, if you can use syzygy (correctly!) in a conversation this week, you deserve brownie points. Why don’t you comment so I can award them to you?
~Ibby

They Have Taken Over My Head

ibby — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:35:36 +0000

The “what-ifs”, of course. It’s very easy for me to catch a glance of things gone by, to snatch an idea that hangs glinting before me, and wonder, “What if…”
~
What if we could fly?
What if we slept during the day?
What if we didn’t have hair?
~
What if I became a rock star? Would I even like it?
What if I had never gone to school in my life? Would my life be majorly different?
What if I could read people’s minds?
~
What if my friend hadn’t developed a skin disorder? Would she be really shy, as she is now? Or extremely popular?
What if I hadn’t moved away? Would I still be best friends with my best friends? Would I be a better person than I am now?
What if God showed Himself to us every single day?
And
What if He is, but I’m too blind to even tell?
~
But then I snap out of the trance, and I’m back in my own body, in another’s world, and the line between reality and fantasy sharpens.

“‘To know what would have happened, child?’ asked Aslan. …’Nobody is ever told that.’
‘Oh dear,’ said Lucy.
‘But anyone can find out what will happen,’ said Aslan.”

~ from Prince Caspian (C.S. Lewis)

Ah, The Joys Of Reading.

ibby — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 03:35:38 +0000

Here’s a quaint little video that was recommended to me by my parents. They found it on Facebook, where it was posted by one of my former teachers. My parents saw this and thought of me and my love of reading. All you readers out there–this video, by Julian Smith, is for you.

(Note: Disrespect of police officers, girls, birthday boys, and librarians/libraries is not encouraged.)

~Ibby

I’m Eating Chips and it’s Mindboggling

ibby — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:00:34 +0000

“I’m Eating” because it’s almost dinner-time.

“Chips” because we bought these new chips and I was in the mood for something salty.

“it’s MINDBOGGLING” because THEY TASTE LIKE BRUSCHETTA. They’re bruschetta chips and they taste EXACTLY LIKE BRUSCHETTA. They’ve got that bright tomato flavor, mixed with a hint of herbs and spices and dark, crusty bread undertones. The only thing “wrong” is that the texture is that of a puffy chip. My mind is going, “WHY DOES IT FEEL LIKE A CHIP? IT TASTES LIKE YUMMY FRESH TOMATO SAUCE ON TOASTY BREAD BUT IT FEELS LIKE A CHIP” and so I am boggled.

Hee hee, I like using caps.

~Ibby

Spot the Differences

ibby — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 00:42:41 +0000

I think all y’all would enjoy this… found on twentytwowords.com.

Stuck? Don’t worry. It’ll come to you. It took me a few minutes, but I got it.

~Ibby.

I’m sorry, but I need to vent.

ibby — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:39:57 +0000

Don’t worry, it’s a happy, nostalgic, wistful sort of venting. But maybe it isn’t even venting. Maybe it’s more “rambling about your feelings.”

Anyhoo.

My mom and dad are out on their anniversary date right now, at a restaurant and (later) the movies. Last night, my dad, being the goofy guy he is, pretended to be all shy around my mom at the dinner table. He got out his iPhone, typed out “tell her I like her” on the notepad, and showed it to me. So I shielded my mouth with my hand and stage-whispered to my mom, “Psssst! He says he likes you!” Then she gave me a message to stage-whisper back to my dad (who was acting all blase and staring at the ceiling), and so on and so forth until Dad worked up the nerve to ask her out. She said yes, obviously.

So I’ve been messing around on Figment (figment.com) and reading random stories. All the happiness from earlier in the afternoon (see previous post) has bubbled up into a sort of giddy wistfulness about romanticism.

Example: “Sighhhh…The sky is so pretty, ’cause it’s deep blue but the sun is setting fire to the clouds and I feel like reading cheesy happy romances and giggling to myself because my parents are in love.”

…Okay, that was weird. But I’m a hopeful romantic; what can I say?

~Ibby *happy sigh*

I Am Super Happy.

ibby — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:52:38 +0000

Usually, my library shifts are on Fridays. But I swapped this week’s shift for today instead, and I’m glad I did.

The Children’s Library had a yard sale-type-thing in honor of back-to-school season. There’s a little courtyard in the back of the library, so clothesline was strung between trees, and clothes were hung so people could “buy” them (or, as we neared the end, just take them and maybe donate money). We also set up a little lemonade stand–except instead of charging 10 cents or whatever the going price is for lemonade these days, we gave out a cup of lemonade for a happy thought.

Last week, one of my tasks was to count out little die-cut hearts in different colored paper. We set those up with a basket on the table, and for every “happy thought” people wrote on a heart, they got a cup of lemonade AND a cup of Winnie-the-Pooh animal crackers AND one of those Brownie Bites from Costco. And the best part is, I got to run the “lemonade stand.”

It was fun because a) I was able to people-watch; b) I was able to see what kinds of things made people happy; c) I saw a lot of cute kids; and d) I was able to eat animal crackers… plus, I did all of this surrounded by the awesome and super friendly staff. On a delightful summer afternoon. At a LIBRARY. Seriously, how much better can it get?

Some of the “happy thoughts” written on the hearts:

Reading makes me happy
Books make me happy
Libraries makes me happy
My daddy/mommy
When my parents give me a chip
Cupcakes
Eating candy
Hugging my kids
My cat Butterscotch
: )
My friends make me happy

I also got to chat with another volunteer (who goes to my school), which was fun, because now I know her a little bit better. And this one little girl came up to me (she was feeling very chatty) and just started talking about everything. Her brother. Her parents. What makes her happy. Why Jupiter is orange. Penguins on Pluto. The amount of carrots she would eat if she was a jackrabbit.

And I just nodded and smiled.

At the end, we had a raffle for a 25-dollar Kohl’s gift card, smiling customers, a nearly-empty lemonade dispenser, and a box and a half of brownies. My boss insisted that I take a cupful of the leftovers. I told her, “I wish I could, but I’m riding my bike, and I don’t have a basket…”

So she got creative and stuck them in a Ziploc bag. Then she punched a hole in the bag and threaded some pretty blue ribbon through it. I tied the ribbon tightly to my handlebar and voila! Instant brownie-carrier!

I sang all the way home. Well, not all the way home–some of the time I hummed, and other times I just couldn’t stop laughing. I was just so h-a-p-p-y.

…This entire post sounds really, really cheesy.

…But hey! I LOVE cheese!

My wish for you:

Go dig up your scooter and munch on some cake;

Bring some chips and your swimsuit and jump in the lake;

Sit down with a book and a hot steaming mug;

Take a bite of some pie and give someone a hug;

Be creative. Just go do (or eat) something you like…

because it’s hard to be sad when there are brownies on your bike.

~Ibby

Lights…Camera…

ibby — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:07:54 +0000

Hello, my dear readers.

This was my theatre Final for the end of school–film a mock audition reel, two minutes in length, showcasing your acting abilities. My dad got really excited about the video part of it…below is the product of a few hours of filming and editing. Enjoy!

Demo Reel from Dan Baer on Vimeo.

~Ibby