Parenting Humblebrag

Have y'all seen this Verizon commercial,

about how girls are subtly steered away from science?

Well, it just made me clutch my feminist heart.

And I had to ask myself,

"Did I do that?  Did I not support The Girl?"

I mean, I still feel bad that I didn't show up

for all her academic awards.

(She got so many, y'all! It would have been a full-time job

to show up for all the award ceremonies!)

But then I reminded myself that a few weeks ago

she marched across a stage in a lab coat
to receive her biology teaching credential...

(The Boy, The Girl, and The Beau.)

... and she recently changed her Facebook profile picture

to one snapped of her at a science/teaching workshop, 

holding a human brain.

So, yeah.

Maybe I didn't do so badly on the encouraging-science front, after all.

Tell Me What You Neeeeed!

As I wrote before, I loooove getting feedback

for my Little Free Library.

BUT, so far, I haven't received everything I hoped for.

Do you see my blank notes?

Do you see what I've labelled these blank notes?

Yes, I asked for "Questions, Comments and REQUESTS."

So far, I've only had one (unsuccessful) verbal request.

But, today!

Along with a nice comment...

...was a request!!

Yaaaaay!!!

Although I didn't have the book (and it was out of print) ...

... Amazon had it used for a penny plus shipping.

(Please don't tell me that Amazon is awful.

I need it like I need oxygen and yogurt.)

Aaaanyway, now that the book is on the way,

how do I let my patron know?

Hmmmm...

Why don't I just put up a note?

Yup, that should do it!

Now, fingers crossed that my patron returns!

A Li'l Gift From Me To You

As I wrote before, 

I always try to include a little somethin'-somethin' in my sold Etsy packages.

BUT, sometimes customers buy more than one Harry Potter quilt,

or sometimes they buy something small,

like these super-cool Gryffindor pennants:

So what could I include in my packages besides a Gryffindor tissue holder?

Hmmmm....

What about some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean?

The problem is,

while I enjoy playing Bertie Bott's Roulette

 as much as the next Harry Potter fan,

(take a bean, eat it without looking, pass bag to next victim  player)

those store-bought things are not cheap.

So... why don't I make my own?

After noodling around Pinterest,

I decided to use upcycled paper lunch bags as my containers.

I CAREFULLY cut off the bottom of the bags...

... then cut what was left into two pieces.

I rotated those two pieces ninety degrees, and cut them in half again...

... so now I had four rectangles of paper.

See those two folds?  Not the middle one, the two on either side of it.

They're the perfect place to fold over...

... and glue.

Next I folded up and glued one open end...

... and "pinked" the last open end.

I decorated the outside, filled 'em with Trader Joe's Gourmet Beans...

...and folded over the tops and secured them with twine.

They're not as fancy as the store-bought kind, 

but I think their primitive look 

is closer to what the witch with the trolley was really selling.

YOU BETCHA, Trolley Witch!

Load me up!

I Need To Stopper My Ears... Or Better Yet, Cover My Eyes

Y'all are familiar with sirens, right?

They supposedly lured sailors to their doom

with promises of smooches and other fun times.

(Btw, interested in pictures of women's bosoms?

Just google "siren."  You've been tipped off/warned.)

What's my own personal siren's song?

The Dollar Spot at Target.

I CANNOT resist that area,

placed so invitingly right near the entrance

and overflowing with cheap Chinese imports.

Case in point:  this lovely hat? headband?

 that I decided to buy last December.

I mean, c'mon.  I can get my dork on with the best of them, 

but was I REALLY planning to wear this,

or did I just think,

"OMIGOD IT'S JUST A DOLLAR I MUST HAVE IT."

However, there is one category of purchases

 for which I usually do NOT later experience buyer's remorse,

and that's classroom stuff.

As I wrote before,

teachers usually end up opening their wallets for classroom supplies,

so bargains are much appreciated.

There are all kinds of crafty items, 

and there's terrific goodies for end-of-year gifts.

For example,

the second grade class I worked in did an insect unit

 as the year wound down, 

so I found the perfect gift for them in the Dollar Spot:

bug catchers!

I put a label on them reading 

"Don't get "bugged"... have a relaxing summer!"

Because just like with the Dollar Spot,

I'm also incapable of resisting a corny pun.

ETA:

Since I don't eat pork, I was able to resist this Dollar Spot goody.

But... just barely.