last night, mr. happy stuff took me on a surprise date.  a few months back, he’d asked me if we were doing anything on may 16 and i gave him an odd look and said, “no, i don’t think so, why?”  and he said, “well, do you want me to tell you, or do you want it to be a surprise?” which is just awesome because he knows how much i like fun surprises, so i agreed that a surprise would be more fun.  he wrote in my calendar on may 16 “8 p.m.  surprise” and it’s been there ever since, full of promise and smiles.  as much as i tried to avoid guessing, there were a few hints before may 16 (none from mr. happy stuff, just some general media hints (you’ll see)) and i began to wonder (and hope that i was right!).  the morning of may 16, i got dressed for work (including the awesome shoes you see in the photo above.  aren’t they cute?  lemony thickets talked me into them at a thrift store and although i wouldn’t want to go for a hike in them, they are surprisingly comfortable for high heels.) in a skirt, feeling just a little bit fancy.  after work, we had dinner together and he asked if i had guessed yet and i asked if it sort of had something to do with canned ham and he grinned.  whoo-hoo!  we had tickets to go see spamalot!  i’ve been wanting to see this monty python broadway hit ever since it first came out and it was here in town this week (and sold out–good planning ahead, mr. h-s!) and i was so excited!  we laughed and laughed through the whole thing and both enjoyed ourselves immensely.  it helps that we were both very familiar with monty python and the holy grail on which the musical is largely based (the only favorite dialogue from the movie that they did not include in the musical was the whole “answer me these questions three” scene (‘blue, no!  yellow! aaaaaahhhhhhh’) but pretty much everything else was there, almost exactly word-for-word.) and in fact, one of my favorite parts of the evening was listening to a large theater full of people quietly whispering along with the dialogue in some of the more well-known sections.  they ended with a sing-along (and whistle-along) version of “always look on the bright side of life”* which got stuck in our heads for the rest of the night.  what a wonderful surprise! so. much. fun.  thanks, mr. h-s!

*yes, i know this isn’t from holy grail, but who said it all had to be from the same movie?

i just got back from the dentist and i just have to say again how much i love that my dentist has chocolate-flavored tooth polish. as i lay in the chair, mouth open, nose inhaling the incongruous scent of brownies, i realized how much having my teeth polished feels like a massage for my mouth. i decided to think of it as a spa day for my teeth and that helped me to relax. although going to the dentist isn’t a source of fear for me like it is for some people, i do find myself getting very tense in the chair if i don’t stay in the moment and on top of my muscles. something about lying down with a light in your face and your mouth propped open in an awkward position and someone scraping sharp metal objects across your teeth like fingernails on a chalkboard….yeesh. but if i re-frame it as a spa day for my teeth…. with brownies (the smell of which makes me drool, which i would think would be counterproductive….) well, that’s a different story. the dental hygienist told me that other patients have had all sorts of other flavor suggestions. the most popular suggestion is brandy, but yesterday apparently someone nominated bacon. hmmm….. i do love bacon, but i think i’d prefer brownies at the dentist.

i saw these cute emerging ginko leaves on a tree downtown today as i went to have lunch with mr. happy stuff. aren’t they the ruffliest leaf-babies you’ve ever seen? i had to have lunch downtown today because last monday, i’d noticed that the elusive “burrito loco” cart was back. mr. happy stuff had told me over and over last year how fantastic the burritos there were, but every time i remembered to go downtown to try them out, the cart wasn’t there. i soon began accusing him of fabricating the whole thing just to torment me, but today, i finally tasted their burritos and… they are, indeed, very tasty.

i went for a run/walk again today. i ran more than walked and did a whole 2 miles. woo hoo! i found this eggshell on my run and actually doubled back to pick it up. it was broken and empty and was the most brilliant blue i’ve ever seen in nature. isn’t it a gorgeous color?

just a pretty picture of some flowers on a tree down the street from me.  they smell vaguely like the grape-scented pencils we used to sell in the school “supply store” when i was in the 5th grade. mmmm…. scented pencils….

but on to the topic of the post title!  yesterday, i discovered a new (to me) online tool that, as a children’s librarian and lover of picture books, i thought was pretty nifty.  let’s say that you’re at the airport, traveling with children and your flight has been delayed and you are desperately searching for something to do with your kids (and you’re not averse to paying for airport internet fees).  or, let’s say that you’re at home with a sick child and you’ve already read all of the picture books that you own and all of the picture books that you currently have checked out from the library and you can’t really run out to get more books (you’ve got a sick kid!  don’t take them to the library to spread their germs around!).  what do you do?  you go to lookybook.  this is still in beta (which just means that it’s going to get better, and better, right?) and there aren’t an enormous amount of books in the system yet, but … they are there in their entirety!  whole picture books!  endpapers and all!  and the interface is attractive, intuitive and easy to use!  and you don’t have to register in order to read the books!  no, of course this will never replace real picture books, but in a certain kind of pinch, this is a great resource.

now, i only wish that they’d start including more easy reader books.  i can’t tell you how often, when i’m ordering books for this collection, that i could flip through the book to really get a feel for its reading level.  there are a few in the current site, but there doesn’t appear to be a simple way to search for them specifically.  maybe that will come with the next version.

so i just looked at this site on my work computer and it looks waaaayyyyyy different here than it does at home.  how many of you see a lot of the “wallpaper” around the edges of the main text area on this site, and how many of you see only a tiny bit?  another way to put this is:  does the “happy stuff” grassy banner span across pretty much your whole screen, or only cover about half?  if possible, please include the browser and version that you’re viewing it with in your reply (i.e. “firefox 2.0” or something like that)

note added later:  okay, now i get it.  i think that all of you are seeing it the way that i see it at home and the reason it looks different at work is the way that we have the resolution set on our monitor 800×600 instead of 1024×768 (see mr. h-s’s note below in the comments).  whew!

when today began, i knew there were a few fun things to look forward to, but even more fun treats presented themselves throughout the day and i just had to take advantage of them, and then, of course, i had to share them with you!

treat #1–haircut!  this was one of the known treats.  i’d been pining for my summer haircut for well over a month now, and my appointment finally arrived.  here’s a before picture, with pigtails and (treat #2) a silly new shirt that i bought at the thrift store last week but finally got to wear today.  (is it too suggestive?  i prefer to think of it as a play on the words “excuse me,” but maybe i’m kidding myself…  hey, lemony thickets–are you jealous of my shirt?)

i’ll show the haircut “after” picture later.  first, i have to tell you about treat #3:

a picnic lunch with mr. happy stuff!  i bought us some sandwiches at fromagination (today was my second visit) along with some fizzy lizzy‘s (i got pineapple for me and apple for him–tart and yummy!), some kettle chips and some cornichons and they threw in two chocolates for us as well.  we walked to the park at the end of the street to eat.  the sun was warm on our skin and the grass was fresh and cool and my veggie sandwich was delicious!  but, eventually, all picnics must end and mr. h-s had to go back to work, so i proceeded on towards treat #4 at star photo.  i needed a lens cap for the little 50mm fixed lens that i picked up at the thrift store last week and when i went in, they were sold out of that size lens cap.  but the saleswoman rummaged around and found an old, slightly beat-up lens cap–the kind that sort of just pops on, no latches per se–that matched my lens (in size and in condition!) that she said i could have for free.  how nice!

treat #5–i decided to finally visit moco market.  i’ve been itching to go see this place ever since they opened up last year, but never found the time or, since it’s not really on my side of town, it wasn’t really a “convenient” convenience store for me (albeit the most chic convenience store i have ever, ever seen).  but today, i made the effort and … wow!  it’s even cooler than i thought it would be!  they are the first “landed” etsy store anywhere!  there’s all of this awesome, more-or-less local etsy stuff right there in the store that you can pick up and look at and not have to pay shipping for!  squeeee!  i wanted one of everything, but i had to hold back.  they also have a lot of healthy cleaning supplies, teas, and a very nice deli.  i just had to try their “frushi” with plum and strawberry:

it’s covered in shredded coconut and the rice is steamed in coconut milk and you get this strawberry puree dipping sauce and oh. my. goodness.

yum.

(i’m drooling just thinking about it.)

then, i had to go ahead and treat myself to #6–a cycling cap from cognition caps:

i’d been admiring these caps on people’s heads every time i saw them and to know that i was supporting a local artist just tipped me over the edge.  oh, and look!  there’s my cute new haircut too!

when i got home and checked the mail, i discovered treat #7:

hmmmm… cute packaging, but what could be inside?

oh, it’s my new bento box from sugar charms!  and they sent me freebie bonus extras–a condiment bottle (shaped like a fish) and green plastic divider grass!  i also ordered these cute “mayonnaise cups” shaped like monkeys with spoons that have bananas for handles:

(normally, the spoon fits inside the container and the only thing sticking out is the banana, like an extra yellow smile.)  i love the whimsy of these!  i was inspired to consider making bento lunches after reading this blog.  i’ll be sure to let you know how they turn out.

treat #8–had my last class of the semester tonight.  my study group gave a presentation (we studied “crafty bloggers”–my idea–and how they gather information.  most. fun. research. ever.) and our big paper was due and now…. it’s done!  huzzah!  no more school until this fall!

treat #9–i almost forgot to tell you that i went on a run this morning and i am not currently experiencing any hip pain (this is very happy news for me).  okay, it was really a walk/run and the longest stretch of running (maybe 1/4 mile?) left me winded (even after taking my inhaler–yes.  i am out of shape.) but i am on my way to recovery now and am thrilled beyond measure.

treat #10–because i like top ten lists, the tenth nice thing about my day was getting to unveil my new blog to all of you.  thank you for reading.  thank you for your wonderful comments.  they really are a fantastic motivator and make me happy just knowing that you’re out there, enjoying my blog.  i hope it’s a treat!

okay, i think it’s more or less ready.  some of you have already discovered my blog’s makeover–thanks for your comments!  i couldn’t find a header that i liked better than the one that’s graced the top of my blog for the past three years, so … it came along for the ride.  everything else is new!  check out the pages on the gray bar at the top.  i’m particularly impressed with the software that i get to use to create the “desktop wallpaper” page–so easy!  i may have to upload desktop wallpaper images more frequently (hint:  there’s a few new ones there already!).  i also drastically updated my blogroll.  if you see your blog there and you’d rather remain a bit more under-the-radar, let me know and i can remove you.  one of these days soon, i’ll blog about the phrase “blogs of strangers”…. i’m still deciding whether i’ll keep that nomenclature.  another new feature is the “random post” which just came with the template.  i thought it was kind of a fun way to get a little “extra happy” in your day if you need it by pulling something out of the archives.  sometimes, out of context, they’re a bit odd.

if the formatting or anything looks weird on your computer, let me know asap and i’ll see if it’s a glitch that we can correct.  it looks okay on both of my browsers….

ah, fresh, new format.  enjoy!