This just in!

Voldemort scrapbooks.

I'll let that sink in for a bit. ::pause:: Okay, okay he doesn't really because he's "fictional" and as many people have tried to address with me, fictional "beings" can't do anything outside of their books/tv/whatever. BUT... imagine if he did. Wouldn't it look a little something like... this:

Eh? Eh?

Okay. I have to clue you in. I recently went out to dinner with one of my bffs Sara and we spent at least twenty minutes debating what sort of secret, mundane activity the Dark Lord does in his spare time after we reminiced about the depiction of Edward Cullen in Growing Up Cullens* and settled on the moste anciente and noble art of scrapbooking.

Do you think Voldemort scrapbooks (or in this case, Scrapblogs)? No? What do you think he does? How about another kid/ya lit character? What are the secret lives of fictional beings?

*If you've never read Growing Up Cullens, get on that. You think you know Twilight, but you have no idea. That is the diary of their awesome lives.

Poetry Friday

Since I'm nursing a "I was too proactive with my blog this weekend" hangover resulting in epic blog laziness, I felt it appropriate to use a villanelle I wrote about the subject (since I was also too lazy to write a new poem).

[ ]

Walking is tough, but moving is profane.

Why stir when there’s so much sitting to do?

Hell, I’m too lazy to make a second refrain.

I don’t defend myself much, it’s not worth the pain

Of opening my jaw only to argue:

Talking is tough, but moving is profane.

I plop down more than pigeons spew white rain

For laying down feels better than sex used to.

Hell, I’m too lazy to make a second refrain.

I had a crush once, he had some sexy brains;

But he never called and I was never one to woo:

Stalking is tough, but moving is profane.

I once watched a three hour infomercial for Rogaine

Since a two-cushion-remote-stretch was too much ado.

Hell, I’m too lazy to make a second refrain.

I look upon marathons with utmost disdain,

For why run when there’s so much sitting to do?

Walking is tough, but moving is profane.

Hell, I’m too lazy to make a second refrain.

Oh sugar snap!

This exists. It's moments like these that I wish I had minions so I could demand this hat at once!

National DeLurking Week

I caught up on my Mother Reader this weekend as part of Bloggiesta and I'm quite glad I did. How else would I have known that this week is National Delurking Week!?! How will I ever find all the time to comment on the blogs I lurk about on? Oh. Right. Mother Reader has been kicking butt all over the place by encouraging people to comment more on others' blogs as part of Comment Challenge 2010. Phewwww.

In honor of National Delurking Week I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I lurk too. Here are some of my favorite blogs to lurk about on. Enjoy!

***

Ruffles and Stuff -- A fantastically crafty stay-at-home mom that posts tons of great jewelry and sewing tutorials. She makes me wish I was her toddler with all the adorable outfits and accessories she makes for her.

Bakerella -- I love mini things. I love beautifully crafted baked goods. Therefore, I love^2 Bakella and you will too!

The Food Librarian -- I just discovered the Food Librarian this weekend but omfg am I in heaven! A vast array of different foods are demonstrated, including various jello molds.

Miss Erin -- A true YA blogging delight.

Craftzine -- There are no words. Just click.

Super Punch -- A lot of my offbeat book-related stuff comes from here and a whole bunch of awesome art. Not to mention all of the super cool things I don't share with you all because it doesn't really fit with my blog, but is nonetheless awesome.

Bloggiesta Finale

I am a very tired blogger. I'm glad Bloggiesta distracted me from being sick, but I am ready to go to bed now and not look at my blog for a day or two. Glad I made some back up posts today so I can just post them in under a minute. Between Saturday and Sunday I spent a total of 12 hours and 40 minutes blogging in some fashion or another. ::Phew!::

Before looking at the not-entirely-finished goals I set out to accomplish, I wanted to point out a few things I did that were not on my list.

• I created an image for my 10 for 2010 posts
• Decided I definitely wanted to include recipes in 2010 and found a slew of 11 baking/cooking blogs worth adding to the blog roll.
• Organized my Google Reader (which is never under 600 unread posts and yet it is close to 200... go me!)

And to send it off, here's my to-do list in all it's uncompleted glory:

• Start a Google Notebook dedicated just to my blog.
• Pick through my starred/shared items on my reader to get all those "sort through later" items and put them into some sort of order on my newly made Notebook.
• Do the same thing with some of my favorited items from Stumble Upon (realistically the craft and cooking tags). ::please hold while I laugh and look at the ridiculous number of favorites I have on Stumble Upon:: Not happening.
• Make another 10 for 2010 post.
• Make back-up 10 for 2010 posts for a rainy day.
• Email an author for an interview we discussed a month ago.
• Set up the reviews templates for five books.
• Actually review one of the books I've had sitting next to my computer begging in a creaky voice, "Revieeew me."
• Participate in Comments Challenge 2010 over at Mother Reader.
• Lastly, make a business card for this little dude for networking.

10 for 2010: Craftiness Explosion!

Here are some of the best links that were gathering virtual dust in my Google Reader. I've hand picked ones that I believe will work in most public library settings.

1. This one is practically cheating. The Long Thread collected the Top 100 Craft Tutorials of 2009. Whether you're more interested in mastering your technique before trying out some crafts at your library or looking for the next big purse tutorial sure to win your teens over, this list is surely going to have something for you. (Thanks to Craftzine for the link!)
2. I don't personally have a knitting club for my teens because I'm quite abysmal really, but I dream of one day having one. If you share this dream or already have one this ThreadBanger video featured on Craftzine detailing how to make a styling and easy crochet headband will be a welcome winter treat!
3. If your library is anything like mine, you have all your spring plans in place already. Why not start thinking summer thoughts then? This watermelon soap tutorial from Candle Tech's blog is an interesting twist on the handmade soap program. (Thanks to Cut Out + Keep for the link!)
4. Whitney of Youth Services Corner has just the right solution for the overgrown weeded book pile. Who doesn't need an awesome book clock?
5. Looking for an easy way to push Lewis Carroll's Alice stories before Tim Burton's movie debuts in March? Why not make up a display of the books with these Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum paper toys as the perfect compliment? Thanks for that, Toy a Day!
6. FREEZE! Don't forget to check out these t-shirts created by Craftster user fluffypants from freezer paper stencils! Check out this step-by-step tutorial for more information on how to create these excellent customized shirts.
7. Still Dottie is one of my favorite fashion bloggers. Check out her tutorial on how to embellish plain t-shirts with glitz and glam...
8. ...and without.
9. These leg warmer spats are easy peasy and if you don't want to try them out with your teens, you might want to try them out for yourself. Just sayin' Oh Craftster, you are the best!
10. Last one! Since I'm jealous of anyone that has a teen knitting club, I'm going to live vicariously through you guys until I get one of my own. Here's a star crochet pattern found (but of course) on Craftster.

BONUS JONAS: Shrink jewelry is a fun one to make for yourself or with the teens. Since this involves selecting images in advance I'm not sure how well it will work with teens, but this tutorial was too awesome to pass up. Enjoy! (Thanks Threadbanger for the link!)

First things First

Before even starting on the tasks I assigned myself, I set aside some time to browse through the mini-challenges happening this weekend for Bloggiesta. While many of them seemed like it would add even more work and would make completing my to-do list that much harder, one seemed like it was the best place to start this whole weekend. That's probably the reason why Natasha listed it as the first mini-challenge on her starting gate post for Bloggiesta.

I'm talking about Rebecca of The Book Lady's Blog encouraging participants to set blog goals for 2010. I was planning on just keeping the goals in my notebook so I can visit it periodically throughout the year, but Rebecca's right. There IS "nothing quite like publicly committing to something to motivate you to do it."

Without further ado, the goals of Purple Polka in the year 2010:

• Complete at least one 10 for 2010 post a month.
• Create graphic headers for regularly featured posts.
• Sweep through my starred items in my Google Reader once a month and put together links in my notebook for ease of use.

Only three to start, but I don't want to overwhelm myself and then not do any of them. How about you? What are your blogging goals this year? Check out Rebecca's post for inspiration if you don't have a clue as to where to start. It sure helped me!

Bloggiesta: Digital housekeeping style

Hola! This is my starting post for this weekend's Bloggiesta. I'm very excited for the timing of this challenge as I'm stuck home sick/bored today and now I have something to keep my mind off that. YAY!

Maw Books Blog is hosting the second annual Bloggiesta in which participants are encouraged to work on all those things they put off in regards to their blog. I've made up a little to-do list and hope to accomplish all of the items during the duration of the event. Which, by the way, runs from yesterday until Sunday, January 10th. This leaves me with only two days, folks (eep!)

To the to-do list, Batman!

• Start a Google Notebook dedicated just to my blog.
• Pick through my starred/shared items on my reader to get all those "sort through later" items and put them into some sort of order on my newly made Notebook.
• Do the same thing with some of my favorited items from Stumble Upon (realistically the craft and cooking tags).
• Make another 10 for 2010 post.
• Make back-up 10 for 2010 posts for a rainy day.
• Email an author for an interview we discussed a month ago.
• Set up the reviews templates for five books.
• Actually review one of the books I've had sitting next to my computer begging in a creaky voice, "Revieeew me."
• Participate in Comments Challenge 2010 over at Mother Reader.
• Lastly, make a business card for this little dude for networking.

Thank you Abby (the) Librarian for your posting on both Bloggiesta and Comments Challenge 2010!! You = blog lifesaver frillz.

BONUS JONAS: I have techno/trance on my computer for those moods that occur 0.001% of them time that remind me that I like this type of music. Mostly it gets ignored, but I was furiously typing my to-do list up and didn't want to stop and found that I actually got really into typing and thinking of other ways to challenge myself this weekend as a result.

Long story short: If you find that you don't have blogging motivation, slap some electronic beats on and let the repetitive, driving bass-line will be your guide.

Poetry Friday

I don't oft participate in Poetry Friday despite my love of poetry (both reading and creating). It's odd, really, considering my blog is actually named after a poem I wrote in college. I couldn't think of a proper blog name and it reminded me of the poem and I opted to use "Purple Polka" until a more fitting title struck me and as the months go by and the posts go up I can still think of no better name.

So, Purple Polka, this one's for you--

that which we call purple
by any other name would not cling to my walls
in such exuberant purplocity if my walls be coated
by the likes of Lilac Bouquet or Touch Of Violet.
‘twould be far too light, but not nearly as odd
as perhaps the dried renditions of Veronica’s Sash
( for i’ve not the faintest knowledge of this Veronica, nor
why one would desire to drape her ribbon ‘bout their study).
and while the word may lurk in Mystic Purple’s moniker,
‘tis far too airy to comprise a Proper Purple.

paint brush i implore you to shroud my halls–
Purple Polka take my walls.

Get ready to "Read for your Life"

Many have been buzzing about the changing of guards for the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for some time now (Fuse #8, Mother Reader and A Year of Reading among them). While some people leaked the information on the interwebz last night (I'm looking at you NYTimes!), Katherine Patterson was officially named the 2nd National Ambassador for Young People's Literature this morning.

First and foremost, congratulations! Not only to Ms. Patterson, but to everyone who had a hand in selecting her because you did a phenomenal job. I had the pleasure of hearing her speak at the Baker and Taylor CATS Publisher preview this past November and she was delightful and showed that she will do much more than step up to the plate.

Jon Scieszka spent his time as Ambassador promoting the love of reading and motivating reluctant readers to enjoy reading. What will Katherine Patterson do? She has already started her Ambassadorial duties declaring that "Read for your Life" is going to be her driving force. What this entails we will find out in more detail in the coming weeks. If her time prior to receiving this honor is anything to go by, it can only be good for young people's literature. Shelf Talker has written up a fabulous summary of Ms. Patterson's numerous qualifications for the post and links to the aforementioned NYTimes article that is definitely work checking out for a more detailed look at Ms. Patterson's accomplishments.

10 for 2010: Favorite Programs of 2009

Not one for end of the year lists, I thought I would instead come up with a few for the new year. For the very first list (not to mention my first post of the new year) I thought I would start off with a reflection of my favorite 2009 programs. I know what you're thinking, isn't that just an end of the year list a few days late? Probably, but I like thinking about what worked best last year when developing ideas for the coming year so to me it's a start of the year process.

Below are some of my favorites linking (if available) flyers with more information, and blogs that inspired the program or ones that contain similar information:

1. Bento Boxes! -- The teens ate this up (literally--yuck yuck yuck). I found Lunch in a Box to be so helpful that I even printed out the page on gap filling for the teens to take home.
2. Fashion Forward -- One of the ways I battled a depleted budget was to harass convince my friend Christina to talk about her time at Fashion Institute of Technology and her post-graduation job working with Ralph Lauren.
3. Jam Session -- Recycling records into bowls was a smash hit. Halfway through we started sending off the records by playing a track from the album on YouTube as it melted in the oven.
4. When Zombies Attack! -- This one was yet another product of harassing convincing my friends to help out the library. I harassed encouraged her to combine her love of zombies with her theater training to create a most excellent interactive presentation.
5. Gift Workshop * -- This was an epic two parter. At the first workshop we had three projects going on: 1) Everyone turned Delias catalog pages into star-shaped gift bows and then either 2) made duct tape wallets or 3) decoupage magazine pieces onto little boxes.
6. Gift Workshop (2) -- At the second gift workshop we converted old CD cases into frames.
7. TAG -- Working directly with my Teen Action Group has been some of the most rewarding time I spent this year. I blogged back in November detailing a fun activity we did.
8. Writing Festival -- More harassment (oh whatever, we all know it was harassment at this point) on my behalf where I gathered some of my favorite writers to host stations and go over manga, fan fiction and a really awesome haiku game I learned in high school.
9. Rock Band -- I inherited a fabulous gaming program at my library featuring head-to-head tournament play. It was nice taking a break from that and watching everyone just playing instruments.
10. Candy Sushi -- This summer my Teen Cafe regulars rolled out some Rice Kristipie treats and Swedish Fish to some delicious results. Definitely revisiting this one in the next few years.

Leave some of your best 2009 programs in the comments!

* Sorry for the head tilt! Towards the end of the year I switched to vertical signage to be able to advertise more programs. It prints lovely, but is a bit annoying when looking at on the screen.