Barbie Party

After the worst winter on record (10 snow days and it's not spring yet!), I think I'm starting to go a little batty.  It's like I don't even remember what it feels like to go outside and not shiver.  The ground in Kalamazoo has been consistently snow-covered since December 9.  It's March 15.  So really, it should be completely understandable that I have started doing some crazy things.  It's because I'm going a little crazy.

Last week, I realized that it had been a while since I'd had a good girls' night.  Every girl needs a girls' night once in a while, just like every guy needs to do man things like hunt and change the oil on his trucks.  (Excuse the extreme sexism in that comment.  I'm going crazy, remember?)  So anyway, I was thinking about throwing a girls' night, and I stumbled upon a news article that said this week marks the 55th anniversary of the first Barbie doll's release.  Wow!  How cool!  Obviously that was a great choice for a girls' night theme - Happy Birthday to Barbie.

I sent out some invitations, and my girlfriends and I got together last night to celebrate Barbie's birthday.  It was a ton of fun.  Each girl brought a Barbie (or a Barbie-themed item) to donate to kids at the Gospel Mission, so actually this party did something good for society in addition to just being a lot of fun.  Two-for-one party!  Rex was in charge of decorations - he had entirely too much fun with the pink streamers.  He left before the guests arrived, though, because it was a girls-only event.  He begged and begged to stay and play Barbie games with us, but I had to remain firm and just told him that no, he wasn't invited.

Okay, I actually made up that last part.  He definitely didn't want to stay, citing the "estrogen-rich" environment I was creating.  He really did set up the streamers, though!

The games we played were Barbie trivia (did you know Barbie has had eighty careers and has been represented in forty-five nationalities?) and a Barbie fashion show game, where teams had to dress a Barbie mermaid (the dollar store didn't have normal Barbies) in clothes made entirely out of construction paper.  Then we texted pictures of the outfits to my dad for judging.  Unlike Rex, my dad actually did want to come to the party, ha ha.  If you know my dad, you know I'm telling the truth.  This was our way of including him.

As a joke, I projected the Barbie Dream House television show on my wall so that when people walked in, they were greeted with five foot tall Barbies dancing around.  I found it on Netflix.  We actually ended up watching this show for a little while because...it's hilarious.  If you have Netflix, go watch it.  It makes no sense.  Barbie's horse plays the piano, her evil closet will lock her inside if she's not fashionable enough, and she unpacks her entire house out of a suitcase.  It's really something.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the night.  Thanks to everyone who came!

This was the wall where we projected the Barbie movie (as well as Miss Congeniality later in the night).  Having a projector to use whenever I want is a definite teacher perk.

This is the outfit Sara and I created.

This is the outfit Beth and Jula created.  My dad said it looked like she was about to serve egg rolls, ha ha.

This is the outfit that Charissa and Sarah created.  I especially like the added touch of the pet rabbit (even though she's totally strangling it).

Here's the back of that dress - so cool!

Here is the cake I baked.  I was pretty proud of it.  You can't see it from the picture, but the pink frosting is actually make with edible glitter.  It was sparkly.  So girly and fabulous.

Here are the awesome ladies who came!  (We took turns taking the picture).  Sara (no H) isn't pictured because she had to come late.  What a good-looking group!

   It was a  fun night with a weird-yet-awesome party theme.  I had a good time with it.  If you think I'm nuts, blame it on the weather and not on the fact that I secretly never outgrew Barbie dolls...even though that may or may not be true. ;-)

My Day as a Rock Star

Today I was a "guest author" at a Young Author's Day in Grand Haven.  It was so much fun!  I don't really have anything witty or funny to say in this post, but I need to post it anyway so that when I'm having a bad day and thinking I'm a total loser, I can come back to this post and remember that I'm not.

I knew the day was going to be fun as soon as I walked into the school where it was held.  I was literally four steps through the door when a girl came up to me and said, "Aren't you the author of The Elsie Files?"  Yes...  Her mom wanted to know how she knew me, and the girl said, "Her picture's on the back of her book, so I recognized her!"  Whoa - I'm recognizable by a random kid?  Add 5 cool points to whatever my score was before today.  Another girl came up and nervously asked if she could take my picture, like I was a Disneyland character or something.  I mean...okay, yes you can take my picture.  Your parents are going to wonder who the heck I am, though.

Unbeknownst to me, many of the teachers at this school had done novel studies of my book before I came to speak to the kids.  Therefore the kids didn't know that my book is a random obscure children's novel that hasn't even sold 1,000 copies.  To them, I may as well have been J.K. Rowling.  They thought I was so cool.  When the principal announced me, they cheered like crazy.  It was among the weirdest experiences of my life (but still really awesome!).  Like, wait, you're cheering for me?  Is Justin Bieber standing behind me or something?  No?  Oh, then that must really be for me.  Strange.

I had been so nervous about my presentation, but the kids were so amped that I probably could have just stood up there and answered questions the whole time and they wouldn't have cared.  They were so into it.  There's a picture of Elvis in my presentation, and as soon as it was put up one of the kids said, "Hey!  That's your dog Elvis!"  I cannot adequately convey the simultaneous creepiness and awesomeness of the fact that the kids already knew my dog's name.  And my husband's name.  And my rats' names.  One kid thought my husband was secretly Justin Verlander (the pitcher for the Detroit Tigers), but I unfortunately had to bust his conspiracy theory.

The teachers were so appreciative of my being there, too.  When I arrived in the morning they had a breakfast set out for me (WHAT?)  and a reusable tote gift bag full of goodies to welcome me to their school and to say thanks for coming.  Mind you, I was already getting paid to be there, so none of this was necessary!  They were so kind!  One teacher had her class do book reports on my book in the weeks leading up to this, and they bound them in a beautiful binder to give me as a gift to say thanks for coming.  You basically NEED to see what these third graders thought of Elsie (and how they illustrated my book).  It's fabulous.  That binder is definitely going in the "keep forever" pile.

Probably my favorite part of the day, though, was after the presentation, after meeting the kids, and after my book signing.  Just as I was about to start packing up, this shy kid came up to my table.  He was holding a copy of my book, and I could tell he was nervous.  I said hi and smiled at him to try to make him feel better, and this is what he said to me:

"Hi...ummm...  I just want to meet you, and...ummm....  I just wanted to know that, um, your book is my favorite book that I ever read in my whole life."

Melt. My. Heart.

If I die tomorrow, I still feel like my life was a success because I wrote a kid's favorite book.  That's a pretty cool thing.  So what if he was, like, eight and he'll probably choose a new favorite book next week?  I don't care.  I could tell that he really meant what he said to me. I helped a kid like reading a little better because of something I wrote.  That feeling is seriously priceless.

Basically, it was a really good day.  When I feel like I'm a total loser and wasting my life, I need to remember how I felt today and know that I actually made a difference somewhere, even if was just to make a couple hundred kids in my Grand Haven fan club feel excited about reading.  :-)

Blogmopolitan Quiz

My friend Elle just sent me a "Blogmopolitan Quiz."  It's basically like those chain e-mails from junior high that were like "do you choose Coke or Pepsi?" or "vanilla or chocolate?" and everyone loved filling them out about themselves and declaring to the world their love for "roses or daisies."  As if anyone actually cared.  Alas, I was in junior high.  I don't think anyone should be held accountable for things they did between the ages of 10 and 13.

But, for nostagia's sake, I'm going to fill out this Blogmopolitan Quiz.  Enjoy, and feel free to fill it out yourself if you're a blogger too!

NAME: Christine Webb

BUT I WISH MY NAME WAS: Hazel, because then my name growing up would have been "Hazel Knasel."

MY BIGGEST PET PEEVE IS:  Poor grammar.  But don't worry, I only correct my students and my husband.  I think people who randomly correct other people are tacky.

THE FIRST THING I DO WHEN I WAKE UP IS: Hit the snooze button a bunch of times, then jump out of bed and think, "CRAP!  I'm late again!"

I LOVE THE FACT THAT: Michigan State won the Rose Bowl this year.  Also that Rex graduates in less than three months.

IF THE WORLD ENDED TOMORROW I WOULD:  Try to tell a lot of people about Jesus tonight.

I WOULD MARRY/DID MARRY THE FIRST MAN WHO: Didn't get freaked out that my dad was cleaning his guns when he came over.

TO LIVE FULLY IS TO: Love what you do.

IT'S BEEN A BIG CHALLENGE: To support Rex through school for the past four years.

I WILL KISS YOU IF:  Your name is Rex Lee Webb II.  Or if you're less than a year old and just too adorable to resist.  Or if you're a puppy of any kind.

I WILL CUT YOU IF: You're choking and need an emergency tracheotomy.

IF NO ONE WOULD EVER FIND OUT, I WOULD: Be in that play that my school said I can't be in because there's a show on Sunday.

MY BEST FRIEND IS: Rexo.

I DESPISE: Comma errors.  Also mushrooms.

I'D BE ONE HAPPY CAMPER IF:  Scholastic would buy my book.

MY FAVORITE FOOD WOULD BE SOMETHING: Either Mexican or Italian.  Possibly both.  Has anyone fully investigated the idea of a spaghetti taco?

I STARTED BLOGGING BECAUSE:  Ummm...whoa.  I actually have no idea.  Let me go back to my first post ever and check. 

*checking...*

Okay.  I apparently started because I was in college and was bored.  You can read my first-ever blog post HERE).  That was over four years ago.  Wow.

So there you have it, friends.  My Blogmopolitan Quiz.  Now you know everything you ever wanted to know about me.  In case there's something I didn't cover, leave any further questions in the comment box, and I will get to them in my next post.  Thanks for being loyal readers - especially those of you who have been reading for all four years.  Bravo.  You win the "best friend ever" awards.