Brentwood Library Internship Week Ten

On Monday, I was scared out of my mind because that was the day that I was supposed to do my story time. I felt really prepared and I had even cut out Dingle Dangle Scarecrow, which was a song that was making me really nervous because it wasn't really well-known. For the most part, I was just afraid of things going wrong, like forgetting the words to the songs or the kids not being entertained by what I had prepared. However, I got through it and I survived! There were a few rough patches when I was talking to the kids because I would say something and they just wouldn't reply at all. They absolutely adored the dragon craft idea, which I felt like saved the day.

Tuesday, I worked the desk and it was incredibly boring. There weren't very many people around the library, so I really did not have much to do. My supervisor was still on vacation, so I couldn't ask her if there were any little tasks for me to do. However, I was able to do a few things at the desk, like help people find books and check books out.

I went into the library on Wednesday almost relieved that it was my last day. The days working there had grown a little boring and I spent most of my time just working the desk. I started off the day working at the desk, but as the day went on, I found other things to occupy my time with. I did just little odd jobs around the library like putting books away, processing the new books into the system and weeding a few books.

This whole experience really opened my eyes to what it is like to work in a library. I knew that I would enjoy it, but I had no idea to what level I would enjoy it. There really wasn't much that I didn't like about working there. I loved all the little odd jobs there was to do and I loved helping the customers. This is definitely something that I will think about pursuing.

Brentwood Library Internship Week Nine

On Monday, I came into the library and I couldn't really find anybody to ask if there was anything that needed to be done in the department, so I just went to the back office again to work on things. The last thing for the Toddler Tub that I had to do was cut out the Old MacDonald figurines and tape them to popsicle sticks. Unfortunately, this took absolutely FOREVER because I am such a perfectionist and all of the cutting had to be just perfect. I eventually got them all done and they looked really good at the end.

Tuesday was a bit more eventful. I packaged up the felt figurines for the chick rhyme and the paper figurines for the Old Macdonald song. The Toddler Tub needed be sent out that day because someone from another branch had ordered it. The rest of the day, I was at the desk. At the children's department desk, there are two seats and at the seat on the left, there is a scanner and small receipt printer, so we can check out books. However, on Tuesday, the printer and the scanner were both occasionally not working. This was really a good thing, though, in hindsight because I just recently found out that after my story time on Monday, I will be the only staff person in the children's department.

Wednesday was very quiet, so I went into the back office and worked a bit on a job that my supervisor assigned me to. There is a story time closet in the back office with picture books, big books and music that are repeatedly used for story times. I had to make three lists of all of the items in the closet: one for the big books, one of the picture books, and one for the music. I did this in sections starting with the big books. I typed up each of the titles, alphabetized them, printed off the lists and taped them on the inside of the door. I wanted to alphabetize the items inside the closet as well, but my supervisor told me not to. After that job was done, I did some final touches on my story time. I needed to finalize some things for my craft: make sure the streamer strips were short enough so that they would blow around when the children blew in the back of the dragon, and I had to cut out little black squares for the dragon's nose. I had a small freak out about the story time, so I practiced reading the books.

Monday is the big day and I'm absolutely terrified! The songs are really what is making me feel really nervous, so I'll be practicing them this weekend and hopefully I can make it through this!

Toddler Tub Plan

One of my projects for this summer was to organize and put together what is called a Toddler Tub. These are back-up plans for when the original librarian that does story time can't be there and someone needs to fill in. They will pull out one of these tubs and use the plan for that morning's story time, instead of having to come up with a story time on the spot. There are certain items included in the tub already, so I really didn't have much work to do besides just choosing things. The only things I had to come up with by myself was the song and rhymes. The theme of this particular Toddler Tub was Farm Animals #1, so I thought the song and rhymes were pretty obvious.

Sing: Welcome song

Parental Aside: Racing to Read: Sing and Rhyme

Read: Who Took the Farmer’s Hat?

Song: Old MacDonald

Activity: Puppets

Give puppets to the children (or to the parents if the children cannot hold them) to use during the Old MacDonald song

Parental aside: This activity will help the children associate words with the proper figures.

Read: This Little Chick

Rhyme: Mary Had a Little Lamb

Mary had a little lamb,
its fleece was white as snow;
And everywhere that Mary went,
the lamb was sure to go. It followed her to school one day,
which was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play,
to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
but still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
till Mary did appear.
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
the eager children cry;
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know",
the teacher did reply.

Read: Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type

Activity: “This Little Chick Felt Board Rhyme”

This little chick is black.

She stands in the barnyard on a big haystack.

This little chick is brown.

She is feeling sad and wearing a frown.

This little chick is yellow.

She’s friends with the rooster; he’s a handsome fellow.

This little chick is white.

She dances and plays, oh what a sight.

This little chick is purple.

She spends her day running around in a circle.

This little chick is green.

She is the prettiest chick I’ve ever seen.

This little chick is blue.

She lays eggs for me and you.

This little chick is pink.

She goes down to the pond to get a drink.

All of these chicks live at the farm,

Out in the big red barn.

After naming the color, put the correct colored chick (or the barn) up on the felt board.

Parental aside: This activity will help the children associate the proper colors with the proper words.

Sing: Goodbye song

Story Time Plan

This is my story time plan and I am extremely nervous about it. I think the main thing I'm worried about is having to sing in front of people because it's really not something I'm comfortable doing. With this branch's story time, they usually pick a theme and for mine, I picked imagination because I feel like that is one of the most important things a person can develop.

Song: If You're Happy and You Know It
I chose this song to start off because it was something that would get the kids up and moving.

Parental Aside: Racing to Read: Love Books
The Racing to Read system allows the parents to understand what the child will be getting from each activity in the story times. There are five traits of Racing to Read: tell stories, love books, sing and rhyme, talk and read, and play with letters. I thought that Love Books was the most accurate to my story time.

Read: Pretend
Pretend is a book about a father and son that pretend their couch is a raft that leads them to a deserted island. Another book where imagination comes into play!  

Song: I’m a Little Teapot
This song went right along with my theme and it's a very common song during the story times, so the children will know it.

Read: Where the Wild Things Are
In this book, Max imagines a different world with different creatures, where he is the king. It seemed perfect for my theme!

Song: Dingle Dangle Scarecrow
This is a somewhat less known song, so I'm a little concerned about it. I will have to write the words up on a large piece of paper and display it where the parents and children will be able to see it. I found a dance that goes along with this song, so it will definitely keep the children entertained. I'm a bit nervous about this one, since the children will probably not know it and I'll have to be dancing and singing by myself.

Read: There’s a Wocket in my Pocket!
With the theme I chose, I know I just had to pick a book written by Dr. Seuss. This one is a particularly short book because I was advised against choosing a book that was very long.

Song: Grand Ol’ Duke of York
The Grand Ol' Duke of York was another song that was slightly well-known and that also had a slight theme of imagination. It's about the Duke of York that is marching with his men, so I will have the children march in place with me.

Activity: Dragon craft
My supervisor, Charity, was so excited when I found this craft! She is convinced that the children will love it and that's giving me a little bit of confidence. It really promotes imagination because by blowing through the back of the dragon's head, the colored streamers will flow, so they can all pretend they're dragons!

Song: The More We Get Together
I chose this song because it sort of has an ending feel to it and I thought it would be perfect to end the story time. I'm a little excited for this because it is a rather common song in this branch and it is always done with sign language!

Brentwood Library Internship Week Eight

On Monday, I did the usual helping with the story times, but we were a little short that day, so instead of sitting in to watch the story times, I returned out to the main children's department and watched over the desk. Being on the desk really doesn't make me nervous, like it did towards the beginning of the internship. I've grown accustomed to dealing with the public, whether it's helping them to find a book or handing out the prizes to the kids for the summer reading program. I actually really look forward to it now!

Tuesday was much more low-key. There were two librarians sitting at the desk, so I went back into the office to work on the remaining Toddler Tub plan. All I had left to do was print out the pictures for the Old MacDonald activity, cut them out and tape them to popsicle sticks for the children to hold while they sing the song. However, this was much more difficult than I thought it was going to, so it took me the rest of the day to print them off. There was some sort of miscommunication between the computer and the printer because every time I tried to print something out, it would expand the image so that it was the full page. No matter what I did, this kept happening. So after finding some help from my supervisor, I found just how useful Microsoft Word is when trying to resize images.

I was so very stressed about Wednesday because this was when the children's department's Olympics took place. I was in charge of setting up because I got there at ten, my supervisor wasn't planned to start until 12:30 and the Olympics started at 2:00. One thing that made me so stressed about this was there was a group in the meeting room, where the majority of the events were taking place, from 11:00 to 1:30. So, between 10:00 and 11:00, I got as much set up as I possibly could, while not getting anything in the way for the group that would be in the meeting room. I was in charge of the kids aged kindergarten to second grade and this was another reason I was so nervous; I'd never been in charge of kids or even really interacted with them before.

I had to come up with two events for my group and I wish I had picked simpler events because I felt like my part was a complete disaster. For the physical event, I picked a game where the kids had to put a clothes pin under their chin and drop it into a cup. Whoever got five in a cup first was the winner. There were a lot more kids in my group than I had originally planned on, so it felt really disorganized and scattered. The second game that I picked was a mind game called Big and Little. The kids were supposed to sit in a circle and one person had to say "Big" or "Little," but if they said "Big," they would have to make a little motion with their hands and arms, but if they said "Little," they would have to make a big motion with their hands and arms, and then pass it off to someone else in the circle. If they got it wrong, then they were out. Well, this was a disaster because I had to explain the game several times, but they still did not understand the concept.

After the game was over, the kids went on a little parade with medals and flags through the library, then returned to the meeting room for a cup of water and a popsicle.

Brentwood Library Internship Week Seven

Monday was not a very busy day, so I really didn't have all that much to do. Just as with every Monday, I helped the librarian set up and get prepared for the Monday morning story time. My supervisor had gone on a trip over the weekend and she missed her flight, so the branch manager had to do both the baby story time and the toddler story time. The only things I had to do were set up the carpet squares, where the children would sit and retrieve some things from the craft closet. After that was finished, I went to the back office to work on my story time once again. By the time the day was over, I had decided specifically which books I am going to read, I found dances that would go along with the songs I will be singing in between the books, and which songs will be my opening and closing songs. 

Tuesday was an incredibly busy day, which I was very happy about. The first thing I had to do was process the new books that had arrived at the library. To do this, I have to put "new" stickers on the spine of the books, then write down the month and the year that it was processed into the library. After that, I had to go into the computer and change the books' location to Brentwood Children's New. Then when all that was done, I had to go put the books away. After that, I had to do the opposite of what I had just done. I went around the children's New Books sections and gathered the ones that were older than October. I removed the 'new' stickers from the spine, then changed the location of the books in the computer from Brentwood Children's New to the proper location, then I put them away. I actually had to deal with a rather difficult patron on Tuesday. She gave me a long list of books that her child needed to read for school. The problem was that she walked away when I needed her library card, but thankfully, my supervisor helped me. This was my first experience using Mobius, which is a system that allows the public libraries to borrow books from university libraries in the area. Once that was completed, my supervisor took me on an outreach visit with her. This one was to the Westminster Church day care. She just performed a story time and she said rhymes, sang songs, and read a few books. 

Wednesday was an extremely slow day, so I went to the back to the office once again and began working on my craft for my story time. All that I had to do was glue the green sheets of paper into cylinders. Then for the rest of the day, I began researching events that I will have the kids grades kindergarten through second grade do in the library Olympics. I still have not made a final decision on that, though. 

Brentwood Library Internship Week Six

On Monday, I did the usual preparation for the baby story time and the toddler story time. This week there really wasn’t much to do, so I just laid out the carpet squares where the kids would sit. When I was done with that, I was able to get in some desk time. Monday mornings can be rather busy, so I spent a lot of time giving out prizes for the summer reading contest, helping people find books, and answering other questions.

On Tuesday, I worked all day in reference. I really enjoyed this because there was always something interesting to do. My day started off with a list of adult fantasy books that were to be pulled off the shelves and weeded, which means these particular books were to be taken out of circulation because they haven’t been checked out in at least a year. These books will then be given to the annual book sale. After I pulled them from the shelves, I had to go into the computer and remove the titles from the system. When I was finished with that, I had to do some shifting, which pretty much means making the shelves neater looking. I had to make sure that the shelves were 3/4  full and no more. Then, I was given a list of non-fiction books to weed through and remove from the computers.

Wednesday was a very slow day, so I went into the back office to work on story time. For the farm animals toddler tub, I have included a poem about a barn and different colored chicks using felt figures on a felt board. My supervisor got me the different colored felt I needed for this activity, so I cut out chicks in white, pink, green, purple, black, blue, brown and yellow, then I cut out a red barn from the felt. For my own story time, I will be doing a dragon craft, so I spent the rest of the time gluing googly eyes to cotton balls. 

Brentwood Library Internship Week Five

On Monday, I helped set up both the baby story time and the toddler story time. This week, the baby story time was mostly set around sound, so all I had to do was organize the carpet squares for the children to sit on and set out some things that make sound, like eggs full of sand and wooden hoops for them to bang together. After that was over, I picked up all of the sound items and helped to prepare for the toddler story time. For this story time, the theme was “big” and the craft idea was to have large pieces of paper for the children to lie on and draw.  So it was my job to cut pieces of butcher paper that were about four feet long and tape two together, so that there were large squares on which the children could draw. After that, I was able to have a little desk time, which I think I am getting better at. For the first couple of weeks, being on the desk made me really nervous, but I’m starting to learn where everything is and it isn’t as intimidating anymore. The only downside was that I did have to deal with a particularly impatient patron on this day.

Tuesday was a very quiet day, so my supervisor, Charity, sent me to the back office to work on my story time and my toddler tub idea. I finally finished my Farm Animals #1 toddler tub. I wrote up the directions for this particular toddler tub and all I have to do now is post it up on the main library website.

Wednesday was a really fun day! I spent the entire day up in circulation and there was always something to do. The first thing I had to do was organize the books on the checked-in shelves, so that the pages would be able to put them back on the shelves more efficiently.  Next, I was set to work on checking in books that were slid through the return slots, and with that, I had to put a slip in the items when they had a hold on them. After lunch, the delivery man arrived with all of the items that had been ordered from other libraries for our patrons. When all of the items were on carts, it was my job to check everything in, insert a slip with the patron’s name that ordered it, and put them back on the cart in alphabetical order.

Brentwood Library Internship Week Four

On Tuesday, I spent the day finalizing my craft idea for my story time that will happen in August.  Originally, I had this craft that is made out of several toilet paper tubes, but the site I found did not give specific directions, and neither my supervisor nor I could figure out how to do it. So, I continued searching for a craft that was somewhat like it and I found this one. What I really liked about this particular craft is that children can blow through the back of it, causing the streamers to go up, which would look like the dragon is blowing fire. I liked this because it will go with my story time’s theme of imagination. 

On Thursday, I focused on my toddler tub. The subject of this particular toddler tub is Farm Animals #1. This is much simpler than coming up with your very own story time because there are already books and activities in the tub. The only things I need to do are come up with a few songs and write up the directions for the other library branches. However, when my supervisor looked in the tub, she didn’t like some of the activities because they were poorly made.

On Friday, I mostly focused on trying to complete the Farm Animals #1 toddler tub. I had to find pictures to go along with the Old MacDonald song. There were cut out pictures taped to popsicle sticks already in the tub, but they were not very nice looking. After I picked out some pictures for that, I found a cute little rhyme about colors and chicks that used the felt board. So the next thing I had to do was find some felt and cut out some chick figures. I was only able to find several of the colors needed, though. Next, I was able to spend some time on the desk and I helped my supervisor sterilize some of the toys and exchange them out for new ones. 

Brentwood Library Internship Week Three

There are two story times every Monday morning at 9:00 and 10:00, so I observed story times this week as well. This Monday, was a much more normal story time session than last week, as we had power the whole time. I got to see a different version of the baby story time because someone else was performing it. After the story times were over, I returned to the back office and continued working on my story time plan. The theme I chose was ‘imagination’ and I chose to read books such as Where the Wild Things Are and Harold and the Purple Crayon. I found a few songs that would be suitable for the theme. My next job was to pick out one of the Toddler Tubs and figure out a craft and/or snack along with a few songs to sing in between the stories. The tub I picked was called Farm Animals #1 and inside were several stories involving farm animals, mostly about chickens and cows. Before leaving for the day, Charity sat me down and we discussed my July schedule, which we decided would be Monday and Tuesday from 8:30 - 1:30 and Wednesday from 10:00-3:00. 

The next day I worked was Thursday, which tends to be a very quiet day. My supervisor did not have much for me to do, so I went back into the office once again and continued working on my story time and Toddler Tubs plans. My story time is nearly completed. I have a large list of books, so I just need to narrow it down to a few to read and about ten more to put up on display in the story time area. Also, I need to decide on a craft that would be age appropriate for the children to do. Later in the day, there was only one person working at the desk, so I was able to get some desk time. Since it was such a quiet day, not many people needed help. However, I was able to assist a few people in finding the books they needed. 

 On Friday, I went for a little field trip. The Brentwood Library and the Nature Center teamed up in this event. The theme at the library is Dream Big for the children's section, so the Nature Center developed this event in which the children could learn about night time animals. There were five different sections: story time, learning about echolocation, arts and crafts, dissecting owl pellets and learning about how fireflies communicate with each other. I was a helper in the arts and crafts section of the event and I helped the children make origami coyotes. 

Brentwood Library Internship Week Two

This was the day where I first observed the Monday story times. In these events, the librarians start off with an opening song, and then they progress to reading a picture book. Then there will usually be two or three more books and songs until the librarian moves onto a craft or snack.  The story times generally have a theme and they must have one of the Racing to Read qualities. The Racing to Read program is a program to get children more excited about read and has qualities like loving books, telling stories and learning letters.  This was a rather unique day because there was a terrible storm that caused the lights to go out in the library.   

             

   On Wednesday, I was able to attend a staff meeting. In this staff meeting, they discussed what they called reconsideration. This is when someone sends in a complaint about one of the items in the library, and then someone has to review it again. The woman in charge of this brought in some complaint sheets and passed them around, so I was able to see some of the complaints that people had about certain items. Most of the complaints were overruled. Next, the staff discussed building onto the library. The plan is to gather people’s stories to get possible donators emotionally attached to the library, so they will donate money. Lastly, the main maintenance man for the library system came in to talk about the air conditioning and heating problems in the Brentwood Library. For the rest of the time that day, I worked on story time plan. I set up in the back office and began researching themes, songs, books and crafts.

             

   Thursday was a very quiet day, so I dedicated all of my time to my story time plan. My supervisor, Charity, introduced me to something called Toddler Tubs. These are large, plastic tubs that have books and games inside to a certain theme.  These are pre-made story times that are kept in case someone who had been scheduled to perform a story time cannot do it. In this situation, one of the other librarians would get one of the Toddler Tubs out and use that for a story time. 

Brentwood Library Internship Week One

This week, I worked from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Tuesday was a fairly basic day. My supervisor, Kelley Johnson, started off with inviting me into her office and setting up a schedule for the month of June. Going into this, I thought I might be working five days a week for five hours a day. I was pleasantly surprised when Kelley said that she wanted me to work three days out of the week for five hours a day. By the end of the summer, I will have the 135 hours that I need.

Next, Kelley took me around the library and introduced me to everyone that I would be working with and showed me around the library. Hopefully, later in the summer, I will be able to get some experience in some of the other sections, like reference, teen, or circulation.

Kelley re-introduced me to the Dewey Decimal System. I had been aware of it before, but I never knew exactly how it was organized. I have a vague understanding of it now and I have a goal to memorize the different categories.

On Wednesday, I spent a lot of time behind the desk in the children’s section. Towards the beginning, I was really nervous because I was scared I would have to deal with an impatient person.  However, it went well and I helped several people find the books they were looking for.

Thursday was a particularly eventful day. When I first got there, Kelley wasn’t there, so I was assigned a job by the assistant children’s librarian, Charity. She assigned me to a weeding project. Weeding is the process the library goes through to sort out books that are either in very bad condition or that aren’t checked out very often.

There was a list that Charity gave me that listed all of the books in the children’s section. So, the first thing I had to do was go search for all of the books. I found the majority of the books, but some of them were checked out. 

For the next step, I had to enter the data into the computer. I had to find each of the books in the system and classify them as “unavailable.” Then, I had to stamp the physical books with a stamp that said,”No longer property of the Brentwood Library.” For the books that I did not find on the shelves, I had to go into the computer and put them on hold.

After I was done with that task, Kelley arrived and we went to the Daybreak Adult Day Care Center for an outreach program. I observed while Kelley read them three stories. 

Just a bit of color

Foundation, eye shadow, mascara, lipstick…blush. Blush can be an important part of everyone’s makeup routine. Sure, there are some that have natural cherries in their cheeks, but there will come a day when their face will be a bit paler than usual, due to being sick or not getting enough sleep the night before. I chose two brands of blush from my makeup arsenal to critique: Victoria's Secret and Avon. 

The Victoria’s Secret blush I used was from a makeup set including blush, eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, lip gloss, lip stick, foundation and bronzer, which was $32. However, Victoria’s Secret also offers all of these different kinds of makeup in separate packaging, which is only $7. The Victoria’s Secret Radiant Blush, which I obviously got from a Victoria’s Secret store, pleasantly surprised me. It came with a small, basic brush and it spread very evenly. Not only did it spread evenly, but a little goes a long way with this blush, which makes it last longer. It also came in a variety of colors, both sparkly and plain.

The basic Avon blush was the second brand that I tested out. I got this blush at the nearest Avon store for $8, and I must say that I was quite disappointed with the turn out. Not only was the selection very poor, but it frankly did not work very well at all. It goes into the creases of your skin and instead of hiding them, it accents them. Also, it did not spread evenly. The color was very clumpy and it did not blend with the skin very well. 

Slick, Shine, and Sparkles

There is lip balm, there is lip stick, but another addition to the lip beauty product family is lip gloss. This is for a bit of color to the lips, but is quite different from lip stick. This allows for a bit of a shine to the lips that lip stick and lip balm do not offer. However, finding a good lip gloss is a little more difficult than finding a good lip stick. A common problem with lip gloss is the wetness and stickiness that is left on the lips. This is especially a problem for those girls with long hair, for obvious reasons. 

Victoria's Secret Passion Lip Gloss

This lip gloss can obviously be found at Victoria's Secret, but it costs a whopping $12, which is a bit too much, even for very good product. This lip gloss is passable, but I would not recommend it to most people. It has a somewhat short applicator stick and the "brush" is very stiff, which makes me think they just stuck some fabric on the stick to make it look like the product had a brush. The gloss does not spread on smoothly and it get stuck in chunks and takes awhile to spread evenly on the lips. It stays wet for a very long time and gets stickier as time goes on. 

Maybelline Shine Sensational Treat Me Sweet Lip Gloss

I found this lip gloss in the make up section of a Walgreens for $6.99. I was very hesitant to get this product because I really cannot stand the applicators that are straight from the bottle. I much prefer to have some sort of brush, as it offers more control and helps in precision when applying the product. However, since Maybelline is a pretty good company, I thought I would give it a try. Well, now I know to go with my gut feeling. The second I removed the cap a sickly scent filled my nostrils. It was the scent of an incredibly sweet bubblegum and it was completely overpowering. I was able to push past the scent and I applied it to my lips, thinking that the smell might be worth it if the product was good. Again, I was wrong. It was incredibly sticky and it took forever to dry. My  hair got stuck in it and the product stayed in it until I was able to wash it out. 

Revlon Colorburst Orchid Lip Gloss

 

The Revlon Colorburst Orchid Lip Gloss is another treasure I found in the make up department in Walgreens for $7.49. I was highly impressed with this product. The color is very subtle and it gives you a slight shine without being too obnoxious about it. The applicator stick is very long and it has a soft brush at the end of it. Yes, an actual brush that moves along with the shape of your lips. The gloss dries without making your lips feel dried out and it gives you lips a natural looking shine. 

Victoria's Secret: 3/5

Maybelline: 1/5

Revlon: 5/5

Warning: Do Not Play at Night

      

Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy   

I have been a fan of the Nancy Drew book series ever since I was a child, but over the past few years, I have discovered the Nancy Drew computer game series. Her Interactive created this series in 1998 with Secrets Can Kill and there are currently 26 games in the series, with more to come. The company is going through the book series and making each story into a computer game. The Haunting of Castle Malloy is number 19 in the series.         

The game starts off at Nancy’s desk, where you find out that Nancy’s friend, Kyler Mallory, has her to be the maid of honor for her wedding. Kyler Mallory is a British girl around Nancy’s age (late teens, early twenties), who stayed with her in a study abroad program. The wedding is to take place in Ireland, as Kyler recently inherited Castle Malloy from her grandfather who had just passed away. Since Nancy has a love of travelling, she happily accepted the invitation.

However, once Nancy gets to the castle, she quickly gets run off the road by a strange white figure that moves across the road in front of her car. Then, to make matters worse, when she finally gets inside to talk to Kyler, she finds that Matt, the groom, has gone missing!

There is an eccentric group of characters that either help or hinder Nancy in her quest to find the missing groom:

Kyler Mallory – A girl around Nancy’s age who stayed with Nancy’s family a few years ago in an exchange student program. She recently became engaged to Matt Simmons and they are planning to have the wedding at the castle that Kyler inherited.

Matt Simmons - A freelance magazine columnist  and he is Kyler Mallory’s fiancé. He is known for his jokes and pranks. At the beginning of the game, Matt has gone missing and everyone has their own suspicion as to why.

Kit Foley - Matt's best friend and accomplice on sailing trips. He is an American, but his family moved to England when he was young, which was how he became friends with Matt. He is a land developer and he is in the castle to help prepare for the wedding.

Donal Delany - Castle Malloy's caretaker, who spends a surprising amount of time in the pub just down the street, The Screaming Banshee Inn. He is an expert in lore and the supernatural, so he is constantly telling Nancy of his suspicions as to what is going on.

Alan Paine - Matt's best man and co-worker. He plays a very small part in the game and Nancy can only talk to him through the phone.

Seamus - The owner of The Screaming Banshee Inn. He is never seen and only heard when Nancy is in the Screaming Banshee Inn.

Bess Marvin and George Fayne – Nancy’s two best friends, who are currently at a pool party back in the States. Nancy calls them for help and hints.

Ned Nickerson -  Nancy’s boyfriend, who is at the same party as Bess and George, but he is hiding away from a girl who has a crush on him. Nancy can also call him for help.

The dialogue in these games could use a little work. For the most part, it is passing, but usually when Nancy is talking to her friends, Bess and George, the dialogue is extremely unbelievable. She has an air about her that she is not talking to her friends, but to a job interviewer. It is difficult to say whether it is the voice actor or the writing, but something needs to change.

In most of these Nancy Drew games, you can only control Nancy by the mouse and since it is in first person, this can be extremely confusing and make it easy to get lost. In The Haunting of Castle Malloy, when you are changing main location, you are able to control Nancy with the arrow keys, which made it so much easier.

The E rating is not suitable for the game. It is extremely suspenseful and there are points when I was honestly terrified: things jump out at you, Nancy has to wander around in the dark, and it is common in the games that Nancy gets attacked from behind. Granted, I was playing the game at midnight, but nevertheless, I was still terrified.

The game is split into Junior Detective and Senior Detective. Junior Detective is the easier of the two levels and Senior Detective is very difficult. However, there should be another, easier level because there were points in the game that I absolutely had to look up a walkthrough because I could not figure the puzzles out.

Overall, this game was very fun and mentally challenging. However, this game is focused to Nancy Drew and/or mystery fans. It is not a simple game and it calls for a lot of brain work!

Where to get it: Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy

Price: $10

Developer: Her interactive

Publisher: Her Interactive

Platform: Microsoft Windows

Genre: Adventure/Mystery game

Mode: Single-player

Rating: E (For Everyone)

Warning: The games are highly addicting and somewhat terrifying. 

The Pinkest of Lips!

Lipstick can be extremely dangerous, as a lot of women do not know how to choose the proper shade, which is why it is best to go with a safe and subtle color when you are testing out lipsticks. There are different things to look for in a lipstick, with some of them being the price, the color and the quality. The question when deciding between them is which is most important to you? 

Wet n Wild Pink Lemonade Lipstick

Wandering around my local Walgreens, where they  have a very large makeup section, I found the Wet n Wild Pink Lemonade lipstick. What drew me to it was the name and the bright pink color. Then, when I saw the price of $1.99, I just had to get it and give it a try. The application was a little rough and it took a little more force and lipstick to easily cover my lips. The actual stick of the lipstick appears to be a bright pink, but when it is applied, it has more of a brown undertone. It looks very natural and doesn't pop very much. When it is applied, it is somewhat patchy, but it is extremely smear resistant. 

Avon Pink Lemonade Lipstick

The Avon Pink Lemonade lipstick can obviously be found in the Avon store or online, if need be, for $3.99. The application is extremely smooth and the color is just as it appears on the actual stick: light pink with subtle sparkles. It goes on very thick, but it still has some patchy parts, just as the Wet n Wild lipstick did, but it was not quite as obvious. While the lipstick is very thick, it also flakes and smears very easily. Compared to some other lipsticks, this one has some extremely useful factors such as SPF 15, a plumping factor and double the retinal of some other brands. 

The Flying Tomato: Good or Bad?

The Flying Tomato is a part of the thriving downtown Springfield community. It is a restaurant that is group owned by three businesses: Trolley’s, Paolo’s Pasta & Grille and Gelato Mio. The restaurant used to be the restaurant part of Trolley’s, but in September of 2011, Trolley’s own Ryan MacDonald, Gelato Mio co-owner Andy Drennen and Paolo’s Pasta and Grille chef Paul Pentecost joined together to create the Flying Tomato(SBJ).

A mixture of location and the outside decorations make the Trolley’s and Flying Tomato duo business easy to find. It is located right off the square in downtown Springfield. The Trolley’s part of the business has a very subtle sign and decoration outside, but The Flying Tomato part has a sign that really pops and catches your attention.  The background is a bright green and it has a splattered tomato with “The Flying Tomato” across it.

What really impressed me was the environment inside the restaurant. When you walk in, the first thing you notice are the bricks covering the walls. The bricks have been arranged so that it looks like an older European city, possibly somewhere in Italy. They are a darker red color and have a rustic look to them. The bricks have been arranged into windows and in the windows are pictures of famous European landmarks. (I was happy to see that the Palace of Versailles was one of them!) Then, the next thing you notice was a small divider in the middle of the room that is painted lime green with splattered tomatoes covering it. The splattered tomatoes on the green background were a theme throughout the restaurant and I liked it a lot. I’m not sure if they were having some kind of specialty music night, but all I heard was ‘60s and ‘70s music, which I was very happy about. I would rather not listen to things like Justin Beiber or Lady Gaga when I am eating.

We were happily greeted by a waitress named Ashley, who was later our server. She was incredibly friendly and took some time to chat with us, without being overbearing and cutting into the conversation. The service was fantastic. The food got to us very quickly and we never had a dry drink.

The menu has the same theme as the sign, with the bright green and splattered tomato, but there are also faded pictures of different scenes from Italy. The Flying Tomato’s menu is separated into eleven different categories: appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches, St. Louis style thin crust pizza, specialty hand tossed pastas, traditional pastas, Flying Tomato specialties (which were mostly pastas), Ozark traditions, sides, beverages and desserts. Some of the sections could be combined and make the menu a little more compact. It made it seem like they were straining to make the menu longer. Every so often in the menu, there would be a price/price (7.29/10.69) and it had no explanation as to what that meant. After asking the waitress, though, I found out that it was a small and large pricing.

We started off with the Tuscan Spinach Dip, which I was very excited for. In the menu, it is described as, ”Made fresh from spinach and our three cheese blend. Served with tortilla chips or bread.” Yum. When ordering, we chose to go with the chips. There was a small dish of the spinach dip to one side of the platter and the rest were chips. In order to allow time for the dip to cool off, I snacked on the chips, which I found to be perfectly salted. After it cooled down, I indulged in the spinach dip. It was creamy and it was mixed very well.

The time came to order! The Flying Tomato offers a mixture of Italian and American cuisine, but the only things that really caught my eye on the menu were the pastas, so I got the Pasta Broccoli, which came with a salad for only a few dollars more. You also have the option to add chicken, which I did not do. The salad was a little larger than I would have liked. It was mostly made of iceberg lettuce with carrots, cabbage and other things. My immediate response was that it was rather bland. However, the more I ate, the sweeter the house dressing got, which I did not like. I was not able to finish the salad because I wanted to save room for the main course, but also because the sweetness of the house dressing was too extreme for me.

Then came the Pasta Broccoli! In the menu, it says the Pasta Broccoli is“Shell pasta in creamy lfredo sauce, broccoli, mushrooms and parmigiano cheese.” The presentation was simple, but very nice. It was served in a sunken down plate with herbs scattered around the edges. Starting off, the dish seemed rather bland. It tasted just like any other dish with alfredo sauce I’d before. Then the spices and herbs hit! It was a nice surprise and it added a lot to the flavor.

Name: The Flying Tomato (conjoined with Trolley’s)

What: Restaurant that serves American and Italian style cuisine

Where: 107 Park Central Square, Springfield, MO 65806

Phone: 1-417-799-0309

Environment: 5/5

Food: 4/5

Service: 5/5

The Softest of Lips!

One of my ultimate pet peeves is having lips that are chapped and dry. Up until last year, I had been using the classic ChapStick brand, but I have branched off now. I have found some of the most popular lip balm brands to be Carmex, Chapstick, Soft Lips and EOS.

Carmex Moisture Plus Ultra Hydrating Lip Balm

 I heard about the Carmex brand from a friend of mine who raved about it, so I thought I would give it a try. I got it for $2.99 at my local Dillon's. The Moisture Plus option I got has vitamin E and aloe moisturizing protection with an SPF of 15. It has a slanted applicator and it spreads on incredibly smoothly. I didn't find the scent too pleasing at all. It smelled like they were trying to go for a vanilla scent, but there's also a strong smell of oil, which probably comes from the large amount of sunscreen that is included in this lip balm. The Carmex lasts a fair amount of time, but it gets to the point where it feels like there is just oil on your lips.
RATING: 2/5

Classic Cherry ChapStick Skin Protectant

I grew up with the ChapStick brand, so naturally, I continued using it, and for a long time, I didn't branch off to anything else. This brand can be found pretty much anywhere, but I got it at my local grocery store for $3.99, which was a package of three sticks. It has a hint of flavor and a lovely cherry scent. The application is smooth and it adds a bit of color to your lips. This chapstick lasts long, but it has a hint of stickiness when it has been on for awhile.
RATING: 4/5

Soft Lips Vanilla Lip Protectant

I found my first Soft Lips lip protectant at my local grocery store, when browsing the beauty department, for $1.49. The Soft Lips has a pleasing vanilla scent that isn't too overpowering and it has an SPF of 20. The application is very smooth, but it does not last very long and leaves you with an oily feeling on your lips.
RATING: 3/5

Summer Fruit and Sweet Mint EOS Lip Balm

The EOS lip balm is another item that I heard about from missglamorazzi, a beauty guru on YouTube. I stumbled upon it when in line for the cashier at Wal-Mart, so I bought both the Sweet Mint and the Summer Fruit, which were each $2.89. This lip balm is 100% natural and it is not tested on animals. The EOS lip balm is flavored and scented, which is something I prefer in my lip balm. There is a slight resistance when the EOS lip balm is first applied, but this only lasts the first few times it is used. I found the Summer Fruit scent to be a bit too strong, but I really liked the Sweet Mint.
RATING: 5/5

The missglamorazzi video in which 

I first heard about the EOS lip balm. 

Battle of the Facial Cleansers!

I have always had very clear skin, and the most acne I would ever have at one time was one pimple. Yep, I was pretty lucky! However, when I reached college, that changed. This was most likely because of the stress that came along with college. 

 This product is most effective when the face is washed before applying because this is not a face wash. The Stridex pads should be used only to cure the acne, not to clean the face. When using this product, be sure to spread it all over your face and allow it to soak into your skin because not only does it cure acne, but it also helps to prevent future breakouts.  I started using the Stridex pads because this was what my older brother and sister always used, and I never really had a problem with it. It got to the point, though, where the Stridex pads weren't clearing up my acne as well as they used to and all they were doing was drying out my skin. The Stridex Sensitive Pads generally come with 55 pads that have been soaked in .5% salicylic acid, which is the acne medication. The salicylic acid is the active ingredient, but it doesn't tell the consumer what the inactive ingredients are. 

I heard about the Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser from missglamorazzi, who is a beauty guru on YouTube. From what she says, we have the same kind of skin, so I thought I would give this a try. It’s definitely a bit different than the Stridex pads and possible a bit more work. For application, you pump out as much cleanser as you think you need (I use about two and a half pumps) onto either an application pad or just use your hands. If you use your hands, it would be best to wash them before, so you don’t get the oil from your hands onto your face, which can make acne worse. This cleanser obviously come out in a foam and it doesn't change to a complete liquid. As long as you continue lathering it on your face, it continues to be a foam. I started using this in my morning and evening facial routines two days ago and I'm already seeing a difference. The redness in the acne has gone down and some of the pimples have even disappeared. 

The video in which missglamorazzi talks about the Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser.

I have fairly oily and sensitive skin, which makes my skin more susceptible to breakouts, and the Aveeno Clear Complexion Foaming Cleanser is really helping with my acne problem. Of course, just as with all skin products, it will depend on the type of skin that you have. 

With Pure Jergens

There is nothing quite like the feeling of putting on hydrating lotion in the midst of winter, when your skin is at its driest. Lotion is one beauty product that I just can't deny myself, especially if it has a particularly pleasing scent. I have been switching between three different lotions lately, so I thought I would do a little review about them all: Hilary Duff's With Love, Victoria's Secret's Pure Seduction, and Jergens Ultra Healing.  

First up is Hilary Duff's With Love. I came across this by seeing Hilary Duff's music video for "With Love," in which she sprayed the With Love perfume. Assuming I would like the scent, I bought the gift set, which included the perfume, lotion and a small hand mirror. The gift set version is the only one I have been able to find and the largest bottle it comes in is one of 1.7 fl oz. On the bottle, it claims that it is a hydrating lotion, but the hydrating feeling does not last very long at all and when putting it on, I felt almost a grainy substance. This was probably to help exfoliate the skin, but it wasn't very pleasant. The only thing I still like about this lotion is the scent(as long as you don't use too much lotion), but I could as easily get that from the perfume. 

Next is Victoria's Secret's Pure Seduction from their Secret Garden selection. This has been one of my favorite scent since high school, when one of my friends introduced it to me. I have always just stuck with the body spray, but I thought I would give the lotion a chance. Unlike the With Love lotion, the Pure Seduction has 6.7 fl oz in the particular bottle I bought. It is described on the bottle as an "ultra moisturizing hand and body cream" and the moisturizing feeling lingers for a long time. However, the lotion takes absolutely forever to sink into the skin and it leaves you with a greasy feeling on your hands. 

Lastly is the Jergens Ultra Healing lotion. Out of the three lotions, the Jergens had the most lotion in one bottle with 10 fl oz. I especially liked this lotion because it is extremely hydrating and it sinks into the skin pretty quickly. As the name suggests, it has some healing qualities. After a few days of using this lotion, any cuts I had on my hands were healed up completely. 

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Going into this movie, I wasn’t aware of the rating, but I tried to prepare myself for probably some gore and sexual content. However, I had no idea that those factors would be so extreme in this movie.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) follows George Smiley (Gary Oldman; The Dark Knight, Dracula), who has come out of retirement to find out who the mole is in British Intelligence or “The Circus.” It was directed by Tomas Alfredson(Four Shades of Brown, Soldiers by Moonlight) and adapted from John Le Carré’s novel by Bridget O’Connor(Mrs. Ratcliffe’s Revolution, Sixty Six) and Peter Straughan (How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, The Men Who Stare at Goats). According to IMDB, the film is dedicated to Bridget O’Connor, as she passed away from cancer after she finished work on the film.

            Gary Oldman played the main character, George Smiley. He was nominated for an Oscar and won several other awards for his performance, but I didn’t really understand why. The majority of the movie, Oldman doesn’t speak, but merely stares in an intimidating manner at everyone to whom he is speaking. Colin Firth(The King’s Speech, Love Actually, Mamma Mia!) was more deserving of an award, in my opinion because of his part as the suspicious Tom Haydon. What really made me notice Firth's last scene with Oldman and the way he broke down during the conversation. Normally, I am a very big Oldman fan, but this time, I just did not think that his performance was worthy of such hype.

            The beginning of the film really caught my attention because it just throws you into intense action before you know what is happening. The movie starts off with Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong; Emma,Stardust), a member of “The Circus” that is sent to Hungary in an attempt to gain information, but he gets shot in the process. You don’t find out more details about this mission until much later in the movie.

            Something that really caught my attention in this movie was the soundtrack. The main piece that was composed for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was called “Salut D’Amour”, which could be translated into “Hello, Love.” “Salut,D’Amour” was composed by Edward Elgar and it was arranged and produced for the movie by Michael Price (Lord of the Rings, Love Actually) . The movie had a fairly happy ending. It showed what each of the characters (that were still alive) were doing and La Mer sung by Julio Iglesias played in the background. It is a very happy song, so it was a nice way to tie up a rather dramatic movie in a light hearted way.  

            If the reader is interested in seeing this movie, I would advise that they do a little reading on the movie before going to see it. While the scenes can go by very slowly, the plot is very fast paced and if you miss one detail, you will probably be confused for the rest of the movie and you won’t enjoy it as much as you would have if you knew what was going on. Also, if you are not a fan of movies that have to do with espionage or anything to do with a war, this movie is probably not for you.

            The movie is very dark, not just because of the content (war, death, espionage, etc.), but also because of the coloring. There were no bright colors in the movie; everything was brown, black, grey, navy, forest green, maroon or something along those lines. There were some focusing concepts that I didn’t quite understand. At some points, the camera would stay focused on an object or a person that wasn’t really that vital to the scene. For instance, there was a scene in which Oldman and Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch; Atonement, The Other Boleyn Girl) were talking. Smiley said something, then turned around to look at Guillam, but instead of focusing on his reaction to what Smiley said, the camera stayed focused on the back of Smiley’s head.

            Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was very rightly rated R because there were some things that are not at all suitable for younger viewers. There were several bodies that were shown after the person had been murdered and it was incredibly gory to the point that I had to look away from the screen because of how disgusting it was. So, if blood and guts make you uncomfortable, you should not see this movie. There was also full on nudity at some points and people doing some very inappropriate things. The gore and nudity were really not needed. There are better ways to show that something bad is happening and it would give the actors a chance to show off their talents.

            This movie caters to a specific group of people and unless you are okay with gore and nudity and enjoy very dramatic movies, you will not like this one. I left the theatre feeling the need to watch something extremely happy and stress-free. However, if you enjoy and are okay with the things mentioned above, you will like this movie.