Just Frustrating

There are just some days when I can't seem to do anything right. Like today, for instance, one of my two days off. I slept longer than I'd planned, and I thought it would be easier to do the laundry after breakfast than run to the library. I forgot to call Dad and find out if anyone was using the washer...and he was, of course. I had to wait. Went to the Oaklyn Library while I was waiting to do my volunteering there. I didn't get lunch until after 2!

Dad's laundry was still in the dryer at 3:30, so I went to the Haddon Township Library for my volunteering session there. Did a lot of DVD returns today. I only found two DVDs of interest, another ballroom dancing disk and the last Barbie As special that interests me, Barbie As the 12 Dancing Princesses. I also took out another book on crocheting, this time with visual instructions, two books on nutrition for women (I still haven't been losing weight), and two fiction books. The fiction books were the most recent Holmes on the Range tale, The Crack in the Lens, and the Susan Wittig Albert "Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter" series, The Tale of Briar Bank.

In order to avoid the rush hour traffic on Cuthbert Road and enjoy the gorgeous, 65-and-sunny weather, I rode through Newton River Park instead of on the White Horse Pike and the back roads. I'm very glad I did. That was the best part of the day. Everyone was out and about. Kids rode bikes with their parents and chased each other in the playgrounds. Old people napped in the sun. People fished off the piers, jogged, and walked with friends.

It was well after 6 when I got back to Dad's. He'd already put my laundry in the dryer. I thanked him and went home to return the books. I looked them over a bit before going back to Dad's house for my laundry. He and Jodie said they're going to make me dinner on Wednesday evening for my birthday, probably something Italian. Cool!

I had tilapia in poached in white wine and olive oil and steamed asparagus for dinner while watching Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses. Unlike most of the Barbie As adaptations, this is at least somewhat close to the source material. The 12 princesses of the title are spirited lasses who enjoy a variety of sporting, musical, and academic activities...none of which their father or many more stuffy types see as fit for royal ladies. He asks his cousin Rowena to teach the girls "proper" manners...but Rowena has more sinister plans for the girls and their father.

I rented this one because The Twelve Dancing Princesses is one of my favorite lesser-known Grimm Fairy Tales. This is, in fact, only the second time I've seen it adapted on-screen after the Fairy Tale Theater version. From what I've gathered online, this was the first of the Barbie As titles released by Universal, but it still has the less-fluid, waxy Artisan/Lionsgate CGI animation. Other than that, this was fun, especially if you're a dance aficionado, with a better male lead (who has more to do and even gets his own animal buddy) than most.