Birthday parties, goodies, links and more

I survived birthday party preparations for my daughter's birthday, the party, pinata, bubbly-hyperactive friends (actually the girls are wonderful...lots of fun) of my daughter and clean-up.
It was lots of fun actually. I think it's just the preparation, lead-up to the parties that wears me out...once it gets going, I'm fully into it.
Whew. Everyone was happy, no one got hit with the baseball bat during the pinata event, and the mess is nearly all cleaned up now. My daughter loved it. That's the highlight for me. I found some fun candles for the cake that spell out 'Happy birthday' Each candle has one wax letter on it, on a plastic toothpick, so that you can stick it into the cake and the letters stand up. I loved them. The years are passing way too quickly...it seems just yesterday she was celebrating her birthday sitting in a high-chair, grinning from ear to ear with a princess crown on. Wa-a-a-a-a-h-h-h-h!
(back-to-school-parental angst here)...I wonder what sort of parental antics occur during the back-to-school weeks around the country. It would be an interesting study for psychologists, psychiatrists, and counsellors, as well as consumer studies. Aside from the normal sales of school supplies and clothes, I'll bet scrapbooking sales skyrocket during this time (or the first and second week of school) Video cameras probably sell in record numbers. I'll bet some savy investment companies have figured out the ramifications of it....what could be invested in....what the consumers buy, strange parental behavior. The studies have been made about children's behavior as school approaches, but I wonder if anyone has done studies for/about parents.
Changing topic now, before I think too much about it and ruin my keyboard boo-hooing all over it.
Here's a website that has key links and info for children's illustrators. ( I may have posted this one here before, but it's worth reposting. It's Phyllis Cahill's link page. I thought of this due to discussion on the beloved yahoo illustrator's list.
Here's something else any children's illustrator would enjoy. It's the Mazza Museum . The Mazza Museum has international art from picture books. I'd love to be able to visit it sometime. It's located in Findlay Ohio.
Here's a book worth checking out. It's called The Imagineering way: Ideas to Ignite Your Creativity. If you've been reading this blog at all in the past...you'll know that my next words are.....
"I just ordered it" It's written by and about the creative "Imagineers" at Disney. I found it in the library awhile back and found it inspiring and motivating.
Now for a cachibachi...totally off-topic and fascinating. It's a website about Palindromes, called Once Upon a Palindrome. I found this site ages ago and saved it.