This Alabama Summer

It's hot in Alabama ;).

But I will say this:  it has been unseasonably cool many of the days.  I am counting that a tender mercy from the Lord for my first summer back!

So what have we been up to on these warm days?  Well, lots!  Here's a run-down in pictures ;).

We've gone blueberry picking twice (and then made some uber-delicious desserts with those 2 gallons of blueberries)!

 

We've climbed the tree in front of Grandpa's house -- and picnicked under it!

 

The kids have made a mess by pushing everything from the vanity in our room onto the floor, then crawling onto the vanity and acting silly ;).

  

Lynnaea and Daddy made a solar oven and made a s'more in it (it didn't get hot enough to toast the marshmallow, though).

  

Lynnaea walked around in Mommy's pajama pants.

 

We go to the park a lot.  We also go to Landmark Park quite a bit, since we bought the yearly membership.  But I don't have any pictures of that yet.  But we have seen snakes and pigs and a cow and sheep and mules...  And Mommy learned a bit about honey extraction!  (I'm seriously considering trying to raise bees once we are in our own house...)

  And we've played in the sprinkler and the pool -- rain OR shine.  Just so happens the 4th of July brought lots of rain!  But Daddy was a trooper, and since there was no thunder...  Why not play in the rain?!?

And me?  Well, I like to take selfies to check out my gray hair :/....

Okay, okay...  That's not all I do ;).  I'm not that vain.  I've been reading a lot.  I'm participating in the Summer Reading Challenge!  So far, I've got 5 down since the beginning of the Summer Reading Challenge:  Sense and Sensibility, The Scorch Trials, Dead Wake, How to Win Friends and Influence People, and Me Before You.  Currently I'm working on The Lost Symbol.  But, once we reach Friday, I imagine my reading time will diminish significantly -- if all goes well :). 

And, speaking of the Summer Reading Challenge...  Lynnaea is a book fanatic!  She has read (well, had read to her...) 105 books so far in one month!  Corbin is almost at 40.  He doesn't have the attention span she does.  He is all boy.  But he is getting more interested in books, and I'm loving it!  I love that reading is a big part of my babies' lives.  I'm loving my babies too, by the way.  They are pretty amazing.

A Box of Chocolates

So little miss Emily turned 2 today. She is so funny. I took a few pictures, but here are two of them to represent :). I gave her this toy camera. It makes plenty of noise, which is the kind of gift parents love to have their children receive :)).

And here's the face of a kid who doesn't like to be told no. Or don't. Hahaha. Poor thing. Actually, I was feeding her cake (her own piece, mind you) and then her daddy sat down on the couch and she wanted his, so I said, "No baby girl, this one is yours." This face was the result. She got over it in a jiffy when Christina pointed to the bite I had on her spoon for her and said, "Bite!" She ate her bite and was happy again. But I do love her facial expressions!

As for the rest of life... It's been an interesting week. There has been a lot of rain falling. And I mean that totally literally. No metaphors this time ;). In fact, there are flood warnings for all the rivers in Western Washington tonight and tomorrow. And generally speaking, I'd prefer to have the rain than the snow. Of course, this also brings the flooded floorboard in my ghetto car. Oh my poor car. It's so old. And it's now costing me a lot of money. Today I took it in and got the brakes done. And that was expensive. Very. When they called and gave me the estimate, I was so frustrated. And wanted to cry. But the good news is that I do have the money saved up. And financially, this is the best time in my life for it to happen. I'm out of debt, and I have the money to pay for it. It's just frustrating to save up money for other things and then have to spend it on "necessary" things... But, oh well. At least I'm driving around safe now. And then, when I got home from my day of shopping, I had a check in the mail for participating in healthy living habits stuff through my library job. So the insurance pool pays people who participate $125. Woohoo! So I kind of got back some of the money from the brakes! And since I had won $50 in gift certificates last night at the Christmas party for the funeral home... Well, I didn't spend any money today except on my car. The Christmas party at the funeral home was really fun. We had awesome food. We did a potluck, except the location bought a ham and roast. We had a great turnout and just enjoyed phenomenal food (scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, punch, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, apple pie, jello, cheesecake, baked beans, cole slaw, rice, spring rolls, deer sausage with cheese and crackers, rolls, green bean casserole...). We played a couple of games at the end. One of them was called Noah's Ark where everyone got a slip of paper that had an animal written on it. We had to go around and act like that animal and find our match and be the first in line with Noah. Hahaha... I got pig! My mom got ape. Other funny ones were monkey and chicken. We laughed so hard! We also played a game where you pass a quarter from hand to hand with the people next to you. The people on the other side of the table say when to stop and then guess who has the coin. It was pretty hilarious. Then a few of us stayed and cleaned up and visited for about an hour afterwards, and we told stories and laughed even more. So all in all, it was a great time!

Today I took the day off work from the library. Because I wanted to. Just needed a break. Plus I needed to take my car in, because it needed a brake (or three ;)). okay, okay, bad joke. So sue me. So after taking my car in, my mom and I went to a sports compound here where my friend's daughter works concessions and we bought smoothies (cold drinks on cold days... weird, but yummy). We went by the funeral home to pick up something I forgot last night. We went to the bank and stood in line for what seemed like forever. We went to Costco, which was a madhouse... And I didn't even end up buying anything, because I wasn't impressed with their selection of "select Disney DVDs" that I could get for $6 off. And then we went into Best Buy to see my sister and say hi. Then to Fred Meyer to do some grocery shopping (mostly for Marvelous Monday Meals). Then home for a bit until my car was ready.

I finished another book last night. It's called An American Summer. I loved it. The language in it was rough, and there was a pretty horrible scene in it. Not graphic in description that much, but definitely a horrible thing. But the book was really great. It had some very poignant moments and I think one of my favorite lines from the book is when Christy (a 14 year old boy) realizes through his friendship with Kathryn (a 23 year old woman who got polio and was now in an iron lung), "I was amazed at how wonderful I felt because I really hadn't understood, until that moment, how I had it in my power to make happy another person on the face of this Earth." In spite of the rougher parts of this novel, this was a feel-good story, and I'm so glad I read it.

Anyway, it's been a good week. Good, but interesting. My life is looking like it's going to take some interesting turns. And so I will agree with Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates... You never know what you're gonna get." Stay tuned...

36-24-36

I'll get to the reason for my post title. Until I get there, though, you can enjoy the song (well, one of the songs) that features those numbers. It was a toss-up between songs. I went with the older of the two.

So my week has been full. I'll give you the brief run-down. Monday I made the barbecued beef as well as my first peach cobbler from scratch. It was yummy. I especially liked the "cobbler" part of the peach cobbler. But that's no surprise, as I love bread stuff. I think I might have added a tad too much lemon juice to keep the peaches from turning. But Lea's family seemed to really like it. So that's good. It was definitely messy slicing up those peaches! They dripped all down my arm! But it's a lot of fun to see a finished product and to know I made it all from scratch :). So after our meal of bbq beef sandwiches, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes (not french fries), we sat down to watch more of Glee. And after our food had settled a bit, we went in for the peach cobbler. Mmmmm good! Of course, the minute we got our dessert dished up, Xavier's girlfriend had to be taken home, so Lea and I hopped in the car to take her -- with dessert bowls in hand. Hahaha. Then we went back and finished watching Glee. I love the music. Seriously love the music. We finished the first half of the first season (and up until today, that was all that was avaiable on DVD), so now we will start Season 1 of Scrubs tomorrow. They never watched the show, so we are going to give it a try.

So that was Monday. And because I didn't have to work at either job on Monday, I actually stayed in my pajamas all day long. And it was fabulous! I also read more of the book I had been reading and have since finished. It was fabulous! I loved it. I'm now reading Dracula. It's been on my reading list for 2 years, so I finally decided to read it. It has very small print, so it feels like I'm not making a lot of progress. But in reality, I really am starting to enjoy it. Just had to get used to the language.

Tuesday was back to work -- both of them. Nothing terribly exciting there. Walked with Sue that evening. Wednesday I had training at the Service Center for my library job. It was all about the reference interview and being effective at helping a patron with their information needs. We did role playing, which I do not really enjoy. It was kind of a long day. My mom was in Seattle overnight for managers' meetings on Wednesday night, so I stayed in to take care of my grandmother on Wednesday night. We had Subway sandwiches for dinner and I mostly just read and relaxed. Thursday was another work day. Lea and I drove into work together and made the day fun. So that was good. Then Thursday night, I went to the Stake Center to watch some of the girls from my Sunday School class play basketball. They had invited me to go, and I just couldn't not show up when it was obviously important to them. And there were only about 5 of us there cheering them on, so I'm glad I went. Friday I was off from the library because of having a long day on Wednesday (basically comp time). So I spent the day working at the funeral home and ended up working at the reception desk all day. That was kind of a long day too. And Friday night I pretty much just hung out at home. It seems like I had stuff going on, but now I can't remember what it was. Saturday I didn't have to go into work until 2:05. Part of that was the extra time for Wednesday. The other part was that my boss asked me to change shifts for the day. I really do not enjoy working the afternoon shift. But since I had the whole morning free, my mom and I went out and ran errands. And I wore my Tillamook shirt :).

In case you can't read the shirt... It says "Life is cheesy... Eat it up." I liked it :). Sometimes life really is cheesy. And don't I just look so cute not long after waking up ;)? So anyway, my mom and I went to Costco and Fred Meyer. Nothing exciting. And then came back to the house where I read until it was time to head to work. After work, I came home, got a shower, and got ready to go to Stake Conference. Heidi met me at the house at 6:30, and then we drove to Conference. It was really a great conference. One of the talks was about financial responsibility. It feels good to know I'm not in debt, but I also need to remember I can still do more to improve things financially for myself. I have already decided that, instead of spending as much money as I do on movies and tv show seasons (which I love to buy), I need to focus more on making sure I am prepared for emergency situations. I'm not saying there isn't room for fun. There is. But I still can do better about prioritizing. And so I will work on that. After Conference, I read a little more and then went to bed.

This morning was the other session of Conference, so we didn't take Desiree and Emily with us. Church was at 10 this morning, and since we wanted to get there early enough to get a good parking spot and a good seat, I got up at 8. I ate breakfast, and then headed out at about 8:55. After Conference, we came home and had lunch and worked on laundry. I also picked two acorn squash. Two really big acorn squash. I kind of felt like Madonna in this picture... Or maybe Dolly Parton (which elicits some hilarious memories from Jon and Julie's house while playing 80s games ;)). Or, if you know Arrested Devlopment, maybe I'm more like Kitty due to wonkiness? Hahahaha. and so this is why I put those numbers as my post title. Hahaha. Under ordinary circumstances... Hahaha... in my dreams!

Unless, of course, you're measuring my head, then my bust, then my waist. Hahahaha. So I took this picture for the size comparison. If you know how big my head is, then you know how big these squash are!

So anyway, it's fun to see things grow and to see the fruits of my labors. Oh, and I'm totally in my jammies again. And it's so nice to lounge around :). I have also made S'mores Bars for tomorrow night's dinner at Lea's. On the menu (aside from those for dessert) are swedish meatballs with egg noodles and green salad (using a tomato and cucumber from my garden). It has been so fun to do this Monday night meal thing. I do love to cook! I miss it. And since the dessert is already made, I am pretty much free and clear for the rest of the evening :). So I plan to read more of Dracula. And hopefully get a little further and eventually find out how everything is going to fit together :)!

Making Progress

Well, the end of August brought me 2/3 of the way through 2010. Hard to believe, at least for me. And so it is time to report my progress once again on the goals I set at the beginning of the year :). I'm quite happy to be able to say I have definitely been making progress on almost all of my goals! So here are the updates... And if you need to refer to when I first made the goals, click here. And if you want to see my update at 4 months into the year, click here :).

I really need to work harder on my spiritual goals. I know that all the time. But when I have to account to how I'm doing with it, it makes me feel even more aware that I have not done so well on that front. How easy it is to allow that aspect of life to continue on as always. I mean, I'm not this total spiritual slacker. I do read scriptures. But I don't feel like I study them quite as I should. And I'm pretty sure I'm not any more humble than I was. I still have some ideas for my life and what it should be. And it's pretty hard to swallow that pill of Thy will be done, even if I do want to feel that way. Need to work harder on this.

Temporal goals have been easier for me to accomplish. I continue to slowly build my savings account. I think, after my trip to Savannah with Julie, I will be increasing how much I put into it each paycheck. Not by a lot. But by a little. Just to keep building. When I last updated, I was still paying on my student loan. I can happily say I did accomplish the goal of being debt-free. Currently I have no debt and continue to pay off my credit card each month, but use it to accrue points. I love that my credit card company is paying me to use their card. And the gift cards I'm earning (I have enough points now for one $25.00 card and am only about 400 points away from another one) will be helping me to finish off my Christmas shopping :). As for food-storage and supplies... I have not done anything toward that goal since I last updated. However, I'm reading a book right now that, quite frankly, is freaking me out! It's a young adult book I picked up at the public library (saw it while I was shelving and it's part of a series and sounded interesting, so I am on book 1). It's called Life As We Knew It. Basically, in the book, a meteor has hit the moon and knocked it off its orbit and it got a lot closer to earth. This resulted in a change in tides, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. And the story is about a 15 year old girl and her family and how they are dealing with life now. And while I don't know that the moon could be knocked off it's orbit and create this scenario (nor do I know that it couldn't...), I have very little doubt that such situations as occur as a result of such an event are possible. And it's scaring me a little bit. And making me want to follow the counsel of the prophets even more and get our storage. And add mosquito repellent to the list. Because I never thought of that before... Laugh if you will. The book is awesome and I'm flying through it. But it's freaking me out a bit. And I have kep constant updates flowing about my garden. So that turned out far better than I dreamed :). I have picked and either shared or used about 25 cucumbers, 7 strawberries (okay, not much, but maybe next year will be better...), and 5 acorn squash (with 3 more on the vine ripening). I have 1 tomato ready to be picked and used with 2 others not far behind. And I'm still holding out hope that some of the others will take off and ripen. If not, I'll be trying to ripen them in brown paper bags or finding a lot of recipes for green tomatoes! And I now have at least 8 green peppers growing! I don't know if they will amount to much as far as size goes. We shall see. Like I said, I'm giving them until the temperature drops below 50 at night. That hasn't happened yet, so there's still time. In fact, right now, the sun is quite bright -- even if it isn't a hot Labor Day.

Physical improvements seem to be doing well. I have not walked as much as I was doing. Lea's schedule got busy and both Sue and I have had other committments that have prevented us from going 3 days a week. But I do still walk when I have the chance (mostly with other people, because I'm not really motivated by myself), and from climbing all those steps at The Column, I can tell it is paying off as far as conditioning myself. And weight loss is finally happening! Yay!! Depending on the day and the scale, I have now lost between 9 and 11 pounds. It kind of fluctuates between those for now. Which is fine. I'm content to lose it slowly and hopefully get back to where I was in Tuscaloosa where it was totally easy for me to maintain it. So I'm so happy to be able to report good news there, since I didn't have good news to report on the weight loss front at the end of April.

I pretty much covered the first two items in my Miscellaneous category last time. I didn't do the apple tree trimming. But it did produce! And while the fruit had a lot of issues and just dropped off the tree rather than being picked, I still was able to use enough of the fruit for 3 homemade apple crisps! Woohoo! I haven't made the 3rd one yet. That one will get made mid-October for Buck's birthday at the funeral home. He's one of the grounds crew guys who helped fix the roto-tiller and who has given me tips and such on my gardening. He loves apple stuff and really enjoyed the apple crisp I took up there before. So I shall do that for him. And the laptop -- well, I'm using it now and still happy with my purchase. I don't know if I consider myself as accepting that there are things I cannot control and just letting go. Maybe I'm doing better at it than I have in the past. I don't feel as despairing as I have, or haven't broken down in tears or anger over this situation that, try as I do to change it, doesn't seem to change. And as for my goal of seeing a new place... Well, technically I can say I've done it. Because I saw all of the Oregon Coast, none of which I'd seen before. But I will also be seeing Savannah, GA with Julie in about 3 weeks. And that's something I've never seen either :). Always wanted to go there, but never did. So now's the chance. And I think we're going to try to hit Paula Deen's restaurant there. Just something I think will be cool to do.

So, yeah. My update is about a week late. But good enough :). I'm pretty happy with most of the things I've accomplished this year. There are definitely things I would like to do better in the next 4 months. The ones I haven't worked on as much as I should have... And I'll let you know how that goes :). In January. When it's time to set new goals :).

And just because I do love to talk about food... Tonight is the weekly feast night at Lea's. Pretty much walking has mostly gone out the window for now. But not the food. Hahaha. So I'm making the meat and the dessert today. The meat (barbecue beef that I make in the crock pot -- last time I made it was when I was living in the townhouse, and I'm not sure why I've waited so long!) is in the crock pot cooking away. And the dessert will be peach cobbler. Which I've never made before, so I'm hoping for the best. But I wanted something summery, since it is the end of Summer, after all. And Brad and Tarylyn got free peaches from their neighbor and didn't use them all. So I shall be using those :). And so, really, it was quite inexpensive for me :).

I Said Hey... What's Going On?

I came up with a song-title post. It's been a while ;). And P.S... I do not care for having to watch a dumb commercial before seeing the youtube video. I shouldn't be surprised. I find it interesting that life is made up of highs and lows. I have been really happy lately. Not that there aren't blah moments. But overall, I've been so happy :). So here's what's going on in the Nilla Life this week -- so far.

Garden, garden, garden. Is that all I ever talk about? Well sort of. Mostly I'm just posting a couple of pictures here this time. But here's my commentary. I hoed the garden. My mom bought a new hoe, because the last one broke. Bummer. But I think I'm getting better at this and I'm really breaking in my body! The last two times I hoed the garden, my opposable thumbs wouldn't work right (ie for things that require a lot of thumb usage like texting). I might as well have been a monkey! Hahaha. I'm a dork. Anyway. I didn't have any thumb soreness this time. Also I didn't get tired as easily. I hoed my whole garden in one fell swoop! And watered it with the sprinkler -- ghetto style by moving the sprinkler from spot to spot. And I got soaked from the waist down, because sometimes I don't think things through. See, the neighbor has seen me out there hoeing twice now. So today he asked if we'd like some of his roll of stuff (don't know what it's called) that you put down in your garden and it prevents the weeds from growing much, because it blocks the sun. You just cut out little holes for your plants. So this sounded like a fabulous idea (less hoeing!). What I didn't really think about is that it was probably the smarter thing to lay this stuff down first and then water. But no. That's just not the Nilla way. Nilla waters first and turns the garden into a muddy mess so that when she's trying to lay down the papery stuff, she is sinking into the mud. Ah yes. The Nilla brain is a very scary place. And nevermind how hard it is to cut spots for your plants to grow through. Grrr. This was not a fun project. And I was already sweaty and hot (it was almost 80 degrees this past weekend -- and now we are cooling off again and tomorrow should be highs in the low 60s -- and I ain't complaining!) and therefore irritated. So I gave up after 2 rows. I will go back to it another day. And boy oh boy was I stanky when I was done (and it wasn't even midnight ;)!). I was in dire need of a shower. So I got one at the house rather than at Bob's house, even though I was still house-sitting. I also weed-whacked the rest of the yard before starting on the garden. And also some of the side yard that was way overgrown. Sigh. It's hard work. But to see strawberries and tomato buds is very exciting! And that's what the pictures are of. And cucumbers. Because I gave up and bought some since my seedlings mysteriously disappeared. Maybe I'll start them indoors next year.

House-sitting is over. For now. (I included a picture of Max who made himself at home on my lap on the couch while I watched tv.) I'm actually house-sitting for Wendy next week. Woohoo! I picked Bob and his wife up and his wife's sister and husband also at the ferry. I drove Bob's big old Titan truck. And I am not good at parking big vehicles. I couldn't tell how close I was to the wall in front of me. I looked pretty darn close. So I parked and got out. Shoot, I was practically a mile away! Oh well. Better that way than scratching it up by hitting the wall. I don't make a habit of driving other people's vehicles. But that was the only way 5 adults and a bunch of luggage was going to fit. On the up-side, I do manage to stay in my lane and only my lane ;).

I made my last payment on my student loan today!!! I'm so happy! Of course, it won't clear for a couple of days. But it's floating out there in cyberspace somewhere. And it'll be posted soon. And I will have met one of my huge goals for the year :). I am out of debt.

I got a phone call from the service center of my library system today. They left a message, because I was out in the fileroom shifting files and didn't have my phone. I took my time in calling back. I was nervous. I figured this was about the job for which I applied at the end of April. The one I figured I wasn't being considered for since I'm in my probation period. And I was okay with that. Well, so I got the call today. And I'm being considered. And asked to interview. And so I am going to interview. Next Friday. At 8:30 in the morning. 3 hours away. Ugh. So my mom and I are going to go down the night before and just get a hotel. Mommies are wonderful, by the way. I think it'll be nice for me and my mom to go have a night hanging out and seeing somewhere new. I still have reservations about the job. Mostly about how far away it is. When I moved to Tuscaloosa, that was really hard for me. I knew no one. I was 4 hours from my dad and everything familiar. And when I left there, I told myself I wouldn't do that again. Not because I couldn't (because obviously I succeeded and made new friends etc). But because I decided I wanted to be close to my family. And so this would kind of fly in the face of that. So... I'm not sure about it. And I'm not saying they are going to offer the job to me or anything. But I always think ahead. Just so I can worry pointlessly for 2 weeks before I even interview. It's the Nilla way. Ask anyone who has known me for any length of time ;). But I want to go and check it out and see how it feels. It would look great on a resume. I'd be making more than I'm making now and be working a lot fewer hours (28 per week, to be exact).

So today was a nutty day. Full of interesting happenings. And it was only Monday! I wonder what this week will bring.

Oh! But I've also made another new friend! She works at the funeral home and is the new location manager there. She is a lot of fun. We've been talking and laughing for about a month now and we just click. It's awesome to meet new friends and just click with them!

And I finished the Michael J. Fox biography I was reading. I really liked it. And if he can be up-beat and optimistic with his disease (which sounds horrible, by the way), then I have no reason not to be! So, here's to always looking up :). Which actually works on two levels, if you ask me :).

For Love of the Library

As we come to the end of National Library Week, I thought I would make a little post about libraries in general and include a bit of commentary from a library employee perspective :).

Libraries are awesome. They are a very important part of a democratic society -- a fact I didn't really think about until I was in library school. A good library (particularly public libraries in this case) will have a variety of information, even if that information might offend some people. Consider the fact that there are mulitple books on the shelf in the library where I work that give tips on how to grow certain illegal substances. While I personally may not agree with the views and information made available in books in the library, I recognize that having those materials is a sign of a democracy. People are allowed to choose.

Libraries are awesome. They are, in a way, an equalizer. All people can use a public library. You don't have to drive a certain car, earn a certain amount of money, have a certain number of children, etc. If you are a resident of an area, you can generally obtain library privelegs. If you are just passing through, you can still benefit from some of the services a public library offers, such as computer usage. And a public library provides access to things some people can't otherwise afford. How awesome is that!?!

Libraries are awesome. They provide hours of entertainment and learning through books, movies, CDs, and a bunch of other things.

So the next time there is a tax increase suggested on behalf of the libraries (again, mainly public libraries in this case), you should see it as a good thing. It is really the only way public libraries get any funding. And yes, I recognize it can be difficult to watch taxes go higher. But think of the benefits. Perhaps for the price of one book brand new at Barnes & Noble, you are creating a better chance to have access to thousands upon thousands of books -- not to mention all the other materials you can borrow from your library. For the price of one book! Talk about an amazing return on an investment!

Okay, so I'm done "selling" the library.

Here are a couple of things you may not realize. Things that just go with the territory of the public library ;).

When you handle a lot of books, your hands dry out faster. Plus, library books are dirty (they are, after all, handled by a lot of different people). So when you handle a large volume of library books, you can just feel it on your hands. I wash my hands more when I work in the public library. It was through working in the public library that I discovered how you can literally feel when your hands are dirty. Now that I'm back working in a public library after about 6 years, I am reminded of these tidbits :). Thought I would share them. I simply have to moisturize my hands more :). Extra washing also equals extra dryness, along with the dryness that comes with handling the books.

I'm sure there is a lot more I could say about libraries. I just think the public library is awesome. I love that I can rent movies and check out books for free. I love it. In fact, I just returned The Dark Knight, the newest Batman movie. I'd never seen it, it came through the library, so I checked it out :). How awesome is that?

A Life So Ordinary

So I have now completed the transplanting of my tomato plants. Actually I finished that project up on Friday evening with the help of my wonderful mom who is always willing to help me :). Turns out, in the end, I have 63 plants! Phew! So I've been telling all sorts of people about them and telling them if they want a couple to let me know, because I'm just giving them away :)! I figure I can keep and plant 10 of them and that will be plenty sufficient. If we have a huge surplus of tomatoes, we are going to make and can our own spaghetti sauce. It might be fun to do salsa too, since then we can have salsa for various recipes we use every so often. So that's my tomato news for you.

For the most part I have pretty much just been working. Sameold sameold :). However, there has been room for fun! I walked with Wendy a couple of times last week. We have very enjoyable conversations that really help the walks to go by quickly. Then Friday night I went to Heidi's and we enjoyed pizza and sodas while watching the very cute chick flick The Proposal. I'd been wanting to see that one, and she had it, so we watched that. Then we proceeded to gab for two hours until 11:30 when I finally said I had to leave, because I had to work the next morning.

Oh yeah, and now I'm a Sunday School teacher for 12 and 13 year olds. I haven't taught yet, my first lesson will be next week. I have never pictured myself as a teacher. I admire teachers who are able to grasp a class's attention and really teach. I hope I can do at least a little bit of that.

And I finally finished While My Pretty One Sleeps. And then I forgot the next book I was going to read at home, so I didn't have it with me to read on my break (and I hadn't started it yet), so I ended up checking out a different book I'd been wanting to try out. It's a re-telling of the Cinderella story. There is a YA author who has written several books all based on the the fairy tales, and I thought they looked neat. Plus if they are clean (and it seems they are) and a good read, it gives me another set of books to recommend to Alysha when she's looking for stuff to read. Of course, this doesn't bode well for whittling down my "to read" list ;). Hahahaha... The plight of the public librarian!

And so I shall close for now. I am tired. So I will work on reading a bit of Before Midnight and then get some sleep so I can start again tomorrow :).

Also Known As Bribery

So last night my mom and I made oreo truffles. Mostly because it turned out I had bought a package of oreos when they were on awesome sale and had forgotten about them. And then my mom found them. And it turned out to be a good thing, since I figured I'd make a batch of oreo truffles to give some to Mary to share with her husband Ed for Valentine's Day. After trying various and sundry ways of coming up with a tool to keep from having to dip my fingers in the chocolate, I finally caved with last night's endeavor. I just dipped 'em with my fingers. It went a whole lot faster than usual! So this morning I divvied them up -- some for Mary, some for work, and some for the little boy who lives down the lane... Nah, I'm kidding (that was a reference to a nursery rhyme, though, if you didn't know ;)). I decided to take some down to my new job place today, since I had to go down to get a binder for new employees. As it is with starting any new job, at least for me, I am hopeful that I will fit in there. But what if I don't!?! Julie said I should fit in by bringing them Little Debbie cakes, since that was the beginning of our beautiful friendship (and that's an allusion to Casablanca ;)). But I told her I took them oreo truffles instead ;). Who can't like the girl who brings oreo truffles!? Hahaha... Nah, I'm kidding. I did take them, but not as bribery. Fact is, who knows when I'll make them again, so I figured I'd take them in and be nice. I did, after all, get a nice card from all of them (signed by all of them), welcoming me aboard. I thought that was really nice.

Lately, I have been getting a lot of blog hits from Europe and stuff. It's weird. Germany. Tonight I got two from Russia. Very odd. I don't know people in those places. Oh well.

And since Julie was asking about it, I'm going to clarify... I mentioned another blog where I do booktalks. You will not find my opinions of the books there. This is because we were trained (when I was in library school) not to offer biased booktalks. So, in an effort to have a professional-ish blog, I opted to follow those rules. In fact, several of those entries were actually school assignments from yesteryear that I simply pasted into blogger. So, yeah. My opinion isn't there. But, if you want my opinion on any of them, feel free to ask me. The blurb I write is mostly a synopsis of the book so that people can decide if they want to read it based on the subject or story line. Believe me, I have books I love, books that are okay, and books that are downright boring or not on my favorites list... I just try not to convey that opinion in that particular arena :).

Finally It Happened to Me!

Well today is the first day of the rest of my life ;). How cliche.

Today was full of events to proclaim. Well, okay... Maybe there weren't all that many. But there were some events. One of them was the email I got from the public library saying that Ender's Game was waiting for me at the library. To say I was ecstatic is an understatement! I had visions of me curling up with the book and finishing it tonight. (I think I'm a loser after reading back over this paragraph, but oh well...). Those visions were quickly dashed when I made it all the way to the library and found out they were closed until 1. That's what I get for assuming. I mean, what main branch of a library doesn't open all day on a weekday? But then I must remember that budget cuts hit libraries in a particularly nasty way. Economic hardships are not friendly, ever, to the public library. Shoot... Economically good times aren't especially favorable to most library systems in my experience. It's a sad fact, really. But I digress. So I drove all the way over there to have my hopes dashed. And since they closed at 5, I couldn't pick the book up after work either. This will help to remind me to check the hours next time. I didn't learn my lesson the first time I did this either, but that was with the downtown branch, so it has different hours anyway. But still, I could learn the lesson of looking up the hours online before heading over!!! So, tomorrow is the day then. Tomorrow I will go check out the book. Yay!

The other awesome event is the reason for the blog post title (which is a song title post). (Although I just realized that the whole Ender's Game thing is also applicable :)). I finally got a job in the library world again! Woohoo! It is a part-time job in the same town where I volunteer at the middle school. I will continue to work at the funeral home, and I am glad for that. I love my job. Thinking of having to leave it and the people there had made me sad. So I'm glad that, at least for now, that isn't an issue. I have a foot in the door in libraries here now, so that is good. I got the phone call this morning and they offered me the job. And this is why I mentioned the other day that I talk way too much with my hands when I'm nervous. I noticed the hand-talking a lot during my interview. So anyway, I have to give a world of thanks to Mary, Annie, and Donna for being my references and for letting me know they had gotten phone calls! And I know this is seemingly out of the blue. But I got so tired of mentioning jobs I applied for; jobs I interviewed for; and then having to say, "No, I didn't get it." It made me feel like a total loser. So, I've kept quiet about things of that nature (not that there has been a whole heck of a lot of library job openings in my area for which I applied), because I just didn't want to have to do that again and again.

Perks of the job: It's a 2nd job and supplemental to the one I have. It's a foot in the door of the library world. I'm back in the public library world, where I haven't really been for almost 6 years, and I have missed it. I will now know when Tess Gerritsen will come out with her new book. Or what the best-sellers are. Yep, I've been out of the loop for far too long, and I've felt it.

"Downfalls" of the job (circumstantial/situational, not the job itself, mind you ;)): Schedule is Tuesday through Saturday, which means I will no longer be receptionist on Saturdays at the funeral home. Not that I'm totally bummed about it, I just feel bad that they have to readjust. And also I will miss working with Mary every 3rd Saturday. I will, however, enjoy having part of the day off on Saturdays. This also means I definitely will not be able to make the New Moon party with my dear Alabama friends. I knew this was likely true for other reasons, but this pretty much nips it in the bud. I will be sad to miss it. But I will be there in spirit! And, there's always Eclipse, right :)? But thanks anyway to all you lovely ladies who really wanted me to be there -- to the point of saying you'd pick me up at airports from Birmingham to Montgomery to Panama City, FL! You all are awesome! And seriously, I will miss being there to party down with you gals.

The other event of the day was what happened on my way in to work. I had a gift card to this little coffee establishment that is on the way to the funeral home. I'd been scoping it out to see if the only option was drive-thru, because remember, my windows don't roll down. Now, I don't drink coffee, but I won this during the Dirty Santa we played at work in December. And Bob told me that this place had a really good Italian Soda. So, in my days of scoping the place out, I noticed that there was a door, so I figured I could probably go in, even though it wasn't set up as a shop. So, I pulled in there today. Turns out you can't actually go in, but upon closer inspection, there is a walk-up window. So I was pretty excited. So I asked the girl about the Italian Sodas and she told me all the different types and said the orange one was like an orange dreamsicle. That sounded fantabulous to me. So, I got that. Used my gift card. Still have money on it. Yay. Headed for work. Parked my car. Got out of my car with the Italian Soda (which I tasted and it was way good) and my purse and my other bag I take to work with me (because it has things like make-up, in case I want to put it on, and my mp3 player, and my reading book, if I have one I'm currently reading...). Plus I had my keys in my hand. So, I put everything on top of my car to get organized, and when I went to pull my bag back off my car, it knocked off the Italian Soda and it went SPLAT! all over the cement. I was soooo bummed. Honestly, I'm still rather bummed about it. I'm just glad I didn't actually pay for it. And I can go back one more time and try again. This time, I will not put it on top of my car and knock it off :).

So, that's my news. I'm excited. I don't know why it took as long as it did for me to get a library job. I may not ever know. Or maybe I will one day look back and find out why things have been the way they have been. In spite of all the hard times (and during those times, I most definitely don't see it this way, even if I know it to be true), I do know that I have been watched over. I know that things don't happen randomly, but that all things (both the good and the bad) are for my experience and growth. And if I just have faith (I know, easier said than done... at least for me), it will all be ordered for my good.

"Sometimes He lets it rain. He lets the fierce winds blow. Sometimes it takes a storm to lead a heart where it can grow. He can move mountains of grief and oceans of pain. But sometimes He lets it rain." (lyrics by Hilary Weeks)

SHHHHHH-OOT

That's the librarian SHHHH in me coming out ;).

Im kidding. Although I'm seriously annoyed by the whole Ender's Game situation. I seriously have a craving to get my read on, but I can't. I seriously cannot start another book without finishing that one first. This is one of my quirks. You can imagine the horror and anguish I must have felt being an English major and having no choice but to read more than one book at a time. But at least in that case, I had all the books in my possession! Not so with Ender's Game. I will not be able to finish it until some unknown future date. And believe me, I've tried. Even the downloadable copy is checked out through the library system here! And most of you may already know that I loathe the idea of reading a book online (which is probably why I haven't really bothered to try to read Midnight Sun, by the way). There is something gratifying, for me, about having a book in my hands and turning the pages. Old fashioned, yes. But me nonetheless. I don't even really care for audio books. I can't stay focused on them. My mind wanders and I have no clue what I just listened to. So, I don't go that route either. Anyway, so today I went to Goodwill to see if they, by chance, had a copy. Nope. On Friday, I tried another thrift store that I frequent... Nope. They had another book by the same author, but not Ender's Game. Today I also tried a used book store I have never been to before. Nope. I got to work and was talking about it, and a lady there suggested I try the two used book stores up by where she lives and if they had the book, she'd be happy to swing in and pick it up for me. One store didn't answer the phone all afternoon (and I called at least 4 times). The other one didn't have it, and that lady said she's been having a hard time getting her hands on it as well. So blah. I have struck out royally. I finally just put it on hold. So here's to hoping that at least one of the people who have it checked out will return it on time, if not sooner ;). Oh the hardships! LOL.

My car is falling apart. Got the bulb in the headlight replaced. Not expensive. Door locks are the new issue. Most days I have to really jam hard to get my key into the driver side lock. Some days I either can't get the key inserted no matter how hard I try, or, if I do get it inserted, I can't get the key to turn. And in that case, I only am willing to exert so much pressure... Don't need the key snapping off in there... YIKES! And the passenger side... Key always inserts fine. But it doesn't always come back out easily. So, I'm going to try to put graphite dust or whatever into the driver's side door and see if that does the trick.

Last night I watched several episodes from the 2nd season of Scrubs that I don't think I ever saw on tv. Way funny. And tonight I watched The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Cute concept for the movie. Romantic comedy -- the best kind. Kind of on the raunchy side, though.

I changed my "Glimpses" section on the right for the month of February. This month is the month of love. I linked accordingly :).

Lessons and Facts From The Nilla Life

At least from the last couple of days. You can pick which are lessons and which are facts :). Or maybe they are all both?

1. The Nilla subconscious is a scary place. The night before last night I had a dream that a pteradactyl was in my neighborhood in Cardenas in Panama. It was hanging from electric lines, and I thought it was dead. Then it moved and started flying at me really low overhead so as to scare me. Because it told me that it couldn't actually eat me, because I was too big to fit in its mouth. Yes, the pteradactyl (an exctint dinosaur bird) talked to me. Anyway, then 2 of my cats showed up. Both of them were calico cats. One was Mittens, who really was my cat about 15 years ago. And the other cat I don't know. It wasn't Callie the work cat, though. Anyway, immediately the pteradactyl spots the cats and flies toward them and eats one. The one I don't know but is somehow mine. So I'm running after Mittens, screaming, "Run Mittens!" After a harrowing experience on my part of trying to get my cat safe and the pteradactyl trying relentlessly to get the cat, the pteradactyl gets sick and throws up cat (gross, I know, but in my dream it wasn't vivid or gross-looking, I just know that's what it was). And so then the pteradactyl is laying on its back and looks gold-colored. And it also looks like Heckyl and Jeckyl. If you have no idea who they are, click here. (And I have no idea the last time I even thought of these cartoon characters, so why they would show up in a dream is beyond me... But then, I can't explain why a pteradactyl is in my dream either.) And my mom, ever the care-taker, wants to nurse the pteradactyl back to health, because we feel sorry for it. So she starts dosing it with root beer. Yes, I said root beer. And then it turns like fire-engine red and starts sweating. Around this time I woke up. I have no idea what this dream was about, much less where it came from. I wonder what Freud would say. I still think my subconscious is a scary -- though amusing -- place.

2. You cannot have your monthly car insurance bill put on your credit card. I was going to just have it billed to my credit card every month so that essentially all I will do is write one check for one bill each month and gain credit card points to boot. So much for that big plan. Oh well.

3. Grocery stores will sell an item on its expiration date (or sell by date) for really cheap. But don't go back the next day and hope to still get it. It will be destroyed, gone, unsellable. With milk, I can see this as valid. With Frosted Flakes, not so much. It's not that I don't understand why they won't sell it (I mean, that's a lawsuit just waiting to happen for our sue-happy society), but something tells me that Frosted Flakes are still going to be non-deadly the day after their sell-by date. Furthermore, the way I see it is that if you are "dumb" enough to buy Frosted Flakes the day after their "sell by" date, and then you eat them, then, if they make you sick, you deserved it and shouldn't be suing the company who sold them. But anyway. I'm not complaining, just pontificating. I would have bought a couple of boxes for 50 cents each -- even a day after their sell-by date. And I would have eaten them. Which is why I felt like I could put "dumb" up there, because I would so be in that category. For Frosted Flakes. Not for milk. But it's a moot point, because I passed up the deal on the "sell-by" date (which was Thursday), and when I went back on Friday, they were gone, and the ones in their place were over $2 a box. Not a good deal in my book.

4. I talk with my hands. And not in the sign language-y useful and cool way. I've mentioned this before. But I noticed yesterday that I do it more when I'm nervous. Which is probably the least opportune time to do it more. But oh well. That's me for you...

5. Read faster. I only had 100 pages left in Ender's Game. I was sure I'd be able to re-check it. But there were holds. Half of me wanted to just keep it overdue. But that's not very librarian of me, so I didn't. And now who knows when I'll get to finish it. Which messes me all up, because I don't like to start another book before I finish the one I'm reading.

6. Make sure you look around the kitchen at work and ensure that there are, in fact, no paper plates, before you put your cheese chunks you just cut up into a plastic cup and have Mary laugh at you for your "newly invented fast food item" (available now at all fast-food establishments...): the cup of cheese.

7. Working with someone (or multiple someones) who leave a skid-mark on the back of the toilet seat (and who will hereafter be referred to as Mr. Skid) is disgusting. Mary and I always seem to be the fortunate ones who walk into the restroom after Mr. Skid has vacated at some unknown prior time. Today Mr. Skid struck again. And so we had to clean it up. Gross. When Mary and I determined (based on when these things occur and who is here when they do) that there are very likely two Mr. Skids, Mary so eloquently said, "You mean they are pulling double duty!?!" And then we rolled with laughter. She said doodie!!! Hahahaha!!! (Okay, we're a little bit juvenile...)

8. Do not have the cup of cheese mentioned in item 6 sitting out on the reception desk in anticipation of you eating it for lunch after you return from performing the duties unfortunately associated with item 7, because you will keep smelling the cheese (not realizing it is the cheese) and thinking maybe -- by some horrible unspeakable possibility -- something got on your hands from the above-menitoned Mr. Skid "present" -- even though you doubled up the Clorox wipes and only used 2 fingers to hold the Clorox wipe against the seat and, well, wipe away the nasty and you washed thoroughly after the clean-up was done -- and that is what you are smelling. But it turns out it's just the cheese -- which doesn't make you all that keen on eating the cheese, but you have to put something in your stomach for lunch, right?

There were probably others. Probably others that were more deep and less silly. But I was feeling light, airy, and silly. Thought I'd pass the feeling along for anyone needing a laugh :).

Score!

Trust me, I'm as amazed as you probably are that I'm blogging two days in a row for the first time in probably a year and a half! But I had a really fun day! Full of things about which to blog! Woohoo!

First off, I was up until about 1 this morning reading Al Capone Shines My Shoes. It's cute. It's a sequel of sorts, the first one being Al Capone Does My Shirts. It's a young adult book for middle-school age kids, I would say. I loved the first one. It made me smile at the end. And I'm enjoying this one as well. Some of it literally makes me smile. I love books like this. Feel-good books. Anyway...

I woke up at 9 this morning. I set my phone alarm for 8:15. And yes, that's early for me :). I hit snooze on the phone (that is 3 middle-button pushes, by the way... I learned this so I can hit snooze without having to look to make sure I re-set it to sound again in a few minutes :)), so I woke up at 9 and got up. Because my mom and I had big plans to work on the pantry. I had a breakfast of toast with blueberry-rhubarb jam and strawberry-rhubarb jam. Two pieces of toast, one with each flavor. These are the jams I helped make with the then-Enrichment committee at church. It's not called an Enrichment committee anymore. But, I digress. Then my mom and I got down and dirty... quite literally. I usually overestimate my abilities and underestimate undertakings. I figured we could have the whole "cleaning and organization of the pantry" thing done in 3 hours. Wow was I off base! We barely scratched the surface! Some of that stuff hasn't been touched in probably 30 years. Which means it's dusty. And spiderwebby. Ick. Of course, please note that not everything in the pantry is this way. Just the stuff that hasn't been touched in eons. It's a huge pantry and storage area. One of the treasures I found are about 5 stickers from Birmingham, AL that have Vulcan on them and call Birmingham "The Magic City." They are circa 1981. How many people do you suppose have those?!? Apparently my grandparents must have made a stop in Birmingham back in the day -- probably for Square Dancing is what my mom and I are thinking. Anyway, we have a lot more work to do, but we have ideas for organization, and I think it will look great when we are done!

Before long it was time to get ready for work. Both my mom and I went in around noon, and I was pretty darn productive there, even though I wasn't feeling all "worky" today. Oh, and of course I helped Bob do the crossword puzzle. I like that ritual. Usually he will fill in a few and walk away when he can't think of anymore. Then I'll come check it out and fill in what I know. Then he'll come back and fill in some more based on what I've put in, etc etc. I find that I like doing the puzzles better this way than by myself. We tend to always finish the "warm-up" in the daily paper, and some days we succeed in doing the "hard" one too :). Oh, and of course there was tons of laughter with Mary. I'm not even sure what we laughed about at this point. I just wish I had a tape recorder some days.

After work, I got home and was thrilled with two items that came in the mail!!! One was a bill. Yes, I know. Who's crazy enough to want that? Well, me. Because! I wrote my pay-off check for my credit card! It goes in the mail tomorrow! Woohoo!!! I'm ecstatic, can you tell? I called the credit card company to get my pay-off to make sure it wouldn't go up with interest charges before they receive the check, and they said it wouldn't because of when they figure everything. And then they tried to sell me some kind of coverage so that I wouldn't have a minimum payment due in case I got laid off "in this difficult economy" or something. I said, "Look, I appreciate what you're saying, but I'm making my final payment, so I won't have a balance. Why would I sign up for something like that?" Yeah, no thanks. So anyway... I'm excited.

The other item in the mail was a package from Julie! Inside were the best friend journal -- it's my turn to write three memories :) -- an Office notepad for grocery lists, etc (awesome for 2 reasons: because it's The Office and because it's perfect for lists! :)), and a pair of 80s-style "sunglasses". I don't know what else to call them. You will see what I mean though. These were from Julie and her friend Randi, I believe. Julie had told me she was sending me a package and that something inside was from Randi. Anyway, totally awesomely 80s! Made me smile!!! And so now you can too! And don't make fun of my goofy 80s pose. It's the best I could come up with :).

In case you can't tell from the picture, they are those shades that have slits in them and no actual lens. So totally 80s :). Little by little I will have the whole 80s get-up. Now to just fit back into that jean skirt... So, thank you Julie and Randi!!! Way awesome surprise!

And then I went and spent money. Because I'm uber-frugal like that, right? Okay, actually, I didn't intend to spend money. Well, except for what it cost to get contact solution. Everywhere I've tried to get contact solution in the last week has either not sold it, been out of stock, or it was $10.99. I'm sorry. I'm cheap. I'm not paying 11 whoppers for contact solution when I know I can get it at Wal-Mart for like $3. So I finally gave in and just went to Wal-Mart. I know, Julie... Everywhere for you is like at least 15 minutes away. But up here things are more compact, so I have gotten spoiled :). And I hate the drive to Wal-Mart. It's on the other side of town ;). Whine, whine, whine. But anyway, so I went. And got 2 full-size bottles for less than $6. I think it was actually even cheaper than that. Oooo! I had to look, and it's even better! I got 2 bottles for $4.73 after tax. Yeah, so forget that $11 crap. It didn't even cost me $7 in gas to get to Wal-Mart :). And then I went to JC Penney -- a place I never shop -- and found some of the most awesome after-Christmas sales ever! I can't tell what I got, since they are all for Christmas 2010. I'm working on buying throughout the year -- especially when things are on sale -- so I don't get slammed at the end! And I got $180 (before tax) worth of stuff for $26 after tax! For you math nerds out there (like me :)), that's roughly 14% of what I would have paid had I bought them before Christmas! Gotta love a good deal. And simply can't pass it up -- especially if I have the funds and it's going to pay off in the end :). Woohoo! So, I have both "big girls" (as far as nieces go) bought for for Christmas!!! Wahoo!

And then I came home and showed my mom my scores :)! She was impressed!

So yeah. Today was a pretty awesome day. And on Saturday, I'm going to go bowling with some of the ladies at church, so that should be fun :). And even more fun, because I have that discount card, so I get 2 games for the price of one :). For up to 4 people, so I'm sharing the discount with 3 other ladies from church :).

Oh, and my mp3 player has some pretty darn awesome music! I love this thing!

My Floorboard Swimming Pool

So I drive a car that is now 15 years old. It's a good car. I really can't complain. Yes, it has some issues. None of the windows roll all the way down anymore.* (refer to the a later paragraph for humor). The lock on the driver's side door is sometimes finicky to the point where I can't get my key inserted. And sometimes, even if I can get the key in, it won't turn. So, sometimes I have to unlock the car from the passenger side. But overall, it's a great car. It runs. It's paid for. I plan to keep it until it dies. But one thing that has become more and more noticable as I live in a state that is very wet is that I have a leak somewhere. Now, there has been a leak in this car since I first got it. Because the first time I noticed it, I was living in Dothan and we thought it was the heater core. So, we had Jon (Julie's husband) replace the heater core for us. So nice of him to do it. I don't even know what the heater core is. We just heard that when there is water building up on the floorboard, that's what the problem is. Only, apparently not. Because it has continued to leak. And I've just dealt with it. Sure, my right pant-leg will get wet on the cuffs. But nothing too bad. Well, today at work, I happened to park on an incline with the front of my car facing downhill. So when I got in it tonight, there was literally a puddle on my floorboard. I'm going to have to sop it up tomorrow... As I drove it home, a lot of it soaked back into the carpet in other parts of the floorboard. Thankfully it only gets wet on the driver's side floorboard and not in the back seats. At least there is that. Oh, and the other downfall to this is that it fogs up the inside of my car in a major way. All that condensation... In fact, one particularly cold day up here last month, I had ice on the inside of my windshield. Hahaha... So yeah, I have a swimming pool in my floorboard. How many of you have that awesome feature in your car ;)?

*So, for some reason I have this weird fear of my car going in the water and I wouldn't be able to get out. Because, even if my windows did roll all the way down (which they don't, as I mentioned above), how much time would I have with an electric window to roll it down before the water shorts it out? So, I heard -- from my friend Virginia -- that they make these window breaking things. I had never heard of such a wondrous invention, but it seemed pretty darn smart to me! But then I never thought of it again. Until I saw it at RiteAid last month. But they were like $6. I am cheap. So I didn't buy it. And Christina was with me that day. She made fun of me for my fear -- and for wanting to buy one. Anyway, then they went on sale for 50% off. So, I bought one. Apparently, my life is not worth $6, but it is worth $3. Well, so I've already played with this thing (not on my car windows, just in case it works -- which I really hope it does). I tested it on a wall. And it seems like the wimpiest craptastic-iest thing ever. I don't know how it would ever break a car window. But, we'll just assume that it will and I can be happy. Because Christina is probably right... I'll probably never have occasion to use it anyway. And then, what Elka said is also true... Wait til the car fills all the way up and then get out of the car -- because the pressure should be equal inside and outside of the car. And okay, so that all sounds intelligent. But seriously... When you are a little freaked out about that, you just don't have time to think logically and buying the $3 escape thing is a good peace-of-mind tool :).

I started a blog last year dedicated to book reviews and the such. I didn't really do a great job of keeping up with it. I'm trying to do better. I figure I should pretend like I'm a librarian and do something techologically bookie :). If you are at all interested, you can check it out here. Like I said, I didn't do a great job of keeping up with it, even though I was reading -- at least a little bit. I think my grand-total of books read in 2009 was 9 books. Just call me the slacker librarian. How sad is that? I just found a million other things that occupied my time. I'm hoping I will do better in 2010. I'm off to a good start. I finished Critical Judgement by Michael Palmer last night and am a couple of chapters into Janet Evanovich's Plum Spooky. This should be a fast read. Her books are fluff, but they are a good laugh. Good for the soul :).

Well, there really isn't too much to report. Life is pretty much more of the same here. So maybe I'll go read a little. And work on adding another book to my "read" list so that I can cross off another one from my "to read" list :).

My Excuse

It's been a whole week since my last post. And I have a really good (and for many of you readers, understandable) excuse. See:


I didn't finish it as fast as some of you out there. But, given that it took me many months to finish my last book, I'd say 4 days is pretty decent! I have to admit, I was shocked to get sucked in to Twilight. But, there is something that does suck you in.

Of course, part of why I didn't get the book read faster is because I have done lots of other stuff too. My sweet niece doesn't think me reading is an appropriate activity when I am baby-sitting her. She would much rather have me make silly faces with her or play ponies with her. And who am I to argue?

I also spent several wonderful hours using the gift of gab. I talked to my dad on the phone for a while on Friday. Did you know that I love talking to my dad on the phone? I love to laugh with him. I also love talking to Julie! She called me on Sunday, and we talked for quite a while. How wonderful it is to have a friendship that is steady and sure, in spite of many, many miles between us. And of course, there were my calls from Elka. Oh my gosh... We are going to have the BEST time together when she gets here in a very short couple of weeks.

I had my first RS Presidency meeting on Wednesday. That lasted 2.5 hours! But the time seemed to go by fast for me. I had another meeting to attend in conjunction with my new calling on Sunday morning. Then I drove to Brad and Tarylyn's ward to attend Sacrament meeting there, since it was the Primary Program in their ward. I got to see Saria and Samuel participate. What cuties they are. Samuel was quite the little active guy. Saria was so well-behaved. I am proud of her. Brad wasn't there, since he was doing his weekend in the reserves. So it was me and Tarylyn in the congregation, smiling at the kiddos. And Benjamin fell asleep, so I held him a bit while he slept.

I spent most of Saturday helping Mom clean and organize her room.

I have been working on and off (more off than on, sadly) on the reunion cookbook. It's funny. I never thought I was a procrastinator, but in some ways I am. I mean, I work on it here and there. But the closer it gets, the more intensely I will work on it. The good news is that so many wonderful recipes have been contributed! This will be a fantabulous collection of foods!

So, that's why I haven't been blogging. And also why I didn't finish Twilight in record time. But, I did finish it about 20 minutes ago, so now I'm ready for the movie ;). However, I'm not standing in line in the cold Washington days we've been having like those crazy teenie boppers they showed on the news today so that I can be the first to pay $30 for a movie ticket, a chance to meet some of the movie actors, and a t-shirt. I'll just wait for Elka. I'm sure we'll have more fun going to Forks with Mrs. S than standing in drizzly, cold, wet rain :).

Life... is so Amusing

Well, from everything I've heard, today marked history. Of course, it would have either way. But, I hear Obama won and is the first African-American President of the United States. Sometimes I realize how really cool it is to be alive during a time when so much is happening and history is being made. That is random, I know. It's probably the deepest thought you'll get from me in this post :).

Thanks for the votes of confidence concerning my new calling at church. For those of you who don't know what being 3rd Counselor in Relief Society even means... Basically I will, along with 5 other women in the ward, help to make sure the sisters in the ward are taken care of; that they have what they need spiritually and temporally. I feel very inadequate, to tell you the truth. What do I have to offer women with much more experience than I have? But, as I believe that callings come from Heavenly Father, I trust that He feels this is the capacity I should serve in at this time. I also trust that He knows me better than I know myself, and that He believes I am adequate... with the Savior's help, of course :). And I know I will grow from it, and I hope that I will help others that need help.

I have to give props to my sister-in-law Tarylyn. She introduced me to hulu.com. And I use it... a lot. I unwind at night, laying in bed snuggled up, and watching tv on the computer! If there aren't new episodes of anything for me to watch (like The Office, which I'm a little bummed to say feels a little off this season), I watch episodes of Arrested Development. That show cracks me up. And it's fun to watch it from the beginning again. I also have to give props to Tarylyn for introducing me to a new show called Fringe. Again, this is one they have on hulu, and I am caught up with it (it's new this season). I think a new episode will come out tomorrow. "They" are calling Fringe the new X-Files. I'd say I agree, somewhat. Either way, I've been enjoying it. And, I've gotten my mom hooked on hulu as well. We've got caught up on the new season of Bones, as of tonight. So, an all around good deal :).

And just so you don't think the only thing I do with my life is watch tv... I'm also almost done (as in 25 more pages to go) with The Name of the Rose. I know! It only took me over 3 months! Apparently gone are the days when I finish a good-sized book in 2 or 3 days. Ah, how I miss those days. For more reason than one!

Currently, I can't think of much else to say. I am compiling a list of strange facts about me to do another one of my 100 things about me posts... But, I only have 3 on that list right now. I've also got a few other random posts up my sleeve that don't involve life in general, but just stuff to chronicle. In the meantime... I'm going to finish my book and watch an episode of Arrested before I got to bed. I'm taking Christina to her doctor's appointment tomorrow so I can be in charge of the munchkin. So, I'll be up earlier than usual.

And Dad, I think it's spelled "sergeant." Who knows what I was thinking. I didn't look it up, but I'm pretty sure the way I wrote it before was wrong... Also, Brad told me I'm like Lucy from Peanuts. A big, bossy mouth. My siblings are so loving. But that's okay... Brad goes around singing "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard." And I'll never let him live it down.

Peace out ;).

It’s Hard to Walk Down a Steep Hill in Heels

That’s an FYI for any of you out there who might have wondered. Anyone as dumb as myself who gave it a try already knows this J. But, that all has to do with my Seattle pre-interview, which I will get to.

This week has been mostly more of the same. On Sunday I talked to Elka. Which is why the news flash is up there at the top of my blog as a new feature. I will update it weekly with a little tidbit, since I know I’ve gotten lousy at blogging much. But Elka totally admitted she loves Dwight. I told her we couldn’t be friends anymore. Unfortunately, I can’t dismiss her as my cousin. Blood runs thick and all that. :). Seriously am so excited she’s coming up in November!!! We’ve planned an Office marathon. But in addition to talking about the tv show, we had the most hilarious conversation. I love talking to her, because I just laugh so much. Elka, no butterfingers for you! Or dark chocolate milky ways for that matter :).

On Monday, I babysat Desiree. It was a beautiful day, though we weren’t expecting nice weather. So, I took Desiree to the little park in their apartment complex. She’s a cutie. I just figured it was such a nice day that it wouldn’t have been nice to keep her cooped up. She was very excited about it. We spent an hour there, and Christina called to tell me that night that Desiree had been telling her all about how she went to the park with Aunt Hila. I watched several episodes of Season 3 of The Office. And lost my battle with myself to have self-discipline and only watch 3 episodes. I watched the entire 3rd disc. I have issues. It’s how I would unwind downstairs cuddled under the covers all alone… watching the show on my mom’s computer until the wee hours of morning.



Tuesday I took Christina to have her blood drawn and to take her oh-so-fun glucose test. I spent pretty much the whole day with Christina, and we had a good time. We went to the grocery store to pick up a couple of things. I had my Temple Recommend interview with the Bishop and then I went home. And I finished off watching Season 3 of The Office. Oh yeah! And, I got a call to interview for a part-time paraprofessional position that is closer to here than Seattle. I want a full-time job, but that doesn't mean I won't take this if they offer it while I'm looking. Plus, it's a way to get my foot in the door in a library system around here :).

On Wednesday, I took my grandmother to have her hair permed and then took both my grandparents to Costco. And rode a motorized cart from the parking lot, because I was told to follow out an old couple to their car to get the cart. And spent 2 hours shopping. Elka, you should call me at your earliest convenience. I spent the rest of the night finishing up Stargirl. And wrote my booktalk at about midnight. And got to bed far later than I should have, since I had to get up and catch the ferry this morning.



Today… what a day! I’ll tell you, that was exhausting! I got up and got mostly-dolled up. I wore my tennis shoes and socks over my nylons, because I wasn’t walking the 6 city blocks to SPL in heels. (Somehow walking 6 city blocks from SPL didn’t seem nearly as silly…). I made it to the ferry dock and boarded the ferry. Free to go over to Seattle, you only have to pay to come back. First time in my life I’ve ever been on the ferry by myself. Not so much fun alone. I read quite a bit, but was feeling kind of tired, so I dozed a bit. I also talked with Juliebean a bit before my phone died on me completely in the middle of Puget Sound. Turns out you don’t get such great service out there in the middle of the Sound. “Can you hear me now?” Apparently not. I had plenty of time once I got to Seattle. So, I walked up to 1st Avenue… And you know what they say, “When in Seattle, do as the Seattle-ites.” So, I went into a coffee shop and ordered a white hot chocolate. Starbucks. Then I hiked (literally, I mean this was all uphill!!!) 3 blocks up to 4th Avenue, and then over 2 blocks. To Seattle Public Library. Oh my gosh. I’ve never seen anything like it that is a library. I will say I don’t really think it’s attractive. But, it’s definitely different. It’s all glass. There are no solid walls on the outside. They are all glass. I took a few pictures from inside to give you an idea. Oh, and 11 floors! And it takes up an entire city block! It’s unreal! And they have a security guard (or probably 10) that goes around and wakes people up if they are sleeping! Hahahaha… I sat and read while I was waiting for my interview time. That’s how I know. I didn’t fall asleep, though. Anyway, by this time I’d already been into the bathroom to touch up my make-up and take off my tennis shoes and put on my heels. So, my interview was at 2. Two women interviewed me. For about 2 hours. Okay, easily one of the most grueling 2 hours of my life. They ask you all these questions about, “What would you do if…?” Or, “Tell me of a time when you ...” That was some hard stuff! I hope it went well. I didn’t feel awful at the end of it, but I was so glad it was over. Hopefully I’ll hear about whether or not I qualified for any of the positions before too long. Of course, hopefully I at least qualified for one! I mean, that was seriously the most daunting thing I’ve ever done. Probably it was a cake walk to other people, but it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. They did give me a free bottle of water to drink while I was interviewing. Anyway, after it was over, I was happy to leave and head on my way back to the ferry, hoping to catch the 4:10. And this was all downhill. Which wouldn’t be so bad… if I hadn’t been in heels still. Ugh, my toes paid a price. And you have to go slower, because you have to carry yourself so as not to fall flat on your face. And it was getting-off work time for all the Seattle people, so there were lots of people around. So I really didn’t want to fall flat on my face :). I made the 4:10 ferry. I found a seat and started reading. We pushed away from the Seattle dock. And about 5 minutes later, the captain of the ferry came over the loud speaker and said we were having minor difficulties. I looked up. We weren’t even moving. Hahahaha… We were dead in the water, just floating. Now, Julie… I took lots of pictures for you of the ferry so you could see how big it is. I would leave this part out of the story, because I know it will disturb you, but it’s part of the day, so it has to go in. But trust me, this does not happen often. And also, I’m here writing this, so you know we must have survived J. Anyway, they start the engine up finally (never did find out what was going on), and we head on our merry little way. Until I hear the engine cut off again about 15 minutes later. And so now we’re in the middle of Puget Sound (where there isn’t really great cell service, remember), floating again. And again, the captain came across the speaker. Pretty quickly they got the ferry going again. I’m fine, as long as we’re still floating. When I got off the ferry, I looked at it, and you could tell it was a pretty old one. But seriously, this has never happened when I’ve been on a ferry before. So, don’t let this story ruin the chance to ride the ferry, Julie J. It’s a cool thing. And since you’re doing all these things (like riding motorcycles and stuff), you can handle the ferry! I got back to my car (after not remembering which way I came out of the parking lot, so I wasn’t sure which way to go back in to find my car! – I’m such a small-town girl). I drove home. I was sooooo exhausted! I didn’t do all that much (not including the hike), but I was so tired. And then Grandma sent my mom and me out to pick up dinner from Burger King. I so didn’t want to. I wanted to stay home, eat something quick (I was soooo hungry. All I’d eaten all day up to that point was cereal in the morning and the white hot chocolate. Plus I wanted to get out of the interview suit and into something comfortable. I kind of did. I totally went to Burger King in the suit and flip flops (no nylons). But anyway, here I am, at the end of a very long, kinda stressful day. And I’m tired. But, since I started writing this, I ended up finishing it. So, if you see something in there while you’re reading that makes you think I didn’t write this on Thursday, it’s because at first I wasn’t going to post it until Friday… But since I’m writing and I can’t shut-up!!!! I ended up telling all the stories J. So, let me finish uploading the photos.


P.S... if you find random "J's" in here, those are supposed to be smileys. I typed it up in MS Word. And apparently the smileys don't translate... not even to a colon and close paren. Who knew?

P.P.S... SPL has a revolving door to get in, Juliebean. I thought of you :).

Feeling a Bit Daunted

Okay, so I heard back from Seattle Public and will be going for my pre-interview on the 2nd of October (which, though it sounds like it should be eons away, is now less than one week away! Where the heck did September go?!?!). Let me just say I feel daunted. I will be interviewing to qualify for all three librarian positions: Adult Services, Young Adult Services, and Children's Services. In order to qualify for YA, I have to present a 5-minute book talk. No big problem there. In order to qualify for Children's, I have to present a 5-minute story. I was unclear on what they meant by story, so I emailed them. Could I read aloud? Or did this have to be me telling a story without a book? Basically, the answer is that there are no restrictions, but that I should expect the interviewers to respond as children if I request it. What!?! I'm not really sure what that even means. Either way... I'm going with reading a story. Why? Because the other way would make me even more nervous! So, I called my trusty and wonderful friend Kristin who is the Children's Librarian at HLML. She's awesome, people. If you don't know her, just trust me. She is awesome. She suggested several titles. I was only able to find 2 of the ones she mentioned and then another by the same author that she didn't mention. Then I took them to Brad's house and used Samuel and Saria as my guinea pigs. I read to them and let them tell me which one they liked best. So, I will be reading aloud Dooby Dooby Moo by Doreen Cronin. Really cute stories if you are looking for something cute for kids ages 3 to about 8. So thank you to Kristin!!! You are wonderful!

In other interesting news... While I was in the library, I spoke briefly with the Children's Librarian. I mentioned why I'm getting the books, and she perked up and ended up telling me that within the next 2 months they will be posting a position for a Teen Services librarian here in this town. The downside is that it's only part-time. Apparently they are creating the position. And trust me, they need it badly. I went into the teen section to select a book to read and on which to write a book-talk for the interview. Their selection is really awful. I was very surprised. Of course, I hope to get a full-time job. And I certainly hope to get one before 2 months from now! But, it's always good to know these things, and I thought it was most excellent (to quote Bill & Ted) that she would tell me something like that. I guess we just see what happens. I know the right thing will come along, so I'm not really sweating it. I just apply for the jobs as I find them.

Also while at Brad and Tarylyn's, we went outside and picked wild grapes that grow in their yard. They are edible, though they taste very strange. (Well, I assume this is true since I've eaten several over the last month and have not died yet... I keep eating them to see if they taste more like "real" grapes.) Nothing like what a grape should taste like in my mind :). But, we are going to turn them into grape jelly. Because we can (can) and I love doing this stuff! Here's to hoping they will taste less sour when we add the 7 cups of sugar per 4 cups of grape juice. Of course we are also going to be making applesauce and apple butter tomorrow. Along with canning the blueberries for blueberry cobbler stuff. Christina is going to go over and help too. It will be very fun, if you ask me :).

Oh, and also while at Brad and Tarylyn's, we watched more episodes of The Office. Elka... It's hilarious. Michael gets on my nerves. He's such an idiot. But then that is what makes it so funny. Brad lent me the rest of season 2, so I'll be watching some of those after I finish this blog. I figure I need to play catch-up so I know what's going on rather than just start in on the new season. And since Brad has them on DVD, I get to do just that. I have watched through the one where Michael cooked his foot on his George Formann grill and Dwight got a concussion. Oh my gosh I laugh so hard in some of these episodes.

Oh, and for those of you wondering... I'm still working on reading The Name of the Rose. It's finally starting to pick up. It took a little while to get into it, because it has a lot of descriptions. But now that I'm about 170 pages into it (and I have a very long way to go!), I'm starting to pick up speed. It just seems like I never have much time to read. And then I end up watching episodes of the Office when I do ;). Of course, I'll have to stop on that book until I read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I have to do a booktalk on it before Thursday. Hopefully it will be a good read. I'm pretty sure that book is on my list of books I want to read at some point in my life (the list that always gets longer and longer and longer!). I don't have that list easily accessible at this juncture, as it is packed in my nightstand drawer in the garage. Although... If I were to get a job in Seattle, I wouldn't move there. So I would have an hour commute via the ferry. I'd say that's good reading time!

Oh! Went to my first night of Institute here. The teacher is very different from my last teacher in Tuscaloosa, but I still learned a lot. We are studying the New Testament this year. It seems as though sometimes there are little nuggets meant just for me in some lessons. I think I will enjoy this class and learn a lot, as I have the past 2 years. Annie, you'll have to tell everyone that I even used my Alabama sweater already! Wednesday was drizzly and cold. It never got out of the 50s. I figure the 4th floor will enjoy knowing I'm already making good use of the good-bye gift :). Of course, today cleared up nicely and was perfect weather this afternoon. And I'll tell you what I have noticed: I sleep the best when I'm snuggled up under comforters and blankets because it's cold! I get such wonderful sleep these days! Although my tootsies are like ice cubes, even under the blankets, for quite a while. But eventually they warm up nicely :).

Well, I'm off to watch some of The Office. Perhaps I'll post pictures of our canning joys tomorrow. We'll see how I feel about it. I know my mom and I are going to go to the General Relief Society Broadcast. But eventually there shall be pictures. Because you know me... I'm a picture fanatic (or fool... Brad would vote the latter).