Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Some of you might have noticed that my right sidebar thingy is different. My masters degree timeline is gone.

This is true.

A few months ago, I decided not to continue pursuing my MLS degree.

Why?
I wasn't enjoying it THAT much, especially to have it drag out for 3 or 4 more years. (Especially when we'll probably be starting a family in the next few years--I couldn't see myself pregnant/having a newborn, working AND going to school at night) The money I would be spending on the degree wouldn't pay off, salary-wise, for a LONG time. Meaning: me starting out as a librarian in 3 or 4 years would be equal to what I might be making HERE at current job in 3 to 4 years without a masters. I also enjoy my free time! Especially now with the house, and DH's weird work schedule, things would never be done. And I'd never be home.

Thanks KCJayhawk!

Yay, I like answering questions :-)

1--did you decorate for the holidays or do you still have boxes everywhere?
Uh, well, we have a wreath on our front door. Which is a start. We also have displayed the Christmas cards from people around our fireplace. Other than that, no other holiday decorations. The tree is still in its "body bag" in the basement, with the boxes of ornaments and lights around it. There are 5 other houses on the street, and 4 of them are all lit up. We look like Scrooges or something--these people put Clark Griswold to shame!

And yes, boxes are still everywhere. We don't have enough furniture to put our things inside! All of the wedding gifts that have been residing at my parents' house for 2 years came to live with us now, and...they are piled in the dining room. All we have in there is a tiny hutch that we got at IKEA--it was previously used for kitchen storage (pots, pans, bowls) at our old place since we hardly had any cabinets. I need to figure out what can fit in there, and start putting SOMETHING away. (I'm a procrastinator....)

Our desk/office stuff has not been put away yet--when we moved, we consolidated and went down from 2 desks to 1, so we need to figure out how to fit everything into one desk. Plus, we might be on the lookout for some filing cabinet type of thing.

We're currently painting our TV room, so everything that should go in there is in the library/office. The kitchen is probably the most put-together room in the house right now! Our bedroom is pretty good, too, we just need a stand for our TV. I also haven't unpacked our little 4th "bedroom" which will be my crafty stuff room, because, again, I have no furniture in there. The other 2 bedrooms are completely empty.

We did buy a bunch of shelving at Home Depot but we need to put it together so we can start organzing the basement. DH got some for his tools and his fishing & hunting stuff, I got a smaller one for pantry items.

2--did you find any "surprises" (good or bad) after you moved in?
Hmmm, I'll start with the good.
--Great neighbors! SO happy about this.
--That the house was decently cleaned before we moved in. I still have some odd things to clean--baseboards, light fixtures, but nothing was disgusting.
--It already feels like home, and doesn't seem like we've been there 6 weeks :-)

Not too much bad stuff, more like weird, maybe.
--Toilets that don't shut off--my FIL came to look at them, and he thinks we need to just replace the guts inside. That's cheap/easy.
--Lower water pressure than we're used to. Growing up and in our other homes, we had city water, now we have a well. It's not bad, just takes longer to fill up buckets or the tub.
--Some weird things on the walls when I started prepping the TV room for painting--in a few spots the paint started to peel randomly so that had to be fixed, and I didn't know how to do that, but I soon learned.
--The pantry closet in our kitchen was almost an afterthought, which makes it VERY tiny. Slim. An adult arm almost doesn't fit through the doorway to get to the shelves. Grr. We're managing by only keeping what's open or what can't be stored in a basement (pasta, rice, etc) in there. Everything else--canned good, things in bottles, paper products--goes in the basement on a little shelf until I get the shelving units up. I even have onions and potatoes down there!

My house--what do you want to know about it?

Ask your questions!

Still here...

I promise. I really really promise to write more soon. The house is great---a mess! but great.

I might start a new blog, one that is more "public," but I will send you notes privately as to where that is.

Still here, still busy

Just a quick hello. Everything is really crazy busy, but good. Lots of money being spent, haha. I will update eventually about everything that happened with the house so far. Hope everyone is well--I do read everyone's blogs and comment when I can. Just not so good with my stuff!

MOVED!

We are in, we survived...we are swimming in boxes.

A longer update to come soon...things are going really well. We met all of the neighbors except for one house and everyone is super nice. SO HAPPY to have nice people around!!!!

An interview with GirlWednesday

Thanks to Illini_girl for the idea. :-)

Where have you been?
Ohhh, here and there...nah, just kidding. I've been BUSY with work and getting this house stuff wrapped up and getting ready to move. Oh and PACKING.

Do you know it's been almost a MONTH since you've updated?
Thanks for pointing that out and yes, I do know. I also have a new supervisor, so I need to make sure I'm really getting my work stuff done, and ahead of time. Want to be a good girl!

What's going on with the house?
I just found out (like 5 mins ago) that we have the clear to close!!!!!

Monday, 10/26--walk through in the morning, then closing in the afternoon, probably cleaning after that
Tuesday, 10/27--cleaning, moving our personal stuff
Wednesday, 10/28--carpets are being cleaned. And having the locksmith come, probably.
Thursday, 10/29--MOVING DAY. We hired movers and they are worth every penny. Then my mom and dad gave us a check that JUST happens to cover the moving costs, so we are pumped.
Friday, 10/30--more moving
Saturday, 10/31--cleaning the condo, then handing over the keys to the landlord

Are you excited?
Are the Pope and GirlWednesday Catholic? DOUBLE YES!

What's the first thing you're gonna do when you walk in and it's really yours?
Jump up and down, run around like a 3 yr old, and scream. And hug my DH.

How are you feeling? How's your health?
Other things are going on besides the house? What? Kidding. I'm doing really well. Just had a dr's appt yesterday--maintaining my weight, my insulin levels are great, my glucose levels are too. In other news, I have a CAVITY!!! My first EVER. I really thought I'd never get one...I'm a little sad.

Anything else exciting?
Not really. I think the house is enough excitement for a bit.

2 years

Happy anniversary to me and DH. It's been only 2 years, but we are looking forward to many many more years together.

No big plans tonight--he's working late and I'm going grocery shopping after work. We did go out to a nice dinner on Sunday afternoon...and we're getting a BIG present in about a month. The house ;-)

house and something else

We got the commitment letter from the bank, got a REALLY good interest rate (below 5%) and no points...

There's something else that's been going on and I haven't mentioned it. I think it's because I've been so tied up with the house. I have talked about it before, just not in a long time.

I finally did it. I lost weight and kept it off. I stayed ON the wagon. I lost about 20 lbs in 3 months! I'm down one size (pants & shirts). I have much more to go (probably like 80 more lbs--yes, I'm a bigger lady), but this was a huge start for me.

How did I do it? You're probably wondering, and so have a lot of people.

Nothing magic. No pills, no drinks, no surgeries.

I counted calories and did a little exercise (which has since tapered off to nothing). I started by writing down what I was eating, and figuring out how many calories was in each food item. Lots of measuring, looking things up online or in this little calorie booklet I had. I also had the assistance of a food scale that also contained caloric information. I still ate almost whatever I wanted, I just measured out my portions and recorded it. I tried to keep my caloric intake to between 1500 and 1800 calories.

My doctor is thrilled and so am I! Especially with the smaller pair of jeans I recently treated myself with!

another great thing

We got the request for repairs signed by both sellers! This made my day!

The chimney will be fixed! The fridge will not leak! The furnace will be cleaned and serviced!

And all of our radon tests came back in the normal range.

Just a quick update.

testing, 1, 2, 3...

Got the water tests back--we have drinkable water! Whoo hoo! The house has a well (we're going to be living in the country, people) so we had to make sure we wouldn't get sick or have anything strange happen.

Waiting for the radon tests from the basement--important because DH is making it into his "man cave." Don't want him to have any lung issues.

The things that I mentioned, here, are being resolved! The sellers are having the furnace cleaned and serviced, the water leak is being repaired, and we're pretty sure that they will fix the chimney/roof issues. The garage door is being replaced, so the only things we'll have to do are the general maintenance/painting stuff. Oh, and the dryer, ha.

Meeting with the bank on Saturday morning to do all the mortgage stuff. So much to pull out of files and prepare. Talk about your entire financial life being opened up!

Oh and the best part...the reason I put this picture in my post. The Realtor called last night, she happened to be driving by the house and the selling agent had the sign changed to "Sale Pending."

We're almost there! A little over a month til our closing date.

This weekend's activity: purging and maybe some packing.

A return to something familiar

I've posted about this before, about feeling like I don't belong or don't have a place.

I'm having that feeling at work again. For awhile I thought things were going well...but I still feel like I don't belong, really. I know, it's weird, especially because it's just WORK, but when you see other people talking about what they do outside of work (and you know you weren't included), it's hard not to feel slighted.

I probably feel more slighted than most because I don't have many local friends. Not that work has to be a direct channel for socialization, but we all know it helps. The people I'm friendly with are all in their early to mid 20s and are single, not really tied down--they are one group. There are other people with whom I'm friendly, a little older, married with kids, all male--they make another group. I don't fit in with either...I'm really trying not to let this bother me, but it does.

I think I'm feeling this way partially because of this weekend. My college friend K got married. Besides her shower last month, I hadn't seen her since MY wedding almost 2 years ago. Same with another friend, A. I really have no idea what's going on in their lives. It makes me wonder why people don't want to keep in touch. Are we really so busy? Is it me? Is it them? Who knows.

doing something NOT house-related this weekend!

Off to a wedding in another state for one of my college roommates. I'm riding up there with another roommate. DH is not coming--he has to work, can't get any time off with a new job. It's a gorgeous day here in my state--should be very beautiful where we are going!

Inspection today

It went very well. The inspector didn't have too many bad things to say about the house. There were a few "pressing" matters that will need to be addressed, and there are also some "future maintenance" things that will need to be looked at later on.

Pressing matters:

• the fridge is leaking! It wasn't doing that on the other times we came to look at the house and the selling agent had no idea. The leak was pretty small, so maybe it just started.
  
• there are cracks in the chimney's masonry and there is some flashing missing between the chimney and the house, which caused a little leak in the attic. Not a HUGE deal but should be fixed.
  

Future maintenance:

• the railings around the deck. They are OK, but will probably need to be bolted in so that they don't just fall off if someone (or a few someones) were to lean up against it.
• I sadly cannot remember anything else besides normal settling cracks that need to be patched and painted.

Other things:

• garage door--sellers will be taking care of this because their kid or a friend of the kid crashed into it and it's very dented. But, when they went to the door company, they not longer make this same door. So, now we have to decide if we want the door replaced or get $750 (cost) towards a new door.
  
• furnace--never been cleaned and there aren't any service records, so we are going to ask them to have that cleaned and serviced.
• dryer--isn't working, hasn't for awhile, and we had to sign that this was "as-is" on the contract, but S (our Realtor) is going to send someone out to look at it and see if it's a huge matter to take care of.

Other than that, all we will have to do is clean the house and sloooowwwwly paint (1 room at a time). The house is in great shape, everything else works. Eventually we will need to have some of the hardwood floors re-done (esp. in the kitchen) but the other ones look almost brand new. We'll also have to stain/paint the front porch and back deck.

As for pictures--I didn't get any today, I was so busy following the inspector around, and taking copious notes, I didn't have much time. I do have pics of the busted garage door! haha

So here's a quick overview of the house. A colonial. Front porch (covered) and back deck (uncovered). Two car attached garage.

Downstairs--living room, dining room, family room, eat in kitchen, half bath, laundry "closet"--all rooms are hardwood floors except the family room (carpet) and the hallway to the garage (stone). Stairs are UNCARPETED! (We have cats, people, you don't know how much I hate carpet with cats!).

Upstairs--every thing is carpeted (boo) except the bathrooms. Master bedroom w/ bath and walk in closet. Two very nice sized bedrooms. Another full bath. Then this crappy tiny little "bedroom" without a closet, but does have the door to the walk up attic.

Tomorrow: contact the bank and the lawyers. SO EXCITING!!!! I can't wait to "go home!"

Oh, and after I left the house, I clocked the mileage to work--almost identical for mileage AND time. Sweet! DH's commute will be much shorter which is even better!

CONTRACT!

We have a signed contract from the sellers.

The past week has been nuts--lots of counter-offering, then we finally agreed to accept one of their offers. We are paying $3K more than we wanted to, but we LOVE the house, it's a great location for both of us, nice yard, only 5 or 6 houses on the street, great town, etc. Then the sellers had a rough time getting the contract signed back for us. The owners are divorced--the wife lives MANY states away--and then she wanted her lawyer to look over everything. Probably to make sure she was getting what she was supposed to, per their divorce decree. While we signed our contract on Saturday, I didn't get it back until today (Tuesday). Geez!

Note to everyone: never buy from people who own but are divorced! LOL Just too much hassle.

Inspection will be day after tomorrow. VERY EXCITED for this!!! I am taking lots of pictures and I might post some here.

Counteroffer

The jerks counteroffered. They only went down 5K. Seriously people!? This is a buyer's market. Grrr.

We will be counteroffering back later today, but sheesh. (ETA: Realtor called while I was typing this and we put in a counteroffer for 5K more, take that suckers!)

I have a feeling that Mr. Home Owner needs to give money to ex-Mrs. Home Owner as part of their divorce settlement. Big Mouth Listing Agent spilled that out during our 2nd showing--about how he can't keep up with the house since his divorce. And all of the docs said his name only...but one doc said his and her names.

I really don't want to walk from this house. DH needs a shorter commute. It's stressing him out...he is threatening to quit if we don't move soon. (I really hope that is just talk.)

Put in an offer!!!!

On the house we really liked from the get-go. It's the perfect house for us. Of course, now we have to sit and wait for them to accept/reject (BUT HOPEFULLY ACCEPT) the offer. I think I shocked the Realtor when I told her how much we were putting down, but she doesn't know about DH's accident and lawsuit. This is not two young kids messing around with Monopoly money, here. As DH likes to say "this is blood money."

We can't do too much now...just have to wait. But I will keep everyone posted.

House hunting, part "I don't know"

Still house hunting. We've been out more than twice now, but I can't tell you how many times. I lost count. It's still fun, but we really want to find THE home.

We've realized that raised ranches don't really fit us or our lifestyles and we're much better off with a colonial. We saw one that we LOVED but there are some cosmetic issues that we are concerned with so S, our Realtor, is investigating and asking lots of questions of the listing agent.

When I say "cosmetic issues," please don't think that I'm being a Diva and saying things like "ewww, I hate that shade of pink on the walls, I can't live here!" but "is that spackle job hiding water damage?" and "why is there so much blown-in insulation in the attic?" We want to make sure we aren't buying a lemon. Nasty pink walls can be painted. Serious damage or a lack of good insulation...harder and more expensive to fix.

So, no real updates...not yet...

Otherwise, things are good, just BUSY. Going out once or twice a week to look at houses can mess with your schedule and routine just a bit. DH is settling in nicely with his job--they give new hires TONS of training. My work is busy too.

House hunting, part 2

To be continued, after tonight's house visits...

First--we have a letter from the bank and have been prequalified for what we wanted to spend, which is great!

Saw two houses last night. Both had nice lots but the houses themselves were ehh. Both raised ranches. The first one had great living space, but small bedrooms. The second had MANY bedrooms (I think 4 or 5!) and 3.5 baths (!!!!) and great living space, too. Besides being too big for us, it was overpriced. It's like Goldilocks--this one is too small, this one is too big.

We need one that is "just right."

song poem

Stolen from illini_girl's blog!

You put your itunes of shuffle and write the first word of every song for 20 songs. . . and the 21st song’s first line becomes your title.

Here it is. . .let's hope my weird music tastes didn't screw this up too much. We had some Go-Go's, Dave Matthews, Stevie Nicks, REM, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton, Ben Folds...

Title: In a white room with black curtains in the station

Can't seem to get my mind off of you

Satellite

I have finally found a way to live just like I've never lived before

You threw away the ballast and you rowed your boat ashore

Now the radio studders, snaps to life

You could be my silver spring blue green colors flashing

Colour me your colour, baby

Something is about to give


You've got your ball

Hey! Hey! Hey!

Get away from me just get away from me

Loving you isn't the right thing to do


Swaying room as the music starts

I'm on my way I'm making it

And summer became fall

Pangs of silence from the room upstairs

House hunting, part 1

Yesterday, we went out with our Realtor, S. She'd sent us a list of 6 homes to look at (with pictures and all of that jazz) and we liked 3 of them. We had actually looked at the other 3, from the road before we'd even contacted S, and they were beautiful but had issues like right on a major route, too close to those big electrical lines (hello cancer) and the last one had a weird yard--too tilted and we do get our fair share of rain around here, and no one wants a flooded basement!

We decided to take a look at the three that were remaining. All of them fit our needs in regards to square footage, acreage, age of house, town, so we figured why not?

Two were duds, one was awesome. The first one was dirty and smelly, plus the owner's cat BIT ME, when I reached out to let him/her sniff me before I attempted to pet it. Can only imagine what would happen if I'd just pet the cat! The property was also set into a hill and we didn't want that. The house itself was pretty decent, but the driveway was all torn up and would have needed to be resurfaced. No thanks.

The second one was cleaner, but very unsafe. Rickety back stairs off of the deck, which was brand new, so hopefully they were going to be doing new stairs, next! The front stoop had holes in the concrete (WTF) and when S was showing us out, she instinctively put her hand down on the railing and it almost gave way. Lovely. The inside was nicer than the first one, but it shared similar driveway/yard issues.

Both of these homes said they were on over an acre of land. You could NOT see this, and S wasn't sure where the property lines were either. Very sad. I think S felt badly about taking us to see these. They weren't her properties and she had the codes for the lockboxes and knew nothing about them.

So we go on to the third house, which was very clean, both on the inside and out. New windows, updated kitchen, immaculate carpets (which were almost 20 yrs old, but you'd never know). FLAT YARD (yay!) but the selling agent is there and tells us that there was an offer on the property this morning. Boo. It wasn't a house we were totally in love with, but we would have liked to keep it in our options. S was happy that there were NICE things out there and weren't misrepresented!

Hopefully we'll be looking at some more, soon. I meet with the bank tomorrow to start the mortgage process.

Is this a preview of things to come?

Today is DH's first day of work and I am so nervous. I know everything will be OK, and it's more anticipation and excitement for him, but jeez, you'd think I had just sent my kid off to a new school! Is this how I'll be someday when I DO send my child off on the first day? LOL

It's a new adventure, and a positive one for us, so I need to just relax, and remember that I'll hear alllll about it when I get home tonight. (After I return his pants that we bought in the wrong size, of course, lol)

In other news, the Realtor has already sent us some prospective houses to look at. I got SO excited last night, and squealed. I am NOT a squealer.

Met with the Realtor

Went much smoother than I thought it would go, which was great. Now DH and I have to work on the bank stuff--finding out how much we prequalify for, and all of that jazz. This shouldn't take too long, and that's my/our goal for this week. DH also starts his new job on Monday, yayyyyy!!!! He's pumped and in SUCH a good mood. Hopefully we can start looking at houses soon.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow DH and I are taking a huge step in our lives together. We are choosing to do something that could ultimately change our lives forever. In a good way. In a very expensive way.

Wanna guess? I am sure people have two things on their minds. lol







We are meeting with a Realtor about starting the house hunt!!!! I'm kinda nervous about this, and a little scared, but mostly very excited. DH is like a kid at Christmas, but to be fair, he has been pretty trapped here for a year and a half, while I've gone out to work every day. If I were in his shoes, I'd feel similarly b/c when you rent a tiny condo, you can't do much but clean it.

Anyway, we haven't done anything re: mortgage and all of that stuff yet, we're just meeting with this woman (who has worked for my dad and grandfather, as well as a HS friend of mine) to see if we like her, what she suggests, etc. Our lease is up at the end of November, and while our landlord would probably do a month-to-month with us, we live in New England and trying to do a home inspection with snow on the ground is not going to fly. So we have to act fairly quickly.

I just hope all will work out for the best.

Schooool's aaaaalllll-most o-ver!

*sung to the tune of "School's out for summer"*

Ahem, yeah, so my summer class is almost through. My group and I (heh, just the two of us now that I put that crazy b*tch in her place) are working on our final project which is due tonight, and then the final on August 6 or 7. Since it's online, you choose when you want to take it.

I will be glad to be done with the class, especially the online stuff. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal to go to school. I didn't like the amount of work, and not getting to know my classmates better. You miss something when it's online. I'm sure I'll see these people later on in the program. I did NOT enjoy the group project. I don't enjoy it right now, with my one group member taking her sweet time doing her part, so we can splice it together and post to the board. I'm sitting around, waiting, and waiting...

We have 5 assignments, each worth 20 points, adding up to 100. I don't like this type of grading since I have to do more math to figure out where I stand. (and yes, this is why I've always worked with books and am going to library school, lol)

Assignment 1 = 15
Assignment 2 = 20
Group project =
Final =
Participation = 20 (I'm assuming. I'm pretty chatty on the class message board)

So far, that's a 92. Phew. If I get 20's on the other two projects, the highest grade I can get is a 95. I'd like to keep my A track record, but I won't die if I get a B or B+. I just want to pass so I can get into the program.

Group projects

I really thought that when I was in grad school (remember this is time #3, people) group projects would be easier.

GirlWednesday FAIL.

I'm not going to go into specifics because it would be too lengthy and upsetting...but someone dropped the ball, and basically left the game without saying anything, only to try and re-enter the game in the fourth quarter.

It was so bad, I HAD TO GET THE PROFESSOR INVOLVED. I am not like that, folks. I don't tattle. I don't ask for help. Fortunately he was good about it all and came up with a strategy. But then this person decided to get off the bench and play again.

GROW UP PEOPLE!!!!!! Leave this garbage in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

Busy as a little bee...

Yes, I am busy. School is over very shortly, and I have two mini-projects, a big group project (and one member is MIA, lovely!) and the regular weekly reading/responding assignment, all due within a day of each other. Yikes!

I'm also helping DH get ready for his new job. Sunday we went clothes shopping and he got a bunch of new stuff. Today was shoe shopping, and it went very smoothly. He's not an apparel shopper at ALL, but all went well ;-)

I took yesterday and today off from work to spend time with DH. Ever since he got the new job, he's been really itchy about getting the heck out of this rental, and into our own place. I would love that too, but I'm not as itchy...then again, I haven't spent as much time here as he has. Yesterday we spent the majority of the day driving around our state, looking at the different towns that would be halfway (or thereabouts) between my job and his. Another benefit of moving would be that this general location would be an easy distance to other major cities, for future job prospects.

We are going to talk to a Realtor who has worked closely with my family and is family friends with one of my friends...and start the stuff with the bank, and then really get out there and hunt. Our lease is up at the end of November, so the timing is pretty good. I'm really glad I decided to take the fall off from school now! I'd much rather be unpacking and setting up a new home instead of doing homework and going to class! Although I do need to study for and take the GRE--bought a book today at Borders, so no excuses now.

Socially speaking, I've been busier than normal. It seems like everyone is getting married. I just got an invite for my 3rd shower this summer (had one in June, have one next weekend, and now one at the end of August). I have a wedding to go to in August, and probably one in September. I remember hearing people talk about the year of the wedding--when everyone you know is getting married, and I think this one is it! Two coworkers and a friend from college.

Just when you thought things were operating at a dull roar...now everything's waking up, almost like a reverse of the seasons...

Many thanks...

to those who saw my good news on here and sent me comments. Thanks for listening and commenting and for all of the thoughts and prayers and contacts that were sent over these past 16+ months...

It's been a long and rough road, but we're finally on our way.

For the deets:

DH will be a case manager for an alternative incarceration center about 45 mins away from us (in the opposite direction from my job, of course ). His last job was at an AIC, but this is a higher position. This job has more pre-trial clients, whereas his last company was with post-trial/post-prison clients, so there's more hope when they are pre-trial. Sad but true.

A little less money than he was making at his old job, but he's not being picky, and they actually gave him more than the position was being paid b/c of his experience. Still it's a JOB and it's MONEY so we do not care. He starts August 3 and it's biz casual so we have to go shopping, hahahaha. (He haaaates shopping and haaaates wearing biz casual--he's a jeans and T OR a suit and tie guy.)

The schedule is a little tricky, but we knew this before he accepted. He'll be working Tues, Wed, Thurs and Sat from 9-5, and Fri 12-8. Sun and Mon off. But we'll make it work, we've been through much much worse. Now I just have to tell my coworker that he can't go to her wedding, after we've already sent in the RSVP....

We've already decided that Sunday will be our "family" day and that we won't do much but spend time with each other, even if it's just Mass and grocery shopping and hanging around our place. Speaking of "place" we'll be starting the house-hunt around September. So exciting!!!!!

6/100

One of my blogger friends had this on her blog and I though it was interesting.

The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen –
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte -
4 Harry Potter series – JK Rowling –
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee -
6 The Bible (lots of it but not the entire thing, hello Catholic college w/ many religious requirements, lol)
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte –
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman -
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens -
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott – X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy -
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller -
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier – X
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien -
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger –
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger -
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell -
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald – X (one of my faves)
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy -
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams -
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky - X
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck – X
29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll - X
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame -
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy -
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens -
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis –
34 Emma – Jane Austen –
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen -
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis – X
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini - X
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden - X
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne -
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell - X
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown – X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez -
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving -
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery – X (LOOOOVE)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood -
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding -
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan -
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel -
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons -
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen –
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth -
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens -
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley –

59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in te Night – Mark Haddon -
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez –
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck -
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov -
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt -
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold - X
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas-
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac -
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy -
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding -X (LOVE)
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville - X (sr yr of college, American Lit)
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens -
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett – X (another LOVE)
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante – X
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray -
80 Possession – AS Byatt -
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens -
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker –
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert -
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry -
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White – X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom – X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad - X
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint -
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams -
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole -
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas -
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare – X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - X
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

22 total...not bad...a lot of them WERE for AP English and college lit classes. Yay American Studies major, lol.

The BEST. NEWS. EVER.

DH GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why I love CVS

If you're in a part of the country that doesn't have CVS, I'm sorry :-(

We needed a few things that you can get pretty much anywhere--laundry detergent, bar soap, paper plates, napkins. I really don't like Walmart and go there only as a last resort, even though it's 5 mins from my house, but Target is like 25 mins away, no joke. I also don't like buying things like that at the grocery store, because they jack up the prices on those things and I hate the grocery store to begin with. (One perk of an unemployed husband--he does the food shopping during the week day!)

As many of you probably know, years ago, CVS came out with those ExtraCare cards, giving you $$ off on purchases and money back in the form of coupons. I'd recently got a coupon for $10 off a $50 purchase, and an $8 coupon. Knowing that I needed those things mentioned above, I figured I'd get them at CVS (where they might be a little pricier than Target and probably less selection) but with the coupons, I'd probably come out OK. Plus CVS is also 5 mins from my house, so I'd save in gas, too. And I needed to pick up my RX for my allergy meds.

I grabbed my regular coupon folder before I left, and it's a good thing I did. Here's what happened when I went to CVS...

Laundry detergent--yeah, not as many varieties as Target, but we usually use Tide or Arm & Hammer. Also because we have to hike our stuff down to our complex's laundry room, we buy small bottles. I know, it's more money that way, but laundry is heavy enough! Tide was on sale for $5.99 (saving $3 from the usual price), plus I had a $1 off coupon for any sized Tide. Score!

Grabbed the paper plates and napkins--both were store brand, so pretty cheap. Got the soap, realized we also needed toothpaste. had a $1 off coupon for that too. Wasn't sure if I had enough to get me to the $50 mark (and I know, those coupons make you spend more so you think you're saving) so I grabbed a box of tissues, also store brand. I was on my way to the pharmacy counter, and walked by the contact solution that I use. It was $2.50 off for the twin pack, and I also had a soon-to-expire $3 off coupon. Grabbed that too!

Here's what my receipt ended up looking like:

• RX item 10.00
• contact stuff 14.99 (saved 2.50)
  
• Tide 5.99 (saved 3.00)
• toothpaste 5.99
• napkins 3.49
• paper plates 3.99
• tissues 1.99
• soap 7.99

Then the coupons!

• -1.00
• -1.00
• -3.00
• -10.00 (I only used the one CVS coupon, decided to save the $8 one for another purchase, it was good through the end of August)

Total, after sales tax = $40.76, saving $20.50!!!!!!!!

It was like getting my prescription, the tissues, and the soap for free, lol. I LOVE when I do stuff like this. I'm such a dork, that's why I had to share with you all. I'm also proud of myself for no impulse purchases, like a magazine or some gum or whatever. And the best part, I got another coupon for another $2 off a future purchase. Score!

School news

Some of you might have noticed the new list on the right hand side...I needed to put my school to-do list in plain sight, because I was getting a bit overwhelmed and afraid I might forget something.

I have to take a semester off. The MLS program that I'm applying to has two dates for admissions--Sept 1 and March 1. I won't make the Sept 1 deadline, sadly. If I didn't take the summer course I'm in right now, I would have made it. I need to take the GRE again, and since it's been almost 10 years since I last took it (YIKES!) I really need to study that stuff. Especially since there's a new section that wasn't there the last time...I can't do that in a few weeks (I'd need to take it by mid-August to ensure that the scores are reported to the school in time.

This summer has suddenly become busy with a few bridal showers and weddings to attend, so that hampers things. Work is also super busy, so between working, socializing, and wrapping up this summer class, I think I have my hands full!

The plan is to use the fall to get my academic "shizz" together--ask for recommendations, study for the GRE, etc (you can see my progress on the to-do list to your right) and I'll apply for the March 1 deadline. I'll take a class in the spring while I await my decision and go from there...

Why not take one in the fall while I'm working on my other stuff? Ha, good question. The MLS program does not allow non-matriculated students to take more than 9 credits (3 classes) before they are accepted, so that definitely throws a wrench into my progress through the program. If I take one in the fall while working on my other stuff, I'll have to take the spring off and then I wouldn't be doing anything but waiting, so I figured it was better to spread myself out.

While I'm not really pleased that I dropped the ball and lost track of time, it will be OK. A very good friend of mine had to do the same thing when she was in the program--for a different reason, and then she later doubled up on classes to finish quicker. Of course my grand plan is after DH finds a job and I'm accepted, to find a part time library job, quit my full time job and take more classes. But we'll see how that goes, especially these days.

Feeling sad...

And it has nothing to do with me (for once).

It seems like everyone's got something "big" going on right now. I think I'm getting more sensitive in my "old age," towards situations which other people are in, and while that's a good thing, it's obviously bad too.

--I have friends who can't find jobs, who are well qualified, talented individuals.

--I have friends struggling with infertility, who want to be parents in the worst way, and everyone else we know is getting pregnant.

--I have friends with health issues.

--I have friends with sick parents and others who have lost too many family members this year alone (especially at work).

--I have friends whose families are going through rough times, including divorce.

--I have friends who are having horrible times with their jobs.

--I have friends who are heartbroken.


Hugs and prayers to all of you. My heart hurts for all of them.

Thank you Lauren!

Lauren is a student at my mom's school, who recently graduated and is moving up to our town's intermediate school. She'd been with my mom from Kindergarten to fourth grade, and was diagnosed with diabetes the summer before Kindergarten. Everyone was nervous, especially since Lauren was using a pump. My mom had dealt with other diabetic students before, but only ones who used insulin injections. (My mom is a school nurse, btw.) They had a great 5 years together, my mom took excellent care of Lauren and Lauren's diabetes is now almost an afterthought for her and her family. The family always gave my mom really super gifts for Nurse's Day, end of school, the holidays, etc. but this year's final gift really takes the cake.

To thank my mom for all of her hard work, patience and love over the past few years, Lauren's parents gave my mom a PANDORA BRACELET with three charms. There's a story behind all of them, I won't go into it here. What I'm most pleased about is that my mom's birthday is in a week, and I had no idea what to get her.

Hello jewelry store! Please show me your charms! Thank you Lauren and your parents! I now have birthday, Mother's Day and Christmas ideas for the next few years! (My mom would never buy the charms and accessories for herself, haha.)

I think I am the only person in the world...

Besides KC Jayhawk (hi!), who doesn't really care that Michael Jackson died. (and here I am blogging about it, haha)

Go ahead, flame me, smite me, I don't care.

I'm not surprised--I didn't think he was that stable of an individual to begin with, and I never imagined him getting old.

Yes, it is sad that a human being died relatively young, leaving behind three young kids. But that's all that I care about, really.

I was never a fan--oh sure, his music is catchy but I wasn't obsessed with him. I can't identify certain life moments with his songs. The only thing I do remember is being a little kid and not getting how a girl could be named "Billy Gene" (that's how I thought of it in my under 5 yr old mind) and why it mattered that "the kid is not my son."

Then again I didn't grow up in a super musical household--parents didn't buy records or tapes and weren't obsessed with music the way I am now.

Summer decor for the door...and for the house...

I need a new sign/greeting of some sort for our front door. I just realized it is now officially summer and I have a "happy spring" sign (given to me by Ms. M!) still hanging up.

Whoops.

Hmmm, what shall I put on my door? Can't do a wreath--the wreath hanger I have doesn't let you shut the door correctly and even bent the lock. Uh oh.

In other news, DH and I got a new couch. It's leather and beautiful (thank you tax refund!). We also got it on sale, so that helps. It didn't come with pillows thought, and we need them!

Here is the couch: http://www.raymourflanigan.com/catalog/details.asp?ID=13746

Our chair is sage green and all of our wood furniture is "medium" finish.

Here are some pillows that I like:
http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/RugsPillowsWindows/RugsPillowsWindows/tabid/514/CategoryID/144/List/0/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/4082/ProductName/Leaves-Woven-Pillow/Default.aspx And not badly priced!

http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/RugsPillowsWindows/RugsPillowsWindows/tabid/514/CategoryID/144/List/0/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/1734/ProductName/Crewel-Embroidered-Boxed-Pillow/Default.aspx Only if I can get it on sale...$35 no way!

http://www.pier1.com/Catalog/RugsPillowsWindows/RugsPillowsWindows/tabid/514/CategoryID/144/List/0/catpageindex/3/Level/a/ProductID/4069/ProductName/Floral-Dot-Embroidered-Pillow--Carafe-Brown/Default.aspx

My mom got some beautiful pillows at Target recently--she found them in the clearance area, and they would go SO well with our living room, buuuut they are hers. Of course I will not find others like that. Sigh.


Not much else is going on with us. Still poking along in my online class. Work is crazy/stressful busy. DH still keeps looking/interviewing for jobs.

really really irritated

and I can't even begin to explain why...

UGH.

Thanks A+ and Ms. M!

Your comments on my last school post helped immensely. I also took some quiet time one morning and just walked myself through everything the professor wanted. I think I'm in the midst of the swing of things now. At least I hope so.

Now to work on what I need to APPLY to the program...ugh.

Another great book blog

I wanted to share this with you all...
http://www.booksonthenightstand.com/

The two people who run this blog were sales reps at the bookstore where I used to work. I ran into one of them at BookExpo America and I figured I'd give a little shoutout to their blog. Oh, and they have podcasts, too.

Enjoy!

Has anyone ever taken an online class?

Can you help me? How do you keep it all together, the readings, the assignments, the postings?

This professor wants us to join all of these list serves, read posts, post things to our Blackboard page for the class AND to our Yahoo group.

I know this is grad school, but this is ridiculous. I've been in grad school 2 other times, and it's never been like this. I don't know how I can work full time and just take ONE class!

Great weekend!

I need to have more of these. DH and I decided that we'd try and do all errands/chores during the week after dinner, so that we could relax on the weekends. So nice to just sit around and listen to the birds after a great dinner on the grill tonight. All weekends should be like this, is what DH said earlier...and I agree.

Here's to hoping that we can get on this new "plan" and enjoy more time together, doing fun stuff (or even nothing at all really) instead of running from Target to the grocery store to home doing chores and cleaning. Not fun at all.

Real quick, something about school

So I'm taking an online class this summer. Supposed to start June 1. I kept logging in to the school's site that said "My Courses" (as there was a discussion board, places to post files and messages etc). I thought that was the place where we'd be "having" our class.

Yesterday, while checking my school email, I see the link to Blackboard which I've seen every time I log into school email, and on a hunch I decide to click it. Good thing I did! THAT is where my class is being "held." AND we had an assignment due by today! Just a quick introduction of ourselves, so I did that and was done. Also ordered my book from Amazon to come Monday (yay $17 for shipping) because we have a reading/discussing assignment due soon.

Shaking my head...

Almost FAIL. Diverted FAIL. Not quite WIN though.

Productivity WIN!

Taking a quick break while I let my water heat up for oatmeal, but I've been up for a little over an hour and have done the following:

• changed the shower curtain liner
• cleaned both bathrooms (just toilets and sinks/mirrors)
• cleaned both litter boxes
• emptied and reloaded the dishwasher
• hand washed two frying pans
• pulled out the empty soda/beer cans/bottles from our storage closet and put them into bigger bags. I was going to take them to the grocery store to get my 5 cents back, but oh yeah, DH does the shopping and HATES the cans. I'll bring them to a drop-off box that a local charity has later on today.
• swept the kitchen floor
• washed the kitchen and bathroom windows and wiped out the sills
• fed/watered the cats
  

OK, breakfast and coffee time! It is amazing what you can do when you just STICK to your projects and not screw off...

Feeling slightly overwhelmed...

The eternal question: is it possible to do it all?

I'm not asking this question as a lot of women do, trying to balance career and family (primarily children, but for some it now includes aging parents!). I'm asking this question as ME.

Who am I? A 29 year old, who:

• works full time
• needs to take care of her physical health by eating as well as possible and getting to the gym
• would like to have a neat/tidy home and clean clothes
• wants to relax with her husband, friends, and family
• would love to enjoy hobbies, activities, and even try new things

How can I do this? I always feel like SOMETHING "loses" or, in a worse case scenario, everything loses and I get nothing done because I'm too stressed and don't know where to begin so I shut down and screw off on the internet or something. (Note: I'm waiting for my laundry to be done, so I'm not screwing off, I'm taking a break!)

Maybe I am just not looking at things clearly. DH does help, thank God...if he was working, we'd probably both be scrambling to get things done. For now, he does do a LOT more than me.

What he does:

• most of the laundry
• the grocery shopping
• the cooking (and he's a very good, very INVOLVED cook, so it takes time)
  
• some of the cleaning (or at least he THINKS he does--I believe in a "man" clean and a "woman" clean...)
• takes out the trash
• feeds/waters/plays with the cats ;-)

What I do:

• the rest of the laundry (mostly my "good" clothes that don't go in the dryer)
• the dishes (most go in the dishwasher, so I fill it, empty it and put stuff away)
  
• the after-dinner clean up
• pulling out stuff from the freezer for future dinners
• the litter boxes (oh lucky me, haha)
• the rest of the cleaning (like the drawers in the fridge, scrubbing out the tub, etc.)
• the banking and bill-paying

It might look like I do more, but my jobs take less time. Litter box--5 mins per box. Dishes--10 mins each night, etc.

Sometimes I'm jealous of DH because he is staying home, although he haaaates it. I have this theory that the less money you have, the more stressed you are. Not only because you have less money and life is expensive...it's MORE stressful because the less money you have, the more things you have to do for yourself. No money for cleaning people. No money for laundry service. No money to have the car washed/cleaned. The list goes on. Then you spend all of your free time doing THOSE chores...and very little time for yourself.

I can only imagine what my life will be like once we get a bigger place, and a dog, and a few kids. I think I'll have a nervous breakdown! j/k ;-)

I need a balance...and I think that's what's missing. I'll slack off on something, let's say, cleaning the house. And then one day, I'll get it in me to clean and I'll spend an entire day (or weekend) totally scouring the house...wearing myself out and not enjoying my time off. That sucks. Or I'll spend an entire weekend totally slacking off and getting NOTHING done and then being mad at myself for not even doing a few chores!

I keep trying to figure out ways to balance my time and I'm not doing so well.

OK, so I can't up and quit my job yet and be a stay at home wife, so work has to stay. Here's an example of what my "typical" day should be like:

Usual workday for me = 8 hrs
Commute, round trip = 1.5 hrs (on average)
Getting ready in AM = 1 hr
Gym (plus travel time) = 1 hr
Sleep (in a dream world) = 8 hrs
Before gym (eat/dress) = 0.5 hrs
20 hrs

That leaves 4 hours in the day to eat dinner, see/talk with my husband, prep for the next day (setting out gym and work clothes, making lunch, etc), do stuff around the house like dishes, watering the garden each night, cleaning the litter boxes...oh and relax too. Yeah right. And God forbid I oversleep, don't get to the gym, and get to work late...everything is effed.

Weekends usually consist of me sleeping in way too long (probably b/c I don't get that full 8 hours during the week) and then trying to just chill, which is really a time-waster, going to church which including travel time to/from is about 3-4 hrs on Saturday afternoon/evening, doing any random errands.

I think I'm just not using my time efficiently b/c I'm too stressed out with what I have to do, and don't know where to begin. I know this happens at work ALL of the time.

So for chores this weekend...the downstairs is pretty clean. I vacuumed the living room early last week, and DH mopped/vacuumed the kitchen. I also dusted the entire house last weekend (or maybe 2 weeks ago) and everything still looks pretty good. The stairs and the upstairs need to be vacuumed badly (yay shedding cats) and the bathrooms probably could use what I call a "quick clean." That seems managable. Oh, and I also need to vacuum out the window sills and wash the windows, but there aren't many at this place, so it won't take too long. Those chores don't seem TOO bad, but some how I make them take longer than they should. I do get distracted by DH, the cats, the phone, the TV...you name it. Ugh.

I think I'll report back and see how productive I was this weekend. I really just want to be efficient, because if I can do that, I'll be healthier, a better worker, a happier wife, more relaxed, etc.

This is a great post.

In light of some things I've thought about myself in the past, and some things I've learned over the weekend...

http://www.blogher.com/childless-women-do-not-lack-essential-humanity

In short, you can't judge a group of people.

ETA: For clarification's sake, I don't agree with the original article, not at all. I agree with the author of the blogher post.

Hello and goodbye...

Just popping into say hi, and that I'll be gone for a few days. Going to NYC to BookExpo America. Lots of busy-ness and business to take care of!

http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

here, but hiding

I don't have much to say these days, to anyone. Not much is going on in my life. So, I'll keep on hiding.

ASLDKFASJDIFESDNFSIWR!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!!

I am so...ugh, I don't know, right now.

Mad?

Sad?

Angry?

Annoyed?

Maybe all of them?

I just found out that my friend's husband got a new job. Already HAS a job. A pretty good one, at that. Never been laid off.

WHY? WHEN WILL IT BE OUR TURN????? WHY DOES BAD STUFF KEEP HAPPENING TO DH AND I???????????

A few things to share.

1. My weight is lower than it's been in a long time. I won't give exact numbers, but I've lost almost 10 lbs since my last doctor's appointment. I'm hoping to be at 15 by the time I see her in May.

2. Final exam tonight!!! I'm actually excited, because it means class is O-V-E-R!

3. Tomorrow I get to go on a field trip for work--professional conference.

4. DH has a 2nd interview today, for a company that he really liked. Let's hope they really like him.

5. Ms. M and I are hanging out on Sunday!

Calling all parents--book news!

Thought this might be of use/help to you parents who read my blog...

From an email/newsletter thing I get every day, called Shelf Awareness:

Shelf Awareness children's editor Jennifer M. Brown is launching Twenty by Jenny, a website to help parents build their child's library one book at a time. The site guides parents to "twenty classics" in each of four age groups (0-3, 4-7, 8-12 and teen) and also offers the opportunity for parents to sign up for Jenny's newsletter to receive a new featured book review for each age group each month. (If they sign up for all four age groups, they'll receive four book reviews per month.) In addition, there's a Twenty by Jenny blog which explores book-related themes--such as the importance of reading aloud--and encourages conversation.

http://www.twentybyjenny.com/

Enjoy!

Something else

As a point of clarification on the "don't tell me to have a baby" thing.

Before I forget, I wanted to say that my therapist was the one who told me that things would change when DH and I had kids--that we'd meet people that way. I might have blogged about this before, but I'm SOOOOO against my children being a crutch for my socializing! If I meet people b/c I have a baby or child, sure that's fine, but I don't want my kid being my sole way to meet people. That's not fair to anyone!

On another note, I'm doing a bit better. I did some chores--laundry, dishes, cleaned a bit, studied for my final on Wednesday, talked with DH outside and relaxed. I think I just need to keep busy. DH suggested that I do some kind of physical activity--it'd be good for body and mind. I agree.

So...what should I do!?!?

Follow up to yesterday's post...

I was coming here to write this, and then I saw I had two comments, so I will address those, too.

The reason I used puppy and baby in my post yesterday because it seems that with both, there are socializing opportunities...the dog park, puppy kindergarten, play groups, storytime at the library. From what I've seen (and this has been on Facebook, so it's not totally accurate info) even people who haven't talked to each other since HS are now meeting up and reconnecting because they both have kids. Or people who stayed in touch and live in my same town/area all had kids around the same time.

I don't know, I'm just lonely, even though I have a husband and three cats, lol. It makes me down, and then my husband thinks it's him. It's not! There's just...I don't know, only so much you can do when you don't have a lot of money to spend so you can't just "take off" on random jaunts, and you don't own a house, where something always needs to be done, lol or you can just sit outside...so a lot of the time DH and I are "relegated" to our apartment or we're out running errands because they are necessary expenses (Target, grocery store, etc) and it's something to do/somewhere to go.

I might have blogged about this before, but my workplace is not a place to make friends--there was someone who I was getting chummy with and she got fired and then wouldn't answer my emails. Another girl got laid off. There aren't a lot of females or even opportunities to get to know them better, since everyone kinda does their own thing during the workday. Where I work is a small town, so it's not like there are lots of after work hang out spots. A bunch of us have tried to do things like happy hours but everyone's got some kind of conflict and no one goes. (Or it's always scheduled when I have something I can't get out of...sigh.)

KC--I have thought about a book club, especially with my interests and future career plans! My town's library has one, but it meets at THREE PM on a weekday. Lovely. The other towns in the area don't have any! The bookstore I used to work at has them, but I feel weird going back there, I don't know why. It's not like I left on bad terms or anything. Maybe because I haven't been there really since I left? Maybe becaused I gained a lot of weight? I don't know. I just looked at their website and I can't find anything about them, so maybe they got rid of the clubs?

A+--I know what you're saying and I am afraid that when my time comes, I won't have a "network" and will be all alone in that new adventure. School has been OK, I'll talk with people before class or as we're walking out, but it's not really just gonna happen like that, you know? My summer class is online, maybe in the fall I'll see people from this semester again.

Just got a comment from Ms. M, so I'll reply to that too--I have thought about volunteering, and actually it was something my therapist recommended. I just have to get off my butt and find places to do it...

I think I just wish I hadn't isolated myself when I first came back "home" after college or had put myself out there more...hadn't lost touch with former coworkers when I left jobs. My personality is such that when I get involved with new stuff, I get overwhelmed and focus ONLY on that thing. It's weird...

DH and I were talking about this stuff last night, and he's having more luck lately meeting up with people who have common interests. Right now, he's out with someone he met through someone else, lol. He thinks it's because men have more active interests, and women usually don't. I think he might be right. DH is into fishing, hunting, sports--things you usually do with others! What am I interested in? Reading, crafty stuff, gardening--mostly things you do on your own.

The few friends I have around here, I'm not really doing anything with them when I see them, because what is there to do? Get food/coffee and/or shop. It's a vicious cycle because of the money stuff. The local friends are also all about an hour's drive away, so trying to meet up in the middle can be difficult too, because it's not just you can sit in a restaurant for hours at a time. I've thought about inviting people over, but it just feels weird to me. Like, what would we do at my house for 4 or 5 hours??? In this tiny apartment??? Maybe I'm overthinking it. I probably am.

DH also thinks I talk myself out of things or find reasons not to do stuff. He's right. I just get stressed/overwhelmed with things and then find reasons not to do them, and I'm embarrassed about how much weight I've gained, soooo, there ya go. I also think I've never really learned now to socialize/entertain, so that's why it feels awkward when I even think about doing it.

This stuff just doesn't feel organic...it feels fake and forced. But maybe that's what happens now that you're a grown up?

Thanks for reading/listening...

How does a 29 year old make new friends?

If you have the answer, please let me know. And don't tell me to get a puppy or have a baby...I want my friends to be friends because of me...not because of something I have or did.

Sometimes I hate being the way I am.

My paper is done!!!

Finally. One more class (the final exam) and then I'm out of school until my summer course starts in June.

Thank you Jesus.

I think I did well on my paper...I'm a good writer. I'm not saying this because I *think* I am, I'm saying this because I have been told I am. So I am. Ha.

Let me step off my high horse for a sec... ;-)

unemployment makes us distant

Over the past year and almost-two-months that DH has been laid off, we don't go as many places or talk to as many people anymore.

It's not really the money, since it doesn't cost much to pick up the phone or send an email.

It's the...uncomfortable feelings that come with dealing with well-intentioned family and friends.

The questions.

The things that are left unsaid.

I don't want to deal with the people--their questions, their thoughts. So I don't.

I know I have isolated myself.

Having a long-term unemployment makes me feel very isolated, personally. I don't feel like there's much I can contribute to conversations. I'm not buying a house, I'm not getting a puppy, I'm not getting married, I'm not going on vacation this summer. I don't think many people are doing all of these things, but there are very few things to look forward to right now. I'm just sad a lot of the time. 14 months is a long time to have to deal with something that you want to change, but have no control over.

Additionally, not many people understand how DH and I feel right now. That sounds silly when the unemployment rate is so high, but for the people we know, we're the "oddity." So everyone just smiles and tells us how sorry they are...but no one knows how to help. Can we be helped? Who knows. It's almost patronizing, like we're two little kids who lost their puppy.

I want to look forward to something, but that thing is not guaranteed. Why dare to hope if it might not happen?

What do we do then? I still have a job, yes, but it's hard to enjoy it or feel proud of my work when I know my husband feels so badly about his working situation. I'm working on my masters, but my husband already has his and hasn't brought him anywhere in his career.

Is it really worth it for me to keep doing what I'm doing? I wish someone had an answer for me, to make it easier for me, and for DH, too.

just took a green quiz...

...which I got from Hippy Habibi's blog.

I'm not pleased. I only scored a 25.

*scowl face* I'm such a perfectionist about some things, but I'm trying not to beat myself up too much. Some "green" things you just can't do when you don't own your residence, or have to "answer" to a home owners association.

I promise, Mother Earth! I'll do better when I own my own home, with a yard and a garden and stuff!

So...how'd you do? Take it here.

ETA: I don't know why my links aren't showing up. Click on "Hippy Habibi's blog" to vist HER blog. Click on the word "here" to get to the green quiz.

ETA2: The links show up on this computer (my home laptop). At work, where I originally created this post, the links didn't show up. Strange.

one more, real quick...

Talk about me and the Irish goodbyes (I'm 1/4 Irish, I can say that!)....

I just got an image for myself, and it's a rabbit "done" in the style of the LOLcats at http://icanhascheezburger.com/.

I love the LOLcats and I love rabbits and I love message boards. One might even say I'm rabbit-like. That image/name/whatever has followed me throughout life. (Oooh, a future post!)

So I figured this picture would be most fitting for me and my blog. Yay!

Still here

Just very very very very very very very very very very very very busy these days, what with the semester wrapping up, work starting new projects, nice weather finally here and not wanting to be on the computer as much, etc.

Hope you're all doing well!

BTW, read Little Bee by Chris Cleave. SOOOOOOOOOOOO good.

Happy Easter!

Probably won't be on tomorrow, so wishing you all a happy Easter today.

In a few hours, DH and I will be going to church for the vigil service and having our basket of food blessed. My grandmother and I always did this when I was a little girl and I really looked forward to it. I haven't done it since she passed away when I was 12. DH's church does it, even though we're different rites, and he's never done it before. So a new beginning for the both of us.

Here's an explanation of what it is:
http://www.r-fol.com/st.athanasius/EasterBasket.htm

I'm such a librarian already! Providing info for people :-)

I'll try and post pics of our basket soon.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

SOOOO not getting much accomplished today...

And it's only Thursday. A few things to note:

1. I gained 2 lbs in a few days. Apparently that's what happens when you eat a TON of junk in a short time period. *roll eyes* I know this because my mom gave me a digital scale that she no longer wanted. Scales can drive you nuts! Part of me is glad that I now have one, and can keep VERY close tabs on my weight loss.

2. Annotated bibliography. Completed, printed, submitted. Now to start the "meat and potatoes" of the paper.

3. I have to work tomorrow, even though most people have it off. Not such a Good Friday, ha.

4. I broke my personal code of ethics and went to Facebook at work. I'm such a punk.

5. Tonight, DH and I are going to a laundromat because we are SICK and TIRED of our crazy laundry room at the condo complex. We are going out to eat too, so bonus!

6. My hair. I know you were waiting on that. I am going strong with the BS and ACV, and have started washing every other day. My hair looks BEST when I don't blow dry it (strange, I know) and it looks pretty good on the 2nd day of no washing. So going "no poo" can/does work! I'm pretty proud of myself for being able to do this.

7. Confession time. I have the fever. Most of you ladies should know what this means ;-) And those of you having babies now are NOT helping!!! LOL At least none of you live close by...or maybe that would help cool me off. Anyway, that's not going to happen because 1) DH needs a job (yes, still...and yes, I know it's been over a year) and 2) I have strict instructions from my endocrinologist NOT to even THINK about a baby until I'm healthier. So that's that. If anything, I'm more motivated to get into better shape.

Here's a pretty flower for y'all...almost time to go home!

Short school rant

I'm writing a paper that's due at the end of the month. Topic: social networking used to market the library. Pretty good topic, especially in today's world, right? Sure.

I'm having a bear of a time because 1) I haven't written a research paper in forever, 2) there is SO much stuff out there about this topic, and I'm not sure what to weed out, and 3) I feel like a bumbling fool, just reading and making notes...and not sure if I'm even on the right track for this paper.

Blech.

I'm sure all will be fine in the end, but man, I hate not knowing if I'm doing the right thing. I hate that "free fall" between getting the assignment and getting your grade. It's all up in the air.


Okay, off to get ready for Mass...DH and I are going early to do confession today. I haven't been in a few weeks, and before then, I hadn't been since before the wedding! I used to not like confession, and actually didn't go for years...but I think when you have a priest who doesn't make you feel like a jerk, it's better.

Kinda sad

I found out yesterday that my friend's sister and brother in law are getting divorced. It just hit me oddly, and made me super sad, even though I don't know them very well.

I know people who've divorced, and I know people who've been on the brink of divorce (but worked it out)...but I guess this was more of a shock because it was so sudden. It was even sudden to my friend and her family. Totally out of the blue. They'd been married 3.5 years, and had dated for a few before that. Always seemed happy and in love.

Just makes you think, if it happened to them, it can happen to anyone.

Yup, another hair post.

Yesterday (Tuesday) things seemed pretty good in the hair department. Washed with BS and rinsed with ACV, and the hair dried fine and all was well.

Today...oh dear.

I decided to just wash with BS and NOT rinse with ACV. It's almost 10 and my hair feels like it did back when I first started and was using BOTH products daily. I don't know if this is more adjustment or if I need to really use both products every day. The hair felt clean after washing with BS this morning, so I decided not to rinse with ACV.

We'll see how I look tonight. I do have baby powder for the greasies, if need be. I also have static!!! It's very odd. LOL

Stop the presses! A non-hair post.

I am a huge procrastinator, and along with this, I am often late. You'd think, being almost 30 years old, I'd have learned how to deal with this better, to be more organized, to plan ahead, etc.

Nope.

[I do have to point out that I was never the queen of all-nighters. That title goes to my college roomie, K. She would be up all night, in our dining room with her laptop and a stack of books, writing research papers. I did plan somewhat ahead for those, partly because I had a desktop computer, and it would not have been fair to my immediate roomie, B.]

When it comes to work stuff, I have gotten somewhat better, by plotting out my next week on Friday afternoons, sending out a lot of emails for collaborative tasks, working on things in small amounts each day. That's good, except when I plan ahead SO much that we have plenty of time to submit things, and OTHER PEOPLE decide to change up my stuff up until the last minute. (Another post for another day *sigh*)

When it comes to my grad school assignments, I am infamous for doing things the night before they are due. I think this comes from being out of the school grind for so long, and having other things to do in my life! This weekend, I set off for my town's library to work on an annotated bibliography for a paper that I have to write. The paper's not due until the end of the semester (next month!) but the professor wants to see our annotated bibliography first. Fine.

I'd been searching for a few days, on and off, and not finding much while looking at home, probably because of the mass amount of distractions in our home. So Sunday afternoon, after Mass and errands, I went to the library. I'm plugging along, loving the fact that I can access school's databases in the "comfort" of my own library (it's only 1.8 miles from my house vs. the 10+ to school), finding a ton of things to support my thesis, saving the sources, etc.

I then decide to plot out the rest of my week, before I go to class on Wednesday, so that I'll have time to do the assigned reading and write up my annotated bibliography. I pull out the syllabus just to see which chapters in our books I'll need to read.

And then I see it. The due date for this annotated bibliography.

It's NEXT week--April 8. Not THIS week--April 1.

I'm actually ahead on something. I started laughing out loud, in the "quiet" area of the library. I couldn't help it.

Of course, I'm not really done. I still have to read through some of these sources, and write the actual annotated bibliography, but I couldn't get over the fact that I had gotten the dates wrong, and had a jump start on my paper! I'll still have this coming weekend to get my stuff together. I wouldn't mind starting the actual writing early, as it'll take me awhile to write it and get it exactly how I want it.

I'm still shaking my head...

This blog might just turn into a hair blog...

Hahaha!

Just some quick updates, it's a busy Monday morning at work.

Saturday
No washing, the hair looked pretty clean from Friday. I did brush with my boar's bristle brush, which helped move the oils down the hair shaft. Everything looked pretty good, and I kept it pulled back with a headband.

Sunday
Washed with BS/water and rinsed with ACV. Let it air dry, without ANY product...and then promptly ran off to Mass (as in church, not the state). Holy mother! By the time it dried, it was POUFY. And a tiny bit frizzy, but that could be chalked up to the rainy weather.

Today
When I woke up, the pouffiness (sp?) was gone, but it was sticking out in funny ways. Yay having wavy hair. So I rinsed with plenty of water, and added teensy amount of conditioner (Tresemme something or other) to the lower parts of my hair. Blew it dry w/out product--looks shiny and bouncy, w00t!

Some interesting observations:
1) When I let it air-dry on Sunday, it dried SUPER fast.

2) It took longer to blow dry this AM. I don't know if it was b/c I added conditioner today or I kept it wrapped in a towel until I was ready to blow dry (no air really got to the hair) and it's still kinda damp. Could be the weather, who knows.

Another hair update

Sorry if this is too much for y'all...

Here's a play by play of the last few days.

Wednesday
I did a TON of research during the workday on no 'poo, whooops. Pretty much got sucked into a group on livejournal, just reading and reading. I also got my hair cut. When I got to the salon, L (stylist) commented on how straight and soft my hair was. I told her "this is w/out any product." She was amazed! I also said something like "oh I know it probably looks a little greasy, I did wash it this AM." But she didn't think it looked bad at all. I didn't tell her about my "new regime" until she was done washing my hair. She got mad at me, and told me she would have done whatever I wanted (water only, conditioner only, etc). LOL So I confessed all about my plans and she was intrigued. Apparently she hadn't heard about this before... She cut my hair, then styled it w/out any product. Just a blow dryer and a flat iron. The hair was super bouncy with lots of volume. Smelled REALLY good--mint and lavender shampoo.

BTW, Illinigirl--she asked me if my hair smelled badly! LOL

Thursday
Woke up, hair still smelled great but was much flatter, so I pinned back the sides with bobby pins and went to work. The greasies started to come out, but they were probably similar to earlier in the week. I also discovered that my old scabs/flakes were coming back...so it's definitely something in shampoo!

I rescued an empty dish soap bottle from a garbage death and recycled it into a shampoo bottle, by adding my BS/water mixture to it. I needed something to really reach the roots, since I had read on Weds that if you get the BS/water closer to your roots, it'll help tame the greasies better. Also read that you shouldn't get the ACV too close to your roots b/c it'll bring the greasies back out. ACV = only for the non-roots! Since the soap bottle's top allowed things to be squirted from it, I figured it would do the trick.

I also discovered that I do have boar bristle brush, which is perfect for distributing oils down the hair's shaft...so I brushed it up before bed.

Friday
Wow, my hair looks awesome. Not really sure why....

This morning I rinsed with pretty hot water (not scalding) and scrubbed my scalp with just my fingertips. Then applied BS/water to the roots/scalp and scrubbed that in. Rinsed with warm water. Then kind of just patted (and poured) the ACV/water into the rest of my hair--if i had finer hair, I think I could use a spray bottle to cover it. Rinsed that with cooler water. Let the hair air dry for a bit, then blew it dry. I can still smell the shampoo (yes, from WEDNESDAY) a bit, which is all right by me. My hair doesn't seem greasy at all, actually it looks like what would be "normal" hair for me. I wonder what's going on....

More hair...

So it's Wednesday and I guess I've been no 'poo for almost a week now.

Haircut tonight--I'm nervous about my salon's stuff messing up my hair, but oh well.

Roots are still a bit greasy, which everyone says is normal, but it's really not THAT bad. I kind of like having limper hair. If you've met me, you know how "big" my hair can get!

Still no smell, thank God.

I did more research last night about all of this ACV and BS stuff, and I used a different mixture this morning--1 tbs BS dissolved in 1 cup water (I tripled the recipe just to make sure I had enough and I had too much). For the ACV, I did 1 tbs in 1 cup of water as well.

I think I need to work on WHERE I put the products. Try to aim the BS on my roots only (I know, easier said than done) and try to get the ACV only on my non-root hair (like the "ponytail" if you will). They say that the BS will help cut the greasies, while the ACV will cause more. But, you need the BS to clean your roots, and you need the ACV to moisturize the rest of your hair. What a process!

Although, I might have to use a bit more of everything on Friday when I next wash my hair. I never wash it the day after I have it done. I like to keep my $43 cut/blow dry as long as possible!

Hair Update

This morning, I washed my hair again with baking soda and conditioned with an apple cider vinegar/water mixture.

Right away, I could tell that it didn't feel as clean as it did on Sunday night. I don't know if that's because it wasn't as dirty (which is a backwards way of thinking) or if I needed to use something different. I blew it dry (something I rarely do) because I didn't want any surprises during the day. It felt a bit greasy, but didn't look too bad...I don't know.

Right now, my hair looks like it does after I go get my hair cut and my stylist puts a ton of stuff in it and flat irons it and all that jazz. Kinda dirty looking, but really good at the same time? LOL

I have ZERO product in, which I'm pretty pleased about. I did sprinkle some face powder in my hair while I was doing my makeup, just to absorb any oil that might come out, and brushed that in.

I just can't believe how straight it is without me putting a ton of crap in it...and it's not frizzy, either. I have one admission: I used this triangle attachment thingy that came with my blow dryer. I'd never used it before. It's not a diffuser--I have one of those, too. It redirects the hot air, and aims it better. I don't know what it's called though. That might have helped in taming the frizz, but oh well.

I'm actually getting my hair cut tomorrow and I'm scared my "progress" with the BS and ACV will be thwarted by the salon stuff. We'll see.

I am also thinking about using a bit more ACV in the mixture, in the hopes of cutting back on the greasies. I know there is an adjustment period, so I just have to bite the bullet and wait for my hair to regulate.

Now to comment on yesterday's comments:

I've never used salon products, except when I'm at the salon. I guess it's the cheapskate in me, plus, I don't have a ton of $ to throw around. So I wouldn't really know if there was a true difference?

The vinegar wasn't too bad, but if you have an aversion to it, I don't blame you for not wanting to use it! Plus, ACV has a slight apple smell, so it's better than straight white vinegar.

I'm happy to say that my hair doesn't smell, thank GOD. I was worried that it would have, as Illini Girl called it "that icky dirty hair smell." I knew EXACTLY what you were talking about ;-) It doesn't really have a smell, maybe a bit from the powder that I put in it (but that isn't a bad smell), but nothing like that icky nasty smell.

I'll keep trying...even though my husband thinks I'm nuts for putting acid in my hair. The former chem major in him keeps saying "there's a reason why shampoo is a BASE, honey." I actually have to go buy more ACV today.

Another green post--a hair experiment

Over the past few months, I've been reading about all types of "green" beauty stuff, natural beauty stuff, etc.

I'd been really curious about the "no 'poo" movement, for awhile. Especially because I have very thick, wavy hair, that sometimes wants to be curly...but of course, not every day. [The Curly Girl website is really into "no 'poo" as well.] Last week, there was an article/segment on NPR about how shampoo might not be that great, maybe your hair doesn't need it, the body will produce its own oils, etc. [I'm probably paraphrasing it now.] The comments were actually more interesting and informative than the segment itself, haha, and gave some great tips about how to use natural/household products to get cleaner hair.

So this weekend, I tried it. Not really planning to, it just sort of happened.

Friday--I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner in the morning.

Saturday--While showering after a workout and errands and stuff (so mid-afternoon), I decided to just rinse my hair super well. By the time my hair dried, it looked a little greasy, but I had it pulled back with a headband, so it didn't look too badly. [See what I meant about "it just sort of happened?"]

Sunday--I didn't wash it until late at night, and after another workout and cleaning my car. So it was pretty greasy by that point! By then I figured that I should try the baking soda and apple cider vinegar tips, as I didn't think that just water would help my hair!

I took baking soda and water, made a paste, sort of distributed it through my hair, making sure it got on my scalp, scrubbed really well, and rinsed a lot. Then I poured into my clean hair a mix of 1 part apple cider vinegar and 10 parts water. [I used a 1/3 cup for my "part."] Then rinsed that out with clean water. The hair felt super clean, but not slippery weird, like after you use conditioner. Just normal.

I went to bed with it slightly damp (remember: thick hair, takes FOREVER to dry) and woke up hoping not to find a crazy mess. My hair didn't look too bad--didn't look dirty/greasy at all. The waves were pretty manageable, and I ended up brushing it back and using a headband, since some of the waves looked a little weird. It's now mid-day and looking at it, it still looks pretty clean! My head doesn't itch either, the way it did when I used shampoo (a dandruff-preventing one, at that!).

The only "product" I used this AM was some hair spray to keep the shorter pieces back in the headband. It'll be interesting to see how this works when I wash my hair in the morning and have to go to work with a wet or damp head, which means I'll need some product in it...

One more thing, because I'm sure you're wondering...no my head doesn't smell like vinegar! I asked DH immediately after I showered and he was like "Oh my God, get out of here!" LOL Later on, he couldn't smell it at all. Good!

If this works, I'll be pretty pumped because it's cheap (baking soda is less than a dollar and you only use a few tablespoons, ACV is a bit more but again, you don't use much) and it's not a bunch of chemicals being poured onto my head.

Oh, about that picture--that is NOT my house, or my stuff. [Duh, if you know me, I mostly use STORE BRANDS!] Via the magic of Google Images, I typed in "baking soda vinegar" and that's the eleventh image that popped up. How wonderful!

Happy birthday to my favorite children's book...

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, is FORTY!

Best. book. ever.

I made my parents read it over and over and over and over again.

I give it to all of my friends when they have babies.

How could you NOT love the colors, the design, the story?


Look what Google did with their logo today:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/5021384/Google-celebrates-Eric-Carles-Very-Hungry-Caterpillar.html

Another story about the day:
http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/news/the_very_hungry_caterpillar_turns_40_111906.asp

And you get a picture, too!

Note to self.

You should add some pics to your posts. It would liven things up.

You might also want to consider changing your layout again. Add some color!!!!!!

Just a few ideas....

Love,
Me

Oh, one more thing.

I might get to blog for work soon. This should be interesting. I brought it up to the Bossman and he liked my ideas.

Whoo hoo!

I've got my hand out, here....

and I'm asking for all the thoughts, prayers, good vibes, rain dances, crossed fingers, whatever for my DH.

He's had a bunch of interviews lately, and some phone calls expressing interest in interviewing him (just nailing down dates/times), and even one offer(!)* so we're moving in the right direction, but we're not there JUST yet. This is better than we could have expected, and we'd just like someone to decide on him. Usually people ask for "good stuff" when things are going bad...so I'm changing it up and asking for the "good stuff" to help this awesome streak of luck to continue.

Thanks in advance everyone!


* the offer--it was for a company that sounded good, but when DH inquired about their liability insurance (as he'd be transporting clients in his own car), they got very weird and weren't fully answering his/our questions. We looked into buying supplemental insurance to cover our butts, since our auto insurance company would not cover DH while using his car at work, but that was impossible. When DH asked the HR woman about a certain type of insurance and that our insurance company recommended any employer having this, she got very defensive and said "you really should NOT be calling your insurance company about this stuff." That was enough for us. DH declined the offer. Besides, it wasn't really what he wanted to do (population-wise). The interviews he's had since then have been more along the lines of what he's done and wants to continue doing.

Constant Contact

I use it for work, for a variety of tasks (it's an email marketing program)....and it's driving me nuts!!!!!! When I "preview" my newsletter or whatever, it looks fine, but then I test email it to myself and the images/wording has shifted.

MAKE IT STOOOOP!!!!! I just want to do my work and be done with it.

Why GirlWednesday?

To answer that question (I had a few recently), we must go back...to the beginning!

http://girlwednesday29.blogspot.com/2008/03/welcome-to-my-blog.html

ETA: Wow, I've been blogging for one year and two days now!!! Happy anniversary to me! And to you readers :-)

Duuuuurrrrr

I figured out why I'm posting more these days.

Work unblocked all of Blogger's functions, so of course I'm free to post!

Before, I could read blogs, but couldn't leave comments...and definitely could not log into my own.

I am on a roll...

...posting like crazy these days!

I just changed the name of this blog, so please update your settings, if applicable.

It's LIBRARY!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people say "liberry" instead of "library." Little children are excluded, as long as they grow up and say it correctly ;-) Those with speech impediments are also excluded. (I'm really not a meanie, I swear.)

Anyway, I have two cases in point which REALLY REALLY bother me.

I'm not talking about a casual overheard conversation in the grocery store. I'm talking about two people who work pretty closely with libraries.

One, a sales rep at work, whose sole job is selling our stuff TO libraries, always says it "liberry." He'll be on the phone with a "liberrian" talking this person up about our latest products, and then I'll hear the dreaded L word. I sit near him, so I can hear him clear as a bell. I shudder EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. he does it. Who knows what the "liberrians" think of him, when he's visiting them in their "liberries." You don't hear car salesmen saying "Niss-in" instead of Nee-SAHN."

The other, is a woman in my library school class. She works in a school library (I think it's elementary) and I cringe every time she opens her mouth in class. "Liberry" this, "liberry" that. For God's sake, woman! You are teaching YOUNG MINDS. Please do not corrupt them into thinking that this is the right way to say the place where the books are kept. I'm surprised the professor hasn't said something yet. I would if I were her (the prof).