Things I wish I could wear

Yesterday on the way to lunch, some of us were talking and I expressed that I wished capes would come back into style. Some coworkers tried to tell me that a cape would be just fine, as long as I didn't wear it ALL the time (e. g. wear it to work but take it off while in my office). I think wearing a cape would get me labeled as a crazy person, so I'm not going to risk it. It made me think of all the things I wish I could get away with wearing in good conscience, but can't. So here they are, with the reasons they would be unacceptable. capes- they make you look crazy knee high boots with skirts- my legs are too chunky for the skirt AND for the boots pretty dresses (think: zooey deschanel)- chunk factor cute hate- they are pretentious and I don't have the right attitude to pull it off head bands- I don't know how to wear them correctly. they are too foreign to me and I couldn't pull it off high heels- I can't walk in them. I look like Frankenstein's monster when I try cowboy boots- they are associated with country music and country lifestyle cute sunglasses- my regular glasses get in the way. can't do contacts. maybe I could get some prescription ones? What about you, dear reader? Are there things you wish you could wear but just can't? Why?

Thanksgiving

The long Thanksgiving weekend was full of lots of great fun. I got to see Charles's mom's side of the family on Thanksgiving Day (they are always so welcoming and warm), then we had my Dad and sister over for dinner that evening (I 'cooked' Stouffer's lasagna, garlic bread, Caesar salad, and my sis brought delicious cookies and ice cream!). Both events were nice, and it was great to think of family. We also put up our Christmas tree for the first time. We bought the tree and lights and some ornaments after Christmas last year. We decorated in the past with garland, but this is our first tree as a couple. Luckily the animals haven't knocked it over or climbed it yet. :) On Friday we saw some good friends, and I braved a little bit of afternoon shopping, but returned empty handed. We pet-sat for our friend, and the cat (Harlock) was the sweetest I had ever seen him! Full of affection and playfulness. Saturday we went to a party at a friend's place (some classmates of Charles's and their significant others). I had some fantastic food, tried tofurkey for the first (and last? meh...) time (OK it wasn't as bad as I feared; the taste was quite good since it was cooked with stuffing and veggies). Had some great peanut butter pie that I got a recipe for, and we played Charades (boys v. girls)! I had actually never played charades before and it was a lot of fun! The boys made things really hard on us girls. I totally flopped when presented with "clandestine agent" but was not too terribly bad with "post modernism." On Sunday we saw Char's Dad, Stepmom, and Step-aunt (is that really a word?); all of whom are fantastic people. We ate a great meal at Sunspot and got to catch up and make Christmas plans. Then we had dinner and watched football with some other good friends. Wow, we really did a lot, but it was a great time! Thank you to everyone that hosted us and celebrated with us. This holiday season is filling up with lots of things to do, but it's all a great reminder of how much I have to be thankful for. ♥

Equilibrium

Just a quick note to say that the hubby and I watched "Equilibrium" recently and it was a very good movie. I am becoming quite the Christian Bale fan. I actually thought this movie was a little over-the-top, beating me over the head with notions of Big Brother. It was somewhat Matrix-like in appearance, but the fight scenes won me over. The Gun kata is rather awesome, and there were a few good twists to keep the movie from being overly predictable. And there is a cute puppy in the movie, as well. All in all I would say I enjoyed it, and that is what mattered to me. Would I say it's a 'great' movie? Probably not, but it was fun and re-watchable. In other news, some very close friends have decided to have a baby. I am not going to name any names because I don't know who reads this, and they haven't made the news totally public. But I wanted to write about it because it makes me really happy. My hubby has slowly been converting me from a person that doesn't like babies into a person that will probably have one in a year or two. The conversion has been helped by watching my adorable nieces and nephews grow into miniature adults. Now as friends are having babies and have been happy with the experience, I am getting my courage up. Getting the news about these close friends having a baby was great; it came at a great time for them and for me as well. I'll get to watch them go through it and can learn from their experience. I am pretty excited. :) OK there is much work to do so I'd better wrap this up. The last thing I want to mention is that I am beta-testing a new website for User-Generated Lists of Things (uglot.com). It is the pet project of some good friends, so I'm eager to get to playing with it. Hopefully it will become hugely successful. That is all.

Toastmasters

I think I might try going to my first Toastmasters meeting tonight. At least I am planning to go check it out. I'm looking forward to meeting new people and improving myself, but the actual public speaking part has me terrified. Hopefully this will be a good experinece. My colleague, Mark, is an excellent public speaker, and he attributes his success to Toastmasters. I think I will enjoy it in the long run. :)

Sometimes

Sometimes I really get on my own nerves, and piss myself off. How do you get away from your self when you can't stand to be around you anymore? Blargh.

Bimbo Moment

Things have been kind of rough for the past week or so as some close family members are really down in the dumps.In light of that I wanted to share something positive. I don't mind poking a little fun at myself so I wanted to share a bimbo moment that I had a couple weeks ago. I was helping someone in the library and she was writing out a note and as I was watcher her write, I was admiring her handwriting. She wrote beautifully, and her style was unique. After she left, I started doodling on a little piece of paper, tryting to emulate her handwriting. She had an especially beautiful letter "G." I thought to myself, I wish I had a "G" in my name! I would write it like THIS! And I wrote G, G, G, G all over the paper. Struggling to think of a name that starts with G, I suddenly realized that *MY OWN LAST NAME* starts with "G." Duh. I was pretty embarrassed. I still can't make mine as pretty as hers, though!

Captain America

The hubby and I "rented" Captain America from iTunes the other night. I was really worn out so I only made it through half the movie before falling asleep, despite the fact that I was really enjoying it. Yesterday I went to work, then went to Mass, then hurried home to watch the second half of the movie before it 'expired' (you only have them for 24 hours when you rent from iTunes). I *really* liked it! I thought that Thor was a fun movie, but after seeing Captain America, I have determined that I like Captain America much better. And now that I am learning the backstories of these characters I am actually getting excited about the Avengers. I have always appreciated comics as a medium, and I love comic art, but I have never actually been a huger consumer of comics. I think the expense and time commitments scare me off of them. I am therefore grateful that others are vetting the comics for me and making the good ones into reasonably good films. :)

Happy Halloween

Halloween is a very special time of year for me, even though I don't dress up or hand out candy. It is a time when I reflect on those we've lost. My mother would have turned 65 today, and Halloween is forever associated with my mother in my mind. I think of her, and I think of ghosts, and All Souls Day coming up on November 2. The whole time of year is sort of surreal to me. I think about how my mother used to dress up as a witch and come to our classrooms when my siblings and I were in gradeschool. She used to decorate for halloween, and serve punch with dry ice out of a cauldron. I wonder about ghosts, whether they are real, and if so, how they are real. I think about the Bible and Jesus and ghosts and spirits to try to figure out how it all fits together. I like seeing Halloween decorations, and I love seeing people in cute and creative costumes. Now as I get a little older, I catch myself thinking about having children of my own and celebrating Halloween with them. I guess until that time comes, I have Halloween to myself to think and reflect. Special thanks to my brother for saying a Mass for Mom today. Happy Halloween, everybody!

Battlestar Galactica

I've been watching Battlestar Galactica on netflix, and so far I LOVE it. I am on season 2.5, but several respected friends, including my dear hubby, have told me that the series gets worse and weird later on, and that all the characters I like will change into characters I don't like. I really hope this isn't the case cause there are several characters I am awfully fond of. I am very susceptible to influence, and so I want to get it on the record now a list of the characters I like. Then when I am done with the series, I can look back and objectively state whether I still like the same characters I started out liking.
So here are my favorites:

Starbuck
Bill Adama
Felix Gaetta (sp?)
Lee Adama

Let's see who I end up liking at the end of the series! :)

Sick Puppy

My Frodo Pup is not feeling well. It is very rare for him to get sick, so it was very strange when he randomly threw up earlier this weekend. Poor pitiful pup... as if throwing up isn't unpleasant enough, he had the look of shame on his face that breaks my heart. But hubby and I cleaned it up and then pup was more or less back to normal. But then it happened again last night. Nothing like waking up to the sound of a puking dog. He threw up on our bedspread and seemed uncomfy. We stripped the blanket off the bed and fetched a replacement that is comically small. Frodo didn't want to get back on the bed, but once he did, he laid down between us and fell asleep. That never happens. Hubby and I spent a good little while tugging the blanket, vying for covers. Now I am at work, sleepy and worried for Mister Frodo. I'll have to call home later today for an update.

Anime Weekend Atlanta, 2011

Just got back from AWA. We had a blast, but there is a good chance this was our last trip to that particular convention. That knowledge made it bittersweet, but I hold out hope that we can return, if not next year, then at least some time in the future. We didn't do a whole lot of Con-stuff. Hubby did a little more than I did. I really enjoy just roaming around and looking at people in their amazing costumes. I tried to go to a dance, but there wasn't enough dancing going on yet, so I left. I heard the dancing picked up after a little while, but I wanted to get on to bed so I left it to the whipper-snappers. I watched the 2nd episode of the new/revampled Neon Genesis Evangelion series. I ate lots and lots of good food, and enjoyed going to the Dealers Room and Artist Alley to see all the things that were for sale. The art show this year had some really amazing photography! It was a nice, relaxing time, and I'm glad I got to go with the same faithful good friends we've been going with for awhile now.
When we got back to town, I had some tidying up to do, as my cat decided to be extra mischievous while we were away. After getting some things cleaned up, we had friends over to watch the Doctor Who series finale (which was awesome, of course), and some football. I won't know for sure until tonight, but I think I have a good chance at winning at least one and possibly both of my Fantasy Football games this week! Despite Eli Manning's underperformance. So my fingers are crossed for wins to boost my ranking. :D And that's just about all that's going on in Anna's world at the moment. What more could I ask for? :)

Rudeness

There is some very minor, yet still present, drama at work regarding salaries and raises. Coworker A has asked Coworker B if B has gotten a raise. B doesn't feel she can lie, so she admits that an adjustment has been made. A gets mad and develops an attitude not just towards B, but towards C and D, who she assumes must've already gotten raises. Also bitter towards Supervisor E for giving B a raise but not giving A a raise. In this case, I am coworker D and I think it really sucks for A to go around asking these questions in the first place. If you were meant to have a raise, you would get one. It's none of your business whether other people got raises or not. Mind your own darn business. Don't get MAD at someone because they got a raise. And don't get mad at a supervisor for giving a raise to someone. Sheesh. The whole situation ticks me off a bit, but I don't want to go into any detail that would get anyone in trouble.
Oh and in recent memory, since my time in my new job, I have been asked TWICE about how much money I make. No offense, but that is between me and my employer. I don't discuss that with people. I have, on very rare occasion, told someone a very vague ballpark figure in the interest of "I am thinking of being a librarian, how much can I expect to make" situations, but I don't otherwise disclose this info. So please don't ask me!
/rant

The Irish Times

A good friend of mine recently celebrated her birthday, so a small gaggle of us went out to eat at The Irish Times (http://www.irishtimesknoxville.com/) for dinner last night. I really enjoyed it! The atmosphere was great, and it almost made me want to order a Guiness. Almost.
My friends ordered an appetizer for us to share: Baked Brie. It was really good. Who wouldn't like cheese baked in a puff pastry and served with strawberries and crackers? For my meal, I ordered an appetizer. It was Irish sausages baked in a flaky roll (think pigs in a blanket), served with spicy mustard. I was hesistant to order this because I often find that some dishes have 'too much meat.' That was sort of the case with this. I like a little bit of sausage, but I don't like huge pieces of sausage like kielbasa and the like. Actually, I am great with chicken breast, hamburgers, and steaks, but have a really difficult time with mixed meats: bologna, sausage, hot dogs.... But my hubby would not let me order nachos at an Irish pub, so I decided to order the wrapped sausages. They were good, but alas, it was too much mixed meat for me. Hubby helped me eat them, though (2 sausages), and in exchange I got to help him eat his entree: pasta with chicken. Now, it was silly that he wouldn't let me order Nachos ("Not authentic!") while he was allowed to get pasta, but whatever. It was really good! The chicken was heavily seasoned and a little on the spicy side. Served over penne pasta in a cream sauce with pine nuts. It was good. We shared our meals and even had some leftover (dinner tonight!).
I would definitely go back to the Irish Times, but next time I would order something different. They have some sandwiches that look good, and some good lunch items, so next time I'd like to try lunch there. I recommend it. Oh, and our total before tip was ~$29. That was one full priced entree ($13ish), one appetizer ($8ish), and 2 sodas ($2.50 each). So take that for what it's worth.

Next up I hope to try Sullivan's. The Birthday Girl from last night told me that Sullivan's (located where the Italian Market and Grille used to be) has a blue plate special on Tuesday nights. There are a few choices for your blue plate-- a meat and 2 sides, and the blue plates are BOGO free Tuesday! She said they are in the $12-13 range, so that works out to a pretty good deal. I think when she was there this week that the blue plate choices were pot roast, meatloaf, chicken fingers, and catfish. So if/when I make it to Sullivan's I'll be sure to post about it! :)

What have I done!? Part 2.

My back has pretty much recovered from whatever I did to tick it off. It's still a little stiff and cranky at times, but I will blame that on have recently turned 31 years old. Joy.
So last night I was working out, doing my little karate thing, when I had the *brilliant* idea to throw a hard roundhouse kick at someone. He blocked with his elbow, right between by shin pad and my foot pad. Of course he has zero damage to his elbow, but my ankle took the majority of the bite and proceeded to promptly swell. It looks like there is an egg growing under my skin. It's turning slightly purplish, too. Luckily I work in a phenomenal place, so I just went to medical this morning and got aspirin, an ice pack, and an ace bandage. The pressure from the swelling hurts a bit, but I am just glad there is nothing seriously wrong. I feel like a colossal loser and weenie, but c'est la vie.

2 Movies and a Hot Dog

This weekend, the Hubs and I saw 2 films (1 via Apple TV, the other in the theater), and also went to eat at Petros where I got to have my very first Nathan's Hot Dog. Here is the review.

Sucker Punch. We saw this movie on the Apple TV cause we wanted to go on a date, but didn't want to leave our puppy and kitten out of the fun. We sometimes prefer to just watch things at home, for comfort and to save money. I am glad we waited and watched this movie at home. It was a lot of fun and it was visually very appealing, but it wasn't what I would call a 'great film' by any stretch. Renting it from iTunes meant that we only spent $5ish dollars on it, and I think it was well worth that. It was sort of over-the-top and girl-powerish, but it was arranged a lot like a video game, with quests and cut scenes and the like. Overall I liked it a lot, but it's not going to win any awards. And I like Vanessa Hudgens, but her acting.... meh.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I have only read each HP book once, and it's been a long, long time, so I won't make any statements to the faithfulness to the book, but the movie stood on its own as a really enjoyable film. I love Neville and Luna. Doesn't everyone? My BFF told me she bawled throughout a good portion of the movie, so I kept waiting to be overcome with emotion, but it didn't happen. Which is fine with me cause I hate to cry, especially in public. So that movie was a lot of fun, but what else can I say about it? If you love HP, you'll love the movie. If you don't give a flip about HP, you probably wouldn't like it. What more is there to say?

The Hot Dog. Hubby and I enjoy eating at Petro's from time to time. I think I like it more than he does, but he really is fond of their orange tea, and is willing to go relatively often. Recently I started noticing signs at Petros for Nathan's Hot Dogs. I've heard of Nathan's but I've never had one before, so last night I ordered one with chili, cheese, onions, mustard, and ketchup. I think it's weird that they would put ketchup on a dog that already has chili on it, but man am I glad they did! It made it sweet and salty at the same time. It was a great mixture of flavors. One of the best, if not THE best, chili dogs I've ever had in my entire life. ♥ Now I am a fatty mcfatty fat girl so if I had been by myself I would've ordered 2 of them. But since my husband was there I thought I would pretend to be a lady and just order one with a side item. This is where Petros struggles a bit. They don't offer much in the way of side items, so I settled on tortilla chips and salsa. It worked out pretty well and if I had it all to do over again I would make the same choice. So there you have it. Go to Petros and get yourself a chili cheese dog. Nom nom nom.

What have I done!?

I have done SOMETHING to my lower back, and I don't know what I did but I wish I hadn't done it. I can't really twist or bend. Almost had to get husband to help me put on my socks this morning. It's feeling a hair better than it did last night but I am trying to baby it, so no long walk for me today, and no karate. No high kicks, no heavy lifting. Oy. Hope it gets better soon!

In other, unrelated news, I went to the animal shelter yesterday. Why do I do this? Met some adorable kittens that I wish I could take home, and fell in love with a beautiful pitbull named Beatrice. She had big ears that stick straight up, Staffordshire style. She was a cutie. Very sweet. It breaks my heart to have to leave the shelter without taking anyone with me, but I have to think about the amazingly good dynamic we have at home with our dog and cat. Bringing someone else into the fold might change that or bring out some bad behaviors, so I gotta stick with what I've got.

One last little tidbit: I discovered a totally adorable website: http://www.ZooBorns.com. It's got tons of cute newborn zoo animals. You know, if you're into that kind of thing. :)

And that's all the news there is, so I guess life is pretty good! :)

Dumb Reasons to do Good Things

I was shopping today and I saw (and always seem to see!) such pretty clothes, including many pretty dresses. Now, I am not a girly girl (don't listen to me husband- he thinks I am girly because I have more than 1 pair of shoes!), but I really wish I could pull off the dressy look. I wouldn't even wear them to work or to church, or even really where anyone could see me. But it made me think: what's stopping me? My weight. Yes, my weight which was going up and up and up and out of control. Well I am turning it around. I am slowly, but surely, going to lower my gosh-darned weight and then I am going to buy a pretty dress and I am going to wear it at home and twirl around in it and maybe pretend my Dr. Pepper is tea and I will sip it while eating biscuits (cookies!). And then I'm going to talk in a British accent to my cat AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME SO THERE!!!! So let's hear it for dumb reasons to do good things! *cheers*

Strategic Planning

Had a neat experience today. Our entire library staff went off-site for a meeting from 8am til noon to discuss our strategic plan with a man from our company that takes an interest in those sorts of things. His goal, and our goal really, was to get the entire staff to work together on creating a vision and plan that we could use to help us with our annual performance reviews. It was kind of interesting and I liked his idea of how to begin: imagine going 10 years into the future and then coming into our library and seeing how it would look if it were wildly successful. Would a wildly successful corporate or government library look like in 10 years? Are there any print materials? What are the users like? How are we helping them? What technologies exist? It's a fun brainstorming experience. By exploring where we want to be in the long run, we can create the first few babysteps of things we want to accomplish in the next year or two to set us on our path.
Of course, as expected, not everyone participated. We knew that some people are just burned out on performance management. Some people are 'short timers' and plan to retire in 5 years or so. What was their 10 year vision? Coming into work with a visitor badge! But almost everyone participated and I think we got a lot of the meeting. Kudos to Matt Sieger for leading the talk. There was some great food to be had, as well! ;)
The depressing part of the talk was that the more we imagined outselves being as successful as possible, the less librarians are needed. Automation, improved databases, natural language searching that actually works, fully digitized collections.... I told my boss that it's much like how a doctor's dream is for there to be no injury or illness-- he'll wish himself out of a job! Much in the same way we are thinking ourselves out of work. My only consolation is that technology doesn't move quite fast enough, and business sensibilities lag even farther behind. Maybe I can squeeze a 30 year career out of traditional or transitional librarianship afterall. :D

Cheesecake and other randomness

I've got a hankering for cheesecake and I dunno what I'm gonna do about it.

Hubby and I have been watching the Game of Thrones series with friends. It is awesome so far. Several friends have been telling me for a couple years that I need to read the series, and now I see that they are probably right. Where will I find the time?

I am still working on reading "Bored of the Rings" and have 2 other loaners I need to read after that. Then I bought a Bill Bryson book off Amazon because my brother read me some passages and it was hilarious, so I've got that to look forward to, too!

I've also added several childrens books to my wishlist on Amazon. I guess hubby is really starting to wear me down with talk of having a kid someday soon. I really need him to get out of school and have a job first, though. :/

Life is so good. Great family, great friends. I'm not yet where I want to be in 2 major life categories: finances and fitness, but if the rest of my life is pretty well sorted out, I guess I don't have too much to complain about! And at least I am taking steps to turn the F's around. How am I going to reconcile posting about fitness and cheesecake in the same blog entry? How will I ever self-actualize at this rate!? ;)

Casey Anthony

I've been following the Casey Anthony trial a little bit, and saw that the jury just released a 'not guilty' verdict a little bit ago. I really don't know whether Casey was guilty of murder or not, but I find myself having really mixed feelings about the verdict for some reason. I am glad that this rules out any possibility of the death penalty for Casey, but at the same time, it doesn't bring back the little girl that died. One of the researchers from the lab where I work has been in the news with regard to the case because of some new forensics tools he has helped develop. The tools showed that there was a body in Casey's car. Does a not guilty verdict take credence away from this researcher's work? And what about Casey's parents? Her parents supported her through this whole ordeal, and then the defense team accused Casey's dad of treating her inappropriately/sexually abusing her as a child. How could you support your family member after they accused you of such a thing? There are a lot of complex issues at work here and I'm just not sure how I feel about it all.

Well let's think of something more cheerful, eh? Hubby and a friends and I went to a restaurant on Hardin Valley Rd (close to Pellissippi State Comm. Coll.) called Double Dogs. It was good. Not too terribly expensive. I got a chili dog and fries, and it was in the $6-$7 range. Great food, decent serving size. The fries were delicious. The hot dog was actually a little larger than what I usually like, but it was a Hebrew National dog so it didn't gross me out as much as your run of the mill mixed meat mystery dogs. I would definitely like to go back here again. Maybe during football season since there's TVs all over the place!
Lastly I'll mention that I went back to Noodles & Company twice during the past week. I still really like it! I've ordered the same thing every time I've been (I think I've been 5 or 6 times now): the Penne Rosa, no meat, no mushrooms, with parmesan cheese (you have a choice between parmesan or feta). It's super good. I highly recommend it!

Growly

Lots of people around me have been kinda growly lately, and I think it's starting to rub off on me. I just got snippy with someone that I really like. I hate it when I do stuff like that. I'm waiting for him to show up online so I can apologize. Ugh, I've become one of "THOSE people."

In other news, one of our student workers, the Awesome Jessica, got a 'real' job and will be leaving her student position. I am thrilled for her, as she deserves a great job, but I'll be sorry to see her go. Good luck in the Great Beyond, Jessica!

A Change of Plans

Hubby and I were going to go with one of my coworkers and another friend to see the Green Lantern last night. Coworker had to bail at the last minute due to a car problem, but we met our other friend for dinner at Chick-fil-A and got to talking. We decided not to see the movie, but to go out for frozen yogurt instead. It was delicious, we had great conversation, and hubby and I probably saved about $10-15 (his yogurt was free!). I think things really worked out for the best. I want to get my car paid off so badly; I really shouldn't be going around seeing movies willy-nilly. Seeing a movie that I REALLY REALLY want to see might be a different story, and while I am interested in seeing Green Lantern eventually, I am more interested in seeing Harry Potter when it comes out. I guess I need to pick my battles. In the end, I think our change of plans worked out great. Additionally, I didn't get to do my treadmill walk on Tuesday. If we had seen a movie last night, I wouldn't have gotten my walk in on Wed, either. As it was, we had our yogurt and I went home to do a little walk on the treadmill before watching some 30 Rock with my DH. It turned out to be a great evening even though it wasn't what we originally set out for. :) And now I have ~$10 more I can pay towards my car. Every little bit helps!

On a totally unrelated note, there is a super nice man at work that brings people fresh roses for their birthday! Apparently he grows them at home. He has a great variety and they are always so pretty. Today he had a couple extra roses so he gave me one to put at the reference desk. It's a beautiful pink color. He also gave me a business card with his name, an email address for prayer requests, and a quote from Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withers, and the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever." It aslo says 'Blessings! May you be blessed with happiness and good health.' That is just so nice. :) What a nice way to go around brightening peoples' days. :) :) :)

X-Men: First Class

The hubby and I went out last night and saw X-Men: First Class. We don't go out to the movies very often, honestly, because it is soooo expensive. We had a gift card, though, and we've both been wanting to see the new X-Men movie, so we went for it. The movie was really good! Very fun, not too incredibly deep, but I am OK with that. I love character introductions, so this movie was right up my alley. It could've had more mutants and more montages, but I'm not gonna complain. I used to really love the experience of going to the movies, but as I get older, I'm starting to wish I could just have the movie beamed straight into my home. Our concessions (one small popcorn and one large drink) were $11.75. Then there was the hipster sitting near us that I guess just didn't want to wear deoderant. We moved seat, so we escaped that odor, but then ended up behind someone that did not wear shoes, yet wanted to put his feet up on the chair in front of him. Luckily no one was sitting in front of him, but still, that is the place where someone will later be sitting, and it probably going to smell like feet. This guy, my hubby pointed out, must've had an affinity for hobbits. He just had his big ol' hobbit feet propped up like it was the most normal thing in the world. I was so distracted by it that I thought I might go mad, but the movie was good enough and engrossing enough that I forgot all about the Hobbit and the smelly hipster and the outrageously priced concessions. A good time was had by all.

Later this week, the hubs and I will probably go see The Green Lantern with a friend of mine from work. Now our gift card is all used up so we'll be paying cash. I hope this movie is as good as X-men, but I'm a little concerned just because I know next to nothing about the Green Lantern. Fingers crossed for a good show.

Today is Tuesday

I've got a hankering for Sweet Ce Ce's and it's double punch Tuesday! Wonder if I can coerce my hubby into going out for sweets. We've been trying to conserve money so maybe it isn't such a good idea. I guess I'll run it past him and see what he says. I did "cook" last night... mac and cheese. YUM. I think that even if I had a million dollars, I would still adore mac and cheese, from the box, with the powdered cheeese mix. I don't know why it is so delicious to me, but it is.

In library news, it is book buying time! We buy books year-round, but we have a sort of deadline for spending our book buying budgets, and that deadline is approaching. I still have some money to spend but I just saw one of my best customers and asked for some suggestions and he's putting something together for me. Yay! I have some really wonderful customers. Yesterday I got some tricky-to-get articles for someone and he called me a wizard. How cool is that? Pretty dang cool. My customers are the best. :D

OK Well I am gonna wrap this up. Please think good thoughts for me that I might have ice cream, and I will think the same happy thought for all dear readers.

Struck by Negativity

I just read a really interesting blog post by a lady that is a library director at an academic library up North, and despite her great advice to people looking for library jobs, I was put off by her negativity. I understand that she is tired of reading resumes and cover letters, but there are better ways to deliver criticisms, IMHO. Her post was about cover letters and how not to write a bad one. A lot of her advice was good (such as to read and re-read the job description, and answer each required and preferred qualification), but she made several harsh blanket statements (such as 'if you do such and such, we will read it and hate you').
One thing I love about librarianship is how helpful librarians are. We love helping people, helping each other, supporting each other, etc. This lady was not giving off a very helpful vibe. So I just want to throw this out there: if you need help, please ask me. I don't claim to be an expert, but I would be happy to be another set of eyes on your resume or cover letter. I would be happy to give my 2 cents, and I'll do my best to keep it positive. The job market is depressing enough without having some bitter librarian snarl at you from her soapbox.

Yowza.

I have bruised the bottoms of my feet. I think the padding in my shoes has worn too thin. Ouchie ouchie. That is all.

The Treadmill

I just have to say that I am really proud of myself for sticking with the treadmill thus far. Of course we've only had it ~2 weeks, but I have used it every single day since we got it, with the exception of days when I go to my karate class. I walk 30 minutes, and for the past few days I have mixed in some running with my walking. The pounds and inches are NOT melting off as I had hoped that they would, but I feel better, and I know I'm taking a step in the right direction. I have read (and who knows if this is true) that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% activity. Gosh I hope that isn't true. The diet part is what really trips me up. Well I am proud of myself whatever the case.
For those that don't know, I have recently become a redditor. A user of the website "reddit.com," which can be NSFW, so be careful if you check it out. But there are some really good, supportive people there, and some crazy and hilarious people too. One of my favorite subreddits is r/loseit. (For the uninitiated, you can go to www.reddit.com/r/loseit and see what I mean.) It has been really informative and motivational.
OK well I just stopped in to toot my own horn. I'd better get back to the grindstone. :)

Girly Time!

I've never been a big believer in "girls' night out" or any of that stuff, but I have to say that I had a blast today hanging out with some the coolest, sweetest girls I know. It *is* fun to have some time with the girls. I am glad to have some classy female friends that aren't interested in being catty, or bashing their husbands. We eat, we shop, we talk, we watch movies, we talk about things going on in our lives, how great our families are. There's no anxiety or competition, just good old fashioned fun. I am glad to have some great female friends that break the stereotypes. Anya, Erin, Sharon, and my bff Chrissy-- thanks so much for showing me that it's great to have female friends. :)

Don't Tread on Me ;)

Just wanted to post a quick update to say that Charles and I finally caved and bought a used treadmill off of craigslist. We got a NordicTrack, and it seems to do the trick quite nicely. I have been trying to walk on it for 30 minutes a day, and I have done so every single day since we've had it, with the exception of days that I actually make it to karate class. I really enjoy the convenience of having it my home. I think it also helps that I have kept my expectations low/realistic: I am not trying to run, I am not trying to spend an hour. I can't see the TV from the treadmill, but I can hear it, so I can either listen to something on TV, or read, or pray, or think. That's enough options for me. We have had it for only a week, but I like it, and even though money is a little tight at the moment, I think it was a good investment for our health. I enjoy walking, but prefer to do it indoors to minimize freckles and leathery skin. I think this is something I ought to be able to keep up with. :)

In other news, my friends Ben and Sharon discovered a great frozen yogurt place. It's called Sweet CeCe's (or is it CiCi's? bah, who knows...). It's one of those places where you pick your yogurt flavor and your toppings and then pay based on weight. They have several flavors of yogurt to choose from, and tons of toppings. They also have a punch card system where you get a punch on your card everytime you buy something, and when you get so many punches, you get free stuff. ProTip: Tuesday is Double Punch day! We've been there twice so far, but it's Tuesday as I write this, so can you guess what the future holds for me? Is it crazy that I am basically undoing all the treadmill's work?

Oh yeah, speaking of delicious things... Sharon made this GREAT pound cake for a cookout the other day, and she shared the recipe with me, so I wanted to share it with anyone here that is interested. Amaretto Pound Cake, nom nom. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/amaretto-almond-pound-cake-50400000110796/

OK I had better get back to the multitude of other things I need to be working on. Have a great day, everyone!

Hustling

I am not a man, obviously, but I am amazed and pleased by this blog post that I read about, basically, improving productivity and reaching personal goals. Whether you are a man or not, you might really enjoy this blog:

http://artofmanliness.com/2010/02/08/the-world-belongs-to-those-who-hustle/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheArtOfManliness+%28The+Art+of+Manliness%29/
:)

Government Shutdown Crisis Averted!

Yay, the federal gov't didn't shut down! Hip hip hooray! Now I just have to hope that the budget situation is favorable. In the meantime, all I can do is try to do a good job at work. Work hard, work smart, work work work. :) I have been pulled off on one of my work assignments due to budget woes. That stinks, because I really enjoyed the work I was doing. But God works in mysterious ways, and this week I was given another (albeit, shorter) chargeback assignment. I love that my job allows me to work with so many people and do so many different things. :) I've also been interacting quite a bit with the students at work. Both of our students are nice, bright people. One of them in particular is a real go-getter, and it's been very rewarding to see her grow and learn as she approaches graduation. In non-work news, we are doing some repairs and fixer-upper type stuff at home. I really enjoy our home, but have been thinking a lot about moving from a condo/PUD to a "real" house. I think there is a lot to be gained by having a "real" house, and even though we wouldn't move for a couple years, it is nice to have something to think about. The downside, of course, is money. Oh that dastardly word. :/ Repairs cost money, moving costs money... Oy vey. I make a very nice salary for what I do (considering I love my job, etc), so I am not complaining about that by any means, but I need to come up with a legal, ethical, non-sucky way to get some extra money so I can reach my financial goals in a timely manner. The husband has already vetoed plasma 'donation', so I am fresh out of good ideas. Anyone have a good suggestion for a way to make some extra money? I am all ears. I could go on and on and write all day with things that I want to record for posterity, but then I'd be spending all my time annotating life instead of living it, so I'm gonna wrap this up. Have a nice day, dear readers. :)

Computers in Libraries 2011

I just got back yesterday from my first Computers in Libraries conference in Washington, DC. OH MY GOSH. Best conference ever. I had such a great time and learned so much! I got to learn about all sorts of great searching tricks, and ways to add value to my work. I talked to some great people, and overall was just very inspired by the youthful enthusiasm I observed. So much of library talk these days is "doom and gloom," so it was great to be in a place where people are passionate about what they can do for their customers. And the focus was very much on things that CAN be done, not things that CAN'T be done. I was exposed to some phenomenal speakers, including *but not limited to* Stephen Abram, Lee Rainie, and the Librarian in Black. I left the conference feeling so rejuvenated, and I wasn't even all that demoralized before I started, so that is really saying something!
I bailed on the last 2 or 3 sessions of the conference because I had to be out of my hotel room anyways, so at lunch break I hit the metro and worked my way towards the National Zoo. It was so amazing! It was *free* and I got to see some spectacular animals. One of my favorite exhibits was of the lions, because the National Zoo recently got some new lion cubs, and they were all out playing when I was there. 2 adult females, 1 adult male, and 5? 6? 7? cubs... Who knows how many they were. Usually when I see big cats at the zoo, they are laying down or pacing, but these were so active. It was cool and humid outside, but all the kids were still in school, so I almost had the lions all to myself! I got some great pictures and video. There were other cool animals, but I digress.
After the National Zoo, I went to the National Cathedral, which was beautiful. I didn't get to spend long enough there because I was anxious about finding the metro again, and my feet were starting to hurt from all the walking. I made my way back to the metro and then to the airport, where I ate and bought a good book. Thank goodness I bought a good book, cause my flight got delayed about 2 hours. I landed in Knoxville ~12:15 this morning, and got to bed around 1. So I am sleepy, but I'm on an information high.
I hope I can go back to CIL sometime. I understand that budgetary constraints might keep me from going next year, but maybe in a couple years I can go back. Maybe I can even present there one day! Whatever the case, I definitely need to get the hubby to go with me to DX sometime. We might even try the MegaBus! OK, duty calls.

Love Your Libraries Fun Run

This weekend I did the Love Your Libraries 5K at UT with my good buddy, Erin. We had a blast-- had a great time talking. She's so nice. I'm really glad I got to meet her. Afterwards I went and ran some errands and then later met up with Erin, her husband, and my good pal Anya. We ate at the Creamery in Fountain City. Oh my goodness-- it was so delicious. I was glad the Creamery accepted my expired internet coupon, cause it wasn't cheap, but the cheeseburger was on a slightly sweet bun. The fries were tasty, and the chocolate shake was the icing on the cake. At ~$12 and probably 1500 calories, I couldn't do it all the time, but I enjoyed it while it lasted! I am so grateful to have so many nice friends. I definitely need more occasions to see these ladies. :)

Gah!

I have been thinking a lot lately about the discrepancy between who I am and who I want to be. But to change requires that I be aware of what I want to be at critical times when I am distracted by other motives. Hm. How to resolve?
Things at work are kind of hectic lately. A voluntary lay-off is going on, and depending on what happens with the FY2011 budget, there could be an involunary lay-off to follow. I am trying to remain faithful, and have been praying for good things to happen. I've been so blessed to have my job, and I don't want to lose it. I've just been trying to be prayerful and patient, and I'm trying to work hard and be productive. Because of all the time and effort I've been putting into work, I've totally slacked on my diet. I just feel like there are only so many things I can focus on at any given time. I'm trying to stick with some small positive changes that I've made, and with lent coming up soon, I should have some new motivation. I think this year I might give up fried food. That means no more fries, no more chips and salsa, no more Sunday donuts. It would be good for me. Mmmm, speaking of chips and salsa, Charles and I have found a new Mexican restaurant in town that we enjoy. Mexico Lindo is on Cedar Bluff. Last night we had their dinner special. It's a "pick two" dinner.... you get to choose 2 items from a list (taco, enchilada, burrito, tamale....), and 2 sides (rice, beans, or mashed potatoes). You get 2 dinners, 2 drinks, and one dessert (ice cream with sopapilla!) for $12.99. It is delicious, and a fantastic deal. I recommend the enchilada. Also, chicken entrees do not have onions and peppers mixed in with the chicken. I like onions and peppers, personally, but Charles does not, so he was very happy with the chicken item that he had.
Lastly, I want to recommend a series of books. They are the Haggis-On-Whey books.... fake sciencey kids' books written by Benny Haggis-On-Whey and Dr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey. They are totally silly! You should check them out if you like silly books. :)
OK, back to the grindstone....

I'm so behind!

As usual, things have been crazy and hectic. I've been working a lot-- having some extra projects to do at work has been fantastic. I tend to work much more efficiently when I have a lot to do, and I've been meeting people, too! My job is where I've been focusing the majority of my energy lately, so I've put all weight loss efforts on hold with the exception of continuing to attend my bi-weekly karate class. I've also been trying to implement some healthy choices by changing one habit at a time and keeping it for a month before adding a new one. It's been helping me to keep a little focus, while preventing me from getting overwhelmed.
Lots have been going on. My hubby has been administering IQ tests as practice for his School Psych degree. He gave a great test this morning to one of the greatest 13 year olds I know. It's been a lot of fun helping him practice and talking to him about pros and cons of different types of tests.
This weekend I got to see Anya and meet a bunch of her friends, and have what was probably the greatest cupcake I've ever had in my entire life. She sent 2 home with me, too, so I'm going to go eat my other one and let the hubs have his in just a moment. I'm hoping Anya will blog about it so I can just link everyone to what I dubbed the Anya Bomb. :)
Here in an hour or 2 I'll be going to a friend's place, probably to watch the Packers lose the Super Bowl. :( Gosh, I hope not. This is really only my 2nd year watchin NFL, so my feelings aren't very strong just yet, but I have serious favorings for the Packers over the Steelers and would like to see the Packers win. I like their small town, Americana attitude. So GO PACK GO and all that jazz.
There was so much that I wanted to write about, but I'm kind of getting distracted at the moment by a very fussy dog, so I think I'm just going to wrap this up and start preparing for the Super Bowl. If you read this, I hope you're having a great weekend! :)