Where shopping is a pleasure
It was wet and windy yesterday, so I "coerced" a friend into going to the mall for some inside recreation. Work has been busier than expected and I'm picking up extra hours because we're down one employee. Plus, the kids have managed to find my last good nerve and strip it down to nothing. Definitely cause for a major time-out for mom. It was fun browsing around, not looking for anything in particular, and catching up with each other. I really miss spending time with her.
She did manage to talk me into one purchase - these cool Doc*Marten shoes. Now, I never thought that Doc*Martens would be something I'd wear, but they're so comfy and cute! The name has always brought to mind boots and chunky shoes, so I was really surprised to see these in Dillards. I'm tempted to get them in brown, too. You can never have enough shoes, right?
Always look on the bright side of life
*whistling*
Things that have made me laugh out loud recently, in no particular order:
"Knights of the Roundtable" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail done in ... well, go see for yourself.
Watching Life of Brian, especially this scene and this one.
Reading the blog, Very Mom. I don't care if I look stupid laughing at a computer screen, her stuff is great.
Napoleon Dynamite - Dry and odd, and my oldest has memorized just about all of his lines.
Hearing J. (my 9 y.o.) singing the words to Barenaked Ladies "Another Postcard" (the Chimpanzee song) while in the shower.
Oh yeah, and trying on pants at the mall yesterday. Hys-ter-i-cal.
I have to laugh because if I don't, I start focusing on the sad fact that only pants involving elastic waistbands fit me properly. Please - someone design jeans with a waist that doesn't show the entire backside of my underwear, yet doesn't come all the way up underneath my bra.
"Just purse your lips and whistle. That's the thing.
And..."
Or just sing about chimpanzees...
Mood Indigo
It's interesting how a few choice words can make our thoughts do a 180-degree turn.
"Indigo" was definitely a good description of my thoughts yesterday. Something unseen - a little wanderlust, maybe? - kept my mood in the realm of depressing hues. It didn't help matters when the oldest told me that my hair was looking "stripey". They were supposed to be subtle highlights. I doubt that I'll let my stylist talk me into that again.
Anyway, I was reading a column in the paper this morning in which the writer was talking about Tom Robbins' book, Jitterbug Perfume. In it, Robbins makes the point that beets ("the most intense of vegetables") leave the body the same color as they enter. Ewww, I know. But stay with me.
From the epilogue:
"At birth, we are red-faced, round, intense, pure. The crimson fire of universal consciousness burns in us. Gradually, however, we are devoured by parents, gulped by schools, chewed up by peers, swallowed by social institutions, wolfed by bad habits, and gnawed by age; and by the time we have been digested, cow style, in those six stomachs, we emerge a single disgusting shade of brown.
"The lesson of the beet, then, is this: hold on to your divine blush, your innate rosy magic, or end up brown. Once you're brown, you'll find that you're blue. As blue as indigo. And you know what that means:
"Indigo,
"Indigoing,
"Indigone."
Divine blush... rosy magic. That's what I want in my life. As much as I love the blue hues, I don't want to wake up one morning and find myself "indigone".
Paper Clips
It's an amazing story that will move you to tears.
It follows the students and teachers of Whitwell Middle School, located in a small town outside Chattanooga, TN, who've created this unique project to study diversity. To see how far this project reaches out and touches people from all over the world is inspiring.
It it's in your area, please make a point to go see it.
Don't make me get the ruler...
One of the patrons (and I use the term loosely) who is known for being a sticky fingers at another library, has been visiting us frequently since our branch opened. According to my boss, he's partial to DVDs and has made off with a few at the other branch. I don't know why the staff there hasn't done anything to stop him, but I'll be damned if he gets any on my watch.
So, I spent an hour of my day yesterday following him. To hell with discretion - he KNEW I was watching him. I even made a point of asking him if he needed help. What I really wanted to do was say "Look ass*hole, we're on to you, okay? Now why don't you just leave and go steal something from Wal*Mart and leave the county stuff alone. I've got work to do!" He tries to be sneaky - he'll come in for a while, then leave and come back 20 minutes later dressed differently. Hello, McFly??! Like we're that stupid to be fooled by a change of clothes. He must have serious issues and a lot of money to spend all day doing this shit. Seriously, the man comes in every. single. day.
Part of me secretly hopes to catch him pilfering so I can bust his ass. Is that wrong? Heh.
For Amber...
... because she still reads my stuff. Heh.
This is the best I could do using a scanner and no digi camera. Presenting my new librarian specs...
They're a tortie brown color with bronze accents on the edges and sides. Quite a change from the semi-rimless glasses I had prior to these. I've still got 15 days left to decide whether or not to keep them. If I do, I'll let DH take a pic of me wearing them and I'll post it here.
Do not adjust your screen
I'm just playing around with a different template. "Minima" certainly describes this style. I'm surprised they bothered to put any color in the design at all, however, it looked good to me at 2 a.m. One day, I'll learn how to tweak the codes and get a decent-looking blog. Maybe when the kids are in college.
Make mine dark chocolate, please
Thought I'd share this since I'm still up, no thanks to a smashing case of heartburn.
This comes from "Love Adds a Little Chocolate" by Linda Andersen. It was an excerpt given in a book I'm reading now, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World ". Enjoy!
Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to enclose a little love note inside... Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the covers in around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even to teenagers!)... Duty gets offended quickly if it isn't appreciated, but love learns to laugh a lot and to work for the sheer joy of doing it. Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often, love adds a little chocolate.
Hope everyone's day is full of the chocolaty kind of love.
Just smack me
We'd planned to go see Tom Barry at The Improv tonight, but E. came down with a fever today. I didn't feel comfortable having my sitter - who is the daughter of my best friend - come over with a feverish kid in the house, so I decided to stay home. That created an uproar with the kid. "I'm not a baby! You can still go out! Just take J. to Mrs. O's house and I'll stay home." Nuh-uh. I know he's almost 13 (gah!!), but I don't feel comfortable leaving him home alone at night while he's sick and we're 30 minutes away in a comedy club. E. felt bad that we'd missed the concert earlier this week, so that was partly why he wanted me to go, but I just couldn't do it. It felt like even DH was kind of hoping that I would. Weird vibes all day.
I'm sure I added to the weirdness when he came home and "surprised" me with a electric foot massage thingy for an early Valentine's Day gift. Ummmm, well.... He could tell that it wasn't what I was expecting because he hastily said that I could return it. Heck, I wasn't expecting anything - hadn't really thought about it other than to stuff 24 gift bags with candy for J's class. He said that since I'd be on my feet a lot at the library he decided to get it for me. I know his heart was in the right place, but it's not something I'd ever use. I hate how those things vibrate your feet to numbness. Now a foot massage from him would make my day. I should have just said thank you and shut up, letting it collect dust under my bathroom sink, but I can't stand to see things go to waste.
Happy Valentine's Day...
Pass the M&Ms
I'm sorely tempted to eat the treats I bought for J's class party Monday. They're in the pantry - Toot*sie Pops, Smar*ties, m&ms - calling to me. It's just been that kind of week.
Do NOT trust me with important information, sharp objects or anything else you don't want lost or stolen. Case in point: concert tickets for Alison Krauss & Union Station. Take a look at the picture and tell me what date is printed there.
If you read Mon., Feb. 7, then YOU deserved to go. I'm sure it was a terrific concert. But unfortunately, I don't know how to read or properly transfer information to my calendar, so we missed the concert. You read correctly - WE MISSED IT. After receiving the tickets back in Dec., I opened them and noted it on the calendar for Feb. 8 and placed them in a safe place so as not to lose them. Yes, I'm an idiot. Maybe the number 8 (as in P.M.) just jumped out at me. Who knows? If there was a way to physically kick my own ass, I would. We'd been looking forward to this for two months. It was our Valentine's Day treat. $45 a pop!! You can only imagine the sick feeling in my stomach when we opened the envelope to check the tickets that morning. As DH said, though, it's not a tragedy in the grand scheme of things. I realize that, but I can still be sick about it.
As for good news: the formal dedication for the library was held yesterday and everything went smoothly save for a little rain to start the day. More than 300 people attended, which is great for a weekday morning. The chorus from one of the schools performed a particularly moving a cappella rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner". Local politicians had to be there to let us know how much they fought for it. (yadda yadda). Cold Stone Cream*ery provided ice cream cake slices that were drool-inducing and wonderful! The PR department did a terrific job, but even with all the accolades, the staff just wanted to get down to the bid-ness of being a library.
Last but definitely not least. E. is going to his first school dance tonight! He came home yesterday and told me that his friend had talked him into going. Of course, he's just going "for the food". Heh. How I wish I could be a fly on the wall there tonight, but I know he'd never want me there as a chaperon. What kid does? At least he still tells me most things that happen with him and his friends. I'll have to settle for that.
Glasses menagerie
Finally found a new pair of glasses last week. I've always preferred wearing them over contacts because a) they're easier to clean when they become dirty, b) they draw attention away from my other facial flaws (big plus) and c) i think they're a cool accessory.
Once I get a pair that I like, however, I want to hold on to them as long as possible because I hateshopping for them. It's more torture than swimsuit shopping each spring. The indecisive part of my brain goes bonkers because there are too many styles to choose from! DH has long since abandoned helping me in my pursuit of the perfect pair. Smart man.
Then there are all the add-on options: non-glare, transition tinting, plastic or polycarbonate, ad nauseum. My head is always on the verge of exploding while I juggle all this AND try to find a pair of flattering frames. Of course, I add to my misery by visiting more than one optical shop. That's always what the indecisive person needs - MORE choices.
Luckily, the shop I where I bought these has an unconditional 30-day guarantee, in case I find another frame I like better. *cough* It could happen. *cough*
Acid reflux attacks suck...
