APHC: Ruth Harrison, Reference Librarian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEq7ADBGW-8

Summer Programs at the Library

Besides the summer reading program, my department has been busy with 3 days of storytime. I've been doing the 2-3 yr old storytime each day and it's been fun. We have some regulars and they are starting to recognize me. It's so fun hearing their little voices say my name and are excited to see me! My personal favorites are the twins, Kate and Brennan. They are half Japanese and adorable! Their mom says that whenever they drive by the library they ask if Ms Elizabeth is there. So cute!
The children's department has also been busy with special storytime programs. I haven't done any programs myself, but I've been on hand to help out. I will be heading up another costume-character program next month. Yeah...
One of my co-workers, Debbie, won a grant for our library and we received some new books. That was really cool. In the grant she wrote up ways she would use these books for special library programs, if she won. So, now she's caring out these programs. One of the books was "Our White House: looking in, looking out" and it's a collection of facts and short stories about the White House. What's she did for one of her programs was talk about the pets that the President's have had - they they painted a simple picture of the White House and the green lawn in front - then the kids could paint what animals they would have as pets if they were President. It was a big success.
Next week Donna and Debbie are doing a program to commemorate the 40 years since NASA first landed on the moon. That will be really fun.

Movie Mania - literally!

We've had a weekly movie showing each Thursday. Donna found the newest kid's movies that just came to DVD (Hotel for Dogs, Paul Blart Mall Cop, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Race to Witch Mountain, High School Musical 3 and Space Buddies - if you wanted to know) and we show them each week - with a free bag of popcorn. (We have a big popcorn popper). The first week we have more than one hundred people show up and our meeting room has a fire code restriction of 100 people. Also, the volunteers had only popped 50 bags of popcorn and people were pestering the volunteers to make more popcorn.
Well, to prevent this happening again the next time we figured out a ticket system - just like in the movie theaters. We are only setting up 75 chairs, popping 75 bags of popcorn and giving out 75 bags of popcorn. Once the tickets are gone, that's it! It went a lot better the next week and the weeks following - much more in control!
We've also had teen volunteers helping out this summer. Since we are short-staffed we've been having them help with re-shelving (a never-ending job) and other special projects as necessary. They've been a big help.

Be Creative - Summer Reading Program 2009

I'm keeping busy with work, and this summer has been going good, for the most part! We've been busy with the Summer Reading Program and getting kids and teens to sign up. If the kids read 10 hours, marking off their game-board, then they get a prize! The half-way prize is a Smencil - a gourmet smelling pencil. Those are really popular. The end prize is a new book. Well, some are newly bought and the rest are nice looking donation books. That was a bit frustrating to me, to re-gift books that were donated to us - but they are in good condition and hopefully the kids will never know! This is a change from last year, they used to give out little prizes from the Oriental Trading company and the kids loved those. Since the city of Chesapeake is trying to save money, and be "green", they chose to give a book as the final prize. That's great - but I had hoped we would have a slew of new books that were new off the market - not donated copies of The Babysitter's Club. Oh well, whatever is left over won't be wasted.

Summer in D.C.

Pictures from my weekends in D.C.!

The National Mall

In June I was invited to a wedding, at the D.C. Temple, of a friend from my mission, Nica Conde. I was excited that I could actually go! Her wedding was on Friday and I decided to make a weekend of the trip and do some sight-seeing in D.C. on Saturday. Her wedding was so nice and I even got to see some old friends from my mission - that was really neat.
The reception was in Arlington, Virginia - so before the reception I went to the Arlington National Cemetery. The rows of white headstones were humbling - as was seeing the tomb of the unknown soldier. I also walked over to see the Kennedy's headstones. Saturday I went to the National Mall. I parked my car and took the Metro subway downtown. I hoped to see the national sites, and maybe some of the Smithsonian museums. Too bad they are all so far apart from each other! I sure did do a lot of walking! I actually had shin-splints for a few days afterwards.
Anyway, I saw the Washington Monument, then walked over the Lincoln Memorial - stopping at the Vietnam and WWII memorials on the way. I really liked the Lincoln Memorial - and it was also surreal looking at the statue that I've seen in so many pictures and movies. Martin Luther King stood there with his rally and spoke that famous speech. I wanted to spend more time contemplating all these things - but there were so many people there that it was too crowded to linger. I started walking back towards the capitol and almost made it - but my legs just gave out! I didn't think my legs would be able to get me back when I finally got there. So, I turned back and decided to quickly look through a couple of the museums.
I went to the Air & Space Museum and saw the Wright Brother's airplane, and one of the Apollo capsules that went to the moon. I next went over the Natural History museum and saw the Hope diamond! It's actually smaller than I expected - but it was sure beautiful! By this time I was exhausted, so I got back on the Metro back to my car. That was a great weekend - and I look forward to more opportunities to visit our nation's capital!

Frank & George

I've had a few opportunities to do some traveling this month and it's been fun. I had the chance to go to a Frank Lloyd Wright designed house, the Pope-Leighey House. That was really neat - it's just wood and concrete and lots of unique windows. I guess he really liked the natural light in the home - and natural elements. The wooden walls weren't painted, just stained to show the grain of the wood. He even designed the furniture - it was pretty neat. I was impressed.

In the same town is Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. That was really amazing and surreal. The house was very grand, with some original pieces of furniture. A few of the rooms were painted green because Washington believed, as others in his time, that this showed prosperity. While waiting to go to different rooms there were tour guides sharing facts and stories about the Washington's. When George Washington died, his wife closed up their master room and moved her belongings to another room. She couldn't sleep in that room anymore. The grounds of Mount Vernon were quite extensive and unfortunately I didn't have the time to see them all, but that just means I'll have to go back! There was this neat museum by the front gate and it had some neat exhibits about Washington - including some wax figures of Washington at different ages of his life. It was cool.

YSA Memorial BBQ Pool Party

We had a good time! Very fun!

Ericka

Sydney

Me and Heidi

Meredith, Ericka, Sydney and Heidi

Peter and the Wolf

I just watched this short film and it was amazing. The music is classic - but this stop-motion animation is incredible. I loved Peter's character, and his big blue eyes. Watch it sometime - you won't regret it!

Daisy Duck and Tagging

I helped with my first costume-character program this week. The library system rented a Daisy Duck costume (not Disney's Daisy Duck - but a duckling character from a book - very cute) and all the libraries had to plan a program to use the costume. My co-worker, Debbie, volunteered to be in the costume - and I didn't envy her. It looked so hot inside and she was so sweaty afterwards. So, I planned a family program with some stories, songs and a craft. We have a big screen and projection equipment that lets me plug in our laptop and run a PowerPoint presentation. I scanned in the pictures from the books - then showed them on the big screen. I blurred out the words on the pages and read those myself. We sang some duck songs and Debbie came out in the costume, and the kids went crazy. She went outside and we read another story then we did an easy craft - then Debbie came out again and the parents came up and took pictures of their kids with the the Duck costume. It was a success, though a little crazy on the kid's part. Debbie told me that was to be expected - the kids love the costume characters. Yeah! My first successful program! Jean was planning on coming, but then had a meeting to go to and I was grateful again for the tender mercies of the Lord. I needed to do this program without someone watching over my shoulder. I feel more comfortable about these story programs now and will be okay if Jean wants to attend in the future.

Work is going better. We're all keeping busy with a big system-wide project. We are in the process of putting Radio Frequency (RFID) tags on all the library materials and that will let the patrons do "self-checkout" and also help from theft. So, we are all working on "tagging" the books - meaning we need to place a tag in each book and scan the barcode to match it up, etc etc. We have a deadline of June and we're all scrambling to get this completed. With this process, Jean wanted us the library to be heavily "weeded" so we weren't wasting money by placing tags in old and dirty books. So, we've all been working on that - and it's been keeping me busy. I'm getting faster in doing it, but we are currently tagging the section that I'm still weeding. Yikes! I hope to get my part done my next week, then I can help with the tagging and what not. We also have to shelve our own books - just because we only have one person to do shelving in the whole library and she's only part-time. The library is short-staffed and we have a hiring freeze. I know, nothing new right now. It's just keeping us on our toes!

Raleigh Temple Trip

Decided to drive down to Raleigh, North Carolina to attend a session at the temple. This temple is about the same distance as the D.C. temple - but I hear the traffic is much less. It took me 3 hours to drive down there. I had to call ahead to reserve my seat for the 12pm session. It's a small temple and the rooms were so cute! I think they only have 2 ordinance rooms and a small celestial room in the middle. Still very beautiful. It was just what I needed.

I wanted to see more since I was in North Carolina, but the only thing that I ended up was seeing a little memorial park for Martin Luther King. There was a statue and a fountain - that was it.

I was a little disappointed. Next time, I'll have a better game plan.

Supervisor Training...

I participated in my first Supervisory Training Course. I'm required to get Supervisory Certification and need to take classes, etc. This was a week-long one called "Effective Supervisory Training". The class was held at the City Hall building and it was with other city employees. (Sheriff, Mosquito Control, etc.) It was enlightening - but long. I hated being out of the library for a whole week and I started making lists of things I needed to get done when I got back. I don't know how I could of avoided it. I'm required to complete this Certification program in the next year - and these classes are only offered at specific times. I'm glad it's finished and it looks like the other required courses are only a few hours long each. I can do that.
So, all week long one of the things I was worried about was this family program that I was in charge of. It was related to the Chesapeake "One book, one community" event. The book they chose was about a boy and his interaction with the first all-black Coast Guard. I helped arrange a program about shipwrecks and coast guard rescues off of Virginia Beach. This lady came and shared a presentation. Ok, that wasn't what I was stressing about - it was the attendance. We require registration for our programs, so we know how many to plan for, etc. Hardly anyone signed up for this program - and not for a lack of trying. I posted posters and handed out bookmarks - but it wasn't enough. I should have been contacting patrons, who came a similar program in the past, a month in advance and also got a press release into the local paper. I'm not in the habit of doing those things and it blew up in my face, unfortunately. I did have 7 people show up for the program, which is better than nothing, but I still feel bad that the library sponsored this low-attended activity. Well, this definitely was a learning experience! I know now what needs to be done to have more attendance for a program.
Monday, I'm still feeling bad about this Coast Guard program the previous Sat. and was dreading talking to my manager, Jean, about it. She pulled me aside and we talked. She was candid with me and told me that she was worried about my performance and how I was doing. She said they had a different impression of me at my phone interview and hoped that I would of had more experience. She did say that she was glad I was a nice person and not cocky - but she wanted me to step up. I felt so ashamed and even started crying a bit (talk about embarrassing). She quickly wrapped things up, asking me to "get in the fast lane", and she let me leave. I had a hard time concentrating the rest of the afternoon (with my blood-shot eyes) and as soon as I got home I broke down. I talked with Mom and Dad, and even my Branch President about what to do next and I got lots of good advice and even a priesthood blessing. I did a lot of thinking and list-making and eventually was able to get to sleep that night.
I fasted that next day and went in a little early to work to start getting in control of the my job. Jean was out of town and I was so grateful for the tender mercy. I needed the alone time to think and plan. I studied our department calendar, I started delegated some of my duties, and started feeling more in control. I held a staff meeting the next week and we talked about my place in the department and how we all can work together as a team. I haven't had another talk with Jean, but I did tell her in passing, at the end of that week, that I felt better about what was going on in the Children's Department and felt more in control. She didn't say much, but just reminded me to "stay in the fast lane". I think things are going better and I feel more confidence when I see Jean walk into the room. Keep me in your prayers that I can have the skills and confidence to achieve in this job! There are no other options - I have to succeed!

Trip to D.C. Temple

The YSA Branch took a trip to the Washington D.C. Temple. It was amazing. We left at 11am and got there about 3:30pm. No, it doesn't usually take that long to get to D.C. - we hit Spring Break traffic. Good thing we made later appointments! The temple is so tall - and white. It's very beautiful. Inside, the celestial room had tall ceilings. My friend, Heidi, told me that they had designed it so you look up. I thought that was really neat. In the lobby of the temple is big floor-to-ceiling painting of Jesus and the right hand/left hand judgement. I can't remember the name. While waiting for others to finish with baptisms, I went over to the visitor's center. It has a Christus in the lobby - and if you turned around to look at the temple through the large windows you could see the reflection of Christ on the temple. Very neat. After a quick bit to eat, we got back on the road and didn't get home until at least midnight. It was good day!

American Born Chinese

As alienated kids go, Jin Wang is fairly run-of-the-mill: he eats lunch by himself in a corner of the schoolyard, gets picked on by bullies and jocks and develops a sweat-inducing crush on a pretty classmate. And, oh, yes, his parents are from Taiwan. This much-anticipated, affecting story about growing up different is more than just the story of a Chinese-American childhood; it's a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape. The fable is filtered through some very specific cultural icons: the much-beloved Monkey King, a figure familiar to Chinese kids the world over, and a buck-toothed amalgamation of racist stereotypes named Chin-Kee.
This was an really interesting story. It's about a "American-born Chinese" boy who is trying to fit in with his peers - but also learn to appreciate his Chinese heritage. It is told in three different stories, that end up being connected and thought-provoking. I enjoyed it!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was nice, and Easter Sunday dinner was even better! (hehe) The Tuft's made the traditional ham and yummy potatoes, Ashley made deviled eggs and I helped by making some sparkling raspberry lemonade. (Thanks for the idea Kade!) It was all so yummy! Later, Dianna pulled out some plastic eggs with items in them to represent the Savior's atonement experience. This is a tradition in their family and I've seen this before in YW. One egg will have a nail, or soap, or a small piece of cloth, one had 3 dimes (30 pieces of silver), and the last one was empty. They all had a little paper with a New Testament scripture describing how the object was significant. It was good and afterwards we watched The Lamb of God, perfect to end the day with that, and actually I started my morning by watching the Testaments so I had some good bookends to my day! It was interesting, as I was driving to work the Friday before Easter I passed by a couple churches that had made, on their front lawn, a replication of the tomb, with the stone open. I don't know if they were going to use them for a presentation, or if they were just for show. It's great being back in the Bible Belt!

Speaking of the Bible Belt, it's really interesting see how open the people are here about their Christianity. My co-workers talk about going to church, teaching Sunday School, etc. A guy gave me a business card and there was a scripture on the back with that fish symbol. A co-worker, at another library, always wears this pin of the cross with a little piece of fabric and a small crown of thorns draped over it. Another co-worker, who is very religious in her catholic faith, was talking to me about her husband's new job prospects and she said to me: "I can tell you this because I know you're also God-driven". I was really flattered by that. This is a great experience!

Virginia Residency

I'm finally a resident of Virginia. I got my car titled and registered, received new license plates, and also got my new driver's license. The picture is decent, but I'm stuck with it for 8 years! (hehe) I'm still not used to seeing VA plates on my car, but I imagine I'll get used to it in time.

To top it off, I just got a price-saving key-card from the local grocery store, Food Lion. My residency is complete.

Wicked Lovely

I love an enticing book cover, and title, and this one sure did entice me. It's a more "realistic" story about fairies and their interactions with the human world. The main human character, Aislinn, has the ability to see the "fey", invisible fairy world, and ends up having more involvement with them than she would like. She has to help the Summer King fairy save his world, and maybe even become his queen. I won't say more, but I liked the story and will probably read the sequel.

Graveyard Book

This was a really interesting, and enjoyable book. It's a sort of Jungle Book idea, in which the baby is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. He is given "Freedom of the Graveyard" and that lets him enter crypts, learn ghost abilities, see in the dark, etc. He has some quirky adventures. The story was weird at times, but kept my interest peaked to keep reading. This is the newest 2009 Newbery award winner and I agree that it deserves it!

Current Projects

It's getting better to work 8 hours. The hour lunch helps break up the day and I find that I'll look at the clock and will only have an hour left until I can leave. Time flies when you're busy and not watching the clock.
I'm currently working on a system-wide project in that we are putting new call number labels on the graphic novels (which is "an artistic book, produced by a graphic novelist utilising the form of a comic book" - and they're all the rage with the teens). So, I receive a packet of labels, next I find the book on the shelf and change the call number in the computer catalog. Then, I stick the label with the book and put it on the repair cart - and the part time staff takes over and puts the new label on the book.
This is one of the projects that keeps me busy - besides my main task of deciding which books to get for our collection. I don't have to choose from all the books available, but from a pre-selected shopping "cart" that a designated librarian has put together. I just have to go through the titles in the cart, look at the reviews, and decide if we want or need it. I have access to three accounts which produce carts different times during the month and that will keep me busy when they start popping those out more often. This is a new system and they are working on getting the glitches out.
Sorry for all the library talk - I just wanted to give you a sampling of what I'm doing here as a (insert snooty voice) "professional librarian". It's good.

One Book, One Community

Storm Warriors

The year is 1895 and young Nathan Williams wants nothing more than to be a "storm warrior," one of the brave men of the U.S. Lifesaving Service on Pea Island, off the North Carolina shore. Again and again, Nathan has helped the team rescue frightened sailors from floundering ships during the winter storm season. But Nathan's father is a fisherman, and he expects Nathan to be the same. After all, Pea Island is the single station open to African American surfmen, and the precious few jobs are passed from father to son. Still, Nathan is coached in lifesaving skills by the Pea Island crew and dares to hope that one day he may share in their ranks. But after helping with a particularly difficult rescue, Nathan is forced to face the truth: "In that moment I knew, without a shred of doubt, that I did not have the courage to risk my life that way. The dream, and all the months of hoping, blew away as quickly as the foam off the waves." After a close friend makes clear the obvious, Nathan realizes that there are other ways to save lives and discovers his true destiny.

This was a very interesting story and I enjoyed it. It's based off the true story of the African-American crew that manned the Pea Island Coast Guard in the last 1800's - post Civil-War time. These men were very brave and were given a prestigious award - long after they were dead. Chesapeake City has chosen this book as their One Book One Community and it will be interesting what activities and programs we will have relating to this book!

Virginia Report...Finally

I've been in Virginia for a month now and I've been trying to get enough motivation to write a full report of my adventure so far. Well, a month has gone by and here I am. So, I 'm going to sum it up - if you have any questions let me know.

New Job:
Wow, this is quite a job. I'm the department head for the children and young adult services at the Russell Memorial Library. Yes, I didn't realize my job would be that extensive, but it's good. My co-workers are all really nice and helpful and answer all my questions with no eye-rolling. They are just glad that I'm here because the job has been vacant for a year now. I'm starting to do some of my duties and attend meetings - I'm already very busy. I have my own desk and computer AND my own phone extension. This is serious stuff! (hehe) My primary duties are to order materials for our departments, meaning that I make final decision on what books and movies to buy. Next, I'm doing story time twice a week, (Monday is "Just for 2's" and Tuesday is "Just for 3's".) Also, I'm working on "weeding" some of the book collections. I'm currently working on the graphic novels - next I will work on the picture books. Then, I'm attending meetings, going on school visits and helping planning programs for the library. I've arranged one right now with the Virginia Beach Coast Guard to share a presentation about wrecks and rescues off the Virginia coast line - this program in going with our theme of the book we choose (Storm Warriors by: Elisa Carbone) for "One Book, One Community". It should be exciting! I think that sums up what I've been doing this last month with my job - more information to follow I imagine!

New home:
I have a cute little 1-bedroom apartment about 4 miles from the library. I work in the northwestern part of Chesapeake, and I live just a few streets out of Chesapeake, in Portsmouth (pronounced Portsmith) It only takes me 10 minutes to get to work, and on surface streets! I'm in a decent apartment complex, and so far all my neighbors are African-American. This is great! I'm still working on unloading all of my boxes, but I feel like I'm at a point where I just about settled in. I'm trying to decide to do with all my books, on one bookcase - quite a conundrum. I'm learning my way around here a little more - but it helps that I now own a GPS system. I can go exploring, then tell it take me home and it gives me directions! I love it!
My aunt, Dianna, and her family live in Chesapeake and I feel so blessed that I had family here! They helped out so much and let me come over for Sunday dinners. They're great! I've loved the time I've had with them so far and look forward to more fun times ahead!

Virginia in General:
It is so beautiful here - and many many trees to go around. The library parking lot is surround by a small forest. I'm anxious for spring to bring in all the leaves! Also, there are many rivers and water sources to cross. I cross over the Elizabeth River every day on the way to work! Besides the bridges, there is an underground tunnel, which is under the river, driving through Norfolk and it's always amazing driving through it! The weather is nice, but I heard humid times are ahead! Yeah... We had a little snow my first week and everyone was so scared to do anything! (hehe) It all melted by the end of the day! Wimps! (hehe) There is much history here and I'm anxious to visit Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown and other historic landmarks. I've already been to Virginia Beach - and put my finger in the freezing Atlantic Ocean. I'll be sure to go back when it's warmer.

Ok, that's all I have time for this time! More info to come soon!

Al Capone Does My Shirts

I really liked this book! It's about a boy, Matthew aka Moose, who comes to live on Alcatrez Island in the 1930's because his dad got a job as a prison guard. He has an older sister, Natalie, who has autism and Moose's mother tries really hard to help Natalie function and be independent. Al Capone is in the prison at this time and Moose's friend, Piper, tries to think of ways to utilize this information without getting in trouble with her father who is the warden. Besides liking the historical aspect of the story, I enjoyed seeing this family come to love and appreciate each other. I also like how unlikely friendships start. I enjoyed this book!

My New Library

I took these pictures (the indoor ones) while the room was empty - I'm so sneaky! I need to take more when I feel brave!

First Weekend in Chesapeake, VA

Virginia or Bust!

Time to Go!

Monday I picked up the Penske rental truck and parked it in front of my house. I had been packing like crazy so I could be ready to load the truck on Monday and Tuesday. Dad had the day off, it was President's Day, and they had actually just gotten back in town from Idaho that afternoon. Well, earlier Dad and I planned to move in the heavy objects on Monday, then I would move the boxes in on Tuesday, etc. Dad & Mom came over and we pulled the truck into the driveway. We started getting my stuff ready to move when my home teacher happened to be walking by, and my male neighbors downstairs all were home. They all were available to help Dad and I get my belongings into the truck. It didn't take any time at all! Many hands make light work! I was so grateful for their help and hopefully they knew that! After, we drove the truck over to Grammy's house to pack the rest of my belongings into the truck. By this time, David and Sheila were helping out. When I had all the boxes in the garage for David and Dad to pack in, I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to get it all in! Well, I shouldn't have doubted because Dad and David are packing masters and they turned that space into a nicely ordered cube. It all fit perfectly with a few spaces to squish some last minute objects! I couldn't believe we got all of that finished on one day! Yeah!

Tuesday I was able to do some last minute errands and even had time to watch a movie with Mom. I started my good-byes and that was really hard. I hate doing that! Dad gave me a blessing that evening and it was great. I didn't even know he was wanting to do that, and it was really good.



Leaving tomorrow...

Caliente! on Youtube!

Here is the puppet show for those of you who didn't get to see it! Watch a little bit and try not to judge our amateur attempts! (hehe)

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Forced to leave her sunny Caribbean home for the bleak Connecticut Colony, Kit Tyler is filled with trepidation. As they sail up the river to Kit's new home, the teasing and moodiness of a young sailor named Nat doesn't help. Still, her unsinkable spirit soon bobs back up. What this spirited teenager doesn't count on, however, is how her aunt and uncle's stern Puritan community will view her. In the colonies of 1687, a girl who swims, wears silk and satin gowns, and talks back to her elders is not only headstrong, she is in grave danger of being regarded as a witch. When Kit befriends an old Quaker woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond, it is more than the ascetics can take: soon Kit is defending her life.

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a long time get around to reading it, but I'm glad that I did. It's about a young girl raised in Barbados, who goes to live with her Puritan aunt and her family. She has to learn fast to restrain herself and that frustrates her. She meets an old lady who lives secluded, and somewhat shunned in the community. They instantly become friends. This friendship is what causes some controversy. I was worried at the climax that things weren't going to work out - but I was pleasantly surprised.

Larry the Loud Librarian

Banff National Park

Today was really fun. We drove to Banff National Park and spent the day there. There is a town there that reminds me of Park City kind of - full of shops and resort hotels, etc etc. We first went to lunch and Chili's. Yum! Next we went on the gondola ride. This ride, which was an enclosed ski lift, took us to a top of a mountain. The ride up was slow and a bit scary - just because we were suspended over the snowy trees. I got some fun pictures.

The view from the top was amazing. It was the Canadian Rockies and they were beautiful.

Too bad it was windy and cold that we couldn't stay outside for long to admire the view. We got our pictures and went inside to the warm gift shop. They we took the ride back down the mountain.

It was really fun. After we parked the car and walked through some of the shops on the main street. They were the usual souvenirs that were over-priced. I didn't get anything this time - except for an ice cream cone and some fudge. Yum!

Birthday Report

So, my birthday started great. When I got up, Jocelyn was in the process of decorating the house with decorations. She had leftover "30" decorations from when Daylyn turned 30 a few months ago. She even had a bunch of balloons for me. I guess that Daylyn picked them up the night before and was worried that I would see him bringing them in - but Jocelyn and I were still out at Wal-mart when he got back.
So, after breakfast Jocelyn and I started our Jane Austen festival by watching the new Sense & Sensibility. She loved it, of course she would!

Later we all went to dinner at this place called Kelsey's. Jocelyn gave me all these choices for dinner and I thought it would be fun to go to a place we don't have in the states. So, I chose this place they liked that had American food. It was really good. Jocelyn had called ahead for a reservation and she told them about my birthday so they came out with a desert with a sparkler on it. That was really cool. The people at the table next to us started singing before my party did and then all the people around us were singing as well! I bet my cheeks were so red!

When we got home Jocelyn finished up her special cupcakes she made for my birthday. They looked like a corn-on-the-cob! It was so cute!

It was a great day!

They say it's your birthday!

This song is a tradition in our family - Enjoy!



"They say it's your birthday! It's my birthday too yeah!"

Canada!

I made it to Canada! This will be a great 5 days!

More info to come!

As a Rule

This was my favorite part of the Superbowl - well it's the only part I actually watched...

Star Wars Rocks

Packing with a Vengeance

So much is going on - and it will still be crazy for a few more weeks yet! It's surreal that I'm moving in 3 weeks. I found a 1 bedroom apartment available in Portsmouth, for a decent rent and it's less than 4 miles to my work. I applied and was accepted - so now I have a place to live. Now I've been packing in any free moment I've had. It's hard because half of my belongings are at Grammy's house - but I've decided to just get everything ready at each respective location and I'll drive the moving van to each place and pack it up! Grammy is giving me her flowered love-seat, I'm taking the big dresser from Mom & Dad's and I have my bed at my house. Plus, boxes galore. I'm trying to be a wise packer by putting heavier things in the smaller boxes, and the lighter things in the bigger boxes. Hopefully this won't strain any one's back - especially mine! I wish I could have my sister, Anna, with me as my personal consultant - but we don't have that luxury anymore! I'll just have to make due with my own abilities!
So, I'm packing all I can this week. Then, next week I'm going up to Canada to visit my friend Jocelyn for my birthday week. I just didn't want to sit at home and feel sorry for myself on my 30th birthday. So, Canada here I come! Jocelyn is so excited - we're going to have a great time.
I'll get back from Canada on Sunday the 8th, and that week will be my last week of work at the library - as well as my last chance to pack everything up. No doubt I will be getting together with many friends - because it will be our last chance for a long time. I'm trying not to think about my good-byes because I start to getting really sad!

Canadian Candy-gram

I'm going to Canada a week from today. My Canadian friend, Jocelyn, is really excited and she sent me this candy-gram! How fun is that! Plus, I get to try out some unknown Canadian candy bars! Yum!

Sayonara little Honda!

I sold my Honda! I had 2 people come by and test drive it. The second person offered $500 because he thought the transmission needed some work done. He even took it to a transmission place. Well, the next day I took it over to Flash Gordon's transmission place and he drove it around and said that the transmission and clutch were fine - just a bit noisy. He did recommend new spark plugs for the engine, because it had been sluggish for a few months. I told him that I was trying to sell and he said that if I could get $1,200 for it that would be good. I put $1,500 as my price. Later that evening, David put in new spark plugs and the engine was working great.
So, this guy Edgar came for a test drive that Friday morning and put an offer for it. I negotiated to sell it for $1,100 - it was lower than I had hoped - but I was just glad that he wanted to buy it. Plus, I got the money I needed to buy the Dodge. Well, I wasn't ready for a buyer so I had to hurry and empty all my stuff out of the car, find and sign the title, and take off the license plates, etc.. Then, he took me over to Office Max so I could get a copy of the title. I had posted the car on KSL online classified and Edgar called me later that day to ask if I could take off the listing. I guess he's going to fix it up and sell it again! Oh well, it's not in my hands anymore!
I was car less at this point and Dad had me come by, care of the downtown Trax, and pick up the stratus from the Church Office parking lot. I had the day open, so I took the Dodge to get 2 new tires, so I could get the safety/emission to pass. Then I deposited the cash that Edgar paid me for in the bank - and I made a down payment on the Dodge Stratus. In the long run, this was a long day, long week, involving cars! Today I went over the DMV, waited for an hour, and got a new title and license plates - so now I'm set until I need to leave! Phew!

Caliente!

I did my first puppet show this last Saturday and it went pretty well. Our theme was funny stories from the south and I think we picked some fun stories. We did our first show at the Day Riverside library and we had a good little group show up. I could hear them giggling as the show went on. Mom and Dad even showed up! I think we did good for our first time in front of a live audience. We have two more shows, on the next two Saturdays. They should go even better!

NEW JOB! Finally!

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So, I had a phone interview with a job in Chesapeake, Virginia a few months ago, didn't get myself too excited just because I've had so many and I've learned not to get my hopes up. Well, last month they called and wanted me to send my background info - fingerprints, criminal history, child protective services background and a copy of my Masters degree diploma. Still, I wasn't getting too excited, but the thought started lingering that I might have to move to Virginia.
Well, I got a call Thursday morning from the manager of the library and she offered me the job. I was so shocked that I couldn't give her a direct answer, but she was nice and said I had the weekend to decide. After getting off the phone I instantly started calling people: Dad, Mom, Anna, my roomies, etc etc. I had the day off so I thought and talked about it all day. Mom and Dad are sad, but excited. Anna is way stoked. David was just surprised. After talking it out all day I felt like this is want I wanted, and needed, to do. I called the manager Friday morning and accepted the job.
She's giving me 6 weeks until I need to start - so that has me starting on February 23rd. I'll probably leave on Feb. 18th - that give me about three days to drive across country. Google Maps says it's a 1 day, 9 hour trip. We'll see about that. I have to rent a U-Haul to move all my stuff - then tow my car behind it. We'll see who can help me out! I've got a month to figure all of this out! I'll keep you updated! This should be a good experience!

Selling the Honda

So, I'm selling my car, but no buyers yet. I have a sign posted in the car window and a posting on Craigslist. I have had a few calls and emails, but no offers yet. I'm just praying I can sell it before I need to leave! I can't place that burden on someone else - and I need the extra funds to go towards my u-haul rental! I have it for $2000, but if someone is willing to give me even $1500 then I'll take it.

Here is the posting on Craigslist.com: http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/cto/994523252.html

1994 Honda Civic LX, dark grey, 181,000 miles, $2,000 OBO, Clean title history, All maintenance has been done in time, clean bill of heath on last oil change inspection, Good tires, Great gas mileage: 20mpg city/30mpg highways, CD Stereo missing (it was stolen)...

Kids Events @ The City Library

Here are some of the programs that I'm helping with this month! I'm excited! Check them out!

	January 6, 2009 Storytimes, crafts, music, magic! The City Library is dedicated to giving kids and their grown-ups plenty to discover year-round. Read below for Kids Events at The City Library. January 16, 2:00 p.m., Sweet Library January 16, 4:00 p.m., Main Library January 24, 2:00 p.m., Day-Riverside Library January 30, 2:00 p.m., Sprague Library If you laugh like a girl because you are a girl, then come to our Daring Book Club for Girls! There will be stories, activities and jokes (Knock knock. Who's there? Boys. SLAM!) That's right - a boy-free zone! January 17, 2:00 p.m., Day-Riverside Library January 24, 2:00 p.m., Sprague Library January 31, 2:00 p.m., Main Library ¡Caliente! Warm up your winter! Whizgiggle's Puppet Theater presents hot stories from the American South and south of the border. For more information about The City Library's events and services, please call us at 524-8200 or visit our website: www.slcpl.org. All City Library events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.