Another Good Book

Hello! I have another book recommendation for anyone who cares. This book is called The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It's about a boy who discovers his father is actually a Greek God. It's a modern story about mythology, and it's very entertaining. It's a juvenile book, so it's a pretty easy read for an adult. I picked it up because we get so many requests for it at the library (especially from preteen boys). I just had to see what all the fuss was about. It's the first in a trilogy. I fully intend to read the follow-ups as well -- Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse. Check y0ur local library to see if it's available!

Good morning, star shine! The earth says hello!

Today is the first anniversary of my 29th birthday. Last night I went to Olive Garden for dinner with my two sisters and two of my nieces. Then we met the rest of the gang down at Clearwater Beach (a very touristy area). We watched a few street performers, gave some money to a monkey, got some faces painted... the usual, right? After church today, I went over to Valarie's where we had a "picnic". Our original intention was to go to the park for our picnic, but the rain forced us to have a picnic on a blanket in the middle of Val's living room. Then we had some VERY delicious cake which said "Happy Birthday Tracey" because they spelled my name wrong at the bakery. Oh, well.

It seems that, as your birthday approaches, you begin to notice situations where your age becomes apparent. I have had a few of those occasions happen to me in the past couple of weeks.

I had the opportunity of being one of several judges at a local Battle of the Bands contest a few weeks ago. It was so much fun, but I have never felt so old in my entire life. The bands were made up of mostly teenagers; the fans were mostly teenagers. The first band began to play, and I was thinking, "This is pretty cool." I have to say that I was impressed with several of the bands there. There was some good talent. Back to the first band... the first song began, and I was jammin'. Then the guy began to "sing." I put sing in quotations marks because he was just screaming into the microphone. I couldn't even understand a word of what he was saying. I don't know if the song was about love, friendship, or baked beans. I thought, "wow. am I really that out of touch with what the teenagers like to listen to?" But then I told myself, "of course you are. You're almost 30!" It was an eventful night. I got hit on by one of the boys there. That was interesting.

Also, this week at the library, there was a boy there who is one of our regulars. He's there every day, and we know his name; he knows ours. He's a good kid. Anyway, he was standing at the desk talking to me when a teenage girl came along. She is also a regular. During the course of the conversation, she used a swear word. The boy looked at me, looked back at her, and said, "Don't swear around the elderly." Well that blew my mind. I scoffed at him, and he immediately explained that he didn't really think I was elderly. I forgave him. When I was fifteen, I thought 30 was elderly also.

I think it's just because I spend a lot of my time at work with teenagers that I feel old sometimes. I certainly don't feel old among my coworkers. I am the youngest one. You should spend a few minutes with some teens if you don't get to do it very often. You'll be amazed. I always thought, "It hasn't been that long since I was in high school." But these kids use words that I have no idea what they mean. They play video games that I can't even begin to understand. And they are so technologically savvy that it's scary. Seriously, if your computer breaks down, ask a teenage boy to fix it. Nine times out of ten they can do it, and do it quickly. So, yes, I feel old sometimes when I'm surrounded by teenage angst and hormones, but I would not go back to being 16 for anything. I'm glad that chapter of my life is over... it's long over. So, to 30 I say, "Hello and welcome!"

Girls' Night

Yesterday we decided to have a girls' night. When I got home from work, Jill, Devyn, Val, Kaily, and Laney were all there waiting for me. We went out for dinner at Applebees (Kaily's choice). When we got home, Val and Jill played Dance Dance Revolution while the babies watched. Kaily (who LOVES LOVES LOVES to do crafty things) and I made these funny pictures our of magazine pictures. When we finished, we showed them to Jill & Val. They thought they were funny, so we all made some more. Here are the finished products...

Free MySpace slideshows, photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A Walk in the Park...

Last weekend we went to Starkey Park in New Port Richey, FL. We had a great time. The weather was great, and the kids (and adults) had a great time playing on the playground. I made a montage of some of my favorite pictures. (And I used a song I love!)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Let me tell you about this great book...

I must mention this book I am reading. I am really enjoying it. It is called Physik by Angie Sage. It's actually the third book in a trilogy. (The first two books are titled Magyk and Flyte.) It is a young adult fantasy-fiction book about a young boy named Septimus Heap. He is the seventh son of a seventh son, which makes him powerfully magical. I liked Magyk, which had a chapter about a "rubbish chute" that had me laughing out loud, and Flyte, but my favorite is Physik. If you're looking for a good book to read, give these three a try. Don't let their size discourage you. They are hefty books, but they are written for a young teen. It's not tough reading for an adult, but the story is good enough not to bore.

Let me know if you have read anything good. I'm always looking for suggestions!

Music Makes the World Go 'Round!

It's been more than a month since the last time I posted anything. I won't make excuses. This is why I was never good at keeping a journal. I write diligently for awhile and then I go for six months without writing anything. I refuse to feel guilty. I'll just write when I can. That's all I can promise.

I have decided to write a post about the songs that have had meaning to me throughout my life. They are not all necessarily songs that I love or even like. They are songs that evoke certain feelings or bring on specific memories.

Let's start at the very beginning (a very good place to start)...

1984 --Wake Up, Little Susie by The Everly Brothers
This song was my favorite song when I was about six. It's the first song I remember really really liking. My Dad had the record album, and I always requested it. I thought it was such a funny song. I didn't really get it. It's about a young teenage couple who get in big trouble after accidentally spending the night together because they fell asleep. It was actually written in 1957, but I didn't discover it until about 1984.

1986 -- Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual album
I know this isn't a song... it's a whole album. This was the first album that was ever MINE. I think my Dad bought it for me. I was obsessed with Cyndi Lauper. I thought she was so cool with her totally 80's hairdo and clothes. My favorite song on the album was probably a toss up between Girls Just Want to Have Fun and She Bop.

1990 -- Hangin' Tough by New Kids on the Block
Yes, I was a fan. I even went to a concert once. I had posters on my bedroom wall. I'm not ashamed. I was 12... it's what 12 year old girls do.

1992 -- Jump Around by House of Pain
Everytime I hear this song, It takes me straight back to stake dances.

1993 -- The Sign by Ace of Bass
I had the whole cd. I listened to it A LOT. It's a fun song! (It surprised me when Kari liked it because she was all about the country music.)

1995 -- Lump by The Presidents of the United States of America
"Lump lingered last in line for brains, and the ones she got were sort of rotten and insane." What's not to like about a song containing that line? This one reminds me of my brother Drew. We used to sing it taking turns doing every other word. That's a lot harder than it sounds like it would be.

1996 -- The Power of Love by Celine Dion
I had a roommate at Ricks who listened to this song over and over and over and over because it reminded her of some missionary she was "waiting" for. I say "waiting" because she sure did date MANY other people while "waiting." In fact, she married one of those other people.

1997 -- I don't remember the name of the song. Kari will know it. It goes "He sends chills up and down, up and down my spine." I think it's sung by Tanya Tucker?
This is another one that was played on repeat by a roommate. (Not the same roommate who played The Power of Love.) We used to dance around a lot to this one. This same roommate also listened to "Oh L'Amour" by Erasure a whole lot also. I still remember every word to that song.

1999 -- Never There by Cake
Again, this one holds memories with my roommates at BYU. I remember calling the radio station once to request it. I flirted with the dj, and then they played my request on the air. It was quite exciting at the time.

The next several years were a musical blur. No specific song really stands out to me in particular. I think this was my Sarah MacLachlan phase. I own several of her cd's.

2004 -- My Humps by Black Eyed Peas
"No, no drama. No, no, no, no drama!" I remember riding in the car with Val, singing along with this song while dancing. I think we laughed so hard we had to pull over.

2005 -- Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
My nephew Kyle loved this song. He sang along to it in the car when it came on the radio. He was only about 3 at the time. When Drew and Marquesas sang with their band, Marquesas would sing this song and dedicate it to Kyle.

2008 -- TBA
We'll see what songs have an impact on me this year. That remains to be determined.

I'm sure I left out tons that I just can't think of off the top of my head, but when I hear them I immediately reminisce. What songs have meaning to you? Feel free to leave a comment with an important song in your life.

Guitar Hero

I love to play Guitar Hero! I was first introduced to the game back when I lived in Ohio and was doing my practicum at the Hilliard Library. You can't work with teens and not hear about this game. Probably most of you have either played it or seen it played. Basically, the game controller is a guitar. The song plays, and a fingering chart scrolls across the tv screen. There are buttons for the frets and to strum. You try to get as many notes right as you can.

My brother Drew is an excellent guitar player. (Real guitar, not Guitar Hero guitar.) Whenever he comes over, he wants to play the game. Drew and Marquesas were at my apartment last week, so we broke it out. I played with Drew for a while. When I quit, Evan (my 3 year old nephew) asked if it was his turn next. So he "played" with Uncle Drew. (Really, Drew played on one player, and we didn't plug Evan's controller in. But he didn't know that, of course. He thought he was totally rocking out.) I thought these pictures were so cute. Evan is so tiny! He concentrates so hard on the game.

Here we have the instructional session. We had to explain to Evan that he had to hit the buttons with his right and left hands at the same time.

He looks like a pro, right?

And here he is all concentrated on playing the song right.

On another note... my neice Devyn (11 months old) was there also, and she LOVED Guitar Hero too. She danced to the music!

5,000,000 Christmas Lights!

Today I had to drive to Orlando to take and Drew and Marquesas to the airport. (They are spending Christmas in Europe.) Since I was going over that way, I decided to take Devyn along and stop at Disney's MGM Studios to see their giant Christmas light display. The lights are all taken from a family's house (or farm?) in Alabama, and now Disney puts them up on their movie set lot at MGM. The lights are choreographed to the music, as you can see in the short video below...

Here we are approaching the main Disney gate...

This is Devyn rocking out to a band. She loves music. She grabbed the try on her stroller to pull herself upright so she could bounce up and down to the music.

Here we are at the lights. She looked straight up pretty much the entire time. She also tried to catch the "snow" (soap bubbles).

We had a really good time!

I Get Paid to Do This! (Short Post)

So, here's how I spent my free time this evening...



I made nine little colorful felt penguins to use during storytime tomorrow while I tell a story about... you guessed it... penguins! I love doing this kind of stuff, and to top it all off... I get paid to do it. (Well, technically I was not getting paid to do what I did this evening at home, but I do this kind of stuff all the time at work too.)

IKEA!!!

They opened a new Ikea store in Orlando. I have never been to one before (although I have been getting their catalogs for years). There just has never been one close to where I live. Yesterday Valarie, Jill, Devyn, Alaina, and I all piled in my car and took the two hour drive to get there. It was great! That store is humongous, and they have everything set up in a showroom. I bought this great lamp. My plan is to place it so that it hangs over our dining room table.

After Ikea, we headed over to Disney World to play some mini golf. At Disney, near Epcot Center and the Wide World of Sports, they have this mini golf course that looks like a regular golf course. There are sand traps and "lakes." Perhaps the hardest part (at least for me) is that there is no border around the outside edge. If you hit your ball too hard (which I tend to do), then it goes off the course into the grass or bushes or rocks or whatever. We had a good time at both Ikea and playing golf.

I Love Mad Libs!!!

I love Mad Libs. They are so much fun. I was doing them last night with Jill, and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. It wasn't THAT funny. But it was THAT fun! Know what I mean? The line that got me going was something like "...but the children say he could spin and flop just the same as Devyn and me." It was a Christmas Carol Mad Lib. That particular song was originally "Frosty the Snowman." Our version was titled "Frosty the Boyfriend-man." I'm seriously trying hard not to laugh too much as I type this because I am remembering some of the sillier lines we created. Let me make a suggestion to you all... do some Mad Libs and have a good time.

8 Random Things About Me

My lovely sister Valarie tagged me for a meme. I'm supposed to write 8 random things about myself, so here they are in no particular order:

1. I love gummy worms. I love how chewy and tough they are; I love the fruity flavor. In fact, thinking about them right now is making my mouth water. They are totally delicious!

2. My toothbrush is blue and white. I spend a lot of time choosing the toothbrushes I buy -- not because I'm obsessed with oral hygiene but because I'm convinced the color of the toothbrush affects my mood when I use it. I generally bounce back and forth between purple and blue. I once tried pink. I won't do that again.

3. My first kiss from a boy came when I was in kindergarten. His name was Chris, and he actully had a crush on my best friend. He asked if he could kiss her, and she told him only if he kissed me first. I ran, but he chased me down, tackled me, and kissed me. She kissed him, and they were happy. Meanwhile, I was lying on the ground covered in dirt.

4. I rarely make my bed in the morning. My former roommates have commented on the fact that I tend to make my bed at night before getting back into it. (If I make it at all.) Of course, since I moved to Florida I never sleep under the covers, so my bed is is always made.

5. On another household chores topic -- I hate ironing. I would rather scrub a toilet. I'm just not a neat enough person to do a good job with an iron. Although I have never left one of those gross brown iron scorch marks on the fabric, I tend to iron in as many wrinkles as I iron out. Thank goodness for permanent press! Ten minutes in a dryer to fluff.

6. I am very jumpy. When I get startled, my right arm (and right leg if I am seated) tends to fly about haphazardly. Sometimes people get punched. Once I was with Randy in NYC, and my own reflection startled me. Another time I was with my sisters at a restaurant. A little boy came running around the corner, and for some reason I thought he was a leprechaun. I jumped into the air and flung my arm out. I think I scared the little boy as much as he scared me. He looked nothing like a leprechaun, but for some odd reason that's what I thought he was when he came flying toward me.

7. I collect shopping bags. I have bags from all over the world even though I have never been outside the U.S. People find out I collect, and they donate cool bags to my collection. I had an art teacher in college who gave me several bags from European stores; I have bags my parents brought back for me from Africa. One of my favorite bags is from about 20 years ago. It's a Bloomingdale's Christmas shopping bag. It has little bears dressed like Santa on it. It seriously looks like it will fall apart if you touch it.

8. I am afraid of birds, especially geese. I run from them. Once I lived in an apartment by a lake where the geese swarmed. They were aggressive and mean, and they pooped EVERYWHERE. I was outside with Valarie and her family one day. When one of the geese approached me and Mikaily (Val's oldest), I grabbed Mikaily's hand and yelled "RUN!" We ran, and Valarie laughed. She will never let me forget the experience.

Technically, I'm supposed to tag 8 people to write random things about themselves also. I'm not going to do that. (I apologize to the meme police.) If you want to do it, go for it. It was actually pretty fun recalling memories to write about.

Jack-O-Lantern

I carved a pumpkin today! I generally avoid the activity because scraping the seeds, guts, and strings out really grosses me out. I'm pleased with the finished product though.

Warning: Dates on the Calendar are Closer Than They Appear

Yes. Time has gotten away from me. I was talking to Val the other day, and I mentioned it had been a long while since the last time I blogged anything. She, sitting at the computer, went to my blog page and informed me that my last post was on Sept. 3rd. SEPT 3RD! That was a long time ago. I guess time flies without being noticed.

Life is good. It's usual. I work alot. (Still enjoying the job.) I'm trying to think of something exciting that has happened or of an amusing anecdote to share, but I'm coming up blank.

I did fall out of my chair the other day. Those who know me, know I am prone to clumsiness due to stupidity. Case in point: Imagine me at 15 or 16. I was pretending to be Edward Scissorhands. I ended up cutting my pointer finger down to the bone on both sides. Then I passed out. That's the kind of stupid things I do that end up inflicting pain upon myself. Yesterday, I was at work. I was approaching my chair at the Information Desk. It's one of those high swivel chairs on wheels. The other woman at the desk said "Guess who's here?" It caught me off guard, and I was curious as to who was here. So, I turned toward her. The chair rolled away from me, slammed into the side of the desk and dumped me flat on my butt. (I've got some padding down there. I think I bounced once.) I must say, though, I fell as gracefully and as modestly as I could have considering I was wearing a long flowy white skirt that did not end up flying over my head and flashing my precious areas to the world. After all that, I asked from the floor, "Who's here?" It turned out to be Mr. Pants. (One of the trouble-making teens who frequents the library. He wears his pants way down below his butt, thus earning him the nickname "Mr. Pants." Or, when he is accompanied by the many girls who follow him around, we call the collective group "Panty and the Hoes.") It was not an exciting visitor -- certainly not worth the pain in my rear that I suffered. It was a good laugh, though. Actually, I think that's maybe the longest span I've gone in a while where I haven't fallen over or off of something. Go me! Now I'm back to 1 day accident free and counting.

Things you never wanted to know about me!

Okay, Val... I stole off your MySpace post. But rather than answering the questions in another post on My Space, I figured I'd answer the questions on my blog.

So, here it is... a bunch of useless information that you don't really care to know about me.

1. You have $5 and need to buy snacks at a gas station. What do you buy?
I would probably buy a Cherry Coke and some gummy worms. I love the gummies!

2. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be?
I think I would want to be a giant octopus. I watched a documentary once on sea creatures, and an octopus is one scary animal!

3. Favorite redhead?
Lucille Ball. I would have said my Mom, but she's taken to dying her hair black.

4. What do you order when you're at IHOP?
I think the last time I was there I ordered a turkey club sandwich. I'm not big on the pancakes at restaurants.

5. Last book you read?
I just finished the book The Field Guide (Book 1 of he Spiderwick Chronicles). When I finished that one, I started on The Book of Lost Things. So far it's kind of sad, but I'm only about 10 pages into it.

6. Describe your favorite pair of underwear.
All my underwear looks the same... most of yours who read this probably wear similar underwear.

7. Describe the last time you were injured.
This morning I stubbed my big toe getting into my sister's car. It hurt real bad, but I worked through the pain.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with? I don't know. The one would be smart enough to figure out how to get us out of the dang well.

9. Rock concert or symphony?
Rock concert. As long as it's a band that I can sing along to. I don't think people appreciate it when you sing along with the symphony. I'm not refined enough to hang with that crowd.

10. What is the wallpaper of your mobile phone?
My answer to this is the same as Val's answer... it's a picture of Evan.

13. If you could only use one form of transportation for the rest of your life what would it be?
The Polar Express

14. Most recent movie you've watched at the cinema?
I saw Stardust with Valarie. It was a cute movie; the book, of course, was WAAAAYYY better.

15. Name actors/actresses you've had the hots for?
The first one I remember really liking was Christian Slater (when I was in middle school). Currently I would have to say Jude Law (a.k.a. Mr. Napkinhead).

16. What's your favorite kind of cake?
Chocolate cake with white icing. YUM!!!!

17. What did you have for dinner last night?
Pork chops with scalloped potatoes. (I did not cook.)

18. Look to your left, what do you see?
A shelf full of cookbooks and the dining room table.

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No. I don't wear shoes that tie very often though. I mostly wear dress shoes, my clogs, or flip flops.

20. Favorite toy as a child?
I'm not sure if it was my absolute favorite, but I remember being really excited the Christmas I got a pair of roller skates. Our basement was unfinished, and we would skate down there all the time.

21. Do you buy your own food?
I do. If anyone else wants to buy it, be my guest.

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
I'm sure they do.

23. When's the last time you had a sour gummy worm?
I do like the gummies, but I'm not a big fan of the sour variety. I can't even remember the last time I had one. I have tried one before though.

24. What's your favorite fruit?
Granny Smith apples.

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
Not that I know of.

26. Have you ever eaten snow? Yup.

27. What color are your bedsheets?
White with orange and red stripes.

28. What's your mom's favorite flower?
I'm going with Val on this one and saying an orchid. She has several of them. She even paid a fortune to have a bunch shipped to her from Hawaii when she and my dad went there on vacation once. For those who know my mom, though, you would know that she loves all flowers. I think she would live in her garden if my Dad wouldn't get lonely without her in the house.

29.Have you ever done ballet?
Yes. I have the funny home videos to prove it. I even went through a phase when I was about 7 where I told my family I was changing my name to "Tina Ballerina."

30. Do you listen to classical music?
Occasionally. I'm partial to the "Bang Bang Song."

31. Do you have a "wacky noodle"?
I'm not sure what a "wacky noodle" is, so I'm going to say no.

32. Do you watch Spongebob?
Sometimes I do. Only with I'm with kids though. I find him pretty much annoying. Not like the Little Einsteins, who I just watch by myself sometimes.

33. Do people consider you intelligent?
Yes. I work in a library. I think people assume I'm more intelligent than I really am.

34. What time is it?
9:49 pm

35. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
Yes. I love to cover my fingers in glue and then peel it off when it's dry. It makes little gluey fingerprints.

36. What curse word do you use the most?
I try not to curse, but I do use the b word on occasion. There. I admit it.

37. What time is your alarm clock set for?
9:03 am.

39. What CD is in your CD player right now?
One I burned.

40. What movie do you know every line to?
The Princess Bride

41. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Ranch

42. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?
Yeah.

43. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
The big 3-0! We're going to Vegas or something, right Anna?

44. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
To people I know. I don't dole them out freely, and I feel uncomfortable receiving hugs from someone I don't know that well.

45. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
I get butterflies in my stomach still before I do storytimes in front of a bunch of 3 year olds! They are harsh judges!

46. What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
They usually make it two syllables -- bleemus

47. If you were to become famous, would you drop your last name?
I wouldn't drop it. I might change it, though. I'd be Tracy Fairlane or something. Well, that sounds like a stripper's name. Maybe I'd just stick with Tracy Blimes.

Disney Magic

I went to Walt Disney World with Evan yesterday. We had a really good time. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about taking him. I went back and forth about whether or not to take a stroller. He's not quite 3 years old, and I didn't want to end up carrying him all the time. But at the same time, I thought he would probably not want to ride in the stroller the whole time, and then I would just have the empty stroller to deal with. In the end, I opted not to take one. He did really well! I carried him alot though. He would just stop walking sometimes, stand right in front of me, stick his arms up and say "PICK ME UP!!!!" Overall, I'm glad I didn't have a stroller.

Evan REALLY REALLY liked the Buzz Lightyear ride. It's one of my favorites also. For those who have never ridden on it... the gist of it is this: You get in a little car. There are two laser guns attached to the front of the car and two scoreboards. During the ride, there are many little targets where you are supposed to aim your gun and shoot. The scoreboard keeps score to see who gets the most. Evan, being a little guy, could not see over the gun and had to pull the trigger all the way down to reach it. That made his gun face pretty much straight up. He scored some points though, so there must have been some targets on the ceiling. After we rode it once, he asked if we could ride it again. We did. After the second time, he wanted to go again. First we made an important phone call home to Mommy so Evan could tell her how much fun he was having. I think his exact words were, "Hello, Mommy. Do you want to ride the big ride? It's so much fun!" We did not ride it a third time, though, because the line got really long while we were on the phone.

Here he is riding Buzz Lightyear. He's got the gun in one hand and the steering control for our car in the other.

To Infinity and Beyond!

A few pictures and a silly story...

Hello to everyone that reads this! I thought I would post a couple of pictures of Alaina and Devyn because I think they are cute. I love how Laney has her arms straight up in the air in the first picture. It's like "Hooray!" The second one I like because Devyn is leaning forward, which makes her look huge. Laney's just in the background chillin'. They're both so cute, and Jill and Valarie joke about how they are BFF's.

Now for a silly story...
The other morning I got up and got dressed. I lazed around a bit. (Some mornings I don't have to be at work until noon.) I decided I was hungry, so I got a jar of peanuts out of the cupboard. I wanted a glass of milk to go with them, so I got the milk out of the fridge and a clean glass. I then proceeded to pour the milk into the jar of peanuts. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I wasn't thinking. I was just too tired or something. Milk in Florida is very expensive. It's just under $5 for a gallon. It's like liquid gold. I totally wasted the last of the milk, and I had to throw out the almost full jar of peanuts. I guess I need to pay more attention!

In other news, I got a pet. It's a red betta fish that I named Boris. He swims around and around in his little fish bowl (that is also shaped like a fish). He's cool. He's real low maintenance, and I've had him for six days now and he's still alive. Boris rocks!

Long Time No Post...

Well, I have let time slip away from me again. I can't believe it's been so many weeks since I last posted anything. Not that I have any great excuse, but in my defense I must say that I have not even had a home for the past 2 months. I've just had priorities other than blogging. I'm glad to say that the homelessness is changing even as I type. My sister went and picked up the keys to our apartment yesterday. We went over there last night to kind of plan where we are going to put things and to do the checklist where you mark all the damage that already exists so you don't get blamed for it when you move out. I have to go to work today, but tomorrow I'm off. That will be my moving day. I'll take as much stuff over as I can. Jill is moving all the big stuff with the moving truck on Saturday. By the end of the weekend, I will FINALLY have my own home and can stop "living out of a suitcase" as they say. Hooray.

My Mom (those who know her know that her passion is botany) has given me several of the plants from her house, including two orchids! We had "Herbology" class last night, and she taught me how to take care of the various plants and flowers. I'm excited to cultivate my own little jungle. I've never been that great with plants in the past, but I had inherited some Christmas cacti when I began working at OSU. They had been left there by my office's previous tenant. I did okay with them, and now I'm ready to "branch out". (Look at that, I used a pun.)

I promise to add some pictures with the next post. I'll be able to get some pictures of the new apartment to show it off.

Is it a full moon or something?

Okay, so this week the wierdos have been crawling out of the woodwork at the library. I know it's not a full moon, but it sure seems like it should be. We've been getting all these strange requests at the reference desk. One that was particularly wierd. I won't get into the specifics, but it involved an old man asking for help finding an anatomically correct life-sized doll made of silicone. Plus, the teens have been extra hyper. The cops had to be called yesterday and again today. I don't know what going on. We have a handful of kids who just love to cause trouble and pick fights with other kids. They show no respect for each other or to us (the staff). Normally, we just kick them out for the day or week. This week, though, they've been worse than normal.

On a brighter note, I found a place to live. Hooray! I will be living at Sabal Palms at Boot Ranch. That's a relief. I was getting worried about finding place I liked.

For Anna...

My reaction to that car...

CREEPY!!! I can't believe all those doll heads. That is totally crazy! At first I saw it and thought, "Why would she think of me when she saw that?" I know it's not because the 3rd doll from the left looks just like me, right? Anyway, I understand why you thought of me. It's because all the weird things I look up on eBay, isn't it?

For those who don't know the story, Anna sent me a picture of this car that she saw when coming home from Red, White, and Boom. Apparenlty this is the second car this guy has "decorated." The first one was in the Doo Dah parade the next day, and then it was entered into the Kentucky crafts and hobbies museum.

Leave it to you, Anna, to strike up a friendship with the weird guy in the the creepy-mobile!