Having fun spending other people's money

I had the great pleasure of ordering from Oriental Trading tonight. Just finished in fact, and now I can't wait til the package(s) arrive. I especially love it because I'm ordering stuff for the school play and for Vacation Bible School, so its not really even my money I'm spending. I love to look through the catalogs even when I don't need to order. In fact I'll probably start another list soon, since of course there is more VBS stuff to decide, and I will probably even get stuff for Summer Reading prizes with someone else's money (from work). Oh what joy! Even if it is tacky little junky stuff (Okay just sometimes), I still like it!

Monday's High Points

• I agreed to help with costumes for the school play. And I really do think it will be fun.
• All the librarians were back from PLA. And they brought presents. Thank you!
• I got the van inspected and it passed.
• I forced myself to go to the pool, and I did not die (agony, but not death).
• I got smiles from a few teen patrons!
  
• I got to eat the last cookie. (They saved it for me!)
  

Just for Fun...

Thanks for letting me steal this...

Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. accounting/payroll for my father's business
2. painting and roof-coating ditto
3. elementary school librarian
4. Library Assistant for Adult Programs

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
2. Young Frankenstein
3. The Princess Bride
4. Pirates of the Caribbean

Four places you have lived:
1. Staten Island, NY
2. Toledo, Ohio
3. Dayton, Ohio
4. Webster, NY

Four TV shows you love to watch.
1. Star Trek:TNG
2. Start Trek: DS9
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. The Red Green Show

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Yellowstone Park
2. London, England
3. Toronto, Canada
4. Hocking Hills (Ohio State Park)

Four websites I visit daily:
1. www.thehungersite.com
2. www.kodak.com - Birdcam
3. lizardpa.blogspot.com
4. www.watat.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Fresh bagels
2. Pizza
3. Black bean and cream cheese enchiladas
4. Dark chocolate

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. an Alaskan cruise
2. In bed asleep
3. having a chat with friends
4. PLA

Tuesday's advice

The people that get on in this world are the people that get up and look for the circumstances that they want; and if they can't find them, they make them.
-- George Bernard Shaw

Feeling slightly guilty

My wonderful daughter is home for the week on spring break and what do I do? I make her come to work with me on Saturday for 6 hours, admittedly it was a fun photo workshop thing, but it was long and I asked a lot of her. Then I volunteered us all to help at the St. Joseph's table at St. Rita last night. Again, fun and great food, but not her choice. Today, grocery shopping. Okay there was also looking at clothes and shoes...so I guess she got her shopping in too. But really its just great to be able to spend some time together in the same city. And to actually converse and share about what's been going on the last 2 months. So yeah, I'm really glad Elizabeth's home. And sorry if I'm being a pain on the neck to her.

A Bright Idea

As I lay in bed starting the string of work thoughts, wondering if I could skip summer reading for adults, I came up with (what I think is) a great idea. Instead of a drawing each week, folks could come to the ref desk to turn in their entry, pick a "numbered coin" out of a Treasure Chest and get that number's prize immediately. That could be anything from a gift certificate for the book sale to a choice of books from the prize box, or some other little trinket. Or of course one of the wonderful gift certificates we always get as donations. That will eliminate phone calling and people who never pick up prizes. It will increase interaction between reference staff and patrons; which has good points and bad...depends on whether you are a patron or ref staff, I guess. And it will encourage parents because then their kids will see that they get prizes too. It sounds like a winner to me. Now to see if I get objections at work. Or maybe I just won't tell them til it starts. ;)

Recent reads

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris - Unusual powers lead to unusual stories, and this is no exception. I'm awaiting the sequel (or anything else by Charlaine Harris).
Pursenalities : 20 great knitted and felted bags by Eva Wiechmann. I admit it, it hooked me!
Bartimaeus Trilogy Book one - The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
and Book two- The Golem's Eye - I love a djinn with attitude! I especially enjoyed Simon Jones and the audio version. Waiting for Book three.
The Hanging Valley : an Inspector Banks mystery by Peter Robinson - Standard British procedural, but it kept me guessing until the end.
Passages by Connie Willis - What a story! Well written, fun, and leaves you wondering.
Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davison - Vampire love life?
Currently on page 58, Travels with My Aunt by Graham Greene - It meets the bus test ...just barely, but its a "classic" so I feel I should go on.
Can't wait to start...Bite. You guessed it...more vampires. Four stories by "vampire" authors.

Look I'm posting

Every day for the last week I have thought that I should post to my blog, but I just haven't known what to say. I would think of something to rant about, but then realize that I'd already done it. Anyhow I did think of something to post about. That would be Frances. I volunteered to drive people to appointments when I was available, so lately I have been giving rides to Frances. We have gone to the dentist, the doctor , the grocery store and even the hairdresser. I really don't mind the time, especially as she is most grateful for the favors. But oh how I worry about her when she is alone. I know from conversations that she does have friends to talk to. But she has macular degeneration, so reading is not possible. She usually remembers what we have talked about on an earlier visit, but not always, so I do get concerned about her state of mind. But here's the thing that really bugs me...One of her daughters lives right here in town, but can't be bothered to do stuff for her mother. Okay, I'm sure she does some things for her. Frances had surgery last year and the daughter was there for her. But on a day to day basis she doesn't talk to her mom or check on her. Ok, really I have only Frances' word for it, but she is very upset about this. She is sure that she has done something to alienate her daughters, but she doesn't know what. And she lives in fear that they will force her into "a home". Now assisted living may be just what she needs, but she needs to come to that realization herself and not be forced. Also, she is worried about the cost, so she needs to be reassured and not frightened. I am afraid to get involved too much, and yet emotionally I already am. My job puts me in touch with shut-ins and lonely seniors and other needy people on a daily basis, and I'm finding it hard not to let my heart get in the way. But yet my spiritual need is to help people as best I can. And some days my spirit and my practical side are at odds. For now I will content myself with doing the little things as best I can. I offered to bring Frances some movies from the library, combining my spirit and my practical need to do something. And I keep praying for her and her daughters (and myself and my mother, because maybe guilt is part of why it cuts so deep.)

Judging Odyssey, the report

I spent Saturday as a Spontaneous Problem judge at the Odyssey of the Mind competition. The day went pretty well. It was crazy, but in a different way from when you are a coach. (Not the least of which is that I could sleep the night before.) I didn't see much of the long term competition, but doing spontaneous was interesting because the coaches never get to see it...just the kids on the team. So it made me feel special that way! I also feel a lot more competent now that its over and I see the people I worked with. :)
Suprisingly I had a St. Rita team in my problem, and more surprisingly it was the kids I coached last year (at least 1/2 the team)! They were wonderful at spontaneous. It was a hands-on problem (meaning that they had to solve it using "tools" and not just verbally). They worked really well together and did a great job! I was very proud of them (and honestly, quite surprised). I could tell that some of it was from having done practice sessions, since a bunch of the teams clearly had not done much hands-on practice. Which means even my hard work from last year is still reaping benefits for these kids, so that's great news too!
I really had fun judging. The only drawback was the misgivings I had about the rest of my judging team. They just didn't seem to get it that the kids really are not supposed to get advice from the judges. Sure we want them to do well on a level playing field, but the rules are supposed to be somewhat ambiguous to allow for creative interpretation. In fact the judging team was a little creative with the interpretation...but maybe I was just over reacting.
Anyway I did get to see a couple of performances of the long term problem including the St. Rita primary (K-2) team. They were cute as expected. :)

Judging Odyssey

At this time last year I was all stressed out and nervous because I had an Odyssey of the Mind team competing at regionals. And my son was on another team, so we were very busy getting ready. This year I feel slightly guilty that the pressure is off. I have no child or team that I'm personally involved in, so the last few weeks have been a lot calmer than previous years. But I am still planning to go to the competition tomorrow. In fact I need to be there by 7 a.m. because I am judging. And I've roped/invited others to go with me. So we'll all be up bright and early for a long day of competition. I'm still a little nervous about this side of the fence. I think it will be fun to see what the kids come up with, but I'm not quite sure I'm up to scoring their answers. I suspect that having coached I have more experience than some of the new judges, but it will still be interesting and slightly nervewracking. I'm judging the Spontaneous problem, so I've no idea what to expect until I arrive for the "Hour of Power" tomorrow morning, before our first team competes at 8 a.m. We are held to the same rules as the kids...Don't know the problem ahead of time, and can't talk about it til its over. It should be exciting and fun, despite the long day. I know it means a lot to the kids, which is why I got into it from the beginning, so I expect it to be a worthwhile day. And it will be fun to talk to Steve and Matthew about their experiences as well, since we are all doing different problems. Judges... Are you ready?