We're off to see the Wizard...

It was a wonderful Wizard of Oz! Everything came together. The kids were great, I had lots of wonderful help, the costumes held up and it seemed a rousing success. Because you want to see...here are some pictures: http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f344/mskwik/play/
Thanks Matthew!

Sacrifices

Blogging
Email
IM
Spider solitaire
Reading books, or newspapers
Watching Buffy (or anything else)
Knitting
Sleeping
Exercise
Work
Eating

All the things I've missed doing the last several weeks due to play costume commitments.
All the things I would also miss if I went back to school, or tried to write a book.
Hmmmmm.

And the winner is...

My favorite conversation at tonight's dress rehearsal:
Student: Where's my costume?
Me: Who are you?
I had never seen her at practice, nor did anyone tell me she was in the show...I'm still sewing.

My favorite response to a costume tonight: The look on the Tinman's face after we spray painted his Nikes silver. Priceless.

And I found out that an ice pack really does help cure a headache fast.

Happy Birthday Matthew!

I have been so busy lately that this birthday thing kind of snuck up on me. I didn't even remember to buy the ingredients for a cheesecake (the traditional favorite cake) so I guess it will be Pineapple Upside down cake. I think that will save lots of time...no frosting needed. And since he mentioned it in passing last week I even have the ingredients. Actually its been 4 years since Matthew's been home for his birthday, so I guess its the first time I have had to worry about cake and dinner and stuff in a while. And I'm still up to my eyeballs in Munchkins, so it will still be a rather short-on-the-extras celebration. The real problem is that I have no idea for presents. And he is not giving me any clues. Suggestions anyone?

Wow its Wednesday already...

Didn't I just blog 5 minutes ago? And its May now too. Uh oh. Time warp. I guess I have been immersed in costuming for the last few days. The deadline looms, and I'm starting to feel the pressure. I did show stuff to the kids yesterday and they (mostly) liked the costumes. There were a few of the kids I wanted to smack (they were mistreating all my hard work!) and a few of the girls that were so sweet and helpful I wanted to keep them! IT doesn't help that we have a Marriage Prep session Saturday, the CROP walk Sunday, 2 AARP sessions this week at work and, oh yeah, a sign class on Saturday to set up for. And the 3 hour evening rehearsal I better sit through tonight to see what other costumes I'm missing. (Did I mention the flying monkeys? No one else did either!) But I'm still determined that I'm having fun!

I forgot how much fun sewing can be

I am up to my eyeballs in Munchkins. At least in Munchkin costumes. I am having a lot of fun with wild colors and patterns. And making them look nice and round with hula hoops (and I may try swim rings as well, since I've run out of hula hoops). But I am much encouraged by how fast it is going (the show is less than 2 weeks away) and by how really cute the costumes are. I put on the Munchkin Mayor's costume (all purple and yellow and big) and Steve thought I looked like HR Pufnstuf, which wasn't really true (ok, well, sort of) but it was really scary that he remembered HR Pufnstuf by name.

More TBF

I spent the day at the Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival doing my volunteer job as a photographer. I shot 2 rolls of film and then a few more shots, and boy was it hard work! (Its too easy to forget the camera and get caught up in things). But as I found out many others took far fewer pictures. In fact, I got some cameras back with 10 or more pictures left . But all in all I can't believe we did not get lots of good, fun pictures that will show people what they missed, and entice them to come to the next TBF (should the organizers ever recover sufficiently to plan another one). I hope that I get a chance to see the pictures that come back...at least some of them, because that's one of the things I like best about photography.
The day itself was great. The authors were all open and friendly and articulate. They were fabulous with the teens, and really shared with them and listened to them. I think that was my favorite part of the day; watching the kids who love to read, and who aspire to write, interact with some of their favorite authors (or perhaps even an author they just read for the first time) but clearly they came prepared and hopefully came away enriched.

TBF

When I took Josh to the Teen Book Festival volunteers training on Wednesday, I somehow was swayed (maybe by the bowls of M&Ms all over) to ask if they needed another adult volunteer. As if they would say no. So I'll be taking pictures with the "paparazzi" tomorrow. It sounds like a fun thing to do, and anyway I was going to go. So other than the fact that I will miss another day of costume prep (no time, no time) I am looking forward to tomorrow. I know it will be wild and crazy, but I hope that's because lots of teens actually show up and are excited about authors; And not just because things go wrong. Fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

You are far away, but close to my heart! Wishing you a very happy birthday!
Now I can go bake you a birthday cake...Chocolate, of course, since you are not here to object. ;)

I'm back. Sort of...

Well, I wrote a fabulous blog entry, in my head, around 3 am. Sorry you missed it.

Okay, since you insist I'll try really writing one now. Its been a long time since I last wrote, but I've really no idea how it got to be the end of April. Since then we have shopped for waterbeds, visited our friends in Fort Wayne over Easter weekend (went to church 3 times, got to hold baby Gianna, played Apples to Apples), then the family in Toledo (where we really didn't do much, just eating and a little shopping.) We also visited Castaway Bay and had water fun. (I especially liked the hot tub part). And then here we were, back in Webster to work etc.
For some reason I've found myself a little down since we've been back. I always feel like I miss people more when I see them after a long absence, and then have to leave again. Or maybe I'm just internally stressed by the subtle pressure of Pre Cana next week (which we are not prepared for). And the many play costumes which still need finishing. I feel nervous for the kids, who don't seem to be ready yet...but then the next 2 weeks will be intense practice, so they may be exhausted, but they will be ready.
I can't get in to being back at work either. Maybe a vacation was a good idea, but coming back was a worse one. ;)
I don't know, I'm just out of sorts. And I think visiting all those people without Elizabeth made me miss her more too. I know these next few weeks will fly by, but I can't wait to see her again. (Of course, that feeling is heightened by the impending birthday as well.)

Waterbed blues

I awoke Tuesday morning wondering why it smelled so terrible. Soon I discovered it was my bed...growing mold. Yuck. What a way to start the day. Anyway after a little research I found the culprit, a tiny leak that had apparently been there long enough to cause havoc. The worst smell actually came from my rice filled heating pad which got moist and, you guessed it, moldy. So sadly I disposed of it and started cleaning up the rest of the area. I tried a patch last night after work, but it did not hold well enough for me to sleep there. (My husband, being a man, slept on his side of the bed anyway.) So I slept on the futon. Thanks Lizzie! Since I still could not find the vinyl patch kit I went out today and bought one, and looked at new waterbed mattresses as well. I think I've got him convinced to buy a new one! But at least for tonight the new, reliable patch is in place. And the clean sheets and mattress pad. And I washed it down as far as I could (a water filled mattress is heavy). The test will be whether he starts researching waterbed mattresses now. Then I'll know I've got him!

Vampire musing

I was playing around with Novelist the other week and came across genre lists, including "vampire lit". So I put a couple of things on hold... light reading stuff. I'd already read the Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books, and now I'm working on MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series. (Who knew vamps were so sexy). Anyhow, imagine my surprise when I went to visit my friend Frances yesterday and she told me that the Polish vampire had just been to visit her. I was rather curious, wondering if she was hallucinating or something. So of course I had to ask her what she meant. Turns out the Polish vampire is a young man, originally from Poland, who comes to take blood samples for tests. (In other words, a phlebotomist who makes house calls.) I've been chuckling about it ever since!

Welcome to the week from Hell

How do I know that this is going to be the week from hell? Two words. Time change. Am I the only one who thinks its a bad idea to screw around with the internal clocks of millions of people? How could you not expect bad things to happen? The man (it had to be a man) who came up with this idea should be taken out and horse whipped. End of tirade. Time to sleep. Or eat more chocolate; that might help too.

Writing a book

I guess it must be something in the air, but while I was at the library today I decided that I should write a book too. It won't be easy, of course, but there are so many crappy ones out there that I should be able to do as well. I haven't quite got the book outline in my head yet, but I think it will be something about a vampire library assistant with fibromyalgia who blogs.

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. ;)