Poem of the Day

Haiku 4/5/11

He missed the school bus!
Hurry hurry get yourself dressed!
Drive the kid to school!


Yup. It's one of those days.

List #30 TO-DO LIST

Well, I'm a day late on the last list, as I've been a day late for the last couple. The to-do list is funny because I just made myself one that I hope will actually help me get stuff done when I am on breaks at work. We'll see! Currently, I have 2 lists that cover today . . . one just for today and one that will spill over into tomorrow since I have the day off.

Things I must do today:

• talk to key people about who to hire for the open position I have
• call my cleaning lady and ask her to come next week instead of this week
• see if I can finish the property tax form and get it in today to try to reduce our taxes for the year
• finally write a note to Alison C for being chosen as an LJ "Mover & Shaker" because trying to think of something clever and cute isn't working
• work

Things I need to do before tomorrow is over:

• figure out why our dental insurance suddenly doesn't want to cover Simon and correct them
• buy buttons for a baby sweater
• knit like crazy
• do something fun with my sister tomorrow
• sign my tax return and pay the tax guy
• send check to friend for GS cookies I've already started snarfing

So - that is 30 lists in 31 days. Not bad! Have you had fun? Found out anything surprising? Interesting? Done lists of your own? Have any topics you'd like to have me list about?

List #29 FAVORITE FOODS

Oh boy! This is almost as tricky as the list of books I want to read!

• sashimi (like sushi, but w/o the rice and stuff) and sushi
• pizza
• steak - thick, rare and grilled
• dark chocolate
• homemade mac and cheese
• homemade brownies
• cheesecake
• biscuits and sausage gravy (esp the gravy my brother makes)
• palak paneer
• chicken mole'
• vegetable biryani
• shwarma
• falafel
• homemade soup and thick warm bread
• circle toast
  
• homemade sweet rolls
  

List #28 PLACES I'D LIKE TO VISIT

• Grand Canyon (this summer, if it all works out!) and the area that Tony Hillerman writes about
  
• Hawaii
• Alaska
• France - Paris and the countryside
• Italy - Rome and the countryside
• Scotland
• Ireland
• London and other spots in England
• North Eastern China: Harbin, where my friend, Bu-ying is from
• Beijing
• Australia
• Brazil
• New Orleans
• Maine and Eastern Canada, Prince Edward Island, etc
• Oregon
• Singapore
• India
• Sweden
  

Places I've been before but always enjoy:

• Mom and Dad's house
• my in-laws'
• anywhere I go with Simon and Mike
• NYC
• Washington DC
• Cleveland
• Lake Erie shores
  

List #27 LESSONS LEARNED

• Always have books and music to listen to in the car and change it up as needed on a long car ride.
• Be sure you own more underwear than your husband and he'll end up doing laundry more often ;-).
• The house doesn't have to look perfect to be a welcoming, friendly place that people like to visit.
• A smile and a willing ear for listening are often the best things you can offer a friend (without offering unsolicited advice).
  
• People who are vastly different temperaments from me make for great friends, as well as those who are like me.
• Hard boiling an egg doesn't make it last longer. In fact, it takes oils off the shell and causes the egg to spoil more quickly than a raw egg in the shell.
  
• Food poisoning from a bad egg is really, really, really nasty.
• I don't always need to be the center of attention, but when it happens and I enjoy it, I don't need to feel guilty, either.
• I am not stupid or slow or lazy. Just because someone has called me those things it doesn't mean that any of it is true. And honestly, even if sometimes it is a little true, none of it makes me a horrible person.
• God loves me and has a plan for my life, even when I can't see the map.
  

List #26 BOOKS I WANT TO READ

There are a lot of books on my "to read" list on Good Reads. In fact, one of the reasons I like that website is that it lets me keep a very long list of books! The most recent additions to my list are:

• And Furthermore - Judi Dench
• Knit Along with Debbie Macomber: A Turn in the Road - Debbie Macomber
  
• Heresy (giordano Bruno series, #1) - S. J. Parris
• Graceling (Seven Kingdoms Trilogy #1) -- Kristin Cashore
• A Red Herring Without Mustard (Flavia de Luce, #3) - Alan Bradley
• The Strange Case of Origami Yoda - Tom Angleberger
• Brains for Lunch: A Zombie Novel in Haiku?! - K. A. Holt
• How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe - Charles Yu

That's just a few. :-)

Currently, I am reading:

• While My Pretty One Knits (Black Sheep Knitting Mystery, #1)- Anne Canadeo (my bedtime reading_
  
• Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference - Max Lucado (listening in the car)
  
• New Encyclopedia of Knitting Techniques - Lesley Stanfield (knitting advice)
  
• Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood - Edward M. Hallowell (for self-improvement)
  
• Changing the Odds for Children at Risk: Seven Essential Principles of Educational Programs that Break the Cycle of Poverty - Susan B. Neuman (for professional development)
  

List #25 THINGS I'D RATHER BE DOING

• reading
• knitting
• laying in the warm sun on a distant beach
• laughing with my son and husband
• playing dominoes with my family
• making music with friends
• holding a baby - no, I don't have a particular baby in mind - lol
• hanging out with knitting pals
• napping

List #24 I MAKE LISTS FOR . . .

• work to-do
• home/day off to-do
• shopping
• errands
• planning parties
• planning vacations
• what we see on vacation (keeping track of what we've done/seen)
  
• packing
• blogging (as you know, I love making lists on my blog)
• reminding myself that life is good
• 3 Beautiful Things
• program planning (work)
• meeting agendas (for meetings I'm leading)
• home to-do

What do you make lists for?

List #23 GUILTY PLEASURES

Definition of GUILTY PLEASURE

: something pleasurable that induces a usually minor feeling of guilt

First Known Use of GUILTY PLEASURE

1907 (FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER)

• Survivor - I used to hate this show on principle, but I've been sucked into the mindless vortex. I comfort myself by saying that I really just watch it for the fun challenges, but I know in my heart that is like saying you only get Playboy for the articles.
• Two and a Half Men - I used to think that Charlie Sheen wasn't acting. Now I know he was because his Charlie Harper character is nicer and saner than he is. All the characters are despicable, but still I find it hilarious. All re-runs now, of course.
• Swearing/cussing (I'm not entirely sure of the distinction between the two) - my Dad's words of "swearing is for people who don't have adequate vocabularies" ring in my head, but I find it cathartic to let loose like a sailor from time to time.
• Breakfast out - I never get the oatmeal, I always go for the sausage gravy or the eggs and bacon sandwich or something like that, and really, what would be the point otherwise? Even McDonald's breakfast sandwiches - YUM!
  
• Facebook Games - I've limited myself to one silly game at a time, now, though. That helps, right?
• Romance Novels - I used to have this vaguely guilty feeling because people assume that in my profession I'd read the Great Works of Literature and Nobel Winners, etc. Bah! Give me a good, sappy romance or schlocky mystery and my day is made! Maybe what I really feel guilty about is that I no longer feel guilty about it?
  

List #22 TODAY I SAW . . .

• The Daily Show: watching it on our DVR is a nearly daily ritual for my son and I before he goes to school. It is so funny, whether I agree with his politics or not.
  
• my hair get poofy with styling, and then be flat-ish again in about an hour - typical
• the top surface of my desk - a miracle of cleaning and organization begun!
  
• a young man (20 something) who is a new Area Commissioner with me, teaching me more about Google Calendar than I knew before - that is a very cool FREE software!
• a man with his hand down his pants in my library branch - ugh
• the sweetest little 3-yr-old girl, happy as a clam to find a colorful computer game "just for her" at the library
• a new bakery near my branch - The Angry Baker - great egg/scone sandwich for dinner! and some yummy treats for home
  
• a firetruck with several fire fighters, but for some reason they didn't stay for the Area Commission meeting
  
• City Council President Pro Tem, Hearcel Craig who was a welcome surprise at our Area Commission meeting tonight - I really admire how he stayed for the whole meeting, and I really LOVE the wonderful things he said about libraries!
• watched Castle together as a family tonight when I finally got home
• hoping to see the inside of my eyelids soon!
  

List #21 TO DO THIS SPRING

My Spring TO DO:

• clean up front yard (get son to help)
  
• clean up back yard (get son to help)
• clean guest room out, including blue dresser
• finish and make 3 baby gifts
• DH's neice's wedding (next weekend!)
  

Seriously, I think that's enough. There are so many parts of my house that need to be organized/cleaned it's pathetic. We are not very good at this sort of thing at my house! LOL

List #20 CELEBRITY CRUSHES

Hmmm . . . this changes a lot, but it's just a silly list, right? One caveat about this list for me is that "crush" for me doesn't necessarily involve a lust for sex. I know, I'm boring, but honestly, I've always had crushes on people just because of their talent and gifting, and it isn't really always about their "hotness" factor.

So, right off the top of my head, here are the celebs I'd like to have to dinner at this moment . . .

• Michael Symon
  
- I love his laugh, and I love following him on twitter. He's delightful and down-to-earth, even though he is a cooking ROCK STAR!

• Nathan Fillion - Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and now Castle. Yum!
  
• Mario Batali
- yea, well, he does look alot like my DH, don't you think? And again, I love his sense of humor. I think I have a common theme here.
• Denzel Washington
Seriously? Do you really even need to ask?
• Hugh Laurie - we could really use a live-in Dr. House here, but I'd settle for some great conversation with this great actor - such range he's shown over his career!
  
• Pete Seeger
I've been a big fan of his music for more years than I can remember. I hear he's full of himself, but until I see it, I will keep my dreams alive. Oh yea, and he's about the age of my parents, too, so, well, that's weird.
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - yummy with a sense of humor about himself - irresistable!
  
• Gwyneth Paltrow (see below)
  
• Tom Hanks - He totally won me in BIG.
  
• Alton Brown - a little too skinny for my "type" but he's smart, funny, and he cooks. I can forgive some angularity!
  
• Tony Bourdain - He's a little full of himself, and his delightful snark tips over into the RUDE category for me, but come on, he's really fun to watch. Can you imagine hanging out around a dinner table with him? I would be laughing as much as eating, I'm thinking.
  
• George Clooney - I am not a die-hard fan, and to be honest I've had times when I really don't care for him, but right now he just seems so ruggedly handsome and charming.
  
• Heather Morris, who plays Brittany on Glee - she is just so funny and deadpan - I'm hoping she's as fun in person.
  

List #19 RECIPES YOU WANT TO TRY

This is a tough one to list out because I've been cooking and baking a while and I generally will try stuff I want to try as soon as I get the chance! One thing I've really been enjoying lately is playing my own version of the show Chopped. I go into the kitchen and make dinner out of whatever we have and see if it ends up all going together. So far it has pleased the hubs, and usually the son, too. We've added a fun twist of late, getting a bin of fresh veggies and fruits delivered every Thursday from Green BEAN delivery - yum! I do still have a few recipes, though, that have intrigued me.

Recipes I Want to Try:

• Grandma's old recipe for homemade fortune cookies
• squash ravioli from scratch
• gnocchi
• palak paneer

List #18 ROAD TRIP MUST-HAVES

I love road trips! We are just getting started on actual planning for our next family road trip, so this list is exciting to think about! Here are my must-haves for a road trip:drinks (water for me, soda for the guys)

• snacks - something sweet, something salty, fruit, veggies, combos, cheese for protein
  
• maps and guide books (no Garmin for me, thanks, although I will admit that we used our laptop and wifi last year to find hotels on the road)
• paper and pencils - we make lists on the road, so paper and pen/pencils are a must . . . also, Simon can't be w/o drawing supplies at all times. If you'd like to see some of the lists we kept on our last big road trip, check out THE BLOG.
  
• small pillow and shawl/blankie for car - at some point we acquired a purple heart-shaped pillow that now travels with us. Because it is so bright and unusual, it is much less likely that we'll forget it at a hotel!
• books on CD - we have to have a selection so we can find something that all of us will enjoy. We always take our entire collection of Harry Potter books on CD with us as fail-safes if none of the other stuff we take is appealing enough, or if we're just feeling cranky. Jim Dale reading to us makes us all happier.
• slip-on shoes - I'm usually the passenger as Mike like driving better than riding, so I get very comfy on my side of the car.
• laptop for overnighters
• knitting! You didn't think I'd have a list w/o knitting, did you? Honestly? I usually spend quite a bit of time planning what knitting projects to take on a trip. I have to have some options - one thing that is mindless, one thing that takes more brain power, some kind of project(s) I can finish quickly to satisfy my ADD knitting nature. Also, if possible, I like to have a project I can start right before or as we're leaving and finish before we get home so that the project itself can be a memento of sorts.
• camera (s) - remember when we used to have to pack film?
• small flashlight for each person (nice to have at night)
• batteries for camera, flashlights, any other electronics
• phones and chargers that work in the car
• clothes that can be worn in layers
• $$$$$$$$$
  

I'm certain I'm forgetting things. We always do. That's why we always take money!

List #17 WORDS THAT ARE HARD FOR ME TO SPELL

This topic makes me laugh. Sometimes people get funny notions about Librarians, like we should know everything, or like we have read (and can remember) every book in our library . . . and being a good speller is expected of Librarians. I suppose I'm a fairly good speller, but I am by no means excellent! I've known some Librarians who are horrible spellers, and some who've won spelling bees (even adult spelling bees!). We run the gamut (and boy, to my legs get tired!)

Words I find hard to spell include, but are not limited to:

• definately
• discombombulate
• recieve (all those ie/ei words . . . and yes, I know the rhyme already!), also believe, grievance, seive, etc
  

OK - I know there are more, but I can't think of them. I am, however, pretty darn good with grammar (and Pop-pop likes me, too).

List #16 STUFF TO SEE IN COLUMBUS, OH

Interesting topic for today! I'm going to list the places I always take friends when they come to visit me. This may not be a typical list, but I'm not a typical tour guide!

If you were to visit Columbus, I'd show you:

• Main Library of the 2010 Library of the Year! Built around a refurbished building originally built with money from Andrew Carnegie, it is truly a beautiful library.
  
• The Deaf School Park and the Topiary Garden of the Seurat painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle of La Grande Jatte
  
• The Village Book Shop
  
• The Book Loft in German Village
• Drive or walk through some of German Village
• The Linden Branch Library (that I helped design), and whichever branch I'm currently serving
• Thurber House where my son, an official docent, can give you a private tour
  
• The Zoo (rated #1 in America by many)
• The Old King Cole statue in the Brewery District
• Drive down Broad St, going East out of downtown to see the old buildings
• Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream
• Barley's for great craft beer
• Knitter's Mercantile (although if you're not a fiber fan, I'd try to restrain myself from making you go there with me)
• Franklin Park Conservatory

Those of you who live in or near Columbus - where would YOU take people?

List #15 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT OUR CATS

The official topic for today's list is what's on my shopping list, but honestly, I just don't wanna talk about that. So, here is a nice list of
Things I Like About Our Cats:

• they're snuggly, each in their own way
  
• they're independent
• they're warm
• they each have their own personality (Sam is always hungry and usually lazy, Rosie is always checking things out, making sure things are safe for all of us)
• they're amusing to watch, and sometimes fun to play with - I say sometimes because Sam doesn't play much (see above)

PS: we have 2 cats, Samwise and Rosie. They are littermates, although Samwise outweighs Rosie by about 7 lb. Sam is grey and white and Rosie is black and white.

Samwise aliases: Sam, Sambo, Sammy, Spot, Luxury Cat, Lumpy
Rosie aliases: Rose, Posie, Spazzmocat, Little Mama

List #14 THINGS I LIKE ABOUT _______

Things I like about SPRING:

• sunshine!
• leaving the windows and doors open to the fresh air
• budding and blooming flowers
• sunshine!
• no ice!
• safer driving
• sunshine!
• needing fewer layers of clothing/blankets
• sunshine!
• I generally feel better about life when Spring comes!
  

Things I like about my JOB:

• helping people
• smiling kids
• working together with staff so we all work better
  
• seeing change that helps people and neighborhoods
• making a difference
• the people I work with (in my location, our library system and our profession at large)
• finding great books and sharing them
• simply having a steady job at this point in American History seems good to me
• steady pay and benefits
• building relationships with colleagues and customers

Things I like about my LIFE:

• my faith, even though it's faltered a bit of late
• my husband and son
• my family - I am really blessed to have great parents and sibs
• knitting, music, other creative pursuits
• good doctors
• a good job
• health
• home, transportation, food to eat, clean water, clothing, etc
  

List #13 DIYs TO DO

Today's list topic is "DIYs you want to try" but honestly, I have so much going at this point, and I've done so many things already in my life, that I really just want to concentrate on doing what I'm doing. I'm a crafty sort of person, though, and I have a lot of things I like to craft, so here goes:

• more sculpey - this time I won't burn it (oops!)
• beading - I have a ton of really cool beads I'd like to make into jewelry or work into knitting projects
• knitting - I have lots of projects on the needles at the moment, and I love each one!
• de-clutter my house - this task seems much bigger than I could possibly do alone, largely because it will also involve convincing the guys we need to get rid of some stuff
• paint some nesting dolls
  
• carve soap stone
• remodel the front room, which involves peeling painted wallpaper off the walls, patching and re-treating the walls, new curtains, etc

I think that is enough for now. This list is making me tired.

List #12 WEEKLY RITUALS

What do I do each week? Well, here's a typical list in rather random order (because that is generally how I live my life):

• spend some time in the house with my son when we're both awake and actually engaged in doing something together in the same room, maybe even involving conversing (this used to be easier before he was a teen!)
  
• work work work work work work work
• I work Monday night, which in my world means that I work 11-8 on Mondays, which means that Monday morning is usually a day to sleep in - yay!
• KIP (knit in public) with my knitting gang - caution: this is not your grandma's knitting group!
  
• TV shows we watch together as a family: Mentalist, NCIS, Top Chef, Top Shot, Psych, Royal Pains, Survivor (I really wish I didn't like this show), Glee, Chopped, Criminal Minds, Iron Chef, Law & Order SVU, House. We DVR new episodes and save them for when we're all available to watch together.
  
• I like to cast-on a new knitting (or crochet) project on Sundays. Sometimes it'll just be a quick wash cloth that I'll finish in a few hours, but even that makes me feel like I've done something new and exciting.
• laundry
• dishes (daily, when I'm doing well)
  
• be a good mom (sometimes he calls it nagging, but I call it "organizational help")
  
• talk or at least chat online with my mom
• pray without ceasing

Stuff I feel like I should do every week, but in the spirit of full disclosure don't think I should put on the actual list:

• Do Wii Fit or go swim at least 3x a week, but I'm not nearly as ritualistic about this as I should be.
• Post on my blog. I'm trying to get better! These daily writing challenges really help me!
• Go to church.