BANGHEADDESKBANGHEADDESKBANGHEADDESK!

(Click on the picture for a larger, readable version)

Gee, if only there was someplace you could get books you wouldn't have to keep, that you could take back so other people could read them, and it'd be cool if they were free, too...hmmm...somebody should invent such a place...and they could call it....A LIBRARY!!!!

Oh, this makes my head hurt.

Book Rental Fail

You know it's a slow news day in Chadron when...

...they're reporting that I'm sleep-deprived and in the closet, eight hours away in Omaha.

Oh well, now the world will know why I'm crabby this week. And I will learn not to say clever things to Genell that make her say "Hey, can I interview you?" ;-)

I really am thankful that I'm nothing worse than sleep-deprived. Other people have suffered damage to their homes or even lost their children in the last few days. I'm sure they're losing more sleep than I am.

Memorial Day in the 21st Century

The hubby was downstairs on the patio barbecuing some meat and texted me "Will u toss down the foil?" So, I stepped out on the deck and sent him the text "Heads up" just before I dropped it.

No, he didn't catch it.

Don't forget your towel today!

Because "any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is is clearly a man to be reckoned with." - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Empty Orange Case

You have new Picture Mail!, originally uploaded by mdesive.

Oh...kay....

Homemade dogga treats

Homemade dogga treats, originally uploaded by mdesive.

I made these using Rachael Ray's Peanut-Carob Isabooscotti recipe (with some little tweaks - no carob sauce, smooth instead of chunky pb and I cut them up much smaller than the recipe called for)

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day!, originally uploaded by mdesive.

This was waiting for us when we got home today. I'm glad somebody still keeps this tradition (and I know who you are!) ;)

It's RSS Awareness Day!

And yes, I'm an RSS feed addict...I crammed so much stuff in my reader, I made it useless. Now that I've basically cleaned it out and started over, I'm trying to employ better habits so that it remains a tool and not just another time-sink. Still, I don't think nearly enough sites employ RSS - for instance, I have yet to find a single news source in my old college town that provides a feed, and they should. Oh, they should! I've had to create my own feeds for them from a Google search, and it's still not what I think it should be. Oh, well, off my soap box now to let you learn just what RSS is. Here's some info with a nifty video which explains it all!

Choices, choices

Choices, choices, originally uploaded by mdesive.

I ended up eating both eventually, but I ate the chocolate first.

This post is mostly just a test of blogging from my phone via Flickr - if you're reading this on my blog, it worked!

Recently Read

Last night I finally finished Black Ships by Jo Graham. I enjoyed this one, though it took me about three months to finish it. It was like a nice ramble, without any deeply compelling reason to reach the end. I'm not sure why. When I finished, I felt like I'd been on a long journey, just as the characters in the book had. Overall, reading this book was pleasant, but lacking something.

This was an Early Reviewers book from LibraryThing.

Hey, that's my job title!

Okay, so only a couple of the words in this title are in mine, but if you get rid of "temporary part-time libraries North-West" and "business unit administration".... :P

The Plain English Campaign claims this is the World's Longest Job Title: temporary part-time libraries North-West inter-library loan business unit administration assistant.

Football!

(4/13/08 Update - The "official" picture of Dan) ;-)

Every once in awhile, it does seem like I have a life! :) Friday, Dan won tickets to Saturday's Omaha Beef football game. The Beef are Omaha's indoor arena football team, and I've never been to a game even though it's something we've talked about doing (talked about as in one of us says "We should go to a Beef game some time" and the other one says "Yes, we should!" and the conversation ends there). So, Saturday night Dan, Ashley, our friend Sam, and I headed downtown. I think Ashley had the most fun. Before we ever got through the front door of the civic center, she'd been through two bounce houses, gotten a crown made of balloons and had her face painted. Once we got inside, we eventually made it to the Party Box, which is behind one end zone.

I've been curious about arena football, but never really understood the draw until last night. I mean, I know we don't have an NFL team, but we do have the Huskers nearby. How much football do you need, even in Nebraska? (No, I didn't just get struck by lightning). And in the cities where they do have NFL teams, why would you want to watch arena football?

I get it now. This is football in a pro-wrestling atmosphere, and it's FUN!. I think it was the most fun football game I've ever been to. There is practically nothing dividing the fans from the players - just a half wall with padding on top. Even in high school, there was usually a good yard or two between the stands and the field. Even "good" seats at a Husker game made me wish I had a telephoto lens. When we got to the Beef game and sat down, I was a little worried when I realized it was end zone/wall/me. The goalposts were IN the Party Box - we were sitting under them! It was a crazy party atmosphere - every time-out seemed to bring some new goofy event onto the field - boxing with giant gloves, grown men doing the Chicken Dance, the "Rump Roasters" doing some other goofy dances. At the end of the game, fans are allowed out on the field and get to talk to the players and get autographs.

Part of Dan's prize was to be the honorary coach for the mascot game at halftime. Basically, he just had to go out on the field and be interviewed about his contest entry for the Unofficial Mascot of 1620 The Zone (Hopefully, I can get him to blog about what exactly the contest was and what he said - his entry had something to do with The Stain). Then the mascots played a quick game of football, which was hilarious. We also each got t-shirts, and how cool is it that they say "More Cowbell!" I LOVE IT! (Ironically, when we got home Christopher Walken was hosting Saturday Night Live, but there was no mention of cowbell that I saw. Oh well.) I've posted a few pictures at Flickr, but I'll post more as I go through them. I took well over 1000 pictures last night (no, that's not a typo).

Recently Read...

I no longer have to live in fear of people discussing Harry Potter! I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last week, and I think it was the best of the series.

I had meant to hold out for the paperback, as I did for the other six (they don't hurt you when you doze off and let go of the book - Hey, I'm a mom, I'm tired and I'm usually reading at the end of the evening when I'm even more tired). But spoilers kept creeping up on me and I was getting way too good at changing the channel on the TV or radio whenever I even heard the name Harry Potter uttered. So, I finally asked to borrow my mom-in-law's copy. Even that came at the price of an unintentional spoiler (I didn't take it well. I think I screamed "Shut Up!" at her - whoops, sorry!).

It took me about three weeks to get through the first half, reading at my normal rate of a couple chapters every few nights. Then I hit the half-way point and my reading pace picked up. I read the second half in a week, the last third in an evening (I would have finished it the night before, but even a dragon on a rampage through Gringott's couldn't keep my eyes open - see above). My house certainly showed the effects of that week of reading.

The final evening, I did almost nothing but read, stopping only to reluctantly eat dinner (good thing the hubby is the cook). My daughter complained, and I'm surprised she doesn't resent Harry Potter now, but she doesn't seem to. In fact, I caught her picking up the book a couple of the few times I actually put it down. It was odd to see a seven-year-old reading a book that thick. Unfortunately, she had usually chosen a spot ahead of where I was reading, which resulted in a panicked "Don't tell me ANYTHING you just read!"

The only problem with finishing Deathly Hallows is that now I have a big urge to go back and re-read the whole series from my new perspective. What clues were there, who do I see differently knowing how things turn out for them? And there's one character I'm intensely curious about - he was mentioned several times, but was he ever actually DESCRIBED until the last book when we found out who he really was? Were there clues to who he might be that flew right over my head? Hmmm....I scratched one book off my reading list, but put six back on. Oh, well...

Currently reading: Black Ships by Jo Graham - an Early Reviewers copy from LibraryThing.

Sigh....but could I do it???

I pop into Ariel Meadow Stallings' Electrolicious blog from time to time and she's got a great idea in today's post. She says "one night a week, I am going to completely unplug from anything with a screen. This means no internet, no sidekick, no watching dvds."

It's a great idea. I think I'm going to try it. I just have to figure out which night works best for me, and my family. It will probably have to be a family thing, or what's the point? Someone else will have the TV or whatever on & my effort will be lost. So maybe the title above should be "But could WE do it?"

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

What Mary Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Scary!

I shudder to think of it...

Imagine a World Without Apple, Bloggers, Google or Dell - New York Times

;-)

'Meanest mom on planet' sells son's car

I only have one comment for this: GO MOM!!!

'Meanest mom on planet' sells son's car - CNN.com

I need to file this away to show my daughter when she starts driving.

WooHoo!

Yay! Bill O'Boyle is the 2007 DII Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. Go Eagles!

Reading for 2008

I'm not posting my resolutions, since they mostly all hinge off one thing: STOP PROCRASTINATING. The details I'll keep to myself for now. Instead, I've decided to post my provisional reading list for the year.

Most of my reading for the first part of 2008 involves finishing books I've already started reading. Most of the ones I haven't started were Christmas gifts (or bought with gift cards I received as gifts).

These are in no particular order, since I never know which one I'm going to feel like reading by the time I finish one, but I'll break them into sections:

Library books which need to be finished ASAP:
The Now Habit by Neil Fiore - how ironic is it that I've procrastinated on reading this one?
Body Language by Julius Fast - recommended by a writer friend. It's been good, but keeps getting interrupted by other things (like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)

Books I've started and which must be finished (tagged "Reading List 2008" in LibraryThing):
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy : Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale by James B. South - I've popped around in the essays in this book, but I'm going to finally just read it straight through.
Close-up Photography by Michael Freeman - I like playing with the macro setting on my camera, so this looked like a good choice. Luckily, it was already on my husband's shelf.
The Conversation Begins : Mothers and Daughters Talk about Living Feminism by Christina Looper Baker and Christina Baker Kline - Another book of essays I need to finish.
Eleanor of Aquitaine: A Life by Alison Weir - I sat down and read the first chapter one day, but I've put off reading the whole book until some others were finished.
I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame by Brené Brown - got this ARC for free a couple months ago and also read the first chapter, but put it aside for another day.
John Adams by David G. McCullough - I've now been reading this book for seven years! I don't know why I don't just sit down and finish it. Luckily, I've absorbed and retained it well enough that I don't have to go back each time I pick it up again. This year I WILL just finish the darn thing!
The Joy of Writing Sex by Elizabeth Benedict - Nearly done with this one, but just haven't gone back to finish it yet. Yes, it has a pretty blunt title, but it's mostly addressing the issue of "When you can say anything, what DO you say" in love scenes.
The Key : How to Write Damn Good Fiction using the Power of Myth by James N. Frey - Mostly based on Joseph Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces, but boiled down to the basics for the purposes of plotting.
Nikon D40/D40x Digital Field Guide by David D. Busch - so I can understand all the little do-dads on my camera. Using it on Auto is fine, but it feels a bit like driving a Ferrari in second gear.
Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher - I keep putting this one down because it's a bit depressing and scary, but I feel it's something I should read as the mother of a girl.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King - Given to me by a writer friend, and I just never have finished it for some reason, despite the fact that I'm not far from the end.
Spunk & Bite: A Writer's Guide to Bold, Contemporary Style by Arthur Plotnik - Looks like a good read, but I've been saving it for another day. Need to get it read!
To Kill an Eagle : IndianVviews on the Death of Crazy Horse by Edward Kadlecek - Borrowed from my brother many years ago. I need to buy my own copy and give his back. :)
Women Who Run with the Wolves : Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estés - Another book I've been poking around in, in sort of a random way. I need to just read it straight through.

Not started yet:
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University: 91 Days to Beat Debt and Build Wealth!
Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey
The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey - These three were a gift from my parents, one of my brothers, and his girlfriend. I know we need it, and I know we need to read it soon.
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass - Friends have been telling me for years that I need to read this. I finally bought it the other day.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling - Haven't got this one yet, but I need to read it before I encounter any more spoilers!

The last book of 2007

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince late last night. This one was, I think, the best since the first. Now to make my way though some other books on my nightstand and then I'll try to get to Book 7 before too long. It's getting to be too hard not to see & hear spoilers, so I need to read it soon. I just hate lugging these around in hardcover, so I usually wait for the paperback. But by the time Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out in paperback I may have heard something (more) that I didn't want to.