I just discovered some extra blogger capabilities (draft.blogger.com)! Blogger Draft has a new template designer that lets you switch to a three or four column template! Hallelujah! I played around with it some. I don't know if you can use layouts from the Cutest Blog on the Block or Leelou Blogs, but Blogger has some nifty customization options that you can use without having to know html.
Come see the changes I made to my blog! They are closer to the changes I have been wanting, but there are still some problems (i.e. it's terribly cluttered). Changing the template eliminated my previous background, but I still have the stars in my header (need to work on that again). Please note the watermark in upper right hand corner. I just couldn't pass it up!
What do you think?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Price of Significance
"When you want to accomplish something significant, there is always a price, and for me, the price was sleep."-- Julie Berry, author
Hmmm....
From an interview with Julie Berry at Store & Style. March 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Library Lottery
Lost Boy and I went on a date to the library today ♥. I was hoping to find Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones because we just watched the movie and I want to know all the details that get left out of movies. But our local library is very small and has a limited selection. I'm going to have to request it.
Despite the unlikelihood of our library branch having what I want (I rarely find what I'm looking for at this particular branch), I won the lottery with The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Book One in Percy Jackson & The Olympians... yes, the one that is in the movie theaters right now.) When I checked the catalog there were up to 44 holds on some of the copies.
Now, to give you some perspective, there were upwards of 150-200 holds on all the copies of Twilight in the regional public library system in 2007 and today's visit to the library was the first time I'd ever seen Twilight on any library bookshelves (but none of Meyer's other books). Admittedly, Percy Jackson appeals to a younger audience with less spending power and ability to get access to the latest books (though I suspect the movie producers aged him a little to make him more attractive to the mid-teen audience), so I probably wouldn't have had to wait two years or more to get a hold of a library copy, but the book was on my reading list before the movie previews came out and I didn't want to wait for the fad to pass, or to buy it myself, before I got to read it.
Apparently there weren't any holds on this particular copy, which happened to be at my not-so-well-stocked library, because the librarian checked it out to me without any problems (I expected something like: "Um, there is a line of people waiting to read this book, we need to put it on hold for the person at the top of the line."). Miraculous.
Just so you know, I really am grateful for this little library branch. It is close enough for Lost Boy and I to walk to so we can have nice walk/library dates. The library system is very good about filling requests, so I can have books I want to read sent to this branch and I can pick them up at my convenience. This branch is two or three times as big as it was fifteen years ago and has at least twenty times the selection it did when I was in junior high. And this branch has a piece of property where it will someday have it's own facility (it has been in a strip mall for over decade).
So even though I seem frustrated by the lack of selection at this branch, my life really is enriched by it. I just particularly like the feeling of being lost in the stacks; completely alone in a world of books and shelves where very few other humans venture. You can't get that feeling in small libraries. Even medium sized libraries have a hard time perpetuating that feeling. And it is always a bummer to find only one book in a series you want to read and it isn't the first one (or the one you are ready to read next), which is what has been happening to me at this branch consistently since I was twelve. It is good that this branch is growing. And it is very cool that I actually found the first book in a series that I wanted to read, especially when that series is a hot library-request/hold item.
Despite the unlikelihood of our library branch having what I want (I rarely find what I'm looking for at this particular branch), I won the lottery with The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Book One in Percy Jackson & The Olympians... yes, the one that is in the movie theaters right now.) When I checked the catalog there were up to 44 holds on some of the copies.
Now, to give you some perspective, there were upwards of 150-200 holds on all the copies of Twilight in the regional public library system in 2007 and today's visit to the library was the first time I'd ever seen Twilight on any library bookshelves (but none of Meyer's other books). Admittedly, Percy Jackson appeals to a younger audience with less spending power and ability to get access to the latest books (though I suspect the movie producers aged him a little to make him more attractive to the mid-teen audience), so I probably wouldn't have had to wait two years or more to get a hold of a library copy, but the book was on my reading list before the movie previews came out and I didn't want to wait for the fad to pass, or to buy it myself, before I got to read it.
Apparently there weren't any holds on this particular copy, which happened to be at my not-so-well-stocked library, because the librarian checked it out to me without any problems (I expected something like: "Um, there is a line of people waiting to read this book, we need to put it on hold for the person at the top of the line."). Miraculous.
Just so you know, I really am grateful for this little library branch. It is close enough for Lost Boy and I to walk to so we can have nice walk/library dates. The library system is very good about filling requests, so I can have books I want to read sent to this branch and I can pick them up at my convenience. This branch is two or three times as big as it was fifteen years ago and has at least twenty times the selection it did when I was in junior high. And this branch has a piece of property where it will someday have it's own facility (it has been in a strip mall for over decade).
So even though I seem frustrated by the lack of selection at this branch, my life really is enriched by it. I just particularly like the feeling of being lost in the stacks; completely alone in a world of books and shelves where very few other humans venture. You can't get that feeling in small libraries. Even medium sized libraries have a hard time perpetuating that feeling. And it is always a bummer to find only one book in a series you want to read and it isn't the first one (or the one you are ready to read next), which is what has been happening to me at this branch consistently since I was twelve. It is good that this branch is growing. And it is very cool that I actually found the first book in a series that I wanted to read, especially when that series is a hot library-request/hold item.
Saturday Stuff To Do
| To Do List: | |
| *Get ready for the Sabbath | |
| *Finish studying the Sunday School lesson | |
| *Go to bed ten hours before 8:00 am | |
| Take Vitamins and Meds | check |
| Go to the library with Lost Boy | check |
| Go outside for a while | check |
| Don't scratch any skin | fail |
| Write (preferable English assignment) | |
| Work on geography homework (data project ♥) | |
| Wash some dishes | |
| Hang laundry on the line | check |
Not on the To Do List: | |
| Read The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson etc.) | check |
It looks like I still have a lot to do to make headway on my priorities (and before 10:00 pm)! Hmm...
Friday, March 05, 2010
Dear Baby,
Dear Baby,
I'm amazed at how fast you're growing! I think you are bigger than the average fetus your age. Your daddy is really worried about us because I'm not eating very much. Please try to make quality growth a priority over quantity growth. I have no doubt that you will be taller than me (and most of your aunts!) when you are a teenager, so there is no need to rush right now.
I have been trying to eat high nutrient-high calorie foods, like Ensure Plus, Carnation Breakfast drink with whole milk, and avocados. Your daddy hates avocados, but he buys them for us anyways. He loves us a lot! I can't tell what nutrients you need because I haven't been craving anything lately. If you could please let me know what you want I might be able to eat it for you.
I love you and I worry about you. Please let me feel you soon so I know you're doing alright.
Love,
Mom
I'm amazed at how fast you're growing! I think you are bigger than the average fetus your age. Your daddy is really worried about us because I'm not eating very much. Please try to make quality growth a priority over quantity growth. I have no doubt that you will be taller than me (and most of your aunts!) when you are a teenager, so there is no need to rush right now.
I have been trying to eat high nutrient-high calorie foods, like Ensure Plus, Carnation Breakfast drink with whole milk, and avocados. Your daddy hates avocados, but he buys them for us anyways. He loves us a lot! I can't tell what nutrients you need because I haven't been craving anything lately. If you could please let me know what you want I might be able to eat it for you.
I love you and I worry about you. Please let me feel you soon so I know you're doing alright.
Love,
Mom
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