Neville + Trevor = Happiness

There has been a recent development in the life of Neville, my plant.

He has a new friend!

Meet Trevor.

This frog pot was found hanging around the library office, and it was offered to me! I stuck Neville inside and he fit perfectly. They were made for each other!

For obvious reasons, I had to name the frog Trevor. Trevor is, of course, Neville's frog in the Harry Potter series. Hooray for Neville and Trevor!

Now I can't be completely sure of this, but I think that Neville looks a little perkier since he has taken up residence inside Trevor. Not as many dead leaves, and generally not as sarcastic and dismal as he has been.

Everybody needs an understanding friend. Neville may have finally found his.

After the Beep

I'm kind of over answering machines.

While calling library patrons the other day to let them know they had books available to pick up (that they had placed on hold), I realized how stupid answering machines are.

When I call a house and nobody's home, I get one of four things (unless the number has been disconnected):

1. A typical answering machine.
"Hi, you've reached Bob. I can't come to the phone right now, but please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks, and have a nice day." Do we really not know what to do yet when we hear an answering machine? Oh no, a beep, what should I say?! Please. Everyone says the same thing, and it's annoying to sit through fifteen of the exact same messages in a row. Just say your name, so I know I called the right place! ...I know this isn't realistic. We all have to be polite and say the same thing on our machines. It just gets old, okay?

2. A creative answering machine.
I use the term "creative" here loosely. Pretty sure I've never heard a GOOD answering machine message. But I have heard some different ones. Of course there's the cutesy one where the little kid garbles her words. Classic. Then there's some crotchety old man who says "you know what to do," or gives some random reason he can't come to the phone. There're the ones where everyone in the family speaks. The strangest one was where I heard parents and their daughter yelling at each other before the father saying they can't come to the phone because they're all at a family counseling session. I would not make that up.

3. No answering machine.
How do you not have an answering machine? It's not like phones are a new invention, here. How long does it take to set one up and record a typical message?

4. Full or nonworking answering machine.
Really? You're that busy your machine is full? Or you're that lazy that you can't be bothered to empty it? Better yet, "the person you are calling has a voicemail box that has not been set up yet. Goodbye!" Wait - what? Now what am I supposed to do?

I think to avoid the whole mess we should just leave texts as messages. Or send an email! Talking on the phone is so awkward anyway. Leaving messages is just ten times worse.

Guilty as Charged

Yes, I have been listening to Christmas music.

A little bit, here and there.

Every year I tell myself I'll wait until after Thanksgiving, but nobody's perfect. I'm only human. I have a crazy Christmas elf trapped inside of me, jingling to get out. Just like everybody else.

Even though I try to wait, certain circumstances require me to listen to Christmas music early. They are:

• Being stressed out. When I'm feeling overwhelmed by the world, relationships, my own irritating thoughts...I break out the Christmas music. When I'm worrying or obssessing, the reassuring voices of Josh Groban, Bing Crosby, and Michael Buble tell me that everything will be just fine.

• Shopping anytime after Halloween (sometimes before). Unless you'd prefer to bring earplugs with you, it's impossible NOT to hear the Christmas music stores start playing. I couldn't believe it when I heard it a couple weeks ago in the mall. I looked around guiltily, a smile already spreading across my face. I developed a spring in my step, a song in my heart, and a desire to buy everything I saw as Christmas presents. Hey...maybe stores are onto something here...

• When it's snowing. We had a freak snowstorm here a few weeks ago and HELLO, you just can't NOT listen to Christmas music! The situation absolutely required it! It's like when you're baking a cake and have to taste the batter. You can't always wait until the cake is done, dude.

• Going to sleep. Heh heh. All right, I'm super guilty of this one. After all, how many times in the last month have I gone to sleep? At least, like, thirty times! When I try to go to sleep, my mind sometimes decides that we have to rehash everything that bothered me or worried me throughout my day. Or I get to re-live conversations where I thought I said something dumb. Shut up, voices in my head! Calming music always helps me relax, and Christmas music is just a festive bonus.

I will unashamedly "officially" turn on the Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. Or possibly that night. When do you start?

What's There to Like?

There are those who are chronic "likers."
Either you are one, or you know one.

It's all well and good to "like" things on Facebook. But what about "liking" something just for the sake of liking it?

Here are two status updates for your consideration:

Laura loves puppies. *like*

Laura needs a ride to the airport. Help! *like*

See the difference here? In the first scenario, you like the status because you also love puppies! Yay for common ground and bonding through your shared interest of puppies!

In the second scenario, you have abused the like button. How does liking this status help? You like and then you move on. No comment, no help, nothing.

Laura made granola. *like*

Laura needs a good recipe for granola. *like*

Wait - what? Why are you rubbing my status in my face? I can't find a good recipe for granola and you like that? How about a suggestion?

Beyond the non-helpful, there's just the plain sadistic.

Laura is wearing a Disney Princess bandaid because she cut her finger. *like* (minor injury, cute bandaid)

Laura broke her toe kicking a library book across the floor. *like*

This may seem tricky, because the situation might seem funny, but the end result is a broken toe! Sympathize!

You don't have to "like" something to prove you read it. I know it's easy to use, but that doesn't mean you have to.


Think about it.

The Next Big Thing

So, the plan was to get up and write a good blog post yesterday morning, but I was immediately distracted! I realized that I could watch the world premiere of The Hunger Games trailer at 8:30 on Good Morning America, so other plans sort of fell by the wayside.

I have been waiting for this for what seems like FORever, so to finally watch the real trailer was thrilling. And, as a fan of the books, knowing the story, I got chills!

Why don't you go ahead and watch it, if you haven't already. And if you have, watch it again. And again. Like me.


If you're not familiar with the story...well, it can seem strange to explain it. It's the story of a dystopian society (click here for a definition from one of my favorite sources - Wikipedia!), with a government that maintains control by drawing names of children to fight against each other in an arena. To the death.

I know, I know. It's not the sort of book I thought I would like either. But I could NOT put it down. It's actually a trilogy, by Suzanne Collins.




You've got until March 2012, when the movie comes out (and you can join me at the midnight premiere!) to read all three books. Let me know what you think! Supposedly, these movies are expected to be the next Harry Potter (yay!) or Twilight (yuck!).

So get reading! Remember: book first, then movie. I recommend your local library.

A Smidge of Inspiration

Don't have anything particularly inspiring to say today...

So why not let the best do it for me?

Thanks to my awesome "flatmate" for sharing this with me...and now I share with you!





Also, a HUGE thank you to our veterans!

And don't forget to celebrate 11/11/11 today!

Now get out there and have a great day. :)

I'll Borrow...This One!

I'm not really good at being put on the spot. I need time to think and reflect.

That's why my mind goes blank when people ask me for book recommendations.

I know, I know, it's probably not right that I get nervous when people ask me for advice on what they should read next. But so many things are going through my mind that nothing comes out of my mouth!

I'm thinking:

I'm reading like, five books at the same time!

But would this person like any of them?

Three of them are children's books!

Maybe this person would like this one...but wait? Wasn't there language/sex/violence in it? Am I recommending a book to this person that he/she would consider inappropriate?

How well do I know this person?

Why haven't I read any good books lately?

Or I have...but will this particular person like them?

Why don't I read more smart-sounding books instead of young adult books that just sound silly when I try to explain them? I mean, I've tried to explain The Hunger Games before and people look at me like I have two heads...



So, yeah. I kind of psych myself out. And when a mom asks me on behalf of her child? Like, "have you read this book? is it too scary for a ten-year-old?" And I know I've read it, but I can't really remember and I get a little freaked out that suddenly I've become responsible for what this ten-year-old is reading because I'm a librarian...

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it! And somebody's gotta risk a little shock when she recommends Harry Potter. Really? Still?

Let Me Reach That For You

I'm tall.

If you've seen me, you know this.

Not abnormally tall, just...taller. Like, compared to most girls.

Most times I like it, sometimes I don't.

Here's one reason why I don't: monkey arms.

What are monkey arms, you may ask? Monkey arms are what I call my extremely long arms. They seem normal enough to me, until I start to try on winter coats.

What is it with winter coats and their short arms? I'll put on a coat, and I'm liking it, and I'll reach out my arm to brush hair out of my face or grab my phone and what in the world - whose freakishly long arm is now halfway out of the sleeve?

Really?! Really.

Most times I love my arms. For reaching purposes. But there's something about having sleeves that are too short that make me feel ridiculous. Come on, I really can't buy this coat because the sleeves are too short? What are my options, here?

(And then there's trying to cover my ankles with pants. Well, let's not get into that right now. I'll just say that highwaters really aren't my preference.)



Someone please tell me I'm not alone in this? I'm sure guys don't have a problem because they're allowed to be tall...

The Changing of the Time

What?! The time is changing this weekend?

That's right. Daylight Savings Time officially ends this weekend. And that means we gain an hour! Also, it gets dark earlier...

This post is to remind YOU and it's to remind ME to not get completely confused. Because sometimes a person will forget and get up when she doesn't need to and show up to church an hour early and no one's there. I'm just saying. It could happen. To someone...

So what type of person are you?

1. Time to Sleep
This person is ready to log some extra time in the ol' sleep bank. She has been waiting for months to get this hour, and she's going to enjoy every.single.minute. She goes to sleep at her regular time (even earlier, maybe!) and wakes up feeling refreshed and just so stinkin' proud of herself.

2. Time to Party!
Whoa - we get an extra hour! This person is going to spend this hour enjoying life! He stays up an extra hour just because he can. And then is having so much fun, he stays up even later and wakes up the next morning wondering why he's so tired if he just got an extra hour...

So don't forget to fall back this weekend! I'll catch you next week when we will discuss Christmas music: Too early? That depends on how stressful your days have been!

Waiting for My Quest

So sometimes I listen to soundtracks. Epic soundtracks.

The other day I was sitting and listening to music from movies like Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean and getting antsy. I wanted to jump up and have my life match up to these soundtracks!

This got me thinking about quests.

I want one.

From what I've heard, one doesn't necessarily seek out quests. Unless you are a hero in a Greek legend. Usually, the quest comes to you. It finds you because of a letter. A mystery. A crime. A kidnapping. A treasure. A secret. A job only you can do!

Events fall into place, and suddenly you are faced with your quest. You look up slowly, burdened with the weight of your newfound responsibility. You make emotional, meaningful eye contact with several significant people standing around you, and there you have it! You and your comrades are off on your quest!

And then you have adventures. Battles. Moral decisions. Dissension among friends. Triumphs. Lessons. And such.

I'd like one, please.

Is there a sign-up sheet?