Now Quiet Down, Children

Yesterday, I got to be the substitute storyteller.

The children's librarian needed a replacement for morning storytime, so she asked me. I was so excited!

Let me just tell you something. I love reading out loud. Preferably to someone. But I've been known to read out loud to myself.

I love reading. And reading out loud just takes it to the next level. Of awesomeness. I've read kids' books to college students when I was in school, and let me just tell you that it doesn't matter HOW old you are; everyone loves a good story.

It's like magic. Even the loudest, most obnoxious kids quiet down. Parents with their kids are engrossed. I realize as I'm reading that the room has fallen silent. Mouths are hanging open and my every word is just being absorbed.

When I read aloud, I like to hear what the kids are thinking. (I recommend doing this whenever you can. They come up with the best stuff.) Yesterday we were reading books about the sense of smell. So I asked what their favorite smells are. One kid said confidently, "Mac and cheese!" This caused me to crave this comfort food for the entire rest of the day.

We also read a book about a garden, and a girl who wanted to grow jellybeans and seashells. I asked the kids what they've tried to grow in their gardens. Among the answers were "bones" and "my head."

We read The Story of Ferdinand, about the bull who would rather smell flowers than fight. The kids thought that book was pretty exciting. They all agreed at the end that they liked it.

What a fun morning!

This is Just Getting Ridiculous

Spring and I aren't exactly on speaking terms, currently.

I feel betrayed. Like I was promised chocolate and got a pot of dirt dumped on my head instead. Spring poked its little bunny head out a couple times weeks ago, but I'm starting to give up hope that it's ever really coming.

It's hard to believe that, not that long ago, the entire library staff had their faces smushed against the library windows, watching robins hop around in the grass. GRASS, not OLD, DIRTY SNOW.

And now, someone said the other day that we might just go from winter to summer. ExcUSE me? Winter to summer? Thanks a lot, spring. You wet blanket. You destroyer of dreams.

I LOVE spring. I don't want to miss out on it!

I'm just going to continue pouting now.

The Voices In My Head

Common Thoughts That "Run" Through My Mind When I Run

haha...see what I did there? run...? okay, on to the list:

1. I hate running.

2. I love running!

3. Man, these pink sneakers look good on my feet.

4. How far have I gone so far?

5. That's IT???!!!

6. Go faster; you can handle it.

7. Go slower; who do you think you are?

8. I wonder how many chocolate chip cookies I've burned off?

9. I want to stop.

10. Keep going, you old woman!

11. No, I really want to stop.

12. Shut up!

13. Am I almost done?

14. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes.

15. Repeat thoughts 1 through 14 approximately 37 times.

16. I'm done! Woo-hoooooo! Look at me! I'm so awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Strolling Through the Library

Over the weekend, I visited another library. Which I love to do. I'm always curious to see the differences. I get jealous of cool things in other libraries. And I gloat over what I think my library does better.

Apparently, I am a library snob. Who knew?

Mostly, though, I love to poke around in different libraries and see how things are organized. What's emphasized. What kinds of displays are set up. What the children's library looks like. What programs they have.

In this particular library, I saw several sad signs informing patrons that this service was no longer offered or this price had gone up...all because of decreased library funding. That kind of thing is pretty upsetting to me, obviously.

Libraries depend so much upon the patrons. Everything we do is to make their experiences at the library the best they can be. That's why we come up with program ideas, order particular books, and go above and beyond in service.

Lots of libraries have come up with creative ways of making more money, and this library was no exception. All over the circulation desk, displays of homemade items, food, and gifts were being offered for a price.

Browsing through the stacks, I accumulated quite a pile. I had to set it down because it got too heavy. This reminded me of when I was little, and how I used to check out dozens of books at a time. I would spread them out all over the floor and arrange them in the order I wanted to read them. One time when I was at the library, I had pulled out so many books that a librarian came over and got mad at me. I told her I was going to check them out; I wasn't just pulling them for fun. That shut her up.

The new book display is always a highlight. New books make me really excited. They're so shiny and perfect. No recipes ripped out, no passages underlined. All the latest from my favorite authors, as well as new authors to try.

Visiting other libraries opens my eyes to what other libraries are doing. Because I love my job, I can't seem to stay away from them.

Sort It Out

There are two types of people in this world.

Those that eat M&Ms randomly, and those that sort them.

I am in the sorting camp. I sort M&Ms.

What does this say about me? Who knows? Who cares?

If I have a flat surface in front of me, my preferred method of sorting is the pyramid technique. I line up the M&Ms in rows of colors, with the more numerous colors on the bottom. Obviously.

I eat the spares until they all line up perfectly.

Oh, you were wondering what my favorite colors were? That'd be blue and green.

So after my pyramid lines up perfectly, I just chip away at the lines, making the pyramid smaller and smaller. Until it's all gone.

There're other ways one can sort M&Ms. If I was more creative, I'd do interesting shapes and mosaics. I just stick to flowers, if I'm making pictures.

I've also written my name. That's hard to do unless you have a lot of M&Ms. Otherwise, you just end up with stubby little lines that you have to squint at to read.

M&Ms are pretty fabulous. But I would recommend slowing down and savoring them the right way. By organizing your M&Ms. Like a civilized human being.

You're welcome.

Mean Girl

I am really glad that no one can read my mind. Honestly, the things that go through my head. The things I think about people can be so judgmental and downright mean.

For example, people watching. To me, people watching is a lot more comfortable than actually interacting with people. This is an introvert thing, I'm sure. Anyway, I'm fascinated by watching people. How they look, what they say, how they interact with each other... But it doesn't end there. I'm watching people and judging them based on how special I think I am. Which is pretty stinkin' special, if you were wondering.

Also, I'm a sarcastic person. Not sure how this happened. But it's true. And I have to be careful that all the nonsense that's in my head doesn't spill out of my mouth to bite someone.

Now, I'm definitely proud of myself when I DON'T write or say hurtful things. Which is more often than actually writing/saying them, thank you very much. As many times as I wish I could let it all out on Facebook (I take it too seriously sometimes...I mean, it's Facebook), I've got to hold back. Or I will not have friends.

Self-control is important. But more important is going straight to the source - my mind - and evaluating my pride issues and my lack-of-love-and-understanding issues.

I'm a work in progress.

Hello My Name is, Um, Jane.

Occasionally, library patrons will ask me what my name is. I assume this is because either:

a) I am amazing. I have revolutionized their library experience, and they want a name to shout out in joy and thanksgiving.

b) I am wretched. I have ruined their lives and disgraced the books I swore to defend.

It can be disconcerting to have people ask me what my name is. Do you really need to know? Can I give you a fake name? Are you going to write me a letter of thanks/criticism? Do you really JUST want to know my name? What's YOUR name?

I think I just have a suspicious nature.

This post seems short. But I don't have anything else to say. Just so you don't feel cheated....if you need something else to do...go to http://www.sporcle.com/ . Finish quotes, name characters, list states and countries...

 But beware. There's a strong possibility that you'll become addicted.

Not sure if I should be proud or ashamed that I did so well finishing Princess Bride quotes.