*Insert Clever Heading Here*

To read: transitive and intransitive verb-interpret written material: to identify and understand the meaning of the characters and words in written or printed material.

Yes, that is what you are doing, that is what I am doing frequently, that is what the patrons of this lovely library that I call my workplace think they should do in a library, it is an essential part of life. Well, should be anyhow. I don't always have the time to indulge in a printed book, but I do enjoy a daily selection of blogs by people who are absolutely amazing!

Amazing at everything.

Now, I know I am not the most creative person out there, my arts and crafts skills set has, well, very clear limitations.

Just ask those who play that silly smartphone drawing game with me...I think my three year old does just as well.

However it was today when I was reading these amazing blogs by these amazingly talented people and feeling jealous that I don't think in these artistic ways, when it hit me: I DON'T HAVE TO. They do it all for me. Take this awesome idea for example... Awesome Drip Dip Dye . Or these DIY Ballet Slippers with Straps that are almost as cute as Maegan herself. There is so much out there that makes my life simpler, more colorful, more yummy, just...more!

And we all know, more is often better, especially if it is more no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies or  more Saturday mornings spent in our pajamas.

Best of all, whatever I feel the need to do is there, with instructions that are usually simple to understand. Not saying I will do them all (or any of them), but sometimes (I) we just have to stop and realize it is ok that (I) we aren't the best artists, musicians, bloggers, cooks, mommies and daddies, workers, athletes, people, and be happy with what we are. I just have to remember that they are....................................... Out there.....In a world outside of Yonkers, Way out there beyond this hickown Barnaby... oh, sorry.

Man, I could reference that song over and over in this blog

For those who recognize those song lyrics  (probably all under age 10)  it was originally from Hello, Dolly!..... Not Wall-E.

So what does reading have to do with being happy? Lose yourself in the book of your choice and find out. And for those of you who don't like to read, or don't want to read....

Enter nerdy librarian here....who doesn't like to read????

Here's a frog that has nothing to do with it...except the fact that I drew him and he makes me happy.

Ode to the Summer Sun

So here I am, at work. Well, in my place of employment. I really don't mind getting paid to sit here and blog. Or Facebook. Or shop. But hey, am I not supposed to be working? I just might die of boredom if they don't give me something, anything,  to do.

And you may recall, I want to die of guacamole, NOT boredom.

But my boss is retiring the last day of this month so things are kind of out of order and I just have to be patient. Hopefully soon, projects will start flowing once again.

So anyways....I took the time this morning to clean out my network files of things that I have accumulated in the past two years and ran across an old file labeled E-portfolio. I recognized it immediately of course, it was the electronic portfolio I was required to put together for my Composition 102 class my sophomore year of college. I opened it to reminisce, you know, for old time's sake.

Since last summer was old times, ya know.

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but some of the things in this portfolio were good. Well, at least going back through and reading them I thought they were good. Seriously, all I remember was turning things in thinking, "Oh well, I finished it. It's good enough.".

Good enough works....right?

Well, good enough that I have decided to share a poem I wrote about a year ago that I just found in that E-portfolio folder.

I included the date I wrote it, just for fun. 

Enjoy :)

June 14, 2011

An Ode to the Summer Sun

The sun rises, breaking through the night

Feeling her way through the bleak

Shines down merrily upon the slumbering towns

And cities, already bustling with activity.

Bright and hot she begins her merciless demands

On those out daring to enjoy the cool crispness of the morning.

Some draw curtains to avoid her painful glares

Yet yellow, bright, hot still she creeps into holes

And cracks and illuminates the earth

Creating shadows

Where once were none.

She shouts pain on those who uncover in her presence

Leaving red behind in her wake

As she passes over becoming hotter

And more demanding

Giving relief to none

Until at last she sighs and heaves her heavy rays

Into a tired horizon

Lingering oh so briefly as if to say

You may have made it through

But tomorrow I will return

Unforgiving and harsh

Then fades away letting the night breathe

Cool, calm, quiet.

3-2-1 Blastoff! A countdown...

Twenty-four - The number of days since I have written on this blog

(Yeah, I am not the best when it comes to remembering things...anything..s. Not just this blog.)

Seventeen - The number of days since my last day of class.

(Undergrad..yeah, I am totally counting the days until I graduate...I have, let me see, approximately 723 left.)

Ten - The number of days since my last final.

(Can we just say a prayer of thanks here? I didn't keel over and die, although right around Tuesday I almost did. Did you know a 24 x 36 poster costs almost 40$ to print? Well, you do now.)

Seven - The number of days since I started working full time in an absolutely amazing university library

(Now if only there were something to do in an academic library during the summer.)

One...er, one.... ummmmm. Ok so I don't have anything for one. How about One hour since I ate a positively delectable steak fajita in a freakin bowl! Yeah, my quest for all things avacado led me to my friendly neighborhood Chipotle's. Friendly because hey, I know a few people there, and they know me. Drown me in guacamole because that is how I wanna die.

(Ok, not really, but I have avacado on the brain today.)

I have fallen behind in my Ted drawings, mainly because stress has tried to kill me a few times in the last few weeks.

(And when I say "tried to kill me", I mean it has lurked in the shadows with a pointy knife and jumped me while I innocently tuck the kids into bed at night. It wasn't pretty.)

I love you all... because you made it to the end of my ramblings and let's face it...you learned a few things about me, but actually, I said nothing at all...



Mmmmm.....guacamole...

For the Birds

A strange thing happened on my way to work yesterday. Well, strange to me and my son, for the bird, not so much. Have you ever accidentally (or intentionally) left your car windows down at night? I made that mistake Wednesday night. My car became a moth HOTEL virtually overnight.

Ewwww...yeah, yeah, my dad would probably say Cowboy Up..but they are kinda freaky when they all fly at you.

Now, I don't mind the occasional moth in the house, it tends to become an entertaining snack for the cat. But...when 10 or more (or less, I don't know, it was a lot) moths fly out of the vent it is kind of gross. Anyways, by the end of the block all except one or two stragglers were gone. 

We came to a stoplight in a fairly busy part of town when I heard an excited half screech/half gasp from my son and a THUD....

What in the world??????

In a car, a thud, or thunk, or thwap, or any other kind of collision sound of any sort is typically a bad thing. Not this time thank goodness. A bird.... (A BIRD!) somehow saw that last straggling moth and flew into my car and grabbed it and flew back out.

Of course, Daniel was all excited and is still talking about it this morning. Hopefully when we leave there will be no more moth hotel in my car because I rolled up the windows.

At least I think I did.

Cowboy Ted

Cowboy Ted wouldn't let a few moths get to him.


Happy Friday!!

Truth

Whew...it has been a rough day. I have never been so happy to walk through my door and know I didn't have to go back out it for the rest of the day. Sure, there have been rough days, days that you just want to curl up in bed and eat peanut butter with a spoon and watch musicals all day. Ok, maybe that is just me, I don't know.

Yeah, one of THOSE days...

What's worse, there was absolutely nothing wrong with my day. It was what was going to happen tomorrow...and the next day.  Who has two thumbs and flips out over things that haven't happened yet?? This girl.

Yeah, it's corny, I know.    

Maybe I just have a case of the Monday's. 

What does that even MEAN? If I have a case of something I don't want I just slap return postage on that puppy and send it back from whence it came. 

Ok, enough about me, urm, about my weird pre-flip out flipping out. If there is anything that can put a smile on my face, it is Ted. He is after all the perfect guy. He is even green which just makes him all the more loveable. The perfect green guy. 


Yeah....don't ponder that too hard.

Floatie Ted

What do you mean it's only February???

This is how half of my winter was spent... in a floatie waiting for the pool in my daydreams to open. Sigh..I do way too much daydreaming. Wait...wha????

Happy belated Easter to you all, if in fact Eater can be belated. 

And of course...

Happy Monday!

                                                              

Italian Roast

I feel the need to say I get up waaaaaay to early. It's 5:45 am, laundry is going, I am showered and it is no small miracle that I am dressed already. Someone once told me that I would get used to the early morning thing . Wrong again whoever you were. I have been getting up at 5 am for nearly a YEAR and still don't like it. Ok, moot point, I will make it a good morning if it kills me.

Yeah, it's pouring rain.

And... I had to retype those four words three times to get out all the spelling errors. 

We all have those mornings, you know, the ones that just go sideways for no apparent reason. They just do.

Coffee...where is my coffee??? Oh that's right, I didn't make any this morning.

I have a particularly special Ted for mornings like this, 

  

Bed Head Ted

Again, ignore the eraser marks because after all, he is a work in progress. And I have been lazy about finding an amazing photo editing software, if that is ever what I need. 

I don't know what I need, but when do I ever?   

Maybe I do know what I need. I need a sunny beach with the sound of the ocean lapping at the shore and the sound of my children playing happily in the sand. I need a sound effect here. No, not of the ocean, the sound of a car accident. You know, the metal-grinding, tire-squealing, explosion-sounding, from all the good action movies kind of sound effect. 

Because my children don't play together happily in the sand. Not even in my daydreams. My three year old is all bug-playing, gas-passing, sand castle-mashing BOY and my eight year old is all, well, eight year old GIRL. It isn't very pretty some days. I need a hero...

 

Super Hero Ted

"The job description never said anything about a speeding bullet."

It isn't what I had in mind, but I guess he will do. 

It's time to go wake the kids, and if I don't do it now my sideways morning will land on it's head. So with that I bid you a good morning. 

Happy Tuesday!

Doodles...

I jumped.

Yeah, I guess that is what you could call it. I jumped feet first into the blogging world, a world in which I swore I would never indulge. Kinda like that pie at Thanksgiving, or that package of Oreo cookies lurking in the back of the freezer.

Yeah right, who am I kidding?  

Come on, they were mint Oreos.  I don't turn down mint Oreos, although for my waistline's sake I should.

But really, I do have a point in all of this, I really need a springboard for a creation of mine. Well, creation may be too bold of a word, let's scale back the Homemaker Susie image a bit. I need a springboard for a drawing, for a comic strip.  

Ok, still a bit too ambitious.

In reality it is a one panel cartoon character of mine that came into being in February. My bff M'Lissa and I were playing an Italian card game called Scopa (if you like cards and don't know this game check it out here) when a doodle of innocent tic marks turned into a creature. After a few silly additions here and there 'Ted' was born. Then I decided that Ted needed to be more interesting,  and have costumes and one-liners so he kind of evolved into what he is today.

                                                                        Here is the original Ted.

Why yes, those are erase marks. Why no..I have no idea how to use any decent photo shop programs, so if you have recommendations on some good beginner level software please feel free to comment!

My original plan was to do a Daily Dose of Ted, but it has turned into a weekly endeavor due to lack of, erm, time. Ok, ok, lack of discipline as well.

What? You mean my kids have to eat dinner every night? Ok, ok...wait, it can't just be cereal?

                                                                               A particularly cold day netted this gem....


Well there you have it, and just like that I give you Ted. And a bunch of other random nonsense, but hey, that's what blogs are for :)

It won't be strictly about Ted however, it will be about everything, everything that is Well With My Soul.

Catchy, huh?

Happy Friday!

P.S.

I love to change things up on a regular basis, if there is a song you would like to hear on the playlist, let me know!