Naturally Optimistic

Look at that! I updated my 2013 reading list! Whohoooo! According to GoodReads I'm still 9 books behind for my 2013 reading challenge of reading 50 books this year (I've done 24 so far....) but whohooo! That's way more than in the past. I think working in a library works. It either works, or makes it WAY HARDER for me to stick with one book until I'm finished. Occupational hazard - I bring home waaaaaaay more books than I could possibly ever finish. I'm okay with that. :) (Maybe I'll update my movies/tv shows tomorrow. Who knows?! It IS a holiday weekend after all...and we all know how nerdy I am!) 

Greetings! I cannot believe I have not posted here since February. What the heck. My life feels very much like it is not my own mostly. No time for things like blogging. Barely any time to pick up the toys or fold the laundry (I have baskets of clean clothes everywhere. Seriously. Laundry. Ugh). The only way I'm blogging right now is that I brought my new (old) laptop outside so I can watch the kids & sort of interact with them, while posting some things on FB to sell, uploading pics to ShutteryFly (so I can avoid another photo-losing-disaster like earlier this summer)  and BLOGGING How fun!. So...I would like to make time for myself to do this. I feel like this is a good time of year for me. I've always been a school nerd, so fall means NEW to me. A fresh new start. Maybe weird considering it's the eve of the 9th month of the year, but so what. It's always felt that way to me. New. Fresh. Lovely.  I feel like I'm missing out on so many of the memories of my k...

....I have had LOADS of stuff that I wanted to blog about. I longed for time to do it. I have contemplated getting up an hour early so I could just focus on writing & blogging. And now, I have a few moments on a blissfully blizzardy day - August naps & Steve & Dahlia are working on some home-improvement shelf-building/painting project in the basement (although I hear the drum set....so maybe that's not really going as planned) & here I sit. Blogger open. New post ready to go. (photos uploading to Shutterfly in the background) and I have NOTHING. *sigh* I really should take better notes about my life or something. I miss having this online journal!

I have lofty goals for 2013. No, I don't. Not really. Basically since having kids my goal has been to survive. BUT....that being said, I did take the GoodReads 2013 challenge & signed up to read 50 books. Now, in my previous life, (post kids, pre-library) that never would've happened...BUT....since I do work at a library now, I feel I can extend my reading goals.  So we'll see how it goes! My retrospect for 2012 is as follows as I am removing it from the sidebar to make room for 2013 today! Yeah! 1. A Clash of Kings (okay - I'm actually still reading this....) 2. Unbroken 3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 4. How Green Was My Valley 5. The Memory Keeper's Daughter 6. The Hunger Games 7. In the Woods 8. His Favorite Wife 9. After Long Silence 10. People of the Book 11. Catching Fire 12. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks 13. Mockingjay 14. Fifty Shades of Grey 15. Gone Girl 16. Bloom 17. We Bought a Zoo * 18. Below Stair...

Just back from a weekend up the shore with my friend Elizabeth. *sigh* ahhhh - two nights of sleeping in a bed all by myself, a whole 24 hours without washing dishes, 4 Christmas presents made, one pair of jeans hemmed (we know how to party), glasses of wine on the deck, endless gazes at the big lake & the wonderfulness of being soothed by the sounds of the waves. The only problem was, the weekend was too short!

Another awesome perk of working at the library is MOVIES! We circulate a lot of movies. I am often on the wait list for months & months, only to have 5 or 6 come in for me at once! And so I often just return a bunch without watching them. Which stinks. Ah well. It's the dark time of year now so I figure more movie watching is in m future. And hopefully Santa will bring us a DVD player (wifi enabled, okay, I mean blu-ray player...) Anyway - I updated my viewing list. Here are my micro reviews of those: THE MUPPETS - loved. Of course I saw it in the theater (with Dahlia & my Mom) and felt a little disappointed after seeing it. My expectations were HIGH! But after viewing again - at home with the fam - I really enjoyed it. I love the song & dance. I love seeing places that were in my neighborhood when I lived in Hollywood. I love that my kids are really starting to dig The Muppets. THE HELP - I read the book when it came out & heard mixed reviews from people who ha...

I am alive & updated my reading list ---------------> over there tonight! whohoo! Amazing how working in a library gets you in the mood to READ ALL THE TIME. It's awesome. So - a couple of super short reviews: FIFTY SHADES OF GRAY/FIFTY SHADES DARKER - crap. Total crap. Okay, okay - there's lots of sex and it is indeed "Mom Porn" but the writing is so bad. So yucky bad. I don't want to read the word "petulant" on the page more than once EVER but certainly not multiple times. I don't ever want to read the phrase "...my inner goddess...." again nor do I wish to hear about someone biting their lip. Ugh. I kept waiting for a plot. That was my problem. Needless to say, I resisted reading the third one. What a waste of time. GONE GIRL - awesome. Loved it. The writing is snappy & interesting. There are TWISTS (!!!) that made me go SHUT UP out loud! I really enjoyed reading this book. A lot. so much so that I read Gillian Flynn...

It's been so much fun seeing how much our little tiny raised bed garden is producing. And it was an experiment year. Due to an over zealous husband while I was away....we ended up with 17 tomato plants in our one little bed! While we have REALLY been enjoying tomato plants, they pretty much crowded out the beans, cukes & peppers. So this year we have lots of tomatoes, a couple of squash & that's about it! Next year the tomatoes are going in their own bed, or in pots so we can grow a few other things! August can eat his weight in grape tomatoes, daily. Wish we had a couple of those plants. I miss having fresh green beans & zucchini, but I'll make sure there's room for them next year. I'm surprised we're getting as much as we are. We got 10" of rain (in one day) the week after we planted the garden & we've been experiencing horrible drought like conditions ever since. I am looking forward to growing more next year! It's amazin...

In this post I talked about making homemade laundry soap. Almost 15 months later I am making a 2nd batch! What a money saver this has been! Oh and I have been using MORE than one cup of it per load, I think it isn't *quite* as strong as my beloved Tide. But still. 15 months! It probably cost us about $4 to do laundry for a year (not including, you know, power, water & mental anguish, of course. Hooray for the homemade!

Seems like the only thing I'm updating on this blog these days is my reading list. ha. Which is sort of funny. At least to me. Still reading a lot. In fact, since I've started working I'm reading a lot more. I'm not used to having a full hour, once a day, in which to simply eat lunch & read. I will take it! I miss blogging though. I miss writing. I miss catching up with my friends in real life via their blogs & my friends in cyberspace via their blogs. *sigh*  I long for a time when I have time to sit down & recap my weekends or show my projects or simply vent. Maybe I'll get there someday. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I miss having this be my "journal" my diary of my life complete with photos. This is the least I've written on this blog in the past 8 years of its existence. It makes me sad. So many things about who I am/was in my past have simply vanished. Or maybe not vanished but "re-invented." But many of those thin...

....just buried under books. Ah yes, I started my new job as a Library Technician a couple weeks ago. So far - it's great! It is amazing to work at a place that is philanthropic in nature; that promotes learning & research; that doesn't discriminate who has access to information. It is a whole different world that working in the corporate arena & I am enjoying it immensely. I am working in the Circulation department which in the most basic of terms is the place where you check books out. There is so much BEYOND that but I don't have time to get into it right now. I had no clue how much goes into running a library. No. Clue. But I am learning. I work at the main library downtown, but soon I will be working 2 days a week at the Mt. Royal Branch (my "neighborhood" library) and 3 days downtown. I think I will enjoy the variety a lot. It is also amazing to be surrounded by so many other people who love reading & books as much as I do. During one o...

I just love it when I feel like I got a "good deal" at a garage sale - or several sales. I am not *that* into them, but I do enjoy going & finding good deals now & then. Particularly for kids clothes. Especially for kids PLAY clothes. So, I'm willing to take a peak now & again to see what people have to offer. My friend Elizabeth invited me along today & at first I turned her down. Then on second thought I said "why not?" The only downside was how hot it was today. Made getting in & out of the car with the two kiddos less enjoyable. But let's see what treasures I found shall we?  Two purses - I know, I know. Who REALLY needs more purses. But actually I kind of do. I have been using the same bag (which I love) for a few years now & I use it all the time. It's not too professional or dressy looking (but it can hold 3 water bottles, diapers, my book, assorted princesses, etc). So the one of the left is a bit fun & casual,...

I was so excited. I messaged my babysitter for this morning (incidentally, my cousin Anna) to ask if she could come a half an hour earlier. She could! That would give me a full hour after leaving my house & before my first appointment. My plan: Take the laptop, head to McDonalds for cheap food & free wifi & limitless diet coke and BLOG!! Well, I'm here. But I had to get August out of the high chair & get him cleaned up before I left the house. I also was in the middle of wiping counter tops & putting away breakfast stuff. So didn't leave until probably 9:10am. Then, had to drop off my yarn & pick up the new yarn for the day. That was quick but I probably spent 4 minutes trying to find the parking ticket that I need to pay from last week in my mess of a purse. I thought maybe I could just stop at the police station & pay it since I was downtown & kidless. That's no longer an option apparently. Okay, now 5 minutes wasted. Travel time to M...

Are you enjoying all the blog posts I've been writing...in my head? *sigh* I've even been taking photos. I swear, one of these days I'll have a brain to write again.

I had a moment of profound sadness this morning while lying in bed. I was thinking of my upcoming trip to the grocery store. I was thinking that I am so bored with the current repetoire and I need to try some new recipes. Then I started thinking about my favorite cookbook - Hollyhocks & Radishes. This got me thinking about a conversation I had with my mother-in-law and her sister (my aunt-in-law?) last year about this time. The three of us had begun to meet up a few times, every couple of weeks or so for Happy Hour. It was a fun time when I really felt like I was getting to know the both of them a bit better. On a more personal & adult level. Without husbands, significant others or children around, the conversation was often different and more intimate that I had experienced with these two incredible women before. I enjoyed those times immensely. We started talking about the aforementioned cookbook as Joan (A-I-L) had given it to me at a bridal shower she hosted for me. I...

Got the official kiss-off today from (yet another) film festival. I was expecting this as I hadn't heard past the "you're in the 2nd round - congrats" email I got a couple weeks ago. The festival is only a month away so my expectations had dwindled. I don't know why this rejection hits me harder. Maybe because their selection process is more transparent; maybe because I would've loved to show my film in LA and see my old friends & stomping grounds; maybe because I'm just getting tired of rejections. Ah well...on to the next, I guess.

I forgot to mention - conveniently August had his 2 year check up today so I didn't have to make a special appointment for his fever/crabbiness (which I probably wouldn't have and then he would've just been really ornery and I wouldn't have known why). His official stats: Height - 32" (4th percentile) Weight - 21lbs, 12.5oz (1st percentile) Lead test came back normal - HOORAY!

August's 2nd Birthday Party was a success! We ended up having it at the hotel my folks were staying at. That worked out great because it was handicapped accessible - both of my in-laws were able to attend - yay! It also worked really nicely because there was so much space. Way more than our house. We just had a simple party in the breakfast area of the hotel. I brought in the food with a little help from my Mom & that was about it. The kids loved having the space to run around & also loved taking a dip in the pool afterwards. They get so wound up when they're all together! Wow.  August got a lot of really cool new toys. He's been having so much fun playing with this new "Wheelie" sets (from Auntie Sam & Grandma Carolyn) and with the mega bloks (from Grandma & Grandpa Rossow). He also got other trucks & vehicles from Auntie Allison & Auntie Kathy. He's in heaven! I'm even stashing a gift of Duplo blocks which I *plan* ...

Oh August. My sweet child. My short tempered child. My child who adores his sister and loves his alone time with Mama when she's away. My boy who could be outside all hours of the day & night. For whom we are currently fencing in the backyard because he is an escape artist awaiting opportunity. My August. Today is your birthday. Two years old? How can this be? How can it feel like you just arrived and yet feel like I've known you forever? How can time bend and contort in such a way. Years of sleep deprivation? Perhaps. Getting to know your unique personality? Yes. Being so in love with you that I literally could consume your very being? Definitely. You're such a big boy these days. Climbing up the playground structures like they're nothing higher than the couch. Which happens to make me a little nervous. I try to stand back and watch. See how you figure things out, accept help (or not) from your big sister, fall, get up, try again. I try to only step i...

I'm up & ready to go this morning to take the Civil Servant test for Duluth. It's for a library job that I applied for back in December (they're timely, eh?). The libraries here in Duluth are open a lot more hours this year which is AWESOME which also means they are hiring a bunch of people. I guess the deluge of applicants for both librarians and library techs was overwhelming. So, now it's April. Anyway - I haven't taken a test in about a million years. I hope I remember what to do & act accordingly. In other news, no more news from the festival which makes me think that we are not getting in. I know they notify the ones that get in before they notify the ones that don't....so the longer the worse off, I guess. Ugh. In other other news - it's August's 2nd birthday today! I hope to have time later to post some cute pics of him recently. He's such a cutie-pie. I could eat him up daily...and I usually do! Okay- better not be late for the...