Worst. Day. Ever.

Suffice it to say, I think the honeymoon might be over. Does embarassment qualify for worker's comp? It should if it doesn't. No need to go into details, it was just a day with a bad program, low blood sugar and annoyances from beginning to end. Tomorrow will be better. It has to. Sorry for the ootey (a great new word I picked up from my co-worker) posting.

Monkey, tell the world how I feel about today. Good boy. 

To live alone

Things I like about living alone:

*I can eat the last piece of Havarti with dill cheese and not feel guilty about it
*I can watch whatever I want on TV
*I can eat ice cream for breakfast and not have to explain myself
*I can experiment wth decorating and furniture arrangement whenever I choose
*Dancing. Enough said.

Things I do not like about living alone:

*Carrying groceries from the car to the apartment by myself
*No one to watch scary movies with
*Sammy and Monkey are not the greatest conversationalists (sp?)
*No one to help with housework
*No one to help with bills

Is he the cutest or what?? 

Best of friends 

Did you see that Sammy? Whoa! 

Bird-cats

In a post from a while ago, I wrote about how Sammy is a cat-pigeon hybrid. Well, I've got another one. Monkey is another hybrid. A cat-parrot hybrid. Believe it or not, everytime I come home from work, the gym, or just to get the mail, Monkey scurries up to the head of my armchair and yowls until I walk toward him at which point he climbs up my shirt and perches, yes perches on my shoulder while I walk around in my routine (setting down my stuff, taking shoes off, feeding the boys, etc.). He's a gorgeous, albeit weird, creature...he fits in nicely. :) Monkey and Sammy are now together 24/7, whether I'm home or not. There's lots of grooming, laying around together and tons and TONS of playing, or should I say rough-housing. This is super cute, until it's time for bedtime at which point I end up throwing something like a sock or a pillow at them just to get them to "take it outside" (or at least out of my bedroom).

On a different note, I participated in my first program at the library. It was called Winter Fest and it was attended by between 35-40 kids ages 6-10. It was a lot of fun, and quite exhausting. We played relay races, made crafts, decorated cookies, drank hot chocolate and had a great time. I have a very, very busy couple of months ahead of me. In fact, I think I'm just going to be busy all the time at my new job...a breath of fresh air compared to where I used to be.

Welcome to the family!

Well, I officially have two cats. My co-worker lovingly calls me "Sally Two-Cat." Monkey has been a wonderful addition to my teeny apartment. He's super loving, super playful, and absolutely gorgeous. I promise to post pictures once I finish a role and put them on CD. Sammy is sometimes a little unsure about what to think of Monkey but he's starting to understand that Monkey is not a threat, as well as the fact that Monkey is not a dog. It's kind of a new concept for him. It'll be interesting to see who becomes the dominant cat in the household. At first I thought it would for sure be Sammy but now I'm questioning that.

Work has been wonderful, if not slightly overwhelming. I'm finding that I have a lot of ideas and thoughts but it's crucial to narrow those down to concrete ideas and thoughts. This is something else my co-workers are very helpful for. They have much more experience than me and are able to reel me down to earth when I fly off into oblivion (which I do moreso than I care to admit).

I also get a bit overwhelmed when I think about how much literature I have yet to even hear about. I spent a lot of time in my youth hating reading (yes, I AM a librarian) so I have a lot of time to make up for. I'm hoping that my knowledge of children's music literature (thanks to MK and her many years as a choir director) will slightly make up for my lack of children's literature in general. I'm sure it'll all even out eventually. We all have to start somewhere, right?

A good story from today: A little girl (probably about 3rd grade) came up to the desk.

Girl: Um...where are your Biscuit books? (Biscuit is a cartoon dog character)
Me: I'll show you! Right over here.
---About 10 minutes pass, girl walks up to desk again.
Girl: Um...I guess I was confused. Where are your Junie B. Jones books? (another popular character)

I don't know if that was as cute and funny to you as it was to me, but I got a real kick out of it.

Me and Lucy

I know everyone's seen this already, but I just had to include it in my blog. It's me and the Gooster. Best ever!!

Long time now blog...again

First thing's first. Pretend it is yesterday (Monday 1/16) for a minute: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCY!!! BEST DAY EVER!!! My neicey turns one today!!! Yay!!

Okay, back to the present. For those of you who actually read this mess (well, I'm sorry for that), and I'm sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I am deep in the throes of children's and young adult librarianship and I LOVE it!!! Sure, I haven't actually started doing all that is my job but I have nevertheless been super busy getting the lay of the land, observing, training, and getting to know my co-workers (who are awesome, by the way). I don't yet have too much to report in terms of how the job is going or any good stories but I will keep everyone posted.

However, I have some exciting news. (GMK, get ready to roll your eyes)...I'm getting another cat! Life in the apartment has been quieter, but actually kind of lonely with just me and the Sammy cat. Sammy is very lovey-dovey and starving for attention but I can tell he's also a little bored. The director of the library I work at has a cat she wants to find a good home for and after seeing a picture and hearing his description, I decided it was time for me and Sammy to have another addition to our furry family. The new cat's name is Monkey and he is drop dead gorgeous. Monkey will be arriving on Saturday and once I get some pictures, I will post them to the blog because you're definitely going to want to see them. Yay for cats!

Now while I know it is for the best for Levi, I miss him terribly. I love that dog so much and while I have no regrets about my decision and I know he's happy, I still miss him everyday.

Well that's all for now.

So long old friend

Well, I am now officially sans dog. I dropped Levi off at his new place of residence yesterday. It has been so sad it's hard to really swallow. However, I take a lot of solace in these facts:

• He has loving, caring, affectionate owners with a great sense of humor
• He has a huge backyard that will give his nose something to do for hours on end
• He has more than one owner and therefore does not rely on just one person to let him out
• He won't have to deal with an exhausted Sassy at the end of her day

And from my end, I get some comfort when I think about this:

• I won't have to deal with the gut-wrenching guilt when I can't come home for lunch
• I will now be able to go out with friends and not constantly worry about how he's doing
• I will no longer have to make sure I'm giving enough attention to both Sammy and Levi (a very difficult feat)
• I won't have to worry about what I'm going to do with him when I visit family and friends who don't live in Florence.
  

Both of us are going to be better off with this situation but it doesn't really take away the sadness. That'll go away soon, I'm sure of it. And my guess is Levi is already adjusting very well to his new surroundings. After all, he no longer has to deal with a temperamental, spotlight-stealing cat. Such weirdos.

And so begins 2006

First off, I have to tell you about one of the first dreams I had of 2006. I dreamt that I had a giant black bear as a house pet. Rather, an apartment pet. Not only was the bear full of energy and wild, he was obsessed with and fixated on pickles. Why pickles? I don't know. Why not?

Well, I have officially finished two days at my brand spankin' new job. It's going to be a complete whirlwind for the first month. They have virtually every hour of everyday of January filled with training, observing, planning, etc. I also have a few programs scheduled that I will be running! One of them is even centered on Dr. Seuss! Best ever! They were also very excited to hear that I am a musician because they have always wanted to utilize music in programing but have not had the opportunity.

I've (already) been so busy with work that I have not had time to come home to take care of Levi during lunch. It makes the decision to give Levi to my friends in WL all the more obvious as the right choice. Okay, that was the most awkward sentence ever written. But you get my drift. It was a good decision and it's going to benefit all parties. Most importantly, Levi. I'm going to miss him but he is going to be so much happier.