And...here we go!
1. Getting away to another state soon.
2. Music to start your day off right.
3. Coffee, tea or a beer.
4. Insomnia in place of sleep.
5. The lights of that incoming train are really bright.
6. Seize happiness.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to movie night with the boys, tomorrow my plans include grad parties, Rock the Plaza, and Cougar Hunter and Sunday, I want to lay around all day, alas I need to keep packing and attend more grad parties!
It's official. In about one hour we are piling into the car and heading to Indy to catch a plane to Orlando. We're going to Disney World!!!!! I have decided to have a computer free vacation. I will not be taking my laptop. I will not be on Facebook. I will not be updating my blog. I will have my phone, but will mostly leave it in the hotel. I want to spend some great time with the boys away from most technology. So I won't be around to respond to any comments on the blog or FB crap. Never fear, I will be back on Sunday. And then I will return to my regularly scheduled posting!
I find myself at a crossroads today. It's been a week of reflection and planning. The main question: Where to go from here? Physically, mentally, education-wise, career-wise, relationship-wise... Let me back up a bit. Last year at this time, I had lost my job as a teacher. (The school closed due to financial difficulties.) I was mourning the loss of my career. I loved teaching, loved the school (even through the problems and difficulties), and I definitely loved my students. Although very difficult, we hobbled along to give the seniors a proper send-off. They graduated and have gone on to the next stage of their lives. My sponsor class wasn't so lucky. They were junior last year and had the difficult task of entering a new school for their senior year. Personally, I was ready for a break from education. I had a plan of moving to Omaha, NE and going to law school. I was ready (or at least thought I was ready) to get out of teaching and try something new. I was excited and sad about my new direction in life.
Fast forward a few months. Come August, complications arose and I ended up staying here in Indiana. There were no teaching jobs available. I tried to find other work, but ended up mostly being unemployed through the school year. My boys entered a new school and thrived. I languished in limbo-land in regard to my hopeful move. All through, I kept track of my former students. Seeing them occasionally. Watching them transition to different schools, and in some cases different activities and interests.
Now. I find myself at a crossroads. I am this close to getting an okay to move this month to Omaha. A proposal is in the works. Not exactly what I wanted, but a livable proposal. The boys, my mother and I are preparing to go to Disney World next week. These things are very exciting. Things are moving forward!
But then I start to look back... I am trying to write graduation cards for my students. They've graduated, made it through their senior year. And I am sad! I am very proud of all of them for making it through and succeeding. But I am sad that we lost our senior year. We had such plans for their senior year. Parties, fundraising, senior trip, graduation. We had no idea that the year would be taken away. And so I am writing these cards and I don't really know what to say. How do I convey all these emotions in a little card? How do I tell them how proud I am, but how sad I am that we couldn't experience it all together? Part of the problems is that I don't know what to say about myself. I realized this year that I really do want to go back into teaching. I loved being a teacher, having a group of students that I could watch grow. I loved those feelings of accomplishment at the end of the year. But I also want to go to law school. I want to further my education. Be a student again myself.
So Where to go from here? Such a big question. One that I can't answer today, but hopefully can make some progress soon.
I like routines. I liked knowing the basic schedule of my day when I wake up. I like having a general idea of the week to come. I'm not one oto plan out every day all day, but I do like routines. Have you ever had one of those weeks where everything gets so jumbled up? Yeah, that's my week... and I don't like it. It's thrown off my whole week. This is the last full week of school (they have to go back for Monday) for the boys. We were already going to be pretty busy and then everything went crazy.
Monday: The entire second grade went on their year end field trip to the zoo. I went along as a chaperone. Why do I do these things? I enjoy being the parent volunteer. I like spending time with the boys. I don't like all the whining, complaining, and sticky heat. I was in charge of three 8-year-old boys. Not my ideal situation, but whatever I could do it. So we began our zoo trip. It started out nice and cool and then the temperature skyrocketed. It ended up being int he 90s. And you know what that means... whiny, hot, sticky 8-year-olds and a lost patience parent chaperone. We got home and I immediately took a shower and changed clothes. Blech! While it was still not unbearably hot, we did have a lot of fun.
So that meant that Monday I didn't get any blogging, packing, writing, or other errands done. I had high hopes for Tuesday. No volunteering time, no specific appointments. I was going to go to the coffee house and blog.
Tuesday: I woke up to a kid with a fever. Great! There goes my day. So I took the other one to school and can back to cajole the sick one into taking some medicine. He was really upset that he couldn't play Wii all day. It's in the four season room where I think the temperature got above 100 degrees. So he spent most of the day curled up in the chair playing the iPad.
I got a lot done, but kept getting distracted by the sick kid. So my work seems very disjointed at best. I was due to start working on my Quote Wednesday post or at least picking it. And I didn't get around to it. I did catch up on my Hulu queque and finished my Disney notes. But i really should have been writing grad cards and blog posts.
Today: Another sick day for the boy. We finally got a prescription called in for antibiotics, but the pick-up had it's own obstacles. By the time I got back home, his fever had broke, but he was still coughing. Another day at the house. Another day trying to finished my weekly tasks, but not doing so great. I still have a long list to do.
Tomorrow?: Hopefully the kid will be good enough to go to school. The 2nd grade is having their hot dog cookout for lunch and I volunteered to help. I can't if the boy is still too sick for school. And the other one will be upset that I didn't come see him. Argh! Hopefully I can at least get half of the grad cards done and some Disney packing done.
Wish me luck! And Hopefully I can get back to my normal routine, cause next week is Disney vacation. Definitely won't be normal, but hopefully lots of fun.
Last Thursday I posted a Quote from one of my favorite books: "This must be Thursday," said Arthur to himself, sinking low over his beer. "I never could get the hang of Thursdays." For those of you who knew and didn't comment: Shame on You! Anyway, it's from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. And today is Towel Day! Happy Towel Day! I really wish I would have remembered that this morning. Then maybe I would have been able to cover myself while running to my car in the torrential shit storm that was this morning. A huge storm system stretching through three states entering my area today! And we have a Tornado watch until 7pm. It's 11am right now. That's an 8 hour watch! Craziness. Anyway, here's a bit of the Hitchhiker's Guide to brighten your and my day! Douglas Adams explaining the importance of a towel!
For your enjoyment, the trailer for the movie!
I was having a hard time coming up with 10 Favorite Minor Characters, so I'm doing another me Top Ten. This week: My Top Ten Places to See Before I Die. I hope to do a "Dream Vacation" post for each of these, but getting some great pictures and finding some great places of interest may take a while. So here's a little list to spark my imagination. In no particular order: 1. Greece -- The History, the Culture, the Food, the Mystery, the Alcohol. How could I not got to Greece and see the cradle of our Western Civilization? I want to see Athens, but also the small villages and islands off the mainland. This would be a great honeymoon!
2. Grand Canyon -- I feel like I must see this natural wonder. I know it's a huge hole in the ground, but the scale is so massive, I just can't truly picture it in my mind.
3. Italy -- I want the wine and the sun and the food.
4. Alexandria, Egypt -- The shining city of ancient times. I would love to see where the Nile empties into the Mediterranean, where Alexander the Great planned the jewel of his empire, where the lighthouse and library once stood.
5. Ireland -- Those green rolling hills call to me and I'm not even Irish!
6. Barcelona, Spain -- Ever since taking Spanish in high school, I've wanted to visit this coastal city known for its food. Plus it would be fun to actually try out my Spanish.
7. Austrailia (probably Sydney) -- The Land Down Under just seems like a great place to visit.
8. Turkey -- The mix of Western and Eastern culture intrigues me. Plus great food and music!
9. Morocco -- Another interesting mix of African and Muslim cultures creating a whole new city.
10. San Francisco, California -- Yeah, Yeah I've already been here, but I would love to go again. I absolutely adored the city when I vacationed there a couple of years ago. I would love to revisit all my favorite spots and hit some of those places that I missed.
Where do you want to go?
I absolutely love xkcd. It publishes Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Some days the science behind the posts really does go over my head. Other days, it's just right. Like Monday's post. I found something so true and pointed in this post. All of you feminist/scientist/historians/etc out there... Enjoy! And check out the website for back comics, products, and general geeky fun! xkcd
Okay this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic was Mean Girls in Books. I really tried. I tried to go through the books in my library, my list favorites, my lists of classics, and I could not find enough mean girls to fill up a list. So today, I thought I would do my own Top Ten Tuesday. Today's topic: ME! Random facts about me.
1. I have a slight OCD when it comes to list-making. My mother thinks I'm crazy. My friends probably think I'm crazy. Others just deal with it. Making lists makes me feel better. It actually calms me down.
2. I currently have 8749 songs in my iTunes. That doesn't include the various cds that I haven't imported to my computer. I used to think that was a lot, but then I got a look at J's iTunes. Crazy!
3. I have another blog, New Athenian Academy, focusing on education issues. But I haven't posted there since February. I really want to get back to it, but am so not motivated.
4. As a child, I had a dog named Milkdud. Yep, that's right, like the candy. And I absolutely hate Milkduds!
5. I'm scared of getting Alzheimer's and/or Parkinson's. They both run in the family.
6. The twins are named Nicholas and Alexander. Yes the twins from Full House, but I swear I didn't do that on purpose. I wanted good strong, easy to pronounce and spell names. Alexander's name was changed at the last minjute from Daniel. I like Alexander better.
7. I have a slight scrapbooking addiction, but I haven't scrapped since probably November. I still love looking at the scrapbooking supplies. I really need to unsubscribe from the Archiver's e-newsletter. It's too much of a temptation.
8. In June, the boys, my mother, and I are going to DisneyWorld. I think I'm more excited than the boys. I haven't been there since I was ~10. I really, really, really want to go!
9. I am a groupie for a specific local cover band. But don't worry, I would never take any of them home. That would just be weird and wrong.
10. I am currently obsessed with watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Yeah I know pathetic, but I can't stop.
It's official, I'm in a funk. A reading funk that is. After averaging 15 books a month, I've hit a dry patch. I've read 10 books so far in April. Seems like a lot, right? Taking a closer look, many of those books were under 200 pages. I read a few graphic novels (or are they trade paperbacks? see J, I did listen). I haven't delved into many longer novels this month. I feel a bit off kilter. I've been reading the same book for over 5 days. 5 days! My usual for a ~400 page book is 3-2 days. It's not that the current book isn't interesting. I love it. A book of short stories centered on zombies and romance. Perfect fit for me. Yet, I can't finish it. I don't want to give up, but something needs to change. I have declared this weekend A READING WEEKEND! I want to focus on my reading. Knock some books off my TBR piles (yes I said piles). I've organized the ~60 library books into piles according to due date. I want to start with those that I've had for weeks and will probably need to return soon. I've always weeded out the contemporary romance from the piles. I'm really sick of this genre right now. I want to focus on historical fiction, science fiction, and paranormal books.
And lucky me, I've found a group that doing a read-a-thon this weekend... Kristen over at Bookworming in the 21st Century is hosting The Catching Up Readathon
Do you go on Goodreads? Are you doing the Reading Challenge? Does it say you're behind? Astronomically behind? Well, it does for me. 28 books behind! I need a kick in the butt. With the long weekend coming up (thanks to a certain Christian holiday), I figured now is as good as any to try and get caught up.
And why not share the readathon love?
And to make it fun... you can win a prize from my book stack of giveaways (which I will post later). One random participant will win a prize. Woot! :)
So details, details.
When: Thursday, April 21st through the end of Monday, April 25th. Any time zone, start when you want, read when you want. Where: Here, on your blog, on your couch, on Goodreads.. wherever! What: Read books - duh! If you'd like to make a goal, go ahead.
My goal... is to cut that number in half, not have more than 14 books behind after the readathon. So that could mean 14 books or even more.
My goals this weekend:
After months upon months of waiting in limbo, a resolution seems to be on the horizon. It looks like a decision might be made and I can move on. Unfortunately, the resolution brings up its own set of questions. Questions that I am having trouble answering. Questions that will affect more than just me. Questions that could change the future for the worse or be a good situation. I really can't tell right now. But I do know that a resolution is just want I need right now. In honor of the past week's events, I give you Jack's Mannequin:
Side note: J and I bought a dining room table and a reading chair. I love shopping! And they are so cute. They'll be here for when I finally get move out Omaha.
The past few days have been crazy. And when I say crazy, I mean crazy! I've caught up with some friends, had a few good dinners, cleaned and reorganized the boys' room, had a big meeting today, and gotten ready to fly to Omaha tomorrow. All in all, I am exhausted. And my blog has suffered for it. I've actually read two books since my last review post, but haven't gotten around to reviewing the finished. I promised myself I would stay on top of it, but time just got away from me. The only reason Music Monday posted was because I finished it last Friday and scheduled it to post. Working ahead, but not enough.
I want to get back on the blogging wagon tomorrow. I am going to try and get the reviews done and posted and get my usual Quote Wednesday up. Of course, I will be trying to do this while traveling to Omaha and then spending some quality time with J. We'll see how it goes.
So, Hello my blog! I have neglected you for a few days. I promise to be a better blogger this week.
The boys' 8th birthday was last week, but we had their birthday festivities this week. And boy was it a crazy time. They each got to invite a few friends to Crazy Pinz for the ball pit, arcade games, pizza, and cupcakes. I think it went really well. We had 7 friends come to the party (3 no shows). Miss B and Mr. D showed up for some extra fun and supervision (hee hee, bet they didn't think they'd be entertaining kids if they came). I had a nice time talking to C in between activities. (Glad to hear she's feeling sorta better. Now to get completely better!) We didn't have any nose bleeds, cuts, fights, arguments, etc. Everyone seemed to have a great time. To end our party time, the boys got to ride the bumper cars for the first time. You have to be 8 to ride, so this was their special treat. They had fun slamming into each other and T.
Later that night, we had the family dinner. Of course, the boys cleaned up again in the toy department. And they got an amazing cake, made by Uncle Cory!
Today, we went shopping to use all our gift cards. We had a bit from Target and a lot from Toys R Us. Here's the boys with their loot. I think they chose wisely!
Earlier this week, I was sitting at the coffeehouse (where I live) and we started complaining about our coffeehouse pet peeves. So I thought I would do a Top Ten Coffeehouse Pet Peeves. (Had the inspiration from this week's Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Pet Peeves).
1. Blenders: My local has two blenders that are used for blended drinks and smoothies. That in it self, isn't a huge issue. I don't mind people ordering smoothies and blended drinks. I do have an issue with the volumes. These two blenders are blenders on steroids. They are so loud; I've never heard a blender this loud. And then they blend for what seems like forever... It goes on and on and on. God forbid it's a sunny 50 degree or more day. The smoothies and blenders come with every other customer. Sometimes they sound like a dentist's drill. Argh! Can't stand them.
2. Loud Ringtones: Why do people need to have their cell phones up to the highest level? Can you not hear? (If you are hard of hearing, I'm sorry, but I'm betting that 90% of people in the coffeehouse don't have hearing issues.) And then there are those people that don't answer their phones on the first one or two rings. They let it ring and ring and ring. Answer your phone! Very annoying. And the weirder the ringtone, the more annoying it is.
3. Taking Up Multiple Spots: At the back of the coffehouse is two couches and a side chair in a half circle. The other day two guys were sitting back there. Instead of taking up one couch or the chair and one spot of a couch, they were each sprawling on a couch. In reality, only the side chair is then open for someone to sit. And people kept walking back to see if the comfies were open only to find that the two guys were taking up the whole area. (And they were loud talkers!)
4. Loud Cell Phone Talkers: People have a normal speaking volume. We are loud enough to hear each other within a few feet, but not loud enough to hear across 20 feet. And then there are those people who answer the cell phone and their voices increase three old. I would hope that you have a decent cell phone that allows you to hear who you're talking to. If not, please get a new one. But I know that I don't have to yell into my cell phone for the person on the other end to hear me.
5. Wild Music Shifts: Most coffeehouses play some sort of music. That's fine. I like music. However, I don't like huge shifts in music genres. The other day we went from classic rock to classical to 90s r&b to singer songwriter. I was having music whiplash. Please pick a genre and stick with it for the day. The genre can change from day-to-day, but please not within the day.
6. Volume Up on Computers: Please don't have your volume up on your computers. I don't want to hear your music or the television show you're watching. That's why we invented headphones. Use them.
7. Wireless Access: Consistent wireless access would be nice. Alas not many places I've been have stable wireless. Very annoying to be in the middle of something and the internet crashes.
8. Slurping: Please use your manners and don't slurp the drinks. 'Nough said.
9. Not Enough Electrical Plugs: If you're offering wireless access, please have electrical plugs or at least power strips every few feet. Access is the key. Thankfully my coffeehouse has fixed the issue as of late.
10. Slamming Toilet Seats: The restrooms are the back of coffeehouse. And for what ever reason, the people at this coffeehouse always slam the toilet seats. You can hear it from the front of the shop. Annoying!
What are your coffeehouse pet peeves?
Thought I would join the stupid fun and tell everyone a little bit about myself. Take what you want from answer, but please do not psychoanalysis. That Freud was a crackpot!
1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed of course. I still have an issue with the dark.
2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? They become my travel sizes. I love them!
3. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Tucked in at the bottom. They usually come out about a day after I tuck them in, so then I just get all tangled in the sheets.
4. Would you rather be attacked by a bear or a swarm of bees? I vote bees... I've had tattoos, so it would just be like that but a whole lot, right?
5. Do you have freckles? Nope 6. What is your biggest pet peeve? Being interrupted while talking. Please wait for a me to finish the sentence, then you can interject. Interrupting tells me that you weren't actually listening to me.
7. Have you ever peed in the woods? Unfortunately, yes. Hopefully, never again.
8. Do you ever dance if there’s no music playing? Sometimes to amuse the boys.
9. Do you chew your pens and pencils? Only if I'm really stressed out.
10. Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Sure, why not?
11. What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Honey mustard or the old standard, ketchup.
12. What is your favorite food? Chocolate chip
13. What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Ever After!!!! And Love Actually, any Harry Potter, Indiana Jones (except the last one), Shaun of the Dead
14. Were you ever a boy/girl scout? Hell no. Me playing in the woods, never happen.
15. Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? No... nobody needs to see that.
16. Can you change the oil on a car? Nope. But I've never tried or learned, so I could probably do it with a little help.
17. Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Never. In all my years of going 10 over, I've never been pulled over for speeding. (not having my lights on is another issue altogether)
18. Ever ran out of gas? Once, as I was pulling into the parking lot for work. Someone got an earful after that incident (it wasn't my car)
19. Are you lazy? Sometimes
20. When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? Usually a witch, but I was also a princess one year and probably a few other silly things.
21. How many languages can you speak? English, duh. And a bit of Spanish. I'm passable but tend to remember only the present tense of verbs.
22. Who is better…Leno or Letterman? I'm going to go with Letterman only because he and I went to Ball State University.
23. Do you sing in the car? All the time. Even when the boys laugh at me. Extra loud when no one else is in the car.
24. Ever eat a pierogi? Yeppers. They're good if made right.
25. First concert? Amy Grant -- hey I was 12 and it was the mid 90s. Very appropriate for then!
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this question. What makes a family? Is it just blood? Do we include friends? What about all those step and half relations? Where do we draw the line? What's our criteria for claiming family? We we look at blood, I have a pretty small family. But then start adding all the half and step and suddenly my family tree looks more like a family bush. But do I really claim all those people? There are definitely branches in there that I don't really keep in touch with. There are branches that I wish I didn't keep in touch with. And there are others that I love and see often.
But it's not just about who's related to me. There's all those friends. Some of who I would claim over many of my blood relatives. Many of those friends are the ones that have been there for me. Often they are the ones I turn to when everything gets too much. They are here, not out of family loyalty, but because they want to be here. It's a choice. In many ways, that's more important to me. I think the families of the 21st century are going to be by choice, not necessarily by blood.
My immediate family (the boys and myself) has been going through a lot lately. We are living in a place of limbo. We don't know what the future holds. But I do know that I'm grateful that I have them.
Saturday was my birthday! I'm officially 29! Not yet 30, my palm's not flashing yet, but getting up there. For my birthday I had a great Friday night out with friends and a mini trip with mom. On Thursday, mom and I went up to Four Winds and Blue Chip for a two day mini trip. Me being not so interested in gambling, mostly people watched and relaxed. The hotel room was gorgeous with an awesome bathroom and shower! Plus, we had a great view of the nuclear reactor across the town. I swear it was right there out of the window.
Friday night, I met some friends out at J.K. O'Donnel's for a beer and desert. Mmmmhhh Double cream stout beer and triple layer chocolate stout cake! Great food and some great friends. And then we moved on to Wrigley Field for my dose of Cougar Hunter 80s spandex craziness. The guys in the band knew it was my birthday, but thankfully I didn't get embarrassed. I got a bit extra attention, but nothing I couldn't handle. Just the usual craziness stuff! Great food, great music, and some awesome friends!
This week's been generally crappy. I started feeling sick on Monday: sore throat and headache. I thought was getting strep throat. It's been a few years since I've had it, but I think I was due. Tuesday was a snow day so the boys and I spent it being lazy. By the end of the day, cabin fever had set in. Wednesday we had a 2 hour delay and I was definitely getting worse. I was determined to get out of the house, so I took the opportunity to run some errands. Thursday, another 2 hour delay, and the sore throat had changed into a horrible head stuffiness and cough. Friday, I woke up and could hardly get out of bed. Thanks goodness it was another snow day. I stayed in bed all day, sleeping, coughing, blowing my nose. It was general ickiness. Saturday was just more of the same. It's Sunday now and I'm not feeling much better. At least I can get out of bed today. I made it downstairs, but just barely. Highlight: Thursday night everyone was frustrated. I was sick, the boys weren't getting their spelling words. Everything was a mess. As I was putting the boys to bed, the sweetest thing came out of A's mouth. He looked at me and said, "Mommy, if we have a snow day tomorrow, I'll fill up your glass with ice water so you can be comfortable." Thanks A! That made my week seem just a bit brighter.
Okay not a complete death, but they have declared bankruptcy and are closing stores across the country. The announcement came last week. I read about the rumors online two weeks ago. I got an email from the CEO the day after the announcement. I've read a lot of posts from other book bloggers in the last week. But I haven't really decided what I think about this until now. Today I found an interesting article on TechCrunch that expressed a lot of my own ideas about this situation.
Books without Borders: A Victory for Amazon, But Also for Independent Book Stores by Paul Carr
Explaining the global fall of Borders – their UK arm collapsed last year – isn’t quite as simple as blaming Amazon and the rise of ebooks. But it mostly is. The company took a big gamble a decade or so ago in focusing on the notion of bricks-and-mortar book shopping as an “experience”. Stores were built with coffee shops and comfy chairs and warm little nooks in which people could hang out all day and read all the book and magazines they wanted. Unfortunately, after finishing their coffee and their free reading time, many of those people subsequently went home and took advantage of Amazon’s significant discounts to actually buy books. Only those few customers who demanded instant gratification needed to actually pay full price in store.
I admit, I am one of those people...
So, with Borders gone, Barnes and Noble struggling and independent stores still closing in their dozens, is this the beginning of the end for real world bookstores? Actually, I think probably not. In fact I suspect the death of Borders might actually cause something no-one in the book trade ever thought they’d see: a resurgence in independent book stores.
For a while, Borders – and the bigger (and for now more solvent) Barnes and Noble – represented a kind of mushy middle for bookselling. On one end of the spectrum sits Amazon – colossal of inventory, quick of delivery, soulless of personality. If you know exactly what book you want, Amazon is the place to buy it.
At the other end of the spectrum sit the independents – mom and pop stores and dusty used bookshops, staffed by knowledgeable bookworms eager to recommend something quirky (and possibly second hand) that they themselves have read, and think you might like. Borders plunked itself awkwardly in the middle, trying to out-stock the former (and failing) and to out-personality the latter (and failing). Even if Borders couldn’t replace the independent bookstore experience, the existence of a giant competitor in the their midst certainly hit mom and pop’s bottom line. No-one did well from the fight except for Amazon.
Now, with Borders out of the way, leaving absolutely no major chain book store in some markets (including San Francisco, which had three Borders but no Barnes and Noble), the independents have a real opportunity to push back.
Interesting option, let's see what happens in the coming months.
...
Before the announcement: I shopped everywhere. I frequented Borders and Barnes and Noble for their selection. No one can be beat for browsing, getting ideas, and for the occasional awesome sale. I frequented the chain used book store, Half Price Books, for selection (smaller than big boxes, but still pretty wide) and awesome clearance selection. I frequented the local independent used book stores, Hyde Brothers and Village Books, for fun browsing and occasional awesome find. And I frequented Amazon.com for the must-have new (or slightly used) books at a great price. I shopped everywhere. While I want to support the local stores, that cannot compete with the big boxes and online stores in terms of price and selection. But I tried to visit them on occasion. And I often found some great things while there.
After the announcement: My local Borders is not on the list of those closing. We are the only Borders store within a 2 hour radius. We currently have a Borders store and two Barnes and Noble stores. So what does all this to me? Will my shopping habits change? Probably not. I will still frequent Borders just as much as I did before. I will frequent all the other places just as much as I did before. The other thing I know I won't be doing.... buying the $20 Borders rewards card. Who knows what will happen in the next few months. I don't want to be caught holding someone I cannot use.
So sorry about the bankruptcy Borders, but times change, and I guess you couldn't keep up.
The last couple of days have seen a few changes with my blog... I've decided to make a few blogging resolutions (Yes, I know, late, but I've never believed in New Year's Resolutions anyway. So blog resolutions in February aren't weird or late to me).
Over the next week, I'm really going to focus on these resolutions. I'll probably add an update entry soon. Wish me luck!
The last few months have been tough challenging usual excruciating. I don't want to go into specifics, but let's just say it's getting harder and harder every day to put on a happy smile and face the challenges. I've gained weight, lost sleep (insomnia is a great friend of mine), skin has broken out, and hair has fallen out. Stress has definitely taken a toll on my body. I have almost weekly migraines and more often tension headaches.
Lately I've had many conflicting plans. What's the right choice? If I chose Option A, I have x consequences. If I chose Option B, I have a whole other set of x consequences. How do I weigh all the interests, consequences, and potentials outcomes (good and bad)? All the advice I've received conflicts. Some tell me Option A, some OptionB, and some other undetermined option. I really don't know... All I know is that right now I am stuck between a rock and a hard place. And neither one are moving anytime soon.
On a slighty happy side note, last night I received a package from Amazon. My first thought: am I buying things on Amazon and don't remember? Nope, I haven't been shopping in my sleep. J sent me an early Valentine's Day present (at least I'm assuming, but considering he isn't all that supportive of V-Day, don't know and don't care). It was exactly what I needed last night: chocolate. Dark chocolate. Dark chocolate with mint. Dark chocolate with caramel. Dark chocolate with raspberries. Heaven in a heart shaped tin!