Zombies. Hot, As Usual

This post is sort of a book review, but not really. Because I am no good at trying to review anything in any meaningful way. Still, this book deserves a mention. Here...see for yourself:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: the classic Regency romance -- now with ultraviolent zombie mayhem By Seth Grahame-Smith

If you saw this book on a shelf wouldn't you have to have it? I sure did. From the second I saw we'd ordered it, I was just waiting to get my hands on it. I got it, I took it home, I eagerly began...then my enthusiasm waned. Okay...I understood that it would parody Austen and that Regency sort of writing. But I thought there would be more ultraviolent zombie mayhem! I think the whole Austen parody would have been amusing for..oh, the length of a witty essay in a literary magazine. But it just went on and on and I got bored to tell you the truth. Mentions of the changes round town and in what was expected of proper young ladies now that zombies had appeared were funny. But there just wasn't enough of that going on. Honestly, I decided not to even finish the book. I know Pride and Prejudice ends and I could see how this was going to be going along for a couple hundred pages and I just thought, "What's the point?" And I rarely quit a book. I was just that filled with ennui.

If you like zombies, and come on, who doesn't, let me recommend a couple of other books that you might want to try. They are much sillier and contain much more zombie goodness in every bite. I mean page. Please try...

The Stupidest Angel: a heartwarming tale of Christmas terror By Christopher Moore

Breathers: a zombie's lament By S.G. Browne

I give these ones two snaps and a twist! All you zombies show your faces. Do you have a favorite zombie book? How about some other favorite book? Do tell. Happy Reading!

Pictures of Independence

Today you are going to get a photo post, as it is a crazy Monday and my horrible co-worker, The Drifter, has called in "sick". Even if she really is sick, and not "sick", I am beyond caring. She is such a pain in my arse.

But here. Here is some fun stuff from this weekend :-)

Here is sweet little Love Bug at her Grandpa WTG's house for the family barbeque. She looks at bit barbequed herself, as she got a bit too much sun earlier in the day. Isn't she cute though?

Here is the baby, Little Prince, watching the fireworks from the back of his parent's car. Seems he's a bit toasted too...but wide-eyed and ready for the action.

Miss Personality put on a little show for everyone with a continuous supply of sparklers. The big boys set off some bigger fireworks in the street. It turned out to be lots of fun.

I had been sort of semi-dreading the 4th of July. It is one of those holidays I can really just leave given the chance. But Handsome Lad and the babies all count on something going on. So, we had swimming at my place in the afternoon, then WTG hosted dinner and fireworks, which was nice of him. Much as it kills me to say it. haha! No, not really, it was good and then it was over and now I am here going a little nuts. Tomorrow will be a better day! I predict!

This Musical Message is For Mr. Fahrenheit

But It Wasn't Geraldo's Fault!

This week's Saturday Scavenger Hunt falls on a celebrate-y sort of Saturday. Happy Independence Day, fellow U.S.ers. And a very Happy Saturday to others from elsewhere :-) This week's word, VAULT, comes to us courtesy of the twisty mind of NoRegrets. VAULT is a great word, with a few possible interpretations. When my oldest son ran track, I knew some pole VAULTers. Would the arch of the gate to my apartment count as a VAULT? Maybe. Overwhelmingly my thoughts returned to the kind of VAULT where you lock things away. Sometimes when you open it...nothing is there after all!

In the end, I laughed and went with Seinfeld, because I am very classy and sophisticated like that. You know...you can tell someone a secret and make them swear to put it in the VAULT, never to be shared. All well and good, but if you are like Elaine and most of the rest of us, there is always a key that will unlock the VAULT, revealing what should not be revealed. Watch "The Betrayal" if you need a reminder...great episode. Anyway, in Elaine's case the key to her VAULT is Schnapps...peach, I think. For me, yeah, I am so lightweight, any liquor would probably do the trick.

Here are some fuzzy shelves of alkyhol taken at the grocery store. Looks like I was already drunk, but no. Sadly, I don't have that excuse behind me. My point is though, that many people's VAULTs will be opened with a little liquid persuasion.

Hey, FYI, I could probably be persuaded to open the VAULT by simpler bribery involving something sweet from the depths of my frozen foods VAULT. It's true. I'm easy. Now you know.

Alright...that's all I gots. Don't blow off any body parts with your crazy firework laden celebrations today! In fact, it is a good day to put anything you don't want blown up into the VAULT for safe keeping. Check out all the VAULTS you can find here in the blogosphere...and be sure to find out from NoRegrets who she is going to tag for next week. Ka-Boom!

Friday 5 - Fireworks

I hadn't done a Friday 5 in quite awhile, so I thought I'd give it a go. Please to play along with me and answer in your blog or in my comments. Or not. But it's the cool thing to do. And if you do it, you'll be cool too. Peer pressure! Raaahhhh!

1. How do you feel about fireworks displays? I feel pretty good about them. I mean, they are fun to watch...sometimes I'd even say the effects amaze and delight me. I'm also pretty glad they only come along once in a while, keeping them special.

2. What were the details surrounding one of your mishaps with fire? This was my mishap by proxy. When my two oldest boys were 6 and 7, they were playing in the backyard with one of their friends. I was inside with the two younger kids. All of a sudden all three of the little boys came in for big cups of water...moving fast, claiming great thirst. We had one of those water cooler dispenser type things at the time. Anyway, I was immediately suspicious, because if they wanted something to drink, I promise it wouldn't have been nice big refreshing cups of water. I followed them and saw that they had set the dry grass in back on fire. It was actually spreading pretty quickly. Luckily, I got the hose attached and doused the flames, shaking and screeching at them the whole time. It was scary. Turned out their little friend, whose parents and two older brother smoked, had brought over a lighter. When I took him home, I told his dad what had happened. Not blaming his son, just telling him because I'd want to know if my kid was nearly burned to a crisp. I think the parents might have blamed me, because I don't remember him coming over to play again. Um, and that was a pretty long answer! Sorry 'bout that there...

3. Who in your life could be described as a real firecracker? My granddaughter Miss Personality is just that. You look at her and go, "That girl is a firecracker!" And you mean it.

4. When did you last feel you were being put on display? I put myself on display two or three times a week when I do my storytimes. I'm a regular dancing, singing bear. And small children are a lovely audience if you must be on display.

5. How confident are you in your barbecue skills? Not all that confident, I'd say. I can do it, but I feel I am lacking in mad barbecuing skillz. It's an art and I just don't quite have the flair. Maybe someday. With practice.

Well...Have a great weekend everyone. Seems for most of you it already started. Us'ns here had to work! Sky rockets in flight...ka-phew! Afternoon...uh, nevermind. How very Arrested Development of me. Going now. See ya. Byeeeeee

The Jungle Test

You Are Imaginative

You are a creative, innovative person. You're not afraid of great risks. Right now, you are seeking peace and tranquility in your life. You are drawn to people who are passionate and deep. You feel like there is nothing in your life that needs to be changed. You take time before you react. You allow yourself to explore your options.

The Jungle Test

Oh, Blogthings. How I adore you. Go ahead...give in to the Blogthings...let it tell you who you really are. Um. I can't help it. I like it. Just so you know, I'm really into fortune cookies too.

It's Enough, But Less Than I Imagined

Choose and Defend Wednesday has rolled around once again! I'm always happy about that :-) Let's celebrate, shall we? Even if you are not here in the U.S., feel free to celebrate with us. Saturday is Independence Day...our 233rd. For me it is one of those holidays I'm never quite sure what to do with. Something is expected of me, but I always struggle a bit with just what it is. You are supposed to maybe have a cook-out or a picnic...maybe at the park or the beach. Then, as it grows dark, you better have access to some sort of explosive. This is where my question for you comes in. Your Choose and Defend. How do your prefer to enjoy your fireworks?

At a Show

OR

At Home

Maybe you combine the two. Maybe you boycott the whole shebang. But if you HAD to Choose...and you know you do...which would you Choose? Now, be sure to Defend your choice. Make us feel the power of your convictions. You can do this. Go team! Choose and Defend!

My Life is Fun

I mentioned yesterday that I wanted to do a little post today about things that make life outside of work fun. It has been a very, very busy day (at work) so I am only just getting to it now! Anyway...there are the sort of universal things that I think we all take pleasure in...our family, friends, music, good food...there are so many things we all share in and they are always worth celebrating. For this post, I thought I'd just toss in the one thing in particular that has made me feel the fun that is my life most recently.

Feeling Connected



There was a long period in my life where it was hard for me to feel connected to much of anything outside of my immediate sphere. Lately though, I feel myself opening up and feeling like part of the wider world. This is not a very clear thought, and I apologize for that. The result is clear, in any case. I am happier than I have been for many, many years.

A bonus aspect of this feeling of being connected is that it helps me not to worry about the "all alone" aspects of my life. I'm single. My kids are growing up and don't need me in the same ways...I mean, I'm not an empty nester, but things have changed so much since the days when I was herding five kids around with me everywhere. Anyway, sometimes, yes, I feel alone. But because of my connection to the world at large I am able to take a deep breath and realize that I am no more alone than most people. And we are all in it together. Again, I know I'm not explaining myself well. But I hope what I am saying is making some sense.

My life is fun. Note to self: Your life is fun :-)

The Libeary is Fun

I just wanted to do this little post for when I am feeling less than good about my job. Note to self: Do not complain about your job. Your job is fun. Here are a couple of reasons why it is fun:

A Saturday at Work

Buster Balloon came to perform for us. Here he is with one of his creations...the balloon, not the kid. The kid is the creation of our Circulation Supervisor and his wife...

It is fun to see people come out for the shows excited and happy. We pretty much filled the auditorium for two shows. Very cool.


After the show, the people come into the Children's Room looking for their Summer Reading Program rewards and seeking their perfect next book. It feels good to help them.

A Monday at Work

It was our company picnic. We all got In-N-Out for lunch. They were actually making the burgers to order off the truck, which was nice...but also meant that I didn't have time to order, and wait, and eat my food at the park. I had to eat at my desk after I rushed back because I was scheduled to be on the public desk. That is okay though. Free burgers are good burgers. This was our last big event for this fiscal year. Given the way things are going, I'm sure this event is off the table for next year. But it was fun while it lasted :-)

Thanks for joining me in a celebration of work...can you believe such a thing even exists? Tomorrow, I believe I will talk about things that make non-work life fun. Let's all remember to seek out and appreciate the fun, shall we? Yesssss :-)

This Musical Message is For Dancing (Yes, 80s Style)

My Idle Ways Are the Talk of the Town

Welcome to another Saturday. Since today is Saturday, we get to show off our mad Saturday Scavenger Hunt skills! This week's word, FUNCTION, comes to us from new participant 3GirlKnight. I wasn't sure where I was going to go with this but then I started thinking about...things. Things and their FUNCTIONs. And, since I am entirely self-centered, I thought of my things and how they FUNCTION for me! Here are some things that FUNCTION well for me, helping to make me a happier person. It turned into kind of an homage to appliances or electronics or something. Unfortunatly, my favorite could not be pictured here. Keeps me happy, but you know...it's personal. Ahem...moving on...

You will recognize this as a computer. It is mine and it's FUNCTION is to connect me to the outside world. Sometimes, I feel a bit addicted, but I assure you that my children make sure that doesn't happen :-)


Here is my television. In addition, I was able to honor Netflix here...see? That is a DVD of Six Feet Under on the screen. I think you can see me as a ghost in the background. But I'm getting off track here. Shocking. Um, the FUNCTION of my television (and Directv and Netflix) is to keep me entertained when I just can't read anymore. Yes, it happens.


No post about appliances / electronics FUNCTIONing to keep me happy would be complete without mentioning my Mr. Coffee. I have the most basic one, but he FUNCTIONs like a champ, brewing my coffee whenever I need it. He's always there for me. *sigh*

Now, now, save your judgement! I know my relationship with my things may be a FUNCTION of my somewhat loner-ish life! I see it, I admit it. Still, something on earth should have as it's main FUNCTION making my life a little better. I deserve this, don't I? Sure I do. We all do. Run along now. Just please...don't ask me what my major malFUNCTION is. I couldn't begin to answer.

Read around...see how everyone else is FUNCTIONing today...and don't forget to check with 3GirlKnight to see who he is tagging for next week!

The Final Word (Almost)

Whenever I get too carried away waxing nostalgic about the 80s, I just think of this:
...and it all goes away. Fast. Makes me happy to be living in the naughty aughties! Someday we'll look back on this fondly too...right?

Almost Completely and Utterly Random

Oh, I confess. AlienCG has me all caught up in reliving the 80s. Yeah, I'm into it. So, yesterday sitting at the desk here at the library, I put the term "80s" into the iBistro catalog search and this is what came up:

1. Billboard top rock 'n' roll hits of the 80's
2. The elfish gene : dungeons, dragons and growing up strange
Barrowcliffe, Mark
3. Bono : rock star activist
Trachtenberg, Martha P
4. Vintage t-shirts : more than 500 authentic tees from the '70s and '80s
Kidner, Lisa
5. Billboard #1s. The '80s [sound recording]
6. 20th century pop culture : the 80s
Epstein, Dan
7. Retro '80s : authentic transcriptions with notes and tablature
8. The best of 80's rock
9. Corporate welfare: the megabankruptcies of the 80s and 90s
Kallen, Laurence H
10. 80s style, designs of the decade
Bangert, Albrecht, 1944-
11. Generation of swine : tales of shame and degradation in the '80s
Thompson, Hunter S
12. Solo! : the best monologues of the 80's (women)
Earley, Michael
13. Pâté : the new main course for the '80s : a menu cookbook
Cutler, Carol
14. Decoration and design for the 80's
Ferguson, Pamela

iBistro at ARCADIA PUBLIC LIBRARY
Your Electronic Library on the Web
Copyright © 2000 - 2005, SirsiDynix

Pretty interesting, right? Or do you have to be a librarian to think so? I don't know...to me this selection just says so much about the 80s... And don't even ask, because I already rushed right over and grabbed The elfish gene : dungeons, dragons and growing up strange by Barrowcliffe, Mark. Heck yeah!


In a bonus 80s moment, at lunch today Milly and I watched an 80s episode of Quincy. It was the one where he gets married and his bride looked quite Victorian. She was all about those blouses that were rather puffy, with big bows at the neck. She had some puffy 80s hair too.

I apologize to anyone who might be over the 80s...but I have to ask, are any of us ever really going to be over them? And this leads me to the question...when you look back over your life, what is the one time or place or event that really stands out for you? I know it is hard to pick just one...but try!

Living in Oblivion

Today's Choose and Defend Wednesday post is named after a five disc set of 80s music that I have and love. Again, thought I'd join AlienCG in his week long mission to celebrate all things 80s. So...cast your mind back. Think of the music you heard in the 80s. If you are younger, you'll still be familiar with 80s music. Nostalgia looms large, especially around this decade's musical contributions. And you know the game! Choose. Easy enough. Then, Defend your choice so that the rest of us can understand what you could have possibly been thinking! I give you today's choices... 80s music had a few prominent genres. Here are two of the biggies. Do you prefer:

New Wave
OR

Hair Metal

What's your 80s pleasure? Oh my gawd! Like, Choose and Defend!

A Timeless Activity

I'll be brief today. Aw, so sad, I know ;-P Summer Reading Program is kicking into gear here. Many, many patrons and also many teen volunteers to wrangle. It is good fun, but all very time consuming. I am excited that my storytimes are starting back up again tonight and tomorrow morning. Those storytimes are one of my very favorite parts of my job.

Anyway...so in lieu of anything more fascinating to recount for you reading pleasure, here is a picture for you. Girlie Girl and I had Miss Personality over for the night on Sunday. She was so happy to come for a sleepover, although she is very restless at night without her own bed. She was a very good girl though, and as a reward her auntie gave her a salon style manicure, complete with warm towels for her hands and lots of lotion, along with the lovely nail polishing.



Some people find a manicure relaxing. I do not. Personally, I could go for a good massage. I've never had one professionally...and um, not even really one personally...like a really good one. So, I guess it is only a theory of mine...that is what I would find really relaxing. Since that may not ever happen, my second choice is curling up with a good book and something caffeinated (which I know is not supposed to relax you, but whatever!) What relaxes you? Maybe you've all got something I could try as these next six weeks shriek by :-)

Fond Rememberies

Having AlienCG celebrating the 80s brings back many memories for me. Yes, it is true. I lived through the 80s! My age is no secret...it is right there in my "all about me" thing...I'm 46. So...I graduated from high school in 1980. Greatest class ever, I assure you.

Anyway, this was a busy decade for me. I went to college. Cal State Fullerton. Go Titans! Woo! In a twist of fate that brought me, if nothing else, my superb children, I met WTG. Boo! (Except, you know..the kids!) I had 3 babies in the 80s!
Lived in Vegas for a couple of years. Worked a few different retail jobs trying to make ends meet, but still be home with the babies.

You'd think I wouldn't really remember much about such a packed decade...but I remember everything! The neon clothing. The "I'm really a dancer" clothing The big hair. The assymetrical hair. The music...which over the past 25 years or so has grown oh, so alluring to me.

Since I don't have scanner my pictures from the 80s are all still in actual photograph form...like, in albums. I need to get stuff digitized. Here is one of the few things I have...coming to you from 1981:I posted this on my blog here a couple of years ago. This is me and Gerard back in the day. That is a very bright shirt I'm wearing...and G has some seriously feathered hair, that I assure you he combed much more often than I combed mine. haha!

I'm going to enjoy this week, thinking back to this rather monumental decade in my life. I mean, they all were, really, in their way. But the 80s...day-um, brother! Like, gag me with a spoon! Oh my gawd!

This Musical Message is For Choice

Now They Laughed at His Fantasy World

Wow, it is already Saturday again and time to show what we have managed to scavenge and hunt. This week's word is QUIXOTIC and comes to us from the mind of NoRegrets. Clearly, she is someone who wants to see us pull out our dictionaries, put on our thinking caps, and get creative! What was I able to dig up for our Saturday Scavenger Hunt?

Of course, as I work in la biblioteca I had to go right to the source of the word! Here is a copy of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. The behavior of this seminal character in literature gave us the word QUIXOTIC to describe impractical, wild-eyed romanticism.


Don Quixote fought windmills in the fanciful belief that they were ferocious monsters. If I were QUIXOTIC, here is a nearby windmill that I could battle. As you can probably see, it is, yes, a Denny's. But let us not focus on that. Instead, let us channel our QUIXOTIC emotions into tilting at windmills and going mad with our chivalry.

Meh. I don't know. I may be more of a Sancho Panza type :-) But it was fun to spend a bit of time being QUIXOTIC with all of you. I can't wait to see everyone getting all QUIXOTIC up in here. Could it possibly be anything less than fascinating? I think not. Also...can't wait to see who NoRegrets tags for next week. The fun never ends! It doesn't!

Who's This All About? One Guess...That's All You'll Need

This award comes to me from our friend across the pond, Daffy @ Almost There. If you aren't reading her, you should be. She's so funny and sweet...and she gave me an award! It comes with stings attached though...can you believe it? Luckily, I love talking about myself. No, really, I do. :-P

Okay...I must list:

5 Obsessions

1. I get obsessed about tv shows now and again. Right now it is all about "So You Think You Can Dance", "Nurse Jackie", "True Blood", and "Time Warp".

2. Getting geared up for the Summer Reading Program. Yes, they pay me to obsess about this, but I'm into it apart from that. It is a busy time, but quite fun.

3. It is birthday season in my family, so I have that to obsess upon. That is a pretty fun obesession too.

4. Okay. This is silly, but I go through phases with foods that I'm obsessed with. Mostly snacky type foods. A while ago it was barbeque flavored mini rice cakes...not such a bad thing. Right now it is 7-11 iced coffee. Probably not so great. But it will pass.

5. Taking pictures of random things that I think I might use in my blog one day. I take them with my phone camera, which is my only camera. They tend not to look so impressive. Still, I find it very enjoyable. That's what counts, right?

5 Dislikes

1. Not having air conditioning at work. You all know about that, as I bitch about it regularly. By next week it should be cool again and I can shut up. Probably.

2. Books by Nicholas Sparks. Not to offend anyone, but they are so saccharine sweet! They are very popular, as are the movies made from them. But I'd have to say I dislike them.

3. Abba Zabas and other caramel and taffy types of candies. I don't dislike much in the way of sweeties, but this stuff kills my teeth. If you don't want me to eat your candy get very sticky, chewy things and I will leave it alone.

4. Having confrontations of any kind. This is something I am always working on, because I know sometimes it has to be done. But that doesn't mean I have to like it :-)

5. Which leads to this one...a certain co-worker of mine. She has been working my last nerve for the past couple of months. I've been letting it go and letting it go, but I am growing to dislike her in a pretty strong way. And I dislike that feeling, too.

5 Tagged

Alright. Hm. Tagging. I will give this award to 5 people. I'd love it if you would do the meme too. However, I am a reasonable person (unlike Daffy, who made some horrible threats...just kidding!!!) Do them, don't...I still love you and your blog.

Tara @ Eclectic Spaghetti
Ananda Girl @ Oodles of Funch
Churlita @ Churlish Figure
NoRegrets @ Woman with No Regrets
Crazy4Coens @ Raising Sunny

"Lovely Blog" award seems kind of girlie, so I went with my girlies. And yeah, I know a couple of you, not naming names, who do not dig on memes at all. Not a problem. You still have lovely blogs :-)

The Middle Child

Today is a special day in our family, as our little Cory Social Animal turns 20. When I remarked upon him leaving his teens, he said, "I guess I'm a young adult now" That was so cute. He is, though, a very nice young adult. Social Animal and I have always gotten on especially well. We seem to have a similar sense of humor...he can work the sarcasm almost as well as I.

When Social Animal came along, I already had a 3½ year old and a 2½ year old. He came right into the mix and made his mark, always a happy baby. As he grew up he was busy, busy, busy. I had to just run after him constantly. He was one of those kids that did all these sitcom kid things. Name it and chances are Social Animal gave it a whirl. He has always been soooo smart. He read early and has always had this great affinity for math. It all makes sense to him and he can explain it to you if you want. When he was in second grade, he and his best friend wrote this huge serialized adventure story. His teacher loved it. She would take the sections home that they'd written and she and her fiance would take turns typing it up. We ended up with this enormous notebook, a couple hundred pages typed. Okay, there might have been a little repetition...they were 7. But that is what often comes to mind when I am thinking of Social Animal...how he goes all in. He got his name for a reason. He's always been a true social animal, with many, many friends. Busy as he was when he was younger, he maintained that, but eventually I didn't have to run after him anymore. I just watched the dust as he sped off :-) Now Social Animal is a college student studying Psychology and he works as an EMT. Yes, that tattoo above is his. He got it a couple of months ago and was so excited. It is sort of the same one his grandpa, dad, and uncle have...although theirs are smaller and on their upper arms. Those Injuns :-) *sigh* What can I say? My baby with a big cow skull tattoo on his sweet little back.

I love and admire him so much. Such a fine young adult.

Happy 20th Birthday, Social Animal!