the opening was a great success! we had hundreds of people in those few short hours we were open and the vast majority were super excited with the new features. it was fun to see all our regulars and people that didn't come to the temporary location. staff from other departments were amazing and so helpful and we couldn't have done it without them. the checkout lines were insane! at times they were the width of the library. but people were okay with it. parking was nuts, but no complaints there either. they were just so happy to have their library back! the kids area was packed with people. parents and kids were lounging all over the floor reading books together. kids were crawling around, playing with toys, hunting for books, playing on computers, and going wild on the new playground. the excitement was so contagious. it was one of the best times i've had being a librarian. i had a couple kids come hug me and tell me you came to my school and read to me. i think it is so funny how these little 3 and 4 year olds remember me months after i've been there. the moms say the kids insist they come to the library to see ms beth. how cute is that!
i'm glad it's over though. the weekend will be crazy i'm sure, but it will be nice to just be the regular people i work with and trying to figure out how to do our jobs in the new library. i'm ready for the routine of being a librarian. it will take awhile to settle in and get back to normal, but i'm ready for a little calmness. we'll see how quickly that comes. after it was over half the staff headed to las margaritas to celebrate. it was fun and loud and good to share our stories from the day. after that i came home and read and napped and read some more. have to be back at work in 7.5 hours, so i should probably go to sleep!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
i love being a librarian!
just came back from the preview party at the library. we had all the bigwigs and some staff from other libraries there. i worked in the morning trying to get everything cleaned up and my last bulletin board up and then went home and took a nap. feeling refreshed and really nervous, i went back for the party. they were still putting up permenant signage 30 minutes before the party. it was pretty crazy the last couple of days, trying to get everything looking nice, so many little finishing touches. i still don't know where half the stuff is, that organization will come later. but at least it looks good in the public areas.
i got to hang out in the kids area for two hours and talk to mostly strangers about all the cool things in my section. playground, huge life like tree, cute colorful furniture, the whole florida wildlife them, the flat screen tv, kid sized computers. it was good and once i started talking i got over the nervousness and just got excited. i love my job and love that i work for a place that has the ability to do such awesome things. this process has been hard and several times, including today, i've been very frustrated and exhausted, but i look at the finished result and am just so ready to have the kids back and show them all the cool stuff and help them with learning and finding just the right book and doing crafts and playing and being a regular librarian again. i'm so tired of manual labor!
tomorrow we have the grand opening at 2pm, so we'll only be open 3 hours. that should make the first day easier. it will also give me time to find a few more things in boxes that i need. i'm also excited to see what the public thinks. i hope they like it! the most fun though should be going to las margaritas after we close. lots of the staff are going over afterwards and i've been craving mexican all week. yummy!
i got to hang out in the kids area for two hours and talk to mostly strangers about all the cool things in my section. playground, huge life like tree, cute colorful furniture, the whole florida wildlife them, the flat screen tv, kid sized computers. it was good and once i started talking i got over the nervousness and just got excited. i love my job and love that i work for a place that has the ability to do such awesome things. this process has been hard and several times, including today, i've been very frustrated and exhausted, but i look at the finished result and am just so ready to have the kids back and show them all the cool stuff and help them with learning and finding just the right book and doing crafts and playing and being a regular librarian again. i'm so tired of manual labor!
tomorrow we have the grand opening at 2pm, so we'll only be open 3 hours. that should make the first day easier. it will also give me time to find a few more things in boxes that i need. i'm also excited to see what the public thinks. i hope they like it! the most fun though should be going to las margaritas after we close. lots of the staff are going over afterwards and i've been craving mexican all week. yummy!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
partying, working, family and accidents
can't believe i haven't written in three weeks. busy at work getting ready for the opening. we packed up the temporary library in 3 hours. i felt like death. over the weekend i went to the olustee festival with my mom and got food poisoning. i was so sick, i couldn't keep anything down, but at least i had my mom to take care of me. having to pack and unpack did not make me feel any better. that night i kept some food down and got lots of sleep, so tuesday i felt much better. i spent the morning getting ready for a work party for birthday people and as a thank you to all the people who helped work on the library. i decorated with valentine stuff from my house and it was a great party. lots of food and fun. the next few days involved fun and not so fun meetings downtown, unpacking, putting in order, shelving and shifting tons and tons of books. i did get to have a yummy lunch out with emily and debra. i had the most delicious salmon salad. i want another one right now! anyway the kids section looks fantastic. they installed this huge life like tree today and we only have one more section of books to shift. sandy, now a volunteer, came in to work on bulletin boards. she got one done, but i can't find the stuff for my two bulletin boards/book displays. that is one of the things i want to get done tomorrow.
on saturday i threw a birthday party for my three sisters and it was a lot of fun. the weather was so beautiful, that we partied oustide on the patio. it was a greek theme. my friends ishu and justin had some people over in january when i was visiting them in orlando and they had hummus and baba ganoush and pita bread and kabobs. it was soooo yummy, so i decided that i wanted to serve it for the girls' birthday party and centered the theme around it and the olympics. the girls got crowns of green leaves. we ate first and my brother in laws said it was so delicious and i should make it for all our get togethers, which is high praise from them. then we played some games. we lit the torches (tiki torches). the birthday girls were team captains and each team had to make a toga on their teammate out of toilet paper. dad helped me judge and keep time with the games. justin spun around so many times he fell over. he and karen came in third on that event. then they had to match the god or goddess with their power. mom and sam won. then we had cheesecake with strawberries or chocolate. and the last event was bobbing for grapes and olives in bowl of water. it was really funny to watch. we had the closing ceremonies where i gave the girls their medals. i made cute medals out of wood cutouts, that i painted and wrote happy birthday on. cat got the bronze and wasn't too happy about it. karen got the silver and sam got the gold. then we went in to open cards. karen brought her heart monitor and we got to listen to the baby's hearbeat. i got to take some tummy pictures too. she started wearing maternity shirts and looks so cute. she lost 17 lbs. during the first trimester and in the last week has gotten over most of the nauseousness. she gained 2 lbs. this week. she looks thinner everywhere, except her baby bump. next friday 3/5, i get to go with karen and justin to her ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. then all the girls and justin made plans to go to babiesrus to register for baby stuff.
on thursday night i just barely hit someone in a parking lot. basically i left two lines of red of paint on her. she called the police to do a driver information exchange. the girl was nice and the officer was too. she tried to buff it out herself but it didn't work. she got an estimate today and it was $60 to buff it out, but only 50% chance of working. to repaint the door would be $600. we hadn't gotten the insurance company involved, cause i thought i had a $500 deductible. but i called the insurance company today and that only applies to fix my car, i don't have to pay anything for the other girl's car. my car just has two lines of no red paint, so no need to fix it, it's barely noticeable. i am so happy that i don't have to pay up.
brian is doing good on his mission. i got a short email today, but mom got a really long one. i put together an album of the family for him and will send it off this week. i meant to have it done before he left, but the craziness of christmas wasn't conducive to getting it done. it was a little strange not to have him at the party but we know he's were he's supposed to be.
that's a short catch up of what's been going on.
on saturday i threw a birthday party for my three sisters and it was a lot of fun. the weather was so beautiful, that we partied oustide on the patio. it was a greek theme. my friends ishu and justin had some people over in january when i was visiting them in orlando and they had hummus and baba ganoush and pita bread and kabobs. it was soooo yummy, so i decided that i wanted to serve it for the girls' birthday party and centered the theme around it and the olympics. the girls got crowns of green leaves. we ate first and my brother in laws said it was so delicious and i should make it for all our get togethers, which is high praise from them. then we played some games. we lit the torches (tiki torches). the birthday girls were team captains and each team had to make a toga on their teammate out of toilet paper. dad helped me judge and keep time with the games. justin spun around so many times he fell over. he and karen came in third on that event. then they had to match the god or goddess with their power. mom and sam won. then we had cheesecake with strawberries or chocolate. and the last event was bobbing for grapes and olives in bowl of water. it was really funny to watch. we had the closing ceremonies where i gave the girls their medals. i made cute medals out of wood cutouts, that i painted and wrote happy birthday on. cat got the bronze and wasn't too happy about it. karen got the silver and sam got the gold. then we went in to open cards. karen brought her heart monitor and we got to listen to the baby's hearbeat. i got to take some tummy pictures too. she started wearing maternity shirts and looks so cute. she lost 17 lbs. during the first trimester and in the last week has gotten over most of the nauseousness. she gained 2 lbs. this week. she looks thinner everywhere, except her baby bump. next friday 3/5, i get to go with karen and justin to her ultrasound to find out the sex of the baby. then all the girls and justin made plans to go to babiesrus to register for baby stuff.
on thursday night i just barely hit someone in a parking lot. basically i left two lines of red of paint on her. she called the police to do a driver information exchange. the girl was nice and the officer was too. she tried to buff it out herself but it didn't work. she got an estimate today and it was $60 to buff it out, but only 50% chance of working. to repaint the door would be $600. we hadn't gotten the insurance company involved, cause i thought i had a $500 deductible. but i called the insurance company today and that only applies to fix my car, i don't have to pay anything for the other girl's car. my car just has two lines of no red paint, so no need to fix it, it's barely noticeable. i am so happy that i don't have to pay up.
with the party i got some cleaning done, but there is always more to do. i planted some pansies on the patio, since the dead looking plants weren't really party like. hopefully they live until spring arrives and i can plant some summer stuff and see what comes back from the horrible freezing weather we've had this year.
brian is doing good on his mission. i got a short email today, but mom got a really long one. i put together an album of the family for him and will send it off this week. i meant to have it done before he left, but the craziness of christmas wasn't conducive to getting it done. it was a little strange not to have him at the party but we know he's were he's supposed to be.
that's a short catch up of what's been going on.
Monday, February 1, 2010
livin' la vida loca
last saturday i slept in very late and then did laundry. debra came over and had pizza and then we made bday cards for the library. i'm in charge of bday parties and was out of cards people have given me, so we decided to make some and they turned out way cute! the i went to the hospital to stay with karen. i crocheted and read a little but mostly i did things for her. helping with the bedpan, vomiting, getting the nurse, holding the sprite can, putting ice on her tongue, turning lights on and off, keeping track of the times for her drugs, covering her with the blanket, moving the pillow, whatever she needed. i made a little bed for myself on the floor. hospital blanket, great grandma's afghan, hospital pillow, my pillow and then i covered up with the gator snuggie my roommate got me for christmas. the afghan kept the cold from the tiles from getting me. i was pretty comfy and even dozed of between 5-7am. karen had one really horrible bought of pain at 2am, but otherwise the night was uneventful. sunday she had no pain, so they sent her home monday morning. she went back to work wednesday for half a day and has just been her usual exhausted, nauseous pregnant self. i came home sunday morning and slept from 9:30-6:30.
monday back to work. so busy this week with hiring people and getting ready for the opening. we had several new people start and one i get to supervise. she's worked for the library longer than me and she's great! the little office is now being shared by 9 people. 4 desks and 9 people doesn't quite work. bryan and i did interviews all day tuesday and its looks like we'll have 3 more good people to work with. wednesday was my turn to go to the old library to unpack books, but they finished on tuesday so i didn't have to go. my back was very happy. i'm trying to organize my people and the 14-16 programs we will be doing each month this spring. i'm also planning bulletin boards that need to be made for the opening. i also got to order some things for the new library. it's like $1000 worth of stuff. i've never ordered that much before so hopefully it goes through ok. i have interviews this tues and wed for the other person i'll supervise. hopefully that goes smoothly and we all agree on who to hire.
tuesday night sam took me to dinner and a movie to thank me for all the times i've paid for things. now that she has a full-time job, she can pay for her own stuff. so we had a delicious meal at outback and then we killed time until the movie. i finally got a cute pair of black flats. the ones i have now are literally falling to pieces, but i haven't been able to find something i like. ta da! they had a pair that met all my criteria and they are great! plus it was bogo on everything so i got a great green purse. ever since i saw one at the goodwill in pennsylvania and didn't buy it, i've been wanting a green purse. then we went to dollar tree and i got a few things for valentine's day. i wish there was a dollar tree close to my house. there is so much there! then we went to cat's to get some pics of brian to put in his album i making him for valentine's day. he left the mtc this week and is in his first area. we don't know where that is yet, but hopefully we'll get a letter this week so we know exactly were he is. finally we went to see sherlock holmes. it was long, confusing and good. friday night emily and i went to the gym. it's the only time i went last week. i did 3 times the week before, so i'll just have to do better.
saturday i went grocery shopping, made mexican dip and went over to linda's for a girl's night with some library ladies. we were there for 4 hours. it was a great time and nice to catch up, since we work at different locations. i went to bed at 2am and then slept until 6pm. guess i was tired. i was supposed to make karen a sheppard's pie and take it over this afternoon. oops. i ended up making it at 11pm and will take it over before work tomorrow. she hasn't had one since she lived at home and is craving it. hopefully she can keep it down. february 1st. hard to believe. it's gonna be a crazy, busy, and hopefully fun month!!
monday back to work. so busy this week with hiring people and getting ready for the opening. we had several new people start and one i get to supervise. she's worked for the library longer than me and she's great! the little office is now being shared by 9 people. 4 desks and 9 people doesn't quite work. bryan and i did interviews all day tuesday and its looks like we'll have 3 more good people to work with. wednesday was my turn to go to the old library to unpack books, but they finished on tuesday so i didn't have to go. my back was very happy. i'm trying to organize my people and the 14-16 programs we will be doing each month this spring. i'm also planning bulletin boards that need to be made for the opening. i also got to order some things for the new library. it's like $1000 worth of stuff. i've never ordered that much before so hopefully it goes through ok. i have interviews this tues and wed for the other person i'll supervise. hopefully that goes smoothly and we all agree on who to hire.
tuesday night sam took me to dinner and a movie to thank me for all the times i've paid for things. now that she has a full-time job, she can pay for her own stuff. so we had a delicious meal at outback and then we killed time until the movie. i finally got a cute pair of black flats. the ones i have now are literally falling to pieces, but i haven't been able to find something i like. ta da! they had a pair that met all my criteria and they are great! plus it was bogo on everything so i got a great green purse. ever since i saw one at the goodwill in pennsylvania and didn't buy it, i've been wanting a green purse. then we went to dollar tree and i got a few things for valentine's day. i wish there was a dollar tree close to my house. there is so much there! then we went to cat's to get some pics of brian to put in his album i making him for valentine's day. he left the mtc this week and is in his first area. we don't know where that is yet, but hopefully we'll get a letter this week so we know exactly were he is. finally we went to see sherlock holmes. it was long, confusing and good. friday night emily and i went to the gym. it's the only time i went last week. i did 3 times the week before, so i'll just have to do better.
saturday i went grocery shopping, made mexican dip and went over to linda's for a girl's night with some library ladies. we were there for 4 hours. it was a great time and nice to catch up, since we work at different locations. i went to bed at 2am and then slept until 6pm. guess i was tired. i was supposed to make karen a sheppard's pie and take it over this afternoon. oops. i ended up making it at 11pm and will take it over before work tomorrow. she hasn't had one since she lived at home and is craving it. hopefully she can keep it down. february 1st. hard to believe. it's gonna be a crazy, busy, and hopefully fun month!!
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