Bookopoly and Pumpkin Chili

While we were on vacation this past August, we picked up a mock-Monopoly game called Bookopoly, and you guessed it... It is indeed literary themed.  Since Allison and I both work at the Library, our lives seem to not drift too far from books.  We played twice this weekend while enjoying her Pumpkin Chili she makes around this time of the year.  Both times she wasted me, I barely even stood a chance, I never could get even one monopoly. That's oke, I'm not bitter, not at all.  She makes some really good chili.

On another note, I shaved off my CHINchilla (this is what we decided to call my chin beard [I was growing it to resemble Adult Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender as he appears in The Legend of Korra, but never was able to get a costume made in time for Halloween] it got pretty scruffy) but not before I got a bunch of pictures, of varying quality.  Now I am going to be documenting my regrowth of hair. I am kinda scared it will grow in odd and once it starts to grow out a bit it will stand on end for some time and look like a very sparse thinning afro, we shall see. 

Waterless

Ezra and I walked home from work yesterday to find our local apartment manager at the house trying to call us. Apparently there has been a leak (we could always hear water running through the pipes in our walls but I didn’t think much of it) somewhere below the house and it’s gotten to the point where water was seeping up through the concrete. They checked our apartment to make sure it wasn’t coming from us, and then went downstairs to investigate further.

We went grocery shopping, came home and put everything away, then found out that they had broken through the floor downstairs and water was spouting up. They were going to turn the water off, work on it tonight, then come back and continue in the morning. What did that mean for us? We would have no water from when they turned it off last night to an undetermined time today. The manager apologized and then suggested we fill anything we could with water. Which we did. Mixing bowls, pitchers, the bathtub, etc.

Some of our bowls of water.

What else did we do? What any 21st century social networked couple does! We put out a plea on Facebook to see if any friends would let us crash for the evening. A few minutes after the plea was posted I got a phone call and invitation from some good friends, the Despains. Ezra and I went over there and stayed the night. We showered, did everything we could that required water and then came home this morning. We got home at about 9:20 and they were hard at work (I hope), but still no water. Ezra forgot to take his razor and looks pretty scraggly so we decided not to go to church. We ended up watching some sessions from General Conference that we missed when we were working.

That truck and trailer have been a constant fixture outside our house as they continue to work.

The water has been off and on for the last few hours as they continue to work. I’ve managed to get all our dishes washed when it’s on, and we rush to use the bathroom and refill any empty bowls of water when we have the chance.

You’d think (and we did) that we could just put buckets of water from the bathtub into the toilet so that we could use it when we needed, but when we tested that last night it didn’t work. We have an old ghetto toilet, so we just rush when the water is on.

Hopefully everything will get fixed tonight so that we can stay home rather than bum off of friends again, not that we don’t appreciate our friends’ hospitality, we just really like our own bed. So we’ll see what happens.

UPDATE: We found out they'll turn our water off again tonight at 11pm, and turn it on again at 5am. Still more to do, but we're almost in the clear! Woohoo!

25th Birthday of the Wifey

Allison had a Birthday again this year, go figure.  Not wanting to have to sleep on the couch, not that she ever goes through with the threats, but just to be safe.  I decided to get her something.  I did small things during the week leading up to her birthday, A drawing, dinner, cleaning the bathroom, you know, the typical things one gives on a birthday.  The main presents were a TARDIS beach towel and a TARDIS teapot, and yes, it is larger on the inside.

Allison's mom also sent a cake mix for us to make.  And this is what came of it. Poo frosting. But once you get past the look of things, and taste it, it is good to behold.

Now my wifey and I are both quarter-Centurions

Photo Update and Video Tech Challenge

Here are the most recent pictures for the photo-a-day project!

30 January 2012

I had some time today and thought I'd paint my nails. Green! Not mold! I think it'll be easier to keep my nail polish looking nice with my new position at the library. Less nail chipping tasks.

31 January 2012

This is Ezra's painting of me! This was his first time painting, and I think he did a pretty awesome job. Granted, I have no face... yet.

1 February 2012

We have monthly technology challenges at the library for the staff and we get prizes when we complete them. This was Ezra's prize for the January challenge.

2 February 2012

My little peas are shooting up! They make me so happy. Some of the other plants I will have to thin out soon. For all but the peas I planted 4 seeds per container in case some didn't sprout. Both of my peas sprouted though, and I think I'll have to do some more. Peas are possibly my favorite vegetable.

Also, every month the library has a technology challenge for the staff. For February, the challenge is to make a video using Windows Live Movie Maker, then share it with friends and family. You can upload the video directly to Facebook, YouTube, and others from the program. The biggest challenge I had was finding royalty free music that I could use without getting in trouble. So, here it is!

Photo-a-day Project 2012

So I've been doing a photo-a-day project on facebook, and I thought I'd post the photos that I have so far, along with their captions for those who aren't on facebook. I know a lot of the pictures are kind of grainy, I've just been using the camera on my phone since that's the camera most readily available.

1 January 2012

This is on display in the HFAC. It was part of Ezra's final project in his illustration class. It's a big honor to have your piece chosen to go on display, and his was!

When Ezra showed it to his class someone commented that it reminded him of the move Mr. and Mrs. Smith... Ezra informed him that "Smith" was in fact our name.

2 January 2012

We've been cleaning up the living room and trying to find places for all of our books. I've been asking Ezra repeatedly if we could use the fireplace, and today he said we could. So, we lit a fire! We have lots of old decrepit books that would be going to the dump, so we decided to use some of them as kindling (phone books work great!).

3 January 2012

Two new book cases!!! We needed them so bad. Finally our floor isn't covered with piles of books. :-)

4 January 2012

Tried a new recipe tonight for dinner. It was an orange chicken type thing. We had salad with salsa on the side. It was good, the two didn't really go together, but it was food, and we got our serving of veggies. :-)

5 January 2012

Roasting marshmallows by the fire. :-)

6 January 2012

We had some random boards that we wanted to use as firewood... we couldn't break them, so we tried a lot of different methods of cutting them. We never made it through and it took Ezra forever to get even this far.

7 January 2012

Kinda dark, but this is a regular occurrence right before bed, Ezra's doing stuff on his phone as our kids (the stuffed animals) wait to be put away for the night.

8 January 2012

We don't have a table in our house, let alone a desk. This is Ezra's work space, the living room floor. Ezra likes to spread out, but he's good about getting it all put away before bed. :-)

9 January 2012

We have a crazy neighbor that always gets angry about where I put my garbage can. Here is proof that I am NOT in his driveway, or even in his way. My car is blocked, not his. He says he's going to report me to the city. I called the city and they said this is fine.

10 January 2012

Ezra likes ninjas... we have a stuffed ninja Mickey Mouse. Ezra thought it would be funny to give him a sword. Ninja Mickey protects us from crazy neighbors by guarding our window.

11 January 2012

I always win the dinner battle, but sometimes there are casualties... like my poor wooden spoon that is now chipped. Sad day!

12 January 2012

I walked into the kitchen and saw Ezra standing on the counter... he was trying to figure out perspectives for a drawing he wanted to do.

13 January 2012

Since our lives really are kind of boring, I thought I'd introduce you to some members of our family. Today, I'd like you to meet Thelonious, or Thelo for short. I had a roommate that named all of her plants, and when I got Thelo I sort of picked up the habit. He's the first plant I got while in Utah.

14 January 2012

Meet Bat! He's one of our aloe vera plants. Ezra named him. Bat had some arms that curved around the side of his pot that Ezra though made it look like bat wings.

15 January 2012

This is our second aloe vera plant, Owl! I felt like since Ezra gave the other the name Bat, I wanted this one to have a similar, night creature name, so I call her Owl.

16 January 2012

Hello Peter Parker! He's our first spider plant, and Ezra thought he should be called Peter Parker since he's a spider.

17 January 2012

This is the newest addition to our plant family, Doc Ock. He's still just a baby, but Peter Parker had a start growing from him so I decided to put it in water and grow another spider plant (I love them so). I thought another Spiderman character would be a fitting name, so He's our little Doc Ock.

18 January 2012

So The Woman in Black came in for me. A group of us in circulation have a little book club and this was the next book we wanted to read, since the movie is coming out (and the movie has Daniel Radcliff). I'm excited to have a scary book to read. I don't typically choose something like this for myself.

Update: 26 January 2012 Good book! I finished reading it today. Chilling, thrilling, and just some good scariness. Nothing graphic or violent, just creepy make you want to look behind you and hide under the covers.

19 January 2012

I was really missing gardening so I made a little container garden on one of my book selves. I don't know how the plants will do, but my fingers are crossed!

20 January 2012

So I went on a long run today, and about half way through the miles I was supposed to be doing I gave up because I was hurting like crazy. I knew my shoes were getting bad, but it took me a while to concede. I got off the treadmill and walked over to 26.2 and bought myself a new pair of running shoes. Here they are!

21 January 2012

Cringe! Okay, I know it's gross, but I didn't have a better picture for today. This is one of the many reasons I needed new running shoes. Right between my big toe and the smaller toe, the callouses had built up a lot. Great, lots of padding, right? Well, it's fine until your feet dry out and the callous splits... right down to the really soft tissue. It's been hurting so bad! I can hardly walk and when I do it's with a limp. I've been using liquid bandaid in the crack to try to encourage it to heal. Fingers crossed!

22 January 2012

On Sunday's I love to take time and cook something fun. Banana bread has been my favorite recently. So I thought today I'd get a picture of my collection of cookbooks, dilapidated discards from the library and otherwise.

23 January 2012

My plants are already sprouting! I've got some peas and flowers that have popped out of their dirt.

24 January 2012

I had to clean out my locker in circulation. I found this in the pile of papers I pulled out. It was from Halloween, when circulation became "Library High."

25 January 2012

First day as a reference librarian! Really my badge and name tag hasn't changed, but I was just so excited to be moved over to reference! Really though, I do miss circ. I like knowing what I'm doing and at the moment, I don't all the time. But I suppose that's how it is with any new job.

26 January 2012

I fear you may get lots of plant updates for my photos. I love my little babies, they make me so happy! Anyway, the plants that have already sprouted are thriving, and some dill started sprouting overnight!

27 January 2012

Ezra doesn't yet know that I grabbed another one of his drawings to post... hehehe. Anyway, he was setting this one up because he wanted to draw our feet with us in our wedding clothes. So we were sitting on the couch, he set up his camera on a timer, and I was bored. I got out my kindle and was reading a book while all of this was going on, ha ha. He liked the picture so much that he drew the whole thing. :-)

28 January 2012

Ezra's first experience painting. He's having a lot of fun making a mess in the living room. It's supposed to be me, walking up our steps after working out.

29 January 2012

Not man on wire, but bunny on glasses! Hopson was walking around Ezra's head.

Great Things Come to Those Who Are Dedicated

I know I’ve been terrible about writing. Life gets busy sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and running, cooking and trying to clean. But today’s news is huge and I’m bursting at the seams with excitement. I didn't tell hardly any people that I was applying for the position just in case I didn't get it, but I did!

I just became Provo City Library’s newest reference librarian!!!

The position opened up because one of the librarians had a baby. As soon as I heard about it I put my application in. Of the 60 applicants I got the job! *bounce bounce* I start tomorrow. I’m so excited, and a tad nervous. New things are always a little nerve wracking. It’s new! I don’t completely know what I’m doing. On the upside, I know the staff. I know our patrons. I know how to use the systems we have. I know about our library. I know about eBooks. I know I have lots of resources to help me do my job.

I’ve wanted to learn about what reference does. What they can and can’t do. Reference is the big unexplored area for me that I want to know more about. True, I know a bit. I’m pretty sure that’s why I was hired. I know circulation, I sort of know tech services because Ezra works in that department, but I don’t yet know reference as well as I’d like. That’s about to change! I love being well rounded. I soak up knowledge like a sponge.

You know, when I quit Brick Oven because I was promoted to a clerk at the library, my BO coworkers thought I was crazy. “I wouldn’t give up this job, no way,” they said. Pay was the big factor. I took a huge hit financially by leaving Brick Oven, but I was so much happier. Finally, a year later, I can say that it was all worth it, totally and completely. When Ezra would ask me what I missed about Brick Oven, the only answer was “the pay.” Because of tips I made out pretty well. But now, not even that will hang over me. Finally, I have a job that I feel was worth my four years of college, my BA degree, and will pay me what I’m worth. I don’t think that would have happened if I’d stayed a page and worked two jobs. Sometimes you have to take a chance. You have to follow the spirit, work hard, give 100% and always go the extra mile above and beyond what is expected of you. I was learning about reference and asking questions that helped me get his job months before the position opened up, before I even knew there would be a position. I think that is the kind of dedication to your job that gives you the reward you deserve.

In a year and a half I went from a simple volunteer to a true reference librarian. Great things take time, but dedication is what gets you through.

Hooray for Black Friday!

We had a really fun Thanksgiving with Ezra’s sister, Casey, and her family in Salt Lake City. We had dinner with them on Thanksgiving and stayed the night so we could go Black Friday shopping in Salt Lake. We hit up Target (Vacuume! Kindle!), RC Willey (Blu-ray player!), Best Buy (DVDs!), Kohl’s (Clothes!) and Old Navy (More clothes!).

I ran another 10 miler last Monday, and tomorrow I have to do 13 miles. I might die.

I’ve been having fun playing with my new kindle as I learn about and use eBooks. I used to be firmly against eBooks but after learning about them at the library I’ve really wanted to use them more, and now I am. I feel like I’m doing research for work, as well as reading for pleasure. I still love my physical books, but really, eBooks are awesome.

We’ve begun pulling out Christmas decorations. I pulled my tree out and decorated it with my many ornaments. The poor tree is loaded, but I feel like the tree represents my life… and now our life. At the very top of the tree is the “Our first Christmas” ornament my mom bought us. Our stockings are hung over the fireplace, and other random decorations are out. We also had a bit of snow today… ‘tis the season!

Friday evening the library had an Author Link event with Christopher Paolini. He gave a 45ish minute presentation about himself and writing, then signed books. I was able to get his newest book personalized and signed, as well as Eragon signed. I've never met such a major author so that was kind of cool.

Ezra officially has his application for the illustration program in and now we play the waiting game. He pulled an all nighter to get his portfolio done and ready, yet he seemed conscious when I saw him the next morning and throughout the day, which I thought was weird. He completely crashed the following night though and he's pretty much caught up on sleep now.We should hear back about the program before the end of the year. We've got our fingers crossed.

Saturday evening after work Ezra and I went to a BYU ballet performance. It was a really fun date (especially since we haven’t been on one for a while), and we got Costa Vida afterwards. Overall, a successful evening I think.

I drafted our first family Christmas letter today. I’m going to let it sit for a bit so I can make any other modifications with fresh eyes. It was kind of fun, thinking back over the past year and all the things that have happened. It’s strange to think that so many major events happened in the space of just one year. I can’t wait to get Christmas cards out and start that tradition. It’s one that daunts my mom every year, and I’m ready to go through the same stress, making sure the major events have been included so that people know what we’re up to.

I can’t wait to get started on and see what I’ll accomplish this coming week. It’s going to be a good one!

Afterthought: If you use facebook at all, Ezra and I have a really good friend who is in a contest. If she wins, she will get her children's book story idea published. Please support her and her story. It's a really fun read. Follow this link, and all you have to do to vote is "like" her story. Please vote and help her out, this is an amazing opportunity.