I've been tagged by my friend Melanie so here goes.
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people (if possible) at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.
1. I used to only wear red shoes, mainly red faux leather penny loafers, in high school. They were my "ruby slippers," since I was obsessed with "The Wizard of Oz."
2. My favorite book is "Disobedience" by Jane Hamilton, because I love the audio version read by Robert Sean Leonard. I have a big celebrity crush on RSL.
3. Pretty much from November until March, I wear long underwear every day. One of the best presents (besides jewelry) that S ever gave me was a shirt/pants set of long underwear designed to be super thin and temperature regulating. This is because I am always either very cold or really, really hot.
4. I first dyed my hair when I was in the sixth grade. None of my female friends could believe my mom let me do it, but it was brown hair dye and I had brown hair, so it wasn't like I turned it purple. I did, however, turn it purple in high school, except it was by accident.
5. I technically had my wedding dress before S and I were officially engaged. This is because it went on final sale at J. Crew and I knew it was "the one" and S encouraged me to get it, and if need-be, later sell it on eBay, if for some reason it wasn't as great as I thought it was.
6. I pretty much believe in fate.
7. If it were possible, I'd work full-time as a librarian, and tell S to quit his job so that he can do whatever he likes. All I'd require is that he cook for me.
The folks I'm tagging are: Simon, Jess, Lindsay, Christie, and Lisa.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
What's next?
My assigned blogging has wrapped up for the semester, for the most part, so I'm back here! At least, until next semester. The plan is to do a practicum at the St. Cloud State University library, and do an independent study with a Dominican University professor, and then get my degree at the end of April from Dominican.
I'm all registered for the practicum, but need to come up with learning goals and a work schedule with my supervisor there. For the independent study, I am going to be doing the history of YA literature, thus extending my reading in that area, and I will be blogging my reactions to the books I read for that course, so this other blog will continue but in a different mode.
I will probably still blog about technology, Library 2.0, etc. but I will probably do that at my other blog. And then, the job search will begin...
I'm all registered for the practicum, but need to come up with learning goals and a work schedule with my supervisor there. For the independent study, I am going to be doing the history of YA literature, thus extending my reading in that area, and I will be blogging my reactions to the books I read for that course, so this other blog will continue but in a different mode.
I will probably still blog about technology, Library 2.0, etc. but I will probably do that at my other blog. And then, the job search will begin...
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Quick update: some wedding photos
I'm definitely going to put more of these on flickr, but I thought I'd share a few shots that we got from our semi-professional photographer, Alex Johnson. He's a friend and an awesome photographer, so it was great that he did our photos—and edited them, too. Woo!
Here are a few favorites (so far):
Here are a few favorites (so far):
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Sunday Soup
I've taken to making a big pot of soup on Sundays, so that then S and I can take leftovers with us to work throughout the week. Here's a recipe I invented and have tweaked based on whatever veggies/pasta we have in the fridge/pantry.
Mostly Veggie Italian Pasta Soup
chop up the following into soup-sized bits:
1 cup carrots (optional, or use potatoes)
2 cups potatoes (optional, or use carrots)
1 cup celery (or more if you love it)
2 medium or 3 small onions (note: onions add most of the flavor here, so you NEED these)
other veggie ideas: frozen or fresh spinach, corn, broccoli... to total about 4-5 cups of veggies
Additional advice: if you are feeling especially lazy, and you have a food processor (or even a hand-chopper from the likes of Pampered Chef) then all the chopping can go really, really fast.
Other necessary ingredients:
Chicken soup stock (enough for 8-10 cups)
1/2 lb. cheese-filled small pasta (tortellini or little raviolis work great!)
Italian seasoning (enough for a few tablespoons of this)
Garlic (I love it, so I put in 2-3 cloves worth)
Olive oil for pan
Salt & pepper
Start by putting olive oil and garlic in a big pot, since this is a one-pot recipe that means little clean-up other than soup bowls/spoons. Don't turn on the heat until you're nearly done chopping up your veggies. Throw in the onions and celery first, since they need the most cooking to release flavor. Cook until the onions are shiny and the celery is easily bite-able (test this) but not too soft. Add in other veggies (potatoes, spinach, corn, broccoli, carrots). Cook for a few minutes more--add a bit more olive oil if needed. Add 8 cups of chicken stock if you like a thicker soup. Add 10 cups if you like a more brothy soup, since the pasta soaks up a lot of water. Add Italian seasoning and pasta; cook until done according to package directions (16-20 minutes, usually).
Enjoy with a big piece of bread!
Mostly Veggie Italian Pasta Soup
chop up the following into soup-sized bits:
1 cup carrots (optional, or use potatoes)
2 cups potatoes (optional, or use carrots)
1 cup celery (or more if you love it)
2 medium or 3 small onions (note: onions add most of the flavor here, so you NEED these)
other veggie ideas: frozen or fresh spinach, corn, broccoli... to total about 4-5 cups of veggies
Additional advice: if you are feeling especially lazy, and you have a food processor (or even a hand-chopper from the likes of Pampered Chef) then all the chopping can go really, really fast.
Other necessary ingredients:
Chicken soup stock (enough for 8-10 cups)
1/2 lb. cheese-filled small pasta (tortellini or little raviolis work great!)
Italian seasoning (enough for a few tablespoons of this)
Garlic (I love it, so I put in 2-3 cloves worth)
Olive oil for pan
Salt & pepper
Start by putting olive oil and garlic in a big pot, since this is a one-pot recipe that means little clean-up other than soup bowls/spoons. Don't turn on the heat until you're nearly done chopping up your veggies. Throw in the onions and celery first, since they need the most cooking to release flavor. Cook until the onions are shiny and the celery is easily bite-able (test this) but not too soft. Add in other veggies (potatoes, spinach, corn, broccoli, carrots). Cook for a few minutes more--add a bit more olive oil if needed. Add 8 cups of chicken stock if you like a thicker soup. Add 10 cups if you like a more brothy soup, since the pasta soaks up a lot of water. Add Italian seasoning and pasta; cook until done according to package directions (16-20 minutes, usually).
Enjoy with a big piece of bread!
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Haven't been blogging in weeks
Well, that's not actually true. I am just blogging elsewhere! I have my class blog for my Library 2.0 course with Michael Stephens, and it's right over here. Feel free to check in on me there; mainly, I am writing observations about libraries, library 2.0, technology, etc.
I have a bunch of homework this semester, seemingly more than ever before. My reading list for my Young Adult Materials course is 55 books long--seriously. So, I spend pretty much all spare non-work moments doing homework or spending time with my new husband. Blogging here will be sporadic but probably will resume on November 15th or so.
Edited to add: I am also twittering. Enjoy!
I have a bunch of homework this semester, seemingly more than ever before. My reading list for my Young Adult Materials course is 55 books long--seriously. So, I spend pretty much all spare non-work moments doing homework or spending time with my new husband. Blogging here will be sporadic but probably will resume on November 15th or so.
Edited to add: I am also twittering. Enjoy!
Friday, September 12, 2008
This customer hasn't been this happy in minutes
I just had what I'd describe as one of the best customer service experiences ever, and it was with Tires Plus. To tell the story in its proper context, I'll have to travel back in time with you for a bit. For the past few weeks, you cannot believe the bad car experiences I've had.
It all began the day before our wedding...
I spent the night at my parents place, because S's surprise bachelor party was happening that evening after our rehearsal, and I wanted to give him space in case he wanted to invite guys over to our apartment after the party. I parked in the driveway, at the end of the driveway behind where my mom parks her car. I would never park behind my dad, because he's been known to back into things. Unfortunately, I think my mom's excitement/stress got to her that day, and in backing out in order to run last-minute errands for their vacation and the wedding, she backed into my Saturn SL2. It was bad, too—$1,500 bad, but thankfully, it was repaired and paid for within a week, and we just took my mom's car on our honeymoon trip.
However, we noticed the car making a bad/loud noise right after it was hit—especially upon starting up and in gear changes. I had my dad listen to the sound, and he said it was a muffler problem, not an engine problem. Whew! We traveled to the Renaissance Festival, knowing there was a hole in the muffler, but not realizing the extent of the problem. Suffice it to say, we had a rather dramatic removal of muffler from my car on the side of I-94, just before the tunnel near Uptown in Minneapolis. The entire muffler system fell/broke off, and we left it there. Sorry for the massive litter! This made for a very loud trip back home, but luckily, S and my cousin Angie who went with us were both pretty good sports.
After having this repaired (for about $88), on my very next trip to class, I had yet another problem; this time, the coolant light came on as soon as I got to the surface streets in the neighborhood of St. Paul near my school's campus. I remedied it by turning on the heater and rolling the windows down to bring the temp down. My cousin Simon deserves a HUGE thank you for checking my coolant, determining that it was probably not an actual radiator problem, and for alleviating my nervousness about driving home—an hour and a half away—with this problem. He determined it was probably a fuse or the radiator fan, and he was right! The fan was dead, which was a $168 fix, but at least my radiator is okay!
And then...
Prior to my next trip to class, my dad checked my tire pressure. It was all good until he got to the back left tire. Tire pressure was waaay low, so he pumped it up, and I was good to go. However, the next time I checked it (yesterday before class) it was down to 15! Yikes! I beefed it back up to 32 or so—you know, for good mileage, and hoped for the best. This afternoon, I was feeling anxious about driving back to St. Paul for class tomorrow morning with this tire leakage issue. I called Tires Plus about checking it out for me. TJ was quick to offer to check if I really needed new tires or just a patch, and so I made a 4:30 appointment. He determined that I did not need new tires—yay!—and proceeded to check out the leak situation. The fix? The valve needed replacing. Cost? Nothing! I was so relieved, and while waiting for the fix, I even got some homework done for my weekend class tomorrow. Bonus!
It all began the day before our wedding...
I spent the night at my parents place, because S's surprise bachelor party was happening that evening after our rehearsal, and I wanted to give him space in case he wanted to invite guys over to our apartment after the party. I parked in the driveway, at the end of the driveway behind where my mom parks her car. I would never park behind my dad, because he's been known to back into things. Unfortunately, I think my mom's excitement/stress got to her that day, and in backing out in order to run last-minute errands for their vacation and the wedding, she backed into my Saturn SL2. It was bad, too—$1,500 bad, but thankfully, it was repaired and paid for within a week, and we just took my mom's car on our honeymoon trip.
However, we noticed the car making a bad/loud noise right after it was hit—especially upon starting up and in gear changes. I had my dad listen to the sound, and he said it was a muffler problem, not an engine problem. Whew! We traveled to the Renaissance Festival, knowing there was a hole in the muffler, but not realizing the extent of the problem. Suffice it to say, we had a rather dramatic removal of muffler from my car on the side of I-94, just before the tunnel near Uptown in Minneapolis. The entire muffler system fell/broke off, and we left it there. Sorry for the massive litter! This made for a very loud trip back home, but luckily, S and my cousin Angie who went with us were both pretty good sports.
After having this repaired (for about $88), on my very next trip to class, I had yet another problem; this time, the coolant light came on as soon as I got to the surface streets in the neighborhood of St. Paul near my school's campus. I remedied it by turning on the heater and rolling the windows down to bring the temp down. My cousin Simon deserves a HUGE thank you for checking my coolant, determining that it was probably not an actual radiator problem, and for alleviating my nervousness about driving home—an hour and a half away—with this problem. He determined it was probably a fuse or the radiator fan, and he was right! The fan was dead, which was a $168 fix, but at least my radiator is okay!
And then...
Prior to my next trip to class, my dad checked my tire pressure. It was all good until he got to the back left tire. Tire pressure was waaay low, so he pumped it up, and I was good to go. However, the next time I checked it (yesterday before class) it was down to 15! Yikes! I beefed it back up to 32 or so—you know, for good mileage, and hoped for the best. This afternoon, I was feeling anxious about driving back to St. Paul for class tomorrow morning with this tire leakage issue. I called Tires Plus about checking it out for me. TJ was quick to offer to check if I really needed new tires or just a patch, and so I made a 4:30 appointment. He determined that I did not need new tires—yay!—and proceeded to check out the leak situation. The fix? The valve needed replacing. Cost? Nothing! I was so relieved, and while waiting for the fix, I even got some homework done for my weekend class tomorrow. Bonus!
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