The last story time...

Wow, typing that made me tear up just a little... I can't imagine how I am going to be at the actual story time!!

I decided today to do a story time of favorite books. I asked my supervisor and my fabulous coworker C what their favorite books to read at story time are, and I think we came up with a darn good program today!!

My supervisor's favorite book:

Something from Nothing by Phoebe Gilman

My fabulous coworker C's favorite book (it's also one of my favorites!):

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

And one of my favorite books:

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Last week, when I told my story time family that this week would be my last story time, I totally started crying. Who knows what will happen this week. But, to make myself feel better, I plan on wearing a red feather boa.

Since tonight is Tuesday, it's FMRNS!!! WHOOOT!!!! I told y'all that A and I were trying to get to 299 movies, and we are about 4 shy. Tonight, we are going to do a double feature, but I'm not exactly sure which ones we are going to watch. We had a plan, but that plan might backfire because the NetFlix movies we were going to watch aren't here yet. We do have 2 other movies we can watch, but we had hoped to save those until 298 and 299... But, you do what you gotta to make the grade, right?

The movies we had planned to watch are Starman, a Sci-Fi Adventure from 1984 with Jeff Bridges and Karen Allen. The other one we had planned on watching is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a foreign film from 2007 with Mathieu Amalric and Emmanuelle Seigner. But, Starman won't be here until tomorrow, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly hasn't been turned back in at the library yet (NOOOO!!!). Like I said, we do have two other movies. The first is Brokeback Mountain, a drama love story from 2005, with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. The other one is Legend, a Sci-Fi Adventure from 1985 with Tom Cruise, Mia Sera and Tim Curry. So, I'll give you an update as to what we watched!!

We watched quite a few movies this past week. Here's what was on the list:

Places in the Heart, a drama from 1984 with Sally Field, Ed Harris and Danny Glover.

F/X, an action thriller from 1986 with Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy.

Laurel and Hardy Shorts: Sons of the Desert (1933) and The Music Box (1932).

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, a foreign film from 1988 with Carmen Maura and the delicious Antonio Banderas.

He Said, She Said, a comedy from 1991 with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins.

p.s. I found my sports bra!! YAY!!

Losing it

I am losing my mind. I feel like I have SO much to do to get ready for this move that I am running around like a crazy woman!!

But not only am I losing my mind, I have noticed that I have lost several things in the past week that I NEED. I have no idea where these things are - I have looked EVERYWHERE. I am fairly certain they didn't make their way into a box, because I know I need them, but seriously - they disappeared.

One is a book. It's a personal book, and it's one that I promised to read. I haven't actually been reading lately - only during my lunch break at work - because with all the packing and getting things ready for the move, I haven't had a chance. And, if I do have a few minutes to chill, which really hasn't been happening, I have problems concentrating on a book. I just can't turn off the "I have so much to do" part of my brain. Anyway, I've only been reading it at work, but I can't find it anywhere. Not cool. ***edit*** Since the writing of this post, I have FOUND my book!! YAY!!! ***edit***

The second thing is a Bluetooth ear bud. I bought one from Verizon about 2 weeks ago. I didn't like it very much (it didn't fit in my ear right), so I purchased another one off Amazon (which I like much better). Anyway, I put it...somewhere...and now I can't find it!! Which REALLY sucks, because I could have really used that refund (I have 30 days to return it...if I can find it!!). UGH - how stupid, and what a waste of a bunch of money I don't really have to waste!!!

The third thing is...brace yourselves...my sports bra. Yes, I said sports bra in my blog. Now, I have another one, but it's old and, well, I hate it. It doesn't work very well. My new one was so nice and snug and comfortable (well, as comfortable as sports bras can be), and it's NOWHERE. Now I KNOW that didn't get into a box - but WHERE is it!??!?!

Seriously, there has to be something wrong with me. Anyone want to help me look for these things? Please??

I voted!!

Happy Early Voting everyone!!! I am excited to say that today, I exercised my right to vote!! HOOOORAY!!!!

My library is an Early Voting site for the presidential election. Which means we have TONS of extra people coming in to the library to vote (On Wednesday, we had 1,400+ people come in to the library JUST to vote! That's AWESOME!!! They are expecting at LEAST 20,000 people to vote at our Early Voting location ALONE!!!) Though, being an early voting site does come with some interesting adventures and stories.

First, early voting starts at 8:00 AM. The library itself doesn't open until 9:30. Which means that sometimes, the building is open, but the Library is closed. I blogged about this once before - very fun times!!

I am lucky enough, once again, to be the one who comes in extra early to police the building before the library opens. I have to tell you - I kinda like it. Here are a couple stories from the first two mornings:

**This happened about 30 minutes before early voting started. The EV staff tends to think they can do whatever, so they will come in and out of the building by pulling the doors open and shut. Keep in mind there is already a line of people waiting to get in. They see the EV staff opening the doors to come in and out... I bet you know what's coming.

Lady who is Determined to Vote: **pulls doors open and struts in**
Real Librarian: Um, excuse me, can I help you?
LDV: **with ATTITUDE** I'm goin' to VOTE.
RL: I'm sorry, actually, the voting doesn't open until 8:00, you'll have to wait outside.
LDV: I don't have TIME to wait. Plus, the radio said I could vote at 7.
Well, it took a while, but I finally got her to realize that no matter what she heard on the radio, the voting was NOT open. Oh, and I did manage to sneak in "that's why the doors were closed." heh heh heh

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Man in Green Shirt: Can you tell me the hours of the early voting?
Real Librarian: Sure - here they are (shows him schedule).
MGS: Great - my wife will have to come in on Saturday, it's the only time she can come!
RL: Well, great - we'll see her here on Saturday!
**MGS leaves and comes back in about 5-7 minutes later.
MGS: My wife doesn't have to come in on Saturday!! She's here right now!!!
RL: BWAHAHAHAHA (yes, I really did laugh - he was a good sport!)

New Book Tuesday!!!

Today is once again Fabulous Tuesday!! But I had to make an announcement in story time today...one that I haven't even told you guys yet...

Next Tuesday will be my last story time at my library. My husband and I are officially moving to Minnesota!! It's been a long time coming. We were supposed to move in April, and then July. But I just didn't want to move without a job. Unfortunately, I still don't have one, but it is time to quit dragging it out and move already. So, I put in my two weeks notice at my job, and I totally cried telling my story time family today.

So, to make things a little more exciting, I had New Book story time today. This is the story time where I raid the new book shelf to see what's just come in to the library. Then I tell the kids that they are extra special, because these are NEW BOOKS, and NO ONE has heard them yet, and they are the first!! They love that! Anyway, here are the books I chose for my second to last story time.

Stuck in the Mud by Jane Clarke


The Knot Fairy by Bobbie Hinman


1,2, Buckle my Shoe by Anna Hines


This also means we are getting close to the end of FMRNS, which is one of the most depressing things ever. Like EVER. If you've been following this blog, you know that my friend A and I have been at this movie watching for a LONG time. We call it Fabulous Movies Real's Never Seen, but it's really a movie education. All genres, all decades, hundreds of actors and actresses. The goal is to get to 299 before I actually move away. We decided on 299 for a couple reasons. One being we are SO CLOSE!!!! After tonight, we'll be 6 movies away from the goal. The other reason that we decided on 299 and not 300 is because we are waiting on NetFlix to deliver AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies DVD - which says it has a Very Long Wait, and we can't find it anywhere else. That DVD will be the "final exam" of my movie education. If all school was like this, I'd be a student forever.

Anyway, we've been stepping up our game in order to get to 299. Lots of Double Feature bonus nights!! Here are the movies we've watched in the past week or so:

Strictly Ballroom, a dramedy from 1992 with Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice.
The Little Princess, a Shirley Temple movie from 1939.
Watership Down, an animated drama from 1979.
Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down, a foreign film from 1990 with Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril. (We tried to watch this one before, and made it about 15 minutes to the end, and the DVD gave out on us! We were pumped to be able to finish it!)
It Happened One Night, a romantic comedy from 1934 with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert.
The Goodbye Girl, a romantic comedy from 1977 with Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason.
Vatel, a drama from 2000 with Gerard Depardieu, Uma Thurman and Tim Roth.

This week we'll probably watch Beautiful Thing, a dramedy from 1996 with Meera Syal and Martin Walsh. Another option is F/X, an action crime thriller from 1986 with Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy.








P.S. I want to give a huge shoutout to Luanne from A Bookworm's World!! I won her giveaway of An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken - how exciting!!! Thanks so much, Luanne!!!

Be sure to check out A Bookworm's World - she's got tons of great reviews in you are interested in some recommendations!!

Book Blog Giveaways!

Here is a list of some fabulous book blog giveaways I came across this week:

Shana at Literarily has a post up with Guest Blogger and Author Michelle Moran. This post includes info for a chance to win Michelle Moran's book The Heretic Queen. Contest ends October 17th.

The Tome Traveller's Weblog is giving away Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh. Click here to enter!! Contest ends October 22nd.

J. Kaye's Book Blog has a great review and giveaway for Peacemaker by Dan Ronco. Raffle will be held on October 22nd.

Booking Mama has reviewed the book I Like You by Amy Sedaris. Click here to enter the contest, which ends on October 22!

Bermudaonion is giving away a copy of Dead Boys by Richard Lange. Click here to enter!! Contest ends October 17th.

Hannah's Dream Giveaway WINNER!!!

The winner of my Hannah's Dream giveaway is Rebekah!!!!! I've sent you an email to let you know and ask for your snail mail address. I hope you enjoy this book!!!

Thanks to all of you who entered my giveaway!!! I did have to delete some entries - a couple people forgot to leave their email address, and I warned you! You'll remember next time, though, right?

Anyway, this is about Rebekah and how rock star cool she is. Congrats, girl!!!

Piggy story time

I love Tuesdays! I love Tuesdays!! I love Tuesdays!! And Tuesday is today!! (sung in my best "I love Tuesdays" voice).

That's right, Tuesday story time is here again! I just realized that I had never done a story time with a Pig theme, so I bet you can guess what we are reading stories about today!!

If you Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Joffe Numeroff


Not a Stick by Antoinette Portis


Piggies by Don and Audrey Wood


And, as always, it's FMRNS!! A and I had a couple bonus nights last week. First, on Tuesday, we watched Fiddler on the Roof, a musical from 1971 with Topol and Norma Crane. I loved this movie!! The music was awesome, and Topol? He has the sexiest voice (him and Sean Connery)!!!

On Friday, we watched But I'm a Cheerleader, a comedy from 1999 with Natasha Lyonne and Michelle Williams. We were also able to get together on Sunday for an impromptu bonus night, where we watched Flash Gordon, a cheesy Sci Fi movie from 1980 with Sam J. Jones and Melody Anderson. It was AWESOME!! **singing** "Flash!!! AHHHHHH!!! Savior of the Universe!!! Flash!!! AHHHHHHH!!! He'll save every one of us!!!" Queen did the soundtrack, and it ROCKED!!!

Tonight, we're going to watch Strictly Ballroom, a dramedy from 1992 with Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice. We might even do a Double Feature, but we haven't officially decided yet... =)

P.S. Today is the LAST DAY to enter my Hannah's Dream giveaway!!! I will announce the winner tomorrow!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!

Library question of the day

Boy Gangsta: What time y'all be closin'?
Real Librarian: **snicker** We will be closing at 8:00.

All about NetFlix

I signed up for NetFlix a couple of months ago, just to see if my friend A and I could get some of the movies for our FMRNS List through them that we couldn't get through the library.

Before I go any further, I have to give MAD PROPS to the library. They have provided A and I with almost all of the movies on our list (270 and counting!). We've only had to resort to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video a handful of times. So, library - you ROCK my FACE OFF!!! =)

Now, back to the point. Thanks to NetFlix, A and I have made it through the hard to find movies on the list. Rather than buying a movie at $20 a pop, we've been able to have 3 movies out at a time for less than what it would cost for one movie! WHOOT!!!! (Not to mention the hours that I have spent watching other things not associated with the list, such as Seasons 1 and 2 of How I Met Your Mother --season 3 comes out next week!!! -- Season 1 of Pushing Daisies, Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, and most recently, the first season of Project Runway.)

So, because I rock, and because NetFlix rocks, they sent me 4 free month trials that I can give out to friends!! Soooo, if anyone wants to sign up for a FREE MONTH of NetFlix, I can hook you up!!!

I will email the Priority Code to the first 4 people who comment on this post. Please remember to leave your email address so I can email you!! The offer is good until October 31. If you sign up, then I get a "Bonus Disk" and that's freakin' cool!!!

And GO! =)

Three things

First, I want to say a HUGE thank you to Amanda from Life and Times of a "New" New Yorker!! She recently gave me the FABULOUS "I Love your Blog" award!!! And I have to tell ya, Amanda - I love your blog RIGHT BACK!!! If you haven't checked out her blog, you really should. She has a fabulous mix of awesome book reviews, as well as some fun pictures and interesting info about New York. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Amanda IRL, and she is one of the coolest chicas EVAH!! So, Amanda, thanks for the award, and thanks for providing me with hours of entertainment reading your reviews and learning about New York!!!

Now, I would like to honor a couple people with this prestigious award.

At Home With Books
Stone SouP
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
brainella the librarian
S. Krishna's Books
Booking Mama
Shelf Love

I enjoy reading all your reviews and fun stories! Thanks for the entertainment!!!!

Second, I'd like to thank and apologize to Alyce from At Home With Books. I was the winner of her Sailor Girl by Sheree-Lee Olson book giveaway, and I totally forgot to thank her!!! So, Alyce, THANK YOU so much for the book!! I got it in the mail, and I can't WAIT to read it!!!

And lastly, I'd like to leave you with the latest patron story.

On Tuesday, I was getting ready for story time. My co-worker, C, was sitting at the Children's Information desk, and I was standing in front of her. We had just opened the doors, and shockingly there was no one at the children's computers, and the library was blissfully quiet.

But then, I hear music...and just as mysteriously, it was gone. I told C that I had heard this music, but I was probably just going crazy. So, I went into the story room to set up in preparation of our special guest Miss Lynn. When I came back out, C told me, no I was not in fact crazy, but she heard the music, too.

I will find this music!!!

So, I set off towards the sound. I get to the circulation area and look around. The music is definitely louder here...hmmmm... So I continue down the path, and come across a man (not a teenager, not a child, but a grown man probably about my age - 29) who is standing at a catalog computer looking up some stuff. He has ear buds in his ears. This CAN'T be where the music is coming from - but wait - IT IS!!!!!! This man's music is SO LOUD, that I could hear it literally HUNDREDS of feet away (I'm not even kidding - C will even back me up on this!!).

So, I stride up to the catalog computer, positioning myself so the man will see me without my having to scream "EXCUSE ME!" He looks up, and I politely ask him to turn down his headphones. I then say (because I really think he needs to know) that I could hear it all the way down at the children's desk. To which he replies...

"Oh, really? I had no idea."

Um - you had no idea that your music was that loud? Seriously? Can it even be considered music if it is that loud? Maybe I'm just OLD, but holy shit.

Ok, ok, just one more thing. Remember to leave me a comment and sign up for my latest giveaway!! Last day to enter is Tuesday, October 7!!