10 Good Things on a Monday 5/23

My 10 favorite literary quotes. (As pulled from my Goodreads profile. And by literary, I mean about books or from books.)

1. Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly. - Neil Gaiman

2. Hi Sandy, I won! - Ellen Raskin
This one is from the book The Westing Game. You have to read it to understand it. This is my favorite childhood book, and every time I read this quote, I smile.

3. Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them. - Lemony Snicket

4. All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. - JRR Tolkien

5. I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything. - Mark Haddon

6. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. - Dr. Seuss

7. The true American patriot is by definition skeptical of the government. - Sarah Vowell

8. The world was hers for the reading. - Betty Smith

9. I don't get nearly enough credit in life for the things I manage not to say. - Meg Rosoff

10. The best way to get even with anyone is to put them in the rear view mirror on the way to something better. - Joe Hill

Learn Something New Tuesday - 5/10

1. What was your very first job that you went out and interviewed for and got?
That would be for a retirement community down the street from my high school. It was a large building and I worked as a server in the restaurant. I didn't have to deal with money or tips (I made minimum wage and the residents paid for their meals in the cost of their living arrangements), just food. I only worked on Sundays. It was easy for a restaurant job but the coworkers were heinous. No supervisor to speak of (he locked himself in his office and ignored everyone) and bullies galore. When I left I was told I could never work for them again. Good! It made me happy.

2. If someone gave you $50 and said that you had to spend it on yourself right now, what would you buy?
Clothes. I want to go clothes shopping this weekend, so this would just speed it up a little bit.

3.  How would you spend an entire day alone?
I love being alone... I mean, I love other people but I am just fine by myself and much more relaxed... I would just do what I usually do: watch tv, eat junk food and mess around on the computer.

4. What is one thing you’d change about the car you currently drive?
I'd fix my truck's transmission - pretty sure something is up with it. Uhmm, and change it so it is magically clean. It really needs to be cleaned and I am really lazy about it. I sometimes drive our Cobalt but I wouldn't change anything about that except maybe add more leg room in the back.

5. What is your favorite way to eat chicken?
Any way. I loooooove chicken. And I like other people cooking it for me because I get paranoid about it being cooked through.

6. Which one of these scented candles would you light?  A) vanilla B) crisp linen C) melon
Vanilla. I got a vanilla air freshener for the kitchen, and I love it. Linen would be ok, but a lot of melon scents smell really artificial to me.

10 Good Things on a Monday 5/9

For 10 Good Things on a Monday today I will be sharing 10 favorite photos I've found recently. I've been going through my photo files picking out photos I want to get prints of to frame... so many photos, it's a little overwhelming. But while I do so I'm finding a lot of photos I love that remind me of happy times... so here we go... in no particular order.

Me, Hans, my mom, and my brother PJ - in California for my Mom and Hans' wedding

My Dad and PJ on the night of PJ's graduation

Me in California with an R2D2 mailbox

I'll probably get in trouble for posting this... but this is Scotty's crazy family!

Scotty's cousin Danielle's daughter Lorelai, playing with my lens cap. SO CUTE.

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law waiting in line to get a Wii. This makes me smile.

Same time... Chris and Alicia killing time while we waited.

Four generations... my great-grandma, my granny, my mom and me.

Women on my other side of the family... my aunts, cousins, stepmom and Nana.

My Auntie Beth rocking out with PJ and a friend of his TJ.

10 Good Things on a Monday 3/28

Hi everybody! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was fun - taco night on Saturday and then the Arizona Renaissance Festival on Sunday with Alicia and Chris. For this week's 10 Good Things on a Monday I'll be sharing the 10 things I love about going to the Renaissance Festival.

Scotty and I go every year to the festival with different people - friends, family and sometimes just on our own. It is always a good time!



1. Watching other people eat turkey legs

 2. Shirtless men in kilts, i.e. Tartanic!
3. The falconry show, which had lots of new birds this year.

4. Trying to sit in the "good guy's" section at the joust - and failing miserably.

5. Ded Bob - a classic comedy show with Bob and his dummy.
6. Any show with "LC" after it on the program (Loose Cannon) - it means the show will be geared toward adults and is probably going to be even more hilarious than usual!
7. The food! (Just ignore Alicia here; it was delicious!)

8. Souvenirs - we picked up a mug for Scotty and this little dragon figure for me. Isn't it perfect - a dragon and a cat to fit right with Loki and Sneakers?

9. Spending time with family and/or friends - whoever comes with us! It's so much fun.

10. The bizarre stuff people come up with!

10 Good Things on a Monday 3/14

10 Things I Am Looking Forward To
1. Our couch being delivered tonight! We have a sofa, loveseat and recliner coming sometime between 7 and 11 PM. Fingers crossed that it's sooner rather than later... I never stay up that late anymore!

2. The Renaissance Festival later this month! Every year I see many employees of the festival come in the library and we go every year. I love it!

3. ABLEconf on April 2. It's a business-oriented free software conference. It'll be my first year going.

4. Doing a "Day in the Life" in photos on April 2. It will be fun to do one in our new house!

5. Trying out the Mexican restaurant down the road from us. It is closed Sunday and Monday so that will have to wait! I've heard good things, though.

6. Playing Dragon Age 2! We have it but we just now got both PCs set up so we can finally play. I'm tempted to sneak over to Scotty's computer and start playing.

7. Having all the boxes unpacked.

8. Taking the books I've decided I don't need to Bookmans and Half-Price Books - not only will they be no longer taking up space, but I'll have money for more books!

9. Our housewarming party.

10. Swimming! I can't wait to relax in my in-laws' pool with everyone. It's been very warm lately so I think everybody is feeling ready for summer!

10 Good Things on a Monday 2/28

It looks like our house closing has been delayed - hopefully only for a couple of days. Fingers crossed! I'm spending today digging up some paperwork that the credit union has requested and trying to relax about the whole thing.

10 Good Things on a Monday is a great way to relax!



The Last 10 Books I Added to my Goodreads "To Read" Shelf
(Mostly found at Barnes and Noble - I refrained from buying them since I'd just have to pack them, and besides, I can always get them for free at the library!)

1. Dark Delicacies: Original Tales of Terror and the Macabre, edited by Del Howison - I love short story anthologies and especially scary ones!

2. Edge by Thomas Blackthorne - The cover caught my eye and the plot sounds intriguing enough to give it a try.

3. You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin - A seventeen-year-old hard-boiled detective? Why not? It sounds interesting!

4.  The Ghost's Child by Sonya Hartnett - This seems like the kind of book I should read when I'm in just the right mood for it.

5. The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier - This looks like a unique kind of fantasy.

6. Snakes in Suits by Paul Babiak - To my knowledge I've never worked with a psychopath (I can't imagine what it would be like!), but the subject seems fascinating.

7. Without Conscience by Robert D. Hare - Another psychopath book. Does that make me weird? Probably!

8. Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World by Peter Shankman - I have been working on my library's social media presence and this book looks like it might contribute some useful tips.

9. Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne - I enjoyed this author's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and am looking forward to this new book.

10. Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok - The storyline is interesting and I'd like to read more about this subject, which I'm not very familiar with.

Packing machines and 10 Good Things on a Monday 2/21

On Saturday, Scotty got a call from our realtor. We had been waiting... patiently sometimes, and not so patiently others... during the week while we waited to hear something from our credit union. She let us know that everything looks spot-on, and our closing date is expected to be the 28th of February. And when Scotty mentioned how antsy I am to pack, she said the magic words: "go ahead and pack!"

So of course we immediately drove to Office Max and picked up some boxes. Packing has not gone as quickly as I would like because we are both getting over an illness (probably a cold) that knocked us on our butts last week, but it's getting there. I just have to turn a blind eye to the walk-in closet in this bedroom, which looks more like I have been experimenting with contained hurricanes.

(Even though I say packing is slow, Scotty calls me a "little packing machine." What can I say? I like projects.)

So. On Monday, a week from today, we could have the keys. I am so excited. I can't wait.

With that, I will distract myself with this week's 10 Good Things on a Monday. Taking the prompt from the blog this time. Kind of.



5 Things to Do on a Sunny Day

1. Visit the Boyce Thompson Arboretum (one of my favorite places in the world to simply go and relax and enjoy the quiet)
2. Jump in the pool with the dogs
3. Eat ice cream
4. Buy chocolate bars from the grocery store and immediately stick them in the fridge upon coming home
5. Look for shapes in the clouds

It's funny that this prompt came up today. I live in Arizona, which is sunny almost all of the time - except today, which is cold and dreary and gray. Considering how often cozy days like this come around, I love them - so I am going to complete this 10 things with 5 Things to Do on a Rainy Day.

5 Things to Do on a Rainy Day

1. Eat soup or chili
2. Curl up under a blanket or two with a book or a movie (in my case, Monsters, Inc. and the Chaos Walking trilogy)
3. Forget it's rainy when you go outside to crush some soda cans and freeze your feet
4. Eat ice cream
5. Watch the raindrops in the car window

10 Good Things on a Monday 2/14

Happy Valentine's Day, and happy birthday to my husband! I hope everyone is having a great day.



My top 10 favorite Beatles songs (in no particular order):

1. Yellow Submarine
2. Eight Days a Week
3. Lady Madonna
4. I Will
5. Paperback Writer
6. In My Life
7. Dear Prudence
8. I Want to Hold Your Hand
9. Eleanor Rigby
10. Let it Be

10 Good Things on a Monday 2/7

10 things I want for the future house:

1. A washer/dryer. Hopefully, this will be the first big purchase. I'm leaning towards the LG brand, and probably bright red...
2. A comfy, comfy sofa. Something with a chaise!
3. That lamp I saw at Hobby Lobby, which sadly was no longer there when I went to buy it with a gift card from Christmas. It was shaped like a tree trunk, with birds flitting in and out of it.
4. An alligator-shaped bathtub mat.
5. A basketball hoop.
6. A sulcata tortoise.
7. A nice new desk. Nothing big; something simple, like this.
8. This toy box to hold Loki's supplies. It matches her new vivarium!
9. A dresser.
10. A bigger TV. (Eventually.)

(Now, if only we'd hear back from the bank...)

10 Good Things on a Monday 1/31

10 things that make me smile:

1. Thinking about decorating our new house.
2. Scotty's smile.
3. The way Loki runs around like crazy on the floor, licking everything and exploring.
4. The after-the-rain smell outside right now.
5. The three tiny little cow erasers on my desk.
6. Seeing a pile of courier books on my desk at work, ready to be read.
7. Angry Birds. (I just downloaded it yesterday. I don't know why I didn't try it sooner.)
8. Sleepy puppies, like my mom's boxer Ruger the other day - puppy yawns are so adorable.
9. Hugging my mom. She gives great hugs.
10. Looking through amazing photos on Flickr.