A happy when I'm grouchy

I'm having a grouchy day. Lots of stuff went wrong and it made me grouchy. But... I have a happy! I finally have almost all of my inspirational fiction cataloged in my book database. Now, when I go to ACFW and buy books in the bookstore, I'll know what I have so I don't buy duplicates!

YAY!!

(Of course, I only have 3 of my 13 bookcases cataloged. We'll deal with those later, yes?)

So.... knowing the above statistic, how many books do you think are currently in my catalog? I'll give a book prize to whoever is closest.

Thanksgiving Thursday: A much awaited day

Well, I'm not going to tell you exactly what I'm doing today, and those of you who do know, you can't tell!

I've been looking forward to today for a long time. It's a day for just me, and it's something I would have never done for myself had a dear friend not offered as a birthday gift.

So today, I am thankful for what's to come, and I'm sooo excited!!

Are you anticipating anything exciting in the near future?

Church Lessons from my 7yo

As we have all figured out by now, my 7yo doesn't just dance to the beat of her own drummer, she's in a completely different band. Yesterday after church, as I was trying to converse with her about what she learned, I got to hear her interpretation of the lesson. It's very funny, and has no reflection on her teachers (I promise, Matt!)- she just processes differently.

Me: What'd you learn in church today?
Her: I don't know.
Me: Was there anything interesting in church today?
Her: Oh yeah. This girl was there talking.
Me: Which girl?
Her: The one who always wears boots. She's got dark hair and it's in a curly ponytail. I think her name is Chris or something.
Me: Do you mean Kristin?
Her: Yes.
(And, she's right. Kristin wears skinny jeans and boots a lot. She really knows how to rock them. So jealous of her fashion sense.)
Me: What did Kristin talk about?
Her: Well, she said a bunch of stuff. It was funny.
Me: What did she say?
Her: Well, she said blah blah blah, blah blah blah. Only she didn't say blah blah blah, blah blah blah. She actually used words.
Me: (Trying not to die laughing.) So what was so funny about what she said?
Her: She held up signs for us to laugh or clap or to (makes gasping sound) do that. I forget what that is.
Me: Gasp?
Her: Yes. Gasp.
Me: Do you remember what the story was about?
Her: Oh! It was about Jesus asking a guy to baptize him.
Me: Why did Jesus want to get baptized? (Note: We just did baptisms at church. I'm thinking we're about to enter into a deep, spiritual discussion about baptism.)
Her: (looooong sigh) Because when you get baptized it's like dying on the cross and then rising again. (I am thinking YES!!! She gets it!)
Her: (continuing) And Jesus is so sick of having to die on the cross every single year, and then having to rise again, and then having to be born again every Christmas. So now he's just going to get baptized so he doesn't have to keep doing it every single year.

(At which point, I am having to try REALLY hard not to die laughing, because she is truly indignant at how horrible it is for Jesus to have to die on the cross EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I mean really, he's sick of it, okay? So just stop making him do it already!)

This, my friends, is my world. Or her interpretation thereof.

Tuesday Tea Time: Good Companions

It is a waste to drink blooming tea alone

Today I am exhaustimificated. Yes, it's a real word, I made it up myself. The Dog woke me up at an hour where those who know me know that it is simply not safe to bring me to any state of consciousness. The Man did not let him out when he went to work, and so The Dog  made his displeasure known to me. The Man blames The Dog for not getting up, but we all know it is The Man's fault.

The point of this very very sad tale is that I've been so tired all day, and with a packed schedule because I'm back to crazy Tuesdays, I did not have time to think through today's post.

Which got me to thinking about one of the things I love about going to tea. Amazing companions who get it. I can assure you that my favorite tea companions understand that I am not human prior to about 9 am, 10 if I can help it. They understand that sigh of completeness upon taking that first important sniff of a long awaited cup of tea. They let you talk about the crazy things in your life. They don't try to have you committed for wondering what the best way to rob the bank across the street would be, or how a terrorist might attack the very place in which you sit. The perfect tea companion lets you knit while you sip. And the perfect tea companion understands that the correct answer to the question of scone is, "yes, please, with lots of clotted cream."

Who is your perfect tea companion?

Pomodoro Productivity

I'm hard at work- REALLY!

A week or so ago, I was talking with Camy Tang about re-evaluating things on my plate and time management. She told me about the Pomodoro technique. She had read about it on Mary DeMuth's blog, and since I respect Mary as a fellow superwoman, and it was working for Camy, I checked it out.

Wowie Zowie!!

The first day I used it, I got all my regular work done, plus some writing, plus some chit chat with a good friend. I've been using it off and on for the better part of a week, and when I remember to use it, I'm finding that I'm getting a lot more done.

Now, since I don't have a handy dandy tomato timer, I've been using the microwave timer, which has been great for me, because it forces me to get up and turn off the timer, thus forcing me to stop work. Before, I'd look at the clock and think, "just a few more minutes," and keep going.

For those of you scratching your head about the technique, basically, what you do is take 25 minutes and spend it on one task, then when the time goes off, take a 5 minute break, then do it again. Each of these segments is called a Pomodoro. After four Pomodoros, you take a longer break.

Since I work at home, I've been using my breaks to straighten up the house, start dinner, do laundry, etc. I'm amazed at how much housework I get done during my breaks! Better yet, I don't feel as overwhelmed because I think, "only five minutes of putting laundry away. How much laundry can I get put away in five minutes?" And then, when my timer goes off, I leave my laundry where it is, and get back to work!

Today I crossed everything off my to-do list, including a couple of items I keep moving to another day because under my old haphazard method, I ran out of time. The only thing I didn't do is something I forgot to write down.

For me, the key is going to be remembering to actually use the system. My crossed off list proves that it works much better for me than anything else I've tried.

What time management system works for you?

Thanksgiving Thursday: Delayed Answers

Today I am thankful for delayed answers. Which is kind of weird, because I'm the most impatient person I know. However... yesterday I had some wonderful quiet time in which God showed me the joy in the delayed answer to a prayer I prayed several years ago.

Rewind a few years. I was in a semi bad place, and I really needed someone to come alongside me. A really good friend knew someone in a similar place and tried to connect us. On the surface, this person and I had so much in common, and we really appeared to be a good fit. But time passed, and the connection never worked out. I prayed a lot about it, and I really prayed for this connection, because it seemed so perfect. I wondered why the only answer I received was silence.

Fast forward to recent months. Over the past few months I learned some things about this person that have made me realize that we would have had a very toxic and damaging relationship. I know that I would have taken a lot of it personally and having a relationship with this person would have really hurt me. I know this because of some things that happened to a friend of mine with this person.

My friend called me yesterday to apologize for saying bad things about this person, and as she apologized, I started to realize what a gift it had been. First off, my friend had nothing to apologize for- she had merely been talking about her experience with this person and trying to figure out the right thing to do. But secondly, as I saw the behaviors this other person exhibited, I realized how I would have been affected by them. It would not have been healthy for me. So I thanked my friend. Because her words gave me the clarity to an answer I'd been looking for about this person.

Why couldn't we connect?


I think God prevented us from connecting, because He knew that we would have connected, but ultimately, the differences in our personalities would have created a toxic relationship that would have been damaging to me, and maybe even both of us. I am learning that I don't always know my limits when it comes to people. I let in a lot of bad people and I don't have good enough boundaries to keep them from hurting me. I am learning to have better boundaries (but still need a lot of work), but back then, my difficulty in maintaining boundaries would have made the situation really bad.

I also realized that the reason God didn't just say, "no," is that back then, I would not have understood. I didn't know that I had a problem with boundaries, and I would have pushed myself to do what I thought was the right thing, even though it was the wrong thing. Please don't misunderstand and think that I think this person is a bad person or that I'm judging this person for what happened to my friend. I truly believe this person was doing what s/he thought best. I just saw a pattern of behavior and reactions that I know would have been a bad situation for me. I had observed these behaviors over the past several months without my friend's feedback, but my friend's words provided confirmation.

So I have been sitting here, sad for my friend and the hurt she is feeling, but also grateful that God protected me from what would have been worse hurt. I didn't understand my lack of answers years ago, but today, I get it. And it's helping me to think about all the other delayed answers, the longings in my heart that I don't understand why God hasn't clearly told me anything other than wait. I don't like the waiting, and I don't like the thought that perhaps in the end, the answer will be no. But I see how God has protected me in this situation, and I feel strengthened knowing that my other delayed answers may be more about my protection and growth than it is about God being a big meanie.

What about you? Are there answers you are waiting on? Is there something in that wait you can be thankful for?

My friend Robert

When I was a little girl, my teacher gave me a poster that I loved. Something happened to it when we moved (I suspect my mom threw it out), and I've always missed it.

The poster was a picture of a beautiful forest, with Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, printed within. It's still one of my favorite poems, and a couple of weeks ago, I saw a scene that reminded me again of the poem.

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

and sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

and looked down one as far as I could

to where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

and having perhaps the better claim

because it was grassy and wanted wear;

though as for that, the passing there

had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

in leaves no feet had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --

I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference



Actually, we didn't take the path less traveled by, as you can see from the pictures, it dead-ended, and there were a lot of signs telling people not to leave the paved path. But it was still a beautiful walk, and a beautiful day, and even though it was just me and my friend Tess, I'd like to think my friend Robert was with us too, and that he would have enjoyed the walk just as much as we did.

Tuesday Tea Time: When you want to run away screaming

Um, yes, this happens to me frequently. Mostly because I am a super introverted mommy with a super extroverted high maintenance terrorist diva daughter and I find it best for all parties involved for mommy to go have a little tea time with her BFF. Said BFF also has a terrorist diva daughter (though hers is not as extreme as mine. Not that it's a competition. I'd gladly let someone else win.). On this particular day, however, we also wanted to run away screaming from the wonderful men we married.

YUM!

These are the days when the only thing that will do is being in an Asian restaurant (preferably Chinese) where the nice wait staff comes by with great frequency to refill your tea pot. Frankly, I don't care which kind of tea they give me, because most of the time, any good Chinese place will give you a pot of the house Jasmine and it's really quite good. Or maybe I'm desperate. Either way, I don't care. It's tea. When you ask me what keeps me from having to check into a loony bin, I'll tell you- tea. There is nothing a pot of tea won't cure. Sometimes it takes several pots, but it always works.

One of these is a tea menu.

Anyway, the last time I ran away, it was dinnertime, and since I could not cope with the idea of cooking AND dealing with my family, I told my BFF to pick a restaurant, and as long as I got my pots of Asian tea, I was good. She chose sushi. Now, I've never really braved the real stuff without my beloved Camy Tang, but that night, I was REALLY brave and did sashimi. I did not die. I didn't even gag. I would even say it was quite good. Which is saying a lot since I just looked up the place, and the reviews say it's not that great.

We ended up at Wasabi Sushi Bar. The patio seating was great, and I loved the ambiance. Nothing like drinking tea and watching the sunset. The service was a little slow, but since I ended up arriving an hour early (and getting some nice quiet time in), I am not complaining. They also had a tea menu, which impressed me, since most of these places have maybe two or three choices. I also had the plum wine. Best part of the whole night-

Tastes great with wine!

Me: "I'll have the plum wine and a pot of the decaf green papaya pineapple tea."
Waitress: "You want two drinks?"
Me: "Yes. A glass of plum wine and a pot of tea."
Waitress: "You want hot tea?"
Me: "Yes. I want hot tea."
Waitress: "So you want plum wine AND hot tea?"


It finally occurred to me that it is apparently weird to want a glass of wine and a pot of hot tea. This poor lady gave me the strangest look, and gave my friend the same look when she showed up and ordered the same thing (she got a different tea- the orange creamsicle tea, which was delish). For the record, the combination of a glass of wine and a pot of tea is nothing short of a miracle cure when you've had a horrible day.

So, when you want to run away screaming, even though the online reviews from people who are really into sushi aren't that great, I think you should try this place. The plum wine was excellent, the tea pretty good, and I liked the food. Plus, if you're there when it's nice enough to sit on the patio, the sunset is amazing. By the end of the night, you'll be empowered to go home, give that sweet little terrorist girl a big hug, then give your ball and chain great husband a big smooch and thank him for letting you have such a nice evening.

Thanksgiving Thursday: Mary

One of my grandmas died yesterday. It makes me sad, because she lived in Florida, so I didn't get to see her very often. On one hand, I'm pretty lucky because I've got a lot of grandmas- marriages and divorces amongst grandparents and parents will do that for you. On the other hand, that's just one more special person to lose.

The last time I saw Mary, last summer. We're having lunch for my dad's birthday. She's the one on the end, on the right, next to me.

But instead of being sad about Mary's death, I want to be thankful for the time I had with her. Remembering the little things that I loved about her. One of the crazy things I hate about not living on the East Coast is that we don't have Dunkin Donuts. Not because they have the best donuts in the world (I know, because I had one on my last visit), but because of the memory of spending time at my dad's house, and some evenings, Mary and Pete would come by with a box of Dunkin Donuts and we'd sit and have coffee, eating our Dunkin Donuts. I always felt so special and grownup because we got to have coffee and donuts.

I also loved their old house in Bernardsville, NJ. It was one of my favorite places to go, and I loved all the wonderful times we had together there. I'd spend hours in the basement, making up songs on their piano, or upstairs in Laurie's room (who has also passed. I miss her) playing Barbies.

Of course, I also loved their house in Florida, and one of my most memorable times was having Thanksgiving with them in Florida. I loved that she had such a variety of food- traditional Thanksgiving fare, Italian food, and German food. YUM! They also passed around a liqueur, peach brandy, I think, and she let me have just a taste. Which made me feel ridiculously grown up, and I'll never forget that.

She also gave me a doll- I still have her, and her name is blue dot. I remember her laughing and saying what a ridiculous name it was, but the name stuck. Blue dot was one of my closest companions for a long time, and I always thought I'd give her to my girls someday, but so far, I've been afraid that they won't love her as much as I did, so she's still in my closet, waiting for the right time.

So today, I hope you think about the special people you're thankful for. And be thankful and blessed for the time you had with them.

The Liebster Blog Award

My friend Megan gave me this award, and since I've been a blog slacker lately, I guess this is as good of a jump start as any to getting back to it.

Here's my problem, though. (Um, I'm a slacker?) All the blogs I like to follow and read have loads of followers, and since the whole point is to spread the love to someone who has less than 200 followers, I don't know who to give the award to. Soo...

If you  have an interesting blog, and you'd like a Liebster, then let me know. I'll go read your blog, pass on the love, and then I'll tell my friends all about it.

If I have just awarded you The Liebster, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award, and link back to them.
2. Give The Liebster Award to five bloggers, and let them know in a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
4. Have faith your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. Have blogging fun!

Thanksgiving Thursday

Because I seem to be starting all kinds of new themes, well, okay, just my Tuesday Tea posts, I want to do something special on Thursdays as well. Our moms group at church just finished reading a book, which I won't mention, because I actually did not like the book. However, it, as well as a couple others I've been reading lately, have talked a lot about the importance of being thankful and expressing that thankfulness.

So I decided, rather than just doing it privately, which I am doing, I also want the public accountability on my blog where I can express my thankfulness and be reminded, even in the worst times, we can choose to be thankful.

Pretty ironic for this to be the inaugural blog, because today hasn't been a great day. Last night, just before bed, the dog decided to pee on the bed for no apparent reason. So we had to strip the bed and hunt for a spare set of sheets. Pretty crazy that we only have one set of sheets for our bed, but that's what we have. I wash them and put them on all in the same day. Anyway, it took forever, and every time I tried dozing off, I'd smell more dog pee, and find one more thing I needed to clean up. I finally got to sleep, and then WHAM! Hubby's phone rings at 3 a.m. There was an emergency at work and they needed him to come in. I tossed and turned until I gave up at 6, fighting a horrible headache that still lingers.

So here I am, in the midst of this pain fog, thinking about being thankful, and I realized all the things, even with this bad situation, I can be thankful for:
1. Being up so early, I was able to print my boarding pass for my girl's weekend and get a decent spot.
2. Hubby is looking at working a 14 hour day, bringing in much needed money, when he wasn't even sure he'd have more than a couple hours' worth of work today.
3. In the quiet before the kids woke up, I got a lot of laundry done.
4. Our bedding is now clean. And I love sleeping on clean sheets.
5. I got to sit on the patio and watch a butterfly flit by.
6. My little girls understand that mommy has a headache and are giving me the space I need.
7. I am almost completely packed for my trip, so I can go to bed early tonight.
8. My piles of laundry remind me of the abundance we have.
9. The crisp taste of my water with lime is so refreshing.
10. The birds chirping in my back yard are relaxing and peaceful.

What are you thankful for today?

Bumper Stickers

I spent 30 minutes yesterday behind a car with what, in my opinion, was a very offensive bumper sticker. I've seen bumper stickers like it, and it got me to thinking about all of the bumper stickers I see out there. So many of them are geared toward offending or attacking someone else.

For example, the popular bumper sticker proclaiming that "My dog is smarter than your honor student."

My question is why. Why do people need to put down someone else's pride in their child? Why do we need to attack other people's religious views? Or political views? Will driving past someone with a "NObama" bumper stinker alter the way I vote? I've never read a bumper sticker that made me question my religion. Actually, the only thing a bumper sticker has made me question is the person who thought that putting on that bumper sticker was a good idea.

One of my friends, Lucille Zimmerman, is a counselor, and I've gotten to critique her book (which is fantastic, and I can't wait until she sells!). She is always asking a question that I've learned to ask in situations like this. "What does this tell me about the other person?"

So as I followed this couple with the offensive bumper stickers, I started to ask myself that question. What does those bumper stickers tell me about these people? First of all, one of them said something about how they weren't inconsiderate, they just didn't care. Wow. What a sad thing to say about oneself, don't you think? And then of course, there were the ignorant religion attacking bumper stickers. Again, as I thought about what it said about these people, I realized that they must not have any hope, and combined with their not caring, they probably didn't really have a whole lot of good in their lives. Instead of being angry, I kind of felt bad for them. And even though knowing it would have probably offended these people, I prayed for them.

Then there was the woman driving around with very sexually explicit bumper stickers. Again, I thought about what they said about her. Not just on the surface, but about what kind of deep wounds must she have that made her feel like she needed every human being who drove past to know exactly how much sex you like, and what thing you're willing to do. I was glad my kids didn't notice or ask me what those words meant, but I knew what those bumper stickers meant. The woman was a broken woman who felt that the only way to prove her strength was to shout out a lot of things that only proved how broken she was.

And sure, there are the positive bumper stickers, like the ones about our families, or how we love our favorite teams, or some of our favorite hobbies, or places to visit? But you know what? I'd rather sit down and have a conversation with you so that we can know these things about each other.

The problem with bumper stickers is that they are just one more piece of the passive aggressive communication prevalent in our society. I won't have a conversation with you about your religion, but I will denigrate it to anyone who drives by. I'm not willing to have an intelligent political discussion with you, but I will slander your favorite candidate. Sex? Well, I'm not going to take the time to get to know a member of the opposite gender and know them as person, instead, I'm going to tell the world how little I respect them. Probably because I'm too insecure to allow myself to be vulnerable in a real relationship.

I don't have a bumper sticker on my car. Although I do have a lovely Dora the Explorer sticker on one of my windows from when a disobedient little girl stuck it there. I can't find a way to get it off without damaging the coating. I imagine what that says about me is that I'm a mom, and just like every other mom, I have kids who don't always listen as they should. And that I don't have the money to take it in to a professional to fix it.

But what I really hope my lack of bumper stickers says about me is that I'd rather have a conversation with you. I'd like to get to know you. And I'd like you to get to know me.

What do your bumper stickers say about you?

Tuesday Tea Time: The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse

Two little BFFs in front of the teahouse

Finally! Back to Colorado. Seriously, if I could travel the world doing nothing but having tea, I would. Fortunately, Colorado has some wonderful tea places, and I get to share my favorites with you.

Today's teahouse is the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse.

This amazing place was created out of a mission to better unite Boulder to its sister city in Tajikistan. The whole story can be found here on the teahouse's website. I love that this teahouse represents a culture that we Americans do not typically associate with tea. Yet, as you'll see by reading their website, tea is an important piece of the culture in Central Asia. So it makes me a little sad that most of our teahouses are British when so many of the cultures of the world have such important cultural ties to tea.

Which is why this place was so amazing.

I brought my BFF and our little girls, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the accommodations for kids to be very kid-friendly. Many times, tea places see little girls come bouncing in, and they give you the stern look of doom that makes you wonder why you'd dare bring children to cross their sacred threshold. Not so here. I found the children's menu to be very good (The chicken tenders are grilled, not fried!!) and they even had recommendations for teas that children would like. Except mine, of course, who have refined palates, and drink the good stuff.

Tea menu and regular menu

Teas... um.... yes. They have over 100 teas, and everything we had was quite good. The White Pear Tarte Green tea (which you can order on their website) was, in a word, um, no, you can't possibly give a word to describe how delicious it was. The little girls liked the Fairytale Dreams tea. I didn't have any because I am allergic to chamomile. My big girl, who loves the good stuff, had the Silver Dragon, because I wouldn't let her have her standby, Dragonwell. It was also delicious. We had another tea, but I didn't see it on the online menu, and I can't remember its name. It was also very good.

But the best part was the tea cocktails. Um, yes. Tea AND alcohol, and it was divine. I had some kind of tea mojito, and it was AMAZING. Sara had a gin and tea concoction, which was good, but strong. My word of warning here is that these drinks will knock you flat. We hung around longer than usual simply because I needed the time to be okay to drive home. And yes, I only had one. Plus lunch, plus a couple of pots of tea, plus water.

The food was also excellent. I loved the healthy choices for the kids. If your kids like the typical restaurant junky kids meal food, they will be disappointed. The other two kids had pizza, which looked homemade, and looked nothing like the flying disks you pull out of a freezer. The kids and I thought they were delicious. I had the lamb kubideh, which was really good. My kids also tried some and liked it. My BFF also thought her meal was great- she had the hummus plate and Russian beet salad. As a side note, some friends have been there for breakfast, and they thought the breakfast was excellent as well.


As far as going back, um, yes! We definitely want to go back, and for us, the only drawback is that it's about an hour away, so getting there takes some planning. If you are in the Denver/Boulder area and love tea, this is a place you won't want to miss!

Perfect cup of tea!

How can I resist?

This is my little cowgirl. I'm not much on cow-anything, and I really hate the smell of being around horses, cows, and pretty much any barnyard animal. If you'd have told me that I'd be spending my days outside an arena, I'd have told you that you were nuts. But here I am. I still think the animals stink. I still need a ton of allergy medication to hang out in a barn. However...

Just look at that smile.

My sweet cowgirl loves horses. On riding day, she wakes up with a smile that doesn't quit until she goes to bed.


So even though this horse thing is definitely not my thing, I can't resist the joy of a little girl doing what she loves. I may not be a cowgirl, but I am a cowgirl's mama.

Books, happy places, and libraries

Yesterday I shared my happy place- the library.

One of my earliest happy place memories is of going to the library. I loved going to the library more than anyplace else. For me, that magical place was the town library in Fruita, CO, which has since been moved at least twice to less romantic buildings than the tiny bit of heaven I used to love. Even now, I can still remember the old building smell combined with the old book smell.

I get into debates with people about keeping books. I am a book keeper. Even as a kid, I would put numbered masking tape stickers on my books (and yes, I still have some of them. My mom made me get rid of some, though, and I am still bitter about that. NEVER separate a book lover from her books!). My dream always has been to have a ginormous library.

I can't tell you why, because I honestly don't know. Maybe it's because I love books so much. Maybe it's because I've had so many happy times in libraries. For me, there is no greater thrill than digging through stacks of books until you find the perfect story to spend an afternoon with.

I'm sure there are probably deeper psychological reasons, like books do not judge you, and they can take you to all sorts of places you can never go otherwise.

But there is also something else, something I see in my daughters, and I try so hard not to squelch that. It's this curiosity, of wanting to know more, and of wanting to dig beyond the surface. I can't take my 7yo anywhere without her asking questions like, "mom, why do you think that man is riding a pink bike? Doesn't he know pink is a girl color?" And then listening to her go on for thirty minutes about all the reasons why this man might choose to ride a pink bike. I like knowing those things too. I like learning about other civilizations, people who lived in different times, and just about anything I never knew until I picked up a book.

So for me, being in a library filled with books is the ultimate dream come true. I am happiest surrounded by books, who are the most comforting of friends. Of course, it is also wonderful when I am joined by fellow book lovers. Nerdy as it seems, some of my most perfect days with human friends have been when we're all in the same room, lost in our own worlds, enjoying good books.

Another dangerous thing to have in my head...

I give you Bookshelf P**n. Fill in the blanks yourself, because I don't want spammers bugging me. Even though they probably will anyway. Jerks. They really need new hobbies.

Anyway, it's really been a craptastical week. Started out amazing, but I just keep getting sucked under with a lot of ick. So, let's all go to my happy place, places filled with books! One day, I'll get to design my very own happy book place, and until then, let's use these for inspiration.

But because I am truly in a heinous mood and need to go to lots of happy places, here are some other inspirations for you:

Colorado Library Designer, Snowdon & Hopkins. I'd probably use these guys. I particularly like the first picture at the top.

Of course, my dream library is the library in the movie My Fair Lady (best movie of all time!). I couldn't find any specific pics of it, so if you have one, please send it to me. As a close second, if you read this blog post and scroll down, you can see the inspiration for it. Actually, that whole blog is really what I'd like to refer to as library crack, and much better than the site at the top of my blog post.

Now it's your turn- what's your dream library?

Resting her mouth

Some days, my 7yo comes up with the funniest things, and because she's so sensitive, if I laugh in her presence, her feelings get really hurt, and it becomes a horrendous drama. So I'm sharing and laughing here, because it was so darn cute. Although... boy, with this girl's logic, I will so be in trouble when she gets older.

Last night's car ride home featured this gem, which included a great deal of sibling bickering, wailing from 7yo because I wasn't listening to her, and my personal favorite, 7yo being really mad at me for interrupting one of her soliloquys  when I was talking myself through a really confusing construction zone, trying to figure out where I needed to be.

7yo: MOM! I was talking and you rudely interrupted. (Yes, we have been discussing that interrupting is rude.)

Me: Honey, I apologize for interrupting. We're in a dangerous construction zone that's not well marked, and I'm trying to figure out where we need to be. So until we are in a safe place, I need you to be quiet so I can concentrate.

7yo: Well, if you're talking, it's not quiet.

Me: Sometimes talking to myself helps me concentrate.

7yo: It's boring not to talk.

Me: Would you rather be bored or in a car accident because you've distracted me from seeing where we're supposed to be? (picture cars zooming past you, then cutting you off because they've realized that their lane no longer exists)

7yo: Fine. I'll be quiet. But only because I don't want to be in a car accident.

(Pause for 30 seconds)
7yo: Ramble, ramble, ramble.

Me: You've been talking nonstop since we left for church. Since we're almost home, do you think you could rest your mouth and be quiet for a while?

7yo: But I'm not done talking yet.

Me: Mommy's really tired and her ears hurt. Please can we have just a little bit of quiet?

7yo: Fine. (Turns and makes sotto voce comment to her sister)

10yo: Stop picking on me!

Me to 7yo: What did you say to her? Can't you be nice to your sister?

7yo: I'm not going to answer you, because you said that I need to rest my mouth.

And this is the moment when I nearly lost it, having to try not to laugh, and maneuver through traffic, AND keep her sister from laughing all at the same time. Because, of course, that sweet little girl managed to only be quiet for 30 seconds before launching into ANOTHER long tale, and it took the threat of no frozen yogurt to finally get her to be quiet.

Tuesday Tea Time: A tea for every occasion

Tea at Junior's.

With all the fancy teas and tea places I've been highlighting, it's only fair that I also highlight the old standby. Yes, I am talking about Lipton. As a tea lover with an overflowing cabinet, I have my share of luxurious teas. But there's also a time and place for Lipton. I never want to be such a tea snob that I turn up my nose at the tea offered me, no matter where I go. The only tea I won't drink is anything with chamomile, because I'm allergic to chamomile.

While I was in New York, if I wasn't at a restaurant specializing in tea, this is what I was offered. Still delicious, still satisfying, and enough to make everything right in the world, even if for that moment. I think that's the beauty of tea- versatile, and no matter what your budget is, or what restaurant you're in, you can find something to please your palate.

The best and worst of people

As I mentioned in my blog about Elitch's, one of the things that struck me about the whole horrible day was how I saw such a contrast in the best and worst of people.

First off, I did want to mention that I did hear back from the staff. They were nice about it and apologized for our experience, although they were also really defensive in how they did what they could. I guess I can understand that they'd want to defend their actions, but I do hope that they will do more in the future to prevent it.

But that brings me back to what I've been pondering since it all happened- why are we all so focused on our needs beyond everyone else's? It bugs me that we're in such a "me-first" world. People who were so intent on getting their tickets before everyone else, even though there were plenty to go around, had no problem pushing and in some cases, stepping on others to get there. I can still picture this one woman. So aggressive, and did everything she could to put herself and her two young sons ahead of everyone else. Despite multiple people talking to her, trying to be reasonable, her answer was, "too bad."

I saw her a number of times throughout the day. She must've been on my radar or something, because in that crowd, it would have been hard to find anyone. Each time, she seemed to be perfectly happy and having a great time. And I had to wonder, how does she do it? How does she live with herself, knowing she'd hurt others on the way to getting to a good time? I also wondered about what kind of people her sons would grow up to be. Because if this woman can act like that over a concert, where she would have gotten tickets anyway had she just waited her turn, where else does this aggressive, me-first attitude come out?

I want to contrast this, though, with some great people we met. We spent a couple of hours in line with them. Nice people. Once the pushing started, I chose to hang back, because I knew we'd get tickets anyway, and it wasn't worth fighting to keep our places. In the melee, these people ended up ahead of us. Not a big deal, and I honestly didn't care. But they did. They spotted us and said, "hey, you guys were in front of us. Get up here." I keep thinking about them, because it would be so easy to focus on the negative from the day, and the nasty people. This family was a reminder to me that not everyone is out for themselves. I watched them help others in line, giving assistance to one of the moms who'd come alone with her children, and one of her children had gotten hurt. So the mom from the nice family went and got the injured child a band-aid. She understood that there are more important things than having the right place in line.

It made me stop and think about the things I make a big deal over or try to push my way ahead on. And you know, so many times when we think that what we want is more important than someone else, it just isn't. So I've been trying to be more intentional about asking myself that question lately. Am I putting myself ahead of others, and is putting myself ahead worth it?

I keep thinking about Philippians 2:3-4 "3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not perfect at following Paul's command here. Okay, I fail a lot. But as I think about the time we spent in that crowd, of some of the situations I've dealt with lately, I've thought about how differently it would have turned out had that verse been the guiding principle. And I also wonder how different other situations in my life would look if I continue working on the same.

What about you? Are you good at putting others first? How do you balance putting others first and taking care of yourself?

But also happy moments

Little girl BFFs (and one big girl)

Mommy BFFs!

I'd be remiss if I didn't also talk about the fact that in spite of the horrible experience we had at the park, the girls had a great time. I never imagined I'd be the cool mom who stood in line for hours to get her kids into a concert, but I did, and I hope that the good memories of the day will outweigh the bad. I made arrangements with my BFF to bring her daughter (my daughter's BFF) so that we could experience it together. I'm so glad I had her there with me. If I had to have a rough day, I'm glad I walked through it with her.