I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

I haven't posted in a while because honestly, I'm not sure where to start. Once you fall out of the practice, it's hard to pick a new starting point. So... I sum up:

Work: My library is currently closed. We are renovating (carpet and paint, plus a few extra items for effect... commonly referred to as "bling"). This means several things...

1. I am a nomad. I do have a temporary office in our administration building, which is on Poole Road... all the way across town for you non-Raleigh-ites. It's a long drive. Plus I'm sharing an office that wasn't intended to be shared, and therefore I am on the wrong side of the desk. This means that unless I want bruised on my knee caps, I have to sit like a gutter whore, with my legs basically straddling my chair. Very professional.
2. I am doing a lot of planning. This would normally be great, but unfortunately, the planning is preventing me from doing a lot of ... well ... doing.
3. I am the schedule goddess. I volunteered (for reasons too numerous to recount here) to do the master schedule for our staff while we are closed. I have assigned them to other branches in order to help cover and also to take some time to plan, etc. 24 people total. Covering at least ten branches. This has the potential for major disaster. Fortunately, it actually has gone quite well, and I believe the staff actually believes I am good at something, which is enough for me! But it is a big headache, as things shift and people get sick and people forget where they are supposed to be... etc. However, I'm not complaining... it could be a lot worse. We could be closed for a year. That would suck.
4. I get to do things I don't normally get to do. For instance, today I spent a great deal linking Russian and Chinese books into our catalog. It was really kind of fun. Of course, I speak nary a word of either language, but it was fun to look at the cover and try to guess the call number before peeking inside to see if I got it right. (And to think, I only got 20% on that Nerd test.)

Athena: She's big. She's bad. She's talking in complete sentences and is saying the best stuff. If you tell her she is beautiful, she blushes and says "Thank yeeeeeuw." And when she saw the crabs that Brian caught at the beach this weekend, she told me all about the "bad crabs." In fact, I was surprised that she was in no way disturbed by the fact that the crabs were clicking and snapping at her one minute, and were boiling in a pot of water the next. "We're going to EAT the mean crabs, Mommy!" Just between you and me... she scares me a little.

Marcus: He's sick. It's breaking my heart. I just want him to get better. He's so happy and fun. He is walking now, but only just. Kathryn described his gait thusly, "He walks like he's been riding a horse all day." Sadly, she speaks the truth. But it's totally cute.

Sister: She's in town. My cosmopolitan sister, an executive for a large international PR firm, is here all week to hang with the neice and nephew. Well, almost all week... she got called away to Chicago tonight, and won't be back until tomorrow after dinner. But I'll take what I can get. San Fran is a long way away, and we are lucky to see her once a year. I miss her terribly. This year, we will get to see her twice, though... as we are planning to go to the Sonoma Valley for Thanksgiving (her SF apartment is WAY too small for our little clan). I'm going to get sibling overdose. Hurrah!

Home: We were at Bald Head Island with the Austins this weekend. I love visiting with them. And Sophie is really inspiring. She is so organized and neat... and it's so natural to her that it makes me believe that I might also be that organized one day. I came home and immediately cleaned up the kitchen. And it has become my official sanctuary. It is the first room that will be kept neat and organized, and I will build upon that. Check back with me on that in two months. Well, maybe two weeks is better.

Travel: This summer is wacky crazy re: travel. We went to Disney three weeks ago (in case you forgot). This past weekend, Bald Head Island. Next weekend we're home since Linda is in town. Weekend after, we are visiting some of Chris' family in Roanoke, VA. Weekend after that, we are hoping to go to Richmond for Chris' neice's first birthday par-tay. Weekend after THAT, Disney, Part Two... the freebie edition. The weekend after that is my birthday, but we'll probably just stick around here to recover. Then Chris is fairly certain he will go to Ohio the weekend after that for Origins. Then the library reopens and Harry Potter (Book Seven) is released. (Just imagine, my kids will grow up knowing what happens to Harry... so weird). Then sometime in August or September, we will go to Hilton Head for a long weekend since Athena loved the beach so much this time.

I'm worn out just from typing all that up. Sheesh.

So there is the recap. Hope you all stuck with me. I really will make more of an effort (when I'm not organizing my house, that is).