Hee hee hee.

I'm surprising DarlingQ with tickets to ZZ Top on Sunday!!

I'm finally watching "Harry Potter/Hallows Pt 1."

Helena Bonham-Carter knocks it out of the park for me as Bellatrix.

I'm on a dodgeball team for my school, and tonight we had a dodgeball team party. Our tournament is tomorrow.

There's my entry. I'm damn tired.

I've been re-reading old entries of mine.

Not just in my LJ, but in the Library Says Mofo one.

I'm rather disappointed with myself. A few years ago, I was actually a pretty good writer.

Even I was entertained by my own entries.

And I wonder why I stopped writing; why I stopped expressing myself.

Especially in the forum of being a librarian.

Not in the arena of being a public librarian. After reading entries by those professionals, I can only picture it as a smelly, homeless, 3-ring circus with books.

But being a public school librarian (a/k/a Media Specialist)...there are some tales to be told.

With my February challenge, maybe I can re-discover my writing impulse.

I guess my 2nd entry of the month is easier to write than my first.

Insomnia sucks. I didn't go to bed till midnight. Then my eyes fly open at 4:30, and I can't sleep anymore. Not one second.

Last week I wasn't sleeping well either. Too many plans, meetings, have-tos, etc.

This week is the same. The out-of-job stuff isn't too bad, but the stuff AT work....that's what's keeping me up.

I'm trying to figure out to handle a book fair coming up next week, alongside being put in charge of a Literacy PLC, chairing a county-wide middle-school organization, putting together a team of readers for the Battle of the Books competition in May, plus teaching lessons in the Media Center.

For instance, today I have a teacher signed up for an Oration lesson (how to give an interesting speech vs. a boring one) and I don't have anything prepared. I'm heading to work in about 40 minutes, so maybe I can come up with something before 9:00.

On a totally random note: I'm going to school with curlie-girlie hair.

OK...I've been sporadically updating from time to time, but I challenged myself this morning blog once a day for the next 4 weeks. I'm not putting any limiters on my blogging; the entries may be long-winded and detailed; they may be short and succinct, and possibly very boring.

I'm going into Week 4 of taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. It's engaging; I like the videos and I like the common sense of his financial advice. I have homework to do tonight: designing a monthly incoming/outgoing overview of my money and reading a couple chapters of his book. Tomorrow is "bring a friend to class" night, so I invited Darling Q to come with me. I think attending a financial course together would be highly helpful.

For those interested, I am currently bruising like a peach due to dodgeball practice. One of my teammates is a strapping 6-foot Agricultural teacher who is a former high school baseball pitcher. Being only 24 or 25, he's juuuust out of school, so his fastball is still around 90 mph. My left thigh is a lovely blooming purple and pink, just from practice yesterday. Our charity tournament is this Saturday; we compete against the othermiddle schools in the county, and all proceeds go to cancer research.

Something I learned (again) last week: When you're apart from the person you love, it's hell. Last year around this time, Darling Q went to Mexico for 10 days, and it was murder for me. I kept trying to keep busy to stop from thinking of him, which totally didn't work. Last week, for 9 days, I was house-sitting with animals, meaning I didn't have the time or freedom to see him when he was available.
On Sunday I was finally set free, so I met DarlingQ at the local brewery for "Beer 30", all house beers are $2 a pint. We sat with a couple friends of his from work, chatted, drank a few cold ones, then got take-out on the way home so we could finally spend some time together.
I think it was even worse than when he went to Mexico b/c he was only 45 minutes away from me. While some of you are thinking Why is that such a big deal? I had no time on my own. I was either taking care of animals, at work, back at the house straightening things up; DarlingQ had work committments, plans with friends, seeing his parents. The one time we were going to get together was thwarted by some of the worst storms since the hurricanes of 2004. I stayed home with the animals, was scared to death by some thunder booms, and texted with him instead.
So bottom line: being with the one you love totally rocks.

So here's my first entry. Done. Complete. Kaput.

Wow...my blogging skills are way rusty. I don't feel the zing of the flowage. Maybe by Day 3 or Day 4, I'll settle back into my groove.

Take my advice.

Never use birth control pills.

Guys, that goes for you as well.

For the last 3 months, I was a faithful pill-popper in order to "regulate" myself (rap translation: "check myself before I wreck myself").

Stupid to do, b/c I didn't need it in the first place, but what can one do when those girls look so damn happy in the Yaz commercials? I wanted to be a Yaz girl!

Instead of being a 5'10" slender brunette meeting her friends at the new hip club to talk excitedly about the drugs that affect our inner plumbing, I was a 5'4" harridan carrying an extra 15 pounds crying at stoplights because I was sure that my hair wasn't right and that DarlingQ ate the slice of pizza that I wanted to eat.

'Twasn't till I checked some user forums that 99% of the women on my kind of Pill have similar symptoms--anger, lethargy, weight gain, picking fights with loved ones, etc.

I polled those nearest and dearest to me (meaning the Mom and DarlingQ). I'm naturally negative, but my attitude polarity had worsened...a lot. DarlingQ hedged, and said, "Yes, you have been a...bit..more negative than usual."

My Pill regimen called for 3 weeks on, 1 week off. I was supposed to start again today, but after examining the last 6 days, I realize I feel more like myself the last week than I have in the last 6 weeks.

So screw you, birth control pills. (pun not intended)

I'm going to be au naturel again, and listen to what my body tells me I need and DON'T need.

2010 in review for me in 50 words or less.

Six months of job hell. Magical summer cruise trip. Five months of job bliss. Health reports 100% good. Fell in love with my best friend. Lost touch with other friends; feel bad. Must rectify in 2011. Lost last grandparent-Alzheimer's. Other family-good. Self-study and self-change continues.

That's how long I've been with DarlingQ.

It's been an interesting experience.

One thing I have learned:

Grown up relationships are not rose-colored. There's plenty of the pink puffy hearts going on, but there's also a lot of creamy granite and some black-tarred asphalt going on.

DarlingQ is amazing. I thought so 51 weeks ago, and I still do.

I have met a man who is thoughtful, kind, considerate, brilliant, funny, smart-assed, and altogether awesome.

And sometimes I still can't believe that I can call him "mine."

Work--Good.

Health--Good.

Family--Good.

Love Life--Good.

It's all good, baby. It's alllllll gooood.