The Previous Week

Here is another week in review.

Monday - I spent last weekend in San Diego. On Monday, I headed down to Old Town San Diego ate a giant hamburger, dipped candles, saw the Wells Fargo Wagon, looked at graffitied plants, and missed my train home.

Tuesday - I did make it home in time to attend work and run around like crazy trying to get things done.

Wednesday - This was opening day. The library was filled with curious customers and children. Every copy of Diary of a WImpy Kid got checked out within about an hour.

Thursday - I actually found time to go to the grocery store. This didn't happen very often in the past couple weeks.

Friday - I celebrated my survival of the week and hit a sale at Banana Republic. I love sales at that store.

Saturday - Our ward had a nerd night that included Wii, Karaoke and Rock Band. Needless ot say I fit right in.

A Visit From Fabulous Friends

Kim, Alyson, and I all grew up in Maine together. In order to escape winter and see me, Kim and Alyson flew into the City of Angels. This meant that I got to do some touristy things, I have had yet to do. Our original plans included attending and possibly being a contestant on The Price is Right. My dreams of winning a dining room set that would never fit in my apartment were dashed when Drew Carey got pneumonia. My mom even went to extremes to get us matching Maine T-shirts to wear on the show.

Instead we wore them in front of the Hollywood sign.

Kim* enjoyed the palm trees as much as I do. The variety of palms is one of my favorite parts of California. My preference is actually the small, stubby palms not shown here.

Somebody has an entire library painted on their garage. After some encouragement I decided to explore it.

These photos are only a smattering of the fun we had. It was a great trip and I'm so glad they came. The house feels empty without them.

*All photos courtesy of Kim.

Italian Anyone?

Yesterday I experienced a break in the monotony of my humdrum little life. My friend, Emily, decided to show me some of the best spots in LA and took me to a wonderful Italian restaurant on the beach. That morning I thought to myself, I would love some pasta today. I got my wish in the form of Penne al Fumo which included eggplant and fresh tomato. I can't say enough about it.
We ate outdoors and the sun kept us nice and warm. After the huge meal, we went for a walk along the pier. I love being able to go to the beach in February.

A Winner

Swanson, Susan Marie. (2008) The House in the Night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

I was at the press conference when they announced that this book had one the Caldecott Medal. I'm always a little skeptical. When all of the librarians practically started doing the wave, I became cynical. What I did not know is that I had read the book before and loved it.

I went to read it today and I realized what a fabulous and beautiful book it is. The author rewrote the words of a favorite nursery rhyme into a beautiful, peaceful bedtime story. The illustrator contrasts shadowy black and white illustrations with golden light as you can see on the cover. The combination creates a serene wonderful book. It made me feel good all over. I would say it is even "virtuous, lovely, ... of good report [and] praiseworthy." Check it out from the library! Read it to your kids! It is wonderful!

P.S. I read a lot of picture books and most don't stand out to me.

Then and Now

Last year, my wonderful roommate, Laura, dropped me off at my ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia. The photo below shows where I stayed. We were 28 to a room and I was unable to sleep due to the noise of the night club across the street.
This year, I checked myself into the Hyatt in downtown Denver (at a low conference rate) and got upgraded to this room. Note the table for 6, the flat panel television, and the Murphy Bed. I even managed to be able to take naps.
I attend these conferences to fulfill my duties for a committee I am on. Usually, they put us very far away from the rest of the convention in a drab lifeless meeting room at an obscure hotel. This year they had us at the Brown Palace Hotel - one of the most luxurious and beautiful hotels in Denver. (Photo courtesy of Denver.org)
I can certainly cope with this contrast,

A Visit From Em

Emilysa decided to spend the long weekend with me. After work on Saturday we headed up to the LA temple then went out to eat. Afterwards we celebrated her birthday in style.

What future physical therapist could be happy without a jigsaw puzzle book of human anatomy?

On Sunday, we went for a drive and found Malaga Cove Park. This is one of the cliffs.

Sorry to all of you New Englanders, but it's been gorgeous and sunny here. On Monday morning we spent some time on the beach. Other highlights included a car trip to the grocery store, a round of my favorite game, Scattergories (Emilysa nearly won), and rice and beans Emilysa style.

Five Days in Review

Monday - I spent 3 hours at the Dentist. The most significant thing that I did at the dentist was read the majority of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I'm still trying ot decide what to read when I return this week to get my fillings as it will undoubtably be a long visit.

Tuesday - The bus that i have to connect to in the morning was very late. When it finally arrived, the bus driver decided it was more important to step out of the bus and flirt with some girl than get customers to their destination on time.

Wednesday - When I went to buy a soda at a nearby gas station, some gentleman confused me with Cinderella. I was less than flattered and wanted to suggest (but of course didn't) that he find a new pick-up line.

Thursday - I went to a work meeting where we discussed the linguistic differences between "Kid's" and "Children's." I have strong opinions as you might expect.

Friday - I decided to get a massage which was probably the most relaxing 20 minutes of my week.