working girl

I start my new job tomorrow. Did I mention this? Maybe I passed it around so much offline that I forgot to post it here. I got a library job! Okay, before we get too wound up, it's about as entry-level as one can get. Part-time, after hours, temporary position to re-label and tag all the books in all the branches. Given that criteria, the pay rate is rather sad, too. What the heck, I'm not getting into this gig for the wealth it will bring me, right? The late nights mean a couple of missed family dinners, but I'll still be able to pick up Small Person from school and have some afternoons together. It also means my mornings can still be spent at my volunteer shift doing different repetitive library-type tasks. Let's face it: I'm thrilled!

Small Person is back in school after a leisurely Spring Break. We didn't plan anything special, aside from the birthday party and a few days at day camp. The break started me wondering (worrying) about what to do for her Summer vacation. I'm leaning heavily toward the local YMCA day camp. As much as I hated it as a child, Small Person is not me. I know, we can all breathe a sigh of relief! Point is, she's so much more social and eager to participate in new endeavors and really thrives on variety. Even if I was in a position to stay home with her all summer, neither of us would be satisfied with it in this post-kindergarten frame of mind. Not to mention, we would both be pretty annoyed with one another after the first two weeks of mom-projects ran out. I know, it seems early to fiddle with this. I'm still not used to the school-year mode. Seriously, camp sign-ups start this week, and if I'm not on top of it, we'll miss the desirable open slots. Or any slots at all, really.

Other Spring-related news: we have compost! I know, save the dork comments, let's take them as a given, shall we? Anyway, I've been slacking my duties to turn, rotate, turn, lather, rinse, repeat. Ha! It happened anyway. I mean, the pile could use a little sieving, and we'll continue the process, but I'm not going to have to buy any compost for this season's garden. Which we are woefully far behind in planting. I should have had seeds started and stuff in the ground already. Last weekend we cleaned and prepped and tossed some flower seeds around, but the serious veggie planting has yet to begin. Or serious planning. Sigh. That plan has to fall in line behind the dishes.

big island

Small Person's birthday party went off without a hitch. I baked, Auntie T constructed, and it turned out like this:

Extra fabulous, don't you think? We decked the house and ourselves in leis, grass skirts, and various other island-inspired props, put the five hours worth of music I collected on shuffle, and passed around the mocktails. I do admit to one small gripe: why is the RSVP habit an exception nowadays, no longer the norm? I mean, just let me know, no big deal, I see you and your kid at school several times a week, how hard is it to just mention that you're not sure of your plans? So, big appreciation to those who responded, even those who couldn't make it! 
Anyway, Small Person was pretty dang excited. She was way beyond any normal levels of behavior, and her ears just turned right off. I pulled out the mini trampoline to give her a little physical outlet, but eventually just sent her out of the house with the grandparents so we could finish up.
It was a good group. Enough for a boisterous event, but still able to all play together in Small Person's room. We made shell necklaces and magnets, we limboed, we tore through presents in record time. And then, we excavated the volcano.
The carpet is covered in shard of grass skirt, the kitchen floor is sticky with grenadine and frosting; we must have had a good time.

Today is my baby girl's official day of birth. She's on Spring Break, so we get to cuddle and give her our presents and field family phone calls all day. She also gets to pick dinner, so I'm 99% positive we'll be enjoying something starchy and far removed from the vegetable kingdom. And, we have a lot of leftover grenadine, so it will definitely be another umbrella-drink day.

Happy Birthday!

tiny island

This is phase one of the Hawaiian-style birthday extravaganza:

Pretty cute, eh? So I went ahead and made a whole archipelago for Small Person's classmates:
The frosting is dreadful, of course. I did make the cake part from scratch, but frosting is not my forte, except when making crazy crafty fun with it. So, a couple of cans of goo, some graham cracker crumbs, and a box of cocktail umbrellas. Aloha! It's going to be even nuttier for the party at home this weekend. A friend loaned me a bunch of decorations, I went on a dollar store spree, and I have big plans for cake. I know, I'm a little loony; I can't help but take the theme and run with it. Or marathon with it.

This week has been busy in general. I've never been so busy being unemployed before. There's the birthday party errands, the housecleaning, and, fortunately, interviews and applications to complete. Also, I got to join Small Person's class for an excellent field trip. We got to see "Agriculture in Action" at our local fairgrounds in celebration of National Ag Day. Two days of every possible example of local plant and animal husbandry, thousands of school-aged kids streaming through to touch the wool and eat the apples and watch the sheep dogs and horses and cows and pigs and hatching chicks and... whew!
And tractors for photo ops. And lots of free pencils. It was thoroughly exhausting and delightful, in that order. The best part? It's a toss-up; Smokey the Bear, or piglets. I vote for the piglets.

i heart 3.14

Happy pie/pi/3.14(...) day, everyone! Of course, celebration of this day entails eating pie. What could be better? Unfortunately, we'll probably have to postpone our pie until tomorrow, as we're zipping off to another birthday party today.

I've been zipping around all week. There's lots of stuff going on. The biggest is that I've been accepted to grad school. Huzzah! I wish I could start tomorrow, but I'll have to wait until Fall to begin the program for a Master's of Library and Information Science. Heaven knows why it took me so long to determine that's what I want to do and find a way to get into it. Also, I applied for an aide position that opened up at my local library, so let's all keep our fingers crossed for that. I've been running around town arranging minutia for Small Person's birthday party. You know, cocktail umbrellas, faux leis and palm trees. And, I've picked up some house-cleaning jobs this week, too. Yikes! I've got to get my calendar in order before I start double-booking.

In that spirit, I've got to dash. Clothes to wash, gas to get, presents to wrap...

news flash

Just to give everyone the duh update: when I feel boring or lame I don't post very often. It's not that I'm overwhelmingly depressed or more nerdy than usual and embarrassed to share. I am, however, still job-hunting, which is rather sad and dull, and doubly so in the current economy. See, boring + drudgery = even more boring.

So, let's see what I can come up with that is a tad more sparkly...

We're planning Small Person's birthday party. We're going with a Hawaiian theme this year. Last year, her late-March birthday fell on Easter. Bingo! Instant theme, treats, activity, etc. Now I'm in for it; making the first party she remembers so super fabulous, I'm on the hook to over-deliver from now on. Anyway, Hawaii. I'm not sure where it came from, except the recesses of my odd brain. We've invited everyone to join us in their beach attire. We'll turn up the heat, put on the slack guitar tunes, and limbo. Then maybe a craft project involving seashells, some cake (possibly in the shape of a volcano) and everyone sent home with their party favors in a sand bucket. Now, I know, I've spoiled the surprise for all you attendees who also happen to be readers. Oh well, aren't you more excited now?

I did finally find some clothes after my retail marathon. (Good segue, huh?) Old Navy strikes again. Just some basic blouses and pants. Nothing very exciting. But, I did then find a cute pair of shoes. Very unusual for me, mauve, pointed toe, low kitten heel. By far the cutest shoes I've bought in years. From the cheapest of the cheap shoe stores. Whatever, these are interview shoes. Once I have an actual paycheck, I'll upgrade.

Hmm... What else. Made a pretty good cheesecake this weekend. The weather has been sunny enough to do a little spring cleaning in the yard. We're starting to make gardening plans. I'm getting a lot of reading done. So that's it. More to come, as soon as something more interesting happens. Maybe even sooner. Over and out.