My Resolutions

Last year, I publicly declared my resolutions here, on my blog.  Every month, I checked back in on them.  At the end of the year, I was shocked at how well I had done in actually keeping my resolutions  Even though I had a couple of carryovers from last year, I still kept the majority of my resolutions.  I think coming back and revisiting them monthly did an awful lot to keep me on track!

With graduations fast approaching (2 this year), I am probably not going to do so well with keeping these resolutions through April and May as my focus shifts to getting the house cleaned out enough to have a graduation party!


1) Exercise More.  
While the weather is still cold, the roads are safe.  I've been clocking my miles on my running app on my cell phone. (I walk, I don't run, but the app tracks the distance for me!)  I've managed to cover 9 miles this month.  Not as many as usual, but I've got to build my stamina back up after months of inactivity.

2) Lose 10 pounds.
I am not looking at the scale this month.  I've lost an inch off of my waist.  I'll look at the scale again when I've lost 4 inches off of my waist.  There will be some serious happy dancing on my part when I get my waist down 4 more inches!

3) Remodel the Hall Bathroom.
This is a repeat from last year.  Money is being saved for this project.

4) Finish oldest child's quilt.
 As of now, I have finished quilting 3/6 rows on the quilt.  I still have to do the edging, and I have my doubts about the lattice work inside.  I was looking at it last night, and I just might end up having to go back and quilt in the lattice between the panels.  I'm not thrilled with the way the batting is "poufing" between the quilt squares.  I'm not sure this will be finished by May 21.  My enthusiasm is beginning to wane...and there are so many other things that need to be done!

5) Clean and organize the Family Room in the basement.
It's much cleaner! It still needs a little more work, but I see this room being habitable by Memorial Day Weekend!

6) Cut back on the time I spend on Social Media.
I've fallen down on this one over the past month.  One of my Uncles had a health issue, and I kept up with my cousins through social media.  We all agreed it was great, but now I've got to break myself of that habit again! 

7) Read 75 books this year.
 I'm making some serious progress on this.  I've been blogging about each of the books I've read in this challenge as I go.  I have a page dedicated to the books I'm reading this year.  You can find it on the right hand side of this page, listed as "2015 Book Challenge".  I have reviewed 11 books.  I have 4 more that I need to review.  Like I mentioned yesterday, I've fallen behind!

8) Get out of debt.
Working on it. I believe this should also say "don't add extra debt while sending kids through college."  4 years down with no debt - 4 more to go.  One of our credit cards has been completely retired.  We're working on retiring the second one now.  BONUS - we paid the tuition and housing deposit for youngest child with a check this weekend.  She's going to take a few more classes at the Community College this summer.  We've already checked with the school that she will be going to in the fall, and we know that the credits will transfer, and we were given a list of 100 and 200 level courses that they recommended.

9) Spend more time with my family
Spring break for the college students was this month!  I took three days off to spend at home with my boys.  Unfortunately, they spent 2 of those days with a stomach virus.  NOT the best of spring breaks!

10)  365 Grateful
I will continue to find a way to be thankful for the things I have.  There are a lot of awful things that happen, but I will focus on the positive.  You can lose yourself in negativity.  I've been posting pictures on Flickr, and some on here.  Any way I can find to keep myself positive! 

You can find me on Flickr:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/librarynut/

 11) Replace the car that was totaled.
It needs to be done, even in the midst of paying off loans, a bathroom that needs to be remodeled, and college expenses.  Our Civic has over 225,000 miles on it.  It's a great car, and we keep up to date on the maintenance, but by God, do we need to make certain we have a back up plan!  The van doesn't have nearly as many miles on it, but putting gas in that behemoth is expensive. We had to replace the radiator in the Civic this month.  A $500 investment that will hopefully keep the car running until the fall. 

12) I will maintain my friendships.
 It's an ongoing project, and I am enjoying it immensely! Got back in touch with friends we haven't seen in 25 years this past month.  What a hoot!!

13) Have a few more adventures this year.
 I've had a couple that aren't fit to print... let's just say that I never fail to amaze myself with my own stupidity.  If I can get up enough nerve to totally out myself, I'll write them up.  Maybe.

I did spend a day at the National Library of Medicine down in Bethesda, doing a training session.  Does that count as an adventure?  Getting through security was an adventure!

14) Craft More
 Still working on the oldest child's quilt. I started working on daughter's graduation scrapbook, as well as a recipe book for oldest child's graduation present.

As a result, I've spread craft and paper materials EVERYWHERE in the house!  And Easter is this weekend, and graduation is in just a little under 2 months!  WHY did I put this off for so long?  This should have been done MONTHS ago! 

So, how are you doing on your resolutions this year?

Random Pictures

It's been an interesting week.  I went to a training at the National Library of Medicine, and I learned how to use their free online database.  I've been trying to write a post about my experiences there, but what I wrote just seems hollow.  I will say this, PubMed, the online database is way cool.  If you are looking for information on anything related to medicine, PubMed is the place to go.  Millions of articles have been indexed.  Some of the articles are free for viewing online.  Others, you might have to check with your local public library to find.  The long and short of my training: if you want to stay on top of your own health, and want to make the best decisions about YOUR HEALTH, this is an awesome place to research.  Many public libraries have consumer health librarians, and they can help you wade through the plethora of information on the web.  There's a lot out there.  I think it's fantastic that everyone can see this research and understand what doctors are talking about with this resource!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/.

Enough of that.  I have posts and more posts that I need to work my way through. I've got books to review.  I have things that need to be said - and not enough time to say them all!  So, while I'm collecting my thoughts, and making notes about what I'm going to write about this week, I thought I'd share a few random pictures from last week with you!

I want to note with the first picture- we had SNOW again on Saturday, and SNOW overnight.  We have more snow in the forecast for this week.  This is very unusual weather for the Mid-Atlantic. Weird spring!

The crocuses are finally up!

The librarians are getting a little bit sassy with their cookbook marketing!

Who separates their cereal into colors before eating it?

The geese are back!  It's a sure sign that spring is coming!

Our church sanctuary, bedecked for Palm Sunday!

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

One of Dr. Seuss' best adult books, I reread this recently.  With both my oldest and youngest children graduating from schools, I felt I needed a reminder of WHY we've spent so much time and effort getting them through school!  (Ha, I know why, but it's always nice to be reminded!)

I do remember having this book read to us by one of our English teachers when I graduated from High School.  Ever since that time, this book has always seemed to me to be a gateway, or rite of passage that must be read and enjoyed at the major milestone events in life.

I had an ulterior motive for reading this book.

When each of my kids has graduated from High School, I have made a special scrapbook for them.

The oldest child is a mathematician.  His scrapbook was a straightforward account of his overachieving years in high school.  Orchestra, Cross Country, Track and Field... I organized the pictures in a straightforward, linear progression.

The middle child is more artistic and creative.  For his scrapbook, I made an "A, B, C" book.  26 pages long, each page was dedicated to a letter of the alphabet, and each letter had a word and pictures that tied into something from his high school years.  That one was a lot of work - struggling to find something for "X" and "Z" was a stretch, but I managed to do it.  I spent a good chunk of the school year pulling together the pictures for that album.

And now, youngest child.  I want to do something different.  (Stupid, stupid, I know.  I could just do an A, B, C book or a straightforward scrapbook and have done with it.)  But no.  I have decided that her scrapbook is going to be based upon the book "Oh the Places You'll Go!"

And so, I re-read the book this past week.  I've decided that I'm going to use Dr. Seuss' words, and pictures that we've taken over the course of her high school career.  I'm also going to see if I can get some of her friends to help by contributing some artwork to the pages.

Graduation is about 10 weeks away.  Will I get this finished in time?  It's going to be fun trying!

(BTW, I'm going to count this as one of my 75 books for the year.  I did actually read it - I had to put it on hold at the library, retrieve the book, and then decide whether or not this idea was a good one!  So, yes, this is one of the 75 books for the year!)

Book Review: Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever

Sharp, Kathleen.  Blood Feud: The Man Who Blew the Whistle on One of the Deadliest Prescription Drugs Ever.  Dutton Publishers.  2011.

ISBN: 978-0525952404

A block buster of a book that should be read by every person who will ever take a prescription drug in their lifetime.  In short: all of us.

In what is probably one of the most hushed up, covered up, quieted cases of all, this book exposes the behind the scenes shenanigans that drug companies engage in to up their sales in a high stakes, winner take home billions of dollars and to hell with the consumer attitude that seems to pervade an industry that we would like to think is working in our best interest - but is not.

During the 1990's. the drug Procrit was developed in order to help dialysis patients with anemia keep more of their red blood cells and reduce the need for blood transfusions.  Because AmGen- the developer of Procrit was broke - they made a deal with the devil in the form of Johnson and Johnson to sell the licensing rights to sell Procrit for non-dialysis use to J and J.

The devil took the ball and ran.  Ruthless sales techniques were used to by each company in order to make their drug look better and do better.  Unethical, undocumented patient trials were conducted by sales reps all in the name of promoting their drugs, and pushing physicians to use more drugs than was indicated, and using these drugs in risky, off label use in order to promote their sales figures.

You might be familiar with Procrit.  It's one of those illegal drugs that cyclists were using in the 90's to enhance their performance.  Is this one of the drugs that Lance Armstrong was using that earned him that life time cycling ban?  Turns out, it was.  You can find out more about this here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/opinion/lance-armstrong-and-our-doping-nation.html?_r=0
and here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/armstrongs-fraud-paralleled-epo-makers-feud.

In the late 90's, the makers of Procrit began pushing for Procrit to be prescribed in high dosage amounts that were not approved by the FDA for people who were undergoing cancer treatments.  Death was the result of this usage- unnecessary deaths in many cases- but since this risky, off label use was being promoted by sales reps and not in a controlled study, the results were squashed and the off label promotion continued.

Medicare Fraud.  If you've wondered why the price of medicine is so high, it's explained in detail in the pages of this book.  It's frightening how much money was spent by the pharmecuetical companies to help doctors get around the medicare system and get reimbursed at a high profit for drugs that they were receiving well below market value- or for free- from the sales reps.

This story is told from the point of view of Mark Duxbury, the man who finally blew the whistle on Procrit, and told the Federal Government not only what kind of fraud was being perpetrated, but also gave the down and dirty details of how this drug was being pushed in risky ways that was killing patients - all in the name of higher profits.

While Duxbury is not a likeable guy.... he had the guts to get out there and expose the truth.  Was his motivation money?  Was it doing the right thing?  Was it revenge?  We will never really know the true reason behind his motivation for getting out and exposing this level of fraud and deception, but we should all be thankful that he did.

I found this book to be angering and disturbing on so many levels.  Lives of my family and friends have been lost to cancer.  Many family members were give Procrit in their final days.  After reading the description of death by Procrit, I know that I have family members who were lost to this drug and the high-wheeling, "hey I can get more money in my own pocket and maybe this will help" mentality that was pervading medical practices at that time.  Would my loved ones still be alive today if they had not been given Procrit?  I have no idea.  However, I do know that at least one death would have been a hell of a lot cleaner than it was had they not been given that drug.  I watched a person I love die a horrible, terrible death that could not  have been any worse than anything done to people in the middle ages. 

Just so you know that the author of the story is not making this up, here are some links to articles about this story:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/drug-rep-in-3b-procrit-case-80-of-my-sales-were-medicare-fraud-carried-400k-in-cash/

http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/supreme-court-rejects-procrit-whistleblower-lawsuit-appeal-11020/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/health/25amgen.html


The class action lawsuit is closed, fyi.

However, I will forever be more wary of what drugs I take, and ask many questions of my doctors, including "Are you receiving compensation from this drug maker?"

A Week in the Life of...

In the past week, we've had a major snowstorm that threw the East Coast for a loop - again.  We had beautiful warm weather, and we have had some pretty awesome windstorms!  Weather wise, the week has been great!

Our boys were home for the week.  It was great to have them home and spend some time with them!

Oldest child went and looked at graduate schools last week.  I believe we now have an answer as to "Where are you going?"  He has one more visiting day to go tomorrow, and then he will sign the commitment paperwork before the month is out.  Big changes coming for him!  His graduation is just a little over 2 months away!

Daughter received word from the last of the colleges she applied to this week.  She was rejected from her reach school, and turned down for the art program at another school.  Thankfully, she was accepted into her first choice school.  We have now paid the tuition deposit, and we're beginning to fret about tuition payments this fall.  We're not paying for Graduate School for the oldest, but we will have two separate tuition payments to cover for the youngest two children.

I really didn't post much last week. WHY didn't I you ask?  (Go ahead, ask)  Stomach virus.  It swept through the family - not once, but twice.  Yeah, I thought we were past those days.  It turns out that we're not actually past them.  Lots of laundry and lots of bleach water made the appearance through the house.

Meanwhile... daughter got stopped by a police officer because a brake light was out on the back of the Civic.  He asked her for her license and registration.  She handed over the license, but was unsure of what the registration looked like.  While she dug around for it, he went back to his car and cited her for not producing the registration upon demand.  She was so very rattled that I drove her up and back to the Community College for a few days.  Nothing like going to work, getting out at 11:30, and then racing the 30 miles home to pick her up and then drive her an additional 30 miles to class.  I made her drive up and back by herself on Thursday, and she was fine.

We did replace the brake light on the car before we made her drive up and back, though.

The van had to go in for maintenance.  A $50 investment that should keep that car in top running form for quite some time.

Speaking of maintenance - I went in to visit my doctor for my "little more than annual" exam.  I had the blood work run, and got the results back.  Last year, my doctor put me on notice that my numbers were running too high.  I was put on the watch list.

This year, everything was FINE.  My glucose had been cut in half.  Cholesterol was out of the watch range. EVERYTHING was so much improved.  The nurse I spoke with on the phone told me "I don't know what you've been doing, but keep doing it.  It's working!" (Losing 20 pounds and getting more exercise probably had something to do with that!)

I even managed to get the emissions on the van checked.  One more thing off of the to do list!

How was your week?

A Visit to the Doctor

I really don't like to go to any doctor or dentist, but I go because I'd rather be as healthy as I can be and catch anything that could potentially be wrong before I get past the point of no return.

Last year, my doctor put me "on notice" that my blood pressure was getting high.

"If it's still this high next year, we're going to have to take action." 

Last year, it was at 145/85.  Yes, that is high.  Undoubtedly.

Do you remember that last year I made that promise to myself to lose 10 pounds?  And then I lost 20?

I really didn't change my eating habits all that much.  I went from getting large hot chocolates to medium hot chocolates.  If I got a soda, I got a can from a vending machine instead of a bottle.  I picked up my level of exercise a little bit.

So, when I went back to the doctor yesterday, I was very curious to see what my numbers looked like.

I'd only lost 15 pounds according to her records- no surprise there, as I haven't been able to get out and walk at all this winter because the roads have been so dangerous.  (Hey, that's still weight loss.)

My cholesterol is down.  My "markers" for diabetes are down.

Most importantly, my blood pressure is down.

135/70.

That's big!  It's not great.  But it's so much better than it was last year!  It used to be lower, but that is a step in the right direction!  There was no talk of medical intervention with my blood pressure, but there was talk of getting out and walking around more now that the weather is nicer.

My father's family had rampant heart disease.  Every member of his family had heart issues, blood pressure issues, and cholesterol issues.  Dad was the only one who didn't have open heart surgery, and that was only because he was no longer a candidate for any kind of surgery when they found the blockages in his arteries.  So, in order to see a drop of any kind in blood pressure numbers is a cause for celebration and revelry!

And more walking.  Lots more walking.  I want to be the first to break the pattern.

Just Another Day in Paradise

It's been one of those days. It's warm, and I have the day off.  I headed out with daughter this morning.  She drove off to school, and I walked down to the bottom of the hill to get the trash cans and bring them back up. 

I tuck the trash cans away, and turn around to go into the house.  As Pooh would say "There are 11 jars of honey in my cupboard, and I can hear them calling my name."  Wouldn't you know.  The door was locked.  MY keys were on the hook, just inside of the door.  My daughter's keys had just left with her, headed to school and then the community college.

Not looking forward to spending the day outdoors, I began trudging around the house to see if I had left any windows unlocked.

Lo and Behold - the window over the kitchen sink was unlocked.  Even better - this window is in the back of the house, so nobody would see my attempt at greatness.

The ladder for the kids' old bunk bed is metal, and it was sitting just inside the door of the shed.  (We keep that door locked with a combination lock, thank you very much!)  I retrieved the ladder, and leaned it up against the house, just under the kitchen window.  The ladder wasn't quite tall enough to get me safely into the kitchen window, but it was tall enough to get me close. I figured I could just power my way through the window by grabbing onto the kitchen counter once I got up that high.

Buoyed by an enthusiasm borne of hunger and a need to use the facilities, I climbed up the ladder, raised the kitchen window and began climbing in the window.

There is one problem with climbing in a window over the kitchen sink.  The faucet.  As you get yourself partially through that window, the faucet is right there in the middle, with no place for it to go.

The cats, highly entertained by this spectacle, forgot their animosity long enough to hop onto the kitchen counter and watch me.

There came that moment of faith- when I hung on the fulcrum of the window - my feet unable to push off the ladder, my arms not yet able to reach the edge of the kitchen counter, and the cats, full of concern, began rubbing up against my face as I hung there, unable to go in or out of the window, with the kitchen faucet digging into me.

Finally, I managed to wiggle in enough to grab the edge of the kitchen counter.  I pulled, and the rest of me followed behind.  I somehow managed to turn myself around and not land on the kitchen floor face first.

As I sat on the edge of the kitchen counter, catching my breath, the cats forgot their concern for me.  With noses twitching, they both climbed up onto the window sill, took a look back at me, as if to say "I don't see WHY you always make such a big deal of things" and then hopped out of the window.

Just another day in paradise.

Library Junkie

I'm a library junkie, I admit it.  (That probably explains the chosen career path: Librarian, as well as the Master's Degree in Library Science.)

Even though I work in a library, I can never get enough of the place.  OK, not just the library where I work, but any library, anywhere.  We travel to Seattle, and on the second day there, I made my family journey to the Central Library.  Gatlinburg?  One of the most picturesque little public libraries sits by a stream, just off of the main thoroughfare.  Savannah?  Public Library down by the waterfront AND the Library for SCAD, located in a refurbished building.  I have visited academic libraries just about everywhere we go.  Having sent off 3 children to college in the last 4 years, every college tour has ended with me, grilling the library staff about library subscriptions, on and off campus access to their databases, their e-book collections, and to which consortium do they belong?  (What is the average turn around time on a book ordered from another library in the consortium?)  I've frustrated some library assistants beyond words, and had some fantastic conversations with some librarians who have helped me broaden my own understanding of my field, and given me concrete ideas to increase our own access for students.

Bliss of bliss, we had a new public library open not too far from where I work recently.  I went there yesterday to explore and check out books.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures without people in them, so we'll have to wait until another time when it is less crowded when I can take pictures.

This building is awesome, LEED certified, with all of the bells and whistles that go with it, but what impressed me the most was the rooftop garden - it is intended to help absorb rain and reduce run off into the Bay.  They also have a garden next door to the library that is run by the Master Gardeners.  This beautiful little garden has pathways, herbs, flowers, and vegetables.  The Master Gardeners teach classes in that garden on a regular basis.  What a fabulous way to reach out into the community!

I am a library junkie.  I have worked in public libraries in the past, so I do know the full extent of offerings available through the library, but I thought I would list them again.  These resources are all available for you, for free.  Your taxes go to support your library, and if you are not in your library using these resources,  you should be asking yourself "why" you aren't heading over there more often.

Books - for children, and adults.  Every kind, every size, small print, large print, board, you name it, they have it.

Books on Tape- and CD and little digital play aways.

E-Books - that you can download directly to your electronic device.

English as a Second Language Classes (some libraries, not all)

Computer Classes (most libraries)

Online Access- wifi, and computers

Quiet Study Rooms

Toys you can check out for children (some libraries,  not all)

Science kits, with materials already provided for elementary age children (some libraries, not all)

Magazines

Copy Machines

DVD's

Video Games (some libraries, not all)

FREE CLASSES - story times for children, for adults: crafts, knitting, cooking, gardening, recycling, it's worth looking into!

Farmer's Markets - some libraries, not all, seasonal

Oh, how I love the library.  Many people think that libraries are no longer relevant in the information age.  Really?  Libraries are on the cutting edge of information technology.  Not only do they know how to find information, they love to show you the best, easiest, most efficient way to find reliable sources of information.  Best of all, you are not paying for their services.

Have you checked out your local library lately? 

McCormick Recipe Inspirations

Have you ever tried these things? They're pre-measured spice kits from McCormick.  Each card contains the spices in little plastic cubes.  The back of the box contains a recipe card, with the ingredients you will need to finish making the recipe as well as the cooking directions.




This past week as I was cleaning out the kitchen, I found a stash of 20 of these.  Varying recipes, involving pork, chicken, and beef.

I had never really tried them - I had just picked them up.  Since I had so many of them sitting around, I thought I would give them a try.


Let me tell you, these things are amazing!
The recipe is already thought it.  The measuring is done.  All you have to do is cut something, give the spices a little swirl, and put everything in the oven.  Absolutely the easiest cooking I have done in quite some time!

We cooked the Asian Sesame Salmon, Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Potatoes, and the Spanish Chicken.  Dinner was quick and easy, and I much appreciated the fact that the sides were included on the recipe list.  For some unknown reason, I've always struggled with adding the right side to round out a meal.

Hey- I don't get anything out of pushing this product.  The picture is from my Amazon Associates Account, but I get nothing from McCormick for this.  I just really, really liked this product.  It made my dinner planning considerably easier!

Even better, these little gems are fairly reasonably priced, coming in at less than $5 per packet, but if you can find coupons in the paper and combine it with a sale, you have a bargain on your hands!

Cleaning out the Kitchen

I began the #40bagsin40days Lenten challenge a couple of weeks ago.  I admit.  I had dreams of cleaning out my entire house.

Turns out, I've gotten bogged down in my kitchen.  There's a lot more "stuff" in there than I thought there would be.

While I've been at it, husband and I decided to go ahead and fix all of the little stuff that has bothered us about that space since we moved into this house.  It's been on our "to do" list for 9 years now, but it's never been a priority.

We've emptied out well over half of the cabinets.  We've gone through each and every item and decided what we do and don't use.  Items that needed to go away have been given away.  We cleaned out the cupboard which is just behind the kitchen door, and husband is in the middle of building a custom designed rack so that we can rotate our canned goods in and out without losing stuff in the very back corners of the cupboard.  Items that need to be corralled, like the Easter Egg stuff is all in bins, and the bottom shelves of the cupboards contain these bins of items that are not used often, but that we like to keep track of.

I even went so far as to go through the spices.  We had five jars of Turmeric - each with a little less than a quarter of spice left.  Hey, presto, change-o, I consolidated all of the various jars of Turmeric into one!  Sadly, there were many more extraneous jars of spices - not just the Turmeric - that could be consolidated.  In all, I ended up recycling over 20 jars and little containers of spices that had been hogging space in our cabinets.  I can now actually see what I have on the shelves!  That's an unusual feeling!

Yesterday, I emptied out another cabinet that I've been meaning to get to since we moved in here.  There were 5 sets of drip pans for an electric stove in there.  We have a smooth top electric range.  Not sure how long those pans have been sitting in there, but they are gone now!  This cabinet is going to end up housing my pans and cookie sheets that are currently crammed into the drawer under the oven.  I want to store them vertically, if I can, so I'm looking around for ways to hold the upright without spending a fortune.

I still have the largest project left - getting at the island in the kitchen.  It's an awkward set up - the island itself has cabinets that hang down from the ceiling and come to 12" above the counter top.  No space to do anything here except pile stuff.  When we moved in, our intent was to pull down those cabinets over top of the island and move them down into the laundry room to make a nice island there to fold laundry.  I believe we're about to make it happen.  With the space we've opened up in the other cabinets, we should be able to move everything out of those upper cabinets and take them down.  I don't think it will happen before Easter, but it will happen before graduation.  Finally, one of the larger visions we had for this space when we moved in here - opening up the kitchen - will be done!

I have added a Kitchen Remodel board to my Pinterest Boards.  I don't honestly think we'll be able to pull off a lot of these ideas, but it's fun to look at these great ideas and dream!

The bag count so far?  9 bags to Goodwill.  1 to the Public Library.  2 bags to a mission trip to Guatemala.  4 bags of trash. 1 bin of recycling.

Glitter Dipped Mugs

With the winter weather we've had this week, I've been out of work for the majority of the week.  I've worked 2 days this week.  In the meantime, I've been hitting up my Pinterest Boards, and working on craft projects.  This is the latest find!  The glitter dipped mugs look beautiful, and I had to try!

The necessary supplies- glitter and mod podge

 I found the original project here: http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/glitter-dipped-mug/

Since the directions for the mug itself are written on the white house black shutters blog, I am not going to repeat them here.  You can follow the link to see the step by step directions.

Setting up the craft area:  lots and lots of newspaper.

The blue stripe is painter's tape.  Pretty purple glitter on my mug!

The mugs have been glittered - waiting for their layer of Mod Podge.

I do have a couple of very important notes on this.  The blue and green glitter is extra chunky glitter.  The purple glitter is superfine.  While the blue and green looks really cool, the purple is a little more understated, and it doesn't "glitter" the way you think it should.  It's pretty, but it's not glittery.

In her blog, Ann Marie recommends waiting overnight before applying anything over the glitter.  The directions on the bottle of Mod Podge say you can apply a second layer after 2 hours.  Don't do that!  Wait overnight between layers!  I waited an hour, and I applied three layers over the glitter on one mug.  On the other mug, I ended up waiting overnight between layers and I only added two layers of Mod Podge.  I also left the tape on my mug and didn't pull it off.  All big mistakes, let me tell you.  The entire purple glitter layer ended up peeling off of my 3 layer mug yesterday.  I'm going back and redoing the entire thing today.  I'm going to wait overnight in between layers, and I'm going to only put two layers of glitter on my mug.

So, was this a pinterest success or fail?  One mug was a roaring success!  Okay, so it was the one that I followed the directions to the letter.... The other one, I rushed and took a few shortcuts.

I'll claim this as a Pinterest Success Story!

Octopus tries to escape tank at Seattle Aquarium

Winter's Last Gasp

In like a lion, out like a lamb.  At least, that's what they say!

I found this weather forecast yesterday on the Facebook Page of the Baltimore County Public Library. 

source: https://www.facebook.com/bcplonline?fref=photo

I hope you're enjoying this last gasp of winter!

My Resolutions

Every year, we all make resolutions that we vow we are going to keep.  6 weeks later, we don't even remember what our resolutions were!  Last year, I decided to go public and put my resolutions on my blog so that I can hold myself accountable.  Nothing like looking back once a month to see if you've kept your promises to yourself!

Since it's the first of the month, it's time to take a look at the 2015 resolutions:


1) Exercise More.   My goal was to get out to exercise for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. With the cold and snow we've had I've done nothing.  Epic fail.  I can't wait for spring!!!

2) Lose 10 pounds.
2 pounds lost last month.  Nothing this month.  I suspect this has something to do with #1. 

3) Remodel the Hall Bathroom.
This is a repeat from last year.

4) Finish oldest child's quilt.
The quilt is pinned!  It's 1/3 finished.  I'm hand quilting this, and it's slow going, but...It's looking as if it might be finished before graduation!

5) Clean and organize the Family Room in the basement.
 I'm working on organizing the bookshelves.  It's the librarian in me.  I really like to have those shelves organized by subject.  I'm also weeding some of the titles out.  The 50 year old science books really don't have any value.

6) Cut back on the time I spend on Social Media.
I'm only looking at social media now first thing in the morning, when I'm waiting for my husband to get through the bathroom, and at lunch time.  As a result, I'm finding I have more time in my day!

7) Read 75 books this year.
 I'm making some serious progress on this.  I've been blogging about each of the books I've read in this challenge as I go.  I have a page dedicated to the books I'm reading this year.  You can find it on the right hand side of this page, listed as "2015 Book Challenge".  I didn't read as much this month- but I have the new Rick Riordan Heroes of Olympus Book sitting on the table, next to the computer!

8) Get out of debt.
Working on it. I believe this should also say "don't add extra debt while sending kids through college."  4 years down with no debt - 4 more to go. 

9) Spend more time with my family
Always a priority, and it gets harder and harder as the kids go off to college and get lives of their own.  We've had some snow days this month, and I've enjoyed spending extra time with my daughter!

10)  365 Grateful
I will continue to find a way to be thankful for the things I have.  There are a lot of awful things that happen, but I will focus on the positive.  You can lose yourself in negativity.  I've been posting pictures on Flickr, and some on here.  Any way I can find to keep myself positive! 

You can find me on Flickr:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/librarynut/

 11) Replace the car that was totaled.
It needs to be done, even in the midst of paying off loans, a bathroom that needs to be remodeled, and college expenses.  Our Civic has 225,000 miles on it.  It's a great car, and we keep up to date on the maintenance, but by God, do we need to make certain we have a back up plan!  The van doesn't have nearly as many miles on it, but putting gas in that behemoth is expensive. 

12) I will maintain my friendships.
 It's an ongoing project, and I am enjoying it immensely!  I caught up with a friend that I haven't seen in 15 years this month!  It was an awesome lunch!

13) Have a few more adventures this year.
 I took a day trip over to the beach yesterday with a friend.  We had lunch, went shopping, and stopped at the most amazing fish store ever and picked up some seafood that was fresh off the boat!  Fresh fish for dinner tonight!

 

14) Craft More
 Still working on the quilt.  I took a break to knit up a hat and scarf as a birthday present and sent that off.  I also made glitter mugs.  I'll be posting pictures of that amazing beauty later in the week!  They are so sparkly!  Love them!!


So, how are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions?