Tag Archives: vacation

My Birthday Trip to Seattle

The Space Needle in Seattle

This picture is unedited! The sky was really that blue!

My birthday this year was a big one. I turned 30. Eeek! I’ve been a little anxious about getting older, but George, my husband, softened the blow with a trip to Seattle. I didn’t know where we were going until a week before the trip, so I didn’t have much time to plan. And that was A-OK. In my everyday life, I plan like a squirrel on steroids, but I don’t like to plan every detail of trips. It takes the adventure out of it. Continue reading

Post-Vacation Blues

sunset in nags headI have a terrible case of post-vacation blues. I literally shed a couple of tears on the way to work this morning. I was in a weird, weepy mood. I enjoy my job, but I did not want to get back to the overload of emails, the ringing phone and the (sometimes) grumpy patrons.

selfiesWhat’s more fun than fun? Funnest?! Funna-fun-fun-fun! Well, whatever it is, I had more fun than that! We lounged in an 8 person float in the ocean while partaking in adult beverages. I really didn’t need a better time than that, but we also took afternoon naps in hammocks and ate until our tummies hurt. I need a detox.

puppy loveWe also hung out with this crazy dog. She’s is the dog version of Lil Bub. And although she had kibble breath, she made me want a little lap dog so, so much!

But now we’re back to the emailing, the traffic, the giant laundry pile. I need another vacation just to catch up.

How do you recover from the post-vacation blues? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Summer Reading List 2012

I’m a crazy-list-maker and not afraid to admit it. Making lists makes me feel good, accomplished even. It makes me feel that I did something for the day, even though maybe I only made a list. Whoops.

Reading lists are one of my favorite lists to create. They’re the nerdy, yet fun-loving cousin of To-Do lists. Let’s call my reading lists, Gertrud. Since this weekend is Memorial Day, which generally marks the start of summer-time, Gertie and I are (reluctantly) whipping out our bathing suits, slathering on our SPF 100, and sipping cocktails poolside.

Summer Reading List 2012 (a.k.a. Gertie.)

Treasure Island!!!
Sara Levine

Although this book gets mixed review on Amazon, I’m going to take a chance and put Treasure Island!!! on the list because the premise is just so weird. And I heard about it on NPR, whom I trust with book reviews.

In this suburban comedy, a recent college grad with a lack-luster job history reads Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson and decides she should live her life by the core values of the book:  namely, boldness, resolution, independence and horn-blowing.

Sounds mildly crazy, huh? Maybe just as crazy as naming your Summer Book List, Gertie.

Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James

I’m jumping on the bandwagon for this one. Generally, books about passionate, physical relationships written in (what I have heard to be) graphic detail, don’t really interest me. I prefer a little magic with my “trash,” a la the Sookie Stackhouse novels. But I feel as a librarian sometimes it is my duty to read books with big hype. And I’m not afraid to admit I want to know what all the hype is about!

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened
Jenny Lawson

Since it is summer-time, I want something to tickle my funny bone as I sip on a boozy, cool drink. So, I chose another book from the humor genre. This time, the book is a “mostly-true memoir” from Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess. In Let’s Pretend this Never Happened, Jenny writes about the most embarrassing and traumatic experiences of her life, you know, the ones you wished never happened, and spins them into a hilarious tale. Or at least I hope she does.

Wildwood
Colin Meloy, illustrations by Carson Ellis

Ya’ll know I had to put a YA novel on here. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time because of, you guessed it, the cover. It’s beautiful, right? The book is illustrated by Carson Ellis, Colin Meloy’s wife. Colin Meloy is the singer/songwriter for The Decemberists. Her Majesty, the Decemberists was the soundtrack to my sophomore year of college.

Even the plot of Wildwood sounds oddly-beautiful. Prue McKeel’s baby brother is kidnapped by a murder of crows, so she adventures into the uncharted Wildwood to save him.

The Introvert Advantage: How to thrive in an extrovert world
Marti Olsen, Psy.D.

I’m an introvert. I know it is a cliché for librarians to be introverts, but I can’t help it. Introverts get an undeserved bad rap. Through this book I hope to learn how to better use my introverted personality to my advantage, instead of trying to hide it or “fix” it.

Want more of my “To-Read” lists? Follow me on Goodreads!

What are ya’ll reading this summer?

love,
melanie