made in Utah

My Junior year of college I went to Europe for 6 weeks with the study abroad program. One of the people on the trip was LeAnna. Several of us took a weekend trip over to Dublin, and the only thing LeAnna absolutely had to do was got to St. Patrick's Cathedral. "Is it this way?" "Do we know what time it closes?" "I have to light a candle there, we're headed that way, right?"

LeAnna has dealt bravely with Cystic Fibrosis her whole life. She takes very good care of herself and follows a regimine that keeps her healthy and breathing. Sadly, many of the people LeAnna has known who also had the disease have passed away, many before the grew out of their teen years. One of these people was a young man named Patrick. LeAnna light a candle in his memory at every church we visited, but the one she lit for him in Dublin was especially important. I think he had a really big impact on her life.

There aren't many things that LeAnna can't do because of her disease, but she knew she'd never be able to be pregnant, for several reasons--the drugs she takes, and the possibility that she could pass on the disease. When she married Matt about 5 years ago, they both knew they would adopt.

A few months ago I got an email that said that Le and Matt had registered with an adoption agency in Utah and were hoping to have a baby by the end of the year.

Patrick McKenzie was born yesterday at 3:51 pm.
7 lbs, 13 oz.



Congratulations, LeAnna and Matt! You're going to be great parents!

Alphabet Meme

Accent: North Mississippian--there is a difference between us and the coast region, but we're probably the only ones who can hear it.
Booze: Abita Amber
Chore I Hate: cleaning the kitchen
Dog or Cat: dog. specifically, my deltadog
Essential Electronics: my ipod and laptop
Favorite Perfume: Chance, by Chanel right now. I don't wear it very often, though.
Gold or Silver: silver
Hometown: Southaven, MS
Insomnia: yes.
JobTitle: full time student
Kids: one day, hopefully.
Living Arrangements: HUGE apartment.
Most Admirable Trait: funny, compassionate, nurturing. and humble.
Number of Sexual Partners: i just had a pseudo-fight with someone who had the gall to ask me this question when it was none of his damn business.
Overnight Hospital Stays: one in college for a very bad case of bronchitis, and twice when my dad broke his hip and i stayed with him.
Phobias: plane crashes
Quote: "sometimes you ask God to come into your life--and He does--and it scares the Hell out of you!"
Religion: Episcopalian.
Siblings: a brother
Time I Wake Up: depends on when i went to sleep.
Unusual Talent or Skill: i'm a little bit psychic
Vegetable I refuse to Eat: tomatoes.
Worst Habit: biting my fingernails
X-Rays: a lot in the past year, because of the accident. i had one today, in fact.
Yummy Foods: Pad Thai. Sushi. Chocolate. Steak.
Zodiac Sign: Saggitarius.

*draws breath**

EVIL FRANCIE!!
WILL!!

VAUGHN!!!!!!

He is Risen!

Happy Easter!

Got up at the crack of dawn to go to early service with the family--my dad had to sing at Getwell, so he was the only one missing--even Kevin and Ashley came.

Beautiful sermon--how it is sometimes easier to focus on the crucifixion, and not realize that the resurrection of our Lord calls us into action and service.
Andy did a baptism--the first little girl born into a family of 4 sons and 8 grandsons.

Came home, cooked for two hours to have lunch ready. Ham, scalloped potatoes with spinach and carmelized onions, deviled eggs with salmon, lemon asparagus, yeast rolls. I did everything but the ham and the rolls.

Took a nap. Talked about going sailing with daddy, because the wind was so great this afternoon, but he wasn't sure where the plug was for the boat that would keep the water out and us afloat, so that plan got nixed. Instead, we all fell asleep in stages as we sat around and read the Sunday paper.

Also, we that are in the KNOW tried hard not to talk about the big event that's going to happen in the next couple of weeks.

He is Risen, indeed!
Alleluia!
Alleluia!

still learning.

Do you ever have those moments when you run into someone you used to know, but with whom you have had no contact for a number of years, and for a split-second, your entire relationship-- every stupid thing you did, or every mean thing they did, or every malicious moment that passed between the two of you--all of those things flash through your memory, and you seriously consider ducking behind a door or into the next supermarket aisle so you won't have to talk to them?

I had two of those moments this week. Both turned out fine. Better than fine. They laughed at my jokes, we talked about jobs, i admired babies and fielded the inevitable questions (nope, I don't have kids. or a husband. I have degrees instead. )

Can I learn a lesson from this? Certainly...and here's what I think it is: we remember our embarassing behavior far longer that those that witnessed it.

So, the next time I do something that makes me want to instantly dig a hole and hide in it (and sometimes pull the dirt in after me so I can quietly die a thousand deaths)--I'll try very hard to remember than in ten years, ten months, ten days, or ten minutes, no one will recall those things that I tend to hold onto and berate myself for doing or saying or being.

Like Father David said--Get over it, Christy. (actually, he advised me to be more gentle with myself, but that was the gist of things)

Believe me, I'm trying.

Enjoying

"Tell me why I love you like i do.
Tell me who could stop my heart as much as you.
Tell me all you secrets and i'll tell you most of mine.
They say nobody's perfect well, that's really true this time.
I don't have the answers, I don't have a plan.
All I have is you so, darling, help me understand
What we do.
Well, you can whisper in my ear.
Where we go--who knows what happens after here?
Lets take each other's hands as we jump into the final frontier.
Mad about you, baby,
Yeah, I'm mad about you."

The Mad About You marathon on Nick at Nite.
Despite its jumping the shark and bringing in a baby.

a list

People, of which i wonder whether they read this blog:

John
Whitley
Coloradoguy
indicative boy
Asbury people
wes
Mr. Carter

I want a love like a Jane Austen novel.

for all those people who tease me about my career choices....

From an MSN report about the 5 careers that are most likely to experience a severe shortage of labor in the nest 3-5 years:

"Studies have shown that librarians are expected to exit the profession en masse in coming years. The American Library Association Web site quotes statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicating that more than one-quarter of all librarians will reach the age of 65 by 2009. A study published in the Library Journal found that 40 percent of library directors would retire by that same year.

In addition to the librarians expected to retire within the next decade, interest in the profession is waning among younger workers, according to the BLS. The situation is particularly dire for colleges and universities, which report the greatest difficulty in hiring librarians due to lower pay.

Graduates of library programs in 2004 reported an average starting salary of more than $39,000, an increase of nearly 3 percent over the previous year. The median salary for librarians is nearly $47,000, according to the BLS."

Rounding out the top five were registered nurses, machinists, truck drivers, and pharmacists.

I thought this was really interesting, and bodes well for my future--if only the universities that make up the academic field will stop whining about how they can't find anybody to hire and realize that their problem lies in their low wages. Why should I want to work someplace that pays a pittance when I can get a job with the government that pays two and a half times the salary the university is offering?

I also think its interesting that the other people in my program are like me--we are really looking forward to working in this industry--its one of those jobs where you don't do it unless you really love it.

Meme

Instructions: Go to your iPod and put it on shuffle. Say the following questions aloud, and press play. Use the song title as the answer to the question.

How does the world see you?
Take Me or Leave Me, Rent

Will I have a happy life?
The Long Way Home, Norah Jones

What do my friends really think of me?
For Once in my Life, Michael Buble

Do guys have secret crushes on me?
Take me for Longing, Alison Krauss

How can I make myself happy?
Redemption, Switchfoot

What should I do with my life?
French for Beginners Lesson (a podcast I subscribe to)

Will I ever have children?
Adding to the Noise, Switchfoot

What is some good advice for me?
Don't Panic, Coldplay

How will I be remembered?
Innocence, Hootie and the Blowfish

What is my signature dance song?
How Sweet it Is, James Taylor

What do I think my current theme song is?
All My Friends, Counting Crows

What song will play at my funeral?
Where the Streets Have no Name, U2

What type of men do I like?
MLK, U2

What is my day going to be like?
Love is Hell, Ryan Adams

Are You Geeky Enough to be a Librarian?

from Librarian Avengers

A quiz, to gauge your readiness to accept Library Science school as your fate.
How many of these questions can you answer with a "yes"?

1. I enjoy acronyms.
2. I own a cat.
3. When confronted with a pile of books I think “Hmm…first I would sort by author, then by title.”
4. I am obsessive enough to appreciate the difference between 345.065 and 345.605.
5. I possess a useless undergraduate degree.
6. Being surrounded by books makes me lather with delight.
7. The idea of someone preventing me from reading Orwell because they don’t like it strikes me as…Orwellian.
8. I am comfortable with the Internets.
9. If my house caught on fire, one of the things I would grab is my favorite book. 10. I possess a useless graduate degree.
11. I can daisy-chain a herd of Ubuntu boxes faster than you can say FreeBSD
12. These kids today. I swear. If they would just read a damn book once in awhile, they wouldn’t be blowing each other up so much.
13. I could find out the middle name of your high school boyfriend with just ten minutes on the Internet.
14. I could find out the first line of A Tale of Two Cities with just ten seconds on the Internet.
15. I know the first line of A Tale of Two Cities.
16. I am a disenfranchised intellectual.
17. The idea of arming the public with knowledge appeals to me more than, say, arming them with pitchforks and torches.
18. I would rather do something cool than get rich.
19. I possess a useless doctoral degree.
20. I can say “Colon classification” without laughing.

Under 5 = I think the “We hate libraries” meeting is down the hall.

5-10 = You are geeky, but can you HANDLE the acronyms?

10-15 = I’ve got some library school applications under my desk you big dork

15-20 = Quit your job immediately! Grab the nearest child and teach him to read! Oh, and start stocking up on acid-free paper.