Librarian in Disguise

arrived

After 17 days of transit and delay Dad finally arrived at his place of deployment in Afghanistan.

Prayer of St. Patrick

We prayed this prayer at church last night. I couldn't help sharing it.

"Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me abundance of reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation."

i actually heard this today

"I don't know what I'd do without my cell phone. It's my life."

another fun discovery

I discovered a bonus of my weightloss tonight. I keep pulling things out of my closet that haven't fit me in years and slowly but surely things are beginning to fit. I am sitting at my desk in my fancy black suit and it fits and fits very comfortably. So exciting! Glad to know I won't need to buy a new suit for future interviews I hope to have.

Yeah for not having to buy a new suit!!

good things

Today is Monday. On Monday's I go to my weekly Weight Watchers meeting. I arrived a bit early at Macy's (my meeting is in the Macy's staff lounge). Anyhow I usually enter by the petite section. Just for kicks I thought I'd give the size 12 brown cords a go. I couldn't believe it when the fit. Too exciting and to boot they were only 12.25 on clearence. So cool.

Then I headed up to my meetings. I'm down 28.1 lbs. It's taken me almost a year it's been a roller coaster but it's totally worth it!! Only 1.9 lbs to go and I can get my purse. Once I reach that 30lb goal I'll be at my half way point. It's been a long slow journey but I'll keep movin' along.

And just a side note the whole evening started off on a great note when I filled my almost empty gas tank up for $1.91 gasoline. Love it when that happens.

Now it's time for my long over due dinner.

view from Fitz Apartment

2-3 inches fell this morning, not much for an Ohio snow fall. But it is the first real snow fall we've had all winter. From what I've heard the roads are AWFUL. What to do?! I usually pick a friend and her kids up for church, but i'm at a loss for what to do...once the sun goes down it will just get colder. And I'm supposed to teach children's church tonight.

what I woke up to this morning...

one of those days

I went to get my coffee this morning only to realize that I hadn't put any coffee in the filter. Opps! At least it was a mistake that could easily be fixed.

beginning of an ending

Classes begin today at my place of employment. It's a cold day which is a bit out of the norm for winter so far. Today marks the beginning of my last semester here at ODU. It all feels a bit strange and unsure. I told my CCO co-op here during the Fall that this would indeed be my last and final semester, marking the completion of my three year committment to the Campus Ministry Office here.

What's ahead is still up in the air. I am going to the CCO office next week for a formal interview for an office position. But I am also moving forward on sending out resumes for Academic Library positions. I'll keep you posted as best I can.

It is an interesting task to begin an ending. I desire to finish strong and continue to serve this community to the best of my ability.

p.s. I'm also taking an art class this semester--Ceramics. Should be interesting! I hope I last.

and he's off...

My Dad left today for a deployment to Afghanistan. One last picture before he boarded the flight. The were nice to mom, grandma and me and gave us gate passes so we could sit with Dad until he left. We are all going to miss him while he's abroad serving, but thanks to modern technology he's only an email away. In many ways he's fulfilling a boyhood dream of going to Afghanistan he's been praying for the country for over 50 years. We covet your prayers while he's away.

Now off to writing a resume.

new shoes

Last night when I arrived home in Columbus from Philly I came home unpacked and headed out to DSW. When I was in Philly visiting the Jones' Diber, Ellis and I did a little shopping. Diber needed new black shoes and these are what should found. I thought they were so cute. But I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything of substance while in Philly. I just simply didn't have room in my suitcase and wasn't interested in hauling stuff on and off the train on the way to the airport. That was especially difficult while we were at Ikea. Anyhow I decided that these shoes were so cute that I wanted to see if they had any at the DSW in Columbus. So Jeannette...you and I now have matching shoes. What good taste we have!! Hope you're still enjoying them. I'm wearing mine right now.

look at Mommy!

Diber caught me just as I was signing Mommy. I was trying to get Ellis to look at Jeannette as she was taking the picture.

little boy BIG bell

Now I can say that I've seen the Liberty Bell. It is indeed impressive. High recommend the site.

peace out!

Diber was trying to get Ellis to flash the peace sign, like the Dali Lama. Unfortunately fo us he wasn't too interested in doing that. Oh well. Still a cute picture.

Go Bucks!

what you can't really see in this photo is that I'm standing 10 feet away from the national relic, "The Liberty Bell".

OH-IO!! Go Bucks!!

old friends

As I write this entry I'm sitting in Jeannette's livingroom in Ft. Washington, PA (just outside of Philly). I'm typing, she's sewing a vest for Ellis and Ellis is watching Signing Time DVDs. It's amazing to watch an 18 month old communicate so effectively with sign language. I'm even learning some too!

What we do because we love our parents...

...we dress alike for family photos.