The Lysol Fairy, the Guardian Angel, and the Sickies

The Lysol Fairy, the Guardian Angel, and the Sickies

The Lysol Fairy and the Sickies

And so the sicknesses have begun. I was very sick last weekend. I’ll admit I blamed it all on stress and worry from a new job. I had a migraine so bad I would have bet money that my head would explode and I was extremely nauseous. Finally after about a week of feeling that way I went to the walk-in clinic where he said I had a massive sinus infection. OH! So, that’s what that was?? So, I got some antibiotics and some hardcore pain meds (which make me happy) and I thought all might be well. Until 2 days later I came down with the cold from heck. Then, Alayna got it and came home early on Thursday and missed school on Friday. Then Tyler got it and missed school Friday. I didn’t take off any work although I should have since I feel hideous. The last 2 nights I have slept 14 hours each. It would have been heaven if I hadn’t been sneezing, coughing, and blowing my brains out through my nose.

My biggest worry this whole time has been what this will all do to Bob. I became the Lysol Fairy this week (I LITERALLY wore wings, ask the kids) and I skipped around spraying everyone and everything with Lysol. But I don’t think it worked. Bob came home early from church with this same dang cold. Dangit! We need to get him in a plastic bubble- anyone have one we can borrow?

The Guardian Angel

My mother and grandmother have always said, “Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly”. This week all 4 kids were coming home from YW, YM, and AD and Marisa was driving. It was late and dark and as she went to cross an intersection she didn’t see a car come flying. Kayla screamed, Marisa slammed on her brakes, and they missed the car literally by inches. They were all scared to death with adrenaline pumping by the time they got home. Here was Kayla’s summary:

“wow i just saved all my siblings lives. i feel like a hero! well i actually saw the car speeding across the intersection and i was like what the heck why is marisa going into the intersection? so i ran out of the car and pushed the car out of the way. i realized i had time to spare so i went to the nearest mcdonalds and grabbed a smoothie. when i got back in the car we had enough time to brake before she almost hit it.”

I’m just grateful that Marisa didn’t drive faster than their guardian angel could fly!

Lots of odds and ends

*Kayla took the ACT last weekend and we hope to get the results soon.

*So, I missed the Primary Program today where Alayna sang a solo, did sign language with the activity day girls and had a speaking part. I have seen all the rehearsals (thank heavens) but I heard she did a fantastic job!!

*The girls headed up to Cedar Falls for the Stake Youth Activity and dance.

*Tyler won his challenge match in tennis this week as well as his meet in Prairie! Go Tyler!

*Alayna made cookies all by herself for the very first time. The first batch didn’t work so well since she accidentally put in 1/8 cup of salt rather than 1/8 teaspoon( slight difference there). But her 2^nd batch was great and she was so proud she could do it all by herself.

*Bob bought me a new vacuum yesterday which actually sucks! In a good way! Whoohoo!

*Remember how I’ve said that Alayna is one of the most creative people I know? She created a huge “cardboard house” out of the vacuum and misc cardboard. She had a mail slot, a TV, a bed, a thumb printing machine to gain entrance, etc. It was very cool!

(Pancake alayna made of a mom, holding a baby, on a carriage?)

Question of the week- How is work?

I absolutely LOVE my job except for 1 thing (which I’m not exactly ready to talk about). The library is definitely my place of solace. I’m surprised how busy I am the entire time and how much I have learned. I’m a bit bummed I took the semester off of school but I have no idea how I would fit it in this schedule. The commute is lame, but I probably just need to get books on tape to listen to the 25 minutes there and the 25 minutes back. It’s funny, you wouldn’t think a town like Cedar Rapids has any traffic…

I’m pretty sure the library hasn’t been cleaned or organized in about 10 years, so I up totally up my organization and cleaning alley and kicking butt. Sometimes I even impress myself. I’ll have to take pics when I’m all done.

I do love high school students overall, better than middle school. But Jefferson is a rougher school than LM and so sometimes I am surprised by stuff, like the fight that broke out in the library this week. There is no way I will break one of those up when its between 2 football players twice my size. But overall I love working with the kids there. One guy even gave me his business card. My hope is that I can get an actual library job next year. Keep your fingers super crossed for me!

The Reading Fiend

One drawback of being in the library is that I find stuff everyday that I want to read. I have read like 7-8 books since I started. I’m happy to give reviews if anyone is interested. The series I have been really into this week is Streams of Babel and Fire will Fall by Carol Plum-Ucci. Here is a review:

From School Library Journal

Grade 8–11—In 2002, high school outcast Cora Holman's mom dies of a mysterious brain aneurysm, preceded by flulike symptoms. Then Cora, Owen Eberman, and two of their friends gradually come down with a similar ailment. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, 16-year-old computer genius and cyber-spy Shahzad, who is working for the U.S. government, has uncovered information about a terror threat called Red Vinegar, and he is taken to New York in order to follow the terrorist chatter more directly. Through the alternating narratives and interwoven lives of six teens (including the child of a terrorist working on behalf of North Korea), Plum-Ucci offers a compelling tale of bioterror. It is, however, unclear why she chose to depict a group of religious terrorists celebrating by "popping champagne and drinking forties," unless, perhaps, it is to indicate hypocrisy in their ranks. The characters, particularly Shahzad, are well drawn and have unique voices, and the unresolved ending leaves a lot of room for t hought and discussion. Ultimately, this is a tautly paced thriller that will force readers to think about the complexities of living in a post-9/11 world.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System

I loved the stories but the language is bad. If I were to ever buy the books I would go through with permanent marker and block out lots of the language. Just thought I’d warn you if anyone was thinking about reading them.