A definition

While reading a book this past week, I noticed that there was a plaque in the front. It stated that the book had been donated by the Philology Circle. Interested, I looked up the meaning of the word philology. I read the following:
Philology 1) The study of the chronological development of languages or 2) The study of literature and of languages as it is used in literature.
Imagine, a group of people devoted to such a thing. Oddly enough, it sounds like a group of people I would like to befriend.

Continue

After work on Thursday I went to see my sister and her darling daughter. Lauren is adorable although slightly grumpy at times. Jen and John let me play with Lauren alone while they went to a wedding reception (from which they brought me chocolate.) Lauren liked some of the singing that I did. She did not like me reading to her from my book though. It seems that books without pictures do not interest her. Oh well, maybe in the future. I slept the night on the couch and had more fun the next morning. This includes making a cute video of Lauren with my new camera. The future movie star smiled, cooed, and blew bubbles at the camera. If I had the slightest idea how to load a video (and had her parents permission), I would put it on the blog. At 6:30 on Friday I left Salt Lake to have dinner with my best friend, Ryan. Afterwards, he wanted to go clubbing but I declined since I hate crowded, loud, smoke-filled places. We parted ways am I ended up renting a video and going home. On Saturday I was awakened by my oldest niece and her friend jumping on me and screaming at the top of their lungs. Grrr! Jess was a grumpy girl for a whole ten minutes. After breakfast my mood improved. Later that day, everyone met at Jeremy's house to celebrate Sid's birthday. Fun followed. After leaving the party, Jordan, Alison, Josh, Brooke, Marnie, and I ventured to Salt Lake where they attended the ReAL game (that's our local soccer team.) I took care of J and A's little boy, Isaac. After hanging out on a shady patch of grass, we ended up at Barnes and Noble. I took a picture of Isaac's hand and foot. I was elated to find that my new camera takes some great up-close shots. Later we went to see Jen, John, and Lauren. from the Fellowship Committee (which means I provided after-church meals so that bunch of singles can mingle) and was asked to be Branch Historian. I'm not sure what that entales, but am excited for the chance to do something new. I finished the books I was reading, "Princess Academy," by Shannon Hale.When the soccer game ended, I was there to pick up the group. On Sunday I was released from my calling It was a charming book for older kids.

Been a while

It occured to me that it has been a week since my last blog. Between working and family stuff, I guess I have been preoccupied. Aunt Renee, cousin Brandi, and her three boys arrived Thursday night. Andy, Aaron, and Nicholas are darling boys. I even got to read to Andy, Aaron, Sidney, and Wyatt. On Friday I went to Bryan and Ryan's house and stayed out too late. Saturday was the big family reunion. For those of you unfamiliar with the annual gathering, every 24th of July my mother's family gets together: two great-grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, the children of cousins, etc. Food is always in great supply as is laughter and games.

On Sunday the Johnsen clan got together for the blessing of Isaac Ellis. He such a beautiful child; good natured too. All of my siblings and their children were there. Monday was a holiday for those of us in Utah. The 24th of July is always celebrated as the arrival of the pioneers into the valley. After awaking, I went to lunch with Grandma and Dad. I had forgotten how yummy the Chocolate Avalanche at Wingers is. I missed Brandi and her boys leaving on their jetplane. It was nice to have a day off of work to just hang out. Over the weekend I watched a really cute movie called "A wedding for Bella." I highly recommend it. Also, I started an interesting book called "Grave Sight" which is a mystery featuring a woman who can sense dead bodies. I haven't finished it but I have high hopes for the ending.

Postsecret

A few month's ago, I discovered a blog called Postsecret when it was featured on a news program. As a community art project, a man gave blank postcards to random strangers, told them to decorate them, write an anonymous secret on them, then mail them to a specified address. He got a lot back and then made a art exhibit out of them. Since then, he has received thousands of more postcards. He started a blog where he posts the most interesting of them each week. Some are humorous, some sad, some extremely disturbing. This is one example:Beware, if you plan to visit this site, it contains some postcards with foul language and an occasional crude picture and/or idea. It seems like a cathartic process and I have been toying with the idea of sending in a postcard of my own. The website is www.postsecret.blogspot.com

Brief weekend update

As to not bore the readers, I will try to keep the recap of this weekend brief. After working on Friday, I went home to find my sister, Jen, and her daughter as my house. John had gone on a trip so Jen and Lauren decided to spend the weekend with us. After playing with Lauren for a while, I got ready to go out and play. Ryan and I went to Cracker Barrel to eat dinner, then went to Bryan and Ryan's house in SL. I had interesting conversations with Big Kyle, Curtis, Floyd, and Mikey. Kyle F. threw up over the side of the porch and then ended up sleeping on Bryan and Ryan's couch. I felt a little bad for him even though it was his own fault for drinking alcohol. I got a pretty good picture of Doug, Lawyer Ryan, and Mikey as well as a profile shot of both Curtis and Katie.

The next day I was at work by 9:30 am where I was greeted at the library by swarms of gnats. They hovered in clouds just waiting is unsuspecting people to open their mouths so that they might attack. It was truly disgusting. After working until 3:30, I arrived home and played with Lauren for a while. After dinner with Jen, Mom, and Dad, Josh and Brooke came over. Josh showed us a website that he was working on and they told us of the other exciting news in their lives. I guess Jordan, Alison, and Isaac had stopped by earlier because Mom had a picture of Isaac and Lauren side by side. Although it appears that Lauren is a little bigger to me, I was informed that Isaac actually weighs more. I stayed up with Lauren when Jen went to bed. By talking and rocking, I managed to get her to sleep.On Sunday morning I was awakened by my Dad and discovered that I had overslept. After a breakfast of waffles, I managed to make it to church for sacrament meeting. When I got home I finished "Come and See," a semi-biography of Mother Teresa. It was a journey of a photographer who went to India to meet Mother Teresa and found herself. I started "Definitely Dead" and finished it on Monday after working from 3-9 pm. Tomorrow I hope to get a haircut, do my visiting teaching, fix dinner, go to Institute, see some friends, take Alison to pick up their new car, and do some laundry.

My former co-workers

It has come to my attention that I forgot to post a picture of my Kaysville co-workers that was taken at our "recognition" night on June 26th. We all got lovely glass plaques, a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble, a paper award, a picture of the library, and a handshake and kind words from the Kaysville mayor, etc. Here is a picture that includes names next to the people. Hopefully you can see the names. If not, oh well.

Crazy Tuesday

Today was a fun, if busy, Tuesday. I was at my sister, Jen's, house by 9:30 so that I could go with her and her darling daughter, Lauren, to a doctor's appointment. Lauren had to get an ultrasound on her hips to see if they were developing properly. It turns out that her right one is a little under-developed (good thing she makes up for it with wonderful looks and personality :) Her doctor will have to tell her parents what he wants to do about it. Hopefully it is a "wait and see" problem instead of taking a more drastic approach. Afterwards we all returned to Jen's house and prepared to go to lunch with Mom. We ended up at the Market Street Grill where I had a very good salmon ravioli. Our waiter was fairly cute, although I think I was the only one of the four of us girls that noticed (Mom and Jen being married and Lauren being asleep.) Mom complained about a bump and pain on the side of her neck that was bothering her. She had an appointment at the dentist at 2 pm to take a look at it.

After lunch, Jen, Lauren, and I returned to Jen's house to take naps. Lauren ate like a champ and slept for over two hours. Her mom fed Lauren like a champ and took a nap as well. With Lauren asleep in my arms, I layed down on the couch and read. It was so relaxing. A sleeping baby, a comfortable couch, and good reading material; what more could an aunt ask for? After Jen awoke, we had a good conversation about dating and life in general while Lauren continued to sleep. I love talking to Jen. She is always full of good advise and a witty comment when appropriate. I couldn't ask for a better sister. (She didn't even complain when I had been holding her baby for over three hours straight.) After Lauren awoke, she ate and I took some cute pictures of her that are included in this blog. When John, Lauren's cute but tired father, arrived home I realized how late it had become. I drove home, took a quick shower, and arrived late at Institute where we discussed marriage and qualities we desire in a mate. Those were easy; I just look at my father, brothers, and brother-in-law to see what qualities I want.

After Institute I met my best friend for a bite to eat at IHOP where we complained about our jobs. Ryan is going to be changing jobs, which can be scary. After food and a hug, I returned home to a mother that was in quite a bit of pain. Although the details were sketchy because she wasn't making a lot of sense, I discovered that sometime today she had gone to the emergency room because of the pain in her jaw and neck. She was given a prescription and a shot of steriods. When I arrived home, she told me that she was taking pain medication and going to bed. Before falling into bed, she mentioned that my youngest brother, Jordan, would be dropping the green car off and would need a ride home. I was only too happy to take over this responsibility for her because I love talking to Jordan. Even after a 16 hours shift (whoa), he still has interesting things to say and is always willing to listen to the semi-boring things I have to say. I never cease to be grateful to the Lord for giving me siblings that I love and who love me in return. Well, I should turn in for the night. I will be working from 10 am to 9 pm tomorrow. A librarian's work is never done.
P.S. Did I mention that I hate getting private insurance? I guess that is a story for another night.

The man speaks a kind of truth...

This is a quote that I found today that I really like:

I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
-Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer, 1899-1986.

Mini-golfing

This last weekend I went miniature golfing. It has been a couple years since I've mini-golfed so it was fun. Brittany and Ryan went with me. In front of us was a cute family with two little girls. The younger one, perhaps of the age of 3, was hilarious to watch. It reminded me that I want to take Sidney mini-golfing one of these days. When totaled, I came in last. Oh well, such is life.
Afterwards, Ryan and I went to visit a friend of his at her birthday party. There was some smoking around and on the way home I had a hard time breathing. By the time we got to Ryan's house I was wheezing and my chest hurt. I hate how my body responds to smoke. I have never liked being around campfires or people who are smoking because, for some reason, my lungs are really sensitive. Ryan and I layed on his front lawn while my body calmed down. We talked for a little while and then I went home.
Saturday morning my dad and I went to the Bountiful temple for baptisms and then to IHOP for breakfast. After we came home I read until about 12:30. (Yes, I should have cleaned.) Jeremy, Britnie, Josh, and Brooke came over so that we could all go see "Superman Returns" to celebrate Father's Day. We figured it was better to celebrate Father's Day late because of the birth of Lauren and Isaac. Mom babysat Sidney and Wyatt while the rest of us went to lunch and then to the movie theater. The movie was pretty good. The new Superman, Brandon Routh, is pretty cute. He reminds me a little of Christopher Reeves, the Superman of the 1980's. I could see a sequel to this one, perhaps with a little superboy discovering his powers when he hits puberty. There have been a lot of movies based on comic books lately. The next one to look forward to is Spiderman 3. Sadly, we must wait almost a whole year until it is released. I love escaping into movies like these. I have often dreamed of having a superpower (besides the super-sarcasm that i now posess now :)
Today was a crazy day at work. It was strange to look up at the clock to realize that two hours had passed in a blink of an eye. Mondays are always crazy at the library. Between people coming for family night, people finishing their books over the weekend, and kids who just must check their e-mail, the library is scary on Monday. My feet hurt but it was nice that the time passed quickly. One bright spot in my day at work is that I found out that my recommendation for reading was put on the Davis County website under BookLetters staff picks. It is nice that someone at my new job thought I had a good recommendation. (For those who are interested, I recommended "Dead until Dark," a humorous vampire romance. I have tomorrow off so I get to go into Salt Lake City and play with my sister and my new niece, whom I haven't seen since she left the hospital. Yeh for days off!

As promised...

As promised, more library pictures. These are more pictures of the packing and moving of books that occured in the last of June. Hmm, that sentence seems a little awkward. I wish I had pictures of what is happening right now. I suspect that the children's section is completely demolished by now. Maybe I will peak in the windows one of these days.

Adult Non-fiction #1

Adult Non-fiction #2

Children's Non-fiction #1

Children's Non-fiction #2

It seems so strange to think that I am not an employee of the Kaysville library any more. It has been a week since I was employed there. As much as I love my new job, I still miss Kaysville. I miss my fellow employees, my patrons, shelves, books, carpet, computer, typewriter, personal desk, hold shelf, reference room, and everything else. I even miss the patrons who used to yell at me for things that weren't my fault and the toilet that wouldn't stop running. Oh well, life is all about change. Life goes on.

4th of July

Every 4th of July, my family goes over to Allred's house for food, fun, and fireworks. This year it rained, then cleared up enough to watch the fireworks. Usually we eat outside, but this year the adults ate upstairs while the kids (ie those under the age of 31) ate downstairs. My niece, who is five, came over and had fun with the digital camera. The following pictures were taken by her. For a little kid, I think she is pretty good. Of course, I included some of the bad ones for laughs. One includes a lovely shot of carpet and my feet. Good thing I painted my toenails :) I apologize for anyone who is looking at this with dial-up since there are a lot of pictures in this blog entry.

The carpet; along with my foot in the top of the screen.

Gracie, a cute, hyper dog.

Three of the Allred girls: Tiffany, Treena, and Taryn. They are all really cool. Trisha was missing. (She may have already been proposed to when this picture was taken :)

This is a picture of me. I really was smiling, but my niece is a lot shorter than me. I guess she forgot to angle the camera up.This is my mom and her best friend, Missy. When the two of them get together, either tears or laughter usually follows.

Fireworks

I actually took the last two pictures. The fireworks were pretty good although I, along with the Allred girls, was confused by the music. Only half the songs were patriotic. The others must have been chosen because they were the favorite songs of a member of the city council or another reason as equally important as that. All in all, a fun night was had by all. The only thing missing was someone to snuggle with during the fireworks. Oh well, maybe next year.

15 places I'd like to see

These are not in order of preference. I just started in Europe and worked my way around the globe. These are all buildings or areas that I have always been interested in.


1. Rock of Cashel in Ireland
2. York Minster in England
3. Mont St. Michel in France
4. Notre-Dame in Paris, France
5. Louve Museum in Paris, France
6. St. Peter's in Rome, Italy
7. The Blue Monsque in Istanbul
8. Temple of Amun in Karnak, Egypt
9. Abu Simbel in Egypt
10. Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
11. Potala Palace in Lhasa, China
12. The Forbidden City in Beijng, China
13. Taj Mahal in India
14. Chicken Itza in Mexico
15 Machu Picchu in Peru

"A tale of two weekends"

This weekend was an interesting one. On Friday, I went to the birthday party of John. John, “lawyer” Ryan, Katie, Kyle, Curtis, “best friend” Ryan, Doug, Monica and I went to the Skybox at the Gateway for dinner. While the food was good, the waitress seemed to forget about us. We then went to a club that had dueling pianos. It was really cool. With a tip, people seated around the two pianos could request songs. The crowd would then sing along with them. John ended up singing on the pianos for his birthday. We stayed until about 12:30 am, then went to Bryan and Ryan’s house. After eating yummy birthday cake, I began to get tired and slightly annoyed. I witnessed behavior that I hadn’t wanted to see: a very drunk person, a few people who were having a hard time making conversation that didn’t include several expletives, and some people being idiots in the front yard. (I’ll leave the description at that) After leaving with Ryan and Kyle, we all agreed that we were disappointed in the actions of friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately, I stayed out way too late and didn’t get to bed until around 4 am.
On Saturday I worked from 12-4:30. After work I headed down to Woods Cross to be in their parade. My dad drives a foam truck for the refinery every year. Sidney and I rode on the back of the truck and threw candy. It was a lot of fun. After dinner with Mom, Dad, Britnie, Jeremy, Sidney, and Wyatt, I went out with Brittany (friend, not sister-in-law), Spencer, and Michelle. We walked around Barnes Park and ended up talking until they turned the lights out. We talked about funny and serious things. We then went back to my house around 12 and talked some more. It was a lot quieter than my Friday night but not necessarily less fun.
During church the next day, I couldn’t help but reflect on the two groups of people. Both groups have amazing people in them: God-fearing, kind, loving, smart, funny people. But there was a big difference. On Saturday, I didn’t have to worry about what would come out of people’s mouths (or what would go into them.) I thought about the differences between the two groups of people that I would consider friends. I would never expect anyone to change their actions around me. Everyone should be able to be exactly what they want to be. But, I must admit, it is frustrating to see people do things that you don’t agree with and to keep your mouth shut. I would hate to be judgemental. This weekend was like like two weekends instead of two consecutive days. They were so different and yet I did have fun both nights.