Now thats a library I'd like to visit!!

Keith Richards wants to be a Librarian!!!

My hormones and me have never really gotten along...

I suspect my latest attempt at controlling my fertility is playing havoc with me, about 4 months ago I had the Implanon implant put into my arm, and now I just feel like crap ALL the time, I either have bad insomnia or I am getting 10 hours sleep and still cant drag myself out of bed in the morning (not great when you have two kids!). I have been having bad hot flashes... I'm only 34 so definitely not ready for Menopause... Grumpy and crabby, dizzy spells and NO sex drive whatsoever! All of these things are listed on various discussion forums and other sites as common side effects... so if its on the Internet it must be true! (just like if it's in the Herald/Sun or on A current Affair it must be true too!) but of course not listed in the 'official' literature which plays down any side effects at all.

I gave the Implanon a go on the advise of my obstetrician who doesn't like IUD's (the only contraceptive I have ever actually been happy with!) and reckons it's great for people who cant take the pill (that would be me! try having All the PMT symptoms ALL month long!) Ive also tried the Depro Povera injections but that made me totally blow up, played havoc with my skin and meant I didn't have a period for two years which sounds great but doesn't feel very natural to me at all!

I'm gonna go see my GP next week and see about getting the Non-hormonal IUD back in, I just cant keep going the way I am at the moment... my blog is suffering!!!!

Whippin' it

Finally got to watch Whip it, totally cool and inspiring... made me get the skates out of the cupboard and do a couple of laps of the kitchen before getting back to the drudgery of the housework!

Stick it up your arse!

Had a very different experience yesterday where I got to wake up and see the inside of my own bowels, not your everyday occurrence. Yours truly had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy to check out the state of the insides, fine by the way which should be considered good news that there ain't nothing wrong, but a little part of me was hoping something entirely fixable would be found that might explain why I feel like shit all the time... hey, feel like shit, thats kind of appropriate after all the preparations that go into it!

Anyways, they only give you a mild anesthetic and I woke up halfway through part two. I made some comment about this looking very different to my bedroom, then joined in the conversation about their kids going to schoolies (at least that was the conversation I took part in, they may have been talking about something completely different!) so that was my day, that and many trashy waiting room magazines and Days of our lives on the telly, man i never realised how much yelling goes on in that show, so wonder I couldn't concentrate on my book!

Mama Mia...

I love it when the readings catalogue arrives in my mail box at the start of every month, it always adds at least 10 books to my “books to check out” book. And that's where I read about Mama Mia by Mia Freedman.



I think I was attracted to the memoir from her history as a magazine editor. Magazines being a field I wanted to work in as a teenager, but growing up in country Victoria was a long way from the ACP offices in Sydney and I never quite made it there! But I found this memoir surprisingly engaging on so many other levels. There were many shared experiences I related to (the emotionally abusive Ex, losing a baby mid term etc.) But its also at times really really funny funny, especially the chapter where she describes the birth of her daughter Coco. She is also very down to earth and gives some very realistic insights into the joys and struggles of motherhood, I especially enjoyed the Smug and Crap lists in the last chapter, given that I had just added to the Smug list earlier that day (see last post) I just couldn't think of a name for it! (by the way, the home made Play Doh was crap and I'm NEVER making it again!)

well I made my own Play Doh...

I bloody hate those superior type Mummies with their "he/she's very advanced" or their "I never give him/her anything that's not organic" or "you have to stick to this routine" or "if you don't do this this and this while this music is playing your child will be a moron!" blah blah blah... making me feel guilty for daring to live in the real world!

Well I've done one of those superior mummy things now... now I get to say "well we made our own Play Doh..." and I can make the next mummy feel guilty!

2 cups bi-carb soda
1 cup cornflour
1 cup water
1 tbsp veg oil
A bit of food colouring

Put it all in a saucepan and stir over low heat for about 15 mins or until it looks right.
put mix on a plate with a wet towel over the top (I forgot about the wet towel bit!) and cool for about an hour.
Sprinkle with cornflour and kneed till it feels right.

By the way it was a bit of a pain in the arse to make and I think the bought stuff is still better!!!

Insomnia...

Although insomnia is nothing new or unusual for me, I am on my forth night in a row of it and I am seriously NOT HAPPY! Last night I got a grand total of 3 hours, I am grumpy and irritable and really not very nice to be around. And I wish I could blame the kiddies, but it’s not even them, just my stupid body!!! Ive tried all number of over the counter and prescription methods and tonight I’ve gone down the hippie herbal route with a double dose of Valerian but still no joy! Even the spare bed ain’t working for me this time... bloody mother... jkn;kljjjjj;;l/mm lhoujnnlk... ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Altona North...

The fabulous Altona North Community Library opened yesterday! Come check it out, not just for the great collection and gorgeous staff but also for the Innovative building design. The building is designed to work with the environment, the windows are arranged to catch the morning and evening sun while avoiding the strong midday rays. The courtyard doubles as an internal light well, the thermal mass wall acts as an insulator and the round ‘Swiss cheese’ window design matches up to the google earth image of the nearby petrol refineries... seriously!

I finally got yo watch the Hollywood Librarian (now available at HBL if anyones interested!) It was OK, the first half was entertaining and the second got a bit political and all a bit serious for me (there are libraries outside of the states don't you know!)

I enjoyed the representations of libraries and librarians on film but was disappointed no to see my favourite scene from Ghostbusters! I want to try and track down a copy of the movie The Desk Set with Katherine Hepburn (whose sister is a librarian by the way!) which explores (in 1957!) the impact computers are going to have on the workplace including the reference library.

babies and evil books...

Have I told you I have the perfect baby? She sleeps all night, only cries when she's hungry and is totally cute! Now I'm not saying this to gloat... believe me if I knew what i was doing right I would share it with you, write a book and make a million dollars! But boy, those books can be evil, full of contradictory information and advice and making their money out of making women question their own abilities and intuition. I read one recently that was so rigid in it's routines it would have stressed me out so much if tried to follow it I would be an absolute mess! You must do this and that at this time and not a minute before or later, I'm sorry but that's just not real life! Sure I know that routines can have their place and maybe I'm lucky that both my babies have fallen into their own routines (were allowed to fall into their own routines maybe?). Early on I read and article that said that it was a good idea to not have too strict a routine so your kid doesn't freak out if your out somewhere and am running late or whatever. It also advised that you sometimes give their bottles at different temperatures so that if you couldn't heat it when you were out and about they wouldn't freak out too. I have followed that one!

My advice... find what suits you and then don't read anymore of those books! and follow your instincts and intuition!

a week maybe a long time in politics...

But 2 1/2 weeks is a long time in blogging!

I'm a bad blogger... a bad bad bad blogger!

But Ive been a busy one what with starting back to work at the fabulous soon-to-be-open Altona North Library (2pm March 16th!) and with poor Little Miss having an operation to release of the right trigger thumb. Poor little brave girl will finally be able to give us the thumbs up!

As the Fonz says; EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH

Also been doing a lot of reading... someone asked me the other day at work how I'm able to get through a book a week with two little kids... I say "It's all about your priorities!"

Ive not long finished this cute book, A true history of the Hula Hoop by Judith Lanigan. It’s a very sweet book basically covering 3 intersecting stories as well as a little non-fiction research into... you guessed it, the history of the hula-hoop! And the little town about an hour from Melbourne with the historic cinema sounds VERY familiar!

I'm currently reading Stealing Picasso by Anson Cameron which I would probably be enjoying a lot more if I didn't keep picking bloody holes in it all the time! Its a novel based around the stealing of the Weeping Woman from the NGV back in 1986 (something which has always intrigued me and I believe makes the painting a lot more interesting, but I think it's funny that I worked at the NGV for over a year and you never heard anything about it nor found any mention in any of the books they produced!) anyways, I keep picking at things like when the book says its free to get into the gallery but back then it wasn't, and now there's this whole weird bit about a Michael Jackson impersonator who is struggling because of the child abuse allegations coming out but that wasn't until the 90's... why cant I just read it and enjoy it!!!!

Warman Special

The latest from creation from Hot Roddings mad genius...
You can also check out the Warman special in the latest Street Machine magaizine (Pg 60), it’s a sweet story of a grandfathers inspiration, especially when his own father said “those cars will get you nowhere boy!”

Just in case your interested...

http://www.rarespareslegend.com.au/Legends/Rod-Hadfield.htm

Happiest room in the house...

Regular readers of my blog will know I have traveled to several different countries. I therefore think I am in a good position to comment of the state of toilets throughout the western world... Not the state as in someone missed the seat and left the stall filthy... I mean the actual toilet itself...

The worst country for toilets would have to be the States... they seem to have a fascination with self flushing toilets, particuly in airports... maybe air travellers have a hard time remembering to press the button or perhaps its a germ thing I don't know, but if your anything like me who is a bit of a mover arounderer on the loo (especially with a number 2 where sometimes it needs a little help and guidance!) you end up with a wet bum. Not to mention if you accidentally drop something in and jump off the seat to collect it! Tip from me - you can trick them by holding your hand over the sensor, not always the most comfortable position but better than a surprise bidet!

Best country for toilets, Japan! Soft, heated seats. Washbasins that utilise your hand washing water, music, fake sounds for the shy... bottom heaven!

Another Seriously Hot Librarian!

If you think us librarians are all daggy nerds, check out Peggy Wilkins... Hot librarian and Playboy collector... my kind of lady!

Mr. Stubby Holder...

Kind of makes me laught that a man who doesn't drink should end up on a stubby holder!

No need to smoke them Winnie Blues...

Check out these super cute Cigerette sized literature... wear 'em in your rolled up T-shirt sleeve like a pack of Winnie Blues!

Pimped and in Print!

Check it out... my pimped up shopping trolley has made it into print!

(Cruzin Magazine February 2010 Pg. 6 )

P.S. Me and the girls made it into Rods Ramblings too!

Gems from the Bargain bin...

Picked up these two gems from the $1 bin outside Book Heaven in Campbells Creek today...

20th century woman by Dr. Eustace Chesser, A 1969 "Study of the English woman, a book which examines the sexual behaviour and conditioning of women today... their attitudes to pre-marital sex are shown in the light of the recent increase in sexual intercourse between unmarried couples."

But really I just bought it for the cover!

And...

The first Ms. Reader: how women are changing their lives - in work, sex, politics, love, power and life styles. An anthology of articles.

But what I really want to know is if I send off the card inside can I still get a groovy Ms. "The Liberated Woman's Bag!" complete with "The liberated Woman's Appointment Calender for 1974"?

Arrrr me hearties....

Here's an article on how Librarians are the "worst sort of Pirates" as their book lending practices are costing the publishing industry $1 Trillion!

And speaking of Pirates and Here's a blog called Confessions of a Book Pirate.

Oh and when I was trying to find that one again, I came across this one called The.effing.librarian who also wants to become a pirate librarian.

I love pirates... the old AARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH/Pieces of Eights/Jolly Roger kind of Pirates I mean.

I got really excited one day when working in the big-corporate-treat-your-staff-like-crap bookstore because this lady came in doing research on female pirates. Female Pirates!!! How Ace!! (actually there were a couple of famous female pirates including Mary Read and Anne Bonny) A few months later the same lady came in for an interview and when asked to describe a time that she received excellent customer service relayed the story of me and the female pirates. Hooray!

P.S. don't forget International talk like a pirate day is September 19th every year!