Why Delay Happiness?

Last night, I met up with my friends to see their sister-in-law sing in a band. Although it is four month's before my friend's birthday, I gave him his birthday gift. I have fallen into a bad habit of wrapping gifts, sticking them in the closet and forgetting to bring them along at the appropriate time. I do better at early gift-giving than on-time, my mom received her mother's day gift in February and this friend received last year's birthday gift not too long ago! As we were talking about this, they said their father says, "why delay happiness?" I think that's a terrific adage to remember, within reason.

If you can pay afford happiness (and it comes in many shapes and forms), go for it!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Crafts: Link Dump

Burger cookies

Tater Tot vest (a vest made from tater tot bags, not tater tots)

R2-D2 cake I love an awesome cake and this one is uh-mazing - red velvet cake body and rice krispie treat legs!

Romantic reconstructed tee - my reconstructed tees always look gritty, this one is so pretty!

How to make fabric labels - I'm dedicating this link to my friend Laura who is working toward opening an etsy shop! Laura is fmy artist friend who I keep encouraging to sell her work ;)

Free download: summer gift tags & cards

Free downloads at Print A Day: Matrioshka to-do list and labels and Cupcakes digi kit

cereal box >> gift box - another good way to make use of that cardboard

Dish drain alternative - making an absorbent pad from towels instead of using the plastic drain pan

Jennifer Perkins' naughty secretary club book is out (Northlight Books is a division of F&W Pubs in Cincinnati, OH). Request it at your library!

Free Stuff: Chick n Strips @ Chick-fil-A

Easier than dressing up like a cow, you just need to put on your favorite football team's attire (includes local school teams, too)!

Visit any participating Chick-fil-A restaurant wearing your favorite football team’s attire or logo on Labor Day, Sept. 1, 2008, from 10:30 a.m. until close and get one free order of our new Chick-n-Strips (3-count). Limit one order per person while supplies last.

Details and rules

Library visits increase during economic downturn

According to the ALA’s 2008 State of America’s Libraries Report, Americans visited their libraries nearly 1.3 billion times and checked out more than 2 billion items in the past year, an increase of more than 10 percent in both checked out items and library visits, compared to data from the last economic downturn in 2001.

Click here for the rest of the article to learn and how libraries are creating a level playing field for job seekers and are offering local governments an excellent return on their investments.

Pyrex Love!

pyrex love
Originally uploaded by udandi

My coworker had a surprise for me yesterday: more Pyrex dishes! She already gave me one dish with a taco dip in it and now she's given me two more! These are turquoise and white butterprint cinderella, bake serve and store dishes. I will be posting the photo to The Pyrex Love flickr group and thinking of what I can make in them!

I have my mom's Daisy mixing bowls, which I need to photograph to add into my altered book (recipes) because I am including food-related memories and before she had a Kitchen-Aid mixer, we used her cheery Daisy bowl to mix up chocolate chip cookies. good memories!

Altered Books program @ your library

This Thursday, my coworker and I will be presenting a hands-on altered books program for our library. Back in June, we got together and lost track of time working on our books and if I may toot our horns, they look great! Since then, we have been collecting interesting books, magazines, trinkets, papers and embellishments so that our guests have plenty to use in their books, but we are also asking them to bring their own mementos and keepsakes.

If you cannot tell from the photo, mine books are a recipe/food book and about The Office, my favorite television show. I am so excited for Thursday!

If you live in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area and are interested in attending this library program, please contact me at udandi@gmail.com.

Cincinnati Women Bloggers August Meeting

For the August meeting, the Cincinnati Women Bloggers met at the Bean Haus in Covington, KY. Michelle of Wine Girl spoke about Twitter and useful applications. The Cincinnati Women Bloggers site will be getting its own domain and will have some new features in the future.

Knowing that I was one of the few in the group not on Twitter, I joined. I am so happy to have found this group because I have a renewed interest in exploring social media. I am confident one day I will again find a library and position (like my GA at UK Libraries) that will want to utilize my PR/marketing background + MLS + an understanding of new social media and what it can do for libraries.

My post-meeting socializing was cut short when I realized I was late for my lunch date with Gramma (and if you knew her you would avoid giving her any topic to harp on, like always being late like your father). Here is the attendee list, alphabetized by blog owner's first name. I need to add a Cincinnati Women Bloggers blog roll to my site, but first I need to do a little sidebar maintenance.

Amy: AmyInOhio
Barb: My Life Behind the Camera
Debba: Girlfriendology.com
Julie: WineMeDineMe Cincinnati & Ditto Chic
Kate: Kate's Random Musings
Laura: World's Best Burger & Laura's Carbon Footprint
Loree: World's Best Burger & Hermits Gone Wild
Michelle: Wine Girl
Olivia: Where's the Blue Crayon?
Robin: Supernatural Botanicals
Shannan: MommyBits and MommyBits Reviews
Susan: WorkingMomsAgainstGuilt.com & MrandMrsGetFit.com

Library: Woman Jailed for Ignoring the Courts

When a hot library headline pops up, my non-library friends say did you here about ____?! This time it was over this story: woman cuffed, booked for not paying library fine. If you read the article you realize she was jailed for ignoring the library's calls, letters and notice to appear in court.

Still, she was surprised when officers with a warrant knocked on her door, cuffed her and took her to the police station to be fingerprinted and photographed.

Police Capt. Joe Gabrish says officers follow the same procedure with every warrant.

Fines are not a library money-maker; they are a deterrent aimed to keep materials in circulation so that all card holders can access to them. Also, the value of an item is not just the list price, it is the time spent by staff selecting and preparing the item for circulation.

At public libraries, we make it very easy for customers to get a library card, but it is the responsibility of the card holder to understand the library policies, including the loan period, fine structure and whether or not the library employees a collection agency to reclaim long overdue materials and fines. Mark your calendar your materials are due and ask if your library offers courtesy email reminders to help keep those items circulating so you do not receive overdue notices!

Mini craft show set-up

mini craft show set-up
Originally uploaded by udandi

Friday, there's a boutique at staff development day, but I don't to want repackage all the items that list my web site (I don't need all my coworkers to be aware of my web site) so I am only taking a mini set-up. My goal is to make enough to buy a beer Friday night (my dad always told me to aim for the brass rings in life, so I know he'd be proud of such a lofty goal - ha!)

The pink metal bucket works well because it keeps people from having to do the "butt brush" which is a term I learned when I took this job. Women do not like having to bend or stoop down to look or pick something up because of the unflattering position it puts you in. Also, the bucket serves to carry everything so I can make it through the door in one trip.

Found Money!

On my way out of work, I found a dime. On my way into the actual pool, I found another dime. Jackpot!

This was not a good summer for found money at the pool or anywhere for that matter, a sure sign the economy is in the toilet. I heard the Wall Street Journal was going to do an article on this connection, but decided to stick with brown-bag lunches and library stories! ;)

Luckily, I have been able racking up summer mad money through Pinecone Research surveys and clicking through on MyPoints emails to get a $25 Target (my choice) gift card. To sign up for Pinecone surveys, keep an eye out for a banner at this site. If you would like to be referred to MyPoints, send me an email at udandi@gmail.com

Cheap Candy Bars!

I normally avoid the snack machine at work because I view all of them as money drains. I've told one daily-soda-drinking coworker that she should put a 12-pack in her locker along with a piggy bank and pay herself 65 cents each time she takes a can instead of paying the vending machine company $1.25 for a bottle of soda. She has not taken me up on the advice...yet! But on occasion, I hit the snack machine for chocolate.

Yesterday, I put in $1 and selected a candy bar and heard the machine dropping back multiple coins and figured it was just paying out in nickels. When I got back to my wallet, I looked and realized I received 90 cents in change. Another coworker confirmed that only that particular candy bar was 10 cents. Because I cannot find a deal and not let others enjoy it, I shared with my coworkers that if they put another dime in the jukebox, er, snack machine and selected D5 they would be able enjoy a deliciously cheap treat! We emptied the D5 slot!

By the end of the day, a concerned customer reported that several people were purchasing one particular candy bar for only 10 cents and he was worried they were ripping off the library. Unfortunately, the library is the loser in the snack machine scheme because "Snack Man" gets to keep the money off the machines while the library pays for the electricity to host them and staff gets to clean up after customers who cannot be bothered to use the trash receptacles.

Recipe: Corn Cakes

making corn cakes
Originally uploaded by udandi

Flipping through a Southern Living magazine looking for a cobbler recipe, I found a corn cake recipe and decided to make it for my dad's birthday dinner. He thought they were tasty!

In a food processor or blender, blend until corn is chunky chopped:
2 1/2 cups of fresh corn kernels (about 5 ears)
3 large eggs
3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 milk

In a large bowl, mix:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cornmeal
2 tbsp fresh chives
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Pour first mixture over dry mixture so that it is just coated. Pour by the spoonful onto a greased skillet. Cook about 3 minutes per side.

Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pie

After work today, I'm going to over my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday and I get to take dessert! Since I get my love of ice cream from my dad and he has a summer birthday, I am making ice cream pie.

I used Betty Crocker's recipe as a guide, but I am skipping the fudge topping because I did not buy any! We can drizzle some chocolate syrup on if really needed. I bought a 40oz carton of ice cream and scooped the first layer until I thought it seemed like a pint, layered the cookies and then eyeballed another 16 0z of ice cream on, leaving some in the carton so I did not use all 40 oz. I will post a photo when we serve it!

1 ready to use chocolate pie crust
2 pints mint chocolate chip ice cream
1 1/4 cup crushed chocolate covered mint cookies (grasshoppers)
1 cup fudge topping

1. Spread 1 pint of the ice cream in pie crust. Sprinkle 1 cup of the crushed cookies over ice cream. Cover and freeze 1 hour.
2. Spread remaining pint of ice cream over cookies. Cover and freeze about 3 hours or until firm.
3. Let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with fudge topping; sprinkle with remaining cookies. Cover and freeze any remaining pie.

Founders Hall, University of Dayton

Founders Hall, University of Dayton
Originally uploaded by udandi

This photo of my freshman dorm (preferred name first-year residence hall) keeps getting lots of hits on Flicks and I finally looked to see that new students move in August 16! What an exciting time!

University of Dayton Class of 2012, if you were lucky enough to be assigned a room in Founders Hall, you're in good for a great year! The location is ideal. The halls are wider than the rooms, which means people tend to leave their doors open so you have a chance to wander around and easily meet your neighbors (it also means if you live across from the showers and washroom, you will know waaaay too much about people's hygiene habits, too, but try to overlook that). All the rooms have sink (but don't use it as a seat and bust it off the wall because you will have a flood). I read where now all the rooms are equipped with a fridge.

Have a fun, safe and smart year! Make the most of your college years but avoid signing up for those credit cards offers just because they have some silly promotional crap!

A Vacation Photo Quiz!

Vacation is all fun and games until:

A) you scare the wits out of your sister with the wall decorationsB) the kitchen shelf finally crashes down under the weight of the ticky-tacky plasticwareC) Your gashed up toe (courtesy of your pool tricks) keeps sticking to the shag rug in the kitchen or the matching one in the living roomD) Some family with whiny children move in and take over your sprawling sandcastle development when you break for shade
If you answered D, give yourself 100 cool points!

Our family had a great time making sandcastle, seeing crabs, avoiding jellyfish, reading books, doing puzzles, laughing and just being together at Orange Beach, Alabama. To see more of my photos, visit the flickr set.

Happy Birthday to my Pops!

Free Stuff: Movie Wednesdays from Redbox

It couldn't be easier to double your free movie viewing in August. Sign up and you'll get a FREE code texted to your mobile every Wednesday. Just like Free Movie Monday.

WEDNESDAY SMS CODES VALID ONLY IN: AUGUST 2008

I previously posted about One FREE DVD Rental from Redbox and provided links to web sites that track the free codes (for those not into signing up for another service).

If you haven't seen Step Up 2 the Streets and your library refuses to be cool and have it, I highly recommend you use one of your freebies to Redbox it because as you can see Step Up 2 the Streets in 10 parts is no longer available on youtube [source: overeducated and underemployed].

Make It: Tom Selleck Cake!

My friend, Courtney, loved sharing the link to the Tom Selleck cake with all her friends. She forwarded me a message from her friend that a Tom Selleck cake with "fear the 'stach" inscribed on it was made for him!

Without the Internet, we would not be connecting over the Tom Selleck cake!

Humorous Headline: math lab explosion

math lab explosion
Originally uploaded by udandi

We had a good time coming up with punchlines after reading the headline of "man charged in math lab explosion" while on vacation!

Check It Out: Sewing Books

I already posted that I own Sew What! Skirts, which I have used to make a-line skirts. Normally, I do not buy a sewing book without previewing the library copy because I do not want to be stuck with a book that is over my head or written in a style that does not suit me (not enough photos, illustrations or hard to follow directions). The following are books that I have checked out and will return to this winter when I have sewing time.

Simple Gifts to Stitch - the bag on the cover inspired my pocketed Target library tote!

Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew

Hip Handbags

Last-minute fabric gifts

Fashion DIY : 30 ways to craft your own style

Amy Butler's In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects

Simple sewing with a French twist

Step-by-step sewing course

Love It: Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

I know the price is a little spendy, but this stuff is terrific especially if you live in a hot and humid city in an apartment without air conditioning and want to air dry your hair.

My hair has an odd wave to that I do not like fighting, but making it seem naturally tousled was tricky since all products leave it looking crunchy. Plus, in the summertime the humidity is going to win out, anyway. With the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray, my hair has a soft, natural wavy, fresh-from-the-beach-without-the-stink look. Totally worth the price!

Cincinnati/NoKy: Paul Otten Live @ the Library

Friday, August 8, @ 7pm Paul Otten will perform at the Main location of the Boone County Public Library.

When I get behind a library program, I really get behind it and have been encouraging others to come to the concert and (literally) check out his album, Bad Parade, from our collection. If you have never had the delight of hearing him, plan to attend, it is FREE!

You can listen to clips from his debut album, Bad Parade, below. Rudy is my fave for the following lyrics, but I also like Drown Me and Kimberly.

Rudy never knew my name / because he was the shit way back in high school / now he looks like Bill Murray / and apparently his fashion sense has stayed the same / as it was in '88

Craft Link Dump

A link dump post to keep you busy for a few minutes since I will not be posting

Sewing:

Pinwheel coasters
tape measure zipper pouch
grocery sack from a tank
simple summer tote
Summer skirt from a sheet
How to sew a workbasket
fabric-covered headboards
car organizer
Portable patio cushions

Cakes:

Skinny necktie cake
globe cake
Tractor cake

From the cakewrecks blog: nekkid (censored) labor & delivery cake - um, what's up, people?! I can totally see it, my non-shower loving friend Laura and I get roped into this baby shower and stroll past the food table and see that cake - egads! suddenly all the past showers are looking up!

Misc:
Magnetic art display (you know i love anything that can hold magnets!)
Necktie card
Pizza scarf
Eco hand soap
multi-color gocco prints
covered sticky notebooks
Podcast: How to Turn a Take-Away Container into a Decorative Storage Box

Photography:
the image is found - you can spend a day looking through his blog. He captures such expressive photos of his children and his daughter's sense of style in this post captures a piece of my heart since I have been known to wear plastic bags myself! And his son...words might it, so just LOOK!

YoungMe NowMe via ljcfyi

Vacation!!!

The family, PharmaSis and I are headed south for our first family vacation in five years! We have no big plans other than spending time together, reading and puzzle books at the beach and pool. I am bound to take a ridiculous amount of photos, especially of my niece and nephew. My niece wants to play miniature golf. My dad wants to eat great seafood. PharmaSis and I have a plan of jotting down our past vacation memories* so we can turn them into a vacation journal. It's going to be the most fun!

For so many reasons, Shag is one of my favorite movies, but most of all because it is about a beach vacation. Since since the sound track was terrible, I made a compilation of songs from the movie to listen to while on vacation.



*one of my favorite vacation photographs was staged and inspired by Police Academy. Without Dad's knowledge, my brother wrote DORK with sunscreen on our dad's back while I snapped a photo. When we told him to look in the mirror, he laughed, we laughed, we laughed some more while he probably had one of those moments where he realized his humor was going to come back, in the form of his children, to bite him in the ass :) ah, good times!

Cincinnati: Coupon Queen on WLWT

I previously posted about the Northern Kentucky coupon queen and now there's a WLWT Channel 5 segment where you can see her in money-saving action.

I still have not attempted to show my gramma Mommy Snacks, who does coupon matching, because gramma is still new to blogs (I think I'll start sending her the links by email because teaching her about RSS feeds is just going to be beyond her comfort level). It is a site I have been watching because I am hoping to see coupons for items I use. In the meantime, my very best money saving tip is shopping the perimeter.