Emerging From The Salt Mine!

Many thanks to everyone who has dropped an e-note to check on me in recent weeks!  Thankfully, my blog silence is not due to the severe weather that has hammered Georgia and my county in recent weeks.  Instead, other major distractions have kept me away from my blog:  end of year library inventory and winding down the school year with my 10th and 11th English classes at Polaris Evening School.  While I give the illusion of being a distant relative of the Energizer Bunny :-), I have actually been rather tired the last two weeks and have felt all the hard work of this past school year catching up with me.  What little time I’ve had at home has been spent napping, visiting family and friends, feathering my 1950s nest, or spoiling the dachshunds.

However, I am recharging my batteries, and I will be back with some new blog posts next week!  Thanks to everyone for the care and concern.  :-) 

In the meantime, I hope everyone has a relaxing, safe, and fun Memorial Day weekend!

Go Red: National Wear Red Day, February 1, 2008!

Friday, February 1, 2008, is National Wear Red Day—a day when Americans nationwide will take women’s health to heart by wearing red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness.  The Heart Truth is:  “Heart Disease Doesn’t Care What You Wear—It’s the #1 Killer of Women.”  The statistics are alarming:

• Heart disease is the #1 killer of women.
• One in 4 women dies of heart disease; 1 in 30 dies of breast cancer.

The good news is that both men and women can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent by leading a healthy lifestyle.  Join the national awareness movement by wearing red on February 1, and encourage your family, friends, and coworkers to do the same.  Anyone can participate by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt, or tie, or Red Dress Pin.

The Heart Truth is a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other partner organizations.   The campaign launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness in 2002 to deliver an urgent wakeup call to American women.

For tools and materials to help you learn about heart health and National Wear Red Day, visit www.hearttruth.gov.  We’d also like for you to visit http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/press/nhlbi_04_campaign.pdf to learn more about The Heart Truth Campaign.

Here are some other great resources:

• What is the “Heart Truth”?
• Take the Go Red Heart Health Checkup!
• A Heart Health Action Plan
• Questions to Ask Your Doctor/What’s Your Risk?
• Listen to this 60 second public service announcement
• Go Red for Women!

Wear red on Friday, February 1, 2008 to help celebrate this important day!  Ruth and I will be helping our female staff celebrate this day by having heart healthy snacks and treats available for you in the media center.  We will also be putting some little treats and goodies in your mailboxes the week of January 28, 2008—February 1, 2008.

Let’s get heart healthy@ The Unquiet Library!

My Unquiet 2008 Resolutions

As the first day of 2008 dawns cold, clear, and bright here in Georgia, I  am contemplating the whole concept of resolutions.  Normally, I do not make resolutions because I honestly strive for self-improvement year-round (*really*!), plus the hype that surrounds them makes me feel a little ill.  However, self-reflection is always a good thing, so here are my resolutions for 2008—you will note these are a mix of professional and personal because my two “lives” really do overlap!

1.  To take more trips to the beach.  My little sojourn to COMO in October 2007 made me realize me what I’ve been missing and how nurturing the ocean really is to the soul!  If I ever win the lottery, I will build the coolest library on the beach!  I bet it would be overflowing with patrons, especially if we had an outdoor reading room right on the beach.

2.  To continue my growth as a 21st century librarian—I am truly proud of what I have learned as a librarian in 2007 and the efforts I have made to a Library 2.0 kind of gal.  I also want to keep up my efforts to follow the principles of Library 2.0 Manifesto 1 and *especially Library Manifesto 2 *—I feel I did a good job of living up to these principles in 2007, but I want to do even better in 2008.

3.  To be patient and not become frustrated when the rest of our learning community does not jump on 21st century learning and library world concepts the way that Ruth, my fellow library goddess, and I do.  Some revolutions take time and happen quietly.  Instead of grousing about the fact that people aren’t “getting on board” with Learning 2.0 and Library 2.0 as fast and enthusiastically as I would like, I will instead channel my energy into enjoying the sense of “flow” I get doing these fun new things and will hope that people will follow my lead and example!  Ruth—remind me I said this!

4.  To have more fun and smile more EVERY DAY.

5.  To make more time for exercise—a healthy body really does make for a healthy mind!

6.  To try and read a work of fiction at least once a month.  I am a super busy girl, and it is hard for me to make time to immerse myself in a work of fiction. 

7.  To not feel guilty about all the non-fiction reading I do in magazines, blogs, social librarian networks, and other onlinemediums.  I learn a *ton* of new information and wonderful creative inspiration, especially from blogs.  Now you know why I am a blog-a-holic.

8.  To take more time to be grateful that I am in the most amazing profession in the world.  I am so incredibly happy that I made the decision to become a librarian.  When I did my Ed.S., I must honestly confess that I was not sure if I was making the right choice (long story…), but each day I do what I do totally affirms that decision.  I honestly *love* what I do, and I am so thankful for my colleagues and friends both near and far as well as my UGA family who still give me great advice and support.   I take great pride in being a librarian. 

9.  To say “no” from time to time and realize I cannot do everything I want to do as fast as I want to do it—and that is OK. 

10.  To keep dreaming big and think of the “why I cans” and the “why nots” instead of the “can’ts”.  

11.  To remember the wisdom of these two great writers:

*”Some things are learned in calm, and some in storm”—Willa Cather
*”The cure for anything is salt water:  sweat, tears, or the sea”—Isak Dinesen

12.  To hug and kiss my four dachshunds every day.

13.  To march to the beat of my own drum.

14.  To compare myself only to myself.

15.  To give thanks for all the blessings I have in my life each day.

16.  To finally get off dial-up at home and upgrade to something faster!!!

 Happy 2008 to all!