Gratitude Practice

 From a page a day calendar from a few years ago:

From obligation to opportunity: Write a list of at least five things you have to do this week. Begin each item with the words "I have to." Now cross out those words and begin each line with "I get to." This can help you see your tasks as privileges that you may not have always had and may not have in the future, and that many people do not have at all. Experiment with seeing and claiming your responsibilities and obligations as privileges and opportunities. 

Here is my list for the week:

I have to - I get to - make a medical appointment

I have to - I get to - go to work

I have to - I get to - get groceries

I have to - I get to - do laundry

I have to - I get to - exercise

Gratitude can be life altering.

It can change your way of thinking and improve your mental health and outlook on life. 

Practicing gratitude on a daily basis will help you develop it as a habit. 

What is your list for the week? 

librarianintx

New Book Genre

 I read a lot of biographies and memoirs. 

I especially enjoy reading about people who are from one place, and move to a completely different place, and how they adapt. 

This has led me to a new type of memoir: travel ones. 

The first one I read is called The Passport Project. The book is about a family with two young daughters who take a five-month trip during the school year to visit a variety of countries. The adventurous daughter is thrilled. The other daughter is adamantly opposed to the idea. She does not want to be aways from her friends and miss school events. But they go, and the book covers both the good and bad of international travel. At the end of each chapter there is a chart where the four members of the family list what they liked best and least of each country. The book is written by the mother, Kellie McIntyre.  I guess it's considered a YA (young adult) book. I absolutely loved it. 

Now I am reading Searching for Home by Judy Kashoff with photographs by her husband David. It's part of a three book series that chronicles their five years of travel around the globe. I am enjoying this book as well. Judy tells engaging stories that are enhanced by David's photos. Searching for Home is the third book in the series, but they are stand-alone books. I'm reading the third book first because I was able to read it for free on the Kindle app through Freebooksy. 

I am including the covers of both books because the titles are longer than

what I included in this post. 

I haven't had much of an opportunity to travel in my life, so I enjoy reading about the adventurous of others who are braver and heartier than me. 

librarianintx

Dancing with the Stars Last Two Eliminations: My Thoughts (Spoilers!)

If you haven't seen the Disney Nite episode from last night - STOP READING NOW!!

Okay. Sorry for shouting. 

For those of you pissed off about who went home, both last week and this week -

I will say it again. 

Dancing with the Stars is NOT a dance competition. 

It is a popularity contest. 

The goal is not to crown the best dancer of the season, although they claim it is. 

Hilaria Baldwin was the contestant with the most dance experience. 

Her Disney Nite Quickstep was praised by the judges and earned her good scores. 

But she was not a popular contestant. 

And once again, Andy Richter, whose dance skills are clearly the most lacking of all the contestants this season, was voted through to the next round.  

Was he even in the bottom 2? 

We don't know. 

It's not Andy's fault. 

He is trying. 

And he can't help it that the audience loves him, cheers for him, and votes for him. 

He is the underdog of the season. 

And Dancing with the Stars viewers, and voters, love an underdog. 

It would be nice if there could be a better scoring system. 

For the last two weeks, Andy's scores have been too similar to dancers that are more advanced than him. 

But even if the scores were more realistic, the voters still have a bigger say than the judges in determining the outcome each week. 

Forty million votes, if that number can be believed, is a powerful statement on the popularity of the show - and some of its contestants. 

Did Lauren deserve to go home? No

Did Hilaria? No

This season, in my opinion, is going to be very interesting. 

Because other than Andy, everyone else is doing well. 

So we could have a few more *shocking* eliminations. 

One more thing. 

I absolutely LOVED Mark & Whitney's Foxtrot to the song from "Hamilton"

I have loved every dance of theirs so far. 

I was thrilled that they got a 9 from Carrie Ann. 

But I watched an interview with Max, and he was said the dance was not a Foxtrot. 

He praised the performance level but seemed to question the high scores because it was not a Foxtrot. 

I found that interesting. 

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27 Finale: My Thoughts

One word: Ugh!

Now, to be fair, I haven't seen the Jury Q&A yet.

Because I don't care anymore. 

Neither one of them deserved to win in my opinion.

Vinny racked up an impressive resume of HOH's.

But his social game was abysmal. 

The jury was justified in their bitterness.

Meanwhile, Ashley took showers and let her allies protect her. She only won once, the first Veto of the season. 

But then she did win when it was do or die.

And she was smart enough to vote out Morgan, who she knew she couldn't beat.

Speaking of Morgan - What the hell happened?

Does anyone but me think she threw the last challenge, hoping that Vinny could win against Ashley? I just can't believe she got that many questions wrong. And she seemed too calm about it. 

Anyway, the bright spot of the finale for me - Keanu won Favorite Houseguest! Yay! I'm SO glad so many fans shared my appreciation for Keanu - as a BB player, and a human being.

The season started slow for me, but then I got hooked. Keanu, Ava, and Will were my favorite houseguests. 

And I'll leave it there.

See you next summer BB fans -

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27: Who will Win?? Who Should Win?

Don't be confused. 

The finale was last night.

But I haven't seen it

So I'm still going to do my predictions 

Now that it's down to Morgan, Vinny and Ashley, I am emphatic about ywo things:

Morgan SHOULD win.

Ashley SHOULD NOT be in the final two.

For me, the final two should have been Morgan and Keanu.

If Morgan makes it to the final two, I think she could win unanimously.

Ashley had a great social game, but as I'm writing this she has won nothing. 

Vinnie has an impressive resume of wins, but his indecisiveness and foot-in-mouth condition will be his downfall. I think the judges on the jury will vote for Morgan, and I definitely do not see Ava and Keanu voting for Vinny. Now Lauren - Lauren could keep Morgan from winning unanimously. It depends on how bitter she is against Vinny. If Ashley is against Morgan, she could get a vote from Ava.

I will watch and find out.

librarianintx 

Big Brother Season 27

Took me awhile to get invested, but I'm there.

Having said that, I'm two episodes behind.

Where I'm at, my two favorite houseguests, Keanu and Ava, are on the block.

I don't want to see either one go to jury.

I wanted them to be the final two.

So I'm scared to watch.

Now you are likely thinking: Keanu is one of your favorites? He's full of himself. And he's a bully.

I absolutely agree that his social game is lacking. But I don't think he's a bully, or a blowhard. 

He's very confident. 

And to get as far as he has with no consistent support is impressive. 

I definitely do not consider him a bully.

I am amazed by his ability to keep his cool with both Rachel and Vince.

Rachel WAS a bully at times.

And Vince's indecisiveness and penchant for trying to make everyone happy (especially Lauren & Morgan) was painful to watch, and I'm sure to live with.

I think Keanu has more than proven himself to be a worthy winner.

But I also adore Ava. She has been a joy to watch this season. Her social game is fantastic. Her personality is so fun. She's hilarious and authentic. Has she done enough to win? That I'm not sure about.

What I do know - I better catch up before I get spoiled.

librarianintx 

"Be on Time Chronicles": Sometimes It Works Out

Yesterday I scheduled rides to go to work, then to the grocery store to get a flu shot. I scheduled 2 hours and 45 minutes to get from Point A to Point B and do what I needed to do at Point B. 

Turns out, I needed every minute of that time.

I don't know what happened with the pick-up from the library. 

The app said the vehicle arrived at 3:15. I was outside but no vehicle in sight. I called dispatch. They said the vehicle was 7 minutes away.

I got picked up 45 minutes later, at 4:00.

At one point I started getting stressed. But then I said to myself, "Maybe it will work out. Calm down, and enjoy being outside."

I then rode for an hour and a half.

The driver was stressed out.

Traffic was bad as usual

A passenger was being annoying. 

His schedule was bananas. 

"Maybe if will work out," I thought.

Spoiler alert:

It did.

I arrived at the store at 5:15.

I had 30 minutes.

I got my shot, then raced out and grabbed a few groceries.

My ride came less than two minutes after I paid for my groceries.

Success.

It was a challenging afternoon. 

Patience and a positive attitude got me through it.

librarianintx 

Poem about Fall

We had a poetry contest about Fall at work.

I don't write poetry.

But listening to the submissions gave me inspiration. 

Here's my stab at it.

Fall officially began yesterday.

In Austin, it was one of our hottest days of the year.

Not unusual, pretty typical. 

The calendar says Fall.

But I am keeping to my Summer protocol.

Jacket, pants, and shoes in the chilly library

T-shirt, capris, and sandals at home.

For me, the library is Fall / early Winter all year long

My part of Texas has two parts of Fall:

False Fall / Second Summer

Actual Fall (brief)

But we still do the Fall things

High school football

College football

Pro football

Pumpkin patches

Pumpkin food and drinks for some - not me

Leaves changing colors and falling are part of Winter for us

What is my favorite part of Fall?

Thanksgiving!

So while the rest of the country is enjoying Fall

We are looking forward to it

While we wait -

Keep swimming 

Wear sunscreen - and a hat

Don't leave your children in hot cars

Protect your pet's paws from the scorching pavement

And eat lots of ice cream

librarianintx