A Fancy Shmancy Hotel

You know you are in a fancy hotel when they give you a robe to wear.

You know you are in a fancy hotel when the little sample bottles are fancier than what you have at home.

You know you probably don't really belong in that fancy hotel when you have brought your own fan.

And your own drinks because you are too cheap to pay $1.50 for a Mountain Dew.

On the other hand, that's what I'm talking about. There's nothing quite like a Caesar Salad delivered to your door, is there?

OK, so I finally dragged myself out of the hotel and out of my room. This kindly gentleman welcomed me to Louisville.

I walked down to Fourth Street Live (after walking two blocks in the wrong direction and realizing that I was going to walk into the river and not Fourth Street Live) to get some lunch.

And guess where I had lunch, Tom? That's right. And I had fish and chips too. Your FAVORITE. Bwah ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa.

And a lovely little park on my way out to lunch. So, all in all. Having a fabulous time. Getting lots of great ideas at the conference. Enjoying being in the big city. But I have a tiny problem. Seriously. I could use your help. Should I get a pizza or another Caesar salad, only this time change it up with grilled shrimp from room service? And what movie should I order tonight? Waitress? Premonition? Georgia Rule? I saw Knocked Up last night. Hilarious. All these decisions. I'm a little overwhelmed. Yawn. I think I might need a nap before I head back downstairs. See ya.

Bright Lights; Big City

Hi! I made it to the big city. No bright lights yet, but I'm sure they will be turnin' em on soon! Two things. First I'm going to cut my fingernails down to the quick if I DON'T STOP MAKING MISTAKES ON THIS FRACKIN LAPTOP KEYBOARD. AUGH And, second, I am such a TOTAL geek. I have pictures of everything for y'all! That up there is the river walk. I drove down there in the afternoon to take some pictures for you and I HAD TO PAY $3 TO PARK just so I could get some pictures for you. Do you love me yet? Well, you better. That's one of the bridges over the Ohio River, connecting Kentucky to Indiana.

I thought about having dinner here but I don't think I want to come back to this area at night. I bet it has a whole different aura, if ya know what I mean. I think I'll stick to room service. I'll try to have lunch somewhere interesting tomorrow to keep ya'll entertained.

Here's a fountain and a rather interesting sculpture just stickin' out of the water. Guess you have to be an artist to appreciate it.

Another interesting sculpture down by the river.

My tired and hot feet really appreciated the cool water in the fountain. Yeah, I probably looked like a hillbilly. What's your point?

And here's a view of the Louisville skyline from the river.

And here's the view from my window. I have some pictures of my room and other fun stuff, but I have to save something for tomorrow! I know you are excited and just can't wait. I'm excited too, but I'm tired and I need a hot bubble bath and a cookie. And my pajamas. And some room service I'm going to EAT IN MY BED WHILE I WATCH A MOVIE.

I am in heaven. Seriously.

Pinkeye, An Ear Infection and Drainage - Oh, My!

If I live to be 99 1/2, I think I will still be learning something new every, single day. Did you know that you can GIVE YOURSELF PINKEYE!

Yes. It's true. If you have a bunch of drainage from a cold or allergies, that drainage can in fact travel to your eye and cause you to get pinkeye. I always thought you had to catch pinkeye from someone.

Guess who has pinkeye? That's right! Give the girl a silver dollar! And I wonder where that expression gave from? After looking it up, I am astounded. I probably heard that expression my whole life and never realized it's true origins.

So, now you have learned something new today as well. Two new things, if you didn't know about giving yourself pinkeye. You have been warned.



OK, so I actually wrote all that yesterday and today I'm feeling a little better. But itchy, yucky pink eye yesterday meant no eye make-up. It was horrifying. I strongly resembled a drunken mole who had stumbled into the sunshine. It was not pretty.

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I'm headin' to Lou-uh-vull tomorrow and will keep ya updated on all my adventures. Check my blog in the evening as I will want to share ALL my daily experiences with you. Prepare to be amazed.

A Weekend Getaway

No, not to Puerto Vallarta, you silly goose! That's not until October and vacation brain will be kicking in very soon. I was actually much more obsessed when I first scheduled the trip but I'm sure the excitement will begin building soon.


I'm talking about a weekend getaway this weekend to (cue the drum roll) Louisville, KY. What? Hey, it may not be New Yawk or some tropical paradise but I'm staying in a nice hotel, I get to order room service and in-room movies and I don't have to think about keeping anyone happy but me. I can get up when I want, eat what I want and do what I want when I want to do it. So how is that different from my life now? Well...I guess it's not that different. But room service!!


I'm going to the KLA/KSMA annual conference (librarians one and all) that I normally go to every year about this time. Sometimes I present a session but this year, I'm just going to attend sessions and that is SO much easier. I'll never forget the time I agreed to review books and movies and had to cart boxes and boxes of stuff around with me. That was no fun. This may be the last conference I go to - since next year is my last year of work, I'm not sure I'll attend the conference. But I may. I do enjoy the hotel room and the room service but I do actually go to a lot of sessions and get great ideas from librarians who are much younger and much more energetic than me.


Almost 20 years as a library media specialist in an elementary school. When I started teaching, there were no cell phones, cordless phones, DVD players, laptop computers (VERY few people even had computers in their homes), ipods, the Internet was not in common use and wireless devices were just an idea in some scientist's brain. I had the first computer in our school, hooked up to a little modem. It took forever to get on the Internet and there wasn't really much on there for students to use. I was the first librarian in our county to set up a web page for my library. I was in charge of our video conferencing classroom, where we linked up one time with some astronauts at NASA.I was on the cutting edge of technology. Now, there are young librarians who far surpass me in their knowledge of technology. It's amazing to think of all the changes that have happened in my field in the last 20 years.


But you know what?


On the first day of school, I read aloud to a group of students who sighed with contentment as they settled down for a story.


On my last day of work, I will read aloud to a group of students who will sigh with contentment as they settle down for a story.


Some things never change. The good things.



I'll update you on my trip. I'm sure they will have wireless in my hotel room. I'll blog as I eat my room service dinner. I can't wait.