First two weeks of the fall semester? Check.
Doing something fun and rewarding today to celebrate? Check.
As a reference and instructional librarian, this week has been cra-a-zy! I love being busy and having my days be so full that they pass quickly, and yet this week stretched my limits. Teaching library skills to five classes on Thursday alone made both my voice and feet tired. Drinking plenty of water and wearing comfy shoes over the past few days have, thankfully, helped alleviate both. The next few weeks probably won’t be as hectic, yet I am loving meeting new students, working with their professors, and gaining confidence in my teaching skills. And these cooler fall temperatures in the mornings? They are perfect for me to take out my bike for short rides before going to work. 
And now, a visual recounting of some happy moments from the week:
local hot air balloon festival, with accompanying carnival in the light of an almost full moon 🙂
thanks to my friends at Amazon, I pre-ordered Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins’ third and final YA book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and received it on Wednesday!
I recently came across America’s Most Wanted Recipes: Delicious Recipes From Your Family’s Favorite Restaurants at our Library, and proceeded to copy the recipe for California Pizza Kitchen’s BBQ chicken pizza. I’ve bought the frozen variety before, but will from now on use this recipe when I have a hankering for semi-homemade pizza. YUM!
To celebrate the week that has been, this morning I took a road trip to Tulsa to do a number of things:
1.) visit Gardner’s Books, Oklahoma’s largest used book store, to trade some of my books (for a great in-store credit amount!) and pick up these in their stead:
– an Essential Reference Set, which I will probably take to my office since I’m a reference librarian and all, that includes a Webster’s Dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus, and The Essential Writer’s Companion
– The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (has been on my to-read list for several years now…)
– Loving Frank by Nancy Horan (Frank being that of the Lloyd Wright fame)
– Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
– Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld (previously loved her sweeping novel American Wife)
– Faking It by Jennifer Crusie
2.) check out the Volkswagen dealership and test drive a 2008 VW Passat I have my eye on. It handled beautifully and I think it’s quite the classy car. For now I’ll keep “kicking tires” and see where I can find the best deal for my money. (Sorry, no photo.)
3.) the last stop on my list of places to visit was the Philbrook Museum. Built in the style of an Italian villa by the wealthy Phillips family (as in Phillips 66 gasoline) in the late 1920s, the Philbrook contains a cozy collection of artwork spanning from the Renaissance to the present. They have in their collection a nice sampling of works by Rodin, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, and Picasso. Among the collection, this was the one I enjoyed the most of which I encountered today:
Pietro Bazzanti’s Three Graces (1840) marble
The small sculpture depicts the three daughters of Zeus: 1.) Euphrosyne = mirth 2.) Thalia = youth & beauty 3.) Aglaea = elegance. The way it was lit helped give the impression of the marble glowing and resonating with purity and warmth, while depicting loving femininity.
Not only was the museum itself beautiful, but the accompanying gardens were gorgeous and indicative of that at an Italian villa. Totally not what you might expect to see in Oklahoma.
Since I love taking notes when I visit art museums, another lady strolling through the museum asked if I was an art student. I smiled and told her, “No, I’m a librarian.” She said no more, but I took her question as a great compliment! Before leaving I paid a visit to the gift shop and stocked up on some fun Andy Warhol note cards and artwork stickers by Modigliani and Picasso.
Learning how to get to new places? Check.
Fulfilling and stimulating day? Check.
read | knit | learn 