Chester

It has been a pretty mellow week around the McClanahan household. The only true excitement was Monday night when I hosted my 2nd book club. It was a small group but I really enjoy the ladies who are a part of this club. We managed to eat, drink and chat all the while watching one member's new baby laugh and smile. I tend to overestimate the abilities of Chester and Stan to be good boys, though, when I entertain. I gave them both these huge rawhides to chew in order to keep them busy. For Chester, though, that wasn't enough. One member made homemade banana bread that was out of this world. Chester couldn't resist and practically jumped up on the dining room table to get some. When I put the plate in the kitchen and resumed the gathering in the living room, he jumped up on the counter and ate half the bread. I felt so bad about the bread, but even worse about how Chester was acting.

The only other non-mellow activity around this house is the morning ritual. Chester has been getting up at 4am, so I let the dogs outside and then back to bed. At 5am he is whining for his breakfast. At 6am he is whining for his rawhide. And at 7am he is whining for a walk. It seems like all the attention he gets is in the morning.

Why can't I have two boys this well behaved? (Oh, and I learned with a video that you double click on it and it will come up full screen!)

Big box killed the bookstore

My morning ritual usually involves listening to NPR on my shower radio up through my drive to work. It is the best way to get me going in the morning. Some people listen to rock'n'roll, others to the jabber of DJ's on the radio...but I like the calm voices on NPR that inform me of all the important goings on in the world.

Like...Border's Bookstore is going bankrupt and closing stores across the country. The NPR story looked at poor management, as well as too much bookshelf space, and two such causes. Other causes are the increase of online book sales and the creation of The Kindle and other e-book devices.

The argument that Border's had too much book shelf space and not enough books being purchased led me to ask myself...did the big box bookstore essentially create its own demise upon its own inception? Walk into any Border's or Barnes and Noble and there are shelves and shelves of books. Do these books move from the shelves, or just sit there for months, get reshuffled and then put on discounted book racks?

I would argue that big box did kill the bookstore. What if small mom and pop bookshops still existed and thrived? Those that had smaller inventory but exactly what the reader was looking for. Those that gave away free coffee and had overstuffed chairs in nooks and crannies for kids and adults alike; that had the clerk who knew each customer and placed special orders meticulously every day in order to receive the order in the next shipment. I would argue that these mom and pop shops could exist alongside online book sales and e-books simply becuase they are smaller and don't house so much wasted inventory. Sure, there are independent bookstores like Tattered Cover in Denver and Highlands Ranch and Powell's in Portland that are large stores, but they are also landmarks in their neighborhoods. They have that feeling of a community of book lovers so often the large big box stores can't quite capture.

I will end my rant with this quote by Jerry Seinfeld:
A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking. So I guess I would argue for the existence of a bookstore, any bookstore, than none at all.

Birthday Party

I threw myself a little "birthday open house" on Saturday. Usually birthdays can get so busy-so many different people to go to dinner or drinks. I decided to bring many of these friends together into one party. Of course, mom and dad were there too!

I took the dogs to the kennel for the weekend so they wouldn't snatch people's food and I could actually have a clean house for a few days. I was also able to sleep in Sunday and Monday with no interruption from Chester at 4am. I did miss them, though, and kissed their sweet mugs when I picked them up.

The party went off without a hitch. Lots of good friends came and spent time with me, but also got to see each other. Some friends hadn't seen each other in a while. Others had never met each other before. All in all, a good time was had...

Happy birthday to me

35. It doesn't feel much different than 34. Or 30 for that matter. Aside from the tumultuous past few years, my 30's have felt more solid than my 20's did. In my 20's I was always searching for the perfect you fill in the blank. Now I feel pretty satisfied. I think my feet are more in the ground, and the decisions I make are usually exactly what I want. Things feel more purposeful.

At the age of 35 I...
...will be going back to school to embark on a career I started going to school for when I first went to college (that just goes to show that my 20's were a time of exploration)
...have friends I met 20 or 30 years ago
...am one of the few single girls I know
...have dogs, not kids
...am free to travel where I would like, when I would like
...own my own home
...don't feel guilty reading teen novels like Twilight and shopping at Forever 21

All in all, I feel good and ready to take on new challenges and experiences my 35th year and beyond may bring.

Finally...uploading videos!

I finally figured out how to upload videos to my blog (I have never claimed to be technologically savvy). My friend Aimee sent this one to me a while back...enjoy!



Okay, so I do notice that the video is getting cut off...so my next task is to figure out why. Stay tuned.

Bestie Withdrawal

Dear Bestie,

When are you getting home? I know you and your beautiful family have been on a much needed vacation in a tropical oasis. I knew your departure date, but failed to get your arrival date. And I miss you tons!! Well, you will find on my end there isn't much to talk about. Let's see...we had a lot of snow and cold the past few days. Chester and Stan are doing fine. I watched The Social Network. And I want to hear about your vacation!! But these aspects of life are not the point...it is how in a phone call we can address the nature of the universe and beyond. It doesn't matter if all I did for the day was watch Lifetime movies and all you did all day was run after two little amazing kids...we always seem to turn a phone conversation into something worthy of publication.

So...call me when you get home, will ya?

XO Me

Acceptance

Saturday I went to a friend's house for a jewlery party and tarot card readings. It was fun...I usually don't go to things like this but I hadn't seen that friend in a while. I was also allured by the whole tarot card reading thing as well. I did end up buying some Silpada earrings-I love that jewlery and couldn't resist. I had my tarot cards read, too. The reader, Marla, saw that my path was clear. She said, "I sense you have been working through some things, but now your path is clear." She felt a lot of activity in April, May and June, and then it quiets for a bit. Marla did warn that I need to go with the flow more and not try to control things-to stay connected with spirit.

Afterward, I felt good about the reading. My path to becoming a social worker is clear-I know that is what I want. I am also taking the summer off, so the activity she foretold is most likely the busy registration time at the community college and then the quiet will be my time off in the summer. I am aware I don't always go with the flow so she gave me a good reminder.

I came home from the party feeling refreshed, having spent some time with women who inspire me. In the mail was an envelope from DU. I put my purse down, and before feeding the boys their dinner I opened the envelope. Inside was my acceptance letter to the MSW program. I was so excited-I called my family, Meg and Aimee. I emailed friends who I knew would be supportive and excited. I posted to Facebook. I felt at peace with the entire day, and reflected on how earlier that day some premonitions were made that ended up becoming real. That this path is clear. And it is mine.