Imogene slept until 7:30 this morning. It was glorious. I always appreciated a good sleep but since the baby, I appreciate sleep even more. I can fall asleep almost anytime now given a few minutes and something remotely comfortable. This is all probably cliched new mother stuff but it is all new to me.
After sleeping in until 7:30am, I posted some stuff on Ebay and unpacked some more boxes of things that I would like to post on Ebay. I have a lost of stuff stashed to sell. I didn't realize I had that much put away and I can't believe I have stored it this long. It feels good to unload stuff. While we were at my sister's house, we all were struck with unclutteredness of it all. It was really nice. I felt good being there. I am sure that I will never achieve the same almost Zen like simpleness she has achieved but I hope I can get at least some of the way there. There have been several times that Michael, my mother and I have said to eachother something to the effect of "What would Katie do?" I should get WWKD tatooed on my right hand to remind me when I am reaching into my wallet to pull out money to buy something that I really don't need or stashing something somewhere when I really don't need it anymore.

I have also been feeling really frustrated with the job market around here. I didn't think I would have such trouble finding something. I thought that the librarian population around here would be aging out and there really wouldn't be a lot of people around to replace them. Apparently I was wrong. There appears to be stiff competition for what positions there are. I have had to be somewhat choosey in what I apply for because of the baby situation but come on already. All I want is freaking part time reference position. Usually places are begging for people who don't mind working part time and sitting on the desk. I didn't even get called in for an interview for two positions I thought I would be a shoe in for and the two positions that I did interview for I haven't heard back from. One of the interviews was the best interview I have ever given.

I know I shouldn't do this to myself but I looked at the postings for positions in the Hudson Valley and NYC, thinking about what I would be doing if we had chosen to stay in the city or had gone back to Hudson Valley instead of heading west. Tourture. I think about the school where I did my student teaching calling last spring to see if I really had moved because if I hadn't, they had a position they wanted to offer me. That would have been a position I could have stayed in and probably been happy for the next 30 years.

Time to put the babe to bed. Hopefully she will sleep just as long tonight.

so um yea. almost four months since my last update but I swear I have a good excuse. Ten days after my last post, I gave birth. Surprise. It was to me at least. I was scooping ice cream for the Grange at the county fair and then that night my water broke. Only I didn't think it was my watering breaking because I was expecting it to be much more of a grander, flood-like event. I think little Imogene had rolled over on my bladder or something of that unsavory nature. A couple of days later I realized there was something more to all that and Imogene was born. Even though she was quite early, everything was kosher and she came home a short while later.
So today I have been at this machine for hours already, since my darling Immy likes to start her day between 5 and 5:30am. I have been working on posting things on Ebay to make a little more money since none of the resumes I seem to be littering the tri-county area with have born fruit. If anyone is actually reading this, feel free to check out my listings. The auctions start tonight, also under the moniker, Kristiem1. Enough of the plug.
From now on you will probably find me complaining about life as a stay at home mother when the master plan of years ago was for there to be a stay at home father, as well as how bored I am while at the same time there isn't time for me to do anything. Quite a paradox, huh?
Oh, and can I just say that I am obsessed with Crafters Coast to Coast?

ummm hi.
So it has been almost three years since my last post....
Much has changed. I married the long time boyfriend and seven months ago up and moved out of the city to the countryside far far away from takeout Thai food, subways and bagels. I finished grad school, worked as a librarian for a while and am now a full time gestator. I am not a good pregnant woman. I look forward to the baby being born and I hope to never have to do this again.
Since moving we have been working on fixing up our house. I found out I was pregnant before I found a job so I haven't worked since December. I spend my days fighting nausea, reading, watching too much television and feeling guilty about not planting more of a garden.
We lost a member of the cat army a couple of years ago to kitty cancer but since the move to the country, we have added a fabulous dog that we sprung from doggy jail. He is happiest when he is sitting on the couch with my watching television. My hope is that this is just the beginning of the menagerie. I have visions of sheep, alpapcas, ducks and goats dancing in my head.
I just sort of remembered about the whole LiveJournal thing today and spent a couple of hours catching up on the different LJ's that I read long ago. My hope is to use this to keep in touch with some old friends, meet some new, and keep track of my new/old green acres life.

Don't know where I left off, haven't updated in a while but I have been making good progress on a free-lance project I have been working on.
M is away on business for a couple of days and I am going to be meeting him upstate this weekend for my best gal's birthday. Boring, I know but back to work....

Just took this test that has been going around lately. It was kind of interesting and made me thing about things I hadn't really put definates to before. I have gone to the Unitarian church a few times when we were upstate. I liked it and have thought about finding a congregation in the city. I have thought about checking out the Quakers also. A few years back we decided to check out some churches. M is confused by religion and thinks he missed out on something because he wasn't raised with any kind of religon. We checked out the Unitarians but never made it as far as the Quakers before blahism took over.


1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quaker (97%)
3. Neo-Paganism (89%)
4. Liberal Protestant (89%)
5. Theravada Buddhism (87%)
6. New Age (86%)
7. Secular Humanism (80%)
8. Mahayana Buddhism (80%)
9. Bah?'? (64%)
10. Taoism (63%)
11. New Thought (61%)
12. Orthodox Quaker (60%)
13. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (59%)
14. Reform Judaism (58%)
15. Jainism (58%)
16. Scientology (56%)
17. Atheism and Agnosticism (52%)
18. Sikhism (48%)
19. Hinduism (46%)
20. Latter-day Saint (Mormon) (41%)
21. Conservative Protestant (35%)
22. Jehovah's Witness (32%)
23. Orthodox Judaism (31%)
24. Seventh Day Adventist (28%)
25. Islam (22%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (11%)
27. Roman Catholic (11%)

Had an interesting weekend. Will write more about that later.

Today was not the best day of my life. I found out that a friend betrayed me and I am feeling really used by capitalism or rather greedy capitalist pigs, particulary one in particular.

As for the friend. I had seem her work both sides of the coin before, and somehow thought that I would be immune because she considered me a friend. I was wrong. I find this particulary maddening because she was someone who professed and prided herself on being 'moral' and based some of these moral in her conservative viewpoints and the church. That should have been a big warning sign. And she came from a wealthy family and wealthy community. She always talked about how people are inherinently evil and that given the opportunity anyone would screw over anyone else for their own personal betterment. We tried to tell her that she was wrong and tried to prove it. Obviously she thinks this way for a reason and proves her theory through her own actions.

And capitalism. I hate it. I hate being a cog in a wheel that makes money for one or two people and screws over the rest. I worked for someone who like to pride himself on being 'fair.' I might give him 'fair' but just maybe fair. He certainly couldn't be called generous and that lack of generousity is evident in the fact that he has no friends and a money grubbing fiance who will no dout take him for all that he is worth in a few years in divorce court. All I can say is what goes around comes around, kharma will always come back to kick you in the ass.

ahh well..... Just finished a yummy dinner that I made all by myself (gazpacho with grilled chicken breast with a mango and honey dew salsa and wilted kale with lime and garlic). Maybe it was a little heavy on the fruit but it was darn good if I do say so myself. I have really been getting into cooking since the big lay off and I am enjoying it. We ate it out back in the courtyard. It was nice, not too hot and there were beautiful lilies in blume.

Anyways, things have been a bit hectic lately. We spent five days home in Buffalo over the fourth and I have to say that the trip was about three and half days too long. Family. hum. Always good in theory but rather sucky in practice. It was good to spend time with my sister though. I have definately been feeling closer to her over the last few years. I am sure it is mostly about us both being adults and respecting our differences and enjoying eachothers company otherwise.

Then once we got back from Buffalo, Michael had knee surgery. I have been playing Nancy-Nursemaid ever since.

The second summer session also started when we got back from Buffalo. I am taking a cataloging class and so far it seems pretty interesting. I guess I will be able to tell you more tommarow after I have in my first graded assignment. I have been hearing all kinds of nasty things about cataloging but so far it seems fairly interesting, almost like puzzelsolving. I remember when I worked in the library at school, I always envied the catalogers; they didn't have to deal with the public and they were the first ones to see the books when the came in and they got to look at everything! The catalogers and the reference desk librarians always seemed like the smartest people in the world.

I also got a tip on a new job. It was through a recommendation from someone I was doing freelance work from. If this position works out, it could be a really great opportunity. I just have to get some writing samples put together in the next week. That is a little nervewracking but I am sure that I will be able to pull it together.

My schedule always seems so packed and there doesn't seem to be any end. This week I have to got to class twice, work on both of my freelance projects, house sit for my friend (although that is more like vacation), work on the writing samples which might include doing some field research, and then get the house ready for everyone that is coming down from Upstate to go to the Siren Festival at Coney Island. But should I really complain? No because if I didn't have all of this going on I would be complaining that I didn't have anything to do.

Alright, off to prepare my assignment.

Ahhh.... A Red Stripe, a darkened room, a little air conditioning.... Life is good.
Things I am thankful for today (ok so maybe I have been watching a little too much Oprah lately):
- my class is almost over for summer session one, and just in time. Spent $2000 and learned almost nothing. I couldn't take much more. Now hopefully it is on to better stuff.
-beer, enough said
-money on its way from not one but two clients and
just in time
-my boyfriend, he really is the sweetest guy, always greating me at the door with a kiss. I am forever thankful that he talked to me that night eight and a half years ago. It might not have always been smooth sailing, but I think that we are all the stronger for having the rough patches.
-Spartacus the bug hunter, he isn't just a cat folks, he is a warrior hunting down the june bugs that crawl out from underneath the kitchen sink in a single bound. While the other members of the cat army while away their kitty days in air conditioned comfort, he is earning his keep.

Ya so, here I am, just got back from dinner with my old man, had a couple of drinks and I am feeling good. Found out that I had totally overreacted to a situation that had been going on for the last week and weighing heavy on the brain. If that isn't reason to have a couple of beers, I don't know what is. I am getting out of practice. It used to take more that 2 pints to get my head swimming like this. Ah... those days when I first lost my job and Michael was away when I would sit and drink a six pack and watch tv and eat ice cream.....
I go back and forth between extoling the virtues of my freelancing lifestyle and wishing I had a nine to five job. Freelancing is great because I work all day in my pajamas and only shower and get dressed when Michael is about to come home. And I work and watch tv at the same time. I know tv is totally evil but it is good white noise at the same time. I can't be in the house by myself unless the tv or stereo is on. But then again the 9 to five job is done and over with at the end of the day and I don't always have this fealing like something is hanging over my head. When I was filling out my bill today for my client, I realized how many really long days I have worked recently... I don't know, whatever, when I was working a nine to five job, I said my dream was to work from the house so I could work in my pajamas. The grass is always greener, that is why I should move back to the farm. Ha ha. Nothing would make Michael happier. He was just there visiting MY family last weekend when he and his friends went to a basketball tournement in Buffalo. He doesn't call himself the crown prince of Harlow Road for nothing.
Alright. Enough of the quasi drunk rambeling.
over and out

Is anyone actually reading this?

So I am going to complain for a while. Today I had some errands to run, submitting a bill for a freelance project (yea, some money coming in just when the old bank account was going to be hitting the big E), and clearing up a banking problem (their fault- its always their fault, I REALLY hate banks). Grand total, if everything went smoothly, it should have taken a hour and a half tops. But of course in true NYC fashion... track work always fucks up a good plan. The G train, which is always questionable to start with, was under construction, so there were long delays, transfers, shuttles, the whole thing.. Instead the errands took 4 hours on a really hot day and I'm crampy to top it off.
I did however get some reading done. Including a couple of articles about farming. Humm... farming... These days in the city make me want to move back to the farm and do something with it that doesn't involve track construction and shuttles but instead has everything to do with animals, fresh vegetables and other yummy things.