Sweet Puffins

We are posting on the sweetpuffins blog only now ...

Tana Holds Benny for the first time 1

Tana Holds Benny for the first time 1,
originally uploaded by McCoy's Place.

WOW

the end of 23things ...

Thank you for the opportunity and inspiration ;)

I am inspired to translate some of these tools into practive, and enjoy watching others do likewise

*SherryQ*

e-books

There has been the, "books will always be my favorite because you can't curl up with a computer screen," thing

I am here to say, "rubbish!"

I downloaded Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at home and curled up on my couch, with shiney new laptop, and read just fine, and as cozy as could be the other day! Project Guttenburg - easy, and like, yeah!

Confession: I may have just peeked at the book I downloaded for curiosity... and actually snuggled into reading all of the wicked blogging between Anthony Bourdain and Rocco Dispirito - I'm just sayin' - maybe it happened that way ...

*SherryQ*

and if you miss the smell of old books - there is a place that will send you stinky must smelling scratch an sniffs - but I can't remember who it is!

searching for podcasts

podcast.net has been the most useful for me ...

*SQ*

YouTube - Teen SRC

This is so slick and cute - we HAVE to do this for next year's SRC!!!

*SQ*

web 2.0 awards

Yes - I have made no secret of the fact that my life dreams include hosting my own productive Etsy store!!! And I see that they are on the awards list under the retail heading for web 2.0!

etsy ... yum

*SQ*

23things-zohowriter import

Dear Reader,
I refuse to blab on and on in a document that I will never view again, taking myself on the short bus to crazytown U.S.A., so I will bid you only this quick, "hello," and a fond, "fare-thee-well," as I complete one awesome run-on sentence for my soon-to-be attached-to-my-blog document created in zohowriter, thereby meeting completion requirements for our 23things exercises.

*yup*

MD Sandbox stuff

Funtimes! I added the image and link... change as necessary :)

*SherryQ*

Wiki's

This is our collective - ness at it's best. Wikis for library-world are expecially interesting and I really appreciate the St Jospeh's Library System's use - another inspiration!

*SQ*

Cluetrain Manifesto

" We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting."

More manifesto? Go here - Jonathan Adler is a guru, that's all I'm sayin'

*SQ*

Technorati

interesting - I assumed that web crawlers find everthing they were set to search for. I'm not ready to "go public" since this is a learning tool ...

*SQ*

Rollyo

Another useful tool - and a new goal! To set up rollyo's for homework helpers and parent helpers to send FCPL'ers to ... I'm inspired!

*SherryQ*

LibraryThing

Hmmm... so a book form of del.icio.us - nessiosity? Okay then. I so don't think that this would be worth my time to spend time there... but it is interesting and fun to peak into...

Jenny is GREAT

Most of us probably clicked on and read some of Jenny's site - I am in awe, I worship at her feet! Perhaps if BRAVO, HGTV, MTV (silly, but true), Discovery, TBS (can anyone get enough SJP?), and History channels would magically disappear, I could have the awesome presence of mind to get to 10% of Jenny's coolness!

(paypal rec'd yet?) *SQ* ;)

flickr mash-up

WHAT? A color freaks dream!!!! I could spend hours here - I love colors, hues, form, etc. The flowers, crayon box and front color picker are my favorites...

*SQ*

so Del.icio.us

Even more freakishly addictive than fickr - I am here everyday!
see Sherry have fun

*SQ*

I'm Back!

Harry Potter has been tidied up (finished the book!), and I returned from the conference relatively unscathed :)

AND ... I had my very Happy Birthday!!! :)

I promise to get back to the 23 things whenever and sometime soon...

In the meantime, a new light fixture has been installed:

And, I am deeply into holly becker's amazon list :) We even have some of her recommendations at FCPL...

tayl *SherryQ*

Leadership Conference - Day 4

I miss my sweet puppy!

Okay, got that out of the way ... Let's start with photos :
So, today we - whoops! The photos are of the dining room where we took our meals. It is SO pretty - it has amazing gorgeousity (thanks, Georgia!). Tonight, we're having turkey.

Risk taking, courage, strategies for action, personal reactions, change transitions/ strategies, vision, motivation cycles, and a quote, "a leader's primary goal is managing conversation."

HP update - I'm on page 308! :) I'll see ya'll soon!!!

*SherryQ*

Day 3 at the Leadership Conference

W O W - what a day ...

We created a vision for ourselves, our libraries, and MD libraries. Afterwards, we selected a member of our team to represent us in creating a vision for this Leadership Institute that we'll bring back to our libraries... So Watch OUT! :)

The afternoon was spent on a simulation where we had to memorize data, synthesize it, and then maximize our profit and meet the larger groups goals. This had us thinking about our own personal leadership strategies, group dynamic, and adaptability ... I don't want to give too much away, JUST in case someone is reading this that might be attending in the future. :)

Frankly, my brain hurts - Isa dun thankin :)

Anywho - some photos from today :

ttyl *SherryQ*

ps. I'm on pg 210 of HP7!!!

Day 2 at the Leadership Conference

Yesterday we spent time getting to know the group, and understanding the layout of the week etc.
Leadership traits
Being an Activist Librarian
Leadership being the ability to exert influence
Risk taken = Benefit received
and a quote ... "it's going to seem like Friday by the end of the week, it's going to go by so fast" really???? :)

We had to identify our learning objectives for the institute - why we wanted to come here.

We separated into groups and identified groundrules for the group

Finally, we talked about the difference between leadership and management - as in leadership is fun, management is ... management.

Another quote, "Leaders who know themselves are able to seek clarity about personal motives, fears, strengths, weaknesses, values and beliefs. They actively pursue life-long learning and walk their talk." hmmm...

We are at breakfast 7:30 a.m., meet from 8:30-noon, lunch noon-1 p.m., meeting 1-5 p.m., dinner 6 p.m., meeting 7:30-9 p.m. b u s y - or, rather, intense ...

Before we came to the conference, we had to complete our Enneagram Leadership Style - go ahead and click on it (go to 'tests,' 'proceed to tests,' 'enneagram') ... try it out! You can read more about the styles here. If you need to know - I'm a 7, 4, 9 - yeah, like you're surprised!
We shared with our like-styled people, and then with our group, different traits, strengths, weaknesses, and set goals for ourselves.
Our next fosuc was on strategic planning - identifying and assessing environments, and coming up with focus issues for strategic planning.

Okay, then... and now for some photos from the venue ...

A week on the Donaldson Brown Estate in Port Deposit

Hey :)

You didn't seriously think that I was going to stay in town after Harry Potter - did you? Did you? I jest :)

I am here for a week for the Maryland Library Leadership Institute.

It's a pretty place, with an okay drive on a summer Monday morning ...


This conference center is at the end of a driveway , past a working diary farm with like, cows and stuff ...


I'll post to let you know what's going on - in the meantime, feel free to enjoy my other photos of this cute Georgian manor house overlooking the river, including the bedroom that I am sharing with four other women - one bathroom, one shower ... that outta be enough challenge for the entire week ... ;)

Avatars

Okay - F U N times :) *SQ* :)

RSS / newsreaders

Frankly, have always bothered me ... if I want to read/ get information from a site, I'll go there - either through bookmarks, del.icio.us, or by, hey - just typing in the address or something ...

In my last library system, we offered RSS feeds - and while at first it seemed pretty cool using, at that time, brand new technology... I found it to be redundant, and not useful, since when I visited bloglines, I just wanted to explore the originating info. site anyway - including the library... SO, if I'm going to the sites anyway, why take the extra step of visiting my reader ... ????

On the upside - I rediscovered that I already had a bloglines account, and it is now chock-a-block full of silly info and outdated feeds, leaving me a bit awestruck and giggly at what a different place in life I am now vs. 7 years ago ... a mere babe :)

I should add that I am related to people who LOVE feeds and readers ... just isn't my cuppa.
*SQ*

photojojo - a DIY Photography newsletter

Have ya'll been to photojojo? It is HILarious, but also has tips on photography - how to take better photos, and photo projects.

Be advised that she writes as she speaks...

*SherryQ*

Editing Job Open

Salary non-negotiable

Hours non-negotiable

Benefits non-negotiable

But, hey - think of it this way - you'd be doing EVERYone brave enough to read this stuff a HUGE service!

Contact: not available, busy writing :)

Not at work today - after 11 days, I figured I'd take a day off. Nice. Relaxing. yes????

Okay then...

First, my parents are visiting us, and staying with us, for a few days while they look at local real estate - but we do not have enough beds, so they bought and brought a queen-sized extra high aero bed, sheets and matching blanket for my father to sleep on in the basement (insanity - they are indeed loosing it). "Neato," you say, "cool," you say, "what the hell, are you this boring?" you might say...

Well then... my father wakes up this morning and yells up the stairs in an emphatic manner that he needs my mother immediately because he has had an accident in the basement and needs her help. As my mother scrambles to extract herself from our awesome (or in her words, "ridiculous") old school science lab-ish bar stools, I (nimbler) run to the stairs frantically asking my dad if he is okay, or should I call 911 - to which he responds that he is fine, no 911, however, he unknowingly fell asleep in his new aero bed, new sheets and new blanket - with a new pen - which exploded in the night leaving multiple ink blobs on his bed, sheets, blanket - and himself, and he wants everything to look new again, and he is sure that my mother can take care of this for him.

She can't.

Instead, I take my hairspray (does this even work?) and sprayed the washables (excluding my dad), let them sit for a few minutes, and then started them in my truly amazing washing machine!

All will be well - one would think so at least. I still have the day off, I'm off to gather my sweet little niece, and have an adventurous day. And that we did...

After looking at come properties with my parents, we went to shop at COSTCO mostly for chocolates for my staff (they are working their tails off!!!). When we entered the jumbotron store, they had a display of Wii's (we aren't, obviously, Cartman freezing ourselves for the Wii, but we'd like one). I pick one up - it's in my hands - and then I place it back down, because my entourage claims that we should eat lunch first, then shop. Seriously. Fast forward 20 minutes later - all of the Wii's are gone, the display is gone. It's as if it never existed at all.

All will be well - I don't have to worry about work (awesome staff), I'm with my totally adorable niece, and my parents pay for my ginormous pack of TLC bars.

Wait - what's this? The COSTCO checkout decides that, after 5 years, I am not allowed to use the COSTCO American Express card with his name on it... uh okay. Thank you for enforcing the rules, I guess. Today is an excellent day to begin. And, so - no COSTCO jumbotron packages of chocolates for my staff (sniff, sniff). No worries - I'll try Sam's tomorrow!

All will be well - day off, cute niece.

My parents drop my niece and me off at my house so we can play, change the laundry, take the doggie out etc. Fun times for a few hours - just the girlies! We both run into the house, remove our shoes (it's a wiggly toe thing), hop downstairs to check on my dad's sheets (ink blobs), and step into the laundry room... wait a minute, something just isn't right - our toes are not wiggly, they are jiggly sliding through a giant sludge slop of an entire giant tide bottle that has fallen and cracked open onto the carpeted laundry room floor!

I grab my niece and run upstairs and outside to begin hosing off our feet in case the concentrated soap is about to cause irreversible caustic damage! The dog chases us outside and begins rolling around in the tide/ mud slop we just created in the yard - it's fun times all around!!!

okay

So, I try to sop up the Tide with dirty clothes, random tablecloths, towels, whatever I can find. And throw them into the washing machine - works out well, I don't have to add any soap! (side note - the ink blobs did not come out of my father's new sheets etc.).

uhhh...

We go out to dinner since I have been too occupied with my fun Tide project to prepare any dinner at home - and we leave to laundry room open because, although Tide does have a lovely smell - an entire jumbo jug of it can be overwhelming in that small space.

another misstep in my day ...

Turns out, the doggie must like the smell of Tide a LOT, because when we came home from dinner, our sweet yellow Golden Retriever had turned blue and purple from sleeping right in the middle of the Tide puddle. My husband and I rushed the doggie upstairs and outside and began hosing him off like there was no tomorrow. Oh - you do not want to miss the added tidbit of - at this time a blustery storm was blowing threw the neighborhood. Like the kind where branches and trees snap and stuff flies around. Yeah - really? yes. Doggie is psychotic in storms too - this IS good timey!

Doggie is exhausted. Husband and Father are getting a wet/dry vac tomorrow, after trying to scrape the Tide up out of the carpet with a flat shovel (cool). I have started another load of laundry and am contemplating two lessons learned today:
#1. Never, ever, ever leave a bottle of detergent on top of a washing machine - there is a reason that there are drawers underneath these front loaders.
#2. While I am thankful for my day off, I'm even more thankful that it wasn't actually a "day off." I could have been bored.

*SQ* :)

ahhh - flickr... and now for another addiction... thx!

MD Observation

I am thrilled to share that I finally saw some lightening bugs in my backyard! While this may at first glance, seem slightly silly ... I happen to be a lightening bug liker, keen observer, and appreciator, and have been concerned that they did not live in my new state - I was missing them.

There's just something magical about those little sparkly summer shimmer lights floating around in the backyard.

I knew that they would like it here - and it appears that indeed they do!

Every Lightening Bug Deserves a Good Home


*SQ*

23 Things - Week 2

The most difficult thing for me to do from the 7 Habits will be "Create your own learning toolbox" primarily because of the whole effort of concentration and focus... I know that this will come as quite a shock!

The easiest of the 7 Habits will be all of the other items - because they are all 'on-the-go' and dynamic.

About this blog - I started it under severe duress from my brother's mocking the blogless me in early 2005. Those postings were lost when I moved into the new version of blogger because I was not paying attention... no worries - most blogging (including my own - evidenced here) is mindless drivel :)

*SQ*

Mentally ...

Palmas,
originally uploaded by sherryquinones.

No matter where you see me physically - this is where I am mentally :)

Well - one of many options :)

I'm sending this so that I can use it as my blog photo...

Or not ...

sweet puppa Forest

sweet puppa Forest,
originally uploaded by sherryquinones.

Just a little moment of zen - sweet Forest :)

23 things - Week 1

Watched the intro - and liked the 7 1/2 habits delivered with a little N.C. accent! btw- I had to allow pop-ups for the plcmc site in order to download the contract and 7 1/2 habits lists - but all turned out well :)

My first contract will be to commit to filling out a contract (yes - it's all about baby steps with me).

23 Things - here we go ...

Good Times!

New House

We have moved in - and 2 rooms have curtains! Well, really 1.5 rooms, since I completely messed up the center brace in the dining room (hello spackle!).

I Love the rectangleness of the house, and the side of the mountain vibe.