What's wrong with women?

Alison S has posted a "list challenge" over on her blog. It sounds interesting so I'm going to join in. She randomly chose "What's wrong with women?" as the first topic. She says

(when I first opened the book I though NO WAY! but then I thought 'Why not?" - a bit of self analysis doesn't go astray occassionally

Soooooooo...... here goes.

1. Our downfall is chocolate. I just ate a whole packet of Malteasers by myself - how bad is that!!!!? I'm sure women have a chocolate centre in their brain that requires regular dosing.
2. We sometimes talk and analyse things too much. Some things just are the way they are because they are okay?
3. We can be horrible catty creatures at times both with each other and towards guys.
4. What is it about gossip and women... why are we so attracted to gossip? and related to that
5. Women's magazines - they make me gag.
6. Self-image and acceptance thereof. So easily affected by the beauty industry, media, social expectations etc
7. Body hair (see 6 above).
8. We just assume people know what we want and then get all snotty about the fact that others are not mind readers. Need to be more proactive or clear about expressing our needs and desires.
9. Some of our good qualities can turn against us at times. I'm thinking of situations where our natural tendency to nurture/empathise can actually be detrimental. Rather than getting out of relationships that are poisonous we tend to try and make excuses and think that love and care will "change" another. Sometimes it doesn't!

Hmmm very deep for Tuesday afternoon... think I need more chocolate! LOL!

The shock of the new

I'm so happy - I'm getting a new oven. It's so sad that something so mundane makes me excited! LOL!

It's a Fisher & Paykel "Oregano" one which has a double oven and a ceramic top.
That well known retailer Novell Lemming is letting us have it on their "3 year interest free" deal.

Goodbye rusting old Shacklock from the '70's! RIP in the kitchen in the sky.

The lovely delivery people will bring me the new one on Thursday, and take the old one away. I shall have to have a celebratory dinner... what should I make??? We got a pizza stone on the weekend too, and had nice homemade pizza. I had some trouble getting it onto the stone - I need one of those wooden paddle things. My dough stuck to the tray I used so I couldn't slide it off onto the stone. Needed to use more flour I think.

DH is teasing me he will expect 3 course gourmet dinners from now on.

Simplicity vs complexity

StevenB on the ACRLog has an interesting thought that pricked my interest in the light of our focus groups that we're going to run. He's been to a commencement ceremony and heard a speaker:

Among the points of advice he gave to the graduates he included “Do not be scornful of complexity.” We challenge our students too infrequently in their undergraduate education for fear that we will alienate them. I like that the president reminded the students that anything worthwhile they’ll achieve in their lives is going to take hard work and devotion - and certainly some complexity will be encountered. While academic librarians should endeavor to avoid making using their libraries unnecessarily complicated or complex, what more can they do to challenge students and prepare them for the complexities of life after college.

This is interesting. On one hand, I have had librarians arguing that our web pages should be as simple as Google. On the other, we have a University President encouraging folks to step up to the challenge of complexity. I wonder what our students will say.

Say Yes to Users

Hee hee - I've been wanting to use that title for a while. It sounds so ... evangelical.

Becoming more user-centred has been a meme on the biblioblogosphere for a while. As of next week we're going to be running some Focus groups which (I hope) will help us become more user-centred in terms of our web pages.

At the beginning of the year our marketing team created us a new "front page". We then created a bunch of pages "below" it. The layout and structure of the pages were the subject of intense scrutiny and discussion by the folks here. You can imagine the frank discussion that went on when you get a bunch of passionate librarians all with their own opinions about What Our Students Want!

Now, 5 months later, we are actually going to ask our students what they want.

I'm supposed to be running most of these focus groups which will begin next week. I'm a little nervous about it since it's the first time I've done this and all the literature I've read says (in tones of doom), that the focus group moderator should be experienced. Well, thats all very well if you've got the budget to hire someone. We don't, so they get me. Ha!

It will be interesting to say the least. If we get any students from our recruitment. So far we have the grand sum of 3.

I think I need chocolate.

Where oh where has my creativity gone?

If you've seen it, please send it back home.

Going to a crop tonight with my girly friends and I have no idea what I'm going to do. I hate not having a vague plan when I go to these things because I take too much stuff and waste time when I don't. I haven't touched my scrapping stuff for weeks. I even piked out of making Mother's Day cards and got DS to do it.

Even the smocking has taken a break. The garment I'm working on is using some old material I've had for ages and it smells musty. I should have washed it before I used it. Now (for reasons which will be revealed later tho' I'm sure some of you will guess) the smell is making me feel ill and I can't bring myself to touch it.

Need some energy....

Visited Sabato on the weekend (bad for the wallet) and picked up some yummy Almond Criossants to cook. Had one this morning and can I say YUM! Love that buttery, yeasty flavour and the flaky lightness of the pastry. MMMM... need more.

Conversations with a 2.8 year old

You know you've got kids when frank discussions of bodily functions become everyday topics of conversations.

In the car going home the other day:

DS: Yukky booger in my nose. Get it my finger.
Me (thinking ): How about I get you a tissue?
DS: No!
Me (handing a tissue over the back): Here, try this.
[...long silence...]
Me: Did you get it?
DS: Stuck!
Me (cringing): Stuck on your finger?
DS: No! Stuck my nose!
Me: ummm...ok.
DS (triumphantly): Got it!

Musings...

I think I'm going to change this blog into something more personal. So while there may be some thoughts about podcasts, librarianship and other serious (ha!) matters, I might write more about my other interests.

Naturally anything I say does not constitute the view of my employer, nor is it necessarily endorsed by them ... the usual disclaimers apply. To that end, I'm going to take off the links to my workplace on the side bar.

On to my current obsession:

I've taken up smocking again. I took a 2 year break after DS was born because it wasn't the sort of hobby you can leave out while a baby is in the larval/rugrat stage. But he's a toddler now, and while he's interested in what I'm doing he can also be told not to touch things. And most of the time he listens! I did make a few items for him but I have to admit that I was put off somewhat by DH's comments they looked "girly".

I started smocking about 14 years ago. At the time I was trying out some different needlework crafts like ribbon embroidery & stumpwork. While I still enjoy those, smocking quickly became the craft of choice. As I didn't have kids, most of my work was given away to people who did. Looking back now I pity them because the quality wasn't always good. It also meant I don't have a record of those garments because I rarely photographed them myself.

I'm hoping to help my friend A with a stall at a craft fair later in the year. She has a few things she wants to try selling and I'm going to take along a few things too. Including some smocked garments. I've no idea what I should charge for them, or even if people dress their kids in things like this. Seems like a lot of children are dressing like miniture adults earlier than ever. So it will be interesting.

So far I've smocked 3 fronts for 3 different rompers. I'm starting on a coat dress for an older girl, and I've got plans for more. I love the smocking part but the sewing up of the garment is something I dislike.

Here are some pictures of some projects I've done in the past.

Smocking is an art that could easily die out. I like to think I'm contributing to the continuation of this form of heritage embroidery.