One Year Ago Today...

…I was sitting in front of my computer writing my very first blog post! 

Yes, dear readers, today is my 1 year blog anniversary, or my “blog-a-versary” as I’m going to call it.  And what a year it is has been!  Towards the end of last year, I made a list of what all had happened in 2010, and one of those things was starting this blog.  I cannot begin to tell you what an amazing journey I have been on this year and how much I have loved sharing it with you. 

I started this blog at one of the darkest points in my life.  I was unemployed, with very few job prospects living at home with my parents.  I found happiness through cooking and developing my skills in the kitchen and through this blog.  Reading your comments, receiving your emails, and finding new friends has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I hope I can continue doing this for a long time. 

To celebrate my “blog-a-versary” thank you for all of your support through my unemployment, finding a job, my bouts of depression, buying my house, and all of my randomness, I have a giveaway for you!!

My very first giveaway! 

 

I have, in my possession, a very lovely $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble just waiting for one of you to win it!  And all you have to do to win is leave a comment!  You can tell me what your favorite post I’ve ever written is, what you wish I would write about it, or just say hi.  I’m not picky.  :)

One comment per person please, unless you want extra chances to win!  For those extra chances you can:

·         Subscribe to my blog in a feed reader or by email and leave a separate comment telling me you do so

·         Follow me on twitter and then tweet “How exciting! @LibrarianLizy is hosting a giveaway to celebrate her one year blog anniversary! Join the fun! http://bit.ly/fqTglf” Leave a comment with your twitter name telling me you follow me.

I’m so excited to be celebrating my “blog-a-versary” with you and I wish you the best of luck in the giveaway!!

Comments will close Friday, February 25 at 11:59 PM CST.  This giveaway is open to everyone.  Standard legal jargon does apply.  This is not a sponsored giveaway and Barnes and Noble has no idea who I am.

Blogs I Read: Spotlighting My Friends

I have some seriously talented friends.  They craft, the can their own foods, they plan weddings, they sew, they cook, and they blog.  Plus they’re amazing friends.  Seriously, y’all my friends are awesome.  While I love all sorts of blogs, I especially love my friends’ blogs because most of my close friends live far away and blogging is such a great way to keep up with them.  It’s just a side benefit that they are all really talented writers.  

Last week I shared some of my favorite food blogs, and today I wanted to tell you about my friends’ blogs so you can see for yourself just how great they all are.

Christine’s Little Blog – Christine is my best friend; I met her in college (she was my freshman year roommate) and now she lives with her fiancé in Ohio.  Christine is an athletic trainer and she blogs about that, money and personal finance, cross stitching, and what life is like as a future military wife.   

The Life of a Not-So Desperate Housewife – I met Megg in graduate school while we were getting our masters’ in library in information studies.  She’s originally from Massachusetts and now she lives in Seattle with her husband.  Megg blogs about a lot of things including frugality, simple living, decorating, cooking, and her struggles with depression.  She also runs an ongoing series called “I’m Grateful Wednesday” where she shares the things she is feeling grateful. 

Liberal Simplicity – If you’ve been around frugal living or personal finance blogs for a while, you’ve probably heard of Liberal Simplicity (formally Budget Confessions).  Cate is a number of wonderful things, including (but not limited to) a writer, a mother, a wife, an excellent cook, a feminist, and a simplicity junkie.  I’ve never actually met Cate but I was so inspired by her blog and her life (please tell me I’m not the only person who feels this way about certain bloggers) that I emailed her and started corresponding with her on twitter and now we’re even friends on Facebook!  I love making friends online and I’m so happy that I’ve been able to form a connection with someone whose writing I admire.

The DIY Nearlywed – Reese is another friend who’ve I never met but talk to online.  Reese is engaged, working, and planning her wedding.  Needless to say she’s very busy and doesn’t always update daily (which is sad because she’s a great writer!), but when she does post, it’s always really fun.  She has some great series including Random Mondays and Grab Bag where she shares random things she finds from around the web.

With Duck and Goose – Amy is yet another friend I’ve never met. :)  I discovered Amy’s blog through Food Waste Fridays and then started following her on Twitter.  Amy is a bit like me; we’ve both struggled with trying to be “niche” bloggers and realized that we most definitely are not.  Amy blogs about lots of different things including crafting (she has her own Etsy shop!), homeschooling, vegetarian cooking, and simplicity. 

False Dandelions – Ashley is one of the few sorority sisters I actually still talk to.  (Did I ever mention I was in a sorority?  I probably should, there’s a lot to talk about there.)  She’s a journalist who also does a lot of PR and she just got engaged (yay!).  Ashley’s blog is pretty new, but her talent for writing really shines through.  She’s started some cool series including a “What? Wednesday series” that covers some random (and interesting) topics. 

I highly recommend all of these blogs and not just because they are my friends. :)  I hope some of them are new to you and that you check them out! 

Do your friends blog?  Any you want to share?

Blogs I Read: Foodie Favorites

I read a lot of blogs. Like a lot, a lot. I currently subscribe to 102 blogs, which is a huge improvement from this summer where I was reading close to 125 and I couldn't keep up with my feed reader.

Luckily, I've cut back. Well, a little. Is cutting it down to 100 really cutting down on the feed reader clutter?

Probably not, but I don't care. And that's not the point. I should probably make a point, shouldn't I?

The point is I love blogs. I love reading them, writing them (clearly!), sharing interesting things I find with other people, and I especially love the way they offer you a glimpse into someone else's life. So I wanted to take a chance to share with you some of my favorite blogs and why I love them so much.

Being the anal, slightly OCD person that I am, I have all my blogs organized according in categories. And I thought that I should share them with you that way. So today, I'm sharing my favorite food blogs.

I actually don't read that many food blogs. I used to, but my recipes-to-try pile was getting really scary, so I had to cut some out. So these are the ones that made the cut and are my personal favorites. I hope you find something that's new to you and find some new recipes to boot!

Annie's Eats – I don't know if a week goes by when I don't find a recipe I want to try on Annie's Eats. I think this is a beautiful blog run by a woman who seems to do it all. She's a resident, a mom, a wife, a cupcake and cookie decorator extraordinaire, and she throws the cutest parties. Her food is very simple and everything I've made from her blog has been absolutely fantastic.

Bakers' Banter – This is my go-to blog for anything baking. Run by King Arthur flour (the best flour in my humble opinion), they have awesome tutorials, recipes, and excellent pictures detailing every step of their recipes. Even if the blog was complete crap (which it's totally not!), I would recommend it because it led me to these rolls. And once you taste them, you'll understand.

Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice – I like this blog for a number of reasons. The author features a lot of Italian recipes, her pictures are awesome, and her recipes are pretty darn tasty. The author also occasionally hosts recipe link ups which have brought me to some new blogs and some new recipes.

Finding Joy in My Kitchen – If you been around my blog for any length of time, you've probably noticed that I LOVE this blog. I link up to it every week for Friday Favorites and I've gotten some of my favorite recipes from here. SnoWhite is constantly striving to cook healthier and while I don't share quite the same passion (please don't take away my butter!), I enjoy her recipes and her writing style.

How Sweet It Is – This blog is my newest addition. I found it via Tasty Kitchen (see below) and have become instantly addicted. I've already printed out 4 recipes (like this which I would really like right now) and all of them are sweet. I think me and the author share that in common!

Let's Dish – This was one of the first true food blogs I read and my favorite thing about this blog is the way she posts her recipes. The recipe is at the top and then her thoughts and the source are below. I like that because I don't have to wade through a lot of talk (you know – like you do here :) ) just to get to the recipe.

Lynn's Kitchen Adventures - I've known about Lynn's blog for a while, but didn't start reading it until a couple of months ago.  She does Menu Plan Mondays (which I love.  I have a strange fascination with what other people are eating - is that weird?) and a few other cool series like What Is It Wednesdays where she spotlights a cool ingredient, Ask the Readers, and she gives lot of kitchen tips.  Lynn is also one of the best allergy food bloggers out there, so if you are looking for recipes without nuts and gluten, her allergy site is the place to go.

Our Best Bites - It is difficult for me to express just what it is I love specifically about this blog, because I pretty much love everything about it.  This blog is run by two awesome ladies (who just published their first cookbook!) and I love their recipes and I especially love their tutorials. 

Smitten Kitchen - I think pretty much everyone who's in to food blogging readings Deb's blog, but I had to feature it for two reasons. One, it's awesome and she's never failed me when I'm making one of her recipes; her directions are always spot-on.  And two, her son is absolutely precious.  I love that she links to a new picture in everyone of her posts.  He is so cute and I just want to eat him with a spoon. :)  But seriously, if you are looking for pretty much the best food blog out there, this is it.

Tasty Kitchen - I've blogged about my love for Tasty Kitchen before, but I want to just say again how awesome this blog (not to mention the site!!) is.  I love that they have a number of contributors who all bring their own personal styles to the table and I'm a huge fan of the fact that they are trying recipes that others have posted.  It's sort of like blogging about someone's else blog, which I've always found entertaining.  The photos are great, the recipes are sublime, they do great giveaways, so what's not to love?

Okay, so these aren't actually all the food blogs I read. But these really are my absolutely favorites. What are your favorite food blogs?

Motivation

I have a huge problem with motivation.  In fact, I started this blog post before lunch, and it's now 4:00 and I've yet to find the motivation to finish writing it.  

Sometimes a lack of motivation is blamed on being a procrastinator.  I am a procrastinator; I will put off an unpleasant task until the very last minute, and I often procrastinate doing the simplest things.  I think the answer to why I procrastinate lies in a lack of motivation.  It's not that I don't care, I just can't seem to find the will to do the task.

Finding motivation is easy for some people.  Sometimes it's easy for me.  For example, I'm always motivated to read a new novel because I like to read and I know that I will get a lot of enjoyment out of it.  But finding motivation to menu plan, create a budget, write a paper, or reorganize my desk is a lot harder.  

I force myself to do these tasks, but often resent them and find a million things to complain about.  Clearly, I don't have a lot of motivation to do things I don't want to do.  I look for reasons to do these things, but I find more reasons not do them and better things I could be doing. 

A lack of motivation led to my blog hiatus.  I just wasn't feeling motivated to write anything.  I could come up with lots of ideas for new posts, but couldn't ever find the motivation to write them.  I'm still struggling with those same feelings, but am working to overcome them (hence this post).  

How do you get motivated?  What do you do to stay motivated?  Please share, I need your help!

Am I Back for Real This Time?

It's been a long time since I've blogged.  A lot has happened.  My library moved (and I survived!).  I started seriously looking for a house.  Fall came to visit for a few precious days before leaving us with a quick summer burst.  I let myself get into a funk again.  I discovered way too many new shows on TV.  

But I also did the usual things.  I baked.  I prayed.  I cooked like crazy.  I spent time with my family.  I did a lot of reading.  I watched a lot of football.

I'm going to really try to get back into my routine.  I already have a Tasty Tuesday post ready to go.  And I'm going to need to bake bread soon, so I'm still anticipating doing a step-by-step bread baking tutorial.  On Wednesday, I'm going to share my tips for moving a library without a lot of stress.  I'm doing two small speaking engagements soon, so look for my thoughts on that soon.

I also really want a new blog layout.  Is anyone out there who can help me?  It's time to break away from the sweet and uncomplicated.  I'm open to any advice/tips you have and any recommendations about who to turn to for good layouts.

What have you been up to recently ?  Any news to share?  What plans do you have for the next month or so?

Do You Like My New Layout?

As you can tell, I've updated my layout using Shabby Blogs.  Do you like it?

I will accept any and all criticism about the new layout.  Suggestions are greatly appreciated.  What changes should I make?  Would another template work better?  Any thoughts about the colors?  Can anyone help me with a header?

Let me know!

Another Round of Shameless Self-Promotion

Just in case some of you don't read Closed Stacks (why don't you? it's awesome), LibrarianRx, otherwise known as yours truly, had another great (I think) post on life as a medical librarian.  You should most definitely check it out. 

Also, on another self-promotion note, I'm on Twitter.  Have been for a while, but never posted about it.  So if you are on Twitter, feel the need to follow yet another blogger, and want to read the random comments I make, you may do so by following @LibrarianLizy. 

Something Exciting!

You may be wondering why I rarely talk about my new job as a medical librarian.  At first it was unintentional; I feel like there are other things going on in libraryland that I would rather discuss (library closings, anyone?).  But recently, I've been avoiding the topic on purpose.  One of my favorite blogs, Closed Stacks, put out a call in early June for new contributing writers.  I love their blog, so I thought, "I could write about special librarianship for them".  At the moment, no one over there is writing about special libraries, and I thought that I might have something to contribute.  Luckily, they agreed with me. 

Fear not! I am not abandoning this blog in the least.  I will still be menu planning, sharing recipes, and writing about libraries.  But I will also be blogging somewhat regularly (hopefully!) at Closed Stacks on various topics including life as a medical librarian, special libraries, and solo librarianship.  I hope that you will join me and the rest of the amazing Closed Stacks team.  My first post on how I became a  medical librarian by accident is up today.  Stop by and check it out! 

Salem Library Blog Awards

A few months ago I was nominated for a library blog award.  I was a bit surprised, seeing as how I don't blog about librarianship all that much, but still I was very honored to be nominated.  The awards have been given, and while I didn't win anything, I consider it to be very rewarding to know that someone out there thought my blog was worth reading and nominating for an award. 

Salem Press, a popular publisher of library and reference materials, is a big fan of blogs and decided to sponsor a library blog competition.  There were five categories, general library blogs, quirky, academic, public, and school.  Salem will be judging local library blogs in the fall, so if you know of one, pass it along.  The four judges are very qualified and I think they made good choices.  

In addition to collecting nominations and giving out awards, they also created a blog directory featuring lots of blogs (including this one) in the categories mentioned above.  It's a great collection of the many library-related blogs out there. 

So if your interested in librarianship at all, stop by Salem Press and take a look at some of these great blogs.  I think the winners are all excellent bloggers and well deserved.  Kudos to the winners!

Full Time Librarian = Exhausted

I want to begin by apologizing for not blogging since last Wednesday.  Between Cinco de Mayo and helping my mom host a reception, last week got away from me.  This week, on the other hand, has been a different story.  

Starting to work full time has been way more stressful and tiring than I every anticipated.  My body must have forgotten what it was like when I was in grad school when I left the house before 8 and didn't return until after 9 at night.  I feel completely unprepared for the added stress of working full time, still trying to cook dinner, and maintain a semi-social life.  

Yes, I'm still cooking most nights.  I realized that my father can only prepare a few (although very tasty!) dishes and most of them are pasta-based.  As much as I like pasta, I can't eat it every night, nor do I think that is particularly healthy.  However, I can no longer expect myself to work all day then go home to fix complicated meals; therefore, my week night menu plans from now on will include at least one meal cooked by my father and a leftover night, which could also be substituted for everyone fending for themselves.  My mother has taken on the cooking during the weekends, which I very gladly surrendered to her.  If you have any simple, quick, healthy, frugal meals to share, please do so in the comments!

But back to not blogging...I write this sitting at my desk enjoying the quiet morning.  I spent most of the week in orientation, meeting with various members of the hospital administration, or decluttering my office.  Now that those major tasks are done, I can move a little slower, and concentrate on bigger (and more library-related) things.  I'm hoping to get back in the routine of blogging at night and scheduling the post ahead of schedule.  I feel guilty (probably unnecessarily) for blogging at work, but I knew that I really needed to write something. 

So I'm sorry for skipping out on blogging for over a week, but plan to be better!