Happy New Year, Friends! Knowing all that’s going on, it feels so, I don’t know, out of touch to say that… Still, I do wish all of you a happy new year and for those who are suffering, I pray for comfort and peace.
THE PROMPT: Ten Things You Either Want to Remember or Forget About 2024
Last year was such a blur that I actually put on my goal list that I wanted to record one memory in my planner at the end of the day.
Good Memories
- Two of my daughters and I flew to Pennsylvania to surprise my mother-in-law. And, while we were there, we got to see my son, my youngest daughter, and her fiancé. Loving your kids is a given, but liking your adult children is a blessing. I genuinely like and love all my kids, they’re funny, intelligent, sarcastic, kind, generous, self-confident, and independent. I couldn’t ask for more.
- Collaborating with my daughter, Anjuli, on my post about how Black Barbie influenced me. I was an avid Barbie collector for many years and had a collection of highly desirable designer Barbies. For no real reason, I stopped collecting them, and put the ones I owned in storage. A few years ago, I gave the my designer Black Barbies to my daughter who took their pictures for the post. She ended up using the Barbies to inspire one of her makeup looks, which you can see here and here.
- Our college received SACS accreditation. SACS is the accrediting body for southern colleges and universities. This was the result of years of hard work and sleepless nights. I didn’t talk about it much, but I was so nervous about the whole process. I’d never been involved in this process before and our library is unique in that it’s primarily an online library so I wasn’t sure how SACS was going to rate us. The library section passed with no findings.
- I was a guest on Listen with LOUIS, a podcast for our library system. I, along with two other librarians, talked about how we use social media to promote our libraries, trends in library marketing, and how we keep up with the rapidly changing social media landscape. Initially, the process was intimidating, but Rob {the host} gave us great instructions and helped keep the conversation flowing.
- Staying at The Orchid Bed and Breakfast with The Hubs, my sister, and her husband. The Orchid is a Black-owned, veteran-owned bed and breakfast in the heart of Jackson, Mississippi. The historic home has been beautifully renovated to include all of the modern conveniences you would expect from a new build, but with all of the charming details you expect to see in a home built in the 1800s. Although it rained/stormed most of the time we were there, we still had a nice time just hanging out with each other. And the B&B
Not-So-Good Memories
- The Hubs had full knee replacement surgery and has had a hard time recovering. I know he needed it but watching him go through this painful recovery has been hard. And knowing that he’s going to need his right knee done at some point hasn’t made it any easier.
- We had to cancel our trip to Italy and Greece for the reason stated above. The Hubs and I were supposed to be going with my cousin, her husband, and their friends for the weeklong trip. It would’ve been my first trip back to Italy since moving back to the States thirty-five years ago.
- Some of y’all didn’t show up to vote even though you knew and understood the ramifications of that decision.
- Book bans and challenges were on the rise. According to preliminary data from the American Library Association, there were 414 attempts to censor library materials and services between 1 January and 31 August 2024. And during that time 1128 unique titles were challenged. If you don’t want to read the book or you don’t want your child to read the book, FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO READ.
- My tire blew out in the middle of the road. Like literally the whole thing was gone. By the time I was able to pull over on the side of the road, I was almost on the rim. We have no idea how it happened. But He was looking out for me because it could’ve been so much worse.
ABOUT 10 ON THE 10TH
10 on the 10th is hosted by Marsha at Marsha in the Middle. In the tradition of old school blogging, she’ll share a list of ten questions or prompts to help us get to know each other better. The linkup goes live on the tenth of the month.
THANK YOU
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Come back soon,
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AFFILIATE INFORMATION
As the blogger and photographer behind Living Outside the Stacks, I independently select and write about stuff I love and things I think you’ll enjoy too. Living Outside the Stacks has affiliate and advertising partnerships so I get revenue from sharing this content and from your purchase. Thank you for your support.
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