Caffeinated[Librarian]

I was delighted to become a part of the Launch Team for Jessica N. Turner's book, The Fringe Hours.  I was so excited when I received my advanced copy; I couldn't wait to dive in to it.  

I've read her blog, The Mom Creative, for years, along with her posts at InCourage.  I've always admired how real she is.  She shares her love of creativity and crafting on her blog, but also shares snippets of her family life.  It's not always perfect, but it's real. Since I work full-time, am currently pursuing a Master's degree, have a two-year-old daughter, and work to organize and manage my home, I can appreciate the fact that life is not perfect...it can be super messy.

Jessica's book encourages us to make time for ourselves, helping us to identify the fringe hours in our days when we should take the time to rest or pursue our passions.  This book acknowledges the importance of such pursuits, not only for our mental health, but for our physical and spiritual health as well.

In the past few months, my fringe hours have been spent reading library science textbooks and completing assignments, along with washing the pile of dishes in my sink or picking up toys in our living room.  I know that sometimes I need to learn to let the laundry or the dishes sit for a night so that I can enjoy a cup of coffee and curl up with a book I'm reading for (can you even believe it?) pleasure.  I'd also love to learn how to knit or crochet this year.  Who says I can't make the time to do just that?

This book also helps readers to identify their passions if they are unsure of what they are passionate about.  Sometimes when you're taking care of the needs of others - putting together lunches, helping with homework, making dinner - it becomes easy to forget what you enjoy doing on your own time.  I think this book will help you to get back in touch with what excites and ignites you.  

Get ready to spend copious amounts of time in Stars Hollow, because Gilmore Girls is coming to Netflix. The site will stream all seven seasons starting October...

I am in the third week of the first semester of my MSLS, and have been feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I've never done the part-time student thing.  For six years, I was a full-time student, and only had to work part-time.  This time I'm working full-time, and juggling home and work commitments along with all of the work I'm doing for my classes.  

So far it's been pretty manageable, it's just hard not to feel guilty when I have to take the time to read a chapter or two or contribute to discussions with my classmates instead of spending time with my daughter.  This is particularly hard for me after being away from her for 9 hours of work each day. I know I'm certainly not the first mom to deal with this, but lately I'm just feeling overwhelmed.  I know that this will be worth it when I complete this degree, but sometimes I find myself wishing I would have pursued this a few years ago.  But everything happens for a reason, right?  There's a reason I'm pursuing this now, there's a reason my daughter is here to watch as I go through this process.