The Sassy Bibliophile

No matter how much I love my work---and believe me, I truly love my work--it can be hard to get motivated to go back into the big wide world after the winter break. Winter gloom is real--even living in Texas, in an area where it isn't often that it is super cold. Winter break gives me a chance to hobbit up in my home. I revert back to my natural sleep rhythms of late-night creativity and slow, cozy mornings, wrapped up in my fluffy robe with coffee in hand.  I get to sit in my favorite chair and take my time to fully wake up. I have time to make yummy food without being stressed, and I have time to read and write without rushing myself into anything. So, for me, much of what I struggle with in going back to work is the pace & timing of things. I don't love leaving my warm, well-lit home when it is still dark outside. I don't love not getting a leisurely start to my day. The alarm goes off and I hit the ground running. I'm sure many of you can relate. This

I took November off from blogging so that I could participate in NaNoWriMo ( National Novel Writing Month ) and I'm proud to say that after 8 years of participating, I am *finally* an official winner!  So, while I have gained wonderful things from each and every time I've participated, hitting that special 50,000-word mark has remained elusive until now. I know exactly what made the difference, too.  I reviewed my 50 Before 50 list in my bullet journal and saw that this was a goal made over two years ago that hadn't yet been achieved. This year was my last opportunity to hit that 50 before 50 goal.  I felt an urgency this go-round because crossing this off my list truly meant something. Since I even finished with NaNoWriMo a bit early, over Thanksgiving break I took the opportunity to participate in Dr. Laura Sheneman's Think Like a Social Media Superstar challenge. She runs a blog and a podcast called Librarian Influencers , so be sure to check her out if you

You can't. You don't. It really is just that simple. Please stop beating yourself up for not meeting an impossibility. Seek excellence---not perfection. There is zero way to do and be all the things to all the people, all the time. Be as kind to yourself as you are to others. Give yourself time to breathe and be. Take a break. Hydrate. Get together with friends. Do what you need to do to refill your bucket, y'all. Despite the old rock-n-roll adage that it is better to burn up than fade away----it isn't. It just isn't. Neither is a good option. I choose option C---be kind to yourself and avoid becoming a crispy critter. I hope you will choose option C, too. The world will tell you how very much you NEED to be doing. If you were really dedicated... If you want to win those awards... If you want to meet your standards... If you want to make a difference. May I humbly remind you that an empty vessel pours no water. Everything has its seaso

I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Region VII ESC Library Conference last week. I can't even tell you what a beautiful day it was, y'all! Michelle Cooper, a librarian I completely admire, is now at Region VII and put on a fantastic conference.  From technology sessions to the latest in YA lit, and an amazing array of vendors, too, she put together a truly amazing day of learning for every librarian there! Almost two years ago I wrote down a "50 before 50" list in my bullet journal. I had been feeling like I had drifted into a space of being a worker, a mother, and a wife----but forgetting to actually put myself on the priority list and wanting to also remember my hopes & dreams beyond my labels. Some of the items are small, some large--but all are things that are simply things I wanted to challenge myself to do.  Things I think are fun or special or rewarding. It's funny how just writing it down puts it in your brain as well as in your journ

Now that we have made it through the mad rush of the beginning-of-school, it's time to really think about sharing your library story. How do you plan to share it this year? I urge you to make sharing your story a priority, y'all.  If not you, then who? If we don't share our stories, if we don't tell our tales, they don't get told.  If we aren't advocating for our student's need for a school library, then we are missing the mark.  I know we are all busy, and I know it can feel overwhelming to add one.more.thing, but sharing your story is vital.  In Texas, our new state standards include sharing our story almost daily on at least 2 social media apps in order to achieve a distinguished rating. Not gonna lie, this has helped me to be more intentional about sharing.  I'm using our library Insta a lot, our Twitter a bit, and our Facebook page a bit.  I do a TON of PD on my own Twitter handle, and share some library world on my personal FB and I

What an exciting time of year!  Some of us have already had our first day and for other of us that day is fast approaching.  What I can definitely say is that I always love it when the PD days are over, and my kids are coming back. I've met the incoming freshmen class at Fish Camp, new displays are up, shelves are straightened and we are ready to welcome our students. 29 years in and it is still just as exciting to me as it ever was, y'all.  I'm sharing 5 things I do to keep me joyful as we start our new year. The before school morning rush finds me greeting my people. We generally host somewhere around 150 kids before school starts each morning. Coffee in hand, I am going around the library checking in on all my kids.  Greeting them, saying good morning, making sure they have what they need for the day.  Email can wait, my to-do list can wait, everything waits because this is my time to make sure every kid in my space is noticed, acknowledged, and spoken to with k