I haven’t been blogging much since we got back from vacation, and that’s because it’s been crazy and stressful here. Hard to formulate words about any of it, and I haven’t been very creative. So nothing to write about there.

Being sick most of last week left me pretty exhausted, and I’m still getting over this bug. I’m back at work, but my voice cuts in and out. Some days I can read to the kids, and some days I sound like someone’s chain-smoking great aunt Maude.

And my school district has started laying off staff. The 1st round happened before school board/budget elections yesterday, and since the budget in my district didn’t pass there are sure to be more. So this is also stressing me out since I’m non-tenured. I love being a librarian, but I really love being one in this school, with this library, and this faculty and administration. I can’t imagine being anywhere else, even if I could get hired somewhere else in the current state of libraries here in NJ. The proposed 74% cut of state aid to libraries is crippling and means no new jobs.

And on top of that I’ve been trying to sort out a discrepancy with my graduate school, which recently decided I owed them money despite graduating in 2007 with a cleared account.

Plus wading through quotes and drawings and references and certifications for landscapers to fix the swamp in our back yard from the big March storm and build us a patio that doesn’t cost more than my car did.

So what is up with 2010? I started out the new year so positive, but all this nonsense is really starting to wear me out. First I had the flu for the better part of January. Then February dumped mountains of snow on us and led to lots of birthday rescheduling (but snow days, too, so that was fun). We had some big family drama here in March that wiped me out. And now April is all about job stress and money owed/not owed.

But I am still determined to stay as positive as possible. Work has been great. My friends are awesome. I had the best birthday shenanigans once they finally happened. I’ve got a fun weekend coming up. Adam has some huge secret planned for our anniversary next month. I’m planning a spa weekend with my BFF and a trip to the ALA conference in June (Book Cart Drill Team Championship, here I come!). So I’ve got plenty of good about 2010, too. Some days it’s just hard to find it!