I am 100% cheating and setting the post date retroactively so it says I posted April 9th. I did not though. Why? I completely spaced it. I thought about it at work, but not once did it enter my mind once I got home.

I wanted to do a photo essay showing my beautiful new living quarters, but they aren't quite done yet, so I am going to do that later. And as much as I love this prompt, that was my only idea.

Instead I will leave you with a picture of part of one of my bookcases. The top shelf is my YA to-be-read shelf, which is books I own that I haven't read yet. THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I NEED TO STOP BUYING BOOKS!  Oh, and I also have an adult to-be-read shelf. AND I have three more in the mail on their way. I have problems.

Follow me!

So I browsed through my Google Reader to see what I was in the mood to recommend to you. I am not even going to mention blogs I have talked about before or already introduced to friends. I've picked two blogs I follow to share with you.

Smart Pretty and Awkward
This is a recent discovery of mine that I quite like. The posts are short and sweet: each one includes a tip/link to make you smarter, one to make you prettier and one to make you (less) awkward. They're always sweet and interesting, and occasionally their suggestions really make you think.

A Librarian's Guide to Etiquette
This is another short one, really short, each post is usually 2-3 sentences. They can be quite hilarious. Some you might only find funny if you are a librarian, but others will make anyone laugh. Definitely worth checking out.

Big green heart blob = spinach pasta dough

Wait, where did we get this meme idea from? I don't know who to attribute this to. Oh well, I'm too tired right now to look it up ... next time.

Here's some love I felt this past week:

• buying books for friends and tracking their shipping progress online
• the best turkey burger ever at Red Robin this weekend with a new friend
• said burger was followed by a wonderful college production of Into the Woods at Creighton University
• hearing friends (that's you Micki) tell me they have started following my blog and are actually enjoying it
• LIBRARY BOOK SALE! (volunteering and browsing)
• hearing my EEB's plans for my trip to visit her next month - Oh the anticipation!
• feeling happy ... with myself and with my life
• succeeding with my basic knowledge of HTML
• my beautiful new room and my gorgeous purple closet
• finishing my blog post before 11 PM!

My first gif (thanks to Christina). I hope it's not too annoying.

We all know by now that my idea of the best in live entertainment will always be live musical theater. I do enjoy regular theater too, but I prefer to have the singing. I don't go to many music concerts. I've seen Ingrid Michaelson live three times with my EEB, and other random things here and there.

So instead I will mention some of my performance pet peeves. This has been on my mind anyway because I saw several of them in action at performances last week.

• Coming in late, getting up during a performance and generally moving when you should be sitting.
• Talking during the show and whispering "What?" really loudly when you don't catch something.
• Cell phones - we get reminded to turn them off before every show. And invariably someone's always goes off about 20 minutes in. And then they never shut it off immediately, but just let it ring. At Next to Normal a couple weeks ago with Becky this woman near us answered her phone, and thought covering it with her jacket was good enough. IT WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
• Being tall - There isn't much you can do about this one, but stop it already with the good posture!
• Leaving early- I witnessed this in full force last week when I saw the national tour of Young Frankenstein with my dad. It REALLY bugs me. A LOT. I mean, the entire cast just gave you their all for two plus hours, not to mention the time they put in beforehand. So sit your ass back in your chair and give them the 5 minutes worth of applause that is the least they deserve. Come on!
• Standing ovations - I am going to try to not get carried away now. Standing ovations are supposed to be special. You are already telling the cast you thought they did well by clapping. But I think most people just assume they should stand at the end of every show. This diminishes the honor of a standing ovation. I give them when well deserved for a great show or outstanding performance. I hate when everyone stands at the end of a good show. The worst part is when I can't see because everyone else is on their feet, so I become an involuntary part of the ovation. Drives me nuts.

It's common courtesy and respect. Thus endeth my ranting. That wasn't too long right?

Well, first off I would have to start with some research, seeing as I have never purchased a lottery ticket before. But I have been tempted to buy them, so I do have thoughts on what I would do.

First and foremost I would pay off all my debt, then I would set aside enough to cover the rest of grad school. I would definitely forgive any debts owed to me. I would like to create college funds for my seven nieces and nephews. Then I would spread some money love around among my family and friends. I would give a bunch away  to charity. I know everyone says that, and I am too selfish to give it all away I freely admit that, but with that much money how can you not do something good with part of it? I know I would give some to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and to Shelterbox (a new one I discovered thanks to Maureen), but I would have to do some research to decide where else to donate. And to be really boring I would invest/save a very large chunk of it.

Now the list of possible frivolous things I would like to do:

• A big trip to New York City would be in order. I have been there several times, but this would be in style, staying at the Plaza one night or something like that. I would see every show (the ones that appealed to me) that was playing there at least once.
• I would love to make a list of all the national Broadway tours and local community theater productions over a month or two and do a ginormous road trip around the country just going wherever the shows are.
• I would buy every cast album I don't own yet that I have ever wanted or even heard in passing.
• I would finally make it to France and Italy, and a whole crap ton of other places.
• I would take each of my two best friends, Chelsea & my EEB, on a trip wherever they wanted to go, all expenses paid.
• I would like to buy a house, but it all depends on when this big win happens. I don't want to live in Omaha, but I am here for the next two years or so. After that though ... wherever I end up I would buy a house, not big 'cause I don't need it, but cute and stuff. The biggest room in the house would be the library.
• I would pay whatever it cost to create the most beautiful library in my home,with floor to ceiling shelves, tons of interesting reading nooks. And at least one ladder ... there has to be a ladder ... with wheels.
• Then I would fill it with all the books I've read or could ever want to read (though I already have a good jump on that part).

And ... that's all I have right now. You can tell where my interests lie. Maybe I will add to this later as I think of stuff, but I think this is a pretty damn good start.

I think it was Nicola who asked me for an update on my dessert-free year. I will happily oblige, but there is really nothing to report. I have made it three months now without dessert, which matches the longest I've gone before. No mess ups, no close calls, no insane withdrawal symptoms. I have moments of sadness when I see something I love, but that's it. 9 months to go! Go here if you don't know what I am talking about.

Tonight I decided to write about something that happened several months ago, but I never blogged about it. I want to get the memory down before it's gone.

Now everyone knows I am somewhat a fan of musicals. I love live musical theater, and I will always remember that my first show was The Phantom of the Opera in New York City with my dad when I was 15. I also love movie musicals, especially from the '40s and '50s, and I will always remember that the first one I ever saw was Singin' in the Rain on Turner Classic Movies (no clue how old I was).

On November 5, 2010, I had the good fortune of attending a special screening of Singin' in the Rain with my coworker Nancy at the Joslyn Art Museum here in Omaha. The highlight of the event was the presence of the film's female lead, Debbie Reynolds! She spoke before the film and signed autographs afterward. That movie was released in 1952; Reynolds was only 17 or 18 when she filmed it, and she is now in her late 70s. That woman is still going strong. She was so vibrant and energetic on stage before the film, and told us some really funny stories about filming the movie and other aspects of her career.

The experience of watching the movie was pretty wonderful as well. I am not the biggest fan of watching movies in movie theaters because I find the audience irritating and distracting. But every now and then you get the right movie with the right audience, and it comes a community experience. I was not just watching that movie next to a bunch of strangers, I was watching it with a group of people who love it as much as I do. We all laughed together as different scenes took on new meaning after Reynolds' accounts of what was happening off camera. It was wonderful.

Afterward, I waited in line for about an hour to see Ms. Reynolds and have her sign my DVD cover (Because of course I already owned it on DVD!). I felt a little guilty because by the time we got to her, she was obviously exhausted, but she signed my DVD and took a picture with us. I think I said thank you for coming or something like that. They are so desensitized to people gushing over them, and I did not want to be a gusher anyway.

It was such a wonderful experience, and one not likely to happen to me again. It is rather sad that all the stars I truly look up to and idolize are all either octogenarians or dead now. I was born at the wrong time.

It's a bit dark, but I've forgotten all my Photoshop skills, so dark it stays.

I have done more than one crush post on this blog already, including this one during BEDA last year. I don't want to write about romantic people crushes, because there haven't been any new ones in the last year. So I thought I would write about other types of crushes I have had.

• I have a crush on the Italian language; I think it is beautiful. Even though it would serve no practical purpose in my life, I want to learn it so badly. Even if all it means is that I will understand a lot more songs.
• I have a crush on the old Disney paper dolls. I loved them when I was a kid, and I am sad they don't make them anymore. A couple of years ago I got it into my head to buy some on eBay: Pocahontas, Aladdin, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast. I punched out all the dolls and clothes as soon as I got them, but now I don't know what to do with them. I was thinking of laminating them all so I could let my nieces play with them when I see them, but it's an ambitious project. I also have Pride and Prejudice paper dolls, but those I have to cut out - so I haven't.
• I have a crush on my new purple wall and closet. The color turned out way better than I could have hoped. Once I get everything set up and my stuff on the walls, I will post pictures of my new room.
• I have a major crush right now on the muffins at Scooter's. I allow myself one a week, with a hot chocolate. I don't know which is more delicious: the blueberry or the lemon berry.
• I have a crush Goodreads. I don't know how I survived without it. I get on it more than I get on Facebook or Twitter. I love adding to my to-read list and organizing what I have read by year and into categories. I love having friends whose taste I trust so I can see what they're reading.
• I have a crush on Sir Percy, my iPhone. I was patient; I bided my time until they came to Verizon. But I did not waste time once they did (which happily coincided with my tax refund). Sometimes when something seems so great, the reality is never as wonderful. But Sir Percy and I are still on an extended honeymoon and I am very happy.
• And really, I have a crush on my friends. I am not pleased with any of them for not living near me, but it must be overlooked. They are so great and I constantly feel so blessed, whether I met them in a classroom in college, a newspaper office or an online challenge I joined on a whim.

Finished my paper
Lack of focus, wasted time
Sore eyes need to sleep

Library book sale
Selling books, smile, "Here's your change"
Volunteered my time

Saw Into the Woods
Sondheim, a bloody genius
Baker's wife stole show

• Autumn Lee Hill (that's me)
• Blogging has been hard for me, especially lately, but I want to write all 30 days this year, as during BEDA the 2nd I only posted half the days.
• Communications is what I got my bachelor's degree in, specifically print journalism, which I loved getting but have never used.
• Desserts are out of my diet for all of 2011. Why? Because I am crazy. Three months down, nine to go.
• Editing is my favorite part about journalism, I have always preferred fixing other people's writing to doing my own.
• Freaking awesome (as described by my coworker Trevor, though he suggested a different 'F' word)
• Graduate school is what i am focusing on right now. I am only in my second semester, so two more years to go!
• Homework is very easily avoided while writing a blog instead, as this proves.
• Ingrid Michaelson is one of my favorite music artists, introduced to me by one of my best friends, SEJL, who is participating in BEDA for the first time this year! I have seen her live three times (Ingrid that is, I've seen SEJL live more than I can count).
• Jobs: I have two part-time jobs (sort of three) that keep me busy about 50 hours a week.
• Knowledgable (as described by my boss Jennifer, which is good to know. She said the only thing I didn't know was what Juneteenth was, but now I know that too.)
• Librarian will someday be my job title. That is what I am going to school for and where I have found a home.
• Musicals are my passion/obsession. I am a huge Broadway geek, going to shows every chance I get. I own just over 130 cast albums, which I happily share with friends.
• Nincompoop: the one word guaranteed to make me giggle each and every time I hear/say it.
• Omaha, Nebraska = home for the moment. But only until I finish school, then who knows!
• Procrastination = my specialty/curse. I am so deadline-oriented that I often can't accomplish anything without a deadline looming over me.
• Quirky (as described by my coworker Ashley, but I think it fits).
• Reading takes up a great deal of my spare time, and like many people my age and nearly all of my friends, about 75% of what I read is young adult literature.
• Soliciting words from other people was the only way I was going to get through 26 letters today; I am not sorry.
• Twitter handle: autumnLEEves. Somedays I tweet too much and others not at all, but it's my favorite way to keep track of my BEDA buddies.
• Unshelved = a great and funny library-centered comic that you should take a look at.
• Very very tired after working 11 hours today, which is why I am about to cheat on the next one.
• Wicked eXtraordinaire (as described by my sister Lindy) She is thinking of the musical, which I have seen four times in three cities in two countries.
• Years old: 26
• Zootool replaced Delicious as my online bookmarking tool recently. I am still adjusting, but so far I love it.

OK, that was actually fun and not as hard as I thought it would be -- until tomorrow universe.