Friday, May 30, 2014

Friday Five



This week I have been looking for a new clock for our dining/living/kitchen area.  It seems I am most attracted to all things retro.


My first love is this clock from Newgate Clocks that is conveniently out of stock.  Sigh.


I must be into time zone clocks. This clock is one I am loving as well- and might seem a bit more relevant to my life.  
This world clock set from Newgate is also out of stock. Apparently a lot of people have really great taste!


And I know the school year is almost done, but I came across this cool quiz show website that I am already preparing to use next fall.   I think this will be a great game for the upper grades! 






The Huffington Post had an article titled You're A Book Nerd If... I am happy to report that I am definitely a book nerd- and proud of it!  Check out the list and see how many apply to you. 

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Vintage

Vintage by Susan Gloss was a perfect book to read while sitting in my lawn chair, soaking up a little sun.  



Several characters converge in this women's fiction treat and share their stories and connection to Violet's vintage clothing store.  

Violet is living her dream, owning and operating her own vintage clothing store.  She has finally escaped her small hometown and her unhappy marriage and now lives in Madison, Wisconsin, yet still longs to remarry and have her own children.

Amithi is upset by her husband's infidelity after nearly forty years of marriage.  She continues to visit the vintage clothing shop, purging her closet of many beautiful items as she comes to terms with the betrayal she feels.

April Morgan is just eighteen, but already dealing with being grown up. She is expecting a baby with her ex-boyfriend, and trying to make ends meet after her single mother died in a car accident six months previously.

Other women come and go, buying and selling items to this vintage store that is more than just a clothes shop.  But, when Violet finally shares the fact that she is being evicted and will have to relocate or close her shop, they come together to find a solution.

This book was a bit Debbie Macomber-ish to me throwing in a bit of The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society or Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt novels.  I can only hope Gloss will find a way to continue these stories in future novels. If not, Vintage, was a very enjoyable stand alone novel. Gloss is a talented writer.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: One of Us by Tawni O'Dell
Due out: August 19, 2014



Product Information taken from Amazon:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Back Roads comes a fast-paced literary thriller about a forensic psychologist forced to face his own demons after discovering his small hometown terrorized by a serial killer.

Dr. Sheridan Doyle—a fastidiously groomed and TV-friendly forensic psychologist—is the go-to shrink for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office whenever a twisted killer’s mind eludes other experts. But beneath his Armani pinstripes, he’s still Danny Doyle, the awkward, terrified, bullied boy from a blue-collar mining family, plagued by panic attacks and haunted by the tragic death of his little sister and mental unraveling of his mother years ago.

Returning to a hometown grappling with its own ghosts, Danny finds a dead body at the infamous Lost Creek gallows where a band of rebellious Irish miners was once executed. Strangely, the body is connected to the wealthy family responsible for the miners' deaths. Teaming up with veteran detective Rafe, a father-like figure from his youth, Danny—in pursuit of a killer—comes dangerously close to startling truths about his family, his past, and himself.

In this masterfully told psychological thriller in the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, the past and present collide to put Lost Creek’s long-lived ghosts to bed.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

To All The Boys I've Loved Before

My Memorial weekend was full of great reading. The book that was the one I found hardest to put down was To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.  


This is going to be one of those books that I will be handing off to every pre-teen and teenage girl that enjoys reading.  My twelve year old daughter could read it and I wouldn't worry too much about the content.  My eighteen year old high school worker could read it, too, and will love it.

Lara Jean is the middle sister. Her older sister, Margot, is heading off to college in Scotland, and her younger sister, Kitty, nine, has always been taken care of by her older sisters.  Their mother died six years before, and the girls have an incredibly close bond with each other.  

Lara Jean has had crushes on different boys, yet she hasn't had a boyfriend. Her sister's boyfriend, Josh, is someone that Lara Jean had a crush on until he started dating Margot. As a way of getting over Josh, Lara Jean wrote him a letter and stored it in her hatbox.  

Although these letters have always been private, they get mailed somehow, and now Lara Jean's former crushes know her true feelings for them.  This leads Lara into pretending to date Peter K., a crush from seventh grade, as she attempts to hide her feelings from Josh (who received a letter from her) and Peter can make his ex-girlfriend, Gen, jealous.

Convoluted? Maybe a bit, but it totally works.  I love Lara Jean and her family.  I love the conversations they have with each other. I love the traditions they keep.  I love their dad who is an awfully good single father.  I love Lara Jean's original and quirky ways.

And I love Peter K, who despite his reputation is actually a pretty good guy.

The ending?  ARGH!  I wanted so much more!  And yet, it was perfect.  

Monday, May 26, 2014

The Julian Chapter

There are already a ton of review on The Julian Chapter posted on Amazon, but I'm still going to review this Kindle single since the novel it comes after has been such an important book that everyone that I've given it to remarks on it.

Julian isn't my favorite character to put it mildly. But, I did find it interesting to hear his perspective.  At first I didn't find him any more likeable than I had while reading Wonder. And his mother? Can't stand her.  But.....it is interesting to hear things from his point of view. And it is interesting to see him evolve a bit as a character.

By the end I no longer considered him nearly as creepy as I had in Wonder. I could feel a little bit for this bully and see how things that occurred in his life led him to behave as he did.  

And even if I don't like Julian a lot, I can also recognize that he is still a child and that he is learning and growing, too.  It will be interesting to see how Julian behave as an adult, the true test of whether or not he has learned and grown from the experiences he had with Auggie.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Sunday Salon

The weather this weekend has been just perfect.  Sunny and mild - exactly what I've been waiting for after our never-ending winter.


Although all three of my daughters have complained of boredom this weekend, I have found more than enough to keep me busy.  Laundry, unpacking and organizing kitchen items (notice there hasn't been a picture of the kitchen remodel in its finished state since I still don't have things organized or uncluttered), going through winter clothes and putting out the spring/summer wardrobe, getting in a few good runs, and reading.  It has been an enjoyable, relaxing couple days so far.  

Yesterday afternoon I laid out on a lawn chair and read for a while.  So, this  morning when Little Sister informed me she was going outside to read, that is what I envisioned her doing.  



Instead she was walking around our front yard, reading away.  What can I say?  This is probably what I looked like at her age.

The other big thrill is that my husband put up the slack line that the girls got from their aunt and uncle in Montana for Christmas.
  
Middle Sister on the slack line

All three of the girls and my husband have been up (and down) on it throughout the day.  It looks hard, but I think it is even harder than it looks, and I have visions of falling off of it before I even get going.

Memorial Day seems to be the kick-off of summer reading - at least that is what I remember from other years and seeing various book segments on morning shows.  I still have a few weeks of school left, so I can't even really think about summer yet. However, if this weekend's reading is any indication, I am going to have a wonderful summer of books.  Although I still have reviews to write, I have flown through Vintage by Susan Gloss, To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han, Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly Whittmore, and am working on Struck By Genius by Jason Padgett. They have all been fabulous.  

I'm nearly ready to begin working on some skillet nachos and relaxing with a margarita.  Happy Memorial Day weekend!


Friday, May 23, 2014

Friday Five



When I'm in the middle of a work week with a lot of after school events and activities, they seem to drag on, but I am still always surprised how quickly Friday comes around.  Here's to a long weekend!  Enjoy!



This Mystique Tank from Title Nine caught my eye...it is advertised with a woman running while wearing it, but to me it almost looks dressy enough to wear for more than just exercising. The bad news is that this color is no longer available in my size. However, there are a few other choices left that I may have to check out more closely.



One of my friends asked me if I liked Mental Floss the other day, and I of coruse, exclaimed that I love this magazine.  Only I didn't realize that there are Mental Floss videos on youtube and that this one deals with something I am passionate about: children's books!


I need a few new pairs of shorts for the summer.  These seem like a nice, longer length that I don't yet have in my wardrobe.  Right now I mostly have exercise shorts and stuff to just wear around the house. Nothing nice. I could throw on a t-shirt with these or even dress them up a little. Right now they are only $19 at Old Navy.



It wouldn't be a Friday Five if I didn't have something edible on the list.  I used to have a major peanut butter obsession. But, I have tried to really cut back on that. Instead, I have been snacking on cocoa almonds in the morning I especially enjoy the cocoa almonds I can pick up at Sam's Club. And they must be fairly good because my co-workers often ask for a handful for themselves.


It seems like everyone is crazy about Olaf from the movie Frozen.  I like him, too, but it was impossible to find my youngest daughter a stuffed Olaf like she wanted.  I haven't ordered the stuffed Sven I found, but man, is he cute!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

A Death Struck Year

Set in 1918, Makiia Lucier's account of the Spanish influenza and its impact on the city of Portland, Oregon, painted a vivid picture of the devastation this sickness brought to just one city.

Cleo is seventeen, a high school student, who lives with her older brother and his wife after her parents died when she was a young girl.  Her brother and sister-in-law happen to be in San Francisco when the announcement comes that the schools are shutting down.  Cleo decides on her own to make her way home where she will wait for their return.  While there, Cleo volunteers for the Red Cross, visiting homes to ensure those who live there have not been afflicted by the flu.

Although not everyone who comes down with this strain of flu dies, this illness is a serious one, and Cleo is exposed to the sickness time after time.  She continues to put herself in harm's way, and as her brother and sister-in-law are detained on their trip, more and more people come down with the flu, including another volunteer that Cleo has become friends with.

I was skeptical about this book, simply because the topic of the Spanish influenza seems so depressing and morbid, yet once I began reading I couldn't put it down.  I credit Lucier with creating a character so likeable and human.  Cleo, the narrator, is someone easy to relate to, even though she lived a century ago.  I found this book in the YA section of the library, but think middle schoolers might enjoy it as well. There is a little bit of romance in it, but the content is still appropriate for younger readers.

Anyone who grew up in my generation might find A Death Struck Year similar to a Sunfire Romance (circa 1980s).  Palace Beautiful by Sarah DeFord Williams is another tween novel dealing with the flu of 1918, and was one of my daughter's favorite books.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick:  Summer of the Dead (A Bell Elkins Novel) by Julia Keller
Due out: August 26, 2014



Product Information taken from Amazon:
High summer in Acker's Gap, West Virginia—but no one's enjoying the rugged natural landscape. Not while a killer stalks the small town and its hard-luck inhabitants. County prosecutor Bell Elkins and Sheriff Nick Fogelsong are stymied by a murderer who seems to come and go like smoke on the mountain. At the same time, Bell must deal with the return from prison of her sister, Shirley—who, like Bell, carries the indelible scars of a savage past.

In the third mystery chronicling the journey of Bell Elkins and her return to her Appalachian hometown, we also meet Lindy Crabtree—a coal miner's daughter with dark secrets of her own, secrets that threaten to explode into even more violence.

Acker's Gap is a place of loveliness and brutality, of isolation and fierce attachments—a place where the dead rub shoulders with the living, and demand their due.



Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Team Seven



Marcus Burke's debut novel Team Seven captures the lives of my students perfectly.  I have taught in an urban school with a diverse population and many African American students who struggle to adhere to society's rules.

Andre was a boy I felt for.  His story seems so familiar to me.  Although there are plenty of stereotypes that exist about African American males that paint an unflattering picture, it is easy to see that Andre is smart.  His mother does care.  But there are many things that are stacked against him - mostly his environment and the expectations others have of him - and soon Andre has become exactly what people have expected of him.

I know I read this through a teacher's lens, and much of what I read was not new or surprising to me.  However, Burke's book should be required reading for college students who could receive a bit of education about urban America and a life that is most likely unfamiliar to them.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Unwitting

Ellen Feldman first came to my attention with her novel Next to Love. I still can recall the lives of the women in that book, and am now left thinking about the characters she created in Unwitting.


This novel takes place in 1963 as the story opens, but Feldman creates a backstory that begins in the late 1940s.  

Nell and Charlie Benjamin are journalists, both still idealistic about their writing and the topics they cover.  Set during the Cold War, they believe in their country and its freedoms, both liberals in their views.

On the same day JFK is assassinated, Charlie is killed in the park, a victim of a mugging.  At least that is what Nell believes.  It is only later, after seeing a segment on 60 Minutes, that Nell hears that Charlie's death was not a random act.  

Feldman's novel is divided into three segments.  The first gives background about Charlie and Nell, their courtship and marriage.  Feldman re-creates the 1950s era, including details about McCarthy-ism, the CIA, and trips to Russia.  
The second portion deals with Nell's grief and her attempt to go on without her husband.  The final portion of this novel allows Nell to find the truth about her husband and somehow reconcile the Charlie she knew with what she now knows about him and their life together.

The Unwitting is a novel I will remember for a long time- Nell's own unwitting-ness in her relationship with her husband shows how complex people and their relationships are.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sunday Salon


It feels a little bit like summer today.  The sun is shining and I was even able to put on a pair of shorts.  



I'm relaxing with a raz-ber-rita and some homemade nachos while playing on the computer.  It's a great end to the weekend.

Yesterday morning my husband walked along our trail in our woods and discovered that one of the baby foxes we have enjoyed watching had become stuck in a tree and was hanging upside down from his leg that was broken. My husband spent the morning freeing him from the tree and then finding a clinic where it would get help.  

It is just sooo cute.  


Soccer, graduation parties, making some meals for our upcoming week, and quite a bit of treadmill running (for me) pretty much consumed the weekend.  I am still trying to organize things in our house and came up with several bags of trash and a few more bags of garage sale items.  

I'm feeling like it's time to relax and get some leisure reading done.  So many books I am trying to juggle at once!

How was your weekend? Busy? Relaxing?

Friday, May 16, 2014

Friday Five



All day long I've meant to post my Friday Five.  I have been busy all day long - beginning at 5 AM with my workout.  It's now 8:30 on Friday night and I am finally sitting down.  What a week!  Here's my Friday Five- better late than never!




I've mentioned before that my dad is suffering from dementia.  I would like nothing more than to avoid that fate, but in researching how to best do that, there is nothing much more I can do than live a healthy lifestyle.  However, I did subscribe to lumosity, an online source that if full of memory games and tests.  So far I have enjoyed playing the various games I have been introduced to.  There is a fee for a membership, but my mother encouraged me to do it, and my kids have been on my case to try it out themselves.




A few years ago I bought a shirt off The Home website.  I think they have one for all 50 states now and I love mine. At the time they came only in gray, but now there is also blue available, which I am going to purchase.  Super comfy.


I loved, loved, loved Wonder. So, it's no surprise that I pre-ordered the Julian Chapter for my Kindle.  It's not a full length novel, but I am interested in exploring Julian's point of view.  



Check out these home libraries at this Huffington Post article.

I just can't get enough of libraries, I guess. This is my new "coffee table" book:

I love looking at the pictures!




Thursday, May 15, 2014

President Taft Is Stuck in the Bath

The number of new books that have come into my hands this school year has been astounding. Some of them have just been updating of old classics (new copies of the Berenstain Bears, for example), but there have been many others that are new and fun that I couldn't wait to share.  


President Taft is Stuck in the Bath by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen, was a winner of a read aloud. My students love "real" books, and this one fit that bill.  They also enjoyed the entertaining illustrations, as more and more people entered Taft's bathroom trying to help him get unstuck.


My students had a bit of background knowledge about Taft already.  They knew he had a bathtub built especially for him, and this story just added more detail to what they already knew. There are historical notes about Taft and his bathtub that are shared at book's end, which I found intriguing as did my students.

Taft's Bathtub

This was a great read aloud and I had several students wanting to check it out for the week. I will happily be adding this to my own collection as well.


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

This week's pick: Little Mercies by Heather Goudenkauf
Due out: June 24, 2014


Product Information taken from Amazon:
In her latest ripped-from-the-headlines tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf shows how one small mistake can have life-altering consequences… 

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity—the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children's advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for. 

Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends' couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own, she is forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. The last thing she wants is a social worker, but when Ellen's and Jenny's lives collide, little do they know just how much they can help one another. 

A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Until You're Mine

Samantha Hayes' book Until You're Mine is a creepy, suspenseful read- just perfect to cuddle up with on a rainy day. In my case, I decided to read this only while running on the treadmill.  The true test of how good a book is, is whether or not it keeps my interest enough to endure mile upon mile on a treadmill.  Happily this book passed the test.  And, it was so good, that eventually I couldn't keep it to read only while exercising. I finished it last night at my mom's (ignoring the other people around me).


The narrator's of this story are Zoey who is a nanny, Claudia the expectant mother, and Lorraine the detective.  

Claudia is anxiously awaiting the birth of her first daughter. She has endured years of miscarriages and stillbirths, and now it appears that she will soon be a mother.  The family of her dreams is within her grasp, as she is now happily married and raising her step-sons with her naval officer husband.  

Zoey is the newly hired nanny that Claudia has employed to care for her young sons.  Claudia is suspicious of Zoey, as it appears that she has something she is hiding.

Lorraine is a detective dealing with drama on her homefront. Her husband has had an affair, and now her oldest daughter, Grace, is threatening moving out and getting married- before she finishes high school.  Lorraine and her husband work together and are currently attempting to uncover the murderer who has been targeting pregnant women, killing them as they attempt to deliver their baby.

These three narrators are all linked together, and although I felt as though I knew who the murderer was, Hayes has a nice little twist at the end of this novel that surprised me. 

Now that I know how things end up, I wish I had the time to go back through and look at the clues again, seeing how they would lead me to the correct conclusion.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Brownie Cakes

Middle Sister saw a recipe on facebook (while she was trolling through my newsfeed) that she has been begging me to try. I have been putting her off for a while, but she managed to do a google search this past weekend and located it again.

Since we were bringing something to my mom's for Mother's Day, this was a good time to try out this dessert recipe.

Brownie Cakes

Ingredients:  

1 brownie mix (8x8 pan)
oreos
creamy peanut butter

In a muffin pan place muffin liners.  

Take two oreos, spreading peanut butter in between them and on top. Place in bottom of muffin liner.

Make brownie mix according to directions on box.  Then spoon 2 Tablespoons of batter over oreo/peanut butter in muffin liner. 

Bake according to brownie directions.




Middle Sister found the recipe at Recipe Snob.  My husband has eaten several already, and although I like them, they are quite rich.  In addition, you may want to make sure you eat them with a glass of milk.....the oreo and peanut butter combination make for a very dry eating experience.



Sunday, May 11, 2014

Sunday Salon



Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!  I am having an uneventful, but mostly relaxing day at home today.  We were at my mom's house last night for supper, after an afternoon of soccer and graduation parties, so getting to relax (along with some serious house cleaning) sounds pretty good.

.
This morning at church Middle Sister and Little Sister played bells in honor of Mother's Day.  Performing in front of people is one of Little Sister's biggest challenges, but she did a great job.  

On Tuesday this past week Middle Sister presented at her fourth grade State Night.  She has spent the past several months learning more about Idaho.  The culminating event is a float that every fourth grade student constructs on a wagon along with a brief presentation.  I'm so glad my mother-in-law enjoys these creative projects and is good at helping my girls with them.  In case you can't tell, Middle Sister constructed moon rocks for her float.  

I still have 20 days of school left, but summer seems a little bit closer after this weekend.  The lawn has been mowed for the first time this weekend and we fired up the grill this past week. 

How are you enjoying this Mother's Day?  


Saturday, May 10, 2014

Crossover



Although I'm not a big fan of poetry, I love novels in verse. I am always so impressed with how authors can say so much in so few words- words that they have  selected so carefully. 

Crossover is the story of twin boys, Josh and JB, basketball stars who take after their father.  Josh narrates, often writing in a hip hop style that creates a realistic vision of these brothers and their lives.

Josh and JB have always been close, but now that they are getting older, they are finding a few things standing in their way - the most obvious: girls.  JB has a girlfriend that is taking up all his free time. While Josh is still focused on basketball, he is  having a hard time adjusting to the lack of time he and his brother now spend together.

Their father is the boys' biggest supporter as they pursue their passion for basketball. Yet his own career was cut short due to health problems.  As his wife and sons encourage him to watch his diet and address his health issues, he resists, creating stress for the family.

This is a book I want to press into the hands of tween boys who enjoy sports and are looking for a good story.  (However, I should also stress that even those teens - or moms like me- who are not sports crazy may find themselves really enjoying Crossover).

Friday, May 9, 2014

Friday Five

It's been a busy week.  I can't believe it's Friday already. Here's this week's Friday Five:



I have been in need of some new pants to wear to work. Old Navy has so many cute pants, but unfortunately most of them don't fit me.  Their Sweetheart cut does work well for me, and I am so happy that this spring they have added royal blue, hot pink, and white. I wore the royal blue pants earlier this week and had many compliments on them.  My own children were less than impressed, remarking that these pants were way too bright. 







I really am enjoying this song right now....even after hearing it playing all the time on the radio.


I'm not sure I could have found a tinier picture of this tank top, but I've been doing a lot of online shopping for spring and summer clothes for my daughters, and this tank from The Gap caught my eye.

I'ts a rare day when my mom can recommend a TV show to me.  She is not known to sit around and watch anything, but when she told me Chicago Fire was a great show, I decided I had to watch it, too. I did buy the first season and am hoping to find some time to watch it this weekend.

By this point in the school year, I am sick of making breakfast in the morning and my daughters aren't all that thrilled with the same old stuff.  One of my friends recommended I try this:




Just smear a little nutella on your crescent roll dough then wrap up and bake.  My kids think they are wonderful as does my husband.  This has been a nice, easy breakfast for us lately.