June Books

Have I mentioned how much I love summer vacation?

I'm sure I have.

I get so much more accomplished during summer vacation than I do while school is in session.  My house starts to come to order, and I actually have time to curl up with a good book, and read.  I need to make up for some lost time in order to meet my 40 book Goodreads Reading Challenge goal!  The good news is that after this month, I am back to being ahead of schedule, and I've hit the 50% mark!

Here's what I read in June:

In a Different Key: The Story of Autism by John Donvan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book took me forever to read.  You can see my full review in my special Blogging for Books post.



The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I listened to this book on Audible, and at first, I thought I was going to be returning it and getting my credit back for another book. BUT I stuck with it, as I usually do, and I actually really ended up enjoying this book.

It's definitely great WWII historical fiction, and it's worth a read (or listen) if you like both historical fiction OR stories about WWII. The Nightingale shares some of the awful aspects of living in France during the Nazi occupation. The characters are well developed, and I found myself wanting to know how everything worked out in the end.


Winter by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


After reading my last book (The Story of Autism), which was incredibly tedious, it was wonderful to read the conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles!

Melissa Meyer wraps up the series with an exciting and satisfying conclusion. I loved it!


Fairest: Levana’s Story by Marissa Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As a good prequel should, Fairest certainly makes clearer the story of Levana, Queen of Luna.

It wraps the entire Lunar Chronicles series up by providing more background on the Queen and how she became the villain of the series.


How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success by Julie Lythcott-Haims

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had SO many thoughts on this book, that I reviewed it in a separate post, which you can see here.



Dropped Third Strike: A Portland Pioneers Novel by Micah K. Chaplin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I also wrote a separate review of this book and included an interview with the author herself!  Be sure to check it out!




View all my reviews

Stuff & Things 1/28

I was just reading everyone's Stuff & Things posts, and I decided I needed to throw together a little post and join in with Kristin & Joey for the fun!

First, thank goodness January is almost over.  I loathe the month of January.  Bring on February.  If things continue as they are, we have Thursday, February 11th-Monday, February 15th off for Presidents' Day weekend.  I.  Need.  A.  Break.

Second, I have a boot problem.  I set a goal of not spending money on unnecessary items in January.  I had been spending a lot recently, and then there was Christmas, so...I did pretty well.  Until this week.

I just bought two pairs of boots.

In my defense, ShoeDazzle put $20 in my account because they "haven't seen me in awhile," and I scored these two pairs for about $62.  Also, I bought the black ones to replace a pair on which the heels are worn out.  I wear my boots until the death.

Third, I also bought a new Thirty-One wristlet, BUT we were at our friends' house the other night, and their dog chewed my wrist strap apart.  I did score it on eBay for cheap, and it's brand-new.  So there's that.

What's going on with you this week?

Happies & Crappies 2/14

Thank goodness it's Friday again!  Not only is it my favorite day of the week, but it's also time to link up with Amber and Steph for Happies & Crappies!

Happies
~Scott and I went grocery shopping yesterday!  We have tons of food, and it feels good to know we can have just about anything we want to make!
~There are a few odds and ends we didn't pick up yesterday, but Scott is going to stop at the grocery store on his way home from work to get them!
~It's Valentine's Day, and our marriage anniversary is tomorrow!  :)  We don't typically do anything special, but it's just nice that these days are here.  I am blessed to have a marriage anniversary (in February) and a wedding anniversary (in August).  Since there are so many new people around here, please check out our love story.  A year ago today (and tomorrow), I wrote post explaing why I get to have both!  Our Story and Our Story Part 2

~I have a new sponsor on my sidebar!  Stop by and say, "Hi!" to my friend Kristin from Life's an Adventure!
Crappies
~There is SO. MUCH. SNOW.  It's supposed to snow more tonight.
~I got my car stuck trying to pull into my parking space in front of my house.  I had to shovel myself out, and THEN I had to shovel snow out of the way to actually get into my spot.  <sarcasm>Thanks so much to the borough for plowing my space after I went to work.<end: sarcasm>
~My arms and back hurt from all of that shoveling.
~My students really got on my nerves today.  We had our Valentine's Day party, and truthfully, those 6th graders had worse behavior than my first graders EVER did at their parties.  Sheesh.

Happies & Crappies 2/7

Happies

~It's Friday!  These work weeks seem so long lately that I'm extra glad it's Friday!
~January is OVER!!!  January always drags on and on and on.....I'm glad that it's February!
~On Sunday, I get to join the ladies in my family for a basket bingo at the local high school.  It's a great fundraiser that makes lots of money for our cheerleaders!  I love getting together with the girls in my family.

This is us two Christmases ago at our Ladies Christmas Tea :)

~We are taking the kids outside to play in the snow this afternoon as a reward for our quarterly behavior (TOP HAT- Top Habits and ATtitudes) and grades (Principal's Awards) programs!  It's cold, and I'm pretty much over snow, but the sun is out, and this girl needs some light and some crisp, fresh air!

~I am part of (or hosting) THREE giveaways right now!  Head over to The Young Retiree to enter the GALentine's Day giveaway.  (There's a little over 12 hours left!)  OR stop by and visit Susannah at Simple Moments Stick and celebrate her blog's 2nd birthday by entering to win $200 PayPal CASH!  And lastly, I am giving away a set of mini casserole dishes right here on Rebeckann's Random Thoughts!  You can also check out my buffalo chicken dip recipe!

Crappies
~It's cold, and there's probably more snow coming our way next week.  Is it spring yet??
~We don't really have a lot of food in our house right now.  We have random items, but nothing that really makes a meal.
~I've been very unhappy with food lately.  I can't seem to figure out what I really want.  When I do figure it out, it's usually something bad for me.  :-p

That's about all I have for today!  Guess it's good that the happies outweigh the crappies this week! 

What's happy (or crappy) for you this week??

Chivalry is Not Dead

It's Thursday again, which means it's time to link up with Jamie, Lindsey, Jenni, & Sarah for "Live and Learn Thursday"! 

This week has been super crazy in terms of winter weather here in Pennsylvania.  On Monday, we had a sudden snow squall long after the time when school could be delayed or cancelled.  I walked out to start my car, and was surprised by how much snow there was.  I headed off to work, already dreading my drive up the mountain because the roads aren't usually good on a mildly snowy day. 

I started losing traction right here in my hometown part of the trip, and I probably should've just turned around, went home, and used an emergency day.  BUT I had things to do at school and classes that I didn't want to miss because I was supposed to be out on Tuesday for a conference.  So I pressed on.

I typically am a slow driver in the snow, but I was actually doing pretty well.  I was going between 35-45 on the mountain (which has a speed limit of 55 mph).  Soon, I started to catch up to an SUV in front of me, so I needed to slow down.  Unfortunately, as the mountain became steeper, and because I started slowing down, I began to lose traction and was having difficulty climbing upward in my Prius.  My speed ended up being around 20 mph, and I was FINALLY able to get to the top.  I was so frustrated and a bit scared by this point, so I pulled off the road at a pull off spot and grabbed my phone to call off of work.

I saw a truck pull off in front of me, but I didn't think anything of it.  Just as my school's phone started ringing, I looked up and saw Tony, the security guard at my school.  It turns out that he had been traveling a few cars behind me that day.  He asked if I was ok, and if I wanted to ride in with him.  At first, I hesitated because I can be an even more paranoid passenger than a driver, but really, what else was I going to do?  I maneuvered my car (with a lot of difficulty) to the best place I could to leave it, grabbed my things, and climbed into his truck. 

His truck handled the crazy roads much better than my car, and even though we were late, we weren't the only ones!  It turns out that a few hours earlier, when the decision needed to be made for a delay or cancellation, things were fine.  The roads were mostly clear, and there wasn't any precipitation.  It just hit all at once.

I am truly grateful that Tony was traveling to work at the same time I was that day.  He didn't have to stop.  He could've kept going.  Honestly, if he hadn't, I probably would've been stuck waiting for AAA to come pull me out of the area I pulled off of the road.  I wouldn't have been able to get out.  (Luckily, when we returned that afternoon, I was able to pull back onto the road without any trouble.)

So, it is true.  Chivalry is not dead.

What did you learn this week??

Random Thoughts on a Tuesday

via

It's cold.

REALLY cold.

Yesterday, I was so cold at one point, I decided to go change into my PJs.  I put on a pair of my Long Jane pajamas from Victoria's Secret and then put sweat pants and a sweatshirt over them.  I had on a regular pair of white socks with warm fuzzy ones on top, and THEN I drank a yummy cup of warm gingerbread flavored tea.

via
This isn't the pair I was wearing, but I DO have this set.  :)
 

So I'm home from school today.  (Sorry, Sarah...)  Our pipes are frozen, which  means I currently have no water.  Awesome.  Good thing the potato soup I'm planning to make for dinner doesn't need water.  (I'll be sharing the recipe soon!)  On the bright side, I don't have to do the laundry like I planned.

via

I just watched The Grammys from Sunday night.  You know you're a blogger when you "take notes" during award shows that you want to post about.  Take a wild guess what Monday's Music Monday post will be about...

There's still time left to enter my giveaway for free ad space here on Rebekann's Random Thoughts!

What's going on with YOUR Tuesday??

Happies & Crappies- 1/24

I was going to title this post "Friday Facts," but then I remembered that Amber co-hosts "Happies & Crappies" on Fridays, and it gave me an even better reason to write today!

Happies
~We had an in-service day on Monday, a two-hour delay on Wednesday, and a two-hour delay today!  I will never complain about extra sleep.

~Today is Scott's birthday!!  I doubt he'll actually read this (so I'll be sure to tell him in person), but Happy Birthday, Baby! :)

This is us with our friend Jen on New Year's Eve!

~I started sponsoring Scattered Seashells, and my sponsorship with Poppiness will begin on February 1st! 

~I have a giveaway going to win an ad spot on MY blog!  You should totally go enter! 

 

~I drank a delicious cup of Godiva hot chocolate last night.  :)
 

Crappies
~Those lovely extra hours of sleep from the happies were caused by FRIGID temps here in PA! 

~I have been in a panicked state driving to and from work every day this week.  God bless the people who get stuck behind me.  I drive as slow as a 90-year-old lady when the weather is like this.  I've been abnormally paranoid and terrified this week, too.  I was gripping the steering wheel so tight on my way home yesterday that my hands hurt by the time I got home!

~I've had headaches off and on this week.  I can't tell if it's the weather, sinuses, too tired, or if I'm a bit dehydrated.  I've been pretty thirsty, too....

What's been happening with you this week??

Happies & Crappies

I'm not sure what happened that I didn't write posts for Wednesday and Thursday.  I knew I wanted to write something for today, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about.  Then I remembered that Amber co-hosts "Happies & Crappies" on Fridays.

Perfect.

Happies
~This was supposed to be our first full week back to school after Christmas break, but we had delays and a day off every day but Thursday.  (And since I'm actually writing this on Thursday night, Friday is TBD.  We'll be in a freezing rain advisory from 4 AM - 3 PM.  So it's possible that there will not be school again.  I hope.)

~I had spaghetti for dinner this week.  It is absolutely one of my favorite meals.

~I got to spend my day off on Tuesday at home with Scott since he was off of work.

~We had a game night at our friends' house on Saturday night.  We played Cranium.  It was really a lot of fun, and we plan to do one hopefully every month!

~It's supposed to "warm" up this weekend.  (Also known as temperatures in the 40s.  It's like a heat wave!)

Crappies:

~One of my best friends lost her father this week.  Please say a prayer for her and her family.

~I am SO over winter.  I travel a little over 30 minutes to work every day.  There are areas I drive through that are just awful (with or without a delayed start). 

~My day off on Tuesday wasn't actually for snow, though.  Unless you've been living in a box, you know that much of the country was in a Polar Vortex.  Then again, if you were living in a box, you'd definitely know because you'd be totally frozen.  ;-p  It was negative something or other here with windchills in the negative double digits.  Yuck.  It can totally be spring any day now.

Did you see the pictures of Niagra Falls??  It was so cold falling water was freezing!!

~It's nice to have surprise days off, but we do have to make them up.  I will not be so thrilled when I'm only left with one day off for Easter break.

It's Ok Thursday 3/7

Ok friends, I am going to apologize in advance.  My "It's Ok Thursdays" post today is going to be about some things that are NOT ok because, well...THAT's the kind of day I'm having today.

This week it is NOT ok...

...to cancel an observation of a lesson RIGHT BEFORE it happens.  The fact that it is necessary for me to meet with you a week in advance to share my lesson, hop around this chapter like a crazy person thanks to the weather and other circumstances that have been interfering, AND keep my students on track for the year has really been easy.  I'm so sorry that things weren't convenient for you today.

...to ignore the fact that your child needs help.  Your child's uncontrollable outbursts are not in any way helping the rest of my students to learn and stay on task. 

...to not let me do my job. I'm sorry that you are in denial.  But not allowing me to help your child is not good for anyone in this classroom.

...that winter is not over yet.  I need warm weather.  I NEED summer vacation.  My sanity is slowly slipping away......

...that we have to set the clocks ahead one hour this weekend.  I need my sleep, people.  Losing an hour doesn't make me very happy at all.

I hope you all enjoyed my angry, sarcastic post today.

Sorry that it's so negative, but I needed to get it off my chest.  I hope you will all forgive me.

It's Ok Thursday

This winter weather totally sucks.  Last week, we had two 2 hour delays because it was so cold.  The last two days were in the high 50s.  It rained ALL DAY yesterday, finishing off the remaining snow.  Overnight, that lovely rain turned back to snow. 

Is it spring yet??  Scott and I are going to Gobbler's Knob (the home all the famous Pennsylvania groundhog "Punxutawney Phil") tomorrow night.  Bright and early (and in the extreme cold) on Saturday morning, he shall tell us if spring is coming sooner rather than later.  (Disclaimer: I actually hate Groundhog Day, and in no way do I think that stupid groundhog can predict the weather.  I am only going because I love my husband.  He doesn't "believe" in all that weather predicting either.  There's drinking involved starting Friday night.  Enough said.)

So anyway...

This week it's ok....

...to start a Facebook page for your blog.  (Check out my brand-new page here!)

...to hate winter.

...to go to bed early.  I am heading there shortly after the publishing of this post.  I don't know when I'll be sleeping again after tonight....hopefully, I'll be able to catch a nap before watching a groundhog predict the weather.

...to fall in love with blogging.  I have always enjoyed it, but now, I really do love it.  I love the connections I'm making with people I've never met in person!  I have also found such support and encouragement with my blogging goals.  It's all so exciting!

...that this is a short list of things that are "ok". 

It's Ok Thursday 1/24

 

I am really glad it's Thursday.  In fact, I'm so glad that it's Thursday, it almost seems like Friday.  I don't know why I'm so happy for Thursday.  Maybe it's just because tomorrow definitely IS Friday.

 

It's ok...to be glad it's Thursday! :)

 

It's ok...to be super hungry but not know what you want to eat. 

 

It's ok...to be cranky because you're hungry and don't know what you want to eat. 

 

It's ok...to be a little confused.  I've had a strange couple of weeks. 

 

It's ok...if you actually want to read the book that was assigned for the next teacher in-service day.  (The author of the book is coming to speak at our school in February.  The book isn't a boring, text-book kind of book.  It's actually a memoir.  So far, it's really good!)

 

It's ok...to hate winter.  It's SO cold here.  Supposedly the fact that it's 23* today should feel "warm" since it was 10* yesterday.  (In case you're wondering, it does NOT feel warm.)

 

It's ok...to hate winter, but to love 2 hour delays.  Because of the insane cold we've had here, we had a 2 hour delay on Tuesday AND Wednesday.  Thanks, below zero windchills.  (P.S.  I'm a much happier teacher at 10:30 AM than I am at 8:30 AM.)

 

What's ok with you this week?