December Books

So technically, December is not over, but I will not have any more books finished, before the month is over.  I thought it would be fun to go ahead and wrap up this month by sharing my December books today!

I was annoyed that I didn't finish this first book in November.  I finished it on December 1st.  I almost cheated and made it a November book, but I didn't.  I kept it real.  ;)

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I listened to this book on Audible. And it was LONG. It was over 30 hours, and I had hoped to finish it in November, but that just didn't happen.

Overall, I found it interesting to hear about Jobs's life. As a consumer who loves both my iPhone and iPad, I was interested in knowing more about the founder and person of Steve Jobs.

At times, though, the narrative was confusing and dull. There were times that Isaacson jumped back in time after we'd progressed years in the future. Or he jumped ahead in time to mention a future event that would occur with a person in Jobs's life at that moment in the biography. I didn't really care for this style. As Jobs was a very significant business man, there were numerous people coming in and out of his life both personally and professionally, and it was hard to keep it straight! Jobs was also a jerk, and sometimes it made me angry to hear about how he treated people!

I didn't really care for the narrator much, and since Isaacson himself recording the introduction and epilogue for the book, I wish that he would have performed the whole reading.

My final thought is that this wasn't a great book, but it wasn't awful either.


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a refreshing "read" (aka listen) after my last book on Audible. For starters it wasn't 30 hours long, which got things off to a great start.

I wanted to keep listening to this book. I really liked Cath's character, and I could sympathize with her freshman year of college struggles.

I will say, though, that I was disappointed with the ending. The story just seemed to stop. I didn't feel like there was really a resolution. It ended with a piece of Cath's writing, but I don't feel like it wrapped the story up. This is why I gave it 4 stars.

Overall, though, I really did like this book!

The Chimes by Charles Dickens

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This was a free gift from Audible to their subscribers this year. It was a short listen (under 4 hours), and it was free, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I was feeling pretty tired when I was listening to this story, and listening to this on my commute was not the best of ideas. I found myself struggling to stay awake, and since I was driving, that was a bit of an issue.

I found this story incredibly confusing. The main character is referred to by two names, and a lot of times, I got lost in what was happening. When "Trotty" goes up to the bell tower, I got completely lost and the story made essentially no sense to me until the very end. So I would say that overall, I get what took place in the story, but I didn't enjoy it.

Dickens should have stuck with A Christmas Carol.


Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another great book in the Outlander series! This one kept me riveted from start to finish, made me laugh, and moved me to tears.



View all my reviews

Not only does that wrap things up for December, but it also wraps up my books for 2015!  I set a goal to read 30 books this year, and I actually knocked it out of the park and read 36!

Based on that "performance," I'm going to up the ante in 2016.  My goal is going to be 40 books.

How did you do with  your reading goals this year?

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you and your families.  I hope your day is blessed, and that you are able to spend time with the ones you love!

StitchFix Fail

I've written posts here about StitchFix before.  It can really be so much fun to get a box of clothes at your door to try on, keep what you like, and mail back what you don't.

Sometimes, they really hit the nail on the head, and sometimes, it's just a flop.  One time, I loved my entire box, and kept it all (and strangely enough, I didn't blog about that experience)!  More often than not, I only have one or two pieces I like.  Sometimes, I keep at least one piece just to justify the whole experience to myself.  But this time, I just refused!

The first pieces I tried on were a pair of leggings and this high-low t-shirt.  I liked these leggings.  They had a textured strip down the side, but the waistband was weird...I can't really describe it.  I might have kept them any way because....LEGGINGS.  But I could not and WOULD NOT justify paying $64 for a pair of leggings.  ARE THEY INSANE?

As you can see, the top isn't really flattering from the front.  It looks better from the side, but not redeeming enough.  Not only was it not super flattering, but it's just plain gray, really thin, and cost over $40.  Seriously?

The next piece was this pleated top.  No, no, no, and no.  The only thing I liked about this was the dots.  Other than that, it was not flattering, the attached camisole inside was too low, and ugh, just no.

Then there was a dress.  I usually get a dress.  And for some reason, they must think I don't like color because the dresses are always some form of black.  I did like this print, though, and I thought the cut was flattering.  The deal breakers?  The arm hole was cut strangely, and it cost $84.  No thanks.

Finally, they sent me this bag.  It was cute.  While it's not a bag I would typically buy for myself, I actually could imagine using it.  I actually kind of liked that it would be a cross body bag if I wanted, and it had a lot of pockets to carry my things.  Strangely enough, this was also the most inexpensive piece in my fix, and I almost bought it.  BUT I'm not really in the market for a bag.  If I had liked anything else in the fix, I would have kept the bag and the other piece(s), but it was just not worth it!

I contacted StitchFix about how unsatisfied I was.  While they don't refund your $20 styling fee, they WILL cover the fee for your next fix.  So I sealed everything back up in the bag, dropped it in the mail, and scheduled another fix.  I figured since they'll foot the bill, I will give it another go right away!

Music Monday: It's Christmas Week!

It's Christmas Week!  I can't believe that we have almost reached Christmas 2015!  This year had really flown by.

A few years ago, Lady Antebellum released their Christmas Album On this Winter's Night.  I am in love with it.  I was listening to it (for probably the thousandth time) the other day, and I was struck again by two of the tracks that I really love.  I figured it was a good idea to share them here on my little corner of the internet.

This first one is a beautiful arrangement of "Silent Night"

Silent Night (Lord of My Life)

The title track of their album "On this Winter's Night" is incredibly gorgeous!

Have any of you heard this album?  What would your favorite track be?

Stuff & Things: Nail Polish Edition

Most of my blog posts around here lately have been about books or teaching.  I thought it would be nice to do something a bit more fun.

I also thought I'd take advantage of it being Thursday and link up this post with Kristin & Joey for Stuff & Things!

So let's talk nail polish!  I've been taking the time more often to give myself at home manicures.  This is probably mostly due to the fact that Scott is working all of the time, and I have nothing better to do with my time, but that is neither here nor there.

Here are some of my manis from the last month:

1. Julep "Nancy"
2. Julep "Linda" with Pure Ice "Beware" on the accent nail
3. Essie "Smokin' Hot"
4. Julep "Sandi" with Julep "Sigourney" accent nail (That purple is actually darker than the flash made it appear.  There wasn't quite as much contrast between those nails and the accent nail.)
5. Julep gray polish (the sticker with the name came off!) and Julep "Yumi" on the accent nails

Julep is a monthly box subscription service for nail polish and beauty products.  While I certainly don't get a box each month, you can do whatever works best for you (and your wallet)!  You choose a style that fits best for you and can even customize your box.  Boxes start out at $20, but you just pay shipping on your first box!  If you'd like to sign up and join the fun, click here!

Teacher Thoughts: Sub Problems

Last time, I talked about what it's like to be a sick teacher.  For this post, I thought I'd delve a bit deeper into why having a substitute is so much of a problem.

One of the biggest issues in my school district is a severe lack of substitute teachers.  (I am finding out that this is not just an issue in my school district, but it is a problem in many schools in Central PA.)  We use an online system for acquiring our subs.  Openings are listed online, but subs can also be called by phone if jobs are not picked up.

There a few problems with this system:

• Sometimes the jobs do not show up for subs for various reasons
• The school district no longer hires subs directly.  They are hired by the company that runs the system.  These substitutes may not even know where my school district is or live anywhere near it.
• It's easier to not take jobs because there's no live person you feel like you are disappointing.  (When I first started teaching as a substitute, I loved the online system for this reason.  Even when calls are made, it is an automated system.  It's much easier to reject a machine than a real person calling from the school.)

We have quite a few retired teachers from our district who return to sub all of the time.  Due to restrictions, though, they are only allowed to accumulate a certain number of days/hours or it can affect their retirement.

The district has collected data, and we have actually been asked to do our best to avoid missing Fridays because we are highly likely NOT to get a substitute on a Friday.

If we don't have a substitute to cover our absences, my school has a couple of things--none of which are pleasant for anyone.

1. Cancel a special area class (i.e. art, library, music, phys ed, technology) and have that teacher cover the teacher's class for the day.  This means that any teacher whose students were scheduled for that class will not have their planning time.
2. Cancel Title 1 Reading support and have the reading specialist cover for the day (which we are technically not allowed to do).
3. Have a different teacher cover the class each period.  This works by other teachers having to give up their planning time to teach a class for a period.  I have planning time 2nd period, so when this happens, I would go during second period and teach who knows what and who knows what grade.

Of these options, #1 is the most preferred, but we shouldn't have to do this!  A teacher who is out sick shouldn't have to worry or feel bad that someone else might lose their precious planning time to cover his/her class!

IF you are fortunate enough to get a substitute any sort of things can go wrong.

I admit.  I'm a control freak.  I write detailed plans that explain what and how to do things in my classroom so that everything will run smoothly.  All a person needs to do is follow these plans.

Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen.

One of our retired substitutes has been subbing with us for awhile.  When I was teaching first grade, she refused to allow my students to work in their learning centers because she didn't like the "chaos."  A few weeks ago, I was at a professional development conference.  I was out for two days, and I got a text from a teacher on my team the second day.  The sub from Thursday had done ALL of the work I had planned for reading for Thursday AND Friday.  The worst part of it was that she assigned part of the work as homework.  Luckily, the sub for the next day was one I could trust, and we just had the students read for their reading period.

I can't tell you how many times I've come back from an absence--planned or otherwise--to a disaster.  Stuff that should have been done that wasn't.  Stuff that was done that shouldn't have been.  It's not that hard to follow a person's plans.

Subs will inevitably get things done faster than you because they don't know the students or the nuances you add into your lessons.  For my sixth graders, the simple solution is to let them read quietly.  In fact, I usually write in my plans that if they have extra time they should let the kids read!

It's not rocket science.

Music Monday

Every year, I download at least one Christmas album.  This year, I downloaded Bethlehem by Kari Jobe.  Kari is a contemporary Christian music artist.  I recently started listening to songs of hers.  Her voice is beautiful, and she writes truly powerful, worshipful songs.

When I saw that she had a Christmas album, I knew it had to be my download this year.

One of my favorite songs from this album is her version of "O Come, O Come Emanuel."

I hope that you like it as much as I do!

Other songs on the album:
The Christmas Song

What Child is This?

O Holy Night

Silent Night

White Christmas

O Little Town of Bethlehem/Away in a Manger

The First Noel

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

I think the whole album was only $8.99 on iTunes.  If you like this song or her voice, I highly recommend a download! :)