I've got a new book review of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones up at Sisters Recommend. Check it out--and then read the book!
Posts
Dirty Soda And A Free Cup At HuHot
1 day ago
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blog. Show all posts
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Lovely Bones--Alice Sebold
November 29, 2010
I've got a new book review of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones up at Sisters Recommend. Check it out--and then read the book!
I've got a new book review of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones up at Sisters Recommend. Check it out--and then read the book!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Doll's House--Henrik Ibsen
November 4, 2010
I've got a new review up at the book blog. Check out Sisters Recommend to read about Ibsen's Doll's House.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Mockingjay--Suzanne Collins
October 17, 2010
I've got a review of the third installment of The Hunger Games--Mockingjay--up at the other blog. Click here to check it out at Sisters Recommend.
I've got a review of the third installment of The Hunger Games--Mockingjay--up at the other blog. Click here to check it out at Sisters Recommend.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A Little of This, A Little of That
March 3, 2010
I'm feeling some love over here on my blog this week. I received this "You're Going Places, Baby" award from Valerie over at Next to Heaven, which is very cool. Thanks, Valerie! I love Valerie's blog, because she has such a positive outlook--it always makes me smile to read her posts. Head over there and check it out, if you're not already a regular reader.
To pay it forward, I'm supposed to post where I'd like to be in 10 years and then award this to ten other bloggers who are Goin' Places.
So where do I see myself in 10 years? Weird to say, but in another 10 years I could see myself looking forward to my first grandchild from the oldest and college graduation from the youngest. I would love to see all three of my kids happy, healthy, and settling into careers that they love. I see myself still working at my current school, maybe having had a thing or two published on the side. Most of all, I see myself still crazy in love with the man by my side, spending our summers traveling and enjoying adventurous road trips.
Below you'll find links to some on-line friends I love to 'visit' on a regular basis. Check out the following blogs, which are definitely destined for bright futures:
So where do I see myself in 10 years? Weird to say, but in another 10 years I could see myself looking forward to my first grandchild from the oldest and college graduation from the youngest. I would love to see all three of my kids happy, healthy, and settling into careers that they love. I see myself still working at my current school, maybe having had a thing or two published on the side. Most of all, I see myself still crazy in love with the man by my side, spending our summers traveling and enjoying adventurous road trips.
Below you'll find links to some on-line friends I love to 'visit' on a regular basis. Check out the following blogs, which are definitely destined for bright futures:
Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissin' Time
Kim at Under the Influence
Kim at Thinking Out Loud
JennyKate at JennyKate's Spot
While I'm on the subject of blog love, let me tell you how excited I am about having stumbled onto Brainella the Librarian's blog. I found her by blog-hopping, as I am occasionally known to do. I love her blog, and found that we have a lot in common. And the bonus? She happened to be doing a giveaway when I found her, and on a whim, I entered. Now I know people say, "I never win anything!" all the time, but seriously, I NEVER do. But I DID! And this wasn't just any giveaway--it was a bonanza, as you can see below. It felt like Christmas in March when this package arrived on my doorstop yesterday! Thank you so much for such a great giveaway, Julia--you made my day: ) If you get a chance to stop by and check out her blog, too.
In other news, this is a crazy week for me. So much so that I really shouldn't be taking the time to write this, but I am skilled in the ways of procrastination, so here I am. It's the end of a grading period for me, so I've got papers to grade and enter and stressed out parents and students. Bigwigs from the School Accreditation team are scoping out our campus early next week, so we've got to make sure our classrooms are spiffy and sparkly for our guests, we've got to be dramatic and entertaining and terribly insightful when they step into our worlds for a five minute snapshot that will tell them everything they need to know about education at our school, and we are to make ourselves available for additional meetings both before and after school. Oh yeah--we're supposed to wear our badges, too. (Now where did I put my badge? Seriously. I hate wearing a nametag around my neck that says "If found, please return to CUSD District Office at such and such address. As if someone might find ME, cold and lifeless, or wandering around aimlessly, babbling incoherently, and return me safe and sound to my home at the district office. I know they're really just talking about finding the tag, but still. It's so Big Brother-sounding.)
We are also in crunch time for Nicholas' History Day project, and both girls have stepped up their drama rehearsal schedules, since we are nearing production dates. Danielle also has softball practice (when she doesn't get rained out), which adds to the taxi schedule. Oh--and a birthday party this Saturday (for which I have yet to get a present), and a package to mail out that should have gone out, oh, say, two months ago.
On top of that, this weekend is the Academy Awards, so we're gearing up for our annual Oscar party. I'm really looking forward to that, but I'd be even more excited if some cleaning fairy were to show up and make the house more presentable before Sunday. I'm not holding my breath, though, so I've got to add housecleaning to my list of things to do.
Not that I'm complaining, though. I think I just needed to take a minute to detail what all I needed to do, so that I could prioritize. Thinking out loud, as it were. I'm good now, and I've got to go. I've got things to do!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Post at the Other Site...
If you aren't a follower of my second blog yet, swing by and check it out at Sisters Recommend. We'd love to have you follow our progress, and even join as a reviewer if you'd like!
Friday, February 12, 2010
The Challenge
February 12, 2010
My sister and I have decided the set a goal of reading (and writing reviews) of 25 books each this year. For some people, that's a pretty easy goal, for others a pretty lofty one. For us, I think it's just right (though we won't know for sure until the end of the year). As a way to keep us on track and to hold ourselves accountable, we started up a new blog that will be dedicated to our book reviews and discussions of books.
We are also looking to include any of our friends who would like to take on the 25 Books challenge to add their reviews to the blog as well by becoming regular contributors. If you are interested, you can send me your email and I can add you to the blog. We'll read a variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, pop fiction, classics, teen fiction, etc.--whatever catches our interests at a given time. Some of the reviews will be short and concise, and some of them might take on a slightly longer form (I can be verbose every now and then, you might have noticed.) Either way, we'll let you know what we think of them, and who we think might also like them. If you've read any of the books we post about, it'd be fun to read comments and hear what you thought of them, too.
The book blog is called Sisters Recommend. (Click on the link to check it out.) The blog is in its infancy, so come along and watch us grow as we progress through the year.
My sister and I have decided the set a goal of reading (and writing reviews) of 25 books each this year. For some people, that's a pretty easy goal, for others a pretty lofty one. For us, I think it's just right (though we won't know for sure until the end of the year). As a way to keep us on track and to hold ourselves accountable, we started up a new blog that will be dedicated to our book reviews and discussions of books.
We are also looking to include any of our friends who would like to take on the 25 Books challenge to add their reviews to the blog as well by becoming regular contributors. If you are interested, you can send me your email and I can add you to the blog. We'll read a variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, pop fiction, classics, teen fiction, etc.--whatever catches our interests at a given time. Some of the reviews will be short and concise, and some of them might take on a slightly longer form (I can be verbose every now and then, you might have noticed.) Either way, we'll let you know what we think of them, and who we think might also like them. If you've read any of the books we post about, it'd be fun to read comments and hear what you thought of them, too.
The book blog is called Sisters Recommend. (Click on the link to check it out.) The blog is in its infancy, so come along and watch us grow as we progress through the year.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Baby Come Back
February 9, 2010
I've been unceremoniously dumped. I'm not sure what I did, but here I stand, rejected offering in hand, watching the tail lights fading in the distance.
Actually, that's a fabrication of sorts. I didn't even get to see the tail lights. They were here, and then they were gone--a disappearing act. Maybe I talked too much; maybe I rambled too often. Maybe...well maybe I was just too boring. Too pedestrian in my verbal banter and too narcissistic in listening to my own voice.
Whatever it was, I've lost one of you. It's a small, intimate circle of friends who drop in here now and again, and now it's one person smaller. Is it silly that that makes me sad? I can't help it; it just does. Because all of you who offer me encouragement here have become very important to me. For all of you who have stuck around, even through the rambling and the boring parts, thank you. It means more than you know.
I've been unceremoniously dumped. I'm not sure what I did, but here I stand, rejected offering in hand, watching the tail lights fading in the distance.
Actually, that's a fabrication of sorts. I didn't even get to see the tail lights. They were here, and then they were gone--a disappearing act. Maybe I talked too much; maybe I rambled too often. Maybe...well maybe I was just too boring. Too pedestrian in my verbal banter and too narcissistic in listening to my own voice.
Whatever it was, I've lost one of you. It's a small, intimate circle of friends who drop in here now and again, and now it's one person smaller. Is it silly that that makes me sad? I can't help it; it just does. Because all of you who offer me encouragement here have become very important to me. For all of you who have stuck around, even through the rambling and the boring parts, thank you. It means more than you know.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Let's See How We Did...
December 31, 2009
As the remaining hours of 2009 are waning, I'd like to look back and review some of the goals I set for myself as 2009 was just dawning. Some of these things I absolutely accomplished, some of them I just made progress toward. Regardless, I am not one to beat myself up over Resolutions-Not-Accomplished. For me, it's all about the journey, and any progress I've made down the path I consider a success. Like all goals, though, they really mean nothing unless you re-evaluate every now and again, and this seems as good a time as any. So here's what I set out for myself last January, and how I fared by the end of this year:
New Year's Week Blog--January 5, 2009
Like many people, I am mindful of New Year's Resolutions this time of year. The goals that I have are really about improving the overall quality of the life I have tried to develop for my family and for myself. Here are a few things I'd like to focus on for the upcoming year.
1. I want to really focus on being present with my kids whenever I'm with them. I love spending time with them, and being a part of whatever their current interests are, but I believe there's always room to improve the quality of the time I spend with my kids. Sometimes the deadlines and other obligations move in and steal a part of me, even when I'm trying to relax and just be a part of their world for a time. They are only going to be this age right now, and I don't want to miss any of it because I'm not letting myself be in the moment with them.
So right off the bat we start off with a qualitative, rather than quantitative goal. So did I make it? I certainly like to think so. Could I be better still? Without a doubt. The times I've spent with my kids this year, in their activities, in our car, at Family Dinner Nights, curling up on the couch with them--these are some of the most precious times of the past year. I hope when my kids look back on this time in their lives, they remember Mom being there beside them, cheering them on, unconditionally loving them. Nope, I can't quantifiably say this is true, but life isn't all about the quantifiable. There's a lot about life that you just have to trust your instincts on, you know?
2. I also want to be more consistent with the chores and expectations I have for the kids. Not that they'll be thrilled with this one, but they'll deal with it. It'll be good for them and good for me if I'm not the only one running around constantly trying to tame the relentless laundry beast.
I actually did pretty well on this one. I set a consistent weekly schedule, and the kids (although they grumbled), did a pretty good job of following through. It makes for a cleaner house and a less grumpy mama.
3. I want to travel a little this summer. Doug and I need to take a road trip or two, and gas prices made that a little prohibitive this last summer. I'm crossing my fingers that by the time this summer rolls around again, the cost will still be hovering close to what it is now.
We did manage to squeeze in one weekend road trip up to see Carrie and David in the fall. It's not quite as much as we'd like to travel (we'd like to take some family and couples trips), but it was a great time. Fortunately for us, Lisa did a lot of traveling this way this year, so even though we weren't on the road so much, we still got lots of visiting time with her and her girls.
4. I plan to watch at least 10 classic movies that I haven't seen, and read at least 5 classic novels I haven't gotten under my belt yet. I'll see other movies, and read other books, but I want to catch some of those that have stood the test of time, but somehow I missed.
I watched about ninety movies this year, and I don't know how many books I read. I do know, however, that although I didn't quite reach my 10 classic movies and 5 new classic novels, I did make a concerted effort to include these in my stacks. I have, in fact, read more and seen more classics than I had by this time last year. It's a start.
5. I plan to undertake the immense project of scanning all of my old photos into digital form. Since I am a picture-taking fiend, this will be a massive undertaking. I'll be able to do some during the school year, but I imagine the bulk of it will take place during the summer time, when I have no essays to grade.
I made a dent in my scanned photo project, but this one was much bigger than I had anticipated. I am, after all, a picture-takin' fool who was a little late into the digital game. This will be an on-going project in the coming year.
6. Like most everyone else I know, I'm going to try to eat better, exercise more, focus a little bit more on my writing, and be more organized. These are nebulous goals, and I'm not inclined to quantify them and set myself up for failure. The point is, I'm a work in progress, and I'll continue to focus on these areas in my life. These are less about a number, and more about a general improvement in quality of life. I doubt seriously that these goals in particular will ever be fully attained; they are on-going. As long as I make strides, I'm happy.
As I said in the goal itself, I did not try to set a number or figure on these goals. However, I'm pretty sure that although I did not eat worse, I didn't eat much better, either. I also did not exercise nearly as much as I should have or could have. I'm in serious need of a partner: like-minded, and at a similar level. Also, one who is a night owl, who doesn't feel the need to get up at five in the morning to exercise. Doesn't anybody else exercise at eleven at night?? On a good note, though, I said I'd try to focus more on my writing, and to that end, I started a blog at the beginning of January. My original goal was to put symbolic pen to symbolic paper once a week, and I find that I am ending my year averaging a little more than an entry three times per week. Now it's not literature, I know, and more often than not it's just the inane day-to-day routine of our lives that I write about, but the process is something that speaks to me and gives a forum for the voice in my head. Even if only two people ever read anything I write, at least I am leaving a record for myself and for my kids of who I am, where I am, at this moment in time, in this year in the life. It's one thing that I do for me that I thoroughly enjoy and from which I derive some real gratification.
So there it is--that's how I did. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the journey. As long as I don't stop moving forward, I'm in no danger of falling backward. You've gotta look backward sometimes, though, in order to keep looking forward. Get it? See the title of my blog? Yup. That's me, Looking Forward and Back. Next stop, 2010.
As the remaining hours of 2009 are waning, I'd like to look back and review some of the goals I set for myself as 2009 was just dawning. Some of these things I absolutely accomplished, some of them I just made progress toward. Regardless, I am not one to beat myself up over Resolutions-Not-Accomplished. For me, it's all about the journey, and any progress I've made down the path I consider a success. Like all goals, though, they really mean nothing unless you re-evaluate every now and again, and this seems as good a time as any. So here's what I set out for myself last January, and how I fared by the end of this year:
New Year's Week Blog--January 5, 2009
Like many people, I am mindful of New Year's Resolutions this time of year. The goals that I have are really about improving the overall quality of the life I have tried to develop for my family and for myself. Here are a few things I'd like to focus on for the upcoming year.
1. I want to really focus on being present with my kids whenever I'm with them. I love spending time with them, and being a part of whatever their current interests are, but I believe there's always room to improve the quality of the time I spend with my kids. Sometimes the deadlines and other obligations move in and steal a part of me, even when I'm trying to relax and just be a part of their world for a time. They are only going to be this age right now, and I don't want to miss any of it because I'm not letting myself be in the moment with them.
So right off the bat we start off with a qualitative, rather than quantitative goal. So did I make it? I certainly like to think so. Could I be better still? Without a doubt. The times I've spent with my kids this year, in their activities, in our car, at Family Dinner Nights, curling up on the couch with them--these are some of the most precious times of the past year. I hope when my kids look back on this time in their lives, they remember Mom being there beside them, cheering them on, unconditionally loving them. Nope, I can't quantifiably say this is true, but life isn't all about the quantifiable. There's a lot about life that you just have to trust your instincts on, you know?
2. I also want to be more consistent with the chores and expectations I have for the kids. Not that they'll be thrilled with this one, but they'll deal with it. It'll be good for them and good for me if I'm not the only one running around constantly trying to tame the relentless laundry beast.
I actually did pretty well on this one. I set a consistent weekly schedule, and the kids (although they grumbled), did a pretty good job of following through. It makes for a cleaner house and a less grumpy mama.
3. I want to travel a little this summer. Doug and I need to take a road trip or two, and gas prices made that a little prohibitive this last summer. I'm crossing my fingers that by the time this summer rolls around again, the cost will still be hovering close to what it is now.
We did manage to squeeze in one weekend road trip up to see Carrie and David in the fall. It's not quite as much as we'd like to travel (we'd like to take some family and couples trips), but it was a great time. Fortunately for us, Lisa did a lot of traveling this way this year, so even though we weren't on the road so much, we still got lots of visiting time with her and her girls.
4. I plan to watch at least 10 classic movies that I haven't seen, and read at least 5 classic novels I haven't gotten under my belt yet. I'll see other movies, and read other books, but I want to catch some of those that have stood the test of time, but somehow I missed.
I watched about ninety movies this year, and I don't know how many books I read. I do know, however, that although I didn't quite reach my 10 classic movies and 5 new classic novels, I did make a concerted effort to include these in my stacks. I have, in fact, read more and seen more classics than I had by this time last year. It's a start.
5. I plan to undertake the immense project of scanning all of my old photos into digital form. Since I am a picture-taking fiend, this will be a massive undertaking. I'll be able to do some during the school year, but I imagine the bulk of it will take place during the summer time, when I have no essays to grade.
I made a dent in my scanned photo project, but this one was much bigger than I had anticipated. I am, after all, a picture-takin' fool who was a little late into the digital game. This will be an on-going project in the coming year.
6. Like most everyone else I know, I'm going to try to eat better, exercise more, focus a little bit more on my writing, and be more organized. These are nebulous goals, and I'm not inclined to quantify them and set myself up for failure. The point is, I'm a work in progress, and I'll continue to focus on these areas in my life. These are less about a number, and more about a general improvement in quality of life. I doubt seriously that these goals in particular will ever be fully attained; they are on-going. As long as I make strides, I'm happy.
As I said in the goal itself, I did not try to set a number or figure on these goals. However, I'm pretty sure that although I did not eat worse, I didn't eat much better, either. I also did not exercise nearly as much as I should have or could have. I'm in serious need of a partner: like-minded, and at a similar level. Also, one who is a night owl, who doesn't feel the need to get up at five in the morning to exercise. Doesn't anybody else exercise at eleven at night?? On a good note, though, I said I'd try to focus more on my writing, and to that end, I started a blog at the beginning of January. My original goal was to put symbolic pen to symbolic paper once a week, and I find that I am ending my year averaging a little more than an entry three times per week. Now it's not literature, I know, and more often than not it's just the inane day-to-day routine of our lives that I write about, but the process is something that speaks to me and gives a forum for the voice in my head. Even if only two people ever read anything I write, at least I am leaving a record for myself and for my kids of who I am, where I am, at this moment in time, in this year in the life. It's one thing that I do for me that I thoroughly enjoy and from which I derive some real gratification.
So there it is--that's how I did. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the journey. As long as I don't stop moving forward, I'm in no danger of falling backward. You've gotta look backward sometimes, though, in order to keep looking forward. Get it? See the title of my blog? Yup. That's me, Looking Forward and Back. Next stop, 2010.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Now I Know
After weeks of being behind, I'm finally caught up with my Google reader! (Some of you may have noticed comments on posts from three or four weeks ago--sorry for the delay in catching up with everything that's been going on.) I was tempted to just wipe the slate clean and start from scratch, but I just couldn't do it--I didn't want to miss out on anything!
So now I'm current, up-to-date,. and in the know. Time to fill up that Google reader again; get writing!
So now I'm current, up-to-date,. and in the know. Time to fill up that Google reader again; get writing!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Showin' Some Love
Thanks so much to all of you who stopped by and offered words of wisdom or encouragement after my last post. Those days are, luckily, few and far between, but they tend to loom large over the rest of life when they do happen. I am happy to report that the next day (and the next, and by all accounts, this one as well) went much better. I'd even go so far as to say they were downright pleasant! Monday was Monday, but I'm back to enjoying my job (and my students) again. Kids have much shorter memories than we do, it seems.
The first one is the One Lovely Blog Award. My friends Mrs. C from Next to Heaven and Adrienne over at The Story Board sent this one my way.
On another note, I was thrilled to find that some of my new-found friends have awarded me some love in the blog world. (I'm still pretty new here, and these are my firsts. Very exciting, especially since I really love reading the blogs of these particular people!)
The first one is the One Lovely Blog Award. My friends Mrs. C from Next to Heaven and Adrienne over at The Story Board sent this one my way.The Rules: 1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.2) Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
(Oh gosh--I'm not sure I can tag 15! I think I'll combine these two, and take a happy medium. If you're on my reading list and I don't happen to tag you this time around, feel free to tag yourself! All the blogs on my list (see sidebar) are fabulous. That's why they're on my list!)
I was also pretty excited to see the 7 Degrees of AWE-SUMMMM Blog Award sent to me by the equally awesome Mrs. C over at Next to Heaven and KeKeLynn at A Look Behind My Eyes. When you get a chance, head on over to all of these blogs for some fun, funny, and insightful reading.
The rules for this one? List seven things that make me awe-summm and then pass the award on to seven other people who I think are fabulously awe-summm.
1. I am married to my high school sweetheart, who fills me with joy and makes me laugh every single day. Actually, we dated in high school, went our separate ways, and then met up again, many years later. In the interim, I had married, had three children, and gotten divorced after sixteen years. Life is funny.
2. I am an incredibly loyal friend. If you need me to back you up, I'm there. My friends are my friends for life.
3. I've been teaching at my current school for 19 years--since we opened our doors. (Of course, I started when I was seven years old.)
4. I might not win the Amazing Mom of the Year award, but I am raising three incredible, creative, bright, big-hearted, beautiful children who I adore with every ounce of my being.
5. I'm a picture-takin' fool. I'm a big believer in living in the moment, but I'm also a big believer in recording those moments. I want my kids to be able to share those visual memories with their own kids someday.
6. I really, truly try to look for the best in people. Sometimes you have to do a little more digging, but it's there in everyone. I want to be thought of as the one who brings out the positive in others.
7. I made a committment to myself to write more this year, and begin putting down on paper (so to speak) the stories of our life. This venue, and the people who have taken the time to stop by and share in those stories, have been a big encouragement to me in that regard, and I'm glad to say I have, in fact, kept this promise to myself and will continue to do so.
Tag, you're it:
These blogs are fabulously awesome for humor, wit, family-ness, and wisdom. Sometimes all at the same time! Please stop by and say hello. Tell 'em Donna sent you.
Sassy Cass at Sassy and the Boys
ReRe at Re-Ramblings
Kate at sauciewee
Coco at Coco's Cuckoo World
Brandi at Living & Loving in Tampa
Steph at The Adventures of Jon and Steph
Yaya at Yaya Stuff
Mrs4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time
Mama-face at Blog-Ignoramus
Reinvent Dad at Reinventing Dad
That's it for now. Happy Thursday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
