Lactaid Milk.
Scott bought this on a whim...we don't usually drink lactose-free milk, but he picked it up one day and was amazed by the taste. So we started buying it. It's great in coffee, and in cereal (which I'm NOT buying anymore because it's time to go cereal-free...there's been too much of it for dinner lately).
Being a "friend of the show". For $3 a month, I get extra Popcast episodes, including the Bachelor recaps and access to all past Friend of the Show episodes. Give Grace podcast. A big focus on this podcast is infertility, but it hones in on so many other struggles. Chronic illness, shame, depression, failure....it's is SO refreshing to hear women talk about how they are able to cope by sharing their stories.
Amazon Fire TV Stick. Since DirecTV has failed us greatly, I was never so happy to mail that box back to them. We replaced that with a $25 antenna that sticks to our window and picks up 20 local channels for free, and the Fire TV Stick that was $40 and gets us exactly what we need. We pay $10 a month for Netflix, $6 for Hulu, and then $15 and $9 a month for HBO and Showtime (when I feel the need to have those add-ons, which is not all the time.)
Manh(a)ttan. This is a show on Hulu. There's two seasons and we watched both in one weekend this month. The last aired in 2015 so they're not making more but it's put together so well. This is would be my #1 recommendation concerning TV so far in 2018.
It's about the group of scientists who lived on a make-shift army base in New Mexico while they were developing the atomic bombs. The characters are practically lifelike and it's mostly a true story. What would you recommend from January?
Because if we can't get good ideas from other bloggers about what to read, eat, buy, and write, what can we get? Aside from friendship :) This came from both Jana and Rebecca.
^^They're supposed to be hunting. Instead, they took a nap.
3 foods I hate & refuse to eat 1. Salmon 2. Meatloaf 3. Hardboiled eggs and/or pickled eggs/beets
3 foods I love & eat more than I should 1. Chips. They've always been my favorite food. I have my favorites, of course, but generally just chips (not plain ones though). 2. Cereal. 3. Pepsi. I've gone through phases where I've been able to cut out soda altogether. This is not one of those times. I just crave a good Pepsi all too often.
3 chores I avoid until absolutely necessary 1. Cleaning the basement 2. Hanging up clothes in my closet 3. Mowing the field
3 chores I always do 1. Dishes. There's always so many dishes. 2. Vacuuming 3. Wiping off the counters. I can't function if the counters aren't spotless. 3 wardrobe staples 1. Leggings. 2. Vests 3. Brown boots. 3 things I don't spend money on. 1. Salon haircuts #greatclipsforever 2. Anything on FB boutique sites/Craigslist/etc. I don't browse for things I don't need online. 3. I generally don't buy a lot of books.
3 things I do spend money on 1. Pedicures 2. Purses 3. Good pens/planners
3 TV shows I frequently watch in reruns 1. The Office 2. Friday Night Lights (before they took it off of Netflix :( 3. Weeds
3 movies I love that might surprise you 1. Inglorious Bastards 2. 27 Dresses 3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
3 genres I generally don't read 1. Sci-Fi 2. Dystopia YA 3. Romance 3 things I'm looking forward to this year 1. Re-doing parts of the Wyoming house. 2. Cleaning out and packing up my classroom (I'm just ready to condense my career into boxes and move on for now.) 3. Selling this house and condensing our life into one town. This year, I think, is all about prioritizing and condensing. Feel free to take this for your own post! Hope you had a relaxing weekend!
It's week 4, right? I can never remember so we'll leave the question mark there for now.
Honestly, I started reading spoilers in September so I feel like this season has been on f-o-r-e-v-e-r and a day and that time is further stretched out by the fact that Arie is so darn boring.
What's not boring is listening/reading recaps though, so a current favorite was last week's TV & Jelly. If that doesn't make you cry tears of laughter, I don't know what I can do for you.
1. When I wonder what these women see in Arie...
For the women who are 30 years old+, sure. I can see why they might like him. Why does a 22-27 year old have any interest in a 36 year old who looks like he's 42? I know Nick was 36 last season (and I'm no fan of Nick), but he never looked 36. He still looks 29/30 to me. Arie definitely looks 42 years old.
2. Again, following the live-tweeting is my favorite part of this show. I will say that Krystal doesn't bother me NEARLY AS MUCH as Corinne did. Corinne was entitled and Krystal doesn't come off that way. She's annoying but that's about it.
3. I like the I Hate Green Beans recap podcast with Lincee and Some Guy in Austin. It's hilarious. In reference to Lanco (the band that played on Monday night), Some Guy made a comment along the lines of "Dan + Shay minus Lanco". And then I'd say plus Connor Duermit BECAUSE NO ONE ACTUALLY KNOWS WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE. Because this show has the worst music and the randomness of it shows. People are chosen to perform without any thought. Kind of like how Arie was chosen without any real thought.
4. I actually don't mind Bekah M., but Arie is not for her. I wonder why she applied for the show. She doesn't seem to have the classic famewh*$& characteristics of Lauren, Lauren, Lauren, and Lauren (I don't actually know if all the Laurens share that characteristic...I just figured it'd be funny to type out that name four times to emphasize how ridiculous this show is).
5. If you're not reading Reality Steve (you should be), he posted a HUGE (H-U-G-E) spoiler this week. If you like knowing what's happening, go check out his site. (I won't link it and tempt you.)
Please tell me you've read the spoiler. I need to talk to someone.
Last Thursday, I posted some happy stuff and things. This week, I'm going in the other direction. There's actually (because let's be real) a lot of things that annoy me and I can't talk about them all online because that would be...immature? I don't know. We'll just say that this is a more politically correct list of things that annoy me. If you want the non-PC list, just ask :)
I. The state of Colorado.
A. The DMV.
I haven't been to the DMV lately, but here's the basics on how it works in Colorado. The state claims they have no other way to collect revenue, so they must charge extra on top of extra for vehicle registration and license plate title fees. There is no emissions testing here because we live in the west and they don't do that.
For my 2013 Toyota RAV4, it costs about $200 to register each year. The state of Colorado tells me that's because they have no other way of collecting money. I find this to be highly suspicious, and furthers my theory that this state literally doesn't know how to function, concerning governing.
For context, in Wyoming, it's a flat-rate of $30 +a fee for the county. The plan is to re-register all of our vehicles to Wyoming when it comes to be that time this summer.
The cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs think that people, apparently, want to be there more than they actually do. The incline and Barr Trail are popular hiking spots. The city decided that they would start charging people $40 to park to hike because that would help make money for whatever it is they need this money for (they claim trail upkeep). Most people I know in Colorado are teachers and teachers are poor and Colorado teachers are particularly poor because Colorado barely pays a living wage to teachers, when you line it up with the cost of actually living here. In the four states I've taught in, this is the one that is the most unbalanced when it comes to wages vs. COL.
Anyway, people have been refusing to use the lots and pay the $40 and the city can't figure out why. The people in charge claim it's a "complex issue". It's not that complex. You let people park and you allow them to hike. Charge them $5 if you want. If you don't let people into the tourist district of Manitou Springs, they won't patronize the businesses. There's a reason why I only go to Manitou once or twice a year (P.S. They don't even have any good restaurants..just a bunch of jewelry shops). They also say this system of paying $40 for parking "appears to have backfired". That should legitimately be Colorado's state motto: it appears to have backfired. They don't have good ideas for things or systems for making things work. This applies to highways, school systems, etc. They've been a state for a very long time compared to the rest of the west and they still don't understand how it works.
C. As a side complaint, Manitou was the first part of Colorado Springs (they are their own borough) to legalize recreational sales of marijuana. Their school district and roads have benefited from that tax money while the rest of the city just gets to watch. Why don't they use this to maintain the trails? Side note: I don't know why this bothers me so much because I will not live here more than another few months and I'm not even a resident. I think when you've been some place for 4 years, all the cracks start to show. If you've ever lived anywhere else (even "backwoods" places like Missouri or "outlandish" places like Alaska), it's shockingly evident that Colorado does not have it together.) II. DirecTV.
A. Last week, they continued to call me twice a day, every day. I answered while the kids were at recess one day and said that I would put a 4th grader on the phone the next time they called. I also said that I would never, ever, ever recommend them (despite their reliableness as a TV service) because they were "making it impossible for this military family to cancel". The guy (Nathan) said he'd put me on the do-not-call list and then they did stop calling. Nathan also insisted that my box to pack up my receiver was on the way and it was mailed on 1/10, even though I have an email from 1/3 saying it was shipped. I have an identical email from 1/10 saying the same thing. And, even though I canceled on 12/31, Nathan said my service was not recorded as disconnected until 1/8, which is funny because I paid the final pro-rated bill of $28 before 1/8. Nathan said they would ship me another box. If you go to "track my shipment" on the shipping confirmation emails for these boxes, it says the tracking number is invalid.
B. I still don't have a box. I called on Friday morning and the lady (who seemed much more credible than the account manager buffoons I'd been dealing with, so I'll give her that) said "Oh, we don't ship boxes anymore. You should've gotten a letter with return instructions."
I did get a letter with return instructions. The instructions exactly contradicted everything I'd been told on the phone for the last three weeks. Apparently, I've been shipped two fake boxes that don't actually exist, but she (I don't know her name and I don't care) could not confirm nor deny the existence of shipped boxes, other than to say not to expect them.
C. I also, upon checking these shipping confirmation emails, noticed that they stuck a "t" in the name of my street in my address and that "t" is not supposed to be there. So they've had my address wrong for 4 years.
D. I online-chatted with a person the other day because I got a letter and an email saying I had a 3 cent balance I needed to pay but I can't log in to the website anymore because I don't have an account any longer. They sent me a letter saying they sent an email to DARHOWER@KRISTIN.COM asking me to pay this balance. Well. DARHOWER@KRISTIN.COM is the completely FAKE email address that an account manager made up for me to get me logged into the website weeks ago...so I could pay off my pro-rated bill after I canceled. It's FAKE. As in, it doesn't actually exist. It was created as a log-in, not as an actual email address, but NOW DirecTV has it ON RECORD AS MY EMAIL ADDRESS.
This is how the conversation went with "Cristian" (male or female, I know not). I do know that I never, ever got an email confirmation. It was probably sent to DARHOWER@KRISTIN.COM. I sent this person my real email address after that last line of text you see up there though. Also, $.3 means 30 cents, not 3 cents. That was definitely incorrect on DirecTV's end of the chat.
E. I took the receiver and remotes and whatever to UPS on Saturday and this is the confirmation and tracking information. Just to put it all out there.
III. Mondays are hard and my weekends aren't often super eventful. We could avoid a lot of awkward conversations.
Does anyone else have a headache now? If you have DirecTV, I promise you don't need it. Just start the cancellation process now.
I really debated a weekend post yesterday and then decided not to because all I did was watch TV and read and that's not the *most* exciting weekending I can imagine, but it's perfect for me. Scott hunted most of the weekend as duck season is almost over and, you know, wouldn't want to miss a day. But he took the dogs and I'm happy when they get to hunt.
Sometimes a dog needs to borrow a coat.
Over the weekend, we watched Big Little Lies. As in, all 7 hours in two evenings. I was a huge hold-out with this show this on purpose: I read the book almost 4 years ago and I loved it. It's a listening experience that I still remember because it was just so good. It led me to read the rest of Moriarity's books over a couple of years. I will always recommend her writing just because it's good.
I was holding out because: I didn't like that they changed the setting. The book's charm was that it took place somewhere I'd never been, yet was so relatable. The narrator made that book, and the character of Maddy especially, come alive. I could see what was happening. However, in the end, Monterey was a perfect second setting if one had to be picked. The way this miniseries was shot was beautiful and magical to watch with such attention to detail. Sometimes that can make or break a show*....and this made the show come into its own and be different than the book in a good way.
*I can't watch Parenthood because of the way the camera moves constantly. Also, I can't stand Lauren Graham which is why I also can't watch Gilmore Girls (because of the pacing), which leads me to...
Casting.
I was initially insulted that they chose Nicole Kidman to play Celeste. Or, rather, that they allowed her to play Celeste because she was also a producer and I'm guessing threw a lot of money at the project in the same way Reese Witherspoon did.
In the book, I think I remember, Celeste was described as being younger than Maddy and 'the most beautiful person ever' (or something like that). That is not how I would describe Nicole Kidman. She was FAR too old to play Celeste. I'm not saying she's old or she looks haggard or can't act or whatever (even though that Australian accent slipped out many times). I'm saying that she was not Celeste, as Celeste was originally written.
However, in the end, I realized that this is a show based on a book and she did an amazing job of playing Celeste the character on the show and it didn't have to be the exact same Celeste as the book.
Reese was fine.
The reason I really pulled the trigger on watching it (and adding HBO to my Hulu) was because Adam Scott was in it. That was the deciding factor because I will watch him in anything.
Also, Alexander Skarsgard. We kept calling him the vampire. His days as Eric Northman were showing in this.
The 6 year olds were also perfectly cast.
Shailene Woodley usually bothers me greatly for many reasons, but she was also okay in this.
Overall, this was really well put together.
It also may be worth watching for the:
Music.
I didn't expect to like the music because I'm not a music person, but this was, again, SO well put together.
The theme song is a great fit and just really makes me believe that it doesn't need to be a verbatim copy of the book, after all.
I finished Little Fires Everywhere last night. That's right. I came home on a school night and just sat and read a book because I wanted to finish it that badly.
I started it last week, read it in bed while eating cereal on Friday night, and then spilled cereal all over myself (that was a mess). I read in snippets over the weekend, but then I read for 15 minutes yesterday while the students were reading...if I read silently while they read silently, they're better at it so here's to setting a decent example.
And then I was ticked that I had to go out for recess duty and couldn't keep going.
So I finished it at home and I would whole-heartedly recommend it. I don't remember the last time I felt that about a book (Whew..finally).
I won't post straight up spoilers because it was just suspenseful enough to keep me reading, yet predictable enough to not hate parts of the plotline.
Semi-spoilers in red...if you're haven't read it, skip to the bottom...
I thought Elena was awful. She was terrible to Izzy and had some weird complex. I thought Izzy initially had the issues but NO WONDER with a mother like that.
I wish Lexie had told Brian why their relationship ultimately ended.
I was completely on the fence about Miribelle. I wanted the McCulloughs to have her because they did so much for her but I could see the other sad side of the story.
Good for Izzy. Seriously.
I was thinking about how metaphorical that last page was...the parent/child thing really came full circle and I wonder, really, what would've happened after the book.
I could see a sequel, actually.
So, have you watched Big Little Lies? Did you read Little Fires Everywhere?
Actually, the Bachelor started up two weeks ago so I'm a bit behind in talking about it...
What are your thoughts on Arie? I have none because I never watched Emily's season. He may or may not be as sketchy as the rest of the leads/contestants. Luke Pell was in it for fame, and so was Nick. Those were the options last year. This year, Arie isn't Peter but I don't think that matters. Peter, before he starting IG-whoring himself out, seemed like a good guy. I doubt anyone they choose has the purest of intentions. The funny part to me is that these women all applied when they thought it'd be Peter, and they ended up with Arie. Just like how last year's crop applied when they thought it'd be Luke and ended up with Nick. Too bad, ladies.
But, truth be told, since I read and listen to Reality Steve, I already know who "won" ("won" should always be in quotations when it comes to this show). Do you spoil the show for yourself? I think knowing is half the fun. I will do my best not to give anything away here...
Thoughts so far...
1. I really love Bibiana's hair. And the name Bibiana threw Scott off for a second there but I had a student named Bibiana once so I got it. It means "love". Also, I'm not a nail person, but her nails were great in Monday's episode.
2. Krystal is a character. I feel like they made her into what they needed to move the plotline forward. That being said, she's super annoying and I can't stand her commentary. Honestly, if she wants Arie, she can have Arie. He's not really that much of a prize.
3. When Arie talks to the "girls", he always comes off as a father figure. Like, I can't tell the difference between him and Chris Harrison sometimes. Aren't they, like, the same age? And, ohemgee, that cardigan killed me.
4. I'm a fan of Tia. She's far too interesting for Arie.
5. Do you think Annaliese is afraid of cats too? Or just little dogs you can fit in a purse? And plastic car-like devices that require an electric current leading to the ceiling in order to run?
+When Jimmy comes back on Season 5 of Shameless and tells Fiona he loves her. They are so dysfunctional that it makes me melt.
+Bachelor recap podcasts.
I actually subscribed to pay $3 a month to get the deep-dives and weekly Bachelor recaps from The Popcast just because Knox and Jamie are so entertaining. And because I need 6 recaps a week instead of 5, I suppose. I don't know..that might be #7.
+$8 haircuts.
I love Great Clips so much. I've decided that I would rather pay for pedicures and get cheap haircuts as a compromise.
+There are very few 5-day school weeks left until the end of February. Next week is one of the few.
+Coming home on a Tuesday that feels like a Monday but knowing it's definitely Tuesday, thanks to a 3-day weekend.
+Knowing that I have enough sick days/personal days to take multiple 3-day weekends off for the rest of the school year (not that I WOULD).
1. A classic you've been meaning to read. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. I'll call this a classic. It's the most-read mystery of all time. Who decides what "classic" means anyway?
2. A book recommended by someone(s) with great taste. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. This is recommended by several bloggers so I'll give it a try.
3. A book in translation.Britt-Marie Was Here by Frederick Backman. I don't have a strong "like" record with his books but I like the title of this one and I'll give him one more chance.
4. A book nominated for an award in 2018.Wolf Hollow by Lauren Volk. This is a Newbery Honor book and I can't figure why it was nominated in 2017 and isn't being published until this April. I'm calling it as fitting the category though for that discrepancy. I had to pre-order it. It has a long list of awards on the Amazon page so it'll work.
6. A book you can read in a day. Suggestions??? I'm thinking The Lathe of Heaven because Anne Bogel recommends it as a book you can read in a day...but I don't always love her suggestions (and now I know you're wondering why I'm doing this challenge, right?)
7. A book over 500 pages.The Distant Hours by Kate Morton. This is the most ambitious pick on the list. I'm a fan of Morton but I don't have a great track record with long books these days. Do you have a different one you've loved?
12. A book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own.Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I didn't finish this within my library loan time, so I put myself back on the holds list. I'm currently #48. Then, Kristen generously sent me her copy since she was done with it, so I can read it at my own (snail's) pace! Thanks Kristen! I'll be happy to pass it on to whoever wants it next and is a victim of a long wait list. Let me know!
Any suggestions? I'm drawing a few blanks. Also, are you doing a book challenge this year? I always gravitate toward non-fiction so picking for fiction is so hit and miss for me. I have 4 books on my nightstand (all gifts) and they're all non-fiction.
I'm still on a 3-day week (thankgoodness), so here's some current happenings...
Listening to...The Give Grace podcast is a recommendation I plan to give this month because it's so oddly uplifting. They talk about all kinds of issues and only have a backlog to August, so I binged most of it this past week.
Laughing at....Dogs Being Basic is my new favorite account to follow.
Taking.... a conceal and carry class. I went with my friend, because she just got herself a pistol for Christmas and wanted to take the class to get a permit. I've had a pistol since 2012, but in Alaska you don't need a permit. It's essentially been useless to me ever since (not that I go many places where I would choose to take it in Colorado). But I figured I could take the class and get it out of the way for $65. I, unfortunately, won't be able to apply for the actual permit in Colorado because I'm not a resident. Our military orders are for Wyoming. Maybe I'll make that a spring break project.
Wearing... my new Kamik boots. I threw the other ones away because they had actual holes in them and are, therefore, useless (which is what I keep telling myself because those boots and I had been through a lot together...so many snakes, so many four-wheeler rides, so many dog walks, etc...).
Irritated at... Direct TV. They call twice a day, every day. Sometimes I answer just for fun. They keep asking me to "come back". It's really, actually, a bit pathetic because if I wanted Direct TV, I would still have Direct TV, which is what I keep telling them.
Not quite finishing....Murder on the Orient Express. My loan expires tomorrow. I'm at 36%. Sigh.
Organizing...everything. Knowing we've got 5ish months before we move allthethings to Wyoming has made me purge and clean and get rid of the things I know I don't need (i.e. a pair of boots with holes in them).
Watching...Well, I've been watching The Bachelor and Scott (with his time off of school) has been up at night watching TV after I pass out around 9pm. I've caught snippets of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (it gets better after the first episode..I was not a fan initially) and Manhattan. We bought a $25 antenna for local channels and an Amazon Firestick for everything else. This was the best decision I could've made (canceling Direct TV) to start off 2018.
And...
Lamenting...
We can't even talk about it. I think this is more me than Scott, though.
I actually had a really good birthday. I didn't have any expectations because it was a weekday and it's January, so you never can tell.
1. To start with, I'm really enjoying my new haircut.
I got a haircut the other day and it's much shorter than I expected it to be but I'm kind of glad she stopped me when she did...I was ready to cut another half inch off. Maybe next time.
Every once in a while, I'll get a cut that's pretty short (for me) and the last time was summer of 2015, so it was time to try it again.
2. We had sushi for dinner and that vegetable tempura roll was amazing. Next time, I'm just getting two of those. Scott told me I could get a Pepsi.
3. I wasn't about to bake myself a cake or anything so we just stopped at Culver's on the way home.
4. Scott decided to out-do himself. My iPad died a couple of weeks ago. It was from Christmas 2011, a second generation one. So not the very first iPad Apple made, but the second one. It'd been slowing down for years but couldn't handle the last update and just wouldn't connect to anything or go past the welcome screen after being updated.
I didn't need a new iPad, but I think Scott did know how much I used it so here we are.
5. I had a shockingly good birthday at school too. I wanted to take in cupcakes but couldn't because of allergies. However, the kids remembered it was my birthday, and every one of them gave me a hug. I'll take that any day. I do have a really good group of kids (I'm not going to say the kids are why I'm leaving teaching for awhile :), so I'm grateful I chose this to be my last year for now. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this year. Hopefully you have a 3-day weekend ahead of you as well! Even coming off of 2+ weeks off...I need it!
1. I rarely paint my nails. If I do, it's in the winter. My toenails are always kept up from May to October though #becausesandals.
2. Unless I'm feeling really motivated in the morning, I make the bed at night, before I get back into it.
3. The last two times I've thrown up have been in my own car. Talk about a confession. Three times on the way back from a Mexican restaurant after too much tequila (Scott thought it was hilarious) and then three times on the way home from surgery I had last spring, because anesthesia always makes me throw up. Again, talk about a confession...and there's some vast difference in circumstances as well.
4. I don't watch The Walking Dead anymore because it's dumb now, but my favorite character will always be Shane. He was the best.
5. I don't see myself ever getting a tattoo.
6. I don't own an ironing board. I put a thick towel on a counter if I need to iron something (which is like 3 times a year).
7. I usually have to be forced to watch an animated movie. I find so little about them appealing.
8. It took me almost 32 years but I managed to watch (and enjoy!) every Star Wars movie in the past year.
9. When I return home from a trip, whether it is midnight, 2am, or 2pm, I must unpack because I can do anything else. I realized this about myself when we lived in Alaska. I would stay up all night putting things back where they belonged before I could go to sleep. The time difference helped with that as well.
10. Today is the first day back for students after winter break. I decided, many months ago actually, that this will be my last year in the classroom for the foreseeable future. I'll be done after this spring, as of now. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to a break to just live for a little bit without this outside focus on school. Being a teacher is not a job; it's a lifestyle. I've taught for 8 solid years, in 3 states, and in 4 schools. It's been an interesting career so far and I have no idea where I'll go from here or what I'll do next. The reasons for me taking a break are many but the long and short of it is that we are relocating in early 2019 and me being tied down to a teaching job for only half a year next year isn't ideal.
I don't have big plans for today...it's a Wednesday, after all...but I have a 3-day weekend ahead and I might experiment with a cake and we'll go out to eat. I haven't even bought myself a present yet...I'm still trying to decide what I want. I bought Uggs for Christmas (though, ironically, it's too warm to wear them in Colorado..maybe next year in Wyoming) so I was thinking of investing in a Pilates program.
Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny ColganB-
I wanted a Christmas book and this was a Kindle Daily Deal so I tried it for a few dollars. I wasn't overly impressed and didn't think it was as great as Sophie Kinsella claimed it to be on the cover. Kinsella knows how to write compelling English characters and this wasn't quite that. Kerensa's storyline and Polly's mother's storyline were the most interesting parts and I did care enough to finish and figure out how it ended, but I wouldn't say it's a must-read. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny ColganDNF
I really tried with this book. I liked parts of the beginning and thought it would get better but I didn't actually care about any of the characters so I just stopped halfway. At least with Christmas at the Little Beach Street Bakery, I cared about the characters.
The Cornerstone by Angela WatsonB
I picked this up (bought on Kindle) because I wanted to read her entire catalog of books just to make sure I didn't miss something. I digested it in small chunks over the last few months. I would highly recommend this to a new teacher. Once you're a teacher who is already set in your ways or you have multiple systems in place, you likely don't need this. It was, for me, a "fun" read, though. If you've been a teacher for awhile, I'd recommend Unshakeable. This book was also written quite a few years ago, so some of it (the technology talk) is a little dated, but the message is still there.
Allll that being said, this will be the last teaching book I read for awhile. I need to start picking up some more fiction. The Marriage Pact by Michelle RichmondB-
This was fine. It wasn't amazing but it was good. I liked the character of Jake and Alice was okay. Very unlike me, so I didn't relate or identify (or even sympathize).
I will say I cruised through the first 50% of this book and couldn't put it down. The back half got a little repetitive and I didn't love it. It could've been shorter, maybe.
That rounds out my 2017 books. As I said before, I didn't really impress myself, but 60ish isn't too bad either (it may have been 61...I'm not going back to count..again). Have I read anything yet in 2018? No. I have not. What was the first book you chose to read in 2018? Linking up with Jana and Steph!
I hear it snowed on the east coast. Not here. ^Dogs with their kill.
We got back to Colorado at 11:30pm on Wednesday night. This was because we left Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, drove only to Richmond, Indiana because Scott was coming down with something (The flu? A chest cold? We still don't know.), and spent the night. The next morning, we left there at 7:30am and it was a pleasant 6 degrees out. I told him I was going to drive us home that day because I refused (refused) to unpack the dogs at a hotel for another night. He was skeptical, but he had to let me drive because he couldn't. He slept almost all day while I drove 14 hours straight. I listened to every downloaded episode of The Popcast that I had. We stopped for coffee, for gas, for lunch, for gas, for coffee, for gas...and then he drove the last two hours home. It was a good 16 hour day. I will say that the stretch between Colorado Springs and Topeka, Kansas is hellish. It's boring and it lasts forever and if you live there, I apologize for saying that. The only thing worse than western Kansas is probably eastern Colorado (they are exactly the same thing). And we actually gained time, driving west, so technically it was an 18 hour day.
I think I went to bed at 2am because I was unpacking and then couldn't sleep.
Thursday and Friday blended together, but I went through the car wash twice to get all of the east-coast salt and grime off of it (they don't use salt to combat snow/ice in this part of the country). Also, I cleaned out the inside and then went to the grocery store. Scott spent Thursday on the couch but, on Friday, he decided that he was going to use the weekend to replace the flooring in the guest room. I wasn't holding up my hands in protest as I'd been asking him to do this for almost 4 years but I thought it was an odd choice of timing, what with the fever and congestion.
But he ripped out the carpet and the padding and threw it in the landfill pile where it belongs. He bought this laminate, which is actually made of vinyl and finished most of the floor this weekend. We also plan to put it in the bathrooms. Hopefully I can post a finished picture soon. I think Scott was legitimately just looking for anything else, aside from carpet, to put on that floor. He really doesn't like installing carpet. That's 4 years of avoidance.
I took down Christmas decorations and did a dozen loads of laundry.
We watched a few episodes of Black Mirror and some of them are fascinating.
Sunday was hunting day for the dogs and I went to Target, got a haircut, and then made a quick run to the grocery store to prep for the week (sigh).
If anyone else feels like this ^ about Monday, it's okay. Jett does too. He refused to retrieve and hold the bird that he flushed out so Scott helped him get the feel for it. He was not happy. But I think that's the perfect Monday face.
1. Yesterday, I posted a few goals I have for this year. Words of the year. Did you pick one? If I had to pick, it'd be faith for 2018. Why faith? I literally couldn't think of another word that would better define how I need to shift my attitude and focus my thoughts. Faith is what I need to rely on and what I need to believe in. As with most years lately (uh, most years ever), we have BIG decisions to make and changes to embark on. Faith is a good place to start.
2. Onto a different topic, my first act of 2018 (actually at 8pm on New Year's Eve) was that I canceled DirecTV. I had our bill whittled down to $60 total (with fees and all) and they slowly started adding onto it and it was $130 last month. No. Not acceptable. I called and was like I'm done and I already feel so much more free.
Then, I woke up in the middle of the night and wondered how I'm going to watch the NFL playoffs.
Who has the Amazon Fire Stick? Does it do local channels?
3. My sister-in-law took these pictures of the dogs. She has a phone with a 3D-ish portrait feature.
4. We made it back to Colorado late Wednesday night and this was my traveling attire for most of the journey.
If you want to get some glares, you walk into a Columbus, Ohio Panera wearing a Penn State sweatshirt (me), Penn State hat (Scott), and Steelers sweatshirt (also Scott).
5.
We figured out on the ride home that, although the dogs are in the back when we're driving, Jett jumps up into the front seat when we stop and get out. When we get back in the car, he will NOT get in the back...it was determined that this was because Scout likes to overlord over the back and does not want him back there and he snips at him and growls. Poor Jett.
I'd be lying if I said that I could easily remember what day it is these days...with Christmas and traveling and not working, I've lost track. Monday is back to work and I'd also be lying if I said I was looking forward to it.
Hopefully the weekend goes by reallllllllly s.l.o.w.l.y.
I like the term 'goal' more than I like 'resolution'.
1. See one new movie each month. I don't know if this will actually happen, given that I don't generally seek out movie theaters. But I figure I can also watch ones on Netflix that I've never seen. The idea is that I never watch movies anymore and always feel behind in a pop culture sense because of it. I would like to see Oscar and Golden Globe nominees because I do like award shows. I figure winter will be an easy time to start strong because it seems easier to sit on the couch and watch movies in the winter. We've also found a close, small, very nice theater in Laramie. I'm excited to try out those reclining leather seats. We can even walk there in the summer.
2. Write one in-depth book review each month.
I like writing about books in the sense that I want to tell you what I thought of the book and why you should read it. This will encourage me to find books worth reading AND to tell people why they should read it. It would be in addition to the usual SUYB posts on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. I don't know where in the month I'll put it though.
3. Really dig in to writing about teaching.
I need to do this. I have so many word documents and google docs and notes and blog posts about teaching; they need to be compiled and finalized into something I can self-publish or at least share with others. The issue is that after teaching all day and grading papers/planning at home, I rarely feel like writing about teaching. This might have to happen once school is out. But it will definitely happen. I heard a quote on a podcast that said "It's not a question of IF you will write the book, it's a question of WHEN you will write the book" (paraphrased and I don't remember the podcast). That is a true statement in this case.
4. Try making macarons.
I had to look for a few recipes to see what I'd be getting myself into with this, but it seems SO simple when they do it on The Great British Bake-Off. I need to try it. This is probably the recipe I'll try.
So, what about you? Lofty goals for the year? Or are you coming up with something manageable and attainable?
