books read in 2013

well, this year was a considerably small reading year for me. i was busy. lots of things going on. way more than normal number of nights going to bed without reading at all. i hope 2014 catches back up!

i typically post about books that i've read every year. see past years here. 2012. 2011. 2010. 2009.

here's what i read this year: i'll go back and rate them again, without going to my official goodreads rating - based off my current memory.

• My Story by: Elizabeth Smart [22] ****
• Heft by: Liz Moore [21] ****
• The Rent Collector by Camron Wright [20] *****
• The Namesake by: Jhumpa Lahiri [17] ***
• To Kill a Mockingbird by: Harper Lee [16] *****
• Can You Keep a Secret? by: Sophie Kinsella [15] ***
• The Storyteller by: Jodi Picoult [14] ****
• Looking for Me by: Beth Hoffman [13] ****
• And the Mountains Echoed by: Khaled Hosseini [12] ****
• The Language of Flowers by: Vanessa Diffenbaugh [11] ****
• The Orchardist by: Amanda Coplin [10] ****
• Crazy Little Thing by: Tracy Brogan [9] **
• Jane Eyre by: Charlotte Bronte [8] **
• Beautiful Ruins by: Jess Walter [7] **
• The End of Your Life Bookclub by: Will Schwalbe [6] ***
• The Light Between Oceans by: M.L. Stedman [5] ****
• Before I Die by: Jenny Downham [4] **
• The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by: Ayana Mathis [3] ***
• The 19th Wife by: David Ebershoff [2] ***
• Sharp Objects by: Gillian Flynn [1] ***
• The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells [18] ****
• The Cuckoo's Calling by: Robert Galbraith [19] ***

favorite books: The Rent Collector, The Storyteller, The Light Between Oceans.

i boldied any books that got a four star or higher rating - cause i would highly recommend them to you! 

books read in 2012

• A Long, Long Sleep by: Anna Sheehan [#11] ***
• And When She Was Good by: Laura Lippman [#27] ***
• Becoming Sister Wives by: Kody Brown and Wives [#26] ***
• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys [#20] ***
• Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by: Chelsea Handler [#36] **
• Crooked Letter Crooked Letter by: Tom Franklin [#2]****
• Dark Places by: Gillian Flynn [#38] ***
• Defending Jacob by: William Landay [#23] ****
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer [#13] **
• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh [#3] ***
• Gone Girl by: Gillian Flynn [#33] ***
• Good Grief by: Lolly Winston [#5] ***
• Insurgent by Veronica Roth [#18] ***
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by: Mindy Kaling [#10] ***
• Kris Jenner ... and All Things Kardashian [#12] **
• Let It Go by: Chris Williams [#37] ***
• Love Times Three by Joe, Alina, Vicki and Valerie Darger with Brooke Adams [#4] ***
• Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by: Helen Simonson [#6] ****
• My Horizontal Life by: Chelsea Handler [#25] **
• Prized by: Caragh M. O'Brien [#9] ***
• Reached by: Ally Condie [#35] ***
• Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by: Beth Hoffman [#32] ****
• The Book Thief by: Marcus Zusak [#39] ***** [one of my all time favorite books!]
• The Casual Vacancy by: J.K. Rowling [#34] ****
• The Dovekeepers by: Alice Hoffman [#22] ****
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by: Stieg Larrson [#17] ***
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by: Stieg Larrson [#16] ***
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by: Stieg Larrson [#15] ***
• The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins [#14] ****
• The Maze Runner by: James Dashner [#21] ***
• The Night Circus by: Erin Morgenstern [#19] ****
• The Personal History of Rachel Dupree by: Ann Weisgarber [#1] ****
• The Things They Carried by: Tim O'Brien [#29] ****
• Tortured by: Caragh M. O'Brien [#8] ***
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand [#31] ****
• Variant by: Robison Wells [#7] ***
• Where We Belong by: Emily Giffin [#30] ***
• You Are The Love of My LIfe by: Susan Richards Shreve [#28] ***

by my count - that makes 39 books. my goal was 40. the last 2 weeks, i had a really hard time getting into books. i started and didn't finish about 5 books. oh well - it was close! again - i'm not going to link up to my goodreads account - i'm rating them as i remember right now. if you want to see my goodreads/immediate response to the book, go there. 

favorite books of the year: Crookied Letter Crooked Letter, Defending Jacob or The Night Circus... oh and Saving CeeCee Honeycut.

here's the last few years: 2011, 2010, 2009

books read in 2011

• 1. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese ****
• 2. Kindred by Octavia Butler ***
• 3. Love, Lust & Faking It by Jenny McCarthy **
• 4. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli **
• 5. Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill **
• 6. A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal ****
• 7. Decoded by Jay-Z **
• 8. House Rules by Jodi Picoult ***
• 9. Matched by Ally Condie ****
• 10. Pioneer Woman Black Heels to Tracker Wheels by Ree Drummond ***
• 11. The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams ***
• 12. The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt ***
• 13. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier ***
• 14. The Actor and The Housewife by Shannon Hale ***
• 15. Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland ***
• 16. Bumped by Megan McCafferty ***
• 17. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe ***
• 18. I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak *****
• 19. Bossypants by Tina Fey ****
• 20. Everlost by Neal Shusterman ***
• 21. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling *****
• 22. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling *****
• 23. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling *****
• 24: A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard ***
• 25. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling *****
• 26. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling *****
• 27. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling *****
• 28. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling *****
• 29. The Underdog by Markus Zusak **
• 30. Fighting Ruben Wolfe by Markus Zusak **
• 31. Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak **
• 32. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles ****
• 33. Room by Emma Donoghue ****
• 34. Divergent by Veronica Roth ****
• 35. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs **
• 36. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom *****
• 37. Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres **
• 38. Letters in the Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears *
• 39. Crossed b y Ally Condie ****

like in years past, i am going to re-rate them based on my memory of them today. they might be different from the rating i gave them on goodreads.  i'm ok with that. if you're not, tough. :) 

looking back, aside from re-reading favorites like harry potter, i'd have to say that my top 3 favorite books from 2011 were: the kitchen house, rules of civility, and cutting for stone. if i had a fourth, i'd say a lucky child. my top three youth fiction: divergent, matched [and crossed, which is #2] and i am the messenger.

here are links to other years: 2010, 2009

happy new year!!!

hogwarts math

so, i'm reading harry potter - the whole series - right now. i'm at the end of 3. yesterday, for some reason, i started thinking as i was reading about how many kids are at hogwarts. i was thinking about it and reading at the same time. trying to do too many things at the same time. 

here's my mentality:

5 boys joined Gryffindor the year Harry did. Probably about 5 girls joined, too...  Although, I can only think of Hermione, Lavender & Parvati. 

So about 10 new kids per house each year. 4 houses. 7 years. What I really meant to say was "7 times 4 is 28, right?" keep in mind that i'm still reading as i'm doing this mental math. but what came out was: "what's 4 times 10?" in a yell. so really, it was, "WHAT'S 4 TIMES 10?" garrett didn't even skip a beat before he yelled right back at me "FORTY!"

we both laughed so hard. in fact, i laughed so hard i drooled. the way it came out of me, garrett knew that it was a mistake, but he couldn't help but give me some sh!t about it.

what is wrong with me? poor mikey. his mom is a loon. 

p.s. i highly recommend what i'm doing. reading all of the books again. after i finish each book, i watch the movie. and move on. i am loving it. it might become a summer tradition.

here's a little picture i just found when i google searched "hogwarts" images...

oh and this post by my friend, jori - LOVED IT.

do not read if you haven't seen the movie.

see how tricky i am, not even telling you what movie? you should know. you just should.

seriously. if you haven't seen the movie. don't read this post. i'm not giving you anymore warnings.  come back and chime in when you've seen it.

i can't believe it is all over. i was going to wait to see it for a week or so, to miss all of the crazies. but then everyone on facebook was seeing it and it made my skin crawl. i've never been patient. and then we accidentally got tickets for friday, instead of saturday. i wasn't disappointed. i loved the movie. it was very well done.

my friend posted about her thoughts on the movie. i'm copying and pasting my comments to her post. she was kind enough to just include her thoughts in her comments. so as not to spoil it for anyone. i'm not so kind.  here's what i said: 

*i loved mcgonagall... i cried pretty much in every scene - everything she said. i leaned over to garrett & said that the teacher in me has always loved her so much.

*i loved hermione & ron's kiss.

*i didn't like the voldefetus thing. i don't remember it from the book & it was icky.

*i loved neville taunting the death eaters/bad guys on the bridge. i loved him all along. that little orphan always had a soft spot in my heart.

*i think they could've shown a little more about what a jerk james potter was to severus snape.

*i also didn't like how frumpy ginny was at the end. and i loved ron's gut. happens to the best of us, weasley!

*i'm sad that it is all over. i can't wait to see it again. probably in theaters - for sure before mikey was born, but it will be pre-ordered on amazon, FOR SURE!!!

this movie has prompted me to read all of the books again. and as i finish the book, i'm going to watch the movie. we'll see how long this takes me - will i watch #7.2 in the theater again or at home on dvd? i'll let you know.

now, it is getting late & i'm going to go climb into my bed and start on chamber of secrets again.

monster jammies make my world go round

•  garrett had a business trip to austin last week. i am so jealous that he gets to see heather and her kiddies so often now. one of these trips, mikey & i are going with him. 
• i still hate being away from him. we're joined at the hip & i wouldn't have it any other way.
• i went on my first trip with mikey. alone. to holly's in st. george. we had a grand time. my mom also came to town. connor and will loved mikey. he loved them. now mikey is getting a little cold. slight fever. runny nose. a little congestion. still smiley. just extra tired. 
• yesterday, shawnie was driving through town and we met her and her boys for lunch. i love that girl so much, so thankful she was one of my roommates freshman year. 
• last night, we met megan and cory for dinner and then went to the provo library for an evening with markus zusak, the author of one of my all time favorite books, the book thief. [if you haven't read it yet, you clearly don't love me. and something is definitely wrong with you.] he was charming and witty, and i could've sat and listened to his australian accent forever. thank you, thank you, thank you megan. another one of my favorite people - another one of my roommates from freshman year. 
• i really lucked out with roommates @ ricks.
• friday night, i got some new nail polishes. i painted my nails. it is all part of my start-looking-better- program. next week, i'm going to get serious about a gym membership. i also got a cute new shirt at costco. i'm going to try to fancy up my style just a tidge. i always wear very plain shirts and jeans. not super femme. at holly's this week, i was impressed on how cute she looked just for going to target. part of my problem is that i literally have 4 shirts that fit that aren't stained right now. so. aside from doing a lot of laundry, my choices are limited. i'll never be super fancy like hojo, but i can jazz it up a little. 
• i'm reading pioneer woman's book. i'm enjoying it. she's funny. i love the heat in that book.
• i decided to corner round project life. getting caught up was in itself a little project. but i'm sooooo glad i did it. 
• i woke up this morning with body aches and a headache. i'm skipping church because mikey is still sleeping and it is half way through our first hour. i feel that when your baby is sick, you shouldn't wake him up. even for church. we're both having a relaxing day. i am pretty sure we won't regret it.
• my dad got home from moscow. thank heavens, no injuries this time. i like having him on american soil.
• today is my punky's birthday. my niece. she's 8 now. i can't believe it. through the thick and thin of the last decade, she's always been nothing but a source of pure joy for me. when i was down, all i had to do was be around her and all of my problems just slipped right away. when she was a baby & someone knocked on their doorbell, she shook in anticipation that it might be me. nowadays, we mostly do special sleepovers... i still just love her.

books read in 2010

last year, i posted about the books i read in 2009. and i rated them - fresh out of memory, sorta like the kind of lasting impression they made on me, not necessarily exactly the same as i rated them on goodreads. i'm going to do the same thing again. [again, i'm bolding the 5 stars.] here goes:

books read in 2010:

• 1. In Defense of Food An Eater's Manifesto By Michael Pollan **
• 2. Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler**
• 3. Fablehaven #4 Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull****
• 4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett*****
• 5. Honolulu by Alan Brennert****
• 6. A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates***
• 7. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford****
• 8. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon***
• 9. Unwind by Neal Shusterman****
• 10. Fablehaven #5 Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull*****
• 11. Lottery by Patricia Wood****
• 12. Cold Sassy Tree bye Olive Ann Burns****
• 13. I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali***
• 14. Speak by Laurie Anderson***
• 15. Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien****
• 16. Fire by Kristin Cashore***
• 17. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak***** [an all time favorite]
• 18. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins*****
• 19. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins*****
• 20. Scout, Atticus, & Boo by Mary McDonagh Murphy***
• 21. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins**** [can only give this guy 4 stars... :( ]
  
• 22. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee *****
• 23. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith****
• 24. Little Bee by Chris Cleave****
• 25. The Dilapidated Man by Patricia G. Stevenson*
• 26. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe****
• 27. The Baby Bible***
• 28. Baby 411 by Denise & Alan Field****
• 29. Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi****
• 30. The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt****

all in all, i read a lot of good books this year, but only The Help [as a new read, besides repeats] really stood out as a fantastic book that i read this year. interesting.  Unbearable Lightness was incredibly interesting, too - i've always been a fan of Portia's.

celebrate we will

thanks jori for telling me about this book, i loved it. i loved hearing what everyone else loved about my favorite book. it has inspired me to share To Kill a Mockingbird with a few of my favorite people, too. i'll share more details on that later... but if anyone wants to borrow it, i'm happy to share. i love when other people are interested in mockingbird.

2 things about August 24th

dino shoes

my days away from turning 14 year old neice, Emma, made these for my baby. they reminded her of the dinosaur from one of her favorite board books as a little girl. i can't wait to put them on my lil' dude. she also gave us the book. what a thoughtful, talented girl. i love my family.

heaven HELP me

So I'm started reading this book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett last night. I'm on page 24 right now, so I'm not very far into it, but I'm absolutely loving it. Already, I find miss Aibileen totally endearing. Not just her, most of the characters I've met.

I just have to share this little part, cause it made me snort. Aibileen's no good husband ran off with some girl named Cocoa like 20 years ago. Aibileen's best friend Minny is full of piss and vinegar and I think we'd be friends. Aibileen's got this prayer book that she writes in to be smart. Aibileen and Minny were walking after church talking and Minny says, "Week after Clyde left you, I heard that Cocoa wake up to her cootchie spoilt like a rotten oyster. Didn't get better for three months. Bertrina, she good friends with Cocoa. She know your prayer works." [any grammar errors were left, as this is a direct quote from the book. I'm not just writing poorly.] Apparently Bertrina and Aibileen haven't been friends for years, but now Bertrina needs some blessing & is trying to ask to make it on Aibileen's prayer list.

oh my goodness. I love it. don't worry, I didn't spoil any major plot lines for you. the book is 444 pages long & I'm only on page 24. i love a good book like this. I'm so excited to keep reading.

my manifesto wrap up

i finished that book. it was interesting. honestly, not my favorite book i've ever read... i'll admit i skimmed some parts. but i really did like the author's voice. great voice. [funny that we're doing voice in writing right now at school. too bad my 2nd graders wouldn't get this book.] i loved his sense of humor. i'm going to share a few of the pointers that i got out of the book.

• buy whole foods. not processed foods. if we're shopping at the supermarket [which is where i shop... i have yet to branch out into the land of farmer's markers, but i'd like to] we should be shopping the perimeter of the store.
  
• anything labeled "healthier" or "new & improved" probably isn't & we should avoid. we need to focus more on moderation and portion control. as we've just joined weight watchers again, portion control is a big part of my life right now. it's not that i can't eat certain things, it's that i just shouldn't eat the whole pan of it. baby steps here.
  
• eating mostly plants. i definitely realize that i need to do more veggies. i'm going to make a goal of trying a different/new veggie every week. this week i'd like to re-try spaghetti squash. i've had it at my sister's before & really enjoyed it. in this area, for me - it's about branching out.
• don't scrimp on food - it's a big investment & an important one. i use coupons, but everyone knows that coupons are mostly for things that are processed foods. i'm going to try to take this to heart. i'm going to try to save money on toiletries with coupons & focus more on buying fruits and veggies and the basics while at the store.
  
• food i buy at the store should have no more than 5 ingredients and i should avoid high fructose corn syrup. karo syrup. which i fell in love with this winter with all of the caramel goodies. it's a good thing we don't eat caramel all year long. at least in 2010 we won't be.
• he also talked about keeping eating & food social. we shouldn't be eating in the car, or at our desks, etc. since marrying G, that's been an easier one. but sometimes we eat and watch tv... i'd like to focus on eating and talking, not eating and watching. eating isn't supposed to be just to survive, we're supposed to enjoy it.
• we shouldn't eat anything that our great grandparents wouldn't recognize. we need to get back to the basics. frozen dinners - while convienent, not something my great grandma would've made.
  

books read in 2009

• i have enjoyed listing the books on my sidebar this year. i will do it again next year. i will also put stars next to the books now as i remember them. i won't match them to the stars i gave them on goodreads... i want to see what i thought of them after it all. also, i'm bolding the 5 stars for all of my lazy readers. but i would also really recommend 4 and 3 stars, too.
• 
  
• 1. Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich ****
• 2. Sarah's Key by Tatiana deRosnay *****
• 3. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroberwski *****
• 4. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne ****
• 5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer ***
• 6. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama **
• 7. Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian ****
• 8. The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo ***
• 9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins *****
• 10. A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb ***
• 11. Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult ****
• 12. Illegitimate by Brian Mackert **
• 13. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent ***
• 14. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling *****
• 15. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal ****
• 16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling *****
• 17. The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling ***
• 18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins *****
• 19. East of Eden by John Steinbeck ***
• 20. Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris ***
• 21. Graceling by Kristin Cashore *****
• 22. The Abortionist's Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde ***
• 23. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See ***
• 24. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull *****
• 25. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown ***
• 26. Fablehaven Rise of the Evening Star Book Two by Brandon Mull *****
• 27. Elly My True Story of the Holocaust by Elly Berkovits Gross ***
• 28. Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague Book Three By Brandon Mull *****
• 
  

an eater's manifesto:

i have to read this book, In Defense of Food, by monday for my bookclub. all of my sisters have read it. they all seem to enjoy health more than me. not that i don't want to be healthy, but i enjoy my gluttony a little more than them, i suppose. but as i start a new year, a year hopefully that becomes a very important one, i will continue on with my fight against my own self to become more healthy. not necessarily to lose weight, as i'd like to gain betweeen 25 - 40 by the end of the year, but maybe to work on my double chin, my huge arms, my ever growing belly. scratch the belly, that's where i want to grow. but i want to grow a baby, not just fat.

moving on - i hope this book inspires me. to "eat food. not too much. mostly plants." for all of you non believers out there, just remember that i did grow in places besides my pant size. i gave up caffeine. most of us never thought we'd see that day, including me. i can grow. i can!

bring on 2010, with a healthier, fitter hayley! [maybe i'll go break in this book on the treadmill!]

drink the milk

i just finished reading the first Fablehaven book. i'm in the middle of reading the lost symbol for bookclub. and i feel a little bad because i am sure that book is a good one. one of my students gave me the fablehaven book at the end of the school year. i'd heard really good things about it, but hadn't gotten around to reading it. until about a month ago, when i decided to read it to my students. my kids have loved it. and so have i. they beg me to read it whenever we have a moment to spare. they even went so far as to buy me book two and three during our book fair. i just hope we have time enough to read them all this year.

the author lives in utah. and yes, he is a much better writer than someone else who went to byu. he's actually been to my school, i think.

i highly recommend this book. or series. it won't disappoint.

i hope they make a movie. i smell another harry potter blockbuster.

now only if i could decide: finish reading the lost symbol and then read the rest of the fablehaven books... or read fablehaven and then try to have the lost symbol done by the first of december. better do the lost symbol first. thanks for helping me think that one out.

UPDATE: check this out!

mini report.

i know people have been losing sleep over what is going on in my life. so i thought i'd update here this morning. students are writing [thanks heather b for reminding me about the writing kits we got a few years ago. i'm using it in kim's class & will be using it it my class when we track back on] and i felt the need to do a little writing of my own. or typing. whatev.

i've got a zit on my face the size of kansas. it hurts. luckily my hair covers it most of the time. momma no likey that my new birth control pill clearly doesn't fix the acne situation.

we finished painting the guest room last night. gotta toot my/our own horn. i love the color we picked. i can't wait for this weekend when we're going to do our bedroom. my back is sore, my knees feel like they're on fire from kneeling, and i feel so tired in the morning - but i'm sleeping like a rock.

we're getting our new carpet a week from today. i can't wait to get everything all settled again. projects done will be a nice status update. i think the carpet will look fantastic with the paint we picked. and our already existing furniture.

i'll post pictures maybe tonight of the one bedroom. don't worry, i've been photographing every step of the way. cause it is a huge change & i wanted it documented.

i love east of eden. fantastic book. but i'm not getting through it very quickly. i would highly recommend it though! just don't read it when you're in the middle of huge projects at your house.

p.s. i was laying down some heavy sarcasm when i said that you were dying to know what's been going on. i'm sure most people would rather not know all of my updates, especially when it comes to bodily functions... just be thankful all i shared today was my zit status. nah, i'm kidding... the bowels haven't been fighting me too bad lately. there. i did it. you know what? just be glad i'm not posting a picture of said zit. [yes dad, my blog is my pseudo, cyberspacing dinner table. sorry to disappoint you.]

confessionals

probably shouldn't admit to all of this, but... i've never been one for being too private.

• when i hear stories about garrett as a kid, i get so excited. i want a little boy just like him. he wrote things on walls... oh, these stories absolutely melt my heart. he bopped kids in the nose with trapper keepers when they bugged him. he tricked his teachers & was extra sassy about it. sometimes i make him retell me the stories & just sit and laugh as he tells them. the teacher in me should be worried... but i'm not. don't get me wrong... if we have a little boy, we'll have our hands full. but i absolutely want it to happen & can't wait for it. this is not an announcement.
• i'm subbing & having fun. i'm off track for 4 weeks this time. 3 of the 4 weeks i'm subbing. i'm subbing for 2 different friends and i don't think i could do it if i didn't know the people & know beforehand that they'd leave me good plans. so far, so good. i'm slightly worried that when i come back to my class in october i won't be refreshed... but i plan on optimizing my one week offf. sleeping in, reading as much as i want to. no bras or makeup until 4.30 everyday. [garrett, don't hold me to this one. but i will brush my teeth.] i will not committ myself to anything during that week. except reading and sleeping in. and i will love it. and if and when i get frustrated to be working during my off track time, i keep reminding myself that i'm going to take my favorite person to my favorite city in march & then i get over it.
  
• we cleaned house this weekend. we de-cluttered. it didn't get ugly, but my 'michael' mood came out. and i gotta say, i love it. the house is clean. it is straightened up. my back might still be hurting from it, but i'll live. and i'm kinda being a nazi about leaving anything out. but, i've emptied the dishwasher a few times. i've picked my own clothes up off the floor & not just to put them in a laundry basket. i've decided that it is easier to maintain cleanliness than to get swamped in messes. dad, i think that lesson might officially have worn off on me. you should be proud. i wish you could come see it. now if only i could get caught up on my mary kay paperwork & get my desk cleaned/organized. that might be my one project for the week off.
  
• i'm reading East of Eden finally. i've heard it's a fantastic book & i'm enjoying it. but it's not intense like Catching Fire, and I put myself to sleep at night pretty quick. i like reading. sometimes i don't like reading "quality" as much as i should. but i'm enjoying this book. it's huge though. i will hopefully finish it before my week off. but if not, i've got that week.
  
• i have been taking my medicines for a little over a month now. i for the most part feel so much better, i can't believe it. it's almost like feeling like a normal girl again. ha ha ha - everyone's probably thinking "she's never been normal," you're so funny.
• can't wait for fall tv to start. it's almost as exciting as my clean house.
• we're looking into replacing our carpet. and painting a little. and maybe knobs for the cabinets. if you can't move up, you replace & improve, right?
• this has been discussed a few times recently & i wanted to publicly notify everyone of my stance. when texting/emailing/chatting - when people say "lol" it pretty much makes me want to backhand them & delete them out of every technological communication form. yes, i feel pretty strongly about it. mom, "lol" means "laugh out loud" and don't use it. if you must express your laughing, use "hahahaha" or something along those lines. or i might be forced to hurt you.
  

can't wait for august 14th

i thoroughly enjoyed the book "The Time Traveler's Wife" & every single time i see the commercial for the upcoming movie, i cry. i can't help it. i enjoy rachel mcadams. i enjoy eric bana. i think the movie will be splendid. i can't wait to go see it. i will be there opening day. i hope i'm not disappointed.

helen lester, ewe crack me up!

Helen Lester is the author of one of my favorite little series of books - Tacky the Penguin. Well, yesterday my kids & I went to the library at our school. I like to pick a few books, too - cause I get sick of reading the same books I've got year after year. I saw a book I haven't seen before... The Sheep in Wolf's Clothing. I thought I'd give it a whirl, cause I've never been disappointed in Helen's ways. Sure enough - I was not disappointed today, either! Check it out! She always manages to make me smile. I love her play on words, too.

all you need is sugar!

if you're not having a swell day, as previously mentioned, i wouldn't recommend reading this book to a bunch of kids. especially if you have any softness in your heart for teachers. more so, if you've had any kind of connection to someone having cancer in your life...

otherwise you might cry like a baby. like me, today.

don't get me wrong. i love this author. in fact, i loved this story. i just sobbed my way through it. might've even been considered the ugly cry - i just don't know, i didn't see myself in a mirror.