ten things tuesday

So now I'm in the first week of Summer Vacation.  I thought I would revise this.

This is the first week of the fourth quarter of school.  I don't know where the year has gone.  I thought I would revisit the goals I set for the year in August and see how I'm progressing.

1)  Nominate students for even more opportunities for them to grow and learn, especially on a state-wide or national level. I have done this with great results! As of June 12, this has been a success!  Several students are at summer institutes for leadership, civics, and are representing my school well!

2)  Lead my department to teamwork.  Instead of four people in the same department, I want to be a four-part unit, working toward common goals.  This is going to be a major effort since the three people have very different classroom experiences and expectations. *sigh* this has not been easy, but I'm working on it So, this was not as successful as I had hoped.  It will be on my goal list for next year, too.

3)  Keep up with my grade book and make materials accessible to students online and in physical copy. I've done this!  This was a big success!

4)  Have a successful school-wide Mock Election. This was a huge success! I'm planning, now, to have a voter registration drive and an off-year election.

5)  Put a cap on letters of recommendation.  I will write fifteen. I wrote more... I even wrote one for next year.

6)  Submit the revised Advanced Placement US History syllabus I wrote over the summer before Christmas. uh... nope This is something that doesn't actually have to happen

7)  Empty one tall and one short file cabinet.  Out they go! One short one is empty, and I'm almost done. A tall one. Alrighty — I've done this!  I emptied out two tall file cabinets and four short file cabinets and they have been removed from my room!

8)  Reorganize the bookcase next to my desk so it holds materials I use instead of being a repository for stuff I never touch. this is done! I have hung certificates of AP credentials on the wall where the bookcase was.  

9)  Try one activity or strategy that is far out of my comfort zone.  I have done this with every class! This was a fun goal!

10)  Build stronger relationships with administrators, work besties, and my mentee.  Foster relationships with teachers of other departments. I've done surprisingly well with this! I had some meaningful conversations with students at the end of the school year--I would definitely say I accomplished this!

finished reading

A heartwarming story about grief, second chances, and finding your home--sprinkled with a little romance.  Imogen is a bit ditzy, and life happens to her instead of her creating her life.  I liked that her love of art blossomed into a career, and I was cheering her on as she met with the flamboyant publisher.  Gabriel is curmudgeonly with a soft center.  Their awkward encounters were cringy.  The secondary characters of the charming country village were amusing and quirky without being stereotypical.

From the publisher:

From the author of The Littlest Library—a heartwarming novel about a widowed children’s book author who moves into a cottage in the English countryside and finds herself face-to-face with the handsome and brooding blacksmith who lives next door.

In her books she can write “happily ever after”— but real life? That’s another matter…

For children’s book author Imogen, an idyllic life in the English countryside seems like the perfect fit for her and her husband. But when tragedy strikes, Imogen is left widowed, and finds herself moving into Storybook Cottage alone with only her monstrously narcissistic cat for company.

After discovering she is pregnant, Imogen grows determined to embrace a new start in Middlemass, with its duckpond, cricket matches and village fêtes. The only thing Imogen can’t seem to shake is her neighbor—a brooding, artisan blacksmith named Gabriel—who she can’t quite decide is friend or foe. That is until she realizes, thanks to an arcane clause in her deeds, that Gabriel— not just an artist, but lord of the local manor house— has the power to take her home and leave her completely broke.

Devastatingly, he seems keen to do exactly that. Yet, Imogen finds herself drawn to him nonetheless. And in her darkest hour, Gabriel may just be the bright spot to save Imogen in more ways than one.

currently

I am...

Reading: Storybook Ending by Poppy Alexander

Listening to:  nothing

Loving:  the beginning of vacation--when it still feels temporary

Thinking:  I really don't want to overpack for my Virginia trip

Feeling:  excited

Celebrating:  summer!

Grateful for:  my sisters and their families wanting to spend time with me

Enjoying:  I got a lot of chores done this morning and I'm enjoying a leisurely afternoon

Weather:  78° and mostly cloudy, although the sun is shining now

A quote I want to share: 

finished reading

This is indeed a love story.  Jane, Abe, their son Max, and Central Park are the central characters of this character study.  The narrative thread is uniquely written--more fragments of conversations and memories than action.  Yet, the characters are fully developed, and Central Park is lovingly included.  I learned a lot about the Park, and even though I have been there, I want to explore more.  

The audio narrator is a favorite; however, I wish it had been read by a male narrator, since the majority of the narration consists of Abe's recollections.

From the publisher:

An intimate and lyrical celebration of great love, great art, and the sacrifices we make for both

For fifty years Abe and Jane have been coming to Central Park, as starry-eyed young lovers, as frustrated and exhausted parents, as artists watching their careers take flight. They came alone when they needed to get away from each other, and together when they had something important to discuss. The Park has been their witness for half a century of love. Until now.

Jane is dying, and Abe is recounting their life together as a way of keeping them going: the parts they knew—their courtship and early marriage, their blossoming creative lives—and the parts they didn’t always want to know—the determined young student of Abe’s looking for a love story of her own, and their son, Max, who believes his mother chose art over parenthood and who has avoided love and intimacy at all costs. Told in various points of view, even in conversation with Central Park itself, these voices weave in and out to paint a portrait as complicated and essential as love itself.

postsecret

 PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. I like to post one that speaks to me each week.

sunday stealing

 

Click the icon to play along

Complete the Thought

1. I wish someone would ... find a cure for what ails me*

2. When I order Chinese food ... I generally get combination plates

3. I know it's not everyone's favorite activity, but I actually enjoy ... listening to audiobooks

5. A major pet peeve of mine is ... drivers that do not go a consistent speed

6. I remember when my grandfather ... would say things in a serious tone--it wasn't until I grew up that I realized what he said was actually hilarious

7. I am not fazed at all by ... getting shots in my eyes, I'm glad I'm used to it

8. Long car rides ... are more fun when I'm the driver

9. I don't understand the fuss over ... wedding showers if the couple has lived together for a long time

10. When I'm home alone ... I am happiest

*I am currently undergoing treatment for macular degeneration

finished reading

Although I figured out the final twist, there were satisfying twists that I didn't anticipate, which kept me listening into the wee hours.  The way the narrative threads weave together from different points in the characters' lives was an interesting structure.  The characters are rich and real, no stereotypes here.  There are moments of such tender love.

The audio narration is very well done.

From the publisher:

“The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.”

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. But when Beth’s brother-in-law shoots a dog going after their sheep, Beth doesn’t realize that the gunshot will alter the course of their lives. For the dog belonged to none other than Gabriel Wolfe, the man Beth loved as a teenager—the man who broke her heart years ago. Gabriel has returned to the village with his young son Leo, a boy who reminds Beth very much of her own son, who died in a tragic accident.

As Beth is pulled back into Gabriel’s life, tensions around the village rise and dangerous secrets and jealousies from the past resurface, this time with deadly consequences. Beth is forced to make a choice between the woman she once was, and the woman she has become.

A sweeping love story with the pace and twists of a thriller, Broken Country is a novel of simmering passion, impossible choices, and explosive consequences that toggles between the past and present to explore the far-reaching legacy of first love.

saturday 9

Posting this on Friday because I'm heading to the Maine Whoopie Pie Festival on Saturday!

I Will See You In C-U-B-A

 Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. This song was chosen in honor of Father's Day.

 

1) In this week's song, Lucie Arnaz encourages us to hop a ship and join her in Cuba. Is your passport up to date? YES!  Have passport, will travel!

2) She sings that Cuba is a great place to enjoy wine and Panatelas. Do you like the smell of a good cigar? 

no

 

3) Lucie said her Latin Roots CD represents "the rhythms of my soul" and is a tribute to her father, Desi Arnaz. Cuban-born Desi starred on Broadway and in nightclubs but was best known for co-starring in and producing the 1950s sitcom, I Love Lucy. When you think of I Love Lucy, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Lucy's antics

 

4) While Lucie's parents – Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball – are famous for their TV work, Tony-nominated Lucie has found her greatest success on the stage. She inherited their love of performing, saying, “My parents were always happiest when they were working.” What have you inherited from one or both your parents? (It could be anything from your work ethic to your eye color.) I followed in my father's footsteps careerwise

 

5) Though "Ricky Riccardo" often mangled English on I Love Lucy, Desi's English was very good. Lucille Ball admired his facility with languages and encouraged him to speak Spanish to their children so that they would be bilingual. When you were growing up, did your family speak any language other than English?  My mum spoke "Valley French," which is a Quebecois French

 

6) Desi Arnaz often performed "I Will See You in C-U-B-A." Is there a song that reminds you of your father? memorable performances from Dad's acting days was "To Dream The Impossible Dream" and "If I Were A Rich Man"

 

7) After Lucie's parents divorced, Lucille Ball remarried and Lucie got a stepfather, Gary Morton. Lucie appreciated how positive Gary always was about Desi. Decades later, when she married a man who already had children, Lucie said she better understood what a tough role stepparent can be. Did you have a stepparent? Are you a stepparent?  Yes to having stepparents--I am very close to my stepmother

8) As a single dad, Desi lived south of Los Angeles in Del Mar. Lucie and her brother, Desi Jr., spent school vacations there, going to the race track, bowling, and fishing with their dad. Share a happy memory from one of your school vacations (Christmas, Spring Break, or Summer). I'm just starting summer vacation '25!  I hope it's epic!  

 

9) Father's Day began in Washington state. In the early 1900s, Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd listened to her minister deliver a sermon celebrating Mother's Day and devoted herself to similarly honoring fathers. A century later, more money is still spent annually on Mother's Day. Why do you suppose that nationally we still make more of a fuss over Mother's Day than Father's Day? Dads are traditionally and stereotypically seen as bumbling and ineffectual, not worth celebrating

finished reading

This is a complex study of relationships--mothers and daughters, sisters, and lovers.  There are three narrative arcs: Cassie, Zoe, and Zoe's daughter Cherry, and multiple timelines are featured. The structure worked well, although I was more intrigued by the story of Cassie and Zoe's meteoric rock 'n 'roll rise and the ultimate unraveling of their lives.  

I didn't care for Zoe--I couldn't connect with her and wouldn't want to be her sister or friend.  A lot of her choices were self-motivated, and she came across as a sociopath. There is a lot of body shaming, which was repetitive and overdone (I got it, I got it!).

I enjoyed this book.  A lot.  Dakota Fanning's audio narration is nuanced.

From the publisher:

Sisters Cassie and Zoe Grossberg were born just a year apart but could not have been more different. Zoe, blessed with charm and beauty, yearned for fame from the moment she could sing into a hairbrush. Cassie was a musical prodigy who never felt at home in her own skin and preferred the safety of the shadows.

On the brink of adulthood in the early 2000s, destiny intervened, catapulting the sisters into the spotlight as the pop sensation the Griffin Sisters, hitting all the touchstones of early aughts fame—SNL, MTV, Rolling Stone magazine—along the way.

But after a whirlwind year in the public eye, the band abruptly broke up.

Two decades later, Zoe’s a housewife; Cassie’s off the grid. The sisters aren’t speaking, and the real reason for the Griffin Sisters’ breakup is still a mystery. Zoe’s teenage daughter, Cherry, who’s determined to be a star in spite of Zoe’s warnings, is on a quest to learn the truth about what happened to the band all those years ago.

As secrets emerge, all three women must face the consequences of their choices: the ones they made and the ones the music industry made for them. Can they forgive each other—and themselves? And will the Griffin Sisters ever make music again?

three on thursday

 

Thing one:  school is out for summer!!!!!!!!!

Thing two:  I leave for Virginia in eleven days!!!!!!

Thing three:  the whoopie pie festival is Saturday and my oldest sister and I will be there!

wordless wednesday

 

currently

I am...

Reading: I just started The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner (read by Dakota Fanning)

Listening to:  the Fleetwood Mac channel

Loving:  for the past week, I have been using my time wisely at school and getting a LOT done!

Thinking:  I am trying to figure out where I can park my car while I'm in Virginia so I can avoid the daily $12 parking fees at the airport

Feeling:  I woke up at 3:15 this morning and just wasn't sleepy--but I'm sleepy now!

Celebrating:  2.5 days until vacation!

Grateful for: it hasn't been too hot and humid

Enjoying:  I am taking my time and enjoying the end of this school year--previously, I would be frantically moving piles of stuff from one place to another and avoiding the chaotic mess but without the clutter, I can focus on tasks that need to be done

Weather:  68° and mostly sunny

A quote I want to share: 

finished reading

Not my usual genre, but still a steamy fun read.  I kinda wish the steamy romantic interludes were secondary to the story because I enjoyed the development of the characters and their family rivalry. There is folklore, mythology, and fantasy involved in the backdrop of Scotland. Because there are dual narrative threads, from both Keyanna and Lachlan's points of view, the audio is more like a play than straight narration.  Lachlan might be my new book boyfriend.

On a side note, Lachlan's voice actor is my new favorite Scotsman! Flint Park better record more books pronto!

From the publisher:

Keyanna “Key” MacKay is used to secrets. Raised by a single father who never divulged his past, it’s only after his death that she finds herself thrust into the world he’d always refused to speak of. With just a childhood bedtime story about a monster that saved her father’s life and the name of her estranged grandmother to go off of, Key has no idea what she’ll find in Scotland. But repeating her father’s mistakes and being rescued by a gorgeous, angry Scotsman—who thinks she’s an idiot—is definitely the last thing she expects.

Lachlan Greer has his own secrets to keep, especially from the bonnie lass he pulls to safety from the slippery shore—a lass with captivating eyes and the last name he’s been taught not to trust. He’s looking for answers as well, and Key’s presence on the grounds they both now occupy presents a real problem. It’s even more troublesome when he gets a front row seat to the lukewarm welcome Key receives from her family; the strange powers she begins to develop; and the fierce determination she brings to every obstacle in her path. Things he shouldn’t care about, and someone he definitely doesn’t find wildly attractive.

When their secrets collide, it becomes clear that Lachlan could hold the answers Keyanna is after—and that she might also be the key to uncovering his. Up against time, mystery, and a centuries old curse, they’ll quickly discover that magic might not only be in fairy tales, and that love can be a real loch-mess.