Seedfolks

Although not an official book on my Summer Reading list, Seedfolks is a book I've been meaning to read ever since I saw the author, Paul Fleischman, speak at a conference last year (To read my thoughts on the conference, click HERE). I finally got around to reading it this week. Seefolks is about several neighbors living in a low socio-economic apartment building in Cleveland, OH. This building is located next to a vacant lot strewed with trash and discarded junk. This lot changes one summer after a young girl decides to clear a small section and plant a few lima beans. This inspires one of her neighbors to clear a small plot for herself and plant her own seeds. Neighbor after neighbor decide to do the same thing until the lot has been completly transformed from a trash-filled lot to a garden paradise. The lot isn't the only thing that is changed by these new gardeners. They, themselves, are transformed from strangers to close friends. The great thing about this book is that it is less than 100 pages and can be read in a single sitting. And, in true Fleischman style, each chapter is written using a different narrator until all the neighbors have told their own story.

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian came out on May 5th, but I just finished it this week. It is the 5th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. This school year I had my students read the first book in the series, The Lightning Thief. This was the best academic decision I have ever made as a teacher. My students loved the book. About 50 of my students finished the book ahead of schedule and went on to read another book in the series. Every copy of the series was checked out of the school library and a parent told me every copy of the series was checked out of the local library. As a class we talked about the novel and Greek Mythology (which the series is based on) constantly, even after we had finished the novel and moved on to read something else. My students even had a count down to the release of book five, The Last Olympian. After May 5th, I had a dozen students who had bought the book. They quickly finished it and passed it on to another student who couldn't afford to buy it themselves. It was great to see!! I loved it. It's what a reading class should be all about.

Anyway, so I finally read it. Although it was not my favorite in the series, it was a great way to wrap up the series. If you haven't started this FANTASTIC series, head to your local library NOW!!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Since I've been in Pennsylvania, I've finished three more books on my Summer Reading list. This post is dedicated to the hilarious novel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney (who was recently voted one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people). All school year long I had seen students (mostly boys) with this book. I had wanted to read it, but just hadn't gotten around to it. As a thank you present, a student gave me a copy of the book telling me, "I LOVE this book," so I knew it had to be one of the first books I read this summer. I'm sure glad I did. It was hilarious.

The novel tells the story of Greg Heffley's first year in middle school. The book is written in a fun font that makes it look like an actual diary. It also has drawings littered throughout it. In fact, the book is advertised as "a novel in cartoons." Kinney perfectly captures life as a middle school boy as Greg deals with his annoying brothers, bullies at school, and problems with teachers, family, and friends.

I highly recommend it for anyone who has worked in a middle school, has children in a middle school, or was once themselves a child in middle school.

PA, Here I Come

I'm off to Pennsylvania for two weeks. I don't plan on interneting at all while I'm there. Try not to cry and miss me too much. (Mom, that means you).

Consignment Shopping

There's a fantastic consignment shop in Midvale called, Home Again. I love it. They have great things there on consignment. Anyway, today I walked in there and fell in love with these beauties:

Vintage glass windows

Same windows, different photo

Now, I usually won't buy something so impulsively. If I see something I want, but hadn't planned on buying, I usually obey the 3 day rule. What is the 3 day rule? Wait 3 days and if you still want it, get it. Well, I walked in, saw them and wanted them. I hadn't planned on buying them so I continued walking through the store. I circled the shop three times and figured that was close enough to waiting 3 days.

I LOVE them!! I think they will make a great faux headboard. I'm planning on mounting them to the wall in my guest bedroom behind the bed. Two of the glass panes are cracked, but I think that adds a little character to them. The best part . . . I got them for $40 each. I couldn't be happier.

Finally, I'm done . . . Well, almost

So, I'm finally done with my picture project. Well, I'm almost done. I have to print off and add four more pictures. Anyways, you'll get the picture (pun intended). To see the process, click on any of the past posts:

• Picture Project - My Sweet Family
• Summer Projects - NOW
• That's a Girl I Used To Go With
• Grandpa and Grandma Ault
• Grandma and Grandpa George
• Grandma and Grandpa Ault (Again)

All the frames. Plus, they're all full (except for 4 pics).

I'm in the middle,
my Grandma Ault is on the left,
and my Grandma George is on the right.

All of these photos are of my grandparents.
The middle two are my grandmas when they were young
The left are of my Grandpa George and the right of my Grandpa Ault.

Me and my siblings.
First it was just me and Kyle,
Then me, Kyle, and Adam,
Finally, it was all four of us - me, Kyle, Adam and Louis.

My Grandparents' weddings.
My Grandma Ault and her wedding party are on the top.
My Grandma George and her wedding party are on the bottom.

The River Between Us

So I finished the first book on my Summer Reading list. I read The River Between Us by Richard Peck. This novel was a great example of historical fiction. It is set in the small town of Grand Tower, Illinois during 1861. The town is right off the Mississippi River, which is usually packed with boats traveling from the South to the North and back South again.

One day, two young women, Delphine and Calinda, arrive in Grand Tower on one of these boats. They are two mysterious young ladies from New Orleans, who have left to avoid any fighting that may come to the city because of the Civil War. Delphine is wealthy and glamorous, while it appears Calinda is her servant, maybe even her slave. These two young women rent out a room from the Pruitt family. The narrator in the story is Tilly Pruit. She lives with her mama, her twin brother, Noah, and her younger sister, Cass. Delphine and Calinda soon transform the lives of the Pruitts, bringing a Southern flair to their small country home.

As the war gets closer and closer to Grand Tower, Illinois, the lives of our characters change more and more. The traffic on the river slows, the town folks begin to believe that Delphine and Calinda (and possibly the Pruitts) are Southern spies, Noah leaves and joins the Union army, and finally Tilly and Delphine leave to aid him and the other Union solders.

This is a great book filled with mystery, love, and life from the Civil War.

D-Day Anniversary

As a huge history buff, I've always wanted to visit the beaches of Normandy and all the historical sites located in this area of France. Can you imagine standing where over 150,000 Allied servicemen (half of them Americans) stormed the French coast to establish the foothold that would end World War II? Just thinking about it leaves me in awe. I can't imagine what it would be like to see it in person.

Today marks the 65th Anniversary of that historic day. President Obama and British PM, Gordon Brown, were in Normandy today to honor the sacrifice of those who fought 65 years ago. I was particularly impressed with Brown's speech. Here are just a few of his remarks:

And now, more than half a century on, we remember those who advanced grain of sand by grain of sand, utterly determined amid the bullets and the bloodshed that freedom would not be pushed back into the sea, but would rise from these beaches below to liberate a continent and save a generation.

This is sacred ground. This day marks the triumph of good over evil, and truth over lies, and the victory of human decency over hatred and the Holocaust.

Those who risked everything here sixty five years ago demonstrated that although tyranny may suppress, it cannot endure forever. They proved that dictatorship may for a time have the power to dictate, but that it will not in the end decide the course of the human journey.

They enacted the belief that as long as one of us is not free, no one of us is free. They made real the timeless values enshrined in the bill of rights, the declaration of independence, the charter of liberty and in the call of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

In doing so they embodied not just the hopes of one age but the dreams of all ages.

So now we must complete our great covenant with the dead of D-Day: our promise that we would build a world worthy of their sacrifice and their heroism.

For how can we say we have achieved all we set out to do, the promise of peace and justice, when the shadow of nuclear proliferation still spreads across the earth? When Darfur is in the grip of genocide, Burma is in chains, Zimbabwe is in agony? When the enemy is not just violence but the mortal threat of poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease and want?

There are dreams of liberation still to be realized, commitments still to be redeemed, and vows to the dead still to be kept. And so we must be as if liberators for our day and for our generation.

For today we are only half way to honoring the pledges we made for a new world. The beacon of hope that was lit with the liberation of Europe must now lead us on. Lead us on to a world, finally delivered from the evil of poverty and the sin of prejudice, where intolerance is never tolerated; where no one suffers persecution or discrimination on grounds of race, or faith, or differences of identity and nationality.

This place of all places affirms that free people can bend history in the direction of our best hopes. So it was on D-Day; so it is today.

Rockin' the Suburbs

"Rockin' the Suburbs" is the theme I've chosen for the summer. Why? I live in the suburbs and I like to rock. I just purchased the above t-shirt so expect to see me wearing it and rockin' out all summer in my suburban neighborhood.

Summer Reading

I've compiled my list of books for my summer reading. If you've read a really great adolescent book and you think I should add it to my list, let me know.

• Uglies/Pretties Series by Scott Westerfeld
• A Time of Angels by Karen Hesse
• Amaryllis by Craig Crist-Evans
• On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
• The River Between Us by Richard Peck
• The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart
• The Shadow Thieves (The Cronus Chronicles) by Anne Ursu
• The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins by Walter Dean Myers
• Temping Fate by Esther Friesner
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
• Pandora Gets Jealous (Mythic Misadventures Series) by Carolyn Hennesy
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• The Maze of Bones (39 Clues Series) by Rick Riordan
• The Curse of the Campfire Weenies by David Lubar
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
• City of Ashes/City of Glass (Mortal Instruments) by Cassandra Clare
  

Grandma and Grandpa George

Here are all of the photos I found of my Grandma and Grandpa George.

My Grandma George as a little girl.

My Grandpa George - even back then he was an animal lover.

I love this picture. It was taken in an old photo booth.
I framed it with the photo of my other grandparents.

My Grandma George.
She made this dress!!

My Grandma on her wedding day.

Their wedding party.
My two older couples on the left are my great grandparents.

My Grandpa as a military man.

Grandma and Grandpa Ault

Here are all of the photos I found of my Grandma and Grandpa Ault. I love old photos. They're so classic and full of history.

My Grandpa as a baby. This picture has to be 80 years old!!
He was a cowboy even back then.

Doesn't this look like it came straight out of a book
about the Great Depression?
This is my Great Grandma Ault with her kids.
My Grandpa is the oldest boy in overalls.

My Grandma Ault. Look at all those freckles!!

Another great photo of my Grandma.

My Grandpa Ault and one of his sailor buddies.
My Grandpa's on the left.

Sailors or Cowboys?
I love this picture because I've always thought of my Grandpa
as the ultimate cowboy. He's always reminded me of John Wayne.

My Grandpa in Mexico.
He was quite the adventurer.

My Grandma Ault on her wedding day.

Their wedding party.
The two couples on the right are my great grandparents.

"Ante Up for MS" Poker Tournament

Today we held our 1st Annual "Ante Up for MS" Texas Hold 'Em Tournament. It was a huge success!! Here are a few pics:

Jordan, Clark, and Alina

The Players

Lesli, Me, and Ronnie

Clark, Ali, Steph, Sandra, and Andrew

Steph, the Ultimate Winner!!

Grandpa and Grandma Ault

Today I recruited Christi to help me scan my grandparent's old photos for my picture project. There are a ton of great ones and I'll post more when I'm not super tired, but I wanted to post this one of my Grandma and Grandpa Ault. See, I eventually found one of him and my grandma, not just "A Girl He Used to Go With."

That's a Girl I Used To Go With

Today I spent three hours with my Grandpa Ault going through old photographs. I'm still working on my picture project and I needed some old photos of him and my grandma. Well, there were tons of pictures of my grandpa, but not too many of my grandma. I'd find an old black and white photo and ask my grandpa, "Who's in this one?" He'd then proceed to tell me who it was . . . a distant relative, an old friend, a neighbor. But the most common response was, "That's a girl I used to go with." That's right, pictures of old girlfriends. My grandpa had dozens of them (pictures and girlfriends). There were more pictures of his girlfriends then there were of my grandma. It was hilarious. I laughed every time he said it. Don't worry, though. I eventually found some great pictures of my grandma. I'll scan them this weekend and post them soon.

LOST (My Love/Hate Relationship)

I know the season finale of LOST aired over a week ago, but I haven't had much time to watch TV, let alone blog about it. Anyway, here's a breakdown of my LOST Love/Hate Relationship.

Love - That Rose and Bernard are happy and alive.
Hate - That Daniel Faraday isn't.

Love - That we finally see Jacob. And that he knows and has interacted with our characters off the island.
Hate - That Ben stabs him.

Love - Everything Richard (okay, mainly just the smoldering eyes).
Hate - Everything Kate (okay, mainly just her fickle nature).

Love - That Jack now believes in Locke and tells Richard not to give up on him.
Hate - That Locke really isn't Locke.

Love - That Sun finds the ring Charlie left for Claire.
Hate - That we still don’t know what happened to Claire.

Love - That Juliet totally kicked some ass on the sub.
Hate - That she's probably dead.

Love - That Sayid knew how to take apart a hydrogen bomb.
Hate - That Sayid was shot.

Love - That Bernard looked lovingly at Rose.
Hate - That Sawyer looked lovingly at Kate.

Love - This season.
Hate - That we only have one season left. And that we have to wait 9 months to see it.

Teacher Appreciation

National Teacher Appreciation Week was this past week (May 3rd - May 9th). I love Teacher Appreciation Week. It couldn't come at a better time. By the time it comes around each year, I've started to question my career choice. But then I get flooded with appreciation and all is right in the world (at least my world) again.

On Monday the appreciation began - I showed up at work and found some nice school supplies on my desk with a message from the administration.

On Tuesday (Cinco de Mayo) we had a catered Mexican lunch and hit pinatas shaped like children. It was awesome. When you hit the pinata, it decapitated the children.

On Wednesday I showed up and found Sees Chocolate on my desk along with a nice letter from my administration. After school the students put on a car wash for the teachers and the PTSA gave us root beer floats.

On Thursday the PTSA provided us with a nice breakfast of bagels, fruit, and juice. Then the administration provided the faculty with a dessert bar during lunch.

On Friday the students made posters expressing their thanks for the teachers and the administration provided us a catered lunch from Midvale's Mining Cafe (delicious). The PTSA also gave each teacher a $25 gift certificate. Mine was to Market Street Grill. Sweet.

I love Teacher Appreciation Week!!

Ante-Up for MS

The Face of MS (my dad, Ronnie)

In order to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis we (Alina, Lesli, and I) are hosting a Texas Hold-em party. There will be about three card playing tables. Each table will be playing for a grand prize. We are asking for a $20 "buy-in"/donation to play. All proceeds will go the the National MS Society. This money will sponsor Alina as she rides her bike in the MS 150 this June. Everyone should come for a fun filled evening of food, prizes, and a little bluffing. (Amateurs welcome!!!)

Date: Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Place: Evil-Lynn's House - Park at SJMS (2700 W. 10400 S.) and enter through the gate behind the Seminary.

To "buy-in" or donate money on-line, click HERE.
To see the facebook invite, click HERE.

Summer Projects NOW

So I had a couple of projects I wanted to get done this summer, but since I'm going to be out of town practically the entire month of June, I thought I better get started. First of all, I cleaned and organized my storage room. I found these fantastic shelves at home depot. I got both of them for under $80!! That's a great price considering the metal one I already had was over $100. Here's a few pics:

My expensive metal shelf

My new cheaper shelf

My second cheap shelf

I also hung the frames for my photo project. Well, almost all the frames. See the big gap on the leftish side. I'm missing two frames that will go there. I think it looks pretty good. I was able to get all 19 of my frames for under $200. Anyways, I don't have any photos in them yet. I wanted to put the frames up before I decided what pictures to put in them. What do you think? As a side note, while I was researching how I wanted to do this, I found a really cool website. I didn't use this company, but I think it sounds really good, so I wanted to advertise it a little: The Perfect Picture Wall.

Directly facing the wall.
I promise the frames look straighter in person.

From another angle.

Mass Hysteria

Have I been suckered by the mass hysteria? I'm actually considering NOT going to Midvale City's Cinco de Mayo Festival because of swine flu fears. Am I crazy? Will my desire for vendor tacos and Mariachi win out over my fear? What do you think?

Summer Blockbusters

Well, the time is upon us again. "What time?" you may be asking. Obviously, it's the time for summer blockbusters. That's right, ridiculously over-budgeted movies with even more ridiculous plots. I live for summer movies and the season officially begins (and when I say officially, I mean according to Mandy) this weekend. So what are the top ten movies I'm most excited for?

1. Terminator Salvation: This movie is going to kick ass!! How could it not with bad-ass robots and an even badder-ass Christian Bale. There's no need to explain my excitement over this movie. Just watch the trailer and you'll be on the same page. If you're not, stop reading my blog - I don't think we should be friends.
   
   
2. Star Trek: So, I'm not a big Star Trek fan, but when I heard J.J. Abrams was directing this movie, I was intrigued. When I saw the trailer, I was sold. I'm also excited to see Zachary Quinto and Eric Bana in their roles. Should be a good one. I'll just need to take my trekky father with me to help translate.
   
   
3. X-Men Origins : Wolverine: Again, there really should be no explanation. X-Men is the best comic book out there and Wolverine has always been one of the best comic book characters. As a bonus, not only do we get the delectable Hugh Jackman, we also get Liev Schreiber. Sweet. I'm also really excited to finally see the character Gambit in an X-Men movie.
   
   
4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Yeah, it's on my list. It's even in the top 5. Although I'm not a die-hard Harry Potter fan, I finally broke down and read the books. This was actually my favorite of all the books so I'm excited to see it.
   
   
5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: I was thoroughly entertained by the first Transformers movie. It fit the two main criteria for a Summer Blockbuster - Ridiculous Budget, Check. Ridiculous Plot, Check. I expect the same out of the sequel.
   
   
6. Year One: So, I had heard about this movie and didn't think I'd see it. That all changed when I saw the preview. I laughed so hard during the trailer, I was crying. I truly, truly hope they didn't put all the funny moments into that 1 minute trailer, but I'm a little skeptical.
   
   
7. Angels and Demons: It's on my list, although I don't have high expectations for this movie. It's hard to get excited for this one when the DaVinci Code was so disappointing. Still, it has some good things going for it. First, the Angels and Demons plot is better than the DaVinci Code's. Second, from the trailers, it looks like Tom Hanks got rid of his ridiculous hair cut. Finally, Ewan McGregor.
   
   
8. Inglorious Basterds: A Tarantino movie about WWII. Did you see what the guy did with Vampires? I can't wait to see what he does with Nazis.
   
   
9. The Time Traveler's Wife: The only reason this movie's on my list is Eric Bana. Hopefully, this is the summer when he finally becomes a full-fledged movie star. He's off to a good start with Star Trek and Funny People. Eric, I hope it's your year.
   
   
10. Taking Woodstock: Well, it has a good cast. Liev Schreiber, Emile Hirsch, Eugene Levy. But the guy to watch is going to be Demetri Martin. Will Martin be able to play the serious role of the homosexual man who helped save Woodstock? I'm an outward skeptic, but a closeted optimist.
    

Arizona Pictures

Over Easter I went to Arizona with my family. I didn't take very many pictures, but here are a funny few of Mitch:

Me and sleepy Mitch

Taken at the Phoenix Zoo.

One night Mitch spent a good 45 minutes running around in a circle. Unfortunately, the video isn't good and he stopped running right after I started filming, but you still get the idea. It was super funny.

A couple still shots of the running. I have no idea why he's wearing a beanie.

Busy Week

This week has been incredibly busy. On Monday I had my annual HOA meeting to attend. Not only attend, but plan and head. I've liked being on the HOA board, but I'll be glad when my time is up - only two more years.

Tuesday and Wednesday were dedicated to getting ready for and hosting a Greek feast at my house. I volunteered to have a few young women over for my ward's International Missionary Dinner. All I had to do was cook an international meal and share a little about a foreign place. Easy, I thought. I love Greece - it's my favorite place. I love Greek food - I can follow a recipe. Well, it wasn't easy. As Alina put it, I went all out in true Mandy fashion.

Anyway, on Tuesday I had to go to three different stores to get some shopping done. I went to IKEA to get some new table chairs. I only had 4 chairs and I knew I'd need more. I also had to go to a Greek market for Greek olives, imported feta, and baklava (I decided to buy not make this one). Finally, I went to Smiths for my remaining supplies. That night I also cooked the meat for my meal. I'm glad I did this because if I had done it all on Wednesday, it wouldn't have gotten done.

On Wednesday, I finished cooking. I made moussaka - it's a bitch to make. It's only the second time I've made it and I don't think I'll make it again anytime soon. It's a delicious casserole with potatoes, hamburger (cooked with onions, garlic, oregano, nutmeg, and cinnamon - Alina calls it "dessert meat"), fried eggplant, cheese, and topped with a cheesy/nutmeg custard. I also made a Greek salad loaded with feta and olives. Finally, I made tzatziki (cucumber dip) to eat with pita bread. My kitchen looked like a disaster and it took forever, but the food was good and the young women liked it, so I say success. Pictures of my cooking success:

Tzatziki and pita slices

Greek salad

Moussaka

Thursday and Friday were dedicated to home improvements. On Thursday, I put a peep hole in my front door. Changed the lightbulb at the top of my stairs. This was a frightening experience. I almost cried the whole time. The only way to do it is to stand on the top wrung of a ladder and use both hands while trying not to fall to your death. I also repaired the bathtub facet. And when I say I did all of these things, I mean my dad did and I helped.

Friday, I did do all the home improvements. I (it really was me) sprayed the weeds with weed killer and cleaned out my window wells. I wanted to pull the weeds this weekend, but with all the rain, I don't know if I'll get to it.

Anyways, this week was exhausting. I did all of this in addition to working a 40+ hour week. Some of you super moms may be used to all this work, but I'm not. I'm exhausted!!

Europe - To go, or not to go?

Europe - So I was planning on going on a big European vacation next summer, but now I'm thinking I should go this year. My reasoning . . . airfare. Airfare prices to Europe have plummeted recently. The vacation I've been planning (for 2010) is to fly into Rome then take a cruise to Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. I check out the cruise package and airfare quite often. The cruise package tends to stay around $1000 and until recently the airfare had been $1800. Well, not anymore, the airfare is now $900!! It makes me think I should go this summer. What do you think?

The problem . . . If I go, I won't meet my financial goal. My current goal is to pay off everything by September so the only bill I have is my mortgage. If I go, that's not going to happen. In fact, I'll be in even more debt because I'll have to charge the vacation. If I end up going next year, I'll be able to use my tax return to pay for the vacation, not charging it. What do you think? Is saving $1000 on airfare worth going this year?

Random Ramblings

I haven't written for awhile so here's a few random ramblings:

• Easter - I went to Arizona for Easter. It was a good time. My entire family went: parents, siblings, Jackie & Carlos, Amanda, and Jeanine's family. All of us stayed in my parents' house. That was a little crazy. We had loads of fun swimming, watching movies, going to the zoo, and attending a Diamondbacks game. All was great until I got the stomach flu. I was so sick. The upside, I came back to SLC without gaining any weight.
• School - I only have 6 weeks of school left. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that those 6 weeks are going to go by extremely slowly. Luckily, my students have been really good this year. I'm going to need to write an entire post on the school year when it finishes so stay tuned.
• Spring Cleaning - I did a little spring cleaning yesterday. I cleaned out my closet and every drawer in my bathroom and bedroom. I washed everything down and ended up with 6 garbage bags worth of stuff to donate to the D.I.
• The Alchemist - I'm reading a really good adolescent lit book right now. It's The Alchemist by Michael Scott. My students are required to do a book talk (talk about a book in front of the class) every quarter. Anyway, last quarter one of my students did his book talk on this book. It sounded really good so I bought it and started reading it. It's made him really excited to see me take his recommendation. I need to do that more next year.
• Summer Movies - A whole post will be dedicated to this subject. Plan on one during the 1st of May, but here's a little preview. On Friday I went to see 17 Again (surprisingly, a very funny movie). On my way out of the theater, we saw movie posters for the following movies: Wolverine, Star Trek, Angels & Demons, Terminator!! Seriously, I'm going to be at the movie theatre every weekend in May. Sweet!!
• LOST - a whole post will have to be made. I love it. LOVE IT!!
  

Counting on your Head?

So most of us have heard of counting on your fingers. I'll admit it, I do it myself. Well, have you heard of counting on your head? It's a new math strategy Zack uses when he's adding. It's hilarious!!