Cookbooks, Anyone?

The move is upon us!  And we found a house today!  When it is a sure deal, I'll share more info so you'll be as excited as I am.

Anyways, I am going through things and sorted stuff out.  I have a plethora of cookbooks.  I found two that I don't really use, so I have a deal for you.  The first person who contacts me via email (there's a link on my profile page) and agrees to pay the shipping for them can have them.  If you only want one, that's cool too.  Just tell me which you want.

Up for grabs are:

and

images from Amazon.com

They are both in new condition.  They need good homes.  Adopt the cookbooks :)

Yeah, Yeah, I'm a Little Behind

I have been a very bad blogger the last week.  I'm very sorry.  I would like to say that I'll be better, but with the move coming up I just can't promise that.  I will, however, try :)

So, I know you're all expecting some randomness, because it's Tuesday and that's what we do around here on Tuesdays, so here it is...

 

**I got myself an iPhone...oh yeah...it rocks!

**Apparently, oldest kiddo will now be riding the same bus as middle kiddo...found this out today when oldest kiddo didn't get off the normal bus and hubby called the school looking for him...I couldn't call because it's hard to speak coherently when you are hyperventilating.

**Baby girl is starting to take more little steps on her own.  She would still rather crawl though.

**Oldest kiddo is going to be 8 on Friday!!

**We are officially on Transportation's list to get moved later this month.  I'm glad that's scheduled.

**I'm reading a book called Taking Sides: Religion for a course I'm taking this semester.  It is really interesting.  Controversial issues are argued in "Yes" and "No" essays.

**Currently, I need a good 4-5 quiet hours to catch up on my school work...yeah right, there are no quiet hours around here.

**I made some cupcakes today...Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes...OMG they are fab!  Recipe coming soon.

Well, dinner is about to burn and the kids are losing their danged minds (neither of those things are new around here...), so enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!!

Reading with Kids

Anyone who has been a parent for longer than 10 minutes has heard how important it is to read to your children.  I know there is tons of research out there in regards to exactly what the benefits of reading aloud to your child are.  For example, research has shown that children who are read to regularly have larger vocabularies and are more likely to become strong readers as they grow up.

For the past few months, I have been working with oldest kiddo's 2nd grade class.  Mostly I read aloud to one little girl and help her through story maps and that sort of thing.  I also work with some of the other students as they read stories and fill in worksheets about the stories.  Story maps vary a lot, but one constant is a spot for the kids to fill in the setting of the story they've read.  For the most part, the students are always able to identify characters, problems and solutions in the stories.  However, they have difficulty identifying the setting.  This got me to thinking.

I have read to my kiddos since they were babies.  I always ask them questions about what we're reading.  I'll ask them who the main character is or what the problem is in the story.  I'll read a few pages and then stop to ask them what they think is going to happen.  But I cannot remember having ever asked them questions about the setting of the stories we read.  I think it's something that I just take for granted.

Part of the reason I'm working with the kiddos is as part of my internship for school this semester.  So this issue with identifying setting is really perplexing me.  I definitely want to figure out more about it as I prepare to write my final paper about what I've observed.  Plus, as a future teacher, I just want to know more so I can better understand my students.

So here are my questions for you guys...

• Do you ask your kiddos questions about the stories you read with them?
• What sorts of questions do you ask them?
• Specifically, do you ever talk about setting of stories with your kiddos?

If you've got anything else, feel free to add it too :)

Another Book Tossed From the Curriculum

**So, I totally had this little rant planned, then saw that my bloggy friend Cheryl posted about the same thing, so click here to go check out what she had to say too!

Parents are at it again.  In their quest to protect their children from all things bad, some parents at a school in California have managed to get the dictionary banned.  Yes, you read that right.  Apparently, the dictionary contains a definition for "oral sex".  I'll wait while you finish gasping...Oh, you might want to go ahead and gasp over some other words in the dictionary...shit, damn, breast, penis...

I can remember reading the dictionary when I was younger and giggling over a few words.  I'm pretty sure all kids do.  (Even these parents who have deemed it inappropriate for their children)  I turned out alright.  As a future English teacher, I'm concerned that at the rate parents are yanking books from schools I'm going to be left with nothing to teach.  I already know I can't teach about Harry Potter (kids might think they are wizards and attempt to fly broomsticks around campus) or any book that gives them any information about sex (well, Shakespeare is ok because the kids are too dense to get all those sex jokes, right).  Now I'm going to be left without a dictionary too.

What is it with parents?!  I mean, I am one but I still don't get it.  Sex is not a bad thing.  Teaching our children about sex and responsibility is not a bad thing.  Telling a kid that sex is shameful and something they shouldn't do is only going to accomplish two things: they're gonna do it and they're gonna lie about it.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not going to be encouraging my kids to run out and sex it up.  But I am going to encourage them to wait to experience the wonder of it until they are in a committed relationship with someone that they deeply care for.  In the end, our children are going to make their own decisions.  All we can do is give them the information and tools to help them and hope they make the right decisions for themselves.  Removing dictionaries from a classroom or prohibiting a book that talks about sex from a library is not going to stop a child from growing up.

Fairy Tales

This semester I am taking a course called "The Literary Fairy Tale". It is pretty interesting so far. Here's the thing though...since day 1, people have been arguing back and forth over whether or not fairy tales are detrimental to children. Some say the tales are just stories and not any big deal. Others say they are sexist and give children unrealistic expectations of life. This last group says that fairy tales teach girls that they must be submissive and pretty and that they teach boys that strong women are evil.

I grew up watching Disney movies. I loved Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. However, those stories (much like the books I read now) were my little escapes. I lost myself in the fairy tales, but when they were over I left those stories behind. I never dreamed of actually growing up to be a princess and marrying a prince with the help of a fairy god mother. I had serious dreams. I wanted to go to college. Yes, at 3 years old, I knew that. What I'm getting at is that I do not think that fairy tales gave me unrealistic expectations of life. I believe this is because my parents started very early in my life teaching me the difference between reality and fiction. (My favorite movie at 3 was Trading Places, so it was kind of important that I knew that distinction) Even now, my kids know that things in books, movies, etc aren't necessarily things you should do in real life. They are simply fun little escapes. I think the problem comes in for people when they fail to recognize the difference.

So, what do you guys think? Are fairy tales bad? Do you let your kiddos read/watch them?

Books I Love

When I sent out the call for questions to get out of my bloggy rut, ya'll responded with some great ones! Tesa from 2 Wired 2 Tired asked me what my favorite book is. Well, I'm a lover of lots of books, so it's hard for me to narrow it down to just one. (If you read the last post about crock pot recipes, you might be noticing a pattern here...) Here are some of my favorites though:

• The Unvanquished by William Faulkner. I'm a Southern girl, so it's pretty much required that I include a Faulkner book on this list. Seriously, the Southern Belle police will totally re-po your pearls if you don't. Anyhoo, this was the first Faulkner book I read and I fell in love with it. A lot of people complain that Faulkner's narratives are hard to follow, but that isn't a problem in this one.
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I just really liked this book. I find Sylvia Plath very intriguing.
• The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. These books are hilarous! They are also pretty quick reads. (Well, probably because I get so into them that I can't put them down until I finish)
• Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich. I'm a big fan of Erdrich and this one is probably my favorite. She is a Native American author and her books are filled with Native American culture. However, she is a master at weaving together many different cultures. Her narration style is much like Faulkner, but easier to follow. Like Faulkner, she has also created a community of characters that she follows through many of her books.

So, there's a short list of my favorites. There are so many more (like Harry Potter and Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation). I love books...which explains why I major in English and plan to be a teacher. I love reading and hope that as a teacher I can encourage that same feeling in young people. (Ok, I know I got a little mushy there, sorry)

What are your favorites? I'm always on the lookout for new books to get lost in so I can avoid housework for a little longer :)

What I Plan to Do This Year

(Yes, I realize I'm into this dorky-4th-grade-essay title thing lately, but, hey, I'm a dork and that's how I roll...)

I really try to make goals for myself rather than resolutions. I believe that resolutions are all about changing behavior and, honestly, how often do we do that...about as often as a leopard changes its spots. For 2010, I have a few goals. In no particular order, here they are:

**Read 52 books.
**Graduate from college.
**Get into the Alternative Certification Program and get a teaching job.
**Limit my daily soda intake to 2.

So, I think that last one borders on being a resolution so let's not hold our breath on it, but the rest are totally doable with a little hard work (and possibly a little luck on the job thing, given the current job market in most places).

I hope you all have a wonderful 2010. Stick around and see how far I get with my goals/borderline resolution. You are guaranteed a few laughs and maybe even an insightful moment or two :)

What are your plans for the year?

I Want My Schedule Back

Christmas break has thrown me so off my schedule. I love spending some quality time with the kiddos and the hubby, but I want my schedule back. I missed Random Tuesday Thoughts yesterday, so I'm gonna throw out some random Wednesday thoughts. I promise I'm gonna be back on schedule soon and we will return to our regular blogging programming :)

**I haven't taken down the Christmas decorations yet...not because I'm that in love with them, but because I'm lazy.

**The hubby is watching the Burn Notice marathon on USA and he's not even in the house right now. But, I guarantee, if I turn the channel, he'll come in wanting to know why I changed the channel because he was watching that.

**I've cooked in my CrockPot everyday this week. My sis gave me a CrockPot recipe box for Christmas so I'm testing some of them out. I'll pass along what works.

**I read Matilda this week, just for fun. It was amusing, different than the movie (of course) but still good.

**We visited the National Corvette Museum yesterday. It's pretty cool. The only downside is that the hubby now wants a Vette...

**I love taking my kiddos to the library. They are quiet and don't argue there.

**My kids are now demanding lunch so I've gotta go...

Another Semester in the Books

I know I've been a bit slow about blogging the last couple of weeks. I have been busy finishing up this semester. Today I took my last final of the semester (and feel about a thousand pounds lighter). I am super excited to have a few weeks off. Next semester my classes are all online, so I will get to hang around the house and do some volunteering for the kiddos' classes. I am really happy that I won't be commuting for two hours every day to school. I am also super excited that it will be my LAST semester. Then I'll officially be a college graduate! I am still wrapping my head around that one. I love learning and being in class, so I'm a bit frightened at the thought of no longer being a student. I am also a little nervous about how all my plans will pan out. Hopefully, next fall, I will be the teacher rather than the student. That's a whole other bundle of nervousness that I won't subject you to for now. For now, I'm going to go enjoy the fact that all my Christmas shopping is done and I can focus on reading whatever I want! I just started Breaking Dawn and am really anxious to get into it and see how the story ends.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Yay! It's Tuesday which means I can empty all of the random thoughts out of my brain and call it a blog...

**My children have done nothing but fight this afternoon. Is it bedtime yet?

**I took my Spanish final today. I am officially done taking foreign language for my degree, YAY!

**I always had a sneaking suspicion that Tiger Woods was secretly a douche bag.

**I have completed my Christmas shopping!! Now I just have to get it all wrapped and shipped.

**My MIL is coming to visit this weekend.

**We watched Elf last night. I always forget how amused I am by that movie.

**My oldest kiddo has started reading The Boxcar Children Mysteries. I love that he's reading stuff that I read when I was his age.

**Middle kiddo got Super Mario Bros. for his Nintendo DS. The hubby and I might have spent several recent nights playing it after the kids have gone to bed.

Well, I've gotta go finish making dinner so we can get the kiddos fed and to bed, then spend another romantic evening fighting over whose turn it is to play Mario...

Books that I've Read Recently

It's been a while since I posted about what I've been reading. I figured I should give ya'll a quick update because I know how interested you are in my reading habits...

**I have made it to the 10th book, Ten Big Ones, in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I say it every time, but seriously these book are hilarious! They are quick reads and full of laughs.

**I read The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto "Che" Guevara for my history class. It was interesting, but if you aren't into memoirs this one won't be your cup of tea. Honestly, if I hadn't had to read it for a class, I would never have picked it up. There are some really interesting insights into the hows and whys of the revolutionary movements in Latin America during the 20th century, if that's what you are in to.

**I'm gearing up for the end of the semester and finals, but somehow I have still managed to start two other novels. I'm about a hundred pages into Eclipse from the Twilight Saga. So far, it is much better than New Moon (meaning that I haven't wanted to gouge my eyes out yet or screamed at Bella for being so whiny). I'm also thirty pages into The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. I'm really enjoying it. I probably won't finish either of these until finals are over, but I'll be sure to share my opinions of them when I do get through them.

Hope you are all reading something interesting...feel free to share :)

TGIRTT

Thank goodness it's Random Tuesday Thoughts!! It means I get to be completely random, which, let's face it, takes far less brain power.

**I could totally leave for school early this morning and possibly not spend a decade looking for a parking space, but my daughter just quit crying! I didn't have to pick her up; she just started entertaining herself. This is a major dealio...

**Yes, I said dealio...

**My beautiful daughter is currently in that stage of life that requires her to cry anytime she's not being held. It is not her most attractive quality at the moment, but I love her anyways.

**The boys still have Halloween candy.

**I have to go to school tomorrow; everyone else in the house (the hubby included) is off for the day.

**Since my last post about what books I've read lately, I have blown through books 4 and 5 in the Stephanie Plum series. Today I'm starting book 6. They really are hilarious. If you like a good fluffy mystery series, these are totally for you.

**I ordered some stuff online recently. When my package arrived, one item was missing so I emailed the company. They emailed back and wanted me to call them. What was the point of emailing them if now I have to call them? I'm annoyed.

**I made pumpkin bread this weekend. I love pumpkin bread!

**I also started reading The Witches of Eastwick and still need to read Eclipse.

**Ok, I suppose I'm done for now and should head to school. But I totally reserve the right to add more randomness later today :)

Have a great one!

What I've Been Reading

I've just finished up two books. They are both fabulous and very different from one another.

First up is Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig. I thought it was a breath-taking story. It was almost heartbreaking in many parts. But, honestly, what well-written drama set during the Civil War years isn't? If you've never read Gone With the Wind, there is a good chance you will be lost if you read this novel. (FYI: The novel Gone With the Wind is totally different and waaay better than the movie....and I love the movie.) The saga of Rhett and Scarlett is always captivating. This novel explores it and so much more of Rhett's life. I loved it.

Next, I read this fabulous book called Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson. It is a guide to teaching the fine art of grammar, usage and style. Obviously, not everyone is going to read a book like this for pleasure (although, I'll admit that I did, because I'm a nerd like that). Anderson makes teaching the scary subject of grammar seem fun and almost easy. I would recommend this book to anyone responsible for teaching grammar to middle and high schoolers.

I'm not sure what I'll be reading next, but I'll be sure to share. Anyone read anything good lately?

Good Thing It's RTT

I'm feeling a bit random today, or maybe it's more that I can't stay focused on anything for very long today. Anyhoo, it's Tuesday!! That means I get to get my random on, YAY!

**The dogs are about to get their butts kicked out of here. This week, they have chewed up two books, a bra, a baby toy and the nipple off of a baby bottle while I was at school. Seriously, you stupid animals, what's wrong with the CHEW toys?

**I have a paper due in my course on William Blake next week. I need to edit it and re-write lots of it...but I'd rather run a few miles in heels.

**Why do Avent bottles have US ounces and UK ounces? I thought an ounce was an ounce. Apparently, I thought wrong.

**My non-school related reading for this week is Mechanically Inclined. It's about teaching grammar to middle & high school kids. I'm loving it.

**Yes, I'm a nerd.

**I had cereal for dinner last night. It was good.

**Monday Night Football is perhaps the most distracting thing on TV. I end up glued to it and stay up way too late.

**The hubby is a Vikings fan, so yay that they are 6-0...now if only the games would be shown in our area because I may throw large, heavy objects at the hubby if I have to listen to his whining for one more week.

**The number of catalogs I receive has greatly increased since I had a baby in April...I'm certain these two things are connected somehow.

**We don't have a house phone or a microwave.

**My mommy is coming to visit this weekend.

**Sometimes, while I'm on-campus I worry that one of the million squirrels is going to randomly attack me. They have really sharp claws, you know.

Now, I'm off to watch some TV before the boys get home from school and take over the remote control. Enjoy your Tuesday!!

Truth in Advertising

I'm a big believer in the notion of truth in advertising. If you put yourself out there as the best, then dang it be the best. This goes for large companies scrambling for my pennies, as well as 30-something soccer moms in their minivans.

On my way home from school today, I needed to pee (TMI? Sorry...). So, naturally, I got stuck behind someone who was in less of a hurry than me. As I was patiently driving behind this lovely minivan, I took notice of her window art. Plastered all over her back window were Twilight themed stickers. Now, I'm all for reading (duh) but I'm fairly certain that this particular soccer mom had never actually read the books.

Why? Well, because one of her stickers proclaimed "I drive like a Cullen". Now, if she had read the books, she would have been driving a lot faster than 10 miles an hour and I wouldn't have had to leap from a barely parked vehicle and sprint through my house to the potty.

I'm still a little bothered by the fact that 30-something soccer moms seem to have taken more interest in this series than the tweens it was meant for, but I'm sure that's a post for another time...

Fall Break Rocks

I get a long weekend for Fall Break, but it is totally better than nothing. My goal on Friday evening was to finish at least one non-school related book during the break. Last night, I did it! Yay! I finally found time to finish The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton.

If you haven't read it, I would recommend it. Some people find themselves scared of books written before the last decade. There really is no need for that. The House of Mirth was published in 1905 and deals with a socialite in the late 19th century. Lily Bart is one of those characters that you identify with and find yourself pulling for. The messes she finds herself in could easily happen today. Of course, we would use different language to speak of them, but still it could happen. From the beginning, it was pretty obvious to me how this one was going to end up but I enjoyed the read anyways. It really is an easy read. It just took me forever to read because I didn't have enough time.

I'm so excited to have finished the novel. Now the hard question...What to read next?! Oh how I love Fall Break!!

Books, Books and More Books

Lately, I have been reading a lot of books. Mostly for school, but some for pleasure as well. I decided that I'll share my opinions on these books with you (because it's my blog and I do what I want).

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

• OMG, could a book move any slower?! This one is not the most action packed novel I've read lately, but overall it's not a bad story. Dickens gives an interesting critique of the society produced as a result of industrialization in England. Many of the themes throughout are still applicable in today's society. You just have to get over the slow moving pace of the novel.
  

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

• This book was AMAZING! It is about one woman's year long journey through Italy, India and Indonesia in search of all those things we are all searching for. You know the ever elusive pleasure, balance and general sense of peace. Her story is told in a series of really humorous tales and will have you rooting for her throughout.
  

Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

• Weird does not even begin to describe this one. The main character who is a 50 year old man goes on vacay and develops a crush on a 13 year old boy. Yep, I told you. Weird. I really don't know what else to say about this one.
  

The First 3 Books in the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

• These books are HILARIOUS! Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter out to find bail jumpers and always ends up solving some sort of mystery along the way. They are fairly easy reads that you could probably finish in a day or two. Go read them. Now! Seriously, these books are too funny to miss out on.
  

The Winning Spirit by Joe Montana

• My mommy sent me this one on CD to listen to on my way to and from school. It was pretty good. Of course, I believe that Joe Montana is the best quarterback of my lifetime. This book is a great look into how he got to be such a fabulous quarterback as well as great advice on how to accomplish things in your own life.
  

Well, that's it for now. I am still trying to finish The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (school really cuts into my free time) and I'll be starting Underdogs soon for my history course. I'm sure there will be several other books thrown in there as well. As always, I'll keep you up to date on what I'm reading and what I think of it.

What to Expect

So, I don't have time right now, but later today (or within in the next few days, because there may be more than one blog idea in all this gibberish) here is what you just might read about on this here blog:

• I really didn't need a new gun, but thanks anyways babe...Or, why men shouldn't be left alone
• We need a nursing staff and a janitor around here...Or, how I spent my weekend...Or, the joy of sick children
• A fab report of all the books I've been reading/listening to lately...Or Stephanie Plum is the most hilarious female character I've read lately
• What are we teaching our kids...Or a generation that is rewarded simply for showing up
• For real, moving again? Would love to know where...
• And whatever else happens to pop into my pretty little head

Have a great morning and come back soon :)

Also, I am attempting to edit my layout, you know spice things up around here, so bare with me if things look a little funky. Hopefully, it will be beautiful before long!

Diet Coke and Cold Medicine

I'm not sure if I've come down with a cold or if I'm suffering from allergies. Either way, it sucks. I feel like I'm living on diet coke and cold medicine this week. Which, by the way, totally explains why I forgot that yesterday was Random Thoughts Tuesday (my favorite day of the week). I'm totally bummed because I missed it so I'm celebrating it a day late through my caffeinated cold-medicine haze. Enjoy and feel free to wonder what the heck actually goes on inside my head...

**I am currently in the middle of reading 3 novels. Two (Hard Times and Death in Venice) are for school purposes and one (The House of Mirth) is for fun.

**My middle kiddo is learning to read. I always love when they learn to read but hate it too. All you moms know what I mean...once the kiddos learn to read it gets much harder to pretend like those signs say something completely non-fun sounding.

**I still haven't gotten around to dying my hair. I've had the box of dye for 2 weeks now.

**I should be writing 3 paragraphs on Blake's "Proverbs of Hell" rather than writing this, but I knew you all would be totally bummed if I didn't write and I'm not one for disappointing people.

**Sometimes certain people that I know very well will leave me a voice message and I can just tell from the sound of their voice that they are in a pissy mood so I don't return the call...is that bad?

**Yesterday I got a message on Facebook from someone I haven't talked to in 2 years. It was a lovely surprise and I'm hoping that we will be able to rebuild our friendship.

**Cold medicine makes me a little loopy.

**This is my 100th post since I started up this fancy little blog! Woo hoo!!

I suppose I should try to write those paragraphs for school now. Thanks for stopping by!

Book Orders

All moms since the printing press was invented have seen book orders. You know, those pamphlets full of fabulous color pictures of wonderful books that kids suddenly can't live without. Yeah, I used to think they were awesome when I was a kid. However, as a mother, this stupid things are now the bane of my existence. (Well, those and my Spanish III course, but that's a whole other story.) I dread the day my kids bring home book orders. Dread the day more than I dread going near a foreign border and being taken hostage by some radical nation then having to be rescued by Bill Clinton. Yeah, it is a deep level of dread.

"Why?" you ask. Well, because my darling little children who normally know exactly what they want and respect boundaries (well, kind of) suddenly turn into little heathens who act as if they've never owned a book in their lives (despite the full case of books in the hallway) and who can't make a decision to save their lives. "I want this", "No, no I want that", "Um, Mom can I get this book that cost a gazillion dollars". This is what I have to hear for days after they bring those stupid things home. It drives me crazy!

I love that my children want to get new books so badly. Although, I am an English major so, really my kids do not lack books. But those danged book orders make me want to pull my hair out! I'd rather take my children to the book store and down cups of coffee while they agonize over the world changing decision of what book to get that day.