Enjoying... my first full week of summer break and the cooler, more spring-like temperatures we've been blessed with after experiencing a Florida-ish May. (Sorry, Kristen, I know you like Louisville hot and all, but it's too soon for this heat and humidity crap. LOL!)
Thankful... that I didn't have to move rooms this year! It was one of the easiest ends to a school year I've ever had.
Decluttering... everything. I'm at a point in my life where I'm simply over stuff.
Sad... to see several of my public school comrades decide not to return to teaching in the fall. They've simply had enough. This is a great blog post that sums up why many are leaving the profession.
Sad... to see several of my public school comrades decide not to return to teaching in the fall. They've simply had enough. This is a great blog post that sums up why many are leaving the profession.
Listening to... the audiobook All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda.
Selecting... books for Erin's latest book challenge. See below. (If you're interested in participating, click the link below.)
Researching... cruises that make port of call in Havana, Cuba. My mom, who has never expressed any desire whatsoever to cruise before, has recently expressed an interest in seeing Cuba as part of a cruise.
Loving... Weezer's cover of Toto's iconic 80s song, "Africa." I'm not typically a fan of remakes, but this one is an exception. The backstory behind the remake is pretty interesting, too.
Excited... to see Arches NP and to cross two more states (Colorado and New Mexico) off my to-visit list later this month.
Contemplating... some creative ways to visit the remaining 15 states that are still on my list (Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin). Any ideas?
Wishing... my friend S bon voyage! Enjoy your cruise!
Researching... cruises that make port of call in Havana, Cuba. My mom, who has never expressed any desire whatsoever to cruise before, has recently expressed an interest in seeing Cuba as part of a cruise.
Loving... Weezer's cover of Toto's iconic 80s song, "Africa." I'm not typically a fan of remakes, but this one is an exception. The backstory behind the remake is pretty interesting, too.
Excited... to see Arches NP and to cross two more states (Colorado and New Mexico) off my to-visit list later this month.
Contemplating... some creative ways to visit the remaining 15 states that are still on my list (Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin). Any ideas?
Wishing... my friend S bon voyage! Enjoy your cruise!
May in a snapshot:
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| 1) My SLP buddies and me at Thurby, a Prince mural, savoring the smell of honeysuckle. 2) Sidewalk finds outside of Jerry's Junk, a snail that crossed my path (and that was almost stepped on), how 5th graders celebrate on the last day at my new school. 3) I voted, after the rain, cruising on the Ohio River underneath the Lincoln Bridge. |
So, tell me, what have you been up to lately?
Linking up with:
- 5 points: Freebie (A book that is at least 200 pages) - TBD
- 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “N” - Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen
- 10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) orange cover - The Sentry by Robert Crais
- 15 points: Read a book with an unlikeable character - Tampa by Alissa Nutting
- 20 points: Read a book from the list of 100 books that PBS calls “The Great American Read” - TBD
- 20 points: Read a book with something related to water in the title; i.e. ocean, sea, lake, river, waves, etc. - The Flood Girls by Richard Fitfield
- 25 points: Read a book you’ve owned the longest but haven’t read yet - The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
- 30 points: Read a book with an emotion word in the title; i.e. joy, sadness, grief, love, anger, etc. - Every Anxious Wave by Mo Daviau
- 30 points: Read a book (must be at least 2 words in the title) where each word in the title of the book begins with the same letter - Finding Frasier by KC Dyer
- 35 points: Read a book featuring a character who shares your profession or similar one (Speech Pathologist) - The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi
Oh gosh, I'm glad it's cooled down a bit too. May was insanely hot! Just crazy - KY basically bypassed spring. haha That's awesome your mom wants to do a cruise now; I hope you find one that brings you all through Cuba. Seeing Havana would be lovely!! I hope you are enjoying All the Missing Girls. That's one I want to read!! Hopefully sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteWow, only 15 more states to visit? That's awesome!
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Yes, we did (bypass spring). For the longest time, I was beginning to wonder if we were even going to do spring. Then spring arrived and was gone in a flash. I feel like I've been robbed of some terrific May weather that I look forward to and enjoy every year. So far, I like All the Missing Girls. It's a bit more difficult bc it tells the story in reverse. I'm spending a lot of time rewinding... Yes, 15 more! When I was in my 20s, my goal was to get to all 50 states before I turned 50. Well, once I turned 40 and still had so many to go, I amended the goal to get to all 50 before I.... die. :)
DeleteYour book choices sound interesting. I didn't know there was a boom of The King's Speech - the film was great!
ReplyDeleteI read a novel recently called "Black Swan Green" that features a speech therapist in a minor role - the main character has a stammer and there is one scene where he goes to his speech therapist. I just thought you might like to know that :-)
Thank you! If I finish round one and opt to do the bonus round, I may need that book suggestion. Apparently speech pathologists aren't interesting enough to be main characters in fiction novels! LOL!
DeleteGood luck on your reading challenge!! Arkansas, I would suggest doing Bentonville (where Walmart HQ is) they have a cute little downtown area and free museums, trails, etc. Eureka Springs is also a tourist location that I would suggest. Kansas, even though that's where I'm from, there's nothing I can suggest that probably isn't lame to most people. Wide open spaces are awesome and I like old town in Wichita and they have the Keeper of the Plains. Even in Sedan where they used to have a cool yellow brick road and Wizard of Oz shop, it's not what it was when I was a kid. Oklahoma has the Pioneer Woman Mercantile if you're into that. Grand Lake is HUGE and the Chihuly exhibit at Oklahoma City is spectacular but other places have Chihuly so you may have already seen his stuff. I'll check with my sister about Nebraska, I'm pretty sure that's where the World Series is played, that might be cool to experience. Omaha Zoo is really nice. Hopefully I offered you some ideas about the flyover states!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the suggestions of things to do in the flyover states! I will take a screenshot to remember.
DeleteI almost booked a cruise to Cuba, we ended up choosing a longer cruise instead but I hope to just visit Cuba soon!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to visit before it gets "Americanized." I especially want to see all the old model cars that they drive.
DeleteOur weather has been WAY TOO HOT lately if you ask me. This week has been pretty nice but short-lived with the cooler temps. What they're putting teachers through is terrible. I hope we all remember this come election time!
ReplyDeleteI agree! At one point I didn't think we were even going to do spring, then it finally arrived and lasted all of a week or two. I made a point to enjoy the cooler temperatures Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday. Lord knows when we'll get them again. AMEN! #IwillrememberinNovember
DeleteLOL bring on the heat! i am loving it, but know it won't be around for long. i don't think we've hit over 100 for the last few years, have we? or if we did, i was out of town. i will say i'm not a fan of the humidity though, it makes things like running a lot harder!
ReplyDeleteKC said a bunch of teachers from his school are leaving too.
hmm don't know about creative ways, but i would love to go to alaska. i have been to wisconsin - football game - hawaii and new hampshire. hope you think of some fun things!
i've been meaning to read tampa for a few years so can't wait for your thoughts. finding frasier was cute, if i remember right.
LOL! I knew you had to be loving this abnormal heat! There may have been a few days during the last two summers that we hit 100, but we didn't have many. The heat and humidity have forced me out to walk in the park way earlier than I typically like and it might eventually force me inside to the mall or on a treadmill.
DeleteHeather (above) listed a lot of things to do in the flyover states. I will have to look into them.
Re: teachers leaving the profession. I'm not sure what the answer is. All I know is that if I were just starting out, I would be very fearful of starting a career in education - especially here in KY. Thing is, though, this isn't just a localized event, it's happening nationwide. Something has to give and give soon...
I couldn't keep All the Missing Girls straight when I was reading, so I'd imagine the audio would be a challenge?
ReplyDeleteI bookmarked that Known Blog article. SO TRUE.
I'm have a HARD time with it, to be perfectly honest. The entire "story told in reverse" is challenge enough; listening to the audio version is sometimes painful. I'm doing a lot of rewinding, so much so that by the time I finish, I will have probably listened to the book twice.
DeleteI'm doing Erin's book challenge, too :)
ReplyDeleteThere are so many ppl doing it these days, it's sometimes hard for me to keep up with who is doing it that I know or am familiar with through the blogosphere and those whom I don't know. I'll have to look for your book list.
DeleteI'm also very very over stuff. I am getting rid of a lot of it.
ReplyDeleteIt just wears you down, doesn't it?
DeleteWhen you get done decluttering, please come declutter my place too. I have way too much stuff
ReplyDeleteI'll put you on the list! No telling how long it's going to take me here, though! LOL!
DeleteI'm thrilled about the cooler temps were had in June too. There's nothing like keeping windows open as long as possible to get fresh air in the house!
ReplyDeleteIt's just too soon to be be as hot as it has been. I feel like I've been robbed of spring.
DeleteI didn't know The King's Speech was a book.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely gotta jump on planning vacations for non-vacationers/cruisers/travelers who say they have an interest in xyz. I do that to my husband all the time :)
My mom is a public school teacher and she's always SO glad when so gets to keep her room for multiple years in a row. I like your choices for Erin's challenge!
Honestly, I didn't either. It popped up during a search and I jumped on it (bc I wasn't having much luck). Thanks. I think I'll enjoy them. I left three open as to be determined just to keep my options open.
Delete