Back to Blogging! I'm just as Surprised as you!

  Back at it!

Hard to believe it’s May!  But it is indeed welcome!!

One more month closer to summer and SCHOOL OUT FOR SUMMER!

At the beginning of the year, I promised on Instagram I would post the books I read each month.  I had a banner January with close to 20 books.  I was faithful to my posting again in February but totally and completely forgot to post my March and April books.  So I posted a two-for-one over on Instagram and just didn't have the space to post it all.  SO... I got this idea to post to the blog again!

The last time I posted a blog was in June 2019!  That's crazy.  It's almost as crazy that I blogged for 7 straight years before that!  As I looked back at some of my posts, I laughed a lot, cringed some, and itched to get back to it...if even for a little bit.  I was reminded of the community I was a part of, the friends I made, and the travels I took to meet those friends IRL.

Even before COVID entered the picture, blogs were dismantled, Insta was more of a thing and snippets of my life in pictures seemed more than enough!  With a blog titled The Mishaps and Mayhem of a Solitary Life, blogging in COVID seemed like a good idea, and I even had a few drafts in here that I wrote during that time but I never dared to hit publish.  

Now over four years later, I am not even sure what’s compelling me to do this again. But here we are!

I’m still teaching. Year 22 is quickly coming to a close. I still spend plenty of time solo, but my life is a ‘lil less solitary these days.  Even though he is not staple on my social media and we rarely take photos together, I’ve been pretty happily dating for almost 3 years.  While my circle of friends has gotten smaller since COVID, the friends I have now are really the only ones I need.  

There is a lot to be said about friendships in your 40s…no drama, lots of laughs, talk about how our bodies are changing, wine, board games, book clubs, and more wine! LOL  Some you don’t see all the time, but when you do, it’s always as if no time has passed!

This brings me back to the main reason I am posting… BOOKS!  You can find my January and February books on Insta!

But I wanted to share more of my March and April round-up here!

If you read only one book this month, make it The Women by Kristen Hannah.  I listened to the author read it on audio and could not stop reading/ listening for three days straight.  It was such a different perspective and I’ll be honest in saying, I had no idea about a lot of it!  I listened to the audio but think I need to buy book because I just loved it so much I thought I should have it!  To go right next to my favorite book of all time, The Nightingale.

Another book I listened to {when the author reads it I feel compelled to do so}, was Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobby Brown.  Yes, that Millie Bobby Brown, the actress from Stanger Things fame!  I was impressed.  It was inspired by her Grandmother’s own story and painted quite a picture of WWII in London.  So, another different perspective.  It was both heartbreaking and hopeful.  Highly recommend!!

I  finally finished The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon!  I started reading it on the plane to Iceland {Maybe I’ll blog about THAT soon!}  and finally got around to finishing it.  I think because it was one I bought on my Kindle and it was always there, so when my library holds come through, I feel like I have to read those first.  I enjoyed it!  Another piece of history I knew very little about!

Last year my sisters and I started a book club to make it a point to see one another each month.  If you are familiar with me on Instagram you know that in February we read Beloved by Toni Morrison and it was ROUGH!  So we needed a light-hearted easy read for March!  And Nora Goes of Script was just the ticket!!  We loved it.  Why did we read Beloved you ask?  Well, in January, our book club selection was The Reading List…a new FAVE!  And as you probably guessed, it revolved around a reading list!  HA!  Beloved was on that list, so our thought was to work our way through the list! Needless to say, we have now taken a break from that idea.

Our April {but kinda March, too because we got together for book club on April 5th!} book was Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica.  It was a good book for discussion but was not a fave.  I enjoyed her Local Woman Missing more!  The best thing about the book was our book club meeting at a local brewery and Distillery! Didn't end up taking a photo with the book but the drinks were good!

As I look the list of my March List of books, I realize  I read several books with strong female leads!  Go ME as March is Women’s History Month!  LOL

More in March:

The Fifth Avenue Apartment and Gilded Girl, both by Pamela Kelley.  Kelly is a new-to-me author I discovered this year and I am enjoying her storytelling and easy writing.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Another good story.  I read this for another book club I am part of in town.  I enjoy this book club because we read many different books, that honestly, I would never pick up on my own.  This was more in the fantasy realm, but I really liked it and was about to get engrossed in the story easily.  Another good book club pick…great discussions.  Was sad when I ended up having to miss the meeting when I threw out my back!

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin. Crazy, twisty good.  Part of a two-book series…the same story told from the other perspective.  I am not yet sure I want to pick that up! I liked this one too much!

The Lost Book Shop was the April book club selection for The Better Man Book Club in town one of the very few books I finished in April.  Another different story, and very much something in the fantasy vein, again but I did like it and had lots to say at the book club.  I also highlighted a lot of great quotes from the story on my Kindle!

Last month, I read/listened to a new series by Samantha Chase.  I tend to listen to her books when I am awake at two in the morning and can’t get back to sleep…and then I get invested and am up all night!! LOL

I like all her series…they are light, fun and have a bit of sass & spice. For anyone familiar with her series, the two that I read from her were part of a new spinoff of The Donovans Series: SweetBriar Ridge. The First Two Books in the series were Wanting You and Teasing You.

I’m already on track for a great May reading-wise…so stay tuned!

 

Friday...YAY!!

It's Friday, YA'LL!!  Whoop!!  Whoop!!

All in all, not a terribly long week!!  I'm glad I had those three days last week at work to ease into to the New Year with the students.  This week they were back to their old tricks!!  HA!!  I'm trying my best to keep up with my Friday Fives and embracing my word of the year...POSITIVITY by finding the good in each day!!  Here's a bit of what I loved this week!


{ONE}
I was so happy to find the #52TeacherSnaps Challenge with @mrsedgarsclass on Instagram. I was a bit behind, but can easily catch up since it just a pic a week!  Instagram is my favorite social media platform these days.  I'm finding Facebook is getting way to political for me and since I've never really been all that into twitter...I've let it go!!  Insta is a much more positive community (for me!) and I love connecting with teachers on there and getting great ideas!

{TWO}
Another thing I'm loving this week....I'm not longer spending 13 hours a day at school.  I've officially gave up two WHOLE days of After Care!! #happydance!  To celebrate I went for margaritas with a friend!  Because I can do that now!!  Margarita Mondays...I'm gonna make it a thing!! But maybe kidding because I'm not making as much money now!  LOL

{THREE}
I'm going to try my best to document all the books I read this year on the blog!  I am on book two of 2019.  The first, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover was recommended to be by Christy.  I loved it.  I stared it at the end of December and finished it late last week.  So It counts for this year.  I am currently reading The Address by Fiona Davis and enjyoing it very much!!  I am close to finishing it!  I have so many books on my TBR list, thanks to this weeks TBB Asks.  Check out all the links {here}to add to your list too!  And head {here} to read my post!!

{FOUR}
This past weekend a cool new brewery opened up in my town, so naturally I had to go check it out.  You guys it was so cool.  Everything is exposed see you can see them brewing and the vibe was just really chill.  And best part of all...it only takes three minutes to walk there!  HA!!  To be open one day and already have eleven beers on the board is pretty awesome!  Will be returning for sure!! Future Regular!!!

{FIVE}
Last but not least, I'm over at The Blended Blog today!  I'm so grateful that I can contribute to our community.  I just love those girls so much.  We have fun, we empower one another and we have dance parties and drink wine together?  Is there anything better??  I think not  We have some fun stuff planned for the blog, so head on over there and give us a follow so you don't miss a thing!

Linking up with Erika and Tif today, too!!

Currently Reading....

It's Tuesday!!  One more day closer to the weekend!  HA!

I used to be that person who couldn't read more than one book at a time.  This summer, I found out that indeed I can!  I read a lot this summer.  Summer is the only time I can really just read and read and read.  Once back to school hits, I read less. Or so I thought.

Today I'm sharing the books I'm currently reading!  Because there are actually quite a few!!

I said that I don't really read during the school year, but since it just began, I am.  Partly to finish up books I started while I was on vacation and partly because our principal assigned us a book to read!  HA!  And I am reading a book for book club too!  So I guess I'm starting the year off with a bang!





The book that I am reading and will hopefully finish for book club by next week is The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.  I never read it in high school (and honestly, I'm a bit shocked it was ever even assigned to anyone is high school!).  I was really excited when I found out this was the September pick because I'm a big fan of the series on Hulu.  If this was not the pick, I'd most likely had taken this month off!  Wish me luck!









A book that my principal gave us as a sort of back to school gift/school book club read is FOCUS by Mike Schmoker. And in all honesty, I'm liking it a lot.  I'm not too, too far into it because I'm not sure what he's going to do with it with us, but it's all about scaling back and actually teaching less things, just "the essentials", with a more positive impact. I'm on board!

I'm getting more and more into the audio books these days as well.  I found myself up in the middle of the night a crazy amount this summer. So while I was awake  I'd listen to audio books.  When I found myself getting sleepy, I'd bookmark that that part of the book and set the sleep timer on my Libby app. Right now I'm listening to the YA novel, The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas. I like it a lot.  It's a mystery thriller. I always go into reading YA with the intentions that I can add the book to our school's library.  It's so hard to get the 7th and 8th graders to actually want to take out books.  This is NOT one that I can add, but I'm definitely enjoying it.








And last but not least I'm sharing a new daily devotional. If you've followed the blog for awhile, you may remember that I wrote a post with my best friend, Melanie about the qualities of a best friend after reading Nobody's Cuter than You by Melanie Shankle.  Last week she posted a photo on Instagram of Melanie's new book Everyday Holy and her 100 Day reading challenge. After reading my Mel's thoughts on the book I bought it and was about to catch up this weekend.  It is so good you guys!!  As a religion teacher, there are so many get points and nuggets of wisdom that I can share with my students.  After having to catch up, I'm sad now that I only read one day at a time!

Whew...this seems like  a lot all at once!  But I'm totally doing it!  

What books are you reading now?  I'm always looking for recommendations.  

Let me know!

Have a great Tuesday!  Hug your loved ones this September 11th and send a little prayer up for all those we lost on that day!

Read about the time my sister and I visited the World Trade Center here!

And calling all fashionistas!!  Tomorrow on The Blended Blog it's all about the CAMO!!  Link up your camo lovin' with us or share your look across your socials and ours.


Do you have a closet full of clothes and yet think you can't find anything to wear?  Or maybe your just looking for engagement and encouragement of a diverse group of woman who are all in the same boat!  If so, join our Facebook group!  Check it out here!

January Book Round-Up!

January is typically my hibernation month.  And this year's January was no different!  Every other night I was in bed by 8, with either my book in hand or listening to an audio book.
I think this helped me to really up my book quotient for the month. Because never have I ever read 13 books in a month!!  Crazy!!

13 is a lot to recap so for some you'll get more of a review than others!! That'll probably give you a good indication about how I liked the book too!

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkannn
This book became available to the public on January 9th, but I was lucky enough to receive an advanced readers copy from my library's advanced readers club, where I'm given the book to read and review.  I read this book over the course of two snow days.  I just couldn't put it down.  It was crazy, twisty good!  Not what I expected! Highly recommend!

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult was recommended to me by my bestie Mel, as her favorite read of 2017.  The audio book became available before the print version did at my library so I listen to it.  One of the narrators was stage and television actress Audra MacDonald, so I kind of loved that!  I loved this book, too!  It was a difficult subject matter to tackle, but I really enjoyed the story and the intertwining of characters.  One of my favorites of the month!

The Art of Racing in the Rain
This was another audio book.  And I'm glad I read it this way because the narrator is a dog.  Even though I didn't like the turn the story took in the middle, this book was still wonderful.  So many great insights about life and it's twists and turns.  At the end of the book I bawled...and bawled and bawled!!  I was sad at the turn of events but I was also sad to have it end.

Lilac Girls
Another book with different points of views and narrators was Lilac Girls.  Set in War time and spanning countries and generations, it tells the story of woman brought together by the war.  It took me a little bit to get into, but once I did, I really enjoyed this book.  Another one that brought me to tears!  Clearly, I read a lot of heavy books this month.

The Forever Summer by Jamie Brenner was one I had on hold at the library for quite sometime.  When it became available to me I was excited and read it rather fast.  I can see why it was considered a good beach read.  It was a fun story about a young lawyer, who after losing everything, gets the shock of her life, when she finds out she has a half sister.  From there, lots more family secrets are uncovered!  I liked it a lot!

So after so much heavy, I needed light and fluffy!  Three books fit the bill!

Writer and star of The Office (one of my most favorite shows ever!), Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me? fit the bill!  Her books of essays were thoughtful and funny and I really enjoyed both!  I have had Why Not Me? forever but after realizing it was her second book, I put it back on the shelf.  I'm glad I read the first book and then started her second again.  Both were quick reads (like a matter of hours...ha!) that entertained me!

My library recommended Furiously Happy to me.  It's a memoir by author Jenny Lawson, who was new to me.  She suffers from severe depression, as well as many other symptoms.  The book took a look at her illness in detail and how she deals with humor, because quite simply she needs to and she won't let her illness take over.  Honestly, her story was quite eye-opening to me and I felt myself rooting for her throughout!  Good...

I read two middle school novels this month by author Lynda Mullaly Hunt.  Loved them both.  Every teacher and student should read Fish in a Tree.  It's main character, Ally, is dyslexic and the story shows her navigating it in school.  With an inspiring teacher by her side she is able to make strides and get the help she needs. I loved the story and it's characters so much.  A true portrait of middle school...something I'm now navigating daily!! Gift this one to all your teacher friends!!!

Hunt's other novel, One for the Murphy's was both tough and inspiring!!  It's another one that had me in tears by the end!  I can't say I loved  the end but the story was wonderful.  Main character Carly is a heroine to root for!  Highly recommend.  Oh and I feel like the teacher in me should let you know I think it's best for grades 6 and up!  Some of it is tough to read...heartbreaking but uplifting at the same time...if that makes any sense!  Give it a read.

Not really worth mentioning were a trilogy of books I read called The Deanna Madden Mysteries.  Basically they were fluff.   Easy reads to to listen to while cleaning the house or fall asleep listening to at night... Just OK!  Lots of people on GoodReads seemed to enjoy them more than I did.  HA!!

Find all my January Reads on Good Reads here!!

Whew!  Lots of reading in January!  I don't anticipate reading as much in February.  I'm already behind.  The last book I started in January, I'm still reading, just about a hundred pages in.  But I'd love some recommendations.  Let me know what you're reading this month in the comments below!! 

At the beginning of the year I found this book bucket list for 2018 on author Debbie Macomber's Facebook page.  I saved it to my photos and while looking for pictures for this post, I came across it again.  Turns out, this month alone, I pretty much ticked off more than half this list! LOL  The only thing I need to finish it are:  a book that been made into a movie, read a book that's new this year, and read a book as a family!  #solitary life!  (maybe my sisters and I could all read the same book!!)  Are you a part of any reading challenges this year that I should know about??

Happy Reading!

Until next time...

*all books are linked to amazon, just because...I'm not an amazon affiliate!  :)

Who'd write your life story?

With April being School Library Month, I thought since I’m a school librarian, this month I’d post some more bookish posts!

Last week, as I was perusing the blogs, I came across this one from Run Wright, who’s blog and Instagram I follow.  She is a super avid reader and a talented author, too!  I even have her book and it’s really great!! I really enjoy reading her stories.

The 10 authors she would want to meet was really thought provoking and got me to thinking about who I’d want to meet and perhaps write my life story, too!  Her list was a top ten, mine’s just five! After finding authors I enjoy, I tend to read many of their books.

Being a teacher, I’ve actually had the privilege of hearing a few talented children’s authors speak!  Lester Laminack and Mo Willems were two of my favorites.  Mo even taught us how to draw that famous pigeon! I wish I still had my drawing! I didn't do half bad!

And as an adult, my best friend and I had the chance to meet (super briefly!) and have our photo taken with Emily Giffin when  she came to a local book store. (Wish I knew where that pic was though...is it possible that we took it with like, an actual camera?!? LOL)

And when I think about it, Emily Giffin would be one I’d love to have write my story.  She writes woman well and could maybe make my ordinary life seem a little less so! Perhaps when I was younger I would have wanted Judy Blume or Beverly Clearly to write my story but now, in this season of my life, I'd gladly give it over to Ms. Giffin!

Nicholas Sparks is a romance man through and through.  So maybe he couldn’t write my life story, but I’m sure he’d write the story of some hot, rich guy who is just certain to fall in love with me and whisk me away to a lavish life on the beaches of North Carolina!

I’d really love to meet and have children’s author, Andrew Clements, spin my life as a teacher- librarian and tech teacher into a fun school story.  My students and I love his writing, his ability to relate to children and the smart teachers and other adults who support them along the way.

Someone I would have loved to meet was Irish author Frank McCourt.  I love his storytelling! His book, Teacher Man is an all time favorite of mine.  I read the book and then listened to the audio version, which he himself recorded.  I could listen to that man’s stories for hours and hours and never tire of them.

And just because I think this woman is a genius and has the best imagination, I’d love to meet and have a spot of English tea with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling!  Any author who writes children’s books but also had adults reading them as well, is a woman whose hand I’d like to shake. With her introduction of Harry Potter reluctant readers picked up books, parents read to and with their children more, and everybody felt a sense of magic again.  Her own real-life story is one for the books and is quite inspiring as well.

That was a lot of fun!

What authors would you like to meet?  Let me know in the comments below!

Have a great day!!