2017 Reads

Reads for Me:
1. Two by Two* by Nicholas Sparks
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling
3. All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
4. 15th Affair (Women's Murder Club #15)* by James Patterson
5. See Me* by Nicholas Sparks
6. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet* by Jamie Ford
7. The Grownup* by Gillian Flynn
8. Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected - a Memoir by Kelle Hampton
9. Leaving Time* by Jodi Picoult
10. Save Me* by Lisa Scottoline
11. Enclave* (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre
12. All the Light We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr
13. Delirium (Delirium #1)* by Lauren Oliver
14. Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
15. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
16. The Lost Girls by Heather Young
17. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
18. Bullseye (Michael Bennett #9)* by James Patterson
19. The Big Bad Wolf (Alex Cross #9)* by James Patterson
20. Invisible* by James Patterson
21. Before the Fall* by Noah Hawley
22. London Bridges (Alex Cross #10)* by James Patterson
23. Haunted (Michael Bennett #10)* by James Patterson
24. Chase (Michael Bennett #9.5)* by James Patterson
25. Always Watching by Chevy Stevens

Reads for School:
1. Mighty Jack (Mighty Jack #1) by Ben Hatke
2. Spy School (Spy School #1) by Stuart Gibbs
3. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
4. The Pinballs by Betsy Byars
5. Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics (Mr. Lemoncello's Library #2) by Chris Grabenstein
6. Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
7. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
8.  Wonder by R.J. Palacio
9. I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 (I Survived #6) by Lauren Tarshis
10. Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner

* audiobook

Books Read: 18 books
Audiobooks Read: 17 books
Total Number of Books Read: 35 books

Best Books: Two by Two, See Me, Leaving Time, Invisible, Counting by 7s, Wonder, Making Bombs for Hitler
Most Disappointing Books: All the Light We Cannot See, Chase

Off to Florida

One thing we value as a family is travel. Sometimes we have the opportunity to explore new places, but this year we were super excited to head to Pensacaola to spend some time with my family!

 We have great neighbors that were willing to look after our sweet kitty girl. For a brief moment, we might have considered bringing her with us. (We learned by the end of the trip that 13 days was most definitely too long without her.) 

 How unusual that I was in the car ready to go before Tim. ;) Naturally, we didn't make it out of the neighborhood before we had to turn back for something. We forgot Tim's fishing pole and tackle box. Oops. At least I knew that my flat iron wasn't plugged in. Not possible, considering it was in my suitcase. :P

Checking out the sites along the way is a great way to stretch your legs. Beware of the chicken sandwich at the Wendy's in Lincoln, IL. Tim's was raw when he bit into it...GROSS!

 Me: Smile.

Tim: I am.

 That's better!

Just passing through...that skyline view makes me smile.

Wednesday Got Me Like...

Today was one of those days where I just feel completely drained by lunch. It was nothing in particular; I suppose I am just feeling pulled in a thousand different directions. I get that everyone is busy, but it seems like the end of winter is a little bit more overwhelming for all of us. Of course, it doesn't help that we had summer on Tuesday, spring today, and winter will be here tomorrow. (Big, fat dislike.) 

Tomorrow morning, I'm going to get up, and put on my big girl pants. But now? I'm going to going to sleep. 

~ Becky

2016 Reads

Reads for Me:
1. Cinderella* (junior movie novel) by Elizabeth Rudnick
2. Four Blind Mice* (Alex Cross #8) by James Patterson

3. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life by Henry Cloud

4. Tick Tock (Michael Bennett #4) by James Patterson

5. Allegiant*(Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

6. Messenger* (The Giver #3) by Lois Lowry
7. The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands by Lysa TerKeurst
8. Unglued Devotional: 60 Days of Imperfect Progress by Lysa TerKeurst
9. After You (Me Before You #2) by JoJo Moyes
10. Don't Turn Around (PERSEFONE #1) by Michelle Gagnon
11. Don't Look Now (PERSEFONE #2) by Michelle Gagnon
12. Don't Let Go (PERSEFONE #3) by Michelle Gagnon
13. Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana
14. Rules by Cynthia Lord
15. Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver
16. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
17. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
18. Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa TerKeurst
19. Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens
20. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
21. A Beautiful Wedding (Beautiful #2.5) by Jamie McGuire
22. Room by Emma Donoghue
23. I Was Here* by Gayle Forman
24. Those Girls* by Chevy Stevens
25. Finding Dory (graphic novel)
26. That Night* by Chevy Stevens
27. Rise* (Eve #3) by Anna Carey
28. This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
29. I, Michael Bennett* (Michael Bennett #5) by James Patterson
30. Gone* (Michael Bennett #6) by James Patterson
31. Burn* (Michael Bennett #7) by James Patterson
32. Alert* (Michael Bennett #8) by James Patterson
32. the Bible 

Reads for School:
1. Hatchet (Brian's Sage, #1) by Gary Paulsen
2. Muggie Maggie by Beverly Cleary
3. Who Was Neil Armstrong? by Roberta Edwards
4. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

5. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

6. Who Was Walt Disney? by Whitney Stewart

7. Holes by Louis Sachar
8. Runaway Ralph (Ralph S. Mouse, #2) by Beverly Cleary
9. Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard Atwater
10. I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011 by Lauren Tarshis

* audiobook

Total Number of Books Read: 42

Favorite Authors: Lysa TerKeurst and Chevy Stevens
Best Books: The Girl on the Train, Still Missing, Those Girls, That Night, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere
Worst Books: The Michael Bennett series by James Patterson has gotten a bit ridiculous.

2015 Reads

My goal this year was to read 45 books. Technically I missed my goal by two books. My disclaimer is that in June I started a reading plan to read the Bible in one year, so that's what I've been reading at night before bed. If you add in books that I've read at school with my students, I most definitely would have surpassed my goal. In the spirit of not being so OCD, I'm going to let go of the fact that I missed my reading goal and look back at all of the books that I enjoyed this year and smile. They are listed in below in the order I completed them. My hope is that my list and suggestions will inspire you to pick up a book and read. Believe it or not, reading is fun. I truly believe there is a book out there for everyone.

1. Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire
2. Swimsuit* by James Patterson

3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas* by John Boyne

4. Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

5. The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

6. Gathering Blue* (The Giver #2) by Lois Lowry

7. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

8. Divergent* (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

9. The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner* (Twilight #3.5) by Stephenie Meyer

10. Zoo* by James Patterson

11. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron

12. Dark Life* (Dark Life #1) by Kat Falls

13. Number the Stars* by Lois Lowry
14. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
15. If We Survive* by Andrew Klavan
16. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
17. The Weight of Blood* by Laura McHugh
18. The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

19. Orange is the New Black* by Piper Kerman
20. Titanic: Voices From the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

21. I Am Number Four* (Lorien Legacies #1) by Pittacus Lore

22. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leah Bardugo

23. Dark Places* by Gillian Flynn

24. Where We Belong* by Emily Giffin

25. Siege & Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo

26. Eleanor and Park* by Rainbow Rowell
27. Prodigy* (Legend #2) by Marie Wu
28. A Corner of the Universe* by Ann M. Martin
29. The Power of Six* (Lorien Legacies #2) by Pittacus Lore
30. Champion* (Legend #3) by Marie Wu
31. Ruin & Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

32. If I Stay (If I Stay #1) by Gayle Forman
33. Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst
34. The Threads of Reading: Strategies for Literacy Development by Karen Tankersley

35. 14 Deadly Sins (Women's Murder Club, #14) by James Patterson

36. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

37. Worst Case (Michael Bennett #3) by James Patterson
38. Roses Are Red* (Alex Cross #6) by James Patterson
39. Violets Are Blue* (Alex Cross #7) by James Patterson
40. The Guardian* by Nicholas Sparks
41. Shades of Blue* by Karen Kingsbury
42. The Astronaut Wives Club* by Lily Koppel
43. The Choice* by Nicholas Sparks

* Audiobook

Favorites**: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Magic of Ordinary Days, Me Before You, If We Survive, Still Alice, The Light Between Oceans, Orange is the New Black, Titanic: Voices From the Disaster, Where We Belong, Eleanor and Park, Ruin & Rising, Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions, 

** Am I allowed to have so many favorites? It's my blog, so I'm going to go with yes. :)

Rereads: Divergent, Insurgent, Dark Places, Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm

Did not finish:
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith,
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - I tried this one twice, both in audio and in print.

Change Your Words, Change Your Life by Joyce Meyer

Don't waste your time: Zoo by James Patterson,

Biggest disappointment: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Reads of 2014

Here is a list of all of the books that I read this past year, in no particular order:

1. Four by Veronica Roth
2. Run For Your Life (Michael Bennett #2) by James Patterson
3. Step on a Crack* (Michael Bennett #1) by James Patterson
4. The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks
5. Sole Survivor* by Dean Koontz
6. Little Lies by Heather Gudenkauf
7. Lifeguard* by James Patterson
8. Juliet's Lullaby by Ash Night
9. The Daily 5 by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser
10. Cat and Mouse (Alex Cross #4) by James Patterson
11. The Guard (The Selection #2.5) by Kiera Cass
12. The One (The Selection #3) by Kiera Cass
13. Jack and Jill (Alex Cross #3) by James Patterson
14. Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love From His Extraordinary Son by Tom Fields-Meyer
15. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
16. The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio
17, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
18. Don't Look Now (PERSEFoNE #2) by Michelle Gagnon
19. The San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 (I Survived #5) by Lauren Tarshis
20. The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (I Survived #7) by Lauren Tarshis
21. An Unlikely Friendship: A Novel of Mary Todd Lincoln and Elizabeth Keckley by Ann Rinaldi
22. Planted By Streams of Water: Psalms of Divine Wisdom by Jane L. Fryar
23. Oceans Apart* by Karen Kingsbury
24. Between Shades of Gray* by Ruta Sepetys
25. Mistress by James Patterson
26. Sunset in St. Tropez* by Danielle Steel
27, The Private School Murders* (Confessions #2) by James Patterson
28. Unlucky 13* (Women's Murder Club #13) by James Patterson
29. Kiss the Girls* (Alex Cross #2) by James Patterson
30. 12th of Never* (Women's Murder Club #12) by James Patterson
31. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
32. Miss Perigrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Miss Perigrine's Peculiar Children #1) by Ransom Riggs
33. Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu
34. Second Honeymoon (Honeymoon #2) by James Patterson
35. Honeymoon* (Honeymoon #1) by James Patterson
36. Confessions of a Murder Suspect* (Confessions #1) by James Patterson
37. Judge & Jury* by James Patterson
38. The Giver* (The Giver #1) by Lois Lowry
39. Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi
40. Fracture Me (Shatter Me #2.5) by Tahereh Mafi
41. Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi
42, The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
43. The Age of Miracles* by Karen Thompson Walker
44. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
45. The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
46. Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf

* indicates a book was read as an audiobook.

I use my GoodReads account to generate this list. I caught one book that I know I read that was not listed, so I'm hoping all others are on here.

On the 2014 Reading Challenge, I set a goal to read at least 40 books. I exceeded my goal by 6 books. (Go me!) According to GoodReads, I read a total of 14,509 pages; however this number is missing book #46 on my list. 15 of these books were audiobooks. (Actually, I'm kind of surprised that the audiobook number is so small.)

As you can tell, I enjoy reading books by James Patterson. One book - #8 - was written by a former 5th grade student of mine and dedicated to myself and one of her middle school teachers. Quite an honor!

The most disappointing book that I read is definitely #32. I just couldn't handle the weirdness of Miss Perigrine. Book #24 was an absolutely outstanding read. I'd probably recommend that book before any others.

I also had the privilege of meeting two authors this past year - R.J. Palacio and Heather Gudenkauf. Both women are excellent authors, and I would certainly suggest you read their books.

Happy Reading in 2015!
becky

Day 7 ~ Back to the States

As they say, all good things must come to an end. Even though we were looking forward to seeing Isaiah and Mallory again, it was really hard to leave Toronto. It had been such a fantastic week for us.

Road construction in front of our hotel made for a tight squeeze to leave town.

Bye-bye Royal York. *sniffles sadly*

Just outside Toronto, we noticed a traffic back-up going the other direction. The radio newscaster mentioned a semi was overturned and drivers were "taking a peek" to see what was going on. We giggled at his word choice. Here is the states, we use less polite terms like "rubber necking" or "gawking".

When you get bored in the car, it's always fun to take pictures of the handsome driver. 

Almost to customs...perhaps we should stop for a restroom... Nah, traffic doesn't look bad at all...

Yeah, what we didn't see was the parking lot of cars just over the hill waiting on the bridge to cross the border. Ugh. An hour. On a bridge. Fantastic. We really should have stopped. :/

Just a little advice:

OK - I think I got it. Won't be running on empty with this! Woot Woot!

Chicago. We meet again. :P

Well, hello there, handsome driver.  

Almost there...

Home safe and sound! 

Many, many thanks to my mom for staying with the kids for us!!! 

Love how Mallory drew Niagara Falls. :) (See top drawing.)

What a fantastic trip. I feel badly admitting it, but this trip was even better than our Honeymoon. We had so much fun enjoying eachother's company and seeing so many new things. 

The big question - where are we going next?! And WHEN?!

- becky

Day 6 ~ Hockey Hall of Fame

We had traveled all the way to Toronto, and it was almost time for us to return home. But, our trip would not have been complete without a visit to Tim's Disney World - the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Below is the building from the outside. An old bank was remodeled to store the Stanley Cup. Quite appropriate that the building was a bank, as the Cup is stored in - of course - the Vault.

The entrance to the musuem was underground on the Path. See the escalator straight ahead in the picture? I think these archways should have been made to look like hockey sticks.

So, as you can see, Tim was really excited to be here. I wanted him to fully enjoy his experience and time here, so I just kind of wandered around and let him look.

Finding the local hockey teams was just as fun as finding all of Tim's fave Blues.

I *might* have been getting a little bored. Better go find a movie to watch...

The movie showing was actually quite good. Much to Tim's chagrin I have a new fave player - Sidney Crosby! Tim just rolled his eyes and me and blamed the "hockumentary". HA! LOVE that new word!!

Well, better get our pads on and get ready for the big game.

Many trophies were on display upstairs. It really was a beautiful place.

There are 3 Stanley Cups - the one in the picture below, one in the Vault, and one on tour.

The Vault. The Stanley Cup. 

And Tim missed it. We were back at the hotel later that evening, and I commented about going into the vault, to which Tim replied, "What vault?" 

I could not take him back to the States without his seeing the REAL Stanley Cup. With 15 minutes left until closing, we returned to the museum to take a look...

...and to shoot some pucks. Just ask Tim who scored more goals. Ahem. That would be ME!

We ended up with some great souvenirs from the museum's gift shop. Our basement now has a super cool St. Louis Blues Man Cave sign hanging on the wall, I got a great purse made out of a hockey jersey, and Tim has an insulated travel cup. He didn't get the Tervis cup that he wanted...there was one Tervis (50% off too!) left in the display window, but the store absolutely refused to part with it. We tried. Twice - asking different employees on different days. Whatever. Your museum was still awesome.

- becky

Day 5 - Casa Loma

On Saturday morning, we ventrued outside the city via the subway to see Casa Loma. It was definitely worth figuring out the rail system to see such a beautiful castle. Sir Henry and Lady Mary Pellatt began building Casa Loma in 1911. Unfortunately, the Pellatts lost their beautiful home because of debt in a little over 10 years. Today, Casa Loma is a beautiful tourist attraction atop a hill overlooking Toronto. In addition to self-guided tours, weddings - we saw one about to take place! - and symphony events also are held at the beautiful gardens and grounds.

Don't ask me how to pay your subway fare. But do ask me our subway fare story. (I don't want to publish it online for the world to read. LOL)

Located just outside the city, Casa Loma was a very short walk up a large hill from the subway station. Please note the beautiful sky. We were so fortunate to have such beautiful weather for our entire trip.

Lady Pellatt's sitting room

Other side of Lady's sitting room

Just imagine this is your hallway overlooking the main floor of your home. Goodness.

Round Room - called such because of its shape, of course. Even the doors were curved. Pretty nifty!

Passageway and stairs to the tower! Eek!

There was a second staircase above this one. I made it up this one, but I couldn't bring myself to climb to the very top level. 

Smoking Room - the Pellatt's spent much time entertaining guests in this room.

My fave room was the library (of course).

One should always whip a book out of one's purse and read when in a library. (Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf. It's good. Check it out. From your library.)

Conservatory 

Funny story - we heard a man say, "This place is like being in the movie Clue. Colonel Mustard, in the study, with the candlestick." Ha! So very true!

Family crests for Sir Henry and Lady Mary were separated and joined together - see picture below - on the ceiling of the library. 

The Billiard Room...which we like to call the Man Cave. That's not a telephone! That's a self-guided audio tour. It was, in a word, FANTASTIC. We learned lots, and did not feel as though we missed anything at Casa Loma. Our only boo-boo was not going through the tour in numerical order, but it still worked great.

Oh, those beautiful gardens! 

See the bunny?

Sir Henry was not a fan of having to cross the street to get to the stables and garage, so he built a tunnel. Makes sense.

- becky