Book Review: The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB

I have always prided myself on being a "Cool" teacher; I try to dress hip, know the current slang and always know the trends of our current times. And being an English teacher, I always want to know the current trends in the book market. My specialty is high school and the college years as this is where I have spent over fifteen years of my career. So, when I was volunteering this past week at the elementary school library and a young, hip boy approached me and asked, "Mrs. G, what book should I read?" I never assume anything--it has gotten me into trouble--and asked him what he liked. He told me and my wheels were a'turning. AH-HA! This kid would love Percy Jackson and if he liked the first one there was a plethora more where that came from, but alas, this little guy was nine. He could read Percy Jackson as he is a high level reader, but the maturity and some of the themes would be too mature for this young lad....but thanks to Adam Shaughnessy, this nine year old boy has a new series with adventure, Norse Myth, higher level reading with a nosey eleven year protagonist with the release of The Entirely True Story of the Unbelievable FIB. 

Pru, short for Prudence, has an eye for solving a mystery and her new friend, ABE, has a knack for solving riddles. Together these two have to solve the mystery of the Eye of Odin and why Thor is locked in THEIR towns jail. The character development through the story creates a mystery within the mystery. It was a thrilling adventure to try to stay ahead of the plot and predict the ending. I am ready to recommend this book to any 3rd - 7th grader as it is appealing to all of these levels. Told from the perspective of an eleven year old helps this age connect to the main character. She is a sass mouth and defies authority landing her in weeks of detention, but this does not sway her belief system to do what is right.

I learned more about Mythology than I realized. Thanks to Marvel I know about Thor and Loki, but I did not know the extent of their relationship. Because I am just so hip I have watched all of the Marvel movies and I think this also helps the ability to relate to this book and want to keep reading. Having a baseline of knowledge helps reluctant readers and thanks to Hollywood most of us have this knowledge.

I'm thrilled to see Mister Fox, owner of the Norse Detective agency, might make another appearance needing the aid of Pru and ABE. Since Loki is a sly, shape shifter, he may return to seek for the Eye of Odin and the only people who held it last remain in middle school in Middleton. 

You can see the full review at Books and WhatNot

Kitchen Redo

So, I haven't blogged much this past week because I was up to my ears in fluid. Honest. I finally went to the doctor and was told I have so much fluid on my ear she couldn't even see my ear drum. My goodness. I figured the dentist had just left a whole in my mouth from the root canal and crown I got earlier in the week, but no, I have a solid ear infection and I have so much fluid it has flooded down my throat and I have pus pockets of fluid on my throat. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE. Geez Louise. Because Mommys cannot call in sick, I have been blowing off the gym, but for everything else in life, I have been goin' and doin'. I must say it has been nice because Prince Charming has been home every day this past week, so that was helpful. ESPECIALLY since I decided to redo the scrapbook room this week and redo the kitchen this week.
















I promised him I would not start on the kitchen until the scrapbooking room was done. We have a tendency (in my family) to start something and not quite finish it....just saying!

So here is my diarrhea kitchen. It wasn't bad. I just felt it was dark and boding. The whole house was freshly painted when we moved in. Most people would have been thankful and sat on their ass. BUT NOT ME. Color is important. It sets the mood of the house. And boy is my mood important to the people who reside in this house. I also ADORE painting. Now that my dear ol' dad taught me the proper way to tape, paint and not make a mess of ceilings and door knobs I am much better.

Prince Charming still likes to tell people about how I painted door knobs. In my defense, HE was supposed to replace said doorknobs so it didn't matter that I painted them because they were supposed to go in the trash. ARG.

Anyways, I got the kitchen done in time to lay with my head full of liquid on a pillow and watch endless amounts of Gilmore Girls. I'm in love with that show.

Before & After -- same spot for picture taking!

Scrapbook Room Redo!

I don't know why, but I feel compelled to always have a project going. I wish I could be someone who was content with status quo and could sit blissfully reading ignoring all the things to do in my house, but tis not so in my world. I have NOT been happy with my scrapbooking (craft or should I say CRAP) room. I wanted it to be a happy place where creativity would flow into my mind and out through my hands. Not happening! It was a dingy light taupe color. It was a shade of yellow with poop mixed in. It was not pleasant. I get that it was neutral and painted thus to ensure the sale of my house, but I am not moving ANY time soon and I needed to get the funk-shew right.

The other thing that makes a scrapbook room difficult is making sure it is user friendly to other people. I cannot have a room that is just for me. What if we get a GUEST--or like five and we need the use of the room? What if I get mad at Prince Charming and want to sleep somewhere else. I think this is a constant problem with having a craft room. We usually have to share it. When Wichita BF was here she said I should move the bed so I could have two walls devoted to MY area. This was all fine and good, but with my 2 card tables and my HUGE wonky desk this was still going to be a problem. I also have TONS of "STUFF." All of this stuff needs homes. Functioning, organized, homes.

For some stupid reason I didn't take a before picture of all the hodge podge tables I had. I had an 8 ft card table from Sams. A card table in the middle of the room. I had a bed and a 80" desk with two hutch components above it.

I really liked my hot pink curtains, so I kept those and selected everything else to go with them. Funny, huh?

I showed Prince Charming some pictures on Pinterest of what looks awesome, functional and realistic. These three varied to the point of him telling me just design something and he would make it. YEAH, right?!? The boy decided to put it in CATIA--his 3 dimensional Engineering software and model it so I could visually see what we were going to do.

1. Make 3 trips to Micheals, 2 trips to K-Mart, 4 trips to Wal-Mart, 1 trip to Ross, 1 trip to Gordmans, 1 trip to Old Pottery Barn and one trip to Home Depot.
2. Purchase shelving to make a desk--one that has bookcases and storage components.
3. Spend time returning stuff that isn't going to work or was not the right height. (Do you know how many shelves there are and they ALL vary around 1-2"???? I felt like a complete dork when I drug my tape measure from my purse and was measuring random shelves. OMG. I am turning into my mother....)
4. Paint old Hutch to be a nice shade of gray with the interior being yellow.
4.5 Paint room. Make 3 trips to Sherwin Williams to discover the PAINT anniversary sale was coming up and all paint would be 35% off---can we say kitchen???
4.75 Pick the color Innocence from Benjamin Moore paint because it is what Pinterest says goes best with my hot pink curtains. Emma from Sherwin Williams matched it for me and was ever so patient when I ran out of my gallon of paint and had to match a quart of pint the next day---I ended up getting her mess up can for $.50. WOOT. I have a feeling there will be something else painted in my near future....
5. Take everything down and move it into Obe Wan's room. (He refused to vacuum because ALL of my stuff was in his room. Brat.)
6. Bring beers to Prince Charming to keep him focused and driven.
7. Use MainStays Shelf units, a shelf unit from Recollections scrapbooking storage (used 40% off coupon) and two sheets of 5/8 particle board from Home Depot to create a 30" wide desk on one wall and a 18" wide desk on another wall.

It turned out amazing with TONS of storage. The overall cost was under $200. Happy Birthday!

Absolutely loved this picture at Kirklands!
"The Beach is Calling
And I must Go...."

Book Review: Mechanica (Released Aug. 25)

I believe every young girl hopes a prince will come along and rescue her from whatever fate may have in store for her. I never thought it would be possible for a prince to come along and for the girl to deny the possibility of a happily ever after, but in Mechanica by Besty Cornwell, the reader gets exactly that---a girl who simply says no to the boy. A modern day, Steampunk, Cinderella story is the tale of Nicolette, who has been left to a wicked stepmother and two evil stepsisters, but this story has a bit of fairy revolution in it as well.

When Nicolette turns 16 she is given a letter from her deceased Mother; the letter leads her to a secret room in the house where Nicolette meets a tiny, mechanical horse her mother has left her. With a little fairy magic and her Mother's journals, Nicolette is able to invent machines to help with menial chores and later sale them to escape her life of service. Nicolette, renamed Mechanica because of her ability to build mechanical things and her nickname of Nick, befriends two kids in the market who help aspire her to help in the Fey revolution, and encourage her to become more than just a maid to the two insolent stepsisters.

I was thoroughly impressed by the atypical ending to this fairy tale. This book does not give its readers romance or stereo typical characters. It is a cleverly written story about a young girl who figures her happily-ever-after life depends on only one person---and that person is her. 

You can read the entire review at Books & WhatNot

Ms America turns 37

 
I thought this card was perfect! My two Jedi Knights know I have fallen in L-O-V-E with a coffee shop here. It has better coffee than Scooters in Wichita, but I still have a love for Scooters Pina Colada smoothies. Those are amazing!

The boys got me a FitBit Charge HR. I'm not sure I like it. It is funny how you have the simple device and think upgrading it will be better, but I'm not so sure. It tracks my sleep, stairs, steps and heart rate. I wanted it for the heart rate aspect, but I have an amazing Polar Watch that does that as well. How many watches can one person wear, ya know? :)

I was blessed to have lots of phone calls and mail yesterday. It made my day wonderful as it was a bittersweet day. This was the first time in 37 years I haven't seen a member of my family on or around my birthday. Living far away is really sad at times. Ms. Music Teacher made me an amazing scrapbook. I believe it is the first time anyone has ever made me a scrapbook. There was a quote on a page that said,  PERFECT!

My Portland Sister sent me flowers and Ryan also got me flowers. Sister's were way better, but he tried, right? It was great to have someone deliver me flowers. I had the neighbors over and we smoked ribs, drank and had DQ Ice Cream cake. A girl couldn't ask for more....

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful and blessed day!

Old Lady visits the Vet

Gabby was giving me attitude! I told her to look at me and smile and she blatantly looked away. She is no better than the Jedi Knights. I told her to LOOK AT ME. And she did. Thank goodness otherwise we were going to have a serious talk.








We found out Gabby is doing much better than expected! She does not have cushings disease which I was relieved to hear. She has arthritis in her back hips and her back. This explains her severe panting, her small droppings of poop around and her falling down the stairs. Her back is heavy and this puts strain on her. She is going on a daily doggie Ibuprofen to help out with the inflammation. This is typical of older, large dogs. She is going to be 12 this October. CRAZY! She did great with the new doctor. Dr. Hollis in New Albany gave Mulvane Animal Clinic a run for their money as to being amazing! YEAH!

I asked the vet about a new puppy and she encouraged me to do so. Gabby would help train the puppy and this would make life easier on me. I will start researching Golden Retrievers and find a breeder nearby. We have GRRAND, Golden Retriever Rescue & Adoption of Needy Dogs in Southern Indiana, but I have to have a fence. I don't have a working wireless fence and I think I want a puppy. I think I will put a bit more prayer into this venture as I'm not sure I am ready to train a puppy yet. They are SO much work. I don't want a barky, yippy, biting dog. I also have semi-nice carpet in my house, so I don't want them to ruin the carpet either. Oh boy. Always an adventure. I'm just thrilled to know Old Lady is doing great.

Book Review: Leo A Ghost Story

Poor Leo! He just wants his new tenants to feel welcome and at home in HIS house, but they are so disturbed by Leo they order every form of ghost exterminator they can to come over and exorcise him from the premises. In Leo a ghost story by Mac Barnett, Leo only wanted his new house guests to like him when he brought them mint tea and honey toast, but they only said mean things all while Leo was listening. Leo decides if they want him out so badly, he will leave and find a new home; however, this is not as easy as Leo thinks. 

It never is as easy as we think when we hear people say mean and cruel words to our good intentions. Christian Robinson has illustrated this effectively with the use of blues, blacks and gray throughout most of the book. Leo is sad and lonely as he has always been a house ghost and is forced to experience the new and unusual.  Nothing is the same. The city scenes, the people Leo encounters are wonderfully drawn with facial expressions depicting the tone of anger, sadness and blissful ignorance. Leo is forlorn and feeling of complete loss, when he meets a girl coloring on the sidewalk whose name is Jane. 

It is through Jane (and maybe a little bit of her blue smile) we get to see friendship can be found when all seems lost. Jane's parents think Leo is imaginary and he knows he cannot tell Jane his true identity for fear of scaring her family as well. Leo saves the day by locking up a thief in the night. Since an imaginary person cannot lock up a thief, Jane has to ask about Leo's identity. Leo has to confess he is a ghost--which is just excellent because Jane would love to have a ghost friend and not an imaginary one.

I agree with Jane! It is much better to have a real friend than an imaginary one. AND it is even better to have a friend who treats us with respect and saves us from the cruel world. Both of these little people save each other and this is what we need children to learn. The world can be cruel. People can say and do mean things, but don't give up hope. There is always someone who is nice and will be your friend. 

Dive Into Learning Bulletin Boards at FKE

 

Our school selected "Dive Into Learning" as the theme for the year. I am the Bulletin Board Chairperson; I said I would do it as I love decorating bulletin boards for the classrooms without the hassle of actually getting a classroom ready. This is what you can do when you are retired! HA! So, I created UNDER THE SEA BULLETIN BOARDS....seventeen of them to be exact. How fun is this! So, I enlisted the help of Prince Charming who can free hand draw. What an awesome talent and one I do not possess. He helped me create a finding Nemo board. I have Dory saying the address and little Crush saying "Woah" "Far Out and Hang Ten" The birds are saying Mine, Mine, Mine. I added twine around the piers to make them three dimensional! Too much fun. I also put another board up next to the ocean one with cellphane over it to give the illusion of Nemo being in a fish tank. It says on there "Do not Tap on the Glass" with the Nemo saying, "Just Keep Swimming." This is not my favorite one, but I was so OVER these boards that I just didn't care. 

Every grade level has a Data Wall. I used 12x12 paper, laminated them and used hot glue to attach paper clips. This way the data can change every 9 weeks without disturbing my beautiful artwork.

In the car rider hallway there was two huge boards:

I used clear shower caps from the Dollar Tree and stuffed them with colored tissue paper. Underneath I used streams to create their legs. I have "Don't Sting like a Jelly Fish--PLAY NICE!" This is also the door way to the playground and near the counselor's office, so I found this to be apropos!

I created two more for the office, but I didn't take their pictures. Oops!

I had the entire computer lab to do. I decided to go with pirates! FUN!

I had to leave some inspirational posters up as the room was just too big to make all pirate stuff. I also had to be aware of swords and bad pirate grammar! HA!

I also did the box tops board, but had to take it down as it wasn't my board to do. Her board is this one:

Book Review: The Vanishing Island

Stories of lost treasure, placement of Davey Jones' locker, endless blue seas and the life of a pirate is mysterious and glamorous--yet scary, unknown and daunting. Barry Wolverton has created a new series of Pirate lore, The Vanishing Island: The Chronicles of the Black Tulip. I do participate yearly in "Talk Like A Pirate Day," but I am not one to pick up and read a pirate book; however, I have two young boys who are constantly needing age appropriate books which will challenge their reading.  So, alas me hearties, I dove into a Pirate Book.

 Through the life of Bren, a young apprentice to Rand McNally, famous Map maker ,we see a young boy who aspires to be more than the small town will let him be. Bren was left a coin and a tale of a vanishing island from his Mother before she died. Bren is convinced the tale is true and he must get on a boat and sail into the blue yonder to discover this island and its treasure. He attempts multiple times to sneak on a ship to only become the town's only juvenile delinquent in charge of the vomitorium. (You must read the book to discover what exactly a vomitorium is!)

Bren's Mother's story, make believe and only that of bed times, becomes more fact than fiction when the Albatross docks with an Admiral looking for a missing coin---and this Admiral has a tattoo, the one from the Order of the Black Tulip. Coinciding with the ships arrival is a man who shows up to Bren's vomitorium to leave in his last dying breath (or regurgitation) a coin engraved with a map.

Bren figures a way onto the ship, meeting new crewmates, a mysterious cook, a rich man who is sponsoring the voyage among other colorful and delightful characters. Wolverton has researched life of a sailor and it is apparent. The terminology of ship life is consistent throughout the story along with the amazing description of the not-so-pleasant life of a sailor. I laugh as I keep writing sailor; PIRATE would be more apropos! I cannot wait to pass this book along to middle school boys (girls too). The dialect can be a little bit rough, but there was no profanity or anything I found to be questionable.  It is gross. It is informational in nature. It is funny. It is scary. It is to be continued....

You can read the rest of the review at Books and WhatNot

All About the Jedi Knights of FKE

 So, I have been spending a LOT of time volunteering up at Floyd's Knobs Elementary (FKE). I enjoy it up there because I know I am close to the Jedi Knights. I know they also appreciate knowing I am somewhere in the building. Their little faces light up and they grin like idiots when they see me! I know it won't always be like this, so I better eat it up when I get it. I say that but I know I can sometimes light up when I see my Mama still today. There is just something about a Mom. 

Now, the STINKY part of being a Mom is when you are walking through the halls of your kids school and you see there little "All About Me" introductions hanging on the walls. It makes you grin and you look around to find your kids and then you find them. Yep, you instantly read to see if you know the facts. 

What did Obe Wan like about summer...he got to travel around a shipwreck in a Kayak. (Okay, cool. I did that with him and I'm the one that MADE Prince Charming do it. I didn't realize I would get totally sea sick in a little bitty boat in the middle of the great big Atlantic Ocean....) Obe Wan has a pet dog. He even drew a nice picture. His hobbies are playing video games, piano and reading. (Surprise! Surprise!) He is unique because he has a huge Lego Collection. He really likes Roblox (A computer game) He doesn't like vegetables and his special friend is Dakota.(Okay, cool. No biggie. I knew all of that. I did say something ticked me off....)

YEP....J-BIRD. Here is his ALL ABOUT ME...

This summer he got to go to Legoland. It was super fun. He got to ride the Coastausaurus and it was the best roller coaster ever. His hobbies are playing, video games and collecting coins. (That was a new one on me....) He is unique because he is athletic. (Ok, whatever?!?!) He has a pet dog. He really likes running. He doesn't like waiting. (AMEEEEENNNN to that one.) AND HERE IT IS. DRUM ROLL.

HIS SPECIAL FRIEND? 

"My Dad is a very special person to me." 

I'm out. Geez. How can I beat that one? Apparently with a stick. A large one. To beat. UP. Prince Charming. Sigh....

Scrapping Friday!

Okay, so I look like a complete dork, but it was awesome to have people over to scrapbook/craft night. I cooked some enchiladas up and they came. There were eight of us total. We came and went based on our families, but we had good fellowship and fun.

I worked on making 100 cards for the school birthday/compassion committee. I'm kinda excited I selected this committee as I can do it from home and still be on the PTO board without having to be involved with ALL the women!

This weekend we took on the remodel of my scrapbooking room. The room was a terrible brown/taupe/yellow color and it had to go. As luck would have it Sherwin Williams is running their anniversary sale and it was 35% off this entire weekend. I happened to pick up enough paint to work on the kitchen too! HA!

Obe Wan returns to the Doctor

Obe Wan went to the doctor yesterday for the six week check up at the Urologist. We have learned that Miralax is not what he needs. He poops everyday and we even were given a POOP chart to ensure it is a nice, healthy poop. OMG. TMI.

He is going on a 10mg dose of Oxybutin daily. This is a muscle relaxer to help his spastic bladder. We also got notes for the school and his teacher. He needs to be able to go to the bathroom whenever he needs to. I learned there is only one bathroom on the 3/4 grade hall. Not nearly enough. I know he holds his urine for fear of being embarrassed or other people hearing his bodily functions. This is awful. It is putting additional strain on his bladder and colon. He does not need this, so I'm hoping by giving him the opportunity to go whenever it will alleviate the problems.

Another six weeks and we return....

Diet Bet

So, while talking with my Portland Sister the other day, it occurred to me the only person who can make me miserable is ME! I need to fix that. No more excuses. No more anything. I can always find an excuse. I do loathe exercise more than ANY thing and I do LOVE food. Those two do not go well together. I swore I would never do another diet bet, but I lie.

On August 5, 2015 I joined a DIETBET game. I bet $30 that I could lose 4% of my weight in 30 days. It is a dollar a day that I am betting myself. The bet is from Aug. 5 - Sept. 1. There are over 5,000 people also in the bet and over $150,000 at stake. I'm kinda excited to see how I can do. You have to get on a scale with the word they choose to ensure there aren't any cheaters.

While I'm at it, I'm also making myself walk a minimum of 10k steps a day. My goal is 10 before 10. So far, so good. Then the rest of the day I'm just lazy! Tee-Hee.

Blunt Brothers Construction MADE MY DECK aAHh-mazing!

Here is the deck I bought (with my house)

 This is the deck in its former glory. J-Bird fell through a step a couple months back and two boards were threathening to take Prince Charming out if he didn't do something about it and fast. He was truly worried he too would go through the boards. At first we thought it may be termites and it would be covered by the home warranty. Wouldn't that be great? Yeah, well we know how that works out....

The deck had two exits. One out to the garage and side yard. The other was all the way down to the walk out basement. It had lattice on the underside and our mower is housed in this area.

Here is the NEW and IMPROVED DECK!

It is so ah-mazing and nice! Here are several shots to show off the work they did. I also took these pics while my guys were chilling in the hot tub. J-Bird was skinny dipping. It seems to be his new norm. It is quite disturbing when he dances out of the water....

 We still don't have it stained, but we'll get there. It has an awesome spring-loaded gate now. It makes it super easy to get in and out of there. It is pad locked and completely closed in. It makes for a 100% water proof shed without building one. We also have steps into the back yard instead of having to go all the way to the walk out level. 

We went to Kroger and bought lawn furniture this last weekend for a BBQ we had. It was quite enjoyable to sit out with the kids and watch them in the tub while we all visited and drank some bourbon. One of the friends that was at the BBQ bought us Willett Bourbon as a house warming gift, so it was only apropos to open it while he was here! 

My three guys hot tubbing!