Friday Confessional

Everyone needs to confess a little every now and then, right? Friday Confessional is hosted by Our Dandelion Wishes and Glammy Info.

I confess...

I am tired of teaching. I'm just feeling too old for it these days. I've put in 22 years now, and I guess I'm getting burned out. Don't get me wrong... I love the kids! They are why I am there, and I love seeing them and teaching them every day.

What bothers me is the lack of supportive administration in the district, the numerous state and federal laws that tie our hands so we can't address issues that need to be addressed, state testing that takes up so much instruction time, and the general bad attitude many students and parents have toward educators these days. It's stressful sometimes. And I'm tired. Just plain tired.

I confess...

I participated in a meme not too long ago (last month), visited many of the other participants and left comments, left a comment on the original post, and did not receive one reciprocal comment. Not one. That hurts. Face it, we all want to know someone out there is reading and relating to us.

That is all I am confessing for now. I'm tired!

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My Year in Books 2010

Filed under: Thursday Thirteen, Reading, Books

1. I read a total of 42 books during 2010, up from 36 last year. I keep track on Goodreads.

2. I read two children's books, both by Roald Dahl: The Magic Finger

and George's Marvellous Medicine.

Neither one was great.

3. One of my favorite authors is James Patterson. I read 8 books by him:

Don't Blink,

The Postcard Killers,

Private,

Worst Case,

Fang,

Witch & Wizard,

The 9th Judgment,

and I, Alex Cross.

4. I read 6 books for my book club:

I'm with the Band: Confessions of a Groupie (Pamela Des Barres),

Nefertiti (Michelle Moran),

Shanghaii Girls (Lisa See),

The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrewy Niffenegger),

Water for Elephants (Sara Guren),

and The Guardian (Nicholas Sparks).

Out of those, I thought Nefertiti was the best one.

5. I read ten young-adult novels: Fang and Witch & Wizard were mentioned previously. The others were

Unwind (Neal Shusterman),

The Lottery Rose (Irene Hunt),

Closed for the Season (Mary Downing Hahn),

The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Mary E. Pearson),

Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson),

The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins),

Once Upon a Marigold (Jean Ferris),

and Maggie's Door (Particia Reilly Giff).

Out of those, Speak was the best one.

6. I read two books by another favorite author, John Grisham:

Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer

and Ford County Stories.

I'm currently reading another book by Grisham.

7. Four of the books I read were nonfiction including one mentioned above (I'm With the Band.) The others were

Grown Up Digital:How the Net Generation is Changing the World (Don Tapscott),

The Ultimate Guide for Men and Women to Understand Each Other (Alex A. Lluch),

and Ready from Within: A Personal Narrative (Septima Clark).

Non-fiction is not my favorite genre.

8. I read 3 books by Janet Evanovich (who is a hoot!):

Sizzling Sixteen,

Plum Lucky,

and Wicked Appetite.

9. I read two books by Robert Crais, another favorite author:

The Two-Minute Rule

and The Watchman.

10. I also enjoy reading Stephen White, but I only read one by him:

Dead Time.

His newest book is next on my list.

11.I read two books that are considered classics:

Animal Farm (George Orwell)

and Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte).

12. Five of my books did not fall into any of the above categories:

The Heretic Queen (Michelle Moran),

The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold),

Heat Wave (Richard Castle),

19 Minutes (Jodi Piccoult),

and Wildwater Walking Club (Claire Cook).

13. If I had to choose a favorite book, that would be difficult, becaus unlike the previous two years, none of them was breathtakingly good (like Angels and Demons and The Kite Runner from 2009 and 2008). I suppose I would choose Neffertiti by Michelle Moran. One of the worst books on my list was Witch & Wizard. Find me on Goodreads and let's connect! I'd love to have suggestions for reading material!

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Works for Me Wednesday

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted at We are THAT Family.

I love to read, and I love to stay organized, so Goodreads is a website that helps me do that.

Goodreads helps me keep up with what I have read, what I am currently reading, and what I want to read. It's hard to remember the titles of all the books I want to read, and Goodreads gives me a place to keep up with that.

Another feature is the ability to create "shelves" for the books you read. I have created a "shelf" for my book club books, 2010, 2011, fiction, nonfiction, young adult literature, and children's books. And I can classify each book into more than one category.

In addition, you can rate the books you read and write reviews if you are so inclined. Goodreads also allows you to automatically update twitter and/or facebook when you rate a book, again, if you so choose. And it allows you to post your reviews to your blog (like this one).

You can also connect with friends on Goodreads and share reviews, book lists, comments, and more, or you can join book discussions. It's quite a handy website for readers!

(I was not compensated in any way for promoting Goodreads, but I wish I could be!)

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Year in Review... December 2010

My month started out in a fabulous way when I was honored as "Queen for a Day" at Our Dandelion Wishes. Thanks, Mamarazzi. You made my month!

Then, I dealt with the fallout of mean girls in high school. My poor baby!

I also took some time to re-evaluate my blogging reasons, goals, if you will. They haven't changed drastically and probaby won't.

And I had a very merry Christmas! I hope you did, too!

Stay tuned for my 2010 Books in Review, coming soon.
If you missed a post, here they are:
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, and November.

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Tackle it Tuesday

Tackle it Tuesday is sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom

This past Sunday, I tackled the Christmas "un" decorating. I started with the tree - getting all the ornaments off. My husband did the lights, then we both disassembled the tree (artifical). Then I gathered up the many, many other decorations in the living room, kitchen, entry way, stair way, and so on.

No more tree! Or any other decorations! We got it all boxed up and into the attic in a matter of a few hours. Whew! I'm glad that's done! What did you tackle?

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