Almost done

Hello all. It has been awhile, again. I gave a lesson last week on journaling and how it is a commandment. I was honest with my girls and explained that I don't do it very well but as I did challenge them to do it I thought I should make more of an effort.

School is winding down. It came up kind of fast and surprise like this year. When people started mentioning only a month left I was like, "really." I wasn't in the "I can't wait" phase yet. I am now. It is like in the last 2 weeks my students have forgotten everything they have ever learned about classroom rules, listening to instructions and just not talking! I have had to fall back on my stand by of more bribes- wait I mean rewards. Of course the end of this year brings me closer to the beginning of next year where I will be teaching 2 new subjects. That is a little stressful and nerve racking. I will really try hard to actually do some preparation this summer. Also the end of this year means that one of my VP's is leaving. He got transferred to another school. Most of you don't know him but he is great. One of the best administrators I have ever worked with and he will be missed.

The end of year school year also means summer!! I have tickets for CT and can't wait to see the family. I have lots of plans for fun.

I have also been reading and watching quite a few movies so here is a short review of those- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I read this in a day. It is really good. It is a distopia, future story about a world where 24 young adults are sent each year to fight to the death. It is fast paced, has great characters and a very interesting, thought provoking message. It doesn't hit you over the head with it though, it is subtle. I have started the sequel and so far it is great too.
I have also read the first and fourth books in the Sword of Truth series. I really liked them. You may wonder why those two... well I read about a third of the second and was highly disturbed, then read synopsis of the next few books in the series and decided I didn't want to pick up the story till the 4th. Much better. There is a TV series based on it which is also pretty entertaining, "Legend of the Seeker" Last book is Forest Born by Shannon Hale. It is part of the books of Bayern series. Nice YA book with many strong female characters. I really enjoyed the evolution of the main character in this one. So far this is getting long so movie reviews will be short- Letters to Juliet- OK, you might wait till DVD. Just Wright- I enjoyed it quite a bit. I am a big fan of Queen Latifah. Robin Hood- a little slow to start but picks up and has a good ending. Not historically accurate but interesting how they combine the legend with the Magna Carta. OK that's all for now.

Happy Mother's Day

So today to celebrate Mother's day I thought I would give 1o reasons why I am grateful for my mother. (Also to beat my sister to the punch :) In no particular order-

1. She taught me to cook. This has brought me much joy and is a very useful skill to have.

2.She made me take Piano lessons. I can not play at all but it did help me develop an appreciation for music.

3. She made healthy well balanced meals for us. I may not eat very healthy all the time but it is not because I don't know how.

4. She taught me to speak my mind, even if sometimes it was to argue with her :).

5. Years of practice dying hair, it comes in really handy now.

6. She gave me the gift of celebrating birthdays instead of dreading them. Our birthdays were always big celebrations!

7. She took me to Disneyland and Disney World!!!

8. She taught me to treat all people with respect, even of they are different then we are.

9. When I was freaking out about not getting a good enough score or not studying enough she told me it would be fine.

10. She showed me how to be an intelligent, independent woman!

Thanks Mom, I love you.