15 Sep
![Wizard and Glass [The Dark Tower IV]](https://i0.wp.com/ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518zxTKLoOL._SX106_.jpg)
Wizard and Glass [The Dark Tower IV] by Stephen King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was not my favorite of the Tower series so far. It took me much longer to read because I just couln’t become invested in the flashback story. I liked the story much better when it focuses on the Ka-tet. The only reason I even finished it was because I wanted to see what happens after the flashback.
21 Aug
The first week of school is complete. We had meetings on Monday and Tuesday and technically we had Wednesday off, but almost everyone was there. Wednesday night Joey and I went to the Melting Pot for some great fondue. They were having a special night with Sierra Nevada brewery which makes one of Joey’s favorite beers. The night worked out great for us both. We got to eat fantastic food at a discounted price and got free beer samples with every course. Thursday was the first day with the kiddos and it was exhausting. I was at school at 6:30 in the morning. It took an hour to get all the kids loaded on the bus, so I didn’t leave until 4:15. I then went home and crashed while Joey cut my grass. We drove back out to his town and did some shopping and went to dinner. I was in a total zombie state. I crashed at 9:00. I really have to get used to the back to work thing, next week is a full week. So far the classes I’ve had have been okay, only a couple that seem like they might have some trouble listening. I think this year is going to go fairly well.
Some pics of my library:
The library lab
The main shelves: I have to inventory them all every year.
15 Aug
On August 12th at 11:03pm I became an aunt for the first time. My little sister gave birth to a 7 pound 5 ounce, 20 3/4inch baby boy. His name is Quinn. I was pretty psyched to be able to see him about 20 minutes after he was born. She went into labor around noon so my parents and I had plenty of time before the birth to drive the 3 hours to where she lives. It is going to be hard to spoil him as much as I want with them living so far, but we are going up in a month for my sister’s 30th birthday so I’ll get to see him again. My parents are totally loving this grandparent thing (they have been hinting about how much they want grandkids for a while now). So I am now officially Auntie Katie. I think it comes naturally for people to use auntie with my name instead of aunt because they rhyme. My friend Kelly refers to me as Auntie Katie to her kids as well. I am cool being Auntie to all my “nephews” blood related or not.
Here are some pics of Baby Quinn
Mommy and baby
Daddy and baby
Grandpa
Grandma
Auntie Katie
He looks like his mommy
20 Jul
I know I am not on here often and my usual excuse is that I have nothing to blog about. Most of the time I just update my Facebook status and consider my people informed. Well today I realized there was something I could have been blogging about…My little sister is pregnant. She is actually due in a little over 2 weeks on Aug. 7th. Coincidentally, her due date is also my dad’s birthday. I guess I could have been blogging about this for the past 9 months, but oh well. In March I got to be at the ultrasound where she found out she was having a boy. In June I threw her a kick a$$ baby shower. Last Saturday, my mom and I drove up to help her make some final purchases. Now we wait until the kid comes. I am hoping he comes on or before his due date because if he comes after I will be back at work. Here are some pics from the shower and her big belly pic from last Saturday.
Her theme is frogs. There is a lot of frog baby stuff. My grandma made her this frog quilt.
Her hubby's baby blanket (I think), or a blanket made by the hubby's late grandma
Yeah, did I mention the theme is frogs?
3 weeks 'til due date
20 Jul
I recently read an article posted by one of my teacher friends that was about an essay a teacher wrote in Florida. It was about how wrong it is to judge a teacher’s ability based on one standardized test. I think it sums up how many teachers view the profession. I hear often enough that teachers have no right to complain, or ask for more money, because we get summers off. What people don’t realize is that we spend that time working extra jobs, attending classes, going to workshops (unpaid) and working in our classroom (unpaid). During the school year you can find many teachers at my school arriving before 7 am and not leaving until 5 or 6 (our paid hours are 7:25-3:10). Many of them are at school on Sundays doing plans as well. We get 20 minutes for lunch during which many teachers work on lessons or with children who are struggling. I have spent my own money buying food for students who have no food. I once had a student perform odd jobs to earn school money so he could buy food from me to take home over the weekend because he maybe got one meal the whole weekend. I bought warm clothes for a student and gave them to him as a secret santa gift because he didn’t have anything to wear but holey tshirts. People don’t realize how much of our own time and money we spend with these kids. We get $250 back in taxes. I usually have spent that much of my own money by September. I think everyone has an important job. I just wish people would realize how important our jobs are and how we do it because we want to help the kids. There are good teachers out there who put their heart and souls into the job and their students LEARN, but we can’t control what happens the day of the test. We do our best to soothe anxiety, see that all the kids have eaten something and try not to stress the kids out about this test that could end our careers.
Here is the link to the article. I encourage everyone to read it.
By Cynthia McCabe When people were attacking her and her fellow dedicated public school teachers, Florida fourth-grade teacher Jamee Miller got mad. And
via Florida Teacher’s Essay Becomes Rallying Cry for Respect.
20 Jul
So I was browsing the internet and stumbled across this great blog. The author is from Cape and her fiance is from STL. The blog is mostly about how she has planned her wedding on a budget (she is getting married this Saturday in STL). She also posts about books she has read and recipes she has tried. I found myself laughing out loud at some of her posts and marveling at her creativity. I had to email her to tell her how much I liked her blog and even though her wedding is 4 days away she promptly emailed me back. She is definitely better at this blog thing than I am…but maybe when I have a wedding to plan I will have more to blog about. If you want to check out her blog I am going to put it on my blog roll or you can go to http://stacymaried.blogspot.com/.
15 Jul
9 Jun
So you may have noticed that my last couple of posts have been book reviews. I joined this site called Goodreads. My sister recommended it to me. You can add books that you have read, are reading, or want to read. It also works like a social networking site because you can add friends and see what they are reading and what they liked. What I thought was cool was that when I rate/review a book on the site it gives me a code so that I can add it to my blog. So be on the lookout for book reviews. I won’t review all the books I read (I usually have 2 or 3 going at a time), but I will add some of the more interesting ones.
Now if only I can find a site like this for movies…anyone?
9 Jun
The Gunslinger: Revised and Expanded by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My boyfriend and his roommate both told me I should read this book due to my love of fantasy and Stephen King horror novels. I have to admit they may have built it up too much, but it kept me interested until the end and I am definitely going to read the rest of the series. I want to find out what happens with Roland.
28 Apr
The Order of the Stick Volume 1: Dungeon Crawlin’ Fools by Rich Burlew
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have never played D&D, but I was still able to find this book funny. It helped to have someone explain some of the technical jargon to me.
Nerdy Is The New Normal 
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