Boy, oh boy It's B-day! Today, I'm going to talk books -- audioBooks specifically (see what I did there B day?). I have an audible subscription because I like to listen to books--especially if there is a great narrator. I especially love when a humorous author reads his/her own works, so I've recently enjoyed Amy Pohler's Yes, Please and Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend this Never Happened and Furiously Happy. Amy is always funny, so her book was a treat to listen to. Her story of being in the Wizard of Oz sticks out to me especially. While I enjoy Jenny Lawson's writing, I find it even more believable/relatable when she reads it to me. She's skilled, funny, charming, and her personality shines through her work. I love it when she talks to/about her lawyer/editor when she reads. I also enjoy her family obsession with quality taxidermy. I highly recommend all of those books. I also listened to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn last summer, which I enjoyed. I'm very glad I listened to it because Nick and Amy's voices kept me drawn in to the story more than I would have otherwise. When I exercise, I'm currently listening to The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and a series of BBC produced radio productions of Jane Austen's works. As an English major I know I should love Jane Austen's work, but can you believe I made it all the way through my schooling without being assigned to read her work? I just couldn't get in to the books when I tried to read them (how small is that print?!), but I am enjoying the radio plays. Maybe it's David Tennant and Benedict Cumberbatch (yum!), but for some reason these stories are more accessible and easier to relate to via audiobook. I also use audiobooks in class -- my students have access to listen to the audio of most of the literature we read together. I read out loud rather often in my class -- especially when we are reading a novel. There is something about the hearing/seeing/reading/listening connection that makes books more relatable to all. So, even though I still love Books, audioBooks are a great way to consume literature, too. This post is part of the A-to-Z writing challenge for April 2016.
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And away we go...
This month I am participating in the AtoZChallenge to encourage my blogging. Day 1 is A. What do I have to write about? Absolutely nothing. So, here is A list of things I'd like to write about this month: 1. My dad 2. Baseball season 3. Maverick & Goose 4. Rewatching House 5. Books. Lots of books 6. Audiobooks 7. Call the Midwife 8. Saying Good bye to Downton 9. " " Parenthood 10. Why I love sleeping in 11. Running/getting back into shape 12. Find some freaking moms in literature 13. Standards Based Grading -- what I know so far 14. ASCD conference 15. Kayaking 16. Summer plans 17. Fashion (may be a Stitch Fix review?) 18. Planning to become a better blogger So, that's how we'll start with A few ideas. Today I chose to channel yesterday's negative energy to positive energy. got this gem as a reward for one of my deeds. :) You're welcome, Courtney. Glad you enjoyed them.
I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for sitcoms. Growing up, I loved Full House. I recently watched Fuller House, and enjoyed that, too. It was so cheesy and perfect. I'm glad it was a short season, and I hope the next season is short, too. We don't need a reboot: we needed a few minutes to visit our characters as we remembered them. I've recently also watched every episode of Friends, How I Met Your Mother, M*A*S*H, and Melissa and Joey. Melissa and Joey is sort of a reboot as it takes two characters we used to know and makes them grow up. Others from their old shows visit, too, to make it more fun. I'm a sucker for cheesy storylines that can be wrapped up in one tiny episode. I love that the plot generally follows the same arc, deception is always part of the conflict, and the story is easy to follow. I enjoy that characters grow and change over seasons, but I don't need to see last week's show to understand what is happening this week. That's the beauty of a sitcom. It's also wrapped up in 21-25 minutes, making binge watching possible. And, the lack of plot I need to follow also means I can watch it while I'm doing something else, like paying bills or making food or surfing the web. So, I've recently discovered a new sitcom called Young and Hungry. The main character, Gabi, is played by Emily Osment, who I've loved since since she played Lily on Hannah Montana. Emily plays characters that are spunky, a little lost, and hilarious. Even as a child-actress she was very talented at delivering one-liners. I'll be honest, I was a bit old for Hannah Montana when it came out, but I watched it pretty regularly anyway because Lily's character always made me laugh. Anyway, I caught up binge watching Young and Hungry this weekend and was intrigued by a particular episode titled "Young & the First Time." In this episode Gabi, Cooper, and Josh all have STD testing done. Say what you will about the amount of young people having sex on TV is these days (in this show most of the characters are between 23 and 30), this is the first time I've ever heard of characters grappling with the reality of STD testing before being with a new partner. While this was essential to the plot for another reason (cue relationship deception & conflict), it was awesome that the characters went to be tested, the doctor complimented them on it, and they all spoke about the importance of being tested. In a culture that views sex with the laissez-faire attitude that ours does, it's nice to see in a show that airs on a channel meant for teens (ABC's Freeform) also discuss the importance of health, honesty, and the negative sides of having sex when discussing relationships. Another point expressed in the show was the idea that STD testing is important because, to quote Gabi, "Every time you're with someone new you're also sleeping with with everyone else they've slept with." This is a peril of all intimate contact that young people often fail to understand. This show tackled it in a light-hearted way, but the message still got across. Thanks, Freeform, for having your shows tackle this issue. I hope every TV show that shows or alludes to young people engaging in sexual behavior chooses to follow this path. First, an apology for not being very good at the SOL Challenge. Usually I would quit at this point since I've missed multiple days, but that's not what I'm going to do this year. Instead, I'll keep posting as much as I can to train myself to be better at writing. Now, I want to tell you a story. It's a bit of a story of woe, but mostly a story of happiness & a bit of contentment I've been searching for for a while now. Friday, I got a flat tire.Now, anyone who knows me knows that I hate dealing with car problems. I dated a mechanically inclined guy in HS,
The weather looks beautiful this week -- a surprise since we had a snowstorm last week! It's going to be in the 60s all week and I would really like to be in my kayak. This winter my kayak has been stored in the basement, taunting me each time I do laundry or take something out of the freezer. I want to be on the open water! I want to think about nothing but waves and avoiding rocks and how many fish I'm going to catch. Please, kayak weather, come here soon!
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