Life of the Party

    My 2026 book challenge was well worth the effort. This is my 66 book of this fiscal year and it was beyond what I had anticipated. Yarros has created a world that I never want to leave. We all strive for an unbreakable protective love that Xaden portrays! The adventures and love story of Violet and Xanden is timeless, perfection, and passionate.              The love of a mother really rings true in this second book. I will NOT be a book spoiler, but nothing is never as it seems. I have always enjoyed a book that keeps me guessing until the end. My heart was shattered the last few chapters. Hopefully, Yarros redeems herself in the third book. There are not many books that I have actually cried with. A mother's love knows no bounds! I threw the book across the room followed by frantically finding it to finish the book.      I would have never imagined that a book could be so spell binding and magical at the same time. I...

      Unfortunately, I had to go back to work. That was a phrase that I would commonly use in the past as summer wrapped up and school began. This year is  different. I have a new classroom, new admin, and mostly new team. This is going to be my year I just know it. I already have this positive vibe that we are going to be a massive difference this year.      I have missed Taylor these past few days, but it's so good to get back to my routine. I need an outlet and my job fulfills that need. I have got over my goal in steps each day, which has then a real confidence booster to start the school you're off with. My new classroom is brand new, new paint, new desk, new everything. The plus side of being in a brand new building is getting to start from scratch. The downside of being in a brand new building is that we cannot put any decorations on the wall yet. I feel like my classroom, lacks personality, but I plan to figure out how to overcome tha...

       Living on the border, Tennessee makes it completely easy to go over a state just to benefit from their tax free weekend. Tax free weekend is for school supplies. Each item has to be less than $100. I would like to go on the Friday that it starts due to the fact that most supplies are bought out mid Saturday before the source can restock.     This year was just a little bit different though. As I walked into Walmart in Maryville, I noticed that their school supply aisles were not fully stocked to begin with. By the way, I got there really early this morning too. I think they have hardly stocked so they wouldn't sell all their stuff over this weekend. The exact same thing can be said about the Target in Maryville.  Did I save enough from not paying taxes to make the trip worth my time? Why yes I did.  I bought supplies for my classroom, my personal wardrobe, my child's back to school clothes, along with various things in my household that I n...

      Where should I begin? This book is divided into two perspectives, one is Colby and the other is Beverly. Honestly, Colby's perspective is more like Nicholas Sparks original books. Fall in love with the ocean and come back to North Carolina, have some sort of tragic event that occurs, and then they made in the end for a happy ending.  But this book was different.     I love when an author takes the time to really do his research when covering mental illnesses. Having a book that really puts that on display is worthwhile. I am a massive Nicholas Sparks fan. I did however get a little annoyed at the pacing. I am also not a book spoiler, so I will try my best not to give everything away. Beverly's story was so disjointed, manic, and random that when it would get to her sections, I literally just wanted to put the book down. But I'm glad he wrapped everything up in the end. If you read the book you will understand why Beverly's character is so haphazard. E...

      Farmers have to defend their livestock and sometimes that doesn't always look pretty. Stray dogs, coyotes, raccoons, feral hogs, and sometimes things you would never expect. This hog has been running my goats along the fence lines for days, but not again tomorrow. There is a small herd of feral hogs that like the help themselves to our animals, neighbor's smalls dogs/ cats, and whatever else they can muster up to eat. My neighbor has been missing her small cat for a few days now. I'm 95% sure one of these took her out. I missed my chance to shoot it the other day. I only had my pistol with me and that was certainly a rifle range.      Feral hogs are dangerous and can become aggressive when startled. I have had my fair share of run ins with them. Once, when I was 15 I had one chase me all the way up to the truck and continued to ram dad's Dodge in hopes that I would fall off. In my youth, my father and grandfather would hunt them using hounds. The...

                     At work, this is all the rage with the older women who are in my reading circle (LUNCH BUNCH). Oh, and this reading circle is a separate one than the book a month crew that I'm a part of through the school year. These books would not align with the type of material that we read in order to gain CEU credits. I joined a reading group that met during my lunch time. Hearing their conversation, absolutely sparked my interest. Honestly, I was afraid that it was going to be too bland. Now, I think otherwise and I have completely different ideas about the older women that I work with. These grandmas knew exactly the type of book I needed to download and read on my Kindle. Some scenes might even make you blush. My next goal in life is to become the grandmother that sits and reads books like this.       This was so much more than what I ever expected. The excitement, action, romance, and spicy sce...

      Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC has got to be one of the most depressing places to be. It sucked the entire week of visiting my husband. As it turns out, his GI bleed was not fixed and he is STILL passing blood to the point that he will more than likely end up back on his same hospital floor. Why would you release him with the amount of blood he is still passing (bright RED)? "We will do a follow up with an outpatient  procedure at a later date." Yeah, why not go ahead and do both surgeries while you had him under the first time? Clearly, you didn't fix the problem with your little metal clips.      I hate this hospital... my twins didn't both get to see the NICU and even walking in that place gives me flashbacks. Taylor spent weeks in the NICU and I more or less stayed at the hospital, ate in that cafeteria, and wondered back and forth from the dreaded parking deck. I didn't come home during her entire stay, so I got to really experience what ...

         Sometimes you just have to read one of your student's recommendations. This heart felt story of Chinese to American adoption will simply make your day. I was actually enthusiastic the entire short book. I think this would be appropriate for a fifth grader, but I would consider it a high interest low level Lexile book. Our main character is adopted and desperately seeks a family for her best friend while in America. It progresses through her adventure of finding a family, assimilating to American culture, school, English, and self identity. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

  Well, this is going to be a very mixed review. The sheer craziness of this book really took me for a roll coaster ride. I honestly didn't see the end coming, and I ALWAYS enjoy books that can do this. JD Kirk has done an exceptional job at keeping his audience on the edge of their seat.      Negatives: I was so confused for most of the book due to the ramblings of the main character. I almost stopped listening to the book via Audible twice. I don't want a point A to point B book, but I would like there to be some sort of rolling plot to guide me.            Positives: I LOVED the ending and honestly I didn't even expect the outcome. The narrator's accent almost threw me for a loop. I think his accent overall gave the book more genuine quality. Kirk has the amazing ability to really set the scene. It was like I was in the story as it was unfolding.     I would write this book a 3.5. I know that rating seems kind of low an...