Life of the Party

      The last month of work before summer break is always hectic. I just have summer vibes coming my way and I am beyond excited to plant my garden. I already have beans, squash, and corn coming up. I am roughly 11 days away from the official start of summer break.  If you have teacher friends reach out to them and saying good vibes their way. That last month is always tough. 

      Well... It's a lengthly read, but well worth your time. Honestly, I thought her teen daughter, Preeya was the one behind most of the mishaps at home, but boy I was wrong! It will get you fully entertained and the imagery used is just enough to keep you going.      Would I read it again? I like to be fully transparent and not lie. I probably would not pick this book up a second time if it was my choice. It is a read and done kind of book. Although I did enjoy it, it could've been so much more. I actually watched the Hallmark movie that was similar to this plot and a lot of it I was able to predict what was happening next. I was wrong about her daughter though.      I would still get this book a rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars. Anderson sure does know how to keep you hooked into the book. If it wasn't a Hallmark movie, I think it might've been a Lifetime movie. It just seems so surreal that I had already seen a movie with the same storyline ...

      Oh, it has been a Monday. Truly, I've had a disastrous day, and nothing has went right. I locked myself out of the building at work three separate times. I lost my keys to may car to leave work this afternoon. When I arrived home... three of my goats were out running around having the time of their lives.      I'm one tired MAMA too. I had promised to bake homemade cookies and my toddler didn't forget that promise. Farm chores  plus cooking cookies and supper has about kicked my butt for the day.  Can I have a redo? I think I could have managed my time better if I knew what was inshore for me.      All joking aside. I hate Mondays, especially when I feel rushed to get things finished. 

      Girl, we don't have mean girl energy as adults. That's high school drama that needs to stay in the past. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to every adult woman that I have to deal with on a daily basis.   Snarky comments don't really get you far with me. Carful... your inner demons are showing!     "Take the high road" is something my mom has always said. I try to live by that. I'm in no way perfect and make mistakes everyday. Have your social cliques, but remember karma is always around the corner. I took a deep breath as I sat in my car to leave only to realize I handled that situation with as much grace as I could. Maybe I'll do better in the near future. There is always room for improvement. 

      This was a VERY long book, but well worth my time. I listened to it on Audible and read some chapters on my tablet. Denzil has completely redeemed herself as an author in my book. I was hooked from the very beginning and maintained even interest throughout the total book.      I'm a sucker for a mystery thriller that fully engages its audience. There was not a dull moment. I finished this book in a little over four days. I would listen and read it again. It was that good! Max's character is so layered that I would love a sequel to just cover her psychopathic ways. I just wanted to know so much more about her childhood and what had happened. It kind of makes you worry as a parent to who your kids are friends with.     Of course, with the Raven review that I have provided this book I will also rate it at five out of five stars. I would also like to make the comment that have any book that you can visualize every scene because the imagery is do...

      Oh the twisted games we play with our loved ones. Everyone is always captivated by their significant other and sometimes I do think couples play "games." I was mentally taken in by the plot and wanted to know how everything ended.      I have read and listen to multiple books that this author has produced through the years and honestly, I think this is one of our best works. Maybe one day this will actually even become some form of movie. I did listen to it on audible and the switching of the characters perspectives was seamless and perfection. I love when an author can intertwine two characters perspectives to carry on the full plot while keeping the interest of the audience.     With all the praise said above of course I would rate this book of five out of five stars. I didn't understand why the good website didn't have a five out of five star rating. To me is the perfect crime/ mystery book. I would highly recommend if you were looki...

      Well... all I have to say is... it's a book. Man, this bit started off strong. The amount of imagery that the author put into each chapter was beyond comparison to anything else I've ever read. I'd say the first half of the book is definitely five star quality in my opinion. As the story progress, though we switch between multiple point of views, that seems almost random.      The book really has no point. And the plot is so sporadic that honestly, I lost interest and almost quit reading it multiple times. It had so much potential the first half of the book that the second half was a complete letdown. I was not impressed with any part of the second half of the book. I wonder if the author himself was high while  writing it. Maybe he was schizophrenic? Since nothing was really connected and everything was disjointed. It was like reading the writings of a crazy person and trying to piece together a story of their four different personalities. I wou...

      Let's be very open and honest at this moment... the last couple of weeks in April is so hectic for most teachers as you were transitioning into May. May brings about EOG testing, stress for end-of-the-year celebrations, and just things winding down. I've had to go back-and-forth to eye doctor, along with having eye injections, and still dealing with field trip stuff.     I'm not complaining by no means. But this lady is stressed. I still cannot see out of my right eye in my peripheral vision. That in itself is a massive problem and if the issue persists over the weekend, I have to call to make an additional appointment for more injections on Monday. Yay me. Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice as you read this?

      It's beautiful... well, what I could see of it. It was a massive disappointment for me, honestly due to the fact that the cave was not illuminated to the point where I felt safe. At no point in the introduction did they mention that you needed to bring your own flashlight. Safety hazard! I ended up smacking into the ceiling, which was about a foot below my height. I didn't even see it coming.     At one point during your tour, they turned the lights off in the cavern so you can experience total darkness. My toddler decided that was the time to scratch my eyeball out, literally. I ended up going to fast pace healthcare while in Sweetwater Tennessee. Once we arrived home three hours later, I ended up in our local ER. I have orbital scratches on my eyes from my child. It has been absolutely painful. All the occurred on Sunday and I'm still dealing with the repercussions of our adventure.   This one will go down in the books as an epic failure.   ...

       This book wasn't too shabby! It was a delightful read/listen to and from work, but I feel like I have heard this particular plot before. The ending was similar, and very expected. I will not be a book spoiler, so do not worry. I had a fear of befriending anyone during my own pregnancy for this very reason. You'll have to read it for yourself to find out more!      I would rate this book a 4.1 out of 5 stars.  -Would I read/ listen to this book again? Honestly, no. Everything played out exactly as I expected it to. There must be a movie adaptation to this book somewhere. As I was listening to this book, I actually envisioned whole scenes so I am pretty sure this was made into a movie at one point.      Spring Break thus far.... I'm so nervous about work that I cannot keep my thoughts from it. Even now I'm sitting here stressing out about next week instead of enjoying myself. Some break I'm having.... shhhhhh

      The week before break my students had the wonderful opportunity to visit this historic site and move through classes/ sessions with the park rangers. I was overly impressed and I enjoyed every minute of it. I would love to go back and wonder through all of the buildings and read all the information posted around the park area.      This is the Blue Hole, and I was mesmerized by the color and depth of it. The Ranger informed us that it is a place of spiritual significance to the three Cherokee tribes. One of these being my husband's tribe. He wants to go see and experience it for himself. I think we might make the 2.5 hour drive and visit sometime this summer. We were told about traditional weapons, black smithing, sacred flame, and the information surrounding the park's significance as a gather area.      I would highly suggest that you take some time and go visit! 

    Where did I see myself spending Spring Break? Anywhere but here at home, at least I have a plethora of good books to choose from.      I haven't posted very much this week due to the stress of my job and current situations that I'm having to deal with. Too much is happening at one time. I did however finish this book on a high note of romance. This VERY short story is about the treachery of family being hidden in plain sight. Our main character enters a story by helping out a farm to rebuild their foundation for a percentage of the gains made. I'm stilly somewhat smitten with the grouchy farmer!       I would how they recommend this book because it is short, sweet and simple. The stories plot has been ever used, but it is still nice sometimes to read a quaint book like this. I would write this book a four out of five stars. I do wish the story would I have more plot twist or characters who were more memorable, but overall it was well writ...

      I've been somewhat lost today. With lack of sleep today was tough, and I could hardly manage to keep my head above water. I was sinking fast. I pulled over several times before getting to work just to walk around my car in hopes that I could wake up. Nothing has worked...     Nothing has gone right today either. I awoke to a freezer. full of edible food had went out. All the food is spoiled and unusable. The house smelled so nasty, so that is something else I will have to sort out when I get home. I leave my house before 6 AM, so I'm sure its super nasty... I'm so not looking forward to getting home to yet another task that needs to be completed.      I was up most of the night with painful leg cramps and irritable stomach cramping as well.  Can I get through this work week? I started a new medication last night before going to bed, so I think that attributes to the new symptoms. I just need sleep and a break from all the responsib...

      I was beyond thankful to have the day off from work. I did however end up doing stuff for work on my said day off. I ended up having to drive 2.5 hours to Asheville in order to pick up snacks for our field trip on Wednesday. The kids have been fundraising here and there and we needed snacks to feed the kids on our extended trip that goes past our eight hour school day. Although this was something extra that I had to do, there will be no thanks or gratitude shown to me in the morning. I don't think people realize how much time teachers actually spend outside of school doing school related things. I think I can easily say I clock in over nine hours per week on extras.      It's all part of it though. Maybe one day things will change and we will see a shift in public opinion, but for now I will just keep on trudging through. Man... it was a rough day to have a toddler out and about because most schools are on spring break. 

      This isn't the regular obligatory Easter posts with pastel pictures and happy moments. I'm not exactly the most religious person and I have never claimed to be. I hid eggs for Taylor to find and we went to my husband's family dinner. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I just kept thinking something was missing today.       Then it hit me like a rock... this weekend was opening day of trout season, and I didn't even wet a hook or spend the first minute on a creek bank. I used to count down every year to this very weekend. It seems like a life time ago. I also miss my Dad and Grandpa so much on days like today. We would have spent the majority of this weekend catching trout and swapping fishing stories. Man... I miss the good old days of having a united family. We were dysfunctional with my father being an addict, but I miss both men. They would have had a fishing camp set up too.      When Taylor gets big  enough I will inst...

      I was so thankful to have Good Friday off so you will not have any complaints from me in that department. Was it a good day for me? Well, not really. My day was filled with appointments and  disappointing news. I have avoided my annual paps for a while now. I know as a woman that seems a little backward. A few years ago, I had a little bit of a scare. To give you the correct sequence this was about a year before I had Taylor. They took multiple chunks out of me in a biopsy.       I think the trauma in the wedding game that went hand-in-hand waiting for the results after that really did mess with me. Everything came back but none but there's always the potential it will develop into full on cervical cancer.  As a preventative, I'm supposed to go once a year and have a pap like most women. I have it been in a few years.  The last one I had was six months after giving birth to Taylor. She did see some concerning things today... So here we ...

      I looked on goodreads.com and saw that this book had a lot of negative reviews, but in actuality, it is a really good book with an awesome plot. Do I think it could really happen?.... Ummm maybe. I could definitely see a money, hungry husband committing the crime of poisoning his wife.      I immediately fell in love with this book and was swept away with who was going to die, and who did it. Obviously the title gives away so much. The readers instantly know someone will die and the book cover let you know it has something to do with a pendant.       I would highly recommend this book to those who need a thriller and mystery book in your life. I hate that other reviewers completely rob this book of all of its potential. In my opinion, if you don't finish a book cover to cover, you have no right to do a review in the first place. I would write this book a 4.2 out of five stars. I know some of the things just seem unbelievable, but i...

           This is a nice cross between a young adult novel and a mafia tale of horrors. It has just enough action, love and fast pacing that I was completely captivated covered to cover. I actually read this book instead of listening to it on audible so I feel like I enjoyed it even more. Our main character Penelope is by far one of my favorites.          One of my students had this book in class and suggested that I read it. This is her copy of the novel and I was glad she let me borrow it once she had finished. It's not often that middle schoolers have similar taste in books as I do. I will forever take recommendations from the said student. I loved how even in the end of the book I could not predict who had committed all the crimes against Penelope's family. It's really hard to talk about a book without giving away the main plot. I cannot stand when reviewers give you sneak peaks into what happened. Don't be a book spoiler! ...

      So, I've stuck with it for over two months now, and I can finally see some improvement. I weighed in this morning and guess what????     I weighed in at 223lbs, which has be over the moon with excitement. I know it's not ideal, but man..... I'm making progress. 

        This book has so much packed into it that I was completely overwhelmed. You have ghost, murder, crime scenes, magic, and overly indulged, self-centered lead characters. Now don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed this book. It was just too much at one time in one book. And it was almost comical to what Mitzi was having to deal with.      Our main character Mitzi has went to claim her inheritance from her recently deceased grandmother. Upon arrival into a small town, she is arrested for murder as she walks out the back of her lake grandmothers bookstore.  And along the way she finds clues to slowly solve the murder. This also set us up for an additional book, but I will not be reading anything else in the series.       I would write this book a 2.5 out of five stars due to the fact that it was too much in such a short time.