Not so Fast!

I have found a new best book of the year!! As much as I loved The Help, the very next book I read topped it!


It is called Sarah's Key. I read it in 3 days, it was that good. It was about the Vel d' Hiv' roundup of Jews in Paris in 1942. I had never heard of it before. I cried and cheered while reading this book. I LOVED IT! I think I will need to buy it as well!

Here is a summary...

And the book I am beginning today looks REALLLLY good.

Here IT is....

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg.

Here is the first chapter of the book...



I think for the summer this blog has turned into ...here is what I eat and here is what I read!!

But I am enjoying the down time!

My mind is starting to switch gears into thinking about "Why I Love Sixth Graders" again though. I have gotten out my new textbook and started to do some preliminary planning. I am reading some of my science journals and thinking of new classroom management plans! This is a constant struggle for me. I want just the right discipline policy so that I can have order and structure without having to be "mean"!!!! Is there such a thing? I am still looking.

I am currently thinking of having a worksheet that is "extra" science work that I just hand out when they are not following classroom rules. They will already know what to do and I will not have to take class time to explain it. It will just be due the next day. How does that sound? That way it is not just busy work, they will just be putting in extra time on whatever we are studying at the time.

But wait it is only July 10. I am trying my best to not be counting down the days yet.

Food again!

Our fourth weekend was very quiet. David was winding down from his vacation. If you could call it a vacation! He had and still has many projects going. Not surprising at all, I guess. But he wanted to relax and I was find with that. The kids were out of town so we were super low key!


We actually ate alot. And surprise I have pictures.

This first plate is actually breakfast in bed from my wonderful husband! I guess he was just tired of waiting on me every morning to eat. Since he is awake each day before 6 a.m. and lets just say I am not.....he decided to wake me up with food!! It was great.

There is a beef patty in there somewhere!!

Next was our delicious bacon-smoked cheddar-jalapeno burger. If that sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen....well it probably is. We have got to do better on our healthy food repertoire!!

The Help

I just finished this book and it was the best book I have read so far this year! I have not been able to put it down for three days! And with the weather we have been having this week, it has been perfect to sit outside on the swing and read all day!!

Here is a link to the synopsis of the book if anyone is interested. I would highly recommend it!!

It totally delves into the relationships of white families and black domestics in Mississippi in the early 60's. This is so interesting to me because it is the exact era I was born into. And I remember my family having "help" coming in daily. I have always been curious about those relationships. In the book some of the relationships are good and some are horrible. Some families treated the help as family and some treated them nearly like slaves.

So fascinating to read.

Three Cheese Potato Gratin

What diet??

I got this recipe from the Deen Brothers cook book Ya'll Come Eat. It has so many wonderful recipes in it!

This gratin has red potatoes, half and half, gruyere, cheddar and parmsean cheeses in it. How can it not be delicious!!

I am making the bacon wrapped chicken breasts with chili-cheese sauce from the same book as we speak. I will add a picture of them if they turn out well!!

What the Heck??

The original title of my blog was Random Rants and Ramblings. This post will most definitely fit under that heading. I feel a little ranting coming on....so bear with me!

What is up lately with all of these (mostly) Republican conservative politicians? It seems like every week another governor or senator on the conservative Christian side of the aisle is admitting to an affair. Let me rephrase that...

THEY ARE FORCED TO ADMIT IT. They are calling press conferences to cry and beg for the forgiveness of their families and their constituents ONLY AFTER THEY ARE CAUGHT.

Take for instance the South Carolina governor this week who tried to lie and say he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail! Only when that ruse fell through did he admit the truth.

A senator from Nevada was in the same trouble very recently.

When I was on the Internet doing a little fact checking for this post, I found a South Park clip that totally goes along with what I am talking about but it is also TOTALLY inappropriate!!
Hilarious but inappropriate!

I guess it really makes politicians look bad, but more importantly I am afraid it makes Christians look bad! At least to people on the outside looking in. These guys stand up and loudly judge others and spout their moral beliefs to everyone. What is that saying "Character is who you are when no one is looking"

It just seems like the ultimate hypocrisy.

He who lives in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
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And what about Jon and Kate Gosselin? I saw a poll that said 62% of America has taken Jon's side. I may be totally wrong but from the show I watched, he was the one "excited about his new life." And she was the one wanting to save the marriage. Granted she messed up in huge ways, but at least she wants to stay and try to keep a family together. He is ready to cut his losses and start over. It seems like those adorable 8 children are a good enough reason to try at least one more time....
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This post may not make any sense, but isn't that part of the definition of a rant....

Follow me.......

This has been a great week. My nieces and great nieces are here from Denver. I am enjoying every minute of it. I am soaking up every second of baby love that I can.

As usual I am leaving the picture taking up to Sarah. And as usual she is doing an outstanding job of it! So if you are interested in what the Cole family has been up to this week....follow me to her blog.

The Stress of Summer Reading

I currently have 6 books checked out from the library, 2 books waiting for me on my Kindle, and no less than 4 books that I own waiting in my "magazine basket." Trying to decide which one to read first and which ones can wait is driving me crazy. I usually try to read the library books first because there is a time constraint on them.

I just finished reading the book Still Alice. I had checked it out once, but it freaked me out so I took it back without reading it. It is about a woman my age afflicted with early onset Alzheimers and with my bad memory problems it was hitting a little too close to home. But I kept thinking about it and decided to overcome my fears and try again!! So I checked it out and read it. And it really was a great book. It was written from Alice's perspective and towards the end of it she would call one of her daughters "the actress" and the other one "the mother of that cute little girl." It was absolutely heartbreaking. But a book I would definitely recommend.

Talk about confronting fears....






Next I tried to read a book called The Sweet By and By. My other irrational fear involves nursing homes. I have an extreme phobia concerning them. I will not go into detail here, but take my word for it I have nightmares. Often. Bad ones.


To make a long story short, I gave up on this book. I saw no reason to torture myself. Others may love it but I could not take it. It with a began in a nursing home at a Christmas party with cheap decorations, a spelling bee game that no one could play and old ladies hiding liquor in their wheelchairs! Here is a review from Southern Living that made me want to read it. It still may be a good book, just not for me!

Now for the book I am reading now....




All the Living is definitely a winner. No fears or phobias. Just great southern literature at it's finest! I read a review and it sounded so good I had a hard time waiting until I could get it at the library. But it came this week and it was just what the doctor ordered. A book that I cannot put down. I am loving it. If southern fiction is a genre that you like you MUST read this. I will hasten to say that I am only 1/4 of the way through it though so I cannot vouch for the ending yet!

And here are a few more books that I have checked out.

This one is self-explanitory!!

This is a new biography that I have heard is good.

This book has a lot of people talking. I am excited to read this. Here is a summary...

I LOVE SUMMER!!!