SUMMERTIME!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Y'all,

Well, we are t-minus 5 days left in the school year. The last day for the children is NEXT Friday, June 3rd. I still have to go in a work Monday, the 6th. But we are SO CLOSE! I am always ready for summer, but this year in particular, I seem to be like a kid on Christmas Eve!

If you have been keeping up with my Twitter feed, you will notice that I have been busy baking and reading! And pondering drinking lots of Margaritas! Right around spring break, I made up my own batch of Amish Friendship Bread starter. Since then, I have made countless loaves and variations of Amish Friendship Bread, and cookies too! My co-workers have been the main recipients of my baked goods, and they are not complaining! As y'all know, I LOVE to bake and cook and having this starter around to feed and bake with has been quite fun! Over the long weekend, I have a post planned with all of my baking. It has been a great stress reliever!

The other thing that I have been doing a lot of is reading! I usually kick up my reading into high gear during the summer, but this year I started a little earlier. Somehow, I have come across a ton of books that I want to read, and they have found their way to me! I haven't updated my GoodReads yet, but I did want to post these on the blog! Also, I think this big reading push has a little something to do with all of my TV shows being on hiatus for the summer. No new Castle, Good Wife or Big Bang Theory. I am ready for my summer shows!

If you want a laugh out loud funny book, then you need to read Tina Fey's BossyPants. Now let me say, this is an "R" rated book, but y'all it is spit out your sweet tea funny. Just warn the folks at the beach that you are not crazy, the book is just funny!

As many of you know, my class mascot is the penguin. And, unless you live in the Antarctic, you probably know that Jim Carey is staring in "Mr. Popper's Penguins" that opens in June. So of course, I have read this book and I am now reading it aloud, a few chapters a day to my very excited second graders. Remember that this book was originally published in 1938... and that is what makes it so charming. I know they have changed the plot to be a bit more modern for the movie, but it is still cute. I am planning a movie date with some of my students so we can all see the movie together!

The weather was so nice when I got home this afternoon, that I picked up another book out of my library stash. The Provence Cure for a Brokenhearted is really great. It is about dealing with grief (which HELLO, I know a lot about) and recovering from loss. But this book is not sad. And, parts of it take place in France, which makes it a perfect summer read. Start it today!

In a pinch, when I want a quick breezy read, I always grab a Danielle Steele novel. However, reading Danielle these days is like reading a cookbook, she definitely has a recipe to writing her books. I checked out 44 Charles Street from the library last week. I finished it in a day sitting on the beach. It was OK, but you could do worse for a vacation read.

I have also picked up a few classics to read again once school gets out for summer. The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird are just waiting for me on my coffee table. Ahhhh.... SUMMER!

I am also stalking some online reading summer lists for kids. I will admit, I was a big nerd in school and read EVERY book on my summer reading list. I am still like that. Even though I am the teacher now, I still like to read the books on the summer reading list each summer. It's my way of earning a literary gold star!!!!

That's about all that has been going on here. My vertigo is still acting up, so I am drinking lots of water, cutting down on my caffeine and getting lots of rest. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way. The summer heat tends to do a number on my vertigo.

Pitty Pat can not wait for summer to start! Only 5 more days!!!
Tootles!
JKP