It's July!

First of all, this is cute: Set Editions
Get 25% off with DCDEALS (Daily Candy, a fun online newsletter with things to do, see, buy, eat, etc)

I LOVE paper. I have always loved stationery, and I've always loved writing to people -- sending cards, sending letters. My cousins and grandmother were my main pen pals. I think it's sad that we send fewer real cards via the real mail. I don't care if it uses more paper. The feeling I get when I open a personal piece of mail is just so great. And I like to send them just as much. I mailed 6 pieces out this morning, as a matter of fact. Send a card to a friend who lives far away! Do it!

Speaking of stationery, here are my two FAVORITE companies. I based my home-made wedding invitations on them.
WileyValentine
Mr. Boddington's Studio
Are they not gorgeous? I haven't used them yet, but one day....


Now...can you BELIEVE it's July?!

Every June I get so excited because the summer is finally here! Since I'm a teacher, this is a time that is much-needed and much-appreciated. It's time to sleep in, work out, stay up late, work another job, travel if you have it in your budget, and really, just take life one day at a time. Usually I teach a couple of weeks of Junior Sailing Camp. This year, I am trying to just BE. I have plenty keeping me busy. Curriculum writing, my Masters. But, oh to have a summer where I get to READ! Prior to June, I hadn't read anything besides textbooks for my Masters. I am happy to announce that I have read several books! In one month! This is fast for me, so I'm excited.

Here's what I've read so far:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Were you like me and read it in gradeschool and really didn't get it, fully? Yeah, so I re-read it and I'm now going to reference it when I teach my students about Einstein. It was cute. You know, it's a good gradeschool science fiction book. And it's a classic.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (image from Google Books)
If you want a book that you cannot put down, here it is. You're welcome. If you are one of my friends who I got to read the Twilight series (you know who you are), here is another series that you just might love and then hate in the morning after you stayed up until 1 or 2 or 3 am reading until you fell asleep. Seriously good.
In fact, my yoga group is reading it for our new book club! I am hosting our first meeting this month!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (image from Google Books)
I couldn't resist. I snuck into the school library to get this off of the shelf and returned it a couple of DAYS later. Yes, it reads so fast because you can't put it down. And I am just BE-ing this summer, so I have the luxury of reading all morning if I want, and I finished it in a couple of days. Teaching is grand sometimes...*happy sigh.* The final installment of this series comes out in August.

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney (image from Amazon.com.)
One of my students gave this book to me during the Book Fair three (yes, 3) years ago after I read selections from The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. What a cool thing that the student was so interested in the topic of a) science fiction, b) infectious disease, and c) reading, that he bought Code Orange for me! I have enough books now to start a personal library of books that the students can borrow. This one I've seen in the hands of many 6th graders, and they love it. I even read reviews by teens online who love it. I didn't love it, but it gets to go on my list of books I've read this summer. Check!

Now, The Hot Zone is a great book! It's very gross. If you like books like Jurassic Park by Michael Crighton, then dig into this one. It's about Ebola and it's sister virus, Marburg. And it's a true story, which makes it even more eerie. Way cool, gross stuff for 6th graders, and they love it when I *beep* out the profanity. I love the innocence of my kids!



















So what to read now? Well, since you're asking:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson (image from Amazon.com)
This is good so far! We'll see how it turns out.

You may have noticed that these are all Young Adult fiction, except for The Hot Zone. I'm trying to read what the students are reading, and I will say that The Hunger Games series doesn't feel so "young" when I was reading it. And hey, you made it through the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series, right? (If you haven't read those, go get them...they are fantastic!) After the Jenna Fox book, I'll venture into something not found on the Teen Shelf.

Enjoy the rain, DFW!