Here, There, Everywhere.....

Wow. This blog is seriously suffering. I certainly have not placed this as a priority in quite some time - as evidenced with these massive gaps in posting. One of the reasons I love keeping a blog is to look back at it and see what I was doing, thinking, feeling at that moment, but when I post every 6+ weeks, it's not really reflective of that so I need to shape it up around here.

Let's see? A recap of summer thus far? Well, it began beautifully with a fabulous book discussion on one of my favorite books of all time. I met a college preofessor and a few English major nerds for brunch to discuss this book for my professor's special study on southern women reading southern lit. She recorded our conversation, and it was a good one. Visiting Ivy Rowe through the pages of Fair and Tender Ladies is like seeing an old friend. I have much more to say, but I am going to devote all of that to its own post later this week. I SWEAR.

After that, I went to yearbook camp - woo hoo. And then I had a nice long weekend with some college gals whom I don't see nearly enough of.

Here we are about 8 years ago:

And here we are last weekend in Seaside, Florida:

Funny how some things have changed and others......not so much. It was great ladies, and we better not wait so long next time. [The story behind that picture is actually funny. We were trying to get a picture with the camera timer, and some guy walked by and said he'd take it for us. We said "sure" but then I forgot to turn off the timer feature so he was just holding it awkwardly for ten long seconds - which is why we are laughing. It was weird...not to mention that he was walking on a dark beach all alone with a cigar. Odd.]


Aside from all of this, I managed to finish Belong to Me which was a great summer read - not too heavy but not entirely fluffy either. I came to really like the characters by the end of it. Now I am diving into Norwegian Wood which has begun fabulously and I am fighting the urge to sit here and read it when I finish this post instead of go to the gym like I need to.


In addition to all of these lovely novels, what have I been reading? Oh, just a few guidebooks for a little trip we are taking. Only one short week from now, I'll be gazing at these sights to name a few......

or maybe this......

then this ....

and finally this.....

London, Paris, Bruges, and Amsterdam!

Yipee. I am so excited and I'd love to know suggestions on food, cafes, sights, whatever.

We leave in 7 days.

So. Much. To. Do. It's a big summer.

Reasons I am so bad at posting these days:

Weekend To-Do List:

1. clean up this gross house
2. do yard work - inlcuding plant 2 new hydrangea bushes
3. grade a gazillion vocab quizzes that have piled up and grade the last 16 research papers from my Brit Lit seniors
4. purchase the rail passes for this summer's trip to Europe
5. go to Tea Leaf Green
6. get a visit from a college friend (inspired by #5 on this list) who is staying with me - Now you see the importance of #1.
7. purchase Mothers Day gifts
8. plan lessons for next week
9. re-read Cry, The Beloved Country so that I actually know what I'm talking about in class.
10. oh yeah, and sleep at some point. and grocery shop. and keep my sanity.

She's Here!

Emerson Mae (little Emmie Mae)

My sister with Peyton and Emmie - a few hours old!

"It's spring fever.... You don't quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” - Mark Twain

Long time, no blog. I'm finally back, though.


Life is crazy, and the pace at school is INSANE as it always is at this time of year. I'm trying to make some time for myself occasionally so that I don't end up at the end of my rope. Oh wait, too late for that. There are 9 weeks left in the semester, and my students are getting just as restless as I am. I'm pretty tired of them, and it's safe to say the feeling is mutual.....they are tired of me as well. I won't even tell you how many research papers I have to grade. Saying the number aloud makes me cry.


Anyhow, I wanted to post a review of Heroines from a while back. It's a fun little read, and I don't want to pass the chance to comment on it. The general idea is that 13-year-old Penny lives in rural Illinois in a B&B with her mother, Anne-Marie, literary heroines step out of their tragic lives to recuperate under Anne-Marie's care.

It gets interesting when a specific heroine's leading man comes looking for her, and long story short, young Penny ends up in a mental institution of sorts and ends up learning much much more about her mother and her mysteriously-absent father. The conclusion is such a fun surprise that I won't really say much else. I will say, however, that Eileen Favorite manages to craft a story that is both ridiculously unrealistic and completely believable for those of us who are book lovers. So many times, I have felt so close to a character that she might as well have been staying at my family home. Favorite just takes this connection to the next logical level as characters relate to real people, and we are reminded of why we read in the first place.


So what am I reading now? Well, I have a general policy that I don't re-read. (I have too many waiting in line.) But I'm re-reading a fabulous book I read about 3 summers ago. I just got an itchin' to read it again, and I am enjoying it almost as much as the first time. If you've read it, you know why it's worthy of a revisit; if you haven't read it, GO READ IT.

I've also ordered Jitterbug Perfume because I liked Skinny Legs and All so much, and I was in a Robbins mood. Anyone read it?


On another note, I should have a new niece next week! Pics will be up soon.

When it rains, it pours.

I'm still around and stll alive and reading.

It's been a crazy week or two around here. I've developed the same plague all of my students had - headache, cough, aches and pains, general ickiness. My sister almost went into premature labor. (She's at the hospital right not and they've stopped the contractions, but I am here with my niece until they release my sister.) Earlier this week, I also received some really sad news about a close college friend of mine and the much-too-early loss of her mother. On top of all of this, I have a scary stack of essays waiting to get graded and no time or concentration available to do so.

When it rains, it pours.

I'll be back to blogging at some point soon, I promise.