alisonism #16: You don't have to take MY word for it...

I love to read!

When I was younger and had "first" things more often (days of school, camp, work; conversations with people at stake dances, etc.), I was always asked what I liked to do.  I was always a little embarrassed to say I liked to read, partly because there are two stereotypes for girls who like to read, and one of those is cool and one is not.  Heaven forbid I be classified by the uncool one!  :)  But I have spent the last two summers remembering just how much I love reading, and that is a lot.   This summer I read 22 books, amounting to 6072 pages, and it was incredible.

I lose track of real life when I read.  Tonight I started reading and didn't realize how long it'd been until I finished my book after midnight.  Last week I was reading at my in-laws' house and had no idea people'd been talking to me for several minutes until they were laughing because I hadn't heard them.

I connect with characters and stories so fully that I have a hard time not finishing a good book in one sitting.  How is everything going to resolve?  Will they be happy?  Will my emotional investment have been worth it?

Then, when I finish a good book, it takes a while for me to get back to real life.  Like, sometimes half an hour to an hour, which seems pretty long to me now that I think about it.  But when you're that invested in something, it's hard to just put it aside for something like eating dinner or going to sleep!

Anyway.  Here's a list of the books I read this summer (between May and August) and which I'd recommend.  Try out a couple!

(sorted by when I read them) (Beware: Several of these are first books of series.  I refer to this summer as The Summer of Sequels because of how many series I unknowingly started.  You might look into whether you have access to the rest of a series before starting the first book of one, just in case your library is also tiny and charges $3 per interlibrary loan.)

The Two Sisters of Bamarre	Gail Carson Lavine	239	yes
Cinder	Marissa Meyer	387	YES
Leverage Point	Gerald N. Lund	288	It's a little tough to stay engaged in, but it was pretty good.
The Body Electric	Allie Duzett	239	YES!
Stork	Wendy Delsol	357	YES! There were a couple parts when I was afraid it would get inappropriate, but it didn't. At the beginning you know something inappropriate happened, but it doesn't say exactly.
The Cupcake Queen	Heather Hepler	242	yes
Tankborn	Karen Sandler	370	yes
The Haunted House Kid	Matthew Gary Milam		NOOOOO! I couldn't even read a full page. Grammar - bad. Layout - bad. Design - bad. Writing - horrible. Doesn't flow at all. Couldn't get past the horrible writing to get to the story. And I have a high tolerance for bad writing.
Prayers for Sale	Sandra Dallas	352	maybe - it depends on who was asking. It's set in Civil War times and has a lot of sadness in it. It also only kind of has a plot. Pretty good, though.
The Goose Girl	Shannon Hale	383	yes. very good.
The Selection	Kiera Cass	327	yes!
Found	Margaret Peterson Haddix	314	yes.
Double Identity	Margaret Peterson Haddix	218	yes. interesting twist!
Sent	Margaret Peterson Haddix	313	yes.
Life As We Knew It	Susan Beth Pfeffer	338	probably. It's sad - the world ends and things never really turn up. decent ending. realistic situations. - good writing.
Glimpse	Stacey Wallace Benefiel	261	no. fascinating premise, but there's too much inappropriate at the beginning.
Every You, Every Me	David Levithan	248	depends on the person. pretty dark - as in, you don't know if he's schizophrenic or something, dark. draws you in, though.
Don't Die, Dragonfly	Linda Joy Singleton	269	yes
The Only Alien on the Planet	Kristen D. Randle	228	Wow. Holy crap. That was a good book.
The Leap	Jonathan Stroud	233	no. boring
First Impressions	Marilyn Sachs	112	how a girl came to appreciate the book Pride & Prejudice - meh. It's fine.
Breaking Beautiful	Jennifer Shaw Wolf	354	yes, to a more mature audience. about the mental after-effects of physical (not sexual) abuse by a boyfriend.

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"If we don't tell strange stories, when something strange happens we won't believe it."  - Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl

powerful

Hate.

I try never to use it.

If I do, you know I mean it.

I feel yucky even thinking about using it toward people - that's how strong I think it is.

Hearing people say they hate other people makes me cringe.

I don't think it's warranted as often as it's used.

I mostly use it for things like mushrooms,

phones that turn off without warning,

and getting rice stuck in my permanent retainer.

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"'I've done that much.  What more can I do?'" - Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl

Ode to Little Caesars, by Joel

Crazy Bread,

I wish you were dead

and that I was fed

your body

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"Learn to give, even if it’s just a smile, not because you have too much, but because you know there are so many others out there who feel like they have nothing at all."  - Marc & Angel Hack Life blog

and then it was the last day of school...in May

What time is it? Summertime!

Hey, I'm catching up.

Oh, the last day of school.  Glorious.  I let the fifth and sixth graders in on the secret that I speak English, which was beyond fun.  There were a lot of, "Wait - - what?"s, "You're so awesome!"s, and "I  KNEW it!"s, along with my other favorites, the "I'm glad you did it that way"s.  I'm excited for next year when I can talk to them outside of class like friends, the way they and I have been wanting to this year but couldn't really.  If I participated in conversations this year the way I wanted to, no one would  have understood, so I'm excited to be able to respond to their fun plans and stories with something other than, "¡Excelente!" 

The last day of school was also a lot of fun in the other grades.  We played, danced, sang, reviewed, and I answered the questions they asked the week before on their year-end surveys.  I'm glad I get to teach them again next year!  

And I got pictures of all my classes.  Do you know how many classes that is, people?  23.  Twenty-three classes of twenty-five students.  That's a lot of kids, and a lot of adorable class pictures.  I'm not allowed post them on the Internet, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it.  

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"YOU ARE ALIVE.  Your journey is not over.  NO matter what, this simple fact alone is proof that you still have something meaningful to achieve." - Marc & Angel Hack Life blog

ipsy

I was visiting with a friend recently who is a stay-at-home mom.  She told me she likes to experiment with makeup and clothing styles now that she stays home, since, if she turns out looking crazy, not many people will know.

A couple weeks later, I discovered ipsy.  Ipsy is a makeup website.  You pay $10/month (including shipping) (taking months off whenever you want) and they send you five new name-brand makeup products every month in a new makeup bag.  Remembering what my friend had told me, and also that I'm a teacher who doesn't work during the summer, I thought it would be fun to try.  And it is!  I've gotten two months so far and I love it.  They come with some full-size products and some glorified samples.  Like, compare a shampoo sample (a flat envelope with one or two applications in it) with a hotel shampoo.  The hotel shampoo is not really a sample, but it's also not full-size.  That's what I mean by glorified sample.  

Oh, and when you sign up, you take a quiz regarding your style, the color of your skin/hair/eyes, and what kinds of samples you want (yes to mascara, no to hair products...) to get so you don't get a ton of stuff you don't want / doesn't match you.

The first month, I got a roll-on perfume (love), a full-sized lipstick (creamiest lipstick I've ever used), a full-sized nail polish (works great, don't love the color), a glorified sample of brow gel (cool), and a glorified sample of concealer (love).  It's so fun.

I haven't tried most of what I've gotten this month yet, but I got a full-sized lipliner, a full-sized  highlighter crayon (love), a glorified sample (I think) of gel eyeliner, a full-sized blush, and a full-sized "sparkling cream palette" (that I have no idea what to do with:).  

I won't use ipsy forever, if for no other reason than because I don't use makeup this fast, but it's fun to try new brands and products that I've been wanting to try without having to pay full price.  Getting new bags is fun, too.  I'm totally going to use them for wedding / baby gifts.

In case you're curious about the brands...

roll-on perfume - Pacifica

lipstick - Mirabella

nail polish - Zoya

brow gel - Anastasia

concealer - yaby

lipliner - Starlooks

highlighter crayon - Chella

gel eyeliner - Cailyn

blush - NYX

sparkling cream palette - J.cat Beauty

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"Rosa wishes she'd had a chance at more in her life… But life gave her this chance, and she ran with it."  - Po Bronson, Why Do I Love These People?

a baby! (piano, NOT human)

This is the story of a killer deal.

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Alison who was desperate for a piano that worked.  One day she asked her husband, Joel, just how financially irresponsible they would be if they bought one.  He replied, "Why don't we check the classifieds?"  Alison was a little disappointed, wondering if they could find something good, but she agreed.  

That night, Joel opened the classifieds and started showing her pictures of pianos for sale and Alison quickly realized his suggestion had been a good one.  Initially, they were interested in an ornate upright for two reasons: 1) They're beautiful!, and 2) The only place a baby grand would fit was in Alison's sewing room, which she wasn't sure she wanted to give up.  Joel even asked her, "If we found a baby grand for a good price, would you give up your sewing room?" and she replied adamantly in the negative.  

After a few minutes, they began finding baby grand pianos for stellar deals and Alison changed her mind.  "Okay, I guess I would give up my room if we found one we really liked."  Then, lo and behold!, they found the best deal ever!  A baby grand piano for $650!  It was close to midnight and they decided to contact the owners about the piano.  Because it was close to midnight, though, Alison decided to text them.  She figured, if they answered, they answered, but if they didn't, at least she didn't wake them up.  Well, they did answer!  The "they" was a "she," and she already had someone coming to look at the piano the next day, but she offered to call if the deal didn't go through.  Joel and Alison were crazy with nerves!  

The next day, Sunday, the lady called Alison and - guess what!! - the other people didn't want the piano!!!  (Well, they did, but the wife didn't think her husband would want to mess with moving it.  What?  Why did they even bother going to look at it?  What did she think was going to happen?  Odd.) Alison and Joel quickly set up an appointment for the next day - they didn't want to go make a deal on the Sabbath - and danced around the living room.  A couple hours later, though, Alison started to feel nervous.  "What if she gives it away?  What if she finds someone who's willing to go look today and sells it?"  So she texted the lady again.  

"This is Alison... We're so excited about the piano! and nervous that someone could call tonight, see it before we do, and snag it! :) Are we first in line? Could it stay that way until we've seen it?"

Thankfully, she agreed to hold it for them.

Then Monday came....

and it was love at first sight.

Of course, Joel and Alison tested the piano to make sure it sounded good and played well.  But it passed all their tests!  They excitedly told the seller they wanted to buy it, and she also was excited.  She then told them that she'd had another woman call the day before and try to make her sell it, even offering to pay more than Joel and Alison, but she kindly kept her word and put that lady on a waiting list.  Thank goodness!  

On the way home from testing the piano, Joel and Alison could hardly keep from singing.  They only stopped long enough to call a piano mover and set up a date for a few days later...

piano room = emptied

sewing room = moved

THEY'RE HERE!

It's from 1925 and has never been refinished. (The bench is not the original.) 

Ain't she a beaut?! 

Getting tuned for the first time in 10 years. I didn't know you could take pianos apart like that!

After purchasing, moving, tuning, and repairing the piano, it cost about $1200.  Not too shabby for a baby grand.

P.S. Thank you, Joel! 

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"...[B]e grateful.  When it's raining pudding, hold up your bowl." - Sandra Dallas, Prayers for Sale

stop, dog, stop!

I was bitten by a dog.

This picture was taken the day of the event.

On later days, it was much nastier and yellower.

Broke the skin in two places and left all those bumps and bruises - 

THROUGH A HOODIE!

A heavy jacket!

It hurt sooooo bad.

I thought I was bleeding like crazy inside that jacket.  Thank goodness I was wearing it.

Oh yeah - 

it's two months later

and I have a scar.

Ask me again why I don't want a dog.

P.S.

1. I like dogs.  For some reason, that's a common misconception.  It's not that I don't like dogs - I just don't like that, after touching dogs, I feel dirty.  Dirty enough that I'd rather not touch them because I don't feel like washing my hands all the time.  

2. I'm also not afraid of dogs.  Joel didn't even know the bite happened until later because I just roooollllllled with the punches.

3. The reason I don't want a dog is because of cleanliness and babysitting issues, not because of biting or behavioral issues. :)

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"When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."  - C.S. Lewis