Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Where Have I Been?

It has been a very long time since I shared a Slice of Life. This post isn't so much slice as it is an explanation as to where I have been. The short answer is Seattle and Yanbu, but that doesn't explain much. 

We left Beirut, landing in Seattle. Though saddened to leave such a beautiful city, always ready for summer vacation. I had intentions of slicing throughout the summer, but the routine never fell into place and I chose to not force it and let have summer have its own rhythm. I did manage to keep up with my #bookaday challenge and thus felt like I was accomplishing something. (Why is it that allowing ourselves to relax and just 'be' feels too indulgent?)

Summer was winding down and I had all the bags packed for our move to Yanbu. Then the waiting began. Our visas didn't come through in order for us to fly on our scheduled date. Thus the "Bonus Days" began.

Saudi visas are a rare breed. I have never known an international school in the Kingdom to start with all of their teachers for the first day of school, let alone inservice. There was nothing we could do so we chose to take the attitude of "Bonus Days" and fill them with adventures we wouldn't have had time for if things had gone according to schedule. 

We ended up with three and a half weeks of bonus days that we filled with visits to Cashmere and Portland, playing tourist in Seattle (Pike Place Market, The Old Spaghetti Factory, the downtown Seattle Library, and Seahawks Training Camp), spending time with friends and family, and things that were on the 'someday' list. (For example, G wanted to visit a veterinary hospital as she thinks she might want to be a vet.)

My mom had planned a trip to Scotland, scheduled for after we were to have left. We took her to the airport and missed picking her up by one day. In the meantime we got lots of time with Papa Jim as we had him over for dinner almost every night. Our house also was re-roofed (yes, that was planned for after we were to have left) and we spent those days with him as well as our house was very noisy! All of this time turns out to be an even bigger blessing than we knew at the time as he has now been diagnosed with stage four metastasized melanoma that is in his spine, spleen, liver, and lungs. "Months" is the reality. We weren't planning on it, but are now headed home at Christmas.

Another plot change is that after two and a half weeks of third grade bliss I will be teaching fifth grade when we return to school on the 4th after Hajj break. Just one more thing to keep me on my toes!

The final unexpected twist is that G appears to now have epilepsy. The very short version is that she has had two episodes, five weeks and half a world apart.

Now that the whirlwind has settled down and there is a routine in our new home I find myself realizing it is Tuesday and I am ready to jump back into this part of my routine and the amazing writers of the SOLSC community.

I'm back!

Monday, September 28, 2015

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? From Picture Books to YA! 
It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journeys and now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It is a great way to recap what you read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...you just might discover your next “must-read” book!
Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It's Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children's literature - picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit - join us! We love this meme and think you will, too. We encourage everyone who participates to visit at least three of the other kidlit book bloggers that link up and leave comments for them. 


Monday, September 7, 2015

What Are You Reading? - Book A Day - Summer 2015


Image result for Tao the Little Samurai #1 Pranks and Attacks Tao the Little Samurai #1 Pranks and Attacks by Laurent Richard illustration Nicolas Ryser

Image result for Trouble Maker by Andrew Clements Trouble Maker by Andrew Clements

Image result for Casketball Capers Casketball Capers (Vampire School book 1) by Peter Bentley and Chris Harrison

Image result for Judy Moody Was In A Mood Judy Moody Was In A Mood (book 1) by Megan McDonald illustrated by Peter Reynolds



Image result for The Invention of Wings The Invention of Wings by Sue a Monk Kidd

Image result for The Secret of Skull Island+Norris The Secret of Skull Island by Zack Norris (Double Detectives Series) BAD

Image result for The Other Wes Moore The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

Image result for Lost! A Dog Called Bear Lost! A Dog Called Bear by Wendy Orr


Image result for Operation Bunny - Wings & Co. Operation Bunny - Wings & Co. Book 1 by Sally Gardner

Image result for Bark of the Bog Owl Bark of the Bog Owl by Jonathan Rogers



Image result for Maus: A Survivor's Tale Maus: A Survivor's Tale by Art Spiegelman

+Image result for We Should Hang Out Sometime We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist


+Image result for Beyond Magenta Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin

Image result for Where Things Come Back Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Image result for Flapper by Joshua Zeitz Flapper by Joshua Zeitz

Image result for The Magic Half The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

Image result for A Separate Peace A Separate Peace by John Knowles

*Image result for Interstellar Cinderella Interstellar Cinderella by Deborah Underwood illustrated by Meg Hunt

Image result for American Born Chinese American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Image result for An Unnecessary Woman An Unnecessary Woman by Rabin Alameddine

Image result for Like No Other Like No Other by Una LaMarche

Image result for The Things They Carried The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Image result for Until She Comes Home Until She Comes Home by Lori Roy

*Image result for The Scraps Book The Scraps Book by Lois Ehlert

Image result for Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes Mr. Cornell's Dream Boxes by Jeanette Winter

(book club)Image result for The Handmaid's Tale The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Image result for Saudi Arabia by Laurie Halse Anderson Saudi Arabia by Laurie Hause Anderson

Image result for Weetzie Bat Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block


*A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

Petlandia by Peter Hannan

Blankets by Craig Thompson

*Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes

*Pip Bartlett's Guide To Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater

Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett

*Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

#Poetry 180 selected by Billy Collins

A Wreath for Emmett Till by Marilyn Nelson

The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi

Mirror by Jeannie Baker

Whoever You Are by Mem Fox Illustrated by Leslie Staub

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay

The Princess in Black by Shanon Hale

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones

Honey by Sarah Weeks

*Like Carrot Juice On A Cupcake by Julie Sternberg

Shelter Pet Squad by Cynthia Lord

Babymouse: Queen of the World by Jennifer L Holm & Matthew Holm

*The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge

Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander

Walking West by Noelle Sickels

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Bullied Kids Speak Out by Jodee Blanco

The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman

Plenty by Alisa Smith & JB Mackinnon

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

*Alabama Moon by Watt Key

#Pointe by Brandy Colbert

#Plus One by Elizabeth Fama

**Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty illustrated by David Roberts

Don't Push The Button by Bill Cotter

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Slein

What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada Illustrated by Mac Bosom

I'm Trying To Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

Three Bears of the Pacific Northwest by Marcia and Richard Vaughan Illustrated by Jeremiah Trammell

A High Wind In Jamaica by Richard Aurthur Warren Hughes

The Name Of This Book Is A Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch