Sunday Salon – What a week!

It’s another Sunday and what a week it has been!

Reading and book wise, I don’t have much to update. I finally started feeling better on Wednesday. I had been sick for about 10 days, fighting off a cold or flu. Wednesday I got out of bed and about an hour later, one of my dogs got sprayed by a skunk! Needless to say, Wednesday and Thursday were very busy with cleaning and laundry, and collapsing into bed at night. I’m happy to report that Tessa is still doing well. The groomer did a fantastic job! There are still areas of the house that are a bit skunky, but it is nothing like the initial spray. I’ve also learned so much about skunks over the last few days. I’m working on putting up a skunk page on my agility club’s website. I’ll post a link to it when it is complete.

When I was absent from school on Wednesday to deal with the skunk mess, the kids in my classroom made the cutest cards for Tessa. They are just adorable! After I get parental permission, I will be putting some of those on my agility club’s website also.

Yesterday I finally had energy and time to curl up with Tessa and a book. I’m determined to finish some of the books that I started a long time ago. This week I also hope to get up some of the reviews from the read-a-thon. I have 2 started already so I am hopeful that they will be up in the next couple of days.

Check out Sunday Salon to join in or to read other Sunday Salon posts. Have a good week!

Skunked!

What a morning! I got up let the dogs out, fed them, fed myself, took my shower. At 6:15, I let Tessa out again so she could hang out in the backyard while I checked my e-mail before leaving for work. All of sudden, I heard a commotion! Tessa was at the back door and so was a skunk! I screamed! Tessa then got behind the skunk so the skunk was in between the door and Tessa. And Tessa, was in between the skunk and its way out from the fenced in yard (it dug a hole under the fence).

I called my best friend, in tears. She came over and we got Tessa in the house and we saw the skunk get back out under the fence. The smell was so awful. It’s not the same smell like when you drive by a dead skunk in the road or when you smell that once has been in the area recently. It’s more like a burning smell. A burning rubber smell might describe it a little bit.

Needless to say, I couldn’t go to school today. I smelled so bad. The dog was a mess. And my house! Oh my house!

A wonderful groomer got my dog right in. And kept her most of the day so I could work on cleaning the house. She looks and smells so much better, except for one bad spot on the fleshy part of her nose.

We are also exhausted. I haven’t eaten because all I can smell is skunk and it makes me not want to eat. I’m going to take a shower and see if I can relax a bit.

I have sprinkled fox urine scent around the perimeter of my fence. If anyone has other skunk repellent idea, please let me know.

 

Challenge Completed: RIP IV Challenge

I completed the RIP Challenge on October 31. 2009 by reading The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. I had chosen to do the smallest version of the challenge, reading just one book.  I hope to get a review up in the next week or so.

It was fun to read such a scary book this time of year. This was one of the scariest book I’ve read in awhile. As I have mentioned on other posts, I can get myself scared very easily… I won’t be going down into my basement when it’s dark out for quite awhile!

Sunday Salon: October Wrap Up

October Wrap Up:

The Read-a-thon this month made October a great month for reading! This was my first time participating in it, and I loved every minute of it… even though I had to sleep through 11 hours of it because I was sick.

I felt such a feeling of community throughout the read-a-thon. If you didn’t get a chance to participate, try to join in on the next one. It really was a good time.

This month, I have added the following books to my finished pile:

1. The Impostor’s Daughter, by Laurie Sandell, 247 pages, October
2. The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, 176 pages, October 24
3. The Giver, by Lois Lowry, 180 pages, October 24
4. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, 233 pages, October 24
5. The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hoga, 401 pages, October 31

I’m hoping to start getting some reviews up soon.

Avenue Q:

On a non-book related note, this week I went to see the traveling Broadway show of Avenue Q at my local theater. What a great show!I laughed throughout the entire show… which caused my cough to get a lot worse. But it was worth it. This show is a bit different with songs about internet porn and a character based on Gary Coleman. Since the show, I bought the soundtrack, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to it. I’m hoping today I put it on while I do some cleaning.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Current Challenges:

• 100+ Books Challenge -48/100
• 2009 100 Mile Fitness Challenge - 13/100
• DCF Challenge - 10/30
• 2009 DystopYA Reading Challenge – 1/3
• Fall into Reading Challenge 2009 – 2/5
• Harry Potter Reading Challenge – 0/7
• R.I.P. IV Challenge – 1/1 – FINISHED!
• Support Your Local Library Challenge - 29/50
• Suspense and Thriller Challenge – 11/12
• Take a Chance Challenge - 3/10
• What An Animal II Challenge – 4/6

Read-a-thon Update 7

Here is my final update for the read-a-thon. I had so much fun… even though I slept for 11 hours of it!

A huge thank you to all the bloggers who worked so hard to put this whole event together. I can’t even imagine all the hours you spent organizing the contests, cheerleaders, readers, updates, etc.

I can’t wait for the next read-a-thon! I will be there ready to read!

Title of book(s) read since last update: continuing to read The Strain
Number of books read since you started: 3
Pages read since last update:38
Running total of pages read since you started: 646
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 30 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: 4 hours 40 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Books completed:

• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry
• The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
  

Read-a-thon: End of Event Meme

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?I had to go to sleep at 8:00 because I’ve been sick. So, I guess that hour 13 was the most daunting. Next year I hope to do the whole thing.

2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?I loved The Giver by Lois Lowry. I was also glad I had picked up some graphic novels.

3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I loved it! I just wish I could have been awake for more it.

4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?This was my first read-a-thon so I have nothing to compare it to, but I loved the cheerleaders and all the activities each hour.
5. How many books did you read? 3 and I started a 4th
6. What were the names of the books you read?

• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry
• The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
• started: The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hoga

7. Which book did you enjoy most? They were all so different from each other! I need to think about this one. I did love The Giver.
8. Which did you enjoy least? I would have to say American Born Chinese because it made me feel uncomfortable, but I believe it was supposed to do that. It was a very interesting and thought provoking book.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn’t a cheerleader… but I appreciate all they do!
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? I will definitely participate next time! I would love to volunteer to be a cheerleader and also be a reader.

Read-a-thon: Mid event survey

1. What are you reading right now?

I just started The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan – why did I save this one for when it was dark!

2. How many books have you read so far?

I’ve already finished 3! Two of them were graphic novels so they were quick reads.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

I can’t believe I’ve made it to the second half of the read-a-thon! After being sick this week,  I was just hoping to still be awake at this point.

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?

I already had a therapy dog visit scheduled for the day, but it was reading related so I thought it was a nice fit.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

No interruptions!

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

I can’t believe how fast the time goes by. Each hour feels like 15 minutes.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

This is my first read-a-thon and I’m having a blast. I think it is great!

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?

I would have my  meals prepared ahead of time so I wouldn’t have to worry about them.

9. Are you getting tired yet?

I am getting tired.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?

No tips, but thanks to all the cheerleaders for their wonderful comments!

Read-a-thon Update 6

I’ve made it to 8:00! I haven’t seen 8:00 for the last 3 nights so this is huge!

This hour, I’ve finished American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang and I’ve started The Strain. I hope I can continue reading The Strain, even though it is night time. I might have to switch to something else.

I may be heading upstairs soon to read. I know I need to take another dose of medicine soon and it makes me so sleepy. I’ll be bringing my books upstairs but I don’t know if I’ll be back down in awhile to blog. Maybe I’ll be able to surprise myself!

Title of book(s) read since last update: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Number of books read since you started: 3
Pages read since last update:78
Running total of pages read since you started: 608
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 30 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 4 hours 10 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: 4

Books completed:

• American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
• The Giver, by Lois Lowry
• The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
  

Read-a-thon mini challenge: Reading is Fundamental

As a first grade teacher with a master’s in teaching reading to the elementary education student, celebrating the reading child is part of my everyday life. My goal is not only to teach kids how to read, but to help create life long readers. I am grateful for organizations like Reading is Fundamental for providing resources for parents, teachers, and students.

In my free time I volunteer with my Sara, my Therapy Dog. We go to a local library to listen to kids read. Sara doesn’t care if a child reads the same book over and over or a child stumbles over words. Here is a picture of Sara and a child curled up listening to a book. This picture if from a visit a few years ago.

At today’s session, the kids got such a kick out of Sara’s tail wagging everytime a new book was started! We were at the library for an hour. We had 3 kids with us the entire time Each kid read about 5 books. (One child read a few more). What a great way to spend a Saturday morning!

Read-a-thon Update 5

It’s 7:00 and I’m still reading! After being so sick this week, I never thought I would be able to participate this much.

This past hour I started a graphic novel that was recommended to me by the librarian at the library today. It’s American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.

But you want to know what wasn’t smart? I didn’t even start my scary book yet. Now I only have the option of reading it at night!

Title of book(s) read since last update: Currently reading: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
Number of books read since you started: 2
Pages read since last update:174
Running total of pages read since you started: 530
Amount of time spent reading since last update: 40 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started: (keep track of this one to be eligible for a prize!) 3 hours 40 minutes
Mini-challenges completed: 2

Books completed:

• The Giver, by Lois Lowry
• The Plain Janes, by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg