Aaaaaaaaaand We're Back!

That beautiful skyline is a shot of Minneapolis, the place where Eleanor and I spent the last three weeks having all kinds of adventures - with a quick side quest to Chicago.

The day after we arrived was Grandpa's Celebration of Life. It was the hardest day of my life, because how do you condense 42 years of memories into just a few minutes? I managed though, and only cried twice while speaking. I hope I properly conveyed just how much Grandpa means to me, and how I am who I am because of him. I didn't talk to many people, I just didn't have the energy - but there were so many guests and it made me happy to see that so many came to remember him and offer words of kindness to Grandma.

Speaking of, we also spent time with Grandma several other days. She can't live alone anymore so she is at a facility where she can be taken care of around-the-clock. I've gotten to know a couple of the nurses and they take good care of her. I hate leaving her there, and all she wants to do is go home, but it's just not possible anymore. We spent afternoons chatting and Eleanor played her guitar. She also drew some really beautiful butterflies to hang on the walls to decorate Grandma's room.

I also spent some time with one of Grandpa's cousins, Bonnie. We visited a couple places related to Grandpa's life - places I had mostly been to before for other family events, but it was different in seeking those places out specifically. We visited the country church where Grandpa was baptized and confirmed, and visited the family plots - we're related to well over half the people buried there. Grandpa's grandpa was the minister in the late 1800s/early 1900s and I always love looking at the old photographs of the confirmation classes. We also visited the site of his country school. The building is gone now, but there is a marker where it once stood.

 

Eleanor, our cousin Clara, and I also had some concert fun. We saw Louis Tomlinson (from One Direction) TWICE. First in Minneapolis, where we had pit/barricade. He was less than twenty feet from us and I died several times just looking at him. I'll save your eardrums by not posting any videos, but rest assured we sang. Loudly.

 

The following week we drove to Chicago to see him again, wanting to hear our favorite song, called 'Chicago'. It's not on the regular setlist, but of course he would sing it IN Chicago, right? He sang 'High in California' at his LA show, even though it also was not on the setlist, so this wasn't some crazy idea, RIGHT? Joke was on us, because HE DIDN'T EVEN SING IT. We thought for sure he would, why would he NOT sing 'Chicago' in Chicago?!?! We were so stunned when the concert was over, we didn't even mind the twenty minute walk back to our hotel in the pouring rain because Uber was being stupid and we were hangry.

  

The next day before heading back to MN, Clara showed us around (she goes to university there). I love Chicago and have visited, but it's a different perspective from someone who lives there a good part of the year. We drove down Michgan Ave. and Eleanor freaked out when she saw Gucci right across the street. She wanted to go in but we had to explain that we'd never get past security, as we all looked like scrubs who had been up way too late and were still wearing our jammies and/or concert t-shirts. We went through Wrigleyville and all over Clara's campus to see where she lived and took classes last year. Eleanor quickly discovered she is a big-city girl like Clara and me, and she wants to go to school there now too.

We celebrated Eleanor's thirteenth birthday and our cousin Aley's July birthday also, at Grandma's home. We ate lots of yummy ice cream cake and fruit pizza (not real pizza, the crust is made of sugar cookie dough). Aley is very much the "fun aunt" to Eleanor, and spoils her every year with new purses. This year she added a pair of cowboy boots and I swear, Eleanor has hardly taken them off for even a moment.

We also spent a lot of time just being lazy at Mom's house and it was wonderful. My mom has a giant California King bed so Eleanor and I were constantly fighting over who got to nap there. We read lots of books and watched lots of movies. Mom made all our favorite foods and I probably gained a few pounds but I don't even care. Eleanor also worked hard getting thank you notes mailed out to friends and family who have donated to her 8th grade class trip next summer to DC/NYC.

We also went with my uncle to a cat sanctuary called Furball Farm - CK, you must check it out! I am allergic, so I stayed in the kitchen area while those two hung out with the cats for a couple hours. The sanctuary livestreams 24/7 on Twitch, so you can always see what the cats are up to! We then drove by my grandparents' former home from when I was a child. I showed Eleanor the cemetery across the road that I used to sit in and talk to the people buried there because I have, in fact, always been this weird.

 

It was quite a whirlwind but now we are back to our regular lives of getting as much sun and waterpark fun as we can before school starts back up in a month. A MONTH. Ugh.

I still can't believe he didn't sing 'Chicago' in Chicago. I will never get over this.

What have you been up to for the last three weeks?

Sarah

Summer Is Herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!

Hooray!!

My last student day was Wednesday (lots of crying; I've had these babies since third grade) and we finished up our two teacher work days yesterday.

Unfortunately Eleanor is not done until next Thursday, so my real vacation starts then and I get to be a stay-at-home-mom until mid-August.

We have lots of adventures planned, mostly revolving around home.

Grandpa's celebration of life will be in June and I am not at all ready for this. I have so many memories that I hardly know where to start. I've been writing and rewriting and rewriting what I'm going to say and I still don't have the words to properly explain how fiercely he loved me and how I will never get over losing my first and best best friend.

We will be home with family for a good chunk of summer and have two concerts in that time - Louis Tomlinson in Minneapolis and then a week later in Chicago. One of my favorite Louis songs is called Chicago. So, yes, we got tickets to the Chicago show to hear him sing Chicago in Chicago, because of course he will even though it isn't on the tour set list.

Then in July, I will officially have a teenager. Eleanor will be thirteen and my brain cannot comprehend this. Like, what do you mean that the tiny human Mom and I brought home from the hospital is this whole person now (minus a fully developed prefrontal cortex)??? I am so proud of this child of mine and even though the road leading to her was bumpy, I would not change a single thing. I would do it all over again just so we could find each other, and I hope we have found each other in every lifetime, in every universe.

I originally created my Spring Reading/Blogging Challenge because I had taken that massive hiatus after Grandpa passed and I was in no frame of mind to do anything remotely functional. I am debating between revamping it to include summer goals and make it one big challenge, or leaving them as two different entities. I'll make that decision next week though, because all I am doing the next couple days while Eleanor has to be at her father's is reading and relaxing.

What summer plans do you have?

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Spring Reading/Blogging Challenge

After Grandpa passed in November, I did almost nothing blog-related for months. My brain's response to hard/traumatic things is to focus solely on reading. I'm still not okay, he was my first best friend. I cry every single day and call his phone often, to hear his voice on his outgoing message.

However, we had some candid talks about death in the last few years and I know his wish for me has always been to go on without him, so that's what I'm finally ready to start doing.

Since spring is here, I am doing a mini challenge to help me refocus. I am focusing more on ARC reviews than reading from the TBR, because I am SO behind. And while we're on the topic of ARCs, my Kindle is being stupid. I charged it the other day and started reading when it was done. I got about a paragraph in when the screen changed to an empty battery. No trouble-shooting I tried has fixed it so I think it is safe to say Kindle II is dunzo. Awesome.

Anyway, here are my spring goals!

1. Review at least 20 ARCS - My current NetGalley ratio is 67%. But NetGalley and publishers keep offering me books, so what am I supposed to do?!

2. Review at least 10 non-ARCs - These books need love too. Or hate, depending on which book we are talking about.

3. Read at least 5 books from the TBR - fat chance, I have a ton of library books checked out right now, but I can pretend this will happen.

What are you up to reading-wise this spring? Let me know!

Sarah

Happy New Year

Hi all,

Not going to lie, the holidays were rough. Grandma is living in a care facility (she and Grandpa were just a few rooms down from one another), so things were going to be different anyway, but no one imagined THIS different.

The plan had always been to bring Grandma and Grandpa home for one more Christmas at their house together, but that didn't happen.

We were able to have a family dinner at Grandpa's favorite restaurant though, and I brought Grandma, so that was the highlight of the trip. She was so happy and joyful and it was good for her to be out. It made me feel a little better.

I was able to spend some time at their house by myself, and a couple experiences made me feel like Grandpa was listening. I just sat and talked to him for about an hour, recounting every memory I could think of, all of our adventures, and the house felt calm and peaceful. It's worth noting that my uncle set up a couple motion-activated cameras to keep an eye on things, and that the cameras have gone off multiple times - even when no one is there.

I miss Grandpa so much. I cry every single day. I call his phone just to hear his voice, and leave a message. He is the closest person I have ever lost and I still feel like I am floundering. He was my first best friend and I will never get over this. I'll just learn to live with it, and that's okay.

I finally feel a bit like blogging again, and there's so much to post about. All of my typical year-end/beginning-of-year posts are obviously late (everything was up by now in past years), but I'm okay with that. They will be coming over the next week or so, and there's lots to talk about!

Happy Reading and Happy New Year
Sarah

Goodbye, Summer!

It's hard to believe it's already that time, but I've just finished my first three back-to-school days. I am going into my 7th year at my current school and cannot contain how happy I am with such fantastic colleagues and an admin team that actually listens to and values us. Our AP from 2023-2024 became our new principal last year and she has completely changed the climate of the building. I don't feel dread at the start of the year like I did before, like something will be sprung on me at the last minute and I'll have no support to do what needs to be done.

Of course, I would love to be a SAHM all year round, and pick Eleanor up from school everyday, but it's just not possible. No one has yet offered to just pay to lay on the couh and read books and write reviews, so until then...to work I must go.

I am really proud of how we did with our Summer Reading Goals. We kept them manageable and met every single one. I am toying with doing something similar for myself the fall as well, even though it is technically still summer until September 21st. I'll be figuring it out over the weekend to maybe get something going - though once our students return next Wednesday and Thursday, do not expect anything for about a week and a half. There is NO tired like teacher-first-week tired.

I am excited for my kids to come back; I have had most of them in previous years and can't wait to see how they grow as 5th, 3rd, and 2nd graders. I have a handful that we are also looking at dismissing from Special Education due to amazing progress, which is also exciting.

I am going to try to get some non-ARCs scheduled this weekend, so even though I personally won't be very active, there will still be new content. Or I might just read all weekend. We'll see.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Summer Reading Goals Revisited!

Here we are at the end of another summer that went by too quickly. We had lots of adventures and made memories to last a lifetime.

Now, let's take a look at how we did.

Sarah's Goals:

1. Read at least ten books from my TBR

Result: Success! I read 17 books from my TBR.

2. Review at least twenty ARCs

(click the cover to read the review)

        

   
   

   

   

   

Result: Success! I reviewed 27 ARCs!

3. Review at least ten non-ARCs

(click the cover to read the review)

   

    

   

    

 

Result: Success! I reviewed 17 books!

Nora's Goal:

1. Read at least ten books - minimums of six new books and four rereads

New Books

Result: Success! Nora read six new books!

Rereads

Result: Success! Nora reread six favorites!

Together:

1. Read at least thirty minutes per day

June: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30

July: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Result: Success! 50/61 days. The majority of days missed were when Eleanor was at her father's house.

How did you do with your summer goals? Let us know!

Happy Reading!
Sarah and Nora