Fixing Up a Fixer-Upper

Bradley and I have been in the process of fixing our new home for about three months. It has been, well, a really long process that is not near to being over. It is nice though because things are coming together. My bedroom is painted and only needs touching up in paint and the floor cleaned. My bathroom needs the vanity and toilet and I LOVE THE COLOR OF THIS ROOM. It's a beautiful grey, tint of blue in it. My living room is a light yellow/tan called cozy cottage. One wall needs to be finished, needs some mud. I also have beautiful Maple cabinets that have been sitting in a trailer on my lawn. BUT... I am priming the kitchen today and hopefully within the week, they will be up!

What I have learned so far - i know what is lead paint and what is not, how to do the three layers of mud, how to sand and then finely sand, the patience to paint a room, prime, taping, ceiling, walls, touch-up and little odds and ends about the home... and lets be honest some of the things I have learned are because I have made mistakes.

But I'm getting close!

Clockwork Angel

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all

I finished the novel Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Claire. This novel is a wonderful supernatural world. Likened to the Harry Potter world, the author creates a world that works with the "mundane" world. I fell in love with the character test and her insecurities. She is a wonderful 16 year old girl trying to save her brother who has disappeared and in the process is forced to become part of the supernatural world. She is rescued by several characters and they take her in. You have a wide range of characters, the female trying be the leader in a man's world, a husband who can only see his inventions, a prissy teenage girl who just wants to be married (the story takes place in London during the 1800's), the wild boy Will with hidden secrets and Jem who carries a hidden addiction.

I am part of Team Will... end of story.

The plot was well-developed and I was intrigued from the very beginning!!! Has anyone read this one? I think what I loved the most about the plot were the twists. Clare had me going, "No way!" a few times.

I loved the book and was very upset when I learned the sequel would not be coming out for awhile!!!

I also did some research on this author's other works and what she has done is written a series for the same world except it takes place in modern day. The Clockwork Angel is a prequel series to the Mortal Instrument series. A friend of mine, Nadine, has started this series and really enjoys it! It is a must for classroom shelf and also for the supernatural reader!

It's that time of year... my favorite time of year... it's time for the first few weeks of SCHOOL! Yes, I truly enjoy this time of the year. I love getting all my new school supplies, like I was five years old again. There is something about a new notebook with no pages torn, no scribbles in it. And a new pen! How many wonderfully stressful things will I write!?

I'm refreshed and ready to dive into new units and see the familiar faces of my students in

the halls of Ripley. Though high schoolers can be tough, they have an uncanny ability to make me smile a

nd brighten my day!

I did read a few new books in the last week and wanted to take a minute to post about them. The first was a book called Ruined by Paula Morris. This was a great supernatural story that did not have to do with vampires. I thought it captured the "outsider" well and reminded us about New Orleans and the culture that is found there. The ending, though I won't spoil it, was quick. It "vanishes." I would say it was a 31/2 star book.

Another one was Incareron by Catherine Fisher. It's a new Big Brother theme book. It is very imaginative and so well planned the world that Fisher developed. It is most impressive. It does drag at the

end but I needed to know how it ended. The main heroine of the story is bossy, determined, and intelligent. You can't help but want her to succeed against the forces that are trying to control her. And the hero! His identity is predictable but he has a soft, caring heart and you want him to assume his rightful identity.

The last one I am going to mention is my favorite! Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick . This book involves a

new favorite supernatural topic f mine, angels. And Patch, the main character's love interest, oh, he's perfect! Yes, I secretly love him. Fitzpatrick weaves a great story, involves several great twists and left angry that I would have to wait for the sequel! It was very captivating! I mean, LOOK AT THAT COVER! One down side, the main character's best friend is too predictable and very expected. I will say it was the best summer read for me this year. 41/2 star

The Bright Side Project as a teacher's resource

As I start to come down from the "THANK GOD I AM ON VACATION" feeling, I am turning my attention back to school, which is something that I enjoy doing. It is like a fresh canvas (not that I could draw anything) and I can do anything I want on it and know that somewhere in there is going to be a brilliant idea.

I have kept on my educational reading (online and traditional) and have some great ideas however, I took a conference from a brilliant lady on creative writing notebooks and since then I have been looking for daily prompts to put in my notebook for my kids and the best resource for some five minute writing prompts (or longer) has come from a website called The Bright Side Project. On this website, there are designer giveaways and to enter you have to answer a simple question. Today's question was "What makes you feel lucky?" I wrote that I have a good support all around me and this one pair of jeans (in a nutshell at least). But that could easily be turned into a paragraph. They could tell me why that makes them feel lucky or an event that made them feel lucky, and then my mind just spirals into short stories. :)

NOOKStudy

I am not 100% sure of what is being offered but it sounds like Barnes and Noble is offering a free application called NOOKStudy. This program, at least it says it will, offers organizational and cool tools, get etextbooks with 40% off, over 500,000 books for FREE, and the capability to access the materials whenever and where ever. I did sign up to here more and if you clink on the above link you can too!

Making "the old", "the new"

I have recently become interested in antiques and reupholstering... In my Aunt Becky's attic, I found this! A beautiful rocker that she gave me! Currently, I'm in the process of sanding. Good lord, is that time consuming. I think what I am going to do is sand it down, leave the green in the crevices and put a brown or maroon cushion for the seat... any vote on that? Also, I am going to stain it. Eventually I would like to paint it white, but Brad was right, it does look nice sanded down. It's great knowing that I am doing something for my house! It is going too look beautiful on my stone front porch with the white columns.

Another find was in my upstairs, Uncle Mike and Aunt Amy gave Brad a very comfortable pink chair that doesn't match the decor of my new house. Lauren, my expert, is helping me reupholster. We found a beautiful tan cloth a design of multiple blues. I love it!!! We are currently taking this chair apart. There are tons of staples in it but it is beautifully done! Look at all the detail that went into this chair? And now Lauren and I are ripping it apart!

New hobby? I think so! New side business, maybe? Not right now though :)

A writer as a sketch artist? OK let's not go too far here!

I finished the grammar and mechanic edits that Marie did for me a few days ago. It is amazing how you miss things (like commas) that you know!

I have been talking with Nadine about about a new segment I need to add and I am very excited about it because I think will only expand my manuscript! Sorry to be so vague!

But what I wanted to talk about was how I have moved on to "plumping" up my novel. I have completely re-written the setting of my story, which is a boarding school. I did take some inspiration from a local college campus, Mercyhurst Main in Erie, PA. To fix my setting problem (which it was too vague), I had to draw the layout of the school, name the buildings involved, and come up with textures, colors and details. I have a very non-impressive sketch, but a sketch that helped to guide me writing... who knew that as I wrote, that I would draw!

My next job for the next few days is to develop some crucial characters that got passed over because they are not "main" characters. I have a great twist to add in too! (Again, sorry about being vague).