My First Blog (Not Really!)

Monday, October 17, 2011
My First Blog
The title really isn't the truth, since I already have a blog. Although, I haven't updated it in several months. I have a hard time keeping up with journals, blogs, well anything along those lines. However, since this is for class and is graded, hopefully I will have better luck with this!!


* This blog I am writing on now, was my previous blog. All the above was published in October on my class blog, then I could not figure out the password! Yikes!!!

Beneficial Websites for Teaching

Here are a few web sites I have found helpful:

1. http://www.theteacherscorner.net/
Teachers Corner: When I write lesson plans I often search websites for teacher suggestions and ideas. This is a good website to get ideas from, or just to browse.

2.Pinterst:
Many would not consider Pinterst as a valuable resource for teacher ideas.I would have to disagree, I have found all sort of neat ideas to use in the classroom. The best part is that there are visuals, first you see the picture, and then you can chose whether or not you want to explore more about it. Pinterst can steal hours of your time if you are not careful!

3. TeacherTube: TeacherTube is a website that my PE teacher, Mr. Cates introduced me to. It has all the perks of youtube, but it is made for teachers. The best part about it is you will not be bombarded with trash like you will find on youtube. This makes it kid friendly.

Best and Worst of the Golden Globes

This will be my first post about fashion. I love clothes, although I do not confess to being a fashionista. I am not one of those girls that can never wear the same outfit twice or that buys $100 shoes. That being said, I think I am a fair judge of what looks good and what doesn't. Therefore here is my debut fashion post: The Best and Worst of the Golden Globes 2011 (in my opinion)!

The most popular colors were deep emerald green and pale pink and we saw the return of the repulsive shoulder pads last night. Large dresses were popular as were lots of cleavage, but isn't that normal? I am going to list five of my favorites and five of my least favorites.

Best Dressed

Amy Adams: I love Amy Adams and she did not disappoint in this dress. It was beautiful, elegant, regal...very much a Golden Globe dress. The style of the dress was popular last evening. I believe Adams whole look is gorgeous. This was probably one of my favorite looks of the night. Looking at her in this dress you almost wouldn't believe she played such a hard-core, blunt, rather trashy character in the Fighter. (Which I liked).

Julia Stiles: Another dress featuring the one-shoulder look, however Julia's look is very different than Amy's. Instead of the mermaid look, this black dress flows out at the bottom. Julia's look is stunning from head to toe. She surprised me really, because I don't really think of her as fashion royalty. Loved the detail around the neckline.

Julie Bowen: I hardly know who Julie Bowen is, but I love her dress. Amongst all sort of Golden Globe dresses that were either train-wrecks or so-so, this dress stands out. Obviously I favor one shoulder dresses, since this is the third one I have featured...but what can I say, they are beautiful. I loved the flowers, color, really everything about this dress.

Amber Riley: Glee's full-figured star Amber Riley stunned in this disco ball beauty that manages to make her look sleek and tailored and overall just right. The clinched waist adds to the dress. And once again this dress is one shoulder...oh my!

Jennifer Lawrence: A relatively new star, Jennifer Lawrence managed to wow at her first Academy Awards. This dress, which has been criticized by some for making her look older than her age, is very different and made her stand out in a crowd of mostly one color dresses.

Hailee Steinfeld: Although this makes the count six, I couldn't resist young actress and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. She looks pretty, fresh and very much her age, which is often overlooked. Her long ponytail is just the right touch to make the look not fussy but striking.

 Other stunners: Carrie Underwood( she almost always gets it right) , Mila Kunis (love the    color),   and Kelly Osbourne           

 Worst Dressed

Helena Bonhan Carter: Definitely the worst dressed at the Golden Globes last night was Helena Bonhan Carter. I have read a few other news articles about stylists (or everyday people's) favorite outfits of last night and the consensus is that Carter's look is extremely risky and outrageous...and ugly. That being said some people gave her props for taking a huge fashion risk..and staying true to herself. My main problem about her look was her hair...she would have looked much better by keeping her hair sleek. Oh and she has on two different shoes!

 

Natalie Portman: Natalie Portman usually looks elegant and put together at awards shows, that was not true last night. Being pregnant, she was somewhat at a disadvantage dress wise...however my main problem was not really with the cut or style of her dress but with that odd flower directly in the front of her dress. Also her hair and makeup did not wow me at all.

Heidi Klum: Isn't Heidi Klum supposed to be a fashion icon? Not last night. She would have been better to wear one of the fabulous dresses we often see on Project Runway. Her dress was unattractive, too much color and really a hot mess. She definitely should have worn something refined and sleek that would have shown off her figure...once again her hair didn't look good.

Jennifer Lopez: Jennifer Lopez is one of those huge risk takers...sometimes it works, usually it does. Last night not so much. She is know for accenting her figure, which she did last night...except for she ruined the look with an extremely unneeded short sheer layering piece, which was just confusing. Also her hair looked nice, her face on the other hand looked like she just had plastic surgery. Not a good look.

Jennifer Love Hewitt: Now, I didn't hate Jennifer's look, I actually thought it was quite pretty. It just didn't scream Golden Globes, it instead screamed bridal dress. I thought it was ironic that the designer of her dress is a renown as a bridal dress designer. So, this look is a toss up...liked it for another event...just not the Golden Globes. I thought this was really Jennifer's time to shine since she is really not an A list actress more of a C...and she disappointed. Also didn't think she deserved a nomination for the Client List...I mean really!

      Other Fashion Disasters:

Tilda Swinton (Not appalling, but still strange), Michelle Williams (Too casual, too flowy, too 60's, her hair is cute though), Christina Aquilera (just not the right dress), and I almost forgot but I have to show January Jones (what was she thinking, she would have been better not wearing a dress (jk) , she showed wayyy too much). The dress could have been pretty if more on the top was covered up.

Updates, and Catching Up (Both kind of mean the same thing)!

Nicholas Sparks, Safe Harbor (another thing is I can never remember if the title of this book is Safe Haven or Safe Harbor)!


 One and a half stars out of five!

So, I am finally talking about Nicholas Sparks’ latest book, Safe Haven Do you want the truth? Of course you do! I didn’t like it at all. Being it was Nicholas Sparks I expected more. I love Walk to Remember and of course The Notebook, but this new novel just left me unsatisfied. Primarily because I felt like I have read this sort of book before, it just wasn’t fresh or exciting. It was a little like a bad Lifetime movie. And that is saying a lot because I actually like Lifetime! Since, I did finish this book months ago I won’t go into a lot of detail about the book but the story line is simple. The main character, a woman, is in an abusive relationship with her husband, a cop. She manages to escape and assumes a new identity in a small North Carolina beach town. She begins to heal both emotionally and physically and begins to open her heart again. Just when she is finally settling in and isn’t scared anymore, a ghost from her past returns. Can you guess who? I bet you can. It was a very predictable book. I hope his next book is better.

Bright Young Things: four out of five stars!

I read Bright Young Things last month. This is the beginning of a new series by Anna Godbersen. Godbersen brought us the Luxe series. First of all I absolutely loved the Luxe series. A young adult author, Godbersen novels are set in the early 1900s and are new, historically rich and exciting. Because of her wonderful first series I was looking forward to Bright Young Things. She didn’t disappoint. Although, I believe BYT falls somewhat short of the Luxe series I loved this book. Godbersen writes in a way few authors can and her characters appear real. The novel follows two best friends on their journey from their dead end town to New York City. One is looking to see her name in lights and the other is looking for her father. One of the girls befriends another girl, a modern, spirited person. The book tells of these girls’ adventures and experiences with love and life. Believe me I don’t make this book sound as good as it really is. Pick up a copy and see for yourself!

I currently am on break. I have a large majority of my Christmas shopping completed and thus will have more time to read and post (hopefully). I have a huge stack of books to read including Flipped (I read this when I was a teenager but, just watched the movie, which is cute, and now I have to read it again), Beachcombers, Fireflies over Toccoa, and The Richest Season. I am reading Fixing Delilah right now. You might remember my post about Twenty Boy Summer, Fixing Delilah is Sarah Ockler’s second novel. I am on about page forty and it is really gooooood. So far so good at least! I will get back to you when I finish it. At this rate it will probably be Sunday (if not tomorrow) ha!

Read, Reading, Want to Read

Book(s) I Am Currently Reading :

         Bright Young Things By: Anna Godbersen
         Opinion: To Be Determined


Books I Want to Read:

Falling Home By: Karen White

Saw this being reviewed on another blog, and it looks really good!


Breaking Dawn
By: Stephenie Meyer


What do I really have to say about this one?




Eat Pray Love  By: Elizabeth Gilbert

 

I would like to see what all the fuss is about.
Although, I have heard a lot of people say it is hard to get into.
Books I Have Read (Plan to Review):

Safe Haven by: Nicholas Sparks
Yes, I promise I am going to review it!


The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes  By: Diane Chamberlain


This one was a plesant surprise!

While We're Far Apart   By: Lynn Austin



Not as great as some of her others.

The Help   By: Kathryn Stockett


I read this book quite a few months ago. Since, my memory is a little foggy I am not going to give it a full review. But, I will say, that this book is great. It was very unexpected, but I will have to say this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. And, I didn't really understand what exactly the cover meant until I read it, but once you do you will really like it and appreciate it as well. I recently learned that they were making a movie, and I am not sure what I think of this.

Secrets She Left Behind By: Diane Chamberlain

Score: 4 ½ out of 5

Prior to about two weeks ago I had never heard of Diane Chamberlain. How is this possible? I have no idea!

Anyway, while browsing at my local library I stumbled upon a Diane Chamberlain novel. Immediately upon glimpsing the cover, I knew I had to read this book. The main reason is there was a quote on the front that said, “Diane Chamberlain is the Southern Jodi Picoult.” Right there, was all the encouragement I needed. I absolutely love Jodi Picoult. She is one of my favorite authors and anyone who is compared to her is worthy of my attention.

Now, this review has gone terribly off course. I did intend to solely write about “Secrets She Left Behind” and here I am going off on a tangent!

The main questions are as follows: did I agree that Diane Chamberlain is a Southern Jodi Picoult?, did I enjoy the book?, and is she worth reading? Yes to all three.

I saw similarities in her writings to Picoult’s. She allowed each character to tell their own story, which Picoult is famous for doing. Chamberlain’s characters were almost real, full of life and one of the best traits, flawed, extremely flawed.

“Secret She Left Behind” began on the day nineteen year old Maggie was being released from a year long prison sentence for arson. The book tells the tale of all the characters continuing to deal with the aftermath of the arson especially now that Maggie is home. We have seventeen year old Kevin who was severely burned in the fire, Maggie’s fifteen year old brother who also witnessed the fire. But most importantly, we have Sara, Kevin’s mother whose disappearance on the day of Maggie’s release complicates and intensifies the plot. Adding in many smaller characters, who we also get to know well, this book is one of those you want to rush through. But, on the same hand, you want to savor it.

One bit of advice I would give anyone considering reading this book is read “Before the Storm” first. Although, both books can be considered stand alone novels, Before the Storm is the story of what happened before the fire and is more the story of Maggie's brother Andy.

http://www.dianechamberlain.com/index.htm