What I'll Miss From Summer Vacation

Well, down to one week left! Still waiting to hear if I can get into my room next week to start working on it. We have 2 weeks of in-service this year before the kiddos come back, but I don't know how much time that will leave us for room set up.

(from Cafepress--I could easily spend a million dollars on their t-shirts, 

they have soooo many cute ones.)

So as I countdown the last precious moments of summer vacation-I thought I'd make a list of what I will miss most:

1) Time with my puppy. She loves the park but gets a little stressed out if there are too many people/dogs running around. We've been going in the mornings just after the sun has come up enough not to make it creepy. She has just been soooo good this summer! Well, with a few exceptions--in her defense, it does look like one of her toys! :)

2) Time to read! I have recently rediscovered reading and started off the summer really well-these were my favorites of the ones I read. I had a goal of 10 books and I almost made it, but I do have a few more days left. :)

I am not usually a YA fan-but this book has it all! It's funny, it's touching, it's literate--I really hope they can do it justice with the movie. One of my favorite lines is when she says : “as he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once". 

This is a book for 3rd-5th grade range. About a boy with a severe facial deformity starting school. I love that it's told from different perspectives of the people around him. Very touching story.

I did not even know that in Victorian times people communicated with flowers! Now I look at bouquets much differently. A story that unfolds by going back and forth between the past and present of a young girl who grew up in the foster system.

I read the reviews on Amazon for this book and I understand why some people just didn't get it. But I liked it. It can be slow in parts, but there's definitely a deep message there. A retired man just picks up and starts walking to a hospital where he's asked his friend to hold on and wait for him, as she is dying of cancer. It's all in the journey and the growth of the characters throughout that trek.

3) Time to catch up on my Netflix. There was a time during the school year I almost canceled my subscription because I would have the DVD's for so long without having the time to watch them. 

I watched the whole series of Breaking Bad (dying to know how they end it!). I can't believe how much I loathe Walter White right now!

Not at all what I expected-especially the ending. If you like scary movies, this one was definitely worth watching. The girls who acted in it were phenomenal! 

I'm into old movies right now. I finally watched Citizen Kane and followed it up with this one. Hitchcock once said that the scary part of a movie is not when the bad guy jumps out, it's when you see his feet sticking out from behind the curtain. I completely agree with that-he was the king of suspense. (If you have any old movie suggestions for me-I am open to them. I loved like Harvey and Bringing Up Baby).

Love true stories! This one is definitely a tear-jerker-I can't even imagine surviving something like that. It's about the tsunami that hit a few years ago and a family trying to find each other.

I didn't remember I read this book until I started watching the movie. I remember that Smiths song from when I was a teenager. This is the perfect book to turn into a movie-the actual soundtrack just heightens the tale.

4) Naps! I know that sounds lazy, but I still wake up around 6 am-my canine alarm doesn't differentiate for vacation time. :) And I usually still stay up late, so naps are just an imperative.

5)  Actually having time to cook! I've been doing so well, eating clean this summer. I love eating fresh foods but once school starts, I often fall for the convenience of frozen meals or canned soups. :(

I'm sure there are more things, but I think those are my top ones. I need to get back in the school mindset again. I have read so many blogs where people have been very, very busy on school stuff. I taught summer school until mid-July and then had my surgery. I have gotten absolutely nothing done off my list. Maybe that's why the anxiety is setting in.

I hope if you are back things are going well, if you still have much more vacation time left--cherish it! :)