The 14 in 2014 online book club has returned in 2014!  Our first pick is "Where'd You Go Bernadette" by Maria Semple.  I loved this book, immediately upon beginning.  Turns out that the author worked in writing sitcoms in her past and this book reads just like that; fast-paced, hilarious, touching and addictive!  And the hilarious, snarky email banter between characters Soon-Lin and Audrey had me in stitches.  (note: this book club is so effective, because of the awesome ladies in it!  I have been trying to do this kind of thing for years and never actually did it.  Read more about that here. I never read any of those books listed...so sad!)  Join us on Facebook!

Read more here about what the NYtimes had to say about this awesome book pick for our club.

"The tightly constructed “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” is written in many formats — e-mails, letters, F.B.I. documents, correspondence with a psychiatrist and even an emergency-room bill for a run-in between Bernadette and Audrey. Yet these pieces are strung together so wittily that Ms. Semple’s storytelling is always front and center, in sharp focus. You could stop and pay attention to how apt each new format is, how rarely she repeats herself and how imaginatively she unveils every bit of information. But you would have to stop laughing first." (NYtimes) 

Also, how adorable is Bee, the main character?  She is one of my favorite leading ladies for her curiosity, uniqueness and ability to stand apart from her granola-eating, Seattle, prep-school buddies. Bee's parents Bernadette and Elgin are so wonderfully flawed and real that a real parent like myself cannot help but love them.  And the end of the novel, well...gasp!  I loved that too!

What did you guys think?  Join us for February's book "Wild" by Cheryl Strayed.  

Last year's 13 in 2013 book club included the following:

"The Light Between Oceans", Mindy Kaling's hilarious memoir, Gone Girl, Flight Behavior, Sweet Tooth, The Normal Bar, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, And the Mountains Echoed.

More book reviews here (ideas for book club!):

"Sightseeing"

"American Dervish"

Guest post written by Kate.

"I thoroughly enjoyed Mindy Kaling's first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? As I read the book, I heard her voice in my head for each and every word. All last year Hulu kept recommending her show to me, and I kept thinking, "I know I am going to love but I really just don't have the time now Hulu!" When all season finales were over for the year in May, I gave in and watched the entire Mindy Project in two days. Similarly, I devoured the book in 72 hours or less. Mindy has a knack for writing, and like her role model Tina Fey, is hilarious and wise at the same time. The book actually reminded me of Tina's Bossypants a lot. It is always interesting to learn how people go from awkward teenagers to Hollywood actors and writers. It is also so refreshing to hear someone talk about mistakes and immature office shenanigans without sugar coating it. Everyone makes mistakes, maybe not everyone has a chance to storm out of a writers meeting and throw a hissy fit, but not everyone gets to work with Steve Carrell either. My only complaint was this- it was too short! I can't wait to read more of her writing in the future."

Stay tuned by more guest posts by Kate, she's pretty darn great! ;)

This year, at my school, we are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in style. Our slogan (catchphrase) for the month, which we are celebrating during all of October, is "Be Like Frida".  To be honest, at first, the kids had NO CLUE what we were talking about and they just made fun of Frida for being a weird artist with a unibrow and mustache.  Standard.

But then, something magical started to happen as we talked about her to our students, they fell in love!  Frida represents a lot of GREAT, INSPIRING and all-together awesome ideas that young people living in 2013 can really relate to.  She stood up for the people in her country without rights, she had a unique style, she rebelled against the norm in almost every way possible, she broke the rules, she challenged peoples' ideas, and she represented feminine beauty in a whole new light.  Any teachers out there who want to share our AWESOME Power Point presentation, email me!

I have been researching and studying Frida now for a couple of weeks, and now all I want to do is visit her beautiful town, Coyoacán, Mexico and see her amazing home, La Casa Azul.  #traveldaydreams

Also, check out these related links:

La Casa Azul, in NYC 

Frida, the movie! (note: awesome!) 

Frida, the kids book (my little one loves it and my students do too!)

Coyoacan Mexico travel guide

Great Latino Book Club 

So, did everyone finish reading "The Light Between Oceans" and have a little time to recover? All I have to say is that our August book ("The Secret Keeper") better be happier!

I knew I was done for as soon as I met the main characters, Izzy (really!??) and Tom.  However, despite the UBER depressing story of love, lies, deception and parenting, I truly liked this tale.  The details about Australia were compelling, the narration about life as a lighthouse keeper was interesting, the tale of baby Lucy was heart-wrenching and I could not put the book down.

However, I was literally sobbing at the end.  I was snorting-alone-on-the-couch-style crying.  A bit intense!

I especially loved the tender moments between Tom and Lucy and the description of their beautiful connection.  Also, I loved to see how the resolution of the tale worked out.  Don't worry, I won't spoil any more!

What did you think? Also, how beautiful was the cover art?

June's Book Club pick was "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns".  The book was set in Afghanistan, just as his others were, and told the tragic tale of the interwoven lives of several people living in the transitional years before, during and after the Taliban in Afghanistan.  The story was EXTREMELY sad, the book club was a little up in arms about reading such a depressing book (sorry girls!), but Hosseini writes so poignantly and with such talent, that the terrible tale of others disaster and misfortune is still a compelling tale.  We all cried, right?  I hope so.

I always enjoy a story that has the "Crash movie effect".  In other words, everyone's lives are interconnected and woven in such a complicated and interrelated plot.  In the end, the sad tales of one's life are related so closely to the plot of another and it is so very intriguing  to me at least!

What did you guys think?

Join our book club here: 13 in 2013 on Facebook.

Next up, "The Light Between Oceans" for July.  (It's realllllllly good!)

Also, have you checked out this blog (Joy the Baker)?  She has a great round up of Book Club ideas and a collaborative summer reading list!  I love it.  We may have to continue this Book Club for years and years, to get through all of these books! :)

I'll be the first to admit, that I was very skeptical when Jessie picked this month's book.  I fear the self-help section of the library and often get giggly and immature about relationship books in general.  However, "The Normal Bar" surprised me with its practical advice, interesting statistics and constructive, interesting ideas for increasing "normal" in relationships. What I found most interesting is that the advice that was intended for couples can be used in all relationships, including those at work.  In my high school Spanish classroom, I deal with a variety of personalities with an even more vast variety of backgrounds.  At times this can be frustrating but with new, refreshed eyes, one can see that all that needs to be done is to "establish a new normal" as this book suggests.  With a standard of behavior, people (students) can learn how to accept their surroundings and work to achieve the standard set by that adult.  It's all so intriguing!

What did you think, "book clubbers"?

Also, I loved the Book Club questions provided by the Normal Bar site and thought that I would share the answers to some of my favorite questions with you to get the discussion rolling.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Not really.  I think that there are "crushes" at first sight, but my definition of love depends very heavily on a long-friendship followed by more love. :)

Do you believe friends make good life partners and lovers?

ABSOLUTELY!  I love my best friend.

Do you think sharing the same religious and/or political views really make or break a relationship?

I do not think that this is as important as similar life-perspectives.  When people are of different religious backgrounds, they may still share the same perspective on issues that they consider important.  Also, spiritual feelings can be very different between people of the same religion *I have seen this a lot among Catholics!.  Political views are a little trickier in my opinion because people LOVE to talk about politics at dinner, parties, happy hours, etc.  Sometimes its fun to debate, but both parties have to be interested in the debate (and debate fairly!) or it can kill a relationship, in my opinion.

Does money buy relationship happiness?

Nope.  I sure hope not!

Do you believe it is OK to keep financial information from your partner?

I do not.  But, I am not sure that this is part of establishing the "normal bar" in each person's relationship.

What is the most fulfilling aspect of your relationship?

Prepare yourself for sappiness...

I love having a smiling person come home each day and seeing the reaction on my two year olds face.

I love having someone who consistently supports, believes in me, encourages me and challenges me.

The (other) most fulfilling thing is having a best friend who I also have a crush on, still...after a long, long time!

"Gone Girl" rocked my scaredy-cat socks off! Almost every single "twenty-something" that I have asked has said something along the lines of "I couldn't put it down" or "wow, it was addictive" in regards to this dysfunctional marriage murder thriller. Read more here about what the New York Times has to say about it.

What do you think, fellow "book clubbers"? And anyone else who has read it?!

Here's my take: I liked the action and the twisted relationship and plot surprises. However, I was not able to leave a lot of the description in the book. I've always had a wild imagination and some of the gory details made me literally shiver for days. (I'm a weenie.)

I have one more complaint... I'd say that this book has "DaVinci Code" syndrome. What I mean by that is that it seemed to be written as an intended future screenplay and not as a good old fashioned honest book. While many books do end up as films, I don't necessarily think that they have to be written as such. Otherwise, it was a great thriller! (It will make a great movie someday!!)

I'm going to have to admit to you Book Club ladies, that I cannot, for the life of me, get through Flight Behavior! I think the details about the butterflies are super interesting but I am getting lost in all of the description. I will keep trying, promise! I tried to read "Poisonwood Bible" last summer and had the same experience. I remember liking the characters and the idea of the book, but struggling with all of the details. Barbara Kingsolver, help me out!

What do you ladies think!?

Here's the NY Times review, if you'd like to take a look.

Off to read more...

Ok book clubbers, what did you think of our February pick by Kate?  "Sweet Tooth" by Ian McEwan was a good read that got EXCELLENT at the end.  Just in time, because I was a little bored and distracted during the middle, but I am easily distracted.

What did you gals think?

I loved the ending so much!!!!

Next month's book is entitled "Flight Behavior" by Barbara Kingsolver (thanks Helen!).

Happy reading gals! :)

Hi there! Lets read 13 great books in 2013...shall we?

First book (my choice, Katie gets to pick February's!): "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society". So far, I'm in love! It's compelling! Written in a series of letters which go back and forth from an amazingly unique and refreshing group of very eclectic characters, I literally can't put it down. Love that!

Have you read it?

Want to pick the next book? You do...

Get in on the (nerdy) fun!

I just finished one of the best books I have read in a long while. I cried. It was so darn good.The best part is that I get to teach it this school year!

Julia Alvarez is an amazing author and I could devour anything she writes. Her stories come alive so much that you become convinced that you are a part of the families in her tales.

In "Before We Were Free", Alvarez tells the tale of a young girl during the dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. The story is told from Anita's 12-year-old perspective and is absolutely enchanting. I felt like I was 12 again with a crush on a boy, worrying about what to say in school and dealing with my family. She weaves into Anita's story the history of a dictatorship, where Trujillo stayed in power for 31 years and left an indelible mark on the Dominican people. This book is fantastic and I 100% recommend it to "Spanish junkies" or "bookworms" alike.

Enjoy! M

Do you remember meeting your best friend(s)?   I giggled as I thought of writing about this because some friends just magically appear in our lives, while we meet others in the funniest (and often times most awkward) situations throughout our lives.

Take, for example, my little brother.  He came home from his first day of 3 year old nursery school with a new best friend: "the boy in the orange shirt".  Unfortunately, Benjamin (as we later came to know him) wore a different colored shirt the next day.  The story ended well with the kind teacher helping my brother find his "new best friend".

I have an "eclectic" group of best friends.  They are awesome.  

Katie is my lifeguard buddy who I met in a pool.  Literally, while swimming in the pool, we said to one another (I remember it as clear as day!), "we are friends".  That was the end of that.  How easy!  Our friendship has been easy (like having an awesome big sister that doesn't judge and literally reads my mind telepathically) ever since.

Bethan is the first friend I made in high school.  I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I do remember seeing her in a lot of my classes and one day striking up a conversation where we literally decided that we were not only best friends, but also sisters.  We decided that since we looked alike, we should be friends.  Period.  The antics began and they haven't stopped many years later!

Megan is one of the friends that I don't remember meeting very well.  She was in my homeroom freshman year and I remember loving and admiring her silliness from the beginning.  All of the sudden, I was telling people that we were friends, no questions asked.  That's exactly how she is.  We are friends, no matter what.  No questions asked.

Katie (not to be confused with Katie above) and Mo (short for Maureen) were a two-for-one friendship deal.  I had classes with both of them and remember thinking "gosh, those girls are cool, I wonder if they would be my friends?"  (Note: This is awfully embarrassing to admit.)  Well, it worked out fabulously and we became a little gang of not just 3 friends (yes, they allowed other people into their force field of friendship!), but 5 (see the two characters above).  We are the type of friends that will go to the beach together as old ladies and sit together in the tide with our drink coozies and giggle until sunset.  I love these girls like sisters.

So, the question is.... How did you meet your best friend (s)?  Do you remember?

Happy Tuesday,

M

This May 18th, Artomatic comes to Crystal City, to take over an old Federal Building that will be knocked down.  Before the demolition begins, Artomatic and hundreds of DC area artists take over and transform the space (for about 2 months) into an awesome center for the arts .  For more information on dates, directions and details, visit their website!  Meet the Artist night is June 2, see you there!?

I found out about this awesome art event from a friend, read about it and signed up right away...no questions asked.  After attending their orientation seminar on Saturday, I am super pumped to share my artwork (check me out on the 1st floor by the cafe!) and to meet other artists and hear all about their adventures and work.

On Sunday, I am headed to a baby shower for 3 ladies at work who are expecting.  Thinking of what they need and can actually use as new moms got me thinking of a post that I have been meaning to write for months!  Today, I am sharing 5 of the nicest and "not so nice" things that I have noticed people saying about newborn babies and their shell shocked, but love struck new mamas (and papas!).  

5 kind / awesome things to say to someone who just had a baby: 

1.  "Your baby is beautiful."

(end of story)  No matter how many times you hear it, it never gets old.  I like to call this comment "the classic".

2.  "You look beautiful."

(are you seeing a trend here yet?)  Just tell a woman that she makes it look good.  Even if she doesn't.  It feels nice! 

3.  "You guys make a good looking / cute / adorable kid."

This comment is great because it's not especially emotional or cheesy, but covers the "your baby is beautiful and so are you, mama" comments which I love so much.

4.  "Can I come over and clean your house / do your dishes / go shopping for you"?

The only thing I wanted to do after having our little one was hold her while she was sleeping and maybe even drift off to sleep too.  Visitors insisted on holding her, which was fine, but I felt like I should have first dibs.  Some wise friends and family members brought food (bonus points!), cleaned (double bonus!) and even went on errands for us.  Now, these are friends! 

5.  "You guys are doing a great job, you are naturals."

Sincere and kind.  You can't go wrong.  

5 comments to avoid:

1.  "Your baby looks just like your husband."

 Mine does.  Which means that she is adorably cute and has cheeks that you could pinch for days.  BUT, for some reason (9 months + hours of labor), I wanted to hear that she looked just a tiny bit like me.  Call me crazy, but I worked hard for that girl!  Just stick with comment #1 above, people! 

2.  "You are going to lose all of the baby weight in no time."

Please refrain from all body comments.  Don't tell me how pregnant (or not) that I look.  Just say that I am pretty even though I am 40 pounds overweight and in pain.  

3.  "How is the baby sleeping"?

Really people?  Have you ever heard of a newborn who sleeps well?  That's just cruel.  And the nights that she did sleep well, we were petrified to talk about them because of extreme superstition.

4.  "Are you breast feeding?"

Nope.  Just don't ask.  It's difficult and emotional and people get upset having to answer this one.  Avoid it, please.  See above for other ideas.

5.  "When are you going back to work?"

Ugh.  I just had a kid.  I want to stay at home and stare at her pretty little button nose for all eternity.  Don't make me think of reality.  Thanks.  

Each Easter, the Washington Post hosts the Peeps Contest.  It's the silliest and funniest way to celebrate springtime.

This year they spoofed the upcoming elections, the movie "The Hunger Games" and the "Occupy DC" movement.  Happy Easter (almost)!

I was proofreading a paper for a student the other day and stumbled upon the most beautiful and accurate quote regarding art by Keats: “Art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreables evaporate.” (Keats)

After a crazy day, sometimes looking at something that is truly beautiful can help to calm the nerves.  How true are these words?

His quote goes nicely with my newest Pinterest board (feel free to follow) called lovely.simple.

So, I blew my "deadline", but it was self-imposed so I am being realistic and kind to myself and allowing for a little "extension". 29 paintings will happen, not to worry!  Check it out on ETSY.