Confessional Friday...

A Blonde Ambition 

1. I confess that I am about over this severe weather. ESPECIALLY in late May... Go home Oklahoma Weather... you're drunk.

2. I confess that it is both surreal and scary as all get out that I have less than 10 days left in my twenties. I didn't think it would be quite this difficult.

3. I confess that while watching the Healin' in the Heartland special on Wednesday that I pretty much balled my eyes out the WHOLE time. It was SO special of all those people to come together like that!

4. I confess that I am SUPER excited because today I leave for Disciple, which is the Oklahoma Methodist church camp for Middle school age kids. It is also the place I met my best friend 12 years ago and was called into youth ministry!!!

Hope you have a WONDERFUL weekend! If you think about it say a little prayer for me and the kids. We have bad weather moving in all weekend and ain't nobody got time for that at church camp!


An Oldie but a Goodie for...

I Wore Yoga Pants to Work 

Happy Reading, Sugars

                Jaime 

Paper Towns -John Green

• Pages: 320 pages
• Publisher: Speak
• ISBN-10: 014241493X
• 
  

Book Summary: When Margo Roth Spiegelman beckons Quentin Jacobsen in the middle of the night—dressed like a ninja and plotting an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows her. Margo’s always planned extravagantly, and, until now, she’s always planned solo. After a lifetime of loving Margo from afar, things are finally looking up for Q . . . until day breaks and she has vanished. Always an enigma, Margo has now become a mystery. But there are clues. And they’re for Q.

My Thoughts: Once again I must disclaimer that I am OBSESSED with any work of  John Green, so this may have a slight bias to it! I will say that this work did take me the longest to get into. You weren't really sure where it was going at first. It was SUPER fun to envision yourself doing all the rebel things that Q and Margo do during their night on the town! It completely invokes in you the feelings you had in high school (and sometimes after) of wanting to pay back someone who hurt you. I will say that I LOVED how the different groups in the high school got together for a great cause! All in all I would def recommend this book. It really makes you think and with its ending is kind of heavy but has a wonderful message to it!  

Happy Reading, Sugars

                   Jaime 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Quirk Books
• ISBN: 1594746036
• Book Summary:
• A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. 
  As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here - one of whom was his own grandfather - were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason.
  And somehow - impossible though it seems - they may still be alive

My Thoughts:

This book was a peculiar one (pun totally intended!). I'll be totally honest I am still not sure what exactly happened in it! Ha! It was a good story and written well it just was hard to follow at certain times. I felt at times VERY troubled by the decisions Jacob was faced with. I think that it is totally worth a read, especially if you like eerie or whimsical stories. 

Happy Reading, Sugars

                  Jaime 

Confessional Friday...

A Blonde Ambition's Confessional Friday

Lets Confess, shall we?

1. I confess that I am not cut out for Read-A-Thons. I literally only finished the book I was currently reading. I was actually REALLY busy that week but when I did have time to read I felt pressured and then couldn't make myself. (I need help...  I know!)

2. I confess that I am SSSOOO happy to be out for Summer! I woke up at 9 today, had a two hour lunch with some former students, and then read this afternoon! I LOVE not having a strict schedule!

3. I confess that I am BLOWN AWAY at the Love that Oklahoma feels from the rest of the US and the World. Monday's events were heart breaking and I hate it but it is a beautiful thing to see a state, country, and a world come together to help each other out! I think it gives us a little glimpse into Heaven! Won't that be wonderful!

4. I confess that I think a lot of people think I am a BIG ol nerd because when I am asked the question," Have any big summer plans?" I may or may not answer," I have a big stack of books that I am SO excited to read!"

I Wore Yoga Pants to Work

And some jams to get this long weekend started...

Stay Safe and Happy Reading, Sugars
                           Jaime 

OklaHOME...

(This picture was found among the rubble last evening. It speaks the truth!)

My heart is heavy today. I can not fathom what my statesmen are going through in Moore. Tornadoes are unfortunately just a part of living in Oklahoma. I think Carrie Underwood put it best last night in a tweet, "You always know what can happen but that doesn't make it any easier when it does." Growing up an Okie you are preached at from your earliest memories on storm safety and precautions. You start drills literally in pre-school. That horrific F5 is ALWAYS in the back of your mind but you never really think it could happen... and then it does... and it takes the lives of beautiful people People who are like you. You both cheer for the Thunder, both have cousins who live in Stigler, or maybe you both attended Oklahoma State. It's surreal. I have, since it happened, fought the urge to get in my car and drive to Moore. I don't know what I would do but be in the way but I want to do SOMETHING! As a teacher hearing the stories of the elementary school is heart-breaking. I saw an interview last night of a man who helped pull a car off a teacher. She was shielding three of her students with her body. All three kids were fine besides some bumps and bruises... she is still in critical condition. I hate that it takes a disaster to remind me and others how much we love each other and how truly blessed we are. Us Okies will be OK  Struggle and heart-ache are nothing new to this Great State! The love and concern from all over our Great Nation is humbling and appreciated. Please Pray for Oklahoma but don't worry... we are Oklahoma Strong! 

Jaime 

The Best of Me -Nicholas Sparks

• Pages: 320 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing 
• Release Date: October 11, 2011
• ISBN-10: 0446547646

Book Summary:  In the spring of 1984, high school students Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole fell deeply, irrevocably in love. Though they were from opposite sides of the tracks, their love for one another seemed to defy the realities of life in the small town of Oriental, North Carolina. But as the summer of their senior year came to a close, unforeseen events would tear the young couple apart, setting them on radically divergent paths.

Now, twenty-five years later, Amanda and Dawson are summoned back to Oriental for the funeral of Tuck Hostetler, the mentor who once gave shelter to their high school romance. Neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever changed their lives. As Amanda and Dawson carry out the instructions Tuck left behind for them, they realize that everything they thought they knew -- about Tuck, about themselves, and about the dreams they held dear -- was not as it seemed. Forced to confront painful memories, the two former lovers will discover undeniable truths about the choices they have made. And in the course of a single, searing weekend, they will ask of the living, and the dead: Can love truly rewrite the past?


My Thoughts: I am a HUGE Nicholas Sparks fan. Whenever I hear he is coming out with a new book I immediately stalk all websites and pre-order! To say this book was a disappointment is an understatement. First, It was one that took me awhile to really get involved in. Once I had made my mind up to read it I was sorry. Second, one reads a NS book because you know what will happen. Maybe not EVERYTHING will be perfect but at least people will finally get the love, friendship, respect that they desire. Not in this book. The last part of the book sends you a curve ball that I personally DID NOT even imagine could happen let alone see coming. I was SHOCKED and not in a good way. I would not recommend this book. Alas, there are many more WONDERFUL NS books to choose from. With all the rest... eat your heart out!!


Happy Reading, Sugars

                         Jaime 

Friday Funday!!!

It's that wonderful time of the week again... 

A Blonde Ambition's Confessional Friday

A. I confess that Teacher Appreciation week is fun! I'm a sucker for gifts and extra attention!

B. I confess that I think I might have bit off more than I can chew with this whole Read-a-thon business! I was looking at my calendar for next week and it may be the busiest week I've had all Spring... Que Sera Sera!!!

C. I confess that I am SO obsessed with Mad Men that I might have purchased some beauty items lately that will help me achieve this look...

(I have a vivid imagination!)

D. I confess that I CAN NOT wait to watch this...


E. I confess that I may be more excited that we only have 7 days of school left than the kids, and that is saying A LOT people!!!

And ...
                                                                             

I Wore Yoga Pants to Work's 

Here's a little ditty to start your weekend off right... 

Have a wonderful weekend, Sugars...

                 Jaime 

The Island -Elin Hilderbrand

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
• Release Date: July 6, 2010
• ISBN-10: 0316085138

Book Summary: Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut back yard to the color of the cocktail napkins. Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy. But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess, abruptly announcing that she's cancelled her engagement. It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations. Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair. Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her 30-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter Tate and her own sister India. Soon all four are headed for beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations. No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.But throw sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets onto a remote island, and what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more. Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and new loves make themselves known.


My Thoughts: As with all the Elin Hilderbrand books that I have read... this one was AWESOME!!! It's the perfect summer read because of the setting. I MUST visit Nantucket someday. Hilderbrand does an amazing job of making you love the island as much as I assume she does! I want to say this is a book beach read but there is more there than your typical BR. It is an easy read with some high drama moments. Through out this book I caught myself injecting my sister's and my relationship into that of Tate and Chess and also Birdie and India's interactions. The relationship of sisters in one of complication and Elin does a great job in this book showcasing that. She shows how much family can hurt you but also how much their love and presence can heal the worst of heartbreaks. I LOVED the ending!!! I'm a sucker for things working out (maybe not exactly the way you thought they would but for the betterment of all involved).  I would recommend everyone put this on their summer reading list. 



Happy Reading, Sugars

                              Jaime 

Bout of Books Read-A-Thon...

I am SO excited!! It is my first time to particiapte in the Read-A-Thon over at Bout of Books...

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

My Goals for the week...

Since this is my first read-a-thon to participate in I am not sure how ambitious I should be in my goals! Since I don't want to get to big for my britches I am going to aim low and learn from the experience! 

Goal 1: I plan to read 4 of the following 7 books...

The Dinner -Herman Koch

Let it Snow -John Green

Speak -Laurie Halse Anderson

The Silver Lining Playbook -Matthew Quick

Tumbleweeds -Leila Meacham

City of Bones -Cassandra Clare

Knights of the Hill Country -Tim Tharp

Goal 2: I would like to find some awesome new blogs and connect with some awesome bloggers! 

I will be posting updates everyday and what I am going to call "mini reviews," or the overall like-ability of the book and a quick synopsis!  

I am SO excited for Monday!!!! YAY!!!

Happy Reading, Sugars

              Jaime

Teacher's Appreciation Week...

Happy Teacher's Appreciation week!!! You might be thinking... "This is a book review blog, why is she talking about Teachers?" Well... 

I have been blessed with some really A-Mazing teachers! I would like to THANK ALL the teachers I have had throughout the years! There are a few who really stick out to me! Thank you, Mrs. Blackwell (1st and 5th) for always making me feel special and smart! Also, for teaching me READ, something that is truly a daily blessing in my life! Thank you, Mrs Myers (Aunt Linda) (3rd grade Math) for always being so encouraging and for being an AWESOME Aunt!!! You are always SO supportive! Thank you, Miss Wood (6th and 7th grade History) for showing me that you could be a girlie girl and super stylish and still love History!!! And last but definitely not least Thank you, Mrs Kelly (sophomore US History) for inspiring me to be a high school teacher, showing me that Teachers can make a huge impact on their students, and for helping me through my first year of teaching high school where you constantly reminded me that this was the Lord's plan for me and he would make a way! And for being such an INCREDIBLE friend!!! Thank you to all the teachers out there! YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!! 

Happy Reading, Sugars

                        Jaime 

Friday... Friday... Gotta get down on Friday!!!

RRL is linking up with A Blonde Ambition and I Wore Yoga Pants to Work for a little Friday FUN!! 
First, Confessional Friday...
A. I confess that I HATE when they change original book covers over to the movie posters cover. That is unless it is a cover with Leonardo DiCaprio on it...

Get it here

He can be on any book cover he wants to! 
B. I confess that I am IN LOVE with the show Mad Men. I am currently in the middle of Season 2 on Netflix. Betty Draper you are my style inspiration! 
C. I confess that I am very thankful that Netflix was not around when I was in college. I would have surely failed out! 
D. I confess that this freezing weather in May is for the birds. I am an Oklahoma girl... I need my hot weather!!! 
Last but definitely not least here are some tunes to start your weekend off right!!!! 
I leave you with two of my favorites from this past week... and oldie and a newie (I don't know). 

I told you I was super into Mad Men!!! 




Happy Reading, Sugars

                          Jaime 

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The Fault in Our Stars -John Green

Book Summary:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.


My Thoughts:

I don't know where to even start with this book. It was one of those books that forever affects you. One that you wish you'd never read so you can enjoy it for the first time all over again. First, this was my first John Green book to read. Thus it started my love affair with John Green and his writing! Second, this book is powerful... #realtalk I ugly cried, like REALLY UGLY cried, you have been warned. When the book starts out I wasn't sure if I could handle Hazel's teen angst. I wanted to grab her and tell her to chill; her Mother and Father loved her and that is why they treated her that way. Then, Augustus Waters enters the picture. I wanted them to be happy and in love from the start. I loved every moment of their love story. It was a beautiful and real (including the ugly) love story! This book is most defiantly a modern classic that should be on EVERYONE's reading list! I highly recommend it... okay... okay!!! 


Also, I feel like ALL of John Green's books have some priceless quotes in them, but I feel like this one has some GRAND ones, ENJOY...

PS... I hear these is a movie coming! 


Happy Reading, Sugars

             Jaime