Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

Can you believe that Wednesday is the first day of 2020? 2019 has certainly been a year... And as people are hurrying to make plans for New Year's Eve, an equal number of people have already started thinking about their resolutions. You know, those things we all make and very few of us see through? I've tried all kinds of New Year's resolutions. I even wrote a blog post about it a hundred years ago. You can read past Kaitlin's thoughts on this whole thing here . Well, the last two years, I decided to do the same four resolutions. They are going to be the same resolutions I strive toward in 2020 as well, even though my progress may not have been what I wanted it to be. Which begs the question:  if you didn't accomplish those resolutions, why are you doing the same ones again? Wouldn't it be smarter to make different resolutions? {And don't worry, I'm going to tell you what those resolutions are in a moment} The answer to those questions is not as

There are seven days until Christmas, and I'm freaking out. We are two school days away from Christmas break. 16 learning hours left. Might as well be zero. Today was A DAY. We couldn't put our names on papers. We didn't bring the same supplies we've been bringing since August. We admitted we hadn't done our homework for four days and couldn't understand why Miss Fink looked like she was going to explode. And I know that every teacher in America is currently dealing with the same. At any grade level, in any town, kids are just done. They know it's almost time, and they're done. And I'll be honest, I want to be done, too. I don't want to grade those papers that I HAVE TO GET GRADED BECAUSE I'M NOT DOING IT OVER BREAK. I don't want to put in grades and plan for the first week of January and take down my Christmas decorations and freshen up my classroom for 2020. I want to stay home with a hot cup of something and watch Christmas

So, good news everyone! I am, in fact, still alive. I survived NaNoWriMo {50,000 words...not a complete novel, but it's close}. I survived my class {there was some doubt near the end}. I have survived the first eight teaching days in December. Halfway to winter break....I think I can make it, I think I can make it, I think I can make it... And since, once again, I am making my first blog post of the month nearly halfway in, we'll stick with a list. However, I have plans...glorious plans for coming posts. Maybe I'll be really productive over winter break and write several posts like a real blogger should. That's a big "maybe." My Current Books I'm reading two, actually. Are you really surprised? The first is an unfinished novel by Jane Austen, Sanditon . I was able to attend my very first JASNA event this past Saturday {that would be the Jane Austen Society of North America, in case you were wondering}. It was a birthday tea to celebrate the great a

Hey everyone! It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, but I don't think anyone should be surprised. I mean, we've pretty much established that I am the worst blogger ever. But I'm still having fun, so here you go! So Happy November, everyone. I do realize we are nearly halfway through the month at this point, but this is my first post of the month. I really enjoyed my Rambling October List post. It was mindless entertainment, and it was fun to write, so I'm going to do a spin-off here. See, my November hasn't been busy with lots of things to do, but it's been busy because I've been writing a lot. It's National Novel Writing Month, if you didn't already know, and I made the brave {crazy?} decision to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Now, before you ask me about it, don't ask me about it. I'm very weird about some of my writing, and this work in progress is a rough pile of...roughness. See, I can't even write a good

How many of you like easy recipes? Yep, me too. Especially delicious ones, right? Okay then, I’m about to drop some knowledge for you. These two recipes are fall staples in my home. I made the first at Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, and we may have sat around the bowl, shoveling it into our mouths for quite a while. The second is one that I love to make and share. Oh yeah, they’re both pumpkin flavored. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about this pumpkin fluff dip . It isn’t “fluff” as one thinks, with cream cheese and sugar, but it is “fluffy” in texture, so there you go! Mine never looks this fancy... Did I mention that it’s easy? All you need is:  -a 12 oz can of pumpkin puree -a small box (3ish oz) of vanilla pudding mix -a 16 oz container of whipped topping -1 T of pumpkin pie spice Mix those ingredients together. You’re done. I serve it with vanilla wafers or those Scooby Doo cinnamon cookie things

So right now, things are a bit stressful in the life of this rambler. I've got my evaluation coming up, I've got library school assignments to complete, I've got about 7,000 things on my to-do list {actually might be a low estimate}, and I'm trying not to think about how I still have 6 more days until I know if I was accepted to the grad program. Like I said, stressed. And thus, today's post is a bit rambly. It's a list {I love lists} of all of the things I am currently consuming in the beginning half of October, whether it be content of varying forms or food and drinks. Maybe you'll find something you love on this list. Maybe you'll find something new to love on this list. Maybe you'll find something you hate on this list--if that's the case, don't tell me. I don't wanna know. {Name that holiday TV special!} My Current Books Since I finished my Wines & Spines Book Club's next selection { The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn.

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” This beautiful line has been quoted quite a lot recently, turned into beautiful artwork with pumpkins and jewel tones. But this line is really just one line—one line of a different love letter to October, penned by writer L.M. Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables. The passage begins thusly: October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths. Anne reveled in the world of color about her. “Oh, Marilla,” she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs, “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn’t it? Look at these maple branches. Do

*Full Disclosure (it's a hell of a thing...sorry):  I wrote this post in mid-August, trying to be proactive...so I didn't actually just finish reading it...and the books have arrived* I just finished reading a book. I know what you’re thinking. You’re a reading teacher who is going to library school. Don’t you do this all the time? Yes, yes I do. But THIS BOOK, readers! This. Book. First off, let me say that I bought this book like 5+ years ago. I have a problem, you see, and if it were neater, I would show you a picture of my bookshelf to illustrate just how big of a problem this is. But it is not neat, and therefore you shall not see it. Glad that’s out of the way. I bought this book all those years ago because the description on the back reminded me of a BBC America original show that I loved called Copper, which was about an Irish policeman in New York just at the end of the Civil War. It was gritty and raw without being too bloody, and I fell in l

What exactly to call you people? This is one of the many dilemmas I have encountered following my decision to return to blogging. I like to talk to you people in some of my posts, but I have not been able to figure out how to collectively refer to you. The obvious choice was “readers,” but when I say, “Reader, blah blah blah blah,” I feel like I’m stealing Charlotte Bronte’s line {and if you haven’t read Jane Eyre , then I’ll just go ahead and NOT tell you what I’m talking about. So go read it. Like right now. I’ll wait.} But I didn’t just want to refer to you all as “guys” or “peeps” {cuz I’m definitely cool enough for that last one}, and I don’t feel I can pull off “y’all” on a consistent basis, especially when I’m waxing poetic about my love for 19 th century British writers. And even though I say “okay, kiddos” a hundred thousand times a day from August to May, I don’t know how many of you fit into that category. So what did I do? I turned to the internet. And th