My Bad.

    Hey guys, so I'm sorry that I took an unforeseen week off, but it ended up working out in my favor anyway, seeing as there was literally nothing going on, including no Bachelorette.  I have been really busy clearing out my site for the summer while simultaneously preparing myself for the first day of camp training, which was today.  Even though I still wasn't prepared, (no food or water, which we had to bring ourselves), I had a great first day!  Met a lot of my coworkers, (good and obnoxious), played some team-building games and took a tour of camp, which I hadn't seen in about 16 years.  It was nice to see things that have lasted that long along side newer structures and attractions.  Luckily I avoided the swim test because of the issues I've been having with my heart...

    I always anticipated that my pericarditis would come back, but not so soon.  I came home Sunday night, tired and not feeling well after a long day out with both my father and my father-in-law.  Monday morning I woke up around 1:30am sweating, shivering and writhing in pain, my chest tight.  I couldn't breathe and I didn't know what was wrong or how it happened.  Luckily it hasn't happened again, but the chest pain has increased, along with the temperature, so unfortunately I think I might have to make an impromptu call to my rheumatologist.  I didn't like the older medication she had me on because of the side effects related to reproduction, but it did work quickly to stem the pain from my chest.  At least I could breathe, without taking steroids or pain killers, (which also work, but are more dangerous to take for extended periods).  Needless to say I'm torn, but I do know I haven't been able to do as much because I haven't been able to breathe correctly.  I'll update you guys as soon as I know what's going to happen, but it looks like I might have to cave for the sake of my heart.

    I did have a great last week of school though, before all this crappy stuff came out of nowhere.  I even got gifts from some of the parents, which blew my mind because I've only been there since March.  It was nice to see everyone getting excited for summer and next year, especially the 5th graders moving on to middle school.  I told them I may run into them someday, but honestly I hope I don't.  Some of them I'd rather never seen again!  But in all seriousness, it's nice to know your patience and hard work is appreciated by the parents, even if you've only been there a short time.  I was even more glad to see parents whose kids weren't in our program ask when it would be ok to sign them up.  I can't wait to see how many kids we have next year and I look forward to switching off between my Freshman and my elementary school kids.

    One child I will miss terribly is Caroline.  I was drawn to her initially because she was about my height, (which is tall for her and short for me, being 5 feet tall), with glasses and very studious and quiet, much like myself.  I thought I could be someone she could actually relate to, unlike all the other more immature students around her.  Then I found out she had been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.  I never thought I'd be a role model to anyone.  I remember a time when I was 11 years old, struggling with an uncommon diagnosis that is incurable and not knowing who to talk to except my mother.  I didn't have anybody I could relate to because I was the only one who had heard of what I had.  My friends didn't understand my illness, in fact, some were scared of me, thinking it might be contagious.  I had no one to talk to or vent to about any of my pain and I wish I had.  For me, being that person for another 11 year old girl struggling with a similar illness makes me the happiest person in the world.  I always wondered what it would be like to write my younger self a letter, explaining what was going to happen to me and how it will progress, how I'll feel and if I'll ever get a hold on it.  I've taken everything I would've told myself and gave that advice to Caroline, so that she might not feel so alone.  I wish I could meet more kids like Caroline and help them realize that they aren't alone, their pain is real and that they will overcome it someday, like I'm working on every day.

    Now that the sap story is done, let's get on to TV!  I've got Bachelorette and Game of Thrones finale SPOILERS for you today:

  First up is the Game of Thrones finale and, while it did not disappoint, left many fans disappointed.  I myself am guilty of this, but a lot of fans had expected the appearance of Lady Stoneheart, which never happened.  I thought the season ended on a very high note, so I'm even more excited now for the next season, which will most likely begin with Lady Stoneheart and her story, but we'll just have to wait and see.  I did enjoy the little funeral Jon had for his lady friend, the one who got ran through by an arrow-wielding child.  I don't know how Stanis' presence here at the Wall will effect comradery among the soldiers, but I can see the sorceress being a HUGE pain in the ass, as usual.  Jon seems to trust him for now, having found out Stanis supported his father, but I could see a look of unease about him, so I'm sure Stanis will screw everything up by being a crazy lunatic.  Is it sad that I cried too when Daenerys chained two of her dragons?  Those are not just dragons, they are her BABIES!  I'm also looking forward to Drogon's return and how devastating that will turn out to be.  Obviously I loved when Tyrion shot his father on the toilet, but that was clearly going to happen.  This episode had my favorite ending by far, which was when Arya, after watching the Hound get killed, (basically), by Brienne of Tarth, boarded a ship to Braavos to reunite with her assassin friends.  I'm so excited for her character to train with them more broadly and come back with a vengeance.  I'm starting to realize that a Stark reunion, although they came SO CLOSE this season, is inevitably not going to happen.  At least not any time soon.  I'll keep waiting, but next season should be awesome!

  The Bachelorette had it's ups and downs this week.  One "up" was that they were in the south of France, which is BEAUTIFUL!  I've wanted to travel to Europe for awhile now and France is definitely one of those places I'd love to visit, (even though I've heard from multiple sources that they are rude to Americans).  Marquel was SO GOOD at miming, I think he should do it full time, (especially now that he's been sent home...oops).  I'm still on the fence about Josh, but I think more of the truth will unfold between the next couple episodes.  I also didn't really like Brian's date either.  Both were rather boring with little to no sex appeal, so I kind of tuned out everything but the gorgeous scenery until the final rose ceremony.  I'm glad she got rid of Andrew and Patrick too because they were just taking up space for the other guys to breathe.  So far, I'm keep my Top 3 at Marcus, Chris and Brian, (only because Brian had a strong impression on Andi during their date), with Dylan and Josh taking up the rear as a close 4th and 5th pick.  We'll see how the lie detector pans out when they go to Venice next week.  I'm hoping for someone to have a girlfriend or a bad credit history.
    Well, that's about it.  Next week I should be posting, however it will probably not be up until later at night, considering I will have started camp and will not get home until close to 5pm.  I am excited to start my summer with a bunch of middle schoolers in my village and ready to have a great time.  I will also be attending my old Newmarket 8th graders' graduation ceremony this Thursday, which will be fun as well.  This may be the last time I might see any of them, so I'll have to make it count.  Hopefully I can find something to wear before then!  I've realized through cleaning out my closet that I have absolutely no cute sundresses or anything summer professional in my wardrobe, so there will have to be some sort of shopping trip in my future.  Summer vacation has officially started, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to spare!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

    Happy Thursday!  It's been a crazy week so far, so I haven't had a lot of time to myself.  It's been super hectic at work, going from site to site, preparing to close down for the summer.  It is a meticulous process that will probably take me longer than the few hours they're giving me, but I will have to get it done by the end of next week.  All paperwork has to be filed, each child accounted for and everything inventoried and stored for the next year.  I have a two-sided check list I have to go through and it doesn't look easy, but I have faith that I'll get it done.  That being said, I'm also simultaneously preparing myself for summer camp.  Coordinating around that at the same time will be difficult, but doable for sure.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I think I'm ready.

    My health has been steadily climbing and rebelling since joining the gym.  My Lupus is putting up one Hell of a fight, but I'm trying to take it in stride and work through it.  Despite my issues, I've been making obvious progress.  Between losing a little weight and building a little muscle, I'm getting there.  I enjoy going to the gym every week and look forward to my sessions with my personal trainer.  That's more than I ever could have hoped for in a gym membership.  I expect nothing but good things to come in the coming months as I continue my journey to a better self.

    I also learned a little more about my teaching internship next year.  My cooperating teacher got almost all Freshman classes for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year, so I will be taking on one of her English College Prep classes in tandem with her other one.  This means that she will teach one section of the class first, then I will follow.  I will also be helping her with her other classes, which are an American Lit. class as well as a reading specific course to help struggling students.  This looks like it's going to be a great upcoming year, so I'm super excited! (and extremely anxious, but that is to be expected)  I have another book to add to my summer reading list as well called, Book Love, by Penny Kittle, a well-known education author.  We will be using this book to help construct our English curriculum for next year, so I have to read it to get information regarding her teaching methods.  I was also thinking about reading Lord of the Flies, since we may be teaching that text as well, which I've never read.  Let me know in the comments what you thought of your experience with Lord of the Flies.
    TV this week was epic!  Game of Thrones didn't disappoint and the Bachelorette made it to New England FINALLY.  Here are my week recaps for those two shows, including SPOILERS:

    Game of Thrones really picked up this week.  I liked how they left Tyrion's trial by combat to the very end to build suspense.  I also loved Arya's laugh, which has been seriously lacking since the show started years ago.  It's nice to see the kids smile every once in awhile when they're not too busy killing everyone in sight.  I was mad that we didn't get to see Arya and the Hound make it inside the castle, but I'm sure we'll get a peek on Sunday.  It'll be interesting to see how Sansa feels about having her sister back in her life, but at this point I think she'd be ready to see any familiar face, even Arya's.  I'm desperate for a Stark reunion, so however it happens I hope it's soon.  I LOVED Sansa in this episode, the way she conned the council into believing she was a victim, (which she technically is, but lying for Baelish seems like a bad idea all around).  He was looking at her like he had taught her everything she knows, like a proud father, (even creepier...).  Then she kind of brushed him off when he went to thank her, proving she really has grown colder in the last few seasons.  She really looked like a grown woman and I'm actually beginning to like her now.  We'll see how long that lasts.  Obviously, everyone remembers the fight between the Viper and the Mountain being the most memorable, (and gruesome), part of this episode.  I had to walk away at the end because I couldn't take the gore, but the fight was spectacular.  I'm really sad to see Oberyn go like that, but at least he took the Mountain with him.  He finally got the revenge he wanted.  I'm looking forward to the last two episodes of this season to see if my predictions come true or if I'll be disappointed until next season comes around.  Praying for Lady Stoneheart!

    The Bachelorette had a two-parter this week and it definitely needed it.  The gang hung out in California for the Sunday night episode, alluding to drama between the guys and Andrew getting a waitress's number at a restaurant.  Nothing really exciting happened, besides singing a horrible rendition of a Boyz II Men song WITH Boyz II Men!  I was fan-girling wicked hard, but not for the guys and their terrible voices, (sorry Opera Guy, you still don't really get the R&B vibe).  Monday night saw the group enter New England territory by way of Mohegan Sun, an over-priced gambling hot-spot.  I'm glad Dylan got the first one-on-one date because it is his "hometown," (even though they're in Connecticut, not Massachusetts).  They went on a depressing train ride to talk about his siblings overdoses and it was difficult to watch, to be honest.  Luckily, he got a rose out of it so he's safe, for now.  Honestly, unless he starts showing some emotion, I don't see his stark, quiet persona lasting that much longer.  The date with Marcus was my favorite because you can tell she really likes him already.  If he's not in the final four, I'd be really surprised.  I also really liked Brian's chance to shine on the basketball court.  The nice, quiet, no-drama guys are winning this week!  The worst part of this episode was the fight between Eric and Andi.  It was really uncomfortable to watch, especially since we've only really seen good things from him so far.  It was sucky the way he left so quickly, but it was for the best.  I didn't stay to watch the memorial for him after the show, but I know Tasos went home.  So far, I've constructed a Top 5 based solely on what I've seen of the show so far, and they are: Marcus, Chris, Josh, Brian and Dylan.  Fingers crossed that most of them don't turn out to be assholes!
    That's it for TV.  For next week, and until further notice, in order to stay as relevant as possible with what's going on in my life at the moment, I've decided to move my blog entries back to just Tuesdays instead of Thursdays.  Thursdays are difficult for me because they're the end of the week and I don't want to do anything, so to stay on task with everything and be relevant to the shows I'm currently watching, we're moving to Tuesdays!  That being said, I hope everyone enjoys their weekends.  I'm planning on cooking dinner and dessert with my mother tomorrow night, spending the entirety of Saturday spoiling my husband for his birthday, (HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY BEAR!!), and Sunday I'm meeting up with a friend in town before hanging out with my dad.  This is why I look forward to the weekend!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Short but Sweet

    Happy Thursday everyone!  I hope everyone has had a great week so far, with more good days to come.  It has finally started raining here, after what I feel was about a week of predicted rain with nothing to show for it.  On the not-so-bright side, it's going to be really gloomy for the next few days, so I'll have no excuse to go outside.  Bummer...  But getting to spend the day outside for my job has  been the biggest perk.  I finally found a job that I'm good at, (relatively speaking), and I love it.  It's fun to play with the kids and be active during the day.  Honestly, I'm still working on dealing with the kids because they're so young but it's gotten a lot better.  I've found that hard work really does pay off and eventually everything will fall into place.
    Let's just hop right into TV news.  Only two shows were on this weekend worth mentioning and they were Game of Thrones, as usual, and the new season of The Bachelorette!!  SPOILERS:

    Game of Thrones was awesome this week as we see Tyrion reeling from the aftershock of his speech.  He's visited by three spirits: his brother Jaimie, his sell-sword Bronn and the Prince of Dorne himself.  Oberyn ended up being the unlikely savior by proclaiming himself as Tyrion's much-needed champion against the Mountain.  We'll see how this plays out for him, but I'm betting it doesn't go well.  On the other side of Westeros, Arya, The Hound, Lady Brienne and Podrick are all on their way to The Vale to see if Sansa is there.  Guess what?  She is!  She's safe in Petyr's warm, creepy embrace, especially after he pushes that crazy bitch Lysa out of the Moon Door.  I feel bad for her son, who now has to sit on the throne and pretend to rule The Vale while Petyr actually calls the shots.  On the other hand, that sickly bastard will probably die soon anyway, so it's better this way.  At least Daenerys got some this week, FINALLY.  Lord knows we were all waiting for that to happen.  I'm secretly hoping that by the end of this season we will have confirmation of Lady Stoneheart's existence.

    The Bachelorette has begun and it might be the best bachelorette ever.  The lady is a fox, and a Phi Mu to boot, so she has my respect.  I have to say, the group of guys she has to chose from isn't bad either.  Andi will have her work cut out for her this season, but I already have a few favorites.  Obviously it would be stupid to come out with a top five at this point because every time I do that almost all of the guys on my list become jerks.  So in the spirit of competition, I will only point out two that I thought stood a fair chance with Andi this season: Dylan and Tasos.  I liked Dylan initially because he's from Boston so, you know, I have to stick by my New England guys.  Tasos, on the other hand, can speak French.  Also, his name is friggin Tasos, what's not to love?! (except his earrings...).  I'm excited to see how this season will work out, but from the looks of the previews it looks like your typical reality show dating roller coaster ride.  Rooting for Andi to find the love she deserves!

    That's it for TV reviews this week.  Sadly, because of all the finales that happened last week, I barely have any shows to watch now.  My reviews will most likely return to a more literal approach, having four books to read by the end of the summer.  I will say that my husband and I went to see Godzilla on Monday and it was AWESOME!!  I went into the movie having never seen a traditional or original Godzilla film, so I had no preconceived notions about what I should like or shouldn't like.  I loved the action and it was just a good old fashioned monster movie in my opinion.  The people involved didn't even matter, it was just all about the big guy.  I highly recommend it, from the point of view of someone who usually hates scary monster movies.  This weekend I'm hoping to see the new X-Men movie, so maybe I'll be able to review that one next week too.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Finale Week

    Hey there, hi there, ho there!  It's Thursday yet again and can I just say I'm RELIEVED to finally be rid of finals week?!  Not only did I manage to get an 11-page literary review on Tumblr done in about 9 hours, but I also managed to pass it in a day early!  Yay me!  Year one of grad school accomplished:)  Now that I don't have any more homework to do, I'm in that awkward in-between stage of Spring where I have no idea what to do with all the free time I now have at my disposal.  I made a promise to myself that I would leave the apartment and venture out into the outside world, so I will try to make as many plans with friends as possible.  We'll see how that goes...but with my husband pushing me out the door it might not be as difficult as I imagine.

    I will say, having spent so much time inside this winter has really made me reevaluate my health and wellness.  As someone who suffers from Lupus, I really should be taking better care of myself.  I don't want to say I've let myself go, but I could be putting a little more effort into eating correctly, making a conscious effort to get outside on those nice days and really taking control of my health.  Even if it's just a low-impact workout routine, I need something to get my butt off this couch every week.  I'll be looking for programs and workouts that peak my interests, so if anyone has any suggestions for exercises geared towards joint health, let me know in the comments below!  I'm looking forward to getting back out there, visiting some local farmer's markets and getting back on track.

    Another part of this reevaluation has been the cleanliness of our home.  Obviously we don't have a lot of space in this one-bedroom apartment, but on days where I'm bored and don't know what I should do with my time, I might try cleaning up a bit and maybe reorganizing some things around here.  There are some days when I come home and get really annoyed and overwhelmed with the state of some of the rooms in this apartment and even though not all of it is my fault, I know I could do at least a little more to help clean up.  This weekend I'm planning on doing a massive clean-out of my closet and drawers, so everything that doesn't fit or I don't wear anymore is out of here.  Hopefully I can find the time and money to go shopping for the things I do need, (apparently every year I have to buy new shorts...).  I also need to get more professional outfits for teaching next year, so that would be fun.  Eventually my house will be the way I want it, but until then, I'll make due with what I have.

    Alright, so for TV this week there were a lot of season finales.  Here come the SPOILERS...

  It was not The Amazing Race finale this week, but it was the second to last episode.  The teams traveled to England to play on the Liverpool football pitch, which was super cool!  It did make me feel like I could have definitely completed that task in less time than some of the other teams.  How do so many people NOT know how to kick a soccer ball?!?  Regardless, all the teams eventually made it to the most difficult challenge ever: reciting a poem in Welsh.  This is something I might have actually be able to do because I've taken an Old English class before and it seemed pretty similar, (although I could be wrong).  The one detour that surprised me was the Blonde's shooting techniques.  How they managed to pull off a spot in the final three is beyond me, but I'm still rooting for Dave and Connor.  I was actually sad to see the Afghanimals go this time around, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the last we'll see of those guys.

  The Once Upon a Time finale was EPIC!  I wasn't sure if I would like Emma and Hook traveling through time, but then Emma screwed up her parents meeting each other for the first time, so obviously they had to make it worse.  That's just how these things go.  Anyway, my favorite part was after they got back and Emma realized that she wanted to stay and love Hook forever and they made out together on the patio and it was AWESOME!  Oh, and everyone else was way too happy, so they had to ruin everyone's good vibes with Emma screwing everything up AGAIN for Regina by bringing back Maid Marion, who was supposed to die so that Robin and Regina could be together.  I found it ironic that Snow had managed to ruin Regina's love life by trying to do the right thing in the past and now her daughter managed to do it.  I think Regina is just destined for horrible luck, so we'll see what she does after Robin makes a decision.  Obviously we'd assume he'd pick Marion, but now he has a problem with fate and the prophesy and all that Tinkerbell jazz.  The best and most cliff-hanging part of the finale was the end, where an blue princess came up out of the ground and appeared to shoot ice from her hands...  It seems like the rumors of Frozen coming to Storybrooke were true after all.  From the way they introduced her, it seems like Elsa might start out evil, but who knows?  Let me know what you think of this addition to the cast of the next season.

  Clearly Game of Thrones has just begun.  The best part of this week's episode was Tyrion's speech before his verdict was said to be reached.  The way he went off on everyone was just amazing and his emotional delivery was flawless.  Shae better run and hide now, because she'll get nothing but ice from Tyrion now.  I am a little disappointed that he didn't trust his brother to let him live, but then again this is the way Tyrion would've handled the situation, and boy did he handle it.  I can't wait to see what happens with him because they're obviously not going to kill him.  Unfortunately I'm having trouble remembering anything else that happened in that episode because that speech just blew everything else out of the water.  Daenerys was basically just trying to help all her new people with their issues, which was sort of boring actually.  That whole situation with "Reek" and his sister trying to rescue him was sad too.  At this point, I hope someone can just put Theon out of his misery.  I was hoping that Ramsay would get what's coming to him by way of Yara, but alas she did not succeed in her mission.  I do think they will come back in greater numbers, but this wasn't the highlight of the episode by any means.

  Agents of Shield had their finale as well this week.  They finally brought in Nick Fury, after a long wait.  He wasn't even really an integral part of the episode; just a guy with some cool sunglasses on.  I think Fury came back partially to prove a point: that SHIELD isn't dead yet and there's always hope.  The action was lacking in this finale, but I don't think we needed it.  The exchange between Skye and Ward was awesome, especially when May came out of nowhere to exact her revenge.  The situation with Fitz and Simmons was heart-wrenching.  I wanted them to live so badly and I got my wish, but just barely.  We still don't know how Fitz is holding up, but we do know he put how he feels about Simmons out in the open, (FINALLY).  My favorite part was when Deathlok got the message from Ace through Skye and stomped Garrett's face in.  Sadly he didn't stay down for long, but Coulson fixed that with some alien technology blaster.  I like the looks of the new team and hope they are able to rebuild what they lost and more.  I'm eager to see how they fit this story line into the next few adaptations of the Marvel universe in film.  I'm also eager to see how they put Skye's supposed "father" in play and what role he'll have in the new season, especially if he's in league with Cybertek.
    That's all I have for TV reviews this week.  I'd say those finales were all pretty spectacular!  This weekend Godzilla comes out and I think I may want to go see it.  I usually don't do scary movies, (yes, Godzilla would count as a "scary" movie, at least per my standards), but this remake looks way too good to pass up.  Other than that, nothing special going on for me.  Possibly arranging some meet-ups with friends, but otherwise cleaning house.  I may start one of my books I got for Christmas, (GASP).  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

    *In accordance with Lupus Awareness Month, tomorrow is "Put on Purple" day to raise awareness for Lupus.  Everyone should wear something purple tomorrow to show your support!*

Good News All Around!

    I know, it's Friday, not Thursday...  I've been super busy again because I'm winding down from finals week.  As of right now, I've finished almost all of my projects save for the big one: the 10-15 page literary review, (which really isn't a review of literature as much as it is an essay regarding a 21st-century writing topic).  It's due Wednesday, so hopefully I can finish by then, but I'll have to be smart about time management.  Because of all of this, plus work, I've been super busy as well as super tired with no willpower to do anything but sit, let alone type a blog.
    Like the title suggests, I have plenty of good news to go around since my last post.  Not only did I get the summer day camp counselor position I wanted, but I also got placed for my internship!  Now that I have security, I can finally relax.  I'll be starting summer camp training in the middle of June and teaching Freshman English starting at the end of August.  I'm beyond excited about both of these opportunities so I can't wait to get started!  Things are looking up.

    This month is also Lupus Awareness Month, where people are encouraged to find out more about Lupus and do what they can to raise awareness.  The official Lupus website for the Lupus Foundation of America provides information on Lupus and various organizations to raise awareness and funds for Lupus research.  As someone who has Lupus, this month has always been important to me in order to educate my friends and family on the severity and complexity of this chronic illness.  I hope that you guys check it out and learn more about this disease.  "Put On Purple"Day is May 16th, so put on something purple to raise Lupus awareness!
    Now it's time for TV spoilers and reviews!

  The Amazing Race had it's ups and downs this week.  I was very sad to see the cowboys go home because they had played a loyal and fair race.  They just struck out on luck this week.  I was really hoping to see the Blondes go home, finally, but alas, they live to race another day...  Easily my favorite part of this episode was when Brenchel got pummeled by the "raging bulls" and Rachel kept whining about them being "too hard on them" just because she's a girl.  Sorry hun, just because you're a girl, doesn't mean they will give you a free pass.  In fact, strong women are very popular right now, so you feigning frailty isn't going to get you sympathy points.  If Dave and Connor win this, I will be perfectly fine with that.

  Once Upon a Time was awesome this week!  The way Regina embraced her light magic really let us see that she has changed.  Although I don't believe that Zelena is actually gone for good, I am impressed with Regina's resilience.  What's up with the green smoke and what will happen to the necklace now that it's in Regina's vault?  If Zelena regains her human form she can wreak some serious havoc in that chamber, so fingers crossed that that doesn't happen.  I really loved the way Rumple proposed to Belle with his dagger.  It showed her that he's literally willing to give up his life for her.  But that pride turned into confusion and hatred as soon as he revealed to Zelena that he tricked Belle with a duplicate dagger so he could stab Zelena with the real one.  Come on Rumple, you're FINALLY free!  Neal wouldn't have wanted this to happen...  I'm not sure if Emma will really end up going back to New York, but I say she stays with a last minute change of heart.  Partially because of her new baby brother!  No name yet, but I'm sure we'll find out this weekend.  I can't wait until they have their actual real-life baby!

  Game of Thrones was alright this week.  Not my favorite episode, but definitely suspenseful.  I was REALLY hoping that Bran would yell out to Jon, but I know why he didn't.  Jon will be kicking himself if he ever finds out that they were there that whole time and didn't say anything.  Jon was reunited with his long-lost dire wolf, which was very touching.  I want a Stark family reunion! (whoever is left I guess...).  Sansa looked downright terrified at Lisa's emotional rampage and who can blame her?  Now she has to bunk up with the crazies and I feel really bad for her right now.  I think the only truly innocent character right now is Tommen, the poor bastard.  I like the relationship he has with Margaery and I think they would work well together.  I also enjoyed watching Arya practice her swordsmanship while with the Hound.  She seems like she's gotten so much better and I can't wait to see her strike out on her own and kill everyone on her list.
    That's all I have for this week.  I saw Amazing Spider Man 2 last weekend and it was wicked good!  I would definitely recommend it.  There has also been an announcement that they are rebooting the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger movie!  It's still in the beginning stages and a lot is unknown as of now, but I'm still excited about it.  They will most likely not use the original cast, (for obvious reasons), but I would bet money on Jason David Frank making at least a cameo appearance.  This weekend is Mother's Day, so I will be spending time with my mom, cooking, baking and drinking lots of wine!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

It's Finally May!

    Happy Thursday!  This week is great because both of my classes end, (although I still have at least a couple assignments that aren't due until the 14th).  The point is that I can start working more at the after school program as well as the morning one.  Making more money will make me very happy, especially if I don't end up getting that summer job.  At this point I still don't know where I stand, but I'm hoping to find out by tomorrow.  Unfortunately I don't think I'll hold my breath on that one...I should probably start looking elsewhere.  Regardless, less class time will hopefully give me more opportunity to work on the papers I have to accomplish before their due dates.

    Internship news: so far nothing yet.  I was supposed to meet with the same cooperating teacher I met with before vacation today, but she had a last-minute substitute.  We might be meeting tomorrow, but at this point I wouldn't mind working with her next year.  I can't really afford to be picky in my situation anyway, but I can't see a downside so far, besides the obvious age gap between what I envisioned for myself and what she teaches.  I think I'll be able to make high school work, but we'll see what she thinks.  I can't make the decision by myself.  If that were the case, I would've had a teacher by now.
    As for reviews, I am actually a little behind.  With everything going on this week and my husband working late almost every night, we haven't watched any shows this week yet.  So, all I have for you is Sunday programs.  Sorry!  Luckily, that's the most exciting day for television anyway.  SPOILERS:

  Amazing Race was a bit disappointing this week, being a non-elimination round.  The Blondies escape elimination yet again, by sheer luck.  I would have much rather seen them or Brenchel go home, but at this point I don't even care.  The girls keep pulling this "helpless" act in front of everyone and I can't tell if they really are that useless or if it's a ruse.  I would think that if you didn't know how to navigate, read road signs or directions or understand any foreign language, you wouldn't even bother signing up for the race, unless you wanted the TV publicity.  We'll see how next week goes, but right now my vote is for either the Cowboys or Dave and Connor, who both definitely deserve the win.

  Once Upon a Time was great this week, solely because Henry got his memory back.  In fact, everyone did, which should make everything a lot easier.  I feel bad for Hook because Zelena put him in a bad spot with Emma because of her mini cursed lips scenario.  He was only trying to protect her by staying away from her and not making himself a distraction.  Needless to say I was heartbroken when she told him she couldn't trust him anymore, which I think is ridiculous.  Hopefully this all gets reconciled so they can FINALLY be together, (I'm desperate now, but it'll probably never happen at this rate).  As for the brief appearance of Neil, that created a lot more controversy than the curses.  I don't understand why, because what happened at the end of the episode happened in the past when everyone was back in the Enchanted Forest before the curse that sent them back to Storybrooke, so he's still very much dead, but is there a chance that he could be brought back with another sacrifice?  Only time will tell, but I'm excited about this weekend's episode with Dorothy.  Maybe she can give us some insight into the "light magic" phenomenon that seems to be able to beat Zelena.

  Game of Thrones was awesome as well this week.  I was glad to find out who actually killed Joffrey, but I had a feeling Baelish was behind it somehow.  As for his creepy infatuation with Sansa, I bet she caves and ends up being with him out of pure loneliness.  She seems like one of the perfect candidates to train to become his right-hand lady: emotionally drained/crippled, no family and a will for vengeance with little to no physical attributes to speak of.  I think she would make a great manipulator, but we'll see.  I cringed when Hodor gets stabbed and taunted by those douche bags at Krastor's Keep.  Also, hitting Bran and keeping him hostage will probably be the worst idea Karl will ever have, seeing as Jon is on his way to them right now.  I can't wait for that reunion!  It seems like it's been forever since we've seen more than one Stark on screen together.  I'm also looking forward to seeing how Daenerys handles the situation with all her newly-freed slaves.  I believe that eventually it'll become too much for her to handle, especially with her dragons getting bigger every day.  I know that the biggest upset over this week's episode was the very end, with the White Walkers.  I'm glad we finally found out what happened to all those poor bastard babies, but what exactly are they doing to them?  Are they growing their army?  What's happening?  Apparently it's not in the books, so everyone is at a loss.  We'll see where this goes, but I'm sure it'll be explained eventually.
    That's it for reviews.  Some very big news from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie happened yesterday when a new, longer TMNT trailer was released.  It is the second official trailer for the movie and includes a better, (although still really brief), look at all the turtles and their turtle faces.  It's basically the first trailer with an extended middle section, by like ten seconds.  It's nothing incredibly different, but it still got me even more excited for August.  I'm going to be a wreck the closer we get to the release, but I'm betting there will be more trailers to come in the next few months.  Getting excited!

    Now that that's finished, I can get back to work.  This weekend I may be going to see Spider Man 2, so I might talk about that next week.  I love getting to sleep in and spend time with family over the weekends.  It really makes you cherish and enjoy those moments you have to stay in bed and relax with the people you care about.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Home Stretch

    I hope everyone is having a good week so far.  Thursday happens to be one of my favorite days because it's that much closer to the weekend.  I definitely think next week should be just one giant weekend with all the work I have to complete.  The end of my semester is coming and I couldn't be more calm.  Usually I'd be extremely stressed thinking about all of the papers and projects I have to do before the beginning of May, but this year it's different.  I'm completely aware of the amount of work I have to do, but I'm not worried.  I have faith in myself to get everything done on time, or even early.  It's always nice to get a break for the summer.

    Three of my assignments are relatively large: a literature review, a unit plan and a multimedia narrative.  For the literature review I have to read an entire book and focus on a central issue regarding 21st century literacies.  I've created a unit plan surrounding one of my favorite movies, Harriet the Spy, using both the book and the film to draw conclusions around identity and character development.  For my multimedia narrative I'm supposed to reflect on my semester and make light of my experiences from the course using multimodal technologies.  I think I'm going to use Storify, which is a site dedicated to mashing up various aspects of social media to create a coherent story.  I'll be posting my thoughts and rough draft of this project tomorrow on my ENGL 889 page.  All of these projects are labor intensive and require a huge amount of reflection and organization.  I'm curious about what I'll discover while working on all of these simultaneously.  I've already found that some of the readings I've done in both classes have the potential for crossing over.  I'm looking forward to getting down to business and putting as much effort into these as I can muster.  I may even share one of these finished projects on here in my ENGL 889 page, so stay tuned for a finished product.

    On top of this school work, I've been working on finding a summer job.  So far I haven't had any bites yet, but I'm still waiting to hear back from two places that seemed promising at first.  Honestly, I don't know what will happen with either of them, but I'm still trying to keep my options open.  Hopefully I'll hear something from one of them by next week, but who knows.  Honestly, I didn't think I would be on the job hunt again so soon.  I've also never applied for summer jobs before, so most of the application deadlines for opportunities in my area have been closed since mid-March.  It's actually more stressful than my projects.  The good news is that the after school program goes until mid-June, so I have some time left, but not much.  I'm praying for some much-needed beach time, so fingers crossed.
    As for TV reviews, they're very similar to last week.  Heads up for some SPOILERS...

  The Amazing Race brought the laughs this weekend with the Globetrotters attempting to ride the smallest donkey's in Italy.  Or maybe they just looked tiny underneath Big Easy?  Needless to say it was another frustrating week for me, being a fan of the Globetrotters.  I didn't like that they went home, but I have to say I can't really defend them this week.  They've been having trouble reading the directions on their road block cards...or maybe just with common sense.  Besides screaming at my television every time the Globetrotters were on screen, it was a decent episode.  I didn't like that Brenchel won again, but I have to give Rachel props on her calligraphy skills.  Is it sad that that road block was one of my favorites?  I would've loved to have taken that one on, but alas, I don't think my dad and I will ever make it to the Amazing Race.  I can still dream though.

  Once Upon a Time answered some questions for us this time around.  We finally found out what Zelena is planning to do with all her body parts, why she wants to go back in time and who's brain she needs.  How she plans on getting it is a whole other story...and it's probably not pretty.  You know what else wasn't pretty?  Rumple and Zelena's make-out session...EW.  There was a time when I thought any romanticism with Rumple would've been gross, but I'd give anything for Brumple to be whole again, without Zelena.  She's becoming an annoying wicked thorn in everyone's side, so I hope her demise is quick and painful.  My favorite person from this week was definitely Regina.  With her acting brave and working hard to help everyone, it's obvious that she's turned over a new leaf.  Also, her kiss with Robin was AMAZING! (and so over due).  Needless to say I can't wait to see what next week has to offer.  Especially with Hook being so shady, now that he's pissed about the curse.  Still hoping for a Emma/Hook ship to happen!

  Game of Thrones was also great this week.  I don't think I'm the only one who loves the dynamic between Arya and The Hound.  It won't last, but I like that they hinted at Bravos as a potential ending point.  I would like to know what Baelish wants to do with Sansa, but honestly I think she's safer with him.  I wouldn't want to go back to King's Landing under any circumstances, even to save poor Tyrion.  I definitely don't think he'll die, but his dialogue with Podrick was so moving!  He really is the best squire ever.  We're still not sure who actually killed Joffrey, but at this point I'm just glad he's dead.  Obviously, if you've read the books, you do know who killed him, but I haven't gotten that far yet, so I think we'll find out soon.  Another one of my favorite relationships is the one between Daenarys and Daario, who proved he was as badass as he claimed to be this week.  From the look in her eyes at the end of that miserable excuse for a showdown, she likes what she sees.  I'd ship them.  There were a lot of things I didn't like about this episode though: Sam sending Gilly to that nasty brothel, Jaimie raping his sister near their dead son's body, (c'mon man, even Cersei wouldn't do that...), and those damn cannibals killing and eating everyone.  Poor Stanis doesn't have a leg to stand on anymore, so I don't know why they even bothered giving him a two minute scene.  Who knows what will happen next week, but from the looks of things it's going to be good.

    I'd like to take this opportunity to mention something I'd like to start for the summer.  I'll be reopening my book reviews page and starting a summer reading list.  Now that I'll have more time to read, I can keep you guys updated on my progress and what books I'm reading through my GoodReads page, which has become severely neglected since I started classes.  I'm not sure about how much time I will give myself to read each book, but I don't really believe anyone should put a limit on reading time, so I think we'll leave that up to chance.  I will be reviewing each book once I finish them, so be on the lookout for which book I will start reading first, starting as soon as I finish all my projects.
    That's all for reviews this week.  I think it would be good for me and all the work I have to do to take a break next week, so unless something ridiculous or miraculous happens, there won't be a blog.  Sometimes you need to take a break in order to get stuff done, so that's what I'll be doing.  I'll have my recaps and reviews of next week's shows and hopefully more interesting information regarding my life for May 8th.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Oh, and this...

Sorry Not Sorry

    Hey guys, I understand that it's Friday and I missed yesterday's post.  Just be thankful that I'm here because I was considering not posting at all after the week I've had...  Early mornings, long days and late nights coupled with papers, unit plans and watching elementary school children every day has made me hate the world at this point.  Let's just say I'm glad next week is April Vacation.

    With less than two weeks left until the end of the semester, things are looking pretty tight.  I finished my case study, but now have to revise it, on top of the already scheduled term paper due at the end of finals week.  I also have to finish leading the discussion we were supposed to have Wednesday, but because of case study work shopping, it got pushed back.  In my other class, I just finished up my gaming and literacy unit with my friend Jess, so that's one less thing I have to worry about.  We still have a multimodal reflection due by May 1st as well as a unit plan due by the end of the semester, so I have to get cracking on those.  I was supposed to revise and resubmit my interview research paper, but I really don't think that's going to happen.  With everything else I have on my plate, I may barely scrape by with what I have to do now.  As for my new job, I now have to create three lesson plans for them and have them in by Monday.  I've resigned myself to a few facts: I can't be great at everything I do, I have to make sacrifices to stay sane, and I can't keep stressing about everything.  Hopefully I'll get a good chunk of work done while I don't have to see my kids next week until Friday, but we'll see.
    As I've been pretty swamped, I managed to finish all the TV shows I usually watch that were on this week so far by last night, so I could talk about them today in my reviews.  SPOILERS AHEAD...

    The Amazing Race was great last weekend solely because of the change in scenery.  The only part I found difficult to watch was when the Globe Trotters were at the Spanish Steps and were trying to count them and write the number down, but they forgot to do it in Roman numerals.  He never thought to check the Road Block instructions to see if maybe he was doing something else wrong besides guessing the wrong number.  The other groups seemed to fare well in all of the challenges and no one really stood out to me as doing a brilliant job, mostly because everyone caved and got help from some locals, or even tourists, (which is sad really, when you think about it).  Even the team who went home weren't really that exciting to me, so I'm still waiting for Brenchel to disappear...  Hopefully next week will be more exciting because I just wasn't feeling the vibes this week.

    Once Upon a Time, however, turned up the volume on some stuff this weekend.  I loved seeing more of Hook because, let's face it, he's dreamy in an evil kind of way, (IE: the best kind).  His tangled past with Ariel was a good back story to add to the betrayal Zelena pulled at the end.  Now Hook can't have Emma or tell her the truth without hurting everyone she loves, which right now doesn't really include him.  Sure, she cares about him, but she doesn't love him...at least not yet.  So I'm thinking he's going to go back to keeping his distance from her so that he doesn't ruin her chances of beating Zelena.  He may even take Smee's offer to go back to pirating, just to get away.  Who knows, but I hope he doesn't just sulk in a lonely corner at Granny's blaming himself for everything that goes wrong from in on out.  I also loved seeing Snow and Charming trying to be "cool grandparents" to Henry, even though he doesn't remember them that way.  Driving the truck through town probably wasn't the best idea, but I don't think anyone really cared that much, (except Regina...oops).  Can't wait for Sunday's episode!  I'm hoping we finally found out what else Zelena needs for her spell.  There's also talk of a Frozen crossover involving Kristin Bell, so that might be interesting, (although it seems like Frozen is taking over every aspect of our lives as human beings at this point...).

    Game of Thrones was the big one this weekend with the Purple Wedding shenanigans.  Everyone was talking about it so much that the spoiler disputes made the news.  Luckily, now there's an app for that.  Needless to say we all really wanted that ending to happen, but Joffrey's death wasn't the only embarrassingly disgusting thing that happened.  Joffrey's treatment of Tyrion made me and my husband cringe through that entire scene, so I can't imagine how everyone else felt watching that humiliation unfold.  I felt bad for Tyrion, but I also knew what was coming, so I knew he would get retribution for his mistreatment.  The big question still remains: who really killed Joffrey?  I have only read the first book so far, (my funds and time are both severely limited), so those who read know the truth, but luckily I haven't heard any spoilers for that yet.  Everyone has their own theory and they all seem valid, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.  I think we'll find out sooner rather than later, but my money is on Cersei.  She who blames the imp must be guilty of foul play!

    Agents of Shield didn't really impress me this week.  I liked seeing Patton Oswalt in the cast, but the fake Ward act meshing with the "real" Ward is already starting to bug me.  The saddest part was when Coulson was giving up his badge, telling everyone that it "means something."  It's disheartening to know that they don't have anywhere else to really go at this point, and now Ward is on his way to them.  Hopefully everything works out, but as of right now everything is up in the air.  I am curious to see what Ms. Flowers ends up doing with all of that technology they gave her.  She could just as easily turn on Hydra and use the stuff to enact her revenge for their lies, but she could also genuinely be on their side now, so who knows?  Her character confuses me the most, so I'd like to see her become more developed.  I'm excited to see Cobie Smulders reprise her role as Agent Hill in an upcoming episode.  Also, can we just ship Fitzsimmons already?  This petty back-and-forth is getting old.
    Something cool that also happened this week occurred during the MTV Movie Awards, in which they showed a TV spot featuring the TMNT with none other than SPLINTER in some very brief new footage, added to the already released trailer.  There were flashes of Raphael pushing a guy out of his way with just a forearm and Splinter from behind, adding a new voice-over to the action.  Mikey also apparently has his rocket skateboard back, so that should be cool.  I CAN'T EVEN.  Let me know what you think of the spot below!

    Welp, that's all folks.  As I stated above, I'm extremely tired and severely drained from this week, so I didn't really enjoy anything I watched, besides maybe GOT.  Hopefully this weekend will give me the much-needed rest and recuperation I need to re-energize before next week starts.  I have some fun things planned for this weekend, including a Harry Potter night with one of my favorite Phi Mu's and some Easter family time.  I'll be baking my brownies for a second time in order to contribute to the dessert feast, so they should go over well if they come out like they did last time.  Easter for Italians is basically like the Spring equivalent of Christmas dinner, so it should be a good time!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Nerd Alert

    Welcome back to Thursday!  I can't believe it's been a full week already, but I guess time seems to move a lot faster towards the end of the semester.  As you probably could've guessed, I've been neck-deep in readings and writing assignments for both of my classes with even more on the way.  Not to mention I may be taking on more responsibility at work, meaning more hours for me, but less for subbing.  In fact, I will most likely have to give up substituting all together, seeing as I won't be able to return next year.  It's bittersweet because I love those kids and I will miss them terribly, but I will probably see them again.  They were the ones who made teaching fun for me, so I owe them a lot, including the credit for how I teach in the future.  I'm currently trying to get in to two different summer camp opportunities, one right in town, so if both of those fail, I have a few back-up options available.  Hopefully something works out because I definitely need some sort of summer job.
    As promised, I have almost a full week of reviews lined up from the latest batch of shows and I'm ready to get started!  If you don't know by now that there are SPOILERS ahead, you don't deserve the ability to read.

    1. Once Upon a Time this past Sunday was very informative.  We got to learn a little more about the witch, where she came from and how she fit into the Oz story line.  What I wasn't expecting was the reasoning for her skin condition, ("green with envy" seemed a bit too cliche for my taste, but that's just me...), and the fact that Walsh, Emma's ex-fiance, was once the Great and Powerful Oz before being turned into a flying monkey by the vengeful Zelena.  I am curious about how Charming's courage and Regina's heart will play into Zelena's secret spell, as well as where she will ultimately find the brain she undoubtedly needs.  My money is on Rumple, but obviously anything goes now, so we'll just have to wait and see.  Where will Zelena find the brain she needs for her spell?  Will Regina finally let the the people ship Robina?  WHY does the witch still want Snow's baby?  Sound off in the comments below.

    2. Game of Thrones premiered this past Sunday as well, but I only watched it yesterday.  I have to say, it didn't wow me, but it did provide the perfect transition into the new season.  The recap was surprisingly tame with hints of the slaughter at the Red Wedding.  We haven't gotten a close up of those traitors yet, so who knows what'll happen to them.  My guess is nothing, so long as the Lanisters remain in power and no one stands to oppose them.  There is also a wedding on the rise as Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell prepare to tie the knot, (possibly physically as well as figuratively...hopefully).  We all see how this could potentially be his undoing, but we'll see if this minx can sink her claws into him.  I have a feeling that they're both going to be around for a while, so get comfortable with that.  I'm glad we got to see a little more of Jon Snow's dark side, coming back from the wildling ambush last season.  He's bitter and hopeless, exactly what you want to fight a raid of wild people and some frozen zombies headed your way.  He seems a lot stronger, now that he has no need to worry about what might be left of his family.  I'm sure he'd be mighty proud of Arya if he saw her now, but who knows if we'll ever get that tearful reunion, (I would sob).  I hope they build her character into the warrior she should be because she's probably my favorite character of this entire show.  I know she makes it pretty far, so we'll see.  What do you think will happen to Sansa?  Or Shae, for that matter?  How about the sudden repulsion from sexual contact by more than one couple?

    3. Bones this week impressed me greatly.  I don't usually talk about Bones, but it has been one of my Monday night shows for a very long time.  The scenario was that a murdered woman worked at a cannabis dispensary, growing her own super-medicinal strain on the side for terminally ill patients.  This woman also had Lupus, which is something I've struggled with for the majority of my life.  These two facts bring together some legal and moral issues that I don't think any show has tackled so far.  They are very touchy subjects with very little positive messages attached.  There is minimal research and known treatments for Lupus, so having cannabis provide the relief not only for the terminally ill, like Wendell, who came back for this episode after starting chemotherapy, (I cried seeing him because I love his character so much!), was great to see.  This episode brought to light some issues regarding holistic cancer treatments and the legal use of cannabis as a medicinal aid for joint pain and other maladies associated with Lupus and other chronic illnesses.  It just made me really happy to see those issues addressed in a public forum, even if it was a television show.  Best episode of the season so far!

    4. Agents of Shield brought the WOW factor this week, as we come back from watching Captain America: Winter Soldier.  The events of this episode coincide directly with the events of the movie; everything is happening all at once.  If you didn't get to see the movie before Tuesday, you may have been totally lost, but it was still an eye-opener to be sure.  We see S.H.I.E.L.D. overrun with Hydra forces, allowing two of Coulson's close friends to become moles within his team.  We didn't get to see who the Clairvoyant was until the end, but I had an immediate feeling that Agent Hand, although a huge bitch, was not the bad guy.  She would've been too obvious!  I think the fact that it was Coulson's friend Garrett made it even harder for him to take, considering all they had been through together up until that point.  Garrett gave absolutely no sympathy, but was promptly arrested and taken into custody by Hand and Ward, who forced himself into that situation by claiming he needed to take revenge on his role model.  Needless to say I wasn't surprised when Ward pulled the trigger on everyone but Garrett.  I'm disappointed with Ward, after all he did for Skye and Coulson, to turn on them like that.  I have a feeling that he will switch sides again by the end of the season, but we'll see.  Where do they go from here?  Will FitzSimmons EVER become a thing?  Will Simmons's dark, handsome friend be joining the team now that Ward has defected?  You can't trust anyone...

    Those are all the reviews I have for this week.  If there is a particular show that you'd like me to check out, (if I haven't already), let me know in the comments below.  At the moment, I'm creating a unit to teach to one of my classes next week on gaming and identity practices using RPGs.  It's been an interesting ride so far and I've learned a lot about my own game play decisions.  We'll be using Skyrim, Balder's Gate and Pokemon as references.  I'm pretty excited about this lesson and hope that it'll shed some light on different teaching ideas when combating similar situation in an English setting.  I'll also be completing a close-read of a public figure for my Friday class blog post this week.  I think I'm going to do Tyler Oakley, seeing as he's the most spread out over social media.  I'll be looking closely at how Tyler portrays himself in public as well as through his various social media outlets in order to gain a deeper look into his true persona.  All of the work I'm doing right now in my classes is super fun and imaginative, so I highly recommend going to grad school if you have the chance.  I never thought I'd get this much agency into what I learn about and how I learn it, even though it can be difficult at times, (seriously, when is school not difficult?), I've enjoyed every minute of this experience and don't regret a thing.  I'm looking forward to May and the teacher I will become next year.
    Speaking of teaching, I've reconnected with my advisor and I've been set up with a few prospective teachers in different areas who haven't been placed yet.  First stop is a high school, which isn't really where I thought I'd be, but at this point, I'll take it.  I may very well end up in an eighth grade classroom, but for now I can't be picky.  I'll keep you all updated on how that's going and as soon as I know my placement I'll be shouting it from the rooftops.  Until then, I just have to keep trucking on this reading assignment.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.