Mama, Had to Listen to All This Drama

Unapologetic Swiftie. BookTuber. Baker. Carpool Maker.

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Weekend waffles are still a thing. ♥️ 📚. One of my all-time favorite authors is writing a middle grade series, the second installment, WINTERBORNE HOME FOR MAYHEM AND MYSTERY, follows five orphans and their sword-wielding vigilante guardian into a brand, new mystery. Add a decade-old mystery and a masked stranger into the mix, and you know there is going to be one heck of an adventure ahead for us readers. - 📚. Are you guys participating in #middlegrademarch ? Many thanks to @krista_booksandjams and @lifebetweenwords for hosting it again this year. - 📚. 📚. 📚. #middlegrade #allycarter #bookstagram #bookish #librariansofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CMIUcFrA00f/?igshid=tcux2ptbsu8b

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Do you ever wait to read the last volume in a series?!? I devoured both SCYTHE and THUNDERHEAD by Neal Shusterman this summer. But for some reason, I waited to read the final installment, THE TOLL. - 📚. Thank goodness for buddy reads! @jesser004 and @trishapolk , bless you for tackling this ginormous book with me! Your voxer messages make me laugh sp much. Love you both! - 📚. What’s the last book you’ve buddy read?!? - 📚. 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #bookish #bookreviewer #booktuber #librarianreads #librarianlife #iloveya #yaseries #youngadultbooks #fantasybooks #weekendreads https://www.instagram.com/p/CIL5P_MAPsF/?igshid=1yx8alckttha

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Long weekends after a full week at school (our first in three weeks due to school being canceled for bad air quality due to fires) are sooooooo needed. - 📚. A friend and fellow librarian recommended thus series to me, so I am reading them before donating them to my library. Books that make history come alive are something I’ve always loved. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: With the rise of the Berlin Wall, Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother Fritz live on the eastern side, controlled by the Soviets. Her father and middle brother, who had gone west in search of work, cannot return home. Gerta knows it is dangerous to watch the wall, yet she can't help herself. She sees the East German soldiers with their guns trained on their own citizens; she, her family, her neighbors and friends are prisoners in their own city. - . But one day on her way to school, Gerta spots her father on a viewing platform on the western side, pantomiming a peculiar dance. Gerta concludes that her father wants her and Fritz to tunnel beneath the wall, out of East Berlin. However, if they are caught, the consequences will be deadly. No one can be trusted. Will Gerta and her family find their way to freedom? - 📚. Has anyone read this or the other books in the series? They cover WW II and the Russian Revolution as well. May have to read the other two as well. - 📚. What are you guys doing this weekend? - 📚. disney cup: @fortheloveofpixiedust - pumpkin spice sourdough pancakes recipe: @culturesforhealth - 📚. 📚. 📚. #booksandbreakfast #pancakes #sourdoughpancakes #librarianreads #anightdivided #bookstagram #fortheloveofpixiedust #middlegradebooks #middlegradereads #librariansofinstagram #elementaryschoollibrary #librarianlife #bookstagram #bookflatlay #bookish #librariansfollowlibrarians #elementarylibrarian #pumpkinspice #pumpkinspiceseason https://www.instagram.com/p/CEzcF51A7xv/?igshid=oehkvl8cc90l

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I’ve been so busy with school that I haven’t had time to post some fun new books I’ve been reading. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: Mia Tang has a lot of secrets. - . Number 1: She lives in a motel, not a big house. Every day, while her immigrant parents clean the rooms, ten-year-old Mia manages the front desk of the Calivista Motel and tends to its guests. - . Number 2: Her parents hide immigrants. And if the mean motel owner, Mr. Yao, finds out they've been letting them stay in the empty rooms for free, the Tangs will be doomed. - . Number 3: She wants to be a writer. But how can she when her mom thinks she should stick to math because English is not her first language? - . It will take all of Mia's courage, kindness, and hard work to get through this year. Will she be able to hold on to her job, help the immigrants and guests, escape Mr. Yao, and go for her dreams? - 📚. 📚. 📚. #middlegradebooks #middlegradefiction #elementaryschoollibrarian #librariansofinstagram #librarianlife #librarianreads #whatthelibrarianreads #scholasticbooks #newtomytbr #tbr #bookstagram #bookish #bookflatlay #currentlyreading https://www.instagram.com/p/CEeyaRkA-lD/?igshid=1exq8dwh2y6m8

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Okay, I just finished this month’s selection for the @literallydeadclub . First, the book cover?!? It GLOOOOOOWS in the dark! I had no idea until I turned the light above my nightstand off, and the darn thing started glowing! That’s a pretty cool feature. - 📚. As for the book? The premise was way cool. The choice of the two narrators was clever, because we got to follow both of the main characters through the mystery of the haunted house. - 📚. Ultimately though, I figured out all the twists fairly early on. Maybe it’s all the mystery books I read so long ago. In spite of this, the writing was well done, and I did enjoy the story. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: What was it like? Living in that house. - . Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism. - . Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn’t believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don’t exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren’t thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie’s father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father’s book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction. - . . . #rileysager #literallydeadbookclub #bookstagram #bookreviewer #bookish #booksandcookies #bookreview #stressbaking #bookish #booklr #tbr #thrillerbooks #buddyreads #librarylife #summerreadinglist https://www.instagram.com/p/CDuD78JgZ14/?igshid=ydsqv6k8uo0k

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Yes, that cider can says “Blood Orange Tangerine”. I totally missed the placement. 😂 - 📚. First two days as a new elementary school librarian are in the books (you are welcome for the pun!). I go back tomorrow for a full week of prep, and then, here come the kiddos! Next Monday! Super bouncy after being at home for five months. I’m looking forward to meeting them and reading and recommending books. It’s truly what I love to do. Their little faces and stories lift me up. I am so blessed to have this opportunity. I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers as I launch this part of my new career. - 📚. As for reading, on my hike with the girls today (you can see our pretty trail in my stories), I was listening to MIDNIGHT SUN by Stephenie Meyer. I know, I know a shocker for those of you who know my love of TWILIGHT. 😉 - 📚. Okay, who’s read it?!? - 📚. 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #midnightsun #twilight #elementaryschoollibrarian #librarylife #booksanddrinks #summerreading #favoritebooks #teamedward #signedbooks #authorsaremyrockstars https://www.instagram.com/p/CDsV1jeAbaT/?igshid=4t9v1k512rkp

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All of you know my love of PRIDE & PREJUDICE, and how I love collecting different editions. I thought I’d show off one here —it’s the full story plus Martha Stewart recipes thrown in at the end of the chapters. Old fashioned berry layer cake, French almond macarons and gingerbread icebox cake?!? Yes, please. - 📚. Funny thing, I used to love collecting and reading cookbooks. I would drive Ken crazy by reading them at night, after we had eaten dinner, because I would pause to read them and ask him if the recipe sounded good. His response? How can I think about that when my stomach is full? 😂 - 📚. #forevermymrdarcy - 📚. Do you collect editions of a certain book? - 📚. cookie recipe: @pickypalate Circus Animal Cookies - 📚. 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #bokreviews #favoritebooks #prideandprejudice #booksandcookies #bookish #stressbaking #homemadecookies #pickypalate #romancebooks #classicbooks #marthastewart #bookreviewer #booktuber https://www.instagram.com/p/B_8D18Dg_-y/?igshid=umnr6rfch378

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#weekendwaffles — strawberry yogurt — made by my youngest. 🍓 We’ve been sheltering-in-place for what feels like 120 weeks, but we’re still not hating on each other. So, that’s an accomplishment in itself. - 📚. We’re focused on readying the house for warmer weather. Lighter bedding was taken out of the closet, washed and placed. The barbecue came out of hiding this weekend. So now, our food choices are matching the rising temperatures. We tie-dyed shirts and planted lots of tulip bulbs for next Spring. - 📚. My plan for today, after an exhausting day of cleaning tiles and vacuuming (thanks to the College Kiddo), is to sit back with a cold drink and enjoy a good book. - 📚. Who’s read Nina Kenwood’s IT SOUNDED BETTER IN MY HEAD? The synopsis sounds good, and it reminds me of Jenny Han’s stories. I’m so in the mood for summer reads. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: When her parents announce their impending divorce, Natalie can’t understand why no one is fighting, or at least mildly upset. Then Zach and Lucy, her two best friends, hook up, leaving her feeling slightly miffed and decidedly awkward. She’d always imagined she would end up with Zach one day―in the version of her life that played out like a TV show, with just the right amount of banter, pining, and meaningful looks. Now everything has changed, and nothing is quite making sense. Until an unexpected romance comes along and shakes things up even further. - 📚. Also, a favor to ask — I contacted two schools regarding potential library jobs, please think good thoughts/prayers my way. Working with students and teaching them to love reading is something that lifts me so much right now. 🙏 But, if they’re not meant to be, then they’re not meant to be. Something else will be the right fit for me at this crazy time. - 📚. mask: @loveyoumorestudio - 📚. 📚. #summerreads #sundayvibes #sundaymornings #bookstagram #bookish #currentlyreading #yaromance #yabooks #librarianreads #summerscoming #quarantinereads #bookflatlay #bookishlife #youngadultbooks #flatironbooks #ninakenwood https://www.instagram.com/p/B_dYTZ1AtA1/?igshid=zghexjjff7ch

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Yes, I am keeping up that #weekendwaffles thing. 💙 - 📚. We got Mom moved into our house. Not gonna sugar coat it, it was an ordeal, but we are all settled in now. We even face-timed with my Dad yesterday! His memory care place is not taking visitors, which is so smart, but they are offering face-time calls. He was happy to see his four girls all together. We told him that Alex is still in the Bay Area, but will come home for a bit soon. I’ll be relieved when I have everyone in one city during these weird times of ours. - 📚. We are establishing a rhythm to our days as everything continues to be canceled. Many thanks for your prayers — they are definitely lifting us up and getting us through these tough moments. The fridge is full. I’ve secured eggs! And we have more tp (thanks to my Mom’s tendencies for being well stocked at all times) than we could imagine. - 📚. Many thanks to @strandbookstore for sending a signed copy of ANNA K. in their #bookhookup this quarter. Have you heard about this new release? - 📚. SYNOPSIS: At seventeen, Anna K is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather an sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie. - . As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. - 📚. What are you reading this weekend? - 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #newbook #bookhaul #currentlyreading #bookstagram #bookreviewer https://www.instagram.com/p/B-AZhlNgDIA/?igshid=oaflcm5z8ks

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#wafflesunday | Pumpkin waffles and a #middlegrademarch read. We’ve got a ton to do in the next few days of #springbreak. We are moving my Mom into our house. Dad’s already been moved into a memory care place here in town. I appreciate all your thoughts and prayers as we go through yet another change in our lives. Not going to lie, these last 10 weeks have been near-impossible, but the kindness of friends, near and far, and strangers I have tripped across makes me believe that there is so much good left in this crazy world of ours. I am looking forward to settling my Mom in and resting for a few days before resuming my subbing job. - 📚. This middle grade series comes highly recommended, and I am genuinely looking forward to getting lost in a new fantasy world. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: Arlo Finch is a newcomer to Pine Mountain, Colorado, a tiny town of mystery and magic, but he's already attracted the attention of dark and ancient forces. At first he thinks these increasingly strange and frightening occurrences are just part of being in Rangers, the mountain scouting troop where he learns how to harness the wild magic seeping in from the mysterious Long Woods. But soon Arlo finds himself at the center of a dangerous adventure, where he faces obstacles that test the foundations of the Ranger's Vow: Loyalty, Bravery, Kindness, and Truth. - 📚. 📚. 📚. #middlegradebooks #bookstagram #currentlyreading #booksandwaffles #sundaymorning #springbreak2020 #homemadebreakfast #bookish #booklr #bookreviewer #booktuber #bookrecommendations https://www.instagram.com/p/B9w-5kagAiD/?igshid=u5835o91t2ex

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With all the concerns for the #coronavirus, I thought it would be fun for the Kinders and Firsties to re-visit David Shannon’s A BAD CASE OF THE STRIPES! The students have steadily checked out the NO! DAVID books, so I know the author is a favorite of theirs. - 📚. Have you ever re-visited a picture book you loved? Even though the good majority of the classes have read it before, they absolutely adored how Camilla’s skin changed colors and patterns. And the fact that the Principal thought she had to stay at home because it may be contagious! - 📚. 📚. 📚. #elementaryschoollibrary #easyreader #picturebooks #favoritebooks #davidshannon #firstgradebooks #kindergartenbooks #libraryshelves #bookstagram #currentlyreading #readalouds #lessonplans #bookflatlay #classicchildrensbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B9kNjIMAwy5/?igshid=10jm64k7uvt4c

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So proud of the college kid. Kat and I drove through snow and a deluge to see him run at Cal today. Watching him run on that gold track was worth the nail-biting ride down. Go Gaels! - 🏃‍♂️. ♥️. 💙. #runsmc #smctrackandxc #track #3000m #collegerunner #omgsmc https://www.instagram.com/p/B9c92_eAW7f/?igshid=38jwhv99sxy9

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Ah, I enjoyed listening to ANNE OF GREEN GABLES so much that I’m going to continue reading the series. - 📚. Is there a classic series that you’ve never finished? - 📚. Subbing is going really well. I love reading Valentine’s Day-themed stories to the classes. Although this morning, I got to step into a 6th grade class and read chapter 2 of THE LIGHTNING THIEF to them. The discussion questions and answers afterwards were awesome. I so love working with the middle grade kiddos. - 📚. 📚. 📚. #classicbooks #classicchildrensbooks #bookflatlay #currentlyreading #bookstagram #anneofgreengables #anneathon #readathon #tbr #bookish #booklr #childrensbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hReN_AAXK/?igshid=malj9dr2ampb

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Oh you guys, I’m subbing for a maternity leave right now and even though it was planned long before Ken passed away, it’s been a much needed blessing. Working with students and helping them become readers is pure joy for me. They lift my heart in ways I can’t even express. I am blessed to have this gig for now. Many, many thanks for all the continued prayers. I am hoping that a permanent job in the school district is something that’s in the cards for me. - 📚. I shelved a new book by none other than much beloved author, A.S. King. It’s a middle grade story (hello, #middlegrademarch!) that is a “smart underdog story”. Who doesn’t love those? - 📚. SYNOPSIS: Liberty Johansen is going to change the way we look at the night sky. Most people see the old constellations, the things they've been told to see. But Liberty sees new patterns, pictures, and possibilities. She's an exception. - . Some other exceptions: - . Her dad, who gave her the stars. Who moved out months ago and hasn't talked to her since. - . Her mom, who's happier since he left, even though everyone thinks she should be sad and lonely. - . And her sister, who won't go outside their house. - . Liberty feels like her whole world is falling from space. Can she map a new life for herself and her family before they spin too far out of reach? - 📚. 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #schoollibrary #middlegradebooks #middlegradereads #tbr #asking #amysarigking #scholastic #bookish #bookshelf #shelfie #currentlyreading #readathon #marchbooks #elementaryschoollibrary https://www.instagram.com/p/B8cX5kkgJ7l/?igshid=rsyjoq766jxh

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No waffles on this Sunday, I baked blueberry scones instead. Perfect sugary treat for that hot morning coffee. - 📚. The weather has been warm, but somehow winter always leads me to fantasy reading. THE NAMELESS QUEEN was part of our last @strandbookstore’s YA Book Hookup box. It sounds like everything I love in a fantasy plot — political intrigue and a rags-to-riches plot line filled with twists. - 📚. SYNOPSIS: One girl must make a name for herself--or die trying--in this royal fantasy where an unknown peasant becomes the ultimate ruler. But how long can she keep the crown if everyone wants her dead? Perfect for fans of Furyborn, Red Queen, and Everless. - . Everyone expected the king's daughter would inherit the throne. No one expected me. - . It shouldn't be possible. I'm Nameless, a class of citizens so disrespected, we don't even get names. Dozens of us have been going missing for months and no one seems to care. - . But there's no denying the tattoo emblazoned on my arm. I am queen. In a palace where the corridors are more dangerous than the streets, though, how could I possibly rule? And what will become of the Nameless if I don't? - 📚. 📚. 📚. #bookstagram #booksandfood #bookish #booklr #bookflatlay #thenamelessqueen #randomhouse #penguinteen #yafantasy #tbr #yabooks #youngadultbooks #homemadescones #blueberryscones #stressbaking https://www.instagram.com/p/B8XiZl1gBNG/?igshid=talhfbsdl1x1

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More waffles and a classic. It’s comforting to re-read much loved books, and when the girls are reading theirs for class, I join in. The Great Gatsby was my favorite book that I read in high school. The Jazz Age setting, those characters and most of all F. Scott Fitzgerald’s writing. Those descriptions of his are still some of my very favorites. - . On the other hand, my youngest is reading Lord of the Flies. A book I hated as a freshman, and have no desire to re-read. It’s the reason I dislike survival stories. I’m still not over what happened to Piggy. - . What are some books that you re-read from time to time? - . . . #bookstagram #booksandfood #waffles #homemadewaffles #booksh #bookflatlay #booknerd #booklr #bookreview #booktuber #bookworm #currentlyreading #thegreatgatsby #fscottfitzgerald https://www.instagram.com/p/B8KjFa8gJEu/?igshid=1d550kdst2jpr

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I started a new tradition — making waffles on weekends. Ken would always go out on Saturday and Sunday mornings to get us a treat for breakfast. Watching all the dads at the donut shop or at Starbucks or Dutch Bros doing the same thing makes me spontaneously miss him. - ♥️. So, it was time for new traditions. - ♥️. Yesterday marked one month since he’s been gone. It’s been impossibly hard for the four of us. We’ve encountered more hurdles in getting basic things done than normal. Alex’s car died and got repaired. I went to a dance performance by myself. I tackled and slayed more red tape dragons than I ever thought I could. What was hard now seems routine. - ♥️. And every day, we miss him. His dad jokes, the twinkle of pride in his eye as he watches the kiddos perform, the loud reminders about grades and tests and papers. The way he tackled problems and always found solutions. - ♥️. Yes, that’s Kobe Bryan’s book that I checked out from the library. I’m going to start it today. I promise to let you know my thoughts on it. Ken would’ve listened so carefully. Just when I thought he wasn’t listening, he’d add in a thoughtful comment. - ♥️. ♥️. ♥️. #dadswhodontbelonginHeaven #forevermrdarcy #mymrdarcy #kobebryant #thewinzenardseries #wesleyking #yabooks #youngadultbooks #bookstagram #bookish #booktuber #bookreviewer #currentlyreading #bookflatlay #booksandtreats #waffles #homemadewaffles #heartwaffles https://www.instagram.com/p/B8CERbvg4G7/?igshid=i52mrmfix417