Thursday: Things I like this week - Book Haul

Today I made a stop at Chapters on my way home and picked up some books. I have been reading ebooks for the past little while and was missing holding real books. Chapters was having their buy 3 get 1 free sale so I could not resist! They also had a ton great bargain books!

 Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

I have started reading Cassandra Clare's first series the Mortal Instruments (City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass, City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls) and have loved the books I have read so far. I heard that this series is even better than that one (if that is even possible). I found Clockwork Angel for $4 so I picked up both today. I am excited to read this prequel series!

 Jeneration X by Jen Lancaster

I absolutely adore Jen Lancaster. Her books always make me laugh out loud. She is funny and witty and not afraid to say what's on her mind. I have loved her other memoirs and I am sure this one will not disappoint.

 Finding Monsieur Right by Muriel Zagha

This is one of my all time favourite girly books. I have it as an ebook but have been wanting a hard copy. I found this one for $4 on the bargain table and picked it up right away. I cannot wait to read this one again.

 The Book of (even more) Awesome by Neil Pasricha

The first one was great. So many of the items on his list were ones that made me say "oh ya! I love that too!" This is a fun book to read randomly when you need a pick me up.

 Fever by Lauren DeStefano

This is the second book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy. I have the first book Wither but have not read it yet but have heard so many great things about this series that I had to pick it up.

A Love Story in 781 Chapters by Aneva Stout

I read this book once while sitting in Chapters. It's short and very cute. This was for $2 on the bargain table and I had to pick it up!

Wednesday Health and Beauty: Macadamia Oil

A while back I was at Trade Secrets buying some shampoo and nail polish. Part of their promotion that day was a bag filled with Macadamia Oil products if you spent $50 or more. This little bag came with a shampoo, hair mask and an oil treatment. I used up the shampoo and mask and forgot about the oil until I was recently cleaning out my cupboard. What a miracle product! I was away this past weekend and didn't really condition or take care of my hair properly and it was extremely dry and tangled when I got home. I used a pea sized amount on my hair after showering yesterday and it made my hair so soft! It also smells amazing! I will definitely be purchasing a full sized bottle of this stuff! I've even gotten a ton of compliments on how soft my hair looks.

Tueday Teachables: Prezi

I am a big fan of using technology in the classroom. Out with the worksheets and in with the interactive programs kids can either use at the front of the class or individually on laptops. I few weeks ago I started using a really cool presentation site with my kids to help them create more interactive oral presentations. This site is very easy to use and allows students to creatively display their work. Prezi is known as the zooming presentation tool because it allows you to put all your information on a template and then zoom into the different components during the presentation. It's a little bit hard to describe without seeing it so definitely check out the "explore" link on the homepage to see some examples.

Click here for the website.

Monday Reads: Jessica Rules the Dark Side

This week I am reading the sequel to Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of time to read in the last week because I've been traveling so it has been taking me a while to get through this book. I am not enjoying it as much as the first book but I am only half way through so that may change.

Synopsis: It’s one thing to find out you’re a vampire princess. It’s a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband’s name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius’s time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is—and whom she can trust—before it’s too late?

Saturday Songs: a little Il Divo

Tomorrow I am going to the Il Divo concert with my dad and am super super excited to be going! I have been a fan since their first album came out and have loved them ever since.

I chose this song because I have also been invited to sing as an alumni with the choir I was a part of as a child. And this is the song I will be singing.

Enjoy!

Tuesday Teachables: Monkeys and Fairness

I recently watched a TED talk on empathy, cooperation and fairness when it comes to animals. Here are a couple of clips that demonstrate how animals can recognize fair/unfair treatment and the importance of cooperation.

Monday Reads: Insurgent (review)

I just finished reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth. All I can say is WOW! Usually in a series I find that the second book tends to be a bit slower paced than the first but this one was action packed from the very first page and never slowed down. I was barely able to put it down. This book brought out so many emotions. I was angry, frustrated, relieved, happy, sad...It was a roller coaster ride of emotions from beginning to end. The book starts off from where the first book ended. There is no time lapse between the two books. This also means that Roth does not take any time to recap what happened in the first book. So it is best to read Divergent again before starting this one if you`re having trouble remembering any of the details. I re-read Divergent and then jumped straight into Insurgent. I cannot wait until the third and final installment of this series. We are left with a big cliffhanger at the end of the book and now I am anxiously waiting to see what happens next. Oh how I wish that I didn`t have to wait for the next book.

Saturday Songs: They do it again

I love this singing duo from Britain's Got Talent. They are both absolutely amazing in this performance.

May Reading Challenge

On Wednesday I mentioned my April reading slump. I have started getting back into my books (slowly but surely) and have made a list of books that I intend to finish this month. I know that seven books may be touch to complete seeing as I managed one book and one short story last month, but I am determined to get through these. Look for reviews on Mondays as I finish these books. The only book on this list that I have read before is Divergent and I have already gushed about how much I love it. I read it again so that I could remember all the little things I had forgotten before reading Insurgent.

Here is the list:

 1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantasky

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

Friday Foods: Wonderful Berry Dinner Salad

 Sometimes it`s nice to have a light dinner. Just salad and some bread. Those who know me, know that I love love love food. I am always eating or craving some type of food. And those foods aren`t always the healthiest. So I try to work in a light dinner at least once a week where I`ll have some soup, salad and bread. I found this delicious salad recipe. Click here for the link.

Back from a little hiatus

I have not posted on here for almost a month. I have been in both a reading and writing slump for the past couple of weeks. I had such a hard time picking up a book in the month of April. I managed to read one book and a short story in the whole month of April. Sad, I know. My goal was to read 6-7 books per month but I couldn`t immerse myself in a book no matter how hard I tried. The same thing happened with writing on this blog. I am usually excited to post my book finds, quotations, beauty tips and whatever other randomness I find. But every time I would sit down to write in the past month, I would become easily distracted and move on to another activity. I can say that I am not over this reading/writing slump and am excited to dive into my TBR pile of books and to continue my daily blog posts on here.