Life

First, I must report that I recently saw an incredible movie: Slumdog Millionaire. I wasn't sure what it was all about a few weeks ago, and after hearing a brief synopsis, I knew I had to go and see the movie. It was phonemonal! The story was moving; tragic, endearing, funny, and scary all at once. It made me so grateful to live in the United States, but also made my heart ache for the "slumdogs" out there. You really must see this movie and I will be hoping that it wins every Oscar it was nominated for.

Last week I had the opportunity to go to the WSRA (Wisconsin State Reading Association) Conference. It was really quite excellent and I was able to hear a lot of speakers that I have been reading about (or reading their books) in my master's classes. I also got to meet some pretty famous authors like Lois Lowry (author of one of my top ten books: The Giver), Bruce Coville, and Esme Raji Codell (Educating Esme, Sahara Special). Very fun! Even better was the fact that my sister joined me for the last two days of the conference and we got to hang out, along with her colleague. We had a nice dinner out at Rustico and then went next door and listened to a great band, Modern Giants, at the Milwaukee Ale House.

As for this week, it has just been busy with the usual: grading papers, writing papers for my night class, meetings, church stuff, a little time for creative endeavors, etc... I am pretty excited for the weekend since we have Friday and Monday off (4-day weekend!!!) and I will have some time to just BE. I am getting a haircut (maybe highlights) and then heading to my parent's house on Friday to start planning my mom's and my trip to Italy and Greece this summer. Any suggestions of things to do or see? I do have some big projects to work on for my night class, but the rest of my 4-day break should be fairly chill.