Withdrawal big time!! Our Internet connection has been down - I went cold turkey all day yesterday and it wasn't a pretty sight - the constant trying to log in and first the sighs of frustration and then the #@@**!!!s of irritation! But, I did get my presentation for AASL finished and a book review for VOYA written so it wasn't a lost day. But I am so behind in grading!

Every time we get stormy weather, and we are supposed to have this windy rainy weather for the rest of the week, our Innovative DSL goes wonky. The power went out about 4 a.m. yesterday. No biggie as our air conditioner quit Sunday evening anyway! Who knows how long it will take for someone to come out and fix that. At least the weather is cool so we aren't miserable. Hopefully it won't be too warm in the library today.

Read Rachel Cohn's Pop Princess recently. Picked it up because I really liked Cohn's MS level novel Steps. A funny, yet heartfelt look at a young teen dealing with her father's new family in Australia. Cohn is also the author of Gingerbread and Shrimp, two other popular teen novels. Felt kind of silly sitting on the plane reading a book with a girl's bare midriff and a belly button stud on the front cover, but it was worth the interesting looks from fellow passengers. An eye opening look into the real world of a one hit wonder, (her name really is Wonder!) who realizes that being a pop princess is not what she wants out of her musical career. Perhaps taking some time out to go to college and major in music might not be a bad idea. But Wonder Blake has to learn from her own mistakes, including an infatuation with the guy who is in love with Kayla, the "real" pop star who Wonder is the opening act for and who was in the same band with Wonder's sister who died. Girls will love vicariously living the pop princess life with Wonder. Should help shatter some of those fantasies about what it would be like to be the next Britney Spears! :-)

Have been browsing through and "playing" with Imagine by Norman Messenger. The limited text and the delightful illustrations ask you to use your imagination - "Imagine a house without windows.. You wouldn't know if it was day or night." There are double page spreads where you need to find items, such as giants hidden in a Medieval looking landscape or the animals within a forest scene. Such fun. For the mathematically inclined there are also math puzzles on the top of each page. Those I ignored. I am NOT mathematically inclined! :-/ But, this is a an intriguing interactive picture book to share with children, especially those in 2nd through 6th grades. A wonderful family vacation book to keep a child entertained in the back seat of the car - as long as they don't get motion sick when they read!

The waves against the little island in the bay are splashing up higher than I have ever seen them. Could prove to be an interesting day. This weather better settle down before Thursday afternoon when I leave for AASL in Pittsburgh. Off to Montessori for the day.