Adult Review: Best Man

For most of her life, Faith Holland defined herself by her relationship. After being left at the altar, she fled to San Francisco. With a few years behind her, she's ready to come back home - at least for an extended visit.

As soon as she gets there, people start talking about her in tones of sympathy and pity. Faith never wanted that. She tries to hang out with her family the most while remodeling the barn on the family vineyard for wedding functions.

Before long, she realizes that she needs her own place so she rents an apartment. Unfortunately, her nemesis the best man at her wedding lives right across the hall. She's not sure she's ready to play nice with the police chief Levi Cooper. But there's something about him that gets under her skin.

My Thoughts: I loved this book, though I felt bad for Faith. I love how she came back and how she faced the town. I felt bad for Faith because of her family guilt.  I like Faith's quirky family and how they interact with each other. I loved her banter with Levi. I really liked Levi - from his past to his being a veteran to his taking care of his sister. I love how he tries to take care of everyone around him.  A fantastic novel about coming home again and finding yourself, being true to yourself, and finding happiness. As soon as I finished this book, I passed it along to my mother. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: Library
Fun Fact: Levi's sister went to HWS, my alma mater

Sporty Women's Tea

On Saturday, we held the 3rd annual Women's Tea with the theme of sports. The tea takes place each March to celebrate Women's History Month. I adapted the tea program based off a program I attended at William Smith College (part of Hobart and William Smith Colleges).

We picked sports to gear up for the Summer Olympics and to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Title IX.

We team up with Norwich Free Academy, our local high school. Presenters research and present about one women's contribution to society. The goal for the tea is a fun, educational program that allows girls and women to learn about significant women of the past and present. We hope that by coming to the program or by researching amazing women, we will each make our own contribution to society.

Here's the room:

Treats:

Table:

Program:

Presenters:

Me as Babe Didrikson

Eva the Rowing Coach from Conn College:

 

Listening to the others present:

All the Presenters:

Fun Photos:

 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Do you have a favorite teacher?

My Dad is a high school history teacher and he LOVES his job - mostly he loves working with high school students. He has them write book analysis. He puts cartoons on his exams. He has a wicked sense of humor and teases his students. He makes them cookies for fun holidays. He uses war games to teacher about battles. He's been teaching for several years and it's hard going into the town he teaches with him because I always hear students calling him over and chatting with him. This happens without fail: in the mall, in the grocery store, and two weekends ago at a stoplight. He also used to coach - football and women's lacrosse. My Dad works in a different district so I never had him as a teacher (both lucky and unlucky for me). In some families, he's taught two or three generations. He's certainly touched many lives. I'm immensely proud of him.

I have had several favorite teachers.
Here are the two biggest influences on me.
What do they have in common? They both challenged me. They both taught me skills that improved my way of looking at the world. They both had a sense of humor. They were always available if I had questions, concerns, or needed help.

High School: Mr. Everett from Fair Haven Union High School

He taught me English for three years and had the reputation of being the hardest English teacher of the bunch. Some tried to switch out of his class - I switched in. He was that good. He dissected novels and short stories. It was amazing how he looked at great works of literature. He vastly improved my poor writing skills. Plus he taught drama - I was terrible at acting. However, I did end up with assisting with the school plays and because of this experience, I found a job at college working in the theater.

College: Prof. Ciletti from Hobart and William Smith Colleges


She made me fall in love with Art History. I had her my first semester in college and she rocked my world. I took every class she offered. She expected a lot from her students. She would sing in class when no one answered her questions. She came into class one day with purple streaks in her hair, explaining that she bought the kit for her niece, but couldn't give it away. She made me look at the world differently - to see beauty and it's history.

When I went to Italy years later, I saw the art we talked about in class. It was amazing. I remembered her teachings and share my knowledge with Chris. We were both happy not to have to listen to our tour guide.