Cookie Monster Cake

I made this for my fourth period class after they had earned a reward for good behavior. They requested marble, but on the first attempt I found out that doesn't work well for tall 3D shaped pans. So this time it was Swiss Chocolate with homemade buttercream icing.


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Christmas Ornament 2009, Part 2

These are the other ornaments I made for my coworkers, minus one that I forgot to snap a picture of before it was taken home. There is also one I did for a friend's daughter. Some didn't get completed before Christmas due to supplies not coming in time. I guess I need to start in the summer this year.

This one was created for a team member who recently discovered he is diabetic. This is candy that he can have anytime.

This ornament was done for one of my partners in 6th grade social studies, I had made her a very girly ornament before and wanted to do something more fun. This is something that her boys can enjoy as well.

This was created for the science teacher on my team. I'm glad she didn't mind it being a little late.

This one was created for our choir teacher, she is a world traveler. She speaks several languages, including French. She will also be putting up with my kid in choir next year.

This was for our dyslexia specialist. She's another team member, and does a lot for our students.

This one was created for our first year teacher on the team. She put it up in her classroom right away. I'm glad she liked it.

Happy belated holidays to all, I hope you have a great 2010!

The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

The Gathering Storm is the first part of the last book of the epic Wheel of Time series. It is a book that fans, including myself, have been greatly anticipating and dreading at the same time. The reason for this is that Robert Jordan passed away due to a heart condition before the saga was complete. Brandon Sanderson was hand-picked by Jordan's widow to complete the final book in the series; however, fan concerns still lingered (at least among those of us that had never read Sanderson's work). It is very difficult for a fan base when a different author takes over, as seen when Brain Herbert resumed writing in the Dune universe made classic by his father.

The prologue that Mr. Sanderson wrote brought tears to my eyes. He apparently was inspired to become a writer because of the Wheel of Time books. He is kind enough to the fans, and smart enough, not to attempt to copy Jordan's writing style.When a new volume of Wheel of Time comes out, I usually reread the whole series (I have not read it 10 or 12 times, I've read it 3 times).  I chose not to reread the series this time for two reasons: I do not have the time, and I didn't want to have Jordan's writing style fresh in my mind. I admit it, I wanted to enjoy the book. Though I'm sure I will reread the books in there entirety again.

For those of you that are not familiar with Wheel of Time, it is simply put, a story in which the world's of Frank Herbert's Dune and Tolkien's Lord of the Ring are melded together. It is a story that has a very complex set of main characters, there are about 10 core characters, and about two dozen secondary characters that play a pivotal role to the story. You have Rand al'Thor, Mat Cauthon, and Perrin Aybara from a small town, they are dragged into a fight against the Dark One. Rand is the Chosen One, the Messiah figure, yet must have his childhood friends to be successful. This is an extremely simplified version of the premise of the tale. Jordan's style is very conversational and easy to read, his characters feel as if you could walk around the corner where you live and meet people just like them.

Now, for the actual book. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. All I wanted to do was read the book, I become engrossed in it. The pace was quick, the characterizations true to all the books that came before. Some major plots points from previous books were brought to conclusion, as is to be expected in a book approaching the climax of a series. We discover how the split in the White Tower turns out. Does Egwene get executed or succeed in her bid to become the recognized Amyrlin seat? Does Aviendha become a full Wise One? Can Rand make peace with the Seanchan so he can focus all his attention on the last battle? Some questions were answered, yet I was ready for more. When I finished the book, I was sad that I couldn't continue the story. I eagerly await the second part of the final book. Happy reading!

Christmas Ornaments 2009, Part 1

I love making presents for people. In fact, I usually plan way to many for my schedule, even though I started in early November I didn't get finished on time. So some will be delivered after the holidays. I took the pictures on my cell phone, so they are probably a bit fuzzy on the large scale.

This was for my planning partner in 6th grade, World Cultures.

This door hanger ornament was made for my 6th grade team leader.

I made this one for our team member that works with the afternoon tutoring program, and has the most adorable little baby girl.

This was made for one of my fellow social studies teachers, who is really into history and miniatures.

These were originally intended to be for my Secret Santa, but I didn't participate this year. I ended up giving them to my administrators and teachers that are very helpful to me in the classroom.

This one was made for our school librarian, to match her bubbling personality.

This one was created for our Technology Specialist, as she is the queen of our shiny stuff.

The Eyre Affair Review

I read this book years ago and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd read it again with my Second Life book club. I had forgotten much about the book since I last read it.

Jasper Fforde weaves a tale about a police detective, Thursday Next, who specializes in literary crime. Most of the time it is a very dull job, at least for most of the LiteraTecs. Thursday seems to attract adventure. Before becoming a police officer, she fought in the Crimean War. In this war, she lost her brother, and the love of her life. One to death, the other to the trauma of war.

The world of Thursday Next is a world of time travel, cloned extinct pets, and characters being kidnapped out of famous books. England and Russia have been fighting a war off and on for over a century. Her father is a time traveling fugitive that is trying to fix the past, so she rarely sees him.

Thursday's nemesis in this book is Acheron Hades. He is probably my second favorite character of the whole book. Thursday is drawn into this adventure because Hades was her professor in college, so she can identify him. He has the strange ability to locate people when they speak his name, seems to be invulnerable to any physical harm, and apparently has the ability to teleport and cause others to hallucinate. He commits evil acts for the pure pleasure and feels that to robbery for the sake of financial gain is low, common, and in poor taste.

Fforde combines adventure and comedy together very well. As an American, I know there are some references to part of London and England that I missed completely. There are many puns, some good, some come with a groan factor. I really enjoy the book, it was a fun read. I'm actually in the mood to read the rest of the series.