Read Aloud Roundup: December 2014

It can be hard to find winter holiday books that are appropriate for public school. Naturally, many of them are explicitly religious. Our community foundation is the arm of a church (admittedly one that recognizes many faith paths), and I'm sensitive to the appearance that we're preaching to the classroom. At the same time, most of the students are African-American or Latino and celebrate Christmas with their families, which I want to acknowledge. Additionally, some of the winter-themed stories focus a lot on snow... which San Francisco kids just don't have. So I usually use the December Read Aloud to introduce diverse or interfaith/intercultural holiday traditions. This year it falls in the middle of Hanukkah, and several of the books are about that celebration. Discussion usually centers on family traditions and what the children will do over their winter break.

Food This Week 25

Wow - with a whirlwind of holiday with the family and some scheduling mishaps that seemed to shorten the event, I was happy to fall into my bed last night after dragging piles of presents inside from the car. Highlights this Xmas:

• a red cloth coat
• hers-and-hers Sonicare brushes
• 4 large Kilner jars for pantry storage
• a homeowner's journal, in anticipation of our upcoming status
• a fancy rolling pin (for my sweetie)
• roast beast dinner
• turkey dinner
• hiding all of my sister's presents and leading her to them on Xmas morning! (in the garage, on the bookshelf she asked for)

For my feline-loving compatriots

LOL by sgt83007

Read Aloud Roundup (December 2013)

This month's reading session came right before the school closes for winter break. I found some fun stories about Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Solstice to share -- while many of them had a special lesson about giving, sharing, believing, or learning, I wanted the focus to be on the enjoyment of the story. There were a few bonus books this month -- mostly nonfiction titles that are supplementary, and definitely relevant, but not the best for reading aloud. There were also some special requests from the teachers. I love filling those! It's nice feeling more connected to the classroom curricula, even though I'm not there in person to discuss these things.

1) A hippopotamus 2) my two front teeth 3) you

...also, a yacht. Really, that's not a lot.

CC by Visit Cape May (Flickr)

I think Santa must be aware of this year's struggles in the battle between Naughty and Nice (just at this moment, I fear I have overdue fines on a handful of library books I've held onto for too long), but he's a pretty easy-going guy. And the season is treating me well so far. I mean, despite lacking space to put a Christmas tree in our apartment tonight, I was given the opportunity to decorate not one, but FIVE trees elsewhere -- all in 24 hours. Sweet.

Happy Turkey Day!

Posting from my parents' place. I was reminded of the holiday this morning, more than once. In some ways, today is just a Thursday I don't have to work. (I hope -- I'm on call in case something catches on fire at work.) But it was nice to wake up and take a walk with my dad and the dog, and then come back to make a big breakfast for the 4 of us (my sister will appear tomorrow, boyfriend in tow).

We'll have an early evening turkey dinner tonight at a local family friend's. Tomorrow we'll be at my aunt's, with about twice the number of people, for Friday Thanksgiving. I made "real" cranberry sauce for that. Hmmph. Oh, and last weekend I made another turkey. Used a pesto rub and roasted it breast-side down, and it was crispy and good. We had a couple meals of white meat, cranberry sauce (from a can! my favorite), and roasted sweet potato fries. Already broke down the bones for stock, and the leftover meat will become turkey burritos, turkey pasta, and turkey soup.

Hope that you're able to take a rest today (amid work, family, and kitchen duties) and appreciate all of your blessings. See you next week!

Read Aloud Roundup: November 2013

This month we had a number of holidays to choose topics from -- my selections for Read Aloud covered Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah. I had an extra Hanukkah book left over from last year, which was fortunate, 'cause the kindergarten book Veterans: Heroes in Our Neighborhood turned out to be written in stilted verse. The message was still inspiring, but the book was not as great as I thought it would be for reading aloud. Things got reshuffled. (And I ordered a used copy of How Many Days to America? by accident -- it was a withdrawn library copy with markings -- and managed to order a new one in time.) I included a "bonus" book that I can't use next month, as a backup in case any of the readers didn't like the assigned book. Here are the discussion questions for November.

Food This Week 20

Thanksgiving is here! Almost. We'll be eating a minimum of 3 turkey dinners next week, because the fixings are on sale, and because I loooooove turkey barley soup. This weekend I'll make a low-key turkey dinner and put up the turkey carcass for soup and extra sliced/shredded meat for planned leftovers. On Thursday, which most people in America know as Thanksgiving Day, my wife and I will be with my parents, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandfather (and perhaps assorted others) for dinner. This is a surprising twist, because my family always celebrates Thanksgiving on Friday (an excellent tradition). We'll be doing that as well, with a slightly different cast of characters -- largely because my wife has to work a double shift. (Customer service is like that.) So I'll have a weekend with my family, and she'll have a weekend of... driving.

2014 Travel Plans

As my wife and I discussed household plans and timelines the other day, I suddenly realized that we have a lot more plans to travel next year than we usually do. I'm a major homebody, but I enjoy the vacation planning process quite a lot. Guess it's time to start working on that savings goal! And book some reservations as well, in the next couple months. I'm glad I have enough vacation time.

Happy Pride!

My little sister said it best on Facebook:

Happy Pride, San Francisco!! And a happier Pride to those tying the knot this weekend, next weekend, and forever after!   

(My sweetie and I will be upgrading our domestic partnership to a first-class marriage next Sunday.)

Now off to the Treasury to count some cash donations. Stay hydrated and SPFed, everyone who's out in the crowd!

Xmas Savings Snowball

BOOYAH. (Or, if you'd prefer, Bazinga.)

Happy Spring! (Food and David Sedaris)

Last night we went to a leftist-Ashkephardic-English-language Seder where half of us were not of the tribe of Israel and exactly one could sing the Hebrew. The food was great. So was the company. I stuffed myself on gluten-free kugel and salad with avocado and orange, and laughed at the limericks with Yiddish punchlines. (The Ten Plagues finger puppets went missing, though... next year (in Jerusalem).) As the youngest in the room of speaking age, I not only read the 4 Questions but also was the one to find the afikomen. Yay!

Now we're headed to my aunt's for Easter brunch, where -- thankfully, perhaps -- she will serve quiche. I don't eat quiche, but I'm mostly full from Passover, so I'll be fine. I made some muffins, bought croissants, and I suspect there may be bacon. Or fruit salad. I'll get to see the little cousins, since this is the first Easter I've had free from church choir in about 6 years.

Then, once back at home, IF I could possibly be hungry for dinner, there are lamb shanks and roasted garlic from the slow cooker. I think we'll roast some (enormous!) Brussels sprouts and use the rest of the latke mix we opened on Good Friday. (Did I mention our household has an... eclectic sense of holiday?)

This is a track my beloved posts every year on Easter. It's only slightly more mixed up than we are. Enjoy.
David Sedaris talks about the Rabbit of Easter

Happy holiday of your choice, and may you have sunshine for it!

First Married Xmas: No One Cries, No One Dies

So overall a positive result. :) Very long details (and pictures, when I get them) behind the cut.

Actually, despite a few Grinchlike obstacles like heavy rains and my own body forcibly requiring me to rest, we enjoyed a series of low-key holiday events with friends and family. Sidenote: my family has lovely festive traditions that are largely secular. Not being Christian myself, I usually refer to my chosen holiday as Xmas (pronounced /ˈɛksməs/).

Keeping Up With Christmas

Well, unlike last year, I haven't gotten all my holiday shopping and wrapping done by now. Oof.

However, we've been through a wedding, a new job (hers), minor veterinary woes, and several concert performances in the last few months. I'm gonna give myself a break.

Here's what the plan looks like this year:

Read Aloud Roundup: December 2012

This month the volunteers read on on a day just before school let out for break. I picked out books to touch on several winter holidays: Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice. I'd purchased Mrs. Greenberg's Messy Hanukkah, but somehow it didn't make it into the stack. I'll have to put it aside for next year. :/

Every little bit helps!

In addition to yesterday's FB-blasted emergency cat post (which was retweeted by Neil Gaiman himself -- what a guy!), I've been making small contributions to multiple other charities and non-profits. 'Tis the season, after all! And even though I can't help everyone, or send as much as they need, my motto for the season is "Every little bit helps!"

Have a look, and maybe you will be inspired to help a little bit.

Savings Goals update

My biggest financial goal in 2012 is to save or donate a combined 50% of my take-home income. The savings are split among a handful of smaller goals. I keep these tickers going for inspiration, but here's a little more detail about each one.

Post-Xmas: The Haul

So, did you get something nice in your stocking?

My sweetie and I spent the weekend with my family about an hour away. (Well, I stayed there and she drove back up to work overnighters at her second job. After her recent bike-car accident and missed shifts, we can't really afford to turn down holiday pay.) We all had two massive dinners (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) and opened a TON of presents -- I thought this was going to be a small Christmas, but with my sister out of the country and away for the first year ever, it seems like some of her gifts found their way into my pile.

Excellent presents I received:

-FitBit fitness tracker that doubles as a pedometer and a sleep monitor
Along with the usual goal of 10,000 steps/day, I can keep an eye on how long it takes me to fall asleep and how many times I waken. This info is wirelessly transmitted to my computer and updates my FitBit account, so I have records of my sleep and activity.

-Laptop Lunchbox Bento 2.0 system
This purple beauty will promote bringing lunches to work during the week instead of buying food. It includes a drink bottle and silverware as well as a space for a chillpack if necessary (I usually park my lunchbox in the office fridge).

-Scrabble Slam
Santa produced this card game, which combines my love of words and -- I THOUGHT -- my competitive spirit, as it was packaged using words like "slam" and "slap". I figured it would be like slapjack, and I'd get to hit people if I were quick. No such thing, I found out. But it's still a fun game.

I got super-excited about a set of Eggies that my sweetie got for me (so she doesn't have to peel soft-boiled eggs when my Vitamin D-deficient demands for them come in rapid succession), and she was equally enthusiastic about a set of magnetic spice containers that I got her. I also received a gift certificate for a scrub and massage at a local Korean spa I frequent -- or try to, when I have the time and the funds -- and a gift card from Pasta Pomodoro for a dinner out with my sweetie. From my godmother, a woman more frugal than I can ever aspire to be, I got a calendar from 1984 (the year I was born) that can also be used in 2012 and 2040!

Ahead of Schedule on Cyber Monday

Continuing in my tradition of finishing things long before they are due (why can't I apply this to school papers?), I am now 100% done with Christmas shopping.

First, like Santa, I made a list. Last year I used this spreadsheet from Lifehacker, and it worked so well that I added a new sheet (copying over the formulas from Gift List, and then changing the name of the sheet referenced for the Gift Info formulas) and brought it back this year. I wrote down all the people that I wanted to give gifts to (and also tossed in the three birthdays during December and January -- I refuse to make a holiday gift do double duty) and ideas for what to get them.

I also set a budget. Your budget is up to you -- what you can afford and what you think is appropriate. As a student with many savings goals, I found it best to minimize spending, so I discussed having a small Christmas with my sweetie a couple months ago. We'll still travel to see my family, but we skipped decorating our place this year. (The apartment really doesn't have room for a tree, anyway.) It's also understood that we'll give each other one or two smaller gifts, and nothing extravagant. This is a tradeoff for having the wedding we want next year -- and living debt-free in general.

The next step was to select gifts for each person. There are two basic approaches -- knowing exactly what to get someone and searching for the best price, or seeing what is out there and deciding whether a good deal would also make a good gift. I looked at my family's gift lists, which was easy because my cousin created a database that catalogues each person's wishes and who (if anyone) has signed up to give that gift, and keeps that information hidden from the recipient (but visible to others so there's no overlap) until after delivery. As I come across things I covet during the year, I add them to my eGiveIt list (making sure to update before my birthday and before the holidays). Others on my list had Amazon wishlists (like this one I'm shamelessly plugging for my Read Aloud program). I subtly (and not so subtly -- some of them were tough to hint to!) quizzed friends who don't have such a list. And I looked at a lot of the holiday promotional emails -- more than I usually would -- to see what was on sale. Although I'm in the demographic that doesn't take kindly to stores pushing Christmas decorations and carols before Thanksgiving, I'm up for a deep discount any time of year!

You've still got time, and the sales have just begun. Next weekend is actually a great time to shop, because retailers will have an excess of stock that wasn't sold on Black Friday. Why not make a plan and get your own list out of the way?