Academy of Urban Learning Black History Month Event

Kathleen & Matt

So, I asked Kathleen what book she and Matt had in common, so that I could make something for their wedding... 3 months later, this is what I ended up making for them:

I watched A LOT of Doctor Who and Sons of Anarchy...

Final Product:

The tree is a song that the couple sang/played during the ceremony (All the Way - Jimmy VanHeusen)

The birds are a collection of quotes that are the favorites of those read by wedding guests during the ceremony.

The "roots" are the signatures of the wedding guests. 

Frost and Fog and Caitlin

Nick, Caitlin and I planned to go to Crested Butte to take pictures of the aspens changing. But we were too early and they were still green. We were planning to camp. But it was freezing. So the end result is a whopping total of two pictures with aspens and a ton with frost and fog. All in all it was a great weekend and I'm happy with how the images turned out!

It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we mostly just walked around Crested Butte with Wheeler and Echo (Widget is a pain in the ass so he got left in Leadville).

Caitlin and I found a great shop The Gypsy Wagon. I wanted to buy everything, and almost did... Check them out! Also, how awesome are my socks?!

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

So, these are a thing. I made them for a co-worker's last day tomorrow. I don't want this to become a cooking blog too so let's just say that I'm posting photography that happens to be of food that I made... The cupcake recipe is here, and the frosting is here.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Boo's Knot

Started this for Lacie last year, and finally finished it! Wanted to share it before I sent it on to Montana!

Some Recent Audiobooks and (Finally) Book Two

So at the beginning of all this, I said that even though I wouldn't count them, but I would talk about the audiobooks I've listened to. One of my favorite parts of my job is that I can listen to books all day and I am more than a little addicted to Audible. It's a pretty cheap way of listening to audiobooks and is probably my most used app on my phone. As far as the book reviewing goes, I decided that I would try and comment on all of these within one post. Woo! Here we go!

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

Kids with cancer. I think that there are so many ways that this topic can go wrong. A lot of the time it's done in a preachy, or melodramatic way, but John Green handles the story with grace and intelligence. He reminds you that even though these kids have cancer, they are still kids. He does not put them on a pedestal because of their illnesses, but rather shows them the respect of making them into complete human beings, both the good and the bad. I read the book first and then listened to the audio after reading Looking for Alaska, because I wanted to compare them. I recommend both the book and audio.

Favorite Quote:
""Augustus Waters, " I said, looking up at him, thinking that you cannot kiss anyone in the Anne Frank House, and then thinking that Anne Frank, after all, kissed someone in the Anne Frank House, and that she would probably like nothing more than for her home to have become a place where the young anf irreparably broken sink into love"


Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras - Scott Westerfeld

I had read all this series but Extras as they came out starting with Uglies in 2005. It was one of those series that I wasn't incredibly attached to, but I kept wanting to know how it ended. I stopped with Specials in book form, because it had a definable end to the series. I was looking for audio to listen to at work and teen usually fits the bill. One of the YouTubers I watch was reading this series and it got me thinking that I should give it another try. I enjoyed it, and listened to all four books. I recommend it if you're looking for some interesting post-apocalyptic teen fiction. I was particularly interested in Westerfeld's description of how we basically killed ourselves off and how this society replaces us.



Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan

So I have linked the title to the paperback version of this book, but seriously, it doesn't do this story justice. You NEED to listen to the audiobook. This is the story of two high school guys named Will Grayson. Each author handles the story of one Will Grayson and the two do not meet until around the middle of the book. Will Grayson #1 has a best friend named Tiny, who eventually becomes very important to Will Grayson #2. Tiny is by far my favorite fictional character in a long time. The audio version of this book is so amazing simply because Tiny has written a musical of his life, entitled "Tiny Dancer" and the narrators sing the songs. "Summer of Gay" is amazing, and hilarious and it just doesn't come across as amazing in the print version of the book. Listen to it!!!


Trojan Odyssey - Clive Cussler

Ever since I saw the movie Sahara, I have pretty shamelessly enjoyed Cussler's Dirk Pitt series. This is the last of them and like the others, has some pretty amazingly unrealistic parts. If you're a fan of Cussler, there's a little bit at the very end that will make you roll your eyes, but also grin a little at the closure of the series. I'd recommend it as some pretty great adventure escapism!






Divergent & Insurgent - Veronica Roth

Usually I have the sense to make sure a series is done being written before I ever start it, because man do I hate a cliff-hanger. I remember losing it a little bit (okay, a lot) at a season finale of Dawson's Creek because I was so traumatized that I wouldn't find out what was going to happen for a WHOLE THREE MONTHS. So, with these books, I could not tell you why I read these two, knowing that the third isn't supposed to come out til this fall. Point being, I really liked them. Another perspective in the dystopic teen genre, I listened to these right after the Uglies series and I have to say, that I think that Veronica Roth did a better job with character development and suspense. I recommend them and I can't wait for the next one!


And FINALLY, book two!

I read Looking for Alaska after reading The Fault in Our Stars and I was disappointed. I wanted to reread (listen) to TFiOS again just to be sure that I wasn't building it up in my mind. Since reading LfA, I also listened to Will Grayson, Will Grayson and as you have already read above, I really enjoyed it. I have this addiction to the VlogBrothers YouTube channel and really wanted to like all of John Green's books but I really just thought that unlike his characters in TFiOS, the LfA characters were never really likeable. He does do a really good job dealing with grief and guilt, especially from a teen perspective, and he is really good at changing up the teen romance melodrama that is so unbelievably prevalent anymore, but I just really didn't like the characters say that I liked the book. I think it is worth a read simply because looking around online, my opinion is definitely in the minority but I probably won't be rereading this.