HAPPINESS IS WATERMELON SHAPED!: Puerto Rico

Happy last day of February! Thanks for checking in as I link up with Erika from A Little Bit of Everything and Andrea from Momfessionals for:

It's Been A Year....

One year ago this week, my husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. It's been a whirlwind of treatment, surgery, aftermath symptoms (hopefully, you don't know what this means), etc. Amazingly, his latest CAT scan and blood work look good. For the next several years, he will need follow-up testing every 3 months, but every day is a gift. Here's a picture of Matt from - what he calls - the "before times."

Since diagnosis, he's lost over 40 pounds. Due to his esophagectomy, his stomach has been greatly reduced and is located between his lungs. It's all amazing that medicine is this advanced.

Do you need a unique personalized gift?

When we went to San Juan last year, we were so enchanted with the art in this store: The Poet's Passage. We bought 3 personalized casita doors and 2 prints. Now my niece is engaged and has bought a house in Texas so I am ordering her a casita door, too!

I'm leaning toward this one, but I haven't made my final decision. I just think they're so colorful and fun!

Cuticle Cream Worth Checking Out!

My hands, especially my cuticles are so dried out right now. I've been using this Onsen cuticle cream, and I really love how it absorbs quickly and helping to moisturize my ragged cuticles:

Jane Brocket: Colorful Non-Fiction Books

Every Saturday I take my weekly trip to my local library. The first thing I do in the Children's Room is look at the new books. Lately, I've been trying to find more non-fiction picture books, and this week I was extraordinarily lucky to find a new-to-me series, Jane Brocket's Clever Concepts. Here are 2 examples:

Bright color and photographs automatically attracted me to these books as well as the math connections, shapes and patterns.

Circles, Stars, and Squares has beautiful pictures of real life examples of two and three dimensional shapes:

My students can always review different shapes as well as the difference between 2 and 3 dimensional shapes. Plus, look at those delicious pictures, and that's only one of the pages.

In Spotty, Stripy, Swirly, the pictures are equally vibrant and fascinating.

I know that I'm going to be on the look-out for patterns when I'm out and about.

If you want to learn more about this amazingly talented photographer, author and blogger, she has her own Substack.

That's it for now! I'm looking forward to more sun and daylight. What are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year! I wish you much health and happiness in 2024! I am linking up with Andrea from Momfessionals and Erika from A Little Bit of Everything for:

Books to Check Out:

Right now I am reading:

Click on cover to read more at Amazon!

This book details the lives of people who are experiencing change. The books takes place in England and Scotland. If you are looking for a comforting and easy book to read, this book is perfect for you!

In school, I am reading The One and Only Ruby by Christina Applegate to my class:

Click here or on the cover to read more at Amazon!

This is a heart-warming book that your students will love! It is the 3rd book in a series, but I am starting with this book so I don't think it is necessary to read all the books to enjoy this delightful story. Also, while I am reading the book, I record myself and post it to my You Tube channel if you'd like to listen there!

Favorite Ornament/Keepsake

My friend Carole gave me the perfect holiday gift:

It's from Ornament Shop.Com. I was just checking out the site, and there are personalized items for every event.

Trip to Puerto Rico

My husband and I finally made it to Puerto Rico for Christmas vacation. It is a vibrant place with plenty to do.

The top two pictures are from Old San Juan which is full of history and old buildings and streets. I definitely loved this part of the city the best (there is even a Marshall's!). The third pictures is an office building decorated for Christmas. Christmas is a long season in Puerto Rico: People start decorating after Thanksgiving, and the holiday doesn't end until Three King's Day on January 6th. In addition to Old San Juan, we went to the El Yunque rain forest and took a trip into the countryside.

Overall, it was an amazing adventure with great weather. The downside: I got my first case of Covid which I thought was a bad cold. Consequently, I needed to stay home an additional three days from school. I went back Friday so it's back to reality.