The Lemonade War

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies is about Evan and Jessie Treski, a brother and sister who start a competition that turns into a war -- a lemonade war. Whoever can sell the most lemonade in the 5 days left before schools starts wins, and winner takes all the money made at both lemonade stands.

I loved this book. Love love LOVED it. Let me tell you 3 reasons why:

1. An honest brother-sister relationship. Evan and Jessie don't always get along (obviously), but they don't hate each other every breathing moment. I'm so tired of reading the books where the siblings hate each other and only come to see how much they honestly care about each other at the end of the book for a happy ending.  I love how Davies portrays their relationship, how Evan really does love his sister but what she's done just makes him so mad that he just has to say those mean words, those words that feel like bugs crawling around in his mouth and he just has to say them even though he knows it's going to hurt Jessie's feelings. 
2. A two-point perspective on (mis)communication. Telling the story from both Evan's and Jessie's perspective illustrates so well how one person's actions or words can be so easily misconstrued by the other person, especially when feelings are already hurt and tempers riled.
3. Simple business explanations for kids (and adults!). Each chapter is based on a business principle--such as partnership, underselling, negotiation--- and how they apply in business, even as simple as a lemonade stand. They're easy to understand and 100% applicable to kids. Evan is good with people and Jessie is good with math, so the different strategies they use fit those strengths.
   

Those are my top three reasons, but there are so many more reasons to love this book: the true-to-life characters that you'll adore, the opportunities to teach (and to learn), the explanations of different problem-solving techniques, the sweet dynamics of the Treski family.

Final word: A+. You should read this book. It's a quick read (173 large-print pages) that is both entertaining and thought-provoking--my teacher-husband and I have had many discussions about topics in the book and how it could be used to teach both in the home and in the classroom. If you have children, read and discuss it with them, too. (For both parents and teachers, check out the website for teaching ideas.)

My Life in Ruins ruined my evening...

Author's note: Before reading this post, you should know two things about me:

1. It really bothers me to stop watching a movie in the middle, even if it's a terrible movie.
2. I always give the synopsis on the back of the movie case the benefit of the doubt.

The combination of these two things means that I pick up more terrible movies than the average person and I watch them from beginning to end. Now that you understand these two things, you may now continue reading.

My Life in Ruins is a romantic comedy starring Nia Vardalos and Richard Dreyfuss (not starring opposite each other, thankfully). It runs 95 minutes, which is exactly how much of your life you will waste if you, like I, decide to use your free redbox rental on this random movie that you've never heard of.

From Nia Vardalos, writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, comes the uplifting comedy My Life in Ruins. Georgia (Nia Vardalos) has lost her kefi (Greek for “mojo”). Discouraged by her lack... From Nia Vardalos, writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, comes the uplifting comedy My Life in Ruins. Georgia (Nia Vardalos) has lost her kefi (Greek for “mojo”). Discouraged by her lack of direction in life, she works as a travel guide, leading a rag-tag group of tourists as she tries to show them the beauty of her native Greece while waiting to land her dream job. Opening their eyes to an exotic foreign land, she too begins to see things in new ways—finding her kefi and possibly love in the process. --© Fox Searchlight

In short, this movie stank. And I have a very high tolerance for crummy movies, especially dumb chick flicks. Even for me, this movie was too much. I can't even find the words to describe how each vital part of it was so bad. The plot, the character development, the romance -- it's all stale and ultimately charmless. The only redeeming aspect of this movie was the beautiful scenery, which, unfortunately, often appears to be green-screened in. [It's not actually -- this was the first movie in over 50 years that the Greek government gave permission to film at the Acropolis because "they thought that it would help to promote Greek culture" (from IMDB, however reliable you deem that) Talk about FAIL.]

Final word: D-. (I don't give Fs.) Don't waste even your free redbox rental.

The basics

• Wife to an elementary school teacher
• Stay-at-home Mom to one beautiful boy
• BA Degree in technical writing

The good stuff:

• I have never broken a bone. Probably because I spend way more of my time planted in front of a computer than I do in the real world.
• I hate the word binky. I can't explain why, but I hate saying it. (I don't mind if other people do.) My husband hates the word potty, so I guess our child will be a pacifier-using kid who goes to the restroom (but hopefully not at the same time).
• I have terrible, terrible posture. Someday, I will be a hunchbacked old lady.
• Even though I am the child of an English teacher and (according to my diploma) an English major, I have never read most of the literature "classics." A large portion of my knowledge of literature comes from that lovable hound Wishbone.
• I hate folding cold laundry.  Most of our clothes end up quite staticky from being dried again and again (until I finally remember to pull them out in time) because I refuse to fold clothes that are cold. If I have to fold laundry, I'm going to get my fingers warm while I'm doing it.
• I have an inexplicable inability to follow directions. It's not just that I can't follow directions (that is mostly just when I'm operating a vehicle), it's that I won't. I (most) always have to change something to fit how I want it to be, whether it's changing a recipe to work with what I have on-hand in the kitchen, altering a sewing pattern to make it longer/shorter, or taking a basic [simple] idea and twisting it to meet my own wicked [complicated] ends. 

Get more of me:

• Follow my bookmarks on Delicious: http://delicious.com/nancemagic
• Be my friend on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/nancemagic

Seriously way behind

So, I am way behind. In life. And, more importantly to the topic at hand, in blogging. And, I'll be honest: There is absolutely no chance of me catching up anytime soon. I have one ginormous birthday present to finish in a week and about 8 other presents to finish by (or around) Christmas. So, instead, I'll give a you a teaser. Sometime after Christmas (and probably into 2010) look forward to seeing these features:

1. A show-and-tell of all my Christmas craftings (none of which are strictly Christmasy...)
   
2. Recipe reviews: Restaurant Ripoff Sweet Pork, Black Bean Soup, Gingerbread, Caramel Turtles, Ritz Thin Mints
3. What I think about movies, specifically 12 Angry Men, Inkheart, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Inherit the Wind, Star Trek.
4. More about the books I've been reading: Unlikely Heroes, Pictures of Hollis Woods, Smiles to Go, The Janitor's Boy, Lemonade Wars, and whatever I pick up at the library today
5. Whatever else pops into my head

Aren't you excited? And no, this post is really a teaser, not an online to-do list to remind me of what I need to blog about when that time comes -- why do you ask?