What I’m Reading: City of Bones by Michael Connelly, The Murder Book by Jonathan Kellerman and Sudden Prey by John Sanford. I’m such a multi-tasker!

What’s Going On: Well, I have been inspired by my college roomate Evie to begin keeping an online journal. I know that, most likely, the only reason she will be reading it is to see if she is mentioned, so I’ll just start off there. Hi Evie!

I’ll start out by telling about myself…a little crash course in Melanie for the uninitiated.

I am a fourth grade teacher in Northern California. Click below to view my professional portfolio:

http://fcpages.auntiemel.com/portfolio

I have a niece Mya and a nephew Joey, thus my handle, auntiemel. That’s what my nephew calls me, and it stuck as a nickname. My niece calls me Mimi.

I went to Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. Life is rough! My favorite band is Barenaked Ladies, followed closely by Ben Folds Five (They broke up! ARRGGGHHH!). My favorite author is Caryl Rivers, followed closely by Elizabeth Berg. My favorite TV show is Trading Spaces. Largely because my favorite celebrity hottie is their carpenter, Ty Pennington. Check out my personal website, www.auntiemel.com, if you’re panting to know more.

I spent a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I also visited Egypt and Greece. I really want to go back to Europe. I plan on doing so as soon as I can pay off my student debt and get a little money together…considering the massive nature of my student debt, that could be YEARS from now, but hope springs eternal.

As far as current events, I am “off track” right now, which means I’m on vacation from school. I teach at a year-round school, which means that rather than a traditional summer vacation, I get the months of November, March and July off. I do go back to work on Friday, though, so my idyllic month will be over.

I’m driving a new car…a Cranberry Saturn Coupe. I love it! I drove a used Infiniti during college that was a nice little car, but it had a LOT of miles on it. It was pretty nerve-wracking, wondering if it was going to work from day to day. I don’t have to wonder any more. Woo Hoo!

I think this is enough for my initial entry. More will be forthcoming.

Thanks for reading.