My mornings are brighter thanks to this new product.  I have never been much of a coffee drinker until very recently.  As a new coffee connoisseur, I didn’t want to invest in too large of a machine that made coffee I would end up wasting. . . I currently drink only one cup about every other day.  My sister-in-law recommended this new single-serve appliance and so I researched.  Grading Girl’s verdict is in:  this is amazing – just like its site boasts!

Tassimo Hot Beverage System

What I love about my new TASSIMO Hot Beverage System is the versatality and ease.  I can make a Starbucks® blend one morning, a green tea another, a hot chocolate on the third, and a latte on the fourth – all with no fuss or mess. 

Here’s how it works!  You simply place the cute little ingenious TASSIMO Disc (T DISC) into the machine. Each T DISC contains a precisely measured amount of coffee, tea, chocolate, or concentrated milk, and is sealed to protect the invigorating flavor inside.  These discs allow you to make coffee, real espresso, milk-based lattes and cappuccinos, tea and rich hot chocolate. Each cup is freshly brewed to celebrate its true character!  Another thing that sold me on this machine versus others is the brands available with the TASSIMO – Starbucks®,Seattle’s Best, and Maxwell House to name a few.  No need to make the frantic morning run! 

All the brewing happens inside the T DISC using a unique inverse flow.   Your beverage pours directly from the T DISC into the cup so you can prepare different drinks, one after the other.  This leaves no room for mess so you can zip off to work without a worry.  It even easily converts for three different sized cups.  My thermos for work fits perfectly; the coffee brews directly into my thermos!  Additionally, the TASSIMO system also comes with its own water filter to ensure that healthful, pure water is used.  

Yes, you do have to use the TASSIMO T-Discs, but they are easy to find.  I currently get mine at my local Bed, Bath and Beyond.  They can also be ordered at the TASSIMO website directly.  They even offer a subscription program where you get a certain number of T-discs each month for a somewhat discounted price.  I may try this. . .

I’m looking forward to hosting another party to show this off.  Now my guests will be able to request their own flavors!  The machine will make 6 single-servings in a row before the water will need to be refilled.  How fun!! 

By the way, my school’s special education department is using this system for their new coffee sales program.  During the morning, students visit each department office offering coffee to the teachers.  They come around with the TASSIMO on a portable cart.  Because of the TASSIMO’s versatile, single-servings, teachers are able to choose from a wonderful menu of beverages.  Teachers line up for this!  Thank you, TASSIMO!

Grading Girl gives the TASSIMO hot beverage system an A for versatality without the mess of a traditional coffeemaker.  One could spend hundreds of dollars investing in a coffeemaker, latte machine, and espresso maker – this one system includes it all in one fair price.

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Over the summer, I was inspired and awakened after reading Kelly Gallagher’s Readicide:  How Schools are Killing Readers and What You Can Do About It.  Kelly Gallagher is a high school English teacher in Anaheim, CA whose theories I’ve been advocating and utilizing for a few years.  Four years ago, I designed our school’s sophomore reading strategies classes based on his philosophies in  Deeper Reading: Comprehending Challenging Texts, and Teaching Adolescent Writers afforded me new creative opportunities with my senior expository writing students.  

Readicide talks about the “mind-numbing” practices in our schools that turn students off to reading such as the overuse of study guides and paragraph-by-paragraph overanalysis of literature.  He illustrates data-based research to show just how drastically reading is dying before offering specific strategies to curb this epidemic.  It’s a quick read – it took me all of two hours to sweep through.  For those that haven’t read it, GG highly recommends it!

During our department meeting today, we viewed the 20 minute DVD Gallagher produced that depicts his guidance with the Article of the Week (AoW).  AoW is one of the practices he advocates to curb ‘readicide.’  He points out that while his 9th grade English students could analyze characters in Lord of the Flies, they didn’t know how to discern Al Quaeda from Al Gore nor could they identify the current Vice President of the United States.  This brings up a great point – most students don’t read outside of the classroom; most students are current-event-illiterate.  AoW combats that.  It involves sharing a current events article (i.e. Business Week, Wall Street Journal, etc) with the class at the beginning of the week and then asking them to turn in a response along with evidence of active reading at the end of the week. 

Gallagher graciously shares all articles he used last year for his 9th and 10th grade English classes along with his current collection he is beginning this year.  He shares them on his website, kellygallagher.org.  He asserts that AoW is now practiced in every single English classroom at his school; consequently, students leave the building at the end of the year having read approximately 140 pertinent articles they would otherwise have not been exposed to.

I am definitely incorporating AoWs into my reading classes as well are many of my colleagues.  I am using some of Gallagher’s articles along with my own.  Grading Girl gives Readicide an A+ for eye-opening data, researched reasonings, and practical strategies that assist teachers with helping students gain back an interest in reading and, thus, an interest in life.

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Is he the next rising teen star?

A friend of mine recently sang at the infamous open mic night at BlueBird Cafe in Nashville, TN.  While there, he met many musicians, wanna-bes, producers and agents.  One person that struck a chord was 16-year old Casey Lee Smith who came down from Arizona to sing at the BlueBird.  While my friend claimed Casey was amazing, I was skeptical being that he is 16.

Always looking for the opportunity to review, I paid a visit to Casey’s web site, www.caseyleesmith.com.  The second I clicked on his music, I was touched.  In fact, it’s playing in the background as I blog and four of his songs are already on my ITunes (and I’m a discerning downloader).  Heartfelt lyrics, friendly vocals, and harmonious instruments leave your toes tapping and heart smiling.  Casey’s style is part country, rock, blues all fused into one unique sound.   But don’t let his age fool you – he appeals to teens, adults and everyone in between!  The younger crowd will appreciate his blue-eyed, curly -haired charm and the more mature audience will connect with his spot-on lyrics.

My favorite song is “Losing You,” a song about a broken relationship.  As Casey writes:  “When you’ve screwed up your relationship, there’s nothing to do but point to where the blame belongs. Me.”  “Losing You” is a ballad for anyone who’s felt that regret after a hard-to-get-over break up.  Grading Girl predicts this will be number one on the charts someday soon!!  “Chasin’ Tin Cans” is a fun, raucous, rock song written about, of all things, running barrels.  Any woman, however, will feel empowered singing along to the lyrics “She’s moving like a rocket ship, blood surging through her vains.”  A country “Barracuda” song!  “Never Stood Taller” is a celebratory song about his grandfather being baptized as an adult and proclaims “He never stood taller than when he’s on his knees. He never was stronger than when his head is bowed.”  Very spiritually powerful . . . and what a beautiful subject to write about.  That’s what is amazing about Casey’s songs – the maturity in his lyrics shine through so that we learn something after listening.  His songs help us reflect on our own experiences, misgivings, and triumphs.

According to his site, Casey has been singing and playing instruments at a very early age . . . piano, banjo, guitar are among those he brings to life.  He attends the Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics.  It takes dedication, persistence, and discipline to harbor your talent from very young on.   Grading Girl gives Casey Lee Smith an A for remarkable early talent and an undoubtedly bright future.  Sounding this polished at age 16, I dare imagine what he will sound like in a few years.  Casey Lee Smith -  memorize that name.  You’ll be hearing it again.

October 26th update:  Grading Girl just received word that Casey Lee Smith won the Colgate County Showdown.  Now it’s on to Regionals and then Grand Ole Opry, here he comes!   Like I said, “Watch out, Jonas Bros!”

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Time for Grading Girl to act as TLC @ the movies!!  I’m a firm believer that one can’t see too many movies or read too many books!!!  Both provide an entertaining outlet or informative tool, both open us up to vicarious experiences we may not achieve in real life such as traveling to strange lands or achieving grandiose feats, and both open us up to different point of views that provide new perspectives on our own lives.  In other words, books and movies help us live more consciously!!!

The Proposal is one of those walk-out-of-the-theatre-smiling movies.  It was funny, entertaining and charming.  It is a story of a pushy editor-in-chief of a publishing company, Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock), who forces her young assistant, Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), to marry her in order to keep her Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation to Canada.  He grudgingly accepts, under the condition that he is promoted to the position of editor. When the government investigates, the two are forced to spend the weekend with his parents in Alaska in order to sell the lie. The family suggest they could marry the same weekend, and they reluctantly accept. The problem is that they start to fall genuinely in love as they spend more and more time together. 

I found myself smiling through much of this movie as I watched the family (including lovable cast members Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, and Betty White) warmly welcome Margaret to their home with open arms.  I found myself laughing out loud as I watched Margaret try to acclimate herself to the unique traditions of the family while fighting her confusing feelings toward Andrew at the same time.  Sandra Bullock transitions effortlessly from the icy, stoic boss to the charmingly clutzy girl out of her element.  She still steals the show at age 44 and the first nude scene of her career (the funniest scene in the movie!) proves she still commands the screen.  I have to admit I didn’t know who Ryan Reynolds was before this movie.  His biggest claim to fame before this movie was X-Men Origins:  Wolverine.  This week’s Entertainment Weekly proclaims him as the “Our New Favorite Leading Man.”  He’s certainly easy on the eyes and his portrayal of Andrew displayed his sweet, sensitive comedic side.  The two stars certainly have a magnetic chemistry despite their age difference. 

There is plenty of rustic scenery to back-up the chemistry (with Massachusetts standing in for Palin country), and the absolutely adorable Samoyed family puppy steals a few scenes as well (GG loooooves this doggy!!!!).  The only problem I have with this movie is that the buildup of their genuine feelings eventually leads to some tired and silly flourishes.  There is one scene, in fact, that is so outwardly predictable it becomes cliche.

In the end, Grading Girl gives “The Proposal” a solid B.   If you want a fun movie that will make you smile, laugh and remember that life can have happy endings, go see this movie.  It progresses to the somewhat predictable ending rather quickly but it provides great entertainment.  GG recommends it for a summer night movie!! 

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