We've come to the end of the Better Living Through Criticism blogging challenge.  This professional critic declares it a success.

Now, on the heels of a busy month of scintillating reviews, I've decided to start another new blog feature, which is the Quarterly Review.  It's going to be a series of little lists, and I know everyone will enjoy them.  I aim to do them at the end of March, June, September, and December.

Here we go:

The Three Best Books I Read in the First Quarter: 

• The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin. A middle grade novel certain to captivate. Sweet, emotional, heartfelt, and convincing.
• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. A Harry Potter nerd's paradise. Sisters, first love, coming-of-age.
• The Martian by Andrew Weir. Super sciencey, but also hilarious and suspenseful. A total package. And the movie stars my celebrity boyfriend, Matt Damon.

• 2016 NBA Slam Dunk Contest - Aaron Gordon vs. Zach LeVine.  Okay, although I don't personally recommend this video, I will say that now that I've been forced to watch it (that's what you get for asking for help from your children when you blog), I can tell you that some of the dunks are truly remarkable.
• 2016 College Lacrosse Promo.  Shef is obsessed with lacrosse.  I'm not, though.
• Giant Basketball Arcade Battle - Dude Perfect.  These are some dudes who do competitions with each other.  This time, they do skee-ball with a baskeball on a giant ramp.  It's kind of dumb, but oddly hypnotic.

Three Blog Posts by Other People that Really Rocked It:

• Requiem for a Crock Pot Dish by Pronto Pup. Features the usual humor, but also with a hilarious dash of failure. This is the only recipe Pronto has featured that resulted in a trip out for dinner.
• Sankalpa 4 by Leeway. Something about The Bachelor contestants living a wide awake life really makes me laugh.  Also, it makes me laugh that Lee talks about texting her husband while competing on The Bachelor.  This reminds me of how Dan and I discuss how our hometown dates would be really fun: "I really hope Krystal likes my wife and kids. If she doesn't, it could be a real deal breaker."
• New Yorker! by Rachel. My sister has really excelled at being a new blogger.  This entry about changing the address of her New Yorker subscription is spot on.

I'm not really a sci-fi gal in general, and neither is my #TwinTuesday artistic partner, Lee.  That's the beauty of this week's offering.  Obviously, as literacy educators, we're all about books (expected), but not really all about sci-fi (unexpected).   Next, pair the books we haven't read with a little leather, and we've got an edgy combo.

Speaking of edgy, let me professionally review the first three books of The Selection Series by Kiera Cass.


As you might guess from the covers, the books are sort of silly and overwrought.  Ordinarily when a series captivates a large percentage of my students, I'll read the first installment and then beg them breathlessly to tell me what happens in the others.  I've done this with Marie Lu's Legend series, Veronica Roth's Divergent series, and Robert Muchamore's Cherub series, to name a few.  But The Selection!  Cass winds romance, jealousy, violence, rebellion, and class warfare into the irresistible story of the fetching and fiesty America Singer, a struggling low-caste musician who enters The Selection - the competition to become the wife of Prince Maxon Schreave.  I read the first three books one after the other, even purchasing the third for myself because I couldn't wait for the school library copy. Cass's writing becomes crisper and more lively as the books progress.  The plot, while predictable on a basic level, also twists and shifts pleasurably.  These are solid three-star books.  Silly, yes, but also addictive, clever, and super fun. If not for the covers, I'd even think Shef would like them.  Maybe the publisher can reissue the series with the male leads on the covers?  That's my suggestion to increase readership with the male-identified.

The children and I made it back from Chicago and are on a one-day travel reprieve until we sally forth to Vail, Colorado.  I will now professionally review our first 2016 spring trip.

Navigation: 5 of 5 stars for my beautiful and talented sister, Mary.  She sat by my side while I piloted the miniature van. She expertly and efficiently consulted Google maps and assisted me in paying my tolls online.  I paid online on purpose because who wants to stop and pay tolls?

Companionship: 5 of 5 stars.  There was minimal arguing and deft cooperation at almost all times.  The children preferred to Uber rather than walk, which was kind of disappointing as I'd rather perambulate of my own power. Still, we balanced the options accordingly to optimize everyone's happiness and comfort.  Of course, I reveled in the constant presence of my sister, who tends not to live in Minnesota or even the USA.  She still gets 5 of 5 stars, even though I have abandonment issues.

Sights, Attractions, and Dining: 5 of 5 stars.  Have you been to Chicago?  It's really one of my favorite cities.  This time, I visited some old stand-bys - Frontera Grill, the shops of Michigan Avenue - and had some new-to-me adventures, including SkyDeck (formerly known as The Sears Tower) and Lou Malnati's Chicago-Style Pizzaria.  I keep wanting to go to the Shedd Aquarium and not going to the Shedd. I know I'll be back in Chicago soon, however, and the Shedd will top my list.

Accommodations: 5 of 5 stars.  When we got to the Renaissance on West Wacker Drive, we were surprised to find the lobby stuffed with Iowa State basketball enthusiasts.  "What's happening?" we asked.  "The team is staying here," the crowd replied.  Sure enough, right during the chaos of check-in, very tall and headphoned individuals streamed off the elevators and high-fived the throng.  At this point, the desk agent tried to assign me a room with only one bed.  "That won't work," I said amiably. "I have four people, as I indicated on my online reservation."  The agent retreated to the office and came back with the news that I'd been awarded a complimentary upgrade to a huge-ass suite with a full view of the Chicago River, and less desirably, Trump Tower.  Huzzah!

Overall: Clearly, this trip was 5 of 5 stars.  Because the children were charming and agreeable and mostly appreciative of the experience, I felt like planning another trip.  "What city should we visit next?"  The answer was quick and definitive: LA.  Noah and Rachel, we're coming for you.

As you may know, I turned 38 years old this week.  I'll now review my 38th year.  That was last year.  It seems like it should have been my 37th year, but after thinking about it carefully for at least 60 seconds, I've deterimned it was my 38th.

In any case, the year has been momentous for many reasons.  First, we introduced Teddy Bridgewater the Goldendoodle to our family.  I'm pretty much the only one who loves Teddy here, but that's okay.  He's my dog.  He's exuberant and filled with potential.  We've had a set-back in the last couple of days in that I decided to skimp on my chew budget and fed him sub-par rawhide sticks from Target.  Explosive diarrhea ensued, and I now have an occasion to professionally review a cleaning product called "Anti-Icky Poo" by MisterMax.  I'm giving it 5 of 5 stars.

More momentousness came in the form of my long-lost siblings Rachel and Noah who are now no longer lost, but are rather on speed dial.  It's a miracle.  I give them both 5 of 5 stars.

A final momentous moment is now.  I'm on a family trip to Chicago with my sister Mary and my two wonderful and amazing children. All three of my companions earn 5 of 5 stars.  The drive was utterly splendiferous with sunshine and blue skies and peaceful riders who refrained from arguing for a full seven hours.  Our Chicago-style pizza featured mild sausage and a buttery crust.  The pool delighted my younger companions, and Mary and I only got in minimal trouble for sipping Chardonnay on the deck. The trip is 5 of 5 so far, and I expect this to continue.

Oh, dear.  What's happened is, it takes a lot longer to write these thoughtful reviews than it does to dash off my usual flippancy. Therefore, March hasn't been super prolific.  Luckily, I went to a concert last night, which I will now review.  To prep for this work, I've listened to a podcast featuring a music critic and read a couple of reviews on music sites.  It's clear from this research that I have neither the content knowledge, nor the passion to effectively review the concert.  However, I won't let these barriers get in my way.

yMusic opened for José González at the Pantages Theater in downtown Minneapolis last night.  yMusic is a chamber ensemble, producing swirling atmospheric sound. Brass, winds, and strings meld and careen.  The back-lighting catches the loose bow strings of the cello and violins. Rhythm coalesces and then spirals out. One piece, "Music in Circles," echoed the sounds of an air conditioner (this was the actual, reported inspiration of the composer) and seemed also to incorporate sonic whooshes of a sneeze.  Later, I'm going to listen to this piece again.

I was expecting a rock concert, so the avant garde classical vibe really threw me for a loop, and I couldn't stop laughing.  This had nothing to do with the quality of the performance and everything to do with my own immaturity.

After a few pieces, González took the stage.  I dug his intricate, spider-webby acoustic riffs.  His voice is whispery and understated.  He sat stage right and as if by magic, yMusic reappeared after a few songs.  Together, the seven musicians mesmerized.  The flautist started singing.  The trumpet player swapped that instrument for a French horn.  A wind player interchanged an oboe for a sax for a clarinet.  It wasn't a rock concert, but it was really something.

Am I glad I went to the José González show?  100%.  Do I wish I were smarter about musical style and technique? 100%. Increased skillz would have increased enjoyment in this case, almost certainly.  And that's saying something because I did really enjoy it.

I'm still kicking with the green smoothies three or four times per week.  The reason I'm no longer a daily drinker?  It's laziness, pure and simple.  It seems like soooo much work to get the ingredients and blend the smoothie.

The key component of a green smoothie is the greens.  I like a specialty mix of baby kale, spinach, and swiss chard. I push the frozen greens into my single-serve blending receptacle first thing. My milk choice is a coconut/almond blend, poured almost to the top of the greens.  Half a banana adds silkiness and drinkability. In terms of the frozen fruit, I prefer mango, pineapple, or peaches. Do you know what's disgusting in a green smoothie?  Berries.  This is personal preference, but it's also the truth.

For stir-ins, I'd steer readers to a vanilla protein powder which lends just a bit of sweetness.  Mel turned me on to Orgain protein powder, which is thus far, my clear favorite. In the last week, inspired by re-reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall,  I've been adding Chia seeds. Chia is the superfood of many a distance runner, including the endurance superfreaks of the Tarahumara tribes in the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  The issue with adding Chia?  The seeds don't get pulverized in my Ninja blender, and instead the little pellets get stuck in the grooves of my molars. This irritates me, but it doesn't negate the nutritional benefits of Chia. I'm sure there's Chia powder, but I haven't yet investigated this.

Overall, I give give green smoothies 4.5 of 5 stars.  They're excellent, but I don't make them each and every day.