final reflective post

Ms. A, my English 101 teacher, http://thepurpleenglishteacher.wordpress.com/ , is the only reason I've created this blog. Until recently, I hated computers! With little experience, I never could accomplish what I set out to do. During this semester I became more familiar with computers and the writing process. 
 At first, I felt uncomfortable posting my thoughts on the Internet. Many of my post's are personal, as I like to write about things I know about. But once I got started, I really enjoyed the process. It's almost healing in a way to get some of these thoughts out. Not that I wrote about any great conflicts, but seeing my thoughts collected this way helped me to understand why I feel the way I do about certain things. I truly write what I'm thinking. I was also concerned about opening myself up for ridicule. I've never been a strong speller or had the best sentence structure. I was teased a lot when I was younger for that. Instead of making me work harder, I just gave up. After I realized this was informal, I was able to relax and let the word's flow. I never thought I would have so much to say or have this many post's. Honestly, I'm glad we blogged and this class was not a bunch of research paper's.
 I never realized how often I use the word has, or is.  Working on more descriptive writing has been difficult and rewarding. I do a lot of revision. I read my work over and over to my family and ask for feedback. When I'm finally finished, I'm  proud of my final story, even though,  I'm sure there are more kinks to work out. I believe Ms.A has succeeded in helping me write fearlessly. I think that must have been her mission all along. Maybe she just wanted to get us writing. 
Over all, I have enjoyed my first semester of college and the knowledge I have acquired. I enjoyed Ms.A's class so much, that I sought her out for next semester.

What is a place. rewite

What is a place?

XXXX Olga road. This would be my address. I never owned a home before this one. A lot goes in to finding a place to purchase. Our agent might say, location, location, location, but I needed a place for my children to call home. A place that they could always come back to for warmth and comfort. The perfect place to make all the memories worth remembering and sharing.

When My husband and I started thinking of purchasing a home, we tried to decide what the  important key features would be. We strongly believe in being more self sufficient and wanted some acreage, running water and trees.  We wanted the opportunity to hunt and fish, farm and garden. To play outside, run and be loud. Nothing too close to any roads or neighbors.When we finally got serious about looking, we asked our agent to email us listings to view, so that we could choose the places that were worth driving up to see. We were in Grove Oklahoma at the time, and had to drive around three hours to get up here to see them.

I'll never forget the day we first drove out to look at our place. It was a cold, drab day in early spring. We were all bundled up in our scarves and coats. It seemed that we had been in the car forever! I recall driving down Hwy 60 East, and spotting a milk dairy with the words "milk in glass bottles" painted on it's roof. I thought the idea of fresh milk and cream in the glass bottles was so neat, I could not wait to go in and check it out. As we made the turn on to Z Hwy we could see the Bryers peach orchard sign. The thought of making fresh cobblers and jams from local growers was exciting to us.

The highway twisted and turned in every direction before we reached the driveway. As we pulled in, it started to snow and the first thing I noticed was a tree lined drive with the most beautiful, white blossom plum trees. They almost glowed against the gray backdrop of the sky.  At least twenty of them. You could not see the house from the road, but we passed a small pond right off the side of the drive. As soon as we topped the incline of a small hill, our view opened up to a large, well manicured lawn, with lots of mature, trimmed trees, and in the clearing was our home.

The brown ranch style house was not magnificent by any means, but it has appeal to all of us, plenty of room, a basement, and is sturdy built. Everyone would have their own room and not have to fight over bathroom time. The bonus feature for me was the large country size kitchen and pantry. It turned out to be ideal for making the big, traditional, family style meals for any occasion. Joshua was sold on the lush forest and abundant wildlife. As for the kids, they can play outside without us worrying about someone nabbing them from the yard, or hitting them with their car. Now we worry about them sneaking down to the fish infested  Finley River, which boarders two sides of our property or running in to a black bear, which we see from time to time on our place. Bears had nearly vanished from Missouri but began to recolonize following reintroductions in Arkansas (Misissippi). The river actually separates our property from the land my parents just purchased. I can almost imagine them swimming across to get over to Ma and Pa's side.

Since the time of purchase, we have been the host to many birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, and bottle rocket wars. The house gets filled to capacity with guests and the party spill out into the yard. Walking outside and hearing the childrens high pitch  laugh and watching them sprint from each other or race to the next destination is magical. We love possessing the space to entertain and create a fun environment for gatherings.

Many people in our community visited our home before it was technically ours. We actually purchased it from  our neighbors the Wright's. They own the farm right next to us. They bought the place for one of their daughters, but she was unable to live out this far due to a medical condition. Most of the land out here belonged to Mr.Wrights grandparents. Everyone in our circle of friends say we live in the old Kingsberry place (Williams). All I know of them would be, they were the ones who built house. We just tell people we live down Olga Road, on the Finley River.

The Finley River, a tributary of the James River, gets its start in the high land around Cedar Gap. That's about a 30 minute drive from our home. It flows east to west for a distance of 52.8 miles. Though it starts in Webster County, 48 miles of its length are in Christian County the with final 3 miles in the northeast corner of Stone County. Only the last 19 miles are floatable in high or medium-high water(ozarksfishin).   
The Finley River  has a waterfall. This picture, taken in Ozark Missouri, looks like a perfect place for a family photograph or picnic (Quessenberry).



We have not had the pleasure of taking our canoe on an adventurous ride down the Finley, but hope to get the chance soon. Cutting wood and watering the chickens take up a lot of our free time, But with five sets of hands to help with the chores, it goes by fast.

We speculate about what life will be like around here, after the kids are grown. It breaks our hearts to think of them running off and settling somewhere else. If it were up to Joshua and I, the kids would build a place of there own on the back side of the property and we would get to hear the sounds of our grandchildren reliving their parents childhood. Now that's what makes this place perfect to me.

Works Cited

http://ozarksfishin.wordpress.com/rivers/finley-river/. Blog at WordPress.com. The Fusion Theme., 2011. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.     

Misissippi State University. http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/carnivore/mo_bear/index.asp. Ed. Jerrold Belant, Jeff Beringer, and Lori Eggert. Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.   

Quessenberry, Derek. Http://www.derekquessenberryphotography.com/landscapes/finley-river-bridge/. 2013. http://www.derekquessenberryphotography.com/, San Francisco, California. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.

Williams, Judy A. Personal interview. .         

Cindy is a very studious college student. She is younger than the majority of the students, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and is usually dresses like crap, but other than that , is very attractive and has an athletic build. Cindy is thin with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup and can be high maintenance. Some might think her to be rude because she is so busy, but in fact she is friendly and talkative to people and always makes time to play video games with her friends. She's a gamer. Keeping her pace has really turned her in to quite messy person. Cindy sometimes forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all, she is a great person.
9  weak 2B Verbs

Are you an introvert or an extravert?

September 6, 2013

I believe I could be both. My household might tell you I'm extraverted. I get mad or upset and have no trouble letting those around me knowing I am displeased. I sometimes do have trouble holding in my feelings, good or bad one's. But I can be quite shy and reserved around people I don't know. Maybe I am more on the extraverted side. There is alot more to say about my outgoing nature than my shy nature. 

What is a place? (prewrite)

XXXX Olga road. This is my address. I had never owned a house before this one. A lot goes in to finding a place to purchase. You always hear, location, location, location, but I needed a place for my children to call home. A place that they could always come back to for warmth and comfort. The perfect place to make all the memories worth remembering and sharing.

When My husband and I started thinking of purchasing a home, we were trying to decide what some  important, key features would be. We are very in to being more self sufficient and wanted some acreages, running water and trees.  We wanted to be able to hunt and fish, play outside, run and be loud. Nothing too close to any roads or neighbors.

When we finally got serious about looking, we had our agent email us listings to view so we could choose the places that were worth driving up to see. We were in Grove Oklahoma at the time, and had to drive around three hours to get up here to see them.

I'll never forget the day we first drove out to look at the place. It was a cold, drab day in early spring. We were all bundled up in our scarves and coats. It seemed that we had been in the car forever! I recall driving down Hwy 60 East, and spotting a milk dairy with the words "milk in glass bottles" painted on it's roof. I thought the idea of fresh milk and cream in the glass bottles was so neat, I could not wait to go in and check it out. As we made the turn on to Z Hwy we could see the Bryers peach orchard sign. The thought of making fresh cobblers and jams from local growers was very exciting to us.

The highway twisted and turned in every direction before we reached the driveway. As we pulled in, it started to snow and the first thing I noticed was a tree lined drive with the most beautiful, white blossom plum trees. They almost glowed against the gray backdrop of the sky.  At least twenty of them. You could not see the house from the road, but we passed a small pond right off the side of the drive, and then our view opened up to a large, well manicured lawn with lots of mature trees, and in the clearing was our house.

The brown ranch style house itself was not magnificent by any means, but it had plenty of room and is sturdy built. Everyone would have their own room and not have to fight over bathroom time. The kids could play outside without us worrying about someone nabbing them from the yard, or hitting them with their car. Now we worry about them sneaking down to the fish infested  Finley River, which boarders two sides of our property. The river actually separates our land from the property my parents just purchased.

Since the time of purchase, we have been the host to many birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, and bottle rocket wars. We love having the space to entertain and create a fun environment for gatherings.

Many people in our community have been inside our home before it was technically ours. We actually purchased it from  our neighbors the Wrights. They have the farm right next to us. Most of the land out here belonged to Mr.Wrights grandparents. Everyone in our circle of friends say we" live in the old Kingsberry place". We just tell people our home is down Olga Rd, on the Finley River.

The Finley River, a tributary of the James River, gets its start in the high land around Cedar Gap. Its headwaters are about 3.5 miles west of the headwaters of Bryant Creek. It flows east to west for a distance of 52.8 miles. Though it starts in Webster County, 48 miles of its length are in Christian County. The final 3 miles are in the northeast corner of Stone County. Only the last 19 miles are floatable in high or medium-high water.   http://ozarksfishin.wordpress.com/rivers/finley-river/

The Finley River also has a waterfall.




www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=664&q=Finley+river+missouri&oq=Finley+river+missouri&gs_l=img.3..0i24.2161.13660.0.14704.21.11.0.10.10.0.274.2302.1j3j7.11.0....0...1ac.1.31.img..2.19.1943.dJZR3nnNdcM#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=ETV3llYlxTT0sM%3A%3BYBX1iov1TghRYM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.derekquessenberryphotography.com%252Fwp-content%252Fuploads%252F2013%252F01%252Fdq00102.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.derekquessenberryphotography.com%252Flandscapes%252Ffinley-river-bridge%252F%3B1024%3B683

How will you leave an impression on the people you will one day leave behind?

I would wish that when I leave this earth, my family would know, without a doubt , how much I love them. That they would see the sacrifices I have willingly made for them. That I never wanted to miss a single minuet of our time together. It was my great honor to make there birthday cakes and Halloween costumes. It was my privileged to take care of them when they were sick and hold them while they cried. Their pain was my pain and I would give anything to take that hurt from them. How blessed I have been to get to  share in their joys. I have got to celebrate many happy occasions with my children. They have trusted me with their thoughts and feelings. They have shared with me important secrets. I hope they have seen God's love shine through me and want that peace for themselves. I hope they grow to understand why we wanted to teach them a good work ethic and manners. The values instilled in me through my parents, passed on through my own kids, keeping our family on the right track. Everything I do in my life is for their benefit. I love them more than myself.

YOLO

YOLO, to me means you only live once. The only reason I know that is due to a skit from Saturday Night Live. It was absolutely silly, but if I had to embrace the saying, I would be more likely to quote a Tim McGraw song, "live like you were dieing". Make every moment count. Say the things that need to be said. Don't waist your time with regrets and live your life to the fullest. Take stock and find the things that really matter to you. Find joy. Life's too short to be upset all the time. Don't sweat the small shit! Pick your battles. What will be your legacy? How will you leave an impression on the people you one day will leave behind? What lives were impacted by you? Did you live selfishly or did you have a servants heart? I am selfish by nature, but I strive to be a giver. My family is number one to me. I hope one day they will look back on my life and see that I gave them everything I had. I would hope they would strive to have that for their kids one day. That because of my example, I showed them how to be good parents, and to never settle for less than that. 

what is a place? Ideas...

My house
Grandpa Landreths house
Seneca
Miami
St.Louis
Juno St. Wentzville MO
Frontinac KS
The Lake
Mudville

black card, red card

I have had a very interesting upbringing. My mother was 22 years old when she had me back in Miami Oklahoma. Our lives revolved around weekend parting and fishing. Most of my vacations were spent at a family reunion, that sounded much like a Hank Williams Jr. song, or on the lake "trying to catch the big one", or at least making up a really good story about how it got away from me. As a girl around a bunch of boys, I really needed to bring back that fish or no one ever believed I had caught it. It was always a good time at our house. Lots of people and great food as my dad was the king of the grill. Music was a big part in my house. Being from Miami Oklahoma, my parents new lots of people. One in particular was Steve Gains. He was in the band Lennard Skinard. Steve and my dad were very good friends growing up. My first concert was Lennard Skinard and 38 Special. I was 2 years old. I don't remember it, but I do have pictures of me sitting on the drummers shoulders, on stage while he played a drum solo. Maybe that was very unconventional, but my parents were hippies.  It was all pretty normal to me. Loud bands, lots of people, great food all weekend long.

The Red Gobstopper

"One red gobstopper please." said the little blond boy. I'm gonna walk to the park, its a beautiful day. I love candy! it is fun! Yum yum yum. oops oh crap! Where has that gobstopper gone? My candy has fallen in to the sewer. The candy follows along the pipe and ends up in the lake. A fish comes along and gobbles up the gobstopper.  A greedy fisherman baits  his hook, drops the line and reels in the fish. After cleaning the bones of the fish for dinner, the fisherman and his wife find the gobstopper in the fishes belly. The wife takes out the bones and the gobstopper to the trash.Then out of no where a pig alien spaceship descends from the sky. The grab the gobstopper, dog and the cat and go back  home to eat dinner.The pig alien chokes on the candy and spits it out the window. An astronaut finds the gobstopper drifting along and grabs it. That story made the news! The blond boy sees it on the news and recognizes his candy. The gobstopper becomes famous from its travels and ends up in a museum. People come from all over to see the famous gobstopper from space. Two mischievous scallywags break in to the the museum and abduct the gobstopper. People are shocked to hear the news of the disappearing gobstopper. The police see the gobstopper bandits. there is a chase and the bandits flee by car. they hop on a plane and are soaring through the air. Oops. the candy falls from the sky.The boy after watching the news tracks the falling gobstopper from the sky. it lands in a farm pen with several animals. The crow thinks its an egg and claims it as his own. It files off but drops it in a window of someones home during a birthday party. As it turns out, it was the home of the old man who had originally purchased the red gobstopper. He had a feeling he would see that piece of razorback red candy again.

Gray

Gray would seem like a downer color. Dark and droopy. I however enjoy the smooth color. Its rich and smoothing. Gray is one of my favorite automobile shades. I also like to wear the gray colors. I don't have many outfits in that shade, but I have the cutest pair of gray, soft side slip on shoes. They remind me of lop eared bunnies. They have a big tie on the top. You can't wear them when the ground is wet. The moisture will soak right through to your feet. Then I would never be able to get warm. I also wear gray eyeliner. I feel like it makes my blue eyes stand out more. It has a softer look verses a black liner that gives a harder, more definite line. The backpack I chose for school is also gray with a little bit of pink. It's jut a tad bit girlie.

The place I'd rather be today

If money was no object and I could be anywhere in the world right now, I would have skipped school to go and be with my good friend who was admitted in the hospital last night. Their family had a beautiful new baby girl a little over a week ago. They called around 10pm last night because they needed someone to watch their twins (my daughters age) so they could take mom to the ER. I have no word this morning other than they kept her last night.   I'm worried and want to be there to take care of her and hold her hand. I want to reassure her everything is going to be alright. If I cant be with her, I'm honored to be the one to care for her children! Having them near me makes me feel closer to their mother. I would hope she would find comfort in the fact that she would not have to worry about the twins and be able to focus on her healing.    

Smell:
  As I pull up and park, I step out of my car to smell rain and motor oil. I make my way to the hospital doors, push my way inside  and am greeted with the aroma of coffee and fresh baked goods from the cafe. Making my way to the elevator, I pick up on the fact that someone has just applied hand sanitizer, that smell of perfume and rubbing alcohol. The elevator also smells mechanical and warn. The heat from the lights putting out their own odor.

Touch:
  I try not to touch too many surfaces in the hospital as they are covered with germs and I don't want to take any back to my friend and her new baby. The doorknobs are cold and hard as I open the door. The elevator buttons are smooth and warm to push. When I reach my friend, she is warm and firm to hug. Its so good to be able to see her and to know that she is ok. I take the baby. She is perfectly soft and warm.

Sight:
   To see them brings me joy. The room is dimly lit. The curtains are pulled tight and she is all wrapped up tightly in the white hospital blankets. The baby is swaddled in the softest of pail pink fleece.  The floor looks cold, all the tiles of white and gray.  There is a look of worry and exhaustion on the faces of my friends. I can see it fade a bit after I tell them that the twins are fine and can stay as long as needed! She looks so peaceful as she closes her eyes to rest.

Hear:
   I can hear the ding of the elevator bell. People are busy talking amongst them selves. The clickidy- clack of feet in a hurry, fill the hallways. The door to the room gives a squeak as it is opened. I tiptoe quietly in the room, trying not to make a sound. I hear the T.V on. We start our conversation and her voice is strained with worry, and does not sound like her own. She closes her eyes to rest and I sit in silence and listen to her breathing. Then the baby cries loudly.

Taste:
   The mint flavor of my gum does a great job of taking care of the sweet and yet bitter coffee I had this morning. After a warm cup of caffeine, I needed a cold cup. I chose mountain dew. I really need the pick me up after the up all night worry thing I had going on and the cold crisp, almost citrus like drink really helped.  Sometimes it seemed to be flavorless due to the amount of coldness.

Story of the place:
     Ok, most of the people I know hate hospitals. That is a place you go to die. I on the other hand, beg to differ. The majority of the time I have been in there, either as a patient or a visitor, you went in, got better, and went home. You look around and wonder, while people watching, what else is going on. Did that DR. have a long night? Are his patients ok? Did the ladies at the front desk make it in without trouble? Did that man just loose his wife? Lots of emotions float around in this building.



Story:

If money was no object and I could be anywhere in the world right now, I would have skipped school to go and be with my good friend who was admitted in the hospital last night. Their family had a beautiful new baby girl a little over a week ago. They called around 10pm last night because they needed someone to watch their twins (my daughters age) so they could take mom to the ER. I have no word this morning other than they kept her last night.   I'm worried and want to be there to take care of her and hold her hand. I want to reassure her everything is going to be alright. If I can't be with her, I'm honored to be the one to care for her children! Having them near me makes me feel closer to their mother. I would hope she would find comfort in the fact that she would not have to worry about the twins and be able to focus on her healing. Ok, most of the people I know hate hospitals. That is a place you go to die. I on the other hand, beg to differ. The majority of the time I have been in there, either as a patient or a visitor, you went in, got better, and went home. As I pull up and park, I step out of my car to smell rain and motor oil. I make my way to the hospital doors and push my way inside. The doorknobs are cold and hard as I open the door. People are busy talking amongst them selves. The clickidy- clack of feet in a hurry, fill the hallways. I am greeted with the aroma of coffee and fresh baked goods from the cafe.The mint flavor of my gum does a great job of taking care of the sweet and yet bitter coffee I had this morning. I can hear the ding of the elevator bell. I try not to touch too many surfaces in the hospital as they are covered with germs and I don't want to take any back to my friend and her new baby. The elevator buttons are smooth and warm to push.  The elevator also smells mechanical and warm. The heat from the lights putting out their own odor. I pick up on the fact that someone has just applied hand sanitizer, that smell of perfume and rubbing alcohol. The door to the room gives a squeak as it is opened. I tiptoe quietly in the room, trying not to make a sound. I hear the T.V on. To see them brings me joy. The room is dimly lit. The curtains are pulled tight and she is all wrapped up in the white hospital blankets. The baby is swaddled in the softest of pail pink fleece.When I reach my friend, she is warm and firm to hug. Its so good to be able to see her and to know that she is ok. We start our conversation and her voice is strained with worry, and does not sound like her own. There is a look of worry and exhaustion on the faces of my friends. I can see it fade a bit after I tell them that the twins are fine and can stay as long as needed! She looks so peaceful as she closes her eyes to rest. I sit in silence and listen to her breathing. Then the baby cries loudly. There is no such thing as rest while you are in the hospital.

How we will get an A on Mullets

I believe it will be in our favor that we all worked together and collaborated on this project. It was a fun topic and we had some laughs doing the research for it. I think with all the different personality's, we were able to put in lots off different views and ideas in to our mullet prezi. 

Favorite words story

Three crazy friends, Monkey, Goober and Sugar, who are always in a bubbles mindset, were all in agreement to work together. Sugar is 100% America. The real all American family. Goober is defiantly wonky. All willynilly all the time. The best way to describe Monkey is that she is a total badger and completely fungo.
The three set out to plan their business. They decided to open a cupcake shop and Goober and Sugar want it to be called "Butter", and decorate the shop in warm, soft pale yellow colors indicative to it's name.  Monkey, as always, was being so subversive, always saying "no" to the other two's ideas. The girls have nothing but utter disdain for Monkey when she does that. Monkey never had a good explanation for why she wanted to go with a different name other than "Butter". Thinking that Monkey's bad explanation was nonsense, Sugar and Goober finally convinced Monkey to let them pick the name.  Butter it became.
The ladies thought it might be cute, given the fact that their cupcakes were baked with love, to seal each box with an "xoxo" sticker.
After hours passed and they had finally settled on the name and sticker logo, the three girls were totally knackered. They thought it best to wait until morning to start the cyclical cycle regarding the cupcake shop.

5 favorite words

no -  my answer to most questions ( my kids might call "no" my favorite word.)
why -  what I seem to be asking myself a lot.
nonsense - Ridiculous and silly. A word Jasmine and I use often. 
xoxo - How I tell someone goodbye or that I love them in a text or letter.
wait - This refers to what I am always asking people around me to do.

Name- Holly

The name Holly not only reminds me of myself but it also reminds me of Christmas. You know, have a Holly jolly Christmas and all that. I think of the red berries on the Holly tree and how pointy the leaves are on it. When I think back on my experiences in school, I never knew very many other girls named Holly. There were only one or two of us. I used to love hearing the story of how my mom decided to name me. She was going to name me Jennifer Lynell, but the day I was born, both my grandmothers came in to see me and one said, "her name should be Holly.", the other Grandma said"Yes, and her middle name should be Rae.". I have no idea where the two of them came up with Holly Rae, but I think its nice that they suggested it and that's what my mother went with. I had several Jennifer's in my school. I'm glad I got stuck with a more unique name. I like the idea of generational or family names too.  Had I put more thought in to my childrens' names, I might have been more likely to name them after a family member.

Holly (name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Holly
The name Holly is derived from the name of the plant.
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/Name	Old English
Meaning	Related to the plant; related to Christmas time.
Region of origin	Europe

Look up Holly in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Holly is an English given name that has mostly feminine use. The name derives from the name of the plant, from the Old English word holen.^[1] Because holly is used as decoration at Christmas, Holly is a name given to girls born around that time or after. Alternate versions include: Hollie, Holli, Holie, etc.^[2] As a first name in 2009, Holly ranked #380 for most popular girl baby name in the United States^[3] and the 24th most popular girl's name in England in 2012.^[4] 'Hollie' is the girls version of this name, but spelt traditionally 'Holly' is a male name. The name 'Holly' is an old Pagan god name rooted from the plant name. It was believed from the mid-summer soltice to the mid-winter soltice the god of the 'Holly' looked after the people and lands. Conversely, the god of the 'oak' took over between winter and early summer. So any male born during the second half of the year could be named Holly in tribute. This belief preceded Christmas by thousands of years.

Jim

A name of someone influential to me would be Jim. When I hear that name it makes me think of one of the few people in this world that I can call and he would drop everything in a hurry to get to me and help with whatever it is I need. I remember advice that was given to me by him like, nothing good ever happens after midnight, or believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see. These things I have carried over to adulthood and only then did I realize how true those words are. Lots of names come to mind when I hear Jim. Some are, JO Wade, or O'l Man. My kids call him Pa, but he is my dad.  

Prompt: empty toilet paper roll, Play-doh

First off, where would we be without toilet paper? But what do you do with the empty rolls? There are lots of things a person can do with an empty toilet paper roll. One thing I like to do with them is to fill them with dryer lint and old, used up dryer sheets. Then I put them in the furnace to start fires. It works like a homemade starter log.  They also smell great! Empty toilet paper rolls have also been used at my house to make party favors. You wrap them in tissue paper and fill them with candy and small toys, tie a cute little ribbon at the top and POOF! You have yourself a nice little treat bag. Another thing we have used them for is to make a recycled C3PO robot from Star Wars. Toilet paper rolls along with paper towel rolls and some duct or electrical tape and you can really make some neat stuff. That kept my boys busy making them and playing with them. 

Play-Doh
I love Play-doh! It comes in all kinds of fun colors and you can form it to be any shape you want! You can mix the colors and create any kind of color blend or tie dye. People even make homemade Play-Doh now. I remember as a child, watching in awe at the new T.V. add for the brand new fun factories that the company had come out with. You could have a barber or beauty shop where the Play-Doh was the hair and you could cut and trim the hair. They also had a food factory where you could press the Play-Doh in to food shaped molds and make dinners and picnics. The problem with that was kids seemed to eat the Play-Doh, but that is ok because as it turns out, Play-Doh is nontoxic! What a relief that was. I remember being curious what it tasted like, on account of so many kids eating it,  so I licked my fingers after playing with some. I remember it having a salty taste. The down tide to the doh was getting it out of carpet! also how disappointed you would be, to find out later that you didn't get the lid on all the way the last time you played, and found the Doh dried out. 

Red

Red is bold, flashy. In my opinion it is the most confident of colors. It screams look at me. I have a hard time wearing the color red. People say I look good in it, but it makes me feel like I stick out too much. Lets face it, there is a reason stoplights and stop signs are red. It commands attention. I believe the color red is associated with negative feelings. I remember one time we painted the walls at a gym I worked at red and black. During the whole painting process, everyone fought. I think it was the colors that brought out our change in demeanor. Maybe sub-conscientiously  we all became the "alpha dog" for a moment.  Thant can not end well. The only positive things I can think of, off the top of my head, that have good feelings about red are Christmas and Valentines Day. Painting my dining room....

free write: Stress

I have decided to get healthy. I have been making better choices on what I put in to my body. I drink more water, almost all water. When I break from that it's to have a sweet tea. I am eating lower fat foods, more whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. I have also cut back on my intake. I have tried to be consistent to work out, at very least 2 days a week. I'm not loosing weight! Why? Well maybe it's hormones or stress. Maybe it was a bad time in my life to start a new life plan, cause lets face it, it's not a diet but a lifestyle change. Going back to school has added lots of stress to my day to day! Perhaps the freshman 10lbs is not a myth. Should I make my peace with the fact that my stress level  is going to go up and so is my weight? I don't think so. I refuse to be one day closer to a heart attack or diabetes just because I need to learn to relax. I think stress can be good for a person. Everyone has it. Why is everyone not huge?  Is it my age? What am I doing that is so different? How can one cut back there stress and still live life and experience the things they want?

Rewrite point of view manipulitive

Cindy is a very studious college student. She is younger than the majority of the students, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and is usually dresses like crap, but other than that , is very attractive and has an athletic build. Cindy is thin with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup and can be high maintenance. Some might think her to be rude because she is so busy, but in fact she is friendly and talkative to people and always makes time to play video games with her friends. She's a gamer. Keeping her pace has really turned her in to quite messy person. Cindy sometimes forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all, she is a great person.
10 weak 2B Verbs

Cindy strives to be a studious college student. You might consider her to be younger than some, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and usually dresses like crap, but other than that, I would find her to be a very attractive person with an athletic build.  I would describe Cindy as thin, with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup, and she can be high maintenance at times. Some might think her to be rude because of the busy schedule she keeps, but in fact, I believe her to be most friendly and talkative. Cindy always makes time to play video games with her friends. She can be a bit of a gamer. Keeping her busy pace has really turned her in to quite a messy person. Sometimes, Cindy  forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all Cindy gives the impression to be a great person.

Cindy strives to be a studious college student. You might consider her to be younger than some, but decrepit by no means . Cindy is big in to personal fitness and enjoys working out. As a result of spending countless hours at the gym, she wears a lot of yoga pants and baggy tee shirts. She dresses like crap. I would describe Cindy  slim, with golden honey colored hair and a circular face. She sports one of the most beautiful, bright smiles I've ever seen. Cindy takes great pride in her flawless hair and makeup, and can be high maintenance in that regard. Some people might think her to be rude because of the hectic schedule she keeps, but in fact, I believe her to be most friendly and talkative. Cindy always  makes time to play XBox with her friends. She can be a ruthless gamer. Keeping her hectic pace has made Cindy in to quite a messy person. Sometimes she doesn't take the time to shave. Yuck! But all in all, Cindy gives the impression to be an outstanding person. 

Cindy is a very studious college student. She is younger than the majority of the students, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and is usually dresses like crap, but other than that , is very attractive and has an athletic build. Cindy is thin with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup and can be high maintenance. Some might think her to be rude because she is so busy, but in fact she is friendly and talkative to people and always makes time to play video games with her friends. She's a gamer. Keeping her pace has really turned her in to quite messy person. Cindy sometimes forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all, she is a great person.
9 2B

Cindy is a very studious college student. She is younger than the majority of the students, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and is usually dresses like crap, but other than that , is very attractive and has an athletic build. Cindy is thin with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup and can be high maintenance. Some might think her to be rude because she is so busy, but in fact she is friendly and talkative to people and always makes time to play video games with her friends. She's a gamer. Keeping her pace has really turned her in to quite messy person. Cindy sometimes forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all, she is a great person.
9

responce to pictures

I see an image of a young goofy guy wearing a mullet. The phrase is pimp my kettle.com.
I believe the intend audience for this picture is roman noodle eaters. As for the purpose of this picture, I think he uses the tea kettle to heat the water for his noodles. So maybe it is some kind of contest to see who has the most peculiar kettle.

   I see a billboard of a vacuum cleaner and  a real life hot air balloon has crashed in to it and is stuck there. There are several people in the balloon basket. maybe this is a picture to show what happens when you fly too close to things in a hot air balloon.

Coke add shows young kids that playing sports like soccer, basketball, hockey exc... = Fun which in turn= Coke. Like all of those things are in a bottle of coke.   "Live on the Coke side of life" is the slogan. So the target is young athletes wanting them to drink Coke verses a sports drink maybe.

This add is a biker with a chain, beat down by a walker. The logo reads senior self defense academy. Obviously this add is targeting older people to come and learn how to defend themselves, successfully. 

This is a parking spot drawn around a tree that says "reserved for drunk drivers". This is a public service, education add showing one example of what can happen when you drive drunk. I think the target is everyone, of any age that can spread the word not to drink and drive. That there are consequences of bad actions.

Wheres your child? It's a painting on the bottom of a swimming pool of a child face down floating on the bottom of a pool. This is a safety add urging adults and caretakers to really pay attention to young people around the water, to prevent drowning.  Its a hard look at what can really happen in a blink of an eye. There is a smaller child in a life jacket staring at the picture. Makes you sick to your stomach.

letter #1 to cousin, #2 admissions director , #3 Student in China

Dear cousin,
                  I can't wait for you to get here and spend the summer with us! Here is a few things you should know before you get here.  We go 110 miles an hour. We are loud and our schedules are crazy. We don't spend much time at the house, so you can have the place to yourself or you can come with us to the many baseball games and basketball tournaments that the kids are in. You will have your own room, but share a bathroom with Jazzy. We have 2 indoor dogs. I hope you don't have any allergies. Everyone is responsible to pick up after themselves, but we all chip in for outside chores and meal time clean up. Trevor is mostly quiet and he works on Saturdays, so you won't see him much. Josh is in and out with work, so we never plan to have him around. Its just an added bonus if he shows up. Mason is busy with sports and friends. We usually have a few with us that are not ours, but we consider family.  Jasmine will be right there with you always. She will want to play with you and talk your ear off! You can tell her "NO". That is ok. The dogs know no personal boundrys and will want to sleep with you and sit on your lap. You can tell them "NO" too. Let me know what you like to eat and I will try to fix meals you will enjoy. It is nice and peaceful out here for the most part. We have a lot of hummingbirds that visit, but always shut and lock up your cars because we do have lots of other creatures that visit, such as snakes, raccoons, bears, bobcats exc... So needless to say we watch the kids and the dogs closely.   Can't wait till you get here.


Admissions,
                  My name is Holly Page. I am seeking admission to your university. As you can see from my transcript, I am an exceptional student. I never miss class. My grades are high and my teachers will tell you what a joy I am to have in class. I also plug myself into many activities. I am very involved in local sports, the Fordland band, and many of the Middle school and High school clubs. I run the concession stand for the sporting events and am currently on the project prom committee. I love to plug myself in anywhere I can be of help. Last year I was the High school cheer coach and now that I am in school full time I help from the sidelines. I am an enthusiastic and upbeat person that feels pride in helping "the whole" succeed. It is my mission to leave things better than I found it. I also served as a boy scout leader for 7 years. I know the value of hars work, and I believe I'm leaving a good impression for my 3 children to follow. I would be an excellent addition to your campus and am anxious to begin leaving my mark there. I'm sure there are lot's of other applicants, but none of them will work as hard for this university than me.    

Friend,
      My name is Holly. I live in the Missouri, in the United States. I understand you are a student like myself. I finished High school 17 years ago. I had my family of 3 children, and now I'm in college for the first time in my life at 34 years old. I worked in my children's school for 5 years before I was laid off which lead me to seek a degree in teaching. Are you going to school to get a teaching degree too?
I am wondering if you have a family or are you just responsible for you. How did you decide, (if you have) what degree you wanted to pursue? College is like nothing I have ever done before. It really is taking some getting use to. I go 3 days a week. I have 4 classes of 12 hours this semester. How many classes are you taking. I'm doing my general ED now. I hear it will get better as I start my degree classes. Everyone has told me that because I worked in the school for so long, that those classes will be much easier for me as I have already been exposed to that information.

furniture in my life

When thinking of the furniture in my house, I automatically go to my china hutch. I purchased it new after my grandma had passed away. She had been famous for saying "you can have it when I die", but she gave me a set of her china before she departed. I had kept the china in a big rubbermaid container for about a year, still wrapped in bubble wrap, afraid to take it out. When she died I felt like it was time to take it out and put it on display. So I went down to the furniture store and picked out a nice 2 piece hutch. It is very heavy! Its made of dark wood and etched glass. I love it and think of her often when I look at it, or dust it. I don't typically buy furniture, so it was exciting to go and purchase something that holds something so valuable to me. I hope to pass it down to one of my children some day. Given the fact that I think I need 3 of everything (to pass something to each of my kids), I wish I would have gotten a bigger hutch. My collection of beautiful dished is not getting any smaller, so maybe I should have not been so modest and thought ahead. Still, it is one of my most prized possessions, and I love it!

point of view; manipulative

Cindy is a very studious college student. She is younger than the majority of the students, but older than a few. Cindy likes to work out and is usually dresses like crap, but other than that , is very attractive and has an athletic build. Cindy is thin with brown hair, a round face and a nice smile. She takes great pride in her hair and makeup and can be high maintenance. Some might think her to be rude because she is so busy, but in fact she is friendly and talkative to people and always makes time to play video games with her friends. She's a gamer. Keeping her pace has really turned her in to quite messy person. Cindy sometimes forgets to shave. Yuck. But all in all, she is a great person.

9

Traits
high maintenance
busy
gamer
studious
happy
rude
messy
friendly
taliktive
athletic
thin
brown hair
atractive
round face
older
younger
nice smile
crappy dresser
needs to shave

I know...

I know I am busy. I know I'm crazy. I take on too much. I put too much of myself in to things. I know I wear my heart on my sleeve, But I think because of some of those things, I make people feel cherished. I want the people in my life to know that I love them. I choose them. I want them to know that I value them. I know I am loved and I want you to know you are loved by me. I know I get carried away trying to make things special or unforgettable.  I want to make the memories you will never forget. I want my kids to see when they are older, how I went out of my way to make things right for them. And I know they will want that for their own children. I know I could never give enough of myself. There is always more to give.

I believe....

I believe I am strong. Really more so than I ever even realized. If you would described my life now to me 15 years ago, I would not have believed you. I never expected that I could have loved and given this much of myself. The crazy thing is, is that it seems like there is always room for more. I don't see how that is possible! There is never enough money or time, but yet somehow things always get handled.It's amazing! God is good! He loves me and provides for us. My strength comes from him and my family. Without this, I could never make it! I believe in my faith, and am trying to teach my children about faith. I believe that can be a hard lesson. You can't see it or hold it, You just simply believe. That seems to be difficult for most, to just believe. But I do. I believe in the Lord, my husband, my kids, and my parents. I believe I am blessed and loved.

I think....

I think I am crazy. I don't know how I'm doing all of this! Adding school to my list of things to do has been so stressful. I like it, but it's a lot.  I feel like I have put so much pressure on myself to do well, that I'm not sure if my goal is actually realistic. I mean, the pressure to be super mom is a heavy thing. Most people think I'm crazy for that anyway. But I really want to show my kids that I can be responsible for my good grades too. I don't just expect it from them. Then there is a lot of outside pressure. Everyone keeps telling me how proud they are of me. I'm going back to school for me, but I don't want to let anyone else down either. Ultimately,  no one is counting on me to provide. It's not make it or break it that I excel, but I don't fail. I'm not a quitter. I fight hard for what I want and I want to walk across a stage, get the paper I need to do the job I love, and to do it with honors! That is my goal. I just don't think I can give up any time with my family to do that. After all I am the guardian of birthdays. 

I feel....

I am ready to take on the day! It's a new week and I'm ready to go.  We  have a lot going on in our life right now. Everyone is in school (of some kind). Life around our hows moves fast and is very hectic, but I had a great weekend and got a bunch of stuff done. We even made it to church Sunday. All of us! A rare thing that is. I feel sometimes like I won't be able to keep this pace. Like I've made a mistake choosing now to be in school full time, But I take it on a day by day basis. I find the strength and put one foot in front of the other, and before you know it, it's a new day already. I really can't believe how much we accomplish when we all pull together. It's amazing what we can do really. Between school, sports, chores, the house, somehow we make it work. It is truly a family effort and I am so proud of mu wonderful family. It feels good to be surrounded by people you can count on.  I think everyone in our home knows the value of hard work. When everyone pitches in, we can really move mountains.

Point of view

Point of view of Agent Walter Beckett

It was a regular sunny day in Washington D.C. I was to pick up a briefcase from another agent. I crossed the street ( with out getting hit) and was able to make the drop. Just as I was about to settle in and find my assignment, I caught the attention of a pigeon while eating my breakfast. He wanted my bagel. I scanned my thumb to open the case and thought I'd give the little fella a nibble. Well, he didn't take the bight I threw for him. He wanted the whole thing, and came after me for it. I panicked when he rushed my face, and I tossed the bagel in the air. The pigeon went for it but landed on the inside of my brief case. It tumbled over and shut him inside. I tried to get over there and let him out, but hr must have been pecking at the buttons because the next thing I knew, he was shooting at me! He made quite a mess on the street too! So, I grabbed the bagel and the next thing I know, he is locked on to the sight of it. I wan to draw him in , so I threaten to drop the bagel in to a burning car. He takes the bait, but as I move in on him, he retreats. I toss the bagel and it gets the pigeons attention, but sets off a nuke headed for Russia! I retrieve the case and know it is up to me to save the world. The case and I go flying through the air headed for the missile. I'm in the process of shooting it out of the sky, and the next thing I see is that stupid pigeon blocking my view. I go to shoot him, and I'm out of bullets! I go to launch a missile through the pigeon to the rocket, but don't have the heart to hurt him. In a flash, I pop open the case, ejecting the bagel , and am able to blow up the rocket! Thus, saving the day. We land happily, he with my breakfast and me with my case. All is right with the world. then part of the rocket falls and kills the bird. Just my luck. What a waist.  

I believe in my marriage

I believe through the actions in my life that my marriage is a growing force. I get up every day and make a choice. Am I going to value my marriage or not? I choose my marriage. Not because I "feel in love" but because of the commitment I have made to Joshua and my family. So many times in my life I have been ruled by my feelings or emotions. I have learned that those feeling are temporary and are  subject to change. My relationship has lasted through all of that. That is the path that I have chosen. Obviously I can't control Joshua's feelings. I can't make him choose me, but so far he has. We believe in each other. We work to stay close and connected. I have heard a lot of people being married a long time, raising their kids, having the kids go off into the world, and then you have nothing in common. Life has changed you , and you don't even know one another anymore. In Joshua's line of work, its the same old story. Husband works all the time, in and out of town. There seems to either be affairs or when he retires the husband and wife are all the sudden put together when they had very limited time together thus far. They can't seem to handle it.He hates being home and around the house, and the wife wants her house back. They cant seem to coexist.

This I believe list

Things I believe from the actions in my life:

 1  it is important to hold and talk to tour children as infants

 2   that my parents were right more than I was as a child

 3  a marriage is a living thing that needs to be chosen and nurtured.

in spanking with reasoning behind it.

its time to take back our country.

in time management.

the importance of a good nights sleep.

in growing your own food.

in church

molding your children to be good people.

education.

Know your audience

I think we had a good time in Eng. 101 this week asking and answering each others questions for the "know your audience" assignment. It was really interesting to see the range of questions being ask. Some required a lot of thought on my part to answer. Like, who I would want to have lunch with. Gosh that list could be so long. It was hard to narrow it down to just one person. Or if I could be anyone from a favorite book, who would it be. Like I could really pick a favorite. As you can see, I can't even pick one favorite color. Others were easy to answer, like where I attended High School. Some responses from the class seemed real and genuine and a few seemed a little sarcastic to me. I'm not real sure though, as it is sometimes hard to see the tone someone is giving through text. I don't feel like my question was a good one for my audience. I ask "What were you doing 9-11-01?".  Most of the response I got back was, "I don't remember. I was in the first grade." Ok, so they are really young and maybe another question would have been best. I ask that question because it was September 11th, and I was listening to the radio on my way to school that morning. They were talking about all the things around the world that was planned to commemorate the day. It really made me sad to think about. Then it naturally made me think of where I was when I heard the bad news. It didn't even dawn on me that the people in my class might not even remember something that made such a big impression on my life. It was only after the assignment was over and I was on my way home, that I read the responses to my question.  I really beat myself up, thinking I should have ask something else. But then I got to talk to my children. My #1 son was 4 years old then, and he remembers watching it on television. My #2 son was almost 2 years old. He really doesn't remember, but has always honored the day with us every year. So he knows what happened and sympathizes with the situation. That made me feel a small bit better that kids younger than the ones in my class remembered something that happened during their lifetime. The news that night also had 9-11 stories. They interviewed High School seniors and got there stories of what they remember from that day in history. It was touching to hear, even though they were so young and only remembered a little bit. After seeing that, I felt better about my question, but will try to keep it more current in the future. The kids in my class are a real creative bunch. I got a real kick out of where they would want to live, and the craziest things they have done. I'm not too crazy. Old, married, Momma Holly is not very exciting. I would never have thought it to be a good idea to jump off the roof with an umbrella. I also thought it was interesting all the places they would like to live. I was surprised to see that as many as six of my classmates attended Kickapoo High School. One of my classmates was home schooled. How awesome is that! Maybe for my next writing I will choose a more current topic, or a much more exciting, upbeat one that most everyone has some experience in.

Cheeseburger Cake

The Cheeseburger Cake

September 4, 2013

 My #2 son use to love cheeseburgers, so one year for his birthday I made him a cheeseburger cake. This image is not the cake I made, but mine was based off it. I will upload a picture of mine when I'm able to locate one. It was really quite interesting coming up with the design and materials for this project. I used 2 -8inch round cake pans with yellow cake to make the buns. I used 1 -8inch round cake pan to make the patty, chocolate of course. Then I used fondant in different colors to construct the lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, and cheese. After I made each one of those I left them alone for a few days so they could dry and hold the shape. I iced the bun on bottom first with a nude-like color icing. then put the patty on and iced that in a dark brown (chocolate) color. Then I assembled my toppings and placed the top bun on and iced it the same as the first. I also put a light  color icing on top for the seeds. It was a really fun project to work on.  #2 really liked sharing it with his friends too. That's what it's all about anyway. Mom is the one to bake the birthday cake's, and the kid's think you can make anything. That's so awesome!

                                                     This is a picture of the cake I made. 

 

A Reflection On My Jung Typology Test

Assignment 2.2

Yesterday I took the Jung Typology test. I found out that I was typed as Extraverted Sensing Feeling Judging (ESFJ). I would have to say, that I agree with the finding's from that test. I know I'm easily wounded, enjoy being in charge, a caretaker, a generous entertainer, exc...

I was ask to compare and contrast my Jung Typology Indicators with my own perception of myself as a writer and a student. 

As a writer, is hard for me to answer. I've not done enough writing in my life that I know of a particular style that I have. I know I'm a horrible speller, and it is difficult for me to put my thoughts down and not to edit while I write. But I'm sure many people have the same problem. I prefer to write about things I know about. I usually have strong feelings on those matters. I guess knowing that I really do not want to be the one to hurt others feelings would impact my writing. I might not be able to get my true thoughts down if I knew the person I was talking about was going to be reading it. I guess I need to be careful not to put too much of my feelings in my writing. I'm not sure how the Jung test will help me overcome that, but the words from Ms.Anthony ring in my head. She says to write fearlessly. I'm working on that. I do like to reflect on technical topics before I write about them. I love to hear the opinions of others on the matter too. A lot of times they bring up good points that helps me lean one way or the other on the subject matter. They might bring up something I never even thought about. Although, Their thoughts and opinions might set me further in my own ways.

As a student, I can see how the Jung Test can be useful. As it seems, I "wear my heart on my sleeve". Being in school will definitely help me to toughen up my skin. Maybe I will learn to not take things so personally. I do prefer "the black and white" vs "the gray" areas. You always know where you stand. Unfortunately, so much of life is lived in the "gray" area.  I do struggle to make  decisions.  College moves at such a fast pace, I can't be wasting time going back and forth on things and get behind.  I do like making connections with the people in my classes. That surprises me. Most of us seem to have a lot of the same feelings and insecurities. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. I like to learn with a more hands on approach. I have always felt that I retain more if a teacher shows me how to do something, then I do it, rather than if I'm just told what to do.

In short, I don't know how the Jung Test will impact my writing or my schooling, as I'm new to both experiences. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

If you are interested in finding out what type you are, you can go to www.typelogic.com, click on "Is there a test", Click on Jung Typology Test, And take the free test.