Wednesday, August 5, 2015

In a World Where Tragedy is the Only News Day after Day, Read some Mary Oliver to Cheer Yourself Up

She will make you FEEL, but not feel depressed, lonely, or scared. She will make you FEEL Hope.  Her poems open you UP instead of shutting you DOWN.

I have the last five lines of "Wild Geese" as the background of my laptop, so every time I open it up, I can center myself again.

Wild Geese

Mary Oliver


You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body 
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain 
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things. *



*emphasis added



Put this poem (or any number of others by Mary Oliver) somewhere you can easily see it, and the next time you feel yourself being bogged down by the horribleness in the world, read it and FEEL Hope and Connection.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Morning Board, my version

This is the project I've been working on. It's kind of like a rough draft right now,  I may add or take away as we go along. Today was the first morning I went over it with the kids and it went pretty well. Ciaran was pointing at things and "explaining" with me. I think repetition will be key. I really like how it turned out!

Congratulations to Jake & Annie!

We just found out they are due December 2, which makes Annie 10 weeks along.  We're so excited for you guys!!  Yay more babies!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Last day of grading! Last day of grading!

I was going to wait to say anything until I was actually finished grading, but I'm just so excited that the end is in sight.  I only have a handful of research papers left to grade, and then I enter in the final grades for all my students, and then the semester is finally over!  (Except for my Helicon project, but that doesn't count...okay?  It doesn't, right?)

So, does anyone want to freaking celebrate with me some way when I'm finished??  I need a spa day or something because this semester has been TOUGH.

First non-school book in a long time!

I read Slammed by Colleen Hoover in about a day because I've been recreational-reading-deprived since school started last August (and it's a really easy read).  I chose this book because I previously read Colleen Hoover's novella, Finding Cinderella (free on Kindle) and enjoyed it a lot.

I really like falling in love type stories, but I have to say, I'm a little tired of stories like Slammed.  The fall in love immediately thing, and then lose my freaking mind when it doesn't work out thing.  Then, super fast forward to the future where everything worked out perfectly thing.  It made me really want to write a more realistic story, where the girl's feelings and actions towards herself and her entire family and life aren't completely dictated by her "relationship feelings."  Maybe someday.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Experimental Poem

In my Poetry Writing Workshop this semester, my teacher introduced us to something that is growing in popularity: digital poetry, which encompasses a lot of different things.  People are experimenting with combining sound and words, video and words, pictures and words.  These "poems" are not meant to be read without the accompanying visual elements.  It is growing in popularity so much that there are now some online literary magazines that publish these hybrid pieces.

For the class, we each had to create our own digital (or experimental) poem, and it was a lot of fun to see what people came up with.  Some inserted their poems into photos or paintings they had done, some created videos with music and voice, one created a Google map that pinpointed places where aspects of the poem took place.

Here is my experimental/digital poem.  Enjoy!  And I would LOVE to hear what you think of it, so leave comments.

Hiking

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the little hike we went on yesterday, because my camera is still broken.  I'm just so thrilled that the weather is suddenly allowing for extended periods of time spent outside.  We went to First Dam and did part of a trail that wound up the hill.  The boys loved it; Ciaran had to pick up and throw nearly every rock he came across, and Jude was happy to carry water and sunscreen in his "pack-pack."  Justin and I were probably more exhausted than the kids were afterwards, but it was so nice to be outside together!  Here's to summer!!

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Aforementioned (on Facebook) Willow Wand

"Forget all you know, or think you know. All that you require is your intuition."

One of my favorite poems of all time

Traveling Through the Dark
by William Stafford

Traveling through the dark I found a deer
dead on the edge of the Wilson River Road.
It is usually best to roll them into the canyon:
that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead.

By glow of the tail-light I stumbled back of the car
and stood by the heap, a doe, a recent killing;
she had stiffened already, almost cold.
I dragged her off, she was large in the belly.

My fingers touching her side brought me the reason--
her side was warm, her fawn lay there waiting,
alive, still, never to be born.
Beside that mountain road I hesitated.

The car aimed ahead its lowered parking lights;
under the hood purred the steady engine.
I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red;
around our group I could hear the wilderness listen.

I thought hard for us all--my only swerving--,
then pushed her over the edge into the river.


I love the contrast between the deer and the car in the poem, and how the car (in stanza 4) almost comes alive, at the same moment that the fawn is dying.  And the speaker of the poem is so conflicted with what he knows he has to do.  There's nothing else to be done, and yet, there is a sadness and responsibility contained in that decision.

Family Pictures

Look at these two!!  They are so cute and getting so big!
 Look at these two!!  Aren't they just darling!  haha
 This is the last picture I took before I dropped and broke my camera  :(

Friday, May 2, 2014

School's over, summer plans, and here we are...

Today was the last day of the semester!  Hypothetically, this means I now have time to do other things, like write on our long-neglected blog.  Yay!  I'm not even sure anyone out there still reads this, but here we are.

My first year of grad school feels like a whirlwind.  It went by so so fast; it's unbelievable.  I've learned a lot (more than I thought I ever needed to learn!) and hopefully taught some things, too (since I was teaching English!).  This summer will be spent taking classes, and preparing my syllabus and schedule and lesson plans for English 2010 in the Fall.

This summer is also a summer of projects (or, so planned).  I have some things on my mind I want to accomplish, mostly home improvement/decorative little things.  I'll post update emails to show you all what I've got going on over here.

We also have a trip to St. George planned for the end of June (Justin's anniversary present to me) and I'm so excited about that!  We haven't been back for four years, and I really miss it.  I'm scared to see how much it's changed (I hear it has changed quite a bit).

Justin's softball league starts in two weeks, which we're all really excited about.  The kids and I love going to the ball park to watch him play.  Jude and Ciaran run around with their friends, Amelia and Jace, and I get to sit and chat with Annie.  Their team name this year is "Ima Hufflepuff" (previously named "Loganlicious").  :)

We also signed Jude up for tee ball this year.  The league is actually for 5 and 6-year-olds, so we'll see how it goes.  He's been hitting off a tee forever, so I think he'll do great!

Speaking of projects, I'm working on a version of this for our house:
http://seejamieblog.com/morning-board-calendar-time/

For what she calls the "memory verse" section on the board, I want to do children's poetry, since poetry is kind of important to me (I'm doing a poetry thesis for school).  Here are some that I've made so far:



So cute, huh??
That reminds me, anyone have a laminator I can borrow?

Monday, February 24, 2014

The Oscars--Makeup and Hairstyling

Dallas Buyers Club
BEFORE--Matthew McConaughey & Jared Leto

AFTER




Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
BEFORE--Johnny Knoxville

AFTER



The Lone Ranger
BEFORE--Johnny Depp

AFTER

Sunday, February 23, 2014

The Oscars--Costume Design

American Hustle


The Grandmaster



The Great Gatsby


The Invisible Woman


12 Years a Slave

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Justin's Predictions for the 2014 Academy Awards Nominees

Best Actor
Bruce Dern--Nebraska
Christian Bale--American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio--The Wolf of Wall Street
Matthew McConaughey--Dallas Buyers Club
Tom Hanks--Captain Phillips

Best Actress
Amy Adams--American Hustle
Cate Blanchett--Blue Jasmine
Dame Judy Dench--Philomena
Emma Thompson--Saving Mr. Banks
Sandra Bullock--Gravity

Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Nebraska
Her
Inside Llewyn Davis
Philomena
Rush
Twelve Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron--Gravity
David O. Russell--American Hustle
Martin Scorsese--The Wolf of Wall Street
Steve McQueen--Twelve Years a Slave
Woody Allen--Blue Jasmine

Best Original Screenplay
Gravity
Her

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Animated Feature
Despicable Me 2
Frozen

Best Special Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of a Good Book
Iron Man 3
Thor 2

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Jude's Doctor's Appointment

Not surprisingly, Jude is still in the high ranges for height, around the 90th percentile.  He has actually gone up in weight, the highest he's ever been, around the 60th percentile.  

We have had a cold at our house this past week, and we found out at the appointment that he has an ear infection!  He has given me no indication that this is the case.  It is impossible to tell how sick Jude is because he's one of those kids that just goes, goes, goes no matter what.  He's also starting to get pink eye again, which I did know.  Soooo, we got an antibiotic that should knock both of those infections out.

The doctor was having this medical student ask Jude questions and give him smarties when he answered correctly.  Questions about what colors things are, and "if an elephant is big, then what is a mouse?"  This is all fine except that Jude gets pretty introverted when there are strangers around.  So, he wasn't really answering very often.  So, the med student said, "he's pretty shy, isn't he?" and "I understand, when there are strangers around," etc.  But, it just annoyed me because after it was all over, he said, "well, he's probably smarter than what he is showing..."  So I said, "yes, he's very smart, he knows his colors, animals, and letters; it's just that is is very shy."

Ugh.  I just wish he could have seen how smart Jude really is and didn't have to take my word for it.  I don't know if he believed me.

Funny thing, though.  I got Jude some Perry the Platypus shoes because they were really the only boy sandals in Jude's size that would work.  But, Jude doesn't watch Phineas and Ferb so he just thinks they are duck shoes.  The med student asked Jude who was on his shoes and Jude said "duck shoes" but the doc thought he was answering wrong and corrected him.  "Is that Perry the Platypus?"  Jude just looked at him like...??

Thankfully, there were no shots, so it was one of the less painful appointments.  :)

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What Books Have You Read?

I got this from my sister, Kelsey.  Here is: Kelsey's List

Have you read more than 6 of these books? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books listed here.
Instructions: Copy this into your NOTES. Bold those books you've read in their entirety, italicize the ones you started but didn't finish or read an excerpt. Tag other book nerds. Tag me as well so I can see your responses!


1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Harry Potter series – JK Rowling (all)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell         
9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger 
20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 
21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis
34 Emma – Jane Austen
35 Persuasion – Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis De Berniere
39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne
41 Animal Farm – George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding
50 Atonement – Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel
52 Dune – Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
72 Dracula – Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses – James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal – Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession – AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 
92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks
94 Watership Down – Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 
100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

Read=18
Not bad, but as an English, Literature, and Creative Writing student, you would think I would have read more of them.  Kelsey has read 34!  She is a reading machine.  :)

Monday, June 10, 2013

Projects!

I have been having a really fun time lately doing projects to decorate our house and make it feel more homey.  I revamp some things we already have, and get a lot of things from D.I. and then fix them up.  That way, it doesn't cost very much.  Here are some of the results!

I have had this toy box for as long as I can remember.  Originally, it was bubble gum pink.  Then, in the summer of 2004, I got really "creative" and started painting random things all over it.  I should have taken pictures of all sides of it; you would really get a sense of the transformation.  
 Here it is now, all one color:
We are using it for storage under our entertainment center now.  And I am still planning on adding a cushion to the top of the box, in a colorful print, so more pics on that later.

These next items are ones I found at D.I., like this picture frame.  I thought it was really interesting to look at.  This picture was taken after I removed the ugly floral print that was in it before, so this in and of itself is an improvement to the original.
 And I love the end result even more.
I liked how this thing was a little unusual looking.
 I repainted it and hung it right inside our front door for our keys.
I was really excited when I found this twelve by twelve frame, because it was a completely blank canvas.
 Justin and I picked this cool bird print off of Art.com, and I painted the frame the same blue to match the "pink box" and the tones in the print.
I forgot to take a "before" picture of this frame, but it was just a plain brown frame.  I sanded it down and painted it.  I like how chunky it is, and how the greens in the background of the photograph play off the frame color.
Our living room furniture is all browns and blacks, so I really wanted to paint everything to be bright and happy.  The colors I am using are ones that I pulled out of a bright, multi-colored area rug we bought.  I think once I get all the pictures hung, they will play really well off of each other.

This is the cutest wagon I found at D.I. and I just had to get it.  I didn't really know what to do with it at first.
 But look how cute it is with a couple succulents planted in it!  I just pray I don't kill them.  They are supposed to be very hard to kill...but that's never stopped me before, unfortunately.  :)
It's been a blast to remake things into my own style.  I still haven't really hung any of them yet, so that's the next step.  I will post pictures of how they all look when I do.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Ciaran!

I wanted to update everyone on Ciaran.  He is 10 months old (tomorrow) and he is my little smarty-pants.  This isn't always a good thing, let me tell you.  He has figured out how to take the outlet covers off, and how to pull Jude's legos apart so they are in even smaller pieces.
But, it's really fun how much he has started mimicking us.  Whenever I point to a toy across the room and tell him to go get it, he points at it and starts babbling.  Yesterday, Justin was leaving for work and he kissed Ciaran goodbye and Ciaran made the kissing sound at the same time!  What a cutie! 
His favorite toys are balls; anytime I bounce or toss a ball, he gets really excited. He loves to play catch with us.  No, really, Ciaran DOES play catch.  He throws the ball to us and we throw it back.  I am amazed by him every day.
He loves being outside.  Any time anyone opens the front door, he makes a beeline for it.  The other day, it was raining pretty good and I let Jude go out in it for a little while.  And, sure enough, Ciaran wasn't far behind.  He sat in a puddle and started splashing away in it.
He has four teeth now, and it wasn't fun for anyone getting them ha ha.  (I'm laughing so I don't cry.)  He is also still really clingy to me, which gets old at times.  But, it's still nice being the one person he wants all the time.  I love this kid so much!

Monday, May 13, 2013

What I Wanted to Do For Mother's Day

Take family pictures!!!

 Look at my adorable boys!

Best 6 years of my life!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

My Graduation!

I had a wonderful graduation on Saturday!  Let's take a look, shall we?

Where's Jesse??
It's almost my turn!
Getting my diploma (...holder)!
I love love LOVE Ciaran's expression in this pic.
And, yes, in this pic, too (Ciaran didn't want me to put him down ever again after our traumatic 1 1/2 separation).  FYI, the medallion I am wearing is for the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and the beads are for the English Department...woot!  woot!
With my Dad and Keshia!
Check out the Dads representin'!
And with Jake and Annie!  And, yeah, Ciaran again.
Our Family!
I want to thank everyone who came out to support me, and for those who couldn't make it but really wanted to be there.  I got tons of words of support and congratulations from so many people, not to mention cards and gifts.  Thank you all!