Well, it has been a few days. We (my sons and I) are feeling a little better. I finally broke down and went to the doctor. I'll be picking up four prescriptions this afternoon. I hope one of them will knock this cold out. I also took the dog (the fat one, not the little red one) to the dentist. She had jaw surgery yesterday. We are trying to assemble a play set for the kids. It has about 14,000 pieces, so it is taking awhile.
I just finished reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. It is a cute story. Somehow, it made me think of The Velveteen Rabbit.
Writing and homeschooling have been difficult recently. I keep realizing something I need for every project I want to do is packed. Hopefully after our move, I'll have a little more to tell you about.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
A New Week With New Possibilities
Today is Sunday, the beginning of a new week. I love new beginnings. New years, new months, new weeks, new days. We are still sick which is keeping me from the computer more than trying to get moved.
I have been reading a good bit. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman won the Newbery Medal, so I figured I needed to read it. It was a good book, but a little haunting. Perhaps because I am a mother, I put the book down feeling sad in place of hopeful for the characters. Gaiman has an original plot (very hard to find) and great characters. This book is well written and a more than a little strange. I look forward to reading more of his stories.
I also have been reading chapter books and Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key. Dessen is remarkable as usual.
I have not accomplished as much in my life as a writer as I would like to lately, but this is a new week and perhaps I will get more writing done as well.
As for life in general, we had an interesting occurrence this week. I glanced in the back yard to find it littered with white patches. Being about 65 degrees, snow seemed unlikely. Upon closer inspection, we realized the dog had carried a pile of socks outside and scattered them around the backyard. Fortunately, it was only socks.
Hopefully this week will bring a move, some more great books, successful writing, pleasant homeschooling, and even beading if I'm lucky.
What have you been reading? Was it any good?
I have been reading a good bit. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman won the Newbery Medal, so I figured I needed to read it. It was a good book, but a little haunting. Perhaps because I am a mother, I put the book down feeling sad in place of hopeful for the characters. Gaiman has an original plot (very hard to find) and great characters. This book is well written and a more than a little strange. I look forward to reading more of his stories.
I also have been reading chapter books and Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key. Dessen is remarkable as usual.
I have not accomplished as much in my life as a writer as I would like to lately, but this is a new week and perhaps I will get more writing done as well.
As for life in general, we had an interesting occurrence this week. I glanced in the back yard to find it littered with white patches. Being about 65 degrees, snow seemed unlikely. Upon closer inspection, we realized the dog had carried a pile of socks outside and scattered them around the backyard. Fortunately, it was only socks.
Hopefully this week will bring a move, some more great books, successful writing, pleasant homeschooling, and even beading if I'm lucky.
What have you been reading? Was it any good?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Checking In
I haven't been able to post for the past few days because my sons and I have had the nasty cold that's going around. We aren't well yet, but we are on the way. I can't wait for spring.
We are still having moving issues. The carpet STILL isn't in. The cat in the attic crawl space turned out to be a squriell. I set a humane trap and, I'm hoping I can remove him.
We haven't had school for a few days because we have been sick. We'll have to make them up later, but we started in June so it shouldn't be too hard.
I haven't been able to touch my beads either. They are packed. I can't work with them until after we move, which will be after the carpet comes in :(
I have been doing some writing on a new project, but I don't have a clue where it is going yet. I have also been develping characters. Where so you find your characters? I like to start with a name or a picture and then look for the details. Sometimes I use a form with lots of questions. Other times, I base them on people I'm close to. My oldest son is a great help when I create younger characters. He knows what is really important to kids, like gummy worms.
When you make characters, where do you start? How do you make them real? Do you ever use real people for the models?
We are still having moving issues. The carpet STILL isn't in. The cat in the attic crawl space turned out to be a squriell. I set a humane trap and, I'm hoping I can remove him.
We haven't had school for a few days because we have been sick. We'll have to make them up later, but we started in June so it shouldn't be too hard.
I haven't been able to touch my beads either. They are packed. I can't work with them until after we move, which will be after the carpet comes in :(
I have been doing some writing on a new project, but I don't have a clue where it is going yet. I have also been develping characters. Where so you find your characters? I like to start with a name or a picture and then look for the details. Sometimes I use a form with lots of questions. Other times, I base them on people I'm close to. My oldest son is a great help when I create younger characters. He knows what is really important to kids, like gummy worms.
When you make characters, where do you start? How do you make them real? Do you ever use real people for the models?
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Day in the Life…
This morning, the alarm went off a little too early. I wanted to role over and go back to sleep. Of course, my alarm is across the room from the bed to make it more difficult. So I cut off the alarm and went to wake my oldest son. I reminded him I would need his help this morning because I had somewhere I needed to be. Of course, instead of getting dressed, he sat around complaining he was cold. Meanwhile, my youngest screamed to the top of his lungs, “I don’t need to go to school today.” I was getting him ready for the parents’ morning out program at the church. He kicked and screamed while I put his clothes on. Then, I went to check on the other child. My oldest couldn’t find matching sock. Matching socks are a perpetual problem in our house. My have a real, live sock-monster. She is a lovely red dachshund and she likes to steal socks and eat them. While I was tending the elder, the younger undressed. From there, the whole day erupted into one big comedy of errors. Eldest son dropped the juice on the kitchen floor, not a cup of juice, but the whole two liter jug, soaking his socks. We needed to make a sandwich for the lunch box, but the cat climbed on the counter last night and ripped open the new loaf of bread and nibbled across the top. (Really I do feed my pets.) Somehow, we made it out door. And that was my morning (up to 8:45am that is).
So this post won’t run ten pages and get really boring, I am just going to give the highlights of the rest of the day. I went to the new house (I’ve mentioned we’re moving.) to clean up the yard. It contained ten big trash bags full of trash and three years worth of leaves. My hands hurt from raking. There appears to be a cat in the crawl space for the attic. I’d love to know how it got there. We are having a fence put in and there is a pine tree at about a forty-five degree angle right over where the fence needs to be.
The carpet isn’t in the house because the wall isn’t mudded yet. The wall wasn’t mudded because the gas was off so there was no heat. The gas is now on, but the thermostat fell apart. So, we still don’t have carpet and we are supposed to move this weekend.
Other than errands, karate, meals, and writing I have about summed up my day. I hope we can go to bed early tonight.
So this post won’t run ten pages and get really boring, I am just going to give the highlights of the rest of the day. I went to the new house (I’ve mentioned we’re moving.) to clean up the yard. It contained ten big trash bags full of trash and three years worth of leaves. My hands hurt from raking. There appears to be a cat in the crawl space for the attic. I’d love to know how it got there. We are having a fence put in and there is a pine tree at about a forty-five degree angle right over where the fence needs to be.
The carpet isn’t in the house because the wall isn’t mudded yet. The wall wasn’t mudded because the gas was off so there was no heat. The gas is now on, but the thermostat fell apart. So, we still don’t have carpet and we are supposed to move this weekend.
Other than errands, karate, meals, and writing I have about summed up my day. I hope we can go to bed early tonight.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday
Why is Monday always so hard? I am a stay-at-home mom. I home school and write. Yet, Monday is always rough. Many of the writers I know don’t really take the weekends off. I never have.
But anyway, today was definitely a Monday. Not just any Monday either, but the one just after we switched to daylight savings time. I drug myself out of bed this morning and found my toddler had eaten my “homework.” We are having a fence installed. I called around town to get quotes and wrote them all on a scrap of paper. Well, my son thought it looked tasty, so before breakfast he chewed it up. Then, my older son gave me the, “Is it a school day?” routine when I gave him his first assignment. Sometimes I think it would be easier to teach him seven days a week and not have to recondition him EVERY Monday. We also had to run errands, get haircuts, and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Then, I had to squeeze in time after dark for writing and housework. I am sure glad Monday only comes once a week.
But anyway, today was definitely a Monday. Not just any Monday either, but the one just after we switched to daylight savings time. I drug myself out of bed this morning and found my toddler had eaten my “homework.” We are having a fence installed. I called around town to get quotes and wrote them all on a scrap of paper. Well, my son thought it looked tasty, so before breakfast he chewed it up. Then, my older son gave me the, “Is it a school day?” routine when I gave him his first assignment. Sometimes I think it would be easier to teach him seven days a week and not have to recondition him EVERY Monday. We also had to run errands, get haircuts, and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Then, I had to squeeze in time after dark for writing and housework. I am sure glad Monday only comes once a week.
Life Changing Books (continued from Saturday)
I have to go back to my blog from Saturday long enough to mention my favorite book on home schooling. The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer is a must read for parents considering home schooling their children. My approach to teaching my son is eclectic and not classical, but this book has so much wonderful information it could help any parent. It describes the way children think and learn at different ages. It suggests various curriculums to use with your child and how to schedule your time. Everything is presented as a series of suggestions, not the way it has to be done. Regardless of the method you choose, this book is filled with great ideas. The final part of the book talks about why to home school, how to handle arguments from loved ones, how to make sure your child is socialized, planning, record keeping, testing, and even how to prepare you child for college and put together an application. The book ends with resources. I have never read this book cover to cover and probably never will, but it lives on my bed stand. I refer to it at least two or three times a month. If you are considering teaching your child at home, you should find a copy of this book and spend some time looking through it.
Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia Voigt
Izzy, Willy-Nilly by Cynthia VoigtMy review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book should be required reading for every high school student. Izzy is a normal fifteen year old girl. When a popular senior ask her out, she is thrilled. Who wouldn’t be? Most people want to impress others, whether they admit it or not. Middle school and high school are the hardest times to stand up for yourself. Besides, it couldn’t happen to you, could it? So Izzy goes out on a date with this senior and has an okay time, but he drinks too much. She knows he is drunk and gets in his car anyway. When he slams into a tree, he walks away with a few scratches. Izzy lives through the accident too, but she loses one of her legs.
Voigt is a very talented writer. She creates dynamic characters to fill her stories. You care about them from the minute they are introduced. Everyone is so real. She paints scenes in such a way they unfold as though you are there. However, her most exceptional quality as a writer is her willingness to tackle difficult topics. I read this book in middle school and several times since. It will make you think twice about who you ride with.
As a side note, it is really funny to look at the different covers this novel has gone through. My copy is yellow and Izzy has 80’s hair. This cover is much more contemporary. Some of the ones in between had a totally different look.
View all my reviews.
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