Snow Days

I remember a time when I was a lot younger that seeing snow fall excited me. There was the possibility of snow days. A day off from school and/or work, a day filled with the promise of many adventures to come. Whether it was going from neighbor to neighbor asking them if they'd like their sidewalks shoveled (and earning more money than my brother because I just told them to pay me 'what they felt it was worth') or building a snow fort so the rest of the kids in the neighborhood could have snow wars, snow meant a freedom of sorts. We were all freed from the pressures to do well in school, to earn that almighty dollar, or to just be 'grown-ups'.

I shocked my kids when they were little by getting out in the snow and playing with them. Parents weren't supposed to do that. Parents weren't supposed to act like they loved to play in the snow. That's exactly what I did though and after a few shocked moments, the kids joined in with me and we all had a blast. Snowmen grew out of the yard, snowballs came flying out of nowhere and after, there were steaming mugs of hot chocolate waiting to warm us up with.

So when did all this change? When did I go from the snow loving teenager and young mother to the...sigh I have to say it...Adult....that groans when she sees snow in the weather forecast? It seems that the older I get, the less I like snow. It's still lovely to watch falling, silently covering the world in a white blanket. It just doesn't create the same excitement in me anymore. Snow now means bundling up in layers to keep warm, cleaning off the car, and shoveling the driveway.

I saw a hint of my old self when I introduced the puppy to the snowball. He valiently chased the solid white ball I threw for him and was amazed when he went to pick it up with his mouth, it disintegrated! The expression on his puppy face was hysterical, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I continued to make and throw snowballs and he continued to try and catch them. By the time I was tired (well before he was), he was covered in snow and I was ready for the mug of hot chocolate I had waiting in the microwave for me.

So the youngster that loved snow is still in me, it just takes a bit more to get her to come out and play because the adult me knows of the responsibilities I have now. The kids are grown, the grandkids are too far away to play with on a regular basis, so I have my puppy to play with my inner six year old. He should keep her going for quite some time to come. :-)

Catching up

It's been quite a while since I last posted.  A lot has happened. A few more catherizations, a few more stents, and finally triple bypass surgery that I almost didn't survive. I did survive and I'm recovering nicely. I'm back to work and in January I'll be back to school. I can't wait to start classes again. I miss homework. (And yes, I've been told that's sick.)

The other day the funniest (now it's funny) thing happened. I took the day off work to break a pain cycle. I took a pretty heavy duty pain pill and lay down for a nap. Sometime during that nap, my dentures began to bother me and I took them out and set them on the night table. During that nap, my 5 month old puppy Auggie grabbed my dentures. I found them...or what was left of them...later that night. All that was left was a piece big enough to hold 2 teeth. I wasn't very happy with the puppy at that point as you can well imagine. The next day at work however, we were flinging 'tooth' puns around wildly. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. The Learning Lab staff sure is good at finding the absurd in situations...lol.

So today I have an appointment with the dentist to see about new dentures. I am terrified of dentists and haven't been back to one since the last visit almost 11 years ago when the sadist doctor tried to use what looked like a wood rasp on my gums to get rid of bone spurs. So keep your fingers crossed I don't freak out and hit the dentist...that probably wouldn't be a good thing.

Catching up

It's been awhile since I've posted to the blog. Not because I forgot about it, but because life has been very busy. I have a new job! As of Tuesday July 6th, I now work at IUSB. I'm sort of being shared right now between the Academic Center for Excellence (tutoring area) and the Writing Center (writing tutoring). I'm currently sitting in the Writing Center in between students. Summer session II has started and by next week we should be over run with folks asking for help with papers. I'll be the one checking them in, at least for now. I hope to be tutoring her myself soon.

I had lunch today at the Courtside Cafe and sat outside on the quad to eat it. It struck me that this campus is not just bigger in terms of space than Ivy Tech was, it's bigger in terms of population as well. Currently I only know a few folks on campus, that should change pretty fast and will definitely change quickly once classes start. I can't wait for classes to start, I really miss homework. (yes I know, I'm twisted.)

Anyway, that's what's new in my world, what's new in yours? I miss Ivy Tech and all the folks there, but I get to keep up with a fair amount of them on Facebook. I miss my students and hope the end of the semester is going well for them. Being at IUSB is a challenge and I'm really looking forward to the changes this challenge will bring to me.

Catch ya all later! Froggie Hugs!

Sharing the gift of reading

You never know when or where you'll be able to share the gift of reading with someone. I'm lying in the hospital bed last week (yes another hospital visit...blech) and the nurse comes in. I've asked hubby to bring me books because well, lets face it, lying in a hospital bed is pretty boring. I'm reading J.D. Robb's "Kindred in Death" and the nurse asks me if it's any good. I go on to describe the storyline in brief and it intrigues the nurse. She says she'll have to give them a try. She doesn't get much time to read but loves to and finds it a good way to relax at night. This starts a discussion on favorite authors and titles. Every time she comes in the room that day she askes me for another title. I take books with me everywhere I go, appointments, school, etc. and it's amazing how often i get asked 'what are you reading'? The gift of reading was shared with me a very long time ago by Mrs. Kurtz. I continue to share the gift with anyone I come across because not only is it important that we read...it's just FUN to read.

 

This is me as they read my name...I'm about to receive my diploma. My cane's name is George. He's named after my favorite uncle who was always sure and stead and could be relied on to be there. I decorated him with Ivy Tech colors because he's been with me this whole time, he graduated too! LOL

Graduation and appreciation

Tomorrow is graduation and while this is not technically about literature, it's my blog so I'm gonna blog about it anyway. lol

If not for some very important people in my life I would not be about to graduate and I'd like to take a few to thank them.

Bill -- My love and my life. You are my rock and my support. Your love has given me the confidence in myself to do anything.

Becky, Chris, and Sarah -- You 3 are the best things that have ever happened in my life. I am blessed to be your mom and to have watched you grow into the wonderful adults you are today. I love you all.

Jessica and Jesi -- You kept me real while encouraging me to do my best. You kept me laughing and kept me able to see the absurd side of things. I love you guys.

Joseph -- My dad. You taught me there wasn't anything I could't do if I just put my mind to it. I love you daddy and always will. This one's for you. I did it!!

My friends and family -- Your love and support has meant the world. We are all affected by those around us, I'm blessed to say I have the best friends and family in the world.

And finally:
Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon -- Queen

While I may have never met you in person, your music and your words have influenced my life for many years. "We Are The Champions" got me and the kids through some very dark years. No matter what life threw at us, we knew we'd survive because we ARE the champions.

A line from "Innuendo" says: "You can be anything you want to be, just turn yourself into anything you think that you could ever be." That's exactly what I've been doing and this song reminds me of it every time I hear it.

And finally "I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it Now." This has been my 'theme' song while in school, and it was written by Queen. I want it all and thanks to the education I've received at Ivy Tech and the one I'll be getting at IUSB, I will have it all!

Thank you everyone!!!!

Kipling

I just finished reading 3 Kipling stories and I loved them!!

The Elephant's Child is a lovely story about a curious child who learns the hard way that curiosity, while i can have good rewards, can be hazardous.

How The Leopard Got His Spots made me smile. The cunning of the giraffe and the zebra was great.

My favorite though was Rikki Tikki Tavi. I loved Rikki's courage and tenacity and his absolute faith in himself.

There is an old joke that goes "Do you like Kipling? I don't know I've never Kippled." well I've now "kippled' and I can say without a doubt. I like Kipling!

Blogging is fun and enlightening

I've been reading everyone's blogs and I have to say: You guys are GOOD! I've been keeping up on them, and they make me think. I read Mrs. S's blog yesterday and thought, "If I were teaching this class, what stories would I include?" No so far fetched an idea s that is my ultimate career goal. So I started net surfing to find lists of American Lit short stories. I found this great list:

http://www.classicshorts.com/bib.html

There were a few on there that I remember reading from high school but most were new to me. I have a whole list of great things to read this summer and it was only a google search away.

I'd read Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" in high school, we were going to do it as a play. I went back and re-read it yesterday and it's lost none of its punch. The ending still grabs me by the back of the neck and sends chills up and down my spine.

Today I think I'm in a Kipling kind of mood. There are 3 short stories of his on this site and I think I'll read them all. Should be fun, I haven't really read Kipling before, I've seen "The Jungle Book" of course which is based on some of his stories but I've never read them. It should be fun.

As this is the last week of class, I'll take a moment to wish you all a great summer. If you are graduating, CONGRATS!! If you are continuing on, FANTASTIC!! If you guys every want to chat, I think I'll still keep pronto, so just IM me. Mrs. S....thank you for a wonderful class that made me think and exposed me to some literature I might not have read before. This class has been....FUN!

Make the day yours, go out and learn something new. stealing a line I saw on twitter today: May the fourth be with you. (yeah i know bad pun...no cookie)

New Beginnings

Last night during Honors Convocation T. S. Eliot was quoted. "In my end is my beginning." I really liked that and it's spoken to me a lot since then. I have all kinds of new beginnings happening in my life now.

A new beginnging:
Because I am graduating and moving onto the next phase of school
Because I had a wake up call and have to change my life
Because I am no longer a smoker
Because I am eating healthier than I ever have
Because I can hear the birds chirping now (where I might have ignored them before)

There are also endings:
The end of my time at Ivy Tech as a student
The end of just coasting along life thinking I was doing ok
The end of dirty ashtrays and spending money I could better use elsewhere
The end of high fat high sodium diets
The end of ignoring the simple things in life.

So in these endings are my new beginnings. The new beginnings that will lead to a happier,healthier, more creative life. Some people fear change, I did to for awhile, I've come to see change is just a new beginning and something to be treasured not feared.

Wake up Call

It's been a rather interesting few days to say the least. I woke up monday morning with chest pain and left arm pain. All the tv shows say if you have that combination, go tot he E.R. so we did. Turns out...and this was a huge shock to me...that I'd had a heart attack. Cardiologist called in, does heart catherization and finds blockage. Puts two stents in and I'm on the way to recovery. Sounds pretty simple right? I'm told to go home, rest and heal up. Healing I can do...resting is going to be another matter entirely.

I got up this morning thinking, 'oh crud, I'm running late for work,' then realized. I'm not allowed to go to work. The resulting emotional meltdown scared the cats, baffled my husband and left me with a rotten headach. I guess I have to just suck it up and deal. But I have to say this. IT'S NOT FAIR!!!! I want to go to work, I want to go to class. I want to do my homework. and I'm told I can't do any of those things yet.

According to the nurses at Memorial, this is pretty normal. Jody and Henry were excellent in their care of me, so I guess they must know what they are talking about. It's hard to change the way you've done things your whole life. I'm guessing nobody expects this to be a 100% overnight change, that would be pretty ridiculous to expect, right?

I guess I'll have plenty of time on my hands to rest (grrrrrrr) and read. Thank goodness I love to read, but I'll probably have everything I own read before the summer is over. Ok...time to stop this whine fest and get on with things. I'm alive and I have a bright future ahead of me, the rest will work itself out.

New layout

This blog will be always changing and evolving and growing and to that end, you are likely to see new layouts every so often. Today's is this. The parchment look just spoke to me that screamed for a picture. I found this cute little guy on google images. I collect dragons (along with frogs) and I have a love for books so this picture is just a perfect fit.

Spent the morning talking with my older sister Linda about childhood memories. Linda is the one that introduced me to Pern and Anne McCaffrey's writing (thank you Lin!) which brings today's post full circle back to literature.

Make the day yours, go out and learn something...a thought...a word...an idea.

Flying the friendly skies of Pern

This week's readings were, to be prefectly blunt, horrid. Dealing with the Holocaust in one and the lynch mob murder in another is just depressing. But they are done, the discussion questions/journal postings are done and the final paper for World Lit is done (at least the first draft of it anyway). Now it's time to kick back and relax.

I really want to go shopping. What else is a girl to do when depressed but shop...right? Only this girl is a little different then most, what I want to shop for is....wait for it....BOOKS! I feel the need to 'feed my addiction' as my husband calls it. The only problem is, i'm a little light on money. So I have two options, the library (ok not an option since my son has the card) or the net. DING DING DING....we have a winner Johnny, the net it is!

While searching the net for books, Anne McCaffrey's name popped up. That's just what I need right now...a good dose of Pern!

Now as luck would have it, I own just about everything Anne McCaffrey has ever written, she's by far, my favorite author and I've gone to Pern to visit so many times I've had to replace books because I read the pages right out of them. So that's my way to escape tonight. I'm going to go to Pern and I'm going to 'become' Lessa. When she rides her golden queen dragon Ramoth, I'll be right there with her, flying the skies of Pern. That should perk me right up! :-)

So off I go, good reading to you all. As another of my fav authors would write "Wind to thy wings." (Mercedes Lackey)

Daffodils and Wordsworth

I saw daffodils today, which made me think of William Wordsworth, one of my favorite poets. This caused me to do a Google search for his poetry and I stumbled across my favorite poems by this favorite of poets.

I first heard this poem in the TV show Beauty and the Beast. I’m a hopeless romantic so this show was right up my alley. Because of this show, I started writing stories based on the characters (this is known as fan fic) and have had several published. Also because of this show I have looked up more poetry than I can name on my own just because I wanted to read more by poets that were quoted in the show. Without Beauty and the Beast, I would never have found this:

COMPOSED UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, SEPT. 3, 1802
William Wordsworth
EARTH has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty:
This City now doth, like a garment, wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,
Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie
Open unto the fields, and to the sky;
All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.
Never did sun more beautifully steep
In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill; 10
Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!
The river glideth at his own sweet will:
Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;
And all that mighty heart is lying still!

I would never have read it aloud in Oral Interpretation of Literature class, I would never have spoken it to my grandbabies a I held them in my arms and I would have missed out on one of the loveliest poems in all of recorded human history.

So the next time someone tells you that nothing good can come from watching television, think about this. Without television and one little television show that affected my life in so many ways, I’d have missed this poem. You never know where you will find inspiration, don’t throw it away just because it comes from what some call the ‘boob tube.’

To blog or not to Blog

Since on Tuesday’s I don’t have to be on campus until noonish, I generally give myself an extra hour of sleep. That didn’t work so well this morning because I forgot to reset the alarm to Tuesday time. So I got up at my normal 7:30 ish…or whenever I stop shutting off the snooze on the 3 alarms I have set. You see, I sleep like the dead and need those 3 alarms just to have a hope of getting up on time.

So the plan was to get up and do the discussion questions for “Going To Meet The Man.”  I say was because it didn’t happen. I think this is a not so subconscious attempt to avoid the questions because I disliked the story content so much.

So what I did was cruise youtube. I love…adore…geek out…over youtube. You can find everything from music videos (YAY Queen!) to the structural details of DNA to…and this is where I proove my geekdom…videos from past science fiction cons. Yes I am a sci/fi geek. I love all things science fiction, I can do the Vulcan hand greeting (with both hands!) and I love every incarnation of Star Trek (except Nemesis!) What I wound up finding were videos of a talk Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher Trek Next Gen) gave at a con (short for convention).

You’re probably wondering at this point why I’m blogging about this. Well the simple fact is, Wil Wheaton blogs and I’ve read his blogs for about a year now. I find them to be slices of his daily life that give me an insight into the mind of a ‘celebrity.’ They are also very clearly and well crafted in the writing and I’ve decided when my blog grows up, I want it to be like Wil Wheaton’s.

I’m now on campus, waiting for the students I’m to tutor to show up today. Naturally, the first one cancelled and I didn’t think to call in and check, so I have a little extra time on my hands. Did I do the smart thing and bring my American Lit text so I could work on the discussion questions? Of course not…there’s that subconscious at work again.  So instead I decided to do today’s blog and as usual it wanders all over the place. 

So there you have it, I didn’t get the discussion questions done yet, I will, but probably not today. I’ll be on campus from now (noonish) till 9 pm tonight and by the time I get home I’ll probably just stare blindly at whatever my husband has on the tv till he looks at me and says, “go to bed, you’re fried.”  At least I can say I did something for American Lit today, I blogged.  

Weekend Reading

This weekend's reading selections for World Lit II and American Lit II were really hard to handle. I went from reading about concentration camp life in "Ladies and Gentlemen, To The Gas Chamber" (World Lit) to a lynch mob in "Going To Meet The Man" (American Lit). Both were incredibly hard to read and both churned emotions in me I'd really rather not feel.

Literature for me isn't just about reading the words, I go into the story, no matter what story it is. I identify with the characters usually and can feel the emotions they feel. This is a double edged blade, it gives me great insight into what I'm reading, but at the same time, when reading material like this, it hurts.

Both stories were powerfully written with clearly defined characters that grabbed the readers attention, sometimes almost literally by the throat. This might be why if given a choice, I prefer Science Fiction/Fantasy to read in my spare time. I may still ideentify with the characters and feel their pain, but the settings are usually so distant and remote that I can separate myself from the hurt.  I can see why Prof. D. chose to leave this till the end of the semester, if I'd read this at the beginning, I don't think I'd have had the heart to go on with the rest of the semester.

Off to write up the journal postings...won't that be fun? LOL Good reading to you all.

spoken poetry

A friend of mine sent me a youtube link tonight to a poet she wanted me to hear. I'd never heard of Taylor Mali but I'm really glad she sent me the link. He's wonderful! Here is a link to his personal web page:

 http://www.taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=2

and here is a link to one of his poems performed live: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbnQfFaxkno&feature=related

For those sensitive, Mali can be a bit off color at times, but it is always done in a very funny vein. His performance of "The Impotance of Proofreading" is hysterically funny. You can find that on youtube as well here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OonDPGwAyfQ&feature=related

I hope you enjoy. That's all for tonight....dream deeply...ladifrog

Random Thoughts

I was going through my books today and came across my copy of The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. This was such a favorite book when I was a kid that a few years ago I paid $40.00 to get another copy of it. I'd read the pages right out of the one I had as a kid. When I re-read it as an adult, I was overjoyed to find out that the book had lost none of it's charm. I spent a few delightful hours reliving childhood memories  of Robin's adventures. 


This got me thinking about my classmates and what might be your favorite book from childhood. I've always thought our tastes in what we read are influenced by what we read as children. I read practically anything I could get my hands on, so my tastes are very varied. What are your tastes like? What do you like to read best and why? Do you think that has helped you or hindered you in this class?

Rainy days and good books

It's kind of gloomy today, rain coming down in sheets. The perfect time to curl up with a good book. In my case, today is the day I read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" for World Lit II. I go into it thinking I've heard of this but having no idea what the story will be about.

One of my favorite things to do on a day like this is to curl up with a book...any book, and a cup of hot chocolate. The world falls away and I enter the world of whatever I'm reading. It's a magical transportation to another land. I discovered reading in second grade. My teacher Mrs. Kurtz showed me the joy of the written word. She told us with books we could go anywhere, do anything, and be anyone. I've remembered the lessons she taught us all these years. She opened up a new world of posibilities for me. Thank you Mrs. Kurtz wherever you are.

My husband calls my desire for books 'feeding my addiction'...lol...thats what I do when I go to the library or to Barnes and Nobles (which in my opinion is the closest thing to heaven on earth).  I think thats why I want to teach Literature so badly. I want to share the joy I feel about books with others and open up that world of possibilities for them.  Some of my favorite modern authors are Anne McCaffrey, Mercedes Lackey, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinline, and Jeffrey Deaver. I've discovered I really like Tolstoy, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner. I can't wait to find out what Kafka is like, so I guess I'd better close this out for now and go read. I'll post more later after I'm done reading. TTFN Ladifrog 

Welcome

Welcome to Ladifrog's Blog. Here I'll blog my journey into literature and the path I'm on to become an English Literature professor.

I graduate from Ivy Tech Community College in 31 days and then I have the summer off. I start at Indiana University South Bend in August and I can't wait. On the way I hope to read some truely wonderful pieces of literature and find the ways they impact me and how I think and feel about things.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think? Have you read anything you'd like to recommend? Are you on the same career path I'm on?