Blog Jar: "My Dream Vacation"

This is easy. GREECE!

But I'm more picky than that. I do not want to go during the summer when it is hot, when the tourists outnumber the natives. Brandi no like heat. Brandi no like lots of people.

I would like to go to Greece in late autumn, or even in the dead of winter. Southern Greece would still be fairly mild, and northern Greece would have sheets of snow and ice. Oh, how I would love to see the black sands of Santorini as the cool waters of the Mediterranean lapped at my bare feet... How I would love to walk around Demeter's "birthplace" of Eleusis... How I would adore going to Athens and meet my friend Martha...

I can't wait for the day when I can put a Greek stamp in my passport and can put into practice my pathetic Greek vocabulary. Just thinking about it fills me with wanderlust!

Meeting Free Write

I am officially the big 30! So....I'm going to attempt to "live my life like it's golden." This is a lyric from a song entitled Golden by Jill Scott.

I blogged, so therefor I am...
being a good tutor.

Following My Own Advice... Outlines!

I am the type of student who works well under pressure, who waits until the pressure of the ticking clock becomes nearly unendurable before I truly set to work to finish a paper.

As a writer, I let the blinking cursor on the screen lead me to whatever weave of the tale comes next.

Aaaaand these things lead to problems. Sometimes I stress myself out over a paper that I waited too long on. And with my writing? I've barely made progress in a story I've had in my head for several years now.

When a student comes in with the need to brainstorm for ideas, I always tell that person that an outline is a good idea. An outline is the skeleton of your paper--all it does is support the frame and tell you where all the pieces go. What you fill in from there is the flesh that will finally create the whole body of your paper.

But then I think, "Wow, why don't I follow my own advice?" How hippocritical of me to lecture about outlines when I don't make them either?

So I've decided to start creating outlines. At least for my creative writing. I'm starting with a general one, then I'll add detail until I have a mini-outline created for each separate chapter. And you know what? A lot of pieces fell into place with the plot that I've been struggling with for the past three years.

I'm really excited for summer break. Though I'll still be working at one place or another--I hope!--I won't be taking any classes until fall. That will leave me with three months to play with these outlines and start doing some creative writing again. I even brought along a binder to work today, one which had been buried in a box and contains all the old notes for my story. It was such a treat--sometimes a cringe-worthy one--to read some of my old scribbles. Re-reading old notes also cast long-forgotten ideas back into the forefront of my mind.

After an overlong respite, my muse is starting to stir again. (I think that might account for my having, what, three posts now in as many days?) And all because I decided to work with an outline.

Sometimes stubbornness does not pay off.

(But sometimes it does!)

Friday Meeting Free Write

What is beautiful in my life?

Right now in my life there is beauty in the learning processes that I am going through. Of course the process of my formal education is great, but I'm talking about my personal journey...

I am in a phase where I am constantly contemplating what it is that I want out of this blink we call life--what is truly important to me. I realize more and more each day just how short my time here is. Things that I used to stress about (and still do to some extent) are the things that I am teaching myself to let go. This is a very difficult but very freeing experience. I am learning self-acceptance; that I'm not a superwoman, although I am a super woman.

Being a newlywed, I am learning things about my husband that one can only know by living under the same roof with a spouse. Not only do I know what his "roses really smell like, ooh ooh ooh..." but I am learning how to compromise in ways that I never dreamed of.

In the past five months, I have watched my brand new nephew, Ahston Jordan Gilbert grow and change in the most fascinating ways. Never have I been so close to a baby before. He is in the beginnings of rolling over. His smile lights up his face. He has blue-gray eyes curtained by thick eyelashes. People say babies all look alike, but I could pick this little man out of a million! It makes me want one of my own so badly, but I'll just kidnap him for a while until we're ready.

What is beautiful in my life?
Looking at a pile of dirty clothes and sometimes forcing myself to sleep instead of doing them, arguments over who left the lights on, getting to hold a precious baby boy without having to change mountains of poopy diapers...
What isn't beautiful in my life?

What to write about?

So many things have been going on lately, within my own personal life and here at the LC. I often find myself distracted by the least little thing. I want to know where all the tutees have gone. Hello!!!!???? Anyone out there???? I'd really like to help you with your writing skills! I'd much rather be helping a student than blogging. No offense to those who love to blog. Peace out peeps!

From the Blog Jar: "I have one grammatical pet-peeve..."

Actually, I have at least two grammatical pet-peeves.

First, alright. "Alright" drives me up the wall. Any dictionary will tell you that "alright" is the incorrect spelling of "all right." All right. Two words.

Eventually the masses will force a change upon the dictionary, causing "all right" to become obsolete and "alright" to be the norm. Anything is possible. After all, I saw "thru" used last week in an online news article, and no, it wasn't for "drive-thru" either.

*shudder*

Anyway, until "alright" becomes all right, I will continue to spread the word. ALL RIGHT?!


Next, everyday vs. every day. Two different styles. One is an adverb, one is an adjective. And they are NOT interchangeable.

First, the adverb. An adverb modifies a verb or another adverb. Example: "I really seriously do not like this." This person seriously DOES not like. See? The "seriously" goes with a verb. Also, the "really" modifies the "seriously," and since we have already established that "seriously" is an adverb, we can say that "really" is an adverb, too, because it is modifying another adverb.

"I wear these shoes every day." How do you wear them? Every day. You're explaining how you wear them, or when you wear them... you're explaining a VERB. To wear. Because of this, "every day" is an adverb. Actually, 2 adverbs stuck together. Which day? Every day. What about the day? That's when I wear my shoes.

Every Day = adverb.


Now, the adjective. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. The tall man, the green grass, the everyday shoes.

This time, "every day" becomes "everyday." You're not describing the VERB of wearing them any more; now you are describing the NOUN--the shoes. "These are my everyday shoes. I wear them every day."


I know, English is a strange and untamed beast. But I have a whip and a 3-legged stool, so it is my job to take control of it.


I am the lion tamer.

I am the tiger trainer.

I am...
...the English Tutor.


(A little dramatic? Sorry :)

Morning Freewrite / What is beautiful in my life?

My daughter, Gracie, is the most beautiful, precious thing in my life.

When I find it hard to smile, I think of her.

She's the motivation behind my waking up every morning.

She's my pride and joy, even though it's cliche to say so.

I want to teach her so much about life, but, inevitably, she's the one who teaches me.

She teaches me how to be compassionate,
how to have fun at all costs,
how to make every day "The Best Day Ever,"
and how to beat every Lego superhero game known to man.

She's starting kindergarten this year, and I'm not going to be naive enough to say I won't cry.

My beautiful, precious girl is growing up. That's definitely reason enough to smile.

Blog Ideas

In light of our morning discussion regarding blog topics, I did a little research (Okay, it only involved Googling "blog ideas," but, hey, I did it!) and discovered this nice page with a zillion blog ideas. Not necessarily "ideas" as in topics, but "ideas" as in ways to write blogs and use them to your advantage.

And for a more light-hearted approach to "topics," look here.

Ah, I write in here more than I thought I did!

Here I thought I hadn't written anything here since my acrostic poem about Winter Quarter, but I'd forgotten about my nearly-spring-break post a few weeks ago. See, Deb? This blog isn't dead! Just... sluggish. ^_^

As promised, I am posting my free-write that came from our meeting earlier today.

Pushing myself toward my goals is something that only I can do. The situation I'm in now is not ideal, but neither is it terrible. Reminding myself that it could only be worse, I continue trudging through the snow of obstacles--sometimes ankle-deep, sometimes waist-deep--toward whatever horizon awaits me.

In the valleys and foothills to come, I hope to find peace but not complacency; rest, but not laziness; solitude, but not loneliness.

Only I can meet my future.

Links

Folks are giving me lots of links to personal blogs and sites of interest, which I am finding pretty cool!

Why not use this space to share links? If you are looking to start an online community, you may find a built-in audience here . . .

Winner of the Winter Writing Contest

Congratulations are in order for our very own Jenn Slone, who won last quarter's Writing Contest: Gaming and Its Impact on American Culture with her essay "Literacy Through Gaming: A Testimonial."

Good work, Jenn! Keep writing!