December 3, 2012

  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    I haven't texted or called him yet, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DAD!

    Next year, he'll be 60. Holy crap!

  • Death leads to Life?

    The "Dear Dead Person" prompt is one that, while it sounds rather gloomy, actually gets students "talking" to their lost loved ones. The writing they produce is rather touching. A few wrote to grandparents, and parents, and asked them for help during finals week. One wrote to a friend they lost suddenly & told him that their parties aren't the same without him. A few admitted guilt that they hadn't talked to the spouse of the person who had passed in a while...

    And I think, if I were a student with this prompt, I'd write to my grandfather. He was the first grandparent for me to lose (I had the honor of meeting three great-grandparents before they left us); it still takes a toll on me to think of his funeral. He was honored with a fly-over at the grave site because he was a World War II pilot (and flew in the Korean War, too, I believe). He was a guy who kept himself to himself; he was rough around the edges, but perhaps was that way due to the wars he'd seen ... I always try to focus on his goofy side when I think of him. Towards the end of his 89-year-long life, he became blind and even more amusing with this comebacks or quips.
    We miss you grandpa... as Mom would say, "We miss you, Blue."

November 29, 2012

  • 25 Days of Crafts?

    Okay, so a lot of people on Facebook did these "I'm Thankful for..." statuses for X amount of days; I'm thinking of doing something kind of similar. Since Saturday marks the start of December, and I've been obsessed with craft projects lately, I'm wondering if I shouldn't try out a new crafty thing each day. Some of the stuff I have found on Pinterest isn't difficult to make, and this way, I might have extra cool Christmas gifts?

    AND I've noticed that when I focus on being creative outside of the writing realm of things, I get creative everywhere. This could help in my latest publishing projects (that may or may not blossom). The goal today is, since I've wrapped up grading for this week and don't have classes until tomorrow, to find craft projects to do each day because I'm going to need 25 of them. Or at least 15-20 because some may be 1+ day projects...
    I think I'll blog about these projects here, if possible, and definitely on my blogspot site, too.

November 28, 2012

November 25, 2012

  • image
    What keeps me warm?
    Him (the bf), my family & friends, my kitty, and
    CREATING stuff = writing, reading, learning, crafting, blogging, etc.

  • This Week:
    -Email students about presentations this week.
    -Assess online stuff.
    -Assess P5 letters & project as they come in. (Eng110)
    -Eng110 My Words, too.
    -Book idea with Natalie...
    -Planning for next semester!
    -Brad & Dr. Richman: Literary magazine research! Create ad & rules?

    Meetings: Lunch meeting (K-16 Conference Sub-committee) Monday in Lib204, Assessment Mtg at 4pm Thursday...
    Other Stuff in the Evenings: Night of Indulgence Tuesday, Holiday Panel Wednesday, Native American Presentations Thurs & Fri?

    Just realized I'm going to miss the Haverty Hall potluck due to TIES. Poo! And because of TIES & our dad's surgery, I might be gone for over half of Finals Week. Sheesh!

November 22, 2012

November 21, 2012

November 19, 2012

  • Just DO It, Already, Damn It.


    An edited piece of writing from here:

    "Creativity is not all about changing the world or pushing boundaries. It’s not centered on breaking the status quo or creating some timeless invention. [...] New ideas are not sought merely for the sake of having new ideas. [...] No, if you were to ask any true creative – the artist, singer, dancer, poet, sculptor, programmer, writer, video game maker, whatever – what drives them to be creative, [...] they would tell you of their passion for doing. That’s what creative thinking is really about. It’s doing what you love, because you love it. It’s an inherent curiosity about the world, ideas, and the very act of doing."

  • Be Grateful?

    “It is a miracle if you can find true friends, & it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, & it is a miracle if you get to spend your days & evenings doing whatever it is you like to do, & the holiday season — like all the other seasons — is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, & to be grateful for them.”

    (Lemony Snicket — from the latest issue of Real Simple.)

    And if you need some relationship advice, this guy might have some... :o )