Final ROW Check-in

This is the final check-in for this round.  I didn’t get as much done this round and was only active in posting updates in the last week and a half. 

My goal was to write for 30 minutes 3 times a week.  I don’t really know what the time was that I used to write, but I do know that I have approximately 3,500 words on a new story that I didn’t have before this round started.

I starged a new goal this past week that I will continue on through the break between rounds.  I’ve read the first three chapters of Larry Brooks Story Engineering and want to finish it before the next round starts.

ROW80 participant linky

How did you do on your goals?

Melissa

Melissa Monday: All About George

Welcome to Melissa Monday.  Today I’m going to share with you my recent experience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Part 1 of 2 parts.  Why 2 parts?  Because I found a whole lot more to share than I expected to.  The first part is going to be about the exhibit I went to see:  George Washington.  The second part (which will show up in Melissa Monday next week) will be about the Ronald Reagan part of the Library.

See, I’ve been to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library several times as it is maybe 10 minutes away from my parents’ house.  I didn’t think I’d find anything else interesting about the Ronald Reagan part, but I didn’t know that it’s been remodeled.  The exhibits were new and/or redesigned.  So, I’ll show pictures about that part of trip next week.

This week, onto George Washington.

Painting of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale

For some reason I’ve recently been intrigued with George Washington.  Maybe it’s the fact the my parents visited Mount Vernon a few months ago and talked about how they enjoyed it.  Maybe it’s the fact that I was telling my students the traditional story of George Washington and the cherry tree before President’s Day and was thinking there has to be something more interesting to tell my students about him.

Then I got to thinking, what do I really know about George Washington?  It’s been several years since I’ve had an American History class, so after wracking my brains, embarrassingly, I came up with very little.  I knew the basics  – fought in the Revolutionary War, first President of the United States, didn’t want to be a king, married to Martha Washington, lived at Mount Vernon,  face is on the Quarter and Dollar, his face is carved into Mount Rushmore wore dentures, and that ridiculous story about the cherry tree.

I wanted to know more about him.  Hence, why I wanted to go see the exhibit on his life.

Life Size Models (More than a Coin)

The first thing I remember about the exhibit is that they showed a video that was sponsored by the History Channel.  It showed how historians wanted to recreate life size models of George Washington and they wanted to get a better likeness than what we have on the Quarter and Dollar bill.  First they recreated him at the time he became president, when he was 57.  They used computer imaging to erase wrinkles and other manipulations to de-age him twice more, when he was in the Revolutionary Army and when he was 19.  At a towering 6’3” these life size models are much more impressive than small 2D images on our currency.

George Washington at age 19 as a Frontier Surveyor

George Washington as General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army

George Washington at age 57 being sworn in as President of the United States

Military George (Brits, Americans, and Spies)

I had no idea that George started his military career in the British Army.  As a young man, he longed to be in the British Navy, but his mother wouldn’t let him so he became a frontier surveyor.  Later he joined the British Army and became a war hero during the French and Indian War.  While he was only in the British Army for 3 years, his reputation stayed with him through the Revolutionary War.

Another part of the exhibit that I enjoyed was the espionage part.  There was another video played that talked about the inventive ways people spied during the Revolutionary War.  The video claimed that Washington himself was the inventor of these espionage ways.  It was very interesting and would like to see if I could find that video somewhere, but have not yet been able to find it.  The whole Washington was the father of American Espionage sort puts a different spin on that whole Cherry tree myth and “I cannot tell a lie.”  Obviously, he could if it was for a cause he believed in.

Here’s a video about Washington and espionage.  It’s not the one at the exhibit, nor is it as entertaining as that one, but it gets the point across.  Washington was the father of military intelligence.  I apolize that it’s not embedded.  The link will take you to the video.

Engaging in Espionage

Wooden Teeth?

Another myth about George Washington was that his dentures were wood.  Not true.  They were made of various objects such as animal teeth, ivory, and even people teeth.  Apparently there are three sets in existence today  and only one complete set.  Here’s a picture of the only complete set.

George Washington's dentures

Here’s a short video about the teeth.

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon was George’s home for most of his life.  It was the family home.  His older brother inherited Mount Vernon when their father died.  A few short years later, George’s brother also died and the home went to George.   Mount Vernon was a working farm whether he was away at war or at home.

Mount Vernon model

Grist Mill used to make flour

Distillery

The labor on Mount Vernon was done by slaves.   I knew that George Washington had owned slaves.  What I did not know was that he freed his slaves in his will.  They were to be freed upon Martha’s death, but she freed them in 1801 before her 1802 death.  However, not all slaves at Mount Vernon were freed because many of the slaves were dower slaves from Martha’s first marriage and were held in trust for her descendants.  Those slaves stayed in slavery and were inherited by Martha’s grandchildren.  That whole system must have been confusing as George’s slaves and the dower slaves lived and worked together and many of them had married each other and had families.  Some of them were free and some were not.

Martha Washington

If George is the hero of American History, he needs a heroine.  That heroine is Martha Washington.  George called her “My Dearest.”   The term “First Lady” had not been coined yet, so the rest of the country called her “Lady Washington.”  Martha had two young children from a previous marriage when she and George got married.   She and George raised these two young children plus some nieces, nephews, and some grandchildren together at Mount Vernon.   The two did not have children together.

Painting of Martha Washington by Rembrandt Peale

While the pictures we have Martha are not that flattering, I like to think that she was pretty in her younger years, at least George thought she was, and that’s what matters, right?

A reproduction of Martha's Wedding Dress

Reproduction of Martha's Wedding Shoes

I love these shoes.  They are beautiful.

Very few of the letters between George and Martha remain today as Martha was so distraught after his death that she burned most of them.

There is a whole lot more that I learned this weekend and still more that I want to find out about.  I think this exhibit was a good starting point.  Did you learn anything?  Anything else you’d like to find out more about?

ROW Sunday 3/18/12 Update

Did Everyone have a good St. Patrick’s Day?

I didn’t really celebrate except to watch some leprechaun movie on the Disney Channel.  But since I’m on Spring Break, I did have a nice day.

I’m enjoying my Sunday afternoon as well.  It’s nice being able to do what I want to do and not making sure I have plans ready for my students for the week.  Of course, that is what I’ll be doing next weekend, but it’s nice to have this weekend off.

So last week I reported that I was near the 3,000 mark on my new story.  I surpassed the 3,000 mark this past week.  Yeah.  I hope to have more writing time this week.

I’ve also gone through my multitude of writing books and decided that I need to actually read them and not collect them.  I take that back.  I do read them, I just have more than I have actually read.  And, I’ve taken a break from reading craft books lately since teaching takes up most of my time.  Anyway, I’ve decided I need to get back into reading craft books.  I’ve picked Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.  I’ll update you on my progress as I read it.

Hope your ROW80 goals are going well.

ROW80 participants linky.

Melissa

Melissa Monday: Rare Disease Day

It’s Melissa Monday.  It’s been awhile, I know.  I’ve been busy with my students.

This post is overdue by a few weeks.  I’m writing about a serious topic today.  One that affects me and few, but still important, others.

February 29, 2012 was the fifth annual Rare Disease Day.  The day is generally held on the 29^th of the February because it is a “rare” day, but it’s an annual event so it has also been held on the 28^th of February.

Rare Disease Day is important to me because it affects my daily life.  There are approximately 7,000 rare diseases worldwide.  The one I live with – Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA) – affects approximately 1,500 people worldwide (depending on what source you look at).  That is less than .02% of the world’s population.

Many of you out there are probably wondering what DBA  is.  You wouldn’t be the first to ask.  I usually have to explain it to the doctors.  Contrary to what everyone says, the doctor doesn’t always know everything or what’s best.  But that’s another story.  You can click the link above to find out a little bit about DBA.  Another link that I recommend is The DBA Foundation.

In short, it’s a blood disorder.  I prefer the term “disorder” over “disease.”  It sounds better to me.  To me disease sounds like you’re sick and take medication to get better, while disorder means that something is not working properly in your body that medicine or some other kind of treatment may or may not fix.  I’m not sure if that made sense, but that’s how I think of it.

So what’s a blood disorder?  It’s usually means that your bone marrow doesn’t produce a certain kind of cell.  Anemia means that you lack red blood cells, which are needed to carry oxygen throughout the body.  My blood disorder – DBA – is a type of anemia where the bone marrow does not produce red blood cells on its own.  There are several ways to treat this sort of anemia from the use of corticoid steroids, transfusions, bone marrow transplants and stem cell transplants.

I’ve talked about my disorder before and why blood donors for blood transfusions are important:  World Blood Donor Day.

The point of my post and Rare Disease Day is to spread awareness about these rare diseases/disorders so that we can get research done to cure them.  Anyone who has lived with or knows someone who lives with one of these disorders wants a cure, but funding is often limited since these diseases/disorders are so rare.  Not a lot is known about them, which is why we need the research.

Hello everyone!…

Hello everyone!

Yeah, it’s been awhle.  Blame the ever-changing and mostly stressful situations at work.  They keep me busy.

So, it’s a ROW update day.

My goal had been to write 30 minutes for 3 days a week.  I don’t know what time I’ve spent on writing these last few months, but I’ve written close to 3,000 words on a new story.  Not a lot, mind you, but it’s something when most days I feel like exhausted by the time I get home from work.  I’m also not quite sure where the story is going, but it’s been fun to play with every now and then.

Spring Break is coming soon.  Yeah!

ROW80 participants link

Melissa

 

New Year New ROW Goals

Happy 2012!!

Hope everyone’s New Year was awesome.  I had fun with my family.  I ended up trying caviar, duck, and abalone for the first time all in one night.  The caviar was okay, but a bit salty.  I really liked the duck.  I could have done withouth the abalone.  I also had venison, which I have tried before.  It was excellent (so were the short ribs that I finished off from my aunt’s plate).  Then we danced the night away!

And now it’s a new year.  Time to set some goals.  Time to join up with A Round of Words in 80 Days again.  I joined up last spring and really made some progress on my writing.  Then I joined in the summer again, and well, my life changed and writing went by the wayside.  I’ve been really overwhelmed since about July with moving an new job and such.  I’m hoping things will start to calm down soon.  Hence, making a goal post.

ROW80 Goal:  Write for 30 minutes for 3 days a week.  I know this is less than my previous goals, but I’m a lot more overwhelmed and busy now than I was back then.  I need to get back into writing while not making it part of the overwhelming side of my life.

Are you going to sign up for ROW80?

 

Melissa Monday: Merry Christmas!

Welcome to my blog! It’s Monday, and while I haven’t done this in awhile, it’s Melissa Monday where I share something about myself. Today it’s all about Christmas with the family. I love Christmas time because I love being with my family. This year we gathered at my aunts’ house and had a great time!

On Christmas Eve, we went to church then we gathered around the tree to take a picture. This is a yearly tradition (churh and the tree.) Here’s this year’s photo. Yes, Mom and I are really short. Neither one of us to 5″.

Christmas Eve 2011

The next morning,  we had breakfast and opened presents at my aunts’ house.  We had popper things that you pull to get a prize at our place settings.  Inside each one of the poppers was a party hat.  Of course we all had to wear the hats.  Surprisingly, these hats stayed on for breakfast and present opening.  Here’s a few pictures:

Christmas Morning 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re all sporting our Christmas party hats!  Don’t they look awesome?

Dad and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dad and I.  Isn’t  he being such a good sport with his pink hat?  That was another thing.  We had to wear the color that came in our popper. 

 

Sisters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow the sisters ended up with the same color!  And their favorite color to boot.  Purple .

After breakfast, we opened our presents.  We were all spoiled with some great gifts.  I know I’m quite thankful for my new set of pots and pans.  That’s all I asked for this year as my current ones that I moved into my new apartment with are old hand me downs that are falling apart.  No more!  New pans!  Yeah! 

 

I also got some cute things like these pair of slippers:

 

Hello Kitty Slippers

 

 

 

 

 

They also keep my feet quite cozy.

 

 Merry Christmas to all my blog friends!  What were some special moments you had this year?  Did you have any special gifts that you loved?

Happy Holidays!!

Hello everyone!

I have a break from teaching for a few weeks and plan on dusting off my blog and see if I can work out a schedule for it that would work with my teaching schedule.

Anyway, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas or Happy Hannukah.

See you all after Christmas…I have some things to catch up on. Like wrapping the rest of my presents.

Melissa

Melissa Monday: Going Batty

It’s time for Melissa Monday.

Today we’re going batty.

Why?  Because that’s one of my themes in my classroom this week.  I’m working bats into my centers and work groups this week.  Last week it was pumpkins and spiders.  This week pumpkins and bats.  There’s just so much pumpkin stuff out there, I had to keep that theme a little longer.  But anyway, onto this week’s new theme.  Bats.

I have bats (and spiders, pumpkins, skeletons, etc.) as themes for Halloween without getting too much into Halloween (ie no scary stuff like ghosts, vampires, mummies, etc.).   Since I know that not all families celebrate Halloween, I try to keep my topics to “real” themes that I can add some sort of science to.

For pumpkins, I talked about the plant life cycle of a pumpkin.  We also talked about colors of pumpkins and season.  We also made AB pumpkin patterns.

For spiders we talked about counting the spiders legs, it spins webs, and that it is an arachnid and not an insect.  I also brought in some foam pieces and we made spider ornaments.

For bats, I plan to talk about the fact that they are flying mammals, are nocturna l (and the differences between night and day), and use echolocation.  I also have a project where we’re going to make bats out of black paper plates.

Not to mention I have this cute little poem going through my head as I memorized it and the hand motions over the weekend so I’d be ready this week with it:

Five Little Bats Hanging Upside Down
The first little one didn’t make a sound.
The second one said, “I’ll fly far tonigt.”
The third one said, “I don’t like the sunlight.”
The fourth one said, “I want to eat some bugs.”
The fifth one said, “Let me give you a hug.”
Five little bats hanging upside down.
Shhhh! It’s daylight — don’t make a sound.

This one as a hit this morning with my students. Especially since they got to “fly” around the room.

Do you have any Halloween theme ideas?  Do you remember making anything in school that you enjoyed?  Are your kids doing anything fun for Halloween?

 

Melissa Monday: Steinbeck and Otters

 Hello out there in blog land.  Yes, I know it’s been awhile.  Each week I have good intentions of sitting down and writing blog posts, but I keep getting overwhelmed with the challenges of the day job.  Anyway, enough with the excuses.  I have today off and a ton of things to do to get ready for the coming week with my students, but I thought I’d update you on some of the goings on in Melissa Land.

As I’ve stated in other posts, I’ve recently moved quite a few hours north of where I previously lived.  My Dad came to visit a few weeks ago and we had nice weekend where we visited the Steinbeck museum and saw some otters along the coast.  It was a nice weekend .

I found the National Steinbeck Center to be intersesting, and I’ll share some pictures with you.  If you didn’t know, I’m talking about John Steinbeck, the author of such classics like The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden and Cannery Row.  Not only was he an influential part of American Literature, he lived in the area that I currently live in.   I’ve read Grapes of Wrath, but it’s been so long that I don’t remember much about it.  I need to read it again and pick up some of the other novels.  Especially since I’m living in the area where most of them take place.

Here’s some pictures of the National Steinbeck Center:

Front of National Steinbeck Center

Steinbeck

East of Eden Display

Old Car in East of Eden Display

Of Mice and Men Display

Grapes of Wrath Display (This was actually very large and this is only a snippet of the display that included a house and part of a town).

Cannery Row Display

Steinbeck translated into dozens of languages

Nobel Prize for Literature

After the museum, we drove to the coast where the Sea Otters were out and ready to play. They were swimming around and making all sorts of noise. They were definitely ready to take some picures.  Here is a picture of me with the otters.

 

Have you visited anything interesting lately?  Have you read Steinbeck?  Have you visited any type of museum lately?  Seen any sea creatures? Seen any creatures whether from the sea or not?  Just want to say hi since I haven’t been around for awhile?