Booking through Thursday: Girl Detective Style

This week's Booking through Thursday question is about books as gifts:

What, if any, memorable or special book have you ever gotten as a present? Birthday or otherwise. What made it so notable? The person who gave it? The book itself? The “gift aura?”

The most significant book gifts I remember receiving were from my Aunt Margaret. At some point in elementary school, it became clear that I was "a reader." My reputation for loving to read became known family-wide. However, the only books I ever received as gifts were from Aunt Margaret. For several years, at every birthday and for Christmas, she gave me six Nancy Drew books.  I loved getting them, reading them, and rereading them.

 

In a family that did not receive many gifts, the ones we did receive were often practical or generic.  These books were picked out for me, to interest me, to suit me.  I don't know if it was easy for my aunt to buy them for me because she didn't have to wonder what to get for me or if she picked them out for me to encourage me to read.  I don't know.  I do know, though, that I can't hear the words "Nancy Drew" without thinking of those gifted books.  More importantly, I remember my Aunt Margaret, a wonderful aunt, dear friend, and a fabulous person.  She died almost 10 years ago and life just hasn't been the same since.

6 down, 24 to go

A LUE Baby Story (for Subspace Beacon)

Once upon a time (16yrs, 5mos, 22days), in So-So California, a baby boy was born to Mary-LUE and her husband, Paul.  It was a long day of labor, induced around six in the morning and concluding around six that evening after 3 1/2 hours of pushing.  (Yes.  3 1/2.  Hours.)  Baby LUE was 8 lbs., 13 oz. with an alien-shaped head, red, irritated eyes, and the tiniest bit of blond fuzz on top of his head.  

Mary-LUE was exhausted.  Paul was exhausted.  Sister-in-law-LUE, who was also present for the birth, was exhausted.  Approximately 24 hours earlier, this episode of Murphy Brown was on tv:

Mary-LUE, Paul, and Sister-in-law-LUE sat together watching this episode laughing. A kind of hee, hee, haw, haw laugh that seemed to say, "This is so funny. Ha, Ha. This is so funny. I'm not nervous about tomorrow. Tomorrow's delivery will be nothing like this. Hee. Haw. Help me!"

Well, Mary-LUE's labor was not a pretty site.  It would have been a lot funnier if Diane English would have written it, but like Murphy Brown's labor and delivery, there was lots of pain, lots of people trying to help, a time when Mary-LUE didn't think she could do it, and then this:

(Teen-LUE facsimile)

Well, actually, first there was this:

And the LUE family lived happily ever after... until the next delivery 7 years, 52 weeks later. But that's a story for another day.

Historical Note: The same day that Baby-LUE was born, Murphy Brown made headlines when Dan Quayle criticized her for promoting unwed motherhood.

5 down, 25 to go

TMI Tuesday

I was poking around for a meme to do and found this one. While I am not one to share too much information--well, I guess it depends on what kind of information. This week's prompt seems pretty safe, so I am giving it a shot.

1. Have you ever had a moving violation? An auto accident? That was your fault?

I have been pulled over three times--no, four times--in my almost 30 year driving career. Once for turning right on a red in a place where it wasn't allowed, once for having an expired registration, once for cruising through a light at the last minute, and once for rolling through a stop sign. Twice I was given tickets. Wait, that's not right. I've been to traffic school twice and I skipped out on it once. That's three tickets. Auto accidents? I rear-ended someone once. No damage done. No action taken. I smashed Paul's rear bumper when we were dating. It was me against the tree and the tree one. I can't remember any others. I was definitely guilty each time. You may want to reconsider ever driving with me!

2. Have you ever voted? How old where you the first time you voted?

My first election that I voted in was the Reagan/Mondale race in '84. I was just a few days shy of 20 years old.  I have voted in most major elections since then and some minor ones. I am terrible about letting life get in the way of my voting on a year to year basis.  I also have sometimes let my uneasy relationship with American politics discourage me.  My daughter, Marley, may just be responsible for breaking this bad habit in my life.  She was so excited about this election.  Her choice was based on very superficial reasons, but hey, I've always known she was about all that is sparkly and shiny.  It was all about the look for her.  I took her out of school early to go vote with me.  She loved it and proudly wore her "I Voted" sticker today.  I suspect all I will have to do is let her know when there is an election and she will--let's use the word encourage instead of pester--me to get out and vote.

  
3. Are you glad this election cycle is over?

I am glad this election cycle is over.  In fact, I realized this afternoon I was feeling a litle giddy with relief.  Isn't that sad?  I know that I am joined by many others on either end of the political spectrum.  I do have to say that I thought I would be irritated with the election coverage, but what I have watched so far (a little CNN and a little BBC America) hasn't aggravated me too much.  

4. Do you have guilty pleasure? What is it (or are they)?

My middle name could be guilty pleasure--but part of the appeal of a guilty pleasure for me is keeping it secret!  I will confess that a certain BBC show has had me howling with laughter and chagrined at my lack of righteous indignation at the same time.  

5. What is the most embarrassing thing you have done recently?

Under the category of sharing too much information--and refuting my claim that I don't usually share too much--I recently wrote a post, just a general, run of the mill post.  For some reason, I felt the urge to share that I had spent the whole day wearing my bra inside out.  So, embarrassing bit #1, I wore my bra inside out.  Embarrassing bit #2, I chose to share that information on my blog.  Embarrassing bit #3?  Someone I have known since he was in first grade...  someone who was a high schooler in our church group while I was a sponsor...  that someone picked that day to comment on my blog, thus reminding me that there are people I know reading!!!!  Note to self: stop talking about embarrassing moments on blog. (P.S.  mama2lilly, guess how I found your blog?)

Bonus: How much impact has the Wall Street and general economic wilt had on you?

So far, there hasn't been much tangible impact.  Well, let me clarify that.  I have not looked at our 401(k) statements.  That loss is tangible, but it doesn't feel immediate.  Does that make sense?  Also, this past year my father died.  As we are working out the details of the trust and the probate estate (PSA: put your financial affairs in order!!!!!!), there has been quite a hit.  Only about 10% of the estimated value of the estate is in cash.  Most of it is in property.  Some of it was in stock.  Whose stock?  Lehman Brothers!!!  The last I heard it was worth 17 cents a share.  Lovely.  Again, this loss does not seem immediate to me.  The rise in food, gas, and utility prices over the last couple of years have felt more real.  I'm more inclined to reach for a package of ramen than I used to.  I've bought more macaroni and cheese lately.,,  I've thought about my potential earning power more seriously.

Thanks to the TMI Tuesday blog for proving the structure for today's post!

4 down, 26 to go

Sleeping with Bread: Best Thing/Worst Thing

I am having a hard time concentrating on this post because I am watching SNL's Presidential Bash. As much as I have been discouraged and disheartened by this election cycle, I have got a kick out of the mileage SNL has managed to get out of it.

Okay. Focus, Mary. Focus. Just keep it simple. Don't over think it.

What was the best thing about the last week?

This past week, I'd have to say the highlight was connecting with friends. I already mentioned yesterday getting in touch with an old friend after more than 20 years. I also got to see another friend yesterday at church who moved out of state five or so months ago. She and I will getting together tomorrow to hang out. Yippee!

What was the worst thing about the last week?

Hmmm... I think the fact that I hardly remember it (and I wasn't drinking, I swear!) With all of Marley's activities, my homework, Halloween, etc., the week was something of a blur. Oh wait--except for the very NOT SMALL spider that ran across my bed on Saturday evening while I was doing homework. I can't forget that. In fact, I had a dream the next night that an even larger (MUCH LARGER) spider was in the kitchen. Yikes!

~~~~~~~~ooooOOOooo~~~~~~~~

Don't forget to check out other, more profound, SWB posts here!

3 down, 27 to go

Sunday

Two years ago, when I participated in NaBloPoMo, one "rule" I had was not to write posts obsessing about Nablopomo and going on and on about what I should write.

I'd like to keep that rule again this time.  After tonight. ;)

It has been a busy day--well, sort of.  Even with the blessing of an extra hour of sleep, I stayed up too late.  The day included working in the nursery, lunch out with some friends, avoiding school work, actually doing school work, reading with Marley, surviving Marley ricocheting off the walls for about 90 minutes before her bedtime, more school work.

Now my head is aching a little, I'm a little stuffed up from allergies, and I have one hour and 21 minutes to write a post.  Which I can do.  Whether or not it will be any good is another story.  I headed over to a couple of meme directories to look for something.  Those saved me during my last NaBloPoMo.  Nothing caught my interest tonight, though.

(Subspace Beacon may be regretting her "Yeah, 30 days of Mary" comment from yesterday!)

So, here I lay (in bed) with nothing to "talk" about, except a few impressions of my day...

...working in the nursery.  There were three babies today.  One little girl with cheeks and thighs like you would not believe.  One little boy who is normally our sympathetic cryer.  If you are crying, he's right there with you. Thankfully, he did not join in today with our one little one who was not happy to be with us.  Sometimes I am wiped out after 90 minutes in the nursery but I usually love hanging out with the wee ones.  I am also grateful for being past the stage where mine are that tiny!

...listening to Marley and her friends play.  After church we brought home Marley's BFF and her sister.  It isn't uncommon for us to have the sister over, but not as a "play date."  I was shocked when all three girls lined up in front of me and asked to come over.  They have a history of fractious behavior when it is the three of them.  They did so well, though.  I was pleased--shocked, but pleased.  I heard a few tussles, but they managed to work it out between them.  How awesome is that?  All those years of parental lectures paying off!

...getting a phone call from a long, lost friend.  I had a friend from elementary school through high school and a little beyond.  We lost touch with each other, but I've always kept an eye out for her on Classmates.com and now on Facebook.  I just checked for her a couple of weeks ago and she still wasn't there.  Last week, I checked again and there she was!  I added her as a friend and we emailed each other.  This afternoon as I was pretending to study, she called.  It has been over 20 years since we had talked, so we had plenty to catch up on.  It was great.  I look forward to talking with her again.

...sharing books and DVDs with a friend.  A friend from church is going to be spending some time off her feet and it was a great opportunity to share some of my favorite books and DVDs.  I hope she likes them!  There's enough costume drama in that bag to equal a few months of Masterpiece Theater!  (Cranford, North and South, Wives and Daughters, Pride and Prejudice and more!)

...collapsing into bed thinking about all I have to do tomorrow.  I meet with my grad advisor with a whole laundry list of topics to cover in addition to my usual Monday Madness.  I better get to bed!

See you tomorrow.

2 down, 28 to go

Theory to Practice

This semester I am taking a class called The Diagnostic-Prescriptive Model of Teaching Reading. Its premise is that the appropriate assessment of students with reading difficulties (diagnostics) can then allow the teacher to address reading problems more precisely (prescription).

The class is a lot of work. At the beginning of the semester, I was assigned a student. Each week I spend time administering assessments and tutoring her in areas of word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, etc. I then spend two to three hours in lecture and discussion. During the week, there are chapters to read, lessons to prepare, and theory to practice cards to write.

Theory to practice. This is a difficulty for me. Not the actual theory to practice cards. Those are really still theoretical in nature. Pick a topic (sight words, meaning vocabulary, etc.), write down the research and some practical classroom applications for both large and small groups.

No, it is the actual theory to practice that is distressing me. Each week as I prepare my lesson plan, I worry and fret over the choices I am making. Will this work? Will that work? Am I helping her? Almost every week in my reflection journal (oh yeah, more work), I express my lack of confidence.

Ironically, as I have been reading my chapters today, I was comforted by the text itself. There were two main ideas which helped. One directed at students and one directed at teachers. First, there was the idea that self-concept (the educational term for what most of us would call self-esteem) is not improved through praise but through self-efficacy. As students have success and make progress, their self-concept increases, which in turn increases their motivation, and so on and so on. I think it is good that I am concerned about my ability to tutor a struggling reader. I have no practical experience to this point. I am going to make mistakes. It is supposed to be difficult. Yet, as I get feedback from my instructor, make mistakes, have successes, I will get better at it and feel better about how I am doing.  It's why I am in school... to learn something.

Next, there were these words written to the reader:

Academic courses and texts can merely set one on the path to professional competence. Becoming a "strategic teacher" is a lifelong developmental process. in time, veteran teachers reflect wisdom as well as academic knowledge in their instructional and management decisions. (Manzo, Manzo & Albee)

It is helpful for me to be reminded that what I am trying to do is difficult, is worth doing well, and that it does not happen overnight. And if they are writing this in the textbook, I am obviously not the sole student who needs to know this.  I know more and can do more now than I could at the beginning of the semester. In five years, I will know more and be able to do more as an instructor than I can do now.  

The problem I often have in life is the same as I am having in this class.  Theory to practice.  I can analyze life, the universe and everything, but living it and experiencing it is another matter.  I may not always feel good about myself, but as I take risks and challenge myself, I feel better.  And, hopefully, my learning how to live well will be a lifelong process.  A process in which, with time, I will gain the experience to make wise and knowledgeable decisions.

With time and effort.

~~~~~ooOoo~~~~~

Today is November 1st--the first day of National Blog Posting Month (one post per day, each day in November).  I participated a couple of years ago.  It was very challenging and I stressed myself out, but I also tried some creative writing that I never would have tried if it weren't for the pressue of writing something every day.  I skipped last year because of school.  On an impulse... and I mean an impulse I had one hour ago, I decided to participate this year.  Maybe I'm crazy.  Maybe I'm not.  Either way, I have...

1 down, 29 to go

 

My Cheerless Leader

Marley and Paul went to Target a couple of weeks ago to get a poodle skirt so that Marley could be a 50's girl for Halloween.

Somehow we ended up with this:

From The Cheerless Leader

Okay... it isn't our usual thing, but what the heck. What better time than Halloween for a cheerleader with no cheer?

Here are a few pictures from our night (the previous one was from last night when she went to the local farmer's market with some friends):