Study Plan for English Exam

Weekend 5/11-5/13 

•  Begin to type notes and assignments. This includes Drama elements.
• Type up previous MacBeth homework assignments.       - 1.7.34-52 paraphrase         - 2.1-2.2 staging annotations and narrative description         - Macbeth inference chart         - 4.3 questions         - 5.1 annotations, focusing on connections to previous scenes         - Final scenes notes and paraphrase         - Whole-play annotations

• Read and Annotate MacBeth Act 5, Scene 1, paying close attention on previous images, plot points, and characters
• Sunday- Study for wordly wise quiz, keeping in mind that it is in a different format. Fill in the blank dealing w/ MacBeth. Fill in the blank dealing w/ literary elements. Go on Quizlet.com and create a practice quiz. 
• Remind myself to bring my Norton Book home

Wednesday 4/16

1. Gather all of my essential exam papers into my exam binder- Literary Analysis, Research paper, Nervous Conditions, poetry, MacBeth
2. Make a list or chart that shows ideas of what I can write for the literary analysis essay.  Ideas to think about: Where was I at the beginning of the year? What did we focus on each quarter? What connects the units we have studied? How did it affect how I think today? Read over my literary analysis essay I turned in to familiarize myself with the format. Also consider the rhetorical situation. See pages 143-152 in my Norton Book for further info on literary analysis.
3. Remember what the definition of thesis is: A support or claim with evidence from the book. IT is arguable so that you can argue on side or another. Not opinionated, but it is your interpretations and your thoughts.
4. Ask Dr. D about whether we should include a thesis in our literary analysis essay on the exam

Thursday 4/17 

1. Type up Key Features of a literary analysis that I wrote on looseleaf
2. Type up the style features notes I took on Jan 4
3. Type up the working with quotations notes i took
4. Type up the Research process (focus, find, filter, communicate, reflect, etc) Ask Dr. D- will this be on exam?

Friday 4/18

1. Make flashcards for poetry vocabulary. Review Poetry test. Think: What do I need to work on? What may reappear on the exam?
2. Make flashcards for Drama vocabulary.
3. Go over (and possible retype or rewrite) "Read like a Reader/ Write Like a Writer"- This will make another appearance on our final.
4. Look over elements of fiction???--> ask Dr. D if this is important

Saturday 4/19

1. Nervous Conditions: Review test, characters, really study anything that I got wrong on test, What makes post-colonial literature?* How might the psychological setting affect characters in the book? What are all the characters anxieties?
2. Practice paraphrasing. There is something on her webpage.

Sunday 4/20

1. MacBeth: Review everything that we have done in MacBeth. Reread passages if you do not understand. Try to think about motifs, theme, etc. and go over the Drama vocab. 
2. Look through poetry booklet

Monday 4/21 (Half day, Math exam this day)

1. Flip through everything in english section. Put stickies on anything I need to review.
2. Practice poetry vocab and drama vocab.
3. Highlight/mark/sticky note anything that I need to spend more time on.

Tuesday 2/22 (Half day, Biology & World History today, Day before English Exam)

1. Make sure you are efficient and know everything. Ask friends if you need any help.
2. Review ALL vocabulary cards.
3. Review EVERY PAGE.
4. Don't forget about literary analysis essay that I will have to write.

Don't stress, you can do it!              Take lots of breaks.             Don't study for more than 30 minutes straight. 

Fourth Quarter Participation Evaluation

In fourth quarter, I was finally recovered from mono. Coming back gave me a fresh new attitude to finish up the school year. I was determined to get back on task and start learning again. I try my best to come to class with a positive attitude and open mind, turn in assignments when they are due, and bring the appropriate materials to class. Once I did forget to bring my free reading book on the Monday we returned from spring break. I learned from my mistake though, and I have brought my free reading ever since. MacBeth is always in the front pocket of my backpack so that has never been an issue.  I will admit that dismissal before lunch can be challenging, but I try to wait with the class so that we don't get held in the class for a longer period of time. I know that sometimes teachers let their classes out late as a punishment for being too eager to leave. I am also scared that if I leave too early I will miss a homework assignment. I always check on line for homework, but sometimes there will be something said in class that may be left out online. This doesn't happen in English, but there is always a first. I make sure to check my email so that Dr. DeGravelles can reach me. You never know when a teacher will need you for something. I usually reach Dr. DeGravelles by email for any questions I have, so I know that it is important that people check their emails.


Fourth quarter is the hardest to listen because thoughts begin to turn to those of the ever-so-close summertime. These are not the kind of thoughts that should be in my head during english class. It can be hard for me to focus sometimes and I end up repeating a question that my peers have already asked. I like to ask questions, but I need to work on listening to peers' questions. This has been embarrassing because it is taken as though I do not listen.  I have improved though; sometimes I stop myself before asking already-answered questions. I also find that towards the end of the school year (and especially towards the ends of the weeks) I have gotten myself involved more in side discussions. This is not something I'm proud of. My goal is to  get through the rest of next week by not engaging in side discussions and keeping my ears open.


Individual and group work in fourth quarter for me has been very productive. The last group work we did was staging a few pages from MacBeth. After we finished, my understanding of the scene had gotten better and I feel like I helped my classmates too. We worked outside, which wasn't much of a problem, considering we got most of our work finished (only a few lines were left). We had fun trying out the different ways to say sentences and picking which one we liked best. We all felt confident with our final product. I have always been sort of a leader in group work; I like to keep everyone on task. I think this is why I like individual work better because I don't have to worry about others and finishing on time.


Participation has never been much of a problem for me because I like to participate. This quarter there has been more opportunities to participate because we read poetry and reenact MacBeth scenes.  I frequently volunteer for roles in MacBeth, and before that, I volunteered to read poems. I believe that I have participated the most this quarter. Third quarter was tough because I was sick for the majority of it and my energy levels were really low and I don't remember my participation in the first semester other than the fact that it was fine. I am determined to do well on my exam ergo I try to participate as much as I can so that I can fully understand the information that is presented to me in class. 


Outside Reading:
Macbeth- 60 minutes
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- 50 minutes
Biology Textbook- 30 minutes
French outside Reading book (La Quete de Despereaux)- 25 minutes

MacBeth Act 4, scene 3 Homework

1. Malcolm tests/ tricks MacDuff- How? Why? How does Macduff prove himself to Malcolm?

           

            Malcolm believes that MacDuff is a secret agent sent to lure Malcolm to his destruction in Scotland. Malcolm tests MacDuff by talking about what he would do as king. Malcolm says that he would make a bad king if they defeated MacBeth. Scotland would not be happy under his rule. Malcolm lies that he has an impossible lust that would only get worse as he devoured all the women of Scotland. MacDuff finally shows concern for his country by agreeing that Malcolm would be a horrible ruler (Lines 103-114) and is a terrible person in general. He wouldn’t be able to stand a ruler that would do such things to Scotland. Then, Malcolm takes everything he said back and they become allies.

2. What is the subtext of Ross’s lines to MacDuff when MacDuff inquires about his wife and children? (Lines 203-208) How might Ross say this on stage?

            “Well” normally means fine, doing good, etc. However, the subtext of “well” is “at peace,” meaning at rest. When MacDuff asks about his wife and children, Ross’s response includes “well” for both of them. They are both well off in heaven. Ross might give the audience a wink, avoid eye contact with MacDuff, or he may pause before he says the word “well”.

3.MacDuff has 4 reactions (group his first two lines together) to the news of his family that Ross brings. Paraphrase each (lines 248-276, only MacDuff’s parts). What conclusions can you draw about his emotional process here?)

Reaction 1: Line 250- He is sad, regretful for not being there

Of course I was gone for this! Was my wife killed too?

Reaction 2: Lines 255- 258- He is angry

MacBeth does not know what it is like to have children. You mean all my pretty children? Did you say all? All? All of my pretty children and their mother fell at one attack?

Reaction 3: Lines 227-236- He is being hard on himself. Blames himself. He feels guilty.

I can’t help remembering that they were so precious to me. Did heaven just look down at this and not do anything about it? It is all my fault! Stupid MacDuff.  The wicked man that I am, and they are the ones being punished, even though they did not do anything wrong. I was the reason they were murdred. Let them find rest in heaven.

Reaction 4: Lines 237-241- He becomes revengeful and anticipates attack

I can keep on crying like a woman and bragging about how I will avenge them! But gentle heavens- don’t keep me waiting. Bring me face to face with the demon of Scotland, MacBeth. Put him near my sword, and if he escapes, heaven forgive him.

Outside reading this year

This year, I have read more books than ever. I have never read so frequently in my life. I know, that's sad. I have been doing sports for a good while and I never settled down to read a book until I had to. Usually I read the most in the summertime. It's nice now to have something to read before I go to bed. It's become routine thing. Recently, I've been hooked on the Hunger Games.


 Ever since we have done "Thinking Like a Writer" I have been doing that exactly. I have started to think about how the writer approaches writing a story rather than just what story the writer is telling. For example, in the Hunger Games trilogy, whenever Katniss has deep thoughts, I think of what purpose they have. I think about how everything in the story is connected and sometimes I wonder if the author is foreshadowing.  I pay special attention to word choice now, too. One last thing that I pay attention to is theme. I've learned that theme is a sentence and I've been trying to figure out what theme the Hunger Games has for a while now. I came up with the theme you should stick up for yourself and fight for what you believe. A good quote that I found that puts this in another way is, "To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting" by E.E. Cummings, in 1955.


The next book I'd like to read is "In Defense of Food" by Micheal Pollan. It won't be my summer reading since I am not returning to Episcopal next year, but I will read it anyway. It sounds interesting to me because I have done several projects on the topics in the book, such as genetically engineered foods. Stuff like that always intrigues me. I like to read about how certain governments function, considering I have been reading The Hunger Games and I want to read "In Defense of Food," which talks about how deceptive the government and food industries can be about what Americans eat. 

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins- 150 + minutes

Biology Textbook- 30 mins

La quete de Despereaux (French reading) 25 minutes

A post in Lady MacBeth's perspective

I am hungry for POWER! Now that MacBeth has a higher status, I am one step closer to rule. I have succeeded in convincing him to kill the king. Although I wish it would have been me to do the honor..... HA! Everything is going according to plan. My husband played his part when he killed the king and was actually pretty convincing. Maybe next time he is too cowardly to do something I should question his manhood again.  That works well! I cannot wait until we are on top. It should only be in a matter of weeks, no DAYS. I want it NOW. If only MacBeth and I would switch bodies so I can be the man in control and he can be the delicate wife....

Sarah Jane's Common Errors List

1. Semicolons must have independent clauses that are closely related on both sides.

example- The ice cream truck drove by my house today; I asked for chocolate but I got vanilla.

2. Punctuation marks go INSIDE quotation marks, unless there is a parenthetical citation.

example 1- Fred asked Bob, "Will you be my friend?"
example 2- As Wallace observes, "Blah blah blah blah blah" (42).

3. Always check the words you are uncertain of.

example- I commonly mix up letters in the words weird and definitely.

4. Watch out for the misuse of words or phrases- if you're unsure, look them up.

example- The phrase more superior than is incorrect. It should be more superior to.

5.  Always keep in mind the rhetorical situation and think of what is appropriate and what is not.

6. Comma splicing: Be careful not to overuse commas. A main clause makes a complete thought, so you should not use a wimpy comma to join two powerful clauses.

BAD example- Fanning the slice of pizza with her napkin, Jane waited for it to cool, she had already burnt the roof of her mouth when she took the first bite.
GOOD example- Fanning the slice of pizza with her napkin, Jane waited for it to cool. She had already burnt the roof of her mouth when she took the first bite.

Writing Wrap-Up for Freshman Year

       This year has thrown the more papers at me than ever before. As a result, I've tremendously grown as a writer. I started the year off strong when I wrote my literacy narrative on camp journaling. It was an experience fresh off my mind, since camp had only been one or two months back, and I received a perfect grade. I remember being actually excited when I got this assignment because I knew exactly what kind of literacy experience to talk about. My eagerness to write my paper on a topic that I cared about helped me achieve such a high grade. I also spent three days revising and reworking my sentences until they flowed together nicely and created a story-like effect. My parents proofread it for spelling errors until there was none left. I’ve noticed that writing comes naturally to me when it involves talking about the things that I love.

            My WRAP test paper, on the other hand, was one that had a topic that did not catch my interest. It was the worst writing I have done all year. I felt incompetent while I wrote and was unable to cover three pages on it. I stopped short, which really hurt my mechanics score. I think if I was able to research it, I could have turned my score of 24/36 into at least a 30. I did not find any spelling errors and I thought my order was reasonable, but I wish I used stronger vocabulary. This essay was weird because I am usually good at writing as I go along. I think my lack of preparedness and lack of interest on the topic definitely made me do so poorly.

            My second best paper of the year was my profile paper on my backhouse. I chose to write description about a place rather than a person and it worked out for me. I was delighted when I saw Dr. DeGravelles’s comment, “Your use of active verbs is really impressive. It actually reads like a piece from an interior design magazine. And you did a great job incorporating physical and psychological details.” My adjective choice included words such as cinnamon, azure, and caramel to describe the colors of certain features. It was fun to get to use such rich words to describe. One thing that I had to work more was the opening paragraph to introduce the space and explain how the space is used. Dr. D critiqued my closing paragraph and said that some things came too much of a surprise- like how I said that I was not too fond of the design. I liked this surprise, though, and didn't want to change the other paragraphs just because of this one quirk. The only error in my sentence fluency was the addition of the phrase “in particular” in the middle of a sentence. It sounded a bit trippy, but I thought it added to my voice. I am pleased with the way my paper turned out. It is a paper that I don't want to change anything about. 

            My Literary Analyisis was one of the most challenging papers for me because it was style of writing that I wasn't familiar with. Also, I had do analyze a short story and focus on literary element(s). I had to rework my thesis a bunch until it was fit to both my teacher and my own liking. I had to approach this like a psychologist. The only thing that I made mistakes on was conventions- I misused “sarcasm” for mockery, I put “more superior than” rather than “superior to." I also misused a semicolon to introduce a quote. Another thing that affected my grade was one incomplete peer review that I was supposed to carry out better. The whole paper ended up working out great though. My thesis turned out great and I found that I could expand really well on it. My word choice was great too; I used uncommon words such as epicene and inferior. I am also proud of is the way that I transitioned from one paragraph to the next. 

            My global issues research paper, like my WRAP paper, was not written with eagerness. I found that it took up a large amount of my time for the research part and I was stressed that it involved two classes. Not to mention the fact that it had a lot of point value. I ended up making a 92/100, with the majority of the missing points from my laziness in citations and MLA format.  I should have done an in-text citation to include who is speaking and I should have added a reference to the source in the works cited list. I carelessly left out a few citations.  I had everything else in tip top shape- word choice, sentence fluency, ideas, etc. I was the most proud of my transitions. The content and ideas of my paper was A+ material. This experience taught me to carry out the other requirements to my best ability.

            Compared to eighth grade papers, there was a lot more requirements that I needed to think about this year. I was challenged on a lot of new styles and techniques, though I’ve handled it well. Writing is one of my strengths at school.   My writing continues to show my natural talent for forming flowing paragraphs with fresh word choice and bright ideas. The teacher feedback to my final drafts has mostly been approval, with the occasional remark about how I did not do citations to my best extent, or how I did not do proper peer reviews. These things do, sadly, take off from the overall point value of your paper and I will be sure to remember to properly carry out every requirement next year, not just the part about writing an adequate paper. My classmate feedback, on the other hand, was not as helpful as I would have liked them to be. I do give my class peers credit for proofreading and complimenting, though. I learned from this that I should try to revise classmates' papers better because I know how it feels when my own don't return to me properly or fully revised.

            Overall, the meat my papers are very well written and earn A’s in all areas of writing. Next time, I will try to do better on conventions. I must watch out for misused phrases and need put a little more effort into using standard conventions to document research sources.I hope that by finding more peers to review my papers, I can make my conventions ten times better.  If I am unsure about any word, phrase, or punctuation mark, I can use the web or look it up in the grammar books we received this year. One thing I will be sure to remember is how to properly quote someone. We went over this many times this year and were tested on it; I have even saved the notes on my computer. I’m glad I’ve kept these notes because there are many essays in high school where we must quote a source. Ninth grade english has definitely better prepared me for the high school writing assignments that await me in the future.

Reading for 4/23

Finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- 70 minutes
Read my Biology Textbook- 30 minutes
Started Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- 50 minutes

"Umbrella" by Rihanna

In the song "Umbrella,"  Rihanna tells Jay-Z that she will protect him with her umbrella, which is said as a metaphor for her protection for him. Umbrellas protect people from rain like Rihanna promises to protect Jay-Z from all the bad things in life.  I think that because they are both famous, she is talking about how she will always be there with him through the great moments of fame (sunshine) and the bad moments (it raining) when there are tabloids and critique, etc. The beginning part of the song, where Jay-Z rhymes that he "hydroplaned into fame" is a great beginning metaphor for becoming famous. Another thing that I noticed is the personification of the world dealing cards. This is a popular phrase, and she uses it to express how whatever the world throws at them, they will stick it out together. Most of the phrases in the song show unity and protection that Rihanna is willing to offer Jay-Z throughout their life.

Besides all of the metaphors, I noticed Rihanna and Jay Z made several allusions; to Rain Man, Little Miss Sunshine, Dow Jones, and Roc-A-Fella. Rain man is Jay-Z in the song, but it is also a movie from 1986, but also there is another meaning for rain main that is related to the devil. I like to think that since Rain Main and Little Miss Sunshine (2006, came out around the time the song did) are both movies, that they are just using movie titles in a creative way. Little Miss Sunshine is also a little character from the Little Miss series of books by Roger Hargreaves. Roc-A-Fella Records is the record company that Jay-Z started with some other artists. It might have been a Roc-a-Fella song. And lastly, Jay-Z says "Dow Jones" because it is the company that publishes Wall Street Journal. I'm not exactly sure what that means.

I've also noticed that this song can have different meanings depending on who is singing it. It has a broad meaning and can apply to multiple situations. It's nice how Rihanna and Jay-Z collaborated to make a song like this.

Outside Reading 4/16

At the beginning of spring break I was able to fit in some outside reading. I continued to read The Hunger Games, which I read for 80 minutes total. I enjoy this book because it is set in a post-apocalyptic world. I enjoy reading futuristic novels because I like to see the author's take on how the future could be. Suzanne Collins depicts the setting, Panem (where North America once existed), as a highly-regulated country that is split into 12 districts. These districts each contain a certain social class- miners, fishers, etc.- important to Panem. Katniss, the main character, comes from the least favored district. I don't think it is likely that America will become like this. I especially don't think that America will make children fight each other on national television.

Many people think that the Hunger Games sounds too gruesome to read but it's really not! I think people "judge the book by its cover" (literally!) and don't take a chance to read the first chapter. It is not as repulsive as it seems; there's no gory details about the childrens death. I think it is more focused on the main characters and their trek from being poor District 12 inhabitants to the renowned victors of the hunger games. One thing that really blows my mind is how Collins is able to target all types of readers. Both my dad and uncle read the book, me and my friends have, and I even saw a little boy on the beach reading it the other day! If they can all read it, it must be worth giving a try.

The Hunger Games- 80 mins

Science Textbook- 30 mins

Analyzing poems- 25 mins

"Fifth Grade Autobiography" by Rita Dove Poem Analysis

I was four in this photograph fishing
with my grandparents at a lake in Michigan.
My brother squats in poison ivy.
His Davy Crockett cap
sits squared on his head so the raccoon tail
flounces down the back of his sailor suit.

My grandfather sits to the far right
in a folding chair,
and I know his left hand is on
the tobacco in his pants pocket
because I used to wrap it for him
every Christmas. Grandmother's hips
bulge from the brush, she's leaning
into the ice chest, sun through the trees
printing her dress with soft
luminous paws.

I am staring jealously at my brother
the day before he rode his first horse, alone.
I was strapped in a basket
behing my grandfather.
He smelled of lemons. He's died----

but I remember his hands.

This poem by Rita Dove, paints a picture in my head of a photograph that was probably in the the narrator's fifth grade autobiography. I conclude that the picture is from her fifth grade autobiography because, of course, the title, and also because she states that she "was four when this picture was taken." This poem gives me a sense that the girl was flipping through her fifth grade autobiography and she sees a photo that brings back memories and these memories were put in poem format to capture the memory's strength or beauty. That is really what all poetry does though, capture the beauty of a memory through words that placed and chosen as beautifully as the picture they create. I think that this poem succeeds at capturing the picture more beautifully than just typing a paragraph about it because of the caesuras that put an emphasis on the last words of the line and because of the last line, about her grandfather's hands.

I have always believed that people's hands all have unique character that resembles their own. It has been said that people's hands tell a lot about that person. By saying that she will remember his hands is a savory way to say that she will always remember him. I have noticed that poems tend to make their last line allusive rather than direct. Poets want the reader to ponder longer about their works. Another things that I thought was smart to do was how she personified the shadow of the trees on her grandmothers dress as cat-like, saying that it had printed her dress "with soft luminous paws". Whenever I read this, I thought of a cat lovingly nursing on her dress. This to me, adds to the feeling of warm memories. I get a vibe that everything was alright because it is really laid back. There are no words that can be connected to anything bad (or anything evil) besides poison ivy and the death of her grandfather. Overall, I think Rita Dove does a great job on planting her childhood memories into the reader's head.

Outside Reading Again

     This week, I finished Someone Like You and began to read The Hunger Games. I saw the movie in theaters and it was probably the best movie I have ever seen. I want to read the whole trilogy and I know there's things in the book that weren't in the movie. Also, I know that everyone at camp this year will probably be talking about the Hunger Games, so it is a must read! I'm not too far into the book yet, but I will be by the end of the day. I would say I spend about 30 minues reading The Hunger Games.

     Another part of my 150 minutes of reading has yet again come from reading my biology textbook and french novel, La Quete de Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. In biology, we had to take a lot of notes this week. We moved on to Chapter 11, which talks about how genes are controlled. We have already had to do a presentation on the lac operon and the tryptophan operon explaining how they work. Everyone in the class got close to a 23/25, with the best grade being 25/25 and the worst being 22/25. We all did pretty well and read what we needed to out of the textbook. La Quete de Desperaux is the french translated version of The Tail of Despereaux.  It is a story about a mouse who lives in a castle and falls in love with a princess. It's actually pretty easy to read. It is such a nice feeling to be able to read books in French now- it shows how far I have come in the language.

Things to look forward to

I have many things to write about that I'm looking forward to, but as of now, two weeks away from spring break, I will write about what I will be doing. I am going to be spending my spring break this year in Pass Christian, MS and Watercolor, FL- two of most memorable vacation spots. My family owns a property in Pass Christian and I've spent countless weekends and breaks there my whole life. Until Hurricane Katrina, our family had our own house on the property, while the rest of my dad's siblings shared a big house we call "the Marsh house," because of its view of the golden marsh. My grandparent's house, "the Main house" is across the property facing the bayou. Unfortunately, Our house got torn apart by a tornado during the storm, and my grandparents no longer use their own. So now, the three families switch between the "Main house" and the "Marsh house"; there is two families that can stay in the marsh house at the same, while only one family can stay in the main house. This half of the year, our family will be staying in the Main house. The main house is closer to the boats, have a pathway to the swimming pool and tennis court, and have the pond of ducks within our view. I'm looking forward to spending easter here with my cousins here.

I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my break with my best friend, Sasha, and many other New Orleans friends that I have been seeing occasionally throughout the years. I'm hoping the weather is as balmy as last year; It will be nice to lay out on the beach or club pool again with friends. More importantly, I'm hoping that the beach parties are as fun at night. There's always a lot of teenagers at Watercolor and you get to see people everywhere you go and hang out 24/7.  I can't remember a second of spring break last year where we weren't entertained. Everyone rides bikes everywhere and visit the nearby resort, Seaside. Seaside and Watercolor are very similar in set up, just Watercolor's houses are more modern. If you've ever seen the movie, The Truman Show, it was filmed in the perfect world of Seaside. They have the best restaurants there too, one of my favorites being a Grilled Cheese truck that makes my water-mouth just thinking about the three types of cheese fit between two slices of buttery toast. Soooooo good.  We're only staying for three or four days, so I'm gonna try to make the best out of every second!

Outside Reading

     This week, I've done quite a lot of reading, and the weeks not even over yet! First off, I had to study biology, so I was constantly reading through the chapter. I would say I spent about 50% or more on reading biology. We were learning about DNA and RNA and how they are transcribed, translated, etc. into a protein. Also, we learned about viruses and how they infect cells. It was a very long lesson, probably the longest so far! My brain was hurting after I took the test. I have also been reading my little French chapter book, June. B. Jones: Amoreuse by Barbara Park in class and at home. I am expanding my  french vocabulary. One word that I learned, éclair (lightning), showed up in a handout we were given in class. It was neat to see a word that had been new to me show up a day later in class.

Also, each night before I go to bed, I have continued to read my outside reading book, Someone Like You by Sarah Dessin. I have really enjoyed reading this book. It takes my mind off of school, yet it counts as school work. I am planning on finishing it the night or the next night. I have reached the climax of the book, when Halley and her boyfriend get in a bad wreck after they sneak out on New Year's to a party. Hallie gets hurt, but he doesn't. After the wreck happened, Macon didn't stay with her at the hospital,  so Hallie starts to consider breaking up with him. Throughout the whole novel, her mother had told her that he wasn't right for her, but she didn't listen. Until the breakup, Hallie was indecisive about Macon and kept changing her thoughts. She is definitely a dynamic character.

Biology textbook- 60 mins
French Chapter book- 30 mins
Outside reading book- 100 mins

St. "Paddy's" Day

This St. Patrick's Day was the best one in a while- and I can't believe I almost decided not to go! If it were not for falling asleep at eight the previous night, I probably would have stayed home the whole time. I was feeling pretty crummy the day before St. Patty's due to allergies but I got a full 12 hours of sleep, took an Allegra, and I was ready to roll the next day. I was woken up at 7 the next morning, put on my shamrock green, then went to the Sammon's St. Patrick's Day party to eat green donuts and prepare the float for the parade. I did not want to hold myself back on some fun after being bedridden in my house for the past 4 weekends.

This year, I joined my parents and brother, Pierce, in riding on the Sammon's float with a bunch of other family friends. Each year the Sammons hold a St. Patrick's Day party where some of their closest friends ride on their float with them for the St. Patrick's Day parade. There is a crawfish boil afterward. My friends Sara Alice and Caroline B. and Chris Sammons were all there too. This year, the float read "Who's your paddy?" Sara Alice, Caroline, and I all sat on the float bathroom's roof, where we had a full view of all of the hoopla. Seeing the crowd of people gave me a rush of excitement. I loved seeing all of the different types of people and what they would do for beads or a toy football. One little boy raised his shirt and was shaking his belly all around.  I showered him with beads. Throwing beads to people and seeing their faces afterward made my day. Everyone looked so happy, and in return, I was ecstatic. I mostly threw footballs, and it was fun to point at people, them point back, send the football on it's way, then get a wink or smile in return. There is nothing quite like riding a float. Now I understand why my dad returns year after year to Mardi Gras in New Orleans to participate in many parades.

Outside Reading- Someone Like You

Because of the rising temperature and the nearing of summer, I chose a book called Someone Like You by Sarah Dessin, that is set mostly in the summertime. I haven't read many books like this this school year, and it is nice to take a break from more serious novels like Nervous Conditions. I love reading books about summer during spring because it brings back warm memories of past summers and gets me excited for this upcoming summer. Also, it was recommended by many of my friends. I remember one of my friends reading it at camp and I was about to read it after her but it was too late because camp was ending. I know that it is kind of cheesy and not my typical book to read, but I'm glad I found it in the library and have a chance to read Someone Like You for my outside reading.

I would recommend Someone Like You to any girl who loves juicy summer friendship novels. The main characters, Halley and Scarlett just lost their friend, Micheal Sherwood, in a motorcycle accident. The two besties worked with him in the summer at a super market and Scarlett and him came very close. It turns out that Scarlett is carrying Micheal Sherwood's baby. Her trashy mother, Marion, who works at a beauty picture place in the mall and chain smokes all the time wants her to abort it. I feel like this is not the best decision because Scarlett is carrying someone's dead child's baby, and Micheal's parents would want Scarlett to keep the baby because a part of Micheal would live on. To my pleasure, Scarlett decides to keep the baby. Halley is dating Micheal Sherwood's best friend, Macon, and there is a side to him that is not yet known. This book is addicting, and I haven't read a book like that in a while!

Someone Like You- 120 + minutes
Biology Textbook- 30 mins
French Junie B Jones: Amoreuse- 40 mins

Beignet and her ball

 After each day after school this week, when I had a little bit more energy to expend, I threw the ball in my backyard with my dog Beignet. Beignet is my family's one-year-old golden retriever.  My backyard is not a great area for a dog to retrieve balls in. It is an old red brick courtyard, surrounded by the U-shape of my house. The center of my yard is consumed by a pool. A trampled garden is near the right wall of the yard, the wall that separates our property from our neighbor's. A lot of the garden is taken up by bushes and a big oak tree. There are also palmettos and banana trees. Even a large wooden table and chairs take up some space. It is not an ideal place for throwing the ball but Beignet loves it.

It is just an ordinary tennis ball that Beignet found when she was taking a stroll through our neighborhood. Not to her, though. She has plenty of chew toys, ropes, bones, etc. but if she could chose one thing to play with it would be that stupid ball. Several times a day she will come up to one of my family members or me and try to put her puppy-dog magic on us so that we will throw the ball with her. I finally decided to start doing it once that I felt a little better from mono. I'd throw at least fifteen times, and each time she will trot back to me with the same amount of energy she first started with. And then, once you grab the ball out of her mouth and hold it up, her bottom lip will start quivering from anxiety. She is THAT attached. 

Throwing the ball to me is like a marathon of America's funniest home videos. This may sound callous, but it's funny watching her run into the wall or not being able to find it. Most of the time, she will start running before I even let go. I don't know if it's the purebred retriever in her or if she's just crazy, because I have never seen a dog so determined to find and bring back a silly old tennis ball.

Outside Reading

For my 150 minutes of reading this week, I chose to read something of my moms called The Commoner by  John Shultz, I read a lot of my biology textbook, and I read 20 minutes of my french chapter book, Junie B. Jones: Amoreuse.

So far, The Commoner is about a young japanese girl, Haruko, who is living in the aftermath of World War II/ the Occupied Japan. After the bombings, Tokyo is incinerated and there are many living in poverty. Haruku is fortunate though; she lives in a wealthy family, plays tennis well, and speaks French excellently. She is not exactly a "commoner" compared to all the other distraught Japanese families during that time. I have not gotten very deep into the plot yet, because it is a long book, but I predict that she is a "commoner" to the royal family, who she will eventually wed into. I like this book, I am learning history of Japan that I have not read about before.

Reading Junie B. Jones: Amoreuse is kind of silly. It's a different feeling reading a baby chapter book and in french, also.  I don't exactly enjoy it though. Twenty minutes may seem like a short amount of time, but when your reading something with a rudimentary plot, you get bored. I'm not looking forward to having to read more of it this week.

Last Nervous Conditions Post

After finishing Nervous Conditions, I wasn't very satisfied in the way that it ended. I know that there is a sequel, but I felt as if the author made too many changes in the last chapter. It seems almost like the author was taking her time writing the story until chapter 10, where everything is quickly concluded. It does succeed however, in making me wonder what will happen next: Will Nyasha ever be herself again? Is the 'Englishness' really the problem, like Tambu's mother says? Why isn't 'Sacred Heart and what it represented a sunrise on [Tambu's] horizon'? How will Lucia be in the future? There are a lot of questions unanswered. 

 Nervous Conditions wasn't too complex as I thought it would be. Tsitsi Dangarembga's vocabulary is extensive, so I had to look up a lot of the words, but once I did, the words really did help create a vision of how the character is like in my mind because the words were so precise. I do not like long chapters for novels, because I am tempted to stop in the middle of some of them and they take up a long amount of time.  If it weren't for being a school book, I might have stopped reading it for this reason. I prefer short chapters, because they make me read more. But after evaluating it with the class, and after answering questions for each chapter, I understood it more and did not get as bored. I would have never caught how Miaguru was analogous to a mother bird or the time period that it is set in. Overall, I think NC was a pretty decent novel.

Warm weather brings spring sports

Currently, I am sitting in my backyard by my pool listening to the cheery chirping of birds and soaking up some much needed vitamin C. For me, the best thing about spring is being able to enjoy doing the things we love outside. I can't wait to splash around in my pool or unwind in the hot-tub. I (hopefully) will soon be able to take weekend trips to my family's property in Mississippi where I can practice kayaking, go swimming, play tennis, go inner-tubing, and take boat trips to Cat island and Ship island. Another thing that excites me about spring is the nearing of Spring break and Summer. Spring for me is my most active time of the year. I can't remember a spring where I don't find something to do on the weekends. 

This will be the first spring in a while where I haven't participated in club volleyball. I have had trouble figuring out what sport or fitness I want to do since my mono has set me back a few weeks. Before I got sick, I was planning on doing track. I adore running. I want to be able to get back to running, which I a whole lot did before and during the soccer season, but haven't lately because am still not fully recovered from mono yet. I was planning on doing long distance in track meets, but I am not sure that would work best for me now. It would probably be pushing myself too hard. I must work up to it first. I also wanted to do hurdles, but my doctor warned me I must take training easily.  I know that if I keep a positive attitude and recover well, I will eventually be able to go back to the things I love!

JSJ: Jin Shin Jyutsu

    At one of the Mardi Gras Balls that my mom went to this break, she talked to her friend about my sickness.  Her friend recommended something she had done to her child while her child had mono that helped speedened her recovery! Her friend had recommended Jin Shin Jytusu, which is an ancient art of releasing tensions in the body to promote health and well-being. Willing to do anything to get me better again, the next day, my mom went to her friend's house to pick up the instructions.
 To do Jin Shin Jytusu, another person must place their fingertips in certain "safety energy lock" located along certain energy pathways of your body where and keep them there until the two pulses beat together. There are many different combinations of locations of these safety energy locks. There are 26 energy lock locations on the human body where energy tends to become stuck. (It sounds crazy, I know!)  By stimulating these areas, its is believed that you can release toxins, eliminate stress, relieve pain, decrease muscular tension, improve digestion, and temporarily relieve acute and chronic conditions.
 It's really soothing and I enjoy it, actually- it's like a massage!

Oh Mono

The entire week before I left for Virginia to visit a boarding school, I began to feel drastically more fatigued, irritable, sore, and weak. I also had been experiencing rapid heart beat. Also, I noticed a change in attitude towards going to school and doing what needs to be done. I was certainly not myself; I had mononucleosis and did not even know it. Before the trip, I thought I was just tired and anxious from school. I thought I had been under too much stress. However, when we started to travel, I knew there was something wrong. It was very discomforting to carry my luggage and backpack around the airport. I did not have much of an appetite that trip either, even though the virus was at its peak and my body was working extra hard to fend it off. Once we got to our hotel/spa, I was already dying for a massage appointment! We had only spent a few hours traveling and I was drained. The next morning was no sleep in day either. I got up at 7:00, only a 25 minutes later than I normally wake up on a school day, walked slowly to the shower, and spent about 20 minutes washing my hair/ trying to keep myself awake. Thank god the hot water was running out otherwise I might have fallen asleep while I was shampooing my hair! Not only did the mild shower water get me going, but my perseverance to get into the school miraculously got us dressed and out of the hotel in time to make my interview.
  Everything about that school woke me up for the entire time I was there. I loved everything about it; the dorms, the people, the teachers, the facilities, the views... I could go on and on! Seeing the school really did wake me up, then after, my mom and I decided to go see Georgetown. This is when I realized something truly must be wrong with me. If I wanted to leave my favorite store, Cusp by Neiman Marcus, to go back to the hotel and sleep, and skip out on a wonderful meal in D.C., then there MUST be something wrong! As I was trying on a pair of jean shorts, I pointed this out to my mom, but somehow she urged me to go try dinner nearby. And after dinner, I was lured into a little more shopping. Talk about shop til you drop, Mom! The next morning I felt like I'd been body slammed by a sumo wrestler. There wasn't a muscle in my body that was not sore. I admit, it was a pretty tiring day I was recovering from, but with mono, everything was 10 times worse. I felt like I'd been hit by a bus! On that trip, my body had been pushing itself to the limit with mono, and all my symptoms had worsened.
When we were back in Baton Rouge, I did get my extra sleep, but I was feeling weaker and more fatigued. While my mom and I were trying to piece all of my symptoms together and research them on the internet, my dad called the doctor. We searched a few sicknesses, but none matched up quite as well as Mononucleosis. The doctor's office was not open on Sunday, so I had to go to the Pediatric ER. They did several tests on me, including an I.V. (ew!) It was a long wait, but it was worth it. We were actually happy when we found out I had mono, because it could have been worse, and we knew many people who have had the virus before. I spent the rest of my week, including my entire Mardi Gras AND my golden birthday (turned fifteen on the fifteenth!) on bedrest. I'm still not fully recovered, and feel incredibly weakened and always fatigued, but with the help of the right diet, lots of rest, and lots of vitamin C and water, I am slowly getting back on track.

Global Issues Paper & Nervous Conditions

Global Issues Paper- To be honest, this weekend I haven't spent time on editing my paper. I am very grateful for my extended deadline because of my parental-excused visit to Washington, DC. It has been very hard to find time squeezing homework in, but I plan to work on it on the plane and on Sunday. This week as a whole, I would say that I spend an hour on my research paper, maybe a little more. I'm still unsure of whether I am doing the right thing, so I am planning to come to Dr. DeGravelles during my breaks/ tutorials next week.

Nervous Conditions- I actually enjoy this book. The cover did not look very alluring, but it is not that bad. I highlight all the words that I don't understand and look them up in the dictionary of my macbook. It's very helpful because it takes only 1 second to type in the word on the search bar and it'll give you a definition! Then, I write the definition off to the side of the word, and re-read the sentence with the word. Some people in our class don't do this, and I advise that they should, because it really helped me! Also, I want to try to get ahead because I don't want to have to worry about not being able to finish. I have read a total of three hours this past week. I'm guessing that it is 45 minutes for each chapter (including annotating).

Reading in French

Very soon, I'll be having to read French novels/ chapter books for a set time each night.  When I found this assignment, I let out a large sigh. I do think it would be interesting to read in French, and it's not the idea of reading in French that made me sigh. It's the workload that accompanies it. Our French class, with the majority of the students taking more than one honors (some of us three) had warned her that we will be reading ALOT in our English class too, and she basically responded that it doesn't matter, and that this is French, and French has expectations too. I completely understand where she is coming from,  but the homework load this year in all my classes has really started to take a toll on my health.
I find myself comming home from practice, completely exhausted, eating dinner, then finishing  homework or studying for the rest of the night. On the weekends, I am doing homework ALL Sunday, plus some hours on Friday and Saturday too! When I signed up from my classes, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but I figured that there would be some time where I could relax or go out with friends. School has made my stress level rise tremendously and I'm constantly getting sick. I want to find time where I can do the things I love, and not have to worry about sports practices getting in the way. I've been trying to figure this all out, but in the meantime, I'll just do what has to be done. I wouldn't be surprised if I found some gray hairs along the way!

I Can't Wait!

 Last year, after finally arriving in America from a French Trip to Quebec with my French class, we find out that our plane is delayed. We all thought that once we had crossed the border to America, all our troubles would end, and we would be able to make it safe and sound back to Louisiana. I will always remember it; we were waiting in the D.C. airport late at night, and found out that our connecting flight to New Orleans was delayed, and we had to spend TWO MORE NIGHTS in Washington DC. At the beginning of the trip we had to stay an extra night there before we departed for Quebec. We were not willing to do this AGAIN! Anything that could have ever went wrong on that Quebec trip did- one girl threw up on the bus (I am terrified of throw-up!) Erika got frostbite while dogsledding, we went skiing in a blizzard, my friend and I got lost while skiing in the blizzard, Mary Michael and Mallory accidently went down a black diamond and lost some skiing equipment, and the scary part is: that's just a few examples that I could think off the top of my head right now! Let's just say, it was a long time before our French class could even mutter the word "Quebec" or "Canada."
Looking back at it though, I got real lucky. The next morning I woke up and called my mom.  My mom had known I was miserable- we all were. Some parents were even considering flying up there to get their children! Charlotte's dad was a pilot, and he actually did.  My mom suggested staying with the Lily's, whose daughters go to my camp. So my parent's called the school to get an 'okay,' and Mrs. Lily picked me up the next morning. While everybody else stayed another night, I got to stay at one of my mom's friend's houses in D.C.!
    Driving from the hotel to her house, I found that Mrs. Lilley was one of the nicest people! She and I chatted the whole car ride about the trip, her daughters, and Camp Merrie-Woode. She was so welcoming and was excited that I'd be spending the night. It was nice to have a motherly figure to talk to after the chaotic, dare I say it, Quebec trip. The first thing we did was go to her son's beautiful middle-school bake sale. We opted to be one of the judges, and then  got to taste-test a variety of homeade treats.  Man, it was the best comfort food. We hadn't had any good food in Quebec. Then, after we stuffed ourselves on sugar, we picked one little girl up from school and another, Madeline (5th grade) from ballet. Madeline knew who I was from camp, and they were both so happy to have an older girl spend the night with them. They lived on a long street facing the river in a cute, welcoming house. Mrs. Lilley had shown me my guest room, and I had to get dressed for the girls' lower school event. After the event, Mr. and Mrs. Lilley took me to Vietnamese AND Fro-yo afterward. I couldn't believe it; those were my two absolute favorite types of food in the entire world, and I had been craving them all trip. I didn't even tell them! The next morning, on the way to the airport,  Mrs. Lilley and the girls took me to Georgetown and we passed some of the monuments on the way. We grabbed some delicious cupcakes for my French class (since I felt really guilty!) and I went to the airport. Staying with the Lilleys in Washington D.C. turned my disastorous French trip around. I loved every minute of it!
 The title for this post is "I Can't Wait" because I am visiting a school near Washington D.C. next week. I had was considering this school in while I was in eighth grade, but I didn't want to go Freshman year thinking I was missing out on home life. Now, I am sure that I want to go, so we are doing as much as we can to get in. I'm excited because we will be having dinner in D.C. with the Lilley's again, and I will be able to see a camp friend who goes to the school I'm visiting. Ahhh! I am ecstatic!

Twinkies, Deconstructed

This past Monday, I was in the library with Melissa as she was finishing some homework. I was getting a little bored, so I decided to make my time in the library productive, and I asked the librarian if she had any books that contained information about genetically modified/engineered foods (GMOs). I am doing my Research paper on a controversy in America about GMO in foods, or genetically modified crops that are available for Americans to eat. She pulled out a few books from the shelves and one in particular caught my eye- "Twinkie, Deconstructed," by Steve Ettlinger.  The librarian promised me that the book was very interesting, and we looked in the index to find out if it had facts about my topic. It did, so I decided to check it out, and quite honestly, the title succeeded at luring me onto the first page, for I enjoy reading anything involving with health.
The first question that came to mind was, "How does a man write a whole book about Twinkies, and what is the significance of the twinkie?" To my satisfaction, the Ettlinger does an outstanding job in the first chapter of the book explaining his purpose to the reader. He narrates that that one afternoon, Ettlinger was shocked to hear his young son articulate an ingredient on the package of his ice cream to ask him what it is.  Ettlinger could only muster the answer, "Uhh..umm..I uh...don't have a clue, honey" (2). At this moment, he began to ponder about what some of his foods contain, and became upset that he did not know about half of the ingredients in processed food that he eats and feeds to his children. This realization led him to unravel the mystery of ingredients in the Twinkie, which he chose because of its iconic image in America. Ettlinger clarifies the origin of all ingredients found in a Twinkie, from "enriched bleached wheat flower' to 'sorbic acid' to inform readers about the unbelievable processing in American foods. Not only does it help me with my research paper, but it is a book that I willingly enjoy reading.

We beat U-High... TWICE!

 Yesterday, I spent a total of 6 hours at school. I arrived at 11 p.m., and left at 5 p.m...on a Saturday! This is because I am on both Varsity and JV girl's soccer, and I had to play in both games. Our coach, Coach Matt wanted us to come early so that we can mentally and physically prepare ourselves for the game against our rivals, U-High cubs. We sat on the steps for an about 45 mins, waiting for the field to be mowed while listening to pump-up music, painting our pinkies blue ("Pinky's Up" is our motto), and snacking on healthy, pre-game snacks like bananas and granola bars. Coach Matt even let us paint his pinky blue and told us if we go to state, we'd be able to paint all of them! Then, after we were mentally prepared, we put on our shinguards and cleats and headed out to the field. As we warmed up, our fan club was getting larger and nosier. By the time the game started, we had a total of about 25 student fans! As we played, they were handed out noise makers, which started a 20 minute controversy in the middle of the first half, between U-High's coach and ours and the refs. The U-High coach had complained that artificial noisemakers were illegal. Coach Matt and our Athletic director, proved that there was no such rule and our fan club continued on! We started out the game winning, and when U-High caught up to us, we got back at them. The tension was insane, and at the end of both matches, we were tied 3-3, so the game went into overtime. No points were scored in overtime, so we had to go into penalty kicks. EHS knights won the game, 5-3, with two more pk's than the cubs! We are now district champs!
 After the victory of Varsity, I played for JV at 4 p.m. I guess the victory of the previous game gave the team and I stamina for the second one, because we won 1-0. I scored the only goal against U-High, and we were able to keep U-High's offense away from our goal. It was a beautiful, glorious day on the soccer field for all of us knights.

"GMOs and the Problems They Pose" Paper Update

This weekend, I had more luck for writing than in the school lab. For some reason, writing at home helps me generate more ideas than writing at school. I am able to clear my head of all other subjects, and focus on my english assignment. I was able to narrow down my thesis into "Genetically engineered foods pose health risks to both humans and the environment in which they live." It is not complete yet, but I am glad that I eliminated the "pose health risks to both humans and animals..." because I would have to focus on both health risks to humans and health risks to animals, which would be too much for me to do. The topic I chose is a very hard one because there is a vast amount of sources that I can choose, and choosing the right ones takes up a lot of time. However, I still enjoy my topic because I am intrigued by public health and safety and how industry in America can be deceptive.
As I continue to write and polish the body of the paper, I am finding more and more ideas to write about. I even started to gather information from my Biology textbook. I was excited when I got the idea of looking up "genetically modified foods" in the index, and there were two pages on my topic! Obtaining information from my textbook assures me true facts, and I was happy that I could use it to my advantage in another class besides english. It's  neat how three classes are associated with my paper- English, World History, and Biology.
I worked a total of 150 minutes:
 2 Nights I worked on my detailed outline
 2 Nights I worked on writing my paper

Reading Responses for January 23

     This week, I hadn't had enough time to read my free-reading every night as I wanted to. That was okay though, because I had to read my Biology textbook and Norton. In my Norton handbook, I read pages on how to make my writing better. The first assignment given was page 404-419, which took me 25 mins all together. It took me a while because we had to annotate and take notes. It taught me how to synthesize ideas from our research for our upcoming paper for world history and how to quote, paraphrase and summarize the data we find on our topic. I made important notes on how to format my quotes and paraphrase that I had not known before.
    The second book I read was my Biology: Concepts and Connections textbook. I read an hour total of this book this whole week. Last night, I finished up the last 30 minutes while walking on the tredmill. I had not been able to sit down and read in my room because it was a Saturday, and I usually don't study very much on a Saturday, but since the test is this upcoming Monday, I had to discipline myself to do so. Walking stimulates the brain, so I figured walking a slow pace while reading may help me get the info through my brain. It worked! I read all 23 chapters in my extra rental textbook and I was able to highlight and make note of things that I should pay special attention to. The other 30 minutes of reading comes from when I was taking notes this week. It takes quite a while to read this textbook because there is always so much information on each page.

The rest of my 25 minutes reading comes my free-reading book, which completes my total 150 minutes of reading. I read a bit more of my Marie-Antoinette book called "Becoming Marie-Antoinette: A Novel" by Juliet Gray.

My New Room

      This year, my parents are letting me re-do my room. The last time I re-did my room was in the third or fourth grade, and it was beginning to be too juvenile for me. At first, we kept on saying we'd get things done, but it never happened. During Thanksgiving break, I came across a book called "Domino: The Book of Decorating" and it gave me some inspiration. I even created a board on Pinterest called "Room Inspiration" and uploaded and reposted some of my ideas.  Before, I was in a mental block because I never had time to think about my room when I had sports and school work to focus on, but now I had an idea of what color scheme I wanted. I showed my mom, and she agreed. Over the Christmas break, we went to my mom's friend, who is an interior designer, to plan everything out. By the end of Christmas break, we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
      A few weeks after Christmas break, however, the fabric for my new headboard that I chose was no longer appealing to me. It had laid in my room against a pillow for a month and I grew tired of it. Not only did I grow tired of it, but it was difficult for me to choose other fabrics that I could throw into the room. There were two lamps that I was set on having and when we went to my mom's friend's store, where we picked out all of the fabrics, I had a change of plans. Originally, I wanted a little asian inspiration thrown into my room design. With the fabric that I had chosen, that could be accomplished, but then I came across another fabric. We had been having trouble finding a headboard fabric and this one was perfect. Not only was it oriental, but it had many colors that were more sophisticated. When I found this new fabric, It was also easier to find all sorts of fun prints, velvets, geometrics etc. with out over-dooing my room. My mom, the designer, her assistant and I all had tons of fun generating ideas for my asian-inspired, cool, elegant room. We are making much more process; paint colors are up, my desk is here, pagoda lamps are ordered, bamboo beside tables are ordered,  and the new headboard and curtains are being made. Next week, we'll be painting my room. I love interior design and this whole project is something that I look forward to doing more of in my future.

curtain fabric

headboard fabric 

Reading Response for the week of Janurary 17th: Becoming Marie Antoinette by Juliet Gray

Ever since I read a book about Marie Antoinette this summer, I have become engrossed with the glamour of Versailles in the 18th century and the royal Hapsburgs. Before began reading this books, I had read The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions for Marie Antoinette by Carolyn Meyer. I got a kindle around the same time that we begun studying this era, so I chose to read another book about Marie-Antoinette to refresh my memory. As I am getting more into the novel, I'm connecting the two books along with my lesson in World History. I'm glad that I can find a book to read that I enjoy and benefits me educationally as well.

 So far, I have read the first few chapters that capture parts of Marie-Antoinette's childhood as an archduchess of Austria, when she knew that she was to marry Louis XVI of France. In both of the books, she had to wait until she was a "half a woman" before she could marry. Even the painter refused to paint her for the Hapsburgs because she resembled a child. I had known this, but it is refreshing to read it from another perspective. So far, I like both of the books, and I look forward to finishing it.

I read this book for a total of 125 mins, on the days of Jan. 10th, Jan 12th, and Jan 15th. The other 45 minutes were obtained through reading Biology Concepts & Connections, Chapter 8: The Basis of Reproduction and Inheritance by Campbell, Reece, Taylor, and Simmon.

Free Reading Response for the week of January 17th: My Kindle

For Christmas, my cousin bought me a kindle. At first, I didn't like the kindle, but now I am enjoying it. I didn't like the idea of reading books from electronic devices and it scares me that real books may becoming less popular. Nevertheless, I find it easy to carry around one slim electronic device with a library of books downloaded on it. A weekend ago, when I was sick, I spent some time reading ahead on my kindle and figuring out how it works. I downloaded only one book so far.  I'm not certain of the capacity on my kindle, but there is a numerous amount of my cousin's books that were synced on there before it was given to me. I'm still trying to figure out how I can delete some of those books that I am not interested in reading so that I can increase the capacity on it for my own books. One feature that comes in handy is the highlighting and being able to search words in the dictionary. Now, whenever I highlight certain parts, I think that I can go to a certain page where it shows all of my highlights together. This will help me highlight parts that I want to mention in my reading responses. My view of the kindle has changed since I first got it!

Ode to Pinterest

My latest obsession is a certain website that I heard about from a friend called Pinterest. One day during break, I saw some friends on their computers scrolling through this website in awe of some really neat & pretty pictures. At first, I wondered Who would want to create an account on a website just to look at pictures? Then I learned that you can click on the pictures and go to links that teach you how to create/make/buy those items in the pictures.  There is am multitude of pictures. They aren't as random and unreliable as Google images. The majority of them are pretty alluring- both the materialistic and the unmaterialistic. Pinterest's pictures range from snapshots of gorgeous models that girl inspire to be to fun little recipes that you can bake for your friends, family, or children. I'd never been so amused!  I asked my friend how I could get one. She said she had to request my membership. So, like everyone else who falls into the trap of Pinterest, I had to wait for my email of consent to the website that told me I was now a verifiable member.

Since the first day I first got accepted to Pinterest,  I have created several categorized "boards." Pinterest has opened up many worlds of creativity to me. I have made 3 or 4 recipes that I found on pinterest and they have all turned out a success. I have even been able to show my mom ideas that I had on a board created specially for the design of my new room.  I have posted and reposted over 430 pins. (Okay, maybe I spend a little too much time on Pinterest.) However, I don't regret creating and account. Pinterest is a way for me to express my style, boost my mood, and get inspired.

Take a look! --> http://pinterest.com