Literature McDougal Littel (8th grade)

This week I read for 40 minutes each day (Monday through Friday) with my eighth grade students from their language arts book as a whole group.  We read a number of different stories, but the one that stuck out the most to me was called "Raymond's Run".
Raymond's Run was a story of a little girl, Squeek,  that is very confident about being the fastest runner in her neighborhood.  She is practicing for a big race that her neighborhood holds annually. She is the youngest sibling in her home, and her mother assigned her the job of watching over her older brother Raymond, that is mentally challenged.  Raymond is all over the place and has been known to offend other passersby because he does things that are not socially acceptable.  The people that know him and his family excuse his behavior. He is in the way of Squeek's training session and getting on her last nerve because this year she is up against a girl that may give her a run for her money.  During the race, out of nowhere, Raymond starts running with the runners on the other side of the fence.  Squeek was proud to see her brother, and she started running with him so fast that she wins the race and kept running way past the finish line.  She ended up the undefeated champ yet again, with a new found respect for her brother.

Breast lump research

This week I spent over two hours reading information and visiting sites that gave information on what to do and what it could mean being that I felt a uge lump in my right breast when I woke up Wednesday morning.  I have been breastfeeding my baby for the past 5 months, and he's my third baby that I ever breastfed.  I never had this problem before, so when I woke up with that lump I was alarmed and automatically thought I had breast cancer; I was livid!
The sites I visited were very informative though.  I learned that breastfeeding in a sense protects you from getting breast cancer; only a extremely small percentage of women hae ever been diagnosed with breast cancer while nursing.   I researched enough to discover that I was suffering from a clogged milk duct because my lump was hard but movable and got smaller each day until it was no longer there.  Cancerous lumps are hard and fixed and they will not go away over time, they actually get larger and more hard and painful over time.  I am safe now, and comfortable, but I think it will be good to follow up with my doctor when I have time.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/113566-causes-painful-lump-breast-breastfeeding/
http://www.ivillage.com/breast-lump-while-breastfeeding-should-you-wait-evaluate/6-n-137260
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Breast-Cancer/painful-lumps-and-breastfeeding/show/261230
http://www.livestrong.com/article/152526-a-hard-lump-in-breast-and-breastfeeding/
http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/articles/breast-infections-and-plugged-ducts

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs (The Buried Bones Mystery)

This week I read 20 minutes each day from Thursday, November 15- Monday, November 19 for a total of 100 minutes.
I finished reading the Ziggy and the Black Dionsaurs book. The boys were in the clubhouse, and they had all pitched in to bring snacks and stay the night there in hopes of cathcing Mr.Greene or who ever is the mystery bone burier.  The all had theeir weapons ready to take action just in case anything "fishy" happend.  The night was getting spookier by the minute with a storm coming.  It was tundering and lightening and taking on the look of a horror movie.  That is when they heard rustling outside the camphouse.  They set traps outside to help them catch any perpetrators.  There was a rope that caught the villians feet and Ziggy flashed a bright flashlight in their eyes so they couldn't see, and the others lit firecrackers around the person's ankles so they would think they were beign shot at.  Come to find out, it WAS Mr. Greene, and he was so afraid he cried.  The boys sat him in the middle of the floor, and Mr.Greene tole the story of how those bones got there. They were remains from old slaves, and the burial ground had been built over.  He also helped the boys solve the mystery of who cut down the basketball poles.  He had captured pictures of Mr.Burke's hired help cutting them down in an effort to make it look like a high crime area so Mr. Burke could by the land for cheaper.  They kept the pictures to turn into the police and get Mr.Burke captured.

Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs (The Buried Bones)

This week my students and I read chapters five through eight in the Ziggy book; we read for thirty minutes each day Monday through Friday.
Chapters five through eight were about the boys Rico, Rashawn, Ziggy and Jerome deciding on what to make the password to enter their new clubhouse.  The had their first club meeting, and decided to start looking for their first order of business.  During their play time while they were digging to bury their so called treasure they accidentally stumbled upon an old beat up box deep in the ground.  They were all extemely curious to know what was inside the box, but afraid to open it.  Ziggy was the braze soul that opened it, and they discovered it had bones inside.  Now they need to investigate what type of bones they are and how they got there, who buried those bones there.  They decided to began their search by figuring out what type of bones they were.  They also suspect a man named Mr.Greene that they overheard looking for graveyard books when they were at the library trying to get every book about bones they could get their hands on.  They had another serious club meeting; the were all afraid and uneasy about their thoughts of Mr.Greene and the mysterious bones. They all agreed that they will stay up in shifts in hopes of catching Mr.Greene doing something that would indicate he is guilty of burying the bones.

Ziggy and the ZBlack Dinosaurs (The Buried Bones Mystery)

This week I read Monday October 29th through November 2nd for twenty minutes each day.  I told my middle school students that we should read another Ziggy book together, so they picked The Buried Bones Mystery and we read the first four chapters.  I read aloud while they followed along, and I stopped several times during reading to ask them vocabulary questions and clarifying questions that answer who, what, where, when wht and how.
Chapters one through four were about Ziggy, Rashawn, Jerome and Rico looking for something fun to occupy their time during their summer vacation. They all agreed to go to the park and play basketball, but when they got there some one had cut all the basketball poles down with a chainsaw. They had to find a new activity.  The swimming pools were closed because kids kept jumping the fence at night and one even drowned, and there were no malls or arcades in walking distance.  they came up with the idea for a club house. They decided to build it in Ziggy's backyard since it was the largest.  They completed the 10 by 12 feet building.  They also made their rules, chose a club name and a secret password.

Why is my scalp itchy and hair shedding

This week I used my reading time to investigate a problem that I have been suffering from to say the least.  I spent over two hours on the web looking through site that explained why the scalp can become itchy and cause shedding.  The sites were stories of people who have been through this issue before and what shampoos, treatments and remedies worked for them. 
I found out that certain factors contribute to hair shedding such as it being a natural process to get rid of an increased amount of dead skin cells, the season changing, post partum hormone changes (after giving birth), stress, change in diet and change in routine.  I believe that mine may have alot to do with the fact that I just had a baby, so my hormones are getting back to normal.  I also think that I have a very dry scalp since the season has began to change. I took the advice of one columnist and greased my scalp, and it still itches just not as much.  I also noticed that I did not lose as many hairs this morning in my brush and on the sink.  Ironically scientists say that research suggests that healthy hair naturally sheds 50-100 strands each day anyway.  The time to panic and call a dermatologist is when it exceeds 50-100 strands, or hair lose is so sever that it causes balding.  Here are the links to the sites that I visited:
http://voices.yahoo.com/hair-care-shedding-breakage-understanding-difference-405173.html?cat=69
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070407123026AA332bf
http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/07/10/flat-iron-or-relaxing-which-damages-your-hair-more/
http://ezinearticles.com/?My-Hair-is-Shedding---What-Can-I-Do-to-Stop-It?&id=3869786
http://curlynikki.forumotion.com/t5831-hair-is-shedding-and-scalp-is-itchy

Love Poems Collection

This Saturday, October 20, 2012 I spent over two hours on the internet searching through different sites that posted love poems.  I was feeling really in love with my husband this weekend, and I wanted to see if I could find an inspirational poem to share with him that helped me explain my feelings for him.  
There was a wide range of poems that I read.  Some were very deep and heartfelt, some were Christian based and explained love and marriage from God or the Bible's point of view, and a few were not so great.  It was fun and interesting reading through people's wordplay they used to describe their comprehension and sentiments of what love or marriage makes them feel like or means to them. It inspired me to maybe work on writing my own poem about love or my husband and posting it to one of the sites.  I am excited.  I think I will share it with my husband first ot see how he likes it before I publish it.
I have included a list of the sites that I visited that had multiple poems to share:
http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/family/husband-poems.asp
http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-promise-to-love-you
http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/poems-about-love
http://www.inspirational-poems.net/wife-poems
http://www.bestfreepoems.com/category/love-poetry/

Mick Harte Was Here (Week 2)

This week I read October 8th throught October 12th for 30 minutes each day to complete the remainder of this book. 
I read the last chapters until I completed the book.  This week Phoebe kept talking to her friend Zoe about how she was handling her brother's death.  She was out of school for longer than she anticipated because when she tried to go back she got called into the principal's office.  The principal tried to say kind words that would comfort Phoebe, but it ended up backfiring on her and setting her into a meltdown.  She yelled and the teacher and ran all the way home.  When she got home, her mother was still there in her bath robe and on her sleeping pills as usual, so Phoebe stormed up the stairs straight into Mick's room and laid across his bed to cry HARD.  Her mother came in, and Phoebe started talking to her about Mick this was the first time she and her mother had a conversation about him since the accident.  They ended up laughing and talking which I beleive brought them closer.  Phoebe stayed home from school a few more days until after Mick's funeral, and when she went back a counselor asked her to speak to the school about bike safety.  At first she was offended and reluctant to participate, but she thought about it and ended up giving a very heartfelt speech. The speech was a relief, and it helped bring her closure at school so she did not feel like everyone was looking at her and afraid to approach her about the situation anymore.
This book was very realistic and touching; I would recommend it to middle school students to expose them to handling a death in their life. 

Mick Harte Was Here By Barbara Park

The week of October 1st through October 5th I read for thirty minutes Monday through Friday.  I got through the first half of the book, five chapters. 
Mick Harte was here was a story told by a teenaged girl, Phoebe, that had to deal with the tragic death of her younger brother Mick.  Mick was riding his bicicle home from school one day, without a helmet on, and he was hit by a truck.  She did not tell the story from the perspective of him being there and then the accident happend and he died.  She began the story by telling that he was dead, and all she wanted to do was tell the story about what he was like and how she and her family coped with his death. 
She was at after school soccer practice when she heard the sirens blaring down the street.  Mick had just asked her to ride his bike home so he could walk home with his friends, but she told him she couldn't because her coach would make her sit out next game if she didn't come to practice.  She got a strange overwhelming feeling that the sirens were from Mick because how close they were to the school.  She was abruptly interrupted at practice and escorted to the school office.  The adults explained that Mick had been in an accident, and her parents were on their way to the hospital.  Phoebe had to stay with her friend Zoe until she was informed about Mick's condition.  She heard from her parents that Mick was gone, and this is when her mixed feelings and emotional rollercoaster ride began.

Ziggy and the BLack DInosaurs Part 2

I read 30 minutes per day Monday-Friday the week of September 24 through September 28.

This week I finished the last half of Ziggy and the Black dionsaurs.  This week the camp kiddos were all sitting around listening to Noni tell stories of the young Indian braves doing different impossible stunts such as taking long walks naked and barefoot during below zero weather to see if they could come back to their tribe without dying of hypothermia for example.  Ziggy, Ramone and the other boys waited until all the girls had fallen asleep, and they decided to sneak out into the darkness in the forrested area to see if they could be like the Indian braves and find their way back to the camp.  They found an abandoned canoe, and they traveled in it.  They panicked when they found out that there were no paddles to steer the canoe, and they ended up floating all the way to a new island. They were afraid, and when the canoe landed on the new island they got out and started frantically trying to find their way back.  They heard footsteps chasing after them right at their coat tails.  The mysterious footsteps caught up with them, and come to find out it was an Indian man named Hawk.  He ended up being super nice to them.  He told them stories, and he helped them find their ways back to camp.  The boys introduced him to the girls, and told them how informative and helpful he was when they were safe and back at camp.
This is a fun mystery story for upper elementary children to read.

Ziggy and The Black Dinosaurs

I work at a Kindergarten through eighth grade school, and my 7th and 8th grade students encouraged me to read this story with them to make it more interesting for them.  I read for 90 minutes this week by reading the first 5 chapters in this book.
Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs is a very funny book so far.  Chapters 1-5 is about a group of middle school aged kids going on a camping trip in the summer to a place called, Camp Cesar.  Ziggy, Rahshawn and Rico are the males; Noni is the leader of the girls and boys; she takes them around so that they do not get lost.  All the children enjoy listening to Noni's stories of past war heros; she is very educated and makes her stories very interesting to hold their attention.  She told them of the story of Tecumsah who ended up being her grand father and how Indian boys had to perform near death tasks to in their pre-teen years to prove they were strong, brave and ready to be a man and head of their Indian tribe.  The boys are silly and immature; they still are at the stage in growing up where they are afraid to admit that they like girls.  Rashawn has a secret crush on Tiana, and she likes him too.  They sit by each other around the campfire while they listen to Noni's story. 
After hearing Noni tell of the brave feats of the young Indian braves the boys are getting interested in trying to find ways to challenge and prove their manhood.  I wonder what they will come up with.
So far, Ziggy is my favorite character.  He is a Jamaican young man that eats weird food like peanut butter jelly sandwiches with pickles on it, and says "yea mon" after everything he says.  He dresses terrible as well, nothing he has on matches: red jeans, huge purple coat and green tennis shoes.  He seems like the life of the party thus far.

Is your marriage headed for divorce (Research)

This week I spent over two hours surfing different internet sites and links to other sites that give warning signs about when your marriage is in trouble.  The last site that I visited was an advice site for how to have the perfect marriage.  The list of visited sites are (I went to other related links from these sites):
http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/signsyourmarriageisover/Signs_Your_Marriage_is_Over.htm
http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/signsyourmarriageisover/tp/signsofdivorce.htm
http://divorcesupport.about.com/u/ua/signsyourmarriageisover/why_you_divorced.htm
http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/isdivorcethesolution/f/divorc_time.htm
http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/isdivorcethesolution/f/sexlessmarriage.htm
http://marriage.about.com/od/advice/a/marriagemagicformula.htm
After visiting several sites and reading the posts from people that are hurting over the outcome of their marriage I discovered that a lot of marriages have the same reasons or warning signs of deciding that it is over or nearing the end.  The most common tell tale signs were:  you often dream about leaving or life without your spouse, no sex or very little sex, no communication or an over abundance of arguing, the bad outweighs the good, you walk on eggshells or keep things to yourself, you always have your defenses up, no intimacy (even sleeping in different beds) or you feel like you are the only one concerned with solving the problems or even acknowledging that there is a problem.  It is truely up to the two parties involved to decide when enough is enough, but it was nice getting advice from others and reading ow they handled things just to give an idea of how to handle such a situation. 
I also looked at the positive which reveiled ways to fix or spark up your marriage if it is still salvageable.  The common ways to make a positive approach are: 

Cuddle with your spouse three times a day.

Kiss your spouse four times a day. A peck on the cheek counts.

Say 'I love you' to your spouse at least once a day.

Share two hobbies that you both are passionate about.

The two of you should have two romantic meals alone together a month.

Call, text message, or email your spouse three times a day.

Twice a month you should have some time alone away from each other.

At least once a year, the two of you need to have one weekend alone together.

Three nights a week snuggle together to watch TV or a film.

Try to celebrate one holiday away together each year.

I learned a lot from my reading experience this week.

Baby Talk Magazine August 2012 Edition

This week I read for 90 minutes in my "Baby Talk" magazine.  My daughter got me a free subscription, so each month we get a new one.  Honestly, this is the very first time I have ever opened one of the magazines and read it.
The August 2012 edition of Baby Talk, covered several different topics that are interesting to moms to be and new mommies.  They covered topics for the pregnant woman that is anxious for her baby bump to show, how to get better sleep at night with a new baby, how to spark up your sex life after having a baby and it was filled with quizzes and coupons for diapers, wipes, strollers and other baby products.  This edition also discussed developmental milestones from birth until school years that chldren will experience.  I will not go into detail about each and every story that was featured, but I will discusss my favorite topic, "kiss, play repeat."
I found this article to be the most interesting in the magazine because it explained in depth the reasons why (other than them being cute) snuggling with your baby is important.  According to the article, research suggests that babies that are cuddled on a regular basis (especially during stressful moments) possessed a hippocampus that is 10 times higher than un-nurtured children.  This section of the brain is responsible for helping children develop their own coping mechanism for stress and processing emotions and memories.  Playing games and being imtimate could be the difference between being a proud parent of the star fifth grade student or one that may struggle.  This is awesome information because I cuddle with my infant children alot and as they get older I do it less, but now I have a purpose for cuddling; a win-win situation.

Baby from Birth to One Month

This week I used my free reading time to research teh developmental stages of an infant from birth to one month old because my baby had his two week appointment, and the doctor gave me a hand out that laid out the developmental milestones for infants at this age.  I read approxiamately 2 hours between my web searches and the typed hand-out given at the doctor visit.
The sites I searched were:  http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/baby-development-1-month?page=3
http://www.babycenter.com/0_your-4-week-olds-development_1477174.bc
Pamphlet:  Infant Growth and Development from Two Weeks to One Month.  Author Mark Springer (pediatrician)
I learned from my research this week that infants from birth to one month still will spend from 12-20 hours of their day sleeping.  I learned that the slep they receive will be non REM sleep, so they will be easily startled or awakened.  I also learned they will still have their days and nights confused, but if parents make day light hours playful and active and night very quiet and dark they will get the hint a little sooner.
I also discovered that tummy time can be introduced at this age although they are not yet able to hold their heads up very well.  I way told they are developing their eye sight, so objects must be 8-12 inches from their face for them to focus in.  They also show favor in looking at human faces rather than toys or other objects.  Infants also favor higher pitched tones, so baby talk is helpful at this stage. 
Some infants can coo, grunt, smile and even try to laugh at this stage.  They are just finding out that their legs and arms are attached to their bodies, so playing with their legs and holding their hands in front of their faces is good to help them become familiar with their extremities. 
Babies should be back to their normal birth weight by now; after birth infants lose 10% or more of their body weight, but should be gaining an ounce per day by now.  Breastfed babies should be eating every 2-3 hours and bottle fed infants 6-8 times per day.  Breast fed infants should make a wet or poopy diaper after each feeding, and bottle fed infants should have at least 6 diaper changes per day. 
I learned a lot, and I plan to make sure my son is developmentally appropriate at every stage; if not, I will stay in close contact with his pediatrician.

Bedtime stories

This week my focus was on putting my baby to bed by reading him stories every nigt before he went to  bed. 
I read "I love you forever"  which was a story of a mother taking care of her son and making it a radition to read him a bedtime story each nigt.  At the end of the story the grows old and sick so the son holds her in the same rocking chair she held him in and reads her a bedtime story.  He also passed the tradition down to his own child.
I read "Guess How much I love you".  This is a story of a little bunny and his father.  The little bunny keeps trying to find things that he feels are huge and compare it to  how much he loves his daddy.  He keeps picking larger and larger items until at the very end the daddy tops it off by saying he loves him just as much times two! Very cute story for children that are beginning to make size comparisons.
I read Dr. Suess "Fox in Socks".  This story is hilarious.  My children and I never get tired of reading this story.  It is a series of tongue twisters throughout the book that begin with a different letter or blend each page.  Dr. Suess' use of made up and real words to work the eyes and mouth is a great reading exercise. We giggle the whole way through this story, and we try reading it as fast as we can so we can keep messing up!
I read Dr.Seuss's classic "Green Eggs and Ham".  This is the story of a man  trying to get another man to try green eggs and ham.  All throughout the story the man is reluctant to taste even one bite of the dish, but Sam I am will not give up trying to persuade him that if he would try it he may like it.  Finally the guy tries it just to get Sam I am out of his face, and he ends up liking it alot.  This is a great book to share with a child that is a picky eater.  It could help persuade them to at least try food before declaring that it is nasty or that they don't like it.
I read Dr. Seuss's "Marvin K. Mooney would You Please go now".  This is a story of a very stubborn little guy that refuses to be moved from his spot no matter what is happening around him.  It is a serious of adventures going on all around his head, yet he stands there unmoved without even chanign his facial expression.  I like this story because Marvin stood his ground, and he never moved from the spot until he was ready to do so on his own.  This teaches children to stand up for what they believe in, and don't change their minds unless they want to.
I read over 90 minutes this week due to the length of the Dr. seuss books; they can get rather lengthy, especially green eggs and ham. My exact time was 101 minutes of reading.

Jaundice Research

I read over 90 minutes this week doing research June 26, 27, and 28th over what jaundice is.  I just gave birth to my third child June 24, 2012 at 2:42pm, and before we were discharged from the hospital I was told to make a follow-up appointment with a pediatrician to have my son's jaundice levels checked. I have never experienced this illness with any of my other children, so I decided to deeply research what jaunice is.  I visited several websites and looked up the causes of jaundice, the signs and symptoms and treatment methods.  I was releived to find that this illness is very common in infants and it causes a yellowing of the eyes and skin tone due to the liver being under developed and unable to rid the body of toxins at a normal rate.  Lower levels such as in my son (under 20 points; this is determined by poking the infant in the heal of the foot and drawing blood to have tested in a lab)  do not require a hospital stay.  His levels did get high enough for the doctor to rent him a "biliblanket", a light that goes on his back 24 hours a day to decrease the the amount of toxins.  It is also recommended that direct sunlight exposure helps with jaundice.  Sadly babies with levels exceeding 20 points must stay at the hospital or be readmitted and placed under special lamps with their eyes covered for a few hours until they reach a safe level.  Once levels begin decreasing they never rise again; te hard part is getting the levels to begin their decrease naturally.  I learned a lot of information that was helpful in treating my son; he is now eight days old and we were informed by his pediatrician today that he has reached a safe level and he can stop treatment from his biliblanket.
I got my information from:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-jaundice.htm
http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/baby/whatisjaundice.asp
http://www.medicinenet.com/jaundice/article.htm

The Adventures of Amelia Bedelia By Peggy Parish

This week I went to Barnes and Noble and sat and read through the collection of Amelia Bedelia Books for 90 minutes on Saturday, June 9, 2012
The Adventures of Amelia Bedelia was a three pack collection of stories from the Amelia Bedelia book collection.  The first story was titled "Amelia Bedelia".  In this story she is house sitting for the people that she works for, so they left a list of chores for her to complete in the meantime.  Amelia Bedelia has a horrible time understanding the true meaning behind commands and takes them literally.  For example, the list requested that she "dress the turkey for dinner", so she clothed the turkey in a jumpsuit and socks. The story was hilarious, and as usual she smoothed things over by making a wonderful signature dessert.
The second story was called "Come Back, Amelia Bedelia".  In this story she was fired, and had to go job hunting.  She tried numerous different jobs, but kept getting fired on the spot for misinterpreting the directions.  For instance, one job required her to "shorten the dresses in the changing room", so she took a pair of scissors and cut every dress shorter and was asked to leave.  She eventually ended up back at the home that she was fired from in the beginning of the story.
The third and final story was titled "Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia", and she offered to help out a little league baseball team since one of their players was sick with the measles.  She cannot follow directions in a nonliteral way even when given by a child.  The team told her to "step into the ball and meet it" in order to hit it when she swings, so she stepped up during the pitch to shake the ball's hand and got hit in the shoulder. 
I always enjoy reading Amelia Bedelia stories because it is hilarious watching her be repremanded for making honest mistakes.  I would recommend educators to  use this story to exercise chilrens abilities to determine the literal and nonliteral meanings of phrases or commands.  If  nothing else, these stories are entertaining.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

This week I  read over 90 minutes (possibly 100 minutes) Wednesday, June 7, 2012.
 This week I finished the Five Love Languages chapter 8, physical touch through chapter 14, a personal words.  Chapter 8 physical touch was expressing how some lovers feel loved the most when their mate gives them physical touch.  This is not to be confused with strictly sex; they also cherish massages, soft touches, hand holding, kisses and hugs.  This type of lover needs an abundance of touchy feely attention to feel that their partner is into them, and they also use touch to show they care and are attracted to their mate.
The next chapters showed each individual how to define and recognize their own particular love language as well as their partners and even introduced ways to distinguish which love language your c hldren may be dominant in.  The book finished out by explaining how love is a personal choice that every human decides to engage in.  Healthy relationships requires each partner take the time to know their partner's love language and find ways to cater to those particu lar needs as often as possible.  It is the little things that count in showing others what they mean to us. 
This book was very useful in showing me that different people value different terms of endearment to feel loved and appreciated in their relationship.  To be successful, couples must makke themselves aware of what it takes to please their partner and ensure that they practice this on a frequent basis.  Children also have things that make them feel a connection to their parents.  If we are paying attention to our loved ones it is never hard to tell what gets them going.  The best way is to start with yourself and express to others the way you like being loved and start the conversation about their own language. Just this knowledge can make an even stronger connection between couples.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

This week I read for 90 minutes Thursday, May 31st.
I read the next three chapters in The Five Love Languages.  Quality time was the title of the first chapter I read this week.  This chapter explained to couples that if your partner values quality time then your job is to make sure that you spend romantic alone time with your mate.  This makes the person feel loved by you; your undivded attention is most fulfilling to their needs.
The next chapter, receiving gifts, discussed with couples that your mate gauges your love and appreciation best when you shower them with gifts.  This is not the same as getting valentines, Christmas and anniversary gifts for your mate; thwy feel it is most effective when gifts are given unexpectantly.  Buying your wife flowers just because it is Tuesday for instance.
The last chapter I read was Acts of Service. The author explained that this type of affection as when couples do nice things for each other to give the other a break.  For example, a wife could give her husband a sensual massage and foot rub when he gets home from working a longer work shift.  A husband could do the cooking or laundry for his wife so she could watch lifetime uninterrupted one Saturday afternoon.  This person feels love through their partner going out of their way to make them comfortable.
I got some good tips this week for helping me define the three featured languages this week.  I am eager to wrap it up and get all the secrets next week.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

This week I read the first four chapters of "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman.  I am enjoying this book so far.  It gives me the impression that this is a self help novel for married or serious couples because it is strategies and techniques to be more aware of your partner's needs. 
Chapter 1 titled "what happends to love after the wedding", chapter two titled "keeping the love tank full" and chapter three, "Falling in love" are all geared toward making the reader aware that falling in love is the easy part that comes natural, but staying in love is hard work.  People make the mistake of getting too comfortable in their relationship, so they start neglecting to do the very things that made their partner fall for them in the first place.  We must continue to find creative ways to show our partner that our feelings still remain.
Chapter four introduced the very first language, words of affirmation.  This love language is described as the type of person that enjoys receiving compliments and hearing their partner say how much they love them and how much they mean to them.  This individual also shows that they love a person by wanting to share their feelings with them, and can become offended if their partner is not feeling their love cup with sweet nothings. 


I read for thirty minutes each day Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.  May 21, 23 and 24.

Pleasure Reading The Lorax

The school I work for is really trying to get our students use to doing things that help the environment, and showing them examples of becomeing more "green", so I chose to read "The Lorax" by Dr. Suess to my lower learning intervention group. 
The Lorax is a children's story that is rather lengthy, so I split of the reading in thirty minute increments over three days.  This is a tale of Suess World people and creatures that make horrible decisions about the environment because they take for granted that it will always look the same.  The moral of the story is to use our resources wisely, and keep things as clean as we can.  It is not okay to just trash olur environment because at some point the whole world will be polluted and all of our population will die off due to the hazardous wastes it causes.  At the end the Lorax makes everyone clean up the world and teaches them better choices for keeping their world tidy so everyone can stay healthy including plants and flowers.
I appreciate this story for bringing an environmental issue down to a level for children to grasp an understanding.  The pictures were cartoon like, but they gave avery good description of how things start off great, but over time our bad choices will catch up with us with a vengence.

This week I read 30 minutes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and stopped for clarifying questions and discussions along the way.  It was enjoyable because the knowledge and respect my students gained from the moral.

Heaven is for Real

This week I started a new book that was given to me by a friend at work.  She hooked me by having me read the prologue which ended up making me keep going.  Heaven is for Real is a non-fiction Christian novel from a three year old child's perspective.  He was faced with a near death experience, and after recovery while talking to his parents they discovered that he met Jesus.  The little boy explains his parents whereabouts while he was under anesthesia.  He told his dad that he raised up out of his body, floated around and saw his dad in the corner at the hospital praying and his mother in a different room talking to someone on the phone and praying.  He said Jesus sang to him in Heaven, and he got to meet God.  He described God as being very, very big, and he said the people in Heaven do not wear glasses and no one is old or sick.  The boy gives a very detailed description of what things in Heaven are like and what was taking place to the point where is father was overwhelmed enough to write a book about his son experience.  When reading it, it felt so real that it forces you to believe what he is saying.

Lost and Found Week 2

This week when my daughter and I read the book Lost and Found we found out, along with Jamee, that her so called boyfriend, Bobby, was only using her to steal CDs for him.  Darcy was at the record store browsing when she spotted Bobby and his friend looking through CDs.  She got close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation.  He was bragging to his fellow high school friend that middle school flunky chic would do whatever he told her to do just as long as he pretends to like her.  Darcy went home, and shared this information with Jamee who refused to believe Bobby would say that.  She campagined that Bobby loved her, and went to her room and blasted her rap music. 
Darcy's friend Brisana made fun of her project partner, Tarah, calling her fat and dumb and making fun of her boyfriend Cooper.  Darcy was hurt that she would do that,  yet she never told her friend to stop for fear of judgement on her for befriending someone of Tarah's status.  In spite of Brisana's jokes about Tarah and Cooper Tarah went to the Tidal pool with the odd couple.  Cooper joked around too much for Darcy, and put a leach on her.  She got so upset about it that she left and found a bus bench to ride the bus home instead of riding back with them.  While she waited she say some mysterious man in a Honda staring at her.  Right when he began to get out of the car the chapter ended!

Lost and Found

This week I decided to chose a book from the library at my job that my twelve year old daughter and I could read togethr so that I can help her become more interested in reading.  It did not take very muc to persuade her to read it once I told her we would take turns reading every other chapter to eachother.  She was skeptical of the book until I hyped it up the way the librarian did for me.  It is a teenage suspense story.  So far we ave been introduced to a very quiet and reserved high school girl named, Darcy.  Darcy has a tough lifestyle.  Her mother works at a hospital and is rarely at home.  Her sick and possibly dying grandmother lives with them so that she can have the care she needs.  Darcy takes care of her younger rebellious sister, Jamee, because Darcy is a straight A student, and her sister is a party animal and doesn't take anything seriously.  Darcy's school life is sad for her.  She does not fit in with the other children, and they tease her and treat her like an outcast because they think she is stuck up.  The truth is she is very shy, and very mature for her age, so she is not interested in normal teenage activities.  She was paired with a semi-popular vuluptious girl to work on a project for her class, and the girl accused er of looking down at her and told her EXACTLY what she and everyone else thinks about her.  Darcy went home, and cried hard to her grandmother because she knew the girl was telling the truth about her being an outcast; she has no friends.

Smooth Operator Week 5

This week I finished the book with a twist to say the least.  This week Lyfe went snuk away to a bar to find some peace a quiet from the drama he had been going through in his life with Payton.  He kept beign rudely interrupted by men coming to make small talk.  He was especially annoyed by a man who introduced his self as Keenan.  Lyfe was so upset that he did not get the peace he needed that he left and went to see Arri.  He got to Arri's to find her upset with the news that her sister was found dead in the ally she lived in.  Lyfe stayed with Arri and Zion until the funeral was over.  He enjoyed their time together so much that he asked Arri to run away with him.  She agreed although she was skeptical if he would really leave his wife to be with her.  Lyfe left Arri and returned to his suite where he was again approached by the annoying Keenan guy from the bar.  This time Keenan told Lyfe his real reason for wanting to talk to him.  He said that his wife, Payton, and Quinton were guilty of money landering and he wanted Lyfe's help in framing them or giving them information or he would go to jail for being an accessory.  Lyfe told them he would need time to think.  He went to see Payton and fou nd her in their bed with Quinton.  Quinton went home where his wife Dominique pretended to want to have erotic sex with him, and tied him up and killed him, picked up her kids from her parent's and left.  Payton frantically went to Quinton's house to tell him Lyfe knew all their secret's, but he was already dead.  Payton and Lyfe ended up divorced, and Arri, Lyfe and Zion staarted a new life together. WOW

Smooth Operator week four

This week was too hard for me to keep the book down.  These last chapters sent me on a whirl wind of excitement.  Arri and Lyfe's relationship had blossomed and they were staying most nights together in New York.  Arri even found a babysitter for her nephew so that she and Lyfe could have a weekend getaway on the islands.  It felt too much like married life and Arri got nervous and wanted to back off again.  Back in California Payton was still controlling her business as well as Lyfe's close business partner and so called friend, Quinton.  Meanwhile Quinton's wife Dominique,  was getting fed up with his long work hours and never having time for her or the kids.  She had a talk with Payton who convinced her to do her own thing if she was sick of being hurt by Quinton.  Payton assured her that Quinton obviously had no problem doing what makes him happy.  Dominique decided to go out and have herself a drink, yet found herself in the arms of another man; a stranger.  He turned out to be a gentleman, but did encourage her to continue their affair.  She was undecided.  During Arri and Lyfe's rendezvous Payton had grew quite angry and suspicious at Lyfe because he wasn't answering any or her calls or returning her messages.  She got so upset she fired everone in the New york office.  Lyfe demanded their job's back and eventually got his way by once again having sex with his wife, wow.  Arri was upset and quit, but she too ended up going back because she needed money to support Zion, and did not enjoy her phone and internet sex job enough to make a full time career of it.  I think Payton is going to end up finding out Lyfe has fallen completely out of love with her next.  I will see. 

Pleasure Reading Smooth operator week 3

This week I read more chapters from Smooth Operator.  The first chapter I read took place in New York.  It was all about how Lyfe is rude and demanding as a boss and Arri is getting very frustrated with him.  He honestly is doing things and making work for her to have to keep coming in his office so he can try to break the ice between them.  She is not falling for his antics at all.  They ended up getting a big business deal that forced Arri and Lyfe to have to stay after hours together, and due to the rainy weather and crime filled neighborhood Lyfe offered to take her home.  They ended up at a bar before she went home, and had a very passionate dance and kiss.  She ran away!  The next chapter also took place in New York.  It was SO awkward for both Lyfe and Arri since they kissed the night before.  Right when Arri was thinking about saying something Payton, Lyfe's wife walked in an confronted him about trying to take over the entire business.  She secretly caught a flight (with Quinton, Lyfe's so called friend; Lyfe had no clue he was with her) to come force him to stay in his place.  Lyfe refused to listen to her and said he will continue to do what is best for the company and threw her out of his office because she was fighting him and calling him names in front of EVERYone.  She stormed back into the limo with Quinton and told him Lyfe wasn't backing down and they needed a plan B. The next chapter was about Lyfe trying to figure out a plan to fight back with Payton because he knew he was going to have to make it good after throwing her out.  Mysteriously he gets a call from Quinton who tried to convince him to back down and stay in whatever position Payton wanted him in.  Lyfe expressed he disagreed with having to stay in his place.  He also sat to ponder why Quinton was siding with Payton so strong.

Smooth Operator by Risque Week 2

This week I read chapters 4 through 8.  In New york chapter 4 was about Arri.  Arri's sister is a drug addict just as their mother was.  Their mother also died from a drug overdose.  Arri's sister had a 5 year old son who she neglected to take care of to say the least, and Arri takes over responsibility of her nephew.  Her sister keeps coming to her house trying to fight begging for her son back, but he's afraid and would rather stay with Arri.  Chapter 5 is about Lyfe in New york.  He and Arri end up literally bumping into each other on a subway on their way to the office.  This is when the first met.  She accidentally spills his coffee on his shirt, but they each find the other attractive and he tries to flirt, but she is trying to play the super not interested role. They get to the office and when Arri is told the new boss is in town and go obtain her work load to her dismay it is Lyfe!  He is her new boss.  He still tries flirting, and she refuses his kindness. 
Meanwhile in California chapters 6-8 are about Lyfe's wife Payton cheating with another man that works closely with life, named Quinton.  Quinton's wife is also friends with Payton and goes to Payton for advice because she has no idea that the other woman in her husbands life is the very one that she confides in.
All the drama is starting to unfold.

Smooth Operator by Risque

The book Smooth Operator is a black urban street novel by author of the Sweetest Taboo, Risque.  While reading I noticed that the book's chapters are separated by which characters life it is explaining.  It switches back and forth from New york discussing a strong and extremely arrogant woman, named Payton surprising her husband, Lyfe by bringing another women into their bedroom as a surprise to lure him into a trap so he would be grateful to her.  Chapter two also takes place in New York, but the character discussed this time is a very beautiful and curvacious woman, Arri having a nightmare where she recalled having a romantic evening filled with passion with the man of her dreams in a very expensive hotel suite.  They make love in a hot tub, and the man asks her to marry him.  Right when she accepted his hand in marriage and begins to make love to him again they are rudely interrupted by a woman busting down the door.  The woman was emotional and distraught, and had a handgun that she pointed and shot the man with.  She then told Arri that she could never marry him because he was HER husband, and now he' dead.  Chapter three had a title page before the chapter page that said, "I never intended.....".  Chapter three is titled California.  It is about Lyfe and Payton at a prestigious dinner for the firm they work for.  Payton is the owner of the business, and she hired her husband Lyfe, an ex-drug dealer to hold a position slightly less than partner.  The get into a huge fight during the dinner because Payton informs Lyfe that she planned a trip for him to entertain a potential business associate back in New York, so he would be gone for a month while she stays and runs things in California.  Lyfe is reluctant and feels horribly disrespected because she demands he do things because she is the business owner, and has no respect for his position as being her husband.  She told him that she gave him a three some the other night to ensure that he would be pleased to do whatever he is told.  They ended the night with him attempting to put her in her place and leaving her at the dinner party to entertain the guests herself.
This is a summary of chapters 1-3.