Language Fun

As I was sifting through some language and literacy booklets last night that my practicum supervisor gave me, I came across these adorable poems

The Craziest Language

We'll begin with a box and the plural is boxes.

But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.

Then one fowl is a goose, but two are called geese

Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,

Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always men,

Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,

And if I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,

Yet a hat in the plural would never be hose.
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of brother and also of brethren,

But though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his, and him,

But imagine the feminine, she, shis, and shim.

So English I fancy you will agree,

Is the craziest language you ever did see.

Author Unknown

Plane English

Eye halve a spelling chequer

It came with my pea sea

It plainly marques four my revue

Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word

And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid

It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the error rite

Its rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it

I am shore your pleased two no

Its letter perfect awl the weigh

My chequer tolled me sew.

Author Unknown



These should help you to ease into Monday. :)

Braidy

So my new favorite thing this week is a little wonder named Braidy. I found out about him when I started my new job (one down on the 2011 list) and his whole purpose in life is to help students improve their oral language abilities. Braidy is so great because he is a puppet for the little ones but the strategies that Braidy incorporates can be implemented with older kids. Here he is:

Essentially, Braidy is a type of Story Grammar Marker (Braidy look-alikes can be created very easily - just need to make a mad dash to Michaels...I am all about the knock-offs!) Braidy's head represents the Character. The star represents the Setting. The shoe was chosen to initiate the "kick-off" event. The heart is there to represent the internal response or how the character feels. The hand is the Plan of Action- what will the character do? The beads are Attempts or Actions which represent how the "plan" is to be carried out. The bow is the Direct Consequence of the action and the little heart at the end is the Resolution.

You can use Braidy's icons when asking older students to write their own stories. Here is the link if you want to take a look at him: http://buyersguide.asha.org/productshowcase.php?ps_id=1294

I just love this guy. I think he will come in handy this semester with the kiddos that I will have.... :) I will copy him and keep him in my folder of goodies as well for future endeavors.

That's all.

M

New Years

Today is New Years Eve... and while the most romantic thing to happen to me tonight will be a smooch from My Favorite after FSU has won their bowl game in the booth at Buffalo Wild Wings.. I do love New Years. I love new beginnings and I love thinking of ALL of the things that I want to do to make the next year even greater. This is a problem usually - I am a planner... I plan to plan... (just like that Vegas movie with Cameron Diaz.... I have issues) This should actually be my new years resolution - to not plan anything......
Naw.....lets not get carried away!

Anyway... I have been thinking of what I want to do this next year: I have come up with 20 things! That's huge right?!

1. Go to Disney World - I live in Orlando for crying out loud.... if I am ever going to go back to Disney World...it needs to be now when I don't have to pay for a place to stay!

2. Go to Universal Studios -  For the same reason

3. Go to the Holy Land theme park - I just have to see what is there....lol. This may make my reading of the bible a little more interesting! :-P

4.  Finish the books I started in 2010 - I have some ADD when it comes to reading... I get a few chapters in and then I find a book I think I will like better. This has been a problem...you should see the number of books in my house that are half read.

5. Start running with Remi - I have to get into shape....but more than that, Remi needs exercise! at least twice a week I need to run him.

6. Finish reading the bible - We started in the New Testament...and we are halfway through with Luke... we can do this. Piece of cake.

7. Make a new friend - I have made 2 new and great friends since I moved to Orlando. I love them and wouldn't know how to do graduate school without them...but you can never have too many friends. I want another one. :)

8. Sew something as a gift for someone

9. Find a part time job while I finish school

10. Give Blood - I have never weighed enough to give blood until now... and I am a little scared! But I need to do it...it is silly not to.

11. Run a 5K - everyone in Orlando runs 5ks....what is that? And I am assuming that once I start running with Remi, I will be prepared for this. Actually... I will probably not get very far before I have to walk it lol, but it will still be cool to do.

12. Get my bike fixed

13. Actually ride my bike a couple times a month

14. Pay off debt - this needs to happen...we cant move forward until we pay it off!

15. Go to an Orlando Magic Game.

16. Go back to Tallahassee for an FSU game next football season!

17. Pay for my momma to come see me in Orlando

18. Volunteer at an event

19. Adopt a family at Christmas - I have always wanted to do this.... I will do it next year for sure.

20. Start on a children's book - this may seem crazy, but have you been in the children's section at Barnes and Noble? Come on.... this can't be that hard! I plan on making one after Remington - he is very inspiring. :) And I have LOTS of ideas.

Maybe putting these on here will help me to actually accomplish them. :) We will see....
That's all - oh, and Go NOLES! :)
-M

Backyard Fun

So, considering that we live in an apartment with Remington, life gets a little crowded at times. There are days when I think that this place is NOT big enough for the both of us! To make life possible, Remi must get lots of exercise in his backyard. Now, his backyard is about a mile away from the house, but he still thinks that it is his backyard. Fleet Peoples Dog Park (my hero, my friend, the only thing that saves my time and energy).

"Mama!"... or this is what I imagine him saying every time he runs like this to me... full gallop, ear back, running straight for my legs.... it is about now that I have to jump to the left or right to keep from being knocked down. My sweet Remi- he is just a baby ya know. 7 and 1/2 months old! My sweet, big baby!

We meet lots of friends too at the park.....

But our favorite thing to do is to get in the water with Dad. :)

And after a long, fun couple of hours at the dog park, it is time to nap! This is why Remi and I both love Fleet Peoples.... I can clean, study, do whatever I need to do! He will not move until dinner time.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Santa was very good to me this year! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Here is a peek at some of my favorite goodies!

This is a Delft bracelet that my wonderful Momma got me. I love collecting pieces of delft jewelry and also cameos but they are so hard to find! There is something about owning a piece of jewelry like this that makes me feel timeless and classy. Every woman should own a piece of Delft jewelry - just saying!

 Another favorite is this small book titled "Random Acts of Kindness - An Illustrated Celebration" Metro Books published it and it is adorable. It is full of quotes (which I love!; Quotes actually play a funny role in how My Favorite and I started dating- But that's a whole other story) and short stories about people doing good deeds. Very inspiring and the perfect gift. :)

Oh My! This is a homemade fabric necklace that My Favorite's sister made me for Christmas. She is something else, this woman. I admire her and want to be like her in so many ways. I have found a free pattern on how to make this necklace. I want to share it with you guys too. I plan on making several more of these to add to my accessory pile. :)     http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/free_patterns.php

And last but not least, my pocket guides! This is for all of the Speechies out there! A friend of mine from UCF had these one day during one of our study sessions and I fell in love with them. They are wonderful for those of you who like to have a quick reference to different disorders and what assessments/treatments to use with them!
That's all for now.
-M 

A Formal Introduction

Ok, so this blog business is new to me. I’m not really sure if my life is even remotely interesting enough to write about, but we will see! Currently, I am in the process of giving Martha Stewart a run for her money. I am learning to cook, sew, and be a regular home goddess. And if that wasn’t enough, I am diving into my faith by actually reading the bible cover to cover. I love to paint and take pictures when I have time. I am a full time graduate student at UCF (Go knights! Except when the Seminoles are playing, then it's Go NOLES!). I have two great loves in my life: My favorite (AKA Cy Sims) and My Remi (AKA Remington Sims /Weimaraner pup/King of the house/ “No,” “Out,” or “Off”) – he answers to them all! I have many aspirations for my life. I want to experience many new things and I want to capture them all– and that it why I have started this blog!