Challenge #3

You & Your Writing
I am a self-actualizing person. No matter where I am, what I am doing, or who I am with, I am in my own world. While in that world, I tend to constantly make-up people, places, and things. There is always something going on in my head.

For a previous job, we took personality tests. The psychologist who administered the test to us said, "I bet you are always thinking about other stuff, no matter what you are doing." I just looked at him and smiled. He said that according to my profile, he could tell that I did.

I started writing at 12. I had to get all of the people, places, and things out of my head. I mostly wrote poetry for church programs. I also kept a journal. Once I got into high school, I began writing more prose for creative writing class. I wrote essays and research papers for classes as well.

I write poetry, short stories, novels, novellas, essays, and research papers. I love writing research papers, strange I know.

I currently display all of my work at Perpetual Inspirations, http://www.alwaysinspired.info/ and LaDawnya's World, http://www.ladawnyasworld.info/.

I love having people read my writing. My family and friends read a lot of my work. I try to get people to look at my websites as much as possible. I have made t-shirts advertising my sites. (Shameless, I know.)

I have had several of my writings published. I am working on a novel that I want to get published. My brother wants me to get it published as well because it is about him.

A year from now, I would like to be finished with my novel, Allegations.
It is a story about something that happened to my brother and me. I am writing it to help with the healing process, but it got hard to write so I had to put it down.

Five years from now, I hope to have two or more books published.

Deartra's Intro

My name is deartra (pronounced dear-tra). My login on most places is mrsdboone. I write Christian fiction. I have written two Christian romances. My most recent work was a fictional story based on my real life. I am not working on anything particular at this time. I am a pre-school teacher, so I spend most of my day playing (teaching) four year olds. I live in TX with my husband of 3 years. I work in the CHildren's Ministry at my church (kindergarten). I love working with small children. I don't have any children unless you count my four stuffed animals, one of which, a little girl, I recently received.

I love goofing around on the computer. I make-up stories, people, places, and things and write about them all the time. I have a bunch of websites dedicated to this silly endeavor. Most of these writings help me come up with a workshop that I give online sometimes.

I like this group because it helps my creativity flow.

Pride Stickers

I get to put 32 pride stickers on my computer. Hooray!

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Goals for the Month of September

Here are my goals for the month.

1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
3. Upload Baumann Records.
4. Upload K-3080 Entertainment.
5. Upload Mo'Sound Gospel Records.
6. Upload Prantley Records.
7. Continue to update Perpetual Inspirations.

Writing Goals

For the month of August, I wrote 122,900 words. Yippee! I updated 66 sites.
The last week was hard, but I made it.

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished all of my goals for last month. YEA!

Pride Stickers

I get to put 30 stickers on my computer. Yippee.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

I like being at 30 stickers. :P

Goals for the Month of August

Here are my goals for the month:

1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
3. Update Maddocha
4. Continue to update Perpetual Inspirations.
5. Get ready for school.

Writing Goals

I am very proud. For the month of July I wrote 46,543 words. I updated 82 websites. Yea!

I did have to readjust the writing goal for this month. I was having a hard time because of the heat. I had been walking outside several days and it wasn't working for me.

July is a hard month for me, heat wise.

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished six of my monthly goals for last month.

I-Tunes

Why did I-Tunes mess up today? Perhaps it is because I moved my music files to the External drive and didn't do it right.

I had to delete all of the songs and reload them onto I-Tunes. Now, I have to go in and give my songs the right ratings again. A couple of my play lists are based on song ratings.

That's what I get for not following directions. :(

Websites

I created 20 websites this week.

VBS Fun Day

Tonight was fun. I manned a race booth. It was crazy. I had so many kids at my booth that I had to get some more candy. They were all taking the Air Head candy that I had in my bucket.

I walked around outside for a few minutes. The Children's Church minister got in the dunking booth. I saw her get dunked. I thought that was so cool. The assistant pastor was also in the booth.

T-Shirts
I was inspired by the t-shirts that we had to create for VBS, that I got some iron-transfer pages so that I could create my own t-shirts. The first one I created was for my website, I Belong to God. It looked pretty cool for my first one.

VBS

This is the last day that we will have classes for VBS. Tomorrow night is water fun night. The kids will get to have fun outside in a make-shift water park. We will also be doing indoor games. I am supposed to work one of the indoor games. I am not about to be outside.

P.S. I drove the car tonight.

VBS: Walking To the Church

I have been walking to and from the church for VBS. I live like a 15-20 minutes from the church. I am tired today.

It hasn't helped that I had to walk over a mile to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine. I should have gone to the pharmacy before 3:00 PM. That was kind of dumb.

I got a ride home from my co-teacher. She is cool.

Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School starts this week at my church, Westside Baptist Church. It is going to be fun. I will be working with the 5 year-olds.

I haven't participated in VBS in forever. Get this; we have to create our own t-shirts using an iron-on transfer thingy. Like I need to be trying to do that.

Birthday Review

I had fun on my birthday. We went to breakfast. We went to the electronics store. I got an external hard drive. (I know. I am a nerd.) We saw Transformers again. I love that movie.

Braids

I got some new braids today. I found someone on this side of town that does them. Man, she did these things tight. My head is hurting like crazy. I can't even laugh.

Birthday

My birthday is tomorrow. Yea!

Websites

I redid 21 websites this week.

Swimming

I have been swimming a lot the past couple of weeks. Our apartment is right next to the pool. That is so cool.

There is always somebody out at the pool.

Adams Family News

I decided to post some good news about the Adams Family. The Adams Family will be having a family reunion this year.

Adams Family Death

I am sad. I decided that one of my characters from the Adams Family would die today. The grand matriarch of the family, Dixie Mae Calhoun died at the age of 105. It was kind of hard to let her die.

I am a bit sad, though. I have never allowed one of my characters to die before. I have changed the Adams Family website to show a page in memory of her.

Working Out

I have been working out since I got back from vacation. Ok, so I have been walking and riding the stationary bike at the gym, but it is something. I am feeling good these days.

Children's Church Supplies

I decided to buy my own supplies for Children's Church.

I always have to search for glue, crayons, and other supplies. I was walking through Wal-Mart and saw that they had school supplies on sale. I bought the supplies that I needed.

I dislike being unprepared.

Back to School for Hubby

My husband goes back to school on tomorrow. It is going to be crazy because his school has gone to an accelerated schedule. Heaven help us all, he has to complete 15 week classes in 8 weeks. That ain't funny.

Websites

I redid 20 websites this week.

Da Heat

The heat is starting to get to me. I hate being out in the sun. I get so tired. I try to drink a lot of water. It doesn't help that my form of transportation requires me to be out in the heat. Oh well.

I hate SUMMER!

Pride Stickers

I get to put 27 stickers on my computer. Yippee.

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Writing Goals

I am very proud. For the month of June I wrote 75,654 words. I updated 124 websites. Yea!

Goals for the Month of July

Here are my goals for the month:
1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
3. Update Maddocha
4. Continue to update Perpetual Inspirations.
5. Celebrate my birthday (7/20). SMILE!

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished six of my monthly goals for last month.

Vacation Review

I had a lot of fun on vacation.

We went to the Natural Caverns. That was fun.

We went to a wildlife park, where you drive around in your car a feed the animals. That was hilarious. A deer like animal got up close and personal with my husband. The animal stuck his head in the car window on the driver's side and sniffed my husband's hand and then licked my husband on the neck. I was rolling.

We went to Six Flags. That was cool.

We went to Sea World. We didn't get to see Shamu, much to my husband's dismay. We did see the penguins.

We went to the Schlitterbahn. This is a water park. This was so much fun. We floated around in the wading pool. We went down a couple of water slides. It was fun hanging out in the water with my husband.

I think I may have given one of the life guards an eye full because my swimming suit string came loose and I had to pull my top up. He looked at me kind of funny as I swam by him. OOPS!

I-Hop

We had an incident in I-Hop earlier today. We were sitting at a table and the waiter walked by us twice without saying a word. A white family was seated after we were seated. The waiter walked right over to them and began talking to them and being friendly. He walked by us three more times and didn't say a word. I looked at my husband and said, "If he walks by us one more time. I am going to act a fool." My husband smiled and said, "Calm down. Let's give him five more minutes." I had every intention of giving the guy five more minutes, except, he walked by us and gave the white family their drinks. I was livid at that moment. I stood up, walked up to the front of the restaurant and asked someone, "Who is our waiter?" The person responded, "Chris." I said, "He has walked by us four or five times and has not said a word to us!" A waitress walked up to us and said, "Come on, Baby and sit in my section and I will get you feed quickly." We sat in her section.

We got our food. We got a discount. I was heated though. My husband cracked on me the whole way home. It was kind of funny.

We were in San Antonio. There aren't that many African-Americans in San Antonio. We have a tendency to be bad tippers. (My husband and I are great tippers, though.) I think that is why Chris acted a fool with us. It can't be said that he didn't see us.

Oh well. Why did somebody have to act a fool with us on the last day of our vacation?

Back In Town

We are back in town. I feel so good and relaxed. I am thinking about posting some vacation pictures. Not sure right now.

Vacation

We are going on vacation next week. Yea. I am so happy to get out of town.

Websites

I redid 29 websites this week.

The Adams Family

I have finally uploaded the Adams Family. I moved some of the family sites to the new domain. There are alot of Adams Family Sites.

Websites

I redid 29 websites this week. Whew! It is going. I am trying to finish by the end of July. I hope I make it.

Always Inspired

I have done a few sites in Always Inspired. Things are going slowly with the site updating, but I am going steady at it.

Braids

I need to get some new braids. I am starting to look ragedy about the head. I gotta find somebody on this side of town that does them.

I am looking.

Websites

I redid 28 websites this week. That's alot.

The Adkins Abode

I uploaded the Adkins Abode. I moved the family sites to the domain location as well.

Family Sites

I have created several families in my world.

• Adams Family Headquarters - http://www.adamsfamilyhq.info/
• Adkins Family Abode - http://www.adkinsfamilyabode.info/
• The White Family - http://www.theoxfordwhites.info/

The Adams Family and the White Family are pretty big. The Adkins Family is the first family of the Greater Buelhalnd Fellowship.

I created these families because I am big on families. I like the idea of having big families that get together and have traditions.

Greater Buelahland Fellowship

I updated the Greater Buelahland Fellowship. I created a banner rotation for the sites as well. I am so glad that I found GoDaddy.com. They have some good products.I was not paid for that plug. :)

In Her Shadow

I uploaded In Her Shadow finally. Yippee!

Sites Designed

I completed 8 sites this week. It is tedious because I have to update file locations, remove old code, and add new code. I will keep working.

What I Am Doing?

I am working on updating my websites. I have quite a few that I have created. It's just one of those things, I started the site as part of a class and it has grown and grown. If you want to read about it, click here.

Here are some of the sites that I maintain that have domain names:

All these sites are related to LaDawnya's World.
Adams Family Headquarters - http://www.adamsfamilyhq.info/ - The site of the Adams' Family.

Adkins Family Abode - http://www.adkinsfamilyabode.info/ - The site of the Adkins' Family.

Perpetual Inspirations - http://www.alwaysinspired.info/ - This is the site that hosts most of the sites I create.

Bagley ISD - http://www.bagleyisd.org/ - The site of the Bagley Independent School District.

Greater Buelahland Fellowship - http://www.gbfellowship.info/ - The site of the Greater Buelahland Fellowship.

In Her Shadow - http://www.inhershadow.info/ - LaDawnya's Personal site.

LaDawnya's World - http://www.ladawnyasworld.com/ - This is the site that started it all.

LaDawnya's World - http://www.ladawnyasworld.info/ - This is the site that started it all.

State of Maddocha - http://www.maddocha.info/ - This is the state of Maddocha.

Shimmers Incorporated - http://www.shimmersinc.info/ - The Shimmers Incorporated site.

The White Family - http://www.theoxfordwhites.info/ - The site of the White Family.

If you want to view more sites, here is a comprehensive list.

These sites are sites that I maintain.
J-2070 By Design - http://www.j2070.com/ - This is the site of my website company.

Titus 3:7 - I Belong 2 God - http://www.titus37.info/ - A site letting the world know, I BELONG 2 GOD.

These are my personal sites.
In My Own Voice - http://www.mrsboone.com/ - This is my personal blog site.

A Wealthy Place - http://www.mrsdboone.com/ - This is my personal site.

My 1,000 Words - http://www.my1000words.info/ - This is the site where I post my writings.

PV31 - http://www.pv31.org/ - This is my ministry site.

My Poet's Voice - http://www.uponmywords.info/ - This is my poetry site.

Pride Stickers

I get to put 30 stickers on my computer. Yippee.
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Writing Goals

I am very proud. For the month of May I wrote 21,031 words. I updated 27 websites. Yea!

Goals for the Month of June

Here are my goals for the month:
1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
3. Update GBF
4. Update Maddocha
5. Update Always Inspired
6. Transfer the Adams Family Site
7. Transfer the Adkins Family Site
8. Transfer In Her Shadow

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished six of my monthly goals for last month.

Websites

I am still working on the sites. I am about to scream.

Stolen

Somebody stole my bicycle. I am so mad. I had it chained up in front of my apartment. I can't believe it.

It had been chained up since I got it, for two days. I was planning on putting it on our balcony today. I got a sinking feeling that it was stolen while we were in the apartment.

There were some people cleaning out the apartment across from ours. I can't proof it, but my bike didn't disappear until they showed up.

Well, at least we have insurance and stuff like that.

This really sucks!

It's Over

School is over. I am so excited. Yea!

Last Day of School, Almost

Today is the last day of school for the school. We will still have students on tomorrow. Well, I will. I am the only person working tomorrow. We have teacher's children in our class. I think I will have like four or five students. Who knows? I am supposed to clean up the room and other stuff like that. Oh well. I am very excited about school being over.

New Bike

I got a new bike today. I am so excited. I am going to ride it to school.

Websites

It is going slowly, but steadily with the websites. I am making progress.

Moving

We moved today. I am so tired. We are going to finish up tomorrow. I am not looking forward to that.

Water Day

We had water day today at school. It was so much fun. I got to slide down the water slide. I got to throw water balloons at people. We played tug of war. I got to spray some kids with the water hose. It was fun.

Websites

I updated several websites this week. It felt good to update these sites.
It is hard work though. I will keep updating the sites.

Decisions

I have decided to spend this month and next month working on Perpetual Inspirations. I am going to be updating old sites and adding new sites.

I have quite a few sites that are a part of Perpetual Inspirations. Most of my writing for May & June will be related to Perpetual Inspirations.

Pride Stickers

I get to put 30 stickers on my computer. Yippee.
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Writing Goals

I am very proud. For the month of April I wrote 21,011 words. Yea!

Monthly Goals For May

Here are my goals for the month:
1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
3. Update LDW
4. Update GBF
5. Update Maddocha
6. Update Always Inspired
7. Transfer the Adams Family Site
8. Transfer the Adkins Family Site
9. Transfer In Her Shadow

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished two of my monthly goals for last month.

467 Words to Make Monthly Goal

Well, I need four-hundred sixty-seven words to reach my goal for the month of April. I have been trying to think of what to write to help me with this.

ShoutLife
I have been on ShoutLife a lot this month. There have been times when I should have been writing, but instead, I was on ShoutLife. I have got to get better at monitoring my time on ShoutLife, which is very addictive.

Right now, I have written ninety-two words. I only need 375 more words.

School Is Almost Out
As of right now, we only have 18 more days left in school. I am very thankful because then it will be Summer Vacation. Yea! I will not have had the summer off since 2001, the year of the school. I am looking forward to having the summer off. I have no plans as of yet other than to take a vacation with my husband.

I have other choices, but I don't know if I want to exercise those because it would involve me not having the summer off.

I am going to finish Allegations. My brother is going to injure me if I don't.

I have written 212 words. I only need 255 more words. This is getting harder.

Blogging
Blogging has taken over the world. Everyone has a blog. People write about some silly stuff in their blogs, me included. I know a couple of people who have like 10 or more active blogs. That's crazy.

I have been journaling since I was 10 or 11. I can honestly say that this is something that I have been doing regularly.

Vlogging, or video blogging is starting to get more popular. This is where people journal by video, so that the world can see their face and hear their words. I am not sure that I am ready for that.

Technology, where is it going to take us next?

I have written 337 words. I only need 130 more words. What can I write that would take 130 words?

What in the world is my daily quota for the month of March? I need to make sure that I keep it low. I looked, it is 700/day. This is getting nerve wrecking. Why did I make these goals again?

Once I have finished writing for the year, I should have written over 500,000 words. Right now, I have written a little over 53,000 words.

I am proud of myself because I have written more words each month, which is good. Here are my stats:
January - 2,260
February - 13,428
March - 16,758
April - 20,870

I hope that I will write more in May.

I have written 459 words. I only need 8 more words.

Well, I believe that this will get me over my quota. Thank the Lord, I am 11 words over.

The April's Fool Challenge

The April's Fool Challenge is over. To date, my word count is 11,121 words. I didn't reach my goal of 21,000 words. Oh well. I am going to leave it on my goals list for the month of May.

I think a little of it was allergies. Most of it was the drudgery of writing. It was kind of hard to start writing at times, although, once I began writing, the words flowed. I am hoping that things will get better in the month of May.

Grandmotherhood

Grandmamas
I was watching the NFL draft on this past weekend. It was good. I watched a report that was aired about JaMarcus Russell, the #1 pick of NFL draft.

In the piece they showed all of his family and they talked about his home life. During one of the segments of the piece, JaMarcus was sitting in a chair in his grandmother's house. She was standing right behind him. He said something like, "This used to be a house where there was always something to eat. My grandmother used to cook all of the time. But when she thought I was getting fat, she stopped cooking." He laughed. His grandmother slapped him on the back of his head, hard. My husband and I both fell out laughing because that was such a grandmother move. I think JaMarcus is going to make it in the fast paced, star studded world of football with a grandmother like that.

Here he is about to be the #1 pick in the draft and his grandmother smacks him on the back of the head on national TV. That did my heart good to see that there are still grandmothers who are "REAL" grandmothers. The kind of grandmother, that still cooks and cleans. The kind of grandmother who will call you and make sure that you are eating right. The kind of grandmother, that will smack you upside the head if you get out of line. The kind of grandmother, that is matriarch of the family.

My maternal grandmother is like that when she isn't sick. We don't really have those kinds of grandmothers anymore, especially with grandmothers getting younger and younger. When I was a child, my grandmother was in her fifties. Now, grandmothers are in their early 40s and late 30s. That is so crazy.

If we had more "REAL" grandmothers (you know like your Big Mamma or your Memamma). I am talking about the grandmother that all the kids call Memamma, like my father's mother. She was crazy cool. Every one of my friends called her Memamma. She used to give all of us candy when she saw us. It was so cool. The world would be a better place if we had more "REAL" grandmothers in it.

Old Enough to Be Somebody's Grandmamma
My husband and I went to pick up our tickets for Spiderman 3, which comes out on May 4. (Yes, we get them early. He likes to get them early.) When we were walking up to the theater, there was a car with two teenagers (male & female) sitting in it. I am not sure what they were doing in the car, but from where I was looking, they looked like they were up to no good, if you know what I mean. I made a face. My husband said, "You should go up to the car and give them a look." I said, "Yea, by today's standards, I am old enough to be their mother." He said, "Yea, you are old enough to be a grandmother by today's standards."

Heaven Help Me, Please
I am 36 years old. I could be the mother of a 20 year-old person by today's standards. Actually, I could be the mother of someone even older than that. That in turn, means I could have a grandchild that is as old as one of my students (ages 3-4).

The more I think about it, the crazier it makes me feel. I could possibly be the grandmother of one of my students. What in the world is going on?

I have to shake my head every time I think about it. In all honest, I would be a cool grandmother, but I don't want to be one. I mean, I could play PlayStation with my grandchild. I could IM and email my grandchild. I could even discuss a Cover Two defense and the triangle offense with my grandchild. Here's the thing to consider… Why in the world would I want to be a grandmother at 36?

Grandmothers are supposed to be in their late 50s, early 60s. They are supposed to be at a point in their lives where they can sit at home and enjoy their grandchildren, not out hustling trying to make a couple of dollars themselves.

It only makes sense, everyone else in life is getting younger, athletes, models, singers, artists, and preachers; why not grandmothers?

As a foot note, just so you won't think I am crazy. My husband has a friend from his hometown who is a grandmother and she is my age and has a grandchild.

The Imus Aftermath (I know I am late)

I am so late. I won't be commenting on what he said, so you can relax a bit.

I was thinking about this whole saga after I read about it again in the Newsweek. I really thought about how it all came into the forefront of the media and how it got out to the public.

Were it not for the internet and today's modern technology, most of us would not have known anything about it until weeks after it had happened. I didn't (and still don’t) know who Don Imus was (is). Most of the people I hang around with didn't know who he was. I am not sure how many "regular" people knew who he was.

The only reason "regular" America found out about the whole thing is the internet. Someone put it up in a blog and we found out. Someone put a copy of the video up on YouTube and we found out. Someone spammed everyone on their mailing list and then those people spammed other people and we found out.

Here's my conclusion to this whole matter… Be careful what you say and do in this age of technology, it may come back to haunt you.

The NFL Draft

I ended up watching most of the NFL draft on yesterday and today. My husband is a big fan and since he is taking care of me, (I am sick), I thought I would let the TV be on the draft.

So many people get upset because these guys are getting millions of dollars because they are good with a ball.

I do feel that this country puts too much emphasis on sports and not enough on education.

I don't get upset with the guys who get all this money for their talents. Firstly, it is not their fault that they were blessed with such talent. God gave it to them. If they can get paid for doing something they are good at and they love, then so be it. Secondly, their careers are only so long; like 10 years or so, baring injury. They end up making that lifetime salary in those ten years, versus a non-sports person who takes a lifetime to make their lifetime salary. Lastly, at least they are using their talent to make money legally. They could be using their talents for evil.

On a side note, being a teacher this year, I truly realize that Teachers are UNDERPAID! Seeing what kind of children that we have to deal with, seeing the limits that are placed on teachers, seeing the kind of parents that teachers have to deal with, Teachers are not PAID enough!

There are so many children with behavioral, emotional, and psychological issues in the school systems these days. Teachers have to deal with these children's issues everyday and then have to try to teach them how to read and write as well.

I truly admire the teachers that I work with. They are very patient and good at what they do. It is amazing to see how they can easily handle a child who has frazzled me to no end. They are very good at what they do.

The children today are so advanced in their knowledge, their speech, their thought process, and their attitudes. I was once substituting for a kindergarten teacher. The children were writing in their journals. One of them asked, "Can we write about what we want to write about?" I responded, "No, you have to write about something SPECIFIC." I felt like an idiot after I had said specific. One of the students asked, "What does specific mean?" Before I could answer, one of the boys said, "It means you have to write about what she tells you to write about." I was speechless, I had no idea that a 5 year-old child knew what specific meant. The children today are so much smarter.

I believe that teachers should be paid more than they are being paid. They are shaping the minds of the future leaders of our lives. There have been several teachers in the news for doing negative things, but the number of teachers doing bad things is so small compared to the number of teachers who are doing great things.

Teachers these days get an unfair rep because of the few bad apples. When I was growing up, teachers were given the benefit of the doubt. Whenever I told my mother something crazy happened between a teacher and I (which was very rare), she didn't just go up to the school all mad and ready to curse someone out. She went up to the school and got the teacher's side of the story and then went from there. Teachers today don't get the benefit of the doubt.

Most teachers don't dislike their students. Most teachers are not mean to their students. Most teachers do not have it out for their students. This is something that my mother used to say, "I believe my children are excellent children. They have been trained correctly. They know how to act, but I know that they are capable of doing something wrong." I used to hate it when my mother would say that, but now I understand it. My parents raised me right, but there was still a chance that I could make a bad choice.

Most parents don't think like that. They think that their children are angels, knowing full well that if given the chance, their child would set the school on fire and lie about doing it. I think that is so crazy.

Anyway, for what teachers have to go through with today, they are grossly UNDERPAID!

Sick, Oh My Goodness Sick

I was sick today. I lost my breakfast, although I hadn't even eaten breakfast this morning. I had a horrible stomach ache. It was so crazy. I lost my appetite and I just had to lay in bed. I was so miserable because I was hot for most of the day.

I didn't even get on the computer much. I tried to check my email, but without success.

I don't know what was wrong with me, but I still feel horrible. I wish I knew what was going on. If I don't feel better by Monday, I may go to the doctor.

Ready For The Weekend

I am so ready for the weekend. I have had a long week. It has been tiring to say the least. I have also been crabby most of the week. Not mean crabby, but sweet with a hint of crabby. (Like that makes sense.)

Nothing much happened today. I can't even really think of much to write.

I have totally slacked off on Captive By History. I didn't mean to, but I never really felt in the mood to write. I am going to keep it on my goals for the month of May. I didn't make my monthly goal of writing everyday. I feel bad about that one. I was able to do it in March. Hopefully, I will be able to do it for the month of May.

We are closing in on the end of the school year. I was told that there are only twenty days left in the year. I am so glad because I am going to need the summer break.

I signed up to help with my church's Vacation Bible School. That will be fun. I haven't done VBS in a long while, since I was in West Virginia in 1989. Wow, that's a long time.

We are doing to have a summer program at the church as well, but I am not sure that I want to commit to that program. I would prefer to have this summer free.

That's all for today. Perhaps I can write more tomorrow.

3 Year-Olds & Being Rough

How To Play Rough
I teach 3 & 4 year-old students. I find wisdom, laughter, and other things in the many things that they do.

You can view this entry in my official blog to read more about it.

I recently learned how to play rough with the boys.

One of the boys (Alvin) was trying to teach one of the girls (Jane) how to hang and swing from one of the bars on the jungle gym. It is one of the higher bars on the jungle him. this is how the conversation went.

Alvin: (He swung from the bar to show her). Just swing like this, it's easy.
Jane: (With a scared look on her face). I can't do that.
Alvin: Yes, you can. Just do it. It's easy.
Jane: No, it's not. It's hard.
Alvin: Just try it, you can do it. (He swings from the bar again to show her how to do it.)
Jane: Uhh uhh, I can't. (She looks like she is about to cry.)
Alvin: If you want to play with the boys, you have to play rough. You know boys play rough.
Jane: But I don't know how to play rough.
Alvin: Well, this is how you play rough. When you get hurt, you don't cry. Like this. (He hits his hand hard on the pole.)
Jane: Oh ok.

Alvin said, When you get hurt, you don't cry, so profoundly, that it stuck in my head for a long while.

Jane never swung from the monkey bar, but I think she learned something important, not to cry so much, especially if you want to play with the boys.

Playing with the Boys
Playing with the boys in my class is fun. Most of time are very active, like to run, have great imaginations, and will make you laugh.

When I have played with them, I have had so much fun. I end up getting tired quickly though. Plus, they play too roughly. They hit. They kick. They crash. They throw hard. It is amazing to watch them play because they are learning and discovering things about the world and themselves everyday. They insist on showing and telling me what they can learn or do. I hear, "Mrs. Boone, watch this, 30 times a day." There are times when it gets frustrating because I have 4 children trying to get me to watch them at once, but it is exciting to see them do something new.

The girls like to play with the boys at times. It's fun to try to see the girls do something that they have seen the boys do. Most of the time, the girls can duplicate the activity. At first, the boys play with the girls as if they are girls. After awhile, the boys tend to forget that they are playing with girls or they just get tired of playing softly and get rough. The girls end up getting hurt and running over to me crying.

What I've Learned: Just Listen
I have learned a lot from the students that I teach. (I think that is what makes a good teacher great, you learn from your students while they learn from you.)

You can view this entry in my official blog to read more about it.

Many times, when the children get hurt, they come running over to one of the teachers crying. We try to calm them down and then check to make sure that they are physically ok. Most of the time, they are.

I have noticed something. Most of the time, they just want to tell someone what happened. One of them will tell me something and then, after they finish, they walk off from me, without ever getting a solution to their problem. When they are telling me their problem, it seems like it is life or death, but after they have said what they needed to say, they walk off.

I have also noticed, that I can be looking at them when something is happening, and they will still come and tell me what happened. I can even say, "I saw what happened," but the child still wants to tell me.

I have learned, that sometimes, you just want someone to listen to your problem. They don't have to help you out. They don't have to give you an answer. You just want someone to hear you.

Many teachers get disconcerted with 20 children walking up to you trying to tell you something. It used to frustrate me as well. I have changed my thinking on this. Now, I let them come up to me and tell me what is on their mind. I smile at them and then they are on their way.

I think we forget this lesson as we grow older. Once we gain a little knowledge; we want to share our knowledge with everyone who asks us to listen, whether they ask for advice or not. We forget that sometimes, people just need us to listen. They don't want help. They don't want advice. They just want someone to listen to them. We need to practice listening more these days.

I am trying to do that more and more these days. I get a lot of practice, weekdays, 9-5.

One Long Day

The Weather
The weather has been crazy. it started off dreary and then the sun shined. When we went outside after 3:30, the sky fluctuated between gray and bright. It was kind of irritating. I had to keep putting my shades on and then taking them off. Oh well, maybe it will get right soon.

Thankfully
I am so thankful that my allergies haven't been acting crazy. I think it is because of the rain. Thank you Lord, I haven't had to sneeze, cough, or hack too much.

Craziness
It is time for school to be out. These kids have lost their minds, all of them at the school; not just my class. Teachers keep walking by asking, "What in the world is going on here?" then they follow that up with, "These children have lost their minds." We don't get out of school until May 24th. Oh my goodness.

Captive by History
I haven't written anything on Captive By History since Wednesday, April 18. I need help around here.

Computer Issues
The computers at school have been acting crazy. oh well. I guess that's the way it goes.

By the way... There is nothing worthwhile in any of these posts for today. I was just doing my goals.

Brainwashed

I was wondering, is anyone besides me brainwashed? I mean, did someone tell you something as a child that you believed and as an adult you found out that what you were told as a child is not right, but you can't quite change your behavior.

I grew up in the Pentecostal faith. I have stated that on many occasions. When I was a child, there were many strict rules that we had to adhere to, such as;
* No make-up
* No jewelry
* Women couldn't wear pants
* Women who wore red were considered Jezebels. (She is the most evilest woman in the Bible.)
* If you even liked a person of the opposite sex, you were going to hell.

Those are the ones that stand out in my mind. I was brainwashed into thinking that most of these things would get you sent to hell. I grew out of them when I became Baptist and was given some latitude.

Most of these rules in the Pentecostal faith have been abolished with time. The one rule that still haunts me today is the fact that Women who wear red are Jezebels. I have no idea why that one still bothers me.

I cannot in clear conscience wear the color red. These days, in the Pentecostal faith, they have 100 Women in Red services. This is where women come to a special service and all of them wear red. It is hard for me to wear red, anything red. I do wear things of that color, but I feel icky when I wear the color. I only own on red shirt. I have worn the shirt several times during Christmas. I own one red suit that I purchased for a 100 Women in Red service. I have worn the suit about three times. It is so crazy that I can't wear the color red in peace.

Rainy, Dreary, and Scary

Today it was rainy, dreary, and scary. All day long it was cloudy. Finally, the clouds expelled what they were holding in. It rained for the longest.

We got tornados, hail, and winds like crazy. It got so bad at one point that all of the shows were preempted by the weather broadcasters, much to my dismay.

I can't think of much to say right now. I want to write a poem, but I don't feel anything right now. Oh well.

I hate computer issues. They always cause such crazy problems. Here's to technology.

I was at home for most of the storm. It didn't affect me much because it wasn't that bad in my area. I mostly heard the wind.

I am going to quit now. Later.

P.S. I want my mommy.

Cold As Ice

I am sitting in the library at the University. It is cold as ice in here. I can't even concentrate good.

My hands are frozen. My nose is running. I am gonna have to get out of here in a minute.

None of my friends are online at ShoutLife. I wish they were.

I want to write something for Captive By History, but I can't think straight. It is too cold in here.

I have left that cold place. I don't feel like writing anything now, so I guess I won't be writing anything on Captive By History today. Oh well.

I guess this is about all that I am going to get for today. It isn't even worth it to type this up. I am just trying to accomplish some goals today.

I will see what I can do tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be more productive.

If I go up to this library again, I am gonna bring me a jacket.

Witnessing, Religious Background

Witnessing

I need a clear cut definition of WITNESSING. What does it mean to WITNESS?

The only definition I have is from my old church… According to the pastor, if you were not bringing people to church, you were not witnessing, so the definition of witnessing was: Bringing people to church.

I haven't asked anyone at my new church, but I plan to.

Here is my personal definition… Telling others about Christ, whether it is a testimony, a "sermon", a word of encouragement, a hug, a reprimand, or prayer.

1 Corinthians 3:6-8 (New King James Version)
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

I know I witness. But, I have never actually led anyone through the Sinner's Prayer. I firmly believe that I am the kind of person that plants. I believe that another follows behind me and waters.

There are those who will go off on me and say that I am not a good Christian witness for the Lord, but I just don't feel that way about it. I know that I can always do more, as we all can do more.

I have just always wondered what a good definition of WITNESSING is.

Religious Background (Make-Up)
Our Sunday School lesson today was about reaching beyond your comfort zone when witnessing and inviting others to your church. It got me to thinking about something, my religious background or make-up.

I think I have a very diverse religious background.

My father is Baptist. He is an ordained Baptist preacher. He was a Baptist pastor before.
My mother is Church of God In Christ (COGIC) which is a Pentecostal religion.
My stepmother was Methodist before she married my father. She leans a bit to the Pentecostal side at times. She is an ordained Methodist preacher.

I was born, raised, and bred Church of God In Christ (COGIC), ages 0-17. When I graduated high school and went to live with my father, I became Baptist, ages 17-24. After graduating college, I moved back to Dallas and joined a Full Gospel Church ages 24-33. Now, I am currently attending a Southern Baptist Church, age 33 and beyond.

I have fellowshipped with AME (African Methodist Episcopal) churches. I have fellowshipped with White Baptist Churches.

Here's some information about these religions.

Church of God In Christ (COGIC)... The religion has changed a lot since I was a little girl. Mainly, this religion believes in the whole Bible. They teach being filled with the Holy Sprit separate from being saved. You must speak in tongues to show that you have the Holy Spirit. Also, you can lose your salvation by backsliding. Many of the tenants of the COGIC are the same as other Protestant religions.
The services are very high spirited and exciting. You can never predict what will happen. There are over 5,000 COGIC Churches all over the world.

Baptist… It is the basic Baptist ideology. They believe as most Protestant Religions. I can't think of anything specific to point out.

Full Gospel… Most African-American people and religions that say they are Full Gospel or Pentecostal are offspring of the Church of God In Christ. Many of them have varying differences in doctrine. Many of the differences are related to women being pastors and women wearing pants. These services are high spirited and exciting. For the most part, the music is a bit slower than COGIC. The services can be unpredictable, too.
(The link for Full Gospel is the church that I use to go to.)

Honestly, I feel most comfortable in a Pentecostal church because of the element of excitement. Most Baptist churches aren't as exciting as Pentecostal churches. But Baptist churches have come a long way with their style of praise since the 90s. I like the unpredictability of the Pentecostal church.

I like the Baptist church because they don't use "scare tactics" to keep you save. In the Baptist church, you are responsible for your own soul salvation. In the Pentecostal church, it seems that you are guilted into living saved and doing other things that you should freely do.

In the Baptist church, there is full autonomy. I like that because you are responsible for yourself and no one else. I also like the fact that most Baptist pastors admit that they are human and that they can make a mistake. That attitude is very rare in the Pentecostal movement.

That's my religious background. I may add more later.

Bored For A Long While

Today was mostly boring. I ate breakfast and then sat around the house doing nothing. I washed dishes. After that, my day was not constructive at all.

I finally did get out of the house around 7:00 PM. I had to leave I was gonna go stir crazy. I went to COMP USA. I got something to eat. I went to Blockbuster. I came back home.

I turned my computer on, but I didn't get on it. It just ran the virus checker and I compacted my Outlook Express folders.

Told ya! It was boring today. The only reason I am writing this stuff down is because I needed to write it to keep my goal of writing everyday, no matter how big or small.

Well, that last part is a lie… I try to write at least 150 words, like it really makes a difference in the long run. I don't get stickers for not meeting my monthly goal. I guess it just adds to my word total in the end.

He Bared It All

Well, the class clown is at it again.

See these entries:
* Got Clowned Yesterday
* But I Brought You Flowers

We were lining up for lunch when He said, "Mrs. Boone, I need to go potty." I said, "Okay, go ahead." The other teacher was standing with the students. I was walking towards the front door.

I look up, he is almost to the restroom and he is walking with his pants and underwear down around his ankles, wiggling his rosy little bottom, among other things.

Both the other teacher and I say at the same time (this is not his real name), "Tracy!" which causes him to dance even more and part of the class to laugh. (Thankfully, most of them were otherwise occupied with playing around in the line.)

So, I direct him into the restroom. After he finishes, I talk to him. I asked, "Why did you do that?" He says, "I wanted to make everyone laugh." I try to reprimand him. He gives me his sad, I'm sorry face, and then says, "I'm sorry Mrs. Boone. I will be good," all the while, trying to get away from me. I had to stop to stop him twice while I was talking to him.

He repeats the same line he just gave me and then I let him leave. He walks out of the restroom laughing and dancing.

I wrote his mother a note and she made him apology and promise that it would never happen again.

My husband was cracking up laughing at me.

Lord, how much longer do we have in school? Close to 5 more weeks. I may not make it.

I really think that "WE," especially them, are all ready for school to be out.

Other than the dance show I received, today was a good day.

Blah!

Today was kind of blah. Nothing exciting happened. Nothing of worth happened. I am writing this entry just so I can make my monthly goal of writing something everyday.

I have been goofing around on ShoutLife a lot, making new friends. I can never seem to be online when my brother is online, ain't that crazy?

Captive By History, my NaNo novel is going good. I am at 11,121 words. I am feeling good about that. I gotta keep writing, though. Better than I expected. I am so glad of that.

I have been making Yahoo! Avatars like crazy. I love making them, too. My avatar favors me, too. Here's one…

I'm cute ain't I?

I'm going to get my hair done tomorrow. I really need to get it done. My head is itching. I hate it when my hair does that. My hair really itches a lot when I am about to get a perm. I don't even understand that one.

This message is a big bowl of goulash. We had neck bones and red beans this week for dinner at the house. It has been good.

I guess I will wrap this up. I am still feeling blah!

Yet Another Student Giving Me Flowers

Recently, a student gave me flowers because he had acted up in class on the previous day, please see the following posts:
* Got Clowned Yesterday
* But I Brought You Flowers

This is the second time that a student has given me flowers after having acted crazy with me.

The first time was much worse than this most recent time. The boy (a 3rd grader who wasn't even in my class) threw a fit. I was at the school by myself.

Here's a poem I wrote after I got the flower.

Yellow Weed
Yellow weed growing in the midst of the grass.
Unwanted, unloved, often thrown aside.
Only wanting to live your life as best you know how.
But how can you do so, when no one gives you a chance?
Emotions growing inside you, no one will listen.
Mowed down, pulled out.
Why don't they give you a chance?
You deserve life just like everything else.
But still, you're treated as a nuisance,
A nuisance, unloved, unkept.
I've always wanted to make a difference,
So, here's my chance, I guess.
Yellow weed, my treasure,
You are wanted, you are kept.

Inspiration Behind Yellow Weed
The poem Yellow Weed was inspired by one of the students in the school that I taught at in 2002. The previous day, he had acted a straight fool with me. I mean he acted crazy. I was very frustrated with him.

The next day, the kids were outside playing. He walked over to me with his hands behind his back. He smiled at me and apologized. He handed me this yellow weed. I smiled and hugged him. He went back on his way.

I looked at the weed and was about to throw it away, but then inspiration hit. I was about to throw away a heartfelt gift of apology from one of my students. I went into the classroom and taped the flower to a page in my journal. Later on during the day, I wrote the poem, Yellow Weed.

Old Wounds Opened

I was rereading the journal entry I wrote yesterday in my blog. It got me to thinking about some things in the past that I have never spoken about. Here it goes.

In 2002, my former pastor decided to open up tuition based school at the church. He asked me and one of our associate ministers to be apart of the school. We both agreed.

You would think that every member of the church with children, or at least 50% of them would enroll their children into a school run by their home church, but no, they didn't want to. We had three members enroll their children.

There were numerous complaints about the pastor's business ventures going belly up. So, the members didn't want to pull their children from their established schools and put them in a school that was more than likely going to close soon after it was opened. A former member of the church enrolled his child in the school.

(Many of the pastor's business ventures had gone belly up. In all fairness to the pastor, he had a short attention span. It was hard for him to stay with anything that he thought was moving slowly and wasn't producing like he thought it should produce.)

Well, we did the school for the whole year of 2002 with 5 students and 2 teachers. As of now, we still have parents who owe money to the school, even though it has been 5 years since the school was opened.

In the 2002 school year, only one family paid their child's whole tuition. One family paid one-third of their tuition. One family, with two children enrolled, paid two or three payments.

Those five students, 3 kindergarteners, a third grader, and a sixth grader, gave the minister (the principal and teacher of 3rd and 6th graders) and I (kindergarten) fits. It didn't help that there were parents who acted a fool for no reason whatsoever.

For lunch, we had to use whatever lunch money the students brought for that day to go buy groceries because we did not have a lunch staff or a stash of food for the school. I had to stay with those five kids by myself for over an hour while the principal went to buy the food and then cook it. Of course, with only one adult there, they acted crazy.

I was the kindergarten teacher and the school secretary. The minister was the principal and the cook. It was crazy.

We barely got paid because the pastor had to take money from the church fund and put it in the school fund. (We could not get support from the church family because they were expecting the school to fail as was the pattern with our pastor. Many people told me this with their own mouths, so this is not second hand knowledge.)

It's Fall 2003. The former member who had enrolled their child wanted to remove their child from the school because the tuition hadn't been paid and they couldn't pay the tuition. Those people were members of a church where the pastor of that church was a "rival" of our pastor. (Another story for another time.)

The student was learning like crazy and the parents were bragging on the school at the "rival" church. Our pastor told the parents that they could keep their child at the school even though they couldn't pay the tuition. (Mind you, this is a tuition based school and my salary was supposed to be coming from the tuition.)

Our pastor wanted the girl to stay @ the school so that he "have bragging" rights and something to hold over his "rival's" head. (Every chance the pastor got to mention his "rival," he did. He got on my nerves with that mess.) That about did it for me and the principal of the school, we were heated. How is the pastor gonna let someone who owes us all kinds of money stay at the school, especially after they themselves have said that they can't pay their bills? We stayed with it though for the children.

This time, we had five students, the two who didn't pay much tuition left and the two that replaced them actually paid there tuition, praise God.

We went through the fall semester pretty much the same way that we went through 2002. Not enough money, not enough support from the church, and no support from the pastor regarding trying to get us money from the parents or more "paying" students. He even refused to accept students who would have used vouchers.

We had to close the school. There was nothing else to do because we had no money coming in and it was a waste of our time trying to run the school with no money and no support.

Many people from the church came to me and said, "See, I told you that it was going to fail."

The minister and I were blamed for the school failing, though it wasn't our fault. We tried to do everything that we could to get the school up and running. We tried to suggest several ideas to the pastor. He shot all of them down because they weren't "HIS" ideas.

The fact that the church didn't support the school hurt me a lot because when the principal and I tried to talk to people about what we (the principal and I) were trying to accomplish, people always went back to… "I know it's going to fail because pastor's business ventures always fail." The principal and I could get no support for us and these were people who said they were our friends. That hurt more than anyone will ever know.

The minister that I worked with left the church a few months after the school closed. He was talked about like a dog from the pulpit by the pastor. Most of what was said about him was not true.

I left the minister a year after the minister did. My reason for leaving will take forever to explain. Some ungodly things have been said about me and my husband since we left.

I was so hurt by all of this, as was the minister. We have yet to receive any kind of apology, acknowledgment, or anything from the pastor. I doubt that we ever will.

I have forgiven everyone involved.

I heard that you will receive some of your worst wounds in the church.

Children's Church

I worked in Children's Church today. I didn't actually have a class. I ended up helping in the kindergarten class, that's usually the class I teach on 1st & 3rd Sundays. There was another teacher there this Sunday.

Hopefully, this won't sound bad, but I am glad that I didn't have to teach the class because they made Arks (Noah's Ark) in the classes. They had 10-20 minutes and they had to use stuff that they just kind of found. Supposedly, an email was sent out to all of the teachers to bring stuff to make an ark with. I didn't get the email. I am not on the mailing list, so I didn't get the email.

Sometimes, our Children's Church services seem disorganized. They sit in a room for 20 to 30 minutes working on a worksheet waiting for children to arrive. Mostly, the children play and talk until they see the adult with the candy bag come into the room, and then they make a mad scramble and try to finish their pages. I usually end up with an onslaught of children's screaming in my ear, "Can you help me with #2?" I help them, of course. (I usually do the worksheet, so I can help them with it.)

They get candy for completing the worksheet. After the candy run, which takes 10 minutes, we have devotion. That takes 10 to 20 minutes. Then we go to the classrooms. When in the classrooms, they eat a snack. That takes forever because everyone wants to play around, and then no one wants what is on the table and we end up having to wait for one person to get the snack they want.

After the snack, everyone wants to go to the restroom. Lord, have mercy. That is crazy.

After the restroom run, it doesn't leave much time to do a lesson, which I have to wait around for because it is not waiting on me. I never know what the lesson is going to be because when I am handed it in the room, that's the first time I have seen the lesson.

I hate being unprepared, which I am every Sunday I go to teach the class.

I hope that since I am on the mailing list, I will be more prepared.

A couple of Sundays, we had a different person running the Children's Church service, in place of the person who normally does it. Those services seemed more organized. She had someone there to actually explain the lesson. It was so amazing how different the services were. I wish they could be like that more often.

I have only been working with Children's Church since January.

Sometimes You Gotta Laugh to Keep From Crying

This post is in response to several posts that I posted about a student that acted up with me.

* Got Clowned Yesterday
* But I Brought You Flowers

Let me say this first, I teach children that are 3 years old or just recently turned 4 years old. The conventional thinking goes out of the window with these students.

An added bonus is that they are teacher's children. Most of these students mother, father, or both parents work or teach in the school district. This makes them more advanced at the age of 3 and 4 than normal students. Several of them can write their names, their family's names, or their friends' names. One of them has started to reading three and four letter words.

I really identify with these students, because I was just like them. My father (Dr. Madkins) was a college professor. My mother (Ms. Linda) is still a teacher. I was very advanced for my age. I could read and write when I entered kindergarten. I see so much of myself in many of my students. It's scary at times, too.

P.S. My father was a pastor and is a preacher. I should be one messed up child. I am a PK, double TK. Lord, have mercy.

Back to the reason for this post…

I am pretty happy-go-lucky. Not much upsets me, if it does; I try to turn it into a positive. My philosophy is... "It can only bother me, if I let it bother me." I grew up in an environment where craziness happened everyday. It was family members talking crazy. It was family members doing something so goofy that it didn't make sense. It was stuff happen at church that I couldn't even imagine.

I learned to laugh at life at an early age from my father and mother.

My mother is good at messing with you and having you busting a gut and she hasn't even cracked a smile. She used to do that to us in church all the time.

My father has a great sense of humor. He made folk laugh all the time without even trying to make them laugh.

My mother would sometimes just be laughing. My brother and I would ask, "Mama, why are you laughing?" Her response would be, "Sometimes you gotta laugh to keep from crying." I still ain't figured that out yet.

The laughter lesson I learned from my mother is… "Learn to laugh at yourself." If you are laughing at yourself, you retain the power of your stupidness.

My mother worked at Wal-Mart. She was forever coming home telling us about the crazy things that happened to her, most of them at her own doing. Here's one of those stories.

"Girl, let me tell you what happened today. I was working in the fragrance department. This man came by and said, 'Do you all have any cool water?' I said, 'Yea, a fountain is right over there.' The man looked at me like I was crazy. He said, 'Mame, do y'all have the cologne called Cool Water?" I looked at him like he was crazy. I showed him where the men's cologne was. I cracked up laughing. I thought he wanted something to drink. I didn't know he was talking about some cologne. I have been laughing about that all day."

The laughter lesson I learned from my father is… "Watch a comedy everyday." In essence, this meant, you need to laugh everyday.

I am a big fan of Andy Griffin and The Beverly Hillbillies because of my father. He would sit for hours and watch video tapes of the shows. My baby brother (24) and sister (21) watch those shows, too. We all grew up watching the video tapes with my father.

I make sure I laugh everyday. I try to laugh at myself, too. That isn't always easy because I tend to be hard on myself. I am learning to do that more and more each day.

I am very thankful that God blessed me with a silly husband. He is always making me laugh.

P.S. When life gets too rough, remember what Ms. Linda says… Sometimes, you gotta laugh to keep from crying.

But I Brought You Flowers

The little boy who clowned me the other day (see previous post) was at it again today.

When I walked in the door, he smiled at me, gave me a hug, and then said, "I brought you some flowers Mrs. Boone." I was happy. (I think the flowers were supposed to make-up for yesterday.)

Everything was good until nap time. He decided that he wanted to act up. He came in the room noisy and then, began doing headstands on his mat. The other teacher and I asked him to stop two times, but he wouldn't. He ended up causing the student next to him to talk. So, the other teacher told both of them to go put their names on yellow. The class clown says, "But I am already on red." The other teacher says, "Well, you're in a lot of trouble buddy." She leaves with the other student so he can go put his name on yellow.

The class clown proceeds to do a headstand and sings, "I'm already on red. I'm already on red." I have to tell him to go sit in time out. After he sits in time out, he says, "But I brought you flowers. But I brought you flowers." I wanted to laugh so bad because he was serious.

I think in his mind, the flowers were a get out of jail free card.

Lord, help me, I am a teacher.

Writing Goals Calendar

I updated my writing goals calendar. I added a yearly stats sheet.

Got Clowned Today

One of my students clowned me in class today.

One student was drumming on his legs, which means that all of the students decided to drum on their legs. I asked them to stop drumming or else. Well, one student decided that he was going to keep on. He was drumming on leg. I have him two warnings and then he had to go put his name on yellow. After he came back to his seat, he started drumming on his legs again. I gave him two more warnings. He had to go put his name on red. After he came back to his seat, he started drumming again. I gave him two warnings. After the second warning, he said, "I am already on red, so I guess I gotta go to purple." The whole class proceeded to laugh and act up. I had to ask the little boy to go sit in time out. All the way to time out he was laughing and singing, "I gotta go to purple."

Lord, help me, I'm a teacher.

1,008 Words

I had written 1,008 words at 3:02 PM. I wrote that many words in like 40 minutes or so. I started a fight at the restaurant. That got my muse flowing. It felt kind of good to write that. I am feeling better right now.

Crazy Week So Far

Yesterday I was feeling antisocial. Today I am feeling goofy. Things have been crazy this week. What is really going on?

Sugar Naw!

My husband saw my new avatar that I am using for my ShoutLife profile. This is what he said,
"Sugar Naw!"

I thought it was funny and cute. What he said as well as my avatar. :)

Continued Editing

I continued editing Captive By History today. I just found out that quite a bit of a chapter is missing. I will have to go rewrite that part. From what I remember, that part was good, too.

I am going to type something up. I am going to check out my older files and see if that part in my files.

Oh well.

Pink-tastic Report

There were six girls wearing pink today.

April Fool's Challenge

This month, I am participating in the April Fool's Novel Challenge. Basically, you state a goal, work towards that goal, and hope for the best.

Here are my goals for the challenge.
1. Edit Captive By History.
2. Write at least 20,000 words on the novel.
3. Edit the newly written material.
4. Update the entire novel.
5. Finish Part One of Captive by History.

Pink-tastic Report

There were seven girls wearing pink today. I keep buying more stuff that is pink. Somebody help me please.

Pride Stickers

I get to put 30 stickers on my computer. Yippee.
Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Writing Goals

I am very proud. For the month of March I wrote 20,258 words. That is 1,258 words more than my projected monthly goal. Yea!

Monthly Goals For April

Here are my goals for the month:
1. To write something everyday, no matter how big or small.
2. To write at least 20,000 on my Captive by History NaNo Novel.
3. To edit my Captive by History NaNo Novel.
4. To write down more of the story ideas that I have come up with.
5. Update LDW
6. Update GBF
7. Update Maddocha
8. Update Always Inspired
9. Transfer the Adams Family Site
10. Transfer the Adkins Family Site
11. Transfer In Her Shadow

Goals for Last Month

I accomplished four of my monthly goals for last month.