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Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Dear Reader
Dear Reader,
My name is Tammy and I am not a writer. I am sure you are already wondering how can that be, you have this lovely e-portfolio? I am 34 years old and a single mom. I have recently started going to college and have never thought of myself as a writer.
I was born in Everett and raised here by my parents who are still married. I have two brothers and one sister. All three are married; I on the other hand am not. I have a 13-year-old daughter and live in Marysville. I had moved back to Snohomish County last year after my sister had twins. Our families bought a duplex and live next door to each other. I am very happy with my life, except my job.
I decided if I want the job of my dreams I better get a degree so I can get it. So I am going back to school to get my degree and show my daughter at any age you can get whatever you want.
When I started my English class I was not sure if I was going to make it or not. I understand verb, nouns and prepositional phrases. But write a paper, not me is all I could think. Over the course of this class I have learned that not only can I do it, but also I like to do it.
I have picked pieces of my work that show how far I have come from the beginning when I wasn’t sure what I was doing towards the end of our class showing how much I have learned, from fragments to comma splices to complete sentences and conjunctions.
Three months ago my name was Tammy and I was not a writer, today my name is the same but I am a writer.
My name is Tammy and I am not a writer. I am sure you are already wondering how can that be, you have this lovely e-portfolio? I am 34 years old and a single mom. I have recently started going to college and have never thought of myself as a writer.
I was born in Everett and raised here by my parents who are still married. I have two brothers and one sister. All three are married; I on the other hand am not. I have a 13-year-old daughter and live in Marysville. I had moved back to Snohomish County last year after my sister had twins. Our families bought a duplex and live next door to each other. I am very happy with my life, except my job.
I decided if I want the job of my dreams I better get a degree so I can get it. So I am going back to school to get my degree and show my daughter at any age you can get whatever you want.
When I started my English class I was not sure if I was going to make it or not. I understand verb, nouns and prepositional phrases. But write a paper, not me is all I could think. Over the course of this class I have learned that not only can I do it, but also I like to do it.
I have picked pieces of my work that show how far I have come from the beginning when I wasn’t sure what I was doing towards the end of our class showing how much I have learned, from fragments to comma splices to complete sentences and conjunctions.
Three months ago my name was Tammy and I was not a writer, today my name is the same but I am a writer.
Intro to My New Life
My first portfolio piece is "My New Life," I wrote this the second week of class. I have picked this because it was so fresh in my mind. This really was about the first day of class, only two weeks before. I think the strongest part of my piece is when I am describing how I am feeling such as "I started sweating my forehead looked like Niagra Falls all of the sudden I couldn't hear anything but the thumping of my heart."
My New Life
I was so nervous my first day of college. I could not sleep the night before so I was extremely tired when my alarm went off in the morning. It was a bad start to a stressful day already. When I got to school I could not find a parking spot. I had scoped out the campus before school started but did not plan for all the other students that would be there before I arrived. My palms then started to sweat, I tried to breathe slowly then realized I did not remember where my first class was located. I was not even sure what I was going to do. My heart started pounding like it was going to launch out of my chest at any moment. I didn't know anyone on campus and had no idea where I was going. I started sweating my forehead looked like Niagra Falls all of the sudden I couldn't hear anything but the thumping of my heart. I started looking for a bathroom as my stomach started to churn. As I looked up I noticed that I was in front of the building where my first class was located. I took another deep breath wiped my forehead and said a small prayer. I then opened the door and began my new life.
Intro to My Secret Childhood Place
"My Secret Childhood Place" is my favorite paper I wrote because it is entirely made up. This was our third journal entry and I had no idea what to write about. I love the idea of describing something to the point you can picture it in your head like you are there with me. I tried to picture the perfect tree house and describe it as well as possible. The best example of this is,"During the summer you could be part of the family Robinson stranded on an island without a person for miles..."
My Secret Childhood Place
As a child the old tree house was the best hiding place. It had these dark knots in the base that I used as a ladder to climb into its high limbs. The tree house had no door but an opening just big enough for a 7-year-old to squeeze into. There were no windows just four pieces plywood for walls painted green and brown to match the tree. There was not technically ceiling, it was the branches of the tree itself lush and green in the spring and summer. During the summer you could be part of the family Robinson stranded on an island without a person for miles or just read the comic books that my mom did not like me to read. My sister was not strong enough to climb the tree, she would stand at the base screaming up at me. Never really able to actually see me hiding there among the branches. Laying on the floor I could peak down through the doorway of the aged wood and see if she was still there. I never was sure when she would give up and go get mom. I would have just enough time as she ran into the back door of the house to jump down and run around the side of the house like I was never up there to begin with.
Intro to How to Have the Best Slumber Party
My next article is "How to Have the Best Slumber Party." This is my last Major Writing Assignment, also I think the hardest for me to do. Trying to teach someone how to do something and write a paper at the same time was not something that came easy to me. I am extremely organized and a bit of a party planner so I just sat down and made a list of what I would need to do for your party. I think the strongest part of my paper is my conclusion, "...the time that you have spent on this will ensure your child knows how important their ideas can be as well."
How to Have the Best Slumber Party
When growing up, birthday parties and slumber parties were the most memorable of my childhood. The planning of the party was my favorite part, with the invitations, the decorating, the schedule. I even liked the clean up. And let me tell you, I can teach anyone to throw the most amazing 12 year old slumber party in the world.
The first step is the theme of the party; thus starting the ball rolling. Once you have decided what theme you will be using for the party most of the other steps fall into place rather easy. If it is a birthday party that generally is the most simple one. You can do several other options, for boys it may be a monster truck theme, for girls a princess party. After you have picked the theme of the party, you are ready to invite other children.
When making your invitations, you want to make sure to include the theme, for example, the last party I threw was for a musically inclined child. She wanted everything musical for this party. So for the invites we cut out 100 musical notes and wrote in glitter on the front you are invited, inside when, where and what the children were going to expect, such as music extravaganza. “Bring your favorite CD,” the inside said. You want to make sure to send your invites out at least 2 weeks before the party to give families plenty of time to plan and for you to decide how the children are coming to the party. You will also want to make plans for how the children will be leaving the party, time of pick up or if you are dropping them off.
Your next step will be to get decorations. It is very important to get the child’s thoughts on this as it is their party, my best suggestion is to have them draw up their idea. It does two things, it makes them feel very much a part of the planning and second it gets the ideas flowing. It does not mean you have to get a three tier chocolate fountain but making the party theirs is very important. You can also help them plan, if they do want a chocolate fountain what they are willing to compromise to get it, staying inside the budget planned.
Once you have the decorations and invites are out you get to decide on food. If it is overnight you need dinner, snacks and breakfast for the children. I suggest easy finger foods for all three meals so you don’t have a bunch of dishes to do and also so they aren’t making a mess all over the house with food. Pizza is a generally easy to get and clean up after meal for the children. For breakfast you can make it buffet style, large plates of eggs, hash browns and bacon letting the children pick what they want. Also you can purchase plates, cups, silverware and napkins to match or go along with the theme.
The last thing and probably the most important thing is goodie bags for the children. In the example of a music themed party, little bags or boxes with music notes on it is a plus. I also suggest to have plenty of music related gifts, usually the whole bag should be less than 10 dollars for each child.
If you can stick to this plan you will have several happy little kids, all excited about slumber parties at your house until they are grown. And the time that you have spent on this will ensure your child knows how important their ideas can be as well. You are also instilling in them the idea of organizing and staying within a budget, but making it fun so they do not even notice they are learning!
The first step is the theme of the party; thus starting the ball rolling. Once you have decided what theme you will be using for the party most of the other steps fall into place rather easy. If it is a birthday party that generally is the most simple one. You can do several other options, for boys it may be a monster truck theme, for girls a princess party. After you have picked the theme of the party, you are ready to invite other children.
When making your invitations, you want to make sure to include the theme, for example, the last party I threw was for a musically inclined child. She wanted everything musical for this party. So for the invites we cut out 100 musical notes and wrote in glitter on the front you are invited, inside when, where and what the children were going to expect, such as music extravaganza. “Bring your favorite CD,” the inside said. You want to make sure to send your invites out at least 2 weeks before the party to give families plenty of time to plan and for you to decide how the children are coming to the party. You will also want to make plans for how the children will be leaving the party, time of pick up or if you are dropping them off.
Your next step will be to get decorations. It is very important to get the child’s thoughts on this as it is their party, my best suggestion is to have them draw up their idea. It does two things, it makes them feel very much a part of the planning and second it gets the ideas flowing. It does not mean you have to get a three tier chocolate fountain but making the party theirs is very important. You can also help them plan, if they do want a chocolate fountain what they are willing to compromise to get it, staying inside the budget planned.
Once you have the decorations and invites are out you get to decide on food. If it is overnight you need dinner, snacks and breakfast for the children. I suggest easy finger foods for all three meals so you don’t have a bunch of dishes to do and also so they aren’t making a mess all over the house with food. Pizza is a generally easy to get and clean up after meal for the children. For breakfast you can make it buffet style, large plates of eggs, hash browns and bacon letting the children pick what they want. Also you can purchase plates, cups, silverware and napkins to match or go along with the theme.
The last thing and probably the most important thing is goodie bags for the children. In the example of a music themed party, little bags or boxes with music notes on it is a plus. I also suggest to have plenty of music related gifts, usually the whole bag should be less than 10 dollars for each child.
If you can stick to this plan you will have several happy little kids, all excited about slumber parties at your house until they are grown. And the time that you have spent on this will ensure your child knows how important their ideas can be as well. You are also instilling in them the idea of organizing and staying within a budget, but making it fun so they do not even notice they are learning!
Intro to My Grandmother
My Last piece of writing I have chosen is our first Major Writing Assignment, "My Grandmother". It was a descriptive paragraph I wrote about my grandmother. I love the extra details in the paper, some of my favorite parts of writing I have found are describing things. An example of this is in the second sentence " When walking, her hands grip the handles of her walker with as much force as someone trying to keep sand in a closed fist."
My Grandmother
My Grandmother’s age is really starting to show. When walking, her hands grip the handles of her walker with as much force as someone trying to hold all the sand in a closed fist. Her ankles are swollen with bright angry red welts all over them, from walking on them as her feet turn out. Her back is starting to hunch over, making her much shorter than most hobbits. Her arms are getting smaller from lack of exercise since she can no longer take the swing dance classes she loved so much. It seems like yesterday she glided across the dance floor tapping and swinging her hips to the music. She walked tall and proud. It is now more of a shuffle and slide across the ground, no longer making eye contact as she moves about. Things that used to take her three minutes to do now take more than twenty minutes to complete. My Grandma and I used to make apple pies. She would peel the skin off of them, almost faster than the eye could comprehend. Yesterday I watched her take 20 minutes to peel just one apple to eat. It is very hard to watch this once happy easy-moving person I knew become a little old lady that I no longer know. She is more than just a grandmother to me; she has also been my partner in many adventures that we can no longer do. We would drive for hours searching for new towns or hike many a hill. Now, I worry about her all the time and then she turns to me and smiles at me with the twinkle in her eye and I know she is ready for another journey. No matter how slow and long it might take her to get there.
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