I’m alive! I’m alive! & amzingly here. *laughs*

I should be working on my Sociolinguistics homework…And I’ve been sort of trying, but my brain really isn’t in it currently. I need to come up with a theme within sociolinguistics for the annotated bibliography. I need at least 8 entries for it, at about half a page (single spaced). It’s not due till mid October, but we are suppose to have a start on it. What is due next week is a 4-5 (double spaced)page reaction/response paper. It shouldn’t be too difficult, it’s a “thoughts” or “position” regarding something that interests us within sociolinguistics…Getting started, or what to write on, just isn’t coming currently though. Plus, need two more “thoughtful questions” for next week.

I’m just glad I don’t have class this week…OMGs…The way Sociolinguists is set up is going to kill me! *falls over* Being in class from 6 to nearly 9 at night, driving the hour home, fighting to get to sleep (which doesn’t happen right away…I have the Critters the weeks I have this class…Straight to sleep isn’t going to happen), back up at 7, to be out of the house at 7:30, to be back at class by 9 in the morning…UG! Then sitting in class till nearly 3. *falls over*
I want a hotel/motel room! I was going to, I looked into it. Unfortunately the motel/hotel operators in TC are bloody well nuts! There are a few that advertise rates of $36-$50…This is only for Sunday-Thursday tho. *rolls eyes* Come the week-end, when I would NEED the room…They DOUBLE their rates! More than double actually, the cheapest room you can find is $80, and that’s before tax & what not. Blah! *falls over*

Anyway…Aside from that.
Teaching Reading isn’t too bad…I have to do 5 hours of observation and 15 hours of tutoring. Trying to get into the Critter’s school again. Waiting for the principal/superintendent guy to talk to the teachers.
Apparently we have 2 essays…But they aren’t major research or relying on reading stuff, for the most part. The first one is more or less your motivation for wanting to be a teacher.
We have to do 2 ‘Read Alouds’ and 2 ‘Book Talks’.
Read aloud is just what it sounds like…We read aloud to the class. I think it’s suppose to be one fictional and one informational book.
The book talks we are suppose to introduce and interest ‘students’ in a book that we would be ‘reading’ afterwards in a class setting. Those have to be between 1-3 minutes long…So at least it’s quick.
With the tutoring we have to have some kind of lesson plan to go by…Either made by us, or provide by the teacher of the kid we are tutoring…At the end of the semester we have to do a presentation with our best lesson plan and ‘teach’ it to our class…This is suppose to be about 10 minutes, and we are suppose to have ‘artifacts’.
We also have to pick a learning strategy from our one book, and take 10 minutes to ‘teach’ it to our class. I’m doing Character Clusters & Character Maps…It seemed one I could handle. I looked at making them all make mini books…But that seemed like it would be more complicated in our class setting than it would be in an actual classroom setting.

On school related notes…
Monday was Sonja’s birthday. I think she had a good day. She was suppose to go to her father’s for 2 hours after school, but he got called into work, so he couldn’t get her & Harley. Happy Birthday to her! She was quite pleased.
Made her Gully Dwarf Stew for dinner. She liked her presents.

This was the week they were suppose to be at their father’s from Wed night till Sunday. He got them Wednesday…I got them Thursday (because he got called to work), and kept them that night, and picked them up after school Friday. Unfortunately he worked all his hours he could, and he picked them up at 6 last night. But…They only have to be there today and till 6 tomorrow. So they can do it. Sonja is suppose to go somewhere with Grandma Kathy today for her birthday outing.

Thus far, Harley is having a pretty good school year. Only a couple minor incidents. Of which he’s recovered well. His teacher told me yesterday he had an incident with his paper…Not sure if he did damage to it or not, that wasn’t clear, but he left the room for a few minutes, to calm down. When he came back in, he did what he was suppose to do and got the work done. Which is an improvement on the end of last year…He would have refused to do the work he was suppose to do after a ’fit’.
Apparently he got into a fight, or beat up, or something Thursday. Which is just so messed up. I dropped his tennis shoes off to him at recess, and he was playing with these kids…Somewhere between me dropping his shoes off, and them going in for lunch, which might have been 15-20 minutes at the most…Something happened between him and two of the kids he’d been playing good with! *headdesk* BUT…Harley didn’t get in trouble, as his actions were in self-defense. I don’t know what happened with the other two…As I only know what I do through Sonja & Harley. *glares @ the school* I’m not sure what is going on there.

Halloween costumes…
Harley opted to be the Grim Reaper…So I bought him a costume from the Halloween store. It makes him happy, he keeps trying to wear it now.
Sonja is going to be “Creeper”.
Creeper is one of her characters, who, from what I have gathered, came into creation during Applied Tech, when her and Noah had to make a poster about online predators. She drew Creeper on the poster as a representative of an online predator. He’s actually a robed figure. So I’m going to make Sonja a blue robe. She has requested pockets, as Creeper needs pockets to put candy in, easier to lure small children. *headdesk* Yeah…I know, sounds quite messed up. But this is also the child who has a ‘flasher’ coat, which she likes to keep candy in the pockets, as to hand out to small children. Honestly…She does like small children, but not in that actual creeper way…Yeah…*shakes head*

Anyway, her character of Creeper runs around with her characters of Grim (who is a reaper) and Circus (who is a circus freak…& apparently has no eyes)…Per usual, they are misfits, I’m sure. None of them are overly evil…Just misunderstood.

I spend yesterday making a enormous red cloak. It’s been altered from the original pattern, but I’m liking the changes. I had decided to do a lining on it (I’m becoming more found of linings for some things.) Sonja asked if it was going to be reversible. I told her no, because of the cowl that went on the one side wouldn’t let it work that way. She suggested I make the cowl a separate piece. I was still playing with the idea, when I decided the way they had it set up, the cowl was going to be a pain the arse to connect. So…I have a revers

ible red cloak now. The one side is a penne velvet, all nice and soft. The other side is a flannel backed satin (OMGs, I soooo love working with that material!). The cowl is made from the penne velvet, but I think will also work over the satin, as it should make a nice contrast with it on the outside, and will match the lining when the satin is out an the velvet in. Although the velvet out and satin in is the way it will most likely be worn most.
The fastener I bought for it broke when I tried to figure out how I was going to attach it! Not happy…BUT…With a bit of creative ingenuity, and using the cowl as a separate piece, I figured out a good closure/fastener system. Tis made of awesome.
I also redid a basket yesterday. It’s a small wicker basket, it started out with blue material with little white flowers on it…These little ‘pillow’ like things on the hamper doors. The material was so faded, and dusty, and the lace on it so dirty and sad looking. It was a cute basket, but the material was so worn out that it was taking away from it. I got some new lace and used some of the extra satin from my cloak lining and redid it. It’s beautiful once more, and goes oh so well with my loverly red cloak. *grins*

I’m awaiting some leather I ordered…And a second coyote hide, [Oh yeah…I haven’t related the story of the first coyote hide yet] so I can work on the corset (& hopefully skirt), that I want done.

Okay…I had come to the conclusion I wanted an outfit to wear when I went outback with the purpose of nature communing. I decided that I would create said outfit to connect me with my coyote…So coyote would be a natural material.
I wouldn’t ordinarily seek out to wear fur for the sake of wearing fur. I don’t like the idea of it as a status symbol, or those who use hides as a ‘trophy’. For me, it’s about connecting with the power/spirit of the animal, it’s to honor who/what they are/were. There is still energy in their skins after their life on this plane has ceased.
Anyway…I ordered a hide with the intention of working on this outfit. [Which is going to be a mix of leather and coyote, as I don’t want to use massive amounts of coyotes in it’s creation.] Box arrived, I eagerly opened it with the thought, there is part of this outfit…I think that thought died as soon as I reached in and pulled the hide from the box. I laid down on the floor, the coyote hide draped nearly the length of me, my arms wrapped around it, and felt so filled with love…Such an almost indescribable love…One of peace and pureness, and…Ug…Like I said, indescribable, I can’t really find the words to say what it felt like…It was just a wonderful peaceful, love-filled feeling. And yeah…That being said…There was no way possible I was going to be able to cut into the hide and make it into the pieces I need for the outfit.
Currently, as I really have no idea where I can put him that will be a proper place yet, he is spread out on the boxes at the foot of my bed. He’s too big to fit, spread out, inside the shelves with the glass windows.

Wow…This got quite long. *blinkies*
Should probably head off now…Return to my ignoring of homework…Or feed my belly…As it just growled. *pokes @ it* Yeah…Food might be a good idea.