tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35889025253339125842024-02-19T10:17:47.300-05:00Henshaw ReduxLetters to authors a la Dear Mr. Henshaw except more long winded and self obsessed. Enjoy!Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-6316650347375468812015-09-13T20:00:00.000-04:002015-09-13T20:00:12.160-04:00Fall in Florida Part 1It's the most wonderful time of the year if you, like me, love the fall. For those of you who don't know me, I grew up in New England where we do fall better than anyone. We have the foliage, the apple picking, the hay rides, the pumpkin treats; everything that defines fall, we have in here. Imagining the perfect fall day with cozy sweaters and boots, hot cider, pumpkin patches, haunted hay rides and cozening up by a nighttime firepit? I've done it and I've got to tell you. I miss it. I now live in Florida and have spent the last nine years attempting to "do" fall in Florida. We do have PSL, corn mazes, and haunted houses, just in 90 degree heat. So I am learning to mix my favorite things about a New England fall with the reality of life in the Florida sun.<div>
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So here is my idea. I am going to chronicle my Florida fall life for those of you who either a) live in the beautiful fall weather and want to laugh at my futile attempts b) live in the heat and want to laugh at my attempt to fight it. I will try and do the things I loved doing while living up north, share what we classify as a fall activity in the south and create a hybrid of the these things when I can. Feel free to share some ideas below and here's to having a fall to remember with a heat index in the 100s. </div>
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Proof of the fall I know and loved.</div>
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Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-33753154070920888482013-04-19T17:22:00.000-04:002013-04-19T17:22:09.645-04:00Dear Boston,Dear Boston,<br />
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As a native Western Massachusettsian, I have spent my entire life explaining how I'm not from Boston. Boston is the city you go to see Red Sox games, you go visit the New England Aquarium or Faneuil Hall on school trips, or go to Logan airport to pick up your relatives from an overseas trip. My relatives live there and I spent many holidays out there celebrating. When I moved to Florida, it was really hard to explain that I didn't live near Boston. Living an hour and half away in MA gets you to a completely different part of the state. Down here, it won't get you out of the same city in some cases. Boston has always been that part of me that I tried to separate myself from because I was proud to be from Western Mass.<br />
But Boston is the heart of Massachusetts. It always has been. Bostonians are my people. Today even more so Boston is my city. The Patriots, the Soxs, the Bruins are my teams. The Mass Pike is my road, hell the Big Dig is my project, falling concrete and all. So to all of you who don't know Boston, let me tell you about my town. My town is a town that is strong. There has never been a point in history where Boston quaked in fear. Boston stood up to the British, dumped the tea in the ocean and organized farmers and everyday people into warriors fighting for freedom and creating a new nation in their wake. My town is a town that is loyal. Anywhere you go in the country, people proudly tell you they're from Boston and wear their Sox's and Patriots's hats even in New York where it can get you beat. More than anything my town is a town that is tough. This will not break Boston. Boston will not meekly and quietly melt into this tragedy. As I saw online today, "Boston is probably the only city that if you f*ck with them, they will shut down the whole city...stop everything...and find you." Don't think for a moment Boston won't be back up and running and fighting and drinking and living and laughing before you know it. Don't think that the Boston Marathon will not be back next year and bigger and louder and more in your face than before. Don't think that Boston won't get stronger from this, it always has and it always will. I am from Boston, I say that proudly; not because I don't love Western Mass, but because I love my state and all my state has and is. Boston keep fighting, stay strong and more than anything, get those bastards who tried to mess with you.<br />
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Love,<br />
KTLady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-40085080485470661712012-12-10T20:52:00.002-05:002012-12-10T20:52:53.011-05:00Kicked Out of SoccerSo after dance, the idea of sports must have come up. Again, I'm sure either my friends were doing it or I saw it on TV, but somehow the bright idea of me playing soccer came to the table. Now you would not describe me as a "sports" person in any regard. I love my Patriots, love to watch them and cheer them on, but it ends there.<br />
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ANYWAYS, five and six year old soccer is hilarious. You can tell the kids to stay in one spot, but really it's usually a clump of kids from both teams pushing the ball around in circle. There is not much action all in all, they don't keep score and it's fun to watch. Now as a five and six year old player, I didn't like to run or be in the clump. I was usually the good one standing where coach told me to and not moving. I would stand there, maybe twirl around a bit, but mostly just stand there. The best part of soccer was I could drink Gatorade each time I came to the bench, so that's all I cared about. Eventually, the coach realized since I was so good at standing there, maybe I should be a goalie. Our goalie was always coming out of the goal, almost completely down field to try and get the ball and just wasn't understanding the idea guarding. So coach pulled me aside and explained that this time I could use my hands, that no one would yell at me to get the ball and I could just stand there. He did try really hard to emphasize not to the let the ball past me. "If it goes behind you, we can lose and everyone will be sad they lost the game." He was trying to motivate me, but he had no idea how much anxiety that could cause a five year old because he had never met a five year old like me. So the big time comes for me to be the goalie in an actual game. They stick me in the goal and I'm so excited. No running! Well on the other team was a star player, he turned out to be my neighbor years later named Dan. Dan was so good he could get the ball out of the tangle of kids and actually kick it to where he actually wanted it to go. SO here comes Dan, (as good as a ten year old!), up the field and kicks the ball at me. According to my parents, I moved out the way but in my mind I tried to stop the ball but it got behind me.<br />
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So let me give you a bit of back story before I explain what happened. I have always been a sensitive child. In a way it was great because I cared about others and always did what I told. In other ways I was an emotional basket case and cried hysterically over little things. For years teachers wrote on my report card, "Katie is an extremely kind student but tends to get emotional" in various forms. To say I got upset easily was to say that Disney on New Years is crowded. It's an extreme understatement.<br />
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SO Dan scores probably the easiest goal of his career and I now know I've lost the game for my team. My entire team will not only be sad, but probably mad at me and no one will ever be my friend again. I begin to lose my mind and cry hysterically. Not little, cute, upset tears. Big weepy loud wails are coming from five year old me. So now they have to stop the game. My coach comes over to try and get my to stop. My parents come over and try and get me to stop. Even the opposing side's coach comes over to talk to me. They may have made Dan apologize to me, the story gets a little hazy there.<br />
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I spent the rest of the game on the bench with two Gatorades. I finished the season but never played more than five minutes again. Coach may have told my parents about a dance class that his daughter loved and maybe I would love it too. Joke's on coach though, I was already kicked out of there too. When the next year came, my parents told me why didn't I try something new since soccer was not that much fun. That was there nice way to say no coach wanted me on their team since by the time you were on the seven and eight year old team they actually kept score. I never played soccer again but I'm happy to say I never got kicked out of a team for crying again. I got kicked out for being really bad.<br />
Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-14144230540790093022012-11-29T22:09:00.006-05:002012-12-04T19:43:58.570-05:00Kicked Out of Dance Class the First TimeIn my very beautiful and small home town there are at least three or four dance studios. Apparently we like to dance in Western Massachusetts. So when I was about four or five because either my friends at school were doing it or maybe because I was always dancing around the house, my mom signed me up for ballet and tap. I was psyched. In my mind I was already the graceful lead in The Nutcracker with my beautiful tutu flowing as I leaped up and down like a swan. In reality I was crashing glasses to the floor and stomping around like heavy machinery. I looked real cute though with my Shirley Temple curls and my new baby pink leotard. I was real excited about my tap shoes too. I loved to make them tap and I do remember being told I could only practice in the basement since I'm sure my love for the dance would ruin my Mom's freshly waxed wood floors.<br />
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So I remember loving the huge mirrors at the dance studio. They were floor to ceiling and wrapped all around the room. I could see myself at all times from any angle I wanted. I don't think it was vanity, I think I just was enthralled with watching myself. I was a short five year old (I'm a short 29 year old) and actually seeing my entire self was very new and exciting apparently. When it came to class time, all the little five year old would be lined up against the balance bar and the teacher would walk down the line giving instructions and helping the little ones like a gardener watering her perfect pastel bunch of flowers. I'd imagine each one with a plie like a perfect tiny dancer with grace and beauty. Then there was me, watching myself in the mirror over and over again. A little clumsy, a little lopsided and I'm know I fell down a time or two. I'm sure I wasn't the worst one in class and I'm sure, as all my teachers have told my Mom, I was kind and a good listener. But I loved to watch myself. I was told again and again to pay attention, listen, stop looking at yourself! I remember one time we were suppose to do four or five steps in a row with arm movements. Although I am really good at listening and playing with my phone at the same time, physically I'm not a good multitasker. I could not get these steps for the life of me. I was pulled aside and worked with an older student who tried over and over again to teach it to me. I would either forget one, not do the right order, forget my hands, wrong foot first. The same problems over and over but I was oblivious. I didn't get frustrated I just knew eventually class would be over and maybe if I was lucky we'd stop for ice cream at home. Or I'd just get to ride in the car because I really, really love riding in the car (still do).<br />
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I knew something was up when there was a day when I was allowed to just play in the mirror THE WHOLE TIME. Everyone else was trying on costumes for this recital everyone else kept talking about and I was told I didn't have a costume right now I could play with whatever I wanted in the studio. I think I hung on the bar for a while and I know I made faces in the mirror for a really extended period of time. A few days later my Mom told me I wasn't going to be in the recital. Being that my parents are fantastic she ended the sentence with, "the reason you are not going to be in the recital is we are going to Disney World. Wouldn't you rather go to Florida on vacation instead of dancing in a silly dance show?" I'm pretty sure they told my Mom that I didn't have that special dance gene, or even the basic ability for dance and my amazing family decided that I deserved a vacation for that.<br />
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So I never went back to that dance class. I think we turned my tap shoes into ruby slippers for my Dorothy costume for Halloween. I tried dance twice more and spectacularly failed at both those times as well. SO all in all, I was kicked out of dance for being a bad dancer and paying too much attention to myself in the mirror.Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-71668709847886919032012-11-29T21:18:00.001-05:002012-11-29T21:18:00.817-05:00Kicked OutSO I like to think I'm pretty good at some things, maybe even great at a few select things. I'm a kind friend, I'm a strong teacher, I'm a loving daughter and a stupendous kitty mommy. I moved a thousand miles away for a job and so far I've done very well on my own. I've recently restarted my entire life and two months out things are looking good. I really like to write and hope someday I can be be amazing at it, so much so that people will pay to read it instead of just blackmailing all of you to read this with excessive social media posts.<br />
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I say all this for a reason. Although I have been successful at somethings in my life, I have been horribly, earth shattering, WHAT-WAS-SHE-THINKING bad at other things. The problem was and continues to be that I don't see how bad I really am at these things. SO instead of quitting, learning the life lesson and growing as a person, I blindly and unapologetically continue my piss poor performance. SO I get kicked out and let me tell you, I have been kicked out of a lot of things. Some kindly and gently and some with soul crushing devastation. Recently I was telling Erin and Katie all the stories of being kicked out of things. It seems like every time we get together and someone mentions an old dance class, a favorite childhood sport, or anything like that I can proudly shout, "I was kicked out of that!" SO thank you Erin for this idea, but I will take a winter holiday from Henshaw Redux and tell my kicked out stories here.<br />
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I have learned to laugh at all these misadventures and I hope you will too.Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-18267487875185573932012-10-07T02:37:00.001-04:002012-10-07T02:37:14.191-04:00After THE ENDDear Everyone Else,<br />
There is no happily ever after for everyone. For every princess swept off her feet, there is another woman who just kept on waiting for something that was never coming. It doesn't mean that you don't live a fulfilling, happy life. It doesn't mean you are never loved, that you don't feel what it's like to be someone's whole world. It just mean there isn't someone who will always be there for you, who loves you for you and just wants you to be there since they are better because of you. It just means that chapter isn't in your book of life. You will have adventures and moments better than anything you can imagine. You will survive and in the end you will save yourself. You can't just keep apologizing for being the person you are and hope that if you apologize enough, you can make it go away. Sometimes "And they Lived Happily Ever After" is what you were not going to have anyways. Of course you're a good person and of course you have a good heart filled with love and loyalty You just don't have anyone to give it to. So you give up that dream and look for your dream. And no one is to blame and there's really nothing you can do about it.Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-43495695340950935282012-09-28T21:35:00.001-04:002012-09-28T21:35:53.979-04:00Chapter 2So I find myself on this blog tonight and rereading what I've said in the past. Back in June I wrote a not all the way sober post about losing my mojo and feeling old at 28. Well I have now reached that magical number 29 and find myself in a new place. So this post is to myself to remind me of what is happening so I will not lose my way again.<br />
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So there comes a time when you realize that what you thought was your story, your happily ever after is just a chapter in the saga and the not the final act. Sometimes when you think your life has stalled and your passion has collapsed, there is actually something really wrong that you're not seeing. My love story has ended and I am moving. Not just moving on, moving out. What I thought was what was going to be the rest of my life and the path I was going to take has ended. There is no more plans to make or promises to keep. And now I feel like myself again. It is hard to take a good long look at yourself and see that sometimes what you think you are doing right and what you think is the way things are suppose to be are not how they should be at all. So I am sad to let go of the person I was going to be, I realize that was and is not me. You can't pound square pegs in round holes regardless of how much you think they should fit. You have to see that We can shield Me for a very long time, but Me is how you are going to be.<br />
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So I am thrilled to begin my next chapter and fill it with the words of my books old and new. I am thrilled to see if the next chapter is what I've been looking for but I know the story is mine. The ending is mine to make. The most important thing is that the truth I am always talking about, the things I think are real and gospel need to stay that way.<br />
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So I could use someone else's words to tell what I'm feeling, I have bookcases full of books which characters and authors who talk about starting over. Who have come to this new point and stare out on an unknown future but come with a sense that this is the road she is suppose to take. But this is my voice tonight because this is my story so tonight I am a fan of that. My own story with with own words and wherever this road may take me.Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-33521668877231362132012-07-06T17:29:00.000-04:002012-07-09T20:09:58.545-04:00Dear Nora Ephron,Dear Nora Ephron,<br />
I should have written this sooner. It's hard knowing now that it is too late for this to ever reach you. I have not read your books which is why I did not have you in the mental list of letters to be written but now that you are gone I realize although I did not pick up a novel, I have heard your words over and over in some of my favorite movies. These words and these characters have been my favorites for a long time, just like characters in my books. And I revisit them over and over like my favorite books. I was just too foolish to see this earlier.<br />
I cannot stop watching once Sleepless in Seattle is on. If it's the very beginning, I know to clear my schedule for 2 hours because I'm not leaving. I just love everything about the movie. Unfortunately, it probably has caused more real life relationship problems than any work of fiction in history. More than just the story, fate bringing two people together, it's the conversations I love. I love Meg Ryan and Rosie O'Donnell mouthing the words from An Affair to Remember and crying together. I love Tom Hanks and Victor Garber making fun of sappy girl movies. Most of all, I love Tom Hanks describing the love of his passed wife. "It was like....magic." I love it, I always have and I always will. I wish I knew what happen to Annie and Sam (and Jonah and Jessica) and hope they live all together in Seattle on the water and forever happy magically in love.<br />
When Harry Met Sally should come with a waiver, this may happen to you, but probably will not. As Chuck Klosterman wrote, once a woman gets the idea in her head that a her friend who is boy may fall passionately in love with her and then become her boyfriend she will always believe it will happen. There is not a women alive who has not gone through it. Had a guy who was a friend who spent all her time with just waiting for the moment when it finally clicks in his head that yes, he does love her and runs to be with her exclaiming, "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want to the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." I'm sure, in real life, it had happen and will keep happening in the future, but not for me (although I'm very happy with how my love story is turning out). The best scene is when Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal finally do have sex and you see her, ecstatic and happy and then pan over to him panicked and losing his mind. It's not perfect, it's not even good and it's so real which so many movies just don't do. I still love it because I love the dialogue, I love them talking together and I love how it feels like you and me and every conversation you swear you had but didn't.<br />
It doesn't stop there, I'm actually rewatching You've Got Mail right now. I love Meg Ryan in this movie and for a long time I really though I just loved Meg Ryan. With no disrespect, I've seen her in other movies and not as impressed. It's the words, Nora Ephron's words, that give her the heart that I love and the words that make her feel like someone I know or could have known.<br />
Most recently, I have loved Julie and Julia. Now for all honestly, I preferred the Julia part more than Julie but I do confess, I want to do what Julie did. I want to try something for a year and blog about it and have followers that care about it. I want to be transformed by something like she was by food. I have always loved Julia Child. I had no idea what an amazing and interesting person she was. I hope to have half the tenacity, spunk and joy she had, even if it wasn't really real. I need to go buy this movie right now.<br />
Nora's characters are more real than most. Her woman are not lost or wander. They have careers, they live strong lives in the city. They usually already have a relationship so they are not usual PJ wearing, ice cream eating, crying over Mr. Darcy sad, sad women (no disrespect). I wish I could live in the places these characters live and have the experiences these characters have. Cooking, reading, writing, traveling and laughing through life. The saddest part of all this is there will be no more characters being silly, not perfect and have the ultimate conversations. I hope she had those conversations and I hope I have conversations worth having. You will be missed but you will live in over and over again. I hope more and more girls grow up on these movies and love them like I do. To me, they will always be...magic.<br />
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Sincerely,<br />
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KT<br />
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<br />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-69703233152011176782012-05-31T20:51:00.000-04:002012-05-31T21:01:04.615-04:00After Some Vanilla VodkaFirst, thank you Alison for actually reading this. Apparently you and my Mom think I'm a great writer. :-)<br />
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Now, first yes this is not a sober post. I have had an INSANE week and it's not over yet. If there are any teachers out there, you know this time of year. Everyone else is telling you how lucky you are to get your summer vacation and how it is so easy to be a teacher. But this week alone we had field day (or run around in the sun and yell at children in a potato sack day), a field trip (or run around in the sun and yell at children in a theme park day) and grades due. On top of that I have two students who know they have two weeks left, who are out of their mind bonkers with excitement, who have given up and who I have to beg, pry, bargain and plea with to try and get them to finish said work for said grades due tomorrow and I am splendidly unsuccessful with. So, as I hope you can see, I need a drink tonight.<br />
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So tonight, instead of writing another Dear Jen Lancaster (as she is not reading this I have come to begrudgingly understand. HOWEVER, Laurie Notaro did read it, she commented on the post I wrote to her so I take that as a definite WIN!), I am just writing. I am writing to try and find the mojo that I seem to have lost. I was thinking back to when I had first moved to Florida, at 23 and how awesome I felt. I moved to a new state, got my first real job, my first apartment and was making it on my own. I felt powerful and strong. I had fun, got out of hand, made some mistakes, but nothing I couldn't redeem or move on from. I was good. Now I feel old. It's only six years later and I feel a lifetime has gone by. I don't get out of hand, I pay my mortgage. I don't make silly mistakes, I drink green tea. I don't know how I got to be middle aged at 28, but I did. I have a grown up job with grown up friends (whom I love but don't know what my 2 am karaoke sounds like or my philosophy after too many rum and cokes) and I'm assured this happens to everyone, I just didn't know it happens at 28. So in a month and a half I will be 29 the last number before the big one and my grown up me knows I will celebrate with a sensible lunch date with friends because that's what a 29 year old teacher will do. What I really want to do, what my 23 year old self wants to do, I'm just not sure anymore.Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-75001198905561784882012-05-25T20:54:00.000-04:002012-05-25T20:54:07.035-04:00Since no one is reading this anywaysSo here I am. My last post had one view (thanks Mom). So since no one is even looking why am I constantly scrutinizing what I write here. Yes, I love my Henshaw Redux letters but I don't have one tonight. Tonight it's just me and I had a rotten day so here it is. This is mine and tonight I'm hijacking it from the readers.<br />
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I don't know what age I realized it, but eventually I realized that people performed for a living. People got to sing and dance and act and that was what they did for a living. I was probably 12 and immediately got my Mom to let me go to EL rec department acting camp. And I loved it. I was the oldest kid there and immediately ALPHA femaled the whole thing. We wrote, acted, costumed, created the whole thing. The play was called "What's Missing in Valerie's Gallery?" and I was Valerie, of course. We ripped the whole thing off of Clue, but I was hooked. I loved every moment. I loved rehearsal and more than anything I loved being on stage. I kept going, there was no drama in Middle School. So in High School I went out for every play offered and got nice quiet background roles for the most part. I got to play King Alonzo in Tempest and that was the pinnacle of that. In college, I decided that I was not going to be a theater major and just dumped myself in education. Don't get me wrong, I love education. I love teaching, but I see something silly, like concert footage with backstage peeks. I see a play. I see some kind of performing and a part of me aches. I want that. I want that so badly. I want to sing, I want to act, I want to be up there, doing it, for real. Doing Godspell this past winter was the closest I've ever come to that real moment. Singing my solo was the most unbelieveable experience I've ever had. It's over now and I'm forever grateful for the opportunity. And I want it again so badly. I cannot wait to be up there again.<br />
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I wish I could be brave. I have a friend who has thrown away the life I lead now to try and follow her passion. Some find it laughable and shake their head in discuss. She'll never amount to anything, they say. But she is doing it and I know she is happy. She is dramatic and kinda insane but right now I look at her and think, wow... someone is actually doing that. I wish I could, I wish I had faith, I wish I could be doing that.<br />
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Now the sensible part of me says, you have to be responsible and keep the job and just do the theater and singing on the side and that I will do. But watching and seeing it elsewhere a part of me says, what if?Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-6231816504671434782012-04-14T14:13:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:30:36.258-04:00Attack of the Tiny Frogs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8346588576648961" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Attack of the Tiny Frogs</span></div>
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.8346588576648961" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> A few years ago the boyfriend and I moved out of Titusville (story to come later) and to a new house right
outside of the Mouse (Disney for the rest of you). It took us forever to
find a house we actually both liked that did not have a family of bugs
still living in it or mold growing out of every corner. There were
houses where the owner thought it was a good idea to knock down supporting walls or
paint murals of things I don’t even like repeating. Crazy neighbors
with barb wire were a big turn off and the strangest one was a house
that apparently people were squatting in as the prison letters on the
dresser and the clothes in the bathtub gave away. When we finally found
this house, with its tasteful furniture included, beautiful view and
open floor plan it was perfect the minute we walked in and we put in an
offer then and there. It took us a while but eventually we got the house
we wanted and with our joint ownership with survivorship or gay rights
as they called it, we moved in.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
We had only been in the house about a month when I came home from a
late night at work. The boyfriend and I had just finished dinner and
decided to sit and relax in front of the new big TV before bed. “I never
thought it would stop raining, “ I commented as we sat down for the
first time that day. It was true that it had rained for nearly a week
and tonight was the first time it had tapered off and stopped. Out of
nowhere, we heard two loud smashing sounds against our garage door.
Figuring our teenage neighborhood hoodlums were at it again, we peeked
out the front window, turned on the porch lights, nothing. “Must have
been the wind” the boyfriend commented and we went back to the couch. A
short while later, something else caught our attention. Our cat, Bella,
was jumping. “What the hell?” the boyfriend said and we rolled off the
couch to see why in the world our three year old black panther of a cat
was leaping around like a Cirque De Soile extra. As we got closer, the
boyfriend reached down and cupped his hands around something I couldn’t
see. “It’s a frog,” he said opening his hands to the tiniest frog I had
ever seen. It was the size of my thumb nail but was furiously trying to
escape with the energy of a rabbit on Red Bull. “Get the door,” he said as the cat
tried to climb his leg to reclaim her prize. As I opened the door for
him to reintroduce the frog to its real habitat, three bright green
frogs the size of golf balls clung desperately to our front door. Our teenage hooligans were these amphibians leaping onto the door. “Holy shit! What is going on here?” I
yelled as one of the door clingers crept to the opposite, inside part of
the door. So the boyfriend flung the little frog and now in one motion,
grabbed and flung this new frog. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Now let me interject for a minute, we love this house, but this
was a vacation home. Although it’s in great shape, there are somethings
that were overlooked because no one lived here for an extended period of
time. The air conditioner was run itself to death and every inch of
available space had a bed on it. One area that must have been ignored
was the weather stripping at the bottom of the front door. In the
daylight, small streaks of light shine under the worn out rubber under
the door. Normally, it’s not an issue. Sure we are losing some air
conditioning, but nothing big. We’ll fix it later and later was not
before this night of frogs.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
So, as we begin to walk back to our TV show, Bella begins to hop again
and sure enough there is another frog. I look behind my shoes by the
door, and now there is another one and as Bill leans down to grab one,
he watches another one squeeze under the door. Now we got a problem.
“Get something to put them in, I’ll get something to put under the
door,” the boyfriend commended as if we were now no longer in Florida
but the trenches of Iraq. This was war. The only thing I could think of
was a Tupperware container. It had a lid and I would keep letting air
in, it would be fine. So the three of us, Bella sniffing them out, and
the both of us catching these frogs while now frantically trying to
shove newspaper under the door, became this frenzy of yelling, grabbing
and jumping. If someone had seen, I’d be writing this from the loony
bin. We managed to block the bottom of the door, but now we had to
round up the rest of these frogs. Some had managed to venture as far as
the bedroom and I knew I’d spend the hours of the night instead of
sleeping, imagining and pulling baby frogs off my legs in bed. Close to
an hour later, we seemed to have found them all. 16 little frogs and one
big one had lead an attack on our house and although they put up a good
fight, they were all captured. As we threw the prisoners out into the
backyard through the screened in porch door, suddenly I felt like I was
in a real life horror movie. Crawling all over our screened in pool were
these small dots moving higher and higher. Might as well cue the creepy
background music as the boyfriend shined his flashlight on at least 50
tiny frogs trying to find the fault with the screen. As I tried to run,
the boyfriend stopped me. “Don’t worry,” he said. “They won’t make it
past the pool.” Like any good horror movie, in the morning at least half
of the frogs on the screen were floating in the pool like zombies the
morning after. </span><br />
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“We’re fixing the front door,” I told the boyfriend as we fished out
the bloated tiny bodies out of the filter. And almost three years later,
we did just that. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8mAfgP3SfR8gGtDK8gc68NIASSYNZ20e3AnrS5XcKZXdP9_f00cJRl7SytycZ2mcqyg2P1fbd57qM0mzdIS-H7GiMHAWo7v75iEIwlxntNGnZNPvbkVU7KltFD8GLgcrYyi3J9VYBgQ/s1600/DSC01521.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC8mAfgP3SfR8gGtDK8gc68NIASSYNZ20e3AnrS5XcKZXdP9_f00cJRl7SytycZ2mcqyg2P1fbd57qM0mzdIS-H7GiMHAWo7v75iEIwlxntNGnZNPvbkVU7KltFD8GLgcrYyi3J9VYBgQ/s320/DSC01521.JPG" width="320" /></a>Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-13972030315079542742012-03-29T19:22:00.001-04:002012-09-28T21:38:37.353-04:00Dear WorldDear World,<br />
No, I'm not dead. I think it's been nearly six months since my last post. Such as it does, life got in the way. Between work, a play I did and sorry to report, a free subscription to some trashy magazines, I have not been reading and therefore not been writing. I have a few incomplete posts but for me it runs deep and fast or not at all. So I've been thinking (uh-oh), what do I want to do with this site? Do I want to keep reading and writing letters to authors? I do love that, but I'm not sure if I can keep up with enough posts. Some books I read just don't get me the way these other ones have.<br />
SO I had an another idea. Last year I attended the IRA conference and the first thing they asked was as a teacher have we read 50 children's books? 100 children's books? Most of us hadn't and I thought immediately I'd like the challenge. So another thought would be posting about the book and the challenge. Sorta like Julie and Julia, but not as as many calories. I could keep a record of all the books with a countdown, maybe set a time limit.Give my opinion, maybe write how to use it in a classroom or what students might like it. (I get asked all the time, what's a good book? My students know I love to read, but I need to keep it. I can only recommend Encyclopedia Brown, Fairest, and Phantom Tollbooth so many times before they stop asking). But that feels like so many other sites already. <br />
Another idea is just to keep a blog. I could write stories about my cats (hey, hey, hey, I may be a cat lady but I'm only slightly crazy and I would know to keep the stories to a minimum, just the great ones) and my students or something or other a la Jen Lancaster. But Jen Lancaster had a theme in the beginning, while I really don't and my stories aren't that great.<br />
I love writing and I love having something I love to write about. I want to keep on it and do better. I want to write and hopefully have someone read it too.<br />
SO a final idea, I've always been a fan of if I don't have to chose than why not have it all? This blog has pages, I can set up pages. One for letters, one for my challenge, and one for every day stuff. A little Whitman Sampler of Lady KT writing, if you will (ughhh, did I really just write that??). So maybe you hate it, and if so, that's okay. But maybe you will find something you like and keep coming back. And maybe with more choice, I will actually write more than once a solstice. <br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
Lady KT<br />
<br />
<br />
PS Did not go well and changed back :-)Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-68399848795455276392011-10-26T16:59:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:30:24.215-04:00Dear Carolyn Parkhurst,Dear Carolyn Parkhurst,<br />
The Dogs of Babel knocked me off my feet. The prose is beautiful and haunting, the ideas heartbreakingly sad yet realistic, and the imagery something you can't forget. I love this book so much that I want to share it with everyone, but I've never lent it out afraid that I won't get it back. When I reread the book, as I have often, I have to brace myself each time, even though I know the ending and the secret.<br />
I can't imagine going through what the characters go through. A man's wife dies by falling out of a tree and no one knows if she fell or jumped. The only witness is their loyal dog, Lorelei, and Paul, the husband, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Lexy, his wife. The way the story runs through the present day searching and flashbacks to their relationship creates this impending doom. You know the ending from the beginning but you find yourself hoping, maybe not. Maybe they will live happily ever after in the end.<br />
The hardest and best part of the story for me is all about Lorelei. I had a dog named Zoey from when I was in high school until I almost graduated college. We found Zoey in a very unusual way. I was working the summer at Storrowton Village. Since it was before I got my licence, my Mom had picked me up and we were exiting the highway on the way home. Out of nowhere this white streak crosses the road headed back onto the highway. Cars are dodging, people are jumping out to help and the whole place is chaos. So Mom, who has never, ever been able to walk away from an animal in need, pulls a U-turn and pulls up next to a guy running. "Is that your dog?" she asks and he tells us, no, but his buddy is up there trying to get the dog. So we peel out and try to catch up to his buddy. We don't see him, but we do see the dog. Mom pulls up next to the little pup and I open the door and in she jumps. By the time we turn around and get back to where all the cars are, no one is left. So we have a dog and no one to give it back to. Eventually, we take it to the kennel and when they call to tell us that they have to put the dog down, Zoey joins our family. She was sweetest thing, so happy to see everyone and everything. She was small, so jumping on the couch was a big deal, but nothing could keep her away from cuddling with you. She had doggy asthma (I'm not making that up) and coughed and hacked constantly. It was embarrassing walking her around the neighborhood, but she was so happy, it was hard to deny her it. She was loyal beyond anything and everyone loved her. Eventually she couldn't get around much and you could tell she was in pain a lot so we had to let her go. I still tear up thinking about the last time I saw her and I don't think I can type much more about her.<br />
I have only had cats since Zoey and I don't think I would ever want another dog. Zoey wasn't planned, she just kind of happend, like the Lorelei in the story. But these animals leave their mark and I know how important our pets are to us. Stories like these celebrate our animals like they should be. They are members of our families, the one who know us best and love us anyways. Those who don't have pets or don't think much of cats or dogs will never understand and never know what that's like and to those I feel sad. There is nothing like the unconditional love of a pet you take care of. And that will always mean something to me.<br />
Thank you for putting into words how special our animals are and for those of us who love them like family. This is much more moving that that awful ASPCA commercial that I have to change everytime it airs.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
KT<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y9HEQ77RL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Y9HEQ77RL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-39771525865984501582011-10-26T16:26:00.002-04:002012-04-14T14:30:53.069-04:00Dear Reader,Dear Reader,<br />
<br />
Contrary to popular belief, I am not, in fact, dead. I have, unfortunately, had my world kicked around until I couldn't see straight. School starting, losing my grandmother, trips up north, visits down here and a kitten who doesn't let me sleep through the night have taken any time to read a book, let alone write about it. But things are finally calming down and I have some time coming to me. Hope everyone is doing well and I appreciate anyone who is still sticking around to read this thing. I will try to do keep up with it more than I have.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KTLady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-78441424958340107822011-08-12T21:59:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:31:11.094-04:00Dear Rick Roden,Dear Rick Roden,<br />
These books are awesome. As a teacher, sometimes I come across boring children's lit with sad plots and unlikeable characters. Then I find smart books with good characters and a plot I can enjoy. The Percy Jackson books are smart, enjoyable, with great characters and teach Greek Mythology in a way that you don't realize you are learning. I couldn't ask for more.<br />
I had this student when I taught 6th grade, will call her H. H was the kind of student you only get once in a career. She was sweet, smart, kind, bright and soaked up her education like a sponge. She was genuinely interested in writing and went at it with an enthusiasm and zest that made you excited as a teacher. I had many good students, some great students but only two as gifted as she. One day she confessed to me that when she was in trouble, her parents took away her books. I had noticed that like many of the other girls she was carrying Breaking Dawn with her where ever she went. This was not something unusual but the fact that she was carrying it with her for a few months was. She read quickly and it was unlike her to linger over a book. When I asked how she liked the book, she told me, "I love it. This is my seventh time reading it." Now, as an educator I am thrilled to hear a love of reading, but isn't there only so much Bella and Edward love making one can take? I told her that was great, but why didn't she read something else before her eight turn. She asked for a suggestion and a few other of my students had raved about Lightning Thief. When I told her that, she asked if I had read it because she wanted someone to talk to about it, so I told her I would read it too. At first I expected it to be just another teen lit but then I couldn't put it down. It was fast paced with a complex story and had me guessing which mythological creature would be next. I finished the first story before H did and we raved about it when she finished. She was off to the library for the next and I was off to target to "add to my classroom library" of course. Eventually we both finished the series and got another student enchanted with it as well. It was a fun mini book club that overall helped each girl with their writing as well. Fantasy always spices up writing, in my opinion.<br />
I feel this series is on par with the Harry Potter series but I don't think it gets enough respect. I saw the movie and was pleasantly surprised. From the trailers, I didn't think it would do the book justice, but on the contrary it was smart and funny and followed a good chunk of the story. I don't know what happened then. Was it bad advertising or a missed age group? When I moved to fourth grade, I read the first few chapters out loud. The students enjoyed it a lot and a few even went to get the book from the library themselves. I'm not sure why it hasn't the fan base of the boy wizard. I hope that eventually as the new Lost Heroes series grows so will it's fan base and the interest of others. There are so many qualities that kids can relate to and adults who remember what it was like to be in that awkward middle school age.<br />
After I read this story, I wish I could have gone with Percy, Annabeth and Grover on their adventures. To me that is a great fiction story and one that I will continue to pass on to my students. And when the next Lost Hero book comes out in October, I know I will just have to make a run to Target to add to my classroom library.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Percy-Jackson-Olympians-Paperback-Boxed/dp/1423113497?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Percy Jackson and the Olympians Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-3)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1423113497&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1423113497" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Percy-Jackson-Olympians-Paperback-Boxed/dp/1423113497?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Percy Jackson and the Olympians Paperback Boxed Set (Books 1-3)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1423113497" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Olympus-Book-One-Lost/dp/142311339X?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=142311339X&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=142311339X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Olympus-Book-One-Lost/dp/142311339X?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Heroes of Olympus, Book One: The Lost Hero</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=142311339X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-3619776847432132522011-08-02T19:34:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:31:29.023-04:00Dear Stacey Ballis,Dear Stacey Ballis,<br />
Thank you for giving me such a fantastic and perfect summer read. Good Enough to Eat is a sweet story with a backbone that shows a characters flaws and makes you love her for it. I had alternatives motives when buying this book, but I have none recommending it.<br />
Originally I bought this book because of Jen Lancaster. I have loved reading about Bravo nights and trips to the opera. I loved reading about the friendship and the hilarious things that happen. So of course, I knew I'd have to read this book. Ironically, I remember seeing this book in hardcover in Target a while back, before I put two and two together and remember how nice it seemed and how much the cover reminded me of home. So when Bill and I were at the Book Warehouse and I found this book, I snatched it up as fast as I could. The story is fabulous as it seems to begin where a big girl's happily ever after ends. If you are a big girl and then lose all the weight, what happens next? That's what I loved about this story. I have seen so many stories about women losing weight and then in the end they are skinny and they get the guy and everything is great. But it's not that simple. I love that the character has relapses and needs support. I respect the honesty of the what you may look like when all that weight is gone and how that makes you feel too. I love that losing a whole person sometimes means becoming a new person too.<br />
But there is another side to this, food. I love good food. I always have. I love cooking and baking and that thing you feel feeding others. So when it comes to the food stories in the beginning of each chapter, not only could I relate, I was reminded of my own stories from my family. How my friends thought my mom must be constantly making apple pies because everytime they came over there was a pie there. How we HAD to make raviolis when the Patriots played or they wouldn't win and they tasted so so much better when they won. The first meal I made for Bill. The first things he made for me. My christmas chicken wings that try as I may, I cannot make them taste like my moms. And the best part of this is the memories that we all have with food. How no one makes something as good as mom. How the best times can sometimes have the best food. I have good food memories like many people and it's a nice connection we can all make. In my opinion, you are just fooling yourself if you say you don't have any good food memories. Lots of people don't want to talk about it, maybe they think that talking about food makes them look weak or unhealthy. Maybe, but food is not something that we can go without so why try to ignore it?<br />
Besides all the food, I love that Mel doesn't follow the same generic path as you may think. The ending is one that doesn't feel the need to come to a clear and straight conclusion. I feel that some author's aren't brave enough to let the ending be not tidy and not happily ever after. But I do understand how wonderful friends can be in your life and I do feel a strong connection to that. <br />
I spent the majority of the time reading this book in the sunshine on a boat. It was the perfect way to read this story, but I got so into it, I read it in the car, while everyone else was watching a movie and late into the night. I know that is the showing of a great story. I did not want it to end, but I couldn't stop. Thank you for this story and the strength to say out loud that food is good and so am I.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Enough-Eat-Stacey-Ballis/dp/0425229637?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Good Enough to Eat" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0425229637&tag=widgetsamazon-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0425229637" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Good Enough to Eat<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0425229637" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Enough-Eat-Stacey-Ballis/dp/0425229637?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Good Enough to Eat</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0425229637" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-91183362375410598422011-07-11T21:34:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:31:48.267-04:00Dear Helen Fielding,Dear Helen Fielding,<br />
Bridget Jones is the voice of my generation and I'm damn proud to be represented by her. Reading Bridget Jones's Diary for the first time was finding out all those little secrets and idiosyncrasies that you and only you had; everyone had.All the bad choices we make, all the crazy thoughts and feelings and never really growing up, Bridget does it too. She made it fun to be crazy, and as I said before, you can make crazy look good. <br />
I was looking at my book shelf trying to figure out which book to write about next and saw Bridget Jones. I was just going to read the first few pages and then I couldn't stop. I read the entire thing in two bath tub soakings and a sleepless night. And I have read it over and over again. I know what's going to happen, I know when it's going to happen but I still love it. It's a great story that really connects people.<br />
Bridget paved the way for all the new women are powerful ideal, like Sex and the City. Bridget showed that you can be necrotic and brave, holding it together and falling apart and not perfect. I love that these women came along when I was in my teens and twenties and I didn't have to think I was alone and strange for thinking and overthinking. That all I was doing was normal and okay. <br />
Having so much respect for this book,it kills me that people put it down. Why is this chick lit? Why is this not accepted like it should be? Because it has a relationship in the center of the story? Because there is talk of shopping and girl issues? This is a great story and maybe I do connect it because I'm a girl but I think the label chick lit is sometimes viewed as a bad thing. Now I love that most women have taken it up as a badge of honor (especially my girls at Chick Lit Central) but I'm tired of hearing it. I have a minor in English Lit and loved my women lit classes with the serious literature that came along with that. I just feel that stories like Bridget Jones should be taken seriously as well. There is so much good writing out there and just because it's about a girl and a guy doesn't mean it's bad.<br />
So thank you Helen Fielding. I believe your story has changed so many women's lives and it will continue to live on with the quirky, messy fabulous Bridget. <br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Joness-Diary-Helen-Fielding/dp/B000JGQRPC?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Bridget Jones's Diary" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B000JGQRPC&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000JGQRPC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Joness-Diary-Helen-Fielding/dp/B000JGQRPC?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Bridget Jones's Diary</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000JGQRPC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bridget-Joness-Diary-Helen-Fielding/dp/B000JGQRPC?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Bridget Jones's Diary</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000JGQRPC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-14168732137061158622011-06-24T16:55:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:32:05.786-04:00Dear Kristen Chenoweth,Dear Kristen Chenoweth,<br />
I heart you. Years and years ago I saw you on the Rosie O'Donnell show singing the Girl in 14 G and couldn't believe all those parts, Opera, Jazz and Pop song were coming out of one person. As a theater geek, I was enchanted by Wicked, although I only knew your version by soundtrack. By Pushing Daisies and Glee, I was telling Bill, "Oh Kristen Chenoweth, I love her." But now hearing your story and your principles and, just from your writing, seeing what a good, kind person can accomplish, I adore you even more. Your story should be told every time Paris Hilton is on the screen to combat the negative ideals out there for women to absorb. I hope young girls can read your story and see you don't have to do awful terrible things to succeed. You can be yourself and have your faith and still come out on top.<br />
When I first started reading this memoir, I had some trouble with the flow. I found myself rereading parts to try and get the voice from the story. Then I saw an episode of Pushing Daisies with you talking. From there, I was all set. As long as I could hear that tone of your voice, and how little side comments are said, then the story came alive. I love hearing a real voice in writing, especially since I spend forever trying to get my students to do that in their writing. By the story itself is so wonderful. From down home beginnings to Tony awards, it feels like an "aw-shucks, just little ol' me" tone that you don't hear in most memoirs. I love that. I love that everything is laid out on the table, good and bad. I love that there aren't excuses and no sugar coating. I love the little recipes that make this feel like a conversation. More than anything, I love that happiness, believing in yourself and not giving up in anything, especially your faith take center stage.I was expecting more of a This Is When I Did This Wonderful Thing, and This Is When I Did That Wonderful Thing, story with gory details of Wicked and other shows. I thought I would connect to this story as a theater person, but now I can say anyone can connect to this story just by being a human being. <br />
That being said, I do have a strong connection to the theater aspect of this story. I love the theater. I love seeing live shows, but more than anything I love being in live shows. Theater geeks will understand, there is something intoxicating about performing in front of others. The process of putting the show together, watching it build and come together and finally seeing it from start to finish, I and many other performers, have such a sense of pride and accomplishment. I have been in a good amount of shows, nothing too exciting but when I moved to Florida, Aimee introduced me to the Emma Parish theater in Titusville. We did Camelot together first, which was fun but included a whole lot of sitting and waiting backstage. It's a fun costume show and was a great way to introduce myself to the Titusville crew. The next show I did with them was Ragtime. Ragtime was magically. Ragtime was unlike anything I had ever done and most of us felt that way. I remember one music rehearsal, before we did any blocking, we were practicing a song, I think it was Til We Reach that Day, and when we finally sang it all the way through and finished, everyone just sat in silence. It was unbelievable. No one could believe that that noise that come from us. The whole show was like that. Everything was amazing and the music we created was unreal. I was really sad to see it end but so so so grateful for the experience. I did Pirates of Penzance in Cocoa Beach after that. It was such a fantastic cast in a funny, don't take yourself serious experience. That crew was so warm and welcoming that even showing up knowing no one, and having no support, I still felt like a part of something so great. I really needed that in that time in my life and the theater was able to give it to me.<br />
So with my tiny, insignificant experience in theater, I can't imagine what it was like to be on Broadway and how unbelievable that must feel. I watch the Tonys and drool over the new shows (Doesn't Book of Mormon look UNBELIEVABLE??) and dream of what that could possibly be like. But I know that I am a Central Florida Community Theater Chorus Member through and through. It doesn't mean I love it any less and since moving I miss it very much. I look often to see if there are any shows around here but so far nothing. Someday I know I will get back into it because the theater doesn't leave you. You always want to be part of it whether you just watch it or you get into it. This story makes me want to go back in. If and when I get the opportunity, I will keep the lessons of this book, working hard, putting everything into it, having fun, trying new things, and go out there and give it my all.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bit-Wicked-Faith-Stages/dp/B002V1GZE6?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B002V1GZE6&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002V1GZE6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Bit-Wicked-Faith-Stages/dp/B002V1GZE6?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B002V1GZE6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-10070820214258603422011-06-18T21:56:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:32:17.990-04:00Dear JK Rowling,Dear JK Rowling,<br />
I cannot imagine a world without Harry Potter and I'm glad I don't have to. How amazing is it that an entire universe came from a single story written by an unemployed Mom in a coffee shop? Harry and his friends are living, breathing parts of our imagination that are to real to most of us as people we see every day. Not only did this story turn on hundreds of thousands students to reading, it revolutionized how the world sees children's and young adult fiction. Harry Potter is more than a story, it's a piece of our lives that will never die. <br />
I love these stories. I love that Harry is not perfect and he deals with things my students and my friends (and me) deal with. Bullies like Draco, family like the Durseys, terrible teachers like Snape, these are things we all have had or have now. So even though Harry flies on his broom and concocts magic potions, he is still accessable.<br />
Yet, sometime all we want to do is disappear into a whole new time and place that is nothing like our everyday lives. Leave this world and these troubles to some place that time can be moved and everything changes with a flick of your wand. When you read these stories you can see yourself in a castle fighting dragons and dancing by floating candle light. Sometimes losing yourself in this world makes your world a little better and easier to deal with. We have all had times in our lives when everything is awful and it doesn't matter if you're in 3rd grade or 13 years in the work force, it still can be awful. To me, books are an escape that I learned early on but is lost on the students of today. Sure video games can take you away, but not like a book can, at least that is my opinion. Harry Potter showed that to many people who I know will be forever grateful. Just look at all those fan sites if you don't believe me. <br />
What I appreciate most about these stories is the magic. I miss believing in magic and feeling like there is something more to what you see. I am lucky enough to live close and visited the Harry Potter World at Universal multiple times. Most times, theme parks disappoint me in their theming. Let me explain, I love movies and have all my life. I always wanted to be in the movie; not an actress playing a part but to actually be in that moment in the story. Now, don't get me wrong I am a Disney girl thru and thru but Universal does an excellent job putting me in the scenes of the movie. I was giddy at 13 going there for the first time and actually seeing the town from Jaws, the deloran from Back to the Future, the bikes from ET. Well years later, it just hasn't been the same until Harry Potter World. They have done an amazing job on this place. If you haven't been, you are in Hogsmead, you are in the town's stores, you are in the castle and seeing the world you read about. The magic is there in front of you and if only for a moment, you get that feeling again; that maybe, just maybe, there is something else out there that you can't see and that can make anything happen. <br />
As an educator, I will always appreciate stories that get students excited, but if I can enjoy that story as well, that's what I really love. Sure the Goosebump stories and Captain Underpants are great, but they're not on the top of my To Read list. Harry Potter books were not just children's stories, they are great novels with interesting, attention keeping, character investing, plots that everyone wants to read. Kid's books don't have to be dumb, watered down same old same old that teachers have to force their students to read. They don't have to focus on "those darn kids" archetypes or Nancy Drew good girls who don't have any character flaws and wrap everything up neatly with a bow. They don't have to be all boogers and fart jokes either. They can deal with terrible things like death and facing insurmountable obstacles and still be enjoyable. That's what the Harry Potter books have done and continue to do for children's lit. It can be exciting and epic and wonderful and reach so many people at so many points in their life. And if I can pass that message to my students, that there are good worthy stories out there that are worth your time, than that's the kind of teacher I'm trying to be.<br />
Thank you for these stories. They will live on long past any of us and Harry Potter will always be the boy who lives on.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
KT<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Paperback-Box-Books/dp/0545162076?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0545162076&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0545162076" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Harry Potter Paperback Box Set (Books 1-7)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0545162076" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-52961315012162391952011-06-18T09:54:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:29:15.141-04:00Side note<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJVuqojHw_tsgmvx3qKw8dyhcxGr7bCAnvDPaSYhUTV7XfALTjU1w_l2isLntaBGKzR5lbKf6IaTxagc4Z26Hqiz6iCf3l1SaneSi8zv5QMQl4PwJAYXPzzAbb4uyKbw3brXXnrlVrkk/s1600/IMG_20110615_090117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggJVuqojHw_tsgmvx3qKw8dyhcxGr7bCAnvDPaSYhUTV7XfALTjU1w_l2isLntaBGKzR5lbKf6IaTxagc4Z26Hqiz6iCf3l1SaneSi8zv5QMQl4PwJAYXPzzAbb4uyKbw3brXXnrlVrkk/s320/IMG_20110615_090117.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Meet Mia. The reason for no blog posts. Our adorable new kitten is way more fun than a computer. She joins our other baby<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqSASGM93zRqN1IQDF5GkcRYdHekMNgC-I5H48Yt4XBYVbZUG6ng9-t99d6AKotZfxip7qQqXe7WRvroWsooex8JdeZjqWfo8WO1PBgwCSKXd1iHQQzHzPUKXcx6LiGeBegyQZYVCwK4/s1600/0509091407.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqSASGM93zRqN1IQDF5GkcRYdHekMNgC-I5H48Yt4XBYVbZUG6ng9-t99d6AKotZfxip7qQqXe7WRvroWsooex8JdeZjqWfo8WO1PBgwCSKXd1iHQQzHzPUKXcx6LiGeBegyQZYVCwK4/s320/0509091407.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bella. Blog posts will come soon, but in the meanwhile I've got some flurry friends to play with.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
KTLady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-14160105920843455522011-06-05T21:28:00.000-04:002012-04-14T14:32:34.822-04:00Dear Diana Abu-Jaber,Dear Diana Abu-Jaber,<br />
This book is amazing. Spellbinding, memorizing, haunting, unbelievable. I cannot say enough about this story. It's probably been eight years since I first read this story and I've read it from cover to cover at least eight times since then. My copy's tattered cover shows my love for this story. As you can see, I sing the praises of this story and want the world to know about this incredible book.<br />
When I got to Westfield State, I found as an Elementary Education major, you needed to pick a minor. In hindsight, I should have picked Reading as it would probably help me in my career now. But I was originally an English major and a part of me didn't want to let that go. So I choose a Liberal Arts Minor with a concentrate in English Lit (nice and simple huh?). I love reading, I love talking about books and I love finding new stories that come with English majors. I love writing opinion pieces and comparative essays. I love arguing a point in class. And yes, I see how much of a nerd this makes me, but what can I do, I love books. I'm pretty sure it was my Junior year, possibly my Sophomore year, I was taking a series of combination English Lit and Women Studies classes (I can see the feminazi comments forming in your brain. I was one and proud of it). These were awesome classes that focused on women writers and their women heroines. Now, like most English majors and probably college students in general, in the beginning of the semester I was on top of my reading assignments. Went home, did the reading, wrote the comments, had notes ready for class, no problem. Now by say, two or three months in, I'm in my car in between classes just starting the pages due in about an hour. Excuses aside, it just became a fact of life. I had already read two great books Housekeeping and The Hundred Secret Senses and really enjoyed both of them. So when it came time to read Crescent, I was sitting in my car on a rainy day and all I had to do was read Chapter 1 and 2 for class. I don't know why I remember where I was and what I was like when I first read this story, but I do. Maybe it's because this book is so beautiful. I remember finishing Chapter 2 and I couldn't wait to go on, but I had to go to class. This book I read not like an assignment, but something I was actually going to read to enjoy.<br />
This book is a beautiful flow of prose. It's intoxicating. When you read about Sirine and Han in the pool, under the stars with a glowing party reception around them, it's like reading about casting magic spells or putting people under trances. Every part of the story feels like there is a magical undertone in our everyday life around us. The fantasy story that her Uncle weaves into the story just adds to the mysticism. But the strongest connection to magic is Sirine and her food. As if she can bewitch people with her cooking, the stories about how people react to her cooking feel like realistic fiction and fantasy at the same time. I do feel that sometimes you can feel something in someones cooking. If they cook with love, you can taste it. If they cook in pain, you can taste that too, as the characters do in this story as well. I'd say it is something like the movie Simply Irresistible, but that's not a very good movie and this is a fantastic book.<br />
There is a strong middle eastern element to this story that if you are of that heritage I'm sure you connect to, but as someone who isn't, I connected to it just as well. It was very interesting to see how Iraq is portrayed in this story in comparison to what we see of it today. It is almost a character on how it pulls people back and the history it holds, but it's not held up on a pedestal. It is realistic with how fighting destroys families and what it is like to try and live in a place constantly being bombed. It is a very important part of the story, but nothing something that drags it down or makes it a story that tries to preach anti-war sentiments. Its adds a sadness to the story that balances out the happiness and love. Like adding salt to your dessert recipes, it just makes it better without taking over completely.<br />
When I first read this story, I was in college and a completely different person than I am now. I have read this story through different phases in my life and find it enchanting in every light. Yes, in a way, it is a romance story, but it's not the insepid, vapid, grocery store Fabio stories we associate with that genre. It's more like a story of a women and a man, sadness, pain, the past, food, friends and what it means to be who you really are. Sometimes I wish I could really visit these characters at Um-Nadia's cafe and to me that is the showing of a really, really great story.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crescent-Novel-Diana-Abu-Jaber/dp/0393325547?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Crescent: A Novel" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0393325547&tag=hensha-20" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Crescent-Novel-Diana-Abu-Jaber/dp/0393325547?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Crescent: A Novel</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0393325547" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-91479000053592985902011-05-27T20:28:00.001-04:002012-04-14T14:30:00.311-04:00PS Stephenie MeyersP.S. Stephenie Meyers-<br />
Today it hit me. Something I should have mentioned in my letter. I envy your fans. Don't misunderstand me, I don't wish I was 17 or a vampire or crazy, but I wish I had that connection to something. I see it all the time, especially in school. Students are committed to the things they love. Whether it's Twilight, Taylor Swift, Justin Beiber, American Idol, whatever they love it. They have to have everything, read everything, hear everything. They can reread, relisten or rewatch everything. Sure I like a lot of things. I like the Harry Potter series and the movies and I'll go opening night but I'm not counting the hours, reading the spoilers or writing my own fan fiction.I don't think about anything the way Twilight fans think about these stories.<br />
I saw a show, Oprah maybe, about Twilight fans. These moms got together once a month every month to do something Twilight related. The entire basement for their houses would be decorated and everything was Twilight inspired. The food, the decor, the conversation, everything had some touch of twilight or it wasn't there. I can't imagine liking, no loving, something so much. <br />
Sure I had some similar situations as a teenager. I went through my JTT, Hanson and N Sync phases. I could spout out facts and lyrics, covered my walls and bought the merchandise but a few years later and it was gone. Sure I still like the music, but I don't remember birth dates, sibling names or favorite movie anymore. And maybe it's just that. Maybe I'm too old to be a Twi-hard. Maybe you can only feel that way about something when you're young and don't have the worries of adulthood. It's hard to think about Bella and Edward's undying love when the state is cutting your pension, you house has lost thousands of dollars in value and your boss is breathing down your neck. Reality has it's way of taking priority over vampires and country singers. I know adults have obsessions. I have many friends who are Parrotheads, theater junkies, roller coaster enthusiasts, plenty of Disney freaks and many more. They are adults who deal with real life problems and usually the things they love are the things that take them away from their problems. So maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm not the the type to obsess over something like that. Maybe I haven't found something to obsess over. So Stephenie Meyers, I am grateful for what you have given the world, something to love more than anything. I wish I could count myself that lucky. <br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
<br />
KT<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B000QRIGLW?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B000QRIGLW&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000QRIGLW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0316067938" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-66062216697242742112011-05-15T10:58:00.000-04:002012-07-09T20:13:54.382-04:00Dear Jen Lancaster,Dear Jen Lancaster,<br />
How do I write this without sounding like a fangirl or Oprah guest? Your books are awesome. I have never found books I connect to like these books. I have actually written a letter to you, but here I will write as if I hadn't before. Jen, you are so "fetch" (mean girls reference :-) ).<br />
The first book I found was Such a Pretty Fat. As one who has ridden the diet train many many times, I connected to everything in the story. I too know what it's like to try and be tough but sometimes when some idiot says something stupid, you just break down. I know the world of the gym, mostly for working at one. I have seen those idiot gym girls with less on than you'd where to the beach giggling and flirting while sweat is pouring down my face. I also seem to continue to punish myself by attending group aerobics. My latest encounter was in a rich suburban near here with moms who never need to work, wearing $300 worth of workout gear. They are singing along, yelling to the instructor to go harder and asking each other, "what are you doing tomorrow? you want to meet for coffee?" Meanwhile, I am in the back in my target workout clothes (clearance!) so red in the face, you'd think I was part lobster. What am I doing tomorrow? WORKING. Shut up and keep punching the imaginary things in the air! I am here to work out, not listen to you like a bad sitcom scene. Even with that, I may not be having the results you had, but I'm on my way and doing better than I have in a while.I know that in the end it's only how you feel and who loves you for you that matter.<br />
Bitter is the New Black came just a few months after that when we had just moved to Orange County and I didn't have a teaching job. I knew I was taking a risk leaving one teaching job without having another in a the years when hundreds of teachers were being fired. Bill bought me Bitter is the New Black and Bright Lights, Big Ass for my birthday. As I was reading Bitter, summer was slowly fading away and I was coming to the realization that I was now just another Disney minimum wage employee and I wasn't going to be a teacher that year. I was beyond depressed when the first day of school came and went with no options. Four weeks later, I was teaching in that affluent suburb, happier than I had been in any other teaching job. In the end, it all came together and we were all better because of it. Had I had to go to unemployment, I knew to leave the designer clothes at home. (see Dear Phillip Done to see how things changed from there).<br />
The strongest connection I ever read was in My Fair Lazy. I love me some trashy TV. Now, I think these shows are great, but I get so much flack from Bill about them. One of my all time favorite awful shows is Real World/ Road Rules Challenge. For those of you who don't know, it takes previous MTV reality stars and put them in competition with each other. There have been many different version of the Challenge with how the teams are formed and what the rules are. Fresh Meat, The Duel and the Ruins are my top three favorites. One night, Bill came home and went to take a shower, like an addict I secretly changed the channel to watch while he was gone, even though it was being taped by the TIVO in the other room. With two minutes left, I didn't switch it off when he walked back into the room. Bill couldn't get over it. "Why are you watching this crap? You are too smart to like this!" I huffed him off explaining that I just love this and after a long day of thinking, I want to tune off and watch some nonsense. A few weeks later, My Fair Lazy came out. The very first chapter made me nearly fall off my chair. Jen and Fletch are having the exact same conversation. Fletch cannot understand why Jen likes this same crappy TV show. When Bill came home that night, I made him sit and read the chapter out loud to him like my students. See? I'm not the only one was repeated multiple times that night.<br />
We all feel, at least from time to time, that no one has ever or will ever feel the way we feel. Whether it's about work or relationships or ourselves, we wonder, is it just me? For me, it was unbelievable to find so many parts of myself in these books and I think a lot of your readers feel the same way. I have tried to figure out what it is that makes us all feel connected and what I think it comes down to is being real regardless of how it may look to everyone else. When you write, you can write yourself how ever you want. You can make yourself as elegant or poised as you desire. But when you write how you took an old raisinette out of the bottom of your purse and ate it, that is real life and something I'd probably due myself. So many stories and books just show the nice, pretty side of things, but when you put in all the good and all the bad, we see the reflection of all the good and all the bad that make us up too. I think if I had to tell what message I get from reading your novels, it would be it might not always be pretty, but it's a damn great ride.<br />
As I am reading the latest book, If You Were Here I find myself connecting to all the crazy adventures we had buying this house. But most of all, I am just enjoying myself when I'm reading. And in the end, as an author, isn't that the most important part? Thank you for your books and never being afraid of saying what you're thinking. Your fans appreciate it.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09RKRnT7mZsISfg2WGeBXWBMsCd_jz4cO7CHCxgOWyl4oQSq2s5qhMjz7j1oXth6WlYEEDXAU8JXPXz-yVf5e5pJG6TkhgMh4HFzd4hCLvzCIamXEvuKm6F8O3eiDGTWfH4TZVFcU-l8/s1600/51jz8LjZ28L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09RKRnT7mZsISfg2WGeBXWBMsCd_jz4cO7CHCxgOWyl4oQSq2s5qhMjz7j1oXth6WlYEEDXAU8JXPXz-yVf5e5pJG6TkhgMh4HFzd4hCLvzCIamXEvuKm6F8O3eiDGTWfH4TZVFcU-l8/s1600/51jz8LjZ28L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-64,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Such-Pretty-Fat-Narcissists-Discover/dp/0451223896?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0451223896&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451223896" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bitter-New-Black-Condescending-Self-Centered/dp/0451217608?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0451217608&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451217608" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bright-Lights-Big-Ass-Self-Indulgent/dp/0451221257?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0451221257&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451221257" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Plaid-Condescending-Egomaniacal-Self-Centered/dp/0451228537?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Pretty in Plaid: A Life, A Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0451228537&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451228537" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Lazy-Television-Culture-Up-ebook/dp/B003L784TS?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover if Not Being A Dumb Ass is the New Black; Or, A Culture-Up Manifesto" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B003L784TS&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B003L784TS" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Were-Here-Novel/dp/0451234383?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/If-You-Were-Here-Novel/dp/0451234383?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="If You Were Here: A Novel" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0451234383&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451234383" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />If You Were Here: A Novel<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451234383" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-54446468989290394672011-04-30T18:17:00.002-04:002012-07-09T20:15:46.909-04:00Dear Laurie Notaro,Dear Laurie Notaro,<br />
First let me say, thank god for Idiot Girls. I consider myself a proud member and co-founder of the adjacent club, "I Make Crazy Look Good" with my bff Alison. Thank god for someone else who sees the world like I see it, who lives the way I live it and who thinks the way I do too.Thank God for both of you. <br />
I am an Idiot Girl. I am kinda messy inside and out. I trip a lot. I make a fool of myself more times than I don't. I have fallen off decks, off the edge of stairwells and off a set on a stage, sober. I miss my co-founder dearly. Together we have visited goats in the night, saved each other from awful dates and sang Karaoke with a guy who hears voices. I may or may not talk her into some crazy ideas from time to time as well. But idiot girls are amazing. We may drink too much, think too much and get ourselves into situations Smart Girls don't get themselves into, but Smart Girls don't have the kind of memories Idiot Girls have.<br />
I have grown into the series of books as well. I was single when I read The Idiots Girls' Action Adventure Club. And I was the one with the list of dumb ex boyfriends, the crazy late night adventures and hanging out at same shady bars (especially the Free til You Pee night in Merritt Island, just ask my friend Aimee). Now I'm older and living the married life without being married. But like you, cooking was the key to the man's heart. I too remembered chicken cutlet's to a man whose mother was a health nut will bond this man to you. Baked goods help too. And I couldn't believe that I had found a guy who called when he did and kept showing up, who did sweet things and who didn't have a slew of awful friends. You like what I like and like staying home too? He isn't perfect, but I am very happy with my potential suitor. Although I'm not planning a wedding anytime soon but I understand Autobiography of a Fat Bride. I will most likely be a fat bride although I do have a mother who does not believe in a traditional wedding so with any luck I'll be married on a beach on an island somewhere and there will be not meatball pyramid because I don't like them. It's nice to know when the time comes, there will be an idiot guide to get me through it.<br />
Please don't think less of me, but I haven't got through There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell or purchased Spooky Girls. I just found out about Flaming Tantrum of Death and It Looked Different on the Model and can't wait to get both of them. I love all the work, but I just keep going back to Idiot Girls. I laugh out loud at the same parts every time, even when I know there coming. When telling about Idiot Game Jamie, and I know on the bottom of the next page is when her Dutch boyfriend has to carry her over his shoulder out of the family gathering and she pees on him and I start giggling. When alone, no big deal but many of times I've done this in public and many of times I've gotten the let's-get-away-from-the-crazy-lady look. Truthfully, I really don't mind it because I'd rather have people farther than closer, but I'm getting away from the topic.<br />
I love these books. I love that the crazy brunette is not the side kick she is the star. I may not have the funny Sex and the City story life. I don't go to classy clubs for 14 dollar drinks. My heels don't cost as much as my rent, they're from Payless and in the rare occasion Macy's (only 1 pair, I think). I don't go to art museums or blues clubs, I walk around downtown Disney and Citywalk but don't usually go in anything. I've been to Emeril's once but Moe's plenty of times. And I am not ashamed. I am proud to be an Idiot Girl and greatful for you to sharing this with me.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-Girls-Action-Adventure-Club-Magnificent/dp/0375760911?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0375760911&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0375760911" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Idiot-Girls-Action-Adventure-Club-Magnificent/dp/0375760911?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club: True Tales from a Magnificent and Clumsy Life</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0375760911" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3588902525333912584.post-11239881169191612062011-04-14T23:18:00.001-04:002011-04-30T18:19:19.285-04:00Dear Tim Gunn,Dear Tim Gunn,<br />
I love you. Like a tween at a Bieber concert, I think you are fabulous. When I first started watching Project Runway, I loved how you worked with, what I feel, were your students. You could have been like Simon from Idol and made these people cry. You could have been snarky and told them how you would do it and how they were wrong. But you didn't. You told them to make it work. You took the high road when Santino mocked you. You always took the role of the gentleman and even when bitchy Kenley ignored you and gave you such attitude I wanted to smack that red lipstick off her stuck up face, you never yelled at her, you never gave her attitude back. And you know what? She looked like a pestilent child and you looked like the smart respectable gentleman. So when I saw you promoting a book on Life Rules, I knew that I had to read it. I don't want to be a Kenley. I want to make it work.<br />
The book is very interesting. It's part memoir, part life lesson, but all conversation. It feels like a letter sent out to friends. It's very candid and open, but does jump around. Sometimes I forgot the main idea of the chapter but it always came back around. I was so glad it wasn't Dr. Laura preachy. The last thing I needed was someone telling me all the things I'm doing wrong and all the things I should be doing. These are just some basic rules of being nice and a good person. Nothing will rock your world and nothing will take a giant leap of faith to make a position change in your life.<br />
We need to talk about manners because as a teacher, I can tell you, our future has no manners. The students now a days are awful. There is no respect, there is no kindness, no class. They don't say please or thank you. They don't put someone else's needs before themselves or even think of others at all. They do thinks that physically hurt each other and they don't care. They have no respect or fear for their teachers, principals or dean. They speak in rude, mean tones. Now let me say this, I have at least 5 sweet, kind students who are taught manners. But that is 5 out of 20. I have one who is completely respectful and has fantastic manners. He has a terrible home situation which makes me wonder if manners are genetic.<br />
So I am trying to take the Tim Gunn way in my classroom. I try and say "Make It Work" when they don't know what to do. They look at me strangely and grumble about getting help, but ultimately they figure it out. I try to teach Karma in a way that they understand. I tell them, when you do good things, good things happen to you. So when they are quietly working when a teacher is talking to me or line up without me asking I take them to extra recess. When one of them does something nice, I give them tickets for no reason. I hope it leaves an impact.<br />
There was only one part of this book that rocked my world. It's not what you think. I'm not a fashionista by any means. I'm no future contestant on Project Runway. I don't take risks or follow Vogue. But there is one thing I do know, you never wear black and brown together. So in the chapters about fashion, the fact that Tim Gunn, who I see as the fashion expert, who to me is the epitome of style writes that it's okay to wear black and brown, I don't know what to do. Since I read that chapter, I see THEM mixed (black and brown clothes and accessories) every where. I saw a girl in a beautiful long black sweater, skinny jeans and long brown boots. She looked awesome. I think, that looks great. I look in my closet. I see a cute brown top with nice black pants. Can't do it. I can't do it. I may have worn the side pony tail and jelly shoes, but I knew that black pants had any color but brown and brown pants had any color but black. I can't do it. The only way I'll wear brown and black if it Tim Gunn picks out the outfit himself. And that's a promise.<br />
Overall, this is a sweet, charming book like I picture Gunn himself is. A conversation that sometimes veers away but always makes you smile. Thank you for this kind and enjoyable moment.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
KT <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gunns-Golden-Rules-Little-Lessons/dp/B004NSVE3C?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" target="_blank"><img alt="Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004NSVE3C&tag=hensha-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004NSVE3C" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gunns-Golden-Rules-Little-Lessons/dp/B004NSVE3C?ie=UTF8&tag=hensha-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Gunn's Golden Rules: Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=hensha-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004NSVE3C" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />Lady KThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06259183132707293532noreply@blogger.com1