Snazzy Plants

  the Shadow Person Image Source :  i.ytimg.com It is the middle of the night. She was sleeping but somehow awake. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure. It said to her “I am the thing that stays in the shadows, I am the thing that watches you, I will never leave” Suddenly, her chest felt heavy and her breathing grew shallow. She wondered if she was still asleep and having a bad dream. This isn’t the first time she has seen the shadowy figure but it was the first time she heard it speak. She just wants to wake up!     Upon waking from a deep sleep, I couldn’t move. I could feel something sitting on my chest. I tried to move. I couldn’t move. I tried to scream but no sound came out of me. I started to panic, I was breathing fast and terrified. Why can’t I move? Wake up! Author's note : I wanted to write about sleep paralysis. It can be terrifying for some of us and some people aren't bothered by it. Obviously, the shadows don't speak but I wan...

Law and Ghoul Image Source :  tumblr Desmond, a high priced attorney has been living in New York for ten years. He adores his life. He is single, owns a penthouse, and is not interested in settling down.  One fateful day, he was given a case. Desmond was to represent a jewel thief. He had a feeling this case could put him in the running to become partner at his law firm. When he walked into the conference room, he saw a beautiful woman. Her hair, red like fire and eyes the color of autumn. She wore a blue Chanel suit with pearl buttons, which made her eyes glow. Desmond was immediately drawn to her. There was one problem, she was his client. He knew it was wrong to fall for his client but asked her out anyway. However, Desmond did not know she was a ghoul. The more time he spent with her, the more his love grew.  After the case was won, she admitted to stealing the jewels. Desmond was so in love with her that her admission of guilt didn't bother him. He asked her to live ...

  The Boy whom Seven Mothers Suckled Image Source :  newsamerica A king had seven queens who were all barren, which made him sad A holy mendicant told the king about a certain forest that contained a tree with seven mangoes If the king plucked the mangoes himself and gave them to his queens, the would become mothers The king retrieved the mangoes and his queens were with child While the king was hunting, he saw a beautiful woman and fell in love, he didn't know she was a Rakshasi (ghost) His new queen asked the king to make his queens blind and let them be killed The queens lost their eyes but the chief minister couldn't kill them and hid them in a cave The eldest queen gave birth first. Worrying about starving, she fed her infant to the other queens The youngest queen did not eat but set her portion aside Every queen gave birth and fed her infant to the others except for the youngest The youngest queen did not want to give up her infant and the other queens agreed to suckle t...

  The Origin of Rubies Image Source :  lotusgemology A king passed away, leaving his queen and four sons The queen favored the youngest  The three older sons grew jealous, took possession of the estate and made the queen and youngest live in a separate home While bathing in the river, the boy noticed an empty boat The boy convinced the queen to board the boat and they sailed to the sea They came upon a whirlpool filled with rubies The boy grabbed a dozen rubies but his mom made him put them back but he kept one The boy and queen landed at a large city The king's daughter noticed the boy playing with the ruby and wanted it for herself The boy was called to the king and traded the ruby for money The king's daughter wanted more rubies The boy went to sea to get more rubies for the princess After diving into the whirlpool, the boy saw a palace He saw a headless woman who's blood formed the rubies The boy took the woman and rubies with him The boy married the woman and king'...

  Paradise Image Source :  fair The Garden of Eden, the first home of man and woman  Souls of all men have to pass through after death The departed souls must go through seven portals before arriving to heaven   First portal, one can pass if they are worthy  If not worthy, they are consumed n=by the cherubs flaming sword Third portal is at heaven's entrance Person is presented to God by Michael The tree of life stands in paradise Water that irrigates the Earth flows beneath Adam prayed for God to feed the plants God put men in paradise to study the Torah and fulfill God's commands Bibliography: Louis Ginzberg, Adam and Eve: Paradise  Paradise  

Image Source :  poszetka The Man in Corduroy, Part 1 When I was eight, I went too far into the woods behind my house and got lost. A man dressed in corduroy approached. He smelled of rotten meat and scared me. “Don’t be afraid Charley, I’ll take you home”. How did he know my name and where I lived?  Scared and crying, I agreed to let him help. His stench so putrid that I almost threw up. He led me past the creek that I played in and by the tree I climbed. Soon, I was in my yard. I turned to thank him but he disappeared into the woods. The Man in Corduroy, Part 2    A cold winter’s night, I slept comfortably in my warm bed. Awakened by the smell of rotten meat, I opened my eyes and at my feet was a man in corduroy. “help” I screamed. The man disappeared. The next day, my parents told me a corduroy man died 50 years ago. Author's Note : I used to play in the woods often when I was younger. My friends and I ventured farther than we were supposed to. Surprisingly, we nev...

  Image Source :  flowmotioncafe It can be easy to become overwhelmed, stressed and harshly criticize yourself. The article  How to Tame Your Inner Critic   explains the effects of stress and negativity  on the brain, what we can do to reduce those effects and how to recover from setbacks. When we have setbacks, we tend to self-criticize. The author explains that we can take those criticisms, accept your stumble and congratulate yourself for getting back on track. This can be helpful when you start to feel down and feel like giving up. Instead of giving up, own up to it, find a positive and keep going. I sometimes have trouble giving and receiving feedback, whether its positive or negative. I found the strategies from the feedback gallery helpful. There were criticisms but they were constructive.  Often times you come across feedback that is rude and feckless.  How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk  explains the compliment sandwich and how...

  Image Source :  wordpress the topic I am writing about will focus on Grimm's Fairy Tales. There are some familiar stories I read in my Grimm's book that I am interested in retelling. Story 1  The Frog Prince In this story a young princess loses her favorite golden ball while playing near a spring. Upset by this, she offers everything she has if her ball is retrieved. A frog comes out of the water and offers to retrieve the ball for her if she allows him to live with her. The princess agrees but leaves the frog behind as soon as she got her golden ball. The princess's father forces her to let the frog stay with her. He eventually turns into a prince and explains that a fairy placed an enchantment on him. I would like to focus more on the prince and why an enchantment was placed on him. Story 2  Rumpelstiltskin  In this story, a poor miller convinces the king that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The miller's daughter is brought to the king and was told to...

Portfolio : story Characters : Odin - King of the Norse Gods Frigga - Main Goddess Loki - Trickster of the Norse Gods Eir - Goddess of Healing Heimdall - Watchman of the Norse Gods Narvi - Son of Loki Abernathy - A woman from Midgard Hank - Abernathy’s father Mythological Realms of the Norse Gods: Asgard - Land of the Aesir Alfheim - Land of the light elves in Asgard Bifrost - The bridge between Asgard and Midgard Midgard - Realm of mankind Franang’s Falls- A waterfall in Midgard Jotunheim - Land of the giants Image Source: mythology   Loki, always envious of Odin’s power, fantasized about ruling the realms and people groveling at his feet. As he sat near Franang’s Falls making plans to take over, he saw Abernathy. She was a  beautiful woman, with hair the color of fire and eyes the color of emeralds. He knew that she was worthy of Odin himself. However, Odin promised Frigga, his goddess, that he would never take another lover. Loki knew this but figured out a way to set his ...

  Perseus and Medusa Perseus Defeats the Sea-Serpent Perseus is the son of Zeus and Danae After making a deal with Andromeda's parent's, he must defeat a sea monster The sea creature moves so fast that it parts waves of the sea Perseus strikes the creatures barnacle encrusted back, body and tail Perseus defeats the beast Andromeda's parents release her to him as his prize for defeating the creature Image Source :  ancientworldmagazine Perseus Tells the Story of Medusa At the wedding feast, Perseus is asked about the head with snakes for hair He told of where the Gorgons lived Perseus saw shapes of men and animals turned to stone He watched her through the reflection of his bronze shield Perseus struck Medusa's neck with his sword Medusa was once a beautiful woman but was cursed by Jupiter's daughter Bibliography : Tony Kline, Ovid's Metamorphoses,  Perseus and Medusa

                                                      Jupiter, Juno, and Lo. Image Source:  lempertz lo Characters Jupiter (Zeus) lo  (daughter of Inachus) Juno (Hera, Jupiter's wife) Notes Jupiter sees lo returning from her father's stream and rapes her Juno searches for her husband due to her knowledge of his infidelities Jupiter figures out that his wife is searching for him Jupiter turns lo into a heifer Juno claims lo as a gift Juno, cautious of her husband's trickery, asks Argus to guard lo lo flees after seeing her reflection lo, in her heifer form; was not recognized by her family lo drew the story of what happened to her in the dust lo begs Jupiter to end her troubles lo is returned to her human form Bibliography: Tony Kline, Ovid's Metamorphoses 1-4,  ovids-metamorphoses

  Aesopsfables The topic I am most interested in is Aesop's Fables. My parent's bought me a book of fables when I was little and I read them all the time. I was always a fan of stories that involved the lion. The first story for this class was my version of Androcles and the Lion. I think I will change things up and get an idea from  The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse . I enjoy this story. However, I am not sure how I am going to rewrite this one but I am excited to work on it. Image Source:  gaathastory Ancient Egyptian Mythology: The Journey of Isis Ancient Egyptian stories have always intrigued me. I am familiar with Egyptian Gods and Goddesses and I have always wanted to travel to Egypt. I want to write about Isis and her adventures. She has a great character arc and immense power. I might keep the story the same but with a modern twist.  Chinese Mythology: The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away I have not read much Chinese mythology. I am familiar with tales about fox...

  The Elephant and the Boy                                      Image Source:  scene360art A large elderly elephant named Sadie escaped the horrors of the circus. In captivity for years, she longed to see her family. She wailed as she remembered the games they played at the watering hole. As she searched the land to reunite with her family, she came upon an abandoned boy with an injured leg. The boy was frightened by Sadie's immense size. Sadie offered to carry him and used her trunk to gently lift the boy upon her back. The weary boy felt a great comfort as he lay upon Sadie's broad back. She went in search of herbs to heal the boy's leg. Sadie found her family's watering hole. Sadie was elated. The watering hole was plush with tall trees and thick grass surrounding it. They remained there as the boys leg healed. Sadie taught the boy to swim, forage for food and helped him build a s...

  Androcles and the Lion  Fables                                        Image Source:  word press The story about the lion with the thorn in his paw was one of my favorites growing up. Which is why I chose it. This story is about friendship and bonds, with a little suspense added to it. The suspense comes from Androcles and the lion meeting the first time and his fear of the beast. After Androcles helped the lion, they began to trust each other and eventually became friends. Their friendship was tested after they were captured and Androcles was sentenced to be eaten by the lion. There are several stories that stemmed from this and I am excited to make my own. 

  Choose from  CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units  for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Ovid's Metamorphoses Week 4: Adam and Eve Choose from  MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units  for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Bengali Folktales  Week 6: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories Choose from  ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units  for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: China  Week 9: Brer Rabbit Choose from  NATIVE AMERICAN units  for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: Inuit (Eskimo)  Week 11: Apache Choose from  BRITISH and/or CELTIC units  for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Celtic Tales  Week 13: Canterbury Tales Choose from  EUROPEAN units  for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Russian  Week 15: Hans Christian Anderson I am excited to read tales from Asian Folklore. I have always enjoyed stories about foxes and what they symbolize. I chose an image of the nine tailed fox spirit because I have been interested in reading more about it.  ...

It is hard to admit this, but I am horrible with time management. I have always had issues with procrastination. I always manage to finish my assignments but am always stressed because I put them off. I understand these are things I need to work on and will continue to do so. Most of the time I find myself getting distracted and sometimes daydreaming. I keep my TV off and try to put my phone away but my mind still wanders and I end up putting things off to do something else. It also doesn't help that there are things that I simply do not want to do. The article " eat-the-frogs-first-thing-in-the-morning-and-other-better-work-habits "   by Thomas Oppong, provided me with tools on better ways to get things done. If I get the things I don't want to do out of the way, I will be less stressed. This way, I can focus on other things and have time to enjoy the rest of my day. When I read " how-to-beat-procrastination "  by Ca roline Webb, I was happy to see some of ...

  I did not know about the tools or how to find them in the browser. I am online frequently but only use spell check and word count when I am in docs or word. These are good tools that I will be using from now on. I need to work on editing my blog posts, so I can make it fun for myself. I am hopeful that things will become easier for me as the semester moves along.    Image Source:  pinterest

I am finding this course to be more and more interesting as the week progresses. I have never made blogs. It is going to take some time for me to get used to writing blogs and being expressive. I am interested in the storytelling assignments. It has been a long time since I have written for fun. I am looking forward to the Microfictions extra credit. I am excited to see what the rest of the weeks bring. (Image Source: Personal Photo)