The Vampire Diaries - The Awakening

I started watching The Vampire Diaries show. I thought it would be fun to see what the books were like. To be honest, I was a little disappointed, but that was more because of the extreme diferences between the two. They both had there merits, but I think that when they took the story and turned it into a show they did a good job of creating a compelling story.

In the book Elana was in control. She hadn't necessarily had it easy, but she had a lot of it figured out. But when Stefan came in to her life everything was turned upside down. Falling for Stefan, in the long run opened up a door that Elana would have maybe done beter if she had just steered clear, but then it wouldn't have been much of a story then would it.

When Damon, Stefan's brother shows up her trouble increases and doubles. Damon believes that Elana should be his, and makes sure to cause as much trouble for Stefan as possible. When Stefan disappears after a fight with Damon Elana thinks she knows who to blame.

As soon as I finished I couldn't wait to start the next book. Sometimes it's fun to read a fun tween book. Never much content, but lots of fun to read.

run dog run.

When these two get going they are pretty funny. They zip so quickly around the yard weaving, and dodging, and yes, every once and a while attacking each other. I like to think of it as watching light speed zoom past you. I think a lot of it is their hair. They have so much of it that everything looks so much more dramatic. No matter what way you look at it, they are spectacular when they run.

happy birthday Harry Houdini

As a kid I was always fascinated by Harry Houdini and the life that he lead. The ways he pushed the limits of the human body.

Born Erik Weisz he was a performer most of his life. He changed his name to Harry Houdini when he became a professional magician. His early carrer was not always successful. Some was spent in Cony Island, where he preformed with his brother. From a small start he spent much of his carrer fascinating crowds around the world with his stunning tricks and life defying feats.

Harry Houdini toured Europe and America durring his career. Many of his tricks were of his own invention. Each one more death defying then the last. His tricks were more then just tricks, each time Houdini preformed he defied death.

But death would still catch up to Houdini. At his funeral on November 4, 1926 over 20,000 mourners attended, just a small fraction of the lives he touched and the influence that he had on the world of magic.

post cards for c.j.

My brother has joined the Army National Guard. My mom has been a pro at writing him letters, lot of letters. We have gotten a few letters from him to the family with lots of stories from his basic training. But at the end of last week, I got a letter from him!

It made me feel a little guilty, so I went to work on making up some post cards with some of the pictures I have taken in the past little bit. I hope he will enjoy them! Two have been sent out this week and I've got a few more made up. I can't wait to make up more and get them written and sent out!

I hope he enjoys them as much as I enjoy making them!

elephant planter

After seeing my post about the hippopotamus planter, a friend wanted one as well, but she was hoping for an elephant. Luckily, I had one!

Click on the hippo to see the tutorial on how to make these cute planters. 

fire fighters & emt's needed

the quite place project

Take a chance to relax. Take a break from your immersion in social media. Take a deep breath and enjoy the quiet. You won't regret it. 

color and texture

I love the textures and colors that have started to come out as it has gotten warmer. Some is left over from last summer and weathered and warn. Others are new, bright, and lovely. It has been such a beautiful March. I wonder what the rest of the year will hold.

ultimate frisbee

I don't know about where you are, but where I live ultimate frisbee is a very popular past time. In both high school and college we used to play it as our friday pre-season practice. Personally, I'm not much for the game. But it is fun to watch when the guys start jumping around trying to catch the frisbee.

Thursday, I got hang out with some friends I hadn't seen for a while and watch a group of guys show off their frisbee skills. It was fun to see them collide every once and a while or dive for the frisbee.

They looked like they were having a lot of fun in the 80° weather, but I sure was glad I wasn't playing.

what is education coming to?

The Hornell School District just came out with what cuts they are projecting for the upcoming year.In the article they say they are $2,172,512 short in the budget. The solution, cutting education down to the bare minimum. This sounds like a perfect recipe for disaster. I find it ironic that good ol' HHS can go from three time football state champions, to cutting all athletics. But to me, that's not even the worst part, they are going to cut the Arts as well. Music and Art, gone.

Now, I was an athlete. In high school I competed in three varsity sports, Swimming, Indoor and Outdoor Track. I finished high school with 15 varsity letters, two individual Section V titles, one team Section V title. And I went on to compete in Track for three years of college earning three All Americans, Competing in the NCCAA meet three times, and I jumped my way onto RWC all time record lists for both indoor and outdoor track. A very successful Athletic career for a high jumper that only stands at 5'4". All of this was possible because I was able to compeate in high school, and push myself to greater heights. But, I would have turned it all down if it had interfered with art, and in some ways, my senior year of college, that is exactly what I did.
 

Education is more then reading, writing and arithmetic. A big part of education is learning about yourself. Learning who you are and what you are good at. Figuring out what you might want to do with the rest of your life. With minimal to no exposure to extra circulars in any way shape or form how will students learn where their abilities lie? On top of cutting programs, they also are planning on cutting teachers. About 20 of them, this means larger class sizes. Which means not only are the students not going to have limited extracurriculars but they will also get less attention from the teachers. In fact, a student that may need a little extra help will probably get almost entirely lost in the shuffle. Those teachers that are cut could have been the one to impact a child in an amazing way, and send them to greater heights. Most of the teachers that might be cut are the in the arts, so those that may survive the cut will be spread extremely thin.

I know that high school is more then the sports I played, the art I created and the musicals and plays that I was in. It was about the education I received. But the people I met, the experiences I had, and the teachers that changed my life. Those are the memories I hold dear. That is what I remember about high school. And that is what I feel is being ripped from the kids today. It makes me glad to be out of school, but fearful for the children I may have in the future.

Will this economy ever turn around? or will we continue to punish the children?

Hornell Schools May Cut About 20 Teachers And All Sports

it is all about the little things.

I love the little things that we can see if we open out eyes. The water drops hanging on to blades of grass. The texture of pealing paint. The gracefulness and beauty of little pine cones on a tree. It is for these things that I carry a camera almost everywhere I go. I love capturing the small things that can go unnoticed and un appreciated. 

they're back...

This is the first week that the Turkey Vultures are back. The Canisteo River Vally is the proud home of Turkey Vultures. Every year they come back and nest in the World Famous Sign, of course since it's world famous everyone knows about it right? Ok, so, maybe not. But it was featured in the Ripley's "Believe it or Not!" Book. 

The Turkey Vultures swarm around the sky. It's very mesmerizing to watch. They fly so high, weaving in and out and up and down. They are such huge birds, and not very pretty at all, but for some reason, they call this place home. One thing I can say in their favor is that they are mesmerizing to watch as they fly around, and around.

crocuses are out.

It may be March, but here it feels like it's May... going into June. This crazy heatwave has made the world come alive. the crocuses are out. the bees are buzzing, and the grass is turning green. It's all very confusing.

This could be one crazy year!