Thursday, February 28, 2013

Sisters are friends for life

I used to think that my sister and I were two very different people. She was more introverted whereas I tended to be louder and more extroverted. It wasn't until recently I started to see how similar we in fact were. The gestures or mannerisms we use are similar and sometimes we know exactly what the other person is going to say in a specfic situation. I was almost six years old when my sister was born and because of the age difference, we were almost never in the same maturity category. She was more interested in playing with her toy horses as I was becoming boy crazy. I was applying to colleges while she was just starting seventh grade. Our life paths had not truly crossed until this year when I had moved back home. We are both older of course but we are also much more mature and rational in our decision making and emotions. Now, I consider my sister to be my best friend and confidente. I know that she is my closest pal. I love to hang out with her and to go to different events together. It is exciting to know that I will always have her in my life. I think that the bonds of family are stronger than any bond in the world.

My sister Erica and I at a Maroon 5 concert

Vocabulary
introverted (adjective)- shy, quiet
whereas (noun)- in comparison to
extroverted (adjective)- loud
gestures (verb)- using your hands to indicate an object or excentuate a point
rational (noun)- to think in a way that is calm and logical
confidente (noun)- a close friend

Vocabulary Exercise
Use two words in a sentences about a close friend.

Grammar Point
In this post I combined the past, present and future tense to tell a story.

Grammar Exercise
Write a story about a close family member or friend. Describe how your relationship was in the past, how it is now in the present, and how you think or hope it will be in the future.

Can you hear the people sing?

Although it is obvious that eventually I will become a teacher and hopefully have a successful career, I don't believe that a person's career defines them. I have come to find that most of the time a person can better be defined by simply discovering their hobbies. Not many people I have met and become acquainted with here in New York know that I am a classically trained singer and as a hobby I continue to sing in a jazz band as well as  play other gigs that I come across. I know that in life I probably won't have the opportunity to be the next Adele or BeyoncĂ©, but singing has always been a passion of mine that continues to make me happy every single day. In college I was blessed to be a part of my campus' all female a cappella group, aptly named 'Major Treble'. With that lovely group of women we created new harmonies of old songs and combined old harmonies to create new songs. Some of my greatest memories of college took place with my a cappella group. If you would like to view my group in action please click here. 
Anything with music strums on my heart strings, especially when music is included in movies. It was a breath of fresh air this year to see that one of my favorite musical films, Les Misérables , was nominated for a plethora of awards. I was incredibly lucky to see the fantastic musical on Broadway when I was young and I had the opportunity to sing various pieces from the score over the years. Last night the Oscars had a special tribute to a majority of the Academy Award winning musicals from over the past 10 years. I was so impressed that these professional pretenders could deliver should goose bump inducing entertainment. It made me smile from ear to ear. I am so lucky to have one of my hobbies bring me such joy. Find something that gives you this same joy, it makes my life whole each day.

Vocabulary
career (noun)- the job you choose, typically after receiving higher education
hobby (noun)- interest that is not related to your job and is done during your free time
play other gigs (idiom)- to participate in other shows or events
a cappella (noun)- to sing without any background music or sounds
strums on my heart strings (idiom)- makes you happy by thinking of something you like
plethora (noun)- a lot of
Broadway (proper noun)- a street in New York City that has many different theaters holding different plays, many times musicals




Vocabulary Exercise Use each of the vocabulary words in a sentence. 

Grammar Point
This post is written in the first person, meaning that a lot of sentences begin or talk about the subject, I. 

Grammar Exercise
Write about your hobbies and interests. Talk about why you are interested in the hobby and how you came to enjoy doing the hobby.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Passion for fashion

I have always had a passion for fashion. I love bright, vibrant colors, varying textiles and different patterns. I love putting on a boring outfit and jazzing it up with a wide range of accessories and most importantly, fantastic shoes. For a long time I thought that I might be interested in fashion design or some sort of merchandising within the fashion world. Although that is still something I'm quite interested in, I find it more enjoyable now to shop for the fashion that others have created, especially if I find it at a bargain price. Clothing stores like Old Navy and The Gap are two of my favorites. These stores are considered bargain stores as the majority of their pieces are valued under $50. I buy the majority of my clothes at these two stores in order to save my money for more high quality pieces. I buy more expensive clothes in a very systematic way, taking certain factors into account such as; how much use I would get out of it and if it is a piece that I can wear during all seasons. Either way I rarely spend more than what I think the shirt or skirt is worth.


Prabal Gurung For Target® Short-Sleeve Dress  in Calypso Coral

 Before I was a teacher, I had a lot of casual clothes that I would wear to hang out with my friends or to go to school during the day. I love all of my clothes and now sometimes it is difficult to make my informal, but fashionable outfits appropriate for professional situations. Outfits for work are more modest and sometimes could be called boring. I still try to show my personality through other methods like my shoes and accessories, but my most vibrant dresses stay in my closet for other occasions on the weekend. Recently, there has been a trend in which the most vibrant colors are seen in the most modest ways. For example, I bought the dress at right at Target this week for the spring season that is quite demure in cut; it has longer sleeves and a knee length skirt, but the colors are incredibly bright. I love being able to blend professionalism and my passion for fashion in one cohesive outfit!

Vocabulary:
Vibrant (adjective)- very bright in color
Textiles (noun)- cloth or fabric
Jazz it up (idiom)- to make more interesting
Bargain (noun)- cheap in price
Systematic (adjective)- done in a system
Demure (adjective)- not showy or flashy

Vocabulary Cloze Exercise:

1) The different ________ used in the blanket made it too itchy to sleep with.

2) I love when I find a nice shirt that is also on sale. Getting it at a _______ price is exciting!

3) Wearing appropriate clothing to work is important. Your outfit doesn't have to be boring, but it should be ______.

4) Numbering questions is a __________ way of keeping things in order.

5) That neon pink is so bright! I love _______ colors!

6) By adding accesories to a boring outfit you can easily ___ __ __!

Grammar Point
In this post I talk a lot about clothing stores like Old Navy, The Gap, and Target. The names of the stores are capitalized because they are proper nouns. Other proper nouns include; people's names like Miss Bufkins or names of cities, states, and countries like Paris, New York, or Spain.

Grammar Exercise
Write a paragraph about a time in which you went to a clothing store. Talk about the name of the store, who you were with, what city and state you were in and finally, what you purchased there.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Blizzard 2013

On friday afternoon my family and I were huddled in our living room watching a new release we rented from the RedBox down the street. We sat waiting to see how much snow would accrue on the small patio we built in our backyard to have tea and coffee in the mornings during the summer. As the snow continued to accumulate throughout the day and into the evening, I began to reminisce about the times I had enjoying the snow as a child. My sister and I were quite lucky to live in a neighborhood that had hills and large open space to sled and make as many snowmen as we would like. Throughout the spring season my mother would collect all of the dish soap bottles she used and we would mix food coloring and water to have spray bottles of a myriad of colors.  It was fun to be able to make art right atop the snow drifts. We watched the snow continue to pile up to the second stair on our front porch. The realization of how much snow we were going to get began to dawn on us. All I could think of was: I hope the snow blower is working!

Saturday morning we all arose to an average snowfall of about 28 inches in my backyard! Thankfully, the snow blower fired up just fine. Afterwards we decided to play in the snow for a while. It was incredibly exciting to see how my dog, Penny, a Shetland Sheepdog, would act. I was pleasantly surprised to see how excited she was. Penny normally hates getting her paws wet in the rain but the snow proved to be a favorite of hers! 

Penny and I, playing in the snow! 


Vocabulary:

accrue (verb)- to increase

patio (noun)- an outdoor space that is often paved 

reminisce (verb)- to talk about past experiences

myriad (noun)- a large number

atop (preposition)- on top of

arose (verb)- to get up

 Vocabulary Crossword:

Across
3. a large number
5. to increase
6. an outdoor space that is often paved
Down
1. to talk about past experiences
2. to get up
4. on top of

(Fill this out on a separate sheet of paper)

Grammar point: 
Instead  of restating the name of a person or animal in this post, I used a lot of direct object pronouns; i.e. Penny was excited... she loved the snow, or my mom made us color squirt bottles, they helped us to make art.

Grammar Exercise:
Replace the following sentences with the correct pronouns

1) Doug used the snow blower to clear his driveway. ___ had to work until nightfall.

2) Erica loved to use the dyed water to write in the snow. ___ would write her name over and over.

3) Penny and Erica played in the snow for hours. After ____ came inside, ____ took a nap.