Teen Talk

I'm home from the State Speech trip. I had a lot of fun hanging with my kids, and the other coach, but I'm glad to be back. For one, I'll be happy to not hear about the British boy band, One Direction, for awhile!

I couldn't believe how crazy my girls were for this group. They asked me if I'd ever been this in love with a band. I told them I didn't think so. The next day I found out they know the boys from the band's middle names and shoe sizes! I told them NO, I have definitely never been that into a band.

Shoe sizes? How did they find that out? Why is that information even out there? Who cares?!

Anyway, I also listened a lot to how they talk to each other, the language they use, etc. Some of them did use a lot slang, particularly shortening of words. "She cray." (Meaning, "she's crazy," in case you didn't know.) But, the funny thing is, they use it like they're making fun of it.

They always use a bit of a goofy voice when they say these kinds of things, like it's a joke. And I honestly believe that if they were to read it in a book about teens, they would roll their eyes and say, "teens don't really talk that way."

I should note, too, that not all of them did use those kinds of expressions. For the most part I find that teens don't really talk all that differently than my friends and I do. (Despite the fact that we are ridiculously old ladies in our early thirties.) ;)

Speech

So, in case anyone was wondering how my speech kids did. . . They did great!

We took seven kids to Sections, (six entries, we had a duo) and three of them made it into finals. From there, one of them will be competing at State next Friday. Yay! I am very proud of all of them.

I had a very talented team this year, and I get them all back next year! Not a single kid on the team was a senior. So they all have (at least) one more year to try and make it to State. I have a feeling that next year we will be taking a few.

I am also directing our high school play right now. 2222:The Zombie Apocalypse. It's about people filming a (really bad) zombie movie and it is hilarious! I'm very excited about it. I may have to share pictures after we perform. :)

I hope to start blogging more regularly again soon. Thank you for not deserting me yet!

Taking Critique

  I deal with critiques in two different areas of my life. Writing, obviously, but also in speech. At a meet the student speaks in three rounds. They have a different judge each round and each judge writes up a critique sheet for them, critiquing their performance.

I have taught my students that these critiques are one person's opinion. We decide what advice to take and what to leave. Normally the judges give great advice and we use it to make the performance better. Sometimes they don't.

Last week one of my Humorous girls, (Humor is one of the categories) received a critique telling her she was monotone and overly sarcastic. We told her to ignore it. In fact, we told her the judge must be deaf, because she is far from monotone. She is hilarious! We also pointed out that no other judge has ever told her that, and that they have all told her she is very animated and talented.

I'm telling this story because I was glad I could point it out to myself recently when I received a very harsh critique on part of one of my manuscripts. Basically the person hated it. It bothered me at first, but then I reminded myself that it was the same ten pages that had gotten an agent to request a full and an editor to say she loved my voice.

It's all subjective. It's all personal opinion. Heck, I hated Eat, Pray, Love and most of the world loved it. So while critiques can be immensely helpful, and you (I) should think about what each one is saying, that doesn't mean you (I) have to listen to every single one.

Check out more insecure writers here.

Oh, and ps. Of the sixteen kids I took to sub-sections, eleven placed and seven are going on to Sections on the 14th!

Sub-Sections

Tomorrow my speech team competes at sub-sections and I am very excited. :) This is my twelfth year coaching speech. I have taken at least one kid to State nine of those years. I have worked with some immensely talented kids. (Young adults.)

That said, this is, as a whole, the most talented team I've ever had. Which is why I am so excited. I think we will have a good crew going on to Sections after tomorrow. It should be a very fun day. Then, the Saturday after Easter, we will get to see who's going to State. And I have pretty high hopes for that, too.

And the best part of all of this is, none of them are seniors! I get to have them all back next year! Color me happy.

So wish us luck. :) And I will wish all you who are participating in the A to Z challenge good luck, too. I am looking forward to it. (Reading all of your posts, I'm not participating.)

April is crazy busy for me. Speech is wrapping up and I just started Spring play practices. So I think I will be taking April off from blogging. I will still be around on your blogs, though, so I'll see you there!

Misadventures

Today, as I was getting my two-year-old ready to get into the tub, I pulled off her shirt to discover a blue marshmallow stuck between her shoulder blades.

Catherine is always making me laugh. I decided to re-post a list of her misadventures from 2011, because when I posted it the first time no one was following me yet. :)
Here it is:


My two-year-old, Catherine, is what I call mischievous. (My husband calls her evil, but I prefer mischievous.) She started walking at eight and a half months and has been on the go ever since. I had a friend tell me I could devote an entire blog just to her antics, and she is probably right. For now I have decided to make a list of ten of the more memorable things she's gotten into this year.

(I do have one honorable mention that didn't quite make the cut. About a week ago she pulled the needle out of the almost-done baby blanket I was knitting for my sister who was due yesterday. Unfortunately, it will not be done when her little boy arrives.)

Doesn't she just look like trouble?

Catherine's Top Ten Misadventures of 2011

10: Unraveled an entire roll of toilet paper and put it in the toilet, which my poor husband had to scoop out.

9: Painted her face black with my mascara.

8: Dumped an entire bottle of laundry detergent all over the laundry room floor. At least the towels used to clean it up were ready to be thrown right into the wash.

7: Tried to run down the stairs at Grandma's, resulting in a mild panic attack for Grandma and a chipped tooth for Catherine.

6: Tried to go fishing in the fish tank much to the chagrin of our angel fish, Superhero.

5: Dove into the bathtub head first in her pjs while I was washing my hair.

4: Poured baby powder all over the bathroom, and herself. I came in to find her naked in the bathtub, completely white.

3: Came into the living room carrying a raw egg yolk in the palm of her hand. The rest of the egg was in the dining room, and I'm still not sure how she got the yolk out without breaking it.

2: Put toilet paper into my friend's bathroom sink, then turned the water on and nearly flooded the bathroom. (Her sister caught her before it got that far- just before.) This is high on the list seeing as it was at a friend's house and therefore that much more embarrassing.

1: Fell out the living room window. Okay, this one was on my husband's watch. He says he was right in the room talking to our son, Johnny, when he heard a crash, turned around and saw the screen and the child missing. He freaked out, Johnny, however, apparently didn't miss a beat and kept right on telling his story.

I realize this probably makes it sound like I really don't watch my kids, but I do! Really! Catherine is just always on the go and with the addition of Margaret into the family it is just not possible to keep an eye on her every move. So far she has not had any major injuries. No cracked skulls or broken bones, so I'm calling it a win.

Busy Busy

This morning I took four kids shopping, by myself. This afternoon I'm showing in my first horse show in two years. Tomorrow I'm taking some incredibly talented teens to a speech meet. Sunday I'm heading back to the horse show.

Spring is busy around here. Wish me and my speech kids good luck. :) I'll be back to blogging regularly again soon.

In the meantime I am very much looking forward to every one's A to Z posts. I think you are all very brave and I can't wait to see what you come up with! Good luck!

Escape to the Country

Hello all. I haven't been around much lately, and I've missed all my blog buddies, but my seven-year-old called me out on being on the computer too much. Oops. Between writing, revising, and blogging I guess it had been a bit much and something had to give. Especially because I am also busy coaching Speech and our high school Spring play is starting up and I direct that as well. So, I am sad to say, I will probably continue to not be around for a little while here.

But. . .I had to get on to share something really cool. The cover of Patsy Collins' book, Escape to the Country. If you don't already follow Patsy's blog, you should. Click on her name above to get there. She is so sweet and incredibly supportive of other writers.

And here is the cover:

Isn't that lovely? I just love her purple tights. :) And you can read her first chapter here. How awesome is that? It comes out on March 30th. I'm excited. :)



As I said, I will be a bit scarce for awhile, but I will be having a giveaway for reaching 100 followers. I'm very excited and want to give you all a big thank-you! If you have followed me and I have not followed you back, it is because there is not a link to your blog on your profile. Leave a comment and let me know how to find you. Thanks!

Enjoy Chapter One of Escape to the Country!