Irene Latham's Blog, page 119

If I Wasn't Afraid #bloglikecrazy

If I wasn't afraid...
I would ride more horses.

When I was young, I was crazy for horses. I knew everything there was to know about them. When it came to riding and jumping and grooming and training -- I was fearless.

These days I know too much. I've been bitten, stepped on, kicked, I've fallen, been thrown, and broken a bone.

I'm so thankful for those fearless days. SO glad I had that experience. But these days I am content to just watch instead of ride. It's not worth getting hurt!

Thank you, Javacia Bowser for the #bloglikecrazy prompt!

Guilty Pleasures #bloglikecrazy

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! I am at NCTE this weekend and don't have a poetic offering to share... but please visit Becky at Tapestry of Words.

Meanwhile, I am heading into the homestretch of blogging everyday during November! Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is " Write about your guilty pleasures and why you don't actually feel that guilty for loving them."

First things that comes to my mind:

The Bachelor. I watch at least some of it every season. And yes, I know it's cast with a certain result in mind, and it's predictable and sometimes ridiculous ... but I still like to watch it. :)

Dove chocolates. Dark is my favorite. I have one nearly every day as a mid-morning snack. (I eat 'em for the inspiring messages. :)

Birthday Cake Shake from Zaxby's. If you haven't had one of these, you have something delicious to look forward to! LOVE THEM.

And, no I don't really feel guilty about these things. More like I should feel guilty ?? It's actually important to me these days to take time to treat myself -- in the past I've had a bad habit of putting myself last! I'm getting better. :)

FITNESS THAT'S FUN #bloglikecrazy

Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "Write a post about fitness - how you stay fit or how you plan to get in shape."

So, fitness.

I don't do so well with workout routines that are for the purpose of working out. :) I like exercise that happens in my daily life: walks around the neighborhood or at the park; playing with the dogs; mopping; sweeping; raking leaves; parking at the edge of the parking lot and walking. Stuff like that.

BUT. I realize these don't necessarily achieve the fitness goals for a person my age. So I do other stuff, too. Ever heard of the 7 Minute Workout? It's an app for your phone. (My sister introduced me to it.) One of the things I love about it is that it doesn't require any other equipment -- just you and your body.

I also love yoga and stretching. But I get bored easily. I need something that's different all the time. Which is why last month I returned to Jazzercise. I love it! I've been going 3-4 times a week, and oh, man, do I feel stronger! Plus, it is SO MUCH FUN. Even for someone like me who doesn't particularly like public exercise and who has no dance or athletic history. I love the music, I love *trying* the dance moves, and sometimes even pulling them off.

What do YOU like to do for fitness?

30 Things I Love Right Now #bloglikecrazy

Scarves.
Leggings.
Boots. (Yay for winter clothes!)
Grapefruit juice.
Little House on the Prairie (re-reading for the first time as an adult!)
Planning a trip to NYC.
Conversations with my 17 year old niece.
Jazzercise.
Playing Christmas music on my fiddle.
Redeeming my Jr. Frosty coupons.
Naps, when I can get 'em.
The quilt of leaves over my front lawn.
Dove Dark chocolates.
Working on T-shirt quilt for Middle Son (will be a high school graduation gift!).
Daily conversations with my father. (Speaking of gifts...)
Parenthood on Netflix. (We are on season 2!)
BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarity.
Preparing for NCTE.
Watching the cats sleep.
Antarctica.
Thinking about 2015.
Searching for bowls in the thrift/antique stores.
Planning Christmas gifts.
Eric's concert season.
Soundcloud.
Revlon Colorstay Ultimate lipstick.
My standing computer work station.
My work-in-progress. (Right now, this moment. Could change in the next 5  minutes!)
The way the puppy (now 6 months old) keeps finding all the long lost kids' toys in the backyard.
Glass art.

Thanks to Javacia Bowser for the  #bloglikecrazy prompt!

Things I Don't Blog About #bloglikecrazy

This blog doesn't do negative.That's it.That's my only rule.
(Anyone who wants to use this badge is welcome to it!)
Thank you, Javacia Bowser for the #bloglikecrazy prompt!

LITTLE HOUSE Books, Revisted #bloglikecrazy

Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "What I Learned About Myself From _______ (This can be a book, a film, an album, or even a person.)"

This fall I took an online course on Laura Ingalls Wilder: Laura Ingalls Wilder: Exploring Her Work and Writing Life.* Part of the course requirement was to read the first four books, of which I have finished LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS and FARMER BOY.

I adored these books as a young girl. ADORED THEM. This was my first time to read them as an adult.

A couple of thing stood out:

LITTLE HOUSE IN THE BIG WOODS is quiet. It's episodic. There's no real character arc. And there are lots and lots of Pa stories! I didn't remember this. I also didn't remember Pa calling Laura "Half-pint" in the books -- I thought that came from the TV show. I loved reading it in the text!

FARMER BOY is full of action. We know what Almanzo wants -- a colt of his very own. There are all sorts of animals and life lessons interwoven -- there's farm life and school life and the fair!

What I Learned About Myself: 43 year old me craves character depth and development. I need action and adventure. And I love boy main characters. (Maybe FARMER BOY has something to do with why the majority of books I write feature boy main characters? Even LEAVING GEE'S BEND had a boy main character the first time I wrote it!)

Now I am diving into LITTLE TOWN ON THE PRAIRIE... and most looking forward to ON THE BANKS OF PLUM CREEK, which, I learned during the course, that editor Ursula Nordstrom (If you haven't yet read DEAR GENIUS, go! Read!) found to be the perfect middle-grade book.

The course itself was fascinating.

I learned that Laura and her daughter Rose exemplify what I have often claimed: the mother-daughter relationship is THE most complicated of all relationships. Theirs was even more complicated by adding in the writer/editor layer.

I learned we've come a long way with how we write and think about race relations. Laura Ingalls Wilder's writing represents the time of her life. It's important for young readers today to be aware of that as they enjoy these stories.

I learned I admire Laura Ingalls Wilder all the more for the way she followed Emily Dickinson's advice "Tell all the truth but tell it slant." No, she wasn't writing an autobiography -- she was using her life experiences to tell a story. It's true in the ways it needed to be true, and she wisely left out/combined events/people that would have distracted/weakened the story.

*For those who are interested: you can join the second part of this course, starting on April 6th, 2015. The course will cover the last five Little House books, as well as Rose Wilder Lane’sLet the Hurricane Roar. To receive more information, please follow this link and fill out the following form: http://outreach.missouristate.edu/MOOCinfo.htm
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To The Haters #bloglikecrazy

Pic from Soulful MamahoodToday #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "Learn to love your haters by taking a negative comment and flipping it into an empowering post."

A few years ago I taught at a summer writing camp for teens. When I read the evaluation forms written by the kids, I found lots of wonderful feedback -- and one comment that poked and rubbed and irritated: "Speaker tries to hard."

Tries to hard. Really?

The comment stung because yes, I try VERY hard. I want to please my audience. I put a lot of effort into my presentations. I'm over-the-top well-prepared. And hello, I am passionate about what I do. Enthusiasm, in my opinion, could be THE MOST IMPORTANT quality of a good presentation and dare I say, a happy life. Enthusiasm will take you FAR.

So yes, I try hard. And if that annoys you, young lady, I do NOT apologize. I encourage you to go out and find something YOU are passionate about. Something that inspires you to go above and beyond. I want to see YOU bubbling over. I want some other less-enthusiastic teen to roll his or her eyes at you, and for you, years later, to think about it, and realize the people who are annoyed by enthusiasm are only annoyed because THEY WISH THEY HAD IT.

A Time I Changed My Mind #bloglikecrazy

Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "write about a time you changed your mind."

Once upon a time I was struggling in my writing life -- my ability not in line with my desire -- and I applied for and was accepted into the Amherst Writers & Artists program. I completely love Pat Schneider's book WRITING ALONE & WITH OTHERS, and I thought, this is it, this is what I want to do: teach others to share their stories through poetry. I was ready to write my check, board the flight, leave my young family to earn my certification.

Then I went to a Alabama State Poetry Society meeting where I shared with a poet I admire and who does similar work. She was completely supportive as we talked about the excitement -- and hardship-- of completing the program. She said, "you don't need a certificate to do that." Also, "remember, the writing, your writing is the most important part."

And I thought, hmmm. She right! And while I am sure the program would have helped make me a better writer, I realized I was pursuing the certification as a way to distract myself from the greater task, which was (and is) to write all the things in my heart.

Yes, I hope to inspire others. But mostly this writing thing is for ME. I have to be careful: when it gets hard or challenging and things aren't going my way, it's not the time to take another path. I need to hold steady on the path I'm on.

BEST CHILDREN'S POETRY BOOKS 2014 #bloglikecrazy

Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Keri at Keri Recommends for Roundup!

Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "write about the best book you've read this year."

I find Best Of lists innately flawed and frustrating. Must we pit books against books? I love books for different reasons and find it so hard to separate out my emotional, completely subjective and intensely personal responses to evaluate a book. My enjoyment is rooted in the emotion, however perfectly or imperfectly crafted! Which is why I blog about the books I enjoy as I encounter them, and in no particular order.

This year I've blogged about the following 2014 poetry books for children:

DEAR WANDERING WILDEBEEST AND OTHER POEMS FROM THE WATER HOLE by Irene Latham, illustrations by Anna Wadham  (obviously!)

HI, KOO! by Jon J. Muth

LITTLE POEMS FOR TINY EARS by Lin Oliver

POEM-MOBILES by J. Patrick Lewis & Douglas Florian

A POND FULL OF INK by Annie M.G. Schmidt

CAMINAR by Skila Brown

THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY for SCIENCE compiled by Sylvia Vardell & Janet Wong

BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson

FIREFLY JULY edited by Paul Janeczko


In the queue for blog posts coming soon:

MANGER, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins (and containing poems by many of my most favorite poets!)

WINTER BEES & OTHER POEMS OF THE COLD by Joyce Sidman

POISONED APPLES: Poems for You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann

(How 'bout them apples? Ha. Couldn't resist!)

[image error] and today, a few words about SANTA CLAUSES: Short Poems for the North Pole by Bob Raczka, illustrated by Chuck Groenink. (Link takes you to a great interview with the author at Today's Little Ditty... and a challenge that could win you a copy of the book!) What a wonderful way to bring poetry to the masses! I love thinking of Santa Claus as a secret poet. I mean, I tell kids all the time that poets are seldom only poets, but doctors & poets, plumbers & poets, teachers & poets, accountants & poets, moms & poets, you name it! You can be a poet and be anything else in addition to being a poet!

My favorite part of SANTA CLAUSES: Mrs. Claus. Clearly she is Santa's muse. Let me show you what I mean:

December 3
Mrs. Clause making
an angel, becoming a
little girl again.

December 11
Kisses from Mrs.
Claus under the mistletoe
tickle like snowflakes.

December 18th
Mrs. Claus and I
wrapped neatly in our bed quilts --
matching packages.

--- Bob Raczka

Music & Me #bloglikecrazy

Today's #bloglikecrazy prompt from Javacia Bowser is "Write about your favorite CD of the year thus far."

Truth is, I don't buy many CDs; I have Spotify. :) And I often chauffeur my 14 year old son who uses the opportunity to plays for me music of his choosing, including some of his own original pieces.

Most of the time in the car I am listening to a book on tape. Sometimes, recently, I've been listening various fiddle music -- mostly Mark O'Connor, whose work is completely amazing. At Jazzercise, the songs are not selected by me and are from a wide variety of genres - which suits me fine. All this to say, there's a lot of music in my life, but not a lot of CD time!

My husband did, however, recently get Bob Seger's latest RIDE OUT when he got us tickets to see him in concert (January 2015. Yay!). And I love it! The whole CD. I'm torn between sharing "Adam and Eve" or "You Take Me In." The latter wins, because I am ever the sucker for a love song.