Week 1: Introduction

I am starting my senior year (Round 1) this year! I will be taking an extra year next year before I graduate but I am excited about what is in store for me as a fifth year senior.  I am a Health and Exercise Science major and also a Pre- Physician Assistant student.  I love going to class and learning new things but I am ready to be done with school!

I am a very active and outdoorsy person.  I love to play sports and work out during my free time.  I am not a girly girl at all and my favorite place to be is my grandparents farm out on the dock fishing!  I grew up with all boys so I am use to playing catch in the yard or shooting things for fun.  I come from a very small town in Texas and I'm still more fond of small towns rather than big cities but I do love being at OU and living in Norman while I'm in college.

I am very involved at my home church here in Norman.  I serve as a small group leader for college girls on the leadership team of our college group.  It has been a blast and I have met so many great people through church!  I also work as the student athletic trainer for the OU baseball team.  I have been with them for a year and will be with them again this year.  I love my job and I love being able to learn all the things an athletic trainer does.

A side from all of the outdoor and sports activities that I am usually participating in, I love to be crafty and use my creative side of my brain.  On rainy or cold days I could sit inside and read, scrapbook, or do some sort of art project ALL day!

(Personal photo: Taken at L.Dale Mitchell Park, the OU baseball field)

Week 1: Storybook Favorites

The first storybook I chose is the Storybook of Horror.  I'm not a dark person but I absolutely love to watch scary movies.  I enjoy the thrill of being scared and having my adrenaline rush!  The title of this storybook caught my attention because of the word "Horror".  I instantly clicked on it and was even more intrigued by the pictures as the graphically but with taste depicted a horror story.  At first I thought this storybook would be cheesy horror stories such as the "Scary Movie" collection.  However, after reading the titles of the stories and a couple of sentences of each they seem to be actual horror stories.  Some of my favorite fictional books to read are murder mysteries so I am looking forward to reading from this storybook!

Friends: The One With All The Stories originally caught my attention by the title.  I assumed it was a storybook about one person in a group a friends that constantly told stories.  This reminds me of myself because out of my friend group I am the one who is always telling a story about something!  When I clicked on the link it had a picture and storyline based off the TV show Friends.  This made me even more excited because I love that TV series.  I also liked the yellow and gray colors of the website because it made reading the story easy to see.  This storybook seems like a fun and energetic storybook which is completely different from the previous storybook I chose, Storybook of Horror.

I also chose Tales of Beauty and The Beast as another storybook of interest.  I loved that story growing up as a child.  The movie was also one of my favorites as a little girl.  I always thought I was Belle out of all the Disney Princess' because she had brown hair like I do.  The pictures on this website were very pretty and detailed.  I also liked that there was an authors note after every section of the story.  This is very helpful on seeing the authors point of view.  I am interested in seeing how the author creates a new story about a very well known children's story.

Week 1: Un-Textbook

I chose to outline my readings for the semester.  There were so many good ones to choose from but I tried to mix up the readings based off my interest, things I wanted to read again, and stories I had no knowledge of.

Week 2: This past spring semester I had to read The Golden Ass for one of my classes.  This book was about the egyptian God Isis and also wove in the story of Cupid and Psyche.  I remember the beauty of this almost tragic love story and as a fan of Greek Mythology I would love to read it!

Week 3:  As a Christian I am very interested in biblical readings.  The Gospels are some of my favorite books of the bible so I will choose to read the Gospel of Mark for my reading this week.  I never get tired of reading the Gospels, I learn something new each time.

Week 4: For week 4 I choose Ancient Egypt.  I love to learn about new Gods and Goddess because the Greek ones are the only ones I am familiar with.  I did read about Isis in The Golden Ass and I would like to learn more about the cultures other Gods and Goddess.

Week 5: I have heard of the Arabian Nights but am not very familiar with that reading.  I chose this one because it included full notes with it and I am curious as to why it's such a famous reading.

Week 6: I am planning on going on a medical mission trip this December to Ghana so I chose the West African Folktales.  It mentioned Ghana in the description and I would love to learn a little bit about their culture before I travel there!

Week 7: I chose Lang: African Tales for the same reason I chose African Folktales.  This one also includes all parts of African culture into the ready so I think that will help me to learn about the stories from other parts of Africa as well.

Week 9:  My great-grandmother was Cherokee so I chose Cherokee stories as my reading this week.  My great-grandmother passed away before I was born and my grandpa told me some of the tales, such as the one about the snake-monster when I was a child.  I do not remember a lot of them so I'm looking forward to hearing about them again!

Week 10: I chose the Tejas stories because I was born and raised in East Texas.  I do not know anything about the Tejas Caddoan people but I do want to read about their stories to learn more.

Week 11: Nursery Rhymes were a favorite of mine growing up.  I remember having a book full of them and my mom would read them to me all the time.  I also would read them to my baby dolls!  I chose Nursery Rhymes because I love the reminder of being a kid again.

Week 12: I chose English Fairy Tales because these stories also remind me of my childhood.  I also wanted notes with them so I could learn more in depth about the readings.

Week 13:  I read Dante's Inferno my senior year of High School and was absolutely fascinated with it.  I always told myself I would read that book again on my own time so I could enjoy it more.  I never got the chance but I would love to use this opportunity to read about it again.

Week 14: I chose Margaret's Heptameron because I know nothing about it.  I have never heard of it and I really do not have any knowledge of the Renaissance Era.  I also chose it because who doesn't love a little gossip, especially told by a queen?

Week 1 Storytelling: Rosie the Rabbit

BYE, baby bunting,

Daddy's gone a hunting,

To get a little hare's skin

To wrap a baby bunting in.

(traditional nursery rhyme)

(Rosie the Rabbit)

.....

Rosie the Rabbit was snuggled in her hole as she felt the morning sun shine through on her fur.  She stretched out her sleepy limbs and then crawled out of the hole to explore the chilly fall day.  As Rosie hoped through the forest, she made her way to The Walton's house. The Walton's house held sad memories for Rosie.  Rosie had two brothers that were shot by Mr. Walton and she had seen his kids wrapped as tiny babies in her own brothers furs! She sat aside a tree as she watched the little Walton kids run and play while Mr. and Mrs. Walton sat on the porch drinking warm coffee.  Near them was a small basket that was holding something wiggly and loud.  Rosie perked up her ears and determined that inside that basket was a crying baby! The Walton's must have added a new addition to their family. "Oh no!" thought Rosie.  "If The Walton's have another baby during this chilly weather then they will be looking for new rabbit fur!"  Rosie's mind raced as she came up with a plan to watch Mr. Walton's every move until he would leave to hunt.  Rosie hoped closer to the house and hid near a bush where she could hear The Walton's voices more clearly.  As The Walton's moved in and out of the house throughout the day, Rosie laid still so The Walton's could not see her.  As the sun went down, the baby began to cry.  Mrs. Walton was trying to soothe the baby but nothing seemed to be working.  She then called for her husband.  "It's getting chilly.  I think it's time for a new rabbit fur to soothe the baby."  Rosie became frightened knowing she would soon be running for her life.  She had no where to go, this forest was her home.  All of her animal friends were living in this forest and she did not want to leave them.  As Mr. Walton loaded up his shot gun, Mrs. Walton placed the baby on the front porch hoping the fresh air would help soothe it.  Rosie peeked in the basket at the sweet chubby baby that was inside.  Rosie's heart broke for the baby and she wanted to help it stop crying but she did not want to get shot either!  Rosie began to think of ways to help this baby but also save her own life.  "That's it!", thought Rosie as soon as Mr. Walton's boots hit the floor.  "I can provide warmth to the baby and stay alive if I snuggle up real close!"  Rosie hoped out of her hiding place quickly up the steps and into the baby's basket before Mr. Walton could shoot her.  She snuggled up real close to the crying baby and slowly began to feel its skin warm up.  Mr. and Mrs. Walton were in disbelief but realized their baby had quit crying.  They peeked under the blanket and saw Rosie warming up the now quiet baby.  Once the baby was asleep Rosie hoped out and ran as fast as she could to her hole.  Mr. Walton never followed her, he simply stood on his porch watching Rosie the Rabbit run away.  Rosie continued to come back every night and snuggle the baby to sleep and then return safely to her hole.

.....

Authors Note: This story is based on the nursery rhyme "Bye Baby Bunting" from The Nursery Rhyme Book, edited by Andrew Lang (1897).  The nursery rhyme is told by the mother of the baby but I wanted to write a story from the rabbit's point of view.  As an animal lover I decided to let the rabbit live while still allowing it to use its fur to warm the baby.  This story has a happy ending for everyone unlike the in the original nursery rhyme wear the rabbit is killed for its fur.

Week 1: My Favorite Place-Cabo San Lucas

My Favorite place is Cabo San Lucas.  I went on a family vacation there the summer of 2012.  There was a lot of activities to do such as paddle boarding, zip lining, hiking, and fishing.  It was beautiful there but the best part of the trip was the food.  The mexican food in Cabo was the best mexican food I have ever had.  It was so fresh and tasty!

The Arch in Cabo San Lucas: Google