Peer Review Week 3

Brandon-
While reading your childhood kitchen story I became aware that I want a cheese crisp now!!!! But I on the other hand am never able to get it just the way that they do in the restaurants so i always have to make mine the easy way throwing it in the microwave never getting that crisp taste on the tortilla which to me is what makes the cheese crisp so enjoyable. I was also able to associate with your burnt finger you would think that someone that has been cooking for twenty years would know better than to reach into the oven without a mitt or to be careful when taking something out but every once and awhile i get those little burns that seem to hurt a lot longer than a more serious burn.  Your autobiography of Joe Kennedy was a great use of description as well as dialogue to create this story.
Katie-
Your prompt Grandpa was very descriptive and I was able to picture your family sitting there enjoying one another company and it is amazing how fast life passes us by and the things which we wish we are able to do yet there never seems to be enough time in the day. Your kitchen prompt on the other hand left me a little puzzled. You speak about your house then towards the end you mention the condo after reading a couple times i realized that this was a memory of you in you condo home when you were younger with you kitten. It just did not flow and I had to re-read a couple of times before I was able to realize.
Kimberly-
Once again your prompts are interesting and keep my attention which I admire in your writing skills. Yummy cookies. Everyone writing about different foods in their kitchen prompts is really making me hungry :)
Micky-
Great detail on your family prompt and all the detail that was going on in the soccer game was like being there.
-Missing other 2 prompts-

Autobiography

            Being born with a rare heart condition was something which my family would have never considered possible. They have never even heard of an Epstein’s Anomaly before let alone had the knowledge of what something like this entails and the pain and suffering it was going to cause my family. The first day of my birth everything was fine there was no indication that there was any problem with any part of my body. Through the night my mom began to notice that I was not eating and having a problem latching on to her she let the nurses know and they came in and took me into the nursery where a cardiologist listened to my heart hearing a murmur she then orders a echo cardiogram . After the results my world turned into a painful ongoing world of doctors and hospitals. Within the hour of the results of the echo cardiogram I was on a helicopter on my way to St. Joe’s Medical center where I was going to spend the next five months of my life.

Once I got to St. Joe’s I was then taken to NICU where I was then introduced to many of the nurses and doctors that were going to be a huge part of my life for the next couple of months. It was a very overwhelming experience for a one day old child to have to experience alone because they would not allow my mother or father to be transported with me on the helicopter. My mother checked herself out of the hospital and walked into the NICU with my father not long after my arrival to the hospital but they were not allowed to stay for very long because of the confinement and all the other incubator’s there.

Over the next couple months all we were able to do was wait because it was inevitable that the only thing that was going to help me was to have an operation which would repair my valves and allow my heart to function properly. While in the hospital though there seemed to be a never ending cycle of complications. Finally the doctors and my parents decided that they would go forward with the operation. In November I finally went through the six hour surgery. There was always the possibility that I would not survive the operation because I was so tiny and all the complications that I faced. I pulled through just fine and was on my way to recovery. In December they felt that I was well enough to go home and join my family. I was able to spend Christmas with my family but I was also having other complications and my body just could not handle all that the world had to offer.                                                           

Peer Review

Brandon- Reading your prompts have helped me to get a better grasp on descriptive writing and to be able to picture what you are trying to describe. The Inn called Abacus was a little more confusing with you jumping from one thing to another and I really did not understand what you were trying to get across.You were able to portray what to expect if I were ever to go have lunch at the Inn. The excerpt  about your dog is extremely sad and I am sorry that you are dealing with such a troubling situation at this time. In my opinion it is always difficult to write about something when it means a lot to you but you are able to share you feelings as well as tell the story.

Katie- You are actually able to follow the assignment by knowing what you are suppose to write about and follow that concept. Which is interesting for me because in my mind in my own writing I do not seem to be following this same direction, I feel like I am all over the place with my writing and that it is not making any sense so if there are any pointers you are able to share I would appreciate it. The excerpt which did confuse me a little was your observation writing I know that you were sitting there observing what was happening at the MU, but as the book states about putting in too much because its true was just a little overwhelming for me with all that was going on.

Kimberly- Wow is all I can say I am not sure why you have not started a blog before:) Your entries are all that the text book gives you points on being a great writer which is what you accomplish in my opinion. I guess I will be the one not following the directions for your peer review. Keep up the good work and the interesting writing I look forward to reading more of your posts.

A childhood kitchen writing prompt #7

      My grandmother was an amazing woman she was always able to create these huge meals out of very little ingredients and make enough to feed an entire army of people. She was not an educated woman only completing the 10th grade. Having to quit school to help support her family which consisted of 8 children and a mother and father. During this time school was not a priority helping with the family and learning and being a part of the traditions and cultures of the Hopi people. Being able to create the traditional food was what made you someone that they wanted as a part of the family because food is a major part of our culture.
      She moved around the kitchen as we see the great chef's do in television series such as the food network. Everything had a place in her kitchen always well organized and well stocked so that she was prepared whenever she was to start her masterpiece. 
      We had three meals a day while I was growing up and it was never one of those microwave meals that they have nowadays. It was always something created from scratch which she put her  heart and soul into preparing for her family. There was always also an afternoon snack upon return from school. I often thought that it was her way of letting us know she loved us. So many things took place in the kitchen while she was cooking stories shared, events that were happening, just good old family time.
      I use to sit and watch her create these vasts amounts of traditional foods and I use to think to myself I hope that one day I will be able to create these things which she did.

The birth of a Hopi child writing prompt #5

      When a Hopi woman has a child there are many preparations which are made at the beginning of that child's life. Unlike the preparations made when a child is to join the family most people start preparing from the beginning and continue for nine months. The Hopi on the other hand do not purchase anything for the child until it is brought into the world because they believe within that nine month period of time there may arise complications and having a room full of baby things when you do not bring home a child is more pain that the couple would have to go through. After a twenty day period there is a huge celebration of the birth of the child and at that time there are numerous things bought for the child. Like a modern day baby shower.
      The first day after that baby is brought home from the hospital the paternal grandmother comes to the home and in a sense makes a home for the child marking the four directions, north, east, south,west, of the walls of the home, thus creating this protective boundary for the new born child. Where the baby is to remain for the next twenty days, all the windows are closed so that no sunlight is to enter the room. Only women are allowed to enter the room of the baby, and the baby is not allowed to leave the room for any reason. During the next nineteen days the paternal grandmother returns to take care of the child and the mother. Giving the baby a bath, then being rubbed with ashes, which is the purpose of rubbing off all the dry skin left from the birth as well as to remove hair on the child so the child will not be hairy. After this is completed the baby is then clothed and swaddled and usually falls asleep. The grandmother then feeds the mother to give her nourishment to make the milk that will feed the child. She also helps with the rubbing of the stomach and gives sweat baths and other such things so that the mother is able to heal properly.
      On the nineteenth day the grandmother returns to make the stew which will be used to feed the baby and the people as in celebration of the announcement of the new addition to the whole family. All the while the mother and her family are baking, bread and pastries, making piki, and preparing the blue cornmeal which will be the repayment of what is to come the following morning.
      On the twentieth day the grandmother returns with her clan relatives before the suns rays are showing in the sky. Bringing with them the hand made quilts, baby clothes, diapers and all things a child would need. Each one of these family members will wash the babies hair four times and they will then give the baby a name pertaining to their clan. For example my father being from the Sioux tribe asked my grandparents to be his parents so that they will take care of me the way a Hopi child should be taken care of. He gave himself to members of the bear clan so my name is Honmana which means bear girl. All this has to be completed before the sun rises. As the sun begins to rise the paternal grandmother and the mother than take the baby out to meet the sun for the first time. It is at this time that the names just given to the child are told to the world and the baby is then a part of the people.

My significant other

            He stands 32" tough and ready to concur the world. Thinking that he knows all there is to know in this world he looks upon you with these huge dark brown eyes with long bunny eye lashes, and if you would ask my bother I am sure he would tell you that those lashes come from our side of the family. Which pop out because he has this amazing light brown skin which really complements the color of those eyes. He loves everyone unconditionally which explains a lot about him because of the way the people in hi life treat him. As siblings would everything is always a challenge and a game with them.

            For being one that has only been on this Earth for 30 months it is amazing how much he can tell you in his own little way. I believe that he s further advanced than those of his age and it is not only my opinion but that of a early head start teacher that comes to visit us once a week. It is often commented by her that he is setting the standard of the kids his age within their specific children which they encounter. I sit here and contemplate the things which I am faced with. I wonder do I have the opportunity of having birthed a genius or are the children of this world a lot less educated than we would like them to be?

            If you had the opportunity to send the day with him even the afternoon I am sure that you would have your own opinion about this child. I feel that I am fortunate to have a child that would be considered a genius in this world. He is able to follow directions on things that you would explain to a 32 year old person it does not matter of the sex because even that does not matter because as small as he is he seems to know the difference between males and females, which is something that I am sure that they would never believe but you put a child with sisters and brothers that range from 13 to 5 and you tell me what a child who is 30 months will give you an explanation about life. 

Pictures of me and my family

Bare with me

I'm sorry this whole blog concept is new to me and after looking at all the blogs which everyone has posted I guess there is a lot that I need to get caught up on and add to this page. But I figure at least by the end of the class I will have it figured out :) T