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Wikipedia Trail from Czech Folktales to

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In one of the readings in the Czech Folktales Unit , I came across the story of the Waternick. I was a little confused about what this creature was, so I decided to look into it today. It is a creature that can be found in other fairy tales. It is also called a Vodyanoy. I thought it was interesting that it is said to be a creature with the face of a frog and a naked old man's body. I thought it might look naked because it's always in the water. This picture of the vodyanoy  by Ivan Bilibin led me to click on Bilibin's name. Here is a portrait of him by Boris Kustodiev in 1901.  The interesting thing that I found about him was that he co-founded the Union of Russian Painters.   I really love to paint and draw. Ever since I was a child, I have always enjoyed staring at a painting, I can get lost in them for hours! Anyways the Union of Russian Painters link led me to somewhat of a dead end, meaning that it broke the continuous flow of my wiki-trail..grr.

Tech Tip: Make a LOLCat at Cheezeburger

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I really liked making this image earlier in the semester, and I thought that I might as well get credit for using the Tech Tip...I cat believe I haven't done this before. Plus, I cannot stop laughing whenever I see it on my blog...it's such a gem! Tamanous Cat

Learning Challenge: Snuggle Cat

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I came across the Happiness Jar when looking at the list of assignment options, it is a great idea to do this digitally, that way it never gets lost. I thought that this would be a really good idea for me to do because I find myself taking things for granted, or just simply not realizing things that actually made me happy that day. It is easy to grasp on to the negative things that happen and not recognize the million other things that made me smile or laugh. Today, what made me happy is that I woke up with all of my kitties on the bed, but what really melted my hear was my sweet cat, Tater-Tot, who looooves to snuggle me. She likes to sleep right next to my head, but not every night. This morning, she kept crawling up and tucking herself under my arm. I always take advantage of these opportunities. I chose this picture of this snuggle cat  because this is exactly how my kitty sleeps!

Growth Mindset Blog: Inspirational Kitties

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Detect new opportunities I chose this first picture because it is too perfect! This cat wants to pounce so bad, I love the look on its face! I have three cats and they are constantly pouncing on me and each other. However, I think that it is also a perfect illustration to explain how it is important to take the opportunities that come to you. There are so many things that I think about where I did not take my chance and not I am wishing that I had. Remote cat I picked this cat picture because I liked the quote a lot. I think there are a lot of times where I complain about something when I really should just suck it up and change it myself. If only there was a remote that could do this, but that would be like that Adam Sandler movie Click, which does not go well for him until the end. (Sorry for the spoiler if you have not yet seen it) . Also, I chose this picture because this cat is just as fat as my oldest cat, Todd, which you can see a picture of him in my comments wall for m

Week 15 Story: They Mysterious Maiden

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IN A LAND, far, far away there lived a maiden, and her name was Paulina. Now Paulina was not like any of the other maiden's who lived in the kingdom. This maiden was independent. She lived off in a forest, next to a river, in a cottage all alone. She did not like to be seen because she was always gawked and laughed at by the others. Even though she could brush it off, it always made her very uncomfortable. Unlike the ideal maiden, Paulina was six feet and three inches tall, she was as strong as an ox, and could put away more mead than any other man in the land. She had big burly arms, fingers like sausages, and thick thundering thighs. Because of her stature, she had to make her own clothes, which became quite good at. That was one thing she did not mind when forced to visit the kingdom's village, her clothes were more extravagant than anyone else's and she knew that other the other women in the village were envious. However, these women were not only envious of her beautif

Reading Notes: Hans Christian Anderson, Part B

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I wanted to finish up the last section of this week's reading unit. Today, I read  The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson.  The Little Mermaid is such a lovely story, even though it is tragically sad. I am family with the Disney movie, but I think I prefer this story  and  wish that it could be a movie. What I like most about this story is the beginning when  all the  details of the underwater world are being described. Anderson uses beautiful sentences and imagery to portray the setting. This was actually the reason I chose this unit; I need better descriptors in my storybook project. I appreciate how this story began because it is important for the writer to be able to create a world for the reader(s). Personally, if a story does not grab my attention right off the bat, then I know that I will just get distracted throughout and I usually find it boring. I noticed that Anderson repeats a few things throughout the story. One example is that he kept reminding the rea

Reading Notes: Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales and Stories, Part A

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For the last reading selection, I chose to read the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales and Stories. Hans Christian Andersen is a popular author that I have been very fond of my whole life. I always preferred his writings over the Disney adaptation, although those are fun too. I especially wanted to read this unit because The Little Mermaid is one of my all time favorite stories and I thought it would not hurt to get some ideas for the last story in my project; however, that story is in part B of this unit. For part A, I read The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor's New Suit, The Brave Tin Soldier, The Wicked Prince, and The Little Match-Seller. I have to say that I really enjoyed these stories, even though some of them were little confusing at times. The Princess and the Pea is such fun story to read, the only thing I do not like about it is that it is not longer, but I also appreciate how concise it is. I thought the "test" that she had to go through was very creative.