Goddess of Books

Lessons from Miracle Milo: One Dog’s Battle with Osteosarcoma

2010-08-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

Lessons from Miracle Milo: One Dog’s Battle with Osteosarcoma
Posted on August 1, 2010 by fightcaninecancer

One of the first questions that pet owners often ask after hearing that their dog has cancer is, “how much time do we have?” And no matter what the answer, it’s easy to interpret the vet’s response as a kind of promise. Like a timer has been set for our pet’s life, quickly running down to those dreaded final days. We believe that this ‘guess’ about how long our pets will survive is true and we plan and we prepare according to this imaginary date on the calendar.

But, sometimes our dogs don’t know that they’re supposed to be living on someone else’s timeline and seem to go out of their way to prove the statistics wrong. They demonstrate a remarkable strength and will to live that surprises everyone – reminding us that we can never lose hope in the fight against cancer.

Milo was a dog who fit this description perfectly. But then again, Milo started out as a bit of a surprise when he joined his family almost by accident when he was 4 ½ years old back in January 2006. As his mom Beth explains, “We had recently lost our precious cat Scamper and had started teaching American Red Cross Pet First Aid. We were handing out flyers one day and stopped by a pet adoption event in Oakland, CA. One of the dogs up for adoption was Milo, a lab mix with double dew claws on both hind legs. It was love at first sight.”

From the scar on his face, you could see that Milo had known pain in his past, and had probably suffered at the hands of other humans. But, when he was taken in by a rescue called Hopalong and cared for in a kind foster home, he discovered what it meant to be safe and loved. All he needed was that forever home, and now he had finally found it with Beth and Tom.

Once Milo came home to live with his new family, he continued to thrive. His true personality came out and he showed himself to be an energetic, intelligent and affectionate dog who loved treats, walks, going to the dog park and going to doggy daycare. He was a happy and healthy dog who even loved helping out during the Pet First Aid classes. Life was very good for sweet Milo.

On September 9, 2009, however, Milo started limping after a walk. More than just a pulled muscle, Milo’s family was devastated when they found out that Milo had osteosarcoma — bone cancer. The vet said he only had three months to live and suggested amputation and chemotherapy. Fortunately, Beth and Tom already had pet insurance through Pet’s Best. They had gotten it for Milo after he had eaten something off the ground one day, resulting in an $800 vet bill. But for the recommended treatment for Milo’s osteosarcoma, pet insurance would only cover $7,000, and full treatment would be much more than that. It was money that his family just didn’t have.

Not willing to give up, Milo’s devoted family decided instead to pursue Femoral Head Ostectomy (FHO) surgery to ease Milo’s discomfort by cleaning up the bone and giving him a false hip joint. They also searched for additional ways that they could support Milo in his brave fight against such an aggressive type of cancer. They spent hours searching the internet for information about canine cancer, and found online support groups where they gained valuable information from other pet owners about supplements and treatment options that even their vet didn’t know about. All of this research helped them decide how to best help Milo live a high quality life throughout his fight with cancer. As a result of their research and by working with their vet, Beth and Tom decided to switch Milo’s food to Hill’s n/d, a grain-free diet created specifically for dogs with cancer, and they started him on a line of supplements from K9 Medicinals which had a solid reputation for helping to extend the lives of dogs with cancer. Milo started getting (5) capsules of K9 Immunity daily, along with along with (1) Transfer Factor capsule and (2) K9 Omega capsules. They credit these supplements in particular for keeping Milo alive well past the initial three month prediction.

Milo shows off his battle scars after FHO surgery.

During Milo’s battle, Beth and Tom were also able to experience the kindness of others who want to help save the lives of dogs in need. When the pet insurance money ran out, they searched online and found out about an organization called Labrador Harbor, which is dedicated to providing funding for Labrador Retrievers in California who are in need of medical care. Labrador Harbor agreed to fundraise for Milo and helped to ensure that he could get the life-extending care he needed to continue his battle with cancer. Beth and Tom also did their part to help raise funds to help their boy by posting flyers about Milo in supermarkets and pet stores and by talking to other dog owners, co-workers, and neighbors. It seemed that so many people wanted to help save the life of this special dog. One neighbor who owned a store even had a collection can for Milo to help out.

Throughout his journey with cancer, Milo was a true warrior and inspired all those who met him. The vet staff who worked with him were among his biggest fans, continually rooting for him and encouraging him to keep on fighting. He was a living testament for how long a dog could survive an osteosarcoma diagnosis without amputation or chemotherapy. He truly lived up to his nickname, “Miracle Milo”, with his fierce determination and ability to defy the odds and keep surviving despite all of the challenges he had faced throughout his life.

“We thought Milo would live forever,” says Beth, “but on July 25, 2010, his cancer leg started swelling and getting larger. It was getting harder and harder for him to walk, even though he still wanted to run and play and wag his tail. The vet really couldn’t do anything and there was no guarantee if amputation would work or not. So on July 27, with great sadness, we decided it was time to send Milo to the Rainbow Bridge.”

Too often the argument made against pursuing treatment for pets with cancer is that treatment won’t substantially lengthen their life. As if you can put a price tag on or somehow quantify how much time is worth the effort to try to save a loved one’s life. But who can judge how much time is ‘worth it’? Even if blessed with a few extra weeks or months, families can make so many memories and share such precious time together.

Milo’s story proves how important and valuable even a few extra months of life can be. Milo survived an amazing 10½ months past diagnosis, when he was originally given only 3 short months to live. It may not seem like a lot of time to some, but in those extra 7 ½ months that Milo beat the odds, he also:

* Made it to his 4 year adoption anniversary on 1/30/2010
* Made it to his 9th birthday on 6/1/2010
* Survived 2 dog fights, even though he lost part of his ear
* Had time to grow back all of the hair lost from the FHO surgery (probably thanks to K9 Omega supplements he was taking)

And most importantly, Miracle Milo and his family had 7 ½ extra months filled with the joy of each others’ company.

Milo is now at the Bridge, but his legacy lives on. “We want others to know that there is hope with cancer,” says Beth. “Milo was a brave fighter and he defied many odds. By sharing Milo’s story, we hope that others can learn from our experience.” And part of that experience is realizing that nothing is impossible. Every dog diagnosed with cancer has the potential to beat the odds too.

Milo

Rest in peace Milo
6/1/2001 to 7/27/2010
Marvelous, Intelligent, Lovable, Only dog for us
Beth & Tom

If you would like to help other dogs like Milo who are battling cancer, to give them the opportunity to receive the lifesaving treatments they deserve, please consider making a donation in his honor to the Bear Hope Fund, which helps other labs with cancer, at www.labradorharbor.org/bearhopefund.html.

5 Lessons Learned from Milo’s Journey

1. Don’t get discouraged if you find that you don’t meet low income guidelines for certain funding resources. There are many ways to fundraise on your own and you may be surprised at how many people are willing to help. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
2. Get pet insurance when your dog is young! It can be a critical resource when faced with major surgery or a serious illness like cancer.
3. Talk with other pet owners and look for online support groups to connect with others who may be able to help.
4. If you find a supplement that you like, talk to the company and tell them how it has helped your dog. Some companies will even provide a free bottle of a supplement if they can use your testimonial on their website or in marketing materials.
5. Plan ahead and make your dog’s final arrangements so you don’t need to worry about making these critical decisions while in the middle of your grief. If you don’t know where to start, ask your vet. They can usually recommend companies who can handle cremation or burial as well as companies that provide memorials and urns. They may even be able to help you obtain a discount on these items as a client of theirs.

2010-03-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Scotty Lago Matador Giveaway Winner
March 16, 2010 – 9:22 pm PT by Me
Tags: Giveaway, Matador, Scotty Lago —

A couple of weeks ago, we held a SCOTTY LAGO giveaway contest presented by MATADOR. Scotty ended up having to leave the Olympics early so in honor of him, the objective of the contest was to tell us a time when you were kicked out of something. We thoroughly enjoyed everyone who took the time to share his or her story with us but as you know, there can only be one winner. And there was one particular story that really blew us away.

The winner of the Matador contest goes to Beth Morris who is from Oakland, CA. Scotty got her attention during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver a few weeks back. She was impressed that Scotty supports kids with cancer. Her dog Milo just made it with bone cancer in his 6th month so Milo (pictured below) inspired her to submit a story.

Here is Beth’s winning story…

“As a girl scout I went on a Wider Opportunity to El Paso Texas. We visited White sands national monument and I stole some white sand by putting it in a plastic bag. At the EL Paso airport security stopped me. Since El Paso is near the Mexican border they thought that a 15 year old was smuggling cocaine. I was kicked off my flight and they brought drug-smelling dogs and when they realized it was white sand they were all laughing. I could not call my family to let them know. Then the flight I was supposed to be on crashed and everyone was killed. When I finally got through to my family they almost had a heart attack. Being kicked off of that Delta Flight actually saved my life. To this day I still don’t fly into Dallas Fort Worth airport on Delta”

Pretty crazy story. Congratulations to Beth and enjoy the beef sticks!

Turbulent Sea Christine Feehan Book Trailer

2008-10-05T13:43:00.001-07:00

Awesome video the lyrics fit the story.

Summer Sleuths Adult Reading Program

2008-08-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

This summer I worked at a public Library in both the reference and children's departement. Like all the California Public Libraries we had Catch the Reading Bug for preschool to preteens, Metamophosis for teens, but for adults we had the Summer Sleuths reading program. Adults had the opportunity to read ten books and get entered in a weekly drawing for gift certificates. At the end of the summer they got to have a sit down dinner party with a mystery entertainer and earn prizes and play games. As an employee I could not participate, but these were the books I read over the summer, The program lasted until August 2nd.

1. Moonstruck by Susan Grant
See my review on my blog. This book rated an A+ in my book
2. Warrior Rising by P.C. Cast
As a fan and reader of Mythology, I like her Goddess Summoning books in which she has modern world mortals meet Olympians. This book dealt with her version of The Iliad by Homer in which two middle age women who die have their souls transplanted into a dead Greek Priestess and her handmaiden. They help Achilles and his cousin. The book had an interesting twist, but it was not one of her better ones. I rate it a B.
3. Mistress of the Art of Death by Arianna Franklin
This was one of the books that was part of the Readers Roundtable Adult book discussion group at the library I worked. Children are being killed and the Jews of Medevial England are being accussed. The King of Italy sends Adelia, a foresenics investigator along with a large Arab, and a Jew named Simon to protect her. Clues from dead bodies help solve this mystery. It was a hard book to put down definately an A in my book.
4. The Cure by Sonia Levitin
I have always liked this author since I read Journey to America
and The Return. This book is a mixture of sci-fi and historical fiction. The Year is 2407 and everyone wears a mask to emphasize conformity, and tranquility has been implemented via genetics, drugs, and therapy. Everyone also has a twin.
16-year-old Gemm needs to cure his nonconformist desire to create music. He is sent back to 1348, the time of the Black Death in Strasbourg, France. Gemm lives the life of Johannes, the son of a wealthy moneylender in a small Jewish community. This book is similar to Lois Lowry's The Giverand deals with racism, conformity, and history. Definately an A for young adults.
5. The Singing Mountain by Sonia Levitin
Many college students are seeking to find their place in life. Visit any campus and you will see religious groups trying to recruit them. I worked at an orthodox Jewish school and also had many orthodox Jewish neighbors when I lived in New Jersey. I went to a high school that had many Jewish students and had two classmates who were killed when their bus was blown up while visiting Israel so this book touched me deeply.
Mitch Green is a California boy who has just graduated high school. He decides to take a trip to Israel before entering UCLA. In Israel, Mitch becomes involved with an orthodox group and learns more about his heritage and decides he wants to stay in Israel and live the orthodox life. His mom and his cousin Carlie make a trip to Israel to try rescue him and bring him home. The dramtic events in the final chapters help them to appreciate the unique heritage of their family.
A wonderful and very thought provoking read for young adults definately an A.
6. The Serpent's Tale by Arianna Franklin
This is a sequel to Mistress of the Art of Death. Adelia and her Arab protector Mansur are called upon by King Henry II to investigate the suspicious death of Rosamund Clifford who died after eating poisonous mushrooms. Adelia is also forced to work with Bishop Rowley Picot who is the father of her daughter Allie who she still has feelings for but marriage is out of the question.
Not as exciting and hard to put down as the first book in the series. A B in my book.
7. Walk Away the Pounds by Leslie Sansome
I bought this book because one of my favorite places De Lauers newstand was going out of business. It has some good information and the success stories are motivating reads. I did buy a pedometer step counter which lasted about 2 months and joined a local walking group. This book may work well for others, but the exercise routines, program and videos that I checked out from the library just were not my cup of tea. Probably because I do not get into using videos for workouts.
Average maybe about a C or C+.
8. California Driver Handbook 2008
Ok I am not the world's greatest driver. I did not learn how to drive until I was 21
because I did not have access to a car until then. I still can't parallel park to this day. Library school and coming from out of state is expensive so I did not drive for at least 5 years. I made a rolling stop and got caught by a red light camera. Big fine $410 plus $19 to be allowed to go to traffic plus an additional $38 to the school. Well anyway in an 8 hour class you do go through the whole manual. listen. watch movies, and I did learn some things. I will be careful from now on.
A for the book. Its explains things well and has some good illustrations.
9. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
I eagerly waited for this book after reading the novella Alpha and Omega in the anthology On The Prowl. Anna is transformed into a Werewolf against her will and is abused by the pack. Charles Cornick is Salish (an American Indian tribe) and Welsh. His father is the head of all the werewolves in North America and he is sent to investigate Anna's pack. They fall in love and Cry Wolfdeals with their move to Montana. One problem that I found was that the book referred to incidents that happened in the novella a little too much and could be confusing for someone who did not read it. I would have also liked in there was something mentioned about Charle's heritage and his mother was supposed to have had powers. A lot about werewolf society was explained and made it interesting. I think the author would have done better to combine the novella in the same book. I may or may not read other books in this series. I would give it about a C or C+ average did not really do anything for me.
10. Turbulent Sea By Christine Feehan
I was excited to read about the 6th magical Drake sister, Joley the spell singer and Ilya Prakenskii, cool, inscrutable, dangerously sexy, and working in the shadow of his infamous reputation—that of a secret Russian hit man on the payroll of a notorious mobster. Ilya has appeared in other books and is a man of mystery and a 7th son of a seventh son. Last night I watched the movie Hitman and I wondered if Ilya actually went to a similiar school. Bizare huh? I wish that more about his family and background was included but maybe that will happen in a future books. The video for the book is awesome, just Joley and Ilya look different then they are described in the book. A B+.

New White Buffalo Born

2008-08-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

The white buffalo is sacred to most Plains Indian tribes and is often seen as a sign of great changes in the world. To some tribes it is a blessing. Others believe it is a sign of peace, prosperity, unity and hope.

On August 31,2007 in North Dakota, White Cloud, a female buffalo with albinism, gave birth to her 5th calf. The calf is a male and his name is Dakota Miracle.

Moonstruck by Susan Grant

2008-06-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

I loved the Outworldly Men series which was about the Jasper family trying to save earth from an alien invasion. Your Planet Or Mine (Book #1) featured Jana Jasper and her romance with Cavin of Far Star. My Favorite Earthling (Book #2) featured Jana's older brother Jared trying to save Earth by marrying Queen Keira. How To Lose An Extraterrestrial (Book #3, and my favorite) in ten days features Evie Jasper, Jana's and Jarrett's sister, helping a former assassin to have a new life and then falling in lover with him. In all three books, Susan Grant created a world involving the Coalition, their enemies, the Drakken Horde, and the newly found planet Earth.

Now Susan begins a new series, The Borderlands. The first book is Moonstruck. The war has ended and a new intergalactic treaty has been signed. Coalition starship Admiral Brit Bandar, aka Stone-Heart, is now captain of the Starship Unity, which in addition to Coalition officers, has Drakken and Earthling crew members.

The Borderlands series is slightly darker and goes deeper to explore a galaxy left reeling after a thousand year war ends, thanks to the Jasper family, introduced in the Outworldly Men series. If you like paranormal, futuristic, sci-fi, and romance you will love Moonstruck. This book was impossible to put down. It was interesting to see the Coalition, Drakken, and earth cultures intermingle. I also liked that Brit and Finn were middle-aged (40 and 35), Tango's cocky humor, Hadley's innocence, and the imperial wraith Bolivarr fascinated me. I hope that in her future books Susan explores Wraiths further. Be warned there are some steamy love scenes and some sex, so not for teenagers. I can't wait for book #2 The Warlord's Daughter.

Smoke Signals - How Do We Forgive Our Fathers?

2007-12-22T21:16:00.001-08:00

This is one of my favorite movies.
I love the final scene. Very powerful when Victor releases his father's ashes in the Spokane River to swim with the salmon. Did you know Adam beach who played Victor is now going to medical school?

Shielder Series

2007-09-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

I have always been a paranormal fan ever since my mom let me read Moonbeams and Magic by Janelle Taylor. I like futuristic stories about other galaxies and space travel, but I like Paranormal because it combines romance and science fiction.

I found the author Catherine Spangler by mistake. I saw a book in the bookstore called
Shadow Fires. The cover looked beautiful and the plot sounded good. A young woman named Jenna who had visions was looked upon a freak by her race. She becomes a bride to a warlike species called the Leors who were
humanoids cross breed with reptiles. The Leors are seeking brides from other races because their race is not producing offspring. Jenna struggles to fit in to the world on Saura which has slaves and is a desert world. I like the book so much that I backtracked and went to the beginning.

In Shadower, Sabin Travers works as (Shadower)a bounty hunter to earn money for his race ,the Shielders. who are being hunted down because they can not be mind probed. He meets Moriah Cameron, a smuggler who has had a bad past with Shadowers. In Shielder, Nessa Ranul is shunned by her people because she is lame and suffers seizures. She agrees to be injected with a virus that is killing Shielders and travels to get it to another Shielder colony. Her ship breaks down and she is rescued by Shadower Chase McKnight who is actually a Physician whose world was destroyed by a similar virus. Nessa needs to get to her destination in 4 weeks. Shadowers are hunting Shielders so she can't tell Chase the truth. In Shamara, Nessa's older brother Jarek is trying to find a safe haven for his people. Eirene Kane is on the run from being traded to a Leor warrior as a bride. Jarek realizes that she is an enchancer, a race with special healing abilities that is thought to be extinct. He needs her help but he killed her father many years ago in self defense.

In Shadow Crossing, Moriah's younger sister ,Celie and Chase and Nessa's daughter Raven, making shocking discoveries about their clients who may be both royalty and androids. Celie fears men because he father was a Shadower who sold her and Moriah as endentured servants. Raven is young and ready for romance. What will happen when both girls meet Jardonian royalty?

I love the characters in the Shielder world. So many races all in another galaxy. I wish the author would write more Shielder books.

Sunny Author

2007-09-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Never thought I would be into these books as I not a fan of Erotic novels, but I read excerpts in On the Prowl and Over the Moon. i didn't care much for the explict sex scenes and erotic stuff, but I thought the concept of the Monere species was interesting. I just finished Lucinda: Darkly Demon Princess Chronicles and enjoyed them better than the Mona Lisa books. There was sex scenes, but not hard core. The fantasy world of Hell was very imaginative and vivid, whereas the Mona lisa books had too much more eroticism and not much plot. I still will continue to read Sunny's books, I want to live forever and be immortal so I will still read about the Monere world. Sunny is a physician by trade and the healing rituals in the story plus the shifting of human and animals forms do make interesting reads.

The White Buffalo Calf Woman and albinism

2007-09-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm not Lakota, but my godparents are Dakota from Devils lake, ND and my bloodsister Alone in the Wind is too. I did my Masters thesis on teaching science using American Indian Legends and this legend fascinates me. I put up a few links for you.
White Buffalo Calf Woman Legend

I love the ending:

The sacred woman then took leave of the people, saying: "Toksha ake wacinyanktin ktelo, I shall see you again."

The people saw her walking off in the same direction from which she had come, outlined againest the red ball of the setting sun. As she went, she stopped and rolled over four times. The first time, she turned into a black buffalo; the second into a brown one; the third into a red one; and finally, the fouth time she rolled over, she turned into a white female buffalo calf. A white buffalo is the most sacred living thing you could ever encounter.

The White Buffalo Woman disappeared over the Horizon. Sometime she might come back. As soon as she had vanished, buffalo in great herds appeared, allowing themselves to be killed so tha the people might survive. And from that day on, our relations, the buffalo, furnished the people with everthing they needed, meat for their food, skins for their clothes and tipis, bones for their many tools.

In 1994, Miracle the white buffalo was born. If you go to

Miracle's color changes

Amazingly even though born white, Miracle turned black, red, and yellow before dying of an age of ten in 2004. In 2006, Miracle's secind chance was born. No realtion to Miracle but born on the same farm. Three months later he was killed along with four other buffalo when struck by lightning.

Wikipedia lists under "White Buffalo" that:
Mahpiya Ska ("White Cloud") (Cherokee:ᎤᏁᎬ ᎤᎶᎩᎸ) is an albino White Buffalo born July 10, 1996. She has resided since 1997 at the National Buffalo Museum and Cultural Center in Jamestown, North Dakota. Mahpiya Ska has been certified by the National Bison Association as an albino white bison; she is deaf and has impaired vision. She has had four brown calves. On August 31, 2007, she gave birth to a white calf. The calf has yet to be tested, but it is believed to be albino.

Even though the Lenni-Lenape (Delaware)traditions do not have spiritual importance or beliefs that the white buffalo is a sacred sign, I nevertheless have always been interested in albinism especially in animals and people of color. I went to high school with a boy who was black with albinism, I worked with a teacher who was white with albinism and I had a library school student who was chinese with albinism intern with me. The teacher I worked with who had albinism started off as a special day aid and went on to become a teacher. She did not let her vision issues hold her back and the kids really liked her. My school did not hire her on and I lost track of her. I have since then been reading more about albinism in popular culture and looking for famous people with albinism. Among American Indian tribes, both the Hopi of Arizona and the Kuna in Panama have very high rates of albinism in their population. The children's picture book rattlesnake dance mentions a Hopi with albinism as one of the dancers in a snake dance cermony.

Though sacred in many Native cultures, its sad that today's media portrays people who have albinism as freaks and villians especially in movies. I hope that one day that will change. Even one of my favorite authors Susan Grant portrayed some members of an alien race with albinism as evil in her novel Contact, but then made up for it by having one emerge at the end as a heroine.

Goodbye To Madeline L'engle

2007-09-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

I don't like to talk about it because its scary, but sometimes I get visions. When I was in 1st grade I made a mistake and told a teacher that i had dreams of flying to Japan each night in my sleep and they made me see the school psychologist. Visionsare a part of American Indian life and to have one is special. Some full bloods go through life never having one, and envy us Metis or mix bloods who have them every now and then.

I don't get them too often. I have not had one since my adopted grandfather Milton died in I 1997 and my turtle necklace broke. I knew he was gone. In the most recent vision that i had over labor day weekend. I saw something white. The white buffalo calf woman is the first thing that came to my mind, but I am not Lakota. I have always been interested in learning about people who have albinism since I went to high school with someone who had it and also loved snowflake the Gorilla. I found that there was a rock star in Singapore who had albinism I wrote him he wrote me back. Seems like a cool guy. Didn't let his lisp or vision stop him. I was also fascinated by Miracle, the white buffalo. Did you know she turned white, brown, red, and yellow like the prophecy? But I am not lakota its not my world to live in. When I when on my vision quest at 21, I knew I was a rainbow a bridge between worlds but whose worlds. Hence my name tsiblenti okwa "carry the sky woman". It seems ironic my ex fiancee called me Plongee which means rainbow in Malay.

A turtle got stolen from a classroom at school. I have an affinity with turtles hey they are my medicine sign. I knew it wasn't dead because white is not death. When the buffalo calf woman left earth she was white. The turtle was found the next day. I looked on the Internet today, one of my favorite authors Madeline L'engle is gone. Why was white in my vision? (White Buffalo calf woman, Takana 's death, Mo's betrayal,Madeline L'Engle's death?)

4th or 5th grade maybe. My brother got the book A Swiftly Tilting Planet for his birthday. He didn't want to read it, but I did and so did my sister, because the unicorn flying on the cover looked cool.
Charles Wallace goes back in time to save the world. Time traveling, soul traveling! It was the coolest book. We had fights who would keep it in our room. I also read Camillaand A ring of Endless light. They are ok but nothing like the Kairos world, too chronos for me. ,br>

I forgot about Madeline till library school. I had to read A Wrinkle in Time for Resources for Ages 6-12. I fell in love with Madeline's books again.

I just found this on : Wikipedia L'Engle's best-known works are divided between "chronos" and "kairos"; the former is the framework in which the stories of the Austin family take place, and is presented in a primarily realistic setting, though occasionally with elements that might be regarded as science fiction. The latter is the framework in which the stories of the Murry and O'Keefe families take place, and is presented sometimes in a realistic setting and sometimes in a more fantastic or magical milieu. Generally speaking, the more realistic kairos material is found in the O'Keefe stories, which deal with the second generation characters.

The Murry-O'Keefe and Austin families should not be regarded as living in separate worlds, because several characters cross over between them, and historical events are also shared.

A theme often implied and occasionally explicit in L'Engle's works is that the phenomena that people call religion, science and magic are simply different aspects of a single seamless reality; a similar theme may arguably be discerned in the fiction works of C. S. Lewis or Diane Duane.[citation needed]

I felt for Polly when she lost her virginity in A house like a Lotus. I was glad that she decided not to see Zachary Gray again in An Acceptable Time. He already hurt Vicki in A ring of Endless light I cried when Sandy and Dennys had to leave the world of Noah's ark in Many Waters. Many waters still run deep.
I loved when Simon found his roots in Dragons of the Water. and Vicki and Adam were together in Troubling a Star.. I connected more with the Murray-O'Keefes then I did with the Austins even though I liked Vicki and Adam. Her adult novels A severed wasp and a Live coal at sea did not do much for me even though I liked some of the characters.

I became an Episcopalian while at SJSU. The Canterbury church really helped me to heal after I went through near death and heartbreak. Madeline's son -in -law Alan Jones was dean of Grace Catherdral but I never met him. What happened to Polly did she ever go to medical school? We know that Suzy married Josiah but what of Adam and Vicki? They said that Madeline was working on another O'keefe murray book this time about Meg. Now there will be no more Murray O'Keefe books.

Madeline is gone. I think of the poem by William Stafford

"Vacation"

One scene as I bow to pour her coffee:--

Three Indians in the scouring drouth
huddle at a grave scooped in the gravel,
lean to the wind as our train goes by.
Someone is gone.
There is dust on everything in Nevada.

I pour the cream

Is this what Jim Morrison who people said i may be related to saw in his vision as a little boy?( Don't laugh but both of us share the same crazy hair and the same Scotch-Irish bloodline and maybe members of the Morrison family clan, but too far removed to be more than a distant relation)Besides only the older generation remembers The Doors anyway.

Madeline, I remember reading and falling in love with your books. You are now at peace and surrounded by white light. One day I'll meet you and I'll find out what happened to Polly and Adam and Vicki.

Thing #23: Thoughts about School Library 2.0

2007-08-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. I made it finally. Our district Library and technology encouraged all of us ( 7 K-5 LMTS, 3 6-8, 3 high school) to do this. She promised us incentives if we completed it and I am competitive I love challenges. I also feel so technophobic and feel like I am a tech idiot compared to my other colleagues so I thought it would be something neat for me to try to learn. Two of my colleagues completed it way before me, but I was also teaching 3rd grade summer school so I had to go at a slower pace. Thanks to their comments of encouragement and those of other library 2,0 team members, I can now join the team.

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?

setting up a blog was so cool and neat. My husband even decided to make one, but did not update like I did
Making images using imagechef, image generator, adding images to my posts
Making trading cards
Cataloging on Library Thing
Playing with You Tube, watching videos, and inserting them
getting comments from others including two of my favorite authors
Showing my husband and colleagues that even though I am not a tech goddess I can do it
networking more with other LMTS in my district

2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?

I did an online class through Chapman and hated it. I also hated video generated classes. I never thought that I would get into an Online class like I did with this one. I was constantly checking my blog for comments and was even able to teach my tech god husband a thing or too and he says that I should not call myself a media pspecialist or teacher because I always need help. This program really built up my confidence that I could do it. I never thought I would get past week 2 because I had trouble with my avator. I also got to know two of my colleagues better. I am now thinking of teaching blogging to seniors as I don't know if I can do it with my students yet but maybe adults.

3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? I never thought that my husband would make a blog. My colleagues have created a LMT and lesson plan exchange blog that is helping me to learn more ideas since we can't always meet all the time. I even was able to share some of my ideas with them which for me was a plus as I always felt inferior because I don't have their tech skills. I learned about things like Wikis, and rss feeds that I never knew existed. I plan on continuing my blog.

4.What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept? I would prefer just thing numbers instead of weeks. Weeks maybe me feel like I was really behind.

5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
I feel so inferior and like a tech idiot compare to the other LMTS in my district. This discovery program really gave me the confidence to try new things. I would definately do it again.
6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities
Awesome. It gave this tech newbie alot of self-confidence.

I don't know how ready and confident I feel about teaching blogging to students, but I will continue to maintain my blog and also blog with the others LMTS in my district and show my colleagues and administrators my blog. Thank you for a wonderful class. i will also post comments to others that really encoraged me to keep going.

week #9: thing #22 E-Books and Audio Books

2007-08-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

I think that audio books are great for ESL students, Special day students, and those that are visually impaired. They are even better when they can be use along with the book to see the words and view the pictures. Some of the other LMT's that I work with record books. I am not into making cd-roms for books. Many students don't have a way of listening to them at homeat least in my population and I don't want to have to keep track or replace if lost. I do not by audiobooks unless its a core novel for a grade level. I have a few but they don't get checked out much because our resource room and reading room also have collections. I wonder though if listening to a book is like reading Cliff notes instead. Is the author reading word to word or is it abridged?

There are some e-books sites that I have used for students like

These sites are active with pictures and texts. I could see e-books as a great choice to get kids to read more because they love computers or also if you need a book for class and bookstore is sold out and library does not have anymore. I have read e-books, but I prefer a print copy in case I want to lay down and read can't do on a PC.

Week #9 Thing #21 Podcasts

2007-08-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

For me this was the worst and most unpleasant activity so far for Library 2.0. I spent several hours on yahoo podcasts and I did not find one thing that interest me. I typed in every topic that I even had the slightest interest in and every time I placed a podcast it put me to sleep. I am not an audio person. I do not listen to cd-roms and I will not play any because I always scratch and ruin cd's and my husband gets mad. I don't even like to listen to music nor do I own an ipod or cd player. I used to have a cassette player but it broke and they don't make them anymore. I could see podcasts working for someone who likes to listen to audio, but not me I listen to the radio in the car and that's about it. I also am not into itunes either, because my music is limited to listening to the radio in the car. I could see itunes useful for aerobics instructors making their own music. Maybe if I become a water aerobics instructor, I may have use for it, but since I'm not really into music I would have no idea what songs to even pick. Yes, I still use VHS's because i am afraid that I'll scratch DVD's as I have already ruined one.

I could see kids maybe enjoying podcasts to talk about something they posted on the web or a report, but they would have to ask another teacher for help because audio is not something I enjoy. I also read about Vodcasts. Maybe that's something I'll explore more because I am more a visual person.

The Library

2007-08-05T22:44:00.001-07:00

Thanks to my colleague CRV for sharing this. The kids will never say the library is boring again.

Week #9: Thing #20:You tube

2007-08-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

They say video killed the radio star. I don't know about that because I had too much fun. I commute about 50 miles to work everyday and I listen to the Bone 107.7. Sometimes they do paradies of popular songs like " Dirty Deeds Done with Sheep for AC/DC's Dirty Deeds done dirt cheap, "Curry and Rice Girl" for Hullaback girl, and "The Devil went to Jamaica" for Charlie Daniles The devil went down Georgia. I thought the songs were funny, and on You tube I actually found the videos, I was laughing silly.

When I was in high school, we used to love babysitting at someone's house who had MTV. I had a blast from the past going through You tube and finding videos that I used to love to watch in high school. With all the reality shows on MTV, I don't watch it anymore. Now that I know about You Tube, I can always find videos I like or used to love. You Tube is also a great tool, if a patron comes to the library and asks for information on a video. For example: How many times has Dolly Patron's song "Jolene" been made into a music video? Go to You Tube to find the answer

On to the library side of things, I found the Conan the librarian video to be cool. Every year I show my first graders the Reading Rainbow video Alistar in Outer Space and it has a Conan the Librarian cartoon clip. Maybe this will empower students to learn the Dewey Decimal System or to return books on time. Library Dominoes reminded me of the wild dreams a kid has on playing dominoes with library books. As a kid, I would play with my grandparents dominos and try to do the domino effect. i also remember the question I got right on the MSAT, that communism was like a domino effect. Once the Berlin wall came down, it was the end to communism in Eastern Europe. I think the only communist countries left are: Cuba, Laos, China, Vietnam, and North Korea.

My favorite of all that I have to share is the 1987 Betty Glover Library Workout Tape ad. This was hilarious and brought me back down memory lane to things we don't see anymore like the old phonograph and card catalogs. Good for teaching library history ha!ha! Great 80's music too.

Week #8 Thing # 19 Check out Library Thing

2007-08-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at Craigslist and a local nursing home was looking for someone to help catalog their collection of 200 books. Wow maybe I should email them about Library thing. One of my colleagues told me that I should give my tech god husband a name. Problem is there is no goddess of books in mythology Athena/Minerva, the goddess of wisdom is the closest. The only one that could be close to technology I think could be the Roman god, Janus, god of gates, doors, and new beginnings. Maybe new beginnings is technology and there have always been Luddites and neo-Luddites who were and are against it. Well I'll just me the goddess of books and my husband can be the tech god or god of technology.

Well back to Library thing. I looked up a few young adult books that are near and dear to me. The White Mountains by John Christopher. I read all of his books in the Tripod Series (When the Tripods came, The White Mountains, City of Gold and Lead, and Pool of Fire..This series is so similar to The Matrix movies. This book was introduced to me in library school as a coming of age book. Will lives in futuristic England, he is about to be "capped" ( when children become adults they receive a metal cap on their head and are slaves to the Tripods), but he decides to make a joruney to the White Mountains (Switerzland) where he will be free. 364 others chose it too.

Books I like that deal with American Indians teens are: DogWolf by Alden Carter and A Woman in her Tribe by Margaret A. Robinson. Annette and Pete are mixed bloods who live both in the white world and Indian world. They both are unsure about their place in society until their elderly Grandparents help them to find that link. Both of these books are special to me, because Annette is a Nookta from Canada and Pete is Metis ( mixed blood French and Indian). In Canada, I was considered to be Metis. The books are not so well-known because Dogwolf only has 5 others choosing it and A Woman in her Tribe only has one other.

I have always been fascinated with the Falashas (Ethiopian jews). I am not Jewish, but my first teaching job was at a Jewish school and I have some dear eldery friends who are Jewish. I met a Falasha at SJSU who adopted by an American rabbi and his wife. The Return by Sonia Levitin follows Josas, Desta, and Alamaz as they escape from Ethiopia to Israel. The most powerful scene in the book is the end. Operation Moses has stopped. Desta goes to the Wailing Wall and prays and feels touched by God. She feels that she has returned home. The Falashas believe that they are descendants of the Queen of Sheba and are often called Queen of Sheba's heirs. Only chosen by 11 others.

Last on my list is Summer Hawk by Deborah Savage. Taylor hates leaving Philadelphia for the country town of Alton, Pennsylvania. She finds an injured baby hawk and forms a friendship with a wildlife biologist and a boy she can't stand at first and learns about love, forgiveness, and raptors. Only chosen by 5 others.

I showed this to my Techgod. He was amazed and things maybe we can catalog our home library collection. He was like wow there even are pictures of some books and maybe you could swap the book with someone. This tool could be used for Classroom teachers to catalog their classroom libraries. Also many schools have reading incentives contests. Why not have students set up a library thing catalog and catalog the books as they read them along with writing a short summary for each book?

Week 8 Thing #18 Online Productivity Zoho

2007-08-02T00:10:00.001-07:00

Oh Wow! This was so easy to do. i set up an account in Zoho and use their word processor. Very similar to word. here is my post it worked. Next I'll try a spread sheet

I asked my tech god husband if he ever heard of ZOHO. He said no. He also said why bother with it just send documents as attachements. I explained to him that if I am not at my computer at home I can get the document from anywhere as long as its in ZOHO. I have had trouble emailing documents from new computers to old computers so hopefully Zoho will make them easier to read. It also will be easy for students to access files they make in school at home as long as they have internet access.

Week #7 Thing #17 Sandbox

2007-07-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

It was neat getting to look at some of the other curriculum ideas for other school library 2.0 topics. I posted Idea #32 I will have my students research topics like planets, states, animals, california history. They have to create a report and list sources. Other students can go into wiki and add things that they learn. For example:
Students could compile facts on a wiki that they know about an animal or planets. Other students could add facts as they find them out.

I could also see using wikis for kids to post questions that they think are on an exam and have other kids try to answer them. Teachers throughout the district could also post lesson plans tips and ideas on a wiki and that way others could get ideas without having to go to meetings. I could also see wikis used for student council meetings. Kids could read others idea and comment if they like or not.

What do we know about Pluto?
- It was discovered in 1930.
-It is very cold, because its far away from the sun.
It takes 248 years to orbit the sun, so a year on Pluto is 48 years.
Sometimes Pluto is closer than Neptune
Pluto has three moons. Two are small, but one Charon is just as large as Pluto.

Wikis could also be used for debating pros and cons and answering questions without knowing their identify. For example, we could discuss what will happen in 2012 when the space probe makes it to Pluto, why or why not we could live on Pluto, what would life on Pluto be like.

Week #7 Thing #16 Wikis

2007-07-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight it was my nephew's 28th birthday. He is a high school history teacher. Interesting how we got into a converstaion about Wikipedia. Many students use it thinking it will give them information for their research. The problem is anyone can make a wikipedia entry. Do some searches on Wikipedia you can find articles about private schools you thought no one knew about or even information about authors I like such as Susan Grant or Angela Knight. I know that I am not their only fan or the only one who reads their books. The neat things about Wikipedia is that if you look under External links you can actually find more reliable websites that may have more accurate information.

What is a Wiki? Well School Library Learning 2.0 defines it as "A wiki is a collaborative website and authoring tool that allows users to easily add, remove and edit content". That might be fun to try, maybe if I ever have time to spare, i'll edit and add some new information on my favorite authors.

I liked looking at some of the school wikis. Wikis could be a fun tool for maybe upper elementary and up to use to list information they know and then edits as they learn. If students are doing an animal or planet report they could list what they think is the answer to a question, then as they explore they can also make a bibliography lists websites they use to find the answers. I think it might also be fun for students to read a wiki on a famous person, then do research and see what they can add or delete.

Problems I see with Wikis are they could be time consuming especially if students have no internet access at home and also if someone does not like someone they could delete and change their information. I really enjoyed looking at Wiki's a beginner ways and how they summed up pros and cons.
Pros ( easy to use, anyone can make changes, flexible and expandable, )
Cons ( disorganzed, vandalism and spam, too open, not enough control). I also like the mention that Wikis we not for everyone. To me they are fun to read, but I will not use information from a Wiki like Wikipedia for my report.

I decided to add the Wiki Way graphic. To me, it means that there are different ways we may use Wikis. I would use a Wiki to get some basic information and to lead me to more reliable sources. I also feel it is important that students know that Wikipedia is not a reliable reference tool, but may lead you to reliable references.

New book by Susan Grant is out of this world

2007-07-28T18:38:00.000-07:00

How to Lose and Extraterrestial in 10 days by Susan Grant

Our hero
You are kidnapped as a young child taken away from a planet and turned into a REEF(Robotically Engineered Enemy Fighter). You are a terminator like human with bio implants and computer in you. You are a deadly assassin trained to kill with no memories of your past. Your mission to kill someone who has escaped to Planet Earth fails. Your internal computers are down, your formers employers want you dead, and the men in black want you. Your cyberpowers are gone, and you are now a weak earthling.

Our heroine

You think of yourself as the family blacksheep. Your sister is a California State Senator, your brother is married to a Queen. You are a junior college dropout, who got knocked up at age 19. Your cheating ex-husband left you and your 2 kids. Now your fledging chocolate business is mistaken as a money laundering mob business. You need a bodyguard. Your sister and her husband who the REEF tried to kill want you to shelter an alien hitman. You doubt he will last ten days with you and your two teenagers. You are desperate. He is incredibly sexy.

What happens when a divorced thirty-something soccer mom and an former killing machine who is now remembering his past get together? This final book in the Outwordly men series is the best. Mom may even let high school girls read it because it has romantic scenes but not hard-core steamy sex. As if Roswell, New Mexico and Hangar 18 fascinate you, you may enjoy and find answers to where what is in hanger 18 came from.

Book #1 Your Planet or Minehad a silly cover and was humorous.
Book #2 My favorite Earthling had a lot of steamy love scenes and showed that sex does sell. Book #3 How to lose an extraterrestial in ten daysis the best yet, lots of romance, great plot, great story, alien technology, action, and suspense. You will love Evie and REEF and their chemistry.

Week #6 Thing #15: Perspectives on Web 2.0 The future of Libraries

2007-07-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

A few months before I graduated from SJSU with an MLIS (1999), I had to undergo the dreaded 9 weeks culminating experience. For those of you who don't know what that is. You have 9 weeks to research two topics and write 2 up to 20 pages papers. One of my papers interestingly enough dealt with library schools elminating the word "library" from their names. I ended my paper with the following concluding paragraph :

There are no answers at this moment. Library schools need to help their current and prospective graduates to be part of the chnaging environment brought on by technology. The most successful method is notknown. However, it is recognized that technology will give birth to a new breed of librarians in the nextcentrut. the librarian is not dead. Long live the librarian!!!

Ironically, my other paper was entitled Digital Libraries: The Impact on the Future of the Library and Libraians. One book that has had an impact on me is J Mander (1991) In absence of the sacred; the failure of technology and survival in the Indian Nations. The first paper I wrote in library school was called "Technology and employment: Good or bad?". i concluded: "If we look back into history, there has always been technology and it has always harmed and benefitted society. Among the animal kingdom, humans have always stood apart bec ause oftheir ability to gain and use knowledge, Without this ability to develop and use a great deal of tehcnology, humans would never be where we are today".

Written in 1999, 8 years ago. Now we are in 2007, the 21st century is here. Web 2.0, a concept taht includes blogs, wikis, and podcasting is here. I just finished reading an article not on the list that my district library and technology director gave me several months ago (Derringer, P. (2007). Making the most of New Media: Library 2.0 Scholastic Administrator48-52. I also looked at Wikipedia 2.0 and Harris, Christopher. (2006) School Library 2.0, School Library Journal, May 1, 2006.

One problem that I find as an LMT is that too many kids rely on the Internet for all their information. I have also seen lots of plagarism. One of the kids in the GATE program had an article on pandas in the Gate newsletter. It sounds too good to be written by a 4th grader. i typed in one sentence using Google and voila! I found that the article was plagarized to the max. It was not the students work at all. It was just copied directly from the Internet. Sadly, this shows that students know longer think for themselves. i informed the GATE teacher and principal nothing happened. The student moved away.

As an LMT, I need to not only update my library website to serve my users from home but in my lessons include teaching both old methods for research and new technology resources. Not that easy to do in a forty minute block which is actually about 20 if you give students time to check out books. i tried collaborating with teachers but many either don't want to make the time or are technophobic. To me Library 2.0 means that the library I work in needs to also be technofriendly and I need to use and teach both print and online to my patrons.

Week #6, Thing #14: Explore Technorati and learn how tags work with blog posts

2007-07-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

When I first looked at Technorati in Week #4, I didn't like it, but now that I got to play with it a little more my opinions changed. When I searched School library learning 2.0 in blogs, I picked up some blogs of others doing the school library learning 2.0 course. A tag search basically only picked up words like 2.0.

I explored the popular blog searches and of course Harry Potter came up. Would you believe that i have never read any Harry Potter. I saw the movies. Harry Potter just does not interest me. Maybe because I don't like reading thick books about 300 pages to 4oo is my limit. I like Philip Pullman's His dark Materials trilogy and can't wait till Golden Compass comes out as a movie. I did find the technorati help site to be very informative and explain lots of blog terms to me. Its fun looking at blogs and if I was looking for a specific blog I might used technorati, but blogs don't always have the information that I would need to do research. I did a search on my blog and it came up. It said no authority yet. Wonder what that means.

Problem with tagging is that it's not structured. I find it easier if I want to search for something to find it with a google search. I enjoy blogging but not sure yet if I want to register with techorati and claim it. I also think we need to be careful when having students search as I did get some not so nice sites.

Week #6, Thing #13: Learn about Tagging and discover Del.icio.us

2007-07-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is not going to well. The 12 minute tutorial for Del.icio.us is not working. I keep getting an error message. Then I went and looked at SJLibrarylearnings 2 account.
New tools for learning: workshop resources had a lot of great links even though I don;'t know what some of the terms like Wiki mean yet. I read about the five must powerful social bookmarking services and some interesting comments about Del.icio.us were: that it was the most popular, you could put your tags in alphabetical order, and that it offered what average user needed.

I like the idea that I can save all of my favorite bookmarks and bookmarks that I find useful for the students and not worry about losing them when a computer is upgraded. I tried to set up a del.icio.us account but had problems with user name and password. Maybe i am just too tired so I'll try again tomorrow.

Week 5 Thing #12: Rollyo

2007-07-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

I Did it!!! I am halfway done with school library 2.0. Each time I say its too hard and then I try to do the tasks and they get easier. Its been hard for me because I am teaching summer school to 3rd graders that don't want to be there and I don't have alot of time to spend, but hey I have until September to get this done. I will get done maybe not as fast as others but I will get there.

Rollyo may work for others who always go to more specific sites. I tend to use google I need. If I want something safe for kids I'll use kids click, Google safe search or yahooligans. I usually can find everything I need via google. Going to library school and working in a public library plus being a numbut has helped me to search through websites found by google and find things fast.

I could see rollyo working if I want my students to only look and search on specific websites for example like animal, state, or planet reports. Maybe I'll play around more with Rollyo and set up some good search pathfinders in the fall. Right now I'm happy just using google.

I did one week in several hours now on to week #6.

Week 5 Thing #11 Web 2.0 Lists

2007-07-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun making images that I decided to add a poll. My husband was very amazed. He thought my license plate and Alien were neat. He doesn't know how simple they are to make.

Web 2.0 lists

I am a big user of craigslists. I find lots of neat info, job leads, and I also can post ads for my CPR & First aid business for free. Glad to see craigslist is a winner. I have also used YELP for health club and doggie daycare reviews, and you tube to watch music videos. I am such a numbut that I don't watch much tv. Yahoo answers was neat to explore because it helped answer some silly reference questions I had about online cpr/first aid training, bad checks, and poisoning for pets. I liked looking at the short list because it saved me time getting to what I needed.
I am the kind of person that if a category does not interest me i may or may not glance at it.

NING
I hate being called a librarian or media specialist. I prefer the term LMT (Library Media Teacher) because i am a teacher. hey I also have a multiple and single subject and have taught at all three levels K-5, 6-8, and 9-12. I also was not sure what NING was so i looked at one of my fellow LMT's website and the definition that they got was (Wikipedia said, "Ning is an online platform for creating social websites and social networks. The websites running on its service are built in standard PHP and the platform itself is built in Java").

In the past I joined some yahoo groups but found that I got more junkmail then i wanted. At least with Teacher-Librarian NING I can just check on to see if I get mail and I also thought it was cool that I could add my avator as my picture. One of the fellow LMT's in my district also joined. It may be neat to meet some new friends and share ideas. Who knows maybe it could also lead to job links if every decide to move. One day we will have to because our one bedroom condo is getting too small for two of us and a dog and we do want a child. Now I may be even more of a numbut with teacher-librarian ning.

Week #5 : Thing #10 -Online Image generator

2007-07-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

I tried www.imagenerator.org It was easy to use and insert different text. The only problem was that I did not find a lot of images that i liked. One of my favorite tween/teens author is Madeline L'engle. I read A swiftly Tilting Planet in 5th grade. My sister and I fought over who could keep the book in their room because we liked it so much. The time quintet consists of five books.
I found the first two A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door hard to read.A Swiftly Tilting Planet is my favorite. Charles Wallace travels back in time on a unicorn, goes back into other people's lives and changes things for the better. Many Waters goes back to the the time of Noah's Ark and An Acceptable Time goes back to the ancient druids. Madeline L'Engle is still alive at age 89.

I also tried www.imagechef.com As you can see i made a license plate from my home state with my tribe's name. This could be a neat activity for the kids to do when doing state reports as they may not know what the license plate from another state looks like. I remember the old road trip game of trying to keep track of what different license plates cards had. Wonder why there was not a California one?

I made a trading card in a earlier post with Flickr toys.

Comic strip generator was also fun. I could see making signs in the media center or classroom and also having the students make a saying for their character. I had a lot of fun with this exercise. I was not into images before this, but now had a blast making new things.

Thing #9 Week 4 Locate a few useful School Library elated blogs/ newsfeeds

2007-07-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Jude is a very creative blog, but then again it looks like she has a background in digital media. I also liked the have fun with english 2 ! blog from portugal. Both have lots of eye catching graphics. Maybe one day my blog will get that good. Who knows!

Feedster needs to change their color scheme. The btight green drives my eyes crazy.
Topix.net is good for city searches. i typed in several Alameda county cities and got neat information. Syndic8.com did not appeal to me tried to type in school libraries got nothing. Technorati ok searches worked fine. Google Blog search ( the best, simplest and easy to use my first choice)Blog pulse also easy to use but font is small. I also watched Technorati tutorial. It made more sense, but i think I will stick to Google Blog search. Its easy and simple for me to use and since I also have google reader why not keep everything the same!!! It was neat to do a search on school library learning 2.0 and get to see others blogs that i missed. Well i am halfway there soon to start Week #5.

Week #4, Thing #8: Learn about RSS feeds and set up a blog reader account

2007-07-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication. I set up a Google reader account because I found it to be the easiest to use and the videos actually made sense to me. Each week I say that I am never going to make it through this course because it is getting hard and then I figure it out. I set up feeds to three of my co-workers blogs and also for three authors that i like. I probably will link up more authors and co-workers. I find RSS to be a time saver, because unless I have time to search and remember the URLS for everyone's blog I don't get to read everything and often spend more time reading when I finally do have some free time.

I think RSS can be used in the classroom. If the teacher assigns students to do blogs it makes it easy to check to see that the students are doing the work without having to remember to type in each URL. Google reader is very simple to use. I tried loading webistes to google reader but had problems I'll have to look at it more ro learn how.

Angela Knight: Mageverse books

2007-07-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

I found Angela Knight by accident. I read Christine Feehan's Dark Secret and the genealogy chart said that Rafael De La Cruz's brother Riordan had a story in the anthology Hot Blooded. Hot Blooded also had a novella by Angela Knight called "Seduction's Gift". I did not like it at first--too many sex scenes and I did not get the plot, but then when I picked up Masters of the Night, things made more sense.

Angela Knight created the Mageverse world. She gave a twist to the King Arthur legend. her Merlin is an alien from another planet who traveled to earth to find protectors, men and women who would give anything to protect everything. When men drink from the holy grail they become Magi (vampires) and women become Majae ( witches). The Mageverse Earth has Avalon, the city for Magi and Majae, dragons, the Sidhe (faerie) and dragons. They can gate to earth. Merlin also created the Direkind ( shapeshifting werewolves) who live on earth if the Magi and Majae get out of control. These magical characters can live forver if they don't get killed. Magi and Majae can reproduce with humans. Their offspring become Latents. Not all latents can become Magi or Majae and some remain mortal.

"Seduction's Gift", features Lancelot and the granddaughter of Morgana La Fray. Master of the Night is about an American Magi that has been around since George Washington's time. Master of the Moon is the story about Llyr, king of the faeries, and Diana London, a Direkind, who is also a city manager on Mortal Earth. Master of Wolves features another Direkind, Diana's brother Jim who masquerades as a police K9 to investigate a corrupt police departement. Two AnthologiesBite features "Galahad", a story about one of King Arthur Knights now Magi and Over the Moon features another Direkind romance. Master of Swords features another one of Arthur's Knight Gawain and his dragon friend Kel who is trapped in a sword.

The newest book Master of Dragons is the most exciting. Kel, the dragon knight, is now out of the sword and lving as a human in Avalon. He has to travel to earth to rescue Nineva, who is half Sidhe, half human. This book takes us to earth, the dragonlands, the Sidhe kingdom, and Avalon and we meet characters who have been in all books again.

Mrs. Knight is the wife of a police officier and a former reporter. She is an erotic fantasy writer. Her books are steamier than Susan Grants books and for adults only. They are fun to read.

Thing #7: Anything about technology that interests me

2007-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

I think blogs are neat. Three of my co-workers are also doing Library 2.0 and it is so neat to learn more about people by reading their blogs. It is also so cool to get comments. i wrote to one of my favorite authors Pc Cast and told her about my blog and she viewed it and left a comment. I am enjoying checking out my blog and reading comments that others write. it makes me feel special that someone else is reading my blog. Don't laugh but until I took this course I never knew how easy and fun it would be to make a blog.

I am also having fun with trading card maker. I can share and write about pictures that I like. Blogging is now one of my favorite things

Thing #6: Flickr Fun

2007-07-06T23:59:00.001-07:00

Wow I made a trading card!!! I love teaching American Red Cross Pet First Aid and CPR for dogs and cats. It helps that my Milo doggie had two eating emergencies, one choking, one dog fight, and one bleeding dew claw and I knew what to do until I got help for him. I am an instructor for both American Red Cross and American Heart Association. My next goal is to become a red cross babysitting instructor as right now I can teach all lay levels of first aid and CPR.

I think next fall my students could make mission, state, animal or famous people trading cards. That is if I can figure out how to explain how to make trading cards

thing #5: Flickr

2007-06-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Still exploring and trying to figure this out. I hate taking pictures, because I have Keratoconus which is a deterioration of the structure of the cornea with gradual bulging from the normal round shape to a cone shape. This condition causes decreased visual acuity. It is frequently discovered during adolescence( from medline plus, 2007). I am supposed to wear hard contact lens, but I never get up in time to put them in and my eyes get too tired. Well I'll have to ask my tech god husband for help, because his other hobby is photography.

Well believe it or not i played around with flickr. I downloaded one of my husband's pictures from Chichen Itza. Flickr is neat because you can share photos.

Favorite Susan Grant Books

2007-06-24T18:19:00.000-07:00

Susan Grant is not for high school students or below. Mom and dad will probably not like the steamy love scenes and hot sex, but for adults who want to curl up and relax she's a good read. I don't know about you, but I like to escape from reality after a hectic week. I like to lie in my nice comfortable bed and curl up into an imaginative world and escape into the paranormal, futuristic universe. I have authors who are my stress relievers so I want to share them with other women who may need a dose of them too.

I love The Star Princess by Susan Grant. Independent film maker Ilana Hamilton and Vash Prince Che' Vedla get together so he can take a vacation away from his home world. A second romance has bodyguard Muffin Thorme falling for plus size aviation mechanic Copper Kaminsky. The other two books in the Star series The Star King have Ilana's mother Jasmine meeting Rom B'Kah, a man from outer space and falling in love again divorced and in her 40's. The Star Prince is about Ilana's twin Ian and a runaway Vash princess and has a secondary romance between tracker Lara Ros and warrior Gan.
Susan is an United Airlines pilot and former airforce pilot. I got to meet her and I have emailed her and she wrote me back several times. I also like her book The Scarlet Empress which is the last book in the 2176 series and am eagerly awaiting How to lose an extraterrestial in ten days,. Divorced woman meets terminator type on the run ET. This is the third in Outwordly men series. In Your Planet or mine, California State Senator Jana Jasper meets her childhood imaginery friend Cavin Far Star and in My favorite Earthling, Janna's older Air Force pilot brother Jared marries Warrior Queen Kiera to try to save earth. The third and final book in the series features Janna's older sister Evie, a divorced thirty-something soccer mom.

Her paranormal aviation romances are fun to read and relax to. If you like flying, outer space, and romance. Susan grant who lives near Roseville, CA is an author for you. Visit her website at www.susangrant.com

Thing #4: My Avator

2007-06-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thing #4: My Avator

Why are avators all skinny? Some of us our plus size. I tried to find a plus size avator. I'm not that plus of a size. I am between a 16 and 18 and I do occasional jean modeling for www.zafu.com so I can tell you there are lots of jeans out there for larger sizes. I am only between 1/4 to 1/8 American Indian and even though I pass for white I consider myself to be American Indian ( i prefer first nations). I wear my hair short so i can manage it and I do wear glasses. I love bookstores, libraries and reading. I also love my doggie Milo. He is mixed yellow lab and shepard. i adopted him from Hopalong animal rescue he was abused but i am giving him a good life. I must love him I spend a fortune in doggie daycare and when he got sick I had a vet bill of $600. The doggie day care I use is Just Pet Me country Club in Oakland CA ( www.justpetme.com) they are almost 8000 square feet and they have awesome hours M-F 5:30am to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday (7am to 7Pm)

It took me forever to get my avator in my blog and i had to ask my tech god husband for help. I choose blogger.com because it was easy to use.

Thing #3: My BlogThing

2007-06-22T14:22:00.000-07:00

Thing #3: My Blog

Wow!!! I just read PC Cast's Goddess of Love. Imagine you are just an average woman and you have a crush on a handsome firefighter who does not notice you are alive! Imagine that you are a goddess in a loveless marriage or a god unsure of yourself because you don't fit in with all the other immortals! Venus, the goddess of love, tries to help shy, insecure Pea snag Griffin but starts to fall for him herself. Vulcan, the god of fire, spys on Venus to see what she is up to and learns about the mortal world. He's an outcast in the world of perfect immortals but on mortal earth he's getting alot of attention from females. Can immortals and mortals find happiness together? Will Pea snag her handsome firefighter? Will the goddess of love and the god of fire emd their marriage of convience? Lots of fun and playful romance in this book, be warned there are some steaming love scences. Its a great relaxing book!

I love fantasy and paranormal novels. My favorite authors are Susan Grant, Catherine Spangler, Angela Knight, and PC Cast. I also like Christine Feehan and Sunny along with sci fi author Orson Scott Card. I love books so I decided to call myself the Goddess of Books. I am a cross between Athena , goddess of wisdom ( I love owls and turtles) and Nike, goddess of victory.

I went to blogger.com and am learning about creating a blog. I am also finishing up Masters of Dragons by Angela Knight and getting lost in the Mageverse world, the Sidhe world, and dragon kingdom. The next read I am waiting for is Christine Feehan's Safe Harbor #5 in the Drake sisters series. The Drake sisters are 7 with magical powers. Visit www.christinefeehan.com to learn more. She also has teasers to advertise her books. They are so neat. My first Drake sisters novel was Oceans of Fire ( the cover took my breath away). Then I read Twilight before Christmas, Magic in the Wind, and Dangerous Tides. I tried to get into the Dark series but only have managed to enjoy the ones about the De La Cruz brothers so far. I read "Dark Hunger", a novella in HOT BLOODED that also introduced me to Angela Knight. Then I read Dark Secret. I like Natalia's Character, she was a real warrior woman, and read Dark Demon. I am eagering waiting Dark Possession, which will be coming out this fall. Manolito De La Cruz had a minor role in Dark Demon as does Gabriele and Jubal Sanders who appeared in a novella "Dark Descent" in The Only One, which also contains a prequel novella called "The Star Queen" by Susan Grant. As I read Safe Harbor, I'll blog more about Christine Feehan.

Thing #2 : Pointers from Lifelong Learners

2007-06-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

Thing #2: Pointers from Lifelong Learners

Wow I am always learning. My latest learning experiences are learning how to create a blog and I am also trying to be an Aqua Goddess. I like doing water aerobics so I also am hoping to become a water aerobics instructor. My problem is Life long Learning habit #4: I do not have confidence in myself as a competent effective learner. Sometimes I give up to easy. For example: I was up for hours trying to insert my avator. My technology god husband figures it out so easy and then my Tech god decides he can learn how to make a blog too. I am still struggling working on one while my tech god is already making a second one.

I also need to work on Life long Learning Habit #6: using technology to my advantage. I have a hard time using and teaching technology to others. My fellow LMT's do a lot more with their classes then I do. but I did teach netsmartz, ISAFE, and some email this year so I am getting better.

One lifelong learning habit I do well at is #3 I view problems as challenges. I never give up. As Mark Twain said " Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond. Califlower is only cabbage with a college education". I never give up in whatever I do even if it takes me longer than most people.

Thing #1: Library Learning 2.0

2007-06-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Thing #1: Library Learning 2.0
Our District Library and technology Director thought this would be a neat thing for all of us to do ( we have 7 k-5 LMTS, 3 6-8 LMTS, and 2 HS LMTS). She also hinted at a prize if we complete the 23 things. I love challenges. I will succeed!!! I read blogs that my favorite authors Pc Cast, Susan Grant, and Angela Knight have so now I can learn to make a blog too. PC Cast has several books in the Goddess Summoning series:
Goddess of the Sea, Goddess of the Spring, Goddess of Light, Goddess of the Rose, and now Goddess of Love. I guess if I could be a goddess I would be Althena/Minerva goddess of wisdom and war ( but I prefer wisdom over war) or Nike/Victoria (goddess of Victory), but since I love to read books I will be the goddess of books.

I loved making webpages in library school so I think enjoy this too,

My First Nations name is tsiblenti okwa "Carry the Sky Woman". I am Lenni-Lenape (Delaware), Scotch-Irish, French, and Russian descent. I am a rainbow, a metis, a mixed blood.I have lived in Canada, United States, and one year in Glenfarg, Scotland. I have a Masters of Arts in Teaching Biological Sciences and a Masters in Library and Information science. I love books and call myself a bookworm. Right now I just finished reading Goddess of Love by PC Cast and Master of Dragons by Angela Knight. I love paranormal novels.

I was a high school biology teacher and a 6th, 7th and 8th grade Math and Science teacher. For the past 9 years I have been a Library Media Teacher. i taught Middle school and now I am happy to be at the Elementary Level. I love storytelling and puppets. I also am a numbut. I can surf the net forever. if you don't know what a numbut is visit http://www.netsmartzkids.org/.
I am really excited with my blog.