Faith, Hope, and Love

From this bunch, there were only one I hadn't seen: The Many Adventures of Winne the Pooh.  The rest I had seen at least once, although for some I was so young that I really only had vague memories and couldn't really have retold the plot in great detail. But vague or vivid, rewatching them brought me back to happier/simpler times and days... something sorely needed as we continue to navigate these uncertain times. Anyway... let's get to my quick recaps/reviews: Cinderella (1950): " Cinderelly, Cinderelly, night and day-a, Cinderelly... " I love this movie and had actually seen it on the big screen in January. It's the first Disney movie I ever saw and considering that this fairytale is probably one of the most re-told and re-imagined, Disney's version is a classic. Cinderella has a lot more spunk and wit than I remembered. And how can you not love the mice and the King and Grand Duke! Alice in Wonderland (1951): The version we had as kids had ...

I've gotten through about a decade of Disney movies and thought it'd be a good time to share my thoughts! From this set, I was unfamiliar with most of them and so had no nostalgic feelings or memories that I feared would be crushed. Anyway... here we go: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937) : For Disney's first movie, this one actually holds up. I like the songs, the Evil Queen is delightfully evil. I forgot she had a crow for a pet (and seems to set off the trend of villains always having some animal as a pet, often a bird). I also forgot that she dies by falling from a cliff. The dwarves were ridiculous and silly. Snow White was kind and compassionate, and somewhat dopey. But overall, for 1937... it's not a bad movie. It's a classic I'd share with my kids one day. Pinnochio (1940): So we all know the classic song, When You Wish Upon a Star  and I also had memories of I've Got No Strings to Hold Me Down , but other than that I didn't really...

So unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the world kind of got shut down by a little virus known as COVID-19. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and one minute we were toasting to 2020 and talking about "20/20 vision" and other puns, and the next minute we're holed up in our homes social distancing. I am single and live alone. And while I am thankful to be able to work remotely and also have a well-stocked library of books to keep me company, I also needed a little bit of levity and magic injected into my life. So equipped with a friend's Disney+ password, I decided to watch all the Disney Animated Studio films. Some basic guidelines about my list and viewing choices: The movie had to be produced by Disney Animation Studios. So this did not include sequels or A Goofy Movie (which are Disney Toon Studios) nor did it include a lot of live-action or hybrid movies (like Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks ). I would include Pixa...

Hi Guys, I know I've been pretty sporadic with my blogging over the years, but I am committing to gearing back up soon! As you know, I've chosen to leave teaching to pursue a career in publishing. The transition is going to be crazy, so I'm going to pause my blog until I feel settled in my new job and new city. Thanks for your patience and support! 

I already entered this week with a lot of anxiety, and having all sorts of sentimental nostalgic feelings because this week was my last official week in Houston. While I know I'll return to visit family and friends, I don't know if I'll be returning beyond a short-term stay ever again. So of course, I was (am) a bit of an emotional mess. But... everything seemed to conspire against me, and so far every day this week has held some disaster that has made making this transition just a *little* bit harder... Oh, and it didn't help that it rained pretty much THE. WHOLE. WEEK. #overit MONDAY:   I had my final doctor's appointment before my insurance expires (hello, unemployed life). I have been going to the same eye doctor for the last three years... didn't love her, but our school switched insurance groups a while back and the one I loved was no longer covered. But anyway... I show up to discover, once again, I'm no longer covered because we had had ano...

While I was in Nigeria in April, another assignment I left behind for students was for them to read three poems, and then write their own. All three poems had to do with the poets' views on being American:  "I Hear America Singing"  by Walt Whitman,  "I, Too, Sing America"  by Julia Alvarez and  "I, Too"  by Langston Hughes. I got the idea from examples of other student work online, like  this . Most of the kids resonated the most with the two "I, Too" poems and chose to write their own version representing a voice in America they feel is not often heard. Here's a few from kids who gave me theirs to publish... Response to  I, Too  by Isabela F.  I, too, sing America I know it's been said before but not in this voice. Of the Sandia and the guayaba of inglés con español Ay sí it's my turn to Oh say what I see I'm going to sing America inside me from the strellas of casta...

I have lived in a lot places in my life. And in my seven years in Houston, I have moved my stuff about five or six times... and now I'm doing all over again. This move is definitely the hardest. For one, I have no clue where I'll be moving to next. Everything is in storage for at least the next four months, and unlike the last two times I put stuff in storage, there is literally no plan of when or where it will all go. Secondly, this was by far my favorite place to live ever. And I realized I didn't take enough pictures, or invite enough people over. And... I'm scared that I'll never be able to create such a cozy and happy home again. When I moved in, my landlord made me a special key when I moved in because when we talked about the place I told him I loved to travel and that I taught World Cultures. It was the sweetest, and he and his wife have been awesome landlords these past few years. A friend helped me mount the top bookshelf (which I'm ...

Back in April, I had to miss two weeks of school to go to Nigeria and celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. Because it was National Poetry Month, one of the lessons was a throwback to a project we did during my student teaching days. First, the students read Maya Angelou's poem "Life Doesn't Frighten Me," and then write their own version of it. When we did this with the 4th graders, we had them "publish" their poems and created a class book with all of them in it. While I didn't have the time or resources to do the same thing with my 8th graders, a few of them gave me permission to share their poems here. Enjoy! Original poem by Maya Angelou:  Student Poems: Life Doesn't Frighten Me by Yancy D. Ghosts creeping on the walls Strange things at the mall Life doesn't frighten me at all. Sharks circling around Bad songs in soundcloud Life doesn't frighten me at all. A stylist cutting all my nails A barber cutting off my hai...

When I started teaching in the Fall of 2011, I didn't think I'd still be teaching seven years later. Being a teacher was a job I fell into, and while the choice wasn't made haphazardly, if I am being honest, it was made mostly out of desperation. I started this blog in 2010 after I was fired from my job as an editorial assistant at CURE magazine (I still feel it was somewhat a wrongful termination and that my inexperience was taken advantage of, but not the point of this post). I was lost, I was disillusioned, I felt like a failure and was positive I'd never be able to lift my head up again and take pride in the work I did. I spent the next year applying for jobs and getting very little responses of any kind. I wasn't qualified to receive unemployment, someone called Immigration on me (joke's on them, I'm a citizen), I took a myriad of tests to figure out what color my parachute was  or whatever, I applied to a bunch of MFA programs . I volunteered w...