Since the 4th of January, I have graded over 150 student projects, some of which are complex, multi-page things.  And I'm only part-time.   

I give damn good feedback.   Encouraging, constructive feedback.  I stay up late writing meaningful and useful comments.

I know there are other teachers here in the Forest.  Hey...

Ever pulled an all nighter grading papers?  

OR if you are a student, have you ever received words of praise or criticism that changed your entire self-assessment?

Welcome to ADF's Book Club

Happy Friday Everyone!! :)

I have been working on getting the book club up and running. I really do not have a clue to what I am doing, so please be patient if is random and senseless. (its just me and my silly way) I figured for now...we could talk about different genres of books and see where it goes. I would truly appreciate any ideas or thoughts you may have as well.

But I thought I would take the easy route this week and discuss VAMPIRE BOOKS.  Now I have to admit, I have never read a vampire book before Twilight.  I actually almost didn't read Twilight because it was a vampire book.   Do you all read vampire books? Do you have a favorite book and who is your favorite character in that book?  If you don't read them, why? What keeps you away from that genre? ( is it a genre?...idk)

oh and here is my cheesy graphic for the club. I really suck at graphics! lol

suggestions for books to read?  please come inside!

edit: thank you wtvoc for helping this campfire look so much better!

So how are you feeling today?

I feel kinda like this

or maybe this

Why?

It's sunny and currently 70 degrees out.  This is awesome!

I finished a chapter for my WIP yesterday.

I feel pretty awesome and that's good because most of the winter I've been feeling somewhere south of great, in the land of Meh.

Tomorrow will likely be a Meh kind of day.

It's going to be colder and  on Monday there will probably be another round of wintery weather. Ick!

So tell me how you're feeling in pics.

Is it a rainbows and kittens kind of day

Or is it more like this?

...or mother.

I was thinking about this when I was watering my plants today: what are the things that you learnt as a child that are kind of profound and every-day at the same time.

From my father: growing (learning) is important. From my mother: let the light in (about cleaning windows...)

What are yours?

SAG BLOCKS PATTINSON FROM ACCEPTING FIREMAN ROLE

"It was widely reported that actor Robert Pattinson was involved in talks with the producers for the upcoming remake of Towering Inferno last week. It all came to a halt today as the Screen Actors Guild stepped in between the hunk and the production company, virtually begging them to abandon the collaboration. In a private meeting with the actor, SAG president Ken Howard personally asked Pattinson to give up the role."

READ THE REST HERE

This blog never fails to make me laugh but I was in stitches over this one. Oh and y'all have to check out Dave-Ed, tears!

What have you read/seen lately that made you crack up? Please share!

So I've been having headaches and stomachaches lately that started to keep me home from school. I went to the doctor. He said " How much 

do you usually drink? I said " One almost every day."

He thinks I'm having caffeine withdrawls. So, He told me "Drink one every day for a week, then see how you feel."

What's the weirdest advice you've ever gotten from a doctor?

I am a sucker for a picture of a hot man with a baby.  

Anyone want to share their favs?

Mine in comments.  :-)

ETA:

Yeah, so this campfire is completely for eye candy.  You know you love it!  

I found a link where it led me to believe that the first two books were available - but I scrolled down and it's just the first 100 pages. Although this may be enough for all you ladies wondering if you should buy or go to the trouble of borrowing the books! And it's legal - no downloading necessary.
I'll also add in a link from where I watched them as well, but I'm sure there are other places that are just as good or better. (This is not necessarily "legal") And remember, the series picks up as it progresses.
 

Watch The Vampire Diaries; http://www.fastpasstv.com/tv/the-vampire-diaries/

Read The Vampire Diaries; http://browseinside.harperteen.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061140976&WT.mc_id=news_HipLit_March09

Ok..so I live in Wisconsin, and as many of you may know there is tons of drama going on here with Scott Walker wanting to cut-back on some of the benefits for teachers and other union workers...

Now I'm all for education and for having great teachers. I certainly had amazing teachers at my public school, who I know that even now, five years after graduation high school, I could still call any of them and they would help me if I ever needed it.

At the same time, why should union workers be immune to the bad economy? Nobody else has benefits and pay like them...they should be dealing with the same cut-backs as the rest of us.

It's so not black & white and I can see both sides.

What is your opinion? Should teachers and other union workers be given all of these benefits when nobody else gets them? Or do they deserve them because they are in positions that are important for the future of our kids?

First off ..

Happy birthday to anyone else who has their birthday today!!!

Yay, another year older and hopefuly wiser?

I'm stuck working on finishing up my undergrad dissertation, the highlight of my day is going to be cake and the newest vampire diaries episode... 

What are you all up to? Have any good songs you want to share? Any pictures to share? Any complaints?

Stop by for a chat =) 

This weekend in my town, something very cool is happening.  Since it's FFAF I thought I'd come share it with ya.......

It's the Alberta Pond Hockey Championships!!!

84 teams from all over the province meet here to compete on a frozen pond for the championship title.  The winning team then travels to Nova Scotia, Canada for the National Pond Hockey Championships. (Below is an aerial shot of the ice surfaces and some old posters - more pics inside.)

My husband plays hockey and is playing in this tournament - my oldest son plays Tom Thumbs hockey too (he's 5.5 yrs) - so spirits are high in our house this weekend.  Despite the crappy weather and cold.....it is -31 Celsius (-24 F)....players will still take to the ice and compete.  This hockey is 3 on 3, no refs, tiny nets.   There is a beer gardens set up in the warming tents and live bands playing throughout the day.

  It's a ton of fun.

So campers, to make this fun and interactive....Tell me about unique sporting events that your town hosts - pictures would be even better!  Then tell me your thoughts on all things hockey......are you a fan?  Do you have any players in your household?  What NHL team do you and your family cheer for?

(the correct answer to that last question is the Flames, btw =D)

So I'm in the process of packing/cleaning and need some pleasure of the ears.

What music do you like to listen to while you clean?

Or also what songs do you recommend for road trips.  I'm moving next Friday for OHIO!  

So I need some road trip tunes.  

SHARE AWAY MY FRIENDS!  HEHEHEH

So, um...I don't use Twitter much.  I'm sort of overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that passes over that network on a daily basis.  But, I'd like to start making more of an effort. Problem is, I'm not really sure who to follow.  I've already followed some of you here in the Forest, but I'm sure there are many more that I haven't.  So, I was thinking maybe we could use this campfire to exchange Twitter names.  I know this has been done before, but I think it's been a while.  Mine is inside.

Also, I'm pretty sure this is free for all Friday, but I haven't seen an official post yet, so I apologize if this campfire is not approved. 

So I recently recieved the Sex and the City box set, and have just finished re-watching all of them

Somehow I forgot how much I LOVED it

Mainly this man:

Mr Big!

My boyrfriend thinks it's odd, because he's pretty much old enough to be my dad, but I don't care!

So I want to know about your older man crush, who is the man, who is literally old enough to be your father, that you just adore

George Clooney?

Cary Grant?

Tim Roth?

Brad Pitt? 

post pics too :D

Happy Friday everyone! When you get the chance, please stop by and wish Wckdqueen a fantabulous birthday. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WCKDQUEEN!!!!!!

she doesn't enjoy her birthday too much, and i was hoping some of you could help her change her mind. post pics of rob, anything from the 80's, or just general birthday stuff!

thanks!

and happy friday!

I am currently ready and LOVING this fic. It's really really good and for my first HP fanfic it's weird that I am in to it considering it's HRMYN/CEDRIC fic.

I heard that there is a sequel for this story. Where can I find it? And is it complete??

I hadn't seen these before so I thought I'd share

Courtesy of breakingdawnmovie.org

more inside...

Hey everyone, it's been a while since my last campfire! Anyway this idea just came up, so bear with me:)

I read my first fanfiction october 2009, back then i didnt knw stories had summaries( i'm not stupid i just didnt knw how this worked), so one day i was sick and staying at home bored out of my mind, tired of reading the twilight books for the 7th time, i asked someone on nmm.org to rec me a fanfiction. she rec'd me 3, and i read all 3 in order, starting with Emancipation Proclamation. I didnt know what was the story about, so i was surprised even from the first chapter, i loved it. Not knowing what to expect made it more exciting(as if EP needs more excitment). Then I read CW&IA(again without reading the summary) and then Near You Always, after that I somehow stumbled upon wallbanger, and read all her recs, anyway the rest is history, bringing me to today! i just read my 315th just now. (i do have abt 40 fanfics that i didnt finish, a few of them are extremely famous, so i'll wont mention them cause i do consider it a crime)

SO you're probably wondering what is the challenge huh? the challenge is to rec someone a fic, just the name of the fic. The fic has to be good in YOUR opinion the person accepting the challenge is taking a risk, but that's the whole point.

Conditions: All stories have to be E/B, sorry i just cant read J/B (i did read the son of a preacher man, but that's about it). The rating doesnt matter either, im guessing everyone in fanfic is an adult so dont worry about rec'ing a M rating story. AND if you dont read T sorry im sure you'll survive if someone rec'd it to you. The person accepting the challenge cannot read the summary. AND the story can be anthing, a romantic story, heartfail, whatever that comes  to your mind.

Okay so I'm gonna post a comment and rec a story, and if you want to read it you just say challenge accepted. 

and please rec other stories, just one, again a name is enough. and if you want me to read a story just say it in the comment. this will be fun i promise you. You'll remember this fic after reading it. god knows i dont remember all the stories i've read(even though i hav a word doc of their names and their status, im a fanfic nerd what can i say:D)

im done rambling:)

What's your don't care? Something you know is a pet peeve/eyeroll/that's dumb for others but you on't care because you LOVE it?

Mine:

1. Dog clothes. I use to have a Bichon and I don't care! He had a little coat and pajamas and he LOVED them. I know this because he would come to me and sit like a good boy while I put his outfit on him. And I loved him in them. My then boyfriend now husband gave me cracks about it but Nicky looks cute as all get out. He was my baby and he had clothes. I loved them on him. I got the shaft with him being a boy because Target has the cutiest girl dog clothes.

I don't care now. I have 4 large breeds but they were the cast of the Wizard of Oz this Halloween. Husky boy had to take one for the team and be Dorothy. This is no phase because I have no kids. I love it because it's cute and I love them.

2. This one if for Tor, but since the Grammys I've been in BIEBER fever and annoying anyone will asks me about music. I'm about *this close* to changing my ringtone to Never Say Never. I didn't WANT to like this kid but the song was catchy and after hearing the recording version I'm loving it. (I also have a sometime contralto voice so I can do a mean impression of his voice...of course that'snot hard because the kid sounds like a girl anyway! I haven't moved from this song but this is good enough for me to say I love that kid now.

3. Twilight of course. I've hear the "you know those books were crap right? And the movies were freaking hilarious you know that right? yeah I know and I agree on the movies but I like them.

4. Fan Fiction. Almost everyone is on the hush hush with some people about  their fic reading because we know we'd get the 'that's dumb' but I don't care! I love fics.

What's your.."I don't care I love it" thing.