Diary of a Word Nerd

Believe and Achieve: How 5 Girls Grabbed Their Goal

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

Yesterday, I watched determination turn into victory.

It’s been a long time since our little high school in our small town sent a full girls team to the state cross country meet. Our community is all about football – have you seen the show Friday Night Lights? That’s us. So, cross country doesn’t get much attention or many participants. But we’re a gritty group, running in the summer heat and the freezing wind, through mud puddles and up gravel hills. The football players mock us but we don’t care, because we know they probably couldn’t do what we do.

Six months ago, when we started training in the June humidity, the girls talked about state, but it seemed like a lofty goal. We had five girls – just enough to make a team. Our best runner had a two year old PR of 22 minutes and hadn’t seen times that fast in a while. The other girls were running 24 minutes and slower. When I looked up the results of last year’s regional meet, the girl who placed 20th had a time of 22:29. I wanted state just as much as the girls did, but the stats looked troubling.

I didn’t know what was in their hearts.

Let me tell you about these girls:

One is a senior and who keeps her teammates in line during warm ups and asks for hill repeats. She shows up to every. single. practice. She’s been to state and told me at the beginning of the season that it was her goal to get back.
One plays in the marching band and can’t make it to many team practices. All summer, she got up at 6 am to run by herself. Once school started, she ran on her own, after early morning classes at her church, a full day of school, and three hours of band practice.
One works long hours on Friday nights before our Saturday morning meets. She has pushed harder than I’ve ever seen before this season, vowing not to walk during practices. She has a mean finish line sprint.
One had never broken 29 minutes, but when I asked her to run up hills at practice, she always did. She, too, has worked hard this season, building up her endurance and speed.
One fell 30 feet out of a tree two years ago and has been battling pain and restrictions ever since. She can only run a few times a week, at a limited pace and for limited time, but she is a hard core competitor who hates to lose and won’t let pain stop her.

morning-run — Five girls got up early for a brisk morning run.

They worked hard all season, and as championship meets approached, I reviewed the stats and told them they had a decent shot of making it to regions and state, but they would have to do it as a team. The chances of any one making it on her own were seriously slim.

They huddled. Schemed. Asked what else they could do get better. Cut sugar and carbs and fat out of their diets. Angrily ate carrots while their siblings ate chicken nuggets. Posted inspirational quotes and pictures on social media. Built each other up.

Last week, at the conference meet, they all PR’d (that means ran a personal record), some by more than two minutes. (That’s huge, people.) They finished second in their conference and carried a trophy home that night, riding a high of pure joy, knowing they’d advanced as a team to the regional meet.

Yesterday was the final hurdle. The team had to finish in the top six to qualify for state. The race was tough. We had targets from other teams to pass. A pack of opponents was ahead of one of our girls. Coach told her to catch up. “No problem,” she said. Another one fell twice; pushed one time, tripped the other. “It’s okay,” she said after the race, cleaning the dirt off her knee “I pulled through!”

We had to wait for over an hour for the results. They had done so much, but would it be enough to advance to state? They wanted to know; I couldn’t tell them.

Finally, the meet director announced the results. Sixth place. Our girls. Screams erupted. They huddled again. Don’t ask me what was said after that; I couldn’t hear a thing.

They are going to state.

If there is a goal you’re striving for, and it seems so hard to reach, remember this group of girls who pulled together with hard work and determination.

Thanks ladies.

Do you have an inspiring story you can share?

Awesome Young Adult Books/Book reviews

Book Reviews for Fans of YA and Non-fiction

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

If you want to become a better writer, you’re supposed to read a lot, specifically in the genre that fits your writing fancy. So, over the past few months I’ve consumed a fair amount of YA Contemporary. Here’s a micro review of each book, plus a nod to the non-fiction piece chosen by my book club (non-fiction is NOT one of my writing or reading fancies, but this one was pretty good, so I’ll share…)

Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr

***National Book Award Finalist

When she was 13 years old, Deanna Lambert spent a lot of time in the back seat of her brother’s friend’s car — until the night her father found her. Three years later, stories about Deanna “the slut” still haunt her daily life. Her father won’t look at her, her brother likes to keep her close and “out of trouble”, and her mother just wants to solve everything with ice cream. Deanna takes a job at a local pizza joint before she realizes that her brother’s friend, and her former backseat companion, works there. But being near Tommy again forces Deanna to face her past and rewrite her story.

I liked this novel the best of the three Sara Zarr books I read because it touches on a topic faced by nearly every teen. The characters and family dynamics are real, flawed, and heartbreaking. Deanna aches for love and affection, to feel “chosen”, which leads her to make poor choices, with dramatic ramifications. This is a great book for teens, especially girls, as it tactfully and honestly explores how sex can impact your life.

I listened to the audio book of Story of a Girl, which is performed by Sara Zarr. Her reading was somewhat flat, and I think I would have preferred to read the novel myself.

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

As kids, Jennifer and Cameron were social outcasts who found comfort in each other until Cameron mysteriously disappeared. Years later, Jennifer has transformed herself into “Jenna”- skinny, popular, and dating. When Cameron comes back into the picture, Jennifer must revisit her past and the bittersweet memories that link her to Cameron.

I read this book the fastest, as Zarr does a nice job of keeping up the pace and intrigue by switching back and forth between past and present narratives. Sweethearts does a great job of exploring the difference between who people think we are and who we feel like inside. Jennifer’s relationship with Cameron is complicated and ultimately unfinished, leaving me feeling unsatisfied at the end. Zarr in general seems big on ambiguous endings, which can be frustrating, but is also very realistic.

How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Jill MacSweeney is grieving the loss of her loving father and trying to figure out who she is, now that he’s gone. Mandy Kalinowki has never known love and wants to find it for her baby, as well as for herself. Jill’s mother brings these two extremely different girls together when she agrees to adopt Mandy’s yet unborn child, no strings attached.

The set up for this book is unusual, and slightly far-fetched, but the emotions explored – wanting love, losing love, learning to let go – are realistic. All of the main characters need saving, and it’s interesting to watch how each of them finds happiness. This ending was the least ambiguous and the closest thing to happy for me.

Along for the Ride, Sarah Dessen

Perfect daughter Auden hasn’t slept at night for years, ever since her parents started fighting. She blames herself for their divorce. Needing a break from her overbearing mother, she decides to spend the summer living with her father, his wife, and their new baby at their beach house. But even with a change of environment, she can’t shake her insomnia, and that’s how she meets Eli, a fellow loner who shows her around the beach town in the wee hours of the night. Eli helps Auden experience the carefree teenage life she never had, and Auden helps Eli release the guilt he feels over a friend’s death.

This is the ultimate beach book, best read in the sand. (Sadly, it’s October and that’s a slim possibility for most of us.) I could relate to Auden’s need to unwind and expand her comfort zone, and I loved the beach setting. Use this one to escape the winter blahs or put it on your TBR for next June.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

This non-fiction book tells the story of the nine University of Washington crew members who beat the odds to qualify for, and win, the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin.

At the beginning, Boys in the Boat includes lots of extraneous details about the crew members and their families, and I struggled a bit. As it progresses, the book narrows its focus to one amazing crew member, Joe Rantz, and his triumphant rise over poverty and neglect. It also includes snippets about the rise of Hitler in Germany and his impact upon the 1936 Olympics. This is a feel good story about hard work and perseverance, and ultimately, I liked it. I listened to the audio book, which is performed with enthusiasm by Edward Herrman.

I never choose to read non-fiction on my own, so it’s a good thing my book club prompts me to do it at least once a year.

Have you read any good YA or non-fiction lately? Share a bit and help us choose our next book!

Thanks for adding to the discussion!

Who I Am

Who I Am: Traditions

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

Why do so many traditions revolve around food? Or is that just me? Birthday cake, birthday chocolate chip pancakes, cherry cheese pie at Thanksgiving, rum cake at Christmas. You can see why I ~~love~~ need to run. My traditions will shoot me up three sizes if I’m not careful.

Of all my foodie traditions, I cling to roll-out sugar cookies the tightest. Sure they’re yummy, but they also remind me of my Oma. As a child, I only had one living grandparent, my mother’s mother. I called her Oma since my father is Dutch and that’s the Dutch word for grandma.

I didn’t get to see Oma much while I was growing up. She lived in Wisconsin while we, because of my Dad’s career with the US Army, hit several locations in the US and finally settled in Virginia. However, she came to visit every Christmas, and her presence, along with her off key singing of “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” signaled the holiday.

By the time I was in junior high (aka “middle school”) a neurological disease had confined my mother to a wheelchair. I learned to cook at a young age, and Oma tutored me in a challenging, but indispensable skill: rolling out sugar cookies.

She taught me several important aspects of a successful sugar cookie, including:

the right recipe (We liked the one from Mrs. Beatty, my kindergarten teacher. I believe Oma tracked her down in a grocery store to get it.)
the chill factor (the dough needs at least an hour in the fridge)
proper rolling technique (don’t push to hard, roll in several directions, flour the rolling pin, keep the dough about a quarter inch thick)
keep cookies of similar size on each baking sheet (don’t mix big Christmas trees with tiny bells- no one wants to smell burning bells)

Every year I looked forward to picking out cookie cutters and baking with her. Decorating them evolved into an art form similar to painting. Oma + cookies = Christmas.

Getting the dough the right thickness is key. — Um, how many cutters are you going to use there, son?

Oma died before my first child was born, but I kept up the tradition with my kids; we’ve rolled dough from early ages. I’m not going to pretend I’ve never snapped over spilled flour or dough dropped on the floor, but overall, we’ve had a good time. I finally figured out that it worked best to operate in shifts, one child at a time. Each child gets a ball of dough to roll out and cut, and he or she uses the remnants that can’t be rolled to form the first letter of his or her name. The oldest two are losing interest in cutting, although eating is still a passion. (This year we’ll have to find a vegan recipe for daughter.)

You are never too young to appreciate a good sugar cookie. Christmas 2008

After all the cookies are baked, we sit down with frosting of multiple colors to decorate. Even my dad, who the kids call “Opa” (you guessed it, the Dutch word for Grandpa) pitches in … on the adorning and the eating. I still need to remind everyone not to lick their fingers while handling the cookies!

cookie-one — Cookie decorating- a holiday art

Do traditions in your family revolve around food as well? Tell us about one!

One more pic, because it’s just so adorable:

Once upon a time... Christmas 2005 — Once upon a time… Christmas 2005

Thanks for stopping by!

If you’d like to participate in the Who I Am project, visit Dana’s blog for details.

How to encourage reading/News from book business

A New Way to Read Cheap: Amazon Prime Reading

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 2 Comments

The setting for this weekend’s amazing discovery: I bounced along in a school bus in the pre-dawn hours of a wet Saturday morning. My middle school aged companions played music (can I tell you how much I hate “Turn Down for What?”) and their latest digital gaming obsession, something about cards and clans.

I wanted something to do.

A quick clean up of my inbox brought me to Word Nerd heaven (thank you Amy Lynn Andrews): Amazon just launched Prime Reading! Prime members now have unlimited access to over 1,000 titles, including fiction, non-fiction, and my favorite, magazines. I downloaded the latest issue of Runner’s World and read about Steve Prefontaine to inspire me on the way to our cross country meet.

I needed something to read and had it within 60 seconds. My goodness, we live in a golden age. Just another reason why the $99 annual Prime fee is worth it.

Prime Reading Details

It’s pretty simple. If you have a Prime membership, you can access over 1,000 books, Kindle singles, and periodicals, as many as you want. You don’t need a Kindle, just the Kindle app so you can read what you download on pretty much any device.

We’ve had Kindles for years and have sometimes used the Kindle Lending Library. With that program, you can borrow one free Kindle book per month. The selection isn’t stellar, but we read The Hunger Games series through that program. Prime Reading should be even better.

The options in Prime Reading look decent. Here are some examples.

In Teens:

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg, fantasy, 2015.
Half Way Home by Hugh Howey, science fiction, 2014.
Ella’s Twisted Senior Year by Amy Sparling, contemporary realistic, 2016.

In Popular:

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, self-help, 2014.
Travel Guides for multiple countries by The Lonely Planet
The Monster That Ate My Socks by A.J. Cosmo, children’s, 2012

In Magazines, all the most recent issues of:

People
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment Weekly
Runner’s World
Shape

I’m definitely going to use this in the future – even if it’s just for the magazines. It will come in handy when my kids say, “Mom, I need something to read… now!”

Another Prime benefit…

As an aside, Prime Music has also been a big hit in our house the past few months. Daughter, a music fanatic, used to spend a ton at the iTunes store. Thank goodness her cousin introduced her to Prime Music. Since summer, she’s downloaded over 200 songs, all costs included in our annual fee. We can’t use the streaming part of the Amazon music app – that would kill our data, and we’ve got serious data issues – but the downloads aren’t too data costly, and Daughter often uses public wifi to get her tunes.

With Prime Music, and the Amazon music app, you can make playlists and even import other music (like iTunes songs) into Amazon music. I use bluetooth to play it in the van. Last week I downloaded Jesse’s Girl by Rick Springfield. Remember that one?

Like the books and movies available through Prime, you won’t be able to find everything, especially not recent releases (I had to suck it up and buy the new Shawn Mendes album), but you can still find a lot that meets your fancy.

Have you tried Prime Reading? What do you think? How about any of the other Prime benefits?

Perhaps my kids should pay part of the annual Prime fee… 😉

Thanks for adding to the discussion.

Improving vocabulary

What’s the Story Behind Homecoming?

Posted on October 7, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

It’s fall. Leaves crackle underfoot, the air turns crisp at night, and, if you have anything to do with a high school, talk of Homecoming fills the air.

My oldest avoids all Homecoming festivities (except for the mandated Friday pep rally, which includes free hot dogs, so he’s okay with it). After enduring this year’s spirit week, he asked, “What is Homecoming, anyway? I mean, how did it start?”

Good question, my boy. What has prompted us to spend ridiculous amounts of time, money, and worry on spirit days and semi-formal dances? The Word Nerd, and mother of two teens, needed to know.

The History of Homecoming

The Homecoming tradition started in America as a college thing. Three schools claim credit for initiating Homecoming activities: Baylor, Illinois, and Missouri. [1]

In 1909, Baylor University invited alumni back to “catch the Baylor spirit again.” The celebration was originally called “Good Will Week” and included class reunions, concerts, a formal dance, and a football game. However, Baylor didn’t have another Homecoming until 1915, and the event didn’t become an annual tradition until 1934.

In 1910, two University of Illinois seniors, desperate to end the Illinois seven-year losing streak to the Chicago Maroons, conspired to boost school spirit. They invited alumni, students, faculty, and the local community to don blue and orange to support U of I and rally its football team. Apparently, it worked. Illinois won the game, and a tradition was born.

Many groups, including the NCAA, Jeopardy! And Trivial Pursuit, recognize University of Missouri as the true founder of Homecoming. In 1911, Chester Brewer, the Director of Athletics, invited alumni back for Missouri’s annual game against big time rival University of Kansas. For many years, this football game was played on “neutral soil”, but 1911 marked the first year Missou played Kansas on its home field, and Brewer wanted lots of fans to cheer on his team. He planned parties, parades, and a pep rally to generate excitement. Over 10,000 alumni and students attended the game, and colleges across the country followed Missou’s “Homecoming” example after that.

Homecoming footwear; stylish and eclectic.

Some other theories on Homecoming

According to Liana Whitehead of the Fresno State Collegian, [2], Homecoming came about to save college football. At the turn of the 20th century, football was in trouble. There were 18 football related deaths in 1910, and President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to shut the sport down. Colleges rallied, declaring football was central to their hometown gatherings and school spirit. Thus, Homecoming traditions might have gained traction as schools rallied around their football programs.

Another theory is that the name Homecoming comes from the time when a big school team (football, basketball, even ice hockey) returns to its home field/court/rink after playing a string of away games.

The coveting Homecoming Queen crown. I never wore won, but my friend Heather has two! She's royalty! ;) — The coveted Homecoming Queen crown. I never wore one, but my friend Heather has two! She’s royalty! 😉

Sometime in the 20th century, Homecoming fervor trickled down to high schools. For secondary students, Homecoming is the first big school event after the summer break, a time when students and alumni “come home” and support their school. High schools usually celebrate Homecoming with parades, bon fires, pep rallies, and the election of a “Homecoming Court”. And don’t forget the dance.

In my small town, Homecoming has gotten rather fancy. Girls get their nails done, make hair appointments, and wear semi-formal dresses. The moms around here tell me they wore wool skirts and blazers to Homecoming 20-30 years ago. That would have been much simpler. (And cheaper!)

Homecoming hair... done by professionals or friends, it's gotta be fancy! — Homecoming hair… done by professionals or friends, it’s gotta be fancy!

What Homecoming traditions are celebrated in your home town? Please tell me blazers are the fashion! 😉

References:

The History of Homecoming, Michael Cramton, Active.com. No date listed on article.
The History of Homecoming, Liana Whitehead, collegian.csufresno.edu, Sept 28, 2012.

Thanks for stopping by!

Book reviews

Banned Book Review: Lord of the Flies

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Julia Tomiak / 8 Comments

Lord of the Flies. Just the name of the book makes you shiver and think of savagery and cannibalism, doesn’t it? That’s a novel with impact. Sadly, this English major never read William Golding’s story of boys stranded on a deserted island. My oldest two have studied it, and it was time for the Word Nerd to catch up. Daughter suggested I read it during the summer, since the last chapter is “one of the most disturbing things” she’s ever read and would be too depressing during the winter.
Needless to say, I picked up the novel with more than a little trepidation.

Premise

William Golding published Lord of the Flies in 1954. The novel opens without much context; we find a group of boys of various ages stranded by a plane crash on a remote island. A few clues suggest the time is World War II and the castaways are English school boys, and although I’d like more background, that’s not the point of this allegorical story.

The boys quickly divide into factions. One named Ralph leads the group craving order and reason; he wants the boys to build shelters and keep a signal fire lit, always hoping for a rescue. His adversary, Jack, appeals to basic drives, like finding food and establishing dominance. He and his followers like to cover themselves in paint and hunt in the trees for food. Soon, conflict arises between competing priorities, and disaster strikes.

What I like

Lord of the Flies is a thoughtful, well-written study of human nature. It explores themes of survival, politics, power, and the ways humans establish order for themselves – or don’t. The boys struggle with balancing the needs of a few with the needs of a group, and they fight a fall into complete savagery while living in an unstructured, foreign environment.

Golding uses vivid symbolism and description to highlight the conflict among the boys. Two great symbols: the conch shell and the Lord of the Flies, a severed pig’s head mounted on a stick in the forest. Ralph and his companion Piggy use the conch shell to maintain order during group meetings. (One can only speak when one is holding the shell.) By the end of the novel, the conch shell shatters. As for the Lord of the Flies, Jack and his crew mount the pig’s head in an adrenaline driven celebration of their hunt. The head comes to represent everything base and sinful about the boys on the island.

In a year of a hotly contested, and disappointing, presidential election, Lord of the Flies seems particularly relevant. Who deserves to hold power and what are the requirements of a responsible leader? What’s more important, meeting basic needs now or working towards the long term stability of the community?

Here’s a quote that resonated with me:

They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.

On the island, the paint symbolized savagery; behind its disguise, the boys did things to each other they never would have considered in a “civil” situation. In a similar way, people today are much more likely to say brutal things behind the concealment of a Twitter account than if they were directly speaking to an individual.

What I don’t like

The writing is a bit confusing at times, with dialogue not clearly attributed and some stream of consciousness passages that are hard to follow. Otherwise, great book.

Recommendation

A good friend once asked what makes a classic a classic. Perhaps it’s this: a book that still has relevance to society after 60 years have passed. Lord of the Flies is definitely a classic worth reading. And, it’s super short!

Notes on content

Lord of the Flies has been challenged several times over the years for various reasons, including:

demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal
excessive violence and bad language
statements defamatory to minorities, God, women and the disabled.

Source: American Library Association

Some scenes are violent and disturbing (hint: boys die), but compared to what we read and see in the media these days, it’s nothing too scandalous. And, the kids wrestle with the moral implications of violence.

Have you read Lord of the Flies? What did you think? Can you recommend another classic or banned book?

Happy reading!