Day 4 of Tania's 7 days Writing/Blogging Challenge "Before 15"

For Day 4 Tania chose the 'Before 15' card. The prompt asked to write down 5 things you want to accomplished before you turn 15. Since mommy is waaaaaay past 15, Tania gave me a new number which is 45. It is the same interval for her age to 15 and my age to 45 (You do the math hehehe...). So here's what I want to accomplished before I turn 45

Tania and Mom - Brighton,UK 2012 - after finishing the 5K race for life

1. ENLARGE LEAP: I would love to enlarge and expand our LEAP Language Center to cover offer more programs, cater to different needs, provide job opportunities also educate and train new emerging teachers and young people. My husband and I started this with a prayer to make this a stepping stone for other people to make their leap for the future. 
2. PUBLISHED BOOK: I would like to publish a book. I never know a published author was in my thought before this. But I know that I love writing stories. I have several blogs throughout my years to contain my thoughts. But I would love to have a book under my name. Something I am passionate about. 
3. BUILD A HOUSE/A PLACE WE CALL OUR OWN: We are currently renting as we paved our way to this. I have no complaint and thoroughly enjoy the process. A house is what we are dreaming of together. We have a piece of land we purchased several years ago. We may build it there or wherever God placed us.  I would love that we are able to build a house or to have a place we call our own. 
4. MASTER NEW THINGS: I like trying out new things. I would love to accomplished a mastery level I can be proud of from the skill/knowledge I am currently learning. At the moment, I am learning Ukulele. All my life I am convinced that I cannot play music instrument. But 2019 throw a Uke my way and I am hooked. It's small enough for my small sausage fingers to reach the chords. hehehe... Now, I am enjoying my time singing along with it. I am also learning Korean (very slowly) but I would love to get to be able to converse in everyday conversation in Korean (perhaps more). I believe it is never too old to learn new things. It's a great way to improve yourself and keep you happy. 
5. SCHOLARSHIP FOR PhD: I would love to get a scholarship and study abroad for my PhD. My job required me to do this but this is also my dream. I wanted to do this. For myself, for my family and especially for my daughter so she can see how far she can go and what else she can do.  

Anywaaaay.... 5 is too short of a list for what I want to accomplished. I have several others I want to achieve such as: TRAVEL MORE: This is actually our family goals. We have several country we want to visit England (to visit Jan and Rusty), Holland (Visiting our BIG Family), Israel (Pilgrimage), Singapore (because we simply love SG). I wanted to took our mothers with us too, My mom and Simon's mom-my mom in-law. LOOSE WEIGHT: Wait what?! Did I just say it out loud hehehe... well i would be lying if I don't say that I do. I simply need more willpower to do it. OPEN A NON-PROFIT ENDEAVOR: Yep, I am praying that God would show me what's my niche and how I can give back and blessed other people and my community. I don;t know it yet. I have several ideas. But my hands are currently tied and occupied. But I know God will make a way and He will definitely use me and my family in HIS plan.

So that's my 5 things to accomplished with a bonus 3 as a reminder for myself.
What's your dream?

Day 3 of Tania's 7 days Writing/Blogging Challenge "Complete A Story"

Today's Writing Challenge Tania pulled from the prompt card is Complete The Story challenge.
We are given a sentence that we need to continue to complete the story. The line is:

I was sitting in a rocking chair when......

Here's my answer o the challenge

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I was sitting in a rocking chair when I heard Antonia sharp shrilling voice from the kitchen. 

Antonia is our aunt from my mother's side. She is plump with freckles on her face. Her voice is an annoying sharp shrill and she is very very bossy. All her annoying features are forgiven by her heavenly delicious chocolate cake. The cake is always triple decker with luscious chocolate butter cream in between. My brother and I could never stand to wait for tea time for her cake. We will sneak to the pantry and dipped our finger to the butter cream or cut a sliver of cake from the back so she wouldn't notice. She will chased us out of the kitchen with a rolling pin screaming when she caught us. 

Judging by the shrilling voice, I bet my brother was caught doing mischievous thing in the kitchen. Ah... and if my brother is caught doing something in the kitchen it most always mean Aunt Antonia's Chocolate cake has been baked and my brother had sneaked to grab some before tea time. 

I was correct. The next minute, I can hear a small pebbles thrown on to the window beside the rocking chair I sat on. Oh... I forgot to tell you. I was in the attic. I was grounded by Daddy for some other mischievous thing we did. You see, we took my daddy favorite fountain pen and played with it. Daddy won't be this mad if we only PLAYED with the pen. But we actually took the pen out, took out the ink and decided to get creative with it. Well, at least I was the creative one in this case. I use the pen to paint on my brother's face and whole body. My daddy was aghast to come into the room and saw the puddle of ink, the brush in my hand and unrecognizable creature in front of me (It was my brother with all my 'tatto' painting'.

My name is Brenda and my twin brother pelting pebbles out there is Brandon. They called us the terrible duo. I better opened the window so his pelting won't wake Mommy and Daddy from their nap. 

I opened the window gently and looked down at the young boy with a huge grin of victory in a weird painting or tattoo or picture or doodle all over his face, neck, hand, leg etc. He was waving his prized loot.... A big Chunk of Aunt Antonia's Tripple Decker Chocolate Cake. 

I'll tell you more about our mischievous adventure next time. 

Until then... I am going to lower this small basket from our makeshift pulley so Brandon can put the cake for me. 

Picture from the internet

Day 2 of Tania's 7 days Writing/Blogging Challenge "Study Online"

Hi Readers, 

This is the post for the 2nd day of Tania's 7 days Writing/Blogging Challenge. This is supposed to be done yesterday, but I was having an all day Zoom meeting with my teaching staff and was too exhausted to look at the screen by evening time. Tania was also so engulfed in her reading that she also forgot. So here we are the mommy and daughter duo sat down and wrote a catch up post before continuing with today's challenge. 

Day 2 Challenge is "Study Online". The prompt card asked us about what do we like most about studying online, do we think that it is working out for us and what would we change about it. OK, in this case because I am not learning (as a student), I will substitute the word studying with teaching. OK Here is my blog entry for day 2. 

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The world is currently is in a pandemic situation. We are battling the Covid-19. The virus is infect and spread through droplets. So as a safety measures, everyone was ordered to stay at home. We are living in the most unprecedented time in human history. We are plunged to this unfamiliar territory of online everything: Online Learning, Online Teaching, Online Communication, Online seminar etc. There is no other way around it. So for the past 3 and 1/2 months since March we have been staying at home. Tania does her school online and I do my teaching online too. 

Switching to online learning is not an easy task to do. Luckily, I have dabbled in the past 2 years in blending my class to incorporate online learning with my face-to-face classroom. So when we suddenly have to switch to full online class, both my students and I are to certain degree familiar with the process and I also have the platform and material bank for an immediate switch. 

With all the good and bad about teaching online here's my reflection on what I like most about studying online. I like online learning because I get to work from the comfort of my own home. I love that I do not have to dress up. Sometimes, I don't have to take a bath and just plopped on chair and start working. My hair in a messy bun and I am wearing that old comfortable big T-shirt that you love to slipped into after a long day at work. I love this work setting because I can take care of my little family while I am doing my work. We love spending time together. Both my husband and I get to spend time accompanying our daughter in her study. We get to do many creative activity. 

 oI woke up 5 AM the latest and start doing some work. At 6 or 7 I get the breakfast ready. Then I get 2 or 2 more hour of working before I start to cook lunch. After lunch I get the whole afternoon working with occasional nap or K-Drama time. After dinner I can also do some work usually grading and feedback. I like this setting. Not to say that this is easier. Online teaching actually is more time consuming and demanding. 

I think  online learning IS working out for me. I have no problem navigating, facilitating, planning, executing online Learning Management System. Day by day I learn more and more. perhaps I should just stay working this way. 

Whether there's anything I would change? YES! definitelly more support from the institution. At least we should be supported with funding for internet connection. Internet connection is not cheap in my province, you know! Teachers/lecturers and  Students (or another profession) should receive this support fund. 

So, that's my two-cents for online teaching reflection.

My lovely lovely students... 

My husband on ICT session with My daughter

Day 1 of Tania's 7 days Writing/Blogging Challenge "YOU"

Hellow, I'm Helena. 

I am a mom, a wife, a lecturer and an educator. 

I have an amazing 9 years old who LOVES reading to the brink of addiction. I also believe that she is an amazing writer. Far better than I am. 

This writing/blogging challenge is my initiatives to help her grow her writing skills. I agree to do the challenge with her too. This is a breath of fresh air for me. An opportunity to be in touch with my long forgotten creative side after being for so long doing teaching and academic stuff. 

For this challenge, I picked 6 random writing prompts for kids from various site on the internet and wrote it on small cards. She then choose the writing prompt at random. I created the flyer just for her to see what the week is going to be. The cards have several questions and statements as prompts. 

For our first day, Tania chose the card 'You". The prompt asked us to "Write 3 words that best describe you the best"

Below is my answer for today's challenge. 

"3 Words that Describes Me"

If you asked me this question 10 years ago then my answer would be quite different. I have changed quite a lot since then. At the same time, it is also difficult to describe yourself. But if I have to choose, then the three words that describe me are Dreamer, Hardworker, 'A-work-in-progress'.   

Dreamer

I actually wanted to use the word visionary but that sounded much more sophisticated. Meanwhile, I think a dreamer is a safe choice without getting my head to big. I am indeed a dreamer. I love daydreaming. I like to visualize things in my head to understand and to know what needs to be done. Long time ago I took a quiz and it said that I am a visual person. I think that is correct. In order to have a full understanding of something I must be able to visualize the process, the mechanism or the connection. If I can't then... well... all is lost. 

But on the constructive side, I am a dreamer because I have been dreaming and by the Grace of the Almighty God, my dreams have come true one by one: Study and live abroad, work as expat, be on international platform, got a scholarship, CEO of my own business and many other. 

My dreams are my visual. My self motivation. My way of paving my path for the future. Making sure that all the process mechanism and connection are there, paying attention to details, staying true to who I am and reaching up to the stars... because... Sky is the limit for your dreams... 

So... break that glass ceiling, princess!

Hard-worker

This one I am pretty sure. I do consider myself a hardworking person. My husband sometimes call me overachiever or stubborn perfectionist. Hehehe... I think I am not a perfectionist person because I just want to do the best that I can;. In the end, if I didn't achieve the perfect standard, I am not so bothered as long as I know that I have given the best that I can. Overachiever... perhaps... I think I am a little bit of that. 

When I was in Junior High school, I read the Readers Digest Magazine. It was in the 90s and my mom was working a staff at SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) as well as managing the SIL Guest House. Mommy brought home some old battered Readers Digest Edition that were being thrown away. I was learning English at that time. (Thank you Mommy!! :-)) 

I remember reading in one of those magazine (I forgot which one), a story about a rescue helicopter pilot who finally located and saved someone. The story tells the tale of an almost failed rescue mission. The other helicopter sand rescue teams had circle the perimeter several times and there was no sign of survivors. All other teams had given up and was about to circle back to the base because it was almost dark. This pilot was about to do that too when he remembered the message that his mother/grandmother  told him. They taught him to "Go an Extra Mile"... Just do a bit more than what you are asked for. So, the pilot decided to do one last circle in the air but this time he expanded the search area a little farther. And there it was, he spotted the survivor, called for the other team and it was a happy ending for that rescue mission. 

I asked my father what "Go an Extra Mile" means and he explained. I was too young to understand but somehow the words stuck. During my growing up time, I heard myself whispered the same chant to "Go an Extra Mile"... So when they asked me to do something, I asked myself how I can do it better. 

This message is best partnered with the lesson of the bible in Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" KJV. When I do my work, I do not do it to be praised by other people, or to be the winner or the best but because I know God have given me the skills, knowledge and ability to do better. And last, I do it for myself, to challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone and to be the best version of myself that I can be. 

So I work hard. 

A Work-in-Progress

Ok, this is a bit cheating. The third one is not a word. But I think this sums me up better. 

I would like to describe myself as a work in progress. 

It means that in my life I am constantly evolving: learning from my mistake and making new goals. 

I am not perfect. I make many mistakes along the way. I perhaps will make some more. But we learn from our mistakes. Our character and future are build upon our learning of this mistakes. 

I lag, I procrastinate, i am also lazy and moody. But those down time do not count. What count is how many time you get back up again. 

And when I or other people think that I am already good, there is always room for improvement... to go an extra mile. 

So that's my 3-words-that-describe-me for Day 1 Blogging/Writing Challenge. 

To see my daughter, Tania's Day 1 blog post you can click here