My Storybook Favorites

I really enjoyed browsing through past storybooks and have composed a lists of my favorite! 

Enjoy! 

1. Diary of the Undead 

Diary of the Undead Introduction page 

Diary of the Undead really caught my attention because of the title. I think that a title is very important when brainstorming about a story. I know that many of us have heard about The Walking Dead, if not..... this might help you out. 

The Walking Dead 

Diary of the Undead immediately made me think about life in death. Upon reading the introduction I knew that it was an immediate read. The author did a really good job of using imagery. It was so good I could picture the "monster" like being waking up and looking around wondering what had happened. The author was creative in his introduction that he gave the reader a preview of what his following stories were like by taking an excerpt from his writing. The design of the page has a very dark and solemn feel to it which is great because death seems to have that connotation. I want to make sure that my theme and design of my page can make my readers feel what my story is about without reading any of it yet. That is exactly what Diary of the Undead did for me. 

2. Mermaids- CSI 

Mermaids- CSI

I really like a good murder story and Mermaids- CSI seems to be just that. I grew up watching TV shows such as CSI and Law and Order: SVU and I would watch the show and try to figure out who the murderer or attacker was. Mermaids- CSI is told from the view of a woman who is put under a spell by her husband's and daughter's murderer. She is casted to live forever in her dark reality of loneliness. She was only trying to catch and end with this murder and instead her life was changed. I really liked this story and I think that using my main characters perspective might be something that I want to do just like the author of Mermaids- CSI 

3. Nursery Rhymes gone wrong

Nursery Rhymes gone wrong navigation page 

This was my absolute favorite layout of all the three storybooks that I chose! The homepage gives such a creepy feel you already know that the nursery rhymes did go very very wrong. Nursery rhymes are ones we probably all grew up hearing, in fact, my daughter listens to them now. However, this storybook is fascinating in the way that it portrays the stories we are all familiar with in a new and dark way. Although the creepy story line is not one that I would probably go with (but who know, I might) the design is definitely why I chose this storybook. The font, lettering and images tie in so nicely and I want to make sure my layout does the same. 

UnTextbook and what I look forward to

I am particularly a very indecisive person so you can only imagine how hard it was for me to choose a few units that really intrigued me. I have chosen the following units because they are somehow a relatable topic in my life. I am sure some of these might change but here is my first impression. Enjoy! 

1. Adam and Eve Unit: I am really excited about this unit because I was raised in a Christian home. I am very familiar with the plot in the bible and the characters involved in the story. However, it will be very interesting to read about how other tales narrate this biblical encounter. 

2. Dante's Inferno: I am so happy that we have the opportunity to read this unit! I have always been very intrigued with the idea of heaven and hell, especially hell. When I was in my pre-teen years sin and hell were two things that we made very clear to me by my spiritual leaders. At times, I would listen to documentaries about people who proclaimed to have traveled to heaven and hell and the depiction of hell was very intriguing to me ( not that I do want to go to hell, I don't like the heat THAT much), haha. 

3. Beowulf: I am glad that I have a second chance at this story. The reason why I have chose this as one of my readings is because Beowulf was assigned to me my senior year in high school and I honestly did not pay that much attention to it. I only have small memory of important characters such as Grendel and Hrothgar. I am sure that this time around I will definitely pay attention! 

Last but not least....

4. Alice in Wonderland: When I was younger I was always afraid of Alice in Wonderland. There was something about this odd world of talking rabbits and weird cats that really freaked me out. Up to this date, I still have not faced my fear but I think this is a great opportunity to get to know this infamous story. 

(The white rabbit by Sir John Tenniel) 

Introduction: Get to know me

Hello! 

My name is Limayre Mendoza (Gramajo).  I was born in Van Nuys, California but moved to Oklahoma when I was ten years old. I consider myself to be more of an Okie than a Cali girl. My parents were born in Guatemala but are now United States citizens. I often get confused for being “mixed” but I am 100% Hispanic. I am the eldest of my family and have one younger sister. I am a senior at the College of Arts and Sciences. I am a Biology major and a Spanish minor. Once I graduate, I plan on finishing up some pre- requisites and then prepare myself to apply to Medical School. I have always wanted to be a physician and currently I am in love with emergency medicine and trauma. At the University of Oklahoma, I am part of the Hispanic American Student Association, Integrity Council, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, and my wonderful sisterhood, Sigma Lambda Gamma. I have a beautiful, sassy, awesome and friendly three-year-old daughter named Gabriella Ester Mendoza who has made my college experience really “non-traditional” but has made it all worth it. I am an advocate for pursuing post secondary education in the midst of obstacles. I wish to see many other young mothers pursue higher education and reach for the stars instead of putting their life at a halt because of their situations. I am currently a full time staff for the College of Public Health at the Health Science Center where I do public health research and studies. During my summer break, I passed down my title of Riena Hispana de Oklahoma (Miss Hispanic Oklahoma), took a much needed school break (which didn’t last long because I then proceeded to take on Biochemistry), and got MARRIED! I have been married for three days and am loving it so far (probably because I am honeymooning on the beautiful coasts of California)!  I am really excited for the last year of my undergrad career!

At a charity event before turning in my title- RAP Photography 

The day I became a Mrs. I loved our classic car! - Taken by Eric Lyons

Whale watching at Newport Beach - Taken by my husband 

My mini me playing at her Sunday School class - Taken by OKC Faith 

Week 1: Storytelling: The girl who studied all night

THE GIRL WHO STUDIED ALL NIGHT 

The studious girl, by  the Limayre Gramajo selfie collection 

"Why would you prefer to go out than study all night?" said the studious girl to her roommate. "You should really focus on school rather than spend the weekends with your friends. You came to the University of Oklahoma to learn and to get an education so that you can make your family and friends proud. Do you just pay thousands of dollars in tuition so you can pretend to be 21 and go out and drink with your friends?"

" Oh, so you really study every single night every single week? How do you not get bored and tired of staring at your textbooks and doing so much homework?" answered the roommate, " Show me how to stay so focused, I want to change my ways. I know that I need to make the grades to stay in my college but no matter what I do I just can not seem to focus and going out is the only thing that makes me feel free and less stressed."

So the studious girl stayed in her dorm room another weekend, once again, but then became bored and got ready and headed out instead. She looked around to make sure her roommate was gone, she knew she had all night since her roommate hardly ever came home after going out all night. She looked back at her books and smirked and walked out. It was 2 am and she came back home and to her surprise her roommate was sitting in bed. "I thought you studied every single night, every single day.” said the roommate. The studious girl was ashamed.  “You have caught me red handed, I just wanted to feel better myself. I try to study but I too can not. I only wanted to justify my own actions by pointing out your flaws. Please forgive me for I too am flawed."

Talk the talk only if you can walk the walk. 

_________________________________________________________________________

Original Fable 

"Why in the world do you walk sideways like that?" said a Mother Crab to her son. "You should always walk straight forward with your toes turned out."

"Show me how to walk, mother dear," answered the little Crab obediently, "I want to learn."

So the old Crab tried and tried to walk straight forward. But she could walk sideways only, like her son. And when she wanted to turn her toes out she tripped and fell on her nose.

Do not tell others how to act unless you can set a good example.








Authors Note:

The original fable that I chose is from     Aesop for Children, by (anonymous), illustrated by Milo Winter 
(1919) . I chose this fable because I can really relate to it a lot. I have encountered many people in my life who have decided that they can critique my actions and ignore their own. Often times many of these people have done exactly as I have or worse. I made this fable my own but adding a lot more detail to the story and changing the plot to make it a situation that students can relate to by writing about study habits and how different habits are criticized.  In the original story the Mother Crab was very critical of her child and kept criticizing him but in the end we see that she could not walk straight forward either. One of the biggest differences between the two stories is the fact that the character who is being critical of the other apologizes in my story. Whereas the mother just tripped and fell but there was no apologizing. I wanted to portray that a person who is judgmental should apologize as no one is perfect in this world.  I chose the image that I did because I wanted a picture that showed someone studying (but not really studying). I chose the image of myself because you can see all the Ochem behind me but instead of studying I am taking a selfie. 

Here are a few of my favorite things.... Favorite places

I used to be a city girl... tall buildings, busy streets, places to shop literally everywhere were the things that made me love California. However, my love for the craziness in city living was suppressed by my new love for nature, peaceful sightings, and beautiful landscape when I moved to Oklahoma. Here's a peek into some of my favorite! Enjoy! 

My daughter, Gabriella, sure did enjoy the waters too.

Turner Falls.. one of my favorite places with my favorite man. 

Kayaking in Beaver's Bend.