An Unexpected Find

Wanting to make the most of my spring break, I decided to plan a few day trips and activities for the week off from work, ensuring that I did not let the days pass me by without having used my time wisely.  One of the activities that I planned was something that Paul and I do frequently in the summer – walking from Robert Moses beach to Kismet, Fire Island.  I thought it’d be a nice day to take a walk and have some lunch by the bay at one of our favorite places, Surf’s Out.  Not a bad plan if I do say so myself…

I’m not sure what I envisioned Fire Island to be like in the middle of April on a weekday, but much to my dismay the island was desolate and none of the restaurants were open.  Poor planning on our part left us exhausted and famished.   Okay, famished may be a slight exaggeration but we were hungry! 

Plan B was to take a nice long walk along the ocean side of town, and as soon as we stepped onto the sand we saw quite an intriguing sight in the distance.  All we could see was what appeared to be the mast of a ship, and after getting closer, we saw a large sailboat sitting right on the shore.  Curiosity took over, and we had to get closer to get a better look.  After dragging our fatigued feet through the sand, we were able to check out this grounded ship and even take a few photos.  It was such an interesting sight.  A little boy ran up to the boat and told us that some sailors were on their way to Maine and got off course.  Some interesting navigation if they landed themselves on Fire Island!  Upon returning home, I did some more research and found that there was probably some accuracy to the boy’s story.  Click the link below if you’d like to see how this sailboat made a stop at Kismet!

The Lighthouse Beach Times

*Envision - to picture mentally, especially some future event or events

*Dismay – sudden disheartenment or disappointment

*Desolate - deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited

*Famished – extreme hunger or starvation

*Exaggeration – an overstatement

*Intriguing – to appeal strongly to

Vocabulary Practice

1. Many young kids venture to the _____________ mental hospital in Kings Park.

2. It was to the boy’s _____________ that he realized he did not get accepted to Yale.

3. Many people were _________________ while trekking along the Oregon Trail.

4. I was so ______________ by what I had read about the study that I decided to continue with some research of my own.

5. Were you really stuck in traffic for six hours or are you just ___________________?

6. What do you ______________ for your life after college?

Prepositions

Prepositions are words which show a relationship between words in a sentence.  They are usually used to show relationships regarding time and location.  Some of the commonly used prepositions that relate to time are after and before.  Above, under, and on are prepositions that are frequently used to describe location.  These words are usually found before a noun, as in “under the table” or “in the pantry.”  At, to, in, into, and on can be particularly confusing when they are being used to describe location.  A couple of easy tricks to try and decipher the usages of these words are that to and into usually come after the word “go”, while at and in usually follow most other verbs.  At also implies a more general location, as in “at work” or “at the supermarket.”  In usually refers to being surrounded by something, as in the sentence, “We live in New York.” 

Reread my blog above.  Can you pick out four prepositions from my writing?  I’ll give you one!

“…and have some lunch by the bay…”

1. _________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________

My (Lethargic) Weekend in Review

This weekend was one of the more relaxing and uneventful weekends that I’ve had in quite some time.  It was nice not to be overscheduled for a change.  I decided to skip yoga on Friday afternoon for a luxurious, two hour long nap.  I feel that if I don’t get a nap in on Friday afternoon that I have no chance of making it through the evening as long as everybody else, and I risk being the party-pooper that I’ve come to be known as.  After my rejuvenating nap, I headed out to a small, overcrowded restaurant with to meet up with some friends.  No such luck as being the energetic party girl for a change, and I headed home hours before everybody else.  It is frustrating to feel like the weekends are so short as it is, and then to realize that I can’t even get much out of the beginning of it because I am too run down from the work week.  Waking up at 4:45 every morning certainly takes its toll by Friday!

Saturday and Sunday ended up being not much different, although this time I did not mind all the down time.  I attempted to watch Toy Story 3, but fell asleep right as the toys arrived at what I thought would be a fun-loving daycare center.  According to Paul, it wasn’t all fun and games for the toys at that point.  I will have to make another attempt to watch this endearing Pixar sequel when I am well-rested. 

It’s now Sunday evening, and time to gear up for the last five school days before spring break!

Toy Story 3 Trailer

*Uneventful - lacking in important or striking occurrences

*Luxurious - given to pleasure, especially of the senses

*Overcrowded - to crowd to an uncomfortable or undesirable excess

*Endearing – Evoking affection

*Sequel - an event or circumstance following something

*Although – In spite of the fact that

Vocabulary Practice

1. If school districts do not get more funding, classrooms will continue to become _______________, with hardly any room for students’ desks.

2. I hope that tomorrow is an _______________ day at work; I do not need chaos on a Monday!

3. Macy’s had _______________ cashmere robes on sale that were extremely soft and comfortable.

4. Patience is an _______________ quality that one usually looks for in a mate.

5. I couldn’t put the book down – I hope the author publishes a _______________ so I can find out what happens next!

6. I appreciated the generous birthday gift, _______________ it was unnecessary for you to make me anything.

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.  I have used many of them throughout my writing in an attempt to provide greater detail about the things I was discussing.  They were also used in an attempt to appeal to the five senses throughout my writing, giving the reader a better image in his or her head of what I was talking about.  I even used a descriptive adjective in my title to give the reader a better impression of how I was feeling this weekend.    Read the sentences below.  Fill an adjective into the blank in order to make these sentences more exciting!  Use a thesaurus if you need to find a more sophisticated word to plug in!

1. I took a huge bit of the ______________, _________________ watermelon!

2. We are looking for a _________________ and ________________ puppy.

3. The aroma coming from the kitchen was that of __________________ chocolate chip cookies.