Growth Mindset: SMILE

S.M.I.L.E.

S= Showing

M= Milestones

I= In 

L= Little 

E= Everythings

This acronym means that progress comes in little ways everyday with a little positivity. If you are doing something to improve yourself in tiny ways, you will make major steps in the right direction. Always keep moving forward! This acronym has a lot of meaning to me because sometimes I feel like I do a lot of things throughout my day that can seem pointless and not meaningful. However, those little things allow me to make a lot of progress towards all of my end goals! 

Smile quote. Source: Flickr

Learning Challenge: The Benefits of Sleep!

I read the article "Why Sleeping May Be More Important Than Studying" by Katrina Schwartz because I'm a big advocate of getting a lot of sleep. The article makes great points about how sleep can hurt you in school by saying lack of sleep can have a negative effect on test scores and academic performance. This doesn't surprise me at all. I know when I don't get enough sleep, my attention span plummets. I try to get close to eight hours of sleep per night. That isn't always possible with my busy schedule but as long as I'm in bed at a certain time, I know I will have more energy the next day. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule can be difficult but is very possible once you're in a good routine and budget the time in the day wisely so you can relax at night. My next challenge is going to be trying to wake up at the same time each day to make my sleep schedule even more consistent and regular.

Effects of Sleep Deprivation. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 12 Story: Why Deunant has the Front Door in the Back

The cattle of the farmer living at Deunant were affected with "short disease" which is also known as the black quarter. The farmer thought they were all bewitched.

Old Beti'r Bont, who had a questionable character, earned her living by stealing babies for the fairies. She called the farmer when they were feathering geese and begged for one but was refused. The farmer thought she was taking her revenge by harassing his stock.

He went to old Beti and threatened to tie her hands and feet and throw her into a river if he didn't take the charm off of the cattle. She denied having any magical powers and repeated the Lord's prayer to prove her innocence. He wasn't convinced and made her recite "Rhad Duw ar y da" which means "God's blessing be on the cattle." Usually if a herd is bewitched, they are freed from their disease after it is spoken. But the farmer's stock was no better and he was frustrated.

One night he was thinking about the cattle and absolutely couldn't understand why the cattle couldn't get any better.

"I will tell you why" said a voice by him. The farmer turned around and saw a tiny man looking very angry. "It is because your family keeps annoying mine so much." "How is that?" said the farmer.

"They are always throwing the slops from your house down my chimney" said the man.

"That can't be true; there is no house within a mile of here" replied the farmer.

The man asked the farmer to put his foot on his to show him. He saw all the slops down the man's chimney. "I am very sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" said the farmer.

The tiny man was suprised by the farmer's apology and revealed himself to be old Beti! She had tricked him into thinking the slops were his and apologizing to her. She forced the farmer to wall up his house so the slops stopped coming down the chimney. She was tired of his slops and once he fixed his house, she took the charm off the cattle and they recovered.

Author's Note: The original story is the same up until the farmer apologizes to the old man. In the original version, the old man vanishes and the cattle get better. In my version, I wanted to bring the witch back into the story and have her be disguised as the old man and take the charm off of the cattle. It was only a minor change but I felt like the witch needed to end the story.

Why Deunant has the Front Door in the Back by W. Jenkyn Thomas

Black Cows. Source: Satire World

Reading Notes: Owen Goes a-Wooing

Owen, a servant at Nannau, was going to see his sweetheart, a milkmaid. He lost his way there because it was dark. He wandered around for some time and fell into Llyn Cynnwch. He could not swim and he sank down. His mind cleared and he realized sinking wasn't an unpleasant experience. He breathed freely like on land and the water became increasingly clearer.

He got to a level spot at the bottom and found a beautiful country with green fields and flowers and trees. An old man came up to him and asked him where he came from. Owen explained and the man responded, "you're welcome" and led him to his mansion.

Owen asked if the old man could show him to Dol y Clochydd because he was already late and was worried his sweetheart would give him up. The old man was hesitant of letting him go but decided to in the end. He took to along a level path which led him to Dol y Clochydd. The stone lifted Owen up when he went up to it and ended up in his sweetheart's kitchen. She was weeping for him and was scared when she saw him. She explained to him that he had been missing for over a month and not an hour or two like he had thought.

Owen Goes a-Wooing by W. Jenkyn Thomas

Ice Cave. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Reading Notes: Helig's Hollow

Many ages ago, the country stretched from Gogarth to Bangor and from Llanfair Fechan to Ynys Seiriol, was ruled by Helig ad Glannach and was called Helig's Hollow.

Helig had a daughter, Gwendud and they said she "appeared lovliest at the Offering on the day of the Nativity, or at the feast of Easter" but her heart was evil, cruelty and deceit.

The son of one of the barons of Snowdon loved her and she loved him in return. Only she would not wed him because he had no golden collar.

Tathal (her suitor) tried for a long time to win, but failed. Gwendud wouldn't change her mind and was determined get a collar by any way possible.

Rhun led an expedition and brought back many prisoners where he held them to ransom. The first captive whose liberty was bought by his kinsmen was a young chieftain who had won a golden collar in the wars against the Picts. Tathal went to him and offered his services as guide.

He stabbed him in the back and brought back his golden collar. Gwendud now agreed to wed him and Helig made a great feast.

A harper, who was asked to play music for the revel, had to gift of second sight and asked the cupbearer to tell him if she saying anything unusual when he went down to the cellar. He came back and said, "a stream of water is flowing into the cellar, and hundreds of little fishies are swimming in it."

They decided to fly away. Everyone else screamed for their lives as water rushed around their feet. They reached Rhiwgyfylchi exhausted and out of breath and waited for morning. When morning came, an expanse of rippling water where Helig's Hollow had been lived. Some fishermen claim to see Helig's Palace down beneath the water's surface.


Helig's Hollow by W. Jenkyn Thomas

Helig's Hollow. Source: Wikimedia Commons