Probably awful of me to use that title, but those lyrics just popped into my head and off I went.
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Showing posts with label thoughts in general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughts in general. Show all posts
Monday, May 3, 2010
"Yet another one bites the dust"
Probably awful of me to use that title, but those lyrics just popped into my head and off I went.
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Musings on deer
Yesterday morning on the way to work I spotted a deer sitting in the barrow pit to the east of highway 89. It was looking around watching birds flitting and cars driving. I thought it was sort of odd to just be sitting there and I did wonder if it had been injured or had the wind knocked out it.
This morning as I drove near the same spot, there was the deer. Unfortunately it had died. Unlike the majority of dead deer on the side of the road that stare at you accusingly, this one had put its head down as though to take a nap. Only one ear stuck up. At first glance I did think that it was asleep, but something in the way the body looked suggested that it was dead. I was certainly not going to stop and check on it.
For some reason this deer's death made me sad. I mean I'm sort of sad when they get hit by cars or trucks, but for the most part I realize that fast moving objects that weigh a lot are going to win when it comes to a car/truck and deer show-down. This deer's death reminded me of two deer from several years ago. In about the same place, there were two deer curled up in the barrow pit. One was clearly guarding the other one. Neither one was small, so it probably wasn't a mother/fawn situation. The next day though they were both gone. I assumed that one had been hit but not badly injured or just had the air knocked out it.
I think that looking at deer is quite nice. I'm not fond of all the hunting that takes place around here in the fall, but have grown used to the idea. I hate the deer though that decide to run in front of my car when driving. I can't remember exactly where yesterday on I-15 (up north in Utah Valley, I think) there was a dead deer on the road between the highway and an on ramp. It was in a fairly populated area, so I am sure that both the deer and the driver were quite surprised when they encountered each other.
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This morning as I drove near the same spot, there was the deer. Unfortunately it had died. Unlike the majority of dead deer on the side of the road that stare at you accusingly, this one had put its head down as though to take a nap. Only one ear stuck up. At first glance I did think that it was asleep, but something in the way the body looked suggested that it was dead. I was certainly not going to stop and check on it.
For some reason this deer's death made me sad. I mean I'm sort of sad when they get hit by cars or trucks, but for the most part I realize that fast moving objects that weigh a lot are going to win when it comes to a car/truck and deer show-down. This deer's death reminded me of two deer from several years ago. In about the same place, there were two deer curled up in the barrow pit. One was clearly guarding the other one. Neither one was small, so it probably wasn't a mother/fawn situation. The next day though they were both gone. I assumed that one had been hit but not badly injured or just had the air knocked out it.
I think that looking at deer is quite nice. I'm not fond of all the hunting that takes place around here in the fall, but have grown used to the idea. I hate the deer though that decide to run in front of my car when driving. I can't remember exactly where yesterday on I-15 (up north in Utah Valley, I think) there was a dead deer on the road between the highway and an on ramp. It was in a fairly populated area, so I am sure that both the deer and the driver were quite surprised when they encountered each other.
Click here to place a Stampin' Up order
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The facts of life
This is my follow up to MckMama's post here.
Marriage is a hard road whether it is the first year or the 21st year, raising one child or many. Anyone who tells you that marriage is a piece of cake is either lying or is not married or living together or ignores the other half of the partnership. That's exactly what marriage is——a partnership. Personally, I forget that sometimes. I go through life a day at a time without thought to others.
When Jeff and I got married we had to meet with Father Jim three times before hand (maybe it was only twice, I don't remember). We heard the "lobster story" three times at least. Father Jim talked a lot about communication between spouses. He said he would rather be with a poor family, who loved each other and communicated with each other, eating pork and beans than with a rich family, who didn't like each other and didn't talk, eating lobster. What he really hoped for was a family who communicated and had the lobster too. When we were first married we laughed about this story all the time.
Because I have stretched myself too thin this semester, I have just now taken a rest from Girl Scouts. It will have to be someone else's problem for awhile. The plates that I was juggling are starting to fall to the floor before I can catch them. Something has to give and my family has already done enough giving. The posts may become even fewer and the crafting even less, in an effort to focus on school, family, and my job.
I opened my classroom door to grab this picture. It is snowing quite fiercely here. You have to look carefully at the white blurs those are snowflakes falling fast and furious from the grey/white sky.
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Marriage is a hard road whether it is the first year or the 21st year, raising one child or many. Anyone who tells you that marriage is a piece of cake is either lying or is not married or living together or ignores the other half of the partnership. That's exactly what marriage is——a partnership. Personally, I forget that sometimes. I go through life a day at a time without thought to others.
When Jeff and I got married we had to meet with Father Jim three times before hand (maybe it was only twice, I don't remember). We heard the "lobster story" three times at least. Father Jim talked a lot about communication between spouses. He said he would rather be with a poor family, who loved each other and communicated with each other, eating pork and beans than with a rich family, who didn't like each other and didn't talk, eating lobster. What he really hoped for was a family who communicated and had the lobster too. When we were first married we laughed about this story all the time.
Because I have stretched myself too thin this semester, I have just now taken a rest from Girl Scouts. It will have to be someone else's problem for awhile. The plates that I was juggling are starting to fall to the floor before I can catch them. Something has to give and my family has already done enough giving. The posts may become even fewer and the crafting even less, in an effort to focus on school, family, and my job.
I opened my classroom door to grab this picture. It is snowing quite fiercely here. You have to look carefully at the white blurs those are snowflakes falling fast and furious from the grey/white sky.
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
What a life
Can you imagine living this life? Even if you have been doing it forever, it must be tough.
I saw this story on the net and wondered how the Queen and Prince Philip have managed for 57 years.
What a strange life some people live and how much we non-celebrities soak up all as much info from the net as possible.
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I saw this story on the net and wondered how the Queen and Prince Philip have managed for 57 years.
LONDON (Reuters Life!) – Britain's Queen Elizabeth stunned theater-goers in London this week when she and her husband slipped in to see a play unannounced and at the last minute, newspapers reported.
The queen and Prince Philip apologetically squeezed past other theater-goers to get into their seats for the West End production of World War One play "War Horse" at the New London Theater.
"The Queen and the Duke sat down as the lights dimmed and it was a huge shock when people realized who they were," said a journalist at the show for The Lady magazine. "They were incredibly apologetic for asking people to let them past and there was no hubbub or fuss about it all."
The queen and her husband often make incognito trips to the West End, but are rarely spotted, an aide told London's Evening Standard newspaper.
"The Queen has regularly undertaken similar private visits throughout her reign without any fuss," the aide said. "It allows her to live a bit more of a normal life."
The journalist from The Lady said the queen appeared to enjoy the performance, disappeared during the interval and then reappeared discreetly.
"When they left at the end, they were given a round of applause, which the Queen acknowledged with a wave," she said.
What a strange life some people live and how much we non-celebrities soak up all as much info from the net as possible.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The President's speech
I usually don't make public comments about my political views, but after spending the last several days listening/reading about people complaining that President Obama would turn this speech into a piece of propaganda I felt that I had to post something.If you didn't watch the speech, which I did, you can find the transcript released by the White House here. I am always amazed at how ignorant my students are when it comes to politics. I don't know why, but I probably will never stop being surprised at their lack of knowledge. After the speech, as a class we spent the last twenty minutes discussing what the President had to say. Some of the students maintained that he had told them that he was black, which he didn't. There were several other comments made that said basically "he said x" but he hadn't. It's been a few hours and I didn't take notes of the discussion. Some had no idea that the stimulus money had gone for jobs. I have no idea what they thought the stimulus was for, but jobs wasn't on their lists. All of the road projects here in Sanpete were brought about through stimulus moneys.
I actually took some notes during the speech. There were several key points he made— students have a responsibility to self; there is no excuse to drop out; being successful is hard work; don't give up on yourself; and what is your contribution going to be? I didn't find anything negative, just cold common sense and facts. Some people will only find the storm cloud in the bright sunny day and I think that they feel that way about the President.
This is my rant for today—before you talk about the President's speech to students (and he is not the first to do so, both President Reagan and President George H.W. Bush did as well), read the speech. Find out what he said. Then you can hold an intelligent conversation.
Okay back to your regularly scheduled programming.
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Friday, August 21, 2009
A striking resemblance
Last night (Wednesday), we watched Marnie with Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery. As a family we've been watching Hitchcock movies all summer. Psycho is next, but I won't be watching it with Jeff and Deirdre. I have a very low threshold when it comes to horror and blood, etc. While watching Marnie, I noticed a striking resemblance from Louise Latham to my grandmother. Now Louise Latham was made up to look older than she was, but the resemblance was startling.
The below picture is of my grandmother and father at his graduation from Northwestern University in 1964 (the same year Marnie was released).
This picture is of my grandmother, father, and sister at his graduation from The University of Chicago in 1967.
There was something, besides the facial resemblance, in the mannerisms that just seemed similar. I'm not sure if it was the slight southern accent that my grandmother had or the tilt of the head, but watching the movie brought chills to me. Is the smile from the first picture to the last picture not almost exact? This is how I remember my grandmother, not the pictures of her with white hair and stooped over with a Dowager's Hump.
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These two pictures (above and below) are of Louise Latham in Marnie.
The below picture is of my grandmother and father at his graduation from Northwestern University in 1964 (the same year Marnie was released).
This picture is of my grandmother, father, and sister at his graduation from The University of Chicago in 1967.
There was something, besides the facial resemblance, in the mannerisms that just seemed similar. I'm not sure if it was the slight southern accent that my grandmother had or the tilt of the head, but watching the movie brought chills to me. Is the smile from the first picture to the last picture not almost exact? This is how I remember my grandmother, not the pictures of her with white hair and stooped over with a Dowager's Hump.
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Thursday, July 30, 2009
Here, there, and everywhere
visited 49 states (98%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
I found this on someone else's blog. Thanks to the six years of travel that I did with my family. I've been to all the states except Hawaii and all the Canadian Provinces except the new one (Inuit Territory?).
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Why does the cat…?
Why is it that every time I do anything on my computer the cat (Greymalkin) wants to curl up on my arm? Not happy next to me or anything, it has to be on my arm!
After the last post, I added labels for all the posts of the last year (only 61). I think either this post or the last one will make this year equal all of last year. I have been working on scrapbook pages and actually finished two dps' (double page spreads). I still often think in yearbook publication terms. I haven't taken any pictures of them, but I might and I might post them.
Last year at this time I was reading Randy Pausch's and Jeffrey Zaslow's co-written book The Last Lecture. While reading, I wondered "is he still alive?" The day I checked was July 25 and he had just died that day. I finished reading the book, but now the poignancy was almost overwhelming.
This year, I was thinking about reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. Both Jeff and my parents gave it to me for Christmas in 2005. I had just read that McCourt had meningitis and was gravely ill. Last Sunday (7/19) he died. On Wednesday, I picked up the book to read. Again the poignancy was there, but not quite as much as McCourt lived to be 78, nearly 79.
I hope no one minds that I borrowed the images from Amazon. I then opened them in Photoshop and deleted the "see inside" arrows. I could have scanned the covers of my books, but it seemed too much trouble when they are right there on the web for the viewing.
After the last post, I added labels for all the posts of the last year (only 61). I think either this post or the last one will make this year equal all of last year. I have been working on scrapbook pages and actually finished two dps' (double page spreads). I still often think in yearbook publication terms. I haven't taken any pictures of them, but I might and I might post them.
Last year at this time I was reading Randy Pausch's and Jeffrey Zaslow's co-written book The Last Lecture. While reading, I wondered "is he still alive?" The day I checked was July 25 and he had just died that day. I finished reading the book, but now the poignancy was almost overwhelming.
This year, I was thinking about reading Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. Both Jeff and my parents gave it to me for Christmas in 2005. I had just read that McCourt had meningitis and was gravely ill. Last Sunday (7/19) he died. On Wednesday, I picked up the book to read. Again the poignancy was there, but not quite as much as McCourt lived to be 78, nearly 79.I hope no one minds that I borrowed the images from Amazon. I then opened them in Photoshop and deleted the "see inside" arrows. I could have scanned the covers of my books, but it seemed too much trouble when they are right there on the web for the viewing.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Well, I would have…
I would have had Deirdre take off her cap in the picture posted below, but she was only sort of cooperating. Her statement, "Mom, you're so exasperating!"
I love being a parent of a preteen (most of the time). I'll take preteens over whining six year-olds or know-it-all seventeen year-olds. Gotta love 'em at every age or you miss out on their lives.
I'd rather teach teenagers than elementary or middle school age! I still say the biggest difference between a two year-old and a teenager is the vocabulary. I learned that as a parent of a two year-old ten years ago and still stand by it. They want to spread their wings and fly without any interference "thank you very much." But, they also want the loving support of adults when they fly too close to the sun. Gotta love 'em.
I love being a parent of a preteen (most of the time). I'll take preteens over whining six year-olds or know-it-all seventeen year-olds. Gotta love 'em at every age or you miss out on their lives.
I'd rather teach teenagers than elementary or middle school age! I still say the biggest difference between a two year-old and a teenager is the vocabulary. I learned that as a parent of a two year-old ten years ago and still stand by it. They want to spread their wings and fly without any interference "thank you very much." But, they also want the loving support of adults when they fly too close to the sun. Gotta love 'em.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
3.7 G.P.A.
Well, I have two A-'s: one was a 93% and the other was because I missed two classes and the second miss lowered my grade automatically to an A-. This means a G.P.A. of 3.7.
A much better start of graduate school than I did the last time or when I started as an undergraduate. Grad school last time back in the fall of 1991 started with both classes as incompletes. One because I asked for it and the other because Professor Wine insisted I rewrite my final paper. As an undergraduate I started in the summer of 1987 with one class and received a B. In the fall of '87 I had 3 classes: Anthropology 150, Geography 1??, and Geology 102. I also had a wonderful personal trauma that quarter in November that messed up the end of the quarter. I received 2 C's and one B. So clearly two A-'s is a better start. I'm not thrilled with spending money to earn A-'s, but I can handle it. When I told a former student, who is currently a senior, what my grades were. She commented that I had stated earlier in the semester that I wasn't paying for college only to earn something lower than an A. I changed my tune. I also have had to get used to minuses and pluses. UIC didn't give those—only straight grades. So, if I had been attending UIC instead of the U, I would have received two A's. Ooh, that thought makes me feel even better about my grades.
I must have been really tired last night when I posted, because I just had to edit several spelling errors in it.
And the countdown continues—one week from today is the last day of teaching. My juniors should be handing in research papers today. So far I have nine out of the 63 I should have. I have already warned them that they should plan on signing up for summer school.
Tonight is D's orchestra concert. It's the final event of the year. The orchestras, bands, and choir all perform. Plus the students in the art class show off their work. Yesterday, the orchestra anand advanced band played for the fifth graders from Ephraim and Manti as a recruitment event. One of my Scouts, Samantha, will be in advanced band next year as a seventh grader. Josh, the band instructor, has beginning, intermediate, and advanced band instead by grade as the orchestra is. This means that students are at their ability level instead of grade level. Of course Josh has as many students in beginning band as there are in all of the seventh and eighth grade orchestras.
This is a busy week for us—orthodontist and dentist on Monday, Scouts and a game on Tuesday, Arts night today, a game tomorrow, free on Friday, and "Innovations" at Ballet West on Saturday.
A much better start of graduate school than I did the last time or when I started as an undergraduate. Grad school last time back in the fall of 1991 started with both classes as incompletes. One because I asked for it and the other because Professor Wine insisted I rewrite my final paper. As an undergraduate I started in the summer of 1987 with one class and received a B. In the fall of '87 I had 3 classes: Anthropology 150, Geography 1??, and Geology 102. I also had a wonderful personal trauma that quarter in November that messed up the end of the quarter. I received 2 C's and one B. So clearly two A-'s is a better start. I'm not thrilled with spending money to earn A-'s, but I can handle it. When I told a former student, who is currently a senior, what my grades were. She commented that I had stated earlier in the semester that I wasn't paying for college only to earn something lower than an A. I changed my tune. I also have had to get used to minuses and pluses. UIC didn't give those—only straight grades. So, if I had been attending UIC instead of the U, I would have received two A's. Ooh, that thought makes me feel even better about my grades.
I must have been really tired last night when I posted, because I just had to edit several spelling errors in it.
And the countdown continues—one week from today is the last day of teaching. My juniors should be handing in research papers today. So far I have nine out of the 63 I should have. I have already warned them that they should plan on signing up for summer school.
Tonight is D's orchestra concert. It's the final event of the year. The orchestras, bands, and choir all perform. Plus the students in the art class show off their work. Yesterday, the orchestra anand advanced band played for the fifth graders from Ephraim and Manti as a recruitment event. One of my Scouts, Samantha, will be in advanced band next year as a seventh grader. Josh, the band instructor, has beginning, intermediate, and advanced band instead by grade as the orchestra is. This means that students are at their ability level instead of grade level. Of course Josh has as many students in beginning band as there are in all of the seventh and eighth grade orchestras.
This is a busy week for us—orthodontist and dentist on Monday, Scouts and a game on Tuesday, Arts night today, a game tomorrow, free on Friday, and "Innovations" at Ballet West on Saturday.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Mother's Day and more
If you are reading this, then you noticed that I updated the header. I got tired of the same old same old and tried something new. While looking for quotes on writing I found a several that I really liked, but not enough to have permanently on my blog. So from a few of my favorite authors are the following:
"Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being." ~A. A. Milne
"Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any." ~Orson Scott Card
"I hated school. I don't trust anybody who looks back on the years from 14 to 18 with any enjoyment. If you liked being a teenager, there's something really wrong with you." ~Stephen King
"Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don't see any." ~Orson Scott Card
"I hated school. I don't trust anybody who looks back on the years from 14 to 18 with any enjoyment. If you liked being a teenager, there's something really wrong with you." ~Stephen King
I really have to agree with Stephen King. Mother's Day was a very relaxing day. I did nothing, but read. It was very nice. I called my mother, who is HOME! Yes that is right. She has been shipped home. She starts physically therapy today after a break. One of the things she wants them to do is teach her how to walk with a cane when she can't feel the ball of her foot. Jeff called his mother. See sometimes we are good children.
The first softball game is tomorrow! Unfortunately D slid during a baseball game at school and really scraped up her leg and knee. It's so nice to live in a small town. She called me at school, because Jeff wasn't home. I can't go get her, so the secretary who lives in our neighborhood took her home. Jeff came back just as they were going to go drive around Ephraim looking for him. He took her back to school after cleaning it up and bandaging it. Poor kid.
The first softball game is tomorrow! Unfortunately D slid during a baseball game at school and really scraped up her leg and knee. It's so nice to live in a small town. She called me at school, because Jeff wasn't home. I can't go get her, so the secretary who lives in our neighborhood took her home. Jeff came back just as they were going to go drive around Ephraim looking for him. He took her back to school after cleaning it up and bandaging it. Poor kid.
My freshmen and sophomores are writing alphabet books. "A is for Arthur who was king of the Celts." The sophomores are doing them for the Myths and Legends unit they are finishing. The freshmen are doing them for the books they just finished reading Literature Circles. I did this idea a few years ago with sophomores as a book report on the book they were reading. It takes a fair amount of work to do it right. I have these students working in groups (Lit. Cir.) or pairs (soph.) or for those who hate working with someone else they can work alone. I needed something to do for the last week of school in those classes and borrowed the idea from D's seventh grade lang. arts teacher who had them write alpha bios. They were due today, but I found out about last night at 7:30. URG save me from pre-teens. She stayed up and did it, while Jeff and I went to bed. I cut her paper for her and left her to it.
We are making scrunchies at Scouts tomorrow. They should be interesting to say the least. Cutting, pinning, sewing—what fun.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The emotional ups and downs of an over-stressed life
Well, March is over. Did anyone tell Mother Nature? It has been snowing and raining this week and cold. I thought this was April. Oh wait I live 5000 feet up and this is April weather.
The re-model is in its sixth month and unfortunately nothing is really happening. Jeff is busy teaching and grading papers, so he can only accomplish so much on the weekends. For him, school is out in a month. Of course softball starts at that point or maybe earlier, but eventually we will no longer have drywall dust everywhere. Let's not go toward the clothes that line all the floors. No closet upstairs at the moment. However, that is not the only problem with the clothes situation, but I won't go into that right now.
I have been an emotional wreck this week. It all started on Monday. I hate ants. I loath, despise, hate, abhor, etc. ants. Well I got to school and there were ants all over my desk. I had left an open package of Thin Mints on my desk. The ants crawled in a diagonal from the corner of the room, under my printer stand and up my desk to reach this package. I have never had this problem. I found a custodian pdq and let him take care of the problem. All classes were held in the library that day.
Tuesday—lunchtime. There are ants all over my microwave and refrigerator. I have a microwave and refrigerator in my classroom for 15 years no problem. That was the week. I don't even know if I can go back on Monday.
No one wants to see me when I have a melt-down from ants. Today driving home from the U in rain a cat decided to race in front of my car in Moroni. I tried to stop in time, but I don't think that I did. There was no way I was getting out of the car to check. By the time I got home, emotional basket-case.
My mother is in a nursing home because her right leg is paralyzed. She walked into the hospital to have back surgery and now she can use her right leg. My father, bless his soul, is of course, considering suing the surgeon. My poor mother has been there for a month. They won't let her go home to a mutli-storied house until she can walk and she can't walk!!! Pain management has changed in the last decade or so. Instead of managing pain, it seems that doctors allow pain until the patient screams and the he or she does something about the pain.
I follow several blogs and one of them had the distressing news of five month old little boy who is trying to stay alive. Some how or other I have become caught up in this Minnesota family's problems.
The re-model is in its sixth month and unfortunately nothing is really happening. Jeff is busy teaching and grading papers, so he can only accomplish so much on the weekends. For him, school is out in a month. Of course softball starts at that point or maybe earlier, but eventually we will no longer have drywall dust everywhere. Let's not go toward the clothes that line all the floors. No closet upstairs at the moment. However, that is not the only problem with the clothes situation, but I won't go into that right now.
I have been an emotional wreck this week. It all started on Monday. I hate ants. I loath, despise, hate, abhor, etc. ants. Well I got to school and there were ants all over my desk. I had left an open package of Thin Mints on my desk. The ants crawled in a diagonal from the corner of the room, under my printer stand and up my desk to reach this package. I have never had this problem. I found a custodian pdq and let him take care of the problem. All classes were held in the library that day.
Tuesday—lunchtime. There are ants all over my microwave and refrigerator. I have a microwave and refrigerator in my classroom for 15 years no problem. That was the week. I don't even know if I can go back on Monday.
No one wants to see me when I have a melt-down from ants. Today driving home from the U in rain a cat decided to race in front of my car in Moroni. I tried to stop in time, but I don't think that I did. There was no way I was getting out of the car to check. By the time I got home, emotional basket-case.
My mother is in a nursing home because her right leg is paralyzed. She walked into the hospital to have back surgery and now she can use her right leg. My father, bless his soul, is of course, considering suing the surgeon. My poor mother has been there for a month. They won't let her go home to a mutli-storied house until she can walk and she can't walk!!! Pain management has changed in the last decade or so. Instead of managing pain, it seems that doctors allow pain until the patient screams and the he or she does something about the pain.
I follow several blogs and one of them had the distressing news of five month old little boy who is trying to stay alive. Some how or other I have become caught up in this Minnesota family's problems.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Blog candy
Through Libby's Little Addictions (see left sidebar), I found this great blog candy. It seems that a student at Mt. Carmel High School in my hometown of Chicago is looking to collect $1500 for St. Baldrick's Foundation "Shaving his way to Conquer Children's Cancer." It seems that this boy has had many family members affected by cancer.
I too have had a few over the years, but luckily the majority of my family dies of old age. If you want to see what Wendy K at Kaput Krafts is offering and more about this family go read Wendy's blog.
I thought this was a pretty neat thing for a teenager to do. Deirdre has donated hair to "Locks of Love" twice and is growing it out yet again. Three of the girls in my troop (including D) have a also donated hair—a worthwhile sacrifice that helps so many children.
I too have had a few over the years, but luckily the majority of my family dies of old age. If you want to see what Wendy K at Kaput Krafts is offering and more about this family go read Wendy's blog.
I thought this was a pretty neat thing for a teenager to do. Deirdre has donated hair to "Locks of Love" twice and is growing it out yet again. Three of the girls in my troop (including D) have a also donated hair—a worthwhile sacrifice that helps so many children.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Great Game
What a supremely awesome Super Bowl. I wanted the Steelers to win and they did! Great emotion here. Screaming could be heard many times. Freaked poor Greymalken out enough that she left to go sleep in our bedroom. What an up and down game. Felt sorry for the Cardinals.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Look what I found
Isn't this the most adorable picture? I found it on the internet (duh). It is of the following: "Two-and-a-half-month-old Persian leopard cub Chui, left, and her nine-year-old mother Cezi, seen in their enclosure, in Budapest Zoo, Hungary, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008."I've never been to Hungary, but now I want to go see these leopards up close. I love large cats as well as small cats. I prefer large cats, though, to be in the wild or zoos, not up close and personal. :)
I've been updating my Facebook. I had forgotten I even joined, when I received an e-mail today from some person I never heard of to join her as a friend. I bought something from her off of e-bay about two years ago. Needless to say, I didn't join her, but I asked some people to be friends. AND I think I found a friend from high school. I haven't kept in touch with anyone since moving to Utah. Not that I was keeping in touch before we moved.
Monday, October 6, 2008
CIMI update
"The girls had a great visit at the Long Beach Aquarium. Stephanie says they got to drag net some plankton, look at lots of marine life, and were still pretty excited to be on the way. There was also a chance that the girls were going to be shuttled to the ferry, eliminating the dreaded 10 minute walk with luggage. The girls were enthusiastically supportive!"The above came in e-mail today from our "at home" contact. Every time a group of Girl Scouts travel, there has to be a "at home" contact person. This way if there is a problem, or in the CIMI trip case updates, this contact person does the contacting.
I ran into (not literally) Mr. Halling at WalMart. I have only met him once at Parent/Teacher Conferences. I kept asking myself "who is that man? why does he look familiar?" On the other hand he remembered me and asked how D was managing on her trip. Actually he asked "how's the world traveler?" It's interesting some of her teachers were excited for her opportunity to attend CIMI and others only saw it as missing class time. As a teacher, I know that what we do in class is the most important thing (it isn't really, but we all like to pretend). As a parent, I know that opportunities like this can't be missed.
On that point of not missing opportunities I nominated D (sneaking of me I know) as a student for the People to People Leadership Summit program. I also nominated some of my students, which is what they wanted me to do. I read about this program that was started by President Eisenhower in 1956 and it sounds fantastic. Of course I scoured the site for information regarding the cost, but it couldn't be found. I believe that by nominating her, we will receive information. All they wanted was an address, gender, and grade in school. The summits are held at places like Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, George Washington University, and Columbia. According to the website "As a Leadership Summit Student Leader, you'll join some of the world's top 6th through 12th graders for a week of interactive and hands-on training from top college students, college educators, and professionals in your area of interest."
The Beauty of the "Yester-years" of Gymnastics
This video of Oksana Omelianchik at the 1987 Worlds just blows my mind. No one has done a triple full punch front in years.
And just in case you thought release combinations on women’s bars were something new, take a look at Natalia Yurchenko back in 1983! The bars were closer together in 1983. Some of the moves couldn't be done today, because of the current distance of the bars. She just flies through the air. Ashley Postell of Utah, who finished her NCAA career last spring, and Courtney Koupets of Georgia are two of the best bars workers in college gymnastics right now. They both do absolutely amazing bar work with numerous release moves.
And just in case you thought release combinations on women’s bars were something new, take a look at Natalia Yurchenko back in 1983! The bars were closer together in 1983. Some of the moves couldn't be done today, because of the current distance of the bars. She just flies through the air. Ashley Postell of Utah, who finished her NCAA career last spring, and Courtney Koupets of Georgia are two of the best bars workers in college gymnastics right now. They both do absolutely amazing bar work with numerous release moves.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Paul Newman's death
One of my favorite actors died last night. Paul Newman was only 83, but cancer can get you at any age. When I came home from the Bridging and Awards Ceremony, Jeff told me. I realized that I really don't know any of the "young" actors. So, all the actors/actresses that I love are dying off. I loved the following quote from Robert Redford:
"There is a point where feelings go beyond words. I have lost a real friend. My life — and this country — is better for his being in it." — Robert Redford.
As a family, we watched in August The Sting and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. So, Deirdre knows who he was and, of course, he was in Cars two years ago.
What a sad day for Joanne Woodward and the world in general. They were married for 50+ years. Such an uncommon occurrence in Hollywood. It probably helped that their main home was Connecticut. There are certain actors that you really don't want to ever die, because when they do, it draws home the age of your parents.
Yesterday was my mother-in-law's 75th birthday. I have decided that parents are not allowed to ever die. I, personally, can't imagine life without those people in my life. Even if I don't contact them as often as I should, I know that they are in Salisbury, MD or LaGrange, IL living their lives. The very thought that they might not be is awful to say the least.
Deirdre had Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday. She has straight "A's." Her mid-term shows a "C" for Orchestra, but she didn't know that she was supposed to be handing in practice sheets. That grade was resolved, and even more importantly by Deirdre, not me. She has had to learn to talk with teachers herself. I can't always "bail" her out. This becomes even more important as she gets older. Her current goal now is to start college two years before the rest of her age group at 16 instead of 18. With the grade skip and the fact that she can easily earn 7 credits a year instead of 6, like the rest of her friends, it will probably happen. This means that in five years (!!!), she might be off to college.
Tomorrow, I will post pictures from the Bridging and Awards Ceremony for Scouts. My girls are now official Cadettes.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
What's my name?
I "stole" the following from Heather Atwood's blog. As a teacher, I am used to "borrowing" ideas from people all the time. No sense re-inventing the wheel, or in my case lesson plans, when I can let other people put the time and energy into it. :)
YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Thisbe Odyssey
YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fav hobby/craft, fav weather element + “Tour”): The Reading Raining Tour
YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo
YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): C-car (yeah, that makes sense)
YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Cat
YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hometown city): Rebecca LaGrange
YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): carca
SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Green Water (ooh, that sounds sooo scary!)
STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Chanel #5 Chocolate
WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names): Francis Theodore
WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Farland Frankfort
SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Fall Rose
CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Apple Sweatie
That was a ton of fun. Just what I needed today. The whole school has been sick. The faculty is falling like flies: headaches, sniffles, etc. I went to school and stayed until 9:45, which is when the sub got there. Of course by the time she arrived, I was feeling a little better. I came home and slept from 10:45 until Deirdre came home and slammed the front door at 3:10. My body just shuts down like that when I get sick. Of course there is tons to do this week, with the girls bridging on Saturday.
We sat outside WalMart for 5 hours on Saturday and didn't get any stuffed animals. We have a ton, but still a few more wouldn't have hurt. I had to deal with bored and fractious girls. Plus, a ton of people who wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies. If we had been selling cookies, we would have made a killing. But, no, we sell those at booths in the colds of March :( and go door-to-door in the "lovely" weather of late January/early February. For those wondering, cookie sales start Jan. 17. (I have students asking all the time when they can buy cookies. I should just sell the extra I have in my garage.)
YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Thisbe Odyssey
YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fav hobby/craft, fav weather element + “Tour”): The Reading Raining Tour
YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo
YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): C-car (yeah, that makes sense)
YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Purple Cat
YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hometown city): Rebecca LaGrange
YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): carca
SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Green Water (ooh, that sounds sooo scary!)
STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Chanel #5 Chocolate
WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names): Francis Theodore
WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Farland Frankfort
SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Fall Rose
CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Apple Sweatie
That was a ton of fun. Just what I needed today. The whole school has been sick. The faculty is falling like flies: headaches, sniffles, etc. I went to school and stayed until 9:45, which is when the sub got there. Of course by the time she arrived, I was feeling a little better. I came home and slept from 10:45 until Deirdre came home and slammed the front door at 3:10. My body just shuts down like that when I get sick. Of course there is tons to do this week, with the girls bridging on Saturday.
We sat outside WalMart for 5 hours on Saturday and didn't get any stuffed animals. We have a ton, but still a few more wouldn't have hurt. I had to deal with bored and fractious girls. Plus, a ton of people who wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies. If we had been selling cookies, we would have made a killing. But, no, we sell those at booths in the colds of March :( and go door-to-door in the "lovely" weather of late January/early February. For those wondering, cookie sales start Jan. 17. (I have students asking all the time when they can buy cookies. I should just sell the extra I have in my garage.)
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