Sunday Blessings

Health. I think this is something that we all take for granted until we are ill. Whenever I have to fill out a form about my family's medical history, I am blessed b/c I get to check the majority of "no's." We have some high blood pressure, but that is about it. My grandmother has had some breast cancer issues, but that is due to the fact she is an amazing 87 years old and the life take's its toll on the body. (She is constantly in our prayers for her cancer.)

Enjoy every day that you are able to walk on your own two feet, run after that child, take yourself to the bathroom/shower, dress yourself, drive, buy groceries (YUCK!!!) or do any of the many sorted things you do, on your own, every day. Thank God when you tuck your child into their bed, in your house, not saying goodbye from a hospital doorway. I'm not trying to be depressing, I'm just trying to help us all to not take all the good things in our life, namely health, for granted.

With that said, I also pray that when you look inward, you will possibly see one or two things you might be able to change in your life to make your life a little more healthy: sodas, alcohol, smoking, not enough exercise, food choices.......the list can go on and on. But start small and rejoice in those small accomplishments.

I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday and following week.

Texas Runner Girl

As some of you know, my sister did follow in my footsteps and created a family blog. Now, she has gone even further and has a business blog. I'm so proud of her! Please visit it and maybe it will motivate you to challenge yourself to a run or two. She is fantastic; she qualified for the Boston Marathon the first time she ran the Austin Marathon!!!!

Friday Book Talk

Jodi Picoult's newest book, Second Glance, is fantastic. If you didn't read the original post regarding it, please do.

I spent all day Sunday, lazing on the couch (that's what happens when child is with grandparents and husband is fishing, he even took the dog!! It was HEAVEN!). This book totally captivated me. So much, when I put the book down, I felt like I was leaving them and the characters would miss me peering into their lives! I know that sounds weird, but if you've ever been into a book, you know what I'm talking about.

The book takes a weird turn and Jodi introduces us to eugenics, which I would bet most of us have never heard of. This movement occured in the 1930's, here in the US! It is very disturbing and the reason it was haulted was because of the action of Hitler in Germany! Many, many states had sterilization laws on the books and VT is the only state that STILL has them on their books!!! Shameful.

Anyway, you learn a little about our disturbing history....and we are on a slippery slope of repeating ourselves with genetic sampling, testing and selection.

Back to the book, as usual, she takes you for turns that you would have never expected and it is a SENSATIONAL read!!! I was getting dressed one morning and one of the puzzle pieces fell together for me and I SO wanted to go back to the book to see if I was correct!

I'm already onto my next book....can't tell you what it is....you'll have to return for next Friday's edition!

Running, running, running....again!! YIPEE!!!!!

I'm contemplating doing a 1/2 marathon, again...yes, I've done them before, in my previous life. I need to map out the training schedule, and the date of the Rock n Roll SA Marathon. If you've ever trained for any type of race, you know that it does take a lot of time. I should make up my mind quickly b/c the price of the race increases on 8/31.......My sister tells me that I need to run in the mornings, but I can say I won't be doing that, thank you to my yogi! Running first thing in the morning is horrible for your body b/c the fluid in your joints is cold. I don't have an hour after I wake up to hang out/warm-up and then go run. So, I'll run in the evenings and weekends. Regardless of whether or not I do the 1/2 marathon, I will start to run more often b/c I have really slacked of with my running. I ran last night and boy could I tell that it has been awhile. I will sleep well tonight and probably feel it in the morning. But, workout sore is a good type of sore.

more unusual sightings

Will the weird sightings ever end??? For all of our sakes, I hope not!!!!

Still driving to work and I pass a retirement home, but this one isn't called a home, it is a "lodge." Who are they kidding....who does it make feel better, the resident? Doubtful, they'd rather be with family. This one is to make the child feel better about having to put their aging parent in a facility.......I can understand this, but think that calling a retirement home a lodge instead, doesn't make things better.

Wednesday's Wild Wrant! - Rocket Science?

I'm a reading specialist and I can't remember when I didn't love to read. I remember being in 1st grade and being in a special reading class for higher readers. At the time I didn't know this was a big deal; but as I talk with other moms and transition into my new position, I have a few things to discuss on this Wednesday morning.



1. Parents want the best for their children. No one will deny this. So, why don't parents take the time, from the moment their child is born to read to their child?



Books are expensive: really??? ok, so go to the public library, those books are FREE. Go to Half Price books, those are close to free. Talk to friends that have older kids and see if they have young books they want to get rid of. If all else fails, read the newspaper, a magazine, WHATEVER. When they are infants and young toddlers, it isn't important of what you are reading to them, it is the fact that you are sitting with them and they are hearing the cadence of your voice as you read!!!



I don't have time: if you took 5 minutes to read to your child, the level of enrichment is PHENOMENAL!!!! Make it a part of your child's bedtime ritual. If you don't take the time now, while they are young, when they enter school, they are at a HUGE disadvantage. Turn the television OFF!! Yes, there are good things on it, but the time you spend with your child reading is WAY more important and the payoff is much, much more. If your child is important to you, you'll make the time!



I'm not a good reader: your child doesn't know this. Children's books are written for children and the level of vocabulary is low and the sentence structure isn't complex. I promise you that the more you read to them, the better YOU will become as a reader. It's a two for one deal!!!



I don't like to read: ok so my thought on that is that you haven't found a book that captures your interest. There are millions of books out there, something is bound to interest you. NEVER tell your child you don't like to read. You are setting them up for failure. They idolize you and they won't like reading just because you don't.





2. What happened to pulling children out for enrichment??? It is the low level readers that get the majority of a teacher's attention. If parents would do their part prior to their child entering school (all I'm talking about is reading to your child and there is actually much more you can do, that's for a later post), we wouldn't have so many reading issues in our schools and teachers could focus on ALL children and not leave the on-level and above-level children to teach themselves. Let me insert a disclaimer here, reading to your child will not guarantee they won't have reading or learning issues, but you sure to set a darn good foundation for their entire educational career and life! Isn't this what all parents want for their children?



Ok, Lynette is getting off her soap box, we'll see you next Wednesday for another Wrant...and yes, I know there isn't a "W" in rant, but this is what you call author's prerogative and I want it to be WWW! :-) Happy Hump Day!!!

Vinyasa Class

I went to THE BEST yoga class ever last night. I've been attending yoga classes since January and I really love it and think the benefits trickle through all parts of my life. I highly recommend it to ANYONE, regardless of your fitness level. What is really stressed in all classes is that it isn't a competition, even with yourself. It is about listening to your body and doing what your body is able to do on that day, at that time!

So this was a Vinyasa class and it was TOUGH!!! But it was that difficulty that is GREAT and makes you feel like you climbed Mt. Rushmore when you finish. My yogi (ha, ha...I have a yogi!), Sara, at Two Rivers Yoga, is a phenomenal instructor! If you are in the area, I highly recommend that you try out a class. It is well worth it!

Sunday Blessings

I know that I rant a lot.....but that's part of my personality...some like it, some don't....but we had our school's open house Thursday night and the parents and their children anxiously brought their supplies up to school to meet the teacher. I was in the main hallway, helping direct traffic (which, btw, is humorous b/c I just started at the campus and needed map!)....anyway, I work at a Title I campus (majority of students are on free/reduced lunch) and I am thankful for my family, my job, what my husband and I are able to do for my daughter. I watched these parents and you can tell that many of them have it rough, but I was proud of them for getting the money together to buy their child school supplies and also making sure they got off of work to meet the teacher. I wish everyone a great school year!!!

Voting - What is your excuse for NOT voting??? There isn't a good one!

I rec'd this in an email and felt that it should be shared:

Vote - It's an amazing right!

A piece of history we need to remember, or perhaps become aware of, told
in a brief and moving way. I never knew this anyway. This is the story
of our Grandmothers, and Great-grandmothers, as they lived only 90 years
ago. It was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to
the polls and vote. The women who made it so were innocent and
defenseless. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.

Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a
rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk
traffic'. They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above
her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for
air. They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against
an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought
Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits
describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming,
pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15,
1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his
guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because
they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.

For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their
food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the
leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a
chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until
she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was
smuggled out to the press.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why,
exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote
doesn't matter? It's raining?

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO 's new movie
'Iron Jawed Angels' starring Hilary Swank. It is a graphic depiction of
the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at thepolling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the
actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote.
Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege.
Sometimes it was inconvenient.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO
movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked
angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I
watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way
I use--or don't use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted
now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The
right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social
studies and government teachers would include the movie in their
curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women
gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are
not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock
therapy is in order.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a
psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be
permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor
refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her
crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often
mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.
We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard
for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic,republican or independent party - remember to vote. History is being made.

Book Talk Fridays

I am going to try to start talking about my current reading selection every Friday. Now, as you know, my intention is there and we'll have to see how well it goes!!!

Jodi Picoult's new Second Glance

This is a page turner! In true Jodi form, there are smatterings of the characters and just enough info to get you hooked before she turns to another character. I'm not one to believe in ghosts and the paranormal, but this one will have you looking at things differently. I'm not even half way done, but I'm desparately trying to fit all of the pieces together. And if Jodi is true to form, she'll surprise me at the end and I'll have it all wrong!! When a cop walks into a half-torn down house, walks to where the bathroom was, no pipes or fixtures, and hears water, a mirror is left hanging on a stud (like how did it survive this long?) and the mirror is fogged up b/c of the steam from the running water (which is only heard, remember, no pipes) and the cop looks into the mirror and sees hands coming from inside the mirror placed on the mirror and then "HELP" written on the fogged mirror....WEIRD!!! I know, I don't do it justice in my retelling, but it is good. And it isn't Stephen King creepy!!!

So there you go! Go out and get it and let me know what you think!!! See ya next Friday! Have a terrific reading week! The Olympics are now over, you have the time!!! :-)

Walk-ins Welcome

I have a new drive to work, which is a good thing, however, I do miss the country scenary of Hwy 46...but not the construction they are doing! I am on 3009 and I see the marque of a doctor's office. He is an OBGYN and it tells about him, the hours, phone, ect...and at the very bottom, it says "Walk-ins Welcome." Really? So you are out and about and you drive by and decide, "Why that's great, haven't had my pap yet this year, let me just stop by and have it done? I don't know you from Adam, but you sure can check me out and tell me how things are going!" WOW, I just don't think so. Out of all the doctors you go to, aside from your child's pediatrician, that's the one you want the most referrals regarding their practice!!!!

Simply AMAZING!!!

New Adventure

As you know, I was trained by ISR to teach infant swim lessons. I LOVE doing this and my ultimate goal is to do this full time. I also have another HUGE business venture that I'd like to pursue, but need some SERIOUS financial backing....my idea, their money.....isn't that the way it always is? What I need from you guys is lots of positive vibes and prayers. I'm not ready to throw the idea out there yet b/c I need it to be more concrete, but I still need some help! :-)

Stone Ages

I have a new job, in a new district, which if you've talked to me in the past four years, you know this is a super good thing! I'm all moved into my new classroom and excited b/c we get a new school in January (yes, it will be caotic!). However, I have also found out that our school is the step-child and we get everyone's hand-me-downs, and this includes technology. My computer in my old school wasn't great, but I could open up multiple pages at a time....well, not so anymore. I am SO struggling with this. I type faster than my computer can keep up; at least I get breaks while I wait for my typing to show up on the screen, right? I'm supposed to be placated b/c we will get all new computers when we move. Thanks, but what am I supposed to do until then???? I have STUFF to do!!! And it doesn't include waiting while my computer downloads a page.......oh the frustration!!!

more blogging issues

When I decided to start blogging this summer, my sister and I talked about it and I tried to convince her to try it first.....no such luck, you do it Lynette. So I did....and you know what, she has since started a blog and hers is WAY better than mine. No, I know, it isn't a competition, but with sisters, it is!!! She does a much better job of just posting, and she has links in her descriptions and she posts pictures, then text and then pictures.....something I have yet to master.....and I'm the one who has worked in a computer lab for four years!!! YIKES!!!!

Blogging

I'm not the greatest blogger....I forget, I mean to, I have things that I want to write about, but I think about it when I'm in the shower or going to bed.......and then I do like I did today and make a billion posts all at one time!!!! Anyway, the Elmo post took me three attempts b/c of technical difficulties and I knew that the draft had been saved.....but where did it go? Was God telling me that I shouldn't post things about Elmo? I doubt it, but still....anyway, I FINALLY found the link to "Return to list of posts" and you know what? The other two posts where there, waiting to be edited, finalized and posted!!! gotta love it!! I've had a hard day, I need to get off of this computer! Best to all!!! lmk

Elmo goes ni-ni

We were playing today and Little kept going in and out of her room and she was closing her door (closing the door is the odd part.) So I went over to her and she said, "Ni-ni." Mama, "You want to go ni-ni?" Little, "No, ni-ni." Ok, let's open the door. And in her bed was Elmo, covered up, laying his head on her pillow, book beside him, with the music playing! It was great! I asked her if he was sleeping and she picked him up and gave him kisses and put him back to bed!!!

Sliding

I went to Toys R Us and bought Little a slide with her birthday money! I think it was money well spent.

2nd Birthday fun

Little's birthday party was last week. We had about 30+ people over to the house. Side note: why don't people RSVP any more? I only wanted to know if you couldn't make it.....tentatively there were to be about 60 folks there and only 6 folks said they weren't coming! I digress.....we had a great time, she didn't want to get out of the pool, but eating cupcakes was ok!

Cheesecake Disaster

I play bunco with some friends and I am usually very good about marking things like this on my calendar. Michelle, the leader of our Bunco group, sends out an email about a week ahead of the game with directions and a reminder. I'm reading this email and realize, "WOW, it's next week, at MY house!!" YIKES!!!!!

As many of you know, I have a VERY busy schedule this summer swimming all of these babies.....when am I going to get the house cleaned AND plan dinner for 12?????

Get everything figured out, head to Sam's, get all my stuff at Sam's (amazing how stuff just JUMPS into your basket!) and head out to the car. Unload the basket into my car and go along my merry way. I apparently I didn't secure the cheese cake b/c I hear it slide out of it's location and down in between the boxes and the door!!! I haven't even left the parking lot!!!! I stop, get out and scoop up the cheese cake into the lid (because those lids that you can NEVER get off, CAME OFF!) and wonder what the heck am I going to do b/c I don't have ANYTHING to wipe my hand off (which is now covered in cheese cake!)......I balance the side of my palm on the steering wheel and drive with my left hand (I'm right handed).....I will tell you that their cheese cake is good and I ate a piece of it while driving home!!! What else to do? I couldn't serve it to my friends; it was a big pile of mess!