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Halloween treats
I have a costume party (slash "game night") to go to on Saturday. For awhile I had been wanting to try my hand at "candy sushi" which I saw Rachael Ray make once. It turned out ok, really cute in fact, but I don't like the mess involved. Rolling the log of Rice Krispies was a sticky mess. Once that set up for a few minutes, the wrapping and cutting of the "Fruit by the Foot" was so much easier. Inside there are strips of licorice. On the ones that they call "nigiri" I put on a Swedish Fish and cut the Fruit by the Foot into strips for wrapping.
As desert number 2, I made a key lime pie and simply decorated it with a spider web and spider. Didn't want to go to much expense with the decorating stuff because I will not be making a hobby of this. So I simply got the icing that is already in a small tube. It didn't come out perfect, but certainly passable.


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Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife, And Hide Carl Sagan Too
The music's not great, but the spirit is, and the selection of quotes and quoted people is incredible.
I give you the Symphony of Science. There are seven of them so far, here's number five.
Crayon Physics
[This is a follow-up to Beal's Computers Are Awesome post.]
Check out this preview of Crayon Physics Deluxe:
Vodpod videos no longer available.It's actually a sequel to Crayon Physics, a little game made in under a week, which you can download and try out.
Venn Diagram Humour
In surprising abundance, at Indexed.

subset: commoncrawl


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via pinterest
via Amazon
1. Totally want an embroidery machine! I can barely sew but I love how cute little outfits look with an embroidered image. I should be able to figure this bad boy out.. right?! (Haha!)
3. We need a new TV.. ours is huge (and not in the good way) and is starting to go fuzzy. Time for an upgrade!
4. I wanna join the cool kids club and upgrade to a sweet tablet. Anything but an Ipad. Im not a huge fan of Mac because Im a creative of habit… Ive used PCs for years and Im not willing to change.
Plus I want my kids to be healthy and happy.
Whats on your wish list this year?
Ps.. I used my affliate link for Amazon. Read my disclosure here.


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Been totally exhausted the past couple of days, which I can normally accept in itself but every so often it's accompanied by terrible feelings of exasperation and hopelessness. And I just feel like GIVING UP.....now, some people might race over and beg me not to jump off the nearest cliff. It's not quite that kind of giving up. Although the cauldron of emotion that precipitates it is anything but pleasant, it actually feels like quite a liberating kind of 'giving up'....a surrender to what is. You see, fighting reality as it stands is just too exhausting and painful...especially if you have something like ME. You don't 'fight' it to overcome it. Like I stated in an earlier blog, the tree that fights the wind has its branches cruelly snapped. The tree that surrenders to the wind and just 'goes with the flow', survives intact.
Sometimes the world seems like a bleak and lonely place and these past few days I have been confronted with the horrendous suffering that man perpetrates on himself and his fellow species (I'm always getting action alerts to sign certain petitions and support various causes, which I'm delighted to be able to do in order to help in some small manner...although when I'm feeling sensitive and get graphic and descriptive emails about how 36,000 dogs have been brutally beaten to death in China it hits me like a punch in the gut - maybe not everyone would particularly care, but I am an absolute animal lover and sometimes actually prefer them to people). I guess when you're feeling low physically and emotionally you're more liable to view everything through a certain screen, and the world can seem rather insurmountably hopeless.
But in order to feel like that I realise I'm attaching to opinions and mental viewpoints that are destructive rather than constructive. The moment I realise that the 'mental bubble' is back up and keeping me locked in a certain set of negative thoughts and the corresponding emotional 'juice' that keeps them afloat, I can just recognise this mindstuff for what it is - thoughts (in this case storm clouds) drifting across the sky of mind and I can let them go. I can burst the bubble. I do that by GIVING UP. I just....quit.
Quit everything. Surrender everything - all viewpoints, all mental interpretations, all judgements of what 'should' or 'shouldn't' be happening, including all hopes and dreams...they all go into a big bonfire - and free up some inner S P A C E . I then feel that I'm no longer the one in charge - was I ever really? And just who is this "I" that "I" constantly attach to, anyway?? Upon investigation, there IS no "I"...and, mercifully, no "me" equals no struggle. There's just a surrendering to life, and allowing the tide to pull me out to sea. Whatever the sea is, whatever it will be and wherever it will take me, I just let it be. I let go and I let life be whatever it wants to be. Ultimately anyway it's aaall the same. No one gets out of this experience we call 'life' alive...how deliciously ironic. At least the ego never gets out of it alive...the deeper reality of unconditioned, undifferentiated consciousness, the formless that animates the form, was never fully born into this world and so can never die.
When I reach this state, a feeling of inner spaciousness and release pervades. The body can still be physically exhausted with little energy, but the ego-mind has ditched it's struggle (why do we all act like petulant toddlers anyway; thinking that our mind tantrums and protestations will actually change life and it it what we think it 'should' be?). It is what it is and there's a feeling of emptiness inside, but a good emptiness. If the body wants to be tired, it can be. The deeper part of that which is 'I' (the big Self and not the little ego-self, that is) doesn't actually mind all that much, I don't think. It just allows whatever is to be. I once heard this described as the 'benign indifference of the universe' and it's a strangely comforting thing.
today the key is complete surrender to what is. completely letting go. giving up the illusion that reality should be anything than what it is. only mind would suggest otherwise - and my days of being completely entranced by mind and unquestioningly buying into every thought are truly over. what is mind anyway, but ripples on the surface of a pond; mainly conditioned habitual thoughts stemming from unconscious patterning. most thoughts are actually aimless, repetitive and destructive. once you realise that, i think, a portal opens to genuine peace and freedom....even in the midst of turmoil.


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Wii U vs Wii VGChartz Gap Charts March 2014 Update - NewsWilliam D'Angelo , posted on 23 April 2014 / 5,493 Views
Welcome to the VGChartz Gap charts. The charts will be updated monthly and each article will focus on a different gap chart. The charts include comparisons between the 7th generation and 8th generation, as well as comparing the 8th generation consoles. All sales are worldwide, unless otherwise stated.
Wii U Vs. Wii Global:
Gap change in latest month: 1,468,954 - Wii
Gap change over last 12 months: 16,535,793 - Wii
Total Lead: 19,486,577 – Wii
Wii U Total Sales: 6,003,135
Wii Total Sales: 25,489,712
In the latest month of sales the Wii U has fallen another 1,468,954 units further behind its predecessor the Wii. The Wii currently leads by 19,486,577 when you compare the first 17 months. The gap is expected to continue to grow in the next month.
Both consoles launched in November, the Wii in November 2006 and the Wii U in November 2012. The Wii U has sold 6,003,135 units in its first 17 months on sale, while the Wii sold 25,489,712 units.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. Outside, in the real world, he has a passion for the outdoors which includes everything from hiking to having received his B.A. in Environmental Studies. You can contact the author at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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rip wii u
We gather here today to mourn the loss of the Nintendo Wii U. Throughout its difficult life it has faced countless adversities. We will never forget the memorable games that it has brought to us and we will always cherish its unique experiences. Brothers and sisters, may we bow our heads in silence to pay respects to the fallen console... :(
falling in hell :/


text: Rides Afternoon Drive: Awesome Hot Rod Trucks (17 Photos) By Greg Baugher Posted on January 24, 2017 2 min read 0 0 836 A truck is a beautiful thing. It is simple and useful – like our dads and granddads were. Trucks are tough, sturdy and reliable. Sure, they get poor mileage and the ride is bumpy, but when the weather gets bad or you need to tow, haul or pull something, there is no better vehicle. A suburban man can live vicariously through a truck. He sees himself cutting and hauling wood on autumn days. He dreams of pulling strangers' vehicles out of ruts along country roads. He expects to become a hunter one day and drive deep into the woods – across brooks and over rocks – in search of a big buck. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17


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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Update on Carlos
They were able to start an IV and the doctor's quickly diagnosed a blockage in his stomach that prevents the food from getting any farther. This is easily corrected by surgery. Yesterday morning they took him by ambulance to San Pedro Sula. (SPS is a major city that has a modern hospital, but it is at least a six hour drive from here.) He didn't look good when they left and we haven't heard anything since they arrived. If he had been helped sooner, his chances for survival would have been very good, but at this point we can only pray. As far as we know they will try to do the surgery. There isn't any reason to wait until he is stronger as he can't get sronger when he isn't able digest his food. Please continue to pray for little Carlos and his family.
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You have about 260-280 maturing Garlic growing in your garden, then about 8-10 weeks out from harvesting, it happens - Garlic Rust, the incurable fungus that strikes certain Alliums.
This week I got to find out what I would do, a decision that was very difficult to make - I removed them, the whole lot and now I'm removing the mulch that surrounded them. I know that I won't be able to grow Garlic here again for at least 3 years, hopefully the spores will only hang around in the ground half that time. What a blow, an absolute waste, but that's how it goes - all in the name of garden hygiene.
I had sourced seed from a Garlic Grower at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, Australian Garlic from the Supermarket and bulbs from Digger's, so if my infection source came in on seed - who do I blame.
A lesson learnt I guess.


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Brooke Hart was beautiful, smart, and groomed from birth to deal with adversity. Her widowed father did his best to raise his baby girl to be a strong-minded business woman. Then she found Tanner. Just when her world seemed perfect, everything turned upside down. Following Tanner's tragic death, Brooke joins a start-up company that is developing a cure for the disease that killed the love of her life. Just before the treatment is ready to market, the company is gobbled up by a giant conglomerate. She moves to the acquiring company as its youngest VP and becomes enamored with CEO Chase Allman—only to be betrayed by him. Brooke rebounds again and sets out on a personal journey to discover what will truly make her happy. Sparks fly when she and Chase cross paths again in an unlikely way. Now, they need each other to find an abducted child and save thousands of people.
What am I doing here? Brooke had been asking herself that question for the past six weeks. The thirty-three-year-old vice president seemed to have it all, yet it felt as if her career ladder and life had crashed. Hoping to move on, relocating to the new company had officially backfired. All the blind dates set up by her well-meaning inner circle—her father, Melissa, Shane, and Todd—had fizzled before hors d'oeuvres. Online dating turned into mis-matched.com. Damn Tanner.
Feeling claustrophobic in this stuffy room, the corporate strangers eyed her like a piñata and they were clenching bats. The stiff dress code mirrored the culture, and both felt about as comfy as tweed pajamas.
Suddenly, the boardroom hushed. All eyes pointed to the entryway like canines at obedience training graduation. Except for Brooke, whose back faced the door. She craned her neck; a whisk of air drew her to the opposite direction, followed by a masculine scent of sandalwood and cedar. Seductive.
Mr. Smellgood looked striking from the side. His physique matched his fragrance. He set his fancy briefcase at the head of the table—mahogany on mahogany. As if revealing a game show prize, he slid off his navy suit coat. Brooke's eyes widened as he draped it over the high-backed leather chair. He had a rugged build she expected to see on a mountain climber or surfer, but not on an executive for a drug company. Brooke's instant attraction surprised her.
My Review:
In the spirit of full disclosure I received an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
The Bad:
The metaphores are heavy-handed. The instant attraction felt forced. The backstory of the town came way too early and borders on the dreadful Info Dump. The plot dragged in some places and many of the twists were obvious. Tanner's suicide bugged me and so the prologue made no sense. Opening a romance with the death of the beloved is a risky move, in this case it only confused me.
The Good:
Once the story picks up it is easy to anticipate the next chapter and the next time the characters will see each other. The backstory for our hero is well thought out. I enjoyed how even though they went through so much pain and sorrow both Brooke and Chase prayed. The moments with Chase and Patrick praying were heartwarming. I adored the ending, though it was drawn out too.
Buy Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pink-Slips-Glass-Slippers-ebook/product-reviews/B009DQ3V1C/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R16MT6YM0TEQZJ
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16110625-pink-slips-and-glass-slippers?ac=1
About the Author:
J.P. Hansen is an international award-winning, bestselling author of three books, a professional speaker, and life coach. In addition, he is CEO of an executive search company, and for the past twenty years, he has helped thousands of people find their dream jobs. He was the youngest vice president of sales & marketing at a Fortune 30 company (ConAgra). Previously, he successfully ascended the corporate ladders at blue-chip companies Nestle, SC Johnson Wax, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. He graduated from Boston College with a BA in English and an area of concentration in Economics.
Since January, 2010, "The Bliss List-the Ultimate Guide to Living the Dream at Work and Beyond!" and "The Bliss List Journal" have garnered four awards (two international), including:
– ForeWord Book of the Year Medalist
– CAREER BOOK of the YEAR Award winner (Next Generation)
– Excellence Award National Finalist (Indie)
– USA Book News Award National Finalist
"The Bliss List-Discover What Truly Makes You Happy, Then Find Your Dream Job" is being published on May 16, 2013 by Reader's Digest in hardcover (agented by Linda Konner).
His first novel, "Pink Slips and Glass Slippers," became the #1 most downloaded book in the world (Amazon) within its first week in October, 2012, and again in January, 2013, and continues at or near the top in most rankings.
J.P. has appeared live as a "career expert," reaching over 15,000,000 people on FoxNews, Daytime TV, CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX affiliates, on numerous radio programs in top markets, and in publications like The L.A. Times, Fortune, AOL, CareerBuilder, CNN.com, and is a regular contributor on FoxBusiness.com (8 times). Omaha Magazine dubbed J.P., "The Ambassador of Bliss."
For updates, visit http://www.BlissList.com and click "Like" on his author Facebook page: J.P. Hansen
Author's Media Links:
Website: www.blisslist.com
FB Author Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001165424602&ref=tn_tnmn#!/AuthorJPHansen?fref=ts


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Movie Addict Headquarters
According to Nikki Starr, host liaison at BlogTalkRadio, "This is going to be one of our best shows ever!"
MOVIE ADDICT HEADQUARTERS airs each Tuesday at 2.p.m. Mountain Time. To listen in, click on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters. Listeners are also invited to call in with comments or questions. The call-in number is 646-478-5660.
Labels: Betty Jo Tucker, BlogTalkRadio, Movie Addict Headquarters, Movie Reviews


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In 1998, the high school marching band in whose district I live caused a bit of a firestorm when it performed a halftime show with a Civil War theme, with part of the show including the playing of the tune "Dixie" and the displaying of Confederate flags — which offended many African-American parents. In response, I wrote an op-ed, "Don't look away, but play 'Dixie," in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, during which I referred to my time attending Georgia Tech, seeing that banner on a consistent basis and not bothering me at all.
That being said, given the massacre last month in Charleston, S.C. in which a young white man expressing racist ideology shot to death a state senator who was the pastor of the historic church where it happened and eight other African-Americans, Southern states probably should retire it from official status and relegate it to museums and private homes.
To say that what is more accurately the battle flag of the army of Northern Virginia simply represented slavery and, thus, racism and needed to come down for that reason is a bit of a stretch, as racial justice and reconciliation weren't even on the agenda in those days and African-Americans were, really, an afterthought.
Remember that Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was an opponent of slavery, and even when running for president, Abraham Lincoln, because of whose election 11 Southern states seceded, said he didn't believe that the races could live together and proposed shipping blacks back to Africa — in line with the views of many even abolitionists. And while Lincoln also opposed slavery, he also proposed a compromise that one "free" state would be admitted to the Union for every slave state. (Only after his Christian conversion in 1862 and the possible recognition of the Confederacy by Britain and France did he decide that slavery needed to be eliminated altogether.)
The flag, however, did make an official comeback in South Carolina during the civil-rights movement, its proponents insisting that doing so commemorating the centennial of the beginning of the Civil War — which, while true, certainly came across to many as opposing desegregation.
Moreover, one of my PG colleagues — and now that I think about it, he was right about this — noted back then that the flag also represented treason against the U.S. government. And while it's fine to recognize that period, that's not something to celebrate at any time for any reason.
That's why it needs to be officially retired.


text: Now check this out.MySpace will soon launch more than a dozen branded video channels, featuring content from big names like the National Geographic group, The New York Times, and Reuters. Users will be able to access the video content on branded content microsites similar to YouTube's partner channels with the BBC, NBC, and CBS.MySpace is allowing content providers to customize their content interface,with special backgrounds and color schemes.You can expect something similar to Trailer Park, which MySpace launched last month.The new service will tie in to MySpace's current videos platform, although there's no word yet on whether or not members will be able to embed the new content on their profiles or on outside blogs and Web sites.Maybe the most interesting news out of this morning's announcement is participation by Reuters and National Geographic.Both content providers are also sharing entire shows on Joost, which could signal overlap from other providers that are currently sharing their content on the competing service. Given the choice between viewing the content on a Web site and installing a program, many users are likely to go for MySpace's approach, or just stick with YouTube.


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Director: Xavier Dolan
Writer: Xavier Dolan
Cast: Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clement
Language: French
A widowed single mother, raising a violent son with ADHD alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household. The neighbor is also struggling and recovering from some emotional trouble, cause of which is not explained in the film, that has left her with speaking difficulties. She seems to be able to connect well with her neighbor's son and the interaction seems to help her in overcoming her difficulty in their presence. The film is set in French speaking part of Canada.
I had gone for my mother's hospital checkup two days back and in the waiting place we had interacted with a lady who had a 38-year old son having psychiatric problems after being subjected to hazing at college. So it was kind of kooky to watch 'Mommy' next, which also deals with a similar subject matter even though in the film Steve's troubles begin when his father dies and the family starts facing financial difficulties. At the beginning of the film, his mother takes him home from a correctional facility after him having burnt down the cafeteria causing injury to others. To make matters worse she loses her job. The film starts with a narrow aspect ratio of 1:1, a square, and I was wondering whether it was a problem with the print that I was watching. It is intentional and when the family starts interacting with the neighbor and all of them becomes kind of happy, we get a scene where Steve is skating with his two mommies listening to Oasis' Wonderwall' in background, and he literally pulls the frame wide into a normal aspect ratio to indicate the mood at that point of time. It again goes back to 1:1 when his mother gets a court notice seeking damages related to his cafeteria burning incident. Towards the end of the film, there is a sequence where they have gone for a picnic and Steve's mom visualizes an alternative reality for them with Steve leading a normal life. The frame again widens and the sequence, set to some stunning background score, reminded me of a similar one from Spike Lee's '25th Hour'. I should watch that one again soon.
With films like Mommy, the course that the story takes can be very predictable, with it either being a 'feel good' one or a 'feel worse' one. I did fear it taking 'Rain Man' route when it comes to ending but it did surprise me there even though the outcome is the same. So whether a film works or not despite being predictable depends on how well you connect to the characters and this film certainly did that for me. I was so transfixed that I sat through the end credits which was set to Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die', an excellent choice.
Overall it is a great watch with excellent performances from the three leading characters. It was part of Official selection for Palme d'Or at Cannes where it won the Jury prize. I haven't seen any other films from Xavier Dolan, who at the age of 25 have already made five feature length films. Mommy is considered as his best work so far. His first film, I Killed My Mother, is supposed to be semi-autobiographical with him starring as a homosexual at odds with his mother.
Rating: 4.5/5


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Lovely Disney Princess Pink messenger bag
A lovely pink velcro fastened Disney Princess Bag With 1 large compartment,
This Disney Princess messenger bag has an adjustable shoulder strap, and a plain pink canvas style back, with pale blue trim.
On the front there are 3 bright images of disney princesses Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Cinderella.
This Disney Princess bag measures 31 x 9 x 31cm
There are no reviews yet.


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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Meet Master Cashew
It has been a busy time here at Right View From The Left Coast Headquarters.
And the reason is that little guy above, Master Cashew.
He is the newest member of the RVFTLC family.
Master Cashew joined our family two Saturday's ago.
Yes, he is a rescue although we did get him through a pet shop. The pet shop only deals with rescue dogs on the brink. And we have the papers to prove that he was with the Los Angeles city shelter.
He is a Cocker Spaniel-Golden Retriever mix. I think you can tell the Cocker is most prominent.
Master Cashew is 10 months old. Hmm, not really house trained, but we are working on it.
And Scout the Wonder Dog is handling it all pretty well considering her senior age of 14 1/2 years old.
If you want to follow the adventures of Master Cashew, I am trying to keep it all on my Facebook page.
Now that things are getting more normal, it is time to blog on the issues of the day.
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Million Dollar Tan @ IMATS 2015
We also got our hands on our favorite beauty essentials- Ardell lashes (the BEST) and The Makeup Light! The Makeup Light allows you to utilize the best lighting while applying your makeup. It gives you lighting that is the most similar to natural, outdoor lighting but in the comfort of your home. There is no better place to pick-up your beauty staples or find a new obsession!


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25 novembre 2008
Five miles high
Je me souviens notament d'avoir redécouvert par hasard le "Sign of the times" des Belle Stars (que la mémoire collective attribue par erreur à Bananarama) en cherchant le morceau homonyme de Prince.
Là c'est en me ruant sur le dernier single de Franz Ferdinand, un des rares groupes Britanniques qui ne me décevront jamais, qui m'a fait tomber sur les Irlandais de The Japanese Popstars et leur electro house putassière accompagnée qui plus est d'un clip qui ravira tous les nostalgiques de Croq'Vacances.
Ulysse revient, et par la même occasion moi aussi.
Pour de bon cette fois.
The Japanese Popstars "Rise Of Ulysses" ysi
Franz Ferdinand "Ulysses" ysi
Back for good this time.
Few days ago I was looking for the latest Franz Ferdinand single which is fine and I stumbled to this Irish act and their kick ass electro house sound, slightly different from the song I was seeking but kinda amazing too.
4 commentaires:
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CVS has a special offer right now. They are looking to revamp their store flyer, and they are holding a survey on Sunday March 21 to gather opinions on how to do just that.
Go here to see if you qualify to take the survey. The qualification questionaire is short.
Those who qualify will recieve an email link on Sunday as well as $10 in Extra Care Bucks as a thank you for completing the survey.
Sounds like a good deal to me!
18 March 2010
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Friday, October 31, 2008
The H-word
And, the bumming by the holiday continued on the home front as well. I bought Elvis' costume. I practiced trick-or-treating with him (using his communication board). I did all the "work" involved in the holiday. Alli and Boy Wonder did the fun part. They took him "trunk-or-treating" at a local church. (BW's family went along. I wasn't invited, even though they took my van.) I did request they take him by my mom's house. I guess I wasn't specific enough, as they technically took him by my mom's house. They just called her and had her come see him in the driveway. They made my 71 year old mother go down a flight of outdoor stairs at night rather than walking their 20 year old butts up to her. I can't believe Mom delivered their treats (She had a treat for them, as well as for Elvis.) I'd have told them if they didn't care enough to get out of the vehicle to just do without.
So, everyone was out celebrating and I was home...alone...watching idiots on the Food Network build a 19 foot replica of Mickey Mouse out of popcorn. Happy Halloween, All!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Blogging during the school day? There must be a story to tell!
I drove on to school, calling her cell constantly. I couldn't find anyone else. My brother's phone was off. My sister-in-law was already at her school, which is out of cell range. I left a message with her school office but I doubt she got it before her students arrived. I got to school, threw Elvis into his classroom and asked his teacher to feed him his breakfast. All the while, I was calling Mom's cell constantly because I didn't know what else to do. I realized I was going to need a sub for the day so the teacher next door went to the office. They snagged a PTA mom who also subs and she agreed to take my wild ones for the day. I typed out some rather pitiful lesson plans as fast as I could and left, telling my students that my mom wasn't feeling well and I needed to go check on her. (OK, technically a lie but: a- you can't tell 5 year olds that you lost you mom, and b- there was the possibility that I'd have to hurt her if I found her and she was just ignoring my phone calls.)
I left school and started down the highway headed to Mom's house. I tried her cell one more time as I arrived and...she answered. She still owns the house I grew up in and rents it out. The furnace there has been giving her troubles and she was in the basement there with a repairman. Whew! I got my heart to stop pounding and went to her house to look for the emergen-key, hoping my aunt had just overlooked it. Nope, it's not there. So, while relieved that Mom is okay, there is still the matter of the missing key. If she doesn't find it this morning, she needs to have her locks changed. Bottom line is, her alarm did go off. That happened for a reason. I'm just sooo glad she's okay.
So, it's just after 9:00 AM and I have a day off. I have plenty to do but I think I'll spend the next hour or so just doing nothing. Elvis and Beth are in school. Alli and Boy Wonder are in their part of the house. I may go flop across my bed and finish the book I've been reading. After that, I've got plenty to do for the rest of the day. And, I have that teacher training tonight after school. I'll go back for that because if I miss it, they'll take another half-day of sick leave. I'd rather not burn my sick days on the little things. And, after having today off, I should be nice and relaxed for the (usually) boring meeting tonight.
And, I guess I should apologize to Beth because when I first realized a police officer was calling my this morning, my first thought was "What has that girl gotten into this early in the morning?" I don't know why I thought that. The police have never been involved with her. That was just the thought that popped into my head before he finished telling me about my mom. So....Sorry for mentally branding you a criminal, Beth! I love you!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
'cause I'm bad like that
As I'm up pondering that thought before 2:00 AM, it makes me realize how some of my foster kids have felt over the years. It's not as simple but it's the same premise. They are grossly unhappy with their lives and the lack of control they have over their own lives. Instead of being oppositional on some minor point, like preferring one sports team over another, they end being oppositional over major things in life, like following the basic rules of society or being able to live peacefully in a family setting. I'm an adult and I'm able to understand the basics of my new found fondness for a particular sports team. (Boy Wonder and I, at best, have a very contentious relationship. We live in the same space in relative peace but often find ourselves at odds. Evidently I go out of my way to be at odds with him - at least on this one topic.) And, this rivalry doesn't interfere with life to a major degree. However, with the stream of kids I've had over the last 10 years, their decision to be oppositional to the fine points of family life DID have a huge impact of the quality of their lives (and, of course, the lives of those who actually tried to live with them).
That brief moment of introspection is now over. I need to go address the real reason I'm up long before the crack of dawn...Elvis is wide awake. I'm hoping I'll feed him some yogurt and give him a little Pediasure and *hopefully* he'll go back to sleep. I just couldn't resist checking the Colts/Titans score while I was up. (I'd gone to bed before it was over and at that point, the Colts were winning.) GO TITANS!
Monday, October 27, 2008
I did my civic duty today
Voting didn't feel as good today as it usually does. I usually leave feeling proud of myself for participating in our country's government. Today, I was just glad it's over. There wasn't a clear-cut choice for me today. I ended up voting not for the person who I think would make a great president. That would have been "none of the above." Instead, I had to vote for the person I believed to be the lesser of two evils. It could end up being a loooooong 4 years.
On the upside, early voting went very smoothly. Alli, Elvis, and I went. We were in and out in under 10 minutes. The only snag was Alli's last name. (She's 21 and has had 4 different last names.) The last time she voted, she was still going by her alleged bio father's last name. Since then, she's had my last name and now her husband's. We did a lot of name changes but evidently forgot to change it on her voter registration. They let her go ahead and vote but had her sign everything by the last name she was registered under. Once we got past that section, things went quickly.
This is my long week at school. We have a teacher training Wednesday from 3:30 until 6:30 and on Thursday, we have parent-teacher conferences from 4:00 until 7:00. Then Friday is Halloween and, even though we aren't celebrating it at school, the day promises to be wild. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, the kids know.
And, just to make this week even better, it's gotten to be cold weather. We have freeze warnings, even. Ordinarily, I would love this (and I do love the cold) but it caused a minor disaster this morning. Realizing that it was going to be 48 degrees with a 20 mph north wind on the playground, I knew I'd need a jacket. I dug around and found a suitable one but it had been wadded up and tossed around for a few months. I tossed it in the dryer with a dryer sheet and continued getting ready. Beth (who likes her clothes to be warmed before she puts them on) threw her wardrobe for the day in with my jacket. When she went to retrieve her clothes, there was much fussing and gnashing of teeth. She wanted to know what was all over her clothes. Upon further investigation, she discovered the source of the black film on her clothes...a black crayon that had evidently spent the summer in my jacket pocket. It escaped the pocket and melted all over the inside of the dryer and the contents of said dryer. Yuck, yuck, yuck!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Another (much more important) miracle
God sent me tomato soup
Aggravated thinking I was going to have to rush and get ready to go back to the store, I started cleaning the kitchen. It desperately needed cleaning. There were dirty dishes lying around and several bags of unknown items stacked in various places. I guess I worked off some tension as I cleaned and I was feeling better about the extra trip to the store for the soup. The kitchen looked better and that made me feel better. I was a lot less aggravated when I picked up the last bag that needed to be unloaded. I knew what was in it - my mom had given me (two weeks ago) a grocery bag of instant pudding because she knew Elvis would like it. I picked up the bag, ready to store the pudding in the pantry and it felt oddly heavy to have only contained boxes of pudding...yep, that's right - along with the pudding, the bag contained exactly two cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup.
So, the kitchen looks a lot better and we had the yummy stew for dinner. Thanks, God...and Mom.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tense PTA meeting
Our PTA has never been like this before. In the past, most meetings were attended by most of the teachers, all of the PTA board members, and (maybe) a couple other parents. That was it. And, truthfully, the teachers were only there because the principal said we had to be.
Fast forward to last year - we had a really active PTA board and they planned lots of activities. Most of them didn't want to serve again this year so we have a lot of new folks on the board. They continued with the enthusiasm of last year and things were going well. Then, a group of negative parents got together and seem to take delight in causing problems. One parent (the spokesman for the group) literally questioned every statement in last night's meeting...EVERY statement. You could almost hear the eye rolls from the others in attendance.
Seriously, if the best thing you have to do with your life is cause big trouble by fighting against the PTA and administration of your local primary school.....GET A LIFE! It was so frustrating to watch them aggravate and belittle the caring parents who are doing a great job of supporting our school. I plan to be at every meeting I can this year. They are not convenient for me and I have to do a lot of extra running to be there but I feel it's the least I can do. I try to live my life avoiding confrontation whenever I can. It's shocking to watch this group go out of their way to annoy others. It's almost foreign to me. And I'm glad. I don't want to be one of those people. I can only assume that their lives are boring and unhappy to make them get such joy out of this mess they have created.
I'm soooo glad today is Friday. It's been a long week. The kids came back from fall break and are wild. I got a new student Wednesday (giving me 23 students) and he's something else. That gives me two students with significant behavior issues. I had to call the office and have our school cop come remove one of them from my room today as he was throwing chairs and cursing. It's hard to teach with that commotion going on. I'm not one to send problem kids to the office. They miss educational time while they are there. However, this child is one of the toughest I've ever had. The principal told me to start sending him up there so they can document what's going on. I'm still hesitant to do it but he was way over the line today. If he was one of 18 students, I'd have him settled down by now. As one of 23 students, he'll move on to first grade next year with the same or maybe even worse behavior problems. Sad. It's not my fault. It's not his fault. It's just the way the numbers lined up this year. And, while I'll have a difficult year (and maybe use a bunch of sick days) the child is the one who will suffer...and, of course, his first grade teacher!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Still around
Fall break gives me time to fall into bad habits. I love staying up late and then sleeping in. Many mornings, I (and Elvis) slept until almost 10:00 A.M. To add to my sleep-deprivation, Elvis (who missed school and was really excited to go back) decided to get up at 2:30 AM for the day. I swear he was saying "school." (He kept repeating what sounded like coo-el. I think it was Elvis for school.) So, I faced my first day back at work with less than 2 hours of sleep the night before. Monday went fairly well but Tuesday morning I felt like I'd been run over. Today was better. Elvis and I are going to bed really early, trying to catch up. I was asleep by 9:15 last night. That's possibly a record for me.
We did do something fun this week. The girls have a bio cousin who they are still close to. She was a positive part of their lives and we stay in contact. Her husband is in the National Guard and he's being deployed for the second time. I think he's still in the states for training right now but he's far from home. The girls and I packed a box of Halloween junk and sent to the cousin and her two little girls. They got it today and we got this text message: "The girls just opened their box and they are both so excited. Thanks. (7 year old) says ya'll are the best cousins ever. (2 year old) said "Wow, mama. Look at this!" So, we've spread a little joy to them. It's my plan to send them a box every month. I hope we can keep up with it. It is fun to shop for the boxes.
Alli and Boy Wonder are still doing nothing. I get bored just watching them. I can't imagine how bad it is to actually live like that. As much as I enjoy an occasional day off school, I like having that structure in my life. Getting up every day with nothing to do would make me nuts. BW reportedly has a lead on a job. Alli has an interview next week at a temporary staffing company. We'll see what happens next.
Beth is back in the swing of school. She's still madly in love with Spider-Pig. (tee hee) She's half-way looking for a job. I haven't been really pushing that. She's not driving so a job for her means more work for me. I also don't think she can keep up with school and hold a job. After Christmas, I'll push her harder to find work.
Elvis has been practicing trick-or-treating at school using his communication device. I was coming back from lunch yesterday and ran into him and his speech therapist. He was wearing a mask and I saw new icons on his board. She handed me a piece of candy and told him to tell me trick-or-treat. It took a few seconds but he hit the correct button and the therapist's recorded voice said, "Trick or treat!" I put the candy in his bucket and (with a little prompting) he hit the button for "thank you." Next, she told him to tell me what he was dressed as. He hit the button that said, "Devil." Not only did he hit it once, he hit it over and over again(devil....devil.....devil....devil) so the whole area heard he was a devil. I laughed...a lot. So much that the therapist sent the mask home with him so I could continue to enjoy it. He's getting better at the whole trick or treating thing. Guess we'll have to take him out on Halloween so he can do it in the real world.
I have a PTA meeting tomorrow night at school. I usually dread these but am looking forward to this one. There's been some kind of drama between the PTA board and the school administration as well as some drama among the PTA itself. We also have on parent who comes to these meetings just to stir things up. Rumor has it the cops may come to the meeting. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I spend all my time and energy avoiding drama that involves me but I'll all excited about watching it when I'm not directly involved!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Too much cole slaw
The assisted living place was rather nice. I'm usually a little skeeved out by nursing homes but this one was very "home-y" and the employees were very sweet with the residents (and visitors). My grandmother was happy to see us but kept saying she didn't feel well. I don't think I'd ever feel well at 92 years old. She loved Elvis and Elvis loved her. She even held him quite a while (and he's not easy to hold). Her room was hot and she was wearing a sweatshirt. I was sweating like a pig. (Side note: My aunt always insists that women don't "sweat" - they "glow." I guess she'd have said I was glowing like a pig. Whatever!) We stayed and visited about 3 hours. My grandmother kept telling Elvis how pretty his eyes are. You could almost see his head getting bigger each time she said it. He's quite conceited. We left at 3:00 because her Bingo game was starting - LOL! Last time, she won a box of Moon Pies. She was hoping for something else this time. I left hoping she won a R.C. Cola . Then she could go here. (More than I ever really wanted to know about Moon Pies and R.C. here.)
We said goodbye with a quick hug and an "I love you." (We had to hurry because the Bingo caller had already started. This disturbed my grandmother a bit.) I couldn't help but wonder if I'd see her again. I am very glad I went! The drive home was rainy but we didn't have any trouble. Elvis slept a little. We got home right near dinner time and my mom offered to buy us dinner. We went to a local catfish place that we all enjoy. Guess what comes with every meal...that's right - SLAW! I ordered my catfish, requesting white beans instead of slaw. Wouldn't you know it - they brought me the beans and the slaw. For the second time in one day, I had to isolate parts of my meal that had been too close to the enemy (slaw).
Today, I slept til almost 10 (a habit I have to quickly break) and then went to school to work on my classroom. Alli had agreed to come help and Beth had planned to watch Elvis while we went. Neither of those happened. I guess neither of them really wanted to do their part so I went alone. It wasn't a bad day. It would have just been more fun with someone else along. I must be about to hit that empty nest phase of life. The girls had rather do their own thing than to hang out with me. Guess that means if I'd rather spend my money on me instead of them, I can do that, too! This empty nest thing might not be so bad.
Tomorrow, I'm going back to school to finish my classroom. (I just never got things organized the way I wanted them when school started. I lived with it the first 9 weeks but I need it to be better.) It's a little aggravating to spend my fall break days there but I will feel so much better when it's done. On Sunday afternoon, I hope to attend the games of the local baseball league for people with special needs. Last year, Deb was with me and played on the league so we went to all the games and practices. This year, Deb lives elsewhere but is still playing. Cori's little sister plays, too. I also have a few other friends and former students playing so I really enjoy the games. Elvis likes to watch, too, so it will be an enjoyable afternoon. Then, Monday comes and it's back to school. I'm ready. I'll miss sleeping in but I'm ready.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Over the river and through the woods...
I've been sitting here trying to remember exactly how old my grandmother is. How sad is it that I don't know? I do remember that her 80th birthday was before I ever started fostering. I fostered over 10 years so she has to be at least 90. YIKES! I can't even remember the last time I saw her - SHAME ON ME! She didn't come to our 4th of July this summer. She didn't feel up to the trip last Christmas, either. The summer before that, I had to leave the 4th of July party before she got there. (I had a very physically and verbally aggressive foster child at the time. I couldn't stay there and let her call my grandmother every dirty word in the Dictionary of Dirtiest Words Ever.) So, I'm guessing I last saw her Christmas of 2006. Again, SHAME ON ME!
So, we're loading up at the crack of dawn in the morning and beginning the big trip. It promises to be an adventure! Luckily, Elvis travels well. I still may lose my mind before we get home tomorrow night. Now, I need to go clean out my van before I get the world's longest lecture from my mom on the mess floating around my van. I have to admit there is quite a collection out there. I counted 3 lunchboxes the other day. (Yes, I just counted them and left them there. Welcome to my world.) Along with Elvis' wheelchair, which has to make the trip with us, he has a booster seat to be used in a chair and another booster seat to be used on the floor. (No, they don't make one for both purposes. That's how the companies make lots of money - bilking the parents of kids with special needs for every single penny.) There is also an expired car seat in the way back. Mom was going to donate it but I pointed out it was unsafe. I took it, thinking I can use it in my bathroom. It's hard to hold the very long Elvis and brush his teeth. I think I can put him in that car seat on the counter and save my back a little strain.
I think we'll risk it with just the wheelchair tomorrow. Taking out the other seats will allow room for the cooler. (My mom never goes anywhere without a cooler - LOL.) And, yes, I'm laughing now but when I'm thirsty tomorrow and Mom pulls out that icy cold Diet Cherry Pepsi, I'll be oh so glad she packed and brought the cooler.
Get a life
In my real life...Fall break is winding down. I'm not ready to go back to school but in some ways I am ready to go back. Weird, huh? I miss the predictable routines. I miss knowing when Beth will be coming and going. I miss knowing that Elvis is in his classroom across the hall from me. (And Elvis really misses being there. The boy LOVES school!)
Everyone is out today and I'm enjoying some peace at home alone. I'm watching Gilmore Girls DVDs (that I've seen many, many times before) and doing a little housekeeping - washing clothes, changing Elvis' sheets, a little cleaning in the kitchen. Absolutely nothing exciting but still comforting and quiet. I guess if I wanted to liven things up I could go check all of Elvis' toys. Surely he has at least one talking toy that, if I listen to hard enough, would sound like it's saying something controversial like, "Adults who listen to dolls need serious help."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Oooh, a quiz!
Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...
You Are an Ingrid!
You are an Ingrid -- "I am unique"
Ingrids have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.
How to Get Along with Me
- * Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.
- * Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.
- * Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.
- * Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.
- * Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!
What I Like About Being an Ingrid
- * my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level
- * my ability to establish warm connections with people
- * admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life
- * my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor
- * being unique and being seen as unique by others
- * having aesthetic sensibilities
- * being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me
What's Hard About Being an Ingrid
- * experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair
- * feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved
- * feeling guilty when I disappoint people
- * feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me
- * expecting too much from myself and life
- * fearing being abandoned
- * obsessing over resentments
- * longing for what I don't have
Ingrids as Children Often
- * have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games
- * are very sensitive
- * feel that they don't fit in
- * believe they are missing something that other people have
- * attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.
- * become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood
- * feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)
Ingrids as Parents
- * help their children become who they really are
- * support their children's creativity and originality
- * are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings
- * are sometimes overly critical or overly protective
- * are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed
Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy
Weekend surprise
It's been pleasant. We watched a movie on TV together Saturday night (The Five People You Will Meet in Heaven) and it's a loooong movie. I'd put her favorite beef stew in the crockpot Saturday morning, never dreaming she'd be home to have some but she was. She slept most of Sunday morning but was still around the house and pleasant all day. She wanted to go to Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon to get hair dye. (She's still blond from the summer and wanted to have light brown hair for fall.) We accomplished that task and I let her choose the fast food of her choice for dinner last night. We picked up Long John Silver's really greasy fish on the way home and ate it while we watched America's Funniest Home Videos. Afterwards, she dyed her hair back to "light natural brown" (according to the box).
So, it's been a nice couple of days. She's still smoking but she's staying outside a little longer to air out a bit and is staying away from Elvis when she still smells like smoke. I'm going to miss her helping with Elvis but I'll live. It was nice to see her this weekend. I'm still ready to get back to school and have a more predictable routine.
Alli and Boy Wonder were gone all weekend. They are both unemployed but went to Indianapolis to a Colts game. It had to have been expensive trip. They rented a car. Those tickets aren't cheap. Gas is down some but still expensive. It wasn't exactly the responsible thing to do, eh? They had a good time, though. And I enjoyed the peace around the house.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Saturday's Adventure
To begin my explanation, here's the article from our local paper that described the event:
"Walking tour of (Xxxx Xxxx) Cemetery slated Saturday
The Xxxx Xxxx Cemetery Association's board of trustees has planned an event at Xxxx Xxxx in conjunction with the (our) County bicentennial celebration. A walking tour highlighting the final resting places of notable people in (Our) County history will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday. The event is free and open to the public. Donations for the maintenance, groundskeeping and improvement of the cemetery will be accepted. Young ladies dressed in period costumes will be stationed at each stop of the tour to share interesting information about the deceased. Women in black mourning attire will talk about mourning customs of the time. Local re-enactors in military costume will be set up in the section of the cemetery where the Confederate monument is located. An honor guard will be stationed at the graves of war heroes. Music from the 1800s will drift through the air, along with the fall leaves.
"Please join us for a date with history and a walk through time. This is the perfect time to enjoy the fall and learn some (Our) County history," said Big Fat Liar, Xxxx Xxxx Cemetery trustee."
After attending the event, all I have to say is, "Liar, Liar, Pants on fire!!"
My friend, two of her sons (ages 10 and almost 9, big fans of all things military), Elvis and I arrived right at 1:00. We signed in, got our map, and waited to be told to start. Watching the trustees scurry around, it became all too obvious that they were not ready for this tour. They literally asked people who were there to take the tour if they would volunteer to play the part of some of the deceased whose graves were on the tour. So much for the "young ladies in period costume" who were to be stationed at each grave. A local school board member and his wife were drafted into service. I can't be totally sure but I'm willing to bet that our local Civil War hero didn't actually wear jeans and a Polo shirt. The grave of the first undertaker in our county (how's that for important historical fact?) was manned by an older gentleman in a tropical (think Jimmy Buffet) shirt. Three of the graves were being manned by one girl in period costume. She was trotting back and forth between the three graves and was usually out of breath as she attempted to describe the historical importance of the people buried there. Sadly, her reading skills weren't the best. Besides mispronouncing many words in the blurb she was reading, she also repeatedly mispronounced one of the NAMES!
The "local re-enactors in military costumes" did, in fact, exist. Of course, it was just two of them. To their credit, they knew their topic and did the best presentation of the day. There was, however, no "honor guard" stationed at the graves or war heroes. There was one odd man who sat in his very modern car right in the middle of the cemetery and every 30 minutes would step, play "Taps" on his trumpet, and then hop right back in his car. Perhaps in the minds of the organizers, that was their "honor guard" and "the delightful music of the 1800s" because no other music was heard drifting through the air "with the fall leaves."
And (not that is was their fault) but the temperature was 86 degrees yesterday - way too hot to pushing Elvis and his wheelchair through a cemetery with broken sidewalks and huge curbs.
I was sooo disappointed in this tour. The last time I went, it was done perfectly. The community band was set up and kept period music drifting along. A guide took groups of the tours. As you approached a grave on the tour, people in period costumes stepped from the shadows or from behind the marker and (in the role of the deceased) told you a little about the life and death of the resident of the grave. It wasn't spooky or scary - just historical and informative. I can only assume that the organizers of yesterday's disaster had hoped to recreate that tour. Sadly, they failed....miserably!
I wish I'd done the greyhound meet and greet and taken Elvis to touch a few trucks.
A little late, but here's the story of my Friday
We both brought pictures from the last 20 years but she did a much better job with hers. She had one album and it contained all the important events in her life - school, marriage, her son, and extended family. I have no such all-inclusive record of my family. My story is defined by the different foster kids and what we did while he/she was here. I couldn't decided what to take to show her. I ended up with the middle volume of a long-ago foster kid's scrapbook set. It gave her an overview of my life at that point. I also took along pictures of my forever kids over the time they've been with me. It did make me realize that I need to spend some time this winter documenting the last 10 years from my perspective. All the foster kids who have stayed a while have a scrapbook to take with them. (Except for this odd exception - I never started a scrapbook for my Alli, Beth, or Elvis. I bought the albums but have never put anything in them, either. Perhaps I can do one for me along with theirs? I can just picture the blank pages to represent the almost 3 years of un-backed up digital pics we lost in the great computer crash of 2007.)
We covered almost every topic in our extended lunch - immediate family, extended family, health updates, houses, neighbors, vacations, and plans for the future. It was really great to catch up. I'm soooo glad we did it. I'm just sorry it took so long. It's definitely something I'm glad we did and plan to do it again SOON!
Since I got back, I've been trying to remember how/exactly when we parted so many years ago. I can't remember the last time we saw each other. I'm sure at the time, neither of us realized it would be the last time for 20 years. If we had, I'm sure we would remember it. I have no doubt in was on campus at the university we both attended. I'd go even further and say it was in our dorm building. (We went to the same college but hadn't planned to go together. As a result, we weren't roommates but ended up 2 floors apart in the same dorm. We saw each other a lot the first year but gradually began to drift apart. By the second year, we just saw each other occasionally in passing. I don't remember seeing her after that second year.)
Hindsight being 20/20 and all, if I had it to do over again, I would do it differently. She's done fine without me, obviously, but I would have liked to have been around. It's even more odd to realize that, other than a few years she spent out of state right after college, we've never lived more than an hour's drive away from each other. Not only that, but I've been in her city many, many times. I drive through it when I go to visit my mom's family. When Cori moved back to my house, she came from a foster home in that city. I bet I was there 15 times before Cori finally moved it. And, Cori continued counseling in that city and I was there several times a month. All that time, we were so close and yet so far.
I can't change the past. I can only make plans for it not to happen again. I know where she is. I have her cell number and email address. I will not let her disappear again! She bought lunch this time so I told her that meant we'd have to meet again so I could buy. Before we meet again, I want to go to my mom's and dig through her box of pictures. I know she has many of us from the "good old days." I want to take them and share with her.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Second Solo Movie
Anyway, I got out of the house today because if I didn't, I was going to have to kill someone (anyone). A friend needed her kids dropped off at her office in the next county. I left home just to do that and got home almost 7 hours later - LOL! I dropped the boys off and headed back home. Along the way, I stopped at my school to unload some stuff I'd bought for my classroom. (Parents take note - teachers spend a LOT of their own money on items for the classroom.) I unloaded the folding rocker and rolling storage bins and hung out in my room a little while, working on my class website. (I'm still really enjoying that.) While I was there, I started a website for the teacher next door who seemed unable to figure out how to do one.
While I was at school, I decided I'd just stay until time the happy hour (meaning $5 admission) showing of "Nights at Rodanthe." I'll not spoil the movie for those who want to see it and haven't but let's just say I was angry at the movie by the end. I guess I'm just not cut out to be a fan of Nicholas Sparks books turned into movies. "The Notebook" (which every I know loved) bored me. This one pissed me off. It really surprises be because I'm a sucker for romantic books/movies. I think I'm done with ones by Sparks now.
After the movie, I stopped by Wal-Mart, just to pick up some pictures I'd had printed. I managed to spend another $36 on groceries while I was there. I left Wal-Mart and headed to Aldi to do the bulk of my grocery shopping for the next week. I got home and got the cold stuff put away just in time to watch the new Grey's Anatomy. Now, I'm ready to go to bed but I can't because I need to do laundry for tomorrow. Alli/Boy Wonder have clothes in the washer and the dryer. Again, I may have to kill someone.
Big plans for tomorrow! I'm meeting my friend who I haven't seen or actually talked to in about 20 years. I'm excited and nervous. It's odd how we were practically best friends for the first 20 years of our lives and then went the next 20 years with no contact. We didn't part angry at each other. I don't know that either of us actually meant to part. We just drifted apart in college. We've done some preliminary catching up via email but I'm looking forward to some real life catching up tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Home less than 24 hours
She's been smoking. I've known for quite a while. I'm highly allergic to tobacco smoke and can identify it almost a mile away. I can sure smell it on my daughter who had just showered, walked out the front door, and came back in 5 minutes later reeking of smoke. I've not confronted her about it. She's 18 and can legally smoke.
This morning, she went out to smoke and as soon as she came back in, she picked up Elvis. All I said was, "Please don't hold Elvis right after you've smoked. He's already sick and that can make him worse." She almost threw the poor child at me and ran to her room. She refused to speak to me or reply to my text messages. She started getting ready so I assumed she'd called a friend to come pick her up. I texted her one more time and told her she had to spend 5 minutes with me before she could leave. (I don't know what I could have/would have done if she hadn't but, thank goodness, she did.) I asked her why she was so angry. She didn't know. I asked if she thought Elvis needed to be around the smoke. She said no. She barely spoke to me all and teared up instantly. I was really shocked by all this.
I tried my best to not sound like I was judging her. This is nothing new. I've always kind of known she'd be a smoker, for at least a while. The very first time I ever saw her, she was smoking and she couldn't have been older than 12! Bio mom and dad are smokers. The "cool" kids she hangs out with smoke. I didn't make a single comment about her smoking or my feelings about. I just let her know that the smoke on her clothes could harm Elvis. And, she LOVES Elvis. I knew she wouldn't want to intentionally harm him. I didn't tell her not to smoke. I just asked her to not hold Elvis while she still smelled smokey. (To be fair, she's fully aware of my feelings regarding smoking. She's lived with me over 4 years, she has to be. I didn't, however, direct anything towards her today.)
~Elvis info for the new readers - He was born at 26 weeks gestation and has all the usual ailments of a micro-preemie, including chronic lung disease. On his best days, he's asthmatic. He'll never be anywhere close to "normal" in the respiratory department. We can't undo that damage but we can do our best to avoid doing further damage to his lungs.~
So, she's out. She had settled down a bit before she left. She said she'll be home tonight. I guess we'll see. Geeez. Parenting kids who think they are grown is hard!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Proof of Number 20
Please read number 20 on this post and then read the following article. For extra fun, follow the link to see the t-shirt the idiot was wearing in his mug shot.
10-Year-Old Flips Van At 90 MPH
Adult Told Police He Drank 15 Beers
POSTED: 2:14 pm EDT October 7, 2008
UPDATED: 2:30 pm EDT October 7, 2008
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. -- A 10-year-old was driving up to 90 mph when he crashed a van carrying a man who told police he had drank at least 15 beers and a woman who was trying to swallow as many pills as she could when deputies arrived at the scene, Tennessee authorities said Tuesday.
The young driver lost control and the vehicle rolled, coming to rest on its top in northeastern Tennessee, Sullivan County authorities said. The two adults and three children in the van were taken to Bristol Memorial Hospital with minor injuries following Sunday's crash.
Police charged 43-year-old Randy Lewis of Bristol with seven violations, including third offense DUI and felony reckless endangerment. People can be charged with DUI in Tennessee if they own the vehicle, even if they are not driving. A booking photo released by the Sheriff's Office showed Lewis wearing a T-shirt that said, "Buy this dad a beer."
Paula Elaine Evans, who is 38 and also of Bristol, faces charges that include aggravated child abuse or neglect.
Lewis and Evans were being held in the Sullivan County Jail after a judge increased their bonds on Tuesday to $50,000 each at an arraignment hearing.
County jailers did not know if Lewis and Evans had retained attorneys and no one was immediately available to answer questions at the Sullivan County Public Defender's office.
The sheriff's office said Lewis acknowledged drinking liquor besides the beers.
The children -- two 10-year-olds and a 6-year-old -- were related to the adults, said authorities who declined to further detail the relationships.
The children were released to the Tennessee Children's Services Department after being treated at the hospital.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Monday, October 6, 2008
The front ramps are built and the workers went to lunch. They just came back and are attempting to fix my storage shed out back. It's placed on a hill and the water has eroded the dirt underneath allowing the columns of concrete blocks that support the shed to fall over. They are using planks to divert the flow of water and then they are going to build the columns back. We've been just staying out of the shed since it's been hanging off the hill for a few months now. Maybe I'll get that darn thing cleaned out some on fall break now.
We're being "ramped"
At 9:00 this morning, two trucks pulled into my driveway. Each contained an older gentleman and a teen. As I type, they are building two ramps at my front door. (One from the sidewalk to the porch and the other at the step from the porch into my front door.) Elvis will be able to be wheeled in and out with two rather jarring bumps each trip. There is only one step at each place and we've been making do but it's still hard to get him in and out gently. He's going to LOVE these ramps!
Thanks, Ramp-Builders!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
If I were "Carnac the Magnificent"
The question is...."What do you need to do after your grandson, who is propped up on your bed eating M&Ms, vomits a disgusting mixture of chocolate and phlegm on every available surface?"
Seriously, if I hadn't been there to see the chocolate snot fountain live and in person, I probably wouldn't have believed that one small boy was responsible for such a mess. I had to use both my hands to keep the mess from flowing down the rest of my bed. I was able to call for Alli who came running with a huge stack of napkins. (She couldn't find the paper towels quickly and we needed something disposable, obviously.) We got him wiped off and cleaned up as best we could. Even though each pillow had a case and a protective cover on it, both pillows suffered damage.
Conveniently, Elvis woke up at 5:30 this morning. We hung out a while before heading to Wal-Mart, rather than sit around and be bored. He was still in his jammies but is always willing to go to Wal-Mart. We came home with new pillows for me and breakfast for all.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
In other news...
Beth's out of state for a few days. Her boyfriend's sister has been living in FL and is moving back to our state. Boyfriend (who really needs a blog name) and his parents were going to pack her up and move her back. They invited Beth to join them. They left Thursday night and will be home some time tomorrow. I miss her but she's checking in regularly and is having a good time.
Elvis has been sick again. Just like last time, he spiked a fever in the middle of the night. It was 102 degrees at midnight and still 101.4 at 2:00 AM after having had Motrin. Adding Tylenol to the mix helped get it a little lower. Alli took him to the doctor Thursday and she said he had the flu. (Meaning I was wrong, as I just knew his ears were going to still be infected.) So, no extra meds. We've been treating the fever and pushing the liquids. His temp has stayed down today so I guess he's on the mend.
Alli and I nearly came to blows this last week. She and Boy Wonder and still doing NOTHING. We had a big talk, however, about how badly things are going and she's vowed to turn things around. We'll see. Since our talk, they have been doing better about helping out. That helps me a lot. Still, I wouldn't be totally surprised to come home one afternoon and find them gone, having moved out to live with someone who has no expectations for them. Whatever. If you're going to live here, you need to be functioning in the real world. I've got to have my standards, such that they are.
And, me? I'm just rejoicing in the fact that I have two whole weeks off work! I do have some plans. I'm hoping to repaint my room and actually get it sage green instead of booger green this time. (Yes, I just painted it in March but I still really dislike the color.) I'm meeting an oooooold friend for lunch one day. (And I mean really old friend. We stayed with the same sitter as newborns, attended the same preschool and elementary school until she moved across town in 4th grade. I didn't see her again until I walked in science class on my first day of 7th grade and there she was. We were best friends through junior high and most of high school. We drifted apart during our senior year but were still friends. We went to the same college but, again, had different friends. I don't recall having seen her since our second year of college. That would have been around 1988!) We've reconnected online recently and she suggested meeting for lunch half way between our homes. I'm looking forward to that. A volunteer group from church is building a ramp to our front door so we can get Elvis and his wheelchair in and out without a jarring bump each way. My van needs some work so I have to schedule that. And, to finish off the break, Beth and I (accompanied by Elvis, of course) hope to run away to visit a long-ago foster daughter and her family near the beach for a few days, if we can get it scheduled and afford the gas. After all that, I'll probably be ready to go back to school - LOL!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Never again
When all had settled down, we were told that a 2nd grader had choked on the top to a water bottle in her father's car. She was eating breakfast in the car and drinking orange juice her father had poured into an empty water bottle, and had been talking and singing along with the radio, as usual. When they got to the beginning of the drop off line, he looked back to make sure she was ready to get out and discovered she was blue and non-responsive. He immediately pulled over and tried to revive her. Someone called 911. The paramedics arrived and were able to clear her airway and get her heart started again. She was flown to our nearest pediatric trauma center. We were simply told, "Things didn't look good." We left school Tuesday with the knowledge that she had no brain activity but still hoping for a miracle.
Reality hit when we arrived back at school Wednesday morning to be greeted with the news that she hadn't survived the night. He parents were able to make the brave decision to donate her organs and we've been told that five other children, ages 1-14, received a blessing from this sweet little girl.
I didn't teach this little one. Her kindergarten year was spent in a room across the hall from me. However, almost all the teachers knew her. She was a bubbly, spunky little thing. Her dark eyes sparkled constantly and she charmed all she met. She had a gift for fitting in with everyone. She liked to be in charge and knew how things should be done the right way (meaning her way, of course).
It's so hard to believe she's gone. It's even harder to believe why she's gone. I'm forever telling kids to take things out of their mouths. It's just what grown ups are supposed to do. I just can't comprehend that her family got up Tuesday morning and their day started out as usual and then things went so horribly wrong, all because of a top to a water bottle.
Visitation at the funeral home was this afternoon. Her funeral is tomorrow. I didn't make plans with any other teachers but went to the funeral home when our school day was over. I ended up going in with a group of about 15 others from our school. There we were - teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers, guidance counselor, substitute teachers, and assistant principal- a widely varied group of individuals all there to say goodbye to a little soul who touched us all. The sight of that tiny casket was hard to take. The sight of her little body so still in it was even harder to take. She was so active and vibrant in life, it seemed impossible to process that she was gone. It's even harder to process that we lost this young lady because of such a common, everyday item - a top to a water bottle, for goodness sakes!
So, hug your kiddos extra close today and be thankful they are still around. I know we have a family here in town that would love to have that chance. Truth is, we never know when or how we are going to leave this world. I do know that our school will be a little quieter and even a little lonely when we get back after fall break. We'll still have 500+ kids but we'll be missing the big presence of one tiny little girl.


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Peoplegroups who are now known as Amish, Hutterites and Mennonites have their roots in the Anabaptist movement of the 16th century. This movement started about at the same time in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and many other countries in Europe.
Beside the reformation of Luther in Germany, Calvin and Zwingli in Switzerland, today we can call the Anabaptists as the "third branch of reformation".
Because of persecution they had to move all over Europe to escape their hunters. For a short time in history they found a save place to stay in Southern Moravia. Leonard from Liechtenstein was the Count of Mikulov and invited the Anabaptists to his Land. After a few decades they had to leave again and move on to Slovakia, Romania and to the Ukraine. From there they left Europe for Northern America, Australia and New Zealand.
If you learn history in an European school, you might not get to know any of this Story. Only lately there is a group of people, who is doing resarch on this topic.
And, Mikulov seems to be again a place of great Information. In the castle of Mikulov, you hear the story of the Liechtenstein-Family, including their relation to the Anabaptist movement. Balthasar Hubmaier and Jacob Hutter where among the leading persons. To be a leader in the church ment in the 16th century to die in young age.
In Austria there is already a museum about Anabaptism and many more public sites are recognised to have connections to the "third branch of reformation".
In Slovakia there are at least 2 villages where you find original houses made by Hutterites.


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Facebook: www.facebook.com/PhotoAdventureDE
Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqHzk31ieiokidOOLYqubA
Twitter: www.twitter.com/photoadventure
Date: 13. - 15.06.2014
City: Duisburg, Germany
Opening-Hours: Saturday & Sunday: 10:00 - 18:00
Adress: Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord, Emscherstraße 71, 47137 Duisburg
Rollei booth: Kraftzentrale
Photo+Adventure offers you three exciting topics within just one event: photography, travel, and the outdoors. At the trade fair you'll find manufacturers and experts holding the latest trends and topics, you can touch and try out anything, and plan your next trip. Get inspired by exhibitions, speeches, and industry insiders.
Our extensive workshop programme starts on Friday already. Deepen your photographic knowledge, watch professionals in the act of taking pictures and editing them, create your own videos with the DSLR, and test your abilities on a slackline, the high ropes course, on climbing walls of the German Alps Association (DAV), dive deep with us in Europe's biggest indoor diving centre and lots more.
Aside from that, the supporting programme offers many exciting multivision shows taking you to this world's most fascinating places. Join us on a discovery tour!
All this is happening at an extraordinary location: take the breathtaking industrial setting of the closed-down metallurgical plant of the Landschaftspark and turn it into a playground with us!


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Legacy of Leadership
This is a guest post, written by Mike Nielsen
I know some of you have heard this before, but I am retiring–this time for good. I now have seven grandchildren to dote over and many thousands of miles yet to pedal on my bike.
As I reflect on the last 43 years, it is clear that despite all we have accomplished collectively, we still have a serious crisis of homelessness in America. Secretary Julián Castro of HUD has said, "We must never accept homelessness as a part of American life." Yet, after observing 43 years of federal and local homelessness initiatives cycle in and out of vogue, I am bewildered that homelessness is not only still accepted as part of American life by many, but that homeless Americans are often treated with such disdain.
I have traveled all over the world by bicycle and it is always painful to try to explain some of our national attitudes about poverty and homelessness. There is just no explanation that is defensible. But here I am 43 years later still traveling by bike and still trying to explain.
Recently, I have been focusing on housing and services for homeless Veterans. Veterans are disproportionately represented in the American homeless population. They comprise only 8 percent of all Americans, but represent nearly 20 percent of homeless persons. The problems that Veterans face, and the military culture that has helped shape them, is often not well understood by mainstream agencies. This was certainly true for me when we started developing our first Veteran housing program at St Andrews Housing Group (now Imagine Housing) in 2008. As I was trying to sell the concept to the Board, I had a Veteran tell me that if we were going to be of any help to Veterans I needed to have a better understanding of Veteran culture. "For instance," he queried, "Do you know what a DD 214 is? Do you know what OEF and OIF stand for? Do you know who the NVA were or what MST is?"
Well, I sadly knew the answer to only one of those questions. But my ignorance of military and Veteran culture at the time, as it turns out, was not that unusual among social service and housing providers. I have since seen way too many instances when a Veteran meets an intake worker only to get a blank stare when they start talking the language of their military experience. So the Vet just walks.
Unfortunately, we cannot afford to let Veterans walk back into homelessness, back into untreated PTSD and substance abuse, because the stakes for those Veterans are potentially deadly. A Veteran commits suicide approximately every hour in this country. At the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts we were losing more soldiers to suicide than to combat in both wars combined. About 40 percent of Middle East Veterans come back with a diagnosable mental illness and others return with traumatic brain injury, military related sexual trauma, addictions, and domestic violence. Poverty among Veterans is soaring with 17,000 Veteran households here in King County alone living below 200% of federal poverty level.
"We need HDC and its members to continue to educate the public and professionals alike about homelessness and affordable housing."
The Housing Development Consortium (HDC) is one of the real hopes we have locally to help impact some of these issues. While I was Director of St Andrews Housing Group (SAHG), HDC worked tirelessly with us as we sought to elevate public awareness on the Eastside and tackle misinformed attitudes about homelessness. When I retired from SAHG, and then found myself un-retiring to work at Community Psychiatric Clinic, HDC once again stepped forward to help tackle a lack of coherent north-county housing strategy and resources. HDC staff organized stakeholders and worked with north county cities and agencies in ways that have resulted in new partnerships. These partnerships are now producing housing and solutions to homelessness in north-county.
We need HDC and its members to continue to educate the public and professionals alike about homelessness and affordable housing. However, we also need HDC and its members to lend support to efforts that will better meet the specialized service and housing needs of Veterans. I urge HDC and its members to support and become involved with the King County Veterans Consortium, the County Executive's Regional Veteran's Initiative and related local efforts to end Veteran homelessness.
My many thanks are owed to HDC members and staff, past and present. I have learned so much from you and have enjoyed the work that I have had a chance to share with you. Maybe someday, when I am again cycling through Viet Nam or Nepal, I will be able to finally explain that the richest nation on earth no longer accepts homelessness as part of American life.


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Here is my example of the LO we created in class last week. It was kind of a mixture of some new techniques, and SB'ing trends that have been floating around the web.
I just love those Studio G mini stamps, and I give them away a lot as door prizes, so I wanted to show everyone some of the things they can do with them. I had them stamp at least three images. One image we used the Fiskars Circle Punch, to punch around the image, then we covered it with Glossy Accents. One image we cut around to look like a die cut, and the last stamped image, we cut out around it, and used Stickles to add some sparkle to it. We also tried a little doodling around the edge. Nobody was happy about the doodling, but everyone's LO turned out great!! Other tools used: Fiskars Treading Water Punch, Big-Bite.
Next class we are going to learn to create some beautiful cards, just in time for Mother's Day!!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Posted by Paper Memories at 12:13 PM
2 comments:
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Friday, July 26, 2013
I need to clean my house!
4 comments:
I can understand you feelings! I have spent the last 3 days really cleaning on my house - just wishing I could get into my classroom so that some of this stuff would go away, but it has been consolidated into 2 neat piles (1 in the garage and 1 in my office)... Good luck with your house!ReplyDelete
Juliane, I am happy to report it is more than halfway clean! ;)Delete
Good luck with yours!!
my house looks so similar. I know my husband is counting the days until I get back to my classroom and get this mess out of our house!!! I have taken over the kitchen table with all my "work". Plus our dining room floor with junk and not to mention upstairs. Its no wonder we eat out every night!ReplyDelete
Hodges HeraldReplies
Elizabeth, I like that excuse for eating out! Maybe I should put the mess back and tell hubby that is what we should do! ;)Delete


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SPY: The new C 63 AMG Coupe scooped with Track and Aerodynamics packages
Mercedes-AMG announced a month ago, at the release of the first details on the new C 63 AMG Coupe Blacl Series, that there'll be a choice of two special packages for the 2-door supercar, which look to improve the car's overall performance, stability, handling and grip: AMG Track and AMG Aerodynamics, respectively. Spy photographers have recently identified several prototypes of the C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series that featured the above-specified technical improvements for street testing purpose.
Until the market of the car, programmed for January 2012, Affalterbach engineers are taking their time to tweak and finely tune all the essential components of the two packages to make sure they deliver the best and only the best in the hands of the lucky clients.
The AMG Track option includes bespoke Dunlop sport tyres (255/35 R 19 front and 285/30 R 19 rear) for maximum grip and active rear-axle transmission cooling to withstand the most demanding race-track conditions.
The AMG Aerodynamics package comprises an entire array of carbon fibre-manufactured parts, that help improve the vehicle's aerodynamic balance and the lift on both front and rear axles: flics mounted on the front apron, a functional front splitter and a fixed, rear aerofoil with an adjustable blade.
Photos: Motor Authority,SecretNewCars
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.


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VAT and Freelance Contractors
Q. What is VAT?
A. Value Added Tax (VAT) is a tax on most goods and services, and is collected at every stage of production and distribution. Most business-related goods and services are therefore subjected to VAT.
The standard VAT rate is 20%. If you have a VAT registered company, you must charge VAT on all invoices you send to clients. In effect, you are collecting VAT on behalf of HMRC, and repay it each quarter minus any VAT you reclaim for goods or services your company has purchased over the previous period.
Q. Is VAT a cost to me?
A. No, you simply add VAT onto your agreed contract rate (which you are billing for), and then pay it over to the government at the end of each VAT period. Before paying it over, you can deduct any VAT you have paid on any business expenses you have incurred (e.g. hotel bills, broadband fees), so you can actually benefit financially from being VAT registered.
Q. When must you register for VAT?
A. From 1st April 2015, you must register for VAT if your company turnover is (or likely to be) £82,000 or more. You can also voluntarily register even if your turnover is below this threshold.
Q. I have heard about the flat rate VAT scheme. What is it?
A. As an alternative to the traditional method of VAT accounting (above), the flat rate scheme allows you to pay VAT as a flat rate percentage on your gross sales inclusive of VAT. If you register under this scheme you will not reclaim VAT on your normal business expenses, but for the average contractor it is more advantageous to be on this scheme unless your expenses are particularly high.
For most IT contractors, the fixed rate is currently 14.5% (13.5% in year one). You can read a good overview of the flat rate VAT scheme here, as well as the official HMRC guide to flat rate VAT.


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Experts are at odds this week when it came to what level of safety precautions should be used for research on H5N1 viruses that can spread in mammals.
The experts recommending biosafety level 4, the highest security precautions, said that while the extra protection may encumber research, it is worth it in view of the grave risks involved. Another expert said that downgrading to BSL-3 will not make the work any less safe, CIDRAP News reports.
"Overall, then, we believe that the newly derived H5N1 HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) virus should be handled at the highest biocontainment level, BSL4," Michael J. Imperiale and Michael G. Hanna, members of the Institutional Biosafety Committee at the University of Michigan, said, according to CIDRAP News.
The debate comes in the wake of the controversy over whether two studies involving lab-created H5N1 viruses that spread in ferrets via respiratory droplets should be edited to remove details or published in full. There have been concerns that bioterrorists could exploit the information in the studies.
Adolfo Garcia-Sastre, a researcher with the Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, made the case for using BSL-3 containment for research on the viruses that were developed in the studies.
"The use of BSL-4 containment would not decrease the risk of virus release any more than enhanced BSL-3 containment, but it would result in an unnecessary burden that would restrict research on H5N1 influenza transmission to a few facilities and considerably decrease the speed of research on this important pathogen," Garcia-Sastre said, according to CIDRAP News.
In an accompanying editorial, Arturo Casadevall, the editor-in-chief of mBio, noted pros and cons for using BSL-3 or BSL-4.
"No matter what choices are made regarding containment level, we urge that great consideration be given to protecting the influenza research enterprise, since increased knowledge is critical for the defense against future pandemics," Casadevall said, according to CIDRAP News.


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Jeffery Deaver- Death of a Blue Movie Star (Bantam Books 2000) 3.25 Stars
Rune almost gets blown up as a bomb destroys a porn theatre that she was walking by. Now she wants to make a film about it through the eyes of porn star Shelly Lowe. When a second bomb kills her star it leaves her questioning the true motives behind the bombings. Her investigation into the truth could be a lot more than she signed up for, as someone tries to put a stop to her hunt for the truth and her film. Can Rune find the answers before the truth destroys her?
I did not find Death of a Blue Movie Star to be as good as the last Rune book I read, although I still enjoyed it. Rune is a very interesting character as she is so different from your usual book characters. Her curiosity always seems to lead her into tough jams that make for good storylines and different kinds of investigations that you don't see in your typical mystery novel. I did find myself wishing that the plot would pick up the pace a little bit and maybe have a little bit more depth to the case than what there was. The ending came as a bit of a surprise, although I was looking for something more shocking, with a little more 'wow!' to it.
As you can see I kind of have mixed feelings about this one so I won't say recommend or not recommend, you can read the review and make up your own minds.
For more of my reviews check out my website, www.tonypeters.webs.com
Tony Peters
Kids on a Case: The Case of the Ten Grand Kidnapping


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The EU is forging closer links with its eastern neighbours. Photo: AP Images/European Union-EP
The European Parliament is going to vote on a report on its recommendations for the European Council, the European Commission and the European External Action Service, regarding the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels.
The recommendations, sponsored by Laima Andrikienė (EPP, LT) and Knut Fleckenstein (S&D, DE), will be debated in the European Parliament plenary on November 14, with the vote scheduled to take place on November 15.
The document was already adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (AFET) on October 10 by 40 votes to 6, with 1 abstention.
Collective Pressure on Russia
The draft of the recommendations notes that "independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the EU's eastern partners remains under threat from unresolved regional conflicts, including some that were initiated and are still actively sustained by the Russian Federation in contradiction with its international commitments to uphold the international legal order."
The text also says that "EU should play a more active role in the peaceful resolution of all ongoing conflicts in its neighbourhood," adding that "Russian aggression towards Ukraine, the annexation of the Crimean peninsula and the continued occupation of two Georgian regions, as well as Russian hybrid threats including destabilization activities and propaganda, threaten European security as a whole."
The document recommends "to commit to sustaining the unity of action among EU Member States in maintaining collective pressure on Russia," and to solving Russia's conflicts with its neighbors, including "solving the conflict between Russia and Georgia through tangible outcomes of the Geneva International Discussions and full implementation by Russia of the 2008 ceasefire agreement."
European Aspirations, Trust Fund, EaP+
Notably, the document asks other EU institutions "to reiterate that AAs [association agreements] with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine do not constitute the final goal in their relations with the EU; to acknowledge once again the European aspirations of these countries; to point out that, pursuant to Article 49 of the TEU and in line with the Rome Declaration of 25 March 2017, any European state may apply to become a member of the EU, provided it adheres to the Copenhagen criteria and the principles of democracy, that it respects fundamental freedoms and human rights including those of minority groups and that it upholds the rule of law; to urge the Member States, in this regard, to agree to an ambitious declaration for the 2017 [EaP] Summit that sets relevant long-term goals."
The text also suggests "to consider, within the EaP policy, an attractive longer-term 'EaP+' model for associated countries that have made substantial progress in implementing AA/DCFTA-related reforms, that could eventually lead to joining the customs union, energy union, digital union and Schengen area," along with other closer integration measures.
Another recommendation is to ask the European Commission, along with the European Investment Bank and other multilateral financial institutions "to work towards the successful implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe," and "to request the establishment of a trust fund for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova based on the best practices of multi-donor instruments, while stressing that this trust fund should focus on private and public investments."
At the same time, the AFET recommends to emphasize "that no comprehensive agreement will be ratified with a country that does not respect EU values, notably through the non-implementation of decisions by the European Court of Human Rights and the harassment, intimidation and persecution of human rights defenders, NGOs and journalists."


text: Indoors today, a drawing of one of my collection of Transformers G1 busts, Wheeljack. I have a soft spot for G1 transformers, so my transformers busts are one of the few things I haven't let go of in my dwindling toy collection. G1 only though, I go into convulsions anytime someone mentions the new movies.