Serious Accident

Blog Prompt: Describe the most serious illness or accident that you have had. Not accident prone? Someone else's illness/accident that significantly affected your life.

The worst accident I have ever been in was about 6 years ago. We had just got back from a camping trip and our car was still fully packed. Instead of unpacking, we decided to run to the grocery store first. Only a few blocks from my house, we had a terrible car accident. An elderly lady had a heart attack and was unconscious so her foot hit hard on the gas pedal. She shot out from a side street and we t-boned her on her passenger side. We had a Chevy Tahoe SUV which saved our lives but it wrapped her Buick around the front end of our car. She hit the bump in the middle of the road so hard, people said sparks flew out from her car and it busted her gas tank. We spun around and knocked over the stop sign. Luckily for some reason there was a lot of sand so the gas drained down into the sand instead of blowing us all up. Our airbags went off but it seemed like our car was on fire because of the dust. My hubby couldn't get out of his side so he practically threw me out of my side and crawled over the console and out my door. I never saw a fat man move so fast! Then he realized his back was hurt and laid down in the road. The fire trucks and ambulances came but I was walking around checking on the lady and calling close friends to come help us. They finally talked me into laying on the back board but hubby is so claustrophobic that he was fighting them. I told them to leave me trussed up like a turkey and go tend to my hubby.

Finally they got us in the ambulance where we could hold hands. When I asked if they were taking us to the hospital close to us (about 5 miles away), they said no that our injuries were too traumatic for us to go there and we were going to a different hospital that could handle this. Well, I knew I was okay so I thought my hubby was dying. He knew he was okay and thought I was dying! What a mess. After being xrayed and poked and prodded, a few hours later we were released. Hubby reinjured his back and would have to go to physical therapy and my knee was injured so I would have to go for physical therapy too. Unfortunately the lady never regained consciousness and died two months later. My hubby had nightmares for months after that even though the police and every one else said that there was no way he could have avoided the accident. He felt so bad but eventually time helped him get over that. Now, he flinches every time a car comes up from a side street.

Because of this, my hubby and I appreciate each other even more. It also made us realize that any day could be our last and we need to enjoy life and do the best we can to make a positive difference in the world today.

First meeting with the in-laws

Blog Prompt: How did you first meet your in-laws? Impressions?

Hubby and I had been on about 4 or 5 dates when I finally met his parents. We had gone to the airshow at the local municipal airport where they had face painting artists. I had my whole face painted like a clown and I looked really cute (or so I thought at the time!). After the show we headed back towards my apartment when I was told that we would make one stop first. We stop at this house and go inside where hubby introduces me to his parents. There I stood, all sweaty, dirty, and looking like a clown. I was SO embarrassed! I don't remember what was said or what I did but I don't think I talked to him all the way to my apartment or for at least a week after that! He couldn't see that he did anything wrong and to this day, still denies that he did anything wrong! Luckily his parents loved me. For the 4 years we dated, they promised me all sorts of things if I would marry their son. Even during the first year we were married, if we had an argument, I would run to his parents and they always sided with me. Hubby complained about it and told me that I needed to run to my own parents but I didn't. I was so lucky to have wonderful in-laws! Both of them are no longer living but I still miss them.

Favorite Clothing

Blog Prompt: Do you have a favorite item of clothing? Why do you like it?How about the rest of your family? If we showed up on your doorstep, what would everyone likely be wearing?

My favorite piece of clothing is this denim shirt that I wear as a sweater. I bought it in 1996 at the Appalachian Trail Conference at Radford Univ. in Virginia. I even have that embroidered on the pocket and it has a beautiful flower on it too. It has been washed enough to wear it is nice and soft and hangs just right. Unfortunately the pocket is frayed along with the cuffs on the sleeves and the collar is worn so it is barely hanging on in the back. Hubby is kind of embarrassed when I wear it so now I can only wear it around the house or if we are camping. He just bought me a new one that has the Blue Ridge Parkway embroidered on it but it is too new, too stiff, and just doesn't hang right...yet.

Now hubby likes to sit around at home either in his underwear or with nothing on. But for work he wears a white shirt and suit and tie. He has several suits all the same style and color so it looks like he wears the same suit every day. We just hope they never stop making that suit until after he retires. If we go out after work he loves his khaki nonwrinkle shorts and a black golf shirt. He has dozens of black collared shirts and several khaki nonwrinkle shorts. They almost look like a uniform for the Dollar Store (in fact we went in there one day and a lady asked him for help!).

Travel through my life

Blog Prompt: If you could tell the story of your life by taking someone to a half dozen places, where would you go?

I love to travel, so come with me as I tell you the story of my life. I grew up and went to high school on Long Island, NY. I went to college, got married, raised my children, and taught in Greenville, South Carolina. During my marriage, I have traveled around the US, London, Paris, China, and Italy and we also love to cruise the Caribbean. Thanks for traveling with me.

Self Indulgence

Blog Prompt: In what way do you indulge yourself?In what way do you wish you could indulge yourself?

The biggest way that I indulge myself is by having a cleaning service come in every other week to clean my house. This allows me to have time to play on the computer and go hiking when I want. I used to feel guilty about a dirty house when I was doing things that I wanted to do until an elderly hiking friend told me that I could clean my house when I get too old to do anything else (she died of cancer in her 80s). She told me life was too short to sweat the small stuff and if I could afford it, get a cleaning service and stop feeling guilty. My mother and sister were horrified that I was too "lazy" to clean my own house but I have had the same service for the past 10 years and I'm not sorry one bit! I really look forward to them coming because my house feels so good when I come home from work on those days. My hubby doesn't mind because it makes me happy and you know the old saying, "If mama's happy, everybody's happy!"

Childhood Games

Blog Prompt: Describe a childhood game you used to play. Who did you play with? Any special (ie. made-up) rules?

I don't remember playing games with any specific person. I was the youngest of three girls and both of my sisters were much older than me (10 and 12 years older) so I was old before my time. I remember spending a lot of time playing chaperone while my middle sister was dating so I didn't play a lot with kids my own age. What I remember best is playing make believe with my dolls or just by myself. I pretended I was a teacher and had a full classroom of students. I loved teaching them to read and giving grades. Since I read a lot I would pretend I was the main character of my books and act out a lot of scenes in my backyard. I used to write plays and act scenes out in my head. It's sad that kids today do not know how to pretend or use their minds. They seem to need electronic games or music or something to entertain them. I hope that young parents read this and encourage their children to pretend more with less props. It's good for the soul.

Speechless in South Carolina

Blog Prompt: "Do not the most moving moments of our lives find us without words?"~ Marcel Marceau Write about it... If you were speechless, how did you express your feelings?How did those around you react to the same situation? Was this a one-time occurrence, or do you frequently find yourself speechless in the face of these same circumstances? Who in your life has left you speechless?

First of all I have to admit, I talk too much. I know it and so does anyone who has been around me. I talk when I'm excited or worried or especially when I'm nervous. So, to be speechless is a big thing for me and it has to be a life altering event.

Well, it happened. Last November, my colleagues chose me as Teacher of the Year for our school for this upcoming year. Usually special ed teachers don't get this honor and I was surprised that anyone thought I was worthy of this honor. I'm not sure I even voted for myself! I had been thinking about retiring at the end of the school year and was feeling a little overwhelmed and discouraged with my class at the time. The school needed another teacher to help handle the big class size that I had but we couldn't find anyone. If we did, we would have to find them a classroom too. Due to the large class size, discipline was a daily issue, not to mention papers to grade. At the time, I wasn't looking for any honors or recognition, I just wanted relief! When I was told I had been chosen, I was stunned and couldn't say a word.

This past April I was told that I made it into the Top 10 Teachers of the Year in the District (of almost 5000 teachers) and the District winner will be announced on Aug. 15 (so please keep me in your prayers!). I have mixed feelings about winning. I dread having to make a speech if I win and I worry about the attention and publicity (there will be interviews for newspapers and TV). Yet, if I win, I would be so honored and thrilled that I will probably be speechless again! (This anticipation, excitement, and anxiety is stressing me out right now. )

Heartwarming Story

I had to share something with you that warmed my heart today. My church has 3 services (because we are so large) so I go to the 8am service (soon to be the 7:45 service). about 9 months ago I noticed a man sitting in the back of the church and he was wearing dirty clothes, looked dirty, and hungover. After a couple of weeks, another couple and I were talking about him and it was mentioned that he was a homeless person who started coming to our church. Today I noticed that he went up for communion and recieved communion; usually he goes up just for a blessing. I also noticed that he had on a clean white shirt and shorts on and he looked clean even if he still looked hungover. I found out that he never misses a week (which is better than me) and I've really been praying for him these past few months. He usually slips out the door before I ever get near where he was sitting, but I probably wouldn't have enough nerve to talk to him anyway. I am so thankful that I see the changes God is making in his life and it really made me glad for him.
(If any of you give food to the food banks, please think of donating more in the summer. I just found our local food bank and the shelves are practically bare. The man there said that it is full during the school year when the schools do canned food drives but in the summers, it is rough. I plan on making an effort to give at least 10 cans a week from now on.)

Advice to my Younger Self

Blog prompt: "What advice would you give your much younger self if you could?"

This was easy! Five simple words:
Talk less and listen more!

(In fact, I probably need to give that advice to my older self too!)

Tag: Get to know me!

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? No!
2. Do you close your eyes on a roller coaster? Most definitely in addition to praying very hard!
3. When's the last time you've been sledding? When I was in college and we borrowed trays from the dining hall
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? I can not sleep unless my hubby is in bed with me.
5. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes. I have had experience with some.
6. Do you consider yourself creative? Absolutely not.
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Yes
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? (silly, I know ... but very "now") Jennifer Aniston
9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics? Yes. I enjoy watching West Wing.
10. Do you know how to play poker? A little but I never can remember what hand beats what.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?! Yes. I did this many times in college.
12. What's your favorite commercial? anything with the Geico ghecko
13. Who was your first love? It was a boy in my 4th grade class
14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light? No. I'm too anal about following the rules.
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? No. My life is an open book.
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees? Yankees because I'm originally from NY
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?Yes. In the winter, the local lake would freeze over and then the firemen would check it out and let us know when it was safe for skating.
18. How often do you remember your dreams? Not very often
19. What's the one thing on your mind? My work which is teaching
20. Do you always wear your seat belt? Yes. It saved my life in an accident.
21. What talent do you wish you had? I wish I was creative.
22. Do you like Sushi? No.
23. What do you wear to bed? Long Tshirt
24. Do you truly hate anyone? No
25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? I guess my hubby would have to be famous first and then it would be him because I can't imagine sleeping with anyone else.
26. Do you know anyone in jail? Yes. My friend's son who made very bad decisions at a young age.
27. What food do you find disgusting? Escargot
28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? Sadly, yes and I'm very ashamed of it.
29. Have you ever been punched in the face? Yes.
30. Do you believe in angels and demons? Yes.

My Looks

When I was growing up I was never happy with my looks. First of all, I was too short and all my friends were taller. Then, I grew up as the only Chinese girl in a school full of White, Black, and Hispanic kids. That was pretty stressful because kids are just mean to someone who is different but there was no way to change that particular look (I'm not going to be like Michael Jackson!). Plus my parents were very old fashioned and I never dressed like the other kids. I never had name brand stuff (my dad worked in a restaurant and was sole provider for a family of 5) and my parents never let me wear pants to school like other kids (yes, young people, this was in the olden days!). This was in the 60s when it was the hippie era and I was dressing like an old lady. My dad wouldn't let me cut my hair which was down to my waist and I felt like I had lots of zits! Also, most orientals don't have a lot of body hair so when teenage girls were shaving, I wasn't.

Now, as a mature adult (and I use that term loosely), I am much happier with my looks. I feel I'm the perfect height to be with my husband. I am letting my hair grow longer after 20 years of being very short. I'm within 8 lbs. of my ideal weight and I don't have a lot of zits! I'm also ecstatic now about not needing to shave at all. Overall, I'm content with my own looks now. Wow, isn't it funny how your perceptions change when you grow up and see things from a different perspective?

Survivor Show

Blog Prompt: Do you think you could ever be on the TV reality show, Survivor? If so-why? What do you think would be your weakness's, strengths? If not-why?

No, I could never be on the Survivor Show. First of all, the idea of being on TV makes me break out into a rash! I couldn't stand it and would probably pass out in fright. Second and most important of all, I'm not a risk taker. I don't care how much money they offered me, I would not do well under pressure like that. I would want all of us to work together (that's the teacher in me!) so I guess that pretty well sums it up in a nutshell!

Problems with Today's Youth

I heard on the news today of two seventeen year olds who were to blame for a drive by shooting in a nearby town. They shot 30 times into a car that held three people. Now, I don't live in a big city so I'm always shocked to hear of such violence around me. More and more often I am hearing where teenagers and even younger kids are involved in violent acts. I truly believe the main culprit of all this violence is the steroids in our foods. Companies want bigger animals in order to make more money. Everything lately has to be "biggie sized." The best way to do this is to use steroids to get food "bigger and better."

I see this in the school district where I teach. Many of the 14 year old boys in 9th grade have beards and moustaches. Many of the 14 year old girls have babies at home. I have heard of more and more girls in 5th grade having babies. Children of both sexes are more physically mature than when I was growing up. Research has shown that steroids in athletes have made them more physically agressive and can cause anger. Does this not sound like a lot of teenagers in today's society?

I can't believe that I'm the only one who sees this so if the government sees this, why aren't they doing something about it? Why aren't there strict laws prohibiting steroids from our foods? Surely the FDA could test the foods and restrict it like they do so many other drugs from us. It may not solve our problems right away but I don't believe these problems developed overnight, so why not start today? I don't know what the answer is to this problem and I'm not sure how I could solve it but if I knew I would do my part. We try to eat more vegetables and less meat but I'm a meat lover so it is hard.

It saddens me to watch the news and hear that another young person has made a bad decision that will affect them the rest of their lives. I try to explain to my students that today when you can live to your 90s, making a bad decision in your teens can lead to a long and miserable life. Maybe I'll be able to save one child and it will all be worth the whining and ranting!

The Best Advice

The best advice I got was about 22 years ago when I first started teaching on the high school level. A fellow teacher told me that I needed to start taking care of myself before I could be a good caretaker of others. After 2 months at my new job, my daughter was having emotional problems, my husband lost his job, and my house caught on fire causing me to move in with my inlaws. Within 2 weeks of the fire, my hair started to come out by the hand fulls and I was completely bald by Christmas. The doctor kept asking me if I was under any stress and I didn't think I was because I believed I was handling all the things that were happening. After thousands of dollars worth of tests, the doctors shrugged my shoulders and said they didn't have any answers for me. They told me that my hair had fallen out by the roots and would never grow back. So, not knowing what else to do, my husband bought me a years membership into a fitness club near where we lived and encouraged me to go there an hour each evening. He made dinner every night and worked on homework with my daughters while I was gone. I think my situation scared him and he didn't know what to do for me. We decided that I needed to eat healthier and exercise more so I did that and amazingly, my hair grew back, contrary to doctor's beliefs! Now we believe that stress did that to me and whenever I am under stress, my hair starts to fall out. I just increase my walking, start focusing on my eating, and do a lot of relaxation exercises. I do better at helping others when I have taken care of mine own health first.

PS. Update to my marriage proposal: at first my dad wouldn't speak to my hubby. He was extremely rude to hubby by pretending he didn't even exist in the same room. I had to tell my dad that he was making me choose between them and it was really hurting me. I couldn't keep asking my hubby to be treated badly when he drove 700 miles 4 times a year for me to see my family. After that, each year my dad got a little better with being around my hubby. After 5 years, my dad and hubby finally talked to each other. When my mother died about 14 years ago, my dad started to date again and remarried 16 months after my mother's death. My dad asked my hubby to be best man at the wedding and to top it all off, my dad married a non-Chinese woman! (And we love her dearly!)

My Marriage Proposal

Blog Prompt: How were you proposed to? (if not yet married, how would you like to be proposed to?) And did you like your proposal, if you could choose one , what would you like to have happened?

I'm not sure we have an actual moment but we dated over 3 years and had started when I was a college student. Don was 7 years older than me, divorced, and had custody of his 2 daughters. At times we both felt like we loved each other and wanted to get married. Unfortunately, these times were not at the SAME time. So, since we didn't actually feel the same at the same time, we waited. When I graduated from college, I didn't want to begin my new life as a new wife, a new mom, and a new teacher and I wanted to be independent for a year. So, I rented an apartment right across the hall from him and that was almost like living together. In December I was going to Florida to visit my parent for Christmas and the discussion came up about both of our apartment leases ending in June. He suggested that we move in together and I said that was unacceptable. First off, I was not brought up that way so it felt wrong to me and another is that my parents would disown me and never speak to me again. So, he told me to tell my parents we would get married in June. I was thrilled because I was ready to get married.

Now, fast forward this to a week later in Florida. Don calls me up from South Carolina to ask me if I've told my parents yet and how did they take it. I quietly told him that I hadn't told them yet because it didn't seem like the right time. Of course, I didn't tell him that my dad had fixed me up with 2 blind dates to try to persuade me away from him! (My dad didn't like Don at all because he was divorced, had children, and was not Chinese and would probably disown me if I married him.) There must have been bad vibes going through the phone lines, because the next morning there was a knock on the door. There stood Don at the door after a 10 hour drive through the night. Needless to say I was shocked but I knew I had to get my dad out of the house to break the news to him because I didn't want them in the same space when I told him. But this is when I knew in my heart Don loved me! And this gave me the courage to disobey my father for the first time in my life. We have been together happily for 24 years!

My Speaking Voice vs. My Writing Voice

I pretty much write like I speak. Of course, it might come from being a teacher and modeling so much for my students. But, I usually write like I speak. And sometimes when I'm with my husband, we tend to mimic phrases from other people that get on our nerves. Some friends of ours always say "All set?" and it constantly gets on my nerves. It is not the actual phrase but the tone and the persistence when they use it. Another is the word, "Duh!" when I want to mimic my students (oh c'mon, teachers need their little thrills too!). The only other phrase I can think that I use is "Knock on wood!" when I'm afraid I've pressed my luck and don't want bad luck to happen to me. But the best thing about writing is the ability to edit. Sometimes my fingers don't work as fast as my brain and I leave out letters or what I write doesn't make any sense so I'm able to correct what I have written.

Now when I talk, I'm always saying the wrong thing. If someone needs sympathy because of death or illness or an accident, I always feel like giggling. It is not because I find anything funny but because I'm so nervous. I always tell my friends ahead of time that if we find ourselves in this kind of situation, I want to apologize in advance. I never know the right things to say and usually say the wrong things. My other favorite saying is "The only time I open my mouth is to change feet!"

Identifying Chip

The Blog prompt for Monday was: If it would be possible to implant some type of chip that would provide identifying information as well as something like a GPS system into a person's body, would you do it? Would you put it into your child when he/she was first born?If you would do it, what type of information would you consider having the chip contain? What could be done to change your mind?If you wouldn't do it, why? What could be done to change your mind?What do you think the ramifications would be for this idea? What negatives and positives would come from it?

No, I would not put a chip into my child at all because I feel that it is a total violation of a person's privacy. I would not want one in me and definitely would not inflict it on my child. Government now is getting to be too much of "Big Brother is Watching" and somehow I see the government finding a way to use this chip for their advantage. I'm not saying my child (or myself) would do something criminal but I could see the government using it for political or social reasons and that scares me. If I was worried about someone taking my child, I would just keep a close watch on my child like I should be doing anyway. We can't live our lives in fear but I think we can keep a watch on our children because we love them and don't want them hurt in any way. As they grow, we teach them rules of society, manners, and values. So when they are away from us, we need to trust them and allow them to grow. With a chip in them, I think this will hinder their growth and not teach them to be independent or think for themselves because they will know we are always watching.

Taking a stand about teaching

Today I was asked to take a stand about something I strongly believe in. Of course, as a teacher, this is just one of the many things that I strongly believe in but here it is...

I strongly believe that we need to build up children's self esteem. So many of my special ed students in my class have such low self esteem that they can not learn. It is not a matter of them being able to learn but a matter of them wanting to learn. If they don't even feel worthy to have a life, how can I expect to teach them anything? I spend the first month of school building their self esteem and literally feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle against the parents (who say the child is just not studying hard enough and has been dumb all his life), other teachers (who say the child is just not studying hard enough and is just plain dumb and have told the parents this), the peers (who say their friend is funny and likeable if he acts up in class), and other students (who say he is different and weird and doesn't "belong" to their group). I give lots of assignments where the student makes lots of good grades and then I call home on a weekly basis to let the parents know how wonderful the student is doing. You wouldn't believe how many parents ask me if I'm calling the right number and talking about their child! This is so sad! I've had some parents tell me that this is the first phone call in 9 years where anyone had anything good to say about their child. Boy, now that makes me mad! I use lots of praise and positive reinforcement because these students are so used to punishment and negative comments. These students are so capable but if they feel everyone is going to kick them when they are down, why bother trying to get up. As the students become more successful and start feeling good about themselves, I start giving them more challenging work. By the end of the year, the students are learning and thriving, which is so important. Every piece of paper they turn in for a grade has to have our class motto on it which is "I am a Born Winner!" No work will be accepted if this isn't on it. When I have my students evaluate me at the end of the year, many of them say this was the best thing that helped them. I truly value my students and wish I could get others to do so too.

Thank you for taking time to read this and I hope I have made you think. If you are a parent, please try to find at least one good thing that your child has done and point it out every day. Talk to your children about encouraging their friends to do the right thing instead of giving attention when they act up. Also talk about children who don't fit in (maybe a physical or learning disability) and how they can be a better person around them. If you are a teacher, try to find one positive thing about your student, even if it is one you can't stand. Talk to your students about why some children misbehave and brainstorm ways your class can help those students. Above all, remember to value children because they are our future!

My Weird Pet

If I was like Doctor Doolitte and could have an unusual pet, I would love to have a dragon. I don't want a mean vicious dragon but one more like Puff, the Magic Dragon. It would intimidate people who scared me but be loving and kind to my friends. It would also keep me company when I was lonely or fly me somewhere if I needed to go places. My dragon would be self sufficient so I wouldn't have to feed it or care for it but it would be there if I needed it. It would be a happy dragon who could lift me up when I'm down in the dumps and give me sympathy when I was having a pity party. Yes, I believe if I could have any kind of pet, this would be an ideal one!

If I found $100...

If I found $100, I would run to the store to buy flowers for my yard. I know that sounds so selfish because there is so much need out there in the world, but a selfish streak just hit me! I love to drool over the plants at Lowes and Home Depot but I usually talk myself out of buying them. I keep telling myself that I need to buy a dress for this important breakfast coming up and I'm spending money on our trip to Washington DC and I'm spending money on scrapbooking etc. so I feel too guilty to buy plants. I have decided that after the trip to DC, I am going to budget my money and I will spend about $20 each week for the rest of the summer (about 4 weeks) buying plants for my garden. Another reason I don't want to buy them is that if we are gone, I won't be here to water them and I don't want to ask someone else to do this. I was in Charleston this weekend and saw some beautiful gardens and I felt jealous! Then today, I went to a friend's house with a beautiful garden! I am committed to making my gardens look pretty...as soon as I return from DC!

Alignment

When asked, "Is the inner you aligned with the outer you?", it made me struggle how to answer this. I would love to say yes, because I think the perfect person should be able to say yes. But unfortunately, I'm very far from perfection. I think I portray an outer person who is outgoing, confident, funny, and talks easily with people. But the inner person in me knows that I'm shy, nervous, and very unsure of myself. I think I have a little inferiority complex in me too that I try not to show. I talk way too much, a lot of the time out of nervousness. Then I worry when I'm alone about, "Did I say too much? Did I sound like a nerd? Did I say stupid stuff?" etc. I feel like a fraud and have to give myself a lot of pep talks. I feel like I have to work at this on a daily basis and sometimes it wears me out. But I guess that is why God didn't make me perfect because life is not an easy thing and shouldn't be!

Outdoors and Sticky

We are in Charleston, SC for the next 2 days while my hubby is attending some meetings so I plan to relax a lot here. This morning I woke up early and planned to go walking but hubby insisted on eating breakfast together first. Then I dropped him off at the hotel and decided to walk across the new Ravenel Bridge across the Cooper River. It is about 2 miles across (that's what the desk clerk said) and I just walked to the top to take pictures. I can't wait to scrap the pictures but here is a picture as a preview! It was beautiful outdoors but it got sticky fast! The humidity feels high and as the sun came up, it just got hotter!

My Computer Space

On an earlier blog and in my scrapbook gallery, I posted a picture of my computer space so here it is again in case you missed it:

http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=101892&cat=500&ppuser=40723

I like to watch the birds come to my water garden for a drink while I'm on the computer. In this room is my treadmill, a pool table, and our hot tub. That is why this room is labeled "The Play Room." I like to get on the computer after I have walked on the treadmill and before the sun comes up. Once the sun comes up, I have to go out and garden until I get too hot and need a break which is usually in an hour or two. Then I play on the computer some more until I cool off. This little corner is my favorite corner of the room. Thanks for looking!

What Actress Would Portray Me?

I guess the only actress I could think of would be Ming-Na. She is the actress who played June in the movie Joy Luck Club. Since I am Chinese and there aren't many Chinese actresses, I felt I had a choice of Ming-Na or Connie Chung! Besides that I think Ming-Na is beautiful and I loved the movie Joy Luck Club, which reflected a lot of feelings that I grew up with. If you have never seen the movie, it is well worth the time!

Fairy Tale Character

This is almost embarrassing but I will do my best to tell the truth. I always thought when I was that I was Cinderella when I was about 10 years old. Growing up in a Chinese household was different than my friends who weren't Chinese because I felt like my parents were old fashioned and strict. I was also the youngest of 3 girls and pretty spoiled (I know that now, but not then!) My oldest sister was sick with lupus and my middle sister had married and moved away. Of course I was ten years younger than my middle sister so I was almost like an only child. On Saturdays before I could go out and play, I had to make up my bed and clean my room. Then I had to vaccuum and mop the basement floor and dust. Every day after dinner I had to help wash dishes and put them all away before I could play. On weekdays I was expected to practice my accordion and do all my homework in addition to dishes before I could go out to play. Now, my schedule was always opposite the other kids in the neighborhood who seemed to play first before chores so when I was free to play, they were all inside their own homes. This made me pretty lonely and I felt like Cinderella. For a while I had it in my mind that I was an abused child and some day I would be rescued from the government who would punish my parents for child labor (I would pretend I was The Little Princess too)! What an idiot I was back then! Can't you see the government upset because I had chores and homework was enforced! Not to mention the sacrifices that were made to get me accordion lessons! No one said that small children are the smartest in the world!

Independence Day

I had a wonderful day of doing nothing except what I wanted to do! I was totally lazy and didn't do any housework (which I hate to do) and went out and gardened twice (which I really enjoy doing!). My day revolved around eating mostly. I walked on the treadmill at 5:30am and then we went out to eat breakfast. When I came home I went out to garden while it was still cool and then played on my computer until we went out to lunch. After lunch I went out and gardened some more and then played on the computer until dinnertime. I actually cooked dinner which turned out good (both of these are rare so it was exciting!). After dinner, we watch a movie called Taxi and then we went out for ice cream. After that we came home and I read a book and watched TV until 11:30. My hubby was wonderful all day and basically left me alone to do whatever I wanted to do and he did whatever he wanted to do which was play with his stamp and baseball collection all day. It was a glorious day!

Independence

Independence is very important to me. It involves freedom and choice. I want to be independent enough to make the choices that are best for me. I want to be able to support myself if the need arose and be educated enough to know what my options are. I love my husband more than anything in the world but if anything ever happened to him, I want to be independent enough to survive. Before we got married, I graduated from college and we waited a year so that I could live alone and learn to support myself. I didn't depend on family or friends in order to pay my bills, feed myself, or enjoy life on a day to day basis. This doesn't mean that I isolated myself from my family and friends but I had confidence in my ability to survive. Independence means also that I am able to make the choice of being emotionally attached to people. It gives me the freedom to trust others and open myself to their ideas and feelings. There is also a lot of responsibility attached to independence. I need to respect others rights to independence even if it something I do not agree with. I need to understand that other's need for independence is just as important to them as it is for me and sometimes those needs may conflict or overlap. I also need to know that Independence may involve give and take as long as I don't compromise my values. These are choices that I have the ability to make. Without independence, I would not have freedoms or choices.

Write a Poem

Yesterday our prompt was to write a poem and I saw it while I worked at my husband's office. I used to write poems in my younger days but haven't done it in a long time. The last poem I wrote was for my great-niece when she was born. I thought about it all day and all night and could not come up with a poem. Finally this morning, something popped in my head and here it is! Hope you enjoy it!


I had to write a poem for my blog
But my brain is not wanting to think
I thought of poems of nature or kids
But I guess my brain’s on the blink!

I really want to write a good poem
But I can’t think of words that will rhyme
And if you hadn’t asked me to do this
I could do it all of the time!

I guess I’ll just give it up.
I really tried to give it a chance.
I’m just not good at poetry
So I’ll go out and water my plants!

Inspiration

I had a hard time with this one so thought about it a lot today. I get inspired by different things for different things I want to do. So finally, I decided to write about what inspires me to have a positive outlook on life.

I dragged my hubby on a hike with 17 other people up the Chattooga River. We started out by fording the river (almost thigh high) and then hiking 3 miles up the river to get to a big rock outcropping for lunch and swimming. Then we had to hike 3 miles back and ford the river again to get back to our car. Well, all this leads up to the fact that whenever I am hiking and look around at all the beauty that God has made I keep believing that if I trust in God, my life will be the way it is meant to be. Just like today's hike, sometimes life is a struggle, sometimes I have to ford a river and work hard, and sometimes I get to lazily lay out on a rock and enjoy the sunshine, or sometimes I get to go swimming and have lots of active fun. Yet, all of this is not a coincidence and I have no power over the miracles around me or what is happening in the world around me. I DO have control over how I act and react to all of this and if I believe in God, I will work hard to do what is right and what I need to do to achieve my goals.

I'm not sure if any of this makes sense because it is hard to put into words. I sometimes worry that I have a too simple minded view of God and my beliefs but for right now, it works for me.

Moods Affected by Weather

My moods are easily affected by weather so that could explain my MANY moods!

Spring/Summer moods:
When it is sunny or cloudy and warm, I love to garden. That puts me in a great mood because I feel like I'm getting a lot done and that the results should be beautiful!
When it is sunny and hot, I'm in a pretty lazy but good mood and use it as an excuse to stay in the house and play on my computer.
When it is sunny or cloudy and cool, I am in the mood to hike and see the beauty of the world.
When it is rainy (it doesn't matter if it is cool or hot), I usually feel depressed and bored so I want to lay in bed and read a good book.


Fall/Winter moods:
When it is sunny or cloudy and cool, I am in the mood to hike. I love the crispness in the air which makes me feel excited about the environment.
When it is rainy and cold, I hate to go outside and it makes me feel depressed and sad.

Exercise

I love to exercise but it is finding time to do it that is the problem. Of course my favorite exercise is hiking. When we can, my hubby and I go camping and hiking on the weekends if it isn't raining. Now that it is summer, I can go hiking with my hiking club on Wednesdays (they hike on Wed., Sat., and Sun.).

Every morning I get up and walk about 2 miles on my treadmill. On Mon. Wed. (during the school year), and Fri. I add some aerobic exercises to my walking. At first I dreaded those days because they were so hard but now they actually make the time go by faster and the days I just walk are my boring days. Even if we go away on business trips, I try to find the exercise room at the hotel so I can walk on the treadmill. It gives me energy for the day and if I don't walk, I notice I'm not as alert during the day and my back aches.

I have just started to do some yoga in the evenings. I bought this book a few years ago called Yoga for Dummies and I do some of the routines. I go through these phases where I do yoga for awhile and then I don't have time and let it lapse so I'm back to try again. I feel like I'm losing flexibility and I need to relax so since I've enjoyed the yoga exercises, I'm back to trying it again.

I also exercise to try to keep my weight down. I'm really self concious about my weight but I have very little will power. I try to ask my hubby not to buy some stuff but he likes it so he buys it anyway. I just can't seem to resist so I keep exercising to help balance everything out.

Last Time I Laughed Really Hard...

The last time I laughed really hard was this spring. My 2 mentally disabled students were going to the prom thanks to the nursing home where they did volunteer work. Unfortunately no one realized how low functioning these students are so I informed my husband that we were going to dinner and the prom with them. I checked with both sets of parents who were very relieved to hear that we would be there to guide them. The nursing home bought the prom tickets ($65 per couple), bought T. a strapless gown, rented E. a tux, got a $50 gift certificate for dinner at an elegant Italian restaurant, and provided transportation to dinner and the prom. My husband and I met them at the restaurant and we had a lovely time. (The week before, the students and I practiced our fine dining skills in class!)After dinner, we went outside to look for the driver who had not arrived yet. Since T. was cold, my husband slipped his jacket off and put it around her shoulders. We finally went into the glassed in lobby to wait for their ride. When the ride arrived, E. and I ran out to wave the driver down. A few seconds later, my usually calm, unflappable husband came flying out of the lobby and frantically grabbed my arm telling me that I had to get in there right now and help T. I couldn't imagine what could have happened in about 5 seconds but I went inside. There T. was with her boobs out of the top of her strapless gown. Apparently when she gave my husband his jacket, the gown had slipped and she couldn't get it back up unless the gown was unzipped. She had asked my husband to unzip her so she could pull her dress up. He freaked out (especially since he is a judge and could imagine this in the newspaper!) and didn't know how to handle it so he ran out to get me. After I got T. fixed back up and into the car, we got in our car to follow them to the prom. I could not stop laughing all the way to the prom. I was not laughing at T. but at my husband who has never been excitable or unable to handle any situation before this one. I had never seen him this way and it was truly hilarious (to me, but not to him!) I still giggle when I think about it!

What Kind of Coffee am I?

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

The Story Behind the Name

There are not many things that I've named except my dog, a turtle, and my screen name. I didn't get to name my 2 daughters because they came to me already named!

First I'll start with my dog that we named Caesar. He was a chow and we wanted a regal kind of name but not common like Prince or King so, Caesar it was!

I also had a little turtle we named Bozo. I was diagnosed with fibroid tumors and after a 4 lb. tumor was removed, we told people that I gave birth to a 4 lb. tumor. Of course people wanted to know what we named it so we said Bozo. Then I wanted something to show for this so we bought a tiny turtle at the flea market and named him Bozo. My students loved to play with Bozo and watch him grow. We eventually gave Bozo to a friend who had an outdoor pond and he is doing very well.

As for my screen name, my maiden name was Loon. I hated it when I was growing up because it gave people one more reason to make fun of me. First, I was the only Chinese girl in a school full of whites, blacks, and hispanics. I was also the brainy nerd and not athletic at all. Once the school bully found out my last name was Loon, I was nicknamed Loony. I had that name for almost the last 10 years of school. Then I went on to college, and I mentioned how I didn't like my nickname to one person who decided that is what she would call me and it stuck. Once I became an adult, and got married, it brought back sentimental memories (not all bad) and I was proud of my maiden name instead of being embarrassed by it. I also started hiking which I never did growing up and loved it! So, the very first email address I had to come up with began as Loonyhiker and it has stuck with me ever since. I use it for sending out emails to people in my professional education organization and now everyone recognizes me as Loonyhiker so it has become my trademark. No one knows the information is sent by Pat but if you mention Loonyhiker, everyone smiles and knows exactly who I am. What a nice way to be remembered!

If My House was in danger, what would I save?

If my house was on fire or about to be blown away in a hurricane, besides my husband, I hope I would take my pocketbook (has my license, checkbook, and credit card in it) and my laptop with me. I have so many sentimental items in the house that I wouldn't know where else to begin. I figure as long as I had my credit card, I could buy any essentials I might need and my laptop is like another part of my body that I just couldn't do without.

Now of course, my house has caught on fire years ago (luckily only ended up with minor burning of a closet and smoke damage), and I'm embarrassed about what I did take out of the house with me. I hope that I learned from this experience and won't repeat what I did. Of course, you never think it will happen to you. Besides making sure my husband was okay, I got my dog out and put him in the car so the firemen could get in the house AND I took my gradebook. I didn't take my computer, pocketbook, money, pictures, jewelry, tax records, or anything else of value. All I can think of is that for many years, I was always told (or brainwashed) that if you lose your gradebook, you will be fired. For 25 years, I have always been able to put my hand on my gradebook at any time. Thank goodness for computers now and my gradebook is on the network at school with many backups. Since then, I have had a plan in my head of what to take if this ever happens again. Boy, my hubby has liked to tease me about it though!

10 Best Things I've Done Since I've Turned 40

I have to say that I've enjoyed life to the fullest so it was hard to narrow this down to 10. Of course these are not listed in any kind of priority.

1. I've been to China for the first time (30 day tour) and learned alot about my heritage.
2. I went to Italy for 3 weeks last summer and loved it!
3. I was named South Carolina Special Ed Teacher of the Year in 2000 and in 2005 I was a runner up for the title again.
4. This year I was named Teacher of the Year for my school and a Top 10 finalist for my district of almost 5000 teachers. (The winner will be announced in August).
5. I have traveling around Alaska in a motorhome for a week and then a cruise down the Inside Passage
6. We've been taking a cruise at least once a year.
7. I've learned how to do digital scrapbooking!
8. I've learned more about gardening than I ever thought I would and enjoy my flower gardens.
9. I left my old job of 11 years and came to a school closer to my home which means I am more involved in my students lives since I live in the same community and this helps me be a better teacher.
10. Officially retired from teaching as of July 1, 2006, even though I will return for one more year!

10 Things To Do Before I'm 50

These are 10 things I would like to do before I'm 50 which means that I have about 3 years to do this. I love to travel so you will notice most of these are places that I really want to visit. These are not in any order of priority.

1. Go to Colorado
2. Go to Macchu Picchu (ancient Incan ruins in Peru)
3. Go to Greece
4. Go to Hawaii
5. Go to New Zealand
6. Go to Fiji
7. Go to Germany
8. Go to Glacier National Park
9. Go to Yosemite National Park
10. Take a train ride across the Canadian Rockies

The 5 Senses of Summer

If I didn't have any of my senses anymore, these are what I would think of when I think of summer.

The smells of summer: Honeysuckle in my gardens and galax on the hiking trail (smells like smelly socks)
The sights of summer: flowers blooming and green grass
The sounds of summer: Kids playing baseball at the local park around the block from my house, people working in their yards, people talking as they walk past my house (lots of people take up walking in the summer!)
The touch of summer: sweat rolling off my body as I hike because the humidity is disgusting here
The tastes of summer: watermelon and cantelope (I can taste it just thinking about this!)

3 Ways to Compliment Me

I have a hard time with compliment because most of the time I don't really feel that I deserve them. Also, so many people give compliments that aren't sincere and use them mostly as a way for small talk. But if someone was to compliment me, it would mean alot to me if:
1) They compared me to someone that I admire or I feel does a great job! I have an assistant principal who could sell ice to an Eskimo and they would leave smiling and feeling valued. If someone says that I'm a lot like her, I am truly honored.
2) They can actually tell me why they feel they had to compliment me. Sometimes adding the word "because" helps me understand what I'm doing right and I know that this is not an empty compliment.
3) Ask me if they can imitate whatever I did. When I do a lesson in class that is really great and another teacher asks if she can do that in her classroom, I am thrilled.
My other problem is knowing how to respond to compliments. I usually say Thank You but sometimes feel embarrassed because either I don't feel like I deserve it or I feel lik saying thank you doesn't show how much their compliment means to me. Oh well, I'll keep working on that.

PS: I didn't get the pine needles and plants yesterday and I didn't call the Sears man but other than that, I got everything else done on my list!

If I Didn't Leave My House Today...

I would either get a lot of housework done or I would play on my computer all day.

Since I have been on vacation I have had to make a list of things I need to do all day or I don't feel like I accomplish much at all. Today I need to fold 3 loads of laundry, call the plumber, call Sears to get my treadmill oiled, file my bills, return library books, stop at the grocery store, buy 10 more bales of pine needles for my gardens and spread them, buy some plants for my flower pots and plant them, buy a new ink cartridge for my printer, go out to lunch with my husband, buy some new clothes that I need for a trip to Washington DC.

If I stayed home I could fold clothes, file bills, and make phone calls and play on my computer. The rest of the stuff could wait and no one would care except my husband who would eat lunch alone. He really likes to eat lunch with me during the summer.

That's what I love about summer vacation, the freedom to do what I want or not do what I don't want to do! Life is grand!

A Dinner Party with 5 Famous People

If I had a dinner party and could invite 5 famous people, I would invite:
1. Tim Allen - because I love to watch reruns of Home Improvement and I love his silly sense of humor.
2. Bill Cosby - because he seems so down to earth and realistic and wise.
3. Amy Grant -because I knew her when she attended the same college as me for a year and she was so down to earth and real. I never knew she was famous at the time and she never advertised it. I enjoyed hearing her opinions when I was around her.
4. Kevin Costner - because he is so darn good looking!
5. Martha Stewart - because I would want to know how she has time to do all the things she says she does and I would like to know what she is really like in person.

The Perfect Party

Every year for the past few years, I've had a Chinese New Year's Party. I usually invite my whole hiking club (this invitation is printed in our newsletter and goes out to hundreds) and all of my close friends and family. The way we hold a party is to provide all the paper goods (paper plates, forks, napkins, cups). Everyone who comes brings a dish to share with others and it can be an appetizer, main dish, salad, dessert, or whatever you like best. Everyone brings their own drinks for themselves. This way, there is always enough food and drink for whatever number of people show up because it won't matter if you have 5 or 50 people show up. We have had anywhere from 30 to 150 people show up and had a ball! We start at 7pm and most of the people are gone by 10:00. When people leave, they take their dirty dishes with them and usually during the party, everyone helps take full trash bags out to the can and puts new bags in. Usually 3 or 4 close friends stay until 10:30 or 11pm and help clean up anything that needs to be done, which usually is very minimal. I love holding these parties and look forward to it every year!

My Life as a Teenager

My teenage years were very sheltered even though I was a very spoiled child. My oldest sister who was 24 passed away with lupus at the beginning of my 10th grade year. My parents were devastated so I did my best to be the perfect child. Open rebellion was never an option because I wanted to make it up to them for having to bury a child. I think at the time, it was so traumatic for me that a lot of those years are very hard to remember. My mother did not drive and my father worked nights so I remember that when I got my license I drove my mother to her friend's house and picked her up a lot. I was always expected to be at home before dark if I was out with my friends. My first date was my senior prom which turned out to be a real dud. I had a middle sister who was married with 2 small children and she did her best to run interference for me and help make my life as normal as possible. I studied a lot in order to earn scholarships to go away to college. I felt that was my only way of escaping because I felt so smothered by my parents. I always knew they loved me but as a teenager, I felt they loved me too much. Now that my mother has passed away, I really regret how much I resented that love during those times. If we only knew then what we know now...

Finding Peace

One of my favorite ways of finding peace is by hiking. Today I joined 5 of my friends (who go hiking every Wednesday) for a hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We hiked up to Tennent Mountain and had beautiful views of the mountains all around us. The rhododendron was still blooming as well as some lilies, bluets, mountain laurel, and flame azaleas. It started out foggy and overcast but shortly after we began, the winds blew the clouds and fog away. The sun came out and shined on us the rest of the day. As I looked around I just enjoyed the beauty of it all and I feel so alive but peaceful. I always feel in awe of what God has done and grateful that he takes such good care of me. I think of all the little problems I may have and put them aside because if God can do all this, it makes all my problems seem insignificant. Hiking in this majestic glory puts everything in perspective for me and I am filled with peace.

My Scrapbooking History

I went on a cruise over Christmas holidays and planned on scrapbooking my pictures from the trip. I have never done any kind of scrapbooking before, paper or digital. When I got home, I printed my pictures, papers, and stencils. I started cutting and got so disgusted, within 2 days, I threw it all in the trash. Then I got online and started researching scrapbooking because I knew I was doing something wrong and ended up hitting a gold mine. I started reading about digital scrapbooking and was very interested. I lurked around a couple of sites and really liked DSP. I used the tutorial and did a layout page on PSP8 which was on my computer already. I kept having problems with it freezing up my computer but then I started reading the forums and heard a lot about PSE. So, I downloaded the trial version of PSE4 and loved it! I believe my first layout was posted on DSP at the end of January. Hubby got a little nervous and asked me to wait a month before I spent any money on my new hobby in case I got bored with it. I was hooked though and used PSE4 every day until two weeks later, I messed with the clock on my computer (I downloaded atomic clock because my clock kept losing time). All of a sudden, PSE4 wouldn't work and said my month trial expired (after only 2 weeks). I went into immediate withdrawal and I think I drove hubby crazy so he rushed me out to Sams where I bought PSE4 on sale for $74. I am totally addicted to DSP and read the forums every day. Somehow I read about NKOTB and joined the new group which was the best experience I had ever had in learning a new hobby. I love doing the challenges too which has really helped in teaching me so much. Today, my hubby just bought me a new 320 gig external hard drive for all my scrapbooking needs. I'm having so much fun!

How I Got Started on Computers

The first computer my husband bought me was a Commodore 64. I remember learning to write programs so we could play games. I thought I was a big shot because no one else I knew had a computer. In fact, people didn't trust them back then (in the dark ages! lol) I remember taking a class on Apple computers through my school district on how to write programs for doing grades on them. Since I took the class I was one of the first ones in my school to get an Apple computer. In fact, I was allowed to take it home during summers which I loved. I got lots of shareware programs for my daughters to play learning games. My first internet computer was a Hewlett Packard that came with a printer from Best Buy. I had just gotten my tubes tied and my first granddaughter was born so hubby thought it was time for me to get a special present. I know some bright students at my school who were really into computers and we had been talking about them for months. One boy, Brian, who was 16 promised to help me if I had any trouble so my hubby agreed to buy one. I set it up on a square card table for a long time! As I started to use it, I wanted new hardware added on and Brian always was able to install it for me. His mom and dad said that he just wanted to play with this but couldn't afford it so he talked me into buying things to give the computer more memory or to make it go faster. He was my computer guru for over 15 years and now he lives in Arizona with his wife but we keep in touch. It is really interesting to see how far I've come from the old Commodore!

My Other Online Activities

I spend most of my time at DSP but here are other things I do online:

• I love to read the blogs of my fellow digiscrappers who do these prompts.
• I spend a lot of time emailing friends and family.
• I go to the Council for Exceptional Children website a lot because I'm on the national Board of Directors.
• I do a weekly listserve to people in my state on local, state, and national news and legislation about special education because I'm the state Children and Adolescent Network Coordinator.
• I am constantly doing research on teaching strategies, lessons, and topics for my class because I want to make learning exciting for them.
• I like to cruise eBay a lot to see what is being sold and the price they are getting plus the weird and bizarre items being sold.
• I go to my local newspaper site because I stopped buying the paper.
• I used to go to the WhiteBlaze.net site which is a forum for Appalachian Trail enthusiast but I don't have a lot of time to go there as much as I like.
• I also like to go the rec.gardens newsgroup to get support for my gardening hobby.
• For relaxation, I play yahoo games.

Have I Accomplished My Dreams?

I guess I've led a simple focused life because I believe I've accomplished what I've always wanted to do and now I'm at the end of that process. All of my life I've wanted to be a teacher so I was so focused on becoming a teacher, that I think I missed out on some things. I kind of feel guilty when I hear others say what they are doing now is so different than what they started to be because that never was a problem for me. But when I look back on my life, I didn't realize that some of my friends went through hard times and I never knew it at the time. I hear now that they did and I am ashamed that I wasn't there for them when they needed someone. I wanted to become a teacher and my parents couldn't afford it so I had to work on my own to graduate from the most expensive private run university in my state. I sometimes worked 3 jobs at a time and studied in between that I had no time for anybody or anything else in my life. I had set a goal and I was determined to accomplish it no matter what because I felt like so many people were waiting for me to fail. I am now reaching the end of my career and truly feel fulfilled. By being chosen Teacher of the Year, I feel I have accomplished what I had set out to do all of my life. I'm proud of all that I've done and feel that I've made a difference in many student's lives but I truly regret the lack of sensitivity that I must have shown to reach this point. (Now I'm having trouble choosing a new career and answering the questions: "What do you want to be when you grow up?")

My Favorite Teacher

My favorite teacher was Miss Simms, who was my 3rd grade teacher. I had always wanted to be a teacher and play acted it while I was growing up but she was my idea of the perfect teacher. She really loved us and we knew it. I was always ahead of everyone else in spelling and reading so I remember she gave me lots of enrichment activities to challenge me. I was never bored in her class but the extra work she gave me was fun and not busy work. At every chance she got, she encouraged me to read and broaden my horizons with new vocabulary and reading skills. She was so full of praise for us and made each of us feel like we were the most important thing in the world to her. That is when I just knew I really wanted to be a teacher and would work towards this dream no matter what it took.

My Favorite Childhood Book

My favorite childhood book was The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss. I loved that book when I was little because I was amazed that someone could have so many hats. My mother made all of my clothes and we never bought many so I didn't have a lot of choices. The only hat I ever got to wear was usually on Easter Sunday. To me, it symbolized choices. As a young child I felt the world was so fascinating and I wanted to be so many different things. I have shared this book with my own children just for the sake of enjoyment but they didn't seem as enchanted with it as I was. I have shared it with my class and my theory about choices so they responded much better to the book. I have found out that my students love Dr. Seuss books even though they are in high school if I can make it into a learning experience. So, next year, we will be reading Dr. Seuss books for social skills lessons!

Things I'm Thankful For

Usually every morning I get out my "Blessings" book and write down at least 5 things that I'm thankful for. This is my way of starting the day out in the right frame of mind and it really helps me. There are some main things that I'm thankful for every day and I don't write them down anymore because they are the same each day. I'm thankful for my husband and the love we share. I'm thankful for all my family and friends who are there for me whenever I need them. I'm thankful for my health which enables me to do whatever I want to do. I'm thankful for my ability to teach because I truly love doing it. All of these people and things are what makes me the person I am today.

My Earliest Memory

I remember being about 4 years old and I was playing at my next door neighbor's house. All of a sudden my mother and her mother were in front of the TV crying and wailing which scared us. I remember they were saying things like, "I can't believe he was shot!" They were talking about President John F. Kennedy, which I don't think I found out until years later. But I do remember being there and the crying. I guess I remember that because it scared me since I had never seen my mother upset or crying before. I knew something terrible had happened but I didn't understand what or why.

My Biggest Fear

My biggest fear is being alone in the dark. When I was little, my teenage cousin would scare me with horror stories in the dark and I think that had a big impact on me. When we are camping, I hate the dark so my husband always starts a campfire for me before it gets dark. At the campground I'm usually up early and wait impatiently for the sun to come up. At home, when a storm is expected, he always reminds me to get my flashlight near the bed and we put out candles in case we need them. Usually we never light the candles but I feel better just knowing they are there if I need them. My parents even bought me this neat flashlight that doesn't need batteries. You kind of pump the handle and it provides the power for the light. We usually go to sleep with the TV on and I set the sleep timer so it cuts off when we are asleep.

If I went back to school...

I want to learn so many new things that I don't know where to start. I would love to take a class on either Dreamweaver or FrontPage to make better web pages. Years ago, I learned html and I use Word to make my pages. I want to learn how to do frames and make interesting web pages. I would also like to take a flower arranging class because I'm in the garden club and some of these ladies really know how to make some dynamite arrangements. I would also like to take classes on Spanish conversation. I had 8 years of French in high school and college but never Spanish. I've taken some short courses in Spanish but I never learn enough to go on to another class and always have to take beginner classes. I want to take a class that will help me take more advanced classes and really use it. I would also like to take courses in tourism or being a travel agent (not to make money, just to help me plan my vacations better!) So much to do and so little time! I feel like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

Meme of 5

Thanks to Tink, I just got tagged for a meme of 5. (5 questions about myself to put on my blog). I had to think long about these because it is scary sharing these innermost secrets but here they are:

5 things in my fridge:
2 quart size bags of peeled cloves of garlic
diet pepsi
beer
unsweetened ice tea (Hubby is sweet enough!)
milk (eww yuck! Chinese people have trouble digesting milk products)
(The garlic was on sale and hubby can't resist a bargain! We obviously drink lots more than we eat!)

5 items in my closet:
shoes
dresses (I teach so what did you expect!?)
extra pillows (you never know when a stranger will come to your door
and need a pillow!)
stuffed pig (don't ask)
power box for alarm system

5 items in my purse:
credit card (I know the number by heart!)
crab leg eating tool (I'm a serious crab leg eater so hubby bought me my own tool! It is stainless steel and has a tiny scoop on one end and a tiny fork on the other)
kleenex (my allergies are always causing my nose to run)
razor blade hidden in plastic key case (never know when one is needed)
memo pad (I think of things I want to research on the internet and jot them down)

5 items in my car:
pink fuzzy dice under front seat that someone gave me as a gag gift
bungee cords for tying things down
loose change (I think they multiply!)
ice scraper (never need it much in SC but if I did, I want to have one)
cassette tapes (my truck is so old it doesn't have a CD player)

5 people to tag:
Jane
Faery-wings
Heather
Glynis
Meg

Thanks for looking! I hope the 5 people I tagged don't kill me!!!

A First for Me!

I had a big First this year as being chosen a candidate for my District Teacher of the Year. It all started in November when I was chosen by my faculty to represent my school as Teacher of the Year for this next school year. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would get this honor. I have been a Special Ed teacher for 25 years in 4 different schools and never even considered the possibility of being chosen. Usually a Special Ed teacher is not chosen because the number of students in our program are small compared to the rest of the school so many may not know the special ed teachers. I was so shocked when I found out that I was one of the top 6 nominees and totally shocked when I had won my school's top honor! As my school's Teacher of the Year, I was expected to fill out the application to be considered the District Teacher of the Year. In April I found out that I am one of the top 10 Teachers of the Year for the district which has almost 5000 teachers and now I'm in the running for the top title. In order for them to choose the winner, I had to be interviewed by the judges, observed teaching, have a lesson videotaped, and have a videotaped interview. The District Teacher of the Year won't be announced until August when we start back to school so I'm really excited! Please keep me in your prayers!

Neatest Thing in Nature

The first thing that comes to mind is when we were hiking in the Smokies. My husband noticed a snake coming out of a tree stump with a mouse in his mouth. We watched him eat dinner (it had to be a "him" because his table manners were disgusting!) I have seen snakes eat in captivity but never out in the wild. This fascinated me but totally grossed out my hubby who is terrified of snakes ever since he was bit by a copperhead.

The other thing is more like a complete crash of nature with humanity. We were camping one night in the Smokies and the weather was beautiful. I went to bed around 10pm but my hubby wanted to enjoy the campfire a little longer. My hubby was sitting in those canvas lawn chairs that have cup holders in the arms so he put his beer can in the holder and ended up falling asleep. I am awakened by this awful screaming by my hubby AND something else. I fumbled with the zipper on the tent expecting to find my husband eaten by some grizzley bear or mountain lion (neither of which are found in the Smokies). I scramble out of the tent and see a black bear running in one direction and my hubby running in the other. After calming hubby down, I finally get the scoop. Since my hubby was asleep and not moving, the bear didn't realize there was a person in the chair and sneaked up to get the beer can. About the time he did, my hubby snored which scared the bear and caused the bear to scream. The snore and the bear scream woke my hubby up who then proceeded to scream along with the bear. I laughed so hard I was rolling in the dirt. Obviously we didn't get any sleep that night because hubby was scared to death and I was laughing every 5 min. when I thought about the whole scene. I still can't help laughing when I think of this!

By the way, both events happened at the same campground but in different years. Too bad I couldn't get any pictures of this because they would be priceless! Oh, by the way, we don't visit that campground very much anymore.

My Computer Space Photo

My Computer Space

Just to set the stage, there is just my husband and me in our house, which is about 75 years old in a tiny town in South Carolina. We have no children or pets living at home with us so we should have plenty of space, but we don't. I spend most of my computer time in my "playroom" or my bedroom.

In the evenings, I'm usually in my bedroom, which has no windows because it is smack in the middle of this old house. My bed is a king size bed that raises up and down (head or feet) because my husband has a bad back and this was supposed to help but it doesn't. We also have a new big screen HDTV in our bedroom so even though I'm on my laptop and he is watching TV, we are spending quality time together.

If it is in the morning or the afternoons, I'm in the "playroom". This room began as a storage building for our junk, then became a sun room on the back of my house for my plants, and then became a "playroom" with an added wooden deck along the whole width of the house. My house was an L shape in the back so we decided to square it all in. Along the 2 walls we put windows so my plants could get plenty of sun and I could see my flowerbeds in my backyard. Then we decided to put in a tile floor because we liked tile floors. Of course my hubby had to have a hot tub, which he has always wanted and I didn't want it outside because I didn't want to go outside to use it. So, the contractor actually had to take out the wall to get the hot tub in (It's 8 ft x 8 ft and the window was only 6 ft wide.). Once we got the hot tub, I had to have a bathroom with shower added so we didn't get any carpet wet. Then I decided on patio furniture so we could sit at the table even if we are wet. Of course after that, my hubby just had to have a pool table (which we never play on more than once a year.) So, we have this huge room full of windows and pull down shades, but still have no storage space! I sit at the glass patio table in front of the windows which overlook my huge backyard and work on my computer. I especially love to sit there and watch the birds visit my water garden on the back deck. Because I find it so relaxing, I love to sit here in the early mornings and check my email, visit DSP and read the new posts, and do some scrapbooking. It's probably my favorite room in the whole house.

Out of the Ordinary

I didn't really do anything major out of the ordinary other than slept in until 5:30am instead of getting out of bed at 4:45am. I went out and did some gardening before it got too hot. I don't usually get to do this until summer vacation begins so I am excited to do some gardening now. Usually we go away every weekend so I really can't do any gardening except for the evenings during the school year and then during the week when summer vacation begins. This year, due to gas prices, we have tried to stay closer to home so I've been doing a lot more gardening on the weekends. I was pretty excited this morning when I was taking inventory of what I've already accomplished. I will get to spend more time this summer enjoying my gardens instead of dreading all the weeding. I don't know if I just started earlier this year or prepared my beds better to keep out weeds but this year seems much easier than the past. I've really spent a lot of time and money with spreading pine needles this past year which seems to have helped with the weeds. I have also planted more plants which seems to leave less space for the weeds (at least that is what I tell my hubby when I come home with more plants!). I also went out and bought more potting soil for some of my pots that needed more soil. Of course, now I have so much extra soil that I will need to buy more pots and of course more plants! Hmmm, this could be an ongoing cycle! What a wonderful relaxing day this has turned out to be!

Memorial Day Weekend

My weekend turned out very different than what I had planned; not bad, just different. We left for VA around 4pm and arrived at the campground by 9:30pm. We got the last campsite and we could only get it for one night. Right after we got our tent set up, it started to pour down rain with high winds and thunder. But at least we were warm and dry in our tent so I just listened to my Ipod and went to sleep. The next morning we found out that 4 people on horseback were struck by lightning. The hiking trail we had planned to take had a gate closed and a padlock on it so we couldn't go on it. After that we drove to a couple of campgrounds to find a site but had no luck so we got on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped along the way. Unfortunately parts of the parkway were closed so we had to get off of it and ended up driving all the way home. We had a nice drive at least and the weather was beautiful.

This morning I got up early and spread 10 bales of pine straw down in my flower beds before it got hot. Then I woke my hubby for breakfast. After breakfast we decided to go see The DaVinci Code but I was disappointed because it wasn't as good as the book. The rest of the day we were just lazy and watched TV because it was so hot outside.

Who knows what we will do tomorrow. But it doesn't matter as long as my hubby and I are together. Maybe I will have time to do some scrapbooking!

Is creating "beautiful art" more important than the process of creating?

I don't know because I am definitely not an artsy person. Scrapbooking is the most creative thing I have ever done in my life and I'm just learning the process. I think the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is so true! I guess that is why getting comments on my layouts are so important to me. Some of the things that people point out that they like help me see what I need to focus on. I think in the process of creating that you end up creating beautiful art so they both go hand in hand. One cannot be more important than the other.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! We are going to Grayson Highlands State Park in Mouth of Wilson, VA to do some hiking finally! It has rained every weekend we have tried to go camping and hiking! We are going no matter what, rain or shine! (I've already packed the car before school and I'm leaving early!) I hope the sun shines on everyone this weekend!

My First Thoughts Each Morning

Every morning my alarm goes off and I hit the snooze button. It won't buzz again for 4 minutes so I lay back down in bed but don't go to sleep. During that 4 minutes, I have gotten in the habit of asking God to be with me during this day. I think about all the things I need to do and ask him to guide me through the day. I always thank him for all my blessings and try to name some before the alarm buzzes again. It usually puts me in a great frame of mind for the rest of the day. I usually feel energized and excited about the day. This may sound strange, but I also feel protected too. I feel like things may go wrong during the day but I know I'm not alone and things will work out. No matter what I know I'm loved. It is such a wonderful way to start the day!

Saying Goodbyes

Saying goodbyes is really hard for me. In fact, I think it is hard for my whole family because whether it is on the phone or in person, it takes 15 min. after the first "goodbye" to really get gone. My family was not a very touchy feely group so I didn't grow up with a lot of hugs until I got married. My in laws were BIG huggers and my mother in law scared me to death for months when we were dating because she had to give me a big hug every time she saw me and when we said good bye. In fact, I would make my husband (then boyfriend) go in to her house first to get the first big hug. Now I'm in a hiking group where everyone hugs hello and goodbye. So, I've learned to be a hugger. Whenever I leave my parents' home after a visit, we hug but I'm always afraid it will be the last time I see them. I keep that fear in my heart and smile bravely and just say See ya soon! Mainly with my friends though, it's more of a see ya later (whenever that may be).

My First Pet

I didn't really have a first pet, because the family dog was there before I was. My parents called her Duchess and was a AKC registered German Shepherd. She had puppies and we kept one, which was named Princess. When Princess had puppies, we kept a solid white one and named her Empress. Empress was really my dog because we grew up together. I remember one day eating an ice cream outside when I was little, and Empress stole my ice cream right out of the cone! Since I was so lonely and did not have many kids my age to play with, Empress became my playmate. We used to play tag and catch and hide-n-seek together. Sometimes I would even dress her up in real clothes and she just went along with it. When I became a teenager, she could sense my confused moods and most nights would crawl in my twin size bed to lay beside me for comfort. In fact, many times we were inseparable. When my parents would call me to do something, they'd go through the litany of names before getting to mine. The dogs names were even called before they got to mine! It was hard to leave Empress behind when I went away to college. I think it was my first year of college when we had to put her to sleep because she had uterine cancer. We had wonderful times together and great memories.

Childhood Scents

To begin with, I'm highly allergic to most fragrances so I usually can't smell anything but 2 distinct scents come to mind. They bring intense memories to this day. First, there was this strange hospital smell when my older sister died when I was in 9th grade. We were extremely close even though she was 12 years older than me. This may sound morbid, but I smelled it in our house, minutes before we got the call that she passed away. I have smelled that when I graduated high school, started college, graduated college, got married, walked at graduation for my Master's Degree, and whenever something important has happened in my life. It is comforting because I feel that my sister is with me and letting me know that she is proud of me.

The second smell is this distinct cigarette smell that enveloped my mother's body whenever I would hug or kiss her. She was a very heavy smoker all of her life so the smell oozed from her pores and was even in her clothes. When she passed away, I couldn't even give her clothes away because of the smell. Yet, I have always associated that smell as belonging to my mother. A few years ago, we were lost on some backroads and it was dark. We almost got into a bad wreck and it scared us! All of a sudden, the smell filled the car. In fact, even my hubby smelled it and recognized it. I could feel my mother's presence as if she was physically there and was afraid to look in the back seat. Yet, I was filled with sense of safety and protection. I felt that she was telling me that she would always be watching over me and taking care of me.

Maybe that is why I'm allergic to all other scents, so that I could recognize these scents and be glad!

My Favorite Vacation

My favorite vacation was our trip to Italy last summer. We planned to join our friends on the inaugural cruise of the Carnival Liberty last July but we went 4 days earlier to get used to the time difference. We stayed in Rome before the cruise began. Then we went for the naming ceremony of the ship before the voyage. The itinerary was a 12 day cruise out of Rome to Naples, Croatia, Venice, Sicily, Barcelona, Cannes, Livorno (side trip to Florence and Pisa), and back to Rome. It was a fantastic trip that I had never dreamed of taking until this opportunity came up. My hubby and I don't usually agree on a lot of things (makes our 24 yr. old marriage very interesting) but we do agree that this was our favorite vacation. We would like to go back to Rome again soon because we enjoyed it so much. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was sooooo romantic. It was magical to see all the historical places that I had grown up studying about. One day we at lunch at an outside cafe looking at the Coliseum. To stand in places that Julius Caesar once stood gives me goose bumps! At night the outdoor artists with live musicians along the streets was truly magical. Here is a layout I did for one of the challenges about My Favorite Vacation.

Childhood Play

I actually have 2 things I remember playing with that were my favorites. As for background information, I was a pretty lonely child and didn't have many kids to play with. My sisters were a lot older than me and when I got home from school we would eat dinner with my dad and then I had to practice my accordion. When I could go play, other kids were eating dinner and then it got dark. So I had to use my imagination and play by myself most of the time. My favorite toys consisted of an outdoor delight and an indoor delight.

First was a huge refrigerator box. I would imagine it was a castle and I was a princess. Somedays it would be a fairy tale cottage and I would get away from the big bad witch or wolf (depending on the day). It would be a hideway from the Indians and I was a cowgirl or the cabin of a pirate ship and I was a pirate. I just loved that box and it lasted forever (back then, time and size was pretty relative) or until my parents got tired of looking at it in the background and threw it away.

My inside treasure was my suitcase full of Legos (Boy, how they have changed in 40 years!). I would make phones and pretend I was talking to important people. Or I would pretend I was a secret agent and make all these neat gadgets. It would keep me entertained for hours. I miss things like that.

In today's world, kids don't seem to know how to use their imagination anymore. I have students write paragraphs where they have to use their imaginations and it about kills them! We have allowed them to watch so much TV and play videogames that they do not know how to expand their minds. It is really difficult to get them to dream of the future and what they hope to do with their lives. Sure, some of it may not be realistic, but reality has to begin with dreams. Oops! Sorry to get on my soapbox but I'm so worried about the children today who don't know the simple things in life. Remembering these toys brought such great memories!

5 Favorite Words

1. panache
2. hoopla
3. giggly
4. velvet
5. gladiolas

I don't know why these are my favorite words right now, but I love how they feel when I say them. They make me smile. Of course tomorrow or the next day, these words can change!

Comfort Foods

Lately my comfort food has been chocolate kisses. This is a stressful time of year for me, which I should be used to after 25 years of teaching. It changes every few years. Here is the list over the years: chocolate graham crackers, soft pretzels, olives (low carb dieting times), sunflower seeds in shells (I thought if I had to crack them, I wouldn't eat so much!), macaroni and cheese (college years). 2 years ago when I had my hysterectomy, I was told I couldn't push, pull, lift or bend, so the only thing I could do was...eat! I ate a bag of Hershey kisses every week. No wonder I gained 20 lbs! I am still eating them to this day but not so much. Now I walk 2-3 miles a day and try to limit myself to 4 kisses per night (just to take the edge off the sugar craving)! No walking= no kisses! I wonder what food will be next?

Bad habits

Boy! Do I have bad habits! I don't know where to start but I don't have an eternity to write so I will limit this to my top 10 bad habits. Boy, that would be an interesting challenge. Here they are (but not in order of importance):
1. I'm a perfectionist.
2. I am addicted to chocolate kisses lately.
3. I don't change my sheets as often as I should.
4. I play on my computer too much.
5. I'm too critical of other people.
6. I can't say no to people when they ask me to do something.
7. I internalize a lot of my anger instead of verbalizing things.
8. I love to go to social functions so I can look at other people's clothes and go home and laugh about them.
9. I tell people that I'm a terrible cook so often so they won't ever ask me to cook something for an event.
10. When I want to escape, I read a good book instead of doing things I really should do.

Mother's Day weekend

My whole weekend turned out to be wonderful. One of my students gave me a Mother's Day card and told me how much she appreciated me. On Saturday I spent the day getting more pine needles and buying more flowers. Before it got dark, I planted all 10 of my new plants so I felt like I accomplished a lot. I had a quiet Mother's Day which I really appreciated. My whole family knows how much I value "my" time and let me have it. After church, I spent the rest of the morning in my flower beds. I weeded and spread 8 bales of pine straw. For lunch, my hubby ate sandwiches which made me happy since I didn't have to cook! I played on the computer and did a layout for the scrappy chat challenge. When I got finished, I talked my hubby into taking me out for an ice cream. Then I came back and played on the computer for the rest of the afternoon. For dinner, we each made whatever we wanted and watched TV together. What a wonderful day!

Superpower

What superpower would I like to have? I would love to fly at high speeds like Superman. Since I love to travel, that would make traveling so much more faster. There aren't enough hours in the day for what I have to do, so if I could go anywhere in the world during the weekend, I would be in heaven! I could go visit my blogging friends after work and still be home by bedtime. If I didn't like the weather, I would be able to fly where ever the weather was beautiful. If I felt like being surrounded by snow, I could fly to where it was snowing. Of course my hubby would have to have the same power so I wouldn't be all alone on my trips.

If I could take tomorrow off of work, I'd...

I'd go hiking! I love to hike away from the "real" world. When I start hiking, I feel all tense and excited about leaving my worries behind. I enjoy doing hikes where there are scenic moments to take my mind off how tired I start feeling. Once I get past that tired feeling and get my second wind, I really start to enjoy myself. I start paying attention to all the details around me by not just seeing the beautiful things, but smelling the air around me, hearing the noises that surround me, and feeling the breeze on my face. I start realizing that whatever was making me tense or worried, is nothing in this great miracle that God has given us. Again I remind myself, if God can do all this, how could I forget that he is taking care of me too? Suddenly, with my heart light, I don't feel a bit tired. I feel energetic and ready to face whatever life has in store for me. If I could take tomorrow off of work, I'd definitely go hiking!

Colors

I love all colors. I love tie-dye shirts because of all the colors that are mixed on at the shirts. I used to wear bright and lively colors until I had to look distinguished as head of the department at my school. Now I wear a lot of black, grays, and blues. (They also make me look slimmer, I was told!) But once I hit my home, off come the "distinguished" and on comes the comfortable crazy colored stuff. I used to have a favorite ski jacket that I wore in high school. It is splashed with purple, pink, and yellow as if someone hit it with paint balls and I still have it after 30 years. I love to wear purple which happens to be my college colors so I wear that a lot at college games. When I want to get attention, I wear bright red (which I did at my national convention, since I'm running for office). Yellows, oranges, or greens makes me smile and feel cheerful. They make me think of the newness of things.

Optimism

What is something I am optimistic about? I am optimistic that my life in the future will be interesting and worth living. A day doesn't go by that I don't feel blessed for being alive. My husband always answers people that ask how he is doing with "I'm happy to be alive!" He also mentions that there are some days better than others but not any that he would want to give back. When you live with that kind of optimism, it is hard for some of that not to rub off on you. He has always told me that if you start the day off with a positive attitude, it will be there for you all day long no matter what life throws at you, and he was absolutely right! He is such a great role model and my hero for helping me be optimistic about my future.

Music In My Life

I love to listen to music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I also love to hear country, bluegrass, and folk music. When I'm driving home from work, music relaxes me and helps me unwind. When I am walking on my treadmill, music gives me the energy I need to exercise. I've always had music in my life since I was little. My earliest memory of music is hearing the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" which is still one of my favorite songs. My sisters said when I had to measles, the only thing that would keep me calm was the Beatle's song "I Want to Hold Your Hand". My wonderful hubby bought me an IPOD that holds up to 5000 songs so I can hear whatever song that fits my mood. I love to play my accordion at nursing homes and watch the residents enjoy my music. I don't like performing before audiences but they always make me feel comfortable. The first thing I do when I arrive in my classroom is to turn on the radio. I would rather listen to music than watch TV any day. A day without music would be a day without sunshine for me!

Silly Joke - for all ages

Why did the yellow jacket fly with his legs crossed?
Because he was looking for a BP station!

I like this joke the best because it is the only one I can remember!

My Accomplishments

I've been overwhelmed lately with my accomplishments. In February, South Carolina Council for Exceptional Children named me Member of the Year and so, Tuesday night, my school district recognized me for winning the award. (They recognized all award winners for the year). Plus I was chosen Teacher of the Year for my school and also named one of the Top 10 finalists for District Teacher of the Year. After being interviewed, observed, and videotaped, the judges will choose a winner who will be announced in August. I have also been interviewed by the newspaper (anyone interested can read the article at http://www.tribunetimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060503/TRIBUNETIMES01/605030330/1145). I am truly honored by all these awards and I'm amazed that people think I'm worthy of them.

Blessings and Complaints

For today, being healthy makes me feel happy. There are so many things that make me happy but if I wasn't healthy enough to enjoy them, they wouldn't mean as much to me. I love to hike so I have to stay healthy. I love to read so I have to take care of my eyesight. I love learning to scrapbook so I have to be healthy so I can work on my computer. It seems like everything I like to do is connected to taking care of myself. I believe that means physically and mentally.

My biggest gripe for today (it could be different tomorrow), is that there isn't enough hours in the day to do all that I want to do. I still have flowers that need to be planted, and gardens to be watered. I need to feed my worms (I have a worm compost bin). I need to fold clothes. I need to finish paperwork for my classroom. I have lessons that I need to plan for. I need to practice my accordion. I want to play on my computer. I want to do scrapbooking. I want to read. I want to ride my bicycle. Now, my husband calls me and says he wants to take me out to dinner so I don't have to cook! He is such a wonderful hubby that I couldn't tell him, "no, I have to much that I need and want to do rather than eat dinner out with you!" so we will go out to dinner.

Well, that's enough whining! I'm going to concentrate on the good things in life!

Where Would I Like to Be Headed?

We are starting to make a wish list of where we want to travel to as soon as we retire. Right now the top of my list is a tie between two places. They are Macchu Picchu in Peru or anywhere in Australia. They are our "Have-to" places. We have these discussions about "what if we found out that we had some dreaded disease and only a short time to live...where would we go?" My wonderful husband usually says he would go whereever I want to go which makes life so easy! We thought we would put both of them up there and check out the cost for both places when the time comes. Whichever has the better price and the best weather, that is where we will go first. If I could, I would be headed to either one of those places right now! (It has been a stressful week for me, so I will just go there in my mind and enjoy myself!)

What I Should Be Doing

Right now I should be doing school paperwork instead of being on the computer. I am a morning person and this year is the first time in years that I have not had 6th and 7th period for planning. This year I have 2nd and 7th period planning, which for some reason means I am exhausted by 7th period. I get to work at 7:15 each morning which is about an hour and a half earlier than anyone else because it is the only way I can get work done. I am head of the department so I have that quiet time to get a lot of my paperwork done. By 7th period when I should be working, my brain feels fried. I am at my least productive during this time. So, to help my stress level, I get on the computer and relax.

Sharing a Special Activity with My Mom

At first, when I thought about this topic, I didn't think I shared anything with my mom. But then I remembered that we made Christmas cookies together each year. We pressed the dough through an old cookie press and made different shapes. After that, we would decorate them with sprinkles. Some of these would be given away as gifts and the rest we would just eat during the Christmas season. We did this every year until I went away to college. When my daughters were old enough, I tried to continue the same tradition. We would give the police and firemen cookies for Christmas each year. Now, the girls have their own homes and I'm usually stressed out and getting behind with all my "have-to's" so I don't do this any more. Maybe I will this year.