Beasts and Adventure Day 5 (Kansas)

Blog Prompt: What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, men would die from loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts happens to man. All things are connected..." ~ Chief Seattle ~ Expand on this.

I think a lot about this when I’m hiking in the wild. I love to look around and see what kind of animals I can find. I will take time to stop to look at spiders, snails, insects, and even snakes. If we are very quiet, we might come across a deer and the gracefulness of the deer always makes me feel good inside. When we travel around the country, we like to stop at zoos and see what animals are different there than at our local zoo. When we hike in other states, we are aware of what local animals may be encountered on the trail. I like to think about their purpose is in the cycle of life. It never ceases to amaze me that everything has a purpose, no matter what size it may be.

Travel notes:

Topeka: went to the Topeka Zoo and the Brown vs. Board of Education National Historic Site. It was pretty interesting but lots of reading and videos.

Abilene – went to the Eisenhower Library (Museum was $8 per person but the Library and grounds were free) then The Hitching Post for lunch.

Heading towards Hutchinson, the winds were so strong that Don struggled to keep our little car on the road. We watched about 6 transfer trucks topple over on the interstate and other trucks fight to stay on the road. It was a pretty scary ride.

When we arrived in Hutchinson, I thought my car door would be ripped off when I got out of the car. We stopped by the Cosmosphere to pick up some combo tickets for the tour/activities tomorrow and got to meet Howie G. We will get to spend some time with him tomorrow. Then we went to the Polo Lounge for steaks and were thrilled when Lulubell (Ande) came there to meet us. We had a nice time visiting with her too. Luckily she followed us down the road and was able to let us know that we had a burned out tail light so we will need to find some place to get that repaired.

Adventure Day 4 (Kansas, Missouri)

We arrived in Independence, MO early enough to find a hotel. Since we had a coupon from the little green hotel coupon books, we found a room at Drury Inn in Kansas City for only $49.99. I really like this hotel because it included a complimentary cocktail hour from 5:30-7pm and a hot breakfast buffet. The room had huge flat screen TV with HD too as well as free wireless.

After checking in the hotel, we went for lunch at Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue which was supposed to be “world famous.” Our two sliced barbecue sandwiches, French fries, and drinks came to $26. Then we went to the Truman Library ($8 per person) and saw all of the exhibits in there. We spent about 2 ½ hours there. I learned a lot about Truman that I didn’t know before but I was impressed with how much in love he seemed to be with Bess (his wife).

We left the Truman Library and went to Union Station. It was a lot different than Union Station in St. Louis and Washington DC. We did see a free model train exhibit and walked around the station. The grand hall was pretty awesome to see. Across from Union Station was the Liberty Memorial in honor of those who fought in WWI.

Then we left there and drove around exploring Kansas City. We saw Arrowhead Stadium where the Kansas City Chiefs play football and Kaufmann Stadium where the Kansas City Royals play baseball. There was a lot of construction going on around the baseball stadium where they were renovating it.

We arrived back at hotel in time for free cocktails and met lots of nice people. One lady was a special education teacher so we hit it off right away. We also met a nice couple from Nebraska who were here for a weekend. Now we will rest up for traveling again tomorrow.

Adventure Day 3 (Missouri)

Today we explored St. Louis. Here are the places we went to today:

Museum of Transportation – with AAA discount, we only paid $4 admission. They had a wonderful collection of old cars (Bobby Darin’s old car, 57 Chevy, and a Dusenberg with goat skin) and lots of trains (including the world’s largest snow plow train). I like to imagine what it would have been like to travel around the country in a train like wealthy people travel today in their private jets. We even watched three men repair part of the train tracks. They were training drivers of the trolley so it wasn’t open for rides today.

Laumiere Sculpture Park – Park that was free and filled with interesting sculptures. My favorite was the giant eyeball.

Walmart – We stopped there to buy me popcorn and a small tripod for my camera. It will come in handy so we can take some pictures together. I also found postcards for only .25. I have found that Walmart is a great place to find souvenirs that are reasonably priced.

We left there and went to find the Venice Café for lunch. It was a neat looking place and very colorful but it wasn’t open for lunch. It looked kind of hippie-ish but lots of reviews on the internet recommended it. Oh well, maybe on our next visit.

Our next stop was the Hard Rock Café in Union Station to buy our bottle opener magnet. Luckily they gave me a pass for two hours free parking so we walked around Union Station. It was like a mall with a food court (where we ate lunch) but there was also a Memories Museum that had artifacts about the history of Union Station, trains, and St. Louis. It was a fantastic exhibit that was free.

When we left there, we headed to Forest Park to look for the World’s Fair Pavilion. The World’s Fair was held in St. Louis in 1904. There were so many cars but we found a place to park along the road and walked up to the Pavilion. It was a pretty building. After that, we walked over to the St. Louis Zoo which was in Forest Park. It was a huge zoo and the best part was that it was free. It was the largest zoo, next to the San Diego Zoo, that I’ve ever been to and well worth seeing. We walked through the 1904 Flight Cage that was in the World’s Fair. The Smithsonian Institute wanted to move it to Washington DC after the World’s Fair but St. Louis wouldn’t let them.

After the zoo, we drove to St. Charles which is where Lewis and Clark started their exploration. This was the state’s first Capitol. The city is located on the Missouri River. The city had a historic Main Street filled with shops and eating places.

After this, we looked for something to eat and finally agreed on Taco Bell. Now we are back at the hotel resting our sore feet and stuffing our faces with junk food! Tomorrow we are on the road again.

More pictures on Flickr: Click HERE

Hearing and Adventure Day 2 (Kentucky, Missouri)

Blog prompt: Close your eyes. Listen. What all do you hear? Can you describe it in detail? Once you opened your eyes, did what you thought you heard and actually heard coincide?

As I write this, I can hear my husband snoring and the sounds of people moving around in the room next to ours. I can also hear my computer doing whatever it needs to do to survive. I am in a dark hotel room waiting for my husband to wake up.

Travel Notes (at the end of the day):

We left Paducah, KY after eating a wonderful breakfast at the Hampton Inn. I really like the bag of goodies they give you when you leave (bottle of water, apple, muffin, energy bar, mints). Then we headed north towards Illinois. As soon as we crossed over the state line, we stopped at the visitor center and the lady manning the desk was very helpful. We had thought about staying at a Drury Inn west of downtown St. Louis but she warned us about the construction on I-64 which caused a major detour. We cancelled our reservation and decided to wait until we got to St. Louis.

We were still in Illinois as we approached St. Louis and the Gateway Arch stood out against the horizon. It was truly a magnificent sight! We decided to do a tour of the Anheuser Busch brewery first and got there in time for the 12:00 tour. The tour was free and lasted over an hour. I really enjoyed watching the Clydesdales frolic outside in their play area. We also got to see their stables which were amazingly clean. The tour ended with the opportunity to sample beer (two free 11 oz. glasses to those over 21) and bags of pretzels.

After the tour we decided to make a reservation at the Hampton Inn near the St. Louis airport and the price was extremely reasonable (cheaper and better than the one we stayed in last night). The room is much bigger and has a comfortable chair for Don to sit in while he watches TV and it also has a microwave and refrigerator in it. After checking in, we parked the car and ate dinner at Bandana’s BBQ which was right next door. We each had the lunch portion BBQ Pork plate with 2 sides for $6.99 and it was exceptional! I would definitely eat here again. The pork was so tasty and tender and the sauces come on the side.

Now we will watch TV and do our research as we plan for our day tomorrow.

More pictures on Flickr - click HERE.

Attitude and Adventure Day 1 (Kentucky)

Blog Prompt: Attitude is a state of mind or a feeling; disposition. What is your attitude today? What has affected it to make it so?

I am having a great attitude today. We begin our trip today across the US and I’m so excited. My car is packed and all the items on my list were checked off so I hope I didn’t forget anything. Of course, we feel like that we have a credit card, ID, and each other so everything else is just icing on the cake. As I write this, we have been on the road for three hours and the traffic has been pretty light and the weather has been wonderful. What more can I ask for as we travel? I love starting out on new adventures!

Travel Notes:

We crossed over into the Central Time Zone and arrived in Nashville just in time for lunch. After stopping at the Hard Rock Café to get our bottle opener magnet (I’m so disappointed that they don’t have the old guitar shapes anymore!), we walked around town. Eventually we ended up eating hot wings (Samurai and Spicy Garlic) at Hooters. Walking back to our car, we passed by Ryman Auditorium. When we left there we drove to Las Paletas which we heard have really unusual popsicles. Don bought a tangerine and I bought cantaloupe ($2.50 each). We got back on the road and before we knew it, we had crossed over the state line into Kentucky around 3pm.

We finally decided to spend the night in Paducah. Paducah is home to a Uranium Enrichment Plant owned by the US Dept. of Energy. We drove down to the waterfront which was pretty. This town in where the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers come together. The murals along the wall by the waterfront were beautiful!

Today we started in SC, drove through NC, TN, and ended up in KY. We have had a wonderful first day!

More pictures in Flickr - Click HERE.

What I Hope to Accomplish Today

Blog Prompt: What is the most important thing you have to accomplish today? What would be the consequence if it did not get done?

The most important thing I plan to do today is to prepare for our trip. I hope to finish getting my clothes packed and the car packed. I have a list of things to pack and do and then another list of things not to forget to do in case I lose the first list. I know that no matter how efficient I try to be, I will forget something or forget to do something. I have heard that it is good to forget something because that means you will return home safely. Then I start to worry that I won’t forget to do something and will that mean that I won’t return home safely? You can’t purposely forget something or then it wouldn’t be “forgetting.” All of this planning makes me anxious.

If I don’t get it done, then our trip is delayed and I get to have these feelings even longer. I get to the point where I just want to get in the car and go! I’m sick of lists and I’m sick of worrying which takes the fun out of going on a trip. These feelings make me cranky which cause me to pick arguments with my husband for no reason and then he becomes cranky. When we finally leave for the trip, we will both be in a bad mood and that is not the best way to leave for a vacation. So, I have got to do what I need to do today so this trip is not delayed any longer.

Original image: 'Post-mission manifest' http://www.flickr.com/photos/14112399@N00/846977160 by: adam greenfield

Anger Management

“Anger Management involves a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which one with excessive anger can reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state.” ~Self Improvement Complete Dictionary. What form does your anger management take?

When I get angry I usually like to walk or work while I mutter to myself all the injustices that have been heaped upon me. Of course I usually don’t get angry often, hence the lack of exercise and productivity that takes place in my life. It usually takes a lot to make me angry and then it is usually because I have stored up all the petty little annoyances until they build up like a giant snowball. One person told me one time that I stuck all the petty little annoyances into a closet until it gets so full that the door finally bursts open and can’t hold any more. Now if I get enraged, I usually end up crying and no one wants to be around me if I’m angry crying. One time I was so mad at school that I ended up ranting to an assistant principal but I started off by telling him that I was so angry and I would end up crying and he would do best just by letting me get this out or I would explode. He actually looked scared while I was ranting but he didn’t run.

Original image: 'Anger' http://www.flickr.com/photos/41864721@N00/3233750636 by: Evan Leeson

What It Means to Be Me

"To be nobody but myself -- in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else -- means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting." ~ E. E. Cummings ~ What does it mean to be YOU?

Wow! It’s amazing how parts of my life intersect. I wrote a post for my Successful Teaching blog this weekend about trying to be me and then I read this quote and prompt. Please click here to see what I wrote about Growing Up Chinese in an American World. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Image: Women’s Benevolent Association in New York – Museum of Chinese in America

Chocolate Graham Crackers

Blog Prompt: Touch something close to you. Write about it, the texture, color, shape, etc.

I am sitting here with chocolate graham crackers in front of me. They are long rectangular shapes sitting on a circular white paper plate. I love chocolate graham crackers! I don’t like the plain or honey ones; just these chocolate ones. Since they are pretty dry, I usually have something to drink with them. They also have a lot of crumbs when I eat them so I like to break them in smaller pieces on the plate before I eat a bite of them. It also amazes me how hard they are to find sometimes and I wonder if lots of other people like them too.

Yarn

Blog Prompt: Take a book or dictionary, hold it closed with the spine in your lap. Now remove your hands and let it fall open. Close your eyes and place a finger on the page. What is the closest word to your finger? Write a paragraph around that word.

I’m reading the book Knit Two by Kate Jacobs which is a novel about A Friday Night Knitting Club so I’m so relieved my finger touched the word “yarn.”

I am a beginner knitter so I’ve been trying to read books (fiction and non fiction) and listen to podcasts about knitting. I want to eventually be able to knit these beautiful sweaters that I see but it is far into the future before that happens. The big topic in most of the books and podcasts are about yarn. I never realized there were so many different weights, textures, and fibers dealing with yarn. I went into my first yarn store a couple of months ago (which is very different from a hobby/craft store) and felt like I was Alice in Wonderland who fell down the rabbit hole. I had never seen so many colors and felt so many different skeins of yarn. It was quite magical. Right now I am mostly buying Red Heart yarn from Wal-Mart because I feel it is reasonably priced and easy to get more of as we travel around the country. I have seen some yarn that cost over $30 for a skein but I don’t foresee me spending that kind of money on yarn. I love going to my Monday night knitting group to see the yarn that others are using and hear them talk about the different yarns. It seems like different yarns have different personalities. I hope someday to become friends with other yarns too.

Original image: 'YIP: 02.11.09' http://www.flickr.com/photos/38574170@N00/3272941668 by: meg

Achievements: Yesterday and Today

Tuesday’s blog prompt: Achievement connotes accomplishment of something noteworthy, after much effort and often in spite of obstacles and discouragements. What do you feel is your greatest achievement?

My greatest achievement is being a teacher and making a difference in someone’s life. I have met former students who have told me that I influenced their lives and it makes me feel so proud of what they have done with their lives because I believed in them and taught them so much. When they were in my class, all of my students had to write “I am a Born Winner” on their papers before I would accept them. Many have told me that it has helped them later on in their life. Even when I was a little girl, I had always wanted to be a teacher and continue to teach now on the university level to other teachers. My husband told me the other day that he thinks all teachers just have it in their blood and will never stop teaching until they die. I wanted to share a message on facebook that I got this morning from the parent of a former student:

“It is so great to touch base with you! You look comfortable in that lounge chair! Hope all is well with you. You would be so proud of David. My husband John and I went to see him preach this weekend. I was in awe to see how good he was and how he seemed to move the congregation. I'm just so proud. HE'S a BORN WINNER.!!!
My husband would love to meet you. He's CTE director of … County Schools. He has told me many times that he wished he had a few Mrs Hensleys at …. High. I told him there's only one!
We have 4 more years till retirement. He has said many times he would quit if it weren't for the kids. You would not believe the stuff he has to put up with! I often tell him ,"Well, Mrs Hensley would do this or that" He will say ,"Thats a great idea!"…
So glad David found you!
I will always love you for what all you did for David. And thats the truth!"

Wednesday’s prompt: Now is the time to ask yourself what you intend to accomplish today. Write it down and then follow up later in your post as to what on your list, if any, you did.

Here is what I hope to do today but they are not listed in any particular order:
(those in italics are completed)

1. Weed flower beds (completed by 9:30am)
2. Buy pine needles and spread them (after 2 trips to Lowes - completed by 2:30pm)
3. Wash clothes (completed by 2:30pm)
4. Fold clothes
5. Knit (completed by 11am)
6. Read (completed by 11am)
7. Work on presentation (completed by 11am)
8. Go buy some more yarn
9. Start packing for trip
10. Read blogs in Google Reader (completed by 3:15pm)

Also in the day I have completed the following which was not on the list at the beginning of today:
Went to Post Office
Went to Burger King for lunch
Dragged brush to the street
Cooked dinner
Washed dinner dishes

Original image: 'Smart Board Technology in Jay's Classroom' http://www.flickr.com/photos/24813863@N00/405027932

Open Mind

Blog Prompt: An open mind is a good place to start. Stay open to everything. The more that you see, hear, and experience, the more connections you’ll make. ~Jim Henson. What is your mind open to?

I try to keep an open mind to most things.

I try to read books that are different from what I usually read. I try to eat new foods but I really don’t like to. My husband tends to call me a picky eater.

When I get in an argument with someone, I try to keep an open mind and see it from their side which is hard. I really don’t like when I have to make a decision and I can see both sides of the situation.

I also try to keep an open mind about traveling. My husband really likes to explore and go to places we have never been but sometimes I get a little nervous about it. If it was up to him, we would sell our house and travel all of the time but I need the security of a home. I try to keep an open mind and convince myself that we will have a good time wherever we end up and we usually do. My fears would keep us from doing and seeing a lot of fun stuff so I’m glad I have him to push me when I need it.

I try to keep an open mind about what I am able to do. It is so easy to say “I can’t” do something. When I was growing up, I was so spoiled because my family did so much for me that I saw it as their oping that I couldn’t do anything right. This defeatist attitude could have kept me from doing a lot of things that I wanted to do like becoming a teacher but I wouldn’t let it. Now when opportunities come my way and my heart says “I can’t,” my brain asks if I mean “I can’t” or “I won’t” which are two very different things. I think that is why I have had so many wonderful experiences and I hope I can continue to have them!

Original image: 'Brain cell(s)' http://www.flickr.com/photos/57519914@N00/954701212 by: Jean-Etienne Minh-Duy Poirrier

The Question Shaping My Life

Blog Prompt: “The questions you ask shape the story you live. What story do you want to live?” ~The Life Organizer by Jennifer Louden

The question I try to ask myself a lot is: “How can I make a difference?” This impacts a lot of my decisions and actions.

Here are some ways I try to make a difference:

Last night I was leaving class late and stopped at Krispy Kreme donuts on the way home. I had two friends with me who had never been there or watched the hot donuts come off the conveyer belt so I thought they would enjoy seeing this. I also knew that my husband had been alone all evening and I wanted to do something nice for him so I bought him a bunch of donuts as a surprise.

When we are out walking in the park, I see people with sad faces and I make sure that I smile and say hi to them. Now, they may be sad because they are exercising or they may be sad for some other reason, but when I smile, they usually smile back and I hope for just an instant, I have cheered them up.

I have an elderly friend in New Jersey who used to spend a lot of time on the computer and we emailed each other frequently. Now due to her health, she is unable to use the computer and since I am not thrilled with talking on the phone, I try to write her letters about what is going on in my life. When I talk to her, she says how much she looks forward to getting these letters.

I am teaching two grad courses this summer to teachers getting their master’s degree in Special Education and I also write a teacher’s blog (Successful Teaching). I hope I will be able to share my knowledge and expertise so that teachers can be more effective in their classroom.

I feel that God has given me a purpose for being here and I need to listen to where he leads me. Sometimes I resist this and I usually end up miserable. It is hard to trust and to give up control but when I do, I usually end up happy with what I end up doing. If I keep in mind that He wants me to go out and make a difference in someone’s life, no matter how small that difference may be, I am doing the right thing.

Original image: 'Sweet Smiles' http://www.flickr.com/photos/60168589@N00/814428452 by: Marcus Vegas

Face to Face with Difficulty

Blog prompt: When you come face to face with a difficulty what is your first impulse?

My first impulse is to crawl in bed and cover my head. I want to be like a turtle and pull back into my shell. One time a man tried to break into our hotel room in FL and Don was trying to push the door shut as the man was trying to push it open. As he held the door, Don was trying to wake me up so I could call 911 or help or the front desk or anything but all I would do was burrow under the blankets. Finally I made the phone call and the man was caught. I will never live this down and we still laugh about it. Of course I realize that I have to confront whatever is the difficulty and get it behind me in order to get on with my life, which I normally do, once I get past my first impulse.

Update: Click here to see the first part of my TV interview.

Original image: 'This is either the most boring game of Chicken known to dog or the most improbable "staring game" ever played.'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45842803@N00/2902713261 by: Christopher

Favorite Quote

Blog Prompt: What is your favorite quote and how does it apply to you?

“What goes around, comes around.” (I’m not sure who said it first but I’ve heard it all my life!)
I believe this truly happens in life. Most people refer to this when they are encountering bad things but I think it also applies to good things. Many times I have let someone with just a few items go ahead of me in the line at the store and others have let me do the same thing. I have let a car out of a driveway into traffic because I know I will need that courtesy some time. When someone cuts me off on the highway, I try to remember that it could be me in that car and I either wasn’t paying attention or I could be in a big rush. Sometimes it might be doing a small kindness for others because some day we might need it. One time we were traveling out of state and had a flat tire. My husband was having back problems so I was trying to help him with the tire when a young couple helped us change our tire and wouldn’t accept any money for it. We also bring hot chocolate and food near the Appalachian Trail when we can so we can share it with hikers who are backpacking on the trail. Sometimes it is a long trip between food stops so we want to help all we can. Someday when I hike the trail, I may need this help so I consider it “banking” good deeds.

Update: Power line is fixed so we will be tree cutting today! Yippee! (not)

Original image: 'The Free Hugs Day' http://www.flickr.com/photos/30809410@N04/3049858274 by: Grzegorz Łobiński

Daily Traditions and Snow Hassles

Blog Prompt: Almost all of us have some kind of annual tradition; but what about daily traditions? Do you all sit down together at dinner? Have special times and places for homework? Bedtime routines that almost never waver?

I admit to being a creature of habit. I get up every morning at 5am and have my “me” time until hubby wakes up around 7am. Then we eat breakfast together. Around noon, we have lunch together. Sometimes I will meet friends for lunch and he is home alone and forgets to eat. At 5pm, we have dinner together. We usually wait until one of us is ready to go to bed, and then we go to bed together. I can’t sleep in that bed alone and haven’t for 26 years (except two times when he had to go away for his job). I guess you could say that we are inseparable and we really enjoy spending every minute we can together.

Now for the snow hassles:

We recently had a snow storm here and it was the most snow I remember in years. We got about a foot of snow in our yard. In fact, school has been closed for 2 days. Unfortunately we have had a mess at two of our rental houses. A tree has fallen down at both of them and one of them landed on the house. Luckily there was no structural damage so I am thankful for that. One of the houses has no power because the tree took down the power lines. The fire department came out and pulled the meter box from the house because of a possibility of fire and roped off the road because of the power lines hanging across it. They were supposed to have the power back on yesterday but now are saying possibly Wednesday. Who knows what they will say on Wednesday. We got the tree off of one house and cleaned up but we can’t take care of the other one until the power lines get fixed. What a pain in the neck!

Being a Mother

To me, being a mother means loving, nurturing and caring for a child. It doesn’t mean that I had to give birth to my daughters in order to mother them. I hoped to teach them values and lessons that will help them survive and be successful in life. I made many mistakes and wish I could undo them but what is done is done and I tried to do the best I could. A mother is proud of her adult children and what they achieve in life. It is hard to watch them make what I consider wrong decisions or do things that I wouldn’t do, but I have to remember that they have to live their life just like I am living my own. I’m proud of my daughters because both of them are independent and living life according to their own terms. I couldn’t wish for more than that. I just want them to be happy and if they are, my dreams are fulfilled.

Original image: 'social licking'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95271248@N00/492214594 by: Anna

Award!

I was recently given an award by Creative Rhapsoday as a blog that gives her inspiration and I am so honored! When she joined us doing the scrapblogs, I was thrilled to find out that we lived in the same state and only about an hour away from each other. I also found out that her daughter goes to the same university that I graduated from! It makes me realize what a small world we really live in and how we are all connected in some way or another. Thank you NiNi!

When My Birthday Comes Along...

Blog Prompt - How do you feel about celebrating your birthday?

Normally we don’t make a big deal about birthdays because I pretty much get whatever I want when I want it. We usually go out for dinner and that is nice. But this year, I am going to turn 50 and for some unknown reason, I’m excited. I know we won’t do anything special but I love the thought that I will be 50. I feel grown up (not grown old). I am in a wonderful stage of my life where I am doing what I want to do and feel financially secure that I don’t have to worry about the future (even during these tough economic times) because we were frugal and saved wisely. I feel content with my life too. So I’m really happy about celebrating my birthday because I’m still alive, happy, and healthy. I don’t want a party of any sort because I hate to be the center of attention but I will mention it if I’m in a group of people at the time. I hope you feel the same way when your birthday comes around.

PS: Think of me as I get interviewed this Sunday about my blogs!

Original image: 'Birthday Cake' http://www.flickr.com/photos/15594900@N00/384076624

Cleaning My House

Blog Prompt - What needs cleaning in your house?

Oh my gosh! Where do I begin? Since I like lists, I will give a list of things that need to be done:

1. Clean out dining room of all boxes and “stuff” from my classroom when I retired almost two years ago (see picture but keep in mind that is only one side of the dining room that you are seeing). But first I have to clean out the back shed, so I can put all the yard sale/flea market stuff we have. When I move all that stuff into the shed, I will have space in my storage building that can hold all my classroom stuff.
2. Dusting the house which for some reason is so easy, yet I keep putting it off.
3. Mopping the floors which I hate to do and put them off too.
4. Decluttering my office which needs to be done soon in case my parents come to visit this summer.
5. Clean out foyer of all flea market stuff (see #1)

Since I am so overwhelmed with all this housecleaning, I am going to go out and do some gardening and picking up some pecans!

Rest and Relaxation

Blog Prompt - How important is rest and relaxation to you?

Rest and relaxation is so important to me. I may have mentioned this before, but here it is again. About 20 years ago, I lost all of my hair due to stress. At the time, I didn’t know that I was under stress but I was. My husband had lost his job because he was willing to transfer out of state. My daughter was having many problems at school. My house caught on fire and we had to move in with my in-laws for about 2 months while we looked for another house.

My hair started to fall out by the handfuls so I went to the doctor. One doctor told me that I was having an allergic reaction to my hair which I thought was totally ridiculous so I went to another doctor. No one seemed to be able to tell me why my hair was falling out or how to stop it. They kept asking me if I was under stress and I kept telling them no. To me, being under stress meant that I was having a nervous breakdown and not able to work. Since I was teaching every day and spending time with my family, I didn’t consider myself being under stress. Finally after spending thousands of dollars trying to find out what was wrong with me, the doctors gave up. They said there was no other tests to run and nothing they could do for me. They told me that it would never grow back.

My husband and I decided that I would start exercising and taking multivitamins. He even signed me up for the gym which was close by so every evening for two hours, I would go to the gym. Amazingly, my hair started to grow back. I had hoped it would grow back red and curly but it didn’t. But that was okay because I was just glad it grew back.

So now, whenever I see a lot of hair in my hairbrush, I exercise a little more, which I find extremely relaxing. This exercise helps me to relax. So, as you can see, rest and relaxation is important to relieve stress, which could eventually kill you.

Original image: 'ooooooohm' http://www.flickr.com/photos/61779926@N00/303640733 by: Steve Wall

Online Time

Blog Prompt - I spend a lot of time online because...

1. I enjoy it.
2. I stay in touch with family and friends.
3. I like to connect with people I don’t know all around the world.
4. I like to talk to others on Plurk and Twitter.
5. I like to blog and share my thoughts and ideas with others.
6. I love to get comments on my blog.
7. I get lots of great advice from others about my digital scrapbooking, gardening, and knitting.
8. I like to know what is going on around the world. I like to stay current with the news, education, and entertainment.
9. I like to stay organized and share my Google Calendar to make sure my husband knows all the things I/we have scheduled.
10. I learn something new every day.

Original image: 'So that's where it is' http://www.flickr.com/photos/80424201@N00/461374156 by: Craig Morey

My 10 Favorite Movies

Blog Prompt - My 10 favorite movies

This was fun! Many of my favorite movies are old movies. I don’t think I have many that are pretty current but I guess I don’t feel like they make movies like they used to any more.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (with Gregory Peck)
2. Miracle on 34th Street (with Natalie Wood)
3. Pretty Woman (with Julia Roberts)
4. An Officer and a Gentleman (with Richard Gere)
5. Oklahoma (musical)
6. Sound of Music (musical)
7. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (musical)
8. Citizen Kane (1941)
9. Gone With the Wind (with Clark Gable)
10. It’s a Wonderful Life (with Jimmy Stewart)

Original image: 'Grand Lake Theater of Dreams' http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035555243@N01/479848405 by: Thomas Hawk

Current Project

Blog Prompt - Describe a special project you may be working on right now.

I am knitting a new prayer shawl. I found a pattern for a baby blanket that I liked and thought I could adapt it to this prayer shawl. But I didn’t want to do as many rows for the pattern so I cut out a few rows. I also want to make this in three colors because I don’t have enough of one color to do it all in one color. I use a lot of yarn that was donated or that I have bought at the flea market. I seem to be ripping this out a lot because I keep forgetting where I am in the pattern and it ends up looking all wrong since I’m doing the wrong thing on the wrong side. I don’t know why I thought I could change an original pattern since I am still a new knitter but I didn’t want to do the same thing over and over for 60 inches. I hope after all this hard work that it looks okay. We shall see.

Original image: 'Thanks to global warming' http://www.flickr.com/photos/15732690@N00/416586514 by: Lucy

Things I Haven't Done Yet

Blog Prompt - List things You've always wanted to do that you haven't done (yet)

Here are things on my to-do list but they aren’t in any order of importance.
1. See Macchu Picchu in Peru
2. Visit Seattle, WA and all the National Parks in WA.
3. Visit Rocky Mtn. National Park, CO
4. Visit Glacier National Park, MT
5. See Mt. Rushmore
6. Visit Germany.
7. Visit Ireland.
8. Visit Scotland.
9. Knit a sweater.
10. Rollerblade.

Original image: 'Make a wish :~))' http://www.flickr.com/photos/88049907@N00/346629549 by: Joe

Blog Writing

Blog Prompt - Is writing in your blog a form of self therapy?

It depends on what mood I’m in. If I’m upset, sometimes it helps to write my thoughts down and to share it with my friends. I have such great friends that I can always count on them for support because they always say the best things to make me feel better. Sometimes I just like to use it to share with friends and family some of the adventures that we are experiencing at the time. My circle of friends has grown so much since I started blogging. At first when I started, it was really hard for me to write everything I wanted to say. Now it is easy for me because I feel like I’m having a conversation (or more like a monologue) with everybody out there who reads this. I look forward to reading the comments that people leave and usually they in turn make me feel really good about myself.

Original image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19487674@N00/58499153

My Car Trunk

Blog Prompt - What is in your car trunk or the back of your family van?

I am thrilled to say that there is not much in our “trunk” area of our Toyota Prius. Other than the spare tire and tools that go with it, we have a first aid kit and a cloth bag (to hold treasures from the flea market). I refuse to let our car get as cluttered as our house is. This is really important especially since we love to travel and we need every bit of space we can find when it is time to pack the car. We will be leaving soon for our three month trip out west and the last thing I want to do is to clean out the car first.

Original image: 'junk in my trunk' http://www.flickr.com/photos/23835356@N00/2661070355

Donating to a Charity

Blog Prompt - If you had to donate one million dollars to any charity, which one would it be and why?

I would donate my money to the Lupus Foundation. My oldest sister was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 6 years old and she was 18. She died when she was 27. My mother had Lupus when she died of emphysema. My middle sister also has Lupus and has lived with it for years. She is on so much medicine and has so many complications from it that I worry about her a lot. I don’t know why I am the only one who has not gotten Lupus but I have given my blood to a research center so they can try to find a cure. I try to eat healthy and get a lot of exercise which I hope keeps the trigger for Lupus away.

Superstitions

Blog Prompt: Are You Superstitious?

No, I don’t think I am superstitious. I remember growing up hearing about different things I needed to do for good luck but I never really put much store in this. My mother used to say that things happened in threes and sometimes it does if we look hard enough. We eat turnip greens and pinto beans for New Years for good luck. I really don’t believe in that but why tempt fate if it really works. Plus my husband likes that food and I don’t have to worry about what to cook for dinner. I try to do things that I was told just because it is tradition but not because I worry about bad luck. I think I have too much faith in God to believe in superstitions.

Original image: 'Do You Feel Lucky?' http://www.flickr.com/photos/7423510@N06/2573539437 by: Archie McPhee

Party Food

Blog Prompt - You have to bring some food to a party. What's it going to be?

If I bring food to a party, it will be something simple. Thanks to my friend Cathy who gave me this recipe for a dip to bring along with Frito Scoops. I don’t know the name of the recipe so I will just call it Hot Dip.

Hot Dip

8oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 cup frozen corn (not cooked)
1 cup jalapeno pepper slices with a little liquid (can be adjusted depending how hot you want to make it)

I cook it in the microwave for 5 minute intervals, stirring at the end of each time until it is all melted together. Then I put it in a disposable plastic container which can be reheated at the party if necessary. I bring the chips and another disposable container to be filled at the party. Then nothing has to be washed or brought home at the end.

Original image: 'Fritos' http://www.flickr.com/photos/71165588@N00/203155799 by: Paul Martin

Grab 10 Things

Blog Prompt - If I had 24 hours to evacuate my home before it was to be destroyed by a hurricane, what 10 things would I grab (not including people or pets)
Here are the 10 things but they are not in any special order, just how they came to mind.

1. Pocketbook with checkbook and credit card and license
2. Laptop
3. Suitcase full of clothes
4. Parents’ wedding pictures
5. Filebox full of important tax receipts, passports, marriage certificate
6. Box of Don’s most treasured stamps and postcards
7. Picture album with old photos
8. Ipod
9. Digital Camera
10. Cell phone

Original image: 'Katrina's Fury' http://www.flickr.com/photos/78493611@N00/38319522 by: Armistead Booker

A Skill I Wish I Had

Blog Prompt - What's one skill you've wanted but don't have?

Of course this changes as I go through different fads and phases of my life. Right now I wish I could knit like my mother could. Before she passed away, she would knit my whole family matching sweaters. She could do this without us trying anything on because she could just visualize them on us. We looked forward to our sweaters every Christmas. I just decided to learn to knit and watched how to knit on Youtube. I was so frustrated until I talked to my sister who told me that our mother knit the continental style and I was watching the other style. Once I saw the difference I was able to get my head around learning the way I watched my mother knit and it was easier. I think she tried to teach me when I was young but I was too impatient and I hated ripping things out. Now I hate ripping things out but I realize that is part of learning. I have really been practicing and found a knitting group that meets once a week at Starbucks so I feel like I have a support system now. Maybe one day, I will be able to knit a sweater.

Original image: 'Done!!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/79165057@N00/262302627 by: Jacqueline

Growing Old

Blog Prompt: Do you ever think about growing old?

I am feeling old, especially today. Since our tenant moved out of the rental house, we have been trying to fix it up so we can find a new tenant. This involves painting the whole inside of the house, which wasn’t bad until we started. When we turned the power and water on, we found a busted water pipe, which led to finding a busted bathtub faucet, which led to a busted bathroom sink faucet, which led to another busted water pipe. Now while all this plumbing work is being done, we have been busy painting. It has been a long time since I have done a lot of painting but my husband decided that rather than paying someone to do it for $1000, since we were retired, we would do it ourselves. The first day of painting wasn’t too bad and we got the living room done which looks great. Unfortunately the other three rooms needed lots of work before we really can do much painting but I did get a primer coat on those rooms on the second day. I also painted 2 closets. Today I am sore all over. My arms hurt from rolling paint on all the walls and my legs hurt from going up and down the ladder. This is going on for about 10 hours each day. I think I’m getting too old to do all of this hard work. Since I’ve been retired, I’ve gotten lazy. I spend a lot of time playing on my computer, knitting or crocheting, traveling, reading, walking in the park but not actually doing any hard work. So right now, I’m thinking that I’m growing old and it is happening really fast!

Original image: 'Elderly People sign' http://www.flickr.com/photos/98742393@N00/132429085 by: Benson Schliesser

Out of Sight Foods

Blog Prompt - What foods do you keep out of sight?

I have absolutely no willpower so if I shouldn’t eat it, I need to just not buy it. But my loving husband wants to get me food that I like in case I feel a need to eat it, even if I shouldn’t. So, lately it is salt and pepper potato chips. Since we are counting calories and keeping a diary of the food we eat, I really don’t like to see the numbers jump up when I eat the chips. But, it is like that quote in the movie Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner hears the voice that says, “If you build it, they will come.” In my house, the voice says, “If you buy it, they will eat it!” I can’t even hide the food because I know it is there. I have a sharp memory so I don’t buy things and forget about them plus I feel it is a waste of money if I let the food just sit there and get old. So that is my guilty secret and don’t tell anyone!

Original image: 'Closer!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/34828812@N00/6786043 by: Marcelo Alves

My College Training

Blog Prompt - Did you go to college or have vocational training - where and when?

I went to Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina for my undergraduate and graduate degree in Special Education. Special education was still a new field and not many people had heard of it before. Back home, people thought I was going into Physical Education and were amazed because I was so klutzy and uncoordinated that they couldn’t figure out why I would do this. I used to volunteer with disabled students when I was in high school and knew that I wanted to work with them as a career. I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher too. The big thing for me was that I had to decide which disabilities I wanted to work with when I came to college. I used to read books by Tobey Haydn where she tells about her experiences working with autistic children and emotionally disabled so I wanted to be just like her. I did get certified to teach emotionally disabled and learning disabled students. Yet over the years, I have taught students with all disabilities and learned that a label is just a label and that I really just teach students with difficulty learning. (This picture is when my husband and I double-dated for the prom with 2 of my students. For dinner, we went to Travinia's fine Italian restaurant. We had a wonderful time! ) I never regretted for a minute that I was meant to do this. I think sometimes we forget that God has a plan for us and we just need to have faith and follow that plan.

Can I Survive Without Email?

Blog Prompt - Can you survive without e-mail? How has it changed your life?

The answer to this is NO! NO! Absolutely not! Can you tell that I’m addicted to my online life? I keep in touch with family who live out of the state as well as friends all around the world through email. I have reconnected with a cousin that I haven’t seen for over 30 years until last year when we were out in California and had dinner together. Without email, that would never have happened. I have reconnected with a friend who I used to teach with who now lives in France but will be moving back to the USA and near my house this year. I have made new friends and connections through email. So, no, I couldn’t survive without it and my husband knows this too. That is why he bought me an air card to use in my laptop when we are traveling. Isn’t love grand!

Original image: 'Email Hack' http://www.flickr.com/photos/35034347350@N01/17322008 by: Ross Mayfield

Sports and Today's Hoped Accomplishment

Blog Prompt: Since the Super Bowl is over, I would love to know what sports women really love to participate in or watch.

I like to watch women’s volleyball and softball because I don’t think women’s sports get enough attention. When I taught on the high school level we also supported the girl’s basketball team and the softball team. It always made me sad that the only supporters there were usually family members and not many teachers. We tended to support them for so many years that we became honorary parents and were invited to the annual awards banquet each year. I don’t watch a lot of sports on TV though because I get bored to easily but I like to watch these in real life.

Blog Prompt - One thing I want to accomplish TODAY is...

I hope to get a lot knitted on my prayer shawl today. I’m really enjoying the motion of knitting and find it very relaxing. I also need to get a lot done because our Loving Threads group meets this Sunday and I would like to turn it in. I also have a granny square prayer shawl in the making that I will finish after this one but I need to get this one done as soon as possible.