5x7 Folded Card

Classic Christmas Card

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5x7 Folded Card

Classic Christmas Card

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5x7 Folded Card

Classic Christmas Card

Christmas cards by Shutterfly.

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Let's Ignore the Media Whores!

I have been thinking alot about these people, the media whores. You - and they - know who they are. The Charlies Sheens and Lohans, housewives and shore dwellers. It becomes harder and harder to turn on the news to see the "important" things in life (actual news, weather, maybe a traffic report) knowing you will be assaulted with information on one or more of these creatures, either in an actual report, or in a news crawl, or maybe even both. I am looking for some equity in reporting. Say for every whore report, a positive news story must be presented. One about real people doing really important things, like delivering meal to the elderly or raising money for ALS. Or helping a neighbor with their lawn, taking care of an abandoned animal. Bet the news outlets wouldn't be in such a hurry to show footage of celebrity meltdowns if they had to carry an equal number of stories on Habitat for Humanity or Doctors Without Borders.

Of course, this could backfire, and we might get no celebrities and no positive human interest, just politics and war news. Hmmmm.....I am willing to take my chances, how about you?

It's Been a Long Time Coming.....

Over 5 years since I posted here. Time doesn't fly, it tiptoes around in a flanking maneuver and kicks you in the ass. One day you are a 40-something graduate student looking forward to a new career. Next thing you know you are a 50 year-old unemployed teacher relocating and hoping for better prospects. Placing you life into sterile, cardboard boxes and stacking them in a cool, dry place. Waiting to hear the judgement of strangers on the space you spent 15 years creating, perfecting, and now must abandon. People say "when a door closes, somewhere a window opens." From where I am sitting it feels more like the hatch on a submarine at 30 fathoms.

I used to think snow days were cool

Now they are just a disruption. I finally have a good routine down, at home, alone, during the day. I do my homework and catch up on old sci-fi shows, like Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Or shows I miss out on while attending class, like Survivor and Lost. So, anyhow, here I and my cat have this great routine, and next thing you know, school is cancelled, and I am suffering from overcrowding. Why is it children never want your attention until you are giving it to something else? If I wanted to play a game, Dakota would be busy. But when I am crunching on my homework, it's "hey, let's play chess."

I don't mean to sound like a complainer. I actually love that my son has not gotten to the point yet where he doesn't want to be seen with a parent. He is still huggy, and wants to snuggle when he doesn't feel good. But, children wreak havoc on efficiency.

Being a full-time student is hard work

Wow! It is now the third week of the new semester, and I am barely keeping my head above water. Whose idea was this anyway? That schedule idea I had a few weeks back has turned out to be more of a dream than a reality. There is an old saying about the "best laid plans" that I am sure would fit in here somewhere. Basically, I have had no time for housework, crafting, let alone to keep up this blog. I decorated for Halloween the day before the holiday, and never began carving my pumpkins :-( I can give myself a little credit on the food front, though. We have eaten at home more, and are eating healthier.

I haven't eaten at McDonald's for over a week, which is a new record. Even on vacations to far away places we have not been able to avoid it for this long. I believe the McD's folks categorize someone who eats there once a week as a "heavy" user, so if I keep this up my family will drop off their radar all together!

So far, not working is harder work than work. Tomorrow I start my 16 hours of observing and tutoring with struggling readers at the local grade school. I am really looking forward to seeing how to apply some of the skills and techniques I have been learning. And, I now know I will be doing my student teaching at South Valley Junior High in January, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank goodness for Tivo. I have been able to keep up with Lost, CSI, Invasion, Surface and Survivor by recording and watching them back, skipping the commercials, instead of watching the 10:00 news. I am thinking about watching all my television this way from now on - with the commercials in fast forward. I wonder how long it will be before some marketing guru figures this out, and starts playing them in slow motion, so they will appear in regular motion on fast forward?