Ok REPUBLICANS>......What are you doing to AMERICA!

Read this report and think..... do we really want to live this way?

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/05/the_difference_between_republicans_and_democrats_i.php

The girls....

Kristina had a tooth pulled yesterday, so the girls are spending time with me. The girls are on the go all the time. They get bored easily and love doing sports, going to dances and roller skating. Tonight they are skating. Grandpa told them he would pick them up at the time it was over.
I so enjoy going to their games and hearing how proud they are of their accomplishments.
My two youngest children where home schooled part of their school life. We made sure they were involved in sports, swimming, acting, clubs and organizations so that they could be well rounded individuals and social.
Sometime home schooled kids are "strange." They don't know how to make friends or they are so "backwards" or have parents that are strange, that homeschooling is the only suitable place for them to be educated. The bad thing about homeschooling is so many people don't actually educate their children. It is another way to control every aspect of their life and to make sure they control the children they associate with.
I have found that parents of the latter type, come from a certain group of people where secrecy is important. This makes them untrustworthy and young girls are frequently defiled by men...
Well anyways, like I was saying, I love the fact my grandchildren love being active. I have talked to them many times to make sure they express themselves if they don't want to do something. However my junior high age granddaughter today informed me she wants to add cheerleading to her activities... okay.... So I guess softball (year round), school volleyball, school basketball, scholastic bowl and student council just isn't enough. She is a straight A student in advanced classes, and loves school.
Let your children do all they want, provided their health doesn't suffer or their grades. Keep yourself sane by understanding it is only a short period in your life.

I just found this article about high gas prices...

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/angry-about-high-gas-prices--blame-shuttered-oil-refineries.html

stop blaming the president... it's time to blame oil companies!

I posted a few posts back about....

I posted a few posts back about the Mormon's baptizing dead people into their church...
Here is a news items I found today about that practice...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/public-outrage-over-alleged-mormon-baptism-anne-frank-173843648.html

swag buck code

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/crazyteacher
If you want to join my team at swagbucks here is my link. Try it. You may really enjoy this search and win site.

very interesting....

Check out this article. It is strange. I have known to people who turn this type of blue when cold. I wonder if it is possible that they have a form of this genetic disorder. Hummm I guess a little more research is needed.

http://gma.yahoo.com/fugates-kentucky-skin-bluer-lake-louise-200247843--abc-news.html

scrapbooking family history.....

My latest adventure is called Made in America. It will be a collection of family photos to share with our relatives back in our home land. So Made in America is in the planning stages... Looking for the right paper and embellishments, the right kind of design for the front cover.... Ideas just a swirling away... More to come later!

Here you go USA

http://www.proudamericantradingpost.com/

Homeschooling...

Homeschooling vs public education

I home schooled two of my children part of their educational time. If done correctly, making sure they had activities that allowed them some time to socialize with others their own age and getting the proper books to help them learn, it can be quit successful.
I would not suggest it to people who don't want to be involved in the total educational process.
The advantage of homeschooling is the freedom of travel time, if you can financially afford it. Another advantage is if you have children that are so "different" from others that they will be teased or bullied in an "traditional" school setting.
Bullying is hard to spot, to solve, to understand.... A student can tell you they are being mistreated, however you can not punish on "hear-say"; thus causing bullying to grow. It also has backlash sometimes for the child. They get threatened more, people point their fingers at them and laugh, more students join in to bully them, they loose friends if they had any, and with all of this they eventually get labeled "The Trouble" causer. The teachers don't want to have them in class, the principal punishes them and the cycle continues and grows. So for this type of student, sometimes homeschooling is the best fit.
Another type of student that homeschooling best fits is the one of different beliefs. Later.

Shopping...

Shopping for a gift for a 1 year birthday was tough. I have noticed that there are fewer toys than ever out there. Not only that ~ puzzles ~ where are the puzzles.
I think the toy industry has forgotten all of the things that children need in order to develop cognitive skills.
I guess video games are more profitable.

Swag bucks......

Go to the bottom of the page and sign up. I am getting ready to put $100 dollars in my account.... Wow, just searching, doing a few surveys, and watching short video clips and I have enough points to cash out. You can choose other things, gifts and gift cards, various amount of points. My daughter goes for the $5 Amazon gift cards. So give it a try. Especially if you want to earn some easy money or gifts.

Plan, plan, plan.....

I have been planning for my many vacations. Since I am retired I find I get pretty bored. So I take little trips and some big ones. I can't wait till spring... Big vacation plans. Hubby is excited it will be riding weather soon. Woohoo. Snow and ice stay away.

those magazines

My stack is growing smaller. I have been scanning like crazy. Since my husband will be home this week, I probably will be slowed downed to a snail pace. Oh well I will keep plugging away, little by little. I will be glad when I get done... Wait I will never be completely done until the day I die.....An I don't plan that for any time soon....

Christmas shopping....

I have begun my Christmas shopping... What? Yes I shop year round. I found some really great bargains. So I have some of my shopping done for next year already. In fact I have gifts already wrapped for next year. ....
So happy Christmas shopping everyone.
Shop now so you don't have to shop with all of the crowds.

Okay here is post 1....

Okay, yesterday we went to my great-great-nieces birthday party. Her great grandmother, my sister, passed away 11 years ago. We were still able to get a 5 generation picture as my sister's husband is like a brother to us, (my other sister and I were 9 and 10 years younger than Judy), Judy and her husband only had boys so no female only picture, So in the picture is my mother (93 years young), my brother-in-law representing my sister, my nephew, my nephew's daughter, and my nephew's granddaughter.... wow....
It was a little strange... Louie remarried a few years ago... His wife decided she didn't want to be married any more and then begged him to take her back, they did not sit together at the meal, in fact she sat with my nephew's ex-wife and her boyfriend. Strange for someone that wanted you to take her back. (She didn't want a divorce until she had been married to him 10 years so she could get his pension along with her other dead husband's and her own. Seems she is in this for the money.) Tom's ex-wife, Julie, brought her boyfriend that she had been cheating on my nephew with for 20+ years and his family. Her parents are divorced and they each came with their newbies. My one nephew wouldn't come because he didn't like his dad taking back this woman and the fact Julie the terror was there. Tom's finance came and her family, her husband had passed away before Tom met her. We really like her. Mom went to this party with the idea that things would be good, however after Chris, Louis wife, gave her the cold shoulder, (Chris had blamed my sister and cousin at a different get together and then Louie got upset and so did mom.), this time mom saw it first-hand. I don't think Chris will ever be in her good graces again. Louie acted so unhappy, that mom's heart was broken. You don't mess with Louie. And so it was a miserable day in some ways and a happy day in others, even though I sat back and out of the loop as much as possible. I didn't want to go because of all the drama.
The happy spot: MY YOUNGEST GRANDDAUGHTER, daughter and her husband were there. We sat with my nephew Don and his son, who hardly ever talks and he talked. He wanted to have his picture with the baby as did his sister. So all is good.

oh me or my....

Oh me oh my it seems I have failed to post any news for a few days. So much and so little time. I will begin again  tomorrow .... well maybe I will post something in a few minutes... I don't know .... Just too much to do.

Travel by train...

I found this... dreaming maybe....
http://www.raileurope.com/us/shopping/pass_finder.htm

I may want to check this out some more.

Free WiFi....

A friend of mine posted on FB that he wants his gravestone to have free WiFi; that way people would visit him more often. ... Sounds like a good idea to me. The only drawback:  would be there would be enough parking for everyone? ..... and who would run the concessions. I want dibs on both.

No Child Left Behind Sports

A friend posted this to facebook. Thought it was cute. It also so the ignorance about education by the people who wrote NCLB Act

No Child Left Behind: The Sports Version

Fill with your favorite sport (original used football)

1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship by the year 2014. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in , a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren’t interested in , have limited athletic ability or whose parents don't like .

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th., 8th and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

Couple of....

Couple of great finds while reading my Country Living magazine:
All American made furniture... fabric made and furniture hand built in North Carolina .... to check out go to frenchlaundryhome.com

American grown and produced yarn.... go to fiberfarm.com
They have a membership fee. I have not checked them out yet, but plan to. I am all about AMERICAN MADE!

Still working on...

Still working on my magazine stash. Yip..... Mom gets magazines still, even though her shop has been closed for 10 years, and gives me them when she is finished reading. So then I get piles to add to my piles. Well it is not a hoarding type pile... I put them in a bin and when I have time I go through them, scan what I want to keep and throw all away. It just that sometimes she insists I take them when I really don't have time to go through them. I also get magazines that she doesn't, my sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, craft, cooking and a few more.... So the monthly magazine "hoard" happens and it gets to the point of feeling "out of control." It doesn't depress me, as I am a happy-go-lucky type person. Now that I am retired I am slowly getting the "hoard" of magazines under control.
I am actually through with about half, but here we are a new month and you know what that means, more magazines.....I think I better get off of here and start scanning... Later.

feral cats

I just finished reading an article about feral cats. Our neighborhood, and many others in our town, seem to have many cats that are "unowned." My objective was to see if I feed these wild creatures they would stop eating birds in our neighborhood. It seems that is not a solution. According to the article there are over 5 million wild cats. Many times it is because people have cats, who have babies, who are then set out in the wild because they are unwanted and the cycle continues.
One suggestion from the article is capture, neuter or spade and release. I don't think we should do this to all cats or dogs, as they are companions to people, however this wild cat and dog problem is destroying the balance of nature.
I want to put up some bird houses, however if it means that the wild, feral, cats are going to feed on the birds that I do want around then I will not do it.
What a situation. So do I build some bird house and chance the feral cats attacking them, or do I call the animal control office and ask about feral cats. I am not willing to pay for them to take the feral cats, they are not mine. So just what will I do?

Finally did...

All the times I have traveled outside of the US I have never had to have a passport. So today I apply for the first time. Use to be all you needed was a certified copy of your birth certificate, drivers license and if you where married your marriage license.
When I was a child you didn't need anything to go to Canada or Mexico.
So guess I need to get a passport or I won't be able to go visit my family across the great pond. This is so exciting as all we have ever done is communicate by snail mail and emails. We have done video chats and sent voice emails. I can't wait to visit my cousins and visit my grandparents home land.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Sunday. Please remember that it is a day of love and blessing. If you need a church to go to I invite you to the best 1st Methodist Church here in town. Great folks, good fun! God bless you and hope to see you at church.

Life is Crazy..... LOL

I need to go to the library. I have done mom's hair today, picked up 25 pounds of fresh ground sausage, and 25 pounds of pork loin and ribs.
I would like for every one to know that the dump cake was really good. Ashley was here with me, home sick from school, and we made homemade cinnamon rolls for her breakfast (she helped and loved the cooking) and then we made a dump cake.
The only thing we did different than the recipe is we added cinnamon sugar to the top of the cake mix and then the butter and then Ashley wanted more cinnamon sugar on top of the butter. The crust was really good then. Melted butter and sugar made a glaze.
Try it.
I have been very busy adding information into my family files. I make sure to scan all of the papers first, just in case. Well I need to go get things done. Mom and I are running to Long Johns for dinner tonight and bringing James home his. We need to add more fish.... I dislike cooking fish... So Long Johns can do it for me.
Later.

Sooo much and Dump Cake

I have been going through my family history research for the past two months. I didn't realize I had so much to enter into my files.
Yesterday I started to go through information and entering it, scanning information and pitching needless and duplicate stuff.
What color should I paint the office? I think I want a relaxing color. Not sure just which one. There are so many colors that I really like. Such a hard decision. Suggestions family?
Tonight I am cooking goulash. Mom wants that for supper. So that is what we will be having.
Tomorrow we are having chicken legs and I am making an apple dump cake.
I also have to do mom's hair Saturday so she will look good for Sunday. She had it done while I was gone at a beauty shop. She didn't like it.

Here is the Dump Cake Recipe

DUMP CAKE  

1 (16-ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (18.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, chilled
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease well a 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan.

Dump pineapple (including juice) into the prepared pan; spread evenly.
Dump cherry pie filling over pineapple, spreading evenly.
Dump yellow cake mix over the top, spreading evenly.
Cut cold butter into 1/4-inch slices and arrange over the top. Sprinkle with nuts.
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (about 40 - 60 minutes).
About 10 servings.

Low fat choclate marshmallow cupcakes

http://player.swagbucks.com/free_videos/food_network/low_fat_chocolate_marshmallow_cupcakes_recipe/445/155287/