Picture Tribute to Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade

     When I was a young child one of my favorite things to do at Disneyland was to watch the electrical parade. As an adult it had the same magic even when it returned to Disney's California Adventure Park.

     Every time we hear the Electrical Parade song we get up and dance. My grandma would even dance in her wheel chair. It is simply, well, magical. Makes you feel happy inside.

     Then in 2010 the parade left Disney's California Adventure Park. We were very sad to see it leave.

     In 2017 the parade returned to Disneyland to everyone excitement! It was wonderful hearing the sounds again and watching it make its magic once again at Disneyland.

     Sadly however the parade left the park in August of 2017 to supposedly retire forever. I hope somehow they bring it back but fear they may not.

      I created a Youtube picture video tribute to the parade that makes people dance and move to to the magic. Its amazing splendor will be missed by all who loved the parade.

Picture Tribute to the Electrical
Parade

Amoeba through Microscope

    Recently my sixth grade students looked at microorganisms. They had a lot of fun with this. One of my studnets found that one of his organisms had really grown so the kids took video of it on their phones. I know they are not the best quality and hard to see but hopefully you get a glimpse of what we saw.

     It was rather interesting. It does shake because well, a phone is not the best recording device.

Amoeba through Microscope 

Fond Christmas Memories Through the Eyes of a Child

     As yet another Christmas Eve is upon us many thoughts entered my mind. First  I was saddened that this I did not have the money to purchase gifts for loved ones. But yet I also thought about the fact when people need things they purchase them or when I want to get something for someone I just get it regardless of the time of year. That promoted  me to thinking that it is silly to go out and buy gifts that I can't afford for people just because it is Christmas.

     All of these thoughts prompted me to look back at the memories of Christmas time I hold dearest to my heart. The gifts I received were nice however those are not the feel good, warm, loving memories I hold dearest to my heart.

     When I think of my fondest memories of Christmas season, those warm fuzzy feeling memories one of the first that comes to mind is when my mom and I used to travel from our home to my grandparents home for Christmas I feel so happy inside when I remember going to my aunt and uncles on Christmas Eve with all of my cousins and then back to grandma and grandpas house. Us kids would go to bed and talk about how excited we were for the next day.

    Christmas morning we woke up to grandma making breakfast, we opened our gifts and then spent the day with family. Sometimes my cousins did not stay all night at grandma and grandpas but the next morning they were there for breakfast and Christmas dinner.

     As time went on and I grew up I still have fond memories of Christmas dinner at grandmas house. I did not have kids yet but still had those warm feelings just being with my family.

   My kids came along so we made our own special memories. These are some of the dearest to my heart. Our memories started a few days before Christmas
some years, we baked cookies, decorated the house and sang Christmas songs.

     Then along came Christmas Eve when we would read books, open one gift and then sing songs. I think the most precious memories are of my kids running into my room telling me it was time to get up to open gifts. The excitement in their eyes as they looked in their stockings and opened their new treasures. Then after their grandma came over for dinner we would play games and just enjoy our day together.

     My kids are now grown so our memories are with my grandson. I find that those precious memories of my childhood were felt through my children and now my grandson.

     When I think back on the Christmas days I hold most dear I do not think of the gifts I received, I loved the gifts but the warm feelings, the best feelings are of the special traditions and memories I made with my family and also the excitement of Christmas through the eyes of a child.

Recognizing the Negatives to See the Positives

     Earlier I wrote about recognizing the wall of negativity in life so that you can tear it down to see the positives on the other side. I have been so consumed by negative feelings lately that I just can’t seem to break through to the positives in my life that I know are on the other side of the wall. I can identify them and remember them but the negative is so strong that  I can’t seem to truly see them. This makes it hard to get through each day. It is difficult to function, to complete every day activities and to simply feel good. I am sad, miserable and much of the time angry. I tell myself I have so much to be thankful for and I should not let things get to me, to make me so angry. I work on it, pray on it and think I have things under control until I look at the wall and see those bricks as so very strong.

     Now my goal is to knock them down. To throw them from my wall so that it is no longer blocking my view of the positives lurking on the other side. I am sure this will be a regular process beause negavie things are powerful, they seem to grab us when we are not expecting them and knock the ground from under us hwne we are already down.

     My negatives might not be as bad as other people are experiencing but they are mine, they are what has built this wall and what keep it stong. My negative might outnumber the positives rignt now but once I start throwin them from the wall I might just be alble to forget them and eventually toss them away.

     Some of my negatives are not something I will put out there pubically. They are rough and things that I am really working on. I know what they are, I know my struggles and I think those negatives that we must keep to ourselves are the ones that might remain in our wall but that is ok as long as we remove enough to see the positives on the other side.

     My first negative that I can write about here is that one sorrow I feel over my kids growing up and no longer wanting me to be a part of their lives. That I think is one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with. It hurts and makes me sad. Sometimes I cry myself to sleep because I miss them so very much and I want to be as important to them as they are to me. I thought  moving in with my oldest would make us close again but he has no time for me, he seems bothered if I try to talk to him and I feel like I am just a bother most of the time.

     My youngest and I used to be extremely close but for the last couple of years that has ended too. I moved away and he is still in Colorado so that makes it even harder but he has his own life which also does not include me. I think though that we could still have a good visit someday however just do not feel that important.

     Finances are some of the main bricks in my wall moving has completely drained me and destroyed me financially to the point I am not sure I will ever recover unless I get a second job.

     I live with people who keep me angry all of the time, I don’t like feeling that angry but lazy and dirty just make me angry. I might not be as stressed over it if I didn’t have so many other bricks in my wall.

     I miss my grandson terribly. He has been such an important part of my life since he was born and now I don’t see him as much as I want to. I blame myself for leaving but yet I do not want to go back to Colorado. He is the joy of my life though, he loves me still so very much so it is hard not being around him all of the time.

     My job is one of the biggest negatives in my life. I hate it, I feel inadequate and so much pressure there. Every day I have to go is pure torture. It is torture getting out of bed to go there and the entire day is torture while I am there. The only time I am happy during the week is when I get off. The people are nice enough but don’t really let you in…so it is lonely.

      I think loneliness is one of the other negatives now that is bothering me most of all. I thought it would be neat to be near friends here in Arizona but they all live on the other side of the city. I thought I would visit my son some but like I said, he never wants to be bothered by me. I am just in the way.

     Now that I have recognized the negatives, the things that keep me in constant turmoil I will look at the positives.

     The biggest is that my mom loves me more than anything in the world. I know that and I feel it. I enjoy when I am with her and she is my best friend.

    The other is my sweet little grandson who loves me unconditionally, he needs me and he loves to spend time with me.

     I am earning money at my job.

     God loves me.

     I have some great friends back in Colorado and New Mexico who truly truly love and care about me.

     I have a roof over my head.

     I have a car to drive.

     I have food to eat.

     I have lost some weight due to the stress so stress can be good.

     That is all I can think of for now. I will edit and add as I think of things. Hopefully this will help me focus on the positives and I hope the negative bricks are now on the ground.

https://kimsiscstuff.blogspot.com/2017/11/reconizing-wall-of-negativity-is-first.html

Reconizing the Wall of Negativity is the First Step to Knocking it Down

     Sometimes in life the negatives seem to overcome us. They become these bricks that slowly build  this sturdy wall that seems to define us, becomes the essence of our being whether we want it to be or not. We try and try to knock the wall down but with every small brick we remove, the negatives march in making it stronger.  We feel like there are more negatives than positives, there are more bricks that are providing the foundation for our wall of negativity than ways of tearing it down.

       Each of these bricks are the  negatives  that make us feel angry, upset, so angry and upset that we feel shaky inside, and sick inside. These negatives strangle us most of the time making it hard to breathe. These are negatives that consume us, overwhelm us, and make it hard to see through them to the positives.

     Maybe, just maybe though while we are living through these times where the wall of negatives are clouding our view of the positives it is necessary to recognize them, to own them so that we can truly knock them down. You can’t lie and say they are not there because, they are. Each and every brick is there no matter how hard we try to deny it. The more you try to ignore them, the stronger they become, the more they become the foundation of our being, the meaning of who we are. That is not healthy, it is not how life should be but the wall is so powerful at times you just can’t seem to knock it down. 

     People say you should count your blessings. You try and you try to count them because you know that there are many blessings in life however, you fail over and over and over again. You count those blessings but the wall is stronger than you are and it is still there because while you see the positives on the other side each and every brick is still holding strong clouding your view.

     So once you know the bricks are in place and the wall is strong it is time to find a way to weaken the wall. Possibly the only way is to look at each brick in the wall one by one, accept the fact that they are there, that the wall is there, so you can toss it away making the wall weaker as you go. This process will not happen swiftly, the wall did not go up in a day. It took years to build, years of negatives, yeas of anger and years of frustration. So we can’t expect it to come down overnight. We just have to recognize each brick as we toss it aside. In the end the negatives might still remain a part of life, the bricks may be there because we do not always have control over the negatives in life but we can control how the bricks are placed. By recognizing them and realizing that they exist making us angry, upset and sometimes just plain livid, we are able to scatter them around so that we have a clear view of the positives on the other side.

     I have reached a point in my life where the negatives are consuming me. I have that sensation of deep anger, the anger and frustration that make me ill, strangles me most of the time making it hard to breathe. The anger that wakes me up at night, consumes my daily thoughts and has become a wall so tall I am unable to see the positives on the other side even though I count them often, even though I know they are there. The wall has consumed me and it is time to knock it down scattering the bricks around me because many of them will not go away, they just need to stop being a part of the wall.

A Deeper Understanding of Suicial Feelings

     Lately life has been a huge struggle for me. So many things have fallen apart and I've felt hopeless. As I reflect on those thoughts it brings me to a better understanding of those who decide that this life is not worth it and end their own. They come to a place where they just feel no way out. Yes it is a selfish act, that is true because they are not considering the pain their loss will inflict on others however in their deep pain they also believe that their loss really won't hurt others as much as it will make others lives better.

     When my brother in law killed himself I was angry and thought of him as selfish. I still think that much of the time because his situation was a bit different than many, he was mad and drunk and going to "show all of us". He had not been depressed and I honestly believe had he been sober he would not have taken his own life. However others I have known must have been suffering deeply, felt like there was just no other way out. Yes I have thought them selfish at times but really aren't we all when it comes to our own pain. We want it to stop, we want it to go away, we all want to feel happy, not pain. Others don't feel our pain, yes they feel their own pain but they don't feel ours at the time.
     To better explain what I am trying to say I will delve deeper into this I and  will say that while I have not actually considered ending my own life, I have wished it would end. Just wished I would go to sleep and not wake up. Yes this is selfish and some people would be sad if I were gone however there are times when in my darkest moments I honestly believe many would be better off without me and the pain I feel while to others might not seem huge, to me is so painful that I am not sure I can bear it another moment.
     What keeps me from going further with these thoughts? My love of God and the fact that it would beak my moms heart. I know that she would not be able to bear it if I left this world so that keeps me here. My grandson also needs me here for now, sadly that is something I fear might change as I am not able to be as actively involved with his life anymore but for now he needs me. Realistically my kids would be financially better because of the life insurance I have. Yes they would be sad for a while but they could build their lives without me so for them sometime I think they would be better off if I were not in this world. The void that would be in their lives without me would be short lived...
    Those are feelings I have in my darkest moments which have been more frequent lately than I would like...my main driving force during those deep despair moments preventing me from going beyond the desire to not wake up, to taking the next step is mostly God, my mom and my little grandson, I know the void in my mom and his life would be everlasting.
      That said I have a deeper understanding of those who reach that point of helplessness and dive so deep into their own despair that nothing else matters. They see no way out, the pain is so strong and they feel like no one will really miss them, not that much, they do not understand the void left behind can never be filled. They do not have that belief in God that tells them things will get better...even if it does not seem so at the time....
     I have a much better understanding of those moments of despair, hopelessness and no way out people feel because yes in all honesty I feel them too at times. I think we all do but it is how we move beyond it that counts. It is reaching out to others to say that you feel in despair, it is also praying to God or even a higher power if you do not believe in God. Finding something or someone to keep you hanging in there, to give you hope that things will get better.
     This was not meant as a pity post because it is not a pity party when people feel such despair. It is true sadness and people need understanding. This post is to show my new found understanding of those who come to a point of helplessness to see that they are not alone...others go through
the same thing and I hope and pray they find something to keep them hanging on when they feel like letting go.

40 Day Challenge to Be Grateful Even When Right Does Not Reign

     Very recently some things happened in my life that made me doubt God's presence, then I decided that I believe He is here but I am mad at Him. I prayed and prayed for things to turn out the right way in this situation. Many people were praying and I was confident God would be in control. I was confident He would not let Satan win but, in the end Satan did win so I became even more angry with God, more ready to turn away from Him.
     A good friend reminded me though that we all are free to choose right or wrong, we are free to choose the side of God or the side of Satan. Since the situation I was praying about involved someone else's choices I realize that I can't control the other persons choices. However those choices effect me and those I love so I still find myself angry that God did not touch the other persons heart instead of letting Satan take control
     I am still very hurt and very angry/ I am upset that God would not listen to my prayers. I also was reminded but this same friend that I can be mad at God. It is ok. I just should not pull away from Him which is what I have been fighting against the last few days. I am struggling very hard to have faith in Him, faith that He is in control and that He will always be in control even in situations that seem hopeless.
     So I will allow myself the anger, I will allow myself the pain and I will move forward to pray for those who are giving into Satan, I will pray that they turn to God and let Him have control.
     My friend suggested that I take a 40 day challenge and state something I am thankful for each day. I will take that challenge, I am sure there are little things on the worst days to be grateful for. Even in the midst of Satan's hands I know I still have things to be grateful for in life.
     Maybe through this my anger will subside and I will be able to have faith in God again.

Don't Be Your Child's First Bully

     With bullying being so prevalent in this world today though social media and texting people tend to forget that the bully might not just be the person behind the computer screen, the actual bully sometimes is the person the child looks up to and loves the most,yes the parent. Now I don't believe many parents mean to bully their kids. I think it happens accidentally through the daily stresses of raising a child. It is important for parents to really stop and think of what they say and how they speak to their child. Yes, parents sometimes are their child's first bully. Having the bully at home makes it even harder to face the cyber bullies along with those at school.

    Things not to tell your kids: Don't say "you always do that." No one always does something, a child doesn't always forget to put away his toys, he doesn't always forget his homework. Always means there's no room for improvement The better thing to say is "you sure do struggle completing your homework, and you forget to put always your toys a lot of the time." That leaves room for improvement.

     Some parents in their anger cal their kids brats, tell them they are bad and sometimes even that they are dumb. I know many times a parent says those things in the heat of frustration at a disobedient child but those things are still harmful, hurtful and can not be taken back.

     My main reason for this blog though was for the parents who use absolutely no self control and are well, mean to their kids, they are their child's first bully.

     It is never ok to call a child stupid, if a child does something that is not that bright, tell them what they did was not smart but never say they are stupid. It is never ok to call a kid names like jerk or *
hole or any of the other curse words I've heard parents spew at their kids. I've heard parents call their kids stupid little jerks and worse and that is in public. I wonder what those poor kids hear when at home. It is bullying plain and simple!

     Kids are innocent and sweet young people, they grow into annoying teenagers who can be sweet at times. Regardless of how old they are kids need to know they are loved at home and do not need that first bully to live at home.

Hoaxes Aside-Rule of Thumb: Don't Add People to Your Facebook Friends List if You Do Not Know Them

I have been getting a message about not adding Jayden K Smith if he sends a friend request on Facebook today, July 9, 2017. I had seen that same message a while back and many others like it before so I researched it and many sites say it is a hoax. the site I trust most, Snopes, says it is a hoax. I do not understand why people start these hoaxes except maybe to flood the internet.IT has flooded my private messages for sure because it also says that even if your friends accept the request you will get a virus too. I honestly do not know how that is possible and all sites I have researched have said it is not possible. The day that I can get a virus from what others on Facebook do is the day I will say farewell to Facebook.
My rule of thumb is that I never add people to my friends list unless I know them and I always ask how they know me before I add them. I have received requests from people who I've never heard of, I ask how they know me and they never respond so....I delete the request. Or there are times I get a request from an already friend, that is when I ask my friend why they sent me a request and know that they have been hacked. I don't add famous people because well, they don't know me so why would they want to add me to their list? Really, if I received a friend request from Johnny Depp a red flag would go up since I am just, well, me and he does not know me from the man in the moon so would have no reason to friend me. It would obviously be a hack.
So folks best rule of thumb is to be careful out there in the world of Facebook. Know who your friends are...

+hoax+JaydenKSmith+add+Facebook

 http://www.snopes.com/computer/internet/hackermail.asp

Why Do Men Love Boobs?

    Lets talk about boobs, yes boobs, you know those things that men think are so amazing and froth at the mouth over. They go absolutely crazy over them, if a woman's are big a man will not even look her in the eye because he is fixated by her boobs. Men think they are wonderful, amazing and want their woman to have big ones. Some men even pay for their woman to enlarge hers.
     News flash though from someone who has been cursed and saddled with big ones, they are not fun, they are not something we love, they are just two big blobs of fat that are connected to the front of our body. They get bigger as we gain weight and then are hard to rid ourselves of as we lose.
     They really are just fat, as I gained weight they got bigger. I did not like them and was not happy about that. Now even when I lose weight though, they remain a larger, fatter part of my body.
     Do men like our stomach rolls? Many do not, so why on earth would they like boobs?
     So seriously, I wonder what on earth it is that a man finds appealing about these two blobs of fat that serve no purpose after child rearing years are done..They are just...there, hanging low as we grow older.
     When I was younger I noticed that many  men rarely looked me in the eye, they just looked at my chest. It was to say the least very annoying. I found them to  be rude and disrespectful. I mean I had a face, I looked them in the eye so why not show me the same respect.
     Anyhow back to my question, why oh why do men love those blobs of fat we call boobs?

Farewell Turbo Tax: I Will Never Pass Your Way Again

     I used TurboTax to file my and my sons returns for a few years because it was less expensive than other programs and easy. I would have done them myself with paper and pen but liked the idea of e-filing so we received our returns faster.

     Well after yesterday I will never use them again! I am so angry with TurboTax. I filed my sons 2015 taxes with them. It did cost around $25.00. I downloaded a copy of his returns and printed them too..however to my dismay he now needs them to file his college Fafsa and I can't for the life of me find my copies.

     I thought "I will just go to TurboTax and get a copy of his taxes." Nope that is not going to happen unless I pay for a copy. Really! thy want me to pay for a copy that I can easily download. I am not asking them to send me a hard copy. They won't be out anything by allowing me to look at my sons records.

    I paid to get his taxes done with a real accountant and asked for a copy of his 2016 return. I had it in my e-mail the same night.

    I am still looking for the copies I printed and downloaded because I really do not want to pay this company for something that I should not have to pay for.

    You have lost a customer forever TurboTax. I will ne
ver use you again! What a rip-off!

Positive Discipline in the Classroom: Creating Bullies and Low Self-Esteem

     I know that many believe positive discipline in the classroom is a wonderful thing. We should never use negative discipline such as writing names on the board or taking away recess. That harms kids. Hmm well I beg to differ and have a different view of some of the positive discipline ideals. Now don’t get me wrong, it is good to be positive and the ideals of positive discipline in many aspects are great however for the most part if you want kids to behave then sometimes the negative promotes positive behavior. A child will not die if he misses a recess and if he is misbehaving getting his name on the board is not going to hurt him as long as the rules are clear. This blog is not about that though it is about how positive discipline can promote bullying and low self-esteem in my opinion.

     One example of positive discipline that I was introduced to was that the teacher is to praise the children who are obeying the rules and ignore those who are misbehaving. The idea behind this is that the ones who are misbehaving will want the praise the children who behave are getting. This sounds great in theory and might work great with younger students such as K-1 but as kids grow older this type of discipline bothers me and I believe is not just ineffective but detrimental to the mental health and well being of the kids.

     The scenario:

Mrs. Jones has a class with 25 students. Many of her kids are acting up in class. They have a habit of not doing their work, just not doing what they are supposed to do. But then there is Billy who always does what he should, he always sits quietly waiting for directions, never causes any problems. So instead of reprimanding those who are acting up and not doing what they are supposed to do Mrs. Jones praises Billy saying “I love how Billy is sitting still in his chair.”  She also constantly says “Billy always has his work done on time and he is always ready to listen. “

     It would be great if this worked and the other kids began doing what they should but this will most likely get Billy beat up during recess. The other kids are just going to think he is the teacher’s pet and they will not like him. They will mistreat him and be cruel. In turn this results in low self-esteem for Billy. This kind of discipline has created bullies out of kids who most likely would have started behaving once they realized they would lose recess or something else they loved if they did not obey the rules.

     We are such a society of “everyone wins” and “don’t say anything negative to the kids” that we are creating bullies and low self esteem.  Sometimes negative does equal positive and positive equals negative. 

In this "Me" Society: Unhealthy Relationships Should Not Include the Kids

Living in such a "me" world I notice so many people put themselves before their children on a regular basis. They go from relationship to relationship never providing stability or a healthy environment for their children. They never stop to think about their kids and how their relationship choices are doing to them. Or maybe they think of it but since the "I" in their life is most important they don't care about their kids. Many of them find people who seem to think they are the new "boss" and let that person take over, even with the raising and well being of their kids. NEWS FLASH, they are not someone else's kids and how a person raises their kids is none of the new persons business. There is yet another unhealthy relationship and this is when one parent, usually a female, enters into a relationship with an abusive person.

I watch so many people who have kids get into these relationships that last maybe a month, two months and sometimes even a little bit more. They bring families into the kids lives and try to intertwine the two. The kids become attached to the extended family and then poof, the relationship ends and so do all of the connections with the extended family. This leaves the kids sad and hurt. Before bringing people into your children's life, make sure they are going to be there a while.

For adults bringing people into and out of their own life is hard enough, doing that to their kids can be heartbreaking if they learn to like the people that enter their lives and then exit just as quickly as they entered.

Adults get over things much faster than kids and really need to stop and think of the consequences once the new person becomes a distant memory, it is not always that way for the kids. They miss the extended family they learned to care about.

So before bringing the kids into things, make sure they are going to last. Parents must think of their kids first. Adults who enter relationship after relationship are unstable, it is unfair and cruel to make their kids a part of their unstable lifestyle.

Now on to how I have seen so many people enter these relationships and allow the new person to become the "boss". The parent lets the boss take over. The boss dictates every aspect of how the child is raised. This is wrong. The child does not belong to the boss and the boss has no business butting in. Yes the boss should care if the child might do something to cause harm to himself but usually the boss doesn't really care. The boss just wants to be in control and tell the parent what to do. The boss does not care about the child one bit, the boss only cares about "being the boss." If an adult wants to be in a controlling relationship that is his or her right as an adult but letting the person boss the kids is unhealthy and wrong.

The final unhealthy relationship is the abusive one. I will use the example of a man abusing a woman because that is the most common abusive relationship. This is unhealthy for the woman,, but she is an adult, it is child abuse in my mind for her to bring her kids into this relationship. If she is going to live that way then that is her right, however she should not bring her kids into it. If she truly loves her kids she will not allow them to be around the abusive man. That is one of the most unhealthy environments a person could place a child into.

First of all the child does not need to watch his or her mom being abused. This is emotionally damaging and leaves life long scars. The parent should care more for her child than to expose him or her to that type of abuse. But again in this "me" world we live in the parent does not think off the child.

Most important though is that the abuser will eventually abuse the child too. The abuser might even be doing it if the parent leaves the child in his care. It is a risk that is not worth taking.

Don't get me wrong, I am not talking about the loving relationships out there where a parent meets someone new, makes sure the relationship will last then the kids enter the life of the new person. The new person is loving, caring and nurturing to the children but also realizes that he or she is not the parent and does not become the dictator. However out of love does offer discipline that is nurturing and caring. That is healthy for the kids.

If a person just "can't live" alone then so be it, however once you have kids your life is not your own and you should never, never, never place them in an unhealthy relationship. You not only risk their emotional health but possibly physical well being and you keep the unhealthy pattern going...Wake up call parents, your life is not about "me". It is about your kids, put them first, they deserve it.

Second Grade Grammar: The Three Theirs and More

     Nothing gets to me more than people who use incorrect grammar. I mean come on folks with spell check and such it isn't that hard to get it right...in most instances. Sometimes though the spell check doesn't spell check all of the spelling errors. For instance if you know something it won't always correct if you type that you no it.

    I wonder though if many people just did not pay attention in school when they were back in the 2nd grade. So here is my little lesson about one of my pet peeves....

     The three theirs...you don't go over their, you go over there. There going to the store is a contraction and should be they're..you know they are...and it was their party not they're party. Simple right? If you ask a 2nd grader they will tell you it is.

     Then there are the yours...or is it you're? Hmm so here you go, if you're going to the store then you are going to the store...contraction....it isn't your going to the store. If something belongs to you it isn't you'res it is yours.

     By and buy are also words that are misused quite often. You don't by an item you buy it, and I want to stand by the tree not buy it.

          I know, I know for many they are just typos but for some they are not...just one of my pet peeves that 2nd grade grammar stuff.

Breast Feeding in Public: There's Nothing Wrong With Modesty

     The hot topic the last year or so has been breast feeding in public. Well I may have an unpopular view but, differing views is what the world is all about right?

     I breast fed both of my sons, breast milk is  healthy for children, it provides them with some very beneficial antibodies the first year of their life. It  is also extremely convenient for the mom. I mean no bottle warming, wake up in the middle of the night and you are ready to feed your baby. It is also a special bonding time for baby and mom. I loved those late night feedings. There are cons to breast feeding, mom is the only one who can feed the baby so it means she gets few breaks and sometimes little sleep. Baby is not always hungry at convenient times so it means feeding in awkward situations which is where the controversy lies.

     Those public feedings is what this post is about. How does a mom handle that? You are in the store, baby cries and mom lactates needing to feed her hungry baby. When I breast fed my sons I would either go to the restroom to feed them or I had a blanket so I could cover myself giving me privacy while I fed my baby. I could not have just plopped my boob out for the world to see. That is the modesty I refer to.

     Now days women just plop out their boob and feed their baby wherever they are. While I disagree whole heatedly that it is a crime and I do not believe they should be ridiculed for breast feeding I do believe there is nothing wrong with showing a little modesty. There is nothing wrong with covering up. It will not harm the child if mom covers up while feeding. Everyone knows what she is doing but she just isn't showing skin.

   
    Those are my thoughts, maybe I am old fashioned, maybe I am a bit too modest. Whichever the case may be I firmly believe that breast feeding a baby is the best way to go if you are able to. I also believe a woman has the right to do it in public however I think that many agree with me,there is nothing wrong with being modest about it.

Children Should Not Be included in Revolving Relationships

You are probably wondering what a revolving relationship is, it is that relationship that is the most wonderful ever, oh so true, that person someone has been with for hmmm maybe a month or two or possibly even 6. The person that someone moves in with and their children must like him or her too.

This is wrong, a person should never bring someone new into their child's life until that person is a permanent person in their life. It is not fair to the child for parent's to make every new relationship the new "step parent" or live in adult figure. It is important to make sure it lasts before making them a part of your child's life.

I see so many people, mostly women find a new man, move in and expect their children to like him and worse allow him to tell the children what to do, allow him to dictate life and much of the time put him before the kids. Then in a few months the man is history because she has moved on to something else. Enter someone new in the child's life.

This is hard on children and parents really need to stop and think of their kids, put them first, put them before every new Tom, Dick or Harry who enters the picture. And once that person enters the picture for good, make sure he or she knows that he will not take presidence over the kids and he or she is not there to dictate, he is there to care and to love. Any loving person would do that anyhow, it usually is the revolving relationship types who dictate cruelly.

Parents need to love their children more than themselves and their own pleasure. That revolving door should actually hit some of them in the butt and knock sense into them so they will stop including their kids in this harmful environment.

Macro Shots

     I have been having a lot of fun playing with my camera and taking macro shots. I decided it would be fun to share a few of the latest here.
     I woke up to snow this April 29 morning. Yes snow, here in Colorado.
     Looking in my back yard I noticed the dandelions had snow and dew kissing them.
     Before the dandelion shots I had taken some macro flower shots. One of the first is an African Violet. All rights are mine and I do not give permission to share.

                                                                                             

Buyer Beware: 99 Cents Only Stores-Not Always Only 99 Cents

     First let me begin by saying that I absolutely love 99 Cents Only stores. They are some of my favorite places to shop, they have some amazing deals however this year I learned that you do have to watch the prices because not all things are 99 cents. Well at least at the store we visited. Maybe not all are this way.

    When I enter a store that says it is 99 cents only I assume all items are 99 cents, not most items. I mean, the word only means that things are only that much right? Wrong, not in the store we visited in Mesa Arizona this year. We found several items priced higher than 99 cents. The prices were not extreme but it was annoying because we had not expected the higher price.

     I wondered as I was checking out if that is how they get a lot of people to pay the higher price Most assume by the name of the store that items are only 99 cents throughout the entire store so do not look at the price. They pay higher prices for items unknowingly and many might never even look at their reciept. This to me is dishonest on the part of the chain.

     Will I continue to shop at the stores? Yes but I will carefully watch prices. My mom will never shop at one again because she believes they are deceiving. I like the stores enough to keep shopping there but carefully.

     I wanted to make people aware of this because I am sure many have been deceived by the store name. I know we were. I think they should change the name to Mostly 99 Cent Store..then people watch prices.


   

Needy or Not: How Do You Know if Someone is Really in Need?

     How do we really know if someone is in need or just begging? How do we know if people are just asking for a handout or not? Years ago it was easier because most people did not beg on the streets, not most respectable people anyhow. Most who were really in need would go to charitable organizations or they would do without. In today's society it is common knowledge that some people panhandle for a living and well, they do very well at it. But how do you know which is which? I guess you don't.

     I would hate to know someone was truly in need, I could have helped them but turned away because I worried they were only panhandling/begging as it were....
   
     We have experienced many of the career beggars while on vacation at Disney Resort. They stand on the street corner or sit on the bench at the bus stop asking for money as you walk by. These people have a script they use and we see the same ones every year. Maybe they are hard on their luck, I don't know but I wonder how they survive this kind of life year after year. These are not the folks I wonder about though. I wonder about the ones you pass by on the street who approach asking for help.

     A couple of years ago while at Disney Resort we were headed to the parks from our room when a man with two children approached us. One child was in a stroller and one was around 6 years old. He told us that his girlfriend had kicked him out of the car and taken his phone and wallet yet he had the stroller and his kids. He wanted money so he could buy his kids a soda. He told us that he had called a friend to come pick him up but the kids were thirsty.  We were near one of our favorite eating places and told him if he went inside they would probably give his kids some water and let them wait for their ride. As we walked away we wondered why he would want soda for his thirsty kids instead of water. We also noticed that he did not go into the restaurant for water but kept asking people for money along the street.
 
     Another time a lady knocked on my door. She had her child with her who looked around 6 years old. She told me that she had lost her job and her daughter was hungry. She asked if I could give them some money for food. At that time I was barely able to feed my own family but hated for her daughter to go hungry. I didn't have much but I went and got a pop tart and bottle of water for her little girl. I told her that was all I had. She snubbed her nose at me and told me her daughter did not eat crap like that and walked away. I found it sad people use their kids to beg for money and wondered what she really wanted the money for.

     Recently when I stopped one morning to get gas in my car a man approached me telling me that he had been robbed and was out of gas. He said he needed just enough to get to Gallup, NM. I told him I didn't have any money. He stood near my car for a while and then walked away a bit talking to himself about how it stunk to be stranded there. As I stood there waiting for my tank to fill I thought about him and how it would feel to be stranded. How hard it is to trust people anymore and decided that I would have him pull up to the pump, put some gas in his vehicle with my card so that he would have enough to get to Gallup. Before I informed him that I was going to help him he walked over to what he said was his truck, picked up a huge dirt clod or something of the sort, started cussing and yelling throwing it at his truck. At that moment I was scared of this man, finished pumping my gas and got out of there as quick as I could.

     So, regardless of the actual need and regardless of what is needed it is hard to know who is truly in need. It is even harder to help strangers in today's world because of those who are out to scam.

     How do you know who is really in need? I guess you don't, you just use your best judgement, help them if you feel it is the right thing to do and hope those who really are in need
 get the help they need.

Four Year Old Says Pledge of Allegiance:Yes Some Schools Still Honor America This Way

     Over the years I've heard of many schools where it is not longer permissible to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This angers me because well, if the student body wants to say the Pledge of Allegiance they should be allowed to do so. Taking this right from people is no different than forcing someone to say the pledge who does not want to.

     It baffles me how  so many times some people only want the door to swing one way, theirs. If I want to say the pledge I should be able to. People will for sure fight for my right not to say it so why not fight for the right to say it...

     This being said, I actually have never been associated with a school where kids do not say the pledge every morning. Every school my kids attended and every school I have worked,
the kids say the pledge.

     The purpose of this blog is actually not to fight for or against the right of people to say the pledge but to share the fact that some schools still honor our country by saying the pledge and my little four year old grandson attends one of those schools on the Navajo Reservation.

     He wanted to say it for the camera at home one day...so here he is holding my little flag. He said that you put your feet together and your right hand over your heart. He will also learn to say it in Navajo but doesn't know it yet.

     Four Year Old Recites the Pledge

Potato Dance-Stop Motion

     I absolutely love to play with stop motion. Last year my students created claymation/stopmotion movies. They had a lot of fun and well, so did I.
    Over the summer I created a few movies using my son's Potato Head toys.
    Over winter break this year I was stressed out so decided that I would create a stop motion once again using Potato Head toys..However this time I also used some Playdough. It was a lot of fun.
     The credit for the music goes to my son Blake. He wrote the song I used in this video.
     It took me around 1000 shots to create this movie.
     Not much else I can say except
     Enjoy the Potato Dance...

Stop Motion Potato Dance

Colorado the State of Unconstitutional Double Taxatioin

     I have never cared much for the state of Colorado but this year when I filed my income tax return I realized what a total rip-off state it is. I earned my money in New Mexico but Colorado is taxing me for that income too.What is worst of all is that they are taking more of it than New Mexico. What a greedy, crappy state Colorado is.
     I had to leave town for work as a teacher because the pay is better. When I got my income taxes done the other day I learned that even though I did not make a dime in Colorado, they are taxing my income. This goes way beyond wrong. What a violation of the constitution. How can they tax me for money I earned in another state? Isn't it called "income" and shouldn't I only be taxed on income in the state where I earned it?
     Colorado has taxed me higher than the state I earned my money in just for living in the state. I believe that has to be one of the most unconstitutional things ever. I am being double taxed on the money I earned.Talk about a greedy bunch of animals.
     This all got me to thinking of how the middle, working class people are taxed to death. We are taxed to the point of barely surviving. The government, especially Colorado, does not want people to survive, they want to knock you down and kick you once you are down.
     This also got me to thinking, if President Trump wants to really make America great again he needs to make it illegal for states to rip off, cheat and steal from people just because they live there. He also needs to take a look at how difficult it is for the middle class to survive. I would do better if I quit teaching and got a minimum wage job and got on government assistance. You for sure don't get ripped off by the government then. But that is another blog.
     I would love to know who to go to regarding this matter...what public officials can help change this? Is this something that a person could find a lobbyist group to work toward stopping states like Colorado from ripping people off?
     I am struggling to survive and then get socked with this...now I not only struggle to survive, I also feel like I have been robbed by the state in which I live.

#Trump
#Constitution

Taking in a Homeless Person is as Dangerous as Picking up a Hitchhiker

     The other day I saw  conversations by many people discussing how they have taken in a homeless person in the past. This made me start to think about the safety of this act of kindness and how it is no different than picking up a hitchhiker. Many people will not pick up hitchhikers because they fear that the person will harm them. It is the same when bringing someone into your home, that person could also be dangerous.

     Many years ago before all of the fear about picking up hitchhikers  my aunt felt kind and picked up a man to give him a ride. Well this was a dangerous act of kindness. The man pulled a knife on my aunt causing her to wreck her vehicle.

     Around 30 years ago my dad met a man who was homeless. He felt sorry for the man so he bought him to our home. My mom was not happy about my dad bringing a stranger into our home but my dad said it was perfectly fine. The man was given a comfortable bed, warm meals and a roof over his head. How did he repay this act of kindness? He stole my dads car. I don't remember the details because it was so long ago but we did find the car. We were lucky that is all the man did.

     People think they are being kind when they take in a homeless person but I imagine most of the same people would not pick up a hitchhiker. So what is the difference? You know nothing about the person, the person could be a mass murderer or rapist. They might be homeless because they are dangerous. You don't know  the history of the person if you don't know them. The only difference between picking up a hitchhiker and taking in a homeless person is that you bring the homeless into your home, not just your car. You fall to sleep at night with a stranger in your home taking the chance this person might be extremely dangerous. You not only put yourself in danger but your family too.

     This issue has nothing to do with helping the homeless, it has to do with safety. The dangers of taking in strangers either in your car or in your home.

Four Year old Knows Colors in Navajo

I love that my little granson knows to speak in Navajo. It is just so adorable. He attends school on the reservation and now kows his colors and numbers in Navajo.
Here is a cute video of him saying his colors in Navajo.

He thinks it is funny when I say them wrong and some of them just make him laugh.

Enjoy

Colors in Navajo

My Philosophy of Gifted Education

    I recently wrote my philosophy of gifted education for my college class. I thought I would share it on this wall. It is in 3rd person because that is what the school required. I got 100% on it. 

      In a world of education that places its main focus on school scores, data, standardized testing, and teaching to the test. The shift in education has been heading on a downhill spiral for many years. The main focus has been on making sure all students “pass the test” so the school will score well. The echo of many administrators is “how well did your school score?” “Did the kids do well on the tests?” “We better make sure all students are proficient.” Words that are rarely echoed anymore are “are the kids learning, are they gaining new knowledge, are we preparing them for their life as adults?”  Education has been on the road to dumbing down for years. In this type of educational world the gifted and higher achieving students are being left behind. Their needs are not being met. They are not leaving school with new knowledge. It is important that education maximize advanced students potential. It is important for every educator provides gifted students with advanced materials and told they need to progress successfully (New Mexico Department of Education [NMPED], 2011).

     Gifted and talented students are our future leaders, philosophers and entrepreneurs. It is up to all educators to nurture, not hider those special skills so they are able to reach their full potential. To better meet the need of gifted students many schools hire highly qualified educators to work with the gifted and advanced students. These teachers study to understand the needs of these unique individuals. As a teacher of gifted students Ms. Miller’s philosophy of gifted education is to promote and enrich each student’s critical thinking and problem solving skills along with focusing on projects that progress their special talents. They must be provided with enriching and creative projects along with the tools they need to explore and enhance the world around them.

     Since the regular education classroom is not prepared to meet the needs of gifted students it important that schools provide accommodations for gifted students and high achievers. The purpose of gifted education for gifted students is to provide them with programs and services that focus on their individual talents. It is to serve as a stepping stone for future success. Students who receive services have proven to advance to secondary level degrees. Gifted education also helps student achievement and interest level while in elementary and secondary school by promoting student interest. Gifted education provides the students with a variety of projects and objectives so they are not learning subjects they have already mastered over and over again. This keeps them interested in school which serves as another stepping stone to success (National Association for Gifted Children. Society benefits if gifted students receive the nurturing and services they need which prepares them to become future leaders and productive members of society [NAGC]).

     An appropriate instructional environment for gifted students is one in which their individual needs can be addressed. Class size should be relatively small so the teacher is better able to provide individualized instruction and projects. The smaller classroom also gives the students more room to move around and explore the classroom while engaging in a variety of activities and tasks. The teacher is there to guide, not instruct. She creates engaging projects and opportunities based on each student’s area of giftedness. This way the students can create and discover. The classroom environment must be safe and comfortable to meet social and emotional needs (Sandha, 2017).

Cross disciplinary education influences the productivity of students as adults because through this type of education they are able to make meaningful connections across different subject areas. This provides them with a better understanding of ideas and concepts. This ability follows them into adulthood benefiting their future endeavors ("NCAG,”).

     Ms. Miller will prepare her students for a career in a multicultural society by providing them with projects and lessons that incorporate other cultures. Multicultural projects connect students to each other because they gain an understanding of one another’s beliefs, traditions and culture. The projects help build a community of learners. Through the projects students learn to take pride in their own culture while embracing others (Davis, Rimm, & Siegle, 2010).

     Ms. Miller’s goals for her students are that they leave her class enriched. They know how to think, not what to think.  She wants her students to be able to use their creative thinking and problem solving skills to the best of their advantage. These goals correspond with her philosophy by promoting and enriching their problem solving and critical thinking skills and placing focus on their special talents.

      Ms. Miller’s philosophy is evident in the classroom through the set up and style of her projects. Ms. Miller introduces a project, provides students with a list of expectations through a rubric and then provides them with the tools they need to explore their topic. This allows them to drive their own education. They know clearly what is expected of them and reach toward those goals. The students are offered different ways to reach the end goal which meets with their different learning styles. She is not telling them what to learn. She is teaching them how to think and how to learn.

     The thinker whose theory most supports Ms. Millers stance is Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence. Gardner’s theory is that not all students learn in the same way. They are not all the same and have different styles and ways of learning. The tasks should be presented in different ways to each student. Ms. Miller presents her students with an idea and allows them to find their own way to explore that idea. Each student will use a different way and in the end will become enriched through the experience ("American Institute for Learning and Human Development,")

     Ms. Miller has high expectations and great plans for her students. Focusing on each students special talents by allowing them to create, experience and explore will promote critical thinking and problem solving skills students will keep with them thorough their school career and into adult life.

References

Davis, G. A., Rimm, S. B., & Siegle, D. (2010). Education of the Gifted and Talented (6th ed.). Retrieved from https://viewer.gcu.edu/GCKXME

Multiple Intelligences. (). Retrieved from http://www.institute4learning.com/multiple_intelligences.php

National Association for Gifted Children. (). Retrieved from https://www.nagc.org/sites/default/files/Position%20Statement/Arts%20Education%20and%20Gifted%20and%20Talented%20Students.pdf

National Association for Gifted Children. (). Why are Gifted Programs Needed? Retrieved from https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/gifted-education-practices/why-are-gifted-programs-needed

New Mexico Department of Education. (2011). Gifted Education in New Mexico Technical Assistance Manual. Retrieved from http://ped.state.nm.us/gifted/Gifted%20TA%20manual.pdf

Sandha, I. (2017). Learning Environment for Gifted Children. Retrieved from 

Keep Trashy Commercials Where they Belong

     I believe that trashy commercials belong...well in the trash....but since society seems to think they are acceptable...which saddens me, it would be nice if they would at least keep them with trash TV or at least adult TV instead of wherever they wish to air them.
     There is nothing more annoying than to be watching a game show in the middle of the day only to have the commercial that comes up be about KY Gel. Seriously!! That is not an advertisement I would expect during a game show.
     Worse yet is when you are watching a children's show and granted it is at night but another commercial for KY Gel comes on. Do they think the audience they are targeting will purchase this item?
     It would not be quite as bad if they just stated what they are advertising but they don't they show the couple hot at it and talk about their passionate sex. Kids do not need to be exposed to that. There are adults who do not want to watch that. There used to be a time that people had respect enough for themselves to keep their sex private. Now they air it on TV for anyone to see.
     Many years ago my mom and I joked about how one day there would be a tampon commercial with a woman walking down the street with a red spot on her bottom. It has become that bad now.
     Thankfully due to my DVR I do not have to watch commercials much anymore. When I do though it is sad they are trashy. I certainly will not buy their product and if it keeps up I might stop watching the channels that air them.  
     This is a shout out of sorts to see if anyone else cares that trashy commercials are aired during just about any show these days. Any show that an innocent child might be watching. A show that a person who has some values is watching....Have we become such a trashy, immoral society that no one cares? I sure hope not.

American Educations' Testing Frenzy Forgets about Logic and Reason

          In their frenzy to make sure students are able to pass a standardized test, to make sure no child is left behind, educators are forgetting what the purpose of education really is. I wonder sometimes if it is because so many administrators’ egos have become so inflated that they want to show their district is the best, their schools are the best and their students can outscore other schools. I wonder if it is all just an ego trip in which administrators are in the driver’s seat claiming they want what is best for the kids, claiming they want “none to left behind” while in the end all they are doing is cheating the very students they say they want to help out of a high quality and beneficial education.

     Administrators should stop making schools main focus on all of the testing which is mostly just memorization...it should focus more on teaching logic and reasoning skills because at the end of the day people use those skills more than the skills it takes to test and in reality most humans forget what they memorize in time but they never forget how to use their logic and reasoning skills...which are being lost in the frenzy of teaching to the test.....

     When I look back at my school years I don’t remember much of what I memorized, I do remember being taught how to think, being taught how to do something as simple as look up a word I did not know how to spell or define in a dictionary. I learned how to study for tests, how to complete the basic tasks I needed to function as a human with a brain. I learned how to use my brain.

     While much of what I memorized in school is in my long-term memory I don’t remember many of the things I memorized for tests, yes we did take tests when I was in school but most were based on the unit of study we were working on. I don’t remember most of that content but I do know how to recall it, how to research and rediscover what I once memorized.

          The important things I took out of education back in my day were the reasoning skills schools taught us before the standardized testing frenzy, before the bloated egos had to be nourished by high scoring students, before students became just a number and before no child was supposed to be left behind.

     In leaving no child behind education is leaving most children behind. The ones who succeed most are those who learn how to reason, how to use their God given logic to learn the things they do not know and how to apply that information to daily life.

     I look at so many of the young adults today, many scored high on the tests in school, they got good grades and made their school and district proud however they are struggling as adults because they do not know how to use their logic and reasoning skills to survive in the new world they have entered.

     I am not saying all young adults struggle but many of them are spending so much of their time as adults learning the logic and reasoning skills school did not teach them that they are already over stressed in life. They are experiencing stress they should not have to experience. But hey, they can pass a test with flying colors.

    These young adults should not be under this kind of stress, they should be focusing on their new adventures in the adult world and have the tools they need to succeed in whatever it is they choose to do. The frenzy of testing needs to end, egos need to be placed in check and the focus placed back on teaching logic and reasoning so that all those children who were not supposed to be left behind will stop leaving them behind.