Recital, Again

Amanda played in the recital at ESU on Thursday. With all that's been going on, I'm not sure if she really had her heart in it. She played one of Mozart's sonatas, as well as three of Bartok's Rumanian folk dances.

Download Mozart Bartok Recital Pieces 4 24 08.WAV

She did make mistakes in the Mozart piece, but overall did very well. Playing Mozart in a concert hall is difficult, or so I've been told by the pianists in the recital.

My Dad

My dad, Joseph Alexovitz, passed away on Tuesday, April 15 at 10:09 PM at Pocono Medical Center. I will post more later, especially pictures of him and of our family together.

Long Time, No See

I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I blogged last. During that time, I lost more weight (doesn't reflect on my ticker yet), and was diagnosed diabetic. Okay, I was expecting to be diagnosed, only because my test numbers weren't that great last time. My doctor said if they go any higher or stay the same, he would put me on meds. So now I'm on metformin and zocor for cholesterol, and I test my BG three times a day. My fasting test seems to be the one I'm having trouble with, as it's usually in the 170-180 range every morning. I don't get it, because I'm not eating anything that should cause it to rise so much.

The great news is I'm walking. A lot!!!! I've been doing the WATP series, as well as other walks by Leslie Sansone. I have to say she is great and such a motivator. She is truly a blessing for those of us who follow her walking program.

I love watching those miles add up on my ticker 8-)

Notice My New Tickers On The Sidebar

I finally decided to do something about losing weight. I had been on the South Beach diet for some time, and it does work. My biggest problems started right around Thanksgiving, with all those refined carbs and sugars I was eating. Everything I lost, I quickly regained.

This time, I decided to go with the one-two punch. A combination of exercise and a modified and extended phase 1 of the SBD has been helping. I've been using some of Leslie Sansone's "Walk Away The Pounds" videos. I can say they work very well.

I actually underestimated how far I've "walked" and the weight I've already lost. So far, the weight loss is closer to 10 lbs, but I won't know officially until I'm weighed at the doctor's office (my scale has a mind of its own, and is off by as much as 10 lbs).

Amanda has also been walking with me. She has the "Teen Walk", which is very fun to do. Leslie's own daughter is in that video, as well as the Walk Slim 3 Mile Fast Walk. Most of the music in the teen walk is from the 80's, so I enjoy it very much. We've been doing mostly the two mile walks, but I may have to bump up to one of the three milers very soon. I didn't start sweating until I got to the cool down on the last two mile walk I did.

A few weeks ago, I could barely get through the one mile. Now look at me :D

Pictures, Pictures

It's been awhile since I posted last. I took a break from most everything for Lent. It was a good idea, because I needed the "rest" ;-)

Anyhoo, here are some pictues I took. Fuzzy friends first :-)

Gussie, basking in the sun


Monica waiting for her chipmunk


Amanda's Easter lamb cake


What big eyes the lamb has :-)

Why My Keyboard Is Hairy

Amanda's recording of Monica:



I don't mind the cat being on the desk, but could she please stay away from the keyboard!!! I hate having to pick out her hair all the time ;-)

Better Start Returning Those Books On Time

Library Late Fee Lands Woman In Jail

I'll admit it, I'm almost always late in returning books. On two occasions, Amanda forgot several books for well over a month, and the fees were very high. I'd hope our local library system doesn't use the criminal courts to throw people in jail over late fees.

With all the criminal activity going on in the pokes, you'd think they would be busy enough without adding this extra burden. I guess they have to fill all those empty cots in Monroe county jail :-(

Look Back At WYD 2002

Video can be viewed here

PV To Start Own Cyber School

Pleasant Valley to open online school in effort to retain students, funds

Notice how it's all about the money, not education. I find it ironic they're looking to jump on the cyber school bandwagon. It's good for them, not anyone else.

More Crazy Pet Pictures

It's been awhile since I posted pictures of the "family". There is a certain theme among these pictures:













Little miss attitude did not photograph well for St. Valentine's Day. So this is what I'm stuck with.

She thinks she owns all of us. I have a newsflash for the little darling ;-)

The Beautiful Hands Of A Priest

Today's Lenten reflection from EWTN:

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek them when tasting life's woes.
At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness;
Their dignity stands all alone;
And when we are tempted and wander,
To pathways of shame and of sin,
It's the hand of a priest that will absolve us--
Not once, but again and again.
And when we are taking life's partner,
Other hands may prepare us a feast,
But the hand that will bless and unite us--
Is the beautiful hand of a priest.
God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress;
When can a poor sinner do better,
Than to ask Him to guide thee and bless?
When the hour of death comes upon us,
May our courage and strength be increased,
By seeing raised over us in blessing--
The beautiful hands of a priest.

Another Reason Why I Homeschool

Watch this shocking video between a "young lady" and a bus driver (warning: offensive language):



It's apparent this girl wanted to get off the bus and demanded the driver let her off where she wanted. These kids know the driver isn't allowed to drop them off at an unassigned location.

She has the language down pat, screaming "don't touch me" and "you punched me". Typical nonsense from a spoiled rotten brat who becomes out of control when she doesn't get her way. The driver should sue the parents of that girl for raising an idiot.

I don't even want to imagine what this little darling would have done to the driver if there was no camera on the bus.

The mom of this girl is defending her little "baby's" behavior. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, so I have to assume idiocy is hereditary.

Funny Homeschool Videos

Two funny homeschool videos on youtube:





Well, I think they're funny, showing how we spend our day ;-)

Snow, Again!

This time, we're getting an actual snowstorm! Yippee, no ice until later :-)

It was a whiteout an hour ago:




The view from where my computer is located:


Okay, when will spring arrive ;-)

Papal Blog

Blog For Pope Benedict's Visit

Great blog, with the pope's itinerary posted.

How Old Did I Say I Was?

I think I'm supposed to be an adult, right? Then why am I enjoying these Veggie Tales videos:







Amanda has a friend that enjoys Veggie Tales. She enjoys the cartoons as well. I never realized the veggies were so popular with teens ;-)

World Youth Day Cross Arrives In Australia

World Youth Day Cross Arrives In Australia

I wish I was able to be there! Anyone who will be at WYD, please take pictures for all of us to see :-)

The Cluelessness Crisis, Part 4

Now What?

While this article in the series appears logical, it gives the appearance parents should be cooperating with teachers throughout the school year. If children are enrolled in good Catholic schools, and good public schools for that fact (although there are very few to none here), then it's the responsibility of the teachers to cooperate with the parents.

It is stated in the article:

You can also consider asking your child’s teachers if you can come in and teach your specialized knowledge to the class; many teachers will welcome the opportunity, and children who don’t remember a thing they read in a social science textbook may well recall the old man who taught them military history using his scale model of the Battle of Waterloo.

In this day and age, how many teachers want parents intruding in their "space"?

And then this:

Above all, never accept the doctrine that disinterested experts have a better idea of what is good for children than loving parents.

While this is ideal, in some districts parents have been accused of being child abusers, simply for not accepting what the so-called experts have to say. This is why parents must remove their children from those districts, and get them away from those "experts".

I'm glad we've been out of the public school system for over 7 1/2 years. My "interference" in the classroom when my daughter was in kindergarten and first grade was viewed as non-productive and could have led to her being removed from my custody. This is another reason why we plan on homeschooling all the way through high school.

One Year Ago Today

This is what Interstate 78 looked like:


It didn't get that way just because of the snow or negligence by PennDot. People did move the barricades set up to prevent any further vehicles from entering the highway. So what happens? PennDot gets the full blame and stupidity was rewarded.

Psssst, people listen up: next time you're warned to stay off the highway because of the weather, do so.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

The Origins of Valentine's Day

First Snow, Then Ice

What a difference in weather, from Sunday to today. We had wind and snow squalls on Sunday (video from another resident of the Pokes):



Yesterday, it started out as snow, then turned to ice.

You can see the power lines hanging just near the neighbor's shed


The pines sagging under the ice


My mom's hanging basket, covered in ice


I pray the power stays on, as it's supposed to get very cold again tonight. Everything is going to freeze up again :-(

Cute Logic Video

Well, I thought it was cute ;-)

Your Average Teenager

LOL!!!!

Cats, Again!

This time it's Gussie's turn to be very cute. Amanda recorded her while she was on her math work :-)

Please See My New Blog

I've decided to create a separate blog for pro-life issues. There is so much going on in that arena, that I don't want it taking up this entire blog. Isn't there already enough going on here ;-)

PA Pro-Lifer

Please let me know what you think of that blog, and comment on those posts there as well.

Lauren Richardson Update

Thanks to Kim for bringing this to my attention:

New Court Order Says No More Videos

Why is Jason Powell concerned about the videos and still photos? What is his motivation behind his actions? He needs to reveal exactly who he is working for before he is allowed to continue to be Lauren's GAL. Is it because in these videos/photos Lauren is more alert and aware of her surroundings and father than they want revealed to the public? What exactly does he (Jason) have to gain if Lauren is starved to death? He claims to be looking out for her best interests, yet is hiding behind her "right to privacy".

No, Jason Powell, you should be looking to do everything in your power to save her life. That is your obligation and responsibility. Your duty is to her and no one else. Not the court, not the lawyers, not even Lauren's parents. To Lauren and Lauren alone. To do anything less is morally reprehensible, and you ought to be ashamed.

A Lenten Meditation

Lenten Recipes

As a family, we decided to give up meat for Lent. So, that means no hamburgers, chicken or porkchops during our time of fasting. We will eat dairy, eggs and fish, as well as beans and some soy for the protein.

I found lots of recipes on the following websites that look very good:

All Recipes Vegetarian

Fat Free Vegan

Yesterday, I made crockpot navy bean soup:

Crock Pot Navy Bean Soup

This soup is supposed to be "The best Navy Bean Soup recipe ever!"
Ingredients
1 lb. Dried navy beans
2 cans Broth
2 cans Diced tomatoes
1 Onion, chopped
1 tsp. Paprika
1 Bay leaf
1 t. Garlic powder
1/2 tsp. Thyme
Pinch cheyanne pepper
Preparation

Soak beans overnight. Rinse and drain. Put all ingredients into crockpot and add water to cover (by an inch).

Cook on low 4 to 8 hours or until beans are tender.

It is very good and makes a ton of soup! I did make two changes as I used very little cayenne pepper (misspelled above from the web), and used one quart of Wolfgang Puck's Organic Vegetable Broth. It's one of my favorites and a staple around here. It does cost a little more than regular veggie broth, but the taste is far superior to most broths on the market. Another brand I like is Kitchen Basics, but it's very difficult to obtain around here.

I'm glad my family likes beans and lentils, otherwise we'd be in trouble :-)

The Cluelessness Crisis Part 3

The History of Cluelessness

"Prussia’s education system was to provide the paradigm for public school systems throughout the world.

Unfortunately, when it arrived in America, it found a country with a high level of practical education, and unheard-of rates of popular literacy. This flew in the face of the assumption that literacy and critical thought could be taught only to a very tiny percentage of students.

The theory was that “reading leads to unrest and confusion” and that low-grade students are incapable of handling complex ideas without upsetting their internal equilibrium.

Something had to be done, and it was.

Slowly, the responsibility for education was shifted from the family and community to the state; schooling became compulsory at an earlier age, ended at a later age, and took up more of the year; the curriculum was slowly devolved to de-emphasize literacy, eliminate classics, and replace history and geography with “social science.”

Children were explicitly divided into intellectual classes — a practice which was justified by the emergence of social Darwinism and the assumption that intellectual achievement had a primarily hereditary basis.

It is a practice that continues today."

The article continues on, discussing what constitutes the typical high school education in schools.

We also need to remember compulsory attendance laws were not passed to educate the population, but to dumb it down. Compulsory attendance=bodies in seats=government better able to control the people. Those who didn't put their children in "free" schools were, and still are, looked down on as not conforming. Homeschooling is considered even more radical, given we are able to teach our children how to think outside the box. Anything that annoys the NEA and teacher's unions must be a good thing :-)

How Timely

Public School Cover-Up

"Sherryll Kraizer, executive director of the Denver-based Safe Child Program, said it is commonplace for principals and teachers to neglect laws that require them to report sexual abuse of children.

“I see it regularly,” Kraizer said. “There are laws against failing to report, but the law is almost never enforced. Almost never.”

Kraizer sees the documentation first-hand as a professional witness for prosecutors and defense lawyers in cases of childhood sexual abuse allegations. She has personally reviewed dozens of cases in which teachers and administrators neglected to contact authorities regarding knowledge of abuse."

Doesn't Bruce Smith fit in the category of sexual abuser? What he has done is no different than physical abuse taking place, altering the minds of young teens by exposing them to pornographic material.

I'm not surprised these cover-ups take place. Child abusers are naturally going to flock to where they can harm children.

PV, Again

Family 'Feared For Lives' After Complaining About PV Teacher

A little history:

"The suit stemmed from graphic sexual and violent content that Smith allegedly used in his course. These included showing photographs of naked murdered women in class, asking female students what they wear during pillow fights and providing students with a sexually explicit novel he wrote, which was based on his own experience."

A local family filed a lawsuit against Bruce Smith, an alleged teacher, who showed sexually explicit material to his students and distributed his pornographic novel to the same. Because of the backlash in the community with the original suit being filed anonymously, the parents' names were released to the public by the "judge". Many people have come out in defense of this pervert, parents and students alike. Those who are speaking out against him are being bullied by his supporters. Why is that?

What he has done is behave in sexual harassment and deviant behavior. If this was the workplace, he would have been fired by now. Since he's only dealing with students, he's allowed to get away with this garbage so he can "open their minds" to the "truth".

It's one thing to discuss history in the proper context; it's another to behave as a sexual predator.

Why hasn't C&Y done their job and investigate him? If this behavior came from any parent, that parent would have lost custody of their child by now, and the same parent would be on the sex offender list. Do the same rules not apply to Bruce Smith, because he's "educating" students? If anything, the standards must be higher for those who have contact with minors every day. But, this being a typical public school district, the rules don't apply to them or their employees.

Yet another reason why I homeschool :-)

I'm A Genius!

Well, not really, but my blog is :-)

Movie Reviews

Follow Up To My "Understanding Abortion" Post

I've been asked to follow up on my "Understanding Abortion" post from last week. I was asked where the percentages came from. I have no idea how the show arrived at the numbers. However, I found the show in three segments on youtube:

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


I'm surprised another pro-lifer accused me of making up the numbers. They don't sound like they're too far off, considering the racism of Margaret Sanger and her ilk. All one has to do is look at the strategic placement of abortion clinics in black/ethnic neighborhoods, not to mention the push to force ABC on the same people. The estimates may actually be conservative.

PVSD In The News

District Sees Dip In Student Numbers

It isn't often PVSD makes the news, but when it does, it's always interesting. I'm amazed at the dishonesty, from the top down.

Our new superintendent is saying the cause of the dropping numbers of students is now part of a "natural fluctuation"? I find that hard to believe, considering the numbers were projected to drop, beginning a few years ago. The projections have come true. Why did the PDE make such claims, and how could the new superintendent now know about it?

The former superintendent also carefully chose his words to make sure he would demonize homeschoolers as the cause of the problem. What he failed to state is that the vast majority of those who have taken their children out have enrolled them in public cyber charters. Their numbers would still be counted as public school students, not homeschoolers. It's the district's (and former superintendent's) way of pitting one segment of the population against the other.

Does the new superintendent believe people will allow schools to be built for non-existent students? Do we really need to be funding these sports stadiums and teams at the expense of real education. ISTM their priorities are backwards.

The taxpayers of this district are getting tired of this nonsense. Slowly but surely, they are waking up to the bloated bureaucracy of PVSD. More and more people should take their children out of the district, and watch it implode on itself.

One can hope ;-)

How To Drink Water

Cat style, that is, LOL!



Amanda recorded Monica drinking out of the faucet earlier today. I've been trying to break this cat of the habit, but she and dh always give in. I don't know who's worse, the cat or the ones she owns ;-

The video is very dark, because she used her digital camera to record and there is very little light in the room. Oh well.

Favorite Superbowl Ad

I think this is the best commercial from Superbowl XLII



Way to go, Charlie Brown, LOL!!

All the ads:

Superbowl Ads XLII

Giants Win The Superbowl!!!!

Congratulations to the Giants and MVP Eli Manning on their stunning Superbowl Win!



Now back to our regularly scheduled blog ;-)

Lauren Richardson

Another young woman in Delaware may possibly be starved to death, similar to Terri Schiavo. Lauren Richardson is 23 years old, and has been diagnosed as in a "persistant vegetative state". In 2006, she overdosed on heroin and suffered brain injury. At the time of her overdose, she was pregnant with her first child. She was kept alive long enough for her to give birth to that child. Now her mother has guardianship of Lauren, and wants to have her feeding tube removed.

The mother should speak to the Schindler family, about exactly what is involved in starvation death. From everything I've read, it is absolutely gruesome to watch a loved one go through such pain. How disgusting we live in a society where another one of our least is going to be murdered, by her family and the state.

Video of Lauren with her father:



Website about Lauren:

Life For Lauren

This cannot happen again in an allegedly civilized society.

The Miracle Of Adult Stem Cells

Finnish Patient Gets New Jaw From Own Stem Cells

"Using a patient's own stem cells provides a tailor-made transplant that the body should not reject.

Suuronen and her colleagues -- the project was run jointly with the Helsinki University Central Hospital -- isolated stem cells from the patient's fat and grew them for two weeks in a specially formulated nutritious soup that included the patient's own blood serum.

In this case they identified and pulled out cells called mesenchymal stem cells -- immature cells than can give rise to bone, muscle or blood vessels.

When they had enough cells to work with, they attached them to a scaffold made out of a calcium phosphate biomaterial and then put it inside the patient's abdomen to grow for nine months. The cells turned into a variety of tissues and even produced blood vessels, the researchers said."

Gee, what about all the hype on embryonic stem cells, how adult stem cells could never work in this way, and how it will be absolutely necessary to use embryos to advance this research????

I'm amazed at what great lengths these "scientists" will go to in order to kill innocent babies.

Sad :(

Understanding Abortion

Understanding abortion is not easy, especially for a 13 year old girl. Amanda understands why we go to Washington every January, and how wrong it is to kill preborn babies. What she didn't understand is how such a heinous crime could be legal in what is supposed to be a civilized country. I was given great help in explaining this scourge. EWTN aired a program last night during the EWTN Gallery called "Human Life International: Preserving Africa's Culture of Life". The show explained the racist views of Margaret Sanger and eugenics, as well as the west trying to impose our secular humanist ways on the people of Africa.

Two statistics that stood out for her during the program:

- 9% of all white people have been aborted since its decriminalization

- 25% of all black people have been aborted during the same time

She was absolutely stunned by these numbers, including the lies of artificial birth control. Her interest piqued, she decided to do an internet search on Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood, and eugenics. The search invoked shock, anger and amazement. She suddenly had this "I get it now" look on her face, then said anyone who believes abortion is okay is nuts.

Wait until she discovers the link among abortion, euthanasia and compulsory attendance laws. She'll be truly grateful to be homeschooled.

The Cluelessness Crisis

I came across two very interesting articles from National Catholic Register. They are part of a series on education in the United States.

The Cluelessness Crisis Part 1: The 5 Essentials of Education

"Today, many simple jobs require university or college education, and increasingly young people are not ready to set out on their own, start a family or begin a career until they are 24 or 25. Among the university-educated, it is not uncommon to find people in their 30s who are still unmarried, childless and waiting to “start” their lives.

Most people tacitly assume that the proliferation of formal education is a sign of social advance. Democratic theorists have always agreed that a working democracy requires an educated adult population, which is why the universal franchise and universal schooling appear at a similar time in the writings of social philosophers. It is less than useless, however, to have a heavily schooled population if students emerge from 13 or more years of school without an education."

Company Kids: The Cluelessness Crisis Part 2

"Prior to large-scale public schooling in America, there were community schools.

These were funded and built by the communities that they served; the teachers had to meet the approval of the parents whose children were placed in their care, and parents were free to remove their children from school at any time. There were also the parochial schools, governed by churches and under the authority of the local bishops. Fortunate parents are still able to send their children to such institutions today.

The shift from the community school to the government school board involved a massive campaign — one that received most of its funding and impetus from wealthy men, such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. This took place at the beginning of the 20th century, during a time when rampant scientific optimism promised an earthly utopia based on scientific reasoning and social engineering.

Utopian thinkers from Plato onward have seen schooling as a necessary foundation for their dreams of social reconstruction. They have, nearly without exception, also agreed on several dubious premises: that most people cannot be trained to be good unless they are lied to and deliberately misinformed, that the breakdown of children into intellectual or social classes is necessary to a smoothly functioning society, and that the good of the individual ought to be subordinated to the good of the state. People are seen as fulfilling a social function rather than as complete persons."

John Taylor Gatto has been saying exactly the same for years. The only exception is the author of these articles has forgotten the other educational alternative: homeschooling. I would hope she includes this option in her future articles.

Public schooling is not designed to form an educated populace; it is designed to bring those children under the control of their local district, which is a branch of government. I've had people accuse me of engaging in separatism, due to our homeschooling. Yes, I don't want my child to learn the way her peers are learning. I want her to be an educated individual who is able to think for herself and outside the box. Don't all children deserve to learn?

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

One wrong, and I know which one it was. How embarrassing :-(

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 7/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Political Cartoons

The only news reporters I saw were those from EWTN. It was the only station that accurately reported the number of marchers present in DC last Tuesday. Our local newspaper even had the nerve to make the statement only a couple thousand marchers descended on the DC , while there were more pro-choice "reasonable" people present. The Pocono Record hasn't earned the nickname "rag" for no reason.

Youth 2000

Amanda and her friends are attending Youth 2000 in NY. What I wasn't aware of until a few minutes ago, is they are providing live streaming that can be embedded. The retreat won't be over until tomorrow, and there are other videos from earlier available at the site.



I wish I was younger, so I could attend. Maybe I could go as a chaperone next year ;-)

School Days!

I was going through the photos I uploaded yesterday. I didn't realize I had two other "students" in my midst: the cats. They were sitting on the table while Amanda was doing her schoolwork. We didn't realize they were on the MODG teacher planner pages I copy for the kiddo when I snapped the pics.

Here are the "students"





Do we now get to call them smarty cats ;-)

Nellie Gray

Older interview with Nellie Gray, president of the March for Life:



It's the only one of its kind on youtube :-)

March For Life 2008

Another year has passed, and we have attended the March for Life yet again. Since last year, the number of babies slaughtered in the womb has been downgraded to approximately 3,000 per day. That's 1,095,000 human lives snuffed out at the hands of the abortionists. Could you imagine if this was the number of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan every year, how people would be up in arms, demanding an immediate ceasefire? It would be the lead story on the news every night, with congress calling for the president's impeachment, criminal charges being filed against the commanders in the field, and massive protests in this country?

Those being murdered in the womb aren't considered human; they're not even considered sub-human. They're nothing but "blobs of tissue", who are leaching off women and must be destroyed.

Mother Theresa said it best on February 3, 1994, during the National Prayer Breakfast. Two of her quotes come to mind:

But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself.

And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.

By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems.

And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.

Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.

From the end of her speech:

If we remember that God loves us, and that we can love others as He loves us, then America can become a sign of peace for the world.

From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak - the unborn child - must go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what the founders of this country stood for. God bless you!

How right she is!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday:

What Kind Of Sandwich Are You?

Thanks to Therese, she had this quiz on her blog.

You Are a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

You life your life in a free form, artistic style. You are incredibly creative and at times, quite messy. Deep down, you are a kid at heart. And you aren't afraid to express it. Your best friend: The Grilled Cheese Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Club Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

Heehee, I'm not surprised. PB&J was my favorite growing up, as well as grilled cheese, although I really don't consider club sandwiches to be my mortal enemy. They can be fun, although challenging, to eat :)

We've Made A Final Decision

Okay, it's a "final" decision as of today ;) Math is dd's least favorite subject. Maybe I should say she hates it with a passion. She and I have butted heads over this subject ever since she started school. There were times when she was younger where she insisted on doing it her own way. Setting her back one full year didn't help as much as I thought it would. Going from MCP to Saxon seemed to help her catch up, until this year. She began struggling with 87. I've watched her scores go downhill for awhile, not knowing what to do. One of my friends who had homeschooled her daughters with Saxon said she noticed the same thing with each of them when doing the problems in 87. She decided to switch to Chalkdust, which helped her daughters (even though they both said they preferred Saxon for the layout). Their scores increased and surpassed those in their homeschool group.

I know my husband would probably have heart failure over the price of Chalkdust, no matter how good the program is. We looked at the Math-U-See sample. It was not a good fit at all. Teaching Textbooks was another option recommended by several friends. I haven't ruled them out, as of yet, and am keeping that option available as a possibility in the future. So after much deliberation, we have decided to go with the "Life of Fred" books by Dr. Stanley Schmidt.



Yes, Life of Fred! He is 5 1/2 years old, and a professor at KITTENS University. Okay, so they're not "textbooks" like what we would know as textbooks. If they work, great! If not, I haven't wasted a ton of money and I'm not worried about dd falling too far behind. We were planning on doing math and science over the summers, in order for her to get ahead and extra credits in both subjects. Since she had so many problems, we decided to begin at the beginning, in his fractions and decimals/percents books. She should be able to go through them relatively quickly; she just needs to relearn the proper way to do both. That's the beauty of homeschooling :)

Thanks To All Those People At The Farm Show

Or should I say no thanks, for destroying quite a few specimens in Amanda's special collection. I could not believe what I saw when we picked up her entries from the leader today. Bugs turned, twisted, and moved around in the box, as if someone was having a field day. Even her regular collection had cup rings on one of the boxes, as though someone had placed their coffee cup on the corner. I'm extremely unhappy, given all the work that has gone into these collections for the past three years (many of the insects in the special one were collected, spread, and identified over the course of time).

The farm show doesn't allow the knit/sewn items to be destroyed or ruined in this way. Why should the collections be any different? They should be roped off, enough so people can view them from a distance, but not close enough to place cups on them.

I've told her from now on, make sure the boxes are completely taped shut, otherwise this will happen again. How sad some people have no respect for all the hard work that goes into these entries.

No Updates On Previous Post

There have been no updates on my previous post wrt our former district attorney. It has also come to my attention that our local newspaper is guilty of bad reporting on this subject. It seems the former DA has had his home go into foreclosure, however he is still residing there, albeit part-time. They made it appear the sheriff's have already evicted him and his possessions, and were turning it over for their sale. This is typical of the Pocono Record, which is why they need better reporters, or staff that follows upon stories.

I met on the PR forums a woman who went to school with Mark. She said he was not like this when younger, and knows he has fallen on some very hard times over the past 10 years or so. He has been suffering from depression for many years, and alcohol has exacerbated the symptoms. I'm not defending what he did, but I can understand him self-medicating. He needs our prayers, as well as his daughter and her friend.

Where Is He?

I was reading the online edition of our local newspaper, and came across this article:

Disgraced Former DA's Home In Foreclosure

The Luzerne county district attorney still has this property listed as his residence. So where is he now? The home is in foreclosure, which means he cannot step foot on the property. He's a registered sex offender, which means he's required to notify the court or law enforcement where he's moved to. Do they know where he is, or are they covering up for him?

I think it's outrageous that as former district attorney he's allowed to get away with this. I also think he's playing the system for whatever it's worth, first receiving unemployment (he was fired, so how this came about is a mystery), then disability. Suddenly, he's incapable of working after all those years in public office? I don't believe it for a second, and neither should anyone else.

Oh, I checked the database for registered sex offenders in this area, and sure enough, Pazuhanich is on the list. The last register date for his entry is 9/17/07, with the address exactly as in the article. Wherever he is, I pray he doesn't victimize any more young girls.

Farm Show Results

I just went to check the results of the PA Farm Show, which are posted at their website. Amanda is ecstatic over her accomplishments:

1st place - 4 ribbons
2nd place - 2 ribbons
3rd place - 5 ribbons

Four of those 3rd place ribbons were very difficult to earn. There are usually 30 or more entries in the three categories of the sweatshirt contest, bookmark contest, scrapbook page, and shoebox float. The theme for the bookmark, scrapbook page and shoebox float this year was "Country Nights, City Lights". Amanda painted the sweatshirt with a Christmas theme, of an older lady knitting, sitting in her rocking chair, looking at the snow falling outside. When we get the shirt back, I'll take pictures to show everyone.

The only downside is one of her entries wasn't posted at the site. I have to assume these results weren't posted, because the entire class isn't listed. Many kids enter in this particular class, so I have to wonder exactly what happened.

Another downer is she was the only member of her club to enter in the show this year. I'm very surprised, as most of the kids enter whatever they have, just for fun. The leader is extremely disappointed no one else made any effort to place any entries in the show. The usual excuse they have is "well, Amanda is homeschooled so she has all day to work on her projects". Heehee, that's what they think ;)

Edited to correct: the results of the other category were just posted as I was publishing. Add another 1st place ribbon to Amanda's total.

Punctuation, Punc Punc Punc Punctuation

they are the little marks that use their influence, to help a sentence make more sense ;)

For those of us who remember "The Electric Company"



Okay, this video went through my mind today while we were reviewing punctuation in Easy Grammar Plus.

Another version of punctuation that went through my head was from Victor Borge:



I was unable to find the version from "The Electric Company" but this one is fine. I love the noise representations for punctuation. I did this with my dd, who looked at me like I was crazy. What a shame more kids today are unaware of such comedic genius :(

Newest "Addition"

So, it's farm show time again. I spent much of the day getting the entries prepared and filling out the master lists. Yes, there are many lists that need to be filled out, according to division and location. I've never figured out why everything is separated, and I'm not even going to try.

Amanda has added an addition to her insect collection:



This is a special collection of diurnal insects that only years 3 and 4 may enter in the farm show. I was very surprised when she chose the purple background, considering she's always telling me how much she hates pink and purple.

Also, I smartened up in my old age, and had plexi-glass cut for the box. The pluses are it's virtually indestructible and makes the box much lighter. The minuses are it can only be cleaned with water, scratches easily, and discolors. I like those pluses after what happened last year. No more bloody knees and weeks of crying over the loss of insects. After this show, I will have the other two boxes fitted for plexi-glass, just t be on the safe side :)

And yes, those are roaches in the lower center of the box. Two were "pets" that she froze after they died, to keep them fresh for the collection. We're a little buggy, that's quite alright with me ;)

Another Resolution :)

Okay, another New Year's resolution: exercising more! I've tried several walking programs, as well as other "aerobic" videos. None of them have worked. That is, until I tried "Slim in 6"



The library had the dvd available to borrow, and it was actually fun to use! I haven't been able to purchase the dvd myself, but will do so when dh gets paid again.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!



I've been taking a break from blogging (and just about everything it seems), to rest and relax. Hope all had a blessed and joyous Christmas and New Year!

I've been contemplating whether or not I would make any New Year's resolutions. Normally, I haven't done so but this year I think I may. So here goes: I will be going back on the South Beach diet full, and sticking with it. Oh, I know many people who make the same resolution, only to watch it go by the wayside in a matter of weeks. I'm not setting very high goals at first, just enough to make it one step at a time. I have set the goal of losing 10 lbs by the end of February. It doesn't sound like much, but from what my doctor has said is that slow weight loss is usually permanent (unless I decide to go on a bender and start eating cakes and cookies like there was no tomorrow).

Ever since we moved in with mom and dad, I've been eating far too many carbs, which have had a negative impact on my blood sugar. Too much pasta, rice and potatoes :( It also doesn't help that my mom criticizes everything I make. She usually throws my food in the garbage and substitutes her own. So, out comes the crockpot and delicious healthy meals for everyone :)

Baby steps, baby steps ;)