Some allegorical tales to remember...

Law of the Garbage Truck
How often do you let other people change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels.

However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly she/he can get back her/his focus on what's important. Five years ago I learned this lesson in the back of a taxi cab in Denver. Here's what happened: I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!" This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Check out the Beware of Garbage Trucks website and David J. Pollay's blog. Take back control of your life. Be happy. Be successful.

Run Through the Rain
A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing as carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said.

"What?" Mom asked.

"Lets run through the rain!" She repeated.

"No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain."

"We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said.

"No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.

"This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"

"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!'" The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

"Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories... So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Randomness

It has been a long tiring week for me... Ok, so it was only 3 days of actual work, but I still feel like I shoved the whole 5 days into those three.

Wednesday I covered collaboration meetings (where all the teachers in one grade get together to discuss curriculum, etc.) and spent 1/2 a day in 5th grade and the other 1/2 in 4th. They really weren't too bad at all.

Thursday I covered CSE meetings. (No I really am not sure what the CSE stands for, but they are the meetings between the classroom teachers, special ed teachers, parents, and administrators to discuss the student's progress and goals, etc. ETA: OMG they have rules that include the offering of beverages: CSE - During the Meeting) I spent about 30 minutes in each room basically babysitting until the teacher returned. Again not too bad.

And yesterday I got a nice change of pace and worked in the library all day. Only 3 classes at the end of the day, K, 1st, and 3rd, only for about 40-45 mins each. The morning was spent chit chatting with the other librarian, checking shelves to make sure they were in order, and scanning books in & out for a few random students. Of course those 3 classes were *SO* out of control; I was glad when they left and the library was quiet again...

Of course this means a short paycheck. And for last week too, because I didn't work Thursday or Friday. And there's so little time left in the school year, I assume a lot of teachers are *not* going to need subs... Hopefully I can find something for the summer that doesn't mess up our plans for fun!

Speaking of money.... Here are a few things from AC; the first is from Jacqueline and I have been waiting FOREVER for it to post so I could read it! The second is a short story from Jaie which is very good IMHO.

10 Films to Teach World War I in the Social Studies Classroom
Joleene's Mama (Hmmm... the end of the story's been cut off... :\ )

So we got 2 chairs and a king-sized mattress from FreeCycle the other day, and Jacqueline and the kids did a huge amount of work cleaning up the living room and moving our old sofa out. I can't wait to finish up all the organizing; it looks great so far! Today's project is to make room for the mattress in here - hehehe... I'm off!

Blog Contents

So perhaps you noticed that the poll has closed... Here are the results!


Click for full size

So obviously this means more scrapbook LOs and general craftiness! Then more reviews, and for good measure, I'll be throwing in the occasional recipe, photos, and personal anecdotes! Not so much on the how-tos though, but don't think I won't be adding any, because I can think of some cool scrapping how-tos that will seriously rock!

So, thanks for reading and especially for voting! I wish they allowed me to know who had voted so I could send a special thankie-gift, but I guess not. Maybe next time...

Cop Cos-Play?

Any of you want to hang out in Las Vegas with Brass from CSI? Maybe you prefer Horatio in Miami or Mac in NY? Or maybe you just totally dig the comfort and functionality of police gear... (Or heck, maybe you even *are* a cop!) Whatever your reason, you'll want to check out LA Police Gear, where you can find holsters, footwear, handcuffs, clothes, and even those crazy 511 Tactical Shorts! They're not just for cops anymore! ~_^

Just passing the word along

How do they do that? Sites like Amazon and Netflix make recommendations based on past purchases. I’m conducting experiments to build such a system. To do that, I need raw data. Would you help me by filling out my survey?

Click HERE to take the survey NOW

I’m doing this in my spare time as a hobby. I am a computer system administrator and author but this is a side-project. I’ll keep the data private and secure. I’m not collecting names or email addresses thus the data is useless to marketing companies and spammers.

All that I ask is that you answer the questions honestly.

*headdesk*

I've spent the last hour trying to upload pics - just drag & drop it says! - and make a quick post here. It's not been quick and it's been a huge frustration. So I'll not be sharing any pics... :P

First off, less than 24 hours to vote on my blog content! Any last minute voters out there?

Second, I've had a wonderful weekend!

Friday, I got a wonderful package from friends, including a beautiful pendant which they handmake. Check them out!

It was also Jacqueline's 41st birthday - OMG! We had a lovely lunch out, just the two of us, where there was great food for small change; we shopped and had fun; and we finished the day with CAKE. Pretty yellow cake with PINK frosting, and STRAWBERRIES... Yum!

Saturday we relaxed around the house after a quick run to take the recycleables to the transfer station. I finally got to show Jacqueline the fuzzy, funny little alpacas! ^_^

Sunday, we all headed to the big city for a BBQ at Jacqueline's parent's house. First grilled hangaburgs of the season! W00T! And the whole family was there, which is always lots of fun! ^_^

Sunday was also a day for the birds! Jacqueline woke me early for our first sighting of the indigo bunting, and later their were blue jays fighting for the platform feeder, and after we got home... Oh. Em. Gee. A hummingbird flew right into the kitchen, hovered not even 6 feet beside me, flew in & out several times, before deciding there was nothing in here for him... Talk about AMAZING!

Today was another relaxing day: it sunned, the kids went to friends' homes, it rained, it cleared up... And the neighborhood was so very quiet; I could hear all the birds and bugs and probably frogs... SO peaceful....

Ok... I'll try the pics again, but don't expect them formatted all cool... :P


Pendant


Jacqueline on her birthday!


Hangin' laundry...


Ant, Es, & Jo at the BBQ


Sisters Es, Em, & Jo


Mother & Child


Dizzyingly dull day...

A Day in the Life of my Favorite Pants...

Welcome to my life. I spend 90% of my time, curled sleeping in a peaceful pile with my friends, Bondage, Cut-Off, and Khaki, in the drawer, but sometimes I get a day out. This is the story of what happened to me on one of those days...





After being rudely torn from my snug dresser drawer, I was carelessly tossed on the bed with a tan shirt and some pajama bottoms, where I waited until the body had been washed and dried.








After being put on, we just sat around in the desk chair for a while. I guess we were waiting for something, but I dunno what; no one ever tells me anything...








Finally we got to go do something! A ride in the car, sun streaming in, music up... I couldn’t wait to see where we’d end up!







When we get there, there’s not much to see. It’s just a boring parking lot, and then some kind of diner or something. I wish I could have seen what they were having, it smelled good, but they didn’t share. -_-







The next stop was grocery shopping. How dull. It was a different store than usual; so I guess it could have been less interesting than it was. Oh, but on the way home, they made me tramp through POISON IVY to take pics of some dumb trees. They are so lucky I’m not allergic...







After another all-to-brief car ride, we were back home and back inside. The rest of the day was just as dull as the morning. Mostly spent in the desk chair...








...except for when we wandered about the house. There was no dancing, no playing in the sun, nothing exciting at all...










In the end, I spent the night in a crumpled cold heap on the floor, and in the morning wound up buried in a pile of stinky clothes in a dark closet.

Moar Pics?

If anyone is interested in seeing more pics of the family, feel free to check out the Faerie Gardens Family Fotoblog; the link has been added to the Links of Interest at the left...

Wishes come true...

Sometimes, when you ask the universe cheerily for things, things that you really need, that you're not being greedy about, that you're trying so very hard to not whine & mope & cry about, sometimes, you get what you need...

Thank you!

Neopets...

Today at the Giant Omelette...

Something has happened!
OH NO! There has been an avalanche in Tyrannia, and Giant Omelette has been buried. In order to get rid of all of the boulders why not play a game of Destruct-O-Match III.

New Poll

Well, I've decided to add a little poll to see what my readers want more of...

If I've not mentioned something that you'd like to see more of, please feel free to leave a comment here...

Thanks for reading!

The Case of the Mysterious Poop

As you may be aware, we have recently adopted a Guinea pig into our family, and her home until we can rearrange the living room is on our kitchen table. (It rarely is used for eating, and she takes up less than 1/2 of it...) Occasionally she tosses out some bedding or some gets on the table when she gets cleaned (part of the family's evening routine), but this morning, there seemed to be an abundance of bedding, and some poops clear across on the other end of the table!

Click for full size...

Note the bedding by the little hole in her cage and the stray poops,
2 near the center, and one way at the very edge on the opposite side!

Jacqueline wondered if maybe she managed to get out of her cage and wandered about the table, leaving the bedding and poop all over, then got back in before we got up... *eyebrow raised* But I have a different theory: Those little poops aren't hers. Nope. They are from her boyfriend, El Ratto, who sneaks into our kitchen in the night and has midnight (or later depending on when the kids go to bed) rendezvous with his little caged lover. One day he's going to break her out and they will run away together to Mexico...

New Foamy!

Better late than never! I have no problem with camouflage, but I do agree that sometimes it's just... well... unattractive and silly.

Click here to see...

COW-MOUFLAGE
URBAN CLOTHING AND CULTURE GONE HORRIBLY WRONG...

Today I celebrate my blessings...

Yes I do realize it's a Christmas mug, but it's one of my favorites (from the dollar store no less), and when I pulled it out of the cupboard today, I declared that today will be a Celebration of .... and paused because I couldn't think of any reason to celebrate at that moment. Well, since then I've thought of several good reasons to celebrate, thanks to a little nudging from the Pangea Day films... (And yes, I celebrate that I have coffee! ^_^ )

I celebrate my ability to dance...
I celebrate my ability to see...
I celebrate that I live in the country...
I celebrate that I have a washing machine...
I celebrate that tragic world events have not yet touched me or my loves ones...
I celebrate that war has not forced me to leave my country, leaving behind friends, and never knowing what happens...

OK... enough touching films for one day... I am off to celebrate the wonders of computers, the internet, and my creativity... ^_^

People are funny

Snopes has declared this as likely an "amalgam of entries collected from a variety of sources, a mixture of both real and bogus items, or nothing but a bit of creative humor."¹ Whatever it is, it's funny, and I thank whirlwitch for sharing it! ^_^

After every flight, Quantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor.

Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Quantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Quantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a man with a little hammer.
S: Took little hammer away from man

Warning: Under Construction!

If you happen to be viewing this during the upcoming week, you may experience some oddness as I am working on a custom template, and making many changes during the process...

Work in Progress

Articles from Jacqueline

I remember now the randomness from yesterday... hehehe... It was the bit about the Pangea movies, and these two articles from Jacqueline:

Lesbian Sex: 10 Ways to Keep the Romance Alive
Lesbian Sex: Five Books to Improve Your Sex Life

Although they both are aimed at the lesbian community, these tips could also be applied to heterosexual and other relationship permutations, and who couldn't use a little improvement in their relationship!

RANDOMNESS!

I has it... XD

Anyway... May 10th was Pangea Day, and I missed all the movies because I was visiting my mom. {{{huggles to Mommy}}} But the Pangea Day people are so nice; they've put all the movies on their site for us to view as we please...

Check them out...

And I can't believe I haven't posted all week! Yeah, Tuesday's post doesn't count... :P

Man, I had so much more to talk about, but I'll be damned if I can remember it... So much for all the randomness, eh?

Article from Jacqueline

I suppose this article isn't too timely, as the SU students have gone home for the summer, but there will be a fresh batch coming in for summer classes and in the fall! Let the partying begin!

The Five Best Bars for Syracuse University Students

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the mothers out there, those who chose motherhood, those who didn't have the choice, those who chased it, and those who fell into it unknowingly, may your day be bright and sunny and filled with the best love ever, the love of your child.

And especially to my Mommy, I know you're at work and hating it, but know that I am thinking of you and love you bunches.


My Mom, September 10, 1982