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 |   Theses are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call life. |
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These are my thoughts and ramblings as I forge my way through this thing they call Life. I blog with these groups:     "Blogging Circle of Friends "  [E] 
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30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 9th What is your first memory of being really excited? Not A memory, but the FIRST memory. Having passed the half century mark, trying to remember the first of anything is going to be a challenge. Negative firsts are easier to remember, positive firsts are harder to capture. I do remember the first time I got to stay on my own while my mother went out to a movie with her friend. I was eight or nine, I think. I was living with my mother in an apartment building on Armstrong street - the only apartment building on Armstrong street. Probably the only apartment building in my home town. I was so excited about being on my own for the whole evening. My mother trusted me to stay home alone. I got so over-excited I made myself sick. After I threw up, I put the lock on the door and went to sleep on the couch in the living room. But there are two things that make this story stick in my mind. One - the lock was a chain lock. One you cannot undo unless you take it off from the inside. Two - the more important aspect of this tale, is that when I sleep - I sleep. I am out for the count. I hear nothing. So when my mother and her friend came home from the movie. They could not get into the apartment. Mom could unlock the door, but she could not open the door more than a crack. I did not hear her call out to me to open the door. I did not hear her banging on the door. I did not hear the phone ringing beside my head when they walked downstairs to the pizza parlour to call me to wake me. up. Eventually, I did wake up and sleepy - eyed I did let them in. When I told me mother I had gotten sick from being overly excited she decided not to go out and leave me on my own for a good long while. I was over 12 before she did it again. But by then there were no chain locks on the door of our house. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 8th For most of the world, today is “Spring Forward,” when clocks are set an hour ahead. In your entry today, write about time and how you make the most of it. What is worthy of spending your time on? What is not? In your opinion, what do people spend too much time on these days? Day light savings time where we spring ahead... it is just after 6 pm and I am ready to crawl into bed and call it a day. I love that today has been sunny and I have enjoyed the day, but I am now feeling a little queasy and just want to close my eyes for an hour or two. I can't. I am out and about. Taking advantage of the lovely day. It is still a bit chilly in the wind, but at 8 degrees Celsius I am only too happy to hang out outside as much as I can getting some real vitamin D for a change. Tomorrow is supposed to be double digits. I might just have to ditch my winter boots for the day. Today is Sunday. I have spent my day on a bit of a spiritual journey. I started my day with a great session of Sahaja Yoga with a group that meets on the internet using the Zoom app. It was a very cleansing session and I felt really good for having made myself get up to take part. This afternoon I went to a session discussing Karma and a bit about reincarnation. The group is part of the Eckanan. I listened and stayed open to the experience. Karma interests me. I am not so sure what to make about the idea of reincarnation. After the discussion, there was a session of singing Hu (pronounced hue). It was a bit weird, but calming. After saying goodbye to the small group, I moved my car further downtown and then took a walk to the Starbucks for lunch. But before I went in there, I stopped in to browse the local independent bookstore - Words Worth Books. I bought a magazine and a recipe book that was on the clearance table. Afterward I took a walk around just enjoying the sun. There are a lot of people just walking around down here today. It is kinda nice. Spring really does feel like it is coming. After Friday morning's heavy rush hour snowfall, today was a blessing. I am now enjoying some mint tea to help settle my tummy. I'm at a local cafe I love - Cafe 1842 in the Huether Hotel. A great place to people watch and get some writing done. This is where I come on Monday nights to meet some writing friends. We chat and write together. It is a great way to start off the week. I feel blessed to have this time to just walk and explore and write out and about. I do it quite a bit. I find getting out of the house helps me get to work. At home, there are too many distractions to get the writing done I need to do. I have 2 blogs to do - this one and a poetry blog, then I have to work on my story edits for a story I have accepted to an anthology. As for things I'd rather not spend time doing... that would be cleaning. I know it needs to be done and I do it, but I make sure to block out time and then reward myself with something I do want to do afterward - like read or write or watch some TV. As the weather improves I will get out walking more. That is my kind of exercise. I have no time to waste going to the gym. Tomorrow I am expecting my autism class to be on the more chaotic side. Many of my students are time sensitive and the time change is hard on them. That added together with the full moon tomorrow and it will definitely be an 'all hands on deck' kind of day. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 7th What does wisdom mean to you? Give an example. When I Googled the definition of wisdom, this definition came up: it "is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise". Definitions that include the root of the word in them - wise, drive me loopy. You cold keep following the words down the rabbit hole of word-dom. Experience, knowledge and good judgement is the essence of wisdom. What does wisdom mean to me? It is calm. It is knowing. It is not boastful or arrogant. It is not autocratic or domineering. It sits in a state of peace. Within a person, it is shared in an open way. It is not forceful. It imparts its knowledge and accepts that the listener will consider the validity of the information. Blind acceptance is not required or even expected. A wise person imparts their knowledge, knowing that resistance is possible. They do not push back on that resistance. They wait, patiently for the knowledge to sink in and they maintain good judgement if the listeners are hostile. Sometimes others refuse to accept and those with wisdom are wise to take their leave and let the chips fall where they may. Give an example. Hmmm. My mind considers a person like Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi who taught the benefits of Sahaja Yoga. She imparted the knowledge, spoke to crowds of people and respected each person's right to believe or not. Practitioners of Sahaja Yoga and Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi herself encourage others to experiment for themselves. See if what is taught and shared, is something they are able to experience. All they need to do is have an open heart and a willingness to experiment. I think, true wisdom is imparting the knowledge and letting others see for themselves. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 6th What product would you stockpile if you found out it would never be sold again? (If the product you choose is perishable, imagine, for the purposes of this question, that the product would remain usable/edible forever.) Well, I have heard people are stock piling toilet paper these days.... thanks to the Corona virus. That is not a bad idea, but rather 'end of the world' kind of thing. I have a good stock pile of paper already - I buy it in the fall when 200 sheet are 10 or 25 cents. I have lots of pens and pencils. Any food thing I would probably get sick of it after awhile.... though Cheetos Cheesies are up near the top of my list. So is chocolate; good quality chocolate, that is - like Reid's Milk Chocolate Mint Meltaways or Reid's Coconut Burrs. Rheo Thompson's milk chocolate mint meltaways are excellent as well. Hot chocolate would be another thing. Popcorn. I don't suppose my Product could be a Starbucks and the Reid's Candy and Nut shoppe? Probably not. Dang!! What about yards of cotton fabric? I could use it to make any number of things myself. Things from toilet paper to clothing. I could dye it to reduce the boredom factor and it would not make me fat. Well, there you have it folks... yards of cotton fabric. Now I just need to learn how to sew.... or find someone who is willing to share my stash and sew for me.... I mean, for us. I have been watching too much Project Runway..... I am curious to see what other people thought would be good. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 5th Write about a recent success. Yours or someone else’s - your choice! Oh, this is a more difficult prompt. I have left it late and that makes it even more of a challenge to figure something out. I will say that I am doing the Destination: Goal Zone. I have been blogging in January and February as well as staying on top of most of my goals for each of those months. That is my success of late. "January Goals" "February Goals " |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 4th Use the following words as inspiration for your entry: inquiry, curiosity, investigation, suspicion, and clandestine. (You need not use the words in your entry, but if you do, please highlight them in bold or a different color.) Do I follow my curiosity? Set myself up for inquiry? See the investigation through? Find out just what he will do? My suspicion has awakened. Find the truth, see it lightened Put this idea of a clandestine affair To rest, with no scandal or flare. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 3rd If you could be paid for doing anything you wanted full time, what would you do? When you were a child, what did you dream of doing when you grew up? Then, take some time to research “unconventional” jobs (ie. hot air balloonist, deep sea invertebrate researcher, professional table tennis master, etc) and share one that you think you would be good at or would be fun to try. I am a simple person. I wanted to be a teacher and a writer. I try to do both of those, but both are influx. I supply teach and though I have a long term occasional position in a Autism classroom that I love, I know it is only temporary. As a kid, I had thoughts of being a marine biology and working at the Vancouver Aquarium. I was not crazy about swimming in the wide open ocean with sharks. They are the bees of the sea. I am terrified of bees... and sharks. That put a damper on my interest, but working at an aquarium would have been great. I am also intrigued by the people who do those travel shows. That would be exciting. Think of it writing and travelling. So cool. These are a few of the sites I checked out. June of 2021 my Goddaughter is getting married in England, that might be the perfect opportunity to do some traveling and checking out some writing retreats across the pond. Who knows I will be able to write about my adventures and maybe even get them published. https://thewritelife.com/write-travel-stories/ https://www.women-on-the-road.com/free-travel-writing-course.html https://www.women-on-the-road.com/womenontheroad-start-here.html |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 2nd Write about the practice of making lists. Does list-making stifle creativity, or enhance it? When working on a big project, does making a list help organize your thinking, or cause you to feel more overwhelmed? Are you a habitual list maker, and if so, what do you list? I love this prompt. I have a wicked COLD right now and was not able to function with words last night. I am kicking myself that I blew the challenge so early in the month. I managed a couple of things, but not having made a list I forgot one thing.... and will have to restart my monthly challenge on Novlr all over again. Lists are a God-send. They keep me on track and help me break big projects down into smaller more manageable chunks. They keep the overwhelm at bay and let me breath a little easier. They also help me remember to get things done or I will more than likely forget to do something. If I only do the list in my head, I always forget one thing. I need to write the list down. Writing a list out helps to set it in my mind and I love checking off things as I accomplish them. I keep a bullet journal which allows me to make lists and graphs and charts of things I deem important. I track my habits and my weight. I have 'take my blood pressure' medication on the list because I have been known to forget to do that on occasion. |
30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT March 1st Yesterday was February 29th - Leap Day! The reason we have this monthly extension of our shortest month is to synchronize the Gregorian calendar with the solar year – without it we would lose six hours every year. In your entry today, write about the phenomenon of leap years and any facts you want to share. Here’s mine: People born on Leap Day are called Leaplings. Do you know any Leaplings? How did you spend the bonus hours of 2020? Did you make the most of them? Pope Gregory XIII In that year, Pope Gregory XIII authorized, and most Roman Catholic countries adopted, the "Gregorian" or "New Style" Calendar." As part of the change, ten days were dropped from the month of October, and the formula for determining leap years was revised,,, This was in 1582. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-the-pope-made-10-days-disappear So who gave the Catholics so much power? As for knowing any Leaplings. I don't know any and I supply teach. The chances of meeting one might be as rare as having one. That's 1 in 1461. https://www.rd.com/culture/february-29th-leap-year-facts/ How did I spend my day? I just enjoyed the extra day... cold as it was. Yesterday was -5 degrees Celsius and today was +5 degrees Celsius. Welcome to crazy Canadian weather. |
Soundtrack Of My Life February 29 Because it does not happen very often I am going to add another day to my playlist. Following with my way of doing things... for many of the songs this month, I will pick from the Leap Year soundtrack. I love this movie. It follows the idea that on this day, women can ask their significant other to marry them. This is a tradition started in Ireland. There are three to choose from and I can hear them here so I will have to wait and do this entry later. Lyrics: You're stuck on me and my laughing eyes I can't pretend though I try to hide I like you. I like you I think I felt my heart skip a beat I'm standing here and I can hardly breathe You got me, yeah, you got me The way you take my hand is just so sweet And that crooked smile of yours It knocks me off my feet Oh, I just can't get enough How much do I need to fill me up It feels so good, it must be love It's everything that I've been dreaming of I give up, I give in, I let go Let's begin Cause no matter what I do, Oh (oh) My heart is filled with you I can't imagine what it'd be like Livin' each day in this life Without you. Without you One look from you I know you understand This mess we're in you know is just so, out of hand. Oh, I just can't get enough How much do I need to fill me up' It feels so good it must be love It's everything that I've been dreaming of I give up. I give in. I let go Let's begin Cause no matter what I do Oh (oh) My heart is filled with you I hope we always feel this way (I know we will) And in my heart I know you'll always stay Oh, I just can't get enough How much do I need to fill me up It feels so good it must be love I give up, I give in, I let go, Let's begin Cause no matter what I do Oh, I just can't get enough How much do I need to fill me up' It feels so good it must be love (It's everything that I've been dreaming of) I give up, I give in, I let go Let's begin Cause no matter what I do Oh (oh) My heart is filled with you Oh (oh) You got me, You got me Oh (oh) You got me, You got me Songwriters: COLBIE CAILLAT, JOHN SHANKS © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC Blog City - Day 2063 Many schools have cut funding for art and music programs. Do you think it’s important to bring these electives back, and what are your ideas to get your community involved? I am lucky to work in the Canadian school system, but we are currently in a strike situation to keep our excellent system. Our Premier, Doug Ford is a bully - a mini Trump, of sorts, who wants to stuff kids into classes like sardines and cut school supports leading to more violent classrooms. Most of the Educational Assistants we have at the Elementary level are there for Behaviour issues, not for academic support. We still have art and music programs thank goodness! Our music teacher is retiring this year... the school will be feeling his loss. All teachers teach their own art classes. I am not sports minded... so the idea of cutting art and music programs in favour of sports boils my blood. I know each teach kids about grander things than the basic curriculum... but I believe kids need all these areas. Creativity should be celebrated. Fitness should be cultivated. We should not be sacrificing anything. Not everyone can afford to put there kids in extracurricular programs. Here is a piece on the 10 reasons for having art and music programs. https://www.artandmusiccenter.com/blog/2019/4/23/10-reasons-why-kids-need-art-an... This site also has an area where you can even sponsor a child! Now that is cool! It's a Californian idea, but it makes a great deal of sense. The prices look reasonable as well. Locally, I know our library has instruments you can borrow. There are also programs in place for March Break, but these cost money. There are even programs for PD days. But all of these are few and far between compared to sports programs. I remember talking to friends who were athletically inclined when I was younger and they found it hard to wrap their head around the idea that they would not have a kid who was just as athletically inclined. One of these was my ex-husband. We did not have children together. One of my worries was that he might not be too open to having a child who was more sensitive like myself and not athletically inclined. Who knows, having children may have softened his ideas, but I worried that that wouldn't happen. And is it just me, or are there only sports things that have tournaments that start on Fridays... and kids leave school to go participate??? One of the EAs in my class has had her son go to two such tournaments. Do they think these things are so important that they need to miss school? Do they think their kid will make it to the big leagues? I don't think they should be missing school time for something like that.... just saying. I also have a problem with athletes getting paid exorbitant sums... and writer's get taxed 50% on their earnings... because here in Canada, it is considered a hobby. (I believe it is only 30% in the States.) I'm not sure about artists. That is crazy... and so off topic. Sorry. I recently saw a little shop in a small village that offers art classes before and after school. It is a quick walk to the school, thus giving kids an opportunity to have an 'extended day' without having to be in a school program... still it costs families to send their kids, but some parents pay to have their kids looked after by someone before and after school anyway. This is just an alternative program. |
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