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My humorous thoughts about life.
"My Humorous and Helpful Thoughts About Teaching / Educational Resources for Your
Classroom / Music and Random Fun"
My "adult" son had asked me to participate in a prank on his "friend." At one o'clock, I was supposed to repeatedly text him the word "poon" along with one-hundred more of his "adult" friends, including an army platoon. This action would annoy someone with a smart phone and freeze a dumb phone for twenty minutes or so. Daniel's victim has a smart android device, so he was just aggravated.
When I asked my son what a "poon" is, he told me it doesn't mean anything. Yeah, right. I looked up the word and it is a large Indo-Malayan evergreen tree of the Calophyllum. Sounds innocent enough in a normal dictionary; however, that's not where one looks to find out what a young person's word means. The true definition––which is rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, may be found in the Urban Dictionary. Since I'm not young, I promptly refused the offer to harass his buddy. Reaching the age of adulthood does not make one an adult.
2nd place in a poon attack DWL? Your poon powers are fading...
My daughter was the proud winner of the poon attack. She sent 34 messages to poor Andrew. Who? That's right. She doesn't even know him.
E Beaten by his little sister. How embarrassing!
A You were in the poon attack? I guess the poon apple doesnt fall far from the poon tree.
With tragedy surrounding us this past week, two of my blogging groups have asked us to post about faith or to just follow our hearts in blogging. This is tough because my writing lends itself to humor.
Faith means complete trust or confidence in something. I have faith in a lot of things. I know that when visiting the dog park, my furry friends will jump into the muddy lake and come out disgustingly dirty. I will get a nose bleed from my left nostril at least once a week in the winter time, and even got one this morning; however, the doc has faith that it's just dryness. When dining at a nice restaurant, the salad dressing will drip on my blouse. Most importantly, faith means that one day I will be a thin, even though I will faithfully put on a pound or two this month. I've given my kids specific instructions. If I'm ever on life support, they have promised not to pull the plug until I'm a size six. I have faith that they'll follow my wishes.
Bear's Arm
I know. I know. That's not the kind of faith Mrsupole or Beth were referring to. You both wanted an in depth––spill my guts kind of post about the horrible tragedy in Connecticut. The problem is, when faced with such an unspeakable tragedy, I cannot speak. What does one say about innocent children being slaughtered by a crazy twenty-year-old?
Should I get political about the issues of gun control and how we should ban assault weapons? I agree. There's no reason anyone needs a gun that shoots rapid fire without the need to reload. Our founding fathers could not have imagined this type of weapon when writing the second amendment, giving folks the right to bear arms. People also discuss getting more help for the mentally ill. Once again, I agree and will further add that we should tax the one percent to pay for it.
I also agree that no child should be fearful of going to school. This tough situation needs answers, and perhaps my group leaders would be satisfied to read my post about how I shed tears when I read the grandfatherly neighbor's account of the tragedy; but personally, I'd rather deal with having faith that when getting dressed tomorrow, I will find a pair of socks that doesn't have a hole in them. That is less painful.
Saturday night, we ran a 4K through the Starry Nights exhibit at Shelby Farms with 1,600 of our friends. I tried to take pictures of the beautiful light exhibits, but since it was a race, I couldn't stop running while snapping. Because I'm such a fast runner, the photos are blurry; but, enjoy them none-the-less.
The Start: See how the sign reads "Starry Nights?"
Although October has passed, Theme Thursday's weekly topic is "Ribbon," and I am reminded of the constant fight against drugs during Red Ribbon week and the rest of the year. An ongoing anti-drug program in the schools teaches grade schoolers not to do drugs. This educational program is highlighted by Red Ribbon Week where students and teachers proclaim themselves to be drug free through wearing red, painting their faces red, or launching red balloons.
Anti-drug education had been so strong in my daughter's school that, years ago, she had a fit when I put a bottle of Worchester sauce in my basket at the grocery story. Since the kids were taught that alcohol was a drug, as soon as I picked up the Lea Perrins, Erica screamed––at a store awakening level mind you, "Drugs! You have drugs!"
I tried in vain to explain that Worcester sauce does not constitute drugs. Even if the bottle had contained alcohol, I was, and am, certainly old enough to drink it. I couldn't convince Erica that is was okay for me to buy Worcester sauce no matter what I said.
I made a special batch of porridge, or as most of you call it, oatmeal. With a picky eater like Baby Bear, I added a few drops of Tabasco Sauce to spice things up. It tasted good, but Papa said, "This porridge is too hot," and he stormed out the door.
He can be a bear when things don't go his way. Naturally, Baby Bear and I followed and the next thing you know, we're taking a stroll through the forest. Finally, I convinced Papa to try the oatmeal again by promising to water it down with apple juice. Things would have been fine except when we got home, a bratty girl had broken into our house and messed with our stuff!
Goldilocks. She put her slobber on our breakfast and ate all of Baby Bear's food. At least someone likes Tabasco Sauce on oatmeal.
We headed past the breakfast table only to discover that the same twirp had broken Baby Bear's favorite chair, a wooden rocker that used to be a family heirloom; now, it's firewood.
To top things off, we found Goldilocks drooling lumps of porridge onto the kid's pillow. Can you believe she had the nerve to crawl into Baby's bed and throw up?
When Papa saw her asleep in Baby Bear's bed, he was ticked. He roared his most powerful roar, woke her up, and ate her.
I'm participating in the "And You Are...?" Blog Hop on Emily R. King's site. You may join the "And You Are . . .?" Blog Hop by clicking the link (or David Spade's picture) and answering the questions below. So hop on by, link up, and be eligible for prizes.
1. How many speeding tickets have you gotten?
I'm married to a lawyer; so if I happen to get a ticket, someone knows how to fight them. I've had a few, but I don't have any points. 2. Can you pitch a tent?
Absolutely! I spent a lot of summers camping in the Colorado Rockies. We also used to go camping as a family. I even made tents by tossing blankets over chairs as a kid. When it comes to tent pitching, I'm a pro. . . that is as long as my husband helps me. 3. What was your worst vacation ever?
We never had a totally horrible vacation, but we did have some bad situations within great vacations. Like the time both Daniel and Judy threw up on Erica in the backseat of a rental car. 4. What was the last thing you bought over $100?
We bought a Volt, which costs a little more than one-hundred dollars, but we have yet to spend a penny on gasoline. 5. We're handing you the keys to what?
I'll take the keys to health, happiness, and a good life. 6. What was the last meal you cooked that made even you sick?
My meals don't make people sick. 7. Fill in the blank: Oh my gosh! Becky, look at her butt! It is so big. She looks like ____?
she needs a stair master for Christmas. Please, Santa. Help her out because I'm sure she's a good person who just has a problem with her butt. Nice enough for the good list? 8. What was your first car?
Technically my first car was a Chevy Chevette, but in reality I drove a rental car because the Chevette never worked. Once while driving a rental car, I got caught in a vicious hale storm. Giant ice rocks made the rental car look like it had chicken pocks. Having the car in the shop all the time had a plus that day. 9. Your best friend falls and gets hurt. Do you ask if he/she's okay or laugh first?
Ask if she is okay, of course. 10. What's the worst song ever?
There is nothing worse than "I Know a Song That Gets on Everybody's Nerves." You may listen to it, but I guarantee it won't be for long.
Beth gave us a job to write with short words. I could do this but yawn. I like short and long words, not just these. This needs to be worth a read as well as a skill. The joy of a good read is to choose the best words. When all of these have to be short, one can't read great work. This prompt has made me write a drab post.
Just face it, this post is . . .
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
It means "something to say when you have nothing to say." That fits.
When it comes to scents, there are those that whisper while others shout––and there are even shouts that come in whispers. If you're tilting your head and wrinkling your brow trying to determine how a shouting scent whispers, let me clarify. A person, who I will not name to save public humiliation, has taken to whispering, "I farted" whenever he passes gas in my presence. Embarrass him? Probably not because some folks of the male species take pride in the bad ones.
Since this post is called "Whispers", not shouts, let me mention a wonderful whispering scent. My daughter sells BeautiControl, and I love the fragrance in the air after she demonstrates her products. The Dark Brown Sugar holiday scent is amazing!
When the family got together for Thanksgiving, Judy gave her aunts and me a special spa session, complete with the Tight Firm and Fill Instant Face Lift cream. I wish I'd taken a picture of my wrinkle-faced sister before and after. With one treatment, her frown lines practically disappeared. I wouldn't have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes. As a result, I bought some BeautiControl.
It's almost December, so please visit Judy's website for your holiday shopping. You've got to buy gifts anyway, so you might as well get them from a 22 year-old who's trying to save money to visit her long distance boyfriend. Pleeeeease. She'll be miserable if she doesn't make enough money for a plane ticket.
You may order from Judy by visiting her website atwww.beautipage.com/judylansky. Anyone who makes a purchase from Judy ROCKS!
My niece's goofy husband brought a fun, free app to our Thanksgiving week-end and here are the results. No one was safe around Josh and everyone else who went for the download.
Taking a nap had it's consequences.
Sitting at a Thanksgiving dinner table can also be dangerous.
I wasn't even safe visiting with my family.
In case you're wondering, the app is called "Action Movie" and is available for free at the Apple App store.
Here it is another year of Thanksgiving family togetherness
and stories of do you remember when? Being the youngest in my family, it’s
quite possible that there are more stories about me than anyone else. It’s not that
I caused the most mischief, but rather, there were more sibs around to catch me
at it. Not to mention that someone was always ready to set up the gullible
little sister to carry out evil plans.
I grew up in a small St. Louis neighborhood with Leonard
Slatkin, the famous symphony conductor, right next door. When his face appeared
on the cover of our new phone book, he-who-must-not-be-named sent me on a
mission to get Mr. Slatkin’s autograph. How was I to know the great
conductor would open his door with only a towel around his waist? Furthermore,
I was too young to realize how gauche it was to ask him for his autograph in
that situation. Being a good sport, Mr. Slatkin autographed my phone book and
off I went only to be reminded of my faux pas at Thanksgiving get togethers
forty years later.
I didn’t need eyeglasses to see the obvious during my childhood.
Each member of my family wore a pair of specs while I enjoyed perfect vision.
Not anymore. I blame it on childbirth because that’s when my vision went south.
This Thanksgiving when my sister brings her new boyfriend to the family meal, I
need either glasses or contacts to inspect him clearly. It's even better to find cheap eyeglasses that can be ordered here.
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This week brought the passing of my husband's uncle, who not only was the clothier of the king, but also funny enough to be memorialized on a silly Sunday. Uncle Bernard marched to the beat of his own band as he put on his relaxed accent. He could speak to the homeless man on the street or Katie Couric with equal comfort.
Bernard Lansky, a master sales person, once called his son and told him to come to the store because he'd just sold the son's car. In a New York restaurant, Bernard didn't see anything he liked on the menu, so he asked the waiter for a peanut butter sandwich. The waiter said, "We don't have any peanut butter."
In which Bernard replied, "Run down to the 7-Eleven and get some."
With mouth dropping the waiter said, "I could get fired.
Bernard pulled out a huge wad of cash, gave it to the waiter, and said, "You now work for me."
Today marks the book launch of Small Portions by Dieter Moitzi. “Small
Portions” is a story that comes in… small portions. In precisely 111
little parts – AND a recipe. To explore the many facets of modern life,
the author has chosen the literary form of vignettes, those short
impressionistic scenes that focus on one moment or give a trenchant
impression about a character, idea, setting, object.
Dieter Moitzi
tells his own story in poignant scenes that vary from a snapshot of his
christening in the early 70s to his father’s death in a skiing accident
at the beginning of the 2000s. It’s small things he talks about, those
many small things that compose a life – his life. He recalls the painful
process of coming out of the closet, relates in funny detail the first
encounters and love stories of his happy-go-lucky twenties, delves with
analytical distance into aspects and turning points of two long-time
relationships. He takes you by the hand and guides you through the
streets of Paris, the city he lives in. He writes about food and the
internet and his travel experiences in Greece, Morocco, Vienna, Tunisia,
London…
In just so many carefully chosen words, sometimes poetic,
sometimes blunt, but always with a good deal of wry and self-deprecating
humour, the author succeeds in creating little universes with each
story. Each one stands alone, yet when you link them together, another
story takes shape. The story of a life, the sketch of a person, the
mirror of a time. Our time.
I met Dieter Moitzi in the Blogesphere, where he has been a frequent visitor to my blog. Born in
1972 in Austria, Dieter Moitzi moved to Paris, France, in the early
1990s. He is working as a graphic designer and writing in his spare
time, mainly in English. He loves to share his passion for words, which
is the reason why he has launched a literature blog in 2010. Ever since,
he has published a collection of poems (“and somewhere under”) as well
as a collection of short stories (“Miss Otis regrets”), both available
on amazon. Moreover, his poetry has been published in the “Vine Leaves
Literary Journal” in 2012. He is currently working on two novels that he
hopes to publish in 2013. Congrats to Dieter on his new book! You may visit him at http://dietermoitzi.blogspot.com/
There was a time in grade school when I considered myself to be good at math. To further my beliefs, we'd take achievement tests where I consistently scored higher in Math than Reading or Language Arts. In fact, I did so well, my dad got the idea that I was ready for Algebra in seventh grade, even though some smart teachers thought otherwise. Thus began my numbers demise. I am living proof that there are few things worse than pushing a kid into a class in which he or she is not ready.
Math fits perfectly into Piaget's psychological theories. Have you ever tried to convince a toddler that a fat wide glass has more juice in it than the tall skinny one? If you succeeded, you're probably the first because there is no way most toddlers can grasp that concept, as there was no way twelve year old me was going to 'get' Algebra. It has nothing to do with intelligence, and everything to do with emotional maturity. I just wasn't there yet.
As a result of being pushed beyond my math readiness, I struggled with math throughout high school. Come college, I enrolled in a required Freshman math class. I took one look at my text and horrible memories of struggling through this stuff terrorize me. As a result, I made the mistake of signing up pass/fail for the easiest class of my college career. The difference? Come college, I was ready for this stuff!
As an adult, teaching math is probably my greatest strength because now, not only do I understand numbers, but I think I have good insight as to why some kids don't. Also, I've seen how my number talented son had no trouble securing a job post college. He used to joke with a friend about how he could add but couldn't read and his friend could read but couldn't add. In hindsight, I'm glad Daniel could add.
Although my youngest did not consider herself to be a mathematician, with her friends, they created a great T-shirt idea. Well the adults in charge didn't think so because it never became a shirt. It read something like this: Holy shift! Look at that assymptote on that mother function. IB. We have class.