Wordless Wednesday: Get Busy

As an elementary school gifted pullout teacher, we are often asked to substitute for middle or high school classes so that those teachers may attend meetings on Fridays. We do not teach on Fridays but are kept quite busy due to our massive amounts of Special Education paper work and no secretaries to help us with it ––plus, meetings and substitute teaching. Last Friday, I subbed in the usual high school classroom where I noticed an interesting artifact near the assignment the teacher had left for the gifted and talented freshmen to complete. The kids, who were wonderful, were given an essay test which would involve working through the entire period. So, I left the little message below on the board. 

Can You Feel Your Face?

While listening to the radio, I heard a song about a dude with a serious problem and his woman who is in denial about it.

First he sings, "I can't feel my face when I'm with you." What in the world could

cause one to not be able to feel one's face? Is it paralyzed at the same time? Perhaps the dude had some kind of stroke that deadened the nerves in his face or maybe he has some form of cancer where the cells have gone awol. Can he not feel his entire face or just one side? It could be Bell's Palsy if it's just one side. Skull fracture, tumor, high blood pressure, Lyme's disease--there are gazillion possible reasons for not being able to feel one's face, and none of these are good.

Does his face droop, too? "Do his ears hang low, do they wobble to and fro." 

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Then again, the dude sings, "But I love it." Why would he love having a numb face? That would make me nuts. Not feeling one's face does not strike me as a normal feeling or something one should love.

Maybe this is a case of domestic violence. Did the chick strike him across the cheek with a frying pan or something. That must be it! The dude is a masochist and his sadistic lover experiences sexual pleasure in numbing his face. Plus, he states, "I know she'll be the death of me." Yep. She's a pan swinger all right. Maybe she beats him with a sledge hammer, too.

Then again, "She says, 'Don't worry about it'." Now, I don't know about you, but if I couldn't feel my face, I'd be worried. Is she in some kind of denial about his problem. Whatever the case, I suggest she starts worrying and takes him to the doctor ASAP . . . especially if he has other symptoms, like drooling or difficulty talking. Then again, he has no problem singing.

The dude is on drugs.

Here's my latest bit of irony. While running a 5K with my dogs, they tripped me and I face planted the gravel. I have swelling, scratches, and bruises to the

face. Not feeling it might be something I'd like about now. What a difference a day can make. Too bad Halloween is over. I could have had fun scaring the kids. I wonder if anyone will notice at work, tomorrow. I think I'll just have to milk this for all it's worth.

As a side note, I ran the rest of the race, got home, opened my bag, and found the wrong sized t-shirt. That sucks!

The Martian - Book or Movie?

My husband and I went to see "The Martian" at our local theatre. Although the movie was good, the book was much better. Not that I mind watching another team of people working feverishly to rescue Matt Damon, but the movie left a lot out and also may have left questions with those who didn't read the book.

For example, Damon easily grew his Martian potato farm after digging through a trunk for a few bags of poo and starting a small fire inside his MAV. It wasn't easy, but by the same token, the movie goer doesn't get the true feel for all of the math, science, labor, and thought that went into stranded astronaut, Mark Watney's, multiple projects. Nor did the viewer understand how much Watney hated potatoes after eating them every sol for every meal.

If all Watney ate were potatoes, wouldn't he develop a huge belly like the starving children with protein deficiencies or a pirates's black bruised scurvy? No, Because the reader knows that he had lots and lots of multiple vitamins to keep him healthy. What he lacked was raw calories. Thank goodness he was a botanist who could grow these.

Watney's trip to the future site of the next Mars mission was easy peasy on the screen. No major sand storms to interfere with his solar panels and tip over his vehicle. No back aches from the manual labor to prepare. Where was the cool bedroom he'd made in the book? Heck! Once Damon found an easy way to communicate with Earth, he never lost it. The movie was entertaining and interesting, but it lacked the obstacles and understanding that one gets from reading the book.

Although author Andy Weir claims to be the ultimate science geek who enjoyed working out the ins and outs of a mission to Mars, he feared the science discussions would bore the average reader. I, however, am that average reader who is not interested in math nor science yet never grew bored with his book. After all, how can one get bored with a book whose first line is, "I'm pretty much f*cked," and the first page grabs the reader with the knowledge that he's absolutely right!

Go on and see the movie, but before you do, read the book.

#WW Who Left The Kitchen Door Open?

I came home to find that someone had left a kitchen door open. 

The Ruby damage is shown below.

Daniel's dog = Daniel's mess to clean up.

#WW Childhood Nostalgia

Sometimes I get nostalgic for these good old songs from my childhood, especially those that I don't here so often. I hope you enjoy these.

First up is The Moody Blues with "I'm Just a Singer (in a Rock 'n Roll Band)."

Next up, is Elton John with the theme song from the movie "Friends." Have you ever noticed that certain movies play over and over on cable, while other are never seen. I saw this movie many years ago and haven't seen it since. I used to own Elton John's pink album from Friends, too, and loved it. Maybe I still have it, but I don't have a record player.

I've always been a Neil Young fan. who especially love this little number of his, "Don't Let It Bring You Down." 

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava’s Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

#WW Never Too Old

My grown kids all had fun enjoying Halloween with their friends.

My Indiana Jones went to a party with his special lady.

My daughter, the history buff, dressed her man up as Teddy Roosevelt. In case you're wondering, she's the cute baby bear that he refused to shoot on his hunt. Well, bully! The origin of the Teddy Bear.

And my youngest dressed in the latest social media attire.

"Tinderella, Tinderella, swiping right to meet a fella . . . "

Do you like the hats in the first two picks?

You can get your own at http://www.mrhats.com/

#MM Songs From the Movies

It's Monday, again, and here are some of my favorite musical scenes from the movies.


First up, from Ferris Bueller's Day Off comes "Twist and Shout."

Next up is a song from Beetlejuice, "Day-o." 

And finally, here is a clip from Les Miserables, "Do You Hear the People Sing?"

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the ACTUAL LINK POST here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava’s Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.


PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

A Note to the Young - Stop Diabetes Before it Stops You

I was reading, and I think I finally get it. Unfortunately, I should have known this years ago, so this blog is dedicated to the young readers who may be unknowingly sabotaging their bodies.

The reason why we eat is to fuel our bodies with energy. With that in mind, it becomes painfully obvious that many of us eat for other reasons. People eat because they are bored, nervous, celebrating, depressed, or maybe because the food just tastes good. 

This over reliance on food is a modern day problem. When one thinks back to our ancestors, food wasn't always available. Plus, the food eaten was not processed with high amounts of fat and sugar. Hunters would go on a feast or famine mentality depending on how well the hunt went on a particular day. The wealthy, however, had plenty of food at their disposal. This is why Diabetes has been know as the disease of kings. While the peasants starved, royalty over ate. Diabetes is a problem from over

eating, lack of exercise to match the food intake, and eating the wrong kinds of foods.

When one eats, food enters the blood stream as sugar energy for the cells to use. In response, the pancreas secretes insulin to alert the cells that energy is on the way. If the energy is needed to help with our active life styles, great. The hungry cells welcome the sugar into their midsts. However, too many times we're sitting on the sofa munching M & Ms. 

In the case of overeating with a lack of movement, the cells do not need the energy, so they tell the sugar with its insulin guiding friends to, "Get lost." The sugar is stuck wondering in the bloodstream doing damage to the small vessels connected to eyes, kidneys, and nerve endings in fingers and toes. 

After repeated patterns of eating without activity, the cells start to resist the insulin trying to force energy, that they didn't need before, into them. It's kinda like your Jewish Mama continually telling you to eat when you're not hungry. After awhile you resist. The problem, however, is there is not a clear understanding of when energy is indeed needed for the cells. They've resisted so much, that they keep resisting, and voila, Type 2 Diabetes.

The problem with this disease is that even though plenty of sugar exists in the bloodstream, the cells are starving and asking for food. With that message loud and clear, the Diabetic will often worsen the situation by eating to try to solve the hunger. 

I've been working on this by trying to eat healthy, low carb, and low fat meals. My fasting blood sugar has come down. My doctor wants it under 100, which has not happened, yet, but I'm getting better. Plus, I've lost about twenty pounds since January.

Also, I think I get this exercise stuff, too. Exercise gets those cells to open the doors to allow the insulin carrying sugar to enter. I think of it as a type of retraining the cells. It's important to let them know that they must let the insulin bring sugar in to give them nutrients. If they are kept active, they will open their doors to the sugar. One afternoon, I blew it and ate the delicious cheese cake at a luncheon. I knew immediately that I had a sugar high, so I did ten minutes of nonstop running. I felt better and when I checked my blood sugar, it was not through the roof. However, I don't want to try that again.

Controlling or preventing Diabetes is a life long process, but I think I'm on my way back to good health. Although I've lost weight, since my diagnosis in January, I still have a ways to go. Being overweight also makes it harder for the cells to allow insulin to do its job, but I'm not clear on why that is yet. I'll let you know after I read more of The 30-Day Diabetes Miracle by Franklin House, Stuart Seale, and Ian Newman. I've read plenty of internet articles, but this is the first source that has spelled it out this clearly as to why my body has gone awol.