Saturday Sampling, October 1st, 2011

Welcome to Saturday Sampling, a collection of posts from around the blog world. Feel free to link up a post from your own blog, plus any number from other blogs you found especially inspiring/humorous/moving, etc. To learn the "ins and outs" of SS, click on the tab above. To host Saturday Sampling at your place, email me or leave a comment.

Friday Fragments: Episode #165

Welcome to Friday Fragments! It's time to get our frags on! Let go of the tidbits clogging your brain, heart, or sinuses.

***Everyone I work with has been sick lately. I thought I could avoid catching the wicked cold, but it started sneaking up on me on Wednesday. Fortunately, I was ready for it and hit the netipot right off the bat, day and night for two days, and guess what? I didn't get a full-blown cold. The netipot is my friend.

***I'm seriously thinking (again) about switching to the Disqus commenting system. If my blog suddenly looks like a wasteland in the comment department, it'll be because I lost all of my old comments in the transition. Keeping fingers crossed...[Update: Obviously, I made the switch, and HOLY COW--Disqus shows

11,597 comments on my blog since its inception. Thanks, Everybody! :)]

***It was Spirit Week at school this week. Check out my post yesterday if you want to see what Crazy looks like.

***We have a new Fragmenter today! Please welcome Wayne, of Touristic! (Thanks for the heads-up, Heather :)

***Are you one Tough Mudder?  A co-worker is trying to get people to join her in the Twin Cities Tough Mudder event. I thought I might be interested, so I watched this video, which doesn't take place in Minnesota but is an example of what Tough Mudders do:



I've decided I already have plans that weekend.

Your turn!

Call Me Crazy (Please)

Some people have said that I'm crazy to teach middle school. To be honest, for many years, I told myself that I wouldn't teach middle school in a million years, even though I was certified (6-12 cross-categorical special ed). When I found myself teaching 8th grade, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it, but I just knew I would never teacher 6th grade--I couldn't imagine trying to reason with 11-year-old kids with emotional-behavioral disabilities.  They barely have concrete thought down at that age; how would I be able to reason with them?

Today, sixth grade is my absolute favorite grade to teach.  I seriously love these kids, which is part of the reason I make a fool of myself during Spirit Week. To see their looks of merriment, terror, eye-rolling disbelief, and curiosity as I "gallop" down the hallway on my "horse" tickles me. Today was Crazy Day, and doing my mother proud, I represented well. 

Yes, I'm crazy. Happy, fun, silly, putting-my-heart-out-there crazy.

And I'm totally cool with that.

Bright Spots in the Fight Against Cancer

I don't know about you, but I am really sick of cancer, especially lately. A friend of ours just had a double mastectomy. I learned yesterday that my cousin is losing her battle with breast and bone cancer. Tonight, I learned that my sister's father-in-law has esophageal and stomach cancer. I am seriously all cancered out!

There are some bright spots in this ugliness, though. One example is the Cancer Sucks Facebook page; it's a place for people to go vent.  I'm glad people are finding support there.

Another very bright spot is The Creative Crumb's involvement in Tulsa Turns Pink. Look at these fantastic cake pops that Judy is creating for the event (for which she is making 1000 cake pops!!! YES, a 1000!) Aren't these amazing?!

My sister is brilliant! (Yes, she came up with the idea on her own, modeled after bride and groom cake pops that she found on line.)

As much as cancer sucks, it has brought out the beauty in human beings. For example, Judy told me about a wonderful woman, Judi Groves, who, together with Nancy Coryell, founded BreastImpressions, Inc, which is a foundation that provides breast-casting kits to women facing surgery for breast cancer. The impressions are then turned into pieces of art, giving cancer survivors strength and aiding their healing. What a beautiful gift!  If you would like to see some of the pieces, you can find the website's photo album here. This is important:

Breast Impressions Foundation is run by volunteers and has no paid staff.  All donations and fundraising proceeds go directly into materials to supply donated breast casting kits for women just diagnosed with breast cancer.  Breast Impressions Survivor Calendars fund the operating costs of Breast Impressions.


So, yeah; lately, I've been hearing some unsettling stories about friends and family being affected greatly by cancer. Thankfully, I am also hearing stories of people pulling together to make a difference in the fight against cancer.  Unfortunately, fighting cancer is not a sprint; it's a marathon. I'm grateful for those handing out water and cheering "runners" on along the way!

Creative Uses for Everyday Things

Last night, Kendall stumbled upon a website that teaches how to create origami 

using dollar bills.  She was inspired:

So, the next time you want to give the gift of cash, consider these creative ideas for presenting it!

And speaking of creative ideas, Mr.4444 gave me a tire for use in an event at school last week. 

We didn't end up needing it, 

so it was sitting in my room when my students spotted it and immediately put it to good use. 

They've been fighting over it ever since. 

Here's a shot of one of my students and me, today. 

This student was working very hard to read some tough words, 

so hard that he absentmindedly stuck his feet inside the tire, 

(and you can guess what happened next).  Even after that, a moment later, he did this...

which, of course, I put an end to immediately!
(But thanked him for modeling so enthusiastically.)

I'm not sure the novelty "chair" is worth a kid losing his teeth!

How about you? Do you have any unusual uses for everyday objects in your life?

*Note: My classroom is across from the Main Office. The photo was taken by a helpful secretary. This student's mom gave her consent to my using the photos.

Somebody to Love

I can count the concerts I've been to on one hand:
Kenny Rogers (1970's)
The Beach Boys (1980's)
NSync (1990's, a gift for young Kyle) (a few years ago--Fantastic! I highly, highly recommend it.)
Elton John!
Jack Johnson! (Thanks for the reminder, Dawn. How could I forget?!)

If I were to choose two other concerts to attend, I'd pick Neil Diamond and Bette Midler (I pretty much have all of Bette's songs memorized.)

Clearly, I have eclectic taste in music. Back in the day. I spent many a night chillin' in the basement of my high school boy friend's house listening to REO, ACDC, and Pink Floyd. I tore up the dance floor to the BeeGees and sang my heart out to Paradise by the Dashboard Lights and anything Grease. I've been a "backup" singer for Anne Murray, The Judds, and Celine Dion. I still adore the Sound of Music and Forest Gump soundtracks and could probably bust out a few hits from The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, or Veggie Tales circa 1990's.

Today, though, I don't spend much time just listening to music, singing, or dancing; too busy doing other things, I guess. Like many of you, I do love watching singing competition shows, though (while multitasking, of course). (One of my co-workers is Rachael, of the "Fannin Family," who performed on The Sing-Off last week!)

 Last night, a neighbor came over, practically giddy over the following video. Mark Martell (friend of a friend of a friend) is auditioning for the QueenExtravaganza, a talent search for a new Freddy Mercury. I don't know about you, but I think their search is over.

 

Happy Monday! 

Sundays in My City

Unknown Mami hosts a weekly photo meme in which bloggers from all over the world post photos of the goings-on in their cities. This week, I'm joining in with a collection of miscellany.

First, some shots from our block party. Know what this is? No, it's not a fish boil kettle.

Here's a hint...

It's chicken booyah! (and it was fantastic!)

We had a great turnout!

Kendall loved this shot; she called it a "classic."

 

Here's a shot of me (in my new PrAna sweater!) with my sweet Kendall.

The kids had a ball singing karaoke and dancing like crazy.
(I'm sure none of them had to be rocked to sleep that night.)

Next, in the interest of full disclosure,
I'm posting my original, straight-out-of-the-camera shot,
 snapped last week of my favorite tree,
pictured frequently here on HPKT. 

I hereby confesses to using Paint to erase three elements from the photo in my header:
the power lines and the two ugly, white poles.
I hope you don't think less of me, but it's okay if you do; I had to do it.
I just loved the light in this shot. The sun was starting to set in the east,
and some very dark clouds were threatening the west.
I could hardly wait to get to "my" tree on the way home, because I knew it would look gorgeous.

It's the little things...

And, finally, this little stinker was doing his best to annoy his mother in the Kohls Department Store yesterday.

Kendall, her friend, Grandma 4444, and I shopped for (and found) her Homecoming dress and a few other incidentals. If the dress arrives on time (We had to order it.), I 'll lead with that shot next week!

Stop by Unknown Mami's place for more bits of culture from around the globe.

Saturday Sampling, September 23, 2011

Sorry if you arrived at the usual time and found no post! (See, this is why I'm inviting you to host at your place some time--I need a vacation! :)  Thanks for stopping by to read and share favorite posts from around the blog world today. [To learn more about SS, please click on the tab above.]

Friday Fragments: Episode #164

Hello! Thanks for visiting! It's Friday, the day to unload the bits and pieces of your week that need a home. This week, I have a new header, inspired by a gorgeous sky tonight and the Ortonish Picnik effect. [To learn more about FF, click on the tab above.]  It goes perfectly with Lisleman's cow theme tonight.

***Looking at the corn tonight, I was reminded of the time I wandered into a cornfield on my cousin's farm and got lost. I eventually found my way out, but only after following a chicken. (No, I'm not kidding.) I took the following photo tonight, which might have come in handy when I got lost that time (or to the characters in Children of the Corn horror flicks):

***This week, a co-worker made a mistake and took ownership via email. Because I am my mother's daughter, I replied with, "Well, then--Thirty lashes with a wet noodle for you then! No worries."  She replied, "Could it have a little chicken spaghetti on it, please?" I love being caught off guard like that; too funny.

***I'm kind of excited about Saturday Sampling being hosted by some of you! If I haven't contacted you yet but you offered to host, don't worry--I'll contact you soon hopefully, this weekend). If you'd like to host Saturday Sampling at your place but didn't see my offer, let me know in the comments here, and I'll happily add you to the list. Stay tuned! [p.s. Red Kathy, I need your email address, please.]


Okay, it's your turn now--The linky is ready for your fragmented goodness.

Les Reader Miserables

I'm sorry, but sometimes, reading disabilities make me laugh. It doesn't happen that often, really, but this one just cracked me up (at home, on my couch, reading my email). Our students were given an assignment to email some information about a prehistoric animal to us. Here's what I just found from a young lad who has a great deal of difficulty reading and spelling.  (I'm guessing he didn't put a lot of effort into decoding this one.):

Résumé

Les escargots comestibles sont souvent abondants dans les gisements du Pléistocène final

et de l’Holocène (c. 10000 à 6000 BP) partout en région méditerranéenne. Cette étude,

la première à essayer de résumer sommairement ces données, soutient la thèse que la

plupart de ces incidences représentent les déchets des repas préhistoriques.

Abstract

Edible land snails are often abundant in late Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological

sites (c. 10000 to c. 6000 BP) throughout the Mediterranean region. This chapter, the first

attempt to summarize the evidence, argues that in almost every instance the land snails

found in occupational deposits are the remains of prehistoric meals.

In case you're new here, we are not French, nor is he taking French class.

What?!  If I didn't laugh, I'd cry!  

Funny Monday: Jesus and Mice!

Happy Monday!

Sundays in My City: Hodge Podge

Sundays in My City is a weekly photo meme hosted by Unknown Mami.
Today, I offer an eclectic mix of scenes from my "city."

 This week, teachers at my school were treated to some delicious cake pops, 

which my co-worker won on The Creative Crumb's Facebook page! 

I got one of the strawberry pops, which are made with a homemade recipe--It was wonderful.  

Don't we look happy?!

Kendall worked on her chemistry homework in our side yard one day this week.

This is what your pan will look like if 15 college kids come for dinner and you serve them Chicken Spaghetti. (They also cleaned out more than half of a second pan.) Sorry about the sideways photo.  

After the meall, one of the kids (a sweet young man from Korea) worked hard to find the English to say, "This is the best food I have ever eaten. Thank you."  

That's saying a lot, since he cooks regularly for his fellow students at the dorm, 

and they rave about his food!

My good friend, Dawn, lost much of her garden this week, when a surprise frost wreaked havoc. 

She was kind enough to share some of the survivors with me! Thank you, Dawn!!

And finally, a photo of my favorite tree, from my morning commute, this time.

Saturday Sampling, September 17th, 2011

If you're looking for some great posts to catch up on, this is the place! Saturday Sampling, a collection of our favorite posts from around the blog world.

Important! Today I came up with what I think is a great idea. I would like to offer the opportunity for anyone interested to host Saturday Sampling next week on their blog. I would still hang up a shingle, but I'd provide a link to your blog, where you would collect the post links, instead of me. The next week, I'd send folks to a different host blog, in the same way. This way, readers would get a sampling of your blog, as well as others!  You might meet some new friends, and I would get a Saturday off. Let me know what you think! If you'd be interested in hosting Saturday Sampling over at your place, let me know in the comments, and I'll set up a schedule.

And now, for your linking pleasure!

Friday Fragments: Episode #163

I'm hanging up my Friday Fragments shingle and rushing off to a Choir Parents Meeting. Feel free to link up, and I'll add the rest of mine when I get home! First time here? Click on the Friday Fragments tab at the top of the page.

***Summer slammed the door in our Wisconsin faces today and kicked fall out of the car as it sped away! Brrr!

***Our annual Block Party is Saturday night. I'm bringing cakepops (with peanut butter M&M's inside) and guacamole. The 4444 family is very much looking forward to an afternoon/evening/night of fun!

***Speaking of fun, Kyle is coming home for dinner tonight with about ten college friends. He requested my Chicken Spaghetti, with Apple Dumplings for dessert. A visitor to my cooking blog noted (in a Stumbleupon review) that there isn't a single thing there that she would make...adding something about everything being horribly unhealthy. My response?    "So?!" lol

***Selfless Marine, Dakota Meyer, received the Medal of Honor today from President Obama. His story is  humbling. We are blessed to a man like him representing our country.

***My sister, Michelle, found this gem on The Oatmeal.

My apologies to the artist, for tweeking out the "f-bomb," but this is not an f-bomb kind of blog. Hopefully, you got the idea.

***And finally, this video. It's making its rounds around the internet, and it's just beautiful. I hope Mr.4444 loves me this much when we are old and gray.

 

Here's your chance to unclutter your mind. Link up your Friday Fragments post and free your mind for the weekend. If this is your first time fragmenting, please add a * to your name so that the rest of us can stop by and meet you!

Rockin' Your Awesomeness

Don't you just love this kid? I want to make a giant poster of the photo and include the words, "Rock Your Awesomeness!"   The little girl (Amelia) is the daughter of Melissa Wardy (of Redefine Girly) who wrote Waking Up Full of Awesome, and I invite you to read it today. If you're a man with a daughter or grandaughter, I invite you to read it and reflect, too. We can all do well to ask ourselves today...

How can I contribute to someone's sense of awesomeness today?

Funny Monday: The Lighter Side of Child Abuse

I don't know about you, but I shed more than a few tears in the last week, watching 9/11 Remembrance stories. Today, I'm ready to laugh.

I am a follower of MamaKat's YouTube channel. I don't have time to read her blog with any regularity, but I always have time to watch her funny videos. (I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure she and I would get along famously.)  Today, I'm sharing MamaKat's Puppet Master video, because it's incredibly sweet and funny.

Happy Monday!

Oh, and P.S. Please do not call Child Protective Services for MamaKat's seemingly-dangerous throttling of her "puppet." I was only kidding in my post title.  I'm pretty sure that little cutie is just fine. 

Saturday Sampling, September 10, 2011

Saturday Sampling is a collection of your favorite posts from blogs near and far.

Thanks for sharing your favorite posts!
 For more information, click the Saturday Sampling tab above.

Friday Fragments, Episode #162

It's the first Friday Fragments of the regular season of NFL football, and I am feeling football fragmenty. Thanks for stopping by. [To learn more about Friday Fragments, click on the tab above.]

*You may or may not know (I didn't.) that when a team wins the Super Bowl, the NFL kicks off the season by throwing a FREE "Block Party" for the team's city. Today, the festivities officially started in Green Bay this afternoon with a live, outdoor concert featuring Maroon 5, Kid Rock, and Lady Antebellum. It's 7pm now, and  a newscaster just described the scene as "Packer Pandemonium."

*Mr.4444 and Kyle are going to the game. Kendall is just going to the block party. I'm staying home (I enjoy a quiet house.), but I have to admit to wishing I was there, on some level--I like Packers Pandemonium a lot.

*I wrote an email excuse for Kendall to leave school early today. "Please excuse Kendall at 11:30am today. She will be participating in a family ritual."  The reply was:   :)

*Our sixth grade students have little awareness of 9/11 since they were only toddlers when it happened. They don't truly understand the significance of the Twin Towers (as symbols) being attacked. I don't mean this facetiously when I say that when I teach them about it, I'm going to use Lambeau Field as an example. I'm certain that will hit home for most of them:  Twin Towers is to America as Lambeau Field is to Green Bay.

*I'm sorry I have not visited your blog or replied to your comments (though I've read them all) this week. I'm a teacher--It's been crazy busy this week. I am loving it, though; being around the energy of eleven-year-olds is wonderful, really.

*The fighter jets just flew over our house on their way to Lambeau (That never gets old--I love it!), and that's my cue...

Now it's your turn! Leave your Friday Fragments link here, and enjoy the party!

One Ringy-Dingy...

Not sure what made me stumble upon this post, but it made me smile (again), so I thought I'd share it. It was originally published in 2009.

***

This email from my sister Michelle was so wonderful, I had to get permission (from her and from Mom) to post it here. She wrote it to my siblings after taking Mom to a doctor appt. For the record, Mom is fine, but she's been having some trouble breathing (maybe a touch of pneumonia), so they wanted her to come in for some tests. [Logan and Caden are Michelle's boys.] From the email...

I ended up taking Mom to her breathing test today. I'm sure glad I did; she is such a hoot! I love how she can just talk to total strangers and instantly put smiles on their faces. Her outlook and attitude are so inspiring, as you all know. When I got there, right away, we entered the elevator with two other women. One of the women pushes the button for the second floor and Mom says, "OK - I'll let you drive, as long as you don't get us lost." What an awesome quality to have - the ability to make a stranger laugh. Many people will just enter an elevator and stare up at the numbers, feeling awkward.

Maybe Logan has Mom's elevator skills. I remember years ago, when Dad had his heart attack.  The boys and I were heading up to see him in the hospital elevator. Logan was about 4 years old at the time.  A stranger in the elevator with us wasn't holding onto the hand railing inside. Logan sternly said, "You better hold on to that; you're gonna fall down and crack your head open!!"

Anyhoo...

They had Mom get into this breathing box thing...

A usual, Mom was full of jokes. The best was when she first got in; the first thing she said was, "Now, am I allowed to make a long distance phone call?" That was a real LOL! She told me to tell Logan and Caden that she tried to call them, but they didn't answer. 

So, yeah, don't worry about Mom. If her sense of humor is any indication, she'll be fine. 

[Update: Yes, she was/is fine.]

Funny Monday: Bank Robbing Grandmas

Since banks are closed today (Happy Labor Day!), 

I figured you'd appreciate this video, 

which made me think of my mom and laugh even harder. 

Happy Monday!

Saturday Sampling, September 3rd, 2011

Have you read (or written) a great post lately? Here's your chance to share it! Welcome to Saturday Sampling.

[First time here? Welcome! Please click on the SS tab above to learn more.]

Friday Fragments, Episode #161

It was Back-to-School week in my neck of the woods this week. Of course, I have plenty of fragments to unload, what with all the chaos.

***To those of you who are thrilled to finally be able to pass your brats on to their teachers. THANKS. (But really, I do love them and look forward to a year full of learning and fun. (Oh, and BTW, you're welcome. :)

***Update on my healing students: Brennan is making very good progress in an intensive therapy program at the hospital he's been in since July 29th. He's still not recognizing people or talking, but he is waving hello, throwing peace signs, and high-fiving. That's huge progress, considering his doctors had almost written him off a few weeks ago. The two students who received serious burns via a power line incident are still in the burn unit of Milwaukee Children's Hospital. GW is still in a medically-induced coma and is undergoing various surgeries (That's all I know.) His sister K is no longer in her medically-induced coma and is also facing surgeries. She is going to be doing major therapy to learn to walk again, as doctors will likely have to remove some of her toes. What a way to start 7th grade! (But least she is alive.) Keep the prayers coming!

***I am SO excited! I won a giveaway on the Highball Blog (gear giveaways and tutorials for outdoorsy types) and got the treat of choosing any piece of Prana gear that I wanted! I'm not a big shopper, but believe me, I had a good time in there. This is what I chose:

I love it and anxiously await its delivery. Thank you, Prana and Highball Blog!!!

***Remember my pregnant niece, Nicki, and her sweet, shy husband, whom Kyle and I visited last summer? (Feel free to advise me on the proper grammar/punctuation on that sentence.) She has graduated to "new mommy," and if you haven't already read my post welcoming little Cypher to the world, I encourage you to do so--He is very possibly the cutest baby boy ever.

***I just wrote a very long fragment about what I think of parents who register their children at a new school the day before school starts (or later that week), but then I remembered that I'd like to keep my job, so I deleted it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that no one who reads this blog needs to be told, but just in case:  If September 1st comes and your kid is still not in school and you wonder when school starts, you need to get your head out of your

***For what it's worth, I have/had a Yahoo account I've been trying to close for a week. I can't make the emails stop, and I can't log back in, because my account's closed. Their "Customer Service" emails lead only to dead ends that are trying my patience. No wonder I never used the account!

***As a member of the One2One Blogging Network, I decided to enter their Bounce It Off Millions Contest on their Facebook wall. All you have to do is submit a decision you'd like help with--What nail polish should I choose? Should I quit my job? Which is better: solids or stripes? You can win prizes like free Bounce Bars and VISA gift cards (No, they didn't make me say this--I volunteered!) and even get your chance to have your question answered by millions. It's super easy to enter, so I went for it and asked a question about whether or not we should get a kitten. Feel free to join me! [YOU DON'T NEED A BLOG TO ENTER YOUR QUESTION!]

It's your time to unload! (Sorry--This linky is for Friday Fragmenters only. Other links will be deleted.)