Top Entrecard Droppers For July, and A Fun Challenge

Last month I tried something different, and put my top droppers on the side bar, for 7 days. I don't think I liked that method, so I returned to my usual. I must thank all who drop, read, and comment on this blog every day. I truly appreciate you.

Since I have one more month before we start homeschool again, I am torturing you with all kinds of my thoughts, and ideas. I feel for you, I really do. HaHa anyway I came up with a fun challenge. It will be set for Sunday, the second of August. All those who participate will receive 100 Entrecard credits from me. I have a ton of them, since the cashout system is no longer there. So, here is what you have to do. I have been thinking of fun writing prompts for my 9 yr old, for the upcoming school year. I find this one humorous, If you could come back as anyone, or anything who or what would it be, and why? You must pick a who, and a what, to qualify. That is the only rule, so get thinking, and get ready to write.

Now to the top 10 droppers for July:
http://www.fortthompson.blogspot.com
http://cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.blogspot....
http://beyondleftfield.net
http://www.picturetopeople.org/blog/blog.html
http://matthiaschronicles.tanaya.net/
http://smkserian.blogspot.com/
http://oscargecko.blogspot.com/
http://www.dietsecretsonline.info
http://everyday-adventurer.blogspot.com/
http://www.ryanmerydithfrancis.com


The blog that I received the best advertising stats on is http://www.thefearlessblog.blogspot.com with 35 clicks from his blog to mine. Be sure to check them out, if you have the time, and show them some love.

Forced Participation!

First let me start by saying, I have been blogging, for about a year, and a half. I found Entrecard on Mylot, from another member. I love Entrecard, as you can see from the video below, it marketed as a electronic business card, but is basically a one to one traffic exchange, with extra benefits. This blog gets about 50% of its traffic from Entrecard, with the other half coming from search engines and other sources. This is much improved from almost 100% coming from Entrecard when I first started. So you can see Entrecard really does work, and is quite beneficial.

So why am I doing a post? Well one of the blogs I read every day, had mentioned that she had been refused advertising on a blog, because she never left any comments on that blog. I had mentioned before there is a big push, from some bloggers, at Entrecard to make Entrecard somehow force members to participate in blogs they view every day. So here are my thoughts.

I personally will not participate in anything that bullies you into leaving comments on any blogs. First of all it takes a number of hours to just drop your cards, each day. Imagine if you had to leave comments on every blog you visited to maintain your rank, or be allowed to purchase advertising space. It would literally take you all day to do such a thing. Two, there are many blogs I visit that do not even add new posts, so how can you leave a comment. Three, why would you want someone to leave a comment on a subject that they either have no knowledge of, or feel the post is just not something they want to comment on? Four, there are a ton of blogs that do not even post your comment, if you do not agree with their point of view. Why would you waste your time? Five it is a traffic exchange system, it works for most people, why all of a sudden all these extra demands?

If you drop on my blog, I will drop back. If you purchase advertising from me, I will approve it unless offensive to this blog. If you leave me a comment, I post it, unless you leave me penis enhancement or some other dumb comment not related to the post. If you refuse to post my comment, to your blog, I probably will no longer visit it, rude sorry. If you refuse me advertising, well I probably will not pay it any mind, there are tons of others who will. If Entrecard adds say a timer, for a certain amount of time that must be spent on each blog, to get credit much like other traffic exchanges, bravo. If Entrecard starts making demands that we have to leave comments on blogs, then I will drop on like 25 blogs, leave comments, and that will be it. I most definitely do not have time to leave comments on every blog I visit, advertise on, or that advertises on me. To try to enforce something like that is absurd, in my honest opinion.

Lets Have Some Fun With Color

How about something fun for a change. I am usually thinking of serious, thought provoking subjects, which explains my results shown below. Anyway take the color test, just short ten questions, and see what color you are. Please come back and post your results, or better yet share them on your blog. As you can see I am blue, and I must say I am very drawn to anything blue. I find the description to be very accurate of my personality. I can not wait to see what color you are.

Speaking of colors, and since I have different readers on each of my blogs, how about pink. Do you love the color pink? Then you simply must go to my jewelry blog, and enter to win a pink tourmaline ring. Time is running out, it ends August 8th, and I already have 9 contestants. Go here to enter, be sure to read the rules.

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionally. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

Michael Vick Reinstated

I am a huge football fan. When Michael Vick was convicted of dog fighting, I was both disgusted, and discouraged. How could someone do something so awful, to a dog. Then he went to prison, and was recently released. He still has to serve three years probation, and keep his nose clean. I think what he did was disgusting, and outrageous, and I spoke about it on many public forums at the time. Yesterday the NFL reinstated Vick, allowing him to be picked up by a team, and possibly play again. Now this is where it gets messy. PETA is putting pressure on Vick's lawyers, Vick, and anyone else who will listen to force him to take a MRI to prove he is not a psychopath. Are you kidding me? This is absolutely outrageous. Why should he have to do that? He paid his debt to society, did his time, and now deserves to resume his life, and earn a living. Do I think he should make a point of mentoring children, and others about why dog fighting is awful, yes I think that would be a good move on his part. Do I think he should have to take a medical test, to prove he is not a psychopath, absolutely not. Then everyone should have to do this, to have gainful employment, for any infraction they have done. People make mistakes, and do bad things sometimes. They are making an example of Vick, and obviously intend to continue to make an example of him for the rest of his life. Pedophiles don't even get this kind of treatment. Vick was wrong, disgusting, and did awful things to harmless animals, BUT he did his time, move on already.

So go ahead and start yelling, stomping your feet, calling me names, maybe I need an MRI to prove I am not a psychopath, please this man does have rights. Forgive, but never forget, but why be so vengeful. What do you think? By the way I am not one of those bloggers who only post comments that agree with them. I will however delete spammers, so don't send comments about penis enhancement, please.

Back To School Shopping Win A Free Laptop

Now I am really bummed out. Why, you ask? Because, I did not know about this awesome contest, where Charter is giving away free laptops Laptop-a-Day Sweepstakes. We already went ahead and purchased a laptop. Anyway, you can still get into this great contest, it runs from July 15th through September 15.

As if a free laptop is not good enough, you can also win a gift card ranging in value from 25-100 bucks! Who can't use a free gift card Charter on Facebook.

The winner will get a 550 HP Notebook, with 15 inch screen, Windows Vista, and Neo Tec Compu backpack Charter on Twitter to carry your new laptop around in.

This laptop can be used both for business, and school. If you homeschool your kids, like me, they are great if you work at home, and need an extra computer for the kiddos to do school work on. They are small, light weight, easy to transport, and make learning, or work portable.

Go to Charter on Twitter to register, see who wins, previous promotions, plus the complete rules to enter. Last year Charter gave away laptops, Xbox 360's, and a 2009 Honda Civic. I did not win any of those either, bummer. So hurry, and get your entry in, so you can have a chance to win a free laptop, and a gift card.

Sex Bracelets?

Remember those cheap jelly bracelets Madonna, made famous in the 80's? I do, I loved them. Well they have made a come back, and in a maybe not so nice way. Because I homeschool, I admit I am a little behind the trends of public school kids. It seems that a new game, started in Florida of course, is called Snaps. This game involves these lovely jelly bracelets, and is sweeping the country. Of course there are kids all over youtube saying they don't partake, and it is only kids who are already sexually active. However I have friends who have kids in public schools, and not only is the game prevalent there are lots of kids who take part. These bracelets have been banned by parents, and schools, maybe harsh, maybe not, you decide. Each colored bracelet has a different sexual meaning. A boy, or a girl, comes up and snaps the bracelet off, and you are supposed to perform the act that goes with the color. Why do I even know about this, you ask? I first heard about it from friends, with kids in public school. I work for a text service and kids ask about it all the time. Now could be harmless curiosity, I mean kids are normally curious about everything sexual. This game starts as young as nine, or ten years old. Just be aware of it, and know what your kids are doing, and where they are going. If it does not bother you that your child, as young as 9 may be taking part in sexual activities, then you probably only read the first sentence anyway. Here are the colors of the bracelets, and what each means. In the second video watch how the young girl, who appears to be about 12 imitates a blow job. I don't know to me, it is disturbing, and I probably would not let my child wear them. If you think I am crazy that is fine, but we had an 11 yr old boy over to play the other day, and he told my 5 yr old daughter she was sexy, and cute. I was very disturbed, and my husband almost banned him from the yard. Our children are becoming more aware of sex, and having sex, at younger and younger ages, why take the chance that these bracelets really mean nothing, or mean a lot more than we are willing to admit, or deal with?

• Yellow- indicates the wearer is willing to HUG
• Pink - indicates the wearer is willing to give a hickey
• Orange - indicates the wearer is willing to KISS
• Purple - indicates the wearer is willing to kiss a partner of either sex
• Red - indicates the wearer is willing to perform a LAP DANCE
• Green - indicates that ORAL SEX can be performed on a girl
• Clear - indicates a willingness to do "whatever the snapper wants"
• Blue - indicates ORAL SEX performed on a guy
• Black - indicates that the wearer will have regular "missionary" sex
• White - indicates the wearer will "FLASH" what they have
• Glittery Yellow - indicates HUGGING and KISSING is acceptable
• Glittery Pink - willing to "flash" (show) a body part
• Glittery Purple - wearer is willing to French (open mouth) kiss
• Glittery Blue - wearer is willing to perform anal sex
• Glittery Green - indicates that the wearer is willing to "69" (mutual oral sex)
• Glittery Clear - indicates that the wearer will let the snappee "feel up" or touch any body part they want

I got this information here

You decide how you want to use the information, then watch these videos with kids talking about them. There are several on youtube, you can look up and view for yourself.

H1N1 Still Alive and Kicking

I don't know about the rest of you, but this makes me just a bit nervous. Here in the US the flu season does not start until cool weather comes back. That is because the flu virus can not thrive in hot, and humid conditions. Ha, but not H1N1 also known as a form of Swine Flu. Here in Gilchrist County, we have had our first reported cases of Swine Flu, it is July. The Public Health Dept has issued a statement, you can read it here. The three confirmed cases, there are over 30 with symptoms, are in the local prison. Normally this would not alarm me, other than the time of year, but my husband works at this prison. So now I have to watch for symptoms, and probably isolate ourselves from others to be safe, as we have been exposed for sure. You can read about symptoms here at the CDC website. If you look around the website you will see that the virus is still very prevalent in the states, and some 362 people have died from it. I wonder to myself, how many of these deaths ocurred with people who are uninsured, or under insured. Hmm makes me wonder. After all Tamiflu which does not cure the flu, but just helps reduce symptoms by about a day and a half, only costs 10 dollars per pill, and you need a ten day course. Plus you might want to treat your family, because they might have caught some of your germs. If you don't like to read you can watch the short video below, about symptoms for H1N1 virus. Be sure to wash your hands, cover your nose and mouth, throw away tissues, and try to stay away from others if you have symptoms.

A Tight Squeeze!

I don't know if you have heard on the news about the 2 yr old strangled to death by a python, or not, but it is a huge problem here in Florida. The Burmese python which can grow up to 18-24 feet, and has no predators, are flourishing in the Florida Everglades. Many of these snakes were released by owners who thought it was cool to have a snake, until it got too big, and hard to feed. So they just release them to the wild. Not a good idea. Some of these snakes also got into the wild when Hurricane Andrew blew through South Florida, destroying their cages, and releasing them to the wild. They lay eggs, and lots of them, and are now hundreds of thousands of them living, and breeding in South Florida. Because they have no predators, they are destroying Florida's wild life, and ecosystems. So I found some cool videos, on these snakes, along with first aid for snake bites. There seems to be really nothing you can do if a constricting snake wants to give you a hug, especially a large one. You can try to pry it off, or have someone else, throw liquor in its eyes, and nose, or stab it. There is no proof any of these things actually work.

I very much dislike snakes, and if this thing crawled into my yard, I would probably croak on the spot. In the two years, we have owned this home we have had three various snakes in our yard. I lived in rattlesnake country my whole life, and never saw one snake, of any kind. These are not good odds for me LOL.







If you would like to read more information on snake handling, and bite treatment, please refer to the following links.

http://firstaid.webmd.com/snakebite-treatment
http://www.animalplanet.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=2910
http://www.snakegetters.com/class/handling-tips.html


Please, if you want one of these snakes, for whatever crazy reason, be responsible and call a pet shelter if you can no longer handle it. Learn the safety tips, and proper care techniques for all snakes, not just Burmese pythons. There are people who truly adore, and love snakes, so take care of both of you.

Some Thoughts, And Art Work

I have to make a quick post on health care, and then I have to move on. I am kind of getting tired of listening to the nonsense surrounding it. I watched about 30 min of President Obama's speech last night, and there were two things that especially caught my ear.

1- About the supposed tax hike on the rich, to pay for it. He very clearly said, it was not really a tax, but a change in the way the very rich make itemized deductions bringing it down to the same as a middle class family. I think that is reasonable, and certainly not as drastic as liberals are making it sound.

2- The comment, I have good health insurance, and so does every Senator, and Representative. Yes, they do, and all us tax payers pay for it. They never get denied treatment, go to only the best doctors, and hospitals, are treated like kings, and queens. Want to know how to pay for it, how about we take that benefit away from them. They are rich, they certainly could afford to pay for their own health insurance. Or they could pay for it out of their own pockets, like they seem to see nothing wrong with Americans doing. How about we turn the table, and show them how it feels. Why should we Americans, pay big taxes for them to have cushy health care benefits, when they don't give a damn if their fellow Americans even get any? I say that is the answer to the problem, how much money do you think that would generate? Call them, ask them if they think they would be willing to give up their health insurance, and go on Medicaid, because you know that is such a great program, or go without health insurance at all, and their kids, and spouses too. Do you think you will get an answer?

OK now onto something I truly love, and that is my children's love of art. They both picked their favorite art work pieces, from this school year. Caitlin, who is 5, picked her Spongebob picture. Her art has progressed so much, from even six months ago. DJ picked his Batman, and flower pictures, because he feels they were the best. The other two items are sharks, that we made with a kit, and painted. As you can see Caitlin's is very colorful, where DJ's is more traditional. It is funny, because when he was five, he let his imagination run wild, as he gets older he chooses more traditional art styles. This coming school year, is the first year, I actually purchased an art book. They learn from videos on youtube, and looking at pictures. Just giving the oppurtunity to do art, gives them the desire to do it.

Glenn Beck Has Some Issues

First of all if you have not heard the clip yet, please listen to it, before you respond. I think Glenn Beck is a true conservative, and a patriot, but he rally is crazy, and has no people skills. I have listened, and or watched several times, and wondered how his eyes don't just explode outside his head. However, the radio show episode yesterday, was really uncalled for. Now granted he has complained incessantly about all the bailouts, and money this country is spending, and the woman that called had never listened to his show before, so accusing him of such was not wise. However she did raise a very valid point, that the wealthy, and well insured refuse to answer. What would you do if you had no health insurance? They will not answer this, because they have no idea what that really means. They keep saying you can get health care, you can go to the ER, the clinic, or whatever. Well no see technically that is not true. If you go to the hospital for care, if you even get seen, because they will do everything in their power, like long wait times, to not see you, you still get a bill. A bill that will cost no less than 250 dollars, and that is if you get no real treatment at all, and a referral to see a primary care doctor, which will cost you no less than 250 dollars, to see maybe a PA, not a doctor, and still get no treatment. It is a vicious cycle, and the real issue behind health care reform. Yes, maybe people don't really want higher taxes, and it will cost a lot of money, but it really is unfair for all US citizens to not have access to GOOD health care. Take the one point he made, where he said other well off citizens, from other countries, were coming here to get treatment rather than getting it in their own country where health care is provided. Think about that, why do you think that is? It is because they have money, and if you have money you get to bypass everyone else, and get the treatment you want. Not necessarily the treatment you need, but want, and want it now. We are a society of impatience, we think we need, and deserve everything right now, this minute. Try affording MS medication, cancer, Aids, or any other number of illnesses where the medication is so absurdly expensive, if you do not have health insurance, you will not get it. You might just as well kiss your ass goodbye, and just die. Is that fair, is that what we want to be known for in this country of the greatest countries. I understand the all conservative pledge, and though I consider myself a conservative, I find some of them cruel, and the idea that you take care of yourself, and only yourself, is one of them. Universal Health Care IS a right, to all US citizens, not just those who can afford it, or are lucky enough to have it through their job. Which by the way, even if you have health insurance, you can easily go broke, before all they care about is making money, not whether you get the care you need, and deserve. Reform is needed, and soon, how they pay for it is another question. Tort reform, plus reform to drug companies, and insurance companies is a must. I am always curious why they scream and holler, but never make the point that all of us that work, or own our own homes, pay for uninsured through the Medicaid program. We ALREADY pay for it. WE ALREADY pay for the uninsured, through a tax on our own health insurance. WE ALREADY PAY FOR IT!!! I would think if everyone had health insurance, there would be no need for Medicaid, or the tax the insured already pay, to cover those who are uninsured.

Complete Solar Eclipse For 07/22/09

Tomorrow there will be a complete Solar Eclipse. Unfortunately it will only be visible in a very small line of places over India, China, and other parts of Asia. I was disappointed because I really wanted my kids to see it. I doubt anyone will upload the whole thing, because they are usually quite long. The last complete one I saw, was a lunar eclipse, way back when I was a teenager. I do not generally like poetry, though as I grow older, it has grown on me more, but I found this neat poem with video, about the eclipse, and a couple of other cool shots. Check them out if you like. When was the last time you saw a complete Lunar, or Solar Eclipse? What did you think of it?

Some Good News For A Change!

First I would like to thank everyone, that left me kind words, about my migraines. I could not get into the doctor today, but have an appt tomorrow. After the three day migraine, and the fish oil reaction, you would think my whole weekend was ruined. Nope, yesterday was very nice. We went to my moms, to swim in her pool, help her move around some stuff too heavy for her to move, and of course had pizza LOL. My mom has suffered with fibromyalgia for years, and we try to help her as much as we can. It is difficult to ask for help, when you are used to being independant, but being humble is so much more important.

So for the good news. I have had several people inquire about being a guest blogger. You should be seeing some new posts, soon, on various topics. I am excited! My husband has worked very hard, to get noticed. Anyone who moves to a small community, from somewhere else, knows what I am talking about. He finally has been rewarded, and been promoted to Director of his area. It comes with a very nice new salary, and benefits. I am very proud of him, he has worked hard, and deserves this.

Would you like to win free jewelry? Of course you do LOL. Head over to my jewelry blog , and enter the contest. It is easy, free, and you will get yourself a lovely piece of jewelry. I love being able to share my love of jewelry with others, and I have not given away anything in a while. I already have three contestants, and it ends August 8th, so don't forget.

My garden is coming along nicely, and I have been enjoying tomatoes for some time now. The pepper plant, we put in the topsy turvey is humungous, and I mean humungous. It was so big, my husband had to make it, its own special pole to hang it on. No peppers yet, but I am assuming they will come soon. Only one cucumber so far, but I have tons little ones just, need to grow a bit more. My roses, as you can see on my header, are big, and beautiful. I love them.



Congrats Comments
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You Tell Me Does It Pay To Be Healthy?

Obviously, yes I think it pays to be healthy, I am being sarcastic. Why, you ask? Well I may have mentioned before that I hate fish. I don't mean I just dislike it, I actually can not stomach eating it. Fish is actually very good for you. The Omega three fatty acids can help reduce inflammation, cholesterol, and help prevent heart disease. Sounds good, right? So I decided to take some advice, and try these lovely supplements. Most supplements don't cause side effects, so I never though anything about it. Ha, that is what I say, Ha. I took the first horse capsule yesterday, at lunch time. Within a half hour, I started to feel nauseous. Nothing major, I could tolerate it, vitamins make me nauseous too, I don't take them anymore though. By dinner time, my stomach was severely bloated, and hard as a rock. My husband made delicious steak on the grill, and I could barely eat it. I had chest pain, bloating, back pain, and the loudest grossest, burps and flatulence you ever could hear. I have had two c-sections and these pills made that seem like a walk in the park. So after I could finally breath again, and sit upright, I went online to do some searching. Seems gas, and diarrhea are both side effects of these fish oil capsules, and they recommend you take these things three times a day. OMG I do not think so, I will never take them again. If anyone knows of foods that are rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, besides fish, and these awful supplements, I would love to know what they are. Be aware if you decide to take these, that this may happen to you.

Off To The Doctor I Go

I am a bit of a stubborn person, at times. Going without health insurance, for many years, has not helped. I have suffered from migraines since the birth of my second child. I was examined right before moving to Florida, and due to how they occurred, it was determined it was probably hormone related. But now my symptoms are changing, and I am starting to have some neurological involvement. A visit to the eye doctor revealed nothing substantial, and they eye glasses have not helped a bit. I do believe I have chronic dry eye, but that does not account for other symptoms. We have health care now, and have for a couple of years, so I guess it is time I get examined. I have many fears since my mom has fibromyalgia, which personally I have always felt was a misdiagnosis, and she probably has MS. At any rate, I have done great research, and feel I may have MS, of course I certainly hope I am wrong. At any rate, my children are far too young, for me to not get answers, and treatment. I am fussy about treatments though, so this could be difficult. I only hope the Dr is willing to be flexible, and not just expect me to stuff myself full of medications, with no real answers. I go Monday, so wish me luck! I am hoping for just simple migraines, that have worsened, and not something serious.

Wanted Guest Blogger For Education Topic

At the beginning of this year, I made some goals for this blog. I have met most of them, but forgot all about wanting to have guest bloggers. It is already July, and I have not had one yet. So now, I am looking for one. I am not fussy, but it should be an educational topic It can be an educational topic, supplies, issue, or other area. You do not have to be a homeschooler to qualify. I would like it to be at least 200 words, and knowledgeable. If anyone is interested I am offering 1 yr of free advertising on each of my three blogs, either text, banner, or widget. If you are interested you can comment to this post, or email me at darien04@gmail.com

History Of The Everglades 4 Parts

As part pf our 4th grade history curriculum, we will be studying the history of Florida. I am adding videos, to save for later use. Please watch, and enjoy them, they are quite interesting.

Annoying Homeschool Questions

This girl is funny, talking about annoying questions she has been asked about homeschooling. Yes, I have been asked most of these about my kids, as well. I think people are more curious than annoying, though it does get old if they keep it up.

Report Card, What We Work On Over The Summer

I finally got DJ's report card, for the fourth quarter done. I found a whole bunch of papers I had never graded, not real sure how that happened LOL. Anyways for those who care, here are his grades.

Language Arts: 92 up from 91
Reading: Excellent, he is well advanced in reading
Reading Comp: 90 down from a 98 mostly because we finished the workbook so less papers to grade
Writing: S much improved from the start of the year. Stays on topic, still needs to watch spelling, and capitals. Sometimes does not use enough content as well.
Math: 91 down from 92 not bad considering we moved into much harder material at the end
Science: 99 up from 93 by far DJ's favorite subject
Health: S no letter grade this time, because the curriculum was complete just reviewed
Social Studies: 95 same as last quarter
Spanish: NA no Spanish this quarter
Art: Excellent, continues to excel, and expand his skills. DJ will be showcasing his work on his blog.


Over the summer we do some simple review work. Caitlin will be doing phonics, and DJ handwriting, and math. Handwriting is a big one, as he gets sloppy, and his difficult to read sometimes. Math, just because I do not want to lose the skills he learned already, esp the more difficult division.

These are the sites we will be using over the summer. Please feel free to check them out, and use them as you like. Since we started two years ago, tons of homeschool sites have come online. I have found so many new, and cool ones, I can not wait to share them with all of you.

http://www.homeeducationresources.com/FREEhandwriting.htm I love this sites handwriting sheets, esp the cursive. They have other awesome sheets as well, many I will be using for the next school year.

http://www.kidzone.ws/ and http://www.tlsbooks.com/thirdgradeworksheets.htm are the two sites I will be using for math worksheets.

http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/play.htm?f , and http://www.neok12.com/Phonics.htm are the two main phonics sites. There are so many more, I like these two the best for now. I also found some cool phonics games I will share after I find where I put them LOL. I also purchased off of Ebay a used Hooked on Phonics set, and I can tell you it is so easy to teach using this system, Caitlin has already advanced so much.

Happy Summer learning.

I Was Tagged By Sandi

Sandi from pregnant with cancer, who is also a member of my Blogging For Fun group, tagged me to tell 6 things about myself that my readers may not know. So I figured I would play along, she might be sorry she asked LOL;

First the rules:

1. Link to the person or persons who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know when your post entry is up on your site.

Seems easy enough, but I must warn you, I have been accused of being a bubble head, blabber mouth, etc so if I drag on I am sorry.

1- The first thing I am sure I have never shared about myself is that I used to be a karate instructor, with a second degree brown belt in Kempo Karate. I actually fractured a bone in my ankle, right before I was to test for the next level, and after rehabbing just never returned. I also used to rollerblade six miles every day, with my Sharpei dog. I used to be in really good shape LOL.

2- I think I should have been a teacher, because I also used to teach BLS certification, and AED monitors. I did that for many years, before the birth of my first child. I didn't have the time that it required, after I had DJ, but it was great fun. I actually did it to get over my fear of public speaking, now I probably would stutter up in front of a crowd.

3- Most of my readers know I am a nurse. What you may not know is that I went to LPN school at the age of 15, while still in high school. I have completed all but one semester of my RN. I did not finish, due to family issues at the time, and just never got back to it. Now it has been quite some time, and I would have to retake everything again. I simply do not see that happening, at this point in my life. As much as I love being a nurse, with the way the health care field is right now, I am not sure I really would want to be an RN, anyways. It was much different 23 yrs ago when I went to LPN school.

4- At one point, in my twenties, I wanted to be a legal nurse consultant. Most of these are reserved for RN's, but I wanted to do it anyway. So I took, a paralegal course, and marketed myself as an LPN with paralegal skills. I managed to land a 1 yr internship with a personal injury law company. I did it a few days a week, on top of my nursing job. While I found it completely fascinating, I quickly learned that personal injury work, was not for me. There were a lot of things that went on, that I just could not deal with.

5- I have two children, but I never had an interest in having kids until I reached 30. I had my son at 31, and my daughter at 35. While I am glad I waited, it is hard because you don't have the stamina, you had when you were real young.

6- The last thing is, I was an independant, strong willed young woman, well I still am. But, I parited hard, and had a great time, before settling down with my kids. I never did drugs, which was not easy, considering everyone else did. I did enjoy the alcohol, though I must say I was never foolish enough to put me, or my friends in danger. Losing my nursing license was the biggest reason for not being reckless. I had worked too hard to get it. I could tell some stories, though, I will digress my mom might read this post. There are some things better left untold.

Well that is it, hope you enjoyed it. Now I have to tag six other people. This is kind of hard, because I like so many people, how do you pick just six? So I am going to pick six people from our Blogging for Fun group, that I am pretty sure have not participated in any.

http://leomarsden.com/
http://landscapeadventureblog.blogspot.com/
http://pinayfreelancer.com/
http://smalltownmommy.com/
http://bigdaddyrichard-swirlingthoughts.blogspot.com/
http://www.thingsthatareme.com/

OK so get busy, and lets hear all your secrets. Have fun!

Videos That Teach Kids and Adults How To Swim Free

I was surprised by my previous post, at how many people never learned to swim. I know several people, in my personal life, that never really learned to swim. So I found some videos that teach both kids, and adults how to swim. You can watch them, and apply them to your kids, or yourself.

Gainesville Aquatic Fun

The Dept of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, located in Gainesville has some cool summer activities available. Some of the ones I found interesting are:

Dive In Movies- watch your favorite movie while floating in the pool. 3 dollars for children, and 5 dollars for adults. Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Swim lessons- Pretty much offered all year except winter, by Red Cross Water Safety Instructors. Classes are 30 min in length. All children should learn to swim, at a young age, and adults if you do not already know how.

Camp Aqua Sport- We might actually give this one a try next year. Provides a source of physical, and educational activities, in and around, and aquatic environment. It is 142 dollars for city residents, and 215 for non residents.

Junior Lifeguarding Camp for 12-15 yr old children- My son actually wanted to do this, but he is only 9, so he has to wait a bit. There are prerequisites that must be met, along with age. Participants learn life saving skills, first aid, and CPR, as well as life guarding skills. Price is 116 for city residents, and 173 for non city residents.

If you would like to learn about any of these great programs, or others available, you can call 352-334-5067 address 1024 NE 14th Street Gainesville, FL 32601

Homeschool Calendar For 2009/2010

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This is our homeschool calendar for the upcoming 2009/2010 school year. If you want to copy, and use this, please feel free to do so. I post it for record keeping purposes.

Sept 8, 2009: First Day of school
Sept 30, 2009: Early release day
Oct 12, 2009: No school Columbus Day obsv
Oct 16, 2009: End of first grading period
Oct 19, 2009: No school
Oct 20, 2009: Early release day
Nov 2, 2009: No school
Nov 3, 2009: Fire Drill week, and hurricane preparedness
Nov 10, 2009: Early release day
Nov 11, 2009: No school, Veterans Day
Nov 25-27, 2009: No school, Thanksgiving break
Dec 18, 2009: End of second grading period
Dec 24- Jan 7, 2010: No school Christmas Break
Jan 11-15, 2010: Fire drill week, stranger danger
Jan 18, 2010: No School MLK obsv
Jan 21, 2010: Early release day
Feb 15, 2010: No school, Presidents Day obsv
Feb 22-26, 2010: Fire Drill week, bike safety
Mar 5, 2010: End of third grading period
Mar 8, 2010: No school
Mar 19, 2010: No school
Mar 30, 2010: No school
Apr 1-2, 2010: Early release day
Apr 5-9, 2010: No school, Spring Break
May 12, 2010: Early release day
May 24, 2010: No school, Memorial Day obsv
June 6-8, 2010: Early release days
June 9, 2010: Last day of school

Check Out The New Manta Ride At Sea World

Seaworld Orlando has a new ride, The Manta it has just opened, and is available to the public. I watched the clip, and it is a roller coaster, over water. You will feel like you are really riding on a Manta. If you are like me, and swimming with a real Manta Ray is really not your thing, this awesome roller coaster is the next best thing, and it is only available at Seaworld Orlando.

Seaworld has a special promotion going on right now. If you buy a ticket into Seaworld, you get a free pass to Aquatica, or Busch Gardens FREE! Trust me, if you have ever priced theme parks, this is an awesome deal. Plus Seaworld Orlando, is a very close drive to all places in Florida, plus surrounding states, such as Georgia. Right in the middle of the state, on the East Coast, it is readily accessible to everyone.

We had every intentions of visiting Seaworld this Spring, but family emergencies prevented it. I hope this deal sticks around for a while, for when we can go next Spring. I will keep my fingers crossed. I know my husband, and son would love the new Manta ride. My daughter is too small, but Seaworld has so many other great things to do, she will never be bored.

If you are planning a trip to Florida, be sure to check out Seaworld Orlando. You can not beat the free ticket offer, and a brand new rollercoaster to boot.

Happy 39th Birthday Craig, Hot Dogs, and Fourth of July

Yep that's right, yesterday was my son's birthday, today is my husband's birthday. Cake, ice cream, swimming, and relaxation, that is what is on the menu for today. At some point I will catch up on online stuff, and housework LOL.

I love to share tidbits of info, that I never knew before. I hated history in school, now I find it fascinating, and wish I had paid more attention. For example, did you know that Congress did not officially make the 4th of July a national holiday until 1931, 61 years after it was proposed.

Hot dog history:

Where did the name hot dog come from? There is a legend told that a cartoonist, at a baseball game heard a vendor yelling get your red hot dachshund sausages. The cartoonist drew a dachshund in a bun, but because he did not know how to spell, dachshund, he wrote, Get your hot dogs. It is said that no one ever actually saw that cartoon.

When was the first hot dog served with a roll? Like lots of things in history, this is a debated topic. There are some who say it was introduced at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, while others say German immigrants, introduced the sausage on a bun idea, to Americans.

What is in a hot dog? You may never eat one again, after you know. Hot dogs are cured, and cooked sausages that consist of pork, beef, chicken, and turkey, or a combination of all. Other ingredients include water, curing agents, garlic, salt, sugar, ground mustard, nutmeg, coriander, and white pepper. If other meats are used in the making of hot dogs federal laws state it must be listed on the package. Be sure to read your packages!

Which baseball stadiums consume the most hot dogs? Dodgers Stadium in LA in 2005 consumed 1,674,400 hot dogs.

How many hot dogs do American eat each year? Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year, or about 70 hot dogs per person each year. I am certain I do not add to that number.

What is the most popular condiment for hot dogs? Mustard for adults, and ketchup for children, of course.



Happy Birthday Comments
Myspace Comments

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What Does A Nine Year Old Boy Want For His Birthday?

As you can see by the time of this post, it almost midnight on the Fourth of July. My son turned nine today, so it has special meaning to him. We have his cake, and ice cream tomorrow with my mom. Today, I slept because I work nights on Fridays, then DJ got to pick the rest of the days festivities. So what does a nine year old boy want for his birthday? Grilled cheese, doritos, popcorn, and soda he never gets soda. Jurassic Park three, with mom watching too, and of course a night of fireworks. We went to Branford this year, for the first time. We were actually very pleased with the show they put on, and the kids were delighted. We had no idea where to sit, so we just picked, we were kind of late getting there, because my husband had to cover a call off for a while. We lucked out though because they were going off practically right over our heads. Definitely the closest I have ever taken the kids to them. It was a great day, and now I play catch up. The dog by the way hates the fireworks, and when we got home neighbors were letting off booming ones, and he had somehow managed to crawl his 70 pound self behind my computer desk. He does not share DJ's love of the fourth.

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How To Enjoy The 4th of July on A Budget

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I was told that Nashville, TN has one of the best fireworks displays in the whole
country. Obviously traveling to Nashville, is not in our budget, but you can see their beautiful fireworks below. We will be attending the fireworks this year in Branford, FL usually we go to Cedar Key. The 4th is my sons 9th birthday. I thought I would share some tips to help host a 4th of July party, following a budget. I got some assistance from our local newspaper, with my input mixed in LOL.

1- This is probably the best, and my favorite tip- have a potluck BBQ. That means everyone brings something. That way the expense is not on just one person, but everyone shares. I love sharing. Hot dogs, and burgers, are the cheapest to serve, and cook fast, and easy.

2- If you insist on sending invitations, I think they are a waste of paper, so I send e-invites. You can find all kinds of cool, and fancy ones these days. Also texting is so popular, you could send one in a text.

3- I love the dollar store! You can get so many great festive items at your local dollar store. If you don't have a pool, a sprinkler, or slip n slide, squirt guns, can keep kids occupied, and cool. Play some cool music, and everyone will love you.

4- Try not to serve alcohol, it will cut into your budget big time. I have to say though, I can not say I really agree with that. Pepsi and Coke are even more expensive than some good old Michelob Light. Of course kids can not have that, and you want everyone to be safe, so buy wisely.

5- Make your own desserts, rather than spending a ton of money to buy them. For me, it depends, if I am really just too busy I will just buy it, and spend the little bit extra.

6- Last but not least watch someone elses fireworks, rather than buying your own, they are not cheap. Yes here in Florida, fireworks are legal. I can not tell you how crazy this makes me. I really am not fond of drunken fools letting off fireworks all around my home, until all hours of the night. We do not ever buy our own fireworks, and I do not see that changing anytime soon.

Know What You Are Taking

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Yesterday it was announced that the FDA may slap a black label on all Tylenol products, require a prescription for some, and get rid of Vicodin, and Percocet all together.

Why, because people are overdosing on Tylenol, by accident it seems, and causing liver damage, and or failure. I think the biggest issue with this is knowledge of what you are taking. First off acetominophen, and Tylenol are the same exact drug. You need to be sure to read the labels, of every OTC medication you buy to check for acetominophen. People are taking a cold medicine, which contains acetominophen, and then taking either more acetominophen, or Tylenol on top of it. Excedrin products contain, Aspirin, and Acetominophen both. Please, Please, Please read your labels, and know what is in them.

Second your liver can only handle a total of 1,000 mg of Acetominophen at one time. It takes at least 4 hours for your liver to erradicate Acetominophen from your system. Taking it sooner than that can damage your liver. Also, read your label and know what the dose for each tablet is. If you are taking two 500 mg tablets then you have reached the max amount to be given. So you can not safely take a cold medicine that has Acetominophen in it. The FDA will most likely be changing the max amount recommended to 650 mg, or two 325mg tablets per dose, and requiring larger doses to require a prescription. These doseas are adult doses, and are much less allowed doses for children. Be sure to ask your pediatrician before giving your kids combo medications, so you know the safe and appropriate dose.

The third thing is the combo stronger narcotic drugs, such as Percocet, Darvocet, and Vicodin or Lortab. These are all prescription drugs with several different names under them. They contain the main narcotic pain killer, plus Tylenol combined in it. If you take these medications, and then unknowingly take Acetominophen, or Tylenol you are putting yourself at risk.

We all need to know what we are taking, what is in what we are taking, recommended doses, and maximum amounts to be taken. Learn to read your labels, and be knowledgeable to keep yourself safe, and living a healthy, happy life.