Graduation

On Monday, January 26, I was officially finished with my teacher accreditation program.  It was a very, very long year of a tremendous amount of work but I am done!!!!!  The program had a small graduation ceremony for those of us that had finished our coursework, had our portfolios signed off on and our exit interviews in December. It was really nice but what was the best part is that my little Doodlebug was there. We talked about school, how important school is and how wonderful it is to graduate and what that means.  She was just amazing and understood that this was a big deal.  She was quiet when everyone spoke, we all had to get up and speak, and was just so grown up!  She gave everyone thumbs up and high five's when it was all over! We then topped off the evening by stopping at our favorite ice cream parlor, getting some ice cream to go and making small sundaes when we got home!  Now, I just have to wait for the state to send me my teaching licence!  I have been told they are on the slow side!

Me and my sweet little Doodlebug!

The 5 graduates, our program coordinator and director!

Receiving my Program Completion Certificate from the program director, Dr. Hawkins.

Kirk unfortunately couldn't be with us, he had a gig, but here are the three girls!  We had forgotten to get a picture of us at the ceremony so we hopped next door to our neighbors house and got a picture!

To Turkey or Not To Turkey-The Answer

I just realized that I never put a post in to answer the question to my dilemma on what we did about Turkey for the holidays.  What we did was we ordered a free range, organic, Turkey from our local market.  I also really tired to make a bigger deal out of the sides and everyone participated and had a cooking job to do so they were all invested in the side dishes.  It was a great dinner.  For myself, I chose to eat just the side dishes and avoided the Turkey.  Just my personal choice for the day.  I have to work on how to deal with the Turkey burgers and Turkey Goulash that we have on a pretty regular basis.  Maybe I can get organic and free range ground Turkey?

Now, here is the funny part.  It is pretty funny how the universe works sometimes.  When we moved into our house there was a refrigerator.  It was old and still working, but not in the greatest aesthetic condition so we went ahead and moved it into the garage.  I gave it a full on scrub and use it as extra freezer and fridge space for the larger items such as juice and such.  Also, due to our extreme weather situations, hurricanes, I wanted to have the extra freezer space to stockpile ice.  Anyways,  after our dinner was over we put the Turkey leftovers in that fridge to make room in the kitchen fridge for the side dish leftovers. Sometime throughout the night a breaker blew and the power to the garage fridge and a few inside outlets lost power. We lost all the Turkey leftovers.  Now, it killed me to have the food waste.  I hate to waste food, but I have to say after all my debating with myself on what to do, I had to just laugh at the irony of the situation.   For all of you that have every watched the "Christmas Story" movie about the boy who wants a Bebe gun, I began reciting lines from the scene at the end of the movie where the neighbors dogs came in and got the Turkey.  "The scent still hung in the air, no more Turkey sandwiches, no more Turkey soup, no more Turkey hash....." you get the idea.  I just love how the universe works!

Common Sense

I am a quote collector.  I collect quotes that touch my heart and make me laugh. I have a several friends, former teachers/mentors that send me quotes and other things that I add to my collection.  I received this one from a former teacher and I thought it was interesting and just wanted to share it.  I would love to know what you think!

Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.  No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.  Comon Sense will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm, life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).  His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teenssuspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired forreprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student, but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live, as the churches became businesses, and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot.  She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

Common Sense is survived by four stepbrothers; I know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else is To Blame, and I'm a Victim.  

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

A Poem

I have a friend that writes poetry. She is really very good and is looking to get some published. She sent me the below poem in her Christmas card and with the busyness of the holidays I forgot to post it. But several of the sentiments can also reflect the New Year so enjoy!

Christmas

May you be filled with Christmas cheer,

and may it fill your heart in the coming year.

May you greet those you meet each day

with a smile to cheer them on their way.

May you treat each day like a gift from above,

and enjoy the time you have with those you love.

May you bring something good to all you do,

and let your love and joy come shinning through.

May you be filled with wisdom and grace,

and may you live life at an unhurried pace.

May you be the miracle you were meant to be,

and always look for the beauty that is there to see.

-Lisa McIntosh-