Tuesday's Proverb

He who trusts in his riches will fall, but like green leaves the just flourish. (Proverbs 11:28)

Five on a Monday

1. On Friday night I took my daughter to see her friend in a stage production of Grease. It was super fun and very well done. The teens who were in the show had a lot of talent and enthusiasm. And of course the songs from Grease just kind of make you tap your feet and feel happy.

2. While we were at the show I put my son and husband in charge of making some rhubarb/strawberry ice cream. We'd found the recipe in a magazine. I'd picked and diced the rhubarb and purchased the rest of the ingredients. They did a good job of cooking it up and making it into ice cream. To go with that, the following day I made rhubarb/strawberry cobbler. Yum!

3. Two baseball games this weekend. One on Saturday and a make-up game on Sunday. I think the first game ended in a tie, but there is apparently a dispute about that. We may have lost. Sunday's game was a definite win though.

4. While I went to my son's baseball game on Saturday, my daughter and husband were busy volunteering scoring archery targets for the tri-state Wheelchair games. I'm very proud of my daughter's enthusiasm for volunteering whenever the opportunity arises.

5. We introduced the kids to Gone With the Wind this weekend - watching part of it Saturday and part of it Sunday (that is a very long movie). My daughter loved it, my son didn't seem to quite get it (I also don't think he tried that hard). It had been ages since I'd seen the movie, and I'd forgotten just how good it is. Gotta love Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.

Words of Wisdom on Wednesday

Hey, I don't know if I have any thing particularly wise to share, but I thought I'd try a new blog feature and see where it takes me.

1. Always look on the bright side of life.

2. Think about How Lucky You Are.

3. Don't be afraid to fail.

(I saw this video first over at HipWriterMama)

If you

4. If you look for the bad, that's what you'll see. The same is true if you look for the good. Quick story: I was in the supermarket the other day rooting through the bin where the sale yogurt had been dumped. There was an elderly woman doing the same thing. Making small talk I mentioned there wasn't a lot of variety, since there only seemed to be two or three flavors. The old woman agreed and then went on about how the whole country was falling apart because it didn't use to be like this and what were we coming to. Her only consolation was that she'd be dead soon. Um. Okay. But I looked around at this huge grocery store full of an outstanding variety of fresh and prepared foods and couldn't find the end of the world in the fact that the sale yogurt wasn't the best organized. It's all a matter of perspective - so have a good one!

5. Have a happy Wednesday!

Tuesday's Proverb

He who seeks the good commands favor, but he who pursues evil will have evil befall him. (Proverbs 11:27)

Poetry Friday - The Anniversary Edition

In honor of our sixteenth anniversary today, I'm going to share a love poem for Poetry Friday.

How Do I Love Thee?

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love three with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love three with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints,--I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!--and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

And just to show that after sixteen years, we're still on the same wavelength, I gave him a new desktop computer for an anniversary gift and he gave me a new laptop! (Our kids are really happy about that, they get use of the old ones now.)

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup. Check it out.

Tuesday's Proverb

Him who monopolizes grain, the people curse-- but blessings upon the head of him who distributes it! (Proverbs 11:26)

Played Paddleball

No, not me. I didn't play paddleball. I had the honor of being on a committee to select 20 high school seniors to receive $200 scholarships. There scholarships in various categories - and the number of applications varied, so sometimes the decision was easy, sometimes difficult.

But I learned a few things.

1) If you have the opportunity to fill out a scholarship application - even if the scholarship is a small one - take it. Three students won scholarships because they were the only applicant in their category.

2) Well-rounded is good. The kids who had a variety of activities and jobs really shone through as being active and interesting. Sometimes there would be an application filled with events and honors - but they all had to do with one thing, for example dance competitions. And that's great, but I found myself wondering "does this student do anything else?"

3) Don't be afraid to sell yourself. Some of these kids took what would be a simple or minor activity and made it sound pretty stellar. More power to them for being able to present themselves in a positive way.

4) If you have been doing biological research on a molecular level and are creating new organisms (and you're still in high school) chances are you'll win lots of scholarships.

5) If all you've done in your four years of high school is "play paddleball", maybe it's better not to bother filling out the application at all. (Which goes against "thing I learned number 1", but still...). Honestly, we had one application where the only things filled in were that the student had made the honor roll (these are Gifted and Talented scholarships, so honor roll is pretty much expected) and was in the paddleball club where his/her (identities were shielded from us) responsibility was to "play paddleball."

I don't believe in stressing my kids out with dozens of activities, but I do hope that by the time senior year of high school rolls around they have more to put on an application than "played paddleball."

And to apply that to a greater life lesson. If you were filling out an application right now - would there be more than one thing on it? Has life outside of high school continued to be well-rounded? Or do you just "play paddleball"?

Tuesday's Proverb

He who confers benefits will be amply enriched, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25)

Bragging on the Kids

The past few months my kids have garnered a few honors that make me mighty proud, and I feel like bragging about them a little.

1) My daughter was chosen to represent her grade at school at the Young Writer's Night.

2) My son's art work was chosen to represent his school at the Young Artist's Night.

(These are both events in our town).

3) My son was nominated to attend a Young Scholar program over the summer.

4) My daughter is receiving a Mayor's Youth Volunteer Award.

I'm very proud of both of them!

Tuesday's Proverb

One man is lavish yet grows still richer; another is too sparing, yet is the poorer. (Proverbs 11:24)

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 5

Once again it's Poetry Friday and I have yet another installment of my daughter's original poem Tessa in Wonderland. The first four parts can be found here, here, here and here.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part V

Horatio’s paws balled around

The reins,

“Spade? Under the rule of…

of…”

He couldn’t say it.

Queen Heart.

Queen Heart.

“Queen Heart,”

There. I’d said it.

Horatio’s furry face twisted

Into a grimace

“The only Province

Unclaimed

Is Diamonds…

Diamonds who actually

Likes Heart,

But is unwilling to give in.

They’re willing to fight, though.”

He hissed.

“Is there anything

We can do?” I asked

“Sell these Carrots in town,”

Horatio said.

“And then go home.”

There’s nothing we could do.

Carrots sold,

And we rumbled

Down an empty road to

Horatio’s home.

It was almost peaceful,

And I leaned against the

Rabbit as he drove along,

Silently, yet tensed.

A scream

Pierced the lazy twilight.

“NO!

DON’T LET THEM!

NEVER!”

And then…all was silent.

Horatio handed me the reins,

A look of horror on his furry face.

“That was my

father’s voice,”

He whispered,

And got out of the

Cart.

“Straight down the lane,”

He told me.

“I’ll be faster on foot,”

And he darted away.

I stared at the reins,

And gently urged the animals

On.

When we reached the house,

It had been ransacked.

“My father,”

Horatio whimpered,

Coming out

And helping me out of the cart

“I can’t find him.”

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Check it out.

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 4

Once again it's Poetry Friday and I have yet another installment of my daughter's original poem Tessa in Wonderland. The first three parts can be found here, here and here.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part iv

Spadedeck.

It’s wonderful

Hustle-bustle of city rhythms

The Frogs selling chocolate covered

Worms and Flies,

Giant Butterfly Messengers

Zooming around,

The thieves,

Patrolling the streets,

Asking for things,

The little shops

With amazing displays in

Their windows

The town square and

Clock Tower

The Theaters and

The restaurants

And the Castle

Looming in the distance.

Horatio drove right by,

Pointing

Landmarks out

Telling me who

To avoid

As if I’d need to know.

The rabbit brought me

To his house

And told me that I could

Stay there till

I figured out how

To get home.

I told him I wouldn’t be

There long, then.

Spadedeck.

The card soldiers

Marching in,

The Megaphone bird

Proclaiming that

Her Majesty, Monarch

Of the Heartlands,

Queen Heart,

Had officially won

The cold war

Against her sister Province,

Spades,

And had conquered.

The only Province

Unconquered

Was New Club.

The war was

Almost over

Tyranny,

Complete dictatorship,

Was now

The unfortunate

Future.

The Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Paper Tigers. Go, check it out!

Tuesday's Proverb

The desire of the just ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked is wrath. (Proverbs 11:23)

Poetry Friday - Tessa in Wonderland, Part 3

Tim Burton may have his vision of Alice in Wonderland, but my daughter has her own. And in time for Poetry Friday here is part three of her original poem: Tessa in Wonderland.

Tessa in Wonderland

by KRM

Part III

“Spades?”

I said.

“As in the shovel?

Or the card?”

The rabbit had helped me into

His cart,

And I was sitting next to him.

It was weird,

He was as big as I was.

“As in the Province.”

The rabbit said.

“By the way,

I’m Horatio,”

“And I’m Tessa,”

I said,

Tucking

A strand of loose

Hair behind my

Ear.

“Where are we going?”

I asked.

“To my home.

It’s

In the outskirts of

Spadedeck,

Capital

Of the Spade Province.”

I nodded solemnly,

Looking down

At my sneakers.

I wished

That mom knew

Where I was

So that she

Could come get me,

Or that I hadn’t

Left my phone at home.

I wished

I knew

What would happen

Next.

Parts I and II of her poem are here and here.

The Poetry Friday round-up can be found at Some Novel Ideas. Go check it out!

Great Contest for Writers and Readers

To share her joy at her big news with as many people as possible, Beth Revis is having a contest with two prizes. One for writers and one for readers. Go check out her blog and enter to win some awesome prizes.

But if They Don't Buy it, There will be Less Revenue

I was listening to the radio this morning and the politicians in NY discuss the importance of a tax on sugared beverages. Basically a soda tax.

It was put forward that NY needed the money this tax would generate. And if this tax wasn't passed then that multi-million (or maybe billion - I wasn't listening that closely) gap would have to be made up another way. So it was imperative for the financial health of the state that this tax be approved.

But these same politicians seemed to have a secondary reason why it was so important to pass this tax. People are fat. And getting fatter. And soda isn't good for them. So a tax will help to keep them from drinking as much soda. It will make them healthier and thinner and the world will be a better place full of rainbows and unicorns (okay, I added that last bit.)

Now, is it just me, or is there a problem with this model? If you desperately need the money, but your tax is going to alter behavior so that not as much of the product is sold - won't that eat into the proposed tax revenue?

Good thing I'm not a politician or an economist. I think my head would explode!

Tuesday's Proverb

Like a golden ring in a swine's snout is a beautiful woman with a rebellious disposition. (Proverbs 11:22)

The Storm is Passing - Five Things on a Monday

And I don't mean that in a figurative sense. The storm that pounded the Northeast this weekend is now just cloudy skies and light rain. But I figure I can come up with five things to say about it on a Monday morning (and that will keep me from railing against losing an hour of sleep this weekend.)

1) There are a lot of trees down near us, but none hit our house. A neighbor's garage does have a large tree lying across the top of it though.

2) We did not lose power. Though areas of our neighborhood did. The most we lost was for about a minute and then we simply figured it was easier not to reset the clocks until later when we had to reset them for DST anyway.

3) The sump pump almost always went on when needed. Yes, the rug in the basement is soaked. Yes there were times the pump didn't go on. But for the most part it worked - and the electricity staying on was a big help there.

4) The pounding hail and thunder on Sunday morning helped wake up our sleepy daughter in time for church. :)

5) Boiling drinking water is a pain in the neck. Just saying. But if that's the worst of our inconveniences I guess we're doing pretty good.

Tuesday's Proverb

Truly the evil man shall not go unpunished, but those who are just shall escape. (Proverbs 11:21)

Tuesday's Proverb

The depraved in heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those who walk blamelessly are his delight. (Proverbs 11:20)