The game of Bunko that followed was a blast and we had so much fun! I'm thinking how much fun it would be to invite couple's over to our house and have another night of Bunko! THAT's how much fun it was!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
St. Patrick's Day Potluck and Bunko
This past Saturday night, the Couple's Ministry at the church hosted a St. Patrick's Day Potluck and Bunko night. It was sooo much fun! The ministry provided the corned beef and cabbage and the rest of us provided sides and desserts. 
The game of Bunko that followed was a blast and we had so much fun! I'm thinking how much fun it would be to invite couple's over to our house and have another night of Bunko! THAT's how much fun it was!
The game of Bunko that followed was a blast and we had so much fun! I'm thinking how much fun it would be to invite couple's over to our house and have another night of Bunko! THAT's how much fun it was!
Monday, March 16, 2009
Pink Slips and Teachers
I heard a brief snippet on the news Friday morning about the movement of wearing pink in support of all the preliminary pink slips that were to be handed out to California teachers that day. By the end of the morning, more than 26,000 teachers had been given preliminary pink slips. The day had been given the name Pink Friday.
So many surrounding school districts in our area have laid off dozens, some even hundreds, of teachers and aides. So far, I've not heard of any layoffs in our own school district. But I know the concern is there. One way to cut back on expenses is to do away with the class size reduction that is in place for grade K-3. Right now, in our school district, there are no more than 20 students in grades 3 and below. If they do away with that, and increase class size, they can eliminate positions. I heard there is a school in the next school district over that the class size was bumped to 35 students in recent weeks.
Not only am I sad for the teachers and assistants who've lost their jobs, but all this has got me to thinking about my own children's education will be affected by possible larger class size.
Hannah is already at the top of her class in reading. She's read all of the chapter books her teacher assigns to the reading groups and is reading them all for a second time. She got all A's (Advanced) and P's (Proficient) on her report card two weeks ago. At her parent/teacher conference in November, the teacher told me she gives Hannah extra worksheets to complete when she's done and waiting for her classmates to catch up. I can't help but think of how much more this would be the case if another ten, twelve, or even fifteen kids were added at this grade level.
I did read over the weekend in a news article that in our school district, it's in the teachers contracts for class size reduction to remain in place, and if it's changed, there must be a vote on the issue. That's reassuring...for now. But if things got really bad, and if larger class sizes meant saving ones job, I can't help but think the issue could be put to a vote, and possibly win.
This all got me to thinking about if classes became larger, I think I'm at the point now where I would homeschool the girls. We have many friends at the church who use a Public Charter School where you are accountable to a teacher, gives the lessons, even tests your kids, offers extra curricular activities, it's just like public school, but at home. Hannah could move at her pace and not have to wait for classmates to catch up. And if we went with this particular one, I'd have the support of many friends at church as well.
There was a time I thought I'd never send my kids to school, that's I'd homeschool them. And then we put Hannah in preschool and saw how the teacher had more patience and more energy and hadn't already exhausted both by the time school started with arguments on what to wear, what's for breakfast, etc, etc. LOL. The Lord opened the door for Hannah to go to the school she's at now. We take the school year, one year at a time, and so far, we've not had any problems. She's been successful, has all the basics down, and has grown and matured that I think we might just be able to homeschool if need be...
So many surrounding school districts in our area have laid off dozens, some even hundreds, of teachers and aides. So far, I've not heard of any layoffs in our own school district. But I know the concern is there. One way to cut back on expenses is to do away with the class size reduction that is in place for grade K-3. Right now, in our school district, there are no more than 20 students in grades 3 and below. If they do away with that, and increase class size, they can eliminate positions. I heard there is a school in the next school district over that the class size was bumped to 35 students in recent weeks.
Not only am I sad for the teachers and assistants who've lost their jobs, but all this has got me to thinking about my own children's education will be affected by possible larger class size.
Hannah is already at the top of her class in reading. She's read all of the chapter books her teacher assigns to the reading groups and is reading them all for a second time. She got all A's (Advanced) and P's (Proficient) on her report card two weeks ago. At her parent/teacher conference in November, the teacher told me she gives Hannah extra worksheets to complete when she's done and waiting for her classmates to catch up. I can't help but think of how much more this would be the case if another ten, twelve, or even fifteen kids were added at this grade level.
I did read over the weekend in a news article that in our school district, it's in the teachers contracts for class size reduction to remain in place, and if it's changed, there must be a vote on the issue. That's reassuring...for now. But if things got really bad, and if larger class sizes meant saving ones job, I can't help but think the issue could be put to a vote, and possibly win.
This all got me to thinking about if classes became larger, I think I'm at the point now where I would homeschool the girls. We have many friends at the church who use a Public Charter School where you are accountable to a teacher, gives the lessons, even tests your kids, offers extra curricular activities, it's just like public school, but at home. Hannah could move at her pace and not have to wait for classmates to catch up. And if we went with this particular one, I'd have the support of many friends at church as well.
There was a time I thought I'd never send my kids to school, that's I'd homeschool them. And then we put Hannah in preschool and saw how the teacher had more patience and more energy and hadn't already exhausted both by the time school started with arguments on what to wear, what's for breakfast, etc, etc. LOL. The Lord opened the door for Hannah to go to the school she's at now. We take the school year, one year at a time, and so far, we've not had any problems. She's been successful, has all the basics down, and has grown and matured that I think we might just be able to homeschool if need be...
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Tonight Show's Outdoor Concert
Oh. My. Gosh! What an awesome, awesome adventure this afternoon was!
We arrived to the NBC studios to only find a few other people waiting for the outdoor concert. We were given the rundown on the rules and the plan of action. Before we even entered the front doors all cameras and all phones had to be turned off and put away. If at any point after that moment, the security dude saw your stuff out, you were kicked out! There was no messing around, that's for sure. Our purses were checked and we went through a metal detector and then escorted through the back hall of the set of The Tonight Show, which had already started and Jay Leno was in the process of his opening monologue. We were taken to the outdoor stage and there we waited for the next 45 minutes.
There were then eleven in our group and we had the front row! We chatted with the few people around us. Randy's band members were also walking about and just hanging out. His acoustic guitar player who also does the background vocals, Lance Day, came over and chatted a great length of time with us. That was cool. I've now met two of his band members! :)
It was soon nearing time for the concert and during one of the commercial segments, the studio audience inside seeing the taping of the entire show came out to the concert area and filled in behind us. There were a couple hundred people and we were in front and center!
Jay Leno came onstage and he introduced Randy and he sang one song. He was so close, you could have easily have touched him if he'd put his hand out. After the song, Jay came back on stage and they did a few promotion spots that proceeded the eleven o'clock news promoting the show. Then Randy sang his signature song, Forever and Ever, Amen.
The event finished with one of Jay Leno's right hand men doing interviews and asking questions of the Randy Travis fans that appears only on the website. He was passing out Tonight Show merchandise for right answers, I got a Tonight Show ball cap. LOL.
Both the concert and the fan interviews can be seen on the website here. You can see Amy in the video of the concert, she's wearing a red sweatshirt and can be seen when the camera pans from the right side of the stage. I can be seen in the fan interviews. LOL. If you click on the link and start with the concert, it automatically takes you through all the stuff, you just have to wait for it to load.
The officials cleared out the stage area pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were back out front where we started. This is the only picture of our Tonight Show experience and it's taken just outside the front doors.
This was an amazing adventure and I"m so happy I got to have it!
We arrived to the NBC studios to only find a few other people waiting for the outdoor concert. We were given the rundown on the rules and the plan of action. Before we even entered the front doors all cameras and all phones had to be turned off and put away. If at any point after that moment, the security dude saw your stuff out, you were kicked out! There was no messing around, that's for sure. Our purses were checked and we went through a metal detector and then escorted through the back hall of the set of The Tonight Show, which had already started and Jay Leno was in the process of his opening monologue. We were taken to the outdoor stage and there we waited for the next 45 minutes.
There were then eleven in our group and we had the front row! We chatted with the few people around us. Randy's band members were also walking about and just hanging out. His acoustic guitar player who also does the background vocals, Lance Day, came over and chatted a great length of time with us. That was cool. I've now met two of his band members! :)
It was soon nearing time for the concert and during one of the commercial segments, the studio audience inside seeing the taping of the entire show came out to the concert area and filled in behind us. There were a couple hundred people and we were in front and center!
Jay Leno came onstage and he introduced Randy and he sang one song. He was so close, you could have easily have touched him if he'd put his hand out. After the song, Jay came back on stage and they did a few promotion spots that proceeded the eleven o'clock news promoting the show. Then Randy sang his signature song, Forever and Ever, Amen.
The event finished with one of Jay Leno's right hand men doing interviews and asking questions of the Randy Travis fans that appears only on the website. He was passing out Tonight Show merchandise for right answers, I got a Tonight Show ball cap. LOL.
Both the concert and the fan interviews can be seen on the website here. You can see Amy in the video of the concert, she's wearing a red sweatshirt and can be seen when the camera pans from the right side of the stage. I can be seen in the fan interviews. LOL. If you click on the link and start with the concert, it automatically takes you through all the stuff, you just have to wait for it to load.
The officials cleared out the stage area pretty quickly and before we knew it, we were back out front where we started. This is the only picture of our Tonight Show experience and it's taken just outside the front doors.
This was an amazing adventure and I"m so happy I got to have it!
The Weekend
It's Friday morning and I am on the brink of a very busy weekend.This morning will be taken up by getting groceries, possibly Costco. Then there's the fun of unloading it all and trying to make all the frozen goods fit into the teeny tiny side by side fridge/freezer combo. Have I mentioned before I'd love a small chest freezer?? LOL.
The real fun starts this afternoon! Me and a friend are heading into Burbank/Hollywood to the NBC Studios to see Randy Travis perform on the outdoor stage of The Tonight Show!!! For FREE!!! I am SO excited! I found out about this event when I was notified of the search for people to come and watch through Randy's (cause you know we're on a first name basis) Facebook page two days ago. Steven said I should go for it and I did! I was notified by the Randy Travis officials that my name has been added to the list! We have to be in Burbank by 3:45 and I really am not sure when they will tape. I *think 4:30. I need to remember to set our Tivo to record The Tonight Show. I'm charging up the camera, I'll post pictures in my spare time over the weekend.
Saturday is a busy, busy day. We have my niece's 5th birthday party at 11:00. The girls are excited to see their cousin and play in the bounce house that Uncle Robbie rented. Then in the evening, the church is having a Couple's Ministry St Patricks Day potluck. The church is providing the Corned Beef and everyone else is providing sides and desserts, etc. After dinner, we're playing Bunco! Saturday will be a fun day.
Sunday is church and then in the afternoon, Hannah has a birthday party to attend to for her friend she's known since birth. It's a Spa Party where they are going to do pedicures and manicures, etc. Hannah is very excited for that party too!
The weekend will gone and over with before we know it and we'll have one week of being off track behind us! Anyone else have big plans for the weekend??
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Adjusting to the TIme Change
We're now a few days into the time change and it's taking a while to adjust. Although Rachel is back to her normal time of getting up at 6:30. The first day or two she actually slept in until after 7:00. Thankfully, we are off track and not needing to be out the door because it's been after 7:00 when I finally roll outta bed.
The late afternoons are an adjustment as well. The afternoon sun tells me that it's 3:00/3:30, when in all reality it's 4:00/4:30 and dinner really should be thought about and started. So, we've been eating dinner just a little bit later the past couple of days. Which also gives Steven just a little bit more time to finish loose ends and thoughts for his work day.
The extra daylight the evening provides is an adjustment too. However, last night, it gave us some extra daylight to go help my Dad, who's tearing up all the grass along the street.
I know, give it a few more days, especially come the weekend, the extra daylight will be nice, but for now, for some reason, this time it's taking some time to adjust! Anyone else having that problem???
The late afternoons are an adjustment as well. The afternoon sun tells me that it's 3:00/3:30, when in all reality it's 4:00/4:30 and dinner really should be thought about and started. So, we've been eating dinner just a little bit later the past couple of days. Which also gives Steven just a little bit more time to finish loose ends and thoughts for his work day.
The extra daylight the evening provides is an adjustment too. However, last night, it gave us some extra daylight to go help my Dad, who's tearing up all the grass along the street.
I know, give it a few more days, especially come the weekend, the extra daylight will be nice, but for now, for some reason, this time it's taking some time to adjust! Anyone else having that problem???
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Special Day
It's March 11th, the anniversary of my Gramma's passing away. Today marks seven years since her departure to heaven. It's been my Mom's and I "thing" to spend the day together in some way, shape, or form. We've done things ranging from Disneyland to just shopping, as long we're together, who cares what we do.
Today, we hit a Walmart SuperCenter, about 25 miles from home. We spent over two hours wondering the huge megacenter and were wishing our local Walmart still had a lot that the Supercenter has, their amazing craft and material section, for one example. From there, we proceeded towards Cabazon. They have a huge outdoor outlet mall and we had just one stop to make, at the Le Creuset pan store where my Mom needed to get some special cleanser and talk about the wear and tear of her pans.
Just up the road from the outlets, and past the casino (no gambling for us today, we had the girls, LOL), we took the girls to see the big dinosaurs. It was the highlight of their day! We stopped off here a couple of years ago when we were with our friends on our way to Palm Springs. Now you have to pay to go into the dinosaurs and there's even a wood fence around the T-Rex. Not as cool looking as it once was...seeing a T-Rex standing so tall out in the middle of the dessert. But the girls still thought it was cool to say the least.
This picture cracks me up. I was so concerned about getting the dinosaurs head in my pictures that I wasn't thinking about smiling. Mom is laughing hard at me for my wanting a picture of the four of us with the dinosaur head, who knows what Rachel was doing, and something in the parking lot was much more interesting than looking at the camera for Hannah.
We had a good day together, but it's hard to believe we've been without Gramma for seven years.
Today, we hit a Walmart SuperCenter, about 25 miles from home. We spent over two hours wondering the huge megacenter and were wishing our local Walmart still had a lot that the Supercenter has, their amazing craft and material section, for one example. From there, we proceeded towards Cabazon. They have a huge outdoor outlet mall and we had just one stop to make, at the Le Creuset pan store where my Mom needed to get some special cleanser and talk about the wear and tear of her pans.
Just up the road from the outlets, and past the casino (no gambling for us today, we had the girls, LOL), we took the girls to see the big dinosaurs. It was the highlight of their day! We stopped off here a couple of years ago when we were with our friends on our way to Palm Springs. Now you have to pay to go into the dinosaurs and there's even a wood fence around the T-Rex. Not as cool looking as it once was...seeing a T-Rex standing so tall out in the middle of the dessert. But the girls still thought it was cool to say the least.
This picture cracks me up. I was so concerned about getting the dinosaurs head in my pictures that I wasn't thinking about smiling. Mom is laughing hard at me for my wanting a picture of the four of us with the dinosaur head, who knows what Rachel was doing, and something in the parking lot was much more interesting than looking at the camera for Hannah.
We had a good day together, but it's hard to believe we've been without Gramma for seven years.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
This is the Day
A couple of days ago, a gentleman from our church had the following on his Facebook status.
"This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Let's not waste it!!
While I know the verse. I liked what he added, "Let's not waste it!".
I got to thinking about that.
How many times in a week do we waste away a day with not being glad and rejoicing? How many days are 'wasted' with being negative in our thoughts, in our actions? How many days are wasted by not taking in all the surrounding beauty the Lord has created?
We don't know how many "days" we have left on this earth. I know for sure, I'm going to try my best to not waste the days that are given to me.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
Let's not waste it!!
While I know the verse. I liked what he added, "Let's not waste it!".
I got to thinking about that.
How many times in a week do we waste away a day with not being glad and rejoicing? How many days are 'wasted' with being negative in our thoughts, in our actions? How many days are wasted by not taking in all the surrounding beauty the Lord has created?
We don't know how many "days" we have left on this earth. I know for sure, I'm going to try my best to not waste the days that are given to me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-
For years, I've kinda been known as the Queen of Returns, not so much recently as return policies have changed drastically, and you need...
-
The day is here, the day a lot of bloggers have been looking forward to for a while. The day in which hundreds of people will open up their ... -
Wikipedia defines "All Fool's Day" or "April Fool's Day" as "a day celebrated in many countries on April ...