Hodgepodge Wednesday 2-23-2011

1. Did you know there is a National Day of pretty much everything in the universe? February 23 happens to be National Inconvenience Yourself Day...when was the last time you were inconvenienced?
Well, I'm not sure~ There are certainly times that I do something because it needs to be done, or is the right thing to do, even if it's inconvenient~ like when DH locked his keys in the car, with the car running, and I had to drive 20+ miles in rush hour traffic to rescue him. (That was a long time ago, tho')  

I think often, volunteering one's time to benefit others can be an inconvenience(Unless you truly have nothing better to do...). Inconvenience is defined as trouble or difficulty caused to one's personal requirements or comfort
We volunteer weekly at our AWANA club~ my DH, myself, and Eldest, while Middlest participates, and Youngest sometimes does. So, really for the sake of one regular participant, our family "inconveniences" itself weekly, to the benefit of the children in the program (I mean... we could be getting laundry done and watching movies together, or enjoying a family game night, but we choose otherwise). It isn't necessarily "Convenient" to have a standing engagement every week, but then again, it is a huge blessing to be able to touch the lives of the children we see each week. It's all in how you look at it, I suppose. :)

2. When a room in your house needs painting who does the job? 

DH is the more "Professional" painter in the family, but I am happy to help. (I like to say that I take direction well... ;) ) Too bad we don't have more time to get some of the painting done around here.... kind of goes back to the "inconvenience" question... It just isn't where we choose to spend our time.

3. Are you friends with your cousins?

Interesting question. I only have 5 cousins total. 4 paternal cousins and 1 maternal cousin. When my mom's brother passed away many years ago, I totally lost touch with my aunt and cousin (They moved to Hawaii, and I moved to the East Coast). This question today actually prompted me to do a search on FB, and I *might* have found that cousin! The other 4 cousins lived near enough to us that I knew them fairly well when I was young. However, we are now very spread out across the country. They are all my "Friends" on Facebook, but I've only seen 2 of them in real life in the past 12 years. They are "Family" and I expect that when I do have occasion to see them, we will find we are still "Friends", but we aren't "Every-day" friends, if you know what I mean. ;) 

4. Do you use an alarm clock? If yes-is it an actual alarm, music, or something else?

;) I don't use an alarm clock daily ~ I rely on my Youngest and/or the sparrows living beneath our window AC to wake me up at a reasonable hour. If I HAVE to get up at a certain time, I will use an alarm~ I used to have a CD alarm clock (My favorite method), but that has been taken over by DH who has to get up WAY earlier than I even want to contemplate. I prefer to let him use it. So... I use the alarm on my cell phone (Musical) with my watch (Beep) as a back-up. I have used my ipod a few times, but I'm not confident in it yet.  

5. What do you put ketchup on?

Not too many things~ the occasional fry or onion ring, and sometimes a hamburger or hotdog. (I have come to prefer blue cheese dressing on fries and hamburgers, etc...)
The only thing I can think of that really requires ketchup for me is a Pasty! (A sort of meat and potato turnover~ the website I linked to have a huge variety, mine is basic~ steak, potatoes, onions, carrots, in a pie crust... ketchup is my favorite topping, DH prefers gravy)

6. What smells make you nostalgic?

Pine/forest~ makes me remember the woods of my growing up years, and most especially time spent at Bible Camp on the West Gallatin of MT. 

The same for "horse"~ and summers spent reading on the back of my sister's mare, Freedom. Those were the days! 

I think apples and leaves in the fall would apply, as would the pine scent of a Christmas Tree.  

7. Have you heard about the high school English teacher recently suspended as a result of some things she wrote in her personal blog? You can read the story here but in a nutshell she vented a lot of frustration onto her blog. She didn't mention individual students by name but she did make some harsh comments about kids in general and their parents.

What are your thoughts-If you're a parent is your child's teacher online and are you 'friend' or 'follower' there? If you're a teacher are you on facebook and do you accept or friend students on fb? How about their parents? If you're a student are you friends with your current or former teachers online? Do any of them have blogs you read? If you're a teacher or a parent do you ever use your blog as a place to vent your frustrations with our educational system? So much to discuss...

I'm not sure what I think. I'm a homeschool mom, so I am my children's teacher. I think I would be dismayed if I read something so generally negative from an adult who is in charge of one of their outside activities(ie: baseball coach or dance instructor). However, if it was "qualified" as in "So many of the kids today seem to be....." then I would probably be nodding my head in agreement. It's the lumping everyone in as a bunch that seems to be a larger problem, and gives a greater sense of negativity.

There is also "Freedom of speech" to be considered, as well as the "quantity" of posts. If the entire blog was a rant, well, that doesn't bode well. But if it was more of a "letting off steam" sort of thing every so often, well... maybe, but perhaps these things would have been better as personal emails, or a "Private" blog, only open to friends and family, not the public. I think there is far too much "airing of dirty laundry" in public these days. Sometimes people don't think twice before hitting the "post" or "publish" or "enter" keys these days. There are some things better kept private~ 

So, do I think she should be fired? Um... probably not, but she's just made her job of motivating these "lazy" kids a whole lot harder. Much better to not let on that you know their "modus operandi" and creatively work to change it than to call them out for a showdown at the OK corral.... 

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am exceedingly grateful for coffee, ibuprofin, heating pads and reusable ice-packs. Without  them, I don't know how long my generally 3-day headaches would last. Thankfully, the one I started with yesterday seems to be on its way out! God is good, and His creation is infinitely creative. :)

Blessings~