I have always enjoyed the Berenstain Bears books, especially the ones featuring the Bear Scouts, and the earlier ones in which Papa would try to teach Brother how to do something & fail miserably (ex: The Bike Lesson). To get into the Halloween spirit, I recently went back & reread Bears in the Night, The Spooky Old Tree, and The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin. I still really enjoyed the first two; I think they are fun books to introduce children to prepositions (over, under, etc.) and to reading independently . As I was reading the Case of the Missing Pumpkin I was amused by Papa's bumbling nature & his knack for getting everything wrong, until I came to the page where Papa and his dog inadvertently get caught up in a hay bale. Now I don't know, maybe I'm just extra-sensitive concerning farm accidents, but I found it a little disturbing. Give this book a look and tell me what you think!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Berenstain Bears
I have always enjoyed the Berenstain Bears books, especially the ones featuring the Bear Scouts, and the earlier ones in which Papa would try to teach Brother how to do something & fail miserably (ex: The Bike Lesson). To get into the Halloween spirit, I recently went back & reread Bears in the Night, The Spooky Old Tree, and The Bear Detectives: The Case of the Missing Pumpkin. I still really enjoyed the first two; I think they are fun books to introduce children to prepositions (over, under, etc.) and to reading independently . As I was reading the Case of the Missing Pumpkin I was amused by Papa's bumbling nature & his knack for getting everything wrong, until I came to the page where Papa and his dog inadvertently get caught up in a hay bale. Now I don't know, maybe I'm just extra-sensitive concerning farm accidents, but I found it a little disturbing. Give this book a look and tell me what you think!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Update to "The Secret"
Yesterday as Ashley & I were out on a walk, we found a $5 bill blown into a pile of leaves in the street. Maybe there really is something to this law of attraction!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
WARNING--WARNING--POLITICAL OPINION AHEAD
I have never considered myself a political person; patriotic, yes--I've been known to shed tears seeing the flag being carried at parades, hearing the National Anthem being sung, and listening to John Wayne recite why he loves America. But for the most part I've never trusted politicans or thought that they had our best interests at heart. Until now. I saw Barack Obama speak at Luther College earlier this year and for the 1st time in my life I felt inspired by a politician, and felt that he really cared about this great nation and its people. I also believe that by electing him president that we will send a message to the rest of the world--that we truly practice what we preach when it comes to diversity and equality for all.
Even if I didn't feel it in my soul that he is what our country needs right now, I'll tell you the biggest reason I won't vote for John McCain: Sarah Palin. The thought of her being one step away from commander-in-chief scares the crap out of me! And McCain choosing her makes me seriously question his ability to make important decisions.
It saddens me to think that this election might come down to pure old racism. I recently received the following email, and it is so true!
THE JUXTAPOSITION OF FACTS... A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE A question of perspective: Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin. What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe and disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to painkillers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close asthey are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes, and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational Backgrounds: Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor(J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A.in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor(J.D.)
John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester. North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study. University of Idaho - 2semesters - journalism. Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester. University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
Even if I didn't feel it in my soul that he is what our country needs right now, I'll tell you the biggest reason I won't vote for John McCain: Sarah Palin. The thought of her being one step away from commander-in-chief scares the crap out of me! And McCain choosing her makes me seriously question his ability to make important decisions.
It saddens me to think that this election might come down to pure old racism. I recently received the following email, and it is so true!
THE JUXTAPOSITION OF FACTS... A USEFUL PERSPECTIVE A question of perspective: Obama/Biden vs McCain/Palin. What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit? Ponder the following:
What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe and disfiguring car accident?
What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to painkillers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?
What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?
You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close asthey are? This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes, and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.
Educational Backgrounds: Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor(J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A.in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor(J.D.)
John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester. North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study. University of Idaho - 2semesters - journalism. Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester. University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism.
Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Law of Attraction
Between a motivational speaker at a conference on Tuesday, and watching "The Secret" Thursday night, I'm ready to go out & accomplish anything! Well, not really, but I did take home some good pointers. One of the most interesting things I got out of the movie was that like attracts like...for example, when I am negative & dwell on my bad finances, I am going to attract more negativity and debt. I have certainly seen that in my life. According to the principles outlined in the video, I should not say "I want to get out of debt", because just mentioning the word "debt" could attract it. I should say something along the lines of "I want to be financially stable or well-off". Now I don't know about that so much, but taking a more positive approach does make a lot of sense. I have to be proactive instead of reactive, quit sticking my head in the sand, as people say I tend to do.
It is really, really hard to not be negative. I swear I was up half the night after watching the movie trying not to have any negative thoughts or dreams......very hard for someone with OCD tendencies...yikes! But the last few days I have definitely been more aware of my thoughts and have made a conscious effort--with lots of help from Ashley; it's funny but she's really into this!--to stay positive. For example, I realized what I wrote on my Facebook status last night was very negative (something about not being able to work again today so there go Ashley's Christmas presents). She pointed out to me that it was very negative, and made it sound like we were poor & couldn't have a Christmas at all. Yikes! That is one of my biggest pet peeves when people can't "celebrate" Christmas because they can't afford to buy the presents they want. Oh my goodness....I updated my status ASAP to reflect all the positive that would come out of not having to go to work today. Ok, well I'm off to prepare a budget for next month, get the bills ready to send out, and clean the kitchen so Ashley & I can make some cookies! I'll keep you updated on how this positiveness works out!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Banned Books
"The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame."
--Oscar Wilde
The 1st Amendment--notably the Freedom of Speech--has been on my mind a lot lately. Several things have happened which have made me take a closer look at what freedom of speech/expression really means. In my research, I have come across some of the following lists of books which have been challenged or banned. Because of my occupation, and my belief in letting people think for themselves, I strongly oppose censorship. But looking at some of these books, I couldn't even fathom what reason people would have to try to censor them. The Giving Tree? Fallen Angels? Julie of the Wolves? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Huh?? Unlike some of the would be book-banners I have read all of these books and I just don't see the problem. I read Fallen Angels for a children's lit. class; thinking back I don't remember what the issue would be. The topic is the Vietnam War so I suppose that may be what some people shirk at. But the Vietnam War happened, and as in all wars terrible things happened. Should we hide this from teenagers? I love the above quote; shameful things happen in this world and every single person should have the right to be able to read these accounts if they so choose. Celebrate your freedom of speech by reading a banned book today!
that have been challenged
Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack by M. E. Kerr
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
The Bridge to Terabithia and
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones
by Alvin Schwartz
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
The 10 most challenged books of the 21st Century (2000-2005) are:
1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
3. Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
4. "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
5. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
6. "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
7. "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie Harris
8. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz
9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
10. "Forever" by Judy Blume
"Most Challenged Books of 21st Century (2000-2005)," American Library Association, May 29, 2007.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/topten2000to2005.cfm (Accessed October 23, 2008)
Document ID: 388245
Monday, October 20, 2008
Pumpkin pie, pumpkin carving, pumpkin cake, pumpkin malts...I love pumpkins! Since this is the perfect time of year, yesterday I made pumpkin bars. And if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty darn good! I have to admit I haven't done a whole lot of baking over the years, since my aunt had a cookie & cake catering business, and my mom & sisters ran a bakery. Plus, I think the oven we have in our current apartment is from about 1953, and not the most conducive to baking. But since yesterday I had an unexpected day off from work, Ashley and I took advantage of it. We took our pumpkin bars out to Volga Lake and had a fall picnic. I was disappointed that a lot of the leaves had already fallen, but it was still a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon. Later we shared the bars with some grateful college students who had to stay on campus over fall break; they were a welcome treat for students who are getting a bit bored of the cafeteria's offerings.
Shelley, originally a friend of my sister, but now an "adopted Hilleshiem" and a very cool cat :), has recently created a baking/cooking blog. That, and of course my fetish for recipes, made me want to share one, too! So here is the recipe for the amazing pumpkin bars I made this weekend...............the secret to making these, or any kind of fruit bread that you want to be moist, is to not overmix the batter.
Pumpkin Bars by Wildflour Bakery
from the Walker Family Cookbook
1 15 oz. can pumpkin 1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. oil 2 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs 1 tsp. soda
2 c. flour 1/2 tsp. ginger
2 c. sugar 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon
Combine ingredients & mix well. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Cool; frost with cream cheese frosting. (2 lbs. powdered sugar, 1 stick butter, 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 c. milk--mix well & increase/decrease milk amount to get the consistency you want).
Recipe Notes: The frosting makes a large batch, so I actually made just 1/2 batch. I also cut the cinnamon in half because I don't like my pumpkin stuff very "spicy". Also, these are usually made on a large jelly roll sheet which I don't have. I made them in a 9x13 pan, and that worked just fine, it was just more like cake.
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