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Whirlpool Jet Boat Adventure

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Camp of the Woods

Haven't blogged much lately. Hope to soon. Here is a very rough picture montage of our trip to Camp of the Woods. Beth and I had a week of "sister camp" which was a blast. We are working on a joint effort montage but that will take a while!! Enjoy!

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End of the Year Fun

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09 Field Day at Hamlin Park

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Gluten Free AGAIN

25 years ago I ate gluten-free, caffeine free, sugar free, chemical free and dairy free for a year. The problem was - after a year of eating nothing but twigs and berries, I did not feel any better.

Sleepiness was the overwhelming feeling I had all the time. It was a year of dragging myself through everything I did so it hardly seemed worth continuing. I remember the day I had my first caffeine- a small diet coke from Burger King. My face burned, my hands shook and I thought hmmmmmm- there is something to this. But within 30 minutes I began to feel like myself again. Some energy returned. (If you want the scientific answer read about Type O blood and caffeine.)

Now, looking at my crooked fingers, I wish I had stayed on the gluten free part of the diet. But it's never too late! From what I read, maybe some of the damage to my hands and feet will go away and at the very least they will stop deteriorating.

So that brings me to my temper tantrum. I really don't want to do this. I have gotten lazy about planning for meals and making sure we have everything on hand. The fact that it is almost the end of the school year has something to do with it. I am tired from the big move so this new project feels overwhelming.



To help boost my sense of mission I have been reading accounts of people who have switched to a gluten free lifestyle and the changes in their lives. The stories are very inspiring and a bit scary. "Don't let your sweetheart kiss you if he has been eating pretzels.



Anyway - I am in the preparation phase. Mostly prepare my mind for this big change. Larry said he would eat gluten free for 2 weeks to see if it made a difference for him. Of course that means I will be planning for his mobile food too.

I am grateful for blogs like the one above. It is great to be able to learn some tired and tested tricks instead of having to make all the mistakes myself.

It will be an interesting journey, one I hope to chronicle here - if only for a record of the process. I welcome any input and tips from you gluten free veterans out there!! We have only just begun - again.

States of Matter - Explore & More

Have you heard of Explore & More Children's Museum in East Aurora? I hope so because it is one of the gems of our area. I remember the start up and the quality programs that were offered even as they began. Now it is an established place with hands on learning activities for children. The price is reasonable and the experience wonderful.

Usually we take the children to the museum each spring. This year we opted for one of the workshops offered by the museum. It was wonderful! AWESOME was a word I heard whispered by the kids as we left the room. Here are some pictures of the workshop.

The topics covered were, matter- what is is, the 3 states of matter, solid-liquid-gas, adding and taking away heat, freezing, melting, evaporation, condensation and sublimation. For teachers looking for a substitute for field trips - these workshops are an option well worth exploring!!

Explore & More - click here to get the official scoop!

Making molecules with gumdrop atoms and toothpick bonds.
Human molecules demonstrating solid, liquid and gas.
How do we turn a solid into a liquid? Add Heat
Does gas really take up space? Making CO2 using baking soda and vinegar.
Using the CO2 to put out the flame.
Creating an implosion by heating and then quickly cooling the gas in a soda can.
Demonstrating sublimation with dry ice.
I'm sure the kids will remember the experience for a long time.
Thank you PTO and Explore & More.

NEW TREES!!

Most of the morning has been spent running to the window, listening to the "digger machines" 5 feet outside our window and waiting for "our tree" to be planted. We are going to name it and take pictures as it grows!!

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Jamie Pugh

Jamie Pugh
Click on Jamie to See Video





I have watched or listened to this video many times.
I am amazed at the courage this man had to actually get up on stage.

Then I read this about his life...
Walesonline
and my admiration increased.
What do you think?

Botanical Gardens

Three second grade classes boarded the buses for the Buffalo Botanical Gardens 20 minutes after retuning from spring break. It was a cold, rainy day outside but inside was a display of colorful, lively spring. What a treat!!

Susan Boyle - our critical culture

Susan Boyle

By now everyone has heard Susan Boyle sing. (Click above) I admit I have listened over and over. I just keep dragging the arrow back to (almost) the beginning to hear her sing again.

What has amazed me is the awful comments people feel free to write. I have scoured the net for articles about her. Everyone uses words like dowdy, frumpy, bushy eyebrows, peach fuzz face, ulgy dress, ulgy shoes.

Here is just one example - while talking about the Larry King show..

"I thought we'd never get to Boyle -- but then there she was, in all her un-tweezed glory. And wearing Wilma Flintstone beads, to boot! "
Link

Who have we become as people and what are we teaching our children?

I know the internet has given people a forum to say awful things with no accountability. But what does it say about we value as a people that "we" take the liberty to say awful, mean, hurtful things without blinking an eye?

I saw one article titled "What if Susan Boyle had not had a wonderful voice?"

What if? Was she then worthy of mocking and insults?

What if?

What we fail to recognize is the old adage that when you point a finger at someone there are four fingers pointing back at you.

Our subconscious is powerful!
It can't help but start sending questions to our hearts..

***What about me?
******I don't look like a model...
******I don't sing like a bird...
******I don't have the latest fashions...
******How would I be judged?
******Do I have any worth?

Could this be the reason for the verse...
Judge not lest you be judged?

It all began with one little tug....

Today was the day to get the salt stains off the flagstone in our front hall. It sounds easy enough- just wash the floor. But for some reason it's not that easy. It usually takes 3-4 washings before the salt is gone. And yes I do use clean water for every swipe.

As I was washing the floor I noticed a dusty baseboard.

And as I was wiping off the dusty base board I noticed a spot on the wallpaper.

And when I tried to wipe the wall paper off I noticed a splitting seam.

And when I tugged on the splitting seam a great big piece of wallpaper came off.
And for some reason I can't just stop and one tug. So I kept tugging right down the stairs. The first layer came off easily but now...
When Larry came home this is what he saw on the front porch. He walked in as I was filling a garbage bag with shreds.
He accused me of trying to hide the evidence and then sighed a big sigh!!

You see last time I tugged - just one little tug- we ended up tugging the wallpaper off in FIVE rooms. You know - one just leads to the other. It's kinda like eating m&m's.

There will be no new wallpaper -EVER- in our house. We are paint people. It's not that I don't appreciate wall paper in other people's houses - just keep that paste away from here!!!
It will take me a few weeks to get the paste washed off of these walls. I don't need any more!!

AREA AND PERIMETER EXPERIMENTS IN SECOND GRADE

We started with several "buildings" labeled A-F. The children cut 2 inch pink strips for measuring the perimeter and 4 inch squares for measuring the area of each building. Each group had a basket of strips, a basket of squares, one pencil and one recording sheet.

To make sure the measurements were as close as possible, children were given wider 2 inch strips which they then cut into "toothpick" size strips. I also copied inch graph paper with darker lines to show 4 square inches. Those sheets were copied on different colors for each group so they could keep their materials separate from other groups.

Kids used 2 inch strips to measure the perimeter of each "building".
Counting by 4's to figure out the area in square inches.

Recording the findings.
Recording sheet was simply

Group _____
Building A
Area - ________ square inches

Perimeter - _______inches

Building B
Area - ________ square inches

Perimeter - _______inches

...... through Building F

See more of the action in the Smilebox production below.

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Oh No Not AGAIN!!

I am getting a "getting old" complex!!

One day last week my car took me to my normal morning stop. The new Tim Horton's on Southwestern is now my Timmies of choice since it is less than a mile from our house.

I was later than usual which meant the garbage truck was blocking the drive thru! After a few "it never fails" I parked and actually went in to the establishment to get my fix for the morning.
Yes- it is true, I can not function until I have downed my extra large, double cream, double cup, tanker of coffee.

Having lost my most of my voice, I croaked out my order. A sweet young man (not pictured above) smiled and went off to get my elixir. Putting my order in the register he said "With your discount for being such a YOUNG lady, your order comes to ..."
It took me a minute to realize I had just been given the SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT!!! Choking on my own spit, I asked him at what age the discount started. He told me 55. (Thank goodness- I was expecting 65) I told him I had not quite reached that age yet but I appreciated the discount. He gave me a look like "who are you kidding lady" and handed me my coffee.

Driving to work found me entertaining all kinds of get young quick ideas. I could get a Mohawk, dye my hair green, get 11 or 12 piercings, start taking HGH, have several surgeries or ..... deal with it!! Hand me the cards, I think I'll deal!!

Footnote: all of the pic above were scrounged from the net and are not a true representation of the characters in this crime scene!!