Picking Up Your Socks

I was relaying a story tonight, and thought I would share it with you.

I came home from being out almost all day, running errands (which started with breakfast) and when I arrived, my daughter had on one green sock and there was a blue sock, lying on the floor. I said to her, "Could you put the blue sock in the laundry?" She responded with, "It's not dirty."

"Why's it on the floor?"

"Cause Daddy won't give me milk."

Of course, why didn't I figure that out on my own?

Buying School Supplies

These are the school supplies I got at Staples yesterday for $8.62.
There are:
10 two-pocket folders
2 packs of 8 pencils
1 four pack of pens
1 pack of 15 colored pencils
2 rolls of invisible Scotch tape
1 pink spiral one-subject notebook (guess who that's for)
2 packs of 25 peel&stick seal envelopes
2 packs of 2 each fancy shaped post-it notes (these are normally over $3 each)

This would normally be around $22.

This is the time to buy school supplies.  Check the Staples ad.  Every week for this month, they should have penny/dollar items that are very useful just to have.  Actually, they also have a ream of paper for one penny - that you have to pay for though and then wait for a rebate.  Also, you should remember to pay attention to the limits.  Many of these items were limit of two and the specials are only good until Saturday.  Target is starting to get their back to school section in order and there sale will probably start next Sunday.

My worst problem is that my older son hasn't gotten his list from school yet, and in middle school, those are the most expensive items.

With the economy, when items run out, they probably won't be replaced, so don't wait for a specialty item to go on sale.  If you need a mutli-funcitonal calculator or a scientific one, buy it now and keep the receipt.  Many stores, including Target will give you a price guarantee on an unopened item within 14 days if it should go on sale in that time.  If it's longer, the return policy is usually 90 days, so you can rebuy it cheaper and return the more expensive one.  Just KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS.

Since Staples is in our neighborhood, within six miles, I will go back at least twice more to get those pencils for a penny.  We're over near the store anyway, so we're not wasting gas and the kids go through pencils like water.

Everything in the picture I bought because they were on sale.  I didn't look at any supply lists from school, but those are all items we will use either for school or in the house.

Philosophy from a Five Year Old

I thought I would post about my middle son. Usually, it's my oldest or my daughter who get the blog space, but child #2 was really on a roll yesterday, and repeating the stories to two friends of mine made me laugh again, so I thought I would share.

Yesterday was a day for him to philosophize.

First, was my daughter wanting her birthday to be on St. Patrick's Day. She wants a St. Patrick's Day birthday, but her birthday is in January. Birthdays are on the brain because my husband just had a birthday and I'm putting together thanfiction's gift, and they were listing all the days that you get presents.

She was complaining about her birthday not being on St. Patrick's Day, and my son said, "When you're born, that's when your birthday is, and you stick to that."

Makes sense to me.

Then, he says, "It's funny how the thing has the same name that it is."

We pondered this, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," he stated very matter-of-factly, "a lion...is...a...lion."

We nodded in agreement. Yes, it is.

"And do you know, that there is a chicken that is an animal. And there's a chicken that you eat."

My husband looked at me, and said, "This is that time - do we make him a vegetarian because the wrong word now..."

My son also has some trouble with some words because of his speech, but we like the way he says them, so we're really bad about correcting them.

He'll say: maglet instead of magnet.
He'll say: merote instead of remote.
He'll say: whore instead of or. (This one's a bit embarrasing.)
He'll say: Machanukah instead of Chanukah.

You know, typing it out, it looks like he may be hearing too many 'm's.

He's very logical, and this was a very entertaining car ride.

Posting from my phone. Not sure how this will work.

...Here Be Dragons...

I wear this cute little guy on my pocket book. He doesn't have a name yet. Where he sits on the bag, it ends up that he also sits on my shoulder. It's very cute.

I went to the post office the other day to mail a letter, and the window clerk noticed him, and said, "Oh, is he a Red Dragon from Oneonta?"

I was surprised. No one's ever asked me that before. In fact, I've been asked if he's a dog.

I said, "No, he's a Red Dragon from Wales. But I graduated from Oneonta."

We laughed, and I really thought it was funny that I never put it together. The Oneonta Red Dragon was always separate in my mind from Y Ddraig Goch.

Another connection. Fate is a funny thing.

Free Ice Cream

Friendly's will be giving out free ice cream on Saturday, June 5th from 12 to 5. I'm sure there are some disclaimers about participating locations, but really, how many don't participate. I think it's either a cone or a cup, but the sign didn't specify. That's only two Saturdays from today!

Happy Mother's Day, 2010

Mother's Day was lovely this past weekend. It really began on Saturday with a couple of errands. I had been told to expect a package (from my close friend) on Saturday, so a quick trip to the post office (more on the package later) and then the bank. After that was the usual Saturday, except on our ride north, we took a wrong turn and ended up going around Saratoga Lake:

And yes, we were really driving that close to the water.

Everyone was very excited and it was a very pleasant drive.

Prior to this, we were at the comic store. I stayed in the car, and decided to open my package. I knew what it was, but even the mail clerk warned me that it was very heavy, and I should be careful. He was right. Fourteen pounds. Who knew that ginger weighed so much?

I opened the top and was greeted by the sight of flower petals. This was the cushioning material. Very creative. And messy, I realized very quickly, so I decided that I would wait until I got home to finish the opening.

Unfortunately, the earwig that was crawling out had other ideas.

Freaked would be a good description.

I got it out of the car without too much trouble, and I didn't kill it either. No one would know.

Husband and kids got back in the car and off we went. My husband looked over at the partially opened box and asked, "What is that?"

"The present."

"No," he said. "That," gesturing with a nod of his head.

Another earwig. This one went out the window. I'm sure it was fine other than being so far from home.

We ended up running errands at Target, and while he and the kids went inside to get diapers, I was informed with the handing of a garbage bag that the flower petals had to go.

I moved them into the bag, but since there were no other critters, I decided to keep the petals and possibly make sachets out of them. Either way, the yummy ginger was perfectly fine. There was crystallized ginger, ginger chips, hard ginger candy, ginger syrup and ginger sugar. All homemade. All delicious. The card made me cry.

We got home and I decided to transfer the petals to a ziploc bag and let them dry properly to use them for other things.

They were still soft and smelled really nice (I think that if I didn't have this cold, they would have smelled even better.) As I was transferring the petals, I found another critter. A tiny snail.

I deposited this into my garden and resumed the transfer.

But wait.

There's more.

A second snail.


What was this? Noah's Ark?!

The mail came soon after this, and my mother in law had sent a card with a gift card for Chili's Restaurant, so dinner for Sunday was decided. I actually love Chili's and had just said that was where I wanted to go as one of my choices, so it was perfect.

The next morning, I was greeted in bed by the kids and the things they made in school. My littlest made a handprint flower with her picture in the middle and my middle guy made a star photo frame with a carrot (his favorite vegetable) and the Star Trek comm badge glued onto the frame with his photo in the center. From everyone, I got the one thing I said that I wanted: an MP3 player. The one I had broke a couple of months ago, and this one really was a good one. It also has an FM radio and it holds pictures and videos as well as audiobooks, so A+ to my husband for choosing the perfect player and keeping it affordable.

On the way to dinner, we realized that we were following the Batmobile. It was very exciting. It's not as fast as one would think, but we still got a couple of pictures and the kids were very excited.

I have a great family.

It was a really nice weekend.

Chick-Whispering

Many of you know that my youngest child goes to a cooperative nursery school. Despite choosing our kids' preschools based on money decisions and our lack of it, we've actually been very lucky in the quality of our children's preschool education. For those of you who don't know what a cooperative nursery school is, it is a nursery school where the parents are responsible for the running and upkeep of it. We have a teacher (two plus an assistant) plus there is always a parent helper. Each parent, in addition to a regular job, must participate (or provide someone else) in the classroom approximately once per month. The timing all depends on the amount of days in the school year and how many kids in the class. I think this year, I've been required once every two months.

My last parent helper day was yesterday and I was horrified to learn that the teacher expected me to wrangle the chicks. Yes, they have chicks. They get the eggs locally, put them in an incubator for 21 days and hatch chicks. They, then go to a farm to live happily, and this is an actual farm, not the euphemistic farm that other animals go to.

"You want me to...what?"

So, I talked to the teacher and the assistant, and was equally horrified to learn that the kids were NOT going to hold the chicks.

"What?!"

But...they're chicks. I brought my camera. The teacher was on my side, and the assistant was talking about the other teacher's concerns (the 4yo teacher, who usually runs the school/classroom procedures), but I prevailed, was told not to lose any chicks and that was that.

They were all put into a plastic swimming pool, and wandered around peeping. I've done this before - not the chick whisperer part, just the knowing what to do part. I told the kids that they could pet the chicks using one finger and to keep it to the chicks backs, avoid their heads. They were excellent listeners. One girl was a little rough, but I kept her close to me. I did manage to get a couple of pictures, which I will print out for those kids over the weekend.

And we only lost one chick. He jumped out of one of the kids' hands and ran in a circle before I scooped him up and dropped him gently into the pool. We had a good laugh and we agreed not to tell the teacher assistant.

They ended up with a total of 13 chicks, all black except one yellow one. This one happened to be the one that ran away. He is the true black sheep of the family apparently. All of the black ones had yellow markings in places, mostly on their faces, although one had a yellow belly and a couple had a tiny stripe on the tops of their heads. In fact, my favorite and the most cooperative with the kids was a little black one with a tiny yellow splotch on his head. Their feet are huge. Their beaks are also quite large compared to the rest of their faces and their bodies. Their faces are very owl-like, so I wonder if all birds have similar faces.

Two funny stories:One of the boys is a bit rough, and he likes to bang things. He was banging a wooden block against another (in another area of the classroom) and it sounded as though he were hammering a nail. All of the chicks stopped what they were doing, lifted their heads and looked towards the sound and became silent while they listened. It was something to see.

For cleaning up, the teacher puts on the Mary Poppins song, A Spoonful of Sugar, and I thought the chicks were cheeping along. We had to really listen to hear the music over the loud peeps.

And lastly, after being in the pool (don't worry - no water) for quite sometime, the chicks huddled together in groups to keep warm. Once they were put back in their brooder (box with a heatlamp), they all pretty much collapsed from exhaustion. It looked like the morning after at a frat party.

Garden & Flower Show

In March, I went to our local Garden and Flower Show. It is a yearly event, held at the end of March, usually before Easter. It is a time for gardeners to get ideas, buy seeds and bulbs and have a generally nice time. I usually try to go on Friday even though it runs all weekend. Friday is by far the slowest day, so parking is still good and it's not as crowded as on the weekend. The one downside to Friday is that sometimes schools and retirement homes come in large groups.

I usually pack a wheelie cart and bring a snack and a couple of drinks, and spend the day. My ritual is to usually start out in the vendor room, and wander through to see if there's anything that I want to buy later on in the day. There are also free things given away, which is always a good thing. There are free samples of herb/sour cream and oil dips to try and then of course, buy. There are jams and nuts, and this year, there were fudge samples. I tried the Irish Crème. That seemed to be a very popular flavor this year. They had it in fudge, nuts and a dessert dip. There was also wine tasting, but I opted out of that one. I did not see the honey man this year, but with the economy it is hard to tell who is affected by that. I was looking for some ginger honey, and I thought if anyone would have it, he would.

After my one trip through the vendor room, I will then head down to the floor for the floral/landscape displays. This is always fun also, and usually smells really good (unless, of course, you have allergies). There is always a theme – this year's theme was Renaissance. I also noticed that there weren't a lot of actual flowers. There was a lot of greenery, and water displays.

Here are a few photographs. Try and find Bob hidden among the flowers and greenery.

Recipe - Pot Roast

I think we'll be making this for dinner tonight, so I thought I would share since others are looking for new recipes.

This is actually my mother's recipe, which should say something about the importance that brand names played in our family growing up since I believe the original recipe is from Reynold's Wrap or Lipton.

Ingredients/Supplies:

Reynold's Oven Bags - size large (you will need one bag and one tie, so save the rest for next time)
Bottom Round Roast, anywhere between 3 1/2 and 6 pounds (you'll just have to adjust the length of cooking time if it's too big.)  (And another note, do NOT pay more than $2.99/lb for this meat.  I like to pay around $1.79-1.99/lb, and you can cook it frozen if you forget to defrost it - just add 45 minutes to an hour to the cooking time.)  (You really can't overcook a pot roast.)

1 packet of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (put the other packet away for next time)
Either a russet potato for every 1-2 people or 2-3 cans of whole white potatoes, drained
5 medium sized onions, cut in quarters
1 bag of frozen baby carrots
4-6 cups of cold water
4 sprinkles of arrowroot starch or flour

Directions:
Place bag in roaster pan.  Put the whole piece of meat into the bag.  Pour over the onion soup mix over the top of the meat.  Add the potatoes, onions and carrots at the base of the meat.  Add in the water until it nearly covers the carrots or about a quarter of the way up the roast.  Add the starch to the water.  If you use flour, you will need to dissolve it into the water before you pour it in or it will make lumps.

Close the bag with the tie.

Poke holes in the bag with a knife.

Put in oven.  If oven is electric, just turn it on now, set for 350 degrees and cook for 20-30 minutes per pound, adding an hour to the end.  Time depends on how soft you like your meat.  If the roast is frozen, add 30-60 minutes to the cooking time on top of the extra hour.
If the oven is gas, you may want to preheat, but the cooking time will remain the same.

As little as four pounds will feed a family of 5, which includes a teenage boy.  This will, however leave no leftovers.

Serve in a bowl, and if you like bread, any bread will go with this.  It should be soft enough to cut with a fork.

(When I finish cooking mine for the evening, I'll add a photo to this entry.)

Free Comic Book Day

My annual announcement is late, but no less enthusiastic.

This upcoming Saturday is the first of May. It is also Free Comic Book Day.

Go to your local comic book store, get to know the staff and get some free comic books.

Comics are one of the first places that our children learn to enjoy reading. Let's encourage that. For groups opposed to comic books, there are many for a wide audience. My kids always find something appropriate to read, and even for me, a non-comic reader, it is an enjoyable day out.

Last year, we (they) got to sit in one of the original Batmobiles and we met John Hebert, one of DC's artists.

Our local comic store also has costumed characters, signed artwork, goodies, cookies or other food (because really, what goes better with comic books than junk food?) and of course, the free comic books:

Check out this website: Free Comic Book Day and your local comic store.

And of course, HAVE FUN!

For those interested, this will be Bob's first Free Comic Book Day. We'll see where we can twitpic him from.

*Also, on a related note, Ironman 2 comes out in theatres in less than a week.* May is starting out with fun times.

Tax Day Freebies (or Cheapies)

Sorry that this is so late. I've been dealing with things out of my control, but that is about to change. And speaking of change, this should save you a penny or two, but remember if you're paying for something that you wouldn't ordinarily buy, then you're not saving anything at all.

First, STARBUCKS. If you bring in your own travel mug to a participating (they all have that disclaimer) Starbucks, you will receive a free cup of coffee. I believe that there is no purchase necessary. This goes on all day.

If you're interested in breakfast, McDonald's has a special. Buy an Egg McMuffin and get the second on for a penny. So if you go to Starbucks first and then the McDonald's drive-thru, you've got breakfast for about $2, depending on where you are in the country.

If you're not interested in breakfast, then try lunch. McDonald's has the same deal for the Big Mac - buy one at regular price, get the second one for a penny.

If burgers aren't your thing, you can go to Taco del Mar, but you'll have to download your coupon first for a free taco in their Taxes Suck, Tacos Don't promotion.

Subway restaurants and Chick-Fil-A have promotions in Virginia, but it never hurts to check your own.

Cinnabon's mall locations will give you two free mini-bite cupcakes between 6 and 8pm because Tax Day Bites.

Staples will give you 30 copies for free of tax-related documents.

IHOP has a promotion all month long for a free kids' meal with the purchase of an adult meal between 4 and 10pm.

Hydromassage in the malls has a free massage from Thursday through Saturday. They recommend calling ahead.

Boston Market - if you buy a meal, you get the second one free. This requires a coupon that you download and is good Thursday through Sunday.

Smokey Bones restaurant offers a free appetizer with any purchase.

These were all I found this year, but if you google free tax day food, check out other offers, but check the date on the articles. I kept getting last year's stuff, and read everything. Some require a printed coupon.

I have just found out that I made a mistake on my taxes that I mailed on Tuesday, so now I get to spend tomorrow on the phone with the IRS and try to figure out how to fix it. It will be okay. At least I filed on time. They didn't say you had to file correctly, and I won't owe any money. In fact, I may get back a little more, but at the moment, I'm not sure.

For me, the sad thing is that I don't drink coffee and my husband doesn't eat Big Macs, so we will probably abstain this year.

Sources: Retailer's own websites, http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-tax-free-stuff,0,1117447.story, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2010-04-15-taxdaypromos15_ST_N.htm,

Testing the mobile posting.

How to Shop for Groceries

The reason that I decided to write this series of posts was something funny that happened. Two funny things happened, actually. The first was that a friend of mine returned to school, and was given the instructions to buy the "standard school supplies." He wasn't sure what that meant, and asked me. Having three kids, and having an unnatural fondness for school/office supplies, he thought I would know what that meant.

I did not.

So we brainstormed, and we got through, and then he realized that he needed an icepack to keep his lunch cool. He asked me where he could find that.

"What store are you in?"
"Target."
"Go to the last aisle of sporting goods. It's in the back of the store, and it is between toys and travel. It's in the last aisle where they keep the lunch boxes, coolers and thermos products."
There was a long pause. "How do you know that?"
"It's Target. Don't pay more than $1.99."

Then today, you know, if you follow my twitter, I had breakfast at Starbucks. I had a coupon that anyone could get online, for one free pastry when you bought a drink, hot or cold, before 10:30am. Right after that, I heard the radio announcer tell us that it was also Free Cone Day at Ben&Jerry's Scoop Shops, so I tweeted that as well.

I heard from my friend, and he wanted to know how I did that. How do I know where the freebies are?

Well, I don't know. I just do. And I'm an amateur. There are people much better at it than I am. If only I could make a living shopping for other people. At least, I can try to teach you what I know.

I'm planning on three separate posts about this. This first one will be on grocery shopping. Others will include eating out, buying school supplies, outlet shopping and whatever else might strike my fancy or yours (or that you might ask for.)

Oh, just while we're on the subject, July 10th is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. Dress like a cow, get a free combo meal. We don't actually have any Chick-Fil-A's here, but we happened to have been in a Maryland one on July 10th one year.

Anyway, onto groceries.

Groceries can sometimes be complicated to buy. I should also mention that some of the advice I'm going to give is advice that I don't take (like checking dates - I'm terrible at checking dates), but it still works. For grocery buying and for cooking for the complete novice, I would recommend the book, The Kitchen Survival Guide by Lora Brody. This was a phenomenal resource when I was first married and setting up my own kitchen and doing my own shopping. While what my mother did cook was delicious, she didn't make a wide variety of things, so for me, it was all new.

1. The first tip is really the most important. Do NOT go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Always eat first. What I usually do if I'm going alone, and it's in the morning, I will go to the bagel shop right in the grocery store, and get a bagel with cream cheese and a cup of water. That way, I'm already eating and I'll sit at their tables and do tip number two...

2. Make and keep to a list. If you have a list, you're more likely to buy what's on sale and what you need, and you won't deviate from your list often.

3. Review the sale flyer before you go. This will also help you plan your meals for the week. Sometimes, there are great sales (like bottom round roast for $1.79/lb) and you'll want to buy extra to freeze. At that price, I think I bought three roasts.

4. Buy items in season. Yes, it's great to get strawberries in December, but there's a reason that they're $3.99/lb. They also don't taste as good, and depending on where they're imported from, they don't last as long because of their trip here. Strawberries are a summer fruit, squashes are a fall/winter. Vidalia onions are only around for about four to six weeks, and if you've never had them, HAVE THEM. They are sweet and succulent, and we eat them almost every day for that one month they are here. We eat them raw, on sandwiches, mixed into salads, sautéed in butter, mixed into fried rice. There are other sweet onions, but none like Vidalias.

5. Even with a list, follow the layout of the supermarket. It doesn't seem as though walking through the entire supermarket will save you time, but I've done the run around in the order on the list and the follow every aisle, and the follow every aisle method is actually faster. I usually start in produce, then the bakery, then the back wall of meat, and then just go aisle by aisle until I get to dairy and finish up with frozen.

6. Get the supermarket's savings card. On one shopping trip, they took off $25 from my order. This is rare, but now at my supermarket, the card is linked to Sunoco gas stations. We get ten cents off for every $50 spent. Right now, we're up to seventy cents off our gas, so we're waiting for an empty tank so that we can fill up. In that same venue, try out the store brand. I am a brand-name fiend -- I know the difference between Philadelphia Cream Cheese and others. I can taste the difference between Coke and Pepsi. There is no cheese doodle like Bachman Jax, and I can tell Rold Gold pretzels from Bachman Thin&Right, but there are certain things that I don't mind getting in the store brand. Our store's butter is excellent as is their sour cream and milk. I prefer the store's chicken to Perdue's. Try it out. If you like it, there is a huge value.

7. Use coupons. Stores will sometimes accept expired ones if the date is close. It doesn't hurt to ask. If they say no, oh well, but if they say yes, you've just saved money. You should also be wary of coupons. A lot of the Pillsbury ones are buy 3, get $1 off. It's just not worth it sometimes.

8. Plan out your meals. I found that when I was doing that, we ate well and we saved money all the time. This does mean that you will have to plan on taking things out of the freezer, although roast beef and pot roast can be cooked frozen. It just takes a little longer. Chicken really can't, although my mother-in-law has done it and it's always excellent. She should teach a class.

9. Wal-Mart is a great place to get brand name non-perishables, but you must know the prices of these same goods at your regular supermarket.

10. Specialty places like Trader Joe's and Penzeys Spices are good places to find things that you won't find elsewhere. In the case of Penzeys Spices, the prices are very close to supermarket prices, but the spices are fresher and sold in larger containers. I've been using their mail order for about three years, but if I'm in town (I've only been to the ones on Long Island and in Philadelphia), I get them there, and save on the shipping. There is no tax on spices since they are a food (at least in my state and in PA). They also have a great catalog with fantastic recipes. I never throw away their catalogs. Trader Joe's has some unique things that you can't find anywhere else, and their prices are quite reasonable. Another specialty place is the bulk warehouse stores. BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club are just a few of the ones that I know. There is a membership fee, but if you can buy in bulk, it can really save a lot of money. (BJ's has a terrific granola mixture that the kids and I love for $6.99). This is really good for paper products. Their milk prices are under $2. I don't usually buy fresh food there because I have never needed six cucumbers for anything. I've tried. They just go soft. They're very reasonable on candy (great for Halloween) and frozen appetizer type foods (great for New Year's and the Super Bowl).


So, happy shopping.

What is this Blog Thing?

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I thought that with my blog being so green that I should say that since I was posting today.

I'm not sure what this blog will be. I think of it more as a website to feature my writing. As you can see on the sidebar, I have a published chapbook for sale, and a paypal account to go with it. I actually sold this book last summer at the IWWG Summer Conference, where it was very well received. Money being tight, I'm not sure that I will make it to this year's conference.

Back to what this blog is. I write in all areas. I watch Morning Joe every morning, and so I have many views on politics, government and pop culture. I can be very opinionated, but try to remain open-minded, not so open as to change as much as to listen.

I write fiction. Maybe one day, I'll sell it.

I write about children (mine usually) and like to give advice, on parenting (which I've been for thirteen years, nearly) and on education (a field that I hold my degree in and taught in a variety of early childhood programs for over ten years.)

I write about travel, something I love to do and love to do organized even more.

So, what you find here will be what I find here: myself and everything that comes with that.

Welcome...again.

My Phoenix Project

I've started a new goal oriented program. I was going to write that it has a limited scope, but the scope is only limited on what I choose to do with it. It began in a fan fiction community that I moderate, and the ideals of each category are from that community and the original works. The idea behind this project is really bettering yourself, personally and professionally and taking care of others around you. I'm excited about it and that is why I have decided to include them here. Many of these items are things that are done or will be done in real life. I have also added a real world component that relates to my writings and my goals of continuing as a freelance writer.

The objective is to do at least three items from each of the four groups. I've added a fifth group, which is more than the glorified to do list it appears to be at first glance. I tried to choose long-term professional goals, not simply 'pay my bills on time.'

Completed tasks will be bold. Notes on ongoing tasks will appear in different colors. I've eliminated the tasks that I won't do at all.

My tasks are as follows:

RED - step outside your comfort zone - be bold - completed 1/3 min.

B. Give 12 hours volunteer service to the organization of your choice.
C. Go through your things and donate unwanted/unneeded clothes, books, old glasses, etc. to an organization such as Goodwill or the Salvation Army. -we did this on Sunday - 3 bags of unneeded/too small clothes - we will continue to do more throughout the spring.
D. Write a letter to your Congressional representatives (or equivalents) and local newspaper about an issue that matters to you.
I. Join the local chapter of an organization that promotes a cause you believe in and participate in at least three meetings and one significant event.
J. Teach someone a skill you possess, free of charge.

YELLOW - for others - help your community through your creative talents - completed 2/3 min.

A. Administrate a contest or fic exchange. - I ran the Holiday Fic Exchange in December and now I am running the Community's Anniversary Contest.
B. Help another community member resolve an issue or challenge they are facing. - I am doing this, but since it's private, I won't be putting the person's name here - this will be worked on tomorrow.
C. Submit entries to three community contests. - soon, deadline is at the end of the month
D. Recruit two new members to the community.
E. Create a piece of fic (at least 1000 words), art, or a vid to fulfill the request of another community member (that includes adopted plot bunnies). - working on this right now
F. Beta-read 5,000 words or more of fic for another community member.
G. Comprehensively review (200 words or more, not counting quotes) at least five pieces of other people's work on the community.
H. Create a piece of meta for the 'verse, at least 1000 words. - I just did this and posted it to the comm. Click over and read about Women in Daydverse. :-)
J. Participate in at least two community side projects (radio play, podcast, convention planning, etc.) - I've done one podcast and plan on being involved in convention planning as it comes up.

BLUE - foster your education and learning as well as seeking the truth

B. Read 3 books by a prominent author (or authors) in a genre you don't usually read and write a review for your blog or newspaper.
C. Read a book that opposes a position you believe, and write a review of it for your blog or newspaper.
D. Research your local government (mayor, city council, etc) and be prepared to vote accordingly in your next election.
E. Attend a local cultural event, such as a concert, festival, or art show, and write a review of it for your blog or newspaper.
F. Learn a new creative skill, such as painting, knitting, playing an instrument, cooking a certain kind of cuisine, etc.
G. Write an essay on your blog or for a local publication of at least 1000 words introducing people to an unusual subject which fascinates you. - working on this as well at the moment
H. Participate in a local historical society, SCA gathering, or similar event.- I was a SCAdian for 10 years. I'd like to go back.
I. Learn a new non-creative skill (how to fix a leaky pipe, change your car's oil, do your own taxes, etc)
J. Learn at least one skill other than the one you chose for Objs. F. or I. that originates in a culture not your own, and the heritage behind it (origami, belly dancing, etc.)

GREEN - for yourself - both mentally and physically, simply putting yourself first.

(NOTE, starred items must be maintained for 90 days to count)
*A. Make a significant healthy change in your eating habits (cut out soda or sweets, more fruits and vegetables, cut out fried food, etc.)
*B. Get at least 6 hours sleep a night, or establish a regular meal schedule.
*C. Learn and practice a coping technique for an emotional and/or personal issue (punctuality, organization, phobia, etc.)
D. Do something to improve your appearance (new haircut, contact lenses, new outfit, learn how to take care of your skin, etc).- alas, next week
*E. Establish and implement a plan for the next stage in your career or education. - actually this blog is one of those things that I'm working on, plus entering a contest in May and a guest blog for another site.
*F. Kick a bad habit (nail biting, smoking, etc.)
*G. Make and keep a reasonable budget. - working on this now
H. Go somewhere or try something that you have always wanted to.- you couldn't have done this in the Fall (for my trip to Wales);-)
J. Use contacts you have made or new information you have gathered to help overcome a significant obstacle or achieve a significant goal in your life. - working on this as well

OTHER
A. Call health insurance company and find out important information with the new administrators.

B. My "Good morning" project. I will be saying this to someone who is not used to being awake in the morning. I NEVER say "good" morning. I just don't believe in it, so this is really about my outlook and starting the day off right. If I can pause in the middle of the chaos to say 'good morning', my day might just switch gears.
C. I have to work on some religious stuff that I'm not getting into in this public post, but there's money involved, and of course, religion, so there's that.
D. Write and submit a piece on my trip to Wales for publication.
E. Write and submit on spec a local article on applepicking for the Fall, which will be here sooner than we think.
F. Get the editorial calendar from for the local newspaper where I have a contact
G. Write something for my friends at ESC - any suggestions on topic would be most appreciated since the one I thought of isn't appropriate right now.
H. As a joke, I said that I would write a post about post-it notes, and their many uses (I am the expert after all), but the more I think about it, the more I think that it's a really good idea. Useful for students and to showcase one of my favorite school supplies.
I. Build a corral for the plot bunnies - they're getting a little out of hand, and it doesn't help when other people (who shall remain nameless) keep leaving extras on my doorstep.
J. Clean off my dining room table so that we can eat at the dining room table.
K. Organize paperwork, and do the taxes. Start eliminating unnecessary papers from the house.
L. Create laminated checklists for the kids for getting ready for bed and for school the next morning, unfortunately tied to dessert since that's the only thing that motivates them at the moment. (I know that's bad. I'm usually 100% against food rewards (I will write an entry on nutrition soon) - I think that they're unhealthy and create false expectations and put too high an emotional value on food, but we actually eat some kind of dessert every night, could be one scoop of ice cream or a bowl of strawberries, so this is more of a 'you get your work done before you get dessert'.)

M. Write at least one blog entry a month for this journal and crosspost it elsewhere. It will be minimum of 1000 words, and on something topical or fall under my expertise: parenting, education, politics and law, travel.

Writing Resources - Recommendations

IWWG

Remember the Magic Summer Conference
July 30- August 6, 2010
Brown University, Providence, RI

Information on workshops here
Information on registration here


The Writer Magazine
Fiction Short Story Contest

Journey Through Wales

Things may seem a bit disjointed at the start here as I try to add things to this blog that I want here. They may not appear in order until I start coming here full time, but for now, I thought I would add a photo-blog of my recent trip to Wales. This trip meant the world to me, so it will appear here often and in many forms.


This entry will simply be one picture representing each day of my journey.
18 October 2009 - 25 October 2009




Photos Descriptions:
1. This is Bob, my traveling companion, all ready to go with his bags and his passport.
2. The first place I stayed at, The Totters Independent Hostel, a beautiful place where I would stay again.
3. Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon
4. Snowdon Mountain from the pass of Llanberis. This is from a small street behind the railway adjacent to the Afon Hwch.
5. Dolwyddelan Castle, the ONE place that I wanted to visit.
6. Valle Crucis Abbey, Llangollen
7. The coffin of Llywelyn Fawr, located in the chapel of the church of St. Grwst in Llanrwst.
8. A magnet that I picked up while I was there. It is actually true, that even with the driving (yes, I did, and you'll hear more about that), it was still a place where stress seemed far away and paradise at your fingertips.

Welcome and an Introduction

I'm still experimenting here. This is obviously my first post. This is all new to me. Well, not all. I have a livejournal. I've decided that some things should be here, and try to get a place to say what I need to say, so it seems that this will be here. We'll see how that goes.

Welcome.
As it says on the sidebar, I am a parent, teacher, writer and friend. That pretty much sums it up.
Ceirdwenfc is my online name and the only one that I give out. Cfc is a nickname given to me by a dear friend, and has stuck for both online and real life use. I'm very fond of it. :-)

I spend most of my online life in the Harry Potter fandom, but have expanded to many other aspects, learning new things about my friends, traveling to new places, both emotionally and physically, and trying to be a better, and more professional writer. I will try to update my profile to reflect my interests sometime in the coming weekend, but know that this is a place for my opinion, and while I like a good debate/discussion, I also like respect. I will try to respect your view and you will respect mine or you know, that's what the back button is for. My views on issues/politics will no doubt come out over time, sometimes with the delicacy of an opening flower petal, sometimes like a sledgehammer. You should be able to tell the difference.

I expect this blog to evolve.

Any suggestions are always welcome. Currently, my comments are open to all, and unmoderated.

A note about copyright. This statement will also evolve, but as of this printing everything (text, photos, artwork (as owner or copyright reassigned) appearing on this journal/blog is copyrighted to me, using the psudonym, ceirdwenfc or cfc, in the year it is published (posted). I retain all rights unless I choose to give them away by signed document, and those will be noted on individual posts.

Thank you for reading, and welcome.

cfc



The photos on this page (at least as of this posting - they will most definitely change) are:

At the top: Snowdon Mountain, Wales, UK, taken by me, October 2009
At the bottom: Bob and I with our journals, journaling at Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon, Wales, UK, taken by me, October 2009
On the sidebar: a Celtic symbol magnet, taken by me, October 2009
My current profile picture is my signature (literally) pen and ink, sketched for me by thanfiction on livejournal.