Cheap Seats? Bring Binoculars!

Every time I ever went to a sporting event, it seems like I got bad seat. Not that I would have known the difference, but when you can't see what's going on due to distance or a giant column in front of you or a terrible vantage point, you have to rely on the people around you or the big screen TV or the sports announcer to figure out what's going on. Might as well be at home in front of the TV.

Once we went to see the Smothers Brothers in a huge auditorium. Our seats were in the balcony. I realized once the Brothers came on stage that they looked awfully small; in fact, you couldn't tell Tommy from Dicky except for the bass and the guitar and the yoyo. However, the cheap seat crowd came prepared. We never thought to bring binoculors, but everybody else did.

Lesson learned.

Have Fun - Make Money - On myLot.com

I just discovered myLot, and already I recommend it. This is a dynamic online discussion community, where members are encouraged to discuss topics of interest with people from all over the world. Not only is it interesting and fun, but you can make money by just participating. Start by posting some of your personal interests; then earn by posting topic starters, responding to discussions, and adding linked photos (or posting your own) within your responses.

I'm still exploring myLot, but one thing's for sure; this is a site that is difficult to leave once you get started. There's always something current and new to read about and/or respond to. I like the web design too - it's easy on the eyes and navigation is pretty smooth. If you have a PayPal account, just click here, sign up, and you're in business!

Relatively Cold? Or Biting, Numbing, Stinging Cold???

Every morning, first thing I have to do is take little Charlie out. He's an indoor dog, so obviously by morning he is a bit anxious to go outside. Whatever the season, whatever the weather, that means getting out of a nice warm cozy bed, checking the thermometer, then dressing accordingly for our little morning trek outdoors.

This time of year, what I need to know is; is it cold, really cold, or frigidly cold?

While experiencing my first few weeks of winter here, as a recently transplanted California girl, cold was just cold, meaning anything below 40 degrees F was COLD! Now, having acclimated a bit, I am able to detect minor differences in degrees of coldness. Anything 25 to 40 is relatively warm, believe it or not; no hat or muffler needed (although I always wear gloves). 10 to 24 is gettin' a little cold, and single digits or less means cover the face and head, or the nose and ears will hurt.

Anyway, this morning I did not need to look at the thermometer to know that it was COLD out there! When I looked out my front window, I saw the wintery scene in the photo above. It was winter wonderland-feeze-your-butt-off cold. It was 9 degrees.

Charlie didn't care, by the way. He just wanted to make yellow snow.

Christmas Party!

A few days ago I had a few of the ladies from my church over for a little Christmas party. Believe it or not, at least to my recollection, this is the first Christmas party I've ever thrown! Well, "thrown" may not be the right term. There were no fancy hors d'oeuvres and certainly no alcohol (and, of course, no men). This was a pot-luck dinner, which, as always, worked out perfectly. Everything was delicious; amazingly, there were no duplicate dishes!

Before eating, by the way, we enjoyed some original holiday poetry that my neighbor Carolyn read to us. I had no idea that, as well as a fabulous quilter, she was such a talented and creative writer!

After a bit of small talk, we ate dinner, and then we exchanged cookies. This how it worked:

We all brought homemade cookies, and because there were eight of us, we had lots of different kinds of cookies to sample and take home. After carefully scrutinizing the cookies, selecting our samples, and completing our individual cookie plates, we moved back to the living room for a white elephant exchange. We each brought a wrapped white elephant gift; and for those readers who have no idea what this is, I'll explain:

A white elephant gift is an item that one finds in one's house that one might be willing to part with. Or something that hasn't been used in a while. Or at all. Sometimes, although all people have stuff they really need to get rid of, suddenly everything they own seems extremely valuable and impossible to part with, so instead they buy their white elephants at the Dollar Store, which is technically cheating, but often enough, they plan to get their own gift back anyway and they usually manage to do so.

In any case, we picked numbers; and beginning with #1, we selected and unwrapped the gifts. Ah-but there's a twist! The next person in line could either unwrap another gift OR take one of the gifts already revealed. Once a gift exchanges hands twice (that is, has a third owner) it cannot be taken again.

Fun - fun - fun!!!

Wow! Next year, I plan to throw yet another Christmas party! In fact, a bigger one! It's already in the planning stages. . .

PS. Here are some Christmas planning ideas (for this year or next) to help spark up your holidays, too!

Bad Weather? Work at Home!

As cold as it's been around here lately, I am all the more determined to work at home! Beyond the obvious frustrations and bummer gas expenses of the commute, dangerous cold icy roads provide yet another excellent reason to leave the car in the garage. I would much rather sit in front of my computer in my jammies and robe and watch the pretty winter weather through my living room window while I work, thank you very much!

One of the best ways I have found to accomplish this is to find freelance work over the Internet. Here you can find a global pool of potential clients, many of whom need the exact kind of work that you, as a freelance expert, can provide. Interested? Start your work-at-home career today. Get direct access to hundreds of freelance and home-based jobs. Click here to find work now.

Lifelong Learning - Easier Than Ever!

I am a life-long learner. I love to learn. I spent six years in college and would have stayed longer if life didn't take me elsewhere. I returned to college part-time when my last child was two, then again (full time) when she was nine.

Right now I am teaching art classes, but that doesn't mean I'm not learning. In fact, they say the teacher learns much more than the student while preparing to teach. (You can read more about that in my previous related post.) Now most of my learning consists of visiting the library (I still love the library and I still check out books!) and, of course, surfing the net.

As an alternative to attending classes on campus, the Internet offers a great way attain a college education. Online college programs are available to anyone, anywhere, without ever having to leave home. Can you imagine? Well, you probably can, but I went to college (three times) the old-fashioned way. Well, one of those times was almost as convenient; the college was right across the street.

Now, you can live in Tempe, AZ and earn your degree from Capella University in Chicogo if you want to. How convenient is that? Capella University, as an example, is an accredited university that offers 76 graduate and undergraduate specializations and 16 certificate specializations in business, information technology, education, human services, and psychology. The university serves students in all 50 states and 63 countries. How many local colleges do that?

Hmmm. . . I'm thinking about taking a few more classes.

An Inconvenient Truth - Our Planet is at Stake

Did you know that while the "war on terror" has fervently waged on, a much larger and more dangerous threat to our very existance has been rapidly closing in on us? The fact is that we are very nearly at the point of no return; but, of course, the Bush administration, in all its power and pompousness, has failed to even acknowledge, let alone act on this very real peril to the habitability of the earth.

Of course, I'm talking about global warming. This is not just a scientific term that we can let others worry about any more. We are seeing the catastrophic effects on the changing global climate very clearly, and it is affecting the very lives of hundreds of thousands of people and other living things all over the world. This is not a partison or a national issue anymore; it is a habitability issue. Whether you are Democrate or Republican or whatever, whether you live in California or New Hampshire or Peru or China, global warming will greatly affect your life and the lives of your children very shortly, if we don't act now.

See for yourself what is going on. See photos of glaciers that have literally disappeared within the last a few years, and at least one town in Alaska that has disappeared with them. Warmer oceans have created fiercer (and more) storms like Katrina. Why is that? Drier, hotter fires are burning in the California, even in winter. Why??? Please, learn more and find out what you can do: check out this award winning film, An Inconvenient Truth, and see for yourself. Warning: this is scary stuff, but ignorance is much more dangerous. The concensus is that we have only the next decade or so to act, or the damage can never be undone.

By the way, there are skeptics who argue that this is all "junk science" or mere conjecture. (I think most are paid conservative propagandists.) Okay, what if it IS wrong? Can becoming better stewards of our planet hurt?

The real question is (and the answer appears evident), what if it's right?

Hands-On Teaching? Do THIS First!

I'm back!!! I haven't written since - (gulp) - July?????

Well, it's been a hectic summer and autumn, what with my new art center and other major changes in my life. The art center has gone well; the locals here seem to appreciate the fine arts and crafting opportunities I am offering here. Or, as one little girl told me, "My mom has been looking for art classes for me FOREVER!!!" (She's nine; forever is obviously all relative.)

In any case, I've held art classes steadily thoughout the week since May. The classes are just a few hours per week in total, but the PLANNING! Oh-my-gosh, sometimes the planning takes, well, forever! I've learned that "planning" means, after deciding what to do, doing it.

In fact, this is the number one cardinal rule for teaching any kind of hands-on lesson:

NEVER do a project with a class that you haven't done first yourself.

Ah, heck, why not? It's such a simple project. You did it when you were a kid, for God's sake! Well, there are many reasons, and believe me, I would know...

First, it forces you to assemble everything you need in advance, and so if something you thought you had (usually vital to the project) is unusable, like dried up paint or hardened glue; or missing, like colored chalk, green glitter, or black construction paper, you can run out and get it. Once you have everything in front of you, you can begin the project. Be sure to time yourself from beginning to end, so that you'll know in advance if a 1-1/2 hour project is really a 4 hour project.

The process of trying the project first will make you very aware of what works and what doesn't. If glue sticks don't work, you'll know you better substitute Tacky glue, and if that doesn't work, you can go for the glue gun! (Oops! No glue gun sticks!) If folding paper or tying twine or punching holes through cardboard is difficult for you, it'll be much harder for your younger participants. You'll know what you need to cut, measure, or prepare in advance. And finally, you'll have a finished product that you can use as a sample, which is very important -- students like to see what it is they are going to make, even if their results are very different.

So, planning and teaching classes. That's why I've been away so long. Well, in addition to personal changes in my life that I alluded to above. Maybe another time.

Pictured above is a life-sized papier-mache' snake created by Robert, age 11.