A Heartbreaking Year 2010

Two deaths in the family. That's why I haven't blogged in over a year! My father-in-law lost his battle with cancer and I had a miscarriage. Tough stuff. I still find myself getting weepy when I think of the loss of either one or both. Seeing my mother-in-law find her way without her life partner since she was 18 years old has been inspiring. She has made bold steps to create a new normal for herself. I can't imagine what life would be like to lose a soul-mate after living together for over 50 years. Ugh! I know my dear father-in-law is in a much better place, my hope is in Heaven, and with Jesus the Christ.

The miscarriage, that is too tough to write about yet. I am teary-eyed just thinking about it. My sister, my cousin and my niece all had healthy babies last year. They all recently turned one year old. Again tough stuff for me, but I am thankful to be surrounded by them all. I love them. The babies, they bring me such longing in my own heart but yet overwhelming love swells up to watch each new development in their lives. They are all now walking, a bit like Frankenstein.

Both my husband and I have gained emotional weight. Crud! I have never weighed so much outside of being pregnant (with my only birthed son.)  I once thought, after hearing that Rene Zellweger gained 30 pounds to play Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Diary, that I wanted to do that, gain weight...and then lose it quickly, like she did. Just to prove I could do it. Up to that point I hadn't battle with weight issues. That was several years ago, and who thinks that kind of thing. Wanting to gain weight to lose it! What was I thinking!? Now, I've gone and done it, gained not quite 30 pounds but close enough to warrant a GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND MOVE IT alarm. Yesterday, Stud Muffin and I went for an hour walk. You can't walk for an hour let alone 30 seconds from our house without encountering HILLS. Therefore, my butt is sore, and my quads are sore going up and down our stairs.

My peanut M-n-M savant husband won the M-n-M prize two years in a row for guessing the number closest to how many M-n-Ms were the a jar at the Christmas party. Side note: He also received five pounds of his favorite candy/peanut M-n-Ms as Christmas gifts. I just measured out 1/4 cup of M-n-Ms. It is 17 candies and 220 calories. Do you know how many times our hands have been in that jar since he won it?  Too many "just a handful" of 220 calories EACH! It takes running two ten-minute miles to burn off that "handful" of M-n-Ms.

Despite her great loss, my mother-in-law has taken on a host of new challenges at 76 years old! She is doing yoga on Mondays with my sister-in-law. She walks everyday. She has lost considerable weight and she is eating well. She is volunteering at a non-profit shop for breast cancer. And she is a breast cancer surviver. I know her heart still aches for her husband yet she has found a way to work through it and to shine in a new way.

What will be the spark to light my fire? I don't know yet. I keep facilitating between being cynical about life and being hopeful of the future. I do believe that the cynical voice is diminishing and the hopeful is re-emerging. More time will tell. I have ideas of what I want to try in the new year. Whatever it is children will most likely be involved, somehow.

Shoes Off or Shoes On?

We generally take our shoes off in our house. I like the idea of keeping the stuff from the outside ground from coming into our inside world. There are numerous things that may have attached themselves to anyone's shoes, such as: manure, spit, pesticides, gum, bug guts, seeds, chemicals, etc.

We allow guests to leave their shoes on if they are more comfortable that way. I also make available socks or slippers for guests. We don't have new carpet but we do sit and play on the carpet quite frequently. I hope to keep it fairly clean and non-toxic. I'm not an obsessive neat freak but I will do what I can to prevent uncleanliness.

I like the Japanese tradition (other countries do it too) of not wearing shoes in the house. We haven't always practiced this and sometimes it's just unpractical to be taking shoes on and off when working on projects or bringing in several bags of groceries.

I like to take my shoes off but not everybody does. On this one I choose to conform. I will take my shoes off at your house if you prefer it that way. Sometimes I even plan ahead and pack thick socks or slippers for visiting where I know I will be shoeless.

I'm thinking of posting a sign that says, "Care to bare your 'souls'?" I think it is a kind way to let visitors be informed of our general policy without demanding it.

Do you have any other kind way to request "No shoes"?

Emergency Disaster Check-up Time

Time to set your clocks back on November 7th, 2010. The fire department encourgages everyone to check your smoke/carbon monoxide detector batteries. You should have one near the bedrooms and at least one on every floor of your home. This is also a very good time to go through your emergency disaster stash. Here in the Northwest US we are suppose to be in for a more extreme winter than we are accustomed.

I recently graduated from the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program in our area. It is a nation wide program to help prepare citizens to help their communities in case of a man-made or natural disaster where the police and/or fire departments are overwhelmed with the vastness of the disaster and cannot help the masses.

During my CERT class we were told it is better to have an out of state family contact east to west rather than north to south. If cell phone circuits are locally overwhelmed during a disaster for whatever reason it is more difficult to contact others locally than long-distance, and more easy to contact east-west. If everyone in your family contacts the same person out-of-state you may be able to check everyone's status better through your contact than to call them direct locally.

Here is a list of essentials to have in your personal/family disaster emergency kit from http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/

You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer.


Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:

Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation

Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food

Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both

Flashlight and extra batteries

First aid kit

Whistle to signal for help

Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place

Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation

Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities

Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)

Local maps

Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:

Prescription medications and glasses

Infant formula and diapers

Pet food and extra water for your pet

Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container

Cash or traveler's checks and change

Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container. You can use the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) - PDF, 277Kb) developed by Operation Hope, FEMA and Citizen Corps to help you organize your information.

Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov.

Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.

Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.

Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.

Fire Extinguisher

Matches in a waterproof container

Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items

Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels

Paper and pencil

Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Duck Tape became Duct Tape

In 2002 doctors at an army medical center in Washington State conduct a study using duct tape to treat warts: 85% of patients' warts vanished completely.

End the Homework Battle

End the Homework Battle

by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias

"Do you have any homework tonight?"

A simple question, yet it can spark what becomes a familiar argument throughout a child's school years.

Haggling over homework is nothing new (most parents can remember protesting their own responsibilities on school nights), but homework battles in the 21st century are aggravated by a culture flooded with technical distractions.

According to recent research, 97 percent of youth play video games; nearly three quarters of them have an online social networking profile (Facebook, MySpace, etc.); 91 percent have a cell phone; and the typical teen sends an average of 10 text messages an hour. Is it any wonder parents will repeatedly hear their children complain that homework is boring and pointless?



Even with the advent of computers in the classroom, formal education doesn't even come close to holding a student's attention like the competition. Fortunately, you don't have to be as tech-savvy as your kids to keep them engaged in their schoolwork. Even if the assignments are boring and pointless, you can use these opportunities to help your children develop the skills and attitudes they'll need to be successful. You can get them thinking about the way they learn best, how they can motivate themselves and what it will take to succeed. You can teach them to be confident learners.



When I wrote my first book, The Way They Learn, my twins were toddlers. They are now in their sophomore year in college. During all those years, the learning-styles strategies I first advocated have remained effective. Let's take a quick look at these timeless techniques.



Ask more questions.



Encourage your children to take responsibility for their success. Keep your questions brief and positive — and always assume the best. For example:



•Would you like my help?





•What grade do you want to earn?





•What do you think it would take to accomplish that grade?





•How will I know your homework is being done?





•How do you want to be reminded? Help them design their individual study space.

Don't underestimate the importance of finding the right environment — even if it includes some elements that would make you uncomfortable if you were studying. Every child is going to be different. In our household, my son Mike usually did his homework at his desk in solitude, with no noise and no distractions. His brother, Rob, on the other hand, needed to be listening to music with headphones, lying on the floor with something to eat or drink and taking plenty of short breaks.



The most important question to ask yourself: What's the point? If the point is to get the homework done, let your child propose how he or she wants to do it, and simply require proof that it works.



Help them focus on their strengths.



For auditory learners, sounds are important — and the lack of sound can sometimes be just as critical.



They may say: Could I ask you a question? Could I talk to you? I need to say something! Give them a chance to talk about what they need to do. Ask brief questions, and be patient with long answers. The more they talk it through, the greater the chance they will get their homework done.



Then help them figure out the best environment for doing homework — challenge them to find the least distracting place. When they are working, do your best not to interrupt them, and keep outside noise levels to a minimum.



For visual learners, it's incredibly helpful for them to picture what they're doing or see an example of what's expected.



They may say: Could you show me how to do this? I don't see what you mean! Could you look at this? Help them create pictures in their minds of what their tasks should look like. Ask to see their homework assignment — sometimes just looking through it again will help them remember what they're supposed to do. Offer to provide a visual homework reminder — maybe a calendar, a whiteboard or a pop-up reminder on their computer or cell phone. Remember, just giving them verbal reminders probably won't have much effect.



For kinesthetic learners, the greatest challenge can be sitting still long enough to do their homework.



They may say: What's the point? It's boring! For these active and restless learners, spending any more than five or 10 minutes on something that seems like just another pesky chore can be perceived as torture. Their best chance for achievement often involves taking frequent short breaks and keeping some part of their body moving. Keep in mind that the point is not to have them sitting still to do their homework; the point is to get the homework done.



For learners who are wired to be analytic (step-by-step, detail-oriented, predictable), it's important to find the best place for concentrating. They tend to thrive in a quiet, uncluttered space where they can be alone and uninterrupted. They often like to do their homework on a predictable schedule and rarely request help. Make sure they are clear about the assignment deadline. Don't hover or nag — but get their cooperation in coming up with a method of accountability.



For learners who are wired to be global (big picture, intuitive, contextual), it may be easier to study when they're not alone. Globals are naturally drawn to working cooperatively with others, and if they sit alone, they may struggle to concentrate on the task. One tried-and-true solution is to make sure everyone works while the global works. If your whole family can do something quiet and productive (reading, working on the computer, etc.) while your global child is studying, it's easier for him or her to stay focused.



Homework will continue to be a challenge for parents and kids. But developing and nurturing a relationship with each of our children can build a solid foundation for educational success. The first step in this journey comes from understanding our children's design and strengths and appreciating the unique way they learn.



Cynthia Ulrich Tobias is founder, manager and CEO of AppLe St. (Applied Learning Styles). She is the best-selling author of The Way They Learn.

5 Day Water Fast Experiment at True North (Part 1) : The Renegade Health Show Episode #630 | The Renegade Health Show – Raw Food and Vegan Diet Friendly TV for Health Nuts

Water Fast health therapy....

5 Day Water Fast Experiment at True North (Part 1) : The Renegade Health Show Episode #630 The Renegade Health Show – Raw Food and Vegan Diet Friendly TV for Health Nuts

Natural Health

Natural Health

Drink Green Tea for a healthier mouth.