Posted in Eclectic Me

It doesn't take much to realize that there is a battle going on within America pertaining to secular and christian ideas about how our country should operate.  There is much debate regarding the consitutionality of laws and what our founding father's intended.  I have noticed that those who lean toward more liberal thinking express that our founding fathers did not use christian principals or intend for our country to use christian ideals when establishing our government.  Those who lean right, are firm that our founding fathers used only the Bible as their basis for our government.  Anything veering from that thought process, was not thier intention. 

In hashing this out within my own mind, I have come across a few certainties.  If anyone were to research actual writings of these men, they would be hard pressed to not accept the strong presence of God and His law in their thought process.  With this in mind, how could our country not be founded on christian principles?  Then there is the understanding of what their intentions were in allowing all to be welcomed here, in that they developed a foundation that would allow people certain freedoms. 

One point my oldest son brought up, was that we tend to focus on the greatness of what our forefathers put on the line in the name of our freedom.  However, there is a topic that I cannot find much information about.  Romans 13 clearly outlines that we are to be subject to the government, because all governments are ordained by God (meaning He has put them in place for a purpose).  We should not resist them.  Our forefathers came here with the intention of remaining loyal to Britain.  There came a time when they were being treated unfairly, so they defected, rebelled, and revolted.  Hmmm....was this following the word of God?  My son mentioned a line from National Treasure, "They did what was wrong because they knew it was right."  Another thinker: was this what God wanted?  Are there more passages of scripture that would help sort this out?

Upon reading Bill O'Reilly's Culture Warrior, I noticed an interesting list on the last page.  This is a list he comprised to sum up his book, regarding the traits and actions that a traditional warrior (one who fights for traditional America) should have or do.  Here is the list in its entirety:

• Keep your promises.
• Focus on other people, not yourself.
• See the world the way it is, not the way you want it to be.
• Understand and respect Judeo-Christian philosophy.
• Respect the nobility of America.
• Allow yourself to make fact based judgements.
• respect and defend private property.
• Develop mental toughness.
• Defend the weak and vulnerable.
• Engage the secular-progressive opposition in a straight-forward and honest manner.

While I don't agree with all of his views, or the way Mr. O'Reilly goes about doing things, I must say in reading this book, I have a better insight about why and how he does what he does.  He admits to his own bluders and outlines them in detail in this book.  he doesn't bash the liberal thinkers he discusses, and often compliments them.  This gave me a far more balanced read, than I had thought when I opened the cover. 

However, my point about printing the list is this; when you read through that list, it is logical and sensible, but do you also see the correlations with scripture?  Is it just me?  Aren't these part of the natural and revealed law from God? 

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

2007 is here.  Whatever shall I do?

I am not certain about all of you, but New Year's resolutions come and go so quickly.

Thanksgiving was nice, b ut marked the beginning of a slip in mood for me.  I still haven't been able to pinpoint what occured within me.  Over the last few weeks I have done a lot of reading and listening to what Americans are saying about different topics. 

Take the topic of Saddam's execution.  People's views on whether or not the Iraqis were doing the right thing didn't bother me.  I wasn't affected by the reports about when this would take place, regarding their holy week.  It was the discussions that seemed to be happening everywhere across the states, newspapers, periodicals, radio broadcasts, tv news, etc, discussing the viewing of the event.

The most popular opinion was, "I'd pay to see that?"  What's wrong in America?  Isn't it enough to know that he is being executed?  Why would any human being want to watch an execution.  What is gained? 

I agreed with different methods of documenting the event.  Why were some people so against this?  I didn't find that cruel or inhumane.  However, I do find that in an age where some influential people are trying to say that the Holocaust never happened, many forms of documentation are necessary.  We may not need this in the next 10 years, but we need it recorded beyond a shadow of a doubt so when the day comes in the future when most people involved in the event have passed on, there are more than one set of proof. 

At any rate, I am finding these type of news lines to be ones that have me deeply pensive.  It is these daily occurences that turn people off and have them begin to stop reading newspapers and periodicals and discontinuing their news watching and listening.  Can this be detrimental?

I believe so.  Ya know, December 7, I heard a broadcast asking random people if they knew what day in history this was.  Normal Americans, mind you.  Most of them did not.  When the clue was given, "Day of Infamy" most still had no idea what was being asked of them.  I came home and asked my children if they knew what the date was.  They looked at the calendar and asked recent or past.  I said past.  Silence.  Then was asked if I would give one clue.  I said, "Day of Infamy".  The response, D Day.  I was shaken a bit at first when they didn't remember, but felt better afterward.  Then I had begun thinking of those who were interviewed.  Assuming all had been educated in the public system or in the private school system, I was amazed that the day was almost "erased" from history by our citizens. 

All of these types of occurences has fed my pensive mode.  What will come in 2007?  While I do not know the outcome as of yet, I know this, I will continue to endeavor to teach my children truth.  It is truth that will set us free.

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Dear Friends,

Please know that I am around.  I  have been reading other blogs and doing a bit of work on Journey to Simplicity.  However my spirits are very low.  I have not been able to pinpoint it, but I think it is because it is a conglomeration of things.  My oldest and I are really sturggling with all the political war about Christmas.  Seems to have taken all the fun out of it.  There is a bunch of other stuff, but in short, I feel bah humbuggy and not much positive to write about. 

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

A friend and I were discussing the PC of Christmas.  We talked about different campaigns that stores use at this time of the year to rake in the bucks.  A lot of people are quite frazzled by it all, refusing to shop at any local that doesn't recognize or emphasize Christmas as the reason for the season.  Interestingly, we have found that the people we know who follow this rule are also the ones who seem to put the most emphasis on the material parts of the holiday.  She made a point of taking pictures of store windows in her area of NY (Ithaca) to see how stroes were "pushing" the holidays. 

The main stores at her mall have completely avoided the subject with neutral slogans such as, Peace, Joy, The Gap!  Small boutique shops in her downtown area didn't seem to be acknowledging any holidays.  LOL!  As we reviewed the many controversies involved in marketing during the year, we discussed how Target backed off their strict no Christmas or Christianity campaign last year when there was an immediate drop in their profits due to Christians boycotting the store.  That's quite an impact. 

So I got to thinking.  Can you imagine a Christmas Campaign that focused on Christ?  A nostalgic Christmas with Manger scenes, the wise men, and God.  While not PC, I wonder how many people would truly cause a ruckus.  Would there be as much secular boycotting of a store who promoted such?  Would it affect their profits?  Would secular people start bashing Christ and Christianity along with the store? 

An interesting experiment, don't you think?  I wonder why everyone is so afraid to try it.

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

I read this on Backyard Treasures, and it is so worthy of spreading the word.  What an absolute treasure!

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

For the last month I have been researching candidates and ammendments/referendums for that would be coming up on next week's ballot.  I worked on my little "cheat sheet" from teh Supervisor of Elections and placed it in my purse.

Today I found myself with an extra 15 minutes while in town and swung by to cast an early ballot.  It took me less than 10 mintues from in to out.  Mind you there were people at the polls when I came in who were still there when I left.  Being prepared with my cheat sheet allwoed me to fly through the voting process confidently.

I did it.  Did you?

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Below are the pics of the pages the demonstrate how I use FREE embellishments to save me money, but not skimp on the quality of my album.  It really is easy.  Because the pics are small, I will add a description of what I used on each page below the photo.

The actual photo is the only one we bought on our cruise.  The top border I cut out of one of the daily itinerraries that they gave us for ds's group.  It reminds us that his group was called Aquanauts, the age, and the name of the kids club.  It also inspired the color scheme for the page.

This page is when we visited the US Air Force Academy.  When we got our film developed (still using 35 mm then), there was only one good pic of 2 of our sons, which certainly wouldn't fill up a page.  So, I used a page from a tourist book that I had received from the Chamber of Commerce to remind us of the day. 

There are no actual photos on this page.  Each item is something that was "given" as part of the cruise.  The Norwegian Cruise Line title is from a booklet we weregiven when we booked the cruise and set the color scheme for the pages.  The rectangular lady with water reflections on her is a luggage tag; the round ship in the night is the coaster that our bathroom glasses were placed on; the purple squares on the left are a boarding pass, which reminds us of the floor and room number; the boarder on the right hand page, came from the stationary in the room; the intinerarry at the top right is our receipt for the cruise; the bottom right purple square ont eh right page is the inside of another boarding pass that displays what is located on each level of the ship; the coffee mug came from a daily memo.

This page shows a pcket made for a brochure and consequently serves as the title. 

The title of this page came from a brochure and set the color scheme as well.  The photos of the tiper and orangutang, also came from the brochure. 

Consequently, this page was made fromt he same brochure (I used 3 brochures for the entire zoo).  The left side title is the front cover of the brochure.  Our ticket stubs are in the top right page.  The mid page yellow info is from the brochure.  You can see ont he right the pocket I made for another brochure that contains a map of the entire zoo.

On these pages I used the front of a brochure and the inside map of the park. 

I hope these examples help you visualize what you can do with your scrapbooking to help keep costs down.  This is not only fun, but allows you to use your creative side to create unique pages.

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

A few days ago I penned a post regarding creative ways to embellish scrapbook pages for free.  Tomorrow I will be attending an all day scrapping event (YEAH!).  I will take some photos of pages to give you some ideas as to how I use free embellishments and post them on Monday. 

I only go to 2 all day scrapping events each year; autumn and spring.  They are inked in on my calendar, because there is no way I would miss them.  The simple reason; I get so many pages done in that one day.  Typically I complete anywhere from 30-45 pages.  My goal tomorrow being 45, which will finish our San Diego holiday and my mom's recent surprise party.  Wondering how I can get so much done so quickly?

I use a fabulous layout tool from Creative Memories called the Power Layout. 

The box is made from CM's photo safe material and is black to keep light out.  Inside there are 15 pages made of the same photo safe material.  Each page represents a scrapbook page.  However, what I really like about these pages is that there are markings for different size albums, 12x12, 7x7, 8x10.  You simply plan the page, crop the photos, and you can even cut out all your background and embellishments.  Then lay the pages in the box and close.  When you are ready to crop, you can fly through the pages! 

Each Power Layour kit comes with 15 pages.  However, I have bought 2 extra packages of pages, so I have 45 planning pages.  Right now, they are all planned and laid out; ready for me to crop away tomorrow. 

I am not affiliated with Creative Memories, nor have I ever been.  I do not exclusively use Creative Memories products, but I cannot recommend highly enough Creative Memories, Power Layour and other organizers.  The NEW Memory Mate tote with cart is absolutely FABULOUS! 

I had been saving for the old one for some time.  By the time I was ready to purchase, they had the new one out and I had the option to choose.  The new cart is much easier to handle and not as heavy.  I also purchased the new Memory mate Carry all bag.  In these 2 organizers I have been able to consolidate ALL of my scrapping supplies, with an exception of stickers, which I store in the DecoFile Organizer.  When I am transporting my supplies, all I need to do is place my bag on top of my cart, throw my DecoFile on my shoulder and off I go.  Also, at home I have found I can work directly out of the organizers and clean up is quick and easy! 

When scrapping is organized, it goes much more smoothly and you can accomplish so much more.  Happy Scrapping!

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Over the last year or 2 I have heard many a person tell me that homeschoolers are being sought after by colleges, universities, the military, and certain trades.  Although homeschooling is more accepted than it used to be, I must admit that I have been surprised by this sudden urge for homeschooled kids.  Much of the time, media reports regarding homeschooled children are from a negative light.  Yet, there must be something to homeschooling children that has spurred this interest.  When I was at a lecture last year, it came to light that certain branches of the government  are exclusively seeking homeschoolers due to their exceptional abilities to socialize with all people, not just their peers and their self motivation, in addition to thinking outside the box.  That has stuck with me, because normally when people question us, its about socialization not academics.  However, I can see that those qulaities would be ones the military would seek in recruits.

Family News recently had this article discussing why colleges are seeking homeschoolers.  The article quotes,

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

I was reading Eleanor's blog this morning and decided to copy and paste a quote she had, because I believe the same.  If you do as well, Pass it On.

"The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." ~ Margaret D. Nadauld

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

That's how long it seems it has been since I blogged.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I came here mid-week and blogged about the Coburn-Obama bill, but it seems it didn't post.  However, I still ahven't been around much.

I feel like I am swimming in projects.  Firstly, I am getting my office ready for school.  Of course, I am also reviewing curriculum, so I can get to lesson planning this week.  I can't believe we are starting school next week.  I feel very unready.  Oddly, public school has been open for 3 weeks already.  Can you believe that?!

I haven't had much time to work on our new cottage industry venture.  Mostly, I need to schedule some time to make stock inorder to have a successful launch.  I also need to find some volunteers to try different items.  Time is focused on the organization, school planning, and of course, holiday preparations.  Tomorrow, I will be deep cleaning our front lanai, which is crowded with bikes, tadpoles (please God, let at least one grow into a frog!), galoshes, and dirt.  I am looking forward to getting it spruced up and perhaps that will help motivate me to get things decorated for autumn. 

Since I found my desk under piles of school curriculum, I must say, I had forgotten how much I like my desk.  It is very coolio!  At least to me. 

Well, it's late and of course I will need to rise early tomorrow.  So I should try to get some sleep.  Uh Huh.  That's the ticket!

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Hidee Ho good friends!  I need space on my shelves and so am unloading a bunch of curriculum.  I will link my ebay listings here.  I list them at a $1 because I would like them to find a nice new home and not a spot in the garbage.  Most of these are bundles witht he student, teacher, and extra booklets included.  The A Beka science is a GREAT deal because it has teh science curriculum AND the companion health curriculum!  If you are in need of any of these items or know someone looking for these titles, please pass along the info.  THANKS for helping me find them a good home!

• Saxon Advanced Math
• Saxon Algebra 2
• Saxon Algebra 1
• Saxon Algebra 1/2
• A Beka 7th Gr Science Order & Reality (This is the one with the Health)
• A Beka 11th grade United States History Heritage of Freedom
• A Beka 12th Grade Economics Work & Prosperity
• A Beka 7th Gr World History Since the Beginning
• Skills for Literary Analysisby James P. Stobaugh (this is good enough to qualify for AP course, but can be used anywhere from middle through high school.  VERY good curriculum geared towards growing christian minds to  be an affective generation for God's will!)

I have never done this here before, so I hope the links work.  Someone please let me know if they don't.  If you would like to give a new home to one or more of these curriculums, follow the link. 

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

He puts His nose to the grind stone, doesn't He?  Well, He sure is working me through some issues.  Issues that I don't really want to face.  You know the kind that are very personal, the kind that make you not want to look in the mirror.  That's where He has me working.  It's so hard to accept the fault's that meant ehmost to me.  I fear I have been in denial about the issues, but trying to fix them without looking at their root.  It's just too ugly.  I falt don't want to!  I said this morning to God,"I don't want to do this.  I don't want to go down this road.  Can't you just fix it and make it all better and send me on my way?"  Now how immature is that?! 

Now, I am just asking for the strength to look at these things and for Him to grow me up as He sees fit.  I have to let Him continue to conform me to Christ's image.  I feel like a kid stomping her feet about not wanting to go to bed.  "No God!  I won't do it!  You can't make me!  I want to stay just as I am!" 

It is interesting to me how although we are adults, we act as children when relating to God.  As I have grown, I have watched my views, attitude, and ideas change about my parents.  I see things differently than I did 5 years ago.  5 years ago I saw things differently than I did 5 years before that...and so on.  Further reflection lets me know He doesn't see things differently.  He sees us just as we are.  His view of us never changes.  His love for us never changes.  However, as His child, my view of Him has changed as well, but in a different way.  I have grown closer to Him and seek His wisdom more and my own parents' less.  I look for His approval in my life, and not my parents'. 

My children will likely go through similar stages throughout their lives.  Seeing me in a different perspective.  Viewing things differently as experience and age, change their lives.  I pray that for them too, they seek Christ as their helm.  I pray they will always put the Lord before all.  Even when its time to look at the ugly parts.

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

The last 2 weeks have been especially rough for the hubby with his job.  This week the bottom seemed to be falling out with one particular corporate client.  It had the potential of being catastrophic for the company.  He wondered if his boss, who should hold the largest blame, would pawn it off on him.  The hubby made arrangements to correct issues immediately that were affecting the other company.  After everything was set for go thursday, his boss calls at teh 11th hour and says he can't do the service.  You know the client was VERY upset.  So the hubby went over his boss's head and explained the issue, what he had wanted to do to band aid the issue until a full resolution could be found, to hold onto the account and maintain their reputation as a company who meets the clients needs.  He made a comment that he might be without a job by week's end. 

Now the end of the story (as it stands) is that the upper boss saw my husband's resolution as the correct course of action and okayed for them to go over today and move forward with the service.  But this isn't what I wanted to discuss. 

After the hubby had discussed the situation with me, and the fact that he might be without employment I was worried.  But that feeling passed quickly as I began to see it as an opportunity to make a clean break.  I prayed that if it be His will to end my husband's relationship with this company, that he do so giving us guidance and strength; especially for the hubby.  Since the main struggle was that he wanted to do what was right and his boss wanted to do what was deceitful, it was a tricky situation.  I really struggle with him working for a company that is continuing to follow a path of the world.  I prayed that God might answer our prayers with a forced reason to pick up immediately and move to the country. 

As it stands, things seem to be ok with the company, however he won't hear from his boss until mid next week.  But, I wonder is it wrong to pray for something that is negative?  It surely would cause a certain amount of stress for our family.  I know that in every situation God will care for us and provide, so there is no real worries.  I have been searching for scripture that would help me sort through my thoughts, but keep being lead to other passages, that I can't seem to see how they relate to my present question. 

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Our project of redcorating ds's room while he is out of town has been less than fun.  Everything that could go wrong has.  It has been very stressful.  However, I am trying very hard to keep God in focus and let him be in control.  I have worked on the things I can control and am letting Him have the things I cannot.

One of those issues was that I found bedding and ordered it.  No one else has bedding comprable, not even if I wanted to pay a small fortune.  I guess that is why this particular bedding was so popular.  You see, I ordered it in the end of June.  Just after the 4th of July I received an email it was backordered.  I waited, but as my son's return is coming near (mon) I was getting impatient.  I called the company.  Long story short they have some 300 orders, 48 were to come in this weekend, and the next shipment wouldn't be until OCTOBER.  There was no way for them to tell me where I was on the order list.  So I started online shopping, again, for bedding.  Nothing, unless I wanted to pay double plus shipping on ebay.  Couldn't do it. 

I broke down about it on monday, knowing there wasn't any bedding coming.  The hubby reminded me of long suffering, handling stress with a Godly attitude, waiting while collecting info and looking for an answer.  I had resolved myself that it just wasn't to be, I can't control it, so let it go. 

This morning I received an email that the bedding had been shipped yesterday!  Most likely, it will not be here before ds's return, however, it might be.  Even if it isn't we got the bedding we wanted at the price we could afford!  Gotta love how God works!

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

This weekend I felt self defeated.  While my oldest is away, we diceded to redecorate his room.  We began our plan with a minimal budget and a plan of how to recoup most of the oney spent.  The beginning of the project went well...at least the selling things part. 

The whole project was spurred from the fact that or very tall son was in in need of a new bed.  He had been sleeping in a bunkbed, which was much to short for him.  He had been asking for a new bed for about 8 months.  We had been saving to purchase a new one, while watching sales, etc.  In the meantime, we dismantled the bed, advertised, and sold it.  Then we sold an old desk, and advertised another desk for sale.  We emptied his room of furniture in order to have an empty room with which to work.  This is where my trouble began.

In short, my plan was to change the wall color, get a new bed and bedding.  This turned into painting his furniture (which is a lot) and window dressings.  We needed twice as much paint as I had figured.  Then we realized the carpet needed replaced, which meant to cost of flooring.  When I tried to remove the border paper, it was extrememly difficult.  It cost us extra money for products and gadgets to help us remove it.  Then the wall was gauged in a few places from trying to remove the paper, so we had to spend extra $ to repair and restore the wall.  UGH!

So this weekend as I continued to paint the furniture, a seemingly never ending project, I became overwhelmed.  What I learned from this project is that I left out a major component of deciding to do this room; I didn't seek wise council.  Instead I let me emotions control the project, thinking, "This will be so much fun!"  It hasn't been, not even a little.  I left God out of the equation. 

Had I gone to Him and prayed for guidance before undertaking this project, I could have avoided all the pitfalls and thus money spent to accomplish this project.  Although part of me wishes I had never taken on such a task, I have learned a valuable lesson. 

Life can be like a frog's life cycles.  You start as a nothing and then begin to evolve through different stages as your relationship grows with the Lord.  With each lesson learned you mature towards the end result.  For tadpoles, it's becoming a frog.  For us, it's developing a mature relationship with God and going on to His Kingdom when called. 

A side note to this, is that I also realized while I come here to rant, blab, inform, share fun and homeschool ideas, amongst other things, I have not truly realized how grateful I am for the ability to blog.  It is a truly amazing event that I can come here and share my thoughts and have others who are interested.  Often times people will comment about  what I have written here.  This, truly, is an exceptional opportunity afforded to those of us who have access to a computer.  We build friendships and become inspired by others writings as well. 

For some the internet may be a waste of time, strictly for business, record keeping, etc, but for sme of us, it is a part of our intimate lives.  A look at who we really are as we are growing in the Lord.  A picture into our soul of the person the Lord is molding us to be, for His purpose.  All this shared with others around the world.  We have the same oppportunity to read other's journey and thoughts through life.  Some times we agree with what is written; sometimes not.  Other times we are given good information to use in life, such as a plan to stop leaking water or recipes.  Then there are those personal blog entries which you relate to, that make you laugh out loud, cry, smile, feel warm, and cause you to think.  It's the beauty of blogging.

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Last week I finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden.  I wasn't really certain about reading this book.  When I picked it up at Goodwill, I was excited about the synopsis.  Then I placed it on the shelf.  Each time I was ready to pick a new book, somehow I overlooked this gem.  I am ever so glad the title popped out 2 weeks ago, because this is a keeper, and worth reading again.  Amazing that this is the Golden's first novel.  This is one of those stories you that draws you in from the very first sentence and doesn't let you go until after you have read the last word.                                                

  This is a fictional story set int he 1930's about a poor young girl named Chiyo, who lives in a small fishing village with her family; father, sister, mother.  Her mother is acutely ill.  She is sold to an okiya, a Geisha house, at the age of about 6.  Chiyo is forced to be a maid while learning what her life is to be.  The geisha of this house, Hatsumomo, is extremely cruel to her and intentionally tries to ruin her life, or her chances of ever being a geisha.  The story continues throughout the life of Chiyo, who later is renamed Sayuri, when another geisha chooses her to be her little sister (training parnter).  There are so many turns to the story as the reader sees life throught he eyes of Chiyo/Sayuri.  One feels as if they are peering into her heart, as she learns the importance of all the rituals and appropriateness of life in Japan in a geisha district.  The story carries on through the impact of WWII, and ends with present day times. 

Oddly, I was encapsulated by Golden's ability to convey so many specifics of this life.  I could clearly picture the okiya in my mind, the town of Gion, as well as the character's appearances.  The reader can clearly sense the deep and intimate understanding the author has for Japanese culture.  I was also impressed with the words flowed, one to the next, like a brook.  As you read you can continue from scene to scene, chapter to chapter, yet as the words are running into your brain, you are unconciously thinking about something on the previous page, like water running over rocks, and pausing ever so slightly, as it finds the quickest path around the rock, and on to its final destination. 

This story will keep you guessing.  Your emotions are drawn in with each event and there are even times when you desire to speak with a character.  The reading will flow along, as you foresee the river the story will flow into.  However, the author quickly detours you and before you know what's happening, you are in a huge beautiful lake of life. 

My highest seal of approval is on this title.  It isn't often I decide to keep a piece of fiction for reading time and time again, and this is one that will stay with my collection.  I have yet to see the movie, but if the movie is half as good as the novel, it should be riveting. 

These are my thoughts.

Tagged:  Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden Book review Review

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Today is a stormy day here in Southwest Fl.  Things have been brewing since last night.  In a break from downpours, I decided to open the curtains and look into the backyard.  Most days we see several bunnies feasting on our grass (weeds to the rest of the states). 

However this morning I saw a sight I haven't seen in some time.  There was a bobcat in our yard.  He came right out of the "woods" behind our home by our playground.  What really caught my attention was his size.  This was one large bobcat!  He must have heard me moving through the playroom windows, because as I neared, he stopped and looked directly at me.  Next, he sat and stared at me.  I wasn't sure what his eyes were saying. 

When we moved here, there was so much natural land seeing bobcats was a frequent occurrence.  They would prance through our yard.  We used to have fox as well.  But since the developers came in, seeing anything more wild than birds and bunnies is few and faaaaar between.  So this morning when I saw him, and his size I thought about his life.  Had he been displaced?  Was he living in our area, because it has been untouched behind our home?  Perhaps he was lookng for scraps...which we regularly toss into the "woods" for the critters (yes, even for the coons). 

Whatever the case, I was blessed by his presence.  I wish I had my camera in hand, but it was sudden and I was so taken with my morning visitor.  A small gift from God to start my day.  =)

These are my thoughts. 

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

Most homeschoolers are thrifty, at least in some aspect of their lives, as well as resourceful.  Many of my friends buy curriculum used, drive older vehicles, shop yard sales & thrift stores, pickup and use what someone else puts to the curb, etc.  There is a certain unspoken comraderie amongst folks of this lifestyle.  I myself have been known to over hear someone looking for a particular item at a thrift store or yard sale and offered either a solution of where I have seen such an item.  We stick together.  

This is truly no different than those who shop for everything new or everything name brand, etc.  Mom's will let one another know about a sale or where to find a particular hard to fins item. 

These 2 main groups of people don't seem to understand the other group at all.  People who fall into the "has to be new" or "has to be a certain name" category can't understand why I would spend hours pouring through thrift shops and yard sales for used clothing.  I myself have wondered, why would anyone buy this new when it can be found readily used for considerably less.  We just can't seem to let our minds think as the other side does.

However, I have noticed there is another side to all this.  Those who judge based exclusively on what they see.  While I buy clothes used, I also shop discount stores for deals.  My kids are not fancy dressers, for the most part, so one dress shirt for each boy, is plenty.  When I find a good deal on something new, I buy it.  Sometimes those items are name brands.  You know the deals I am talking about; a Ralph Lauren item for $2 that happens to be the size you need or the MUDD jeans that are $5 on the clearance rack because they are last year's style.  Anyone who is truly cost concious would not pass up a good deal just because an item is new or has a name.  Thrifty shoppers look for cost quality not names.  We are indifferent to names, aren't we?  Well, not exactly.  I admit that I am more likely to spend money on a second h and shirt that comes from old navy than from Target.  The main reason is, I have found ove the years that overall, Old Navy T's hold up far better than any other brand.  The pass from child to child to child regularly with constant usage, and yet still no holes.  So even when the clothing is washer worn, it's still perfectly suitable for play and camping, because it appears indestructible.  That's not to say we don't ahve other T's, but for cost qulaity, if I want clothes to last and be able to be handed down I must buy what wears well, regardless of the tag.  It happens, that I think the denim that wears the best, is good ol Lee's.  My oldest is 15 and my 4 yo is currently wearing the Lee jeans the oldest romped around the woods in.  Still look good, and no holes in the knees yet.  Even if the 4 yo  causes holes, the next child will have patched jeans for play and camping, because the rest of the jean is in GREAT shape.  Or perhaps we will turn them into shorts or skirts.  The point is I spent about $3/pr for those "low name brand" jeans 11 years ago and they are still wearing well from child to child.  I can't say that for the Ralph Lauren, Old Navy, or Osh Kosh jeans...they are long gone.  Off brand sneakers just don't hold up well with my younger kids.  Those bought for $5-10 new @ Wallyworld have a life of about 4 months...if we are lucky.  However Land's End and Nikes have been handed down right along from oldest to youngest (regardless of sex) and I expect will still have enough life left in them, to be passed along to another family.  The only exception here is when I have bought these brands second hand.  Some have lived through all the children so far and some have gone to the trash.  Label just isn't important.  It's cost quality.  Yet, is that what people see? 

Recently, I have noted that people sometimes judge us based on what they see, and not ourselves.  They see my kids with a name brand article of clothing, look at the fact that I stay home, and see what we drive and make a judgement.  Clearly its a reverse judgement of who we are, but that doesn't seem to concern those doing the judging.  So I think to myself, if my kids has on $3 shorts (Wallyworld) and a $.50 shirt (yard sale) and your kids is wearing $3 shorts (name brand) and $3 shirt (Kmart)...is there any difference?  Does it matter in the slightest?  

My husband currently drives the biggest 2005 Ford Excursion with plenty of bells and whistles.  We bought it new.  Here's how and why.  We had a suburban and the rear end was ripped out of the back when we were hauling our RV the the sales rep insisted was well within the weight limit.  So we had to buy a new vehicle, one that could haul our family and the RV, and could handle the mileage he runs up on a vehicle each year (appx 50-60K miles).  This vehicle is a diesel...because the engine will last for at least 400-500 miles, if we take good care of it.  There weren't any used ones worth buying at the time, and we get a tax deduction because the vehicle is used for work.  In addition, we had a hefty down payment (we were saving for a vehicle to replace my truck and believe strictly in the cash and carry policy) and knew we would be paying it off quickly.  What does it say about us?  Nothing.  People don't see the story behind our "shnazzy" vehicle, they just see the big price tag normally associated with such a vehicle and make a judgement about our family.

Without knowing people, you know nothing.  Never judge a book by its cover.  I used to do a lesson at the library about this.  I would bring my antique version of the Wizard of Oz; old & ugly as it is.  I would show it to the kids and ask them to describe the type of story inside.  I would ask if they had seen the Wizard of Oz, ask about the story, and what type of book cover they thought a story like that would have.  Then I would tell them about my book, show them the elaborate painted pictures, & talk about parts of the story not included int he movie.  By the end of the session the kids were marvelled and had a greater understanding of not judging a book by its cover.  Each time I gave that lesson, the number longer chapter books being checked out rose considerably.  We never looked at the books to see if they were ugly or interesting, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the message seemed to come through; one must gather all the facts themselves before making judgements about anything. 

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie

Posted in Eclectic Me

I cam across this article today.  Usually I can follow Paul Jacob's logic through an article, but I am not so sure on this one.  I completely agree that there is much left unsaid when statistics are used in proving a point.  However, this had me baffled.

He mentions that when he plugs the numbers into a spreadsheet, it shows a 23% decrease in deaths of helmeted motorcyclists.  Then he goes on to say that this is due to people being given the choice to wear helmets.  Huh?  The article also mentions the huge increase of people riding motorcycles since the helmet repeal law. 

Let me just say, that I find it very irresponsible for anyone on a motorcycle to not wear a helmet.  What is your hair not going to look good if you wear one?  Why on earth would someone risk their life for lack of a silly helmet.  This is the same as not wearing a seat belt in my opinion.  Yes, some people may have injury or even death due to a seat belt or faulty one, but weigh that against the thousands of lives saved them, and its easy to see why its important.  Funny, that we have to have a law for people to think their lives are important enough to save. 

Anyway, we see many motorcyclists in our area.  It seems the numbers have increased since the rise in gas.  Most do not wear helmets...even adults with children on the back.  There are attorneys here who bnase their advertising on lawsuits for the motorcyclist, remarking that vehicle drivers are ir-responsible and deliberately drive with intent to injure those who chose choppers.  Well, I am here to say folks, if I had a penny (yes I said a penny) for every time I am on the road and am passed illegally and very quickly by a motorcyclist...most commonly unhelmeted, I would be the next big philanthropist!  A day doesn't go by when we are blown by cyclists who are weaving in and out of traffic on local roads, main roads, and the highway.  These drivers use the shoulders and go between cars when there is a traffic jam.  One has to wonder why they would drive so recklessly and then not choose a helmet.  Perhaps, it's part of the thrill. 

What I know is this, we have many friends who are chopper hounds.  They love their cycles and drive responsibly.  These are the people I want my children to use as a model for this mode of transportation.  However, the reckless crew seems to be the most prominantly displayed out there on the roads.  Gosh guys, spend the extra $100 and save your brain!

These are my thoughts.

Blessings Leslie