Journey2Learn

Thank You, Soldiers

One of our boys just returned from about a year's service in Afghanistan. He is in the National Guard--signed up as a cook--but ended up as a transportation/convey driver....and in some very scary situations. Having watched him grow up, I am beyond words proud of him.

Before the movie last night...This 3 Doors Down video played. Had to post it here!! Don't forget to Thank our soldiers for all they do for us!

Here is one way you can show your appreciation for all that our brave soldiers do for us. Click HERE for more information:

Twilight: The Movie

Just returned from the midnight showing of Twilight. LOVED IT! And my teen boys loved it, too. Which was kind of funny because was showing at two movie theaters in our town and PACKED with girls! Only boys (other than mine) that I saw were with their girlfriends :-)

Boys talked all the way home about how great it was! Two of them had read the book. Two had not. All enjoyed it.

As a "mom" what I liked best (and best about reading the book), is that it is good, 'clean' entertainment. Get past the fantasy of vampire...and so much room to talk to my boys about the value of 'waiting'--for one.

Also...I do not remember swear words being used at all. Another great thing--teach the boys, movies can be good without the use of 'those' words.

The setting was beautiful, the music was incredible. The story line stuck fairly decently to the book--obviously not 100%...and as good as the movie was the book is SO MUCH BETTER!

One of my boys who really loves Stephanie Myers was so excited that she makes a cameo appearance in the movie.

Been asked if it was 'scary?'  I did not think that was too bad either. Definitely no gore; obviously (if you have read the book you know the scene near the end is intense)--but think it was handled theatrically well without much scare to it.

Also been asked what age it is appropriate for? That is a parent judgment call--but I would let my daughter (age 11) see it if she was interested--she is not. I think some of the things she has seen on the Disney channel or Nic have more suggestive tones, etc. Again, my opinion! And I would urge parents who aren't sure to preview it first themselves.

Bottom-line: I am so appreciative of Stephanie Myers to have written a great story, while implanting so many lessons, and a link to classic novels--which make those even fun to read for my boys. There are a lot of good discussions we have had...AND I am appreciative to the movie makers for keeping it 'clean', not too gory/scary, and pretty true to the book.

ONE COMPLAINT: without spoiler--the vegetarian line was a little over the top says I the vegetarian :-) Imagine they (movie writers) will hear about it!

OK!! Must sleep....because do still have to get up at 6am which is now only 3 hours and 10 minutes away :-)

Appreciation!

Thank you to all the people who have taken the time to comment...I really appreciate your thoughts! I still haven't chosen the best path.  To answer the question, "Will I regret in 10 years?"  Sitting here right now, I do not think I will...

BUT...I know that is something I have to really consider. And if my response is just stemming from the desire to open new doors.

My commitment: Spend the next week nailing down the first chapter. It is half written and pretty much outlined...AND THEN turn it in and see what happens.

I guess...I do not want to feel like I have quit on myself or the process BUT I also do not want to bang against brick walls if there are new windows opening...

I want to post a YouTube video that has gotten me this journey so far. I hope it inspires you, too!

Advice

Looking for your opinions, my bloggy and tweet friends...I am trying to decide if I should write my dissertation to officially earn my PhD or settle with being ABD (all but dissertation i.e. never graduate!).

OK, at first glance, you are probably thinking...."heck, you have come this FAR...why would you stop when all there is a measly 150 page paper to write?"

So let me give you a little insight before you give me some advice...

My journey started (for fun)--OK, So maybe I am a little sadistic but I love learning! and I live with all these teenage boys (and then my own little ones) so sometimes for ADULT CONVERSATION one would do anything :-)

This University came to my workplace, offering a PhD program in Human Development.  5 years of classes=1 night out a week for learning and adult conversation and it was 100% FREE (paid for by my workplace).

Umm...easy no-brainer decision!

And I loved the classwork, the papers, the conversation...But as we were about to complete our last class (before the final stages of the comprehensive exams and dissertation), a three of pivotal things occurred:

1st. The leadership in charge of adult education at my workplace changed (not a huge deal but did lose an advocate/or rather liaison with the University program
2nd. The decision was made my my workplace to not continue relationship with the University program beyond our cohort.
3rd. And by far the most important, our main connection to the University, the professor that had traveled the distance to teach us (work vs. University was about 2 hours apart and University profs came to us), who knew us best, who we knew...passed away without warning. (more about her in upcoming posts).

We were left floundering. With huge changes at both the workplace and the University, the fight to finish became a huge uphill battle--we became little fish lost on a huge, political ocean.

I did persevere and complete my comprehensive exam to enable the 'official' ABD status. And now face an even more strenuous battle if I ever want to be Dr.

It is a battle that I am not sure I want to pursue. Doors keep closing (with windows not opening) in the pursuit. And the windows that do open, lead in a very different direction. Time is a precious thing and there is just not enough time for the writing and research and the other things I am eager to do that I basically 'gave up' to pursue this degree.

The degree continues to be something I am doing (just for fun), but there is not much fun left to the journey...

So with that as the backdrop...do you have advice for me? (And even if you don't, I sure appreciate the listening ear).

My First Bloggy Award :-)

I *WON* my first, ever bloggy award today....Thanks 2TooManyHats for the honor.

My blog has been 'suffering' as of late...Mostly from Twilight Neglect. Any of you Twilight fans out there can sympathize with a Twilight newbie who just cannot get enough of the saga and can barely leave the pages behind to find out what will happen next...I am on Breaking Dawn--the fourth and last book of the saga...So I appreciate that you are still reading this!!

So what is this award all about?!

This is a blog award given to a site that:

~ inspires you
~ makes you smile and laugh
~ or maybe gives amazing information
~ a great read
~ has an amazing design
~ and any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!


The rules of this award are:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs (can be more) that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

It is now my turn to nominate 5 blogs I thing are Uber Amazing....

Suzanne Franco:  Do you know she is trying to win the Blogging Idol award? I think that is super cool. Be sure to stop by her blog to check it out!!

Cool Mom Guide:  Lots of fun to read stuff here!!

Living the Natural Life: Love the blog header...and the cool stuff that is posted.

Lil' Bit This...Lil' Bit That: Need good information on Juvenile Diabetes---look no further...just check ou this blog :-)

Mommy Gossip--GNO: Hostess of Girl's Night Out #gno on Twitter. An amazing way to connect with fellow twitterers and have great conversations.  Be sure to check out the blog this week as GNO is sponsoring a Virtual Food Drive as a way for the blogging/twitter community to give to those in need!

13!

My two children (who are now 10 and 11) simply CANNOT wait to be 13!! They both think 13 is when the magic starts :-) (and I just wish time would not rush by so fast).

For Silly Girl, the allure of 13 is all about 'legally' being allowed to wear some (key word here) make-up. Promised for her 13th birthday, we will have a Mary Kay party for her and a friend and they can learn good face care and applying make-up (light colors!). But in the meantime, she sometimes sneaks into my 'stash' (even though she has a little bit of her own).  I barely wear make-up (maybe 10 times a year at most)...but do have all of the basics. Today was one of those days that she broke into my stash (and spilled the mineral powder stuff everywhere--UGHH!!)

For Moon Boy, he simply cannot wait to play World of Warcraft (his dad's game of choice). We got him a game called Fate for his birthday (which kind of looked like it had some of the same kind of characters) and he informed us that it was "fun but just not the same." And wonders often if we will just forget that age 13 requirement...

Oh to be 13...

Relay For Life

I work for this amazing company. Able to have a really incredible job being a 'stay-at-home mom'. And this weekend, we hosted an event that encompassed one of the proudest moments of my nine years working here. We had a RELAY FOR LIFE in which 100% of the community participated.

The reason: a girl name Chloe with terminal cancer. She was asked what she wanted most in the world. And her list was short. 1. She wanted to see her favorite band perform. 2. She wanted to go to Disney World. 3. She wanted a RELAY FOR LIFE even hosted in her honor to raise awareness for cancer.

This Relay was done a little different than most...it was truly to raise awareness and not for fund raising. There is a fund raising goal that $100,000 will be raised in Chloe's name. This was the kick-off for a year of different activities.

Still a little exhausted by feeling truly blessed to work for such an incredible place and to be able to teach my children and boys the value of Paying It Forward...

My Day

Decided today's post about my day: It was kind of uneventful but busy at the same time. On Thursday, my DH and I get up at 5:30am to cook a hot breakfast for the boys (thirteen is a lot of mouths to feed) before they go to school. (DH does most of the cooking)...

This morning, while he was cooking breakfast, I was putting dinner in the slow cooker. Slow cookers are pretty amazing inventions!!

I usually take a nap sometime around 7:30 for an hour or two (before my kids wake up to start their homeschooling day). This morning was reading Twilight. Had to figure out what it is all about...am on chapter 6 and loving it so far.

Stopped by Twitter and Rebecca (@maksbestfriend) had twittered about how to make homemade applesauce. It sounded too yummy and easy (and being very domestically challenged I was inspired to try it). So went to the kitchen to start peeling apples but knew that they have those cool peeler/corer tools...

SO DH and I went to the kitchen store and got one. (That thing was SO amazing--don't know how I have lived without it!--oh yeah, maybe because I don't cook often.)  Came home, peeling and coring the apples was easy breezy! Got them in the slow cooker, added the cinamon sticks, turned it on low (that is all you have to do!!)

Where were my kids all this time you ask? Enjoying another 'unschooling' kind of day. The neighbor kids (who homeschool) were over and the local Christian schools were having a long weekend--so big play date at my house (and people say homeschoolers aren't socialized--who else can have fun with kids from 2-12?!)

Read some more Twilight. Stopped by Twittermoms (which I am addicted to) and The Parent Place (which I am trying to develop into a cool, smaller type community and wanted to start by visiting all members blogs--got to about 25 today and left some comment love.)

Completed some house chores! And by then boys were coming back from school. They were (not) high maintance but needed a lot of attention so that kept my night busy.

One really needed 'out of the house' and asked to go Starbucks--so, of course, I took a couple of them. Finally, 10pm got here and they all went to bed so I could watch my TiVo'd Grey's Anatomy (very good episode tonight!).

And now I am posting to this blog so I don't miss a day for NaBloPoMo!  Oh, and by the way, the applesauce was AWESOME!!!

Flipping for "The Flip"

So, I have Christmas shopping "on the brain."  Not sure why...maybe all those Tweets from @SantaClaus25 with countdowns and knowing I need to "spread my wealth"... certainly cannot wait for last minute shopping.

Of course, I am a HUGE Black Friday shopper--one of those crazy people who camp out ALL night. Not for anything particular other than the experience. It is a bonding moment with my sister. AND I have this plan to shop from my bloggy friends this year. I want to support these cool business.

But today heard about the Flip from skimbaco lifestyle's blog. She is running a giveaway. That would be so great for Moon Boy. He is loving YouTube and making videos. But "playing" with my camcorder=not such a good idea. Would totally LOVE to win one for him....but think it is making my Christmas list either way!!

My First Bloggy Give Away

Decided it is time that I do my first BLOGGY Give Away. And what better than a gift card to my absolutely favorite place (OK, well, one of my favorite places)...Starbucks--what every parent needs to stay sane :-)


The Deal!
In honor of the launch of The Parent Place, one lucky reader will win a $25 gift card to STARBUCKS!!

How to enter:
Head on over to The Parent Place and check out this exciting new community where parents exchange ideas.  Come back and leave a comment on what your favorite family activity is....

Extra credit: Leave a new comment for each that you do
~Join the The Parent Place
~Blog about The Parent Place with a link to it.
~Tweet about The Parent Place

Deadline: November 8th at midnight Eastern Time

US entries only

The winner will have three days to claim the prize before we choose another winner via random.org