Friday before Halloween Fill ins

1. It was a dark and stormy night, all I wanted to do was stay home and curl up under some comfy covers and read a good book.

2. She was going to give them away, so I offered to take the books myself.

3. Rushing out, I could hear awful, blood-curdling screams right behind me!

4. Must be a werewolf in the neighborhood...I think I heard a howl!

5. Shhhh... I'm trying to pretend I'm not home... so I won't have to hear...

6. Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm (not) looking forward to chaperoning a school dance, tomorrow my plans include scrapbooking, grading papers, and taking my kids to Halloween parties, and Sunday, I want to see my mom again and rest.

Please join us for Friday Fillins!

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Halloween Edition of Thursday 13

Visit the Thursday 13 home by clicking here!

Welcome to my Halloween Edition! I'm going to take my 13 things about Halloween and divide them up into likes and dislikes.

Likes

1. The cool fall weather.

2. Kids dressed in cute costumes.

3. Meeting neighbors at the block party.

4. Pumpkins. What's not to like about pumpkins?

5. We get to "fall back" for daylight savings time. When I was younger, this happened before Halloween. I loved this, because it got dark earlier, and we could go trick-or-treating as soon as it got dark. Then in 2007, the law was changed to have it occur on the first Sunday in November. We'll get an extra long Halloween since it changes on November 1st this year.

6. "BOO-ing" neighbors. Great fun! We "BOO" at work, and we "BOO" in the neighborhood. Have you ever done this? It's really fun! Here's a link that will tell you how it works.

Dislikes

7. Too much candy! Yes, it tastes good, but the disadvantages are many. Rotten teeth, fat calories, and sugar highs.

8. The students at school act crazier than they normally do! It may be partly the sugar highs, but they're nuts even before they get all the candy.

9. Scary movies! I can't stand them. I won't go see Paranormal, or the remakes of Halloween of Friday the 13th.

10. Some people treat it as a celebration of ghosts, death, or evil. And it's not even a "real" holiday, at least not for me. I have nothing to celebrate.

11. Gory costumes like grim reapers and bloody vampires and scary decorations like skulls.

12. Haunted houses - this is right up there with scary movies. I don't get a thrill from being scared on purpose!

13. Vandalism - Some kids will use Halloween as an excuse to egg houses or cars, toilet paper houses, or worse.

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Heads or Tails Remix

Skittles asks us to choose any previous theme for Heads or Tails and do a post on it. I'm going to use the post I wrote when our theme was LEGEND. This was originally posted on February 16, 2009.

Urban Legends are the bane of the Internet.

What is an urban legend, you ask?
Zimbio says, "An urban legend is a kind of modern folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them.... Urban legends are not necessarily untrue, but they are often false, distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized."

The best source on the Internet to determine if something is true, partially true, or just an urban legend is Snopes.

For example:
Semen from several dead men is found in restaurant food. (completely false)

Dropped food will remain germ-free if picked up within five seconds (completely false, although we use the five-second rule at my house!)

The FDA has issued a warning about an association between Hepatitis A and green onions (true)

The design of the California flag was a mistake. (true)

Walt Disney's body was put in cryonic storage. (completely false)

Finland once banned Donald Duck because he wore no pants. (completely false)

A tooth left in a glass of coca-cola will dissolve overnight. (completely false - but we have a lost tooth we could try that with tonight!)

Casinos pump extra oxygen onto the gaming floors during the early morning hours to keep tired patrons from heading off to bed. (completely false)

I could spend hours debunking urban legends at Snopes. It's so fun!

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Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes

My Thursday 13 is about some of the many things that have changed at the school where I work this year. I only view one of these changes as a positive... not only for me, but for the students. So many changes are bound to affect morale among students and teachers alike.

1. Our faculty meetings were moved up 15 minutes, and when you have children, that 15 minute loss in the morning really makes a big difference.

2. My conference period changed the second week of schedule right along with...

3. My 2nd block of students was dissolved, and I got another whole new block of kids 2 weeks into school.

4. Nine weeks into school, one of my classes is being dissolved again and a whole new class created of lower level and needier students. My third schedule for the year!

5. My "duty" station has changed. I'm now outside, and I don't enjoy it.

6. My lunch period changed, and I miss my friends.

7. We are required to chaperone certain after school events (not just volunteer for them - we MUST do certain events on our own time.)

8. We have an AP who has been there one year, a new-to-our-campus AP, and a Brand New Main Principal who came in the middle of the year last year. It's the main principal's first time ever to be the "main" administrator. As a result, most things are delegated to other people who aren't necessarily qualified to do what they are being asked to do.

9. Teachers may still assign detention, but instead of being after school twice a week with a paid teacher, teachers must hold their own d-halls on their own time in the mornings for no pay.

10. We have a new Zeroes Aren't Permitted program which is a boat-load of paperwork and is not accomplishing its goal.

11. There is a lack of support from the principals as far as classroom discipline is concerned.

12. We have a new system to mark attendance and grades, and it is not user-friendly.

13. This last one, I like. We submit our lesson plans electronically.

Stay tuned next week for my Halloween edition! And don't forget to register for one of my giveaways! Links at the top of the page.

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Jonas Brothers Build a Bear

Did you know that Build a Bear Workshop is making a Jonas dog? I had no idea, but my daughter is the BIGGEST JONAS BROTHERS FAN. The Mom Reviews is giving one away! I hope I win! If not, guess what I'll be buying for Christmas? And if I don't win, I hope one of my readers does.

Heads or Tails

This week, the prompt at Heads or Tails is

Heads - Stop

or

Tails -Go

This will be the last Heads or Tails for a while, hopefully not forever. Our marvelous Hostess, Skittles, is going to have to stop making up themes for us for a while due to health concerns, so please keep her in your prayers. I hate for it to stop, but I completely understand. It's not an easy decision to make, either, but sometimes our blogs have to take a back seat to other concerns. Why don't you go to her blog and wish her well. And let's try to keep visiting each other!

On another note, I didn't want this past weekend to stop! I just wanted it to go on and on. Why? It was filled with some of the things I love. Friday night, my husband and I went to dinner, just the two of us, then to the high school football game. We watched my step-daughter perform with the color guard (flags), and I saw quite a few of my former and current students as well as some teacher friends.

I didn't enjoy getting up at 6:30 on Saturday morning, but I did it for a worthy cause. I took my daughter to region band auditions, and I am so proud of her for participating in that competition, especially since it wasn't required. I also had brunch with two really special people, D2 and Bubba's Sis (who I met through blogging). I feel like I've known them forever, but I've only known them about a year! And Saturday night, I went to a friend's house to scrapbook. I made five thank you cards and six pages and had a blast catching up with her.

Sunday, my husband went to church with me! That is exciting enough, but we also had a pot luck lunch for minister appreciation, and the afternoon was filled with good food, good friends, and good fun. Plus, I got a Sunday afternoon nap! To round out the weekend, my husband's snoring didn't wake me up last night, and I got a fabulous night's sleep!

Wish every weekend was so good! But, I guess each day is really what we make of it.

Skittles, I am thinking of you and praying for your health concerns.

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Friday Fill-ins

1. So are we going to make up?
2. Who knows what's up ahead?
3. I love to scrapbook.
4. This year, I want a vacation of some sort.
5. I walk a lot during school just going back and forth from my room to the office.
6. Knowing Jesus is the true elixir of life!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner and the half-time show at the high school football game with my husband, tomorrow my plans include taking my daughter to region band tryouts, brunch with friends, and scrapbooking with one of my pals, and Sunday, I want to go to church, attend our pot luck lunch, and rest!

Join us for the fun at Friday Fill-ins!

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My Yoga to Go Review and Giveaway

The winner is Calico Crazy! Congratulations!I am not expert at yoga, let me tell you that! I have only attended one yoga class in my life. So, I thought this product, My Yoga 2 Go, might be a good way to get to know more about yoga. People I know who do yoga completely praise its benefits! This system is made up of 71 posture cards, instructions for 7 different sequences, and a portable, multi-pocket display tote and carrying case. There are 3 beginner sequences, 2 intermediate sequences, and 2 advanced sequences.

Thank goodness they have a website that explains everything, too. I was having a hard time figuring out how to set things up, but I went to the website, and everything is explained, step by step, in a way even a beginner like me can understand. And at $29.95, it's an affordable system. You can take your yoga class with you anywhere you go!

In a nutshell, here is what you do:
Step 1. Choose a sequence according to level of experience and time, identify its color.
Step 2. Organize the cards by pose number and insert them in to the pockets of the tote.
Step 3. Hang the tote on the wall.

The front of the card give you a full color photo of the posture, the color and pose number of any of its suggested sequences, and the Sanskrit name and English translation of the posture.

The back of each card tells you the time to hold the pose and number of breaths, step by step detailed directions, any variations and / or modifications of the pose, how to deepen the pose, and
benefits / muscle groups associated with the pose.

So, I gave it a shot. I tried the sun salutation, warrior I pose, warrior II pose, and cat pose. It's a lot harder than it looks! The instructions on the back of each card are well written, but I needed to see the picture at the same time, so I ended up taking them out of the plastic and putting them on a nearby table so I could flip back and forth. That cat pose is great for stretching the back!

This was difficult for me, and I would really benefit from having a teacher standing here telling me exactly where to put the weight on my feet, which direction to face, how many counts to hold it, when to inhale and exhale. All the information is right there on the card, but it was kind of hard to read the information and try to do it at the same time.

Dedicated yoga practitioner and busy mom Beth Siegel founded My Yoga 2 Go in 2007. Siegel created the My Yoga 2 Go Practice System to address the need for a comprehensive portable practice solution that provides both the challenge and versatility of a traditional yoga class with the convenience of a home instruction tool. My Yoga 2 Go products are available nationally at select national and independent bookstores, luxury spas, yoga studios and online.

For all of my readers: If you're interested in purchasing the system, you are entitled to a 15% discount on the My Yoga 2 Go Practice System. Just enter the code "BLOGYOGA" at checkout.

If you're comfortable with yoga already, this would be a great system for you!
How can you win a My Yoga 2 Go Practice System? Easy!

#1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your best relaxation tip.
Want more ways to enter? Do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.
#2. Tweet this giveaway. Leave a link for me.
#3. Stumble this post and let me know how to find your stumble.
#4. Blog about this post and leave your link.
#5. Subscribe to my feed and let me know how you signed up (Google, Bloglines, etc.)
#6. Follow my blog.
Fine Print: Please leave an email address if there isn't one on your blog. I need a way to contact the winner. Winner will be randomly selected and should contact me within 3 days of notification of winning. Giveaway ends October 24th at 11:59 PM CST. Giveaway open to US residents only, please.

This post was brought to you on behalf of Family Review Network.

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Bed Bouquet Giveaway

Random.org chose Queen Size Funny Bone and bison61 as the winners! Congratulations!

Bed Bouquet is a revolutionary new product desgned to keep your linens smelling fresher longer. Secret Scentsations designed a product that will go physically unnoticed by the person sleeping in the bed, yet will emit a soft fragrance throughout the sheets for weeks. I love these!

They are really quite simple, and very thin so that you don't notice they are there. You peel away the tab on the front of the unit to expose the fragrance vents. Then, you remove the small area of adhesive and stick it to the bed underneath the sheets. You can place them at the head or the foot of the bed. I love anything with fragrance that will keep my sheets or room smelling fresh. I even put one on my son's bed, and he hasn't even noticed it's there, but you can tell there is a subtle fragrance to his sheets.

With the order of every online Bed Bouquet product, a free Bed Care eBook is included.

Here's the Giveaway information! The prize is a sample pack with a trial of two different scents, and there will be TWO (2) winners! Entry deadline is October 21, 2009 at 11:59 CST. US addresses only. Please leave an email address is one is not available on your blog, and you do not have to be a blogger to win. Winners will be determined at random. Here's how to enter:

1. Visit Bed Bouquet. Look at some of the tips on bedroom design and aromatherapy. Come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite tip.

After you do #1, you may do any or all of the following for extra entries. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, and a link if a tweet or post is involved.

2. susbscribe to my blog. Let me know how you signed up (Google, Bloglines, etc.)

3. post a link to this giveaway on facebook.

4. post a link to this giveaway on twitter.

5. stumble this giveaway.

6. blog about this giveaway

7. follow my blog

This review was brought to you on behalf of Family Review Network. The product for review and prizes are provided by Bed Bouquet.

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Sunday Scrappin'

Welcome to Sunday Scrappin'! If you scrapbook, please join us as we post our ta-da's, to-do's, and try an optional challenge.

Ta-da's - I got six pages done - or 3 2-page layouts. My sister and I went to Archiver's Scrap-Mania. We had a good time.

To-do's - As usual, my to-do list is to complete however much I am able to do. I'm trying a new dry-embossing technique, and so far, I haven't produced anything worth putting in a scrapbook or card yet, but I'm not giving up!

The challenge for this week is to use Halloween colors in a layout, orange, black, and possibly purple. If I have time to scrap this week, I can probably do that! Happy scrappin'!

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Daddy, Do You Miss Mayberry?

My dad was born in Broken Bow, Oklahoma on March 14, 1935. He spent his boyhood and youth in various towns in Oklahoma and Arkansas before the Air Force took him around the world (including to Guam, my favorite story-telling topic). He finally settled down in San Antonio, Texas. After marrying my mom in 1961 and having their first child, my sister, in 1962, The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) brought my dad to Humble, Texas to open the Houston FAA center at Intercontinental Airport in 1965, the year I was born. He retired 30-something years later, and lived the rest of his life in Humble. He was a dedicated Mason for most of his adult life, and a role model and inspiration to many. God took him from his earthly life far too young (age 69) on October 10, 2004.

L. D. Rankin (circa 1984 with my mom)

03/14/35 - 10/10/04

Here is a poem called "Now and Then" that I wrote about my dad.

I also wrote about the day he died in this post titled "Hospital."

And I wrote a Thursday 13 of things I miss doing with my dad.

One of my favorite songs is Mayberry by Rascal Flatts because it reminds me so much of my dad. Here are the lyrics to the part I especially like.

Sometimes I dream I’m driving down an old dirt road
Not even listed on a map
I pass a dad and son carrying a fishing pole
But I always wake up every time I try to turn back

Lyrics provided by Sing365.com


Wanna give it a listen with this YouTube video?

Say it Forward

5 Minutes for Mom hosts a carnival of loyal commenters every Friday. I don't participate every week, but every now and then, I feel like I want to say thank you to someone who takes the time to visit me regularly and who makes me smile when I read her blog.

Latree from Dandelion is just such a person. I first "met" her when I was writing posts for the Sunday Scribblings meme (not something I've been inspired to do much of lately). She stops by my blog ever so often and leaves me encouraging comments letting me know she's still out there and still reading when she can.

I love to visit her blog. Latree lives in Indonesia, and it makes me feel so connected to read about her life and her culture. I learn a lot, too. The world is a big place, but we humans are not so very different from one another. Latree and I both have twins. I have boy/girl twins, and she has twin sons. Her twins have an older sister. And I just found out she has another on the way! I'm in awe of her!

Latree, thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me comments when you can. This is for you.

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Daddy, I Miss You (Thursday 13)

On Saturday, I'll mark the five year anniversary of my dad's passing, an unexpected and sudden death which I am still grieving over. My Thursday 13 is a list of things I would like to do with my dad, and only with my dad, if only I could.

1. Share some peanut butter and maple syrup on crackers.
2. Watch the Andy Griffith Show and whistle the theme song.
3. Listen to Talk Radio together and discuss the issues.
4. Type documents for him. I loved to help him because he was usually the one helping me!
5. Make chicken a' la King on toast.
6. Share the Reader's Digest and talk about the funny jokes.
7. Help him check the oil and tires on my car.
8. Mow the grass while the does the weed-eating.
9. Ride into town together to check the mail at the post office.
10. Listen to him talk about stories from his youth. This time, I would write them all down.
11. Go sit in his garage and pet the outdoor kitties together.
12. Get some much-needed advice from him.
13. Watch Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes together while we eat dinner.

I miss you daddy. You will always be my hero! I love you!

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It's Just My Opinion

This has been bugging me for a few months, and I've finally found time to write it all down. This summer I read the book My Sister's Keeper knowing that the movie was coming out. I always want to read the book first. The book was okay, but the movie was a total disappointment.


First of all - casting...

Alec Baldwin as the attorney Campbell Alexander is the only part that was cast appropriately. Arrogant and competent. Baldwin nailed that.

I guess the casting on the father was okay, too. Jason Patric played Brian Fitzgerald, but the dad had a more substantial role in the book, and showed up very little, comparatively speaking, in the movie.

Cameron Diaz as the mom,Sara Fitzgerald? Yes, if she'd been a supermodel. Seriously? Don't get me wrong. I like Diaz okay, in comedic roles mostly. She didn't pack the punch this character needed. I find it difficult to believe she won an ALMA Award for this role.

Abigail Breslin as the daughter Anna Fitzgerald who takes her parents to court? Uh uh. Too young. Not the right personality. Totally unconvincing.

The sick daughter KateFitgerald played by Sofia Vassilieva? No. She wasn't sympathetic and never really looked ill, even when she was "bald."

Bad boy brother Jesse? No. Played by cutie Evan Ellingson, he was Mr. Clean-cut All-American Kid-next-door type in the movie. In the book, he was a pot-smoking headbanger who purposely set fires (and his dad was a fireman). He didn't even live in the family home in the book, but in an apartment over the garage.

More about the movie: Too many montages. Music with no dialogue. Storyline changes. The child characters were all two years younger - which didn't work with the storyline. And there were extra sexual innuendos between Kate and her first love interest in the movie that were not part of the book, and they didn't add anything.

The Guardian ad Litem wasn't even a character in the movie, and there was a huge story about her shared past with the attorney representing the girl in the book. They had a history. None of that was explored because she wasn't even in the movie. And, in reality, the attorney cannot be appointed Guardian ad Litem. So that made no sense.

The characters in the movie were static. They didn't grow and change, and they were not developed enough to make the viewer care about them or develop any type of emotional attachment to them.

Then, there is the ending. The movie ends totally different, opposite of the book. I don't want to give away too much, though.

If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, I suggest you read the book. It is worth it. The movie is a superficial skimming of the book. If you're going to do both, read the book before you see the movie. Again, my suggestion is to skip the movie altogether. Lots of songs where the audience is just watching the characters or looking at Kate's pictures with no action, no diaglogue, and no character development. So good to finally get this off my chest!

I'd Love to Build My Dream House

The topic over at Heads or Tails this week is BUILD.

I mentioned in my Give Me 5 Monday post that if money were no object, one thing I would love to do is BUILD my dream house!

Everyone in the family would have their own bedroom, closet, and bathroom designed to fit their personality and needs, and no one would have to share.

We'd have a play room, a game room, and a TV room.

Of course, I'd BUILD a scrapbook room and a library! We'd have a living room, family room, entertaining room, kitchen (maybe 2), several dining rooms, and an outdoor grilling area near the pool and hot tub.

Wouldn't it be so much fun to BUILD your dream house!?

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Give Me Five Monday

This week, Becca asks us to give her 5 things we would do if money were no object. This could be fun! Check out more Give Me 5 over at Becca's Buzz.

If money were no object...

1. I'd quit my job!

2. I'd buy my dream house - a big house with a room for everyone, a bathroom for everyone, a play room, a game room, a TV room, a dining room, a study, a library, a celebration room, well, you get the picture!

3. I would make sure my mom would have a nice place and company and nurses or whatever she needs to live out the rest of her life, which I hope will be a long time.

4. No one would every go to bed hungry again.

5. I would sponsor missions as I could, missions like the one my church sponsors in Malawi, Africa. They do such wonderful things there with education, medicine, as well as spreading God's love.

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Ziploc Review and Giveaway

Here are your random numbers:13
Timestamp: 2009-10-16 02:10:42 UTC
Dwalline is the winner!
When the Family Review Network posted the opportunity to review Ziploc brand products, I was so excited! I love the Ziploc brand of baggies and containers. They sent me 1 package of Ziploc Fresh Shield Twist ‘n Loc Containers and 1 box of Ziploc Sandwich Bags.

I make at least 3 lunches for school every day, sometimes four. I've tried pretty much every baggie and container available, and I always come back to Ziploc. The baggies are sturdy, and they are easy to zip. I use them for sandwiches, fruit, chips, and crackers.
The Twist 'n Loc containers are a new product for me, and I'm loving them! They really keep the food inside fresh by locking out air. I'm using these for soups and salads to take for lunches, especially soups for when we have sore teeth due to braces. They're also great for leftovers! And these Twist 'n Loc containers not only have a leak resistant seal, they are sturdy!

Of course, Ziploc containers aren't limited to use with food! They're also great for storing travel size products, small parts to toys, office supplies, and so much more!

Ziploc has offered to give one of my readers a prize! One lucky reader will win 1 package of Ziploc Fresh Shield Twist ‘n Loc Containers and 1 box of Ziploc Sandwich Bags.

How to enter:
Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite use for Ziploc bags or containers.

Extra Entries:
*Tweet this post. Leave a comment that includes your Tweet link.
*Follow my blog. Leave a comment letting me know how you subscribed.
*Post a link on facebook. Leave a comment telling me how I can find your link.
*Stumble this post. Leave a comment with your link.
*Blog about this post. Leave a comment with your link.

Giveaway will end at 11:59 PM CST on October 14, 2009.
Giveaway open to US residents only.
Winner will be chosen at random using random.org
Please make sure to leave your email address if one does not appear on your blog.
Nonbloggers are welcome to enter.



This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and SC Johnson, who provided the item for review.

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