Celebrate World Teachers' Day- October 5, 2010

Whether you Homeschool your children or you send them to school, we can all celebrate the teachers of our lives.   I grew up in Sloatsburg, NY back in the 60's and early 70's.  I will always remember two of my teachers, Mrs. Judson from the first grade and Mrs. Seaman from the sixth grade. 

I have vivid memories of both classrooms.  It feels just like yesterday that I was sitting at those desks with my head full of dreams and excitement.  I wanted to become an artist and I loved to draw and write.

Both teachers were amazing women.  I remember at such a young age what Mrs. Judson would do.  We had a little girl who would sometimes have accidents and because she was so poor would come to school a little disheveled.  It broke my heart, but Mrs. Judson had it all under control.  She had extra clothing just for her in a back closet.  She would clean her up and put fresh clothes on her. It was amazing to see the transformation, she would walk into the classroom, sad, with her head down and once Mrs. Judson was finished, her whole personality and stature changed!

Mrs. Seaman was strict but an awesome teacher.  I learned so much from her.  I remember the day that one of my classmate's mom passed away.  He was heartbroken, but Mrs. Seaman was there for him during that time of loss.  She pushed us beyond our comfort zones.  I was pretty shy and for some reason I was chosen to be one of the Valedictorians at our 6th grade graduation!  Although normally that would have made me physically ill, she gave me the confidence I needed to pull that off!

I will always remember my teachers, but especially Mrs. Judson and Mrs. Seaman.  I wish I had visited them at least once after I left the school.  I should have thanked them and let them know how much they touched my life. 

Do you have a special teacher that you remember?  What did he or she do that helped you?  I would love to hear your stories. 

Here is a nice video that I would like to share from Simple Truths, to honor all the teachers in our lives!

#Back2Blogging Event- Day 5

Wow I made it, our last day of the #Back2Blogging challenge!  Since this past Monday through today we were to write posts according to the daily prompts.  You can view the prompts on my first post here.  This has truly pushed me to post daily on my blog and hopefully improve my posts too.  Thank you The SITS Girls, for this  #Back2Blogging Event!

As our last assignment to jump start our return to blogging, I am to write about what blogging means to me. Why do I blog? What purpose does it serve me and how have I benefited from sharing a piece of myself online this way?

I first started blogging to document my life journal and help others too.  I also wanted a venue to share what I had learned during my journey with network marketing and direct sales.  My passion is to help others, but the reason I also blog is to make my readers laugh, cry and just plain react, hopefully in a positive way!  Oh and I love that a blog is interactive because I really love comments! 

There are topics that I have not begun to share and some that I never plan to share.  I wanted this to be a place where I can come and sit with a nice hot cup of coffee and relax.  If I were to start discussing controversial topics I definitely would not be at peace!

To address the last question in this assignment I will have to share my post  as an example to be able to show how I have benefited from sharing a piece of myself online in this venue.  I have been able to share things on here that I haven't shared with anyone and that definitely benefits me in a healthy way!

To give the example, my Mom died back in 1993 from Breast Cancer.  I had never written about her but of course have never forgotten all that she did for me and what she has meant to me.  

Yesterday the prompt on this challenge was to write about a woman that inspires us.   This opened the door for me to be able to write about my Mom and honor her with a post.  You can view the post here.   As I wrote down the words, it brought back so many wonderful memories, some of which I hadn't thought of in years.  

Thank you The SITS Girls and for your #Back2Blogging Event for helping me share about one of the most important and inspirational woman I have ever known, my Mom. 

Please come and join a group of inspirational women that I have been blessed to associate with and blog to your heart's content!

Please, I introduce you to Thelma and Louise, a fabulous washer and dryer set, one of the lucky participants will walk away with them!  How cool is that?!! 

You can read more about Thelma & Louise at the Electrolux Website!

To visit our sponsors please click on their links:
Standards of Excellence , Westar Kitchen & Bath,  Florida Builder Appliances

Grandma Must Be a Redneck!

Let me first start off by saying, that I have nothing against Rednecks!  If I knew any I am sure they are wonderful, fun loving people!  I think I am!

If you have read the About Me section, you would already know that we have a lot of animals and that we live in a small rural town in WA.  Everyone has a truck, well almost everyone!  Here is a picture of my Teeny Mini!

My car has been out of commission for a bit so I haven't been getting out much.  The other day I had to pick up some records at my doctor's office.  I didn't know how I was going to get there, since all there was to drive was my husband's big, long truck and I am afraid to drive it.

However, I needed to go, so I started getting ready.  One of our dogs, Pancho, loves riding in that truck.  I guess he could hear my conversations that I had earlier in the day about me not wanting to drive it.

He wouldn't go out back when I was ready to leave, he just sat by the front door.  So I let him outside and instead of his usual, running to the grass to pee, he ran straight to the truck and sat by the door whining!

I got my keys and said, "Okay, you can go with me, but you have to go pee pee first."  He looked at me and ran to the grass and went to the bathroom, all the while whining for me not to leave him! He jumped in the truck and off we went. Here he is!

Pancho ready for another ride!

I had to stop at two different offices.  The car I usually drive is quite small, as you can imagine I am not used to parking something of that size.

When I got to the parking spots there were only compact spots available.  Now I started to sweat.  I was so nervous already, but after several tries I finally got it somewhat straight and parked it. Whew, I did it!  I was feeling pretty good, went in to the offices and got back in my truck.  Thankfully we made it home safely and I was so relieved.

When I opened the door for Pancho to get out, I looked at the seat and this is what I found....

Then I looked down at my clothes and I was covered in white dog hair, among other things, I looked like a powdered donut!  That wasn't the half of it, my shirt was on backwards too!  So I guess Grandma is a Redneck and that Grandma is me!

Items normally found on our lint roller!

Are You Taking Care of Your Lamp?

 I am partnered with a great company called Simple Truths. Mac Anderson is the founder of Simple Truths and Successories, Inc., the leader in designing and marketing products for motivation and recognition.  I recently received this email from their newsletter and wanted to share it with all of you. It really hit home to me as I have always put everyone ahead of my own needs. I think that most women do. Here is the excerpt from the book.

An Excerpt from Oil for Your Lamp
by Lisa Hammond & BJ Gallagher

Virtually every woman we know has the same problem - she knows what's good for her, but she often doesn't do it. She knows she should eat less and exercise more, but still she doesn't make healthy choices. She knows she needs to spend her time and money more effectively, but good time and money management elude her. She finds herself always putting others first, while neglecting her own needs and wants. She doesn't get enough rest or sleep and her endless to-do list hangs overhead like the sword of Damocles. As our friend Brenda Knight laments frequently, "Why am I always riding in the back of my own bus?"


We don't do the things we know are good for us because we are so busy taking care of others that we neglect ourselves. The problem isn't lack of information - we have plenty of information about the importance of sleep, healthy foods, and exercise. The problem is how we prioritize our lives.


Psychologists tell us that some people are inner-directed and some are other-directed. That is, some people focus on their own internal guidance system for making choices about how to spend their time and energy. Their own self-interest ranks very high on their list of priorities. "What's best for me?" is a key guiding principle in determining where they focus their attention and how they make day-to-day decisions.


And some people are other-directed, which means that their primary focus is external, not internal. They are primarily concerned with relationships, especially people they care about. "How can I help others?" is a key question in how they spend their time and energy. Building and nurturing relationships with loved ones, family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers is the guiding principle in their lives.


Research indicates that, in general, men tend to be more inner-directed, while women tend to be more other-directed. There are exceptions, of course, but as a group, men are focused on themselves while women are focused on other people. Men like to build things while women like to build relationships.


This difference in psychological orientation goes a long way toward helping us understand why we women often do such a poor job of taking care of ourselves. We run around filling others' lamps with oil, but forget to fill our own lamps first. Then we wonder why we're often exhausted, frazzled, stressed-out, anxious and/or depressed!


Awareness is the first step toward solving a problem. So the first section of this book is devoted to helping us acknowledge the problem and understand the reasons for it. Chapter 1 looks at how girls are socialized, growing up to be women who put others first. Chapter 2 examines the values women have adopted in the past 50 years, beginning with the feminist movement - leading us to believe that we can have it all - all at once. And Chapter 3 explores the corresponding myth that we can DO it all.


But don't be discouraged. Help is on the way - in Section II, we'll get into solutions for the problem. We'll learn the value of doing nothing, how to play again, how to become more inner-directed, and most important, how to ask for help.

 You can visit Simple Truths and sign up for their newsletter too!