Scrapbooking at Grace Camp

A group of us from church have been getting together on a regular basis to scrapbook. We decided that it would be fun to have an overnight crop at the church's campgrounds. We had close to 30 people join us. Everyone had a great time and we can't wait to do it again.

Concert Band season

Today was the first concert for the year. The band concert was so awesome. Some of the music was so fun to listen too and you could tell that it took a lot of work to get it down. Considering all that has happened to these band kids they deserve a tremendous round of applause. They have overcome their problems and are stronger than before.

Cold is a Relative Thing

This came in an email from school today. Thought that it fit
COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .
65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Iowa plant gardens.

60 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Iowa sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Iowa drive with the windows
down.

40 above zero:
Georgians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Iowa throw on a flannel shirt.

35 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Iowa have the last cookout
before it gets cold.

20 above Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Iowans close the windows.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico .
People in Iowa get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Iowa are selling
cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air.
People in Iowa let the dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Iowans get upset because they can't start the Snow-mobile.

40 below zero:
ALL atomic motion stops.
People in Iowa start saying...'Cold enough fer ya?'

> 50 below zero:
> Hell freezes over.
> Iowa public schools will open 2 hours late

Week 3:If you could have changed one thing about ourself, what would it have been?

This weeks journaling was a little difficult, it brought back some memories, that I am trying not to remember.

3. If you could have changed one thing about yourself, what would it have been?

This is a thought provoking question. My dad was convinced that I was overweight (even though I wasn’t) while I was in high school. Because of this he watched everything I ate and I had to have a weekly weigh in with him. If I stayed the same or gained weight I was in trouble. Usually that meant being grounded and spanked. Because of this I was afraid to eat and would starve myself so that I could lose weight to keep from being in trouble. This self taught behavior has now led to the weight problem that I have. Once I was able to get away from home and my father’s disapproval, I started to eat all of the things that I was denied. Now I struggle with a weight problem. I know that I also do quite a bit of emotional eating also, and I think that stems from those years also. I was never good enough for my dad. I ate too much, I didn’t start on the sports team, he didn’t like my choice of friends (by the way none of them were in trouble, many came from our church) I didn’t lay out in the sun every summer getting burnt (actually I was forced to every summer.), I could go on, but you get the idea. Not sure what I would have changed, but maybe the way my Dad treated me.

Week 2: What do you want to be

2. What did you want to be when you grew up.
Now this is an easy week. I have wanted to teach all of my life. As long as I can remember I have dreamed about teaching. I used to play school when I was really little. My grandmother taught in a one room school and was so proud of the fact that I wanted to teach also. I choose to attend the University of Northern Iowa, since it had a great reputation as a teacher’s college. In fact the school originally started as the Iowa State Teachers College and grew from there. I have taught high school English and Health, preschool and now high school alternative and at-risk. I would have to say that all levels have their separate challenges and rewards. The key is finding the type of student that you want to work with and then following through.

Project 365

I am participating in a year long project to journal the year in pictures. So as not to overwhelm this blog, if you are interested jump over to a blog set up just for this project. www.365flathers.blogspot.com thanks for looking

All about You in 52

Okay, I joined another scapping challenge. This one is to create 52 layouts about yourself in a year. Since I very seldom do anything we me in it, I thought that this would be a good challenge.

I have the journaling done, just need to create the LO. Here is my journaling
1. Who Influenced Your Life the Most?
This is a hard question that will require some thought. One of the people that has influenced my life is my English teacher Mrs. Hultgren. I had her for American lit my junior year and English Lit my senior year of high school. She was a very demanding teacher that expected her students to perform at the top. She would push you until you succeeded. I remember one of her comments to us, was that no student of hers was going to go to college unprepared. Another teacher that played an important role in my life was Ms. Schwartz. She taught Rhetoric. How I hated having to write 20 sentences using linking verbs without repeating one. However, it was because of her that I learned to write an expository paper. Knowing this style of writing greatly helped me in college and later on in life. When I see the writing styles of some many people now, I cringe as there is no structure whatsoever to their papers.
Of course other people have also influenced me, but not necessarily in a positive light. I see in this list many people that have treated others or me wrong. While I won’t mention those people here, I do want to say that they have showed me the way to NOT treat people. Forcing people to do what you want them to is NO way to gain someone’s respect. Making fun of people also is not the way to go.
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