PUT THE FUN IN DYSFUNCTION!

2009-04-24T21:40:00.000-04:00

“Challenges are what make life interesting;

overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”

—Joshua J. Marine

2009-04-07T21:22:00.000-04:00

“You can turn painful situations around

through laughter.

If you can find humor in anything,

even poverty,

you can survive it.”

-- Bill Cosby (b. 1937); actor, comedian, television producer

2009-04-07T21:16:00.001-04:00

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities

brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

-- Charles R. Swindoll (b.1934), writer, clergyman

2009-04-07T21:16:00.000-04:00

"We know from daily life that we exist

for other people first of all

for whose smiles and well-being

our own happiness depends."

-- Albert Einstein

2009-04-07T21:13:00.001-04:00

“You have to do your own growing

no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865); 16th U.S. President

2009-03-20T00:23:00.003-04:00

"The greatest sign of a success for a teacher is to be able to say,

'The children are now working as if I did not exist'."

--Maria Montessori

2009-03-12T22:17:00.000-04:00

“Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody else expects of you,

never excuse yourself. ”

—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887) clergyman, social reformer, abolitionist

2009-03-10T22:30:00.000-04:00

“Life is a gift,

and it offers us the privilege,

opportunity,

and responsibility

to give something back

by becoming more.”

—Anthony Robbins (b. 1960); self-help writer, speaker

Let there be Light!

2009-03-07T23:52:00.001-05:00

“People are like stained-glass windows.

They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,

but when the darkness sets in

their true beauty is revealed

only if there is light from within.”

—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004); psychiatrist, educator

2009-03-01T17:22:00.001-05:00

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.

You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world,

but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”

—Babe Ruth (1895-1948); baseball player

2009-02-27T00:12:00.000-05:00

“The keys to patience are acceptance and faith.

Accept things as they are, and look realistically at the world around you.

Have faith in yourself and in the direction you have chosen.”

—Ralph Marston; author and publisher of The Daily Motivator

Patience and Courage

2009-02-23T22:33:00.000-05:00

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.

Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections

but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.”

—Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Roman Catholic saint

Emotional Healing

2009-02-01T04:40:00.002-05:00

2009-01-21T16:57:00.002-05:00

“If you're trying to achieve, there will be road blocks.

I've had them; everybody has had them.

But obstacles don't have to stop you.

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up.

Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

-- Michael Jordan (b. 1963), retired professional basketball player, businessman

2009-01-20T15:31:00.004-05:00

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that?

We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.

We must believe that we are gifted for something

and that this thing must be attained.”

-- Marie Curie (1867-1934), chemist, physicist, Nobel Prize winner

2009-01-18T19:49:00.004-05:00

"My dear Sir, take any road; you can't go amiss;

the whole State (of South Carolina) is one vast insane asylum!"

-- James L. Petigru

2009-01-18T19:33:00.015-05:00

“The day is coming when a single carrot,

freshly observed,

will set off a revolution.”

-- Paul Cezanne

2008-07-24T21:10:00.003-04:00

"Memory is the diary we all carry about with us."

—Oscar Wilde

2008-07-16T16:58:00.006-04:00

"There is no end to the beauty for the person who is aware.

Even the cracks between the sidewalk

contain geometric patterns of amazing beauty."

—Matthew Fox

Aspirations...

2008-06-22T02:36:00.003-04:00

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.

I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty,

believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. ”

—Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), novelist

http://www.forbetterlife.org/

Good Luck

2008-05-10T14:42:00.004-04:00

“I'm a great believer in luck

and I find the harder I work,

the more I have of it. ”

—Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), 3rd U.S. president

I'm just preparing my impromptu remarks.... by Winston Churchill

2008-04-29T06:00:00.005-04:00

"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life."

“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never
- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -
never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

"Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it."

Never Stop Questioning...

2008-04-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

Not on the Test...

2008-04-27T22:42:00.015-04:00

Young people who consistently participate in comprehensive, sequential, and rigorous arts programs are:

- 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement
- 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their schools
- 4 times more likely to participate in a math and science fair
- 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance
- 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem

(Source: Americans for the Arts (http://www.artsusa.org/).

The arts provide children with:

- different ways to process information and express their knowledge
- the ability to think creatively in areas like math and science
- the ability to be independent and use collaboration skills

(Source: Young Audiences, Inc. http://www.youngaudiences.org/)

The arts also:

- teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships
- celebrate multiple perspectives - showing students that there are many ways to see and interpret the world
- make it clear that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
- help children learn to say what cannot be said. They must learn to reach into their poetic capacities to find the words to describe howthe work of art makes them feel.

(Source: National Art Education Association website –
www.naea-reston.org/tenlessons.html From Elliot Eisner's book: The Arts and the Creation of Mind)

http://www.notonthetest.com/

Thankful Thursday

2008-02-28T05:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday's post quoted Einstein as saying, “Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Last school year working at FES was so miserably painful for me. Then, it was very difficult to see beyond the clutter, discord, and difficulty that I was faced with on a daily basis. I hated every second of every day.

Thankfully, I have an amazing new position (including a real classroom with working A/C, Heat and, Kiln!) at Reeves and actually LOVE my job!!! It is such a difference to be at a brand new school with a fabulously supportive principal and to be team teaching with wonderful Jill in our huge and awesome artroom, etc etc etc!!! YAY!!! I can now embrace the simplicity, harmony, and opportunity of which Einstein spoke. Hallelujah!!!

Observations and Einstein

2008-02-27T22:06:00.008-05:00

“Three Rules of Work:

Out of clutter find simplicity;

From discord find harmony;

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

-- Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Why "Shortcuts" Really Aren't So Short... The Vacuum Story

2008-02-26T20:22:00.006-05:00

As a child one of my chores was to vacuum each day. I hated it. I hated it so much that I created creative ways to get out of doing it. My favorite ploy was to drag an encyclopedia across the floor to "make tracks." Mom would always compliment me on my vacuuming job over those fabulous tracks, but really it would have been much easier to use the actual vacuum cleaner rather than lean over and drag an encyclopedia around the house. The moral of this post?... sometimes shortcuts really are not so short.

Willie's Wisdom (...or how to breakup with someone)

2008-02-24T21:17:00.005-05:00

"I been a long time leaving but I'm going to be a long time gone."

--Willie Nelson (b. 1933)

I Love Lucy

2008-02-24T13:55:00.004-05:00

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay

to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life

can restore your faith in yourself.”

--Lucille Ball (1911-1989)

Precisely Picasso...

2008-02-21T23:22:00.007-05:00

"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place;

from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper,

from a passing shape, from a spider’s web."

--Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

A Shout Out to My Canine Niece Hannah!

2008-02-20T23:19:00.010-05:00

Thank you to Hannah's momma Elean-ho for sending this wonderfully adoreable photo of a rather unsuccessful attempt of Hannah using the cat door. I wonder how Owen and Lily feel about this!?!

Wishful Wednesday

2008-02-20T00:15:00.000-05:00

Ahhhh... Ireland

It has been four years since the fantabulous trip with Edee and Eleanore.
I think it is way past time to plan another "sisters" trip!

Two 'fer Tuesday

2008-02-19T19:35:00.002-05:00

Although Herschel appears sweet and lovingly asleep,

Cheddar is quite skeptical.

Quoting Kate

2008-02-18T10:11:00.003-05:00

"I believe how I act today will affect the way I am tomorrow."

--Katharine Hepburn (1907 - 2003)

Zzzzz

2008-02-17T21:09:00.011-05:00

Since early childhood I have always joked over my being able to fall asleep at any given moment, but it is really gotten quite serious over the past few years. In looking back, I find it has been most noticeable to me since I "acquired my father" and became his caregiver. My sleep issues have definitely affected all aspects of my life including friendships, relationships, work, church, and well... driving. Thank goodness Dr. Cif has me on meds for narcolepsy now. I definitely feel better and more alert. I have been doing a lot of reading and research on narcolepsy since my last visit with Dr. Cif to help put it all into perspective. It is just weird to tell people about it. If someone told me they had cancer I would not laugh. Why do they laugh when I mention narcolepsy? Well... I know I tend to tell my stories in my semi-comical, dry-witted way, but still...

The Little Prince

2008-02-15T22:34:00.007-05:00

"One sees clearly only with the heart.

Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."

--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Shall it be called V-Day or D-Day?

2008-02-14T18:57:00.011-05:00

Favorite Valentine's Day Memories

The Arby's Drive-thru V-Day Dinner with Todd... along with Tuck the ex-convict in the backseat. Mmmmm...fine dining and romance. Why did this relationship have to end?

Being dumped by Will on V-Day. Or shall I call it D-Day? :) (Please note there are two more D-Day's to follow...)

Dave and the V-Day after he 'had to smoke some pot to be able to hang out with me and my friends.'

Jeff saying out of the blue the day-after V-Day that he had finalized travel arrangements to visit Australia and another girl who lives there for a few weeks but 'no worries because she was fat and he wasn't attracted.'

Fix or Repair Daily

2008-02-12T23:05:00.001-05:00

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see

when you take your eyes off your goal.”

--Henry Ford (1863-1953) founder of Ford Motor Company

Beauty

2008-02-11T00:23:00.000-05:00

"Some beautiful things are more impressive when left imperfect than when too highly finished." --Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Einstein on Creativity...

2008-02-10T21:32:00.000-05:00

Ahhh...Lavender

2008-02-09T23:05:00.005-05:00

It's a new day for my whiplash issues!

After seven years of random accidents and injuries (the snowman head incident with my pretend sister Eleanore, the rollercoaster ride at the State Fair with ex-Dave, wreck #1 on Bees Ferry Road, the student who played leapfrog on my head, and now wreck # 2 on Bacons Bridge Road last Friday) today marks the first mention of the healing properties of lavender!!! I have seen doctors, been to physical therapy, and previously had weekly chiropractic / massage therapy visits. Come to think of it, the first of my neck issues may have actually been on a Garris family summer vacation to Table Rock when I was oh, maybe 10. Let's just say I didn't quite make it on the river rafting excursion after Mr. G bonked the raft on my head. Anyhoo... Why did I never hear of my new fabulously fragrant and soothing friend Lavender before today??? Thank you to the wonderful Massage Therapist Leslie at Stella Nova in Mt P!!!

Thankful Thursday

2008-02-07T23:38:00.005-05:00

I am so very thankful for Flowertown bringing my wonderful group of girlfriends together! I am also beyond thankful that we all have moved on to better places now! I pray God will continue to bless each of us and our families. Martha and Robbie's sweet little baby Campbell arrived at 27 1/2 weeks on Sunday. Early babies seems to be a trend with the girls these days--Finley, Louisa, and now Campbell! My thoughts and prayers are with Campbell. Love you girls!

Rats!

2008-02-07T23:20:00.001-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008 is the Year of the Rat

"A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. According to the Chinese Zodiac, a Rat Year is a good year to make a fresh start. Opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find."

Wishful Wednesday

2008-02-06T23:34:00.001-05:00

New Year's Resolution

2008-02-06T00:23:00.002-05:00

TO DO:

Start keeping lists again.

Keeping lists has always helped me with my productivity. Wow, I have definitely been lazy without my lists. So incredibly lazy that I am just coming up with my New Year's Resolution. We are now nearing Valentine's Day.