Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Wednesday Hodgepodge – 2/23/11

1. Did you know there is a National Day of pretty much everything in the universe? February 23 happens to be National Inconvenience Yourself Day...when was the last time you were inconvenienced?

The fact that we’re down to only one vehicle right now is a major INCONVENIENCE!  Today is Gracie’s violin lesson and we have to either be at the mercy of my mom (to drive us to lend us her car). Thankfully, my parents are very willing to share!

2. When a room in your house needs painting who does the job?

Usually, it’s a joint effort.  Brian and I paint together – I often do the trimwork, and he does the rest.  If there is any faux finishing involved, I do that.

3. Are you friends with your cousins?

Growing up, some of my cousins were almost more like siblings than cousins.  However, time and geography has changed some of that, and I don’t share that same closeness that we once had.  I still keep up with several cousins via Facebook; others are in the area and I know they are there, if needed (hopefully they feel the same).  My mom recently shared this picture of me with several of my cousins, taken at a family reunion in the early 70’s:

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I am second from the right, in the front.  In the red & white checked dress with white apron.  My mom is from a family of 11 children, so this picture does not even represent ALL my cousins on her side. 

4. Do you use an alarm clock? If yes-is it an actual alarm, music, or something else?

I only use one on days when I absolutely HAVE to be up at a certain time.  When I do use one, I much prefer the kind that wake you with music.  Currently, though, my alarm is of the beeping variety, and I HATE those!

5. What do you put ketchup on?

Burgers, hotdogs, sometimes French fries.  Fried potatoes.  Meatloaf.

6. What smells make you nostalgic?

Food smells – things that remind me of Italy and the bread and pizza there.  I turned 5 in Italy, and every once in awhile I still get a taste of the pizza. 

7. Have you heard about the high school English teacher recently suspended as a result of some things she wrote in her personal blog? You can read the story here but in a nutshell she vented a lot of frustration onto her blog. She didn't mention individual students by name but she did make some harsh comments about kids in general and their parents.

What are your thoughts-If you're a parent is your child's teacher online and are you 'friend' or 'follower' there? If you're a teacher are you on facebook and do you accept or friend students on fb? How about their parents? If you're a student are you friends with your current or former teachers online? Do any of them have blogs you read? If you're a teacher or a parent do you ever use your blog as a place to vent your frustrations with our educational system? So much to discuss...

I’m a HOMESCHOOL teacher – so yes, I’m friends with my student (daughter) on FB, and I follow her blog.  This is different, though, of course.

I have mixed feelings about this one.  On the one hand, a blog is someone’s personal place where they should be able to write whatever they want.  And if she wasn’t naming names, it shouldn’t be a big deal.

On the other hand, if she wanted to use her blog to vent about issues with students and their parents, maybe she should have been more cautious about who had access to read it.  I can talk about someone with whom I’m frustrated and never mention their name – chances are, though, that they can easily tell who I’m talking about because they are familiar with the circumstances. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We’re in the market for a new vehicle, but not in a huge rush to purchase.  We are leaning toward a Toyota Highlander (4x2, not 4x4) or a Toyota Sienna or Honda Odyssey.  We can’t afford another new vehicle (as Brian just bought a Toyota Yaris last spring), so we need to find a good used vehicle with semi-low mileage for a price we can afford.  Maybe this weekend, we can go out and test drive a few and see what we like best. 

Any recommendations?  I’m pretty sold on a Toyota or Honda. 

4 comments:

April said...

Hey there! You sure have a large group of cousins...I think I probably have about 20 first cousins myself. It's hard to keep track these days! I enjoyed reading your answers...have a good one!

Michelle Smith said...

We considered the Toyota minivan before we bought our Yukon XL. We test drove one, but the Toyota just wasn't big enough for our family. ;) Also, "stiff" riding--you could feel every bump in the road, and the one we drove in the passenger front seat the left and right armrests were off by a good bit, which I thought was weird and bothered me after a while. But they are durable, get good gas mileage and have good storage room in the back.

Joyce said...

I love that family photo and I like to say Italy is my happy place : )

Jodi said...

I enjoyed reading your responses. I'm also without a car during the day while David is at work. Hopefully we won't have to do this for long. Blech. It's such a pain being stranded. And, we don't even live where we can walk to the store, ya know. I have alot of cousins too. I vote for Toyota. We had a little Toyota car once that we paid $400 for, that car ran so good, then we sold it to our neighbor and he drove it for several years after we did. I wish I still had that car right about now, LOL

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