YAY! A Recession! - Huh?!

The Good News for today is, HERE! You've got to read this one. I love it because it focuses on the positive aspect of a negative happening; the looming recession. Whoever wrote the article is definitely a glass half full kind of person - and I appreciate that. I agree with the author that if Americans are made to tighten their belts a bit, they may, in fact, spend more time doing things as a family. As opposed to the divide and conquer mentality that is far too easy to slip into. You know what I mean. Parents with more than one child in activities have to tag team to get everyone to their various places. Activities cost money, gas to get there costs money, the fast food you shove into your child on the way there costs money. Less money in our pockets may force us to slow down a bit. I could totally go into the negative, pessimistic view of all this but this is Good News Week after all, so I won't. Enjoy the article!

Fireflies at Night

We went for a walk the other night just as it was getting dark. At the top of our neighborhood (we live on a hillside) there are woods, deep woods. At the edge of the woods we saw LOTS of fireflies twinkling in the dark. It was really something. We all stopped to watch for a few minutes and then made plans to come back the next night to catch some! Before we headed out with our nets, flashlight, and trusty jar with hole poked lid, Allison drew this map (on a preschool graduation card she got) so we could find our way back to the fireflies. Here's the map. As we left the driveway she told us just where to go, according to the map, of course. It was priceless.


The map helped us find our way and we managed to catch a few. Legend has it that if you catch fireflies in a jar and keep them overnight, they will turn to pennies by morning. I remember catching fireflies as a little girl in New York state in some friend's backyard. They did in fact turn into pennies.

I know you can't see the little bugs but they are in there. We left the jar out on the front porch and don't cha know they turned into pennies. Little Miss was pretty excited! She's already talking about the next time we can go. Soon, sweet girl.

Time for Good News. I found this story about John McCain meeting with Billy and Franklin Graham. I liked this story because it reminded me of how important it is to pray for our leaders. I admire the testimony the Graham family has maintained through the years and am thankful for it. It's interesting to me how politicians seek them out, and desire their approval. Hmm.. There's some political stuff in the article too but my focus and reason for choosing it as a good news story have little to do with politics. Enjoy.

A Good News Dog Story

I found this Good News story on MSN today. I love this one for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's a dog story and I'm a sucker for dog stories. It's a little bit funny, a little bit sad, and definitely inspiring. I also love how this article gives evidence of change in China - positive change. It sounds like government roles are being challenged and re-evaluated. And people there, though immensely loyal to their country, want the changes. Yay for patriotism, yay for a more accommodating Chinese government, and yay for people who strive to make a difference! Enjoy.

More Good News!

Today's good news is here. And check out the page it's on - Good News Daily. I'll be checking that one often! I chose this story because it gives me hope that our society's moral compass may not be gone completely and some people really are heroes without ever thinking about what that means. Enjoy.

In other good news: The weather is nice and warm and slightly humid - perfect! Someone is coming to look at our house tomorrow. Allison lost her other bottom tooth. Soccer season is over. Next week we are going to Maine. My house is relatively clean, so are my kids! I could probably come up with a whole bunch more but I'll save them to use as Good News Week continues!

I think I'm going to rent Pete's Dragon tonight for Allison and Becky. They've been listening to a Disney CD with the song "Candle on the Water" by Helen Reddy. They both love it. I think they'll really like the movie. Katie and Ed are going on a scavenger hunt with Katie's youth group tonight so it'll something fun for the rest of us.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Sick of Bad News?

I don't know about you, but I'm tired of logging onto my computer only to be greeted by truck load of bad, bad news. For example, and I quote from the current Yahoo! homepage: "New storm threatens levees in Mo. town." or "Kroger recalls some ground beef linked to E. coli outbreaks." There's lots more but I'll spare you. Those two are actually tame compared to some of the ones on our local CBS website. It's depressing, scary, sad - AWFUL! Then there's the whole slew of stories that seem to surface daily about people who have been victimized (robbed, beaten, etc.) while passersby did NOTHING! Where have the Good Samaritans gone? And WHAT'S WRONG WITH US AS A SOCIETY? for crying out loud!!! Well, I for one have had enough of being blasted with the bad, bad, BAD news! I'm declaring my own little GOOD NEWS WEEK! I'm going to find (at least) one good news story to share with you all everyday for one week, starting today! The rules I'm setting for my GNW are simple. Stories must come from local or national headlines. And absolutely no entertainment, celebrity stories! Simple enough? So today's good news story is: This story from Brunswick, Maine. I love this story because the people from Independence Association became special to me when I was in hair school on Main Street in Brunswick and later when I worked at a bank there too. They are a sweet bunch who ask for so little and give so much. Their friendly smiles and glad to see you attitudes made my day alot. I'm glad that this story highlights something good being done for them. Take the time to read it, won't you?

AHHHH!

Shop Talk: AHHHH! Assignment 9 is packaged and ready to send off in today's mail. What a good feeling to finish up something you've worked so hard on. I also decided it was high time to straighten my 'office'. The word office is a joke in our house because it is literally a cupboard where I've taken over 1 1/2 shelves for my books, file folders, and sample magazines. Lately it's been a MESS. Every time I'd get mail or use a book I'd just stuff it back in the cupboard instead of trying to keep it neat. It's been like that for months. Today my 'office' is neat and tidy once again. I even organized my file folder. Being organized sure does get the creative juices flowing and now I know I will be more likely to pull out my binder to do some market research or peruse some sample magazines. What a good feeling of accomplishment!

The Toof Fairy

Allison lost her first baby tooth today. Can you believe it? Katie and Becky seemed so much more grown up when they lost their first tooth. Allison is a baby herself - in my eyes anyway. The tooth had been hanging on by a thread for several days and today it fell out on its own accord. Unfortunately she didn't notice until the tooth had already fallen out and therefore got lost. She was perfectly fine with it being lost because Becky helped her write a note to the Toothe Fairy explaining what happened. The note is tucked securely under Allison's pillow in place of her tooth. Coincidentally, Becky lost a tooth today also. Her tooth is in its little tooth shaped pillow just as it should be. Now, tonight when I was tucking Allison in she said, "Mom, do you have to e-mail the Toof Fairy or anyfing? And does she even have a computer?" Don't you get the biggest kick out of our Twenty First Century kids!?

I Love the Library

Shop Talk: These last two days Allison has spent three hours at school for a 'camp' of sorts. I decided to sign her up so I could get some serious writing done. And it's working. Yesterday I spent two hours at the library where the most wonderful woman helped me find photographs, she dug out maps for me to look at, and piled stacks of folders containing everything I could possibly want/need to know about baseball's history in Pittsfield and the meeting house that was the inspiration for the whole law that put Pittsfield on the baseball map! (Wow, that was a lonnnng sentence!) It was AWESOME! I originally went there to firm up the sources I accumulated last visit. Then I just got sucked into the whole research thing and couldn't help myself! I poured over countless newspaper articles jotting more notes and finding TONS of interesting tidbits that had nothing to do with my article but were fascinating none the less! I came away with a couple of ideas for articles that I can't wait to tackle! This area is a history lovers mecca! So, I'm on my second draft of the baseball article and I'm liking it more with each revision. Beginnings are important and also difficult for me, especially with this history piece. But I think I have a nice solid lead paragraph that makes the reader itch for more. The middle is factual but interesting and informative. And the closing paragraph ties it all together. I'll read it over again tomorrow with fresh eyes and make some more changes. Then I need to get my bibliography done and a query letter. That's the icing on the cake really.

Our house is still on the market and we are still planning to buy a new place. There are so many charming old homes out there and it seems like a good time to make the move so we're going for it. The hard part is preparing for open houses and showings. I feel like a slave to housework lately; always having to stay on top of things. I no sooner dusted the living room table when I turned around it was completely covered in yellow, powdery pollen! I was tempted to slam every window in the house shut but the fabulous breeze beckoned me to tolerate the pollen so I could enjoy its refreshingness. ERRR! We have a showing tomorrow morning and I've tried like the dickens to get as much as possible done today so I don't have to cut into my writing time tomorrow. I think I have a pretty good handle on things. One nice thing is that we're getting company this weekend so I needed to clean house anyway. Ah, two birds with one stone - nice.

Must get ready to watch Home Improvement on Nick at Nite. That show cracks me up!!

Just Random Nothingness

I find myself with absolutely nothing to blog about. How can that be? My thougts are very random today. For instance, I'm sitting here at the computer trying to put together some sort of entry then I glance into the dining room and see that I have some dishes to put away. Now my mind has wandered to why the dishes are there, if I should open the windows in that room, and how I wish there were another window on the far wall. I get lost in all those thoughts and the blog gets nuthin'! Behind me I hear Becky patiently explaining to Allison how to make a paper fan. I wish Becky was my big sister when I was small. Allison has no idea how blessed she is. In the family room Lucy is laying in the corner partially under my armless chair, drooling her globby dog drool onto the wood floor. It's too hot for her to lay on her dog bed and drool there. I can hear the pool filter running outside, keeping the pool all sparkling clean and ready for action. Now Allison is sitting on the floor in front of Lucy and fanning her with three paper fans. Lucy keeps blinking in anticipation of getting smacked with one. Becky has joined Allison. Speaking of Becky... she is famous in this house for talking in her sleep, which can be pretty funny. Last night Ed went in to kiss her before coming to bed. As he kissed her she stirred a little and started rubbing Ed's arm while saying "I love you Lucy, I love you Lucy." So sweet. Man she loves that dog! And the dog loves her right back.
After church today the girls will probably swim for a bit. I have an appointment to do a Home Visit for Labs 4 Rescue. This family is adopting a senior black lab. He looks adorable in the pictures and his write up reminds me of Lucy. I think my family may come with me. We'll see.
The girls still have two full weeks of school. It's supposed to be sweltering hot for the next couple of days. Schools in New England don't have central air. My girls are going to wilt! Actually Katie has a field trip tomorrow to go Geocaching which is kind of like Letterboxing. She'll be hiking in the forest! At least she'll be in the shade most of the time! Becky has a concert at school tomorrow. The gym will be an oven. Then on Wednesday her class is going on a field trip. Such a busy time of year, full of fun stuff. I'm planning to send Allison to a short little camp at her preschool this week. Three mornings and three hours each day. We were pretty bored last week so I figure this will help her out and I'll get some time to really focus on my article! Speaking of articles...the crows that woke me up this morning have given me a new idea for an article. I tried to do an article on crows before - they really are interesting birds -but I couldn't narrow the subject down far enough. I think I have a good idea this time.
Time to round up the troops for church. Happy Sunday!

This & That

Some things I'm happy about:

It's warm outside and forecasted to get warmer - 90's by Saturday!
My family is healthy and growing strong.
We belong to a fantastic church full of great people.
We've decided to send Katie to christian school next year - she's very excited to go!
My dog is sweet, lovable, and perfectly trained - and the best part is she came to us that way!
Ed's brother is coming down with his family next week.
Opening the pool was a piece of cake this year!
Etc. Etc.

Some things I'm not thrilled about:

That the next presidential election will be Obama vs. McCain
Gas prices and the fact that oil companies are recording record profits
Politics in public school
The very existence of Wal Mart - I despise that place but that's another post
Sending Allison off to Kindergarten in the fall
The neighbor's cat who catches baby bunnies and parades through our yard with them
Finding gray hairs on my head
Doing tick checks - even the idea of doing a tick check and FINDING a tick puts me in a panic

Both of these lists could be much longer but these were the first things that popped into my head. Allison had her K orientation this morning. All went well and she got the cutest t-shirt that says I'm going to Kindergarten at ... next year. They all got a little bag to match. I will say she was much more impressed with the christian school yesterday while we were there visiting. Maybe she and Becky will go to christian school next year - only God knows - we'll just wait and see. I do like our elementary school fine enough I just don't care for the agenda of school committee members and the politics involved when it has absolutely nothing to do with creating a positive learning experience for our children --- don't get me started because that's another post too.

I'm on a cancel everything kind of roll this week. So far I've cancelled Allison's soccer practice, Katie's soccer practice, and piano lessons. After school activities have taken over and I just felt like we needed a break. I don't like running ragged, and honestly most times I don't feel like we are. But this week I did. So, we cancelled. Big sigh. Sometimes stepping back and taking a breather is very good for all of us! Sometimes I'm met with great opposition - not this week. We all needed the break. Summer vacation can't come soon enough.

Sharing Knowledge

Shop Talk: I had a new experience today. Something that hasn't happened before. I was telling someone about my new venture as a freelance writer for children's magazines. She was genuinely interested, having just completed an English course and enjoying the writing aspect of it. She asked about what I'm working on. Here's where I had the new experience... I found myself wanting this woman to know everything I've learned about the history of baseball in our area. I babbled and blahed about it for too long I'm sure. I've never had a 'job' that I've been so interested in sharing with other people - aside from raising my children and we all LOVE to blab and blah about how fantastic our kids are. This was different - I was excited to share my knowledge with someone who didn't know what I do. I'm sure she wasn't as fascinated with the history of baseball in our area as I am - now - but I hope that my enjoyment of the topic at least interested her. Isn't that the job of a writer? - To pass on information in an interesting and fun way? It's so cool that one little question - what's the big deal with baseball in Pittsfield? - has turned into the makings of an article for children. The process is slow and sometimes tedious but I love the feeling of expanding my own knowledge (even if it is trivial bits of history) and passing that on to others.

Our Weekend in Pictures

Allison is officially a preschool graduate. Her class had a nice little ceremony with lots of songs, a slide show, and the handing out of diplomas. The day before graduation I snapped a couple of pictures of her on the school playground. The caterpillars are out and she managed to find one.

Here she is posing for a pre-graduation photo.

Notice Katie's change in attitude...She was mortified by the photos I posted on the blog! Cooperation may happen more frequently! Notice how grown up she and Michayla are! Michayla will be 14 this Sunday!

Here's Little Miss after she received her diploma. I told her to make sure she turned and smiled at Mommy! What a good girl!
After the graduation on Friday we went to a state forest for some hiking and fishing. Becky and Katie got to skip school and Ed had the day off. My mother in law, sister in law and her children were here so we had to keep all those kiddos busy! Below is Tyler, who is 11, and Ed fishing. Being the stud muffins they are, they struck a muscle pose for the camera. However, they did NOT catch any fish...
This is called Windsor Jambs and it's a beautiful gorge where enormous rocks have fallen and created little waterfalls, stepping stones, and flat sitting rocks. We had the best time walking on the rocks. Lucy got to be off her leash the whole time and LOVED that! It cracks me up how she just wanders into the water, takes a little swim, and walks back out. Anyway, the Jambs was beautiful!

A girl and her dog. BFFL.

I had to include this picture of Kaleb. He's 8 now. This was taken at Becky's school's Fun Fair. I love the lilacs in the background!