Just a thought......

Ok, I have a pet peeve--actually I have several and most of them concern other drivers, but this is a big one. Why won't people who smoke keep their stupid cigarettes inside their car and their ashtray? I am so sick and tired of seeing other drivers--and passengers, too!--flick their still lit butts out onto the road, where they bounce around, spewing hot ashes and cinders on whatever they happen to touch. I am waiting for one to fly back into my open window, and then there will be hell to pay.
See, I live in an area where we get wildfires every spring and fall. We have days where it is so dry the grass will crackle loud enough to scare the animals a mile away. Maybe the chances are miniscule, but aren't you basically throwing fire out your window? What if it just happens to land on a dry leaf and smolder till it catches fire? Maybe a long shot, but you know, my kids play outside, and I would like for them to be able to have an outside to play in.
Not to mention that tossing that butt out of your car window is, oh, ILLEGAL!!!!!It's called littering, folks. Just like that McD's wrapper or the Bud Light bottle you don't want your mom to find in your car. It's trash, and belongs in the appropriate container. Not on our roads.
My next peeve is along the same lines-----if you smoke, fine. I don't care. Smoke your brains out--or your lungs, whatever. I'll respect your right to kill yourself, as long as you don't try to take me with you. Don't expect me to breathe your foul stench as I am walking into Walmart or Kroger or whatever to shop. Don't expect me to breathe your fumes as I sit in a restaurant eating a meal--believe me it does not add to MY enjoyment. And quite honestly, YOUR right to smoke wherever ENDS where MY right to BREATHE begins. I am asthmatic. Things like cat fur and some common cleaners can bring on an attack----so does cigarette smoke. Smoke in your home, your car, your corner of wherever. If you run a business and wish to smoke in it, fine. I can choose not to patronize it. I don't go to places where I know I have to linger in the fumes. But it really irks me to hear about smokers' rights, when they don't act like we nonsmokers have any rights.
I have a neighbor who smokes, and various relatives. My neighbor is very considerate---always trying to stay where I don't smell it. Most of my relatives have learned over the years to do so also. Friends and family know they don't smoke in my home or car, just as I know that they do in theirs, and I take that into consideration when going somewhere with them. Fortunately I have been driving for 20+ years, so I don'thave to rely on them to go places with me.
Just think about it. I saw a sign once in a place where I worked. Basically it said sure go ahead and smoke. Puff away and enjoy it. "But I like to drink so mind if I pee on your head--that's the residue of my vice, just as smoke is of yours." You know, consideration works both ways.....

here we go again.....

Yes you can tell it was the first day of school--and if you doubted it---just go to the school supp;y section at you local WallyWorld and listen to all the griping and complaining. I was on a roll about how ill prepared this school district consistently is each year----and how annoying it is that each teacher has to have different supplies from everyone else--I think they hold stock in Mead and Crayola. Well we made it as far as the stack-out of binders, looked down the aisle and I muttered a word I probably shouldn't use in front of the kids----well, poop, basically---I sent the two boys to look for the needed items, while the 4 yr old and I hit the next aisle and circled around, just in time to hear a lady gripe about the same high school I send my oldest to, and which was the reason for the majority of my complaints.

Things like, Chris went to homeroom this morning, only to find that sometime between Thrusday when we picked up his schedule and this morning, some higher authority changed all the homeroom assignments around. The rest of his day wasn;t too bad--except an asinine ruling by the 9th grade principal that the 9th graders are not allowed to carry their backpacks to class with them--but the rest of the school can. And the capper was the phone call I received at work 1/2 hr before my shift ended--"Mom, come get me, I missed the bus." "Why did you miss the bus?""Because by the time I got to my locker and made it to the bus line, it was the wrong bus line (ifI as mom may just inquire as to why they were not told where the appropriate line was for their busses?) and when I got to the right one, the bus had just left." "Why? Never mind, I'll be there as soon as I can get there."

Number one, why were the new kids NOT told where their buses lined up? Number two, why are the freshman singled out by not being able to have their backpacks with them. (Heck I thought THAT had gone out after Columbine!) Number three, why can you never get the entire story out of a kid before you make yourself look like an idiot by questioning the person responsible for the policy? Yep you guessed it I ran into said 9th grade principal at Walmart as we were checking out, and queried her about it. I have her solemn assurance that he will not miss the bus again, but HE neglected to inform me that the freshman had block periods and the others didn't, so that was why. I'm still scratching my head over that ?reason? but as lond as he doesn't miss the bus again, whatever. Personally I wouldn;t want to carry an overloaded backpack around all day with me, but when I was in school, not quite back as far as the Dark Ages (That's for you Dad), we had time before the bus left to grab our stuff and get to the bus.

Anyway, the next thing I want to know is why the bus schedules were not posted online or in the local paper, necessitating a phone call to the bus garage to find out what time the bus would stop at the end of our road. The fun thing is when I give them our street address and they say, "Uh, where?" and I have to explain that the road is known also by this other name and that we live across from a local youth rec site. Suddenly the lights go on in the head of the person I was talking to, and there's the info I need. Might I also add this phone call was at 5:45 this morning as I was getting ready to walk out the door for work. This school district was so ready for this academic year to start.......sarcasm intended. Each year I have children in public schools in this area is another year I keep hoping that big lottery win will happen, or my rich uncle will get out of the poorhouse, and I can homeschool at least my youngest. Then I look at my patience level, and tell myself I have bills to pay, get to work.......

Back to church......

Well, my kids and I headed back to church for the first time in several months--eve since our move to our new home in April. I would like to blame the distance from our church as the main reason for our lack of attendance, since we went from living 5 minutes away to half an hour away, but actually it's been sheer laziness. Not to mention sheer laziness. Oh I already did, didn't I?

Anyway, it was a wonderful experience. Our church is one of those where you are always welcomed--whether you are there every Sunday and volunteer for everything, or if you attend sporadically and stay on the fringes. I've done both---well, not volunteer for everything, but I have worked the nursery when no one else would or could. That's a whole other experience!

My younger son really didn't want to get up and go, but once we got there, he was fine. The kids got to connect with some friends and some of the AWANA leaders they hadn't seen and we got Ben and Shellie signed up for AWANA for this year. Ben will be in 7th grade, so he will work more as a leader for the little ones, and my baby will be in her 2nd and last year in Cubbies. My oldest son was a leader for AWANA the last 2 years and is moving on to youth group this year. My Wednesday night class will be on biblical doctrines--I've attended it off and on for the last couple of years, and the pastor makes it interesting. We get a good mix on the age groups, too--from college kids up through seniors.

Ours is a Bible-believing, Bible taught church--no not Holy Roller or other Pentacostal-type. If that's your church, great--nothing against it. Mine is technically non-denominational, but leans very heavily Baptist.

The only sad point is we had a huge discussion here at home last night, instigated by my 16 yr old stepdaughter, about endtimes and Revelation and hell and all that, and she and her sister and dad chose not to go with us today---with his hours he does not spend very much time with them any more, so I can understand shy--I just wish they had gone---and a lot of Kris' ?'s would have been answered or at least she would have had an idea of where to look for the answers. And probably come up with a lot more!!!! At least the questions are being asked.
And that's something I've tried to teach all the kids---question things. If they don't sound right, or you are just curious or whatever, question your teacher, pastor, parent---do it with respect, though!

navigating.....

Still trying to navigate around this system.....I'm not actually very technologically capable, so it takes me just a bit to figure out my way with new sites, etc. Helps if the 4 yr old would simply go play with her brothers and sisters for just a few minutes......LOL.

I have to say, I think this school year is going to be interesting. My oldest son is starting high school, my youngest son is starting 7th grade and my baby is starting pre-k at her day care. My daughters not by birth are starting their junior and 8th grade years. Between NCLB and the unions, it's a wonder my kids learn anything. They come home and I ask "What did you learn today in...." Heck if they know. We just drove through PA on the way back from CT to pick my boys up from their dad's, and we passed a sign that said "Birthplace of James Buchanan." So I asked if either child knew who James Buchanan was. Nope, all I got was "Who?" and blank stares. Now when my husband and I were in GRADE SCHOOL, we had to know all the presidents and their terms of office. My boys said all they have to know are the IMPORTANT ones. So who is not important? I think it's important that any of them became President, and actually I think the ineffective ones were every bit as important as their effective counterparts. Maybe more so, because if one screwed up, the next had to fix it quick.

Then youhave the general lack of geographic knowledge. We also had to know states, capitols, countries and capitols, etc. Climates, basic knowledge of the peoples of different lands......

And math was math. One plus one ALWAYS equalled TWO, no matter how you found the answer. We didn't get feel-good-raise-your-self-esteem-falsely points for getting the wrong answer. Sometimes right is right and wrong is just plain wrong.

By the way, I do believe that teachers should have to pass a comprehensive knowledge test in their area of certification, be it math, science, history, elementary ed., or whatever. And if they can't pass it, then they don't teach until they can. Sorry, folks. CPA's have to pass a test to be certified, so do attorneys. So do doctors. Would anyone want a brain surgeon who couldn't pass his exams in that specialty to operate on him/her? I wouldn't. I want to know that the person teaching my child integers and fractions and the pythagorean theorem knows what the heck he/she is talking about.

And kind of on the same subject: when did it become ok for teachers to dress like their students? Our local high school has a principal who tends to dress like the teenage girls that she is supposed to enforce the county dress code on. It makes it rather difficult to stress the proper way to dress for school when the teachers are wearing the latest from Aeropostale or Pac Sun, too. Not to mention the disturbing tendency of some teachers to comment on a student's looks/attire. Not quietly amongst themselves:"Someone needs a reminder that flipflops are not permissible." But to the student--"What a cute outfit! You look so pretty today." From male and female teachers. Never would have been done just 20 years ago. That would have been grounds for at least some serious questions by the parents of said child. The boundaries are nonexistent anymore, and that's not a good thing.

At least we tended to have respect for our teachers, even if we didn't like them. And if we didn't have respect, we were smart enough not to show it while at school; our teachers demanded respect just like our parents did.

just getting started

This could be interesting. My only other blog is basically available to friends and family only. Just to warn you, I can get on a soapbox sometimes. My better half (and I do mean that) will tell you that I tend to say before I really think it through. I do take things to heart and I believe very strongly what I say, but you are welcome to try to change my mind. One more warning--I do listen/read all comments, but personal attacks and obscene or blasphemous language (i.e. the "f" word, etc.) will not be tolerated on this site. If you don't agree and want to voice your different viewpoint, great. I'm all ears. But if your vocabulary only extends to words and phrases meant to shock, then please keep it to yourself.